chrisknits
Be very circumspect in the choice of thy company.In the society of thine equals thou shalt enjoy more pleasure;in the society of thy superiors thou shalt find more profit.To be the best in the company is the way to grow worse.
Tonight was knitting, so I packed some stuff to take since I had finished Crocus. I am on to a new shawl pattern for July. Ishbel is the pattern of choice. I thought I might start it up, but was distracted. But I am sure not for long. Just look at that Butterbeer yumminess! The yarn is thinner than I expected, so I am not quite sure what needle I will use. A size 6 just seems too large. The yarn is really more lace than fingering to me. I guess the only way to know is to do a swatch. Or just start it up.
Francis Quarles, English Poet, 1592-1644
Croak!
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Here's Croak in all it's loveliness. I love the shawl, isn't it pretty?
Compare the difference a block makes. Even after all these shawls, I am still amazed it blooms so magically. I am easily amused. Now what? More shawls. I thought I might cast on Ishbel yesterday, but we had a fun filled day. We went to a local State park to swim and picnic with school friends. 3 moms + 8 kids + cool day = perfection. The kids were a little chilled in the water, who knew we would go from high 90 degree weather to mid 80's in 1 week! The temps today are even a bit chilly! The cloud cover is helping to keep the temps down. Not even sure the girls will want to go swimming at Mom's today. And now the forecast for the 4th is storms! We are grilling out with the same school friends that afternoon and plan to attend one of the firework shows around the area. Hopefully those plans won't change.
OK, lots to do today. I need to get some chicken boiled for chicken and dumplings. It even sounds good with the recent cool temps! A friend had knee surgery Tuesday, so I told her I would bring some over for her today. Then I have to run off to our usual Thursday night knitting, meeting a 4-H'er there to advise her on her project. I am unable to judge this year due to our vacation plans. I am going to miss that. I love talking with the kids about their projects. So I better get hopping.
I will leave you with parting shots of Croak in virtual action. I am so not ready for a photo shoot. But really, I never do model my knits. I am so not photogenic.
The true color is more like the bottom couch photo above. The ones directly above are too deep, the one at the top is too bright. I would take one outside, but the complete cloud coverage would just negate any attempt at true color.
I made it.
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
At least the knitting part. I was able to finish binding off while waiting at the Dr's office. Then I had to dig something else out of the knitting bag because I was still waiting at the Dr's office. Seems the good Dr was the On Call Doc for the day and kept having to run to one of the hospital's in town. At least I was in a cool room. So, do you want to see it? Do ya, do you really? I got the knitting done, but not one bit of blocking! You see, the blocking board pulls double duty at my house. We call it the "Dog Barricade Thingie". We use it in the doorway of the kitchen to living room to keep the dog in the kitchen if we are going to be gone a long time. It doesn't always work, not sure how he circumvents it, but we still try.
See the slightly darker edging? That's the Baby Cashmerino. Lisa, look here. Wait a minute, YOU'RE not Lisa!
As we are going to be gone for about 5 hours tomorrow, we need to have him contained to lessen the risk of damage. Or spend all day putting up every imaginable piece of something he might decide to chew on while we are gone. So, since I can trust him with Crocus pinned to the blocking board, I need to wait until tomorrow night to block.
Tonight was knitting, so I packed some stuff to take since I had finished Crocus. I am on to a new shawl pattern for July. Ishbel is the pattern of choice. I thought I might start it up, but was distracted. But I am sure not for long. Just look at that Butterbeer yumminess! The yarn is thinner than I expected, so I am not quite sure what needle I will use. A size 6 just seems too large. The yarn is really more lace than fingering to me. I guess the only way to know is to do a swatch. Or just start it up. The reason it wasn't started up during knitting was because WoUrAn was the chosen knitting for the evening. I pulled it out, not sure where it was or what stage of progress either. I found 1 sleeve done and very little of the front right started. I ended up ripping more than I knit. My brain, it doesn't work no more.
