I think I'm in love...

Mitred squares. Love these things. Quick, easy to do with a modicum of concentration.

There's no real reason for these squares, except to prove something. I'd seen this particular yarn knit up int these squares over at Mason Dixon Knitting. And I remembered seeing this yarn (Katia Jamaica) at my LYS, Needles and Knits. It has very long non repeating colour changes, and there really wasn't any pattern that it seemed to suit. When I was there on the weekend (picking up 2 sets of needles that cost me over $100**), I decided to try some in the mitred squares that I had seen Kay make. Each one takes around an hour, depending on how distracted you are during that time.

Well. I'm in love.


I figure to get 4 or 5 squares from a ball, and now I need to find some solid blue, green and/or turquoise. I feel a blanket or something in my future... And god knows, I needed another project to cast on...


**No, Tove does not charge exorbitant amounts for her needles. I went in for two short 3mm circs to do a turkish toe cast on for some heavier cotton socks. Tove showed me the new Sheldridge Farms handpainted fingering weight. Somehow, 6 skeins found their way into my life. (And some new magazines. and maybe some other stuff - I can't remember...)

cleansing...

Coming up for air...
Man, I meant to have this ready for posting yesterday, but yesterday, things just exploded at work! It's OK, it was in a good way - I just got massively busy, and every one wanted a piece of me all at the same time. You know you're busy when you blow off the owner (and signer of my paycheque!) becasue I'm talking to a guy in Egypt, with guys in China and India both on hold and refusing my voice mail - they need to talk to ME, NOW! It worked out OK, and made some people realize part of what I do, when I can put out three fires on the other side of the world, all before my third cup of coffee!

The Cleansing Part...
So who knew that posting pictures of all my WIPs would make me take a good hard look at them?

Total count so far of the 11 or so poor neglected WIPS:

3 frogged. (In addition to the silk shawl and the leaf lace shawl, I also frogged the dark green alpaca Moebuis cowl. I wasn't feeling the love. Love the pattern, love the yarn. Just not together.

4 finished. In addition to the red ruffle and the fingerless mitts, I also finished up my STR socks (colourway Metamorphic) and the fish hat.
The fish hat will probably go to my Father in Law - he is joining Hubby on Hubby's annual fishing trip this year, and it will probably be a little chilly way up north in May, so this should come in handy.
And the socks. I'm in love with these socks. I love, love, love them! The yarn is stellar - Socks that Rock really do rock! It's sproingy, lush and perfect for socks. And the colourway is beautiful. LuckyCanuck picked this out for me, and she did a great job. I am keeping these. For some reason they look a lot shorter in the picture than they are in real life.

So what's next on the finishing parade? Well. possibly one of the three new projects I cast on this weekend... What? You thought I would change my ways?? Fat chance...

two done - two gone...

I had a little extra time to knit yesterday - Young son was home sick. He's OK, Dad stayed with him in the morning and took him to the doctor - small chest congestion and infection - on the Zithromax for 5 days, and hopefully, we're good. So I came to work, gathered up some stuff to work on at home and was home by noon. Finished up the work I brought home by 1pm, (the nice thing about no one knowing exactly what I do or how I do it, is no one knows how long it actually takes me to do things!). Spent the rest of the afternoon with Son on the couch, watching movies and knitting.

The ruffly red scarf is done for my friend's charity auction - Ovation from S.R. Kertzer - 75% kid mohair, 25% silk - a dead ringer for Kid Silk Haze at half the price! I started with around 60 stitches on an 8mm circular, then doubled that to 160, knit a few rows, doubled it again, knit a few rows, did a knit one, knit into f and b of next stitch row, knit a few rows, the a knit 2, knit into f and b of next stitch row, knit a few rows, then cast off. Or something like that. Basically, start with a base row then keep increasing and knitting. The more stitches you add, the rufflier it is. This one is VERY ruffly. I wanted it lush, since people will be bidding on it.

