I Love Casting Off

I love casting off... well, I do and I don't. I don't really like the *process* of casting off. You know, making sure your tension isn't too tight...or too loose, and that your stitches are nice and even. All that stuff is a royal PITA. Now, make that soon-to-be-finished project one knit on small needles with double-stranded ultra slippery silk yarn, then decide at the last minute that you need to add beads to the cast-off edge and the PITA factor just rose exponentially. *BUT* move another lace stole from the WIP list to the FO list and, well...I just love casting off!

Yes, it's a WooHoo moment: the Hanami Lace Stole is finished! The timing, of course, was perfect as the KAL group I joined to help motivate me to finish my stole is casting-on tomorrow. Does that mean I was extra motivated??? (yes, absolutely yes!) The cast-on edge of the Hanami Stole is beaded, but the cast-off edge is a ruffle that doesn't include beads. In fact, the only beads in the design were at the cast-on edge. I really didn't think my silverlined clear beads were very noticeable against the celery green of my stole, a huge disappointment as they were such a pain to cast-on with. But after knitting my ruffle, I didn't think my edge was ruffled enough -something I also blame on the yarn. The silk yarn created a stockinette fabric that curled *a lot* more than usual. I was concerned that the stockinette ruffle would also curl and not hang properly so I decided to (gasp) add beads to the cast-off edge to add weight and give some balance to the otherwise asymmetrical design. This was my first 100% smooth laceweight silk project and it's had it's challenges. Only blocking will tell the truth in the end, but I suspect this project would have been better served with a wool or alpaca lace yarn.

I guess I need to have a little "block party" as I have four lace projects in need of a bath and blocking: a small shawl, 2 stoles, and a mohair scarf. Hopefully I'll get started on all that blocking this weekend. There will be pictures forthcoming!

Flap your Wings and Fly AWay

Flap your wings and fly away...oh MS3 "Swan Lake" Stole to the finished projects basket ! Yup, I cast-off my Natural white MS3 last Friday night. I haven't had a chance to block her yet (something about celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary), so pictures will be forthcoming. I cast-on on July 8th and cast-off on August 24th, having spent 21 days knitting on this project. I knit this version exactly as written, with the "wing". I used a single 100g hank of KnitPicks Bare Laceweight yarn and US5 Addi-Lace needles. The final stole weighed 91g.

Having finished the 1st of my 2 Swan Lake Stoles, I have to say that the pattern proved to be a pleasant knit--not boring! I can't offer a final opinion on the wing until after blocking, but my current thoughts are still not favorable. I don't love how my join between the 2 sections looks and I still would have preferred some connection between the lace patterning of each section. The good news is my mother absolutely loves the wing! She tends to wear her stoles and shawls with one end wrapped securely around her neck--the optimal way for the Swan Lake Stole. So I will give it to her after I weave in the ends and block the stole and I will finish the blue version without the wing for myself. I guess there was a reason why I ended up knitting 2 after all :-)

With one stole done I resumed work on another of Melanie's designs, the Hanami Stole. This was Melanie's first asymmetrical design, but this one is much more to my liking. The 1st half of Hanami is knit in a basketweave lace and the rest is a varying gradient of YOs intended to resemble cherry blossoms falling. I knit most of the 1st section before the MS3, but am now well into the last section of the stole. I have 1 1/2 charts left to knit before the final ruffled edging. I joined a KAL group for this stole even though I am a "cheater" thinking it would help me get finished. Besides, I can offer my help to others having already knit much of this lace stole.


Today's photos include some of my favorite things. First up is one happy baby and her very proud daddy-My nephew Tyler and his daughter Isabella, now 2 months old. Can you dig that goofy grin??? It's hard to top chubby cheeks baby pictures, but emerging from the drought and triple-digit record heat is a spectacular flowering vine--the passionflower. This version is a cultivar and is a bit different from the Tennessee State wildflower passionflower which has a lot more purple in in. I hope to have some of the wild passionflowers growing in my garden too some day. I found some growing in a place where I can legally take a start without hurting anyone or anything, so I may just be lucky enough to not have to buy a plant from a local wildflower nursery. The structure of the passionflower is simply amazing and would be considered beautiful by any standard. Christians find extra appeal in the symbolism attached to the passionflower, said to represent Christ's Passion. Either way, I just love these flowers!

This Teddy is...

dressed to a T! A great big orange and white University of Tennessee Volunteers T! I accepted the challenge of the Football-A-Long group to knit a teddy bear sweater in my team colors, something I had never done before. Not only did I use orange and white, but I did my 1st stranded knitting (fair isle) in the orange and white checkerboard and my 1st embroidery in the cross-stitch T--both iconic symbols here at Tennessee. This was my 1st top-down raglan, knit on DPNs due to the (not-so-small) size, and so it was truly a challenge for me to create/knit.

