Must Be Another Holiday

I'm blogging, therefore it must be another holiday. I wish the day were brighter as I have been knitting my little heart out. There are XXL Trekking socks everywhere, I bought all the colors that WEBS had and am impatiently waiting for them to get the spring colors. I have--oh heck, wait a minute I'll take less than satifactory picture. A group picture of my Jazz cardigan, an Araucania V-neck pullover and socks. One of the socks is a Regia charcoal grey with Feather & Fan cuff and a picot edge finish. On the blocking table is another Araucania crew neck pullover in variegated greens, I call it Fern, maybe a pic of that on, let's see, what's the next holiday--Memorial Day in May. Well, maybe I can come up with something before then. I have two more Trekking socks in progress. One is in my purse and the other is in the knitting basket. Well, actually it's in my lap as I type. I have been following the Blue Moon situation and find it utterly amazing. You go girls.
Ah, here we go. May I present my current FO's?

Sorry about the flash but it's much to grey and gloomy to get a good natural light pic. You're not getting any of the detail though I must say from my monitor the colors aren't that far off. The V-neck has a cuff and lower body design of a modified Honeycomb pattern I found in Barbara Walkers Treasury of Knitting patterns that I received for Christmas. The Jazz has Feather & Fan design and has received many compliments. Both articles were knit from the top down. The Araucania is 100%wool and very lightweight compared to the Jazz which is alpaca.
And that 's what I've been up to. And yes, all the socks have mates.

Sad Weekend

My kitty J.J. (see April 01 entry) passed away this weekend after 24yrs of being. I was fortunate to have her home when she died. The house seems emptier even though the past year she had primarily slept around the clock, taking the occasional tour around the first floor for exercise. Funny how you get into routines. Even going to the grocery store has changed because there's an aisle I no longer need to go to for food.
I may add a new member to the family but not until after the holidays. Time to heal.

Election Day and Knitting

I arrived at work at 7:45 am and the parking lot (quite sizeable) was full. Voters everywhere! I've lived thru 2 elections since I started this job and this is really amazing. My office is just inside the front door of the Town Hall--voting central, so I have listened to all the commentary and opinions, laughed (to myself) at some, rolled my eyes at others. Everyone has an opinion. As they should. As long as they don't attempt to cram it down someone elses throat.
How does this relate to knitting? Off the top of my head it doesn't other than I'd rather be knitting, I have a sock in process under my desk. There'd be hell to pay if I took that puppy out and ripped off a couple rounds--the tax payers of this town are not paying me to knit. They really should considering the *crap* I put up with some of them. Not all, just some. We've got one gentlemen worried about trees on another resident's property that aren't bothering the owner and are not a threat to another living sole in town. I've heard this gentlemen's story every day for a week. He needs to be told to mind his own business but I've never seen this covered in Secretarial training. I'm sure he'll be in today. Can't wait!
Another resident didn't like how a litigation turned out (not her way of course) so she will be in to tell those who'll listen how stupid we are. Think it would be okay to say "I'm rubber and your glue..."? Rats, didn't think so. And let's not get into the sewer bills that were just issued....
No, I'd MUCH rather be knitting. On the needles? Regia socks, swatching for Warm the Children and winding Jazz for a top down cardigan. Yeah, I still haven't got to that-Hey I've been busy! I will say that I do like my Trekking XXL socks (finished yesterday) and would purchase the wool again.

The Leaves Are Falling

Fall in New England. 'Nuff said.
One hat is done for the Warm the Children project and I'm attempting a top down mitten to go with it but have developed a brain cramp at the thumb opening. I need to read my regular cuff up pattern to get around this. It's all good.
What's all this to-do about Rhinebeck? Sounds like fun and will have to see what the weather is going to do before I decide to make the trek. If memory serves me right there is a Fibertwist happening in Deerfield next weekend.
Busloads of leaf peepers have passed my office window the past couple weeks but by this weekend it will come to an end. This year they should have scheduled Deer-peeper buses--they're everywhere! My new found scouting techniques have saved me more than a few car wrecks I'll tell you. Deer don't use crosswalks and don't look both ways before crossing the road.
One of my dearest friends from High School called me last night, and guess what? She lives near Cherry Tree Hill . Heh, heh.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

(Kudos to Monty Python) Anyway, I have taken the leftover yarn from my last pair of socks and tried an experiment. I magic cast on 4 sts, increased in each one the second round, put a marker in between and continued to increase on each side of the marker and each end every other row and see what I got? I'm thinking it's the top of a hat. Maybe. The possibilities are endless. I'll let you know when I finish-then we'll all know.


