Yes, I am Still Here

Hi! I imagine I am in the running for longest napping blog (or maybe not). I have been busily knitting, driving children various places, working, reading, etc. Not too much housework, and obviously no blogging for quite some time. I feel very guilty, but will aim to do better.

This post was prompted by my posting a comment on someone else's blog - someone who religiously writes a short post on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She is very inspiring. I realized that I had a great photo (great for color and local interest - not much to do with knitting) on the memory card in my phone. So what could be easier than sending it to the computer and sharing it with you?

These incredibly green (thanks, rain!) umbrella looking things are May Apples - they grow in forests in Ohio and New York State, although I have never seen them in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Maybe I just do not spend enough time in forests. They sprout up in the spring - some with one leaf, some with two and a flower at the split - which eventually turns into a little fruit (which is edible, in case you are ever lost somewhere and find some). My little grove started out as one or two plants from the wildflower section of a local nursery, and every year, despite being moved several times and run over by more than one person with a lawn mower, they return and even multiply. I just love them.

For your knitting entertainment, I am working on a black and gold shawl for my DD's senior prom. Pattern is the Parasol Stole; yarn is Berocco BlingBling (long discontinued - I was lucky to find some more on eBay). It is going swimmingly and might even be finished in time - photo next time perhaps. Knit on!

So you don't miss the tandem...

Hi! I was going to mention not missing the boat, but since Claudia is riding a tandem, this seemed a more riveting title. I promise a more usual post (meaning one the describes knitting, with photos) soon, but I just realized that Claudia is about to embark on her ride, and needs all the folks possible to come out as Knitters against MS in her support. Plus, she has some absolutely smashing prizes that any knitter worth his or her salt couldn't help but be inspired by. So pop on over and visit her blog, and read all about her amazing work. Check out the astonishing prizes, and hopefully get inspired to make a contribution. This is one powerful woman and a tremendous agent for positive change, and she deserves all the help she can get.

Even petitioning your favorite weather deities for good conditions for the ride would be a wonderful thing. Knit on!

If I only had a...

computer with enough space to download some new photos, I could show you some of the knitterly things going on here. Actually, some of those photos have yet to be actually created; once I take them I have to wait for a turn on the "big computer" to download them and then write a blog post from there so I can include them. So just to keep you all wondering, I did finish the Dragonfly Shawl with my own made-up edging. When it goes into blocking mode there will be photos. I also did finish the single sock; I can still take photos of it because it is still here. I am such a bad mailer-person! I still need to sit down and annotate the pattern so my recipient can in theory knit a matching sock. I hope I remember what I did!

And of course, there has to be a new project. Right now I am knitting a stole for my older daughter to wear to the prom (she is going as a guest with someone who finds themselves without a date). The prom is June 3 and I got a really late start - waiting to find out the color of the dress, that sort of thing. Luckily I have a local friend in the yarn dyeing business (Dye Dreams - go ahead, check out their site, I'll wait) who was able to dye some yarn I already had to be a good color. And also lucky for me it turns out that the yarn in question knits very nicely on size 11 needles. I know that doesn't sound like the lace you might be used to, but I have surprised even myself at how nice this yarn looks. It is a silk/wool blend from Henry's Attic called Andromeda, and it is what I would call a well-spun single (not that I am a spinner, so I could be so wrong). It is not fragile the way I expect a single to be, but there is no particular plying visible to detract from the stitch definition. I am using a scarf pattern found on line for free (Three Sister's Scarf #2) and just loving the results. I am sort of hoping there will be enough yarn left to make something for me; I already have a Knitspot pattern (scroll down to the Hillflowers Scarf) in mind! I am probably about 24 inches away from finishing, but since each pattern repeat works out to about 3 inches, I should finish in plenty of time. And so far she likes it!

I promise - next time there will be photos. Maybe even a modeling shot or two - can't promise that for sure, but who knows...

Have a safe, happy, restful weekend everyone. Knit on!

Living dangerously...

