just another raveller

Damn, I want to sit outside! It's 75 F/24 C, dry and breezy. The immediate neighbours are away on their Labour Day jaunts and I'm stuck inside. I did spend the morning in the shade of an enormous fir at the bottom of the garden making headway on the Side to Side Ribbon Pullover and observing the Life of Insects. Now I have been chased indoors. There are two immediate causes. First, about half a block up. someone has hired a man with a microphone to animate a three year old's birthday party. He's got them squealing. Oh yeah. At the same time, in the more immediate vicinity, our local ratcatcher, Cleo the black cat is having her fun with with a chipmunk. She's alternately carrying it in her mouth and chasing it through the near foliage - Japanese anemone and Lilac bushes. It squeals just like the chipmunks in the Disney cartoons. Oy. I'll give it a half hour and then the carnage should be over and the cake consumed. Sorry, no photos.

I have a new set of wips. 1. The Pine Tree Palatine scarf is creeping along on lace addis. I decided to do it in two colours for the usual reason - not enough yarn in one colour. I've gotten two teeth done in the body of the scarf, thus: 2. My short lived romance with the triangle shaped Heartland Lace Shaw l is over. Not that it isn't a beautiful shawl! It is. I'm using Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine and I'm up to 215 atitches which is the number where you would normally start the border if you were using the yarn the pattern calls for - a somewhat heavier yarn. The alpaca is quite fine and I will have to slog on for a while before this will make even a suitably sized winter scarf. It's the kind of pattern you have to do with a clear mind, preferably early in the day. The the regular addis (2.75 mm) are very slippery. In short, I'm giving this project a tiny rest. 3. The Side to Side Pullover . Only guilt will lead me to finish this dull piece of knitting, hopefull...

I've been away. You may have noticed. A brief week at the cottage, all too short. We rented this place on the Gatineau River and got the whole family together. We've been up in these parts for several decades now but no longer fit under one roof. We had to haul in the drinking water, but the surroundings were so beautiful and relaxing that we didn't really mind. There was canoeing, of course. And swimming. With neighbourhood dogs. There was a  covered bridge with views. The water was high and fast due to all the rain that they've had this summer. There was more canoeing. With clouds reflected in the still water of Lac La Peche in the morning. And knitting, of course. Here's the present I was working on for my sister Frances. I found one of those blue and white striped Sheffield tea pots and knit this cosy for it. I'm just about done with the Side to Side Pullover (that ribbon thing) but not quite there. I could hardly bear working on it. Instead, I carried aro...

I have started three new projects since I finished the last batch (Fleurette Cardigan, February Lady and the quasi Cobweb Crepe). My favorite of the three new ones is the Pine Tree Palatine Scarf, pictured at left by Galina Khmeleva. Some time ago I knit one of her triangular shawls after attending a workshop with Galina. This is the bottom border. I've gone a bit beyond this, but not much. It now lives on a dining room chair and I pass by once in a while and knit a few rows. It's very relaxing. Here's the beginning of the Side to Side Pullover by Katy Ryan (IK Spring 2004). If you say this looks easy, you'd be right. Falling asleep easy, I'd say. I must have drifted off, because after knitting one sleeve and getting 4 inches into the body, I suddenly realized I had nine stitches extra on the front. Or the back - they're identical! That's about two inches extra on one side - won't do, can't hide it. This is a dreadful project for me. First there...