Catch-up

Ack, I am behind in posting (again). Dave and I had a lovely time in Portland on Sunday. Here is the start of his race: This was actually taken about 10 minutes before the start - they line up very early down there, and by the actual start there were even more people. Dave worked his way up to 9th (out of 80) during the race but then got a flat tire and fell quite aways back after having to run almost an entire lap with his bike. You might notice a mostly naked man in the middle of the photo - this is a Portland thing. You earn extra Cross Crusade series points by competing as close to naked as possible...I felt a bit bad for this guy because he disrobed quite awhile before the start, and he must have been freezing. Then again, it was his crazy plan to ride in a speedo. The Seattle cyclocross series is pretty big, but the Portland series is probably twice the size, participant-wise, and with many more women. It was interesting to go to a race down there - we've done it before, but only for big-deal national races. I think it was a more fun atmosphere than we have up here, to be honest...

We did make it to Powell's, which is crazy, in the best possible way. And completely overwhelming. I deal pretty well with overstimulation and lots of options, but I wasn't prepared for this. I did find some good stuff in the knitting section, but I didn't really look hard for anything else. There was so much single-word-title nonfiction it was astounding. I think unless you have a plan and know what you're looking for it can be a tough place to navigate simply because it's SUCH a huge store. That said, I can't wait to go back (with a plan).

When we got back from Portland I might have accidentally cast-on another new project: These are the NHM #7 mittens from Selbuvotter. I'm knitting them with Shetland Spindrift, on size 1.5 needles. This photo is from Monday - I'm currently just past the thumb. I'm participating in the Ravelry Selbuvotter Knitalong which started this week. I might have jumped the gun just a bit, but I'm sure I won't be the first to finish! I'm loving them so far - I had forgotten how addicting Fair Isle is for me...Last night Anne-Marie and I went to our first Seattle Knitters Guild meeting to listen to Annemor Sundbo, who spoke about traditional symbols in knitting. It was quite interesting, and we couldn't believe how many people there were - I really had no idea. I mean, I knew there were a lot of knitters in Seattle, but this was quite a whack of knitters. Of course I forgot my camera (oops). We hope to go again, but next time we'll be sure to eat dinner first - we had to leave after Annemor's talk because we were both starving (oops)!

New Project!

I've started something new! Big surprise I know, but I actually only have two active projects, one a gift that won't be seen on the blog and the blue Drops Swing Cardigan. Both are progressing but I don't think the sweater needs to be rephotographed until I have the second front finished. When I finished the Purl Scarf I decided I needed another simple project to carry around, so I started this Drop-Stitch Scarf. I found the pattern on Ravelry, but I also saw it at the Fleece Artist/Handmaiden trunk show at Hilltop Yarn today, so I'm really not sure who to attribute it to. The yarn is Knit Picks Memories, and it's been fun so far. This is also a gift, but I'm going to talk about it anyway and assume that a) the recipient won't see it, or b) they won't know it's for them, or c) they won't care even if they do see it and think AH, that must be for me...

Today Rachel, Anne-Marie, and I (and about 100 other people) descended on Hilltop Yarn to check out the Fleece Artist/Handmaiden double-whammy trunk show/wine tasting/yarn groping event. It was fun, although a bit crowded. I'm not big on crowds in small spaces but I made due by having some chardonnay from a box. Which was actually not bad, and less likely to be tipped over onto $50 skeins of yarn than a bottle. Anyway - I only bought one skein of Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 3 ply to make this I-think-it's-adorable-and-will-hopefully-work-on-me-but-it-was-hard-to-tell-because-I-had-my-hair-pulled-back-but-it-looked-cute-on-Anne-Marie-so-I'm-hopeful hat: This is the Ana, from Perl Grey. There are some larger photos in the link, and the more I look at them the cuter I think this hat is. We'll see. I suspect it will be cast on sooner rather than later, but there are many other gifts to knit and exciting projects in the queue. And there's always the science to do...

Dave and I are driving down to Portland tonight so he can do a 'cross race down there tomorrow morning. Yes, we have our own 'cross series, but there are some big races in Portland in December and the starting line order is determined by standing in the Portland series, so Dave wants to get some points down there since there isn't a Seattle series race this weekend and starting position is really important in cyclocross. And, what else do we have to do but drive to Portland? Maybe this time we can actually go to Powells - I've been to Portland 5 times I think without ever making it there...for shame!

I knew it!

Chocolate is good for you! Anne-Marie brought this back from Montreal for me (and it's quite tasty). I love that they're advertising a candy bar as a "source of calcium." How much calcium? 10% - which is something, but sadly probably not enough to make chocolate your calcium source of choice...