And yes, that is another pair of fingerless mitts completed! They need a wet blocking to bloom the yarn, then off to my sitter. But I may have to take them back for my next Guild meeting to prove to the ladies that I can actually finish a pair of mitts! (There was some good natured ribbing at the last meeting!)

And the frogging has also commenced:

Yep, the silk eyelash shawl has gone, as well as the leaf lace shawl. I will make the leaf lace shawl, as it's a great pattern, just not in a severely variegated yarn. He silk eyelash will become something - I'm just waiting for the right pattern. Any and all suggestions are welcome!

And for those following the soap opera "As the Work Turns"... One of the new hires is already gone. Something happened yesterday while I was at home. Attitudes are a little glum around here, so I have to do some digging and find out some details. One of the long time, most loyal employees is starting to feel as I do. She and I had a conversation this morning, and I've never heard her so down. A sign of things to come??

And then there was my drive in this morning - On a morning when I had half a mind to stay home and keep Son home (He really wanted to be at school today - it was Beach Day, and he really was feeling (and looking) better), this is what I faced on my drive.
CatBookMom is always after autumn leaf changing shots, so I thought I'd share the whole gamut of weather in the Toronto area! For those that don't know, CBM lives in Burbank, CA. She says she's coming to visit, but only in the summer. I wonder why that is??

The truck above is the dick that passed me on the right shoulder to get in front of me. It's not like he was going anywhere - there were about 200 cars in front of him, single file, doing 30km. But, he has a big truck, so I guess that makes him better than the rest of us! I swear, if my husband ever did that in his SUV and I saw him, I'd smack him upside the head!

frog or finish??

OK, so last night, I go around the house, gathering up UFOs. I'm pretty sure I got them all, and this does not count the ziplocs of yarn and needles set up for projects just waiting to be cast on. These are the ones here a commitment has been made. Stitches have been formed. Time (such a precious commodity) has been spent. SO now it's time to decide. Sh*t or get off the pot, as they say.

First group:

From the top right...

A grey cotton sweater for Hubby. Pieces done on the machine (LK-150) back when I first got it. Cotton coned yarn from Camilla Valley Farms - grey body and dark green Fibonacci stripes. All I have to do is hand knit the bottom ribbing and the cuff ribbing. This is a definite finish, and to be honest, should have been done months ago. I just have to get going on it, but I hate ribbing.

Wellington Fibres Alpine Mitt. This baby has been seen before - I will finish it, but it's not a high priority.

Marina Sweater - design from Knit Picks. I love this design - You knit the sleeves across from cuff to cuff, with an cable up the middle that splits for the neck, then knit the body in the round down. I will probably finish this - I do like it, but Christmas knitting got in the way. The sleeves will be this camel colour, and the body is planned to be a dark oregano green.

Silk Eyelash Shawl. Welcome to the first frog item! I love this yarn - it's silk eyelash by Handmaiden. I've had it forever, and nothing seems right. It's very light - very, very light. I calls for a shawl or a scarf, but nothing to textured or lacy, because the tiny eyelash yarn will obscure anything but the most basic. I will frog (and regain some Addi needles...) and wait for inspiration.

Yarns Plus Silk Noile in Flame colourway. This is a Machine Knit experiment. I'm knitting wedges on the machine using this delicious silk. Then I will probably sew them together, but I'm not sure if I will just mattress stitch them all, or if I will sew them to some silk ribbon or something. Not yet a frog project, but again, not a high priority.

Second Group:

again, starting at the top right and working clockwise...

Red ruffly scarf - definitely a finisher. This is for a charity auction for a friend of mine. I gave her a similar scarf in bright pink, and all the women at her golf club went ape over it, so she asked me to make one for their auction. The money is going to Breast Cancer research, so of course I said yes. I should have this baby done this week.

Green Leaf Lace Shawl. I'm not feeling the love. I love the pattern, but the variegated Knit Picks yarn is TOO variegated for me for this pattern. It's been sitting forever, and will be frogged. Probably tonight. Hey! a 4mm bamboo circular freed up! Yay!

