Knitting and spinning. The fun never stops.

How can that be?

I wound some of my Henry VIII wool into balls the other night — one ball of each color so I could get started:

As I said, this is Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, in the following colors:

187 - Sunrise
789 - Marjoram
198 - Peat
231 - Bracken
236 - Rosewood
165 - Dusk
1100 - Autumn Substitute
150 - Atlantic
160 - Midnight
234 - Pine
1190 - Burnt Umber
292 - Pine Forest

You will note that some of the colors have the same name as the original Campion colors, others do not. “Autumn” has been discontinued by Jamieson’s, replaced by “Autumn Substitute.”

And I’ve set up my charts on my big magnetic board:

I photocopied, cut out, and taped the charts together so I’d have everything all on one page. And propped it up on my music stand.

I usually don’t use markers in fair isle work because the patterns are small and repeat many times. On this project, however, I think I will. Use markers, that is. The main body pattern is in several distinct panels and at least at the start it’ll make it easier to have each panel clearly delineated.

I was mulling this all over yesterday and when I got home, these were in the mail:

Thes are little gold metal jewelry rings, sent to me by my friend Geane — to use as markers for Henry VIII! How timely is that?

And I think the gold is befittingly regal for ol’ Hank!

Knitting on Hank commences tonight!

I got quite a few limericks yesterday. Hey, you guys are quite the poets, aren’t you? I’m very impressed with not only the quality, but comic value of your work. Keep ‘em coming!

And to clarify — feel free to enter as many limericks as you like, via email please.

Sock FO

You were probably wondering if I was ever gonna finish these, huh?

These are the socks I knitted from the Joslyn’s Fiber Farm “Dancing Feet” sock yarn in color “Treebark.” Yarn was a gift from Lindsey-Brooke — aren’t they cute? You can check out the details on the Treebark Socks Page.

And I started a new sock project . . .

Disco socks!

Made from Opal Royal yarn, a gift from Katherine. I just barely started these. but already they are so fun!!!

You might notice that I changed my Works In Progress list in the sidebar to include Henry VIII — it’s a lie. I haven’t started it yet. But soon . . .

Yes, it’s that time again! Something different this time — a poetry contest. To be more specific, a limerick contest. (In honor of St. Patricks Day — limerick. Get it?)

Here’s what you gotta do.

Write a knitting limerick. What’s a limerick? Here is a good definition.

Your limerick will be in the proper aabba rhyme scheme and will incorporate your name or nickname in the first line and will be about knitting. Here’s an example:

There once was a knitter named Wendy,
Who would never use yarn that is trendy,
But she goes into fits,
As she maniacally knits,
So her needles become somewhat bendy.

Okay, so T.S. Eliot I ain’t. Gimmee a break — you try finding good rhymes for “Wendy.”

“Why should I do this?” you are asking yourself. To humor me. And for the following prize:

Nine count ‘em nine 100 gram skeins of Plymouth Galway in a glorious Irish green that would make St. Patrick proud. It’s 100% wool worsted weight and according to recent intelligence, has approximately 230 yards per skein.

The small print

Entries are due to me via email by 5:00pm EST this Thursday (March 13). I will display the winning limerick (and any or all others according to my whim) in Monday’s blog (St. Patricks’s Day), but you retain the rights to your original poetry. The winner will be selected by an impartial judge (i.e., not me).

Please note that I had to disqualify the first contest entry I received because of its pornographic nature. Ian assures me that he didn’t do it on purpose, he was just trying to find a word that rhymes with “sock.”

Find this contest just too irritating for words? Go check out the contest over at QueerJoe’s blog.

Oregon

The Official Oregon Cardigan Page is complete. Check it out for new photos! And bear in mind that the sun was in my eyes when we took the photos, hence the bizarre little squint.

Bucket-O-Chic

Blocked and ready to go!

This is Bonne Marie’s Bucket-O-Chic pattern. I highly recommend it — it’s great fun and easy and makes a great looking hat. Bonne Marie, my hat’s off to you!

What Izzy and I Did This Weekend

Izzy had a tough weekend of lying around.

I spent the weekend working on secret projects. And will for the next couple of days. I will probably start knitting Hank 8 on Wednesday.

Happy Monday all!

Thanks for all the nice Oregon comments on yesterday’s blog. I was quite basking in the glow, doncha know.

So what am I working on now? This!

I’m making a bucket hat from the lovely and talented Bonne Marie Burns’ Bucket O’ Chic pattern. And it’s too much fun! Actually, I finished said hat last night (but haven’t blocked it). I used Gedifra Shetland, a worsted weight that’s 80% wool and 20% alpaca. Purchased from Elann on a closeout (though I don’t think they have it anymore). It’s tan with some tiny rust flecks in it. My photo does not do it justice.

And speaking of photos not doing justice, here’s a Hank 8 yarn close-up:

And we close this blog entry with a little cutie . . . Izzy, waiting for her dinner!

Happy weekend to all!

You may have noticed my absence from my tag-board. To say I’m busy at work is a gross understatement. We are in crisis mode for an impossible project that we have to complete by the insane deadline. Oh, and with no resources. So please pardon my silence . . .

The Jogless Jog

A question from my comments yesterday — do I do the jogless jog when I knit fair isle? Nope. Call me lazy, call me slovenly, but I don’t really care if I have a jog on one side. No one has ever noticed it and pointed it out to me, and I don’t have a problem with it. And of course if you’re knitting a cardi, it’s not an issue. The jog is in the front steek.

For a very useful discussion of the jogless jog, check out Judy Gibson’s page on the subject.

So how about you all? To jog or not to jog, that is the question . . .

Thanks!

To everyone who told me yesterday that my blog has not gotten boring! The combination of overwork plus lousy weather has combined to make me a very dull girl indeed, at least in my own mind. And you all are very polite not to agree with me.

Without further ado . . .

Oregon! Ta-da!

It’s done! We’ll have a photo shoot over the weekend so on Monday there’ll be some more photos on the Official Oregon Cardigan Page.

And guess what came in the mail today??

This would be the Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift to knit Henry VIII (by Alice Starmore from her book Tudor Roses). Sent to me in a trade by the wonderful Stéphanie in France. Does she have great timing or what?

I’ll start this in a few days — I’ve got a couple of small projects I want to do first (more about that in tomorrow’s blog).

A couple of the colors needed for Henry VIII are not available in North America — marjoram and the “autumn substitute” that Jamieson’s is now selling in place of autumn. I think that’s it. Anyhow, that’s why I had my wool specially imported from Europe.

And look what Stéphanie thoughtfully enclosed in the package:

Needless to say, these are very welcome items here at Wendyknits.

So . . .

Merci bien, Stéphanie! Tu es trop aimable!

(And I hope I spelled all that correctly!)

Izzy has a touch of Spring Fever, I think. She was rolling around with her catnip mousie, acting silly.