The Yarn Path

Okay, not that different, since I've posted at least one recipe here before :)

Last summer, I went to a good Italian restaurant with a friend for dinner. I ordered a tomato salad as an entree. What came was an harmonious blend of tomatoes, red onions, black olives and fresh mozzarella cheese ladled over fresh, crisp greens. To say that it was good is like saying that Placido Domingo can sing a little. It was totally awesome! My tastebuds danced for hours!

Of course, the next day, I set about trying to reverse engineer the concoction and this is what I came up with! This is less a recipe than a general outline. Measurements are to taste and there's lots of finagling room for ingredients and quantities. It's pretty much a seat-of-the pants arrangement, but that makes it flexible and fun.

Tomato Concoction

Ingredients

• 4 ripe, medium sized tomatoes (or 6 Roma or plum tomatoes)


• 4 oz fresh mushrooms, rinsed and sliced


• 1 can of pitted, small, black olives, drained and rinsed


• 1/2 of a small onion (I like red but use what you like), finely chopped


• 1 bunch fresh basil, picked over, rinsed well and chopped


• 2 tsp chopped garlic


• 1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half


• 1/2 - 1 c olive oil


• Juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon


• 1/4 c sunflower seeds (optional - I like the crunch!)

Method

• Seed the tomatoes if you like, then chop and place into a good sized bowl.


• Add the olives


• Toss in the onion, garlic and basil.


• Add the artichoke hearts


• Taste the tomatoes. If they seem to be acidy, add 1/2 tsp of sugar (that's all you need - really)


• Toss in a tsp of salt and add freshly ground pepper to taste


• Add the olive oil and the lemon juice (use a real lemon!) and stir to get everybody acquainted


• Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours

That's all there is to it! This will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week and the flavor improves over time. Serve it over your favorite greens or on *cold pasta and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

I ususally borrow a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil and put it, along with the onion, garlic and basil, into this:





A mini chopper is a really handy gadget to have. I imagine they're all pretty much alike, but this one is a Black and Decker (if you're curious) and does a great job for me.

If you prefer (or would like to try) a more Spanish than Italian flavor, substitue cilantro for the basil, lime juice for the lemon juice and chiles for the artichoke hearts. I love both versions and generally switch between them when I'm making this regularly - usually during the warmer weather.





Do yourself a favor and use the best olive oil you can get - also fresh lemons and/or limes. You can't believe what a difference those two things will make in your finished product. I had never used olive oil at all before last summer and I'm absolutely converted. Wonderful stuff both for dressings and for cooking with. I can't imagine what took me so long to try it!





I generally use portabella mushrooms for this, but white will do fine. I mean to try Crimini some day. I've used those for cooking, but never raw. Mushrooms are one of those things that absolutely fascinate me and I try every variety I can get my greedy little fungus-loving fingers on :)

*For ready pasta, cook a pound or two of your favorite shape as you usually would. When the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse in cold water until the pasta is cold. Pack into one or two Glad Fresh Bags (these really do help things stay fresher longer - NAYY, just a happy customer) and stash in the fridge. It's ready whenever you want cold pasta for a salad or you can toss some in a bowl with butter and cheese (or sauce of choice) and nuke it. Works great and this will also keep for about a week.

I'm taking the long weekend off - so the next post will be on Monday, December 29th. My very warmest and best holiday wishes to you all!

One of the gifts posted on the Klist this month was an afghan made in the traditional fern lace pattern - only without the lace. The wonderfully inventive lady who came up with the idea substituted M1s for the YOs and came up with a similar pattern, but different in overall effect because there aren't any holes in it! Is that a nifty idea, or what?

So guess what your obedient servant (snicker) spent the day doing?






All the following patterns are taken from 365 Knitting Stitches a Year from Martingale Press. This one is called Fish Tail Lace. The original pattern is on the right and the re-worked verson is on the left. It's a simple lace and that may be the problem. To me, the M1 pattern has little interest at all. The scales are there, but because they aren't edged with eyelets, they lack definition and you end up with busy fabric, but little interest.

O-kay, let's try another one.





Fir Cone is one of my all time favorite lace patterns. It's uncomplicated and produces beautiful wavy lines in the fabric. This works a bit better. The pattern is still clear and the wavy lines form and move in the M1 version just as they do in the YO version. Still, the lace is the more interesting fabric, I think. This piece might have benefited from a larger swatch and I'll have to try that before I make a final decision.





This one is called Fish Scale Lace. I think this one works best of all. The eyelet holes don't define the pattern. The definition is provided by the knit/purl sequences and the eyelets simply enhance the overall appearance. You still have the triangle of purls nestled in the curves of the stockinette "scale". Here, substituting the M1 for the YO isn't a detriment. The fabric remains interesting and is now suitable for a sweater :)

This was a realy fun exercise and I encourage you to try it with your own favorite lace pattern. Obviously the technique won't work with everything, but some patterns adapt wonderfully well. Who knows what lovely thing you might come up with?

Ode to Chubby
with apologies to "Oh Tannenbaum"

Oh Chubby tree,
Oh Chubby tree,
Most suitable of
Trees for me!

So round and full,
So beautiful -
Exemplar of
Obesity.

Still spreading at a rapid pace,
And taking all our living space -

Oh Christmas tree,
Thou Chubby tree -
Thou art the perfect
Tree for me!

Friday morning, sitting in a waiting room, I pulled out my knitting. I am finishing a replacement scarf for Myria (see the post for October 30th) as I had hijacked hers for an emergency gift when a co-worker had to have a kidney out. It was the perfect thing (that is, something I knew she would like), a great color for her and, best of all, already made!

The older woman on my left watched me knit a few rows and then asked what I was knitting. I showed her the scarf and she asked if she could touch it. I gave the tail to her and she expressed surprise at its softness. She wanted to know how it was made, what the yarns were and where I had gotten them. I explained all of that and showed her how easy the scarf was to make. She watched for a little longer and then asked about the first stitch, observing that I'd slipped it instead of knitting it. I showed her the edge of the scarf and explained about slipping that first stitch to get that nice chain-like edge. The woman across the room from me then spoke up. She's knitting her first sweater. I asked if she was enjoying herself and she said that she was learning but she had to rip things out so often that it could get very frustrating. Then the gentleman next to her spoke up, saying that his wife had knit a dozen or so of the eyelash scarves this winter for presents.

Then my name was called and I had to leave - but it was with an amazing sense of camaraderie and well-being. The older woman was clearly pumping me for information and I made sure I told her everything she needed to know to make the scarf herself - which she clearly wanted to do. I didn't get another chance to speak to the woman making the sweater but I hold a good thought for her and hope things work out; she'll be so proud of herself when it's done! As for the gentleman who's wife had knit so many of these - their nieces and grand-daughters are going to be the fashion plates of their respective circles.

