under the wire (again!)

...Secret of the Stole - hint #4 done! just in time for the midnight deadline to be eligible for the hint #4 prize.

I know the photo isn't great, but it's very dark outside now. And I think the wine serves a dual purpose - shows the color of the yarn (the wine is a very nice Gabbiano chianti that reminds me of many lunches with my sister :-) and clues you in to what I'm drinking now that I've finished row #330.

I'm amazed at the pace so many of the participants are keeping with this project. Feeling like the last four weeks of my life have been completely consumed - like totally not normal. Compounded with no running, I'm almost not recognizing myself (in both good and bad ways!) But with another very important Rogovin birthday this weekend, I'm going to take a break. I do, however, have every intention of finishing the project for New Years Eve (and I love that I have the blog to document that resolution!)

Another not-totally-knitting posting to follow shortly. Like the old me!

Happy weekend!

finished hint #3.

...yesterday - so not quite able to keep up the weekly pace (hint #4 came out Friday morning), but not feeling too far behind! And I'm hoping to knit some today so I can be ready for #5.

here's a close-up of the beautiful design in the middle.

I am really enjoying this project. Which is good since I've had to spend a lot of time on it...without much of my usual knitting company - food tv (or sports) and chatting with Sara or Marc. For this hint, I did manage to listen to the TV, and successfully talked (besides just to myself) on the purl back rows. The pattern for hint #4 looks like the easiest so far, and maybe I'll be able to carry on a conversation while knitting!


Still haven't figured out the whole photo thing for this stole. We really don't have a lot of natural light inside - and the shorter days are making it hard to get outdoor light, too. So here's how I setup the shot: ottoman, with white towel in the middle of the kitchen floor :-)

finished hint #2.

...whew! only made this much progress because bookclub was postponed til next week and I diligently got myself home from work by 5:30 or 6:00 each night. this is probably another 10 hours of knitting. and way more fun than last week, since I only knit it once :-)

(I do need to learn how to pin/photo - I swear it's not really lopsided!)

done, done and done.

...replacement vest, first socks and SotS clue #1. Still wondering exactly how I morphed from a serial mono-knitter (one project on the needles, knit til it's done, start another project, ...) to a poly-knitter (multiple projects, knitting on each as the mood, or circumstance, suits). And not at all sure how my finishing rate (which for me, has increased dramatically these past four weeks) is related to the number of projects in process at one time. Seems counter intuitive that knitting more projects at once would lead to finishing more projects? Oh well, I'll take success however I can get it!
DROPS short shrug in blue sky bulky duotones - a very fun project - knit up fast - sometimes too fast (I missed bindoff/shaping several times and had to rip) - and fits great - even though it's hard to tell with this t-shirt shot
DK weight socks in cascade fixation - a little disappointed that the stripes don't match up, but for first socks, I'm ok with it! and thanks to Nell at knitch who suggested a three-needle bind off for the toes instead of the dreaded kitchener stitch!


clue #1...whew! this is probably 10 hours of knitting and I'm freaking out just a bit about keeping up the pace for the next seven weeks. Hoping maybe I've got the hang of it now, though (the last 5 rows flew by), so it will go faster. The sparkles in the pic below are the beads...I am completely in love with this project!

My current thinking about multiple projects is that I need something portable (socks), something fun (sweaters, stoles, scarves) and something hard (right now it's the SotS - totally loving the challenge!) And since I finished socks and a sweater this week, I'm casting on two more projects - monkey socks in a colorway that recalls knitchand the flower basket shawl in jitterbug bright charcoal. Admit the shawl is puzzling me - I'm not sure how it will all come together - knitted the first 26 rows and I still can't tell - is this the bottom or the top?

Of course new projects means trips to the yarn store - I took Sara to knitch today (I think she's the first person who's been to that store and wasn't completely inspired to knit!) and then we met Lydia for lunch at Baroanda. Days don't get much better than this!

10 things to do.

...when I'm not running*

Enjoy coffee and journaling time at Starbucks, before a Jo appointment (note the shoes - very supportive!)

Make my first internet yarn purchase. Sophies toes. 2 balls for socks and 2 for a stole (sorry, forgot to photo before it got dark!) But the service was delightful. I ordered Tuesday evening, received a thank you email on Wednesday and the shipment arrived on Friday. Thank you, Emily!

Knit 50 rows to finish the left point of the Secret of the Stole clue #1. I changed needle sizes from the 4 that I used for my swatch to a 3. And like this fabric much better. And the addi lace needles are so much easier to work with. Not that this was a piece of cake - figure about 3 hours of knitting? Wondering now how I'm going to manage the 2nd point and the 30-some rows once they're combined before the next clue comes out on Friday!

Completely scrap the concentric vest, spend 2+ hours searching for a replacement pattern and find one - whew! But it does involve a trip to LYS for trim yarn (the red) and size 13 needles (and of course, a very nice ball of sock yarn, jitterbug in the charcoal colorway).

Knit the replacement vest - up to the crochet trim. Yes, I cast this on Thursday evening and I'm modeling a nearly FO on Sunday. Wow! (and it should've been quicker, but I had to rip more times than I'll admit because it went so fast, I kept missing the bind offs!) Also made a trip to JoAnn's for buttons and found some.

See Across the Universe with Sara. I really wasn't a Beatles fan growing up. But this movie and I Am Sam have made me love their songs. Sara purchased the soundtrack and I can't wait to load it on my ipod.

Work out with Rob. Called him up in a panic on Thursday morning and I took his first available appointment this afternoon. Nice to work up a sweat even if I'm not out in the park. Wonder how sore I'll be tomorrow?

Help Sara with her math homework. Something about a piece of paper x" by y" with a 2" margin on the top and bottom and a 1" margin on the two sides and 30 square inches of text. Find the minimum paper size. Helping Sara with problems like this is really just walking her through the thought process...a few suggestions on things to try and she takes off leaving me in the dust. Right, who am I kidding, I do enjoy it!

Read a hundred pages of 1000 Splendid Suns - bookclub pick for October. Really enjoying it. But sorry I had to leave Abundance unfinished!

Get my ravelry invitation and decide NOT to lose myself in the site...til next weekend. I did accept the invitation, create a user name (mere - surprise!) and enter my vest project. Anything else will have to wait.

*yup - no running for 4-6 weeks. plantar fasciitis in the right heel and tendonitis in the left leg. three days home from the office with my leg propped up seemed to help. and honestly, my feet feel better today than they've felt since I can remember.

triple s.

...my secret of the stole swatch is finally done. and whew! but I love the results and the colors of both the yarn and the beads - and the yarn with the beads:


a close up of the beads


I started a photo album on the yahoo group site, too.

Notes to self:
*check out other needles - I tried the addi turbos, but I only have a 16 inch one, and that was just too short - but I loved the way the points made it easier to not pickup the wrong parts of the stitches
*only one glass of wine per 2 hours of knitting allowed
*count stitches after EVERY row!

ready to swatch.

...yes, finally! I have my yarn, and beads, and even a new very very tiny crochet hook. And totally enjoyed the LYS experience today (especially meeting up with Lydia and Jean...but not so much Lydia's yarn winding :-). Sorry internet, nothing can take the place of seeing and touching the yarn...and talking to a very friendly, helpful, LYS owner. I'm kind of kicking myself for spending so much time on-line about the selection, but maybe it made the ultimate choice easier?

And in other news, the hibiscus evidently missed the memo about fall!