Lost in the mess

My aunt just bought a lovely new home. So my other aunt and I drive 750 miles to help her pack and move. If you have ever seen the show hoarders that is what we are facing. We will work for two weeks. I know that in the days and months to come that anything not found will be my fault. I have already been accused of tossing important cool whip containers. Special ones for filling the bird feeders. More then anything this makes me want to go home and get rid of stuff. If you read this, think of me and throw away at least three things you don't need, something that doesn't fit, or a food item that is past it's date. And now to work.

Mossy

I finished my moss stitch ruffled edged shawl.

It was a great pattern from knitpicks. The moss stitch has a nice rhythm to it. I loved how the texture of the moss stitch makes it reversible. Instead of following the pattern directions for a ruffle I simple did a knit in front and back of every other stitch the first row, then did a couple of rows of stockingette then did a KFB of every stitch, a few more rows of stockingette, followed by 2 rows of garter stitch, then bind off. I have to admit it felt like making the ruffle was a never ending process, and the bind-off took forever. But the result was worth it. I will be making this shawl again for me. The first, test knit will be donated to my charity knitting group. Doesn't the end result look just a wee bit like the HRH shawl.

I finished another random yarn charity hat.

I was half way thru this project in a larger size when it was clear there wouldn't be enough yarn to finish. So I frogged and knit it as a baby hat. Clearly the downside of knitting with random stuff in stash. The unexpected yardage issue.

And finally. The weather is still warm to hot in MN, but you can feel the hint of fall in the air in the mornings and at night. Knowing what is to come makes one savor the flowers all the more.

No doubt a metaphor for life, but for now just a much enjoyed pot of geraniums.

There's an app for that....

Unfortunately! I do love my ipad2, but is it ever easy to get lost in an app. Someone on Ravelry mentioned the joy of FISHDOM. So I checked it out....can you hear the whoshing sound that is my day disappearing?

warm weather knitting

No doubt a wiser woman would be knitting something airy our of cotton or silk on these warm August days, but that wouldn't be me. I just finished a pair of bulky mukluks to be donated to the local women's shelter, a lovely alpaca hat for chemo, a super bulky kids hat and a little hat out of the leftover mukluk yarn.

I didn't take pic's of the mukluks or chemo hat before dropping them off.
I just cast-on a kids hat out of some white wool-ease with sparkles. A perfect project for watching the season end of Masterchef. No "Real Housewives" or "Jersey Shore" kids for me. Just like to see people battling it out in the kitchen.

I'm still plodding along on the moss stitch shawl. I'm beginning to regret my decision to knit it in acrylic for charity to test out the pattern before tackling it in something less heavy duty, i.e. alpaca for me.

I just got a new GPS for the car. I'm driving to WY with my Aunt to help my other Aunt gear up for a down sizing move. It should be interesting. A house filled with so many memories and good intentions, i.e. a little hoarding. So and 11 hour drive then 2 weeks of purging and packing. Hopefully, more of the former and less of the latter. Since my Mother passed away this is one of those activities that passed down to me as eldest child. The moving Aunt has no children and has been widowed for many years. Lets just say it should be interesting.

So the question is what projects to take along for this adventure. Something that will calm my soul and not require a complex chart. Perhaps I will break out the moss stitch in nicer yarn and a simple pair of socks in something yummy.

sock-o-rama

The Turkish socks from Churchmouse. An unusual short sock. Starts out flat, some seaming on the sides, then in the round to the toe.

The pattern appealed to me because it said it was good with Dansko's. Will also be a nice travel slipper, for example on a plane.

Just a basic top down short sock. Used one skein of Joann's sock yarn. I was afraid I'd run out so switched to stash bustin' mode for the toes.

Started, while actually I've started it twice, the I love Moss Stitch shawl.

It's a Knitpicks pattern. A FL knitting friend has knit several and they are lovely! They remind me a little of the ones designed to mimic HRH Kate's shopping shawl. But this pattern came out before she was HRH and spotted picking up groceries in a beautiful shawl. I decided to knit it with some Simply Soft Eco from stash before tackling the pattern in some lovely lovely alpaca. This Eco version will be washable so a good charity project. The reason I restarted had nothing to do with the pattern and everything to do with me. I decided to play around with some changes to the shaping...didn't prove to be aesthetically effective so into the frog pond I dove. This is one of those patterns that has a good rhythm, so a great knit in the car, watching television, visiting with friends at your local knit group, the list goes on. Hopefully, the nice rhythm of it doesn't become a tedious drum beat by the end of the project.

As exciting as paint drying.

There will be no pictures of paint drying. I painted the dining room. It was to be a pale sagey green, a step away from white. In bright daylight it seems a bit more minty. May have to do it again. But it is done, and light enough that if it needs a redo it should cover.


Finished my second Turkish sock. This has been a lingering WIP. Will need to try them again with yarn I like better. I used a Joann Fabric "sox" yarn. A non-breathing acrylic in primary colors. On the plus side the remaining yarn will go towards an Elizabeth Zimmerman baby sweater at a later date. There will be pictures of the socks and the eventual sweater.

Procastination

A day full of possibilities. Freshly primed dining room walls just waiting for a coat of color. A short Costco list, with weekend guests in the offing. Two second socks and a baby sweater on the needles, a small dog waiting patiently for a walk...and I just finished spending two hours wandering my favorite sites and drinking coffee.

If I tell everyone that was my plan all along perhaps no one will suspect it was just a bad case of procrastination. BTW, procrastinators do not take pictures of the things they are thinking of doing. We. They only think about taking pictures.

Starts and Finishes

Sometimes you just need to plunge into a project. After thinking about it for a year, I ripped the first strip of wall paper off my dining room wall. And suddenly this was it.

The last sad strip of paper. It is no more. I loved that wallpaper. It was gold with red, green, and grey. Different on the top and bottom with a coordinating border dividing the wall. It was so chic to me, a girl who didn't grow up with a formal room in the house, to have a formal dining room with formal wallpaper. I put it up when DD2 was in kindergarten. She graduated college in May. Time marches on. So the wallpaper came down. The room will be painted a very pale green, almost white. With an eye to making things neutral. The carpet will come up next.

I finished a scarf for my charity knitting group.

Combined a beautiful silky red, donated, with some purple Vanna White in DD2's stash. The pattern is Invictus, free on ravelry. The finished product looks like wardrobe for a "Red Hatter".

Started another charity baby sweater.

It's a top down garter yoke baby cardigan. The twist is that you use stockinette to define the raglan increase and switch to Stockinette for the body after finishing the yoke. It has an i-cord button hole band. That will be something new for me. It gives you an easy last minute way to make it a girl or boy sweater. So depending on what gender Bundles of Love needs the most I'll place the buttonholes. The yarn is Wendy Double Knit Courtelle, a British yarn. I'm using size 4 needles. I found the yarn on close out for $2. The color is as they say on the BBC shows I watch on Netflix...brilliant.

Today will be a fun filled adventure of an oil change, mowing, and wall priming. The kind of day that instills envy in all who hear of it.