Beginnings

I think I mentioned last time that January is all about beginnings for me. I am up to 5 sweater starts in knitting. I seem to be picking out interesting patterns: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-2 ,

www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/argo ,

www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elsewhere ,

and finally two I am devising myself.

One will be a top down Fair Isle hoodie - not sure if I will be adding sleeves. The yarn is Elann's Donegal Tweed in a fingering weight and it seems slow going. I ordered the yarn in a Christmas cookie induced sugar high when we were in Vermont and it was -6 degrees. I am not sure about the colors - black is the main color with 3 shades of purple and 1 pink and 1 blue. I think that it is as bad as it sounds.

The second was inspired by a Classic Elite book. It is a vest that they knitted in flat pieces and I changed to top down. The biggest modification was knitting the lace pattern upside down. I think it came out ok. I only have a few more inches to do on the bottom ribbing and then the neck and arms.

And I am not even going to talk about the 3 or 4 sweaters I have otn from last year.

We are trying to sell our house. We had a showing scheduled for today and just before we were to leave - after cleaning and putting all the clutter away - they called and cancelled. Just because of a little snow and ice. Tomorrow we have another showing - people who just looked at the house on Wed. - and I really hope they don't cancel. The weather is supposed to be better. I really hope something comes of this. I am so tired of the cold weather. I want to move to NC and have a garden all year long.

I'm not sure but I think I may have lost a pair of mitts that I made at the restaurant where we went for breakfast. Reason to make some more I guess - but that bugs me. I don't remember if I had them with me or not. I think I did... Getting old is such fun, but I guess it beats the alternative.

New Year, New Resolution!

Once again I am inflicted with Startitis - those of you who have it know exactly what I am talking about. I probably don't know how to spell it, but I have it in spades. For someone who doesn't make resolutions, I am certainly determined to do few things that I always intend to do but don't do consistently for one reason or another - mostly sloth on my part, or boredom.

I started 4 knitting projects in the last week - most from stash yarn. I will have to photograph the one I already finished in Jan. Started it over Christmas in VT with the family and finished it the first week we were home. I got so sick and we had a terrible drive home that I am actually surprised that I finished it. We spent 5 hours on I80 because of a snow squall that caused 20+ cars to wreck and block the road. I won't talk about how we were 200 ft from an exit and about 100 cars turned around and went past us to the exit and he refused to even consider it. I had to go to the bathroom so badly by the time we were moving that I could taste it. Then it snowed really heavily about 10 miles from home - too close to stay and too close to drive. We pushed through and everything was ok but we got home at 2:30am. A really long trip and then my cold which settled in my throat and I lost my voice really set in and I was sick for what seemed like forever but which was only about 5 days. January has been a bitch so far this year.

Another of my not really resolutions resolutions is to mark my progress on the treadmill. I'm doing really well now that I am back to it after the holidays and being sick. I always want to do that, but I am not consistent.

Third not really resolution resolution is to regularly update this blog. I actually don't care if anyone reads it - I just want to mark my knitting progress and talk a little about me. Ok, maybe a lot about me.

Enough for today - don't want ennui to set in before I even finish my first blog of the year.

I don't get Facebook and Twitter really escapes me.

And again!

Once again I am slightly tipsy from one drink and deciding to blog. I am recovering from a cold and probably babying myself. I had a full and active day today. I walked 2.4 miles in an outfit that showed just how fat I am and worked in the yard for about 2 hours. I have finished a lot of knitting recently and actually have reworked a sweater that I had finished but hated how it looked on me. I am working on that now and am about half way there. My knitting has really come along. I can look at a pattern and work it on my own. I prefer top-down no seams and can adapt any pattern to that. I made a sweater this summer that one of my daughters actually seemed to want - so I gave it to her. I hope that wasn't a mistake. I always get so hurt when they don't actually want to wear anything I made. but she genuinely seemed to like it. I of course jumped on that - I so want to be loved - and gave it to her when I finished.

I actually miss it - the yarn was a cotton, silk, wool blend and I liked the sweater. I did a good job on the sleeves - first time I actually did the math and it worked. Sometimes I am so lazy.

I am reworking this sweater - I really liked the yarn and the sweater - it just looked like shit on me.

I really wanted to knit it but using my top-down no seam approach. I'll let you know how it turns out.

We have our house for sale - since July. No offers - no second tours. We want to move to North Carolina - the weather.

Actually a lot has been happening. I should blog about it.

I just can't keep this up.

You know, I try and I try but I always seem to run out of steam for this blog. I guess I even bore myself. I have been knitting so much I got a trigger finger and had an injection. I feel so much better now - but I have been crocheting instead of knitting to give my finger a chance to heal. I am slightly - ok maybe more than slightly tipsy from too much wine at dinner. I worked really hard and long in my garden and got drunk from wine when I came in. We are going to Charlotte tomorrow to see grandson #1 - Paw's favorite. I am not looking forward to it. I have been so passive for most of my life that I am finally starting to resent it. I would really rather stay here - I am quite happy knitting and reading and sleeping late and puttering in the garden. But there is graduation from preschool no less and our presence is required. Paw would never say no - in fact we are going a day early to catch his last t-ball game. I should be ashamed - not a proper granny attitude but I am so tired of doing what everybody else wants.

