and as some observant people have noticed, I did not blog on the fourth day. That was because a certain vest was proving recalcitrant and I spent 2 hours trying to realize my plan for a neck bind off. A good chunk of that was spent unpicking my first few tries. By the end of the evening, I was not speaking to the vest (but I was muttering about it a good deal) and so I decided not to reward the cantankerous thing with a picture in my blog. One of the good things about yesterday - and there were quite a few, actually, just nothing pertaining to finishing the vest's neck edging - was that I started my next project, a pair of mittens.
Yesterday I finished the patterned knitting of the vest, sewed the steeks, sliced the steeks open with blantant disregard for the integrity of my yarn, learned that to havea perfect 'meet' at the seam, I'll need to work half a pattern row before doing a 3-needle bind-off, and worked on the neck until I got sick of it.
Today, I conquered the neck, began and finished the nicely cooperative armholes. I'm going to save the Weaving of the Ends (not too many) for tomorrow. And who knows how far I'll get on the mittens! (First, *I* have to figure out which Fair Isle pattern I'm going to use on the cuff. So many choices, so few mittens...)
Despite the fact that all I've been talking about lately is knitting, I do have some children. They are very good about me being occupied during school vacation, and rarely remind me that they're bored and have nothing to do. It's counterproductive to be bored when one's room could use a good cleaning. And if there's fresh snow outside, well, then ... make snow forts while the weather is cold!
I have an important knitting lesson for those of you who knit. I'm sure you've heard it said many times (or at least read it) that you should always check your dyelots, and buy enough of a single dyelot to finish your project. But have you ever noticed a difference in dyelots? Excluding hand dyed yarns, of course? I never have. I've run into problems when I try to order more yarn 10 years after getting the first bit of yarn in a freebie bag from someone emptying their closet, and finding the company is closing out that style and only has two colors left, but actual dyelots problems? No. Not me. Not until ....
Look carefully. You will see that these two balls of Palette yarn are black. One is dyelot 3753, and the other is dyelot 4320. Can you see the difference between the dyelots? I thought so. I will be *very* careful, especially when using the ball on the left, to get the same dyelot if I need more of that shade of black.
Other knitting musings. The neck on my newly finished vest looks awfully small. I was all prepared to be smug about following EZ's directions to a T (so far as her directions are that precise), and not trying to follow the 45 degree angle of the pattern lines, which would give a short choppy neck ... but what did I end up with? A short, choppy neck. It fits very nicely over my husband's head, so I'm not concerned with it not fitting. But ... it just looks tiny. The next time I make a vest in this gauge, I think I'll start the neck shaping about 10 rows before finishing the sleeve shaping (sorry, Elizabeth). There's also the matter of picking up stitches along the edge. Typically, you pick up 4 stitches for every 3 rows, because standard gauge is like that ... 6 stitches = 8 rows = 1". My gauge was more like 6.3 sts = 6.3 rows = 1". So I picked up one for one, and my, is that ribbing around the neck a bit stretched. Not terribly so, but I'm going to let the vest stew for a few days and maybe (after the mittens are done) I'll take out the neck ribbing, pick up more stitches, and re-knit the thing. Without trying to do a sewn cast-off.
And thus closes the Year of the Vest. I realized, as I was sewing the last bit of ribbing down, that I've made four vests this year. One in April for my Master Knitting project, then two in the fall for a friend, and now this one. I've also made a goodly number of socks this year - maybe over 20 pairs? (including two argyles which don't match .. one for Master Knitting, and one for my husband. The match to that one will come some time after I get him to try on the first and find out what adjustments are necessary to make it fit.)
Don't expect any more Days of Christmas posts. I've gotten you up to date on all my Christmas yarn goodies, the Vest Blitz is done, and mittens await. Since this entry is already rather long, I'll save my Knitting Small Diameter Openings Mutterings for another post, next year.
Isn't that a lovely box of yarn? It's KnitPicks Palette, a fingering weight yarn perfect for knitting Norwegian or Fair Isle sweaters. My mom picks such good presents for me.
Today I got another box in the mail, also from KnitPicks. One of these days I should confuse the post office and get yarn from somewhere else. The new box has yarn for mittens, plus some lovely sock yarns and a calendar with pictures of ... what else ... yarn. I am a happy camper. 
