Threads and needles, sticks and strings

Sleevage

2009-05-26T22:26:00.002-05:00

Since I got back from Tennessee last month, the sleeves for the Grey Office Cardi have been my car/travel project. I brought them inside to be measured, and they are done up to the armpits. Now I need to join them to the body of the sweater and start the raglan decreases.

I'm tempted to do the joining round, but it's late and if I get started on that round, I'll be up to midnight knitting. Not an issue if it was a Friday, but not so good on a work night.

UFORR - Haze's Earthdancer

2009-05-19T18:58:00.005-05:00

Another round in our UFO round robin. And I managed to finish another project! This is "Earthdancer" from Butternut Road. Designed by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum. There is a wonderful story about the inspiration for this design which made it even more special to stitch on.

If I ever make this one for myself, and I might, there is one thing that I will do differently. I will do the beading on her breastplate in actual loomed beadwork and attach it to the fabric. The beads are every so slightly oversized. Not a problem with scattered beads or the small motifs elsewhere in the design - even the shoulder roundels. But there in the center, they are crowded enough that the lines of beadwork are distorted and the beads don't want to lay flat. I did the best that I could by running stabilizing threads on the horizontals. And of course I thought about the solution when I was on the next to the last row of attaching them individually ::headdesk::

'Dancer'll be on her way back to Winnipeg tomorrow - sorry to see her go.....

FO - Baby Surprise Jacket

2009-05-03T20:08:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Classic Baby Surprise Jacket

Designer: Elizabeth Zimmermann in The Opinionated Knitter

Yarn: Collinette "Jitterbug" in unknown colorway (nicknamed "Urban Camo")

Needles: US3 (gauge is 6 st/inch)

I'm very happy with the buttons I picked out...

Please excuse the hotel room photography.

back to the grey cardi

2009-05-02T20:58:00.003-05:00

While I was on vacation, I did actually get the sleeves for the grey cardi cast on. (twice - it took me a while to figure out the whole two at a time thing).

I decided to do them two at a time since there were increases in pattern to consider. The alternative would have been extensive notes; that was not so practical as these were being worked on in and around visits to the new in-laws. (Humm, what ARE the parents of a married couple to each other???)

Knitted Origami

2009-04-23T20:54:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth Zimmermann was, of course, a total knitting genius. Who but a genius could turn this knitted amoeba:

Into the world's cutest baby sweater by just folding it - thusly

Off to pack.......

button, button

2009-04-23T19:58:00.000-05:00

The buttonholes in the Baby Surprise Jacket are simple yarn overs - she has you put buttonholes on both sides, then sew the buttons onto the 'appropriate' side. Very clever and if a younger sibling is a different gender, simple to switch them.

But I need to find some buttons for this thing before I head out. I'll be leaving from work tomorrow at about 3pm. See you next week!

Baby Surprise Jacket - Urban Camo

2009-04-22T18:44:00.002-05:00

The yarn here is Collinette "jitterbug", but I've lost the label - so I have no idea what the name of the colorway is. I'm calling it Urban Camo, because it reminds me of those pink and blue "camouflage" bandannas and pants that were popular a few years back - plus the olive and black of REAL camo. I think it's just right for a little boy who will be born to two Marines.

JC totally surprised me with a "hey, mom, guess what - I'm married and we are going to have a baby" phone call over Christmas. I didn't dare say a word to a soul until he told my mom last weekend. Steph, love you like a sister, but I know you or the kids would have totally spilled the beans! (Steph is in my knitting group and her kids take music lessons from my mom.) But now that mom knows, I've told everybody - knitting group, in the church bulletin etc, etc.

My new Daughter in law's name is Michelle (called 'Chelle) and she's a Marine also stationed at Camp Lejeune. She just turned 20, so she's about 3 years younger than JC, and she's only on the second year of her first enlistment. I guess he was just ready to settle down and start a family.

I'm off to Tennessee to visit her parents (the kids are on leave and are there)- baby shower/family reunion will ensue - hence the hijacking of my knitting time.

Projectus Interuptus.....

2009-04-21T18:39:00.003-05:00

I meant to cast on the sleeves of my grey office cardi. I really did.

But I got hijacked by a baby sweater.........

UFORR - Catherine's French Country/Campagne Sampler

2009-04-09T23:06:00.001-05:00

The UFO RR that I signed up for that started in February has had the majority of the stitching time since then. I committed myself to stitching for 20 hours on each project - that's about a half hour a night. I am resigned to not getting a lot of stitching time in on my own things untill the RR is done in August.

This is the first project. It's for Catherine in Quebec. Her husband started this piece when they were on vacation in France and then decided that stitching isn't for him. She bogged down on it and decided to send it around. I was surprised; it's quite small. In fact I finished it! She's sending a new project out to my 'mailee' to replace it and I'm mailing her finished sampler back to her tomorrow.

Here's what it looked like when I got it.

The Grey Cardi is growing

2009-04-08T17:39:00.000-05:00

This is where I thought that the body would end, but it looked a little skimpy when I actually got to the point where the sleeves join up - 1.5 inches before the last buttonhole and the start of the VNeck shaping. I measured it against some other sweaters that I own, and noticed that the ones that compare to this length at the underarm are the ones that I am always tugging down when I wear them. A bit more length is required.

So I ran over to JoAnns after work yesterday and bought another card of buttons (the last one in my style on the rack!!). That will give me about 18 inches at the underarm and an odd number of buttons. Studies have shown that odd numbers are more visually pleasing than even numbers to most people. I will also have an extra button; this is always a good thing so that the first time you loose a button, you don't have to go out and replace them all. Most better quality manufactured sweaters will give you an extra button or two (and sometimes a bit of yarn!) in a little packet on the tag or an extra button sewn into the hem somewhere unobtrusive.

I don't have choir tonight, so I'll be able to go to knit group for the first time since the break after Christmas! I do miss those gals and guys, but I also love ringing. I wish one or the other was on a different day than Wednesday!

Buttonholes and their location

2009-04-04T15:57:00.003-05:00

Now that the ribbing is done and the cardigan border continues and the pattern rows are established (the top three rows next to the needle, though you can't really see them in this picture), the next thing I need to think about as I work my way up the sweater is buttonholes.

I put the recommended two button in the bottom ribbing, one a half inch after the cast on and one a half inch before the ribbing stops. This ribbing is right at 3 inches deep, and the desired depth to the underarm is 15 inches. If you take the ribbing depth off, that leave 12 inches and four buttons, so one button hole every three inches.

From here up the underarms, this is fairly mindless knitting - only the patterns and the buttonholes to keep track of.

Now, there are several stitch markers there. The red one is keeping the cardigan border stitches isolated, and the two lockable ones are marking button holes. I decided that since this sweater is going to be worn open most of the time, that I wanted the buttonholes to be as unobtrusive as possible. So I'm using simple YO, K2T holes instead of a fancy slot type buttonhole. They are plenty big enough for when I want to button the sweater up, but disappear into the cardigan border ribbing when not in use.

Buttons left unbuttoned are decorative, but empty buttonholes are just empty.....

And just like I want them to, they disappear - hence the markers.

RRRRRRRRRibbing

2009-04-03T22:12:00.001-05:00

And with only a minimum of ripping! I actually only went merrily around past the 'turn around' point one time, and then only for a couple of stitches before my fingers told my brain what had happened. That's one thing that experience does - it puts the movement into your hands. That's called muscle memory and is why you can touch type or text without looking so much at where your fingers are. And why (if it's a simple pattern like stockinette or even ribbing) I can read and knit at the same time.

Math and the Art of Sweater Design....

2009-04-02T20:57:00.002-05:00

Traditional Sweaters (like the ones in Knitting in the Old Way), designs by the late great Elizabeth Zimmermann and her heirs in spirit are based on the measurements of the intended wearer. Not, thank goodness, on the "one size fits some and no size fits me" of the fashion industry.

So with swatch in hand and knowing that this sweater needs to be 54 inches around to fit me (including ease), I calculate that I will need 4 x 54 = 216 stitches for the body. The cardigan borders will be 10 stitches on each side.

10 border + 54 left front + 109 back + 54 right front + 10 border = 237

The math works out for 108 stitches in the back section EXCEPT that I need an odd number to balance the planned K1, P1 ribbing, so I put the extra stitch in the least obvious area.

Now if this was a pullover or if I wanted a cardigan that pulled in strongly at the waist, I'd start out with 10% fewer stitches, but remember the design specifications - loose fit to wear over other clothes. So I'm going to cast on the full complement of stitches. And I'm only going down one needle size for the bottom ribbing, not two sizes which is the more 'standard' for ribbing.

Pardon me while I go cast on........

I spent my lunch hour in a fabric store

2009-03-31T18:20:00.006-05:00

Here in Topeka, we have several quilt shops, one independent fabric store and two JoAnn's stores. A VERY tiny bead shop and one cross stitch shop. A Michaels, a Hobby Lobby. No knitting stores at all - hence the fact that my Local Yarn Shops in the side bar are "Not So Local Yarn Shops" Luckily both of THEM are fantastic!

So shopping for buttons for the Grey Office Cardi was less of an adventure than it would have been if we had either a button speciality store or a garment district. Sometimes I envy the knitters in NYC or Chicago. But only a little bit and only about the cool shops.

But anyhow, these are very elegant 3/4 inch across the diagonal. That's big enough to not be overwhelmed by the knitting. And if the light catches them just right, they have marbling inside.

I was right about needing just a little wider cardigan border - four upper ribs instead of two.

Swatching for the Grey Office Cardi

2009-03-30T21:36:00.004-05:00

Swatched last night and gave it a bath in the sink with a bit of wool wash (then washed a couple pair of socks - the blockers are full). This yarn relaxed almost a half stitch an inch in the wash. That's a VERY good thing to know. I don't always swatch for small projects (socks, hats, scarves) or for lace shawls/stoles (in a yarn/needle combo I've used before). But I do for sweaters and I wash the swatches, too.

The hand softened up a lot - from almost harsh to the nice 'crunchy soft' that I expect from merino wool yarns. Those two things tell me that there's quite a bit of spinning oil/chemicals left in the yarn. But it's not bad enough to make me consider skeining and washing the yarn before hand.

I'm getting a gauge of EXACTLY 8 stitches over 2 inches - perfect to my plan - on size 8 needle. And I like the hand of the washed swatch. It lays nice and flat, has good stitch definition. So far, so good.

