Hi, again.

I've been gone sooooo long.  I guess I just wasn't in the mood for blogging.

What's new here?  A most wonderful knitting project that is, of course, a mystery.  Suffice it to say that I'm loving this so much.  And I can't even show you a picture.  I will tell you that the yarn is Carrie Lace yarn, 1300 yards of 80/20 merino/silk, and soft and drapey and delicious.  This one is for the Light and Dark Lace club's April-ish edition.

Socks are back in my hands again.  Nothing terribly interesting to photograph.  I just want soothing, mindless sock knitting, but not in stockinette.  That's boring beyond belief, so some ribbing, some lace, etc.  Two pairs went to eldest Grandkid; turns out that he loves my cosy socks.  And 2 prs to Miss P, who also has fallen in love with Gram's socks.  When she was here last April, we went to the Statue of Liberty one soggy day, and came home soaking wet.  To warm her up, I lent her a pair of my woolly socks, and it was love at first wear.  She absconded with a bunch of them.  The child grew, and her foot is now an adult size 8, and my size 6 socks are a bit too small for her.  So, I've been pressed into sock mania.  And then, His Hubbo needed a new pair of sleeping socks, so that's what I'm working on at the moment.

I'd show you pics, but it turns out that the patterns I unvented for the lace socks turned out so nice, that I'm incorporating them in the Mystery Shawl.  So, no pics here either.  Sigh.

Here's what I can show you:  a doll outfit, a doll quilt in progress, and the first block that I'm making for Dear Jane, also in progress.

Miss P has been pestering me for a kimono, so I bought Joan Hind's kimono pattern and just finished it today.

Isn't it adorable? Lots of mistakes, but I hope she won't notice.  If she wants another one, I'll be happy to do it. I haven't sewn doll clothing in a few months, and got somewhat rusty, but did enjoy this a lot.

I have always wanted to make a log cabin quilt, even as far back as high school.  So, I finally got brave and made 8 little blocks, and sewed 4 of them together for a doll quilt.  I'll do the same with the leftover ones.  One to Miss P and one to Miss R.  You'll notice some blue lines; that's where I'm doing some fake quilting.  It'll all wash out with cold water when I'm done.

I'm going to take a class in hand quilting at The City Quilter early in Feb.  I don't know if my hands can handle it, but I'll give it a try.  I'm pretty sure I'll never become Wonder Quilter, but it would be nice to know how to actually do it properly, and I always like learning new things.

Speaking of new things, I am taking a Dear Jane class also at TCQ.  Help!  Teensy, weensy little bits of fabric.  Hand stitched.  Turning me into a crazy lady.  These little guys will finish up to around 4.5 inches.  Here's the first one I'm doing.  This is block A-13, and it has 21 pieces in it.  It's so tiny that I am using a magnifying lamp to see where I am.  Even the little needle is hard to thread, and I can still thread the sewing machine needle without difficulty.  This is some learning experience.  Take a look at the Dear Jane website to get an idea of the complexity of this project.  No, I don't plan on doing the entire thing; it'll take me years and years to finish it.  But I thought that some little wall hangings would be fun, or even a doll quilt.  Maybe no on the doll quilt; I'd be hysterical if one of the blocks fell apart in play.  Anyhow, this is what I have done since last Fri's class.  It's taken me hours to work this, although today's stitching went faster and better than the previous work.

It looks huge in the picture.  Nope, it's not.  I have a class once a month for the next 3 months, and each time we'll learn a new technique.  I'd like to go next time with 4 blocks done.  I'm going to look for the easiest ones.  BTW, there are no instructions, just a drawing of the block and a picture of Jane's block.  What a learning experience.

the Yarnarian Babbles On.

Not much to show you at the moment. Between Rosh Hashanah, the grandkid visit this weekend and then Yom Kippur, I have had very little time to be productive. Oh, I am knitting and crocheting, but I'm at the point in my projects where there is just not much more to see.

So instead I'll tell you my plans for today. I am going to dye yarn. Are you amazed? I need to dye up some lace yarns for the Mystery Shawl '09; I don't want to be stuck with a lot of yarn when the sign-up finishes, so I'm dyeing as I need. At this stage of the game, with the knitalong beginning on Oct. 10, I can show you the colors.



The colors are Breeze, Latte, Gold and Terracotta. I don't know which one I like the most. I suspect it's Latte. They are not available to the general public; I've dyed them specifically for the Mystery Shawl KAL.

The lace yarn is called Carrie, after my sweet, wonderful niece. It's 80% merino/20% silk and quite tasty and soft and wonderful. Great yardage too.

