Thanksgiving

My Chloe is still doing fabulously. She milks her 3-legged status for all it's worth, and is greatly spoiled and adored by all. It's been over 3 months since amputation. and about 6 since cancer diagnosis. It's bonus time, and I try hard to remember to appreciate every bit of it.

In other news, knitting!

Baby sweater for our friends James and Adria's forthcoming baby. I think it's hilariously like a little old man sweater. I even used the fake woven leather buttons.

I have my standard 6 billion other projects going, too. This year the Pacific Fabrics KAL is using Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick, so I'm currently in the throes of both a brioche hat and the petticoat socks (Ravelry links), as well as some secret holiday knitting projects.

Also in the ongoing project kingdom, I'm working on the quilting on a queen size quilt I'm making for my mother. I'm so close to done, but I'm having trouble getting done. But it sure is pretty.

Patience

Gardening

I spend an awful lot of time outside looking at my little garden and cheering on the plants. Despite a spell of good weather a week ago, it took longer than I expected for the peas, spinach, and lettuce to sprout. But lo, a pea shoot:

The plants from Sky Nursery are generally doing pretty well. I'm a little concerned by the yellowing of the Chinese Cabbage (background), but the broccoli (foreground) looks good.


There's still no signs of potato sprouts. I think I may have planted them too soon, or too deep, or too something. We've had a good bit of rain, and it's supposed to warm up this weekend. If they don't start sprouting, I'll do a little excavation to see if they rotted.

Excercise

I've started another long-term project...again. I've once again embarked on the couch potato to 5K plan. I tried it last year, then I tried jogging again last fall, in a less structured way. Starting didn't hurt nearly so much this time around. Either I have a tiny bit of lingering fitness from the last bout of running, or I've finally learned to jog slow enough to not kill myself.

Finished things

My friend Kristin is having a baby girl, which gave me an excuse to do some really girly knitting and sewing. I made a sweater

and a matching outfit.

And a quilt covered in ribbons.


Unfinished things
Remember how I said I was going to finish all those unfinished sweaters this year? I worked very diligently on Trent's fisherman sweater for awhile, almost finishing one sleeve. Then he tried it on, and the sleeve is too big. Not too long - too big around. So I'm going to have to rip the whole thing out and reknit it, starting with fewer stitches (I have a plan for that) and decreasing more rapidly. I could cry. Consequently, I've been knitting other things. Hopefully I'll make it back to the unfinished sweaters at some point.

Ketchup

Look, I finished a knitting project!



These are Scrunchie Handwarmers from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders, out of Jojoland Melody Superwash in the color "Magic Moment." (Do you have that song stuck in your head now? You're welcome.) They were the January project for the Pacific Fabrics and Crafts Knit Along.

Here's what else has been going on. Trent and I have decided to create a raised bed for vegetables in our courtyard, so we've started excavating, and I've spent inordinate amounts of time reading seed catalogs. Unfortunately, right after we started clearing for it, Trent got the Shitty Virus (our name - some sort of respiratory crud that lingers like the shameful memory of that time at the junior high dance when you made an ass out of yourself asking the cute popular guy/girl to dance with you). He was dog sick for a week and a half, then I got it, then I got a sinus infection. I think the grand total of time we spent moaning and groaning was over 3 weeks. It sucked. So, that was pretty much January.

Meanwhile, I've been sewing an outfit for a fashion sewing competition. If any of y'all are going to be at Sew Expo the last weekend of February, please try to make it to the fashion show on Saturday at 12:30 (the Bernina and the Sewing Workshop "Runway to Everyday" challenge). I'll be the one with the really uncomfortable smile and the stylin' chocolate brown jacket. So, my outfit for the competition is about done, but my sewing room looks like it exploded and then was ravaged by wolves.

Oh snowy night...

We are not amused.

We are disgruntled, bitter, and disapproving. This wasn't in the contract when I moved to Seattle.

(There are some folks who migrated here who sometimes say things like "gosh, I miss having 4 seasons. I like winter." I am not one of those people. The normal temperature range of about 45 - 70 is just fine with me.)

Meanwhile, I've diligently continued work on one of the UFO sweaters. I've picked up for the first arm. The pattern is symmetrical both horizontally and vertically (what's the exact word for that?), so the pattern on the sleeve matches up with the pattern on the yoke. Spiffy, eh?

I'm sure the knitting gods are going to strike me down any second, though, because I've decided I know better than Meg Swansen. Her pattern has you do double decreases on the top of the sleeve. I'm doing mine on the underarm seam so they'll be inconspicuous instead of a design feature. There's a good chance that once I've painstakingly knit 20" or so of sleeve, I'll figure out why she put the decreases where she did.

