Whirlwind Weekends

I thought weekends were supposed to be time to relax, or at least that's the way it used to be. As I anticipate weekends, I always seem to underestimate what we will be doing and how much time each thing will take. That was the case this weekend!

I had to run an errand to pick up a special order at a shop down the street from Twist, so I stopped in for a little stash enhancement. Well, not really for my stash, because I'll be using it right away. I want to make a moebius scarf as a gift, and I went in search of yarn for someone who wears a lot of black. In the skein, the Berocco Jasper looks black and gray and pink, but when I started knitting with it, the pink is red. (Click on the picture... it looks pink, doesn't it?) I don't think this suits the intended recipient, but it will make a fine ski hat for DS. So that means I will have to visit the LYS again (oh darn!!!). The Cat Borhdhi Treasury of Magical Knitting is one of my birthday books from my Mom and Dad. She's really good at library enhancements! She also gave me the Second Treasury of Magical Knitting AND Holiday Handknits (lots of great patterns in this one). 

I did learn Cat's MCO (moebius cast on) - a little weird at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is a fast cast on, much faster than the method I used for previous moebius'. I was hoping to get going on the moebius so I could work on that in the car on the way to the lake. 

We had one last hoorah water skiing, and I think we will be putting the boat away for the winter. The water is definitely cooling off. Throw in yard work, laundry, taxi service for DS, a little baking, church, and shopping, and you have a pretty good idea of why the secret red project is still on the needles.

Happy Fall, Y'all

I came across this goofy little scarecrow in my knitting stuff. I had a wonderful boss several years ago who would buy kits like this, and then she would call a "meeting" and we'd put them together -- not a normal activity for a big IT company. I bet all the other girls still have their scarecrows, too. We had the best decorated department in the whole company!

I've done more on the secret red project... can you guess what it is? This has a rather long repeat of rows and it takes full attention, so it's not car knitting or soccer game knitting, or even nighttime knitting when I am too tired to follow a chart. In other words, it's not growing fast enough for me!! (And I wish red wasn't so hard to photograph!)

I'm off to tech edit other designer's patterns. I love interacting with creative people!

Good weekend to all! DS is going to a college football game tomorrow, a skybox seat, woo-hoo! DD has a tough soccer match in the morning and there will be a college coach there to scout her (we invited him)... and it's supposed to be hot, so we are thinking of one last trip to the lake before we put the boat away. I'll find time to knit, too, I'm hoping.

Cautious Optimism

There's ebb and flow, knit and rip, up and down, back and forth, good times and bad.... 

For my little red knitting project, I ripped and started over. I should have known better than to knit on an i-cord edging and expect it to stretch to the same length of regular knitting. What was I thinking? So I moved on to plan B with a seed stitch edging.

However, the real brain-consuming event of the last 24 hours is that we have a buyer for our old house (it's been on the market for an agonizing 7.5 months). We accepted an offer yesterday, so now we are praying hard that the buyer's loan goes through (and they were pre-approved), but with today's financial and mortgage mess, we are still a little afraid to breathe easy, but we are cautiously optimistic. The really odd thing about this is that the same buyer bought a house that we sold back in 2000. Do you think they are stalking us?  I will be glad to get rid of the stress of paying 2 mortgages. 

If this all goes through, I might celebrate by joining a group of knitters for the central Kansas Yarn Hop Oct 24-25th. You get a "passport" and visit 8 shops all over the place, Abilene, Wichita, Newton, Salina, Hutch..., even Minneapolis, KS! A lot of fun and a lot of yarn! Maybe even an overnight stop somewhere.

I am hoping that, between everything else today, I can get my knitting back to where it was before I ripped it out. That might be a lofty goal! 

Is Today the First Day of Fall?

When I spend time gardening, I always think of a silly little toy that DS had when he was a toddler. It was a tractor with a little driver, and when you pushed the driver down in his seat, the tractor would roll forward repeating, "I dig in the dirt". I dug in the dirt a lot yesterday. Everything is still very green, exceptionally green to be approaching the end of September. DS mowed the grass (again) yesterday while I spent time planting mums and pansies for fall (when it arrives) and even some tulip bulbs for next spring. And I learned that it is best to close the windows before turning on the planter sprinklers. ::sigh::

And then this leaf came floating down.

