Jenny Check

Michele and Yoyo

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Michele and Yoyo came to visit last week! Yoyo is walking all over the place and has many words now. She smiles frequently and can do high fives and the ET finger touch with you. I discovered that YoYo does not like raw tomatoes or cooked red peppers, but that she is crazy for Frog Hollow peaches, plums, and pears. She also likes pasta with lots of butter. and eggs, but not bacon.

She liked the kitties, but patted Gus a little too hard initially, after which he would run away when she came too near. So every time she saw them she would say- bye bye. Cute! She also liked carrying around pluots and limes around the house. She is a girl after my own heart- she loves rereading books.

birthday socks!

Here is one pair of socks I managed to finish! For Harold's Dad's birthday- one skein of STR in Monsoon from the sock club, knit on size 2's. I think I cast on 64 stitches?  I made the cuffs shorter because I was afraid I would run out of yarn... I know i should be doing toe up socks for this kind of thing, but it's so comforting to do something familiar these days.

We celebrated with a steak dinner on the grill and a Mitchell's ice cream cake. What could be better?

Long Hiatus

Sorry it's been so long since I posted! I started a new job and suddenly things became very busy... So earlier in the summer I finished Gloria. I finished it in July, and I love it! It's based on Jane Ellison's sweater from Noro Knits. I changed many things in the pattern- I cast on 160 stitches, did the garter stripe for 14 rows, increased 25 stitches around, switched to stockinette, decreased at sides every 6 rows 8 times, increased 2 times, switched to garter stripe, decreased 22 stitches to account for the change in gauge from stockinette to garter. I started knitting the fronts and back back and forth after splitting for the armholes. The set in sleeve I did from the top down per Barbara Walker. All in all, it turned out pretty well! I'm happy with the sleeve length. The only fly in the ointment is that cashmerino does not wear very well- the sides have already started looking pilly and raggedy after a few wears. But I love the color and the fit and it was very easy to knit, once I figured out the top down sleeves.

So after I finished Gloria, I decided to start on a sweater for Harold:

This is School Products merino/cashmere blend on a giant cone. I think I cast on 200 stitches for a bottom-up sweater and then added a stitch for each cable panel. The fronts have a 1X1 ribbed edging and I just alternated moss stitch panels with a six stitch cable panel. I think I am going to make a saddle shoulder bottom up sweater, so I have to make the sleeves and then join it all together soon. This project was put on hold after I started working and had little in the way of an attention span.

Since my job started, I've just been knitting small accessory projects:

The Architect Scarf from Greetings from Knit Cafe in Silky Wool.

A mistake rib scarf in Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed.

A ribbed hat in Debbie Bliss cashmerino.

A hat with Karabella Super Yak.

Shedir in Calmer.

I also have knit one sock from Trekking Pro Natura for Harold, one sock from Shelridge Farms in a green heather and one sock from Mountain Colors Bearfoot. I never used to have second sock syndrome, but I guess there's a first time for everything...