September 2009.

I have finished the socks, 23 years after starting them... Tomorrow I will find time to take pictures that don't involve my toes waving in the breeze...

So here is the next ancient project. And this one is not being grossly exaggerated for your amusement. Here is the state of my Minimalist Cardigan in September 2009.
Can you guess what it looked like on Saturday, September 24, 2011? That is right, other than the sheet and the sunshine, exactly like this! I finished the socks and don't have all the yarn for the thigh-high stripy socks that are next, so I thought I would work on... A different cardigan. Couldn't find the pattern for that one, though, so here it is. The long neglected Minimalist Cardigan. I love this sweater. What made me stop working? Shiny new yarn? Who knows.... But you should see this baby now! I finished the rest of the front-on-the-needles 24 hours and now have the sleeves- both of them!- on the needles!!

By the way, any of you made this? It has a SERIOUS bias. Not like it doesn't like women or jewish people, it has a FABRIC bias. A major slant to the left (HA!). Is that just the moss stitch? Will it block out? The last time I had this many questions about a project on the needles, it ended up being so big that three of us could have worn it. Makes me nervous....

Socks, forever in progress.

I may have been working on the Almondine from Sock Knitting Master Class since 1978. Horrible head cold leading to knitting ennui.... They may never be finished!

And not because they aren't beautiful! Anne Hanson and Malabrigo Sock- who could ask for anything more??

Trevi Fountain, Rome

I don't remember it being this hot OR this crowded!! Of course, it is still one of my favorite places in the world...

In the beginning.... Rome Airport!

I love this photo! Didn't so much love waiting on the terrazo floor for four hours before we got to see Rome! This may have been right before or right after I got a suitcase dropped on my face....

We'll come back to the Greece trip!

First, here is my big brave dog. What horror has the dog cowering behind the furniture? What terror has befallen the household, requiring that the Mom save her?


There was a fly in the den. That is right, the big old barky thing is terrified of flies. All 23 pounds of her! She is a nutty dog!!

Next, fresh from a glamorous backyard photo shoot, is the felted bag whose name I can't remember. It was nice and easy and came out very, very cute! Sadly, this photo was snapped right before I delivered it to its forever-home. It became the bag I promised Brenda for a Christmas present two years ago. Sigh. I'll have to knit another one. Good thing I like knitting, huh?


Good lining, too, if I do say so myself! I am so happy with the way this came out, especially since I totally winged it. Next time, pockets! (Btw, I hate hand sewing. I am the only person I know who can manage to jam a needle under my thumbnail AFTER FINISHING sewing....)

And that brings us here, the winner of the land speed record for fastest knitted sock! I just started it on Thursday of last week, and four days later, I finished sock number one. Amazing!


I swear I am going to cast on for sock number two tonight! Despite the blasted Old Norwegian Cast-On.... If I can do it once, I can do it again!

The Mom and I got Ann Budd's Sock Knitting Master Class last week, and have made the possibly-self-destructive decision to knit every last one of the bastards! Yeah... We shall see....

Next post, vacation photos!

A Tale of Two Yarns.

I have decided to take some artistic license today with the Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day one prompt.... I am making "A Tale of Two Yarns" work with my current project, the Lace Saddle Tee from Inteweave Knits. Watch, I can make it happen....

Ok, so here is the yarn I am working with, Louet Euroflax in a lovely emerald green. Seriously, it is emerald, not teal. I CANNOT take a true-to-color photo of this yarn. (Maybe it has a touch of non-photo green to it? My own personal green-screen.) I love linen. I buy lots of linen clothes, love the flow and drape, love the crumpled, casual feel.... Wouldn't you think that I loved working with linen yarn for the very first time? Sadly, as I believe many have discovered before me, linen yarn sucks. Sucks! It is like knitting with fine gauge kitchen twine! Any slub in the texture leaves a huge hole when the stitch won't even up with it's little friends. The fabric could be used to scrub pots. My fingertips are so sore that it has become a slog. I may be getting arthritis in my right index finger. Not to mention that it has absolutely no bloom, so it is working up like a mesh shirt from the Madonna Lucky Star era!

(Here is how I make it work with the two yarns theme... You have been so patient.)

HOWEVER, I am led to believe by a score of Ravelers that this yarn will undergo a magical transformation into the soft, smooth, supple fabric I so love. All I have to do is trust the kind knitters who have gone before me, trust that they will not lead me astray when they tell me to PUT IT IN THE WASHING MACHINE. AND THE DRYER. EEEEKKKK! Can I do it? Can I perform this magic trick, transforming from twine to divine?

So you see, Euroflax is not a single yarn. It is the werewolf of yarn! Two-natured!

So, imagine the below picture in its more verdant reality, and see all the progress made, what could potentially be destroyed by running it through the WASHING MACHINE.

The first lace saddle shoulder is finished. Onward, then, to pick up approximately 1000 stitches for the right arm. Me and the werewolf yarn....

Christmas in March

Or Christmas present giving, anyway! Hadn't seen Meredith since August, went up to help her move to her very cute new apartment.... This blue is the color of her eyes, hope she likes it....



The pattern is Branching Out from Knitty, works up absolutely beautifully... Got VERY boring before the end, but it wasn't hard. And I have previously expressed my love for the Valley Yarns Alpaca Silk. This didn't use even a noticeable amount of a cone! It was finished well before Christmas, but I don't remember the date. Somehow I missed recording any info in Ravelry....

Back to working on the Lace Shoulder Tee!