Pudelfreund

Pudelfreund's Blog

2010-06-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

After this week, I will no longer be posting on Blogspot.com. It has become too cumbersome to work with. However, my blog will be available for viewing at
http://community.knitpicks.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2vk6spg7s383h
There is no requirement to sign up to read on this site. Thanks!

Back to Real Life!

2010-06-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

I've been busy this week working on Daphne's gown. I have the front finished:

There is still the back and sleeves to do, and a bonnet and booties to match. (Hopefully!) Then one more quick project, and I can start the Wedding Ring Quilt!

In the meantime, some of you may be interested in Miss Daphne's exploits...

The other grandparents came to visit for a few days. That meant lots more photos! (We're sharing!) Here's DD with our joint pride and joy:

Little Miss D is sleeping 5 hrs. at night now. The parents have been tag-teaming it. DD gets the midnight shift and Daddy gives her a bottle of breast milk at 5:00 AM.

Well, you have seen what's on my needles. Not much spinning this week. I plan to take part in the Tour de Fleece next month, if I get done with my assignments in time.

What's on my iPad: Just finished "Spinning Forward" by Terri Dulong. It was a fun read. Now I'm listening to "Casting Off" by Nicole Dickson, a book I learned about from Kelley's podcast. Thanks, Kelley! I'm reading "Conviction: a sequel to Jan Austen's Pride and Prejudice" by Skylar Hamilton Burris, which is an interesting and believable read. Quilting is on hold for now, until I finish the current knitting projects, but I'm psyched and ready to go!

Happy knitting, spinning and quilting!

Spring--and Peggy--Arrives in Park City.

2010-06-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

I am now home again, safe and sound. Well, sound if you don't count the cold I picked up somewhere along the way. I had a great trip, but it's good to be home and back
to my knitting. I'll get back to my quilting when I finish the current knitting project, which has a deadline. Here's my progress so far:



It's a naming ceremony gown for DGD2, the adorable little Miss Daphne, who has been much talked about in my blogs the last couple of weeks. One more gratuitous baby photo:



To help DD after the delivery, I drove to Onalaska, WI. (See previous two blog posts for details.) The last night I was there, we went out to dinner at Manny's.



I left on Thursday to drive on to Mishawaka, IN, for a quick visit with DS1 and his wife, who is also a quilter. DS1 had Friday off, so we spent the day together. We went out to dinner that night at The Hacienda.


DDIL and I were going to order Margaritas, but the waitress said they had the liter on sale, and it was cheaper than the two drinks, so I said, "Take me to your liter." DDIL said she was going to pretend her name was Margarita, so if anyone said, "Margarita?" she could say, "Yes!"

The next day DDIL was off, and we decided to go to the Farmer's Market in South Bend. She bought some fruit and veggies, while I enjoyed the sights and smells, and took a few photos.



We spent the afternoon comparing notes on quilting techniques. She was machine quilting this quilt for her DGD, who was having a birthday.



I really enjoyed spending time with their pups, Coco and Odie. Here's Odie.



The cat, Thomas, really liked my shoes!



It took three days to get home, although it was an easy drive, straight out I-80. I listened to The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry, and Dean Koontz's Relentless, both of which were extremely interesting and made the time go fast.

It was raining when I arrived home Tuesday afternoon, but I was greeted by blooming tulips and daffodils.



Spring has finally arrived in Park City! (It could still snow, though.)

Baxter's Blog

2010-05-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm...arf...Baxter, canine brother of Daphne Dawn. You know her.

She's the new young one at my house. The parents and that old lady who cleans and cooks and sometimes feeds me are always using that funny thing that makes bright light right in her face, and mine, too. They say they're "taking photos," but they don't seem to be taking anything, just blinding me!

Baxter has another sister. She's feline, but OK anyway. Her name is Fluffy. Baxter used to think Fluffy got way too much attention until young one arrived. Now not so much.

Baxter knows Daphne is sister because she sort of smells like my mom and dad, except there are some other smells, too. Some are icky and sweet, like after she has a bath.

Like flowers. Dogs don't like flowers. Bees in flowers, not dogs. Other smells are yummy and make Baxter want to lick her. Only they don't let Baxter. They just make their faces look funny and take her to her room and clean her butt. Baxter could clean butt just as good. After that she doesn't smell nearly as good!

Baxter doesn't understand why there was only one in the litter, but maybe it's a good thing. Six would need way too much attention, and maybe they would forget to feed Baxter.

Another thing Baxter doesn't understand is why young one can't walk yet. When the eyes were closed, Baxter knew she couldn't play, but the eyes have been open for long time now. Maybe there's something wrong with her. Or maybe it's one of those strange human things. I do think she's human. Not canine. Not feline. Smells human. But yummy! Baxter wants to lick her. But Baxter good dog, good dog. Yes. Only lick when dad says "free." but he doesn't say it about Daphne. Too bad! Baxter clean butt good!

Sometimes we go for walks, even though Daphne can't walk yet. They put her in a thing like a car, but smaller, so she can go, too. Then Baxter's important dog. Protect young one. Sometimes they go and Baxter stays home. like yesterday, they went "shopping." When they go there they come back with lots of stuff. Sometimes dog toys or treats. Baxter guard house and bark welcome when they come back.

Daphne sleeps a lot. That's OK. I like to sleep, too!

The old lady...the one who cleans and sometimes feeds Baxter...likes to carry Daphne around. She likes to sit with the young one on her lap. Baxter doesn't sit on old lady's lap. Baxter's a good, big, dog. Not lap dog. Baxter sits at old lady's feet and protects young one and old lady.

Old lady sometimes sits and plays with skinny sticks and this long kind of stuff like string, the kind of stuff Fluffy likes to play with. It smells like animal fur. After a while it looks like this:

Old lady is talking about something called spinning. Hmmm...Baxter can chase tail. Baxter wonders if it's the same. She also talks about something called quilting. Baxter can't guess.

Daytime Baxter watches house, protect young one. Night time Baxter lies on floor in bedroom, protect Daphne. Baxter good dog! Important dog!

Old lady busy. Too busy to talk to you. She says next time...

A Week in the Life of Daphne Dawn Hart

2010-05-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened on the way to Vintage Stitchers!

Those of you who have followed my blog know that I have been knitting and quilting away, trying to prepare for the arrival of my second granddaughter, the first for my daughter, Karen. Well, I was on my way to my regular quilting minigroup a week ago, when I got a cell phone call from DH. I pulled off the highway, and answered the phone to learn that my daughter's water had broken! Daphne wasn't due until June 6th, 3 1/2 weeks away! The soonest I could leave to drive to Wisconsin was the next day. I had to get the tires checked on my car first. I did that instead of going to my group, so I could get packed quickly.

Baby Daphne Dawn Hart arrived the next day at 9:24 AM, as I was driving through Wyoming. I spent the night in Lexington, Nebraska, and arrived in La Crosse, Wisconsin, mid-afternoon on Saturday, when the above photo was taken. The nursery was ready. Here you see the crib, with the bunny quilt I made for her.

We had to move the quilts to put Daphne in her crib to reduce danger of smothering, so they made a good cushion for the back of the rocking chair I brought with me from Utah. Here's Daddy's work station:

The guitar is ready for bedtime serenades, and the changing table is ready for diaper duty, an important job! The gold and white blanket was made by DD during her semester break from teaching at UW La Crosse.

Daphne was 6 lbs., 3 oz., not bad for a slightly premature baby. Still, the doctor didn't want her to lose any weight, so we were required to supplement with formula until DD's milk came in. She was also slightly jaundiced, so we had to wake her frequently to feed her, because the high biliruben count made her lethargic. The high count was partly due to the big bruise on her head from her birth experience. The three of them had a nice stay in a snazzy suite in the hospital. Saturday night, they had a special dinner in their room. Sunday they got to come home together. Grandma was minding the fort in the company of Baxter and Fluffy.

Monday Daphne had her first trip to the doctor to get checked and weighed. Tuesday was spent just relaxing:

Wednesday was more of the same. Baxter was excited to see that her eyes had opened. That means she can walk and play! (That's how it works with puppies, anyway.)

Instead, we had a nice walk:

Daddy, Baxter, Mommy and Daphne enjoyed the sunshine!

Thursday, and time for the weigh-in! Has she gained enough weight back to do away with the messy formula?

Hooray, almost back to birth weight! The jaundice is almost gone! Maybe now Grandma can get back to her knitting!

I didn't mention that DD was in finals week when the stork made an unexpected appearance. She had one final to give, which had to be proctored, and all of her grading, with final grades due tonight at midnight. She just finished!

The bright side is, there will be more of the summer vacation for them to get settled in as a family before school starts again in the fall. Whew!

Don't ask me what's on my anything! The above says it all. We are all grateful that Daphne's doing so well.

Snow, Snow, Snow...

2010-05-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

As usual for this time of year, we're still getting snow! Here's something white I'm happy to see, though:

As you can see, im making good progress on the lace gown for Daphne's naming ceremony. I have nearly 2 1/2 months to finish it. It's a fun project, and is going well, now that I have sort of learned the pattern. You repeat a 34-st pattern across for four rows, repeat those four rows three times, then the whole thing shifts to the left 17 sts (half of the pattern). A vertical row of garter sts help you keep your place, and the st markers, too, of course. The gown came from Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren. There are some other great patterns in it, too!

OK, enough snow already! Here's what greeted me this morning when I got up:

The pups will love this when they get up! I have to envy Susan BLK's pretty little gardens, when I see this, even though this is pretty, too! I'll be warm enough soon! In a couple of weeks, I'll be leaving to go to Wisconsin to be with DD when she has her baby, Daphne. You may have seen photos of the quilt I made to welcome Daphne into the world. It has a bunny theme, and I've used Beatrix Potter fabric on both the front and the back.

Here's a photo showing the layout, before the binding was put on:

(I thank my DH for holding it up!) The center block is from Edyta Sitar's book, Hop To It! There are some other great applique blocks in the book as well. The carrots are my own design. (How hard can it be to draw a carrot? As a vegetarian, I've seen plenty!)

In other news...my Oregano Felted Purse is finished. I did the lining on Sunday. Here's a view inside--

And a look at the finished purse:

I made it to go with my new iPad Go Everywhere Tote Bag. My original pattern is in my last blog post, if you want to make one. It's very easy! If you want a PDF of the pattern, send me a PM with your email. If you haven't read my other recent posts, I used WotA Bulky in "Oregano." Felts great!

In spinning news, I'm close to a full bobbin of the Louet wool-mohair-rayon-bamboo in "Juniper." Love it! I haven't touched my drop spindle lately, but will undoubtedly take it with me when I go to Wisconsin the end of the month.

In iPad news, I'm loving my new it! There are some glitches, related to the fact that this website and a few others aren't really set up for it yet. They think it's a phone! Obviously, they haven't seen it in my stylish tote bag! It has really, really spoiled me! I have to do my blog on the old rickety laptop, and I find myself very impatient, waiting for something to happen. I could be knitting! Or quilting! Or something!!! I'm doing the Park City Mountain Sports Club newsletter right now. I've spent one day, and I'm almost done! That's some kind of record! Of course, that's with the iPad. Wonderful invention! I'm in love! [Sigh!] I finally have a computer I could easily throw out the window, and I don't want to!

On my iPod, which I still use because its so small and fits in my pocket, I've just finished listening to Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters. Very tongue-in-cheek and very funny! Now I'm reading Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith, a continuation of his 44 Scotland St. Waiting patiently for another Knit Picks Podcast. We knitters are patient...except where gimpy computers are concerned!

On my iPad, I'm reading Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, which was a free download from the iTunes bookstore. On my nightstand is The Knitting Sutra: Craft as a Spiritual Practice by Susan Gordon Lydon.

On my quilting table is the wedding quilt, ready to cut and start piecing, but the lace gown has a deadline. Grown-ups can wait, but babies grow up and get named.

Happy knitting, spinning and quilting! --P

I've Never Felt(ed) Like This Before...

2010-05-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Some of my readers will remember the felted tote bag I made for my new iPad--

This was so much fun, and I love the colors, I decided to make a purse to match. Only it will be all green, no brown. Here's what I have so far, with the fabric I bought for lining:

I picked something dark enough not to get dirty easily, but light enough so I can see what's in my purse!

I haven't forgotten the naming ceremony gown for Daphne. I've CO for it, too:

It takes more concentration, so now I have a dumb project and a smart project!

I managed to get some spinning done this week, too! I finished the baby alpaca and have started on this:

It's Louet's wool, mohair, rayon, bamboo top in "Juniper." It's easy to spin, which is nice. Here's what the fiber actually looks like:

And here's how my spinning is looking:

I haven't figured out what to do with the finished yarn, or whether to ply it double or Navajo, but that will become evident. The fiber will talk to me as I spin...

I've been having so much fun with my new iPad! I'm still figuring out how it works, but I'm getting to do a lot more than I could do on my gimpy laptop! The only insurmountable problem I've had was not being able to get You Tube videos to work. On Monday, my knitting buddy Rob and I went down to the Apple store, after he tried out my iPad in his house to see how it worked with his WiFi. He was very happy with it, so he decided to get one. He reads a lot of books, and his Sony e-book reader works great, but he needs light for it. The iPad doesn't do well with too much light, but is great indoors with dim light. It also does a lot of other things, including keeping his photos organized. (He's a photographer when he isn't knitting.) While he was buying his new iPad, one of the nice techs at Apple was looking at my iPad. He couldn't get the videos to work, either, so guess what? I got a new iPad. I had to re-enter some things because I didn't sync before I took it down to the store, but I figured it would be less time than to drive all the way home and back to SLC, which was true. The videos work great now! That was seriously important, because some of my KP buddies, especially Cheryl, tend to put videos in their posts.

My baby quilt is off being professionally machine quilted. I picked up the fabric for the binding while I was getting the fabric for the purse lining. It's the dark green fabric that I used in the top. You can go back to the blog posts where I showed the quilt if you want to see.

What's on my iPad: Everything, almost. I'm reading The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, a free download. I prop my iPad on a book holder, so I can knit at the same time.

What's on my iPod: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters. It's a riot! I got it from Audible.

What's on my Needles, Wheel: I just talked about that, so see above.

Happy knitting! --P

Everything but the Kitchen Sync!

2010-04-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

Today is the 1-week anniversary of my relationship with my cute and handy iPad.

It's receiving a nice anniversary present from me--a protective carry bag, which you can see in the photo above. I had some WotA Bulky left in "Hazelnut," and also some of the same yarn in "Oregano" in my stash, already caked up and ready to go. I used the Montana Felted Eco Tote pattern as a jumping-off place, did the math based on my felted swatch for the diaper bag I made for Daphne (basically the Tote with a lining), and CO 70 sts. (I figured out how big it had to be before felting to be the right size afterwards, and that's how I got the 70 sts.It needed to be 20.5" around--or 10.25" across--and 8" high) I knit it until it was 13" high, changing the colors to use up the last of my "Chestnut." After binding off the top, I sewed the bottom shut, using the tail I had left at the CO. Then I made the handles according to the directions in the Tote pattern. only doing the I-cord 24" instead of 12", so I could carry it over my shoulder. (I almost made it too short--I-cord, not my favorite! This is when I'm glad I'm not very tall!) Here it is before felting:

I washed it in my washing machine with the lowest load size, hot with cold rinse. I have an old pair of jeans I throw in for felting to provide some abrasion. I checked it a couple of times during the washing, but as with the swatch and the diaper bag, the complete cycle was needed. I looked around for a book to wrap in plastic and put
inside for drying. The book that was just the right size was Knit Fix by Lisa Kartus. (BTW, Knit Fix is good for a lot more than blocking!)

It was dry enough this morning to try it out, and it fits. When it's completely dry, I can use it!

So, how did I end up with the iPad? I'm in a mixed marriage. DH is a PC person, and he was the one who bought the laptop and then told me I couldn't touch his precious desktop. I'm really a Mac kinda girl, but he's been patient and has helped me when I ran into difficulty. I've been groaning for months about all the memory problems related to dealing with photos and all the virus and spyware protection programs needed with a PC. It also needs to be cleaned annually, and when it heats up, it slows down more. I had been wanting an e-book reader (like a Kindle) for about a year, but a new laptop was a priority. The only way I could get one would have been used, and then I would still have to wait for the e-book reader. [Sigh!] When I heard about the iPad, I looked into it, and discovered that I could do it for everything I'm using the laptop for except syncing my iPod and iPad and burning CDs. I may have to use it for shrinking the size of my photos so they don't take so long to load, but I think I can actually do that in my camera, so we'll see. I can use the gimpy laptop for those things, now that I've been able to remove some things from it and it doesn't stay on for long. I've had some issues with the KP website, which I've been able to get around, but I'm sure Ning will fix those things, because there are a lot of iPads out there already, and more selling all the time. I've been doing my computer work in the kitchen, so that's where I do my syncing. The little iPad, however, goes with me to a comfortable seat in the living room, which is nice. When the bag is dry, I can carry it around safely.
Also this week, I finished the lining for the diaper bag:

And the baby leg warmers:

The quilt top for baby Daphne is finished, but I need to piece the back and get it to the quilter.

What's on my needles: Swatch for baby christening gown (waiting for order from KP with actual yarn, but swatch will be the same yarn, different color)
What's on my wheel: Nothing. I'm looking through my fiber stash to see what to spin next.
What's on my iPod: I'm listening to my second Audible book, Monica Ferris' Knitting Bones
What's on my spindle: Ashford merino and silk

Happy knitting and spinning! --P

Quick as a Bunny--Not!

2010-04-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

As you know, I've been working on some bunny-related items for Daphne, our DGD2, due to arrive via stork about June 6th. These baby leg warmers are very quick to knit--

if you don't decide they're too skinny around the cuffs! I'm off to the frog pond! Well, it won't take me long to get back to this point. I'll have plenty of yarn. The scale shows 35 gm left from the 50gm ball. I'm glad I didn't cut it, though. It's Essential (now Stroll) kettle-dyed sock yarn in "gold."

I have the diaper bag almost finished. I've pinned in the lining--

I just have to sew it in. You probably remember the bunny quilt I've been working on--

I decided it needed four carrot blocks to go with it. There are now two like this--

And two like this--

I've been using my "design wall" to try out layouts.

The "design wall" is actually a full-size "Warm & Natural" quilt batt with a hem at the top and the bottom, with a batten in each hem. I put hooks over my fiber studio closet to hang the whole thing on, so I arrange blocks and see how they look. They cling by themselves as long as there's no breeze. A couple of pins takes care of that, though.

What's on my needles: Baby leg warmers.
What's on my Featherweight: Piecing for bunny quilt!
What's on my wheel: White baby alpaca, just a couple of ounces left and I can ply!
What's on my iPod: Just Finished the Frankenstein trilogy by Dean Koontz, now listening to 44 Scotland St. by Alexander McCall Smith
What's on my spindle: Same old, same old. Haven't touched my spindle for a while.

Happy knitting/spinning/quilting! --P

Snowed In!

