Caught in a Whirlwind

So there's been all kinds of activity here, chez Mango, not that you can tell from my posting.

Item 1: I survived my first jury duty. (Two more to go, then my civic duty is over for a while.) It was actually very interesting. I enjoyed all the little courtesies and rituals between attorneys, judge, and jury. (It's pretty cool to have someone call "All rise!" when you walk into the courtroom. I'd thought only judges got that one.) And the case had all kinds of drama, with high-speed car chases, sideswiped police cruisers, finishing with a two-car bang-up ending. Though the drama was a little hard to maintain in the dry tones of the state troopers' testimony... In the end, we deliberated hard - just like the judge told us to - and nitpicked each charge until we were all satisfied with our decision. As a group, we were thoughtful, careful, and conscientious.
And, Norma? I made a point to notice the stenographer - actually, stenographers, since we had a different one each day.

Item 2: Since I needed a knitting project for the downtime in the jury room (and believe me, there was a lot of it. A 9am start time was actually closer to 9:25; a ten minute recess usually lasted 20 minutes.) I cast on Kathleen Taylor's Picot Hem Stranded Snowflake Hat. (Rav link)
Because of course I needed a new project... The Selbuvotter glove was too dangerous looking with all those pointy metal needles, and the thrummed mitten was too messy to try to tote around (all the jurors would have ended up covered in fuzzy fibers. Sorry sorry...) The hat was innocuous-looking enough to make it through security - they might have let the glove through, but I didn't want to take the chance of having it confiscated, leaving me knitting-less for the day.
I got a bit of knitting done, anyway. The other women on the jury lamented not bringing their knitting and crocheting...

Item 3: I got my eggplant plied. (Does that sound odd to anyone else? Try reading it out loud. Maybe it's just me...) Anyway, the original plan was to spin for 10 minutes a day, but I kept getting sucked into the spinning vortex, and next thing I knew I had 300+ yards of 3ply. The best part is, it's an actual worsted weight yarn - which is the first time I've been able to achieve that weight. (My default is fingering - I think it's my innate stinginess trying to coax as many yards as possible out of a hank of fiber.) Laurie is the one to thank for it - she gave me excellent advice on tightening the take-up, and next thing I knew, I had real yarn! She's my hero!


And just in case I get any spare time...

Item 4: I bought Maplewing. And yarn. (I lusted for the red/orange of the original shawl, but knew I would never have anything to wear that color with. So I wimped out and got a neutral sort of tan. Though I may go back to the LYS and get the deep evergreen laceweight they had. Or that dark purple. But since everything I make lately seems to be green or purple, maybe I should stick with the tan just in order to break it up...) I'm trying to resist the urge to cast it on Right Now. Because I have a feeling that if I cast on one more project, my house will explode. Critical mass was reached long ago...

Item 5: Still working on the second thrummed mitten. I'm starting to collect photos for a post for the pattern.



Stay tuned...
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Hey, this is Number 100!

Wow. Guess I should have planned something special...

Oh, well.

Zipping along with Annemor #8.
The yarn is KnitPicks Essential, which I got last fall along with the Selbuvotter book. I like the look of the multi (named Princess? Something like that. Yep, just checked: Princess Multi) with the black. Some of the purples are a little dark, but it gives a subtle effect to the patterning which I'm enjoying.
It's really hard to stop knitting these little gems. I want to keep going for "just one more row" to watch the pattern developing. I was up till midnight last night, one-more-rowing.
*Yawn*
I'm at the point now where I start knitting the fingers. Hello, yarn ends...

Still working on charting the thrummed mitten. I'll knit mitten #2 from the chart, to make sure I haven't led anyone astray, then post the pattern.
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One warm hand, anyway...

Step by step, inch by inch...

Here's an inside view of the thrummy goodness. I pulled some of the fiber aside near the top of the mitten so the backside of the colorwork shows.
And.....


Ta-da! I finished the first mitten! And you'll notice I finally got that silly little millimeter smarter and knit the left hand first so I could take a picture without swearing at myself...
World's Warmest Mittens, how I do love thee!


And so, to celebrate, I cast on my next Selbuvotter project. After much dithering (with the emphasis on the much) I finally made a choice. Annemor #8 is officially underway.

Notice the yarn barf at the bottom of the picture. Argh...

And quick question: Anyone know why I can get nice big pictures from Flickr, but my Picasa pics are little bitty? Thanks!
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Where is Thumbkin?

Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin?


Here I am! Here I am!

How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you.

Run away. Run away.

The knitting is done. Just the ends left to weave in. Do you think I can convince my daughter that the dangley bits are a traditional folk finish? Perhaps known as lazy tassles?
No, I didn't think so, either...


