I must be getting old

I love to travel, I really do.  I love staying in hotels and going places and I don’t even mind being away from my family.  Sometimes, that’s the best part.

But, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that it takes me longer to get back to feeling normal once I get home.  I’ve been back for two days and the first day was spent sleeping and unpacking and doing as little as possible.  I just didn’t have the energy.  Today has been spent doing things that didn’t get done while I was gone.  I spent an hour and a half in the garden and it still needs work.  I paid the bills and went to the gym.  We need to get groceries this afternoon and I would love to get some cleaning done.  Tomorrow is another day.

I did very little knitting while I was gone.  I completely overestimated the down time that I would have.  Wicked still isn’t quite ready to separate for the sleeves, but she should be soon.  My Go With the Flow socks made little progress, too.  I was able to get some of the foot done last night while watching Music and Lyrics (cute movie).

While away, I read State of Fear by Micheal Crichton.  It was okay.  I had never read any of his books.  I got this one for 10¢ at the public library used book sale.  Right now I’m re-reading the 6th Harry Potter book so when the 7th one comes out, I’ll be ready for it.

I’m leaving…

on a jet plane?  Probably not.  It’ll probably be very small, but I’m one of those people who actually likes the smaller planes.

Anyway, Josh assures me that with the wireless at the hotel, I should be able to log on there.  I’m not confident that will actually happen, but we’ll see.  If it works out, I’ll post at least once while I’m gone.  If not, I’ll be back on Friday.

Wicked is going with me and we will forge on ahead.  I just want it to work!  Grrr…

I always have my Go With the Flow socks, so all is not lost.

As usual, I’ve overpacked.  I’ll need to weigh my suitcase to make sure that I don’t have to pay the over weight fee.  I’ve traveled a lot in my life and you would think I would have this packing thing down.  Nope.

A Wicked Relationship

It was a rocky beginning, and it continues to be so.

Our first meeting was love at first sight. The pattern is cute and just the right amount of sexy for me (meaning, not too much). The yarn was beautiful and so soft.

Then, we got to know each other a little better. Gauge was a problem. Wicked wouldn’t meet me halfway and do what it was supposed to do. However, being a grownup, I compromised and swatched in the round. Wicked seemed to come around.

We had a great honeymoon! I cast on and it was everything I had hoped for, and more. I used a smaller size needle (7) so that Wicked wouldn’t be *too* wicked. Then, after the neckline, I switched to a larger needle (8). Life was good.

Unfortunately, we hit a rocky spot. I checked my gauge after an inch or so. With the larger size needles, I was getting about 22 stitches over 4 inches, as opposed to the 18 over 4 that the pattern called for. This could be a big problem. So, I again compromised and frogged back to the needle switch, going back the size 7s.

We had some good times for awhile.

We’ve hit a bad spot now and I’m not sure what to do.

Looks good, doesn’t it? Just the right amount of pink, not too much. It’s a little brighter in the picture than it actually is.

Unfortunately, gauge is not my friend. At this point, I’m at 20 1/2 stitches over 4 inches.

I don’t want to start over, but what’s a girl to do? Sometimes, going back to the way things were in the beginning is all you can do.

On the other hand, I can increase to the number of stitches that the next smaller size calls for and just use those numbers for the rest. That’s iffy and there are no guarantees.

Or, I could keep going and see what it looks like when I separate for the sleeves. It may be just fine.

I don’t know what to trust anymore!

The Child of a Knitter

I know LouLa is at the stage where she is very aware of what I (and others) do, but here’s some evidence that I may knit too much:

1. She’ll take her sunglasses and pretend to knit with the straight parts. If I ask her to do something, she’ll say, “In a minute, I’m busy knitting.”

2. She’s looked though my copy of Barefoot Knits and has told me what she’s going to make for me, followed by the words, “I love to knit.”