2010-04-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

But first, an update on my progress on the Bunny Block. Having finished another knitting project for DD's little Daphne, due June 6th, I turned back to the bunny block from Hop To It! by Edyta Sitar. I'm making progress:

The fabric to the left is the backing and my focus fabric for the quilt top. It's Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit Garden Scene. To finish the block, I have to applique the eye, nose and mouth, and then another stem with leaves and a berry. The rest of the quilt will be pieced. I hope to get the piecing done next week, as I have an "appointment" with my friend Julie for machine quilting in May. The applique is getting easier, but I still don't have the dexterity I had before I had to give up quilting due to thumb pain. I'm finding my eyes are worse, too. I have to use a pair of clip-on magnifiers and my Ott light to be able to see. My actual vison is fine with my glasses, but as I get older, I need increasing amounts of light to see what I'm doing. (It would help if the sun came out for a while!)

Here's the knitting project I just finished:

The yarn is Knit Picks' Comfy Sport in "Creme Brulee" and "Ivory." Here's a closeup of the front detail. I created this detail because I decided to do a M1R, K1, M1L for the increases in the front, and then didn't like the holes created.

It looks sort of like cross stitch. The BSJ can be found several places, such as The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmermann, which also has the bonnet pattern. (The book is on sale right now at Knit Picks!)

I was supposed to go to the nursing home yesterday with Sunny for pet therapy for the patients, but we were snowed in! This is the first time we've been actually snowed in since we've lived here. Here's DH cleaning the driveway around lunchtime. (Psst! It wasn't done snowing. We got more after this photo!)

He spent 2 1/2 hours with the shovel and the snow blower! I'm so glad we didn't get a dump like this right after he had his shoulder surgery!

It was so bad, our milkman couldn't get to our house. He called in the morning and explained that his chains had broken. No problem--for me, anyway. I had enough of everything to last until he got here. He couldn't have gotten to our front door without going through waist-high snow anyway. He finally got to our house last night.

The upside to being snowed in is, you have more time to knit or quilt. In my case, I want to finish the baby quilt (see above) before starting any more knitting projects.

Tomorrow is supposed to be clear. I hope so, because my quilting minigroup "Vintage Stitchers" is coming here for a trunk show. I hope to have some photos of Tina's quilts in next week's blog. Our "Common Threads" group met last Thursday. That group is made up of quilters, knitters and other stitchery enthusiasts. Karan, our hostess for Common Threads last week, showed off her first pair of KP socks from the kit "Speedy Sport Socks."

It's fun being in groups with both knitters and quilters, because they go back and forth between the two crafts/art forms, as I do.

Saturday brought the usual doggy snowshoe. Here fellow snowshoer Jay helps Annemarie get up, while Annemarie's Eddy watches. (You don't have to have a dog to go on a doggy snowshoe.)

Jay doesn't have a dog, but his wife has a horse and writes steamy novels. She hired me to be the proofreader once because her regular proofer wasn't available. I was forced to read the steamy parts (a lot of the book!), because there might have been a typo, and she was paying me to read them. [Blush!]

Of course, I have been enjoying "hanging out" with my Quilt With Us and Knitting Community buddies, and you know who you are!

What's on my needles: Finishing up DH's Fair Isle sleeveless cardi
What's on my wheel: Still the baby alpaca, but I'm making progress. I've plied the first two bobbins from this batch. Just a little to go.
What's on my spindle: Still the Ashford Merino and Silk in "Mulberry."
What's on my quilting frame: Bunny Block from Hop To It (see above).
What's on my iPod: Just finished Sarah's Cottage by D. E. Stevenson, and have gone back to Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son (Book 1 of the Trilogy). I really like Audible and am looking forward to downloading more books for my trip to Wisconsin the end of May, to be with DD when Daphne is born. I forgot to mention last week that I finished Lorna Doone, downloaded from Librivox.org. I read the last three chapters in written form through Project Gutenberg. Their volunteer readers are all very good, but I found the accent of one of the readers very distracting, so I resorted to reading the last three chapters while knitting the baby sweater, rather than listening to it.
What's on my Zen Nano: Knitting podcasts, mostly, such as Sticks and String, and, Knit Picks' wonderful podcast, my favorite! (I'm on the verge of KP podcast withdrawal, since there was no podcast last week.)

Happy knitting and quilting, everyone! --P

Bunny Applique and Steeks! Eek!

2010-03-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

!I'm making progress on my applique project:

I'm glad I found my clip-on magnifiers! I was having a hard time seeing where to stitch. I'm still a little clumsy as a leftover from my right
thumb surgery, but it's getting better. Anyway, this baby quilt for
Daphne will be machine quilted. I just wanted a cute bunny center for
the quilt. The rest will be pieced. The fabric to the right is the
backing, a Beatrix Potter scenic print. The bunny is from Hop to It! by Edyta Sitar. I will be doing more applique again as I get my dexterity back!

The big knitting news this week is (drumroll, please) I finally steeked DH's Fair Isle sleeveless cardi! Ta-da!

Before I could do that, I had to graft the shoulders. It was just like doing the toe of a sock, only more sts.

Then I had to give the extra sts a haircut on the inside. Here's what it looked like:

The little birdies will be nesting soon. All that nesting material will be met with songs of joy. Just think of the baby birdies nestled down in
all that wool! Well, it isn't merino...a little scratchy,
actually...but that's what feathers are for. Softer than twigs by a
long shot! OK, back to work...

I had to cut right down the middle, which was where the two light-colored sts came together. I'm glad I had read about steeking in The New Stranded Colorwork
by Mary Scott Huff. I didn't need to sew this yarn first, but I
followed her instructions to put on your glasses (I use clip-on
magnifiers) and put something inside the sweater to keep from cutting
the floats on the other side. I used my ironing board, which worked
great, because the V-neck gave it kind of a bulge in the front, and the
ironing board accommodated it. Then I carefully cut between the two
middle sts, which I could recognize by the "V" made by the st. I
started at the neck, which was easy to see but closed up (to the left
in the photo) and paid attention to the "V", which was upside down
because I was starting from the top.

Now all I have to do is pick up a gazillion sts (one for each row, because it's Fair Isle, and that's the rule. Then I have to do the corregated
ribbing for the button band, neck trim and button hole band, all in one
piece. After that I get to do (drumroll, please!) two more steeks, this
time for the armholes. I'm sure glad I did the CLiC first, so I could
do a steek with a lot of hand-holding! It's not nearly as scary as you
think!

In spinning news...more baby alpaca. I want to finish up what I have, which is down to a few ounces now, while I'm in the habit of making the
thin singles for fingering-weight yarn. That way, I can use up what was
left over from the Landscape Shawl. Maybe good for socks. Lots of socks!

My friend Linda at Blue Moon Ranch (one of the two alpaca Lindas) is having an alpaca fleece giveaway. To enter--and to read her very
interesting blog about her trip to Africa--go here: http://bluemoonranch.wordpress.com/
You can enter as often as you like. Winner will be announced May 1st. My
fiber came from the other Linda, but this one has comparable fiber. You
can follow the link to her Etsy store, too.

I'm trying to gradually photograph old projects. The ones that are available to me,
that is. This week's submission is DH's ski sweater, which has a funny
story.

DH and I were dating in 1964. I decided to make him a ski sweater for Christmas, but I wanted to be sure it fit, having been burned before. (Note: Always swatch if you're making
something that has to fit!!!) It was difficult to keep this a secret,
because I would need to knit in front of him, because I didn't have
much time. I really wanted it to be a surprise, though, so I developed
a plan. I knit a miniature replica of the sweater and put it into a big
box, weighted in the bottom with newspaper. I included a note: "I'm
sorry, but I accidentally used hot water to block it, and this is what
happened." Then I wrapped the box as a present. We all had a laugh on
Christmas morning. The miniature version adorned a bottle of Scotch for
a long time. I don't know where it is now. The full-size version has
seen many ski slopes, however. The pattern is from Hand Knits for Men in Bear Brand and Fleisher Yarns vol 56.

I Googled it, and it's apparently out of print, and it's even listed at the above link as an "antique" for $10. (I think I paid 60¢ for it.) I really like the pattern, but I don't understand why
they did the body and sleeves separately, which required seaming
through the pattern. (I don't like seams, but back then, I didn't know
how to do anything other than follow the pattern.)
I have some other knitted items from way-back-when I will try to feature in future blogs,
sort of a future feature. Sound like fiber fun?

What's on my iPod: Still Lorna Doone. I'm back to listening now, as I work. I don't have to concentrate so much on what I'm doing. Also, I just found
out that third book in the Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz is out
(has been for several months), so I got all three in CD format to put
on my iPod. I've already listened to the first two, but it has been
several years.

I've also been reading a real book: Knit One, Kill Two, by Maggie Sefton. This is the first book of hers I've read, and it's very
entertaining. If only I had been able to find it as an audiobook or if
I had a Kindle or iPad.

We did go on a snowshoe/hike Saturday, but I didn't take any photos. We ended up hiking, because there wasn't enough snow to make it worth
putting on the snowshoes. The pups still have little beads of dried mud
on their undersides. I keep hoping it will fall off.

Happy knitting/spinning/quilting, everyone!

Busy, Busy--This and That

2010-03-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Between cleaning the fiber studio, finishing up Ravelympics stuff and normal activities, it's been a busy week.

Above is what the fiber studio looks like today, after nearly two days of work. The piles of finished projects and the bags of projects in my pipeline or queue are still lurking. The white shrouded thing on the back counter is my serger. The pink mass peeking out from under the table that looks like cotton candy is some alpaca-and-silk
fiber my friend Linda made for me to thank me for helping her set up her Etsy shop here.
Someday I'll have to give you a tour, including my light table/cutting surface for quilting and my little desk. I even have room for a design wall in front of closet and a tall bookcase full of quilting and knitting books.

I have a small quilt show for you from the two groups I meet with. Most of the participants knit and quilt, but a few do one or the other. Here you go--

This one has a story, and then I'll just let the others speak for themselves. My quilting buddy Barbara made
these blocks several years ago and didn't like them. She was thinking of giving them to the Utah Quilt Guild for their orphan block collection, which they use to make quilts each year to donate or to raise money. The flowered print had been a sale purchase originally intended for use as backing fabric. Barbara was lying awake one night recently and happened to connect the blocks with the fabric in her mind. She got up and 2:00 AM, went into her fiber studio and dug out blocks and fabric. I think the black trim around the blocks just makes the quilt top. I can't wait to see it quilted. OK, here are the others.

This last one, Ginny's making for her granddaughters. One is getting the purple/lavender with matching pillow sham, and the other one is getting the hot pink/pink with matching sham. She's hand-quilting them.
My bunny applique is coming along. I have four sets of leaves done. I'll try to post a photo of my progress next week. I made a reservation with my friend Julie (with the ladybug quilt, above) to machine-quilt it in May, so the pressure is on.

In knitting news: Now that the Ravelympics are over, I thought you might like some statistics--

total # projects tagged with ravelympics2010: 24,284
total # projects tagged with ravelympics2010 and finished: 12,878
total # Ravelers that finished: 6,296 (out of 9,538 participating)
total # countries participating: 65
total # of people posting into a Finish Line: 5,186
total yardage used: 8,068,000 (yes…this is 8+ million!)
total yardarge spun/dyed: 448,000

The one project I didn't finish during the Ravelympics was my Oregon socks, which I finished afterward and showed off last week. I didn't win any real-life prizes for my projects, just the medals, which are virtual. I did have a nice surprise when I found out that the Team KP Enablers had awarded me the "Miss Congeniality" prize, presumably because I gushed over everyone's FOs. I received a package in the mail a few days ago with some hand-made yummy soap (now resting in my soap dish next to the tub) and these st markers:

They came from Sarah Kain-Porter's "Treasures by Westwind Designs," an Etsy store. There are eight markers, and big enough that I can use them for 99% of the projects I do, but not so big they'll be in the way with smaller ones, like socks.

I'm trying to post pictures of past knitting projects every once in a while, so here's one for this week.

The cardigan and hat are made from worsted-weight acrylic yarn. (Gasp!) I know, not the best for all that work, but it was all I could get. We were living in Indonesia at the time, and they're not exactly known for their knitwear, since the average temperature is in the high 80s. The picture was taken in 1996 during a trip to New Zealand, the backdrop is the beautiful Milford Sound. I made the cardigan and hat just for the trip. I had taken a nice woolen sweater to Indonesia for such trips, but our maid had given it a nice wash in the washing machine. Need I say more? I was in my "purple phase," and also made some knee socks in wool 4-ply (fingering weight) I had bought in the UK when we lived there in the '80s. Sometime I'll get a photo of those.

DH's Fair Isle Sleeveless Cardi is coming along--

A few more rows and I'll be ready to do the shoulders, then off to the
steek! [She says bravely, having already steeked her CLiC last year.]
I've done the star pattern in the same colors each time and varied the
colors for the peerie patterns, the small designs between the big ones.
It's from Ann Feitelson's Fair Isle Knitting; the pattern is Fridarey Sleeveless Cardigan. More information about this project is found here on Ravelry.

Our snowshoe for the week was at Shingle Creek in the Uinta Mountains near us. It turned out to be a hike. You can tell why by looking at the photo. Here's the group. (I'm third from the left; DH is seated, and yes, that's Rocky standing on the table.) We had a great time.

What's on everything--same as last time, but I've been getting caught up with past episodes of the Sticks and String podcast by David Reidy.

Happy knitting and quilting, etc. --P

Progress

2010-03-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

This has been a productive week in terms of UFOs and WIPs! First, I finished my Oregon Socks, which I began in May, 2008, during a trip to Oregon.

The yarn is KP's Gloss in "Parsley." The pattern is Ariel Barton's Cable Net Socks from Knitty. With some modifications, of course! I have a hard time just doing any pattern as written. I loved working with the Gloss. It was my first time with this yarn. I think it shows the traveling sts well, even though the color is somewhat dark. I'll let you know how they wear.

Finished the BSJ and matching hat.

Well, except for the top button, which is still down in SLC at the Wool Cabin, which is where I bought the others. I decided the hat needed one, and since I only had them pinned on, it was easy to pilfer one for the hat. Now they're all sewn on except for the top button, which I cleverly covered with the hat (the Wool Cabin's Cotton Classic Baby Beanie by Suzette Cannon.) I'm not going back to SLC until next Tuesday, so they're holding another button for me.

Now I'm back to working on DH's Fair Isle sleeveless cardi:

This is another project that has had periods of hibernation, the last brought about by the onset of baby knitting. I bought the yarn for this a couple of years ago at the Needlepoint Joint in Ogden, UT. The pattern came from Ann Feitelson's The Art of Fair Isle Knitting. The book is also available as an audiobook, but without the patterns. This pattern is called the Fridarey Sleeveless Cardigan, and the original is in shades of turquoise and lilac. Hmmm...not exactly DH's colors, although he does have enchanting blue eyes! I picked these "manly" colors for him. This was to be my first effort at doing steeks, but I kept putting off the project because I was so intimidated by the prospect. (All my other Fair Isle projects were done flat after starting the V-neck and armholes.) I signed up for the Classic Lines Cardigan just so I could learn how to do a steek. I accomplished that project, and it's one of my favorite sweaters! Now I feel fearless about continuing on with other steeks. I got an inch done yesterday, so it's moving along nicely.

I started my Bunny Quilt for baby Daphne (due June 6th) at a meeting of one of my two quilting minigroups. Here's my progress:

I don't know if you can tell, but I've discovered a new use for my KP Chart Keeper (top of photo)! I've ironed freezer paper templates to the wrong side of my fabrics, and I can keep them together and flat in the Chart Keeper, with the little magnetic strips holding them on. The magnetic ruler came with another magnet board. It's too thin to do much, but I'm using another magnetic strip to hold my chart for the sleeveless cardi on that board, so I didn't have it to use here. Sometimes I use those advertising magnets to hold stuff on. If they're wide enough, it makes up for being thin. You can see the fabrics I'm using in the quilt here. Just scroll down to the closeup of the fabrics. A picture of the block and the information on the book used is there, too.

This week brought a nice surprise, too. I participated in the Ravelympics on Ravelry as part of Team KP Enablers and Team Spinning Knitters. The moderators of Team KP Enablers have decided to give me a prize for "Miss Congeniality." They must have caught me being nice, LOL! (It does happen once in a while.)

My friend Lucille Reilly participated in a different Knitting Olympics. She posted a blog on the sweater she made for the event here. She shows how she did it, step-by-step. Now, just to whet your appetite...

Lucille is the knitting teacher who came to Park City to teach us the Moebius Scarf and the Moebius Bowl. She also has some socks in the upcoming book, Think Outside the Sox, She calls her socks "Jaws 2," but I don't know whether XRX kept the same title. Anyway, they're pretty sensational.

DH, the pups and I managed to get in some snowshoeing this week, too.

The snowballs on Rocky and Sunny's legs are for ballast. It makes them work harder, so they sleep longer when we get home.

Here I am giving them treats for being such good dogs!

What's on my needles: DH's FI sleeveless cardi (above)
What's on my wheel: Baby Alpaca from Linda
What's on my iPod: Lorna Doone from Librivox.org
What's on my spindle: Still the Ashford merino and silk in "Mulberry."

Happy knitting/spinning/quilting, etc. --P

Back to Real Life!

2010-03-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

My medal for "Fleece to FO Long Track" is official, so time to get back to real life. My fiber studio yesterday morning looked like this--

I organized my yarn stash. Here's what the sock and fingering section looks like:

I like to use those plastic boxes that lettuce and spring greens come in to keep the balls of yarn in check. If you're thinking, "That doesn't look like much," keep in mind that this is just a small part. I have two giant bins of worsted, DK and sport, AND a bunch of yarn organized by project, just stacked up on my counter, AND a bunch of projects in progress or hibernating. Not counting my spinning fiber stash. (Completely out of control, in fact, it reminds me of a scary movie, as it keeps trying to creep out into the hallway and up the stairs.) My quilting fabric stash is located in the two cabinets to the right of my sock and fingering stash. Nothing puny about it, either.

I worked on it most of the morning so I would have some room to start an applique block for baby Daphne's quilt. Here are the fabrics for the project.

The patterned fabric in the middle is Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, for backing. The book, Hop to It! is providing the pattern for the center of the quilt. The fabrics to the left and right are from my fabric stash (yes, I have more than one stash), some from Connecting Threads, where I get a lot of my fabric. The "fat quarters" in the center of the photo came from Elaine's Quilt Block in Salt Lake City. I like to take my focus fabric to the store and find just the right fabrics to go with it. Here's a closeup so you can see what I picked.

Now I'm working on my applique block...

(This is from the book, not my actual block, which I've only just begun using the fabrics in the earlier photos.) I was in a hurry to get it ready to work on, because this morning I had a meeting of one of my two quilting groups. I wanted them to see that I still quilt. (I've been knitting baby things like crazy, and then the Ravelympics, etc. Well, you get the picture.) Most of the people in my quilting groups also knit. In fact, Kay (pictured below) hasn't made a quilt yet.

I took this photo to show you the bag Kay made from an old sweater from a thrift shop, which she felted and sewed into a bag. She used part of one sleeve and the neck ribbing to make the pocket. She carries her knitting and crochet projects in the bag. It's big enough for an entire afghan. (Or even a quilting project, which she may do someday.)

What's on my iPod: Lorna Doone (Still. I want to see how it turns out!)

