Haven't I Been Here Before?????

Yes, that's exactly what it looks like - a third pair of Fuzzy Feet for DH. Pair #2 is in tatters. This time I'm using double yarn, size 11 needles and dropping back to the original pattern instead of increasing the number of stitches. I'm hoping that they'll felt super thick and maybe last longer than a few weeks. That's a quarter sitting on top for scale, not a dime. They'd better felt as right now they look like they're for the Jolly Green Giant!



This is where I am on the second half of the pair - there are maybe 5 more rows before I start the toe decreases..



I've also been working on the Highland Triangle Shawl. I stopped the inner border after the second set of row repeats so I'd have enough yarn for the lace edging. I'm almost to the center point with the 9th skein and I have one skein left for the remaining side, so I will be able to make it. I suspect it will block out, but right now the curve of the inner border reminds me of the shaping of the Farose shawls.

Monday afternoon is when I give knitting and crocheting lessons at the Senior Center. I got there today to find Virgina, who started our K4 group on Thursdays, elbow deep in a huge bag of yarn with two more bags sitting there. Some kind soul had dropped these bags of full & partial skeins off for our group to use for charity knitting. So today's "lesson" was in untangling yarn. With Francis & me pitching in, we were making inroads into the first bag. Gretchen came in to see what was going on and stayed to help and later Diane showed up. We sorted two bags (these were the size of large trash bags!) and rolled the tangled skeins into balls. I brought home over half a bag of small amounts to incorporate into the rag-tag afghans I make for the group. There were also some UFOs in the bags. This one is darling. There are mittens to go with the scarf that just need to be sewn up, but the teddy needs a second ear. Looking at ear #1, I'm pretty sure that it was made using short rows like the beginning of a toe up sock so I guess I'll get to experiment with that technique. Once it's done, it will make a great set for a little girl and there's enough yarn in the two colors to make a matching hat.

The Alphabet Meme

I found this over on Sallee's Knitnana page....

A-Age: 62½
B-Bed size: Queen water-bed
C-Chore you hate: Cleaning house
D-Dessert you love: Seven Layer (or Hello Dolly) bars
E-Essential start your day item: COFFEE
F-Favorite actor(s): Sean Connery, Mark Harmon
G-Gold or Silver: Gold
H-Height: 5'4½"
I-Instruments you play: Autoharp
J-Job title: Retired!!!!! But before that, Printed Circuit Board designer
K-Keeping track of your day: 3x5 notecards all over the place.
L-Living arrangements: Wonderful hubby & three cats - Moki, Tiger & Callie. Mom lives a couple blocks away.
M-Mom's name: Doris
N-Not liking right now: The state of the world & the country
O-Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Tests
P-Place you were born: Highland Park, MI
Q-Quote you like: "I feel sorry for any man who cannot spell a word more than one way.” -- Mark Twain
R-Right or left handed: Right
S-Siblings: None
T-Time you woke up today: 7:45 a.m.
U-Unique habit: Putting my feet up on the desk when I'm on the computer - a holdover from when my ankle was broken and I had to keep it elevated.
V-Vegetable you hate: Lima beans
W-Worst habit: Napping during the day and staying up half the night.
X-X-rays: The usual dental ones, chest, broken ankle.
Y-Yummy food you can make: Chicken Masala (Indian curry)
Z-Zodiac sign: Libra

Oh! WOW!!

The Post-Office person brought me a wonderful package today from my friend Sallee (aka Knitnana). Look at all these goodies!!!



It's one of my favorite yarns - Caron Rainbow Dreams in Rosy Forecast and Fair Weather colorways. Sallee decided that she didn't want to use it for a clapotis and a shawl, so knowing that I love the colors and the acrylic doesn't bother my hands, she very kindly (and generously) sent it to me. THANK YOU, Sallee!!! I'll put it to good use.

And look what else was in the box! One of her famous Nana Sadie Rose check-book covers in the same print as the bag that's up there in the sidebar! Isn't it beautiful?



Here's a better photo of the fabric.. Sallee, I love it!!!!



As long as I had the camera out, I decided it was time to make good on my promise of updated photos of the Highland Triangle Shawl. You'll notice the multiple life-lines. One at the beginning of the inner border, one after the first rows just before I added in new columns at the edges & center (I learned this one the hard way after tinking back four rows because I goofed at the far left edge on the addition row, tried to fix it on the next pattern row and then decided that it had to come out). I put in the third life line two rows early by mistake, but I did a better job on the next addition row. The little loop of yarn on the far right is just to remind me that this side is the right side, something that's a little difficult to tell because the pattern is in garter stitch.



