No wonder I was complaining

Last Wednesday was the hottest day since July 1977! I was living here then in an apartment with no air conditioning. The building was old and the systems had never been updated. The electrical service could not even support a window unit. In order to sleep, I would put a box fan on either side of my bed and drape a wet washcloth over my face. I was in graduate school then so I probably spent my days at the studio where it was somewhat cooler.


Finished the first sock from Mary's yarn. One more to go and I can begin the I Love Gansey socks.


Also finished the first sleeve of my Tangled Yoke cardigan. I have really been enjoying the Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool yarn. To keep the variegation subtle, I switched to using two different skeins once the ribbing was complete.


I've been spending lots of time uploading pictures to Flickr for my Ravelry page. This little EZ February Baby Sweater is from several years ago. It is my favorite baby pattern - what a classic.


Peach says pay attention to ME!

Distracted

Well, I could not get gauge with the beautiful blue yarn for the Sand Dollar sweater so that project is resting while I figure out what I want to make with the yarn and find the right yarn for the sweater.


So I cast on with some Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co. yarn (no website, but available from The Yarn Lounge) for Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan in the Fall 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.


I've been wanting to make a sweater with some cables and this sophisticated take on tradition seems like a perfect project. Of course, now all I want to do is knit away on the first sleeve but I still am working on my Mystery Stole 3. The theme has been revealed - Swan Lake. With Friday's clue we began on the wing that will be the other end of the stole. I hope that when the designer publishes the pattern for sale she has a version that is wings at both ends.


I have a sock distraction too. The new Six Sox along is designed by Janine Le Cras from the island of Guernsey. It is called I Love Gansey. I'm going to use this beautiful blue Fleece Artist Sea Wool. The color, the yarn are all perfect for an island theme. However, I have been strong and have not cast on. I am still working on my yarn swap socks.


There is a Jane Austen forum on Ravelry - Austentacious. I found out about this bag there. It is available from The Republic of Pemberley. I have stacks of canvas bags and hardly need another one but I'm awfully tempted. After all, it is only $20.


And how could I resist this alternate view of the Whippeterrorists?

Time Bandits

I got sidetracked by Ravelry. I got my invitation, started exploring, started uploading projects, began looking at other members and the forums. What with everything else, I neglected to post here.


Then, on Tuesday my book came and I was not about to do anything but knit and listen to Jim Dale on my iPod. I finished yesterday evening.

Mystery Stole 3 is chugging along. During some of the more exciting parts of HP & the Deathly Hallows I would make mistakes and have to frog. I only have 20 rows left of Clue 4.


While waiting for the crashed computer at work to not do anything, I made major progress on my Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd. (Free at Knitting Daily.)


I was using up some Toasty Toes yarn and ran out. I am calling these the Gold Toe sock(s).


What with all the endless lace, I wanted some comfort knitting so began these ribbed socks with some 70% wool, 30% silk Zwerger Garn Opal yarn I got from Mary at Sangeeta's yarn swap.


And then, today, I got the wool for my Sand Dollar pullover from Knitting Nature. It is Louet Riverstone, 4 sts to the inch.


Last but not least, here is Dogwood watching the Whippeterrorists playing with their pal, Goldie.

Progress, purchases & a favorite bag

After a fair amount of tinking (for some reason I kept dropping YOs), I have finished Clue 3. I am enjoying this KAL so much that I ordered Hanami and Spring Tootsies from Melanie.


Even though my Sidewinder wasn't in Time Out long enough for me to truly forgive it, I bit the bullet and finished it. This time, there was no unpleasant surprise.

Sangeeta, sadly blogless these days, had a Yarn Swap and Sale party at her house this past Saturday. I took three grocery bags full of yarn and only came home with one. That one was mostly yarn no one wanted plus enough for two pairs of socks that I got from Mary. With the money I made, I bought two books that have been on my wish list.


Knitting for Peace combines history, contact information and patterns in a well written and designed format. There is a great sweater pattern that uses odds and ends of yarn in an interesting and clever way.


