I Said There Was Knitting

I ran out of room and time in my last post before I could share my knitting.

I have almost finished the second square of Fr. Stanly's throw.  The heat and humidity has slowed that down some.  Once I have the first two sides of the circles squared to much of it hangs in my lap.  Hopefully cool weather will be here to stay soon and I can whip it out.

While on my road trip, I uploaded a picture of some of the knitting that had taken place as of the morning of our second day.  I have continued to work on that, at least part time.  You know me, I always have more than one project in the works.  But this is a picture of the Blue Easy Shaped Shawl as of this afternoon.

I was on the Royal Blue when we started the trip.  The color is starting to transition over to light blue again. Every other row the rows are one stictch longer, so it is going slowly now.  But it is an easy knit, just like the pattern said.  I even bought another skein of this "Shawl In A Ball" for another one.

Someday.

I had started the first sock of this pair last week.  And now I am two rows from binding off the second sock.

My first sock with Fixation, a cotton and elastic yarn, and first time using a short row heel.  I had to use the extra contrast yarn on each side of the heel to stitch up the gaps after this picture was taken.  It looks and fits fine now.  As soon as I am done here, I will finish number two.

And as though I didn't have enough projects on hand, a friend gave me this at Knit Nite.

She had kept her size 4 needles, so I transferred it to a new needle and after a few rows, tinked back and tried again with a size two needle.  Much better.  Gauge does matter you know.  

I just need to finish the hood and then the front bands.  I also got a zipper today, so I may install instead of buttons.

I guess I have some knitting ahead of me.  As usual.

Brief Catch Up

Wow, it's been since April when I last posted!  Well, on this blog anyway.  I did share on my Continous Journey blog.  Once.  But while I have missed blogging, I also have enjoyed the break from it.  It is funny, because I find myself still taking pictures for blogging.  I just don't blog.

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I recently finished knitting a turban for wrapping up my wet hair.

Large cat included for scale.  Well, that and the fact he wouldn't move.  This pattern is really easy.  It is basically a long narrow triangle shawl, folded and stitched from ends to center back.

I decided to pass on the button.  I just fasten it up with a hair clip, one of my larger ones. It is 100% microfiber and soaks up the water just fine.  I like it, but super bulky yarn is still outside my comfort range.  I still prefer lace to worsted weight yarns.  

I also started a blanket for our priest.  Being from southern India he always escapes each winter for a trip home, escaping the January cold.  I thought he might appreciate a blanket.  

The pattern I found is a free one, The Squared Shades Throw.  It is fun. And easy, but not boring.  The large piece shows one of the squares.  It is started as a circle, in stockinette with occasional garter ridges.  Then is squared off using garter stitches and short rows, each side separately.  When all four are done, they are joined with a three needle bind off, and finished with I-cord all around.  The smaller circle on the lower right is almost ready to begin the short rows on the first side.  As long as it doesn't get too warm when it comes time to join them, should be finished fairly quickly.

Other news, most of our kittens found new homes, although we have some of the wilder ones that have come out of hiding.  One little cutie, a calico, has eyebrows like the ones Groucho Marx used to put on with shoe polish.

And next week, while hubby tends the homestead, I and a friend are trekking "Up North" for a little escape.  Can hardly wait.

I hope just it is cooler.

New Beginnings

After finishing the Graceful Harvest Cardigan, my thoughts turned to my unfinished works.  I need to sort through the Baby Hap and the purple Ten Stitch Blankie, checking against the patterns and seeing where I am again before starting with them.

But after the sweater and the Sockhead Hat (which was miles and miles of ribbing and stockinette,) I felt the need for something quick.  So, I cast on.

 

Well, first I had to hand wind this so I could knit.

 

As you may be able to read from the label it is mostly bamboo.  Actually it is bamboo rayon, with some wool and a touch of acrylic.  

After a couple days of knitting, including a near needle disaster I am doing quite well.  The tip came off the cable, leaving several inches of stitches swinging free.  I dug out a darning needle and heavy thread, and put them on a lifeline.  From there I was able to put them back on the needles and catch the ones that dropped back a row or two and all is well.

 

Did I mention it is going to be a cowl?  Easy peasy knitting, with some watching the one needle tip.

I also turned this:

 

into this.

 

I weighed them so they should be equal.  More on this project in the future.

And It Is Done

I am knitting slower this year.  This is only Finished Object #2 for 2017 but it is done and delivered.  With the movies that have been on, I was able to make a push and got it done.

   

The second sleeve went well, although I kept having to think back when my mind absolutely would not purl in the first garter stitch round.  But eventually it all worked out.

 

Do you remember the dilemma about weather to knit the pocket in place or separately?  I sort of did both.  I fused the bottom by picking up stitches just above the garter stitch and knitting away.  I still had to sew them down but at least I knew the positioning was even.

And did my favorite teenage granddaughter like it?

 

I think so, complete with the contrasting pockets she requested.  

And so ends the Christmas knitting for 2016.  Now back to baby blankets.  And (oops) I may have cast on a thing or two.

