Surprise Times Three

Remember these Opal Elements 1070 socks from last February?

Many many readers asked where I got the pattern and I wasn't able to help because it hadn't been published yet.


Remember these Opal Tutti Fruitti socks from last November?

Same pattern and same story. In fact, I almost didn't use the pattern again because I knew I was going to have to field pattern requests and wouldn't be able to be help.

The pattern, Rainbow Ripples, has finally been published! And SURPRISE, it's free in the February issue of the Opal Chatters Newletter.


Surprise 2, Only DH was Surprised
Since I've only been married twice I can't swear that all husbands are like this, but both of mine were. They do not hear what they don't want to hear about little things around the house and car that might turn into a bothersome or expensive problem.

Last time I was in DH's Jeep, there were mouse turds in the passenger seat. I told him. He didn't look. He ignored me, even though after fifteen years of living in the country I have become an expert on spotting mouse turds.

Yesterday DH and Glory (dog) were driving to the library and he spotted something moving on the console.

SURPRISE!

Guess what it was. Do I even have to finish this story?

It was gray and white. It was cute. Glory didn't see it. By the time he pulled over, it had disappeared.

I'm going to think twice before I get in that Jeep again.

Surprise 3, The Little Rabbit is Hopping Fast
I know that you've all been watching my little rabbit hop through the purple flowers on the sidebar and nodding your heads in approval as I drop the weight I gained over the holidays. Right?

It's been a very pleasant SURPRISE for me to see the weight come off so easily, 9 pounds in 5 weeks. I credit the teaching of over a year of Weightwatcher's meetings and a strong desire to get the little rabbit out of the flowers and into the cabbage patch.

I confess to eating half a carrot cake on and about my birthday. Fortunately, carrots were zero Weightwatcher points when I was a member. I can eat as many carrots as I want. The other ingredients don't count on a birthday.

Sleeves and Gray Sky

Pattern: Aguave by Katherine Hunt in Summer 2005 Knitter's

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine, 60% pima cotton, 40% model

Color: River

Needles: Addi Turbo #4

Gauge: 24 stitches/4 inches in SS after washing

Why is it that sleeves seem to take the longest to knit even though they're not as big as the back or the front?

Why is it that sleeves eat up so much yarn? The more concerned I am about having enough yarn, the quicker the sleeves eat it up.

Each time I look at this sleeve, I brace myself in case I find an error. I do not want to frog it. I want it to be done. Why? So I can knit another one just like it.

In an attempt to not knit my sleeves too long, I've knit my sleeves a little short on the last few sweaters completed. For the Aguave, the err needs to be on the long side. Aguave sleeves would not look good with my wrists hanging out. In fact, the sleeves need to hang down over my hands a little. Guess I won't be doing dishes in this sweater.


It's January in Michigan. This is the time of year I should be wowing you with pictures of huge snow drifts and beautiful snow covered trees and bushes. Instead, we have this.

The little snow we've had melts because the ground isn't frozen and the daytime temps are above freezing. Over the weekend, the temps were in the 50s (F). Completely weird.

Last week I saw a pair of bluebirds sitting on a nestbox. They aren't even supposed to be in Michigan in January.

It will be interesting to see what the rest of the winter is like. That is if you can call this winter. It's not like any winter I've ever seen before.


Update on Glory for Those Who Care
Glory had her tube removed on Saturday. Two vets looked at it, and I could tell they didn't really want to take it out, but they didn't want to leave it in anymore either.

They reasoned that the ear had grown together as much as possible with the tube still in, and that the tube had to come out for more healing to occur. They didn't give me confidence that everything was going to be OK, but so far everything is OK.

Each day I'm a little more optimistic that it's going to heal without any more surgery.

Isn't this where I knock on wood?

Friday Miscellany

Eris - Future Project
After spotting Eris on Close to my Heart, I bought the pattern and officially inserted it in my queue to be knit. But not to be started until a few other projects are completely finished.

The pattern spoke to me because -

1. I'm completely intrigued with the way the cables work with the simple stockinette stitch. It looks like it will be a challenge.
2. It's the type of garment I wear often.
3. I can pick out another of those luscious Elann colors and buy more yarn.
4. It's going to make me work on a knitting problem that's been nagging at me for years. In back and forth knitting I get ridges because my knit stitches and purl stitches are not the same gauge. I plan to do plenty of swatching and come up with a solution to this problem before starting Eris.

Not Too Late to Join FLAK
FLAK is different from a regular knitalong. It's much more than a pattern, it's a tutorial on knitting an Aran, one piece, top down, that fits your exact measurements.

We're getting bi-weekly lessons from Janet where she spells out each sweater step in detail. So far we're only on Part 4, the top of the back. Janet is spacing the lessons about two weeks apart.

Still plenty of time to join and catch up if you really want to do it. The lessons are on Janet's web site. You don't need to join the Yahoo group to see/print the tutorials.

Comments on Church
In response to the comments and email feedback on why people don't go to church, I completely understand how believers and potential believers get turned off by the actions of organized Christianity in this country. And especially some of the obnoxiously visible men who aggressively step forward to represent Christianity in the news.

I think the Lord has a special place in hell for those who use His name to their benefit and don't have Him in their hearts.

I went to dozens of churches before landing in the church where I am now. It's far from perfect, but there are many people there who love the Lord. I use it as a base for worship and learning, but I have never joined because of their attitude about some issues I feel strongly about.

It's a fallen world. We need to remember not to neglect our relationship with the Lord just because there is no perfect church.

Off my soapbox now. Have a great weekend.

