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Does it look bigger yet? I was surely hoping it would, as I have been knitting away at this thing, hoping it would eventually grow up to be a shawl. I think I still must be months out from completion. What’s a girl to do? Given that I have such “Knitting ADD,” I wonder if this project ever will see completion, or whether it will just land on my ever-growing pile of UFOs. I need to start a UFO gallery! It would be WAY bigger than my Finished Objects Gallery. But I do have a couple of things to add to the FO gallery, in fairness to myself. I just noticed that the other day. Nothing major, mind you, but at least one scarf and some hats. Whoop-dee-doo.

So, I’m sitting here praying that it doesn’t rain tomorrow. Yeah, right. They’ve been predicting it all week, but I can hope, can’t I? Thursday night is knit night at the pool and last week was the first time anyone ever joined me. And then, tomorrow, if I’m lucky, a couple other people will join me, too! How cool would that be, to spend a glorious evening knitting with friends? Cross your fingers with me that we don’t get thunderstorms and that the humidity stays low. Yeah, right. It’s July in DC. Don’t put your money on it!

I’m turning 41 on Friday! Going out with the “gal” cousins to a Japanese steak house. I wasn’t looking forward to my birthday before this, really. This year is my mom’s year for the “milestone” birthday (hers is the day before mine) so we’re celebrating hers in a big way on Saturday and while I’m glad for that, I’m also glad that because of it we weren’t doing much for me. Last year at my big “40” celebration was the last time I ever saw my dad looking half well, and on his own two feet. Things went downhill fast after that. So last year was a great time, but also bittersweet. So, I’m glad the cousins are going out. All women, no kids, no distractions. Yay! Sounds like it’s going to be a good birthday after all.

That’s all for now!

Well, I finally got the chance to knit with a friend at the swim club tonight. I met Rhoda, from the KnitTalk group, and she is lovely! We had a grand time chatting and knitting. She brought some goodies for me to ooh and ah over, and I was thrilled! First were the KnitPicks Options Needles, and Oh, I think I am in love! The needles are as light as air! I don’t know what that says about their long term durability, but ooooh they feel so good in my hands. The cable is so thin and so flexible, (and purple. to boot!) and once Rhoda showed me the proper technique for using the tightening tool, I found them very easy to assemble. The needles are on my birthday wish list, and I do hope to receive them.

This is a pic of the Options needle tip. It’s very pointy! Which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what and how you knit. And I do find that the barrel of the needle fits just right in my hand. Did I mention that the cable is purple? Haha. It’s my favorite color. Yes, I will still love my Denise needles, but these are definitely going to be an asset to the collection.

Rhoda also brought the book, Mason-Dixon Knitting : The Curious Knitters’ Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures. Wow, I have wanted this one for a while, and I think I am going to move it up higher on the wish list. The discloth patterns seemed like something I’d actually make, whereas before now, they seemed like a boring project and didn’t really interest me at all. But the ones in this book were nice! the nested felted baskets were nice, too, and the afghan patterns were quite unique. Plus it looks like there’s plenty of reading too, to make the book colorful and interesting. Hmmm… I’m kinda on a book moratorium at the moment, since I have so many, but I think this would be the next one on my list.

All in all I had such a fun evening knitting and getting to know a new friend. The weather was gorgeous too, which is nice after weeks of rain. They say we shouldn’t see any more rain at least through the weekend. That’s a relief.

Be well.

I know, it’s been a while. But the truth is, when you’re just knitting away on the same thing ad nauseum, it’s hard to find new and exciting things to say! So that’s the reason for my long absence this time, but I’ll try my best.

As I suspected, it’s taking a while to knit this version of the Clapotis, given that I am using KnitPicks Shimmer, which I’ve decided is about as thick as dental floss. I’ve never worked with laceweight yarn before, and this has been quite an experience for me! I must have started over at least a dozen times, only to get myself tangled up in the first few little stitches, and have to start again. I was about to give up for good, when after about two weeks of trying it finally came together. Still, it has taken me a month to get only this far, not nearly finished with the increase section. Of course, even with this thin yarn, I was shooting for the shawl size. It’ll be forever, but that’s ok.

