Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Meeting the not famous famous

It's funny when you think about famous people. We've all heard of wildly famous people....Robert Redford, Brittney Spears....you know movie stars, tv stars, rock or country stars, well known authors. But there's the not-so-famous famous people too. These "not-so-famous" people are well known in certain circles. I certainly don't know whose famous in my husband's line of work, but there are certainly people that are well known, but not famous. For me it was meeting Wendy Bernard and Leah Radford (and Mary Kay of Mamascrapalota fame)...and forgetting my camera. I had finished my "Slinky Ribs" from Wendy's book and wore it, it was a surprise to me while I was browsing around waiting for the thing to start to look up and see Wendy standing there and a surprise when she exclaimed "hey you're wearing the sweater from my book!" Perhaps it shouldn't have been such a shock, but I was so star struck. She's very pretty and funny and laid back and just the person you'd want to hang out with. I didn't chat with Leah Radford, but she too is pretty and seems like someone who'd be fun to be around.

So, that was my exciting evening. For a non-knitter perhaps it would be a huge yawn, but for me I practically floated home (it was cold enough when I left home I was concerned that it would snow, but it actually warmed up enough that nothing was freezing when I got home...so no worries). So, I returned to a check register for the PTO that needs some work before the meeting tonight and wine that had reached the "specific gravity" for the next step of stuff that needed doing, but even today collecting my things for the meeting and such I'm still floating.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Still puttering along (at a breakneck pace)




Summer sped by this year with a minimal amount of knitting. Actually when I look back I can't really think of anything that we did this summer besides doctor appointments (once the husband was employed again). We did manage to go camping a whopping three times, which I admit is better than not at all. The youngest son did keep us busy with his inability to remain healthy, I believe that we're on the right path and the poor little guy is doing much better.

I did manage to finish a little top for Girl Child out of Knit Picks Cotlin. It's a "Drops" design and is quite fetching I think on her. She liked the purple yarn, but so far hasn't really worn the top. I'm hoping that she'll wear it with a nice little turtleneck underneath it this winter, or perhaps next summer or at least wear it before she outgrows it. I wasn't enamored of the pattern and for some reason found it to be a tedious knit, don't know why, it could have just been my mood.

I also started (and finished) a little cardigan based on the "Tess" pattern by Marie Grace Designs. I had wondered what would happen if I just cast on for the neck of a sweater did a couple of rows of garter stitch and then added on for the front, back and sleeves just like I do for most of my sweaters. The result is a lovely little square neckline. The problem is my child is pretty narrow and I think that were I to knit another sweater like this (and I probably will) I would narrow down that neck a bit....and perhaps add some short row shaping to the back to bring the back neckline up just a wee bit.

I am nearing the end of a "Slinky Ribs" from Wendy Bernard's book for myself. Love the pattern, which for once I am following, but am already making changes in my head for the next sweater I knit....which I would say is going to be fro that pattern, but the changes I have in my head are so many that the only thing I appear to be planning on keeping is the rib knit stitch and the fact that it will be a sweater.

That's pretty much my life in knitting right now. I'm staring at several "obligation" knits...which, perhaps it's wrong to call them "obligation knits" when truly they are slated to be gifts. But I guess when the yarn is in the stash and it's not been cast on yet so there are still so many many possibilities for it except for the fact that if it's sock yarn more than likely it will be socks and when it's your mom's favorite color...well, those socks will be a gift for your mom...no, no matter how you slice it the yarn and project become "obligation knitting" of course I could do what she's done to me in the past and just wrap up the pattern, yarn and needles and give them to her for Christmas....