I had forgotten how much I love working with this yarn, Classic Wool from Patons, and the colors in it. As you can see, my Urban is going to be a cardigan. I also decided to twist the 4 st break in between the edge cable and the traveling sts. The ribbing on the sleeves are 4x2, the body 2x2. I used the 4x2 on the sleeves to increase the size. Since the yarn is worsted, and the pattern calls for bulky, I had gauge issues. But then, when do I ever NOT have gauge issues! Ya know, I have no idea why I have a st marker in that front piece. Hmmm.
OK, time for bed. Well, after a snack. My belly is hungry. But first, quick update on the health. Bladder scope test today reveals a healthy bladder. So we are trying a regimen of Macrobid for 4-6 months. Just 3 per week, not everyday. He thinks it is just a germ that refuses to be vanquished. Says this is not unusual and there's no reason we can't break the cycle. Whew! Says despite the 2 year time frame, the bladder does not suffer ill effects from the infections. I am relieved. Just hoping I can remember to take the Mac every M, W, and F. I am not so good on consistency when it comes to meds. Thanks for the well wishes and prayers. Now, put those prayers to good use by helping A Day In The Life. Having suffered from panic attacks in my recent past, I know where she's at.
PS: A death that actually touches me. "Mrs Slocombe" has passed away. I used to watch this show when we had BBC feeds. How I wish I could find a station that still played them.
365
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Not days in the year. Stitches on the needle where Crocus Pocus resides. An estimated 32 yds left of my Smooshy Lipstick Lava. Pattern calls for 437 yds of yarn, Smooshy has 450. I can't believe I will get 5 more rows out of the yarn. Lisa had no problem knitting hers with Smooshy. Am I just off enough on gauge it will be a problem? She did say she thought she would run out too, but didn't. Would love to show a photo, but the camera is out of batteries, and I actually have no idea where it is. Plus, it just looks like a blob.
I must say, I have not enjoyed this knit. The first part was fine, but so tedious in it's repetition, which is really just the same with lots of shawl knitting out there. But then the 3rd chart just didn't flow for me. The decreases weren't making sense, or I would get off count, or who knows what was happening. And then the last chart brought even more issue. I also think the patterns could be a lot more pithy if all the back story was eliminated or condensed. But that's just me. The shawl will be lovely, but I won't likely knit another pattern from this designer.
Which is something I am always reluctant to state on a blog. I will share the info with my IRL knit friends. But I tend to not want to criticize on the web. Not many can survive on the income from knit patterns, but you hate to cast doubts on designers. But then again, it's my blog, I am only stating why I would not knit from a designer's pattern again. It's my personal opinion. So I guess I should stop being shy about it. Not that there are many I would shun.
Excuse me? Yes, you read right. Just 5 more rows to go. Today I knit while watching the US' embarrassing 2nd half loss to Brazil. And then, up until the rain delay, NASCAR. My driver got 14th, which was enough to keep him 9th in the points. But he needs to do better to be in the final 10 for the Race Chase. Once the rain came I switched over to watch Nanny McPhee, one of my favs. Colin Firth in his usual bumbling role. I need to pull out Pride and Prejudice to remind myself he can play the hottie too.
And now it's bed time. The right hand is painful from the marathon knitting today. The shoulders need a break too. Hopefully I can get going tomorrow and finish this shawl off. With the humidity levels we are having, it might take 3 days to dry once blocked! And I am on a mission to finish 3 shawls for June, July and August, PLUS finish WoUrAn, my worsted Urban Aran. I will likely take that knit to Florida with me in mid July. I am hoping I can focus on Ishbel, the July knit, and knock it out in the first few weeks. But my track record says otherwise!
Update: I got to row 16. I had 8 yds of yarn left. No way I could do 2 more rows + bind off. So I tried the bind off. No dice. Wouldn't even get halfway across. So do I: 1) Beg Erin to let me use some of her Lipstick Lava to finish mine? 2) Rip back to row 14 and then bind off? 3) Find a yarn in stash that is close to the Smooshy and just do the last 2 rows and bind off? The designer finished hers with a contrast, but I so do not care for that option. I will have to go check the stash and see what might work.