Inch by Inch

Celtic Dreams has is now joined at the armpits and the neck is done. I had been thinking about modifying the neck, but honestly I just don't have the time or patience to even look around for what I could do, so plain garter stitch it is. It looks good to me, and I like how it highlights the square neck.

Summer is flying by and I feel like I've been knitting a lot, but don't have much to show for it. I'm plugging away at the Trekking socks I started in freakin' December. I think as a result of them being unfinished for so long, I have a deep seated "Blah" feeling about them, but I'm forcing myself to finish them before I start any other socks. My poor Morning Glory shawl is languising too, perhaps I need to take the sweater out of rotation and work on that, but I just don't feel sharp enough to be knitting lace with no resting rows at the moment. I am studiously ignoring the Bee Fields Kit that landed on my doorstep yesterday, as I need another complex WIP like I need a hole in the head.

Sockapalooza4 and a Chance to Win!

The Monkies are done and just waiting for some dry air so they can finish blocking. I'm glad I perservered with this yarn/pattern combo - they most certainly should fit my pal, and they meet her color and yarn-care requirements.


Project Specs:
Pattern: Monkey, by Cookie A.
Yarn: Fly*dyed Monarch Sock Yarn, colorway Fire
Needles: Addi Turbo #1
Notes: I've been wanting to try this yarn for a while, and this was a great excuse to get some. It is wonderful stuff - very much akin to Socks that Rock medium weight, a sproingy tightly plied 3-ply. It frogs and reknits withougt missing a beat (I know - these were frogged upwards of 5 times) and the colors are supersaturated. They also claim to be machine washable and dryable. There is most certainly more of this in my future, and there can be some in your future as well:

Go give Mindy a visit and some cash for her very good cause, and you may win my my second generous 6oz hank of this exact yarn (plus she has other fab prizes). Its a very good cause, and seeing all the dough we've all raised for the likes of the Harlot's MSF and Claudia's MS Ride, I'm thinking her modest goal should be easily met. She's on vacation this week, and I think it would be fun if she came home to discover she had met her goal, don't you? Her little one is the exact same age as PumpkinGirl and terribly cute, so go help them out.

Lightbulb Moment

I have never been able to knit while on vacation. I traditionally return back from our annual two weeks on the Vineyard with all the knitting I packed left untouched. This has confounded me each year - I couldn't really figure out why I never really felt the urge to pick up the needles out there.

This year I knit, and I also solved the mystery of why I never have before. With 2 kids on our hands all day long, along with gorgeous weather that has us out and about during most of the daylight hours, the only quiet time Dan and I get is in the evening. Our little spot of heaven is so remote that we rely on LP gas lamps, fridges, stove and water heater. Our running water was provided by a gasoline-powered pump that you had to pull-start like a lawnmower to fill up two small-ish storage tanks.

Traditionally, the only electricity available was from a small generator which was really only run when one needed to run the washing machine or use power tools for working on the house. A number of years ago, we installed a small solar array so that we could have an electric water pump and not worry about running to the pump house in a towel when the water tanks ran empty during a shower. Last year, the solar system was enhanced with more panels and more storage batteries and some new items appeared in the house - two standing lamps, flanking the sofa. This year, I sat knitting, pleased with myself and wondering why I never did this before. Then the lightbulb went on, as I reached up and flicked a switch as the sun went down.



I promised myself before I left that I would stay monagamous to Celtic Dreams during my time off, and I was. I completed the top back and started on the top front. Not a ton of knitting, but knitting nonetheless. Now back to the daily grind and juggling three projects and spinning at once!