I can't find them.
Me: Excuse me driver, have you seen a pair of size 8 wooden needles lying around?
Driver: Why yes, they are in a box, near the front of the trailer on the left, near the bottom. I believe they are lying on top of a skein of handspun lace weight alpaca.
Me: Thank heavens. Now I can start swatching for that sweater.
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Or something like that.
As of 8:00am this morning, we began the process of moving to Atlanta. The actual process began months ago, but this week we are actually packing up and heading out. Bryan has been a pillar of strength these past few months and has been very supportive. He has pretty much orchestrated the entire process thanks to the top notch moving package he was given. But today he really came through. Without no coffee to be found and with no means to get any, Bryan went to St. Louis Bread Co. and brought back coffee.
A couple of months ago I could have listed numerous things that I will miss about St. Louis without missing a beat. But today only one thing comes to mind. (however, I will list other things I miss in another post) What I will miss most, and already do, are my friends. I have been blessed to meet many wonderful people and build some very close relationships during the past 6 years. When I think of St. Louis I will not think of landmarks or places of interest. I will see the faces of the people who have made my life here special.
My favorite stitch.
I haven't been around for months, and will give updates later, but this is a matter of utmost importance.
Okay, so I have knitted and tried many different stitches and have yet to find a favorite. Until now that is. Today I found the winner. And of course the description is just perfect. Don't you agree??
Enjoy.
Where's the glue?
Found this. Go
here. One of the many benefits of knitting is the instant (well, almost) gratification. I mean just knit for bit and you can begin to see results and patterns. Provided you don't have to frog it, it is there to stay. But even if you do screw it up and rip it out, you can still use the same strand of yarn again until you get it right. Not the case with pottery. Once its gone, its gone forever. Saving a piece isn't like frogging. There is a sign posted prominently in the studio "DON'T GET ATTACHED". I now know why. I allowed my favorite piece to dry too fast and it cracked. Good news is that I had some success with vases in class last night.
I'm already looking forward to the weekend so I can throw clay and knit. (not at the same time, that might get a bit nasty). Last Saturday night Bryan and I spent the evening alone in the studio throwing clay. It was very calming and fun. Umm, and no, it didn't turn out like the scene in
Ghost. Of course, pottery and knitting must come after housework and yard work. Not sure why. Might be a law.
Clay pots and yes, a finished project!
The lace scarf is finally finished. I used 1 skein Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, color (olive) #008. I knit this on size #10 wooden needles. If you use this yarn (which I highly recommend) used wooden needles. It is quite "slippery" on metal needles.
I made a couple of mistakes in the beginning as I familiarized myself with the pattern, but now I can't even find them. I am very proud of my first attempt at lace. I was going to give it away but I enjoy it so much I have decided to use it as a table runner instead. Ironically, it already matches one of my napkin and placemat settings.--Martha would be proud. I have already started another "lacey" project on even smaller needles. No pics yet, I only have about 2 inches finished thus far so the pattern isn't even showing yet.
My attempts at pottery are getting better. I threw clay Saturday and Sunday and managed to get a couple of decent pieces. My goal is to get enough pieces (good or bad) ready for our final class next Wednesday. The last class will concentrate only on glazing so we need plenty of pieces to glaze. I was given a nice complement and was told I am a "natural" at throwing clay. I do seem to be catching on quickly and absolutely love doing it. As soon as I stop throwing, I find myself thinking about my next session. (I can throw for about 3 hours, after that I get tired and sloppy). The only negative side effect is sore dry hands. The upside is that it really gets my creative juices flowing. I tend to get interested in something, get excited about it, get bored, then find something else new and more exciting. But this seems to be working out differently. I think this flow of creativity must have an outlet, so I turn to knitting. For this I am grateful b/c my stash is too large to turn my back on right now.
Some of us have it so easy. Actually, my babies are very well behaved most of the time. They rarely bother my yarn or WIP's. They are content with snuggling with me while I knit. If only they knew I want to knit them into a sweater.
Pottery and waffles
The Branching Out Scarf is still in progress. I haven't had much of a chance to work on it for long periods of time. I have been keeping myself busy.
