Month: August 2006

Well, school has started and it’s time to take a deep breath and not go into panic mode. I was stressing a little yesterday over how much I have to do, but once you break it down into sections, it becomes a little less intimidating. The key is to keep at it and not get behind! So, I’ve gone two whole days without even touching my knitting! And, looking ahead at the week, that may not change. So, get used to posts with little knitting content!

Having said that, I do have a FO to show:

I completed these shortly after returning from Orlando. The yarn was acquired in a trade with Fluffy Knitter Deb, who unfortunately is having computer issues and probably isn’t even reading this (if you are – Hi Deb). I really love this yarn and colorway. It is not quite as washed out as in the photo, but I didn’t have time to fiddle with it. This was my first try at the picot edge and I will definitely do it again. I love the soft, feminine look of it. Deb could not have chose a yarn that suits me more.

I also received a lovely surprise package in the mail – all the way from Australia. A Lace Knitting Exchange from the lovely Kate in Australia. The little frog pouch contains some lovely hand beaded stitch markers that I couldn’t get to photograph well. Thanks so much Kate! I love the color and am already looking at ideas for it. And don’t worry – your package will be in the mail soon. I have it ready to go but won’t be able to get to the post office until next week.

In closing – a picture of a wonderful meeting in Dallas last week. I had a long layover and was honored to have my Aunt Lucy and cousin Margaret come pick me up for lunch. I haven’t seen Margaret in well over 40 years (ok, we were babies, right?), but she was always one of my favorite cousins and is for sure now! She and my aunt took me out to a wonderful lunch at the Hyatt and we had a great time reminiscing and visiting and catching up on our lives. And what can I say about my aunt – I won’t reveal her age (she’d kill me!), but suffice it to say that I hope I become as gracious and lovely as she is.

Ok, now back to the books. Next post I’ll tell you all about medians, modes, means, standard deviations and variances. Yeah, I know, you can hardly wait.

What we did on our summer vacation:

We met charming people at the airport.

We swam.

We went on exciting thrill rides.

We modeled cute little knitwear.

And made our own unique fashion statement.

In short, a fun and exhausting time was had by all.  I had forgotten just how busy a 15-month old can be!  As you can see, I did finish the little jumper.  It looks adorable on her, but she discovered quickly that, unlike her other clothing which has buttons and snaps, this one can be readily removed.  It was hard keeping it on her long enough to get a picture!  More pictures to follow!

My bags are packed, I’m ready to go. Well, not really all packed, but I’ve started. I have to work right up until the minute I leave town, so I’m having to get ready as I can. And, as you all know, deciding what clothes to take is the easy part – it’s deciding on the knitting projects that’s hard. You don’t want to take too many or too few. Don’t want to overpack, but don’t want to be bored either. I imagine Izzy will sleep at least some of the time I’m there and I’ve got some long layovers! So, I’m taking her jumper and one sock to be completed to finish a pair and a new pair to start. On the return trip I’m hoping to join up in Dallas with a long lost cousin (Hi Margaret!) who connected with me through my blog. We haven’t seen each other since we were kids and I’m very excited about seeing her and my aunt.

I do have a finished project to show:

A little baby set to place on a little baby body. I’m not thrilled with the yoke – the shape seems funny, but it should look fine once on the baby. The best thing is that there was minimal finishing – just weave in the ends and two underarm seams plus two small side seams on the bonnet.

And I’ve done some work on the Unst stole:

I can only do about 6 to 8 rows at a sitting without going blind, so this will indeed be slow going. In the meantime I will start another lace project, but am not sure exactly when. School starts the week after I get back plus I have a quilt show to help with plus the usual madness when I return to work. Marguerite will be posting pictures of her finished FLAK, so I’m sure that will inspire me to pick up that as well.

So – toodles! Not sure if I will post while I’m gone. I’ll have computer access, but not sure if I’ll have photo editing. But I’ll be sure to bring lots of pictures back with me!

They’re here! My new Knit Picks needles arrived way ahead of schedule. Usually my orders take at least two weeks to arrive. These were supposedly backordered, but arrived in a week and a half. No complaints here. My verdict? An enthusiastic Thumbs Up! Here’s my review:

POSITIVES:
1. Wicked sharp points. The best thing about these needles! In fact, I’m not going to pack these in my carry-on for the flight. They might be considered lethal weapons. However, I’ve not had a problem with them hurting my finger tips either.
2. Everything in one neat little binder. This is going to be great when going on retreats or workshops. All the sizes are right there with extra space for stitch holders, scissors, crochet hooks and all your other assorted knitting paraphenalia.
3. Each component can be bought separately. This is huge! We all have our favorite size needles, cables, etc. I will never need more than one set of #10’s, but I will definitely order more 4’s and 5’s – the sizes I use the most.
4. The price. Like all of Knit Picks items, they are quite reasonable. I think this is going to be a huge blow for Addi Turbos.
5. Oh – and the join? Very nice. I’m noticing that I wasn’t able to get as tight a join on one side of the cable I’m using now as the other, but even with that, it’s smooth and not snagging.
6. The cable is wonderful. The plastic has no memory, which means that after being coiled up in the pouch, it relaxes out to its original, non-kinky position. No more dunking in boiling water to straighten out cables.
7. Nice, long needle tips. These are really substantial and give you something to grab on to.

NEGATIVES:
1. No 16 inch cable. Refer to #7 above. The needle tips are too long to allow for the shorter cable. But, they are so economical, I can easily afford to use two longer cables in the double circ method.
2. The smallest size in the set is #4. But I can see the rationale behind that as well. With the small size needles, it was impossible to get the smooth join with the connection needed for the larger sizes.
3. That’s it – no other negatives that I can think about.

Of course, I had to cast on right away for a trial project. And, in the interest of killing two birds with one stone, I found a project for the poor Shine that has been looking for a home:

This will be a little jumper for Izzy. It’s a discontinued Minnow Knits and I can’t get a good scan of the pattern, so you’ll have to wait for the finished object to see it in all its glory. My goal is to take this with me on the trip and finish it while I’m there so she can model it right away.

I also ordered a set of size O’s. I have made three unsuccessful attempts to start the Unst Stole from Sharon Miller’s Heirloom Knitting. With the cobweb weight yarn and pattern on every row, the Addi blunt tip just wasn’t hacking it. I could do it, but it just wasn’t fun. So, last night I sat down to see how the Knit Picks needle, with its sharp tip, would do. The difference is like night and day. This pattern will never “fly” – it’s still difficult and fiddly, but the Knit Picks needle raises it to the level of fun. Here’s a picture of two hours worth of knitting (that’s 15 rows) :

As you can see, this will be a multi-year project! Don’t look for pictures on a regular basis – but I’ll post pictures when there’s enough progress to actually see.

On the school front, I got some exciting news. My new study plan was posted and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! If I really apply myself, I may be able to graduate in December 2007. That will be just a little less than 10 years after I started!! I am so ready to be done. What it does mean is that posting will probably be relegated to only once a week once school starts August 21st. I promise not to abandon all of my faithful readers (all 30 of you!), but I am going to go through Bloglines and cull down the number of blogs I read. I will try to get those listed on my sidebar because I’m going for quality and I think they need to be shared. Li and I both agree that we enjoy blogs that are upbeat, positive and whine-free zones. I also like blogs that have at least a smattering of knitting content, although I enjoy hearing about everyone’s lives and Marguerite’s nature photos. Well, off to a busy day of last minute preparations for Orlando – how much exercise and diet can you do in one week to get into swimsuit shape?