Crossed the Finish Line!

Hooray!  I finished my Ravelympics 2010 project (Fair Isle Collared Swing Jacket) last night.  I was weaving in the final ends about the same time that the Star-Spangled Banner was playing for Team USA 4-man Bobsled #1, as they received their gold medal...62 years in the making.  Thrills abound!

I think that event was actually the most exciting of the Games for me. Or, maybe it was just the way NBC manipulated  staged the coverage to make it more exciting and keep us watching.  Whatever.  I cheered Steve Holcomb's team to victory and shed tears to hear our National Anthem (rather than yet another playing of Oh Canada...the words to which I think we all know by now). Now, if we can just sing O Say Can You See today after the Hockey game...

Anyway, I've actually earned TWO medals for this project :  one in the Sweaterboard Cross and one in the Nordic Colorwork Combined.  And, even though this is really a "swing jacket" (wider at the bottom than at the top) rather than a sweater, I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing it with jeans, etc., anyway.

The collar is the "colorwork" part, billed as a Fair Isle Collar in the pattern in Vogue Knitting, Fall 2009.  Strictly speaking, it isn't Fair Isle (as it has more than two colors on a row; more than 5 stitches in the carry on the reverse); but I did a little re-charting on the fly and made it Fair Isle.  I also found these neat buttons when last in Louisville...and thought they would be perfect with the colors in the jacket and collar.

The original pattern was for short sleeves...but I had plenty of the Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed, so I just kept knitting (and decreasing) to make them long sleeves...which I much-prefer anyway.  The collar is self-lined, so to speak, in that you knit a turning row at the end of the colorwork part, then knit 25 "plain rows" for the lining...and then sew it to the neck.  That way, you don't see the "messy" side of the colorwork (where all the colors of yarn are carried and crossed).  I've never made a collar like that, so that was certainly a new technique learned for me.

Also, just had to share this photo (left) of Gus and Duchess with you.  We made a few final furniture changes the other day, moving our two chairs from our bedroom bay window to the keeping room (which also serves as my office) bay window, where we could have our coffee, read the paper, watch the birds, and enjoy the fireplace (which is double-sided)...all at the same time.  Well, obviously, the dogs thought we moved those chairs to that spot for their convenience and comfort, don't you know?  [Elmo prefers that someone with a lap occupy the chair before he takes his nap there.]

Ready, Set, Go!

Let's see...where was I?  Oh yeah.  We had a houseful of dogs (four...count'em, 4).  That all changed last weekend when Mr. T and I made the "mad dash" to meet up with Missy M  at the half-way point...a Subway parking lot in Charleston, WV.  We still had snow on the ground here, but we'd already put this little trip off a couple of times due to the weather...and with more snow on the way, well, we were afraid that we may not get there until the Spring thaw.  So, we loaded up the Endeavor with Ella Rae and all her stuff:  donut-shaped bed, blanket embroidered with her name, and a bag full of toys...and off we went.

Snow?  You ain't seen snow until you've been up I-77 through Fancy Gap, VA to Ghent, WV.  Mr. T asked one of the toll booth operators (yes...it's a toll road through that part of WV) how much snow they had on the ground.  She said 27 inches.  And, snow was falling at the time.  It snowed on us...well, mostly flurried on us for almost the entire trip.  But we made it just fine.

Needless to say, Missy M was thrilled to see her pup...and, oh yes, her parents, too.  We hugged, we kissed, and then it was time to go again. Ella Rae jumped out of our car...did a little business...and raced back to "her" car.  This one!  This blue Honda right here!!  Let me in, let me in, let me in!!!  She was ready to roll. 

That photo up there, left is from the Tamarack Travel Plaza on the WV Turnpike (I-77) where we stopped on our way back home to take a break and get some coffee.  It was still snowing on the return trip...a little harder, a lot colder.  We were so glad to get home again.  The Drool Gang sniffed us up and down...Elmo searched in vain for his buddy, Ella...but they finally seemed to be appeased with the ham bites I brought back from our supper stop at Cracker Barrel.   Time to write a new chapter in our lives in NC.

