Zeneedle...needleart as life

Ready for the New

One of the many things accomplished this weekend was the creation of the "perfect" pomegranate martini.  (I do realize "perfect" may be in the eye of the beholder drinker.) After a conversation last Friday with Cindy (we have one almost daily via email), in which I longed for a G&T and she longed for the pomegranate martini (we won't mention that this was 5:30 in the morning), I started craving pomegranate juice (ok it was the martini I craved).  I decided to make one for my "end of the week" treat that night. As it turned out, most recipes (google was my friend) called for citron vodka and we had only plain…but we forged ahead and created by taste.  What we ended up with the first night was drinkable, but we knew the citron vodka had to be procured the next day and we did just that. Saturday night we were able to tweak what we had the night before and proclaimed it "perfect" and our drink for the "Summer of '08". 

Summer of '08 Martini
2 oz. pure pomegranate juice
3 oz. citron vodka (4 oz. if you like a stronger drink, I'm a lightweight)
1oz. Triple sec
1 oz. sparkling water with 1 heaping tsp. powdered sugar stirred in
1 tsp lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
Ice
Shake or stir together and pour sans ice.  Makes 2

Another part of the weekend was spent frogging a sweater. Have you knit a sweater, not really liked it much when done and then let it sit unworn?  In all the years I've been knitting I don't remember ever completely frogging a finished sweater.  I usually give them away, either to a family member or goodwill, and move on.  Once the knitting is done I am so over it.  It was my love of Beaverslide  yarn that made me face the facts about an unworn sweater and start the frogging process.

The sweater was only worn once and I didn't really like the fit.  It had been in the back of my mind to do something about it, but I'd put it off over and over again.  The time finally came when I was cleaning up the sweater cupboard and had the offender in hand.  With a little picking and pull at the bind off edge I was able to start the ripping process. It took 2 days of work to complete the job, but it was rather satisfying!

This is a first…the only time a sweater has been ripped and the yarn destined to be something new.  Only a little of the yarn was lost and I ended up with about 1000 yards.  It's ready to be soaked, kinks removed, fluff regained and lovely yarn for a new sweater restored.  Have you ever frogged a completed sweater and reknit?

Before any knittin'o wool happens around here, there will be more summer sweaters in the works.  NBT is >< this close to the finish line and the next sweater is lying in wait.  This may or may not be the last summer sweater on my needles, but it is the last one actively planned.  I'm talking about Gigi in red Cotton Fleece with brown trim, unless something else catches my eye.  Everyone loves Cotton Fleece and now it's my turn to check it out.

Where Did My Weekend Go?

The weekend pace was a bit on the manic side, which made a Monday a relief and a chance to slow things down.  If I had planned a Monday post there would have been no time to put it together and, as it was, my camera rarely came out of its bag.  A poor blogger am I.  The laundry is still in wait for a date, the house is a disaster (not too unusual, in truth), and sleep has been illusive.

Susan, CherylS, Miriam , Chris, Shelley, Stephanie and I had a chance to have dinner and enjoy each others company. Salt Lake was the last stop on Stephanie's whirlwind of a tour and, while we didn't have time to show her more of our fair city, we did have time to eat pizza, oh and laugh.a.lot! Pizza in Utah?, you say! (That's what Cara said.) However, it was better then the usual dregsforpizza we have around here and we all seemed to enjoy it...at least I enjoyed it. Stephanie commented that perhaps she and I had eaten more than anyone else at the table...the pizza was delish by my Utah standards and the salad more so.  Of course laughter makes everything taste better, anyway.  Spending time with friends is a great way to finish off a crazy, busy, fun weekend.

Yesterday was catch up day…a small dent made in the laundry (after a day of work), groceries procured, and restful sleep restored. I even had a chance to pet Moxie and to give Smith a kiss.  It's nice to have a man around who can entertain himself when need be.

