lace ribbon scarf 2

It's my turn to be the sick one 'round here, so we'll keep this short and sweet.

Pre-blocking, resembles cat barf.

Post-blocking happiness.

I didn't even need to ask the model to change into a different shirt.

When she was picking peppers, I noticed how well the scarf coordinates with the hair scrunchy she crocheted with leftover sock yarn, stitched around a hair elastic.

Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty
Yarn: Jojoland Harmony
2nd one I've made. Good take-along knitting.

EDC

I saw some discussion a while back about people's EveryDay Carry, their EDC, the things they have on/with them when they go out. For the fun of it, I snapped pics of Jesse and Leah's EDC yesterday.

His: Fave yo-yo in ratty ol' sling style holster, with bright pink Angel Hair string (for good visibility for string tricks) dangling below. iPod in cabled case knit by his sister as a xmas gift, all connected by a carabiner.

Hers: Lace-edged fan (a gift from the Great Grandma and gets way more use than anybody would have expected), stitching project-in-progress, tin cup she made at Old Sturbridge Village, apple, bonnet, two small knitting projects on DPNs, all carried in a woven basket. Now, it is true that this EDC is modified somewhat from her usual because she was on her way to being a costumed interpreter at a living history museum, but her usual EDC is achieved by swapping out the basket for a backpack, the bonnet for some hair elastics, and the fan for an iPod.

Mine? No pic, but it's a blue crocheted bag w/ strap that's long enough to wear diagonally over my body ($3 at a flea market and I love it enough that I will use it as a model to make myself another when it disintegrates eventually), wallet sewn for me by Leah, and a small knitting project (currently the lace ribbon scarf).

We're off to the farmers' market in a couple of hours. There's a monsoon in progress right now and I haven't looked at the forecast, so I don't know if it's expected to clear up, but it doesn't look likely at this point. Somehow (probably influenced by our experience the last time we were there on a rainy day), I'm still looking forward to it.

quite content in quarantine

Because of the sickies around here, we've been sticking close to home the past few days. I've also had a light work week and was basically off work yesterday (IOW, I only did one "full-time" job). This hermit lifestyle suits me just fine, as it gives the chance to bounce from project to project, both the creative ones and from the to-do list in my head. Besides the button makeover I already blogged about, among the fun yesterday, there was:

First try at dyeing using acid dyes. We like!

More earrings made from Scott's beads.
Leah tells me they're extra cool if they don't match exactly.

Lace ribbon scarf blocking.
I never tire of the magical transformation with blocking.

Meanwhile, a certain someone rode her bike to the local needlework shop and came home all atwitter about xmas gifts in the works, sharing her excitement in only the vaguest of terms and challenging me to provide help without really knowing exactly what she's doing. So far, I know at least one of her secret projects involves a sewing machine and fusing fabrics, and supplies for other projects were bought at the needlework shop. She also finished stitching the Celtic knot on her Renaissance style gown.

I love that she's known by name at the local quilt shop, the local needlework shop, and at least two yarn stores. Good stuff.

take me out to the knitting game

So, last night's entertainment included about 450 homeschoolers enjoying a Rock Cats baseball game. I phrase it in exactly that way because, for me, the primary entertainment was the homeschoolers, while the game provided a fun backdrop. The kids and Scott, of course, bebopped around with assorted pals, seat-hopping to chat with everyone and making food/drink runs together. (Oh, and BTW, Long Trail Belgian White? Yum.) I, meanwhile, enjoyed a steady stream of knitters and old friends passing by and stopping for visits.

I knew it was going to be a knitting sort of evening when we rec'd a phone call at home with an emergency request for a size 2 DPN, STAT, for a friend who left one of her needles at home.

This, coincidentally, is the same friend who was knitting next to me at a Rock Cats game in the fall of 2008, when I was ALSO knitting a lace ribbon scarf out of Jojoland yarn. The scarf in the 2008 pic was chosen from the gift knits box a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed the pattern once I got it in my head, so I'm making another one for the gift knits box.

Then a friend stopped by to tell me about the cotton top she's knitting for her daughter.