This is a close-up of the column lace in the inner border:



And here's a close-up of the edge showing how the increase stitches are worked in garter until there are enough for another pattern repeat.



It's difficult to measure with the shawl still on the needles, but I think that from the neck to the center point is about 32" now. The Wool Peddler isn't much more than that and it's a good size, so I may skip the last row repeat to make sure that I have enough yarn for the lace edging. I've never tried knitting on an edging and I'm eager to learn how it works.

Good Golly, Miss Molly..

And here I thought that 12 days without posting was bad!! Yikes.. That last post was on the 2nd and here it is the 16th. This week has been taken up with a minor family disaster. Somehow last Friday, Mom and her cat, Sadie, collided and Sadie's tooth punctured Mom's hand in the fleshy pad at the base of her thumb. It turns out that this is the absolute worst place on the human body to sustain a cat "bite". Mom had her regular every other month check up with her doctor scheduled on Monday and because her hand was hurting, we mentioned it. Fifteen minutes later we were headed for the hospital where Mom was put on IV antibiotics and she just got out this morning. Now, having Mom in the hospital would be bad enough, but because she has still been going to her doctor out home (about 45 miles from here), he practices in Port Huron, 87 miles from here! We've put a lot of miles on the car and enriched the oil companies more than usual. But she's home now, thank goodness!

On a more pleasant topic, I've been working on the Highland Triangle Shawl and it's coming along. The column eyelet pattern of the inner border is definitely easier to keep track of than the diamond eyelet pattern of the center triangle. I just started the second set of row repeats and I have three skeins of yarn left. I'm not sure how many yards that the knit on lace edging will take, but I'm really doubting that I have enough yarn to complete three sets of row repeats on the inner border and then the edging. I'm going to measure the center line and see how it compares to the depth of the Wool Peddler. I'll try to get a photo sometime soon.

I turned in two shawls last week at our K4 meeting and have another one finished since then. I didn't get to go today and probably won't make it next week as Mom has a follow up appointment at her doctor's scheduled for late morning, but I have yarn for two more shawls, one of them started, so they'll hopefully be done by the next time.

Twelve Days & Counting

It's been almost two weeks since I posted last - partly because I was under the weather last week and partly because not much is happening. I'm still working on the Highland Triangle Shawl though sometimes it feels like four rows forward, two rows back. I suspect that if I sat down, turned the TV off and put away my book and paid attention to what I'm doing, I'd make fewer goofs - that makes sense doesn't it? But I've multi-tasked for so long that I can't get comfortable with just knitting without doing something else. I'm still working the diamond pattern in the central triangle and every time I goof it's because I've put a couple extra YOs in - usually into the K2TOG, K1, K2TOG sequence so it's K2TOG, YO, K1, YO, K2TOG. This does not compute on the next row, believe me! Still with perseverance, I'm two rows away from completing the 5th of the six row sets. I just started the 4th skein of yarn (out of 10) on the last row. I won't bore you with a photo because it looks pretty much like it does down there in the last post, just bigger and with a couple extra life lines. So far, it's seemed more reasonable to tink back than pull out needles and go back to the last life line, but they're in there at the end of each row set just in case of disaster.

In other news, I have finished two of the garter stitch shawls for the K4 project and started another. I missed the meeting last week because I wasn't feeling up to par yet and hopefully will get to go tomorrow. I'm feeling great, but we have a forecast of freezing rain, sleet & snow overnight so the question will be if the Sr. Center is open. When I was there Monday teaching the knitting class, we had another donation of yarn (yippee!!) which included a partial skein of WoolEase Chunky and one child-sized mitten made out of it. This afternoon I worked on recreating the pattern and have a reasonable facsimile of the first mitten almost done. It's the first time I've worked with the WoolEase Chunky and I like it. I've only put about 2 hours into the mitten - including swatching and counting stitches in the original - and I'm just a few rows from being finished. Now that's quick!

Now for a rather sore subject - that lime green vest. I finished up the vest a couple weeks ago except for the armhole ribbing and decided that before putting it in, I would take the vest over and have Mom try it on for size. To make a long story short, she decided that she didn't like the color or the texture on the smaller needles. I haven't frogged it again yet but I have the feeling that the yarn may turn into something for my granddaughter if Mom doesn't want it in her wardrobe. {sigh}