Because of external circumstances, Chat is cancelled for this week.  The software doesn’t seem to want to run properly so I think I need to look for something newer or something different.

Hope your weekends are going pleasantly!

I made another blanket :)

I don’t know why I can’t seem to make one at a time like normal people.  It seems that if I make one (like this one), I have to make another too.  Doesn’t have to be the same, but…

In this case, I did use the same crochet square - Chris Simon’s Flower Burst Square, but I handled it differently.  For one thing, I had no idea how far the scraps and bits I was using would go because there were so many of them and no real quantity to any one color.  So I just winged it, joining things more-or-less at random and working things out as I went along.

These are all animal fibers - wool, alpaca, llama, mohair and even a bit of cashmere and silk.

All except for the occasional rayon thread as in the block above, added for interest :) And let me tell you this is as warm and snuggly a blanket as you could ever hope for!  I had worried that the pink/purple palette would result in a kind of one-note feeling, colorwise.  I think if I had gone for black borders rather than natural, that might have been the result.

It’s the natural colored yarn, I think, that saves it.  Because the undertone of the natural is yellow, it nicely but gently highlights and shows off all the blue tones in the pinks and purples.  In any case, my stash cabinets are a lot lighter now, I have a blanket I’m thrilled with and I have space to legitimately contemplate filing with more yarn.  Heh… I am going to try to vary my palette though - Some yellows, some of the less strident oranges, some reds and maybe even some greens.  Doesn’t mean there will never again be any pinks and purples - only that I’m trying to expand myself to include other things as well.

Working on the shawl last night, I ran across this.

A dropped stitch… I should have fixed it then but I was so annoyed with myself that I was afraid I would just do further damage so I shall go a-tinking this afternoon.  Grrrrr....

I’m also thinking about making this project a shoulder shawl rather than a full sized behemoth.  One, while I never gave any thought to shoulder pieces (my mind running along bigger=better lines), it seems to me that I should at least try one :) In fact, I have a little top this would look very nice with.  The other reason is eminently more venal though.  I’m just about finished with the second ball of yarn - which you’ll remember, started out as sock yarn.  You may also remember there were 5 balls of yarn to begin with.  If I use a third ball to finish and edge the shawl, I’ll still have two balls left to make matching socks out of.  For some reason this idea tickles my fancy no end.

Finally, Chatters is on for tomorrow evening!

See the “Knitting Chatter” button on the side bar for more information.

Bring your projects and come and enjoy!

And have a wonderful weekend :)

I think I’m back :) At least for a post or two a week - which means that I’ve got my knitting mojo on and I’m actually futzing around with something simple and interesting.

The following swatches were all done in Caron Simply Soft on size 8 US (5.00 mm) needles.  The yarn is simply what I had lying around that I didn’t mind going for experiments.  Please forgive the fuzziness of some of the pictures - the spirit is willing but the hands are still a bit shaky.  First there was this:

I love the Fir Cone lace and have always wanted to use it in something.  However, there are a lot of Fir Cone shawls out there (for example, this and, in an unusual and very attractive shape, this, not to mention this) and they’d be a tough act to follow.  Also, I felt that the width of the three patterns didn’t balance well.  Definitely something needed to change.

So then there was this:

I narrowed the Razor Shell down to it’s absolute minimum and dropped the Horseshoe Lace entirely.  Definitely better but still…





I decided to shelve the Fir Cone for some other time and went with the Horseshoe and a slightly narrower-than-usual Razor Shell.  This came much closer to what I was looking for.  What was I looking for?  All I can tell you is I knew it when I saw it :) Despite the fact that this isn’t terribly lacy looking, being worsted weight yarn on size 8 US (5.00 mm) needles, this one really tripped my trigger :)

Despite which, I went ahead and did a fourth swatch, narrowing the Razor Shell even further.  You know, just in case…

When I cast on for this swatch, I thought it was going to be the be all and end all - the perfect balance of patterns and proportions - but I didn’t like it.  I mean it’s okay, nothing wrong with it.  But the third one’s the charm.

Should have known :)

Remember the dyed Sockotta yarn from back in February?  I wasn’t awfully happy with the green color and so had stashed it in the closet to ripen for a bit.  And what do you know?  When I retrieved it last week, it had blossomed into the most beautiful Jade you can imagine!  Amazing what a couple of month’s distance can do :)

I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having with this :) This is fingering weight (sock yarn - doh!) on size 6 US (4.25 mm) needles.  I’m into the second ball and have just joined a longer cable - thank goodness for Knitpicks Options needles!  I don’t know what I ever did without them :)





Of course I don’t expect to be finished with this for quite a while yet, being only a half-fast knitter :) But it’s so nice to be able to knit again!

And to want to.

I’m going to open up Chatters on Saturday evening.  I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it and missed chatting with you all.  I’ll post the banner later in the week. 

I’ve been thinking (even though it’s spring) how grateful I am for all the wooly acoutrements I’ve knit and acquired (even though it’s supposed to be warm by now) because the temps have been low, the skies grey, and the general atmosphere windy and raw (even though it’s supposed to be freakin’ spring!).  I mean really, I never thought I’d want my stole, mitts, socks and hat in the middle of May, for goodness sake.  But oh, am I ever glad they’re available - and not even charging me overtime for use well beyond their usual appointed season :)

Funny, these accessories have become old friends in a way that no store-bought item ever has - not since I passed through the end of puberty, anyway.  I expect this is something knitters (and crocheters and spinners and weavers, etc...) experience commonly.  In my head, it’s related to the old adage about he who cuts his own wood being twice warmed.  There’s not just the article to wear (or snuggle in or under), but the satisfaction of knowing that the only reason it’s even there is because you made it.  So there is both the satisfaction of creation and the warmth of wearing.

One of the results of the contuned cool weather is that the flowering trees in this part of the country are only now showing their blossoms - about a month late.  But with the forsythia and the lilacs (which are right on time - I always thought it was kind of the lilacs to bloom for my birthday since I love them!) there’s quite a show going on outside right now.  The acre behind my father’s house is filled with young apple trees and it looks like an ocean of flowers, pink and white, undulating gently in the breeze.  Of course it will all be over in another week or so but it sure is amazing - for a littlw while amyway :)

I’m going to be 54 on Sunday.  I was born in 1954 and while I don’t think these two figures are any more than coincidentally significant, it amuses me :) Dad, by the way, will be 85 on Saturday.

Most of what I’m doing craftwise these days, and there isn’t much at that, is crochet.  Between my constantly tearing eyes and my partially numb fingers, it seems to be the best I can manage at the moment.  I do try knitting every once in a while, but it is very slow :) I’m seriously hoping things will improve over the next few weeks.  I’m glad to have crafting I can manage, but I do miss my knitting.

Anyway, I just thought I’d drop in and wish everyone a happy spring.  I do miss the blog and look forard to the time when I can resume it on a regular basis!

It has come to my attention via notices from kind Ravelry folks that the blog had been hacked.  To what end, I have no idea.  However, some bot (probably) found its way into every .html and .php file and attached a wad of code for its own nefarious purposes.

I don’t know what nefarious purposes - for obvious reasons, we didn’t run the code to see what it would do.

The situation should now have been taken care of - by dint of Myria’s hard work.  There shouldn’t be anything left to cause any problem.  However, I strongly advise you to run a virus scan and a malware scan as soon as possible on your own systems.  The following links will bring you to sites where you can download free scanners of various types, should you not have any already installed.

Antivirus

Avast Antivirus Home Edition
Avira Antivirus Personal Edition
AVG Antivirus

Malware

AdAware
Spybot Search and Destroy
Spyware Blaster

The Malware items are less about viruses than about keeping your system clean and free from spyware and the like.  While not absolutely necessary, they are very useful.

Further, and for what it’s worth, the scuttlebut has it that there are a couple of things you can look for that could be evidence of an infestation by this virus (Frame.Z).  Check in your C:/Program Files directory for a directory called Bravesentry.  Also, look in your root directory for an .exe file that consists of a longish string of numbers and or letters.  Should you find them, run your antivirus software and do a full scan.

In fact, you should do that anyway :)

I hope this hasn’t and doesn’t cause any undue problems.  The situation should be fixed on my end so there should be no further issues.

And thanks to those who alerted me to the situation!

We have baby degus :) They are just a week old and beginning to get brave about venturing out of the nest.





We were hoping the litter of pups would be small - three or four maybe…





Myria thinks she has counted eight…

We will be bringing them to the pet shop when they are weaned - at about 5 or 6 weeks.  In the meantime, they are delightful to watch :) There’s nothing like having babies in the house!

Resume break :)

I guess the time for a sort of semi-hiatus has come round again.  I have neither the focus nor the dexterity to knit much - though I keep trying :) Crocheting is less difficult and less painful, but I’m not doing much of that either.

So the blog (and Chatters) is going to take a spring vacation.  I will likely be posting things from time to time, but not on anything like a regular basis.  I will continue to correspond and to comment on blogs and, hopefully in a couple of months, things will be getting back to normal.

Have a wonderful spring my friends - I appreciate your kindness and patience more than I can say!