Traveling socks

Yes, dear reader, I have officially joined the ranks of sock-obsessed knitters. I can't see to stop myself. Factors that contribute to this obession include:

• Portability. Few projects are as portable as socks. In my cute little silk tafetta Lantern Moon bag, I can carry a sock in progress, all the tools required to complete it, and yarn to make a mate (or the finished mate to show folks who ask what I'm making). I can slip the straps of the little bag over my wrist and keep knitting whether I'm standing in line or walking or sitting in a waiting room. It's darned near perfect.
  


• Speed. I often have a short attention span. Socks work with this trait because they work up so quickly. Socks never make me feel guilty for leaving them behind (see the portability point above) or taking too long to finish them. Sure sometimes one sock may wait a while for its mate to arrive while a sock of a different color is created first, but I haven't yet left a sock alone forever. (Time will tell on this one, as I have knit relatively few pairs of socks so far!)
  


• Variety. There are so many choices in sock yarn! Even if I could manage to make one sock every day for a year, I could easily do so without ever repeating a color -- heck there's a possibility that I could do it without ever using the same kind of yarn twice, although that might take a bit of research and hunting to accomplish. (Those of you who think that sounds like a fun challenge to undertake are truly sock junkies!) And beyond yarn choice, there's the variety of pattern choices one can make. Once I understood the basic construction of a sock (thank you Stephanie for Knitting Rules!), it became instantly apparent that virtually an endless number of stitch patterns can be used in making them. Wow. I can get creative or I can make them plain or I can follow someone else's pattern. Captain Kirk said, "I like to think there are always. . . possibilities." And with socks, there are!
  


• Utility. Socks are simply one of the most practical, usable knitted items around. Everyone needs a pair of socks now and then. The same cannot be said for a lace shawl or a cabled cardigan or even a pair of mittens. Even folks in moderate climates wear socks sometimes. They're also one of the few knitted items you can present to a man in your life and get him to wear (some guys may need a bit of arm-twisting before they'll wear the first pair).
  


• Renewability. I'm not sure that's the right word to describe this, but I love the fact that if you use them properly, you'll need to make more. Socks wear out. This presents a problem to some folks who receive them and exclaim, "They're too pretty to wear!" Every sock knitter needs to find their own way to convince recipients of their knitting that wearing the socks -- indeed, wearing them out -- is exactly what you want them to do. NOTE: Tackling the sock recipient and physically forcing the socks onto their feet is really not an option, even though it seems tempting at times!

In short, socks are fun. Socks are fast. Socks go where I go -- both during and after knitting. Socks offer endless variety to the knitter, both in material and pattern. Socks are a renewable resource! Now I ask you, is there anything else in the knitted realm that is as perfect as socks? I think not!

But really, what I came here to post about was the pair of lovely socks that are almost complete. These were started on my recent cruise and will be going to my friend (the one I cruised with).

Sock number one almost met a sad and lonely end. I had the in-progress sock and both skeins of yarn in a ZipLoc bag. When we returned from the cruise, we stayed overnight at the Portland Airport Holiday Inn. The next morning when I was loading things into the car, the ZipLoc fell out somewhere along the way. I didn't realize it until I got home.

After frantically searching the car and all my luggage, I called the hotel. Chris in housekeeping managed not to laugh at my description of the in-progress sock and the panic in my voice, a feat that must have taken a lot of will-power. She asked what room we'd been in, where the car had been parked, and for a description of the lost item and promised to take a look and call me in the morning.

The next day, she did exactly that. She called and happily told me that she wasn't sure who found it or where, but that morning it had appeared in her in-box.
I was extremely happy at the news. A drive across town later, I had the in-progress sock in my hands again and finished it that day. Thank you Chris at Portland Airport Holiday Inn!! A letter commending your customer service is on the way to your manager.

I guess I should call these "traveling socks." :)

If you've read this far, you deserve a medal for endurance! See what happens when I don't blog for a while? Okay, now I'm back to working on the socks!

Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, a break from knitting content to focus on something more important.

While I may not always agree with the political processes that place our soldiers in harm's way, there is not one iota of doubt in my mind that the men and women who wear a uniform representing our country have my undying admiration and respect. They sacrifice a lot -- sometimes everything -- so that we can be free. Whether the political causes that place them in danger are real or imagined, they march on and do what they are ordered to do. Without them, life as we know it would be much, much different.

So today, I hope we all pause and remember all those brave men and women who serve our country, now and in the past. And next time you see a soldier, say thank you.

If you have a few minutes, I invite you to look through a slide presentation entitled It's Hard to Come Home. . ., created by CPT Alison L. Crane, RN, MS, Mental Health Nurse Observer-Trainer, 7302nd Medical Training Support Battalion. I provides a great perspective on the whole situation.

And to all the service men and women, past and present, thank you.

Socks at sea

Yes, I'm back from the cruise and yes, we had a wonderful time.

But no, I'm really not back in the swing of things yet! I swear, the older I get the more I need a vacation to recover from my vacation!

Here's our ship, the Carnival Victory, in port in St. Thomas. This was taken from the aerial tram that's very near to the docks. We were about halfway down the mountain on our way back when I took this. From the top, we had marvelous views of the island. The best part was that there weren't very many people on the tram when we went up. This is a major accomplishment when 2,500 passengers get off a ship at the same time. Fortunately, most of them headed to other excursions, while we just walked around a bit and took it easy.