Next up is Jazz, 50 alpaca 50 wool by Artful Yarns. Soft Soft Soft. The pic stinks so I'll tell you what the colors are: royal blue, muted teal green, gray and charcoal.

I'm thinking a top down cardi with an interesting border from Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge.
I will do the double button hole bands with removable button strip as I did with the Kiwi-fewer buttons this time though. But that's down the road awhile. I have to figure out what the circle of the former picture is going to become. Open to suggestions.

Frogged

Remember way back when I was whining about the Shapely Top? It has been frogged. Reduced to a pile of balls, resting. Stay tuned for further updates.
So what have I been knitting? Socks baby, nothing but socks. This will end now that the cooler weather has invaded western Mass. The needles will spit out hats & mittens for the Warm the Children project. I also hit Webs and came home with woolly yarn that I'm thinking will turn into another top down cardigan because I do love my Kiwi.
Time for another cup of tea.

Are you still there?

Wow. I am a bad blogger. My apologies to those of you that used to visit and if you haven't given up I am going to try to get back on track. I've had a "distraction" over the summer. This "distraction" took away alot of knitting time, and was worth it but now hunting season is coming and I don't hunt...so it will be back to knitting. I' m seeing a hunter-my friends' who know me better than my family-their teeth just fell out. I have been tubing down the Deerfield (I've always wanted to and it was a blast) I have been through the woods on an ATV-again, lots of fun and a bit of four wheeling, nothing major but it's amazing how tight a space in the woods a Ford F350 will fit. Simply amazing. I have seen beautiful deer in their natural state and will probably see them on a dinner plate. And yes, I like venison. For those of you who are reading and saying "yeh, so?" I'm not a rough and tumble kind of girl. I don't own a pair of sneakers(they kill my feet) it's heels and silk blouses and such. I went shopping today and bought: Teva sandals-very comfy, not as sexy as a pair of liz claiborne pumps but walking the river bed with my "distraction" is much easier; comfortable hiking boots, not that we've gone hiking but I want to be ahead of the game and they'll be great this winter; and another pair of water resistant shoes that aren't too hideous. Unbelievably practical footwear--it's just so not me.
Back to what we're here for--the knitting!


My progress is cotton socks but with the hurricane rain and the cooler temps the wool yarn will be put back on the needles. These are Sockattas I believe-who knows, the ball bands escaped a long time ago.
Regia's are on the needles now--just started.
So there you are. No I haven't changed my whole life for the "distraction" just opened a new door. I still have my heels!

Where Have I Been?

Okay, call me a fair weather knitter. It got sooo stinking hot I was barely knitting a round or two on socks--and I did switch to cotton. I'm almost done with the lime/turquoise stripey Sockattas and they're coming out great. We have had two absolutely gorgeous days and I haven't wasted a minute of them trying to catch up on stuff I have avoided and ignored during that nasty heatwave. I'll be lining up the next cotton sock yarn, probably tomorrow. I can't get over the energy increase with the cooler weather. I don't know how y'all in the south do it. Kudos to you.

We're Havin' a Heat Wave...

I'm a happy person, sometimes annoyingly happy. But this weather is getting to me. I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow where I can sit smack in front of the air-conditioner and absorb all that freon into my bloodstream so that when I get home tomorrow night the nasty humid night air won't keep me awake for hours. Yes, a week's worth of not sleeping is making me cranky. On top of that--the Red Sox are, never mind, I'll cut the whining now.
This is mom's birthday weekend. It started Friday. My younger sister and her daughter (the ONLY grandchild mom's gonna get, and she's okay with that) came up from New Jersey. They left today and tomorrow we have dinner with the older sister. Her actual birthday is Tuesday. She's 70 this year, though you'd never know it. Spunky she is!
The only progress I've made knitting is socks and even that came to a screeching halt today. Fans couldn't circulate the air fast enough to stop my hands from sweating. I did go to Webs Thursday night and pick up some cotton sock yarn. Hopefully that will slip a bit easier. Whew, I'm going back to the fan ya'll!