New Year on the farm

I spent New Year's Eve dogsitting for our friends Lauren and Garth on Bainbridge. I took Stella with me since she's stayed there before. It's kind of fun to have 3 black and white spotty dogs. Note that the pictures are deceptive - they were rarely all this still.

Staying on the wee farm is lovely. This morning I trooped out to the chicken coop and collected two eggs. Then I ate them.


While I do have all those sweaters to finish, it was a tad impractical to tote a mostly-done sweater that requires thought for the next step. So I started a new project, the elegantly names "Scarf with edging 21 and insertion 25 from The Knitted Lace Pattern Book, Thompson Bros, Killmarnock, Scotland, 1850" in Victorian Lace Today. I'm using Malabrigo sock yarn in color they call eggplant. Starting a complicated lace thing while trying to sooth dogs made hysterical by fireworks may not have been the best idea I've ever had, but I persevered and have finished the first repeat of the border.


This morning's big adventure (other than the chicken coop expedition) has been trying to get a fire going. I was a Campfire girl. In theory I know how to start a damn fire in a fireplace. But it's not going well. I'm on my second round of "oh the kindling is burning merrily", but it looks like the logs have once again failed to really get going. Sigh.

The deep snow, the long silence

First, let me just get it out of the way. The snow sucked. I hated it. I was ready for it to melt within 24 hours of when it started falling. Living on a hill in north Seattle meant that we got more snow than many parts of the city and it has melted more slowly. I hate my hiking boots, which is fine since I don't think they'll ever dry out again.

Whew, now that I have that off my chest...

Life has been full of fun bloggable activity that I just haven't blogged. I'll try to do better.

For today, however, I wanted to bravely state a goal for the upcoming year. I've been observing folks like Jessica, who are planning to knit a sweater a month in 2009, in much the same way a field researcher would cautiously observe rabid squirrels. Then Erika posted about her Stash-down goal for 2009, Total Stash Turnover (tm). This also seems excessively ambitious to me, but it's at least tempting in an "out with the old" kind of a way. So, after a little consideration, I've decided that my goal for 2009 is to finish (or finally frog) all the started sweaters (and sweater-like projects) I have. Here's the list, in order of how long it's been since I worked on it (with Ravelry links, for those of you who are members):
1. Trent's Schoolhouse Shetland Pullover - I'm almost done knitting the body. Half a pattern repeat more, and I can steek and finish the shoulders. Then I'll just have the sleeves.
2. Colette Sweater - I've knit all the pieces for this, and blocked the fronts and back. I need to seam front to back and pick up and knit the band, then sew in the sleeves.
3. Wensleydale Claire - I don't even know where this is right now. The fronts and back are knit, and I was somewhere in mid sleeve when I ran out of steam. So, half of the sleeves (I'm knitting them at once), sew, and band and collar.
4. Carpathian Roses - I at least know where all the parts of this are. I'm somewhere in the yoke section, and there's over half a sleeve knit.
5. Stupid charity baby sweater - of my own design. This is really embarrassing - its done except for the last inch or two of the second sleeve, and seaming it together. It was my "in my desk at work" project, back when I had work with a desk. I brought it home to finish it, but it went into the sewing room closet and never emerged.
6. Star vest - All this needs is arm facings. I'm pretty sure it's not going to fit, so it's been having an extended time out. I don't know if I can find the yarn. I should finish the sucker and just give it to someone, just to get it out of my mental space.
7. Linen-drape shell in a completely different yarn - I'm up to dividing for the neck on the front of this. There are only two pieces - just a front and back. You don't even have to knit bands - they're incorporated. I'm done with the back. I'm a smarter knitter now than I was when I abandoned this, so hopefully I can figure out where the hell I was when I quit.
8. Garter stitch jacket - one of my earliest sweater projects, in deep storage for a long time. It's on something like size 10 or 11 needles, so really, I have no excuse. The fronts and back are knit in one piece, and if I remember correctly I was about done with them, so just sleeves. Again, I'm pretty convinced I won't like this, but I showed it to my mom when she was here, and she did, so there ya go.

Most of this doesn't represent that much knitting, really (except the sleeves of #1). But given my rate of distraction, I'll feel really impressed with myself if I manage to get through these in the next year.

It would make me feel better if y'all feel inclined to chime in with stories of long-ignored projects, particularly those that are embarrassingly close to being done.

Happiness and woe

I finally blocked the eye searing pink shawl, with some help from Peggy and Rebecca.





We didn't wet block it, since it's already freakin' huge. We pinned out the loops on the edge, very gently straightening and stretching, and then misted it with warm water. It's been done for several days, and I could have retrieved it tonight at the Feral Knitters meeting, but my car is in the shop (woe).

I also finished another Knit Along project, this time Cozy Socks for Kids (from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders). These are out of Cascade 220 superwash.

