Casting Off

I love the fact that the terminology for binding off has historically included casting off.  I am also probably writing the 838th blog post in the knitting blogosphere to that effect, but I don't care.

I am binding off the color affection shawl I'd been working on this fall.  Doing a slim i-cord bind-ff.  If it were here, I'd show you a picture, but it's in the car.

I am casting off.  Tomorrow I head out of town for some small Thanksgiving.  A little family, a little down-time, and a LOT of driving.  I won't get to knit in the car until the second and third legs of the trip.  I'm on my own for the first and last, me and a lengthy list of podcasts.  Will be done with weekend road tripping early enough to have one bit of weekend At Home.  Looking forward also to some playing hooky At Home on Sunday morning, knitting with coffee and pyjamas before heading out, at the end of that day, for a work call.

Tomorrow at 3:00, though, and traffic notwithstanding, I'm leaving the work behind.  NOT packing it. I'm taking one book, the historical novel Wolf Hall - don't know if it's frivolous or not, but it'll serve its purpose.  And the knitting.  I am packing knitting.  TONIGHT.  In fact, most of it is already in the car - the shawl and the green gloves are ready to go.

I need to be ready to go.  Not binding off.  Casting off.

Happy Thanksgiving.  (I don't pretend anyone reading this lives beyond the middle part of North America, or minds the myopia, US expats notwithstanding..... )

What Happened? When? Cleaning Questions

When you find a mess, do you need the backstory? Do you share the story? Do you hunt it down with questions? Why? Who did it?

I just looked at the blog. I had been in a habit of marking my knitting year with the start of a summer. Got away from me this summer. I don't think there's an interesting story in any of that.

Cleaning up: 
1 Pair Socks
Sunrise Blender  Sock  

1 Pair Gloves
Gorky Rustic Gloves

1 Garment
Baby Kimono - finished and gifted, though knit forever ago  

4 Scarves/Shawls
Dragon Lady Pogona Scarf
British Breakfront: a Frangiflutti scarf
Silver Square Scarf for nephew
A Sorta-Sontag (T.Y. Godey)

12 Hats
Linen Hat
2 Hats for Minneapolis Swatch Team 2011
Grey Bulky Hat
Entrelac hat
Urchin hat
Many Manly Hats, 6 actually

That cleans up the list on the side. It also leaves it pretty empty. I did a lot of sewing this summer instead, even if it was quick stuff. I'm not going to bother to add in all the links. If you stop by the blog often, you saw it and it's old news. Nothing very illuminating last year. The knitting was functional, and it did what I needed it to do, product and process.

Former UFO

Done.

This is a particularly odd section of the back.

But done! Binding done!

Where's the UPS? This sucker is outta here!

There IS Something to Small Steps

Binding cut, stitched and pressed.

No bias was used this time, as the fabric had a perfect stretch of on-grain already built into the leftovers from the first quilt.

That's right. There were two of these. One was done, 20 blocks worth, and well over twenty years ago. This one got to 12 blocks done and stalled.

This summer I framed and sashed the miserable set of twelve to get it DONE.
I cobbled together a proper leftovers backing and sent it off to be machine quilted.

It came back this fall.

It sat.

A forgotten piece of fabric used in the first quilt was in the box where the scraps went - surprise!

Binding was prepped. One step to go.

Playing, Two Minutes at a Time

- In the microwave
- Cleaning up past weeks of fabric paint and dye activity
- Very old yarn
- Used up the leftover koolaid from the pitchers
- tropical punch and cherry
- This didn't suck.

Wearing Socks Knit For Me!

Thanks, Elizabeth!

We have this great big cold hallway at work.

If I leave my office to go to class, I have to go to the next building. If I want to go to the shop, I have to go outside to a different door in the first building. If I am in the shop and want to find rest facilities, back out to go into the second building or into the front part of the first building. Lunch at the desk? Go next door for the fridge or microwave.

I am not complaining. We see the sun through the course of a day. And I look forward to wearing all the hand knit wool socks.

Here's to beautifully chilly autumn weather for sock wearing! Ooh, and yummy cabbage soup to heat up for lunch!

You Know This When That

You know you've been knitting socks for awhile when you look at the sock you are putting on and realize you cannot recall the name of the pattern anymore.

You know your housekeeping is suffering when you try to take a photo of a sock and have to do strange tricks to keep the worst of the floor out of the frame.

You know you are busy when you aren't posting a photo of a sock you've just but are taking a hasty shot of an old sock.

You know you are fortunate when this is the trouble of your day. Not water. Not power. Not shelter.

I know. Quite a turn there. Was thinking about the contrasts and the revelations a lot this past week. You know how it goes: smack up against successful plays and nice kids come funerals and heart breaking stories of PTSD. Angsty house hunting with silly self-doubt and self-recrimination stopped in their tracks to watch the devastation of Sandy. Watched houses topple, water surge, and fires burn. Breathed sighs to hear of friends out East that they were okay.

