Wednesday Sock Update

My sock knitting seems to have stalled and my hope is blogging about my sock knitting on Wednesday will prompt at least a bit of knitting through the week.

My plain sock is almost to the heel on the second sock but the Clerkenwell socks has been totally ignored. I do know why. The cable graph is the kind that my mind can't seem to get around. Occasionally I have this problem with a graph even though I usually prefer them for any kind of cable or lace knitting.

I actually took the time to write out every line of the graph but I think I have to do this again, since I took a look at it today after not working on the sock for a few weeks, and I totally can't understand what I wrote. Doh!

So that will be in the works today. Probably a better use of my time instead of knitting as I am still having problems with soreness in my right hand.

I'm on jury duty watch this week. My number hasn't come up as yet. I am in the 1000's and they called up to 600 yesterday, so I will probably have to go in tomorrow or Friday. I hate the sit around and wait aspect and not knowing how to plan the week. Every one is in the "I'll call you after 6:00pm to see about kid watching and Weight Watcher meetings" mode. Plus there is snow forecast for the rest of the week, so that means schlepping around in boots and gloves and such. Ugh.

Took a look at the Clerkenwell pattern and think I am going to modify it. Make the plain part with cables rather than the curlicue cables in the front. I just don't think they will be worth the effort with this dark blue yarn. Plus this will motivate me to restart knitting them. Love the colorwork.

More Slips and I Don't Care

So New Year's resolutions have gone out the window and I don't have even a little bit of regret.

I bought new yarn, started new projects, signed up for another 4 classes and I am very happy with all of my decisions.

I blame it on the miserable non-spring we are having. Cold, cold snowy days. The robins and mourning doves are looking at me with miserable expressions, although I noticed an incredible chorus of beautiful bird-song this morning when I let the dog out.

My class project is going well. I have just the last half sleeve to knit. I put the back and front together and I think this is going to be a really nice sweater. Easy knitting! The class is going to meet on Sunday to work on the sweater some more, even though the class is over, so I will save the remainder of the knitting for then. We have a very nice group and we are all taking four more classes together, which will extend into June. There is a tee top, a lacy cardigan, a shawl and a ruched top that I am looking forward to making.

Of course, all the knitting on cotton that I was doing in an attempt to get the back and front put together before the last class and trying to get some more done on my February Lady Sweater gave me a sore hand. I think I knit all day last Wednesday because the snow storm we had ALL DAY LONG was making me crazy. Plus I didn't have to go out at all, kids had off and mom was home. I don't think I moved out of my knitting chair the entire day.

I gave my knitting a rest on Sunday night and Monday , too. But I really want to get back to my February Lady sweater soon. I love the yarn, the color and the way it is working up.

I just need to repeat "I will not overdue" take breaks and make sure I do some stretching.

Instead of knitting while I watched the kids yesterday, I took along some blocks to put together for the Cream Bedspread.

Here they are blocking. I have enough done to put another row together and it is really beginning to look like I am at the end of a very long tunnel.

Or at the very least, I can see the light far off in the distance. Once these four blocks are put together, I will have three more rows of four blocks to go. Sixteen blocks per row times 3 rows is 48 more blocks to sew together. But if you look at what I have already sewn together, it almost looks like a bedspread.

I think I will continue to do the sewing up as I stay with the kids. That will give me a definite time frame to work on this and get it finished.

I had to order two balls of Wool of the Andes for my Fair Isle cardigan that weren't in stock when I placed the original order and decided to add some of the new Aloft

yarn from Knitpicks and OMG, is it wonderful. So soft, and the colors are lovely. I haven't tried to knit with it, although my fingers are itching to start.

I really need to knit some lace, so pulled out the Juno Regina and some lace yarn and put it in a project bag. Not sure when I will start this, but the call of the lace is very strong.

Spring?

We are having a snow storm. Not a little spring snow. Nope this is the nasty, snowing-all-day, blowing-all-over-the road, have-to-shovel-the-driveway, all-after-school-activity, middle-of-January type of snowstorm. Because the grands have half a day and their mom took off, I don't have to go anywhere, which is great!

Ironically, I am using this free time to work on the pretty green cotton sweater I am knitting for my Sunday afternoon class. Just doesn't seem like there will ever be a warm enough day to wear this!

The patio is filling up again.

But it made a pretty pattern, didn't it.

Preparations

Getting ready for the arrival of DD#1 with the 4 kids and husband and dog. They are coming on Thursday and leaving on Friday. We are having a St. Joseph's table on Saturday with a niece and nephew's family. 24 people for dinner. Wow!
I have already made the sauce and lentil soup. I am making pizelles today and cleaning bathrooms and such. We will make the artichokes on Friday, cleaning and stuffing 24 artichokes should go quickly with the four of us doing it. That is, assuming I can find 24 artichokes at the grocery store. Cooking all of them will be a bit of a challenge, but I'm sure we will figure it out. Fritatta, con Sarde (sardine sauce), St. Joseph bread, hard boiled eggs for the plain sauce, cream puffs and sfinge for dessert. Should be good.
Not much knitting going on but a lot of cooking, eating and visiting!