The purpose of the challenge was to knit sweaters to be donated to a charity that gives the dressed bears to organizations that deal with distressed/traumatized children. It's a good thing, but I have one big problem--I love the sweater so much I just can't part with it. It's been a really rough week with my Daddy going through angioplasty... again and coming to realize just how close he came to dying... again. The emotions of it all kinda caught up with me as I knit on this little sweater. This little sweater is really about a different kind of team spirit that has nothing to do with football, rather it's about my alma mater where I just spent 8 long years struggling to get my PhD. It's about the University where my father devoted his life to his students and colleagues for decades. It's about the united spirit of devotion to a place he and I uniquely shared. And so it will stay in a corner of my room where I find solace and inspiration--right next to that big honking diploma that carries my name and that of the University of Tennessee and says Doctor of Philosophy in bold print. It will remind me of the Team Spirit of the Drs. Plaas and our shared love for the University and education and research and all the good times we spent at UTK together. Go Vols!

Two weeks and counting down...

Until it's FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!! The Vols are getting ready for tonight's scrimmage and I'm getting ready by knitting with the Football-a-long KAL. Yup, knitters are screaming crazy football fanatics too :-)


So the 1st (preseason) challenge for the Football-a-long was to knit a team-oriented teddy bear sweater to be donated to charity. Hmmm...that *is* a challenge for me since sweater knitting, even tiny sweater knitting, hasn't really been my thing as of late. in fact I've never done anything like this before. But I went to the suggested website and downloaded some patterns and came up with some orange and white yarn. I had kind of decided to not do this challenge, but I was in a funky mood last night and decided to give it a whirl. I'm knitting a top-down raglan sweater in 2 colors (both are new techniques to me) using worsted weight acrylic and size 4 dpns. My little furry friend volunteered (get it, VOLUNTEERed) to try on my Tennessee orange and white sweater, shown here during the 2nd fitting to determine proper fit of the sleeves and chest). So far things are going well, but the true Tennessee touch is yet to come. Stay tuned!!!!

Thank God for Knitting, part 2

It's been a horrible, long week. I don't know how I would have survived without my knitting and the kind words of others who have reached out to me via my knitting. I dragged my Little River Socks with me, from one Doctor's office to the next and through 2 days at the hospital as I tended to the needs of my father and mother. It took the cardiothoracic surgeons a long time, but with patience and persistence they were able to remove the occluded stent in a major coronary artery, clear all the plaque and calcifications, and place 2 new stents to restore perfusion to his stressed heart. It was exactly what I had hoped for and Daddy came through the procedure like a rock. I *know* miracles happen and the Lord just delivered our family another one.

After spending Wednesday going to doctor's appointments (1st daddy's, then my own) I was quite dissatisfied with having to untangle my knitting from everything else in my purse. I've seen those cute little bags for on-the-go knitting, but I just don't have $20+ to invest in such things, BUT, I do have a great sewing machine and a serger and a fabric stash that exceeds my yarn stash. So I dug through some remnants leftover from other projects and started cutting and folding, stitching and pressing. No measuring needed for this simple project.
It was 10PM when I sat behind the sewing machine and whomped up the cutest little knitting bag I ever saw. Do you like the FROGS? I couldn't think of anything more suitable than frogs...besides, I needed cheering up! I put pockets on the inside-one big pocket on one side that can hold a paper pattern and any notions like cable needles and scissors or a measuring tape, and 3 long pockets on the other side to keep my dpns sorted by size. In the middle is enough space for 100g of sock yarn (balled or partially knit :-) The froggy bag performed perfectly on its test drive at the hospital yesterday so I am pleased.

I took a break after daddy had been transferred to his room and came home for an afternoon nap. I was thrilled to find a package from the Loopy Ewe in my mailbox! I've been surfing the specialty sock & lace yarn retailers online for months and finally decided to splurge and try one out. I had heard good things about Sheri at the Loopy Ewe from, of all people, Sandy, the owner of The Yarn Haven, my just-across-the-street LYS. There were oodles of yarns I wanted at the Loopy Ewe, but I narrowed it down to one sock yarn, a beautiful hand paint from Apple Laine, and one lace yarn from J Knits. Not only were my yarns beautiful beyond words, but they were meticulously wrapped in tissue paper before being sealed in a plastic bag and sent speedily to my door. I felt like I just got a present, and frankly, I needed one :-)


I have knitting progress to report, but I think I'll save it for another post as I'm pretty wiped out. Thanks to all of you who sent your well wishes and offered prayers for my family. I know they made a difference :-)

Thank God for Knitting

I can't tell you how grateful I am to have knitting in my life. I've spent a lot of time at home this past week tending to the needs of my father, who is in very fragile health. He really depends on me to be his "private duty nurse" and he'll listen and comply with my requests many times when he won't do so for my mother. Mom needs time to escape the house and nuture her own well-being and I do my best to make sure that happens. Daddy is now at the point where he shouldn't be left alone so we take turns being with him. I've had a very long turn this weekend.

