Another F.O.!

Look look! It's the Anastasia Sock from pepperknit.com, knit up in Knitpicks' Essential in Ash. They are beautiful, and are my first pair of socks to actually fit and function like socks should! I've worn them even, and more than once.


A few weekends ago, my Anastasias made it to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa. Here's a clip from the website:

Did You Know?
Herbert Hoover's vice president Charles Curtis was of almost half American Indian ancestry? Curtis’ mother was one quarter Kaw, one quarter Pottawatomie and one quarter Osage.

I didn't.

Ahoy!

My sweater and I have washed up on shore after a long battle at sea...















Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but after a few false starts and a long separation, Snow White is ready to be revealed.




She is perfect. Well designed, yarn of my dreams, coming to fruit at the right time of year.









I can promise better shots of the whole sweater, once I finish weaving in the ends and blocking. (and recruit my photoman.)

An Old F.O.

As the days are shortening and the mornings at staying darker longer, I am finding that I am not as much of a naturally early riser as I have thought. Over the summer months, you could find me awake and cheery at five a.m. doing homework and housework. This was good. This meant that by the nighttime, I had free time, for knitting and getting enough sleep. Not so now.

So, here is an old F.O. since there are no new F.O.'s.


This is Annie Modesitt's "Backyard Leaves," from Scarf Style.


The yarn is Karabella Aurora 8, in color 575 (pale yellow.) It was bought in my first yarn shop spree during a visit to California to see my beautiful sister. In fact, it was my first visit to a yarn shop, ever. And, no kidding, the whole store was on sale, half off, making room for new inventory. One hell of a way to start splurging on beautiful yarn (and Lantern Moon needles. Swoon.)

I love this yarn. To me, it is perfect, except expensive.




At first, the pattern was a challenge (it was only my fourth project or so) and the concept of a lace chart was a real mind-bender. But, by the time I was a few repeats into it, it got to be the kind of breezy but interesting project that you know you'll be sad to bind off on. And, oh my, there are some gorgeous elements to this pattern, my favorite of which is the ingenius slip-stitch border along the sides. Wow.



I think I will revisit this pattern again. And, with the fall setting in, I can give up my sunshine mornings if my consolation will be finally getting to wear some beautiful wool like this.


Also, Annie Modesitt's blog can be found here and is really worth a visit, for several reasons. She is a goddess of knitting design, lives in the Midwest (Minnesota), chronicled her French knitting tour there (!!) and reading about her husband's blood cancer and what it inspired her to do is a beautiful thing to me. I do, I love Annie.

World's Best Turtle

This is Tommy. Handsome, ain't he?


He is also very brave. He's recently gone "cage-free", but we are still working out the kinks...

Like how to keep him from getting his claws caught in the carpet. He had a traumatic (at least for me) incident a few days ago that left him with three toenails on one foot instead of four (as pictured.)

Turtle and foot are now doing fine, after a little bath, and little tea tree oil and a LOT of food to fuel recovery, like cantelope, pear and scrambled egg. Poor little turtle guy.



I'm not sure, but I think he blames me...

Here We Go Again

I've never really been grateful for not needing glasses, but with all the reading and knitting I do, it finally occurred to me that I'm really lucky. Still, my eyes are tired almost all the time, and I kept getting a tick in the corner of my left eye. I don't think it's visible, but then again, I don't think I'd want to point it out to anyone else if I saw their eye twitching anxiously.

My classes are great, a lot of history, and some very dynamic professors. I am well on my way to graduate next winter, unless I want to make room for . . . oh, i dunno . . . a term abroad, perhaps? I'd like that.

Since Gita has squeezed herself behind my computer again (eating power cords. how cute.) I am reminded that I should post a flattering portrait for her.



Here she is a few falls ago, in lioness/cat show grand prize winner mode. Ain't she a beaut?

Livin' for Tomorrow

My day hasn't turned out how I had wanted it to. But, isn't that the problem with making plans?


Here's another piece of summer, some California plums bought yesterday at the market:

Where Napoleon Keeps His Armies

Why, in his sleevies, of course. One sleeve is nearly complete, which leaves me with the other sleeve and the task of joining arms and body. Hopefully I will be able to wear it once the weather starts to cool.










Here is my devoted assistant, Gita, who would surely find this photo unflattering, especially with that unsightly little eye boogey. I'll be sure to do a proper "glamour" shot of her soon.










Oh, and this is my LAST DAY before school starts. Quelle horreur!

