Woo Hooooo!

11/6/09

I have finished knits to show you!!!  But first, some photos of the girls:

That's M riding a horse at Biscuits and Bluegrass last month.  And here's Em feeding a baby goat:

It was a fun event, tho' it was cold.  But I'm thankful for that now, since it led to knitting mitts for sale.  But more on that in a second.  Now to the first and most exciting of my FOs.  I finished the Cobblestone yesterday afternoon!  Here's a crappy photo:  

Wow, that really is a terrible shot.  But I wanted to at least have a record of it's finished state.  Of course, I took that photo the second I took it off the needles, before I even kitchenered the underarms, never mind weaving in the ends.  I managed to finish the underarms and take care of a few ends last night.  I will give it a good blocking soon.  You can see in the photo that I had a little trouble at one point.  The garter stitch is not so easy to measure correctly.  I would lay it out and take out my little ruler and it would measure, say, 7 inches at center back.  Then I'd do it again, just to make sure, and it would measure 6-1/2 inches.  I noticed after I had done my first decrease round at 2-1/2" that I had actually done it at 2".  This when it was taking for-fricking-ever to make it to the 2nd decrease round, at 5".  So either I didn't measure it correctly or I just couldn't read my ruler.  Hey, it's possible.  I actually mis-read the ruler at another, fortunately non crucial, moment.  So who knows?  Anyway, there's a little bump at around the 2" mark.  I assume if I'd done the decrease at the 2-1/2" mark it would've been smooth.  I'm planning on blocking it out so you don't notice.  (She says, with such optimism.)  

It took a while - and was not sped along when I got distracted and made a bunch of fingerless mitts right in the middle of everything and after I had promised myself I'd stay Focused and Finish this thing - and I'm so happy to see it off the needles.  It's a fine and handsome pattern (yay brooklyntweed!  We love you!) and it was fun to knit.  Even with the miles of garter st. in the round.  I decided it was important to overcome my fear-of-purling.  Not to let the fact that I'm slower while purling and tend to purl more loosely than I knit keep me from knitting whatever I damn well please.  And the more rounds I purled the more comfortable I got doing it.  Got into a nice rhythm and I think (tho' I haven't timed myself) that I now purl about as fast as I knit.  Which is cool.

Now, the next Finished Knits are 2 new pairs of fingerless mitts to sell at Shimai:

I made these with Berkshire, from Valley Yarns.  It's nice and springy, and has nice stitch definition.  I don't like it as much as I do the Berocco Ultra Alpaca, which I used in the last mitts, but it was inexpensive and it is nice.  Probably sturdier and warmer too.  I have more colors to work with.  Will do a 3-color striped pair with both those colors, plus a teal.  Then I have a pale lilac color and a white.  And something else, I think, but can't remember.  Anyway, Shimai is having a holiday open house on November 14th and I'd like to have a few more pairs by then.  Here's the Rav link for these finished mitts.  I'm having fun making each pair unique and making them up as I go along.  I have a few things in mind for upcoming pairs.  

And Em and M want their own mitts.  I ordered some Swish Worsted from Knit Picks, which came yesterday.  (I also couldn't resist adding a couple skeins for Shimai mitts, so there's even more to choose from).  Not that I have time for this silliness!  I have Christmas Knitting!!!  My queue is alarming!  But although there are 2 (no, wait! 3!) long scarves on there, which take forever, the rest should be pretty quick.  And I've started 2 of the scarves, at least.  One is practically to the halfway mark (FIL's Noro Stripe, blogged about earlier).  So that's good.  And I've found something to knit for Mom (yes, I know, I said I wouldn't.  I lied.)  It's a herringbone scarf.  Small, buttoned, really cool looking in the photos on Ravelry.  She has already hinted that she loves herringbone (wants me to knit a ginormous herringbone poncho, but that's not happening.  At least not this year.)  I have the yarn, and will cast on soon.  Once I've gotten started on Em's mitts.  

