1870 pearl ~ My Life in Stitches

Score!

There are distinct advantages to working in a yarn store. The first and obvious one is the generous employee discount which I do appreciate. But there is a second one that I just discovered on Saturday that I think rivals the first.

You see, Kate Jacobs will release her third installment of the Friday Night Knitting Club Series on November 3rd. I have been breathless with anticipation and had placed a copy on reserve.

Now can you take a wild guess at what arrived at Knit Wits in Saturday afternoons  post? 

A single complimentary copy from Penguin Books!!!! Surprise! I had no idea that it was coming.

 

I spent the weekend savoring every page. Do you want to know how it ends?

A Touch of Mink

....and when combined with cashmere its almost sinful and really should be illegal. 

Thankfully, its not. And even better, the price makes this one very affordable. I only paid $19.50 for 230 yards of crimson luxury! 

As of yet, I have no idea what this is going to be but you can be sure that when the time comes I will use every single bit of this heavenly yarn.

* * * * *

O.K. girls, you can stop drooling over the key board and go get your own hank at Great Northern Yarns, where the customer service is excellent and the shipping is fast.

And if you're smart you will tell all of your family members to get you a hank or two or three for Christmas. Just think, if they coordinate their efforts you could score enough for a sweater!

Half

Maxine requested that I knit a sock for a store sample. Of course I happily agreed and set my hands to the task.

Just after I turned the heel I had a startling revelation. I'm only knitting one sock.  One sock is a half of a pair. For the rest of my life my sock count will be 100 and whatever and a half!!!!

 

People will think I had some bizarre wool accident or wonder if Second Sock Syndrome has finally taken its toll after 100 pairs.

They will whisper amongst themselves when I am seen in public. Then every once and a while some innocent child at the prodding of his or her curious Knitting parent, who has heard of this urban legend, will bravely pose the question of the century "Why is your sock count 100 and a Half?"

And I will respond with the lamest answer that you can imagine and that poor dear child will walk away sorely disappointed with my pathetic tale. 

* * * * *

TBC tells me that I think too much and take things way to seriously! 

* * * * *

The fierce and practically florescent yarn is Lorna's Laces self striping yarn, which is yummy to work with.

Something Special

Every Friday afternoon I have the privilege of teaching the art of knitting to my most favorite student Horchata. At the beginning of each class she quietly slips her payment into my hand and I have been tucking it away for something special.

* * * * *

Now I have a friend who is the Proprietor of Beads of Distinction and his shop is right next door to Knit Wits so I visit with him each week. In his shop he had two pretty red coral bracelets mixed with sliver. Last Christmas he sold one to Meg and I think of her each time I see the second one.  

Yesterday, I made a withdrawal from my Teaching Funds and bought the bracelet and the matching choker that Paul made at my request.

 

Somehow by owning the bracelet I feel a little bit closer to Meg. I know that sounds silly, since we talk to each other every single day but it is what it is and I'm o.k. with that.

Besides it is so sparkly, pretty and red how could I resist?

Hi Meg!  I miss you!

In Which Abigail Creates A Library

When we moved into this condo the menfolk confiscated my bookshelves and filled them with boring technical* books. 

Thus my poor collection of knitting books have been living in stacks on the floor of my bedroom closet. Hrump! O.K. I'll admit that I gave it up willingly.

Last month I finally decided that it was time to procure** a bookshelf of my very own and here it is. 

I spent Monday**** filling it with all of my Knitting Books & DVD's, Darning Egg, Nostepinne, the Notions*** Box, and my needle case. Everything that provides technical support is right here with the exception of my swift, ball winder, blocking wires and blocking mats. Those live in our closet. 

I must say that it is really nice to have the majority of my tools in one happy place.

* * * * *

*Computers, Robotics and anything about the Military - specifically the Navy. Yawn.  Did you expect anything else?

**Can you believe that I had to drive three hours to the mainland to buy a bookcase? I could not find a single one in Key West. And yes, I spent weeks looking for one before I gave up.

*** The red sewing box has been converted for a Knitter. It now holds crochet hooks, waste yarn, spare daring needles, extra tape measures, calculators, scissors, blocking pins, rulers, needle  sizers, the entire collection of DPN's size 0 - 8, extra markers of assorted shapes/sizes and stitch holders. Plus the bazillion end caps that come with every set of cords from Knit Picks. I swear these things multiply like rabbits. Does anyone need any? I'd be glad to send you some.

**** Disregard the time stamp on the photo. The camera is old and confused.

In Which Abigail is Unable to Commit

Have you noticed the newest trend in triangular shawls? 

Most of them are the perfect blend of 80 % Stockinette and 20% lace. This is a knitters dream come true!

This means that anyone can whip through the body of shawl of the shawl with hardly any effort at all and then only spend a small amount of time creating a beautiful border.   