And does anyone remember what ancient TV show featured the Thumbkin song? Captain Kangaroo? Romper Room? I remember sitting in front of the TV as a small child, happily singing all the verses: Thumbkin, Pointer, Tall Man, Ring Man, and Pinkie.
And I remember learning a valuable lesson: Never show Mom Tall Man unless she can actually hear you singing the song...

Ooops. I accidentally cast on Poinsettia...

And I might have accidentally knit a few rows. Maybe a repeat or two of the lace pattern. I've really got to pay more attention to those fingers of mine.


In my defense, I did finish the fingers on Annemor 10. Just have the thumbs to go!


So, obviously I deserved to cast on something new. And I really really need a purple cowl.

After all, it's cold up here!

This is the same view as this, only without the snowstorm...

By the way, I just went to check - tomorrow is my 1st blogiversary! Will I post? Will I not? Only time will tell...

Disappointment #1 of 2009

Both. Yarn Shops. Closed. Sundays.
*sigh*

Now I'll have to wait until Thursday, my next day off. I really want to get Madman's slippers finished, so they don't end up taking a year and a half to finish. (Not that I'm pointing fingers at myself. But. Yeah.)

In the meantime, I'm still knitting Annemor 10.

These are meant for my youngest daughter - I knew she'd go for the bright green!
It occurred to me that I would be much happier if I caught the second one up to the first before I got too far ahead. I'd had to fiddle with the fingers, and it was best to continue the fiddling while it was still (fairly) fresh in my mind. While I'm perfectly capable of reverse engineering, life is so much easier if I don't put myself into that position...

And here's some of the knitterly loot I got for Xmas:


Anyone want a better look at that yarn? Yeah, me too.

It's Cherry Tree Hill, and the colors (named "Earth") are even better in person than they are in the pic. I've got 2 skeins of 284 yards each, worsted weight. Now begins the big dither about what to make out of it. Ideas, anyone? Maybe that Moebius Cowl or Shawl that I've been wanting to experiment with? Or a vest? Or a hooded scarf?

Is it possible to get a PhD in dithering?

And then there were three

Three fingers down, one to go. (Not counting the thumb, of course. Thumbs are a whole different category.) Annemor 10 marches on. The colors are definitely growing on me.And, just because I didn't have enough things cast on:
Yep. Finally started these clogs. I bought the pattern last winter, but hadn't gotten around to trying it out. I've made a lot of felted slippers (I'm wearing a pair, now) and really enjoy knitting big floppy whatsits and then washing them to the brink of destruction. (Isn't there something delightfully perverse in shrinking handknits on purpose...)
These are going to be a gift, but the recipient will be chosen after they're done - I've found this to be the safest course with felted objects. You know, you take it out of the washer and think "Okay, now who do I know that this will fit?" So much better than planning it for Aunt Betsy and finding it would only fit little baby cousin Sophie...
I've used the Shepherd's Shades before - it's a really great yarn for felting. But using it in this pattern is going to be a complete experiment. The pattern calls for using the yarn double, but when I felted a swatch with the SS doubled, it was way too big. So I'm trying it single, knitting the large woman's size, and hoping it will fit someone on my list when I'm done. Keep your fingers crossed for me - it might be a bumpy trip...
And as I knit this pattern, my admiration for Bev Galeskas is enormous. I've done a lot of designing myself, and I know how tedious it can be - knit knit knit, oops, that didn't work, unravel unravel unravel, knit knit knit, CRAP!! unravel unravel unravel... Which is crazy-making, but at least you can use the yarn over. When designing for felting, however - you don't know what you've got until after you felt it! That yarn is gone, baby. Holy frustration, Batman!
I had to go to the LYS for size 13 needles for the clogs. I may have accidently bought a couple of skeins of yarn while I was there.


For Christmas presents, of course. Because I definitely don't have enough things cast on, yet. Look at all the empty needles just lying there doing nothing!

Still more Annemor

Finally got some fingers I'm happy with. The pattern calls for casting on stitches between the fingers, but I still wasn't getting enough to knit the star pattern on the up-side and the diamond pattern on the palm-side. So I fudged a little, and it seems to be working out.The pink yarn is the waste yarn carrying the rest of the finger stitches, the brown yarn is carrying the thumb stitches.

And here's a modeled shot of the glove - I'm just starting the ring finger.

And notice that once again, I'm knitting the right hand first and trying to photograph left handed.
Doh.
I never learn.

