And stash enhanced.....

Greetings and Dear Laura:

So, knitting merrily along and making baby progress all the while. I finished the little blue cashmere hat in just 2 days!



It was a fun knit, and I really like the finished project. I now have a boy hat, a girl hat, and 3 that are for either. At least 2 of those will go to my new great-niece/nephew scheduled to be born on the 29th, so there's always more to do!

As soon as I cast off the blue hat and wove in the ends, I cast on a blanket for a baby due in January.



I'm using the stash-lost-found-lost yarn, 7 balls of red and 2 of blue to make this blanket. My friend Kathryn specifically requested that the blanket be made of this yarn, since the blanket I made for her 2nd child was in this yarn and she really likes the feel and wear of it.

I'm using a pattern that I found on Ravelry - yay!! It's a fun pattern to knit - I've finished the first ball of yarn already! The pattern makes up to be smaller than I wanted, so I cast on 146 stitches, and I think I'll be somewhere more than 30" wide, and 35-40" long. At this rate, I could have it done yet in October! (Why am I so opposed to size 8 needles!?!?!)

Last Saturday, I made a trip up to Knitting Today to pick up a few things that I had picked out a few weeks ago. The Cash Vero yarn for the blue hat was new, but they had sold out of the blue, so I ordered that. I also ordered Addi Turbo Lace needles in size 0, 47" for magic loop lace sock knitting. And I grabbed up the last copy of Cat Bordhi's new sock book, and put that on hold.



So Saturday I drove up, and picked up the yarn and the book (the needles weren't in) and also found...(of course) some Universal Deluxe yarn in a lovely blue colorway which will also make some cute baby hats AND another Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket - I love that pattern!



I also picked up a Fiber Trends pattern for a lace baby blanket that I had picked out on my last trip. I have the yarn for this (thank you for picking up the silk/wool laceweight at Blackberry Ridge for me last spring!) and that will be my next baby blanket. I need one in March, and possibly one in January. I haven't decided if my niece's second baby will also get a lace baptismal blanket. She's lobbying for it, but I'm trying to be a realist!!



Oh, and at the last minute I grabbed a pom-pom maker that looked easier to use than my current one. (wink!)



Alright, that's it for now - keep knitting!!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter!)

Stash lost. Stash found. Stash lost.

Greetings and Dear Laura:

I must be losing my mind. I'm sure as heck losing my yarn.....

Four years ago, I ordered Heirloom Breeze yarn from Ozeyarn. I ordered 4 bags. I think. One in cream, one in yellow, one in red and one in blue. 10 balls is enough to do a baby blanket. I had already made 2 blankets with this yarn and really loved it. It's a stretchy wool/cotton blend that tolerates the washer and dryer, and the two moms who had these blankets really liked them.

My niece Amanda was expecting, and blue and/or red was going to work with the nursery she planned. And since Cass Street wasn't carrying the yarn anymore, I ordered yellow and white to have on hand.

So. Four blankets worth. I never got around to knitting a blanket for Amanda's baby Grace. Just ran out of time. I had the yarn in a plastic tote when I moved - it was in storage upstairs at mom & dad's. Then I went to knit a baby blanket...and I couldn't find that tote. Or the tote with the Cascade 220 leftovers and the 2-sweaters-worth of Classic Elite Tweed. I hunted everywhere. Went through every box and tote upstairs (found a lot of OTHER yarn I'd forgotten about!) went through my closets, my yarn dresser....nothing.

I looked again when it was time to have the stash sale and start cataloging my stash. Same result. I was just SURE that I hadn't knit 4 baby blankets and forgotten about it, but I finally gave up.

Last week we had a contractor over to remove a wall from between my parents living room and family room. While it was all torn up, I wanted a second cable run from the satellite down through my hall closet and out by the tv. In order to do this, I had to empty the hall closet.

You can see where this is going - I found the tote with the Breeze yarn!! I was SO excited - I want to do a blanket for a baby due in January. I'd been looking at yarn, but it was really bugging me to think of buying yarn for a baby blanket when I knew I had all that Breeze. I photographed a ball in each color to post to Ravelry, then grabbed the red and blue to start swatching.

