Health and Weather Warnings?

I’ve done it. Started the toe of the second Fratello, that is. Not much progress has been made, but it’s there, behaving all toe-like. Once past this bit of the sock, it should be smooth sailing to the finish. I've been dreading this so much it feels like one of those interrupt the broadcast moments. Sort of like they do when there's an approaching tornado or other breaking news.

As for Gnarled Oakwoods, the decision’s been made to knit two pieces. It’s probably a bad choice and will result in a line of reflection in the middle of the stole along the graft, but there it is. Who knows why the decision went that way. The oak leaves portion of the show is fun to knit. Aside from yarn overs and purl 2 togethers along the sides of the panels, it’s a rest row on the back side. Thankfully, the gnarly 2-sided-lacy-work part is only 72 rows long per side. If I ignore all of my chores this evening, I'll get a repeat and a half in. What was that? Did you say something about an unhealthy obsession with this project?

Mark’s sock has come back from it’s final fitting. If it manages to become the focus of attention sometime soon, they could easily be finished. There’s only the toe area left on one sock. However, I feel lazy now about this project. That’s right. Lazy. And maybe in a bit of a mood. It probably has everything to do with last night’s combined mortgage/Markle Sparkle wedding sock dream/nightmare. Don’t ask. It was not all that pretty. It would have had an X rating. Some nudity was involved.

Gnarly

Gnarled Oakwoods is coming along well. The photo shows 1.5 repeats of the gnarled part of the pattern, which involves making loops on both sides of the knitting. That has considerably slowed progress. With no rest row, attention has to be paid all of the freaking time, and I am not particularly good at that. Fortunately 2 of the 3 repeats have been completed, leaving only 24 more rows for the first half. I am starting to get the hang of his part of the pattern, making it a little faster, but admit to not being totally comfortable with the double-sided lace thing. Making this all in one piece is seriously being considered. Like Lorraine mentioned to me, the total symmetry thing won’t really be apparent once the stole is on. Although the symmetry preferences of the recipient should really be considered.

It’s mortgage renewal time around here, which is a real pain in the butt. There are too many possible options that lead to too many resulting outcomes, and too many different opinions about the path to take. Should we go with a 6 month adjustable, and settle on a new, perhaps lower rate after that time has elapsed? Or are we just going to stay with our current lender at a higher rate than we were at before? That higher rate thing does not make any sense given that interest rates were higher 2 years ago. Hmmmmm? This is my first time going through this process. It’s hard to imagine we have been in the house for 2 years already. That time has slipped by so quickly.

Fickle and Proud of It

Well not really. I am trying to pretend it’s OK to have that much knitting clutter in my head. Being a complete project whore. Falling in and out of love with the latest craze. Casting on willy-nilly. Anything that comes to mind, whatever the stash will bear. Here are the latest two obsessions de jour…

Gnarled Oakwoods in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool


And A Cardigan for Merry in Rowan Cotton Glace for my sister-in-law’s baby, due in October. See the problem with the back? Yeah. That ball was in the same bag as the rest of the navy cotton. In the dark it looked just the same as the rest. It wasn’t. Too bad, eh. If there was more of that colour to be had, I’d have carried on, but that’s the only ball. The sleeves are done, and one of the sides has been started. Love that reversible cable – how clever is that Kate Gilbert anyway?

This and That

Sunday’s lattes were nice, but there’s room for improvement in the frothing area. Since it’s been so long, the finer points of steaming the milk for maximum froth and proper temperature have been forgotten. They are coming back though. The second and third attempts were much better than the first. It amounts to getting to know the steam valve again, and making sure the milk is really very cold before approaching the steamer nozzle. Peter is convinced that foam cannot be achieved through skim milk, but my experience is that skim milk provides great foam once the technique has been mastered. The next one will be perfect. The machine’s been broken for about 6 years. Long enough to have forgotten how great it is to have it in working condition again.

One of the Markle Sparkle wedding socks is finished. Unfortunately, there will be no further progress on them until Sue returns from an unexpected week off. She’s got the other sock with her for fitting purposes. It’s unfortunate since there’s a whole lot of love for that particular project right now, and we all know how fleeting that can be. Finishing them before the weekend looked pretty good. Oh well. It’s a certainty that the love can be transferred to another project with little difficulty.

As for what’s actually active, last night Gnarled Oakwoods was started. The first repeat has been worked and it’s lovely. My tension is larger than suggested, but that’s OK. The first section calls for almost 4 complete 40 row repeats, but I am only going to do 3. This will shave off about 7 cm length from each half, and that’s fine by me.

Getting a move on with the second Fratello would be a good idea. For some reason, the affection for that project just isn’t there. It’s the purl-side-out toe-up thing. Sucking it up and just getting on with it would help with getting over that. It’s just impossibly slow going until the toe is out of the way along with a about 7 cm (3”) of the lower foot. Yes, I am whining. Needless to say, starting that second sock has been avoided as if it had a nasty and contagious rash.

In Which Sunday Morning is Hotly Anticipated

Sunday mornings are spoiled for me until the Olympics are over with. No Coronation Street until then. However, my darling husband has managed to replace this broken valve thingie:

with a working part. This means but one thing for tomorrow morning. Lattes. At least 2 for me. Lots and lots of foam. This somewhat alleviates the pain of no Corrie in the morning. My sweet machine broke a number of years ago. Getting it fixed required sending it to the US at great expense. I could not bear to let it go, so it's been languishing. Peter's got a friend with a foundry. They make things like this. $30 later, and there's a new valve thingie. How lucky for me!