Done with Top of FLAK Back

Pattern: Follow the Leader Aran by Janet Szabo

Yarn: Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool

Color: Antique Rose

Needles: US #5

Gauge: 22 stitches/4 inches in Moss Stitch

Tonight I'm celebrating the completion of Part 4 of FLAK.

The way my measurements and calculations turned out, I had no room at the sides for filler stitch. In fact, I had an extra half inch of cables.

Janet's instructions suggested eliminating some cables if we had too many. With only being a half inch over and not wanting to eliminate any of the beautiful cables, I recalculated the sweater to make it a half inch larger across the back.

After adding a quarter inch to each saddle, the entire set of cables fit fine. And FLAK is going to fit fine, also. I have sweaters with the same measurement as the new, larger FLAK and they're very comfy.

There must be some strange psychology with Janet releasing the pattern in installments. Everytime I finish an installment, it feels like a finished object.

Now I'm looking forward to working on a few other things until Part 5 is published. If it takes another week or two before we get Part 5, that will be fine with me.

Update on Glory for Those Who Care
Glory, our 66 pound lab mix, had surgery on an ear hematoma almost 3+ weeks ago.

She still has the tube in but the drainage has decreased to almost nothing. She has an appointment Saturday morning to see if the tube can be removed.

Since I am the designated doggy nurse and the tube needs to be cleaned several times a day, no one - except maybe Glory - wants that tube out more than me. However, I want the vet to be over cautious not to remove it prematurely. We do not want the ear to swell up again and require more surgery.

B is for Bible . . .

Yes, I write in my Bible.

Maybe, since I don't usually mention my faith on Stitches of Violet, I should back up and start this post again -

Yes, I do have a well used Bible. And, I write in it.

I believe the Bible is God's message to me about His nature, His Son, His love, and what I'm supposed to be doing and learning during this lifetime. The more I read it and study it, the more I love it and believe it is the Word of God.

I've been studying the Bible for eleven years now, and have come to the opinion that none of the religious sects and denominations have the total picture. This makes it very difficult to join a church or join a Bible class where they think they know all the answers. I do it, thought, because it helps my study of the Bible to hear others talk about it. I respect my groups by being quiet about the places I disagree.



I've been attending a Bible Church for eleven years. I've done five years of Bible Study Fellowship and two years of Community Bible Study. All three are non-denominational in-depth Bible study organizations where you bring your own Bible.

This is my Bible case. It has pockets inside to hold my Bible in place and a good strong exterior to protect it from the elements. In the midwest there are many Bible toters and most of us use a case. I've had this one for eleven years. It's aging well and I have no plans to replace it.

My Bible needs to last the rest of my earthly life, because I don't want to give it up. I love turning to a passage and finding notes and thoughts that I wrote five or ten years ago.

Some of my very favorite passages are left completely unmarked. They speak to me in different ways and I want them to be fresh every time I visit them.

Mindless, Dreamcatching Socks

Pattern: Basic 56 Stitch Sock

Yarn: Opal sock yarn, 75% wool, 25% nylon

Color: Dreamcatcher 1235

Needles: Addi Turbo #1

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

Shortly after writing last Wednesday's post, I split the prize Opal into two balls and cast on socks. For me.

I like my socks snug, knit on 56 stitches for my thin ankles and feet. The rest of my sock recipients need 64 stitch socks, so once the socks were started they had to be for me.

Son John said he liked the colors. He will get his March birthday socks in the same colors, except they will be Opal Magic, not Dreamcatcher.

It's been nice to knit on something mindless, but that all ends tomorrow when the next installment of the Follow the Leader Aran project is posted. I love these breaks we're getting between FLAK installments. They keep my enthusiasm going for the project. Of course, we haven't knit a substantial piece of the sweater yet. Just two swatches and two saddles. There hasn't been much reason to tire of the project yet.

Aguave needs some sewing together and blocking before I knit the sleeves. And yes, Hanover still needs to be sewn together.

The Hanover pattern says to crochet the pieces together with a chain stitch. Since, for once, I followed the pattern exactly, I hate to break rank in the last step of the project. I have my doubts about the chain stitch construction, though. On the other hand, it should be easy to rip out chain stitch if it doesn't look right.

Inspire me! What is your favorite stitch for sewing in knitted sleeves?

Happy Birthday to Me!

I've never understood why most people are hesitant to tell their age. How old we are is an important attribute of who we are.

Today is my 61st birthday. That means I am starting my 62ed year of life.

It's important for me to say that, to accept that, and to plan the rest of my life with that in mind.

As for the picture, it makes me laugh. Here's hoping it gives you a chuckle, too.

Free Yarn and ABC Thoughts

Look what I got in the mail today! Opal Dreamcatcher 1235, beautiful blues.

This is my prize yarn for having Stitches of Violet mentioned in the new Opal Chatters Newsletter. Is that a good deal or what?

I'm ready to cast on a pair of socks as soon as I figure out who will be wearing them. It's time to start John's birthday socks if they're going to get done by March 18. Gail, the dog trainer, has a birthday the same day and I'd like to have a pair of socks done for her, also.

But my birthday is Friday and I forgot to knit birthday socks for myself. How did that happen? Next year my birthday is going on the sock knitting schedule with the rest of the birthday sock recipients.

Time to go Opal stash diving, pick out yarn for the three of us and cast on some socks.


I've been giving some thought to topics for the ABC Along, the 2006 meme where we post a biweekly picture with the subject starting with the corresponding letter of the alphabet. 26 letters, 26 picture posts.


For my ABC Along picture posts I'm going to use the following guidelines, exceptions allowed if I feel like it.

• No knitting topics.
  
• Find topics I don't normally blog about.
  
