Archives for May 2003

I really ought to be stopped. I mean, sheep are not an endangered species, are they? I thought not. So why do I keep adding to my stash?

I showed you all the Poetry in Stitches kit I got last week. I didn’t show you the buttons I ordered for the cardigan. They are the the same ones used on the sweater in the book.

Yes, they were ridiculously expensive. But they are gorgeous — handmade brass. And of course as soon as I knew they existed, I had to have them.

Lousy photo, but here ya go!

What else have I gotten recently? A pile of Cascade 220, from the recent Webs sale. Because I think I feel another aran coming on . . .

And let’s not forget the three balls of Opal I got last week — a couple from the Inspiration collection and one “ocean” color.

I ordered a set of Addi Natura dpns with that — never tried them and figured I need more dpns.

And some Louet Elements aran weight lambswool, for a great price, from Elann. Fifteen skeins of it, to be exact.

And a Dale of Norway baby book and pink Baby Ull to knit a little lace sweater for a baby that’s due in August — that should arrive in the next day or so.

Oh, and here’s something else I never . . . uh . . . mentioned. The kit for Jade Starmore’s Adult
Beadwork from Virtualyarns.com. The color is Rock Dove.

This brings me to a dilemma. I need to quit my job in order to find the time to knit all this. But I need my job in order to find the money to pay for all this.

Another dilemma:

What Should I Knit Next?

Apart from everything else aging in my stash, these are the front-runners:

a. AS Marina
b. JS Beadwork
c. Cascade 220 aran (in a pattern to be named later)
d. Dale of Norway Frogner (in black and olive Daletta)
e, Poetry in Stitches Leaf Cardigan

I am starting the baby sweater as my commuter/lunch hour knitting, so I don’t include that in the list.

Lucy Sez

Meow! I’m gonna chill this weekend!

Look at this handsome young swain.

What woman in her right mind could resist such a dashing fellow impeccably turned out in full evening dress?

This gorgeous hunk is Lindsey-Brooke’s Lucky. Last weekend he sent Lucy a little love note (she let me read it) and enclosed his photo. Since then, Lucy has been fluffing up her tail even more and walking around with her nose in the air!

And look at what Lucky was seductively stretched out on!

It’s Inishmaan, knitted by L-B from wool from her stash. Here’s the back view:

And here’s a closup of the shoulder strap. Gorgeous!

I’ve always loved this design. I think it’s the only Starmore aran I’ve seen that has a different central motif for the front and back. Heck, it may be the only aran I’ve ever seen with a different central motif for front and back. Thanks for sharing, L-B!

And Now, Your Moment of Zen

With apologies to Jon Stewart.

Proof positive that I am a former space cadet:

And the flip side:

This is my cotton summer-weight Dark Side of the Moon sweater. Knitted many years ago. Probably the first sweater I ever designed.

Lucy, of course, has to get in on the act:

It’s knitted in sportweight cotton, I don’t remember what it was, exactly. (Yes, I used to knit in cotton. So sue me. Or bite me. Whatever.)

I made the front and back separately and attached the shoulders using a three-needle bind-off. Picked up stitches for the sleeves and knitted them down from the shoulders. And (get this) I duplicate-stitched the entire color pattern onto the front and the back. Duplicate-stitch on black. Yes, I was young and foolish. But I think it turned out pretty well.

I used to wear this sweater to Pink Floyd concerts and I got a lot of attention, let me tell you. I always had guys trailing after me begging me to knit them a Floyd sweater. Some of them begged for other things as well, but that’s another story. (I was quite the Hottie With the Killer Bod back then.)

Ah, memories!

I think I ought to wear it to work one day, just for fun.

One More Thing . . .

How cute am I??!!

Wait — no need. Knitter’s magazine has taken care of that already.

I got the summer issue in the mail the other day, shrinkwrapped with a card that warned me that I only have one issue left.

Only one more issue of this drech! Yay!

Yeah, this issue was a real stinkeroo. There is absolutely nothing of interest in it for me. Even designers that I used to like, like Kathy Zimmerman and Norah Gaughan, managed designs that made me go “eh.”

I’d like to blame it on the fact that it’s a summer issue. But it seems to me to be simply the next progression in the downward spiral that is Knitter’s.

I asked Lucy to hack up a hairball on it but she couldn’t muster the interest.

Yeah, just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Though it seems to me that all knitting magazines are getting crappier and crappier. Or maybe I’m gettng pickier and pickier? Could be . . .

Mouse-along Gallery

We are up to three pages! By gosh and golly, those kitties are cute! If you’d like to send me a photo but don’t have a digital camera, email me — you can snail mail me a photo and I’ll scan it and post it. Enclose a SASE if you’d like your photo returned.

Roscalie

You haven’t seen Roscalie in its full glory for a few days, so here it is.

I’ve got a few inches until the back neck shaping.

Spent some time last night winding more skeins into balls as I was running short on everything. Confession: I’m not fond of winding yarn into balls, even with my swift and ball winder. So when I start a project I always wind just enough to get me started.

I’m not looking forward to winding the balls for Marina — I think it’s 21 different colors?

Lucy Sez

Mmmmmmm! Dinner!

Yup. Yucky weather for the holiday weekend. It did stop raining on Monday, so I went out and did a bit of shopping.

But I came home and did this.

Knitted on Roscalie with Lucy in my lap. She did move down beside me eventually, and had a good sleep.

Q&A

Wynn asked in yesterday’s comments:

When you move on to a new sweater, we stop talking about the finished ones. Of the ones you’ve made recently (Oregon, Hank VIII, St. Moritz), which have you worn the most? Are you pleased with them? Would you do anything differently if you were to do them again?

Okay, of the three sweaters mentioned I’ve worn Oregon and St. Moritz one time each. Because it’s been too warm to really wear them. I wore Oregon one day at the beginning of March, and St. Moritz out to dinner weekend before last because it was cold.

What would I do different? I would have made the extra-small rather than the small St. Moritz. But I’m not too concerned about it — as I said, I like oversized sweaters.

Roi asked if I do anythintg special to keep Lucy looking beautiful. Not really — I just brush her every day. She has lovely soft fur and she looks wonderful right after a good brushing!

Happy Memorial Day to all who celebrate it.

Lucy plans on spending the day just lying around.

We had a lazy weekend. Watched a couple of movies so I got a lot of knitting done — I’ve started the armhole steeks on Roscalie:

I’ve also started the decreases for the v-neck, sp we’re just rolling along.

In retrospect, I suppose I ought to have ordered a smaller size than a medium — the medium seems pretty big around. Oh well. I couldn’t change my mind after ordering it because Virtualyarns sent the pattern adjustment to turn the vest into a cardigan (the patterncard is for the vest only) in one size only — medium. Though I could have gone back to the original pattern from In the Hebrides, I suppose. Too late now. I’m not overly concerned — I like things oversized!

Mouse Along Gallery

I’ve added a second page to the Mouse Along Gallery (link to the galler in the sidebar). I love seeig everyone’s kitties playing with their mice! There are even a couple of dogs in there too!

Lucy sez:

How cute am I?