The Thrill of Victory!

You have seen the agony of defeat; or at least the agony of stumbling blocks along the way; in the previous two posts. So it is even more exciting to finally be able to show you the thrill of victory in this one!



Knitting is such a process--a lot like life. One step forward; two steps back. And so on. Sometimes we think we ought to be a little further along and yet both life, and knitting, seem to tell us it's the journey, not the final destination, that really matters. And yet, when the final destination turns out to be wonderful too, then we feel truly that the journey was worth the trip. SOMETIMES it is!



When our knitted creations also give us the option of becoming a Jawa, well then it's even better.

Motivation Matters

I think perhaps it was just the specter of having to watch this movie , but regardless, the Heather Hoodie front has been ripped, re-knit and the pieces are blocking.

Why would the possibility of a documentary on Winged Migration be so motivating? After my last post a creative reader decided to give me just what I asked for: a boring documentary. While I do generally enjoy a certain amount of Nature cinematography, I was warned that this particular documentary was not only boring but depressing. Hmm...what to do?

I sat down with the offending piece of knitting and put on a favorite podcast. It really didn't take me long once I was over the mental block of even looking at it. I told myself that if I couldn't knit and listen to Dori and Val, then Winged Migration it would be. Much to my surprise and enjoyment, I was able to do something I enjoy AND fix the problem!

BUT if you find yourself in a similar situation, and find that pure boredom is the only kind of auditory stimulation you can stand while knitting through a troubling piece, please let me know. You too can join the Sisterhood of the Traveling Documentary. Just say the word and I'll pass it on to you.

You can then be perfectly content. Just like these two.

Heather Hoodie Progress Report

(Or "Why You Shouldn't Knit Cables with Decreases While Watching Flash Forward")

As you may or may not know, I am knitting the Heather Hoodie from the Fall Knit Scene. This is a bulky cable knit hooded cardigan vest in Lamb's Pride Bulky. It should be going along pretty quickly. The back is done and resting quietly at home waiting, impatiently, for the front halves.

With a somewhat uncharacteristic bit of determination I pledged to myself to knit nothing else until it was finished. I got one half done pretty quickly. They really are very narrow pieces and #10 needles are plenty big. This just shouldn't be taking so long. One side done! Good.


Then my youngest daughter came home from school explaining to us in minute detail about a new series on tv that her English teacher was telling them about (a wonderful teachable moment to illustrate the meaning of the vocabulary word "eerie"). She was eager to watch it. So we hooked my laptop up to the tv and watched the episodes to date on Hulu. She show was GOOD. The knitting; not so good.

Clearly I need to watch more boring television!

How did I do this? I looked only at my notes and never got out a tape measure or the other half of the sweater. My notes said I began decreasing on row 14 of the cable pattern. But with the excitement of the tv program I was in a rush to get to the good part and failed to notice that I needed one more full pattern repeat before decreasing on row 14. *sigh*

A little trip to the frog pond will be in order soon...

But for now, I'm soothing my knitting nerves with the Fake Isle Hat Pattern. Maybe with a minor success under my belt I can face the re-knitting of the right front of the Heather Hoodie!

Goodbye to Two Members, and Hello To a New One

The River Knits Nordic Knitting Club will meet on Wed. Sept. 9th from 7-9 at RK to get the new year rolling. We have lots of exciting projects going and I'm sure we will see some finished ones from the summer. Everyone is invited who is interested in patterned knitting in the Nordic tradition. This is a club, so you should have the skills for knitting with at least two colors. Any projects are welcome if the materials were purchased from RK, or we will help you pick a new project. We are great at giving advice! I was looking at the new Wool Gathering newsletter from Schoolhouse press and there is a stunning Swedish sweater on the cover. That is just one of the new ideas pouring in to the shop in the new pattern books for club members to consider. The first book from Jared even has a Norwegian pattern and 2 Fair Isle sweaters in addition to several Nordic tams and touques. It seems like Nordic is in.

Our last meeting in July was really fun, although a little bittersweet as we wished two of our regular members good luck in their new lives. Laura is married now and moved to Bloomington where she is probably knitting everyday, and getting settled into her new house. We hope she comes to one of our meetings to show us how her fairisle sweater turned out. The last time we saw it, she had cut the steeks and picked up the neck and front. In the picture below, she is showing off her new wash and face clothes, given to her at our last meeting.

Kerry moved to Alaska and by now is in Juneau, in her new log home. Her husband got a job with the University of Alaska and we can't wait to hear how that is going. She says she will keep us updated on face book. She also got wash clothes from her friends in Lafayette.