3. She reads Favorite Socks. The storyline is about a Mama Bear who knits socks, in case you were confused. She also demands that I read it to her, even after I try to explain that it’s not really a story book. I’m still required to go though the book and talk about he socks that I like, the ones that Josh likes, and anything else I can think of.

 

This was a spontaneous photo, I kid you not.

Hat or Bowl?

I’ve never felted anything before yesterday. Some people say it’s addicting, but I wouldn’t go that far. It’s pretty cool, but I like my knitting to be done when I’ve woven in the ends. Felting is just one more step before I get the final product.

Which is why I had knitted a bowl from Last Minute Knitted Gifts One Skein months ago, but I only got around to felting it yesterday. I had a “before” picture of it, but it’s on the other computer. So imagine a brown knitted shapeless bag-looking thing.

While drying:

Finding something to shape it over was a little tricky.

Finished product:

It turned out pretty good. It’s still a little floppy and I had expected something that was more substantial. Next time I’ll make the small one and see how that comes out.

LouLa found it and decided it was a hat:

In all fairness, it does look like some kind of Russian hat.

Reading Update:

I finished Mary, Queen of Scots. I kind of finished it. It was *very* detailed, so I skimmed quite a bit. Then, I read The Keep, by Jennifer Egan. It was strange and I almost gave it up a couple of times. I’m glad I kept with it, because the ending was unexpected.

Right now I’m reading Fire, by Sebastian Junger. It’s a collection of essays on wildfires and is well-written and very interesting. I live in an area of the country where wildfires in the summer are common and it’s interesting to read about places that I know. He gives some detail about fire behavior and the science behind fire. It could be very boring, but I haven’t found it to be so.

I got mail!

My Loopy Ewe order came yesterday. I placed the order on Friday and got it on Monday. How’s that for fast service?!

The yarn I ordered is in the nicely wrapped tissue package. The little tin with the bee on it is my favorite, easy to carry, hand softener. It’s the Honey House Bee Bar and it smells lovely and it fits easily in my sock knitting bag. The one I have is in little pieces, so it was time for a new one. Sheri also put in some extras, as usual. I got a samples of CTH and LL, along with cards to keep track of needles and people who I give socks to. It was a great package and I can’t wait to order more.

So, are you dying to know what yarn I ordered?

I promise, I wasn’t intending any kind of Christmas theme! The left is CTH (obviously) in Loden, one of the solids. The right is Louet Gems (again, obviously), in Cherry Red. I typically am drawn to deep purples/pinks/reds/blues, so I tried to pick colors that I wouldn’t normally get. I’m excited to use the Louet Gems, since I’ve never used it before. It feels really soft (Josh even held it and petted it!). And, I have to tell you, I love the price. For two skeins, it’s about $5 less than one skein of CTH, though it ends up to be about 100 yards less. I always have leftover yarn, so I’m not worried about using the Gems and ending up short.

I wound the cake for the Go With the Flow socks too tightly and ended up with a big knot. I cut the yarn from the sock and rewound it into a much squishier, softer cake. It was one of those times that I thought to myself, “Heather, it’s pretty tightly wound, you should rewind it so it’s looser.” I didn’t listen and I regretted it.

Time to knit!

Pretty

I have new socks in the works:

Aren’t they pretty?  The pattern is Go With the Flow from Favorite Socks and the yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Nantucket Red.  It’s the exact same yarn and color that is shown in the picture.  I just happened to have it and I couldn’t be bothered with thinking about what yarn would look best with what pattern.  It was during my Wicked gauge issues.  I love CTH with a passion and this pattern is great.  It’s simple to do, but really pretty to look at.

Chevron Scarf

Here is the Chevron Scarf:

The colors aren’t quite as bright in person. I like it. Well, I like it better than I would like the socks if I were to use the yarn for that. It’s very mindless knitting, which is nice for now.

