Today Is The Day

The host of my blog, WordPress.com, does a very strange thing with date stamping posts.  If you post after 9pm it will show up with the following day’s date.  So even though I’m writing this Wednesday night at 10:40pm it will say I’m posting it tomorrow, Thursday and you all know where I’ll be on Thursday……

CAMP BOUND!!!!!! It is a rare treat to be in the company of like-minded people who share your passion, enthusiasm and never think it strange or rude if you stop mid-sentence to count rows or stitches.  For the next 5 days (Thursday to Monday) I will do nothing but knit, learn, share, eat and relax.  I can’t even tell you how excited I am.  My one regret at this point is not having final pictures of the coat to show you.  If you liked the teaser picture (thanks for all the great comments, there is nothing a blogger loves better than to see comments and visits to their site) you’re going to love the detailed shots.   I’ll ask a fellow camper to model for me. 

In the meantime I’m packed, my travel project has been cast on, a sock of course.  This one to be exact… And I even had time for a pedicure…Everything matches.

I love when my world is organized, or rather, has the semblance of organization.

2 Days To Go

And Camp 2 starts.  I started packing over the weekend and I’m keeping things as simple and light as possible.  I refuse to check in any bags since I’m scared they will be lost.  The fun of having a stop in Chicago.  Last year I was thanking the heavens that I had all my stuff with me since I ended up driving to Wausau from Chicago.  5 hours of driving through unfamiliar territory with a complete stranger (who turned out to be lovely) and thinking just don’t let us get a flat tire or make a wrong turn…please.  For those who remember the story I won’t bore you but suffice it to say one can get very resourceful when camp is on the line.

Do you remember back in the good ol’ days of traveling when all you had to remember was shampoo, conditioner, bathing suit (depending on the destination) and underwear.  Now, it’s the cell phone charger, the ipod charger, the camera charger and your moo cards which must include you birth/married name and Ravelry user name.  Amazing.  That’s even how you have to introduce yourself these days, with both names…

Anyway, the hubby is on duty tonight so I’m using the time wisely…I don’t want to be scrambling on Thursday morning…

oh here’s a little peek at the coat blocking.  Ain’t she purty?

Is it me or does this post read kind of scattered…I think my mind is already in Wisconsin…

Fork? Spoon? Knife?

I was in the mood for a bit of silliness and came across this…

 

You Are Chopsticks

People see you as exotic, unusual, and even a bit intimidating. You are a difficult person to figure out.In truth, you try to live a very simple life. But most people are too frenzied to recognize the beauty of your simplicity.

What Utensil Are you?

Since WordPress.com does not allow the use of Javascript on any of the blogs they host I decided to find a way around that. Copy, paste and add a link.  I do understand their reasons but…in any case I, once again, found a solution.

Definitely Gum Surgery!

I definitely prefer gum surgery over steeking any day.  I do recognize the endless benefits but it almost killed me.  I haven’t been that nervous since I was 13 and told my mum I stayed over a friend’s house and there were no parents home, just my friend’s older sister…Can you say sweating?  I was drenched.  And the fact that it was about 150 degrees outside that day didn’t help.

I will say my mum and I had a blast working on it though.  We tend to do all the “home-EC” stuff together.   So without further delay.  The coat had been steeked.

First the hood…

Let’s pause here for a moment.  That’s my mum, the best mum ever.  Those hands have seen quite a few days on this old machine.  Which is a Kenmore not a Singer (as I thought, it’s my granny who had the Singer).  But I think she was even more nervous than I was.  We both decided to let her do the sewing since I have a hard time sewing in a straight line.  Don’t ask…

Now in the video, Meg suggests cutting it from the wrong side, which you see above.   But did I do that…NO! again I think I was too worked up and didn’t think it was critical…trust me it is.

It is shear luck (pun intended) that I was able to say on track, but I did.  So with confidence running high we continued.

Long way to go and she was sweating bullets.  That is alot of wool to have on your lap.

Once again, cutting from the right side when I should have been on the wrong side.   For some reason as I was doing all this I didn’t think about the wrong/right side thing until after that fact.  The reasoning behind this is using the machine stitches as a cutting guide.   This time it got a bit messy, as started to “drift” off to one side.  I know you’re thinking how the hell can I do that but I was starting to cut a bit too fast.  Adrenaline just took over.  And the sound of the scissors on the knitted fabric put my teeth on edge.