Although there are lots of activities every day on the ship, we didn't participate in many of them. Instead, we relaxed, slept in, and did needlework. My friend worked on a baby blanket that she's crocheting and I worked on socks. Here's one I finished. It's obviously enjoying the view from our cabin's balcony. I haven't cast on for the second sock in this yarn yet. Instead, I started a new sock to give to my friend and traveling companion. By the time we got home, I had it most of the way complete. Finished it yesterday and am almost to the heel flap on it's mate now. Then I'll make the mate for this one

We did participate in one important extra-curricular activity on the cruise -- shopping! I confess here and now that I spent way too much money on jewelry. However, I now have a gorgeous diamond ring, a pair of equally beautiful diamond earrings, and a lovely star pendant with three mother-of-pearl stars inside a larger star outlined in small diamonds. I think I probably don't need any more jewelry for quite some time

I'll leave you today with some eye candy of one of the many beautiful flowers we saw on the trip. Enjoy!

Vacation Time!

Tomorrow afternoon, my best friend arrives in Portland from Reno. We've known each other since we were four years old and although our lives have taken vastly different routes and we've sometimes been out of touch for several years at a time, we've always remained best friends. It's such a blessing in my life to have her around!

Anyway, she arrives tomorrow afternoon. We're then staying at an airport hotel (she's very allergic to cats, so my house is out of the question), then catching a 6:30 a.m. (!!) flight Saturday morning for Miami via Atlanta. We'll stay overnight at the Miami Airport Hilton and then, on Sunday, board the Carnival Victory for a seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise! This has been in the works for about six months, and you'd think I might be all organized and prepared, but I'm so not! As I type this, I have my clothing packed, but not my knitting, my shoes, my toiletries, my electronics (is it possible to travel without a digital camera and an iPod? I think not) and various and sundry other things, like books. I think it's going to be a late night. That's okay, though, because we'll need to go to bed early tomorrow night to be able to make our butt-crack of dawn early-morning flight.

I will try and post a picture or two from the ship's computer lab. Until then, happy knitting!

"Waving" to my Sockapalooza4 pal

I heard from the Sockapalooza4 pal I'm knitting for. YEAH! (Still haven't heard from anyone who's knitting for me, but if you're out there, I'm not worried -- although you can leave me an anonymous comment here if you want to.)

There's a new thing called a 'pligg' where the Sockapalooza folks are posting links to the wonderful things they're making for their pals. It's mind-boggling to think of so many knitters out there agonizing over yarn and pattern choices to make the perfect pair of socks for someone they don't know and may never meet. Pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, after swatching a couple of different yarns and looking through a bunch of patterns, I picked a set and started in.

Unless something goes wrong (as in my gauge swatch lies), my pal will be receiving a pair of Waving Lace Socks from the pattern by Evelyn Clark in IW's Favorite Socks book. I'm knitting them in ShiBui sock yarn in the Roppongi colorway.

This yarn knits up so nicely! It's soft and silky and has a wonderful amount of spring to it. And I like the way the colors are working with the lace pattern so far, even though I've only done the first chart for the top of the sock. They're going to look a bit like a lava flow, I think.

This pattern is relatively simple to follow and will be a good one for on the plane headed to Miami for the cruise. ACK! I'm leaving on Saturday and I haven't even pulled the suitcases out of the back of the closet yet! And still, I knit. Actually, I knit and think about what yarn and patterns I'll take with me and whether or not they'll get their own suitcase! Maybe I need a 12-step program for knitters who can't focus on anything but yarn and needles and patterns! :)

Oh, two quick notes before I go back to my 'real' work!

1. If you haven't seen CNN's poll on favorite pastimes, go take a look and vote for knitting!

2. My first test knit project is now online at Knit Picks! I have mixed feelings about that project, but there's no requirement that I love everything I knit for them. :) Let's just say that I was glad to send this one off. Knitting with two strands of ladder yarn is not my idea of a good time. :)

Is knitting your favorite pastime?

CNN is running a poll where you can rank your top-10 favorite pastimes. I was happy to see they have a choice for knitting, but unhappy to see that it didn't make it (so far anyway) to the top-10 list of those who have already voted.

So, if you have a moment to spare, head on over to the CNN Web site and put knitting high on your list of favorite pastimes! Just look for the button that's pictured here and put it high on your list. :)

Tide Pool socks!

Here they are in all their glory. Exactly one week from when I purchased the yarn, I have a lovely pair of toasty socks! Would have been sooner if it weren't for the darned necessity of working! LOL

Specs:

Yarn: 1 Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight, 100-gram skein

Color: Tide Pool

Needles: Brittany US Size 2 DPNs (US Size 1 used for heel flap)

They fit my size 11 foot quite nicely and I have a whopping 13 grams of yarn left from the skein. Good thing I don't like my socks to be too high or I might have run out of yarn.

Now I just need to figure out what socks to make next while I'm on my cruise. We leave for Miami next Saturday and this time next Sunday, we'll be cruising!

Stop me before I sock myself silly!

I've apparently been infected and have contracted an incurable disease. Symptoms include inability to concentrate on work, an incessant desire to get in the car and drive to any yarn shop within a day's reach of home, a yearning for more and more DPNs and pairs of Addi Turbo Lace needles, and perpetually cold feet.

Yes, friends, I've been bitten by the sock bug! I cannot seem to think about anything except making more socks!

Fortunately, the timing of this affliction is fortuitous. Sockapalooooza4 is just beginning, and in another 9 days, I'm leaving for my cruise and socks are the perfect portable project.

So here is my latest installment. On the recent TKG Shop Hop, I purchased a copy of Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles and a set of 24" US Size 2 Addi Lace Turbo needles. Last night I grabbed those, along with a skein of Sockotta purchased on the same trip, and experimented. First I was just going to do a gauge swatch, but then I figured what the heck, let's see if I can really make a sock on two circs. And thus a mini-sock was born.