As you can see, the vest is moving along nicely. The green thread mid-picture is the bottom of the neck. I've about 6 more rows to go to finish the 'v' and then I just get to knit until 27 inches. It doesn't seem like I've knit much today, but I suppose I must have since I'm almost done with a skein of gray. I just might finish up the patterning part tomorrow. But not if I don't get to knitting, and stop blogging. Stay tuned!
I didn't get anything new today ... no turtledoves especially, which would have driven our dog batty. But if you'll remember the smaller box from yesterday? Here are the contents. Aren't they lovely? One skein of every sort of Merino Style that KnitPicks makes. I love how soft it is. It's a pleasure to work with.
How much of a pleasure, you ask? Perhaps this vest picture will give you an idea how much time I've been spending letting the merino run through my fingers. The little snippet of yarn you see is what will become an armhole. I've got about 18 more rows to go, and then I get to start the V-neck. It is tricky juggling the pattern and the decreases, but I've not gotten out a pencil to draw them in on my chart yet. Partly because I didn't have a pencil handy, and partly because I've almost stuck the chart away, and I don't really want to bring it back out.
Here is a picture of the Selbu Mitten from Folk Mittens in progress. It's finished now, and is nice and toasty warm. I didn't have enough tan to make a second one but have a fraternal twin in blue and white. One day I may make a match for either of them, but perhaps not. The wind doesn't care that my mittens don't match ... it just stays out!
Goals for this week: Keep knitting that vest! I may get it finished this year, but don't need to. And since I do have some mitten yarn coming, I may divert my energies from the vest for a while. But then again, it will be easier to work on the mittens full-steam if the vest is finished. So maybe I won't. Perhaps KP will make it easy for me and the yarn won't get here until the vest is finished.
my mother gave to me, LOTS of yarn and knitting goodies. Boxes that you just *know* came from KnitPicks are just so much fun. And my life is being full of fun.
First, the boxes. Here are the ones that were wrapped and in the crib. A new tradition, you ask? Like having a baby in a manger? No. It's a practical solution to what to do with presents when they are in the same house as a dog who likes rearranging all carryable objects. What was in the boxes? Stay tuned!
Then, t
he yarn my friend brought over for a vest. I used a K1 P1 alternating invisible cast on (depending on which book you read) and my first attempt was miserable. I didn't use needles 2 sizes smaller for the ribbing, and I didn't trust Elizabeth Zimmerman when she said to use 90% of the Key Number (which is 288.) I ended up with a floppy rib, distorted at the lower edge, that was looking to be 42" around. Ick. Frog. Change needles, trust Elizabeth, and start over. It's moving along quite nicely now, and I think it may be finished in 2 weeks or so. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the steeks ... to steek, or to work back and forth. Fortunately, my mom solved that problem by getting me Knitting Workshop by Elizabeth Zimmerman, and there just happens to be a V-neck Fair Isle vest with sketchy enough directions to give me the clues I needed.
Now, my before-Christmas knitting. I did, I 
did, I did manage to finish up my swatches and written work (unless you count footnotes ... those are yet to be sprinkled throughout my paperwork as the spirit moves me.) My swatches are all tagged-n-bagged, sorted neatly by swatch number, and awaiting their Final Placement into the Fat Notebook. Working with a Skinny Notebook is much easier (besides, the swatches can't fall out if they're not in there), so I'm going to keep the swatches in their own baggie until I'm ready to send everything in for evaluation.
Lastly and leastly, at least for today, is a picture of a Barbie shawl. Knitters will, in desperation, invent strange things when they're away from a new ball of yarn, have just finished making a pair of socks, and are at a Christmas Program rehearsal in which they play only a minor part. I invented something akin to 'cast on 12, work in k1p1 rib for a few rows, then switch to stockinette stitch and at opposite sides of the shawl work a yo k1 yo every other row, and bind off when it looks like the yarn is about to run out. The embroidery scissors are in the picture for comparison.
It truly is a Merry Christmas here. I've made a double batch of Chai and have 6 jelly jars ready to go out as gifts, accompanied by fresh homemade biscotti. The stollen is rising in the window, ready to be shaped into loaves. I've gotten all my directions for swatches written, charted, graphed, and annotated. All my book and magazine reviews are written. All the questions are answered. One teensy, tiny, one page report remains to be written after lunch. One charming little lace swatch awaits reknitting. And then .... I shall take a breather and cogitate on design elements of sweaters and hats, while doing some other knitting.