Very, very cool!

I had thought that I would cast on for this hat today. Pamela's is so pretty that I wanted to make one for myself. And I will, but I got side-tracked by this...





I'm not sure why now's the time for the Short-row Scarf. I've had this pattern floating around in the back of my head for quite a while now and today it just jumped to the fore and demanded attention. So I started it to the accompaniment of "Scrooge" and the magnificent Alastair Sim. I'm using a double strand of Caron Simply Soft in a deep purple and a medium dark red. The colors enhance each other so well they almost seem to glow and the pattern is great fun to work. Short-rowing is an intriguing technique and I'm really curious to see how else it might be used. It's also nice (if that doesn't seem too self-centered for words) to be working on something for me for a change. I want to save the sweater for my trip, so something not too demanding and that wouldn't take too long to complete was just the ticket. I will probably make the hat in the same colors - and maybe mittens too!





Caught this fellow on one of the bird feeders. Cripes - it's not as if there isn't plenty of food on the porch roof for the little buggers. Really entertaining, we caught one of these guys climbing the rope that the other feeder hangs from. Up he went, hand over hand (paw over paw?) just the way you used to have to do in gym class. I had never seen a squirrel do that before - didn't know they could!

I was trying to get a photo of our visiting juncos, but they are doing to me what the woodpecker did to Myria a while back. They'll stand there on the porch roof, foraging forever! They'll even turn to the window, stick the tips of their little grey wings in their ears and go "Neener, neener, neeeeeeener!" But let me make even the slightest move for the camera and they're off like a prom dress!

But I'll get them - it's just a matter of time :)

We haven't had a Christmas tree in a very long time. This year, for various reasons, it seemed like a good idea. First we thought an artificial would be the smart choice - we'd get to use it over and over and it wouldn't shed. Then we began to look at artificial trees. For what we were willing to spend, they showed us something in the "Homeless Waif" line that looked like the little, spindly thing in "A Charlie Brown Christmas". They were willing to throw in a couple of broken ornaments and about 9 inches of tinsel.

So we re-thought the notion and figured a real tree might be the way to go. A live tree, one that could be planted after the holiday seemed worth considering. Since we live in apartment and have nowhere to plant anything, my father was consulted and he thought adding an evergreen to his front yard was a dandy idea. So we went to the nurseries to see what they had to offer. For our approximate monthly rent payment, we could have a 3 1/2 foot tall scotch pine, absolutely bristling with health and vitality. Alas, as our rent had already been donated to the landlord, this option too was discarded.

That left only the possibility of a cut tree.

I drive a Hyundai Accent. I have no complaints about the car; it's dependable and never has any problems. But a cut tree is roughly the same size as the car. This is a tiny car.

Never the less, we persisted and finally found a likely specimen in a lot a few miles from our apartment. It was about the right height, nice and full and was promptly christened "Chubby". The young man at the lot kindly tied it to the top of my car making Lily (the car - yes, I do name everything!) look like she was wearing an oversized green wig. We brought him home, wrestled him up the stairs, got him into the stand, gave him a long drink of water and left him alone for 24 hours so he could get his limbs fluffed out.

Boy did he fluff out! If we thought he was chubby in the tree lot, he's positively obese in the living room! This evening, we dressed him in all his finery.

Naked Chubby

Dressed Chubby

I love him!

This is the last blog post to this URL. Starting on Monday, December 22nd, the blog will only be posted here

I'm sorry to have been so boring with this, but I treasure every one of you who has come to read my knitting (and other) meanderings and I don't want you to think I've just abandoned you. Please come see me in the new place! Before too much longer, the blog itself will be getting redecorated as well!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

There are lots of things I'd like to try. My eyes are bigger than my knitting ability for now, but hopefully that won't always be the case. Did you know that there are tons of really lovely patterns available on line? With one exception, everything that follows is a free pattern.

Some of you have already seen this Crystal Palace offering-





I love the loose flowing lines of this sweater and have hopes that even on someone my size, it will look nice. I have the yarn for this one already - Tahki New Tweed in a natural, ecruy sort of color. I hope to cast on for it after Christmas and I'm getting excited about it. The yarn is still sitting in its shipping box in the bedroom and every time I look at it, my fingers itch to start working with it.

Then there's this Berroco pattern -





I love the free swinging lines of this and imagine making it up in something very snuggly. This is definitely my kind of outerwear. A bright color for me - red or fuschia or maybe coral. I don't really like the color it's shown in; I agree with the person who said brown isn't a color, it's a condition. The gauge given is 5 sts to 2" as worked on size 11s (US) so it should be something rather bulky but the garments measurements are included so you could work this up in aran or worsted weight if you preferred, so long as you knew your gauge.

This is Judy Gibson's Lace Bonnet and I have loved it since I first saw it.





Until very recently (see blog entry for 12/16/03) I had thought the kind of knitting that required starting with just a few stitches on DPNs and then increasing outward from there would be forever beyond me. I now have hope that this might be possible. I have the yarn for this one too - a beautiful, soft sport-weight coral and a set of size 2 Brittany DPNs to start it with. A further note regarding the use of this as a chemo cap. See the ruffle? One of the biggest problems when you lose you hair is that you get cold. You can't imagine how much insulation your hair provides - well, maybe some of the guys can - until you lose it. That ruffle extends down the back of the neck, providing coverage for an area that most hats miss. Besides that, it's darned cute!

This afghan is the one pattern in this list that you'll have to buy. It's from Wooly Thoughts in the UK.





The pattern is based on Penrose tiles, an aperiodic system for tiling an infinite surface. I've got this one and a few of their other mathematically based designs. They are lovely people to deal with and the patterns are clear and well illustrated. If you're at all inclined towards the math of knitting, spend some time at their site and look around at the incredible things they've done by knitting mathematics. I'll risk being drummed out of the knitting blog corps by admitting that the "Here be Dragons" piece just takes my breath away (it's crocheted). A fractal afghan! I may faint...

Last, but certainly not least, is this sweater from Knitty which you are likely familiar with and which some of you may have already made -





I loved this sweater when it arrived in the baby "Haiku" version and was thrilled to see it reappear in a grown-up version. I like everything about this piece, the construction, the stitch patterns and the kind of do-your-own-thing feel to the pattern itself. My own thing, I'm thinking, would be cotton or a cotton/linen blend in a light color (periwinkle? peach? butter?) for a spring/fall kind of garment. I'm waiting (as with Nina, above) for a yarn to speak to me about this sweater.

Yarns do that, you know!

