More Flowers

The fact that I'm posting more pics of flowers might give you a hint...the knitting progress is nil. :-( I think I have given up (for now) on Eunny Jang's Print 'O the Wave Stole...I hate to admit defeat, but it's just too hard for me. I've only knit two lace projects in the past, plus one little bitty sampler - and although I did complete them successfully, it was a struggle.

However, the lace-knitting mojo is still strong, so I looked though Barbara Walker's second book of patterns and picked out two 8-row patterns that looked do-able. I'm knitting a practice piece that I'm calling the "Why Can't I Knit Lace?" (WCIKL) sampler. I'm doing a center panel of Fountain Lace (p.272) with Branched Fern (p.314) on either side, and selvage stitches at both ends of the needles. I provisionally cast-on 53 stitches - the plan is to go back after one side of the sampler is "done" and pick up the provisional stitches and knit the other side...and then, if I'm still feeling the love, to attempt knitting-on a border all around. If nothing else this will give me practice in the knitting of lace.

I had to wait a few days for my Mother's Day present(s)...Yesterday The Curmudgeon brought home this hanging basket - It hangs on the East (front) side of the house, right outside the over-the-sink kitchen window. DS also funded a similar hanging basket for our other kitchen window - I'll try to post a pic of it tomorrow. (Sorry about the tag at the top of the picture - hubby didn't think to remove it and I can't reach it without stepping in a very wet and muddy flower bed... I'll get hubby to take it off tonight.)

And this is a close-up of one of our roses - I don't have a clue as to it's name so I just call it our "Stripey" rose. Very perfumy.

My learning curve with blogging has hit another stumbling block. You might notice that I have a "button" in my sidebar for Knitter's Coffee Swap, but if you click it, nothing happens. I'm trying to place button-links to other websites in my sidebar, but so far I haven't figured it out. There is apparently some help in (Google) blogger groups, but I can't get the info to upload so I can't read about it. I hate feeling so ignorant!

Gotta go. WCIKL is calling!

Knitting Lace is Fussy

What do you do when you don't have knitting progress to show? You go out in the yard just as the sun is coming up and you take photos of flowers! Thank goodness for flowers...and spring and sunny mornings. We're still enjoying clouds of iris' perfume when we walk outside the front door.



And here are the first blooms of our painted daisies - new this year. I hope this little plant grows into a big clump. I've never grown painted daisies before.

And, a couple of our delphiniums. Sometimes I pick the flower stalks just so I can gather the spent flowers when they fall - they make beautiful additions to potpourri since they keep their color well.

On the knitting front, I made it through about one and a half vertical pattern repeats on the Print 'O The Wave Stole, and then ended up ripping it out and starting over. One of the things that's giving me grief is that I've been using ring type stitch markers between pattern repeats on each row. In some rows there are yarn-overs either just before a stitch marker or just after a stitch marker and it's hard (for me) to get and keep the stitch marker in the correct place - either before or after the yarn-overs. Another problem is that in some rows there's either a k2tog or an ssk that occurs right "over the top" of the stitch markers, using one stitch on either side of the marker, and somehow, I get all goofed up with slipping a stitch to remove the marker, then replacing the stitch and doing the k2tog or the ssk and at the same time getting the marker in the correct place. It doesn't seem all that difficult when I write it out, but the execution of said process is giving me mild fits.

I replaced the ring type stitch markers with little yarn markers in the hopes that they would be easier to manipulate (the yarn-overs) and maybe that would help me in my k2tog and ssk problems. Wish me luck. It's a good thing that I really do enjoy the process of lace knitting, even though it's challenging for me. (Another thing - I'm using my Knit Picks circs -- I love the way the stitches slide from the cable to the needles, but, wow! are those needle points ever slick! The only other circs I have in the correct size are bamboo and the cable join is very "rough" - I don't want to always be babying the stitches over that join.)

In any case, I'm learning as I knit and un-knit and that's all good.

What would I do without Hege?

Just a very short post to thank Hege, again! In her comment for my last entry she told me how to get a blogroll into my sidebar. It turns out to be so simple that I feel silly...but, in the old blogger it really was more of a Big Deal. In the new, updated blogger is easy peasy! Thanks Hege. (Be sure to check her out - her black-and-white sweater choices are awesome.)

I'll be adding more of my must-read blogs tomorrow.

Iris' and Iris

Walking out our front door these days is to walk into a cloud of Iris perfume! I wish computers had smell-a-vision: then I could re-visit this page anytime during the year and recapture the fragrance. Just across the sidewalk, to the right of the big clump of bi-colored iris, is our miniature yellow rosebush. It is covered with buds.

This one is the first to open. This little bush started out as one of those super market specials years ago. It has thrived and now stands about four feet tall (miniature?) - but all the flowers and leaves are small.

And this is my lace weight Alpaca yarn from Knit Picks in the colorway called "Iris". I bought two skeins to make the Print 'O The Wave Stole and used my yarn swift for the first time last night to wind one of the skeins. I'll be purchasing a ball-winder before I wind the second skein! 440 yards is a LOT of yarn to wind by hand, especially with the yarn being lace weight.

