Knitting with Chickens, or Wishing on Starfish

Are these not cute? They are from a kit by Artfelt that DD2 gave me for Christmas. I'm thinking about attaching them to a scarf, or using them as brooches. My son thought they were cat toys, but I disabused him.
And this is another kit product, brought from Paris by DD1. I was alarmed to see the instructions were in French, but there was enought detail in the picture to figure it out. The scarf is one strand of merino and one strand of bamboo knitted together, and it is really warm.
Here's the label!
Over New Years I made a quick trip to Ft. Collins, CO to help DS move out of his apartment, but while there I managed to visit My Sister Knits, a local yarn shop. What a charming place, so cozy and full of contented knitters, but best of all was the chicken coop in the front yard. These chickens and their beautiful house qualify as yard art! If you are in Ft. Collins you should certainly go visit.

I read in a blog comment that February is for finishing, and I'm trying to make that my mantra. There is a cardigan from last summer that I redid the fronts and it needs to be put together and finished off with ribbing; there is a pair of socks 7/8 finished, and another starfish ready to felt. there is also a scarf to be frogged; the yarn was not a good choice and it should have been put out of its misery long ago. It's hard to focus with new yarn and patterns beckoning from the stash armoire, but it will feel so good to get these lingering projects off the needles.

Rejoining the Blogging World

It's been a long and winding road, or maybe a just long strange trip, but I decided that with the New Year I'm ready to start contributing to the knit-o-sphere, instead of just taking comfort in other people's efforts. Mom passed away very peacefully on September 26, and we buried her ashes in Virginia the weekend before Thanksgiving. In the intervening time, and even now, a lot of my life has been taken up with attending to all the details that come with the end of a life. Even the most organized person in the world leaves unfinished business; we've been busy emptying out her house so it can be put up for rent and settling her finances.

I worked on these Edelweiss socks during the final days of her life; the pattern was intricate enough to provide a little distraction, but the tiny needles and white yarn seemed unintrusive. They were a Christmas present for DD2, who never tires of the Sound of Music.
These socks are a variation on my Muscle Memory pattern in Cherry Tree Hill supersock. The cuffs are a 3x2 twisted rib instead of the usual 2x2.
Here is another Christmas present: I call it a bubble scarf (Kidsilk Haze tied over hazelnuts and felted); I saw one in the Knitting Sisters shop in Williamsburg VA and made it on the oral instructions of the owner. It was a hit with DD1.
This scarf isn't really 9' long! It is seasilk and uses 2 grape-related patterns from Wendy Knits. It is a scarf that wants to be a shawl, and works well in chilly meeting rooms.
Thanks and happy new year to all the kind bloggers who kept my spirits up this year, especially Nancy, Juliet and Wendy.

Two Projects Off the Needles

I missed the Clapotis virus in its most virulent stage, but I saw one in person a few months ago and decided to risk infection. This scarf, in my favorite mercerized cotton, is now very long and is approaching bind-off. It will be a muffler for the hot and humid zone.

I love my new blocking boards, but got carried away with the actual blocking.

After I took the picture I decided this Trellis sweater had been over-blocked, so I wet it and dried it, gently, in the dryer.It is superwash wool (Cascade 220) after all. It looks much softer and smaller now, which is good because it's supposed to be 12 month sized, and is a present for a newborn!

Don't you love the buttons? I've been looking for the right use for these.
The socks from the last post are finished, and the Brittany birch needles I used for the cuffs did not catch fire, even though they aren't non-inflammable. It feels good to finish up some projects, but I have a lot of knitting time because I'm staying home with Mom every afternoon. Her disease is progressing as we knew it would, but I miss her already.

Small Pleasures

If you look carefully at the needle that's not in the sock, you'll see that it is "non-inflammable." I had never worried about my needles catching fire, not being the world's fastest knitter, but I guess somebody thought it was a matter of concern. I found these needles in my mom's cedar chest, and I know she did not knit on double points in my lifetime so they are at least 57 years old! They say "Boye" 1 U.S.A. and are 7" long. The socks are Austermann Step in my muscle memory sock pattern: figure 8 cast on, kf&b toe increases, Priscilla's Dream Sock short row heal, 2x2 rib for the entire cuff but switching to 1.5 needles about 2 inches up the ribbed section, and stretchy sewn bind-off. I'm making them for my DS who just moved to Colorado, and yes, he has long, skinny feet.

My sock making has been almost entirely this pattern, or "perfecting" this pattern. It is just a basic guy sock, but I never get tired of that short-row heel. It is always an exercise in mindfulness, and I usually end up redoing the heel on the second sock at least one time. Usually the first sock goes well and I think I have finally mastered the heel, and then make a total hash of the second one.