Posting two days in a row, that is. Thought I would write a bit about projects currently in progress. I will spare you the list of all the UFO's and just mention the really current ones. Top of the list would have to be the Dragonfly Shawl from Interweave Crochet. Someone in my knitting group wanted to try this one, so I said I would join her. I was intrigued enough to start right away; she is still delayed by other projects. I found it to be fun to make, although as it grew larger it did get a little dull. But that is to be expected when making a shawl where the working row gets longer and longer. I finally decided it was large enough and started on the border. The border as given in the pattern didn't look nice the way I was crocheting it, so I ended up pulling out three rows of border and figuring out one of my own. I have plenty of yarn (WEB's Alpaca Silk), so I could make a really extensive border, but I really would like to finish this and get it gifted (it is going to someone as a comfort shawl as soon as I can finish it). The yarn is really nice to work with. Mine is Celestial Blue, and I will warn you that if your monitor is like mine you will find this color looks much lighter on the product page than it does in person. The reason I have so much of it is that this was one of the yarns originally purchased for my youngest sister's wedding shawl; it was rejected because it was not the desired "icy blue" I thought i was ordering.

My other most current project is one sock for an exchange I signed up for. I only have to knit one sock; the recipient gets the rest of the yarn and the pattern and gets to knit sock #2 herself. It was supposed to be done ages ago, but the shawl got in the way. So did the lack of proper yarn; I needed something really colorful and in sufficient quantity for a pair of really large socks. The first yarn I ordered turned out to be two very different hand dyed skeins - in theory they were the same colorway, in reality they were not. Still really nice yarn, just destined to be two unrelated pairs of socks instead of some sort of mismatched pair of large socks. Fortunately I had a chance to stop at WEBS and pick up another yarn. I choose the pattern "Socks of Abundance" which is available free from the designer. I am hoping the socks will be abundant enough and that the recipient will like the wild colourway I have chosen.

I guess that is more than enough words for now. Need to get some rest to be able to stay awake for census training tomorrow. Maybe next time I can even arrange for some photos!

And one more...

Hi! Maybe this will be the beginning of a new trend, where I actually blog once in a while. There is no such thing as enough time in the world, so I don't know why I can't just get over that and get some things done. Anyway, while puttering around the blogosphere, I ran into a blog written by someone who knits and plays the viola (just like me, although probalby better at both). Here is what she has to say:

"The RSE (Roseville String Ensemble) runs on a very lean budget funded by donations, and a small locally funded grant. With this we pay a meager amount to our conductor and soloists as well as purchase music and rent space for our concerts.

It's no surprise in these "tough economic times" that our donations are not what they have been in the past. In addition to that, we have recently found out that the group which provided us with an annual grant will not be able to continue that funding. As it stands, the Roseville String Ensemble will not have enough funding to continue for the 09-10 season."

If you make your way to her blog you can read more about it, including information about some really generous prizes she is donating to a drawing. I am constantly wonderfully surprised by the generosity of the folks out there.

So go check out the blog, donate if you can, and stay tuned for a knitterly post from me sometime soon.

Another good cause

Hi! I know you all are eagerly awaiting a post with some real news or some real knitting content or something, but being perenially short of time, it isn't going to be this one.

However, I wanted to let you all know right away that Claudia is once again raising money for Multiple Sclerosis (abbreviated as MS) research. This is a disease that affects more middle aged women than other groups, and you know that a bunch of them have to be knitters. She was planning another lengthy tandem bike riding effort, but her tandem buddy (her spouse!) has suffered a setback (it's all on her blog). She is going ahead with the fund raising anyway, since that is what truly counts. Last year she raised around $40,000. I was one of the lucky folks who gave some $$ and then won something in the prize raffle. So for all those reasons, I hope you will find your way over to her blog:

http://www.claudiasblog.net/

read all about it, and help her (and all those affected by MS) out if you can. Pass this along via blog or e-mail if you are able. Knitters are a force to be reckoned with, after all!

A Contest for a good cause

Hi! There I was, cruising around the blogosphere, when I ran across this contest. It is for a good cause, and we all know how us knitters love to support our sister knitters in their endeavors. So here is the link to Cayli's blog, where she will explain everything, including how she is going to walk sixty miles!

http://spinayarnforewe.blogspirit.com/archive/2008/02/27/help-end-breast-cancer.html

I would make this a live link, but I haven't learned how (although by the time it gets published it could turn into one for all I know!).

I hope to get back to the blog with some recent photos - the International Sock (from the Truly International Sock KAL) and I had lots of fun hanging out in the old home town here during February vacation. Maybe next time I try to post our lovely host system will let me post photos. I guess maybe the photo posting part goes on break late at night right when I usually want it to work. Who knew?

Go visit Cayli and help her out if you can.