heylucy

Market Bag progress

So now my primary project is the throw blanket for my mom, in all it's mind-numbingly boring glory. Here is the pattern: Cast on 5 stitches, row 1: knit; row 2: knit, m1 somewhere in the middle of the row; repeat row 2. Now comes the fun part. K3, YO, knit to end. And then you just keep doing that. So each row is all interesting at the beginning, when you have to remember that yarn over, and then just boring knitting. The rows keep getting longer and longer, and you notice that it's a long time in between those fun yarn overs, and you have to push yourself to finish each row. I'm nearly finished with skein 2 out of 6. After skein 3 I get to add in a little twist because I have to start decreasing. That's right, I'll get to throw in a couple k2tog. Who-hoo! So it will be k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k to end. And then when I'm done, I'm not going to make any more of these darn throw blankets.

Boring knitting is okay sometimes, like when there's something really good on TV, and you don't want to concentrate to hard, but still want to accomplish something so your brain doesn't turn completely mushy. But other times, a little challenge is good. That's where I'm at now with my Farmer's Market Bag. I don't know why the straps are so hard for me, but I've just had a really hard time wrapping my brain around the concept of following the chart back and forth, rather than in the round, like I had been. See the bit of strap that I've done:

There's maybe 6 inches there, and that is two evenings worth of knitting. I really want to finish this bag, I can't wait to see what it looks like all felted. No more pictures until I do a before felting and after felting set.

Colonial House:
I wasn't very articulate in what I was trying to say last time about Colonial House, I think. I was reading the TWOP message boards, and there were a lot of people saying nearly the same thing I was trying to say, only they said it much better. What I meant was I don't get why someone would want to participate in something that will go against their principles. One of the women kept saying how she was an atheist, and sitting in the Sunday service, praying with the other colonist went against her principles and she didn't want to do it even though it meant she would be punished. She had to know from the beginning that that would have been expected of everyone, so if it was such a problem she shouldn't have agreed to be on the show in the first place. If you were a vegan, would you go on Survivor, knowing your only source of protein for 39 days would likely be only seafood? I wouldn't think so (there was such a contestent on the Australia season, wasn't there? And she had problems with it, if I recall correctly). Anyway, I thought they were supposed to re-create history, not re-write it according to 21st century standards. I think the lessons of history would have much more impact if they followed the laws more strictly on the show-the differences between then and now would be more obvious (not that a lot of things aren't, it doesn't look like fun and I applaud them for living and working in those conditions) and we would see how many freedoms we enjoy now thanks to those that have gone before. So that is my armchair quarterback speech, go watch the show, despite my irritation with colonists who try to insert their modern views into the 17th century, it's a great show and fascinating to watch.

Sweater #2

I finished sweater #2:

It's soft and cuddly, although I realized after buying the yarn that maybe Cashmerino isn't the most practical for a baby sweater. There were no written washing instructions on the label, just those little symbols. Does anyone know what those symbols really mean? I know they're supposed to be international and all, but it's not like it's common knowledge. Thank goodness for the internet.

Is anyone watching Colonial House? I'm finding it fascinating, although some of the people can be irritating. Why did the atheist couple want to participate? It's 1628 people, and the colonies are ruled by religious law. You have to go to church! Of course today it would be ludicrous to demand that people go to church, but they're re-enacting the 17th Century, they had to know going in that women had no rights, everyone was religious, and you had to wear a scarlet letter for things like profanity or immodesty. That's great that they want to make their statements (not just that particular couple, several people have rebelled in different ways), but I tuned in to see what it was like in 1628, not 2004. So quit being whiny babies and suck it up! Anyway, it's really interesting, and I'm sure they'll be re-running the first four hours throughout this week before they show the last four next week.

FO's and nearly FO's

Here are the pieces for the Chinese Charm Bag from Stitch n’ Bitch:

And here they are all put together and finished (the flower was an afterthought, it need some zing and a big silk peony was just the thing).

