Lookee!

Look at what arrived today!

That would be a gently used Yamaha Clavinova CLP-240. And it plays pretty well for it not being an acoustic piano. Well, at least well enough to fool this piano player. The sound is great, and I'm surprised I'm actually blogging instead of playing it.

A few answers to reader's questions: Chrissy - no I haven't found a distance where running starts to feel good. It just seem to hurt less now, but I suspect that might be because I'm walking most of it with only short bouts of slow jogging. Actually, my walking is sometimes faster than my jogging, so wrap your head around that! Steph - I'm training for the Disney half marathon. Supposedly DH's family is going to make a trip of it and DH promises that he'll do a Goofy (marathon plus a half on two consecutive days) if I do the Donald (half). I think he's pretty goofy.

But this post has been long overdue, so I'll just show you quickly the couple of finished objects that have been off the needles for what seems like forever...

Helmet Liner
Pattern: Found at Operation Home front here.
Materials: Cascade 220 (100% wool. 220 yds per 100g) 75g in color 8407. Size US8 needles.
Gauge: approximately 4.5 sts per inch

Started: February 6, 2007
Finished: February 20, 2007

Yes, this is finished, but I unfortunately have no pics of this to share. Maybe after I do another one. I gave this already to the ladies at Compatto, so you'll have to wait for the next. Fortunately, I have some black Cascade 220 in my stash with no particular plans for it. Off it goes to become yet another liner for the troops! Somehow, the charity knitting gives me so much satisfaction that I've dug out some old orphan leftovers from my stash to try to make some preemie hats for Stitches from the Heart. Yay me! Sorry... I'm trying to have a much more positive mental attitude, so you'll have to suffer through all of the sunshine I'm blowing up my own rear end for a while now.


DH's Koigu Socks
Pattern: You're Putting Me On Socks by Judy Gibson
Materials: Koigu KPPPM (100% superwash wool. 175 yd per 50g ball) 100g in color P830. Size 1 US Addi Turbos, 24" and 32".
Gauge: 8.5 sts/in in st st.
Finished size: to fit a Men's size US11 foot

Started: November 6, 2006
Frogged: November 7, 2006
Frogged: November 12, 2006
Re-started: January 26, 2007
Finished: February 19, 2007

This was a standard 68st toe up sock with 2x2 ribbing for the leg. Boring as all get out to knit, but DH loves them. I was having serious trouble getting the fit right with the Chevron pattern from Sensation Knit Socks, so I punted. DH wanted plain socks anyway. He commented when he first wore them (unblocked of course - I hang my head in shame) that they had a certain texture to them. Not bad, but definitely noticeable. We threw them in the washing machine and they softened up REALLY nicely. I might be a Koigu convert now! If only the pooling didn't bother me so much...


Godson Sweater
Pattern: Top down simultaneous saddle shoulder sweater in Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top with argyle border from Nicky Epstein's Knitting Over the Edge.
Materials: Knitpicks Shine (60% cotton, 40% modal. 110 yards per 50g ball) 175g in Sky and 25g in Cream. Size US3 Addi Turbo 24" and 32".
Gauge: 25 sts/4"
Finished size: 22" chest and 12" from top of shoulder to hem and 6" from underarm to cuff.

Started: January 27, 2007
Finished: February 13, 2007

What finally worked for me on the border? Well, I took a hint from Eunny and spread apart my stitches on the needle every few stitches, and that seemed to help me from making my floats too tight. That worked like a charm for me! Anyway, I'm quite proud of this sweater, but I don't really have the energy to blog much more here.

Besides, the piano is calling...

Happy Wednesday everyone!

One step forward...

Woohoo! I figured out what lace pattern would work for my grandmother's pink knee highs! I knew it had to be relatively simple, so a row of eyelets was about all that could work here, but hotdamn if that doesn't count as lace! I'm using the leg chart from the Petticoat Sock pattern by Veronik Avery in Weekend Knitting. I also came up with a plan (a plan! from the Spaz! say it ain't so...) for how to do the calf shaping relatively in pattern. I won't tell you now for fear that actually vocalizing it will curse me to fugly results.

but as the rest of the saying goes, ... two steps back. In the middle there are DH's Koigu Chevron socks. Clearly I had a serious case of denial going on when DH kept stretching the things THAT FAR just to get them over his toes. Somehow, I thought turning the heel would make it all better. *sigh* If only positive progress were as fast as negative progress. I swear I knit at like 30 sts/min, but gosh darn it if I can't unknit at something like 15000 sts/min. These poor things have been frogged TWICE in one week. I guess Koigu holds up like a champ to frogging.

