More Progress

As you can see, I've made real progress on the Oriental Lily dress for Linny. The skirt is finished and I'm slogging along on one of the sleeves. This project is going to need some heavy blocking. I worked hard to keep the hem from curling in order to take the photo. As soon as I picked it up to work on it, the bottom curled right back up.


Last night was really fun. It was the fifth Tuesday and the Union County NJ Crafters Group does something celebratory whenever that happens. We meet the first and third Tuesdays at Starbucks and the second and fourth at the Coffee Beanery. For the fifth Tuesday in June, we decided to convene at The Tavern at The Stage Coach Inn in Scotch Plains. Shortly before we were scheduled to meet, there was a thunderstorm with heavy rain. We had hoped to eat on the patio and wondered if we would be able to do so. The indoor portion of The Tavern was crowded and it would not have been possible to get a table big enough to accomodate all of us. Fortunately the storm ended, the sun came out and The Tavern staff set about drying off all the outdoor tables. We did some eating and drinking as well as knitting and crocheting. The group ebbed and flowed as members arrived and left.

Here's a photo of the appetizers and the "pay what you want" barbecue (the dish on the right in the photo) which was delicious, a combination of chicken, ribs, brisket and sausage. You pay as much as you want and you get a gift certificate for a future meal.


We did some knitting and crocheting as well as eating.

Some Progress

Well, there are still eight UFO's surrounding me but I have made some progress.

Here's the Weaver's Wool Mini Shawl:


I worked on it at knitting group yesterday and during the FUSP service this morning. It's difficult to get a good idea of how it will look because it now has hundreds of stitches per row and it's bunched up on the circular needle. I plan to do about ten more rows and then add a chevron border using more of the Berroco Geode. I'm very happy with the color combination. I'm blatantly copying Patrice's Bunchberry Field interpretation of this shawl which is just beautiful. I've always thought that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I hope Patrice thinks so too.

On the way home from FUSP this morning I had DH drop me off about 1.5 miles from the house so I could have a walk. I left my knitting bag in the car. He stopped at the store for groceries so I was home for a time without the shawl. I didn't want to lose my knitting momentum, so I picked up the Kauni sweater and resumed work on it. I finished the body and did a three needle bind off on the shoulders.


I wish this were a better photo. It's dark out and I had to use flash. I didn't realize I was supposed to cast on extra stitches to steek the neck opening. I've decided to wing it. I'm picking up stitches to make the neck band and once I have them all on the needle, I plan to cut away the excess fabric. It's unorthodox, but I think it will work. Here's a close up of the stitches I've picked up so far.


Once I've knitted a few rows of ribbing for the neck opening, I'll cut off a semi-circle of fabric, turn the rest under and tack it down.

I had a lovely thank you note from Gizmo's expectant parents who have received the little yoked sweater and like it. They tell me he'll wear it home from the hospital and promise to send photos. I'll post them in November which is when he is due to arrive.

Acute Startitis

I don't seem to be able to settle on one knitting project. At this moment, I'm sitting surrounded by unfinished items. In the chair with me are:


Dick's Kauni Sweater with the body nearly finished. I need about one more pattern repeat on the body and I can do the steeks for the sleeves. The whole idea of cutting the sweater has me uneasy so I'm not too motivated to do that last inch or so.


Also sharing the chair with me is the Oriental Lily Sweater/Dress for Linny. I've got about five inches done on the skirt and have about five inches to go. And, I need to do the sleeves. I love the color and the feel of the yarn (Berroco Geode), but I'm tired of stockinette stitch over and over.


The third item in the chair with me is my newest project, the Kindred Knits Yoked Cardigan, for Gizmo. I stumbled on this pattern today as I was surfing ravelry (as a way to avoid actual knitting) and decided it would be perfect for the baby to be of my daughter's close friend who lives in San Francisco. The baby isn't due until November, so there's no big rush, but it's such a cute pattern I wanted to cast on right away.


