I'm thankful that baby Helena's Helena cardi fit her perfectly, and should for a little while anyway. It's her color, too!
It was so funny when John, who hasn't seen his 18 month old cousin Logan since at least last spring, walked into the room and Logan went running over to him and grabbed him 'round the legs. We figure he probably mistook Tall Man for his Uncle Ethan, before he realized his mistake!
The first side of Faded Ribbons is done. Imagine the piece folded in half from top to bottom: to the left is the sleeve, the center will be the V-neckline, and the bottom when seamed to the other half will be picked up and knit around for several inches in the main color (black) only.
Tonight I'll make buttermilk pie and tomorrow morning corn pudding to take over my sister's. Happy Thanksgiving!
This past week I started and have been working exclusively on the Faded Ribbons top. It's knit from sleeve to sleeve, and then stitches are picked up around the bottom and the ribbed midriff is added. If I keep at it, hopefully it will be done in time for the one Christmas party we're likely to attend in a few weeks. Colorwise it's turning out more vibrant than the original, but the Rozetti Alora was so difficult to locate that I grabbed what colors I could at Discontinued Brand Name Yarn.
I was excited to receive a comment from designer Deborah Newton last week. Wow! She commented on the post about the 1987 McCall's needlework magazine I got at the library book sale that featured many of her designs, which have passed the test of time.
We enjoyed unseasonably warm weather (60ish) the last few days. The chickens are laying 5-6 eggs daily on average despite the shorter days, and one day last week all 8 laid, and in the henhouse to boot. Last month the neighbors discovered a cache of 25 eggs in an abandoned windowbox in their backyard! I told them they would make great Halloween ammunition. Since then the neighbor blocked off access to their favorite spots on his property, (and I've been delivering a dozen eggs weekly to stay on their good side.) After which the girls seem to all realize now that the henhouse is the place to lay eggs.
I finished listening to 2 very different autobiographies of Shakespeare. The first was by, of all people, Bill Bryson, known for his humorous books on travel, language, and Nearly Everything. In this book he tells us a lot about the world during Shakespeare's times, and what little is truly known of Shakespeare. He sticks with the facts in his entertaining way in 5 CDs.
On the other end of the spectrum was the 16 disc biography by Peter Ackroyd. He goes into a great deal of detail about everyday Elizabethan life. Having read Bryson's book first I realized how much conjecture is in Ackroyd's book, with phrases like "it is probable; most likely; one may surmise; it may be conjectured," etc. He did nicely discuss the background of many of the plays.
The only time I really read Shakespeare was in a high school class which I enjoyed, especially as the teacher was from England and her accent gave the readings that authentic touch. The books we read from were annotated, which of course immensely aided our understanding. But that class was just the tip of the Shakespeare iceberg, and I want to learn more, so I'm making a goal to read all of Shakespeare (with annotated texts.) We'll see....
The wedding shawl is again off the needles and I'll try again this weekend. Meanwhile I've started something easy and fun on size 9's- Faded Ribbons.
Kate and Dan plan to get married in September 2011. I have my heart set on knitting her a wedding shawl. The way lace knitting and I don't get along, I envision myself casting off the morning of the wedding.
I've had "A Curved Shawl with Diamond Edging" from Victorian Lace Today in my queue a long time. I started it with the Skacel lace yarn from Stitches - several times. The shawl is now kicked out of the queue. Both odd and even rows are lace patterning- no blessed 'rest' every other row.
So I've switched to the Triangular Summer Shawl from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia. I've started it for the third time and hope to get past the third row this time. It's a good thing this big hank of merino lace only cost $15.
Here is the hat I knit for my grandnephew for Christmas, the only Christmas knitting for this year. It's the Candy Stripes Hat from Sharon Turner's book, Monkeysuits. It calls for Tahki Cotton Classic, and I used leftovers from the Floral Border Jacket. Unmodeled, the hat looks like a blob, but the photos in the book remind me of a newsboy cap or train engineer cap. (Shown below, top left.) On my daughter's grownup head it resembles a Rasta hat, which is a good look too. I should have knit this in the round to avoid a less than stellar back seam.
I've finished the back border pattern of the Raglan Rib pullover; "only" 9 inches of 2X2 ribbing now before the armhole decreases.
My grandniece Helena, called Ella, celebrated her first birthday. Baby cousins were in abundance, as was a delcious Korean spread by her maternal grandma. There was also a two part traditional Korean ceremony. During the Toljabee ceremony several objects were placed before her and the item that she first touched would predict her future. Ella touched two items just to confirm that she will be a little genius: a pencil and a book.
We left before present opening time, so I am hoping to hear soon whether the "Helena" cardigan I knit for her will fit her, at least for a short while. She is in the 90th percentile for height.
