Not One But Two!

Surprise - I have not one but TWO finished objects! I've been a busy bee. Okay, not really that busy... just a lot of travel time that's been perfect for knitting.

First up - Pinwheelio! All done!

I ended up blocking the dickens out of the Mystical Creations cotton -- it went from a diameter of 34" unblocked to about 38" blocked. I followed the pattern exactly as written, and decided to do four rows of seed stitch at the end. I'm really happy with how this turned out. I think it will be a good gift for a little one [who as of today is a week overdue, says my frustrated friend] and it was a really good mostly mindless knit. Thanks to Genia Planck for sharing such a clever Pinwheel Baby Blanket pattern that captured the hearts of so many knitters. [And you can see many more pinwheels at Larissa's site, in her Pinwheel Gallery.]

So with that all finished, and several hours of travel on deck for the weekend, I decided I wanted something short and sweet. Inspired by Alison, I settled on the Jilly scarf [free to Rowan members] in some sky blue and latte Lush I picked up on sale at Knit Happens. I LOVE this yarn! It's half angora and half wool... it just slides through the fingers. Check out that fuzzy halo!

I picked up 4 skeins of Lush, but this scarf only used two. Good thing, since I made this scarf as an early-Christmas gift, and have become so attached to it I'll be making another one... for me!

It's half-blocking now, waiting for Pinwheelio to cough up the rest of the blocking board. I think it will end up 8" wide and a little over 60" long, with fantastic drape. It was also a super-fast knit -- 2 hours on the train to Philadelphia for a bridal shower weekend, and 90 minutes each way to Margate -- a fantastic beach! Then I just had a few rows to finish when I got home... voila! I need to knit on larger needles [this was on US8s] more often.

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Finally, a little glimpse at what's exciting me most about our house. [Closing's in 2 weeks! Eeek!] Look at the back yard, just ready for me to plant herbs... and spread out big hanks of yarn to dye and dry in the sun!

And look - after having communal laundry in my building, I will finally be able to FELT in my own home!

I promise to post more pics once we clean and redo the place.... The sellers are so messy, it just looks terrible right now!

Garter-rific

So the garter is done - yay! I finished it last week at Late Night, but I spent some time this weekend searching for ribbon. I want to sew some elastic to the ribbon to hold it snug, and then fasten it with a snap at the end. Anyway, I came home with two ribbon options:

1. Plain blue ribbon. [Both choices are blue so they can be the bride's "something blue."] Easy to sew elastic to, simple, classic.

2. Blue rosebud ribbon. This is narrower, so the elastic could be more of a challenge. [The skinniest elastic I could find was 1/8" wide, and this ribbon is about 1/16. Do they make narrower elastic?]

What do you think? Cast your vote in the comments, please.

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In other news, Pinwheelio is officially staring down the finish line. I've started the edging, and I only have a few more rounds before the bindoff. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished blankie!

A Milestone

Today marks one year since I started publishing this blog. I can't believe how fast it has gone! When I realized that this date was upcoming [mostly thanks to a hostess with the mostess who reminded me], I started reflecting on how wonderful this experience has been. [And I wanted to really write a sparkling essay, but then, you know, HOUSE, and so here's what you get.]

I started reading knitblogs long before I started writing one. In fact, I started reading them before I started knitting. I suspected I would like knitting, but wasn't quite sure how to learn. So I started surfing, which led me to blogs of folks who were doing fantastic things. But there was something else that endeared them to me: They weren't always so fantastic. Knitbloggers were quick to marvel at the twist of a cable or at the blocking of lace, but they were just as quick to bemoan a mistake publicly, sigh and accept the inevitable frogging and talk about "the process"--and not run away from their humanity. I liked that this felt like a humble group, a noncompetitive group, a group I could fit into pretty easily.

And it's a helpful group, too, filled with folks who post tutorials and patterns--and sometimes, just a good photo of an interesting technique. On more than one occasion, I've professed my love for the Internet out loud--it's just so amazing how it brings such a depth of knowledge right to me! On demand! [If I'd started to knit in the 1970s, I'd still be wondering how to start something round in the middle. And I would NOT be happy about it.]

Along the way, I finished some things -- a few wintry scarves, a cabled hat, a tasseled fat hat, socks, a tank, and a few fun sweaters -- not to mention all the baby items. And I got to share them with people who know what it means to seam a sweater smoothly or make it to the armhole shaping. [The boyfriend has perfected the "oooh, nice!" ... but it's just not the same.] And I had an outlet to write -- something I love, but don't get nearly enough time to do.

