Testing...

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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Something Old. Something New. Something Blue.

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So here's an updated photo of Forecast. I have half a sleeve to go, then the buttonbands. Until then, check out Carrieoke's recent beautiful version of the sweater.
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These lovely skeins of sock yarn were brought back by my lovely Guido who was in Boston at a conference recently. The yarn is Mountain Mist Jubilee Merino sock yarn made by Blue Ridge Farms. It seems all the academics descended upon Newbury Yarns for some good yarn shopping while in Boston.

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Finally, thanks to all of you for your advice regarding the knit skirt possibilities. I soaked and blocked the swatch that I had made for the Eyelet skirt. The gauge changed from 18 st/4 in to 16 in/4 inches. The swatch itself really softened up, and is quite lovely to the touch. It also has lovely drape now too, so I think I'm going to go ahead with it. Oh, and I misspoke when I said the yarn was Classic Elite Provence. It's actually Classic Elite Flash. In any case, I suppose I'll go down to US 5 or US 6 to make up for the change in gauge post-blocking. I'm also thinking that I'll knit it the EZ circular way, and therefore avoid the seaming at the end (the pattern says to knit two identitical pieces and then seam it together but my finishing skills aren't that great.)

Now back to the knitting--something that always brings comfort and calm into my life.

Best to all of you.

Eye Candy : A Swatch : A Cheer-Up Link

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Before the weather took a sudden turn, and became really quite nasty here (see the ice photo of the previous post), spring had sprung.

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This meant that on my way to the library each day, I would pass by this amazing "burning bush."



The Southwest is such an interesting region: so hot and dry in many ways, and therefore, without color. But then there are moments--intense sudden bursts of color and life--such as this bush. I'm quite fascinated by this region, really.

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Now, to switch gears, let me just say that NO ONE tried to guess what I was swatching for in this photo. So let me point you in this direction.

What do you think? I'm really uncertain about knitting one of these--thinking about all of the misshapen "bum" fabric that might occur. But then I saw Julia's and have been thinking of making one ever since.

The yarn that I made the swatch out of is Classic Elite Provence. I did get gauge (but I have yet to wash and block it....) but I'm worried that it isn't drapey enough--that it'll be too stiff. And I really do have nightmares that a knitted skirt will stretch and warp and hang like a potato sack off of my bootie. But then again, there's Julia's, and it's just so dang beautiful...

(ETA: I mean Julia's *skirt*, not her "bootie" [though I'm sure Moxie would attest to her having a beautiful bootie!]. But upon reviewing my post of today, I thought I better edit this part so it doesn't seem like I'm lusting after Julia--I'm lusting after her knit skirt!! Ahem. Hope that clears everything up!]

Any feeback? Andy sage words of wisdom or advice?

While you're thinking of those wise words, you might want to go here and watch this video. It'll put a smile on your face, I'm sure, and leave you singing the song all day. As DJ Kodachrome, I send this one out to MellowTrouble who's feeling a bit glum today, it seems.

Look Up! Look Up!

Do you see it? Look up. That's right: my banner has been fixed, and boy does it look better. My thanks go out to Carrieoke, who both designed the banner and then uploaded it to my template. Thanks also go to Megan and her partner for trying to help upload the banner earlier. You girls rock, and I mean it when I say that I am grateful for your help.

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So last summer I began a blanket for my nephew, inspired by The Brown Sheep's blanket. I finally dug it out and blocked it this past weekend. It's been sitting in my WIP pile far too long.



What's been giving me trouble is deciding upon the backing. So, inspired by yet another fabulous blogger, I'm going to try to back it either with this "I love you/Je t'aime" flannel...
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...or with this crazy monkey flannel...
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I personally like the monkeys the best, and the colors match so well. But I'm letting my sister give the final decision; ideally, I'd leave it up to my nephew, but if I wait until he learns to talk, well then this blanket really will sit in the WIP pile far too long.

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In other news--I find myself torn these days: like all of you, I have not a lot of free time (or so it feels, but I obviously have much more than others given I do not have children nor am I a brain surgeon), and so I want to spend that time knitting (and gardening...YAY spring!), but I also am really attracted to sewing. So (sew?!) I've started collecting fabrics whenever I stumble across them at the thrift store.



But all I've really been creating so far are piles. Lots of piles of fabric.
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I also found this pattern at the GW, and though it's for kids, I think I can tweak the largest size by a few inches to fit me. So this might be my first piece of clothing (the red top on the far right) that I try to sew.



