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.