Yes, other knitting! I'd have pictures, but my printer still isn't agreeing with my photo chip. I finished the brown/tan Selbu mitten, and am waiting for some mitten yarn to arrive from KnitPicks, courtesy of a friend. Yesterday, more yarn arrived from a friend (beware friends bringing yarn?) and that is going to be knit into a vest ... today should see a gauge swatch at least started on that project. I also have yarn to finish off a scarf cowl in Grandma, and bought some MORE yarn on Tuesday (as well as complete sets of sz 2 and 3 Brittany Birch needles ... yumm) to make the socks from Winter 2005 Interweave Knits.
It's a delightful thing to sit at a desk surrounded by knitting books, a sleeping dog, rising bread, and a pile or two of completely tagged swatches. And don't forget the Ghiradelli chocolate sitting just out of arm's reach! (I won't mention the fudge that set in 2 seconds flat yesterday, as I was tilting the cooking pot to pour it out.)
May you know the joy of the wise men when they saw the star, and join them in worshipping the One whom it signified!
The paper-generation portion of my MK work is moving along nicely. I really, truly, intend to get it all done this week. This week I've done two magazine reviews and two book reviews. One fiber report and one blocking report remain to be written. After that, I'll be down to writing directions for a swatch, coming up with a chart for another swatch, and a few odd questions. This is starting to look doable!
The socks are done, and I'd have pictures of them as well as the Barbie-sized poncho that I made out of the leftovers, but my printer has decided that I am inserting my picture chip backwards. I know I'm not ... but may have scratched the chip somehow trying to get it in. I hope not! The camera still likes it. I was beginning to wonder what I'd work on for my travelling knitting project, but what did I find in my e-mail box but a project waiting for me to happen! God provides. This project will be triply fun because it a) is to help a friend, b) will help me better guide another friend through the same project, and c) comes at a time of 'what shall I knit?'
The sewing is also done, or at least as done as it can get without an inch or two of velcro.
It's been a happy day...
Yes, nine days left and I have almost all my gifts made. I need to spend an hour or two with my sewing machine and cutting table, and then all the gifts I had planned on making as of December 1st will be done. And if I spend this weekend with my knitting needles, then the gift I hadn't planned on making will be done as well.
The sock is Knitpicks Gumballs with a fuzzy yarn from Hobby Lobby. The fuzzy yarn sure is fuzzy, isn't it? I decided to work some ribbing in the sock yarn, and then do a fold-over cuff. They're being quite fun to make. (Photo by ds)
Progress is being made on the MK swatches, but unfortunately I forgot I'd used my circular needles to make a project in between swatches, and I worked 3 swatches on size 10.5 instead of 8. I'm going to re-do one of them (the Mosaic swatch) but hope another one will be okay as is. The doily pictured here is another swatch. I ended up making two of them. 
The first one was so lovely ... right up until 5 stitches from the end on the last round. Then I discovered a mistake. Since the pattern was so delightful to knit, I decided to finish the first one off and knit a second one. The picture here is actually of my first attempt ... there are two errors in it, but sharp are the eyes that will find them. Mosaic knitting, at least on the wrong size needles, looks a whole lot better in pictures than it does live. I hope it will improve with different needles, but I have my doubts.
I borrowed Principles of Knitting from the library this week, and have alternately been amused by or or enjoyed it. The author does have some strong opinions, mostly that the way I knit is not the way one ought to. She also doesn't care for a tubular cast-on. That is one thing I have definitely learned from the MK program and will carry over into other knitting ... tubular cast ons! 
I made a pair of mittens (pictured) while waiting for my KP order, and used that cast-on. Then I read about how awful it was, and decided to knit another pair of mittens using the cast-on the book preferred. I'll give each pair of mittens a few months of Minnesota winter, and check to see which one survived better. Two out of two people that I've taught both to found the tubular cast-on easier to learn.
I hope to get most, if not all, of my MK paperwork done before Christmas - barring the hat and sweater design stuff. I have two swatches left to knit, one or two to re-knit, and a caboodle of paper to generate.
I am pleased to announce that I have solved the Norwegian Thumb Gore Mystery, with help from KnitU and the Internet. The pattern has a TYPO which is not mentioned in the errata for the book. Once I searched on 'Selbu' instead of the gore, I found it, and my confusion vanished like the snow outside my window will next May. (Slowly, and with some reluctance)
I'm not thinking about school any more. Standardized testing is finished, the booklets have been sent back to Hewitt, and dh is drywalling in the school room. It's a bad time to be thinking about cleaning.