Some Boring Technical News (But hey, I’m a Geek and I’m excited!)

On a technical note, I’ve been getting my feet wet with Dreamweaver again and I think this time I’m getting the hang of it! Today I learned how to make and use Dreamweaver templates, which should make updating this blog a bit easier. Consistent with the idea of making a shawl sized Clapotis from the thinnest possible yarn, I also do my blog the hard way. I don’t use any of the blogging software that’s out there, and instead do my own thing with a web site. But it has made it hard to make site-wide changes until now. Now, all I need to do is make simple changes to the Dreamweaver template file and they will be easily applied site wide. At least that’s what they say.

Of course, as I am writing this we’ve had a big storm come through and the cable’s out. So no telling when I’ll actually be able to upload!!

Until next time…

Still in catching up mode, I have to share with you the beautiful new swift that I got a couple of weeks ago. It’s handmade by Mike at Dragonfly Turnings, and it is exquisite! Mine is crafted of Brazilian Cherry, and has foldable arms for easy storage.

My DH gave me a beautiful wooden umbrella swift Christmas before last. We all know the one. It clamps to a table, and expands and collapses like an umbrella. Seemed like a good idea at the time, especially since I’m the one who specifically asked for it. However, when it arrived I quickly realized that nearly every table I use had an apron on it that prevented the swift from clamping properly, and even more than that, I found the operation of the swift to be a huge challenge for my dexterity.

In contrast, this new swift is so easy to use! It is easily and quickly assembled, and it works GREAT for me! Plus the adjustable pegs allow you to do hanks of just about any size. I love it! Plus, the handcrafted aspect and the beautiful wood make me feel good when I’m using it. It really is a beautiful thing.

Thanks, Mike!

Tonight I went to my mother’s house for dinner with John and the kids and my stepfather’s sister Nella joined us for dinner. She surprised me with this! Can you believe it? My favorite color is purple, and it will even fit me, too.

Nella learned to knit as a young girl in Italy, and she did this without a pattern and without taking any measurements of me. I am just amazed. She was wearing a similar one to my mother’s Easter gathering, and I asked her where she got it. Hers was bright aqua with tan stripes and I fell in love with it. Now, Nella is a lot tinier than I am and I asked her if maybe someday she could make one for me. And she said, “Sure I can. But I don’t know when.” So imagine my surprise that it was done already, without any measuring or try-ons! How is it that some people just have “the eye” and can do this? I feel so lucky today!

Ok, so it’s been a looong while since you’ve heard from me. But you see, I’ve been in computer jail. Windows apparently decided to experience a critical corruption that caused me to have to redo my computer from nearly scratch. Thank goodness most of my files were recovered.

No, It’s NOT a Postage Stamp!

DH has been teasing me about the tiny triangle at the left for a couple of weeks now. I’m attempting to make a Clapotis using KnitPicks Shimmer, which is a lace weight yarn. My goal is to have a summer weight shawl. Problem is that I’ve never knit with yarn this thin before, and it’s tough getting used to. I think I’ve cast on at least 15 times by now, but I finally think I have the hang of it. It will be yummy when done but to make it wide enough for a shawl, each row will have hundreds of stitches. So, yeah, I guess I’m crazy!!

But This Yarn Has a Story…

But isn’t it lovely? The colorway is called Happy Dance, and it’s two shades of pink offset by a sunny yellow. Perfect colorway for a summery wrap. I took this picture using the macro photography setting on my camera… it’s amazing how small a ball of fingering weight yarn can actually be!

I finally got to meet Lissa, who is on several e-mail groups that I’m on. We’ve been meaning to meet for months and I’m glad we finally got together, on May 20, at Whitehall Pool. We ate lunch and talked lots, and then she tried to show me how to do long tail cast on. It took me several tries to get it right. And then, of course the minute I tried it on my own, later that night, I couldn’t get it right. Oh drat! I guess that means Lissa will just have to come back! 🙂 Then we wound that aforementioned Shimmer yarn into that teeny ball above. Actually, Lissa did the winding. And I held my arms up and was the “Human Swift”. I had so much fun that day!

There’s so much more to tell about my last month or so of knitting, but it’s late and I gotta go to bed! More later…