Moss Grid Towels - Finally finished!!!

Well, these were a bit of a slog, but I've finished them, and I'm really happy with the way they turned out! They are a wedding gift for a good friend of mine, and they're a fair bit late, but hopefully no one is keeping track! She sometimes reads my blog but fingers crossed she'll get these before she spys them on the internets...

Project Stats: Moss Grid Towels

Pattern: Moss Grid Towel, from Mason-Dixon Knitting

Yarn: Euroflax Linen in Champagne, 2 skeins (one per towel)

Needles: Clover bamboo straights, size 5

Time on the needles: August 22-September 29, 2007. Which isn't bad really. Contrary to the photo, there are two of them, and the second towel definitely took longer than the first. Initially I was really trying to have both done by 9.1 (ha!), but once they were going to be late I admit I lost my impetus to hurry.

Impressions: These were fun to knit, and if I know you and there is an appropriate occasion you might also receive some. The linen took some getting used to because it doesn't have much give, but overall I enjoyed knitting with it. The pattern is easy and the results are stunning (I think). I'd be thrilled to have some of these in my bathroom, so hopefully the recipient will like them too! My only issue is that the pattern calls for 12 repeats of the grid pattern, and I was only able to do 11 without running short on yarn. Thankfully I had done my homework on Ravelry and knew that this might be a problem, so I was prepared to weigh my yarn and make the towels shorter if necessary. It was.

This weekend was the start of the Seattle Cyclocross Series. It was a muddy mess: Dave came in 5th out of over 50 people, so the misery was worthwhile!

Bring it on!!!

...SNOW SHOWERS ARE IN STORE FOR THE OLYMPICS AND CASCADES DOWN TO THE 3500 FOOT LEVEL ON FRIDAY...

A VIGOROUS STORM SYSTEM WILL USHER IN A COLDER AIR MASS ON FRIDAY THAT WILL RESULT IN PLUMMETING SNOW LEVELS. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL FALL TO NEAR 3500 FEET EARLY FRIDAY. EXPECT A COUPLE OF INCHES OF SNOW ABOVE THE 4000 FOOT LEVEL...WITH ONLY A DUSTING BELOW THAT LEVEL.

PEOPLE PLANNING TRAVEL IN THE PASSES ON FRIDAY SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SLIPPERY ROAD CONDITIONS. link

Yay, winter! I'm SO excited for it to start snowing so I can try out my new skis that I bought at the end of last season : ) And yes, apparently I am crazy...

More baby cuteness!

Second pair of Saartje Booties complete! These are a gift for Marlene's baby granddaughter, and they'll be winging their way to the East Coast tomorrow. Aren't they adorable? These are larger than the first pair I knit, at just over 4". They also seem a bit tall, but I think they'll be okay. I don't have much experience with baby feet, so I hope it works out.
I really almost ran out of yarn. I used the same skein of Koigu as for the first pair of booties, but since I wanted these to be larger I doubled it throughout and used size 4 needles (instead of size 2). Before I started I whipped out my handy scale and determined I had 35.7 grams of yarn, from a starting amount of (theoretically) 50 grams, which should have left me plenty of extra. Shouldn't it have? Apparently it did not, as I had less than 2 feet of yarn left even with my modifications. As the yarn wound down and I was kicking myself for sewing the first bootie together and weaving in the ends (fearing that I'd have to rip it out), I started to desperately consider my options. I ended up leaving out one row at the top of the foot, which is not noticable, and then knitting the second strap with the yarn single instead of double, which is a tad noticable but only if you're really looking and most babies aren't that picky! Overall I'm happy with these - this is a great pattern and each bootie only takes about an hour to knit (for me). The finishing is a bit fiddly but it was faster this second time around. I like these buttons better than the first ones I used as well, and they were easier to sew on as they had a loop in the back instead of holes. These can also count for Project Spectrum, being purple! Great success...

Making progress!

Back and left front complete!
Oliver pitched in for the pinning out of my Drops cardigan pieces - isn't he helpful? He loves circular needles. Sorry that the photo is so dark. As I have previously lamented, it's difficult to get good lighting in our apartment, and I wanted to take the photos without the flash because otherwise it's impossible to see the stitch definition. Speaking of stitch definition, my moss stitch (Double seed stitch? Whatever.) isn't as 'bubbly' as the other sweaters I've seen, and I think I can attribute that to my row gauge, which is way off, on the too-many-rows-per-inch side, and I think that is compressing the moss stitch. But, it's clearly not stockinette, so I'm carrying on. Will be casting on the right front tomorrow, and hopefully remembering to add in the buttonholes...