Merry Christmas, all!
And winter is a grand time of year to sit back, sip cocoa, and knit.
The first semester of school is drawing to a close. We've made good progress. I can't say that we've enjoyed Tapestry of Grace, since it fell by the wayside in our second week. Nor can I say that my students delight in studying all their spare moments, for they don't. One scholar would rather build unique buildings, and the other would rather doodle, knit, read, or all three simultaneously. Still, we worked through the first half of the Homer workbook, are on track to finish our Singapore text (and series) before spring, and are moving along in Latin.
I love new beginnings. Already I'm thinking about tossing out all the work from the first semester and having clean and tidy notebooks for January. I'll have to do that with my own books ... 'sides, it wouldn't last but a week with my children's. Before we get to those new beginnings, we need to do our mandated yearly testing. That will be next week sandwiched in among baking, crafting, and yes, building unique buildings.
I haven't knit any new swatches for my Master's program since last week, but I have gotten a good bit of writing done. I even had a friend test my pattern for Bavarian Twisted Stitch. She persevered through the twisted purls, and announced that my pattern is fine. I don't know that she'll ever work the stitch back-and-forth again, though. I did finish up two pieces of footwear, decide to save one for after Christmas (since I have my doubts the first will fit ... I'll just have one to re-do that way), and the yarn for the other two socks is on order. I forgot I've got two children to make pajamas for ... but I've got fabric for one of them, and it got pre-washed yesterday!
My Quest of the Month is to figure out How to do a Norwegian Gore. It's explained in Folk Socks, but it has never made sense to me. There are just Plumb Too Many Stitches in the finger portion of the mitt after working the thumb opening. Even the charts agree. If you've got a chart for mittens that's 60 stitches wide, and you add in 10 stitches for a thumb gore, and keep them, you've got 10 stitches more on the needles than you have on the chart. Pffft. I suppose it could be a typo ... but there's a similarly wrought gore in the Fall '93 Knitter's magazine, and two identical typos stretches my credulity.
I love Christmas baking. Today we made Swedish Rusks (aka Italian Biscotti), and one of these days will be just right for a batch of Stollen. And then sugar cookies, and then spritz, and then ... oh, too many good things.
Diogenes is edited. The poncho is ready to be mailed. The garden is under a few inches of snow. Laundry is done. It's a Saturday. It must be time for knitting swatches!
I've done a 'how in the world does this work?' swatch of Entrelac. It's an interesting technique. I may make a pair of socks in it someday, but unless I figure out a friendlier way to pick up stitches from left to right along a selvedge, I probably won't do much with it. I did, however, manage to do this entire swatch without purling anywhere except for the ribbing. Knitting back backwards, anyone? I'm not looking forward to writing down the step-by-step directions for how to do this, however.
One of my swatches has acquired the name of "UgliStitch." It's actually an elongated stitch, but I am not fond of doing those. I'd much rather do fine lace or Fair Isle than elongated stitch stuff. Abigail *would* love how the UgliSwatch looked, so I will no doubt be talking her through the process one of these days.
I'm going to upload some other photos of swatches into my Yahoo Pictures page. And then ... off to knit! Christmas is a comin', and I've got 5 1/2 pieces of footwear to finish before then. Let's see ... two will take a day each, two more will take about 3 days, so I've got 17 days to make 1 1/2 items ... it'll work.
Life after Poncho is proceeding apace. I've gotten the requisite standardized test ordered for my children, Christmas presents are purchased or - in two cases - in progress, editing Diogenes is moving forwards, and I am working on MK level III. I've also upgraded my computer with more memory, and gotten a new CPU fan. The previous one was growling at me so much our dog was beginning to take offense at it.
Here, by popular demand, are some pictures of the finished poncho. I've decided that myMK cable design project will be a hat to match the poncho. The yarn is smooth and light colored, and I've got some cable motifs to work with ... so why not? That leave a Scandinavian or Fair Isle pullover or cardigan for my other project. Oh, the possibilities!
I'm working on a second scarf cowl, this time in a sock yarn. I think it will turn out quite well, but if not ... it'll go back into a ball of yarn to become some fingerless gloves/wrist warmers.
And because I've now entered the phase of Life After Poncho, I've gotten some work done on my secret argyles. Nothing tricky about the pattern, it's just that the work is clandestine. 
