Fickle

Yesterday, as I was putting things in my pack to take to Michelle's, I kept thinking about the linen shrug I knit up in 2003. It was my first experience with linen yarn. It was crunchy feeling when knitting, but it washed like a dream. When I pulled it out after the move, I found a hole near the shoulder seam. Upon closer inspection, it turns out the yarn had failed - not my knitting. Anyway it's fixed and I've been wearing it a lot lately, so I was thinking I want to make another. After obsessing about it for a while, I settled on the red Elann Luna yarn (same yarn as the lace skirt). I had ordered the red yarn with an eye toward making another skirt, but like I said - I'm fickle. (There's enough that a skirt could still be in the offing - just not the same lace skirt...maybe one of the skirts in the Summer VK...)


THEN I arrived home to the yarn I'd ordered to make the First String peasant top from the Spring '06 Knitters, which my Mom pointed out when we were in the only Sun City yarn shop. I found the yarn used in the pattern at Ram Wools (coincidentally, the designers of the linen shrug pattern.) I figure if Mama says she likes it, I'd better make it. (An aside: At Christmas, Mama told Tom, with a very serious face, "I think Patty and I are growing apart." Tom was a little stunned because all seems well with us. Then she followed up with, "I just don't know what styles and colors of clothes to buy her anymore.")

Knitting and roses

Roses First
With all the sun of last week, the roses started popping out. Here are some of the first. The apricot rose came from a bush that suffered greatly from the odd weather of last winter and but, fortunately it came back with a vengeance.


Twist Top Done!



The twist top knit up much faster the second time around - could be because there were fewer stitches to knit or maybe it was just experience. In any event, here it is - two sizes smaller than the first try.










Katherine Dress UFO



Today I'm going to my knit buddy Michelle's house to knit. I'm undecided on what I want to start next, so I'm resorting to UFOs. For today it will be the Katherine dress from Hot Knits.


I started it last summer in Lara, a now-discontinued Elann.com cotton yarn. True to form, it was relegated to UFO status when I got bored with the 2x2 ribbing. But after car knitting, I've made it to the interesting part. The question is how long will it take me to make the back once I get done with the front?

Untwisted

The twist front top isn't. You'd think I'd learn, but I guess not in this case. Because I don't like clothes too tight, I have a tendency to choose sizes that are too large and then I don't really check as I go along. So this is the twist front top now.

I opted to frog instead of give it away or chuck it, because I like the yarn and the pattern, it took (relatively) little time to knit and something wasn't quite right with the front; the front hung much lower than the back. The question is can I sort out exactly why and fix it in the pattern. I think I know why, and now it's a challenge. We'll just see.

Road Trip Report

On May 3, we set off to visit Patty's mom in Sun City West, AZ, northwest of Phoenix. We headed east to John Day so Tom could see where he spent a year as one of the most popular Jr High boys. That was followed by two days on the road where we traversed the bottom of Idaho, the whole of Utah, and tiny corners of Arizona and Nevada, till we reached our destination.

The route was mapped out with the help of Trip Tix on the AAA site and the surprise was that it took us over Hoover Dam. There's a new road to and suspension bridge over the dam in the works. It will make a great Discovery Channel documentary from what we could see.

We had a great time with Patty's mom and very cute puppy Tootsie, with Dog Park visits every day. I did do a little work with the Bell and Grand Starbucks as my headquarters, but mostly we just hung out.


Some observations: Red Lion Twin Falls is pet-friendly with nice rooms. Idaho has the best rest stops for pets (they provide a big grassy area and poop bags). Utah had the lowest gas prices; California the worst (no surprise there). Modesto Red Lion has a great park in back and reasonable size rooms. Plan on not arriving back home on a Sunday afternoon; the last 30 miles were the worst. But there really is no place like home.

There were way more pictures than could ever fit here, so visit my website to seem more, including lots of puppy pictures.

Good to be home

Okay. So my plan was to come home and post to the blog about the trip and my meager knitting exploits, but that hasn't happened yet. Too many pictures and my short attention span, I guess. But I am working on it.


I will report that I have completed the front of the twist front top. Just need to block it. (Update: This will take longer than expected...) And the 10"x80" stockinette scarf for Knit Picks was completed, but it was just a long curly teal strip, so I didn't take a picture.

Links the the trip report and lots of pictures of a few dogs will follow.

What kind of dog are you?

I was reminded of a quiz I took in my Adobe days, where I was found to be a Bernese Mountain dog. I can't seem to find that quiz, so I searched for some others and took them till I found a result I could live with.

Border Collie You scored 83% Loyal and 63% Independant!

You are most like these breeds: Border Collie: Originated in Scotland/England border areas, this breed is intelligent, determined and brave, this dog forms a close bond with its family and is also eager to work. If not given work to do, the Border Collie will become badly behaved. It needs ample exercise, and its origin as a sheepdog and cattle-herder means that it is only happy when given specific tasks on a regular basis. They can't sit still and they want you to be right out there doing their task with them. They are the leaders and motivators of the dog world. Alaskan Malamute: Originated in Alaska, USA, this breed is friendly, affectionate, and loyal, but can have a mind of its own. The malamute is built to work well within a team, and its friendliness makes it unsuitable for a watchdog, but brave enough to pull 110% of the load. Once set in a direction these dogs will continue in that track until someone with a firm hand and kind heart sets them onto a new destination. They are loving, but a workhorse that grows restless with too little to do.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 93% on Loyalty You scored higher than 23% on Independence

Link: The What Breed Of Dog Are You Test

What kind of yarn are you?

...according to the quiz on quizilla.com, I'm Mohair. I think the first sentence is good, but I'm don't necessarily agree with the stubbornness factor. Maybe Tom would, though.

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.
Take this quiz!

Janet Lace Shawl

My first "paid" project is posted on the Knit Picks site!

Withdrawal

Back online after 20 hours of no phone and, therefore, no DSL. Funny how we come to be so dependent on technology. So this morning I prepacked for our road trip and worked on the Adrienne Vittadini top instead of checking emails.

But we're back. Seems some new guy was hooking someone else up and got the wires crossed at a box down the hill. Unfortunately that means someone else is currently without phone service now.

On the project front, I've got four knit projects lined up for the trip: plain stockinette scarf sample for Knit Picks, finishing the twisted front top, picking up a UFO started last summer - cover dress from "Hot Knits" out of elann.com Lara cotton, and the possibility of an altered Flickering Flames skirt in red elann Luna yarn. The scarf and dress will be good for the long days in the car.

Too bad sewing isn't quite as portable...Or I'm just not organized enough to make it portable.

It's good to be able to communicate again.