A Little Slip

I've been doing rather well with my continuing monogamous ways and no new yarn, so I guess it was inevitable that I slip a little.

I have two pairs of socks that I am working on, one sweater from an old Manos kit that I am trying to make into something that will get worn and just needed to get myself out of the doldrums of looking at the same old stash yarn.

With the break in the weather this past week, I went out to my LYS, just to look.

Right!!! I signed up for a class to make the oscilloscope shawl and found some gorgeous neutral hued yarn that I think DD#3 will like for her birthday.If she doesn't, I'll keep it. I also picked up yarn for the February Lady Sweater that I tried to make with the old stash yarn that was reminiscent of steel wool. This is Cascade, in a beautiful green. I think I'm in love. So these two new projects should have been enough, right? Not so much.

On Saturday I got my Amazon order which included Kathy Taylor's new Fearless Fair Isle. I fell in love with every project in the book. I used the Knit Picks gift certificate I received for Christmas to order yarn for two of the sweaters. I have already read the whole thing from cover to cover. It is wonderful. Well written, easy graphs, great pictures and really terrific projects.

Uncle!

It's winter in Buffalo. It snows and it is cold. These are givens. We have avoided the big nasty snow storms that have pelted what looks on TV like the whole world. So I should be really happy, right? Here's what we have on the patio.

That's two feet of snow, if it's an inch. It didn't come down all at once, oh no. It comes down 2 or 3 little inches at a time. It hasn't stopped snowing like that since December. Only one day on January did it not snow. And we haven't had anything remotely resembling the January thaw we usually get. Sigh!

My West Virginia DD just said imagine in a few months you will be sitting out there in the sun reading the newspaper. I'm not so sure.

On the knitting front:

Once upon a time (in the '80's, look at those sleeves) I made this lovely mauve sweater.

I kept it in a box and got it out recently and thought I could rip it out, wash the yarn and make a new sweater. The color is so pretty and I wore this one all the time. So I did.

I was going to make the February Lady Sweater out of the reclaimed yarn. I started a few months ago, working on it at the same time I was working with cotton. The number of stitches
on the needle and the way the yarn seemed to be unyielding, made for very sore wrists and fingers, so it was sent to a time out.

Now it's February and of course there are a number of KAL's going on to knit this sweater, so I took it back out, making all sorts of excuses for it. I was working with cotton at the same time and cotton is very hard on my hands; I was knitting too tightly, just needed to relax a little; it isn't really like steel wool, it must be my hands are dry from the cold; once I get to the lace pattern it will be much easier.

My hands and fingertips are now so sore, I won't be able to knit until they heal, which may take a week or so. I have stopped kidding myself, this yarn did not age well. It got stiff and as far from wool as yarn can get. It is going in the garbage because it really isn't fit for human consumption. I wish I had admitted that to myself before I took it out the second time.

Freeeeeezzzzzing

It's been a good week for knitwear. I find myself wrapped in afghans and I used the Advent Calendar scarf as a cover while I was knitting it. The kid's school has been delayed for 2 hours so they don't have to walk in the -8 ° cold. Which, of course, makes complications for parents who have to go to work. DD#3 is going in to work late, so I don't have to schlep to her house or have the kids brought here for a bit before I take them in to school, or have them miss the whole day.

It was a blustery winter day yesterday so it was good to hunker down, knit and watch football. Nowhere to go, just perfect.

My knitting hasn't been pleasing me, lately and I think it was because I was locked into finishing the Advent Calendar Scarf. Which grew to gigantic proportions, as I was using fingering weight instead of lace weight. I ran out of yarn at day 19 which was fine, as after blocking, the scarf? measures a hefty 20 in x 100 in. I felt like I was listening to Jacob Marley's ghost telling me mine was a "ponderous chain". I spent all last week diligently working on just that project, to the exclusion of every other project, until the last bit of yarn was left and I could cast off and block.

The wonderful thing (miraculous really) about knitting lace is the results when you block it. Like labor, you forget the pain when you get that baby in your arms. Maybe not forget, exactly, it just seems very worthwhile.

I'm going back to my monogamous ways and knitting one project until it is done, before beginning another. This is what makes me happy and it gives me the time to really know what I want to make before I start it, rather than throwing myself into a number of things I lose interest in.

So right now the push is on to finish the three projects I have on my needles. DH's first socks are #1.