row after row

Nine repeats done - my Chicabean scarf is progressing. And it does get easier as it goes. Which is exactly what I hoped for, so I should be happy, contentedly knitting rows of my favourite cables, blissfully enjoying this lovely yarn, right?

So I feel bad admitting I'm bored. Tired of this same repeat over and over again. Fed up with splitty yarn. Sick of tinking and peering at each stitch. After 9 repeats, 72 rows, 2952 stitches, I don't think there's too much more excitement to be had from this scarf.

But an average scarf is 48-50 inches long - not the measly 9 inches I've knit so far. At least 39 more repeats, or 312 more rows, or 12,792 more stitches before it's finished. A bit overwhelming, thinking of it that way. Time to be disciplined and get this finished. It helps to think how great it'll be when it's done. But it also helps to know that the next project will be a fabulous pair of socks for the September KnitAlong.

watching every ply

Sorry, I can't really blog today. The 10 plys are so prone to splitting and the yarn is so slippery that knitting this scarf is taking all my concentration. There's been so much tinking going on to fix splits that I may have to call it the twice-knit scarf. Or possibly the thrice-knit scarf depending on how it goes.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not upset. It's a good exercise for me in patience - not something I'm typically known for. And it's still the silkiest yarn I've ever felt. If I weren't gripping the needles so tightly to keep it all from sliding into my lap, my fingers would be sighing with pleasure.

Soon I'll have several repeats done and be well on my way. With luck it'll get easier as I go. But forget the idea of starting and finishing this in a few days. Hmm... better get back to it.

stash busting

When I said my stash was overflowing, I wasn't kidding. There's yarn everywhere ... in my clothes cupboard ... on the kitchen counter ... in bags in the front hall ... even at Mom's! So that's it! No more yarn shopping until I've worked my way through what I have!

Several weeks ago, I picked up some Be Sweet Bamboo at the Knit Café. Gorgeous - silky soft and luscious green. But what do with 3 skeins of worsted weight bamboo? A bit thick for socks, I think. And not warm enough for mittens. Definitely not enough for a sweater or vest.

Searching Ravelry for patterns using small amounts of worsted yarn, I happened on Chicabean Scarf by The Kelly Green Rogue (http://rogue2408.wordpress.com). Some cables, some openwork - it's gonna be great! And like a kid on Christmas morning, no sooner had I printed the pattern, then I had to cast on and knit the first repeat. All the while congratulating myself for using yarn from my stash.

comfy comfy socks

Just before running out of yarn, I finished my comfy socks. And it was really close! Holding my breath through the last few rounds at the toe. Glancing nervously at the dwindling pile of yarn. Pondering how to approach the subject in my blog.

But the socks are finished. And comfy is exactly what they are! With rib down the leg and across the top of the foot, the socks stretch in every direction for a great fit. And for once, my socks are long enough from heel to toe for my extra-long feet.

Really, it's good there's no yarn left. There's never enough for another project. And, after my East Coast trip, my stash is overflowing. I just wish I hadn't spent the last several rounds worrying.

wasn't expecting that

Except for the drive from Rivière du Loup to Cornwall ... hours where I couldn't retrieve my dpn from where it fell under the driver's seat ... progress on my comfy bamboo socks has been quite steady and uneventful. Or so I thought!

A nice, portable project to occupy the seemingly endless hours of driving. A pattern simple enough to knit without a great deal of concentration. No problem to start and finish ahead of the September Knit-A-Long. But as I pulled on the first sock to model it for Gavin, I watched in horror as a dropped stitch unravelled through the decrease rows of the gusset, back to the picked up stitches at the edge of the heel flap, to leave a laddered hole and 3 orphaned stitches.

They're secured on a safety pin now - to put a stop to any more unravelling. So I'm gonna be learning a lesson or two about how to fix dropped stitches today. And maybe that old lesson about pride going before a fall.

the pilgrimage

The Briggs & Little Woolen Mill was quite an experience. First the store - with hundreds of hanks in 8 different weights and dozens of shades - and then past the warehouse to bags and bins of wool in various stages of dying, picking and carding before spinning and twisting. And as I walked through, I could see and feel the coarse textured wool fibre refined by each manufacturing step.

John Little was working the store counter Friday morning. I loved hearing from him about the designers and patterns in the book "Knits from the North Country - Classic Knits by Canadian Knitters". And was impressed by the knit samples of the patterns showcased throughout the store. But most inspiring was his evident pride in the history and heritage of his family's mill. And his clear enthusiasm for all things wool.

What a great visit! At least, I thought so ... but Gavin, not so much. In fact, a chip truck or a beer garden in the Briggs & Little parking lot would do a roaring trade. Because there were quite a few knit widowers pacing impatiently outside.

itching to learn more

Mother Nature decided against surfing for Gavin - nothing surfable at all ... completely flat water ... just the smallest little breakers. And since we were in the area anyway, we dropped in unannounced at the Hand Spinning Studio at Jeddore Harbour, Nova Scotia.

Wow. I could picture a spinning wheel and had read about spinning on other people's blogs, but really knew nothing. Leslie (theSpinnersLoft.ca) opened my eyes to different fibres, hand carding, a drop spindle and different spinning wheels. Interesting, exciting and totally overwhelming. 

I'm looking at all the yarns I have in a totally different way. And itching to learn more about the spinning process so that I can create my own yarns. But more than anything I wish I had planned my vacation better so that I could have spent more time with her. Oh well, there's always next time!