Finishing and Progress

The Angel Wing Lace Socks made it off the needles. They have the same toe as the Hearts and Hugs Socks which is kind of wide at the end. I will have to see how it is fitting after a few washes but this maybe the last for this toe design. Fourteen stitches across seems kind of wide for the end of a toe. The heel is nice and snug. It is worked on slightly fewer stitches than usual which seems to agree with my narrow heels.

Next off the needles is a diagonal lace scarf using a Fiber Space pattern. It was knit in Gioiello shade 18 using size 5 needles. Obviously it could use a little blocking which is all that can be done with a yarn that is 30% mohair, 30% wool, 20% nylon, 10% cotton, and 10% acrylic. The pattern called for 300 yards and the ball had 220 yards, so I cut one repeat out for a size of 6" by 53".

Last but not least, the body tube for my Philosopher's Wool Jacket is knit. The next step will be steeking followed by either assembly or front bands and a neck band. I don't remember what the directions say right now. Looks like my experiment running the color changes up the front steek is going to work out nicely. As you can see, Freya is slightly doubtful about the whole thing.

The only other item on needles right now, is the Oregon Shawl. No significant milestones have been reached with it recently.

Jacob 1.5

Now, that is done, I found out I should have done somethings a bit differently. What we have here is the finished results of spinning a sample of Jacob fleece. I hand carded, spun it, and did a Navajo ply. The result is 50 yards of yarn at varying wraps per inch. The thickest is about 10 and the thinnest is about 18. While carding I was a bit frustrated with the variation in the wool. Spinning produced designer yarn because I was having trouble dealing with the varying lengths. I knew a little bit was second cuts, must of which I picked out. I think I lost at least an eighth of an ounce.

One of the books I got for Christmas was, In Sheeps Clothing. Of course by then the small skein was drying downstairs. Here is what I found out from the book.
- Jacob Sheep is a two coat fleece, it has both coarse and fine fiber. (here is the variation)
- The two can be separated or processed together.
- If processed together, carefully distribute both evenly on a hand card. (here is one mistake)
- If handled much, the two fibers will separate. (small samples seem to get handled)
- wash before spinning ( it looked o.k. in the little zip-lock)
- When Navajo plying use your biggest whorl. (Oops! Not the smallest!)

So, what to do with 50 yards of unique yarn? I don't think I can even make wristers without adding to the yarn. I doubt if there is enough for a headband. Any bright ideas?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone who reads my blog. And those who don't. Go ahead and tell everyone 'Merry Christmas' for me.

It is a white Christmas by anyone's definition here. We still had snow on the ground from the last storm and it was snowing when we looked out at nine am. Last check still snowing with some blowing. The line showing the lawn versus the driveway has disappeared. Who would want to go out and disturb the beautiful snow on a day like today?

And today the scarf picture can be posted without spoiling anything. The scarf is the wide version of the Absolutely Positively Reversible Scarf from April in last year's knitting calendar. It was made with Alpaca with a Twist, Baby Twist yarn using size eight needles. It has a really nice drape and used three skeins with about 8 yards left. I would like to knit up the narrow pattern just for comparison sometime.

And it is getting really close to time to prep a turkey breast for the oven and call a few people.

More Needles

I found a local source of Casein a few weeks ago by contacting the whole sale office. The source is Fancy Tiger which is pretty much downtown. Downtown always translates to parallel parking my mind, something I try not to do. I have succeed admirably at avoiding this over the years. So, I waited until Rudy innocently asked me what I want to do. I mentioned I was looking for some particular knitting needles and that it would be nice to see Enchanted.

So, off we went. They did have a supply of the needles. I was looking for double points, particularly my favorite sock size which is a 2. I will admit I thought I was out of luck at first glance because the swallow needles were in a drawer not on the wall. Since, it sound like they were thinking about changing stock, I bought several sizes of double points as you can see.

There was a warning that they had seen a number of broken needles being brought back. I suspect they might break easier than wood if sat up on. However I don't plan to do this. Through various experiments, I found sitting on needles uncomfortable at best.

The other needles I have are from Fiber Space in answer to my original quest for needles after using my first set of double points seen in the second photo. As you can see one pair has a scarf on them.

