on auto pilot

So, it ends up that my camera isn't dead; it's just in charge. It'll still take a single decent pic when I turn it on, but no more than one and I have no control over any of its settings or timing, so for the past few days, I've been aiming in the general direction of something I'd like a picture of, turning the camera on, and hoping for the best. No control over flash, zoom, focus, etc. Eh, whatever. ;-) The auto pilot pics are what will be on the blog until I make the time to get a new camera.

I wish I had understood the camera's new-found independence last Sunday, when nephew Zach wove a basket at a workshop offered by the Hale Homestead during the farmers' market. I was mostly with the knitters at The String Thing, but I'd pop over to see how Zach was doing every once in a while. I've never done basketweaving before, so it was all very interesting to me. Each workshop participant started off with the same supplies and basic instructions, and each basket turned out very different from the others, totally functional and attractive!

Meanwhile, Leah's participating in a swallowtail shawl knitalong with friends at our LYS. Knitting lace and following a chart are still fairly new to her, so it's been a challenging project. This was her first try to get it started:

She realized she was off kilter in a few places, so that attempt was torn out. Second try reached approximately the same point yesterday, when we noticed a few problems on that one too. She was frustrated at that point, so I helped her tear it back to the third repeat and I think we can get her back on track today. She's trying to learn to read her knitting better so she'll see boo-boos as they happen and can more easily correct them. It'll come with practice.

I put together three strands of fingering weight wool (two dark green, one army green) and the Woodland Shawl pattern for the start of a thick, warm winter wrap, which will look infinitely better after I block it, as is the case with all lace knitting, even the chunky kind.

The leaf motif is easily memorized, so this will be a good social knitting project until it gets too big to lug around with me or too hot to have it in my lap. Good thing, too, since there's a lot of social knitting on the calendar. Hooray for evenings at summer concerts and outdoor performances!

Thanks, everybody, for the well wishes for my Gram. She had a cardiac cath on Monday, where they found a kinked vessel and two mild areas of narrowing. They put in a stent right then and there for the kinked vessel and the narrowing will be treated with meds. She'll be back to her usual activities in just a few days.

finish-itis

I had a raging case of finish-itis this lovely holiday weekend and here's what I have to show for it:

Cuffs on Ingrid cardigan, project now complete and blocked and I think I LOVE it. REALLY love it. Like possibly the best sweater I've ever knit. Photos soon.

Auto-pilot 2x2 rib socks. This was my always-with-me filler knitting for a while. They've been sitting on my desk for something like two weeks, just waiting for me to weave in those 4 yarn ends. Now added to the sock stash. Yup, keeping this pair for myself.

Lacy Baktus with Edge, the 5th(?) I've knit, this one for my sister. This was the always-with-me knitting for a while too, until it got too bulky. A lot can get accomplished in those little bits of waiting time that we all have, if there's an easy project within reach.

And just to prove that it's all Lacy Baktus, all the time, around here, here are two more that my mom just finished. Seriously, most wearable handknit evah. Just enough of a touch to spice up an outfit or add that extra layer of warmth without being too bulky. Mom's living in Florida in the winters, but there are plenty of times to want a little warmth over your shoulders or around your neck, even down south, in the land of overzealous air conditioning. Once you get the pattern in your head or the chart (printed on cardstock) clipped to your work, it's the perfect mobile project. I like to wind the skein of sock yarn into two equal cakes so I'm carrying a smaller package and know exactly when I've reached the halfway point, which is when the increases become decreases.

Next up: Saroyan!

ka-boom!

You see that subject line? That's the sound of my head exploding. It hasn't actually happened yet, but I think it will soon from the pressure build-up of all the ideas swirling around in there. This is all very exciting, but it's making it awfully difficult to get any work-for-pay done, which is unfortunate because there's a whopping lot of it around here lately.

So anyway, because I didn't buy a new camera yet and spaced on taking my auto pilot camera to last night's outdoor concert -- knitters, live tunes, yummy chow, Magic Hat #9!!!! -- I have no pics but a different kind of treat for you today. This video was forwarded to me by one of my favorite Most Excellent Blog Commenters, Christina, it made my whole family exclaim with delight when I played it for them, and then the song popped up again at last night's concert and I can't get it out of my head (see? there's another thing squishing around up there!), so here you go. Enjoy!