Sunday ramblings

My tablecloth is slowly growing, and the pattern is "growing on me"..it's not 1/4 done yet and already I'm planning the next, and the next after that! I "need" to order a cone of variagated cotton for the next one..I already know which colors it has to be too..Flo at Pigsah yarns is great to deal with and she helped me select the blue above.. My husband insists I'm knitting a big square doily, lol, but this is so what I've wanted to knit for the past few years.

My sock yarn blanket has not grown at all since I began the tablecloth..I need to knit a few more pairs of socks first.

Today, here in NEPA, the sun is shining brilliantly, the cattle are happily grazing, and it's getting time to start working outside--so I've the best of both worlds, now, fresh air & exercise, and, once dusk comes, and my chickens are tucked into bed for the night, our collection of videos and DVDs and my yarn & needles..ah, life is good!

longjohns

inspired by Elizabeth Zimmermann's longie pattern, but adapted in a major way, my own "recipe" for longjohns, which my farmer husband loves and has worn for the past quarter century. They take apx. the same amt. of yarn and time as a top-down raglan pullover. I need to make up a new batch..my husband has been wearing some, including the pair above, for 20 yrs! they outlast those from the store many times over, and are a joy to knit.

cable owls

some of my favorite knitting patterns involve owls that are created by cables..I once had an online contact who said she had a book that had patterns for making other animals using cables, but the owl is the only one I've ever had..{for years, I've wondered about the book that lady mentioned}

Recently, I participated in a cyber baby shower, and knit one of my favorite toddler sweaters. This seems a timeless pattern to me, as I knit the first one for my son William when he was a baby, and he will turn 27 next month! I have also knit this pattern for my oldest grandson, neighbors etc. etc..always goes over well.

Easter Sunday ramblings

at last, some new photos of my sock yarn blanket..it's grown some. After discussing them with an online friend, and looking at hers, I decided it's time to show how mine grew since it was last photographed..I'm enjoying it, but knitting with fingering yarn, with a #3 dpn, is a slow way to make a double bed size blanket! The squares don't take long to knit--I've probably spent more time selecting which ball of leftover to use than any other part of the process..

My other knitting project of the present is a lace tablecloth, which I'd wanted to knit for years and had had problems finding the right pattern. It seemed like so many pretty round ones were out there, but my table is rectangular...for a time, I was tempted to use an afghan pattern but a friend suggested I buy a Modern Lace Knitting book and I was hooked..I began one pattern, then changed my mind and chose a different one..it is now on row 18..a bare beginning but you can see how it's going to be edged..below:

quite a change from the socks and pullovers I'm more accustomed to knitting. Change is good, I suppose. My great-grandma Ulrich used to crochet dresser scarves..filet crochet..I loved those, but I prefer to knit over crochet, so...

quiet Sunday

well, I'd promised not only my husband but myself that I would get our taxes done today..we were pleased to see that we'll owe less than the past couple of years...it still means a bit of scrounging, but c'est la vie!

Friday, the mail carrier brought me a couple of new knitting books I'd ordered from Dover..I've long appreciated Dover/book seller: http://store.doverpublications.com/index.html Anyhow, one of the books I got has patterns in it for lace tablecloths..something I've wanted for ages. I began one, but with all the distractions {2 new calves born, a phone call from a friend, etc. etc.} I think I'll need to start over when I've got a little more chance to concentrate..

time to go out and tuck my chickens in for the night..

socks, socks, & more socks

at last, photos have been taken of the socks I knit from the yarn 2 good friends sent me last August for my birthday. {thanks, Catherine and Kat!} yummy merino sock wool!

another 2 pr got photos taken today as well. One pr. is Opal cotton, pour moi, and the other a pretty blue Regia washable wool blend, for David. LOVE, love, love knitting socks, lol.

sock yarn ghan

after seeing so much coment on the "sock yarn blankie", I've gotten mine back out to work on a bit. Knitting a full-bed sized ghan, of fingering yarn, using #3 needles tends to be somewhat time-consuming, especially when each time I got "going good" on it, something else has consistantly popped up to draw my attention, needles, and knitting time away from it..I'll show you what it looked like, nearly a year ago, when I set it aside to begin some much-needed sweaters for my youngest son. I'll get another photo of it later today, and show the progress.