Another one stuck out her leg to show off alpaca socks she recently received in the very silly Sock Wars.

A long-time acquaintance stopped to chat and mentioned that she's having trouble with tendinitis from her knitting, so she's switching to Continental style and that seems to help.

The two homeschoolers who sang the Star Spangled Banner were decked out in handknit stars and stripes vests, knit in a mad dash by the socknitter in the first pic above. She made two of these in a couple of weeks. Crazy! (hm? what's that you're whispering? Terror Fish? Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. See, I know crazy.)

I shared a passing greeting with another knitter who has her own sheep and is also a spinner and teacher of crochet.

The midwife who was present for Leah's homebirth hung out for a visit too. She's not a knitter, but she's cool enough that we'll forgive her for that one flaw. :-)

When Jesse and buddies weren't watching the game, Jesse was playing with string of a different kind, having just rec'd an order of new yo-yo strings that needed to be broken in. (Yes, the kind he uses need to be broken in. You wouldn't believe the options and finer points of yo-yo strings for the serious player. Debates about these rival those between circ lovers vs. dpn users.)

Leah worked on a small project while watching the game. See the tell-tale yarn leash spanning from her left hand (holding project) to knitting bag on the ground? At the end of the evening, a conversation with an Artist Trading Card enthusiast/homeschooling mom/friend lit a spark in Leah's mind that has since led to swatching, graphing, and her first intarsia project, which is in progress at this very moment. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

For the Rock Cats, last night was a sound thumping of a loss.

For my family, everything about it was a win. :-)

really, we do it for the kids ;-)

Yesterday we attended our fourth baseball game of this season, having received a gift of enough free tix to allow us and a family of friends to go! I love the hours of knitting time family-friendly atmosphere.

I continued working on my lace ribbon scarf while we enjoyed assorted tasty beers fruit juice and wholesome oatmeal cookies baked at home.

While the moms compared scarves, since we're working on the same pattern in different gauges debated the merits of instant replay in Major League Baseball, Jesse and the dads paid close attention to the large-breasted women in skimpy tank tops statistics and close calls of the game.

It was the last game of the season, but our families have already made tentative plans for another knitting weekend game or two together next year.

sweltering, swatching

As you may know, it's been a little on the warm side around here lately. I didn't know my car thermometer went into the 3-digit range, but it does. Sweltering, drooping, awful sort of hot and humid days with thunder every evening to tease with the possibility of a cooling drench, but often with no such luck. Still, it's amazing what a cool wet cloth draped around the neck and simply chatting on the porch in the evenings can do for the outlook after a scorcher. Those Waltons knew what they were doing. ;-)

I was looking forward to the hours of knitting time at a baseball game with ~500 homeschoolers on Tuesday evening, but the temp. was such that I didn't even take my knitting out of the bag. The yarn wouldn't have been able to glide through my fingers. Luckily, the beer was cold! Since I don't have a pic of baseball knitting, here's a shot of some of our group holding the big flag on the field during the National Anthem. Such fun to see so many old friends, put faces to names of online acquaintances, and generally have a great evening.

I realized recently that I never did put up pics of the little ipod pouches Leah made. This one protects it while in her pocket.

And this one has a hole toward the top left, where she hooks it to her belt loop with a carabiner. Both were freebie patterns from Ravelry, where there's an abundance of ipod-holding options.

The flurry of finished objects last weekend has been followed by much swatching. Here's what remains on my desk at this time, although there was also a baby sweater and a hat cast on and torn out at some point.

Top to bottom:
1. A Lelah-based halter top that I'm making for Leah.
2. An undulating waves scarf in alpaca with supercool iridescent beads with copper cores.
3. A lace ribbon scarf made from a big ol' cone of green wool ($1 at Goodwill!) combined with the never-ending cone of tencel from Webs
4. Undulating waves (again and again) in alpaca and iridescent beads without copper cores.
5. Fire sock in Trekking. This is the 2nd sock in what will hopefully eventually be a pair, but I think these socks are cursed because you wouldn't believe how long they've been in progress and how many problems there have been along the way. And nope, they're not even a complicated pattern; just plain toe-up 2x2 rib all the way. There is no other possible explanation for the difficulties with such a simple project except to believe that they're cursed, but the fire yarn is cool, so I'm sticking with it.

