In the midst of winter,
I found within me
an invincible summer.

--Albert Camus

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Knock Me (over with a feather)

The happiness of COLOR sustains me. I didn't get much knitting done this weekend, but I did start this sleeve.

Yes, I'm cheating on the 3@aTime WIP road rules; but what the ----. It made me happy to feel a little naughty.

The feel of this yarn on your hands while knitting is very soft and comforting. It is from Dzined and is a 55% Wool/45% Hemp blend. The colors are soft and muted and massage my brain into the safe zone.

This is an up-gauged version of "Seb" from last year's Rowan Knitting Magazine Number 32. Instead of making only a striped yoke, I'm using variegated yarn to make the sleeves and yoke. The pattern on the sleeves is 3sts in moss stitch alternated with 3 stitches St st and it imposes architectural order on the randomness of the color.

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Nothing happened as planned for my family or our medical caretakers this weekend. The situation is very serious; the two sisters are both in distress. The youngest is more brave than I could ever imagine being.

I am only held together by my clothing; I am actually afraid to take off my shoes.

Thanks to all of you for the truly kind thoughts and generous spirits you are sharing with us...

Comments (21)

Jack's Back

Mr. Jack Quard first made his appearance this spring. Friday, April 18, 2003: "In one day, a week ago this Thursday, I knit almost a whole sock while in the waiting room while my mother was having surgery (3.5hrs) and then afterwards, while she was waking up.

They will forever be my Lucky Socks..."

This sock was the only thing I could seem to focus on. Color and pattern just unfolded as I stitched, pulling me forward and along even when my own bootstraps were failing to the touch.

For some reason, I just never made the second sock. Not interested. I made my Mom some similar socks for Mother's day but never finished the other pair.

I picked up the yarn and started knitting the second sock yesterday. I finally figured out why I couldn't finish them for myself. They really belong to my Aunt.

Just lucky, I guess. Those socks...

Comments (8)

the Great Experiment of 2003

The denim jacket is crawling to the finish line. There's only 20 rows of seed stitch left on the right front yoke. Of course, button bands loom. That seems to be most people's most hated part of finishing and wards off many a fabulous cardie from consideration...

But once I finish those, the fun begins. A 3-needle bind-off joins the shoulders to the back piece and a seed stitch collar appears, as if by magic! (that is because some fairy knitter takes over this onerous task because the ChicDiva abhors seed stitch. Somehow it appears on many of her garments but she never remembers how it got there!).

Then, a hot water bath is prepared in the washer and all the parts are put through a regular wash cycle. If they haven't shrunk enough during this process, into the dryer for a spin they go!

My little swatch on the left above has been brutally washed with towels TWICE and dried in the dryer. It has shrunk by a factor of 20%, so the pattern is adjusted accordingly. That's why the front piece looks so long and loose-stitched!

If you've ever shrunk blue jeans, you know what is going on here. They hardly shrink widthwise, but can go flood in a matter of minutes in the dryer.

The swatch is firm and very soft with no pilling. I think it's going to wear like iron. This is my first Fall Creation for the 2003 ChicKnits Work Wardrobe (see details in the WIP section in the right column).

Can't wait. Can't wait. Gotta wait...

Comments (5)

the Beat Goes On

I have a new assignment. My Mom needs to go home and re-group so I'm going down to my Auntie's house for the weekend to be her companion. She's not able to be alone right now. It's a slow process recovering from her very extreme surgery and a hard one waiting for chemo to begin. I'll be the geek cook and bottle washer...

I'm avoiding packing right now - that's my least favorite part of any trip. But I've got a *Go Bag* at 50% at all times for my job for sudden departures so it's half ready...

There's a 50% chance of thunderstorms all weekend so I'm taking my laptop and a lot of knitting. I'm working on a Chic Cardie pattern for Fall to sell; maybe I'll get it done. You can see the sweater HERE. Lots of people have written to me asking about it and I'm 50% done. It should be up in less than half a month.

I frogged my Summer Tweed cardie - it was just a 50% a**ed attempt, at best, to sneak in a party garment. I only want to make things I can wear to work. My knitting of the FooFoo Baybee type is on hold. The inner Work Baybee is busting out and demanding her own turn on the catwalk this Fall/Winter. I just have to use sturdier yarns in stylish desings. I got the ways!

Gotta go...

Comments (13)