A hat in Malabrigo Autumn Forest. This yarn is so soft and beautiful in the variations. The finished product is quite satisfying—made all the more satisfying when a complete stranger stops you and tells you your hat is “handsome.” I hope that doesn’t mean masculine in appearance!
I’m one of those people who take compliments at face value, and never look for ulterior meanings or concealed messages. I guess that makes me naïve. Maybe that’s a character flaw, not recognizing subtle messages behind others’ statements, but it sure makes life more pleasant. I just keep going—head down into the fray, and more, with a smile on my face. Call it naïve or dense, but it helps me remember that life is good, and people generally are kind.
So, the hat, masculine or not, is going to be part of a set which includes the Malabrigo scarf in Rojo Intenso (next post), and fingerless mitts combining the Autumn Forest and Rojo Intenso. I decided to add the scarf and mitts when I remembered that we are going to Minnesota in late April for GD#1’s college graduation, and I’m sure it will be colder there than it is in Fort Worth in April! My hair is growing back, and I’ve decided to keep it short, but I’ve noticed a distinct chill on my neck this winter. Hat and scarf are a must combination
That’s what yarn acquisition is when you are as sick as I was. DH brought home some horrible bug that laid us both out for three days. Forget what they say about 24 hour virus—there’s no such thing! So what do you do from a sprawled position on the couch (with a bucket nearby)? You shop for yarn online, that’s what. That is how I found my new favorite yarn shop PureKnits. I ordered all of the yarn in the photo, except for the Christmas Balls Socks That Rock. The other yarn there is mauve Fable baby alpaca for beaded mitts, Kona Bay worsted for bubblegum pink socks, and Malabrigo in Rojo Intenso for a long, elegant scarf for moi. All of this comes after receiving a skein of Malabrigo in Autumn Forest for a hat, from said Pureknits. Photos of the hat will be forthcoming.
Yesterday I was working, trying to catch up with the backlog from the time I was on my deathbed (or in the bathroom as the case may be), and the Mailman brought boxes with yummy yarn and hope for happy knitting experiences. Wow, I love being a knitter. We get all the goodies!
So let me tell you about PureKnits—they are the greatest! My yarn was received quickly, each package tied with a brown ribbon, and wrapped with brown and coral tissue. A personal, hand written note was included with both orders. It’s so nice to do business with such gracious people. They have a good range of yarns such as Yarntini, Tilli Thomas, Laines du Nord, and their own PureKnits yarn, and the price points are better or equal to other online stores. Truly a case of “try it you’ll like it.”
Have you ever seen a goofier group? The Jayne Cobb hats were a real hit—probably the hit of the century. Firefighter son (top-second from left) asked for the same hat in black so he can wear it with his turnout gear. The others say they will wear theirs for paintballing and four-wheeling, except for Dad (bottom center) who walks the dog in his, and Brother John (bottom left) who shovels snow off the sidewalk in Chicago in his. Each hat was packaged with a card that bore the original quote from Wash in Firefly, “a man walks down the street in that hat, people know he’s not afraid of anything.” Trust me, this group is afraid of nothing!
The photo should be titled “A rose among the thorns.” The center beauty is DG#2 in her Peruvian Alpaca hat that will keep her ears warm in Ireland, where she went when she left us here in Fort Worth. Big change in weather for her.
On another subject, I met a woman in Hobby Lobby this morning. She watched as I picked up two crochet hooks that I will use to pull yarn through beads on the beaded mitts I am planning to knit. She asked if I crochet. I answered that I know how to crochet, but that I mostly knit. She showed me a beautiful crocheted scarf she was wearing and said that she has decided that she wants to “do that.” I commended her, saying she has chosen a relaxing and very rewarding art. She frowned and said, “Oh I’m not an artist. I just want to do something with my hands, and have it look like this scarf.” Okay, here I am again—the utilitarian art advocate. I assured her that producing a beautiful product using ones hands and any medium—oils, acrylic, paper, wool—is most definitely art! She frowned a little, but then said, “If that’s true then I want to be an artist. Would you help be gather the things I will need?” And I did. I left Hobby Lobby thinking about the fact that another artist has been added to our flock, another person who will enjoy the peace, tranquility, and accomplishment of crocheting and/or knitting. Though we are many, there simply are not enough of us!
