Whoops

I know, I know, bad knit-blogger, no cookie for me.
I have been in something of a yarn funk lately, though.

I really need to get to work on *some*thing (re: finish off the teeny little outstanding bits on The Bear Hat), so I pulled that skein of SeaSilk which is destined for a Swallowtail Shawl for Ms. H. out of it's cage*.



Now, if I only had the needle I need...

So, a general knitting update:
- Bear Hat: So, so close.
- Swallowtail: Well, the yarn has been wound. And that *is* an essential step, is it not?



Er, that's it. Really. I think I need to start myself a fun and funky scarf for the winter (because at this pace, I'll be lucky to be done by January)

*I don't really keep my yarn in cages, or glass jars for that matter. All my skeins, balls and WIP are allowed to roam freely around the house.

Belated

So Father's Day was this past weekend, and I'd like to share a little story.


I was in the car with my father a few weeks back, we were in the lot of a gas station waiting for a space to free up at one of the self-serve pumps.
“You know how every so often you do something that you really regret, that sticks with you for longer than you would expect? The kind of thing that just comes back occasionally and you think ‘why did I ever do that?’”
I turn to my father, give a mumble of agreement.
“Mhm”.
What is my father’s deep dark secret? I was very curious. I mean, who wouldn’t be? I know that when he was about a year younger than I am now he had a motorcycle and long hair (before he met my mother). I think he also used to smoke. What sordid act could he have committed in his clearly wild and hedonistic youth that would come back to haunt him as we were sitting around a gas station?
“Well, self-serve gas pumps are really quite a recent development, you know.”
“What, really? They’ve been around as long as I can remember.”
A funny look silences me.
“There was one day when I was living in Vancouver, and a only few pumps had yet to have been set up and most people weren’t really used to them yet. It had been a really crazy day, I was running late, I just wanted to get home. As I was just finishing up at one of them when a lady pulled in to the pump behind me and called at me: ‘Excuse me, could you give me a hand with this quickly?’ As I said, I was tired and kind of impatient, and I said ‘No, sorry, I’m just on my way.’“
I turn to him.
“Really? You? No.”
I don’t feel bad about the sarcastic tone.
“It’s something that always comes back and haunts me. I really should have given her a hand, I had no real reason not to. Sometimes it’s the little things that get you.”
Now I feel bad about the sarcastic tone.

It’s moments like this that remind me that my father really is a Good Person. I don’t think I’m particularly horrid, myself. I certainly try to be polite and proper and helpful at the worst of times. But compared to that, I feel pretty low. A good family friend recently moved away to Ireland for an incredible job opportunity and my father called him ‘A real prince of a man’, a statement with which I happen to agree quite strongly, he is a truly remarkable individual, and I miss seeing him around. But above that, such a degree of compliment coming from my father means all the more in my eyes.

The Bear Hat is so close to being done that I won't bother posting any in progress photos, but rather wait until completion.

Basketcase: Continued

Ok, sorry about that last disjointed post. I did another photo shoot, which I don't love as much as the flowers in the garden (Flowerbasket shawl, come on), but shows off the shawl a bit better.

In short, I loved knitting this. For a first lace project, it turned out better than my wildest dreams. It was originally going to go to a very dear friend of mine (hence the name, it seems less appropriate now), but upon thinking, I gave it to my grandmother yesterday. She. Was. Thrilled. And she was still thrilled today when I saw her (she is old, this makes me... absolutely unbelievably happy and grinny and giddy and I feel like I couldn't have made a better decision). She used to knit, waaaaaay back in the day, and she pored over the shawl, and was duy impressed, as only a grandmother can be (and she even put it on for a while. She has been showing it to EVERYone apparently and said she is thinking about putting it up on the wall so she can show it off better. I don't know how to say any more without sounding redundant, but I just feel so incredibly good about this project now. (Heather, thank you, I owe you a shawl.)

It's no Christening Shawl but I am quite chuffed. Have some more photos. (and I apologise for the lack of a good wingspan photo, but you can extrapolate)



















I really like that last one. I'm going to go look at the myriad of photos I took and sigh happily to myself.

I have some knitting on the go, and shall update in a day or two (I promise!)

Also, thanks for the blogiversary wishes. It was my friend's birthday yesterday, so had a bit of a fun (and completely unrelated, my blog is quite unknown to most people here) celebration.

Basketcase: A(n) FO

Well. Apparently it has been been two weeks since I last posted. And it took me every day of that to finally get around to blocking.
I don't mind telling you, this step scared the beans out of me.












I'll try to get a decent full-size shot tomorrow.

Flowerbasket Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark.
It was good. But I'm tired now. It's going to go to my grandmother tomorrow when I go to visit.

Sore back is driving me crazy, can't sit still for too long. Technical details tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, it's also my one-year blogiversary. Any celebratory suggestions?

Hullo there. I bound off Basketcase a day or two ago, and am on the hunt for blocking materials that I might be able to borrow, as I have none of my own.

Have some photos of unblocked lace, please?









I am on the side of 'quite chuffed' with this project currently. Fingers crossed that I get it blocked ANYwhere in the near future.