And I made a ton of new friends, both online and in person. I won't even try to list everyone by name, but know this -- if you've stopped by, e-mailed, left a comment, or talked to me in person, I I appreciate your time and thoughts, as much as I appreciate this great little thing called blogland. Cheers.

Change A-Coming

So there's been precious little knitting lately, but for good reason. [see below.] I'll start by showing the small progress on the garter:

The little shell-puffs are growing on me. This garter's in cotton, but I keep wondering how it would look in Kidsilk Haze. I'm only about 6 repeats from being done. I need to hunker down and finish, so I can present it to the bride at her shower next weekend. There's a trip to AC Moore in my future to get some blue and white ribbon to weave through and fasten it. [And also for some packaging for the favors, which will include a little tin of tea from Adagio and a candle from Waxman. Fun!]

This weekend, I took a trip to Princeton to visit a friend, and started the Lacy Lattice Stole:

I'm not really in love with the turbos on this project, but it did get easier. Look, you can start to see the lace pattern if I stretch it out:

And Pinwheelio grew about 4 rounds, but heck, that's a boring "progress" picture.

So why the lack of progress? Well, big news: We found a house!

Yup, the boyfriend and I spent a good part of last week talking to the bank people and looking at properties, and then literally stumbled up on one at dusk that we thought was cute. The owner saw us looking at it from outside and invited us in.... We loved it, and went back the next day in full daylight and still loved it. By the end of the weekend, we'd written a contract and it was accepted!

The seller gets a rentback, so we don't have to start packing just yet. But in October [pending inspection later this week], I'll be moving from DC to Virginia, officially living in the South [do I have to whistle Dixie?], in Alexandria... right about a mile from the happy place. [Great coincidence!] I'll finally have a yard. And a home to call my own.

Streetknitters

Man, late night last night was exactly what the doctor ordered. A little zen knitting on Pinwheelio, and perusing of the new Rebecca [love the cashmere cabled sweater! now to find non-cashmere, nonpricey yarn for it...].

Brittany was back, and she brought delicious goodies with her, like the curry-chocolate bars, and the cayenne-cinnamon cashews. Yum! I was totally happy to spoil my dinner on such delights. Holly had finished her Martha and was rockin' it. The fun never ends!

No, really, it didn't end:

At closing time, turns out Erin was just mere dozens of stitches away from finishing her Martha. And we can't in good faith just send her off on a long drive home with an almost-done sweater, right? Yeah, and she couldn't bear the thought of being so close but not done. So what's a girl to do? Camp out on the steps of a building down the street, of course!

Shanti's newly finished sock was cheering her on -- as were me, Brittany, and non-4ply Katie. [And the random passersby seemed perplexed as to why there was knitting on the stoop -- with an audience, no less.]

But look what happened -- Erin finished! YAY Erin! Everyone go tell her how cute and summery and Hamptonsesque she looks.

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After I got home, two things are worth noting. First, I got the new Rowan:

And yes, I'm just as disappointed as everyone else. I liked three things in this mag: River (the kidsilk haze beaded wrap),

Daisy (a scarf in Kid Classic)

and something that looked like the ruffles scarf out of scarf style:

And guess what? That last one is crocheted. Nothing against crochet ... but pretty much seals the fact that I won't be making it. I like the vest on the front, but it's not something I'm likely to knit. All in all... I'm pretty disappointed. Luckily, the Classic Woman and Classic Winter books look like they might slake my Rowan thirst this fall.

Random note: Rowan has started referring to all its Yorkshire Tweed as "YT." As in, "YT Aran." Anyone know why? Are they changing the name altogether, or do they think that abbreviations are hip?

And second, I started something new! I know, I know... I really shouldn't. But I felt like I needed a distraction. I cast on for the Lacy Lattice Stole using this:

That's the Kaalund Expression mohair, colorway "Pawpaw." [Does anyone else remember a song from their childhood about a pawpaw patch? I only remember the tune, but I can't remember the words. Weird.]

Anyway, I cast on and knit about five rows last night on size 2 needles, so my progress is all of about a centimeter. The points on the Addis aren't quite sharp enough for my liking. Might have to reread what Wendy has to say about needle points for lace.

And it's struck me that I now have four projects on the needles -- size 1, 2, 3 and 5 needles. Apparently I'm in a delicate state of mind these days. [I'm still searching for yarn to make Demi with ... anyone know of a good substitute for Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran [YTA?]?]

Marker Mania

I've had something of a mini-bounty in the mail lately. Hooray! First, from my Secret Pal - a great parcel!