My Everyday Shawl and Rainy Day socks are still in progress... They'll get knitting time after dark (and/or before dawn). Last night I cast on for the new stole and knit a few rows and found that it was difficult to see the stitches in this colorway without good natural light. So it will be a day-time knitting project. I can't wait for the sun to come up!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. A bittersweet time for those of us whose mothers have died...My Mom died in 1985 and I still miss her. But...I do have many wonderful memories that I treasure.

P. S. I've whined about not knowing how to accomplish some pretty basic skills in blogging, like how to upload images into the text, etc. (Turns out I need to upload the images first, in reverse order of how I want them to display, and add the text later.) So I bought the book Blogging for Dummies by Brad Hill. A mixed bag ... for me anyway. I learned a lot of basic stuff about blogging in general, but I still have no clue about creating a blogroll in my sidebar, for instance, or posting a button to show that I'm participating in the Coffee Swap. Rats.

Lessons in Lace Land

This morning I took my cup of delicious hot coffee and went searching for my Rainy Day sock...and found it where? Looking for Waldo! I had to help it (her?) find Waldo before I could knit another round or two. I'm loving this pattern - but I have to say that when I first started it, I sure had trouble "remembering" how to do a yarn-over between a knit stitch and a purl stitch. Finally had to turn to Montse Stanley's Knitter's Handbook. (Thank you, Montse.) I think I bought my copy on eBay. All the stitches in the sock are still look very bumpy and uneven because the yarn was knitted last summer and then ripped out - this yarn has incredible "stitch memory", as it wasn't on the needles all that long last summer.



And, yeah, Sunday afternoon I did the provisional cast-on and knit about one and a half patern repeats on the Print 'O The Wave Stole. And then I stopped. This lace weight mohair yarn has lots (LOTS) of "halo", I guess it's called. I don't think the photo shows it, but it sure complicates the execution of the knitting. Sometimes the halo-hairs are so numerous that they masquerade as stitches all on their own. This little bit of the knitting required quite a bit of frogging... I don't feel comfortable using this particular yarn for an entire shawl, so I've decided to order some Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks. :-)

This might seem like a disappointment - but it's not. There are many positives out of this little excursion in lace-land. For one thing, the provisional cast-on went smooth as silk, er...mohair?... Another thing, I worked out my own short-comings in reading the chart for the pattern and it turned out to be very do-able. I feel confident about knitting the shawl in a less fussy yarn. And another positive thing is that there will be an edging that is knitted onto the central portion of the shawl - in the manner of Shetland Shawls and I am looking forward to learning how to do that. Eunny's directions look to be very complete and understandable. Thanks, Eunny. (btw, Congratulations on your recent position with Interweave Knits.) And, finally, waiting for the new yarn to arrive will give me more time to (hopefully) finish the Rainy Day Socks and get in another foot or so on my Everyday Shawl. (I will feel so good when it is finished.)

Yellow Flowers and Lace Dreams

Hmmm... I don't know quite how I did it yesterday...getting an image to post in the middle of the text and not automatically have it go to the top. Today I did the very same thing (at least I think so), downloaded the iris' first and then the African Daisy. Although I can enter text between the pictures, I can't put it above the daisy picture.



Maybe this will be as good as it gets...

My Rainy Day Sock is approximately at the same place it was yesterday at this time. I woke up this morning wanting to knit lace. I have some white mohair blend lace weight and I'm thinking about this pattern. Will I? (Startitis is a terrible thing!)

Bird Calls

For several years I’ve been hearing a “peculiar” bird call in our neighborhood during the spring and summer months. I say “peculiar” because it was a call I didn’t recognize, and try as I might, I’ve never been able to spot any bird actually saying (singing) this call. For those of you with any musical training, it’s just a descending major second – 2 notes, of equal length. This morning as I was knitting, I had the window open and heard that bird call again, so I went to this web site and after a few tries, I found The Bird! I had suspected that the bird I was hearing was one that we frequently see at our feeders, but that the peculiar bird calls I kept hearing were more of “This-is-my- territory!” calls, or maybe “Hey-girls-lets-have-some-fun!” calls rather than the normal bird chatter that one hears at the feeders. So I typed in several familiar birds and listened to their calls, and sure enough! The bird I’ve been hearing is this…



a Black Capped Chick-a-dee! Singing an entirely different song from his usual "chick-a-dee-dee-dee". I love this web site!

(WOW! Did you see that? I actually got an image placed in the middle of the text! Wonder if I can do another one?)

On the knitting front? Not much to report - I've knit a few rounds on my Rainy Day Sock, but not enough progress to warrant another pic. Early this morning, while knitting, I watched an episode of Religion and Ethics on PBS. Informative and sometimes provocative, it's an excellent reason to watch the telly early on a Saturday morning.