Ishbel

 
The Traveling Woman

 
Wandering the Moor

 
Romantica

As for me I'm so in enamored with each design that I can't decide which one to fashion first. Well, I'm not going to let that minor detail slow me down. Friday night I cast on for one of these beauties. I figure I have a wee litttle bit before I need to commit to a specific pattern. Is'nt that neat!  

Now about the yarn, I have some seriously gorgeous dark garnet colored Fleece Artist Merino sock weight in a mostly solid that should look smashing in any of these designs. 

I'll keep you posted.

In Which Abigail Experiences Good Luck

Maxine, the owner of Knit Wits, is particularly fond of Avacado green and surprisingly it does look good on her. 

 

With that in mind I've been keeping a sharp lookout for wool in that specific color for quite a while, because I've wanted to fashion a Twisted Vines Neck warmer for her as a welcome home gift.

She is due back this coming Sunday and the yarn has not been found yet. Though I'll admit that I have'nt been looking very hard. On Monday I assumed that this little idea was simply not meant to be and let the notion go. 

Yesterday afternoon, while I was slaving away at the shop, a few large boxes of woolly goodness showed up at the door.

And as luck would have it Debbie, the co-owner had ordered one bag of Karabella - Aurora 8 in the perfect shade of green. I guess it was meant to be after all and the yarn is divine. 

I'm so excited I can hardly knit!  

News Flash

 

Why, yes it is. I cast on for Mom's Upstairs shawl. She became enamored with  mine when she was here in July.

As for the yarn, I selected an alpaca silk blend, from Plymouth Yarns which I think  will please her senses. This yarn is simply divine to say the least. The silk gives it a lovely sheen, the alpaca is sinfully soft and it drapes nicely while keeping the stitch definition. And if I did not already have a shawl in the pattern I would keep it for myself. 

Of course the early stages of lace work is rather boring so you will have to wait for a decent picture.

Scandalous Behavior

I have not knit a single stitch for more than a week.

I'll give you a moment to recover. Sorry about that.

And you know what is even more shocking than that.

I can't even tell you why because I don't know the reason either.

I did think about knitting every day and I know that counts for something somewhere in our wooly universe.

Sometimes that's the way things go and perhaps I'll cast on for a sock. Its been a while.

So I'll bid you a good weekend and I hope to see all of you on Monday.

 

 

In Which Abigail Takes the Time to Listen

Now that school is back in session and the house is quite for more than a few minutes at a time, I have taken to listening to my favorite Podcasts while knitting again.

 

Kelly Petkin, the owner of Knit Picks, is dedicated to making your knitting the best it can be with good technical advice and verbal instruction. Her podcasts are well organized and are immensly helpful to knitters of all skill levels.

 

The Electric Sheep is presented by Hoxton Handmade, a positively charming Brit, who chats about a variety of subjects with a bit of knitting tossed in for good measure. Her essays are insightful, witty, articulate and downright funny at times. If you have not made her acquaintance I recommend that you start with Episode 17: A Song & Dance.  I laughed so hard I cried and you will too.

 

Never Knit Knitting is hosted by Alana, an up and coming knit wear designer. Her focus is all about the knitting and her adventures along the way. She also provides honest product and book reviews for her audiance. Almost every week there is a tale of a Knitters triumph or tribulation, which are submitted by her faithful listeners. I especially enjoyed the story of Joseph Knitting. And if you like contests then your in luck. There are always good prizes to be had in her little corner of blog land. 

 

And last but certainly not least is Susan, the Queen of the Oxford dictionary and the pleasant host of Knit A Journey.  Her podcast is another well thought out mix of both her personal life and her knitting journey. 

All of these podcasts can be found on I-Tunes.

Now do tell, what do you listen to?

Distracted

Thanks to BKFF Lauran, I have become delightfully distracted all weekend and neglected my poor blog until a few minutes ago. 

She introduced me to FarmVille, a game that you can play in Facebook. 

I find this rather amusing since I don't like dirt and tend to avoid it whenever possible and I have a very black thumb. However, in this case, it is cyber dirt so I can handle that and my crops are growing! Surprise, surprise!

Now that I've got the game figured out I might wind up with a stellar farm after all. Currently my farm looks like a hot mess but hopefully when Friday comes around it should look pretty spiffy.

Hey, I wonder, are you playing FarmVille too? If you are, would you like another friend? I'm a really good friend. I help out and give great gifts too.

Do let me know in the comments and I'll send you an invite to your email account.

Clothilde

As you know I prefer to knit shawls that have a lot of visual impact for the least amount of effort that I can possibly get away with since I am a notoriously lazy knitter. Ask my friends if you don't believe me. 

