Knitter credentials

I read many, perhaps too many, knitting blogs. There's one thing I'm now certain of. To be a real knitter (RK) you need at least one cat. While I love the feline as an idea, my asthma and a friend's deadly allergy, prevent me from enjoying the live in company of my own cat. I need a virtual cat, and have yet to find one that I find satisfactory.

What to do about my lack of official credentials as an RK? I've knit enough I do believe that I should qualify, even without a resident moggie. Do the cats in my yard count? I have several regular visitors who are very enamored of the space beneath my garage, which I suspect is overflowing with good moggie prey. Said moggies are less amusing when the spray my woodpile however. Just saying.

So what I wonder might be an acceptable alternative to having my own cat?

Suggestions?

I'm concerned, I do want to be considered a RK, especially as I spend many hours each and every evening, knitting my wee fingers to nubbins. Another lace shawl Girasole nearly finished, which will bring me to five shawls so far this year. The Girasole is knit in a fine mohair and is truly luscious as well as great fun to knit. Just finishing up the knitted border, probably at least two more evenings of this until I'm done.

The weather (summer?) has been lovely and cool (I know that I'm weird in this!) so knitting a mohair shawl has been a perfect enterprise these last couple of months. As the weather is apparently changing to warmer, I'll move on to something a little less cozy once this piece is finished.

There are, after all, another five or six shawls in the queue....

Where does the time go?

Every weekend I have a long list of things I WANT to do and a much shorter list of things I actually accomplish. For nigh on a month now I have been struggling to get a stole project to work to my satisfaction and I'm still not there. That means the piece has been frogged now 6 times. Each time I try a different something--tension, yarn weight, or pattern. Each time my very inadequate understanding of lace knitting comes along to bite my behind. I'm getting into a bit of a panic now as this is a project for Xmas giving and I'm no where near where I should be by this time--ie. I don't have anything that works. Yet I've knit for hours over the last month trying to make this work. I'm usually good with technical challenges so don't give up easily. There's something about knitted lace that seems determined to defeat me.

This morning I decided to try something else so will frog back the current 12 inches of stole and give it another go. Last night I tried a different pattern--and don't like the look or the feel of it with this yarn. To further complicate my life I'm working with my own dyed yarn, and have had fun with that--3 dye lots now, only one of which I think works. I have one more skein that may go in the pot this afternoon and with luck it will be close to the dye lot I've got two of to make this work and give me the yardage need to make a stole, not a doily. One dye lot has already been over-dyed and won't work for this project, and one I think I can incorporate as a design element? or whatever. If push comes to shove I'll over dye the finished piece and bring everything together that way. Who knew this would be so annoying and persistently challenging. Apparently I'm unable to read gauge, yardage count or needle size--but then that's not exactly news. Note to self--read the instructions and pay attention! Would it be too much to expect that I could do what the pattern says? Rebel good, untutored knitting rebel, not so good.

I'd hoped to be able to use the new 'Harmony' needles I bought from Knitpicks, but I don't have the requisite size yet. Nice needles though, so will consider getting more sizes eventually.

I took some pictures in the woods on a walk with Pia and Freya (the dog) last weekend; now these colours and leaves are gone, what with a wicked wind and rain storm this weekend. Undoubtedly winter is not so far off. The time changed last night so it was dark today by 5:30. I've never accepted the time change concept, having lived much of my life in a part of the country where it is not entertained. Twice a year this clock fiddling annoys the crap out of me, still. It's been ten years of this nonsense and I'm not at all resigned.

Being made over

I spent the day in Halifax shopping in the best 2nd hand clothing stores for what I believe is called business attire. My personal style is on the order of, hey, this is comfy, not too ugly, a natural fibre and it works for me. Never elegant it's true, but I'm of the birkenstock generation and persuasion so comfort is very high on my agenda. Zoot suits, not so much. But now I have an image to foster: consultant and speechifying geek and comfort, while still important, is second to my image and first impression. Sigh.

Okay there were things I tried on that made me feel I was over 100, or shopping for my own funeral outfit, didn't buy those. There were other things I had to have and didn't buy because they were too expensive for used clothing; what I came home with were three jackets and two vests, all of it comfy for its type and adequate to the need to make a professional first impression.

