Invasion of the Black Lab

Without fail, every time I leave my knitting Cara will hop up on the couch and steal my spot. I'm not sure what this means and I can not afford a pet behaviorist (or do not care enough) to find out. I only know that within seconds she passes out on whatever project I am working on.

Despite these interruptions, I am making progress on the Aran sweater. I have finished the back and am working on the front. I fear I am not far enough along to finish it during the 6 week class, but I'm okay with that. I'll be happy if it is done by St. Patrick's Day. Below is a picture of the back piece.

Virtual Waiting Room

Here I am in the virtual waiting room. I come here every year waiting to purchase Red Sox tickets on the first day tickets go on sale. I wait. I watch the seconds count down hoping the next time the screen refreshes I'll make it out of the waiting room. This is what purgatory must feel like. Waiting. Hoping that some ominous being will see you fit and worthy to enter the promiseland.

I wonder if there really is any ticket sale activity going on. This could be some webmaster's cruel joke...keeping us all waiting. He or she is probably laughing hysterically at the thought of red sox nation wasting a beautiful day waiting here. No no...I must keep my thoughts pure so that I will be the next one chosen.

Maine

My husband and I love Maine. Unfortunately the past few days I was in Maine without family. Even on a business trip, it is a wonderful state to travel.Things I love about Maine -
Interesting people (pic above of Stephen King's house in Bangor).
Beautiful coast (pic of my son skim boarding last summer). Mountains to climb.
White water rivers to raft.
Winding coastal rivers to kayak.
Moose to marvel at.
Fresh seafood (lobster pic from a feast a co-worker hosted).

Someday I may be a knitter from Maine.

Fun with Cables

We had our first session of the Aran Sweater class on Thursday. Cable knitting is slow going, but a lot of fun. I'm starting to get the swing of things with the pattern and am almost feeling like I may be able to do this sweater thing. I'll be traveling in Maine this week with a lot of downtime, so I hope to get most of this back piece completed.

I finished my first jaywalker sock and have cast on for the second sock. The boring black & gray colors are almost not worthy of this crazy cool pattern, but it will be good to have a practical pair of hand knitted socks. I'll bring the second sock with me to Maine for relief from the concentration that the cable sweater requires.

Ready, Set, WIND...then knit

Today I purchased the yarn at my lys, for the six week Aran Cable Sweater class that starts on Thursday. I picked out a heather gray shade (officially named Pearl) of Harrisville Designs Highland. The yarn is reasonably priced for wool and I like the fact that it is spun at a mill just a few miles from Keene. The light color will really show off the cables (and my mistakes). In my short knitting life (less than a year), I've started a sweater 5 times and finished none. I'll now start praying to the patron saint of knitting, Saint Parascheva. My class instructor is very good, but I think I'll need more than she can offer to help me finish this sweater.

I still have a few things left on the needles that I would like to have finished before the class starts, but I don't think it is going to happen. I'm almost done with one jaywalker sock, still have 6" left to knit on the French Market bag and just started a wrap in Noro Kochoran. I will NOT start anything else until these items are done.

Winding Down the Year

I love gadgets!

I used my birthday money to buy myself a ball winder from my lys. I'm ready to wind anything in my path so watch out. I have a yarn swift on order that will only escalate this new obsession. I thank Liane, the owner of my lys for selling me a used ball winder at a discount and for referring me to Oregon Wood Worker for the yarn swift. Liane could of sold me a yarn swift from her own resources, but instead referred me to Oregon Wood Worker (with no commission) because she loves this swift. Liane is the best!

First to wind down was the winter blue lamb's pride I had used to start two different sweaters. On the last day of 2005, I wound these unfinished objects (ufo) into wavy cakes of yarn. It's a new year baby! I'm recycling this yarn into a French Market Bag. Out with the old (mistakes), in with the new! I'm starting a 6 week sweater class next week that will hopefully get me over this sweater phobia.

The Opal handpainted black/gray cakes will be used to knit jaywalker socks, a pattern recommended by my sister in law. I've got to say this 475 yard hank of yarn was a pain in the a@! to wind (even with the ball winder) because the yarn was so fine and the hank so long. So glad I had the ball winder to ease the burden.

I also wound the Lorna Laces Worsted black pearl to make my Yoga Socks. After finishing the yoga socks, I rewound the remnants to make a compact cake of yarn to store away. This ball winding is way too much fun!