And yes, we did go to the movie after I secured my needles.

It's Not My Fault

Really, an enabler by the name of Michelle, was involved. I was browsing a LYS when I heard her voice. We chatted for a few minutes about yarn. Then she mentioned that the Louise Harding Kashmir Aran knits up really nicely as mittens or scarves. And it was in the sale bin. What was I to do? Of course, I stopped my internal debate about knitting needles and bought three balls of Kaskmir Aran in blue. A blue that almost matches the scarf I was wearing with my coat.

This just after I finished a red scarf using 3 skeins of Alpaca Twist Baby twist. So much for getting ahead.

Bond Confusion

Have you seen the new limits US Savings Bonds? Did you see the reasoning? I find the reasoning confusing and I don't think it is old age setting in.

If you hadn't noticed here is what happens effect January 1st. The limit on purchasing EE and I bonds is lowered to $5,000 a year from $15,000 a year. This limit is per bond type. The reason is to encourage people with limited incomes to buy bonds. Besides which history shows that 80% of people who buy purchase $5,000 or less a year.

Maybe, I am just silly. I always thought when it came to investments and money, the minimum to buy in determined who was going to invest, not the maximum allowed. The minimum is pretty low now, $25 for an EE bond. The minimum has always been a determining factor for us.

And what about the 20% who bought more than $5,000 in a year? Are they evil Anti-Americans? Or did they just not want play in the stock market? Or is there a more nefarious plot afoot? Honestly, I will probably never know know the truth.

To get it straight from the horse's mouth, here is the link.

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/news/pressroom/pressroom_reducedpurchaselimit.htm

Cashmere Spun Up

Here is the scoop. I finally got up the courage to spin the cashmere I bought at the Estes Park Wool Market in 2006. This is the most expensive fiber I have ever purchased for spinning. I want to not goof it up and since I only had two ounces I want to try for lace weight. So, I waited until I had spun other fiber.

The result is about 358 yards of two ply. I did have the yarn break while spinning the singles when it got too fine. I carefully worked the breaks back. The luck here was that I didn't loss an end during the break. I also had 3 breaks while plying. I think I got those worked out. They may show slightly but I didn't notice them while putting the yarn into a skein.

The fiber came from Sweet Goats and had about 3 hairs and 6 bits of straw in it. By bits, I mean pieces that were about 3/8 of an inch or shorter. I consider this really clean compared to some other fiber I have spun.

So, now I am going to cross my fingers and take the yarn down to soak then dry. Hopefully, those breaks will stay put together. Then I need to decide what to knit with it. Looking at it, I think I ended up with sport weight.

B6 border

I have decided I really like the B6 border. I found it in 'Stahman's Shawls and Scarves'. It is a six stitch seed stitch border where the first stitch is slipped when starting a row and the border on the other side ends with two knit stitches. I have found that if the stitch is slipped purlwise with yarn in back in back, the edge has a nice chain going up it. If I knit in the back loop on the last stitch, I get a loose chain. Knitting the front loop puts a slight twist. If I slip knitwise, I get a line of bumps going up the edge. Which is also a nice effect.

With the chain border it is easy to drop down and fix a problem if I slip the stitch the wrong way. I am sure a crochet hook would make it really easy but I just use a knitting needle. The chain type border looks like the non-bumpy side of single crochet.

I have used this on several scarfs, shawls, and shrugs. The borders lie nice and flat.

Shipping instead of Shopping

I know it is a traditional shopping day but I really can't stand crowds for very long. So, the only shopping today was a quick stop at the grocery store.

The main Christmas activity today was to finish wrapping presents that need to be mailed and shipping them. It works pretty well as a team activity. Rudy wraps, I label and put bows on, organize address labels for the boxes and give some direction which is usually ignored. Freya thought about assisting but decided flipping out over an empty gift wrap tube was too much fun.

Other than annoying people, we actually have motives for doing this. And they are:
- We send birthday presents to three people at this time of the year. There seems to be a base price for each package, so tossing the Christmas presents in makes sense. Honestly, it probably saves about 20 dollars a year anymore.
- One package goes overseas with a 2 - 3 week estimate for delivery.
- Everyone else goes shopping until mid afternoon today, making to post office line really short.
- All of the ads from yesterday' paper, make great fillers for boxes.

