Six weeks or more...

Where does the time go? I drafted this post some time ago, and when I got back to it, at least six weeks have gone by! I do have knitting progress to report, and other thoughts as well... I'll start with these items and catch up in the next (soon!) post.

At my Build Your Skills class with Rebecca at Village Yarn & Tea, and in other knitting conversations, we have had several discussions about movies to watch while knitting. We have discussed criteria such as:

• no crying on the knitting in progress
• doesn't require complete attention (knitting, after all, is the first priority)
• maybe not too intense (could change yarn tension)
• see the movie ahead of time to be sure it fits criteria
• and so on.

As far as movies themselves, I've been keeping a list as people have suggested them. Here's the first dozen:

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Persuasion
3. Sense and Sensibility
4. Emma
5. Mansfield Park
6. Northanger Abbey (my least favorite, but I liked PBS' latest production)
7. Jane Eyre
8. Miss Potter
9. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
10. The Jane Austen Book Club
11. Becoming Jane
12. Ever After

My DVD library has at least two productions of each Jane Austen, and I admit to having my favorites. These never get old for me. Sometimes you can even spot a detail, color, or style to inspire your knitting.

In October, I was thrilled to be able to help my sister-in-law, Gail, give my 15 year old niece, Emily, a knitting birthday party. Gail provided each girl with a pair of knitting needles and a skein of Cascade 220 - and had a beautiful array of colors for them to choose from. I provided a choice of a hat or a scarf pattern and knitted a sample of each for trying on at the party. Naomi and Melinda agreed to assist with knitting knowledge and inspiration and the five young guests arrived full of chat and fun that was a joy to see. Nearly all had some level of knitting experience, as well as interest, and they all gamely cast on (with some help and three different techniques) and began to knit. At least two hadn't yet learned to purl, so we showed them how. And most did not have much confidence in their skill, even when they were not making any errors. Once all were knitting, Emily asked her mom to put in the Ever After DVD, Gail served the popcorn, and the knitting experience echoed what we've been talking about at my class. Here I am with Emily - we're modeling the hat and scarf samples. When the parents began to arrive to pick up the girls, they each departed reluctantly with final instructions about how to finish. I hope they will find the community in knitting that I enjoy so much!

Since then, Emily has finished her green hat and two more. She reports that at least one friend has finished after Emily answered her question about casting off. Emily has now excitedly knit her gauge swatches and begun socks of lovely soft yarn gifted to her by Naomi. Emily came to my house on Veteran's Day since she had the day off and her parents were both working; she brought her knitting and the newest version of Persuasion. Emily wound balls of yarn (she loves the swift and ball winder - she would have wound my entire stash if I had let her), we blocked a lace wrap I had completed, and watched Persuasion. Neither of us were ready to stop by the time her Dad arrived to pick her up.

Indian Summer

There's no place like Seattle when the weather is beautiful, and this last week we had several unseasonably warm and dry days. We spent most of our weekend outdoors - between the yard and the local farmer's market. We're getting our last gasp harvests of red and golden raspberries, beans, tomatoes and zuccini (the basket shows some of the veggies), and just beginning to get our carrots and leeks. So we supplimented our supply at the market before coming home to finish the trimming and get to some of the weeding. The only problem with weekends is having to decide which projects to tackle and which will wait.

I've been working on my Weasley Wizard Wheezes socks (the Harry Potter collection yarn from Sunshine Yarns). The socks are just simple 4x2 ribbed socks on size 0 needles, and I'm already loving them. They look exactly Weasley to me, and they are so vibrant and bright - more exciting than what I usually choose. I'll probably wear them all the time and wear them out!

My niece, Emily is 15 years tomorrow. For her birthday, I knit the charming short sleeved cardigan (Design 26) from Noro's Designer Mini-Knits book. Ellen had knit it in August and I just loved it - then realized that I had some vintage stash yarn that would get the right gauge. I was afraid the design was too youthful for me, so Emily is the recipient. The pattern is great for uncertain knitters; the instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the result is as lovely as the photo in the book. The yarn is Paton's Townsend - the color reminds me of Greece, so I loved using the symbolic buttons - the blue-green combination is more beautiful than the photo indicates. Emily loved it and it looks adorable on her. Since I still have a couple of balls, I'll be able to use the yarn for a scarf or hat too. My offer of a Knitting Birthday Party for Emily and her friends was accepted, so on October 11, Naomi, Melinda and I will be coaching them through their choice of a scarf or a hat using yarn provided by Emily's mom, Gail. One of Emily's friends had a birthday party where the girls were provided with first knitting needles and learned to knit, so we are hoping to continue them on the path. I'll be knitting the samples this week so they can see the finished garment.