I've gotten a good start on the Raglan Ribbed Pullover which is very easy. The little knitting slump that has ensnared me since school started has eased somewhat since finishing the Hogwarts Scarf and attending the inspiring Stitches. I've also started a toddler hat for Christmas.
My friend Barbara and I went to Stitches East in Hartford on Friday and Saturday and had a fabulous time. Neither of us had classes on the Friday. We scoped out the overwhelming market first. I bought nothing that day but jotted down items that caught my eye which I would return to the next day. I was only able to check out 8 of the 10 aisles of vendors before the market closed that evening, after which we attended the fashion show and dinner. In that order, which I thought was poor planning. It was a good thing Barbara and I had eaten a late lunch before hitting the market as the dinner did not start until nearly 9:00 PM.
Saturday was spent in classes. I went to a 6 hour class on customizing patterns. The instructor was Gwen Bortner of Knitability, and she was an excellent and knowledgeable teacher. Our pre-class homework was to knit a 6" square swatch in the pattern stitch of a pattern you would like to alter in some manner, along with the pattern and schematics. My swatch and pattern for the Bar Code pullover are shown in the previous post. As I suspected, everything boils down to math. In my case, where the pattern is written for only one size and I would end up casting on at least 30 fewer stitches than in the original pattern, Gwen told me it would be easier to 'rewrite' the pattern rather than just plug in the formulas we learned for simpler adjustments. Sigh. I knew I couldn't avoid getting into math. I won't be tackling it any time soon, but will probably make it a summer project.
Back to the market. I finished perusing the remaining two aisles and then made final decisions. I got some fun items, including three funny knitter's pins from the Mannings booth; a Stitches tee shirt (which I wore to work today for Wear Red/Say No to Drugs Day); some pretty flowery pink buttons that kept drawing me back so that I knew I must have them; and a chicken kit!
Also, a kit for a curly brim hat and one for a cool braided wrap, and a skein of pure white super fine Skacel Merino Laceweight for a wedding shawl. My splurge and absolute favorite purchase was the Shona Vest by Jane Slicer-Smith from the Trendsetter Yarn booth. The sample vest took my breath away in its cabley goodness; the Merino VIII yarn really makes them 'sproing'. I tried the sample on on Friday and knew I would make a beeline for it next day. The sample was in what I will call pistachio green, which I was tempted to buy but didn't want to be a complete clone, so I chose an equally delicious curry color.
Our room was only on the 5th floor of the Marriott but it was a nice view.
I'm already planning to attend Stitches 2010, which will also be in Hartford.
I have so been waiting to use that title. My husband's requested chill-chasing Hogwarts Scarf, in Gryffindor scarlet and gold, is finished. It made its first commuter trip on the bike in 32ish degree weather and has been deemed 'perfect'. High praise indeed!
Stats:
Pattern: Hogwarts Scarf
Designer: Lauren Kent
Source: Ravelry download (free)
Yarn: Berroco Vintage Wool, 2 skeins each color
The scarf is knit in the round, yielding a double thickness. I love the yarn, a soft acrylic/wool blend that is warm and soft enough to pass the neck test.
I knit up, washed, and (badly) blocked a 6-inch square swatch for my Stitches class on altering patterns. The yarn is Rowan Felted Tweed, and the pattern is Brandon Mably's Bar Code Pullover from this issue of Vogue Knitting Winter '02-'03. It's a great issue as you can see from the multiple sticky markers. I would like to learn how to downsize a pattern like this which is written for only one size, 45". I took a color/intarsia workshop ages and ages ago from Brandon Mably at Sakonnet Purls. There was another great design of his in a VK from the '90's that I really wanted to knit, can't remember the issue, but as with the Bar Code PO, there was only one ridiculous size, something like 55". When I asked him about it he responded something to the effect that that is the style. Unfortunately swimming in a tent is not my style.
We had to put our good old dog Charlotte to sleep this past week. Adopted at about 1-2 years old, she had been with us over 14 years, the longest I've ever had a pet. We walked thousands of miles together in our walking days. It will take some time before my internal Charlotte-routine clock winds down, as currently I need to remind myself when I glance at the clock at her scheduled walkies times that I don't have to get up and bring her out. I don't need to be careful when coming downstairs in the dark in the morning that I don't trip over her snoring form, etc. She put up good-naturedly with the cats, who get the majority of the blog limelight, but she knew she was the alpha pet.
The Harry Potter scarf will be finished today, and none too soon as it's been pretty cold the last few days, with even a brief appearance of sleety flakes. I also need to get started on the swatch for my Stitches class. Stitches next weekend! Who else is going?