I made a little chart for myself this morning, organizing my queue.  It outlines what I can have on the needles and active at any one time.  For instance, I'm working on Norman's not-Noro (about 20% done after I frogged it and cast on again with smaller needles, but never mind that), Em's mitts, Otto, for Diego, and Mom's herringbone.  When I finish Norman's not-noro, I can move on to FIL's Noro.  When I finish Em's mitts, I can start M's.  Poppy follows Otto, MIL's scarf follows Mom's herringbone.  And it moves on to the 3rd tier and beyond.  I have a long queue.  And 7 weeks until Christmas.  Yes, I really should be knitting instead of blogging.  Whew.  

Wish me luck!  I'm having so much fun!

I'm Not Dead Yet!

(a little monty python for you)

10/23/09

M had a stomach bug.  Or something.  She's back in school today, but I'm still exhausted.  It was enough to know she was awake and sick to keep me up too, even tho' she didn't need me for much more than comfort.  I realized how big she is getting now that she's 7.  We spent yesterday lying around while she recovered.  I managed to work on the Cobblestone a while.  I've started the yoke and have experimented with 2 different short row techniques, both of which are okay, but not great.  I don't know why I have such a hard time with short rows.  Lack of experience, I guess.  ?

Here's a snail to brighten your day --

Isn't he the cutest thing?  Tiny.  Next time I'll use a little less stuffing.  

And, some more finished objects -- 

This is a pair of fingerless mitts I made to sell at Shimai.  Michele saw me knitting a pair of mitts for myself while sitting out in the cold all day during Biscuits and Bluegrass and asked me to knit some for the shop.  With pleasure!!!!  I whipped these out the very next day, after fiddling with the yarn a while, figuring out the gauge and deciding on a look for them.  I went with 2-1/2 inches of seed stitch for the cuffs, st st for the main body and finishing with 6 rows of seed st at the tops.  I made this next pair over the next few days - 

This one is a 3 x 1 rib.  Both are modeled by the kids, which makes them look a little bigger than they are on me.  They are both snug, with plenty of stretch to them.  

The girls and I took them in this week.  Michele squeeeed as soon as she saw them and kept the blue and gray pair for herself.  I am so happy she likes them.  Just the thought of selling my own knits is thrilling.  She will let me use some of her ceramic buttons for the next batch.  I'm planning to make each pair unique.  So far I've been using up the leftover Berocco Ultra Alpa from the hats I made last Christmas.  But I have a yarn order on the way too.  

This has kicked me in the butt a little, to get the Christmas knits done.  

How are you doing with your Gift Knitting?  Is it too early to be talking about Christmas?  I'm so slow I have to get an early start.  How about you?

4 Down, 5 (6? 9?) to Go

10/3/09 - 

I decided to cast off without doing the edging on Damson #2 and it turned out nicely.  In fact, I think I like it better, at least for my less-frilly Sister-in-Law.  So I'm quite happy with it after all.  And that's Christmas present number four off the needles!  Still in progress, the Cobblestone for Pop, the Imperfect Noro Stripe Scarf for father -in-law, and now Otto for my nephew.  And in the queue we have: another Not-Noro scarf, this one for Brother #1, a Lovely Leaf Lace Scarf for mom-in-law.  I'm hoping to have time to add a hedgehog (either Ysolda's Smith or else a Little Oddment Hedgehog from Little Cotton Rabbits) and Elijah the elephant for my daughters.  Oh, and then there are the snails and slugs I'm itching to put in everyone's stockings!  (= t.hee.  Yes, my kids love slugs. They give them names (usually "sluggy") and try to bring them inside to keep as pets.  So really, they need a knit slug or 2, don't you think?  In fact, I think I'll put that higher in the queue than the other animals.  

What are you planning for Christmas?  Do you make things to give to your friends and family?  Or have you decided to keep the knitted goodies for yourself?  I've made a pact that next year I'll try to be saner.  But it's hard to resist knitting for everyone.  There are too many great patterns out there, just calling to be knit up and given away!  

Why yes, I do knit. Why do you ask?