Wow, she really spoiled me. Great things come in small packages! She sent me a 40" needle and a book on how to do the magic loop method for socks. [I'm still afraid, but I'll try it! Really I will!] PLUS, a new set of size 1 Crystal Palace needles [since I lost one recently], and little sock-shaped needle holders, and a little graph-paper booklet [I LOVE graph paper! always have] AND -- look at this! She made me four pairs of cute blue and purple stitch markers.

Aren't they lovely? SP5, I feel really touched. I can't wait to use them.

And they'll go great with the stitch markers that Lynette sent me for being close on guessing how many balls of Cotton-Ease she had in stash. [Lynette? Hello? Thanks! Now go knit some of your 131 balls up. Hee.]

[Also to note but not pictured (because they're in use on a project in my car), a collection of delicate little stitch markers acquired in a trade with Heidi. Thanks Heidi!]

As for the knitting, I did knit all the way out to Shenandoah this weekend -- it's only about 85 miles, but it took close to four hours thanks to accursed Friday afternoon rush-hour getaway traffic. Gah. I did a number of rounds on the Pinwheelio, though it still looks largely the same as it did last week. I think I've officially hit Step 6 on Heidi's common thoughts while pinwheeling: "It's still not big enough but man it's getting boring."

I'm up to 48 stitches per section, or 480 stitches total. I need to get up to 64 or so, to get a diameter of 36". That's 16 more increase rounds, or 32 rounds total. Seems reasonable... until I think about the fact that I can only do 5 or 6 a night. [This is why I prefer projects like hats that have fewer stitches as you get close to the end, sted more.]

In any event, there was no more knitting once we got to camp. Too much tubing, card-playing, cooking, imbibing, and general merriment. I guess the upside is that the blankie doesn't smell like campfire [as did all my clothes].

Thar She Grows!

Now, I know that these pictures make it look like I've made very little progress on the pinwheel. But it's a trick!

See, just last week, all the stitches were crowded on the needle -- a 47" needle of strung-together Denises. But now, Pinwheelio has graduated to a 60" Addi turbo:

Oh Addi Turbo, how I love thee! Granted, 60" is a lot of Addi. It's starting to get unwieldy. I estimate I'm a little more than halfway done with the blanket. Diameter is just upwards of 30".

And I noticed one little design element:

That's right, somehow my yarnovers got off by one on just the one segment. If I were a knitting wizard, I would drop down and try to fix. But I'm not, and I can live with it.

I also have been chugging along on the Retro Rib sock... we're getting close to the heel-turning!

It's amazing how much more I get done on it when I just keep it in my purse. I have found at least an hour a week of subway-knitting time. Why didn't I think of this before?!

For this weekend: Camping! [aka, lots of car-knitting and camp-knitting time.] I hope to make major progress on both these projects. [In between the tubing and the hanging out with friends, of course!]

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Finally: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIN! Hope you have a great day!

Tiny Progress

Whew.

I feel much better now. It helped that I spent Friday night thwacking balls around at the driving range -- I'd never done that before. I'm pretty terrible, but it felt good, ya know?

And despite a busy weekend, I managed to do a little bit of knitting-related things. I finally blocked out the diamond baby blanket. I know it's not lace, but I have to say I was pretty amazed at the way the blanket went from this:

to this:

And another view of the diamonds:

It's reversible, which I think makes for a good blanket. And after blocked, the Cotton Fleece softened up even more, and is a lovely light weight. [Boyfriend quickly asked for a similar one for our queen-sized bed. Uh. NO. We'll be buying that, thanks, lest I go insane.] Anyway, it's nice to have this blanket ready for the gifting and officially knocked off the "On the Needles" list.

And you'll notice some interlopers on the blocking board too. Those would be swatches of the Artfibers Sherlock, Phildar Phil Laine, and Tahki Davos. All of them yielded unexpected gauges. I am now perplexed as to what they want to be, but we'll see. I am confident they'll tell me in time.

Little Knitting

I've been doing little knitting on little needles. First, the second retro rib sock, now starring on two needles, grew by several pattern repeats.

It's not exciting, I know, but I feel like I'm getting into the groove of this two-needle thing.

And then I went ahead and started knitting on the garter:

This pattern is called "The Queen's Edging" from the 2nd Barbara Walker Stitch Treasury that I bought last week. I'm doing it in Jaeger Siena. I love the way it looked in the book's picture... in person, I'm not so sure. The little shell-shapes at the bottom have a bit of a "puff" that I'm not sure I like.

I'm going to keep doing it because it's good practice (look, I'm finally in the summer of lace!) and also because it goes pretty quickly. There's another pattern that I might try as well, to see if I like it better. I'm still hoping this one works, though.

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Final note: Comcast DID come on Friday, 5 minutes early in fact, and installed the DVR. Now will it work? Today's the first test....