Since knitting is easily portable and simple knitting grows quickly, I did make good progress (at least on Saturday) on the Blue-tiful (a great word coined by Vicki) Baby Blue NBT and finished both sleeves (because they are nice and short!).  The front is now actively on the needles and should be finished soon.  I can't wait to have this cute little T on my body!!

Knitting Blues

Since the weather is warming day by day thoughts are turning to bare toes and summer clothes (well, perhaps today isn't the best day to say that because the high may not make 50).  The main desire of my knitting has become (by demand) more summer sweaters.

Blue has always been one of my most favored colors, in part, because it brings out the blue of my eyes. *blink, blink* Over the years I've been swayed by pink, red and purple, but my heart belongs to blue.  Hanging around with Terry (virtually and in the flesh--does that sound wrong?) has brought back that love of blue in a strong way.  NBT the First was Rowan's Slosh Blue Calmer and the new NTB is Tinkerbell Blue.  I flinched a little at the name Tinkerbell but the color was just right and I love it.  Would it be wrong of me to start knitting the blues, too?

While Magknits has disappeared you can still find the instructions for NBT here or if the link doesn't work, search for magknits.com and then click on July 29, 2005.  Look under "Knit Us" and you'll find the link to the pattern.  Alison also said she'll make the pattern available on her blog.  It's a great, simple, wearable T and Calmer is the perfect yarn for it. 

Yesterday started out as another cold and blustery day and to stay warm I had on wool socks, a sweater and, as I was walking out the door, I decided to throw a warm wool wrap over my shoulders.  I'd worn Seraphim the day before and looked for it again. It's big, soft, beautiful and warm, just perfect for the day.  However, it wasn't hanging out with my other lace shawls and my heart sank.  Maybe I'd left it at the office under my desk.  The minute I walked into work I looked and my heart sank again. OMG, it wasn't there and I just couldn't imagine where it was.

Actually, that's not quite true...I had a feeling I'd dropped on my way to the car and it was lost forever. Laurie lost her Wool Peddler Shawl that way and Terry has yet to find her Birch.  It's such a sad feeling to loose something you love to wear and this isn't the first time it's happened.  However, this story has a happy ending.  The landlord's secretary came in to my office just a few minutes later and she was carrying my lost shawl!  Someone had left it on her desk with no note...it was just there when she came in. Luckily, she recognized it as mine (an advantage of wearing lace daily!) and brought it straight to me.  Thank you to the unknown person who found it and took the time to leave it with the one person who could get it back to me.  It was my lucky day.

A Grrl Can Change Her Mind

The weekend offered a little bit of a finishing flurry with CeCe and Persephone coming off the needles within a day of each other. It was rather exciting to have nothing on the needles for a short time. (If you want to stay my friend you will not remind me of the two languishing socks).  No time was wasted in contemplation of what would next embellish the needles…I have a queue! 

Miriam's Persephone and Judy's yarn made beautiful music together and the experience was wonderful.  The mix of patterns, from leaf motif to faggoting and back again, was enjoyable and not too complicated. Judy's yarn has a crisp, yet soft hand, a beautiful sheen, and a texture that enhances the stitches.   Nice work, both of you!

Persephone
Pattern: Persephone by Miriam Felton
Yarn: Yarn: Ball and Skein Arbori (50% Merino, 50% Tencel) - Purple Haze by Judy (Kits available)
Time to Knit: April 12, 2009 – April 25, 2008

The other scarf on my needles (maybe it's my time for scarves, not socks) was the handspun Scroll Stitch (the one I shared with you last week), but I've since changed my mind.  The pattern just wasn't lacy enough to show off the glorious halo of the alpaca/angora blend. While the yarn is slightly overspun it still knits up beautifully. The Lace Ribbon Scarf by Véronik Avery was deemed (by me) to have the right amount of lace (big holes!), to be soft and lovely to wear around my delicate neck, and to be interesting and fun to knit. The change has been good.