What's on my MP3 player: Today's podcast! I downloaded it this morning and haven't had a chance to listen yet!

What's on my needles: Actively, my second Oregon Sock. Then I'll get back to baby knitting.

What's on my wheel: My wheel is empty, but I will probably spin us the rest of the baby alpaca or...?

What's on my drop spindle: Still the Ashford merino and silk in "mulberry."

Happy knitting, spinning and quilting, everyone! --P

Compulsories Completed!

2010-02-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

Report from Ravelympics--I'm still out on the course, working away. I just finished the spinning part of my competition (Fleece to FO Long Track) and the yarn is having a nice bath. Here's what it looked like waiting for me to prepare the warm water laced with Kookaburra Woolwash.

I should dry easily before I need it. It's off-white baby alpaca from my friend Linda's Etsy store. (She also has yarn.)

The hard part now is going to be the knitting. I'm slightly more than half way through the Landscape Shawl:

Each row gets longer, so it could easily take more than the time I have left. I had a major setback on Thursday, when I discovered a mistake in the garter st 45 rows down! I had purled instead of knit, and hadn't seen it, because it wasn't obvious on the side I was looking at because of all the purl bumps, but on the other side it was. I took out just the sts above the affected ones and started reknitting them, but it looked patched. After two hours of fiddling with it, I decided it was never going to look right, so I frogged 45 rows! The penalty laps caused by that mistake cost me more than 24 hrs. Well, I'm not going to make any world records, but there's a chance I can finish anyway, so I'm plugging away, determined to cross the finish line before Closing Ceremonies, so they don't have to send out a search party. At least now I don't have to divide my time between knitting and spinning. Don't dare look at my house! Between the lack of attention the past week and all the bits of fluff and vegetation on the rug pulled out of the fiber during the spinning process...well, you get the picture. Well, back to work. --P

Medals Are Being Awarded...

2010-02-16T07:05:00.001-08:00

Here's mine for the little baby beanie:

In the meantime, still working on my second event, "Fleece to FO Long Track," which is a grueling 4 oz spinning assignment and a (hopefully) finished Landscape Shawl. Here's the latest photo:

Actually, the photo is a day old. I've done more than 30 rows since this photo was taken. I'm into the stockinette section, which was just started in the top middle of the photo.

Here's how the spinning is going--

Just singles. I'll ply soon--maybe today. It's a busy week. Last night we went to the theater and saw "Twelve Angry Men." Fantastic play! Sunny and I have animal-assisted therapy at the nursing home today, Tomorrow I go to the dentist in the morning, and have to check in the cross-country skiers for a class I arranged for the Park City Mountain Sports Club. Thursday I have my quilting group, and Friday is the Club's Annual Meeting! Saturday is the antique fair in Ogden! I would have been a good candidate for Team Hopelessly Overcommitted! I'll keep plugging along with my event, though. Happy spinning, and happy Olympics! --P

Gearing Up for the Ravelympics!

2010-02-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

Just a day and a few hours remain until the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, and I'm feverishly getting ready for my participation in the Ravelympics. I've been spinning white baby alpaca to make the Landscape Shawl for the event "Fleece to FO Long Track." Here's what I plied last night:

I washed it when I finished. It had a nice bath in Kookaburra Wool Wash. Here is is, ready to go into the water:

...and drying in the bathroom:

Today I moved it to the bedroom and turned on the overhead fan so it will dry faster. I had to reserve 4 oz to spin during or after the Opening Ceremonies, but I need to spin a few ounces more, so I'm sure I have enough. 14 oz is cutting it kind of close. I'll try to do some today.

I've also entered in the Junior Olympics. I'm making another baby beanie from the pattern I got at the Wool Cabin using Simply Cotton Worsted in "Marshmallow."

Some of you saw my bunny finished this week:

This was a quick project, but I think next time I'll do everything in the round. I hated sewing up all those seams. Only I would have to stuff as I go, I think. Love the tail. The pattern is found in Jean Greenhowe's Knitted Animals.

We're getting another big snowstorm, which will make the ski areas happy. Happy Olympics, everyone! --P

Putting a Spin on the Ravelympics

2010-02-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

The Ravelympics start with the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 12th.

Above is my new Ravetar in honor of the Ravelympics, which I will be participating in. During the Winter Olympics, participants will compete in one or more of a number of events. Most of the events are knitting or crocheting, but there is some spinning, We have to wait to CO for our project(s) until the Opening Ceremonies, but we are allowed to prepare and get in shape for our event(s). "The One Rule To Rule Them All: Challenge yourself by starting and finishing projects during the 2010 Winter Olympics," says paksenarrion, one of the moderators of the Ravelympics 2010 group on Ravelry. In keeping with the spirit of the games, I will be competing in the Fleece to FO Longtrack, and a couple of other categories, if I have the time (ha-ha). For the Longtrack, we are supposed to spin at least 4 oz of our fiber during or after the Opening Ceremonies, and CO and finish the project. The rest of the fiber needed may be spun ahead of time. I have completed 10.9 oz of white baby alpaca

It still needs to be plied, though. Here's what I have reserved for use the evening of February 12th:

What I need to get spun in the next week is this, 13.9 oz:

It's doable, but trying to get a whole Landscape Shawl knit between February 12 and February 28, with a lot of other activities planned between is going to be a stretch!

The wonderful fiber came from my friend Linda, who keeps alpacas. She now has an Etsy shop here. I helped her with the write-ups, and most of my alpaca fiber for spinning has come from her. She also has yarn, and she does her own dyeing. The fiber used for the warm alpaca hat for DS2 was not dyed, though. The animal is actually that color. It's finished and ready to send:

The pattern is available here. In the meantime, as if I didn't have enough going on, I started the bunny for Daphne:

It's shown on Ravelry here. This quick and cute bunny is found in Jean Greenhow's Knitted Animals, which I picked up when I was visiting Australia a few years ago. I'm using KP's Simply Cotton Sport in "Toffee." I'm going to have some yarn left over for a baby washcloth or something.

Stay tuned for future developments. In the meantime, happy knitting!

Off in All Directions: Sir Elton and Baby Knitting

2010-01-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

The second half of January is always busy for me because of my volunteer work for the Sundance Film Festival. This year includes a lot of baby knitting, too!

Above is the "Dolly" sweater from Jaeger Handknits, JB29. The bonnet was my addition. How can little Daphne Dawn wear the lovely sweater without a bonnet to match? I made a basic bonnet, adding the pattern and the lace trim in the sweater. It was a little challenging, but I'm hoping to make some socks to match...if the yarn holds out, KP Stroll in "Glacial," a discontinued color I bought on sale, never knowing I would be doing some baby knitting! This outfit will be awaiting little Daphne's arrival, sometime around the first week in June. I have lots more baby knitting to do.
I finished this hat the same day as I finished the sweater:

Part of this hat was knitted during the wonderful Opera "Carmen," which we saw at the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City on Sunday. The pattern is an in-house design of The Wool Cabin in Salt Lake City. I used "Cotton Classic," which is what the pattern called for. The decorations are my own.
As mentioned earlier, The Sundance Film Festival is underway in Park City, and I'm one of a large number of volunteers of all ages working at the Eccles Theater in Park City High School. (I'm in the middle.)

We are not allowed to take photos of the celebrities who come through the theater. This year so far, I've seen Ben Affleck, who stars in "The Company Men," and I was allowed to open the door to the theater for Sir Elton John, who came to see "Nowhere Boy," a dramatization of the life of John Lennon.
There's some down time during our volunteer work. For these times, I've found my drop spindle useful. Last night, for example, I got some spinning done between loading the theater (I was a ticket-taker) and opening it up again at the end of each film. I'm getting a sizeable kop on my Golding Tsunami. (Thanks to Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont, I know this term.) The bracelet is Oregon myrtlewood. It was a Christmas present, and it makes a great distaff (to keep the fiber supply out of the spun yarn), besides being decorative.

I get some interesting questions from people when I use my drop spindle in public. Such as:
"Is that a dreidel?"
"Did you know that you can pay Spinderella to do that for you?"
"Are you making string?"
I find spindle spinning to be a good use of very short periods of time.

What's on my needles? Still DS2's alpaca hat, but progress is being made. I may CO the baby socks.
What's on my drop spindle? Ashford's merino and silk in "Mulberry."
What's on my wheel? I finished spinning the merino and silk pumpkin fiber and am ready to ply!
What's on my iPod? Lorna Doone, but I'm up to Chapter 47, and well into the story.
What's on my MP3 player? KP Podcast #129, another great podcast! (I want to listen again, because I may have missed something.

Happy knitting, spinning, film viewing and whatever else you're up to right now! --P

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot...

2010-01-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

One of my new year's resolutions is to photograph and upload long-finished projects. Like this one...

Here's the back:

This is the Persian Poppy Waistcoat from Kaffe Fassett at the V & A. I actually went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1988 and met Kaffe Fassett, who was giving a talk there. He left California years ago to visit a friend in England, and ended up staying. He was trained as a painter, but when he went into a "wool shop" in England, he found his new "paint." I ended up knitting several of his patterns, and he inspired me to be more adventurous in choosing colors.

I'm still working on the "Dolly" baby sweater from Jaeger Handknits. Here's a photo of the "Dolly" blocking on my KP blocking mats:

The 4X4 hat for DS2 is coming along well:

I want to get it to him before winter is over in Portland. In about 3" I can start the decreases. (BTW, it's upside down.) It's my second project with yarn I spun myself, in this case, from alpaca fiber from my friend Linda, who raises the wonderful fiber factories and soon will have fiber and yarn on Etsy.

Speaking of spinning, I'm still working on the second ball of merino and silk in "pumpkin" to send along with the hat when both are done, for DS2's girlfriend, also a knitter (like me)!

This week, the Sundance Film Festival starts in Park City, and DH and I are volunteering again. This is our 10th year. Opening night is tonight, and we will both be on duty, which means the pups will go to a friend's house for "day care" (or, in this case, "night care"). It's too much to ask them to wait from 3:00 PM until past midnight to go potty. They will get to play with friends, though.

Still listening to Lorna Doone, but finally making progress with the interesting story. I'm looking forward to the next Masterpiece Classics, Emma, to begin this Sunday. It's a three-part program over the next three Sundays on PBS. I adore Jane Austen! Happy knitting! --P

January Knitting and Spinning!

2010-01-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

I've been working on the "Dolly" baby sweater from Jaeger Handknits, 27 Designer Garments by Martin Story for Babies and Children, using KP's Stroll (actually, old "Essential" I bought on sale months ago) in "Glacier," a discontinued color. I just finished the back:

Here's the front:

I managed to squeeze in a hike in the snow. Snowshoes weren't needed, as we haven't had any fresh snow lately.

Here's a photo of Shaman, a wolf who hikes with us, taking a treat from my splint-clad hand.

I only have to wear the splint if I'm driving or doing something strenuous, like housework (ugh!) or hiking. It's impossible to put a mitten over it, so I wear a heavy sock on that hand.

Sunday, I met a high school friend in Salt Lake City for lunch.

She lives in San Diego, but comes to Utah once a year for a genealogy conference. I hadn't seen her since 1985, when DH and I went to my 25th high school reunion. Our 50th is coming up!

Monday I started working on the newsletter for the Park City Mountain Sports Club. You can see the January issue here. I do the editing and pick out photos. Sometimes I write articles for the newsletter. Then I send everything to another club member, who does the layout. I enjoy hiking and snowshoeing with other club members, who are mostly retired or approaching retirement age. They're active, though.

What's on my needles: DS2's hat, the baby sweater and a bunch of UFOs.
What's on my iPod: Lorna Doone. I'm back to listening to the classic, which I downloaded from librivox.org.
What's on my spindle: Still the Ashford merino and silk in "Mulberry," and it's getting fatter all the time!
What's on my wheel: Still the rest of the pumpkin merino and silk for DS2's girlfriend.
I'm also reading an actual book: Respect the Spindle, by Abby Franquemont, available here. It's a good book, and gives a lot more detail about types of spindles and how they work than any spinning book I've looked at so far.

I hope everyone has a great year, filled with lots of knitting and spinning, and may you have very little frogging! --P

What a Week!

2009-12-30T09:54:00.000-08:00

This has been a roller-coaster week! First, my birthday is the day after Christmas. We went to No Worries for breakfast--DH, DS2, DS2's girlfriend, DD, Joanie and I. Here's what I got from DH for Christmas:

It's the Knitter's Handy Carry-all kit, the scale and the Options needle stand from KP, and two more hanks of alpaca yarn. I think I'll try the Ivo socks from the Inca Knits book, as I now have three colors from the same weight alpaca.

I've been getting some knitting done, even with family in the house. First, I have finished the knitting for the Montana Tote, which will be DD's diaper bag. Here's what it looked like before it went into the washing machine:

DD laughed about the fact that it was big enough for her to sit in, baby and all! Not so when it came out of the washer, though:

We used two of DSIL2B's Christmas presents to block it to shape. They were the perfect size. (He comes tomorrow afternoon, so he hasn't opened anything yet.) Here's what it looks like now:

All that's left to do is make the lining. I'm not done knitting for baby, though. I started the Mason-Dixon "Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono." Here's my progress:

Actually, I have already attached the yarn to the other side and have begun working the other side, which is a mirror image. I also plan on doing the crochet edging on my BSJ, so I can get it posted in the BSJ KAL.

We have had some family difficulties, though. DD heard from her doctor that a blood test came back with a result that doubles her chance of her child having Down Syndrome. It's only 1 in 206, but it still was a shock. She has pulled herself together and is again hopeful for the best. Then, night before last, we received a call from DS1. He told us his wife (who made me the wonderful quilted knitting bag) was in the hospital with chest pains. The next day, they put a stint in, and she's doing well.

What's on my needles: The "Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono."
What's on my drop spindle: Still the Ashford "Mulberry."
What's on my wheel: Still the Greenwood Fiber Works in "Enchanted," but I will be ready to ply soon.
What's on my iPod: I haven't listened in ages!

Happy New Year, everyone! --P

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

To all the knitters and spinners at the Knitting Community: Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a great extended weekend with friends, family, knitting and spinning!

Our DS2 is visiting. Saturday morning he and DH went snowshoeing with our pups, Rocky and Sunny.

Here's what it looked like at our party Saturday night. The cute guy in the tuxedo is my DH! We had a nice time, with good food and fun dancing. DS2 taught me to do the "Sprinkler." (I had to be careful not to hit myself in the head with my splint!)

Here's my progress on the Montana Tote:

DPT (darling physical therapist?) says I can knit without the splint for 45 minutes at a time. Yaaaay! I can also spin for a similar length of time. This is actually part of my PT program!

DD arrives Thursday. We're looking forward to a nice day Friday with DH's brother and our DSIL, who are coming for dinner. I'm doing my once-a-year turkey, with a little faux turkey and mushroom gravy for me. Saturday (my birthday!) DS2's girlfriend arrives. It will be nice to meet her. Then, on Sunday, our DGD comes. That will be all the trips to the airport for a few days.

What's on my needles? The Montana Tote (among other things, LOL!)
What's on my wheel? Greenwood Fiber Works' hand-painted merino in "Enchanted"
What's on my spindle? Ashford's merino and silk in "Mulberry."
What's on my iPod? Christmas music!

Where There's a Will...

2009-11-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm knitting! Well, sort of. Some of you will remember that I had a cast put on my right hand to protect my thumb from injury while it recovers from its recent surgery. (Three weeks ago today, but who's counting?) I've been spinning up a storm since getting the cast on. Here's some finished yarn:

It's the chocolate alpaca I bought from Linda. More on that later.
Some of you may know that my DD is expecting her first baby. [Happy dance!] I won't post the photo again, but it's in my photos, if you want to go look. This will be our second grandchild. The first one will be 17 in January! We had almost given up hope, while our DD was getting her PhD and finally settling down. Well, now baby knitting has been nagging at me. I had the yarn to start Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket (aka BSJ) and had planned to CO after Christmas. While spinning and reading and otherwise trying to pass the time, I kept looking at this right hand, thinking, "I have four usable fingers. Surely I can manage." It was really awkward at first. Actually, it's still awkward, but I'm sort of adapting. Here's how I do it:

I'm using Shine Sport in Grass and Green Apple. I may add another color, but I haven't decided yet. I joined Ravelry's BSJ KAL (How's that for alphabet soup, LOL?), and several of us here are planning to work on it together as people are ready to start. I'm only doing two rows at a time, so I don't wear out my thumb. Even though it's in a cast, it thinks it should be helping and keeps trying. It's probably good for those muscles to be working a little anyway, but I don't want to overdo it.

Spinning is going very well, though. Using long draw doesn't require much from the fiber hand, which is my right. All I have to do is gently hold the fiber, which I can do easily with just the fingers. After I finished the chocolate alpaca, I got out my braid of merino wool from Greenwood Fiberworks in their Enchanted colorway. It's hand-painted, which makes for an interesting spinning experience.

It spins nicely. I would like the plied yarn to show the individual colors, but I didn't want to do Navajo plying (chain plying) this time, because that method gives you a three ply. I would like to have a thinner yarn, so two plies should be better. I have finished two bobbins of singles and am ready to ply.

I'm not doing much with my drop spindle since the surgery. I find it a little harder to manage than the wheel.

I didn't post last week because I like to have photos, and I didn't have anything new. I had an exciting week, though. Several weeks ago, Susan the Blue Lake Knitter , cherylbwaters and I were all interviewed by Kelley for the Knit Picks Podcast. We decided among ourselves that we should keep it to ourselves until it aired (posted?) Well, it finally appeared last Wednesday, Podcast #122. It was great fun doing the interview, and also lots of fun to hear each other's voices.

What's on my needles? The BSJ. DH's FI sleeveless cardi is resting. (I thought it might be more difficult knitting with both hands, and my gauge might be different with the cast.)

What's on my wheel? The Greenwood Fiberworks 100% merino in Enchanted.

What am I reading? Right now, it's Anne McCaffrey's The Skies of Pern, the long-awaited continuation of her "Dragonriders of Pern" series.

Lorna Doone is on hold on my iPod, but I'll return to her when I start knitting again...more than a couple of rows at a time, that is.

For now, Happy Thanksgiving, happy knitting, spinning, reading, etc. --P

Knitting, Quilting, Spinning, Injuries and Snow!

2009-10-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

The spinning group is up again after a summer hiatus. We met yesterday. Here's Rita, one of the participants. I met her at the Alpaca Days a few weeks back:

Recognize Rita's bag? She did the alternate variation in the same colorway as mine, and she did the strap as written. She also spins and weaves. We had our spinning meeting yesterday at Linda's Blue Moon Ranch. Most of us brought our wheels.

I got to meet Kathleen, who has suri alpacas. Kathleen had never used a wheel before, but she brought her drum carder and some suri alpaca fiber to try out. Here she is trying out the spinning wheel that belongs to Linda from Sundance Alpacas.
Helping her is Lynda. (If you haven't noticed before, we have more Lindas or Lyndas than you can shake a drop spindle at! We need to come up with some nicknames!) The Linda who owned the wheel wanted to sell it and get a different wheel. After trying everyone's wheels, Kathleen was quite happy to buy Linda's Louet.

