Monday, September 3, 2007

Part I – the continuing saga…

Let’s see, it was the end of July the last time I was here. So much has happened since then that I’m not sure where to start. We went off to another air show in the Adirondacks a few weeks ago and the best part of the trip was the visit to the local yarn emporium in Saranac Lake. The air show had about 11 planes and we saw two of them fly. Fortunately, we only paid $2 each to get in, the weather was nice, and we had a lovely ride up and back. The yarn I bought was absolutely gorgeous – an almost crimson red colorway that’s a thick-and-thin yarn. It’s called ‘Painted Lady’ from Hand Paints by Catalina and it’s a superfine merino wool bulky. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it yet, but I’m sure it will make its designs known to me somehow. The following week we went back up into the Adirondacks to go to a huge flea market in Tupper Lake, which is above Lake Placid. The weather was cool and dry and it was just a wonderful day.

We strolled from booth to booth, looking at all the ‘antiques’ and other stuff for sale. Mike found a few goodies for himself and I found an old binder of knitting patterns that was one of those binders that you get a package every month or so that adds to the book. I think they still do that with some cookbook-type stuff. The patterns are so 60’s, but there are some cute toys and sweaters in there and you can’t go wrong for $1, right?

Late in the day, I was checking out a glass washboard that I thought might be useful for hand felting. I figure I could use it towards the end of the process when I might like to have a bit of control. Anyway, it was marked $18 and I was holding it up and wondering to myself if the guy might take $15 when he yelled over, “$10 and it’s yours!” I told him immediately that I’d take it. When I went to pay him, he asked me what he had marked for the price and when I told him $18 he groaned. His friend was laughing at him and telling him he “lost money on that one.” We all laughed and I dug out a $20 bill to pay him. Once I had my change safely in my pocket, I told him that I had been thinking about offering him $15 when he told me he’d take $10. He groaned, his friend laughed, and I walked away feeling like I’d picked up a bargain. Then, at the very last booth, when I was beginning to feel positively boggled by the amount of merchandise being offered for sale, I looked at something and it never registered. Mike was looking at stuff on the same table as I walked away and he called me to come back and look at something. My non-knitting love of my life found an antique swift! I hadn’t even recognized it for what it was and here the non-knitter spots it immediately! Go figure. Well, it was marked $3 and the gentleman asked me if I knew what it was and when I told him it was a swift, he said, “$2 for you, since you know what it is.” So I bought it. It works great and it’s so light, the yarn never gets pulled too tight while you’re winding. It expands and contracts to fit most size hanks and I’m glad Mike saw it for me.

Part II – ‘Salt Peanuts’ and other wooly projects

I’m still having some trouble finishing up some things. I do knit every day, though I can’t seem to knit on the same project for too long at one time. I get tired of working the same stitches over and over and pick up another piece for the change of pace. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m still going nuts over Veronik Avery’s pattern ‘Salt Peanuts’. It’s an absolutely beautiful cardigan with a lace rib border and a shawl collar. I’d really like to finish it up and wear it this winter, if it doesn’t make me absolutely crazy first.

The back was easy…maybe too easy, because it gave me no idea of how difficult the rest would be to knit. The pattern is supposed to be for an intermediate knitter, but from what I’m going on, I’d give it an advanced rating. Maybe I’m not as good a knitter as I thought I was, but I think this pattern is either some level beyond my skills or it’s so badly written that it’s impossible to get it without help. I’ve already taken this five-page pattern and re-written the instructions into nearly 18 pages. The left front directions are giving me a LOT of trouble right now. I’ve knit and frogged and knit and frogged until I’m sure the yarn will be a mess before I can get it knit into the cardigan. I decided this morning that I would work on the pattern notes, but knit them up into a swatch so that I could rip with impunity when I needed to. Doing it that way, I came up with a way to knit the left front (and probably the right front as well) so that the pieces will match up to the back. I’ve already got 25 rows of my re-write knitted and I really think this will work out this time.

So now I come to the question: when does it go from being her pattern to mine? I’ve completely altered the edging of the cardigan and I’m going to have to completely alter the collar pattern so that I can make it work. I’ve re-written the left and right fronts of the pattern so many times now, that I feel more like it belongs to me than to the author. This time, I went through my stitch dictionaries and found a lace rib that is not the same, but is close enough so that I can work with it to finish the sweater. I’ll post some pictures and let others tell me what they think.

Part III – on the needles

Let’s see, the toe-up socks are still not done. I just find I’m not nuts about doing them. I pick them up now and then, but I never seem to get past a row or two of the cuffs.

I frogged the original shawl I was working on in the alpaca because I didn’t mark the pattern and couldn’t figure out where I was any more. I’ve since started another one from “Folk Shawls” by Cheryl Oberle. This one is the ‘Lacy Prairie Shawl’ and I think it’s working out well. It’s a nice easy project and I can carry it with me for now. It’s done with increases every row, so it will eventually get big enough to leave at home to knit, but for now, I consider it a portable project.

My ‘Branching Out’ scarf from Knitty is still going strong. I try to do a couple of repeats (10 rows is one repeat) whenever I can, but I have to concentrate a lot because the pattern is ‘busy’ and I tend to forget the occasional yo. I really have to count every st of every row to make sure I’ve got it right. That way I know I won’t have to rip out more than one row at a time if I make a mistake.

I’m also still working on the Gryffindor House Scarf from “Charmed Knits.” It’s knit in the round, stockinette, and it gets very boring very quickly, though I think it’ll be ok once hockey season starts because I won’t have to pay too much attention to it while I’m watching the games.

Now I must remind myself that Christmas is coming and I haven’t really started any gifts yet. I’m thinking about doing felted clogs for my stepdaughter and her family and maybe for Mom, but only if I can get Mom’s to be non-slip. Mom is kind of wobbly and slippery bottom slippers won’t be a good thing for her. I made the clogs for Mike and me last year and they came out really well. They are toasty warm without making your toes all sweaty and I think they’ll like them. I’d also like to make some spa sets for a few of the gals at work. I think they’d like them and I’m hoping they’ll be fast knits. I figure I can pick up some nice ‘smelly’ soap to put in the box, too.

Part IV – me again
I’m doing better this month. The meds are still doing their happy thing and I’m feeling pretty good. Work is a bit difficult, but it’s a personality conflict type of thing with the new person. We’ll work it out, I’m sure. If we don’t, it’s her loss, not mine. She’s the one with the issues, after all.

As always, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen