The Tablecloth

I posted about starting a tablecloth for my mom for Christmas, and I never followed up with a Finished Object post.  Guess what?  I finished it!!

She was super happy to get her cloth for Christmas, and put it on the table as soon as Christmas dinner was over.  The last pic is of it in her Dining room.

I'm so glad to be finished with it, and at the same time, so happy I did it.  It was truly a labor knit of love. 

2011 round up

I've been away a bit.  Between designing shows, and... well, designing shows, my November and December got crazy.  Really.  But things have settled a bit, so I decided to do a "Yearly wrap up" post.
I had an ultra boring meeting this morning, so I did a lot of totalling then.... fyi. :)
In 2011, I knit:
37 individual projects, including:
3 blankets
5 sweaters
14 large lace projects
6 hats
5 pair of mittens
and 4 other things like socks and baskets

15 projects were from books
8 from PDFs
4 from magazines
5 from free sources
and 5 of my own design

In 2011 I knit 22,918 yards of yarn, also known as 13.02 miles, and I finished a project every 9.86 days, on average.

Also in 2011, I designed 6 shows, learned to spin on my new spinning wheel, and spun a lot of yarn - two hanks of which were used in above projects. 

I think 2011 was a pretty good year!  I am notoriously bad a t dealing with resolutions, but I'm going to make a list again, and see how I do in 2012.

2012:
Try to spin lace weight.
Make that cool sideways sweater for myself using some handspun - Rhinebeck!
Keep adding to my crochet arsenal.
Work up the courage to wind up the gossamer yarn.  Maybe even start the Shawl of Insanity.
Be better about swatching.

Let's be honest, that last one is a long shot.

I am reaching that point...

Every knitter experiences the moment when you have been working on a long term project for quite some time, and you just... want... to... knit... something... else.  I have reached that point with my Mom's Tablecloth.  I really enjoy the knitting, even in spite of the random pattern error, but the rows are getting LONG.  Like woah. 
I am starting to get project wonderlust.  I know that Rhinebeck (!!) is coming up, and I will need a take along project for that.  Soon enough I will have my "other" project, and for the time being I am satiating the wonderlust with the thought of a new project and trying to decide what it might be. 
Maybe something with the Sam Watersheep yarn....

nutcrcker, nutcracker, crack me a nut!

looks like the "Nutcracker" is back in my life.  Today we had first auditions.  I think you'll hear more about this project!

It's almost Rhinebeck time!!

I feel like I should write a song....

(To the tune of "Farmer in the dell")
It's almost Rhinebeck time!
It's almost Rhinebeck time!
Pack your sweaters, make your lists!
Its almost Rhinebeck time!!!
I must say, I am very prepared this year.  I finished my Rhinebeck sweater in plenty of time.  I even wove in ends and put on the buttons!  In past years, I have been doing this stuf at the last minute, even if the knitting was done far ahead of time. 

I can't wait to wear it for RHINEBECK!!

I decided to...knit both

A little while ago I posed the question to you guys about which thing to knit. The shawl or the tablecloth?  I chose to start with the shawl because it seemed easier to take along on the trip I was taking home to PA.  Before I even got a chance to tell y'all, I went and finished it!

This one starts by knitting the bottom edging first, side to side.  Than you pick up along the edge and knit to the center top.  After the edging and the picking up of the body stitches, it flew by!  WooSH!!!

Of course, I cast off the shawl and locked it, and, literally, I turned around and got an email from the pattern designer that the next pattern in the series was ready to be knit.  sigh.  So much for feeling "caught up".  I decided to move on to the tablecloth though. 

Just so you know, the final rows are 1200 stitches long.  This might take a while...

Deli-cious Pastel Marshmallows

Did you ever try those pastel colored, mini marshmallows?  They were quite the "thing" in the 80's.  I remeber scores of rice krispy squares at bake sales made with those little fruity marshmallows.  I think that some parents thought they were making some sort of "fancy" bake sale item when they brought those.  It was also unreasonably popular to make "ambrosia" dessert using them.  What the hell is ambrosia, you ask?

Its cool whip, marshmallows, assorted canned fruits, coconut, and sometimes nuts, all mixed up into a festive, overly sweet goo.  It is very popular at church pot lucks and family picnics.  It is a major part of my summer-family-picnic-going childhood.  So when I cast on for my latest shawl in the 7 songs series, named "Delius", in a hand dyed yarn that included various shades of pastel colors, in the August heat... I had Ambrosia flashbacks.

I named it Deli-cious Pastel Marshmallow, because I am full of pun.  But the varigation is so subtle in the yarn that it looks like you melted those little multi-colored marshmallows together, without stirring. 

For what it is worth, I love this shawl.  It is a quick knit - even though it took me a couple weeks, I was only working on it sporatically.  The cast on is a haul to get through, fyi, but worth it in the end.  Like Gary, you have to pay attention to the charts because you have stuff to do on both sides - mainly switching back and forth from garter to stockingette.  It is nice to have a little challenge, since overall, the lace pattern is very simple. 

I can say that the designer, Corrina Ferguson, is really quite good at explaining her patterns so they are easy to use.  What could be super complicated charts and directions, are easy to follow and very user friendly.  I highly recommend them!