Plugging Along, Plus Moon

Now that I have picked up the Baby Hap Shawl again, I am finally back in the groove of knowing the pattern and following the chart.

That little green stitch marker means I have reach the corner and have one side finished. Fourteen points of lace. Three more sides and then blocking, and then I can give this puppy away! I will try to at least finish a point or two every day.

It definitely is not brainless knitting. I will need to return to the Simple Brainless Sock or the Close To You Blues shawl (that is using my blue handspun) or the Ten Stitch Blankie when I need something easy for traveling or for Knit Nite. And there are still a couple socks that need concentration so I have not gotten to the place where I can cast on anything new.

Um, that is unless I decide to do some gift knitting. There is always that.

Oh, did you see the super duper moon?

We had a lot of wispy clouds here. They gave the moon an eerie looke, like something out of The Wolfman movie. (The one with Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Junior.)

 

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Getting My Knitting Groove On

I mentioned in my previous post that I had dug out my knitting basket and swapped it with my tote. That brought back into the knitting rotation the Baby Hap Shawl.

Of course since I packed it away in the heat of summer, I had to tink* back a few rows, count stitches and figure out where I was in the lace chart. I think I have it. Onward!

I will continue and the Purple Princess will get her shawl/blanket before long. I may need to get my hands on my blocking frame soon.

*tink is knit backwards. In other words, I had to tink, or unknit, a few rows to find my place in the pattern.

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Down for the Count

My Simple Brainless Socks turned out to be not so brainless after all.

I was cruising along nicely, with my Fleegle Heel, where the heel flap also incorporates the gusset increases. I had all the necessary stitches and was well on my way with the turning of the heel, using up those heel stitches and getting back to the original number of stitches. Suddenly I realized the the heel stitches had more left on one side of the turn than on the other.

Oh oh. Several minutes of frantic counting ensued.

Out came the needles and back I frogged. (Rip-it, rip-it.) After successfully frogging back and picking up the poor stitches, I re-counted. The problem was a result of my stitch mixup earlier, when after again miscounting, I had transferred two stitches from instep needle to heel stitch needle. Turns out that was unneeded.

Everything has been sorted out. Copious notes have been made to hopefully prevent the same problem with the second sock, as well as making them both match, and I am once again short-rowing my way through the heel.

You would think after my problems counting (to 10!) with The Ten Stitch Blankie when I had to rip back one whole side, that I would have learned my lesson.

Apparently not.

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Crafty Little Me

I almost forgot the other day, in my review of current knitting projects, to show my progress on the Ten Stitch Blankie.

That was almost a week ago. I have since continued the right side to the top and turned the corner.

There won't be a lot of knitting going on tomorrow though. I may have mentioned a while back that I was drafted into giving a talk on spinning at our church ladies group. Tomorrow is the night. So tomorrow will be devoted to gathering stuff and loading my car, Hharry.

I will be tossing the spinning stash and sorting my handspun and knits using my handspun. Two wheels, my Traditional, and my portable Joy, will be loaded into Hharry together with samples of fibers. I hope to have Shetland roving, hand painted top, some merino top, mohair blend, Southdown, even some silk hankies, and angora cloud if I can find it. I plan on taking two shawls, and possibly two sweaters made from my handspun. One shawl is a sampler of an assortment of my handspun, the other is cormo silk. I may toss in my "Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook" too.

It may be more of a super "show and tell" than talk. I hope they like it.

 

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Helpers

So, I arrive at Knit Nite to be greeted with a big bag of toilet paper tubes.

Apparently, one of my knitting friends had offered to give them to my teaching friend down by St. Joe. And since her mom and I are heading down there on Friday, I stuck them in my trunk. Hopefully I won't forget them.

To help me remember, I also stuck four ice cream buckets with lids I had promised her mom in the trunk as well. I really hope I don't forget. I'm gonna need my trunk soon to get chicken feed.

Also, while I was at Knit Nite, I was knitting away on my truly brainless project, the Ten Stitch blanket.

Alas, it is apparently not brainless enough. Just before packing it up for the night, I discovered I had 11 stitches. For the TEN Stitch Blanket.

Sigh. Some few rows of frogging back resulted in...eleven stitches.

I see more frogging in my near future. As well as more frequent stitch counting. I mean I only need to count to ten. How hard can that be?

Apparently too hard.

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Whacking Away

A month or so back, we got a letter from our farm insurance company stating that they were no longer offering coverage in our area. Our local agent came out last week and offered alternate coverage. However, before they come to take pictures, we need to clear the grass, weeds and, in some areas, brush away from all the buildings.

Our tractor is needing a new tire rim, which means the brush hog is not an option. We can't keep a string weed wacker working. So, yesterday I ended up springing for Hubby's next Christmas and birthday present...a hand held bush whacker. Think weed whacker with a blade instead of a string.

Hubby has been buzzing up a storm, clearing around house, barn and garage.

In the meantime, while waiting for the rain delayed NASCAR race to finally finish, I worked on my Cactus Flower Gold Digger sock. I need to finish the cable chart twice before starting the heel gusset. The gussets get increased, and there is no flap. Just short row shaping/heel turn after the gusset.