If you're reading this blog, they're not for you. Unfortunately, about 2-3 inches of the work was backwards. A misplaced diamond will do ugly things to a sock. I decided to set a good example for Denise, and frogged rather than compensate. (I've gotta admit, though, I *did* make some errors yesterday, and they're going to get disguised with two duplicate stitches added in to the finished product.)
The Cashmere (Wool) Crossings Poncho is finished. It took 26 skeins, over 120,000 stitches, oodles of cables, and a bit over 5 weeks, but it is complete. Well, except for blocking, which is almost optional. After it's blocked, I''ll get some pictures up.
I ended up ordering the whole set of Shadow merino laceweight yarns, and a skein of Grandma for a present. Grandma, the person, has a very interesting colorway around her eye at the moment, due to a collision with a doorway. The pinks and purples of the yarn beat the green, navy, and wine of the person. I'm sure someone, somewhere, has created a 'Black Eye' colorway though.
I've got two projects on the needle right now - sock and sock. I also have a project off the needles, called Tubular Swatch - Swatch #1 of my next Master Knitter course. I've made one swatch, and it came out well enough that I know a tubular cast on doesn't produce a tube for a sock. the edge stitches need a bit of work, though, so I'm off to Sample Swatch #2! I am going to learn *so* much from this.
Snow is forecast for tomorrow. Snow is one of my favorite types of weather. It's right up there with the rumbling thunder of scattered storms drifting across the prairie, and the rustle of a nice brisk wind - preferably cool. The best kind of weather is the kind that is enhanced by a cup of hot cocoa, chai, or tea.
I just started the 15th and 16th skeins of the poncho, and am a little over halfway done. Twenty rows to go, and the neckline will be DONE! I am hoping to finish it by Christmas. I've got 3 other Christmas presents yet to make, and then can dive whole-heartedly into Level III of the Master Handknitter program. I've finished off the scarf for my Aunt, and am making progress on a pair of socks. (Two pairs of socks, really, but ssssshhhh ... not everyone knows about both of them.) I also made 2 Dairy Queen hats, but am not quite happy with them. Found a typo in The Opinionated Knitter too. 
Halfway through the poncho was about 13 skeins, which means that I need 26 for the whole thing, and rats - I only have 20. I'll have to place another order with KnitPicks. While I knit tonight, I'll be musing about what I can order to bring my 11 dollar order up to a 30 dollar order so I don't have to pay for shipping. Hmmm ... the whole set of Shadow, perhaps, and a book? Or maybe some needles? The delights of contemplation are boundless.
In the poncho picture, you can see two main cable panels, three if you peer into the upper right corner. It's 6 'main panels' wide, from the bottom front, over the arms, and down to the bottom back, and 8 repititions long. A lotta knitting, but a lotta fun. And it's a handy blanket already ... my legs didn't freeze on the way to church, because they were snuggled under 1 1/2 lbs of wool!
Miniscule goals for next week: Finish the neck area of the poncho, and get an order in to KnitPicks. And finish the colorwork on one set of socks.
I did so-so on my goals. I'm 9 skeins into the poncho. Some days see the demise of an entire skein, others don't. The scarf cowl is about 24" complete, out of 42. Socks are going almost nowhere, but they've at leastbeen started. The schoolroom is slightly more organized than before, and I haven't written a single letter. But I have gotten our finances brought up to date, and helped see yet another book through the final publishing phase.
My creative blogging juices seem to be non-existent! No goals for this coming week ... I'll just see what I can get done.
There is such delight in finishing a project, especially when the finished item is going to a good home. Such was the case last night at 10 PM, when I cast off lots of little tiny stitches in a stretchy cast off. I was so delighted with the entire knitting universe that I decided to cast on 307 stitches for my next project right then and there. The shawl is now staked out over bath towels in Abigail's room (the book is just beyond the halfway point), and the poncho is about 5% finished. The photo is a smidgen dark, but you can see the gal wearing 3700 yards
of cashmere ($700 worth, retail) and the beginnings of my woolen version, in a very pale lavendar. I think it is going to be lovely, and snuggly to work on as the weather turns colder. If - big if - I can do a skein a day, I will have it finished before Thanksgiving.
My socks in Jig are finished, and I've got a decent start on my 
next 'carry along' project, a scarf cowl in Sweat Pea laceweight from KnitPicks. It's not as handy as a sock for knitting in the dark upon, but it's not too far off. I've got 41 inches to go of straight knitting, then decreases, a seam, and it too will be finished. Sigh. Too much fun. There are just so many neat things out there to knit.