This 'n That

Yesterday I finished knitting the felted Fair Isle bag - all except for the little loops where the handles will attach. I need to decide if I'm going to go with i-cord handles or purchased leather handles. The leather ones are kind of pricey but I think I'll like them better than the i-cord. That's String Bean striking a pose during the photo shoot. (The Curmudgeon calls him "Nads" most of the time - you'd know why if you could see a South-end view of cat going North.)

I've also knit about an additional foot or more of my Everyday Shawl. It's now long enough to throw one end over my shoulders while I knit on the other end - very comforting on these still chilly mornings. Speaking of weather - we're supposed to get up into the 80s this weekend! I feel so bad for the folks who are dealing with snow, floods, tornadoes, etc. Back to the shawl - I have less than three skeins of yarn to knit up and then it will be finished. (Anthrax insisted on getting in on the photo shoot action.)

I also started a pair of Rainy Day Socks - done my way. I'm doing them with the Sock It To Me! yarn that I won last summer from this wonderful blogger, I'm making them bigger than the pattern calls for, knitting them toe-up (because I don't know for sure how long to make the leg, what with the change in yarn and gauge involved), and I'm using my "regular" short row heel and toe a la Priscilla Gibson-Roberts . I began this first sock with the part of the yarn that I had knit up last summer (and ended up ripping out) and the stitches look very uneven and bumpy. I'm hoping that after being washed and worn a few times the stitches will even out and look OK.

This is the third pair (of socks) in a row that I've begun with a provisional cast-on and from the toe-up. All of my previous socks were knitted cuff-down. I almost feel comfortable with a provisional cast-on now ... doing it this many times in a row has helped me retain the process.

As I was working on the toe, I was thinking about the Miracle of knitting. When it was first invented, surely it must have seemed like magic! Some string and some sticks...and out comes this stretchy, complicated fabric. I've been knitting for many years and I still think it's magical. How could someone have thought it up? And then, all the fancy stuff...can you imagine how the first person to work cables felt? Or the first one to do a yarn over and invent lacy stitches? It boggles my mind.

Thanks Hege!

First of all, I can't believe that it's been a whole week since I last posted! I swear it was only a couple of days ago... Could it be that our household has been a busy one?

In my last post, I complained because I couldn't figure out how to place pictures where I wanted them within the text of my blog. Hege commented and told me how to do it! (Well, duh! It seems so obvious - I know how to insert pictures into Word documents...what was I thinking?) Thank you Hege, you wonderful, star-bright person!

But alas, even with Hege's help, it still isn't working the way I'm doing it. I know the answer must be something very simple that I'm doing wrong, or not doing at all...but right now, I sure can't figure it out. So, pics are still at the top. Sorry.

I tried the Eye of Partridge heel and it worked OK. I was using some leftover variegated sock yarn, so it's hard to differentiate the stitches (and the pic is a bit fuzzy, too), but there it is...up at the top. Oh, sigh.

And I finished the Eyelet Rib socks. I bound them off like Wendy's Feather and Fan socks, so the bind-off looks almost ruffly, but when they're on the foot-leg, the ruffle part pretty much disappears. I love the eyelet rib and want to use it with a sock yarn that's not stripey or patterned. (It must be time to order some new sock yarn, yes?)

On an entirely different subject, a lifetime ago I was an elementary music teacher and every spring I taught the fourth graders one of my favorite songs - At this point in my life I can't remember who wrote it, or where the lyrics came from, so I apologize to the writer/composer, but here are the words:

Seeds inside the package,

they can't read the label.

They can't see the picture,

so, how are they able

to know if they're daisies

or greens for the table?

This weekend the "good child" (DS) is going to replace the (shredded) heavy-duty clear plastic on our (extremely) little greenhouse - it's really a glorified cold-frame, and then, seeds will sprout! Here's to sunny days and above-freezing temps.

If you don't like the weather...

Top picture. Toe and foot of Eyelet rib sock #2.

Next picture. Eyelet rib sock #1 showing more of cuff.
Burgundy sock, still on needles after months and months...oh sigh.

The joke, when we first moved to Idaho, 25 years ago, was "If you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes." It's not quite that changeable, but it's not uncommon this time of year to have snow one day and two or three days later enjoy temperatures in the 60s. Why do I mention this, you ask? Last Friday and Saturday the weather was perfect - just like I hope it is in heaven. Sunshine and warm temperatures. Sunday it rained most of the day and was cold. Monday - sunny again but still pretty chilly. Tuesday - cold and windy, making the wind-chill temp nearly unbearable. And last night??? It Froze! So much for peaches on our peach tree this year. Drat!

I've started sock #2 of the Eyelet Rib socks. Nope, didn't get sock #1 completely done, but I don't want to knit the leg too far and then discover that I don't have enough yarn to knit the second sock to the same length. I really, really do like the eyelet rib pattern and I'm already thinking about the next socks to cast-on after these socks are finished.