Things were going just fine from my perspective until about dinnertime last evening. That's when he refused to take the medicine I recommended for another bout of cardiac symptoms because it would be the 3rd time he needed it that day. He didn't like the idea of needing nitroglycerin for the 3rd time because it would look bad. Being the obstinate soul he is (I had to inherit the trait from somewhere!) I wasn't winning this war and I was exasperated. Fortunately mother came home and together we got the stuff down him and she went to work calming him down. I escaped to my knitting. Thank God for knitting!!! You hear folks talk about how soothing and relaxing it is, and I agree. Right now I mega agree!

As my stress antidote I added a lot of rows to my natural-colored MS3 stole. I let the stole languish while I worked on socks and, frankly, while I decided what to do about "the wing" on the Swan. I decided to knit the wing for the natural-colored version just to see how it turns out. I figure it's a learning experience...but... I did run a lifeline on the last row of chart F so I can frog back if needed. I won't knit the wing on the blue beaded stole, rather I make it symmetrical with the lace panel insertion at the center. I'm very confident that the blue stole will turn out great.

Lest this post sound like a downer I thought I'd end with a couple of very happy photos. The first is my great-niece Isabella who is a chubby, happy 1 month old. She has her father's eyes, but the rest looks just like mom--especially the red hair. I took the last photo, a Queen Elizabeth Rose, during my morning stroll in the garden. This is a very fragrant rose and is a favorite of mine.

Before... and after!?!

You see these pictures everywhere...the infamous "before and after" photographs. Usually B&A pix are used to show how much better a person looks after mega weight loss, or a makeover--be it fashion, hair, makeup, or a room in your house. Somehow we are addicted to before and after pictures. They seem to say to us--"omigosh, can you believe how much better this person looks now that they____________ (fill in the blank: lost 200 lbs on this weight loss program, learned "what to wear", gave up thift store clothes, or stopped wearing 6 six coats of mascara, etc.). You get the idea. We love the ugly duckling turns into a swan or they all lived happily ever after stories. This is one of those stories. The leading character (ahem) is a greatly improved knitter who has no money and desperately wants yarn to knit a great sweater that fits. Let's set the scene:


I am so motivated by the new issue of Vogue Knitting! After knitting nothing but lace and socks for 2 years now I want to knit a real sweater--one that fits this time (see exhibits A&B above for evidence of excessively large sweater UFOs). Being of excessively limited financial resources I began digging through my yarn stash to see if I had anything good that could be coaxed into an awesome sweater. Frankly, despite the size of the stash, there wasn't much there for a fall/winter sweater (lots of craft store acrylic and summery stuff though). Two of the 3 best choices were trapped in limbo in partially, yes even mostly completed garments that were so big that the front half of the sweater could almost wrap around my entire body. Let's just say I'm a much better knitter these days and I understand more about gauge and how knitted fabric stretches.


So I present my before and after photos. Exhibit A is a lace pullover in a gorgeous 4ply lambswool (I didn't even know what 4 ply was when I bought the yarn online). It was supposed to be 22" wide and it's more like 30". Exhibit B is a superwash Aran wt wool--my 1st real yarn purchase at my LYS. It was on clearance at 50% off adn i figured that machine washable was a good thing for wool. I had never knit with wool before. After a visit to the frog pond and some serious unwinding-rewinding time I now have lovely yarn (Exhibit C). Now I have some great, natural fiber yarn with which to knit a sweater--out of real wool--and this time it *will* fit! Oh boy!

Little Volunteers

It's been more than a week since I updated ya'll on my knitting projects, but what can I say? It's hard to have show and tell when you're un-venting a sock design and you don't want to show it just yet ;o) I'm certain it's an unvention, but I haven't seen this design in anything I've looked through recently, including the more than 200 sock patterns I had saved from online (free or otherwise) that I just burned to a CD_R disc. What I can tell you is that even taking a simple lace/cable motif and dropping it into a basic sock formula still takes work and lots of test-knitting to make sure that things like gauge and fit are all working together in harmony.


The first sock I knit was out of a multicolored yarn (Panda Cotton, of course! my new favorite sock yarn). The yarn is great, the colors are great for fall/winter socks, the design is pretty good too, but they didn't create that nice harmony as the colors overwhelmed the stitch details. I discovered that the sock was a bit too baggy too as the 64sts that were perfect for the stitch pattern were too many for a nice, snug fit over the ankle and foot. So I cast-on again using a solid color yarn and 56 sts this time. So far thigns are looking good, but I'm still working the gusset decreases so it's too early to know for sure.