• No people's names. I already made an exception to this guideline when I posted A is for Anne . . . the first two weeks. It was Anne's birthday and I felt like it.

And here is Anne again, out in the Idaho snow with nine month old Sydney Anne.

Complete story on Tah Tales.

CIC Socks

Pattern: Basketweave ribbing

Yarn: Cascade 220

Color: Violet (actual color name unknown)

Needles: Clover bamboo #5

Gauge: 5 stitches/inch, 8 rows/inch

One of my goals for today was to finish the last pair of CIC socks for the challenge and wash the six pair I made so they will be dry by Sunday. And I did.

My knitting friend and I both knit for CIC. We take turns packing the box and hauling it to the post office, and it's her turn. We attend church together, so I'll be delivering my socks to her on Sunday in the church parking lot.


Are You In Charlotte, NC?
Speaking of church, our senior pastor of ten years is leaving to pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

We have a large church for Kalamazoo, but Dr. Munro's new church is over twice as large with a sanctuary that seats 5,000.

While it's great that the Lord has given him this opportunity to reach and teach so many people, I'm going to miss his Sunday morning messages. He gets more teaching and meat into a sermon than any preacher I've ever heard before. Plus he's got a cool Scottish accent.

If you're in his new city, know that you're getting the best in Dr. Munro.

FLAK Saddles and Aguave Front

Pattern: Follow the Leader Aran by Janet Szabo

Yarn: Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool

Color: Antique Rose

Needles: US #5

Gauge: 22 stitches/4 inches in Moss Stitch

Janet Szabo posted part three of the Follow the Leader Aran Saturday, the saddle shoulders.

These two little pieces of knitting will go from neckline to shoulder and are the base for the seamless knitting of the sweater. The front of the sweater will be knit downward from the front of the saddles. The back of the sweater will be knit downward from the back of the saddles. The sleeves will be knit downward from the stitches on the stitch holders. The neck ribbing will be picked up from the cast on edge of the saddles.

First, using our own measurements and desired neck width, we calculated the saddle length needed for our personal fit. Then we cast on 20 stitches and knit to the calculated length. My saddles are 3.75 inches long and about 2.5 inches wide.

When I've previously knit cabled sweaters, I tired of the cables way before being done with the sweater. Doing the FLAK with one lesson every two weeks, I find that I'm looking forward to the next installment and can hardly wait to knit more cables. I'll reserve judgment until the sweater is complete, but it appears the FLAK is going to provide a lesson in project pacing for pleasurable knitting.


Pattern: Aguave by Katherine Hunt in Summer 2005 Knitter's

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine, 60% pima cotton, 40% model

Color: River

Needles: Addi Turbo #4

Gauge: 24 stitches/4 inches in SS after washing

I have a pretty high tolerance for pain as long as I know the source is non-critical. After having a molar pulled Thursday, I stashed the Vicodin in a drawer and started taking Tylenol so I could think to knit.

With a fun audio book for distraction from the painful, swollen jaw, I finished the front of Aguave on Saturday evening.

Next, I need to block the front and back and sew them together at the shoulders so I can see how long the sleeves need to be.


The sleeves on the model are just the right length to drag in my food and get in the way of whatever else I want to be doing.

I have short arms and I prefer my sleeves to be wrist length, which means I'm going to have to measure carefully and recalculate the sleeve increases. To add to the challenge, this yarn has a different gauge when washed, so I'll be calculating with the washed gauge.

Questions and Comments

Dene asked . . .

Did you find knots in your Highland wool? I wound 7 skeins yesterday and found knots in all but one skein. 2 skeins had 2 knots each!

No knots yet in the almost two skeins I've used swatching.

I've been knitting straight from the skein as purchased, so I can't say how many knots there might be in the rest of the yarn.

Fran asked . . .

Do you think we will be able to do the cables down the sides instead of the middle? I like the basket weave section for the middle myself.

I seriously considered putting the basketweave cable down the center of my FLAK.

If I recall correctly, Janet said the basketweave was going down each of the sleeves. I'm going to cede to her design expertise and assume that a matching basketweave down each side is going to look great with the sleeves.

I'm treating FLAK as my Aran Knitting 101 class and plan to make as few changes to Janet's design as possible so I don't get in over my head.

Not that my plans should stop you, Fran. I'd love to see what the sweater looks like with the basketweave down the front. Go for it!

In response to my major frogging session, DJ asked . . .

Could it be the weather? or the phase of the moon? or who knows what?

The weather is a good scapegoat and phase of the moon always works well, also. When we have an evening in doggy school where all the dogs act flaky, we always blame it on one of those two things. Makes sense that knitting and dogs react the same to outside influences. Right?

I had a molar pulled out of my head with a crowbar extracted yesterday, so I'm lazing around in sweats and knitting today while the swelling recedes. As of this minute, the Aguave front is back to the exact row where I started frogging on Tuesday. Onward to the armholes and neckline!

I chose oral surgery with Novocain instead of a general anesthetic so I could come home and knit. Can you top that for knitting dedication?

Lost Weekend

Last Friday Norton Internet Security, my virus protection and firewall, updated my laptop. It looked like a routine update, but afterward I couldn't pull my email and my laptop hung up so severely that I couldn't shut it down without using the power button.

At first I didn't know the problem was Norton, so I spend hours trying this and trying that and rebooting dozens of times. Finally, when I shut off the firewall, I was able to pull email - one time only, and then everything was hung up and I had to reboot.

I couldn't find anything about this problem on the Norton web site and wasn't sure what to do next. Afraid to rush into something while upset, I did one more forced shutdown and went to knit on the front of Aguave.

