Same Song, Green Verse
I know there are others out there in cyberland who keep knitting or crocheting the same pattern over and over because it makes them happy and brings such a satisfying sense of accomplishment. I love that feeling when I knit. I have looked at pattern after pattern of dishcloths so I know that others are knitting the same basic pattern over and over and over. You know a good pattern when you knit it. It feels good and you are comfortable with it. You know inside and out. Slipping into a familiar rhythm.

So this one is no different. I think I have knit at least 12 of this pattern. What can I say? It's the perfect 56 stitch lace scarf for a beginner. It's just enough lace to satisfy a need to knit lace and not feel like it's a life time commitment. Thus this makes the perfect gift for almost any occasion. I can knit this in 10 days or less even while working a part-time job. That's about the same amount of time that I can knit a pair of socks. Of course this time it took me a bit longer because I have been spinning and felting the same time I was knitting on the scarf.

I have never been one for doing gauge, swatching or blocking. I know better but some things you really need to know the gauge, swatch or even block. This pattern however does need to be block ever so slightly. All of the other times I have made this scarf I either steam and hand blocked or hand blocked it on an extra large bath towel. This time I have a new way.

My favorite enabler and I shared an order for KnitPicks and we bought blocking squares. I haven't used them yet and since I returned her blocking wires, I thought the blocks and some old sewing pins would do the trick. They did!

I love the blocks. I really wasn't sure about them but they are wonderful. Why did I wait so long to do this? The pins just slide right in and look at that! There was one little problem though...
My diningroom table isn't long enough to block the whole scarf. Since I sleep on a Sleep Number bed, pinning it the the bed to accomodate for length, isn't happening! So 3/4 of the scarf will be blocked over a two day period. Then I will have to wet the last 1/4 and block that. A little awkward but with five dogs my options are limited for sure.

Here is another view of the scarf in the process of being pinned for blocking. Lastly the close up of the lace. I am sure that if you are a member of Ravelry you can link to my project page and then follow the link to the designer's page. I feel like I got my money's worth from this pattern! I sure hope my friends think as much as their gifts as much as I did making them.

Pattern Stats: Mary designed by Linda Johnson. Knit with US #4 Addi Lace circulars with Misty Alpaca Lace weight.

Dilemma

by Vickie

I had a different post saved under draft about my yellow lace socks by Charlene Schurch. I looked back at Ravelry to see when I notes the project started. It was dated April 3. There were two others in a group of women at a shop were I used to hang out that were all going to knit the sock together. One has dropped the idea, one has finished and this one has a dilemma.

I started working on the gusset knowing that I had lost the row count of a 24 row pattern. I thought I was so smart by trying to take a short cut that would like me meet my goal of finishing my 2008 UFOs. I worked on the first sock for about the last three to four hours and got to a point where I could try it on. It's too big. I have never had that happen before. I know why after sitting and starring it for a while this afternoon.

It should fit snugly. I decided to start the gusset and continue on in stockinette. The stockinette is more loose and hence the sock does not fit. So now I have no idea what to do. I really don't want to frog the socks. They have taken too long already so I want to get them done.

As you can see from the photo I have made great progress but now I have no idea what row I am on in the pattern sequence and the only way I can make the sock continue to have the proper flow is to figure out what row I am on. The rows are so similar that I am not sure I will be able to tell one row from the other. I will have to do this to both socks.

Should I frog the socks back to the cuff and start all over? Or should I tink back the rows until I can figure out what row I am on.They are such lovely socks and I really don't want to start all over but...if anyone else has any suggestions, please let me know. I want to finish these by 2009.

Sigh.

On the Move
DH and I were lucky enough to get some time off from our jobs at the same time. So we decided to head out of dodge and go someplace where we could do little or nothing. I brought some of the UFOs that I talked about in the last post so that I could honor my goal of getting something finished and soon. I really did make some good progress on a project that I can't show you and can't talk about. The person that will be getting this project for a gift at Christmas reads my blog every now and then, and I really didn't want to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. But I can give you a quickie look...
Okay, there is the unnamed project and it's in the van traveling down interstate 64. I am using size 13 Addi turbos and Eco Wool. That's all I can say. I promise later to show the finished project.

DH and I have found a little town in VA that we really like. We have been there once before about four years ago. Boy has it changed. What I love best about this little town is that it fit so well into a plan to do this thing I wanted to do all the month of August (this is a Ravelry link). I am thrilled I squeezed in this activity before the time was up. My friend Jennifer gave up her bag since she couldn't go. I made good use of the bag. Here is where I ended up...

On the Lamb was a stop on "Get Your Knits on Route 64". The funny part was we planned to go to Staunton before I even knew there was a yarn store or that it was on the list of shops to visit. I truly thought that I would hit The Knitting Sisters and some of the places in Richmond, but it never worked out that way.