I think. Somehow this gets messed up. I have a bag with 2 balls of blue and 7 of red. But I was SURE that I also had a bag with the other 8 of blue and a couple of loose balls of red in that tote as well. However. I CAN'T FIND THEM!!!!!! I've torn the closet mostly apart again, I've looked in all my other yarn containers.....it's not pretty.

Possibilities:

1. I've lost my mind and there was always only this bag of red/blue mix. Maybe I didn't order a full bag of each color. But if I was only going to order one blanket's worth - I would have ordered more than 2 balls of blue to 7 red....and why do I think I saw a bag of mostly blue just a week ago?????

2. I did take a big stack of empty boxes to the dumpster last week - did that bag get in one of them somehow? But the boxes were in the hallway, and I certainly didn't put any yarn in the hall. (This one keeps me up at night anyway. Yarn in the dumpster??? The horror...)

3. It's still in the house somewhere.

I don't know. But I need to get started on that blanket, and 2 balls of blue isn't enough. And blue/white is the color combo she'd like. Oy.

In other news, I'm on a bit of a hat jag. Amanda is having her 3rd child, scheduled for October 29th. When asked what she would like for me to knit for this baby, she requested hats. She had a hard time finding hats for Lydia, and would like several for this baby.

So far I have a "girl hat" from Louisa Harding Kimono Angora that just needs a little flower detail. (I have enough yarn to make another of these, so that's a nice portable project to have in my "baby gift stash.)



A Fetching Inspired Hat made from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. This yarn is the leftover from Grace's Christening gown, so the new baby will have a matching hat. (I also still have enough yarn for another of these!)



A Bobble Hat that I made from some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in Rainbow. (Oh I had me some serious love for that colorway. I had several skeins of it in fingering, and hated everything I tried. I have maybe 5 or 6 skeins in Worsted - and it's truly ugly no matter what I do. I have a mitten and a half knitted plus an adult hat and 4 balls, plus this baby hat. This yarn will haunt me for the rest of my life!!!!!!!!!!) I got a little goofy with the pom-pom I-cord thing....



and now I'm working on a Cable Brim Hat (baby-hat-as-swatch, I'm making it up as I go!) out of Cascade Cash Vero.



Whew. That's going to be it for now - there's plenty going on, but that's a brief recap. (Get it - hats - reCAP....oh, nevermind....)

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

My life is one big chemistry quiz

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

First, knitting progress! YAY! I've finished the neckband of Sapporo. I made it a little shorter than the pattern calls for, and added a turning ridge. Here it is shown unfolded; when it is done, it will be a folded, double layer, encasing the top of the zipper along the front edge. Next step, though, I pick up stitches along the front edge to finish up the placket and prepare it for zipper insertion.

I also dug another project out of the WIP pile -- My Mad Money Bag (kit from Blackberry Ridge). I had the knitting done except for the I-cord, so I started the I-cord -- a five stitch I-cord on size 1 needles, roughly a yard and a half of it. It reminds me of watching grass grow. This is after hours of knitting, and I'm ashamed to show you, because it doesn't look like much. In any case, about another foot to knit and I can sew it to the other side of the bag and call this one done.

My chemistry teacher is very creative. For our first quiz, he gave each of us a chocolate kiss candy. Prior to that, he had written the symbol for an element on the bottom of each one. Then, we had to find others in our class having the same element, and these are the people we'd work with on the group part of the quiz. I really don't like working in random groups. I understand they are teaching us how to get along with others, and I "can" do this, but I do not enjoy it. The first time the three people in my group met together, one guy in the group turned to me and said, "I flunked this class at the UW, so I'm taking it here now." That's all history now, because my teacher has moved on to Starburst candy. On Monday, we each took a Starburst, noted the elemental symbol on the bottom of it, and met with our new quiz group for the first time. There are some extremely smart people in this class -- the woman having a masters in statistics comes immediately to mind. However, they are not in my group. I can't complain too much. Mostly it's the drain on time, trying to get together outside of class with other people to get the thing completed, which is most difficult for me.

Anyway, quiz due on Monday, lab due on Monday, going out of town on Saturday, so I think I'll spend this evening watching tv and knitting. Perhaps I'll get the front plackets on my Sapporo finished!

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Okay for kids of all ages...

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

I found this tool while reading BaxterKnits, so I thought I'd find out what our blog is rated:

Actually, that is exactly what I was going for (though I'm not sure what your thoughts on that might be...).