Elmo continues to receive the three types of eye drops, three times a day for his primary glaucoma.  Our next appointment is March 8th, and we imagine that we will hear the pressures in his right eye are still off the chart too high.  Sigh.  We are spending this in-between time helping him get used to his "new" environment, so that he won't be lost when he loses his eyesight.  So far, so good.  He seems so happy to be here, and he's made himself right at home...reestablishing himself as a member of the Drool Gang.  I'll keep you posted.

Missy M got home just in time for another huge snowstorm.  She sent this photo (right), showing her deck and backyard, looking out her back door toward the garden shed.  She used her cellphone to take the photo, but maybe you can make it out.  The little black fluffball to the right of the shed is Ella Rae, running through the fluffy white stuff; the snow-covered blob to the right of Ella is actually an Adirondack chair!  Can you say Snow Day? 

Through it all, I've been knitting.  I finished Mr. T's Shawl Collared-Sweater, which I've been working on for 18 months or more.  No, it wasn't that difficult, although I've never done a shawl collar before...or a pocket in the manner the pattern directed.  It was almost a casualty of The Big Move:  I "lost" the second sleeve I'd been working on at the time everything got packed up.  Finally found it...finished it...and dedicated 3 days to sewing it all up.  Whew!  That's a photo of it over there on the left.  To recap, I bought this scrumptious Alpaca With A Twist Highlander yarn in colorway 3016 Tartan Red in Scottsdale, AZ at Arizona Knitting and Needlework.  Yeah...went all the way to AZ to buy a yarn made in IN.  Ah well.  Glad it is finally a FO.

And did I ever show you a photo (right) of the Waikiwi "Possum" yarn socks I knit for Missy M's Valentine's Day?  Can you see what the side cable forms?  I hope you can make out the XOX.  I found this fabulous pattern for Tickled Pink socks on a blog called Island of Misfit Patterns.  It was difficult to tell from her photos what the cable pattern formed, but I think it came out better in that photo on the right.  Missy M said she wore them during that Snow Day...and that they kept her feet warm and toasty.  I'll bet...

Possum yarn, you say?  Yes.  It's a New Zealand yarn which blends NZ Merino Wool, nylon, alpaca, and possum fibers.  Paradise Fibers says:  If you aren't familiar with possum fiber, it is known for its softness, lightness, and warmth."  I guess I've never seen a cold possum, now that I think about it.

Anyway, I needed to get those projects off my needles, so that I could cast on my Ravelympics 2010 project.  For those of you not familiar, Ravelry (a social networking site dedicated to knitters and crocheters) has teams that start a project (or more than one in some cases) during the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, and aim at completing that project by the end of the Closing Ceremonies.  I'm competing on Team Charlotte Purls (no local team was organized when I was setting up my project) in the Sweaterboard Cross and Nordic Colorwork Combined...tee hee.  I cast on my Fair Isle Collar Jacket (from a Vogue Knitting pattern) at exactly 9:00 EST (Opening Ceremonies started at 6:00 PST in Vancouver, you know).  I've got the body of the sweater completed after one week; that's a photo of it on the left, when it was nearing the bottom border color change.  I'm currently working on the collar, which is going a bit slower because of all the colorwork involved.  As this pattern is a top-down raglan cardigan, I should have few seams to finish...just a couple tiny ones under the arms...and only 3 buttons.  Much better than the pattern I chose for Ravelympics 2008...too much sewing in that one.  I was racing the clock to finish and earn my Badge!  I hope I won't be working on this come Closing Ceremonies next Sunday...that I'll be wearing it instead!  Stay tuned...