Question: Why do I think that I need to purchase more sock yarn, when I have enough in my (tiny little) stash for at least 4 more pairs of socks and I do have at least one pair languishing on needles somewhere (besides the Eyelet Rib socks - they're not languishing but they are on the needles) Maybe part of the "problem" is that within my sock-yarn-stash I have yarn for two pair intended for the Curmudgeon - dark grey and dark heathery blue. This time of year that yarn is about as appealing as cleaning gutters. I do have this lovely, springy-summery yarn sent to my by this wonderful blogger way back last summer...(I ended up frogging it all the way back to nothing because I wasn't happy with how it was turning out - no fault of the yarn, which I love.) And I also have some "when-I-get-old-I-shall-wear-purple-and-red" yarn from Knit Picks - but it looks pretty wintry, too.

And, speaking of next-socks-on-the-needles, I love the look of the eye of partridge stitch heels seen here (the April 11th post). I'm of the short-row-heel persuasion rather than the heel-flap persuasion, so I'm going to see if the eye-of-partridge stitch will lend itself to short-row heels. I'll let you know if it turns out.

(In case you're wondering, I wear socks year round. I think that last summer there was only one day when I went without socks. I suffer from poor circulation and really [REALLY] cold feet.)

I am getting very frustrated with my lack of ability to (figure out how to) control the placement of pictures within my blog entries. No matter where I try to insert them, they always appear at the beginning of my blog entry. I'm wondering if the problem is ME (most likely) or if I need to pursue a different blog host. I've gone through the help section with blogger.com and can't find any help at all. I've tried to contact blogger.com and haven't gotten any satisfaction there, either.

So, please accept my apologies for not strategically placing pictures throughout the text of each post. I would if I only could!

Meanwhile, speaking of languishing, I found this site today. I predict that it shall we well fed with projects-that-are-taking-way-too-long. I'd send them a post about my burgundy socks, but honestly - a sock seems like such a short little project when compared to some of the projects shown on Slogalong. All of which, btw, are gorgeous.

Sproing!

Oh how I do love Spring! And she sure has Sprung here in Idaho's Treasure Valley. I'm so glad I don't suffer from hay fever, because the air out in our yard is so full of perfume it almost makes me giddy. The other afternoon my current sock in progress sneaked off when I wasn't looking and I found it out in the Viburnum bush. Silly sock! This morning I finished the heel and am working on the ankle rows. I'm doing a garter stitch heel and toe, and I will do ribbing on the leg - want to do something besides just plain ol' 2 x 2 ribbing... I have only about 5 more rows of ankle before I have to decide. This is the first pair of socks I've made with a garter stitch heel and toe - I really like the way it looks and feels.

Did I mention how much I love this yarn? The way the color changes and develops as you knit along has captured my fancy.

I've also done a few rows on the Fair Isle bag-to-be-felted. I got the pattern from Interweave Knits on what used to be their subscriber-only web patterns, but they're in the midst of changing to something new and right now I can't find the pattern on the web any longer. The only pic I have of it (on my printed pattern) is in black and white and doesn't do it justice, so I won't post it here. I am using 100 % wool from Knit Picks. I couldn't find the exact colors in the Knit Picks wool, but the price was right, and mostly I'm doing this project to see if I can really knit Fair Isle without going bonkers, and also to get some more experience with felting.

Later same day - I decided on an eyelet rib for the cuffs of the new socks. Since I haven't already given them a name (except sock-in-progress) guess I'll call them Eyelet Rib Socks. Now, that's original! I'm only on the third repeat of the 8-row pattern so I can't tell how it's going to turn out (compared to a regular 2 x 2 rib) but so far, I very much like the looks of it.

Teddy agreed to pose with pics of the Feather & Fan finished socks, and the Eyelet Rib socks ... but by the time we got to the Fair Isle Bag, Teddy was bored and feeling silly and ended up putting the bag over his head. I think Teddy needed a nap. (By the way, Teddy, I apologize for cutting off your head in all the pictures...)

Knitterly Camaradarie

Ever since I discovered knitting blogs on the net I've read about and envied the experiences many bloggers post about - meeting other knitters at conferences or classes or book signings (or whatever, whenever), and the feeling of being part of a greater whole, a community of knitters that spans nearly every imaginable continuum. I've been impressed by the generous inclusiveness of this band of knitters from around the world, and also by the loving charitableness they embody.

Yesterday I experienced just a small smidgeon of that acceptance and rapport... DD and I were in search of a table-lamp-with-magnifier for my sewing table and she mentioned a really neat craft store west of town that would be sure to have a selection of such lamps. When we got there, alas, they no longer carried lamps/lighting devices, but (to my delighted amazement) they had a quite respectable yarn department! And, situated conveniently between the fabric area and the yarn area there was a table with inviting chairs, and sitting in one of those chairs was a lady...knitting!