It did notice, however, that we have used the word "kill" three times... (I guess I've said, "If it doesn't kill me, it will make me stronger," three times by now...)

Anyway, more soon, because I've been working on clearing out some WIP's from months and months ago...

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Just an ordinary person.......

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Oh what cute slippers! Don't you just love quick little projects?? FO's are the best.

And welcome to Ravelry - isn't it grand? I'm DesignatedKntr, as I see you've already found! (I would have a user name that is too long!!) I haven't entered ALL of my stash by any means, but I do have most of the.....hmm, how to say....."readily visible" portion of the stash entered. There are still 3-4 large totes in my bedroom that I haven't even contemplated posting yet!

I've been busy with all manner of things - altho not nearly enough knitting to keep up with my current version of a plan!

Although, I've come to the conclusion that the plan is flawed. It always is. You see, I keep forgetting that I'm just an ordinary person. You would think that as often as my knitting slaps me down, this little fact would be imbedded in my brain, but it is not so.

Earlier this year, I took a class at Knitting Today on using the Magic Loop method of circular knitting. We made a cute little baby hat. (My little baby slapped me down in public! I was the one in the class who wrapped my yarn wrong from when I changed needles and ended up adding 2 stitches to each round. So much for feeling like, "I teach knitting classes! I'll pick this up without even trying!" (See, I usually deserve it when I get slapped!))

One thing that Lea-Ann stressed was that we should always push or pull the needle end, and that we should NEVER pull the cable. If you pull the wrong side of the cable, you pull the needle right out of the stitches. (Go ahead, ask me if this is true....) Despite proving to myself that this is true, I confess that I continued to "pull the cable." You see, as I eventually explained to Lauren, deep down I was convinced that I'm superior to those people who would pull the wrong side. I am perfectly capable of paying attention to what I'm doing, and since I know what to be careful of, all will be well. Besides, trying to push the cable?? Not so much.

So we're knitting along at lunch and I'm working on the Ribbons Blanket, using the magic loop method, when for the SECOND TIME in less than an hour.....I pulled the needle out of the stitches. Lauren may have laughed at me. I was forced to face that fact that I am JUST AN ORDINARY PERSON.

Next post we will discuss how a pair of baby socks slapped me silly. (Yes, Magic Loop is involved, NO, I didn't pull the cable.....)

Keep knitting!


Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Little things

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

Lots of little stuff to talk about today...

Chemistry Two is going well, and I really am enjoying the class. It's nice to get "credit" for doing experiments, because without the labs for this course, the only chemistry I participate in is the reactions which take place when I clean our toilets, and when I burn our dinners...for which I don't really get credit...

I have done some little knitterly things, too. My seven year old wanted a pair of slippers, so as I was touring a yarn store in town (a place I'd never been before, called Off the Beaten Path), I ran across a basic slipper pattern/kit for half price, and combining the leftover yarn with some Heilo from my stash, I'll easily be able to make a pair of slippers for my five year old, too. My seven year old says they are really comfy... It's nice he didn't use the word "itchy" anywhere in his description of them -- a concern I always have when I knit for him...

I've had this felted purse for a few years, as it's one of the very first felting projects I made. I was using stuff exclusively from my stash, so I originally used white 1/4 inch wide elastic and a wood button I had on hand. This past week, however, I was at the fabric store, and I decided to see if there was a way to give this bag a little more pizzazz, so I found some round, black elastic (which is less obnoxiously visible), and a fun button, and it has made all of the difference. Not too exciting in the grand scope of things, but much more fun for me to carry around now...

I dug out my Sapporo again, and sewed the second sleeve in place (which took me all the way through an entire movie -- I'm very picky and slow about the finishing work), and it is a relief to have that out of the way. Is anybody else wondering if I will ever complete this? Next, I'll pick up stitches for the neckband.

I had to laugh at all of your comments regarding the weather on my last post. I had it wrong, as Mary Lou pointed out -- clearly, if I want the weather to stay warm, then I should put the summer clothes away. It's going to be quite warm again here today (upper 70's F), though the mornings are nice and cool, which I love. Yesterday morning, we went to a corn maze, and as we were going through it, more than once I mentally compared myself to a lab rat searching for the cheese. In spite of that, we had so much fun, and it didn't even seem like six acres...