Thinking that Norton might discover the problem and send out a fix, I just stayed off my laptop all day Saturday and knit. I knit for hours and hours listening to a book on CD. By the end of the day my hands hurt, my arms hurt, and my shoulders hurt but I was happy to be almost done with the front.

The fix did NOT come from Norton. Sunday afternoon DH found the problem being discussed in an online newsgroup and the solution was: Restore the default General and Trojan horse firewall rules.

Detailed instructions for this procedure are here. I hope you don't need them.

I followed the restore procedure. My laptop is functional again. I would hate to know how many hours were spent finding and fixing that nasty software glitch. At least it wasn't my hardware gone bad again.

Since I knit so much on Saturday, I needed to take a few days off. When I picked up the Aguave front on Tuesday, I noticed immediately that I had done the stitch pattern on the edges backward. The right side edge was on the left side and the left side edge was on the right side.

I frogged it. Yes, I frogged fourteen inches of the front. So, instead of starting armhole shaping on Tuesday, I cast on the front and started over again. (Frog = rip it, rip it!)

One of my favorite knitting books is Knitting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti. Maggie says "Admire your work often."

If my subconscious hadn't been busy trying to figure out how to fix my laptop, and if my conscious hadn't been busy listening to a great story on CD, I might have taken that advice and seen the mistake before repeating it for six hours and fourteen inches.

Glory Update for Those Who Care
Glory had her one week check up last night. Dr. B. expressed amazement at the amount of fluid she is producing, but assured me the ear is starting to heal. It's just going to take a while.

He guessed about two more weeks of draining and then he can remove the tube. I'm to make the appointment after she has been dry for three days. The staples holding the skin to the cartilage come out a week after the tube.

Meanwhile, Glory seems to be happy and feeling fine. She's off the sedative as of today, but I have plenty left if she starts shaking her head or pawing at her ear or rolling in the mud.

A is for Anne . . . .

. . . and Anne is my wonderful daughter-in-law, wife of Son John, and mother of Sydney Anne. This picture was taken in August when Sydney Anne was four months old.

When my son was a very young man, approximately 20, he moved to Las Vegas to find work in the hotel industry. He did.

For over five years his sister quizzed him, "Are you seeing anyone yet?" "Have you found someone yet?" The answer was always, "No". Then one day we were surprised and excited to hear that he was bringing someone to Michigan to meet the family. Mother (me) started holding her breath at that news and could hardly wait to meet the "someone" he had found.

It was almost ten years ago that their plane landed and John stepped out with a beautiful, smiling, tall girl named Anne. I exhaled. Son had taken his time and chosen well.

Daughter Heather and I had a private giggling session where we said things like "She's just perfect for him!" and "Isn't she wonderful?"

Now, ten years later, John and Anne have been married for almost seven years. We still think Anne is perfect for him and we know for sure she is wonderful.

Happy Birthday Anne!

FLAK Cable Swatch

Pattern: Follow the Leader Aran by Janet Szabo
Yarn: Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool
Color: Antique Rose
Needles: US #5
Gauge: 22 stitches/4 inches in Moss Stitch

Step Two in the Follow the Leader Aran Knitalong was to cast on 100 stitches and knit a large swatch with the cables we'll be using on the sweater.

Here is my swatch, washed and blocked. I'm ready to start the real thing as soon as Janet posts the next installment. At least I'm assuming we're ready for the real sweater now.

The three horseshoe cables in the middle of the swatch will go down the center of the sweater. The set of five cables on the right hand side of the swatch will appear on each side of the center cables. The remaining areas of the sweater will be knit in the moss stitch you see on the left side of the swatch.

The idea of cabling without a cable needle appealed to me, so that is how I did the first half of the swatch. By the time I had crammed those crossed stitches tightly back on my left hand needle for the umpteenth time, my hands hurt and I decided a small diameter cable needle wasn't such a bad idea after all.

For now, I'm using a three inch double point, size 0. Dorothy uses a U shaped cable needle. Since I know she knits beautiful cables and lots of them, I'm going to give that a try as soon as I acquire one.

Six Foot High and Rising

In Michigan we expect January to be frozen and snowy. Instead, I'm beginning to wish I was married to Noah.

Every day and night it rains. When it's not raining, it's drizzling and misting. Our creek is the highest it's been in the fifteen years we've lived here. Maybe that's because the ground is frozen and the water can't seep in. Or maybe it's because there were huge piles of snow melting to provide extra water to go with the water that keeps falling from the sky. Probably some of both.

On a normal day, a limber person (not me) could jump over the creek. Today it was about twelve feet wide, running fast. Fortunately our house is way up from the creek. In fact, there is a spring fed pond between the house and the creek. If the creek overflows its banks, it will flow into the pond, so we're well protected from flooding. For now. Unless this never stops.

Someone who lives far away from here, please assure me that there still is a sun?

Glory Update
Glory came home late this afternoon. Everyone, human and canine, was happy to see her. She was happy to be home. Now she can rest up, drain, and recover. It's going to take about a month before the tube comes out.

Aguave Back Finished

Pattern: Aguave by Katherine Hunt in Summer 2005 Knitter's

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine, 60% pima cotton, 40% model

Color: River

Needles: Addi Turbo #4

Gauge: 24 stitches/4 inches in SS after washing

The back was finished Sunday. I've been waiting for enough daylight to get a non-flash picture. It's been very dark around here lately.

The front is barely started as I have switched my knitting attentions to the cable swatch for the Follow the Leader Aran Knitalong.

The pins you see are in place to count rows. They're not coming out until the front is knit with the identical row count.

