In the garden

It seems like it has been an awfully long time since we were home for a weekend, and what a lovely weekend it has been with lots of gardening, cooking, and some relaxing in front of the tele (more on that later).  It is nice to have time to putter around the house and do things I enjoy; well, except perhaps for laundry and housework. 

Having been away or injured or living through a deluge for much of April and May I was considerably behind in the yard.  Luckily the weekend has been beautiful except for a few thunderstorms and I got a lot of weeding and planting finished.  Of course there is more to do, the Maple tree has been very prolific in sending out little seedlings this year...

Spring seemed to come so late, the yard was so dreary in early May when I left for San Francisco, it is nice to spend time in it now that everything has perked up, the Azaleas are blooming (usually mid May anyway) the Irises are opening, and even the pachysandra is sending up new growth and looking lush and happy, whereas in early May it looked beaten down by snow and ice. It has been a pleasure to be outdoors.

Here is a picture of the Azalea by the front door, Yaku Princess:

Of course, after a day in the yard and an evening in the kitchen, I have not felt like tackling the two sweaters that need to be put together.  Although I can honestly say I don't mind sewing sweaters together, when I am tired and my muscles ache, I would really rather veg out in my knitting chair with some nice, simple, mindless project while we watch a movie or some other entertainment.

As you can see, the Bettina tee is coming along nicely.  I love the way the yarn looks knitted up and it is nice to work with.  Even more I love the feel of the knitted fabric, kind of light and springy and crepey.  I think this will be a favorite summer top.  I have about 13 inches here and will soon start the armhole shaping.

It would have been further along but the Friday knitting had to be frogged.  This yarn is not easy to rip out, it clings to itself and that little white yarn sticks to the other yarns and knots, nasty stuff, difficult to un-knit without unplying the yarn, but in the end mission accomplished with very little waste.

I DID MAKE A GUAGE SWATCH!!  Nonetheless, the train knitting, with the same needle on which I made the guage, was much too loosey-goosey and not at all nice.  Luckily I was tired, and only knit about 5 inches.  That was more than enough to pull out, believe me.  I seriously considered trashing it and calling the yarn shop for another skein.  Fortitude won out though.

This has happened before; I wonder if I am tense when I make the guage swatches and therefore knit tighter than usual?  Quite frequently, when I actually start knitting the sweater, all relaxed and zen like in my chair, the knitting ends up much bigger than the guage.  Should I automatically drop down a needle size from whatever I used for the guage swatch??  But it doesn't happen every time and I suspect that sometimes I am tense when I swatch because I am in a rush to find a new project, as was the case this time.  I was thinking "Oh no, I need a new project and I only have a few minutes to get it all together, what can I do in a rush?". 

Perhaps I should work guages a few projects ahead so that there will always be something in the background ready to go.  On the other hand that sounds way too organized, even for me.

Comments

[Liana]

Mardel, I have the same thing happen with my knitting. It's always much looser than what they think I will do. I routinely go down 2 needle sizes for almost everything to get the right gauge, or somewhere near it. I also usually count on my gauge swatch being a little tighter than the real thing. Who knows why? Your explanation is as good as any.

Love all your new yarns and projects. I have a cat with tender feelings too, and he needs a little reassurance now and then also. Great shoes!

[Lene]

Just popped by to thank you for the visit (and comment) to my blog. You take some gorgeous flower pictures...