Enchanted

Voila! My lovely Enchanting...

(Sorry...you can't really see the eyelet pattern...)

Enchanting, by Dorothy Siemens of Fiddlesticks Knitting.
Knit Size 2, using Fiddlesticks Knitting Lace Sensation (100% silk), in the Robin's Egg colour.

I love her very much. She is a tad snug around the chest, but with wearing loosens up. Another lace thing I didn't know about...


And now what?


OK. Here's the plan (as of now anyway). I really, really, really (REALLY!) miss knitting with my wool. Yes Marina, I have come back to the fold... After perusing (and making a few purchases...) the She Ewe Knits Clearance page, I realized that I miss my Fair Isles! And I miss my Arans and my other wool projects *sniff*.


I *think* my brief affair with the non-wool is almost over. I'm going to finish up my three remaining lace projects - all are Fiddlesticks, go figure! - Endless Summer, Gingko Leaf (remember her?!!), and this one:



I also love her very much. It's the Twice As Nice Tee, in Shell Pink, and also from Fiddlesticks Knitting. A very easy, and very lovely pattern.


So, apart from the odd deviation (and startitis, of course), I hope to remain somewhat on track to CLEAR OUT my WIPs. Dammit.

Speaking of deviations... Weird thing about me (who knew?!). I really don't like wearing sunglasses. Odd when you consider how long I wore glasses/contacts up to 5 years ago when I had Laser Eye surgery. So, thinking I have to do something to protect my eyes from direct sun, I pulled out my summer hat. And I also remembered I had this pattern in my stash (only mine is a non-felted version, which I can't seem to find on the site) ...and quite a few odd balls of summery yarn in the ol' stash. I'm going to whip up a few; ok, probably more like a couple.

Cute? Hopefully. Stay tuned...

And in other hopeful updates. My Mork Socks have been transformed into Mork Slips a Stitch socks. I received a suggestion from LadyLungDoc (thanks again!) to maybe work a slip stitch around the leg to break up the colour nonsense. So - I thought I'd give it a try, and reworked the entire sock. Come to think of it, Chris has also used this design on some of her socks.


I'm nothin' if imaginative...

And In Gandalf News...of course.


And I wonder why he sometimes comes when I call him Dork.


There's a little squirrel that always comes on my deck. During the winter, I threw him a few pieces of gluten-free bread, and he gobbled it up. He looks a little weary... grey tufts in his tail and bald spots. So, when I see him, I put out some nuts for him (did I mention I nicknamed him Stewie? *cough* It was a long winter... *cough*).


Anyway, last week I was opening the back door to my deck, about to put out some stuff out for the squirrel when who should tear past my feet and after poor Stewie.

No really. Guess.

He didn't go beyond the end of the deck, but still scared the crap out of me. And the squirrel too.

I know, I know...just doin' what a cat does. But, knowing Gandalf, he probably wanted to play and sniff butt. So distinguished.

"Woke up...got out of bed...dragged a comb...across my head...na na na na na...and drank a cup...na na na na na...made the bus is seconds flat...made my way upstairs...and had a smoke...somebody spoke and I went into a dream...AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH AAAAAAAAHHHHHH AAAAAAAAAAA...na na na na na...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH AAAAAAAAAHHH...na na na na na..."

"Shut. Up."

Mork Socks

"Hey."

"Mmmmph..."

"HEY!"

"Goway...Atticus..."

*smack*

"OW! Atticus! What the...All right, I'm up..."

"Chop chop, Lady."

Which is why I was up at 5:25am this morning.

"I want what I want when I want it."

Mork from Ork Socks

I have given them a name, at least. Maybe I should do that to all my socks. You know. That way I won't be so quick to ditch them when they don't work out.

Oh, and they are that bright orange. Now. Again I ask you. Why is it that my stripes look NOTHING like the ones in the picture??! Um. Does the fact that I'm making mine from the toe up matter...? Even so, the pattern should fall in line at some point... *sigh* Oh well. I guess instead of a funky self-striping sunset colourway, I have my very own Mork from Ork suspender-coloured socks.

So far, so good...

Hey! So in other "Am I At The Right Blog?" happenings:

I've finished knitting up Enchanting. Now, the pictures above aren't so much to show you the finished product as they are to demonstrate HOW MANY PINS IT TAKES (ME) TO BLOCK LACE.

Whoa.

Again, I guess I'm used to rolling my wool FO's in a towel, and setting them on a flat surface to dry. Enchanting used up all of my T-pins. You may be shaking your head saying - well duh, of course lace does - but keep in mind I'm relatively new to this lace business. Fair Isle? Not so many pins required...

You know, I could really get into this lace thing... As long as every pattern I knit is from Fiddlesticks Knitting. I know, I know, I've gone on about it before. But hey. I'll say it again. Patterns? IDIOT-PROOF. You cannot go wrong! They are so well written... And as long as I have my gazillion and one stitch markers, I'm actually able to do these without my stomach twisting in knots. Everything is charted! And the Customer Service? Amazing. I e-mailed Dorothy Siemens for a clarification, and she got back to me within an hour. Explained everything. Clearly.

