just another raveller

Wow! While catching up on posts I missed on my favorite blogs, I see that Prime Time Knitter has posted about mittens she is knitting for the Rochester Knitting Guild mitten drive!  Thanks, Marjorie.  Check it out .

Time is going by so quickly. I'm home for just one week before going to a conference and there's so much to do. A few too many things on the old to do list, ya know.  Still. I do feel nice and relaxed after my vacation. I've started on my own pair of mohair/sock yarn socks and I'm on the second one of the pair. It's gotten cold here and I've gotten all my hand knit socks out to wear. They're not for everyone, but those of us who like to wear them, really like them. They are so cosy and comforting.  Here I am using Red Heart Heart and Sole sock yarn, purchased at Michael's. It's very much like knitting with Regia. What did I knit while away? Well, not as much as I thought I would. I took the Pine Tree Palatine with me in my hand luggage, taking the needle out and putting it onto a piece of yarn instead. Waste of time. Didn't touch it.  Aside from finishing Michael's After Golf Socks, I knitted the back of a cabled cardigan using Stylecraft Fr...

I'd been hoping to post more while I was visiting my Auntie Margaret in and sister Frances, but it wasn't convenient due to dial-up and a wonky modem. Wherever the past two weeks went, they went very quickly. I had a very relaxing time and feel ready to face the world. That might be a dangerous thing to say. Let me take it back! I split my time away between Northumberland and London. First, let me say the the socks I made for Auntie Margaret and Michael were a big hit. Remember how I knitted in a strand of fine mohair? I finished Michael's the day before I left for London (Thursday) and left them on his chair a bit damp. As we set out for the Alnmouth train station, I noticed that he had them on the dashboard. He had spread them out there to dry with the intention of putting them on later in the afternoon after his golf game, at which point his feet would be cold and wet. Well, he was still wearing them when I returned 5 days later. Hmm. What better compliment could I wish ...

We're in England this week. Down in the Big Smoke for the craft show, Origin , me an' Big Baby. I was last here in 1991. Back then, when you washed your face after a day out, the water down the drain was black with grime from the air. London was famous for it's smog, but no longer. Makes me feel like Rip van Winkle (not unusual for me, I'm finding). I've been wearing Big Baby, my February Lady cardigan, every day and she's proving herself to be very adaptable indeed. Anyway, we've been all around, Big Baby an' me, notably to the posh craft show Origin at Somerset House. Here we are at left, leaving our mark in the crafting space. Passers-by were invited to write a phrase on a pice of translucent ribbon and weave it into a 3.6 meter high wire frame.  I contributed "Stitch by Stitch," not very original, but I wanted to keep moving and take in the rest of the exhibits. My sister Frances and I visited during week 2 (the exhibitors change each wee...

One pair down. One to go. The lavender scent completely disappeared in the wash... So, I'm using the mohair again in this next pair....gray Regia 3 ply with a strand of laceweight mohair. It looks steel coloured...I bought the Regia at a small yarn store in Ottawa within walking distance of Parliament Hill. It closed last year. They always had plenty of black and grey Regia in 3 and 4 ply. I pictured Canadian civil servants faithfully knitting their plain, conservative socks by lamplight, or by the excellent daylight let in through the windows of the Confederation Building . I have heard of one such man. I'm getting dizzy. I don't know what knitting to pack. I'm telling myself that I wouldn't survive if my suitcase containing the Pine Tree Palatine got lost and that IT wouldn't survive if the needles were removed by airport security. I know. I could put in a lifeline.  Point is, I'm making excuses. What I really want is to start the Morning Surf Scarf , on ...