May 27, 2007

Knit, Knit, Knit...

Ok, somebody shake me, quick, before I get bored!! This is now becoming the saga of the never-ending baby blanket. I am plodding along at a snail's pace, not the least bit distracted by other projects, but the want of oter projects is growing stronger by the day!! Now that my pool is open for the summer I hope to get long chunks of knitting time. However, yesterday I was at the pool for the whole afternoon. And for Memorial Day weekend, it has been hot! Yesterday the high was 92 degrees F, and the acrylic yarn felt as if it would simply melt in my hands. Made me wish I'd been knitting with laceweight. But, as I've said, I cannot be distracted! The baby for whom this project is intended is due in August. Luckily that's the END of August, and I hope he stays in utero til the last possible second. Every minute, every stitch, counts!

Truly I am enjoying this project, but I do have to say that I wish I had begun it on larger needles. Small needles and teeny stitches do make for slow progress. Count this as a lesson learned.

Knitting Ear Candy

I discovered another knitting podcast this week: The Knitpicks Podcast, by Kelley Petkun. I was wary, of course, because it is a podcast on a totally commerical site. So I thought surely it would be a long, drawn out commerical. I suppose it is, in the end, but it's not uninteresting to listen to. At least so far. I've listened to two episodes, and in the first one, Kelley talks about how she discovered the fiber world by first learning to spin, even though she had no idea what she would do with the yarn she ended up learning to make. In the second episode, she talks about knitting on a desert island, and what she would have with her if she were stranded. Of course, this was the opportunity to go on and on about socks. How you can fit a lot of sock supplies in a fairly small space, so this makes the ideal project. Yeah ok, I saw her point. But of course, I have yet to make a sock in my life. Not sure what's holding me back.

Am I sounding negative? Don't mean to. The podcast is indeed entertaining and I would say it's worth a listen.

Of course, I am still enjoying Cast On, by Brenda Dayne. Why in the world was I so late in discovering this? What is wrong with me? I really really do love this show, and apparently, so do a lot of other people. It's funny and informative and very personal and it feels a lot like I'm sitting and knitting wtih someone over a good cup of tea. I often wonder about the people who podcast, and how they keep going, without running out of things to say or topics to cover week after week. To her credit, Brenda puts a lot of thought and work into this and gives herself structured break times so she can regroup and refresh.

It doesn't look as if I am going to get this post uploaded tonight so if you're reading this it might be sometime later. We had a storm come through earlier that knocked the cable out and now it goes up and down in a pattern: 2 minutes, 45 seconds out, 15 seconds on. They swear it's us and not them but we don't think so. I did get one brief period a bit earlier of about 15 minutes when it was back on and I thought we were in the clear. But alas, no luck. Until next time...

May 15, 2007

Blankie Update

Well, it's taken me about a week to come down from The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I wish it could be more than once a year. I scored some really lovely denim blue silk from Tess Yarns, in what I think is enough to knit a top for myself. But before I can even think about conquering my fears of knitting clothing, I must finish the rainbow baby blanket I've been working on. As you can see in the photo, I have a looooooooong way to go! I'm thanking goodness that I have a long car trip coming up later this summer. I'm looking forward to the knitting time in the car almost as much or more than I am the vacation itself. Is that crazy, or what? I have my iPod and my knitting.... what else could I want?

I'm really enjoying the striped blanket though, it looks random, but it's not really, and every time I change colors I have a brief feeling of surprise. I think it's the color changes that are keeping my motivation going. If you'd like to see a description of my method for this project, go to the April 5 entry below.

Anyway, that's what's going on in my knitting world this week. The pool opens for the season on Saturday, and I'm looking forward to a summer filled with knitting. Thanks for reading, and please sign the guestbook!

May 6, 2007

As the Sheep Bleats...AKA Another Fabulous Day at the Maryland Sheep And Wool Festival

Yesterday marked my third visit to the annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. This year was extra special because I got to meet so many new friends! See below for my fabuluos images of an unforgettable day!

To use this image gallery, click on the numbers for the row of thumbnails, then click on an individual thumbnail to see the full size image. Enjoy!

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May 2, 2007

My Own Warshrag!

Just had to share! My friend Rhoda came over last Sunday for some quality knit time, and brought with her some dishcloths that she was working on. I admired this one so much that when she cast off she gave it to me! Of course I was attracted to the muted, rainbow-y shades, and I commented that wow, what a lovely pair of socks this colorway would make. Except of course that it's dishcloth cotton, and not sock cotton. But still, it's yummy, don'tcha think? thanks, Rhoda!

MSW Update

Yay! The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is in only 3 days! For all the members of KnitTalk who are planning to attend, we're having a quick group meet and greet, just inside the main building, at noon on Saturday, May 5. Can't wait to see you there!