Please remember that as of Monday, December 22, the blog is moving here. Please update your bookmarks? Thanks bunches!

The end of the Christmas knitting, that is :)

I finished the second hand towel for the bath baskets I'm putting together. Now, all I have to do is find suitable baskets and I'm home on these two gifts. A pair of mittens or a scarf to go and I'm home free!!

I did this towel differently - was just enough bored with the entrelac to want to do something else. This worked out nicely, but I can't say it was terribly exciting knitting :)





It was knitted lengthwise in pink Lily Sugar 'n Cream (I think - the label seems to have run away!) on US size 5 needles and the pattern is simple, simple.





This is a close up of the stitch pattern. If I hadn't knitted it myself, I'd swear there was more than one row of purl between the garter rows. But there isn't. It's 8 rows of garter and one row of purl; repeat ad nauseum. As I said, not exciting knitting, but the towel is nice and I may make a few for us...in a while :)





I admit, this is a huffy bit of reaction to a post on the Klist today. Someone was talking about people making bunnies out of squares and thinking they'd really done something. It was clear she didn't think that counted as accomplishing anything. This was one of the first things I completed when I started knitting and I made this bunny for Myria about a year and a half ago. Last November, I made a huge version of this for my nephew's first birthday. It's true, I haven't made any recently, but that's because there hasn't been any need. The pattern is there in my head, ready for whenever I may want it again.

I think this is quite a clever pattern. You can find it here. and I thank Jackie for sharing it. It's simple, very cute, fairly adaptable, and gave me a much needed boost while I was learning the basics.

And no, my feeling weren't hurt and I didn't take the comment to heart. But I would have a year ago and I know there are other new knitters out there reading that post who might feel bad. Thoughtlessness isn't a sin I guess, but I sometimes think it should be!

The blog is moving as of Monday, December 22nd. It's going here. Please update your bookmarks? Thanks, muchly!

We go seasonal today :)

I love movies. Sometimes they're not even particularly good movies, but there's something about them that keeps me entertained, never the less. The following are my favorite seasonal films. I have them on video tape and DVD, and they all come out after Thanksgiving to be played over the interim time until Christmas. Some I grew up with; most I didn't discover until I was an adult and living on my own. Some of them are spectacular and a couple are not so hot - but their appeal to me is strong and I love them.





These are the older films.

"Miracle on 34th Street" was made in 1947 and stars Maureen O'Hara, Edmund Gwenn and an 11 year old Natalie Wood as Susan Walker, a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus. Edmund Gwenn plays Santa Claus and the story revolves around his efforts to both bring a bit of light and faith to a little girl who doesn't have much of either and to prove his sanity to the New York Supreme Court - which also doesn't believe in Santa Claus. Gwenn is Santa Claus to the life (to coin a phrase...) and Wood is simply amazing as the bored child too old for her years. There are sub-themes about child-rearing, about what constitutes sanity and about friendship. The film is simple and charming. It is also hilarious.

"It's a Wonderful Life" was made in 1946 and stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Stewart plays his best character - everyman - who, upon finding himself in desperate straits, wishes he had never been born. An angel grants that wish and George Bailey (Stewart) then gets to see what his family, his town and his business would have been like had he actually never existed. When Bailey finally understands that his life is very worthwhile, he is restored to his proper present, happy to know that he has many, many friends. At the end of the film, his brother toasts him: "To my brother George - the richest man in town!" He is not referring to financial solvency and there isn't a dry eye in the house.

Also made in 1947 is "The Bishop's Wife" starring David Niven as a harried and frustrated man of the cloth. Loretta Young plays his long-suffering wife and Cary Grant (!!) plays the angel sent to give the bishop guidance. It took me a while to get my head around the rakish Grant as an angel, but he manages to pull the role off with panache and great style. Niven is in splendid form: witty, dry, edgy and furious by turns. While the Bishop knows that his new assistant is an angel, no one else does and every time the Bishop is about to spill the beans, something happens which prevents him from doing so. Interestingly enough, it is an old, agnostic friend who first realizes that Dudley (Grant) couldn't possibly be an ordinary, mortal man.

The first two films are classics and you can see them broadcast many times over during the holiday season. The last is a bit of a sleeper. What they all have in common is an innocence that seems quite unpopular in current film-making. They are, indeed, heartwarming which often seems to be a dirty word these days. But, for me, there's something powerful about the various portrayals of people who try to do the right thing and who attempt to have faith. I don't necessarily mean faith in God, but faith in each other, in their families and friends and in themselves.





"Scrooge" was made in 1951 and was, itself, a remake. Dickens' tale had already been filmed at least half-a-dozen times. For me, this is the best version of that story. No one has put the character of Ebenezer Scrooge across like Alastair Sim before or since. I realize I'm treading on toes here and that many people adore Albert Finney's interpretation of the role. All I can tell you is that while I have like Mr. Finney in many other things, Sim was, is and will always be my Scrooge. His transformation from a thoughtless miser (and Scrooge is bitter, thoughtless and penny-pinching but he is not evil) to a considerate, generous and kind member of society is utterly believable. His journey is heart-breaking, frightening and sometimes very funny. The scene towards the end where he ambushes the maid on the stairs is alone worth the price of admission.

"White Christmas", made in 1954, was a showcase for Irving Berlin's music. The title song (written in 1938 and sung by Bing Crosby) was, until 1997, the most popular recording of all time. Of particular interest are Danny Kaye's rubber-faced shenanigans and Rosemary Clooney's velvety voice. The story is slight and the music is the real star of the show. But it is a nice story and it is wonderful music!

Both of these films were made in the fifties and they have a harder edge than the older films do. They're a little more worldy-wise and world-weary but they are still about friendship, doing the right thing and having faith.





The animated version of Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was released on television in 1966. I remember it very clearly because our old black and white television had a bum channel selector and wouldn't tune properly to the station that was broadcasting the show. We had been able to get in the other two major networks by using a screwdriver, inserted into the channel selector to make (I assume) a connection that wasn't otherwise being made. I worked all afternoon with that screwdriver (I was 12 and I wanted to see that show!) and finally, finally got the correct station tuned in. None of us touched the TV until the show was over, later that evening. Dr. Seuss had always made me giggle with his outlandish rhymes and made-up words - and this was no exception. Whoever thought to cast Boris Karloff as the Grinch should be given a medal!

"The Ref" came out in 1994 and was a vehicle for my favorite comedian and cynical observer of the human condition - Denis Leary. This movie has some of the best, isolated scenes and some of the most hilarious lines of any Christmas tale. It is not really a very good film. It starts in the middle of things, meanders around and goes nowhere in particular. But because it's Leary and because bits of it are so incredibly funny (the scene where the harassed chief of police tells a town bigwig that he has slept with the bigwig's wife) it's on my favorites list. For what it's worth, "The Ref" also contains my favorite Kevin Spacey role. He should do something lighter every now and again - he's good at it.

