What to do on a rainy day

On Wednesday morning I went walking with two of my friends. It was chilly but dry. Thursday was grey and very windy. Bo and I had a lazy day.

I got some knitting done, and took a nap. This will be a child's sweater for Wool-Aid. I'm writing the pattern in five sizes. So far the body is written, but sleeves and neckband still need to be done. The yarn is left over from a sweater knit last year for a customer, and is Lambs Pride wool.

Friday saw more wind, rain, and sleet. The morning walk wasn't bad, the wet weather held off until later. In the evening, we were crossing a busy street when the sleet hit. Bo was not happy, although he calmed down a minute later.

This morning, we saw this as we were heading home. A quick shot, while Bo stood still. We were about three feet away, so I tried a quick shot, out of focus.  Next time I'll try to give the phone time to focus.

We see deer often on our walks. They have nibbled my green pepper tops and flowers from the mums in my front yard. So far they haven't eaten whole plants.

There certainly are days when I wouldn't walk if I didn't have a dog. A canine exercise partner won't take no for an answer. Most days however, I feel good once I'm out and moving!

If All Else Fails...

Read the instructions! This is especially frustrating when I wrote the instructions originally. This is not the first time this has happened. I've been working on duplicating a sweater that I designed last year. I get to keep this one. I have a the body and sleeves done, and am working on the front bands. Cast on 26 stitches (2 12 stitch cables and 2 edge stitches)

The stitch pattern starts on the wrong side. It is supposed to be a k1, p1 rib. It needs to end with 2 purl stitches in order to have the right side have knit stitches at both edges.

Try #1, I started with the 2 pulls stitches. Try #2, iz got it right, but worked the body pattern, which has the right side knit. Sorry the image is sideways.

The third time I got it right. The band is made of reversible cables. It will be sewn to the front and a zipper put in after the second band is done.

I have to knit about 24 inches for each band. That's not hard now that I am on the right track.

Follow up

Yesterday, Blogger didn't want to upload pictures from my phone. I'm using more and more for knitting pictures.

Here is the skirt 

Here is how it fits. I love it! It's a combination of wool and acrylic, picked for color. The stitch is alternating seed stitch (k1, p1 then knit a round, p1, k1 then knit a round)

This is a hat and mitten set that I knit for the guild tree. So far I've made 2 hats and 5 pairs of mittens. I may need to take a break and knit mittens and hats for myself. My pink and purple mittens that match my coat keep getting holes. I have matching yarn and keep repairing them. Replacements are scheduled. I also need a hat and mittens for my green Borg coat if I'm going to wear it in the cold weather it is suitable for. Have yarn, must knit. In addition, I have a navy dress coat. The hat scarf and mittens are gone. I have a blue scarf that is suitable, but need hat and mittens. Have yarn, must knit. I need to do these for next winter.

In the mean time, I keep working on my green socks.

I'm having trouble with the heel. Operator error! At first I didn't have the heel centered. It's a heel construction I haven't done before, so I need to pay closer attention. I should have a heel by tonight.

The sweater will be finished by month end. I'm almost at the armhole of the second sleeve. Then on to the front bands, collar and zipper. This will go well with the skirt. The cuffs, front bands, and collar are reversible cables.

Well That was Interesting!

I did run out of yarn for the socks, and finished with some black. After all the angst about size and yardage, I remembered that I had used the brown yarn to decorate another pair of socks. with I had put a note with the yarn. anyway they are done and will be given some time in December 2014, either birthday or Christmas.

It keeps on snowing here. I'm ready for spring!

My knitting guild has decided to decorate a Christmas tree for charity next year. They need about 200 hats and mittens, which will be donated after serving as ornaments. I knit a pair of mittens. It seems I can't count. The first mitten was knit on 40 sts. The second on 52. Since this was for charity and I had plenty of yarn, I knit another pair like this. I also finished a smaller pair.

While I was on a mitten kick, I knit two pairs for great grandkids.

I also sneaked in a pair of fingerless mitts for ME before starting my Olympic challenges.

This is a pattern that I designed a year or so ago. I used the same yarn for me, since I had given away the originals. They'll be ready when the weather decides to cooperate.

I'm working on four Olympic challenges. Early in the day I have my Lady Macbeth sweater. I may not finish this, but and hour or so a day makes progress. It would qualify for the Ravelry event WIP Dancing, but I won't enter it unless it is finished.

Secondly, I have a pair of socks: event Sock Hockey. It's a Cookie A pattern which will also qualify for SKA and Solid Socks, I'm working with Knit Companion, which is great for a pattern with a 38 row repeat. It's the socks shown on the cover of her Sock Innovation book. I've done 48 of 63 rows on the first leg.

Thirdly is my Aerial Unwind event. I'm reclaiming the yarn from my TKGA Masters sweater. Lovely yarn. A great sweater! Too big for the body I have now. I found the pattern and will reknit and publish the pattern after rewriting in a smaller size etc.

