Knitknacks

SKIRTING THE ISSUE

I am thoroughly ashamed of neglecting to keep up my responsibilities to this blog. Of course, it's all purely voluntary, so I'm not exactly sure what those responsibilities actually are. But they certainly don't include doing nothing for months on end. It's not like I've quit knitting or anything.

Knitting goes on all the time, and after several ripped out attempts at various things, I'm currently enmeshed in THREE projects that I am really enjoying. But I'm not going to talk about them just yet.

Instead, dear readers, I give you eye candy. Yet another version of the adorable pleated skirt, with my totally adorable grand-niece modeling:

This is knit with Encore, machine wash and dry, so perfect for kid knitting. You only get this photo because Gloria's mom did all the work of taking the photo and posting it to Facebook for me.

Hmm. I suspect if someone else did all the background work of photographing my works-in-progress and finished objects, I would post more often. Line forms at the back please.

 

SUPER QUICKIES

This was going to be my quarterly report, but it's quickly moving on to a semi-annual status, so I'm getting these photos posted with a minimum of fuss and bother. Take it or leave it, my friends; this is the best I can do right now. No problems at all....just leading a busy life.

From months ago, but adorable nonetheless....granddaughters Abby and Paige model their Pleated Twirly Skirts.

And by the way, these two charmers have a new baby sister, Mia. Yes....I now have FIVE granddaughters! When I started this blog, I didn't have any. Daunting thought!

Next, my fresh off the needles Volt Shawl, made with Isager #1.

 

Back in October (waaaay back), our guild started an exchange activity. I put yarn into a bag that I wanted someone to knit up into a shawl for me. I received a bag of yarn from someone else that she wanted knit into a shawl for her. Here are the completed shawls. Completely coincidentally, the person knitting for me made the same pattern that I made for my person. But look....completely different yarns...completely different looks.

The LynnH Colorama Shawl for Elizabeth:

 

And Debbie Waarner knit the same pattern for me, using Classic Elite Alpaca Silk

I can't say enough good things about this pattern. Details about all four items in this post are readily available on Ravelry.

There...caught up, more or less.

Till we meet again....

QUICKIES

Which is better.....a quickie post with only a few photos and no links, or delay this post even longer while I take a few more pics and gather up more information? Don't answer that...it's a rhetorical question. Since it's obvious that I have transmogrified into a lazy blogger, any readers I have left will have to decide if they can tolerate the short-cuts I keep taking. So be it. I’ll write when I write. You all read when you read. We'll get along.

I do have a bundle of finished objects to report on. Let’s get to it!

Much of my recent knitting has all been for my Denver crew. It started with a baby blanket for the new baby, due in early October. He? She? At the time, I didn’t know. I tackled the Porcupine Blanket from the Cascade 60 Quick Knits for Babies and Toddlers. What a fun project this was!

 

I used Berocco Weekend for this project. Machine washable of course. New baby Sylvia seemed to like her new blankie.

She also liked her new sweater….a quick pattern from Knitting at Knoon, using the incomparable (and now hard to come by) ColorJoy CushySport.

Have I mentioned that I have FOUR granddaughters? I am blessed!

Big sisters have to be kept well-dressed too. So two year old Maura got a new sweater (using self-striping yarn from Universal Classic Shades; machine washable)

and a purple hat! They pretty much stayed on her all weekend while I was there, so I know she liked her new duds.

I recently admired a lovely wrap made by a good friend, and it occurred to me that it would be a perfect nursing shawl too. I used a different shade of the wonderful (and also machine-washable) self-striping Classic Shades from Universal (which I acquired on a summer trip to Sugar Bunny Boulevard, in El Dorado, Kansas, owned and managed by the delightful Laura Towns Spradlin. (Who just happens to be the daughter of the man in my life. Don’t you wish you had an almost-family member who owns a yarn shop?)

So nursing Mommy got a nursing shawl…..or a simple capelet for when the winter chill  is hard to shake off. I didn't realize until a few days ago that I didn't take any photos of this item. I have no proof that it even exists. I ask you to take my word for it. I will be knitting another one for myself though (NOT for nursing purposes!!); eventually I will get a photo up. Hopefully this winter, while the chill needs shaking off.

 What other projects have I finished but haven't photographed yet? There are two cowls...one beaded; one plain. There is a purple basketweave sweater (see Maura's hat above for color).

And what's on the needles now? A pair of luscious red socks, a light blue kimono-style sweater, and a wallaby-style sweater for Paige.

What's in the clamoring queue? A twirly skirt for Abby, another sweater for Maura to match her purple hat, and a hat for Maura's mom. 

That’s my knitting life. In other arenas, I am mostly fully recovered from hip surgery and enjoying dancing once again. I am fully immersed in my student life as an aspiring paralegal and enjoying it greatly. I’ve been to Nashville and enjoyed time with my daughter, and I’ve been to Denver and enjoyed time with my children and granddaughters. My Ann Arbor kids are firmly resettled in Ann Arbor, and my mom is hanging in at 93. Life is good and I am grateful.

Just in case I don't get back here in time, I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday season. 

