The Fairy GodKnitter

Gray Friday

We had heavy rain overnight and my mother swears she saw snow at 2AM. 

I was up at 3AM and did not see snow.  But I did see that the peoples who have been slooowly moving into the house that used to belong to the asshat, have been either staying up all night or leaving every single light on into the wee hours.  We wonder if they are vampires, not that we'd mind, vampires are better neighbors than asshats.

Today was all about cleaning and organizing.  Both boys tackled their rooms which needed a little tidying and a lot of clothes shifting.  #1 Son was able to hand down over a dozen dress shirts, #2 Son will need them in the Fall.  I just had to hold the garbage bag and bark orders voice my encouragement.

We kept The Mr. busy with folding laundry, since he's more apt to play than to clean anything. 

I still need to sort out an appalling pile of patterns and books that have wandered off the shelves.

When I could today, I worked on the vest:

 
I decided that while I love the mini argyle pattern, I'd like to break things up a little.  Now I plan to work a larger motif across the chest.  Here's my chart:

What do you think?  It will knit up to be 10 repeats around and about 3 1/2 inches deep.  I'll knit it just before the armholes and V neck shaping begins.

Should I work a little border pattern to seperate things? 

Let me know, if the boys hide from me stay in the basement all evening, I might be able to switch patterns tomorrow.

Giving Thanks

In the past few weeks, I've talked a little about the many things that I am thankful for. 

Beyond my wonderful and lively family, my terrific friends and the fact that my asshat neighbor finally moved, I'm most thankful for time. 

I know that we are not guarantied anything, especially a long pain free life, and that nearly everything that happens to us is random rather than pre scripted.  The whole concept of fair and unfair does not sit well with me, things just are. 

But it has taken me a long time to get to this point and to make peace with regret and nostalgia.  I'm not exactly serene, I'm just not as bitter as I was and I'm more focused on the path ahead. 

I'm thankful that I've had the time to get here.

Our holiday has been very low key.  I may be brewing a bit of a cold, so I slept in.  The Mr. took the dogs for an early run by the river.  Mom busied herself with making lasagna since we had our turkey on Sunday.  We also roasted Tofurky for #2 Son.  It was all very good with plenty of leftovers for the days to come.

The boys have been either upstairs or in the basement so I've been able to work on the vest for #1 Son:

So far, he has not caught on that my Red Scarf is barely growing and there is a little flurry of yarn tossing every time he comes in the room.

I am truly, madly, deeply in love with this project.  I'm thankful for Fair Isle too.

The Stealth Report

I've figured out how to knit #1 Son's vest while he is home (he'll actually be home for most of the next four days) and without him noticing.

I'm keeping all the yarn in my knitting bag, which is tucked between my chair and the wall, and I'm keeping my partially finished Red Scarves at the ready. 

When I hear his approach on either stairway, I just drop the vest and pick up a scarf.  This way, I'll make progress on the vest and finish up at least three scarves before the mid December deadline. 

The vest looked like this a few hours ago:

And above it is the easy peasy chart for the stranded patterning.  It's ten rows by twelve stitches, repeated twenty times around.  I will either memorize it, or be totally bored with it by next week. 

And speaking of next week, does anyone know what day it is?  It's feeling like a Friday around here.  That means Saturday will feel like Monday and I'll wonder why I'm still listening for those footsteps.

30 days

I try to avoid Christmas knitting around here. 

First of all, my knitting is fairly visible, it spills out from the bag, basket, tables and foot stool by my knitting chair.  It rests on the dining room table if it is lace that can't be shoved in a bag when it falls out of favor.  There is frequently something blocking on the bed or soaking in a sink.  So trying to knit something without the family noticing is hit or miss.

Second of all, my knitting deadlines are fairly fluid and my attentions are fairly fickle.  I think I may have gotten a little better at finishing things, but this may be my denial about the unfinished projects talking.

Third, when the urge to spin takes over, that is that, I'd rather spin than knit, the magic and wonder of making yarn has not faded a bit.