I didn't really do any measuring or planning, I just used a standard sock format (thanks to the Yarn Harlot's excellent sock recipe in Knitting Rules) and winged it.

I have to say that while I can see the allure of working on two circs instead of three or four DPNs for some patterns, I think I prefer the DPNs. Maybe it's just because I'm not used to using circs like this. I don't know. I'm glad I can work with either method, though, as some stitch patterns would be easier in one style than the other and versatility at my craft is important to me. :)

And I have not forgotten the mate to the Tide Pool sock. The cuff has proceeded nicely and before long I'll be turning the heel -- as long as another skein of sock yarn doesn't lure me away!

Now I guess I better get some 'real' work done so I can afford to buy more sock yarn pay the mortgage!

STR Tide Pool sock #1 complete!

Now to make another one. :)

Specs:

Yarn: Socks That Rock in Tide Pool colorway
Needles: US 2 DPNs for leg and foot; US 1 DPNs for heel
Gauge: 8 sts/inch on US 2 in stockinette
Pattern: Basic stuff - 64 stitch cast on, 2x2 rib, slip stitch flap heel, decreased/grafted toe
Measurements: 6" from top of leg to start of flap heel; ~8.75" instep circumference; 10.5" foot length (to fit my size 11 feet!)

I wanted to let the yarn make the pattern on this one and I like the result. Hope the second one comes out as nicely!

What's a knitter to do?

Picture it. A beautiful Oregon weekend. A lovely house at the beach reserved for you and six of your good friends. A bag of knitting, some wine, a few movies on DVD, and lots of chocolate. Does this sound like your idea of heaven? (Did I mention the chocolate?)

Well, that's how I spent Friday and Saturday. The only problem was, when I got this far on my Classy Slip-Up sock, I realized that I had only copied and brought with me, two-thirds of the pattern! ACK! Now, I know enough about sock construction that I probably could have winged it and finished anyway, but I haven't made this particular pattern before, so I didn't want to mess it up.

As a good travel knitter, of course I had brought a second project with me, so I worked on the Boobalicious Tank for a while. CAUTION: Should you ever be in a position to be knitting and talking and eating chocolate and watching movies and drinking wine (all at the same time of course), don't work on seed stitch.

I was several rows past it before I saw the error of my ways. ACK again! Now the dilemma is: Should I rip or call it a "design element" and move on? Given that this yarn (Dale of Norway Svale) is not the most reslient stuff I've worked with -- it snags and splits at the slightest provocation -- I've decided to just ignore the mistake and move on. It's just a tank top, it's not a gift, I can live with it. I hope.

Anyway, my desire to knit socks over the weekend would not be quelled. So, on Saturday morning after we had breakfast at our favorite place (The Lazy Susan in Cannon Beach -- the one in back, not the one on the main street), I headed to Coastal Yarns to see if they had a copy of the book. I figured I could quickly jot down the highlights of the rest of the pattern and all would be well. I planned to keep my blinders on and just look for the book, copy the pattern, and leave. After all, I have a lot of yarn from the Shop Hop last weekend and really didn't need to buy anymore, right? RIGHT????? Help me out here, would ya???

Yeah, you know the rest of the story. I knew I was in trouble when I got to the store and in the window were brightly colored stickers proclaiming, "In stock now! SOCKS THAT ROCK!!" Yep, it was over before I walked through the door.

I did manage to ask if they had the book I needed and I think I listened when they said they had sold out before I made a beeline for the Blue Moon Fiber Arts section of the store, but I'm not sure. I controlled my self (sort of) and only purchased three skeins of STR lightweight, one already wound into a cake, along with two sets of DPNS (I left my quiver of DPNs at home, of course). Then I found a sunny bench beneath a flowering tree that was literally raining pretty pink petals every time the breeze blew by and cast on for a new pair of socks.

By the time my friends arrived from their shopping/browsing of other stores, I had a good start on the cuff of a sock. By Saturday night, I had turned the heel and was working on the gusset before I made myself put it down and go to bed (I had to leave early Sunday morning to get back to Portland and go deal cards at a fundraiser for most of the day). BTW, the color is Tide Pool. I love how it snakes around, sometimes pooling, sometimes striping. Unpredictable, just like a tide pool should be. It's just a basic sock, nothing fancy. STR is truly a joy to knit!

Oh, when we got back to the house after the Cannon Beach breakfast and yarn fest, we did go for a walk. For me to get motivated to do that, though, there was another yarn shop, Creative Beginnings (620 S. Holladay @ Avenue G, Seaside), as a goal. They carry yarn, scrapbooking, and beading supplies (and also has an espresso bar). I picked up a couple of skeins of Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in a lovely teal color. These will be paired with two skeins of cream I already have to make something wonderful. I'm thinking a mosaic patterned scarf, but time will tell. I also grabbed a skein of Sockotta because, as you all know, you can never have enough sock yarn! Oh, yes, I did ask if they had the sock book, but they didn't. :)

Hope your weekend was as enjoyable as mine!

Reflections on joy

The name of my blog reflects how I feel about knitting, but it's more than that. Joy is what I feel about living in general and knitting is just one expression of that.

First, some knitting content for you, then a bit of philosophy.

Here are my current WIPs. There's a prayer shawl in the works that started life on a loom and is now on needles so I can more easily take it with me wherever I go. The group at my church for this project has been revitalized and is now officially a Prayer Shawl Guild, so it was time for this one to start moving again.

