Colorwork!

I like to call it "Fair Isle," but I know that is a specific style of color-work, and doesn't apply here ... so I'll just settle for "color-work." This is the sleeve cuff of the Bohus.

The purple seed stitch at the bottom is the bottom of the cuff, and then it goes up to the dark purple which starts the rest of the sleeve. I wet-blocked these to make them look neater.

I'm not happy with the rose-colored blocks in the light pink field ... I don't like how the light pink purls intrude on the rose blocks, but I don't know how to keep that from happening.

From here, I knit in one color in stockinette stitch for 14 inches, then I attach everything on a really big circular needle -- which I have to go out and buy, because all I have is 36" and that is not long enough -- and from there, knit the shoulder colorwork. I have the bulk of the knitting behind me, I think, but the most complicated part is colorwork while simultaneously knitting the yoke. Yikes! Then I will have to block it as one large item.


The plus is that I am home sick all week, with my yearly sinus infection/chest cold, so I have lots of time to knit. The minus is that I hate being stuck inside. I spent a good deal of my childhood alone in my bedroom with a humidifier, stuck in bed, with my mom bringing me trays with food and little cups of penicillin and other medicine, and not allowing me to leave my room except for the bathroom. My classmates would send me a box of get-well-soon cards, but the teacher only let them write "get well soon," and nothing else. Isn't that a funny memory to have! That big box of cards, but no personal message. Here I am a few decades later, with the humidifier and a nasty cough, thinking of those little handmade cards. I am just knitting, reading, refilling the humidifier, and walking the dog a couple times a day. The pets love having me home all day, they pester me for treats constantly.

The other thing is that the cats have taken over the sofa on the rare occasion I leave it.

Fat Petunia, Molly-Glaucoma-Cat, and Edgar Allen Poe

I tell them over and over that since I bought the sofa, I should get to use it too ... but they just yawn and look pointedly at the desk chair. Whatever, Human. There are other places to sit, intiendo?

Bohus, Full Speed Ahead!

Onward Bohus!

That is what it is supposed to look like. I promise to forgo the vapid expression when I model my version.
And the ribbon. I'm a bit too old for such frippery. I'll find a nice hook. 

So far:

I am using Cascade 220, because it was available at my LYS, and I really like Cascade. I have done the back and two sides up to the yoke point; now I'm doing the sleeves, which is where begins the colorwork! So I have to go wind some hanks into balls and carefully mark out which colors are which, because since I didn't use the recommended yarn, I clearly didn't use the recommended colors. I hope it won't be too garish!

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for WIP Wednesday!

Finished Object Friday, Finally

Ahhh, a Finished Objet d'Art for Friday!

The Socks.

The pattern is from Socks a la Carte Toes up, and you can sort of see the Star Toe pattern.

Yarn is Tofutsies.

And yes, I have big calves. All that jogging. No ankles, but I have no explanation for that.




And in other (good) news, Molly Cat's glaucoma has been successfully treated.

The first medicine by itself didn't work, so about 5 weeks ago we switched to a stronger option, and her eye pressures are both back to normal now (18). Even though I'm only treating one eye, they both have gotten better. The doctor said that is not unusual, but she couldn't explain why it happens.

Okay, I'm off to refresh my memory of how to knit the Swing Bohus ... that's all (hopefully) I will be blogging about till it's done!

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Finished Object Friday!

So Much for Socktober!

It wasn't particularly spectacular for me. But I got two new pair of socks out of it!

These are nearly done; I stopped knitting the ribbing on the unfinished one to write this blog, so by the time this is posted for Tamis Amis' WIP Wednesday, it should be done.

So that's the second pair. This is the Tofutsi seashell yarn. I like it; it's pretty, and shiny, and easy to knit with. Even after unraveling the first one a half dozen times. It's a bit (okay, a lot) more expensive than the nylon-wool stuff I buy at Jo-Ann's, but it's nice to splurge every now and then, right?



This is the pair I finished earlier in the month:

Just a common sock yarn, purchased from Jo-Ann's. It washes very well. And it's very warm.


So that was Socktober! I finished two pair of socks that I had started before. I'm just not knitting as much as I used to ... which is okay, because most of that time is going towards healthy cooking and jogging and yoga instead of sitting, so it's a fair tradeoff.





So now I will be concentrating on my Bohus coat that has languished for the last month.

