Archives for April 2010

I think only one of you guessed correctly what I am knitting — it is CeCe from ChicKnits.

I am making mine from Rowan Calmer in the “coffee bean” colorway. And I’m using stash yarn! I’ve had this particular pile of yarn in my stash for years, with no particular project in mind for it. I just loved the color so bought a bag of it.

So here is my CeCe so far:

It is knit all in one piece, back and forth, up to the armholes. The front bands are knit at the same time as the body, which minimizes finishing, something I appreciate.

I’ve not gotten too far on it because I’m working on a stealth project as well, and a very time-consuming one at that.

Thanks for all your congratulatory comments on the clean eating. In answer to a question in the comments. there really is nothing that I miss about my old way of eating. I drink one cup of coffee in the morning and then drink water the rest of the day (and green tea when I feel like it). The hardest part, I’ve found, is the planning ahead I have to do to ensure that I always have clean choices available.

This is particularly a challenge when traveling. This Thursday I am heading to the Spring Fling in St. Louis, and will be sure to pack a lot of non-perishable “clean” snacks.

Lucy sez:

“Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . .”

Okay, so you’ve heard me talk about the fact that I now practice clean eating, right?

One of the very happy side effects of clean eating is that in the last 5 months or so I’ve lost 41 pounds. So far.

This has lead to another very happy thing — I’ve had to buy all new clothes. (Darn it, I am being forced to shop for cute new clothes in a smaller size. Darn! Darn! Darn!)

And this has lead to me noticing how hard it is to find a dress I like that is not sleeveless. What’s with that, anyway?

Because I feel that middle-aged women should not flash their pits in an office setting (actually, I don’t think that anyone should flash their pits in an office setting, but that is a whole other rant about workplace attire), I clearly need a cute little cardi.

And that has lead to something shocking.

A gauge swatch.

Will you look at that? It turns out that I am trainable after all.

Can you guess which cute little cardi I am swatching for?

Lucy sez:

“I could have told you she is trainable. I’ve had Momma trained for years.”

Because I have once again ripped out the project I started with my lovely Seasilk, I have decided to set it aside for now. Perhaps after resting a little while, any bad vibes that are hovering around it will gracefully disappear. I’ll revisit it at a later time.

This last rip-out was my own stupid fault. Cast on eleventy-billion stitches, join into a round and start knitting. However, I was not careful enough in my checking to ensure that I had not twisted the cast-on before joining into a round so after 3 rounds, found myself knitting a mobius.

So rippity-rip-rip went the project. Well, actually, I just ripped one round then cut it and threw away the rest. It was starting to look a bit seedy from being over-handled.

So I need to look about for something else to start. I do have a sort-of stealth project I’m working on, so it’s not like I have nothing to knit. Just nothing bloggable.

It’s been a long week.

So here is a picture of Lucy.

Have a good weekend! Perhaps next week I’ll even have some knitting progress to show you.

That little bit of knitting with Seasilk I showed you yesterday? I did a few more rounds, took a look at it, and ripped it out.

As I feared, the pattern I had worked up just wasn’t going to be a happening event.

Of course if I were a sane and rational person, I would have started with a swatch and figured out it wasn’t going to work before casting on many many stitches. But I’m not, so I ripped everything out last night and started over.

Note, please, that once again I did not start with a swatch, but jumped right in. I think that at this point in my life, I am not trainable.

So what you are seeing tonight looks like negative progress.

Sneaky Sneaky Sneaky

Denise in Kent, WA commented the other day (about clean eating):

Avoiding processed foods, sugar and white flour seems easy enough (and is something I already practice) but I can’t help wondering – how difficult is it to find foods with no additives and preservatives? You’ve gotten me curious, darn it.  😉  Will have to pay more attention next trip to the grocery store…

That’s the key — pay close attention at the grocery store. I am lucky in that I have two relatively well-stocked grocery stores very close to my home. And both of them have a lot of organic products. But you still have to be careful and read labels carefully. I found on the label of a jar of organic spaghetti sauce that it contained “organic cane sugar.”

Sneaky, no?

Here is Lucy, trying her best to look sneaky:

Or something. Possibly that is simply her “I’m ignoring you” face.

As I have mentioned before on ye olde blogge (and on my Travel & Teaching page), I will be teaching at Knit Nation at the end of July in London. What is this event?

Knit Nation is a knitting and spinning expo that will take place in London, England July 29 – 31. There will be yarn, classes, fiber, and festivities including a Ravelry talk and party. Centrally located at the Royal College next door to the renowned Victoria and Albert Museum, you can absorb the sites of London between classes, yarn shopping, and searching for the perfect skein of Wollmeise. Please come join us!

Today is the kick-off of the Knit Nation blog tour and I am the featured Knit Nation teacher of the day. Head on over and take a look — there’s a little interview with me there.

And be sure to check back there on Thursday (April 15), as they will be profiling the amazing Shirley Paden then!

That lovely pile of Seasilk that I posted on the blog yesterday has been wound into a ball and knitting has commenced.

I’m making it up as I go along. I hope I like what I’m doing because if I don’t, that’s a whole bunch of stitches to rip out.

Lucy sez:

Any time is a good time for a snack!