I did two swatches in one here. On the right of the photo is Stocking Stitch with a garter stitch band. OK, but uninteresting. One the left is a alternating seed stitch with the 'cardigan band' ribbing from The Sweater Workshop.

There's JUST enough pattern to make a visually interesting surface. And it's based on a broken rib, so it will lay flat, and drape well. And because it alternates pattern (k1, p1 rib) and purl back, if you make the pattern rows be on the IN side, every outside row will be knit. I don't MIND purling, but I do knit faster than I purl.

rnd/row 1: K1, P1
rnd 2: K OR row 2: P
rnd/row 3: P1, K1
rnd 4: K OR row 4: P

I'm glad I went ahead and swatched the cardigan border. A six stitch border is 'standard' for the sweaters pictured in the book. I'm thinking that looks rather skimpy. I'm going to see if I can find buttons for this sweater before I cast on. I'm thinking I want some grey or black squarish buttons, very sleek and Art Deco-ish? The width of the buttons will really determine the necessary width of the button band. You knit this button band 'as you go', so it needs to be correct from the cast on.

Once I find the buttons, it's time for some MATH!

The office cardigan - thoughts on design.

2009-03-29T20:35:00.006-05:00

A couple of years ago when Michael's opened a store here in Topeka and they had all their yarn on sale, I bought 9 skeins of charcoal heather colored Paton's "Classic Wool". It's just that - a classic 100% merino worsted weight 3 ply. About as 'old school' as you can get. I was originally planning on making a hoodie with this yarn, but looking at the yardage, I'd need two, maybe three more skeins if I want to do that. I have a better plan, and a more pressing need.

My office is cold. Sometimes disconcertingly so. Most of the people keep an afghan tossed over the back of their chairs. My fingering and heavy lace weight shawls have all done office duty. But what I'm going to do is knit up this Paton's into a sturdy sweater that will live in my cubby year round.

Design specifications - A cardigan, obviously. Needs to be relaxed fit to wear over anything, raglan shoulder shaping would help with that. It will be worn open most of the time - so jacket style, not wrap shaping. Likewise a V neck would give me the most comfortable fit.

I only have 9 skeins (about 2000 yards), so using my handy little Ann Budd "yarn requirements" brochure, I'll want a gauge of 4 stitches per inch. That's doable in this yarn, but it also means no cables. And the 'beater sweater' design that I'm working on here means no lace - or at least not a very open pattern. But a stocking stitch cardi in a dark grey semi-solid yarn would be very boring to knit. A slightly textured pattern would be good.

I'm a BIG fan of Jacqueline Fee's book The Sweater Workshop. Based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Percentage System (and with the gracious EZ's permission and encouragement), these are not 'patterns' per se. Rather they are 'recipes' using your unique gauge on your needles with your yarn. I did a half dozen sweaters out of the first edition of this book the last time I went crazy for knitting back in the 1980s. A second edition came out in 2003 with even more patterns, including a raglan sleeved, v- necked cardigan. SCORE!!!

Off to swatch.

FO - Faux Noro Scarf

2009-03-29T12:52:00.006-05:00

, Six feet of K1P1 ribbing later.....

For being such a simple knit, it kept my attention almost hypnotically. I mean when the colors cycle through like this:

I couldn't wait to see what the next variation looked like. I can see why people call this project addictive!

Details:

Needles US7

Yarn Universal Yarns Classic Shades (colorways 706 and 702)

I'm thinking that this one has enough Burgundy and rust in it to be this year's Red Scarf. It's about the right size, too. (5 inches by 72 inches)

Pattern all over the Internet, but I used the numbers and details from Brooklyn Tweed

Faux Noro Scarf - the beginning

2009-03-14T12:22:00.003-05:00

Yes, these two colors look great together. There's enough teal to counter the burnt orange. There's enough burgundy to counter the olive. All in all it swings through two nearly related complementary colorways - but always on the dark/greyed tonal side. Very autumnal.

As BT pointed out, doing this scarf in 1x1 rib has several advantages. First of all, ribbing lies flat. No curl like stocking stitch based fabric. Second, it looks on first glance like a loose stocking stitch. The one stitch ribs make the fabric absolutely perfectly corrugated. So, thirdly, the fabric is nice and cushy - double thick from the ribbing. Of course that corrugated texture means that it pulls in something fierce. This yarn normally knits up (in stocking) at about 5 stitches per inch, but 39 stitches cast on in the ribbing is barely 5 inches across - that's actually a good width for a bulky scarf.

By the way, the color variation is not an totaly an effect of the camera flash, it really does look like that. Where the 706 color cycles into the burnt orange, it just GLOWS. Like embers in a stone hearth. Lovely colors.

Wherein the knitter discovers a substitution for Noro Silk Garden

2009-03-07T11:59:00.001-06:00

When there has been a long knitting hiatus, the best type of project to get back into the swing of things is something simple. A quick and satisfying project to 'prime the pump' as it were.

I know - a scarf.

I'd noticed the two stripe Noro scarf when Brooklyn Tweed showed off his magnificent one a couple of years ago (drooling as always over his fantastic photographic mojo). Then Yarn Harlot did one or a dozen last year as part of her annual Christmas knitting extravaganza. (It's all the way at the bottom of her post.)

I liked the look enough that I priced out the Noro Silk Garden that is the recommended yarn. OMG - $60 for a scarf? SO not in the budget - that's a sweater's worth of yarn! Then the other day, I was looking through the stash and found two skeins of Universal Yarn's "Classic Shades" that I'd picked up when I was in Jville last summer on my "tour of every yarn shop within driving distance of Camp Lejeune" road trip.

This yarn is a poly/wool blend; I'd used a similar blend for my Irish Hiking Scarf and Hat back in the day and liked it. This yarn is a singles and will probably pill, but that's what sweater shavers are for, right? My original skeins were color 702, which is a dark mixture of olive drabs, greenish grays, khakis, teals and tans with a subtle hint of orange here and there. Nice, but even if I started the skeins in different places, there was not enough contrast for the two stripe scarf.

So onto the 'net, where to my dismay, I discovered that this yarn has been discontinued!!! But there was a ebay seller who had a skein of color 706 for sale. This colorway is all burnt orange, rusts and burgundy shades.

I think this will work......

GoodBye KC Plaza Workbag....

2009-02-15T22:25:00.000-06:00

...., have fun on your trip around the US and Canada!

What?! You thought I frogged it? Not likely!

I signed up for the UFO (UnFinished Object) RR (Round Robin) on the YUKU bulletin board way last December and it's now time for the first mailing.

I decided to send this project around because it is the only one of my started projects that isn't getting at least occasional stitch time in the current rotation. From the photos people are posting, it looks like a great mix of projects. This should be fun and I should get the KC Plaze Workbag back with some progress made on it.

I sure hope that's an optical illusion...

2009-02-08T15:16:00.003-06:00

... that makes the unfinished vertical arm of the cross look so much shorter than the finished horizontals. I've counted it out twice, but I won't be 100% happy until I bring the third quadrant borders around and everything meets up correctly.

I really didn't want to put this away. In some ways, I'm a frustrated "One At a Time" stitcher. When I come to the end of my five hours, I'm still in love with the project, and it goes to the back of the pile with great reluctance.

That's one reason that I'd like to get the needlework whittled down to just two or three projects. I think it would be easier to balance needlework and knitting with fewer needlework projects clamoring for my attention.

And we kick off another Sharon Cohen WIP

2009-01-30T20:10:00.004-06:00

This is the Second Work in Progress designed by the Queen of the Elizabethan Needlework Re-emergence - Sharon Cohen. It's the "Sampler Sweetbag" and unlike the Renaissance Sampler, this one has no cutwork. It makes up for that with detached buttonhole and queen stitch LOL. There will be a huge detached buttonhole flower in the center of this piece, but that won't be made for months yet. First I have to get everything else done and also design the back.

For ease of assembly on sweetbags and even pincushions, I like to use the same linen as the front. The directions for this piece say to use a piece of muslin for the back - not likely! And of course you can't have just an expanse of plain linen - that's no fun *G*.

MOVIE: "Jumper" (2008)

2009-01-24T11:00:00.006-06:00

Several years ago, I read the original book that this movie is based on - "Jumper" by Steven Gould. Originally published in 1992, it was re-released by Tor books as a movie tie-in in 2007. I haven't read the re-release to see if anything has changed, but I liked the original story very much. So I was excited to add the DVD to my NetFlicks queue.

I was rather disappointed in the movie, though. The special effects were great - the visual effect of the "Jump" was good and the location shots spectactular. But overall the movie was shallow; the love interest was tepid and there was little of the moral delima that the original book explored. There was a totally unnecessary car theft scene in the middle that seemed a bit out of character for Griffin in the first place and only accomplished two things - that Griffin can 'jump' an entire vehicle and the boys shared the experience of the Paladins murdering their parent(s). The director should have saved the special effects budget from that entire scene and used the time for some real character developement!

I'll still give it a 3 star rating, but just barely, maybe 2.5.

The Neverending project

2009-01-18T13:27:00.002-06:00

Wow, this one is a real "blast from the past". It is "Dutch Beauty" from Permin of Denmark.

I started this piece on 1/2/2000, so it's one of my older Works in Progress (WIPs). It's on Strathaven Linen, which is a 32/34 count, so it's a slightly uneven weave. This makes it great for historic samplers, which were stitched on handwoven fabric, of course. It's a very dense linen with a lovely hand. I'd love to have more of it.

I chose this linen because it will make my finished sampler very close in size to the original. I do try to do that with historic reproducations as much as possible.

DB is HUGE - a full yard of linen as you can see. Walt called it "the tablecloth" to tease me. BTW, I apologize for the really bad picture, the lighting was terrible. The linen is actually cream colored, not brown.

In eight years, I've only managed to finish 7 panels of the 21 that make up the pattern. I need to do better if I ever want to finish the beast. So I'm putting it into the rotation.

Here's what I got done this week. Five hours was about half of Page H - which is the start of the center row. Left hand border, the center stem of the spray of flowers, the vase and established the "ground" line for the center row of motifs.

This is not at all a complicated piece - it's all cross stitch over 2 and there's only about 15 thread colors; it's just that it's so blasted BIG LOL.