Into Fall

I took a week of vacation in August, and the cool, damp weather meant that although I had planned to paint the trim of our house, it did not get done. Instead, I gardened and spent time laying flagstones around our pond. Flagstones are HEAVY! And they're even heavier when using the thicker stones preferred when one is not cementing them in place. It's very hard work, even without having to puzzle them together, and I'm getting great satisfaction from each finished section. This photo from one area near the pond that shows Maverick checking my work - I still have the adjacent path to complete.

All summer I looked forward to our wonderful knitting retreat weekend at Naomi's Bangrila. George had a motocross race that weekend, so we took the dogs to PetsHotel in Woodinville and were all able to completely relax. Naomi is famous among her friends for being a wonderful hostess, and the weekend was no exception. The guests (Melinda, Joni, Ellen, Amy and Sarah), were also inspiring to be with, it was beautiful weather, the setting was idyllic, everyone pitched in on everything, and I relaxed to a whole new level. I can only add that I loved meeting Plucky Knitter Sarah - she is so positive and sweet! Being around her - well around any and all of these fiber women - was uplifting. I can't say enough about Naomi's generosity in sharing the time and place with us. I am so lucky to have been a part!
While there, I finished my first Monkey sock, complete with my first ever picot cuff! I completed the second one in short order since they were to be a birthday gift for my longtime friend, Pam. I gave them to her without getting a photo, but here's the yarn; Jitterbug in the Tapis color. I was panicked about running out of yarn, but had 3/8 of an ounce left over. Phew. Pam has knit many socks, including a pair for me, but she doesn't like to follow patterns, so she was impressed, and that's all it takes for gift knitting to be worthwhile.

September 2nd brought George's younger son, Jon, to Bremerton on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. Jon is an Engineman in the Navy, and his ship arrived to be decommissioned so he was in Bremerton for just over two weeks, although he was not on leave. We saw him three times, and he managed to see most of his friends. The Navy has been good for him, and he's doing well. His hard work is recognized and he has been promoted quickly so far. He is stationed in Japan and is now back in Tokyo before joining his new ship, the George Washington Carver.

If you remember my Cotton Jeans Lynton cardigan, I was prepared to settle for the large mother-of-pearl button shown in a previous post. Then I found a button at Pacific Fabrics... then two more from As Cute As a Button. They are each perfect in their own way - see what you think! The button loop is round elastic covered with splits of the Cotton Jeans yarn using the tailor tack technique from my sewing background. It works great and I love wearing the sweater.

Summer's End

A lot of living has happened since my last post. Including knitting, of course, yet I feel like summer activities (whether or not summer weather is actually occurring) sort of crowd out my year 'round passions. So today is the first day of fall and one of my goals is to update more frequently rather than long, infrequent posts.

In July my 23 year old niece, Meagan, visited from Georgia and spent a week in the Seattle area. She brought Mariah, the six year old girl she has been raising (long, complicated story) and we picked them up at the ferry at the end of their week to take them to their final tourist choices: the Space Needle and the Fremont Troll. Then we returned to our house and the rest of my family arrived to visit with her. We barbequed, devilled eggs, ate fresh corn on the cob, and got to know her a little bit again. After dinner, the girls gathered to watch Ever After on DVD, a little like a slumber party. The visit was all too short before she was gone again. Her family moved to Georgia when she was in her early teens, and we've been missing them all ever since.

On August 16 and 17th, we hired a painter to spray the exterior of our house and we followed behind him with brushes. It was one of the few hot weekends, so we actually couldn't paint after noon or so. And on that Saturday, Kathy from Paws & Claws brought a 3 year old boxer mix to meet Maverick and us. George and I had been talking about a companion dog for Maverick, and I saw this girl dog on Petfinders, e-mailed them, and George arranged the meet. The dog is a sort of pushy girl, with no known history prior to turning up stray in Puyallup in June. She came in the gate ready to dominate Maverick. If I had known what I now know (that the dominant behavior is so prevalent for her), I don't think we would have even decided to try her out. She is the pup on the right - this was her first day here. We have now had her for five weeks, through running away (which turns out to be running after cats and squirrels), through getting on our bed, sofa, and recliner, through eating butter off the dining room table, through shrill barking when we give Maverick attention, through chewing through multiple Tupperware containers to eat ALL of the chocolate chips and nuts, and of course, the $500 emergency vet visit for the chocolate toxicity.

We have been hopeful of training her out of the behaviors we don't like. She does well at Obedience I training at Positive Dog in Woodinville. She still wants to dominate Maverick, although we are working hard to be alphas who correct some of the behaviors. We just don't know if Maverick is miserable or if this is a good thing for him, and although Paws & Claws has offered a consult with an animal behaviorist from the beginning, we didn't accept until last week when George reached his limit. Our first appointment with the behaviorist from Bark Busters is on Saturday, so I'll update the situation as it changes!