Oh and by the way - Republicans are morons. And anyone who votes Republican is too stupid to breathe.

New FO and ADHD Knitting

Just finished and already worn. This was my own design. Long flat cables where I took the opportunity to teach myself to cable without a needle. Such a time saver. I should have done it long ago. And it is really not difficult at all. The yarn was Moda dea wool and silk in a charcoal color way. I really liked the yarn. It was knit into 2 different sweaters before I made it into this one. It held up really well and is soft, very warm and because of the stitch pattern stretchy. The sweater is knitted bottom up with the sleeves picked up after the shoulders are grafted. I need to work on my sleeve technique - I think I pick up too many stitches and then do not have enough length to do the proper amount of decreases. These sleeves are a little long but I wore this to the bookstore yesterday and they really didn't annoy me. If I find they do, I will probably shorten them.

I am really having a bad case of startitis - if that is a word. I started a sweater from Fearless Fair Isle Knitting -that is a beautiful book. I am knitting the one on the cover and it is really sort of cheating. The pattern calls for Mini Mochi in 2 color ways. So while it looks like intricate fair isle, it is really only 2 yarns alternating throughout the sweater. I have done real fair isle before and this is easier and less a tangled mess. I am really happy with my progress so far.

I love working on the fair isle and so I started a vest using Noro Transititons for no reason other than impulse. Do love the yarn though.

And then there are the 5 different scarves that I started all in one night - entrelac, reversible, lace, sort of entrelac lace, and another lace. I think I just wanted to see if I could learn the techniques. I did and then I would start another scarf.

Yesterday at the book store I bought a sock book and apparently now I am going to learn toe up socks. I thought I was also going to learn how to knit socks on 2 circular needles instead of DPNs, but I pulled out an UFO sock that I had almost complete and it was knit on 2 circulars! Evidently I learned and put it away and then forgot. It was really easy to pick up once I looked at everything - I would have worried if it wasn't since it was a review and not a new learning experience. I finished the first sock last night and boy do I hate the Kitchener stitch. That is why I want to learn to knit socks from the toe up. I'm going to knit the second sock that way. My theory is that no one will be able to tell which one was up and which one was down.

And I have another cardigan planned for Tuesday. I want to go to a new yarn shop Stormy Blue in Murrysville and get yarn for it. The yarn is only an excuse to go - I don't know why I need an excuse, but I feel like I do. I am hoping that they start a new knit night and I can join in. I would really love to talk to someone about knitting. No one else I know knits. How weird is that?

Snow Sucks!

Last week it was nearly 70' and today it looked like a foot of snow had fallen. I don't think it will last, but really this sucks! Tomorrow we are driving to North Carolina and I really hope the weather will be spring-like. Last trip we had planned for NC had to be cancelled because of snow - in NC!!!!





I just finished Cerisara. I really liked this pattern. It was top-down which is the way I think all sweaters should be knitted and the lace pattern was easy to memorize. I wasn't sure I would like the lace on the sleeves though. I thought I might look like a linebacker - I thought it would add bulk to my already bulky upper arms. So I made the vest. I used ribbing instead of reverse ss. That is the only thing I didn't like about the vest - the reverse ss. If I ever make the pattern again, I will have the ss on the outside. The fit is great and I really like it.

A Really Good Weekend!

Two of the scarfs I have finished in my knitting scarf frenzy. The striped one is Noro Taiyo and is Jared Flood's simple knit 1 purl 1 rib for two rows in one color and then two rows in another. I love that scarf - it's not boring because of the color changes. The second is Sassy Scarflette which I also did in Noro. I love that yarn.

Yesterday I went to the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet show in Cranberry. I love that festival. It is inside the Sheraton - a big beautiful hotel with plenty of room for venders and classes. I didn't take any classes this year - I didn't see any that I felt I would learn from. That sounds like I think I know everything, but I know I don't. It's just that I have learned from taking classes, that I already know most of what is covered. There were some name teachers there - Nicky Epstein for one but I am not a big fan of her work and she brought a Barbie Doll knitting show with her. I really wasn't interested in that - not for the price of the class.

Steven Be was there - I thought he had been a rock star from the 60s at one time because of the way he dresses, but evidently he is a knitting rock star and not the musical kind. He dresses really eccentrically and seems like a really nice guy. He is the one in the Addi ads in the knitting magazines.

I bought a couple of patterns and one book. There were two other books I wanted but knew I could get them on Amazon for half the price. When I am spending my own money, I seem to be frugal - ummm, cheap! I bought yarn for scarves. I am going through really strange knitting cravings. I started 4 scarves last night and woke up this morning thinking of starting 2 more. I get bored once I learn the pattern so I thought if I started a couple I could alternate working on each and wouldn't be bored. Evidently I have no self-control. That happens to me when I am knitting sweaters too. At least the scarves won't take as long to finish.

I am getting really tired of winter. We haven't had the really bad weather like the mid west has had, but it has been consistently cold and snowy forever it seems. I feel like I need to go outside and sit in the sun - if it ever comes out again. We talk about moving south but then think of the hassle selling and buying a new house would be, and stop complaining. Danny wants to go to a movie this afternoon - Inside Job but I hope he decides not to. It is coming out beginning of March in dvd and I am tired.