"Scrooged" hit the big screen in 1988 and stars Bill Murray. This is an extremely weird update of the classic. It's cynical, dark and unnerving. It's also funny in some very twisted ways. What can I tell you - it works for me! I don't much like re-makes, but this is enough off the wall to distance it almost completely from more classic interpretations. Murray is quite good as Frank Cross, a nasty and malevolent TV station manager. Carol Kane is hysterical as a rather combative ghost of Christmas present and Bobcat Goldthwaite absolutely steals the end of the film as a desperate drunk that Cross has pushed too far. Another iffy movie, it has some great scenes and some wonderful moments. It does all kind of fall apart at the end, but by then you won't' care.

These three are distinctly modern films. While the "Grinch" has elements common to some of the older, kinder films, it is a modern mind that conceived the notion of stealing the whole holiday. "The Ref" and "Scrooged" are filled with angst, insecurities and treachery. Yet, they too, finally, speak to doing the right thing and having faith.

I guess that's what it all boils down to for me. I'm not a religious person. I don't go to church and I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to define "God". But I do believe in a lot of intangibles, friendship and love among them. I have faith that my life means something, that everyone's life means something - even if it's not always obvious. And these films help me to remember that.

However you celebrate, I hope your holiday season is a good one!

As of next Monday, December 22nd, The Yarnpath will move here. Please update your bookmarks? Thanks!

An addition to the Adventures of Robbyn and the Double-pointed needles!





Determined to master this porcupine business, after spending most of the day lengthening the "big green thing", I dug out the DPNs and the dreaded, unphotographable red yarn and decided it was time I worked on making a circle :)

I cast 2 stitches onto each of three needles and followed Elizabeth Zimmerman's instructions for increases. Knit a round, increase, knit, knit, increase, knit,knit, knit, knit, increase, etc... And whaddya know!!! It works! The toughest part is keeping the initial cast-on on the needles long enough to get a couple of rounds worked, at which point the stitches have gotten the idea that they're supposed to be on the needles and not slipping their loops in my lap :)

Aside: Is this business easier with four needles or five? What do you folks prefer?

Granted this isn't high art; it isn't even aspecially good craftsmanship - but it's a start and for me, who thought it would never be possible, it's hopeful!

We have engaged the services of a web host (YAY!) and I am in the process of getting the blog moved over. More space, room for web pages to link too and Myria is considering a blog as well :) I will be looking into Moveable Type as well, once the dust settles, so a decor overhaul is also in the offing, though not immediately.

As of Monday next (December 22, 2003), the blog will be moving to http://www.wolfandturtle.net/Yarnpath

That link isn't working just yet, but it should be by tomorrow.

That's all f-f-f-folks! I have to be out early this morning so today represents the soul of wit :)

Have a good one!

We got hit again yesterday, though not as badly here as in some parts of the state. Right now things are more slushy/icy than snowy. I'll have to get back to you on whether I think that's an improvement or not :)





We switched the critter feeder over from straight sunflower seeds to a mixture of sunflower seeds and corn. Everybody seems to like it and I feel better about offering a variety (even if it's a small variety) to our outdoor hangers-on. It's interesting to watch things when there's bad weather in the offing. Yesterday, before it started snowing, all the feeders were covered with birds and squirrels. Today, this fellow was all by his lonesome out there.





I completed this puppet last night watching Emeril :) While we were shopping Friday, we found a beautiful stuffed tiger puppet that even roars. I had my doubts about including this in the presents. Next to the "store-bought" item, it seems pretty lame to me, but Myria insists that's it's not and that our nephew will probably love it. I do think it's kind of cute, in a minimalist, kind of home-made way. I just don't think it can stand up well to the competition :) Perhaps things will improve when I learn to knit "plush" :)

I also worked on the big "green thing" for a while last night. A glance at the work showed a sizeable hole about two rows down! I tinked back to just above the hole and dropped the stitch down to make the repair - but there was nothing to repair, no dropped or misworked stitch - nothing! Completely baffled, I frogged back to the row itself with a growing suspicion about what had caused the problem. It was confirmed when I was tinking back on that row (a purl row) and got to the mistake - at which point the working yarn seemed to want to go to the back of the fabric. At some point, I had put the work down in the middle of a knit row and when I picked it up I started working on the wrong side, purling back instead of knitting the remainder of the row. I was easy to fix, but it was such a silly mistake. PLease tell me I'm not the only one who's done this kind of thing?





The scones are all the fault of Ryan at Mossy Cottage. She just had to go and mention scones in last Friday's post! These are a variation of the ones I posted the recipe for (see archives, post for November 19, 2003). I left out the sugar and the currants and added a cup and a half of good cheddar cheese, finely grated. I also swapped out a tablespoon of the half-'n-half for a tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce (Myria's superb suggestion).

They were heavenly! Actually, they still are heavenly as there are a few left - two that I set aside to bring to my father whenever the roads clear up and a couple that escaped my predations last night. These things are evil, I tell you; they call you from the kitchen. I swear, they could wake me up out of a sound sleep!

The discussion of patterns still has my head whirling with numbers and possibilities. Ryan sent this link for Morse Code. It's fun to play with. All you'd have to do is assign the dots and dashes either a pattern or a color and off you go. Your sweater could offer the world a Coke or tell it to go stuff itself - and only you would know :)





This is the "SOS" pattern I had worked out. The high contrast sunshine in the kitchen this morning enabled me to get a picture of it, though it's still not as clear as I'd like. The three bobbles on either end represent the dots and (if you squint just right) the three repeats of Tweed Mock Rib in the center represent the dashes. It's not unattractive and might make an interesting panel, bordered with cables, perhaps?





This swatch is based on the turns and straight stretches between my apartment and my father's house. I assigned stockinette to the left turns, eyelets to the right turns and seed stitch to the straight bits. I like the pattern a lot and of course that has led to thinking about other stitches and other possibilities. We go up to Maine on a regular basis - how would that trip look? Since the highway is involved, would you assign a different pattern to that than you would to the simple straight road between one intersection and another? Would you represent the stop at the toll booth?

Know what I'm going to be doing all weekend? :)

Donna asked about animal hand-puppets yesterday. Most of what I came up with were finger puppets. There are lots of patterns for finger puppets. I might be able to them for adult sized fingers, but I haven't a prayer of making them to fit a two-year-old finger.

