Thoughts for 01/22/07

Sorry, haven't had much time to post lately... busy busy busy ... tired tired tired (it was a long week/weekend, long story, won't bore you with it) ... somebody please send me a babysitter for 3 days. I have lots on my mind but can't remember what I want to say when I finally find some time in front of the computer. I wish I could blog in my sleep. Since I have a bit of insomnia, I'm often lying in bed thinking about what I want to do. This usually includes what I want to write in my blog plus replying to email. Sometimes I do all this stuff in my head while lying in bed, and then later forget that I haven't actually done it. lol. I haven't yet decided whether writing or fiddling around with photos takes more time. I guess they're about equal. This blogging thing sure does take a lot of time! lol.

Just found out today that my MIL doesn't want to take M for 2 nights next month, but would rather try a 1 night "trial" period to see how it goes. I don't blame her, it would be the first time M will have spent the night away from home & her parents. DH & I will try to have a 1 night getaway to Carmel, CA, and return the next day to pick up M. Ok, mental note to remember to find some lodgings in Carmel for next month...



I've been thinking about using the ubiquitous Dayflower pattern for a wash cloth for some time now, and I finally got around to doing something about it. I think it is a lovely pattern, and will use it for a scarf someday. This one is done in tea rose, the color in the picture isn't true to the actual yarn color. I always have a hard time capturing true colors in my photos.

Sorry, I haven't gotten around to typing up the pattern. I do have my notes, even the "neat/legible rewrite" version which I could take a photo of and post here for you guys, but I don't think you'd find it very helpful with the kind of unconventional "shorthand" I use.




I've finished M's second hat for this winter, it's another Asherton Hat in the same light pink yarn I used for her hat last winter. Yay! That means I should be able to easily do a swaperoo, letting her play with one hat while I wash the other. M has a thing with hats. She'll often wear them when it's way too warm (nevermind that I try to reason with her to take it off), and she'll hold/drag them all over the place (protesting if anyone tries to take them away from her). I've started another Asherton Hat, in the same light pink yarn, for my Mom since she wanted another hat and decided on the Asherton. It'll be interesting when we're all out together, where M & her grandma are wearing the exact same hat in the same color. lol.

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Several people have asked about how I did the cables in my Persephone Scarf without using a cable needle.... I'll just copy/paste my response on About Knitting to Merigold about cabling with a cable needle, it's just easier for me that way so I hope you guys don't mind :

I really love doing cables without a cable needle now. It's so easy once you get the hang of it. I don't think I'll use cable needles again unless I'm doing a really big cable cross or some kind of really funky cable cross.

Let's say you want to do a CF4, a front cross cable involving 4 stittches. You would normally place 2 sts on a CN & hold in front, knit 2 sts, then knit 2 sts from the CN. Without a CN, you would slip your right needle through the back loops of the 3rd & 4th sts on the left needle. Now carefully remove all 4 sts from the left needle (this is where you use your right thumb & forefinger to help hold the 1st & 2nd sts in place so they don't unravel while they're off the needle) ... so the 1st & 2nd sts are hanging loose, and the 3rd & 4th sts are on the right needle. Now you use your left needle to pick up the 1st & 2nd sts, then pick up the 3rd & 4th sts that you had moved onto the right needle. Did that make sense? I think it's easier if you see someone do it. Now that you have rearranged the sts and they are all on the left needle, just knit them.

It's similar for CB4, except that you would slip your right needle through the front loops of the 3rd & 4th sts. Remove the 4 sts from the left needle. Pick up the dangling 1st & 2nd sts wih your left needle, then move the 3rd & 4th sts from right needle back onto the left needle.

It must sound awkward, but give it a try. Once you're comfortable with it, you'll wonder why you used a cable needle before. I find that the CN breaks my flow of knitting. So now what do I do with the 7 CNs I have???

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I am prone to cuts & scratches. I have no idea where most of them come from. I haven't done much knitting lately, partly due to a big scratch on my forefinger near the base of my nail ... it's exactly where the working yarn rests, so it's been a pain for me to knit. Besides scratches, I am also suffering from dry/cracked skin with the cold weather we are having here. :-(

I haven't managed to do much knitting in the car. I think M has gotten wind of my use of the car to get her to nap in the afternoons. So now she protests getting into the car, and asks for a "walk" instead, which means in the stroller. Either way, regardless of car or stroller, she still only naps for 30 minutes. She wakes up like clockwork. Of course the problem with the stroller is that we can only do it on non-rainy days, and I get no knitting done since I'm walking & pushing the stroller. Sigh...

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I've been thinking about a scarf pattern worked in a chunky weight yarn since Gail asked me whether I had one that would work with heavier yarn, specifically the 3 stitch per inches Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande to be worked on US 10.5 (6.5mm) needles. I'm not really familiar with this yarn, but I have an idea of how thick it is given the 3sts/in gauge. Most of the yarn I have are in the fingerling, dk & worsted weight ranges. I haven't given much thought to using thicker yarn. So I have ordered some of Elann's Highland Chunky yarn which is 15-16st/4inch with US10 (6mm) needles to have some thicker yarn to play with. At 3.75-4 stitches per inch, it is just a smidgen lighter than the Baby Alpaca Grande, but I think it would be close enough to use for designing a scarf that could possibly work with the Baby Alpaca Grande. Of course being the beginner knitter that I am, I could be making a grave assumption here. Still kicking around a few ideas for a chunky weight scarf. It may be a while before anyone sees this at the rate I knit (which is slower than molasses on a 310 kelvin day) , but I will try to get it done before the next Ice Age... :-)

Speaking of Elann ... I have to remember to resubscribe to their Newsletter before the end of this month, otherwise I'll suffer from snips withdrawals...

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Someone asked me how I knit "in the round". I think most people use circular needles and/or double point needles (DPNs). The idea of using DPNs intimidated me at first, plus I do not own any double point needles. So I spent a lot of time in search of hat patterns (and sock patterns) that were knit flat with 2 needles and then seamed at the end. Then I discovered the technique of knitting in the round using 2 circular needles and decided to give it a try on a hat. It wasn't that hard after I got the hang of it. Here's the site I used to learn this wonderful technique: http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/twocirculars.html . Check it out! Now I can't imagine going back to any hat patterns that are knitted flat. This is partly because I hate seaming even more than I hate weaving in ends.

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Paula tagged me for that Six Weird Things About Me thing, she is the 3rd person to tag me for this. I've already posted my Six Weird things. Well, that was easy. :-)

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Oh, I just found out that Rachel has made my Heart Lace Cloth the Featured Pattern of the Week on Knitting Pattern Central. Wow, that's wicked cool! Thanks!


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