Memorial Day Weekend

I have been off from work for four days and have precious little to show for it. I shopped for clothes. I did a little cooking. I did some knitting, but that Silky Tie Wrap is taking forever. I really think I could have competed two shawls in this time. It is a little more than half finished and it has been weeks. It is all garter stitch so it is so boring. I'm still plugging away though. In between looking for clothes, I went into toy stores asking for play mats to use for blocking the Flower Basket Shawl. I finally found one, a Cinderella one. I also goggled around for a welding supply store and found one not too far away in Clifton, NJ. I'm going this weekend to get some welding rods. They said they have them. Then I'll be all set.
In honor of Project Spectrum, for which I didn't knit anything green, I'm adding a green picture. It is Central Park. I'm really looking forward to blue in June. I don't know why but, in my wanderings around Manhattan, I have found so many more interesting blue pictures than green ones.

Knitting Malaise

Lately I have just not been in a knitting mood. Maybe it is because the weather is finally beautiful. I've been walking around as much as possible and, although I listen to knitting podcasts while strolling, it is not conducive to knitting itself. I was working on Iris Schreier's Silky Tie Wrap when I saw another version in the current Vogue and decided I liked it better because the back was longer and I think that would be more flattering on me. So I ripped it back to the original triangle and am redoing it.
I went to Queens Saturday to Smileys for their big yarn sale. Wow, that was fun! I got some great bargains. I got the Lion Brand Cotton-Ease I was waiting for-Sitcom Chic here I come! I also got something called Filatura Lanarota Summer Soft in greens and purple. I think I'm going to start a tank from Knitting Nature with the purple. That might get me out of this funk. I also got some ribbon yarn. No plans for that yet.

Busier ands Busier

As you can see, I joined The Amazing Lace. I'll be knitting the Flower Basket Shawl from Interweave Knits this summer.
I have all summer to knit it but, since this is the third time I have started it, it seems to be going pretty quickly.
I also joined Project Spectrum and Six Sock Knitalong. I'm in the Yahoo group for Modular Knitting. I also am thinking of making some cotton summer sweaters for myself. I think it will be a busy knitting summer. Good.
I'm in the Project Spectrum postcard exchange. I haven't heard from my partners yet but I made these postcards for them and sent them last week. This month the color is green. I really got into making these postcards. I took these pictures of redwood trees in California and mounted them in a window with a movable shade. I already have ideas for next month, blue.
I also started the Silky Tie Wrap by Iris Schreier. This is the Silk City yarn that has blue, green and yellow in it. I guess that covers the colors for a few months.
Next week is Smiley's Yarns sale in Queens. I want to get some Lion Brand Cotton-ease for the sweater Sitcom Chic. I may not have time for anything but knitting!

The Amazing Lace Introduction

Last fall was my first visit to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival. Saturated by the splendor of every fiber imaginable, I wandered for the umpteenth time though the yarn stalls. In a little basket near an exit I spied just three little skeins of Top of the Lamb sports weight wool in the color Stone. I could not leave without this treasure.
Yet the yarn languished until I saw the Flower Basket Shawl. A perfect match, I thought to myself. I cast on immediately. Whoa, what was this? A temporary cast on. Sixteen tries later it looked okay enough to start the first lace section. Markers and lifelines, who needs them? I was going to follow the chart (while watching old but intriguing X-File episodes.) Within one hour dismay set in and I frogged it all. I dropped something, picked up something. Who knew? I waited a day and tried again. I was on the third set of repeats, congratulating myself, when something happened again. I tried to find the mistake, but no luck and I rewound the yarn. Now, for The Amazing Lace, I am trying again. Flower Basket Shawl is my partner. I’ll be good to her because I’ve learned my lesson. I'm using ancient red plastic needles that grip the yarn, size 9. I’ve got a lifeline in every ten rows. I’ve got a marker in every ten stitches. Ten by ten, I’m going to win this lace.

A Busy Weekend

Last weekend on Saturday I went to Silk City in Paterson, NJ and bought over three pounds of variegated wool crepe to make the Starburst Shawl from Modular Knits. After four tries, I gave up. So now I am trying to think of something else to use it for. Sunday I went to NYC and saw David Blaine. I walked to Lincoln Center and there he was. It was like a carnival sideshow and was jammed with spectators. After that I saw the play Doubt. It was terrific. On the bus I did manage to finish the tie from the book. I used purple Paton's Kroy which I doubled and size 4 needles. It was fast to make and I may make a few more for presents.

After the shawl didn't work out I decided to give myself a break so I didn't start anything new. Besides, I ordered Knitting Nature from Amazon and I wanted to wait until I got it and see if anything appealed to me. I got it today and there are a few possibilities. I just may have to buy more yarn though.
Another exciting thing was that I got two Project Spectrum Postcard Swap pals. I made two special green cards today but I won't post a picture until they get them so it stays a surprise.

Springtime Knitting

I am determined to post at least once a week, so here goes. The weather has gotten warm and I have gotten lazy. I spent all weekend walking around NYC and enjoying the temperature, not knitting. By the way, I saw the movie Water in the city. It was a beautiful movie, even if it was very upsetting. It is awful that women are treated so badly in so many cultures.
Anyway, I got the book Modular Knits by Iris Schreier out of the library and joined the group on Yahoo. Some of the projects look awesome. I thought I would really start at the beginning and do each of the exercises she recommends in the book but instead I needed some on-the-bus simple knitting for the bus trip to the city so I jumped right in and started a tie. It is really cute and really simple and perfect for the bus because it is so small. I'll put up a picture soon. And best of all I used some stash, some left-over purple sock yarn. I just wonder if anyone I know will wear a knitted purple tie. This may make a great Christmas present so I may be giving it to my boss in December. Using stash and starting presents early-I really am good.
I'm searching around for a more complex project though. There is a really nice shawl in the book. This weekend Silk City in Paterson, NJ has their monthly sale. I'm going to look for some silk for another tie and more silk for something else.