A Counterpane Post

The Counterpane Square tally stands at 8 completed, and #9 was more than half-done when the yarn for a test knit arrived. I'll be finishing that off tonight, and can then resume working with cotton carpet warp.

After I finished #8, I made a pretty little stack of the four squares you see above and noticed that #7 had a definite blush to one corner of it.  I think what happened is that I'd not totally scrubbed the red dye off my hands from a previous knit, and the yarn got colored as it passed through my fingers.  I've soaked and washed the square a few times, and the pink is next to invisible now.  Hooray!  It's also much whiter than the other squares.  I should have expected that -- the yarn was made who knows how many years ago, and is on its third owner.

One of my blog readers asked me what my most-used needles and yarns were.  Hands-down, size 2.75mm needles are my most-used, when left to my own devices.  They're my go-to sock needle, to the point that when I was doing a year of socks, I wore out a few sets of birch needles before putting some Signature dpns on my Christmas list.  2.75mm needles + fingering yarn = happy me.  I could easily use nothing but that size for the rest of my life and not run out of things to knit.  They're perfect for socks, and if I jump up to 14" dpns and Frangipani Gansey yarn, perfect for ganseys.  Although the Frangipani is a bit rough on the hands, it wears like iron and I wouldn't mind having a lifetime supply of it tucked away somewhere.  The Counterpane is being worked on 3.00mm needles -- just a wee bit bigger, for a nicer drape to the square.  They'll be my most-used needle until I finish the project!

I'm also a fan of Shetland Lace. Fleegle's Gossamer Web Etsy store is dangerous for those who like tiny yarns.  I've only worked with Phoenix (52/2) but have made a square shawl and a nice long stole from it, on size 0 needles if I remember aright.

For colorwork, I love Jamieson and Smith yarns, but have only worked with them once.  For Latvian mittens, something a bit finer is better.  Well, better if one is aiming at 15+ stitches to the inch.  The finer the gauge, the more time I can spend knitting and the less time planning the project!  (In retrospect, that sentence isn't exactly clear.  As the stitches get smaller, the amount of time required to knit a given project increases, while the planning time stays about the same or increases just a bit.) 

After the storm

We had a wee bit of a blizzard come through on Monday.  I've got a one-minute video of the snow falling, but it's too big to upload and I have no idea how to make it smaller.  Trimming it with Movie Maker results in a file type Blogger can't use, alas.  I do have some still shots of 'looking at a window', however.  It was much prettier in real life, trust me.  

We ended up with around a foot of heavy snow -- sufficient snow that most schools were closed on Tuesday as well, to allow time for the roads and parking lots to be cleared. Filia was able to reschedule some things at work so she could stay home; other employees got in early before the accumulations hit and just planned to spend the night.  Vir left earlier than usual on Monday to get where he needed to be before too much of the blizzard had happened, and landed at Ground Zero for accumulation in Minnesota -- 17".  In a white Chevy Spark, which almost looks like a snowdrift to begin with.  He made it home safely, with stories to tell.  

But the fun story this week has to do with a message I received on Friday.

Oddly enough, my harp was just a few feet away from me when I got this message.  But -- I was looking for a harp with a few more bass strings.  So I immediately became all ears (eyes) and we spent the next half-hour or so in discussion.  The next day, Filia and I went on a road trip to check out my harp.

And before we left the shop, I had a new harp.  Or rather, the shop had my new harp.  The harp was so new, it had only been wearing strings for a day.  And new harp strings need tuning (and tuning, and tuning....)  The harp is going to stay at the shop a while, getting tuned, getting sharping levers added, and a few other final touches, and then I'll bring it home, sometime when we're not having a blizzard.  

Filius learned to drive a manual transmission earlier this month (which is very good, since the car he bought was a manual transmission) and driving out and back would be good practice.  But -- will my new harp fit in his car?  (Imagine how silly it would be to drive for 2+ hours to get a harp, and not be able to get the harp.)  I brought my new harp's case home, the better to see how it will fit, or not, in the back seat.  It also makes for a nice size comparison.  29-string Logan Meadows, bag for 34-string Marion.  And me.  (My apologies for the lack of readable book titles in the bookcase photo.)

 I've finished up the test knit I was working on last week, and am working on the counterpane while awaiting yarn for the next knit.  Seven squares down, 73 to go!

It's been a little bit on the cool side

My knitting chair is right next to a window.  In the afternoons, and in the summer, it's delightful to have natural light for knitting by. My Ott light, a gift from my mom when I was about to knit a black sweater, is on the other side of my knitting chair.  It's seemed a bit cool lately, and I thought I'd stick a thermometer on the windowsill ('in') with the external sensor next to my feet ('out') to see if this coolness was all in my head.

 

Perhaps it's not in my head after all!  Cold temps outside (and in) aren't all bad, though.  You know how, after making a batch of stock, you're supposed to let it cool before putting it in the refrigerator?  At this time of year, I can just set it in the back room to cool.  And then notice it's frozen, and leave it there for a week or two until I'm ready to use it for soup.  

 

I have to remember to reinterpret cookbooks at this time of year. "Have ingredients at room temperature" is best understood as "place ingredients on pellet stove for at least an hour."  I made a batch of cookies on Saturday, and the butter re-solidified after I creamed it with the sugar because the flour and molasses weren't pre-heated.  I warmed the whole mixing bowl on the pre-heating oven for around 5 minutes to resolve the problem.  

I got a gift!  I was quite impressed with the gift bag it came in.  It's not quite the right shape for a knitting bag, but I am sure that it will see some use.

This past week's knitting has been of the incognito type. I'm halfway done, though, and will post pictures when I can. 

2017 Temperature Afghan

It's said the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. And for me and my mom, this proverb has more than a seed of truth.  For the past two years, Mom has made a temperature afghan from her stash. 

Temperature 2016

The first year, she diligently worked one row for each day, plus a white stripe to divide up the months.  And - because we're detail-oriented people - she also added in some indicators of the precipitation.  The afghan was almost 8 foot long. 

So, for 2017, she changed the rules.  If the temperature stayed in the same color range for 2+ days, she still only added one stripe.  65 degrees for 10 days in a row?  Then one stripe of whatever 65 degrees is.  The afghan came out a lot shorter!

Temperature 2017

She's skipping the Temperature Afghan this year, and plotting out her yarn for a Temperature Scarf for next year.  I'm almost tempted to join her, but I've got this Counterpane thing going on, and since I decided to commit to Counterpane 2022, I've had 4 test knits crop up. 

I love test knits. They're like permission to MAKE time for knitting, as opposed to knitting when I've got everything else done. I get to play with new yarns, new patterns, and new-to-me designers.  And since I have a knack for picking intricate patterns with teensy yarn that can take forever, test knits remind me that there's a world out there with simple patterns and worsted weight yarn. 

I've learned I have another blog reader out there (Hi, M!) so I'm going to make an effort to get back on a weekly posting schedule.  We'll see how it goes! 

Now, please excuse me while I pop off the computer and work on test knit #4 ... on size 0 needles and 46 sts/4".