Back to Socks that Rock

Well, I have decided to return to the STR knitting. I did, after all, pay for all of 2008, and made myself a promise to knit up the socks as close as possible to the intended design. I have 3 skeins of yarn (feel like I am missing December somehow!!), and am about to wind one of them up tonite. I have chosen to do the March green colorway in the “Leafling” pattern. Hopefully either I will like the pattern or there will be some technical challenge to this. At the very least, a new pair of socks for my sock giveaway pile, always on reserve for any unplanned giving events.

Thrill of the chase

I have been watching eBay more closely the past couple of months for knitting books, patterns and yarn that I am interested in. It has been very interesting, as a lot of the items go for more on eBay than online merchants. A case in point are a couple of Dale of Norway pattern books that have been listed, and can easily still be found online for the original purchase price. I have seen them go for double, as the seller advertises them as “out of print”. Another time, I saw a lot of Dale of Norway Helio (60 skeins!) and I thought it would be perfect for 2 sweaters that I planned for my husband and myself. That would have left a bit over for socks, hats, etc. Well, the lot went for a price that the yarn could have easily been found on sale, and for more that me purchasing that yarn at retail for the 2 sweaters. Not quite sure what people are thinking. I my self have made a couple of purchasing errors, not reading carefully.

It is a beautiful day today. I am hanging clothes out to dry, and trying to put the house back in order. Here is a photo of my hand knit socks that I took a couple of summers ago. I had washed them all, and they were hanging out to dry. I was so impressed with myself and all of the work that the clothesline represented. My daughter thought I was a bit weird to take this photo.

Blog Stats

I am admittedly not a computer literate person. I just yesterday found the link to let me see how many people have read my blog. I thought that it was only Manning, I kind of felt like at times it was a personal dialog to her. Much to my surprise, there have been hundreds of hits on my blog. Not sure if people are reading or not, but I was sure surprised. Makes me want to continue writing even more.

On another statistical note, I have one sweater, the intertwined cables that I finally finished this winter, that has almost 100 hits on Ravelry for looking at! Now I know that some people have thousands on their projects, but I was just so excited to see that. I don’t think that I have ever had a project that has had 100 people look at it ever. Thanks Ravelry!

Almost finished with the 1st sleeve of the Viking Boat sweater. I have this fear that it is going to be tight, even though I swatched, and measured, and remeasured. Oh well, I will just continue on. I am looking at planning my next big project already, and yes finishing some more old ones. I was debating either the Kauni sweater, or doing the Dale of Norway Polar Bear sweater. Thinking, thinking…

It is a beautiful day here. Warmest day thus far this year. My landscaper has been here the past 3 days, putting in a rain garden at the front of the house, which also involved expanding the walkway to the north side of the steps for a small patio to sit on in the summer at the front. It looks so much better already, and the plants are not even in the ground. We put a rain garden in last year in the back yard, and that is starting to grow back in. I am very anxious to see how that will fill in. For the uninitiated, the rain garden is a depression in the ground to where you direct the flow from the downspouts from the roof, and plant native plants that can both handle the heavy rains, and are drought tolerant. The technical term is Xeriscaping. I am interested in the not watering aspect, and the low maintenance issue. It is also suppose to attract more birds and butterflies. I am looking to get our yard certified as a monarch butterfly way-station.  This concept also is environmentally friendly, as the storm water goes back into the ground instead of being sent to the sewer treatment plant.  We also live in an older community that has combined sewer and storm water.  It has been a problem for us in the past, and this should alleviate those issues.

A difficult gift

Last week I sent out 2 beautiful Baby Dale Norwegian sweaters. I made one, and my good friend Manning made the second. These have been sitting in my house for quite awhile waiting to be packaged up. Normally I would be so excited to get a gift out and imagine the surprise from the recipient. I hope that this generated a wonderful surprise also.

Almost a year ago, a neighbor passed away suddenly soon after giving birth to her second son. This was a person that I had met, but did not really know. Our quadrant of 3 x 6 blocks is very tight, and people support each other. This was devastating news, and a very sad wake. At a time like this, you always feel at a loss for something to do. Being a lifelong knitter, I always think of knitting. Knitting is a solution for gifts, and always a solution for my friends when they are having a difficult time. I also try to encourage others to start knitting to solve many of life’s problems. So, naturally, I thought that I should make a sweater to honor this new baby. I mentioned it to Manning, and we spent the summer thinking about it, buying yarn, and looking for the perfect pattern that both of us could do, one for each of the boys. Through Ravelry, Manning found the pattern that we both knit up. A beautiful top down Dale of Norway raglan. This was a very ambitious project for Manning, and her first Fair Isle! She had taken a couple of classes at Stitches, and delved into it completely. The sweaters both came out beautifully, using 2 colors the same, yet so distinct and individual.

And so they sat in my house. How do you write the letter explaining why you knit up a sweater for someone you barely know? I phrased it just as I did above, that I am a knitter and always think of knitting as a way to honor and bring comfort. When someone is sick, they always get a pair of hand knit socks. I hope that the boys wear and enjoy these sweaters. I initially walked the gift the 2 blocks from my house to theirs. Nobody was home, and there was no place to leave the package safely, so I drove a mile to mail a box to my neighbor just 2 blocks away. I hope that they have arrived safely, and that the love and wonderful thoughts knit into each sweater are felt.

And I hope that I never have to send out such a difficult package again.

Translating

Well, my Norwegian Viking boat sweater is coming along nicely. I finished the body, and am most of the way done with an arm. I am a bit concerned about getting all of the increases, and may have to rip the arm most of the way back. To do this sweater, I had to translate with a Norwegian-English knitting chart, and a Norwegian-English knitting dictionary. This was quite the mind-bender, and I ended up with some pretty interesting sentences during my direct translation. Here is an arm example:

• Arm pattern according to diagram and see until that central stitch during diagram and see until that arm pattern according to small diagram be going to center in arm

Luckily, having knit quite a bit, I am able to put that into sensible language. And fortunately, it was mostly chart driven or I would have been in serious trouble.

Spring seems to be trying to rear it’s lovely face. This inspired me yesterday to start the cleaning of my office, and moving my computer around. It feels so wonderful, and much more fun to write and post. Maybe this will keep me on task. Today is a bit of a dreary day though. Right now I am not teaching, and Ethan is in school and sports all day. This gives me a hint of what my life will be like next year. Still debating whether to find full-time work, or just keep piecing things together. I like the flexibility, being with Lloyd (the poodle) and napping when I am tired. I’ll have to see what the fall brings.