There were, however, two hand puppet patterns I kept running into. Karen's Puppet Recipe is based on a standard sock pattern and looks to be quite good for people who already have experience in turning a heel - which I do not :) Still, it's bookmarked in case I get terribly ambitious. The one I actually started is for Hand Puppies. I won't bore you with a photo just yet as all I've got so far is a wad of seed stitch. It seems, though, that by changing the ears and making some other simple alterations, this could turn into many animals. If I'm lucky, I may have something to show you on Monday.





This is one of my favorite candle holders, though that term seems a bit lame for something as elaborate as this. Right now it's holding a bayberry candle which is sweetly scenting the air around the computer and reminding me wistfully of the holidays of my childhood. My mother was especially fond of the scent of bayberry, but money was tight and not to be squandered on non-essential like candles. One Christmas, someone (one of the aunts, I think) gave her a pair of beautiful bayberry, beeswax tapers and she treasured them. They would come out to be lit for the holiday dinner table, and then get carefully put away until the next year.

Have a nice weekend folks - don't get run over in the malls!

I finally was able to get a hold of the winter "Knitters" magazine. I would like to subscribe but I don't want to be sent the issue I already have as my first magazine. And waiting until the spring issue is out and then subscribing means I'd have to leave it on the news stand and just wait for the subscription to kick in. Sigh - decisions, decisions... :)

There are a couple of things in here I really like and that go on my "someday" list. You know, someday when I have the money for that nice yarn, when I'm not inundated with projects, when I have enough time to sit down and focus on something I won't be able to whip out in an afternoon? That sort of thing.





This is just fantastic - I love the construction of this garment (clever construction really gets me going - oooh baby!). I don't care for the yarn, though, as (to me) it looks like there are worms all over the jacket. Not good. But something else that would add a bit of textural interest would be fine and isn't it nice that there are all kinds of yarns out there just waiting to be played with?





This one is just so simple and classic. I wouldn't change a thing - except for those darling heart buttons which probably go for $5 apiece. The red is gorgeous and the pattern is very classy (not something I aspire to very often!).

Someday...



My sister-of-the-heart, Myria's sister, has requested stocking stuffers for her littlest boy who was just 2 in November. I whipped these puppies out yesterday and while they're nothing fancy, they're too big for him to swallow, soft enough to not do much damage when thrown and (hopefully) bright enough to be interesting. They're also all synthetic so she can just throw them in the washer when they get grody. She told us that he wanted fish toys and I was halfway through an experimental attempt when Myria let me know that those should be for the bath. Knitted fish probably wouldn't be a good idea :)

Ryan at Mossy Cottage Knits has a fascinating post about patterns of various types. I've been turning this over in my head since I read the post last night - I even fell asleep thinking about it. Go look at her post and at the links she offers.

How about using Morse code, an SOS sweater? Three bobbles (dit-dit-dit), three strips of some pattern (dah-dah-dah) and three more bobbles (dit-dit-dit). I actually swatched this up but couldn't get a decent picture of it to post. You could make it in you favorite yarn and your favorite color (go ahead, splurge a little) for days when you feel a little less than capable.

I also thought about the route I take to my father's house - using stop signs and traffic lights as decision points, you wind up with a series of left turns, right turns and straight paths. From here to my Dad's, it would go:

L-R-S-S-R-L-L-S-S-S-S-L-L (where L= left, R= right and S= straight)

You could assign a stitch to each thing. L rows might be plain stockinette, R rows might be eyelets, S rows could be seed stitch. I actually plan to work this up. You could repeat the pattern or mirror it or do anything else with it anything that struck your fancy.

The other thing that occurred to me is to take a familiar knitting pattern, say, Feather and Fan, and assign colors to the stitch pattern. You wouldn't be working feather and fan, just using it to determine color changes. For example, say you're making a scarf in stockinette or garter stitch. The rows of the F & F pattern are worked like this:

• Knit


• Purl


• Assorted K2tog, YO and K1


• Knit

If you wanted to do it simply, you'd just assign a color to each row and change as you move up the scarf. But you could break out that third row and assign a particular color to YOs and K2togs as well. Do them as separate rows, or as color changes within the row.

This idea of looking for patterns is a really nifty one. Since I tend to do that anyway (I am definitely a process knitter) it's just a matter of tuning in to it and paying a little attention.

I like it when my head spins with ideas and possibilities! Thanks, Ryan!

The Joys of a Coffee Addict

My earliest memory of coffee is shopping in the A&P with my mother. I was probably only about 4 or 5 years old at the time, but I clearly remember the smell of fresh ground coffee in the coffee aisle. Eight O'clock, Bokar and Red Circle coffees were sold in whole bean form and there was a coffee grinder beside the display so the beans could be ground to your preferred fineness. The red, black and yellow bags were attractive to my child's eye but it was the smell of the freshly ground beans that captivated me. I remember trying to steer my mother towards that aisle every time we went shopping.

I started drinking coffee when I was 15 despite my mother's warning that it didn't taste the way it smelled and that I probably wouldn't like it. She was wrong about that; I loved it. When I was young, I drank it with milk and sugar. In my twenties, that seemed to be way too sweet to me, so I dropped the sugar. Still too sweet, I dropped the milk and drank my coffee black for several years.

It wasn't until 1992 that I discovered what really good coffee could taste like and that I could have it in my own home. Myria encouraged me to buy a good coffee maker (I think that first one was a Braun) and a grinder.

Then I started trying coffees and the 90s were a good time to do it. Gourmet coffeeshops were springing up all over the place trying to cash in on the boomer mania for a decent brew and the popularity of Starbucks (I'm not fond of Starbucks; all their coffees taste faintly of fish to me) which was just then beginning to sweep the country. I tried everything: Guatemalan Antigua, Tanzanian Peaberry, Brazilian Santos, Celebes Kalossi, Sumatra Mandheling, Monsoon Malabar - it was like learning a new language only this language was tasted rather than spoken. My favorite was Ethiopian Harrar - what many consider to be the original coffee, the one from which all the others were derived. It was easily available in the mid 90s but has disappeared as the coffee trend moved to flavoring additives (hazelnut, vanilla, etc. - shudder). It can still be obtained on-line, and the prices are decent - but the shipping costs as much or more than the coffee does.





This is what I'm currently drinking. This blend combines the mellowness of Columbian with the sprightliness of Sumatran in a slightly-darker-than-average roast to produce the taste-bud equivalent of a kick in the butt - which is what I want from a cup of coffee. I get it at Trader Joe's. They carry a nice variety of good coffees at reasonable prices. I also think well of their Costa Rican Estate coffee as well as the Kuai (similar to, but not as expensive as their Kona and, in my opinion, better tasting).





