We have had a few weeks of wet, bumpy roads around our house _ I swear thre is a little black cloud over our head, so don"t get too close, cause you'll get wet!
Purl and I have quarreled again, and this time I have decided that she is just too heavy for me to manage inside tight turns, and so I have made the difficult decisionnot to ride her for a while. It was a very hard decision for me to ome to, Purl the ultimate Harley grrrl, being my dream bike, but at the end of the day riding safely is the first priority, riding a Harley is second. So I will I will find another bike to fill the void. I am sad, but have learned a great deal from her about the wondrous effect of a low center of gravity (as women it is usually not a desirable quality, but apparently it is a good thing in a motorbike!), and about riding in general. The time spent with Purl has not been wasted.
The G-man has also had his fair share, having been seriously rear-ended on his way to work a few weeks back. Physio and massage fill his weeks, and he is lamenting the multiple annoyances of having to deal with insurance companies, body shops, the medical community and, most importantly, the interruption of his golf season!
Happily my Kayla Shrug is well underway, the back is complete. It is surprisingly slow, even for me, who is not a quick knitter at the best of times, and I am finding the pima cotton yarn slippery and the thick and thin nature of it adds to the speed issues as the transition of pulling the yarn through each loop is slower than with a smooth yarn. Still I like the effect the thick and thin brings to the garment and the drape is fluid, and the hand just lovely to work with. So despite the lack of speedy knitting, I am very much enjoying the slow but steady progress. The next step is to pick and knit 200 plus stitches, which should drive me well over the edge. But once that is done, it will be straight single knit purl ribbing for miles and miles.
Last Saturday I went to my friend Laurie's house to her Knit-In, and we had a lovely time, gabbling away, knitting up a storm. One of the things I really like with this group is that we feel free to produce our various project problems for inspection and retrospection, and really have a good time working out the issues and coming up with ideas to solve the problem. We are all at various levels, with two working diligently on their Master Knitters, and this only adds to the interesting discussions we have over our knitting. I always learn so much from these amazing knitters!
I have had quite enough of knitting washcloths for a bit (it's a bit obsessive with me these washclothes) since the spring I have knit 25 of them in various colorways, as I plow through my substantial cotton stash; I think will be quite enough for various little hostess gifts for a while.
I have made little progress on my Plain Jane socks ( a pair is perpetually on the needles) but have managed to turn the heel, so the first one should be done soon enough. The second one, I am sure, will follow just as slowly.
I have made the decision to rip out my Citrine socklets. I'm not enjoying knitting the heel portion of the pattern, haven't for some time, and the knitting has stopped for more than 2 years, so it is ridiculous to have them still on the needles. Back to center pull balls it probably should go. The yarn is amazing, coming from Sanna as part of our Knit Tea Swap 4 several years back, and will be re-deployed into something else even more wonderful.
I have been thinking about mittens, having been catching up on my reading at Lene's blog, Dances With Wool. She was showing some amazing mittens, and I immediately thought how well Sanna=92s wool would be suited to such a project. I was even thinking that the cuff portion of the Citrine socks patt=
ern, which is without a doubt the most interesting part of the sock, would adapt to a lovely mitten cuff. Hummmmm...
This weekend we are off to a truck rodeo - a joint competition between the provincial truck enforcement officers and the best truck drivers, where the G-man is cranking a wrench to create the truck defects, judging truck inspections, and generally work his arse off putting them back together the right way! This year a number of officer wives are going to enjoy the evening festivites, and so hence, I will see my first truck rodeo ever! I have packed my Kayla Shrug and my never-ending socks to keep my hands busy for a few days.
In a few weeks we will spend a week at the cottage, during the mid-point of the summer. My intention is to bring only WIP knitting with me and see what can be completed before I return.
That is all for the moment.
Knit on....
Tuesday 28 June 2011
Sunday 12 June 2011
catching up!
I've unintentionally been away from my blog for another long spell. A dry spell perhaps, or too tired to say, but either way the result is the same. So a catch up is an order.
First and foremost: the family. Aside from some heart lurching moments with my mother and my aunt, who both became terribly ill within weeks of each other earlier this spring, all is stable, and the two matrons are recovering slowly but surely, much to our surprise and our great delight. DD1 is back to work ¾ time, and feeling pretty good most days. The fatigue is still her constant companion, but she pushes her endurance with yoga and now that the weather is improving, some lovely bicycle rides on her vintage style Electra around the neighborhood seems to be doing hera world of good. DD2 juggles job-hunting with part-time work, her bunny Artemis, and a nice new beau. And the G-man is travelling and working like a mad man, and seemingly quite happy about it.
Purl and I have started off another season, and are playing very nicely together. The first ride out was shaky for sure, but I remembered more than I forgot and after a few evening cruises around the neighborhood to get my bearings, I ventured out to the countryside and had a lovely and very satisfying ride last weekend. My biking pals have been more than supportive in their encouragement and understanding of my momentary stage fright, and as the riding season gets under way so do the plans for more training and cross-country tours. I made some equipment changes to Purl as well, and for the modest investment I had to make, I already see huge improvements in my handling issues. I began riding to work this week - getting up earlier (4:45am) and taking the long way home to avoid the heavy stop and go of rush hour traffic is a good way to ensure that I am sleeping like a rock at night!
