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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Better (than...)

The injury to my arm has abated a good bit; thanks for all your good thoughts.  The Peerless Princess' Bunny Hop (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/monkeybuttbabies-ravelry-store) sweater is now just a mite over 11 inches long, and I'll continue at a moderate pace.  I had a thought about the possible difference in gauge between the flat knitting of the body, and the circularly knit sleeves.  My purls are slightly looser than my knits.  The sleeves, being knit in the round, will not have any purls.  I dread the math that may or may not be required to make the gauges match up. 

We had a quiet weekend, good for remembering the servicemen & -women who've bought our freedom.  I thought about Big Tom a bit, and the Plaidman's brother (still with us, thank goodness), and of course Pup.  Pup was in training as part of the Army Air Corps, and he told me some stories about that time, while I was visiting this spring.  I tried to write down a lot of them, for Disco mostly.  Not sure if I can share them here.

The Plaidman was idle (how dare he?!?!) for a bit on Saturday, so I suggested he make some magazine holders for me.  I'd picked up some of the smaller postal boxes (hey, they're free & sturdy), and had a copy of a tutorial for making the holders, and Pup had given me a whole craft knife set (SCORE!!) -- so Plaidman went to work.  He's made two; I could probably fill a half dozen easily.  But before we get carried away making any more, I want to rearrange the bookshelf and look for other areas that could hold magazines if we cleared out some other clutter.  Shoot, I could probably get the Plaidman to put a shelf over the headboard--I should totally look into that.

Our one big celebration of the holiday was going to Centennial Park to listen to live blues.  Taj Mahal was the headliner!  I got lots of pictures, even a short video with our dinky camera.  So y'all have that to look forward to, once I get those off the camera and onto my flash drive. 


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Work, work, work

I've about 8.5" knit on the body of the Bunny Hop sweater.  At 14.5" it goes on to a holder, while the sleeves are knitted.  Started on Thursday, after swatching earlier in the week, it looks super -- my gauge is consistent, spot on for row gauge albeit a little off on stitch gauge.  Somehow, it's wound up being about 34" wide, which is about what the pattern calls for (35" when buttonbands are added).  I did do some other swatching, for a coworker's gift of "muffatees".  But I really need to measure her hands! 
*** Above was written Tuesday, which was the day I went back to work after a mini-staycation.  I think I may have suffered a knitting injury, or more accurately, a knitting-or-reading-a-big-book-all-in-one-go injury.  My left shoulder is killink me; I could not sleep at all Tuesday night.  It's abated a little bit, but I'm taking a break from holding big books and from knitting for a couple of days.  Only, I really need to get the sweater done.  I have knit (on Tuesday) another inch on the body, and will try limiting my time with it starting this weekend (it's currently in time-out). 
Oh BTW -- the staycation was basically about giving DiscoDame a good launch into "spinsterhood".  We did a few chores & birthday shopping Thursday & Friday, then took her to a movie (Star Trek: Into Darkness -- a must-see for us fans!!), and dinner at one of her favorite eateries: the Waffle House!  I kid you not, she had a waffle for dinner.  I had the Official Old Lady Kit wrapped up for her, with all the wacky junk I'd been buying.  The reading glasses are way too strong, so we're thinking we'll give them to Goodwill.  No one in the house has dentures, but the denture crème is stored in the bathroom.


Saturday, May 18, 2013

I got pictures!

Ok, I failed to take pictures of my nieces in their new made-by-me handknits.  And I really wanted pics of the Leaves of Grass fingerless mitts I'd made for Miss A.  So...I knit another pair, for me!  Check these:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/AnnBan/elegant-alpaca-fingerless-gloves





And this weekend, after much swatching, I've started knitting a Bunny Hop sweater for the Princess.   This is in Spud & Chloe Sweater yarn, in colors Grass (more like green apple), Midnight (a dark teal) and Popsicle (either a deep rosy pink or a raspberry-like pink).  I'm chugging along on it too; making the largest size for Herself as she's tall for her age and very athletic.  Hey, Miss A got a sweater from Auntie Anna, so the Peerless Princess needs one too.  The best part?  Both the pattern and the yarn were a giveaway prize from Yarn On The House!  I am just thrilled to have it all, and will probably be sending pictures everywhere (to V, to the designer, to Spud & Chloe...you want a copy?) 

