good news:
May 11
Kal for Slow Bee
1 starts .
What a perfect Mother's Day gift. You know what I will be doing that day. My yarn is picked and some beads . I ordered the yarn from
http://sarahsyarns.com/JSZephyrColorCard_big.html . Two sets of beads were purchased on EBay from Emilia
Beadelia'a Bead Shop. I love the name of this store . Long ago I read Amelia
Bedelia books to my daughter many, many times. One set of beads is multi colored with some blues and the other looks like little ice crystals. When I do a swatch( Yikes- for once it will be done) a few beads will be placed to help make the decision.My shopping has been a little out of control lately due to this
KAL obsession with the purchase of Addi Lace needles in several sizes, blocking wires and pins.
Knitty Gritty is taped automatically so last night nothing new was on TV so I watched Lily Chin demonstrate a
9 Block Baby Blanket. Never would I actually do the blanket but her blocking methods got my attention and the idea to change the afghan pattern being made for my daughter. This is mindless knitting in between lace. Only 4 squares of 15 are done and need this by July 19
th shower . My worry was that the squares are not turning out to be the same size but Lily showed how she uses a foam template and pins each square to that to make them squares.. Wires will even make it easier. She single crochets around each square and then sews them together .The whole blanket gets a single crochet edge around it eventually. My pattern calls for knitting sections in between the blocks and then attaching them. After they are blocked it will be easier to decide. But- thank you Lily chin and
Knitty Gritty for showing me a simple way to block the squares using inexpensive foam. My worry was this blanket would turn out like crap! I bought the kit at Stitches 2 years ago when I saw a sample blanket displayed and spent much $ on it. Really should have done it in a washable yarn because my daughter has 3 cats and a dog but so what.
PATCHWORK AFGHAN Knit Simple Holiday 2006
includes 18 skeins of Nashua Handkits - Creative Focus Worsted yarn & magazineUS 6 needles (not included)
This beauty of a blanket is pieced together from large squares of simple colorwork and solid stockinette using 8 different jewel tones shades!!
and now more good news
171 rows are completed out of 196 on my Forest Canopy Shawl. It looks very small so another one or 2 sections of the pattern will be completed. How much bigger will it get when I block it? I am loving this project but now understand why it has been slightly problematic. I just read in The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes that you should never use boucle for lace . Quoted from her book:
"While boucle yarns can look gorgeous on the skein - especially those hand- dyed in variegated colors - they can be problematic to knit. Those open loop act a magnets for even the dullest- tipped needles , snagging again again. Most boucles, whether simple or complex, want to be knit in the simple stockinette. Anything else will be totally lost beneath the wonderfully jumbled surface."
The pattern is not showing up as much and the stitch count has been off with the little magnet nubs but on the other hand all my mistakes won't show up either- right?
some sad news:
My husband's best friend and fishing partner since grade school died last night of lung cancer. My husband is one of those guys who does not cry so seeing him last night so upset and choking with tears broke my heart.
This is the my DH (tall guy) and Warren fishing here on the Delaware last fall..
I have knitting . My
DH's addiction is fishing .This morning he got up at 7am and went fishing with thoughts of his best buddy on his mind. Tomorrow he will travel to his wake and funeral. This will be an emotional week for him and me. He shuts me out at times like this and sometimes is not easy to live with but after almost 22 years I understand and accept it.
Friday he leaves for Costa Rica for a dream fishing trip.The timing of this trip is good.
I will be busy moving my mother into a senior complex this next weekend. Packing up up things last few weeks has been my job.. She is very sad and depressed. Maybe being around healthy people her age will help. All she sees now is my comatose father and the other helpless and sick residents. Nursing homes are way up there on my list of emotionally upsetting and sad places.It is a constant reminder of how fragile life is and that I am getting older too fast.
