Tuesday, August 31, 2010

A Little Yarn, A Little Tale


A Little Yarn
A few posts ago, I told the tale of how two drop spindles full of singles were tortured by one of the cats. Miraculously I was able to salvage the bulk of the mess and finished plying.



I'm not sure what to make with it. There's enough for a hat or maybe a neck warmer. My goal was mittens but I'm positive there's not enough and I didn't enjoy spinning the wool to whack out another 4 ounces.


The tomato harvest has been plentiful but the tomatoes themselves are diminutive. Not complaining! No one developed "black bottom" and they are yummy. Let's just say they're not the poster children for "Big Boy" tomatoes as indicated on the tag. I won't be getting out the canning pots and jars this year.

We have another stretch of 95 degree plus days and significantly cooler nights. By the end of the week the powers that be are telling tales of hurricane rain and a drop in temperatures. Good, I'd like to get back to knitting. I haven't sat in one place long enough to pick up a project. This weekend featured a houseful of guests and excursions.

A Little Tale



We went to one of my favorite "school field trip" spots. The House of Seven Gables in Salem, MA fascinated me as a tween and I still think it's wicked cool. There's much more to the tour than there was in the 1970's with the addition of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birthplace next door. He told a few tales in his day.



I was also glad to find these headstones again. I couldn't remember where they were in relation to 7 Gables. They're in front of St. Peter's Church down the street from the Witch Museum on the corner of Brown and St. Peter's Street.



Gobs of visitors blocking traffic and being a nuisance to the folks that live there. The bane of any tourist  town. Imagine the stories the locals could tell about morons they deal with every day!



Friday, August 20, 2010

Mellow Yellow-Ohmmmmm

Knitting with Valley Yarns "Goshen" is like knitting with buttah. It is the yoga of knitting. Once again, WEBS has found a way to part my money from me.

 
After this plain project I'm going to acquire more to put it to task.

Mom got into the act by finishing up a pair of socks. She's improving as she didn't have to stop at the heel and ask, "how do I do this?" Still has a mental block on the Turkish cast on but there are days I have the same problem even after doing the same thing a bazillion times. Too much other fluff in the brain.


Not wanting to be left out, Andrew wanted his fame for the day. Quite frankly, this was not the end I was aiming to capture. He hasn't mastered the command, "sit still".

He of course went for the pile of cotton sweater in my lap with the intent of putting a pull in it and almost succeeded.
Cats.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Talking To Myself

I sat on the couch last night knitting on my latest sweater and said out loud, "I should go get the camera and take a couple shots to throw on the blog." I continued to knit and watch Adam Bede. Half hour later, "I'll get a drink and grab the camera to take a couple shots before I start the ribbing." Time passed. The movie ended. I folded the sweater, inserted it into my Semi-Cat-Proof knitting bag and went to bed.

Do you see any pictures of a pale yellow sweater body with an inch of ribbing at the bottom? No? Huh. Neither do I.

Monday, August 16, 2010

My So Called Knitting Blog

I never thought about it until now, but my blog title doesn't HAVE to be just about knitting does it? As I have been doing more sewing than knitting, sewing on KNITTED stuff, I don't think the Blogger police will be too harsh. It still involves Stitches.
And what have WE accomplished?
1. finishing steeked edges on 3 sweaters, some blogged about, some not.
2. re-attached a snap on a favorite blouse.
3. addressed a split seam on the couch. Probably from sitting there and knitting too much.

I still have steeked armholes of a vest to finish with bias tape. First step would be to purchase the bias tape. Yes, right.

And what MOVIES have we borrowed and watched from the library?
1. Pride and Prejudice- Matt Macfadyen/Keira Knightly.
Sorry kids, you tried, but you'll never replace Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle in my heart. In fact, I had to watch my favorite version afterward just to set things right.
2. A Midsummer's Night Dream- Kevin Kline/Michelle Pfeiffer and others...a little Shakespeare. A very little Shakespeare. Bicycles?
3. Twilight - uh, so if you like a movie with limited dialogue, silly special effects and a specific head angle in all shots this is the film for you. Too much teenage angst for me. Yes, yes out there. I'm sure I missed the whole star crossed lover thang...may I suggest Shakespeare. Have you heard of Romeo & Juliet? Don't mess with the original. (#2 should take the same advice.) Same goes for Beatles music. Don't touch it and that's all I'm going to say. Safe to say New Moon will not be on my library list and is up for grabs.
No, I'm still enamored with 19th century British Draaaawma. Plenty more to see and knit by. Speaking of which, I nabbed some Valley Yarns "Goshen" (cotton/modal/silk) in lemon drop. I cast on for what I believe will be a turtleneck pullover. Word of warning: the label says the gauge is 4.5spi on U.S. 8's. Block that swatch! As with other cotton yarns it grows horizontally. I managed a 3.75spi. I think it will go nicely with "Silas Marner", "Mill on the Floss" and "Dorian Gray".

Insert change of subject here.

Now, this lady ("The Spinner") resides in the middle of town. I've often wanted to provide her with a scarf, hat, or shawl. She wears the "wet T-shirt" look year around. This is New England. Let's get real. She also needs a drop spindle.


Just thought I'd enlighten and throw you off guard.