But no major damage…

And the steek is DONE!!!  After leaving my parents house I went straight home and fell asleep on the couch…  I think my brain needed to close down for a while.  I can’t tell you how stressed out I felt. 

I just had to include this next picture because I was so moved.  I looked down and there were both our hands intent, focused and working together…My mum and I are a great team…thanks so much Cory.

Great Weekend

Hope everyone had a happy, relaxing and safe 4th of July weekend. I wanted to get a post up for the 4th but it just didn’t happen. I actually spent that evening downtown at 60th Street and York Ave watching fireworks with some very generous members of the NYPD, YFD and some of the wonderful families residing at Ronald McDonald House. It was a very special evening.

Things at casa de ETG were peaceful, snuggly and productive. DH had Saturday AND Sunday off. It was heaven. We saw Wall-E. What a sweet, funny, perfect movie. I can’t wait to see it again. Pixar did it again.

I did some baking. There were two (half dead, as my mum would say) bananas in my fruit basket just begging to be bread. Chocolate Chip and Walnut…I got the recipe from an old “tea bread” book I’ve had forever.

The DH has recently developed allergies that’s why only one with nuts.

And what do we have here…..I think that’s an Aran Coat….I’m about 2 inches from finishing the hood and we’re off the land of steeks. I”ll be heading down to my parents place where Mum has a Singer with my name on it. I’ve thought about doing crocheted steeks but I want this puppy secure when the scissors get to it.

And yes, I know the sleeves look a bit long…and they are…I managed to try the coat on and they reach just a tiny bit past my finger tips. Not too big of a deal. But now I am happy I didn’t put in the snow cuff because I may end up turning a hem. It actually looked really good when I played with it.

I’ve been watching the Knitting Around (dvd) and I can’t imagine knitting this coat without having that reference. It was all that was in my dvd player all weekend. Working that epaulet/shoulder saddle by knitting back backwards…that would have so sucked without being able to see Meg do it.

So I’m watching and knitting as she’s steeking the hood when my eye catches something. All this time I thought the cable running up the back of the hood had been changed at the neck. So that’s what I did but then I saw that it hadn’t changed. I don’t know what made me see it this time and not the other 20 times I’d reviewed that section. So what do I do after I said shit…alot…I went for a swim in the frog pond.

A few of the cables are a bit loose on the edges but overall, a good job. That took about an hour, with a 15 minute break to fix my ipod which suddenly decided to freeze. I had a double freak out moment. Not my sweater and the ipod at the same time….

Anyway, disaster averted. I continue…and can’t wait to pull out the shears….

Actually I would rather have skin grafted to my gums (which I had done last year) then put scissors to this…but I can do it right, I can do it……I feel a bit faint… must lie down. I have done it before but never on something that meant this much.

I’m Here…

…just knitting, knitting, knitting…I’ll have some pictures in another day or so.  All the pieces of the coat are joined and I’m almost to the saddle shoulder shaping.  I’m so in love with this project, it’s like having a friend to hang out with.  Is that nuts?  Usually at this point in a project I’m sick of it…Not this time.  My only complaint, if I had to say I have one, was pushing around 240 stitches and wrestling with this thing.  There’s no question…she’s heavy.  It got better after all the sleeve decreases were done but…

My finger is getting just a litte bit sore over here.

I’ve also been glued to my Ipod.  Per the suggestion of Jessica and Erin I’m hooked on On Chesil Beach.  Audiobooks and knitting, a perfect combination….

 

Unnecessary Pressure

Why do knitters do this to themselves? You have a knitting deadline. There is ample time to complete the project, if you give it your relatively undivided attention. But what do we do? We knit on something else. Or better yet we start a new project. WHY? Or even better than that, we let non-knitting things occupy our time, books, laundry or the ridiculous “b” movie you just surfed by on WE TV.

I have been working on my coat (3 weeks to go till camp) but I feel like I’m in that black hole (again). The second sleeve will be done tonight and I’m hoping to join all three pieces tomorrow. So I guess that’s progress…why am I freaking out? I think my perception is a bit off right now.  So in my delusion of running out of time I picked this up…

How could I resist? Isn’t it a beauty?   And yes, for the observant ones among you, that is Jitterbug.  Again…this time it’s Morello Mash…YUM. 