Also, some yarn that fought it's way into my bag the other day.



I do love me some Mission Falls (it's a bit warmer in person). This is slated for the bear hat. I think I'll just knit the hat, affix (pick up stitches for?) the ears and... I'm not sure if I'm going to do any muzzle shaping or not yet. Ehhh, I'll think about it after work.

I am having a very hard time not casting on for the Swallowtail Shawl (Fall 2006 IK), because, well, the Sea Silk I have is just gawgeous. Wish me self-control!

As a final note, I shall remind ye all of this, http://thisboyknits.blogspot.com/2007/05/reply-e-mails.html

Reasserting Self Control

I will not go plunk myself back down in front of the TV and knit the last repeat on Basketcase before the edging (err, I might still add one more repeat, but I'm not thinking so currently). I will not be swayed by the lacey goodness on the couch. I will go to bed because I have to work and function tomorrow. You cannot sway me with your yarny siren song!

That being said, no photos because it is now a yet-larger beard cozy. And my LYS has a blocking mat that it seems I might be able to use. Which is good. Because I have, well, no blocking materials. As in none. As in... I have never blocked anything yet.

This Foolishness is brought to you by the rush of lace knitting when it doens't go wrong. Now I need to go huff some yarn, I have some Seasilk set aside just for that. I mean, I'm going to go read.

(and I still haven't started on the bear hat, but we're getting there)

Not much news

So, the Basketcase shawl is going fairly well, about a repeat an evening, with 4 or 5 (probably 5) to go until I begin the edging. I have learned to find and correct a number of lace mistakes (it's the making sure that I am a stitch off at the end of the row that's the trick). Ummm, it still kind of looks like a beard cozy, or just a big old brown blob. See?



But I am totally digging the single knit stitch spine, it just gives me gleeful little chills whenever I look at it. I don't know why, or if this makes me really strange (even for knitters), but I do know that it helps me keep happy with this project (which isn't hard, I have very little trouble sitting down and working on it, except for the knowledge that every row takes me a bit longer...) I am a few repeats behind my ideal schedule, what with actually leaving my home and socialising lately taking up some of my time, but I plan to remedy the horrid experience of being outgoing and hole up until it's done. And then I am going to knit a bear hat for a friend who is destined for a school far away next year (any patterns/suggestions are, as always appreciated). But I'm tired and a bit choked tonight, so have a look at that spine. Even a fuzzy, funnily lit photo makes me wiggle a little bit.

Basketcase Circus

First, lace. Apparently it's really hard to take photos of unblocked lace. Have some anyway.





And part of an assignment from this past year. My photos of the rest of it kind of suck, so I will work on that for tomorrow.

Reply E-Mails

So I love comments (and the progenitors of those comments, you, the commentors), and I really was choked when I discovered that New Blogger doesn't let me send e-mail replys to comments. Turns out, I was mistaken. From The LavenderSheep via Dave (http://criminyjickets.blogspot.com) I hear that New Blogger only reset the e-mail privacy setting. So. Anyone on New Blogger who wants to get e-mail replys from me (or from anyone using Blogger), go to your Edit Profile page (via your Dashboard) and select 'Show My E-Mail Address' (third line down the page). Of course, if you don't want your e-mail to be viewable, don't do this. But this way I can reply to people! (and I really really like to).

Err, hopefully a real post tomorrow (misread my work schedule, and apparently I am on)

Hullo blogland.
First, a few photos.
Let's see, we have... Fleece Artist, Fleece Artist, oh, and more Fleece Artist.

The result of some generic feather and fan experimentation in some leftover Merino Sock Kit from a gift that I finished up (no photos yet, you'll have to wait about a month). I might even have enough to make a full(smallish) scarf. It's a good on the road project.


This is some BiFfLe (Blue Face Leicester) 2/8 that is currently being worked into the Flowerbasket Shawl from Fibertrends. It's tiny, I just cast on this evening, so I'll spare photos until there is a little bit more progress. Please remind me to get either a sift or a ball winder before winding a kilometer of fingering weight yarn into a big cake. And it is BIG!


And there is some Handmaiden (ok, ok, Fleece Artist) Sea Silk. This is destined to be the Swallowtail Shawl from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits. But currently, it is my pet. (Speaking of luxury, I fondled the Camelspin yarn yesterday. And oh my word. Way, way, WAY out of my price range, but it is mrrrrrrrowr soft.)

I guess I'm on a lace binge. But that's how I get comfortable with a new technique, immerse myself! (And apparently I have a thing for Evelyn A. Clark).

Hmmm, otherwise, I'm sure you have heard of Ravelry (www.ravelry.com), but if you haven't, go check them out, I don't feel like talking them up here, because I'm not so good with the words today, but trust me, it is SUPER cool! (And anyone waiting for an invite: Chill. They have over 3000 requests, and they are still afraid of making the server falldowngoboom if they opened the floodgates at once. Your patience is worth preventing that I think. And yes, if I hadn't lucked out on a beta invite, I would be as impatient as anyone, I know.)

And remember kids, play nice! (I have something fun and kind of goofy to post in the next few days, I hope)