 

My participation in PS (Earth) Elements was at a low point this month. As many of you know, I'm not a big fan of green and since the Sock Mojo is nowhere to be found I can't even knit a pair of appropriate socks.  My love of brown comes to the rescue, as does a very pretty pattern, found via Ravelry, for a simple garter stitch feather and fan shawl, Shetsoie. How lucky that the perfect yarn for this project was in my stash...Alchemy Haiku in  "Twig" brown. (YAY!)  The shawl is growing nicely as there is minimal thinking involved, although the tiny needles (#3) make the going slow.  The shaded brown yarn, with the feather and fan edging, should make this more interesting in the end than it is now.  I can't help but think charred Brillo Pad.   

Back to the Process

The process has been part of the conversation on this blog for a long time…right from the start, actually.  Part of the reason I thought about starting this blog was to share how I felt about different techniques, stitches and problems that arise with knitting and how "the all of it" was part of the process…the good, the bad and the ugly.  Honestly I just didn't (and still don't) see how stockinette can be boring.  That isn't to say I don't get sick of some processes more quickly than others, but it's usually my mind that is galloping on from the desire for another PRODUCT, not another process. 

Recently Shelley, a long time friend of mine, found a vintage pattern she wanted to knit, the Crescendo Stole. To get the look she wanted she knew it was going to take some trial and error and the first thing she had to do was find the right needle size. The pattern called for size 13s, but there was no way to tell what type/size of yarn was used.  Shelley's chosen yarn was Cascade 220 and she quickly found 13s were too big.

She jumped down to a 9 which made a very dense, no-drape fabric. Next she went up to a 10 which was still too tight, then went to an 11 which was just a little too loose.  Using a 10.5 proved to be just right and she's now on her way.  Now, you must realize she wasn't knitting small swatches, as she wanted to see how wide the finished wrap would in the end. On every needle she knit at least 8" of pattern and, after finishing them all, they were laid out so she could determine the needles size and number of stitches needed. The process took her a couple of weeks and she was just as enthusiastic at the end stage as she was in the beginning.  Now that's someone who LOVES the process.  Her shawl will be exactly what she hoped and she is now enjoying the process of knitting miles and miles of cable stitches.  The smile on her face continues.

The smile on my face is growing as the end of CeCe draws near.  I've enjoyed the process of CeCe, but the idea of actually wearing her is more exciting.  Knitting the body went well...no problems, smooth sailing, few mistakes that needed more than a stitch or two of frogging.  But the sleeves gave me trouble...trouble caused by my inept counting and lack of attention.  One sleeve was completely finished when I realized it was four stitches too small and had to be frog back far enough to add the extra increases.

It was a very happy moment when all the pieces were correctly knit and joined at the armscye.  The yoke is now growing, the raglan decreasing smoothly, and a new sweater for sprummer wear is now nearing completion.  I can't help but think about the next sweater in the queue as lately I seem to be more about the product than the process.

Persephone Obsession Abated

Thank you for your kind comments on Koigu Zetor. At the end of a special project, one that has been a part of daily life for several weeks, it's hard to get back into the swing of something new.  As it turned out, I found the perfect project to fill the need and it was Persephone.  There wasn't much time to knit this past weekend, but Persephone went everywhere I went, just.in.case. She grew by one repeat...a hard won repeat, as it turned out.  It was hard to stop thinking about her, or stop knitting, once I got going.

The first time I began (don't we all start our project more than once?)  I just couldn't see how the pattern worked, how the lace fit together and my brain was making all sorts of (wrong) assumptions!  I called Miriam in the off chance there was errata, but I knew the answer before she answered the phone as I'd seen her knitting from the chart a few days before.  She confirmed there was no errata, but kindly tried to think of what might be throwing me off.   I told her it was me, my brain hadn't kicked in and I would just start over to see if that was the reboot needed.  Indeed, it was...a fresh start had me on the right track and everything made sense the second time through.  Don't you just hate love when that happens?

Miriam's lace patterns are so interesting and entertaining (I love good knitting entertainment).  She doesn't just find a stitch pattern and put an edge on it, she thinks about the design and how patterns will mesh and work together.  Persephone is a fun knit because it isn't the same thing over and over and the design is interesting to do.  Too bad my pictures turned out so horribly as this does not show the depth of the colorway or the interesting pattern changes. I'll try to do better next time.