I've Got A Feelin'

A feeling deep inside, oh yeah. (Beatles, you know what I'm talking about.) This Shapely Top is just not going as expected. It still looks gigantic and I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm not going to have enough string to finish even though I've calculated and recalculated and it comes out that I have more than enough. My sock never fails me though.

As I was watching my Red Sox "bleach" the White Sox last night I knit the left armhole longer than the right. It was a late game, what can I say. There's just evilness surrounding this project I tell you. I can feel it!

And here's the "Boy Colors" socks. MMMmmm, there was a bit of chill in the air this morning so I had to put them on.

In the background is part of my backyard. The plants surrounding the maple tree (which also serves as my clothesline pole) are Christmas cacti. Most of them are in bloom. They love it outdoors all summer. I'm in hopes to turn some of that green turf into a crushed stone patio(mowing-not my thing). I like the sound the stones make when walked on. Reminds me of the driveway at my Grandparents camp which was made of crushed clamshells. So many projects. Cuts into my knitting time.

I was interviewed at my new job by the town newsletter. I was asked what I like to do and I lit up and said, "I knit!". And what else do you do? "Um, hmmm" Well you must do something else! "No, not really". It was rather a dull story but okay by me. It's a small town and I don't need everyone knowing my business. They've got enough on their minds knowing everyone elses business.

Bang Bang Bang

Bang!
For two entire days that's what we've listened to. Yes, it's July 4th weekend. I love fireworks but I've had my fill of my neighbors' incessant obsession. I'm also worried that he's going to hurt himself or set someone's house on fire. Not mine, I live far enough down the street.
I have no knitting pics to show you, not for lack of knitting, there is a sock done and another almost halfway, no, I haven't taken any pictures--plain and simple. For the first time in weeks it has not rained a single drop. I have enjoyed the outdoors and the breezes for hours on end. I have a great backyard with trees and gardens and a swing with a canopy--spa-ness. (note: as an esthetician I know spa!) The solar powered fountain gurgles and plops and the hummingbirds zingzing from feeder to flowers. They take a rest on my clothes line then zingzing away. I had plenty of yard work to do but I completely ignored it to enjoy the day, so there.
I checked in on Yarn Harlot and learned some interesting things about Canada--check it out. There's a nice pic of Lucy on Wendyknits and the Mason Dixon site has baby bluebirds. So, from all of our blogs there seems to be more to life than knitting....how can that be?

The Cat Days of Summer

Why should dogs get all the credit?
The weather has been so unbearable with the humidity. The thunderstorms are nice but they are not relieving the heavy air. I don’t have air conditioning so knitting has been sparse. So far Shapely top looks gigantic to me but gauge is dead on. I expected the front edge to be more curved too. Hey, if I don't like it, it can be ripped out and tried again. I’ve also started another Regia sock. Boy colors I call them, gray & tan stripes. It’s an all rain weekend so I should get some good progress on both in the next few days.
On the job front I have to say I really like it. It’s not a drudge to go in everyday like the last evil place was. Government work is completely new to me. I can understand now why laws and such take soooo long to pass. Nothing like business where you have a meeting and decisions get made and the project is filed. In government, you have an agenda, then a meeting, then approval of the meeting, then the approved approval has to be signed, (on archival paper of course!)then everyone gets a copy of the approved approval, THEN it gets filed. This can take up to two weeks. Amazing.
Ooo, thunder, here we go again! No Red Sox tonight! :' (

The Birthday Box

It's a sister's birthday coming up and I'm creating a Birthday Box. Not a box with just one present but a birthday "stocking" if you will. A collection of goodies. Socks are one of the goodies. And I'm having to knit like the wind to get them to her on time. I suppose if I made the socks big enough I could have stuffed them for an actual stocking. Maybe next year. Regia is the yarn and I'm getting 9.5 sts to the inch.


