The Knitting Doctor

Project Roundup

I figured it was time for a Project Roundup, and a few other things. First, the few other things. You all might remember the Knitter's Hunk contest that Kim had a couple weeks ago. I took second place for nominating the winner, Alan Rickman (but only because Emily evoked visions of a naked Alan in her tie-breaking entry--I should have thought of that). As a prize, I got a very cool package full of stuff from Kim.  Here are the highlights:

Note the lovely mitts, the knitting journal, and the spectacular Lavold Silky Tweed!  Oh, and the photo, in case you hadn't noticed that. She included that as well. Thanks, Kim! Great contest!

Now the PR. I've still been working on that bamboo top, but am bored with it. It's not summer anymore, it's just miles of stockinette, and it's going into time-out as of today. Here it is, all bagged up for now. It's my blog, and I'll knit what I want to.

I'll get back to that eventually, but not now. So what's taking it's place in the queue?

This:

Miles and miles of grey Peace Fleece, in all its glorious sheepiness. The color is Negotiation Grey, and it will be a sweater for John. I had ordered the pattern with it, which is the Father/Son Pullover from this page, and then tried to convince him that the Cobblestone pullover from the latest Interweave would be better. He firmly likes this one though, so plain plain plain it will be. It's a good thing I'm happy to knit plain plain plain.

Here's where I am with Langsjal Jóhönnu. I'm about halfway done with this, and pretty much have the lace pattern stitch memorized. I have 2 more balls of the yarn left, and I have the opposite border done already, so I "just" need to knit till I only have enough yarn to do the grafting, and that's it.

Here's the new sock yarn, some very orangey goodness. This is Sock Hop, in the color Spirit In The Sky, one of my very favorite oldies songs.

And the sock it's making:

I got to meet Teyani, who spins this lovely stuff, this weekend. She lives just a ways from me, but we'd never gotten together before. She came over, and we spent the day goofing off and going yarn shopping. What could be more perfect?

You might be wondering what that big ball of yellow yarn up there is. It's Briggs & Little Regal, another bunch of sheepy-smelling stuff. I get to use that this week. A few months ago my boss showed me a brochure from a yarn shop in Idaho. It was for a knitters' retreat this coming week. (Click "current events" at the bottom of their home page.) Despite the fact that she didn't know how to knit at the time, she said "Wanna go??" A short time later we were booked and ready. I'm taking this yarn, and this book with me:

Beth Brown-Reinsel is teaching a two-day class on knitting ganseys, and I am so signed up. And yes, I know I just got back from vacation. What can I say, my boss made me do this. What was I supposed to do, say I'd rather work? There is no internet access (or cellular!) where we're going, so I'll check back in when we get home!

Last but not least, before I forget, one of my favorite blogs is back after a summer break. Go check out the latest info on the best way to do decreases!

Sit Back & Relax,

...this will be a long post full of fun and adventure! Get yourself a cup of tea, or maybe something stronger.

But first, a Lucy picture, because you can't have enough silly cat photos.

Let's all hear it, "awwwww". Her look of pure bliss probably is due to the catnip that I dump over this thing regularly.

And next, just a few photo highlights of the recent Boston trip.

These are our friends Byron & Diane, who now live in Rhode Island. We went to visit them while in Boston. You might note that Byron & John have pretty much the same facial expression in these photos.

The sock got to see another ocean:

We had lobster:

We ate more good food:

The next couple are for Kris:

We found that they tend to get a lot more dressed up in Boston:

We took the Duck Tour, which is very corny, but I'd highly recommend it if you're a first-time Boston visitor.

If you've never done one of these, they go both on land and water. Click on this one to make it bigger.

We went here:

Red Sox Win!

Then we came home:

The End.

(New Projects next time! Stay Tuned!)

She Grew!

Remember way back when, I had a new grand-niece named Riley, born in March? And how I knit her a Wallaby that was several sizes too big for her? It now fits.

Here's the photo from April, when I finished the thing. She was just a couple weeks old then.

That picture still just cracks me up. Here's a recent photo. Her parents took her camping, and it was cool enough for her to wear the thing.

Click on that photo to get the full measure of her cuteness.

And if you want a closer view of just how cute she is, here's another one.

Makes you want one of your own, eh?

Boston...

Or, Red Sox, Blue Sox

Indeed we have internet access from our hotel room here, though it took me longer to figure out than I'd like to admit. Other than the rainy icky day we had yesterday, we've been having a blast. I even got to do some yarn shopping. More on that later. First, the Sox. We have tickets to the Red Sox game tonight, and in honor of that event, I finished a pair of Blue Sox. Actually they are more purple and green, but what the heck.

Project Specs:

Yarn: Wollmeise superwash sock yarn, in Krauterbeet
Pattern: My own. 72 stitches, picot hem, flap heel and gusset
Needles: 2.00mm Pony Pearls
For: Me
Started: June 2007
Finished: September 2007
What I learned: Hmmm. I always say the same thing about socks. I still love a plain sock. There are all those lovely sock stitch patterns out there, and yet again, I've started another plain version for my next pair. I carry these everywhere in my bag, for those odd moments when I can knit just one or two rounds, so I like a simple pattern that I don't have to think about. I absolutely love this yarn. It has a nice smooth finish and the colors are fabulous.

Now, about that shopping. Laurie, aka Etherknitter, arranged for a few friends to get together to take me on a knitting tour on Saturday after we got here. Julia, Claudia, and Manise (no blog) met us at Windsor Button for the first leg of the tour. We then went to Woolcott over in Cambridge, then out to Lexington to Wild & Woolly. Kathy, Martha, Lucia, and Ruth met us along the way. We had lunch and a lot of laughs during the afternoon. To me, this is the best part about blogging. There are a lot of reasons why I still do the blog, but getting to meet some very wonderful people along the way is a real treat. Thanks, ladies! Here are some photos:

The classic "we're blogging each other" photo:

Yes, Ruth has a baby in there. Or had, as I think she's gone into labor since our little foray.

And what all did I bring home? Here's the evidence:

We're off to enjoy the sunshine. Next time, new project!

The Knitter's Hunk

In case some of you aren't paying attention to the closest elections anywhere, get over to Hand Eye Crafts and check out the voting on the most delicious hunk around. And vote for Alan Rickman while you're over there.

I'm off on vacation, as soon as I get the bags packed. As usual, the hardest part is picking out the knitting projects. We're off to Boston for a week. There's not much progress on any of my projects, so check the photos from prior posts. The camera's already in the bag, so I'm not taking any more this morning. Laurie has graciously arranged for a whole day of playing and yarn shopping with the Boston contingency of the knitbloggers, so I'll post photos if I have internet access. Otherwise, see you in a week!

And go vote for Alan, did I mention that?