Interweave Knits Hunt

Am I the last person to get a copy of the Fall issue of Interweave Knits? I had to go to about 5 different places before I finally found one. Jo-Ann Fabric only had 2 left! The yarn stores were sold out before it was even officially "on newstands". Well, the wait was worth it. There are some beautiful sweaters and cardigans in this one. I love the Hedgerow Coat, and Cinnabar, and the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I was thinking about making the Cobblestone pullover for my hubby, but I'm not so sure it would look good on him.

After a short time away I've finished 2 more Lizard Ridge squares. I'll post pics when they are blocked...they photograph so much better that way. I'm happy to be knitting these again. There's something very satisfying about finishing each little square and seeing how it looks next to all the others.

My mom is in town this week, so this entry will be short.

Good News and a FO!

My sundress/swimsuit cover-up for my sister is done! Yeah. My sister came to visit over the weekend, so last week I was busy making my deadline. She really liked the sundress and it looked so cute on her. Look for pictures soon. (I'm waiting on her to e-mail them to me). Now I just need to decide what to start on next!

Quick update on my dog Sadie: Last Friday her platelets were still terribly low. She was diagnosed with immune-mediated thromobocytopenia. We increased her medicine and rechecked her platelets today. I'm so happy to report that they increased quite a bit. It looks like she might be ok. We will continue the meds and continue to check her platelets for many weeks.

Tough Times

Last Wednesday, as all of you know, the 35-W bridge collapsed over the Mississippi River. Not since 9/11 has anything put such a pit in my stomach. It's certainly amazing that the loss of life wasn't larger. My prayers are with all those who lost loved ones and who suffered an injury. Since I live in a suburb of Minneapolis this isn't a bridge I traveled very often. This weekend was the first time since the collapse that I went out on the highways. I have to admit feeling a bit nervous. It will certainly be interesting to watch how things unfold with the clean-up, investigation, and rebuilding. Just yesterday they opened up a bridge downriver from the site. We might go out there and have a look today or tomorrow.

Yesterday I had to take our dog, Sadie, to the vet. The pupil in her left eye was completely gone. Her eye was just a red hazy glow. I knew something was terribly wrong. After some quick blood work the doc determined that she has a platelet disorder. Her platelet level was 3 when it should be about 250. This can be caused by a number of things including mouse poison, cancer or an autoimmune disease. We have her on 3 different medicines. The good news is that her eye is looking much better this morning. We'll re-check her platelets on Friday to see if she is responding well to the medicine. Hopefully she'll be alright. She's really a great dog.

In better news...I finished my first bear for Mother Bear Project! I think he turned out really cute. My next bear is almost done. This time I made a girl bear with a skirt. I'll post her picture when she is finished. These bears are really fun to make. I'm having a blast experimenting with different stitch patterns and design elements.

So Much News

First up is a pic of my 12 finished blocks. I'm so pleased with how the afghan is shaping up. My husband said, "are you going to take new pictures every time you finish a block?" Well, dear, the answer is yes! It's so fun to see how the blocks look together. For the first bit of news I decided that I just can't finish the afghan in time for the fair. I really want to enjoy the knitting and not be so rushed. I was also running very low on Kureyon. I placed an order with Webs (http://www.yarn.com/) on Friday and I got it on Monday. That is amazing service. I put a note in the order that I needed the yarn ASAP and asked if they could send it priority mail. I will definately use them again! I'm a little disappointed that I won't finish in time for the fair. When I'm done with the afghan I'll go out and buy myself a blue ribbon for finishing such a big project!

The other big news is that I am the new volunteer webmaster for Mother Bear Project. This is a great organization that delivers hand-knit bears to children in Africa. To the left you can see my unfinished bear. The bears are easy to make, only use a small amount of yarn, and bring so much joy to the children. I encourage all the knitters out there to donate to this wonderful cause.

Lizard Ridge Progress

So far I have 8 squares blocked and I'm blocking 4 more tonight. I can't believe I'm halfway done with my squares...yeah! The squares have been a lot of fun to make. As with most knitting projects, though, there have been some frustrations along the way. The "thick and thin" nature of Kureyon can be a pain at times and sometimes the color repeats just aren't quite long enough. Will I finish in time for the State Fair? Well, I'm going to really have to speed up the pace. So far I am about 3 squares shy of where I should be to finish on time. Each square takes me about 4 hours to finish. I need to knit for almost 7 hours a day for the next week to finish the last 12 squares. That will leave me 12 days for seaming, edging, and blocking. I'll keep pressing on and see where I am after this weekend.

I found a cheap alternative to the $80 blocking boards that I've seen online. Joann Fabrics had this "Super Board" for $14.99. It is just cardboard material and therefore not very waterproof. I put clear contact paper over the top of the whole thing to solve that problem. So, for around $20 bucks I have a huge 72" x 36" blocking board. You can also see my other new toy, my Ott-lite. I'm so glad I got the little portable one instead of the floor lamp. (Maybe Santa will bring me one of those) Michaels and Jo-Ann both carry these lamps. Wait till they are on sale, or use a coupon, because the retail price is ridiculous. The bright, white light the lamp emits is wonderful. I can actually see what I'm doing now. They are worth every penny (as long as you use your 40% off coupon).

Did I mention I get distracted easily?

The Minnesota State Fair has gotten me all distracted. We go every year and enjoy seeing the sights, people watching, and eating various things on a stick (the pickle on a stick and key lime pie on a stick are my faves). My favorite place to go is the Creative Arts building which houses beautiful quilts, needlework, and lots of knitting. For some reason this year I really have the urge to enter something. I thought about entering my dragon scarf but it's now in "used" condition. Then I thought about Lizard Ridge. Even though I have less than a month to finish, I'm going to give it a try. I just finished my 8th block. I have a timeline all set so I can meet the August 14th deadline. I need to knit at least 1.5 blocks a day through August 1st. That will leave me two weeks for seaming, edging, and blocking. I have six new skeins of Kureyon all ready to go. Six of my squares are blocked and they look amazing. The pictures of these afghans just do not do them justice.

The pattern modifications for the sundress are on indefinite hold. I'll finish them as soon as I can!

Sundress: Progress and Frustration

I'm making good progress on the sundress. I have 19" complete and just a few inches left! I want to go into more detail about the problem with the decreases in this pattern. A few of the stockinette sections decrease from bottom to top for a nice slimming effect. The pattern is written with some of the decreases placed in the center of these sections. The sheen of the yarn makes these little k2tog bumps very noticeable. There are also ssk decreases in other stockinette sections that look really bad as well. Over the next few days I'm going to rewrite a few lines of the pattern so that these decreases will be much less visible. The pattern itself isn't written wrong...it could just be written better. If I'm going to spend 40+ hours knitting something I'd rather have a garment that I'm proud to give away. For me it's too late on this project. I'm not going to frog all this work. After all...it is just a swimsuit cover-up. But given how obvious the decreases are, and how simple it is to improve the pattern, I'll take a little time to post the modifications. Look for them soon!