First Over the Finish Line

I finally finished one of my projects that has been going for months. On Saturday, I tucked the ends in on the throw. It is kind of stretchy, so the dimensions are rough. It is about 48 inches wide by 60 inches long. This works as a throw for me. Now is gracing the love seat in the front room. I will have to admit the pattern shows more from across the room than up close. I sure everyone will remind me that this is what I get for using a bulky, slightly boucle yarn.

It has been inspected by Freya and not found to be highly desirable. One of the bonuses of acrylic, is that my cats don't want to roll in it. She did smack it before sniffing it. This is part of the standard inspection method.

Guess I might as well roll out the progress report on everything else.

- Philosopher's Wool sweater has about 2 inches of body tube left to go.
- Angel wing lace socks are still on the first sock but about half way through the foot.
- Oregon shawl has about 65 rows of border left followed by the bind-off border
- shrug is really close to starting the second skein which by definition is really close to half done.

The urge for a quick 6 hour project is growing. So, I signed up for the Spring Surprise Shawl. Of course, I plan to do my usual and wait for the whole pattern before starting.

In The Mail

I didn't think I was going to get this. As part of the Nordic Knitting Conference, The Heritage Nordic Museum in Seattle, decided to print a booklet of patterns. The patterns are mostly wristwarmers, hats, and other quick patterns. The instructors for the classes plus some local Seattle designers provided the patterns. Well worth the ten dollars plus three for shipping.

It took literally weeks to talk to a volunteer who knew about the booklets. I tried calling on Saturday over month ago and the volunteer hadn't heard anything about the booklet. I am wondering if it wasn't printed yet or not in the gift shop yet. I left a message and waited. I tried e-mail since calling during the week is difficult for me. They called back on the Friday, we went Pueblo. The following Tuesday, I talked to someone and got to order the booklet. By then, I figured it was sold out but they still had a few. And a couple of days ago it showed up on my doorstep.

Someday, if they keep running the conference, I would like to go. I think it would be a lot of fun.

Corset Sample

Last Sunday, I got to take a workshop taught by Annie Modesitt. I chose the Corset Sampler class partially on whim and partially because it included techniques. I used Zitron Evita for my sample (40% cotton, 20% rayon, 40% synthetic blend of yarns, 50 grams, 120 yards). I think the sample used about half of the ball of yarn.

The top is to the left in the picture and the bottom which would sit at the top of the hip is towards the right. I went for extra credit and tried the cable chart which wasn't part of the class. It is in the middle just above the hip shaping.

Before I took the class I was thinking, 'I won't knit a corset'. But it isn't really a corset, it is a sweater that is fit like a corset. So now, I am tempted.

The question would be which yarn to use. The pattern recommends silk but I perspire. The other recommendation is cotton but I honestly don't care for the cotton top I have knit. It is heavy and the ends worm out. I am thinking synthetic so it can be washed. Oh, did I mention I got the pattern as part of the class.

So when would I knit this with all the other projects I have yarn for?

I did learn a couple of neat things. One of them was the picot edge bind off. I hadn't ever done it before. The other neat idea was for picking up stitches for an afterthought sleeve or pocket. If you do it from the back it is easier to see the stitches for the top and bottom.

I haven't used the yarn before and a want to make a couple of comments. I think the Evita worked really well for the sample. I doubt if I would use the yarn for a sweater because the rayon strand snagged slight when I was knitting. I had a slightly rough nail that caught it a couple of times. I didn't have trouble snagging anything else on Sunday.

Shopping in Pueblo

We ran away to Pueblo for the weekend. And of course I bought several things because I don't have enough of them. I suspect anyone who reads this understands.

I am going to start with the cookbooks. The Burrito Cookbook was found at a small store on Abriendo Avenue. It's not just a cookbook but explores other aspects of burritos, like where did they start. It even has some tongue in check advice. The other one is the 12th edition of the Congressional Club Cookbook which I picked up from the Tumbleweed Book Store which has used books. If you are interested in the latest edition, try http://www.thecongressionalclub.com/. The 13th edition is still available. I checked and there are no recipes from the Craigs in the 12th edition. Anyway this quite the hefty little tome with almost 1000 pages including indices.

