Clearing out the Stash

Today probably won't be a knitting day - at least not until tonight. I'm trying to organize everything I didn't sell at my yard sale (which would be everything) and prepare most of it for donation to various charities. The yarn (primarily of the novelty and acrylic variety) and needles (the 14" Susan Bates variety) are going to the Boston Living Center, which is a community and resource center whose mission is to foster the wellness of all HIV positive people and respond to the changing needs of the HIV/AIDS community. Yes, I took that off their website, so I hope it's allowed. http://www.bostonlivingcenter.org/aboutus.shtml. During the holiday season their knitting circle makes hats and scarves for the women members so I'm also kicking in eight knitted scarves I had kicking around. I'm also a volunteer serving Thanksgiving dinner this year, but I'll write more on that later as November approaches and I begin my fundraising efforts...

So here is most of the yarn I'm dropping off at the center tomorrow after work. Today I'll box it up and put it in my trunk. That's half the battle. The other half will be remembering to drive into town on my way home.

Munchie always wants to be in the pictures...

Cable & Lace Update

I'm up at the crack of dawn. I have to be at work for a 7AM conference call, so I woke up at 4:30. Great. It is 5:09 now, so I have enough time to post my sweater photos, jump in the shower and get the hell out of Dodge in time to hit Finagle on my way into the office.

This is the either the front or back panel of my sweater, and I have another identical completed piece. The panel looks kind of small in the photo, but it's normal sized.

These are my sleeves, which I'm obviously knitting at the same time.

I'm off to start my day. 5:18A. Bye.

Not much new this week...

So I'd like to welcome the two newest members of my readership: my mother P and my California sister H. California H and District of Columbia sister H are not to be confused with North Carolina brother H or me...Boston H.

I haven't made an entry since last week because I can't get the teal in my cable and lace sweater to photograph accurately. I have the front and the back done, and I have about 4" of both sleeves on the needles. This project flies, which is nice. My friend D took pictures of the sweater on Sunday, so if hers are better, I'll post them. I'll see her tonight because Tuesday is knitting night.

On Saturday I went up to Yarns in the Farms for their Floofy Skirt Tea Party. All the skirts were so cool. Same pattern, but everyone's was different. I was feeling kind of bad that I don't have one, so I should probably add it to the list. I think I dropped my harmony cable needle while I was up there, b/c I haven't seen it since I got home. Bummer.

Hopefully pictures tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

My Lovely Cable and Lace Sweater...

I don't have much time to blather on - Tuesday is knitting night, and I need to eat something before I go. I LOVE the sweater I'm working on. The yarn is quite yummy, and it goes very quickly. The color of the yarn is a much deeper teal in person. I don't know why it keeps photographing so badly. I've done about 9 1/2 inches and hope to do another 5" or so tonight...

New Project Alert!

The best thing about finishing up a project is starting the next one. Yesterday I cast on Cecily Glowik MacDonald's Cable and Lace Pullover, published in Cast On, November 2007-January 2008. I'm using Dream in Color Groovy in the Bermuda Teal colorway. I LOVE the yarn; it's a hand dyed 100% superfine Australian merino. The color is so rich that it is staining my hands and bamboo needles, which is kind of funny. Clearly, this sweater will need a run through the wash (with like colors) before I wear it.

Photo shows an inch of ribbing and first 7 rows of the pattern.

The only thing I don't like about this pattern so far is that it didn't include a chart. Why don't the designers just include them all the time? In an effort to NOT botch every row of this project, I took the time to make a chart. I'm so proud of my chart, that it gets its own photo.

It has been raining for two days, and even though it just stopped, I postponed my yard sale do-over until next weekend. My room mate G and I have errands to do and I want to make some headway on this sweater. Plus, the Sox have a double header AND tonight is the season finale of TrueBlood. There is just way too much going on to try to cram in a yard sale that I don't even want to do anyway.

Yesterday I drove up to Yarns in the Farms (in Beverly Farms) to swap out the original Dream in Color yarn I purchased for the teal which I like better. I'm going to a four-day knitting retreat over Columbus Day weekend in the Adirondacks and I also had to drop off my deposit. I asked Carolyn if they go to the Adirondacks every year, and she said no, they normally go to Belize! GUESS WHERE I'M GOING NEXT YEAR FOR MY KNITTING RETREAT???

Yay! One project off the needles...

Here is my finished French Market Bag. It didn't really photograph well, but it'll do. For anyone REALLY familiar with this pattern, yes - I moved the handles.

I'm going to concentrate on my afghan for the next week or so to try to get that finished as well. I will not begin any new projects until this done...yeah, right.

FMB Status

So I've been busy finishing up my FMB for S. I have to graft nine stitches, run it through a hot soapy wash, and I'm done.

Here it is pre-felt with Munchie in the shot for size perspective.

Here is the last remaining task...

Hopefully I'll get this finished tonight and get a picture posted!

The Worst Yard Sale in the History of Yard Sales...

It has been a while since my last post. Last week I was trying to prepare for my yard sale and the entire week at work was crazy busy. For projects, I was working primarily on the FMB for my friend S.

By the time evening rolled around, I was not capable enough to separate 200 stitches into four handles and four spaces...perhaps something to do my brain allowing a limited number of calculations in a singe day (I'm an analyst) or not being able to count to 25 after 7PM?? After knitting and frogging the handle set-up row three times, I'm finally on my way. Hopefully I'll get most of the handles done this afternoon.

The yard sale - for which I've spent so much time preparing - was a complete bust. So much for trying to have a yard sale Labor Day weekend. We had absolutely no traffic; it was so bad that we'll have a do-over next Sunday.
To have one yard sale is bad enough, but to have two in as many weekends is really too much to bear.

Right after the failed yard sale, I went with my friend D up to her sister and brother-in-law's vacation home in Sutton NH for the night. D has a kayak and goes regularly, but I had never tried it until yesterday. We rented a kayak for me...Check me out!

I then raced back down to Boston so that I could meet my sister H (visiting from DC) in Hingham for a meal. No, we're not identical, but we get that a lot.

I'm about two inches or so into the third and final tier of my twirly skirt, with about six inches left to go. I worked on it quite a bit over the weekend, and it is really bothering my hands. I can't wait for this one to be finished, and I'm really getting close.

Since a couple of my projects will be wrapping up soon, I'm getting my queue in order. Just picked up this pattern:

http://twistcollective.com/2009/autumn/magazinepage_07.php and elann.com was having a sale on the yarn, so I grabbed three color packs. Peruvian Baby Cashmere? How do I love thee...