Christmas was everything the commercials say it should be! Family flew in from Chicago, GKs couldn’t wait to open gifts (had to be subdued with an opening on Christmas Eve), GD#2 watched with me as GD#3 sang and danced across the stage in Chronicles of Narnia, and everyone laughed, talked and ate too much. All fourteen of us took up a row in Church on Christmas Eve for the candlelight service. I love that!! It has become a tradition for all of us to go together. Then we come back to the tree and gifts and resume the eating, laughing and talking, before falling into bed for a long winter’s nap. Probably not too different from thousands of people across the country. It’s the American way.
The photo is of Irish dancer, GD#2 (No. 5 in world competition) in my new Le Slouch. The pattern is by Wendy Bernard. It’s free, and can be found here on Wendy’s blog, Knit and Tonic. She liked the hat so much that I had to knit her one while she was here. Since she is from Chicago, and is a diehard Bears fan, I had to knit the hat in navy and orange, and add a Bears patch from the NFL store.
The Christmas knitting was a success. I’ll post a picture in the next few days of all the men in their Jayne Cobb hats—the hit of the century. I hope all of you had as wonderful a Christmas as we did! It went by fast, and the New Year is approaching the same way. Soon we will be writing 2007, and the rest will be history. Life is good!
I never thought I would see it! When my grandson asked me if I could do illusion knitting, while we were watching Knitty Gritty together one day, I said, “Sure, I can do that—how hard can it be?” Then he told me he would like to have an illusion lizard scarf for Christmas.
I joined the illusion knitting group and asked if anyone knew of a lizard chart. Bless Crystal, who sent me one immediately. However, I found the knitting tedious, due to the small chart. I was going blind counting stitches on the teeny-tiny chart until DH sat down over the weekend and converted it to written instructions. He put everything on an Excel spreadsheet, increased the font to 16 pts, and presented all 14 pages of written pattern to me with a kiss. I love that man! The rest is lizard….
This is what the scarf looks like just hanging around—black and olive stripes. I think it will be a hit with the young man. It was not, however, a knitting hit with me! As I said, I found it mind-numbingly tedious, and when the pattern is finished, straight-stripe knitting is not my idea of scarf knitting. Give me lace, give me seed stitch, or k1, p1 ribs, but straight knitting for 60 inches is worse than ho-hum! I am having to switch knitting sessions with an interesting lacey, skinny scarf for DIL in a chocolate wool with a copper thread running through. I also took time to cast on for the last Jayne Cobb hat in the middle of a l-o-n-g straight-stripe knitting session last night.
I’m beginning to believe that I will finish the Christmas knitting a week early this year. It’s going to happen! Life is good—and Christmas is magic.
I received a nice complement on another blog a few days ago. Someone wrote that my bind off on the “Fetching” mitts was very “neat.” I looked at the picture again and considered why it looks so neat. And so ensues yet another of my off-the-wall theories, and even more off-the-wall advice.
When the pattern says, “Bind off in pattern,” as this pattern does, I mostly ignore those instructions—across the board! I did try to bind off in the rib pattern, and it didn’t look right to me. Due to the comment about the bind off being “neat,” I realized that there are two ways to look at this subject:
Whenever I want the pattern carried all the way to the end of the knitting so it is decorative, I bind off in pattern. But when I want a nice clean line that doesn’t wave, curl, or generally get in the way, I bind off straight as I did with “Fetching.”
Another tip I might share is always use a size larger needle to bind off. Then there is no tight edge to your mitts, or hat, or whatever. I also cast on with a size larger needle to give stretch to the edge. Just sayin….
I can’t stop without sharing my latest FO’s which are, or course, TA-DA—hats. Am I in a rut, or what? These are legal though—I said I wasn’t going to make any more hats for me. These are Christmas gifts, so they don’t count among the umpteen thousand I have made for my finally-growing-hair head.
I made the green hat using the old standard Jayne Cobb pattern. I am also making four in the original orange-beige-burgundy Jayne hat colors. I will package them with a card bearing the quote from Wash in Firefly, “A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he’s not afraid of anything.” Can’t wait to see the reactions on Christmas morning!
