The Forecast: Raining Cats and Dogs

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So Forecast is finally blocking...FINALLY!!...and the Eyelet Skirt disaster has been averted (I'll show you the reblocked skirt this week, along with Forecast modelled, and provide all of the knitty gritty details of both projects: I PROMISE!!).


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I just need to choose which buttons to use; there are three choices here and I think I already know which ones I'll use. But just so y'all can have a say in the matter, here's a close-up of the button choices:
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And didn't I say the Forecast was "cats and dogs"?


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Why, yes I did. Cats and dogs indeed.

The two cats are ours. The two dogs are our friends' who have gone on vacation. Let's just say our tiny household is in a constant frenzy right now. I'm getting an up-close and personal look at why world peace is so hard to achieve...*sigh*

When Disaster Strikes....

....one should: (A) procrastinate dealing with it by admiring all of your favourite knit-bloggers, (B) decide to copy (yet again!) one of those said bloggers, (C) start a new project, (D) all of the above.

Answer: D
Hence, the Elisa Tote has been started, inspired as always by Dogged Knits (take that, pretty gymnastic girl--Ashley soooooooo rocks the house!).

Plus, this tote not only will help distract me from the Eyelet Skirt mishap, but it will also help me with my commitment to living green. (Now go join the GreenCraft group on Ravelry if you can and if you haven't done so yet. There are awesome tips being shared, and Al Gore, Leonardo, and the Earth will thank you.)



Speaking of the Earth, here's my first sunflower, which I present to those of you who helped commisserate with me on the Eyelet disaster, and who offered tips--or just sympathy! Now I'm about to go home, and face this task. I will rescue the Eyelet! I will!
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Can you see the difference in length here in the post-disaster photo? It's not the the end of the world obviously; the skirt would still be wearable (I guess), but I'm positive I can reblock it to be of the same length. It's at least worth a try...

Where Did She Go? Or, Egads! Or, The Horror, The Horror...

So I had asked you to sit down with me in yesterday's post--to read along all week of all my latest creative pursuits, including what was to be, first off, a detailed post outlining the process and finishing of the Eyelet Skirt. But let me interrupt myself before I do by saying thank you for your welcoming back comments. You are all so sweet--and especially so as you've kept me on your reading lists despite my oh-so-sparse posts as of late.

Now, you're probably wanting the pattern details I promised on the Eyelet Skirt... This is when the "egads!" and "the horror! the horror" subtitles come into play. This is also the reason for the now-vacated chair above. For, you see, I decided last night to wash gently and reblock the skirt because I had worn it already about five times, and I had noticed in the photos recently posted that it was looking a bit stretched out from all its wear. So, a nice fresh blocking for today's photo shoot and blog post was in order, I thought, to convey more of how nice the skirt had turned out, and so as to present it to the knitting world properly.

Flash forward to this morning: the side facing up is dry, the side facing down is not quite. So, instead of simply flipping it over, I decide to pop it in the dryer *very briefly* so as to speed up my photo shoot with it on (you see, the nice morning light was starting to wane and turn into the nasty harsh summer light that I didn't want).

You do know what's coming don't you?

After a very short time in the dryer, I pull out the skirt to discover that the side that was already mainly dry is now two inches shorter than the side that was still damp. However, the entire skirt is now dry. So I have a skirt where the back is considerably longer than the front. Now, I know that this is sometimes the style, but it's not the style I like or want for my Eyelet Skirt. Understandably, I threw the skirt down on the bed in horror, and left for the day. I'm home now, have taken photographic evidence of the debacle while sipping a strong, much-needed drink*, and am about to soak the skirt again in hopes that I can get the two sides to match up once again.

Any advice, dear knitters? Any suggestions? I figure I'll soak it, and then try to reblock it so that both the front and back are the same lengths again, and for whatever reason, I'm believing (vainly?!) that this will work.

In the meantime, let me present to you the newest member of our family who has been one of the many delights that has kept me away from the blog:
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This is Winston, adopted from a family whose other cat used to beat him up constantly. He's now sharing his life with Morph, and they seem to love each other already, immensely. They are constantly wrestling with each other, chasing each other, and then sleeping nicely together. It's great to watch all the kitty play and love between them.

*I'll post the photos of the disastrous, two-lengths-skirt tomorrow; I yet again forgot my camera transfer-cord at work.

I Flew The Coop, But I'm Back

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Dear, Dear Readers:

I apologize for my long absence from this blog. There has been much activity of all sorts in my life as of late (including a lot of inward reflection that has tired me out). Quite simply, I just felt that I didn't have the time or energy or motivation to blog. But as I said before, I've been reading the blogs and rambling about on Ravelry, and now I'm glad to say that I'm back, and will post every day this week with a different project (not all knitting)--all sorts of things that have kept me crafting away my life since we last spoke.

First up, for tomorrow then, will be the finished Eyelet Skirt (Kat Coyle's design) from Knitty. All details will be related. Until then, I ask that you sit down with me throughout the week, and I'll tell all...