The cup on the left is my current favorite. It holds a generous 20 oz of coffee (or whatever lesser liquid you prefer :) and is good and solid. It's shape is also an asset because I'm a clumsy oaf. You have to work to tip this baby over. I'm also tickled with it's seasonal theme, especially the little gingerbread dog on the inside of the rim.

The cup on the right is the type of thing I used for years. When I was driving an Olds, the dashboard was sizeable enough so that I could put my cup there, sort of wedging it between the dash and the windshield and wherever I went, my coffee went too. Because there was always a coffee cup visible on the dash, Myria took to using it as a way to spot our car (in a mall parking lot, for example) and called it "the shining beacon". With the passing of the Olds and the acquisition of the Accent (a nice, dependable, tiny car) carrying coffee became impossible. I prefer my ceramic mugs to the plastic, semi-thermal types but the plastics had their uses. For one thing, they had a lid and when you're a clumsy oaf, that's an asset not to be taken lightly!





I recently replaced my very elderly Krups with a Hamilton Beach brew station. This innovative design doesn't use a carafe. Instead, the coffee is brewed into a reservoir from which it may be dispensed by pressing a button. It's a simple and clever arrangement and makes wonderful coffee. It unit is tall, so storing it beneath a bank of cupboards might be problematic but that is it's only drawback and not one I have to deal with in any case. Some of the reviews I've read have indicated that the machine is difficult to operate and breaks easily. All I can tell you is that mine works well and produces very good coffee.





And now you know how dippy I truly am...

I'm the only one here who drinks coffee. The animals aren't interested (and it wouldn't be good for them in any case) and Myria finds the stuff revolting. While there are times I wish I could share the deep pleasure of a rich tasting cup, there's an up side to being the only java lover in the house...

...More for me!

I didn't get much knitting done yesterday. Between one thing and another I just didn't seem to have a lot of time for it. I did attempt the Norwegian purl method that the Klist has been chatting about for the last few days. There are instructions at the Knitting Geek. I found them to be clear and was able to execute the stitch but I don't think it's going to work for me. For one thing, I'm a thrower and it seems this technique would work a lot better for a picker. When the stitch was complete, the yarn was at the front of the work and I had to move it back. I could have pulled the yarn forward and purled in the standard fashion if I wanted to deal with that. That said, I realize that the yarn probably isn't supposed to wind up in front and that it's just my clumsiness that made it so. Anyway, this would probably be a great method for someone who knits in the continental fashion.

Speaking of which, I spent a while last night (trying to block out the horrendous "Battlestar Galactica") trying to knit continental. I can do it - that is I can get the sequence of motions and produced a reasonable looking knitted swatch - but it never got easier, The tenth row was as awkward and frustrating as the first row. Eh - I've done pretty well throwing and it looks like that's the way it's going to stay for the foreseeable future. I'm sure there are advantages to the continental knitting style, but surely perfecting my cursing isn't supposed to be one of them?

I'm slowly beginning to get things together for my cruise in January, and in going through the closet I found this.





I found this yarn in a get-rid-of-it bin for $1.00 a ball. It is - or was - Classic Elite "Dangerous", a worsted weight blend of 70% linen and 30% silk. There was one ball each of cream, slate blue, grass green and lilac. I can't imagine what this stuff went for when it was new (and don't really want to know) but it's just gorgeous material and was an absolute dream to work with. The colors would go together pretty well, but what to do with them?

I wound up making this bag which I am very pleased with. Though it's a bit whimsical, it's what goes with my semi-formal and formal outfits on the cruise. Let's face it folks, I'm not a formal (or even semi-formal) kinda girl and those outfits are also a bit whimsical!

I knit a long rectangle in seed stitch, starting with the cream and switching over to the lilac about halfway through. Then I folded it in half and seamed the sides. Using the green, I crocheted the edging around the top (two rows of single crochet, a row of half-double crochet/space and a final row of single crochet). I made the I-cord (two of them) with the slate blue.

The tassels are my own desperate invention; the base is crochet. Basically chain 3 and half-double crochet as many stitches as you can fit around into the first chain (you're making a circle of stitches using the first chain as the center); join. End off and cut your yarn, leaving a long tail. Cut pieces of yarn into a length that's a little more than twice the length you want your tassel to be. Then just pull yarn lengths through the crochet loops on the perimeter of the circle, just as you would when fringing a scarf. Thread your long tail into a tapestry needle, weave in and out through the same stitches you attached the tassel threads to and pull tight. This gathers the circle into a little dome from which your tassel hangs nicely. Secure yarn, dispose of ends and attach to I-cord. In the time it took you to read this, you could about complete a tassel. It's real easy and, I think, the result was pretty nifty. I was lucky enough to find a cream colored, jacquard scarf in A. C. Moore for a couple of bucks that became the lining.






Yesterday, Myria got a couple of pictures of birds we've been trying to photograph for a while now. The back lighting makes them a bit darker than optimal, but here they are anyway. The fellow on the top is a young blue jay who's been coming around for sunflower seeds and the fellow on the bottom is a male Downy Woodpecker. This guy's been leading Myria a merry chase for weeks now so it's nice to finally have a picture of him - even if it's a bit dark!

I love the intricate look of cables. There is something really intriguing about the way they snake over the fabric, weaving over and under themselves and each other making patterns that draw the eye. The addition of a couple of simple cables to a sweater changes it totally and gives it a textural interest far beyond the simple execution of the thing. Many cables create great warmth and density as well as providing splendid eye-candy!





This is a close-up of the cable pattern in Kathy Zimmerman's "Bed & Breakfast Pullover", found in the current issue of Interweave Knits. This is one of the most splendid cables I have ever seen and I'm itching to work out the stitch pattern, if not the actual sweater - God knows when I'll get the time to actually sit down and play with it but it's something I'm really looking forward to...in something other than grey, though :)

Over the weekend, Connie asked about cabling with out a cable needle. I've been doing this for a little over a year now and love the technique. It works very well and is easy and fast. Wendy Johnson offers a picture tutorial on her method as does Theresa of Bagatell fame. They're slightly different, but they both work just fine. Like any new method, it's a bit awkward until you get used to it but boy, when you do, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it! Well...cabled without it, anyway!

I finished the Cameron Scarf over the weekend, but won't post another picture until I've gotten it blocked. I would have scheduled that for today or tomorrow, but our landlord kindly engaged an electrician to put in a new light for us and called Saturday to let us know that the electrician would be here "some time" Monday or Tuesday :( I have an appointment on Tuesday that I can neither skip nor change, so I hope the electrician makes it before then.