But, with Christmas looming just 30 days from now and our lists for the boys lacking magic and pizazz, I decided to start a thing or two that I think I can finish in time. 

So I went into the stash and pulled out the yarn that I had purchased to make #1 Son's third vest.  It's an assortment of blues:

 
I started the ribbing and stopped in at my LYS with it.  Sitting in a shop full of yarn had me rethinking my colors, and I switched out the grayish one for a tannish one and added a cream:

 
I think that it will be easier to work the fair isle pattern I have in mind with four background colors and so far, the ribbing looks good.

The color combination and planned patterning (a small argyle) were given the stamp of approval by this young guy who was wandering around the shop while his wife was selecting yarn.  He told me that:

1) Vests are big.

2) Vests shouldn't be big, they should be fitted.

3) Argyles are "new again".

4) Knitting looks hard.

5) His wife may be in over her head.

6) New York City yarn shops are small and expensive, Buffalo, New York shops have free parking.

7) He understands now why stockinette stitch curls after I compared it to an un-hemmed t-shirt.

8) I must be a good mother.

Please note that I knew all of this before they walked in the shop.

I love this time of year when the foreigners invade.  His wife dropped $300 on cashmere and she's only been knitting for two days.

As far as a stealth project for #2 Son, I'm still trying to make up my mind.  He would probably outgrow a vest in less time than it will take to knit one, so I'm thinking about a scarf.  I have no clear plan yet, but it will come to me.

As promised:

The sweater is a little wonky in this picture, but it had not yet been blocked. 

Although the sweater is still wet, the hem is no longer rolling and the whole thing has softened nicely.

I had to wait until after my sister packed up and left this afternoon, to give it a bath.  It's now drying on my blocking tiles on top of her bed. 

But I couldn't wait to show it to you.  I think it will be my favorite (yet) sweater and that I will wear it a lot once our weather stops acting like September.  That should only be a day or two away.

Pattern: Tea Leaves Cardigan

Yarn: my own handspun from Crown Mountain Farms Corriedale Pencil Roving in the color way Stonehenge.  I used about 1360 yards of the 1800 yards I spun.

Needles: #4 & #5 gave me a stitch gauge of 4.5 sts  per inch.

Mods: more than one, I've listed them here.

In other spinning/knitting news, I have started a project with last week's handspun:

Since I have 500ish yards, I thought about knitting the Infinity Scarfthing, but when I swatched the stitch pattern, I was not enthused.  So I looked at a lot of cowl patterns and decided to knit the Clemence Cowl with enough pattern repeats to make a 60" or so looped scarf. 

I think it works with this yarn.  I plan to knit it as my new take along project since the pattern is easy to memorize.  I also need to get a Red Scarf or two together and maybe spin some more yarn.

In family news, this week will be another busy one.  Tomorrow should be my only quiet/home alone day since the boys are off on Wednesday and then it's the long weekend.  #1 Son has had band rehearsals shuffled around and he will be attending the funeral of his friend's father.  #2 Son is trying to conjure snow out of warm sunny skies so that he and The Mr. can plan some skiing.  My sister will be back in a month and my FIL has agreed to our spending Thursday with him.  Mom is tired and looking forward to a nice easy couple of days at the office.

Put On Your Sunday Clothes

We thoroughly enjoyed #1 Son's performance in Hello Dolly.  And (I've learned to keep notes for his inevitable questions) Put On Your Sunday Clothes is my favorite song.  And our boy was adorable- singing, dancing, smiling, lifting up girls and tossing them across the stage. 

It was a nice midday activity, sandwiched between working Mass at school and our big early Thanksgiving dinner.  I'm exhausted, we were short handed at setting up and running the reception after Mass and because it was for the Senior class, it was crowded.  But I decided that I need to protect my ankle better in public, so I wore the brace.  Thank goodness it coordinated with my dress.

