Sunday, January 20, 2008

Why, Alice $tarmore. I Had No Idea

Well. That was unpleasant.

I just rrrripped nearly 30 rows out of my Rowan cable sweater after noticing that one set of crosses had two too many rows. Maybe no one else would notice, but sure as you-know-what, it would be the first thing i saw every time i put it on. So out it came. Everything is back on the needles and in its proper place. No, I did not take pictures. Are you kidding?

Besides, I forgot my camera.

Earlier tonight, after my section was put to bed, I logged on to Ebay to cruise for knitting books. I about fell out of my ergonomically marginal chair. Look what it coughed up when I typed in Alice Starmore:

Aran Knitting ... $125
Pacific Coast Highway ... $195
In The Hebrides ... $198
Stillwater ... $220
Tudor Roses ... $225
Scottish Garland ... $265

Jaw not on the table yet? How's this:

The Scottish Collection ... $595

I don't own anything worth the dust that's caked on top. Except a couple of those books and I'm not saying which one(s).

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The possibilities of procrastination ...

Seeing as how it's the middle of January, so do you suppose if I leave my collection of Santa Clauses out a couple more weeks, they could pass as St. Valentine?
Well, OK. But it was worth a shot. ...

It's been a week where little has been accomplished, other than get out the door to work in the afternoon. (It's nice having the later start time, so I can squeeze my kids before I leave!) On the to-do list, in no particular order:

• Finish de-Christmasing. Frankly, I'm kinda glad we didn't have a tree this year. It would have put me over the edge.
• Learn to use my new camera (yay!) so I don't have to borrow Laurel's all the time.
• Clean the pony's tack. He has a lot of it, and it's nasty. Suffice it to say that a humid barn, sweaty leather and cold winter air generates a spectacular version of grunge. Visuals coming soon ...
• Cook. Anything at all! Without the use of a toaster, I mean.
• Win the lottery.
• Knit a couple inches on the Jo Sharp vest and/or the Rowan sweater. Please.

That said, I did get to the barn a couple days ago for a ride on my favorite trail pony. When I rode him last Saturday, we spent a few minutes using only a lasso around his neck, thanks to Barb T, who said "Trust me." (I rarely trust anyone who says that.) He picked up on the 'steering' very quickly, so we took his bridle off. And! He seemed happier -- his trot was noticeably lighter.

Gunnar is a conehead today, but other than that you'd never know anything happened to him. In addition to yesterday's Official Surgical Procedure, the vet found a baby tooth that was stuck (yes, at the other end, Smart *ss ) and they took that out, too. So he's a little tender coming and going.



All the dox at the clinic love him. Clover and Blossom, however, were not particularly happy to see him come in the door.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

How difficult can it be?

Did you hear that banging sound the other night -- like wood on wood? It was just my head against the wall after trying to figure out how to fire up a 'hot' button on the blog. For now, just admire the little images as the art objects they are. Now accepting all advice, by the way ...

Where technology closes one window, surely knitting will open another. (I haven't been watching Sound of Music again, honest!) Introducing my latest Work In Progress: a scarf out of Arctic Lace. The pattern? Skeleton. The yarn? About 300 delicious yards from Wild Geese Fibres that I bought, courtesy of the previously mentioned enabler, JudyA.:



Look! Are those columns of double eyelet? Why yes, I believe they are:



I'm thinking that the yarn will be well-suited for this. I'll let you know, but it'll probably be a while. By the way, there's a hint of blue in the yarn that my daughter's camera didn't capture. In the meantime, there's the Jo Sharp vest -- a k a the stockinette ocean -- to work on. Actually, it's the perfect thing to pick up early in the morning when I get up to see the girls off to school and don't want to wake up so much that I can't go back to sleep again.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Am armload of knitting

David, the very patient man he is, took pictures tonight of many of my projects for my infant Ravelry page. Poor guy had no idea what he was getting into! And I had no idea that I had that many finished projects. I did, but I didn't -- I mean, wow, that was a ton of knitting stacked up and teetering in my arms as I navigated down the stairs, not tripping over Gunnar, despite his best efforts otherwise.

This, for a wee bit of eye candy, is a project in waiting, courtesy of JudyA., one of my favorite enablers, i mean friends. Sometimes she's content to whisper "You absolutely need that" from the sidelines, sometimes she slips the goods right into my hands:



I found out tonight that my favorite trail horse will very likely be for sale later this year. I already have the saddle for him, so what choice do I have? Right?



OK. So the argument needs a little work.
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