Now for why I don't have enough cookbooks. Just recently we got enough shelving to locate all of the cookbooks in the same area with the cooking magazines. There are three bookshelves, one with two shelves (three if you count the top), one with six and one with five. I have to be honest, somewhere between ten and twenty cookbooks are in the bedroom and by my chair. I have not gone through them thoroughly. I still have not looked at the books I shelved last time due to moving. They are put away and I get distracted by what is not put away.


The other pictured items were found at Colorado Fiber Arts, a local Pueblo Yarn Store located 121 Broadway near Abriendo Avenue. Chatting with owner, I found out that it has only been open for a year. It is a really nice store and worth swinging of the freeway. Also, you can get a famous Pass Key sandwich nearby.

Anyone who know me knows that I actually have far fewer knitting books than cookbooks. 'Knitting Lace Triangles' looked like a nice primer on developing triangular lace shawls. I think I could combine it with the information in Myrna Stahmans book to make up a lace shawl worthy of being named after my Mom.

The yarn is 1215 yards of merino hand-painted a Colorado lady. I figure I can always squeeze another ball of lace weight into the closet. I almost brought home some other lace weight yarn but managed to resist. The three ounces of roving is off of Samson. I was told he was a real sweetie but has passed away recently. Fortunately, since he had really nice wool, there are lots of offspring.

I know the earring picture turned out blurry but the earring kept moving. Now, I have knitting earrings. I did not have any before just lots of other kinds of earrings. I have been tempt to try making tiny wood needles winding a small ball of sock yarn to make my own but I think these are a better solution. Of course, I might have to prove this sometime.

Knitting In General

I did pick up one neat tip from the latest guild meeting. For buttons, consider using shank buttons where the shank is big enough to fit over a crochet hook and your yarn. Then you can install them like a bead using the crochet hook on the appropriate stitch. There was a warning about checking the orientation of the button.

And now for a report on the current state of my projects.
- Philosopher's Wool Sweater - about 6 inches above the start of the armholes
- pair 4 of the 5280 socks - just a few rows of rib on the first sock. They are white and I am following a pattern.
- Green Shrug - at least 20 inches are done. So, maybe 40 inches to go.
- bulky red afghan - a little over half way through the 4 skeins.
- Oregon shawl - start the 11th of 13 repeats for the center block.

So, nothing is finished. The most likely to finish first is probably the socks followed closely by the afghan.

I did purchase another circular needle for the Oregon shawl. I could have used one of my needle sets when I have to pick up all around but I don't want to risk a disconnect with all of those yarnovers. I can handle a disconnect with just regular knit and purl but the ugliness that comes to mind when yarnovers are involved invokes shivers up and down my spine. So, the solution is a brand new 47 inch size 7 Addi Turbo. The lace Addi Turbo needles don't seem to come in that size or weren't available where I have been shopping, so I don't get to try them.

Traveling Yarn

This yarn went to Canada and came back as a Mobius scarf. Does this make it a Canadian product? It might but I will leave that to the experts. It was started in Canada, the only things done in the USA were blocking and clipping ends. The yarn is Galway worsted weight wool and the pattern is Scottish Wave Scarf out of 'A Treasury of Magical Knitting' by Cat Bordhi. This is the second one I have made.

Now for the Idaho yarn stores I browsed before returning home. My co-conspirator was my Mother. I wasn't the only one who damaged her checkbook.

The first one was 'The Needle Nook' in Moscow, Idaho. It was visited on the way to lunch with my Mother-in-law. Not all of the damage is pictured. And the damage was One Basket Weave Scarf kit which has 3 skeins of Softwist in a deep purple, 2 skeins of Tofutsies (only one made it home), One skein of 'Top of the Hill Alpacas (local from Viola, Idaho) and one Skein of Jitterbug. Just a note it is under new ownership and has moved since I was in college.

The second one was 'Harmony Yarn Studio' in Couer'd Alene. We slipped out to pick up some jump rings and adjust the itinerary once we hopped into the pickup. Again, not all of the pocket book damage is shown. The purchases were Ranco Multi by Araucania, 4 skeins of Shibuiknits (the two pink skeins didn't make it home) and one skein of Merino Oro.

