After only a so-so weekend, I don’t have much progress to report.  The sock is halfway up the leg and the shawl is a bit wider and a bit longer.  I measured this morning and discovered that each pattern repeat on the shawl increases the width by roughly 4” and the length by about 2.5”.  Handy to know going forward :)

I was waylaid Saturday, by the discovery of some little…mules, I guess you’d call them.  Slipper-like things with a thin, flexible sole, no back and an enclosed toe made of netting and embroidered with sequin flowers.  They were a bit flashy but they were very cute - just the thing for running around onboard ship.  They were also 99¢ a pair.  They wouldn’t last much longer than the trip but that would be just fine.

The problem was, I kept thinking I could make something like this that might look a little better and be a really fun project to boot.  And, I had my father standing there telling me that these didn’t have slip-proof soles (I have no idea how he would know that) and I shouldn’t get them.  So I didn’t get them.

So I played with the idea most of yesterday.  The upper isn’t really a problem.  It could be knit or crocheted with little difficulty and embellished at will.  The problem is the sole.  How in the world does one knit or crochet a sole that won’t flop around like a limp rag?  The only even remotely workable idea I could come up with was to make I-cord (worsted weight cotton, knitting tightly on smallish needles for the yarn size) and then coil it, like an old-fashioned rope-soled sandal, stitching it together as I went along.

Of course I didn’t get anywhere.  I can’t seem to dislodge the notion from my brain though - it can’t be that difficult and there’s just something I’m not seeing.  I’ve got tons of cotton that would be plenty sturdy enough…..

I’ve had this going since just before Thanksgiving and it’s finally getting around to blooming.  There is another bud on the opposite side that should open sometime today and there are two more small buds that should be opening next week sometime.  This is a nice bright spot in the kitchen and its orangey color (a shade I normally don’t much care for) is very chipper and cheerful :)

When I reached down to pet her, she turned her head toward my hand with her mouth open, ready to bite.  She never breaks the skin, but she’ll grab a finger and hold on to it as a sign of her royal displeasure.  And then she generally gets a tap on the nose which further pisses her off :)  Jade’s don’t-bother-me thermostat is set way too low.

Never the less, the cats and I wish you a good week and hope that your respective weekends were a bit more productive than mine was :)

I have recovered from the mitt incident though I’m not quite ready to forgive it.  I’ll wait till the weekend and see how things feel then.  However, I got an ominous omen last night.

I decided to finish turning the heel on the peppermint sock.  I had switched back to DPNs for the heel turning and then put it back on the circular to proceed with the leg.  Got the pattern established and sailed away, around and around, feeling pretty good about how I’d been able to manage things.  I’d done four or five rounds and was coming around the corner (the point where you switch from one needle to another) when I saw them.  They were just sitting there, three rows down in the gusset decreases - three dropped stitches.

I confess I wasn’t anything like adult this time.  When I finally convinced myself that what I was seeing was actually true, I yelled and threw the damned thing across the room.  Then I went into the kitchen to pout. 

What’s the matter with you?  You call yourself a knitter?  You really should just hang it all up now.  Split up your stash and needles, and send the lot of it to your friends - you know, the ones who can knit?

Fortunately, as a result of this self-flagellation, the depression waned and the anger waxed.  No sock was going to make me feel this way.  I’d show those stitches what for, by God!  So back I went, apologized to Myria for scaring the life out of her and went back to work.  As you’ve probably realized, it turned out not to be any big thing and a few minutes later I was back to doing uncomplicated rounds.  I only did a few though, before I figured I’d better leave well enough alone and set it aside for completion this weekend.

I was, by now, terrified to pick up the shawl (though given the nature of the mohair, a dropped stitch would probably just sit there.  It might not be merrily raveling down the shawl, but it would be sticking it’s fuzzy little tongue out at me all the same).  I didn’t even want to try to imagine the havoc I could wreak with the lace and the mohair.  So I moved on to the scarf.

I’ve moved it to DPNs with point protectors on the ends as this thing is narrow and I like short straights for this kind of project.  And I haven’t made any mistakes with it…yet.  Because the fabric is reversible, I check it compulsively every couple of rows to make sure everything is where it should be and all the stitches are playing nice with each other.

This material is worsted weight, mercerized cotton.  It’s not difficult to work with and it has a lovely sheen to it.  But as I was thinking things over last night, I realized that I have a problem - or will have when I need to join another ball.  Since the fabric is reversible, how am I going to weave the ends in so they don’t show?  Any kind soul have any experience with this sort of thing who’d like to offer advice?