One of the clerks had already struck up a conversation with me and had found out that I'm a knitter and had invited me to come to their monthly Yarn Yoga meetings (informal gatherings of knitters to gab, knit, share, enjoy refreshment, etc.), so when I sat down at the table, the Knitting Lady (Pam? - I'm really, really bad about names) and I began to chat. Her knitting project is a bag (to be felted) and we immediately began comparing notes re/ our felting experience (for both of us, not much). Both of the store clerks in the area drifted in and out of the conversation from time to time and it was one of the most pleasant and relaxing moments I've had with "strangers" for a very long time. (Among knitters there are no "strangers", I've decided.)

None of my friends are knitters... They're all special, wonderful, diamond-bright people, but...they're muggles. There! I've said it out loud. Sadly, all of my friends are part of the world of muggles. Some of them may have actually knit something during their life-times, but they're not (obsessed with yarn) knitters. When I mention something I've read or run across from reading knit blogs, they all cock their heads and get one of those here-she-goes-again looks on their faces. Some of them even roll their eyes and mutter "Those knit bloggers. Again!" (But, at least they know about blogs - I've made sure of that.)

A wonderful day!

And, just now, I figured out how to upload pics from my new camera (ta da!). Anthrax, one of our cats, lounging on my little TV table and progress - as of last night - of a new sock. I LOVE this yarn! It's schoeller stahl Fortissima Colori 6-fach Socka Color #9048 and I bought it here, just like the sock yarn of my generic-toe-up-Wendy-Feather-and-Fan socks mentioned in one of my last posts. (I'd take a pic of them for the blog, but I've been wearing them ever since I got sock #2 off the needles - today they go in the wash, and then I'll get a pic.) BTW we didn't name the cat - she is an "inherited" cat, from one of our almost-son-in-laws and came with name firmly in place. DH calls her "The Plague Cat". She is my sweet, sweet cuddle cat - especially at night when her place of preference is as-close-to-Mom's-face-as-possible.

My new camera was an impulse buy at Radio Shack. I went there just to get some ear-buds for the (cast-off) MP3 player DD gave to me. (She's got a postage-stamp-sized iPod now.) And I came out of the store with a Kodak EasyShare C643 camera. In my defense, it was on special. And the store manager was a cutie-patootie (and, a great salesman, DH pointed out later). Said camera has an IQ roughly 100 times greater than mine. :-) But, doesn't she take great pictures? (even if I get them slightly out of focus)

Feather & Fan socks on the Needles...

After all the angst of posting with pictures yesterday, I ended up not sayin' much about the two projects whose pics I did successfully post, and there are a few things I wanted to say about them.

First of all, I love the Berocco Pleasure yarn - it's incredibly soft, easy to work with and shows stitch detail very well. It's a heavy worsted weight yarn so it knits up really quickly. I used size 9 (U.S.) needles for both projects. The yarn is not being made any more, but you can find it on eBay at reasonable prices.

When I made the Human Genome scarf, I learned how to cable without using a cable needle. I did great with this technique as long as the "loose" stitches were held in the front...When they were behind the needle, more often than not, they would begin to "drop" and I would have to fish them back up again using a crochet hook. This took longer (and was more frustrating) than using a cable needle in the first place. I kept trying to analyze the process while I was doing it - why are those stitches wanting to run away? But didn't get to the point of fully understanding the problem - at least not enough to prevent it from happening. So, I'd have to say that my success rate with this new-to-me technique was only about 50%, but it was/is still worth it. Not having to keep track of the cable needle, pick it up and use it for every single cable crossing (and there were lots of them in that scarf!) was a good thing.

The pattern for the Human Genome scarf is from Interweave Knits, Fall 2003. I made it pretty much according to the pattern, but I substituted stockinette stitch for the long borders because I knew they would curl under and I thought that would provide a soft edge to go along DH's neck. I really like how it turned out.

My everyday shawl is very plain. One of the things I "learned" from it when planning it out beforehand was that knitting-math, even the most basic, can cause me grief. (Oh, sigh.) It has a garter stitch border with selvage stitches and the main-body pattern is "Diamond Brocade" from B. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. The directions in her book are written out so I made a little chart to follow. I love charts! I find them much easier to use than written-out directions. (If you look really closely at yesterday's picture you may be able to see the cute little stitch markers!)

I'm also working on a pair of socks, using Wendy's generic toe-up pattern with her Feather and Fan pattern for the legs. (Size 2 needles for the feet, and size 3 needles for the legs & cuffs.) I have large feet, thick ankles and "muscular" (read fat) legs, and don't know how long to make the legs/cuffs - don't want to run out of yarn, so I knitted the first sock and did a couple or three repeats of the Feather & Fan on the legs, and then began the second sock. I plan on knitting it to the same point and then go from there with what ever much yarn I have left to make the legs/cuffs of them both. I tried the Feather & Fan pattern on a pair of socks last summer, but ended up ripping it out because I really didn't like knitting on #1 needles - very hard on my hands, and the fabric was so stiff and hard that it felt a lot like cardboard. The yarn I was using for that pair was gorgeous, and I will be using it for different socks (or maybe another Feather & Fan) but on larger needles.