My drop spindle came a couple of days ago. I took my spinning wheel and my new drop spindle to spinning group. Here's my drop spindle with some fiber I bought a couple of years ago when I only hoped that someday I would learn to spin:

The fiber is from Ashford, merino and silk in "Mulberry." I'm really enjoying my new spindle. It spins for a long time before I have to start it spinning again. I guess it's the brass ring around the whorl. It's also very pretty. It's Golding's Tsunami.

Rita also had her drop spindle. She brought some lovely hand-dyed wool. She was the only one without a wheel.

Our hostess Linda showed us her shop, with bags of roving, yarns and finished knitted items for sale. She also brought out a bag of roving she bought a long time ago and didn't know what to do with. She wanted to get rid of nearly two pounds of fiber because she didn't know what it was. Lynda latched onto it, took it for a spin on her wheel, and suggested it might be merino. Before I could have a look at it, Lynda had bought it from Linda for the same price per pound that we pay for merino from our spinning teacher. Last night I finished the singles in the rust-colored hand dyed alpaca Linda gave me last week. If I get a chance today, I'm going to ply it.

This has been a busy week, so my blog post is a little behind. I've had three physical therapy sessions (to help with a pinched nerve) and three group meetings, and we've had several days of snow and cold. Quilting met last Thursday, and our regular knitting group was one week ago. New knitter Mary brought her scarf to work on:

She had too many sts. I checked it out, and she had knit a couple of sts but then not taken them completely off the needle. I showed her how she had done it and how to fix it.

Linda was there with her knitting. She always brings several projects to work on. She'll work on one until she gets to a place where she can't keep track of the conversation, then she switches to another project. She's working on a lace scarf here, but she has the KP Holiday Ornament kit.

I'm trying to get the house in order before my thumb surgery on Tuesday. I've been stocking up the freezer, so I won't have to cook. DH will be my houseboy. I've also been trying to make progress on his Fair Isle sleeveless cardi. I'm about half way up the neck decreases. It sure looks funny, with the steek sts pulling in. You can see the armhole with it's steek sts in the upper right-hand corner.

The vertical rows of light and dark are the steek sts. When I get done with the body, I will cut those down the middle, trim off a little bit, and then PU sts for the front band and the armhole bands. No way am I going to finish in time for Christmas, but they will have to pry my knitting from my hands when I go in for surgery Tuesday morning. At least this time we don't have to drive all the way to Salt Lake City, because the new Park City Medical Center has opened. (Too bad I won't be there long enough to have a meal; I've heard their chef is great!) DH will get the sweater in whatever state it's in when I have to wrap it. I'll include an IOU for the finishing.

What's on My Needles/What's on My iPod: See my last post. Nothing has changed. I don't how how soon I'll be able to blog again, but as soon as I can post after surgery, I'll give you a quick note to let you know I'm OK. Happy knitting/spinning! --P

New Knitters

2009-10-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

There's almost nothing better than meeting people who are just learning to knit! Well, except for maybe a KP order filled with yarn, books and new needles! I was invited to a neighbor's house for a "Stitch and Bitch" session Sunday night.

Here I am with one of the knitters. (I'm the older one!) I took my spinning wheel. DH went along to watch football with the other husbands and the father of the hostess, Mary, who was there for a visit. I was greeted by Mary, who had a hole in her knitting. It was definitely what DD used to call a "Mummy fix" moment! I took a look at her knitting. There was a hole and a row of purl bumps on the knit side of her stockinette st. I told her that the phone rang, or she had some interruption, and she didn't pay attention to which side the yarn was on when she started knitting again. She said that she had found the yarn twisted, and had held it up to untwist. That was the interruption. This is one of the most common mistakes by new knitters.

Liz, (in red) the mother of one of the ladies, was there, and by luck, she's an accomplished knitter, and spent the evening helping the new knitters. She and I compared notes on knitting projects. She doesn't spin (yet, LOL), so she was impressed with my wheel. I can't wait for her to come back again, so I can get to know her better. I didn't worry much about helping the new knitters, because they were in good hands.

I love to get people addicted to knitting! I have been known to give them some of my stash and even share needles with them. For this kind of addiction, it's OK to share needles! I'll meet with them again next Sunday for another session. Liz is gone, and they are depending on me to be their knitting guru. They need to meet once a week while they learn.

You may have spotted my friend Georgette in the group. (She's the one doing the needlepoint.) She's an accomplished knitter, too, and I'm sure she will be a big help to this group. (You may remember her from the Moebius class.)

We meet at Georgette's for our once-a-month knitting group on Friday afternoon. I hope to take photos at the knitting group again. A couple of the young women from the Sunday Stitch and Bitch group plan on coming. In the meantime, I've been "friended" by several of them on Facebook, the same day that I met some of my KP buddies on Facebook.

This was grooming week for the pups, so here's a photo of Rocky, just back from the groomer:

He's so beautiful! (You should have seen him before Marcia, the groomer, cleaned him up! He had been on two long hikes over the weekend, and the burrs and seeds were all through his fur. Sunny, too!) Sunny and I visited Federal Heights Nursing Home today, for our usual Delta Society/Therapy Animals of Utah visit. I can't take photos there to protect clients' privacy, but we had our usual effective and fun visit. Sunny seems to know what people want and need, and she give it. If they want kisses (as long as no facial hair is involved) they get it! If they want her in their laps, she goes there. If they want her up on the bed, she jumps up without asking. We'll miss next time because of the scheduled surgery on my other thumb, November 3rd. I promised to be back for the following regular scheduled visit, though. She's the one who does the work. I go along as "entourage" and to keep the paparazzi away.

What's on my needles? Still the FI sleeveless cardi for DH. I'm up to the armhole and neck shaping, and it's going well:

I'm actually about 12 rows past this photo, but you get the picture, so to speak.

What's on my iPod? Still Lorna Doone from Librivox.org. I'm enjoying it, but I keep having interruptions. (Life!) It's a great story! And today, we get a new podcast, I expect. That's aways fun.
So for this week, happy knitting/spinning. Don't drop any sts! --Peggy

Spinning, Spiders and Other Things...

2009-10-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'm making progress on DH's Fair Isle sleeveless cardi! My needles are smoking...well sort of. I just have to finish the current motif, and I'll be able to start the neck and armholes. Here's what it looks like:

The steek will go where the funny vertical stripes are. I am not afraid of steeks anymore after my Classic Lines Cardigan. I'm hoping to finish in time for my second (and final!) thumb surgery. If not, he'll get the sweater in whatever state it's in with an I.O.U. for the work to finish it.

Other Christmas presents include yarn for some of my special non-spinning knitting friends. Here's the alpaca (from the females named Penny and Willow) finished and ready to go. It's more or less sport weight yarn, about eight ounces.

One of my quilting groups met today. Ginny is working on a quilt to go with her mother's oriental carpets and artwork. Here's a photo of the quilted portion of one of her pillow shams. (I taught her to quilt! I'm so excited about her progress.)

Saturday we went on a hike in a place called Round Valley, which is part of Park City. In fact, you can see some of the ski runs in the background. The trails in Round Valley are not as steep as most of those in our area, so I was able to do most of the six-mile hike before my foot started to hurt. Rocky was good, and stayed with the group the whole time. Here's a photo of the people I hiked with:

Sunny was off cavorting while I took the photo, but Rocky is in the photo. He's really hard to see, though, being black. He's next to DH's right knee. (DH is the cute old guy, kneeling.) Rocky is right next to Eddy, the white shaggy dog. See if you can see where he is. Here's a close up:

While sitting in the car waiting for the hike, though, I noticed a spider. I wish I could have gotten a photo of her. I watched as she spun her fiber. (She uses long-draw, BTW.) When she was down about 6" above my seat, she started winding her yarn (onto her spindle? I couldn't see one, but it had to be going somewhere) and climbing back up the yarn (or singles--do spider's ply?) and then started all over again. It was fascinating.

What's on my needles? Same. The FI cardi.
What's on my iPod: Still Lorna Doone.

Happy knitting/spinning/quilting! --Peggy

Happy Birthday, Joanie!

2009-10-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

This is an extra blog to share Joanie's birthday with all of you, especially everyone who has a birthday on October 8th!

This was my present to Joanie: enough of my hand-spun Coopworth to make a Landscape Shawl like mine, so she won't steal it! I also gave her one of those needle gauges that looks like a cross section of a snail. A lot of LYSs have them but you can see what I mean here. The color I got her was sort of a pewter.
Linda (one of the alpaca Lindas) and I took Joanie out to lunch at the No Worries Cafe about a mile from my house.

Dante, the owner, brought the fire extinguisher over so Joanie's cake would catch the cafe on fire! That's Linda by the window, and you can recognize me from the CLiC in Shadow Sunset Heather and Shimmer Sunkissed. Joanie has been a long-time customer of the cafe, as have I. We opened presents. Besides the basket of yarn from me, Joanie got a hat from Linda. It's alpaca and quite fetching! Linda made it, of course.

Joanie had been eying another hat made by the other alpaca Linda. She got it today, too. Her head will be warm this winter. BTW, Joanie knitted the scarf she's wearing in the photos.

Another friend sent her a bag filled with goodies (some consumable, already consumed) and some non-edible candy corn.

When we were done with lunch, the our server and Dante came over with a sweet roll with three candles on it (not nearly enough). Here's the "birthday cake."

The big surprise from Dante came when the server handed me the bill. Linda and I had agreed to split it two ways, because we wanted to treat Joanie. The bill said: "Happy Birthday, Joanie!" We did leave a tip, though. What a nice place to eat. Happy knitting! --P

Sweater Time!

2009-10-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

Good thing I'm making progress on DH's Fair Isle Sleeveless Cardi:

It's the Fridarey Sleeveless Cardigan from The Art of Fair Isle Knitting by Ann Feitelson. The yarn is Jamieson and Smith's Shetland yarn in a fingering weight. Here's a close up:

Winter is paying it's usual short autumn visit in Park City. It always warms up again after this, but it's a reminder: Winter is on the way. Several people have asked me for some photos of snow. (I have already posted a snowball a couple of places for people who still have the AC cranked up!) Here's what it looked like outside my house yesterday:

And the other way:

We had a couple of days of snow, starting on September 30th, then a day off (good behavior?) and another couple of days of snow, starting with rain, then turning to sleet and then snow. So much for the garden! Our gardening efforts this summer netted us one $50 tomato. Well, the squirrels helped keep the cost high, and we were gone a lot. I finished my EZ leggings just in time, and I've been wearing them:

The leggings really feel good when it's cold. Knitter's Almanac has these for September. I did mine with Swish DK in cinnamon, and started them last winter. No way would I have had them done in time If I had started in September!

On Sunday we had the Blessing of the Animals in honor of the feast day of St. Francis. The only animals we had this year were cats and dogs, which was appropriate, because the rain started while we were just beginning the service. Usually we have a pony or alpaca or two, and some bunnies. Hmmm...fiber animals! I took photos of the pups and DH. Here they are, waiting their turn:

Here's Rocky getting blessed:

The pressure is building to get the downstairs cleaned up. A lot of family are coming for Christmas, and I want it to be nice for them. Also, I have to get my Christmas cards ready to go. Easy. A photo of Rocky and Sunny in front of last-year's Christmas tree! (It's in my photos, if you want to look. It's called "Waiting for Santa.")

What's on my needles? DH's sleeveless cardi, of course. My Oregon socks are in a holding pattern. I don't know if I'll get time to get back to them before I have my second thumb surgery. [Sigh!]
What's on my wheel? Mmmmmm! Lovely caramel-colored alpaca! Great for socks, I think!
What's on my iPod? Still Lorna Doone. I haven't been able to just sit and listen. It's been a busy week.
Preview of Coming Attractions: If all goes well, Thursday will bring a meeting of my quilting minigroup, with a visit from a member who moved away a long time ago. (She's back in town visiting.) After that, I plan to take my friend Joanie out to lunch for her birthday. She's a knitter, but she doesn't get online, so I can tell you what she's getting from me--three center-pull balls of my hand-spun Coopworth for a Landscape Shawl and one of those cute needle gauge pendants that look like the cross-section of a snail. She threatened to steal my Landscape Shawl, but I know she would enjoy making it herself, so I know she will love this present!

Alpacas and Charlotte's Babies...

2009-09-28T15:23:00.001-07:00

If you were watching the Alpaca Cam yesterday, you may have seen the alpacas greeting me as I arrived at the ranch.

I got my spinning set up and started work on the orange-rust hand-dyed alpaca I was working on the day before. The alpacas had visitors of all ages during the day.

As I was spinning, I would occasionally have a tiny spider drop from the tent that was providing protection from the sun. I wondered if they were Charlotte's babies. I lifted each on carefully to the ground. After the third or fourth one, I wondered if they were coming to check out my technique. The German word for spider is Spinne, which comes from the verb spinnen, meaning "to spin." (Spinnen also means "to be crazy." 'Nuff said.) Spiders are fantastic spinners, with a singles that's even and strong.

The two alpaca ranches participating in Alpaca Days, Blue Moon Ranch and Alpacas at Sundance Ranch, had products for sale. These were spun either by a company in Salt Lake City called Spinderella, or by my friends Linda and...Linda. Charlotte and her babies were not involved.

Linda and Linda had hats, purses, scarves, sweaters socks and other items made from alpaca fiber. They also had spinning fiber and finished yarn, some of it hand-dyed. Business was good. In the photo above, Linda is explaining something about alpaca fiber to a customer.

By about 2:30 PM I had finished the alpaca I was spinning. Today I plied it on itself, using the method where you use your ball winder to make a center-pull ball and then pull from the inside and the outside at the same time to make a 2-ply yarn. I was pleased that, by concentrating, I could make a fairly balanced yarn. I counted every time my left foot went down (I have a double-treadle wheel). One-two-three, and then I fed the plied yarn to the orifice. I think the penny coordinates well with the yarn. Actually, I'm using that for scale. (I noticed the spinners on Ravelry do that.)

I haven't washed it yet to set the twist, but I wanted to get a photo.

Here's what I started spinning yesterday afternoon (above). I put on another bobbin and started with the caramel-colored alpaca. I'm finding it easier to spin. It doesn't have all the slubs and little odd spots that was in the hand-dyed, which was made from some less even fiber, which makes it interesting and fun to spin--but challenging.

This photo shows a complete alpaca fleece, called a blanket. It was laid out so people could see what it looks like after shearing and before processing. See, alpacas can make blankets, too!

Well, I had to show you something of the gorgeous foliage in my backyard. Nights are cool and days are warm, but we are supposed to have precipitation and cold--maybe snow at our elevation--about Wednesday.

What's on my needles? Still frantically trying to finish up the EZ leggings (AKA "Nethergarments"). I'm on the waist ribbing. I have to do a few rows, then make eyelets for a tie.

What's on my iPod? Still listening to Lorna Doone...about Chapter 20 or so now...and the KP Podcasts, of course. I need to download some Sticks and String and It's a Purl, Man. I'm getting behind.

DH is staining the deck in front, rushing to get done before it snows. Rocky and Sunny are relaxing after the walk we went on. I'm sitting here with a nice cuppa tea before we go to the theater tonight to see A Chorus Line down in Salt Lake City. Happy knitting/spinning, etc. --P

Sipalu Bag Wins First Prize at Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair

2009-09-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe my Sipalu Bag took first prize!

September 12 and 13 were the dates for the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair in South Jordan, Utah. I went to see my friend Linda's exhibit. (She's the one of the friends who raises alpacas.) I gave a ride to my friend Joanie and her daughter Kristi, who are both avid knitters. My Kromski Sonata rode in the back. My plan was to sit and spin for a while with Linda. I also took along the skein of yarn I had just finished using the hand-painted roving from Greenwood Fiber Works so I could show it to her. I was using my Sipalu Bag as a purse.
On my way in through the gate, they took away my yarn and my bag, insisting I enter them in the competitions, which were set up in different categories. I dumped all of my purse stuff into my knitting bag, filled out the forms, and left them there. Linda's DH, Mike, said he would pick them up for me Sunday afternoon. There were a lot of great vendors, including the aforementioned Greenwood Fiber Works.
I went to Linda's today to spin for a while and see her two new babies. That's when I found out that my Sipalu Bag had won first prize in it's category, which was items knit from commercial yarns. Of course, at the time I dropped it off, they didn't have much in that category. Still, the judging form had some nice comments, including what a lovely design it was and how nice the colorway was. Of course, I had nothing to do with the design and colorway, other than choosing to buy the kit. I'm sure if they hadn't thought the workmanship had been any good, it wouldn't have won, though. This was what I got in addition to the ribbon:

Won't this be nice for my knitting? It was donated by Three Wishes, which is where my wheel and lots of my spinning fiber came from. My skein of yarn took a 4th place, with some nice comments about the Navajo plying, and some constructive suggestions about the spinning, which was irregular in some places. The judge wrote that she would like to see what I can do after another year of spinning.
Back to activities at Linda's. I got to see the new babies. So far, there are three: two girls and a boy, one each in black, white and sort of a caramel color. Here's the white baby, less than 2 weeks old:

Linda also showed me her new swift, made for her by her DH, Mike.

The base is from a fan. Mike is handy when it comes to making things. Linda also had a boo-boo in a finished shawl she wanted me to fix before she sent it to it's intended recipient, a new mother and baby. A join had apparently come apart with washing.
When I got back from Linda's I just had time for lunch before my friend Marianne came to practice German with me. We eat Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) and knit while conversing in German. It's good to keep in practice, because we don't often get a chance here in the US. Marianne is making progress on her pullover, which is a Swedish pattern (she's from Sweden) with some yarn substitutions.

I made some progress on my EZ leggings, too. They should be ready to wear soon. I'm doing the waist shaping.

In non-knitting/spinning news, DH had his birthday on Saturday. He was delighted with the new indoor herb garden I got for him as a present. I don't think I've ever been so successful in choosing a good present for him. He couldn't wait to set it up.

Besides the KP podcast, which I like to listen to again and again, I have Lorna Doone on my iPod from Librivox.org. It has been a busy week, and it's nice to have some down time. But tomorrow is knitting group, and it's at my house this time. Happy knitting! --P
P.S.: Please excuse the dog butts in the photos. It happens.

Finished Landscape Shawl! Extra Post!

2009-09-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

I had to show it off!

I couldn't wait until next week's blog to show off my Landscape Shawl! I'm so excited that it's done.
In case you didn't see what I started with, here's a review:

The fiber, Coopworth that had been hand dyed, with all kinds of colorful second cuts and stuff in it.

The singles on my wheel.

Two and a half pounds of spun yarn!
Yes, I'm hooked! I'm finally a spinner. From loose fiber to finished project, I did it all...well, all except the dying. Wait until you see my Kool-Aid dyed fiber project. But that's for another day. Happy knitting and spinning, everyone! --P

More Fiber Fun!

2009-09-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday I went to the Great Basin Fiber Arts Festival in South Jordan, Utah. I didn't take any photos! I can't believe it! I was too busy.
I spent some time in Linda's booth, spinning. Here's the fiber I was working on. It's pumpkin-colored merino and silk that I bought at Three Wishes.

