George Mason did what?

My knitting basket is rather disorganized these days. I was working on an argyle sock, but need another skein to finish it, so it got bumped down the priority list. That accounts for the wine, navy, and tan yarns in the basket. Then there's the Moebius cowl, which was begun as a take-along project. It got bumped this past week by some angora headbands. Those - except for grafting - are the quintessential take-along project. Knit fourteen. Turn. Repeat for 18 inches. The chart in the background is for The Shawl.


Which, I am pleased to notel is growing nicely. I just started the 5th ball tonight, and am barely into the 4th repeat of chart 2. That adds up to being 35% done with the main body of the shawl. After that comes 24 feet of edging. I'm not going to think about that part, however. My fingers and palms have a distinct purple cast to them. Fortunately, I like purple, and don't mind having hands that look like they're severely bruised.

My daughter has been knitting a good bit lately. She's knit a shirt for a Ken* Barbie, and discovered how important it is to allow for ease in the shoulder area. The neckline goes up and down with Ken's arms. She's also finished Jackie's wedding gown, discovered that a slip is very necessary with some knit garments (especially when Mattel doesn't choose a neutral color for the painted-on outfit), and is now working on a veil. With Jaggerspun 2/8 wool. On my 000 needles. Addi needles. When I was her age, I had no idea that Addi existed. or that there was anything to knit with beyond Red Heart. (* not his real name)

My daughter has also broken 4 of my Brittany sock needles. I took Rosemary's advice and got a package of bamboo skewers, and borrowed some sandpaper from my mom. The skewers at Wal-Mart looked to be a size 5 or 6, but the ones at the grocery store I use looked sock-ish, and fit just perfectly into the 2.75 mm spot on my needle gauge. I gave my daughter the skewers, so she now has 80 sock needles to break, and I kept the *7* needles Brittany sent me as replacements. Let's see ... I started off with 10, lost one all by myself with no help, then four got broken, and I was given 7 to replace them. That makes for 12 sockie needlies, which means I could have a travelling sock pattern and a tricky sock pattern!

This week is not looking fortuitous for knitting. I shall, however, forge ahead, and report back in next week. Goals? Be finished with the current pair of books I am editing, write one letter, keep up with Bible Study,and finish 2 balls of purple yarn and 3 angora headbands.

(Today's title is in honor of my son, who is looking forward towards being old enough to have his own blog, in which he will wax eloquent about the state of sports in this nation.)