Not much other news is happening. Dan is enjoying his new part-time job, I'm enjoying Pachebel's Canon in D, the children are enjoying having the end of Greek in sight, and the rest of our studies are proceeding apace. In my goals for next week .... have 5 fewer skeins to knit up into poncho, an orderly schoolroom, and one letter ready to mail.
A friend of mine is having worm problems at her house. My problem is not worms, but parsing nuns. It's amazing how one's eyes play tricks with text files after a few hours of edits. Not everyone gets to parse nuns, you know.
And that reminds me of the Japanese Beetle lesson I learned this morning. Succinctly put, it goes like this: When making pancakes in the fall, do not assume that little brown specks on the griddle are overcooked pancake batter. There was no brown speck when I flipped the pancake over, so I did a dissection after it had finished cooking. Gentle palpation disclosed the area to be investigated, and there, in a fine state of stink, was a cooked Japanese beetle. I don't recommend them as a pancake topping, or interior. I'm keeping a closer eye on my chai these days as well. I do NOT like stinky lumps in my chai.
The Homer IG went to press today. Once we get it back from the printer, it will undergo a final scan and then be available. Hooray! This means that I now have time to make some minor fixes to the Homer workbook, and then start in on digesting Diogenes. I *really* want a new computer. One that opens files in less than 2 minutes, and can switch back and forth between e-mail and editor faster than I can knit a round on my socks.
Knitting goes well. I had lots of time to knit on our vacation to Des Moines, where I met some ClassEd and TAH friends, and visited with my sister and her family. I worked on the shawl for the most part, but when it got too dark to see the lace on the drive home, I switched over to a sock and continued knitting. That sock is finished now, and I've got TWO more projects on the needle. One is clandestine, at the moment, and the other is a scarf cowl I'm making up for mom. Although it's not a sock, it will replace a sock as my travelling project. How complicated can 'k 44. Repeat until scarf is 42" long' get? True, there's some shaping on the ends ... but I'm beyond that part, thanks to my poky editor. The shawl is 5 pattern repititions from completion. My goal is to finish it by Sunday. I'm timing myself to find out how long it takes to knit a repitition, and my estimate is 85 minutes -- which means that a completed scarf takes about 45 hours of solid, non-stop knitting.
Next week, I should have some shawl pictures!
Ivanhoe is a fantastic book. I'm going to keep an eye out for my own copy, and would really like to know why I haven't read it before now. Are there any other books out there I should have been enjoying the past 20+ years?
There's nothing so delightful in the early autumn as the panorama of some recently knitted socks. From left to right, there's Parade Blues, Dancing Two-Step, Jig, and Parade Plum. All are pairs, except for Jig, and Sock 2 should be popping onto my needles in the next few days. 
Of course, rows of skeins waiting to be knitted into a poncho are another welcome sight. I am exercising great restraint, though, and haven't started it yet. Instead, I'm continuing to work on the shawl, and have 14 rows to go until I'm halfway done! I doubt I'll finish it by Oct 15th, since I was out of yarn for it for a while. I'll keep going, though, and see when it gets finished.
While I was waiting for more yarn, I diddled a bit with Swatch #2 for level III. I've never before had a problem with rowing out, but this swatch and I just didn't get along. The pattern is easy enough, but the rowing out was aggravating. I'll try some different needles the next time I tackle swatching. Since I've got shawl yarn, though, there's no reason to swatch for a while. I've also got poncho yarn, sock yarn, scarf yarn ... all sorts of yarn!
As fall is approaching, however, the time comes to check out what clothes my children have for the upcoming season. Tomorrow has been dedicated to a) finding my son's room, b) removing enough material from it so that he can easily clean it, and c) checking out what clothes fit whom. The next day will be a day of filling in wardrobe gaps.
School is progressing along smoothly. We've got just two more weeks of Greek to go, and then Latin will be our only foreign language of study. As life gets more settled, I am more confident we can accomplish what I've planned (math, Latin, Greek, CW-Homer, Bible) and can see room to add a few other things. The #1 thing to add at the moment is NEAT HANDWRITING. I'm not sure if I want to buckle down and figure out explicit instruction beyond "Write neatly. Like this," or get a book that sets it out for them. TOG has fallen completely by the wayside. Oh well.