If you are good at picking out projects given a list of yarn, then check out Allison's blog. She is celebrating her 200th post, and looking for a new project to make with things she already has on hand. There are prizes, including the possibility of baked goods, and if you ever read her blog, then you know what an enticement that is.

Oh, and my last little bit of excitement -- I've been invited to THE PARTY !!!! My name there is just like it is here -- "YarnThrower" -- and I've already made some of you my "friends", so I'll see you there! Of course, I have no time to actually input any of my projects...but now and then I sure am enjoying looking through what everybody else is doing!

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Thank you!!

Greetings and Dear Laura:

There is just nothing better than coming home and finding an unexpected treat in the mailbox!! Thank you!



What a wonderful surprise! And timely - most of the young mom's in my family have been requesting hats and socks for their kids, so I'll be putting the book of hat patterns to good use in the near future! I enjoyed the goodies that you picked up for me at Stitches - certainly things I would have picked up.

The last few weeks have been kind of crazy, but things are getting a little bit back to normal, as much as normal ever is. A few highlights:

Finished my nieces socks during another hospital stay with my dad - mom is modeling them.




However, she noted that one was noticeably shorter than the other. I started to rip out and make the second one longer, when it occured to me...."Have my niece try them on and see which fits best!" Which resulted in my getting to rip back the first sock and SHORTEN it - always easier!

And here they are being worn by Hayley.




Without pictures, but other things that I've been up to:

Canned 20 more pints of salsa.
Finished a baby hat for a gift. Cream cashmere yarn, basic roll brim hat with a knot on top!
Cast on a pair of "Falling Leaves" socks from the new Interweave Favorite Socks books - although I nixed the ribbing, and chose a picot-edge top.
Cast on a "Ribbons Baby Blanket" from Fiber Trends using leftover Dale of Norway Baby Ull from several baby projects.
Had a bit of a meltdown about the amount of baby knitting in the next nine months.
Picked and husked seed beans so that we will have them again next year.
Took a little yarn store trip to Knitting Today (it doesn't count as buying stuff if I just ordered it, right?? or put it on hold??)
Also went to D'Vine in Shipshewanna, which has a fine collection of yarn. I did buy some yarn with sequins to carry along in a little-girl hat....
Accidently ordered GORGEOUS sock yarn online, because I read a blog that said, "(Go buy his hand-dyed yarn. Go.)" so I did. Truly beautiful colors!
Didn't blog for three weeks because I just couldn't seem to put my thoughts together.
Decided to finish out the year without monthly goals, just for old-times sake.
Oh. Started a blog with my friend The Rebellious Pastor's Wife, focusing on our weight loss/health improvement goals. (Haven't posted much there either, but it's next on my to-do list!) Our blog can be found here.

So.

I will endeavor to be more regular, as my life seems to be settling down a bit. (Yeah, I know, a sure sign that the whole thing is about to take a dip, a swerve and a couple of wild curves....)


Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter!)

What are humans, anyway, without crying?

Greetings and Dear Cynthia,

With the title of this blog post, I'm not trying to get all philosophical on you. This is what my seven year old told my husband the other night as he was being sent to his room, for crying crying crying. He is not like this at school, but at home he has been crying seemingly incessantly, though he does break for meals. It is generally because something hasn't gone his way. The world is not catering to him, and he chooses to be upset by it. Anyway, I'm trying to teach him that things are just how they are sometimes, and we have to be flexible and resilient. AAUGH! His teacher told me the other day that he is a real sweetheart. I said, "That is so nice of you to say that," instead of what I was really thinking, "Who is this boy masquerading as my son, and can he come live at my house?" Anyway, I've said it before about parenting: If it doesn't kill me, it will make me stronger.

Similar mantra for my chemistry class. Lots of work, but I'm really enjoying it, too. I have a presentation to do tomorrow on Bupropion (Wellbutrin). Everybody in the class was assigned a different drug to study as part of our organic unit...

In knitting news, I continue working on the sleeve...
and the sock...
Can you contain your excitement? First sleeve just about halfway done. Thank you to Linda for your tip about the joining row when the hem is turned up. I decided to go with ribbing on this sweater, but for my next hemmed sweater, I'm going to try your idea for using a larger needle on the row in which the provisionally cast on stitches are worked along with the current stitches to secure the hem.