I think it dropped in just to confirm that fall will come. It may be prematurely red, but that's okay... I know of a few hairs on my head that have "prematurely" changed color, too.  ; )

I did manage to find time to knit - back porch knitting, my favorite. I only got a gauge swatch done before it was dark, but I started a new project and I love it, but unfortunately I can't share it yet. 

The book in the picture is Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein, and it is one of a series of 3 stitch books that provide tons of options for edge treatments on knits. They are all fun to browse through. This particular book provided just the right inspiration for my latest project. A few modifications, and I am off to the races. I love it when it works out that way! The yarn, too, is really nice. It's 100% cotton, Provence by Classic Elite. It's more expensive than other cottons, but it has twice the yardage, so it all works out. I haven't knit with this yarn in a long time, but I think it's softer than my standby cotton, Tahki Cotton Classic. Alas, the TCC still has the best color selection.

I hope you all find time for productive knitting this week, maybe even outside! I know I will be trying to steal a few minutes to take my pastime out to the porch.

Freebie Early Fall Friday

It's the last gasp of summer. These looked a lot better than they tasted.... a little bit of sugar helped. It's time to forget about fresh peaches and think about chrysanthemums.

Another weekend is here! I am hoping that I will find plenty of time to knit, but who can predict what the interruptions will be? It's high school homecoming weekend, so that is my expected distraction. I thought I was going to Des Moines to a soccer tournament (yes DD has to miss her senior Homecoming Dance - sore subject), but DH wants the honor this time. Am I missing an opportunity for road trip stash enhancement? I'll be going to the next tournament where I hear there are good LYSs.

I did manage to write up the instruction for the belt. I put the link on the sidebar, too, so you can always find it there later. 

I hope you all have a great weekend -- fortunately there are no hurricanes to contend with this week. 

Where Does the Time Go?

I've been working on an incredibly easy project, and it seems like it has taken f-o-r-e-v-e-r! 

This is belt version #2, a one row pattern repeat (except for the bead rows). It's totally easy to do, and quick!

It really doesn't stretch much, so it's a winner compared to version #1. I'll try to write up the instructions and post them. 

My disclaimer on when I will get around to that is that I never know what kind of interruptions to expect (you know, life's little curve balls). 

I think I am ready to knit something more challenging. I just had a birthday and received several books for my library. I love to browse for inspiration.

I have been busy doing some tech editing for other designers. Not all of them have posted their completed designs yet, and it will be a while before magazine articles are printed, but if you would like to peek at their stuff, look here, or here, or here. 

The world if full of talented people.

After the Storms

No knitting to show today, although I did manage to squeeze in a few sts over the weekend. We had a lot of rain last week, and it finally ended Saturday afternoon. Our rain was nothing compared to anyone in the path of Ike, we just got his leftover wind on Sunday. As we walked the dogs just before dusk Saturday night, look what we saw....

And here's the other end (complete with DS' head and fingers in the corner).

Everybody likes rainbows.  :)

Have a good week.

Rainy Day Knits

I finally cornered DD into "modeling" her Stardust. She's pleased, I'm pleased, so that makes this a winner!

And a shot of the back. I'm hoping that the seam at the center neck will relax a little bit.

The knitting world became more global for me this week. I've had some fun tech editing patterns for designers in faraway places (at least far away from me). I read 2 patterns by an Arizona based designer, and one from The Netherlands. Next up is Pennsylvania, followed by Georgia (the state!) and California. 

Where in the world is Wool Winder? She and her DH headed out of metro Houston... I hope she took her knitting to calm her nerves while Ike comes ashore. She has shared so many pretty pictures of the TX shoreline. It will be interesting to see how Mother Nature rearranges things.

I'm hoping to finish up the belt I started, then move on to a new project this weekend. The rain keeps me inside, so maybe it will be a productive knitting weekend!

Belting One Out

I was hoping that I would get DD to model her Stardust, but when she comes in from soccer all sweaty and hungry, it's not a good time. Maybe in the next couple of days the stars will align and I can get some shots.