Pink Hemp Angel. Again, not really feeling the love, but all I have left is the skirt, so I will finish it. But the hemp is not great for this - too stringy. I know, cotton is stringy as well, but this hemp is STRINGY! Once it's put together and starched and all, I'll probably fall in love and make another. (Yeah, right!)

Lindenhof fingerless mitts. My current project - still loving it and will finish this week.

Fiddlesticks Whisper Scarf in Ivory Zephyr. Again, a low priority finisher. This will make a nice Christmas gift for Christmas one year. The Fiddlesticks patterns are beautifully charted and very easy to do - a definite recommendation for someone wanting to start with lace.

Green Alpaca Moebuis - not sure here. Probably a frog. I love the Moebuis pattern, and I love this yarn, but I don't think they go together. I'm using a 2.25mm needle and it's fingering weight. I may save this yarn for something out of the Arctic Lace Book instead. So... FROG!

Socks that Rock Metamorphosis colourway socks - Just need a couple more inches of leg and the picot hem and these babies are MINE!

Fish Hat - another finisher. This will be a good back up hat for my son for when his alien hat is soaked. He loves this pattern (as do I - love that hemmed edge!), so it's a keeper.

One last project:

Poor little forgotten stripy sock - I'll finish her and put her in the Christmas box. Someone will love her!

So that's it. As I said, this doesn't even touch on the "I really want to start" projects - The Handmaiden Sea Silk, The New Zealand 12 ply, the brown cotton for a Soleil tank, and so on...

But I will gain a few needles back, and wind up some yarn to put away. Maybe I'll even finish a few of these before starting something new...

(And for those that remember another lonely mitten - yes, there is the green and yellow thrummed mitt still out there. I found the yarn and the roving for the thrums. I can't find the finished mitt. How bad is that?)

Conversations with an 8 year old, and breaking the curse...

last night's conversation with a just-turned 8 year old...

Son: Mom, I didn't get everything I wanted for my birthday.

Mom: Oh, really? Let's see, you had 15 kids at your party, and each of them gave you something pretty nice. Nanny (my mom) gave you a new computer game. Gramma and Pops (Hubby's parents) gave you a Mastermind gift card. Daddy and I gave you a Playstation 2 and 25 games (we bought the whole package off the treasure hunt channel - such a deal!!)

Son: but I really wanted an iguana. Or a snake. Can I get one? Please?

Mom: No. Have you fed your fish lately?

Son: I forgot. But I really want an iguana. I read all about them in the library books.

(Note here - Son took a bunch of reptile books out of the library, assuming we would then allow said reptile into the house. He also had a few books on welding - we didn't get him MIG, TIG or ARC welding equipment, either.)

Mom: If you can't remember to feed your fish, how can you look after an iguana?

Son: I will! Really I will! I really want a snake! Or an iguana!

Mom: If an iguana or especially if a snake moves in this house, I am moving out. Mom doesn't like reptiles, especially snakes. So you can decide - Me or the iguana.

Son: (thinking) Well, Daddy doesn't cook as well as you and you always remember to feed my fish, so I'd rather have you.

This was followed by a hug. Life is good. Of course, not ten minutes later, we were having the progressively getting louder "Have you done your homework??" discussion, which becomes the "I gave you that Playstation - I can take it away just as easily if you don't do your homework first!" discussion...

I've broken the curse - maybe...

Lookee here...

yes, that would be an (almost) finished fingerless mitt - just the thumb to do and I should have that done at lunch today and the second one cast on! I am going to give these to my son's sitter J. J is the best thing that happened to us when my son started school - she picks up Son and another girl (his best friend / best enemy, depending on the day) and is such a fabulous influence on them. J also works part time at the library and it's often cold in there. When she saw my Koigu mitts, she loved them, so right away, decided to make her a pair. She'll love them, and with March Break coming up, a little extra love to the sitter is always a good thing!