Here's what I'm getting with it for singles:

It's a little harder to spin evenly than the straight merino was. BTW, they took away my skein of hand-painted merino AND my Sipalu Bag (my purse!) to enter in the competitions. I don't think I won anything because I haven't heard, but Linda's husband, Mike, said he would pick up the skein and the bag Sunday afternoon.
Well, of course, I was bad again! The people from Greenwood Fiber Works were there with their gorgeous braids of hand-painted merino. I couldn't resist, because I had so much fun with the first braid, which was the "Mountain Air" colorway. The new one is "Enchanted." I might as well send them my whole Social Security check and tell them just to throw at me whatever they want!

My Landscape Shawl is blocking. My lace-blocking wires came yesterday. I can't wait to wear it, and it has started getting cold here. While I had the Kookaburra Wool Wash made up, I used it to wash a Fair Isle pullover vest and a sleeveless cardi to get them ready for winter. The scent of the Wool Wash is all over the house now!
What's on my needles? I'm back to working on DH's Fair Isle sleeveless cardi (maybe for Christmas, if I can get it done before the second thumb surgery) and my EZ leggings for winter. If I have time, I'll try to finish up my Oregon socks, which are coming along.

Fiber, Fiber, Fiber...My Head is Spinning!

2009-09-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I was camping last week and along with the hiking, I got some knitting and spinning done. If you look at my last blog, you'll see photos of my camping experience. I have finished the spinning project that I was working on during the time in the mountains. This is my first multi-colored spinning project.

This is the fiber I started with. It's hand-dyed merino from Greenwood Fiber Works.

Here's what it looked like on the wheel. I had no control over what colors went into the yarn, other than picking out a colorway I liked, but I could make the sections of color longer or shorter by drafting.

I also could combine the colors while drafting or plying. I chose Navajo plying because it keeps the colors together, rather than combining them barber-pole fashion. Navajo plying is sort of like making a long crochet chain, except that you make the loops fairly long, and you're adding twist as you work. Because you're working with one strand of yarn, the colors tend to stay together, except where the singles change from one color to another. After plying, I wound my yarn onto the niddy noddy DH made for me out of pvc pipe.

I tied it with figure-eights in four places, washed it in Kookaburra Wool Wash and hung it in the shade to dry.
In other activities, we had our annual geology hike just above Salt Lake City on Labor Day. Here's what you could see:

DH is on the far right. He's a geologist (retired), and every year he leads a group of hikers from the Park City Mountain Sports Club to learn about regional geology. Yes, that is a wolf to his left. She belongs to a friend of ours who hikes with us, the tall man in the hat.

What's on my needles? Still my Landscape Shawl with my hand-spun Coopworth. The yarn is fairly lumpy. I could have made smoother yarn, but at this point in my spinning, I would have had to card it, and would have lost all the little bits of color, which are actually second cuts, little bits of fiber that result from the shearer going back over part of the sheep already shorn. I'm making progress on my shawl!

What's on my earbuds? I'm currently listening to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte on my iPod, downloaded from librivox.com for free. (Thank you, librivox!) As always, I have KP podcasts on my little MP3 player and am anxiously awaiting new ones.

I'm looking forward to finishing my Landscape Shawl and a new spinning project. The area fiber fest, Great Basin Fiber Arts Festival, is coming up next weekend, as well as the open house at the Blue Moon Ranch alpaca farm (which belongs to one of the Lindas) the following weekend. I'm going to take my wheel and spin alpaca fiber. Life is good.

Washington Lake Camping, Spinning and Knitting

2009-09-05T06:50:00.000-07:00

We're back, the dogs are pooped and the trailer is back in its storage space. We had a wonderful time, a perfect end to a wonderful summer. While we were camping, my SIL, Eileen, showed me her Aran cardi, which is on her needles right now. Here it is. She is using HW City Tweed in Romance.

HW City Tweed

Eileen is a wonderful knitter. She knits "English style," but is as fast as I am, even on ribbing. She puts the long, straight needle under her right arm. She and I bought yarn for our Aran cardis on Inish Mor while we were there on a hiking trip several years ago. We had fun in the yarn shop, while our DHs (who are brothers) cooled their heels outside. The shop also sold sweaters to tourists. The proprietor was excited to have people come into her store who actually knit! Eileen bought green, and I bought blue. (You can see my blue cardi in my photos.) I made mine for myself, and she made her green cardi for a friend. Then she wanted one for herself. She checked out my City Tweed DK and decided to try the HW, since the recommended gauge matched what she needed. I think the bright color suits her, and the cables show up well.
I've been trying to be good and finish up some UFOs, but I took along the yarn that I spun from hand-dyed Coopworth. I had 2 1/2 lbs to start with, and I spun it all! (See my last post.) I wanted to make a swatch for the Landscape Shawl from Fiber Trends, so I was just going to have a go using my new Zephyrs. Well, my first swatch absolutely hit gauge, even though I was guessing as to which yarn size my finished yarn was and what size needles to use. My swatch was so pretty, I couldn't resist. I CO the Landscape. Well, it only takes 2 sts to CO, so I couldn't leave it there. Here's what I have now:

Speaking of spinning, I took my wheel camping with me for the first time. We went up to the Uintas (mountains in eastern Utah) a day before our scheduled camping trip with BIL, SIL and two other couples. We had reservations at Washington Lake starting Monday, so we stopped at a campground called "Cobble Rest" overnight. Our campsite had a lovely stream, so in the evening, DH and I took our olives, wine and my Kromski Sonata spinning wheel down to the beach for an enjoyable couple of hours.

If you look closely, you can see my wine class in the pocket of my chair. The fiber I'm using came from a place called "Greenwood Fiber Works," and is hand-dyed merino. It comes in a long braid.

Here's what it looks like on my WooLee Winder:

While we were at Washington Lake, I brought out my wheel again. Even though I was tired after hiking, I still had energy to spin. I discovered that the wheel, when placed on the bench of the picnic table in the campsite, was the perfect height for spinning. Plus I had a great view of the lake from there.

Here's what the lake looked like late in the day:

We did more than sit around. We went on a hike every day and ended each day with a communal dinner with the other three couples and their dogs. The last full day, DH, the dogs and I took a hike alone, while several others of our group enjoyed the fishing. We had some great views from our lunch site. Here is DH sharing his lunch with Rocky and Sunny:

We took a lot of photos, including these of Rocky and Sunny. Here's Rocky, right after swimming, posing by one of the many lakes in the Uintas:

He's saying, "Look, a bird." That's Rocky! Birds, sticks, balls and squeeky toys! Sunny had a good swim, too. She mostly likes chasing things that are alive, so she can change their status. But she'll go after a stick in the water if she thinks she can get it before Rocky does.

What's on my needles? Well, besides the Landscape Shawl, the usual. I got a little more done on the Oregon socks while we were driving. Now I'm working full time on my Landscape Shawl. And looking at the photos of our fun trip.
Happy knitting!

Fantastic Fiber Fun

2009-09-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

As you read this, I am in the high Uinta Mountains of Utah, hiking my little feet off, knitting at high altitude (pant, pant) and enjoying time with friends, one of whom is a knitter. I hope to post photos next week. In the meantime, let me show you what I've been up to since finishing the Moebius classes:

Remember the pile of Coopworth fiber I had?

This stuff was fun to work with, but full of lovely clumps of stuff. Of course, my yarn ended up full of stuff, too. On top of that, my spinning was uneven. I have some stuff that's kinked up. Some of is was overspun and some was overplied. That's great, if it's intentional. It wasn't. I still have a lot to learn. However, I enjoyed spinning it, and lots of it is close to what I wanted. I made more progress after getting my WooLee Winder:

I plan on making The Landscape Shawl from Fiber Trends. You can see it here. I think this pattern will be very forgiving, and the variations in the yarn should make it more interesting, rather than to detract from the design.

What's on my needles? Well, mostly the same. I finished my Moebius scarf and Trifold Bowl, which I posted about last week. I'm still working on my Oregon socks, put a few rows on the shell to go with my CLC and "thought" about picking up DH's sleeveless cardi. If I CO for a swatch for my Landscape Shawl, am I backsliding? Does it count if it's just a swatch? Hmmm. Well, if so, I think my UFO KAL buddies will forgive me. In the meantime, here's something of a preview of what I'll be surrounded with. This is Crystal Lake, not Washington Lake, but it's in the Uintas, so you get the idea. Until next week, happy knitting!

A Long Post for a Fantastic Class

2009-08-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe what a weekend it was! Knitting teacher and musician Lucille Reilly came in Thursday, driving all the way from the Denver area. I awaited her arrival at the home of my friend Barbara (one of several Barbaras, actually, who are my friends). Barbara has a nice guest room with a queen-size bed, and she had agreed to let Lucille stay with her, which gave Barb some extra live-in help on her scarf if she needed it. She was the star pupil, though, so didn't need it, although she had a house guest she could talk about knitting with. The next day, Friday morning, we met at my house for the class.

Above are (from left) Georgette, Linda and Barbara, working away on their Moebius scarves. The CO is tricky, but if you're doing the basic scarf, it's a coast from the CO until you get to the I-cord BO. Lucille made us swatch before we came to class. She explained how important drape is for a Moebius scarf, and how gauge relates to drape.
In the middle of the table you can see one of the centerpieces from the wake held by the Colorado-area participants in Sock Wars III after they had all met their doom. It's a sock at half-mast! Lucille sent it to me, along with a tiny sock she knit with short 0000 needles for the winner of the obituary contest, which turned out to be yours truly. So I sometimes wear the sock on a chain around my neck. Sometime I'll have to post the obit, so you can have a chuckle. Here Lucille helps Kay, another participant in the class:

We had so much fun! While we were working on the "mindless" stuff, Lucille brought out some of her collection. She has a large number of felted bowls, including several versions of the Trifold Bowl three of us were going to learn to make Sunday afternoon. Here she tries on a Moebius hat. Too bad I just got a photo of the ladies laughing. The hat was great, and it was beaded. I need to get her to send me a photo of it. That's Norma, with her back to us.

This was my favorite bowl. You can see more of her stuff here.

Lucille has a pair of socks (Jaws) coming out in the book Think Outside The Sox. On her website you can see Jaws and her Fibonacci Trees socks, which she also entered, but are not in the book. I want to make both pairs. Maybe she'll publish the Trees socks somewhere! Anyway, on Sunday, the three of us who were taking the bowl class posed with our finished scarves. This is Linda, I'm in the middle, and then Georgette. They're both tall; I'm not as short as I look.

One of Lucille's great talents is for coming up with little tricks that help ordinary people accomplish more challenging aspects of a project. We used Cat Bordhi's wonderful books, A Treasury of Magical Knitting or A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting for the patterns and instructions, depending on whether we were taking just the scarf or both classes, but Lucille had her own handouts to complement them, with her own pictures and explanations. (She told us she didn't believe in copying other's work for handouts, so everything was her own.) She's an excellent teacher, too, possessing both natural teaching ability and actual academic teacher training. That's probably why, of all the knitting, quilting and spinning classes, this was the best!
Lucille was here for five nights. We had the all-day class on Friday (sack lunches and a couple of pots of coffee!), and Friday night we went to the TGIF of the Park City Mountain Sports Club, of which several of us are members. The party was at the Swaner Nature Preserve building, which overlooks the Preserve, so there was a good view. It was a potluck, and we had some good food. Saturday the weather was nice (wonderful stroke of luck, as we've had a lot of rain, and more was predicted), so we went for a hike on the trail to Summit Peak, which is just above our house. My wonderful DH, our dogs, and Lucille and I enjoyed the view and the shade along the trail, which was nice, as it was rather warm for these parts. We went to lunch at the No Worries Cafe at the base of Summit Park, and then DH went home to be with the dogs. Lucille and I went on to Linda's to see her new baby alpaca. Here's a photo of the baby with her mother and some of the other females in the herd:

Linda brought out some cut-up carrots for Lucille to give to the "ladies." Lucky Linda, to have fiber on the hoof...actually, they don't have hooves, but you know what I mean. Four of the ladies are PG, so Linda's herd will be growing even more.

After the 'pacas were done with the carrots, we went inside to sit and knit, and Lucille helped Linda with her spinning. Linda has had difficulty getting the singles as thin as she likes. Lucille has a similar wheel and years more experience, so she was a big help. She had lots of tricks for that, too! I learned a lot from watching her.
Saturday night, we went to Georgette's birthday party at the home of a friend of Georgette's who lives in my neighborhood. We had some great food and got some knitting done. I was done with my scarf except for the graft at the end of the BO, so I took my Stonington Shawl. I discovered a hole in it. I don't know how that happened, but I decided the best approach was to frog back to below the hole, so I did. Lucille had CO for a Moebius sweater. Yes, you read that right: a Moebius sweater. This woman knows no limits!
Sunday, Lucille went to church with me (turns out we're both Episcopalian). When we got back to my place, she tuned my autoharp for me and took the chord bars off and rearranged the chords for me, so I can play it. This was a new autoharp when I bought it years ago, but the chords were placed strangely, so I couldn't play it at all. Lucille is a professional musician. She performs and teaches hammered dulcimer, autoharp and guitar, and her music is amazing. I guess that's why she's so creative. We had our bowl class in the afternoon. I had a boo-boo. I was so busy making sure I didn't have a couple of extra sts that I ended up with twice the st count! I didn't discover it until we were putting the st markers every 27 sts so we would know where the folds were to be. I was supposed to have six, and I had 12! I had to frog the whole thing. That explained why the others were so fast. (They're throwers, so I should have been ahead.) I re-CO'd and barreled through the first row. I don't think I'll ever forget how to do the CO, after having done it three times! Here's what it looks like now, after doing the PU sts, etc. I'm ready to start the dec sts approaching the bottom of the bowl.

Sunday evening we had a potluck party with some of the members of our knitting group who were unable to take the classes. It was a lot of fun. Lucille and I got some more knitting done, too, he-he!
Monday, we left home with my friend and knitting/spinning buddy, Lynda, to visit some of the LYSs in SLC. We went to Unraveled Sheep first. Lucille really hit it off with the owner of the shop, Verla, who seems to have the same kind of mind as Lucille. Verla showed us some socks she was working on. They were really interesting. She was using two yarns at a time, and I couldn't understand how she changed from one to the other, but every time she came to a new needle (using dpns), she would change color. Another pair of socks had an occasional sl st. We bought some stuff and then went to Three Wishes, which is where my wheel came from. The owner there was also very interested in Lucille. We bought some more stuff, then went to the Thai restaurant for lunch. Our last yarn stop was The Black Sheep. I bought a pattern there. I think Lucille may be able to teach a class for the first two shops when she comes back to town, maybe in the spring. These two shops often cooperate on classes.
Linda has offered us her condo, which is rented out during the ski season, but otherwise sits vacant. We're planning on perhaps having a sock retreat. Lucille will come and teach us "toe-up socks that fit." We're going to use Stroll Sport, because it will go faster, and people can finish a sock in a weekend. I'm hoping I can get her to give me an autoharp lesson while she's here, and maybe some tips on my spinning. And maybe I'll teach Lucille to quilt. --P

Confessions of a Frantic Knitter

2009-08-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have been really busy. Lucille Reilly, a knitting teacher from Colorado, is coming to teach a class in the Moebius Scarf, based on Cat Bordhi's designs. She will be staying at the home of one of my knitting buddies. Friday we have the class. I had to get people to sign up, then I had to order the books and the needles for everyone and make sure they got here on time. They did. I got the books in time to take advantage of KP's 40% off sale. Here's Lucille's photo of the scarf:

Three of us will continue on on Sunday afternoon with the Mobius bowl. Here's what it looks like:

It's felted, and the instructions for both are in Cat's book, The Second Treasury of Magical Knitting.

I've been busy with my own knitting as well. I finally finished my Sipalu bag! Sitting in the truck while DH did the driving during our recent trip, I got a lot of knitting done! Here's what my bag looks like:

I'm looking for a different button, but this one works for now. I like to catch the stranded yarn every other st, which isn't too hard to do, because I hold one yarn in each hand. Here's what it looked like on the inside before lining:

I decided to put a different strap on it, because I find I-cord somewhat boring. I used the pattern for the upper border for the strap, adding an extra row of Merlot Heather on the top and bottom, then a purl row and a couple more more of stockinette st.

I knit it in the round and then prepared for a steek, using the crochet method. The lower photo shows what it looked like after cutting.

It looked very nice, but I soon saw that it was going to come apart. The Palette isn't clingy enough for that method, so I sewed it. Then I picked up sts at each end and made a band to cover the cut sts. I lined the strap with iron-on interfacing, with the lining fabric on top. I sewed each end onto my bag. The interfacing also went into the upper border. I made a pillow-case-type bag out of the lining, sewed over each corner to make it more box-shaped, and put a little pocket onto it for my cell phone. I used applique st to sew the lining to the bag. Now I'm enjoying using it as a purse. It will probably become a knitting bag, but for now, I can't bear not to take it with me everywhere. (The socks I"m knitting are inside, as well as my wallet, cell phone and keys!)
My Oregon socks are moving along. I have about 3 1/2" of the cuff done on the second sock. (See my last blog entry for a photo.) I have also been swatching for both the scarf and the bowl. Not as much time to knit this week, with the preparations for the class and other things. I've been trying to clean up my workroom. Sunny and I visited the nursing home yesterday and saw 27 people! Some kind of record for us, I think. Today our elderly kitty had to go to the vet for a checkup.

Spinning: I've been doing a little spinning, although after I have my second thumb surgery, I will be able to spin but not knit, so it can wait. Here's my lastest hank of the hand-dyed Coopworth I've been working on:

Not as tidy as I'd like, but all of this was done post surgery. If I want to get this effect again, I may have to have another thumb operated on!

I'll try to take photos during the classes, so I can report on them during my blog next week. Happy knitting! --P

Gnomes and Faries!

2009-08-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here's my current now-active project (once a UFO), the Oregon Socks:

My little friend has been with me for years, and he wanted to help me display my Oregon socks. He became faded a few years ago, so I used paint to touch him up. You can see how grateful he is! These socks are based on Ariel Barton's Cable net socks from Knitty, which you can view here.

I'm using Ariel's cable pattern, except for two things: 1) My treatment of the edge of the design on the instep--which is different because of a mistake I made, which turned out to be pretty, too, so I continued it. Here's what it looks like:

And 2) The heel, which I did in "Eye of Partridge" pattern instead of continuing the cable net down the heel flap. I thought the "Eye of Partridge" would hold up better, being denser. This is how you do it--
Row 1 (right side): *Sl 1, K 1* repeat across ending K 1.
Row 2 and even rows: Sl 1, purl across
Row 3: Sl 2, *K1, Sl 1* repeat across, ending with K2.
What happens is, every RS row, you will have K1 above where you had Sl1 on the previous RS row, and vice versa.