And finally, you know you're in Wisconsin when you could conceivably have the air conditioner and the furnace on during the same week. I've been trying to avoid both for the past couple of weeks. Today they are predicting a high temperature of 87 degrees F.... The only way to make the hot weather go away is probably to put the summer clothes away.....

Have a great Tuesday!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Change of plans

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

I can no longer say, "My four year old", because I don't have one of those any more. My dh totally accepted and conquered the challenge of creating a pancake shaped like the number "5" (and all I had to do was clean up everything afterward :-) He did a nice job, don't you agree?! Breakfast in bed for "my five year old".

Well, chemistry is taking up a lot of time which could otherwise be spent knitting. That doesn't stop me from knitting, but it is very slow-going. Last year, in September I started making the Hardangervidda sweater which I finished in time to give to dh for Christmas. This year, I picked a straight-forward stockinette sweater using luscious yarn (so, so soft), and I'm not sure I'm going to finish in time -- same gauge, much simpler design, very little "finishing" work -- I just don't have much time for it. ...And, the added detail that I think I'm going to start the whole thing over. Take a look at this photo:
I'm very concerned about the bottom folding up. The yarn seems very light, and I thought the hem would add a bit of weight, but it doesn't seem to be enough weight to get it to lie flat. Perhaps blocking it will help in the end, but with wear, I'm concerned that the bottom edge will still turn up. I do have a provision so that I could thread some elastic through the casing formed by the hem, but the more I think about it, I just don't really want to do that. And so, I decided to start on the second sleeve (first sleeve is about 1/3 done), except use K2P2 ribbing at the bottom edge instead of a hem, to see how it behaves. So far, so good....so, I might just cast on for the body of the sweater again, starting with a couple of inches of K2P2 ribbing, and compare it with the hemmed version. I hate it when this happens, but the "nagging" voice in my head which has been getting louder that's saying, "it's going to turn up, it's going to turn up, etc", must be put to rest...so better to cut my losses now if there is a way to make it which I'll be happier with. Any words of wisdom out there? I'm all ears! This is a dk weight 100% alpaca yarn.

Anyway, both kids are enjoying school. My 5-year has been reading for a couple of years, as he picked it up on his own, and has been reading chapter books (Magic Tree House books) lately. His preschool teacher wasn't aware of that, so when he brought a toy over to her and showed her the words on the toy that said it was "made in China", she thought perhaps he was just guessing about that and by coincidence happened to be right. Later that morning, he read something else in the classroom, and she realized that he really can read. He's still very fixated on where things are made, especially how many of our products are made in China. I might have shared this story with you already.... He told me one day that there must be a LOT of people living in China. I asked him why he thought that. He said, "To make all of that stuff."

Car is in the shop today, getting new tires put on it. The current set have gone almost 75,000 miles, and it occurred to me that that is a lot of miles for a set of tires. One of them has a slow leak, and when I bent over to check what psi to inflate it to, I noticed the tread looked pretty low. Then I checked another one, and it looked the same. Then I realized that it's still the original set of tires, and instead of having the slow leak fixed, we really should buy a new set. So, yippee -- new tires. How very exciting. For piece of mind, though, the money is well worth it. Now, if I could only have the repair shop figure out why this vehicle keeps dying on me. Only when the engine has recently been sitting for a long time (so it is back to ambient temperature), and only if I don't really give it enough gas as I'm starting from a stop or completing a turn. The man at the car place says he believes me that it happens, but yet (and of course), they aren't able to replicate the failure. Perhaps if he had been with me when it happened twice as I was trying to get out of a parking garage yesterday...

Anyway, beautiful day here today! Truly God's country! Have I mentioned that I love fall?

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Parenting: If it doesn't kill me, it will make me stronger.

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

You are so ambitious in processing your harvest, and it all looks so yummy! And, sounds like almost all of your jars sealed well, too, so YAY! Your hard work really paid off!

First, some quick knitting content, because I don't have a lot of knitting to show for the past few weeks...and second, against my better judgment, I'm including some snapshots of my new haircut, too...

