purlsandmurmers

More Goodies

While knitting progress is being made, I will spare you the endless stream of boring photos showing Otto's growth, snail's pace that it is.  There is probably nothing more deadly than a series of photos, each showing one or two more inches progress on an adult sized sweater, and not a particularly small one at that.

Instead I will show you new pretties.

Apparently the Prize Patrol over at Claudia's Blog  has been very busy and my package arrived yesterday.  Surprised as I was to actually win something, I feel like a double winner here, Claudia works hard for a good cause and I get yarn!  Heather sent me two skeins of handspun singles in a color called "jamberry" from pippikneesocks .

Aren't they lovely.  I think I am smitten.  We are however still in the very early stages of courtship and no creative decisions have yet been made.  At the moment the yarn and I are content that the yarn should simply sit decoratively while I gaze upon it.

But back to more practical knitting.  Shall I finish the first Otto front on the way up to Lenox this afternoon?  Will I start the second pink sock?  I am inclining toward the sock but there is much to do before now and then.  I will not do the fiddly figure 8 cast on in the car so that will be the deciding factor.  If I have time to get started before we depart, the socks will go for a ride.  If not, Otto.

Calla Lily

Today was one of those frustrating days where you run around and around and feel lucky if you find at the end of the day that you have at least made it back to where you started. 

And so I was thrilled to have a pink slip, telling me I had a package to claim at the desk, waiting in my box when I stopped  at the post office to get my mail.  Better yet, it was a fiberly package:

I knew what it was, but that did not lessen the thrill I experienced when opening the box to find this:

Oh Joy! Oh Joy! Oh rapture!

This, the first yarn in the Sundara sock club is breathtakingly beautiful!  I must knit socks again. 

Of course first I must knit the second pink sock, as its mate has been languishng away, unloved, almost forgotten even, in the unfinished projects drawer.  Of course socks have not been heavily on my mind of late.  I don't mind knitting in the summer, but knitting socks.  I don't eve like to think about socks.  Or so I thought.

I am not, for the most part a multi-project knitter; although I have had occasional affairs.  I do think I can have a sock and a main project though.  Perhaps if I had had a sock on my desk, something to keep my mind occupied when computers and phone calls, and all other annoyances were driving me batty, I might not have lost my cool this morning, even for a brief moment.

Pink sock number 2 must come out of hinding.  Calla lily awaits.

Otto Progresses

After a brief hiatus of nearly a week's duration, knitting has resumed:

The back of otto is on the blocking board:

I am making great progress on the left front, after it languished with only about an inch completed.  I am now up past the armhole shaping and into the neck shaping as well:

I am eager for knitting time, at least whenever my hands are not sticky from the heat, or I am not running around repositioning buckets to stop the drips raining down around the chimney.   

The roof will get fixed next time it is sunny long enough for things to dry out.  The leaks are marked and the problem assessed.  To many men and too much brick and concrete sat on my shingled roof for there to be no problems.

Absence from Blogging

I am still here, but it has been a hectic week and when I have not been crazy, I have crawled into a hole to chill out.  Not to worry.

The visit to Knoxville was wonderful.  Sweetie Pie was completed on the flights south and presented to the parents to be:

not particularly neatly placed, prior to be folded and put away, but visible none the less.

And although it is true that I cannot say I have been working all the time since my return, work has been very busy and tiring.  I took Wednesday as a personal day and went into NYC to meet my friend for lunch and had a lovely time, returning home just in time to get to the town hall for a planning board meeting, where they did indeed approve my variance application.  The next step is a building permit and we can begin the deck reconstruction.  Hoorah! Hoorah! Happy dance with a glass of wine at home late Wednesday night!!

Thursday was again hectic and by the time I was leaving the office, at about 7 PM I might add, I was tired and frustrated and just wanted some time to curl up alone with a good book.  I didn't even want to sew or knit, just veg out a bit in silence.  I knew no one would be home before 10:30 or so as I was expected in knitting group/class, and I shamelessly cut group  and went home and curled up on one end of the sofa. 

Oh happy girl!

I have made progress on Otto as well; the back is done, the front is progressing well.  I made more progress on the train on Wednesday than in the air on Monday, perhaps watching the Hudson go by is conducive to knitting than clouds. 

I shall return again to more regular posts, once the barbarians have been beaten back and the perimeter is once again clear.

Button back

Despite my determination to finish Sweetie Pie before getting to Miriam's tomorrow, I have not worked on it, except to sew on the button, since I finished the back. 

The onset of hot weather following weeks of rain have led to an excess of gardening and this has resulted in a flare up of the arthritis in my hands.  Truthfully however, I have just been in a slump and haven't felt like knitting.  If I were determined, sore thumbs and finger joints would not stop me, they have not managed to do so in the past.

I am not worried however.  Forced knitting time in airports and on airplanes will come to my aide.  It is fairly certain that I will be finished, or very close to finished by the time I see Miriam tomorrow afternoon.   I will try to remember to pack the camera (do it now Mardel) so that I can take a finished photo. 

