Another week in the life of ...

Another week has passed, with little to show for itself, although I have made great strides on my baby gift for the new nephew. I am making the Teddy-Bear All-in-One from Debbie Bliss' Nursery Knits. The body is completed, and most of one sleeve. The little footies and mitts are simply adorable. I am excited to get the rest of the outfit completed.

Since opening the store, I have decreed that "home" projects can only be worked on at home, or at Knitting Night. This resolve is sorely tested on this project. I really, really want to get it finished so I can see it in all its adorableness. (Is that a word? I don't think so!)

And having pointed out the distinction between "home" knitting and "store" knitting ... this little baby is the current store project. I'm using the suggested Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool to make the shell, and it is knitting up beautifully. The yarn is going to be so nice to wear.

Often I think of wool as being a tad scratchy. This doesn't feel that way at all. The silk gives it a nice slubby look and feel. Not at all hard on the hands.

And, this may come as no surprise, the shell is just my size, and just the right colour to go with several of my dress suits. Hmm. I wonder how that happened?

Today is my lovely hubby's 50th birthday. For three weeks, I get to tease him unmercifully about being a year older than I ... until my birthday arrives. How in the world did we get to be 50 already? It seems only yesterday that I graduated high school, welcomed my babies into the world ... Just how the heck does the time fly by so quickly?!

A Finished Object!

Much of my knitting these days seems to revolve around the shop. Funnily enough, most of my finished objects get displayed at the store. Of course, having the shop means that I also get to play with lots of luxurious yarns that I normally wouldn't.

This scarf is made with Sublime, a wonderfully soft blend of merino, silk and cashmere. Yes, cashmere. Admittedly, only 5% cashmere, but cashmere nonetheless. And this yarn is soft. Wonderfully soft. Soft enough that you want to rip your clothes off and roll around naked in it.

But I didn't because that would be ... you know, tacky. Besides, the store has 10 feet of front window. I wouldn't want anyone to see me indulging in such wanton displays of self-indulgence.

Instead I made this scarf. It's called Little Zig-Zag and uses 3 balls of the Sublime cashmere. There is no border on the scarf, which means that the scarf tries to roll in at the edges. There also is no fringe, which I really like.

The blocking instructions suggested pinning the scarf out and laying damp towels across it until everything dries. Which I did. And it seems to have worked because the stitches did even out nicely.

Knitting for myself? Well, I did pick up 8 balls of extra-fine superwash merino to make a gift for my new nephew. Photos coming soon.

Another week

Another week has passed by. I don't have any finished projects to show off. The sock you see here I finished last week. I just saved it for a rainy day.

Speaking of rainy days ... it has rained a lot over the past week. I don't know about any one else, but I am SO tired of rainy days. Can't we see a little sunshine, huh?

The sock was made with Noro Kureyon, color #128. I just love the way the colors blend into one another. They are just wonderful.

The sock didn't feel really soft, though. I was puzzled because I read about so many folks who really love their Noro socks. I brought the sock home and gave it a dip in warm water and mixed a very tiny, wee bit of hair conditioner in. Talk about a difference! WOW! Now it is nice to pet. I suspect a pair of them on one's feet would continue to soften and felt a wee bit. Talk about luxury!! And the better news--since I softened the sock, I've sold lots of Noro.

In other news ... my younger sister was expecting her second baby on November 24, more or less. Imagine her surprise when she went into labour on the 8th. The baby boy was delivered via c-section, and spent several days being known as Baby Boy. At last, a name was decided upon--Samuel. Mom and Sammy are now home and doing well. Thank goodness!

The Accursed Sweater - Part Two

Last night was Knitting Night. My friend Irene had promised that I would get a stranding lesson so that I would no longer have to refer to the sweater as Accursed. True to her word, I got the stranding lesson from her sister, Cathy. Irene was quite willing to assist; however, there were 15 people crammed into my tiny, little store. Besides being one more person than available chairs, it was just way too crowded to move around much. Cathy was able to get out of her chair, between Terry's chair and the counter, over Louise and behind the cash register. I was able to stand up, go over Emily and reach over the counter/cash register for my lesson. It was fabulous. I had never seen the technique before--despite having knit for years and years. My mentor (my mother) preferred Aran knits, just like me. Hmm. There may be a reason why I prefer Arans now that I think about it.

So ... does anyone else need a primer in stranding? I could post pics and such, courtesy of my friends Irene and Cathy. Thanks ever so much, ladies. It is a much-appreciated lesson.

The second part of Knitting Night, and possibly of even more value than the stranding lesson, was the expression of the group opinion that The Accursed Sweater would be too small for the intended recipient. "No way," I insisted. "I've measured and taken guage swatches. It'll fit!" The group expressed sincere reservations and ... quite honestly, grave doubts.

When I arrived home, I promptly measured Doug. Then I measured the sweater. Then I measured Doug. Then I measured the sweater. Then I measured Doug again. Know what? No matter how many times I did it, the two measurements were just not going to cooperate.
The solution? A trip to the frog pond. Doug took pictures. Apparently I was making funny faces. Lots of funny faces.

By noon today, this is how The Accursed Sweater looked:
I have cast on for the larger size now, and completed one and a half rows of the ribbing. I now refer to it as Apres Ski, the name given by the designer.

I only hope the name doesn't change.

And as a special treat, Louise and Emily arrived from Windsor for a surprise visit! The local guild in Windsor brought Debbie Bliss in for a talk, and they had pictures.

Talk about a great evening!