There's also the Lorna's Laces Devon socks in their new Lantern Moon Silk Taffeta bag, which makes them every so portable and stylish, too. And I cast on for the Boobalicious Tank from Big Girl Knits using Dale of Norway Svale. This yarn is. . .okay. It's a bit splitty, so requires attention when I'm working on it, but it does work up very soft and will definitely have a nice drape to it. We'll see. I'm guessing that if I make a second one of these tanks, I'll use a different cotton yarn.

That's about it on the knitting front so far this week. If you choose to stop reading now, I won't take it personally -- really! J

People often say, "Life's too short to . . ." (fill in your favorite vice or guilty pleasure). It's not a bad saying, really. Life is too short. Sometimes it takes a catastrophic event, like the murders at Virginia Tech, to make people stop what they're doing and realize it. Many of us find ourselves running from task to task every day because we feel we have to, not because we want to. Of course it's not practical to only do things that make us happy, but I do believe we could all use a gut check now and then to see if we are doing things that are really necessary or things that we only think are necessary to maintain appearances, status, or whatever.

Anyway, I try to do things every day that bring me a little joy. Sometimes that's not much more than noticing a beautiful sunset or a field of wildflowers instead of just driving down the freeway trying to get somewhere. Sometimes, it's picking up my knitting and "losing time" while making progress on a project or trying out something new (and maybe frogging it afterwards).

So what do you do on a daily basis that brings you joy?

Shop Hop Saturday!

What do you get when you put 55 knitters on a bus and visit six different yarn shops (each giving said knitters 15-20% discounts on anytning in their stores) in one day? Well, around here, you get the Tigard Knitting Guild's Yarn Shop Hop, which I was delighted to participate in yesterday.

The morning started in the parking lot of a local elementary school, where we got our "goody bags" and boarded the bus. This was the first treat of the day because the bag and its contents were worth more than it cost to go on the shop hop. That's a Lantern Moon Origami Bag in the back there. That, my friends, was the goody bag! In and of itself, that's a great thing (if you've seen Lantern Moon's products, you understand how great it is to get that as a gift -- thanks Lantern Moon!). But that was just the beginning.

Inside the bag were all kinds of goodies from discount coupons to catalogs to samples of Eucalan and Kookabura wool wash. And then there was a kit from Interlacements for a Beaded Scarf. This is something I had almost purchased before, but held off. Now I have one! Thanks, Interlacements! Lantern Moonkicked in one more thing by giving each of us a darling sheep tape. The Guild had added a nice zippered accessory bag and inside we found a stitch holder, yarn bobbins, stitch markers and a set of point protectors donated by Wrights Company. One of the shops we visited, Knit/Purl, added the cutest little mini bamboo crochet hook you ever saw. It's 2.75" long and has it's own little pouch. I think it'll come in handy for helping with picking up dropped stitched (not that I ever do that sort of thing). ;) Oh, and everyone got a skein of Peaches & Creme cotton, too, courtesy of Flo at Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Company.

After all that goodness, we got on the bus and off we went. First stop: All About Yarn in Tigard. The shop is tucked away in a spot that you sort of have to know about to find, but once found, it's worth it. There's a great selection of yarns and kits and a whole wall of needles to choose from. I snagged a couple sets of Brittany DPNs I needed along with a skein of Jojoland Cashmere in white and a nice scarf pattern to use it with. It was hard to not get more, but this was, after all, just the first of six stops.

Back on the bus and off to The Knitting Bee we went. This is the LYS I frequent, so I felt right at home. There are so many wonderful things to choose from, but I already had a plan. I picked up a copy of Favorite Socks from Interweave Press along with some Reggia Bamboo, Sockotta, and Trekking XXL. Then I saw the Euroflax and purchased a skein along with a pattern for a scarf. The Euroflax is something I'd been wanting to try and the discount was enough to get me to take the plunge. The more you wash this yarn, the softer it gets. Intriguing.

Stop number two complete! Onward to downtown Portland and Knit/Purl. I already knew what I wanted here. This is one of the local shops that carried Handmaiden yarns, including Sea Silk (from the Lace Wings shawl fame). I want to use some of that to do something from Victorian Lace Today, so I purchased two skeins in the berry colorway. Knit/Purl also has their own line of sock yarn from Shibui Knits. The colors are amazing. I bought enough of the Roppongi colorway for a pair of socks that are sure to be showstoppers. I also picked up a couple more pairs of Addi Lace Turbo needles, which I have quickly come to love beyond all reason. :) Oh, and a big shout out to the folks at Knit/Purl. They were restocking yarns as quickly as we grabbed them off the shelves so that everyone could get the colors they wanted. And they let us eat our box lunches in their classroom, which was very nice. BTW, the box lunches were delicious!

Half way there! Shop number four was the Dublin Bay Knitting Company, located in the heart of a ton of new high-rise condo construction. The shop is very friendly and inviting. They carry Handmaiden yarns as well and I almost bought some more, but restrained myself. Instead, I picked up a copy of Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting, a book I've been wanting to add to my stitch pattern library for quite some time.

A very short bus ride from there, we stopped at Lint. Again, lots of wonderful things to tempt us, including some handspun that was fresh off the spinning wheel and offered at a per-ounce price that was hard to resist. But I was trying to stay focused, so I did resist. I purchased another Addi Turbo (not lace this time) that I need for an upcoming project and found a copy of Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circulars. I've not done socks on circs yet, but I want to learn and Cat is definitely a whiz at that technique. As I was waiting in line, I saw they had some of the silk tafetta bags from Lantern Moon for a really good price (just $9), so I snagged one of those, too. They're a very elegant way to carry a sock project with you.

