Quick Riding Update

I am finally getting back in the saddle again...or should I say saddles? My pal Shari has persuaded me that I need to change my saddle, so I have ridden in three different saddles this week, not including my regular one. One fit me great and fit my horse badly (and had a bad squeak). One fit my horse great and me badly - he went so fabbo in it that I would even consider keeping it - or maybe trying to find the next size up - it's just too cramped for me. The third one fit my horse badly and I didn't even sit in it - it was kind of beat up too and would need some work to whup it into shape.

I have two to pick up tomorrow and will try to ride in them before the weekend. Riding in the one saddle that really fit Shadow was quite an eye-opener - he felt so light and forward - he tends to be a little phlegmatic, but now I feel like I have been driving him into the ground with bad tack. What a bad mom I am!

Saturday Update - No pics

Hank's vest is coming along nicely. I like how the pattern is playing out on the back - I have about 6" done - 18" to go - ACK! I am starting to worry that I might run out of yarn. That would be a serious annoyance!

Picked up the baby blanket again and did one 18 row repeat. Need to get crackin' cuz the wedding is 3/25 and it needs to be finished by then.

I am waiting to bind off the cashmere scarf until I can figure out how to make the finished end look more like the starting end. ie - zig zag vs flat. I suppose I could try to block the beginning end flatter and the ending end more zig zag and maybe we could meet in the middle... Hmmmm. Anyway - it's done except for binding off and blocking. Very pretty too!

Trellis Scarf is gonna be beautiful, but it's now the back burner project until I finish Hank's vest, then it will share with the baby blankie.

I picked up the new Elsebeth Lavold book. (Ha! Went in the yarn store and didn't buy a shred of yarn - I am woman, I am strong! LOL) She sure does some beautiful stuff. I am thinking about the tulip sweater. I have 10 sk of blue and 10 sk yellow Silky Wool in the stash. I wonder if I can find someone to swap it for a different color. They are beautiful, but neither is my fave.

Saturday update with pics

Fronts are done on Hank's vest and the back is cast on with about an inch of ribbing done. I think it looks fabbo, even if say so myself!


Here's the Horseshoe Lace scarf - a detail. It's about 6" wide and I don't know why I keep picking these yarns that are so hard to photograph! LOL I think it will be very pretty. This is the cashmere - it just looked ooky as a clap - didn't show off the yarn at all, so I swapped to this.

Finally, just for grins - here's the Trellis scarf from IK spring. Barely started, but you can see the nummy possum lace.










Baby blankie is on hold until I wrap up Hank's vest- but hopefully the back will go pretty quickly - cuz the blankie has to be ready for a March wedding.

That's it. Cold, windy and dreary in Md this am. Ugh!

PS - Sunday Stashalong update. I resisted temptation and didn't even go to the Dancing Leaf/Kiparoo sale. I think that would have clobbered me for sure. Instead I filled in an old pond with the a) the loader and b) me and a shovel! I am pooped!

Taking advantage...

of our free day on the Stashalong. It is a good thing to have a little break halfway through! Got some Haneke Gold. I just love the color of that stuff and it sounds scrumptious to work with. But I only got that even though I had my eye on a few other things on the site.

On the knitting front instead of the buying front, Hanks' vest right front is nearly done. Just need to finish the V decreases. Will take a pic when both fronts are done - that will be cool!

Baby blankie is languishing.

Cashmere scarf has morphed from a clapotis, which wasn't showing off the yarn much to a horseshoe lace scarf. That's coming along nicely - I should be able to wear it by next week. It's OHSO SOFT! I don't know how it will photograph as the colors are very subtle variations on blue, but we shall see.

Snow, snow, lotsa snow

You would think with all the snow this weekend, I would have snuggled down and knit up a storm.

It would have been a great day for it except for one small detail - we needed to dig out! So I hand dug the path to the barn, the path from the barn to the field, the sidewalks around the house, and the path to the woodpile.

Then I jumped on the loader and plowed the path to the hydrant (water for the horses), the manure pile and did a pass up and down the driveway. Then hub took over the loader and "detailed" - cleared out the parking pad for the house and the barn, dug a path to the hay barn, cleared out the driveway loop (mostly - the horse trailer is parked in the way!

In the meantime, I fed and turned out the horses, and cleaned the stalls. All I wanted to do was NAP! However - the storm did keep me from wandering off to the yarn sale at Dancing Leaf/Kiparoo, which was probably a good thing for the stashalong and I was able to get some stuff done.