Anyway…

I hope you all have wonderful, mistake free weekends and remember, cussing helps!

I was going to be good and diligent last night.  I was not going to flit from one UFO to another in my usual fickle fashion, spending an hour with one, 30 minutes with another, etc.  I was going to work on the clarinet mitts because I’ll see dad Saturday and it shouldn’t be too much trouble to finish them by then.

I knew I was knitting loosely.  I was also using metal needles and I really, really should have known what was coming…

One of the needles fell out and about half the stitches dropped a couple or three rows.  While retaining enough maturity not to throw the whole thing at the wall, I must admit to profound pissedness and the temptation to sit the stupid thing on the table and make it watch while I frogged, ruthlessly, some other bit of uncooperative knitting - you know, so it could see what would happen if it didn’t straighten up?

What I actually did, after I got on top of my near hysteria, was put it away.  In fact I put everything away, well, out of reach for the evening since I was clearly not up to knitting.  I don’t want to be a danger to my yarn :)  I will fix the glove.  Soon…

The shawl moves along and the pattern repeats get longer and longer.  I’m about at the point where once through takes about a ball of yarn.  Of course these are only 40 gram balls, so I’m hitting that point sooner than I would with a more standard 50 gram ball.  No matter, I’ve got plenty of them.  I sure am liking the way this is turning out, the snowdrop pattern is very pretty - and somehow appropriate :)

And that’s about it for now - except for one very odd thing - well, odd for me anyway.  I keep thinking about circular knitting with tiny thread on really small needles.  Like doilies?  I am no way ready to try something like this - but still the idea lingers.  It’s a little scary and I wonder if I should get some size 15 needles and work on some super bulky till it goes away.

Help!!!!

Well, it’s snowing again.  Last night, the prediction for this area was for 2-3” - nothing significant, really.  But right now, we’ve gotten at least 4” and the morning’s predictions indicate that there may be as much as 10” before this tapers off tomorrow.  It’s very likely that this will not only break the record for snowfall in January in the greater Boston area, but will be the highest amount ever recorded in something like 110 years.

I know to you folks who live in mountainous areas or at higher elevations, this is probably nothing.  The residents of Utah and Colorado are snickering at me, I’m sure :)  It’s just that this is very unusual for this area and I thought I’d show you (with the inestimable assistance of Myria and her magic camera) what it looks like around here today.

This is the view from my chair in the living room.  I love those trees in the background and watch the squirrels, songbirds and the occasional hawk moving in and out of them..

This picture has a real Victorian feel, to me.  Most of the houses in this neighborhood are Victorian though most have been converted to apartment buildings.  Still, one or two even still have an ancient stable or barn in the back.  Looking out the window and observing how much the snow attenuates color, it seemed I could almost be looking back 100 years.

This just looks so delicate and pretty.  It makes me wonder if there is some way to render this image in knitting - a combination of slender, asymmetrical cables and lace, perhaps?

Yesterday these branches were bare partly because of wind and partly because of a couple of slightly warmer days after the previous storm.  I like the look of them with the snow lying along their length, but I worry (yes, every year) about the birds and squirrels and all the little outdoor creatures who have to survive this kind of thing without the benefit of central heating.

The evergreens are probably the one thing I don’t worry about in the winter.  They seem to snap back handily from just about everything.  This little fellow seems quite jaunty, enjoying himself and the snow :)

Because it’s another one of those days and because one of our local markets had a very good price on bottom round this week, I got up early and put a pot roast in the crock pot with all the accompanying stuff - potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, mushrooms and this time - just to see what happens - a few drops of balsamic vinegar :)  There is something enormously comforting and warming, when the weather is like this, to have something savory working away in the crock pot.

Back to my needles.  Stay warm folks!

Well, we’re tunneling out of the effluence that descended Saturday and Sunday.  It’s funny but the wind, which was substantial for most of the duration of the storm, meant that some areas were buried under 6 foot drifts, but other areas were bare.  Very eerie looking.  The kitchen window looks out over the patio roof and that roof is completely clean - as though it had been swept.  On the other hand, the bedroom window (on the exact opposite end of the apartment) looks out over the front porch roof:

The sun is shining brightly now and I’m watching a steady stream of water melting off the old slate roof.  Occasionally there is a whump as a quantity of snow (sometimes a large quantity of snow) slides off and hits the ground.

Bearing in mind that I’m not much of a photographer and that my camera is ancient and not designed for night photography, this is what it looked like around here on Saturday night.