Anyway, that's all that's on the needles this week. I've also taken advantage of the Non Rain situation here in New England and done more outside home owner stuff, trimming hedges, rhododendrons which of course means I have to make a trip to the (dump) transfer station. Blech. I did that last week and ended up with a knob on my forehead from the trunk lid clopping me. I'm fine, it's turned a lovely shade of chartreuse. The last place I want to be knocked out cold is the compost dump.
Shapely Top remains in a raw state ready to go.
Until next blog--Take care!

Ta-Da! Alert the Media-Kiwi Is Done!

Has it been a week already?! My how time flies. Let's get an update, shall we?


Yes, it's true. Kiwi is finished and ALL 19 buttons have been attached to a perfectly matched grosgrain ribbon. I'm very pleased and hope the weather stays cool a bit longer so I can wear it. We're back to rain rain rain here in New England. So much so I wanted to dry the house out a bit yesterday when I got home from work and went to the thermostat to run the furnace for a cycle and got nothing, zip, completely ignored by my command. I checked the oil, yup, still have plenty; the fuse, fine; the Emergency switch, no change. Call the furnace tech. Oh dear, it IS the Emergency switch--no juice. I can't wait to get that bill. That'll cut into the knitting budget.

The new job is going swell, at least I made it through week 2 without losing my composure. In fact I was quite pleased with my accomplishments. I'm not as brain dead as I thought.
Tonight is the Relay for Life in which I will do some strolling for the cause. I have the 11pm shift and I do hope to stay dry, this is New England though. I have a nice warm Aran to wear, no this is not a job for Kiwi. I think Kiwi will go to the office for her debut. See how the buttons are removable? Button holes on both sides. So let's review:
Cascade Yarn The Heathers-Kiwi
Size 6 needles
Gauge, gauge, what was the bloody gauge! Gone, and no I didn't write it down
Top down raglan
Finished size 38
Ribbing pattern borrowed from Wendy
Seed Stitch bands
Pearl buttons (with different button bands to follow, and no I haven't forgot about making the Fimo kiwi slices. I saw some leather buttons that would look nice too.)

Didn't take a pic but still working on the Mega Boot Stretch 2x2 rib socks. Next up on the needles: Shapely Top using Classic Elite Premiere in Tea Rose(though it looks more watermelon to me!)
'Til next time....

It's Too Hot!

June 1st and the temp is up in the 90's for day 3, what is this, Georgia? Oh no, it's New England where as the saying goes, wait 15 minutes the weather will change...well come on baby your 15 minutes has come and gone. Enough whining, on for our regularly scheduled program.
















It's Kiwi in progress with the second sleeve slooooowly getting longer. Are you asking about buttons? Here's my idea: Buttons made from Fimo clay that look like slices of kiwi! Don't forget, I will be doing button hole bands on BOTH sides so I can have interchangeable button strips to attach and match my mood. Have I ever worked with Fimo clay? Noooo, but that's never stopped me. Maybe a strip of pearl buttons and something plain, you know, for Those Days.

Speaking of one of those days, I mentioned I started a new job. Well, on day three I had a total meltdown, WHAT-HAVE-I-DONE-GET-ME-OUTTA-HERE meltdown. Ya had to be there. Of course I feel like a bloomin' idiot now but they tell me I'll be fine, and I will. I'm just one of those people that thinks I have to know everything about the job in one day. I have to get over that. This job is going to take months to comprehend. Let's work on my patience, shall we?

A Short Note

Helloooooo! Sorry about the lack of posts but I started a new job, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah.
I FINALLY got the body of Kiwi finished and one sleeve. Pic coming of that soon. The lacy socks are done and hopefully my feet won't gain any weight cuz there's not alot of stretch. Sock of the day is another Lana Grossa Mega Boot with 2x2 rib starting from the toe.
The weather has been horribly hot--August weather. Way too soon for my taste.
For the Memorial Day weekend my family and I went to the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory. Wow, the website doesn't do it justice. A must do if in Western Mass.
Will attempt to post pic progress soon. Bear with me folks...

They're Not Just My Imagination

I continue to knit on Kiwi, actually, I'm not quite sure it's knitting because you see, I knit 4 rows and tink 3 rows to correct a flaw. I at least have a pic of the lace rib (can you say blurry?)that I borrowed from Wendy. (See her entry on May 16) Eventually this will grow to about 5". If the Gods be willing.