DH and I thought a nice walk to the shop would be just great on such a lovely weekend. Boy were we ever wrong. The walk to the shop from downtown Staunton was way longer than we thought. Four blisters later we got to the shop and it was closed. They would have normally been open but the owner had a death in his family and opened a little late. He was nice enough to leave a sign on the door, but my blisters didn't really care. This is the front of the shop. It's an older two story home. What I really loved, was the really huge clump of lavender as you go up the stone steps. I was thinking how they could harvest that and make money off of the lavender by making small bags for people to buy.

I enjoyed the shop and came home with some wonderful yarns. Since I had the bag I got %15 off of some yarns that I wouldn't ordinarily buy. I am hoping that I can find the right projects for them.

Here they are and yes, they are all lace. I really love the lace shawls and scarves so that was my motivation for buying these yarns.

This is Malabrigo and the colorway is China 1. The picture doesn't seem to give credit to it's true color. It's more of a deep red or maroon than anything else.

The middle photo is Malabrio again and the colorway is Mariposa 125. The yellow is Malabrigo and the colorway is Butter 61. I did buy one more Malabrigo lace skein but I gifted that to my friend Jennifer for letting me take her bag. It was a great exchange. I am not usually one to follow a yarn brand trend just because everyone makes a fuss about it. This was a nice variegated lace that caught my eye. I never paid attention to the brand until later. I had never heard of this brand of yarn before. I usually don't buy anything with Mohair but this isn't as fuzzy as other Mohair I have knit with. It's so soft and since I am into yellow all of a sudden I couldn't help myself...

This is Wagtail Yarns from Childers, Queensland, Australia. it is 100% Fine Kid Mohair. It is a 4 ply yarn and there is 100 grams or 410 yards. The colorway is Lemon 150.004. This is another skein of Wagtail. The colorway is Midnight Red 320 900. It's a burgundy color. So that is my haul from On The Lamb. I am glad I found them. Now when we go again in October I will have someplace to go and sit and knit for a bit.

I think I might be done with stash enhancement! Well until the next time...

Spreading My Wings
I am the kind of person who does not like change. My whole life I have had changed forced on me. First by my father who was in the Air Force so you know what's next. We moved every 2-4 years until I was 15 and he retired. I thought we would stay put, but nooooo he took a job in Arkansas and we moved from Texas. Then he lost the job in Arkansas and we moved back to Texas. I ended up going to three elementary, two middle and four high schools. So you can see why I am not huge on change. Thus explains the ruts that I find myself in. This includes my knitting.

Sue's sock pattern has become my sock rut. Don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed those socks to no end, but it's time to spread my wings. I have now, twice. I take baby steps. The red and purple socks were the first step. They are done and I like them. I will make a few stitch count changes, but other than that I like them. I am going to make another combination pair sometime this year. I think my next pair will be a solid color with a contrasting color for the toes and heels just like this pair. I think this is a great way to use up small bits of left of sock yarns. This is knit with Opal yarn on #1 dpns. The basic pattern for the cuff, heels and toes are Sue's pattern but the rest is just straight stockinette. I wanted to see if the color pattern would emerge if I didn't do any fancy stitch patterns. They turned pretty well.

So now I am feeling a bit more confident and have stepped off the cliff with my very first pattern that is from a book. A few of us at The Knitting Corner decided to knit a sock together every Thursday when we usually meet to trade stories and catch up on family news. I picked the pattern and I am not sure what I was thinking but I have to stick to it.

My yarn was bought at the Tess's booth at Maryland Sheep and Wool in 2007. I can't tell you anything about the yarn except it's a soft baby yellow and its very soft sock yarn. I loved it so much, I bought two skeins of it. I had no earthly idea what I was going to do with it until I thumbed through Sensational Knitted Socks and saw the Ribbed Lace pattern on page 50. I am very excited about how they are going along but it's like any other lace. I have to pay attention. Those darned YOs will get you into trouble every time! I have a glaring error at Rnd 24. I saw (K1, P4) 4 times. When in reality it said (K1, P1) 4 times. You will see the purls in another picture. I didn't discover this until I got to row 10 of the next set of 24. Considering I am using #1 dpns, I have chosen to let it go. I really do not desire to rip those puppies out and start all over. So the error stands. Now I have to decide whether or not to mess up, I mean create the design change again on the next row 24. Or maybe this one row will have the "design element" change and the other one will not. It will be like I know which sock is the right sock and the other will be the left (wrong) sock. Whatcha think??
Here is the larger picture of the row 24 error. I am just heart sick but it's a done deal.

Diversion
After ranting and raving about knitting my current lace project, I have to have a diversion. I have been making more progress on that than my lace. I need it to keep from hurting any innocent by-stander at my house. The dogs run for cover when I pull out the lace and my husband hits the garage.

When I whip out my sock, every knows there will be peace throughout the land of the crabby lace knitter. For some reason, the sock pattern that I learned from Sue has soothed the savage beast in me until I can gather myself to calmly try the lace project again. So I am making wonderful progress on my sock but the lace, not so much. I will wear socks before the lace so...I tend to work more on the sock lately than anything else.
I finished the first sock only to my shock and horror that I can't make the strips match. I have unraveled and rewound the ball a million times to find the correct stripping sequence and can't find it. There is one section in the skein that has a very small color varation that I can't find. I even had hubby take a look with me and he said he didn't see it either. He is an art and color driven person, so I trust his judgement. Here is what I mean...