When Clothilde came along I knew that this would be a no brainer project. I was right. This was truly easy peasy.

And spectacular in a pure true red! Trust me it looks much better in real life.

 

 

Quid Pro Quo

I am blessed to have the acquaintance of a woman who is a skilled jewelry maker. 

Quite often I admire her finished pieces and she does the same when I show her mine. 

Since neither of us are interested in learning each others crafts we arranged a little Quid Pro Quo.  

She crafted an Art Deco inspired bracelet that I'm positively thrilled to wear because it works so nicely with my wardrobe. In fact I might ask if she would be willing to make a choker to match.

 

In return, I knit a scarf for her to wear. 

I think it resembles a mutant Fozzy Bear, who has gone wildly Psychedelic.

 

She selected the yarn and I will tell you that it is positively beastly to knit. The stitches kept jumping off the needles and disappearing into the fabric so I was forced to  count to fifteen on every single row until it was done. Ick! Just another reason why I despise novelty yarns. But I will say, that in this case, it was definitely worth the aggravation.  

Dear Diary

Some people have the luxury of counting cute and cuddly bunnies when they are out and about. In the Keys, Green Iguanas are so prolific that we count them instead.

On our return from Big Pine Key we racked up a count of twenty four spotted during the four-ty five minute ride. I live in a reptile house. How lucky can I get.

 

RB's Marine Mechanics college class going to build a thirty foot Catamaran. This is truly exciting. I'm looking forward to see it come together.

I got gas for $2.61 yesterday, when I went to Baby's Coffee in Big Coppit Key! Gas in Key West is pricey at $2.79! It's amazing. 

In a moment of weakness I cast on for my new wrap. The yarn is gorgeous.

Knit Wits is re-opening on Tuesday! It will be good to be back in the shop again.

Dear Diary

Honestly, where did the week go? It seems like yesterday was Monday and now its time for me to do my Friday house-blessing again. 

I think I'll blame the missed blog days on Clothilde and call it good. Anyway, the shawl is done and was dressed on Wednesday. When the gray clouds disappear I just might take pictures.

If I lived in a cold climate I would knit this positively stunning hat and the mittens that match. Maybe I will just for the fun of it.

 

After seeing Pink Lemon Twist's Rosebud Wrap, I knew I had to have one too. So dear Allison kindly sent me three drop dead gorgeous hanks of Fleece Artist Merino in Ruby. Though if you ask me it's more like a dark garnet or candy apple red. Yum! My fingers are itching to cast on.

However, I really should finish Abigail first. Though there is truly no rush. It won't be cold until late January so it will be a while before I can expect to wear the pretty thing. 

Wisdom Wins

As I continue to grow and mature as a knitter my perceptions of certain knitting practices have also changed. At one time I thought purchasing yarn without a specific purpose or project was not the most prudent thing to do. It seemed to be a foolish and wasteful notion. 

But every once and a while, I too, would bring home a hank or two or three of some lovely yarn just because I liked it. It made me feel guilty.

Of course I do not buy yarn with wild abandonment. I'm always very thoughtful and careful with my purchases, taking home only the best .

Now as time has past my modest stash is resembling a well stocked LYS though it will never be as large as Meg's. However, when a need for a knitted gift arises I go shopping in my stash and its turning out to be a rather nice and convenient resource. 

That, my friends, is worth its weight in gold.

When Knit Picks released City Tweed HW I fell in love with the rustic alpaca yarn. I wisely purchased enough yardage to fashion a sweater and tossed it into my Cherry Wood Trunk for safe keeping after I gave it a good nuzzle. I am weak when is comes to alpaca.  

At the time I had no purpose for the soft wool but I was confidant that it would reveal itself eventually. 

Thanks to Ravelry I stumbled across that pattern last week when I was on the hunt for something else. Score, another perfect match! 

I adore the classic, clean and chic lines of this sweater and there is something rather special about the name. 

 

Perfectly suitable for everyday or dressy enough for an evening out. The only modification that I'm going to make is to lengthen the sleeves. 

If I had not already had this yarn in my stash I would have had to wait a week for the yarn to arrive.

See, it is truly wise to have a modest and varied stash.

So far so good. The yoke has been through three test fits and all is well. I'm so excited that I could do a happy dance in the living room but that would cut into my knitting time!

Dear Diary

Wow, the little Comment Contest was fun. So many new faces came by to say hello. Knitty Suewas the winner for August. Just as soon as she sends me her address I'll send her some yummy Koigu. 

 

Susan Boyle, Mike Seidel and Sara Palin were seen on the Rock this week. Who knew they had celebrity look alike.

I've found a total of thirty six cents in three different parking lots during the month of August. If this keeps up I might become rich in a few decades.

I realized that with RB's new school schedule I won't be able to go home until next summer. Sniff. I miss my Mom. Perhaps I can convince her to fly down here again.