BTW, did y'all see the Sahara pattern that Knit and Tonic Wendy did for Stitch Diva? That's right up my alley! Only maybe tack up the neckline a bit more... no one wants to see that because let's just face it, cleavage is a whole lot sexier than no cleavage and a whole lotta sternum action. Long sleeves maybe? I'm thinking maybe a bit more fitted sleeves and belled just at the cuff instead of from elbow to cuff. Will have to wait for the pattern to come out and see how I feel then.

And because I haven't done one of these in a long time...

You paid attention during 91% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

Damn! I love taking tests (freak) so I was pissed off at #10 and #14.

Progress

It occurred to me that DH hadn't made an appearance on this blog in quite some time, so I thought perhaps that I should remedy that and also show you my WIPs at the same time. So here ya go. That's my Equestrian Blazer on the left, a little bit past the armhole shaping on the back. DH's Koigu Chevron socks are on the right just after turning the heels.

That's DH in the back. How he falls asleep like that (for HOURS I tell you) and doesn't wake up with a charley horse in his neck and rug burns on his knees is beyond me. Why he felt the need to fall asleep sniffing the corner of the couch I also couldn't tell you.

I blame it on the Glenrothes and 17 yo Glenfarclas.

Yes, in fact, I just left him there and went to bed after snapping this picture. What a loving wife I am...

Edited to add: DH wanted me to clarify because apparently I made it sound like he'd had too much to drink and passed out this way. No, in fact, my DH is talented enough to do this stone cold sober. To be fair, he had come over into my knitting space to nuzzle his head in my lap as I knit and fell asleep that way. But when I got up, he didn't seem to notice and just kept right on nuzzling with the couch as a suitable substitute. I still don't get how one can fall asleep kneeling, so I stand by my initial assertion that this is a weird sleeping position.

Just do it!

Yes, I'm one of those people who isn't a well informed voter. I don't know where all the candidates stand on specific issues that I care about. I don't know the pros and cons for all of the fourteen bazillion ballot measures that are to be decided. But I'm still planning on voting. At least I can and I am free to make any decision I want, as uninformed as it might be. So my question is, which is the lesser of two evils: to vote unintelligently or not vote at all?

So when I last left off, I was contemplating the pink socks. Several of you left me fantastic links for lace knee highs and I checked them all out. So, here's where I am now.

Yeah, not so much. I found out after a couple of inches of a very simple lace pattern that this super sproingy cotton yarn has something of a boucle texture to it that looks like CRAP in lace. So I think I might have to revert to plain knee highs here and tell my grandmother that her cotton pink lace knee highs might need to wait a little longer for the right yarn. Knee high Hedera sounds good... I just need to find a mostly cotton, smooth yarn that stretches appropriately for socks. Anyone? Anyone?

But since I couldn't just be stalled doing nothing, I decided to cast on for a pair of socks for DH. That's Koigu in a chevron pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. It looks a lot like the zigzag Jaywalker pattern, but oh well. I tried to swatch for 4 other patterns with the Koigu, and nothing would show up with the short color changes there to muddy everything up. So, back to zigging and zagging.

I also tried a different toe here... something that Charlene Schurch refers to as a star-toe. I have no idea what that means, but I figured that with as mauled as DH's toes are from climbing, his toes tend to curl under slightly. I thought that a more round like toe might fit his feet better than the flat toe that seems to be pretty common to most patterns. We'll see how it turns out. But right now what's bothering me is the cast on. I did a Turkish cast on and then started increasing 4 sts evenly spaced every other round. So now I have stupid pointy places on the toe which I dislike. Do I pick out the cast on and just run the end through the live sts that I free to close up the toe? I'm scared of doing that, but I think it'll work. Anyone think this will be turn into another entry for Dumbest Thing I Did Today?

Finally, I got the Winter 2006 Interweave Knits on Friday. I knew there was a jacket and a sweater in there that I both have a comparable yarn for and want to make. So I started swatching for the Equestrian Blazer. First on US6 (bottom) and then also on US5 (above the purl ridge). Anyone notice a difference here? Yeah, neither could I. What's up with that? I think I'm just going to go with the US5 since neither seems tight enough to meet the gauge, but as it is, my overall size is only going to be 3/4" larger and I can deal with that for a jacket.

And yet again, forgive my inability to photograph red yarn. What's up with that?

Now, off to vote!