As you can see above, the Chevron Scarf is finished. This is the best photo as far as colour is concerned that's been taken. It was a quick knit, inspired by Peter’s desire to get it in the mail to his father. There is enough yarn left over to make a baby hat, which just might happen in the very near future. This yarn is wonderful, but it’s not really expected to hold up to much wear and tear due to it’s incredible softness. Having said that, the silk really gives this cashmere blend a boost – I had to cut the yarn with scissors since it would not easily break when the scarf was cast off.

1.5 skeins Handmaiden Swiss Mountain Cashmere & Silk in Mineral
3 mm Addi Turbo needles
Chevron Tie pattern from Modular Knits
Length: long enough to wear with a fancy coat or under a ski jacket
Modifications: more stitches than a tie calls for.

Mark’s sock has not yet come back from the last gusset fitting. This is due in large part to a massive mosquito attack on his feet and ankles making a trip to the doc necessary (over 200 bites on one leg alone). Hopefully he will be able to try it on soon. I have finished with the second gusset anyway. If I have to frog them, then so-be-it. One more challenge remains to be met on Mark’s socks, and that’s the toe, and a plan has been devised for that. Reducing the stitches to the standard 1/3 or 1/4 total stitch count would mean at least 40 rounds for toe shaping. That’s assuming the every other row method is used (120 stitches were on the needle). That’s a long toe, I was unsure of the comfort it would provide. So after the gusset was finished, I decided to continue decreasing stitches - one on each side of the sole until the stitch count was down to 98. Having done that, a standard toe can now be knitted. This first sock should be finished tomorrow sometime.

So, good evening ladies and gentlemen. It's steak from the grill, red wine and dancing in the back yard for us on this beautiful, non-rainy evening.

Chevron in a Hurry

Peter has asked me to hurry up with the scarf already, so that's what I've been doing. It's only been a couple of days, but it's become sort of tiresome. You know, the kind of knitting where you continuously look at the piece, look at the ball to see if it's shrunk. It's probably because all of the active wip's, and the Overlap Baby Sweater is barely off of that that list, are very simple in the execution. Today, while Phoenix Rising and I are pining for each other, it will be the soft, simple caress of the chevron scarf.

This is perhaps the single-most luxurious item I have ever made for a man. Too bad a photograph cannot capture the lovely glow the silk in this blend gives off. It's even more lamentable that you can't reach out and touch this one.

What to do.....

The weekend. It’s here. It's raining, but I don't care. Today is my day off, and the whole thing stretches out nicely before me. What to do, what to do? Hmmmm…Most likely Metroid Prime 3 for a little while. A bit of spinning, a bit of knitting. Maybe lunch out, a matinee? A nap in the afternoon? So many options, too little time.

Mary Lou Egan’s Overlap Baby Sweater is finished. It was a simple, enjoyable knit with a little bit of interest in the short-row shaping for the neck. A circular needle in the recommended size could not be found, so a smaller needle was used, resulting in a tighter row tension. There was not enough yarn left over for the hat, most likely because of this substitution. The directions were great, and the result is a sweet little pullover with an ingenious neckline. It was my carry-around project this week, getting lunchroom and lunchtime attention. Another one of these will be on the needles soon. The colour depicted below is seriously washed out. This is a bright piece.

The chevron scarf for my father-in-law was started this morning. I love it. I love-love-love it. So soft. Neat little stitches. Delicious, chocolaty colours. It reminds me of a bowl of crushed oreos, splashed with some milk that turns a little brown because of the cookies. Mmmmm.... Picture does not reflect that very well, but it is pretty.

In studying the Hyrna Herbogar pattern, the Zephyr laceweight looks too light for the purpose. Fortunately, there are almost 3 balls of the stuff in stash, and there is a plan. Plying 2 of the balls together will result in a yarn closer in weight to the yarn recommended in the pattern. I could simply hold the two strands together while knitting, but it might lead to some problems with all f the double yarn-over’s. Besides, plying is fun.

What the weekend knitting will be is anybody’s guess at the moment. It’s supposed to rain until Monday. Excuse me for now. I'm sort of feeling like resuming a relationship with Phoenix Rising.

Last Friday after work a skein of Henry’s Attic 20/2 silk was painted with acid dyes in gold and silver grey. I had been hoping to create a different look, and managed to paint over too much of the grey with the gold. The end result is a surprisingly complex skein of deep gold to yellow, dak olive to silver, and a bit of cream. It’s beautiful. What lacy figment of the imagination does it want to be sometime in the future?

Mary Lou’s Overlap baby sweater is coming along very well. By rights it should be finished, given there’s only half of a sleeve. It got put down on Sunday and Monday evenings for other activities. Other activities like Metroid Prime 3, which Peter and I are currently playing on the Wii. Gah. I cannot believe I love video games. What’s up with that?

Oooo, ooo. Mon petit chou.

When I noticed that Mary Lou Egan had published a new baby pattern, it had to be cast on for my expectant sister-in-law. A little boy will arrive sometime in October, and this little jewel was too sweet to resist. As far as I am concerned, I'll knit for any baby that crosses my path, but it's really nice to do something for a family member. It was started late yesterday afternoon and so far so good. It's almost to the underarm.


Mark's wedding socks are coming along as well. This past week has been very productive on that end. The larger sock is ready for another try on. I can start the top third of the second sock's gusset but will go no further until the fit is confirmed as good. The picture shows 2 skeins of Socks that Rock Lightweight. As you can tell, the sock is quite large, and it's been an interesting learning experience.