One down...

...one to go!

The first Solstice Sock is complete with the mate progressing on the ribbing.

I really like how the foot striped, but ambiguous about pooling on the leg. They are the exact same number of stitches and the same patterning. There's no tellin' about handpainted yarn and why it does what it does.




Today's Saturday sky is three layer clouds scooter-poopin' through the atmosphere. Predicted storms later on today had Russ getting the hill mowed as early as possible.

Two weeks

until 2.75, counting the buffet and reunion with friends and scouring the SHP marketplace.

This shot I took at camp two years ago, depicting just some of the wonderful garments we've read about in Meg's columns and publications. All are displayed at camp for us to touch, try on and borrow for part of the day to wear, if we like.

Yes, it's almost like a shrine for many, especially first time campers. And Camp 1 begins one week from today. Remember the excitement of getting everything ready for the first day of school? Remember the joy and awe of School Day #1? That's Camp, too.
Remember the freshly sharpened pencils and new pens and notebooks and everything together in a book bag or back pack or clutched tightly in your little sweaty hand? Maybe an audible gasp as the classroom door is opened? It's part of the yearly camp experience.

Monday Meanderings

It's not even noon and there's a lot going on!

We left early this morning for Russ' yearly PET scan in New Kensington.
Then brekky.

A garter snake glided across my path by the pond this morning. Of course, I didn't have the camera with me at that moment.

Now onward for some things accomplished before the spotty showers return this afternoon. Last night's spotty showers were a two and a half hour downpour with frequent crashing and lighting up of the dusky landscape.
In the meantime...



Here is the other clematis blooming. It is the older of the two and obviously a later bloomer!





The very first day lily flower greets the morning sunshine.




The very first daisy is also greeting the day by the pond.




And the newest sock project joins the brigade by the Asiatic lilies that are blooming by the driveway. (Click on any picture to enlarge, as always.)

This is STR lightweight in the Tatania colorway. Not summer like colors, but bright! (And a bit too much purple, but I like the colorway, anyway!) Sock is a combination of patterns and being knitted on "0" DPN's.

Non-Knitting

Looking forward to summer and the hot temps we have only seen four days of so far, has meant that there's more than enough time to come up with projects we want to accomplish. Since the neck scarf, I've been reading and thinking and planning and getting some chores accomplished.

Russ has been even busier.

But here's a bit of nature around the hacienda.



Walls of volunteer honeysuckle braced by the state cyclone fence.




Volunteer ferns 'neath the lilacs.




And the result of the barberry bush (which Russ hated 'cause it would jump out and scratch him like jumping cholla) not wintering over well...

Three weeks till the beginning of 2.75.

Can h-a-r-d-l-y wait!

Neck to Neck

Meg Swansen's Faroese Shawl Neck Scarf from her DVD is a finished object! Actually, she was finished about 5:45 last night, then blocked on a super-size bath towel.



I had been concerned that the sock yarn, Fiesta Baby Boom, being such a sproingy yarn, wouldn't hold a blocking. There was no cause for concern. She blocked at 42 1/2". I didn't put pins in her, just had her on the towel. By this morning she was dry and had gone to 38 1/2". Still, she fits on the shoulders nicely. For a more shawl-like length, probably adding two diamond repeats would do it.

Here, we see the neck scarf enjoying June late afternoon sun perched on ever-entwining wisteria with wonderful mock orange in the background. Click to embiggen, as always.

Knit on a 10 1/2 24" Susan Bates circular needle
Yarn is Fiesta Baby Boom, colorway "Sedona" (a wonderful surprise from Linda)
Begun June 7, 2008
Finished June 12, 2008
Pattern from "Knitting Lace with Meg Swansen" DVD (copyright 2007, available from Schoolhouse Press.

Faroese shawl Neck-scarf

Last year at Retreat 2.75, Meg's DVD "Knitting Lace with Meg Swansen" was due momentarily and Meg gave us a handout for this neckscarf. (See it in this picture, which you can 'embiggen', as always.) Many at 2.75 tried it.


