Prairie Rose Petals

After listening to me wax idiotic about The Knitter's Book of Wool and how enthralled I was with information about different breeds of sheep, you might think that my first knit from the book would be from an exotic yarn, spun from the wool of a rare sheep. Instead, I went to the stash for the yarn to knit the Prairie Rose Shawl. Since this is a gift, I went for the color I thought would be best for the recipient, and came up with Knit Picks Palette in Petal. Still, the information from the book flitted through my mind as I knit the lace. I considered the different characteristics the author urges us to look for when we examine a new skein of yarn. It gave me a different perspective as I formed each stitch.

Actually, that makes the process of this shawl sound much slower than it was. This was a quick knit. The lace has such a lovely rhythm. The stitches danced by as the rows fairly flew off the needles. While I have plenty more of this yarn in this color, (Hi, Lizzie!) I did not knit any additional repeats of the main chart. Still, with this fingering weight yarn, I knit a nice-sized shawl. Now, I only need to get an address and pop it in the mail.

Pattern: Prairie Rose Lace Shawl
Source: Knitter's Book of Wool
Designer: Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Petal
Yarn Total: 114g/526.7yds
Needle: US 6 Knit Picks Harmony Interchangeable

Random--Not Just for Wednesdays

This has not been an ordinary week. It has not been my favorite week, but it has not been completely horrible. However, when I type it out, it seems much worse.

There was a close encounter of the aviation kind. On Monday, a plane crashed very close to my brother's house. The news vans were stationed at the end of their driveway for a couple of days.

There were close encounters of the wildlife varieties. This included two skunks (one in our yard), a coyote, and a possum (not the cat).

We had extended family sadness. This roused a sleeping, ancient, family drama llama, but it will probably drift back into slumberland soon. It is just sad. Slowly backing away is probably the best answer, although far from being a good one. Some things cannot be fixed, and some things are not ours to fix.

There was a surprise tornado. It was not near our home. We had eerie, shining sun combined with rain and a bit of hail.

There were good things that happened, too. There was a birthday. My nephew turned eight. The party included plenty of bowling, silliness, and chocolate cake.

There was a good time with a friend. While my camnesia leaves one item undocumented, I can show yarn that I received. I have never worked with Jojoland Melody sock yarn, and Hoobody Fibers sock yarn is new to me, too.

I have also been knitting the Prairie Rose Shawl. I only have about sixteen more rows to go, so I will wait to take photos.

Oh, and I had an amazing shopping trip, bargain-wise. You need toilet paper and caffeine-free Diet Pepsi? We have it here.

UM...Cookie!

Hooray! It's Cookie's Day! Happy Birthday, Cookie!

Resolutions :: Declarations
Page :: Turner
Narrow :: Minded
Refuse :: Deny
Fountain :: Pen
Grunt :: Groan
Construct :: Build
Nightmare :: Mind
Inch :: Along
Instant :: Pudding

Slow Starts

The fiber adventure I felt coming on has taken a different path than I would have guessed. Mostly, it has involved curling up with a book. So far, I am quite liking The Knitter's Book of Wool. Slowly taking in a paragraph or two at a time, I am ready to begin the second chapter. Oh, yeah. You did not realize I was operating at that speed, eh? I like thinking about the wools in the context of spinning and knitting, and wondering how the new knowledge might help me. I even took a quiz online, and learned what kind of sheep I am. Who knew? I just know there is never any reason to doubt the results of a quiz from the innerwebz.

The book is more than just talk. When I wanted a break from reading, I skipped to the pattern section, where part of its introduction reads:

William Shakespeare wrote, "Joy's soul lies in the doing." Those words ring especially true in knitting, where the fun is truly in the doing. The real pleasure comes when we pick up our needles, choose a yarn, and cast on--which is how we arrived at this chapter.

While I know this was not written solely for me, the message certainly resonated with me. There is a nice selection of patterns, there are more than a couple that I would like to knit now, and getting something new on the needles might currently rank as a necessity. In that light, selecting amongst the knits that first jumped out at me is easy--lace. This is not just any lace; it is an Evelyn A. Clark triangular shawl (Prairie Rose Lace Shawl--just in case you were curious). I love that I can just dive right into one of her patterns, confident that it will be well written, easy to follow, give wonderful results, and have a just right start to finish time. Mmmm...comfort lace.