And, so goes the knitting. I plan to make more frequent postings a New Year’s resolution. I hope it goes better than most of my resolutions go!
I said I wasn’t going to make anymore hats, but when you have as little hair as I have right now, and it is beginning to get cold outside (This is Texas—60’s is cold to me), what do you do? You make hats. This one is done in a strange soy yarn called Wick, and while pretty with its bright blue, and gold variegated colors, it is not warm. This yarn would make great summer tanks and tops, but I can’t think of much else it would be appropriate for. Don’t try it for gloves or mittens (or hats!). On second thought, it would make great gloves and mittens for people who don’t find 60 degrees particularly chilling. While you are still laughing at me for wearing hats and gloves in 60 degree weather, I’ll explain that when it is 102 degrees outside and I am working in an air conditioned office, I wear fingerless mitts and a sweater. Yup, it’s sweaters for me year-round.
Speaking of fingerless mitts, here’s a pair that I just finished for a Christmas present. I love this cute cable pattern from Knitty.com called Fetching, and have made two other pairs of these mitts for myself.
I am also working on a “slew” (that’s more than one, and less than a dozen) of cammo hats for the paintball crew in the family—who are many! I was going to edge them in orange, but the men all chimed in to say, “No! You can’t put orange on the hats. That will make us targets.” I guess what I know about the game of paintball you could put through the eye of a tapestry needle! Of course, none of them know the difference between dpns and circs.
Back to Christmas knitting. That orange yarn is calling out to me. Hmmm, maybe an orange pompom….
A Comfort Zone customer gave me a great tip today. RB in Massachusetts said she wears Gold Toe socks under her hand knitted socks. It makes them wear longer, and I would bet they are warmer as well. She also said that Macy’s has a store brand named “Hue” that works as well. I’m talking about light weight, white socks that are smooth and comfy under your knitted socks, and take the impact of toe and heel abuse. I’ve never tried that, but I do reinforce the toes of all my socks—sometimes with reinforcing thread, and sometimes with fingering or sport weight yarn in a contrast color.
Another long-life tip for knitted socks is washing them in Eucalan. That is miracle stuff! It smells good, makes your knits feel soft, and you don’t rinse it out, but leave it in your woolens for conditioning and long wear. All too often knitted objects are beautiful for only a short time, and with any wear and tear are too soon no longer useful. I have socks with reinforced toes that have lasted for three years now. Others, without the reinforced toes, have gone bye-bye in less than a year. So why not do everything we can to preserve our precious knitted objects.
Regarding miracles, even better than Eucalan, I received word yesterday from my Neurosurgeon that my latest MRI shows that the blood left in my head from the subdural hematoma has redistributed or absorbed. That means I will not have to have more surgery right now! We will watch it for the next six months to a year, but for now I’m home free—literally! Thanks to all my friends who sent good wishes and for all the prayers. They worked! Life is good.
BTW, the Nasturtium socks are finished.
I am making it public record that I now have too many projects started and it will be well into 2007 before I finish them. I finished the felted mittens, and am finishing the second Nasturtium sock. Then I started the blue top-down sweater—the one that used to be Debbie Bliss’ Classic Jacket until it morphed into a top-down sweater while sleeping in my knitting basket. Then I decided that I need at least two more pair of warm, worsted wool socks for winter, because my feet are already cold. So, I cast on for the socks with Paton’s Classic Wool in olive. Before I could count all the projects and "get a grip," I was bitten by the hat bug again and started another one with a 50% soy yarn called Wick. AND I am still working on DD’s Buttercreme Shawl. Now I am jumping from one thing to another, hoping I will eventually decide that one of them is a priority.
Do you ever flit from one project to another? I know knitters who knit one thing at a time and stick with it until finished. I have fallen asleep in the middle of projects like that! I guess I am easily bored, so the jumping and flitting keeps me awake, and makes knitting interesting. I do like to finish things, but I also like variety. I have decided that I am going to knit two socks at a time from now on. I don’t use circs or magic loop, so I will have to have two sets of dpns going at once. The way I have it figured, I will knit the ribbing on both, then the leg on both, then the heel—and so on.
