Knitting In Public

We had a small knitting ’emergency.’

Remember these two little guys that went home together?

Well, boys will be boys and puppies will be puppies. The end result was this:

Ooops.

So I was asked if I could rescue this, since it is Sam’s favorite blanket. At the very least, could I keep it from unraveling more than it already has?

Yesterday, I spent my afternoon assessing the damage, determining what the pattern was, and how far down the damage went. I carefully unpicked the edge (wouldn’t you know it would be the cast on edge that was damaged), and determined the best approach. I unraveled back to the lowest point of damage. This resulted in 3 separate strands of yarn of varying lengths. There was definitely a measure of yarn that was entirely missing.

I admit I should have washed the unraveled strands so that they would knit up better, but I didn’t really think about it as I was knitting. I was rather entranced with how to put it back together, and how noticeable it might be.

This is the result:

What do you think?

The pattern ended with 10 rows of garter stitch. The blanket is worn enough and washed enough that the knitting is very even, and the garter stitch “bumps” aren’t really bumps but just horizontal lines. So far, I’ve been unable to make the garter bumps lie flat, there are thicker parts where the ends are for each of the 3 sections of yarn, and it’s a little uneven because I didn’t wash and relax the yarn pieces before re-knitting. But I think I got 8 or 9 rows of garter stitch out of it, and the width of the ends only differ by about 1/4 inch.

There were several snags in the body of the blanket. I smoothed those places out as well, so those areas look ’just like new.’ 

Overall, a pretty good surgery. I think the patient will survive with just a few scars.

What do you do the day after Christmas? Go shopping for a wedding dress!

Doesn’t she look irritated thrilled to be in such a girly dress?

It’s amazing how much variety there is in wedding dresses - what is essentially a white gown. Lots of lace, beads, all kinds of options. Many styles, lengths. Most of you know that Molly is not a “girly-girl” - the kind to want a ‘princess’ gown. The rest of us (Fran, Jenny, Anne, Tonya and I) tried to encourage her to find a dress that worked for her. There was one dress that seemed to be one she might want. Of course, it is a discontinued style and they would only hold the dress until the end of the day. We went home and Molly spent the afternoon looking at different bridal places online - to find that nothing similar was available anywhere that she looked. So we called the store to hold it overnight, and we picked it up yesterday, so the wedding dress is purchased! It makes the wedding seem so much closer. Still much to do, but it’s nice to have this on the “done” list.

(No, this is *not* the dress she chose — I can’t ruin the surprise!)

Yes - after the hustle and bustle of airport runs, house cleaning (thanks, Molly!), carpet cleaning, cookie baking, etc. - we had a wonderful Christmas with family in attendance. Next year big changes are in store as we will have to share Molly with her new in-laws.

Jenny brought two sets of fun cardboard “glasses” reminiscent of the 3-D glasses of the 50’s and 60’s, but when you looked through them at the mini lights on the Christmas tree, this is what you saw:

Santa’s face in the lights! (The other one made sort of stars of the lights - the photo I have is not as clearly cool as this.)

We spent Christmas Day hanging out with Anne & Carl, and Fran, Dale & Jerry came over for a visit as well. We’ll go to see Eleanor this weekend.

My Hanami didn’t get done. :(  I’ll continue to plug away on it, and then hopefully the Secret of Chrysopolis stole - but I have several new KAL’s that start in January. I may end up on the sidelines on those. I have some FO’s to show from quite awhile ago, but haven’t taken any photos yet. I’ll be heading off to scrap with the gang in two weeks - very excited to do that. I’ll have to take my FO photos by then! There’s also another thing to occupy my time: wedding planning. I’ll be helping Molly as much as she needs or wants. Molly would like to make her own wedding invitations, so we may spend our scrap weekend doing those instead.

I just thought I’d make a quick post so everyone would know I’m still alive and kickin’ (although a nasty cold has taken up residence). Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas!

Guess what?!

There are jingle wedding bells in my future!