Instead of the Saxon knot I did on mine, I've done four columns of cables up the back - I like it, although the hand painted nature of the yarn hides it a bit. Still - it's a nice textural aspect. I bought this yarn at last year's Kitchener Knitters Fair - LuckyCanuck showed it to me and I had to buy some - she got some too, and made socks - it's a wool / mohair blend and it's a locally produced, one of a kind - I love that. My only complaint is that it is loosely plied, and therefore a little splitty, but that's it. I'll look for more of this next time at Kitchener.

notes on the gauntlets / fingerless mitts / wristers...

First off - thanks for the nice comments on the gauntlets / fingerless mitts / wristers - There's nothing better for a knitter's ego than praise from her peers... Some quick notes: It seems I have fat hands. OK. maybe just WIDE hands. The saxon braid has pulled towards the thumb and is not nicely centred on the back of my hand. No big whup, but next time I would move it over by one rib. The thumb cast off rolls a bit. I used the "knit 2 together, slip stitch back onto left needle, repeat" bind off. While I love this bind off, I probably should have done a row or two in ribbing to stop the roll. It's not much, but it does roll a touch. LuckyCanuck asked if I was wearing them today - Damn right! and not just outside. For whatever reason, my new section of the office is about 10 degrees colder than my former area. It's noticeable enough that 4 of us in this specific area are way more bundled up than we should be inside. I've got my gauntlets on, my Argosy scarf wrapped around my neck, and my leather jacket over my shoulders. While I'm getting tons of compliments on my knitwear, I'd really rather not HAVE to wear it inside. But, the gauntlets are performing beautifully I am typing this with them on! I've already had 3 people ask for a pair. Nope. sorry. I don't knit on commission. CatBookMom was asking about the paired long tail cast on. Now ou have to understand - I had never done a long tail cast on before - I was a cable cast on chik. So the paired long tail is described a couple of ways - Elizabeth calls it the "Your Way, My Way", but since I didn't have a "My Way" that didn't work for me. I call it the "Inside Outside" Basically, when yo udo a long tail, on the "Inside" part, your thumb goes on the inside of the yarn triangle. For hte "Outside" , you wrap your thumb around the outside of hte yarn. It's easier to do than to explain, so all I can recommend is that you take Elizabeth's class when you can. I know she's teaching at Stitches West this year - look for Elizabeth Fallone. And believe it or not - I've started another pair. I;m using a locally obtained wool - mohair blend sock yarn from Lindenhof - LuckyCanuck was with me when I bought it a the Kitchener Knitters Fair. I was going to make socks, but really, my sock yarn stash is large enough that I can scoop from there without any noticeable dent. Plus, the lindenhof knits up nicely on 3mm needles, which makes it perfect for these. Instead of the full rib, I will probably just do a couple of inches of it, then stockinette, and I'm thinking of a few columns of cables or a WIDE cable all the way up the back. I may have broken my mitten curse...

Ta Da!

Who knew it would only take a dare... Wannietta put the challenge out in the comments on the last post - Well, if you've known me for any length of time, you know I've eaten my share of bugs as a kid, climbed trees they said I couldn't (yes, this was the cause of at least one skull x-ray), and skied where I shouldn't have (no, I don't ski anymore - that caused a few more x-rays and plaster wristers). But don't start daring me to finish everything! Even I have limits...

But every now and then, a dare seems to work:

Tracy asked me about these - where did I get the pattern, what yarn am I using, whether or not she should stop reading me since she wants to make what I'm making... The pattern is sort of cobbled together - I got the idea from Fluffy Knitter Deb - she got the pattern from someone else and made some modifications which I really liked, so I made them. Hey, look at that! I just checked Deb's site, and I guess she has had numerous comments about the pattern that she has written it up with the mods she made. Look here. Now, my modifications from her modifications... I used Koigu KPPPM in the incredibly well named colourway of P716 in dye lot 42. Well done Koigu - it really gives you an idea of the colours... I also used 3mm needles. The nice thing about this pattern is that the ribbing allows for different sizes of yarn and needles - I could have made these smaller, but the ribbing pulls them in nicely, and the 4mm's made quick work of them! This yarn is delicious - nice and sproingy, and soft as all get out! I used the paired long tail cast on - Elizabeth - you are genius!