On the floor next to my chair is a canvas sack with the sleeves and body of Decimal. I started this project in mid-March while I was still in Florida. It's time to join the body and sleeves to complete the yoke. I'm just not very excited about this sweater and I don't imagine I'm going to finish it. To frog or not to frog...


Sharing the sack with Decimal is a Kid's Top-Down Raglan by Gail Tanquary. I started it thinking I would donate it to charity. It's a stash buster and I do intend to finish it.


Across the room in another canvas sack is the Weaver's Wool Mini Shawl. If I am struggling with round after round of stockinette stitch on the Lily Dress, imagine how I feel about increasingly long rows of garter stitch. I know it will be beautifull when it's finished, but I just don't have any motivation for this project right this minute.


Also hiding in the bottom of another canvas sack is Eyelet Cardigan by Norah Gaughan. I really don't like projects that need to be sewn together and I'm not happy with how the first sleeve attached. I've started to take it back off so I can resew it, but I'm not optimistic it will be any better then next time.


Then, there are the projects I was reminded of when I reorganized the stash. Deep down in the Rubbermaid tubs, I found two half finished baby sweaters, Peapod Baby Set by Kate Gilbert and


Carlos by Berroco Design Team. Carlos needs an inch or two on the front and two sleeves. Peapod needs more work and may just be heading for the frog pond.

I should be summing up this post with a humorous paragraph outlining a cure for acute startitis, but I'm stumped. If any of these or future projects required the purchase of additional yarn, I could say I'm not buying at this time. And, I'm not. I've even stayed away from our LYS's huge sale. Each time I start a new project, I'm knitting from stash and that's a good thing, right? The question is how to stop starting. If anyone has any advice for me, I'd love to have it.

The First Hundred Days

On the Knitters for Obama thread on ravelry there is a 100 day KAL (knit a long). I've decided to join and use the time to work on and hopefully complete my UFO's. No, not unidentified flying objects, unfinished objects or knitting projects. I have many items I've started and then for one reason or another, got bogged down with. I've brought five of the most promising to Florida with me.

Here they are:

This one, a potholder, is my first attempt at domino knitting ala Vivian Hoxbro. I finished it today. I'm not totally happy with it. The border would have been much more striking if it had been a dark solid contrasting yarn, but this was a sample project to try the technique and I used Sugar 'n Cream from my stash. There wasn't enough of any of the solids left to do the trim.
This red cotton gansey, Cable Weave Pullover, for my husband which I had hoped to finish while it was still warm in NJ has languished for months. I have the front and the back finished. I just need to join them and knit the sleeves. Perhaps he'll be able to wear it when the weather warms up in Florida.

Skirty #3 for my grandaughter awaits a skein of Cascade 220 in the lemonade colorway. I ordered it last week after running all around northern Florida trying to buy some in a local yarn store. Unfortunately it was no where to be found locally and the internet supplier I ordered from neglected to tell me that it was backordered. I'm told it will be shipped today and arrive in Crystal River on Monday. This will be a quick finishing job once I have the yarn.

This Eyelet Cardi was originally in the works for my niece who I was to meet for the first time at Thanksgiving. It's knit from Reynolds Blossom and is a Norah Gaughan design. I ran into an error on the chart which slowed me down. Thanksgiving came and went. I gave her a sweater that I had knit last spring while sitting with my mother in the hospital. I'm not happy with the way the sleeve is attached and I plan to redo that. The other sleeve is finished and just needs to be seamed. This one shouldn't take too long.

Mr. Greenjeans has been around since mid-October. It would have been nice to wear this sweater right now in Florida since it's been so cold. Today I picked up the rest of the stitches around the neck and down the fronts and I'm working away on the button band. The right sleeve just needs the cable work near the wrist. The left sleeve needs a bit more than that. It's doable though.

President Obama has a lot of unfinished business from the Bush administration, not the least of which is the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Guantanamo, the economy, health care, etc. Yesterday he jumped in with both feet. I'm really rooting for him and I think the country is behind him. Right now he's my role model for getting things done.

Let's see what good things can happen in the next 100 days.