Lost in Translation

Pride goeth before a fall....

There I sat on Sunday evening, so pleased I'd finished the section top section of the second sleeve for the "Jeff's Pub Sweater" that I'm making my son for Christmas.  Some sewing, the shoulder sections, more sewing...and I'd be finished -- (likely) on time!

Then I went to fold it together with the first one for later assembly.  Well. The first one's in the front of this pair; the second -- ginormous! -- one is in the back.  Wha' happened?!  I checked the pattern and discovered a simple case of translation error.  Needles called for: "Size 6 (4mm)."  The 'size 6' refers to US sizes.  Apparently, when preparing to cast on (after some time away from this project), my eye picked up the '6' and the 'mm' and lost the rest in between.  I went ahead merrily making up the 2nd top section of sleeve with a 6 mm circular needle -- and didn't notice that it felt different from the first go 'round.  Sigh.

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas!


No -- no snow yet!  But I'm starting to ramp up my knitting for Christmas gifts.  The first project is actually a request/commission of a sort, from the parents of little Kade Benjamin L., for a stocking.  I did one for his sister a few years back, and now it's his turn.  I've decided to go Scandinavian this time, so am making the "Holiday Stocking" from IK Gifts 2006 (Kade's sister got "Snowman at Midnight" from the same issue).

This is two-handed Fair Isle in the round, which makes it much easier than the argyle kilt hose I'm working on (!) but, per usual, the first few rows are always a challenge.   There are 9 rows of a checkered pattern, though, which will give me a good base.  In order to include Kade's name on the stocking, I'm thinking of either making a longer red section below the cuff, so I can knit it in.  This would add a couple of inches to it's overall 20" length, but hey -- more room for Santa's goodies then, eh?  :-)

Something Old, Something New

I believe one is never too old to learn something new. Yesterday I took a class in entrelac at River City Yarns in Edmonton (their south-end store) -- and had a great time. I came away with the beginnings of a new scarf made in "old" (read: stash!) yarn, and I think I might have just found another addictive knitting technique. The yarn is Emu Super-wash DK, 100% wool (breed of sheep not supplied), and the entire piece will use all 4 balls (119 metres each) that I have in my stash. I'm thinking this one might be an ideal project to donate to the craft-and-bake sale coming up at church.

Another something new is the recent photo I received from my DD, sporting her new Sweet Tee from Interweave Knits, Spring 2009 (it's a self-portrait, always a tricky thing to do). In the words of Stevie Wonder, "Isn't she lovely?" (I'm no proud mom, am I? My late DH and I often wondered -- and I still do -- how we managed to produce two such good-looking, good-living kids...)

You might notice that DD's shirt doesn't have the Fair Isle floral embellishment around the yolk -- that was by request. Also, I think the yolk is a bit wider than the original pattern, but IMHO that gives it a very elegant look. Try making it in a sparkly black-and-gold yarn to wear with great black pants or a long black skirt...or perhaps in a sporty denim, with a long-sleeved turtleneck worn underneath. This pattern has so many possibilities, that I expect I'll make it again.

This version took three balls of Berroco Comfort Worsted; DD's chosen colour way was "Maine Woods", #9839 (scroll all the way to the bottom of the linked page). Generally good at math, I messed up the calculations on the yardage I ordered and bought seven balls! LOL! No worries; I like the yarn well enough I'll use it for something else. Perhaps an entrelac scarf...?

Almost Summer...

And we're still having frost warnings! Nonetheless, my garden is thriving (we finally had a good rain yesterday afternoon) and I'm loving the view from my kitchen window. This is my lilac, at the end of the back yard. To the right and up the yard from it are two flowering crabapple trees -- one pink and one deep burgundy (with matching leaves), and there's another one -- white -- on the east side of the yard, too.

I've been doing some stitching outside when it's been warm enough -- and when I wasn't totally absorbed in pruning trees and planting perennials. I am also the lucky recipient of some re-cycled bark chips from my friend B, which I've been using to mulch the perennial bed. A couple more bagsful and I should be set.

I've also been busy washing fleece, finishing a project for the Heritage Park show, taking a stitching class, and knitting, knitting, knitting. No photos of the cleaned fleece -- but suffice it to say that I have enough to pick, card and spin to keep me going for a good long while!

The stitching class was "Turkish Delight", given by Gary Clarke from Australia, at the annual Fibre Potpourri at Olds College (not to be confused with Fibre Week, which is at the end of June). This year the Potpourri was organized by the Edmonton Needle Arts Guild, but

there was a good turn-out from Calgary too -- and some gals came in from Saskatchewan and others from B.C.

The weather was fabulous, the food was pretty good,

and the company was tops. I'd thought it was a canvas-work class,

but the technique used photo transfer on closely-woven fabric,

so there was no counting. Each of us chose our own colours; I went

with an autumn theme and used mainly threads from a sample pack I'd been given by Jeannette Douglas on the cruise I took with her in January. To the right is a photo of our class' work, taken near the end of the weekend. Since I got back, I've added more

satin stitch in a variegated silk from Gloriana Threads (#115 - "Topiary"), finished inserting the 'crystals' around the central motif, and have begun couching some narrow gold and rust-coloured braid around the outside edge. The cord is from a bundle of Oliver Twist 'One-offs' in the 'Chocolate' colourway that I bought somewhere some time ago -- don't ask for details! LOL!