It looks fabulous, and is nice and stretchy for this 2x2 rib. Way better than my usual cable cast on. I kept the thumb increases as per the original - 18 stitches increased between the ribs and 4 cast on over the thumb opening. I basically knit the thumb until it was a length I liked - just the tip of my thumb sticking out. Once I put the thumb stitches on a thread, I picked up the two stitches that were taken up from the thumb. The thumb join is nice and neat. I'm not sure if this is a factor of the pattern, or just dumb luck on my part. I'm not normally known for my tidy thumb joins. Maybe that's why I never make the second one... The overall length of them is good - at the top, it just stops short of covering my pinky. The cuff length could be shortened a bit - If I had taken out and inch and half or so, I could have got two wristers out of one ball. As they stand, I dug into the second ball a bit. Of course this leaves me with less than one ball of the Koigu, but I will make more of these (with different mods, probably) and will pair what's left of this with something that coordinates. The joys of a large stash - there's always SOMETHING that coordinates... Now, if you need a pattern that walks you through stitch by stitch, row by row - this may not be for you. It assumes that you can figure out where and when to place the increases and the braided motif. (Which, by the way, I LOVE!) Hey, I'm just impressed that I finished a pair. I'm on a roll - I wonder if I can find the Wellington Fibres fair isle mitten...

Ah, the suspense...

Okay, so I come by the name One Mitt Wonder honestly. I have rarely finished a pair of hand coverings, whether they be mittens or gloves. Unlike LuckyCanuck, I seem to have mental block when it comes to mitts. But, I can hear you saying (or is that just the voices in my head?) "Chik - you knit socks! We've seen them! Socks are just thumbless mitts with heels! If you can do socks, you can do mitts!"
I know this. I know it to be true. I know I can knit a pair of socks without a problem, yet I also know that the second mitten will continue to vex me.
one done. I'm good at getting to this part - I've done it many times. But can I get past it?

Only time will tell...

Oh,

and in case you thought I was pulling a fast one - there really are two of them...

blog filler...

I got nothing. I stole this from Marcy at Purls Before Swine - a new favoutite blog - I'm working my way through her archives - Man, she makes me laugh out loud...

Yes, work still sucks. I expect next week to be worse. Yes, I am sending out hundreds of resumes and getting in touch with a head hunter this weekend. Yes, I am buying lottery tickets in bulk...

