doublepointed

Missing Person?

No, contrary to the evidence, I am not a missing person.

Since I last posted (far too long ago), I have:

• Applied for, interviewed for, got and started a great new job
• Had my roof replaced
• Music directed a very sucessful production of Gypsy after almost eight years away from music direction
• Rehearsed a Gypsy excerpt and taken it to the Southwest Ohio Community Theatre Festival
• Agreed to music direct a production of Curtains next spring
• Gone to a family reunion
• Done far too much yard work (thanks for the help, Mom and Dad!)
• Continued my weight loss (41.2 pounds so far!) and
• Auditioned for and been cast as Mrs. Lovett in a production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (my favorite show and most-wanted role)

But you don't care about any of that, do you?  You're just here for the yarn.

And there's been plenty of that. While on a long weekend trip to Iowa for a family reunion, we stumbled across The Yarn Basket in Okoboji, Iowa.  (I believe it went something like this: "Dad!  Yarn store!  Hang a right!")  There I purchased two skeins of Mini Mochi in color #108, a lovely mix of blues, greens and purples.  My intention is to make a lacey scarf of some sort with it, maybe the Seafoam Scarf (Ravelry link.)

Like Lisa, I also benefited from Mom and Dad's South American cruise.  My souvenirs: two yarns from Chile.  First, two skeins (200 grams) of minty-pistachio-colored worsted-weight wool from Santiago:

 

and a big bundle (493 grams) of heavier-weight gray yarn from Punta Arenas:

In non-vacation-related yarn acquisition, I purchased three skeins of Cascade 220 in color #8400, a nice medium gray, to make a cabled scarf for my former boss.  I cast on on the Iowa reunion trip, but decided I needed smaller needles, which were at home in another project, so I temporarily abandoned this project.  But it's next on the list.

The project those needles were in?  The Back to School U-Neck Vest (Ravelry link) from Stephanie Jape's Fitted Knits, a pattern which I'd wanted to make for a while, but had put off because I'd need to upsize it.  Now I don't have to do that any longer, and this should be ready for cooler weather in the fall.  I've finished the front and am working on the top of the back.  The yarn is Cascade 220 Heather in Garnet (#9341), which I purchased from Webs a year or so ago.  It's turning out quite well.

And, of course, there are socks on the needles:

These are the Nine-to-Five Socks (Ravelry link) by Nicole Hindes, in Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Socka (three skeins of which Lisa gave me, along with other yarn, when she first found out that Buntec is allergic to natural fibres, so she didn't want to knit anything that contained wool.  She has since relaxed on that restriction.  Please note that I have not returned any of the yarn she gave me.  Please also note that it wouldn't fit in her yarn closet, anyway.)  I'm calling them my Algona Socks since that's where the family reunion was: Algona, Iowa.

And most importantly of all, there's Morgen, looking cute:

Vacations

One way or another, the past month or so vacations have impacted the creativity here at this half of doublepointed.  Early in June my parents dropped in for a long weekend to bring me the results of my Dad's creativity - the two towers for my entertainment center. 

My living room looks so nice now, and all of my electronics and audio/video media fit in the cabinets.  Thanks Dad!

While they were here, the parents gave me this - yarn purchased in a town square in Punta Arenas, Chile, during a trip they made this past winter. 

Content is unknown - and I will have to run it through the yarn meter that Kendra made/gave to me last Christmas to know how much there is before I plan what to do with it.  It appears to be heavier than worsted weight, but I don't know yet if it is aran or bulky weight.

I took a long weekend vacation to meet up with Kendra, my parents, and a bunch of relatives at a family reunion in Iowa over Father's Day.  Keeping to the knitting news from the trip, I "gave" my father the following not-yet-completed socks for Father's Day.  They are knit as a part of Socks For Soldiers, and will be going to a soldier overseas once I have finished them, in Dad's honor.

While in Iowa, I did a little stash enhancement - two balls of white Panda Wool purchased at The Yarn Basket in Spirit Lake.  I plan to try to recreate a favorite pair of purchased socks with this yarn.

My parents also gave me more yarn they bought for me on their trip to South America - this time purchased in Santiago, Chile.  200 grams of raspberry worsted-weight wool.

In other knitting news, I have sock number one underway using the Lace Wings Fixation Socks pattern that can be found for free on Finally Waking Up. 

This too fits today's vacation theme in that the yarn was a gift from Kendra, purchased on a trip to Florida in March 2008.   Wasn't I clever to think of a theme to connect all of these disparate photos?

Flowers for Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day, and with love to Mom, here are some pictures of some of what is blossoming in my garden.

The first ginger ever.

I was just planning to pull out these plants, and then after several years they decided to bloom.

Hibiscus.

Crinum lilies.

The blackberry lilies bloomed for the first time this year,

The rocket larkspur have taken off like rockets, as have the daisies and the salvia.

The pansies are still in bloom, but will soon die out from the heat.  

 

The Persian Shield, while not blooming, is very colorful.

Alas, that this last flower is not yet in bloom. 

 

Sorry, Mom, that I didn't get it to you yet.  But I'm glad that you love me anyway!