Here is a pic of my latest adventure. Pottery. I enrolled in a pottery class last week and I love it. Doing anything creative such as cooking, knitting, painting or working with clay is such a release. Yet at the same time, it helps me develop new ideas and want to create even more. The studio,
Krueger Pottery, is great. Pottery is their only focus and they have great artisans and instructors to boot. So far, I have managed to create crap. But its my crap. This pic is from my first try. Last Saturday I was able to throw a couple of nice bowls. I don't have pictures of them just yet. I even impressed myself.
To continue with the relaxing themed weekend, we went to a brunch, hosted by my friend Ramsey. Not only was the weather great for running (which I also took advantage of), but it was perfect for just lounging around with friends after brunch, drinking coffee and enjoying the breeze for a few hours. We had waffles.
Hotlanta and Old Lace
As you can see, I am well on my way to finishing the
‘Branching Out’ scarf. The picture of the finished scarf is from the creator’s web site. I have a way to go yet before I am finished. Although I can clearly see all of the mistakes, I am still proud of it. I never thought I would ever enjoy knitting on any needles smaller than a 13 with jumbo chunky yarn, but I really enjoy this lace. I wanted to start another project, but realized I don’t have any lace weight yarn. I knew it wouldn’t be a problem for long.
I bought this in Atlanta last weekend during our mini vacation. I must be gentle with my yarn budget right now. Bryan has seen my stash and just doesn't understand. And I didn't really have anyway to hide any purchases at this point, so I resisted the temptation to buy Alpaca silk and when for the linen cotton blend for a future lace table scarf at 50% off- I love a bargain. We spent a great deal of time driving around the city looking at homes and neighborhoods and trying to find an area that we would like to move to when the time comes later this year. However, after all of the house hunting (I took pics, but I didn’t want to bore you to tears with pictures of newly painted homes, manicured lawns and open house signs decorated with helium balloons) I decided to take a trip alone to
Why Knot Knit. I took out my map and was off. Off to an area where old money is comfortably nestled to the nouveau riche. I didn’t have high expectations.
I assumed that I would have an experience similar to the one I had in Chicago last year.-The day after the Chicago marathon I walked, I mean waddled, from 3 different ‘L’ stations to 3 different yarn shops. They were all closed (I know. I should have called). I finally found one on the “Gold Coast” near the high end boutiques. The women in the shop were very rude. Never visit "We'll Keep You In Stitches". When I asked for an additional skein of Nordic yarn, she asked me to look for it myself in the storage area. Bitch. If I knew how and were to cross stitch a small plaque for them to hang in their pretentious shop, what would it say?
In the end, everything was just peachy in Peach Hills, Atlanta, Georgia. The shop was just overflowing with an absolutely beautiful variety of yarns. The staff was very pleasant and sad to find out that I could not stay to meet Sally Melville before my plane left. (She was scheduled to speak that afternoon long after my departure). If you’re ever in the Atlanta area you must check it out.
I'd like an order of lace, without the circulars please.
So I did it again. Once again I have tried and enjoyed doing something I said I would never ever want to do. Making lace, or at least something similar. I can't really say that I have really made any yet because after about 2 inches into making my lace scarf I thought it was curling just a bit much. So I did what any normal knitter would do, right? I tugged and pulled and stretched..... just a bit more and it will be perfe..... damn. Double damn. How did that happen? It broke. Lace weight yarn breaks easy. The cast on edge broke. So I ripped. I am starting over.
HERE you can link to the pattern and a photo of the finished product. I would like to put a picture of it here but I have been frightened into thinking that anything I do will steel someone's bandwidth or break copyright laws. Well, I am pretty sure bandwidth wouldn't be stolen because I have figured out how to prevent that. My concern would be copyright laws. Can I put copyright pic on my blog it is only to show the result. I know it is okay to have a link to the sight that contains the picture, so why not just the picture then?
As for circular needles. I have decided that I don't like knitting on them. They don't feel good like straights do. For some reason I find them uncomfy and they make my hands hurt. I hate to admit it. I mean, afterall I do have a few pair of them. But they are necessary, aren't they? Sure they are. Just like the multiple pairs of size 6 doubles that I have lying next to them.
I wanted to knit lace. Well, not really. Not at first anyway. I just got tired of knitting scarves, hats, purses and socks. I want to tackle gloves, but I am not ready yet. I'm scared. I'm afraid I will get to the fingers and the thumb and get lost. Lace was just as scary. But so much prettier than a glove, don't you think?
