EZ is Getting EZer

I got one sleeve of the Tomten about half done and decided I didn't like the method I'd used, so I frogged it all and put down the Tomten for the day...and am seriously considering leaving it as a vest.

However, that didn't mean I'd quit knitting. I started yet another EZ project: Square Shawl (February). The pattern is in both Knitter's Almanac and Knitting Workshop (available from Schoolhouse Press). I adapted it to a Magic Loop CO which is easier, IMHO, than trying to use four DPNs. EZ warns that knitting just st st will get boring and invites the knitter to insert lace patterns. So far, all I've been brave enough to do is add some YO, K2tgs and some rounds of purls to create garter stitch ridges. Maybe I'll sit down and figure out a motif or something..... Anyway, it's fun and pretty much mindless knitting with enough increases to break up the monotony.

PARAAbnormal

Baby Bear Rib Warmer

I'm starting to speak EZ! I guess it just takes a certain amount of working with an EZ pattern to start to understand her language. Now, I'm not fluent in EZ yet, but getting there.This is the Baby Bear Rib Warmer, a scaled down version of the Rib Warmer. Unlike the BSJ, whose shaping is done with increases and decreases, all the shaping on the Rib Warmer is done with short rows. Following these directions, using a provisional cast-on, it again is basically knit in one piece and folds into the vest. Ingenious women, EZ and her daughter Meg Swanson!

I've tried several times to start this, but just didn't speak enough EZ to master it. This time with the help of the pictures on EZ Knitalong, I was able to play with it enough, trust EZ enough to figure it out. It's not finished yet, and there are more EZ instructions to decipher, but I'm confident I'll figure it out.

This one would fit a preemie or small full term baby, but the yarn is some scratchy stuff from my early on-line yarn buying days (can you say pig in a poke?). I may dye it when I'm done, but I'm sure it'll fit Teddy just fine and he won't complain about scratchiness at all!

I'm not much of a spindle spinner....but these Tilt-a-Whorl almost make me think about taking up the hobby again! And they are green---recycled stuff!

If Knitman isn't on reading list...remedy that. Funny, funny stuff along with some of the most gorgeous socks in the world...oh and some good puppy shorts on occasion!

Bamboo yarn is wonderful...soft and just a pleasant experience to work with. And, bamboo may be the new wonder plant for the planet.

One of the gals at our knitting group is making the Chevron Lace Cardigan for herself. It's such a pretty one, and my daughter was recently gifted with ten skeins of cotton so I think she's going to make it for herself. I may have to make one, too.

Some mythbusting on Autism. A must read.

BSJ Completed

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: Miscellaneous wool light ww yarn from my stash
I-Cord Bind Off, Attached I-Cord to neck edge
Needles: US5
Size: 18 in around chest, 13 in length, about 3-6 month old
CO: July 1, BO: July 4

Pattern available at:

• The Opinionated Knitter
• Knitting Workshop
• Knitter's Magazine 14, Spring 1989
• Knitter's Magazine 56, Fall 1999
• Spun Out / Wool Gathering
• Schoolhouse Press #5, A-B-C-SJ (Adult, Baby, Child's Surprise Jacket)

This BSJ will be sent to the Cheyenne River Reservation in SD. I'll be CO another one today with Crystal Palace Bamboozle (Carib Blue, Seascape, Royal Blue, and Fern) for the sample for my LYS. With luck I'll have it done by Wednesday night.

Mittens and More!

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Didn't get as much work done on the second mitten as I'd hoped. Spent a good part of the afternoon running errands (mailed out the last of our out of town gifts) and getting in some last minute shopping for stuff to finish making stuff for Christmas. However with a bit of planning on my part today, I should be able to get it finished. Maybe even dyed!I discovered a new way of doing an increase. And it really is very close to being invisible. On the mitten on the right I made my gusset increases by lifting the bar between the sts to M1. On the left I knit into the front loop of the st below going in from left to right. You can see the M1 is a bit "bigger" as it appears and there is a definite change in the sts. With knitting into the st below, there is just a tiny distortion of the st but you really have to know what you're looking for to find it. Try it next time!Every Friday, Kathleen has some paper dolls on her site that can be printed out. Yesterday, one of the things I went to buy was card stock to print some of the dolls out. I haven't decided if the clothes should be on card stock or not.... What do you think? Anyway, this is part of the Christmas presents for my granddaughters. I figure it should keep them busy cutting for a good part of Christmas vacation! And playing for the rest of it!

Sweet Paul's idea was to cut up a thrift store sweater to make this candle glass cozy. But...being knitters, we could figure out a way to make it ourselves, yes?
Ice candles. Did you ever make these? My dad was a church candle salesman, so we always had candle stubs laying around. My dad and I used to make these every few years for teacher gifts. They are so easy they are kind of anti-climactic.

Cute sheepy stuff!

Okay, this is a great idea! Why didn't I think of this? And it doesn't have to just be for socks. Imagine dyeing a thrift shop sweater pieces this way, unraveling and reknitting. Too much fun!

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Keeping the "We" in "Yes, We Can!"