This is a fun pattern to knit and so far I'm pleased with the yarn. Final yarn verdict after I've worn the sweater and it holds or doesn't hold it's shape. As things stand today, I'm thinking of other things I want to knit with Knitpicks Shine.


This isn't a popular pattern. In fact, I haven't see anyone else in blogland knit it. Assuming most of you have no idea what Aguave looks like, I'm re-posting Knitter's picture of the finished garment.

My back looks a little squatty compared to the Knitter's picture. I'm knitting to the after-washed gauge, so I think it's going to be OK.


Quick Update on Glory
Glory had her surgery this morning and it went well. She is spending the night at the vet clinic under sedation and pain meds. We miss her.

We're hoping to pick her up tomorrow, but if Dr. Vet thinks she should stay longer, that's OK. All the people who work there are kind and love animals. We trust them to take good care of her. But, did I mention we miss her?

Dreary Days

I'm trying to remember last time we saw the sun here in SW Michigan. It was before Christmas and surely we're about due for some rays.

It wasn't a white Christmas. In fact, when I took the dogs out for their Christmas morning walk it was raining and we got soaked.

This picture was taken about three this afternoon, just before the thunder started.

By the time we got in the car to take Glory to her vet appointment, it was pouring rain. Before we reached our destination, it was pouring little hail stones. At least they weren't big enough to dent the car, but they did turn everything white. Then the precipitation changed back to rain and the hail all melted.

Glory has an ear hematoma that is hot, swollen, and painful. She doesn't feel well at all. And the poor girl is afraid of thunder, which was loud and plentiful.

The vet appointment was so quick we didn't even have to go into the examining room. One look at her ear and she got scheduled for surgery in the morning.

For those who are concerned: Glory has seen the vet for this hematoma before. She does not have ear mites or an ear infection. She probably broke her ear by banging it on something when shaking her head. There was a good chance it was going to heal with no treatment, so we were watching it. This morning it waved back at us.


How The West Was Spun came up with new type of meme. At least I've never seen one like this before. It's the ABC Along!

Every two weeks in 2006 we are to photograph and post a picture of something starting with the corresponding letter of the alphabet. 26 letters, 52 weeks. Isn't that convenient?

So, sometime before January 14 there will be a post titled A Is For . . ..

I think it sounds like fun. It doesn't take much to excite Michiganders who haven't seen the sun in weeks.

2005 Knitting Awards

New granddaughter Sydney was the number one highlight of the year.

The Sweetest Knitting Memory Award goes to the three pair of Opal Handpainted socks worn by John, Anne, and Sydney Anne the day they left the hospital and went home together for the first time.

I didn't know they were going to do this, and, when I got the picture, I cried. What a perfect way to include a new grandma who had to be 2000 miles away on this momentous occasion.

More details here.

The Most Fun in Knitting Award goes to the Shetland Lace Workshop given by Liz Lovick on the EZasPi Yahoo List.

Most of the workshop happened while I was busy traveling to Idaho and suffering a mother board and harddrive replacement. I still found time to play around swatching the lace patterns, and ended up with a lovely, soft alpaca Shetland lace sampler scarf.

More details here.

The Most Useful Knitted Item Award goes to this ugly but soft and warm alpaca helmet hat I whipped up one day last autumn.

Even on nasty, snowy, cold days I walk the dogs a minimum of three times. This hat goes on first, before my Squall Parka. I pull the helmet chin up over my mouth and snuggle in for a comfortable stroll.

More details here.

Lastly, the Most Disappointing Yarn Award goes to this Lavold Silky Tweed for the reasons listed below the picture.

• I bought the yarn on impulse and paid full price for it. It wasn't cheap.
  
• The basketweave stitch is limp and not well defined at the gauge I used, 22 stitches/4 inchs.
  
• I had to watch my stitches constantly and knit slowly because the threads in the yarn separated as I was knitting. Every time I would knit at my normal speed, I would split stitches.
  
• There was little to none give to the yarn and it hurt my hands and wrists to knit with it.
  
• Now that the sweater is done (I finished it out of pure stubbornness), it is shedding those little pieces of tweed every time I wear it.
  
• Did I mention that this was the most expensive item I knit in 2005?

For more information on this project, go here.

Wishing all my readers a wonderful, fibery, healthy, happy 2006.

How Did That Happen?

Weight problem emergency!

After noticing that my jeans were a bit snug, I got on the scale this morning. That was a serious reality check.

Dieting started immediately afterward.

Note the cute little Tickerfactory ruler and marker over in the sidebar. Wednesday is weigh-in day and my goal is to lose 14 pounds.

My body doesn't like to give up its extra weight, so I'm not going to stress myself out with an end date goal. As long as the trend is down, I'll feel successful. Or at least as successful as someone can feel who let 14 pounds sneak on her body.

I'm very disappointed with myself over not catching the weight gain earlier. How did that happen?

Knitting Log for December 28

What a nice, peaceful, quiet week this has been as I enjoy my Christmas gifts and knit.

Pattern: Basic Sock

Yarn: Opal sock yarn, 75% wool, 25% nylon

Color: Lollipop 1012

Needles: Addi Turbo #1

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

Anne's birthday socks are ready to mail to Idaho, just in time for her January 10 birthday.

Lollipop is one of my favorite Opal collections. This 1012 colorway is designed with Anne's favorite colors.

My next birthday socks will also be Lollipop in shades of blue for Son John's birthday in March.

Pattern: Aguave by Katherine Hunt in Summer 2005 Knitter's

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine, 60% pima cotton, 40% model

Color: River

Needles: Addi Turbo #4

Gauge: 24 stitches/4 inches in SS after washing

This yarn drapes, this stitch pattern drapes, and I finally gave up trying to get an accurate gauge swatch.