And now the knitting. Which is also slow at the moment, as I have traded some of my former knitting time for more time spent in the gym over the past winter, and it is paying off! Still I've been working away at finishing things. Or ripping them out depending on my inclination. Either way the WIP pile is slowly shrinking. I've finished the Paton's Olive Cardigan which still needs to be sewn together. And some socks. And 3 sets of 8 dishcloths (part of my on-going stash busting) finished. Another of the never-ending TV watching baby blankets is at the halfway mark, and should finish up quickly now that I'm on the decrease side. I made 3 of the very trendy Katia scarves with the crocheted looking loops, and gave one to my housekeeper who apparently took an instant liking to it! I am working on something new - Haku silk wrapped wire yarn, from Rose Haven in Picton, ON to be worked with some wool, lightly felted after knitting, for a light and airy and artist summer scarf.
And my dear friend Katester (on Ravelry) and I went to the spring Creatif Festival in Mississauga, ON earlier this spring and spent a lovely afternoon wandering the mostly sewing and paper craft vendors. The yarn shop vendors were definitely an exception this year, with only two or three in attendance. I did however buy a few gorgeous skeins of steel grey Americo Pima Cotton to make the Kayla Shrug from Wendy at the Unwind Yarn House. Simply devine! I think I will cast on shortly (after I find my ball winder!) for that little beauty.
So there you have it. A major catch up. Now that summer is here I make no promises as to when you\ll heat from me next. Blogging takes a serious backseat to summer weather (and life - which is apperently not quite done messing with me yet!) and the chance to be outdoors. We ahve precious little summer time as it is in this end of the province and I want to take full advantage of it every opportunity I can get!
Knit on......
First and foremost: the family. Aside from some heart lurching moments with my mother and my aunt, who both became terribly ill within weeks of each other earlier this spring, all is stable, and the two matrons are recovering slowly but surely, much to our surprise and our great delight. DD1 is back to work ¾ time, and feeling pretty good most days. The fatigue is still her constant companion, but she pushes her endurance with yoga and now that the weather is improving, some lovely bicycle rides on her vintage style Electra around the neighborhood seems to be doing hera world of good. DD2 juggles job-hunting with part-time work, her bunny Artemis, and a nice new beau. And the G-man is travelling and working like a mad man, and seemingly quite happy about it.
Purl and I have started off another season, and are playing very nicely together. The first ride out was shaky for sure, but I remembered more than I forgot and after a few evening cruises around the neighborhood to get my bearings, I ventured out to the countryside and had a lovely and very satisfying ride last weekend. My biking pals have been more than supportive in their encouragement and understanding of my momentary stage fright, and as the riding season gets under way so do the plans for more training and cross-country tours. I made some equipment changes to Purl as well, and for the modest investment I had to make, I already see huge improvements in my handling issues. I began riding to work this week - getting up earlier (4:45am) and taking the long way home to avoid the heavy stop and go of rush hour traffic is a good way to ensure that I am sleeping like a rock at night!
And now the knitting. Which is also slow at the moment, as I have traded some of my former knitting time for more time spent in the gym over the past winter, and it is paying off! Still I've been working away at finishing things. Or ripping them out depending on my inclination. Either way the WIP pile is slowly shrinking. I've finished the Paton's Olive Cardigan which still needs to be sewn together. And some socks. And 3 sets of 8 dishcloths (part of my on-going stash busting) finished. Another of the never-ending TV watching baby blankets is at the halfway mark, and should finish up quickly now that I'm on the decrease side. I made 3 of the very trendy Katia scarves with the crocheted looking loops, and gave one to my housekeeper who apparently took an instant liking to it! I am working on something new - Haku silk wrapped wire yarn, from Rose Haven in Picton, ON to be worked with some wool, lightly felted after knitting, for a light and airy and artist summer scarf.
And my dear friend Katester (on Ravelry) and I went to the spring Creatif Festival in Mississauga, ON earlier this spring and spent a lovely afternoon wandering the mostly sewing and paper craft vendors. The yarn shop vendors were definitely an exception this year, with only two or three in attendance. I did however buy a few gorgeous skeins of steel grey Americo Pima Cotton to make the Kayla Shrug from Wendy at the Unwind Yarn House. Simply devine! I think I will cast on shortly (after I find my ball winder!) for that little beauty.
So there you have it. A major catch up. Now that summer is here I make no promises as to when you\ll heat from me next. Blogging takes a serious backseat to summer weather (and life - which is apperently not quite done messing with me yet!) and the chance to be outdoors. We ahve precious little summer time as it is in this end of the province and I want to take full advantage of it every opportunity I can get!
Knit on......
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