Grab Bag

Thank you everyone for the nice comments on my Oregon Vest. Yes, I'm very happy with it and myself. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I think my Dad's Fair Isle vest was harder to knit since the instructions were written for flat knitting and I converted them to in the round with steeks. Also, once the bottom leaves were done, the tree of life motif was very repetitious.

Especially for CC (who's got some beautiful pictures of her hand dyed yarn on her blog) here's a close up shot of the buttons:

I like that they are roughened glass, and the way the color blends from the yellow to the green. I used some sock reinforcement thread to sew them on. I thought that the added nylon thread would be a useful reinforcement.

I've got some new acquisitions to show you. One dear and dearly loved:

And one bargain:

The yarn is Schafer Anne purchased from the Loopy Ewe. Whew! The customer service you get from Sheri will blow you away. I changed my mind about my order, and Sheri accommodated me. There was a nice little handwritten note, some needle inventory cards, and some small samples of new sock yarns included in the package. The yarn was double wrapped, once in tissue and once in plastic. And the yarn itself! Well, I'm glad I ordered it and I must say I was this close to winding it up last night. The colors are rich, the yarn is soft and the mohair content makes it seem a bit sparkley, but in a natural way.

The book was purchased from the London Public Library's used book section strictly for inspiration. At $3, why not? I actually like this design:

Almost all the rest is just yucky, including one design that is guaranteed to get your son beat up what with the purple ducks on it. Sometimes it's fun to check out the fugly designs such as those on You Knit What - Part 2.

I just found out that Maia has posted her Banana Blossom Sock pattern! Geez Maia, if I had known nagging would get a dedication I would have spoke up. And all this time I've been just been patiently waiting for that pattern. I asked Maia to give me 5 interview questions to answer on my blog, so here goes:


M: If you could live in another time, when would you pick and why?
I think I'd like to live in rural Canada around the turn of the century, taking my inspiration from Anne of Green Gables. I loved reading those books as a girl and enjoyed the descriptions of handwork and cooking that were nestled inside. Of course, it's a romanticized view of the past, but I think I would enjoy the quieter pace of life and the tight-knit community.

M: Who has had the biggest influence on your life?
My first therapist. He turned my life around. I used to be an insecure, conflicted narcissist who had an opinion about everything and tried to help where she wasn't needed. Now I'm a secure person who knows how to keep her mouth shut now and again. I'm a work in progress still, but he was the catalyst that opened my heart.

M: Have you ever lived outside of Canada? If so, where. If not, where outside of Canada would you be interested in living?
No, and I can't imagine living anywhere else. Even going back in time, I'm still in Canada. I guess it's because I'm happy where I am.

M: Do you pick knitting projects or do they pick you?
Ordinarily, I'd say that I pick the knitting projects, but once in a while something bossy comes along, like red lace, or mittens that look like fish or a shawl that reminds me of a galaxy. Maybe I'm not listening to the still, quiet voice of those types of projects. I'd like to, because I really enjoy the process and the end result.

M: What is your favorite thing to do on a date night (just you and hubby and I'm only asking for PG13 details at most)?
Date night? I vaguely remember those. It's not the same thing as an appointment, is it? Seriously, between the children and the finances, we haven't had date nights in far to long. Thanks for reminding me Maia!

And Back Again...

As soon as I left the computer Friday night I knew exactly what to do.


This is three repeats in to the Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl from Gathering of Lace. All winter long, this shawl has been on my mind. I knit it once before and there are many things I regret about that first time through.

But I loved the pattern, it was so entertaining. I guess I had some hang up that I shouldn't knit it twice and that's just silly, isn't it Peg?


And now, here it is, the completed Oregon Vest!

The blocking did wonders to even out my knitting. Its soft, warm and feels so rich. I'm really glad I could make this for myself.

For buttons, I used some glass ones that I purchased from Needles and Pins. I wanted something that picked up the color of the sweater, that had a natural, organic sense to them and also something that wouldn't compete with the vest because it's intricate enough all on its own. I've posted some more pictures on Flickr in my finished objects set.

Happy Easter everyone!

A Short Trip to Crazy Town

Have you ever had to laugh at yourself? I mean, has your own behavior confounded and perplexed you? Cause that's where I've been so far this weekend, in crazy town.

I'm at a spot in my knitting where I'm thinking of my next project and I've been traveling a merry-go-round of indecision. It goes like this:

• I'd like to knit some red lace
• But I was planning on doing some small projects next
• But all the yarn for small projects is dark colors or blue and I want something bright
• Well there's colorful sock yarn
  
• But I don't want to knit with small needles and besides I have two socks on the go
  
• Okay so knit some red lace
• But that would be a big project and I want to do a small project

And so it goes. Nuts eh? This is why you need to have a big stash. I have a closet full of yarn and nothing to knit. What a crime.