I'm knitting a fabric I like, plan to wear it over a turtleneck or tank, and optimistically think it will be just fine.

Realistically, I'm a little concerned.

Pattern: Simple ribbing, 40 stitches around

Yarn: Cascade 220

Color: Royal blue (actual color name unknown)

Needles: Clover bamboo

Gauge: 5 stitches/inch, 8 rows/inch

These are the fifth CIC socks knit for the January sock challenge. One more pair to knit to make my goal of six pair by the end of January.

Merry Christmas

To all my online friends and readers: Wishing you a wonderful holiday, however you celebrate - or don't celebrate.

Tonight, Christmas Eve, we are going to my mother's apartment for a family dinner and gift opening.

Tomorrow, Christmas Day, DH and I are spending home with plenty of good food, our three furry loved ones, and all our new books, yarn, and chocolate. We'll be watching it snow, feeding the birds, napping, and relaxing. I'll be doing a little knitting.

That's just the way I like Christmas to be. The only thing that could make it better would be to have the Idaho family here.

Take care, stay calm, and have fun. It will all be over soon.

New Yarn on the Doorstep

Not one, but two shipments of yarn were on my doorstep when I got home from a yummy lunch out today.

The blue Shine arrived from Knitpicks

As mentioned here, I swatched the blush color Shine and found it to knit up to a perfect DK weight.

Unfortunately, the river blue Shine looks more like sport weight. I'm not sure it's going to work for the pattern I want to knit. Bigger needles isn't an option. I want a snug fabric in this yarn so it won't sag.

One thing is for sure, it didn't do any good to knit that blush swatch because I'm going to have to swatch with the blue as well. It's very different from the blush. Sigh.

There's a lesson here. Maybe if I write it down, I'll remember it for next time.

Different colors of the same yarn may possibly knit up to different gauges. Always swatch in the color I'm going to be knitting.

The two odd skeins in front are Andean Treasure, a sport weight alpaca. I bought them to play with and also so I could see the colors. That dark red (embers) is super gorgeous. They're both so soft and snuggly can hardly keep my hands off them.


In another box was 20 skeins of antique rose Peruvian Highland Wool from Elann.

Note the swatch on top. It was knit from the same color and even the same dyelot as the 20 skeins, and it's right on gauge. I'm ready for the Follow the Leader Aran Knitalong starting January 1.

For those of you wondering why I bought so much wool, I didn't want there to be any doubt about having enough to finish. The left over will make thick and warm CIC socks.

Those Things That Marguerite Makes

At doggy school parties they call these "Those Things That Marguerite Makes". I assume, since they get sought out and eaten, that is a compliment.

Please don't tell them how easy these are to make.

Need a quick, rich sweet bar to round out your holiday cookie plate? Here it is.

Butter Pecan Turtle Cookies

2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter - needs to be soft, at room temperature
1 cup pecan halves

• Mix well.
  
• Pat firmly into an ungreased 13 X 9 pan.
  
• Spread pecan halves evenly on top.

2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

• Heat with constant stirring until boiling.
  
• Boil for 1 minute.
  

  Note: I do the heating and boiling in the microwave.
  1 minute - whip with whisk - 1 minute - whip with whisk.
  You can tell when it starts to boil and thicken.
  Then, give it 45 more seconds, whip with whisk, and it's done.
  In my microwave the total procedure takes 4 minutes.

  
  
• Pour over crust and pecans.
  
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

1 cup milk chocolate chips (not semi-sweet)

• Sprinkle chips over top immediately after removing from oven.
  
• Chips will partially melt, but still look like chips. That bothered me at first, but it's OK.
  
• Cool slightly and cut. They're much easier to cut when they're still a bit warm.
  
• Enjoy.

Knitting Log for December 17

While knitting away on the boring Opal Lollipop socks, I've been day dreaming about 2006 projects, which resulted in some swatching.

This is Knitpicks Shine a 60% pima cotton, 40% modal blend in color Blush.

I bought one skein of it to check out the color and the feel of the yarn.

I was hoping for a pastel pink. The color is bright bubble gum pink. I won't be buying any more of this color unless one of my granddaughters just has to have it.

The yarn was easy to knit on #5 bamboo needles. I made a large swatch to test if Shine would hurt my hands like most cotton yarns do. It didn't.

Knitpicks calls Shine a sport weight yarn, but I think it's a bit heavy for sport weight. On the stockinette swatch, I got perfect gauge for a DK weight yarn, 22 stitches over 4 inches after washing in the washer and dryer.


The stitch pattern on the larger swatch is for the Aguave sweater designed by Katherine Hunt and published in the Summer 2005 Knitter's.

This pattern calls for DK weight cotton yarn, and, once again, the Shine worked almost perfectly to the DK gauge.

In fact, the swatch results were so much to my liking that I just ordered 14 skeins of Shine to knit Aguave in River (dark blue).

This could be the beginning of the end of my Guidelines for Knitting Peace. I need to be very careful or I'm going to have too many projects going at once.

The Follow the Leader Aran Knitalong (FLAK) starts January 1. Keeping up with the group is going to be my number one priority. Unfortunately for my planning, I don't know how fast the pattern is going to unfold. Janet, the designer, is going to be knitting just ahead of the group, and I would imagine she is a fast knitter. On the other hand, she has many simultaneous projects, a newsletter to publish, and two children to slow down the FLAK pattern installments.

There is also an Anniversary Pi Knitalong on the EZasPi Yahoo List starting January 22. My thoughts on joining and what type of Pi shawl to knit are still so muddled, I'm not going to write any more about it now.