 

WANDERING BACK

Where on earth have I been? I must have been on an around the world cruise with no internet connection, right? Or I was captured by pygmies and had my fingers cut off, right? Or I’ve been so wrapped up with classes and what not, that I’ve had no time to knit or blog, right?

Not right. None of the above. I’ve been to Denver. And Kansas. Briefly. So no good travel excuse. No one has held me hostage or cut off any digits. No good capture excuse. I have been wrapped up with my classes this summer, but it was easy to fit in class time and homework and still have plenty of time for fun; knitting and otherwise. No school excuses. 
No excuse at all. Except maybe the boredom of monogamy.

When we last parted company, I was closing in on finishing my summer sweater. I was a little worried that it would be too small, and that I would have spent two months making a gauge swatch. I was completely right about that. The sweater came out to exactly my dimensions….with NO ease. So it hugged each and every curve; the abundant ones and the overly generous ones. I am a curvy girl, no question. 

Then I spent the next two months knitting the right size. Look….see….



Good length, right amount of ease. I lengthened the armholes and the neckline. I would show the photo of the first sweater, but I was so appalled by all my curves that I erased it. I crocheted the cap sleeves and the neckline trim instead of the knitted ribbing from the pattern. I knit the sweater in the round, and did short row shaping at the shoulders so I could do a 3-needle bindoff instead of having to seam the old-fashioned way. That made a much neater seam. 

Really, did you all want me to write about this sweater for the last four months? Isn’t it better that I plugged away at it, and now I have something to say? And not only that, now I have new items on the needles. 

New socks.

New baby blankie.

New baby sweater.

Therefore, new blog posts much sooner. Just wait and see. 

Sweater details: The pattern is Teasel, from Rowan 49. The link is to Ravelry, which requires registration to see. If you are a knitter, and don't already know about Ravelry, you will want to register and see all it has to offer. I used Misti International Pima Cotton and Silk DK. Lovely stuff to work with at a better-than-excellent price point. I used a size 5 needle. 

Ramble and Rows

No, I am not working on a Rambling Rose sweater or afghan or any other such pattern. Today's title simply reflects the fact that I don't have a lucid and well-connected post, and that I am still knitting away as always, even though I'm not hardly blogging much about it.

 

I'm spending far more time blogging about my hip surgery, which by the way has been wildly successful, because after just two months, I am finally dancing again. I also spend too much time making new friends on a wonderful forum called Bonesmart.org. If you or someone you know is having, or contemplating having a joint replacement, this is an outstanding resource and source of knowledgeable information and support. 

 

I'm also fighting a cold or an allergy or whatever is making drainage occur at the back of my throat so badly that I can't get more than three hours sleep at a time, and I am feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. Hence the rambling effect. 

 

And also hence the lack of photos, because I just don't have the oomph right now to deal with a camera. So here's the quickie synopsis of what's happening in my knitting life:

 

There's a pair of socks completed and delivered to their recipient, and another pair already on the needles; this pair is for me me me.

 

There's a summer sweater in a cool cotton silk, ecru-colored which is quite a switch for me, and which is about a week away from completion. I'm pretty sure it's going to be wearable, but just the teeniest bit shorter and curve-huggier than I wanted. Which means the next one should be absolutely perfect, now that I have a truly accurate gauge swatch. I have enjoyed the knitting a great deal, even though it took five...yes five!....different attempts to get it started. It would be equally enjoyable to do a second one; I've got my eye on a pretty light green shade this time. 

 

That's all I'm working on. There's a Basketweave Sweater needing the fronts and back seamed together so I can pick up stitches for the sleeves. But it's a winter item, so no rush. There's the Advent Calendar lace scarf, which is stuck on day seven or nine....can't even remember. I'll get back to it eventually. There's a baby blankie barely started, but the baby is still cooking, so I've got time. 

 

And that's all there is. It's amazing I managed to say this much about it. My time gets even time-crunchier next week when I start classes for Paralegal Certification. I know I'm retired, but I have a good hip now, and I want to widen my options a bit. Lots more about this in my other blog. 

 

And photos one of these days soon in this blog. Really. 

 

SUGAR

This is a quickie post, with no photos, other than a link. Just had to get something up before hip replacement surgery on Tuesday. The most important knitting event in this past month has been coming to accept that my dearly beloved Malabrigo Afghan really had to go to its final resting place. Those of you who have had toddlers who could not bear to part with their ragged old blankies know what it took for me to reach this point. This soft cuddly purple afghan has been my daily companion for five years. Some people form deep attachments to their pets; I form deep attachments to my afghans. The advantages are obvious. 

 
I continue to work slowly on the lacy Advent Scarf. I am halfway through a pair of socks for Lynn’s daughter. I started a purple sweater, abandoned that particular pattern, and restarted a purple sweater using my tried-and-true basketweave pattern. I am stalled on the Blooming Colors hat, for no good reason.

 
I will add two more projects to the In Progress basket after surgery. I have yarn to start a summer sweater from the latest issue of Rowan Magazine, and I also have yarn to start a new baby blanket from the new Cascade 60 Quick Knits for Babies book. 

 
Spring. It will be here for real soon. A time for new growth and renewal of old growth. A fitting time to replace a bad joint, I think. Wishing everyone flowers and sunshine.

Sheesh….getting downright saccharine in my older age!