The worsted wool socks are my old standby pattern of cast on 48 stitches, knit four inches of K4, P2 ribbing, then start the heel. I add a second color to the toe with lace or fingering weight yarn, to both reinforce and add contrast. I think I will use yellow on the olive socks. The blue sweater is a standard top-down pattern that I am making up as I go along. I will do a sketch and write down the pattern as I knit, so I can share later.
When I think about it—what could be better than having too many knitting projects? It means that I’m going to have to spend a lot of time knitting, and less time on other, not so pleasant things. Life is good!
This is one humongous mitten in its present state, but it is going to be felted as soon as its partner is finished. These are a Christmas present for a family member who shall go unnamed because my family reads my blog. Pretty-felted-periwinkle-mittens. Go guess, all of you, until Christmas. These are another of my knit-in-an-afternoon projects. I seem to be caught in a cycle that is productive, but leaves longer projects like my socks and sweater projects unattended. Good or bad—I don’t know. It does, however, get Christmas knitting started with a bang!
Ahhhh Christmas knitting, or Christmas shopping of any kind. Is there anything in the whole world that is more fun and more of a pain at the same time? I certainly have a love/hate relationship with the planning and buying of Christmas gifts. Does it ever seem to you that the thing you want to buy for a certain person, that thing that you know is perfect, and that special person MUST have, is never received with the same enthusiasm with which it was chosen? I confess that I am a failure—a total flop at buying gifts. They say (you know, the infamous “they”), that you should choose the thing you want to give the other person, and it will be perfect. I don’t think it works that way—at least it doesn’t for me. Therefore, I have to set about ferreting out what the person really wants of Christmas.
“Honey, what do you want for Christmas.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Just anything.”
“Surely there is something special you want.”
“Uhhh, I can’t think of anything right now.”
“Will you tell me when you think of something?”
“Oh sure! If I think of something I will.”
They never do! I’m doomed to failure for another year. But Christmas is wonderful anyway, and life is good.
I don’t know about the warm heart part, but my hands are always cold. I have a drawer full of fingerless mitts, mittens, and gloves. Muffs are next—right after I finish this oh-so-cute pair of cabled mitts. These are from a pattern on Knitty.com that I have been eager to try. So, before I start the Debbie Bliss Classic Jacket, which mysteriously turned into an in-the-round 
raglan sweater in my knitting basket, I thought I would do a quick knit on the mitts. I have had an infatuation with knit-in-an-afternoon projects for the last few weeks. Now it is time to get back to serious stuff like socks and sweaters.I’m still working on the Nasturtium socks. Sock number one is approaching the toe. The hats, followed by the cabled mitts, got in the way of sock knitting for a time. I can hear the poor neglected little things crying in the knitting basket at night. So this morning I worked on the first sock until I was ready to start the toe, and then cast on for the second sock. That should make them happy.
I, on the other hand, am not happy at this moment. I have cast on for the raglan sweater twice, and had the stitches twisted when I joined them both times. Is there some easy way to make sure that doesn’t happen? The last time I put the stitches on the circular on the table and smoothed them carefully until I was sure they were not twisted. After four rows of k3, p2 rib I could see there was something wonky—240 wonky stitches! I cried! I hate to be beaten, so I will try again, but I’ll tell you something—it does take a brave heart to tackle a troublesome project like this for a third time. Like I said, I don’t know about the warm heart part, but it is certainly brave!
I am far from being a perfectionist. As the mother of six children I learned early that “okay” would suffice, and “perfect” took entirely too long to accomplish before one of the kids had to be at baseball or dance practice. This position has been reinforced by my recent surgery. I’ve gone from “okay” to “that will do.” I hate to admit it, but this transfers to my knitting. I mentioned the “out of kilter” ribs on my current sock, and my feeling that frogging it was just not something I wanted to do. AND since the socks are under my jeans and the tops are not often seen, “that will do.”
I liked the lace-edged head hugger hat I just finished so much that I took an afternoon to knit another out of leftover STR Lemongrass yarn. When I say “leftover” I mean the tiny amount that is left from a whole pair of socks for my size 10 feet, which is not much I’ll tell you! I looked at the tiny skein and said, “that will do.” So I knit and I knit, and when I got to the decrease rows for the crown I had a ball of yarn the size of a walnut left, and I said, “that will do.” I did the decrease rows, tied off, and the picture shows how much yarn was left. Yes, I know, I was lucky, and I don’t think I would try that again. However, it was exciting to race against the end of a skein of yarn and win.
