Can't Compete with the Yarn Harlot!

Stephanie, the Yarn Harlot, has been posting wonderful photos of her isolated Canadian snowy retreat. I can't match that for isolation, but we also have snow here in the Midwest US. Here's a shot of non-isolated country side in New Glarus Wisconsin, a town settled by the Swiss and where you can find lots of wonderful Swiss chalets. Our local knitters' guild hosted a weekend of knitting (no lessons, just fellowship and knitting) in a chalet style motel. While we knitted blissfully and fearlessly away, Mother Nature did what she does best here, she snowed!

CNN today has an article about the top 10 places to ice skate.
I beg to differ with them about places to include. Here in Wisconsin we have lots and lots of ice skating ponds--all of them natural. None of these ice sheets poured in the middle of cities and tended by Zambonies. Of course, my favorite ice skating place was the lake in front of one of my childhood homes. The surface was never smooth (unless no snow had fallen after the lake froze and you could see through the clear black ice and watch fish swim underneath!). And we had to shovel the snow ourselves. But we would ice skate while my father ice fished. I don't know that he caught anything....we usually got cold way before the fish bit!
At any rate, Madison Wisconsin has a Currier and Ives style park called Tenney Park. In the winter, the lagoon freezes and the park shelter is given plywood walls to create a warming house and skate rental concession. Oh, you can also purchase hot chocolate. I couldn't find a photo of the skaters, but this photo gives you an idea. When the ice is sufficiently frozen, the parks department sends out a pick up truck with plow and some water hoses to add a smooth surface to the ice. Skaters and hockey players skate under the arched bridges and go into the shelter for hot chocolate. Great fun!! Especially when the shelter is not open and the flood light are not on and you can skate under the stars.

In my last post, I lamented my slow knitting progress, at least as it compares to Stephanie the Yarn Harlot. (Why do I feel such competition with her?? She's younger, driven, etc., etc. Get a grip, Gail!! Chill!!) I thought that maybe I could post photos of items I completed a while ago, to make it look like I've accomplished more than I have recently.

This is the scarf daughter #1 ordered for Christmas. I made the mistake of taking her to a yarn shop and telling her to select yarn for a scarf. She selected some gorgeous nearly cobweb lace weight yarn and said she wanted a wide scarf, about 6 feet long. I used size 2 needles and doubled the yarn. That said, I also used a wrap stitch to make faster progress. Here are some photos. I finished it in mid-January. It was a Christmas present.

I separated the wrap stitches with smaller and larger segments of garter stitch. And used both double and triple wrap segments.

It has a somewhat lacy texture--my daughter said, "Don't bother with lace, I won't notice it anyway." Here, I was thinking heirloom lace, exquisite knitting....

Another reason I can't compete with Stephanie is that I tend to do more stupid things than she does. Rather than stick to my basic sock "recipe", which is the same as her "recipe", although I did NOT copy her, I thought I'd try a short row heel in these socks for my father. I used Lucy Neatby's idea that one should take 60% of the stitches of the leg of the sock. But, I used stockinette instead of garter stitch, as she does, and I achieved a heel that would fit an elephant.


I will save the photo of the finished socks for another post. That way, it will look like I've been knitting like crazy and keeping up with Ms. Y. H. Stay tuned!!

One for you, one for me

I admit it. I am not among the ranks of the knitting super women. Take Stephanie P-McP. How does the Yarn Harlot do it? I mean, she started her grey cardigan just a few days ago; then abandoned it to make a pair of socks, then finished the cardigan before I could even select my next knitting project!! During this time she flew to Madrona, took classes and gave a speech, took care of 3 teenager daughters and husband, and is working on a gazillion more books no doubt!!