I didn't attempt it at that time, but I was able to get the DVD at camp, as it arrived during our session. I admit I've been looking at the DVD more lately, and as getting my notebook ready for camp and reviewing last year, I pulled out this handout. I've also watched this section of the DVD twice. There will be a third viewing for the row that includes Amy's centered eyelet.

There are times when I wished I'd knitted a shawl in 'my' colors since I have knitted the pi shawl in neutrals and the pi are square shawl in blue and white. I'd been looking for a project for the Joslyn's alpaca I won at Camp 1. Hmmm. Fairly typical to form, I chose another yarn.

This time I chose the Sedona Fiesta Baby Boom that Linda sent me not long ago. I'm still not sure if it will work in lace and the Susan Bates size 10 1/2 circular needle that I've had "forever" is very clunky since I'm used to 0-6's. Truthfully, I did Google and check Ravelry for the possibilities of using this yarn in lace. I did find one Forest Canopy shawl that looked pretty good; so, I'm hoping this will be a 'winner'.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Oh. My. Goodness. but the postal person deserved a hug yesterday!

This first picture shows my winnings for a blog contest from Bobbi at Krafty1. I first met Bobbi at Meg's Camp 1 in 2005, so this was especially fun!

A few weeks ago she had a contest to guess the closest date of when she would have her first daffodil blooming in her Midwest area home. I was closest by one day.

My winnings include a skein of Meilenweit Magic sock yarn, a packet of sheepy cards she made, a cute beaded and charmed "Bloomin'Beader"--great for attaching to bags of all sorts fibery, and a Hershey's 5 candy sheepy egg! Thank you Krafty1 !





I was expecting Bobbi's package, but this next one included a double surprise.

An envelope from Gwen (and Cathy), Knitting camp mates,discovered some prezzies for Russ and me!

The first one with the white peony is grey and black Lorna's Laces millend sock yarn in grey and black. Especially chosen by Gwen for a pair of socks for Russ, he said, "Just my colors! Knit them thin enough and I'll wear them!" He encourages my fiber pursuits, but doesn't wear any of them.



Then these two skeins with the pink peony are Gypsy Girl Creations yarn in Watermelon Tourmaline that Gwen and Cathy found at The Fold in Marengo, Illinois.

Thank you, Guys, big, big hugs at camp in the next few weeks.

I am bowled over speechless with the generosity of knitting friends. (Of all the women Russ has met, and they are many, he thinks knitters are the best! And male knitters are pretty cool, too.)

Now Blocking

We have a 2008 2.75 name tag!



Before the sun wilts the Nearly Wild roses and volunteer buttercups in the predicted record-tieing 93 degree, 70% humidity afternoon, the Latvian mitten wanted to make its appearance as a FO!


Just in case the name tag should flip over, as name tags on lanyiers are wont to do, here is the back of the mitten with my initials.




The statistics:

*Mitten is from the SHP KAL with Lizbeth Upitis, May 2008. The pattern is from the SHP website (Graph 19, District of Vidzeme from Lizzie's book "Latvian Mittens"), except for the lettering which is based upon a Celtic alphabet. Mitten is shortened for its purpose as a name tag. It also does not have a thumb because of its purpose.
*Knit on size 0 DPNs (I did use bamboo, but metal is suggested since a tight grip on the needles has a tendency to snap bamboo.)
*KnitPicks Palette yarn
* Started 5/30/08, Finished 6/6/08 as last ends woven in at 12:15 AM

*Caution: Latvian mitten knitting is addictive.

Mitten along

See, I promised...



Here is mitten as of today...a 'far cry' from its appearance Sunday morning. I just could hardly put it down!



Except for the name panel, it is the same pattern as Lizbeth Upitis and Schoolhouse Press chose for the KAL. I had thought that it was not my colors, then I realized that it's the same colors I was swatching with in J&S 2 ply Shetland yarn last summer when I was working on my fair isle pattern. The pattern hasn't gotten past inordinate swatching. It's now in hibernation.



