sara with camera

on the needles

This is Ballet Blossom Cardigan from Hadley Fierlinger's Vintage Knits for Modern Babies using Classic Elite Yarns' Cotton Bamboo (color 3656/ 52% cotton & 48% bamboo).  Thanks Annalyn for giving me the chance to knit up some pink yarn!

This is a little shameful, I began this blanket for a little guy who is now FOUR months old.  All I need is to sew it together & knit a border.  Rebekah, I promise I haven't forgotten Cannon. Oh, and it is the baby version of the Mason Dixon Mitered Square blanket knit up in Elsebeth Lavold's discontinued Cotton Patine (Sarah L.H.: kinda like Charlie's blanket).

This I began for you, Lara A, it's the (semi-circular) Miya Shawl by Mari Chiba knit in ella rae lace merino (100% extra fine merino).  It won't look quite right until it's blocked, but there you have it. 

This ball will be a Jared Flood lace something. It'll be my treat for finishing up the other ones (although I still have another girl project to get to & the sweater for Chris that I began a year and a half ago Really needs to be wrapped up.  The rest of the day holds a little cleaning, introducing the boys to Weinerschnitzel, picking Chris up from the airport, and of course, some knitting.

p.s. for those of you not on facebook, this not knowing where we're moving in just about a month & a half is super stressful (as is not knowing whether I passed/failed the bar--even if I'm pretty sure I know the answer). It's down to Waxahachie, Topeka, Longview, & Seguin. 

p.p.s.  Did you see the article about the woman who died because she drank too much Coke?  ...might have to cut back (or pretend it wasn't the coke, but the excessive smoking and who knows what else...that & on my worst days, I drink a quarter of what she did...yep, I don't have a problem). 

Love, sara

Stripes in Garter

This is knit from 7 skeins (which knit up to about a 3x3') of Arauncania Nature Cotton (100% cotton, of course) in colors 47 & 54.  The yarn is spun thick and thin & the kettle dyed colors vary in strength in the same skein.  The plan was to keep it simple with the garter stitch so the yarn's character wasn't obscured.  I like it.  Mike & Laura, I can't wait to meet the little guy!  Love, Sara

 

Lots of Knitting Problems

You may remember the stinky, but beautiful baby blanket (seen here)...well, the Problem Ladies (Kay Gardiner & Ann Shayne of Mason Dixon Knitting) have solutions in the current Twist Collective with the stinky problem illustrated by Franklin Habit over at the Panopticon.  If you don't care about smelly blankets or illustrations of them, but like knitting, check out all the sites anyhow...they're all amazing. p.s. Michaela, if the blanket is still stinky, you know what to do! p.p.s. If you don't care to find out how to get the smell out of newly washed alpaca- there's another Q&A regarding whether it's appropriate to knit during CLE (for all you knitting lawya's out there). 

Sadly, my stinky blanket problem may have been solved (well, that's not the sad part), but I have plenty of current knitting problems (the sad part), like: how to get rid of the hole in the baby blanket I am now knitting (it did NOT get there because I had too much hard cider that night at Elza's party [and knitting at a party is not one of my knitting problems- just sayin]...it's garter stitch for crying out loud), and what to do when I need a knitting something and the yarn shop is closed. 

She's a new yarn shop owner and I really like her...except she's super mellow (and likes wild color over more appropriate ones like gray and brown and blue) which must've led to her thinking she was allowed to close shop on Sundays AND Mondays.  Knitters need knitting things when we need them, and crazy things happen when we can't get our knitting things (like I knit a mitered square last night knowing full well that it wouldn't work out.  All because I ran out of yarn to complete the above mentioned holey blanket [actually I technically had enough, I just accidentally bought 3 blue and 1 green skeins instead of 2 blue and 2 green--yarn shopping apparently canNot be hurried] and didn't have a fat-eyed needle to sew in ends and had loaned out my Mason Dixon Knitting book #1 [containing the mitered square pattern for the next baby blanket on the list]...extra scandalous: I should have the pattern memorized because I've knit like 90 of the squares already [big blanket + baby blanket]).  As if that weren't enough, Sunday is right next to Monday [that's 65 hours or something] and that's a good chunk of prime knitting time completely wasted.  So, dear yarn shop owner, if you absolutely must close shop 2 days a week, could you spread them out so as not to encourage crazy, I really know better than that, desperate knitting?  It might be your duty (you know, like a trustee to a beneficiary- yeah, pretty much like that). 

Love, sara

Knitting for Ali

So I knit a scarf for Ali & then went into a panic- what if it was too short (yarn shortage- one ball pulled from the stash, the other 2 shipped from Wildflower Yarns in Manhattan, KS...the last two Kennita had: she totally saved the day)?  So, the next day I bought more yarn & cast on a new scarf.  Turns out, they're exactly the same length because scarf #2 is so chunky that it doesn't need an extra wrap around the neck.  It's the Cinder pattern from Jared Flood and it's made from Rowan cocoon (80% wool/20% kid mohair) in Tundra (muted gray-brown).  I love it.  Such an easy knit (3 days with other things going on)...just one or two cables every 8 rows in bulky yarn.