Here at my homefront, where I have only one teenager, am retired but do volunteer work and am equally buried in snow and grey and cold, it was all I could do to finish these: the first ever socks REQUESTED by daughter #2, the 16 year old!!
The yarn is a Kaffe Fasset colorway that Regia came out with recently. I did a k3, p2 ribbing on the entire cuff and leg and the top of the instep. She wears the socks inside of her fake Ugg boots, to school, to keep her feet warm during this the winter to end all winters in the upper Mid-west!! She likes them, the really likes them!!

Now, for me these socks took time. They weren't difficult, but they did take time. Size 2 mm needles, size 8.5 feet. I mean, I didn't knock them off while taking a short breather from a cabled cardigan!

It took me a while to select my next big project. I don't get to make myself a lot of items, since I am now keeping myself, my father, daughter #1 and daughter #2 in handmade socks!! I showed you several possibilities for my perfect project. I didn't select any of them. I went off on a wild tangent.

Did you hear that Dale of Norway has discontinued the production of they fabulous yarn, Tiur?? I didn't. I think I was the last US knitter to learn of this. I panicked. I have had in my mind, for at least 8 years, to make about 8 or so Dale of Norway sweaters for myself in Tiur. I never accumulated the yarn, but I (incorrectly) had faith that the venerable Dale would never discontinue a staple of their stable. My faith was utterly misplaced.

I went on a mission to collect, by hook or by crook, sufficient Tiur to make all the sweaters that were bubbling back in my mind. I collected enough Tiur to make about 8 sweaters. I spent the entirety of my of my 2008 yarn budget. Forget the sewing machine that my yarn diet was accumulating money for.

Here is my first project. I purchased the pattern for this when I visited Norway in 2001. Red is my favorite color. Despite being brunette/grey haired, I think I became convinced that I would look like this model if I made the sweater.

Don't you love that "come hither" look in the model's eyes?? In that warm sweater with cables, color work, embroidery and textured stitches, I will be a sultry, blond 20-something Scandinavian! Forget the Marilyn Monroe and Lindsay Lohan nude photos, I will give them a run for their money in the allure department, dressed in wool/mohair and pointsettia/stars.

It took me longer to do my swatch than it did the Yarn Harlot to start and finish her socks!! Why I worried and did two swatches with two different needle sizes I'll never know. The gauge instructions gave dimensions over stockinette. There is NO area of stockinette in the entire sweater. Be that as it may, I achieved gauge for a stockinette sweater; not that I'm making a stockinette sweater....
So, I started with the sleeve. Turns out that the cuff was too narrow and the sleeve increases too dramatic for my taste. Rip out, start again. Use larger needles for the small needle size. Increase for the sleeve more slowly.
And I finished, one sleeve!! Looks like it will fit!! And, it's for ME!!!! Now, cast on for sleeve #2, and finish the second sock for my father. By the time I finish sleeve #2, Stephanie will have made her next cabled sweater in a more lively color AND made more grape leaves for another pair of Vintage socks for another friend........

We mere mortals slog on.

There Will Be Yarn

Ok, what have I been doing during my long absence from my blog? Follow me through my life since Dec. 11. Don't despair, there will be yarn--just not much of it. It seemed that I was knitting constantly--but I didn't achieve much.