UM...Tangible

It is easy to become bogged down by feelings of helplessness and frustration at what I cannot do, things I cannot fix, pain I cannot take away. I was wearing myself down, just spinning my wheels in the muck, and then I stopped. First, I needed silence and stillness to sit with acceptance. This allowed me to not let what I cannot do stop me from doing what I can. It also showed me more that I can do, and letting go of the rest allowed me to have the energy to do it. I even found a way to translate some of what I am doing into something that can be seen. Well, it cannot be seen right now, and it might not make its way to the blog, but others will see it.

I continue my unintentional tradition of missing the local Roc Day celebration. I really thought I was going to make it this year, but a family something made its way to the schedule, and it is more important. That is not to say that the spinning is being left by itself in a corner to cry. I do not know what fiber adventure is about to begin, but it is definitely time.

365 :: Days
Tombstone :: Pizza
Dumb :: Bag of Hammers
Intrusive :: Loud
Fat :: Lard
Axe :: Grind
Planned :: Idiocy
Spike :: Watermelon
Bleach :: White
Shopkeeper :: Annoyed

I'm Covered in Bunnies (and Distractable)

Yes, it is winter, and colder weather is not a surprise. Others scoff and note that it is colder elsewhere, and they are right, but it is cold for this area. We are in the midst of colder-than-average temperatures, and their effects are compounded by what is predicted to be at least a weeklong stretch. However, I do not mind the cold, but rather am enjoying the chance to use more of my warmer handknits. A too-long retail endeavor was a bit less unpleasant as I noticed an increased number of handknit scarves worn by other shoppers. My handspun, handknit Shetland/Angora scarf really makes a difference against the chill. Perhaps I look like one of those fiber festival people attempting to display everything knit since last year, but I am warm.

Casting on for a new something on New Year's Day seems like something of a knitterly tradition, and I decided that was a good enough reason for me. I had been trying to decide between an EZ Spiral/DairyQueen/Snail Hat and Quincy. Then the idea to spin the yarn for the EZ hat came to me, so Quincy automatically won the honor of this year's first knit, and I love it.

I had already selected the yarn I wanted to use for my new hat. It is GGH Lamour (50% Extrafine Wool/33%Angora/17%Nylon), and it is so soft. It had lived in the stash for years, having been given to me by a knitter thinning out the stash before moving to a new home. Several times, I had swatched with the yarn, but nothing was ever right. It was a joy to pet, and the color always pleased me, but each experiment ended with its return to the yarn bin.

I hoped that the yarn would finally find its match with this mostly garter stitch pattern, and as I knit, it appeared to be working. By the time I completed the i-cord and garter portion, I was sold on pairing of yarn and pattern. This was a quick knit, and I love my new hat. If I were to make it again, I would make it a bit larger because my head is big, and so is my hair. The finished hat got a thumbs-up from Brucie. He later told me that he was not too impressed with the picture in the booklet, and that my hat is better. Yep. He's a keeper.

Yes, I need a new staff photographer. If anyone can point me to a tutorial on how to train wild, stray cats in photographing knits, it would be greatly appreciated.

Speaking of New Year's traditions, I did have black-eyed peas. Cookie asked how I planned to prepare them. I was not sure. I have been working these past few months to gain experience and improve my preparation of legumes. I think Nora might have thought I was not being serious when that was my comment on her post about learning, but it really is true. When she asked, I had no answer for Cookie. Also, what is up with this spell of mine having trouble responding to comments? I must be a terrible person. Anyway, a good chunk of the legume-preparation instructions goes something like this:

Pour legumes on counter and sort out rocks and rotten pieces
Rinse legumes and soak in water overnight
Drain off soaking water
Boil legumes and pigs until desired tenderness is reached

Still, that is not all of the information available, and I ended up using this as a jumping off point. It gave enough inspiration to help me throw something together that we enjoyed. I think that along with some cornbread, it might have been all we ate that day. Oh, yeah--Happy New Year!

End of Traveling

Fall has always seemed more like the beginning of the year to me, but I am not in charge. Therefore, it is time to close out this year, and perhaps look forward hopefully to the next. It seems that many people are ready for 2009 to end, and are loudly trying to convince themselves and others that 2010 will be so much better. For me, it has just been another year. There have been good times, as well as those that have not been favorites of mine. Truth be told, the years seem to blur together with each other, and on a given day, I might not correctly state which year it is or how old I am.

Still, I am knitting. I do not think I was overly productive this year, but I did make more than few things, spun a bit, and survived times when I was not up for any of it. The deadline/production mode of late had moments of exciting energy, but it also took its toll and had its depleting effects, too. However, I am coming out of that, and thoughts of new are returning. While I have felt the itch to cast on for something new, I have been unable to translate those feelings into action. Instead, I decided to work on finishing some things.