Judy's yarn is perfect for this project and adds another dimension of interest. The mix of brown tones with the grayed purple gives the color a very organic feel, which I wish you could see. (I'll try to do better.) The sheen, which is also hard to capture in pictures, enhances the color and design.  I love everything about Persephone and will enjoy knitting every stitch.

CeCe has grown only slightly since I got caught up in Persephone madness…but the rest of this week will be all about CeCe.   The main reason (beside the desire to wear her) is that yarn for a new project has arrived. I've enjoy wearing NBT the First very much and decided it was time to do a redo. NBT will make another great summer sweater.  Isn't that sleeve about as interesting as knitting gets? (kidding)

I often wear blue and brown together and I almost bought brown for a contrasting neck and sleeve bands, but I think one color will be less limiting.  I'm going to make this NBT more grrly with picot hems on sleeves, body and around the neck.  Unlike my first NBT there will be no design across the chest.  This shirt will be ready to go anywhere, with anything, all summer long.

The week I ordered the Calmer for Nothin' but a T I also printed off the pattern.  I'm so relieved as MagKnits is now history. (Yes, I know there are ways to get the patterns if you don't already have them.)  Alison said she'll republish NBT on her blog if the archives are not restored and Jody is adding some of the patterns to her new Knotions magazine, too.

I must give a shout out to Chris (and Chaos and Mayhem) for sending two fabulous CD mixes.  As far as I'm concerned they are near perfection.  You know just the right songs, (even the titles are perfect) and genre's that mix well...good work, Chris!  They have been the soundtrack to my daily life this week and I love them.

The End of Obsession

The obsession for ZeKoigu Zetor is over, at least the knitting obsession.  I really don't care for the expression "stick a fork in it."...but this thing IS (finally) DONE!  It took about 1 and half hours to bind off and it was a very happy moment when the last stitch came off the needle.  In retrospect, if the first two color sections had been smaller, there would have been no need for the sixth ball of yarn. The plan had been to make a small summer shoulder warmer, but the shawl grew to be HUGE and I'll be able to wrap right up in it.  Can't complain about that!  There is little time in the next couple of days for blocking, but she should be unfurling into her full glory by the weekend.  I'm so happy with ZeKoigu Zetor and I agree with many of you who said she looks like hydrangea flowers.

The Sock Mojo is still MIA and Stacey may decide to send out a search party in case it is lost in the red rocks of Southern Utah.  You notice it's Stacey sending out the search party, not me, I don't care if the Mojo returns right away. The lace Mojo is firmly in place and, for now, CeCe fills the need for lace and for the desire of new summer sweaters.  The body is finished and awaiting sleeves...from there everything should go quickly.   

For some reason I feel light and free…it must be the weight of Zetor, which is finally off my shoulders!  As soon as CeCe is done I'll start another shawl, but for now I don't want to get too carried away with projects…it's too overwhelming for my little brain.

Spotted, but not Returned

Rachel found my Sock Mojo wandering the hills of Northern Arizona, gave it a piece of her mind and sent it packing for home. However, I do believe it got as far as  Zion Park and decided to stay where it was warm and sunny (not that I blame it at all).  Both pair of socks sit, sadly, in the corner, and no one  pays them any attention.  Only the Mojo can save them now.  Rachel also confessed to feeling happy while sitting in a little snow storm, but snow for her is like sunshine to me, a rare occurrence, and so I don't begrudge her that moment of happiness. 

Monday night I was sure Zetor would be finished.  However, it has become a time sucking, yarn sucking entity that controls my life.  I can't put it down, can't stay away, can't stop working on it even though it is constantly faking me out.  How can the end be so near and yet, after hours of knitting, the bind off is no closer? Every time I look at the working ball of yarn it has grown so small that I know another will be needed and, sure enough, there is not enough yarn for the last four rows.