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Eleven things to know about food! Food is an issue in this world. Oh, we have plenty of it here in the US of A, but most of it has little to no nutritional value and much of it is harmful.
kmkat talks about a Secretary of (Sustainable) Foods. And then read about (and sign) the Declaration of Healthy Food and Agriculture. Then check out and candidates for the Secretary of Agriculture petition.

One perk of the shrinking economy - everything else is shrinking, too.

Simplify the holidays. EZ says it all: “Is an exciting new improved Christmas every year really necessary? Is it in the spirit of the Solstice? The human heart hankers after stability and tradition. The feel and atmosphere of Christmases past, the anticipation of those to come, and the magic presence of Christmas now should all blend and blur, to give the distraught soul something to hang on to in a year bedeviled by new improved machines, soaps, music, spectator sports and recipes, many of which will prove to be dull, destructive, and sometimes downright damnable.”

Did you know that over 80% of the water Americans use deals with flushing the toilet? I'm jus' sayin'....

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I finished the first Baby Mickey sock as far as I'm going to before I get to TN. It should fit him now and for awhile. [crossing fingers] The second sock is up to the gusset. They do go quickly!

I bought some books recently. It's a rare occurrence for me. I don't buy fiction at all except the Diana Gabaldon Outland Series. Cuz I have to read those immediately. Everything else comes from the library. But in the last couple weeks I've purchased two knitting books. (I rarely buy knitting patterns or books of knitting patterns as there are so many free ones on the net. I hear LYS' gasping, but hey, with a limited income, I can spend my money either here or there, not both. What good does it do me to have a pattern and no money to buy yarn?) Anyway, I got the next book in my Elizabeth Zimmerman collection, Knitter's Almanac. Last but not least, is Knitting Around to probably be purchased next month. The book I bought yesterday is Favorite Socks from Interweave. There is a sock in the book I want to experiment with -

Two Yarn Resoleable Socks. The leg is done first, heel sts put on a holder, and instep knit to the toe. Then the heel flap, sole and toe are added. It's based on EZ's Moccasin Socks. Seeing that Youngest Son made all the holes in his socks on the toe and sole, I thought this would be a good choice for him (not that I don't ADORE darning....). And seeing the instep is knit flat, I can easily add some colorwork there if I like.

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This cat picture brought a smile to my face this morning!

Computer's Fixed

The computer ether thingy has been replaced and is working just fine. :::heavy sigh of relief:::


I finished up the first Skully Sock. Youngest Son is very happy with it. Will CO the second some time today. Have a eye appointment (regular check-up) today and don't want to take the complication of fair isle with me. So, while reading through The Opinionated Knitter, by Elizabeth Zimmerman, I thought, why not CO a Tomten Jacket. It's not as surprising as the Baby Surprise Jacket, but it's certainly not the conventional way to put things together. This one looks like it'll be pretty small, maybe new born size, but I'm sure there will be a new baby someday in my future.

And that was about all that was exciting here yesterday.

Ketchup

Guess what I finally taught myself? Colorwork...Fair Isle or stranded knitting to be exact. And as is generally the case, it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be! I especially love the contrast with the variegated yarn and the black. Stained glass! My inspiration was a couple of purchases yesterday. I added another book to my Elizabeth Zimmerman collection: Knitting Workshop. Although some of her instructions are a bit cryptic, what she does preach is to "just try it" and "it's not that hard to do". So, I tried it. And it's not that hard to do! Now I need to try it using a graph and see what I can accomplish! Then on to Intarsia!

The other purchase was this yummy yarn. It's not the yarn I used in the
learning piece above, but very similar. It's an acrylic and it just caught my eye as I was leaving the store. Impulse purchases are good for the soul!

Here's the progress on the Short Row Rib scarf I was having so much fun with.

That new yarn would look way cool in this pattern!

I've not worked on the Work Socks for awhile now. I think I was just tired of plain old st st in really dark grey. Not exciting enough. Had to have some color. I need to get out my timer and work for 30 minutes on the socks and then 30 minutes on something else.

I had fun...

I got some knitting done on legwarmers I CO in the morning. They're for my grand daughter's birthday in early December. Using Lion Brand MicroSpun, with the idea I may have to add elastic to help them stay up.

I got all that knitting done while sitting at the doctor's office with F while we waited for him to have some lab work done. Then we went out for lunch. Took him home and stopped at the LYS too look around. Decided to splurge on some 40 inch #2 needles and try the magic loop method for a pair of socks.

And I decided to start my Elizabeth Zimmerman collection. I picked up The Opinionated Knitter. When I got home, Youngest Son asked me to take him to the local used book store. I grabbed a coupe of books I wanted to trade in and off we went. While he was off looking at stuff, I went to the knitting books. Guess what I found? Knitting Without Tears! Another EZ book for half price. It's paperback but in good shape. And I think an older edtion than the one that's listed in Ravelry and on the Schoolhouse Press site. Mine has a red cover, not the white and lavendar one. That's okay.... the older the better sometimes!

Anyway, I managed to double my EZ collection within a couple hours! Spent the evening working on the Hoodie Scarf...didn't accomplish much...almost as much frogging as knitting. I really should learn to pay attention to the knitting at least as much as I do the TV!