So what colors am I going to play with this morning, other than the lace colors? I'm thinking purple and/or violet. I was going to do very pale colors, but purple is calling me. That's what I'm saying now; wait until I start dyeing. Then the colors will rule! Pics tomorrow!

I miss my sister! My family has never been good at saying good-bye. We get teary and lonely and bereft. So yesterday when they left, I moped around the house for hours. Me, who never cries, had tears in my eyes a couple of times. When the Mommie lived in her house, she would stand by the door and wave to us as we left, and both she and I were so sad. When my dad was alive, and I came home for a weekend in my college years, the sadness was so overwhelming when I left to go back to school. And yet, my parents never held on to us or prevented us from moving on with our lives. We just cannot say good-bye. The next day, we are all OK again, it's just that parting moment.

And now I'm going to search for my library book which I put down in a safe spot, and of course cannot find now. Sigh.

Jen - What are you dyeing these days?

Linda - If I had a dozen sisters, you would always be my favorite! Love you so much!

The Yarnarian and Goddessknts team up!

Renee, she of the amazing Mystery Shawls KALs, and I are teaming up for her Mystery Shawl '09. Here is all the info. I'm dyeing the lace yarn for this KAL, and it's very pretty indeed!

http://www.bopeepswoolshop.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=featured_products

For a mere $6, you can have the fun of a mystery shawl KAL designing by a star in the field. And you can buy my lace yarn for the shawl at a reduced price on Etsy. Gotta be a member to buy those colors.

Here's how the Mystery Shawl KAL works: You pay your pittance, sign up on Yahoo, and then Renee sends you lots of info, including a little swatch for you to work up to make sure your gauge is OK. When the KAL (knit along)starts, she sends you a chart each week. You knit (OK, you try to knit) each week to keep up. When you're done, you have a gorgeous shawl. The mystery is that you have no picture, just charts. Her designs are exquisite, and there is a lot of chat for getting help. It's a lot of fun, and really there is no pressure to keep up. There are a few folks who knit like demons, and they proceed way ahead of the rest of us. Me, I'm so far behind that when I retire from retirement, I'll have lots of pretty knitting to do.

The yarn I'm using is a brand new one. It's called Carrie Yarn, is 80% merino/20% silk, has very good yardage (approx 1300 yards give or take), and is quite delicious to work on. Very soft, takes dye so well, and I like it very, very much. I've dyed up 4 colors for you to choose from, and I've reduced the price for members of this KAL. and why not? It's nice for you, and good for me, and a little price saving is always appreciated.

And that's today's self promotion.

KV - Yes, it is exciting. This is the 3rd time I'm doing it, but this time, to save what's left of my sanity, I'm not doing custom orders. If I did another custom job of this size, I'd be on your couch so fast, you would be stunned! I may regret this, but we shall see. I like Renee's patterns. I have a bunch with no time to knit them up, alas.

It's just me Wendy - see my answer above.

The Yarnarian Reveals All! And Trees!

For those of you who have been dying (dyeing?) to know what all this Kona is for, I can now officially tell you because Renee has given me the go-head.

Renee is GoddessKnits, and is the very talented lady behind all those gorgeous Mystery Shawls. She is currently taking sign ups for her Anniversary Shawl. Soon she'll start taking sign-ups for Mystery Shawl 9, and, ta da!!!, I've dyed up the Kona for it. Is this neat or what!

These gorgeous shawls are yahoo KALs, and her instructions are perfect. The price is very affordable. She also has a couple of forums on Ravelry, Goddess Knits, and Mystery Shawl Along. Her older patterns are also for sale on her web site.

So, these pretty babies are reserved for MS9, and what doesn't sell there, I'll put up for sale to the general public after she closes the sign-ups.

One of my amazing customers asked if I would dye up some blue sock yarns. Of course I would. Do any of you have any color desires? There is no obligation if it is only one skein; if you don't like it, someone else will. Message me on Ravelry or on my email (over on the right) if you'd like.

More pics of our trees taken last night about 6 pm.







Here's my exciting personal news: I'm finally getting a color and cut at a new salon! I have about 3 inches of gray showing, my hair is wild and very thin, and I look about 10 years older. I go through these gray moments about once a year. I have to see exactly how gray I am (very, very gray) and should I not dye it. Hah! The Mommie has less white hair than I have, and more body to her hair. If wigs weren't uncomfortable, I say the hell with it, and just buy a couple of pieces. This is a big sore point in my life. Just telling you..

Now that was a good rant!