I cast on Gretel last weekend after picking up another ball of the Rowan Purelife British Breeds yarn from Purlescence Yarns. I was just about to finish the first chart when I realized that I had missed the note 10 rows back that said that the beginning of the row moved by 6 stitches. That would certainly explain why I thought the row after that looked a bit funny. So, I ripped back and am now slowly making my way through the chart.
Meanwhile, I think I’m coming down with a cold.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
I am so proud of the United States at this moment. As I read various articles this morning, I still found myself on the verge of crying with happiness. I am unable to truly express how I feel. Thankfully, Cherie Priest said it much better than I ever could, but then she is a writer. 🙂
Meanwhile, I am sorely disappointed in my adopted home. I do not understand how millions of people could go to the polls and vote discrimination into the state constitution. I have friends and know of friends of friends whose marriages are now in jeopardy and may not even exist in a few weeks. How can we deny the right of any 2 consenting adults to be happy in life?
If you’re in the United States, please remember to vote today (if you haven’t already).
If you’re in California, please consider voting No on Prop 8. Californians should be above codifying discrimination in the state constitution.
Thank you.
If you’re lurking around, don’t forget to post a comment on my Housewarming post by 5 pm PDT this Friday to be in the drawing for yummy yarn prizes.
In knitting news, I actually got quite a bit done this weekend. Only about 40 rounds left and I’ll be done with my Mystery OJ socks. Now to decide if I want to try casting on for the October challenge (I have until Friday), or to just go on to next month’s challenge (casting on Nov 1).
The Sock Knitter’s Anonymous Sockdown! challenge gives you 2 months to finish a sock. I cast on my Mystery OJ Socks on Sept 1st. I have only now gotten to the gusset increases of the 2nd sock. I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on myself because I am on the 2nd sock and not the 1st. But, I’d like to get at least one pair done for September. (I was silly and cast on a pair of Cookie A’s Thelonious Socks as well, which are only on the gusset decreases of the 1st sock.) Thankfully, there aren’t that many plans for this weekend, so I hope to get a chance to sit and knit… perhaps even slot some spinning in as well.
Friday evening I hit Purlescence Yarns for Late Night Knits. A large group of us sat around knitting and watching Bell, Book, and Candle. There were cupcakes because Purlescence was celebrating their second birthday. There was also a small yarn sale — Rowan yarns were 25% off for a few hours. Normally, I would say that I don’t need any new yarn, but there was one Rowan yarn I was interested in — the new British breeds line. Knitter’s Review had done a review of it recently, and it sounds quite nice. I’m always interested in trying different breeds of sheep and thought it kind of cool that Rowan had decided to focus on a few specific British breeds.
I was completely sold when I plucked a ball of the BFL off the shelf. Not only was it nice and soft, but it smelled slightly of sheep. I bought one ball thinking to make a quick hat (it’s a bulky yarn, with the label stating 13 sts = 10 cm). When I got home, I wound it into a ball by hand because it just felt so nice. Then, I started scanning Ravelry for a pattern. I settled on Gretel. I played around with a gauge swatch going through size 7, 8, 9 and 10 needles. The pattern calls for 4.5 sts/inch in stockinette stitch and 4 sts/in in k2p2 rib. I got about 4.5 sts/inch with the 10s, but I’m waffling on that because the patterns seems to be for a 24″ hat. I have a smallish head (21″), and don’t want the hat to come out too big. I’m thinking I’ll knit it on 9s, which, of course, means I have to buy a new set of needles because I don’t have any 16″ long 9s. *sigh* I don’t care though because it’s going to be a beautiful hat to wear.
Welcome to my new home! In celebration, I’m hosting a little housewarming party.
I’ve been working on getting my blog up and running here at my own domain, and while things are still not entirely finished, they are tidy enough to invite people over. Don’t be surprised if you see changes over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, please update your RSS feeds:
http://zardra.dimmet.net/?feed=rss2
http://zardra.dimmet.net/?feed=atom
As thanks for checking out my new home, I’m giving away a few prizes — one prize for each year I’ve been blogging at Knitting from Outer Space.
1 skein of Mountain Colors Mountain Goat in the Mountain Twilight colorway
2 skeins of Himalayan Yarn Tibet Wool/Recycled silk in a pretty green color
2 skeins of Shibui Knits Sock in Sky
1 skein of Socks that Rock lightweight in Korppi
All you have to do is leave a comment in this post. You have until 5 pm PDT on Oct 31, 2008, about 2 weeks. I’ll announce winners that night. 🙂
ETA: Feel free to spread the word… unless you don’t want any possible competition. 🙂
I am still knitting, amazingly enough, even if I’ve barely posted here at all this year. The current sock project I’m carrying around with me is the Ravelry’s Sock Knitters Anonymous September Mystery Sock designed by Jeanniefanihi. I’m knitting it in some orange yarn that I got from Inspirations Yarn a couple years ago as part of a mystery sock kit (I find it slightly ironic that I am now using it for a different mystery sock, but a mystery sock none the less). It’s sort of a pastel hunter orange (as you can see in the photo), but there’s a little bit of semi-solid variegation going on, too. I remember when I got it, it was such a shocking color to me when I pulled it out of the package. I mean, orange… yuck. I would never knit with orange; I’m just not an orange person. So, into the stash it went and stayed.
Enter the start of the new Sockdown! schedule. I hadn’t done one of the mystery socks before, I liked the look of Jeannie’s other designs. But, knitting the mystery sock meant I would have to knit an orange sock; that seemed reasonable, besides I wouldn’t be alone in my orangeness. I remembered this poor skein hiding in my stash and pulled it out — definitely orange enough to qualify for the challenge. I’m actually liking the way it’s knitting up — being knitted seems to be toning down the brightness a little (I hadn’t even realized that it was a semi-solid color until I saw it knit up), and I like the fiber composition (60% SW merino, 25% mohair, and 15% nylon).
Children’s knitting group turfed from library under new craft ban
I’m confused. The library wants to attract a younger crowd, so they’re kicking out the 6-10 year olds.
I also fail to see how video games promote literacy better than knitting. Knitting teaches math and problem-solving skills.