So far there are two sweaters and a scarf from Knitting Nature on my Want To Knit list.


This bag from Obey The Pure Breed makes me laugh every time I use it. Check out the extensive list of breed, mutt, baby, cat and peace items available from this hilarious site. My only gripe, nothing with Deerhounds.

Hound News & Knitting

Important Deerhound News!
Extra! Extra! Cleod, a Deerhound, stars as Sirius Black's animagus in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Read about it in Christie Keith's entry over at the Pet Connection blog.


Clue 3 of Mystery Stole 3 comes out tomorrow. I have completed Clue 1.


And Clue 2.


Just one small problem. I absent-mindedly repeated two rows so the reverse chevron has a bit of a detour. At least it is symmetrical. I am still loving the Malabrigo Lace Weight. The Yarn Lounge got a shipment today of lots of delectable colors.


Laura attends Sunday Yarn Church. She has had fun making the Bubble Pullover from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan. Laura's enthusiasm inspired me to take another look at the book and now it is on my wish list.


This shot shows the hexagon sections a bit more clearly.

Jennifer, I couldn't figure out how else to contact you. I don't teach weaving but theVisual Arts Center of Richmond (formerly The Hand Workshop) offers weaving classes.

It's a Grand Old Flag

This video was actually made for Memorial Day but will do just fine for Independence Day. Borzoi are not easy dogs to train, they are very independent (ha) and always want to know what is in it for them.

Happy Fourth, y'all!

Happy Birthday, Mr. D!!!!

Happy Birthday to my darling boy! Clan MacGregor Blue Dogwood FCh, CGC. AKA: Dogwood, Woodie, Mr. D, Biggie, Big Mannie, Bob Dogwood, Kingie, Mr. Doggy.


You have brought me much joy ever since your breeders, Rett & Ellen Rich, entrusted me with you.


You are nine today. Not quite as frisky as you were during your lure coursing career, but healthy in every way a doting owner of a Scottish Deerhound (a most perfect creature of heaven) could hope for. You have always made your needs very clear but your demands have been few. You have an amazing tolerance for Whippets. Perhaps your only flaw is your fear of thunder but even that fear is expressed with dignity. Thank you for being everything one could ask from a friend and companion.

Birthday, Bunny & Blocking

A very happy sixth birthday to Moose, one day late! And happy birthday to his littermates - Soup, Goose, Fly & Zsa Zsa.


Teri-Kay has just a few finishing touches to make on this bunny. She named him Lambie after the angora rabbit she did not bring home from Maryland Sheep & Wool.


The Equestrian Blazer is blocked. It should be dry when The Yarn Lounge reopens on Tuesday. I'm not working that day so, if all goes well, I might finish it during Knit Night. Unless I go to Australia or South America (not very likely) I won't be able to wear it until October.

Monday update

Remember this?


Melanie & I spent 3 hours on Saturday untangling. If I had known how chopped up it was, I probably would have just thrown the whole mess away. On Sunday Teri-Kay finished the job and was inspired to use the odd lengths to knit in with other yarn to make random stripes. I kept a few of the larger pieces for my log cabin blanket.


How can you stay mad at Peach when she spends 20 minutes tenderly licking her pal's head?


The Swallowtail is pinned out on the insulation foam. Melanie's version is in the background. They will be ready to photograph when The Yarn Lounge opens on Tuesday morning. Final pictures and details to be posted then.


I seem to have caught the lace shawl bug so am participating in the Elann shawl along which begins tomorrow. I am going to make the Moonlight Sonata shawl using Elann's Baby Silk.


While shopping my stash for the shawl along, I uncovered mounds of sock yarn. Cast these on using a simple K5, P3 rib to show off the self patterning.

Sublime to Silly

A Very Long Engagement with Audrey Tautou (Amelie) and Gaspard Ulliel (now on screens as the young Hanibal Lecter). A very beautiful and romantic film that is not for the faint of heart due to the graphic scenes of World War I. Jodie Foster plays a French war widow who assists in Matilde's (Tautou) quest for the answer to Manech's (Ulliel) disappearance. This film rates a very rare five stars.