A - Age: 45 later this year.
B - Band listening to right now: Lynyrd Skynyrd.
C - Future Career: retired (could be sooner rather than later!).
D - Dad's name: James Edward.
E - Easiest person to talk to: Sue.
F - Favorite song: Wow. too many to choose from. A lot of songs will transport me back to a moment in time, and I will enjoy the ride. I love Kate Bush, Old Genesis, Skynyrd... plus lots of new stuff. Our wedding songs were Extreme's More than Words, and Harry Connick's It Had To Be You. I can also belt out Ella Fitzgerald while I drive (alone).
G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Not that fond of the gummy stuff.
H - Hometown: Aurora, ON, but born in Montreal, QC.
I - Instruments: ummm, I took some guitar lessons once... I rocked the recorder in grade seven...
J - Job: Senior Sales Analyst (for the moment...)
K - Kids: 1 son - 8 years old
L - Longest car ride ever: From Toronto to St. Louis to see some friends - we stopped in Columbus, Ohio to see my University roommate and stayed over. I never did the Florida drive - I always flew down...
M - Mom's name: Marie Jeanne Pauline Liliane
N - Number of people you’ve slept with: Not going there, thank you very much!
P - Phobia: driving over a bridge. Just driving. I can walk on a rope bridge above a gorge, but don't put me in a car over one.
Q - Quote: "Sanity is overrated"
R - Reason to smile: My family and being at the cottage with friends
S - Song you sang last: Gimme Three Steps by Lynryd Skynyrd - very loud, and very badly!
T - Time you wake up: 5:30am Monday to Friday, otherwise it's whenever my son decides it's time., usually around 8:30 - 9:00am
U - Unknown fact about me: I am part plastic. And NO - I do NOT have implants of the boobage kind! Think urinary tract rebuild and it's keeping me alive.
V - Vegetable you hate: Brussels Sprouts - they smell like my old high school locker room.
W - Worst habit: hmm... so many to choose from... Procrastination maybe? Oh well, I just think about this one later...
X - X-rays you've had: Let's start at the top and work down. Two skull - to see if I had concussions - yes both times. Neck after whiplash in car accident. Left shoulder after dislocation. Left elbow after dislocation. Left wrist after break. Right wrist after sprain. Both hands after numerous finger breaks. Numerous chest and pelvic ones when I was a kid to try to figure out why I was so sick. They finally found out and rebuilt my urinary tract. Left hip after dislocation. Left knee numerous times - it's had some surgical work done. Left ankle after sprain. Right ankle after sprain. Left foot after break. Left foot after broken toes. Man! It's amazing I'm still alive, isn't it??
Y - Yummy food: Pasta with almost any homemade sauce. Veal Chops my husband barbeques. My own risotto with spinach and shrimp. Anything my Dad used to make. Homemade bread, still warm. chocolate.
Z - Zodiac sign: Sagittarius on the cusp of Scorpio. I have no idea what any of this stuff means, but my Mom is into it.

They just keep pushing me...

CAUTION: another work rant ahead. Feel free to come back tomorrow for possible knitting content!

So, with all the turnover around work (what a surprise!) we have 3 new people starting next week. This entails moving people around, in order to slot the newbies into the best possible place. I should mention that we are cubicled here with a few offices around the perimeter. It sucks. Hugely. But whatever. I have a single cubicle - three walls and a modicum of privacy, but still, my back is to the general population and I hate that. But, I have it better than others. Actually, I guess I should say I HAD it better... As of today, I have to move. I lose a wall, half my horizontal working surface, and a ton of privacy. I have to share an open area with two others - one of whom is a loud talking salesman. I am seriously pissed. SERIOUSLY PISSED. So, having the word Senior in my title means squat, obviously. All these new people coming in are getting the prime areas and we are being shuffled off to Buffalo. I told my boss that it feels like a kick in the teeth, just before I left last night. He wanted to talk, but I had no time - Son had swimming lessons, so I bailed. He will want to talk it out today, but there is very little he can say. They have no concept of personal space around here. We are treated like possessions that can be moved at will - their will. I think I've heard the final bell. I know I've said it before, but this could be the end.

comment comments...

I've been a little lax in answering some questions from the comments - bad me. If you take the time to comment, the least I can do is take the time to answer you if I can. Note that I will not be taking time from my knitting time - I guess something else will have to suffer...

J. Layne from Aurora - thanks for delurking! And if you're in Aurora, I hope you'll consider checking out the York Region Knitting Guild. We meet the first Tuesday of each month at Needles and Knits on Yonge Street in Aurora. (Yeah, that would have been yesterday, sorry about that...) But our March meeting should be great - Amy Singer, editor of Knitty is coming! Either drop by the shop (Needles and Knits) or email me at curlerchikATyahooDOTca for more information on the Guild - who we are and what we do. We love new members.

CatBookMom wanted to know what answers I gave to become Aragorn in the "Which Sci-Fi Character are you". I wish I could remember. I tried it again, and I too was Captain James T. Kirk. I'm sticking with Aragorn - as much as I love Star Trek, Kirk was not my fave. GIve me Picard any time... CBM is also good for the ego - " you are being SUCH an inspiration!" is a direct quote. Geez, it's enough to make a chik blush... Thanks CBM. She's going to make an Argosy, using the same Mille Colori I used for my Moebuis - great choice - I'll bet it's luscious! As far as the Moebuis pattern - I hadn't really thought about it, but yeah, I guess I can write it up. Give me some time...