Annemor 10 is not kicking my ass

Well, maybe a little...
I've been working on the right-hand glove. No problems up to the point where I started knitting the fingers.
But.
I knitted most of the index finger and found it's too tight and too short. So, I ripped it (the finger, not the whole glove...) out and will be starting it over. Part of the problem is that the little star on the front side of the finger needs 13 stitches, but the pattern only shows using 8 stitches from the body of the glove. Now, I'll admit my math skills are a little rusty, but this seems like a real head-scratcher to me...
I'd made a few increases to try to compensate, but apparently I still don't have enough stitches. And if it comes out too short again, I think I'll add a partial star to fill in the fingertip.
We'll see how it goes.

And yes, my little kitty in yesterday's post is double-pawed. This makes her 'helping' with my yarn a real disaster. The claws on the extra paw don't retract, so she has a hard time letting go.
And she loves yarn. She particularly likes bringing yarn to me. I have to keep my sewing room door closed, otherwise she drags my whole yarn stash out - taking the scenic route under the table, around the chair legs, under and over the couch - leaving a trail of yarn wherever she goes.
"Here ya go, Mama. I brought you yarn!"
*sigh*

More Annemor

Moving right along on the Annemor glove. I'm past the point where the thumb stitches are put onto waste yarn, so about halfway up the palm.
And here's the front:
The dark green is Brown Sheep Wildfoote "Pine Tree"; the light green is KnitPicks Palette "Green Tea Heather."
The Palette is much more loosely plyed than the Wildfoote. If anything, the Wildfoote is over-plyed - I keep having a problem with it twisting back on itself. Since the Palette is fluffier than the Wildfoote, it's working out well as the color I knit with my right hand, with the Wildfoote in my left.
As for that "Green Tea Heather" name? No matter what they call it, it looks chartreuse to me. Not a fan of chartreuse. Which is why it's not the background color. No way could I give someone a pair of chartreuse gloves. Especially if I like them well enough to knit them gloves in the first place...

Well, as long as I'm in the habit...

It's been a real mitt-fest lately.
Lest anyone think I started a new pair of Selbu gloves without finishing the first ones:
Here they are! I still have to weave in a bunch of ends, but I typically have to wait for the mood to strike, then maniacally weave and weave and weave. If I try to push it, it just leads to tragedy...
I've also got these fingerless mitts going. The plan is to pick up stitches across the backs at the base of the fingers, and turn them into convertible mittens.
I knit this as a proto-type last spring. I was trying to get the ribbing on the top part to mimic the ribbing on the bottom. Though what I'm actually ending up with sort of looks like a fish...
It looks much better on my hand. (Though it would be a lot easier to model if I had finished the thumb.)


The clock is ticking down to Christmas. I'm probably going to wish I had chosen to knit hats...

Whew! I did it!

I've never been so glad to see the end of November! When I started this NaBloPoMo madness, I was sure I would finish. (I'm way too stubborn to do otherwise...) I knew I would struggle for topics, and I knew there would be a junk post or two, just to keep it rolling.
I learned a few things. Not every post has to be worthy of carving in stone. It's okay not to have a picture. It's okay to just write about something that only I am likely to be interested in. And, it's way a lot easier to have something to write about BEFORE you sit down to the keyboard...
Will I keep posting every day? Not on your Nellie.
Will I post more often than I used to? A resounding yes to that one! (See lessons learned, above.) Part of the fun, of course, is that I've acquired a few readers - and that makes it look a lot less like I'm talking to myself. I love to see comments - let me repeat that - I LOVE to see comments! (Hint, hint...) Feedback is such a joy.

And because I am a masochist want to prove that Selbuvotter can't kick my ass and get away with it, I started another pair of gloves:


This time I'll actually follow the pattern (Annemor #10) - well, except for the part where I'm reversing the light/dark sequence. The background color is a pine green, the pattern color is "Green Tea Heather" - you know, Color D that I didn't care for.
Looks like chartreuse to me...

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The Good News and the Bad News

First, the Good News - The World's Warmest Mittens are done! Done! Done!
I worked out what I did wrong on the thumbs and fixed it. The ends are woven in, and they're ready to present to WGS.
Here's a closeup of the herringbone pattern, wonky handspun alpaca and all:
Recap:
Pattern: Elliphantom's Herringbone Mittens
Yarn: My handspun alpaca. The fleeces came from WGS's own alpacas.
Needles: size 4 DPN
Modifications: I knit a K1P1 ribbing cuff to help the mittens stay on. And the biggest mod is that I thrummed the pattern to make the mittens extra warm. (Thrums were also alpaca.)

I am so so so happy with how these turned out!