I'm also knitting a little on the MS3 "Swan Lake". The unveiling of the theme and the asymmetrical final design caught most folks off-guard. I half expected the asymmetry since Melanie's last stole, Hanami, was her 1st asymmetrical design. Even still, the Swan Lake design seems to be quite distinct from what I can tell at this point. It'll be quite interesting to see how the final clues shake out. I've been knitting on the natural-colored stole and am planning to knit the "wing" although I haven't gotten to that point yet. I'm very skittish about grafting 2 halves of the stole together in the middle after I finish the knitting as my "Kitch" stitch is quite terrible as to nice even tension. I was pleased to get the email from Melanie today announcing a non-grafting symmetrical solution to the dilemma. I was racking my brain as to what to do for my blue stole, and this looks like an easy answer to me :-)


I didn't want to leave without sharing a few cheery pictures, so I thought I'd show you a few little "volunteers" that showed up in my veggie garden. The sunflowers were "planted" by the birds who love my birdfeeders. Did you notice the second sunflower picture? It's actually 3 small flowers blooming in tandem--2 in the back and one centered on top. Strange, huh? I planted a few seeds last year for a Zinnia hybrid called "Thumbelina" They are miniatures and are quite cute. Of note was the phrase last year, as I didn't plant any this year. No, they just came up along the edge of the lawn and next to the raised planter boxes. I just love the plants that liberally self-sow adn grow without any work on my part.

In the Nick of Time

I finished my Victorian Lace Socks this morning...just in the nick of time! The Six Sox deadline is today to be eligible for goodies or whatever--I really don't know being new to the group and all. Anyway, it was good motivation to get another pair of socks into the FO list. To celebrate the occasion, I headed out to my garden to shoot some creative pictures of my VLS.


Up first is perhaps my favorite picture. I love how the yellow of the socks stands out in contrast to the brilliant crimson of the Vinca. This was my first time planting vinca (the flowers, not the flowering vine--but I have some of that too that grew under the fence from the neighbor's yard). Actually, I didn't choose to plant vinca, my mother just brought a pony pack home one day and that was that. They were the puniest things for a long time, but just in the last week or so they finally filled out and started to bloom with abundance. They do look good in contrast to the yellow marigolds, especially when viewed from a distance.


The second picture shows the socks perched on one of my most favorite garden plants--lantana. I purchased two of the newer hybrids this year, one is a fragrant purple variety that is more of a ground cover. I planted those at the base of a young Natchez Crape Myrtle. The contrast of the white blossoms of the crape myrtle look great with the lavender lantana. but the socks are perched in a lovely yellow-peach-pink hybrid called Peach Sunrise. This hybrid grows vertically in addition to the lateral spread so they end up looking more like a shrub by fall. Cool!


Up next we find the socks in the yellow marigolds. Yellow socks--yellow flowers. Need I say more? I suppose not, so we'll move on to the mainstay of any southerner's late summer perennial border: the purple coneflower. Not only are these coneflowers very long-blooming, despite the heat, humidity, and this year--drought, but they are a magnet for butterflies bees and birds. There is nothing more beautiful to look at than a male goldfinch feeding on the seeds of purple coneflowers. I guess that's why I needed to take a picture of my yellow socks on the coneflowers.


And last, but certainly not to be dismissed or ignored is the brilliant purple petunia. No, my petunias are not planted in an onion patch, but they are in pots and raised beds all around the house. My mother adores the fragrance of petunias, especially in the evening, so I planted lots of them on the deck where she sits and relaxes early each morning and again in the evening. After all, it's my job to take good care of my mother :-) Love ya Mom!

Where did July go?

It's late. The almost full moon is a glowing orange tonight and I'm sitting here wondering what happened to this month. I swear it was the 4th of July holiday just the other day. I guess watching the Tour de France every day helped the month fly by (and what an exciting finish to the Tour this year?!?!) I guess I'll have to find something else to pace my morning knitting now that the Tour is over.