For the current pair I am using On Line 6 Ply that I bought here - 150 grams of sock goodness.

By the way, I apologize for the sock pic. It doesn't do those socks justice at all!

Well...Krap!

I've been trying, since my last lonely post to upload some images of knitting interest. And the doppelganger is back...or, more correctly, I can't figure out how to change something in the blog template to allow images to upload. Drat and ratzafratz! See, these are the kinds of frustrations that threaten to send me right back to bed and pull the covers over my head!

What is a blog entry without pics? B - O - R - R - I - N - G !! I wanted to show you the Human Genome Scarf I finished for DH - knit with Berroco (or is it Berocco?) Pleasure yarn in the "leather" color. Yummy, and I'm not even particularly fond of brown. And, then my own design every-day shawl also knit with the same yarn but in the "emotion" color - a beautiful, subtle lavender-grey sort of color. This shawl is a "blower", not a "show-er" as my Grandma used to say - that is, it's made to be functional (warm!) not showy or lacy. (But, I really do like the pattern.) (Grandma referred to her hankies as either "blowers" or "show-ers" - the pretty, lacy ones weren't too functional, but Grandpa's purloined handkerchiefs were good for alleviating drippy noses.)

Now, as for the problem with uploading images...I'm a reasonably intelligent person, and although I do not belong to the computer-savvy generation, I should be able to figure this out, right? So, I will try (again). That's one of my missions for today: get pictures into my blog entries. (You might be wondering, if you have looked at posts from the past, why there are pictures in many of those posts...Well, since doing those posts, 1-Blogger has changed to Google hosting and 2-our computer has undergone a resurrection of sorts 3-And we've changed Internet providers 4-And email is only recoverable thru Outlook Express - Somewhere in all those changes lies the rub, so to speak.)

Wish me luck!

OH, GLORY BE! An image appeared! (Not where I wanted it, but let's not be picky!)

I'll try another one!

GLORY BE! Now there are two!

Hmmm...I wonder what will happen when I go from "draft" to "publish" with this entry. Hopefully, the pics will publish, and I'll write again tomorrow - maybe even try images again. :o)

Hello...I'm back, I think

Sometime after last August 31 we suffered a computer meltdown and for a long while I couldn't blog or even read blogs. And, I "lost" my favorites, so even when we got back on line so I could read blogs, I couldn't remember all their names (like when you have automatic dialer on your phone and you soon forget your friend's "real" phone numbers). And then we were pretty much into late fall and the shorter days began to take their toll and I was just too depressed to write, knit, read, cook - just about everything except sleep.

During the past month or so, I have re-found most of my favorite blogs and a few new ones as well, and the last few days have really been feeling the nudge to return to my blog. So, I go to blogspot dot com and find that they're all new fangled since last I posted. I don't do very well with "new" stuff, but I think I've made it through so that I can once again post.

Knitting? Most of the UFO's I posted about last summer are still UFO's - if you read my blog then, you'll remember how I love to start new projects, but finish them? Not so much. But I did start AND finish a few things... And, of course I'm working on some new projects, too. Tomorrow I promise some pictures...

Maybe it's the way I hold my tongue...

Weird! Today the Doppelganger must be asleep, because the pics uploaded without any trouble at all. Isn't The Bean a cutie? And the Sock it to Me yarn is gorgeous. I have added about three inches to the foot since taking that picture. I haven't been knitting a whole lot these past few days.

On the exercise front, I failed to mention in my rant (see previous post) that I substituted walking for the running-on-the-treadmill that I was "supposed" to do. The only muscle pain that is nagging at me (so far) is from doing the scissor leg lifts. They were relatively easy to do - for an old out of shape lump like me - but oh, the soreness. I was expecting to experience soreness in my arms, shoulders and back because of the little dumb-bell routines I've been doing, but so far all is well. I appreciated the comments from Hege and Beverly. It's always wonderful to be encouraged.

Tomorrow the Curmudgeon and The Good Son and I are planning a day-trip to Baker, Oregon. (It's officially named 'Baker City' now, but when C. And I grew up there, it was - and ever will be, in our minds at least - 'Baker'. Furthermore, we weren't consulted regarding the name change!)
I am looking forward to seeing the town again - it's been over 10 years since we've visited there, which is odd, given that it really isn't so far away. But life is busy, ya know? I imagine there will be lots of changes - lots of 'revoltin' developments' for us to curl our lips at. Have I mentioned that C. And I sometimes lapse into Old Foggy Mode?

I'll try to remember to take along the camera and maybe the Doppelganger will allow me to post a pic or two with my next post.

The Doppelganger and a Rant!

Well, today is one of those days when the computer is refusing to upload images to my post. I have a cute picture of The Bean - 2 days after her ninth birthday, and a pic of the gorgeous Sock It To Me yarn sent to me by my blogger friend. I'll try again later and see if the anti-image doppelganger is still in force.