Here's what it looks like on my Oregon sock:

The yarn is KP's Gloss in Parsley, which is yummy to work with. I love the silky feel in my hands while I'm knitting, as well as the sheen to the finished sock. It was a little difficult to get back into this UFO, which I started during our trip to Oregon last summer. Part of the reason I put it down was the chart. I'm sure the chart was designed properly and easy enough to read...if you printed it in color with a really new ink cartridge! I printed it in B&W using an old ink cartridge, silly me! It was so light that I couldn't see the lines that defined the sts. On top of that, my inadvertent change to the pattern didn't show up on the chart, leaving me puzzling about what I needed to do to keep MY pattern going. When I picked it up again the end of last week, I re-wrote the chart on graph paper, with the changes I had made, in good, dark pencil, which has helped a lot. Then I hit another snag when I got to sock #2. This time, my problem was the CO. I had decided to try the cable CO, and to work the CO in K1P1 rib, as was suggested by some instructions I downloaded from somebody-or-other's website. I had a little trouble, but my new book Knit Fix by Lisa Kartus came to my rescue with really good instructions. The hard part was realizing that I had to move the yarn underneath my work instead of on top to get it from back to front for a P st or front to back for a K. It was so long since I started the first sock, I couldn't remember exactly what I did, and I really wanted the two socks to be close to the same, at least. Now I can't wait to wear these socks, and am amazed at how close I am to being finished. I had the first sock almost done when I dropped it. I can't believe I ever put it down! I'm wearing my Kristi socks, and they are encouraging me to finish the Oregon socks!

In my "real" life, it has been a busy week. We had tons of laundry after our trip, some of which had to be done before we could take the 5th wheel back to it's storage space. We took time for a hike on Saturday to take the pups to the Fairy Tree in Toll Canyon, close to Park City. The Fairy Tree is an old, almost-dead tree that attracts beads, little toys, notes, medals and other items left by visitors. We are not allowed to take anything, but we can leave something. Every once in a while, the owner of the property comes and cleans it out. Within a week, it's all decorated again! We saw some new items since our last trip to the Fairy Tree. Someone had left the program from a loved one's funeral, which was held in June. Here's what the Fairy Tree looks like:

And here it is with my family posing in front of it:

Rocky thinks his profile is better, but Sunny wants you to see her beautiful eyes. The tree looks different in the winter, with just a little bit of it sticking out above the snow. It's a good snowshoe destination. We spent a lot of time throwing a tennis ball as we hiked, and sometimes we threw a stick. We came home and crashed afterwards. The dogs were tired, too.

What's on my needles: The Oregon sock, the second one, of course. I'm still trying to decide on a strap or straps for my Sipalu Bag. I'm thinking I want to do something a little different. I have the lining and some interfacing all ready to go. My Nonna's Garden shawl is calling to me...and then I would like to finish the sleeveless cardi for DH for Christmas if I can. I need to work on the shell for my CLC. I was in visiting my orthopedic surgeon yesterday, and she's encouraging me to get my second thumb done sooner rather than later, so I'll be completely recovered for our daughter's wedding. And then there's the wedding quilt. I bought the fabrics, but I need to clean up my workroom before I can start cutting. Here are my fabrics:

The dark color looks greenish, but it is really a dark blue, not quite navy. I'm going to use the John Flynn method, where you sew straight strips together and then take a little dart in each seam. I would like to at least get the quilt pieced before I have my next surgery. Then at least I can show it to them, even if it takes me until after the wedding to quilt it! Happy knitting/quilting, everyone!

Homeward Bound

2009-08-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

As you read this, we are on the road somewhere between Kimball, Nebraska, and Kimball Junction, where I-80 meets Hwy 224, which leads to Park City. In other words, we'll be home soon!
What have we been doing since my last blog post? We left the KOA near Mishawaka, IN, and our DS the elder and DIL, but not before Rocky learned to play tetherball:

We stopped twice in Iowa, once in the area near Amana, to see the Amana villages, which were founded by a religious group that arrived in this country in the mid-19th century and spread to Iowa. In Amana, I added a new sheep to my sheep collection. Here DH treats the new sheep to a real local beer:

We had a great campsite. We got there early, so we got a place with a view. Here's what the campsite looked like:

The May basket my friend Joanie gave me May 1st. Is still going strong. We took it along. We hung it out on our trailer every night as we hooked up:

In the evening, the sun set over the lake. Finally the ducks and geese went to bed, so Rocky and Sunny could relax. It's amazing how waterfowl affect mini-poos! You think of them as lap dogs, but they are direct descendants of the dogs bred to hunt ducks and geese. Here's the sunset:

What's on my needles? Not the Kristi socks. They're finished! Yaaay! Here they are on my feet. I will wear them on the last leg of the trip tomorrow.:

On to finish my Sipalu Bag. Then I need to get started on the Double Wedding Ring quilt for DD. With additional thumb surgery, I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to finish the hand quilting if I don't get started. This has been a great vacation. We've had really good luck with the weather, as with our equipment. It was great to see our DD and future SIL in Wisconsin, and to see our DS the elder and DIL the quilter in Indiana. It was great that DS cleaned my laptop. It doesn't get sluggish anymore. Now if I can get an exorcist to fix the possession...

Happy knitting/quilting. --P

Boomerang

2009-07-29T20:57:00.001-07:00

It has been a great trip, and soon we will be starting on the return trip, which won't take as long. The trip from Utah to Indiana by way of Montana, South Dakota and Wisconsin was like going from A to B by way of C. Our trip home beginning Friday morning will be from B back to A, so we shouldn't take as long. It has been a great trip. The best part was the engagement of our DD (Karen) to one of the greatest guys we know (David). Seeing them happy together is a delight. Here's what they look like together:

This was taken aboard the La Crosse Queen, during the short cruise we all took together up the Mississippi River. That was a fun trip. We saw turtles sunning themselves and a bald eagle sitting in a tree, among other things. It was fun spending time with DD Karen during our time in Wisconsin.

The cute old guy standing behind Karen in this photo is my DH, Charlie. If the two of them look Finnish, there's good reason. DH's mother came from Finland. Rocky and Sunny had a good time meeting David's dog, Baxter, and Karen's kitty, Fluffy. Mum and Dad enjoyed the visit to a couple of wineries, including one that uses apples along with the grapes for a unique wine. The visit at the winery was really interesting, too. The old fellow who makes the wine and runs the winery was very interesting. We saw some cute old towns in that part of Wisconsin.
While I was there, I got some knitting done. Oooo, I'm getting close on the Kristi socks. Sock #2 is almost half done. Here's how far I got:

We made it from Wisconsin to Indiana in one day. We found a KOA really close to Mishawaka with full hookups, big trees, a great doggie playground with wooden log play equipment just for dogs and other great amenities. Rocky and Sunny met their ? (niece and nephew?), our DS the elder's and DIL's two Westies, Coco and Odie. Today we took them to the regular dog park, where they got to run, run, run!

The human in the photo is our DS the elder, Tim. We were surprised to see that he had shaved the top of his head. He inherited the semi-baldness from my father, that left him with about eight hairs to comb over. It was a surprise, but I think it was a good solution to the problem of what to do with those eight hairs!
After we wore out the dogs at the dog park, we took them home to Tim and Patty's and left them in their individual crates, so we could go to Shipshewana, which is an Amish community. There we had lunch and wandered around, checking out the sights, which included a number of horse and buggy combinations. Here are Tim and Patty at lunch:

Patty is an avid quilter, so we looked for quilting fabrics and inspiration. I picked up a set of John Flynn templates and instructions for making a double wedding ring quilt. I wonder who gets that? The quilt, I mean. Patty found lots of inspiration:

We had dinner at Tim and Patty's this evening, and Rocky and Sunny got to play with Coco and Odie again, and pester the cat, Thomas. Tomorrow, I get to cook for them. Tim has to work, so we will go to see the store where he is manager, and then play with the dogs and knit or talk quilting until supper time. In the evening, Tim is going to try to clean my computer and see if it helps with the overheating problem. We bought the DVD of Coraline, our DS the younger's film (well, he worked on it anyway), which they haven't seen yet. I'm hoping to get the Kristi socks finished during the trip back. If I have internet along the way, I will try to post. --P

Great News!

2009-07-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends! I'm posting from Hardin, MT, where we have a nice little spot in a KOA with full hookups! I'll get to an update on my current knitting, along with what I've been up to, but first my good news! [Drumroll, please.]
Our daughter is engaged! We found out yesterday. Not fully unexpected, but still wonderful news.The best news is that our prospective SIL is a wonderful guy, and he proposed in a way that was really sweet and unexpected. She deserves a great guy. (She's kissed a lot of frogs, and not because she's spent much time at the frog pond, although she is a knitter.) They have been engaged since Tuesday, and we didn't find out until Sunday, because we had no signal on our phone where we were camping out in the boonies.
Speaking of our trip, here's a photo of our hotel:

It was in a little town a few miles south of Wise River, MT. They even have an LYS. Here's a photo of it:

The only trouble was the nosy neighbors and the mosquitos. Here's one of the nosy neighbors:

Actually, that was a ghost town. The nosy neighbors were marmots. The LYS had no yarn, and we didn't stay in the hotel, as attractive as it was. Here's where we actually stayed. The dog is our dogs' cousin, Onslow. He's adopted, so he doesn't look anything like our poodles.

We just left our BIL and SIL in Missoula yesterday. They were taking a bicycle trip, and we're heading eastward to see our newly-engaged DD (trip already planned before we got the news), and DS the elder. I'll try to check in if I can get internet.
What's on my needles: Lots and lots! However, most significant are: my Kristi socks! One down, one to go (less one inch already done), and the shell to go with my CLC, which is about 2" now. I love how the Shimmer Sunkissed looks knitted in st st double stranded! Here's my first Kristi:

Here's another view:

I'll try to check in when we have internet. It may not be until Wisconsin, but it all depends. In the meantime, everyone buy the DVD of Coraline today! (Available July 21st, today!) Our DS the younger helped make it, and it's a great film! Not that I'm biased or anything!
Well, I have to plan a wedding quilt! -P

Missing Spinning

2009-07-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

As you read this, I am on the road, hopefully knitting in the back seat with Sunny, or enjoying the outdoors with the whole family. IF I didn't take my spinning wheel (my lovely, adorable, efficient and user-friendly Kromski Sonata), I am missing spinning very much. My thoughts drift back to my last spinning meeting at Linda's:

As you can see, it was a nice day. Sunny and pleasantly warm. Lynda is spinning yummy merino wool on her Majacraft wheel. (I don't know the name of the model.) Here's another view:

This was the day Linda (shown in the next photo on the right, not to be confused with Lynda, left) decided to try everyone's wheels. She has a Louet, a very basic model, and it has been difficult for her to spin with. It has very few adjustments you can make, but leaves all adjustments up to the spinner to accommodate for the kind of fiber and the type of yarn desired. She's looking for a new wheel, either a different model Louet or a different brand, so she's getting ideas from all her spinning buddies.

Linda is processing the fiber from her alpacas. You probably saw the shearing a few weeks back (see my blog "Shear Terror").
My lovely Sonata can be seen on the far left, sporting its new WooLee Winder, which has made life so much simpler for me. I'm almost done with my Coopworth hand-dyed roving. I'm thinking of making the Landscape Shawl with it, but I may change my mind. After I finish with it, I want to start on the fiber I dyed using Kool Aid and food coloring. I think it would make a nice sweater, using white and natural brown to compliment the colors from the dying process: dusty blue, burnt orange and taupe. All of it is Corriedale, and it's all in batts except for the natural brown. As much as I love vacations, if I can't take my wheel, I will actually be looking forward to coming home, so I can spin. I also plan on (shhhh!) making some hand-spun yarn for some dear friends for Christmas.
What's on my needles? Well, definitely, the Kristi sock! At the time I was writing this, I had about an inch to go before the toe shaping on the first sock. I will CO for the second right away, because this sock is so much fun. I'm also taking my Cable Net sock started last year, although it takes a lot of concentration, and I may not be able to get much done, with all the distractions of travel. My Sipalu Bag just needs the top border, and my current purse is driving me nuts! (It takes two hands to close.) I definitely will be working on it on the trip. I also have the Grazing Sheep Bag to CO and maybe finish, if I get rolling (other than rolling in the truck). Finally, I plan on casting on for the shell to go with my CLC. I wound the lovely Shimmer yarn in Sunkissed yesterday, so it's all ready to go. It will be simple, almost mindless knitting in the round up to the armholes, with a little bit of ribbing in the middle of the front. Easy to work on when something distracting is going on. I packed some new sock yarn, just in case I'm not in the mood for one of these projects. No quilting this trip. My right thumb hurts when I quilt, so it isn't worth taking the bed-size quilt, which is my current quilting project. I work on it from time to time, but can't do it for more than an hour.
Where am I going, you ask? First, we're going up to Montana for a few days with DH's brother and our SIL, who also have a trailer. Then we head eastward, through South Dakota, with the goal of reaching Onalaska, Wisconsin, where DD lives. After a visit there, we'll move on to Mishawaka, Indiana, to visit DS the elder. (DS the younger lives in Portland.) We hope to see some sights along the way, do some hiking and have fun with the dogs.
I'll be taking lots of photos, of course! I hope to be able to log on from DD's or DS's homes, but we'll see. Don't worry about me if you don't hear from me for several weeks, though. All of you will be in my thoughts. Happy knitting! --Peggy

Catching Up...

2009-07-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

I've been working with my new camera, taking photos of my completed quilts. It's fun to see the quilts show up so much like real life. Here's what my bedroom looks like right now. The quilt on the bed is a replica of the quilt that was on my bed when I was growing up in Jamaica Plain, MA.
At least, it's close to what I remember the quilt to look like. I didn't learn until years later that the fabrics were from the '30s, so the fabrics at least were already a few years old at the time.

I hand-appliqued the wagon wheels and blanket stitched around each one. I hand-quilted the quilt.

At the foot of the bed is another replica quilt. It's a copy of a quilt a friend found in a thrift store. She paid $19 for it and was afraid they were going to pursue her out of the store, saying it was a mistake. I had goose bumps when she pulled it out of the bag at our quilt guild meeting! She let me take photos, and after some research, I discovered that the orange color was "tango," a '40s color, which I was able to reproduce after some research. I also hand quilted this one.

In the living room, I have the quilts already on display among the photos on my page: the log-cabin quilt and the quilts for the two dogs. In addition, there is an applique quilt I made in 2007, using three blocks from the house quilt in the book Home Sweet Home. I have forgotten the name of the author and gave the book to a friend to use, so I can't refer to it, but it was a fun project.

I picked the three blocks I liked best, used the colors in my living room with black fabrics for background. I hand-appliqued and hand-quilted it, but I used the machine to sew the blocks together and piece the border. I used a braid border, rather than the swag that's in the book, because the swag would have made it too big to fit over my mantle.

Finished Objects! Well, Amost...

2009-07-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

There is a finish to our objects. Projects end, either because we throw them in the trash or because we come to some other kind of conclusion, such as a successful completion. During our quilting/knitting minigroup (aka "Common Threads"), my friend Kay finished the afghan she was making for a friend. Here is Kay (right) holding up her afghan. My friend Joanie (of the "Sheepish Ladies") is on the left. Hooray for a finished object, even if it wasn't one of mine! (I tried to get her to leave it with me. It goes with my couch perfectly! It doesn't really show up, but it's burgundy.)

In the meantime, I've been busy as well. I have found time during the day to not only do my thumb, wrist and hand exercises with putty and weights, do a little spinning, but also to knit. I've made progress on my Kristi sock (down to about half of the foot), but reached a milestone (not a millstone--this is too much fun!) on my CLC! I have attached the sleeves and am ready to do the raglan shaping. Here's what it looks like. I had to put it on three circs, so I could take the photo and then count the number of sts (right on!) before continuing.

I will be doing the rest on two circs. I think it will be easier than trying to fit it all on one needle and having to ML when it gets too small.

I didn't get much done on my Nonna...well, I didn't work on it at all, truth be told. I didn't take it with me on our trip to San Diego for DH's 50th high school reunion. I will get back to it soon. What a fun project!

My current quilting project couldn't go along on the trip, either. Here's hoping I can get some time to work on it.

My Corriedale roving in a deep chocolate came while I was out of town. I think it will be perfect with my Kool Aid and food coloring dyed Corriedale and the white Corriedale, all of which I ran through the drum carder. I don't think I need to run the brown through the drum carder. It's ready to spin. As soon as I get done with the Coopworth hand dyed, I'll get started on the Corriedale for a yoked, neck-down sweater. The brown with finish the sleeves and body after the yoke is done.

Shear Terror!

2009-06-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

The clouds parted, and the gentle sunlight spread over the little pastures and driveway of my friend Linda's alpaca farm. The fluffy heads were erect, like glass-headed pins stuck into round, fuzzy pin cushions, as the animals gazed with curiosity at the row of cars, parked diagonally, like the parking lot of a strip mall. What were so many humans doing, coming to visit Linda? Little did they know...

Monday was shearing day for the fluffy alpacas at Linda's. It had been scheduled for the week before, when I was on the road, but postponed because of rain, so I got to attend and help. My job was to sweep the loose hair away from the body of the animal being sheared, so the shearer wouldn't slip on it.

We started with the young males, all under one year. The animal was led in and the front feet put into loops in a couple of ropes that were part of a pulley system. Then the back feet were tied the same way. The shearer showed Tom, the helper, how to hold the animal by his ears and straddle the head. He pulled on the rope, and the animal's front legs went forward, and the back legs went back, so the body was exposed.

Alpacas are prey animals, and as such fear being led away or tied down. Fortunately, the process doesn't take long, and they are back in the pasture almost before they know it. While it's going on, though, they seem to think they're going to be butchered. Some of them carry on throughout the whole process, making whinnying noises. The females sometimes spit, requiring the application of a sock to the muzzle.

The main part of the fleece--the part that covers the animal's back and sides--is called the blanket. It comes off pretty much in one piece, and goes into a bag labeled with the animal's name and "#1." The fleece from the neck goes into a separate bag, and that from the legs into a third one.

After shearing, the dazed animal is led back to the pasture. I followed the young males back to the pasture while the older males were being brought in. The little boys frolicked around, happy to be rid of all that hair, but sniffing each other as if they didn't recognize their friends.

The females spend 11 months of the year pregnant, and some of them showed the swollen belly that indicated a birth in the next couple of months. All of the animals seemed happy to get rid of their winter coats, though, and the last one was finished at about 12:30 PM, well before the return of the rain. We looked around and surveyed the usable fleece, which by then covered the floor in one corner of the garage. Not bad for a morning's work!

I promised a report on my WooLee Winder, and here it is: This gadget is worth it's weight in gold! I'm glad I didn't have to pay that much for it, although it was expensive enough, as each one has to be made by hand. I ordered the walnut stain to match my Kromski Sonata, and got a couple of extra bobbins, so I can use them to ply the yarn as well. (It comes with one bobbin.) Here's what it looks like in use:

I'm really enjoying not having to stop every few seconds to move the yarn from one hook to the next. My spinning seems faster and more even, but I'll know better after I ply my first two bobbins of singles. I use the long-draw method of spinning, which was taught to me by one of my spinning buddies. It works well for my arthritic hands, and has been the only possible way of spinning since my surgery. Here's what it looks like:

This photo was made when I still had my cast on, so you can see how easy this method is. I have a T-shirt in my lap, which helps me see the fiber better. (Use something dark for light fiber.) The way I do it, both hands are relaxed. The twist goes through the fingers of my left hand into the fiber source in my right. (This is left-handed, BTW. Right handers need to flip the photo over.) Some people pull straight back, and can even go as far as the hip. Others pull way out at t 90-degree angle. I use the right-angle method, but only for a few inches or so. When you feel the yarn tighten the fingers closest to the wheel, you know it's time to let the yarn go into the orifice of the wheel and start again.

