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!

Help me decide

My next goal is to finish my Rhinebeck sweater.  I only have the neckband and button bands to go!  I do need help deciding what to work on after that though.  I am torn between starting  the third shawl in the Seven songs series - Stravinsky
or starting a tablecloth for my Mom.

The Shawl pros:

1. Portable!  I need another portable project
2. makes me caught up to the release of the pattens.  I love feeling "on schedule"
3. uses wool.  easy on the hands, and I have the perfect colorway

The shawl cons:

1. requires a chart, so it is not EMINENTLY portable, like a sock
2. feeds into my weird need to always be "caught up" or "even".  Do I need to reinforce this weirdness in myself?
3. I have no intended use for this yet.  It will most likely be a gift, but I don't need to get it done right now

The tablecloth pros:

1. My mom specifically asked for one, so I know she will like it.  It won't be wasted effort.
2. there is a sense of accomplishment in finishing a tablecloth.  It is a knitting bucket list item for me.
3. it will be small for a while, filling the portable project gap for a little, then can become a stay home project after the sweater is complete.

Tablecloth cons:

1. cotton yarn is tiresome to work with.  But, this is true of starting this project at any time.
2. i haven't really picked a pattern yet.  The one i really WANT to do is in German.  That seems like quite the undertaking.  I have back up patterns, but am on the fence.
3. when it is finished I'll need to build a frame to starch and block it.  again, I'll have to do this whenever I make the cloth, I just feel like i should figure it out before I start, you know?

so.... opinions?

Early morning, sun comes out....

Evad and I are fans of free things, and when a free multi-stage music festival comes around, who are we to pass it up?  Sadly for us, the Scorpions were playing at the same time as another band that our friends wanted to see. 


Turns out the band our friends wanted to see was crappy, and Evad and I spent the whole time saying "play Rock You like a Hurricane!!!" while giggling madly, and eating all the snacks.  We wanted to be anywhere but there, and the Scorpions were teasing us. After the suck band was over we got to see James Brown.  That was cool.  I was his birthday.
Even though I did not get rocked like a proverbial hurricane that day, I can now say I have been.  Evad and I are fine - we even managed to keep power!  There is lots of flooding and damage, but we are safe. 

Rain, Rain, Go Away.

...and don't bother coming back another day, either.  Damn you.  You can come back at night, so we don't have a drought, but leave my last days of summer the hell alone.
Eh hem. 
Days like these are perfect for knitting.  A nice cup of tea, a cozy sweater on your lap, and a kitty nearby.  Ahh.  Too bad I'm suck at stupid work.  My sweater has no love for me either.  The bastard is mocking me from the car!
"You know you want to get me.  You can just drape me over your lap to keep warm.  Maybe a row or two while you wait for Quicken to update.  You are SO cold Costumechick!"
My sweater is mean. 
The shawl I'm working on is just as mean, but slightly less enticing.  It is much smaller than my Rhinebeck sweater, and therefore has less overall snuggle factor.  Still, it would be way more fun than working on loading crap into Quicken....

Seriously more fun.

earthquake!

WTH Virginia?!  Keep your shakey shakes to yourself!  New Haven got a good roll this afternoon from the Richmond 5.8 earthquake.  I've experienced quite a few types of natural disasters before, but this was my first apparent earthquake.  Crazy!  I tell you!
At first I thought I was getting sick. 
Then I thought the building was being buffeted by high winds, or the train station building project was doing some intense pile driving. 
After that, I looked out the window and saw the world moving opposite the direction I was. 
Then I heard the creaking of all the windows behind me. 
Finaly, I ran out of the building.  The entire staff was standing there looking at each other and saying "What the fuck just happened?"
Turns out it was an earthquake.
Sadly, though, Evad missed it. 

Train knitting FTW

I really do like when I have to go into NYC for a meeting.  Train knitting time is awesome.  Frankly, getting paid to knit is one of the only good parts of heading to the city for work, especially if it is a shopping day. Feeling like a  pack mule is totally not awesome.

Not much time to knit

Along with being back at my regular job, I am helping a draper* friend do some stitching. It has filled most of my nights and weekends for the last two weeks. Sadly, this means little knitting time. Happily it means extra $$ - which is good with Rhinebeck quickly approaching! About all I can muster when I get home, at 11pm, is about three rows on the yoke of my "Rhinebeck 11" sweater, or one hexipuff. In case you are a non-knitter, or a knitter living under a rock, these are hexipuffs:

Cute, right?! The hexipuffs are part of a long term project that will one day be a blanket. I'm calling mine "Hexi-Puff the Magic Blanket", but the designer calls it "the Bee Keeper's Quilt". The little things arefun to make, and take just the amount of awake-ness I have left in me when I get home at night. I also feel they will be an excellent tech project!

*draper - the person in a theatrical costume shop that creates a pattern for a garment based on the drawings of the designer.

Spinning... I do that now!

Last Christmas my Mom and Dad shocked the hell out of me and got me an Ashford Kiwi! (that is a spinning wheel, fyi) I am getting better each time I give it go! My lastest yarn looks like cotton candy, and is almost as fluffy. I hope WifeMomKniiter is s happy with it as I am, cause this one is for her!

I didn't run out of yarn!

it was close, but not as close as it has been before...
and definitely not the typical costumechick project that comes up short three rows from the end. Now, to block!

Gary

One ofmy two current projectsis this shawl. "Debussey", after the composer. It is part of a 7 shawl series based on songs. Sadly, I couldn't remember the proper name, and kept caalling it " something like 'Busey'." so, I named my green sparkle version after Gary Busey and his crazy eye.

lets call it a reboot

I think I stopped blogging almost a year ago because it was too much work to think of interesting things to say. The pressure of needing to update, and do it at length was too much.

Then, this summer I intended to pick up the blog again, in a new format. Well, here it is August, and I am just getting to it. I forgot my password... it's a long story.

So, from now on I am posting in a shorter format, and leaving off the details of Finished Objects. If you want the gritties, join Ravelry. Also, I plan to post more about life in general, and not just knitting.

Here we go!

It has been a hectic summer. I've traveled, went to a wedding, designed a show, and cleaned my house - which was no small feat. But, even with all that, I managed to do a little beach going.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Beach and knitting. If only my life could be like this all the time.