And a look at the inside (I ended up using a different fabric for the top bit, I didn’t have quite enough of the pink big floral print):

Mother’s Day sort of snuck up on me, so I picked up a few skeins of Lion Brand Homespun to make a throw blanket for my mom (luckily, unfinished gifts are acceptable in our family, and I really will finish this quickly, it’s just mindless knitting-perfect for TV watching):

It’s plain, but soft and warm. I made one for myself last fall and one for my MIL for Christmas. Cats love them too. I had to knit a little cat blanket with a bit of leftover yarn so I could actually use my own blanket. The cats kept pulling it down from the back of the chair and curling up on it. They think everything belongs to them. Our queen-sized bed? Why no, that’s just a giant cat bed and if you’re really nice perhaps they’ll let you have a little corner.

The nephew sweater, 2nd edition, is coming along nicely. I only have one more sleeve to knit and then I just have to put it all together. I rock! The next picture you see of it will be that of a completed sweater (my second sweater ever!).

Sweaters, Flowers, Dogs and Trees

Ta-Da! This little sweater is moving right along.

I’m not a fast knitter; I’ve accepted that fact. I knit to relax. At work Tuesday’s are for knitting class at lunchtime. I’ve taught a few co-workers, and I try to make them understand that knitting shouldn’t stress them out. Swearing occasionally is acceptable (we try to keep it PG-13 at the office, though). It’s nice to see them go from tightly clutching their needles to just holding them normally and knitting along.

I forgot to mention that Sweet Pea day was lovely and relaxing. We wandered around the gardens, walked through the sweet pea maze with scissors to clip our own bouquets, and sat on the lawn and listened to a bluegrass band.

Afterward, it was back to my house for pie and lemonade on the porch. I like to revel in the fact that I live in the country, although San Diego is just a 40-minute drive away.

A few more pictures from that day:

A typical shot of the dogs. Reggie is jealously guarding the soccer ball. Reggie (a Cardigan Welsh Corgi), is more of a retriever than Bear. If you throw something-anything, actually-he wants to run and get it and bring it back. Bear (the Golden Retriever), however, wants you to chase him. I guess no one told him he was a retriever. He likes to play soccer, though. These are his rules: kick the ball around a little bit, then pick it up in your mouth, run toward the human and veer off to one side at the last second while they try to kick it out of your mouth. Let them chase you for a bit. Then “accidentally” drop the ball so the human can kick it across the yard and you can run after it and start at the top again. Repeat until the human is panting and ignores you while trying to catch their breath. It’s the funnest game ever!

This is the Man of the Trees. When we lived at the beach, he was Neptune, and hung above our front door. Now he’s on our biggest oak tree, in the middle of the driveway. Neighbors have told us that it’s between 400 and 500 years old. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but the trees (there are 3 Oaks, 2 big Pines, and a bunch of little ones and a dozen Cottonwoods) were one of our favorite things about our house, and it is big enough that when I park my car behind it, you can’t see it from the street. When we had to evacuate during the fires I was more upset that we might lose the trees than the house. I love the bark, it’s grey and rough and old, it almost looks like stone, it’s so ancient.

Text only update

I have been busily knitting and will have pictures shortly. I decided that the nephew sweater was kicking my butt and as the poor kid is 2 months old and I haven't sent him anything I'm re-thinking the whole idea. I decided instead to make a raglan sleeve sweater from the Debbie Bliss Baby Knits book. It's done in Cashmerino Aran, and I managed to knit the front in 2 days, so I'm optomistic that I can whip up the rest in the next week or so. I'm not giving up on the star sweater, it's a 12-month size after all, but now I can knit it without so much pressure. So I went from tiny cotton yarn on size 2 needles to luxurious Cashmerino on size 8 needles. Ahhh, so nice :o)

I'm also making myself the Chinese Charm bag from Stitch & Bitch. It's all knitted in hot pink cotton and I just need to assemble it. I was in need of a quick, satisfying, mindless project. Maybe I'll finish it tonight and share a picture of the completed bag.

And that is the most boring entry in knitting blogdom for today!