*See you tomorrow :)

Girl Interrupted

Dear Readers,

I apologize for my silence. Many things have occured that have taken me away from my blog and knitting, though I have still been reading all of you (just silently) and knitting vicariously through you.

And now that I'm ready to show you a completed Eyelet Skirt, I do not have the use of my camera at the moment (I cannot find my bleeping battery recharger for it). So, I give you one of my Ms Pacman scores. Yes, dear readers, instead of knitting I've been playing Pacman when I haven't been on the road (I returned to Canada for a family affair, and am only now back in the USA).

And to make matters worse, I no longer have an internet connection at home, so blogging will have to be on the fly (sly) at work -- I'm a closet blogger and don't want my office-mate to see -- and so blogging, until the beginning of July when I get Internet access again, will still be sparse. I will keep reading, mind you. :)

Miss you all, and hope you are having a good summer thus far.

PS: I missed my birthday and my blogoversary, so I'm thinking July 1st (Canada Day) will be a good day to have a wee bit of a contest giveaway :)

WIPs

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So the Eyelet Skirt is coming along. I've actually finished this half of the skirt, cast off with a lovely picot edge, which I'd never done before so it was great fun for the first time.

Also, Kat Coyle herself (!) emailed me, to let me know of the Elongated Stitch correction, so if any of you are thinking of making this skirt, please know that there is one small correction to the pattern. Thanks again Kat. I was thrilled by the idea that the designer herself had contacted me!

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And here's my tiny vegetable and herb garden in progress.

Forecast just needs the buttonbands knit on, and then it too is done.
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Have a good weekend everyone!
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"Gone, Gone, Gone, She's Been Gone So Long, She's Been Gone, Gone, Gone, So Long"

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Firstly, I apologize for my lack of blogging and commenting these past few weeks. Grading in the last weeks of the semester got a bit crazy: final papers, journals, presentations, AND final exams for three sections--all that got the best of me, and something had to give. I know, I know, many of you still managed to post and do your grading and knit and design beautiful (Marigold!) socks and sew beautiful quilts (TWO quilts! or is it THREE??), and beautiful dresses and frocks! but I just felt so tired and overwhelmed, that I decided to take a wee break from it all.

But all grades are in, and now I'm back with much to show. First, however, I must take this post to say THANK YOU to so many of you, and I'll show you why...

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My mailbox has been brimming with so much goodness lately. I received my letter from my Knitterly Letter Swap pal, Marie. (Go have a look at her beautiful flowers!) Marie's wonderful letter is tucked in behind the beautiful letterpress (and wood block?) images created by the very talented Andrea.
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Andrea has been exploring so many wonderful pursuits lately: basketweaving, spinning, and what I'm most interested in--I'd love to do it!--letterpress. She's also been providing so many useful links for anyone also interested in letterpress. Thanks, dear Andrea for being so generous--for sending the beautiful calendar and cat print--and thanks also for having such an informative, thoughtful blog for us readers to visit.
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Speaking of generous souls: what you see above is the glorious bounty of a package mailed to me recently by the kind Megan of Woolly Interlude. I entered her blogoversary (sp?) contest , and my goodness, it's the first knitting-blog contest I've ever won! And boy was I shocked when the package arrived, because the box was full to the brim with so many wonderful things, not only the Rowan Kidsilk Haze that she said she was sending(which I've always wanted to try but never have!). It was like Christmas as a kid... Thank you, dear Megan. I'm so overwhelmed by your generosity, and I'm going to cast on for a shawl this weekend. I have a wedding to attend in early June and I definitely need a shawl (especially given that I sent Kiri away to a church auction last month.)
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And would you believe that just a couple of days later, I found out I was chosen for another contest? Having entered contests for over a year, and never to have won, and then to find I'd also won some beautiful green sock yarn from Elinor, well, I was considering going to buy lottery tickets next. I've never been so lucky. Seriously. Plus, dear Elinor sent a beautiful Carte Postale of Paris along with the sock yarn. I was so excited by the beautiful green color that I cast on immediately for the Denmark Socks in Nancy Bush's _Knitting on the Road_. Thank you, dear Elinor, and thank you also to dear Ashley who mentioned my blog in Elinor's great (and useful!) contest. I was so flattered, Ashley.
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Lastly, do you see that beautiful stich marker. That was made by Wendee, my other Knitterly Letter Swap Pal. Thanks, Wendee, for the beautiful markers (they're already getting used!), and for the yummy looking recipes.

So to all of you wonderful knitters-bloggers, I shout out a huge, warm, heartfilled

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(that's more of Andrea's beautiful printing)

To end, let's just say that the knitting community has overwhelmed me in so many ways, and during these past few weeks of slogging through grading, there were so many wonderful things to brighten my days. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Now, I think it's only right to give back to this wonderful community from which I've received so very much--so much friendship, advice, feedback, suggestions, information, inspiration, letters, yarn (!), tissue holders (from Craftapalooza!), stich markers, yarn (!), letterpress images, etc. etc. What do I mean give back? I mean, there's a CONTEST coming up chez Kodachrome! Watch for it in the coming week! There is going to be some giving back, y'all...