ya know it don’t come easy

Posted on Posted in lace/shawls, projects


(flower of the day: impatiens. ok, so no flowers but check out those buds)
mom has an awesome green thumb—more on the sock below.

oh we had it all planned out—it would be so easy once the old laptop was updated and streamlined. i’d be able to login just like at home, write posts, check email, keep tabs on the store . . . all that stuff.

we just forgot one, um, small thing; there isn’t much free space in my mom’s condo.

and access to her ethernet via an actual cable is also limited. so it’s not as comfortable to be on my computer for any length of time. checked and answered email, yes. downloading pictures and blogging, not so much. once i have a laptop with wi-fi, things will improve. but i’m still too cheap restrained to dish out a couple grand right now for what i need (but i’m saving my pennies . . .).

but that situation is good for the knitting, and today i cleared a spot to show you what i’ve gotten done.

i got lots done on the geese wrap in the car on the way out, since david graciously drove most of the 8-hour trip

here’s a closeup of the stitches; the cattails in the center panel don’t show up as well as the geese in the other photo, since they are not as textured

but i’m hoping that they will pop a little better after blocking. the piece is feeling very luxurious . . . and getting to be a good length, yay.
i love the merino/silk yarn; i have some for a scarf too, though i might make that in a different pattern; i kinda have my eye on another fun, goosey stitch that i saw.

and then there is simurgh.
i’ve been working on that in the evenings while we watch movies or talk.

we talk a lot in my family.
i’m almost done with the first stole half. oh boy—is it gorgeous, this yarn. geisha is soo beautiful in this colorway. i can’t wait to soak it and block it. it’ll be beautifully liquid once it is stretched.
sigh.

we went to a cool exhibit of american bronze sculpture at the state museum in albany the other day with my cousin lynn. she is a knitter too, and we found ourselves looking at all the winged creatures in terms of what they’d translate to in yarn and stitches. there was one that had wings with vertical feathers that i especially liked.

and i’ve been working away on the bee sock, too.

i’m afraid the depth of the textured parts doesn’t show up to its full advantage in this photo, but trust me, it looks like it’s been cast in gold. the yarn has such incredible stitch definition and spring that it looks like a sculpture, too.

well, we head home tomorrow already . . . hard to believe that four or five days can pass so quickly. but there’s plenty that waits us back at the ranch too.
in fact, just this afternoon david and i were planning some garden reconstruction for next year. i think we are going to go for a whole new layout with more planting space.

i know; it’s not even christmas yet, but it’s later than you think.

23 thoughts on “ya know it don’t come easy

  1. Beautiful knitting, it is all looking great. I love the sock. I have some yarn that would look great in the bee sock I think. It is good that you got to knit and talk more than email or post ont he blog. Cool that you went to the exhibit with your cousin and discussed translating things into knit. Gives that extra special element to the visit. Have a safe trip home.

  2. Got to admit Anne, the sock looks a lot like an Assyrian mask. What a neat effect. Will the goose wrap be available as a pattern? I really like it and I must try some of the Geisha. It looks neat too.
    Ann in Dallas, Texas

  3. Hi Anne, The knitting looks beautiful! Your laptop looks like my old laptop (a first generation powerbook g4). If it is, you might want to try this: I use a third-party external wireless card that fits into the PC card slot on the left side of the computer. Mine is a Motorola WN825G, which is no longer being made, but I got mine on ebay for less than 20 bucks. I think there are other brands of wireless cards that will work as well. I just stuck it in and it worked without any other fiddling with the computer.
    Enjoy the rest of your holiday and safe travels!

  4. Ooooh, Simurgh has grown quite a bit! Yeah! I’m glad that even *you* can’t wait to see it blocked: it means that we will get to see it soon…

  5. As usual, I couldn’t wait until you posted. I’m glad you’re having such a great time, and that you have had time to relax and knit! I’ll bet your family loved your work! Travel safe!

  6. Bwahaha — you have exactly the same screen saver on your computer that I do. Too funny. I’m loving the bee socks — they’re perfect in that yarn 🙂

  7. hmmm – me thinks that I might need to call Tina and Kaci to buy some geisha – that is looking just to yummy for words 🙂
    time with family goes too durned fast, doesn’t it.

  8. Beautiful knitting, and now I understand from whom you got your green thumb! Glad you had lots of time to knit and talk (we do a lot of that in my family, too). Safe trip home.

  9. Anne- Any man that will do the driving while you knit is worth his weight in, well, yarn!

    Are you planning your garden already? Don’t worry, come spring, it will all be waiting for you. It always does.

  10. Beautiful progress on all your knits. I’m jealous of the knitting time you have!
    A low cost alternative to buying a whole new laptop would be to get a PCMCIA card for your current laptop that is a wireless card. Worked pretty good for our ancient Windows 98 machine when we first got wireless. I’d offer to send you our card, but I have no idea where it’s hiding 🙂

  11. The bee sock is fantastic! So is the goose wrap, but I’m not sure I see how it actually relates to geese. I get the cattails thing… are the big “V” motifs supposed to be reminicent(however you spell that) of geese flying in formation? If so, the I totally get it. Just makin’ sure.

  12. Wow Anne, you are a marvel! I can’t believe how much knittng you’ve accomplished while you’ve been away. I really love the new geese stole, very pretty yarn and texture. Simurgh is also looking lovely, and getting done so quickly too. Hope you have a safe journey home.

  13. Geisha is gorgeous stuff. The geese are beautiful flying down the edges.
    I got a PCMCIA card for my laptop. It is perfect, fast and inexpensive. I use wherever I go.

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