Wow, we'd made it through five shops! Back onto the bus and a ride from Northwest Portland to Lake Oswego to visit Molehill Farm, a charming shop in what used to be someone's house. It was a bit cramped with all of us in there, but we managed. Of course, it helped that they had some wine and snacks out for us! LOL If you ever get a chance to visit them, be sure to check out the bathtub. No, not because you may need a bath, but because that's where they have bags and bags and bags of yarns that are all 40% off their normal price. With some judicious digging, you may find some great stuff in there. I looked, but it was cramped and a bit hot and there was a long line of knitters waiting to get in there, so since I didn't have anything specific in mind to look for, I stepped aside. I did manage to get a few things there, though. One more set of Addi turbos, a couple of skeins of Lorna's Laces in Pinstripe, and a skein of TOFUtsies in color 724, a yarn I've not tried yet. (Apologies to anyone who visits Molehill Farm today looking for TOFUtsies. I think we cleaned them out!)

Six shops done! Oh, but I forgot to mention there were still more sponsors who donated to this event. In fact, they donated so much that there was a prize for each and every knitter on the bus. As we rode between shops, prizes were given out. They ranged from books to kits that included enough yarn and a pattern for an afghan. Amazing stuff! I won a great little kit for making a funky purse with a mix of five different yarns that were all gorgeous. I made a trade though, because as nice as it was, there was something else that was more practical for me -- a set of five skeins of Peaches & Creme yarn and two pattern books for knitting dishcloths. A lovely lady who had come all the way from Bend for the event, traded with me. Thanks!!! I wanted the dishcloth yarn and patterns because when I go on the cruise next month, it's the perfect take-along project and also perfect for teaching my friend to knit. :)

Whew! It was quite a day. The bus pulled out of the parking lot at 9:00 a.m. and returned at 4:30 p.m. I think a good time was had by all and I know there are lots of wonderful knitted things that will be produced with all that we bought. Thanks so much to the organizers at Tigard Knitting Guild. They did a fantastic job! And thanks also to all the folks in all the shops we visited. It must have been a bit overwhelming, but all were gracious and happy to help us while extending shop-wide discounts as well.

Now, I better get some work done so I can pay the credit card bill when it comes! Hard to concentrate with all this new fibery goodness in the house, though. I just want to knit!

Feather & Fan Blocked

First off, let me just say that blocking wires totally rock! They arrived yesterday and I blocked the shawl on the floor in my craft room. I think I used a total of about 20 pins with the wires. If I had done it with pins alone, I hate to think how many it would have taken! Not to mention that I probably wouldn't be able to stand upright today. LOL

Unblocked measurement: 18" x 84"
Blocked measurement: 27" x 86"

I might have been able to get more length if I sacrificed on the width, but I think opening up the lace width-wise looks the best and the length is actually quite workable for me.

So far today, there has been some sunshine with transient clouds. No rain or hail, yet (we had both yesterday), so I took a few pictures outside.

The shawl pin is one I purchased at my LYS. It's from Gita Maria and I think it pairs well with the colors in the shawl.

Altogether, Ellie seems unimpressed. She'd rather be in her bed, strategically placed in a sunny window.

Cat's Cradle Lace Topper

Finished! This didn't take very long to make and I love the finshed product. I wanted something to wear over a tank on my upcoming cruise and couldn't find anything in the stores that I liked, so I searched for patterns and found this one.

Specs:
Pattern: Cat's Cradle Lace Topper by Doris Chan, as printed in the January 2007 issue of Crochet!

Yarn: Some hand-dyed mercerized cotton worsted weight I've had in the stash for probably 10 years. The band says it's Crayons Lite from Rainbow Mills, Inc. I used ~238 grams / 442 yards to make the size large/extra large

Tools: Crochet hook size K/10.5/6.5mm, stitch markers

Adjustments: I found one mistake in the pattern. In Round 9, one chain 5 was left out. It was easy to spot because without that chain 5 the symmetry was broken.

I have to say that the hardest part of this project was taking a picture of it. LOL I actually started this project several times with different yarns trying to get gauge in something that would drape nicely. Once I settled on this mercerized cotton, everything went very quickly.

I'm almost finished with another topper. Hopefully it will coe out as nice as this one and I'll have pictures soon!

I just couldn't help myself!

On my last visit to my LYS, I saw a bunch of the new colors of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock and just couldn't help myself. I had to have some! I bought two skeins of the Devon colorway and it's been taunting me since it came home.

Last night, I couldn't take any more and wound one skein into a ball and cast on. This is the result: The beginning of a pair of Classy Slip-up socks from Betsy Lee McCarthy's Knit Socks! book. Isn't the color just scrumptious?

I took it with me to a doctor appointment today so I'd have something to do while waiting. Very satisfying, indeed, after having worked so long on shawls. I do have something else in the works, but it's still in the experimental stages, so you'll have to wait.

Feather & Fan Fini!

It's finished! Seems like it took forever, but I finally decided that it was long enough. Here it is in its unblocked state

Specs: Unblocked measurements: ~84"x18"

• Yarn used: Interlacements Rick Rack II, color #103 - Submarine (which doesn't look like the picture on their Web site at all)


• Amount used: About 900 yards - finished piece weighs in 298 grams, leaving abou 154 grams of yarn for making a matching scarf or some such.


• Pattern: Free one provided with the yarn, basic Feather & Fan with two-stitch garter border added on each side for stability.


• Started first try: December 4, 2005 - Discovered I cast on 180 sts instead of 108(!), frogged


• Started second try: February 23, 2007 - Completed April 8, 2007

I'm extremely pleased with the way the colors blend in this yarn and the way they look with the feather and fan pattern. It's very evocative of watery things to me, which is perfect for a shawl that's intended to debut on a cruise.