First, my husband retired , ending a 42 year career as a college professor. As a true professor/scientist, however, he continues to go to work everyday. His last class lecture was in mid December. But, he can always find tasks to occupy him in his office, which he gets to keep until he dies or the department needs it. Our 16-year old daughter and I attended the last lecture and presented him with flowers at the end. A true bittersweet moment for him. He loves teaching. (I knit during his last lecture.)
Next, I attended numerous concerts. Just as the Yarn Harlot documented, mothers love their children's concerts. I have attended dozens of concerts of dear daughter #2. She is terrified of solo performances, but loves being part of a chorus. So much so that she participates in four choirs. Here in the US, or at least here in Wisconsin, schools seem to have December concerts without mention of Christmas or Christmas trees or presents, etc. Although we feel festive in attending the concert, the concert is distinctly non-sectarian to the core. We had the all-of-the-school choirs winter concert and the jazz band and choir concert. Here's daughter #2 in a small choir of 10 girls, five juniors and five seniors, who sing wonderful madrigal type music. (I knit during the concert, except when my daughter was performing!)
Daughter #1 is tool old for school concerts, but she demanded attention due to the slow, slow progress of her scuzzy condo renovation. It has been three steps forward and two steps back since September. One major step back is that the dryer is 3/4" too wide to fit in the alloted space in the kitchen. Now it holds court, unplugged, in the second bedroom which is the storeroom/office. (I couldn't knit when helping with the condo--I only have two hands!! Rats!!)
Back to another concert with daughter #2, this time in our church where appropriate seasonal music (for Christmas type holidays) was sung. However, also sung were festival of lights type music and Solstice type of music. We are ecumenical. (I couldn't bring myself to knit during the service, even though I had project in my purse calling to me!!)
We also struggled through low temperatures (below 0 F) and lots of snow. Daughter #2, an avid photographer, donned warm clothing on the coldest day to document ice on every pine needle. (I knit while she was outside. I wasn't stupid enough to frostbite my cheeks out there!!)
And then Christmas was upon us. Who decorated the tree all by herself?? Who did all the shopping for presents all by herself?? Who did all the grocery shopping and cooking and baking all by herself?? Who wasn't able to knit while doing all the above activities?? You guess.

The holiday was wonderful. My parents spent a few days with us. My mother does the most beautiful present wrapping, while recycling. She takes old Christmas cards, cuts out the drawings, and tapes them to plainly wrapped packages. The result is spectacular!!


Yes, I knit a number of Christmas presents, including two Wallaby sweaters for our surrogate grand children, a pair of socks for my mother, a six foot long scarf for daughter #1 made out of cobweb lace yarn and size 2 needles, a hat and mittens for a friend, a hat and mittens for daughter #2, a scarf for my father and a basket of scarves and mittens for friends and other family to choose from.
And, I put together a 1,000 piece jig-saw puzzle. I am now the only family member who observes tradition by putting together a jig-saw puzzle. I can't abandon the tradition. It used to be a way for family members to communicate, to laugh and catch up on the year. Daughter #2 helped out periodically, offering "new eyes" to the pieces that just didn't seem to fit anywhere. And, as usual, the empty spots were filled at the end even though I swore that the company failed to pack two essential pieces!!!
Then, my Fiber Arts Group, held a service project day during which we cut and sewed 106 hats for cold children's heads!! One of our group member has orchestrated the making of 10,000 hats in the past few years! She is a force of nature. We were swept in for only one day.
Our local knitters' guild has set a goal of making 500 items to donate to various local charities. January was "baby sweater" month, so I made an Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. I started with some self-striping worsted weight yarn that did not stripe, and quickly ran out. I switched to white Red Heart yarn. The charities require yarn that can be machine washed and dried. My changes to the standard pattern were two: 1) use an I-cord bind off and 2) pick up stitches along the cuffs of the sleeves to extend the sleeves to the wrist. (Check out our charity blog at http://mkgckc.blogspot.com!
I gave up on the socks I was making, using a pattern definitely NOT appropriate for self striping yarn.
I experimented with my my fave--Lucy Neatby's mermaid socks pattern. This pattern enhances the allure of self striping yarn. Much, much better. I frogged the ugly sock and made another matching mermaid sock. Success. Finally something for myself.
Now, I've been catching up with requests made at Christmas time. My dad finally realized that hand made socks are great for the feet of diabetics. So, he requested another pair (the first pair I made for him were made 4 years ago; he finally got around to wearing them!!). Daughter #1 didn't find anything in the basket that she wanted for Christmas, so she selected some yarn and has ordered socks. Daughter #2 decided that full, hand made wool socks were perfect to wear in the fake-Ugg boots she got for Christmas. So, she also, requested a pair of socks.

Christmas knitting fall out will last to mid-February I figure, when I will finally start a project for myself!! What oh what shall I make???