Remember this very intelligent, good-looking guy?

An engagement was announced on November 17th. They are planning for a summer ‘08 wedding! A jam-packed summer for my kiddo - graduation on June 6th, being part of the wedding party for her roommate on July 5, her own wedding sometime late July or early August (still working on the venue), and starting law school towards the end of August. If anyone can do it, she can!

So, do ya wanna see a better photo of that bling? (yeah, I thought so!)

It is oh. so. pretty! (Good choice, Chris!)

We’re thrilled, of course!

So - as for knitting. Hmm. Taking a back seat to finding a venue and getting a date. Many summer dates are already full. Once the date is set, most of my work is done - but trying to find a venue long-distance doesn’t work, so I’ve been her eyes and ears for the search.

I’m still trying to make some progress on Christmas knitting, but I really could use another two or three weeks’ time - anyone know how to work that sticky time/space continuum?

I have joined so many lace KAL’s (see sidebar - I finally learned how to add buttons to my blog!), I must be nuts. On top of the incredible work schedule I have lately (keeping me from doing much knitting), lace is something that is not very portable, nor is it group-friendly.  These patterns have really been giving me a hard time. I haven’t frogged this much for as long as I can remember.  I do have some progress to show, even though I am far behind in the KAL’s:

Mystic Waters KAL. This is a triangle shaped shawl. The group is currently on clue 3, this is slightly more than half of clue 1. I’m using KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Tidepool Heather, with size 2 (3.0 mm) KnitPicks fixed circular needles.

Here’s a close up of the yarn - it seems kind of greenish when you look at it in the skein and wound into a cake, but when you look at the actual stitches, it is really several different colors blotched together. This seems such an appropriate color for a shawl named “Mystic Waters” and I’m loving it! The pattern is very pretty (I get to see the finished clues of others who are current in the KAL). Seeing the clues inspires me to work on it, but this will end up being for me so I’m afraid it’s going to go to the back burner for now.

This is the Secret of Chrysopolis:

I’m using KnitPicks Shadow in Vineyard color (deep purple), with size 2 (2.75 mm) KnitPicks fixed circular needles. This pattern was going so slowly. I have ripped more rows than I have knit. Finally, I have finished clue 1! (The KAL is officially over, clue 8 was posted last Friday.) The edging was the worst for frogging, but I also ended up changing the needle size as this was so big. I intend to give it to Jenny for Christmas, but it seems pretty likely it would be Christmas ‘08. (We only have 36 knitting days left for this year.)

I also decided to add beads to this pattern (although the designer did not include any):

The beads are darker, but they are not as obvious as they are in this photo. I also ended up changing from a round, ‘grape’ colored bead to these which are hex beads and are longer than the size 8 rounds. I changed because I lost the tube of grape beads! I had put in the first row of beads so I had to frog back and insert these other beads in order to keep going.

Last, but not least, is the Hanami stole for Anne. I decided to use the size 3 (3.25 mm) Addi Lace turbos, as it will result in a stole closer to the size of the original design which I think will be a better size for her. I’m adding more beads than called for in the original pattern, adding one to the center of each of the solid diamond shapes. In addition, I’ll add some random beads in the blossom section as well, following Angela’s bead placement.

This is about 1.5 repeats of the basketweave section, which calls for a total of 7 repeats. This will be the last I’ll show of this project until after Christmas….I don’t want to ruin the “surprise” of the gift!

Despite not having a lot of time to knit, I have actually managed to finish a few (non-lace) objects, but I’ll save them for another post. I’ll leave you with this teaser though, and see how many of you will know what it is! (Mary, Sue & Jean, this should be a no-brainer for you!)

Last weekend I managed to escape daily life and head off to a ‘quilting’ retreat. No, I don’t really quilt (although I have some material that is headed in that direction, one day). The retreat center is set up for quilting: lots of lights, tables to set up your sewing machine, irons & ironing boards, etc. But that doesn’t mean you have to quilt:

This is Shelley & Jody (oops - hope her name isn’t spelled Jodi….) I have been on this kind of retreat with Shelley before, but this time I had a chance to meet her daughter.

