This blog is mostly about knitting, with some random stuff about reading and writing and other topics as they occur.
I had a day off my job at the knitting store today, so I decided it was time to block the shawl I finished knitting back in July. It's going to be a shop model for the store. It's made out of one skein of Schaefer Yarns' Nancy, and it took me less than a day to knit the shawl, and another 3/4 day to knit the ruffle (250 stitches that grow alarmingly to 1000 stitches!)
As soon as I figure out how to post photos, I'll put up a picture of said shawl pinned out. This was a case of PGE (Plenty Good Enough), one of the guiding principles I grew up with (thanks, Mom!). In knitting as in life, you need to know when you should strive for Perfect and when Plenty Good Enough is, well ... plenty good enough. This shawl is rather rustic, since it's made out of a thick-and-thin yarn, which gives it a nubbly texture. It's supposed to fall in a ruffly cascade around your shoulders, and there isn't any lace or fancy stitch pattern that needs to be blocked all to heck to show it off to advantage. So I trussed it out on my blocking wires and pinned it in a few places to make sure the wires stay put. I didn't stretch it out overmuch. I'll see how it turns out. If it doesn't seem like it's flattened out enough, I may reblock it, but I think it's going to be PGE!
I'm also working on a pair of plain socks in Dream in Color's Smooshy. This is my current favorite sock yarn, and this is the 5th pair I've knit in it. It knits, as they say (who are They?) "like buttah". For me, it works best on size 1-1/2s. I prefer the two circulars method. I knit a lot of toe-up socks, but this pair is top-down with a standard turned heel and gusset. They are primarily an example for the top-down-socks-on-two-circs class I'll be teaching, but gee, I guess I can force myself to wear them. (Picture coming).
I'm frothing at the mouth in anticipation of knitting some socks from Cat Bordhi's new book New Pathways for Sock Knitters Book One. I read through the book a couple nights ago, and am stunned by the inventive patterns and not least by the clear and useful ways in which she explains knitting concepts. I can't wait to try the Coriolis sock. The question is, should I do it in my pet skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock African Grey, ("pet skein", because it is a wonderful dye lot that has a lot of olive green in it, and I have been waiting for just the right project), or should I be Bad and buy a skein of Ranco, the Arucania hand-dyed sock yarn I've been lusting after? Decisions, decisions ...
Moving on to the "reading/writing" part of this post, I'm currently rereading Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin. I initially read it about 20 years ago. It's set in Belle Epoque New York, and is fantastical, wildly funny, and delightful in its use of metaphor, language, and hyperbole. Nothing I can say can adequately describe it. If you haven't read it, go do so now. Do not stop to pass Go.
And, finally, for the "random" portion of our program: This morning one of my dogs -- the big oafy Labrador named Lewis and occasionally known as "Droolis", "Loomis", and "Duncey Boy" -- not only pooped on a toy that had been left in the yard, he barfed on top of the sprinkler. One more bodily product and he would have had a hat trick!
