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Friday

I fell asleep over my Mimbres-knitting last night, so no photo update today. I'm up to the neck shaping, however, and as I start the partial 3rd repeat of the pattern, I'm reversing the colors, as per the completely gorgeous original by Meg Swansen. Won't that be cool? I'm eager to see it take shape, and I'll show you on Monday.

Other Knitting:

I remembered last night that it's mid-May, which means it's only a few weeks until the June issue of Pine Mountain Knitting News arrives. I love this little publication! Each issue has a featured charity knitting project, and several easy and functional projects, like Felted Water Bottle Covers, Baby Blankets, Shawls, and Scarves. Joan Hamer, the editor, taught many of us how to knit socks in the dark years before self-patterning yarn with her Joan's Socks, done with Woolease on size 4 or so dps. You can find the sock pattern on Woolworks, and it's not the Humdingers, but a great learning experience for new knitters, and a trip down memory lane for knitters who've been knitting since before it was trendy.

Pup News:

Blustery, rainy, and chilly here today, so the pups have gone back to bed.

Here's stock-Della, though, wishing you a fine Friday:

Have a great weekend everyone—do something thoughtful!

Hello Thursday

Well! Aren't antibiotics swell! I'm much better this morning, thanks for asking!

Indigirl (send her feel-better-fast vibes) had a little quiz up on her blog from SimilarMinds.com: a Compatibility Test. Cute! I was pretty compatible, despite never having worn this. But in my continuing compulsive quest to make work out of the most enjoyable activities, I launched a search for a way to find my own amica blogae, and found Blogmatcher. Just enter your blog url to find your indexed match. My most compatible blog turned out to be just lovely and completely new to me, and so I send a shout-out to Shelly. Check her blog for a very pretty felted tote!

Mimbres News

Thanks Sheila and Carol for the photography tips. I did try to make Mimbres "squint" per Sheila's advice, and as it happens, it did remove a lot of the purplish tones. Excellent!

But that's not so exciting as this:

Observe what's happening directly centered under the underarm steeks! Sweet! When this is finished I'm going to have to walk around with an arm casually draped over my head so that people can admire the beautifully symmetrical scrolls adorning my underarm area. Wouldn't you?

Let's see it again!

Awesome! Is knitting great or what?

Pup News

Sunbathers:

La-la-la! Happy Thursday everyone! Catch some rays if you can. Oh! And check The Times if you have a chance for an article on this, first referenced here in early April.

Steekaleekadingdong

I've been home the past couple of days and so have some Mimbres progress; armholes have been steeked and I decided on Shaped, not Square. So the designated 10% of the armhole stitches are waiting patiently on holders for me to complete the top of the vest.

I'm vexed with the colors in the photo. The vest still looks a bit livid, courtesy of my Nikon. Again, the real colors are a lovely brown handpaint and an equally subtle turquoise handpaint. The sky is clearing this morning, so perhaps there will finally be some sunlight to try and capture the vest in the wild (on my deck). In the meantime, photo tips are welcome. Your reward? Mimbres in its true beauty!

Persecuted Dept.

I've been home because I have bronchitis and a sinus infection, with accompanying fever. I've been to the doctor and have antibiotics, but yesterday my Evil Department Head had the noive to send me a huge stack of e-work, along with an update on his health (Excellent), but with no inquiries as to my health. I ask you, was that necessary? No? I agree, and didn't do the work, but continued suffering (stoically, with my knitting). Now I'm wondering if I have the noive to call out again! Technology has its drawbacks, sometimes. At least he doesn't know how to work IM, eh?

Pup News

Jack and Della assure Lucy that they just want to be friends.

Mike just wants a sunnier Wednesday. Hope yours is . . .

Fancy Knitting

What makes knitting such a flexible art form? This blog paragraph is dedicated to Caroline F, who had the courage to change the colorway of a Ron Schweitzer design to something completely different. St. Michael's, from the Chesapeake Collection, was originally designed for natural shades. But Caroline's is all-blues and all-beautiful. Go look if you haven't seen it yet! Caroline qualifies as a Courageous and Fancy Knitter in my book, plus she's very nice.

Caroline sent me this url recently. It's got some extraordinary fair isles on it and so I pass it along to you. Fair Isle Chickens and Fair Isle Reindeer...cool! See whole pages of fancy fair isles at セーター1.

So here's to all fancy knitters who break the molds and change the rules, you're all bringing the art and craft to new and exciting places.

Mimbres Update

It's up to the arm-shape decision point. Do I want shaped or square? I'm not sure yet. So I'll let you know tomorrow. Mimbres direction are available on a video; do you like knitting videos? I do. Especially when they contain lots of techniques. The Mimbres video has quite a few cool techniques, including pivot stitches, double-applied I-cord, and hidden buttonholes. I like it.

Jack sends happy pup-vibes to Lucy, and I leave you with a silly diversion for the slow parts of today: Bubble Bees. Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Cheerful Monday

The weekend brought news from several areas of cheerful interest to me.

Laura News:
Laura received her vest and pronounced it Perfect, so I'm quite pleased. Here's a photo of my lovely little sister in her new skull vest, on her way to Casa de Luz for a Mother's Day Brunch:

New Book news:

And there was news on the Schoolhouse Press website about a new book: Debbie New's Unexpected Knitting. I'm an admirer of Debbie New's innovative knitting; I'm eager to hold this book in my hands! I can't remember this morning which book it's in, but that knitted boat is something to behold. What an amazing and knitterly mind the woman has. . . I'm looking forward to reading about her process!

Buddy News:
My son Bernard phoned to say he was moving to California, but will be spending a few weeks here with me on his way from Corkscrew Swamp in Naples, Florida, to El Cajon in CA. He's my only child so I'm always thrilled to see him. Here's a photo of him on the bike trails in Florida:

Mimbres (no new news):

It's still flowing upwards toward the arm steeks. No photo today, owing to less-than-lovely weekend weather.

It would be nice to see some sunshine around here. I hope your Monday is sunny and pleasant. Cheers!