What's on my needles? Same as last week, but I've made some progress. I have about 6" of the CLC body done, the pattern rows for the Kristi sock are almost complete, and I'm on row 12 of the Nonna. (I need good light for the Nonna...something that has been in short supply here lately with all the rain and overcast.) I'll try to post photos soon. My current quilt is languishing. I need to bring it upstairs, I guess!

Happy knitting/spinning/shearing/quilting everyone! --Peggy

Home Sweet Home

2009-06-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Reno. We left Thursday morning and arrived there in the evening. The dogs were good on the trip. Rocky sat in his car seat next to Daddy, and our friend Barbara and I took the back seat with Sunny in the middle. The kitty always rides in the trailer. Here's Rocky in his car seat:

The weather was cool, and we had some rain, but it wasn't too bad. Our RV campground was right across the street from the Far West Ski Assn. convention (our purpose in going) at the Reno Peppermill. The dogs were good while we were gone, and we had a few games of throw-the-ball-around-the-trailer when we got back from each session. (We took turns coming when there was a break in the activities.) We came back on Monday, but I had to help unload the trailer (in the rain!) and put things away, so I didn't get to check up on my online friends.

I got a few rounds done onthe body of my Classic Lines Cardigan on the way there. I turned the hem and started on the front. When I got to where I had to take out the provisional CO and knit the hem facing together with the front, I found the light not good enough for my old eyes, because of having to take out the provisional CO and PU the live sts. I switched to my Kristi sock, which was pretty entertaining. By then, we were on our way back. I got quite a bit done and worked on it again yesterday. Now I'm on row 25.

With the better light at home and my clip-on magnifying lenses, I was able to get the difficult row on the CLC done. Now I have a couple of inches done. I'm cutting the CC yarn at the end of the steek sts each time I use it, because it tends to twist with the MC yarn. It will be so anchored in the steek sts, I don't even have to weave it in. I put the completed sleeves in a plastic bag, so the yarn that's still attached to them won't tangle with the yarn I'm using on the body. Here's what I have:

I'm making progress with my physical therapy as well. In only one week, I've been able to get my little finger 1/4" lower along the outside edge of my palm, like this:

My physical therapist says I'm making incredible progress. The only negative was that there is still some swelling, which she thinks is due to the knitting, but she says it will go away, and the knitting is helping with the recovery of the joint. I wonder if I can deduct my yarn and needles from my income taxes as a medical expense? Hmmmmm. Now I only have to go to physical therapy once a week.

When I got home and checked the mail, there was my WooLee Winder! It is a special flyer and bobbin to go on my spinning wheel. It winds the yarn on automatically, so I don't have to keep switching the yarn from one hook to another. I got two extra bobbins as well. I haven't tried it out yet, but will do so as soon as I finish plying the yarn currently on my wheel. The winder and the three bobbins are stained to match the walnut finish on my Kromski Sonata spinning wheel. I need to see if I can work on hand-quilting my quilt soon. I think I should be able to now.

I haven't worked on my Nonna shawl since we left on our trip, but I'm excited to get back to two rows a day. What am I reading? Nothing, but I'm listening to Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins, which I downloaded from Librivox. Happy knitting, everyone! --Peggy

On a Roll!

2009-06-03T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm getting some knitting done, as you can see. I need to dig out my quilting and see if I'm able to do anything with needle and thread. Here's what I'm working on primarily, 30 minutes at a time, several times a day:

Above you see my Nonna's Garden Shawl up to row 7, and my Knit Picks Classic Lines Cardigan (CLC) body up to row 6. (I used a provisional CO and will do my hem in with knitting the front side, as I did for the sleeves.) It's going slowly because, as most of you know, I can only knit for 30 minutes at a time at this point in my recovery from thumb surgery. Also, we had a meeting here last night, for which I provided a full meal [pant, pant], and we're heading out with the trailer tomorrow AM for Reno for the Far West Ski Assn. Convention, so I've been packing. My CLC will be going along, as well as my Kristi socks by Cookie A., just in case I have time on my hands and get bored with the CLC's straight knitting.
I've been getting a lot of spinning done, though, while I've been unable to knit non-stop. I'm still working on the Coopworth hand-dyed roving I got from Oregon. I have three hanks of about 4-oz each finished, and I'm plying a fourth. I have a few more to go. Here's what the latest hank looks like:

In my "real" life, hiking season is in full swing, with at least a couple of hikes with the doggies each week. Saturday we hiked in the Sun Peak area of Park City. The photo below shows Rocky (left) and Sunny (right) following Daddy, like dutiful little members of the pack.

Rocky was really good until he flushed out a rabbit almost his size. He came back when we yelled at him, but for the rest of the hike he pranced as if he knew he was hot stuff (and he was right)!
Sunny had a bath Monday, because our visit to the nursing home was Tuesday. She and I were doing high-fives because one of our clients has started to talk to us. He hasn't been able to talk. He was so happy to see Sunny, and happy to see me, too, I guess, because I'm Sunny's assistant.
Happy knitting everyone, and have a safe week! --Peggy

Fluffy Fiber Fun on Feet

2009-05-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Monday the spinners got together at Linda's place in Peoa. Before getting out our wheels, we went out to see Linda's fuzzy friends in the pasture.

It was a beautiful spring day, and we enjoyed seeing the alpacas out in the sunshine. Last season's babies are getting big, and several of the females are already pregnant. While we were there the call came from the lab. Another female tested positive for pregnancy.
Before we got out our wheels, Linda showed us the fiber she dyed with Kool Aid and/or food coloring, and we discussed dying fiber. This fiber was all done this way. It's alpaca.

Julia had some fiber with her that had been dyed by a friend. The friend had given it to her because the dying process felted it. Linda got out her drum carder, and showed Julia how to use it as Lynda and I looked on. Julia is the one turning the crank:

When they got done, the formerly felted fiber (nice alliteration, don't you think?) was now a nice fluffy batt, ready to spin! We talked about how much the alpacas like the dandelions, so everyone went back out to feed some to the little fiber machines. They are due to be sheared in early June. I hope I'm back from my trip in time to watch. Here are some more photos of the animals.

I thought this was a cute one of a mother and daughter:

We did get some spinning in. My second bobbin is almost full with the Coopworth we ordered from Oregon.
Another item of news: I ordered a WooLee Winder with my stimulous money! It distributes the single or plied yarn as you spin, so you don't have to move it from one hook to the next to keep from getting mountains and valleys. They have them to fit the major wheels, but it takes its own bobbin. Fortunately, it comes with one. I ordered two extras, which will allow me to ply right from the bobbins they were spun on. I figured that was enough, because I learned Navajo plying in my spinning class, and that gives you 3-ply.
What's on my needles? Nothing new, as you could probably guess. I have my Nonna's Garden Shawl kit, though, so I had the charts blown up in preparation for knitting. I can see the difference between the similar colors better on the bigger chart, which is still not huge. I'm spinning and reading. No quilting or knitting, though. I'm almost done with Monica Ferris's Thai Die, and I picked up her Embroidered Truths on CD, so I can listen to that later on on my iPod when I'm able to knit and/or quilt. Eight days until I get out of the cast. But who's counting?

Spin Cycle

2009-05-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not doing laundry. I've found one of my activities I can still do with the cast: spinning! No, not the kind of spinning they do at the gym! This kind:

It was a nice day, so I took the wheel out on the front deck, so Rocky and Sunny could have some company while they enjoyed the sunshine. I have tried to knit, but just can't manage it with my thumb in the cast. The physical therapist I talked with says that when the cast comes off [two weeks from tomorrow, but who's counting?] I will have a splint that brings my thumb closer to the fingers. I should be able to knit with the splint--if I can manage it--and later, for short periods without the splint.
In the meantime, you may have noticed that the capital letters have reappeared in my text. I can now type with my left fingers. I'm trying to take it easy, though.
Reading Material: Debbie Macomber's A Good Yarn. I just finished the last book in Pamela Aiden's trilogy about Mr. Darcy, and enjoyed it very much.
On My Ear Buds: Jane Austen's Persuasion.
Other Activities: Monday night we went to see Miss Saigon at the Pioneer Theater in Salt Lake City. It was fantastic. We've seen it before in a bigger theater, but the smaller size of the theater didn't interfere at all.
Sunny and I visited the nursing home yesterday. DH had to drive us, and another volunteer came along to lift Sunny as needed. [I can lift Rocky with one arm, but not Sunny!] We visited with eight people in the dining room. They were all able to pet Sunny, hold her in their laps, give her a treat and brush her. Sunny did some tricks. One lady said that Sunny's tail was cute, even though she was holding it down. I told them that at at home, her tail stands straight up all the time and looks like a stalk of broccoli. She said, "Here the broccoli is overcooked." We all had a laugh. Later we visited several patients in their rooms.
I'm starting to dream about knitting, but only two more weeks before I can try it. [Sigh!]

Cast On!

2009-04-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

No, I don't get to knit yet. [sigh!] But I did get to have a cast party. Here's how it went...

It will be three more weeks. When the cast comes off, I will have a thumb splint and strengthening exercises. I can knit then. Here's what my cast looks like...

I may try to spin in a few days, but I can't pinch, so I may have to put up with a few lumps. I'm going to give hand quilting a try, too. The cast is fiberglass, and not heavy. I can't get it wet, though. [Kitchen trash bag and rubber band work fine.]

Several people have asked what was done. [If you read my explanation elsewhere, you can just skip this part.] I had an LRTI and Trapieziectomy. That may not mean any more to you than it did to me when I heard of it, so I'll explain: the Trapiezium is [in my case, was] a bone at the base of the thumb. It was removed, and a tendon from my wrist was taken out and used to rebuild the joint, much the way arteries in the leg are used to replace clogged arteries in coronary bypass surgery. This was needed because of osteoarthritis in that location. I've been in a bandage since surgery last Friday. I guess they wanted the swelling to go down before putting on the cast. I will need several weeks of physical therapy after the cast comes off. The right thumb will have to be done after I recover from this surgery.

I can't show you what's on my needles this week, because it's still the same. Here's what it looked like in my backyard last weekend, though. It's almost all gone now. Happy spring!

Rule of Thumb!

2009-04-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

HELLO, KNITTING COMMUNITY! DOING OK AND FOLLOWING DR'S ORDERS. (ALL CAPS SIMPLIFY POSTING.)

I GOT SEVERAL PATTERN REPEATS DONE ON MY CLC SLEEVE. WHILE WAITING FOR SURGERY. THE NURSES GOT A KICK OUT OF THAT, LOL! MY SURGICAL NURSE WAS A MAN AND MY SURGEON WAS A WOMAN, A SIGN OF THE TIMES. THE NURSE LOOKED ABOUT 50, AND CUTE! IF I DIDN'T HAVE MY WONDERFUL DH, THE NURSE WOULD MAKE A GOOD POTENTIAL BOY TOY, BEING SUFFICIENTLY YOUNGER THAN I AM.
THE LAVENDER CUBE THING IS TO KEEP ME FROM REACHING AROUND AND CHEWING ON MY STS. (AT LEAST SOMETHING IS RELATED TO STS!) WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THE LAVENDER WHEN I PICKED MY OUTFIT, I MIGHT HAVE CHOSEN SOMETHING OTHER THAN RED. HAPPY KNITTING, EVERYONE! I'M GOING TO TAKE NAP, READ FOR AWHILE, AND THEN COME BACK AND LET YOU ENTERTAIN ME! --PEGGY

Spring Arrives at My House!

2009-04-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Nearly a month after the official first day of spring (aka vernal equinox), warmer weather finally arrives at 7200 feet above the Greater Salt Lake Valley. Here's one of my neighbors, going for a walk in the sun in front of my house. This always rattles Rocky's and Sunny's chain!

This means the end of snowshoe season, but the dogs had a great snowshoe at Deer Valley on Saturday.
I'm trying to get some things done in preparation for my thumb surgery on Friday: stocking the freezer with homemade bread and dinners and getting some laundry done. I've been trying to knit, but it's painful. The quilting is a little easier. Spinning is OK, too. Now that my spinning class is over, I've decided I'm ready to tackle the pile of Coopworth fiber my friend Lynda and I ordered from Oregon.

It's spinning up OK, but has little chunks of fiber, usually an odd color, which makes it interesting but not as smooth. Here's what it looks like spun as a single. When I ply it, I'll post another photo. That will be a while, though.

What's on my needles:
In the last week or two I've started two new projects. I just couldn't help it. I wanted to participate in the Knit Picks Sock Innovation KAL, so I CO for the Kristi sock from the book. Here's what I have so far:

The other project is my Classic Lines Cardigan, which is also a KAL at Knit Picks. I'm finding the straight knitting a little less painful to do than the traveling st pattern of the Kristi. Here's my progress:

What's on my ear buds:
I'm listening to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice for the umteenth time. I wish she had written more books. I just finished Nelson DeMille's Night Fall, which was also entertaining, but completely different.

My next blog post will come after my surgery. I'm hoping I can type one-handed. There probably won't be very many photos, though. Next month, I'm hoping to post some photos of my quilts.

Good News and Bad News

2009-04-09T14:14:00.001-07:00

I just came back from seeing the orthopedist, and I have good news and bad news. The good news is, I didn't do this to myself by knitting, spinning, quilting or posting! In fact, I didn't do it to myself at all...unless I chose my parents.
The problem is osteoarthritis, plain, simple and...genetic. What a relief! I've spent the last two weeks limiting my knitting and spinning, because I thought I had been overdoing it. The bad news is, it will continue to get worse until I have surgery.
Well, no, that's not the bad news. The bad news is that after surgery, it may be weeks before I can knit again. The really bad news is, both thumbs need to be done, and I can't do them both at once. As my Dr. said, "Who would wipe your butt?" The left one was worse, so I have scheduled that one already. It will be done April 24th. She will remove a bone and sort of put everything back again. Toward the end of the summer, I can have the right one done. That will be a little more complicated, because I'm mostly right-handed. After recovering from the surgery, I should be able to do anything I did before, but without pain, which is really good news.
While I've been waiting to get in to see the orthopedist, I've been doing a lot of reading. Here's what I've been doing besides reading:

Sunny and I are registered as an animal therapy team. We have been visiting a nursing home in Salt Lake City. We meet people in the dining room. Sunny "visits" with each person and gets petted, or she sits in their laps. She also gives wet kisses. She shows them her tricks. She can sit up and dance, along with some rather ordinary "tricks." Some people are in wheelchairs and some come in with walkers or using a cane. After we visit for a while in the dining room, Sunny and I go to visit people who want to see her, but can't get out of bed. We have also been invited to visit with some children who are afraid of dogs and have a lot of fear in their lives.

What's on my needles? Same as last time. What's on my wheel is new, though!

Those of us in my spinning class are spinning the roving we dyed last time, and next week we are going to learn Navajo plying. That will be our last class. I'm still waiting for my yarn for the CLC KAL and my book for the Sock-Innovations KAL. Now that I've been given the green light to knit up until they wheel me in to chop up my left thumb, that's exactly what I'm going to do. And that's the really good news.

Confessions of a Laid-up Knitter

2009-04-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I've been having sore thumbs, and until I see the orthopedist, I'm trying very hard not to knit. This is more than the usual arthritis I've had for years. I've been spending my time reading real books from the library and signing up for two new KALs! (There was no containing me!!!)
Last night I was going through my knitting books and marking the ones I would like to make. In Bronwyn Lowenthal's Love to Knit Socks, I only found one pair I would like to make soon that called for fingering-weight yarn. They are the Fair Isle socks on the cover. I can do that with my leftovers, but I need to add some "Bare" to my collection to do what I want.
In Interweave's Favorite Socks, though, I found lots calling for fingering-weight yarn. There are two I really want to try: The "Padded Footlets" have a sole that's knit double. I have to do it to understand how it's done, but you work across the sole with one strand of yarn, slipping every other st, then you turn and do the same thing back with the other strand of yarn. I guess you K the sl st and purl the K sts on the way back.
The other pair of socks I want to try for the technique is the "Eastern European Footlets." These call for worsted-weight, which I'm sure I can round up. What I like about these is that they are intarsia-in-the-round, something I've been wanting to try. The instep is in one color, while the heel and sole are another. You knit one across, cross your yarn and knit back. Then you do the same thing with the other. It calls for dpns, but I can see this working perfectly with two circs, my preferred method. This one and the "Padded Footlets" are more-or-less cuffless footies, so they would give me a chance to try them with a minimal investment of yarn.
I now have 9 patterns marked in that book that I think would be great for kettle-dyed yarn, and I haven't even started in on my new book, Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn! There are some great-looking socks in that one, too, I noticed as I glanced through. Nor have I even looked at Cookie A's book, which is probably stuck in the snow somewhere between Utah and Ohio! Along with my yarn for the CLC! It's a good thing they aren't here. I would have so much trouble resisting the urge to CO those two projects.
Here's a picture of my KP Kettle-dyed Essential sock yarn and the book that arrived early this week and which have had to endure much petting and fondling ever since:

[Sigh!]

Water from Lourdes Cures Dyeing Knitter!

2009-04-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

Well, no water from Lourdes was involved. I do wonder what water from that source would do to the color of the finished project. If you are into dyeing, you know that the content of the water affects the color you get. However, Here's what I did at my spinning class on Monday:

The white yarn shows my (ick!) spindle-spun white yarn before dyeing. The dark brown yarn was pretty much unchanged. The gray is the next one, with more muted tones. Our teacher put white roving in the bottom of the dye pot, which was full of hot water. We added our yarn and some uncarded fleece in lingerie bags. Then we added a little powdered dye in each of three colors. We put each color on one third of the surface. Then it cooked for about 40 minutes or so, while we had a lesson in producing natural dyes, using mordants, and their effect.. Then we took our fiber out, rinsed it, and added more uncarded fleece to the exhaust. That's how we got the lavender, which also cooked for a while. Next week we will bring our wheels and spin the roving that came out of the pot. It has the same colors as the yarn. It will be interesting to see how that turns out. Sometimes you get something completely different when you spin it.
Those of you who have been reading my posts know that I'm having difficulty with my thumbs. (Some Lourdes water would be nice, if anyone has any.) I think it's from drop-spindling the very sticky fiber we used for the class. Anyway, I'm letting my hands rest a bit (even limiting posting) and reading some books I've been wanting to get to. To reward my restraint, though, I received a nice Knit Picks order yesterday. Well, it's not all the kettle-dyed Essential KP has to offer, but it's enough for 9 pairs of socks. The book came, too. My next order has Cookie A's new sock book, which should make some great socks with this yarn. The rest of my order belongs to my friend Georgette.
I have to add a great, big "Thank You!" to the nice people at KP customer service. I had placed an order right before I found out that the Classic Lines Cardigan had started. I set my alarm to get up early, and was able to get them to add the needed yarn to my order.
I have about two weeks before my next KP order will arrive. That will give me time to rest my thumbs, which I will be doing...unless someone has some Lourdes water for me? Happy knitting/spinning/dyeing, everyone, and Happy April Fool's Day!
Note: Most of the information in this blog is true.

