Sheesh!

Not only did I notice, when I picked up this sweater today that I'd gotten one cable crossing wrong in the collar, I found TWO!

The second picture was to show you how I am handling changing this from a hood to a collared sweater. Lo and behold, it looks as if I missed one in the neck as well! Good thing I don't mind grafting. But for heaven's sake! I would guess that this means my peak flow is lower than I thought. Although, looking at it again, did I actually make a mistake, or is it the way the sweater is "posed."

Oh Drat!

Remember that I spent some hours yesterday frogging the neckline on this sweater, so that the ribbing is tighter? And was so careful to save the portion of the collar that is already done? I was knitting away on it today, and realized there is a cable crossing some rows back that went the wrong way. sigh I whimpered, and put it away. I will finish the collar (hey, it is attached again!) and, when the collar is finished, I'll cut that offending cable where the cross goes the wrong way, repair it, and graft it back together again. SO much better than frogging that many rows!

I commented to Howard today that it is funny, when I think I'm making a mistake, but keep going because I don't want to frog it, I rue it later. It takes so much more time and effort to fix the repair later, when more is knit, than if I'd fix it when I first realize there may be a problem. This seems to be a problem over and over again. WHEN will I learn to trust my instincts on thsi! whine He said, and I quote, "I refuse to comment." LOL

slight hiccup in my knitting

I was blithely priding myself yesterday on how far the Rogue was coming. After all, I was on the collar. Not much more to go! The end's in sight -- you know that feeling. Then I held it up, and it was -- GASP -- DROOPY! I'd forgotten to change needle size in the ribbing just before the collar. I wanted to do that (hey, when you start changing patterns you have to keep doing it, you know!) to provide some substance for the collar. I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to frog the ribbing (and the patterning on both fronts) without frogging the 4 inches of collar I'd knit. Late this afternoon I carefully took out the last row of the ribbing, which detached the collar. Whew! I've now reknit the rib, and will reattach the collar tomorrow. The end is back in sight!


why is it that my winter wardrobe has slowly picked up more and more red, and my socks do NOT match? It looks as if I'm going to need to knit more red socks for me this year! Funny, but up until the last few years, red is NOT a color that has been in my wardrobe. Why the sudden shift? I dunno.

Endless knitting

I am at the stage of a sweater where it feels as if it will never end. I know that I'm decreasing 8 stitches every other round. Yet the needle feels as full of stitches (or as if it has even more!) than it did when I added the sleeves (it is a raglan.)

I am also puzzling quite how I'm going to make the transition from the body to the neck, with the cables continuing on, seamlessly (or as much as possible.) The pattern calls for a hood, Serena wants it with a collar instead. Hm, just writing this helped, I've text messaged her with a question. I don't think that she wants it to be as I've puzzled, but different. In that case, it suddenly became a lot easier. Yup, she just replied. Second thought was correct. Whew! I'm so glad I decided to write about it, instead of proceeding on the way I was!

Pictures will follow as soon as it is finished. Or soon after.

Then it is on to baby knitting! Whee! They go so much faster than adult. And face it, they are so CUTE! LOL

Thanks Giving!

Got a phone call this morning, "Mom, I wrecked the truck, but I'm okay!" Black ice on the road, the pick-up spun and hit the guardrail on the driver's side. She had speculated several times as to whether the guardrail would be high enough to stop her truck. What a wonderful thing that it did, or she would have rolled over!

A caring commuter stopped and invited her to sit in his vehicle while waiting for help. He told her that he tries to help when he can, hoping that if he ever is in a similar circumstane, someone will be there to help him.She finally sent him on his way, so he wouldn't be late for work.

When the highway patrolman arrived, he let her sit in his (warm!) vehicle until the tow truck arrived two hours after the accident.

Then a friend of my mom's picked her up at the body shop and brought her to my parents' place, so she could borrow their car.

She is aching tonight from the impact, but no major damage.

So many things to be thankful for!

knitted cotton washcloths

When we lived in New York, a wonderful lady named Edie had gotten to the point in her knitting life that the only thing she liked to knit was washcloths. She sold some at a friend's restaurant, but gave many away. I have some that she generously gave us. They are great! I especially like to use them for dishes (the few dishes that are done by hand, hey, that is what a dishwasher is for!) When I use them I think of her, how courageous she was, having battled cancer several times. She was a giving person.

Slowly they are wearing out. I need to replace them. I'm wondering about a cone of linen yarn I have on hand, I'll bet those would last a LONG time! There is regret as these wear out, Edie died just after we moved here. So they are the last tangible memory of her.

I've also wondered about giving them as gifts, but I don't know how many of the intended victims would use them. If a person is into using paper towels, a cloth that needs to be washed is not appealing. There is some gratification in cleaning up a mess and throwing away the evidence. Perhaps it is a lifestyle thing. I don't think we've had paper towels in the house since someone brought a roll while we were painting the other house. It has been years since I bought them.

Random Sunday

Back after a wonderful time at Nathan at Kim's, although we really wondered if we'd ever get there.

Took off Thursday afternoon, got about an hour and a half away from home and got a call that Howard was needed back. When he got in, he was informed that the funeral was scheduled Saturday, a half hour after Kim's baby shower was scheduled to start. After some discussion, we decided that I would drive up without him Friday morning, I'd drop him off at 9, and then head out.

Friday I drove about 40 minutes, and he called. The funeral had been rescheduled until Monday. I turned around (he protested, but hey! it is his grandbaby too!) and drove back home. He packed his things (again) and off we took. Those 2 trips took $20 in gas!

The third time was a charm, although I do admit to many apprehensions as we drove along. We got in and Kim's "bump" has grown a lot since we last were together.