I started with my sister's mohair moebius. Polly wisely advised me that it would be good to give her for New Year's, and she was right. I nearly finished it on Tuesday, but I ran out of yarn on the bind-off round. It was just as well, as I was not quite thrilled with the traditional bind-off I had used. I tinked back the 3/4 round of binding off plus another round of seed stitch, and then worked a stretchier bind off, and had about four inches of yarn to spare.

After I had the moebius soaking, I went directly to the next knit in need of finishing. This time it was something for me. I decided to figure out how I could fix my Traveling Woman shawl. I ended up tinking back five rows, skipping four rows (13-16) of Chart B, knitting the last three charted rows, and then knitting (instead of purling as per the pattern's instructions) the same stretchy bind-off I had used for the moebius. Again, I had about four inches of yarn left. I am thrilled to have been able to completely use my handspun yarn, and I will be able to begin a new year with a new shawl.

Contrasts

I fell off the innerwebs for a bit, but (mostly) caught up with blogs (but not much with the email) yesterday and today between laundry and other assorted household tasks. It has been a busy few days, but it was pretty good, too. I spent time with family, played a little Super Mario Bros, slept, and ate. I do enjoy tasty foods, but too much all at once is not quite as enjoyable, and my body has reminded me that doing this once a year is probably too frequent. However, it has already given approval to black-eyed peas and cornbread for a New Year's celebration. Then it begins in on the new fitness routine it would like, and I remind it that we had already agreed that moderation is important in all areas of life.

I have also spent some time getting to know my new books. Over the past few weeks, many new knitting, crochet, and spinning volumes have made their way to me. We just picked up the latest from the post office. There are stories to tell, pages to read, patterns to queue, techniques to try, and lovely things to make. For now, I present this sampling of the wide range of books I have received.

Merry Mohair Moebius

I hope you are all having a wonderful, peaceful day. I am celebrating Christmas, though not sure whom we will see or have the chance to talk to, nor what all we will do. There is a decent chance that we could sleep all day. We are very tired. I stayed up all night finishing crocheting my brothers' gifts. I completed them in time for the gathering at my mom's on Christmas Eve. My fingers are a bit sore. Still, I grabbed yarn and needles in a last-minute attempt to knit a mohair moebius for my sister to go with the hat I knit for her. I surprised myself with how far I got on it. If I get up in the morning, I might be able to finish it and give it to her when I see her later. Then again, I may start playing the Super Mario Bros Wii game that she gave me, and that could take over for a bit.

Anyway, my brothers were pleased with their gifts. The older one grumbled a bit when I asked him to sit next to the younger one so that they could unwrap together. I packaged both in the same box since I made the same things for them. The mild irritation at being directed by me could not survive in the face of what I had made. I crocheted a Strong Bad for each of them. I am not too familiar, but know they are fans, and when I saw the pattern, I knew it would be perfect for Christmas gifts for them.

The mad-crochet-frenzy of the past few days has me appreciating deadline-free living. Of course, the tight gauge of those two creations and the resultant achy fingers mean that I would be unlikely to be able to make anything under pressure right now. It also means I am pushing out of my brain any thoughts about the sweater my younger brother envisions wearing next year for Christmas. He asked whether I could make my own sweater pattern. It sounds like what he wants is something that would incorporate both intarsia and fair isle, and Homer Simpson in a Santa hat. No, I am not thinking about it for at least the rest of this year.

It Might Be Getting to Me

I do not feel like it is. I think I am doing OK. However, there is a little nagging thing happening. I keep getting up and looking around to find the source of a sound. I think I hear one of those electric musical Christmas ornaments playing somewhere. Did I mention that we do not have a tree or decorations?

I am currently crocheting away on gifts for my brothers. The tight gauge and fiddly pieces mean I need to take frequent breaks. I clean house for when the kids and their sweethearts grace us with their presence on Friday. I stare vacantly at the television or computer. I try to come up with a good Ten on Tuesday list.

This week is all about the New Year's Resolutions. Hrm. I would like to think that I am always trying to improve, so these are mostly about things I am working on currently, but there are a couple of new items for the list.

1. Manage time better
2. Manage money better
3. Exercise more regularly
4. Keep the house tidier
5. Find a new primary care physician
6. Declutter
7. Spin more
8. Invert more
9. Cook more
10. Belly dancing--I'm trying it

Tales from the Darkside

No, not my mood, but instead, it is my latest FO. I knit a Darkside Cowl for a sister-in-law. With all of her on-the-go busyness and cat shelter volunteerism, I figured a cowl was a better idea than a scarf. I was checking my Rav projects page and saw that I knit one of these December 17-18 last year, too. The more things change and all that, eh?

