Felt Like Knitting

Virginia

Virginia is a beautiful place!

Bind off, cast on

I finished Ene's Scarf (from Scarf Style) yesterday and blocked it right away.  I just can't wait to block a lace project once I have it completed.  I'm really happy with the size of this "scarf."  (Isn't it funny that the shawl I made was the size of a scarf and this scarf is the size of a shawl?)  Thanks to Stacey for the book, yarn, and needles!  And thanks to Keri for offering to let me knit along with her.  Be sure to check out her project because it's beautiful!  This was a fun project and I'm ready to start my next bit of lace.

This fall we'll be going to Virginia to tour Williamsburg and Jamestown.  We're going to visit Monticello while we're at it.  I need a good car knitting project and thought I'd knit a pair of Maine Morning Mitts from Rachel's handspun yarn.  I started the mitts to be sure I liked how everything was coming together.  I do like how this pattern is working with the yarn.  And the yarn is so squishy and fun to knit.  The only problem is that I may end up finishing the mitts before the trip even starts!  Guess I should plan on some more car knitting projects.

Thanks for all of your encouragement in the area of dress shopping!  :)  I did find a nice outfit (black skirt, black top, silvery gray jacket).  Unfortunately, the picture of me in the outfit was too blurry to post.  I got a lot of nice compliments on the outfit and I guess I should dress up more often.  Apparently it was a big shock to see me so dressed up.  :)  Our friend's wedding was lovely and the reading went well for me.  We found out the night before that E's dress wasn't going to work and her backup dress was too small.  Fortunately, we found a great dress for her the next morning and all was well.

There is some sad news to tell, though.  Georgia (and much of the southeast) is having a severe drought.  It's even being called a 100 year drought.  Citizens are being asked to do things like take five minute showers, turn off the water while brushing teeth, and using low flow toilets.  Those things make sense for any water condition and I hope we can all pitch in to curtail our usage.  The reservoir for Atlanta has a few months of water left, but the one for my part of town will be dry by Thanksgiving.  That's scary.  A friend of mine told me this morning that she's making plans to visit her sister in West Virginia if the water runs out.  We hope it doesn't come to that, but it certainly could.  Even if we get some rain soon, the forecast for the winter shows warm temperatures and little rainfall.  If you have a chance, could you pray about this situation?  Thanks!

Dragging my feet

"I really don't want to go shopping for that dress.  I'll check Bloglines.  I'll have an early lunch.  Now I'll check Ravelry.  What haven't I done yet?  Oh yeah, I'll post on my blog."  :)

Yes, I'm procrastinating about going out to buy a dress for a wedding.  Last week I was in at least 9 stores - nothing!  So now I have to go to the mall.  We live right in the middle of two malls (more, actually) so it's a bit of a drive to get to either.  Plus the prices always seem higher in the mall.  And it's hard for me to find a dress.  But, I'll be happy to have it when I'm done.

Okay, now that I'm done whining and complaining, I'll share a knitting picture with you.  (I mean, really, this is a good problem to have.  I have the money for a dress, I have a reliable car to get me to the mall, and I have the time today to find something.  I guess I'm just whining because I'd rather knit!)

                  

It's a Monkey sock!  (The proportions may be a bit off because I cut and pasted from Flickr then resized.)  They're flying off the needles.  I only have two repeats left then I'll be ready for the heel flap.  (I think.  I'll have to reread the pattern.)  I like the twisted rib at the top.  It's really stretchy.  I'm so surprised that the pattern moves along this quickly.

I've been working on Ene's scarf more and changed to the second ball of yarn.  There are only about 240-250 stitches in a row now so it's starting to move along more quickly.

Speaking of moving along more quickly, I guess I should head to the mall.  :)  Oh, wait!  I forgot to tell you that I've got this in the crockpot right now and it smells wondeful!  I'll be sure to let you know how it tastes!

"Just a little bit more and then I'll post"

The last time I posted, I said I'd share some knitting progress photos with you.  Then I kept thinking "I'll knit just a little bit more on this project before I post a picture."  And here I am, more than a week later with no post.  So, today is finally a WIP (and an FO) picture sharing day.

Ariann 

                                               

Katie and I talked about knitting this sweater last winter, but we instead chose the Lace Surplice Top.  I still haven't finished mine, but Katie's is beautiful!  (I've officially put that in hibernation until January/February.  Then it'll be done just in time for spring!)  We again talked about knitting Ariann and I was determined not to be the weak link in our little knitalong this time, so I got started right away.  Unfortunately, Katie has gotten super-busy, and I don't want to get too far ahead so I haven't knit on this in awhile.  I'm instead focusing on Ene's Scarf.  (By the way, I sent a question to the designer of Ariann, Bonne Marie.  She is so sweet, helpful, and prompt!)

Oh, I'm trying to decide which way to sew on the buttons.  I'm leaning toward having the dark part of the button be on the right (like the bottom left button).  Any thoughts?  I'm not wild about these buttons, but they were the best choice I saw at the LYS and I think they'll look good on the sweater.

Ene's Scarf

                                              

Keri is knitting Ene's Scarf and asked if I wanted to knit along.  I did, so I cast on a couple of weeks ago, I guess.  Last weekend I was hurrying to get through a section and ended up tinking two or three rows then having to reknit.  That doesn't make for fast progress!  Being all bunched up on my needles, it reminds me of a Victorian dress collar.  I'm hoping the body of the scarf/shawl will go quickly.  It's starting to feel a bit cooler down here and it will be nice to have this to throw over my shoulders when I take out the dog.  Won't I be the most elegant pet owner around?  :)

Socks

                                              

I finished my first pair of socks last night!!!  I'm pretty excited about that.  My daughter modeled them here for me and she'll be getting the next pair of socks (Monkey socks).  She's been waiting on socks for a long time.  :)  This yarn was given to me as a contest prize by Rachel.  This is beautiful yarn and now I'm spoiled!  Thank you, Rachel!

Other WIPs

There are also hats, a pair of fingerless mitts for my daughter (as part of Keri's knitalong), the Chevron scarf (still just a big swatch, really), and a dishcloth in the works.  And I've swatched for several patterns with the new handspun yarn Rachel sent me.  I just cannot decide what will show it off the best.  Rachel had suggested a hat or fingerless mitts.  Hats don't look good on me, so I may go ahead and knit mitts.  Hers are beautiful!

I hope you're all enjoying good weather and lots of knitting!