Hank's vest - right front is about 13" - arm hole is done, need to shape the V neck and then I am ready to start the back.

Baby blankie - nada. Rolled up another skein of yarn for it last night, but that was optimistic as I won't need it for a bit.

Horseshoe lace scarf - Did I start a NEW project?!? Well yes I did. After talking about the Lisa Souza cashmere, I just had to do something with it. It's only one skein, so I swatched up some options for a scarf and picked this one. I have about 20 inches done. It's a narrow scarf with two repeats of the lace pattern. Very pretty in the cashmere. I will probably finish it by next weekend, so pics then.

Friday am Update

Pics added. Here's some pics of Peg's scarf. I really am diggin' on this scarf! "Designed" it myself. It's a Barbara Walker leaf lace pattern and I just edged it with a touch of garter stitch.













There is a mistake in it - but I didn't see it until I had finished and blocked it, so it stays!


2/10 -

I should be okay through April EXCEPT kpixie is having a sale and Dancing Leaf/Kipparoo (local hand-dyers) are having a sale. ACK! Who knows who else is going to tempt me! I had better go stroke some yarn!

Anyway. Henry's vest right front is up to 8". Maybe I will cast on the back ribbing too - just so that I am REALLY full steam ahead!

and I started a mini-clap in the cashmere. I have never knitted with cashmere before. Hope it's not blasphemy to say that I don't like it much! Let me clarify that! LOL The yarn is gorgeous and the feel is very soft, but I really like the boingy elasticity of wool. The cashmere knits up like cotton. Wierd. Anyway - doing the mini-clap with garter stitch instead of stockinette so that ought to add some bounce to it. Haven't dropped a stitch yet to see how it will look. That will decide if I continue on this path or try something else.

Patted the baby blankie, but didn't knit on it.

Quick update. No pics.

Finished up Peg's scarf last night. It's blocking now, but I had to double it up on the blocking board because it's too long, so pics would be goofy. Will try to get some snaps tonight or tomorrow morning. I am really pleased with how it came out. Hope she likes it!

Poor Hank - he has been waiting so patiently for his vest. Now I have cleared the decks of all the Christmas stuff but his and it's time to get rolling! I think I am going to use the basketweave twist texture on the front as an allover pattern on the back with a big horseshoe cable down the middle. Maybe a moss stitch panel at the sides to tie the front and back together. I was originally thinking of a triangle shape from the shoulders - similar to the German clock vest out of Folk Vests - which I would do something with, but I think that this will a) be simpler to complete and b) be more appealing to hubby.

Haven't touched the baby blanket - really wanted to get the scarf finished for the weekend. Actually, I have touched it - I keep picking it up and admiring it! LOL

This weekend, I will either swatch/cast on for the toddler gansey or maybe will work up some cashmere from Lisa Souza into a scarf for MOI! I was tempted to do the gansey for the knitting olympics, but I don't think I can finish it in time. Or maybe I will swatch some of that Karoke, or the totally indulgent Great Adirondack silk/wool that I splurged on before Christmas! So many options!

I am doing good on the stash. Peg's scarf used up 1.5 balls of koigu. And my planned projects (gansey & scarf) will use up 6 more balls of yarn. And my vague future projects...

This should definitely tide me over until April!

WIP Update & Socks finished!

Shari's socks are done and in her hands (or on her feet!). They were the Wyvern pattern from Marnie McLean's site. They are my second pair of socks - first ones were done long long ago. These were toe up, which I really liked and I did them on two circs, which I also really liked.

Next - Hank's vest - no pics as photographing that thing is so frustrating! but the right front is about 4" along.

Baby blankie - ummmmm! I am at about 12" and the thing is simply gorgeous. I think it will be great, soft and light enough for a Florida baby in all seasons. (maybe not outside in the summer, but certainly in an air-conditioned room).


Finally - new WIP - Peg's scarf. This is a Q&D little stash eatin project - two balls of a gorgeous blue Koigu - making them up in a narrow little lace scarf. It's coming out very pretty! Hope to have this one done & blocked before next weekend. It's her Christmas present. I had originally started a blue triangle shawl (which OMG is yet another WIP! I will take pics of this another day), but I think this will be more usable for her.












Off to the barn - cleaning stalls mmmm! & general horsing around.