You know you are blessed with even a silly pair of socks.

You know you have thanks to give, and not just one day later this month.

You know you will find time and energy to get some important things done. Sock knitting will keep.

The Cat and the Cobra

Yesterday's rude awakening included a yoga moment I which I may have found a new degree of old and out of shape. My face-up dog failed, and I came near to pulling something in the groin. What?!? Did I mention that my yoga practice had taken too long a vacation. Horrible behavior.

So today, cobra practice, to ease back in.

The cat decided I was there to give him head butting. When I stopped he followed me everywhere, complaining I had stopped too soon.

Meet my yoga coach. Every day, he says. Every evening.

I have permission to hit the shower, he says.

Successful Keeping

Phew.
I found the pattern in the right place.
I had green wool, purchased in Maine years ago, for mittens, even.
I DID record the needle size I had used - and on the blog, no less.

My uncle placed a request for a second pair. Green.

When I am not crazy busy with the hurly-burly of my work year, I am steadily working at keeping less stuff. In this case, I kept the right stuff, found it, and will now get it moved on. Twice the win.

I should hurry. It already snowed up north.

Tools for Remembering

I keep putting this scarf down and forgetting what row I was on. It's only a 12 row repeat, but I have not yet committed to to memory. Perhaps the pattern of putting it down for weeks and months contributes, nu?

I remembered this fancy and simple little tool. Six links and twelve alternating rows on straight needles make a happy match. Happy to remember knitting knitty board friend thomasina, too.

Online time is mostly work time, so not forgetting blog or rav or knitty or knitting friends .... Just busy with everything else remembered and tackle or yet to do.

Not to busy to say once again: Congrats to mittenfarce on the JOB!!

How Long Does It Take To Sew In Ends?

One month, three weeks, six days, and five minutes.
And a beer. Evidently, I needed to shop for beer.

Socks are finished. Ready to go into the holiday gift box.

Socks are Finnish. The pattern is the lovely Vellamo - trackable on Ravelry.

I have a beer to finish. I need more than five minutes for that.

I am not easily rushed in some things.

You have no events scheduled today.

I like that email at the top of my mailbox today.

It is about time to start the fall, whatever true seasonal calendars or temps may say. Some local schools started up this past week or a few days earlier. It's going to be Monday for me.

My past week was full of meetings and arrivals and prep and more meetings. Tomorrow I have a different set of quarterly board meetings. (who'dathunk? grown-up sounding, innit?) Today I have nothing on my calendar. Google said so.


So I made mint tea (hello, allergy season), spent a little desk time blog reading, tumblr turning, and hardly any pin peering. Here is what i observed, on the morning of a day with nothing scheduled:

I see that there is time for late summer picnics. My house neighbors across the way must agree, as they start setting up for their block party. I may have to make a cup of coffee shortly and go a-visiting. They actually put invitation on the apartment building doors this year, not just move your car notices.

I see that waistlines are starting to sport belts. I will need to take mine out for a walk. I don't want to look like a belted Weeble when the look returns in earnest.

I may have to make pancakes or muffins or pie, waistline remarks notwithstanding. End of summer fruit draws near. I am sure I am not alone in feeling the lure of good food bloggy photoggy.

I see my method of posting yesterday's blog post - right on the computer at the blogger site - may have eradicated all paragraph returns. I see my quick post wanted a proofread viewing. I see I must get batteries for the camera, as phone photoblogging is not very glam.

(Ugh. I see my day of nothing is already generating a to-do list. Visit and coffee, ok, pancakes, on, but batteries?? Really?)

My no events day needs a little summer. I would like to knit some, read some, walk a while today. Blueberries at the farmers market may be required.

Unscheduledness aside, I do really need to do some to-do-list somethings for Monday, because I would like a nice Monday and not a panicky start.

Friday's Salad

When you are away from your kitchen for most of several weeks, going to the farmer's market feels like Christmas Morning. I might have over purchased local produce, just a touch. And I went to Stanley's Fruit & Veg Market the next day for some not-as-local produce and some yummy local bread. There have been yummy tomato sandwiches on toast. Some good sandwiches. Scrambled eggs with onions, mushroom and swiss chard. Pickled four pints of dilled green beans and blanched the remaining beans for some salad with red onion. Today's salad was BRILLIANT. I will do this again. I was worried I didn't have much time, so everything was large and fast: Friday's Salad: One avocado, coarsely chopped. One small lemon, the juice of. One red bell pepper, big pieces Half an ear of corn, leftover and off the cob three big green leaves of basil, rolled and cut up a drizzle of olive oil a splash of rice vinegar sea salt coarse black pepper And because I didn't have time to chop up onion so I chucked in a couple kalamata olives and a couple pickled onions. OMG. None to share, sorry. Ate it ALL. Can't go to the farmers market tomorrow if I have too much produce in the house. Berries and peach for breakfast. Cherries for my snack. Must be in need of some swiss chard for dinner. Ooh. And maybe a frittata for the morning. I love my farmers market.