Our current read-aloud is Watership Down. I've never read the book before, but it got favorable reviews from some on-line friends, so I decided to give it a try. Patrick was suspicious it was the new Redwall book -- so the book has definitely found favor with him. My other reading is Ivanhoe. And, of course, knitting catalogs. In all the spare moments of my time that I can muster, I'm working on an answer key for the Homer workbook. The hardest part is figuring out what to answer. One can't really provide an answer for an essay, can one?
Goals for this week: Complete 7 repititions of the lace pattern, read 7 chapters of Ivanhoe (as long as they're of decent length), finish up the answer key, and keep up with Bible Study. Two more weeks to go in Exodus, and then we're on to Leviticus!!
It's a good day when I can get some major knitting done. Sunday was such a day. I finished a sock, and 42 rows of stole flew through my fingers, and the end is in sight. Not because it's close, but because I've got enough of an idea how the stole will block, so I know how much I have left to do. Rats, it's time to order another two skeins of yarn so I can finish the project. I'm using a pink preemie hat as my ball holder - did you know that 440 yards of laceweight will fit in a preemie hat? 
and I blocked a bit of the shawl Saturday night so Kerri could see what it's going to look like. I discovered that this is also a ring shawl, in that the entire width of the shawl will nicely fit into a woman's wedding ring, with space to spare. The shawl is going to be 5 pattern multiples by 30 repeats ... if only I were using whatever yarn the original was made in, I'd be almost done now! That one only took 3 multiples and 18 repeats to be 37x77". I'm aiming for 27x60.
I acquired 3 more projects to work on over the weekend. A Fair Isle vest for a friend, a scarf for an aunt, and socks for another friend. All fun to do, and relatively quick. Almost anything is quick compared to the poncho on my list, except perhaps level III.
And level III arrived! I am quite looking forward to beginning on it. I now know the technicalities of what I get to design, and saw the particulars for the swatches. They are going to be such fun! I'll be learning lots of new things, among them, double brioche stitch. Of course, when I saw that I had to get out my IK that had a section on brioche stitch, and think about what scarf I would make in it for practice, to learn the stitch.
This afternoon, between rows, I updated my photo album to include projects from July, August, and September. I forgot to get a good photo of the Golden Gopher vest, but there is one of it in progress.
School is going along well, my editing is behaving itself fairly well, and not much else is happening at the moment. The weekend will be busy, so that's a good thing. Watch for an update next week!
Today was Ladies' Craft Day, and what a fun day it was! I got a box of yarn from KnitPicks, which included a very early birthday present my mom told me to get for myself. All of a sudden, I am surrounded by delightful projects to knit ... might it be time to ration my internet usage so I get more knitting done? Perhaps!
I know I just made a list of things that I'm going to be knitting, but I need to think them through again, so here goes.
1) The Golden Gopher Vest - I've got the yarn, and plan to finish it tomorrow.
2) Kerri's Lace Shawl - 3 repeats of the pattern are done, perhaps out of 18. Goal: Oct 15?
3) Kris's Poncho - half the yarn arrived today. Will start when #2 is done.
4) Parade Socks in plum. 1 done, 1 to go.
5) Other Socks. Have yarn for 2 pair.
And for the 'have not yarns yet'
6) Scarf for Aunt Dolores
7) Dairy Queen hat for mom
8) Fair Isle vest (ooh, yummy!)
Oh, and there's that level III also. And my children wouldn't mind having mittens for this winter.
Writing this all down helps. It really does. If I work an hour or two a day on knitting, I can realistically finish off my 'big' projects by the end of November. Now, two hours a day may not be realistic on some days, but still ... the end of November is something to shoot for. Winter is coming (hooray!!!) and that always lends itself to more knitting.
Today I learned that Profiles in Courage, by John F. Kennedy, may not have been written by John F. Kennedy. And that Elizabeth Zimmerman knit while riding on motorcycles as a passenger. For some time she did it without her husband (sitting in front of her) knowing about it. Doesn't that sound fun?
Good things come to her who waits. Finally, and at last, my level II resubmissions returned to me today. The letter was dated August 28th ... and it began with the word Congratulations. I've ordered the instructions for level III, and have no idea when I will begin working on that level.
For unto me has come this day, in the city of mine own, a boatload of work. True, it hasn't all arrived this day. And indeed, some of it is not yet here. But my plate is about to run over, and my cup is stocked with cocoa and my larder with tea, so I'm all set to be productive.