I was worried the cables would be lost in this Madelinetosh yarn.

But they seem to be showing up nicely. These pictures show me at about row 8 of 24, on the second time through the chart, first the front then the back.

Then dark came and I turned to the Ten Stitch Blankie for my evening knitting.

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WIPs Parade

This past Monday, before my Tuesday sock class, I spent some time on several of my active WIPs, or Works In Progress. While the Baby Hap was out of the question due to the heat, I did manage to work on the Ten Stitch Blankie for my Little Peanut.

Once the heat started getting to me, I turned to the Tapestry Hitchhiker. Being a rayon yarn, it was less fuzzy and much more comfortable to knit.

I have quite a bit of yarn left, and it is already wearable.

Poor picture, but you get the idea.

Finally I dug out the poor forgotten Smocked Brown Cow Socks and tried to figure out where I left off.

I figured out that I had left off with the gusset almost done. I am now working down the foot.

And of course on Tuesday I had my class on the Golddigger Socks. I have completed the cuff since this picture and am on the cable set up rows. I need to get through the chart twice before my next class.

I better get back to the charts.

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No Surprise

It should probably come to a surprise to no one that with the completion of the Peanut Dress, for my new granddaughter, that my thoughts have turned to new projects to begin.  Teddy bears, socks, sweaters for me,,,,,
But I quickly came to my senses.  After all, there are quite a few items sitting in the WIP pile, not necessarily in time out, but still not being worked on.  So while visions of new projects continued to dance in my head, I sorted out the projects sitting on deck.
While I will continue to work on the Tapestry Hitchhiker at odd moments, I am designating the Ten Stitch Blankie, which is for Little Peanut as my main knitting emphasis.

If this makes me sound disciplined, toss that thought out of your head.  I also signed up for a sock class at the local yarn shop.  It starts next week.  Book was previously purchased and yarn has been purchased as well.
Swatching has begun. There will be a new project begun soon anyway.  But to anyone who knows me, that should not be a surprise.

Busy Day

I had my training today to be an Election Inspector for my township. Wow, that title sounds a bit overwhelming! I saw several people I know, and I think I can handle working once every three months or so. I'm also glad there is a primary before the big event in November.

The local weather guys have been calling this week typically the hottest week of summer. I am amazed at all the wedding anniversaries occurring this horribly hot week, including my own. What were we thinking? All I can say is, I can hardly wait for winter again

I have continued working on the Peanut Dress. I had hoped to work on it Sunday when I was at a graduation party. But the wind was blowing so hard, I didn't want it to blow away. As long as this heat holds, the Baby Hap is remaining in Time Out. Sorry, Purple Princess.

I planned on getting another good chunk of stockinette done tonight at Knit Nite. However, we had no key, and the spare was miles away, and another spare was camping. With the heat and congestion of the Old Fashioned Days.....oops, National Baby Foof Festival, I didn't want to trek across town to knit at McDonalds so we decided to cancel for tonight.

Since I was home, Hubby corralled me to wrangle squash vines do he could rototill around them. I also picked pickles. I posted the picture on Facebook. Here it is again in case you missed them.

Note to self, next year only plant three plants, not six.

And if anyone saw last evenings post, Jumper has decided to stay in his own pen today and just talk to his neighbors over the wall.

 

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I Give Up

The heat got to me.

Sorry little Purple Princess, but your Baby Hap will need to wait until the weather moderates some. And perhaps until my little new granddaughter arrives early next month.

As the blanket on my lap was really not conducive to enjoying my knitting, I found some rose gardeny looking sock yarn. Swatching soon started.

This is going to be a simple pinafore type dress, sleeveless, and suitable for wearing over a onesie.

All one piece, with seed stitch around the hem. Easy knitting, and going quickly. I started swatching only around 2:00 this afternoon and had this much of the dress by the end of Knit Nite.

If the weather's heat and humidity won't break, this will keep me knitting merrily along.

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Tour De Hesperia?

Among spinners there is this thing called the Tour De Fleece. This take off of France's bicycling binge involves spinners spinning daily during the same time period as the Tour de France. I took part several years ago, but this year, I have been trying to knit through the heat, rather than spin. However, as I mentioned previously, I did sally forth with my wheel and some drop spindles to Hesperia to spin.

You will notice the temperature was warmer than the last time I spun there. Indeed, this time I was more worried about a heat stroke, but the day was delightfully cool as I spun away.

I completed almost second bobbin today at Spin Guild. Although I didn't have as many extra equipment with me. The spindles and hand cards were left at home.

Knitting continues on the Baby Hap as the border grows. With the heat is a bit hard to work on the border with the entire blanket on my lap. As a result, my knitting mojo has been wilting.

I have been working on the Tapestry Hitchhiker at Knit Nite, but perhaps, I will need to start something more compact to work on occasionally at home.

Hmmmmm. Perhaps a baby something. Maybe I'll go stash diving again.

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