I’m afraid to start on Wicked. There, I’ve said (typed) it. Eusebius mentioned that the gauge seemed more like that for a heavy worsted/aran weight. But, the pattern calls for worsted weight. I may swatch in the round and see what happens with that. The pattern didn’t specifically say anything about the gauge being for in the round, but maybe that’s a given, since it’s knit in the round. If my gauge is still off, I’ll go with my plan and forge on ahead, come what may. A quick google search didn’t come up with anything. Some people have gone up a needle size, some down a needle size, and some have used the size 7. So, I guess it’s just me.

ETA:  I swatched in the round on size 8s and I *almost* had 4 inches over 18 stitches.  It looks like the size 8s will work okay.  When I did a search on Wicked, someone had said they used a smaller needle for the neck.  I think I may try that.  I have narrow shoulders and not much of a bust and I would hate for the sweater to be something I would have to be very careful about when I wore it.  Am I playing with fire?

Wicked Gauge Issues

Houston, we have a problem.

I did my gauge swatch last night. I can’t get gauge. The pattern calls for 18 sts over 26 rows, at 4 inches, on a size 7 needle. I’ve done a gauge swatch on a size 7, size 8, and size 9. My swatch measures about 3 1/2 inches on a size 9.

Swatch squares- from left to right, size 7, 8, and 9 needle:

Swatch for size 9 needles- Measures 3 1/2 inches:

Here’s my plan: I’m going to use the size 8 needle and cast on for the large size. From my experience knitting in the round for socks, my gauge seems to be pretty loose when I knit in the round. I generally use a size 0 needle and I get 8-8.5 stitches per inch. Plus, I’m working on losing weight, so if the sweater is a little small, maybe it’ll be okay by the time I can wear it in the fall. Since this is knit top down, I’ll be able to try this on and I can always frog it and use a size 10 (!) needle, I guess, if it’s impossibly small.

Am I crazy?

I have started on the Chevron Scarf. It’s too early to tell yet how the color combinations will turn out. I’ll probably have something to show tomorrow. By then I should be able to decide whether it’s too hideous to continue, or whether it’s okay and wearable.

The Fours

I’ve been tagged again, by eusebius. This was much easier than the other one, oddly enough.

4 jobs I have had in my life:
1. Housekeeper at a Motel 6

2. Waitress in a locally owned, family restaurant

3. Dry cleaner counterperson

4. Teacher

4 films I can watch again and again:
1. The Truth About Cats and Dogs

2. Elizabeth I

3. Chasing Amy

4. Bounce

4 places I have lived:
1. South Dakota

2. North Dakota

3. Minnesota

4. Washington

4 TV series I watch:
1. Grey’s Anatomy

2. The Closer

3. Big Brother

4. Gilmore Girls (not any more-Boo!)

4 places I have been on holiday:
1. England

2. Scotland

3. Ireland

4. Most of the 50 states in various car trips with my family when I was a kid

4 things I do every time I am on the Net:

1. Check my blog

2. Read blogs in my blogroll

3. Go to my favorite bulletin boards

4. Check my email

4 things I would NOT eat for anything in the world:
1. mushrooms

2. coconut

3. animal organs

4. bugs

4 places I would love to be right now:

1. Richmond, VA

2. Leicester, England

3. Scotland

4. Ireland

Knitting:

It seems I’ve underestimated my knitting time. Or, I’ve underestimated how fast I knit. In any case, I’ll be done with the second Blue Lagoon sock today, and I’ll be done with LouLa’s Wrap Dress today, too. So, I need to figure out what to do next. Wicked will be a sure thing, and the Chevron Scarf, if it looks okay with the yarns that I have. I’m not sure what sock pattern to do next. I browsed my sock yarn yesterday and there wasn’t anything that really jumped out at me. A more in-depth browsing is needed, I suppose.

Reading:

I’ve started on Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser. It’s interesting, but really long. I’ll keep up with it, though. It’s interesting how different she was, and her life was, than Elizabeth. Elizabeth is my hero, even for all her faults.