My continued wanderings around Key West with my camera brought me to a very pretty front door.

 

If the weather remains calm I will re-open Knit Wits on the 15th of September. I can hardly wait.

TBC requested that I clean up my lap top. I removed four gigs worth of pictures. He was impressed and so was I.

I wonder if anyone else has noticed that my blog now coordinates nicely with Ravelry. 

I almost forgot, the Comment Contest will continue on for September. Same rules will apply.

A Good Match

The first time I laid my eyes on Clothilde I knew that it was the shawl for me. I bought the pattern as soon as it was available and so did a wack of other knitters.

For weeks I struggled with choosing the right yarn for the project. Nothing in my work basket seemed to be a good fit. 

And as luck would have it, the last time I shopped at Knit Picks I ordered two hanks of the Gloss Fingering in the newly released colorway Fiesta. I'm in love with the true red color. I think I might swoon.....

At the time I did not have particular project in mind but I figured that it would reveal its future identity eventually. Yarn always does. Well it did much sooner than anticipated and its looking pretty good so far.

 

As of last night, I've used up half of the first hank and the wing span is thirty inches un-stretched.

* * * * *

Did the unusual name of the shawl pique your curiosity? Then check out this link to learn the proper pronunciation and meaning.

* * * * *

Are you interested in participating in a Clothilde KAL? You are in luck, the Fiber Fix is hosting one in Ravelry.

* * * * *

Deborah Porter, I need your mailing address so your prize can be sent to you. Please e-mail me the information. Thank you:D

* * * * *

The Comment Contest ends today for the month of August. I'll announce a winner on Wednesday.

Would you like me to host another one for September?

Woosh!

This week has been a mad dash of chauffeur service for TBC and RB. I'm happy to report that TBC is much better and is driving himself now.

However my wings have been clipped severely this year. I am now providing chauffeur service for RB and a few other students to the college in the afternoon and picking them up when class is done for the day. 

The high school does not provide transportation for those student who have afternoon classes so it falls on the parents to make do. And what is more annoying is the students only have 25 minutes to get there and eat lunch. RB eats his in the truck on the way there.

We did look into utilizing public transportation but the bus leaves for the campus 5 minutes before RB's high school class is released and makes a return trip to our neighborhood two hours after his class is done!

RB will have his driving permit soon but this does not solve the problem either. He has to have his permit for one full year before he can obtain his license. Until then he must have an adult in the car.

So there you have it. I'm driving in circles every day and becoming accustomed to all the new changes in my schedule.

 

I can tell you already that I am looking forward to Christmas break.

Of course I did manage to finish Baktus and took a measurement of its widest point and guess what. We do have a winner.

Debbie Porter and KJO were on the same wave length and said 15 inches was the lucky number.

I tossed a coin and Debbie won! Her prize is a Row Counter Bracelet from Jed's Joy Etsy Shop.

Debbie please contact me via email at a1870pearl @ yahoo dot com and we will work out all the details.

For those of you who have never used one of these pretty counting tools it works similar to an Abacus.

I own two of them since they are so useful. One is the Garnet & Pearl and the other is Black & White.

Vertigo

Friday morning started as it always does but it did not end the way I expected. TBC went off to work at seven thirty and I turned my attention to my Friday ritual of cleaning the house. 

Just after ten thirty, four loads of laundry had been washed, dried and put away. The morning breakfast dishes had been clean and returned to the cabinets. I re-made the beds with freshly laundered sheets. The tub had been scrubbed, fresh towels replaced the used ones and the bathroom sparkled. And anything that needed to be tidied up was.

By eleven, all one thousand feet of the tile floor had been swept and the mopping was almost complete when TBC burst through the front door and practically fell into the freshly made the bed.

He looked dreadful. He was barely able to stand, was terribly dizzy, horribly nauseous, had a nasty headache and was experiencing double vision. It was frightening.  

Within the hour, I called his brother and we took him to the Emergency room. Later that afternoon he was diagnosed with a severe case of Vertigo and was admitted into the hospital.

All the tests pointed to a simple sinus infection that was disrupting his equilibrium! What is truly strange is that he has not had any indication of being ill. There was no evidence of a cold, sneezing, sore throat, ear aches or a runny nose. How on earth does that happen? 

Regardless, apropriate medications were administered and TBC came home Saturday afternoon still feeling woozy but much improved.

His physician has placed him on light duty until all the symptoms abate. This means that he is not able to drive so I have become his personal chauffeur taking him to and from his office. Thankfully, he is recovering nicely and should be back to normal by next week.  

Needless to say not as much knitting happened this past week and when it did I kept making silly mistakes so I'll have to postpone the contest results until Friday.

I do hope that you understand.