Monday, April 21, 2008
Springtime. FINALLY.
The weather has finally become gorgeous and no jackets are required. The magnolia tree outside my office window is in full bloom and the college kids seem blissed out (4/20 notwithstanding) each day that the weather is not raining, hailing, sleeting, or snowing. Hooray!
I don't think I ever posted it but I finally finished the wedding blanket for my sister and her hubs in mid-March. Twas BIG.
I should have done a little bit of math and figured that 40 skeins x 4 oz = 10 pounds. Ten pounds of blanket! I had maybe 30 yards left over, so it's pretty much the full ten lbs. That's a big baby.
I edged it with a pattern from Nicki Epstein's Knitting on the Edge. It took a lot of pins to block it out. But the best part was? When I unpinned it.
MURDER! I thoroughly washed each square, then washed the whole blanket, but that deep red dye is probably always going to be a little fugitive. Now I have a very nice prop for Halloween.
Now a couple more book reviews!
Anastasia At Your Service by Lois Lowry
The Anastasia books were some of my very favorite childhood reading. The characters in Anastasia's family actually seem real, and the parents talk to their children with interest and respect, yet the family also gets upset with each other and argue....it's just so rare to have children's literature with families that aren't gooey or absent. This is one of my favorites, when Anastasia accidentally becomes a maid for a rich woman in town. I've read this book approximately 854 times. But it's always a treat. Also, the Anastasia books are always on the "most challenged" lists because they contain occasional swear words and mention the existence of sex in an entirely age-appropriate way. It boggles the mind.
The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett
I really enjoyed this one, although any book with a curse has a whiff of Nancy Drew/the haunted talisman the Brady Bunch found in Hawaii. However, Hammett gets a pass because he's the first of the group. The novel is about a family that is maybe cursed to kill one another and most of their friends and loved ones. It's got a fascinating San Francisco cult subplot. Who knew San Fran was known for its cults even in the 1920s? Not quite as many people were killed in this one as in Red Harvest, but that's okay--the ones who did die did so spectacularly, on cliffs, alters, by their own hand, etc. I like a guy who mixes it up.
I don't think I ever posted it but I finally finished the wedding blanket for my sister and her hubs in mid-March. Twas BIG.
I should have done a little bit of math and figured that 40 skeins x 4 oz = 10 pounds. Ten pounds of blanket! I had maybe 30 yards left over, so it's pretty much the full ten lbs. That's a big baby.
I edged it with a pattern from Nicki Epstein's Knitting on the Edge. It took a lot of pins to block it out. But the best part was? When I unpinned it.
MURDER! I thoroughly washed each square, then washed the whole blanket, but that deep red dye is probably always going to be a little fugitive. Now I have a very nice prop for Halloween.Now a couple more book reviews!
Anastasia At Your Service by Lois Lowry
The Anastasia books were some of my very favorite childhood reading. The characters in Anastasia's family actually seem real, and the parents talk to their children with interest and respect, yet the family also gets upset with each other and argue....it's just so rare to have children's literature with families that aren't gooey or absent. This is one of my favorites, when Anastasia accidentally becomes a maid for a rich woman in town. I've read this book approximately 854 times. But it's always a treat. Also, the Anastasia books are always on the "most challenged" lists because they contain occasional swear words and mention the existence of sex in an entirely age-appropriate way. It boggles the mind.
The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett
I really enjoyed this one, although any book with a curse has a whiff of Nancy Drew/the haunted talisman the Brady Bunch found in Hawaii. However, Hammett gets a pass because he's the first of the group. The novel is about a family that is maybe cursed to kill one another and most of their friends and loved ones. It's got a fascinating San Francisco cult subplot. Who knew San Fran was known for its cults even in the 1920s? Not quite as many people were killed in this one as in Red Harvest, but that's okay--the ones who did die did so spectacularly, on cliffs, alters, by their own hand, etc. I like a guy who mixes it up.
Labels: books, wedding blanket
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Blankie
My sister has had a blankie for as long as I can remember. It is (well, was) white with a tiny pink flower pattern on it. Now it is a washed-out gray with frayed edges. It was cut up (with surgical precision by Mom) so she could take part of it with her when she studied abroad in London. It is, truly, a great blanket.
But I think it might be lonely. It might need a pal.
I'm working on a wedding blanket for Laura and Anil, using an old Victorian pattern. The color is not accurate here; it's really a deep, winey red.