10/1/09

Is it October already?  September flew by.  I had goals for September.  Actual knitting goals.  I joined the Great September Needle Harvest group over on Ravelry, in hopes that they would help me to keep on track with my Christmas knitting.  I was in grave danger of starting a gazillion projects all at once and then becoming bogged down and frustrated that I couldn't make any progress on any one thing.  And it worked!  I finished 2 projects (which sounds so pathetic - I have so much to do!), but most importantly, I only started one new one!  Yay me!  (sorry - just realized I quoted a character from Disney Channel.  Amazing what you pick up from "background noise" isn't it?)  Anyway, That's all good.  And let me post some pictures for you poor souls, reading this bland little blog.  

This is based on the Noro Striped Scarf, but knit in Misti International Tonos Chunky (the blue) and Rowan Cashsoft Chunky (the gray).  (Rav link)  So soft!  

Next up, Damson the first:  

Okay, this is an early photo.  I haven't blocked it yet, so I haven't taken a finished-object photo, but this gives you an idea of the colors.  I may end up ripping out the edging, depending on how it looks post-blocking.  You see, I had an, um... unique interpretation of Ysolda's directions, and didn't realize what I had done wrong until I was halfway through the last row.  In my defense, I had a cold and it was late and I should have been in bed, but wasn't.  It looks kind of cool, but I set it aside to see what Damson # 2 ends up looking like...  

Here she is, in an early photo --

I couldn't resist starting this one the minute the first Damson came off the needles.  I love the yarn, Malabrigo Sock, and the color, Tiziano Red.  It's beautiful.  (Rav link)  I had such high hopes that I'd finish it before the end of September, so I could show it off to the Great Needle Harvesters. But I RAN OUT OF YARN! Again! I was so certain I'd make it, since this time I used the actual yarn called for in the pattern and I even checked my gauge (more than once!)  I knew it was hopeless by about the 60th row, but I lived in denial for a while. I've just completed row 107, which, if you're wondering why I said "again" back there, is a row and a half before the point at which I ran out of yarn for Damson #1.  And I don't want to say anything bad about Ysolda.  I adore her.  I love her designs.  I have not yet made anything she's designed that I don't absolutely love.  But.  I ran out of yarn, using the yarn she recommended and getting gauge.  It's not a huge deal, but it's frustrating.  I excused it the first time, since I was using a different yarn and didn't even think to check my gauge.  But this time I really tried...  I'm going to have a look at the project gallery over on Ravelry.  I have a vague memory of seeing one that someone made without the edging.  And I may end up back at my lys, just like last time, buying another skein (if they have one! Last time I had to place a special order).  And it's never bad to have extra sock yarn lying around, right?  (=  

Okay.  Enough for today.  In a future post, I'll show you what I want to knit next!  In the meantime, let me extend a huge thank you to anyone who finds this blog and reads it!  If you're out there and enjoyed reading this, would you say hello?  Lately, I have been leaving comments at some of the many blogs I read.  I am realizing it's nice to get feedback.  

By the way, I haven't figured out how to resize the photos to get them to fit properly.  At the moment, I can either have them full size, which means they're cut in half, or as thumbnails, which you can, at least, click on to see larger.  Sorry about that.  Add that to my list of things to learn how to do, here in blogland.

Happy October to you!

End of August

8/29/09

Well, it has been a whirlwind around here lately.  -- One of our white hens (we have two, plus 2 Rhode Island Reds - 1 male, 1 female, and one remaining black-and-white hen) just came to the sliding glass door to my left, pecked at her reflection while making those adorable henny sounds, then moved along.  Off to lay an egg somewhere random, perhaps?)  Anyway, one sentence in and already I'm distracted.  Kind of sums it up. -- School started, as I already reported.  Both girls have already caught colds.  But both seem happy with their new classes.  I could complain here about the school's practice of scrambling the class lists every year so that no class is ever the same, year to year, no-one stays together longer than a year or two, unless they're lucky, and my quiet, shy kids have to start from scratch year after year, making new friends.  But I won't.  Other needs seem more pressing this morning, and they are doing okay.  

