Distractions

There has not been as much knitting as I'd like.  When I came home from my visit to my son, Doug really wanted to go skiing.  So did I, to be honest.   I ignored the ice underneath the wee bit of snow on the sidewalk, and off we went.  

The trail had ice too, but it was relatively flat.  I can ski on flat.  Then there was a little hill, but I can handle a little hill. After all, there are big hills in our regular route.  Except that this time the track was icy and fast.  Down I went, landing awkwardly on the ski pole and my hand.  I noticed right away that there was a significant loss of grip strength ...  Three more falls and I was done.  The first was the hardest, and I managed to sprain the thumb on my right hand.  Not a problem since I am left-handed.  I can assure you that the world is right-handed, and being left-handed helps only marginally right now.

While I CAN knit, a little at a time, there just hasn't been much progress.  Instead, let me dazzle you with a photo essay:

"No thanks, Mom.  I'll pass."

"Well, perhaps a little taste."

"Wait--is that the Olympics?"

 "Grandma has a camera,"

"Should I smile?"

Ok.  I'll smile, since Grandma is only here for a short while.

"Mom, can I stop smiling now?"

Not much knitting

So there isn't a lot of knitting going on in my life right now.   Why?

Because I can not resist the smile!  Baby T is rolling over now, grabbing his toes, playing with his toys.  And he popped a new tooth through this week. 

I have a plain pair of socks with me, and am almost at the toes.  Then I am going to start an experimental pair of socks.  Provided Baby T doesn't smile at me, of course. 

I did manage to score a copy of Interweave Knits Harry Potter Designs though, from a nice little shop called Yarn Cloud.   It is a smallish shop, almost as large as N.E.W., and quite friendly.  There was a class in progress, but it wasn't intimidating to me to walk in.  My son was a bit reticent, but we were welcomed warmly.  Perhaps it was because we had Baby T with us ... Anyway, the shop was quite nice, with some of the same yarns we carry, and some others as well.  I managed to resist the siren call of yarn, and escaped with only the magazine in my bag.  It is definitely worth a return visit on my next trip.  

OnLy three more sleeps until I return home.  Sigh.  Already I'm trying to plan a next visit.  I sure hope the kids don't get tired of seeing me!

Another week, another ski

Despite feeling overly busy, I did manage another ski outing yesterday.  It was cold, but I exert a lot of energy when I ski.  I am getting better at gauging the wax on my skis, and getting a better feel for what is "right" when I ski.   I might have to redefine what I consider to be a fall -- currently it is when my bum hits the ground, or all hands and knees.  The last three skis have managed to be fall-free under those definitions.  Even changing the definition to one knee touching, all these outings have resulted in only one fall each.  Things are improving!

In knitting news, there has been improvement as well.   My chunky vest is currently drying after it's vinegar bath.

I am hopeful that the excess dye has rinsed out now.  The first blotting towel turned a nice shade of sky blue.   Turns put that I am a wee bit short of wool to finish the collar.  It was supposed to be eight inches tall, but I only managed five before running out of wool.  I think I am going to pull some similarly coloured wool from my stash and do the underside of the collar in it. The colour is close enough that even if it shows, the change in wool won't be glaringly obvious. 

February's class at the shop is socks.  I worked diligently on my current project ...

Done!    Another gift to be scratched off my list!   

And the afghan project continues apace.  Remember two weeks ago when I mentioned --  you are right, I complained --about the bobbles?   I listened to Barb talk a student through a bobble and realized that the problem was mine alone.   I pulled my square out to look at, and Barb instantly saw my problem.   I not-so-graciously frogged back to the first bobble row and redid it.   It looks much better now. 

I have to get the next square underway so that Barb will have it to teach the next class.  Why am I not teaching it?   Because I will be visiting my grandson!    Hurray!

With the absence of both the vest and socks in my knitting bag, I needed a traveling project.  Doug has been muttering about his need for new mittens, and even threatened to take up knitting himself to rectify that shortage.   To protect my stash, I cast on a mitten project.   

This is a double-knit mitten using an Aran weight wool on a 4.0mm needle.  It looks huge, and I have wrapped it around his hand several times to be certain it fits.   This wool was spun by Briggs and Little, down east, and I hope that it retains the B&L reputation for durability.  

The Elsebeth Lavold vest has not really progressed.   Truth in advertising requires me to confess that I have not even touched it.  Something about the idea of a sleeveless shell in the middle of a cold winter just doesn't feel right, you know?   It might become the travel knitting next week, but my son's family is experiencing a fair bit of winter themselves.   Who knows, eh? 

Still learning

I didn't really make New Year Resolutions this year.  Nor last year, for that matter.  What I DID do was to publicly declare that I was going to try to be more faithful to this blog; to capture my endeavours more faithfully.  I have heard that it requires 21 times to establish a habit.  Since this is only post number five this year, I expect I have a ways to go yet. 

In any event, my regular posting brought up a conversation about said posting.   Didn't I find seeing my projects not changing in my bag cause me to be discouraged?    Not at all; in fact, I was actually enthused to see how they were growing and evolving as the weeks went by.    Hopefully I will continue to feel this way as the year progresses. 

I am working on the same socks as last week, with one small change.

See?   Now it's a sock and a half!   I've even completed the gusset shaping, so now it's a straight shot to the toe.   Since February is sock class, these will be done in the blink of an eye.  One. Ore holiday gift off the needles!

This is the Begere de France vest from last week.  I'm over half done with the front already!   As I (hopefully) mentioned previously, this is a yarn that I dyed myself.  I'm very pleased with the tone on tone look I achieved.  Sadly, though, the excess dye didn't get cleanly rinsed out.  My fingers turn a strange shade of blue when I work on this.   The collar and arm bands are knit separately and then sewn on.  Consequently, this will get a little vinegar rinse, followed by a bath with Eucalan before final finishing.   I seriously hope that I don't lose a lot of colour when I rinse this. 

One thing I noticed when taking photos last week was that I had not worked on my Elsebeth Lavold project much in the preceding week.  I vowed to remedy that, and promptly started knitting on it. 

The back was finished up in no time at all.  I even cast on the front.  And got about eight rows into it when the siren call of my hand-dye lured me away.   It's silly, because I really love the Silky Wool as well as the design.  Perhaps it is the instant gratification of the 6.0mm needles.  In any event, I'll be back onto this project fairly quickly. 

The afghan project hasn't been touched since there was no class last Sunday.  Instead we went and spent an afternoon with my daughter ... Did the full Ikea shopping trip and had dinner.  I was ridiculously excited to see the girl, especially since I had had a delightful visit with her over the holidays.  I really enjoy visiting her at her home and seeing her as a Grown-Up I guess. 

Before going to see Carrie, Doug and I zipped over to Walker Woods and had a great ski.  The wax wasn't as perfect as my previous outing, but it was still great.  Lots of freshly fallen snow and early enough in the day that hikers had not had the opportunity to wreck the trails.  With all the snow we have had this week, I am looking forward to another ski Sunday morning, followed by another afghan class. 

Have I mentioned that I have five projects lined up, ready to be started?   The only thing that stops me is that my knitting bag weighs about 20 lbs.   I can't haul any more projects with me.  Guess I better get knitting again!