Back again in the same month!!

Whoo hoo! More pictures in store. More proof I'm a knitting nerd.

Best of all, I've discovered Cast On with Brenda Dayne. I LOVE this podcast!! Love, love, love it. I'm in the process of downloading all the old episodes. She's funny, she's liberal, she plays fabulous music I wouldn't take the time to find, she writes wonderful essays - touching and poignant. Go and listen. You must!

Have I mentioned I love my library? They are the BEST! Ohio sucks in many ways, but we do have a damn fine library system. So I watched a couple of Meg Swansen's videos. Learned a lot. And also watched Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop volume 1. Somebody walked off with the other volumes evidently. She's a trip. I really want to go to Meg's camp. Might put that on the schedule for next summer, just in case I'm not otherwise entertained.

This week instead of taking advantage of the sinfully tempting sale at WEBS, I satisfied my retail therapy need by purchasing a couple of patterns for lace. The first one is Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence aka I'm Knitting As Fast As I Can. The second one is Wing-'o-the-Moth Shawl or Scarf. It is beautiful! And I have some Kid Silk Haze crack, I mean yarn, for it. I know K, you think that stuff is the devil, but it's so soft and so tempting and............ I. Must. Try.

And in the ongoing Mariah saga. They said it couldn't be done. Even Grand Dame Elizabeth said not to do it. You cannot shorten a sleeve that was knit from the bottom up. Well I didn't know that before I had the "brilliant" idea to do it, so I did it anyway. I can certainly see why she says it. It's not something I'd recommend. Picking up stitches is all funky when you're going the opposite way. You can't just unravel a cast on edge. Then there's the added complication of figuring out if you just picked up right side or wrong side. It made my head spin.


And so it begins


Yes I took scissors to my knitting


The red dots show how knitting in the opposite direction results in a bit of a jag. If it's not pulled out like that it's not as noticeable, and I think it's worth it to have sleeves the right length vs. rolling up 6 inches of extra sleeve.


I finished the cuff on the first sleeve and managed to pick up the stitches on the 2nd one all by myself! Just the cuff portion to finish up and then it's back to seaming. I will ask for help on that.


Dan requested a pair of socks for deer season. I went to the LYS and what the hell did they have but Lorna's Laces in Camoflauge for crying out loud! I had to have it. Dan did point out however that he doesn't take his shoes off when he's hunting.

Now you might notice how craptacular (to borrow from Cast-On) my increases look. That was me trying to get all fancy and follow in Meg/Elizabeth's footsteps. Apparently I didn't take as good of notes as I thought I had. Even though it's tempting to leave as is and just start doing the right way from now on, I cannot let my standards slip. I have a husband to impress afterall! Although truth be told I'm sure he could give a shit what my increases look like. But still, I have some standards remaining!


And because I'd eventually like to knit a pair of my very own socks for ME - Lorna's Laces in Childsplay. Something to brighten up the impending winter doldrum's.


Here's the blue soaker for my baby stash. I conquered the kitchener stitch! I am proud - took a bit, but Queen Kahuna's sock book saved the day. She is the bomb. I was reciting her saying in my sleep..........same on, opposite off, same on, opposite off....... It did the trick.


Voila! Almost done, still have to finish the leg cuffs.

So there you have it. News from the needles.

Next up I plan to create my knitting wish list in pictures. Stay tuned!