The hats are so much fun to wear that I decided I had to make another one. Somebody stop me! This one is in red Simply Soft--not the world's greatest yarn, but fun to knit with because it is so soft. I made up the pattern as I went along, but I didn't write it down. So, I had to make another one so I could capture the pattern and post it on the Knitting-On-The-Go website. And h-e-r-r-r-e it is.... 
Four hats! (counting the first blue hat). I'm in a serious hat knitting rut here! At least my head won't be cold this winter. That will do!
Don’t you just love projects that knit-up so fast that you want to knit another one as soon as you finish. I just finished one of those. It’s a little blue cap to warm my bare head. I have peach fuzz growing, but I think it will be a long time before I go out without either a scarf, hat or wig. This little cap took all of six hours—and I’m a slow knitter. I found the pattern here, and it’s free. I have several friends who are just starting chemo, and lots of left over sock yarn to knit colorful caps. Life is good!
I am also knitting socks with yarn a friend told me about. This is great yarn, running a close second to Blue Moon’s STR—actually a lot like STR at a comparable price. It’s Lace Wing Sock yarn, Super Wash Merino Fly Dyed Monarch yarn. I ordered Violet and Nasturtium, and though the colors are a little bit off from what I was seeing on my monitor, they are still gorgeous. I am using size #2 needles with good results, but a problem has arisen. I am using a neat little twisted rib down each side of the sock, and I must have gone to sleep during three or four of the twists and ribs, because they are a little off kilter. I have the leg seven inches long now—am I going to frog it? I don’t think so. Who is going to notice it under my jeans anyway? I’ll try to do better with the second sock. Just keep on knitting!
It took me weeks to decide between the Jordana Paige knitting bag, which is gorgeous, and the Knit Picks KIP (Knit In Public) bags. Then I had a dream of taking my shawl out of the bag and putting in my sock project; then taking the socks out and putting in the scarf project; then taking out the scarf…well, you get the idea. Five bags for the price of one—that sort of answers the question. So I bought the KIP bags and after arranging each with a project and realizing that the “purse” bag fits inside of each of the other bags, as well as clips to the outside, I knew I had hit a home run! Now I grab the project that I want to carry with me, already nestled within the appropriate bag, slip in my purse bag, and off I go. I’m not so thrilled with clipping the bags together, or the purse to the outside of a larger bag, but it’s a nice concept, and I might use it on some occasion. But the bags—ahhh the BAGS—they are roomy, have tons of little pockets (and big pockets) inside each one, and a utility bag for all those little knitting accoutrements we must also carry. There is also a chart holder to match, which doesn’t come with the bags, but is worth the $10. One last very neat thing, the big one is a great overnight bag, as I discovered when DD grabbed it to pack some things to bring to me in the hospital. She had a bunch of stuff in that bag, and it would have held more.
On the knitting front, I am about to finish DD’s “blob” skinny scarf (as they say in Texas, “fixin’ to finish”), and I am so pleased with it. It is surely one of the prettiest things I have ever done. It looks like it has small roses blooming all over it. The Canadian stash is turning out to be as exciting as I thought it would be! I am also working on a pair of pink Cascade socks for DDIL (darling daughter-in-law). Her tiny little Asian feet make for a fast knit sock, although, I must confess to not enjoying the Cascade. It will never be one of my favorite yarns.
So, I think things are getting back to normal around here. I’m doing more, feeling stronger, knitting more, and definitely enjoying life more. It doesn’t get better than that!
Here is my Canadian stash. Look at all the wonderful stuff DD brought to me from Canada. Why is it that ordinary yarn you could buy right here in the good old US of A, seems so much more exciting when it comes from another country? I dumped this bag out on the table and instantly realized that there are lots of good knitting projects in there. There are camouflage hats, an interesting scarf for DD from the royal blue with pink, gold and green slubs, and then there is one of Annie Modesitt's gorgeous corsets in the mix—the mint green silk blend, which I think I will edge with an eggplant color. Perfect for one of my girls for spring! Isn’t it fun to look at yarn and know what it is crying out to be? 
