February 25
Ravelympics, snow storms, cozy cats and darning eggs.....
Greetings! My Ravelymics sweater is complete and I love it! Honestly,
it became a comedy of errors and I spent as much time shaking my head
as knitting. My initial cast on tail was too short (we all know and
hate that) and I was on the wrong size needle, second guessing what
size I had done my gauge swatch on. Anyway, cast on again, had enough
tail, worked 4 rows and realized I had the wrong number of stitches. I
decided to do the fronts and back together in one piece and my math
was wrong (what a surprise) so... try # 3 seemed fine. Until I was 5
inches up and realized it was waaayyyy too big. So, I took a deep
breath and started again... all was well. The sleeves came next. I
cast on the required number of stitches only to find it way too big (I
have small wrists) so, to keep in pattern I couldn't lessen it by two,
I had to lessen it by four, which I did... and I added an increase to
make up for it. Finished the sleeve and decided it was too tight. You
know how that is though.... you try it on and do your best to convince
yourself it's fine, just fine.... when that little voice starts to say
"it's not fine.... it's way too tight" gets louder and louder until
Ug..... out it comes. So, start again... and press on. Glad I did as
the finished sleeves are perfect. It had been a long time since I set
in sleeves and couldn't get them to look the way I wanted, so I took
them out, did it again, took them out decided it was fine. Blocked it,
laid it out to dry, tried to convince myself (again) that they looked
great... again I heard the voice, out they came and try 6, maybe 7 (?)
was the charm. I used a contrasting worsted weight yarn this time and
chose a different seam line .... better. Finally, I was satisfied. The
collar instructions left me o_O though I understood the concept, so
I did my own thing and love it. It's warm and soft and lofty and
pretty and I'm delighted. And only bought 4 sets of buttons before I
could decide, not bad.... right?
After working with that bulky yarn I couldn't cast on fast enough with
some DK weight from Madelinetosh. A gorgeous blend of 75% merino, 15%
silk and 10% cashmere. Lovely deep cranberry color and it's like
knitting a cloud.... love it. I chose a long tail tubular cast on this
time, what a great method! A bit fiddely, but well worth it.
When I was first married I saw a pair of Paul's sock that were wearing
thin. I knew how to darn them, but didn't have a darning egg. I went
to a locally owned fabric shop and asked for one. I got a blank stare.
They didn't know what I was talking about?! I called my mom,
remembering she had had them... and she sent me one of hers. I
remember her sewing box and how much I loved looking through it....
the smell of it, all the lovely little items I was so fascinated
with.... and that darning egg. It was plastic, light colored on one
side and red on the other. It was plastic, but that good heavy
plastic... and that's what I thought she was sending. What she did
sent was another I had never seen... ah well, I used it. I've often
thought how nice it would be to have a really beautiful daring egg,
out of wood. Well, Woody was here last week and I mentioned if he ever
wanted to try something different he could turn a daring egg. "A what?
Can you show me a picture"? So I did, he quickly looked and nodded.
This past week he came out on Monday, later than he wanted and I saw
him briefly as we were headed out the door for yoga. He was gone when
we returned but I scooted to the dining room to see what he had done
and there was the most beautiful darning egg I'd ever seen. You'll see
it tonight. He couldn't come out yesterday due to out HUGE storm... so
there's just the one wood offering from him this week.... but it's
special. I don't suppose I need to mention just how much I'd love to
keep it.....
I was at the bank visiting with two of the young women who work there
and they asked about our boys. I filled them in and mentioned the
darning egg. Again with the blank stares...... "Is it like a spinning
wheel?" They asked.... Um..... no. Honestly, in our throw away
society I'm always glad I know how to darn a sock... and always feel
good extending the life of a well loved item...... especially when
it's hand knit.
The storm hit us hard and our power was on and off throughout all of
yesterday. Today is windy with freezing rain.... and it's grey. When
the power was out, Paul and I went for a walk and it sure was
pretty... and we had fun tapping and shaking the tree branches that
were hanging heavy over the road and ditches. We released that weight
and 'fling' they snapped right back upward, glad to be free of the
burden.
Thanks to all who got back to me regarding 'Case Night'! I did catch
up a bit with the custom work but it feels really odd not to have
bags! I almost put one together.... a pretty new fabric my fingers are
itchy to work with, but I was good.... stayed true to the custom work
and cases. So, next time I'd like to offer even more, having power
will do that :) So, enjoy them tonight and look for bags bags bags
next week!
Those of you who enjoy Taylor's work can see his latest work updated
tonight. Just click on Taylor's Writing. Love my boys, love their
unique and special talents.....
Thanks for being here. Enjoy the cases.... and let's knit on good
women as our eyes and hearts await Spring!
Warmly,
Martha.