I have something new on the needles. This old belt is my inspiration. I love the colors, but it's getting so frayed that I just don't want to wear it in public any more. 

So I set out to make a new belt. I have a bunch of beads that I want to use, and I'm using the cream Morocco yarn that I bought a couple of weeks ago.

This is proving to be tough because knit stitches like to stretch, even in double knitting. I like this, but it will only be decorative. I think I will finish this one up, then make another in a different pattern stitch.

This is mindless knitting. Other than adding the beads, it's a one row pattern repeat. We all need a project like that every once in a while!

Hope you are having fun knitting!

Tea Time

I'm posting a little later this morning because I was determined to finish Stardust. It's done, all except for a few blasts from the steamer. There wasn't much yarn left, either... just what's in the little demi-tasse cup.

Another crazy weekend has gone by. Where does the time go? Soccer games were actually rained out on Saturday, but we filled that time by sleeping in, followed by a big hot breakfast. I need a rainy Saturday every now and again. : )

I hope you all had a long, lazy weekend filled with fun stuff. I'm off to steam that cardigan so that DD can model it when she gets home from school. Then maybe I'll start the next project...

Back Porch Knitting

The remnants of Gustav rolled by and spared us, giving way to glorious back porch knitting weather. The wild grass behind us is bursting with those wild sunflowers. I'm still plugging away on DD17's Stardust, but totally enjoying it when I can do it outside. I'm down to the last one and a half sleeves (should have done them simultaneously), plus assembly, then on to the next project. Maybe there will be an FO to show next week!

I got this pic in an email the other day.... these were DD17's overalls, now proudly being worn by my adorable niece. Some things never go out of style, and sis was thrilled to have the non-pink hand me downs! 

I love her wellies!

SnB last night was fun, though as usual I didn't get too much knitting done . I did manage to barter photography for my designs in exchange for some tech editing. I am really excited about that. Stay tuned!

Onward to the weekend. A college coach is coming to watch DD in her soccer match tomorrow, then we are going to watch his team play tomorrow night. Crossing fingers...

Have a good weekend!

Late Summer

It seems like magic that as soon as Labor Day comes and goes, the landscape changes. I am guessing that this yellow flower is some sort of sunflower, but I really don't know. These are popping up everywhere in the native tallgrass areas just beyond my back lawn.

This fuzzy purple flower has been blooming for a couple of weeks. Any guesses as to what it might be? Is it one of those pretty flowers that is really an invasive weed that I don't want in my yard? These remind me of those Hostess Snowballs with marshmallow centers (and I don't even like those things)!

Maybe I need a wildflower book. Or I could google "KS wildflowers". Googling is the answer for everything these days! 

I had to add a blanket to the bed last night. The remnants of Gustav are blowing through here in a completely different direction than our normal wind and rain. 

I won't bore you with another picture of Stardust progress, but I am almost finished with the left front of DD's cardigan. The right front and sleeves are all that's left. Eeesh - that still seems like a lot! I hope I have enough yarn. 

Happy knitting!

Labor Day Weekend

I put the flag out yesterday in honor of Labor Day and the wind managed to tie it in knots. :(  I have another flag and pole that doesn't get tied up, I just need a new mount for it. Maybe next time....

I was in and out all weekend, trying to get some odd chores done to surprise DH when he got home from TX with DD. Translated, that meant at least 3 trips to Lowe's/Home Depot to get just the right thing to complete the jobs (and of course I wasn't thinking of the flag pole mount when I was there). I unpacked the last few straggling boxes (I think this is all of them). DS15 was a big help, so he was duly rewarded with a pan of brownies. They're disappearing fast!

In between, I did some knitting. There is a lot of ribbing on this little sweater and I am getting anxious to finish it and move on to another project. The ties seemed endless; they are worked before the fronts, then joined and knitted along with the upper fronts. You can sort of see that in the picture. And if you strain a little bit, you might be able to see the beads that I have added at the center of each YO group. 

I have a busy day ahead, and tonight is Bunko night with the ladies in the neighborhood. This should be fun!

I hope everyone had a good weekend and made some good knitting progress.