No, this morning I'll type a diatribe against the health insurance industry before moving on to fun knitterly things....  Hmm, too depressing.  Even the abbreviated version is too much to lay at your feet.  Instead of a diatribe, just the facts, ma'am.  Okay:  July 3 we receive 4 official-looking envelopes from our Health Insurance Company (I'll call them HIC), addressed, one each, to each family member.  They regret to inform us that they have terminated our coverage, retroactively(!!) as of April 1.  It's 4:20 PM when we collect the letters from the mailbox and - classic! - their offices close at 4:15 PM.  I quickly realize what has happened.  DH had set up our insurance payment to be made automatically via his business credit card.  And sometime in early spring (March, I'm guessing) his bank called to inform him that there was suspicious activity on his account.  They cancelled his card and issued a new one.  He thought he had switched all his auto-pay accounts over, but obviously missed HIC.  Did they send us a note to let us know that the April payment didn't go through?  Did they maybe send us a bill?  Well, once I contacted them the following Monday (let's not even go into the power and phone outages that occurred Sunday and lasted until Monday - the power - and Wednesday - the phone and internet - making this whole thing just that much more difficult) they claimed to have sent a letter and a bill in early April.  All I can say is I never saw them.  DH says he didn't see them either.  

Okay, can they reinstate us?  We're happy to send the payments now.  This was an oversight, not intentional.  Can we fix this?  Sorry, Ma'am, but it's been over 60 days (in fact 90 by the time they terminate us) so they cannot reinstate our insurance (we have been with this company for over 10 years, may I add?).  We will have to re-apply.  And they will treat us like brand-new customers.  They'll pore over our health histories and we will have to endure the 12-month waiting period for prescription drugs, the whole bit.  I subject us to the process, while simultaneously filling out applications with several other companies.  And guess what?  DH is denied.  Flat out.  Why?  For a common problem, well-maintained and not life threatening in any way.  DENIED.  COVERAGE.  A nice, fat f#$% you from the HIC.  

Deep breath....  And let me add something else here.  We had dental coverage through this company too (crappy, barely worth having since they paid bupkis, but we had it) and guess who had major dental work done in April?  Me.  And guess who had x-rays and cleanings in June?  The kids.  Yeah, we're out a big wad of money for that.  No, we can't afford it.  And they are now sending us bills for the prescriptions they covered this spring and now want to be reimbursed for.  DH doesn't want to pay them, and neither do I, but neither do I want to be subjected to some collection agency and the hit to our credit rating.  

That's enough of that.  The girls and I have found coverage through a different company.  DH was denied by that company too, but we're hopeful that we can clear it up, since it was for a completely different ailment - one which he does not actually have.  His corrected file is being re-visited by the underwriters.  Meanwhile, I have signed us up with Delta Dental, which I should have done in the first place, since their coverage is much better than HIC's.  But, (take another cleansing breath) not before discovering that DD #2 needs a crown.  And some other very expensive work.  @#&%.  I am actively NOT adding up all the money we now owe.  I can't do it.  At least, not until I sit down and fill out the "member grievance form" that someone in the member grievance dept. at HIC sent me.  I'll do it then.  Not that I have any illusions that my grievance will be handled well by them.  But it may be cathartic.  

Now, on to knitting.  Please.  (=  Ah, a smile on my face.  I'm almost finished with Damson.  It's beautiful.  I hope to be finished this weekend.  I'm also still at work on a bulky stripy scarf for one of my brothers.  It's coming along nicely.  I'm using Jared Flood's Noro-Stripe scarf recipe, but not using Noro yarn.  I have, by the way, decided to finish that noro scarf I started this summer, but give it to my FIL.  He will be more likely to accept it with compliments and wear it happily.  Dear Brother (the other one) is getting a different scarf entirely.  I have the yarn, but am resisting casting on until I finish something else.  I mean, really, I have to try for restraint here.  It's so hard not to start everything all at once!  But when I do that it takes forever to finish anything.  Must knit.  Must not spend hours on Ravelry finding yet more things to start!  (ha, good luck with that!)

Well, thank you, whoever you are, for reading this entry.  I feel better anyway.  And now, back to Damson.