That's Ms. Anderson, Auden's teacher.  I'm your worst parent nightmare, obviously.  Who makes their kid's teacher model a scarf?  I owe you other Sarah.  Of course, she modeled scarf #1 too (see below)!  It's the Reversible Cable Scarf from Knits Men Want (if I were going to gender tag this one, I'd not go with the male one, but whatever) knit up in Rowan Cashsoft 4ply which is 57% extra fine merino wool, 33% microfiber, & 10% cashmere in gray.  It took awhile to knit- like weeks.  Not an easy knit (one or two cables every other row), but I'd absoultely do it again.  Soon. 

And, that's Auden's class minus him (voluntarily hop in front of the lens? NEVER) & one more.  And, how amazing is it that I get a Jaryn (far right) hug every once in awhile? The most.  Hope you have a great week!  Love, Sara

Blanket for Turner

I love how this blanket turned out (baby fern stitch), and I don't care if that makes me immodest!  I knit it (27" x 36") with the alpaca yarn I bought at the Yarn Barn in Lawrence (purchased without ball bands) with Kimberly S, and it's going back to Kansas...as soon as I manage to rid it of its "sheep" smell (this experience has led me to conclude that alpaca and sheep smell Exactly the same).  It didn't smell like barn until I soaked it last night, but it certainly does now (as in the entire room in which it was drying smells of animal).  I don't block often and so I am completely at a loss as to how to de-stink the blanket. Any advise knitters?  I think I'm going to try to air it out...Love, Sara

Oh, and in that first photo, the blanket is draped over the arm of my very first rocking chair- the one I've had since I was two.

Next on the needles: baby socks! 

Knit Night is Dead.

Well, that was fun (www.boingboing.com, the Pitch, and the Lincoln Journal Star).  The latter mention is on a page where the header is that story about the mailman defecating in a yard... and as a runner I can totally relate.  And now back to the regular mix...

When we lived in Manhattan, I went to knit night most Thursdays (at Wildflower, of course).  It was awesome.  So when we moved to Topeka and Megan said she was interested in having a knit night, we did it- usually the last Friday of the month (February was our last one, I think).  We rotated between houses and had food and wine and didn't really knit (just ate, and drank, and chatted it up).  We did make certain to have knitting along though.  Carol was the worst (and I mean that with the greatest admiration, seriously).  She brought a dishcloth to the first knit night well over a year ago and never knit on it in between.  She barely knit on it on knit nights.  It was the never-ending dishcloth.  She and Jason moved (last month) to rural Kansas and she was so bored out of her mind that she actually finished knitting The Dishcloth.  We were pretty sure knit night was dead with Carol having moved, Megan busy with health stuff, and my weird knitting hiatus and eventual move this summer, but the finished dishcloth is the death knell.  For sure.

The good news is that Megan is better, Carol finished her dishcloth, and I'm back to knitting.  BUT, there are (and this is seriously shocking) no yarn shops in El Paso and it looks like the yarn shop in Las Cruces (45 min. drive) is now closed.  Thank God I have a formidable stash. 

So the photo above is my newest project- and it's about time.  Tom brought this yarn (Camus Natural Wools from Hebridean sheep) back from Scotland summer before last.  His mom picked it out and had an heirloom sweater for the boys in mind.  Loved the idea, but just never got on it.  I finally wound the skeins into balls Thanksgiving, and got to knitting yesterday.  The cardigan is from this book: Knits Men Want.  Auden approved it.  Hopefully, I'll finish before too long and post it here soon (modeled by that Auden kid who is whining right now).

Now on to house cleaning and then a couple of portrait sessions this afternoon (which, you know, means you'll be seeing a few more faces soon).  Love (and have a great weekend), Sara

Lara's Christmas Socks

Merry Christmas, Lara!  Your socks are finished (which is more than I can say for Chris's Christmas sweater). 

They are the Retro Rib Socks from Favorite Socks.  I used Rowan's Cashsoft 4 ply and an assortment of needle sizes (2,3, & 4) because I can't seem to knit socks without losing a needle or two and the knitting needle selection in Topeka is scandalously scant.  Yep, scandalous.  So I'm probably the only person in town knitting socks, but at the rate I lose these things, JoAnn's or wherever might do well to stock them.

Next on the needles is a hat for Ms. Janet and THEN Chris's sweater sleeves.  And, while Katherine is running a half in the freezing cold, I'm going to do my long run* (in semi-solidarity) on the treadmill.  

Ok, so my long run is only up to 4.  I might really be out of shape :).  Have a great weekend (hopefully a long one).  Love, Sara

Birthday Socks

For Chris' birthday, I made him a pair of manly, blue, plain socks (from Knits Men Want).  They fit and I think he likes them.  He hasn't worn them yet- he says it has not been cold enough.  I've been wearing wool socks for two months now.  Not hand-knit ones though, super thick REI ones. 

Oh, and it was a little nerve-wracking there toward the end (of knitting the socks) when I thought I would run out of yarn (see, knitting is wild).  Turns out, it wasn't even all that close. 

 
I have also been writing this paper for two months now.  Not really.  It just seems that way.  I'd rather be knitting socks.  My current project is another one intended for Chris.  A manly, green, plain sweater.  For Christmas.  He knows- it's difficult to hide that much yarn and that much knitting.  I have the sleeves to go and a bit of the front left and then there's sewing it all up.  Before I get to any of that though, there's this paper and a hearing (on Friday).  Send the good vibes Friday afternoon, if we win maybe I'll get to knit again before December! 

P.S. Try not to notice that little dandelion near Chris' left heel.  I was very persistent with them this spring, but by mid summer I was content to roll over them with the mower.  I'll get that one This spring.  Love, Sara