My F&F sock #2 is coming along ...














I'm using size 0 needle a 9sts per inch, you'll have to search for the Red Sox socks to find out what the yarn is as the ball bands are long gone. I've had several Dr's appointments and these have travelled beautifully. No misbehaving what-so-ever.














The same cannot be said about Kiwi. I'm bitter. But determined. String will NOTget the best of me!

So there you have it. It continues to rain and I thank my lucky stars that A) I live on a hill and B)my cellar has stayed dry.
Web's tent sale this weekend, whoo hoo! Back to scrounge for more Regia sock yarn and whatever else the budget will allow.

Something Wicked This Way Comes.....

I'm having bad knitting karma. Kiwi, my top down raglan, is starting to give me fits. I got past the initial problems from the top with the double increases and have been diligently trying to make a simple lacy pattern on the bottom 5" using k2 tog yo across. One, it was killing my hands but looked nice so I persevered. I finally got to the bottom and decided a try on was in order. And there it was, looking back at me from the mirror. I squinted and rubbed the stitching, it couldn't be! A glaring boo-boo half way thru the pattern. And I could hear it laughing, softly at first until it was full out snorting "Bwahahahahahahahah" No ignoring it, no easy way to fix it, and frogging back to pick up the stitches would be miraculous to say the least. Well, I couldn't wrap my brain around how I was going to pick them up successfully. Upon further observation I had gained stitches on one side to the point that it was becoming a one sided double-breasted front. It has been frogged--I am NOT going to do the same lace pattern. Back to the drawing board.
Needless to say I still don't have any worthy pics to upload. It's rained in New England for a week. Everything's nice and green and yes the sun will continue to rise and set regardless what happens with Kiwi. Until next time....knit.

Take Two and This Time Without the Whining

Here's what I was whining about in the previous post.


The Inca's with picot edge.










The Cotton Sockatta's with picot edge. Harlot, if your here you're also on the coffee table, see?











Detail of the poncho, wait for it.....











with a picot edge on the bottom and around the neckline.









The pic does not do it justice, the varigated section is very bright and it's an Irish border design but looks more Aztec, but it's not. And last but not least....











My RED SOX !!! These were a hit at the office. They're also great for swinging and whooping in the living room when big Papi is slammin' it over the wall. Kinda like twirling a towel at the Patriot's game. I should merchandise these....hmmmm.
So there you have it. Progress is being made on Kiwi--the top down raglan and I'll get a pic of that as soon as there is something to look at and the Feather & Fan sock didn't get much attention today. Tomorrow is another day...

What the Heck?!?....

Okay, I'm fairly patient when it comes to computer problems because having been in those techie shoes, I know the drill. But after finally getting online Saturday from home, and loading all my pics of finished projects that you've missed, adding in my thoughts and comments, and going to the SAVE button because I figured I was pushing the envelope--THE STUPID CONNECTION FAILED! Could I get back on? NO! I'm posting this from another location. No pics and it's not half as interesting without seeing: the Inca's-finished, the Cotton Sockatta's with picot edge-finished, the Poncho-finished and the Boston Red Sox socks-finished.
I have started a pair of Feather & Fan with the leftover white from the Sox socks, starting the design on the instep. I didn't think walking on the lacy part would be too comfy. I also started a top down raglan. As I am an Anti-Seamer I have always gone bottom up via Elizabeth Zimmerman. Time to give Barbara Walker a shot. So far I've ripped that puppy out 3 times. Material is light worsted, Cascade Peruvian Merino in a heathered lime green. Oh, did I not mentioned that I tootled around Web's Saturday morning after I got off the phone with the Techie at my local ISP? Regia sock yarn for $6 a 100 gram skein people! I hoarded as much as the budget allowed and found the Cascade at an amazing $4.69 per hank. I was absolutely giddy.
Yeah, then I went back home and tried to blog--total disaster. To perk up my mood I went back to knitting and my Red Sox, they won thank you for asking. Played Baltimore this weekend and it was good to see Kevin Millar again--I still miss him.