On a bookstore trip, I fell in love with some of the critters in the Tamie Snow's book Tiny Yarn Animals, so of course I had to get the book, even though my crochet skillz are sad. I really bought the book for the lemur, but I started with the elephant. He came out cute, and rather charmingly crooked.


Now I'm working on a lemur. At some point this evening, after 2.5 hours on the couch crocheting lemur bits, I found myself thinking that I could have used the time for something useful, like a sweater, or sewing, or house cleaning. But then I said lemur lemur lemur lemur lemur until I started giggling.

I've been working many days in a row (woe). My boss is very sick, and since we have a wee staff, that means I'm in the trenches until she's back on her feet. Since my car is in the shop, she's sending her husband to pick me up in the morning - that's the upside of working for a wee company.

Shawls and capes

I finally blocked two shawls that I finished knitting a long time ago, thanks to Peggy and Rebecca and their basement.


The melon shawl from Victorian Lace Today with a different border (I was running low on yarn). The yarn is handspun cormo/alpaca. I dyed it as roving and 2-plied. The color is washed out in these pictures - it's really a variety of soft greens.

Another spring lace scarf, from my own pattern. I started this one as an example when I was teaching a lace knitting class. The yarn is linen that I bought years ago at Stitches West. I have no idea who dyed it, but it sure is pretty. Now I just have to figure out how to soften it up without losing all the work we did blocking it.

Here's my first yarn from my new wheel. This is 4 oz of Reflections Farms roving, 3 plied. It's about 390 yards.

I also sewed a fairy cape for a friend's 3-year old daughter. I pressed the dogs into service modeling. Chloe was hiding at the time, perhaps wisely.



And finally, in the shameless self-promotion category: we're doing a series of "nifty gifty" classes at Bernina Northwest. If you sew at all, these are fun projects that make good gifts. You don't have to have a Bernina or even a sewing machine . Check out the details here.

Parties and projects

First, a work/public service announcement:

Project Linus Blanket Party at Bernina Northwest:

Can you sew, serge, or cut (or are you willing to learn)? Using fleece fabric donated by Brewer Sewing Supply, we'll stitch and serge fleece blankets that will be donated to our local Project Linus chapter to comfort traumatized and seriously ill children.

Bernina Northwest will provide the sergers, sewing machines, and thread. We just need you to volunteer 1 hour (or more) on October 4th from 10am to 5pm. Call 206-523-4739 to sign up.

Bring your friends and let's make a difference!

And speaking of events...

I'm scheduled to teach a fair isle hat class at Pacific Fabrics Northgate store starting Sunday. We're using the Fiber Trends Swirls hat pattern. I don't have a picture of my (very cute) sample because it's at the store. Only two people are signed up right now, and the class won't go with less than three. So pleeeeeeease, if you or anyone you know wants to learn to do color work, sign up.

Project Pictures

I recently finished a baby quilt for a friend.


I've also been knitting up a storm of project samples for the KAL at Pacific Fabrics. Here's the December project, the garter stitch loop-through scarf. Because I am cruel and heartless, I forced the dogs to model.



The misery! The disapproval!

I've got yet more projects to show you, but I think the dogs are plotting against me, so I'd best wrap it up for today.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

1. I no longer work for that corporate university where I toiled for the last 5 some-odd years. I cut back to part-time, then I asked to not be scheduled for classes. It's not exactly like quitting - I have to option of going back if I ever want to. That's not a foreseeable future right now, but you never know. I now work mainly at Bernina Northwest, selling sewing machines and teaching people how to use them. I'm having a blast and learning a lot. We also sold enough sewing machines last year that I earned a trip to Switzerland (!) for a big Bernina event, so I'll be headed to Zurich in August.

2. We bought a real sofa. It's being delivered Wednesday. Good bye, dear futon. You've served us well.
'

3. I'm knitting up a storm these days. It doesn't seem like I'm finishing a lot, but that's because I'm rotating between several projects. I did finish some socks out of handspun BFL:

And I'm making great strides on the Colette sweater:

And I'm making another Spring Lace scarf, this time out of some well-aged linen.

4. I signed up (late) for the Tour de Fleece.

I recently finished up a batch of Romney (from Maria, as discussed here) that had been languishing on the bobbins of my Ashford Joy for ages. I can't face continuing with the Romney right now, so my Tour goal is to conquer 8 oz of the pound (!) of Reflections farm blue wool that I've been slowly spinning into lace weight since last winter. So, 8 oz lace weight singles, 2 plied.


I've just about got a second bobbin equal to the first, so I could ply some, just to break up the monotony. I'm not sure how many ounces I've spun into singles, but since it has to be plied, I'm counting it as TdF spinning.