Now, ready? I have a rant. For some time I've been looking for some kind of exercise program that would fit in with my weight, age, sedentary nature and natural inclination to not move. Every plan I've found has included exercises that I can't even begin to do... push-ups? no. Pull-ups? no. Abdomen curls? no. I am remarkably out of shape. But I want to be more active and figure if I start small, with appropriate work-outs, I can progress. Seems reasonable, right? Well, last week I read about a site that advertised trainer-tailored plans for anyone. Even me?

After reading their user agreement - which took about 25 minutes I signed up and among other things, I told them my age, my weight, my health issues and the fact that I don't belong to a gym. I opted for the plan to become more lean. (Choices were loose weight, become stronger, or develop more endurance. Actually, I need all of those, but I expected that if I could work off some of my weight, the other two would be positively affected.)

Boom. Back came my exercise plan and the first thing on it, the "warm up"? Run on a treadmill for 6 minutes at a moderate pace. Now, what's wrong with this picture? (Also included in the plan for that day were exercises involving a weight bench, an exercise ball and a pull-up bar.) First of all, I don't think anyone in their right mind would expect that someone my age and weight would be able to run for any length of time. Second of all, do they expect everyone to own a treadmill (or an elliptical machine), a weight bench, an exercise ball and a pull-up bar? Surely I'm not the only obese, almost-60-year-old woman with diabetes and high blood pressure who wants an exercise plan to loose weight, become stronger and have more endurance, and doesn't have a home gym set up in the family room.

I sent them a message asking what on earth were they thinking? But haven't heard back from them.

Ok, rant over. On the plus side, I decided to take matters into my own hands and devised a simple exercise plan for myself and I also called the care line here in Idaho to request their packet on exercises for oldsters... Both things I ought to have done many moons ago. I did my plan in excel - wish I knew how to show it here in my post, but I don't. If anyone is wondering...I also am trying very hard to improve my eating/diet.

Roses and Yarn and Birthdays

Sunday morning we left the house to go for a very early ride and as we came out, I looked back at the house and saw the first rays of sunlight shining on our little front porch. See the Adirondack chair at the far left? That's where I usually take knitting/yarn pics and also where I sit outside to watch the sky at 0-dark thirty nearly every morning. The Big Black Dog (Kiwi) comes out with me so she can play fetch in the dark. (She's awfully good at finding her ball when it bounces weird and gets away from her.)

The Curmudgeon has taken such good care of the roses this summer. They are all blooming like mad right now.

I forgot to mention yesterday when I was talking about my internet 'friends' that a very exciting event occurred last week. I had been reading here, and the blog writer had a little contest. She invited readers to guess where she and her family were going on vacation, and her hints were: 1) they intended to go canoeing and 2) there weren't many yarn shops there. My first guesses were already taken, so I guessed my home state, Idaho. We have gorgeous lakes and rivers for canoeing (but we're famous for our white water river stretches) and there aren't many yarn shops in Idaho. Nobody guessed the correct state, but the blog writer had her children pick names out of a hat and mine was one of two names picked. She had promised a 'knitterly' prizes and I don't know what I expected (maybe a tape measure?...knitters seem to be unable to find tape measures when needed), but the prize that came in the mail just blew me away! Two lovely skeins of "Sock it to Me!" yarn and home-made stitch markers made by my blogger friend herself! The yarn is gorgeous...Variegated with watermelon pink, fuschia, purple, orange-pink and a little sky blue for good measure.

I couldn't help myself...I immediately cast on for Wendy's toe-up feather and fan socks. Which meant that I had to do a provisional cast on. I've done that kind of a cast on a few times in the past, but still feel anxiety about it. After a couple of false starts it went smoothly and the toe is done plus a wee bit of the foot. I'm using U.S. size 1 needles. I usually use size 2 needles for socks, and I've noticed that the #1's are harder on my hands. Oh well. Live and learn, right?

Today is The Bean's ninth birthday. How can she be nine already? She is a fledgling knitter... We use this little rhyme for knit stitches:

"In through the front door, run around the back. Peek through the window & out jumps Jack."

Does anyone know a rhyme for purl stitches?

Just What I needed

I've been away... Not physically, but spirit-wise I suppose you could say. Not very much knitting going on, but lots of other stuff. Among which is that I've been thinking about life and where I am right now in my life journey (hopefully the journey isn't ending any time real soon). And, I've found some inspiration and direction - along with a whole bunch of other neat things - through the internet.


Nearly every day I try to check on all my favorite blogs (most of which are knitting blogs), and the list grows as my 'usual' blogs refer to other blogs and when I check them out I find that they are inspirational or funny or interesting or whatever. So, I add them to my favorites list (which remains un-organized and apparently un-organizable) ... You can see the semi-viscous circle of semi-exponential proportions can't you? But I digress.