The work on the shawl proceeds slowly and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to have enough time to complete this and get it shipped to England for the holiday. I keep plugging away at it, but I'm slow at lace-making and while it is growing, it's doing so at a snail's pace.

I also have one more fuzzy scarf on the needles that's about half complete. I'm actually glad for that project because it gives my eyes a rest after struggling with the dark, tiny yarn and small needles for the shawl.





We had a lot of snow this weekend and Myria kept watch on the feeders to make sure that our "outdoor pets" had plenty of sustenance. They seem to appreciate it!

I suppose I have to admit that knitting means a lot to me; I knit every day. There are other things I love that I don't do nearly as often. Partly it's because the materials are at hand. When a new project strikes me, all I have to do is go to the cupboard, select my yarn, pick my needles and cast on. That's why God created stash, right?





This is what roped me in. God knows why I was browsing the knitting magazines in Borders that day - I probably hit that section of the rack looking for crochet inspiration. This caught my eye and I was gone - hook, line and needles :) It's Valentina Devine's "Mitered Corner Reversible Coat" in the February 2002 issue of Knit 'n Style. I had never seen anything like this before and the geometric design and modular technique utterly entranced me. I immediately purchased yarn and needles and, ignoring the warning that this pattern was a challenge even for experienced knitters, plunged into it.

And you know what? I didn't find it tough to follow - neither the pattern nor the concept. Perhaps my having absolutely no experience worked in my favor. I worked up swatches in every color combination I could think of and happily churned out motifs of various sizes and colors for days. My favorite used a soft, medium grey wool blend as a base color and pastel baby yarns as a carry-along. I could see the mathematics of how the piece worked and this was just amazing to me. I didn't know knitting could be like this!

I'm sure you know what happened next. Rather than apply myself to the coat, I let myself be distracted by all the other knitting magazines available and began to search the web for still more patterns and techniques. If this was an example of the kind of thing that was being done with knitting these days, I couldn't wait to find out what else was out there...but I still have the magazine and I still intend to make the coat.





These rapscallions are why the magazine looks so tattered. I had bunnies at that time - marvelous pets with amazing personalities! They would, however, chew on any paper they could get a hold of and, one afternoon, they developed a taste for my knitting magazines!

Things just snowballed from there. I acquired lots and lots of cheap acrylic yarn to practice and play with. I figured since I didn't really know what I was doing yet, I didn't want to spend tons of money on really nice stuff that I would probably just end up ruining. I got needles and markers and cable needles (which I no longer use) and learned to use a circular needle - I had never even heard of those things before! On a trip up to Portland, ME, I discovered the Brittany birch needles. Later, when I found a tiny, more local shop, I discovered a few leftover pair of the old Brittany black walnut needles - still my favorites. This year, a larger shop opened about 12 miles north and they carry ebony and rosewood needles. I have indulged in the ebony but haven't tried the rosewood yet.

And yarns? While I still have quite a bit of the acrylic, I have acquired some nicer stuff which I tend to hoard. The Christmas exercise of actually using a couple of them (Cashmerino and alpaca) has actually paid off, though. I can work well with nice yarn and shouldn't be afraid to use it. Hoarding it goes nowhere - no one, not even me, gets to enjoy it.





I keep two written journals - well, I guess they're not really journals. One contains item patterns I've discovered and love and the other holds stitch patterns. Both of them are growing all the time. When I travel, it's these two books that accompany me along with whatever project I happen to be working on at the time. They have been to Portugal, England, Greenland and Iceland. In January they will go through the Panama Canal and in March, with a bit of luck, they will revisit Lisbon.

We've all heard knitting referred to as "the new Yoga". That always amuses me, since I do Yoga too :) Yoga is Yoga and knitting is knitting. Knitting can be useful as a meditative exercise, but so can drawing, listening to music, or looking out a winter window at the snow falling on the street below. Knitting doesn't require justification; it doesn't have to be the new anything. So long as it pleases you, whether you use humble materials or the most trendy and expensive stuff available, whether you make sweaters or facecloths or simply play with the patterns, the only one who's opinion counts regarding your knitting - is you!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Judy Gibson's knitting pages are some of the most interesting out there. Her approach is creative and it's fascinating to see how the woman plays with ideas. There is a wealth of information here and it will not only help your knitting, but possibly change the way you look at it. I have made several of the yarn balls (under "Original Patterns" - a novel, two needle, short-row technique) and stuffed them with catnip both for my cats and for other kitties of my acquaintance.





This disreputable item is a favorite of Fluffy's. He actually carries it around from room to room which is quite amusing since the thing is bigger than his head. I make these in cheap acrylic because it stands up to the cats' predations so well. I don't bother washing them either. When one gets to the point where it's seriously grubby, I throw it out and make another one.


The Fiber Gypsy offers a whole slew of links to useful resources including coverters, stitch pattern references, size charts (from infants on up - including fluffy!), tools, tips and so forth. Bookmark this for your reference section - it's beyond useful!





wiseNeedle is, among other things, a yarn database. You can look up various types and manufacturers an read about how other people have used the yarn and what they thought about it. You might also consider contributing your own thoughts about yarns you love (and hate). The more information in the database, the more useful it becomes to us all. I have found this site to be very helpful and have used and contributed (and will continue to do so) myself. It's a pretty ambitious project and a teriffic resource that just gets better all the time!





Another creative knitter, Flor's pages are full of tips, techniques, charts and patterns. I have made her two-needle, side-seam socks and am hoping to be able to have a go at the Amelia Earhardt cap after the Christmas season is over. Beautiful pictures and fascinating techniques live here. Check it out!

We're going Christmas tree shopping today!! We haven't had (or cared about) a Christmas tree for many years but this season, somehow, it seems like a good idea. We're hoping to find a little live tree in a tub that we can plant later or, more accurately, give to my father so he can plant it in the spring :) If that's not possible, we'll probably go with an artificial. I'll post a picture when we get it all sorted out. This is gonna be fun :)

Happy Thursday folks!

Celtic Art 101...


This was one of my back-doors into knitting. I have always been fascinated by the Celtic and Scandinavian interwoven design elements. Many of them, even the most seemingly complex, consist of one, single line weaving in, over and around itself with no beginning and no end. Often, though not always, this is the artist's intent - to create the design element using only one line.





Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction is my "bible" and the reference I most frequently return to. Originally published in 1951, Bain's book contains as much history as method and is regarded as a classic of its type. It is not, however, easy to decipher and I remember the winter morning when things finally began to explain themselves to me very clearly. I had been poring over the book for quite a while at that point. However, when things do start to become clear, the whole theory and method suddenly becomes logical and comprehensible.

