a gansey, eventually

Started last Feb. with yarn scored in a stash swap. Knit 2 strands together throughout. Slogged through all that stockinette at the bottom. There's mindless social knitting and then there's I'm-so-bored-I-could-poke-my-eyes-out-for-entertainment endless stockinette. Note: Future ganseys will have some sort of pattern on the bottom portions too.

Made my way to the top, where all went surprisingly well. Learned the stretchy tubular bind-off because sweater necks rarely work out for me, only to find the head opening this time was too small. Put the whole thing in time-out for the summer.

Ripped out the neck and did it again -- entirely the same except for staying wth the same needle size as the body, so the neck turned out a little bigger. Tubular bind-off is okay with me after all.

Scoured the yarn, which then softened and bloomed considerably. Blocked to match size of Scott's favorite sweater.

Then it sat again for weeks, while he was sick, then the kids were sick, and now I'm sick (yes, still. yes, it's getting old. yes, I saw the doctor again today. yes, new meds to start later today). I did manage to help Scott get the bakery booth set up for a farmers' market yesterday, though, and it was cool out, so I brought the sweater along for a couple of quick photos.

And then I came home and took a nap.
Pattern: Old Way Gansey from Interweave Knits, although I think I got it from a library book, with help of Knitting In the Old Way or Knitting Ganseys or something like that. I think it was a mash-up of all of the above. Hydrocodone cough syrup brain is not good for long-term recall. And who really cares at this point anyway, right?

Yarn: Mystery coned tweed wool from Jen's stash

For: Scott, with specific request for saddle shoulders and seed stitch. The boy likes his seed stitch. :-)

Verdict: The sleeves are little too long, but otherwise two thumbs up.

And now I think I need another nap. Sheesh.

mountain o' merino

I'm not quite sure how this gansey for Scott has come so far with barely a mention on the blog, but it has.

Using a honkin' cone of tweed scored at this year's stash swap, knitting two strands at a time, I'm within an inch of moving into the patterned top portion of the body -- and thank heavens because I've had more than enough of the stockinette slog, thankyouverymuch. One sleeve is knit to approx. the shoulder and the other one only has a few inches to go. Here's a sleeve detail that will also be the central part of the body patterning.

Must stay focused on the gansey, but ooh, it's tough because look what arrived at my house yesterday afternoon!

It's a mountain of merino sliver in the deep teal color that has me all atwitter lately. Yes, I buried my face in it like a big soft pillow. Scott will probably spin this luscious goodness into a 3-ply yarn that I'll knit as any one of the excellent patterns in A Fine Fleece, maybe Flyingdales, with a different neckline. I rec'd this happy-making pile in an awesome barter for soap and glass beads/buttons. The dollar bill is there for scale. Yes, it's red money, received at CT S&W, probably from a dyer, don'cha think? ;-)

Thanks, Rachel, for the offer of hooking us up with your LYS on this weekend's road trip, but our itinerary already includes one Pittsburgh yarn store knit night, an art glass destination, and a living history event, so I think we're good to go! In preparation for the road trip, I cast on a new project last night and made an emergency run to our favorite LYS for another set of Addi lace needles because P2togTBL was nearly impossible otherwise. So now we're good to go!

saddle up!

Please note: Random crappy pics with poor lighting all 'round, courtesy of something like 30 days of rain out of the past 40 days. I give up on waiting for good natural light.

Sheepy zipper pulls, by customer request. Methinks there will be monster zipper pulls in my own future.

Drag race at Jesse's rocket club yesterday. WooHoo!

After much forward-and-back fiddling, the saddle shoulders of Scott's gansey are underway! Shown on top of one of Scott's favorite sweaters, which I use to know sizing goals. I plan to finish this shoulder at the farmers' market today and expect the other shoulder to be easy because all the decisions have already been made. Darn good thing, too, since two other projects are calling my name, asking me to cast on for them RIGHT NOW.

'Nuf with the chit chat. Back in to the saddle again!

amused. or not.

We are easily amused 'round here, as evidenced by the ooh...ahhh response to whatever happens to Scott's glass goodies as they go through the annealing process. Yup, it's all pretty and it's all good, except when we want the buttons and the beads for Leah's Sylvi sweater coat to MATCH. The buttons turned out as we hoped, but the beads for the flower centers were not encased in clear glass and turned a much stronger purple. Common sense would suggest that making more beads, using the same glass rods and encasing in clear, just like the buttons, would net that same soft plummy-purple on an amber base with slight iridescent haze over top, right?

RIGHT?!

Um, no, apparently not.