I'm knitting away on my Victorian Lace Socks so they will be done by tomorrow's deadline. The next Six Sox design is scheduled for release on Wednesday and I'm curious to see what the group will be knitting next. I frogged the oversized Jaywalker sock and wound the yarn back into a ball ready for a new, better-suited-for-me sock pattern to show up. I may frog the 1st sock tomorrow too. As for the MS3, I spent yesterday knitting on the blue version. I guess I have some serious knitting to do if I'm going to caught up and ready for the 5th clue on Friday. I'm trying very hard to finish my WIPs--a challenge indeed when my fingers are just itching to dive into a new project. I'm seriously considering giving a go at a sweater--one that really fits (gasp)...but then again, maybe I'll stick with lace knitting after all :-)


Since I haven't taken any new pictures on my current knitting projects, today's visuals are of my niece, Victoria's 8th birthday party. the festivities were held last night and included the ever-present pink balloons and chocolate birthday cake. Victoria is in to art and animals, so we gave her several "how to draw" animals books along with a sketch book for her to practice in. I recently introduced her to scrapbooking, which went over with a big bang, but she still isn't all that interested in needlework or fiber arts...maybe next year :o)

Better news

Now that I've vented about my fiasco with the Jaywalker socks I'm feeling a bit better about things. Or at the very least I'm ready to move forward to knitty success. I've been watching the Tour de France faithfully every day for 3 weeks. I've only been a Tour fan for a few years, but I don't suppose there ever was a Tour with more unexpected events--good and bad. And so it is with knitting I guess. The Jaywalker socks surprised me kind of like the 2 dogs the jumped out in front of cyclists during the Tour. Yup, twice it happened--once during the first week and again just the other day. And so I've had big socks. The Panda Cotton ones I caught early on and remedied, but the 2nd jaywalker was just a bad surprise. But the Tour and knitting socks must go on! Vive le Tour!


The first thing I did after throwing the bad jaywalkers in the frog pond corner was grab my yellow Panda Cotton socks. I'm knitting the Victorian Lace Socks along with the Six Sox group and it's a pretty nice knit. It took a while to get used to the Mini-Melon lace stitch, but once I mastered that things went pretty well. Of course I sort of altered everything else about the pattern except the top-down start and the lace pattern, but it was all minor things really. The best part is I just finished turning the heel on the 2nd sock and I'll have another great pair of PC socks to wear in a day or so. This is very good since I ***LOVE*** Panda Cotton yarn. I'm already plotting and planning to knit several more pairs out of this awesome yarn.

Party Grrrl

Let's see, I was looking at my blog yesterday and I realized it's been more than a week since I posted last. Yikes! Yes, I've been knitting but I've also been partying! Hey, I haven't been a party girl in years so this is a good thing! I spent most of last weekend with a bunch of folks I haven't seen in decades--three to be exact as it was my 30 year High School Reunion. Excluding the celebrations surrounding my graduation last May, I haven't talked so much or had so much fun in practically forever. There's something quite fascinating about meeting up with people you knew and loved as a kid and finding them all grown up and mature! While we had a small representation of folks who never grew up or who drink too much or...you know the list, but for the most part, my classmates turned out really great. The neatest part for me was how encouraging they were when I told folks what I'd been through the last 10 years. I walked away with my "batteries" recharged and feeling once again that the world is filled with such good people. That's pretty amazing ;-)

I had so much fun at my reunion events that I didn't even touch my knitting--during the parties or even much at home. Let's face it, I was exhausted! But I didn't stay away for long. Melanie posted a huge chunk of clues for the MS3 and I knit on the natural colored one a bit this week. I'm up to 250 rows completed on the natural one and 200 rows on the blue beaded one. This is good, but I was beginning to feel like I was neglecting all my other knitting projects--like socks! So I got on to the socks and finished the 1st Victorian Lace Sock and the 2nd Jaywalker. Then I dug out a simple ribbed cuff sock from my sock basket and had another party Wednesday night--a "kitch" party. I hate grafting up the toes of my socks, so I had several accumulated just waiting for the Kitchener stitch magic finish. Part of the reason why they accumulate is that I can never seem to remember how to get starting grafting and I have to read the instructions. Once I get rolling though, the 2nd and 3rd socks are simple :-)

Once the "kitch" party was done something scary happened. I'll show you a picture: see the pink Jaywalker socks? Can you see what's wrong with this picture? Oh BAD! Everything is wrong with these socks. Not only did I practically lose my mind while forcing myself to knit the 2nd sock, but in the end the darn thing ended up being enormous! Yes, I used the same size needles, the same pattern, same yarn, same everything, but these socks are anything but the same! OK, in fairness I knew I had knit 5 or 6 extra rows on the cuff of the second sock, and there were a few goofed decreases here and there--nothing major or worth tinking for, but nothing to merit this fiasco! Then, to top it all off, the color of the 2 socks ended up being different too! I know that's a risk with fancy dyed socks, but they came from the same dye lot and the 2 skeins were even tied together when I purchased them at my LYS. This was my 1st experience with Lorna's Laces yarn, so I was even more disappointed because I know LL has an excellent reputation.