The feel of the yarn is wonderful, too. Rayon has a softness to it that's very, very touchable and it has a wonderful weight that makes it drape beautifully.

Now I just need to block it. I ordered a set of blocking wires from Knit Picks so I can get the edges straight and not break my back placing 15 million pins. So blocking will wait a bit until that package arrives and then I'll give you post-blocking pics and stats.

Onward to the next adventure!

Spring update

Spring has definitely sprung. In the past week, we've had 30 degree F temps at night, rain, and now blue skies and a high of 80F predicted for today! The trees in my back yard went from bare branches to buds to, in today's sunshine, leaves. It's amazing how quickly things transform.

In knitting news, I am SO CLOSE to finishing the feather and fan shawl. It's about 72" long now, unblocked. I have decided to keep going until the third ball of yarn is gone and then call it good. That should give me about 80" of shawl before blocking. But I could change my mind and go longer. We'll see. I'm actually pretty tired of working on it.

I bought some wonderful new yarn from South West Trading Company called Phoenix. It's a ribbon yarn in 100% soy silk. I got a colorway called Candy. Originally, I was going to use it to crochet a lacy pullover to wear over tank tops on my upcoming cruise. But it doesn't have enough body to the yarn for the pattern; it came out way too limp to look pretty. I do love the yarn, though, so I've decided to be a bit adventurous and try something on my own.

I searched and searched for a knitted, open lace bolero or crop top or shrug type thing. I found several patterns that come close, but nothing that screams "Make me!" Yesterday, I tuned in for a new episode of Knitty Gritty and was the episode with Stephanie Japel demonstrating The Better Sweater, knit in bulky weight yarn, in one piece from the top down. It's the perfect shape for what I want. I just need to figure out a lace stitch pattern to use, make the sleeves shorter, and adapt it to this yarn and gauge and my size.

Sounds simple enough, right? (I'm only partially kidding; I really do think I can do this.)

I've done a couple of swatches and I think I've settled on an Irish net pattern from The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns on a U.S. size 15 needle. This creates a nice, open lacework swatch that I think I can make work. We'll see, so stay tuned!

Aside from the feather and fan shawl and a lot of swatching, I made another dish cloth using the Ball Band pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting and bundled it together with the one I made before to give as a hostess gift to some friends who invited me to Passover Seder. I told them the only rule is that they must be used! :)

Ms. Starlight was sad to see the bundle go, but knows that it's better to give than receive!

Socks are done!

Woooo! HOOOOO!!!! The test knit socks are done! Can you tell I'm relieved? I seriously had wondered if I was going to make the deadline on these. Thanks to my all-night knitting spree the other night, my confidence was restored and now they're done. I have pictures, but contractually cannot post them yet.

Now on to the next UFO -- taxes.

Now THAT's scary!

Sleep? Food? Who needs 'em!

I have a confession. I'd rather knit than sleep. Heck, that's not all that shocking, but here's something that is: I'd rather knit than eat! (If you knew me, you'd understand just how shocking that is.)

Yesterday I fell victim to something the Yarn Harlot warns us about: Gauge swatches lie! I got to the heal flap of my test knitting sock and checked gauge. It's the first place to really do that since the leg is all in a nice pattern stitch. Although my gauge swatch had advised me to use needles a size smaller than the pattern specified, it lied. Like. A. Rug. Yup, the darned thing was too small.

Off to the frog pond! Undaunted, I decided to use the evening as an opportunity to start fresh with the needle size specified in the pattern.

That's when another truth reared it's ugly head: When you're self-employed, just as you plan a quiet evening, someone calls and offers you 1.5x pay to do a rush job. Of course, you can't possibly turn that down -- it just wouldn't make economic sense.

Thus I cast on for the sock while downloading the files I needed for the job. When I took breaks from transcribing, the sock received my attention. Around 12:30 last night (or more correctly, this morning), I finished the transcription.and thought, "Gee, I'm not really that tired. Might as well knit for a bit and catch up on some DVR recordings." Sounds innocent enough, right?

The next thing you know, I had finished the leg and the heel flap and was ready to turn the heel. That's when I looked at the clock and discovered it was 3:30 a.m.!

Reluctantly, I put the sock down and went to bed. This morning, after a refreshing four hours of sleep, my complete and total insanity was affirmed. Before I went downstairs, before I even thought about making, much less consuming coffee, I picked up the sock and turned the heel.

Fortunately, some level of sanity must remain, because I did manage to stop knitting, go make coffee, read the paper, eat a little breakfast, and actually do some transcription before I allowed myself to pick the sock up again.

By 3:00 this afternoon, I had a completed sock -- in the right gauge. Hooray! Now what is that strange feeling? Oh! I missed lunch completely!

But I'm strong, dear reader! So far, I've resisted the urge to cast on for the second sock and instead have paused to write this missive. I even managed to take a picture for you. Sorry you can't see the sock better, but it is a test knit, so I can't really show you detail.

My sweet Ellie cat is unamused by the sock and wonders why I bothered her during her afternoon bath-before-nap ritual. I suppose I can't expect her to understand. After all, she doesn't wear socks.

We have a winner and (almost) a shawl!

After an extremely scientific process, wherein I put all the entries into an Excel file, then used a random number generator to determine which entry was "the chosen one," a winner was selected for the blogiversary contest. Since said winner is three hours ahead of me, she's already posted about her win on her blog, but nevertheless, congratulations go to. . .

If you've never visited Monika's blog, Smoking Hot Needles, you're missing out on some great knitting content. I aspire to create one of her Vertigo scarves, and her other patterns rock, too. I'm sure she will create something marvelous from the Trekking and Debbie Bliss merino DK. Enjoy!