I also watched French Kiss (1995) with Meg Ryan & Kevin Kline. Silly movie - no chemistry between them. And I just don't find most characters who are petty criminals to be all that attractive. Some good musicians on the soundtrack though - Les Negresses Vertes, Paolo Conte & Van Morrison.

The chewed sock is in the landfill by now. It wouldn't have been worth the time to repair. The Yarn Lounge will have a washed Toasty Toes sock yarn sample & I will make myself another pair with the yarn left from the giant skein.

Peach generally confines her shredding to stuffed dog toys & empty food containers. For some reason, Moose (her uncle) did not get the Whippet shredding gene but it definitely runs in the family. His father was notorious for destroying his beds.

Pet Food Recall

One of the blogs I read on a regular basis has been covering the Menu pet food recall since the story first began to break.The Pet Connection blog features some of the most respected journalists who write about pets & the pet industries. If you still think this is a story about a few dogs & cats that died from eating bad dog food, check out the entries at Pet Connection for the past week or so. Thousands of pets have died and the most recent stories are to the effect that the contaminated wheat gluten was also sold to producers of food for humans. Sometimes I wish I had cable, Anderson Cooper was going to be covering the story on CNN. Christie Kieth from the Pet Connection blog was going to be on the show. Maybe it will show up on YouTube.

Stretching

Peach, did you do this?


Still mulling over this colorway. In looking at the hank again, I can see that I missed the importance of the black.


It is such a stretch for me that I could only find one thing in my house that is the same color grouping. A little box of matches that I bought in Amsterdam.


I was very frustrated at my inability to understand how to turn the heel. The directions for a Jojo heel use a term particular to Lana Grossa. Double stitch. I emailed the designer, Monika Steinbauer, for help. She replied promptly with the explanation. When beginning a row, slip the first stitch as if to purl, then tug firmly on the working yarn to pull the stitch below up and over the needle to create a false double stitch. When beginners mistakenly add a stitch at the beginning of a row, this is usually what they have done. In the case of the socks, the double stitch is done deliberately.


I did make a mistake and knitted the bottom of the heel wrong side out. I am going to leave it and make the second sock the same way. I am a very confident top down sock knitter but do not have much experience with knitting toe up socks. When I picked the pattern, I knew it would be a bit of a stretch. I am now at the point of beginning the leg. And it is for the leg that I chose to make these socks. I should have some leg to show you tomorrow.

Orange!

Another sock, knit in some delicious orange Trekking XXL. I am enjoying the subtle striping.


A detail to show the Baby Cables a bit closer. No cable needle needed.

Liz K. asked about using leftovers for baby socks and how I figure out if I have enough - grams or yardage. I'm not that organized, I just guess a size to make and, so far, I have been lucky. The rustic baby socks were a bit of a cliff hanger, I ended up with less than a yard of yarn left.


The hounds went to Pets at Play today and Maria Lyn sent this picture of Dogwood with some pals. You can see part of Peach in the picture. Stewart posted the pictures of Dogwood on The Yarn Lounge blog. He looks sweet, as usual, and she included a shot of his very long legs.

Snap Cardigan

This is my next sweater. It is a Blue Sky Alpacas pattern called Snap Cardigan. I like the deep ribbing and the wide collar.


I am using the Blue Sky Alpacas 100% cotton in Orchid. The color in the photo is a bit too blue. It shows my gauge swatch after being machine washed and dried. For a change I made gauge using the needles and yarn called for in the pattern. Usually I have to go down two sizes. I picked the color because Deborah challenged me to make something a bit less somber than my top down cardigan. I've actually knit 6+" of the back and am enjoying the switch to a cheery color that should also complement my eyes (green). You can't really see in the picture but there are six knots in one of the tails. That is to remind me of the size needle I used to knit the swatch. Can't remember where I read this tip but I find it to be very handy.


Another funny picture of the hounds taken from a dog's point of view. Moose's nose with Dogwood in the background.