The bottom line on my jaywalker socks: everything bombed out here. The plan: FROG POND! There's no sense wasting beautiful (expensive) sock yarn on ugly socks that don't fit. Lessons learned: 1)Listen to my gut instinct sooner. I would have frogged long before now if I had. 2)Compare sock 2 to sock 1 at intervals while knitting sock 2. That way I'll find out sooner rather than later that the 2nd sock isn't matching up. 3)Six inch cuffs are too tall for me. Stick with 4" cuffs for most things and never exceed 5" The jaywalkers are sitting in a corner along with a pi shawl waiting to be frogged. I've returned to knitting more Panda Cotton socks and the MS3. I'm done partying for awhile and I'll never go Jaywalking again!

Cruising

I'm cruising right along on my MS3. After knitting the last couple of rows on the 2nd clue of the blue stole yesterday morning, I dove right on into the 3rd clue and finished it up this afternoon. I love how Melanie seems to know how to incorporate lace patterning and motifs in such a way as to make the knitting interesting without making it difficult or complex, yet the final results is anything but simple looking!

Now that I've finished the 3rd clue (200 rows) on the blue stole, I've picked up the natural-colored one and started to work on it. The natural stole knits much faster because I omitted the beads, yet the result is a slightly larger and thicker fabric because of the loftiness of the merino. The pattern is the same, but the 2 stoles are quite different!

We had guests over tonight so I knit a few more rows on my jaywalkers too. My fibro and PMS have been acting up today and I was in no mood for company so I was grateful to have my knitting. It's frightening to think what I might have said or done If I hadn't had those pink socks to focus on!!! I'm finally at the point where the end is in sight, so I'm motivated to get these babies done! I have to take my father to a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so that should give me some good knitting time. I'd like to go back to knitting new socks :-)

Indecision

I really hadn't planned on knitting the Mystery Stole 3 this soon. I was going to be good disciplined and finish the Hanami Stole first. But then I saw the Yarn Harlot's post and felt the energy of all these knitters, and remembered how much I enjoyed my summer evenings sitting on the deck knitting the MS2 last year, and well--I caved. But in giving in to the stole knitting thing I had to figure out what stuff to use. Economics had already vetoed buying new yarn, so that meant knitting out of my stash. No problem as my lace weight yarn stash is healthy, but what to use? And that's where the indecision took over. To make a long story short, I've ended up knitting not one, but *two* versions of the stole: one au naturale in natural and the other in chambray blue with cobalt AB beads.


I finished knitting the second clue on the natural one a couple of days ago and the blue version this morning. Not bad for starting a full week late! As you can see, with 2 clues completed things are looking good! I love them both, so I guess I'll keep on knitting on both of them until I can no longer keep up, or decide I don't like one after all, or I finish them both. Now wouldn't that be cool?

With all the MS3 knitting going on, my sock knitting didn't get much attention this week. I decided I needed to finish the Jaywalker socks before I lose my mind, so they have been the focus this week. I finished the gusset decreases and started the foot yesterday, so I don't have far to go :-) Once I'm done with the Jaywalkers, then I can go back to SOS 2007 and Six Sox knitting

My Favorite Things

I've had a such a fun weekend enjoying a few of my favorite things. What things? Well, knitting socks and lace and watching Wimbledon Tennis and the Tour de France on TV. I've been so looking forward to the Tour de France, not because I have a clear-cut favorite rider this year like I've had the last several years, but because it's like going on a trip to France and getting to see the countryside, but without actually being there. Don't get me wrong, I would *love* to be there, but this is the next best thing. Since the recent champions (Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis) are now retired, I'll be watching Levi Leipheimer closely along with a few others. Wouldn't it be cool if an American won again? The odds are not as good this year, but it's possible. There's one thing I do know, that is knitting and watching the Tour de France on TV are excellent companions :-)


And so, speaking of knitting, I've been a busy little thing. Thanks to a little sale at KnitPicks, I've got several new books on their way to my house. I picked up EZ's Knitter's Almanac, Alison Jeppson-Hyde's new book Comfort Shawls, and the new book by Koigu. I ordered a few needles and some sock yarn while I was at it (the things I really needed ;-) to qualify for free shipping. Then I hit Michael's to buy a few balls of LionBrand's CottonEase on sale. Yes, I'm going to try again to knit a cotton sweater that fits--but don't hold your breath as I've not succeeded yet. I'm more confident, though, as my knitting skills have vastly improved since my last sweater attempt. To finish off my shopping spree I hit the Yarn Haven to pick up 2 more balls of yes, Panda Cotton! I've have intentions to design some anklets, but I needed a solid color, so I grabbed some pink this time around. Sandy got some more Kid Merino in stock and I spied a purple and green ball called violets that just screamed my name. I even grabbed the size 7 needles that Jane Sowerby knit everything Mohair in in VLT and knit a (gasp!) swatch to see how it worked up. I haven't measured my gauge, but it looks to loose for my tasted so I will most likely use a size 6 needle when I start a real project.