The last days in Canada

Day 7, we traveled down to Cranbrook to look at the Canadian rail museum. On the way, we looped for to Kimberely to see the Bavarian downtown area. It is about 3 blocks long and a block wide. Caught lunch at an Oriental Restaurant. Of course, we had hamburgers and a grilled cheese sandwich. The food was very well prepared. I suspect they do an excellent job on the Chinese dishes. There are valid reasons for the choices but you will have to enquire.

We continued on to Cranbrook. Mom decide to wait in the gift shop and the lobby area since climbing in and out train cars isn't compatible with her knees. So, Dad and I got tickets to 3 of the tours. While we were waiting, I slipped down the stairs and took a picture of the Cranbrook History quilt. I also took pictures of the fireplace in the lobby. Since, I don't feel like editing them right now, I might post them later. The tours are mainly of the cars used by Canadian Royal Pacific and one tour of a dining room out of a rail hotel.

The cars are in various states of restoration. The museum is working hard on restoring and acquiring the old cars. The cars vary in age from before 1900 to about 1960. There is beautiful wood work and stained glass in the cars. The guide had some interesting comments.

Day 8, A small fire had flared up near Invermere with the smoke hanging like a light fog through the valley. We took a short drive up to Panorama Village, a ski resort and stopped by Gerri's Gelatis for lunch. We used up our Canadian money since it doesn't work well in the US.

On Day 9, we head back to Idaho. A light rain was falling almost like the area was sorry to see us go. We were back in Idaho in time for lunch.

5280 Socks Breaking News

I finished two more pairs of socks for the 5280 Sock challenge. One pair was start before the vacation and the second pair was started on the trip. I have a set of needles I always use on planes and am happy to see put back away. The points aren't quite up to snuff for decreases.

Pair number 2 were knit out of Lions Brand magic stripe using the pattern off of the label and switching to a star toe. The needles used are size 5 Bryspun double points. Doing this, I really didn't have much yarn left over. My advice is to not go more than 6 inches for the leg on any size bigger than women's size 9.5. I think I could have gotten another inch on mine.

Pair number 3 were knit out of Fortissima Socka using the 'Hearts and Hugs Lace Sock' pattern by Slayton. My one modification was an extra heart repeat in honor of having bigger feet than the pattern called for. Again, another cuff down sock. One thing, I liked about the pattern was putting the gusset decreases two stitches from the end of the needle. I might do this in the future on other socks. I used my size 2 Pony Pearls for these. I have heard that the tips on Pony Pearls can be sharpened but these babies have been on more than five trips involving planes without being confiscated. I would hate to break the mojo on this.

I think they are getting tired of staying home for extend time periods. The last two trips, they have tried to hop in to a seat crack on the way back. Fortunately, light pink is pretty easy to spot on planes. Just have to wait for the seat belt light to be off.

Canada, eh?

Yes, more Canadian pictures. And it will continue for at least one more post. Continuing with the narrative, on Day 6, we headed off to Lake Louise. This involved another drive on the highway through Kootenay Park then in Banff park, we turned left. The views were different even though it was the same road. The weather does change things. The aspen were just thinking about turning and some undergrowth plant had turned a deep red from 2 days before.

We encountered some road construction once we headed north. September after Labor Day is a good time to visit. We got a parking spot in the lot by the short trail at about 11 am. According to the guide book, in the summer, this lot and the overflow lot are flow. We walked up the trail and I continued around the lake for a few minutes. There are all sorts of step outs for pictures. It is absolutely gorgeous.

We then went down to the village. Where we got an excellent lunch at a bakery. And no, I don't remember the name but is in the AAA book. The brownies are big enough for two or three people.

After lunch we continued North briefly, then west through Yoho park. One of the interesting stops is the spiral tunnels. These tunnels were built/blasted on a curve so the trains can wind their way up over the great divide and not have the hair raising descents of the original track. I didn't post a picture because the train isn't easy to spot. Turns out long trains can go over the top of themselves. How is that for fun?

We stopped at the natural bridge pull out which was carved by Kicking Horse River. This is some really pretty water. It is definitely rushing downstream.

Golden on the west side of the park has a number of places for a pit stop. Including one of my parents favorites, Dairy Queen.

