After hours of yarn sorting and photographing yesterday I was tireder than tired, but the kids and DH wanted to go to the pool. I thought about staying home, but it was such a nice night, I went. And I’m glad I did! The weather was GLORIOUS, and it was built-in knitting time for me.
I managed to finish the yoke of my baby sweater! Now onto the interesting part. I decided to do the sweater in stockinette stitch, all except for the front panels which will have a cable and lace pattern band on each front. I still need to divide the sections of the sweater so I can decide where to place the stitch pattern. I love cables, so this will be good for me. I haven’t had a project with a cable in it for a while. So, I’m doin’ the happy dance.
Show Yer Socks!
Just had to share these new shoes I got from Journeys. I first saw them on the day I went to see the Yarn Harlot in a shop window. But alas, they didn’t have them in my size. I tried to order them online but my size didn’t even show up as available until about a month ago, and then when I ordered, they were out of stock. So, at long last, I got them this week.
Yet another reason to be a sock knitter. Cool shoes to show off your socks. Niiiiiiice.
Today was a really productive day. My knit buddy Rhoda came over with her daughter, Sarah. They were on a mission. Today was the day that we were going to organize every ball of yarn I own, and all the little doo dads that go with it.
They arrived at about 10 a.m. and before I knew it, every bit of yarn in my house was dumped onto my den floor. Rhoda said she thought there’d be more. People always say that about me. Turns out my yarn stash isn’t that bad.
We decided to organize my yarn by type. So, all the wools are together, all the cottons, all the sock yarns, etc. I had attempted to organize my stuff recently and even started a box numbering system, but now, knowing that all of my cottons are together in one place, it’s somehow easier. I had enough wools to fill two Rubbermaid tubs, which didn’t surprise me. So that had to be split up. It did surprise me that I had as much cotton yarn as I did. Equally surprising to me was that I had such small quantities of both luxury yarns AND cheap acrylics, so, oh the dichotomy! They are in a box together. Also placed neatly into crates are my UFOs (that’s UnFinished Objects, for non-knitters who might be reading). I have one crate for the really hot, active projects, and one for the longer term projects. Now, everything has its place.
I also reclaimed a rolling cart/bin thingy from my kids, which has my needles, accessories, and related crafting supplies all neatly arranged. Now I have a place for all of it, it’s not in a huge jumbled mess, and I can reach it all! How cool is that?
We didn’t tackle the knitting library today. That’s a huge project all its own. But I feel like I’m well on my way, with a huge thanks to Sarah and Rhoda! Huggers!
I feel ashamed. It is so easy to be swayed by other projects these days. Especially now that it is hot and I’m generally cranky and tired. Most of my knitting time is also limited to knitting by the pool or during my commute in the car. Which, I’ve rationalized, is too hard for working on a large project by my brown ripple afghan. So it’s been easy to leave it alone.
But, the fact is that I have to get this done. Lots of people have contributed to it by knitting in stitches or rows. It even survived a major disaster. Now, the fact is that I just need to get it done. And I will. I’m just not sure when. But soon, ok? I’ll keep plugging away.
So I’ve never really done major baby knitting. A couple of blankets, but this is my first time attempting a sweater. I’ve never made a sweater of any kind, so I figured I’d better start small. I’m basing the method of construction for this sweater on the February Baby Sweater, except that my gauge is different, and my yarn is different, and, in the end, I don’t like the stitch pattern that was used. Well, ok, I do like the stitch pattern, but what if the baby is a boy? In that case, then not so much.
So I will use the concept of the sweater, in the use of the percentage system and the overall design. But I am still uncommitted as to which stitch pattern to use. Something that says, “Yeah, I’m a boy and I can still wear this sweater, even though it has pink in it,” but that would be ok for a girl, too.
I so wanted to kick off Summer of Socks 2008 in high fashion while knitting by the pool on Saturday evening. But alas, we were all tired, and I had trouble getting started. Earlier in this evening, I cast on for about the 10th time my first pair of real socks. I don’t know why I have such a hard time getting started, but I can’t seem to do the toes until I’ve started at least half a dozen times. So this is all I have to show. Whoop-dee-do.
I recently bought a Namaste Cali Malibu bag in Hollywood Pink. But I also found a mini sewing kit that nearly matched. I don’t really sew at all, but it’s good to have an extra tape measure, scissors, buttons and thread on hand. It matches the bag, and is SOOO cute. For that reason alone, I had to have it. Shallow? Don’t answer that!
Here are two views, one with the kit closed and one with it open.
I’ve been so tired all weekend after Friday’s Stitch n Pitch, that I haven’t had the energy to lift my fingers and type much, let alone blog. But I don’t want the scenes from my fabulous time to go unblogged any longer. So here I am. (Apologies in advance that this post contains LOTS of photos!)
The Washington Nationals were hosting the Texas Rangers, and the game went to 14 innings, with the Nats victorious! John and I had gotten up early for work that day though so I confess only surviving to the bottom of the 10th.
The first photo is me with my new friend Bonnie, who it seems of late I run into at just about every knitting event I go to. We sat next to each other at the Yarn Harlot’s visit to Annapolis and ran into each other again at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and Ravelry party. I should have guessed we’d be sitting next to each other for the Stitch n’ Pitch, since we were in the wheelchair seating area that was part of event seating.
The Ballpark is like Disneyland inside! Upon entering we were greeted with loud music provided by some DJ’s, and this HUGE restaurant right inside the gate.
There are tons of restaurants, a Build-a-Bear Workshop, a Play Station arcade, and a playground for the kiddos.
My hubby took a panoramic view of the ballpark from where we were sitting:
And the Capitol was sorta behind us.
Of course, there were LOTS of knitters!
And here’s a view of where I was sitting (I’m the blur in the aqua sweater at the top left.)
There was a touching tribute to Tim Russert at the beginning:
And here’s the pitch:
I made my DH hold the knitting so he could be in the blog, too… He’s not a knitter and he doesn’t love baseball, so all the silliness of the evening was somehow below his radar. But I think he had a good time.
One of the funniest things was the Racing Presidents, that would have Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt rolling over in their graves. But truly, the race was one of the most entertaining moments.
This is Radhika, who I was thrilled to meet along with her good friend and her guide dog (who scored a hot dog from one of the workers, lucky dog!). She is a new knitter and went to the Stitch n’ Pitch table for lessons on increasing, decreasing, and intarsia.
The scoreboard is pretty at night:
And last but not least, the Washington Nationals’ unofficial mascot:
The Washington gnats! (those white streaks in the black photo are a teeny sampling of the literally thousands of buggies that looked like snowflakes in the night sky.)
It was a great night, and I can’t wait for next year. See you there, Bonnie! 🙂
