I thought a good way to learn Aran knitting would be to knit swatches... right all you knitting mavens out there? Swatches. Swatch is the word, is the word that you heard, it's got groove, it's got meaning! Anyway, I"m making a cable washcloth. Learning and getting something useful out of it. I am using the Vogue book of cable stitches. This one is called Zig Zag. I chose this one because it reminded me of a bag
pattern I saw on Interweave that I'd like to buy, but I'm sort of waiting for it go on sale
<" cheap, cheap! I copied the pattern on an index card, because I hate trying to balance a big book while knitting.
This pattern is originally worked in multiples of 14. After studying the chart I realized that I didn't want all those purl stitches to the left, so I re-wrote it starting with 2 purl stitches, pattern stitches, 4 purl stitches, pattern stitches, and 2 purl stitches. Cast on 28 stitches. So it should look like the photo sample in the book, minus the four purl stitches on the left. Using Lily Sugar n Cream.
Now moving onto the extremely ambitious project. I want to make this for my DH. I found the pattern in Alice Starmore's
book and thought it would be one of the easier sweaters to knit. I already know how to knit the middle cables and the smaller ones on either side. I'll have to learn the honeycomb and whatever else. I let him pick his own pattern, like in other words, I held up the book turned to this page and said, "you like this one, right?" I'm going to knit this with my friend Kathleen, who is a very good knitter, so I will have guidance. She is knitting a cable vest.
Things are moving slowly on the weaving front. The rug I'm working on is pretty wide and I found I was not happy with the tension, even after using the click trick. So I decided to untie each bundle and tie them on with house hold twine. I don't know what I'd do with out house hold twine... that and roach clips have gotten me through in life. Ok, I haven't gotten very
far in life, but whatever. Then of course I hurt my shoulder somehow or my spine has just deteriorated some more, who knows. So I'm having to wait till it feels a bit better. I did get the heading started at least.
This Christmas cactus was almost dead, and I mean shriveled and gross looking. I found this big new pot at Home Goods. Made in Mexico and just gorgeous. I put the shriveled up little thing in the new pot with some lovely dark soil and here she is, happy and growing! She even has one flower and one little bud.
In the garden, our bromeliads are putting out these weird yet beautiful flowers.
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| Honeysuckle |