Where's the Knitting?

This airport has such presence of place.

Traveling for work is what I have been up to. I have some knitting with me. However, I'm only clever enough to email posts one photo at a time.

That's okay. I'm trying to relearn some focus. It suits. I have only a little knitting with me, only a bit of reading and work I can do on the road. I will not finish up any of these, so glad I focused and did not bring more. I may yet in the end have made progress on what I did bring, so that too will be progress.

I may have to go to a national gallery today, just to focus.

I might take my knitting.

With Thanks

The cat approves too. He hasn't seen a foot in a sock for months.

Elizabethsable knit these for me from yarn I brought to camp for swap last year. Imagine!

They are lovely. Many thanks!

Next?

Mailing out the quilt for machine quilting.

Next, I think, last winter's holiday placemats. And maybe a skirt. Or pants.

Baba might disapprove

Another quilt top quickly done. True, this is one of the ones which are for charity. But Baba was reported to hide the scissors on a Sunday. She might scold.

The cat Is scolding in her stead, as I iron seams.

Actually Playing on a Saturday

I am determined to use up the remaining fabric for the backing.

No one says you can't be determined while playing.

Competitive? Me?

Hot Spots

It's not news:  there is a lot of extreme unseasonable weather for this part of the summer.  Pick your place on a map:  it's either unbelievably hot or, in a few spots, unseasonably cool.

If I had to choose, I'd be in a cool spot.

However, I'm fortunate.  I don't have power outage in my living space.  My work space was shut down for a bit with power outage.  Today I'm using my office as my personal cooling center. 

In other news, my sewing machine has been the hot spot for hopping activity lately.  Made a graduation quilt for my niece*, finished at my mom's on the way to the event.  Nothing fancy - had a perky bundle of flannel purchased from a quilt shop in Iowa.  I had another plan for it, but the idea was only an idea for several years.  In the end I made nearly the same quick, big piece quilt I think they'd featured.  Tied, not quilted, but quickly loved and put to use on a very chilly graduation weekend.  

(Sorry about photo quality.  I need to get the camera back into use.  It's been awol and/or without batteries lately.)

Following that, I have been sewing some quilt tops to help with the grade school charity quilting project at the school where I volunteer. I don't usually help with that project - designed for the upper grade kids to do with the nearby senior center, the project involves the kids learning to sew, making large block quilt tops, and tying them.  The upper grade classes are currently pretty small - and the kids were kind of disappointed they didn't get many made.  New strategy, the project coordinator thought:  get some tops sewn up in advance so the kids can start tying, make progress in terms of quantity, and then start some to do beginning to end.  I totally get the excitement of having a LOT of quilts to donate.  The project coordinator was pretty clever, and she made up some quilt top "kits" to have ready at the volunteer luncheon.  I took one home, zipped it back the next week, and she promptly gave me three more.  I'm game.

And I don't mind some sewing to do while I plan the next sewing.  Witness the quilt of guilt that came out for finishing.  I knew one reason it stalled out, but I'd forgotten the other reason - I still had blocks to build.  Found a few stray triangles and squares cut out amidst the rest of the fabric.  And the fabric was AWFUL for triangles.  Way too much biasing,  I had one of the cardboard templates.  Who knows what kind of miscalculations there were in the math.  I don't know how many more I planned - probably another eight blocks, and those eight blocks inadvertently put this project on pause for YEARS.

I did the only reasonable thing.  I went for the finish line:  frames around the squares. wide sashing with contrasting blocks at the intersections, and a pair of wide borders.  I'm still contemplating one extra round of border, but I may call it quits.


On to the back.  I have nothing suitable.  I don't want to go shopping, when I have an embarassment of fabric to use.  Or at least that's what I thought until yesterday when I melted in the heat.


Looked at some of my fall purchase of blue quilt plaids I'd left here in my shop.  Not enough of them to substitute for a whole back.  I'm back to the first plan. I smell some kind of artsy finish.

I hope it isn't too odd.  It's hot.  My senses may short circuit.

*a quilt which is NOT the quilt begun when said niece was an infant..... that one went back to the back burner

Ugh. A flaw. Moving on.

Why does a flaw in the fabric surface after cutting and stitching. Why?

On to the reverse manual.
And on to piecing a section of the border, as naturally, not enough for a full piece.

That ugh also signals the path for machine quilting. Easier to camouflage that new seam....