Thank goodness something suitable was hanging around the stash (new reason to stash large amounts of Koigu)...but, 4 rows are still IN PROCESS, which brings the skien count to SIX!  It wouldn't surprise me if the yarn ran out on the bind off row as this shawl eats it up so quickly.  At the rate it takes to knit across one row it might be Saturday or Sunday before the end arrives...(hopefully, I'm kidding!).  The thing that keeps me going is how pretty it is... it looks like flowers tossed into a blender or a full flower bed of glorious spring blossoms.

Hopefully the end won't be anti-climatic and she'll be shown off in her full glory with a great photo shoot. Thanks for hanging in there with me while I go through this bit of obsessive knitting.

Make It So

When the world around you remains gray and dreary...

...it is time to create your own world of color.

This is what it looked like Saturday morning as I left the house.  The world was black, white and gray, no color anywhere. Only a few lone flowers have come out of the ground as the heat hasn't been enough to bring out a profusion.  A few violets dot the landscape, and a daffodil has come forth here and there...it's sad to see so much gray and the week ahead looks as if it will continue.  The only thing to do is create my own world of color...time to take matters into my own hands and shop, knit and play in full living color.

A trip to the Three Wishes was the first thing on Saturday's agenda and it was the perfect place to start my color search.   Manos Silk Blend in a colorful and brilliant color combination caught my eye right away and it will become a shawl to brighten a gray day of next winter. The colors include a gray green and burnished gold that are out of my usual comfort zone.  I'm trying to step outside of that comfortable place more often as it can be interesting and enlightening.

The tulips bulbs that have been growing in my kitchen started to bloom at just at the right time, and the daffodils from the market brought in more color, the color of the missing sun, into my studio.  One must do what one can to create a happy, joyous world of color. Since the spring bulbs aren't coming as quickly as I'd like, I'll bring them in artificially..it's better than nothing.

The weekend fiber pursuits were spent in colorful ways, too.  This  beautiful silk/merino roving from Chasing Rainbows was predrafted and readied for spinning.  The colors are deep, luscious and rich and the hope is to create a single yarn that will show off that beauty.  Last, but certainly not least, the vibrant colors of spring really come through in the colors of the Zetor Koigu Shawl.  I have been completely obsessed by this project and color may be the real reason it's been my one and only.  The colors of spring flowers will soon be gracing my shoulders.

Making the Most of the Weekend

What's a grrl to do on a beautiful spring day, when she's in the midst of much natural beauty, hanging out and having fun with her sister, and just generally relaxing? Well, eat, drink and shop come to mind and that's just what we did. The town of Springdale is one of Utah's special spots, with fabulous views, good food (and drink), unique shopping and loads of local (magical) charm. Neena and I had to spend a little time walking the streets in search of treasures, after our lovely stroll along the river, and find we did.

There are plenty of souvenir t-shirts in my closet, more than enough, but this one was too pretty to pass up. The embroidered gecko just cried out to come home with me.  The necklace was made by the shop proprietor after I chose my favorite handmade beads, and the earrings were the big splurge...the shape was just so organic and beautiful.

Knitting was packed for the trip, but time was better spent in other pursuits and, I have been knitting only a little since returning home.  CeCe grows quickly, without much effort, and it is now time to start the sleeves.  If the weather doesn't improve soon there may be little need for a lacy summer cardigan. OK, I jest...sorta, but the weather might be why I'm not pushing to finish and why it is sometimes too easy to sit idly with the knitting in my lap. I have enjoyed working with Classic Silk as it has a natural feel and creates a nice fabric, a very textured and rustic fabric, that is perfect for a summer sweater.

Persephone, in Judy's elegant yarn, has become my fall back lace knitting and they do play nicely together.  Judy's DFS, in the same yarn, has turned out beautifully!  The way color and light play on this yarn gives it a very unique appeal, a beautiful sheen ans smoothness. The fabric has a soft drape, but still holds some crispness.  I've become very fond of it, so it looks like the yarn is a keeper, Judy!