So, all that's left of Enchanting is to seam the cap sleeves to the body, and knit up the borders at the neckline and sleeve edges.

And yes, I will post a modelled shot.

And what of my other FO's??

Take your pick. Which one?

I've just taken a small break. I get like this in spring, where all I want to knit are light and airy. But hey, I'll get back on track soon enough. I hope. No matter how I try, I cannot stick to one project. Project monogamy?? What? Me?

Heh. Knitting bags in my house are usually what you can find, and/or whatever is cat-proof.

OK. Time to go and remove the pins from Enchanting. Should take about, oh, the rest of the morning... 'kay, maybe not. Just feels that way.

"...I love you, Blankie of Invisibility..."

Hiding In Plain Sight

"Whoa...I have found THE perfect hiding spot. No one can see me! Hee hee! Hey! Atticus! Yeah, I ate your Dental Diet food! Watcha gonna do?? Man, I am SO. Clever."

Not so clever - no batteries for my camera. *sigh*


So, imagine if you will that Columbia has a front, back and one sleeve. And that - whoops! Hey! Look what just forced itself on me! Made me knit it, it did. Cute little Enchanting top from Fiddlesticks Knitting! How'd that happen?? And it's almost finished?? WOW. And - it's lace. But not just any lace - just lace knit from the best darn patterns ever. You don't even need to think about it - just follow the chart.

And I started some socks too? What the...? Who knew! The OnLine sock yarn I picked up last week knits up pretty quickly. Mine is the last colourway on the right hand side, #930. Believe me - mine looks NOTHING like the one in the picture. Nothing. Instead of nice, neat stripes - mine look like those suspenders Mork used to wear on Mork and Mindy. Hee hee...oh well. I'll show you...next time.

"See Gandalf? I can so touch my nose with my tongue! Don't bet on stuff like that with me, I'm the champ at nose touching. Dork."

"Is it true Auntie Lorraine is coming to visit with me??!"

Last Friday, the organization bug bit me, and I went through my yarn stash and decided that it needed a bit of... organizing. You know - like yarn with like yarn, kits together... Because, as simple as that sounds... Who knew? I found stuff I'd forgotten I even had (of course), and other stuff I wondered WHY I even had. And patterns I'd been looking for and others that again, I'd forgotten I had. Most of them lace. They've been queued in Ravelry. Whether or not they get done is another thing altogether.

I did manage to snap this picture off before the batteries conked out.

Left overs. Although I'd like to pop the bag somewhere and neglect them, it has me thinking instead of what I can do with it all...


And that wow...that represents A LOT of projects.

If you get a chance, go pop by and say hi to Michele! She just had her lace projects on display at her local LYS. Beautiful stuff! And, if you haven't already - wish Lorraine a happy belated birthday!

Stuff I Bought and Will Be Buying

It's April!

"Big whoop. I'm hungry."

Well, I'm happy! The grass is actually sprouting nice green shoots!

Yesterday, I boldly headed into the Naked Sheep for "something springy". Oh hush. I know, I know, I need more yarn like a hole in the head blah blah blah. Heard it all before. I just turn up the volume on my MP3 to drown out the sound.

Anyhoo.

A big sign in the window announcing the arrival of Noro sock yarn didn't help keep me away. And of course, there was a sale bin next to the cash, so I kind of had to rummage through that as well.

So...this Noro sock yarn has a funky texture. Kind of thicky/thiny and string-like. Not at all smooth. Should make for some interesting knitting... I think I'll start a pair using the OnLine orangey/blue/pink/really bright coloured yarn resting behind it. I don't know. When it comes to sock yarn, I'm not too familiar with the different types, but I'll tell you, the Noro doesn't look like it'll hold up to much ripping. And if there's something I know - it's ripping out socks.

Heh.

After paying for those 2 balls of sock yarn, and calculating that they will be the most expensive pairs of socks I'll probably EVER own, I resisted roaming the rest of the store. Besides, the Captain was waiting for me outside, with a glazed over look in his eyes.

So, my journey into the world of sock knitting continues.

Oh, and by the way, the most-expensive sock yarn in my sock yarn stash is resting on the completed body of Columbia. I've started the sleeves, and who knows? Another FO? At some point.

My cute little Nordic Sweetheart hat! Resting on a dozey Gandalf (yes, His Looniness does relax the odd time)... I'm so happy with it! I've only had a chance to wear it once, and most likely won't be able to until next winter. Which is fine.

Gluten-Free Stuff

So, did you read about Chris' review of gluten-free beers?

Well. Let me tell you! How happy was I to read that my favourite delivery pizza now offers GLUTEN-FREE pizza crust!? Very, very happy. (OK, so there's an extra fee, but I can live with that.)

Pizza is one of my favourite foods. Of all time. Forever and ever. And ever. And that I can now order it with a gluten-free crust? Brings a tear to my eye...

It's a very good thing.