5. Speaking of spinning wheels, I need to sell the Ashford Joy (portable, single treadle, with bag and 3 bobbins, $400) and my Louet S-10 (single treadle, 3 bobbins, skein winder, $225). I'll provide a starter spinning lesson with either. Contact me at m k morrow at yahoo dot com with interest/questions/etc.

I'm back, and a free pattern

Hey all -

Busy, busy. I'll abbreviate: work, work, dogs, work, trip to the Chicago burbs, cold, work.

But hey, exciting news! Remember my green lace scarf?

I traded the pattern to Vickie Howell (for yarn, of course), and it's available on her website FREE for the next two weeks. Go print, folks. After that, she'll have it for sale in her store.

For those of y'all who are local, remember I'm teaching a class using this pattern at Pacific Fabrics Northgate store in June. You can lace if you want to.

I should have more clever titles

But I don't.

I've been knitting, sewing, working, and dog walking, not necessarily in that order.

In knitting news, I finished knitting the Melon Patterned shawl from Victorian Lace Today. I was really sweating yarn quantities as I knit the border on. The yarn is hand-dyed and hand spun, and this was ALL of it. But in the end, the borders are finished.

And I had 5 grams of yarn left. Whyever was I so worried?

I've also been churning along on my Wensleydale sweater and a second sock for Trent. I'm trying to finish some things. Besides the melon shawl, I recently finished the pink shawl (still not blocked). Then I finished a scarf for a lace knitting class I'm teaching at Pacific Fabrics in June.

(Knit from Vickie Howell collection Craft yarn, which I love. The pattern will soon be available for purchase from Vickie, or you can come take the class with me.)

So, in this spate of finishing activity, I've made a deal with myself that I have to finish 2 more knitting projects (any size, provided it's already in progress) before I can start something new. It's killing me. I keep adding things to my Ravelry queue. I could knock off a couple of really old WIPs that are very close to done, or I could buckle down and finish the Wensleydale sweater. Project #2 is going to be those socks, or a nearly completed hat that's roaming around in my knitting bags.

Meanwhile, I've also been sewing up a storm. I've made 3 really cute skirts, flirty little cotton spring skirts. You know, for that gorgeous spring weather we're having.

I can't show you any of the skirts, because they're all off at Bernina or the Quilting Loft being shop samples, as is the newest blouse, lovingly titled Pintuck Madness. When I get it back I'll take pictures and you can see why.

I did, however, get a picture of myself modelling the dotty blouse from several posts back.


Anyway, in the midst of all this productive crafty activity, some of which is actually work, I'm having a great time. That seems to really surprise some folks. I was at my college teaching job (now only one day a week), and one of the faculty cornered me. He had just learned that I cut back to very-part-time, and wanted to know what I'm doing now. I told him I was working at a sewing machine dealer, selling sewing machines, and teaching sewing and sometimes knitting classes. He said, "You're kidding!" in a tone of incredulity that implied I had just told him I'd taking up the stroll on Aurora Avenue. I've perfected a really blissful smile for moments like that, when the person I'm talking to just isn't going to get it.

(That reminds me of my favorite student evaluation story. At Clemson, there's was a write-in question on "What were the teacher's strengths?" One of my survey of contemporary lit students wrote in: "Teacher is very enthusiastic about literature. I don't know why, but she is." I kind of think that's the reaction of my former faculty colleagues to my new career path.)

Finally, for those of you who might have wondered, there's still nowhere to sit at my house.

Annual knitting retreat

I spent the weekend in Portland (well, Troutdale, really) for my annual knitting retreat. I'm in an internet-based group that's been together for almost 6 years. We try to get together in person once a year, and this time we met up at the McMenamins Edgefield. It was, as ever, delightful. I totally forgot to pack a camera (as ever). We spent most the weekend camped out in one of the public areas of the Edgefield, the library. As groups of people walked by, we'd often hear a whispered "Knitters!", as if they'd just spotted a rare species in the wild.

I meant to diligently work on projects. My chosen big project was this sweater, which has been in cold storage for about a year and a half:


The back and 1.6 of the fronts are done. I made some good progress on that second front this weekend, until we all went out shopping on Saturday. We hit Knit/Purl in downtown Portland. Nice store, really nice staff. I was seduced by some blue yarn. Blue, people - not red or pink. Be amazed. There was only one skein of the blue I really loved, so I bought it a couple of coordinating little friends. Anyway, despite my good intentions to work on the sweater, I ended up casting on the blue.

I'm making a stole knit lengthwise in feather and fan. I quickly discovered that it's a really easy stitch pattern to screw up, and now there are markers between every one of the 20 pattern repeats.

In my absence, Kidd the terrier scaled the gate to come upstairs and get closer to his kitty friends. He also managed to wiggle under the bed in an effort to make friends with Callie. She was not amused.