At the halfway point....

2009-01-12T22:15:00.000-06:00

on St. S:

I was very happy to get to the center point on Long Dog's "St. Sylvestre" this week. While I am still very happy with the lovely color of the linen, this one is being a bit of a slog this time around. Probably because the cross arms are the same braided motif all the way down. I've gotten spoiled on this one with the little blocks of interesting shapes. Even though they repeat, I can mentally break them up into their own little project. Not so with the cross.

I'll just bite the bullet next time this comes up in the rotation and do the other side of horizontal part of the cross. This has really made some good progress since I started working on it again in October.

FO - Afghan Squared

2009-01-11T12:11:00.004-06:00

Several times over the last year or so, I've mentioned knitting on squares for an afghan for my living room. These squares have been my travel, car and pub projects for quite a while now. Over the holidays, I laid them out and started putting them together.

After a couple of false starts trying to figure out layout and how to connect them, I got it finished. It's nice and heafty; just the right weight for snuggling up under. It's 33 x 43 inches, so lap sized. The individual squares are about 8x8, so it could easily scale down to a baby blanket if you did 3 squares across and 4 down, or scale up to bed sized. The lap size takes 2 skeins of each color to make five squares and one contrast color skein for the seams and borders

The joining stitch and borders are crochet - which I CAN do, but I just like knitting better.

Materials: Lamb's Pride Worsted in heathered colors (fire, peacock, wheat, forest) and black

Needles/Hook: US 7 and 8/H (I tend to crochet tighter than I knit, so up one size on the hook)

The new year starts with stitching

2009-01-06T22:09:00.000-06:00

Tereasa Wentzler's "Millennium" starts out the new year's stitching rotation. I probably put in close to 10 hours on it over the holidays. I still have the face, hands and back stitch on this angel and then Page 2 is done!

I've decided this angel is Raphael, since the other one is obviously Saint Michael, what with the sword and all. Raphael is the patron of the sciences, hence the hourglass. I've also subtley tried to tie in their elements of fire (Michael) and air (Raphael) with their cloak clasps in copper and silver. Earth and Water lie between them in the lower panel.

Finished Object Roundup - 2008

2008-12-30T18:24:00.014-06:00

January
Sampler Border Bookmark - stitching
Letter K Doorhanger/Ornament - stitching
Black Jewels Afghan - knitting

February
The Afghan Sqared - first half (10 squares) - knitting
Baby Socks #1 - knitting, gift for baby shower

March

April

May
Peekaboo Bonnet #1 - knitting, gift for baby shower

June
Renaissance Sampler - stitching, historic
Peekaboo Bonnet #2 - knitting, gift for baby shower
Bee Fields Shawl - knitting, lace

July
Vintage Lace Socks - knitting, socks - gift for Lori at work

August
Legacy Quaker RR sampler - stitching, sampler
The Afghan Squared - second half (10 blocks)

September
Beaded Journal Cover - stitching, smalls
My Stitching Chair Necessiare Smalls - stitching, smalls

October
My Stitching Chair Necessiare Base - stitching, smalls

November
Plimoth Plantation Sweetbag - stitching, smalls

December
Plimoth Plantation Smalls (needlebook, pincushion biscornu, scissors sheath)

KNITTING
Afghan - 1 (plus 20 squares for the next one)
Socks (pairs) - Baby sized 1, Adult sized 1
Hats - Baby 2,
Lace Shawls - 1
STITCHING
Smalls (bookmark, pincushion, fobs, etc) - 4
Ornaments - 1
Samplers - 2(1 cutwork ,1 large Quaker)

BOOK: "Some Danger Involved" by Will Thomas

2008-11-21T20:42:00.007-06:00

It's been a while since I've done a book review. But I finished this one today over my lunch hour and thought I'd comment on it.

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

I like period mysteries. The combination of a detective novel and a historic novel, when well done, is something I like better than either genre alone.

This one is set in Victorian London. I'm following another series set in the same time/place (Anne Perry's series "Charlotte and Thomas Pitt"). This one has a grittier edge; there are overtones of both Conan Doyle and Dashell Hammett in the writing style.

The story is written in first person, which can be hard to do. But I liked the POV character right away. Thomas Llewelyn, our narrator, is at the end of his rope - he makes one last try to find a job while contemplating suicide. He's been kicked out of Oxford and has spent eight months in jail for petty theft. No one will hire him, but Cyrus Barker, the "enquiry agent" takes him on. No sooner than Thomas settles in, but the case begins.

The mystery is set in and around the Jewish emigre population of London, and we get to see all kinds of interesting facts and tidbits about their culture and the prejudices and issues they faced in this time frame. The mystery itself is interesting enough and the resolution took me quite by surprise!

My only negative comment is that said resolution was just a touch hurried. But the pacing may well have been deliberate to show our hero's state of mind.

There are at least four other books in the series, and I'll be getting them from the library in the near future!

I would give this one three and a half stars.

The finished Plimoth Sweete Bag

2008-11-20T20:36:00.001-06:00

Most of the crafting time this week has been spent on the assembly of the Plimoth Plantation Sweete Bag.

This isn't quite a finished object yet, because there is still a needlebook and a scissor sheath to do. Plus I have enough scraps for a pincushion and maybe a cover for a measuring tape.

I like the way this piece came together. The only thing I might do different is to put a proper lining in. Right now, there is a finished backing for the front and the back, but not a true lining that supports any contents. If this were a real purse, that would be a major concern, as the piece would be under stress when used. But this little bag will probably never hold more that the above mentioned needlework smalls, so I think that the fact that the designer dispensed with a proper lining won't be an issue.

Hole-y, Hole-y, Hole-y

2008-11-16T12:30:00.003-06:00

We have eyelets! I started out using my grandmother's awl to make the eyelets, but ran into problems almost immediately. That awl is tapered and therefore it is hard to get a consistent diameter. So I switched to using a number 5 knitting needle. Actually I used the metal tips from my KnitPicks convertible set. Pointly (they are designed for lace, so VERY sharp tips and an even taper) and once you get up to the needle shaft, the diameter is consistent. I also found a 24 count round eyelet stitch diagram. I feel more confident with a counted thread eyelet than the free hand ones in the pattern directions.

It's pretty sad that I haven't even had any knitting on those needles yet. Their first use was for neeedlework! I need to get back to knitting!

Plimoth Plantation Sweetbag

2008-11-14T19:41:00.000-06:00

Since the Necessiare is finishing finished (as vs stitching finished), it's time to pick another project from the 'smalls' category to work on. Here's another project that got to a certain point and was abandonded. In this case, I got the stitching done on the front and back of the main piece, and the cording/tassels made.

So the next step is applying the linings - which I've been doing this week. Next I have to make 12 eyelets across the tops of the pieces to run the drawstring through and then assemble everything.

Then I get a new start! The smalls for this set are still in their box. There will be a needle book and a scissors sheath. It's going to be great to actually get to start something instead of trying to figure out where I stopped, why I stopped, what I need to do to continue.....

Happy Birthday, USMC

2008-11-10T19:25:00.002-06:00

Almighty Father, whose command is over all and whose love never fails, make me aware of Thy presence and obedient to Thy will. Keep me true to my best self, guarding me against dishonesty in purpose and deed and helping me to live so that I can face my fellow Marines, my loved ones, and Thee without shame or fear. Protect my family.

Give me the will to do the work of a Marine and to accept my share of responsibilities with vigor and enthusiasm. Grant me the courage to be proficient in my daily performance. Keep me loyal and faithful to my superiors and to the duties my Country and the Marine Corps have entrusted to me. Help me to wear my uniform with dignity, and let it remind me daily of the traditions which I must uphold.

If I am inclined to doubt, steady my faith; if I am tempted, make me strong to resist; if I should miss the mark, give me courage to try again. Guide me with the light of truth and grant me wisdom by which I may understand the answer to my prayer.

(excerpt from Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines, copyright 2001 Marion F. Sturkey)

Stitching update for the week of 11/2 to 11/7/2008

2008-11-08T11:27:00.005-06:00

Well, this week my stitching was on Teresa Wentzler's "Millennium". I finished up the last part of the globe and moved to the over one on St. Michael's face this week. And that filled my 5 hours plus a bit. I will start on the backstitching when this comes back up in the rotation.

The one thing I have always been a bit hesitant about on this piece is the purple shadows along the cheekbones. I thought when I first looked at the cover photo that the angels looked bruised LOL. So when I stitched that area, I went one shade lighter on the purples and also did some half (top) crosses with the darkest skin color (847 If I remember correctly) in order to break up the heavy diagonal and vertical lines of the purple and dark rose areas. I think I've managed to not muck up the contour and still keep the angel from looking like he's been in a fistfight *G.

In a way, I'm always so unsure if it's a good idea to change anything - especially on a pictorial. But between the anchor and lettering redesign on the USMC seal and this, I'm getting a bit more confident in adapting a designer's work. Nowhere near designing my OWN patterns, though.

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-10-31T23:37:00.002-05:00

Since mom is still recuperating from her surgery, I passed out candy at her house again this year. We ran out of candy! We had over 100 trick and treaters this year. Between the nice weather - a nice 60 degrees F, and the calendar - a Friday night, we were absolutely inundated with kids!

Overall, though, the quality of the costumes was down. The execption was Steph from knitting group (her kids take music lessons from my mom). She came as the sock knitting fairy - complete with a wand tipped with a ball of yarn. VERY cute.

I was planning on going to the pub tonight, but my throat is all scratchy and my nose is dripping. I think a cold approaches ....... Something wicked this way comes!

FO - My Stitching Chair Necessiare

2008-10-25T10:38:00.005-05:00

Well, in and around all the insanity last week, I did finish the base of the Necessiare. I also found the scissors that I'd bought to go with this set (the burgundy handles are a perfect match to the floss color on the flower motif!)

Project: My Stitching Chair Necessaire
Designer: Lesley Rudnicki of Hillside Samplings
Materials: Class Kit

I'm now at the half way point on the Stitching WIP Killer Binge. I started last Christmas with 16 projects, have retired one (a wall quilt - will finish the completed blocks as Christmas tree ornaments), and finished seven (though I still have to frame and post a finished photo of the Quaker RR piece. The framing on that is expensive and I'm still saving up for it.)

