Invasion

In the continuing big dog saga, those new dogs next door have stopped jumping up and scaring me when I hang the clothes. However, I discovered yesterday that they have dug big holes under the fence and are running all over my yard leaving their calling cards. Since I object to that, I spent yesterday hauling any big rocks, bricks, or cement slabs I could find and temporarily filling in the holes they had dug. After that, I was too tired to knit.

A Lucky Day

I found two Weave-It looms at the thrift store yesterday! They are in great condition and the instructions were still in the box. I paid 25 cents each. I started trying it out for the first time this morning using worsted weight. I think I should have started out with a thinner yarn, but the weaving is not hard to learn. I would like to use sock yarn in pretty colors to make a scarf. This Weave-It is the classic 4" square.

Meanwhile, we are having a bright and sunny week, and the bulbs are blooming:

Thrift Store Finds

I like plastic knitting needles from earlier decades. I like the silky smooth surface and pretty colors. I found these in a drawer at the thrift shop and was especially interested in the aqua pair because I have never seen that color before. It was a common color for interior decor in the 50's but I had never seen needles in that color before. The needles are obviously not in the original packaging since they are definitely not aluminum, but they are size 9.
I think the shop charged me about 50 cents for a pair of knitting needles.

I finished the pattern knitting for the back of my new sweater and am working on the front. It is going faster than I expected for pattern knitting.

Back Handknitting Finished

The pattern portion on the back is finished and taken off the needles onto a length of yarn. Now I need to hang it onto the machine and finish up the stockinette portion, but first I will knit the pattern portions of the fronts and sleeves.

In the meantime, the neighbor has acquired two humongous new dogs (maybe a new roommate with dogs?) who are scary at best. They are excitable and leap up into the air trying to get over the fence to gnaw my bones. Since this is about 5 feet from where I stand to hang the clothes on the line, it is annoying. My dad advised me to have a hose on hand to squirt the dog, especially that huge Rottweiler, as it tries to clamber over the fence. I tried it this morning, and it worked like a charm. The dogs are more wary and respectful. I will have to keep this up for awhile to train them, but I think things will work out. Here he is, watching me from a safe distance:

New Sweater Started

I love the color of this yarn, a very cheerful aqua. The color is called 'Aruba Sea' which brings to mind shallow warm, beautiful water washing up on a sunny Caribbean beach. Here's my design sketch:
I am going to knit the pattern by hand then hang it on the machine and finish up the stockinette portion quickly.

February

This is the primo month for knitters in our area with Stitches coming up in a few weeks. I usually save up my money for months ahead of time and my sisters and I go to the convention for a fun day while my husband stays home and works in the yard. I try to buy one big item and then just shop around. A recent Stitches purchase was the Jumbo yarn winder which is really wonderful, and I use it all the time. I don't know what I am going to get this year, but I am sure to think of something.

The economy makes spending a lot of money on yarn for sweaters very difficult for a lot of people so I would like to put in another plug for Red Heart Supersaver. I know lots of yarn snobs look down on Red Heart yarns, but I love it. I could never afford to spend $100 on a sweater that would inevitably shrink, pill, or be eaten by some insect or other. I love being able to wear the sweater while I am cooking or working in the yard, then to throw it into the washer and dryer. I have heard people say that the yarn is harsh, but science has marched on folks, and my sweaters, after washing, are lovely, drapey, and soft to the touch. I like the wide variety of colors. The yarn is perfect for sweaters for children, and Red Heart also makes other yarns that are full of pep and color for children (like RH Kids). I use the Supersaver on a bulky knitting machine, but I knit all the ribbings and some special features by hand.

Here are some sweaters made of Red Heart Supersaver:






The chest of drawers that I used to store my sweaters went away with one of my daughters when she moved into her new apartment several years ago. I recently got an Anaboda chest from IKEA to store them in, but now I have to assemble it. Today I am off to the hardware store to buy myself a ratchet screwdriver.

Beginning a New Year

Well, I won't kid you, last year was hard. My knitting mojo died off and I spent the second half of the year mostly sewing. I think I feel the urge to knit returning, though, and I will start off by making something smallish, like a hat. A girl can't have too many brightly colored hats, so I will have to start looking around for beret-like hat patterns. I don't like a hat that smooshes down your hair since my hair needs all the help it can get.

Most of my yarn is still in the storage unit. Here's the deal - after the window replacement and having to empty out the sewing/knitting room, we decided to replace the haphazard storage with a nice Expedit unit from IKEA. However, now we have to take down the current shelves and the stuff that is on them before we start putting the unit together. Oh yes, we have to buy the unit first, too. It has cubbyholes that will hold a lot of yarn. My daughter M has a black one stuffed full of beautiful sock yarn, but I am getting a white unit. I also have a bunch of pretty fabric storage cubes to put on top of the wood shelves. This is so that the avalance that will probably occur during the next quake will be somewhat soft on the head. Only after this is all in place can my yarn come home. On the bright side, the spouse has finally found the extra key to the storage unit and told me the secret code, so I can now go visit my yarn if necessary.

In other hat news, my daughter gave me two lovely handmade hats for Christmas, so I will try to take photos this weekend and show them off.