Where Has All the Knitting (Time) Gone?

I haven't knit a stitch in at least three weeks! Its years since I've gone so long without knitting. If I had even one spare minute I would be missing it terribly.

I've been busy with cottage maintenance, water sports, houseguests and lakeside socializing. Probably the stuff non knitters go to the cottage to do.  Me? Not so much, but just as elementary school report cards  encourage, I'm trying to get along with all the other children in the schoolyard ;) .

I've been getting my work outs done which is also eating into knitting productivity but I know it'll mean a less curvier me come fall which will mean fewer shaping and fit issues in my sweater projects so I'm choosing to think of it as at least knitting related!

Although also seemingly unrelated-to-knitting, there is one event that has made a huge amount of "room" in my brain while taking up every last scrap of free time in my day. I finally decided to take the plunge and get a family dog.

I've researched and pondered this question to death until finally last week I decided enough was enough and it was time to decide yay or nay once and for all.

First I toured a big box pet store a couple of times just to get a sense of what this might mean - financially.  On Tuesday I visited a breeder whose nursery pages I often visit. On Wednesday, I took Number One Son and went back.

He and Darling Daughter had conferred en route via texting. His choice was the same as hers - although she only had the benefit of having seen photos - On Wednesday, My Beloved, not really a fan of the pet dog concept, but supportive of my wishes on the subject, Number One Son and I drove up and picked

up our new standard poodle who we have decided to call "Hudson" (his creamy colour is very close to the colour of the Classic Canadian Hudson Bay Blankets we have on the beds at the cottage.)

I considered over a dozen dogs ranging from 2 to 14 months old and in a variety of colours. In the end we went for a pup who responded best to us. He is four months old but shaved down to facilitate the next six weeks lakeside in the woods, he looks much older.  His size is also deceiving. He looks a lot like a full grown (largish) miniature poodle. He is very smart and quick - so much so we have to keep reminding ourselves he really is still very, very young.

While he is demanding a lot of time and attention I feel like things will soon be settling into a routine where I will be able to squeeze in a bit of knitting time again.  I hit the library last night and got an armload of knitting books to take to the cottage and of course I've also packed the new Interweave that was waiting here with the mail when I got home.

Hopefully I'll have some knitting related activity to report when next we hit the city!

I hope you are having a great summer!  Thanks for dropping by to share my doggy news!

'Popping In for A "Moment"

Well that wasn't very nice of me to just post an FO and leave town was it?

It was very very nice though to come home to an inbox full of lovely comments! Thank you all so much for your kind words and especially for taking the time to leave them!

I've been away at the cottage for a couple of weeks...this is my view when I'm knitting on the dock, which has not been often for a variety of reasons.

I'm in town for a few hours today and right after dinner we are headed back up with clean laundry, fresh groceries, a new sofa bed for the living room at the cottage (very long overdue!), Darling Daughter (finished work for the week) and a friend for Number One Son (the first time he has deigned to invite someone up - it should be interesting!).

Whatever you've been up to this first couple of weeks of summer, I hope you're enjoying it!

Again, 'sorry for just dropping out of the picture like that!

(FYI for anyone new to this little blog, in summertime my domestic base of operations shifts a couple of hours north of the city to our wee little summer cottage by the lake. The road ends at the opposite end of the lake from where we are so we make the final bit of the journey by boat. Once there we have no television or internet, no private telephone line...really nothing electronic or digital other than the camera.  There really isn't even any cell service.


I do come to the city at random intervals and try to post when I do - I'll have pictures to put up on my next visit!)


Happy Summer Knitting Everybody!

"Transitional Scarf" by Veronique Avery FO

Pattern: "Transitional Scarf" by Veronique Avery

Source: "Knitting 24/7"

Yarn: 3 Balls Debbie Bliss Amalfi (70% Cotton, 15% Viscose, 10% Linen, 5% Silk)

Colour: 32008 Lot: 7179

Source: The Naked Sheep

Needles: 4mm Aero Straights

Size: 5 1/4" wide x 65" long

Start: June 18 Finish: June 26, 2010

Modifications: None

First of all, I admit, I didn't swatch. Its a scarf - I indulged myself and dove right into casting on...what a naughty knitter! 

The book states this design is intended to produce something to wear "between seasons".

The finished product (a birthday gift for my Aunt) feels very appropriate to this idea both in the hand and around the neck.  My Aunt's summers are spent on Georgian Bay where there is always a cool breeze - especially in the evening so I think she'll get lots of wear out of it not only spring and fall but during the summer as well. I suspect the fact the colour looks fabulous next to her skin (very much like Darling Daughter's colouring in these shots) will also prompt her to often grab it on her way out the door.

This is my first FO from "Knitting 24/7".  It was, indeed the kind of knit that as a project was

"portable and simple enough to make use of those nooks and crannies in life when things are busy but hands are free".

Working this piece in a week to a deadline was too forced to rely on "nooks and crannies" of time but I can see how it would lend itself to that kind of knitting.

The yarn is similar to but different from the one stipulated by the pattern but of all the cotton and cotton blend yarns we looked at the Amalfi had an unparalleled depth of colour and a soft, casual sophistication that really appealed to my Aunt.

I saw this yarn knit up as a sleeveless stockinette top at Passionknit. Fortunately I was already well into knitting this scarf because the texture of that fabric was kind of course - especially on the purl side. The yarn didn't celebrate the knit side of the stockinette terribly well either and I might have been put off using the yarn if I'd seen that sample first. It doesn't even feel like the same yarn in this lacier application where it reminds me of cotton chenille.

The colourway seems almost luminescent with a crisp freshness reminiscent of adding a squirt of citrus to a vegetable dish or salad. (I had the same impression when knitting with the DB Donegal Luxury Tweed this past winter  so I assume this must be something purposeful on the part of Ms. Bliss and her design team.)

Apparently this yarn is described by DB as a "summertime tweed". There are no tweedy flecks but it does indeed give that very impression. BTW the shot above and the one below is of the "wrong side" of the work. 

I like the softness of this side without the strong vertical element of the lines of double slipped and passed over stitches as you can see in this next picture...

I skipped my usual wet blocking and instead steam blocked it on the ironing board after heavily misting both sides.  This flattened things out to create a nice fabric and drape and smartened up the stitch work without squashing everything to death.

The pattern notes encourage a very loose cast on to allow for the scalloping of the ends and it seems I managed to accomplish that. (Big excitement for this generally "tight" knitter!)

The three needle bind off joining the two halves knit from the bottom edges up seems successful in that the pattern from each half lined up nicely.  (Is that line of garter supposed to be there in the middle? As you can see I decided that it was intentional - or at least not too objectionable because I left it that way but seriously, did I do it wrong?)

However correct or incorrect the bind off, I think she is going to love it and wear it and its finished on time so I'm happy with it too!

I'm also happy to have all of you to share it with! Thanks again for taking the time to drop by!

New Dawn Climbing Rose