And now for the bad news... Well, first, some more good news - I've got a thumb done on the Selbuvotter gloves! I haven't finished weaving in ends, but happy progress has been made. Here are a couple of photos I took while wearing the glove. I stupidly finished the right one first, so had to take the pictures left-handed. And blind, since I couldn't hold my hand in the light and still see through the viewfinder... I took about 20 pics before I got any I could use. Though I got some fabulous shots of my wrist and my fingertips...


So, flush with this victory, I sat down to work on Thumb 2. I was happily knitting away, chatting occasionally with Madman, who was working on his plans for remodeling the chicken coop.
That little voice in the back of my head (You know the one. It always means trouble...) started going "Psst. Psst..."
I knitted harder.
"Psst!"
Crap. I sighed, and looked. And sighed.
When I got up and got the camera, Madman knew something was up. He gave me an inquiring look.
"They got me again!" I said.
"Oh, no! What now?"
"Take a look at the base of the thumbs..."


"Oh no! Does that mean you have to knit another one?"
"Absolutely not. I'm just going to pretend I don't see it."

These gloves are kicking my ass.

I might be already kicking myself...

So, after shooting off my big mouth yesterday, here I sit, after a day where by 3pm my brains had turned to pudding and were leaking out my ears and I still had to hang in there till 5pm, trying to come up with a post.

The second thrummed Herringbone mitten is still in progress. It looks remarkably like the first one did at the same age, so not much point in photographing it. (And it's too dark anyway, by now.)
I've got the pinky and ring fingers of the second Selbu glove done, and am 'roaring' up the middle finger, but, again, it looks pretty much like the first one. (Actually, thank goodness for that similarity. See this post, if you haven't been following along at home.)
I finished the male-version of Rogue that I knit for Madman (meant for his birthday. In April. Of 2007. Oops.) but given that a) it's dark and b) he's notoriously camera-shy, I have no pic for that either.

I'm starting to worry that by the 15th of November I'll be reduced to telling about the time my little brother's (clandestine) pet garter snake escaped in the house.
And by the 25th, my post will consist solely of "Um. Ummm...."

Hopefully, something outrageous and/or ridiculous will happen to me between now and November 30th.

What are the odds?

Just checking...

Phew!
We have a match.
Now as long as I don't screw up the star on the back. Or the palm pattern. Or put the thumb gusset on the wrong side.

Crap.

How long do you suppose I can knit while holding my breath?

Are we tired of WWM, yet?

I finished the first mitten, sans weaving in the last of the ends, and cast on the second one. Almost missed the beginning of the thumb gusset, but made a quick recovery. Frogging thrums is a messy business at best.


Someday my spinning will be better and more consistent, I hope. Until then, I just keep practicing.

I finished the pinky on the second Selbu glove.


And cast on a third. I'm shooting for a glove that will match the first one, but I admit I'll be happy as long as it matches either of them... Two half-pairs I can bear, but THREE half-pairs would probably send me right over the edge. I'll be watching this one with great paranoia...


A friend of ours gave us some elderberries. Not enough for a batch of wine (sigh...) but enough to make a lovely elderberry buckle:
Madman liked it a lot...

For some strange reason, every time I say elderberry buckle, I hear "Buckleberry Ferry" in the back of my head.

And, last but not least, the chickens are in molt. Every fall their old feathers fall out (the inside of the chicken coop looks like the site of a chicken explosion) and new feathers grow in. The transition stages make them look pretty pathetic. With most of their feathers gone, they end up looking like lizards. With goosebumps.
Last year, they molted in November - nothing sadder than seeing a bunch of cold, shivering, half-naked chickens.

Our poor rooster has lost most of his tail feathers. Lucky for him, he has a big enough ego to convince himself he's still the best looking rooster alive.
I don't have the heart to tell him that there are a dozen roosters in the coop next door that are all prettier than he is. And all better-natured than him, too. (He has turned mean in his "old-age" and attacks us on a too-regular basis.) One of them will be chosen to be his replacement...


The really sad part about the molt is that the chickens pretty much stop laying for a month or two. We've gone from 4 eggs a day to one every other day. Since we can sell as many as we can produce, this is not good news. In another month or two, the young hens will start laying, so at least we have that to look forward to.

Gah!!!!

So, I'm flying right along with the second Selbuvotter glove. Just starting the decreases on the pinky. But somewhere in the back of my brain, a little voice was calling...
I finally stopped, looked, and listened.

See anything wrong with this picture?


Look a little closer...


See it now? How about a little closer, yet?


Yep.
I left out that little 3-row border. On the cuff.

GAH!!

So, now I have two options. I can either rip out most of a glove (the disheartening option), or I can knit 2 more gloves to make pairs out of what I've already got (the daunting option.)

*sigh*

Decisions, decisions...