Speaking of real projects, I took some pix of what's up in my knitting basket. I went back to work on the 2nd Jaywalker and am almost done with the heel flap. I really want to get these things done as I'm quite tired of knitting them. But the Jaywalkers don't count for my SOS KAL, so I'm also knitting my 2nd pair of Panda Cotton socks, this time using the Victorian Lace pattern from the Six Sox KAL. Gotta love knitting socks in the summer!


I printed out the 1st clue from the Mystery Stole 3 KAL last weekend, but I had no intention of casting on until after I finished the Hanami Stole. That was before I did some blog reading and caught up with the the Yarn Harlot. Yes, even our famous and beloved Stephanie Pearl-McPhee succumbed to the crowds and cast-on the MS3 using some yarn out of her stash. That was when my resolve faltered and I did some stash digging myself. I cast-on Friday night using KnitPicks Bare laceweight and some 8-0 Champagne Silver-lined seed beads. Choosing the beads was tough because nothing really looks good with natural colored fiber. Or at least I never found anything that worked when I was tatting with beads. I felt good about my choice in the lighting of my bedroom, but when I hauled the lace outside yesterday it looked just awful. So I had a dilemma. I was half way through Chart B so I didn't want to frog it, but I needed to get rid of the beads without damaging the yarn. Being the risk-taker that I am (NOT!) I took a hammer to the beads and crushed them. Even better, was I didn't cut the yarn because the beads were so completely shattered. Cool!


So I should be satisfied now that the beads are gone, right? Well, yes, i love the look of the natural colored yarn, but I'm so disappointed to not have beads in my project. I had some amazing deep blue AB beads in my stash that looked great with some light blue lace yarn. I had 3 skeins of Alpaca Cloud in a light smoky blue, but I was afraid I'd run out of yarn so that wouldn't do, but I also had a cone of super skinny cash/merino/viscose from ColourMart. A single strand was too skinny, so I went through the hassle of turning it into a center-pull ball of double-strand. I had a little bit left over, which I double stranded into a tiny ball and decided to cast-on and knit a swatch (gasp again!) in pattern with the beads. Oh pretty! So now I'm knitting 2 Mystery Stoles, one with and one without beads--and I like them both. What a crazy fool I am for doing 2 at once!

Knitting, not blogging

I guess I've been too busy knitting because it's been 5 days since I last updated my blog! Oh my! Meida's Sock has contined her travels around town, accompanying Daddy to cardiac rehab at the UT Heart/Lung Institute and going to Church on last Sunday (where a few more rows were added during the worship service).


On Tuesday the Sock went to campus for the Phenomenology Research Group meeting at the College of Nursing. A few more rows were added during group, then the Sock paid a visit to the iconic Torchbearer that watches over UTK. The Sock tried to fit the Torchbearer's foot, but as you can see, she was far too small. Let's face it, the Torchbearer is a very big statue! But the little sock was not discouraged because she was destined for smaller feet anyway--all she needed was her companion sock which was well-underway.

I finished Meida's socks on the 4th of July--and you thoughts all those parades and fireworks were celebrating something else? Nah--it was the socks! And can I tell you how much I love this pattern and the Panda Cotton Yarn? Well, I do--and so does my pal Ewe-nice!




I love FOs. It's so nice when I complete a project as I tend to specialize in WIPs/UFOs. But now that my 1st pair of SOS socks are finished, it's time to cast-on the next pair. Given my current passion for Panda Cotton it's no surprise that I'm using it again, this time in yellow. I'm knitting the Victorian Lace Socks from the Six Sox KAL group. I cast-on and knit a couple of pattern repeats on Thursday, but once again, my version was too large. So I frogged and restarted with only 56sts instead of the original 64. This will help me to know what I need for my next idea--to design a summer anklet out of the Panda Cotton. I live in cotton anklets, so this could be a very useful pattern for my sock drawer!

Just a Quickie

It's getting late and I'm tired an a bit grumpy tonight, so I'm just posting a quickie here to update my progress on all things knitty. I've been focused mostly on knitting Meida's Socks (from IK Favorite Socks book) the last few days as I'm quite smitten with everything about them: the pattern, the yarn, and even the periwinkle color! I finished the 1st sock last night, using the non-kitchener toe closure in the pattern. I'll admit it is a heck of a lot easier than grafting, which I hate to do, but I'm not sold on the final look just yet. Maybe the easy toe is a good thing, but I'm not certain of my opinion at this point.

