Friday, November 26, 2010

I went to Italy and all I got. . .

Was four skeins of yarn, badly photographed. A Rav friend in Lucca directed me to the best yarn shop, Lovilana, and the rest is history. Each skein is approximately 1400 yards of teensy weight yarn. I thought the gray and white would make dynamite colorwork gloves or mittens, and the pumpkin and yellow would be lovely lace work. Or sweaters. Or something -- I couldn't go all that way and not get something, even with a generalized yarn diet.


And what did I do with my five travel weeks? Well, I saw things, I met far-flung family (a real highlight of the trip! I think everyone should have wonderful Sicilian relatives), and I knit for future family.

Lucky me, I am getting a niece!

And she is getting a little dress/tunic, knit from Elsebeth Lavold Cable Cotton. I hope it's the kind of size that will go from too big to just right to slightly short, and therefore move from dress to top and be worn for a long long time. Although I used my standard Incredible Custom Fit Raglan ideas, I was aiming for a Debbie Bliss-ish feeling. Just before I was done, my sister said, in passing to me, "I just love picot edges," and the finishing was determined in that instant.

I just didn't have time to block it before the party:


One part that I enjoyed was figuring out how to make a facing as I knit the top, to make a shoulder opening for big toddler head. I knit to the increase point, increased, then purled a turning stitch, and five knit stitches (on each side), then tacked it down when I was done. Crochet-loops and sewn on buttons made the closure.



I can hardly wait to see it modeled!

Now to get to the projects I did not finish, on the trip or after.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Dispatch from the fallen behinds

I could post a few pictures of what's going on here, but I'd have to take them first. I did shoot a nice little video but can't quite figure out how to post it -- can't let EG have all the fun, right?

Anyhow, over the past three or four days, I've been late to or missed four appointments, still haven't gotten the house clean or my laundry put away, fallen down on both homeschooling and stretching my muscles, and generally feel as though I'm coming down with a cold.

With the help of a fellow beekeeper and the generous loan of a good strainer from another beekeeper, the honey boxes are off the hives. Last night I extracted four boxes, filling a five gallon bucket, and today put those four boxes back on the hives for cleaning. That's a real accomplishment.

Or it would feel more like one if there weren't about five more boxes to be extracted (and rotated through the hives, and covered with plastic and dry ice for storage) waiting down there. And if that basement room wasn't needed tomorrow morning for parents of the book club kids to sit in during book club. And if I were ready to lead book club.

I do have fun news, but I'm going to save it because we have visitors coming. Maybe by the time they get here I'll have painted the dining room trim and moved the cleared vegetation out of the back yard into the green bin for the city.

And maybe not.