Anyway, it was a quick, enjoyable knit. It has been my accompaniment for trips back and forth, and all around town. It made errands seem less hectic, and lines seem shorter. It even helped others in line who became captivated by what I was doing. One woman asked, "Excuse me, but is that needlepoint, or CRO-shay?" When I told her that it was knitting, she responded with, "Oh, I couldn't tell because your hands are moving too fast."

Knitting this also gave me an even greater appreciation of my Hiya Hiya Interchangeables. Their shortest cable is the perfect size for this project. It made the knitting of the cowl even smoother. Not only was the knitting smooth, the finished cowl is nice and smooshy.

I think the color will suit my sister-in-law very nicely, and keep her warm without getting in her way. In fact, I like the color (unsuccessful though I have been at capturing it with the camera) so much, I am trying to decide whether to use the second ball to knit a Darkside Cowl for myself, or turn it into fingerless mitts for the sister-in-law. However, I must first finish two other things before I can consider casting on again with the purple.

Good Company

It would seem that I am not the only person who has difficulty with mailing packages. A friend who moved away earlier this Fall says she also struggles with this. However, I think she waited on purpose. She waited to let my birthday celebration stretch out a bit longer. She waited to secure a personalized autograph copy of a fabulous book. She waited a bit longer to give me a much-needed boost during a difficult patch.

When I wrote to thank my friend for the thoughtful gifts, she wrote back that she knew that I would love these, and that I was unlikely to purchase them for myself. She was right. I may be a bit of an emotional wreck, but these tears of love and joy have been refreshing.

Now, I pet my lovely cashmere, and look through this wonderful book. There are such classic, timeless patterns. I could have almost immediately queued the entire book, but I stopped after adding two. Bridgewater and Quincy will be fabulous knits.

Hunger-Inducing

Following can be good. I let someone else pick the 10 on Tuesday topic, so why not use the one Carole and Hillary chose?

Ten Things I Love to Eat/Drink at the Holidays

1. Rocky Road Candy--from Mom's Betty Crocker cookbook, except we use walnuts instead of the listed peanuts

2. Fudge--this is another recipe from that same cookbook

3. Mom's punch--it has cranberry juice and lemonade and lemon/lime soda, and other things I do not know

4. Buckeyes--the rolling and dipping of buckeyes feels like it takes forever, so we often doe this as a group. My stepdad has a different recipe that he makes, but we like ours with the crushed Rice Krispies

5. Sugar Cookies--these have the colored sugar on top. You place the ball of dough on the baking sheet, dip the flat bottom of a glass in the colored sugar, and then gently smoosh the dough.

6. Peanut Brittle--I experiment with finding just the right peanuts, as there is plenty of feedback on which are the peanuts to use.

7. Cinnamon Rolls--whether homemade, or from a can, these disappear quickly soon after they are out of the oven

8. Hot Cocoa--It is cooked on the stove, very tasty, and is great with our with out marshmallows or whipped cream.

9. Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, & Gravy--Of course, this is good any time of year, but it helps set a festive, family-together scene.

10. Oranges, Cranberries, Pears, Grapefuit--These cool, light, refreshing treats are a special treat.

Float-y Brain Friday

An unsettling thought invaded my brain earlier this week. It went something to the effect of, "I don't think I want to knit, crochet, or spin. Maybe I do not like any of them." I walked past the stash, and the thoughts made me feel a bit ill. I looked at the books for inspiration, and a wave of meh washed over me. I did housework, slept, ate a candy bar, but mostly I sat, staring off into space. My brain was all swim-y and float-y. I conquered more household chores.

Then it was time to knit with friends, and I could not find the will to form a single stitch. So, I grabbed a drop spindle and fiber, and headed out the door. I had a little coffee, chatted it up with friends, and twisted a bit of fluff. I have stuck with the mildly sparkly and now I have finished spindling the first half of the fiber I received back in June. While it is true that there were only a few grams left, I am calling this a win. Maybe I will start the second half soon.

I have seen this coming for a while, so am not really surprised by it, and am taking it all in stride. With all of the housework, one might think it would be tidier around here, but I suppose the sitting while staring off into space has taken up more time than I thought. It has a reputation for doing this.

Too Small Tuesday?

