More Tomatoes

So, last year at this time, I was up to my ears in this kind of tomato:


This year, I've been all about the Tomato. I finished one last month. Now I'm working on another.

I don't think I could possibly be happier with this pattern. It's very rare for me to knit the same thing twice (other than socks). But I am really in love with top-down sweater construction. I've been trying this on every few inches, and I'm able to make it fit perfectly.

A note about the yarn: This is the Shire Silk I reclaimed from the failed Lacy Leaf Shrug. It's knitting up beautifully. I have to admit that I wasn't enjoying the flat knit part, because I had a hard time purling with this stiff yarn. But, once everything was joined and all sts were knit, it's great.

I'm forcing myself to stop working on this garment because I'm knitting it along with the class I'm teaching right now. The whole point is for me to show the steps I'm going through, so I can't finish it as quickly as I'd like. So, what should I work on instead? I can't show you the two other projects I'm working on: Michelle's Sockday Socks and the two RK Mystery Shawls. And, frankly, I'd like to take a break from both of those. Honestly, I'm in the mood to crochet something. I want something I can finish fast. An instant-gratification project. But I can't seem to find anything that really appeals to me. Has that ever happened to you? If so, what do you do? I've looked through a bunch of crochet magazines, and the few crochet books I own, and I'm at a loss. Maybe I need to go to the library....

Belated Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

It has taken me far, far too long to post this thank you...I was hoping to be able to have some pictures of Youth Underground kids knitting, but haven't been able to get permission from families to post their pictures...

So, to those of you who attended the River Knits retreat and participated in the auction that benefitted our program...THANK YOU! Some of the money went toward replacing the basketballs, kick balls, and jump ropes we go through so quickly, but some of it also went toward replacing our knitting needles...

So that we can continue making things like this baby blanket, which was knit square by square by several of our kids, ages 7-13. This blanket is being donated to a family in another of our agency's programs.

Woolly Demons...Redux

I've made some good progress on the Summer Can Kiss My A** sweater...as you can see in the picture above. I was very excited about joining the second skein of wool...actually finishing and wearing the sweater seemed like a reality.

Ready for the but? BUT...I had the sweater on the floor, between my knitting chair and the end table last night (along with my Highland Kilt Stocking, Folk Socks, Knitting Vintage Socks, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns)...when someone I love very much, who had been eating some KFC and whose fingers were greasy...dropped a huge glass of milk onto the sweater. It is very, very milky now. I took all of the effected items to the kitchen immediately...I laid the sweater down and got to work cleaning up the books. This morning I grabbed the sweater, and realized that in my mad rush to clean my books, I had laid the sweater down on the KFC gravy lid. See below...


I think I need some help from the Patron Saint of Helping Knitters Feel Better!!

On a positive note...last night's Irish Hiking Scarf class was really fun...

What's It?

A scepter? (Because I'd love to be Queen of the World?)

A head whacker? (Because I need to keep Brent in line?)

No--It's a sock darner! Because I'm wearing holes in my socks.

Brent made this for me last winter when I noticed I was wearing holes under the heels of my Hauk socks. It is modeled after Michelle's prototype. He finished varnishing it and gave it to me on my birthday.

You use a darning egg by putting it inside your sock to give it form and shape while you are repairing it. I suppose it keeps you from accidentally sewing one layer of your sock to the other side too! I've heard that some people use lightbulbs for this purpose, but that sounds dangerous to me. I'm not very good at darning yet.

I guess now that I have a darning egg, I need to get cracking on those socks. Winter will come again...

Knitting Vintage Socks

I love this book. I love knitting socks, and I love the idea that these patterns are adapted from patterns published in a 19th century British magazine...

This summer I decided to try to knit enough pairs of socks for Joe that he could wear handknit socks everyday, and I started the project with patterns from this book.



Here's what I've got so far...


The Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel, using Gems Merino (such a great sock yarn!) in a colorway called "Pewter". I'm not sure how the Dutch heel will feel inside a shoe, it's a little bulky on the bottom of the heel, but it was a great knit.

This is my favorite, both for the name and for the knit...the Gentleman's Fancy Sock. I used Lorna's Laces. I think the colorway is called "Baltic Sea".

And finally, the Gentleman's Shooting Stocking with Fluted Pattern, using Trekking. I'm not sure how I feel about this colorway for this particular pattern, but I think it'll do...

Since my Sockday...

I'm told no one wants to post a new blog entry, since doing so would move the lovely orange hat picture of me down the screen...so I guess I'll have to do the dirty work...

I thought I'd fill you in on my not-quite-as-fun-as-new-socks experiences in the week or so since my Sockday Party...

Last Wednesday, some teens lost control of their car while driving into my neighborhood, and took out my mailbox...here it is, replanted...
They also drove into my driveway and really, really messed up Godfrey, the car I've had for less than a month...
We're still waiting to hear what their insurance is going to do for us.

Then this morning, a school bus accident messed up Curtis, the boy I've had for almost 15 years...we're on our way to the doctor to see how messed up he is, but we think it's nothing serious...