I wanted something that could be assembled in small pieces, so I didn't have a heavy blanket draped over my lap during steamy Connecticut River valley heat waves.
It is so pretty in Deerfield, with its baby alpaca and silk.
I have decided to make 30 squares, and use Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge to create a botanically-themed edging . . . maybe leaves, maybe floral, maybe just an interesting scallop.
I hope Blankie will make some room on the bed! And I hope I can finish this in fewer than eleventy million years.
But I think it might be lonely. It might need a pal.
I'm working on a wedding blanket for Laura and Anil, using an old Victorian pattern. The color is not accurate here; it's really a deep, winey red.
I wanted something that could be assembled in small pieces, so I didn't have a heavy blanket draped over my lap during steamy Connecticut River valley heat waves.
It is so pretty in Deerfield, with its baby alpaca and silk.
I have decided to make 30 squares, and use Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge to create a botanically-themed edging . . . maybe leaves, maybe floral, maybe just an interesting scallop.I hope Blankie will make some room on the bed! And I hope I can finish this in fewer than eleventy million years.
Labels: sister, wedding blanket, yarn
Monday, April 09, 2007
Wine red
Baltimore was fun and it was so nice to see old friends. I hardly knit a stitch, though. For shame, because there is a wedding blanket to be made!
No, not me, goofs, for my little sister. She's gonna get married! This is thrilling, not only because her betrothed is delightful but because they are holding their ceremony in Mexico. In December. Shhhhhweeeet! Looking forward to it so much. But back to the blanket: I found this Victorian pattern online and thought it was so pretty, and I really wanted to make some kind of personal gift for Laura (in addition to fun kitchen gadgets from the registry, of course). I agonized over what color to get, and my knitting group ladies told me to just ask her. So I did, and she and her fiance came up with the perfect color which never even crossed my mind: wine red. This past weekend, Rebecca helped me scour Webs for the proper yarn. Webs is approximately the size of a Target, but filled with yarn. I swear I didn't dream it, but it is a reality for those lucky enough to live in western New England. However, the embarrassment of riches really takes quite a bit of time to walk through, and Rebecca very patiently helped me narrow the selection down to 5 (five!) possible skeins, finally settling on Valley Yarns' Deerfield, which is 80% baby alpaca and 20% silk. It's exactly as soft as that sounds. Now I just have to make, like, 30 squares. Easy peasy!
In other news, I finished Hopeful.
But . . . I tried it on and I'm busting out the seams on this sucker. I swatched beforehand and made guage, it's highly fitted, with nearly negative ease, and I haven't blocked it yet. Upon blocking, it will
a. stretch enough to look lovely
b. not stretch and I will cry
Okay, I won't cry, but I will bring it on the knitting cruise for one of my lithe and lovely petite friends to wear. Because it's seriously cute:
It is too cute not to be worn, don't you think?
No, not me, goofs, for my little sister. She's gonna get married! This is thrilling, not only because her betrothed is delightful but because they are holding their ceremony in Mexico. In December. Shhhhhweeeet! Looking forward to it so much. But back to the blanket: I found this Victorian pattern online and thought it was so pretty, and I really wanted to make some kind of personal gift for Laura (in addition to fun kitchen gadgets from the registry, of course). I agonized over what color to get, and my knitting group ladies told me to just ask her. So I did, and she and her fiance came up with the perfect color which never even crossed my mind: wine red. This past weekend, Rebecca helped me scour Webs for the proper yarn. Webs is approximately the size of a Target, but filled with yarn. I swear I didn't dream it, but it is a reality for those lucky enough to live in western New England. However, the embarrassment of riches really takes quite a bit of time to walk through, and Rebecca very patiently helped me narrow the selection down to 5 (five!) possible skeins, finally settling on Valley Yarns' Deerfield, which is 80% baby alpaca and 20% silk. It's exactly as soft as that sounds. Now I just have to make, like, 30 squares. Easy peasy!
In other news, I finished Hopeful.
But . . . I tried it on and I'm busting out the seams on this sucker. I swatched beforehand and made guage, it's highly fitted, with nearly negative ease, and I haven't blocked it yet. Upon blocking, it willa. stretch enough to look lovely
b. not stretch and I will cry
Okay, I won't cry, but I will bring it on the knitting cruise for one of my lithe and lovely petite friends to wear. Because it's seriously cute:
It is too cute not to be worn, don't you think?Labels: Hopeful, wedding blanket