Cooler temps now and looking forward to summertime outdoor festivities all weekend long. YaHOO!!!

yo mama

Saturday was the International Yo-Yo Open and New York State Yo-Yo Contest, so kids and I were up bright and early to head into the city. The event was held at the South Street Seaport, which was a perfect place to spend this beautiful summer day, on the waterfront with skyscrapers behind us and tall ships all around.

Yo-yo competitors were there from around the world, doing some of the most amazing tricks. If you haven't seen what yoyoing is lately and still think it's either up-and-down or walking the dog, take a look at this video for an example of the kinds of tricks we saw. Radical!

It was kind of crowded with a few hundred spectators to the front of the stage area, so I parked myself in a good spot off to the side, where I could still see the performances, and took advantage of some knitting time in the sunshine. Between the train rides and the yo-yo time, I'm now 1/3 of the way through my lace ribbon scarf -- yay! I was joined by Cindy, the dyer of Apple Laine yarns and mother of Devon, Canadian yo-yo champion, while waiting for his turn to compete.

We walked along the waterfront, checking out the Brooklyn Bridge and two of the New York City Waterfalls.

Eventually made our way to Playing The Building at the Battery Maritime Building, where David Byrne from the Talking Heads has rigged up an old organ so each key actually plays a part of the big empty building -- tinking a radiator, vibrating a metal beam, blowing air through a plumbing pipe.

Back to Connecticut on the train in time for yet another Shakespeare performance. This time, it was Much Ado About Nothing, with a Flower Power twist. Leonardo daVinci from Kathleen Krull's Giants of Science series, book on CD borrowed from the library, provided entertainment during the car rides. I saw a rainbow while on the way home on Friday afternoon and a shooting star on the way home on Saturday night, perfect bookends to an awesome day.

Met up with some friends at the farmers' market on Sunday morning for a corn roast and contra dancing. By Sunday evening, we were all toast and the threat of rain would likely cancel the performance we were hoping to see that night, so we settled in for a movie and some mitten knitting. I was happy to get back to work on Monday so I could rest. :-) Who knew those first yo-yos from the kids' Grammy last Christmas would lead us to such fun?!

a colorful life

So, I was lamenting how my scarf still looks the same, just longer, and thinking about how Leah's devouring more books than yarn of late (not that I mind), and Scott's cooking up baked goods more than beads/buttons, and Jesse...well, Jesse's still building assorted launcher/projectile combinations, but those don't go with the focus of this blog quite so well. In short, I was beginning to wonder if I'd run out of things to blog about. But then I uploaded recent pics and noticed this colorful collection of Wednesday-ness. :-)

A necklace Leah and I strung from Scott's beads to spiff up her outfit and complement her orange bandana.

A lace ribbon scarf of Jojoland yarn, knit among a couple thousand(?) people at a town concert.

Schweeet hot rods among the 100+ classic cars gathered for the same summer concert.

A pin that Leah stitched and beaded from a Mill Hill kit. Shiny!

autumnal

What a difference a week makes. Last weekend at the farmers' market was raw and wet. This weekend? Stellar! Glorious sunshine, perfect temps, beautiful foliage, hungry people. :-) Some glimpses into our Sunday, from a yarny perspective...

My lace ribbon scarf in Jojoland yarn.

Field next to the farmers' market, where some dogs were chasing balls and some people were riding their horses. (Yeah, I know, nothing yarny about that, but aren't those trees pretty?)

Yarn given to Leah as thanks for keeping an eye on the White Crane Design Studio's booth while Rhonda, the dyer, browsed the market for a few minutes.

Back in town, a pleasant visit with Claudia while she worked on a neckwarmer.

Home again for a quiet evening. All in all, not a half bad way to spend our 17th anniversary! Extra fun to realize that some of the people in that wedding pic visited with us at the market today.