Has anyone noticed a lack of pictures of a finished Hanover Jacket? It's been sitting in the back room for more months than I care to admit to, so I'm not going to look up when I finished knitting it. It needs the sleeves set in and the side seams sewn. That's all. It's been screaming at me lately, so I think I'm going to sew it up soon.

Why do I avoid finishing garments once the pieces are knit?

Party Report

Normally doggy school has a strict "no sniff" policy. But party night wasn't a normal night and the dogs seemed to know it. There was plenty of sneaky sniffing going on as we tried to get all the dogs to sit stay for a group photo.

Sunny is not a party dog. She didn't like the noise or the sniffing and she did not want to stay with the group, so trainer Gail sat on the floor with Sunny and held her for the picture.

What Sunny really wanted to do was to sit on my lap and watch. That's how she spent most of the evening, so she had a good time once the picture fracas was over.

See those three fingers in the foreground? That was my futile sit stay hand signal.

At the time this picture was snapped, there were many people yelling "stay". Most of the dogs stayed most of the time, but I don't think anyone got a picture without at least one human included as they put their dog back in position.

Susan, mom to a chow mix named Millicent, told me she had three great pictures of my butt.

Pappy is a party dog. He participated in the sneaky sniffing and would have happily lead a pack of dogs on a romp around the room if I had allowed it.


Several weeks ago the dogs drew names to exchange inexpensive gifts.

Sunny received this dish on a stand from Ramon, a standard poodle.


Pappy got this cute Papillon ornament from Marcy, a bull terrier.

Designer Dog Prepares for Party

Sunny, our mixed breed dog, will no longer stand for being called a mutt. She heard people at doggy school talking about designer dogs, (cockapoos, schnoodles, golden doodles, etc) Since Sunny is a princess and is allowed to make declarations, she has declared herself a third generation designer dog.

We're not sure what breeds have gone into her design.

We adopted Sunny when she was seven weeks old and weighted two pounds. She was living in a pen with her two sisters. One sister looked something like a poodle, the other sister looked something like a Jack Russell terrier. Sunny looked something like a Papillon puppy.

Her foster home called her a Papillon/terrier mix, but they were guessing. She's not delicate like a Papillon, and I suspect she might have some Cavalier King Charles Spaniel mixed in with her design instead of Papillon. But then where did she get her beautiful, tri-color Papillon tail?

Part of the fun of having a mutt designer dog is guessing what breeds are in there. We're going to have a lifetime of fun guessing with Sunny.

Tomorrow evening is the doggy school holiday party. We're having a potluck dinner and teacher Gail is planning doggy fun for us.

Instead of having the party during class time, Gail is having a combined advanced class party on Wednesday when no other classes are scheduled. Since I have a dog in each of the two advanced classes, that means I'll be there with two dogs.

Sunny and Pappy think of doggy school as a night out with Mom and without the other dog, so it could be a bit shocking for them to end up at doggy school together.

The dogs drew names for gifts. Pappy drew Sundance, a very young Australian Shepherd. Sunny drew Downy, a mid-sized designer dog who got her name because she was found lost and starving trying to get warm under the outside dryer vent.

Sundance and Downy are getting identical gift bags containing:

• Bubble Buddy, a scented bubble blowin' dog toy
  
• Three jars of bubble juice scented sizzling bacon, peanut butter, and Bar B Q chicken
  
• Can of Merrick's Venison Holiday Stew, a wonderful tasty dog food containing venison, red jacket potatoes, carrots, zucchini, sugar peas, and apples.

Trainer Gail is getting her Opal Lollipops. The fact that she is the only person outside my immediate family to ever get a pair of hand knit Opal socks from me testifies to my appreciation for the great job she does with the dogs.

I'm taking the camera to the party. With two dogs to keep track of, I may forget to take pictures. But I have good intentions.

Kimmy Gets Her Present

There hasn't been any knitting for the last few days, which makes it rather difficult to write a knitting blog.

Even my most faithful readers don't want to see the new inch or two knit on the Lollipop socks - not that I've knit an inch or two, because I haven't.

Yesterday there was a break in the snowfall so I headed east, picking up Mom in Kalamazoo and driving to Battle Creek for lunch with daughter Heather and granddaughter Kimmy.

I had planned on taking pictures of the four generations of us having lunch, but we were so busy yakking and laughing that I forgot until everyone had their coats on and we were ready to go.

Then I shot this picture of Kimmy with her birthday (10 years old!) present I delivered from John, Anne, and Sydney in Idaho, and my camera batteries went dead.

The gift is a case full of cosmetics and accessories for pretty young ladies. Kimmy loves it, which is good because I sacrificed my favorite nail scissors to fly it to Michigan.

I KNOW you can't take nail scissors on a plane. It was before dawn and I was trying to close my suitcase with Kimmy's gift in it, so I plucked out my cosmetic case complete with nail scissors and crammed it in my carryon bag. Oops.

Early Morning Snowy Dogwalk

This morning I grabbed the camera when I took the dogs out for their first walk about 8 am. All three had a great romp in the six to eight inches of snow we have, and now they're back in bed sleeping off the cold and the exercise.

The snow is gray looking because there is no sunshine. The days are short, so it's barely daylight. The sky is overcast and dark.

Glory, the queen of the house, is almost ten now. Her blackness makes it difficult to get a good picture of her, but she does show up well against the snow.


The little dogs hop through the snow like kangaroos.

Sunny's curly chest is a snow magnet. The snow gets picked up by her hair and immediately turns into solidly affixed iceballs. That's why she willingly wears a coat that covers her chest and her tummy.