I have moved on to playing with these methods in my own fashion and thought I'd share a bit of that because it's so fascinating and so much fun! All you need is some graph paper, a pencil, an eraser and a marker or a pen.





Use the pencil as you design your element. You start very simply with a border consisting of x points by x points. In the above picture, there are 4 points across the top and bottom and 3 points on each side. Nothing to it - you are simply connecting the junction points on the graph paper with a series of diagonal lines.





Now you begin to connect the lines - this is one of the reasons graph paper comes in so handy :) You should end up with a grid of diamonds, all the same size. Think of it in terms of an afghan or a modular shawl and you'll have the idea.





Draw a diamond inside of each diamond in your grid, leaving a bit of space between the diamond you're drawing and the border of the diamond you're doing the drawing in. What you're doing here is tracing the shape of the element pieces inside each of those pieces. Because this is a fairly simple piece, all the shapes are the same. For more complex elements, this won't always be the case. Finally, draw around the outside of the entire element, creating a border. Leave the same amount of space between your outside border and the element as you did when you were drawing the diamonds inside the components.





At this point you'll begin to actually do the weaving. Remember that your woven line has two sides! Beginning at the upper left, trace the lines with your pen or a marker and watch where the line takes you. You'll reach another part of the line which will be crossing in front of you. The first time this happens, continue drawing over it until you meet the next part of the line crossing in front of the line you're drawing. At that point, lift the pen and continue on the other side of the crossing line. What you are doing is creating "overs" and "unders". Whenever a part of the line crosses over another part of the line, it must cross under the next line segment. It is this balance of overs and unders that creates the woven aspect of the design.





Continue in this way, creating overs and unders until your design is fully outlined.





Erase your guidelines and you have it!

There lots of ways to use elements like this; you can trace them onto fabric for embroidery or draw them on good quality paper for stationery. I often play with this just to see what I can produce and to see where my mind will go - it's almost a form of meditation when you get into it.

When you've had a bit of practice, you can begin playing with the crossings in your element. The same 4 x 3 grid we used for the demonstration can also produce something like this...





...it's simply a matter of where the lines cross and meet.





And, of course, embellishing the design afterwards is part of the fun :)

The designs of Elsebeth Lavold and Alice Starmore make great use of these interwoven design elements in the form of cables. You can create your own designs and (with a bit of practice) your own cable patterns. This is one of the things I work on in the "background" of my projects. The idea of using a single line (the yarn) to create a design element that consists of a single line (the cable) is absolutely irresistible to me!

You may also want to have a look here at AD6UY's graphs for Celtic knot lace patterns.

Have fun!

Friends of mine are going through a bit of a rough time and I wanted to do something for them. I know you all understand how this feels; there's nothing you can really do - time and distance will provide healing but as much as you'd like to, you can't hurry that process along - even for people you love, even for yourself. So, what's the next best thing? Give something of yourself. For me, and for many of us I imagine, that means knitting something - or a couple of somethings!





This is for the doctor - and I really hope he isn't too alarmed by the color! It is made from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and the pattern (a combination of the Tweed Mock Rib and a simple 4 stitch cable) is, as far as I know, my own. It looks a bit complicated, but as you can see from the picture, it's ridiculously simple - especially when you're working with such a soft, lovely yarn. It is named with love, in honor of my friends.

I'm a little concerned about blocking this puppy because in addition to the merino and the cashmere, this yarn has a substantial microfiber component. Synthetics aren't known for their acquiescence to blocking :) If any of you have experience blocking Cashmerino and have tips you'd be inclined to share, I'd be very grateful :)

You are free to use this pattern, copy it, distribute it, even claim it as your own. You may not sell either the pattern or the scarf and you may not change the name.

The Cameron Scarf

Note: For the purpose of this pattern, "psso" means pass the slip stitch over both the K1 and the YO
C4B - Place the next two stitches on a cable needle and hold to the back of the work. K2, then knit the two stitches from the cable needle..

• Materials: 150 - 200 grams Debbie Bliss Cashmerino (or any yarn you prefer).


• Needles: US size 8 (or size appropriate for your yarn).



• Cast on 36 stitches



• 1: K1, *sl1, K1, YO, psso; repeat from*, end K1


• 2: Purl



• Repeat Rows 1 and 2 twice more; 6 rows total.



• 7: K1, *(sl1, K1, YO, psso) x 3, P2, K4, P2; repeat from *, end (sl1, K1, YO, psso) x3, K1


• 8: P7, K2, P4, K2, P6, K2, P4, K2, P7


• 9: K1, *(sl1, K1, YO, psso) x 3, P2, K4, P2; repeat from *, end (sl1, K1, YO, psso) x3, K1


• 10: P7, K2, P4, K2, P6, K2, P4, K2, P7


• 11: K1, *(sl1, K1, YO, psso) x3, P2, C4B, P2; repeat from*, end (sl1, K1, YO, psso) x3, K1


• 12: P7, K2, P4, K2, P6, K2, P4, K2, P7



• Repeat rows 7-12 for desired length


• Repeat rows 7-10


• Repeat rows 1 and 2 three times.


• Bind off

This is for the doctor's mother who was 91 this year. It's been an enlightening process as I have never worked with yarn this fine before - and this isn't even close to lace weight :) It's Indiecita Alpaca sport weight and is being worked up into the Wiseman shawl pattern I mentioned a few days ago. I'm committed to doing at least one pattern repeat a night (about a diamond and a half all the way across) at least until the thing gets substantially bigger - then I may have to modify that a bit.

Initially (like for the first 50 rows) I kept thinking, I can't do this - this is so awkward! But eventually my big fat fingers reached a truce with the fine, soft yarn and if we're not exactly humming along (me and my fingers), we're faking it reasonably well! I'm happy with the results so far and this really isn't a difficult pattern to follow. The alpaca makes a wonderfully silky feeling fabric with a nice, crisp hand.

I'm a bit concerned about blocking this one too. Space is the issue here - I haven't any! I could pin it out on the bed (and it's going to require very stern blocking) but if it doesn't dry in a day, what then? LOL - you'd think I'd never blocked anything before - and you'd be right! I suppose if I actually get through the lace-making part without major incident, I should be able to figure out some way to block this, eh? Learn something every day!





While I was taking the photo, my two problem kids were investigating the ball of yarn. Apparently, alpaca smells very different than sheep. They were absolutely fascinated with the thing and more than a little annoyed with me when I wouldn't let them play with it!

I have just gotten my internet connection back. It has been out since 9 o'clock last night.

At least it's working now. Though, to make up for it, it started snowing a few minutes ago :( Poop...

Blogging resumes tomorrow with a new scarf design and a photo of the lace shawl thus far.

Hope you're all having great Mondays!