I am not taking my computer on this trip so I will be out of contact until Tuesday, or maybe Monday night, depending on how tired I am and what awaits on my return.

An addition to the knitting corner

When I was out shopping this past weekend, I saw this wonderful woven ottoman at Target.  Although I was really NOT looking for anything for the house, it struck me that this would be a perfect solution for a yarn storage problem that has been on my mind of late.

When I redid the sewing/fiber room, one thing that was removed was a large blue Rubber Maid bin that contained my odd balls and leftover yarns.  It sat under my old desk, which hid a lot of extra storage space – well that is not actually true as the bin was always in the way when one sat at the desk, but it seemed out of the way simply because it was under the desk.

I never moved that bin back into the fiber room.  It has been sitting in the family room where I have been using it as a foot rest when I am sitting in my knitting chair.  In this capacity it served a functional purpose and I learned that a footstool might be a desirable addition to the family room,  but it certainly adding nothing to the family room decor from an aesthetic viewpoint.

And so, now I have a new ottoman.  It fits much more nicely into the decor: rustic woven rattan goes well with my grandmother’s carved leather table and the leopard spotted ultrasuede on the knitting chair.  It is also larger than the blue plastic bin.  The new bin holds my various odd balls, the quantity of which I have been making a concerted effort to reduce. It also has enough extra room to hold all the yarn for any and all current projects which are on the needles.  This means my knitting is actually next to the place where it is knitted!  What a revolutionary concept.

My other significant purchase, knitting wise at any rate, was the current issue of Knit 1.

Now, I have known that Knit 1 was out there on the newsstands but I had never picked one up.  I dismissed it out of hand without really looking...bad move really.  I do try to be a little more open minded and fair than that, most of the time at least.  I think I was feeling overwhelmed by knitting magazines.  I subscribe to several.  I don’t actually feel guilty about the subscription part as I would just buy them at the newsstand if I didn’t subscribe.  But I have been battling my urge to hold onto every knitting magazine that comes into the house.  As I have written before, I don’t after all save every newspaper that crosses or door, or every weekly news magazine.  So recently I have given myself permission to enjoy reading the knitting magazine and allow myself to discard it if there is nothing I wish to save. 

Still, I had been afraid that if I looked at Knit 1, I would like it and have to subscribe.  This may be the case as I do indeed like this issue of Knit 1.  But I knew I would before I bought it as I had looked at Gina’s copy at Thursday knitting two weeks ago and noted that there were a couple of sweaters I would knit.  In fact I bought yarn for one of them. 

And so on to Knit 1.  It was quite entertaining.  I like the articles.  I like the way the patterns are shown in little vignettes.  One thing I have always liked about Vogue Knitting in general is the way they keep up with trends in fashion; they are far better at this than any other knitting magazine I have seen.  Now not everyone is interested in fashion and not every sweater is wearable or even, perhaps, knittable, but I appreciate Vogue’s perspective.  This new magazine is no exception, and this issue at least was quite a pleasure.  Unlike Vogue Knitting, the instruction area seems to be quite well done and is pretty informative.  I suppose this is aimed at a broader knitting audience with more emphasis on new knitters.

And so, I am intrigued.  I think I will buy the next issue when it hits the newsstands in September.

Sweetie Pie at Rest

The body of Sweetie Pie is done and is on the blocking board.  I don't know what I was doing Thursday night, I remember fretting that it was taking for...e...ver to get the proper length on the right back.  I knew the yarn blocked longer.  I had to reknit the right back as it somehow ended up MUCH too long.

Then I questioned whether I should block first, before knitting the sleeves, or do the sleeves and then block.  The sleeves are picked up from the body and knitted down to the cuff.  In the end, I decided I better block first due to the length before/after blocking issue, to make sure I got it right.  So Sweetie Pie is wet and on the blocking board.  When she dries I will pick up the sleeves and probably block the whole thing again before seaming.  Sounds excessive doesn't it?

Oops! not pinned yet.

Fits and Starts

Major knitting progress was made on Thursday at the Thursday night knitting group/class at Yarn Central.  Oh how I love this group, and how much fun I have.  The knitting is just an added benefit.

Knitting progress so far on Sweetie Pie:

I would be making wonderful time except that yesterday's progress was virtually non-existent, or so little as to be shameful really:

And oh how I struggled to knit those paltry rows!  I was tired, so tired.  But why?  Was it battling WalMart, the best source still for basic inexepnsive tees?  Was it Target?  Was it a day spent going from mall to mall, store to store, doing all those little errands that have to be done but get put off ad infinitum because they are just so tedious? Oh who knows?  Truthfully, who cares?

I managed to drag my arms into knitting position.  I managed to sit upright in the chair.  I cast on and knit a row.  Oh P*!*.  (actually "piddledy poop", a phrase I once exclaimed at the other knitting group, the Tuesday one, the one that has been kind of spent of late.  The phrase I will now never live down, might as well make it public.) Not that I don't curse mind you, but not necessarily in public, depending on who the public is at the moment, and what is going on.  Truth be told there have been times I could make a sailor blush, but I prefer not to be so predictable most of the time. and not that many sailors have been that privy to my private domain.