Finishing this was a good birthday gift to myself! Kimi made me a wonderful dinner, too - chicken in a herb and garlic sauce and homemade trifle with REAL custard - not from a mix.

Update on Mom

2008-10-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

Surgery successful - almost immediate relief of the pain.

Still living at mom's with no internet..... Not even getting knitting done, just reading

I will be even more absent than usual

2008-10-18T10:32:00.000-05:00

Mom took a fall a few days ago and ended up with a compression fracture in her back. Surgery on Monday 10/20. Either Kimi or I will be staying with her most of the time, since she's on some pretty heavy duty painkillers between now and then.

Needless to say, stitching and complex knitting is right out. I cast on a garter stitch scarf in the hospital this morning while sitting in the Radiology waiting room while mom had bone scans, MRI's etc.

And even garter stitch may be too much for me LOL. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

More assembly......

2008-10-04T09:52:00.003-05:00

All the "smalls" are done on the Hillside Sampling's "My Stitching Chair Necessiare". Smalls for needleworkers include things like scissor fobs, pincushions, needlebooks and the like. There are so many darling patterns for things like these. Some designers even specialize in them! It's easy to go overboard on these little 'jewels'. I need to figure out how to display them.

Millennium - the globe is getting close

2008-09-30T23:40:00.002-05:00

It's filling in fast - this is at 25 hours on the over one on "Earth". I hated to put this down tonight, it's so very close to being done. I will probably come back to this later this month in order to finish up this section.

Over one with lots of 'confetti' stitching is very tedious, but impressive when it's finished.

A different needlework project to look at - finishing smalls

2008-09-20T13:37:00.005-05:00

There's no further progress on my needlework pieces this week (or anything else for that matter), because I got distracted by the prep work for the finishing on another one of my very nearly completed smalls. I was sorting through the remaining WIP pile, and I pulled out the Hillside Samplings "My Stitching Chair Necessiare" to see where I was at on it.

This was a SAL that I was involved with in 2004. In fact, I was helping lead it. I did write up all the finishing, but I didn't actually get mine done. The main piece was hemstitched

But I had just started putting the muslin interfacing on everything else.

So I finished doing that. I'm modifying the needlebook to have hard "book" covers instead of the hemstitched edge. All of that went well, and I wasn't bored with finishing yet. So I did the basic assembly on all the pillow-shaped pieces

And then lined all the ones that need to be simply lined

Still to do on the prep work - lining the ones that need stiffening in them (the needlebook and the back of the ruler case) and also making the backing piece that will be hemstitched onto the piece in the first picture after everything is assembled. When I get to the actual assembly, there will be a needlebook, a scissors fob, a ruler case for the scrimshaw ruler (and there is a scrimshaw threadwinder as well), and the main piece with a pocket on either end and tufted pincushion on the center.

I'm still enjoying this piece and it SO goes with the colors in my living room. I don't often stitch in that room, but once I get a new stitching lamp, I will enjoy using this lovely piece.

Millenium Globe at 20 hours

2008-09-12T18:40:00.003-05:00

I've been working on Teresa Wentzler's Millennium this week. I'm still slogging along on the globe in the center. This is 20 hours of over one stitching and it's really starting to fill in nicely. The "blobs" of color are connecting up and you can really see the cloud swirls starting to take shape. There are only three more colors to go. One of them is plain white, which I'll put in last.

Stitching white on off white over one is hard, even with magnification. The comet was bad enough, I'm not looking forward to polar ice caps LOL. But it will be worth it in the end.

The anniversary I never wanted

2008-09-10T22:13:00.001-05:00

Today would have been W and I's 25th Wedding Anniversay. We met this day in 1980 and in 1983 we were married. We thought it was fun to hit the same day (and I'm so very glad that 9/11/2001 didn't ruin 'our' day, though it overshadows it now, of course).

Babe, miss you. You're still in my heart. Watch the whales for me......

Band 11 & 12 of the HSiaY

2008-09-06T10:12:00.003-05:00

I promised that I'd start updating again. So this is what I've done over the summer on one of my stitching projects.

This is Linda Driskell's Heirloom Sampler in a Year 2000 - Band 11 and 12. When I introduced this project back in June, I didn't include a photo, but I was only to the bottom of the openwork band that you can just barely see in the top of the photo. I had just a few stitches put into the band with the woven work and nothing on the angel band.

The woven work looks more complex than it is. This technique is tedious and hard to frog out if you make a mistake, so it's considered an advanced technique. But working it in threads this large is not too bad. It's when you do it with tiny silk threads that you want to pull your hair out.

That's one cool thing about this designer, she uses all these very advanced techniques, but in materials that let you see what you're doing. She has VERY detailed instructions and diagrams. She's retired now, and I wish I had more of her pieces in the stash. If I ever happen to come across any, you can bet that I'm snatching them up.

Time to get out of this funk....

2008-09-05T22:05:00.000-05:00

The last couple of months have been rough. I've been sick off and on, stressed, upset with JC and swamped at work. And watching the value of my investments plumet hasn't been great EITHER.

It's not the WORST summer on record (the title for that would have to go to 2004 - the year we lost my FIL to cancer and Walt to a stroke just two months later), but it's not been my usual productive, fun summer either.

EFM and bells start up this coming week, I've got several yard projects to do this fall and I just plain need to get my case together!

Crafting, of course, has fallen rather behind as well. I really need to get back to posting every couple of days to keep myself motivated.

So I'm giving myself a stern talking to - get GOING, girl!

And it's now Four years....

2008-08-22T21:13:00.001-05:00

Beloved

Still cameraless.....

2008-08-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

and still not really into doing more than zoning out in front of the computer playing mindless video games or reading Dorito fiction (you know the type - Harliquenesque romances or second rate detective stories where you have the plot device figured out by the middle of the book.....).

JC hasn't called me since I left Jville - the little twerp.

And to make matters worse, I have to go on a business trip next week.

back, but pictureless....

2008-07-25T22:56:00.001-05:00

Actually, that would be cameraless...... It's in Olathe, being held for ransom by my sister (just kidding about the ransom part, but not about the camera part).

The trip was so-so. The bad news is that KT and JC have broken up. Part, I think, because JC had built up their relationship in his mind when he was in Iraq. Probably a bit of cold feet on his part as well. He's also stressing more than a bit about his new responsibilities as a junior NCO. He has people reporting to him now, and that's a bit strange for him.

While I was there, he was wresteling with this in his mind, but not talking much about it, so he tended to act a bit of a sulky brat - very unlike him. And he was drinking a lot. I'm sensing some PTSD type stuff going on with that. Hopefully he'll pull it together soon.

I'm more than a bit bummed out, too. I recognize the symptoms. All I want to do is read and sleep. Neither the knitting or the needlework or the blog holds much interest right now. I love KT to bits and was really looking forward to having her as a daughter. I'm mourning the loss of the "might have been".

All in all, this has been a shitty month. Ugh.

Here we go again

2008-07-04T05:56:00.002-05:00

I'm off on vacation for the next 10 days, so posting will be spotty to non-existant.

The project on the needles for the trip is a pair of kilt hose on commission for one of the guys from XMarks. He's making JC a sporran. They will have diced tops and I'm hoping that they turn out ok.

He's chosen a DK weight - Nature Spun. I used that last year for the ChainMail socks, so I know it will work up nicely.

Time to get on the road.

FO - Lori's Vintage Socks

2008-07-02T19:33:00.001-05:00

This week there's been a little blocking:

Add a card:

And you have a nice graduation gift. I just need to snag a gift bag for it.

Pattern: Vintage Lace Socks (aka "Fancy Silk sock for a child of 5 or 6 Years")from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush

Yarn: Hand-dyed superwash fingering weight by Jennifer of van Calcar. She is the customer dyer for Tsarina of Tsocks.

Needles: US2

Comments: Did a crochet cast on, which is just a little tight for this. Tweaked the heel placement to center it a bit better and shortened the legs by half to make a lacy summer anklet.

Love the subtle dyeing, it doesn't fight with the lace, but adds depth. I also love the hand of the yarn - it was great to work with.

Stitcher's report - June ending

2008-06-30T17:13:00.002-05:00

Good month for stitching - I met all my goals.

Pictorial:
Here's what five hours of over one stitching looks like. It's a bit of an optical illusion, because I did all of the sky colors around the edges, which totally fade into the background. I also did all of the DMC792 and 841. This first part, where you have to be so careful of your count, is exciting, but painstaking.

Sampler (historic):
The Quaker Round Robin fill in continues. One more month ought to see this one finished. I think it needs one medium sized flower right above the center circle and the lettering in the center and bottom right cartouche. There may be a few small "filler" motifs, too.

Sampler (modern):
New project - well, new old project. This is another one from 2000 (I think I had a bad case of 'startitis' brought on by Y2K fever LOL); Linda Driskell's Heirloom Sampler in a Year 2000. I was working on this in the hospital when Walt died. I forced myself to work on it for a couple of months in 2005, but it was too soon. Now it's time to finish it off. I'm going to do it as a memorial sampler with his name and birth/death dates in the signature block. Here's a album of my progress to date. There's one full band and three partial bands left to do, but one of them is huge (the top band).

2008-06-21T09:59:00.004-05:00

Because these are summer lacy anklet socks, the legs went really fast on Lori's Vintage Lace Socks - I shortened it to just three repeats of the pattern, and we are already at the point where the magic happens:

The pattern in Nancy's Bush's book has a slip stitch heel. I modified it to the Eye of Partridge heel in order to show off the variations in the hand dyed yarn.

The lace rib pattern is rather fun. It's set up on a K3P1 base, but the K3 part is actually two different lace patterns, one of which is only one YO row out of every 12 round repeat. The alternating lace pattern is very similar to the one in the Dublin Bay socks, but narrower.

The fact that it is ribbing based lace makes the leg nice and stretchy.

One other neat "tweak" that the original designer did (and Nancy copied) is that the heel is worked on over half the stitches, but is immediatly decreased to half the stitch number via evenly placed P2Ts on the first row. This counteracts the stretchyness of the lace rib right at the top of the heel. How clever!

I love it when designers do things that make me go "hummmm" or "???" and then I get a "A-HAH!!!" moment later on in the project. "THAT's why....."

Better Late than Never ...