I've completed the finishing work on the Alice Starmore Oregon Vest and you know, there was a lot of finishing to be done to that vest. It's lovely I'm sure, but all I see right now are all the tiny little mistakes I've made.

I was told by many people that the Alice Starmore kits are often short of yarn, but I had no problems. I'm thinking that this looks like a wonderful store of yarn for mittens and tams. Or it looks like Easter Eggs.

Wouldn't that be fun? An egg hunt where it was balls of yarn hidden about instead? Can you image all the knitters lined up with their Lantern Moon baskets scouring the bushes for balls and skeins of yarn? Oh yes! Sign me up! Wait, I just thought of the scuffle that could occur when two knitters found a skein of cashmere at the same time. And do you think that we would poach each other's baskets like the kids do on AFV?

Warning: Abrupt change of topic.


This is how far one ball of Sheepjes goes when knitting Clessidra.

It seems like I'm only going to need three balls of yarn to finish these up. I've actually completed one of these socks. That's what I've been working on this past week and I'm throughly tired of this shade of blue since it was also predominate in the Oregon Vest. My hands are also getting tired of sock needles.

Oh look. I've circled back to the beginning of the loop. What am I going to knit? Red lace, red lace. Ecalder. Nope, it doesn't work the way red rum does. Red hat? Tahder. Red sock? Kcosder? That's worse.

Time to wrap this post up. I think that's enough of a peek into my crazy head for one night. I seems I've got to knit some red lace. Only.... What pattern?

Help! I going to spiral off into another loop. And do you know how I know? It's because I've been through the pattern books, and I can't find the right shawl to knit. I think that's why I haven't knit red lace yet. Oh bother.

All's Well that Ends Well

You guys are awesome! What a great gang of good sports. I was chuckling all day long yesterday. I particularly enjoyed Julie's comment that she yelled so loud, her husband came running. But really, everything is just fine with the Oregon Vest.

Steeking isn't so scary. I will admit that I use the scissors slowly and carefully, and I've never steeked anything but shetland wool.


I've still got a lot of work to do before the big reveal. The steeks need to be trimmed and sewn down, all the ends must be woven in, it needs a good blocking and I must go button hunting!
The pattern calls for two-stitch button holes. It seems rather small to me, but I went with it. I'm thinking that the reason for a smaller button is because there is already so much going on in this vest.


Patience my pretties. There is work yet to be done.

I'm Quivering with Excitment

In a burst of effort, I hit the finish line this morning. I'm really am that excited, I feel all trembly. I need to take a break before I cut the steeks. I like to steek naked, that is, without sewing the knitting, because the Shetland wool doesn't really need reinforcement and it makes for a more flexible edge.

It occurred to me at the end, as I was flipping this thing around on my lap, that I would have been done a lot sooner if I were a smaller woman.

Glorious Sunshine!

I can feel the sun return. It shines in my eyes on the way home from work. Even though we are having freezing temperatures in London, the warmth of the sun is slowly melting the snow from roofs and driveways.

Saturday sunshine is perfect for taking pictures and here's my sunbathing beauty:


Time for a close-up:


Closer:
Click the picture for intimate details.

Slow-down Sunday

So, are you hungry for a big, juicy post? It didn't take long for the muse to strike again. This is a nice slow Sunday post, so grab a coffee, send the kids outside to play, and I hope you'll enjoy.

Look what came in the mail for me on Friday:

Three soft, cushy and fat skeins of handspun from Maia. Why you ask? Because Maia is generous and thoughtful. So here's a big thank you to Maia. Mwha! Virtual hugs and kisses to you.

Maia also sent along some wonderful compliments to me that I greatly appreciated. I firmly believe that we must give positive feedback when we see someone doing something we like and I try to practice this where ever I can. For my children, it means telling them I noticed that they've hung their towels, or that I admired the way they handled themselves in a difficult situation. So for Maia to give me some of that sort of positive feedback means a lot to me.

There was some beautiful sunlight Saturday morning, so I took a picture of the Oregon Vest for you.

Last night, Jim rented a movie, and I went to town on this baby. I'd almost finished up a full tree motif when it happened. I had to add a new color, Selkie, and I realized that I was already knitting with it. Disaster! Double check. Yep, it appears that I've mixed up Selkie with Kelpie. I gently put the vest down and knit it no more. I'm going to wait till the cold light of day to triple check this one. I knew I didn't like those names!

Since the yarn is so frugally parceled out, and since it is a Starmore design, a mistake like this means ripping. I contemplated leaving it, since the design is okay, it's just the back ground colors are juxtaposed. But then I might run out of yarn, and that won't do! And since the colors are so finicky, it means ripping and replacing each color one at a time. No happy ripping with the ball winder. This will be more like a reclamation project. Jeeze!

