(flower of the day, multi-color lily)
seriously, this one lily plant has a variety of differently-colored flowers on it, from a solid deep mauve to white-with-pink-speckles. what’s up with that? it’s the only plant we have that did this . . . anybody else seeing weird lily behavior?

thank you all for the nice comments on my grandma’s knitting—she was really good at it, without ever making a point of that. we are so lucky to have many examples of her work. she and her six sisters all knitted and crocheted, and used to have a weekly “crochet” club meetup (not, of course, restricted to crochet). my dream would be to collect examples of all their work, if my cousins are ever of a mind to let them go (while staying at one cousin’s house recently i saw an oldie with a big tear in one corner and i SO wanted to sneak it out of there . . .)

and today, i got and email from wendy, who sent a link to this. how cool is that?

i holed up all weekend so i could get some knitting done. a few of the things i’m working on are secret, but i learned one thing about myself.

i need a big project at all times. after i finished the triangle bee, i tried to “relax” by working on socks and small projects. that’s ok, but i found myself growing restless and straying to the computer a lot, where i’d end up wasting time. i didn’t get any more done on my socks than if i was trying to squeeze them in around a big project.

so i started one. i can’t show you (seriously, i’m not trying to tease). but let’s just say the world is right again.

BUT, i did finish my orchid lace mitt, and i think it’s so pretty . . .

i got started right away on mitt #2. it is so light and comfortable, and the lace details are so delicate

here’s a closeup of the thumb gusset. the fit is similar to my other mitts, but this one has the lace pattern to match the cuff.
the mitt is not blocked yet because i want to do both at the same time. i knit mine on size 2 (2.75mm) needles but for a smaller fit, using a 2.25mm or 2.5mm would do the trick. and these are long,

but there will be an option in the pattern for a shorter version too. the yarn is fearless fibers laceweight merino in the miracle colorway, same as the orchid lace scarf.

i also worked a lot last week on the rectangle bee pattern, which rachael and vanessa (can you believe her??) are test knitting as you read this. and look, vanessa’s is black! i LOVE it.

i worked on a couple of other secret projects to put toward fall submission deadlines that are coming up in september, but i also worked on the merlot vine socks for yarn4socks.com october sock club

almost done! now i have to think of the perfect way to end the cuff. the pattern actually is a rib, and it has a cool scalloped edge, so i was thinking of just using that all the way up. you can kind of see it here

and here

i’m not sure though . . . we’ll see.

and i also finally got my butt over to ravelry where i haven’t visited in AGES. jess and casey invited me very early on to participate, and i agreed, but i’ve had so little time to actually go over and play. but one or two “friends” have been hounding me to check it out, so i made a point this weekend to get myself there. and wow, has it grown since the last time i checked in. the place is a-flurry with activity. it’s a great resource for anyone who needs to know about a pattern or yarn before embarking on a project.

i think it’s great to have that forum for everyone to discuss designers and their work, and to browse projects in progress. since i would have to choose between spending time here and spending time there, though, i think i would like to stick to focusing my time here on my blog, where i can talk about the design process more, and share other parts of my life. ravelry isn’t really set up for designers to do that, and anyway, i like to do that at “home” so to speak.

but it was great to see so many familiar names there and finally put faces to them! i’ll keep checking messages and so forth, and i’ll keep my current projects more up to date from now on, too, but i’m hoping that people who see my work there, will continue to come here, where we can examine it more closely.

so, all in all a wonderfully quiet and very productive weekend.

a few notes:
this week we are trying to clean up the blog a bit so that it loads and runs faster. believe me, i am TOTALLY aware that it has been very slow. and i’m sure you are aware that i am hopelessly lost in web-land, and that change comes slow to my internet world.

since the beginning, we have experienced a wordpress glitch where, in order to keep my archives intact for you to see, it was necessary to allow the blog to load a full two months worth of posts (yes, i tried everything, but two [actual] web experts agree that it is a glitch in wordpress). we are going to try installing the newest wordpress update to fix that; we are hoping it will also fix the problem that some IE users have which makes my sidebar drop to the bottom of the page. tonight david is going to install the update, and hopefully tomorrow we will still be here, safe and sound.

and then my buddy rachel also gave me some pointers on getting the photo size down without sacrificing quality.
SO, over the next few weeks, i am going to take ALL the archived photos and reduce the size, so that everything loads better. that’s a fairly tedious and extensive project as you can imagine, with all the pictures i use, so the effect of that change will come more slowly.

hopefully none of this will affect YOU, but you never know . . .

(flower of the day, echinacea, at sunset)

i am really flattered that no one guessed what sin i am. but wow, everyone thought i was lust, which gave me pause . . . and, probably i am in my heart. but i picked my sin by color, and by what i might knit, so i picked greed. and deb obliged me with a great golden-green color, just right for money . . . or for what passes for money i some circles.

it’s really more bronze-y than this, but it was a bit difficult to photograph. perhaps once i start swatching, the true color will make itself known.
deb’s sock club is sold out now, but there will be another . . . and it will be heavenly.

i worked a bunch on the socks in class last night, but i’m going to show you something else today—the orchid lace mitts (this picture makes it look as if it’s all sunny and summery, but really, it’s very rainy and chilly today).

i’ve been working on these in spurts, and i don’t know why i don’t just sit down and finish them, because when i DO work on them, i make huge progress in a short amount of time. they just knit up so fast.

the gusset and thumb are going to be really pretty—i can’t wait to do that part.
i love the weight—there is none. they are truly weightless. mmm.

here’s a shot of the cuff detail

of course, all the lace will be much more open after a little steaming . . . when they are all done.

and now i have some really special knitting to show you. yesterday i was emailing with rachel and we were talking about old knits and how well they hold up. i started thinking about some afghans i have that my grandma made, now over 40 (gulp) years old. these are made with red heart wool or something similar—something you could buy in the dimestore, most likely. they are in beautiful condition, even after MUCH hard use within our family life.

here is one she made for my mom when mom was pregnant with my older brother in 1956, and moving into her first house. it is one of those famous “50 different patterns” afghans, for which you knit a square in each color of 50 different stitch patterns, then crochet the edges and sew them together.

this piece is VERY special to me, as it is responsible for jump-starting my knitting “career” at the age
of 4. i know i’ve told this before, but this afghan was draped over the back of our sofa all through my childhood. i use to lay on the couch and gaze at the patterns, exploring them with my eyes and fingers trying to puzzle out their secrets. it was a language to me and i wanted to figure it out

i was particularly entranced with the cables, and knew that i MUST learn how to make those wonderful structures (like all muggles, i though it would probably be easy). i pestered gram til she finally relented and taught me the first steps of knitting. hehe. well, it was quite a while before i ever tackled cables, but i held it as a goal for a few years, and finally achieved simple ones at around age 8 i think.

just look at this cool edging.

even the fringe has held up really well, and this afghan was used, washed, and bandied all about our home . . . but always with care and a certain reverence, i must admit. we were taught very early to respect the things that were made for us by others. i was lucky enough to inherit this afghan when my mom sold our family home a few years ago and moved to a smaller house.

here is another piece that i use all the time. this one was made for me for my fourth birthday in 1964.

i was so excited! my sister got one the same year with a ripple stitch in shades of purple (for some years i was a little jealous of that purple, but now i adore this turquoise/cream color combo)

it has a beautiful cable and lace pattern, and the drape is wonderful. even the sewing has held up all these years . .. i’ve never had to darn it.

it has magic powers to relax me and send me to that sleeping place, whenever i need to. but my favorite bit of all? has to to be this

thank you gram, for everything you gave me!