Living and Dyeing

2009-03-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it, and here is the result:

This is the roving I dyed using Kool-Aid® and black food coloring. I chose to use Kool-Aid®, because I could see whether I liked doing it before going out in search of a pot and other equipment that would have to be dedicated to dyeing. Using Kool-Aid® and food coloring enabled me to use my big stew/pasta pot for food again afterwards. Here's how I did it--
First I collected a number of sets of directions from the internet, including Knit Picks' own directions found at
http://knitpicks.ning.com/notes/Dyeing_-_Kool-Aid%C2%AE
I decided I didn't want to risk ruining my nice roving in the microwave (mine is pretty powerful), so I chose to use the stovetop method.
Here are the colors I used--
Blue (4 oz. roving): 4 pkg.Berry Blue Kool-Aid®, 20 drops of black food coloring
Taupe (4 oz. roving): 3 pkg. Lemonade Kool-Aid®, 1 pkg. Lemon-lime Kool-Aid®, 20 drops of black food coloring
Orange (3 oz. roving): 2 pkg. Orange Kool-Aid®, 1 pkg. Cherry Kool-Aid®, 4 drops of black food coloring.
The roving I started out with was white Corriedale.
I measured out 4 oz. in each of two hanks of roving, and 3 oz. in a third. I used a kitchen scale, so weight wasn't exact. I only used three ounces for the third hank because I had bought a bunch of Kool-Aid® before I knew how much I needed, and that was what I ended up with for this experiment. Then I read that 1 oz of yarn or roving can be dyed to a saturated color with 1 pkg of Kool-Aid®. I took the packages I had and divided them up according to the colors I thought I would like to get. I wanted a mature color selection, so I chose to add the black food coloring. I'm glad I did, because that was what caused the shading evident in my final product. (Sorry about the photo. I'll try to do a better one later.)
I did the roving one batch at a time in the order listed. I reused my exhaust liquid each time. (I think that's what it's called.) First, I let the roving soak in warm water with a little dishwashing liquid for 1/2 hr. Then I mixed the Kool-Aid®, food coloring, 1 T white vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt (our water is softened) in some water and started heating it. I squeezed the excess liquid from the roving and when the dye was about the same temperature as the roving, I dumped it in, adding a little hot water to make sure there was enough to more or less cover the roving. While gently heating the pot and its contents, I occasionally moved the roving around to make sure the dye could penetrate the fiber. When it just started to simmer (I'm at 7200 ft., so it wasn't at the boiling point), I turned the heat down a little. I checked periodically and turned the heat off when the dye water was clear. The blue took about 45 minutes. The taupe and orange only took about half an hour. Then I let the pot sit eight hours, until it was cool to the touch. The roving then got a bath in plain warm water, rolled in a towel and then was hung up on a plastic coat hanger. After it stopped dripping, I moved it to the sweater dryer. When one batch was done, I started the next.
I've read that this method of dyeing will work on protein fibers, such as wool or silk, but not plant fibers, such as cotton and linen. I wore a cotton apron while working, but I didn't splash much. I also protected my countertop with a black plastic bag, just in case. The same method should work for yarn. I'm looking forward to trying it. Looks like I'll live to dye again!
I've decided to add a "Here's What's on My Needles" section of my blog, so here goes--
Here's What's on My Needles--
I haven't been knitting much for a couple of days. My thumbs have been sore, perhaps from the drop-spindle spinning I've been doing. Waiting for me are my Mr. Foster (two arms done, one leg almost done), the Sipalu Bag (second side about 3/4 done), the EZ leggings (second leg almost done), the Stonington Shawl (about 3/4 through center diamond) and the Yei Figures bag (one figure almost done in duplicate st). My entrelac scarf is finished, and I'm enjoying wearing it!
I'm waiting to received the rest of the yarn for my Grazing Sheep bag, as well as my blocking mats and the Essential kettle-dyed sock yarn, two 50gm balls of each color, because it was on sale!
Happy knitting, spinning, etc.! --Peggy

Photo of David Wearing His Cap!

2009-03-19T19:37:00.001-07:00

I finally received a photo of David wearing his cap. You might remember the story of this cap...

The border of this cap is knitted around the circumference of the head. I used a smaller needle to get a tighter knit, and knit it to size. I picked up eight extra sts to make up for the 22” head size (pattern called for 20” head. David needed room for his PhD). I eliminated the edging around the bottom because I was out of yarn, and I liked the slightly sawtooth look to the garter st edge. David wanted a gray stripe, so I got some scraps from my leftover yarn stash.

The photo shows how much yarn I had left. The gray scraps got me through this project. I blocked it on a balloon (Thanks, Rob!), which I sat in a bowl, because the sides of the cap are so long. Three of my friends have tried this cap on and wanted it. Too bad. Make your own. It belongs to David! (And David belongs to Karen, my DD!) The original pattern came from One Skein Wonders, a great book, by the way!

Entre Nous--Entrelac!

2009-03-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I have a new addiction. I may have to give up wine entirely, and not just for Lent! Thanks, KP, for the Entrelac KAL! (BTW, "Entre nous" means "between you and me." That's about the limit of my French! I studied German.)

I already have about 6" done. So much fun! First you make a row of half triangles. It looks really strange:

Then you go back across and pick up sts to fill in with rectangles between the triangles.

You continue making rectangles, making rows of them from right to left, and then from left to right, with a triangle to fill in on each edge. Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but it isn't that hard. I'm loving the KP kettle-dyed WotA in "Gold." I can't wait to finish it. I may still get to wear it this winter. Think of how it would dress up my outfit in this photo:

(I'm the one in front, left, with the two dogs. Those are Rocky and Sunny.) Some of these ladies are knitters, too!

I started my entrelac scarf earlier, but I was disappointed by holes where I was picking up sts. Then I tried picking up the whole stitch, not just one side of it (one of the choices you can make when picking up sts for the gusset of a sock). Now it's going a lot better. The only holes you see now are from the ssk, which I can go back and fix when I get done by stretching the smaller st below the ssk, which shrinks the big st above. I have been getting some advice from the Knit PIcks Entrelac KAL, especially from Susan, who has made a scarf and a vest, and is working on a multi-colored version now. The Knit Picks knitting community is great! --Peggy

Saving Money on Fiber Prep Equipment

2009-03-05T15:47:00.001-08:00

As some of you may know, I have been learning to spin. A few weeks ago, I enrolled in an eight-class fiber-preparation course along with a couple of my spinning buddies, Linda and Lynda. The teacher raises her own sheep and sells the wool in various stages of readiness for knitting or weaving. Lynda has had the class before, and has accumulated some expertise which is helpful to the two of us who are newbies to spinning. During the last class, we were given a bunch of fiber to take home and spin. Lynda had a couple of hand combs she uses for fiber preparation. She made them herself.

Here's a photo of the comb. She put nails in the cross piece, made the handle section, used a router to make a space for the cross piece with the nails, and then glued the cross piece in place.

Here's another view. She showed us how to use the combs (you need two) on the fiber we were given.

You place some of the fiber on the comb and push it down so the nails stick up. Then you use the other comb to comb through one way and then another, catching just a little bit of the fiber with each pass.
When it's ready, you use a crochet hook to pull some up through a hole about 1/4" in diameter made in an old sunglass lens. Put the crochet hook down, and gently pull the fiber through the hole, which you keep a few inches away from the lens, so not too much comes through at once. This results in pre-drafted fiber, ready to spin. Monday we go back to our teacher with all of our fiber spun on our drop spindles.
In other spinning news, here's my latest homespun made on my Kromski Sonata spinning wheel. There's about 8 oz. of yarn here. I love the color!

Happy spinning/knitting, everyone! --Peggy

It's True! UFOs Do Exist!

2009-02-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

I have been to Area 51, and it's true! We are inundated with UFOs. At least at my house! Such as:

This is the the sleeveless Fair Isle cardigan from Ann Feitelson's The Art of Fair Isle Knitting. I'm using Jamieson & Smith's Shetland 2-ply jumper wool. It's for my DH, and probably next on my list to finish. I was waiting for a demo on steeks, which we have now had in our knitting group. You can see the extra sts for the steek to the right. The UFO KAL has caused me to focus again on these projects. That's good, because I really want to finish them. Here's another:

This is a "Cable Net" sock from Knitty.com (free download), only I changed the heel. (I didn't think it was too practical having the cables go down the heel.) I'm using a smaller needle on the sole for better wear. The yarn is KP's Gloss in Parsley.

Above is the afghan I started in 1999! It's the Noesgay Aran Afghan from Brunswick Yarns' Country Afghans. I'm using some wool I bought in New Zealand. It's 100% merino, and it's called Suprino 12-ply in Alpine Moss, which is very close to the Gloss Parsley. I really like that color, although it doesn't show up in the non-flash version of the photo. I chose this photo because the stitch definition showed up, even though the color looks washed out. Someday I'll learn how to fix those things.
I hope everyone reading this considers joining us in the UFO KAL. We're having fun, and some participants are finishing things. I hope to join them soon!
As for WIPs, here's my progress on the Sipalu Bag. I'm up to row 23. Soon I'll have to switch to two circs, because I'll have too few sts for one. (That sounds strange, now that I read it, but if you know how to do socks with two circs, you'll understand.) I'm looking forward to classifying it as a WMD (work mostly done).

I plan on getting back to work on the cardi as soon as I've finished my Sipalu Bag, EZ Leggings and my Yei Figures Bag. The Stonington Shawl can wait. I will be working on my entrelac scarf, though. And oh, no, I'm spinning! Ho-hum. Nothing to do...
--Peggy

And the Winner Is...a Thrift-store Cardigan!

2009-02-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

You may have seen me in my Fair-Isle cardigan on my blog and during the Speed-knitting KAL. People have asked me if I knitted it myself. No, it was a thrift-store find for $5.

I was looking for a stranded knit to felt and make a bag out of, when I was attracted by the colors in this cardigan. When I took it off the rack, I realized that it would probably fit me (it did). Then I saw the sheep! And the dog! Well, the little shepherd was kind of cute, too, and the apple trees and the horses. The only thing I didn't like was: no pocket! Where I do keep my MP3 player or my iPod? Where do all the used Kleenex accumulate? I own (lucky me) the DVD of EZ's Knitting Workshop. I had watched her reach for the scissors and cut one st (she was wearing it at the time!) to make an afterthought pocket, so I decided to have a go. I bought some yarn that went with the yarns in the sweater. Here's how I made the pocket:

Above you can see how I cut one st about the middle of the intended pocket and pulled out the yarn on each side. Below you can see that the yarn has been pulled out, leaving live sts above and below the opening of the pocket.

Next, I picked up the live sts with two circs. I had to be sure the sts were all headed in the right direction, so they wouldn't be twisted. Here you can see the sts on the needles.

Next, I knitted a 1X1 rib for about 11 rows and then bound off. Here you can see it right after binding off.

Then I made a pocket lining out of the same yarn. Below you can see the ribbing for the front of the pocket and the lining, knit in stockinette st, sticking out in front. It needs to be tucked through the opening and sewn down.

I sewed the ribbing down to the front, and the lining to the back, below the ribbing. Here's what it looks like now:

The finished cardigan looks like this:

If you're thinking of making an afterthought pocket, but are afraid of "cutting" your knitting, get a thrift shop sweater and practice--a really nice one, if you're brave, like me--or you can do the sampler in The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee. If you can't bring yourself to cut because you think the edges will ravel, you can always run a piece of waste yarn through all the sts above and below the sts to be removed before you cut (sissy!). Happy knitting! --Peggy

First Spinning Group Meets Friday the 13th!

2009-02-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we held the first meeting of our spinning group. This group grew out of our knitting group and will meet the second Friday afternoon in members homes. (The knitters meet the last Friday afternoon.)

The first one was at my house, because I had to bake bread for a silent auction held that evening and couldn't leave home. (If you look carefully at the photo, above, you can see the bread cooling in the kitchen.) I'm starting to get the idea with the drop spindle. Here I am, spinning my "homework" yarn for my spinning class. In the photo below, standing in front of the fireplace are Lynda (right), another class member, and Donna (left), a friend of Georgette's. Georgette belongs to the knitting group and is interested in spinning. She was busy taking the photos. Donna is a wonderful spinner and was visiting from California. We were lucky to have her here right at the time we had our meeting!

We had four collapsible spinning wheels, including my Kromski Sonata. The two ladies spinning at their wheels below are Linda (left) and Linda (right). We had almost as many Lindas as spinning wheels! (You can see my Sonata on the right.) Both of these women own their own alpacas.

After I finished my "homework" with the spindle, I went to my wheel to spin. Probably the highlight of the afternoon was hearing Georgette say, "Look at Peggy! She's smiling!" It was then that I realized that I'm really beginning to enjoy spinning. Happy knitting and spinning! --Peggy

Starting a Knitting Group

2009-02-15T21:07:00.000-08:00

My knitting group grew out of a quilting group that I started several years ago and a sock class we held about a year ago. We meet once a month in members' homes. (We haven't had an LYS here until recently.)

It's good to get together and share ideas and help each other. For example, one of our members did a steek demo. I demonstrated Kitchener st another time. We have no dues and no rules. (You can even quilt or do cross-stitch during our meetings!) I send out an e-mail to all the people who have said they want to be notified. I tell them the date, time and location. If they need directions, I paste them into the e-mail. The host or hostess provides light refreshments. We try to RSVP, but it
Several of our participants are complete beginners. Others started out as beginners and have made a lot of progress. Sometimes we trade yarn, loan equipment (needles and other stuff) or share patterns. Occasionally we do a KAL with two or three people from the group working on the same project. If one of us is placing an order at Knit Picks, we usually check with the others to see if anyone needs anything. This saves on shipping for us, and I'm sure simplifies the whole process for Knit Picks.

We have just started a spinning group, which met for the first time on Friday the 13th. A lucky day for those of us who were there.
I really enjoy our knitting group meetings. Happy knitting! --Peggy

What I Learned from the Speed-knitting Contest

2009-02-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

It was a crazed three days and two nights! I had a great time, and was pleased to come in third. At 66, I was probably one of the oldest participants. On the other hand, I'm retired, with no small children living at home (unless you count my DH and two wonderful mini-poos.) I learned some things from the contest, some things from the Hemlock Ring project and some things from the experience as a whole. Here's my Hemlock Ring, enjoying time with the family--

Here's what I would do next time:
Get a motel room with Wi-Fi for as long as I think the contest will last
Hook up I.V. for feeding and liquids
Hook up catheter and place bedpan on chair, to eliminate (pun intended) need for bathroom breaks
Have everything ready, including blocking equipment (wasted 15 min. looking for pins!), extra knitting needles, basic knitting book, camera, yarn already pulled out of center of balls, basic notions, crochet hook for corrections, etc.
Have supply of VERY FAST music on my iPod.
Get supply of NoDoz or Red Bull or something else higher in caffeine than coffee
Hire a three-year-old to come for the start to print off the pattern and any charts needed.
Here's what I learned from the project:
Magic Loop! Yaaaaay! I had heard about it but neve tried it before. It was easy, after watching Kelley's video and then practicing as I watched again. I want some long cables for my Options, so I can do ML whenever I need to.
If you can't find the pattern online, or it won't print, be patient. Everyone is trying to get it at the same time!
If in doubt, place markers. You can always take them out if you don't need them.
Use a really long cable for circular projects. That way, even if you have to fiddle with the ML for more of the project, you can spread out the sts better when it gets bigger, which makes it easier to take photos and to admire your handiwork.
WotA is really cool yarn! Thanksgiving dinner jokes notwithstanding (cranberry, pumpkin, etc., but no gravy or stuffing).
My KP nickel-plated Options can really take a beating. With nearly 600 sts on the cable, I had to pull hard on the cable to get them to move around.
Here's what I learned from the experience:
Frequent checking in and posting is important. If you have to stay off the site to win, then winning isn't worth it. There is no price that can be put on the fun and the enlightenment that comes from constant communication with other participants. To say nothing of sharing that "virtual" bottle of wine the second night!
KP staff members really know (or figured out) how to put on a contest. They responded to suggestions, checked on our progress from time to time and, when the second-place participant missed first by only a few minutes, they came up with a prize for runner up! Thanks, KP!
Knitters tend to be great people anyway, but members of the KP Knitting Community are especially willing to share their knowledge and experience, and happy to cheer on someone who might come out ahead of them. When adversity comes their way--such as yarn lost in the mail, a circ broken or the contest starting on a Monday instead of Friday or Saturday--they're good sports. They may ask for advice, but they don't bitch. (Sorry, Sunny, girl dogs are nice.) :-} The KP Knitting Community members made the experience better for everyone. A big THANK YOU to KP for putting this on, and :-* from me!
Finally, this website really beats TV. Except that I don't get as much knitting done! Happy knitting! --Peggy

Tags: hemlock, kal, poodles, ring, speed-knitting

My Thoughts on Inauguration Day, 2009

2009-01-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

How did Barak Obama become president?
He was not descended from slaves, nor was he born to a black woman, but he has spent his life being perceived as "black." What better person to bring us as Americans--in all our diversity--together.
Mr. Obama spent part of his childhood in a foreign country; one that is predominantly Muslim and that has a very different culture from ours. He has relatives there. He has roots in another foreign country--one with a different culture yet--and has relatives there as well. What better person to be our face to the world.
Our new president has some special gifts beyond these characteristics, though. He is an inspirational speaker. He has truly American values and trust in the Constitution that unites us. He sees the possibility that we can rise above our natural selfishness and fear. He has had years of experience guiding people to work out their disagreements to forge a better idea than any of them could come up with alone. Like all humans, he has his feet of clay, but with our support and help, he has the ability to guide us in a positive direction and help us solve the dire problems that face us.
As a nation, we have much to be proud of. The Marshall Plan and the Berlin Air Lift come to mind. We also have much to be ashamed of, such as the Japanese internment camps during World War II, and Guantanamo Bay, places where our fellow human beings were either unjustly incarcerated or mistreated and denied their rights under the Geneva Convention, which we perport to subscribe to. We entered a war without adequate justification, leaving the battle that needed to be fought insufficiently supported.
We also have a history of giving preference to caucasians in our society. My kindergarten teacher was Jewish. My first grade teacher was an African American. (We said "negro" then.) They were the only good teachers I had in elementary school. If they had not been minorities, they would have been teaching in a country-club school.
During my life, I have watched the integration of the schools and busing. I have watched the protests of a previous unjust war. How amazing that we finally can elect the best man for the job, even if he's of African descent! How wonderful that we can embrace his values of true freedom of religion and equality of races, genders, sexual orientation!
It has been a long time since I have been proud of my country. It feels good.
How interesting it is that our new president has the same number as Hank Aaron's uniform number: 44.
Note: The photo was taken during an inauguration brunch yesterday in Park City, UT.

Working Sundance

2009-01-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

We do this every year. We work at the Eccles Theater at Park City High School. It can be hard work, but it's fun. We usually alternate days, so our two minipoos, Rocky and Sunny don't have to stay alone too long at a time. (Rocky is our "Pudelfreund," and Sunny is the "Pudelfreundin." They are very different from each other, but they are great.) This is our ninth year volunteering for Sundance, and our eighth at Eccles. Of course, I take my knitting, in case I get a job where I just sit but have good light.