The "Knit for Joy Flock" at Heifer International currently has two sheep shares. Hey, it only takes two to multply and fill a field, right? If you feel so moved, please toss in a few latte's worth and buy a share. Ten bucks is, what, about three large lattes? Yet that little bit could really go a long way towards improving life for one family, who then helps another, who helps another, who helps. . . you get the idea. :)

In other knitterly knews, I'm almost finished with the feather and fan shawl. I've now officially gone through half the skein of yarn and the unblocked scarf is abou 58" long. This rayon yarn has a lot of heft to it and it pulls the lace out nicely, even without blocking. I'm not sure how it will "take" to blocking.

Anyway, here's a question for y'all: How long should I make this sucker? Obviously I'm not going to use all the yarn. If I did, I think the darned thing would be long enough to wrap up several people. But I'm not quite sure where to stop. Your opinions are needed! :)

You can see the next ball of yarn there resting on the rail. And yes, that's the same black dress used to model the Lace Wings shawl. See how I can get a completely different look from the same dress by just using a different shawl? Perfect for the cruise!

New SWAG and a Mag

Have you gotten your entry for the blogiversary contest in yet? How about increasing your chances of winning? Do I need to remind you about the prize?

Happy Saturday! I loved getting my mail yesterday because I had two knitting-related items waiting for me. One was a package from Scout's SWAG with a beautiful set of martini sock blockers and a medium-sized Go-Knit pouch. The sock blockers are perfect to show the true progress I've made on the test-knit socks (and reassure me that I really did get the gauge correct). Plus, the GoKnit pouch is big enough to hold the in-progress socks as well as both skeins of yarn for the project and it looks a lot nicer than the big ZipLoc bag I was using.

And there's a bonus! The sock blockers came with the cutest little martini-glass stitch marker! Fun and useful, too!

The other item in the mailbox was my copy of Creative Knitting. Lots of nice projects in this issue, including a very cute Spring Dishcloth pattern. I cast on and made one of these beauties. I love the pattern. It has just enough texture to be useful and is very pleasing to the eye.

Sustainability (and how to get more contest entries)

Sustainability. It's a word you hear a lot these days, mostly in terms of environmental issues. Since I've managed to sustain this blog for over almost a year -- and actually have at least a few of you who are regular readers -- I got to thinking about how sustainability could play on a more global scale in relation to our chosen craft, knitting. (If you keep reading, you'll find out how all this fits in with getting more entries into my blogiversary contest.)

That led me to Heifer International, an organization I've contributed to in the past and one that, I think, fits perfectly with the sustainability of the cycle of life that surrounds knitting.

Heifer has a fairly simple mission: To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth. You know that saying, "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime"? Heifer embraces that spirit by providing families and communities with a source of food and income rather than short-term relief. In return, recipients promise to "pass on the gift" by sharing their animals' offspring with others – along with their knowledge, resources, and skills. The result is a an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance that reaches around the globe.

It's sort of like our community of knitters on the Internet, really. I mean, we each learn the basics of knitting, then we come to the Internet and share results, designs, techniques, and general love of the craft. We are teaching each other every day and sharing the joy of our craft with others as we go.

Anyway, since it's almost my blogiversary, and since I've been pondering this sustainability idea in relation to knitting, I decided to tie the two together.

Yesterday, I posted about the contest and how you get an entry into the drawing for the blogiversary prize by leaving a comment on any post between now and Monday at 5:00 p.m. PDT. Here's a way to increase your odds of winning.

I've set up a Knit for Joy registry on Heifer's website. From there, you can choose a fiber-producing animal to donate towards. A donation of $10, for example, can purchase one share of a sheep. Heifer will take care of the rest, including sending you a receipt that you can save for your taxes next year, since all donations are tax-deductible, and letting me know how our flock is growing.

Once you've made a donation, send me an email at maxfun AT comcast DOT net (you know the drill about replacing the words with the symbols to make that work) letting me know that you "added to the flock" and I'll add another entry for you in the contest. I know you are all trustworthy folks; your word is as good as a cashmere fleece with me. :)

Oh, and that animated button in the left-hand sidebar (under the Knitters Giving Back banner) will always take you right to the registry page. As donations come in, I'll post updates about the size of our flock underneath the button.

Wouldn't it be cool if we could pool our resources and supply someone, somewhere in the world with a flock of fiber-producing sheep? That Manos del Uruguay yarn some of us love is produced from exactly the kind of community that Heifer creates.

To me, sustainability in the knitting world means passing along our craft, learning from each other, and helping to create the next generation of wool producers, spinners, and knitters. With Heifer's help -- and of course, yours -- it seems to me that we can play a small part in completing the circle of life that sustains the fiber arts.

At least, that's what I like to think. :)

Blogiversary, redecorating, and a contest!

It's amazing to me that it's been almost a year since my first blog post. March 27 will be the official, one-year anniversary of this blog. Wow. Who knew I'd actually keep this going, posting mostly about knitting, for a whole year?? Certainly not me!

When I started the blog, it was about loom knitting -- the only knitting I knew at the time. Thanks to the wonderful workmanship on the looms I purchased from Sam and Isela at Decor Accents and all the help from Isela and other loomy folks on the Internet, I got pretty creative with the looms.

But I wanted more. I wanted lace and lots of it.

So in September, I went to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival and bought a DVD from Nenah Galati to learn how to knit Continental style. The rest is history. Now I pretty much have a knitting project with me wherever I go and if I could, I'd sit and knit all day, every day!