Here is a completed ankle sock made out of leftover yarn. It is toe-up, and I used 60% (instead of 50%) of the stitches to make the heel.I think the heel looks "large" because it is a contrasting color, and because I'm accustomed to looking at my other heels which are all a little bit smaller, and so it is somewhat obvious that I used more than half of the stitches for it, though it fits great and the casual observer would never even notice. Thanks to Debi for that tip for adding a little bit of room to my sometimes otherwise snug heels in my toe-up socks.

Here's a new sock I'm just starting for one of my friends:It is my first time using Trekking Yarn. My friend has feet which are a little bit bigger than mine. To be fair, she's also about a foot taller than me...

Here's the bottom of what is going to be a boring blog sweater which probably won't be done for MONTHS, the Alpaca Vee, made out of wonderfully soft alpaca yarn, and stockinette stitch all the way! It has hems at the lower edges. On the body of the sweater, I knit the first few rounds back and forth after casting on provisionally, then joined to work in the round, then standard "hem protocol" of knitting some rows, working one row purl, then knitting some more until it is time to turn up the hem. By knitting the first few rows back and forth, after I turned up the hem (catching in my provisional stitches along with the stitches of the current row), I ended up with a little "hole" on the inside so that I could insert a length of elastic, or a rip cord, into the "casing" formed by the hem, if needed. I know that once in a while, the bottom of a sweater can flare out a little bit, and my dh does not like that as a design "feature", so if I do end up having that issue on this sweater (and preliminary indications are that I won't), I'll be prepared to easily fix it.

And, here is my haircut, which my kids thought looked really weird, though now, after about a week, they've decided they like it after all.... Pictures taken without the benefit of a bathroom mirror, and I'll add the disclaimer that it is the middle of the night and I'm blogging right now because I couldn't get to sleep, and by the way, this is the first time I've noticed I've got some gray (which could explain the expression on my face), so I guess the camera doesn't lie...or maybe it's just the reflection from the flash...yeah, or maybe I'm delusional. Side view:
And a view from the front -- what I look like under the previously discussed conditions except with the added "flash ten inches from my face and I'm looking right at it" affect: In all honestly, I think I look better in my drivers license photo, though my eyes are open here, so its a step up from my high school senior pictures. My seven year old has cowlicks, and just now I figured out why...

Anyway, let's just say that the end of summer has been a bit of a challenge. My kids have utilized FIGHTING INCESSANTLY as a means of combating boredom, and it's taking it's toll. One day, I decided that, since they seem to have enough energy for slamming doors and stomping on the floors, I would help them channel their energy differently....perhaps more productively?.....by having them run laps around the nearby park. At first, they did not like this. In fact, shortly after I had given them each their "lap assignment", and as I was taking care of business in the bathroom, my four year old stood at the doorway and calmly told me, "I **definitely** want a nicer mommy." He and his brother then proceeded to discuss the merits of living in a different family, how things would be so great with a much **nicer** mommy, etc. In any event, we all went to the park and ran laps (and I ran along), and by the end of it, we were all enjoying ourselves. So then I told them, if they want a different mommy, that would be okay. I'd pack up my bags that night and go stay someplace else, and perhaps they would find somebody who didn't make them eat their vegetables or try to get them to behave. My four year old stepped up then and told me that it would be okay if I stayed at "our house" that night, **really**, and he does like me, **really**. My seven year old said, "Yeah, it doesn't matter to me."

And my little "baby" turns five on September 4th. He has requested **a** pancake for breakfast, brought to him in bed, and shaped like the number 5. I guess it's a good thing he has so much confidence in his parents' ability to figure out how to do that? My dh has accepted the challenge. I'll definitely try to get a picture of that!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting very often. It's been a crazy August, and I won't bore you with all of the details, but I've been out of town three times, there's the getting my kids ready for school thing, and I also started another class last week (College Chemistry II).... But, school starts for my kids this week, and I am hopeful that our schedule will settle into more of a steady state to allow me more time to visit with you via this blog.

Happy September!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Let it snow!

Greetings and Dear Laura:

This year I shared a garden with one of my brothers and his wife. I didn't have any home-canned tomatoes last year, and I really missed them. They said that if I'd help with the garden, we could plant enough to share. We had a big crop of cucumbers, and a few green peppers. Most of the beans died - we are keeping all the rest for seeds. These are our "family heritage beans." And we have tomatoes! Oh my!