That evening/early the next morning Serena got in. All of us were together! Yay! Nathan sent Tucker their bassett/lab dog down to wake her and was quite disappointed that it didn't create an annoyed yell. Perhaps that is why he didn't try it this morning? grin

The 3 generation baby afghan was presented, with many compliments and comments as to how neat of an idea it had been. One woman asked how I came up with it. I hadn't thought of that in advance, so just commented that one never knows how many items will still be created by any one individual, so it is nice to capture something from each now while they people are still capable of doing it. The baby sweater was also well received. After the shower, Howard and I headed out, we had 5 hours on theroad ahead of us, and he had a full day today.

We'll all be together again at Christmas, either still waiting to see grandtad, or to welcome s/he to the family. Kim is due the day after Christmas, who knows what the actual day will be!

No knitting done on the trip, which is a shame! I had lots of time (13 hours in the car when you count the first try), come on, I could have done LOTS!) but not a stitch. Serena's sweater is up to the underarms, so it really has entered the home stretch. I just need to get moving on it!

Just because, yesterday Howard and I bought some books for the grandtad. Books that our kids loved when they were tiny. Books that they recited (after a while) with us. Those books were well-loved and read over and over. Most my brother's wife's mother gave to Serena when she was a toddler. She was a bookstore manager and felt it was important to instill the love of books early. We'd already started, but she certainly helped out! So, we bought sturdy books. Books that grandtad can chew on, "read" over and over again. And Daddy and Mommy can read to them, and the words that our children loved when they were tiny will once again resonate with the new generation.

I've accepted the fact that I have 2 lots of yarn that I love, but the colors aren't right for me. One is a deep brown that is a cool instead of warm brown. The other is a taupe, again cool instead of warm. I MUST buy dyes and take care of these, so they can be knit, instead of gathering dust in my yarn box.

I also remembered today a pair of socks that I'd loved while living in New York. I'd knit a strand of worsted weight wool with a fairly bulky mohair/alpaca. Those were yummy socks too. Why not take advantage of some some the oddbits in my stash, and knit more socks with them?! Too pluses -- I get warm socks AND stash reduction! A win/win!

Oh RATS!

My favorite pair of winter socks has bitten the dust. I knit them out of Classic Elite Montera, a wool/llama mix that I acquired at a KnitNic in Niagara Falls. I just checked my records, they were knit in 99, so that isn't a bad run. But, darn! I'm going to miss them. Knit out of the Blueberry pattern, they were perfect for the drafts in the house -- keeping me warm, despite the cold weather. I almost asked Serena to bring more of the yarn with her when she flies out this weekend. I just happen to know that she has enough for a sweater... But if I make socks from it, she won't have enough.

Over the years they had partially felted, so darning them wouldn't have worked well. I was surprised this morning when I suddenly felt a cold area. Looking down, I had 2 toes that had worked their way through the top of the sock.

Now, what yarn can I use to make a pair to replace them? I want something that is going to keep my feet/legs warm, as that just isn't happening right now. Not sure why I'm consistently cold, but there it is. Sock weight yarn just isn't heavy enough. For whatever reason, the shins just ache with cold. Not my favorite sensation!

At least a little knitting

Today I was able to sit and knit for the first time since I got home. It hasn't been because I was too busy, but I didn't have the oomph. This afternoon I picked up a sleeve, with the intention of knitting just a few rows. Many hours later the first sleeve is up to the underarm (it was an inch along, so 17 inches was knit today) and almost 2 inches of the second sleeve is under my belt. That feels good, to have the knitting block lifted. I do NOT plan to finish it by this weekend. It would be nice, but reality should play a part, don't you think? After all, I'm going to need knitting for the 10 hours we spend in the car, even though we'll share driving. That still is about 5 hours of knitting time...surely I can accomplish something during that!

I'm wondering about bringing something really simple for the baby to the shower, and asking everyone to put in one stitch. I suspect Serena and I would be the only ones who know how to knit, so that may be asking too much time of the party. It would be fun, though, don't you think? To have something that both grandmothers, all of the aunts, and other friends and relatives contributed in the making. Kind of like the 3 generation afghan gone crazy. Speaking of which, I really need to get that put together this week!

Hospice Care

Dad has entered Hospice Care. It seems so stark to write it, but I need to do so, to help make it more real. I had been home from Colorado 15 days when the paperwork was filled out. I am waiting to find out when they need/want me back out there.

I find myself waiting for the snow. The temperature has steadily dropped, the house is chilly from all of the drafts, where is the snow?

My Rogues

At long last here is the picture of my Rogue. It was made from Tivoli Aran Wool (NOT superwash wool) that DD Serena brought back from Ireland. I love it, and have lived in it a LOT since then. I some several skeins left over, I have thought about making wrist warmers from it, but I am concerned that it might be too scratchy against my wrists.

Here is Serena's Rogue, from
New Zealand Possum yarn. I love how it is knitting up, my only complaint is that it does have a tendency to shed all over me as I knit it The wonderful thing about it is the hand, though, it is soft, cuddly and makes me want to snuggle up in it.

Neither picture shows the cables well, but they really do. I wondered about the possum yarn, even though they mention cable patterns on their website.

Life

Next Saturday is the baby shower for grandtad. My dad is steadily going downhill. Two stepping stones the two main stops on the continuum that is life. And the rest of us are preparing as best we can.

Long period of quiet

I've not been online much since I returned home. And when I have, much of my energy has been concentrated on a busy list.

Serena's Rogue is slowly progressing -- I'm doing the sleeves in the round, then will attach them to the body at the underarm -- finishing it as a raglan instead, so it can be knit all the way in the round. I like the way mine turned out, and it will flatter her broad shoulders.

Happy Birthday Nathan! I think the weeks until you are a father are going to speed by. Kim, however, may feel that they take forever! grin