Healthy again!

Whoever said "if you have your health, you have everything" was very wise. Having my occasional small injury helps me to remember that there are many among us living with serious health issues that impact much more than being able to knit. I'm so thankful to have lived this long with such good health that small things can throw me completely off my game for awhile. I am, however, back in action. I spent hours sewing up and sewing in ends on my Lynton sweater and was able to block it on Sunday - I wet blocked it and it was still damp yesterday when I wore it to class. Sewing in the ends presented more of a challenge than usual with the tight gauge of the sweater so I split the yarn and doubled the number of ends to be sewn in. Sigh. The perfect large blue button has not yet presented itself, so I'm planning to use the large, white, mother of pearl button until a better choice appears.

At the same time, I have completed my first Regia sock and have completed most of the ribbed cuff on the second; this is the smallest yarn I have knit with yet. I love the colors and self striping just keeps me motivated to see the next color. Over and over again, like it's new each time. Simple pleasures are something knitters know about. If you look carefully, you can see a ripe raspberry in the photo - we've had a bumper crop this year!

In this session of Rebecca's Build Your Skills class at Village Yarn & Tea we suddenly blossomed to a larger number and many of us decided to knit the February Lady sweater. Besides enjoying knitting another top-down so I don't have to sew on the sleeves, I'm loving knitting the same pattern with several people. It's fun to see how the different yarns make the same sweater, how different buttonhole techniques make for a different finish, different buttons, different number of buttons, or none at all, and how different people approach their projects. For example, we used all different cast-ons. I decided to do the German twisted or German long-tail cast on for extra give. I like the way it's looking and feeling so far. On the 5th row is the first buttonhole, and some people went with the online choice recommended in the pattern while others went with the buttonhole in Meg Swanson's Sweaters from Camp. I am behind since I've been concentrating on finishing my Lynton, so I used my swatch to try the technique recommended for garter stitch in Margaret Radcliffe's Knitting Answer Book. I like the results (I don't know how well the buttonhole shows up in the photo), and found that I want to insert the buttonhole while knitting RS (right side), which means I needed to deviate from the instructions in order for the buttonhole to be on my right (as opposed to left) side. All of this is elemental for most of my knitting friends, but requires planning for me! My yarn is Debbie Bliss' Rialto Aran, and I love the knitted texture and the loft as I knit. An added benefit is that I'm knitting with size 7 needles and getting gauge when I usually have to go down at least two needle sizes.

Elaine is at left with her striped top-down cardigan - not the February Lady, but her own very classy design and colors. Joanne is using navy blue Lamb's Pride for February Lady, although she decided to set it aside to complete her Peace Fleece cardigan which is shown to the right. She always adds her own touch to her knitted creations, so she has changed the sleeves from drop to set-in and added a green accent design. Gail and Danita are using Cascade 220 in a periwinkle marl and dark teal respectively; Gail is shown to the right, frogging back to improve her last buttonhole. Peggy, on the left, has completed the yoke and is using a light olive green (it might also be Cascade 220) and Rebecca is already into the lace, using a reclaimed yarn she dyed a lovely soft rose.

Besides class, Village Yarn & Tea held a farewell party for Ellen (here on the right with Naomi and Amy), who is leaving at the end of the month. I will miss her willing spirit, amazing knitting ability and speed, as well as her smiling assistance with yarn and all knitterly things. At the same time, I know she will never be sorry she is choosing to dedicate herself to her family and working on her home and garden. I know I'll be seeing her at Stitch'n'Pitch where she gets to be a "civilian" for the first time, and I hope to see her at Ferals and other knitting events! Congratulations, Ellen!

We're heading into our busy season at home. George scraped and pressure washed the entire exterior of the house in preparation for painting. He found a painter who will work with us at an hourly rate so we can have his expertise and equipment, but we can help. I like to do the detail work like trim, and I'm looking forward to taking vacation time to putter. George expects to finally return to work healthy next week if he gets the doctor's release at his next appointment. And we're expecting my niece from Georgia overnight on Saturday in addition to a family BBQ and on Sunday, a surprise 50th birthday party. That leaves today, Friday, for a dash to the big Bellevue Arts & Crafts show, since it's an annual tradition. However, after walking around the yard with the dog in the sunshine this morning, the tension of a busy schedule just kind of began to diffuse, and I wonder why I can't just wait until next year.

And besides, the Anacortes Arts Show is only a week away...