A little history: I learned to knit when I was about 14. My best friend and I wanted to learn to knit to fulfill some sort of badge thing through the youth group at our church. There was a lady in our congregation who agreed to teach us to knit. Under her tutelage we went to the LYS and bought yarn and needles and then she had us knit a sweater - everything from casting on to ribbing to stockinette, decreasing, button bands, the whole nine yards. After that I knit quite a bit through the rest of high school and college, but my creative and crafty energies drifted off to other endeavors about the time I got married. I did knit a couple of sweaters and vests for the Curmudgeon, but I never did knit anything for the kids. And then, I didn't knit at all. For many years.

About three or four years ago my health deteriorated to the point that just going to work each day became pretty much the limit of my energy and ability. I had to give up being the choir director at church, I quit going to my weekly group with a few wonderful friends, I quit shopping, I hardly socialized. And depression set in. I'm not talking about the "I-feel-'blue'-today" variety. (There are few good things that came of this change in life style, but mostly it was and remains a time of loss.)

I no longer had the energy to sew and my eyes had gotten so old that counted X-stitch was out. I needed something to do that I could do sitting in my favorite chair, and also something that would provide some calm in my life. Knitting was a logical and welcome choice. (I was totally unaware that there was a knitting revival going on across the land, and specifically a sock-knitting revival.) The Curmudgeon took me to the LYS and I told the lady that I wanted to knit socks. I had chosen socks because knitting two socks would take much less time than knitting a sweater, and I knew I would need some sooner-than-later gratification, and I had never knit socks before and wanted to learn to do something new with my rusty knitting skills.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Except for the internet. As I was knitting one of those first pairs of socks, I googled on 'hand knit socks' and found Wendyknits and was introduced to the whole world of blogging. I had never even heard of blogs before. Every day I would look forward to reading Wendy's blog and then one day I noticed that she had a list of other blogs on her side bar. Other blogs!!?!

Now, as I said earlier, I have literally dozens of blogs I try to check every day, and since being fired from my job last December (just two weeks before Christmas!), I usually have the blog-reading time I want. (But, I sure wish my computer would tell me when there's a new post on one of "my" blogs so I wouldn't have to go to each one every time to see if there are posts I haven't read...)

I've found the most amazing group of "friends" through blog-land. Not that any of them (or, hardly any of them) know me or reciprocate the friendship. After all, I haven't been blogging myself for very long, and I've been way too shy to leave comments until quite recently. But I've met guys who knit, grannies who knit, young mothers who knit, famous authors who knit, knitting gurus who knit (that's redundant, isn't it?), re-born knitters like me, irreverent knitters, speedy knitters, slower-than-molasses knitters (I especially like them) and totally un-characterizable knitters. They have all become important to me - they're my circle of friends. I follow their knitting adventures and mis-adventures, their domestic situations and life styles...I have met their children, parents, friends, spouses, partners and even their pets. And, each one of them enriches my life in his or her unique way. Recently I found another 'new to me' blog and this post. And, it was just what I needed to read.

Am I beginning to "Get It"?

Although I have been dreaming of new socks (and thinking about the coming cold weather and the need for more pairs of warm socks), I have continued to work on my Rosebud Shawl. It's going much better than the last time I wrote about it. And, I think I'm beginning to get a glimmer of understanding about lace knitting...

I've only knit two lace projects before Rosebud. In each of those projects (both scarves) the lacey pattern was quite apparent after just one pattern repeat, and neither pattern bunched-up very much. So, as I knitted along, I could see progress and design with nearly every row. Rosebud, on the other hand, just looks mostly like a jumbled snarl of yarn. You can only see a hint of the pattern if you stretch-out the knitting and hold it up to the light, and then you can only see a small patch of knitting that looks like it has a plan. Part of my glimmer of understanding here is that lace knitting requires faith and patience...faith that it will turn out to be at least somewhat like the picture of the FO on the pattern, and patience to keep on knitting until you can block it.

Also, I've noticed that the more I knit, the more I tend to fool-around with any given pattern. In this case, I'm adding several pattern repeats to the first section of the shawl - which will result in a longer shawl. In the pattern, when you finish the first section you are one fourth of the way through the shawl. (In musical terms, this is an 'ABBA' design. The two 'A' sections are identical and the middle 'B' sections are each equal in lenth to one 'A' section.) When I reached the point in the pattern where the first 'A' section was to be finished, I looked at my little jumble of weird knitting and decided that the shawl wasn't going to be nearly long enough. I'm a big lady, after all. I stretched it lenghwise and it was about 18" long, which would result in a shawl approximately 72" long after blocking. Since I want the shawl to be a bit longer than that, I'm adding several pattern repeats to this section. And that means, of course, that I will add a few pattern repeats to the middle section and to the final section as well, to keep the ratio of A's and B's correct.

There just isn't enough knitting time in the day for me. I want to knit so many things. As I said, I'm dreaming of socks and also thinking about the second Fair Isle mitten to do, and I really want to work on a Fair Isle project on circular needles (a hat? A bag?) before I try to tackle a whole sweater knit in Fair Isle. Maureen remains my inspiration... And to make matters even more frustrating, I find that sometimes I just have to set the knitting aside and do something else for a while, even if it is during my 'knitting' time. Aaughhhh!