Note to Self: Yarn Shops are Closed on Mondays

Yes, all three!

Yesterday I knitted the 2x2 ribbed neckband onto the blue baby cable knit sweater. Before binding-off, I looked it over carefully for anything not quite right and found something very much not quite right, of course. To fix it, I yanked out a rib column, re-did that rib with a crochet hook. Now it is worse. It has a hole.

I don't think I can explain it in words, but I'll try. The one bind-off stitch underneath the rib stitch in question also ripped out. I don't know how that is even possible. This afternoon I packed up my project off to my local yarn shop, ready to say, "I'm exasperated. Please help me."

What, all three are closed? It is surely a conspiracy...

Back to the drawing board. I am going to sit down and try to figure it out. My husband will tell you how when frustrated, I can do a perfect imitation in Golum's voice saying, "I hates knitting!"

Feeling Sad This Week...

The Silver Swan
The silver swan, who living had no note,
When death approach'd, unlock'd her silent throat;
Leaning her breast against the reedy shore,
Thus sung her first and last, and sung no more.
Farewell, all joys; O Death, come close mine eyes;
More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise.

Based on the madrigal by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) and recorded by Qntal on their recent Qntal V: Silver Swan album.

My Bathtub is Calling Me...

I found this on YouTube, just now. It shows exactly what I am about to do in a few minutes. If you are unfamiliar with the Lush bath bomb experience, watch this video and be enlightened.

The Big Blue bath bomb in this video is one of my favorite. It smells heavenly, exactly what the ocean should smell like, and it contains little stringy bits of seaweed to condition your skin. The Lush loving videographer, Lushbubbles, who made, this is brilliant!

I'll be in the bathtub...

Tonight: Meerkat Manor!

I just can't get enough of this Mozart the Meerkat commercial. Hysterical! Mozart is alive and well after being banished by Flower. We all thought she had died. It is very difficult for a lone meerkat to survive, but Mozart isn't your average meerkat.

Tonight is the second episode of the third season. Don't forget to watch it on Animal Planet.

A Lot of Talk and Not Enough Knitting

Little Gregory's sweater is under way, once again. There really isn't a whole lot more to do, finish the neckband with rib stitching and weave in the ends. The goal is to finish it this weekend -- I can do that.


The pattern is from the Filatura Di Crosa Baby Too book. I used Filatura Zara extra fine merino wool. This was my first time knitting cables. I really thought cables were going to be heinously difficult, but it was easy and a lot of fun.

I really fancy bamboo needles. I don't think I would enjoy knitting at all if all there was were cold aluminum needles. The bamboo feels so nice in my hand as I knit. I was just admiring how beautiful they are in their quilted needle snuggie, so I thought I'd take a picture. I have a lot more needles somewhere and a huge number of circular needles. I knit hats with two sets of needles. If you have never tried that, it is the only way to knit hats. Seriously.

My Lush Golden Slumbers bath is waiting for me, my neck is hurting and a lavender bath is very soothing before bed. The best medicine!

Qntal - Von den Elben

This is a song from my favorite Qntal album, Qntal V: Silver Swan.

I Seriously Must Get to My Knitting

So, if I am ever to knit again, I must to organize all my knitting stuff. The ten or so knitting books I have collected, okay fifteen, all need to be together in one place. There is nothing like snarling with frustration while trying to find the right book with the perfect description of a stitch and not being able to find it because it is under the bed. The Curse of the Were-Knitter!

I found the last remaining scrap of apricot-colored Cashsoft Baby yarn, leftover from the sweater I made for my friend's baby last year. This was my first ever sweater. Up until then, it had only been hats and scarves.



The pattern I used is the Elly sweater from Rowan's Classic Babies, Book Four. The lacy edging is crocheted, which my mom taught me to do when I was just a kid, but this was more complicated than anything I have ever had crocheted before. I had to rip it out three times before I could live with it. The sweater pattern itself was pretty tricky, the folks at Rowan assume you know what you are doing. I have only been knitting for two years.

Soon I will be getting back to knitting the pale blue cable knit baby sweater. It just scares me to take the shoulder seams out. What if I screw it up as I pick apart the stitching?

I have a toothache tonight. It was painful enough that I had to take half a Darvocet left over from my knee surgery. I wonder if it is the tooth with the temporary crown. Why would it hurt so much and so suddenly?

So Sad...

I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and watched coverage of the Minneapolis 35W bridge collapse. I grew up in a north suburb of Saint Paul. Interstate 35W is within a mile of the lake I lived on and I have been on that bridge many, many times. I am really sad for the families waiting to hear news of their missing relatives. Just horrible.

No, I didn't knit last night, too busy watching the news and putting the third coat of tung oil on our box project. What is the box project? Do you really want to know? My husband and I are making a box out of bird's eye maple as an alternative to a memorial urn for my mom. Actually, my husband is the woodworker, I took part in some of it, like participating in the design and finishing. He is an artist, my mom would be have been please to know whe had such quality and beauty as her final resting place. Maybe she does. It will be a comfort to my family to have a gorgeous focal point to reflect on. I will take a picture.

Not Just About Knitting!

My fanatical knitting the last couple of years has dropped off a cliff in the last few months. It is time to snap out of it and I am hoping this will help renew my interest. I have two baby sweaters to finish; one is nearly completed and the other just barely started. The first one, the pale blue cable knit, has been a source of anxiety for me. The shoulder seams need to be let out to make the neck hole larger, then I only have to knit the ribbing around the neck and wrists. What a relief that will be to see it finally finished.

I need to tend to anything that has been pushed to the side for a few months that is literally gnawing at the very fiber of me.

Here is the story of what has been going on. Last May, my mom died from complications of Alzheimer's disease. It has been a sad shock for my family. The reality has been... unreal. Anyone who has been there themselves knows what I mean. I don't really feel like getting into it today, but the reason I mentioned it is, since she died, I haven't been able to get to my knitting.

Satellite television has been my crutch. Such a comfort it has been to flop down deep into my couch and let the TV take over. But we don't watch junk at my house, no. We watch mainly the Discovery, Learning, and SciFi channels. I can't bear to miss my favorite shows, Eureka, Meerkat Manor, What Not To Wear, and Dirty Jobs.

That's it for now.