Harlot rules!

The Yarn Harlot paid a visit to St. Louis! Can you see her, over the sea of heads? Actually, I had a pretty good seat; I arrived before they ran out of the first set of chairs they put out. People kept coming, and they put out more chairs. They put out all the chairs they could fit in the part of the library allocated for us. People kept coming. The library lady kept saying, "I had no idea, I had no idea." Obviously, not a knitter; we could have told her!

Hearing the Harlot talk was, of course, lots of fun. No surprise there. But it was also a lot of fun for me to just be with all those knitters. Looking at what everyone was knitting, asking about the yarn, showing off my project. This was a new experience for me. I'm thinking it's time I joined the local Knitter's Guild (that's who arranged for the Harlot's visit). Enjoying, IRL, the camaraderie I have heretofore only experienced online; it's a heady idea.


I can't show what I was working on at the Harlot's appearance yet, but I can show off my latest CIC vest. Knit of Bartletyarns 2-ply, made up as I went along. I tossed in the contrast stripe because I was afraid I wasn't going to have enough of the darker yarn. Looking at my leftovers, maybe I would have had enough. But maybe not. I'm working on another one, with a few changes, which I hope will come in under the one-skein mark. I'll share the pattern when I get it to where I like it.

And again, I say: Harlot rules!

Happy Earth Day!

Today I celebrated Earth Day with the ceremonial first delivery of compost:

(the crowd holds its collective breath)


(genteel applause)

Then I dug in (literally), added lots more compost, and planted 'maters & jalapenos. Here are my Celebrity tomatoes, with tomato ladders in place, and mulch waiting to be spread about.

Isn't that a beautiful sight? I still need to plant bell peppers, sweet corn, cantalope, carrots & onions. And maybe lettuce. The carrots, onions & lettuce get planted to the east of the asparagus, where it's too shady to plant anything else.

After all that digging, I'm ravenous. I'm thinking steak for dinner. Raaaaahhhhrrrr!

Peace-full Socks

Here are my latest socks, knit with Peace Fleece sport weight in Mir-Atlantis Periwinkle. I love this yarn! Peace Fleece combines colors so beautifully. Just as I hoped, the yarn bloomed a little when I washed the socks for the first time, softening & becoming slightly fuzzy. I know some people find mohair itchy, but I have worn these once and didn't find them uncomfortable. I think I have rather tolerant feet.

The lace pattern was adapted from "Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern" from Knitting Vintage Socks. I made the lace sections 5 stitches apart, instead of 2, and staggered the pattern, with just two rounds between lace sections. I think it would have looked better if I just did 4 stitches between lace sections, but I needed 44 stitches around, so 5 it was.

I used a little more than half a skein for the socks. Peace Fleece says there is 350 yards in a sport-weight skein, so I figure I used about 215 yards (based on weight).

I'll leave you with a close-up of this purrrrrr-ty yarn.

Thuja = Done

I actually finished these a few days ago, but I just started a new job, so I'm a little behind (on everything!). Even though Thuja was designed for a man, I noticed that the foot was 8" around, the same size I make for myself. So, I didn't make any changes to the pattern. I used one skein of worsted weight merino wool, dyed in my Naiad colorway. From a 223-yard skein, I only had about 4 yards left over. They are deliciously soft; even more fun to wear than they were to knit!

Next up: another pair for me, in Peace Fleece sport weight. I hear tell that mohair makes for long-wearing socks; I'm looking forward to finding out!

Also OTN: another vest for CIC, in green Bartlettyarns 2-ply. Just started; will take a pic as soon as there is something to see!

On their way!

This is what I sent out to CIC today: 2 wool vests, and 3 pair of fingerless mitts. The yarn for the two vests & the dark gray mitts was given to me by another member of the CIC-knit group; thanks Suzanne! I'm looking forward to hearing the final total for the mitts challenge; I suspect we far exceeded our goal of 150!

The next challenge is for more sweaters & vests. I found I really enjoy knitting these; they go much faster than I expected. Looking forward to doing more!

OTN for myself: Thuja is about 75% done. The weather has turned quite warm, but I suspect I'll get to wear these thick wool socks before spring arrives in earnest.