Pappy has a thick, warm, straight coat that repels the snow. He will happily plow through snow that's over his head and dive into snowbanks looking for rodents.

Fortunately, we don't have that much snow - yet.

Opal Lollipop 1012 Socks Started

Pattern: Basic Sock

Yarn: Opal sock yarn, 75% wool, 25% nylon

Color: Lollipop 1012

Needles: Addi Turbo #1

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

There is much sock knitting going on in knitting blogland, and I'm no exception. It seems like a good way to finish up the knitting year and is helping me get a start on my gift socks for 2006.

These are daughter-in-law Anne's birthday socks for her early January birthday. The Lollipop 1012 has all the colors she likes - navy blue, black, deep red, dark green. I'm letting the self patterning yarn create the beauty without the help (or interference) of a stitch pattern.

Converting Shoe Size to Sock Length

Looking at a shoe or foot size chart for knitting gift socks can be very confusing, at least to me. If a foot is 9 inches long, how does that translate into length of a sock measured flat?

I have women of all shoe sizes in my family. Here is a sock size chart I keep in my sock notebook based on my experience knitting for them.

The measurement listed and number of rows listed is the length from the gusset pickup row to the beginning of the toe decreases.

The number of rows given is for my sock knitting gauge of 10 rows per inch. If your sock knitting gauge is different and you want to count rows, you will need to recalculate.

Shoe size 6, 6 inches, 60 rows
Shoe size 7, 6.4 inches, 64 rows
Shoe size 8, 6.7 inches, 67 rows
Shoe size 9, 7 inches, 70 rows
Shoe size 10, 7.4 inches, 74 rows
Shoe size 11, 7.7 inches, 77 rows
Shoe size 12, 8 inches, 80 rows

Which Color for the FLAK?

The FLAK (Follow the Leader Aran Knitalong) officially starts January 1 on the Aranknit Yahoo list. Many knitters, including myself, are looking forward to getting started.

Janet Szabo is designing a top down Aran just for us. Our first assignment is to buy yarn and get gauge in whatever filler stitch we're going to use.

Since Janet is using Elann's Peruvian Collection Highland Wool, I hopped over to Elann to check it out. And what did I see? Colors, oh so many beautiful colors that it took me two days to select seven colors to see in person.

I ordered two skeins of each color and plan on knitting CIC socks with this yarn. But first, I'm going to knit a few swatches, get gauge for the Aran, select my favorite color of the seven, and order 1900 yards of it for my FLAK.

The swatch in the picture and the partially used skein above the swatch are Antique Rose. Today it's the leading contender for my FLAK, but not by much. And I reserve the right to have a different favorite tomorrow.

I would love a sweater in each of these seven colors. Darn. I was hoping a few of them would be disappointing to make the color decision easier.

Above the partial Antique Rose skein is Orange Brandy. To the left of the swatch is Dusty Rose. In the upper right hand corner is Autumn Peach and Candy Cane Red. To the right of the swatch is Dusty Teal and Celadon.

Which is your favorite?

Saturday Fun for December 3

Quiz Time for Princesses
After spotting this quiz on Birdsong's Blog, I couldn't resist giving it a try.

The questions brought a smile to my face. Haul out your imagination and have fun with it.

Sorry guys. Unless you want to be a princess, the quiz won't work for you - but scroll down a bit because everyone can have fun with the Chocolate Math.


The Traditional Princess

You are generous, graceful, and practical with both
feet planted firmly on the ground. You tend to
be a little on the old-fashioned side. You
value home, hearth, and family life and love to
be of service to others.

Role Models: Snow White, Maid Marian

You are most likely to: Discover a hidden talent
for spinning straw into gold.


What Kind of Princess are You? - Beautiful Artwork (Original Music is BACK!!!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Chocolate Math
Elaine shared this with the EZasPi Yahoo List and told us to spread it around.

I love figuring out why these things work. You only have to figure out why it works if that's part of the fun for you.

YOUR AGE BY CHOCOLATE MATH---DON'T CHEAT

Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-
but the Hershey Man will know!

YOUR AGE BY CHOCOLATE MATH
This is pretty neat.
DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!
It takes less than a minute
Work this out as you read ...
Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!
This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you
   would like to have chocolate(more than once but less than 10)
   
   
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)
   
   
3. Add 5
   
   
4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the calculator
   
   
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1755 ..
   If you haven't, add 1754.
   
   
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.
   You should have a three digit number
   
   • The first digit of this was your original number
     (i.e., how many times you want to have chocolate each week).
     
   • The next two numbers are YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2005) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND
WHILE IT LASTS.

Thanks Elaine! Now I know how old I am. How did that happen?

Knit Unto Others - Four

Knit Unto Others, a short, two week Thanksgiving knitalong where we knit to warm those in need of warmth.

My Knit Unto Others goal is four pair of children's socks for CIC.

Here's the last pair. They were finished on Monday, two days before the knitalong deadline of November 30.

Yarn: Cascade 220, 100% wool

Color: Royal blue

Needles: Clover bamboo premium circular knitting needles, #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 7.5 rows/inch

Pattern: Basketweave Ribbing

(multiple of 8 stitches)

Round 1: k3,p,k3,p
Round 2: k3,p5
Round 3: k3,p,k3,p
Round 4: k3,p5
Round 5: k3,p,k3,p
Round 6: k3,p5
Round 7: k3,p,k3,p
Round 8: p4,k3,p
Round 9: k3,p,k3,p
Round 10: p4,k3,p
Round 11: k3,p,k3,p
Round 12: p4,k3,p