I think the excitement of pawing through a big bag of gift yarn is that there are so many skeins that I would never buy myself. I’m a very practical yarn buyer—Blue Moon STR for socks, wool or cashmere blends for sweaters, sport weight wools for scarves, etc. Most of the time, like other knitters/artists, I have a good eye for color, and the ability to choose the right yarn for a particular project. Oh wait a minute, at least a dozen gone astray, totally wrong, what-was-I-thinking projects that were thrown into a basket and never touched again, just came to mind. Anyway, it is pleasant to find myself with a pile of yarn that stretches my mind and soul to choose the right project for the yarn instead. Knitting in the months ahead is going to be great fun! I hope the same for all of you.
Let me begin with a special thanks to everyone who commented on my last post, with cheers, good wishes, and kind thoughts, especially Stingdragon, who offered good advice on not lifting anything heavy. I was told when I left the hospital that I should not lift anything heavier than a gallon jug of milk. I couldn’t even guess how hard that would be! Everything is heavier than a gallon of milk—my 12 pound dog who comes in from the rain with wet feet; laundry detergent sitting on the floor by the washer; my purse, yes we even had to weigh my purse because I generally carry more than 5 pounds in it. What do you take out of your purse so you can carry it? I need it all!
In addition, a big thank you to my Sockapaloooza pal who sent these beautiful beaded socks with get-well wishes. Ina, you are an angel! She also sent a potato, leek soup mix—our dinner tonight as it happens. I can’t wait to dip a spoon into that yummy mixture. Thanks Ina for the warm feet and thoughts.I am finally down to the toe on the second STR Lemongrass sock. DD will be able to wear them to work tomorrow. I’ll take a pic in a couple days, as soon as I figure out the problem with Kodak Easy Share. It just decided to stop working on my computer. It does, however, like my DH’s computer, so I have to download pictures there and put them on a CD. Whatever it takes!
What I'll be wearing for the next three to six months.I’ve learned a lot over the past two weeks. There I was bopping along—worries, stresses, too much work, not enough down-time, and wham-bam life was turned upside down, to the point of not even being recognizable. About two week ago, I started having serious headaches. My Doctor thought it was a bad sinus infection. I bought into that until the headaches started getting worse. You know how they tell you that when you can honestly say, “I have the worse headache I’ve ever had,” you should go to the emergency room immediately? Well, I didn’t—at least not immediately. The result was that I ended up being transferred from one hospital to another by ambulance, rushed into surgery, and given a tres chic haircut, (translate shaved head) and two drains coming out of my head to relieve the pressure from bleeding in my head. It’s a blessing that I don’t remember any of it, but I do remember some things that will be with me in the years ahead:
1. When you are flat on your back in a hospital bed, there are no faces you want to see more than the loving, smiling faces of husband, children and grandchildren, all saying, “We love you,” and “Come on Mom you can do it!”
2. When my head is wrapped, mummy-style, in bandages I look a little like Charlie Brown—you know, the kid with the round head. Don't want to do that again!
3. Nothing is more important than living a stress free, calm, relaxed life. I was a workaholic, and now I realize that the importance of work just doesn’t compare with the importance of being happy and enjoying life
4. I have staples zig-zagging across the top of my head, and I keep waiting for the little train to come out of one ear and zip across to the other ear. From this I learned that when incapacitated I’ll use almost anything to entertain myself.
5. Nothing can stop me from knitting! I was concerned that I might not be able to focus my eyes on knitting for weeks or months. When I discovered that I could knit without any problems I was a “happy camper.” My best advice is to do what makes you happy, and if knitting does that for you, as it does for me, don’t let anything prevent you from it.
6. Bald is beautiful! Except for said train tracks on the top, my head doesn’t look half bad! I think we can get used to almost anything when we consider the alternatives.
7. From now on I will take life one day at a time. One day’s problems are enough for anyone to handle. In addition, when I contemplate problems for the first time, I will do it with a smile and a feeling of “whatever.”
I have new life plans: I plan never to let things overwhelm me again. I plan to look for the best in every person and every situation. I plan to maintain this attitude in any way possible, and to always, always remember that LIFE IS GOOD! I've learned all the life lessons I want to for a while.