Mary Tess was curious about how you would replace a provisional cast on with an e-wrap cast on. Simple. Istead of the crochet chain provisional, simply e-wrap. For example, I use a provisional for toe up socks. Now, instead of fiddling with the crochet chain, I would simply e-wrap the number of stitches I need, and knit my toe. Then, where I would normally pick up the provisional stitches, and unzip the chain, I would just slip me needle through the e-wraps. As was explained to us, an e-wrap has no "gender". It is neither a knit nor a purl, so you can pick them up as you need them. One proviso - the picked up stitches will be offset by half a stitch. If this bothers you, well this may not be the technique for you. I can just put them on the bottom of the sock where no one sees them, and voila! no need for a provisional! There are many other uses for this as well, but I'll let you take Elizabeth's class to learn them all...

Lucky Canuck asked somethings about the Argosy scarf - 2 full balls of Noro Silk Garden made a scarf about 6 feet long and around 6 inches wide, after blocking. A great stash buster. Plus, One ball would make a really nice little neck warmer scarf...

My thanks to the ladies of the York Region Knitting Guild - they all had such nice things to say about the scarf. We did a little workshop on the Moebius cast on as well - I expect to see all kinds of Moebuis's (Moebuii??) next month!

Argosy

I finished Argosy, and I love it!
Here she is, blocking:

Now, normally, I would not block a scarf - I mean, really, It's a long rectangle that just gets wrapped around your neck. However, anytime there is lace, or openwork involved, blocking is a necessity. Argosy really opened up, and the Noro Silk Garden softened up beautifully. I really like this colourway - nice and muted, with that jolt of teal running through it. I think it looks great with my brown turtleneck, especially since it's minus four thousand degrees today!

Yeah, just a little chilly today. But my office will be about 3 degrees below the Hell setting, which puts us in the Tropical Rainforest Zone. That's compared to the summer when it ranges around Meat Locker Temperature. Very easy to get dressed in the morning...

A couple of random thoughts - Today is my son's 8th birthday. I guess we are halfway to driver's license now! We had the party on Saturday - 14 kids at the bowling alley and that was great, but tonight he has basketball practice, so we couldn't let that pass unnoticed:

We made the basketball cupcakes last night, and these will be popular after practice tonight. Of course, right after that, Son stays with Hubby while I race off to my Guild meeting where I get to show off the Cape Cod socks, and the Moebuis. I will also open myself up to ridicule by publicly showing off the start of a pair of fingerless mitts. Yeah. Remember me? The One Mitt Wonder? Think I'll get through two of these? There are points in my favour - I'm using Koigu, which is delicious, they are fingerless, which is different, and the back has a nice Saxon-type cable pattern which should hold my interest. Fingers crossed...

another WIP...

Noro Silk Garden + this

EQUALS


I love this scarf - the pattern is great - as most Knitty patterns are. The repeat is easily remembered and the diagonal aspect of it changes the way the Noro stripes. Nice. While I love my Noro Harlot scarf, I was looking for a slightly different colourway - you know how Noro is, it looks completely different in the skein than it does once knit up. The Harlot scarf:

is really nice, and I wear it alot, but I'm not fond of lavender, and that's the part that sits near my face when I wear it knotted near the neck. The Argosy scarf is more muted tones with one major jolt of a turquise-y teal-y green that I love! It's much more vibrant than it appears here - there is no sun around when I am taking pictures these days... I think I've placed it in the right spot. A few more repeats of the pattern, and a good blocking, and we'll see. I'd like to have it done by Tuesday to take to my Guild meeting - keep the fingers crossed! I still have to get through an 8 year old's birthday party this weekend...