An explosion of sock projects happened when I wasn't looking.

I thought I was going to wait a while for the yarn for the Oregon vest to arrive so I started a sock for my husband using the brown St. Ives and Nancy Bush's Gentleman's Sock for evening wear, from Knitting Vintage Socks. But the yarn came soon, and the sock is long, so it languishes. But look Anne! my man will wear lace too! He chose this pattern from the book. Personally, I don't care for it much. I don't know why, so please don't ask.

The Gentleman's sock is a little fancy and I needed something plain to knit for when I have no mental energy for patterns. So I started the blue sock. Then my mother-in-law called me on Friday to see how I was doing. She commented on how much she's enjoying the socks I gave her for Christmas and I realized that I only had a little while to knit up socks for her birthday (10 days left now). And that led to the third sock in the photo which is STR Granite. Mom likes a loose sock that she can get over her ankle, so I thought a nice picot hem sock would do the trick. I'll bet she's never felt a sock so warm and cushy as this.

I don't write down what I'm doing when I create plain socks out of my head. Instead I read my knitting when it comes time to knit the second one. I'll count stitches, examine for decreases, or guess. It's just two socks. They go in your shoes. I don't care if they don't exactly match!

By now, I'm guessing your coffee is done and the kids are probably clamoring for a snack. It was nice catching up with you. Bye till next time!

Preparation

I've spent a good two hours tonight creating this:

It's a color card for my Oregon vest. Can you imagine how awful it would be if I lost track of which color is which? I shudder to think of it.

Each skien came with a beautiful little card attached to it that had its color name. As you can see, the names are very imaginative and poetic, but not necessarily descriptive. Red deer is red, which is good, but sea ivory is green which bad. Golden plover is golden (good), Erica is purple (bad). And don't get me started on Selkie versus Kelpie!

As I wound each skien I removed its little tag and attached it to a zip lock baggie, into which I placed the yarn cake. I've heard that it is not good to store wool in air tight bags, but as I intend to start this soonest, I don't think it will do any harm.

I found a Knit Along that I just had to join, Fair Isle February. Seems like fate doesn't it? Well, God is in the details and I'd like as much help with this project as I can get. A little divine intervention couldn't hurt.

Speedy Delivery!

click the pic for bigger

I am stunned at how fast my yarn arrived from Scotland. I ordered it last Thursday from Virtual Yarns and it was waiting for me today, exactly a week later. I was prepared to wait a lot longer.

They yarn feels soft to the touch and the colors are beautiful, heathered and rich. It's tempting to dive right in, but I'm making careful plans on how to proceed. There are so many colors I'm going to have to organize them because once I wind them into skiens, they will lose all those nice labels. Maybe I'll make a color card.

I finished Jim's Spiral Yoke sweater today, but it needs a good blocking before its photo shoot. For some reason, the front bunches up around his chest so that he looks like he needs a Manziere . I have to say, I'm underwhelmed. Oh I'm sure you will all tell me it looks nice, and I suppose it does, but I look at it and it's just: meh. Perhaps it's because I'm feeling a little under the weather today. Anyway, now you know.

Wiggly Puppy Happy

Oh yes indeed! I'm pretty darned happy all right. My life is very nice, thank you very much, and I wish you all the same. Everyone needs to vent their frustrations now and again, and certainly some sympathy when things are not good is a welcome thing, but I think we also need to take time to celebrate and say thanks when life is good. So here's a big thank you to the universe and all of creation.

Dang, but my knitting is boring right now. I've got the body and one sleeve done on the Spiral-Yoked pullover and I'm into my second sleeve. The yoke on this sweater is like a cherry on top and I'm looking forward to getting at it this weekend. But in the mean time, sigh, more stockinette.

As I was whining about stockinette a bit last night, Jim looked over at me with deep blue eyes and said, "Thank you, love, for knitting me a lovely, warm sweater." Then he gave me a big smooch. "Not fair!" cried I, but I must admit that the needles moved along at a good clip after that.

I've been contemplating what's coming up next, since there's plenty of room for contemplation with this sweater. I was thinking of the Noro I have stashed away, and I was thinking of a shawl since I have plenty of Sheltand fingering to work with. Have you seen The Wry Punster's beautiful Irish Diamond Shawl? I've considered knitting that shawl before, but her pictures have bumped it onto the TODO list.

Anyway, all plans are abandoned, other than the most simple since I came into some cash and ordered an Oregon Vest (in the fall color way which is shown as a cardigan) from Virtual Yarns. I'm very excited. I'm wiggly puppy happy. Wheee! Thanks again universe!