As for the Hurricane ... Thank God it passed over Baltimore. We got hit, but not as bad as when Hurricane Irene came through last September. That was a tougher wallop, and we lost power. With Sandy, there was a lot of flooding along the coast, and flooding inland from the rivers, and western Maryland is currently being coated with snow, but it is all just miniscule compared to what happened to New Jersey and New York (though the news is focusing mostly on NY). The pictures are just dreadful. Flooding, fire, toxic waste in the streets...just horrifying. The National Guard was there ahead of the storm, so God willing they'll prevent looting and other opportunistic crime. People were actually bragging on Twitter, before the storm, about looting. Sometimes it's just disgusting, the kind of people that live in this world. And what they'll do to their fellow man.

Okay, rant off. It's almost November, and I really hope to have the Bohus finished by the end of the month. Encourage me to accomplish this!

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

For when you can't have a fireplace!

Go Away, Sandy!

Hurricane Sandy, I mean.

 Here I am ... just northeast of DC, disturbingly close to the bay.







We just went through this a year ago, with Hurricane Irene, and I was none too pleased then, just as I am now.

I lived on the Gulf Coast in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and East Texas for years, years, and never saw a single hurricane. I move up north to Baltimore, and there are three in  nine years, plus two snowpocalypses and an earthquake. I'm going to go live in Tornado Alley. That's got to be less nerve-wracking.

So the stores are all sold out of gallon water jugs ... that and batteries, candles, and flashlights, are usually the first to go. I have made sure I have lots of dog and cat food so they don't go hungry, and stuff I can eat without cooking such as crackers and tuna. I have a gas stove so I can still cook, I just have to light it by hand because it's an electric ignition. I am in a rowhouse, so I am only exposed on two sides. That helps. I just have to go pick up about a hundred potted plants, is all. And then make sure the stray cats have shelter.

If we do get hit by the hurricane, and I do lose power, I will be staying home for several days and knitting and reading. It will be a good chance to do these things without the distraction of all of the electronic devices. As nice as it would be to sit and read for two days, I really don't want to have to clean my refrigerator out and throw out food and take cold showers and all that ... so I hope this hurricane goes northeast and leaves us all the hell alone!

I haven't been knitting as much as I want to. Here's a sock. A sock, and a cat.

Petunia. And the yarn is Tofutsies. I've been working on this pair for quite a loooong time.


I'm knitting them all the way to just below my knee, and then I'll just hope they don't slide down a lot, like all my knee socks do.

Meow.

The Next Best Thing to Buying Yarn

Knitpicks had a sale ... and kept reminding me via email that they had a sale. Guess my weekend is all booked up now.

How many fiber-related books do you all have? I was going to 'fess up, but I just went and counted and I am embarrassed to go first!

I am also working on socks ...

From the Toes Up a-la-carte book. Pattern is the "Scribble Lace."  I knit one through the heel, then put that one on holders and started the second one. I know it seems odd, but I really do avoid Second Sock Syndrome that way!

Buh bye! Have a great weekend!

A Finished Object Friday in Socktober!

Blue socks are done ...


I disremember what yarn this is. Some common sock yarn from Joann's, probably.

I really enjoyed reading the comments some of you left in my last post, about memories of your mothers' knitting habits. I don't have children to knit for so I occasionally knit for the children of friends, but I find that they outgrow stuff so fast!

To answer some of the comments from last week:

Autumngeisha: My mother used long metal needles too, hollow ones, about 14" long. I have them, but don't use them ... I really don't like knitting with metal unless it's 3mm or less!

Babajeza:  Knitting really thick socks is surprisingly easy. I made a pair for a friend with Lion Brand Jiffy Thick-n-Quick, and they were finished in no time! My friend loves them, and won't let anyone else in her family wear them.

Minding My Own Stitches: My mom made mittens a few times, but I think I lost them pretty often, so she stopped!

In this vein, I have something that was my mother's that absolutely puzzles me. My dad sent it to me in a box of her knitting stuff a few years after she died. Here it is:

It's about the size of a lap rug, and made from acrylic (probably Red Heart, acrylic was all she used). I am absolutely baffled what pattern this is!

 

Clearly there are knit stitches and purls. But is it woven? Did she carry the white yarn over the red? It's very intricate! It was unfinished, so I bound it off and I hung it on the wall behind my bed, like a tapestry. I have two huge pattern books of knitting and crochet patterns, but I've never seen anything like this. 

So, everyone have a great Socktober weekend! 

Sigh .... they grow so fast, don't they?

Don't forget to stop by TamisAmis on Friday, for FO Friday!