2008-06-17T21:40:00.003-05:00

seems to be my motto lately. Remember back about a year and half ago? I promised my co-worker, Lori, a pair of hand knit socks. Well, she just graduated from college and so as a combination (VERY late) promised gift and graduation gift, I finally cast on her socks

I wanted something special, so I am doing the lace socks from Nancy Bush's "Knitting Vintage Socks".

The yarn is special too. It's by Tsarina Tsock's custom dyer. And man, it is lush. The color is just right, just barely there variances. It's a superwash, too. That's important for busy moms who don't have time to hand wash their socks.

A close up of the cuff shows both the lovely yarn and the delicate lace ribbing. I may have to do these again for myself!

FO - Bee Fields Shawl

2008-06-16T21:37:00.002-05:00

There was lace binding off on Friday (in the pub no less!) and lace blocking this weekend.

She's finally finished - six months in the making. I cast on 2 Jan and cast off 13 June. I'm not a particuarly fast knitter and most of the triangle shawls I've done have been three to six months duration.

I got the kit and I love this merino yarn! The colors are fanastic - not too high contrast, and the hand of the yarn is lush. I have about 33 grams left, which should be enough for a narrow scarf sometime in the future.

My favorite part was the border

The BEES with their complex shaping and the alternating triple decreases that made the 'flower stem' part so curvy! Pure genius, I tell you!

Pattern: Bee Fields Shawl by Knit Spot

Materials: Kit 100% merino wool heavy laceweight in colorway "Buckwheat Honey"

Needles: US 5 Addi Lace needles

FO - Peekaboo Bonnet #2 - Parrot

2008-06-15T12:15:00.001-05:00

The car knitting box has yielded another Peekaboo Bonnet. This one is in SW Trading Company, "Oasis" Soy Silk. This is a very interesting fiber; it's actually very, very fine thread that has been knitted into a tube (like idiot cord). So unlike the cotton, it doesn't split! I really like the soft, silky hand of this yarn. I'm not nuts about the colors in this, though. They didn't look as muddy and greyed in the skein. One thing I didn't like about this yarn is that there were three knots in this one 100 G ball, so I still had ends to weave in!

CRITTERS!

2008-06-14T13:43:00.004-05:00

Ack - there are raccoons in my fireplace chimney! A momma and at least one almost grown baby. Over the last couple of days, the next door neighbors and I have spotted raccoons on my roof twice.

I called the "Critter Capture" guys right away. They aren't as good looking as Steve Irwin *G*, but they put out traps and covered the other (main heater) chimney with wire mesh so that my little masked bandits can't get in there.

I've lived here almost 25 years and never had more that a few mice off and on. (It's an old house with rock foundations that aren't perfectly sealed.) I am a little freaked out, though the guys said that as long as the flue damper isn't opened that my uninvited guests can't get down into the house.

I like wildlife, but on my terms LOL.

FO - Peekaboo Bonnet in Hot Pinks

2008-06-13T19:00:00.002-05:00

Almost forgot to take a picture of this one before I wrapped it up. It was actually finished a couple of weeks ago! Bad Karla, no blog! This is for the second of the summer babies; it is for the newborn daughter of one of the girls in the bell choir.

Pattern: Peekaboo Bonnet by Design55. Sourced from "The Yarn Shop and More" in KC. Their house designer?

Materials: a kit, but I think the yarn is Mission Falls cotton - it's the same size as generic dishcloth cotton, but much softer.

Needle: Size 6 US

Comments - great little knit, but a ton of ends. It can also be done in one color and self striping might be fun. In a basket with some baby sunscreen and a cute toy, it makes a fine personal gift without a huge committment of knitting time.

Two babies down, and two to go!

FO - Ren Sampler

2008-06-07T18:23:00.001-05:00

The Renaissance Sampler

by Sharon Cohen of the Nostalgic Needle

Type: Historic Inspired - Elizabethan Cutwork Samplers

Ground Fabric: 32 count Summer Khaki Linen,

Thread: Au Ver A Soie/Soie d'Alger silks and DMC perle cottons

Stitches: (OMG, what isn't in there!) Cross, Long Arm Cross, Rice, Queen, Bargello, Running and Backstitch, Basketweave Tent over one, French Knots, Lazy Daisy, Chain Stitch, Satin, Detached Buttonhole on both Solid and Open grounds, Woven and Wrapped bars, several different types and shapes of Needleweaving, Picots and Bullion Knots

And THIS is a "simple" openwork piece!

Nevertheless, love the piece, love the designer. Wish I would have not let it languish for six years between setting up the openwork area and actually putting scissors to it!

Teresa Wentzler's Millennium

2008-06-07T14:08:00.004-05:00

Kim doesn't have the new lettering charts done for me on the USMC seal. I can't blame her; she's had a bunch of freelance work lately. Paying work takes precedence over freebies for family members! So the seal is going into hibernation until she has time to get back to working up the revised charts for me.

So my other WIP pictorial will come into the rotation for a while. This is Teresa Wentzler's Millennium. This is a Out of Print (OOP) chart.

I actually started this back in 2000 for Walt, who was an amateur astronomer. He LOVED the little over one planets and especially the comet.

We had a lot of fun "comet chasing" Hale Bopp. One of my best memories as a family is of us all (including my mom and dad) getting up at about four in the morning and driving way out into the country. Walt set up his telescope and we watched that comet for HOURS, drinking hot chocolate and just marveling. The sky was SO dark, the stars like diamonds.

So even though Y2K is long over now, I do want to finish this piece. Hopefully committing to working on it five hours at a time will actually get me somewhere on it. This designer is notorious for her use of blended colors and "confetti" stitching. For pictorials, her designs are rivaled in complexity by only a few other designers.

Bzzzzzzzzz...............

2008-06-01T23:10:00.003-05:00

The third, fourth and fifth chart on the Bee Fields Shawl are the outer borders. And the central motif of the border is by far the most complex lace motif I've done to date. There are wraps and dropping wraps and picking up four dropped wraps and casting on in the middle of a row and increases and decreases galore. But when you are done ---- You have BEES!

Rows of them!

Clever!

And I'm almost done with Chart 4 - just the outer most border and casting off left to go! I should finish this sometime this month. Which is a good thing. It's been on the needles for a long time. I dispair of ever finishing a shwal in less than six months!

I still love this yarn - it would make exceptional lace scarves. It's heavy for a lace weight, ALMOST fingering, very warm and 'scrunchy'. And SO SOFT! And the slight variances in the color are truly random and subtle. That's important for lace, since strong color contrasts can fight with the lacy pattern to the detriment of both.

I may have to see if it's available other than packaged in the kit for this shawl. I do know it comes in a pale green colorway. Also beautiful.

So Close, and yet so far.....

2008-05-31T19:47:00.003-05:00

That my friends, is the last of the actual stitching on the Sharon Cohen "Renissance Sampler". SEVEN YEARS (note the date in the photo below) after I started it as a "practice" piece for the designer's much bigger and more difficult "Millenium Cutwork Sampler", I have FINALLY finished it. Almost.

I still have to hemstitch it and frame it, but getting it to this stage is a major accomplishment

Road Trip!

2008-05-24T23:56:00.003-05:00

Heather (from knitting group and the pub) and I went into Lawrence today. We stopped by the Yarn Barn and then went to Knit!Lawrence at the City Mercantile (the local organic co-op grocery).

Here's the result of the pub and road trip knitting:

This is a design that I picked up as a kit. It's by the house designer for The Yarn Shop and More in Kansas City. Cute hat, cute colors, but a metric butt-ton of ends to weave in and I have to get some ribbon for the ties. I HATE it when kits don't have the finishing material in them. Also, the yarn isn't listed on the materials list - another major growl.

After consultation with the folks at the Yarn Barn, I think it may be Mission Falls cotton. It's the weight, but much softer than standard dishcloth cotton.

I think I'll knit it again in a single color and rewrite the pattern. It's not very well written, though it is well designed for the most part. Those are two very different skill sets, I have come to discover.

When I was at the Merc, I had a very nasty encounter. I was going to grab some fruit and snacks, since I hadn't had lunch, and while I was walking around the deli case, an older lady was there and out of the blue she turned to me and said, "YOU don't need any calories." I was stunned, and hurt. I blurted out, "Madam, what I eat is none of your business!" and stalked away. If she thinks I'm fat now, she should have seen me 50 pounds ago! Honestly, though, what was she thinking BAM! drive by insulting????

Time to get back on the diet!

Kilts - some assembly required

2008-05-17T14:40:00.007-05:00

I'm in SO much trouble. Here's several hundred dollars of wool from Scotland.

The top length is for a skirt for me, it's 10 ounce tartan. The bottom piece is for a "tank" - a hand sewn, traditional kilt - for JC in the heavy kilt weight Strome (16 ounce wool).

He's really started to get in touch with his Scot's heritage. I think, in part, because KT is so proud of her Irish heritage. That's a good thing, I think, but it brings with it a ton of new potential fiber addictions LOL.

Despite the difference in the intesity of the green stipes, they are the same tartan, the variance is due to them being from different mills and different weights. The tartan is MacKenzie, ancient colorway.

USMC Seal decision point

2008-05-07T22:59:00.001-05:00

I'm at the point where I MUST decide what I'm going to do about the lettering on JC's USMC Seal. We both agree that the lettering as charted is terrible. "Unsat" (i.e unsatisfactory) is how JC describes it. The designer just used huge straight stitches - and so it doesn't look anything like the real seal.

I've been talking to Kimi and asked her if she'll rechart the proper font and letters over one for me. Hopefully she'll have time to do that for me before this come up in the rotation again.

Quaker RR fill in - May

2008-05-01T19:20:00.001-05:00

The Quaker RR piece is filling in nicely. I got the left hand side pretty well finished over the last couple of week. When I get back to it, I'll work on balancing that over on the right side with three or so more motifs.

FINALLY some knitting content

2008-04-25T21:05:00.001-05:00

The bee fields shawl has been humming along in the background at the rate of a row or two a night. Not enough to take pictures very often, though the rows are mounting up.

Here's the second section "Bee swarm". As usual, unblocked lace only hints at the glory to come.

USMC Seal - border

2008-04-17T21:52:00.001-05:00

It's coming along. I'm backstitching it as I go because I really hate getting to the end of a project with the color stitching and then basically having to start over on part 2 with the back stitching. It's the same issue as second sock syndrome. When you are done, you want to be DONE! LOL

Tartan Day 2008

2008-04-05T13:01:00.006-05:00

Today I went to Kansas City for the Tartan Day celebration!