"Where's the knitting?" you might well ask. It's been a full and inspiring month for knitting, too. I've finished one of the "Ilene Bags" (a free pattern in Ravelry, designed by Hannah Ingalls) in elann.com Esprit Print -- a gift for my BFF, P, who will be visiting later this month from Montreal; I've finished the Sierra Breeze prayer shawl from The Prayer Shawl Companion, and have started another PS in basketweave. I've also finished several dishcloths! My next goal is to finish up the four (count 'em -- four) pair of socks I've got stacked in my WIP pile, so I can move easily on to the Sweet Tee (Interweave Knits, Spring 2009) for my daughter. The photos are posted in my Ravelry FO set in my flickr photostream, here. :-) That's all the catching up I have energy for today. I need to get going on a small commission I have taken on for a local quilt shop.

More later!

All Manner of Things

I've had some photos sitting on my camera for some time, so I thought I'd share them with you. Even though there's snow still all over the place here, I am feeling cheered because Sunday afternoon, when I got home from church, my cherry tomatoes had sprouted!











A second harbinger of spring? It was so warm that afternoon that I gave in to an impulse, hauled the work table out of my studio to my back stoop, and set up shop.

I puddled about for over an hour with my watercolours, producing two small pieces that showed how out of practice I was, before it got too cool to stay there. Out of practice or not, I'm leaving the table there, and plan to use it all summer long for whatever art work strikes my fancy. :-)

There's been quite a bit of knitting going on chez moi as well. Ravelry has me pumped! My mid-March dishcloth is finished:


It will accompany the first one to the home of my girlfriend, D, when I see her in May for our final Vertigo Theatre matinee of the season. I worked on it when I was virtually snowed in at her place a few weeks ago, and she admired it. She's especially keen on the green. Both of us agreed the pattern would make a pretty candle mat, as well as a dish- or washcloth.

I am making great strides on my Mitred Scarf in that KAL, too. Here's my first photo, with the first row of three modules, completed:










Not too long after that, I had 2 full-module rows finished -- and now I have four -- but have yet to take another photo. I want to complete the scarf for a silent auction fundraiser coming up April 24 in support of the Mirror Library. Any opinions on the amount to ask as a reserve bid? The yarn is 100% "Rainbow-dyed" 4-ply alpaca from a local Alberta ranch.

Finally, there are projects proceeding apace without photos. The first is my pair of Guernsey Socks, from the KBOY KAL on Ravelry. I am almost finished the gusset on Sock #1. The next is the Vernal Equinox Shawl by Lankakomero, the lace project being undertaken by those of us who have chosen, snow or no snow, to Celebrate Spring with a KAL -- also on Ravelry. I'm knitting mine in Artisan NZ Merino Lace Weight from Margaret Stove, distributed by Malvern Fibre Studio in Lyttelton, New Zealand. I bought it here in Canada eons ago and it's been languishing in my stash, just waiting for the perfect shawl pattern to call its name! (In fact, I've had it so long that I can't locate the specific colourway on the website; however, the closest thing to it, I'd say, is the "Hyacinth" -- pinks and purples.

If this weren't enough, the April KBOY KAL will be starting tomorrow -- and the selected pattern is "Little Shells Socks" by Shelia January. I've pretty much settled on making my pair with a sage-coloured wool/cotton/polyamide blend -- Jawoll Superwash from Lang. Again, it's been in my stash so long that not only has the colour been discontinued, the shop from which I bought it has closed! Ah well, not to worry -- I have enough of it to make 2 pair of socks.

Then there was the temptation of last week's "Free Friday" pattern from Berroco, "Nimbus". I found another batch of perfect yarn in my stash: "Kabir" from FILTES/Rosina Filati -- another discontinued yarn, of which I have plenty to make this little topper. I have 'modified' the pattern by deciding to knit it in one piece to the armholes; I'm just not that fond of seaming.

Oh yeah -- the April dishcloths will be out tomorrow too. I have some sunny yellow and orange Sugar 'n' Cream cotton for those...

Ongoing: the top section of the IK "Pub Sweater" for my son, from the Spring 2009 issue....and I await the arrival of some Berroco Comfort for the "Sweet Tee" in that same issue -- for my DD. It looks like my 'bl0g is aptly titled; my hands aren't due to be idle for quite some time!

Start as Many New Projects as You Can

That's the title of an article in the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Knits -- and I'm likin' it! I am on a knitting jag right now; I put it down to the unusually cold (for March) weather we've been experiencing up here in the Great White North.

Projects? Have I got projects?! I've got a 2nd sock to start for the pair of "Hope" Socks I've been working on. Meanwhile those lovely Guernsey Socks (scroll down) are taking shape, and the front of my Climbing Vines Pullover is just rows away from the armhole shaping (for a glimpse, scroll down some more). And yesterday I started Jeff's Pub Sweater (IK, Spring 2009; see the link above) for my son. If I work hard at it, he might just get it for his 24th birthday in June. Yeah, it gets really hot in Lethbridge during the summer, but with the autumn...he'll get plenty of wear out of it. What? Me worry?

Having joined Ravelry (I'm MarginMirror), jumping in with both feet, I've copied out a pattern for a circular blanket and a baby hat to try and catch up with the rest of the BUTS -- that's Burning Up The Stash... 'scuse me. I have to get back to my knitting.

Coming Along

In between quilt art projects, while ideas are percolating in my brain, I turn to my knitting. The other day I cast on the front of the "Climbing Vines" pullover from the Winter 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. It was about time; the back had been finished for about a month!

Now I have finished through the 1st row of my second go-round with the 24-row chart, and here's the result:

It's a very pretty little piece of knitting and fun, too, because with every row I can hardly wait to see my progress -- and progress shows up fairly quickly, because I am working with 4.5 mm needles and "Sierra" from the Peruvian Collection at elann.com. It feels good in my hands, and I love this colour (#1526) (gosh, d'ya think?!) but don't know if they still carry it, as this yarn's been in my stash for over two years now (blush). I am hoping to actually finish and wear this piece by mid-April, when we can still get some pretty cool days around here.

What are you doing with your Saturday?