The first tomatoes arrived just as I was getting back from Louisville and my dad's surgery. I did can 12 pints that weekend, with help from the Rebellious Pastor's Wife, but I determined that my share from that would be for my mom. I just couldn't get to the next batch at all, so RPW canned them and we got a few quarts from that. So my goal for this weekend was 24 pints of tomatoes and 12 pints of salsa.

Friday we picked (3) 5-gallon buckets of tomatoes for me, and I didn't get to them until Sunday. That's all I did all afternoon and evening - mom helped - and I finished up mixing and canning the salsa this morning.

Behold!

30 pints of tomatoes (29 sealed) and 15 pints of salsa!!

I've got canned tomatoes and frozen corn, peaches and strawberries. Plenty of wool. I'm ready for winter - bring it on!!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Had a little accident yesterday.....

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Whew! Sorry for another extended absence. Last week on Wednesday we rented a car that would ride smoothly and loaded up my parents and I drove them to their home in Kentucky. The doctors agreed that the long drive was worth the benefit to my dad of being able to keep an eye on his business interests there. We were to take a "leisurely drive with lots of breaks to walk around." Normal drive time is around 7 hours. We got stuck in traffic, took a cross-country detour, only TWO breaks, and made it in just under 8 hours!

I stayed with them until Sunday evening, and while I did have internet access, I did not have "spare time" for any of my usual pursuits. I usually managed to keep my fantasy baseball players active on their game days, but that was it. I read some email, but I did not knit a stitch or blog or read blogs. While it felt good to head for home on Sunday night, it was also weird. I had gotten used to "taking care" of my parents, especially dad. I always knew how much he was sleeping, eating, walking, etc. I knew his latest blood pressure and blood sugar readings, what meds he's taking and when. He is well enough that they can handle all of that....but it was strangely difficult to let it go.

I returned to work on Monday, but I've needed a few days to decompress and get back to my normal life. I have been knitting at lunch on the socks I started for my niece's birthday present. I'm past the half-way point on the foot of the first sock, so progress is being made again.

And in my biggest step back into normal life, I headed up to the Wool Barn in Avilla to pick up a book that I had ordered, Favorite Socks by Interweave Knits. Actually, I was on my way to pick that book up three and a half weeks ago when I got the call from my mom that dad would be having surgery, and so I turned around and headed south instead. It seemed to be time to get back to that!

While I was there, well, I had a bit of an accident. I hadn't been in ANY yarn store for months, and I had been all geared up for Market at Stitches, so I had "pent-up buying intentions," I guess. On the way there, I remembered that they had a worsted weight cashmere blend from Lana Grossa called Pashmina. I got a ball of cream to make a baby hat for a co-worker's new baby.


I also remembered that I had purchased a ball of "Wick" by Knit One Crochet Too. It's a soy-based yarn that is designed to wick away moisture. I've seen a pair of socks knit with it, and would like to do a pair.

It takes 3 balls for a pair of socks, so I decided to pick up 2 more. They didn't have the blue multi-color that I chose the first time, so I picked up 2 in a plain blue and I'll do some kind of striping or accent or something.


The rest we'll just have to chalk up to my "weakened condition."


There were two big skeins of Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino Handpaint in the Fiesta colorway - I bought one. (This is a terrible picture - the color is MUCH more vibrant. Think Fiesta!) I love the stuff!

And I got 2 small skeins of the Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino semi-solids in pink. I'm thinking Baby Surprise Jackets for some of the many babies on the way.

There. I feel better.

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Slow and Steady

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

When it comes to the finishing work on Dale of Norway sweaters, I am a slow poke. After about two hours of working on Sapporo yesterday, I have ONE sleeve sewn into place. I'm rather picky about how I do my finishing work, so it takes me a really long time. I once heard a knitter say to rip out any part of a seam which you might not quite like, rather than continuing on, because it will continue to bug you. Take it out immediately when you decide it isn't quite right! This is something I adhere to when I'm doing finishing work...and it makes me very slow at it...

In any case, for those of you who lived through the finishing work of Hardangervidda with me last December, this is just another verse of the same tune, so I won't get into too many details here, though please feel free to ask any questions if you have them!

Here is a look at the inside of the sweater, having the facing sewn down over the raw edges of the cut armhole:
Here are the shoulder and sleeve seems shown from the "right side" of the sweater:Hopefully I'll have more progress to show after today! I tried the sweater on in its current state, and it really, really needs the other sleeve...