The venue was EH Yourg Park in Riverside Mo. This is also where the Kansas City Highland Games will be held in June. The Tartan Day celebration was cosponsored by the Highland Games and the Kansas City Saint Andrew Society

The day started out chilly, I was glad I brought a jacket during the flag raising

and the parade of clans

After the flags, the festivities were kicked off by Glenfinnan, a local Celtic rock/folk band

There were demonstrations of Highland Dancing - from wee ones (I think she was about 6 or 7):

Up to quite grown up lasses:

The men also got into demonstrating:

(I wasn't about to tell this guy that his shirt and kilt clashed!)

(sorry for the quality on this one, I had to photoshop it quite a bit - I couldn't get very close and forgot to use the zoom on my camera.)

There was also a demonstration/lecture on historic weapons, but my camera battery died right about then.

And of course there were kilts

and kilts

and more kilts

(the guys from X Marks the Scot kilt board left to right Mark_Kenny, Beserk Bishop, Chatten Cat, Rogerson895)

I got sunburned, I ate a "haggis pup" (sausage hot dogish type thing), I sampled the local brew pub's wares, I got to meet in person people from the celtic music and kilting boards that I hang out at. It was a GREAT day!

Plans for tomorrow

2008-04-04T22:16:00.003-05:00

I have to get up early tomorrow. I'm driving into Kansas City to got to the Tartan Days celbration. Tartan Days for those of Scot's heritage what St. Pat's is for the Irish. A time to celebrate your heritage, to dance and drink, and just have a good time.

My ethnic heritage is about 1/4 German (mom's mom - Koenig), 1/4 English (dad's dad Hempstead), and the other half is a mixture of Celtic - Lowland Scot, Scots-Irish Ulster, Highland Scots, and Irish (MacKenzie, Lemon/Lamont, Castor, Carnahan). Parts of my family (Hempstead, and Castor for certain) came to America when it was still a bunch of colonies - technically I could join the DAR on both my mother and father's side. Other parts of my family were loyalists. On the Koenig side, I'm only second generation. My grandmother was the the next to the last of 13 children and the first one born in the States. They came through Ellis Island.

I've got Ulster Presbyterian, Highland and German Catholic, Irish who knows what, English Calvanist, and I'm Anglican! I'm a typical American - a total mutt LOL.

But it is actually my Scottish heritage that I identify the most with. I'm looking forward to tomorrow to celebrate it!

Quaker RR fill in - April

2008-04-03T23:22:00.002-05:00

A very good month on this project. I got the bottom medallions and two other motifs done. All of a sudden, you can see how this will look when it is finished.

I've noticed with almost every project, there is a 'tipping' point where you see the finish line, where you know that it will either work out or not. Sometimes that point is quite early. By the time I get an inch or so done on a sock leg, I can usually say "love it" or "frog it". With lace, I waffle right up to the point where I block it. I'm at the point on this project and I do love it!

2008-03-17T12:12:00.003-05:00

Look at what my sister designed for the CREW! They didn't have unit patch, so we decided to make one for them. Kim is a commercial artist and does this kind of thing for a living. We were going for a WWII type image. And you have to understand the back story on the duck.

When JC left for Iraq last year, one of the first care packages Kim sent him was for Easter. In it was a plush duck that 'laid' those little chocolate easter eggs (the ones that are about the size of Hershey Kisses). Everybody LOVED the duck. It got to be the platoon mascot and when you had a bad day, the duck was likely to show up on your bunk. So the duck had to be on their logo. It's so CUTE! The muscles, the tat, the high and tight haircut LOL. My sister is a genius.

"New" project - Quaker Round Robin

2008-03-07T21:27:00.003-06:00

OK, here is something new to look at. This is not, however, a NEW project. In my quest to get the Work In Progress list on the needlework side whittled down to something approaching reasonable, I am not going to start anything new on that side at all until I have just one project in a category. That's going to take some time.

This was a round robin(RR) from 2004 that I did on the Legacy Embroider's Guild. We each started out with a motif or two and then mailed it on to the next person, everybody stitched on everybody else's piece. The theme was Quaker Medallions. I sent around a HUGE piece of linen, by far the biggest one. This was my first RR, and I WAY overestimated how much everyone would do.

This album shows all the ones that I stitched on and my old progress on this piece.

Afghan Squared - first half

2008-02-29T23:48:00.001-06:00

The way this month has been, about all I've been able to work on (other than yesterday's baby socks) is one afghan square after another - all made out of simple, bias garter stitch. Mindless and hypnotic. I can crank one of these out in a couple of days.

This is about half of what I'll need for an adult sized afghan. They are 8 inches square, so for an afghan in the 32 (four squares) x 40 (five squares) inch range I'll need 20 squares.

FO - Itty Bitty TeennyTiny Socks - Pair #1

2008-02-28T22:12:00.006-06:00

Remember about a year and half ago? There was a point in there where I had several baby showers one right after another? And I knitted washcloth after washcloth for baskets of baby bath goodies and afghan squares for group projects and had to buy some gifts because I flat ran out of knitting time?

Well, it's happening AGAIN! I guess I just have enough friends who are 15-25 years younger than me that they are having their families now. It's funny, when I was of an age to have kids, most of my friends were older and I only had one close girlfriend who had her child at about the same time as me. (Hi, Pam!)

I have by last count four in-progress babies to knit for. I could do baskets again, and I might for one or two, but right now, I'm all about the booties and mini-socks. Aren't they CUTE! I figure one or two pairs of these and some coordinating onesies are about THE best gifts!

Let's hear it for baby knitting! (I'm in no hurry for grandbabies - we have to get the kids married first, after all. And I want them to have a nice bit of couplehood. But I'm going to like knitting for littles when and if they come along!)

Reporting in

2008-02-27T08:17:00.009-06:00

Lots happening here as of late:

1) JC was home on leave for 21 days. I daily thank God and anybody else who will listen that he made it through this deployment with few scars and is ok mentally and emotionally as far as I can tell.

2) He and KT ARE engaged (YEAH!!!!) No firm date yet, but it will be after she graduates from college - so about 2-3 years. Yes, a long engagement, but they are making some very level headed decisions about their future. Much better than when I was at their age!

3) We went out to eat and out drinking at our favorite local pub- so the weight loss stalled out and went backwards.

4) He and I went to Cabela's sporting goods stores and bought things that go 'boom'. They have a amazing selection of firearms there - it's almost as bad for the checkbook balance as Home Depot, and worse (per item) than any yarn or needlework store. And that's saying something!

5) Progress was made on the bathroom, despite breaking the main sutoff valve for the house (I don't think JC knows his own strength sometimes!) The water was off for two days and he had to bring in a professional plumber to replace that section of pipe. Once I get the rest of the painting done, there will be pictures!

6) Handbells have been going fantastic - I'm in both the beinning and advanced choiers (two of us from the "I" choir are involved inthe "II" choir - both of us are the newer ringers and can use the practice and technique review). I played Sunday before last with the "I" choir. It was icy and nasty and the service was not very well attended, which was too bad, because we did a FANTASTIC job on a difficult piece "Meditation on Beautiful Savior". This coming Sunday is the debute performance of the "II" choir. Steve, the director, is all about getting people used to performing right away.

7) Very little exercise occured other than running around with the kids. I have another 5 K in a couple of weeks, this is not good. But I may have to skip that one because...

8) I have a HORRID head cold - Fever, aches, watery eyes, runny nose, cough, congestion - the works. I sound like a cold medicine commercial. ICK. Off work yesterday and today. It's been going around and around at the office, and I'm honestly surprised that I haven't come down with it before now.

progress report - bee fields shawl

2008-02-09T20:49:00.000-06:00

I haven't said much lately about the knitting that's been going on in the background. The first sections (the set up chart and the "Bee Hive" charts) are done. I'm still loving the lush hand of this yarn and the subtle color variances.

This first section is the quickest and easiest of the three sections. There's very simple lace - it's basically lace knitting - with a textured 'resting' row on the wrong side. That will change with the next section. The second chart is true 'knitted lace' - with YOs and decreases on both the front and the back. (The borders, by the way, are true knitted lace from the get go - this confused me at first, but I've gotten used to the way that the designer set up the patterns.)

I also went ahead and did the center back grafting. I wasn't able to use Fleegle's Lace Grafting hack because there isn't really an 'end' to set it up with. The provisional cast on is folded in half and grafted to itself! I got it to work pretty well, I think. I will confess that I embroidered a bit of chain stitch to continue that center line all the way up to the border and rather fudged that bit in the fagotting where the two halves come together. It wanted to dip in and slant the holes, so rather than fight it, I worked with it, putting an extra set of manufactured stitches on the other side to make everything symetrical.

I think that the springiness of the yarn will let both fixes block out just fine. I don't think I would have been able to do either of them in a silk or even alpaca yarn, since the embriodered stitches are at a different tension than the knit ones. I finger blocked it out, and it looks good. But just in case, I didn't bury my end so that if I have to redo it, I have a fighting chance to undo what I just did!

Weight Loss - Year 1, Week 24 AND first 5K

2008-02-02T19:09:00.000-06:00

Loss this week = -2.6
Loss on WW = -43.4
Total Loss to date = -54.6

Good week, but probably due to weighing in early instead of at lunch like I usually do. It's going to be hard to stay on program with JC home. I know I'll be eating out more than usual. I'll be happy if I can just maintain for the next few weeks.

The other huge news is that I did my first Volkswalk

See! Proof that I did an event and even though I did the shorter 5K course, I did finish, and I finished strong. I even walked 7 blocks over to the start point and 7 blocks back afterwards - so closer to 4 miles than 3. (I was so lucky that the first walk of the year was in my neighborhood.) I can't wait for the one next month out at the new hiking trail at the lake. I hope to move up from the 5 to 10K distance soon.

My feet were hurting a bit when I finished, but I'm fine now (about 8 hours later). I just need to work up to the distances.

Stitching Update - Feb 2008

2008-02-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

Since I got a couple of things done in Jan, there are some new projects to look at!