For the lettering ("nancy" on the front, "nj" on the back) my trusty celtic lettering was utilized, then tweeked with trusty pencil and graph paper.

Today's predicted storminess may provide more mitten moments.

Latvian June the First

And the newest project is (pregnant pause for envelope opening)...



A Latvian mitten from the Schoolhouse Press KAL with Lizbeth Upitis! Although the KAL is 'officially' complete, it is still available on the website as well as previous KAL's, which are archived.

As per suggested, I am using size 0 doublepoints. For yarn, KnitPicks Palette makes its debut here. In 2005 Knitpicks was still a new-ish company and was giving away $100. gift certificates to be used on their site. I couldn't believe it, but I won one month! That kept me looking at their site and when the beautiful sampler came out, I had to order it for dreaming.

On this mitten I learned how to accomplish the fringe and the braid. The fringe wasn't really difficult at all, just time consuming, more so at beginning. It actually looks pretty good!

The next mitten row introduces color number 3, but only 2 colors per row.

Enjoy the clematis!

Sock Eye Candy

...and I don't mean salmon!

Seriously, I wanted to get back to this sock that has been waiting patiently for my return since April 29th when Miss Scarlett was cast on. (Click to embiggen, as always.) That heel needed to be turned so I can pick it up for 'mindless knitting' moments instead of my next project which may go on the needles tonight. No, not sayin' what it is till it's happening.

Sock is STR lightweight, knits like a dream on 0's for me.

Sock #1 is posing on the spirea bush which blooms once a year and often gets rained out. Should it get rained upon, the flowers are gone. There are many years when it does not get to bloom. Tonight there are to be thunderstorms, so this afternoon's bright sun and temps headed upward toward the much-desired 80's, seemed most appropriate for the bush's blog-glory.

Going Bananas (Miss Scarlett)

A month to the day...Miss Scarlett is an FO!



OK, I admit she's not quite an FO...she has a few more ends to weave in and she needs to be dressed.

Russ took this shot this morning after breakfast...I have to time my photo shoots around my camera guy's schedule during the school year.

The (K)nitty Gritty:

Pattern -- Miss Scarlett
By -- Just Call Me Ruby
Available on Ravelry
4.0 and 6.0 Addi Turbo circular needles
Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (20% merino and 80% cotton)
Size -- Medium
Started April 29, 2008
Finished May 29, 2008

Yes, I do plan on wearing it at 2.75 this summer!

Boom!

Linda! Thank you! Yes, we do all need a little Boom (as in Fiesta Baby Boom, color Sedona) in our lives.

Baby Boom Sedona is pictured above an original painting by my friend Peta-Anne, named the "Red Rocks of Sedona" that was a going away present when we left Arizona for Pennsylvania.

Hugs.

No SSS here!

That's right! No SSS here!

In this case SSS means "Second Sleeve Syndrome"! SSS can also stand for Second Sock Syndrome -- both of which indicate that if the second item isn't cast on simultaneously or immediately after the first one, then dreading doing it all over again tends to put the whole item into the WIP (Work In Progress) then quickly into the hibernation stack. (As always, click on photo to embiggen/show detail!)

"Go Bananas, Miss Scarlett" was cast on April 29th, and the goal has been to have her finished by May 29th. There are 6 more rows on this sleeve, so there is a good possibility she could be done as early as tomorrow. Here's hoping!

The lilacs in the blue antique vase were brought to me yesterday by Chris and fellow driver Dan who came over to join the Memorial Day celebration hotdog grilling. Chris' Japanese lilac tree produced them. The leaves and flowers are smaller than the lilacs we are familiar with and are stronger perfumed... took these almost no time to perfume the entire house. Chris said that there is a saying that if you find a five petaled lilac flower, you should pick and eat it for good luck!

Joy!

Eye Candy Friday is being presented to you by the letter "J" for sunshiney Joy!