Happy Easter

The cats celebrated Easter with new clothes in spring colors, and an Easter basket with a fuzzy donut-shaped toy and some kitty treats.

 

Here Buntec is checking out Tocohl's new turquoise collar, while Tocohl inspects Buntec's pink one.  Buntec had a choice of pale pink or hot pink, and she purred for the pale pink one, so that's the one she got.  Tocohl didn't get a choice.

I celebrated Easter with the morning at church, my traditional shrimp and feta cheese omelet for lunch, and a lamb chop and a homegrown salad for dinner.  With a Cadbury orange creme egg or two.  After all, it is Easter.  And the cats got extra treats.

It has been a while since I have posted, so I will bring you up to date with my knitting.  I could say that I gave up blogging for Lent, but that's not true.  I did participate in a Lenten knitting project: 8" squares for Knit-a-Square, which makes blankets for kids who have been orphaned by AIDS in South Africa.  I started with 2 balls of Lion Brand Magic Stripes, purchased at Big Lots, and made the following, using two strands of yarn held together:

 

Basic garter stitch square.

 

Stockinette and reverse stockinette squares, 5 stitches and 7 rows per block.

 

Swedish Block Patter from Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

 

An attempt at a mitered square, that I hope will block out square.

 

A mitered square, knit on double pointed needles from the center out.

I then progressed to one ball of Paton's Kroy Sock, purchased as a clearance at Michael's.

 

Entrelac pattern, based on this scarf pattern, using two strands of yarn.  Now finished, but I haven't taken a completed square picture yet.  I also completed one more square, and have one partly done - I may show them later, or maybe I won't!

The knitting for the Todos scarf that I began in the Christmas holidays is done.

 

But it's not finished yet, as I still have all of the ends to weave in, from where the yarn changes.  The kit, by Painted Sheep, comes with six different yarns in similar hand-dyed colors.

 

No telling when this will be finished, especially as we're getting a little warm to wear scarves here in Texas.

A birthday shawl

Recently, my aunt celebrated a significant birthday.  Since I'd knit a sweater for my dad when he reached that age, I thought I'd knit something for Aunt M. (Okay, I was also looking for an excuse to knit some lace.)

On a visit to Cincinnati last year, Mom helped me go through my stash for a good yarn for a shawl for Aunt M, and we picked a skein of Zephyr laceweight in Marine Blue.

There was much consultation back and forth on the pattern.  I wanted something simple but elegant; my aunt is petite and I didn't want her overwhelmed with pattern.  Finally, on Mom's recommendation, I chose Seraphim (Ravelry link.)

The Zephyr knit up beautifully on size 3 needles, and made a lovely fabric with a nice drape. I would definitely use this yarn again. (I am pleased that I have another skein, in Chanel, to knit Heere Be Dragone for me.)

Project details:

Pattern: Serpahim Shawl by Miriam L. Felton

Yarn: Jagger-Spun Zephyr Wool-Silk

Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm)

I used the instructions in the pattern to add two extra increase sections since I was using thinner yarn and smaller needles than called for.  It turned out to be a nice size, though I forgot to measure it before I sent it off.

My aunt was very pleased (not to mention surprised!) to receive the shawl. And I have 34 grams of yarn left, enough to make a scarf for me!

Test Post

This is a test post to judge picture size.

Morgen says hi.

Not-for-socks Sock Yarn

Today I blocked a project, but I won't tell you about it yet; I'll do that later in the week once it's finished drying and I can get some good photos.  Now I'm trying to figure out what to work on next.  I should go back to one of my projects-in-progress (Hey, Teach, anyone?  Chesapeake Cadigan?  Traveler's Twist Stole?  Pomatomus Socks?  My Shapely Tank/Tee?  The hat to go with the as yet unmade My Ex-Clapotis Scarf?  As you can see, I have plenty of choices.)

Instead, I keep getting distracted with beautiful things like this:

This is a skein of hand-dyed sock yarn from the Contemporary Handweavers of Houston via (I believe Upstairs Studio.) Lisa gave it to me as a Christmas gift, and it is absolutely gorgeous.  Although it's sock yarn, it's too beautiful for socks.  It needs to be a scarf or hat or something that can be seen more easily than something that's covered up with my shoes and pant legs.

Luckily, I don't know what I want to do with it yet, so I should probably stop petting it and get back to work on an in-progress project.  Now how to choose...

"That's How I Got Me a Little Red Hat!"

This weekend is closing weekend for Mariemont Players' 110 in the Shade, a production that I started out helping with a few vocal rehearsals and ended up vocal directing.   It's a very touching, sweet show (by the creators of The Fantasticks!) with a good score and a real live, 100% H20 rain storm on stage at the end.

One of the characters, Snookie, wears a Little Red Hat.  In fact, there's an entire song about it (not coincidentally called "Little Red Hat".)  And it needs to be a certain type of Little Red Hat - one that doesn't seem out of place for 1936, that can be shoved into a pocket, and doesn't look like it should be on Nanook of the North.  After all, it's 110 degrees out there, and there's a drought, so a cabled ski cap is out of the question.