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Remember the Sapporo?

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

We had the boys' birthday party with our extended families yesterday. The boys love Legos, and each received a couple of Lego kits for gifts, so they are happily (as in NOT FIGHTING) busy this morning, allowing me to get caught up on a bunch of paperwork. Recall the cake "spec":Here is the finished product:Not my best work, but the boys were tickled by it and got to poke all of the little animals into the cake, so a success.

I can't seem to stop making socks. This one is the result of trying to use up leftovers from the Lorna's Laces socks I made this summer:
I'm just about ready to make the contrasting heel. I'm big into the toe-up thing now, especially for this sock, as the amount of yarn I have is questionable, so I actually can just knit until I run out..... Have I said I am loving the toe-up technique?!

We've had a week of rainy weather, to be followed by another week of rainy weather. There are flash flood warnings in the area, and actual flooding in many nearby locations. For the time being, our house is fine, so I am very thankful. Along with the rain, it's a few degrees cooler, so this has prompted me to dig out my Sapporo, and tonight I'm going to try to begin the "finishing" work of sewing in the sleeves, finishing the neckline, hemming, etc. Before we know it, the weather will allow the wearing of just such a sweater, so I want to be ready!

Well, back to my paperwork. I hope this finds you all well!

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Stitches Class

Greetings and Dear Cynthia,

YES! The 1776 Liberty colorway of Lorna's Laces. Too weird we're both knitting the same colorway at the same time! Mine is the Shepherd "Sport", so goes pretty fast. See?! A pair just completed and shown here on my fancy schmancy sock blockers.

While at Stitches, I attended one class. The topic was Bavarian Knitting. Basically, Bavarian Knitting is similar to Norwegian knitting in that it is done mostly in the round, cutting the fabric for armholes and cardigan front edges, etc. It is different in that it is mostly one color, so the steeks are one color and steek stitches are all twisted knit stitches (made my simply knitting into the back of the stitch). Also, for the armhole edges, stitches are bound off at the bottom of the armhole, then several stitches are cast on just above that which become steek stitches. The patterning of Bavarian knitting is largely twisted knit stitches against a background of reverse stockinette. These twisted knit stitches can form cables, or travel, etc. The twist in the stitch really makes the stitches "pop" out from the background. Here is a photo of the swatch I made in class, in which the yarn was carried across the back of the swatch after each row in order to simulate knitting in the round, then those strands cut after the swatch was done:Eunny's Bayerische socks utilize this technique.

Here is another swatch we worked on in which we started with a "steek" made of twisted knit stitches, then used a crochet hook to secure the steek area prior to cutting. This step is not considered part of the classic construction, as our handouts gave credit to Rick Mondragon for the crochet technique. (Rather, sewing along the side edges of the steek was mentioned as the technique classically used......) In any case, it was good for me to try the crochet method of securing stitches (swatch on left side of photo). With that done, the steek is cut. We then used applied I-cord along what would be the finished front edge of a cardigan. Finally, we used overcast stitches to secure and neaten the cut edge (swatch on right side of photo -- though I was in a hurry at this point -- it was just a swatch, and I've done the technique many times before on real projects.....). Anyway, for the most part, a good class, though I think in another year, I might opt for purchasing a book instead of attending a class, as the skills taught in the class weren't really new ideas to me.

I got started on the vee pullover for dh. My swatching yielded 6 stitches per inch, though I'm starting with a sleeve just to make sure I got it right. So far, so good, so this project is off and running. It will have hemmed lower edges, which seems to work well in keeping the lower edges from curling (since even the garter stitch on my swatch was curling like crazy...).

Well, tomorrow we are celebrating the boys' birthdays with our extended families. Since their birthdays are only two months apart, we generally have only one celebration to save everybody the trouble of traveling here more than once in such a short time period during very busy summers. This means that today I am baking a cake, cleaning the house, and making salsa with the many tomatoes I have which are ripe. Here is the drawing I was given for what the cake is supposed to look like:Basically, it is a farm scene having a jet flying overhead. (The boys were trying to capture an interest that each cousin has -- one likes horses, one likes pigs, one wants to go to the air force academy, etc.) I'll show you the finished product in my next post. Could be interesting.....

Have a great weekend!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)