Canada part 3

Day 5, we made use of my pass to Radium Hot Springs which just in the the Kootenay Park. Originally, the springs had a different name. I am much to lazy to go check my literature for what it was. The current name is courtesy of some scientific person discovering a small amount of radioactive particles in the water. Rest assured there are is not enough to harm anyone. The pool was quite comfy running about 100 degrees F.


Soaking in Hot Springs is a good way to relax. When we returned to our 'villa', Dad took a two hour nap. I chatted with Mom and we worked on our knitting. Mom choose not take a dip so she didn't get hit with the sleepy effects of hot water.

In the evening we headed over to Invermere for dinner taking the back road which provides a lovely view of the Canadian Rockies but very few places to stop and take pictures. We were trying to not jam the road and get called tourists. Although driving the speed limit with Idaho plates probably did result in few comment about us being tourists. I am sure everyone who works for the Royal Canadian Police are very nice but we didn't want to verify this.

Quviuk

Here is one of the promised pictures of a yarn picture. This is the Qivuit or Qiviuk from Jacques Cartier. Each ball is 100% Quviuk, size: 3/14 (Not sure what the means, I think sport weight) 28 grams with 144 yards and the color is exciting 3003. Obviously, no one has provided names for this line. It is a nice bright navy blue. I believe 288 yards should make a narrow scarf. I am thinking about a half width skeleton scarf out of Arctic Lace. Just in the consideration stage. All suggestions will be considered.

Also, I added a couple pictures to the previous post and fixed a few creative grammar choices. It truly is amazing how those sneak into a quick post.

Canada continued

Day 4 started with rain. The rain stopped by the time we loaded up to head over to Banff. Banff is in Banff Park which was east of Kootenay Park from our lodging. Guess, I hadn't looked a map closely. Turns out no one in Banff owns the land, they lease it for the park system.

When we entered Kootenay Park, I got a pleasant surprise. In Canada a day pass for a national park is good for all of the national parks. I assumed we would have to buy two passes. Starting out, there were clouds around the peaks. When we could see the tops there was a light dusting of snow on the top of the peaks.
Our visit to Banff started with a stop at a gift shop. We then went past the recommended restaurant and decided the parking was taken. Dad proceed to drive down a street while I tried to find restaurants in my guide and locate where we were. As usual, locating items while moving didn't work well. We ended up back tracking to a Chilis. I saw the sign after we passed. We were able to park near a church.


The last planned stop in Banff, I can blame on a fellow knitter. She told me there was a Qiviut store in Banff. It is near the Sunnyside Mall, about 1.5 blocks away along a street that was under construction. Walking in uneven gravel was a bit tough and wore Mom out. The employees at Jacques Cartier Clothier are very nice. After we made our purchase, we we let out by the back door so Mom could walk on pavement back to the car. Pictures of my yarn purchases will be featured in a future post. Yes, some qiviuk followed me home. We did fondle a few sweaters and scarves while in the store. Definitely worth doing if you get the chance.

Since we were parked across from Canada House, an art gallery for Canadian artists, Dad and I toured it. The themes were mostly outdoors and gorgeous. Beautiful carved rock animals and oil paints were every where. I am sure the gallery employees realized we weren't planning to buy anything, yet they were friendly.

By the time, we headed back, it was mostly sunny. Which provide a lovely contrast to our trip over.

Where to Start

I wandered off for almost two weeks. I could have taken my Mac with me. But why take a chance of discussing where it was purchased with the border guard. I hear that they do such things if you are select for a search. I still have no idea if the stories are true. Honestly, missing the opportunity to find out suites me.

I started out by flying up to Spokane, Washington which is the closest airport to my parents. Overall not a very eventful day. Just the way I like my flights. I did bump into two knitters courtesy of my sock knitting. One was knitting a vest and the other sat next to me on the plane. I doubt if I would have found out about her knitting without the handy dandy sock. I Have decided I really like taking socks for air travel. With books, I zone in on the book and have almost missed the boarding announcement. Being oblivious when traveling doesn't seem like a good idea.