That'll get you mossy greens. Beautiful, indeed, but not what we were aiming for.
So, it has been decreed that the original beads will remain in place, not perfectly matching the buttons, but pretty nonetheless. And the beadmakerbaker has told his #1 pain-in-the-butt non-paying and highly demanding customer :::waving howdy ho, that's me!::: to take her special orders for a flying leap. :-)

Meanwhile, hey, guess what my sister wore as a wrap for her company's Christmas party this year?

It's the Lady Eleanor stole that I knit for my mom a little over a year ago. WooHoo for knits that get used, and in such a stylin' way!

(I'm working on getting Bren to hand over that dress so I can snip off that chiffon outer layer and nuno felt it into a jacket or something for her. She still cringes at the thought, but I know she'll go for it eventually.)

After about a dozen false starts on knitting projects that just haven't worked out lately, I seem to finally have something workable underway.

This is a big fat cone of tweedy goodness scored at a stash swap last weekend. I'm knitting two strands at a time, aiming for a gansey for Scott. As long as it has his beloved seed stitch and a cable or two, he'll be a happy guy. It's the least I can do, after rejecting so many of his pretty (but wrong) beads!

Lastly, a big thanks to Amy at Live, Learn, Knit for passing the Kreativ Blogger award our way. I'm supposed to then pass it on to some bloggers whose work I enjoy, so here's to:

Laurie at Issues With Knitting
Ruth at Knitting On Impulse
Karrie at Delaney's Duds
Lorraine at Of Faith and Fiber
Maria at Passing Down Crazy
Pat at Pat's Knitting and Quilting
and Faith at The Needle and The Damage Done

upward

Sunday's farmers' market theme was Blues and Brews. The weather was stellar, the blues band excellent, the free beer samples from local breweries and a homebrew club oh so tasty.

The beer garden field was like a party within a party. I ran into someone I haven't seen since I was about 20 and enjoyed much of the day with knitter friends and other friendly folks. By the end, Scott was nearly sold out of baked goods, so he swapped a bit for some of those homebrews to take home and then sold the remaining items to one of his bakery accounts who didn't order enough for the weekend and left a message on our answering machine saying she'd take anything he could make to help her restock NOW. Sold out day = Yay!

We had Saturday fireworks and Sunday rocket launching, so much looking skyward this weekend. Outdoor cooking, outdoor eating, and plenty of soaking up the sunshine that has been absent for weeks.

My secret project is moving along nicely. I expect a couple more days with a mail delivery like this as part of the process.

I'd show some knitting pics, but nothing is pictureworthy right now. Oh, speaking of pictures, I can haz them! New camera purchased when I braved mall hell zone on Fri. I am so not a shopper. Anyway, back to the knitting, there's been progress on Scott's gansey, the green leafy wrap, a pair of socks (with a big boo-boo that may or may not end in a restart of one), and Leah's swallowtail shawl.

Rec'd word that Glastonbury Glassworks has been accepted as a vendor at Spa Knit and Spin in Maine this Feb. Looking forward to that.

Otherwise, there's another big project in the works, the research and discussion of which is taking up the remainder of our spare time. We're thiiis close to taking the plunge on it and then it'll get fun. Will talk about it here when we make the leap.

We've also been enjoying a house guest for the past few days. He's a spunky little imp whose morning energy results in an entertaining game between him and our big ol' Kodi girl.



Me in flannel jams. Shexay!

good ol' summertime

Memorial Day 2009 was spent with a couple of families of friends, enjoying the sunshine and time together, then back home for a shift of gears (let the dog out, pick up our picnic contribution) and out again in a different direction for a cookout. With the exception of the bird who shat upon my shoulder while I was sitting under a big ol' tree, it was a perfectly pleasant day. We were up early and out the door, home again in time to fall into bed. Whew -- all that romping and relaxation tires a person out. :-)

I have a recent FO to share!

Pattern: La Novia by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Celestial by Dye Dreams, bought at CT S&W
Modifications: Where the pattern called for a P2togTBL, instead slipped the two stitches knit-wise with the yarn in front and then purled them together, like a SSK, as suggested by Rebecca Z.

I like this scarf, but I didn't enjoy knitting it. This is no fault of the pattern, which is crystal clear, as are all of Anne's patterns. I was aiming for one of those patterns with a repeated small motif, where I could get the chart into my head and just zip along without too much counting, tracking, or referring to the chart. Since this is only a 6-row repeat, I thought it would fit the bill, but that wasn't the case at all. I had to look at the chart for every single row, keep track with a row counter, and count stitches all the way. Nothing difficult about it, just not the intuitive little lacy thing I wanted to work on. Maybe I'm just dense. I did like how it was turning out, though, and it moved along quickly with this worsted weight yarn, so I just stuck with it, mostly knitting it while on the porch at my grandma's in the early morning quiet hours before everyone else got up.