Jody was painting Christmas figurines. Shelley did some quilting (the only one who did!) but also did some knitting.

Diane & Courtney did some scrapbooking. Diane was putting photos in albums, and we convinced her she should consider getting into scrapbooking! Courtney shared her supplies and gave Diane some quick pointers. I’ve been on these retreats with both Courtney and Diane as well (Diane was the one who invited me). We have a lot of fun, chat, and snack half the night.

Courtney has a new reason to scrapbook:

Her new baby, Addison. What a cutie! Addison was able to visit us for a few hours. Such a happy baby!

This retreat center was a new place for us. We all decided this was much nicer than the place we’ve been to before - better beds, quieter, cleaner, nicer setup. It is a bit more expensive, but was worth it. We had the place to ourselves, but we’re not sure if it would be as nice if we had to share with another group.

Diane and I were up until 2:30 a.m. Reminds me of the ‘old days’ - except that I can’t recover from those late nights as easily as I used to! Despite that, I didn’t get as much knitting done as I’d like. Perhaps I’m just a slooow knitter. 

I’ll post progress photos tomorrow, but here’s a teaser: the swatches I made for the Hanami stole that will (hopefully) be a Christmas gift for my sister.

Jaggerspun Zephyr wool-silk, Curry color. Top swatch is size 3 needles, bottom is size 4. The bottom swatch I used the beaded cast on and did most of the ruffle edging called for on the other end of the stole. Totally unimpressed. I think I’m going to use some kind of beaded cast off instead.

Beaded edge close-up. Still not entirely convinced I like these beads with this yarn. I go back and forth on it. They match up pretty well, depending on the angle at which you view them. I know I’m a matchy-matchy kind of person - either it should be the same color, or it should be wildly different. This was the best match for the yarn, though. Perhaps I will like it better in the completed stole.

We’ve said “good-bye” to the boys, but I haven’t updated any photos of the girls.

Google.  (I know it’s hard to tell all the black & white ones apart, especially just from a face shot.) She’s going to look just like her mom, Lucy.

The puppies are growing, and are ‘catching on’ to housebreaking. They play with each other every chance they get, sometimes fairly aggressively. They are chewing everything teething, and we’re trying to deal with that. They get excited and anticipate dinner and water, so they end up making you spill because they jump all over you as you try to put it on the floor!

Emma (formerly Clover). She has become Chris’s dog. They have bonded and she responds more readily to him. She is showing signs of being a fantastic hunter. She was always bigger than the other puppies, and she has continued that trend - she is quite the bruiser. She is currently 15 pounds (to Google’s 12). Both puppies are incredibly fast! They can already keep up with Lucy (who I have thought is one of the fastest dogs I’ve ever seen), and their legs are so much shorter! I’m betting they will be faster than mom in no time.

In two weeks, they leave us for “imprinting.” They will be exposed to the scents that they will be hunting in later life. They will also meet up with at least 3 of their siblings, and possibly the entire litter will be sent for imprinting and will be reunited. I’m so curious to find out if they ‘recognize’ each other, and the trainer said it would be interesting to see the different characteristics of the puppies. I hope to be able to give you an update on that as well!

Off to do some work, and hopefully some knitting. Not a lot of that going on around here right now!

Last weekend we went to see M for her school’s family weekend:

We met with some friends:

We attended some tours and classes, and had lunch at the Student Center:

M & I went on the “ducks” for a tour of Beantown. It was raining, but we sat in the back so we could take photos without obstruction. We were pleased and surprised to discover they provided us with rain ponchos!

We went on the Charles and saw this cool bridge:

I was intrigued by the ’ship front’ on the structure. The guide said locals call this the “salt and pepper” bridge, because there are two of these sections with the ‘tower’ that from a distance looks like salt and pepper shakers!