#1 Son and my sister are now downtown watching Fiddler on the Roof and I'm glad to be out of my Sunday clothes, with my foot elevated and the dogs snoring around me.

Tomorrow, I'll show you my finished sweater and the start of my handspun cowl/scarf thingy.

Sienna on Saturday

 
We loves her, loves my sister and will love the big feast she is currently cooking (eggplant parm, grilled veggies and chicken). 

#1 Son enjoyed his musical theater stage debut but was sadden by news of the death of a good friend and castmate's father after the show.  Tonight will be emotional for the group.

#2 Son took his high school entrance exam.  His group was proctored by our favorite German teacher, Herr S.  #2 came home and told me, "Herr S. says Hi and tell your lovely mother that the socks are 'wundervoll.'"

We're waiting, somewhat patiently

My sister called an hour ago - from the library 5 minutes from her home and 5 hours from mine.  She takes not being a morning person to a whole other level.

But the house is spiffy, the dogs are so darn cute I can barely stand it:

For the two of them, this much closeness is cuddling.

I am knitting the last few inches of my sleeve and will probably steam the sweater tomorrow so I can wear it on Sunday.

Most of my projects are tucked away until after my sister leaves on Monday, but my new yarn is right here:

10 ounces/500 yards of 2 ply BFL handspun.  The roving is Miss Babs in Rose Garden.

It is the nicest yarn I've spun to date, proof that practice makes better and this craft is always a learning experience. 

I would like to make a scarf or large cowl out of it and did do a little swatching that wasn't quite right.  Ideas, anyone?

Thankful

I am thankful that I don't have to make my living as a hand model, and that I finally have knit the sleeve I envisioned:

I'm thankful that this is not a race because the second sleeve is only halfway done.

I'm thankful that my sister will be here this weekend.  She hasn't been home since May, although I saw her briefly in June and again in October.  Nothing beats having her here for a few days.

I'm thankful that #1 Son's musical is this weekend.  He's been pushing himself to keep up with this and his school work.  His report card this week was lovely, but he could use more sleep and I could use more time with him around.

I'm thankful that #2 Son will be taking his high school entrance exam on Saturday.  While he has done well at the middle school, I think that he deserves the extra reward of an acceptance letter.

I'm thankful that I worked my way through a mountain of paperwork this morning,  I have reconfigured everyone's benefits, forwarded a bunch of medical stuff, paid off the boy's class ring, mailed away for over $100 in rebates.  It will pile up again, but my in basket is empty right now.

I'm thankful for my mother.  Although I frequently wonder how I could be related to her, I admire her dedication to her current work in foster care, her fearless ability to drive off into all kinds of weather and her patience when it comes to shopping for our household.  And nothing beats having someone drop everything and whip up a batch of brownies at a mere suggestion.

I'm thankful that The Mr. is also fearless.  He works in the inner city, has little help with his class, tutors afterschool and still he thinks that my day is tough.  He may be the king of snappy patter, but he's also the one who can get people out the door in time and he would walk through fire for us.

And lastly, I'm thankful that my new yarn is nearly dry:

"How's the sleeve?"

I just asked #2 Son about his math homework. 

He replied:

"How's the sleeve?"

Well, I'm afraid that the sleeve and the math homework are not yet finished.  And the math homework has a better chance of being completed this evening than the sleeve does.

My day kind of skittered away from me.  I recall looking out the window while I poured the coffee and seeing this beautiful sky:

And then before I knew it, people were walking in the door from school/work. 

But, I do have proof of a little productivity:

 
My sister will be here sometime Friday afternoon and I doubt that I will be able to spin at all before she leaves on Monday morning, so the urge to ply up my singles must have hijacked my day.

Anyways, the ankle is betterish, I have a strange assortment of bruises from yesterday's fall and I'm also at a loss to explain the huge pile of unfolded laundry on the guest room bed.  Plus I worry that I'll forget to retrieve #1 Son from rehearsal later, so someone please nudge me if I seem distracted.

I was right about this anyway: