The Noro Silk Garden actually arrived yesterday. Since the sender required proof of delivery, and because I was out most of yesterday, all I received was a notice from the post office telling me I could pick up the package after 7:30 this morning.  So at 7:30, I hied my little fanny downtown and picked up the package.

See?

Can’t have enough color!

It’s darker than I had thought, but very beautiful.  It goes from violet to teal to charcoal to bronze with slight passes of pink and gold.  I’m really interested to see how this works up having read, many times, about its striping propensities.  This will be really fun stuff to work with!

The Slk Garden came from W.N.W. Wool Needlework Discounter in British Columbia.  Check them out; their prices are very good and their shipping is reasonable.  I’m especially impressed that this came from the west coast of Canada to the east coast of the U.S. in 7 working days.  I’ve had orders from the midwest take more time than that.

This is theoretically slated to become a stole.  We’ll see how that works out.  I’ve put it away for now (sob!) because I want to get the sweater finished :)

Unfortunately, I seem to have decided that a scarf-hat-glove set would be a nice thing to have.  So yesterday, I made a stop and purchased yarn for that too.

Even more color!

I did cast on for the scarf last night, but didn’t do a lot of work on it.  The sweater was guilting me out, lying there in its tote being snide.  I assume it was feeling insecure in its neutral shade compared to the splashy flash of the Bernat Boa.  I assured it that it was a much better and much more versatile yarn and that the sweater would get much more use and wear than the funky winter set, but it refused to be soothed until I picked up the needles and worked a few rows.

I bought a couple of sweaters yesterday.  Heresy for a knitter?  They are a simple tunic style in solid colors, round neck, split hem.  They are gorgeous. 

Gold and Violet

The fabric content is 65% rayon and 35% nylon and the yarn is a slightly thick-and-thin combination of fuzz and shimmer.  I stood there looking at the fabric and realized that I couldn’t buy that kind of yarn for less than $100.  Per sweater.  The sweaters were $9.99 each.

The Silk Garden will look spectacular with both of them.  I think the winter set will look cute with them as well.  Some days you just get lucky :)

A Winter’s Day

Study in blue and white

This is the Merrimack River, about a mile and a half from my apartment.  In the city’s glory days as a textile giant, the river was a source of power and was controlled by means of canals, gates and dams.  Unfortunately, the river was also the repository of sewage, garbage and great quantities of industrial waste.  At the time I was growing up, walking on this water would have been no miracle.

Things have changed.  The river is clean again and there are even salmon runs in place.  It can be quite beautiful - even in the cool grey light of a winter day.

Walkway

Lantern Waste?

There are walking paths through the parkland along the banks.  A few hardy souls make use of them in the winter, but pedestrian traffic is, understandably sparse.  In the warmer weather, whether it’s because of a city sponsored regatta or just an ordinary sunny day, the parks are jammed with people and the roads on either bank are covered with parked cars.

Gulls at open water

Duck on ice

The surface of the river freezes over when the winter is as cold as this one has been (though winter isn’t always this cold and I have seen winters where the surface never froze at all) but underneath the ice, the water continues to flow.  The gulls in the above photo have found a spot near a bridge where the water has come through the ice, providing fresh drink.  The duck was decidedly out of place and didn’t get anywhere near the gulls.  Standing much closer to the bank, he seemed to be looking for something to eat and was muttering to himself the whole time.

I take great pleasure in the proximity of the river.  There is something profound to me about flowing water.  So while lakes and ponds are pretty, the ocean, a river, even a creek seems more interesting to me.  The water you see today is not the water you saw yesterday or the water you will see tomorrow.  Yet, it is still the ocean or the river or the creek.  The nature of the thing hasn’t changed - even while it’s fundamental component moves, continuously, on.

A bright spot

For all the monochromatic palette, there is some color to be found.  These berries draw the eye like a magnet because they are so bright against the muted blues and greys of the landscape.  Would that color scheme make an interesting sweater or coat?  Muted blues, greys and white with very occasional splashes of an intense red-orange?

A cheerful note

For the next few weeks, I’ll be posting later in the day - more like mid-to-late afternoon, rather than late morning.  My schedule has been temporarily changed, but I’ll be posting every day never the less - just later :)

Happy Wednesday!

The kimono is proceeding apace; I finally got the ~!@#$%^&* seed stitch done on the bottom of the back.  That in itself counts as a milestone in my book :)

The back in all its mushed up glory

And this time I even remembered to switch from the 6s to the 8s before I was several rows into the stockinette!  Will miracles never cease?

~!@#$%^&* Seed Stitch

Now that I’ve gotten to the stockinette part, things should go a bit more quickly.  The only problem I’m having now is that thoughts of quick little projects keep intruding.  I’ve been reading about knitting socks on 2 circular needles (Krista Jo over at Knitwit has some pictures and a good link) and the idea of trying this keeps popping into my head.  I even have yarn already!  I keep telling myself that I’ve got the mitts to work on when I get bored with the sweater, but this sock thing… I don’t know…

Speaking of mitts…

The Great Mitts Experiment

Another couple of pattern repeats and I’ll be ready to do the thumb gusset - which I think I’ve got figured out now.  I had started out thinking I would follow a particular pattern but this has changed and evolved into something entirely my own.  This both pleases me and makes me nervous.  Pleases because I can say - I thought this up myself!  Makes me nervous because there’s always the possibility of embarrassing myself.  On the other hand, if the mitts well and truly suck, I can always stop mentioning them and never post another picture :) I’d tell you, of course… Of course I would.

Obligatory cute photo :)

This kid is stuffing because it’s really cold out and there’s a possibility of snow in the near future.  The traffic at the feeders seriously picks up before a snowstorm.  Little buggers are smarter than the weatherman!

I got to try out the gloves this morning as I had to be out early and the temperature was about 12F when I left.  They were awesome!  I’m so glad I made them thick.  I know (from experience) the steering wheel was like ice but my hands never got cold.  I love my gloves and have decided that another pair or two in different colors wouldn’t be out of the question at all!

I think it’s going to be soup for lunch today - there’s something about soup on a cold day that’s infinitely comforting.  And then, more knitting!

Stay warm folks :)

While I’m waiting for my Silk Garden to arrive, I’ve been playing with various stitch patterns to see what might make a nice stole - always assuming the yarn is amenable to being made into a stole.  Initially I had thought “Feather and Fan”, that lovely, easy old standby, would be just the thing.  This weekend, leafing through a book of shawl patterns, I ran into “Ostrich Plumes”.  It’s a variation of F & F done with a half-drop - no more difficult to execute, enough different from the parent pattern to be interesting to work and absolutely gorgeous!

I really like the way this looks - even in my so-so practice yarn which I worked on US 9 needles.

The stitch pattern in the book was presented this way:

Rows 1,5,9,13 Blah, blah, blah.  2 and all WS rows Blah.  3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31 Blah. 17, 21, 25, 29 Blah, blah, blah.

It might have helped if each set had been given its own line, but they were all strung together.  There was a chart, but wrong side rows weren’t represented which, to someone who finds charts challenging to begin with, is disastrous.

I wound up writing (well, typing) up the pattern in a more standard format before I could even begin to decipher how to follow it.  After that, though, it was easy.  You do have to pay a bit of attention, but only every 4th row - then it’s purl a row, knit a row, purl a row.

It goes like this:

Ostrich Plumes - multiple of 16 + 7

^|1.|K3, [k2tog] 3 times, [yo,k1] 5 times, yo, [ssk] twice], *SK2P, [k2tog] twice, [yo, k1] 5 times, yo, [ssk] twice; repeat from *, end ssk, k3.|
|2.|Purl|
|3.|Knit|
|4.|Purl|

Repeat this set 4 times (16 rows).  This is the first half of the pattern.

^|17.|K4, [yo, k1] twice, yo, [ssk] twice, SK2P, [k2tog] twice, [yo, k1] twice, yo, *[k1, yo] three times, [ssk] twice, SK2P, [k2tog] twice, [yo, k1] twice, yo; repeat from *, end k4.|
|18.|Purl|
|19.|Knit|
|20.|Purl|

Repeat this set 4 times (16 rows).  This is the second half of the pattern.
Repeat all 32 rows for pattern.

I have a question for those of you who have used Silk Garden before.  What’s the weight like?  I had thought it was a worsted weight, but I have seen it listed as an aran too.  How would you describe it and what size needles did you use to work it with?

Anyway...onwards :)

I’ve also been playing with another fingerless mitt attempt.

This is Woolease worked on US 6 needles in a variety of cable patterns.  I wasn’t sure, when I started, that I would be able to keep all those cable patterns straight.  That’s also why I decided to do this on straight needles rather than fight with DPNs.  As it turned out, the cables weren’t a problem.  None of them are complicated and keeping track of them wasn’t hard.  Now it’s just a matter of building up some more length and doing a thumb gusset.  I’ll keep you posted.







The Fluff monster is enjoying the morning sunshine.  I’d tell you that he hopes you all got to sleep in this morning but the fact is he doesn’t give a rat’s behind.  I do though :) Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend!

When I first read about this technique I thought You’ve got to be kidding!  Let my stitches hang in the air to unravel, drop and otherwise make my life miserable?  No way! But it doesn’t really work that way.  Cabling without a cable needle is easy, fast and, with a little care (and it’s really very little) you are always in control of your stitches.

I rather unfairly teased someone yesterday about how simple this was and later thought Okay smart-ass, put your money where your mouth is! So, with the contribution of Myria’s inestimable photographic skills, that’s what I’m doing today. :)

Ready to make the cable

1.  We’re ready, here, to make a CF6.  That is we are going to cross three stitches over the front of the work to create a front-cross, 6 stitch cable.

Picking up the crossing stitches

2.  With the right needle in front of the work, insert it, from front to back, into the 4th, 5th and 6th stitches on the left needle.

Moving the left needle

3.  With the thumb and index finger of your right hand, grasp both needles firmly and make sure that your index finger is up against the three front stitches on the left needle.  Basically you’re exerting pressure on those three stitches to make sure they stay where you want them instead of unraveling down your work.  They’ll only be free for a couple of seconds, so don’t panic :)

Carefully withdraw the left needle from all six stitches.  This leaves the picked up stitches on the end of the right needle.  Your right index finger is holding the other three stitches against the right needle and they’re not going anywhere.

Collecting the stragglers

4.  Now bring the left hand needle to the back and insert it into the loops of those three free stitches.  Everything’s under control again - you can now breathe freely :)

Crossing the stitches

5.  Move the left needle back towards the left and the right needle back towards the right.  This crosses one set of stitches over the other.

Making the transfer

6.  Move the three stitches on the end of the right needle back to the left needle. 

Now you just knit!

7.  Your cabling is now finished and you simply knit the 6 stitches of the cable as you would normally knit any old 6 stitches :)

Completed cable

8.  And there you have it!

For a CB6, a 6 stitch back-cross cable, in step 2, you would pick up those same three stitches (the 4th, 5th and 6th on the left needle) with the right needle behind the work instead of in front.

A video (.avi) is also available.  The sound quality isn’t prime, but I think it’s comprehensible.  It’s the visual you want anyway :) I thought maybe seeing the process as it’s worked might help.  This isn’t a small file though (about 3.5 megs) so those of you on dial-up might want to just right click and download the thing.  It might take a while. 

I hope all this is clear and that it helps.  This is a technique that works well for me and I wanted to share it.  But please, do your cabling in any way that’s comfortable for you and that gives you the results you want!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Well, the back for the kimono has been cast on and a few rows worked.  I’ll post a picture when there’s a bit more than an inch of progress to show.  I am really looking forward to being able to wear a sweater that I made with my own little hands :) However, I’m going to try very hard not not have to do seed stitch over 167 stitches again :)

I’m having dinner with a dear friend this evening and looking forward to it.  She and I seem to spark the most wonderful and outrageous conversation out of each other so it’s always great fun to get together.  However, there won’t be much time for knitting.  I’m tempted to bring it along because we always sit for a long time and talk after we’ve eaten - but I think she’d be insulted.  Not being into any kind of hand-craft herself, I’m afraid that she might not realize how keeping the hands busy works to focus the mind - and I wouldn’t hurt her for the world.  I love my knitting, but I love my friends more.

Remember on Tuesday I grumbled about the magazine “Knit ‘n Style”?  Well, I received a copy of that very magazine - gratis, no strings attached, in the mail that afternoon.  On looking through it I found a sweater I kind of like - it’s a surplice sort of style.  Their pattern has the bottom and sleeves finished with a clunky and unattractive (to my eye) crocheted edging.  However, I like the lines of the garment very much so I guess I have to thank them for sending me this issue.

Maybe I should try grumbling about the lottery?

The Rabbit Follies

Sometime back, we had rabbits. 

It started one spring.  Myria had had rabbits when she was growing up and had told me about them.  My folks weren’t into animals - especially small ones so I had no idea what a bunny member of the family would be like.  We decided to see what was available and if anybody seemed like they might want to come home with us.

Nebula

This little girl (they told us this rabbit was female - it’s a tricky proposition; rabbits keep their privates very private) came back with us.  We named her Nebula and she was an absolute delight!  She was beautiful, curious, willful and affectionate and we watched her grow with awe and delight.

For a long time, we gave her “running” time in the bathroom.  The bathroom in our old apartment was fairly large and, though oddly shaped, gave lots of running space for a young bunny who was feeling frisky.  Aside of exercise time, she lived in a large, roomy cage in the bedroom.  We weren’t happy about caging her up - neither of us is comfortable with animals in cages - but we didn’t know what else to do.  We were worried that the cats would view Nebula as lunch and didn’t want to chance having her hurt - or worse.

So we kept reading and studying various resources and kept running into accounts of cats and rabbits co-existing, not just peacefully, but companionably.  One night, with due precautions, we let Fluffy into the bathroom while Nebula was having her run.

He just stood there while Nebula ran around him in tight circles.  In bunny, that means she felt she’d found a new best friend.  The cat seemed curious, but not the least inclined to pounce.  We only let it go on for a few minutes, but we were cautiously optimistic.

We repeated the process every night for the next couple of weeks with both cats.  Fluffy liked Nebula and Goldie was completely indifferent.  There were no signs whatsoever of aggression.

After that, we let Nebula live in, and have the run of the living room.  Aside of her devotion to stripping the wallpaper and her tendency to bite through any electrical cord she could find, all was well.  In fact all was so well that we decided to get another rabbit - another female, of course, so there wouldn’t be any unexpected surprises :)

In November, we introduced Nova.

Nova

Nova was a lop - her ears hung down instead of standing up and she was quite a different personality than Nebula.  She was much more aloof and self-contained and, it soon became clear, she was going to be a much bigger bunny.  There were some initial personality conflicts, some hair pulling (something rabbits do to establish dominance) and a little scuffling, but things settled down and we congratulated ourselves on having a wonderful little family.

It was particularly entertaining to watch the rabbits and Fluffy (Goldie, for all the time we had them, continued to pretend that the rabbits didn’t exist) interact.  In the morning, when everybody was feeling feisty, the rabbits would run around the living room (doing the Bun 500) and Fluffy would lay on the floor watching.  If, during the course of their mad dash, the buns got close enough to him, he would extend his front legs into the air and the buns would hop right through them.

One Friday night, after a really bad work day, I came home and sat down on the living room floor to play with the animals.  For me, the critters have always been a source of comfort and relaxation so this was something I often did.  Myria was talking to me about her day when she suddenly stopped mid-sentence.  I looked up at her to see her eyes round and her mouth open in surprise.  She was looking across the room at the disreputable piece of sectional that we had ceded to the rabbits.

“Holy shit!”
“What?  What!?!?”
“Something moved over there.”

I could see both rabbits and both cats, so it wasn’t any of them.  I got up, went over to the sectional and carefully removed the buns’ litter box (yes, rabbits will litter train).

Babies!  Baby bunnies!  And, since rabbit kits are born without fur and with their eyes closed, and since these two had their eyes open and their clothes on, they were at least two weeks old!!

Babies on board!

We had seriously mixed feelings about the situation.  We really didn’t want more pets.  But I promise you, baby bunnies re-define the whole concept of cute.  By the time they were weaned, we had fallen in love with them.  The pet dynamic hadn’t changed - the cats didn’t threaten the babies.  In fact, Fluffy seemed delighted with them and often “baby-sat”.  They like him too; climbed all over him and curled up and went to sleep in the curve of his tail.  We named them Hubble and Chandra and decided to keep them.

It took us a few days to sort out who was the mother and who was the father.  Nova was female, as advertised.  Nebula was male.  An appointment was immediately made for Nebula’s conversion to “consultant” but we already knew from our reading that Nova was likely pregnant again.

Locusts on the land...

They grew like weeds and ate voraciously.  We always kept a bowl of dry, pellet food and a bin of fresh, timothy hay available for free feeding and we fed them fresh greens every evening.  This consisted of an assortment of things - green or red leaf or romaine lettuce (iceberg is almost all water and has little nutritional value), parsley or cilantro, kale, collard greens and dandelions greens.  There were also a chopped up carrots and a few small pieces of apple or pear.  Sometimes there was fresh basil of which Nebula was especially fond.

In due course, Nova gave birth to her second litter.  We had determined that we would find homes for all of this group, but there was a surprise we hadn’t anticipated.  Since both parents, and all of the first litter were black, we expected only black kits.  There were four kits this time, three black, and one white with sooty ears, nose and tail. 

Uncle Fluffy

We did find a home for the three blacks but we kept the little white and named him Luna.

Luna

Luna was a hell-raiser right out of the hatch.  He was out wandering around before he even had his eyes open.  When he’d gotten command of his feet (and he was still tiny the first time I saw this happen) he’d get up onto the sofa, scale the back and then turn and “ski” down onto the cushions.  I swear, if you listened carefully, you could hear the rabbit version of “Yee-HAAAH!” as he came sliding down the back of the couch.

Unfortunately, due to a variety of circumstances, the day came when we felt we could no longer keep them.  We were, thank heaven, able to find excellent homes for all of them where they would be loved, cared for and spoiled with people who were as nuts about them as we were.

I still miss them after almost two years.  We hope, if things go well and we eventually are able to have a house of our own, to have another rabbit or two someday.  In the meantime, I am grateful to have been able to get to know them and share space with them.  I hadn’t known until then, that there was a space in my heart just waiting for bunnies to come live in it.