Category: Goofy Stuff

Here it is again, in all its resized glory:

And a closeup of the center cable section:

It’s actually prettier than that last picture would indicate. This color is hard to photograph well. Either it’s so dark that you can’t tell it’s a cabled sweater, or it’s washed out from the flash.

I think the size/gauge is going to be correct this time out. And the number of stitches on the needles is correct this version, unlike the first time, before I found out that the pattern was incorrect. I’m sure that there will be some other glitch that I will discover, but only after I’ve knit another eight inches or so.

I got quite a bit done on this the past week, due to a trip to Phoenix to visit my sisters. I have two sisters, one lives there, the other one still lives in North Dakota. We all met in Phoenix for a week of sister activities. The long-standing joke is that if any two of the three of us gets together, the third one has to show up too, or the other two will talk about her. Because of this, we actually see each other rather often. I worked a bit on the two pairs of socks I have in progress, but mostly on the sweater. And I didn’t do any yarn shopping while I was there. There are a couple of yarn shops in the Phoenix area, but my sisters have a low tolerance for hanging out in yarn stores, and I really don’t need any more yarn anyway.

Ack. I can’t believe I just said that. I did buy some yarn online before I left, and it was delivered while I was gone. Here’s a picture, but it just does not do it justice.

It’s laceweight silk, from Hip Knits. I purchased it from a UK shop called Yarnsmith, which quite possibly has the best online service I’ve ever experienced. Good communication, fast shipping, lovely yarn, and a handwritten note in the package; what more could you ask?

And what might I be planning for that lovely pile of ivory silk, you might ask?

This:

This is the Frost Flowers & Leaves Shawl, from A Gathering of Lace. I have a few things to finish up before I start on this one, but I’ve been dying to make this ever since I saw it. When I saw the silk yarn, I knew that it was just what this one needed. I hope it swatches up ok, as I’m not sure exactly what else I’d do with 3600 meters of silk laceweight yarn.

When my sisters and I get together, usually there is a lot of fun and shopping involved. Often it involves wine and bourbon. (OK, it almost always involves wine and bourbon, but we’re getting more responsible as we get older.) One year we each got a second ear piercing done while we were together. This time it was a tattoo*.

Really. Well, only two of us got tattoos, my third sister decided that it just wasn’t “her”. Here’s mine, first, just getting started:

And finished:

Note that I’m smiling in that first picture. It wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as I had thought it might be. I have wanted to do this for a long time, and decided to put the first (!) one where it can be easily covered up, in case I didn’t like it. I love it! The next (!) one might have to be knitting related!

*And no, there were no alcoholic beverages involved in this escapade. Tattoo places insist that you be sober and not under the influence of anything when you sign up for body modification.

Yes, we did it again this year. John’s kids and their kids have been visiting us this week, and no late summer vacation is complete without a trip to the State Fair.  Our trip this year looked much like the trip last year, except that the little ones are a year older and enjoyed the rides and petting farm more. It was also warm and not raining this year, unlike our visit to the fair last summer. We ate lots of junk food, rode rides, looked at cows and chickens. I missed the sheep again this year, except for the few in the petting barn. I think they showed them earlier in the fair. I also didn’t make it to the craft pavilion this year to look at the knitted stuff. We all just wore out and couldn’t have looked at another thing.

I think the grandkids favorite thing was the drumming contraption:

That middle picture is Sam, and the last one is Griffin. Yes, John’s grandchildren really ARE that cute in real life.

Here’s Penelope practicing being a fireman:

She’s cute, too. They’re all cute, did I mention that?

George and I appear to have started a tradition of riding the scariest ride at the fair. Last year we did the Extreme Scream, more or less on a dare. That was pretty scary, I might point out. We decided to branch out this year. After looking them all over, we decided on the Turbo Force. Here we are getting ready to go:

Here is what it looked like:

That is pretty much the most terrifying thing I have ever done. After you get swung around in a big arc about a million times, it pauses at the very top for a few minutes while they change the passengers in the bottom seats. Then you get to do the whole thing again for another million times. And they are right, you don’t get sick. You are just plain too terrified to even think of nausea.

Here’s the sock:

This doesn’t really qualify as Extreme Knitting, because there was just no way in hell that you could have peeled my hands off those safety bars to pull out the sock at the top. Maybe next year.

Here’s the kitchen packed with kids after the fair:

And me and Huck in a quiet moment. He’s even cuter than he was when he was born.

There aren’t many quiet moments in a house with six adults trying to make themselves heard over four children under the age of four. Pandemonium just about describes it. I have gotten some knitting done, even amidst the chaos. The knitting part of Rogue is finished, and all the ends are sewn in. It’s washed and on the blocking mats. All that’s left is to seam the sleeves and put them in, and then to do the hems.

While I’m waiting for that to dry, I’m already plotting my next sweater project. This is a stashed project from a couple years ago, and here is the yarn:

That’s Peace Fleece, in Kamchatka Seamoss. I’ll tell you what it’s going to be in my next post!

But first, the baby! John’s grandson Huck was finally born Friday night. Here’s a just-born photo:

Even though he’s a respectable 9lbs, 2 ozs, the Jolly Green Sweater won’t fit him for awhile. I made his mom promise to get a picture of him in it eventually. He’s of course perfect, which makes four perfect grandchildren in a row for John. We’re all glad he’s finally here!

Here’s where I am on Rogue:

If that looks suspiciously like where I was a week ago, look again:

One sleeve down, one more to go. I had forgotten just how much fun this pattern is. I knit a row, and think, well, I really need to get up and do something else. Then I look at the cable chart, and think, well, really, I’ll just knit another row and see how it looks. This, despite the fact that I know how it is going to look, because I’ve done these very same cables on the body already. I’m easily entertained.

Here’s my newest knitting spot:

We have more or less finished this phase of the remodeling project, and have most of it straightened up. That used to be the kitchen, where there was a traditional kitchen table and chairs. As we have a dining room table about ten steps from here, we decided to do away with the kitchen furniture and put in comfortable chairs for people to sit in. Everyone always ends up in the kitchen standing around and talking, so we decided to go with this. It’s a lovely place to sit with a cup of tea and the newspaper, or a glass of bourbon and my knitting, depending on the time of day. We have a new sofa for the living room on order (to replace the one that is ancient and cat-trashed), and I’ll show pictures of that room in its finished state when it’s here. We’re pleased with the whole thing, though my spouse has that look again, so I’m thinking that if I hold him off on more projects until next spring, I’ll be lucky.

A month or so ago I mentioned knitting while getting my hair colored. Someone dared me to post pictures, so here they are, Laurie.

Yes, that’s glop on my eyebrows, too. Here’s what it looks like done:

Yes I know, I forgot to smile. And yes, it’s redder than it used to be. If I choose to believe that this is the color I was born with, so be it. My husband hasn’t quite decided if he wants to be married to a redhead or not.

And last but not least, my favorite Bush-bashing photo of the week. What can I say, he’s so easy to poke sticks at.