But, back to knitting, or unknitting as the case may be.  I cast on with long tail cast on.  I knit one row.  I remembered that I had used long-tail cast on in 2x2 rib for the other two pieces.  It. Must. Be. The. Same.  Luckily I only had two rows of 14 stitches to rip out, almost did me in, it did.  Had I mentioned that I was tired?  I had to look at my hands -- how do I begin this?  Time for bed.  A few (successful) rows later I was done in.

Hopefully more progress later.

Otto Languishes

It all began yesterday when we decided that we should go down to see Miriam ASAP, while our building permit is still being held up by zoning issues.  As a result we are now flying to Knoxville on Friday June 16 for a long weekend, where, among other things we will look for fabric for crib bumpers and paint colors for the nursery, as well as untold other cleaning up and making-room tasks.

I instantly decided that I must have another baby sweater to present upon my arrival, and so Otto was cast aside, and Sweetie Pie begun.  The front is done:

I have been knitting with single-minded devotion.  In fact G had to roust me out of my knitting reverie to find some dinner this evening, and as soon as I could reasonably leave the table I was back in my chair needles in hand.  Not being a particularly fast knitter I felt that I must knit whenever possible.

Lazy Weekend

The gray skies, luckily no longer rain-filled, remind me of soft things and lazy days.  In keeping with this general theme, it was a slow and lazy weekend, not terribly ambitious, but more or less relaxed,  especially after the rain stopped on Saturday.

Saturday was a little busier, just with moving buckets around the family room and kitchen catching the leaks.  They seemed to move about along a fixed path, and there was constant re-adjusting of bucket location, followed by a chorus of pings and pops.  When the music stopped, it was time to move the buckets, not as I always hoped, a signal that the drips had ceased.  The masons actually came on Sunday morning to cap the chimneys, and three hours and about 2000 pounds of concrete later they were done.  Tomorrow they will come add a cricket to the roof to drain water from behind the rather massive chimney and finish the flashing.  Hopefully this week’s rains will remain outside where they belong.

After the rain on Saturday we went down to the Samuel F. B, Morse estate for their annual gala.  It is an outdoor event under a tent, planned to take advantage of their spectacular gardens and the height of the peony blooms.  The rain did not help and even the peonies looked a little bedraggled.  The humans crowded into the indoor spaces hoping to stay dry and not wilt in the heat of so many in a small space.

I had been frazzled that morning rearranging my evening wardrobe choices.  The original garment was long and delicate, made of fine silk, and I was reluctant to drag the hem through the wet grass and mud.  G picked an outfit for me that I would never have chosen, pointing out that I don’t have to worship at the shrine of Armani for every event, but which ended up being perfect.  I truly had not noticed that the invitation had not specified black tie this year, I assumed it was the same as in the past.  I wore a heavily beaded Indian printed cotton skirt, long, just above the ankle, with strappy black sandals. It is a skirt I have never been able to figure how to wear.  I would put it on and try outfits and take it off – I love the piece but it was always too ethnic, too heavy, too something.   I had a matching red silk sweater set which was perfect, simple and classic, and just the right combination with the skirt. The whole thing was set off by several pieces of large turquoise jewelry. A bracelet of Chinese turquoise:

And an American Indian turquoise pendant:

And I felt very festive and yet not too dressed.  Perfect for a summer garden party with a bit of dancing.  This revising of my image of myself is proving very interesting.

Sunday we puttered in the garden watching the masons sweating on the roof and then we wandered off to the Farmer’s Market and a little grocery shopping.  That afternoon we headed over to a neighbor’s house for a “barbecue”, which prompted a little discussion in our small household.

G wants to know why the term “barbecue” is used when someone is just cooking burgers or hotdogs, or if you are lucky, chicken and steak, on a grill, most commonly a gas grill.   European born and bred, barbecue was not a part of his early cultural training.  Barbecue is something he encountered later, in college in North Carolina, and the term will forever be linked in his mind with Carolina style pulled pork. 

Truthfully I can’t answer.  When I invite people over to food prepared on the grill, I still think in terms of the probably old-fashioned term “cookout” and reserve “barbecue” for when we are, indeed, serving barbecue.  Although with my Texas roots, my definition of barbecue encompasses a variety of cuts  beef and pork as well as various sausages.  Is this a regionalism, like the terms soda, pop, and, in certain parts of the country, plain old “coke” used for any carbonated soft drink, or is it a shift in usage?

Anyway, there was no barbecue: just the standard cookout fare: hotdogs, hamburgers, potato salad and cole slaw.  We came home sated and tired and settled down to watch The 4400 while I knitted. Otto is progressing.  His soft colors fit the weather and my mood. I have begun the armhole shaping.

I have calculated that there are only 78 more rows before the shoulders.

Oh, and I have some pulled pork barbecue waiting for G when he comes in from mowing.