Day Two, we drove up to Fairmont Hot Springs in B.C. Canada. On the way we stop at rest area-scenic overlook of Columbia Lake. Turns out it really is the headwaters of the Columbia River. The river meanders North from the lake drifting to the West. Then to heads down to Washington state. The original European settlers didn't realize this for several years. Everyone thought they were different rivers for a while.

Day Three: We wondered around Fairmont Hot Springs and figured out what we wanted to do. Saw the biggest wildlife of the trip in town. The buck was feeding under the trees by a parking lot. He was throughly shot by the time we were done. I took four pictures and have no idea how many my parents have.



Fairmont Hot Spring is located between the Purcell Mountains and the Rocky Mountains in a glacial valley. The scenery is gorgeous and I understand the local hot springs are odorless unlike most of ours.





This is one of the first dragonflies I saw. Turns out there are ton of them in the valley. They are every where including bouncing of the windshield. It reminded me of the opening scene to 'Men In Black' a couple of times.

The day ended with a social where we were staying. It is the first time I had Gelati. If Gerri's Gelati is any indicator, I have been missing something. Turns out, he is a real entrepreneur. He started the business at 21 and was on the Invermere town council.

The other hi-light of the social was winning a door prize, a pass to Radium Hot Springs.

The dryer is calling. More details on the trip will follow later including yarn.

New Bookcases

We went shopping for bookshelves last weekend. A replacement for what is currently in the bedroom, laminated boxes with laminated shelves. The laminate is the fake golden oak commonly found on desktops in many office places. Another item would be a comfortable chair. After much looking, I decided I wanted another glider rocker like the one we have downstairs because I didn't care for the options we were seeing. Found out glider rockers are now in the domain of baby stores. Who knew. Not us, we don't have children and our current one came from a regular furniture store. Turns out nice regular 30 inch wide 3 shelf unit shelves are hard to find too. We did buy something. When shopping for regular shelves, we end up with a very nice enlaid wood cabinet. So much for meeting our objectives.

In our defense, we did debate about and go back during the week before blowing the budget on a gorgeous item. Officially, it is an early Christmas present to ourselves. So, nothing fancy under the tree this year.

Soxy Alpaca

Sock number one of pair two is done for the 5280 Socks. And here are all those details that only thrill knitters. The yarn is Lions Brand Magic Stripes, 75% wool and 25% nylon. I followed the pattern on the label until I got to the toe. For some reason the star toe works really well with my feet so I used it instead of a more traditional toe. Also, size 4 BrySpun double points rather than the recommended size 3 needles. Sock number two is cast on with the ribbing done. Yup these are cuff down. Some day, I will try toe up.
Here is the final product of my recent spinning. Approximately, 345 yards of alpaca. It is a two ply and probably a light worsted. Looks like about 14 wraps to an inch but with just a tape measure who knows for sure. It is still some of my most expensive yarn just because of the spinning wheel.

Kiliming slowly

It seems like time for a Kilim jacket update. Yes, this is the same one that I was working on last year. It is not a UFO and hasn't ever been one. It just gets one or two rows at time. Sometimes, a week and half apart.

It is now about 4.5 inches above the armhole. If I was going to do the rows a week deal, I figured I had to stick with it. So, I have actually done a number of rows in August.

One thing that is helping, I retighten the needles and they are holding better. It was frustrating having the tip in the right untwist regularly. Guess I just didn't tighten it enough the first two tries. So, 4.5 more inches and it is steek time! Any guess how long 5 inches is going to take?

The plan is to wear it before the coming winter is over. Of course, I get to define winter not the little groundhog in Pennsylvania. My definition always allows 12 more weeks of winter. Actually, I figure spring arrives after March which 8 - 9 weeks.

Is it just me or am I the only one who grew up thinking it was any groundhog who saw its shadow? I didn't realize it was one specific groundhog who is carefully observed until I moved to the East Coast. I have no idea how many Phils there have been over the years. I imagine a lot. Wonder if it is a family business? One that is passed from Father to Son.

Knitting news

I finished the Scottish Wave Mobius Scarf courtesy of running around in the car, as a passenger of course. There is nothing like sitting rush hour for getting knitting done. If anyone else decides to use the Brown sheep super wash, didn't have enough yarn for the last two rows of red. My red was placed where the red in Magical Knitting went. Probably needed another 10 yards. One skein is enough of the black even with an increase on the third to last row. It is currently drying after being 'blocked'.