HISTORIC

Whoa boy, how to describe this thing. First of all, it's one of my older UFO/WIPs (started in 2001) in the stitching stash. It is the "Renaissance Sampler" by Sharon Cohen (see a finished one here). The techniques that I have learned while doing this have moved me up to "very advanced" in the stitching game. It's like Sharon Miller lace or Alice St**more Fair Isle or Nicky Epstein cables - Yeah, like that. The middle there where I am working is openwork - true needlelace. There are only about 16 more little lace bits and this will be finished. But they go so slow that I don't expect to actually be done with it for a couple more months. Then I have to hemstitch the thing before I can frame it.

MODERN
No photo of this one - its a cover for a journal that I finished all the stitching on. It just needs a few more beads attached. Not sure WHY I stopped working on this with so little left to do! This one will have the finishing done for the 'finishing weekend' in February.

PICTORIAL

Here's the USMC Seal as it stands now. I got the inner border done and the outer border (just barely) started.

FO - Black Jewels Afghan

2008-01-29T23:23:00.000-06:00

Well, I finally finished off the 'Black blob '0 doom' afghan.

Here's a more accurate picutre of the colors, in sunlight. This is a very hard piece to photograph!

Pattern: from an old (1990s) leaflet from Leisure Arts "Big Book of Quick Knit Afghans" 45 x 58 inches

Materials: Caron Simply Soft "Maratime" and Caron One Pound "Black" held together
Needles: US 17

Notes: I think I'd like this better in a smaller gauge, though the drape is nice.

Comments: I got very bored with this at about the halfway point. It was heavy and ackward to work on. I think I'll try to scale the patterns in this book down just a bit - lap robes instead of couch covers

FO - Letter K doorhanger

2008-01-27T19:24:00.001-06:00

Stitching was finished

There was some scissor action

Some needle and thread

And some more needle and thread

And some embelishment got me a nice little doorhanger ornament

Pattern: "The Letter 'K' " by M Designs
Materials: 32 count antique white linen, Silk handyed floss by Vicki Clayton in the "Midnight" colorway

Notes: One strand of floss over one thread.

Comments: This reminds me of the frontpieces of the Kelmscot Press books. So it works well with the period of my house.

Weight Loss - Year 1, Week 23

2008-01-23T19:44:00.000-06:00

Loss this week (less getting back to square one from the gain last week) = -1.0 pound
Loss on WW = -40.8
Total loss = -52.0

Whew, a relief. Back on track.

AND my membership packet for Volkswalking came! Volksport is a non-competitive international amateur sports club. They put on walking, swimming and biking events that are open to everyone, regardless of age or fitness level. There are several reasonably local clubs with events most months. The next one is the first weekend in February and the start point is in my neighborhood. There are both 5 and 10K courses, and I think I'm going to try the shorter one. It will be a good training for the YMCA 5K race in March.

Update on the Marine!Goth

2008-01-22T22:55:00.001-06:00

I've been bursting at the seams to let the world know that JC's unit is coming home from Iraq. Now that they are on the ground at Camp Lejeune, it's safe to shout out.

WELCOME HOME, Marines! Job well done!

His leave starts early next week. In a way, it is always jarring to have him home, much as I love it. I've gotten used to living at my own pace, and having someone else in the household, no matter how beloved, is just strange.

Weight Loss - Year 1, Week 22

2008-01-16T19:41:00.000-06:00

A GAIN! Less than a pound, it is true, but still what a dissappointment.

I'd noticed that the RATE of loss was slowing down and now this. I sure hope I'm not heading into a plateau.

Weight Loss - Year 1, Week 21

2008-01-09T21:24:00.000-06:00

Loss this week = -2.2
Total loss on WW = -39.8
Total loss overall= -51.0

Wow. Another great week. Had my yearly physical, and my doctor is VERY happy with my weight loss. She has cleared me for the 5K and adding strength and yoga to the routine. So I'll be starting that up on Saturday with an appointment with the trainer at the Y. I think I'll set up with him to meet once a month. That will keep the expense within reason and still give me the instruction and accountability that I need.

SO close to another five pound star! You'd think that a sticker wouldn't be all that motivating to an adult, but it really does help.

FO - Sampler Border Bookmark

2008-01-08T21:16:00.000-06:00

Pattern: Sampler Border by Prairie Schooler
Type: Historic Style
Style: 19th Century Schoolgirl Sampler

Materials: 28 Count linen banding, DMC cotton floss (misc colors from the stash)

Notes: Free Design - shop give away. Done reversible style with the 7 Step Marking stitch that I learned in a Drawn Thread class several years ago. You CAN tell which is the back, since I ended off all the threads on one side. But you have to look close. I love this stitch for applications like this where both sides are visible.

Body progress

2008-01-05T19:33:00.000-06:00

Went down to the YMCA with several of the gals from work. It looks like there will be five of us doing the YWCA Get Fit Topeka challenge.

The good news is comparing my current measurements to what I was when I started Weight Watchers, I am much healthier. BMI is down 7.1, out of morbid obese to the lower part of "extremely obese". I've also lost 15.5 inches (measure at upper arm, bust, waist, hips and upper thigh). But there's a long way to go to get to a fit BMI and the measurements that I want to be at.

So, in celebration, I went to the running store here in town and spent my Christmas money (and then some). (And fell off the treadmill during the gait analysis, but the less said about that the better! It was totally my fault; I am SUCH a klutz!) I now have - a proper sports bra, cool moisture wicking socks and the nicest pair of walking shoes. Also yoga pants! Yep, I signed up for a twice a week yoga class at the Y. I plan to add strength training soon, too.

In some ways, I don't recognize myself. Where is the couch potato that would drive around and around in order to find the closest parking spot. Who would NEVER walk anywhere if she could drive. Somewhere in the last month, when I wasn't looking, something fundamental about me changed. Now I just want to cement that change into a life-long habit. I was fit and lean once, and let it slip away from me. I don't want that to happen again.

BTW - hit 2 miles at Washburn on Friday morning!

New Start for the new year

2008-01-04T22:46:00.000-06:00

It's about time for lace again, isn't it?

This is the Bee Fields Shawl, in the Buckwheat Honey colorway - laceweight merino from Wooly Wonka fibers. This yarn is SO lush, it has a great "crunchy" hand and the color!!!! Normally, I'm with Fleegle - not liking varigated colors in lace. The color and the pattern compete. But THIS yarn is very subtle, just a variation on the theme.

It's ALMOST fingering weight, so it's not fiddly at all. Good thing, too, because the pattern is VERY fiddly. This is the first time that I've tackled true knitted lace (pattern on every row). I hadn't realized how much I've come to depend on that 'purl back' row to double check my count, run my life line, and so forth.

Weight Loss - Year 1, Week 20

2008-01-02T19:23:00.000-06:00

Loss this week = -2.0
Loss on WW = -37.6
Total loss to date = -48.8

Well, I either did a really smart thing, or a really stupid one. I just signed up for my first 5K. It will be Easter weekend, and is sponsored by the YWCA. It's the ending event for 2008 Get Fit Topeka challenge. And yep, I've signed up for that as well. I won't be the biggest looser weight wise, since I've already had that first big drop off in weight, but for me this is all about adding strength training and flexibility training and stretching to my walking.

This week, I should make the jump from 1.75 miles to 2 miles on the indoor flat at Washburn or the mall. A 5K is just 1.1 more miles; I can do that in 10 weeks, right????? eeeeepppp!

Stitching Status - Jan 2008

2008-01-01T09:28:00.000-06:00

The last couple of years, there has been a dearth of stitching. I mean ONE finished project (Hi, Damaris) in TWO years!!! That's just not going to cut it given the size of my stitching stash LOL. On the other hand, I don't want to short my knitting time.

I did pretty well with only having one knitting project plus a car project OTN at one time this year. So that will continue. I reserve the right to add another project when I'm working on great big lace - the Sharon Miller shawls for example, and tablecloths (the Rose of England is on my wish list). A few pairs of socks interposed into the acres of lace may be all that keeps me sane LOL.

I'm going to try to put in 45 min or so a day (and an hour a day on the weekends) on the stitching projects. That shouldn't cut into my knitting time a whole lot, but will give me about 25 15 min blocks of time a week. Why 15 min blocks? That's about how long I can stitch before my hands and back protest and I need to stop and stretch.

I'm going back to my rotation of one historic, one modern, one pictorial. I'm also going to try to whittle down the 'unframed and unfinished' pile by picking out one of those each time through the rotation list and getting it DONE done. Five hours per project will make a good stitching month. I've set up a little xcel sheet to help me track my progress.

This is the rotation I'm starting out with. You've seen a couple of these before

MODERN

This is "Letter 'K'" by M Designs (link to their website in the sidebar). This is the over one piece that I've been working on for a while. I should finish this one either this month or next and will finish it as a doorhanger.

PICTORIAL

You've seen this one too. JC's USMC seal by Just Cross Stitch (see the chart picture in the sidebar link). I'm fast approaching the point where I have to figure out what to do about the lettering. I really don't like the way the designer just used very long floats to put the lettering in. I want to do it over one, but that means recharting the whole area - ouch.

HISTORIC

Since I just finished a big historic piece a couple of days ago, I pulled out a little freebie that I had started. This bookmark is from Prairie Schooler - a semi-local company that is nationally known (this is so old that the free chart is down off their website, but I provided a link to them just because their other freebies are also good). The fun thing about this one is that I'm doing it in 7 step marking cross, so it should be very close to reversible!

I'm going to put up this progress report around the first of each month. Just to keep myself honest and to show you all why I'm not churning out a hat or a sock a week this year!