A Sheep Named Daisy

A picture just can't express how thrilling I find this yarn to be! My lovely mother bought these two skeins for me this morning at our local farmers' market, where I have never found yarn before! I gasped when I saw the basket full of wool!

This yarn is handspun from sheep that the vendor raises herself, and this yarn, she told me, comes from a sheep named Daisy! You can visit the vendor/shepherd, Corinne, and her sheep at crosswindsshetlands.com. Now, to find a project worthy of yarn I am already so fond of!



Another market find are these "sweet pears":



Locally grown and charmingly rosy, but rock hard. I like the look of them so much, I hope they take their time ripening!

Countdown to Schooltown

My goal of finishing Snow White and a pair of socks before Monday's classes, well, it just isn't gunna happen.

But, I am happy with how the sweater is fitting. Plus, I'm getting enough cleaning done around the apartment so that it might withstand the inevitable, ensuing chaos.


Speaking of chaos, here's one of my sweet havoc-wreakers:


Puck is now web-famous!

Progress!

My fingers are weary from 2 x 2 rib, but I've finished the body for Snow White, again. And, she fits! Beautifully.

My, oh, my, it is difficult to get a good photo of yourself wearing a half-finished sweater! Neither the mirror, nor the camera were quite ready for today's photoshoot, and I think I should have stretched my arms out before beginning!

But, here is the best, albeit foggy and distorted, photo of Snow White so far!

I am completely pleased with the shaping across the bust, and I think the ribbing pattern is perfectly fluid and was easy knitting. I didn't do any added bust shaping, but considered it. I am, as you can see, fairly top-heavy, but, having knit this thing twice already, I wanted to keep it simple.

The sleeves are up next! Hopefully I can get her all off the needles before Monday. The school year seems like a knitting-wasteland to me, with no time for spare time. I want this done soon so I can wear it and not find it half-finished in my closet come January!

When will I learn?

Snow White is too big. Much too big. Baggy and bunchy. But obviously a beautiful and flattering design none-the-less. So, I think it's time to frog and re-do. Sigh...





But don't be too disappointed. Here's a little gem to cheer us all up.

My professional traveller momma has been stuck at home with a belly bug, so I went over yesterday for a comforting visit. I brought her all the essentials (I hope): green jello (her favorite), chicken soup, company and these lovelies from my garden:




The body of Snow White is nearly completed, which has me in a panic! I ordered the dpns I need for the sleeves, and they haven't arrived yet. With no knitting to do for a few days, I guess I'll have to concentrate on my other projects, like cleaning house and gathering school supplies!

G is for Gauge, which I always regret...

All my life, I've been one to start projects at top-speed, sparing no time to make necessary preparations. As a knitter, that means my gauge is almost never right on. Combined with a tendency to knit too tightly, this has kept me from attempting any kind of garment that depends on gauge for wearability (at least since my first sweater, which combined the perfect yarn with the perfect pattern to make a teeny washcloth with buttons and armholes.)



Despite all this, Snow White seems to be coming out exactly the size I want it to be! The ribbing makes her look a little skinny on the needles, but I think she'll be just right for wearing.











I'm on to the shaping today. My stitch markers are nowhere to be found, so I improvised with some smooth twist-ties that I usually save as cat toys. I was worried they might snag my yarn, but they are working out pretty well.


Maybe frou-frou stitch markers will be my next knitting indulgence.

Whistle while you work . . .

A friend I work with recently commented on how well I whistle, and since then I can't seem to stop, especially on the drive home. How strange I must look, whistling my little heart out while driving!



My "Smudge" has arrived, which means, of course, that I stayed up until two last night getting acquainted with Snow White and the tubular cast-on. After a few attempts, she's flying off the needles now. The pattern and the yarn are delicious, so I don't expect to get much else done in the next few days!

B is for Blog (and brand-new!)

This is merely the middle of August, but already my mind is set on the beginning of September. In two weeks time, I will be back in classes, hard at work, with less time to do all the simple little things which I love to do. But, learning gets my mind going, which makes me grateful and really lucky, so no complaints here.

In the meantime, in these next two weeks, I have some very ambitious projects: clean out the apartment (including every last inch of closet and cabinet space), at least begin Snow White in my favorite wool, Karabella 8 (color "Smudge" which may seem dreary, but I'm really rather psyched about it), knit one pair of socks for myself in my pretty camel colored KnitPicks fingering weight, and just store up all the relaxed, happy energy I can.

Wish me luck with my goals!