Round Two

What a mess outside!  We got another round of snow in the night...which has now turned to a cold rain, with the temps just above the freezing mark:  32.7 degrees on the digital thermometer.  I was going to post a photo of it, but how do you take a picture of "melting?"  Ugh.  Let's see if I can find another one from the previous round of winter weather...there, over on the right:  that was looking out our front door, toward the street.  The magnolia tree was weighted down with powdery snow (which has since melted off...and been replaced...and now been washed off again).   After a day of continuous rain, we will get re-freezing and more snow tonight.

It's definitely a good day to stay inside, with the fireplace going...a pot of stew on the stove...a cup of tea by my chair...and needles clicking in my hands.  I love a snow day...even if it's not as pretty as the last one was.

Here're a few photos of my latest FO, with the finished object shown on the left.  I completed my Argyle Country Silk sweater while I was in Louisville, and then wore it home.  Love it!  Feels so soft and warm...goes great with jeans and a turtleneck.  I changed the Cleckheaton pattern (naturally...:) to a V-neck, as I prefer that style, with deeper ribs on the sleeves and hem; also, I used different colors of yarn, which I think turned out looking better than the pattern-model.  I even received some favorable comments on Ravelry...always a welcome experience.  I don't know if this pattern is technically an argyle, as most argyles have outlines of diamonds of different colors superimposed over the solid diamonds to create a feeling of "dimension" ...but, even if you want to call this my Harlequin Sweater, I won't mind.  I still like the way it feels.  And that it is finished...:)

Of course, getting it finished required weaving in all those color-ends on all of those diamond patterns you see...and *even Equitorial Pygmies know how I feel * about weaving in ends..  An argyle is knit using the intarsia method of changing colors:  you use a different "ball" of yarn for each patch of color, since you would have to carry yarn on the wrong side over more than 5 stitches in the same row (like you can do in Fair Isle knitting), and that won't work.  I rolled six bobbins of yarn for each "set" of diamonds, then working from the bottom toward the top, I could knit blue and white in the same row, then blue and red, then red and green, and finally green and white...before I finally knit with "just white."

I made some photos of the project in the beginning (right)...and one of the reverse side with the green bobbins in action.  As Missy M made note:  I won't be doing any knitting with bobbins again any time soon.  A real pain.  And, woe unto the one who has to frog a mistake...all the wraps at the points of color changes = a great deal of fussing while frogging.  Spoken by one who would know about such things.

I'm still working on the Entwined Shawl for N/M/E with the Water Hyacynth rayon yarn.  I don't like working with this (beautifully colored) stuff, as it splits and sticks to my bamboo needles...but slides completely off my (metal) Addi Turbos.  I've knitted the back to the front; divided for the neck; and finished one side of "fingers" that will create the basketweave "entwine" pattern on the front.  Sigh.

I worked on my Woven Scarf a little more during a recent episode of Top Gear (I am definitely not a gear-head, and I still love that show...:), but have to pay too much attention to the pattern stitches to enjoy knitting while watching TV.  It requires slips and wraps and passing slipped stitches over on the right side; then, purling twice into P2tog stitches on the wrong side.  Double sigh.

Thought I'd take a break from both of these UFO's by starting yet another project:  two socks on two circs.  I'll tell you more about this UFO soon.  Just know...the yarn is from New Zealand, and contains 10% possum-fur (hair?)...!

I've got my yarn ready and swatched for my upcoming Ravelympics2010 entry.  I plan on knitting a sweater with Plymouth's Baby Grande Alpaca in a blue heather colorway.  I think I'm going to use a Vogue Knitting pattern that combines a simple Stockinette stitch for the body of the sweater (which is knit with a bulky-weight yarn for speed) with a lovely Fair Isle collar (which will provide the Wow! factor).  I originally had thought I'd do a vest, but then found this pattern that really spoke to me.  We'll see.  I have to make up mind soon, as I have to cast on my project during the Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver, which will be 9:00 p.m. EST on February 12.  Stay tuned...

Meanwhile, time to mind my knitting.  And, maybe to make some chocolate chip cookies to go along with that cup of tea, hmmmmm?



*Borrowed that phrase from an episode of NCIS.*