It was actually kind of cool.  Despite the cruel reputation of New England winters, we don’t get this kind of action in this particular area very often.  Pretty amazing to watch - especially from a nice, warm vantage point.

Dad has mentioned, several times now, that he can’t keep his hands warm.  So when I saw him Saturday, I brought my knit fingerless gloves with me for him to see and try on.  The concept was a new one for him but he immediately realized one of their major virtues.

“I could play the clarinet with these on!”

He’s been playing the clarinet for more than 60 years and it is one of the very few things in his life that he loves without reservation.  Cold fingers seriously get in the way here.

Amusingly, he thought I had made these for him and told me not to worry about the color (he virulently hates anything in the purple-lavender-violet family) and then laughed when I told him he couldn’t have these; these were mine!  But the size, both length and width were perfect for him so I started these Saturday night:

This is the Inca Alpaca and I must say it is a very sensually gratifying fiber to work with.  It’s a bit thinner than I had thought, but doesn’t present any difficulties on size 5 (US) needles and is as soft and silky as can be.  I know they will be warm and they won’t irritate his skin which, like mine, can be fairly sensitive to coarser materials.  I think the oxblood color will be fine for him - it’s a very rich shade!  I debated with myself about the cables, wondering if they would seem too girly but decided to keep them in the end (cabling every 6th row instead of every 4th) because they’re so useful in keeping the glove snugged up to the hand and wrist.  A baggy glove would be a real annoyance, I should think!

A friend gave me a jar of pumpkin butter last Friday.  It’s very intensely flavored with, besides the pumpkin, cloves, ginger and cinnamon.  I put a teaspoon of it in my oatmeal this morning, along with a few sunflower seeds for a little crunch.  Ooooh baby!  Just the thing for a winter morning.  I’ve spent the last couple of hours trying to talk myself out of another bowlful!

Happy Monday folks - stay warm :)

Cripes it’s cold around here!  The outside temperatures have ranged from a few degrees below to a few degrees above zero all week.  In part, this precipitated a discussion of a particular corner of the living room - you know, the one piled to the ceiling with my knitting and crochet projects?  All those projects were also sitting in front of the radiator which wasn’t, until this week, an issue because we hadn’t turned the heat on (cooling, in this apartment, usually being much more of a problem than heating).  However when we woke up one morning and it was 58ºF in the living room, we figured that was a mite too chilly.

So I went through everything, threw out some things, and put other things in the cabinets and the closet.  The current projects now reside in a neat, pink, box and the radiator is free to…radiate :)

The narrow scarf is about 10” long and going nicely, though constant moss stitch, without the interest of a cable to break it up is somewhat tedious to do.  Still, it’s only 15 stitches wide so it’s not bad.

The shawl is coming along very nicely and I’ve gotten to the point where I think I can relax about having enough yarn.

Warning, Geekage beyond this point!

I had been wondering about how to figure the width since there are now enough stitches on the needle that it can’t be stretched out for accurate measurement.  Then I remembered my high school geometry.

The shawl is a triangle.  If a line was drawn from the bottom point up to the center of the top, that would create two right-triangles.  And the measurement of the sides of right triangles can be done, courtesy of Pythagoras!

A²+B² = C², right?

So I measured the line from the bottom point to the top center - 24”
And the side from the bottom point to the top right point = 31”

We’re solving for B² here which will be half of the width of the top of the shawl.  So we’re going to subtract A² from C².

C² = 961
A² = 576

961 - 576 = 385

The square root of 385 (acquired by simply entering the number into your handy, dandy calculator and hitting the square root button) is about 19.6. 

That’s half of our width so the whole width is about 39”, plus a bit.  I managed to roughly confirm this by jamming half the stitches onto one end of the needle and stretching out the remaining half to measure.  That indicated a width of more like 41”, but I imagine I stretched the stitches out a bit more than necessary.  In any case, it was close enough for a rough estimate - the shawl isn’t going to be fitted after all and the measurements will increase with blocking anyway.

Cool, eh?

I’ll be working on the shawl over the weekend and I’m up to the heel on the peppermint stripe sock.  Frankly, I’ve been putting it off because of the whole toe-up thing, but I know it’s not really any different than doing a heel from the top down.  I just have to make myself do it - and then I’ll be surprised all over again, as I always am when turning a heel, at how easy it turned out to be.

Have a great weekend!

...and I don’t seem to have a lot of words this morning except to thank you all for your kind compliments about the bag and shawl.  I appreciate them very much,

However, I do have a picture!