Fourth challenge is another WIP dancing event. I started a skirt from leftover yarn. This is a Gwen Bortner idea, which I am probably going to have finished by the end of the games. I'm using up lots of odd balls of worsted weight yarn.

I've recorded the games and plan to do a lot of sitting and knitting in the next two weeks.

What can I say?

I've been busy.
I've knit a few Christmas stockings.

 

And finished a sweater from sock yarn leftovers.

I spent a few weeks getting ready for and holding a large yard sale. I'm trying to get rid of stuff so that I can move to a smaller house.

At work, my most interesting project is a clown costume. The customer is a professional clown, so willing to spend money to get what she wants. I have phone pics of that, but don't trust that they'll transfer to the blog without going upside down.

I'll try to post more often. I do well for a while and then life gets inthe way.

The Month of Doctors Continues

As I said before I went into radio silence, I went to my primary care doctor for a routine check up. Everything is good. He told me how to find an audiologist, who tested my hearing. One ear needs help, which I knew. It's been bad ever since i can remember, but age has probably made it worse. The other ear is marginal, but close to normal. I need hearing aids!

When I got my eyes tested, I was told that it was time for cataract surgery. I was surprised, although I knew it was coming. Research done, questions asked, and surgery scheduled. The first eye will be done May 28. and the second about a week later.

My son found the name of a hearing aid lab which sells aids more cheaply by cutting out the middle man. I took the results of my test to him and could have walked out hearing better except that there was too much wax in my ears. I was sent home with an ear cleaning kit and went back a few days later to get hearing aids. The unit I got is small and fits behind my ear with a small tube that goes in the ear. They are set up by computer to give me exactly the help I need. Also they are small enough that I can still use my Bluetooth for my phone! I love hands free talking. I also can use the earphones I have for the gym. I'm still getting used to a more noisy world. My brain is starting to filter out unnecessary noise, like the ticking of the kitchen clock.

My knitting guild sponsored a weekend with Sally Melville. I was able to go on Friday night and all day Sunday. I learned a lot. I worked on the black sweater. It is on hold right now, because I am knitting a pair of socks for my son-in-law. His birthday was Sunday and the socks aren't done. I seem to have less knitting time these days. His home is in Florida, but he says he lives in his truck. I might see him again in July if he gets to the Cleveland area.as planned. He and my daughter were here in late April for a visit. Anyway, I won't see him for his birthday, and will send the socks on as soon as they are finished, or save them for July when they come here.

I did finish the shrug. It's a little big, but I think that's all right. It's been too warm to wear it. I've also been knitting on my sock yarn sweater. That cut into sock knitting time too.

It's time to grandkids soccer/baseball games. I can knit during those. It's also time for yard work. Lawn mowing seems to take forever right now. the grass is long, thick and wetter than I would like. The mower wants to clog up. Years of the fertilizer man result in a lawn that looks great, but the thick, vigorous growing grass is a problem right now. I haven't eve n started on the weeds!

Today is tooth cleaning, so the body maintenance continues. I'll stop typing and go schedule my mammogram. That's the last thing that needs to be done for now. By early July when I can get a new glasses prescription, I'll be a new woman. I may only need reading glasses, but we'll see.

Checking In Again

I haven't finished anything since my last post. Sweaters take longer than socks. I'm still working on the  black sweater and its design. The pattern is written for the back up to the shoulders. I haven't knit that far yet. Taking photos of black objects is like a black cat in a coal bin.I lightened the picture considerably and the pattern almost shows up.There is a marker designating the start of the armhole for ease in measuring.

I'm also knitting another shrug, from a pattern DD Joyce sent me. I found some stash yarn that appears to be hand spun and hand dyed. It is two ply and has a slight unevenness in thickness. The color is a little uneven.I washed the swatch twice after the last disaster, The yarn stayed true to size and softened a little. I hope to finish the shrug up this coming weekend, although it is too warm to wear it here.

Yard work has commenced. the lawn was mowed for the first time this year. There still is lots of clean up to do, especially in the back yard where the waterproofing was done.Some of the flowers my sister gave me are starting to come up. I have a lovely blue flower which she says is pulmonaria. I sent her a phone picture.Its in the lungwort family.

This month seems to be doctor month. Checkup time with the primary care doctor. Everything is great! He wishes all his patients were like me. I followed his advice to eat lots of fruits and vegetables and drink lots of water. I also have a hearing test scheduled and my eye doctor says its time for cataract surgery. I find out next week what that entails, although I've talked to enough people to not be worried..Next month I'll have to see the dentist about tooth cleaning. Then I'll be done with personal maintenance for a while.

The class I taught a week ago went well, but we finished in less than the time allotted. The handout was fairly good, but had a couple of typos in it. I got an e-mail about one of them yesterday. I did tell the students about my computer problems,