 I found the pattern on Ravelry.  This is the one that gave me so much trouble on the first chart, but I figured it out.

But guess what…I ran into another problem with the third chart. Of course it’s fixable (with some cleverly placed increases and decreases) but when you rely on your knitting to make you feel better, clear away the mental junk, make you feel like you’re accomplishing something and it offers nothing but an exercise in patience, the delusion is reinforced. So I decided to stop for now.  After the coat is done I’ll cast on the second sock and knit up to the same point as on the first then work through the chart, knitting both at the same time.   Actually I’ll save this for the airport/plane  as I travel to camp.

I do love everything I have on needles right now and wish I could work on all at once (like we all try to do) but…there is my deadline!!!! And honestly, it’s not like I’m sick of the coat. I’m still enjoying it but there are tons of other knitting projects catching my eye…This is my other distraction.

It’s my variation of one of the moebius hats from A Treasury of Magical Knitting. Isn’t that amazing color?  Mountain Colors “Bearfoot” in Rosehip.  I had some left over from the Millicent socks I made last year.   Can you see a color theme here? There is something about red that’s really attracting me.  I want to knit the band then continue with a basic hat.  The edge will roll and moebius at the same time.  It’s an experiment, so we’ll see.

So I think if I take a deep breath I’ll see that I’m doing ok…alright gotta go knit now…hopefully my next post will be about the yoke….YEAH!!! I’m getting there.

Sleep Well, George

 
You will be so missed…

 

Sadness and Sweetness

It’s not actually a full fledged funk but I’ve definitely been a bit out of it this week.  I also had a bit of perspective thrown at me.  Earlier this week I’d planned to blog about a moth (a very beautiful moth) that had taken up residence in the hallway of my building.  I was going to title the post, Warning: Not For The Faint Of Heart but then I remembered my friend JL and her family and the post suddenly seemed beyond ridiculous.

This is a picture of her family’s home in Iowa.  Do I need to say anymore?  My heart is broken for her.  I’ve linked to her blog above….if you have a moment please go “visit” her and show my JL some love. 

 

Honey, as EZ says…”Knit on with confidence and hope through all crises.”

I’ve also been knitting, alot and I’ll have some stuff to show next week.  In the meantime I decided it was time for more baked goods.  That’s my comfort cure-all.

CREAMY LEMON SQUARES…yummmmmmmmmm

Aside from a funk fix, I was just in the mood for something sticky and sweet…  Summer also starts tonight about 8pm-ish so this is also my welcome to Summer.  Nothing says it like lemony sweetness.  Did that sound like a commercial? Sorry….

I also did a little shopping.  That’s an even better pick-me-up.  Though in the long run both of my “fixes” have the potential to cause much damage, to my waistline and my wallet.

But I couldn’t resist this.  I love this yarn company.

Araucania Atacama, 100% Alpaca, Color #528, 110 yds x 2…It’s so soft and amazing.

That’s my “art” shot (don’t laugh).

Here’s the eye candy shot.  I don’t think either picture really shows all the variations in color but trust me it’s so gorgeous.  I’m test-knitting a pattern and if I like the results then I’ll try it in this yarn.  We’ll see.

Carolyn, if you’re reading this, yes some of the lemon squares are headed your way.  My friend and I have a yarn play date today…Can’t wait.

JL, there’s some for you too sweetie…you need them most of all.   See you Sunday (they should still be good by then).

Have a great weekend, a safe and happy first day of Summer and happy knitting everyone.

 

 

 

KIP 2008

Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day…

That’s just what we did.  We had about 20 people and so much fun. 

Started small but…

If you knit in public they will come.

That’s JL…the unstoppable force who pulled this wonderful day together.  She would say it was a group effort but…we know who really made this happen.  Thanks so much.  I also have to give her credit for these great pictures.  I don’t know what happened to me but my camera bearly left my bag.  JL to the rescue.

Yes, matching tank tops…I know what you’re thinking and I don’t care.  I’m a knitter and a geek and I’m proud. 

Overall, WWKiP Day 2008 was total success.  Can’t wait till next year.