What's on my plate?
- files to proof for the next book in the CW series
- print copies for a forthcoming workbook in the CW series
- Kerri's shawl (OTK, but may get frogged, depending on what Kerri thinks of loosely knit lace. I prefer a tighter knit myself, but I think this is nice too.)
- Kris's poncho (not OTK, but the yarn is coming! See next item.)
- Marcia's vest, which is not exactly OTK, but neither is it finished. I'm about 3-5 yards of having enough yarn to finish the final armhole facing. So I had to order another skein. And so, well, I had to order more stuff to get free shipping, see ...
- Socks. The TwoStep socks are finished, and I'm almost ready to turn the heel on a pair of Parade socks in plummy colors.
- Level III, which is at the bottom of my priority list. I can say that now, because I don't have the instructions yet. I really do want a clear plate when I tackle this. I think.
- The average household stuff ... teach children, keep the floors clean, walk the dog, feed the household occasionally, clean the clothes ... plus keeping up with friends and family.
So you can see, I have no excuse for not being productive. Doesn't that sound lovely?
'Scuse me while I go proof a manuscript.
Finally and at last, Patrick's birthday has arrived and the sweater which I have been covertly knitting can be revealed. The back has Carson Palmer's number, and our surname. The sweater fits, has growing room, and looks pretty spiffy, if I do say so myself. The only drawback is that it's not washable acrylic. I've told Patrick that if he throws it in the wash, it will become a felted back about the right size for our dog. 
And here's one of our photos from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. I kinda like it (the photo, that is. Of course I like the zoo.) The Sun Bear was looking for a spot to hang out, high up (see the hut roof under the bear's neck? That's ground level, give or take a few feet) and happened to be cruising right past us.
While we were in Omaha, Mom went to her 50th reunion, we did touristy things, went to a YARN STORE!!! and had a grand time. I got a book on knit wraps, and convinced my cousin to pick one that I could make for her. She has excellent taste, and picked a cashmere poncho requiring 3234 yards of worsted weight yarn. If I can find enough of the same color on sale, the cost would be just under $700. Budget-conscious soul that she is, she decided that a simple wool would do quite nicely.
Here's one of the Parade Blue socks that I knit last month. My current project has obtained the nickname of the Gopher Vest. Just think of the blue/white Snowflake vest in Golden Gopher colors, and you'll be right on. It's going well, but if I ever want to make this size again, I think I'll use sport weight or DK yarn. The vest isn't stiff, but its not far from it either. I think a lighter yarn would have a nicer drape to it.
My projects OTK are the Gopher Vest, and the first Two Step sock. Projects-in-Waiting are Kris's Poncho, Kerri's Shawl, and socks socks socks. All in all, a lovely situation to be in. Still haven't gotten back my level II resumbissions, but they should be arriving one of these days, and then I can either re-knit a swatch, or order level III and smile at it while polishing off some large projects. I have, however, almost decided to definitely make a Fair Isle sweater, and a cable hat. Unless I do it the other way. Or maybe I could do two sweaters and two caps, and then pick which combo I like best?
School is going well. We're going to have FOUR DAYS of school this week, hooray hooray. And maybe even four days next week? I've drawn up a rough schedule, and now comes the testing, trying, and making sure if fits our family. TOG is going a bit by the wayside, but I do hope to pull on it for some directed readings and discussions. Ds is designing a map, akin to the map project from week 1, but he's doing it with the cities of Workbook, Math, and Greek, with Homework Lake and Desk River.
I've been reading quite a few children's books lately (funny how that happens when you have children around), but have picked Profiles in Courage by JFK for my seriouser reading. The introduction is a small political education in and of itself, and I'm looking forwards to learning about the senators JFK selected.
Today, I conquered the neck, began and finished the nicely cooperative armholes. I'm going to save the Weaving of the Ends (not too many) for tomorrow. And who knows how far I'll get on the mittens! (First, *I* have to figure out which Fair Isle pattern I'm going to use on the cuff. So many choices, so few mittens...)
Despite the fact that all I've been talking about lately is knitting, I do have some children. They are very good about me being occupied during school vacation, and rarely remind me that they're bored and have nothing to do. It's counterproductive to be bored when one's room could use a good cleaning. And if there's fresh snow outside, well, then ... make snow forts while the weather is cold!