Two steps forward, one step back

July 4th was different for us this year - George was at home for the first time in many years (more about that later), and we were invited to a BBQ at Cindy and Alex's house; they are fun, good friends, and Maverick was welcome to come with us. Here's a photo of Maverick's Corgi friend, Darby, showing her patriotism by wearing the Statue of Liberty hat after dinner and before the fireworks. We also decided, for the first time, to sedate Maverick. Our poor hound gets so frantic during fireworks that he paces, whines, and can't settle down at all - if he weren't with us, he would certainly be a candidate to become a wild-eyed runaway dog. There's no telling what he was thinking after we gave him the meds, but he was able to just sleep through most of the pops and booms this year. So we all slept better than in years past.

The following day, Maverick was in the back yard when he got a visit from a dog which looked very much like him. She was the same coloring and slightly smaller, but very thin and due to the shape of her face, she was likely a boxer-pitbull mix. She jumped the fence and ran with Maverick for awhile - she appeared to be well cared for, so we're guessing she may have escaped during the fireworks. We fed her, watered her and called for Animal Control to see if she was micro-chipped, but they weren't going to be open again until Tuesday!!! We couldn't keep her, and she didn't stick around... we truly hope she has reunited with her owners.

All the pieces for my Lynton sweater are complete. The shoulders are seamed, the front pieces are bordered, and the collar has been picked up and knitted about 3cm into the ribbing. I panicked and bought more yarn, and now it doesn't appear that I will need the extra, although with the size of this collar and the fact that it is ribbed, I'll withold judgement until completion. I'm loving this sweater and can't wait to finish it. Cotton Jeans is beautiful yarn and I love the Blue Wash color I chose as well as the lovely texture it has with this gauge (sorry the photo contrast isn't great - I'll do better with the finished piece). I'm dreading all the sewing in of ends - it's never fun, and even worse with cotton yarn, but a small price to pay (I'm telling myself). I can barely stand to wait to wear it.

So why am I on the computer instead of knitting, you might ask? My left shoulder has a hot thread of pain running through it, and it increases immensely when I pick up my needles. I'm not sure whether I did something else, or whether I'm just stressed when I knit because I'm working hard to keep a tight gauge on the Lynton. I went to sleep in pain last night and have been popping ibuprofen all day. I have a massage scheduled for Saturday, and may need to move it up. So I'm giving it a rest and not knitting tonight. And I don't really need to say how hard that is, do I?

George always works the 4th of July at Gasworks Park. It's one of those days that every officer works, either on duty at regular pay, or overtime at holiday pay, and George looks forward to it each year. On July 2nd, the day after my previous post, George was injured while attempting to stop a suspect running from another police officer through a retail store. The suspect was running all out and George was off to one side and could not get a grip on the man; the force instead tumbled George into a clothing rack where his knee landed sideways on the foot of the rack. Thanks to a citizen, the man was stopped and George and the first officer were able to take the suspect into custody. George was taken to emergency where doctors told him some deep bruising had taken place, but they are hoping there are no tears to the ligaments. George also has some bruising at his ribcage and a large bluish toe from the incident. And he is back at home, trying to heal up to get back to work and back to his motocross racing. He's been told that he will be at home for at least a week, but he is not healing as quickly as he had hoped and will now miss the motocross race this weekend so will wait a month before he can race again. The good news is that the suspect did not attempt to use a weapon, so the injury is not life-threatening. And the other good news is that his recovery from surgery is complete, as no pain is coming from those areas.

So, we're making progress, a little bit at a time! And we are enjoying this warmer weather!

Must we mix dirt and yarn?

See this smile? This is what recovery from a "big deal" surgery looks like at my house! George raced motocross when he was a teenager, and he has never forgotten the fun he had. So he now has a number of vintage motorcycles to race in the dirt with other enthusiasts and while they have a wonderful time in all kinds of weather, George says he has the most fun when I come along.

So I did this past weekend, to Washougal, WA. The track there is great for the riders, and has a number of places where I can enjoy another of my hobbies and get some nice shots of jumps and landings.

This is one of George's favorite images of himself, landing on a tabletop jump. He did not race as many "motos" as he usually would since he is still building his endurance, but he says he made a pass that was worth the entire trip.

I expected to be able to watch most of the races from a chair or bleachers with Maverick next to me and knitting in my hands. Except for the excessive heat and dust, and on Saturday, the wind... The sun-block served as a semi-permanent base for the dirt, and I just tried not to think about all the places the dust was infiltrating. NOT my knitting though - I only got it out when I was safely cleaned up in the evenings.

We spent a nice weekend among many kind people who are more interested in fun and having a good race than winning. I always witness much sharing of parts and expertise (like knitting, don't you think?) just to get that old bike out on the track, and it's fun to see the nostalgia and respect for the origins of the sport (also like knitting). I improved my technique for action photos and am now lusting after a longer telephoto lens to get those closer up shots without risking my life. While it's not a sport I would have chosen due to the petroleum and environmental perspective, the fact that it's George's joy has given me reason to find the good things in that community. And I have!