Awhile back, I found a bargain on eBay, and now I am playing with this new-to-me toy. It is a nice distraction. The directions from the booklet resulted in a lot frustration, much wasted yarn, and a long timeout for the loom. I am not sure if weaving is the thing for me, but it will be fun to explore. My best discovery has been a better way to warp the loom.

Since I wanted to have three scarves for the Red Scarf project, I thought that perhaps I could weave something that would work. Since I still had more of it, I decided to use the TLC Amore. I like the finished scarf, but fear it is not quite big enough. The length is 60" if you include the fringe in the measurement, and it is about 5" in width.

Anyway, I may try for another, but really need to concentrate on getting to the post office. I actually do not have so much difficulty with going to the post office, but rather with getting everything packaged and ready.

Perspective

Not enough people emptied store shelves of milk and bread, so FlurryWatch2009 turned into snowfall the likes of which rivals that some have ever seen. OK, so, it was not much snow, but my nephew declared, "Oh, man! I've never seen so much snow in my life!"

Wrapping Up the Week--and a Gift!

This week, one special gift idea went away. I learned that someone let her ear piercings close. I had been narrowing down the choices for just the right pair of earrings from over at Opal's shop. It is not as though there are not plenty of other gift ideas for this young lady, but I had been thinking and planning this for months. I guess I am just glad I learned this now instead of later.

With my mind still full of the sparkly and shiny, I decided to see what I could create. I went with wire and bead votive sleeves. I had been having a hard time figuring out a present for someone. I was almost down to just picking up a gift card, and am quite pleased to be able to give these, instead, even if they are difficult to photograph.

That's Amore

Since life goes on, and a moebius is not always the answer, I am following other advice. It has been said by many that looking outside oneself and helping others is a good way to move through a difficulty. I can see some wisdom in that, and now you can see (two pictures of the same scarf--one shows color better, the other better shows texture, though neither photo is quite right) another finished donation for the Red Scarf Project (there's still time).

Pattern: The Corrugator
Needle: US 6
Yarn: Red Heart TLC Amore (I won this in a contest at Michael's. It is very soft, snuggly, and easy-care for the college student)

Knitting Without Tears

That is my challenge. My Lizzie is moving to Colorado. We said goodbye tonight.

Tidying Up on a Tuesday

As I am sure you had probably already guessed, I fell behind hard on my deadline-secret-laceknitting goal. If I had kept to schedule, I would have blocked at the end of last week. I can either continue deluding myself with the idea that I can knit the remaining stitches (totaling about 35,000) and have it blocking by Wednesday morning, or accept right now that I am not going to meet my self-imposed deadline. Then I can work out a revised plan and get on with it. I actually had a second deadline scenario for this project, and I will make that work. December has double and triple special dates for some people, so I can make these shifts and not really be late. In fact, giving this piece later might be better, or maybe it will just be different. I just know that I am not going to torture myself about this.

Speaking of torturing myself, I googled a pattern the other day. I was inspired by someone else's wonderful knitting, and wanted to knit that same piece. Anyway, I found the pattern. I thought, "Neat! I did not realize this was a free pattern!" I began thinking about knitting it for different people, and maybe even one for myself, and then I thought about the yarns I would use, and how fancy it all would be. Then I began to think that it did not make sense that this pattern would be available online for free. I searched a bit more. I saw it available for sale exclusively through one retailer. I contacted the designer and the shop selling it. The shop owner replied that this was indeed a mistake, and she would take care of it. Out of curiosity, I googled it about a month later, and the pattern was still out there for all to find. Since it was only the retailer who replied, I wrote back to let her know that the situation had not been resolved, just in case she did not know, and there was no response. I just checked again, and, yep, anybody can still snag the pattern, and further investigation reveals that it has been this way since July. I feel bad for the designer, and the shop owner with the exclusive deal. I am amazed that it seems like more people have not discovered this, and wonder about the fallout when it is.

Ah, but time and energy are too valuable for me to fret any longer about a problem that is not mine, nor something I can solve. I have knitting to do. Of course, the only knitting that is going well is the super-secret-deadline-lace, so I am a bit where I was at the start of this, eh? The pile next to me on the couch of knitting that did not work is too big to ignore any longer. I am returning yarns and needles to their proper places in hopes that the more ordered state helps me. So far, my efforts have yielded one lost hat. Yes, I found the hat in the same spot I looked for it last night. That does not say much for my looking or organizational skills, now does it? At least it was in the stash room, close to where it should have been, and not in the pile next to me on the couch.