A couple of more hats got completed. One of the is fairly wild with pin stripes on it.

Now time for the report on recent knitting purchases. These happened since the last report. I now have Socks Soar on Circulars, The Magic Loop, The knitting Almanac, and One Skein Wonders. And I think I want to get Andean Knits. It doesn't help that I was already out of shelf space where the knitting books are being kept. Then on the yarn front, I picked up 3 skeins of Encore, and 4 skeins of Pagoda at The Cottage Yarn sale. Looks like the magic loop will be used for the Pagoda. Also, picked up a Chibi and a graph tracking board with magnets. I like the magnets and board. I have been using them with the Oregon shawl chart.

And the other news, is I did 5 rows on the Philosopher's Wool Sweater. This is a big deal because I usually do two at best. The best part is that it didn't bother my left arm. Of course, I spent 3 days doing the 5 rows. Currently, I have a rule about no more than 2.5 rows on it in a day.

Progress Forward Finally

Most of last week had negative knitting progress. First, I realized the sock was too big and going o flop around the leg. Very annoying. So, on Friday it got frogged. I now have smaller needles set out to try again soon. I have noticed that two out of three sock attempts since the 5280 count start have failed for me. It is making me wonder if I should just knit other stuff for awhile. Don't get me wrong, the yarn will be socks in the future. It maybe a month before I try again.

The other negative progress was the Scottish Wave Mobius. I cast on and was going great guns at the knitting guild meeting. Then I tried to get the pattern stitch to work out and finally concluded that I had 5 too many stitches. The count even worked out 3x times. So much for counting. I wonder if the black hole for knitting sucks stitches in while someone is counting and then spits them backout. So, I frogged it on Friday.

This weekend I restarted the Mobius and it is going well. I am about to start the second batch of red. This time I figured out that it was an 11 stitch repeat and put a marker every 33 stitches while casting on. So, one unique starting marker and 10 regular markers with on set of 11 stitches between the last regular marker and the starting one.

Then I got through one repeat on the center block of the Oregon shawl.

So, progress has finally been achieved.

What I Did Last Weekend

Since, I don't get the summer off anymore, this is my equivalent to "What I did this summer". It has been years or should I say decades since my last long summer vacation.

So, here is what we did last weekend. We took Friday off and wondered up I-70 to Glenwood Springs. we stopped by the Mountain Valley Textiles & Gifts and watched some weaving. They have very reasonably price items and a few followed us home. Amazing none of the yarn want to come home with me.

We then continued on over the McClure Pass, zoomed by the coal mines, and stopped at a winery farm for a few minutes. Here we met Peaches, a friendly orange tabby. He is about year old and showed up last peach season and thus the name.
After that we continued to Montrose, arriving just in time for a early dinner at the Red Barn. The dinner was delicious and complete with the sound effects of the thunderstorm outside. The rain put a stop to the planned fishing expedition for the evening. Instead, we wondered up onto the mesa south of Montrose. This is an excellent way to get a two tone vehicle. If you do this you will need a car wash, rain doesn't remove much of the dirt. And the truth is, an express car wash doesn't get rid of all of it either.

On Saturday, we explored the South Rim of the Black Canyon of Gunnison. I got to use my new walking sticks. They really do help going up and down trails. And have the added benefit of getting some shoulder exercise. I think we skipped two overlooks because they were really close to others. We think we walked about 3.5 miles of trail between all of the paths. One of them being from an overlook to the visitor center where we watched to history of the Black Canyon.
Another attempt at fishing was make by going up on Grand Mesa after another early supper and storm on Saturday. Rudy did catch one fish in a lake. It was immediately returned to the lake. I doubt if it learned any lessons from the experience. We spent an extra half hour up there because we went past our turn for leaving. Probably would have spent less time if we had just backtrack instead of doing a loop.

Sunday, we returned home via Monarch Pass after going by the Blue Mesa Lake. All in all, a fun weekend with lots of nice scenery and wildlife. If, only it had been longer.

The pictures in this post were all taken at the Black Canyon. I just picked a couple including the Blue Grouse and the chipmunk. If the cats had anything to say, the chipmunk would have been invited home for a short visit.