This is going to be a present for my DD's friend's baby. It is Trellis from the Spring 2005 Knitty in Cascade 220 Superwash. The cables are endlessly entertaining, and being a baby sweater the pieces are done before they become tiresome.

I had a serious setback on a cardigan I'm making for myself (something about non-matching fronts and a failure to notice until I set in the sleeves...) so it will be in knitting limbo while I consider just how badly I want this particular item.

I hope you like the new look. The title picture was taken in Copenhagen where hollyhocks grow out of cracks in the sidewalk.

In Which She Tells All, and Contemplates a Trip to the Frog Pond

What a year it has been for grapes! As a reward for pruning and fertilizing the two muscadine grapevines that grow on an arbor over the front walk, I harvested five bowls like this. I could have picked more, but some were too hard to get to, and others went bad before I could get them. Picking is just the beginning though. Next comes cooking briefly to release the juice (and cleaning the stove because it always boils over), straining and squeezing the pulp through a mesh bag, chilling overnight and filtering. At that point you can sweeten to taste and drink or make into jelly. I'm skipping the jelly this year.


Don't you love this 50's or early 60's tablecloth? I found it at my mom's house. I don't know why she had it since her table was round.

This is the Noni Adventure bag before felting. Alexa was in town and we went shopping for wedding dresses but she didn't find anything she wanted to commit to. They have set a date--August 8, 2009--so I can time my mother-of-the-bride diet and exercise plan.

Here it is felted and assembled but not yet lined. The idea of dragging out my sewing machine makes my head hurt, but these days lots of things make my head hurt.

Another knitting project, the February baby sweater in butterfly cotton. I made it without a particular baby in mind, but it will probably go to a friend's soon-to-be granddaughter. I'm working on a cabled cardigan for a baby boy that my daughter's friend is expecting in October. What is it with the cables? They are everywhere!

Now about the frog pond. After finishing about half of the ribbon lace scarf it just seems like a bad choice of yarn (Trekking Pro Natura): not soft enough and too subtle color. The yarn will be better for socks (duh!) and I may try ribbon lace again sometime.

Fear of Commitment

I just can't commit to anything these days, but at least I'm making inroads into the stash. These are the most active works in progress, all using yarn I've had for at least a year.

I'm using the same weaving linen I used on the cardigan for this moss grid hand towel from Mason Dixon Knitting. In its unwashed state it looks about like the cardigan looked before washing and blocking. It really is like knitting with kitchen twine.

Ravelry shows 1452 knitters making this scarf, and that doesn't even include lurkers like me. The yarn is Trekking Pro Natura sock yarn, amd the needles are Signature Stiletto Points.
the scarf is about 30" long now, and I've used about 1/2 the yarn, but it won't be scarf weather in North Florida for a while.

Summer probably isn't the best time to make this huge Adventure Bag by Noni. It is like having a very large cat-on-lap. This one will be a Norwegian adventure bag, because the colored stripes are made with wool I brought back from Norway in 2006. While I was there I took lots of pictures of traditional Norwegian house colors and bought yarn in those colors.

This picture shows a display of house paint color chips in a hardware store in Bergen, in case you doubt that people actually paint their houses these colors.

Fnished Objects, or, I've Been Bustin' my Stash

It makes me so happy to have a reason to make baby things, and my friend Martha's daughter is pleased to oblige by expecting a baby girl. The shower is this Saturday, and I'll bring this hat and booties plus a couple of cute little board books. (I totally ignored the baby registry; this child won't lack for necessities.) The pink yarn is "Mango" by Bouton d'Or, found on the 1/2 price table at a knitting shop in Charleston in 2006. The trim is a mohair blend by Gedfrida bought at Springwater Fibers in Alexandria, VA in 2005.

The pattern for this pullover is from Knit.1 (summer 2008) even though I am way out of its target demographic! I had not previously been able to find anything in the right guage (and yardage) for this yarn, which I bought in Norway in 2006.

This picture shows the detail on the yarn, a cotton blend ribbon with frayed edges which knitted up almost feeling like terry cloth. It also shows that I had plenty of it left, and could have made the top longer.

The linen (8/2 weaving linen) also came from Springwater Fibers in 2005. I try to visit the store whenever I get back to Alexandria, where I grew up. The 1/2 lb. cone cost $5, and there was a lot left over from this cardigan! It felt like I was knitting a hairshirt and had a strong but not stinky odor, but the odor and scratchiness both went away with washing.

It feels good to use these yarns that I bought without any particular plans but with the conviction that they would be good for the right project. I've worn the pullover and cardigan and both can be deemed successful. I hope mother and grandma approve of the hat and booties.

For next time I have pictures of works in progress, also from stash yarns.