We also went by Beacon Hill. I was rather surprised to discover it’s actually a hill! (Maybe that’s a ‘duh’ moment for everyone else, but it never occured to me… there are plenty of places mis-named in that way.) Sorry for the fuzzy photo, but it’s all I could get while moving along on the Charles!

We left the Charles and went on a land tour. We caught a glimpse of the U.S.S. Constitution.

The line was short since it is off-season and was a rainy, icky day. Our guide said you get a longer, better tour if you can go on such a day. I had always thought the U.S.S. Constitution was a battleship! I was quite surprised to see it is really a ‘tall ship’. I also did not know this was the ship they call “Old Ironsides.” Here’s a better picture.

I love the buildings and architecture there - reminding me of our country’s beginnings. The city is so beautiful, so colonial!

Trinity Church:

We returned just in time to make it to the Glass Lab for our tour. Unfortunately, the tour was not as wonderful as expected, and we didn’t get to see anyone blowing glass.

I managed to get some Harlot-esque sock photos with some incredibly smart people:

as well as a “proof of life” photo:

As we were sitting on a bench in the Infinite, M caught sight of “that Chris kid’s” parents. We had plans to meet them the following day for lunch, but had an impromptu meeting in the hallway. We chatted for quite a while, then decided to move over to the Student Center and get some dinner. A nice evening “meeting the parents.” (Sorry, no photos! What was I thinking?!)

The following day was sunny and cool. We had breakfast on campus, and I managed a sock shot with another incredibly smart person:

(Isn’t it nice how they humor me?)

We had our photo taken with Tim, their mascot:

We went back to the dorm to see M’s room, then met with Chris and his folks for our scheduled lunch. We took the bus to Harvard Square and had lunch at a mexican restaurant. We returned to campus and took some photos in front of the famous buildings. That evening, after dinner, we attended the A Capella concert. Outstanding music! Of course, I purchased some of the cd’s available after the concert.

We returned to our hotel, and I flew home the next morning. M was a wonderful host. We look forward to another adventure in June!

At our Monday knitting group on October 8, we had a surprise baby shower for Aimee and her soon-to-be-born daughter. (Mega ultrasounds have confirmed it’s a girl.)

I’m a terrible photo-historian. I got so excited to see what everyone gave her/them, I forgot to take photos!

Valerie made these wonderful mohair booties…

We had lots of fun and laughter. It was hard to take photos since the Caribou is so full of windows!

We even hijacked these two ladies:

Heidi and Jill (or Jill and Heidi?) - wonderful women who unwittingly chose “our” Caribou to sit and knit on Monday at 1:00…. Lynn invited herself to join them and explained they were being absorbed into our group and our baby shower by virtue of being knitters in the wrong right place at the wrong right time.

Since Aimee’s been on bed rest, she’s been getting some serious knitting done. (I’m not sure how she is able to knit laying down - I sure have trouble with that!) She decided to try Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jacket:

Can you believe it’s her first BSJ? Isn’t it beautiful?! What a lucky baby to wear this gorgeous sweater.

Aimee also received gifts from Lynn (lots of gifts from Lynn!) and Angel, and there were several “big sister” gifts for Shelby when she arrived with Dad. (Again, apologies for lack of photos!)

On Sunday, October 14, 2007 our last two boys left us to go to their new home.*

Sketch, and

Yogi.

No, this is not two photos of the same dog. Look closely. It sure is tough with 4 black-and-white dogs to tell the difference, especially with only a face shot! Sketch has more white on his face, and a “full” nose of white - Yogi is more like half a nose.

Both puppies went to the same place. It’s beautiful and they have lots of room to run. *The puppies will be evaluated and then one will go into a hunting/guide operation (where his life will be filled with hunting as he was bred to do, and in the off season he will have a home life with a family too) and the other will go into law enforcement as a drug/ammunition dog (he will also have a home life, and ultimately “hunt” - just for something other than birds).

Doesn’t Sketch look great? (That’s Yogi’s leg at the edge.)

It feels good to know that all the puppies have good homes.