Whaaaa, why can't I just wear handspun & handknit sweaters with dressy khakis? Not professional apparently, even when I feel proud as can be about the handspun sweaters. Clearly, not enough people in the business world share my taste for the handmade. And I'm deemed idiotic rather than competent for preferring my handmade casual style--as in you couldn't possibly have anything important to offer if you're dressed like that!

Next phase of this make over thing is to try on these pieces and make 'outfits'. Anyone who knows me at all well will laugh themselves silly at this notion of me and outfits. I consider myself completely outfitted for summer if I'm covered, wearing unstained clothing (always a challenge, that's what Shout is for) and have at least Crocs on my feet. Yes, outfit complete!

Actually the truly terrifying aspect of the next phase of this make over concerns under garments. I refuse to specify or give further details, all you need to know is that a forty year tradition is at risk.

Meanwhile, on the needles: a cotton tank top, a vest for autumn, a silk scarf in checkerboard lace, cabled socks, several pairs of plain socks in interesting yarns. Nagging to get on the needles: the Fiddlesticks pattern of the Rainbow shawl, done without the rainbow in garnet wool/silk blend; considering a legion of other projects but need to get more spinning done so I have enough yarn to swatch for them first.
I saw an interesting thing on a blog I read recently, a little colour bar that tells the reader how much progress has been made on each project on the needles, say 20% or 55%.

The lily surprise is from my garden. Last year the deer ate all the buds so I had no idea what I had, now I know, white and also golden lilies!

One of those delicious weekends

I'm just getting to the end of a weekend in which I actually had time to spin and managed to fill a bobbin with Blue-faced Leiscester for the fall sweater project. I so feel I've accomplished great things. Then there's the rebuilding of the stash room now that the production loom is installed in Pia's house. Oh, an organized stash--will I lose points for that, or gain them. There are points, one way or the other? Considered, briefly, that I could list the fleeces I have on hand, but thought that might be too worrying. Considered, for a slightly longer time, that I might want to buy a Patrick Green Triple Picker to help me get these fleeces into a spinnable state. Then I calculated the price; and so much for that idea, umm, fantasy.

Have begun sorting fiction books for sale. I have three piles, yes, no, and maybe. The object of this little game is to move everything possible into the yes pile, then actually get them all out of the house before I have time to shuffle them back onto a book shelf. Wish me luck, eh?

There was another wonderful concert at St. John's Church in Lunenburg tonight, the second I've been to in a month. A Baroque Ensemble called Tempest: cello, viola de gamba, violins, recorder, wooden flute, harpsichord and bass. If you get a chance to hear them, treat yourself.

Such delight for my senses this concert was, though I must say the seats in this church are miserable and the heat tonight no less so. Difficult to keep one's mind blissed on the music when one is in danger of melting or developing a permanent crick in the back, neck, knees and hips from the hard narrow wooden bench that passes for seating. The floor might have been more comfortable. But for all that for most of the concert I was indeed blissed. I didn't enjoy the tenor, but whether that is the fault of the musical style or the voice I'm not sure. Instrumentals, ah sigh, as lovely and memorable as the one really fine smooth scotch I've tasted, Langevulin (spelling?).

A perfect weekend then, delicious in many many ways.

To bed she said....

Saturday was the World Wide Knit in Public Day, celebrated at the Biscuit Eater Cafe & Books in Mahone Bay with about 2 dozen other enthusiastic knitters. I was particularly enthusiastic about the company and all the interesting socks being knit. And you thought women carrying an array of yarn and pointy sticks might be dangerous? We're exceptionally well behaved unless you get between any one of us and caffeine or worse, chocolate cake.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, um well no, that's wishful thinking or astral hinting to #1 son. At the house, I mean, which is about to suffer the indignities associated with being scraped of shingles so ancient they likely qualify for historic artifact status, or at least the ones still on the roof do, the others (many, many others) are littered around the yard like so much black flakey pastry. I imagine this is not at all good for the garden.

Supervision for the installation of said new roof comes in the form of friend Bare from Toronto. This will be an experience for sure. He was last seen during our tour of Cape Breton music festival events in October. Presently he is on the VIA train somewhere in Quebec headed easterly.

Now if I can only get my self in gear enough to make a couple of loaves of my famous Dutch 'Breakfast Cake' I can consider the day well spent. Well that and fill the dishwasher will do it.