We greeted a new member - Julia - who is now a couple of months old and was introduced to the group by Mignon, her mother. She has been the recipient of some cute knitted items. She was an inspiration and was in a good mood while we had a going away party/shower for Laura and Kerry. Everyone brought some goodie to eat including Nordic design gingerbread gloves! We all had a great time, and hardly remembered they were leaving. Good luck to both.

As a final note, anyone who is interested in a design contest for Dale of Norway should let me or Elizabeth know so that we can give you the rules and entry form. The contest has 3 categories including baby, adult and accessories. There are 13 prizes of $1,500 down to $250 in yarn. The deadline for entries is November 30th. I will have the information at the meeting. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday!

One Great Design; Two Great Awards!

Everyone who see's Amanda's lovely Claire's Shawl on display at River Knits admires its intricacy and beauty.

They are even more impressed when I tell them it was designed by one of our teachers for a River Knits class. (And if they are Diana Gabaldon fans, from whence comes the inspiration for the name of this design, we talk a bit about how we are not sure we'll make it even 28 more days until the new Outlander book comes out. But I digress...)

Now I can also tell them that this design won not only one but TWO prizes in two separate fairs this season!

Sheryl Krohne entered two pieces in the Tippecanoe County fair and won prizes for both. Her Claire's Shawl won a Blue Ribbon in its own category and also got the Sweepstakes Award, in the entire hand knitting group, which means it got the award for "best of the best" in hand knitting. Way to go, Sheryl!

Peggy Favorite also entered 4 items in the State Fair in Indianapolis. All four pieces won ribbons!

Her Claire's Shawl received an "Honorable Mention in Lace, Knitting" and I believe was displayed in a special case for fair goers' admiration. Congratulations, Peggy!

And big congratulations to Amanda for creating this lovely design that has been so well received in many venues!

We can all be so proud of everyone who is so nicely spreading the joy of knitting by sharing their talent in this way.

Visitation from Beyond?

Yesterday I happened to look through the caller i.d. list on my home phone. Imagine my surprise when I saw that I had just missed a call from

E. Zimmerman



Oh my goodness! Was Elizabeth Zimmermann making a truly long distance call from beyond? Perhaps she had heard my recent plea to be adopted and wanted to tell me that I had been accepted?!

Perhaps she just wanted to say "It's about time!" in response to the fact that I finally made a Baby Surprise Jacket.

Or maybe she wanted to tell me that if I'd read the "thinking knitter's" instructions on the Ganomey hat I wouldn't have had to rip half of it out.

Imagine how you would feel to be getting not only a call from a greatly admired person but also from another dimension!

Alas, the call was really from a realtor named "Elaine" Zimmerman. So my temporary joy at being contacted from the other world was replaced with more mundane concerns about home ownership and making sound financial decisions. But it was fun to think, just for a moment, that maybe it was a brush with something really, really big!

Oldies but Goodies

When the new shipment of Asland Trends Kettle Dyed Collection came in, I was shuffling lots of yarn around at River Knits! While I was rearranging & making room for the Los Andes (super bulky merino) I came across a shop model that I made the first year River Knits was in the old house. I was tempted to just throw it in a heap int he back room because it was looking kind of forlorn and shop worn. But I took it home and gave it a long soak in some Lavender wool mix, set it out on my deck to dry in the sunshine,

and now it is back at River Knits good as new!

This is a QUICK pattern but not boring with the chunky cable running right up the scarf. The prototype is done in one skein of Brown Sheep Co.'s Burlyspun. If you've never done cables but want to try, this might be a great way to start. Or if you just need a quick gift, this is a great project to keep in mind. River Knits has many superbulky yarns that you might choose, including the original Burlyspun as well as the new Los Andes from Aslan Trends, as well as several other choices. The pattern is a freebie on the River Knits website.

I also had the fun of experiening another "oldie but goodie" for the first time. I just finished my very first Baby Surprise Jacket. I'm not sure how this much time has elapsed before adding this unique creation to my life list. But I'm glad I finally tried it so I could see what all the fuss was about. It is hard to have faith in a strangely shaped piece of knitting that looks for all the world like a misshapen dishcloth. But if you press on it really does become a jaunty little jacket.


This really could start a trend if I'm not careful; I already have a growing list of yarns in mind. This particular one was knit in Mirasol Chirapa and some leftover 220 Superwash that I had in my stash.

I also started Elizabeth Zimmermann's "Ganomey Hat" from the current issue of Vogue Knitting, but I am clearly not "perspicacious" enough to be adopted by the Swansen/Zimmermann family as I was my recent longing. I'm not sure why but my numbers ended up all wonky and my sections were not equal. I will have to rip back to the section right above the garter stitch edging and become a thinking knitter indeed.