Thursday, February 25, 2010

Questions I Cannot Ask

I am a gatherer by nature; a nester, I suppose. I like to have things where I can reach them, and I line my particular nests accordingly.

That means that my bedside table looks like this:

Bedside

There’s a wide assortment there, everything from fantasy to science fiction to mystery to multi-generational tales of families and the things they go through.

Which leaves my bookshelves looking like this:

Bookshelf

It means that I can’t ask my husband, “Honey, where’s my book?” He’d laugh himself silly, and who could really blame him?

When I started knitting, my storage needs were simple. A teeny little stash consisting of a huge ball of sage-green Red Heart and the book I was using to learn from.

That didn’t last long.

I got an under-the-bed container from my mother… and then she gave me another one.

Soon there was (and still is) yarn squirreled away in nearly every room of the house. Living room, dining room, bedroom, office, library, it’s in every room but the bathrooms.

Take this closet, for instance:

Closet

The top couple of layers are yarn that wouldn’t fit under the bed. I’ve got a reasonable idea of what’s in there, but recently I realized that 'a reasonable idea' isn’t going to save me this time.

I started a pair of Baudelaire socks by Cookie A, out of some lovely red Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet. See how pretty it is?

HappyFeetRed-01

This sock is fabulous, and I’m really enjoying myself with it.

Baudelaire-01

Check out the cable coming up from the gusset… I’m smitten.

Baudelaire-02

I'm cruising right along on it. I've got another couple of pattern repeats to do, and then there's just the ribbing. It's practically done.

Which naturally begs the question: where the heck did I put that second skein?

I can’t very well ask my husband, now can I?

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Waiting To Go Home

Why hello there! How are you all? I’ve missed you all so much; I can’t really put it into a coherent sentence. Thank you all for the lovely comments on the Verdaia shawl, you made my week.

My energy level is slowly returning to normal, no doubt helped along by several sunny days in a row. I feel like I’m coming back to life, although there are still days when all I want to do is sleep. Yeah, like the universe is going to let that happen any time soon.

I’ve got this package on my desk, all wrapped up and ready to give away.

HelenaWrapped

It’s one of the 1286 versions of Helena listed on Ravelry as of this morning. That number will surely go up, considering how easy it is to make and how pretty the results are.

Helena-04

I must admit I was a little worried about it before I gave it a wash. The left-leaning decreases looked a little wonky to me, and I also had to cope with my nervousness about weaving in the ends well enough. But it came out of the dryer (let’s hear it for easy-care yarn) looking quite lovely indeed.

Helena-05

Helena-06

It looks pretty good on Paddington, even though he has no shoulders to speak of.

The baby this was made for made her entrance a couple of weeks before she was expected, which is why it’s still sitting on my desk. One day soon I’ll take an afternoon to go deliver it, and to collect baby snuggles and count toes.

Project Details:
Pattern: Helena by Allison Green Will, Knitty, Summer 2008
Yarn: Prima by Debbie Bliss 80% Bamboo 20% Merino, Colorway 35714, about 4 balls
Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)
Dates: 26 November 2009 – 16 January 2010 (It shouldn’t have taken that long, I got sidetracked)
Mods: None, although I sort of wish I’d knit the ties to 4” rather than the 3” the pattern called for.


Next up: The Case Of The Missing Yarn

Monday, February 15, 2010

Transformation

Here’s what you do. Gather together a skein of fingering-weight yarn and a pattern a friend has been kind enough to ask you to test:

WolfCreekOlive-01

Add a pair of needles, and give yourself a few days.

In the end, if you are smart enough knitter to follow a simple pattern, you will have this:

Verdaia-01

Combine green ramen noodles with water:

Verdaia-02

Break out the blocking wires:

Verdaia-03

Verdaia-05

Verdaia-06

Then drape it over your mother’s shoulders:

Verdaia-08

Verdaia-09

Verdaia-07

Verdaia-10

Then feel very pleased with yourself.

Project Details:
Pattern, Verdaia (Ravelry link) by Jodie St. Clair
Yarn: Panda by Wolf Creek Wools, superwash merino, bamboo and nylon
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm)
Dates: 20 January – 4 February 2010
Modifications: nary a one. I could have knocked this out a few days quicker, except that the people at worked seemed to think I should actually put in daily hours.

I had great fun knitting this, and I’m so thrilled with the results. Mom picked out the yarn at Black Sheep Gathering last summer, and I feel so lucky to have found a great pattern for it. Many thanks to Jodie for letting me test knit this. I’m beyond flattered by your faith in my skills.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Perseverance

I planted several dozen crocus bulbs in my front yard a few years ago, back when it looked like this:

Bald Patch

It was a desperate attempt to add some color and interest to a patch of grass I deeply disliked. The idea was that they would poke their brave little heads up and bloom in early spring, then be all done by the time the lawn needed mowing.

They were pretty, and tiny, and I loved them to bits.

Then came the Great Front Yard Remodel, and they got buried under all of this…

Cardboard

Imagine my delight when I found this wee patch in the garden last week.

Perseverance

Those bulbs have been buried under a layer of leaves, a layer of cardboard, and at least eight inches of soil for just over two years. And soon they will bloom for me again.

There’s a deep philosophical lesson for me here, I’m sure… but for now I think I’ll just wait breathlessly to see what color they are.