Can you see the very top of the sock. Well those two very tiny bands of color are the half way point of the sock. So I should have started the sock at the next set that looks just like it after the little blip of green. I can not find that color sequence again, except for those two places right there. The second sock should have been started between the two little skimpy bands of purple and blue. So I called TKC and they are looking for another skein of this yarn so I can knit the other sock to match this one. Then I will have two pairs of matched socks eventually. I really wasn't shooting for that, but what the hey! It's been a learning experience about splitting the ball in half and looking for color varations. I have never tried to match strips before. So I have learned a lesson and will be more careful next time I am thinking about matching strips. I think maybe I should look at the skein BEFORE I get a bright idea. Duh! So here is the finished effort. The second one will either be on hold for a while or there will not be a matched set because Susan can not find my another skein. Oh well, at least I will have another pair of wonderful socks to walk around the house in during the winter.

I have also been trying to work on a little hat for my nephew when I am not having tantrums about the lace. It looked like this earlier today... Then I got near the end and discovered I had read the decreasing directions incorrectly and ripped the whole thing out. I will try to work on it again later next week. I need to get larger needles. I think my gauge was really out of whack and it was just looking way too small for Zach's head. So it was another lesson. I did like how it was starting to look. It's a quick knit so I wasn't too upset that I ripped it out. So on to the next thing.... Okay, I have made some progress until late this afternoon. I thought I was going full guns on this and then the count wasn't coming out correctly. I have ripped out until I just had to walk away. I thought maybe I would make some progress on it but I can't seem to get past a certain row. So it might have to wait for Sue's eagle eye to tell me what I am doing wrong. So now let's recap. I have one sock and have to stop that so Susan can order me another skein, I ripped out the hat I had been working on after the sock problem, and now have ripped out at least 6-8 rows of the lace I managed to get done this past weekend. So what I need to do now is just go to bed and pull the covers up over my head and think about crocheting something....NOT.

Keeping Secrets
I have been keeping this knitting project under my hat and at the rate that I am going, it just might stay there. The Knitting Corner has got an on going "class" using a past project as a kind of get together of knitters who are interested in polishing their skills as serious lace knitters. I thought I was until I got started.

As I have reported here, I am a new chart reader. I am getting the hang of it, but it's slow and tedious. I find myself yelling at anyone or anything that breaks my concentration. I have to have total silence. The funny thing is, there are about nine women who all gather at the round table of ambious kintters every other Friday, and I flat can't knit there. Okay, I said it. I am thinking of knitting this project in the privacy of my own palace. I will have to knit socks or something else there.

Why can't I concentrate? The project isn't really that hard. When I get to end of 99 stitches, I yell and scream when I have 101. Cripe! Now I have to go back and look at what I have just sweat bullets over and try to find those extra stitches. I spend more time doing that than I do the actual knitting of the row itself. I huff and puff and complain the whole time. Four letter words are involved in the privacy of home.

Why am I torturing myself like this? Why? Why does anyone so frustrated keep knitting same row only to pick it out and knit it again? Because I am a knitter and can't take defeat!!! I will do this. Good thing that Sue told us in the beginning that this is a self-paced project. HA! Got that right. It might be months at the rate I am going to get this done, but I WILL FINISH IT!!! Now, let me go and rip out that sweater I started eons ago and really don't like. I know when to say when-okay maybe not.

The Finished Product
I have been working seriously on the gifts for my chef friends for our annual conference and finally finished the last one about three days before I had to leave. I just am thrilled they are all done. As I talked about in a previous post, I love this pattern, but after making 7 of them, I am over it for a while. I know that it will be a pattern I use as a gift stand-by. It takes me about two weeks just sitting in front of the boob tube. Since I am going to try something new about the idiot box, I might not get as much knitting done, but that's another post.

When I finished my gifts I was so proud of my accomplishment, I just had to take another picture of them DONE. I gave away the two dark green scarves and the black one that doesn't show so well at the bottom of the pile.




Now to show you the recipients. They are two of my closets chefs friends and one very hard working employee of the chef association that I belong to.

This is Peg, one of the hardest working persons I know. She keeps things moving and shaking at the office of The United States Personal Chef Association. If you need something done or something isn't what it should be, this woman makes it work. Peg, you are just a peach and when you retire, V will have some big shoes to fill.

Here are the girls with the scarves on. J and L. They make being friends so much fun. When I am not too pleased with a client, they talk me off of the ledge and calm me down. We are great shoppers and finders of fabulous shoes, restaurants and foods. So here's to the chef girlfriend network that has been going strong for the last 10 years I have been in business! J and L, you to are the best of the best. I feel so privilege to be friends with you and you both make me a nicer person.

If I ever doubt that my gifts are cherished all I will have to do is whip out my photos and see those smiling happy faces. They are enjoying the gift I gave them and I am enjoying knowing that they know I can do something besides talk! lol! So get out there and knit something for those who deserve your love and admiration They feel the same way about you too.