Trying to Move On

Today is one week since Theo passed on...I have been slogging my way through life this past week trying to get on with it...I still can't bring myself to pick up the cookie crumbs he left behind on the floor or vacuum the carpet because the little paw print indents will be gone forever.
He was sent down to Monterey to be cremated and I guess he will be back sometime this week in a little urn. It will be hard to go into the vets to pick him up when he arrives.

A big Thank You to all of you for your warm thoughts. It is so hard to lose your best friend. Knitting helps a lot. Seems that is all I can productively do these days.

I am still working on the Flutter Sleeve Cardi, actually almost finished with it. I have the last sleeve cuff and sewing the side seam up and attaching the buttons left to do. I got a little side tracked on Sunday when I went to Marin Fiber Arts grand reopening...I looked at all the lovely new yarns and played on the spinning wheel (they were having spinning demos) I know how to spin, not particularly my most favorite fibery aspect of all things fiber - hurts my back too much, anyway it was fun to spin on a different wheel than mine. I got into a little trouble, I purchased 4 skeins of this lovely 3 ply merino - (actually sock) yarn but I am making shawls with it.

I started Amy R. Singer's Tuscany shawl from No Sheep for You...what a fun, and fast pattern. I started this yesterday and I can't seem to put it down.

I have my own little Tuscany right here on my porch!!! Really no replacement for Italy but a close second!

In Loving Memory of Theo

November 1, 1992 - April 14, 2008

Zoom Zoom

Now that I am finished with the Printed Silk Cardi I am starting another knit out of the Interweave Spring magazine...the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan. I ordered the yarn from Webs and as usual they deliver fast! I received it this past Monday afternoon in the mail and cast on just an hour before dinner. I am 2/3 finished with the back...it is a lot of stockinette but there is something addictive about the pattern with just enough stitch change in between to keep from getting boring. Here it is Thursday morning, at this rate I will have this finished in about a week, if all goes well with my time. The pattern is actually extremely easy, no complicated stitches to memorize or get tricked up on. So far the only change I plan on making is adding 3 buttons to the front instead of the 2 the pattern calls for, and changing the direction of the button holes from vertical to horizontal.
The yarn is wonderful to knit with too.
Classic Elite Silk
The color way is called tomato but it looks more like strawberry.

I Do Wear What I Knit

It fits!!! (Since no one was around I used the self-timer...turned out okay).
Here I am sitting in my office, wearing my new blue cardi!
Just love those hand carved buttons.

Ever Feel Like Alice?

Always running...about to slide down the tube....will I end up in Wonderland? Lately that is the way it feels to me.

Finished

My beautiful blue cardi is finished!!! I don't have snazzy photos of me modeling the sweater(maybe later), but you can get the idea...it turned out very nice and I am very pleased. The organic nature of the yarn is growing on me more and more.

It fits me better than I anticipated and the finishing is so professional!

There are lots of people knitting this pattern on Ravelry and commenting on the bottom edge rolling too much (and coming up with all kinds of strange alternatives to the original pattern) - that's why knitted pieces are blocked. Yes, my bottom edge rolled and look at it now after blocking...smooth and flat. After a project is knitted there is more to do than just sewing it up and moving on to the next thing. So many projects I see on Ravelry don't take the finishing step seriously and they end up looking home made instead of hand made.

I steam blocked instead of wet blocked since there is a combination of wool and silk. I will most likely be dry cleaning this one when cleaning time comes around even though when I did do a test for color fastness and shrinkage, and the dye didn't run and it didn't shrink.

I am stalled on Yosemite - just so much of the same boring pattern. My intention was to have it finished in a couple of weeks so I could give it to my sister for her birthday!!! I have knit half of it and it just sits there staring at me with a punitive glare (if a sweater could actually do that) screaming at me to pick it up. I snubbed my nose at it and raided my stash and started another sweater in spite! I went to my knitting library and flipped through a few books and found the perfect alternative to Yosemite, at least for now. I won't say what it is just now but will reveal it after I have made more progress on it.