Today we're celebrating DiscoDame's 30th birthday.  I gave her an Official Old Lady Kit, with prunes & Milk of Magnesia, denture paste & wrinkle cream, a tube of BenGay, some reading glasses, some adult diapers (!!!boy did I get some grief over that!!!), and a muu-muu type housecoat with pictures of cats pinned all over it.  That's her Official Crazy Cat Lady uniform.  I took pictures, but I'd better not put them here; she knows where I live (since she lives there too....).  The Plaidman found a Plano tackle box in the size she wanted, for a lot less than the price at the outdoor store.  It's huge, and she's going to put all her beading gear in it.  By the time she gets it filled, she won't be able to lift it.  Anyway, part of the celebration is a visit to the library, so here we are.




Tuesday, May 7, 2013

It's getting silly...

When I got home last night, I had a package with a Royal Mail stamp on it.  The silk noil lace yarn has arrived, from Colourmart.  Good golly, but it's so very thin!  It looks more like sewing thread than yarn.  I may wind off a couple of cakes and try double stranding a swatch. 
I've bound off the distal end of the 2nd Leaves of Grass mitt in my pair -- this is what I'm calling my mod of the pattern.  And I picked up the thumb gusset stitches & knit the first round.  I should work two or three more rounds in stockinette, then four rows of k1p1 ribbing & bind off.  Weave in the ends, and have a pair I can photo & wear at my desk in the meat locker.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Excitement unending

Wow, was I surprised when my Knit Picks order came in!  I'd ordered the same yarn like, six or eight months ago -- and got to thinking it might not be enough.  So I ordered more, knowing I'd probably have to alternate between the first batch & second due to them being different dye lots.  This is not going to be the case, because the second order is from the same dye lot!!  How cool is that!  I've already sent hugs to the Customer Service folks at Knit Picks; they are my heroes.  I got in some more books from ThriftBooks, very inexpensive and hey, these aren't meant to be "coffee table" books so I don't mind if the dust jacket has a piece missing, or if the spine is a little worn. 

Come to think of it, I've never shared all the goodies that came with me from Texas.  I did in fact make purchases at The Yarnivore the day Pup & I visited: some sock yarn (doesn't count, right?), a shawl pin in dark wood, and a pack of Clover cable needles, just like the other 2 (or 3?) I had at home, but which I forgot to pack even though I was working on a cabled project.  The Monday before I came home (aka Tax Day!) I stopped at Hill Country Weavers in Austin, which is way too much fun.  I bought some gorgeous alpaca lace yarn pour moi, and two skeins of a Berocco yarn for MeMaw's scarf -- which should probably be a cowl, and needs to be very smooth and light, something she can use to keep scratchy collars off her neck.  I have since reconsidered the yarn, and bought something else.  I also picked up several Mission Falls booklets, which were "free to good home".  But I'm getting things out of order -- Sis & I went to the Half Price Bookstore at one point, and I got three terrific and BRAND NEW books for a song.  One is Reversible Knitting, full of curious ideas about ways to wear their knits.  It's not so much that the knits can be turned inside-out, but that they might be turned topsy-turvy or sideways.  Rather an adjusstment to the viewpoint, than to the patterns. 

I got another terrific surprise, and yes it  involves yarn (what doesn't?!?!).  I'd commented on an interview in Yarn On The House, for a giveaway that I thought would be a pattern and three skeins of yarn.  The pattern's in my Ravelry library, and I was waiting on the yarn -- and thought I'd likely have to buy six more skeins (Spud & Chloe Sweater) for the size sweater I wanted for the Princess.  The giveaway yarn arrived in the mail, and it's all NINE SKEINS needed for her size!!  I am floored, just gobsmacked I tell ya.  And I love the colors -- I did pick them out, but hadn't seen them "in person" before the box hit the mailbox.  Now I need to get it in gear so she can have this sweater before she outgrows the largest size.  The Princess isn't going to be a small gal, but will likely not have an extra ounce of fat on her.  She's very athletic!  I guess she takes after her mama's "gymnast" side; Miss A has her mama's musical gift.  Hmm, just had a thought: the Princess collects American Girl dolls (actually both girls do); wouldn't it be too cool if I could make a sweater for her dolls too?  I will have to look for patterns.