I did have to add a couple of pattern repeats in the foot to make the socks long enough, but they do fit quite nicely. The fit is snug, but not tight; however, I will most likely go up to a 2.75mm needle the next time I knit this pattern. My success with this sock was especially joyful because knitting a good summer sock out of cotton/blend yarns is challenging. This experience affirmed my suspicion that I like Panda Cotton Yarn. In fact, I plan to cast on another pair of socks out of PC as soon as Meida's socks are finished. Kathleen left a comment on my blog the other day telling me about a great pattern from the Six Sox KAL that she just finished knitting out of PC. The pattern, Victorian Lace, is totally my style, so I joined the KAL to access the pattern. I dropped in at my LYS yesterday and picked up a couple of balls of the PC in a butter yellow so I'm all set to cast-on the Victorian Lace socks next. Thanks Kathleen for the great tip!

Sock Visits Smokies - pt. 2

We left our story of The Sock as she was being called to the head of the class for daydreaming at the Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Of course, being a special sock, she did not get in trouble. Rather the Professor commented on how pretty her periwinkle dress complimented the rather drab interior of the old Schoolhouse and looked remarkably like the little flowers that bloomed in the forest in April and May. Before long the bell rang and school was let out for the day. The Sock gratefully escaped out the front door and headed down the rocky road that led towards home.

At the top of the steep slope above the schoolhouse, the little Sock paused to catch her breath as she looked over the small cemetery that adjoined the schoolhouse. So many of her friends were buried there! She was glad she had been strong enough to not succumb to the last epidemic that swept through the hills.

It's a long walk home, but the Sock didn't mind so much today as the birds were singing and the recent rain left everything green and fresh-smelling. The Rosebay Rhododendron were in full bloom and there were thickets of the big white fluff balls everywhere she went. Surely she was the luckiest little sock ever to live in the Smokies!

Safely at home after such a big adventure, the sock continued to grow and grow! The lacy edges curve upwards like the leaves on the Rhodies in the Park. Soon, the little sockwill be finished and ready for a companion!

SOS - 1 week down, 12 to go

The 1st week of the Summer of Socks KAL has passed. That means there are 12 weeks left to go for those of you into math and counting :o) Our fearless KAL leader asked us to report on any revelations we've had and report our triumphs and defeats. My immediate reaction was I am *never* defeated. That's right, never! That's because I refuse to accept defeat in my life. I firmly believe in the 3 Ps which enable me to never fail in my chosen endeavor: Persistence, Patience, and Plaas (that's me!). I try to be very choosy about what I do and I know that if I work hard and stick with it and I'm patient with myself and my limitations, there isn't anything I can't accomplish. I can't do everything, but I can do anything that I really want to do (there is a big difference).

So there's that answer, but what about the revelations? Well, I learned that Panda Cotton is a fat fingering yarn that isn't likely to want to knit at 9 st/". I also learned that it is rather splitty and can be a bit of a pain to knit with. But PC is also soft and has a nice amount of stretch to it and should make perfect socks. So, in the spirit of never defeated, when my 1st Panda Cotton sock didn't turn out what did I do? I went to my LYS and bought 2 more balls, this time in a solid color, and cast-on again. I chose a different pattern too, and guess what? This time my socks-in-progress look fabulous!

I cast on Meida's Socks late Tuesday night and yesterday they went on a little day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My vacationing this year will be, out of necessity, limited to short, local jaunts. But then hey, lots of folks drive for hours/days to see the Smokies and spend their vacation time there. I'm just lucky enough to live here!

The first stop Meida's sock (aka the Sock) made was in Townsend, TN, also known as the Peaceful Side of the Smokies. We like to patronize the facilities at the Visitors Center there before we head into the park.
Here the Sock became a part of the historic Tennessee Heritage Trail!
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a very busy place in June, so local experts like us know just where to go to get our "mountain fix" without the crowds. The sock promised to not tell the whole world about our secrets, so I took her in through the "side door" on Wears Cove Road. This little gap in the mountain ridge open up to a lush bog where I have taken many of my finest wildflower photos in the past. The sock was impressed by the wild roses and Rosebay Rhododendron, but she didn't know about the hundreds of other flowers that live there in other seasons. There are many things the sock doesn't know about the Smokies, so I took her to school. Here you see her perched on a desk in the front row at the Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse in the Park.

The best part about sitting in the front is that the Sock had a seat by the window. It was hard to concentrate on her lessons with the beauty of the trees and creek just outside the window! Everything looked so green! But the little sock was happy to be inside as it was starting to rain and she didn't want to get wet.





Of course daydreaming in class can get a girl in trouble, so she is called to the head of the class by the Professor! Lucky for her the professor is also her grandfather. She is the apple of her grandfather's eye so she doesn't get in trouble for not paying attention.

To be Continued!