Sorry to be gone so long! I have been recovering from surgery and a hospital stay. I will post in the next few days and give you all the details. Surgery hasn't stopped the knitting. I have been working on a pair of socks and making preparations to cast on for the Canyon Fire Shawl.Be back soon!
I have been bad about posting lately. I have been bad about doing anything except working—that has been non-stop! The Comfort Zone ad was in the new issue of Interweave Knits (look for us please on page 151), and it brought a heap of orders in. It has been fantastic, and I hope it doesn’t stop anytime soon. Thanks to all of you who have helped spread the word about Comfort Zone dpns. We also have worked hard to get the word out about CZS, and how wonderful it is to knit with them. This is the icing on the cake!
On the knitting front, I received four skeins of Canyon Fire lace weight yarn from Knit Picks to use for the Rectangular Square Cover Shawl. I said I wasn’t going to knit a lace tablecloth, but I didn’t say anything about a shawl. I tried lace once before and didn’t do so well. In fact, I was lousy at it. After frogging it several times, I just gave up and decided it was one of those things at which I was never meant to excel. Well, I’m going to try it again. I figure that if I can knit lace tops on socks, I can knit a shawl. I hear you all laughing! BTW those are Knit Picks new circular needles that I am giving a test run.
I hope the lace shawl goes better than the first three tries at the lizard illusion. Yup, three trips to the frog pond, but it seems to be going well on this fourth try. What I did different is amazing—I followed the instructions. Another thing I am bad at. I always think, “Maybe it would work better if I did it this way.” It never does. Follow the instructions and things work out better every time! I have finally learned to appreciate the streamlined nature of charts, and the simplicity they bring to knitting. I was always one to look for the row-by-row instructions for any project. Recently I find myself picking up the chart and launching into the project. It helps that I bought a board with magnets that help me follow the lines on the chart. Good tools make good knitting experiences.
I am still working on STR Lemongrass socks for DD. The picture is about a week ago. Now I have one down to the toe, and the other with two inches of ribbing completed. They are not as lime green as I wanted, but very pretty anyway.
All of this going on, and Macy still wants to play….
So he says to me, “Grandma, I would like you to knit me one of those illusion scarves for Christmas, with a lizard on it.” Whoa! Where did that come from? I didn’t expect my 13 year-old grandson to ask for something that I knew nothing about. I didn’t want to admit to him that I have never done illusion, or shadow, knitting, but I try never to lie to or otherwise deceive my grandchildren. I am what I am—which is far from being all knowing. For an instant I contemplated the amazing fact that he even knows what illusion knitting is. Then I replied, “Sweetheart, I have never done that, but I bet I could find out how, and if I can I will surely knit you a lizard.” I said I try never to lie or deceive—not that I know my own limitations! I’ve always been a sucker for the grandkids, and I have always thought I could do more than it turns out I can. Dancing With The Stars is out, but illusion knitting I think I can conquer. In that effort, I joined an illusion knitting Yahoo group, and told them: this is who I am, that I’m totally uninformed about illusion knitting, and does anyone out there have a lizard chart. Thanks to Krystal, who had just charted a lizard (what a surprise!) I have yarn, pattern, and determination. I can do this!
Before moseying into unfamiliar territory, however, I decided that I should maybe, sort-of, kinda, try the process and see if it is one of those things that I think I can do, but fall short on some unforeseen talent or ability—like Dancing With The Stars. I can’t dance. I spent Saturday trying my hand on a heart dishcloth, and wonder of wonders, it worked. It took me about ten rows for the light to dawn, but from there I could almost knit without the chart—almost. The resulting dishcloth isn’t great, but not horrible either. Then I started the lizard scarf and will keep you posted. At least I know that I am still capable of learning a new skill. Who knows, I may try a lace tablecloth next. N-a-a-a-a-h, I’d rather play with Macy.
A hat in Malabrigo Autumn Forest. This yarn is so soft and beautiful in the variations. The finished product is quite satisfying—made all the more satisfying when a complete stranger stops you and tells you your hat is “handsome.” I hope that doesn’t mean masculine in appearance! 