Of course, no blog is worth anything without readers. And since anniversaries are a time for sharing the joy of an event, it just seems logical to have a contest with a nice prize. Let's start with the prize, 'cause life's too short not to eat dessert first!

So here it is. Two skeins of Debbie Bliss Merino DK in a rich, deep purple (color #608), 100% wool. Each skein is 50 grams, 110 meters (about 122 yards). Would make a lovely pair of Fetching Mitts or something similar.

But that's not all! The winner will also receive a skein of Trekking XXL in color number 78, Shades of Purple. One 100gram ball is 420 meters (459 yards) of 75% new wool, 25% nylon yarn. Plenty to make a pair of socks or perhaps a nice shoulder shawl.

The colors work very well together, so this would make a lovely set of socks and mitts to give as a gift or keep for yourself. :)

So, I bet you're wondering how to win, right? Well, it's deceptively simple. Just leave a comment to this post or any other post between now and Monday, March 26 at 5:00 p.m. PDT. Everyone who leaves a comment will receive an entry into a random drawing for the prize.

But wait! You can increase your chances! More about that tomorrow!

Oh, yeah, I decided to change the look of the blog, too, just for grins and giggles. After all, even a blog needs a little spring cleaning, don't you think?

New Daylight Savings Time and why I hate it

Okay, maybe 'hate' is too strong a word for the way I feel about this early onset of Daylight Savings Time. But 'dislike' just doesn't cover it adequately.

I always dislike the time change, especially the 'spring forward' routine. It seems silly that a one-hour adjustment to the clocks should cause such disruptions in my life, but it happens. For some reason it's more pronounced in the spring than in the fall -- I suppose it's a matter of losing rather than gaining that one precious hour.

This year, however, it's particularly a pain in the patoot because of the early onset that's supposed to save us so much energy and money. Whatever. My computer seemed to adjust to the change seemlessly thanks to Windows XP automatic updates. My TVs seemed to be fine, thanks to the satellite dish making the appropriate adjustments. Heck, I even managed to get all the clocks changed over (even in the car) without too much hassle.

But wait! Things that seem to be well-adjusted often are not (things, people, pets, that phrase works for all of them).

First I had problems with the recording times on my DVRs not adjusting (even though everything else on the satellite receivers seemed to adjust just fine). I turned the receivers off for a while, and they did their software upgrade thing and the problem seems to be okay now. Missed a couple of shows, but not a huge deal -- more of an annoyance.

All seemed well with the world. Then my hairdresser called and asked why I wasn't there for my 3:00 appointment. ACK! My calendar (via Outlook) said the appointment was at 4:00! Yes, friends, the computer had adjusted for the new time, but Outlook had. . . issues. Rescheduled the hair appointment (thank goodness she could fit me in later in the week 'cause my roots needed a touch-up, if ya know what I mean). I checked some other entries on Outlook. Some were fine and others were incorrect.

What I didn't realize was that one of the incorrect ones was for my mammogram appointment this morning! My calendar said 10:00, so that's when I went. The real appointment was at 9:00. ARGH! The lady at the desk was very understanding. She said they'd try to fit me in, but didn't know how long it would be. Fortunately, being the good knitter that I am, I had a project with me, so I sat and began knitting.

I'm working on another test knit project for Knit Picks. This one is a pair of lovely socks knit in their Gloss yarn. When I got home, Haley the bear graciously consented to model the sock in progress for you.

Anyway, after waiting and knitting for about an hour, I overheard one of the gals at the desk tell someone they were about an hour behind on the scheduled appointments, so I went up there and got my appointment rescheduled. I might have waited there all day and never gotten in, so it works out. At least it wasn't time completely wasted, because I made some good progress on the sock!

I just hope there aren't any more surprises hidden in my Outlook calendar thanks to that darned early-onset DST!

Vote Different -- or not, but DO vote when the time comes!

Have you seen this? It seems so early for the campaigns to kick off, but I suppose it's not. This time, YouTube and other grassroots viral campaigns may play a big part in this election. Interesting times. Heck, I remember the original Apple add during the Super Bowl. It was definitely groundbreaking advertising at the time.

In knitting news, not much to report. Way too much work to do lately. I did get a chance to purchase a scale and discovered that I am, indeed, about halfway through the available yarn for my feather and fan shawl. It's currently about 51" long, though, so I don't think I'll be using the full skein for it -- a 100+" shawl would be a bit too big, even for me! So looks like there may be a skinny fashion scarf in the future for the remaining yarn.

More later and Happy Spring Equinox!

More shawl love

The Lace Wings shawl came off the blocking pins today and my love affair with it deepens! If you'd like the pattern, contact the good folks at Lettuce Knit in Toronto. Believe me, it's well worth the effort when you can achieve such loveliness from one skein of Sea Silk.

The shawl pin in the pictures is also gorgeous and fits perfectly in both design and color with this shawl. It's one of the many lovely choices handcrafted by Romi. This one is made of copper and goes really well with the bronze colorway of the Sea Silk.

The dress in the pictures is a lovely little black party frock I purchased from Nordstrom online (the local store didn't have what I wanted in my size). For my upcoming cruise, I wanted something that I could wear on the formal nights, changing the look slightly by pairing it with a different shawl. So this is the first shawl and the feather and fan will be the second. This pairing will get a test drive at an upcoming party on April 7th.

Oh, and yesterday on my way to a gig, I stopped in at All About Yarn in Tigard and bought some Addi Lace Turbo needles. And boy, oh, boy am I itching to use them! I actually managed to browse the yarn selections, but not buy anything. A prudent move since I have so much in my stash right now to knit that I can't even remember all that's there.

Back to work for me! I need to get some projects finished so I can knit some more! :)