And so, Sunday of the week the show opened (known to theatrical folks as "Hell Week"), I agreed to knit a Little Red Hat for Snookie.  The director drew a quick sketch of what he had in mind, I went home to see if I had any appropriate yarn in the stash, and I started what became this:

 

Patten: Made on the fly, using the Diagonal Madeira Lace pattern from Barbara Walker's Lace book.

Yarn: Classic Elite Provence, approx. 1/2 a skein, in colorway 2623.

Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm.)

What I did (for my own memory):
CROWN: Cast on 88, join in the round.

Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: (K1, YO, K2tog, K1), repeat all the way around.
Row 3: Knit.
Starting with row 4, work in Diagonal Madeira Lace pattern from Barbara Walker’s Lace book, until piece measures approx. 4”.

Decrease, keeping in pattern as best you can, as follows:

Row 1: (9 stitches in pattern, ssk), repeat all the way around.
Row 2: Knit.
Row 3: (8 stitches in pattern, ssk), repeat all the way around.
Row 4: Knit.
continue in this manner through (4 stitches in pattern, ssk).
Next row: (K3, ssk), repeat all the way around.
Next row: (K2, ssk), repeat all the way around.
Next row: (K1, ssk), repeat all the way around.
Last row: (ssk) all the way around.

Pull the tail end of the yarn through all the remaining stitches and draw up tightly.

BRIM: Pick up 88 stitches along the cast-on edge.
Row 1: (K4, kf&b), repeat all the way around.
Rows 2 & 3: Knit.
Row 4: (K5, kf&b), repeat all the way around.
Rows 5, 6 & 7: Knit.
Row 8: Purl.
Row 9: Knit.
Row 10: Purl.
Cast off in knit.

 

And, of course it looks adorable, not in the least because of the cute-osity of the actress playing Snookie.  These photos don't do her justice.

And 110 degrees and drought make a nice contrast to the snow and ice storm we've had this week.

Just sayin'.

Out with the old

The end of 2008 is near, so it is time to finish up some old business here at doublepointed.

First of all, we would like to thank all of you who wished us the best on our birthdays.  We celebrated the final of three December birthdays with pecan pie,     and by drawing a winner for the birthday yarn.  The lucky winner was Katie K., and the pink and purple birthday yarn is on the way to her. 

My birthday gift to Dad was a pair of socks in another of knitivity's colorways, Doberman.   The stitch pattern for these toe-up Slipstitch Rib socks is based on a slipstitch stitch pattern in one of Barbara Walker's treasuries.   I think the pattern shows off the yarn really well, although since the colors are so dark and deep, none of the pictures shows the socks as well as they actually appear. 

Kendra and I also engaged in some secret Santa knitting.  Many years ago, Mom made Christmas stockings for us, that we have used ever since we were little girls.  About 10 years ago I knit stockings for our parents, but since they had no need to fit a real person, I didn't worry about gauge, and the stockings are huge.  Mom kept saying that they were too big, so this year Kendra and I each knit a new stocking, like the ones Mom had knit for us.  We didn't have access to the pattern, but this past summer Mom asked me to make some repairs to Kendra's, which allowed me to chart out the pattern from her stocking.  We used primarily Cascade 220, with some Paternayan wool needlepoint yarn for the face and hands, and a combination of angora yarn and fingering weight white yarn for the beard.  Technically, they were finished on Christmas day, but because we had not yet gone to bed on the 24th, we could say they were finished on Christmas Eve.  Here they are in use, first the one I knit  and then the one Kendra knit.    Mom showed us the actual pattern a few days later, and we were pretty close.  The original was by Columbia-Minerva, and was called Kris Kringle.

There has been some new knitting going on at doublepointed, and some new knitting-related gifts, but they will wait for the new year.  Here's hoping it will be a safe and healthy one for all!

Happy birthdays!

December is the birthday month here at doublepointed.  Kendra's birthday is today, and Lisa's birthday is on Dec. 20.  Sometimes people ask if we lose out because our birthdays are close to Christmas.  While this meant we might only get our locker decorated once by friends in high school, instead of twice the way some people might, it generally has not made too much of a difference.  In fact, there is more likelyhood of there being a good movie that we have wanted to see that is out on our birthdays (think Lord of the Rings trilogy).

When we were growing up, Mom was always careful to give us a birthday celebration that was distinctly remote from a Christmas celebration.  Usually the holiday tablecovering came off, and the pink tablecloth went on, at least for my birthday.  I've always liked pink; but I think Kendra disliked the color for a while.  Did you get a blue tablecloth on your birthday, Kendra?

In honor of birthdays and pink tablecloths near Christmas, doublepointed is giving away a skein of Knitivity hand-dyed sock yarn in pink and purple (Kendra likes purple).  It is Down Home Art Yarns Socks, 460 yards, 75% wool, 25% nylon, in color Blushing Beauty.

To be eligible for the drawing, leave a comment on today's post only, between the dates of December 15 and December 20.  The random drawing will occur on December 21, in honor of our dad's birthday (I know he got the blue tablecloth).

-- Lisa

p.s. - Thanks to Kendra for posting this message - for some reason I can't log in to Typepad today.  And happy birthday Kendra!

(12/16/08: Edited to add better photo)