Anne suggests a light blocking, but mine looked a little too chaotic, so I blocked the heck out of it. The alpaca, merino, and silk blend is heavenly. I adore the deep teal (I know it looks blue in the pic, but it's darker and more green). I'm very happy with the end result of this project and equally happy to be done with knitting it.

After endless stockinette slog, I have FINALLY reached the patterned portion of the body of Scott's gansey -- yahoo! Done with the fiddly mathiness of getting the pattern set up, I should be able to move along smoothly with it now. Best of all, this entire week appears to be a continuation of the weekend's festivities!

flutter 2

When I knit a Flutter scarf for my Gram last xmas, my mom liked it a lot. In January, she bought some yarn and asked me to knit her one.

It got put aside while I made some other things along the way, but as I was finishing it up last week, I realized that I continue to love everything about this Miriam Felton pattern. The 8-row repeat for the main length of the scarf is easily memorized, making it an excellent take-long project. I used exactly one skein of Alpaca Sox yarn, which is interesting because I know I needed to tap into a second skein for Gram's scarf, yet hers turned out shorter. Difference in blocking by hand (then) vs. with blocking wires (now), I think.

The only modification I made to the pattern was moving the provisional cast-on to the one-third point (~30 repeats) so it would land toward the back of the neck, rather than at the midway point, which causes it to be front and center when wrapped around the neck. It's only the slighest bit visible anyway, but I think moving it to a more discrete location was a good idea.

...and then there was one. That's right, folks, I have a grand total of ONE project on the needles! It's a gansey for Scott. I realized yesterday that I only barely showed it way back at the beginning, and I only have the upper half of the body to do at this point. Meanwhile, I am crazed with must-knit sweater patterns in A Fine Fleece and will most certainly be casting on for one of them very soon.

Recipients of the glass buttons we're giving away have been contacted by email. Thanks, everyone, for playing along and offering to put them to good use!

the spice of life

Topics of my work in the past week have included:
1. the petroleum industry
2. gastroenterology
3. interview with an incoming university president
4. documentary on the sport of cricket

Recent entertainment:
1. a chorale performance of songs by American composers
2. the brand spanking new Connecticut Science Center
3. nephew's lacrosse game (they won!)
4. tag saling (awesome scores and ran into an old friend)
5. ukulele band practice, always with singalong :-)
6. new Star Trek movie
7. farmers' market
8. driving a silly PT Cruiser while my fender bender is being repaired

Custom requests for Scott on the torch:
1. purple foil heart pendant
2. turn that chicken bead into a pendant -- with egg tassel!
3. mushrooms and hedgehog (the hedgehog didn't work out, but the mushrooms are fun)
4. heart pendant, red

You will notice no mention of knitting. See first list above. I don't know who flipped the switch, but every single one of my accounts has inundated me with work in the past week. This is good for the pay-off-the-mortgage mission, not so much for the finish-the-gansey-before-it-gets-too-hot-out mission.

p.s. For J, who asked about the pattern for the flag vest but didn't sign in at Blogger so I can't reply directly, it's from Not Just Plain Jane Knits. Follow the link to her new site, then click on the cardigans and vests section.

a fail

But first, a celebration of success! Leah and about a dozen knitterfriends are making good progress on their swallowtail shawl knitalong. They're at various stages of completion, but all moving along nicely.

Leah is nearing the end of the main body repeats and will move into the lily of the valley lace pattern soon. So many beautiful yarns being used, in different weights so the finished objects will range from shoulder shawl size to a big, warm wrap. Some are subbing beads for nupps and Leah is thinking about doing this because she's a little bit short in yardage needed and beads will help conserve yarn while also adding a little sparkle.

Now, the fail portion of this entry, that would be all mine. I swatched, I calculated gauge, I cast on as indicated. Then I looked at what I had, stretched it out on the needle, and thought, "nah, that's not enough." Then I cast on 20 more stitches.

Yes, those would be the 20 more stitches you see here, having overshot their intended boundary. D'oh! Let's try this again.

Did I tell you about the neck of Scott's gansey, which was too small to get over his head? Trying that again too.

And the pair of socks where one has significantly fewer stitches than the other? Re-knit to come.

Is it any wonder that I feel like I'm not making any progress on my projects lately?!

--- p.s. If you or anybody you know just happens to make blueberry muffins, adding some orange zest will elevate them from good to EXCELLENT. Just sayin'. :-)

the startitis epidemic

I couldn't help but laugh when I walked into Leah's room this morning and noticed this chair. How many handknits and WIPs can you spot? I see at least 10! She's like a mad scientist, only with yarn. All the symptoms of Leah's chronic startitis were there a year and a half ago, with a full-blown case now, for which there is (luckily) no cure.