Finished Objects Roundup 2007

2007-12-31T18:43:00.000-06:00

January

Persimmon Bias Scarf - Charity knit for the 2007 Red Scarf Project
BroadRipple Hybrid Socks take 2

February

Chain Link Socks (Six Sox KAL)
Pale Pink Odessa - Xmas gift for MIL

March
Denim Stripe Socks

April
Mason-Dixon Ball Band Washcloth #8 (yellow/white) - for Lisa's baby shower
Mason-Dixon Ball Band Washcloth #9 (purple/white) - for Lisa's baby shower

May
Rebuilding Greensburg Blocks 1 & 2 - charity knitting
Mason-Dixon Ball Band Washcloth #10 (white/purple) - stash for the next baby basket
Slytherin Horcrux Sox (Six Sox KAL)

June
Red Worsted House Socks
Slytherin Beanie - for Warm Woolies children's clothing charity
Rebuilding Greensburg blocks 3 & 4 - charity knitting
Cast Cover for Soldier's Angels - charity knitting
2 roll brim baby hats - charity knitting

July
Rebuilding Greensburg blocks 5 & 6 - charity knitting

August
Sockapalooza 4 Socks - outgoing gift
Afghan Square and all assembly - Lawrence knit group gift for Lora
Represent! hat (Odessa) - charity knit for the Yarn Harlot tour

September
Twin Rib Scarf - charity knit for the 2008 Red Scarf Project
Afghan Square for Stitches of Strength - charity knitting

October
Dublin Bay Socks

November
Hanami Stole
Odessa (creme with blue beads) - Xmas gift for Mom
Persimmon Bias Scarf #2 - Charity knit for Grace's 'Mitten Tree'
Shedir - Xmas gift for KT

December
Odessa (raspberry with white beads) - Xmas gift for Kimi
We Call Them Pirates Hat - Xmas gift for JC
Unoriginal Hat by the Yarn Harlot - charity knit
Irish Hiking Hat - for me
Damaris Underwood from The Scarlet Letter - stitching

KNITTING
Scarves/small shawls and stoles - 4
Pairs of Socks - 7
Hats - 11 (7 adult, 2 child, 2 baby)
MD BB Washcloth - 3
Afghan Squares - 8 plus assembly of baby afghan
Cast Cover - 1

STITCHING
Sampler - 1

FO - Damaris Underwood

2007-12-30T18:08:00.000-06:00

And we end the year with one lone stitching finished object. I finally put in the time to finish the over one stitching on Damaris. This poor project languished most of the last two years while I concentrated on knitting, getting just a touch of time and attention now and again.

In my good intention to actually FINISH and frame my needlework as the stitching is done, I ran over to Hobby Lobby and used a coupon to buy a nice plain frame (as benefits a Quaker sampler) and the acid-free foam core to finish her up for framing.

Pattern: Damaris Underwood 1823 from The Scarlet Letter

Type: Reproduction Sampler
Style: Quaker Bookplate

Materials: Kit sourced from a fellow member of Legacy Embroiders.

Notes: Stitches used Cross, Cross over one, Eyelet, 4 Sided

Comments: The first Scarlet Letter kit I've done - good quality materials and accurate chart. I don't like the way that they framed it in their photos. I opted for a very traditional, plain frame with no mat.

Surprisingly untedious for a two color sampler. I just got hooked on knitting in the midst of this project.

Weight Loss Year 1 Week 19

2007-12-26T22:08:00.000-06:00

Loss this week = -0.2
Loss on WW = -35.6
Total loss to date = -46.8

There's the small loss week I was expecting. I'm back at my regular Wednesday meeting, so a short week and the holiday was in there. I actually think I did pretty well over the holiday, all things considered. There's still some minefields of chocolate and popcorn at the office and I'm committed to going out to eat with friends three times in the next two days (opps!), so I'll have to watch it this week.

On the other hand, Kimi and I are attacking my bathroom this weekend - painting and putting up beadboard. No shortage of activity points!

FO - the Irish Hiking Hat

2007-12-23T21:26:00.000-06:00

Oh yeah, a couple of movies worth of stockinette in the round with regular decreases marked on every round and this hat is DONE! The color in this morning's pictures (last post) is much more accurate. I was trying to highlight the cables, but by not using a flash, it mucked up the color balance. I'm really not a good photographer at all LOL.

Pattern: Irish Hiking Hat - Worsted Version with double ear band by Sleepycat (free Internet pattern pdf available here). Cable based on the Irish Hiking Scarf by Hello Yarn

Materials: Lion Brand Woolease Worsted in colorway Grey Heather. Sourced from Michaels in Jacksonville, NC.

Needles: US 8(brim) and 7(body)

Notes: Elegant companion for the Irish Hiking Scarf. I need to practice the grafting technique more before I use it on lace.

Braid around the head

2007-12-23T13:15:00.000-06:00

23 inches of cable for the Irish Hiking Hat brim. This actually went pretty fast, since I had a couple of days in there where I didn't get to knit at all.

Here are the ends all back on the needle and ready for grafting. I used Fleegle's grafting trick to join them, and it does work just as well in worsted weight cables as it does on lace.

See! If you look REALLY close, you can see where the abutting edges are off a half stitch. This happens when you undo a provisional cast on and head off in the opposite direction in ANY pattern. (The fact that it's totally invisible in garter and plain stockingette is pure knitting magic, in my opinion.) But you have to look very closely to find that point, since the cables line up just fine. MUCH nicer than the seam that the pattern calls for and not all that hard to do; if you are comfortable kitchnering toes, you can do this.

Next step is to fold the brim in half and pick up stitches from both edges together to close the brim and start the hat body. I did a slip stitch selvedge on each side, so had only half the recommended number of stitches to pick up. So I made one with a simple backward loop cast on between each picked up stitch.

The body of the hat is very short, because the crown only has decreases at four points. So the top will be pointy, but should block out nicely.

Weight Loss - Year 1, Week 18

2007-12-22T21:17:00.000-06:00

Loss this week = -1.4
WW loss to date = -35.4
Total loss = -46.6

Gosh, this week was HARD. I honestly though I'd see a gain. Two potlucks (work and EFM), and a birthday lunch. There were treats and chocolate dipped everything and cheese balls and cookie trays. Work was a minefield of munchies. There were things in the break room and at my desk and by the mail boxes! A dieter's nightmare LOL. I tried to keep it to one or two treats a day and NOT nosh constantly as was tempting. Weighing in on Saturday again helped (had to work through my lunch hour on Wednesday this week).

Getting exercise in this weekend will NOT be a problem. I walked Molly for about 1.3 miles (our usual route here in the neighborhood) AND I've shoveled the walks THREE times today (we are having a small blizzard today - over 8 inches so far and it's still coming down a bit (or at least blowing around).

Tomorrow I have to dig mom's house out at some point. Kimi and I are attacking my bathroom painting project over the rest of the holiday weekend. I may have to start a regime of painkillers tonight, I'm really getting stiff and sore already.

Bento #2 - the Attack of the OctoDogs

2007-12-21T20:13:00.000-06:00

Here is my other new (Thanks to M's Christmas gift) bento box and my lunch for today. The top layer is my first attempt at Octodogs (sculptured hot dogs made to look a little like Octopi) made from a fat free turkey frank and a large serving of steamed broccoil. The bottom layer is mixed raw veggies. Snacks on the side are an apple and some string cheese.

Note to self. There is a REASON that traditional bento lunches have rice in them. Pack a serving of carbs to stave off the 3 pm crash. Luckily, I had a 100 cal popcorn pack in my desk that saved the day. Other than than, this was VERY yummy.

Bento Love!

2007-12-18T20:56:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited. I've been packing my lunches since even before I started on WW for four days out of five on average. I discovered the joy of bento lunches while looking for low point packed lunch ideas and have wanted one of the cute little boxes for ages. I put a new lunch box on my Secret Santa list at the office and noted that I'd love a bento box.

And M, bless her, delivered not one but TWO so cute little two tier 330/250 ml bento boxes! Both are in this blue colorway (different designs - happy balloon and polkadot) with a little lunch bag, the fork and spoon (no chopsticks, but that's ok), and the niffy little strap that holds everything together. It's really remarkable how much food you can cram into one of these LOL.

Todays lunch was (top tray) a half chicken breast cut into strips, 3/4 cup cooked whole wheat pasta in olive oil, (bottom tray) assorted cold raw veggies (carrots, celery, 3 cherry tomato) and dried plums. There was room in the bag for a piece of string cheese and an apple and a small yogurt (not shown). Not bad for breakfast, lunch and two snacks! And all for about 14 points!

Just looking at my lunch makes me smile. The top of the box has a cute saying in rather fractured English - "The life that bounced." How RIGHT for me! I am bouncing - bouncing back from Walt's death and bouncing with more energy than I've had in ages.

The other one says "love me little, love me long" - which I take as a good omen for the future. I'm going to go to the kitchen and pack that one for tomorrow.

And another hat start

2007-12-16T10:40:00.000-06:00

Well, here is the cast on for the Irish Hiking Hat. I decided to go with the one that has the cable band horizontally as the brim of the hat and the reverse stocking stitch lining behind the cable.

The rather Griffindorish bit at the bottom is the provisional cast on. I will be trying out Fleegle's Lace Grafting instructions.

While I can kitchner stitch in both stocking and garter, I have never quite mastered doing grafting in patterns. I figure if Fleegle's hack works for lace, it will work for cables and texture patterns. The whole point to to not have to worry about where the needle needs to go next. For the record (in case I loose my pattern copy and need to print off another one) the marked row is row number 4 in the pattern repeat.

This will be nice, portable mindless knitting. I need about 23 inches of this.

FO - 99cent Unoriginal Hat

2007-12-15T23:36:00.000-06:00

I seriously overestimated how long this hat would take to knit up. This could easily be a 'present in a day'.

Pattern: Stephanie Pearl-McFee's "Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat" (free internet pattern available pdf file here)

Yarn: Yarn Bee "mosaic twist" in color #121. Sourced from the local Hobby Lobby (on sale for 99 cents!)

Needles US10 1/2

Mods: Added one round of ssk to get the stitches to 8 instead of 16 for a neater top. It's a little small for me (fits my head very snuggly, and doesn't quite cover my ears). If I do it again, I will add a purl stitch in between the two cables on each quarter and three rounds or so of K4, P4 (or if you are doing it per the pattern, P3, K4) to the bottom just to both 'ground' the cables a little and to add just a tiny bit of length.

Comments: Fun, quick hat, good charity/gift knit or last minute gift.

Weight Loss - Year 1 Week 17

2007-12-15T18:55:00.000-06:00

Loss this week = -2.6
Loss on WW = -34.0
Total Loss = -45.2

Missed my weigh in on Wednesday, due to a nasty ice storm that we've been coping with here in the Midwest ever since last Monday night. Icky nasty weather, and power outages here and there around town - including the shopping center where my WW place is. I showed up on Wednesday to find a dark, empty building.

So I weighed in this morning; this is the result of a week and a half. My next weigh in will be in just four days, so I expect little if anything for next week, between it being an "off" week and so little time to loose anything more.