The only thing is is that I probably won't be getting around to this project until the summer months arrive. But until then, I do love just looking at the pattern, restacking the fabrics, and wondering if they'll ever be enough time in one's day...

"WIP It Girl": Or, A Tale of Works In Progress

So I've begun Forecast. Here's a close-up of the 3-stitch bobble that I'm using, a popular adaptation ever since (I think) Winnie's version of Forecast first appeared.




Here's Forecast a bit further along, now resting outside. I'm using Cascade 220 (for the first time) and I'm loving it.



The back view...


Can you tell that I'm in love with this pattern, and that I'm loving taking pictures of it?



Other things as WIPS: the My So Called Scarf manages to go nowhere these days. I really like the stitch pattern, but given that it's now March (practically), there's really no sense in making a thick, warm scarf like this. So to the back-burner you go. (Besides, if I were to be making a scarf these days, it'd *definitely* be a rip-off of these fantastic ones everyone is talking about these days...)


So, instead of continuing with the SoCalledScarf, I've *finally* finished Kiri (see left margin for free PDF pattern). That's right, this shawl has been languishing for a long time. The reason? I ran out of yarn when casting off. Seriously, I only had about 40 more stitches to bind off when there just wasn't any more yarn left. ARGH. So then I had to wait until Elann restocked this color (Serenghetti Sand), so that it could be completed. It's blocking today, so FO photos will come later this week.



Lastly, I quickly knit up another We Call Them Pirates Hat because the first one I made was immediately too small for the newborn and the parents kept telling me how much they liked the hat. This one, made from acrylic yarn left over from this, doesn't look too hot. Mind you, I haven't blocked it yet, but I'm not sure what difference it'll make, really, b/c of the acrylic. Oh well, I just need to get it to them before the cooler temperatures are completely gone, and before the baby girl grows out of this one too.

BTW: Thanks for the feedback regarding "blogger etiquette". I'm going to write a "reply" post to this, summing the comments/suggestions up, sometime later this week.

Looking Back. Looking Forward.

Thank you to all who left comments of condolesences for my partner and me over the loss of our dog. I am going to respond to each of your individually over the weekend, because I'll have some free time to do so soon. But for now please know that each comment meant so much--

So it's 2007, is it? Like so many of you, I have big plans and small plans for the year, in the hopes of making 2007 a year marked by change and calm, goodnesss and beauty, progress and rest, friendship and love, creativity and trust, and in all that, taking big, mindful, deep breaths. Most of all, for this year, I want to concentrate on the idea of truth, kindness and honesty--in everything I do and am. But before I get into detailing those things--how I want to put those ideas concretely into action--I want to share with you first where the end of 2006 took me:



Here's the road leading to my family's farm, and thus, the road back to my Canadian home for the holiday break. It was good to find myself back in a place of peace, of calm, surrounded by loved ones, and by a country of citizens who (mainly) believe in human rights such as health care--



And so, we found ourselves doing "typical" Canadian activities: icefishing, for one thing, in the valley.

(Here's what that same valley looked like just six months earlier)

Sleigh-riding, for another. It was a good, restful time, for the most part, and we managed to do many things that helped us, as a family, reconnect--including celebrating my parents' 50th wedding anniversary.

Also, I managed to finish (nearly) the EZ sweater, which is good considering the new young girl, Sophia, has now been born.

I just need to cast off, block it, and sew on the buttons. For those of you who recall the start of this sweater, you'll notice how I choose to handle the shortage-of-yarn issue. I simply began all over again, with new yarn altogether (ssshhhh! it's just Caron's Simply Soft acryllic yarn--@1.50/skein!!!)

Waiting in the wings (as pictured at the start of this post) is the start of the fabulous (and ubiquitous) My So Called Scarf, because heck! it's damn cold down here on the Panhandle Plains of the USA as well! So to ward off the unusual coldness of this Southern Panhandle climate, I've decided to take matters into my own hands, and create for my partner and myself our own fireplace in the fake fireplace of our rental home:

Making the best of the situation--creating beauty and warmth where before there was only a cold draft: this is just a minor start to my plans for the New Year. Onward, towards beauty, kindness, and honesty. Onward, to a life lived fully, hopefully, in creativity and warmth.

And I wish for all of you, the same. Happy New Year.