And nearby, a simple woven sash/strap that she's working on using the 4-harness table loom. I think crochet is a gateway drug. It all started off so innocently, but now she's progressed from a simple hook to the big leagues, looms and Addi Clicks, cashmere and silk.

She dove into the Cece cardigan pattern a few days ago and is halfway up the 2nd sleeve now, using yarn we scored last spring. Her version will be longer than shown, and probably even a bit tunic-length so hopefully it'll last her a couple/few years.

Meanwhile, the beadmakerbaker is brewing up some mad science glass button concoctions of his own. These are each 1" in diameter and, besides being really beautiful, I think, there's something uber satisfying about holding them in your hands. We lurves them.

Didja notice the distinct lack of my own projects to share here? That's because my knitting is a major FAIL lately.

I am not knitting a(nother) Forest Canopy Cowl because the Malabrigo Stonechat was pooling.

I am not knitting a green gansey for Scott because the yarn biased terribly.

I am not knitting a doubleknit hat for Scott because now I know I do not enjoy doubleknitting (but at least I have now learned how it's done!).

I am not knitting the myrtle something or other wrap from Victorian Lace Today because it just wasn't floating my boat.

But I am not discouraged, oh no! Something's bound to turn up and go well eventually. Tonight there will be a tossing of the stash and there will be much knitterly inspiration this weekend, so there is hope! Actually, I am knitting another Flutter scarf because I enjoyed that pattern so much, but I can't exactly get excited about it because it's a fall-back route chosen since everything else I've made lately just plain sucks. :-)

There's always weaving or spinning or Viking knitting or house cleaning...nah, I'm not that desperate!

worth a gamble

As of Friday morning, the forecast for Vermont was all sorts of doom and gloom. Family pow-wow made it clear that we all really wanted to go camping, though, so we packed up and headed out. Sunshine for the ride there, some clouds during the 20 min. it takes us to set up camp, and a pleasant evening! Raindrops started to fall at dusk, so kids headed for the tents to read by headlamp and I continued knitting by the dwindling fire, looking oh so stylish in my fabu rain poncho and headlamp!

We were dry and cozy in our tents as it rained overnight, but there was sunshine in the morning...

and the remainder of the weekend had only a little bit of rain here and there, certainly not enough to put a damper on anything, mostly with glorious blue skies and bright sunshine!

Since it's early in the season, we had the campground practically to ourselves, which was exceptionally peaceful and beautiful. There was much walking, biking, reading, fishing (above - Jesse in red, Scott on the shore) campfire cooking, drinking of local brews (Magic Hat #9 and Long Trail Belgian White -- omg, so good), and a good bit of knitting. I'm pretty close to starting the saddle shoulders on Scott's gansey.

We all agreed that this was a gamble worth taking!

you'd never know it

I have a home-based business. Have worked at home for 24 years now and provided most of our family's income for about five of those years. I love my job. I have great clients. Even though it's a real job and I get real pay for it, it's super duper flexible, which gives it this magical property of invisibility. Seriously. There are people who I've known for months or even years who discover our main source of income and exclaim, "You have a JOB?!" It happens on a regular enough basis with acquaintances that my sister ribs me about it as an ongoing thing now.

Today I came home from working at a client's office (always fun to add a full-time job on top of my full-time job while simultaneously planning to blow out of town for a long weekend away) and shifted gears to working on another client's stuff when I glanced around me and had to laugh because here's a list of the items on the desk where I conduct most of my business:

1. Felted slippers awaiting soles.
2. Pile of yarn for the rest of Scott's gansey-in-progress.
3. Sock WIP.
4. Ultimate stashbuster scarf.
5. Bobbin of Leah's handspun singles.
6. Ball of Malabrigo Silky Merino. Stonechat colorway, if you must know.
7. Ball of leftover sparkly yarn given to Leah by a friend of my mom's.
8. Hats for donation to soldiers.
9. Handkerchief with incredible tatted border.
10. Felted sample scarf for a demo this weekend.
11. Knitted iPod case Leah made for Jesse.
12. Hats for donation to the local children's hospital.
13. Tatting shuttle.
14. Pattern for Leah's Cece cardigan.
15. Basket of merino/tencel blend that I'm spinning.
16. Plastic case of glass beads and buttons.
17. Papers we'll take to Spa Knit and Spin this weekend.
18. Printed knit buttonhole tutorial for Leah.
19. Jesse's list of foods we should buy at the Asian market. :-)

And then there was this little prototype ditty, which was on my desk when I got home...

and was donned by Leah soon thereafter.

Wait 'til you see the drop spindle glass beads Scott made on suggestion from a customer.
Job? What job?!