Finally, an update

Jeezopete.  I had a whole post written up, and when I hit the Save button, Typepad ate it.  Now I get to do it all over again.  <sigh>

Anyway, there's actually been a fair amount of knitting going on.  There's been a bit more thinking and reading about knitting than actually doing the knitting, but visualization is good, yes? 

Here are 2 pair of kids socks I knitted for the CIC challenge in the SixSox KAL. 

The lighter colored socks are my handspun.  It's a wool/mohair blend.  The speckled socks that don't show the pattern well are knitted from some worsted-weight wool that I dyed with easter egg dyes.  Knitting kid-sized socks is a trip -- they're done really quickly!

I've been knitting away on my Spiral Baby Blanket.  I'm knitting the edging on it sideways.  This is taking a while because:

1. The pattern has short rows, so I'm only using up 2 stitches from the body for every 6 rows I knit
2. I ended up with 600 stitches in the circumference of the body of the blanket.  That's a LOT of stitches.

But I'm over half-way through.  I'd originally intended to do a lace edge on it, but after I'd knitted a few rows in the pattern I'd picked, I began to worry that my border was too wide and the border would end up cupping up.  That's Not Good.  So I ripped that out and started over with a welting pattern I found in a Barbara Walker book.  The welting works almost like vertical ribbing, and that, along with the short rows, gives the edging extra stretch.  Here's what it looks like:

Barbara Walker is a genius, and I'm modestly patting myself on the back for finding a good design for my border.  I'll keep plugging away on this.  The next picture you see of it should be the finished item.

This afternoon I hope to cast on for a lengthwise lace scarf I'm knitting to proof a pattern for a friend.  I get to practice my loose cast on and bind off skillz.  Her lace pattern is really stretchy, so I've actually been (ssh) swatching and experimenting  (/ssh)  to see what works best. (I am not the world's greatest swatcher.)  The pattern itself is easy and interesting.  I hope to get started on it today.

(BTW, if you're interested in recreational lace, Wendy has started a Summer of Lace  group ove at Yahoo.  Come join us!)

In other news:

We've been having good times at our Tuesday night SnB at La Madeleine.  Look what Jane gave me last night:

Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn! Woohoo!

We did take a little time out from being cheerful and happy knitters to hate Marilyn, who's going to Spain, and Sandy, who's in Jamaica.  Actually we're just jealous that WE don't have cabana boys bringing us drinks all day.

Sunday I was down in General Ginger's neck of the woods (middle Georgia) for a family reunion.  My SIL asked me to knit a baby blanket she could give a co-worker as a gift.  w00t!  Now I have to find a wonderful pattern.

A woman I went to college with came to the reunion with a friend.  It's kind of a trip to meet someone you haven't seen in 31 years, you know?  Dear Robert tactfully told me he thought I looked better than she did.  That's just one of the many reasons I love him.  Because she looked good!

There was a lake at the picnic site where we had our gathering.  We took Jasper with us so we could see if he'd go swimming.  He did!  He even jumped off the fishing pier, and wasn't daunted by the fact that he went all the way under water a few times.

Swimming dog pictures:

Note the tennis ball in mouth:

When our Sasha was alive, she loved getting in the water more than almost anything.  I had a little song I used to sing to her, based on a snippet of something I heard on the radio:

Little dog, big dog
Swimmin' in the water
Little dog, big dog
Swimmin' like an otter.

Jasper reminds me of Sasha a lot.  I love my dogs.  Even when they eat my shoes.

Comments

[Beth]

I keep reading about Typepad eating bloggers' posts. Knock wood - it hasn't happened to me yet. I love the Jasper pics. I was supposed to take P. to a dock diving group this weekend but it's being rescheduled to a day I'm busy. :( Someday we'll have to get J&P together to play.

[Joanne]

Sign me up for the cabana boys and Jamaica! I'm looking forward to seeing your finished blanket. It's very pretty, from what I can see. And, how cute are your dogs? Thanks for sharing the pictures. :-)

[Paula]

Love the photos. They remind me of swimming laps with my border collie. It went like this: swim to the end of the pool, pet Fred. Swim to the other end of the pool, pet Fred. He ran back and forth and worried the whole time anyone was in the pool. He once nipped at DH to keep him away from the water. I have joined the Lace along.

[Marguerite]

Love the swimming pictures.

Glory, our lab mix likes to go in the creek. Sunny, the little whatever, has a fit and zooms around in a panic while Glory is in the water.

It's funny to watch and great exercise for Sunny.

[Kathie Gotfredson]

I love your border on the pinwheel baby blanket....could you tell me what you did...I'd love to put that border on mine! Thanks.

[Kathie Gotfredson]

I love the edge on your pinwheel baby blanket...could you please share the instructions for doing it...I'd love to put it on my blanket that I'm working on now. Thanks!!!