Copper snail is happily absorbing sunshine so he can glow tonight!








Lobedia and parsley spread their roots in this hanging basket originally purchased at Wal-Mart in Thatcher, Arizona.



And here is today's lovely blue sky. It is just awesome to see this after the last 14 of 15 days brought us rain sometime during each day.

Yarn Elf update as of yesterday...he is to be released from the hospital within the next couple days but the doctor and staff are deciding where he will be to convalesce.

Healing for Yarn Elf

Remember this picture of Yarn Elf from Christmastime? (It's the only picture I have of him on the computer.)

A good friend of Yarn Elf's convinced him to go to the local hospital yesterday about his swollen leg. Last night he was transferred to a Tucson hospital and had surgery about midnight. Word is that he's not in too much pain, thanks to the medications.

Please say good, kind, healing words for Yarn Elf. He's a very special fella.

Missy Monday

This rotten weather is about to take everyone's sanity, even though we get peeks of sunshine. It's past the middle of May with an average high of 71 and it's 48 right now with a gusty breeze still in the neighborhood.



What the wind did overnight was to bring down a couple small branches plus this monster. This is a blooming branch from the choke cherry right over the fence. Just for comparison's sake, the small cherry tree near it is 4 feet tall.



With happier news, another Missy is pictured here to the left, "Go Bananas, Miss(y) Scarlett" is on sleeve #1. It is within a couple rows of decreasing for the sleeve cap. I'm knitting the sleeve on a #6 16" Addi circular.

The ribbing on the cuff matches the ribbing on the bottom of the body. From then on, it's round and round we go....

Strangely changing Saturday Sky

Clear skies all through the night after more rain yesterday.



Then came a cloud finger in the early morning dropping a trace of rain.

And now this beautiful sky.




But the prognosticators tell us thunderstorms approach about the noon hour on already spongey soil.

We want...we need 70+ temperatures and lots of sunshine. The average high is 71. We might see 64 today.

Creating Fiber

Better get those planted!


When we went to the open air nursery, buying the hanging baskets, we also bought other plants. I had planted the lobedia and the parsley. Tomato plants, lettuce and marigolds were still on the porch.

There was a developing problem. After 5 days of sun (at which point the ground was just becoming nicely tillable), we had 3" rain. Then one day of sun yesterday followed by blue skies at dawn this morning. By breakfast the clouds were gathering. By itself this isn't a problem. The problem is the forecast rain/storms today through (whenever....) Russ re-tilled a couple garden rows and I planted the starts. Then he re-tilled a few more garden rows to cut down on the thousands of 'weedlings' sprouting.



While I was planting, Russ took the wheelbarrow and loaded a pile of yard stuff I'd had in the side yard. Then while he was re-tilling, I pruned a native blackberry bush and a few 10 foot canes of the rose bush that were growing over a barberry. Poor barberry didn't make it through the winter well so will be removed one of these days. Russ is thrilled -- he hates that bush! It reaches out and scratches him while he's mowing if he isn't very careful. (Yes, it could be a jumping cholla cactus with its predictably drawing blood.)


In the wake of predicted showers each day through next Tuesday according to the weather radio report just broadcast, the need to think of happy things is strong.

Let's dream of knitting camp!

Pictured here are the four name tags I've made for camp in the past. Three were made for Camp 1 and the faux fair isle for Camp 2 and onward! They are posed on the knitting tote with Elizabeth Zimmermann's most famous quotation.

And so I will Kniton2!

Scarlett Surrounded

Sun has returned for today with a twenty degree rise in temperature, i.e., to normal/average.



First, the azalea is starting to open. It has done well all these years on the north-facing house wall.






Miss Scarlett is spread out on the top of the azalea, enjoying a flower of her namesake part of the country, the South. Her back is finished, awaiting the front and neckline. The front bodice area has begun.



Under the lilacs, just to the east of the azalea, are volunteer ferns. They began coming up as one little fern a few years ago. I am pleased to see they are spreading.