A mixed bag

Posted on February 7, 2012 by patricia

An interesting week and a half….

The first draft of the Clan Ross Canada newsletter is complete,and ready for the final edit.

A lot of paper work completed after last week’s monthly Sigma Xi executive/ board meeting.

Knitting: The camel spin scarf is done and is ready for a good soak and blocking. The blocked Silk Whisker Ruana is now a long sweater vest..

Needlepoint: I managed a bit of stitching on the Christmas stocking, but had to stop until I picked up another thread.

A visit to Cindy’s Needleart Superbowl Sale resulted in this:

which, with the canvases, stitch guide, and several hundred hours of stitching, will become this.

I have coveted this pattern for a long time and am looking really forward to stitching it.

Half marathon training: Two Sundays ago, a sudden sharp pain on the side of my knee made finishing the long walk extremely painful (There was nowhere to catch a bus or get a ride). The concensus was that I had an IT band problem. On Monday, my knee was fine, so I rested it for a couple of days then started back training on Wednesday. Following the KISS principal, I also bought new shoes to replace the old ones which were well beyond their recommended life span and which could have been responsible for the pain. Sunday’s 19+ km was pain free. I hope the problem is solved and does not re-occur. The time is quickly approaching (less than four weeks) for the Chilly Half and I am really enjoying the longer distances.

It’s Friday

Posted on January 27, 2012 by patricia

Wednesday night was our weekly dinner date at Moxies. The rest of the week has been very quiet.

Today, I started to work on the first draft of the Winter, 2012, Clan Ross Canada newsletter which is sent to our members quarterly. I have edited the newsletter for the last six years, and this is my second-to-last issue. I have been hunting for a good photograph for the front cover.

Knitting: I have knitted the first skein of Camelspin yarn. Seventy-two stitches on 3.75 mm needles produced 40 ” (101.5 cm).

Now the project is at the stage where I knit and knit, and the scarf doesn’t look any longer. I’m determined to finish this before I cast on for another. I will probably make the scarf 60 to 70 inches in length.

Half marathon training: 6.5 km on Wednesday. For the last two days, the sidewalks have been dry, icy, slushy, wet, and slippery – a good time for two rest days.

To the finish line

Posted on January 24, 2012 by patricia

Today I decided that it was time to start finishing projects that are almost complete.

Needlepoint: A gift for my son is almost complete. A black border, a check for missing stitches, then a trip to the fabric store to buy black denim fabric to make the pillow up.

The needlepoint is a Chris and Claude design.

Knitting: I have completed knitting Ruana, a Sweaterkits design (#1212) and kit that I purchased at the Downtown Knit Collective Frolic last spring. It was knit with on 5 mm needles with four skeins of Silk Whisper. Silk Whisper is 30% silk and70% kid mohair.

First it was soaked.

Then it was wrapped in a towel to remove excess moisture, then pinned out on blocking wires.

When it is dry, I will sew up the seams.

Next, the second skein of Handmaiden Camelspin is now a yarn cake.

Half marathon training: Five km this morning which left my afternoon free to accomplish the above.

Tonight, more work on the scarf.

Mid-week

Posted on January 18, 2012 by patricia

Somehow, I have lost the original format for the blog, but will sort it out later.

I like the look of the latest attempt at the Camel Spin Scarf.

The 3.75 mm straight needles and the tighter gauge make a big difference that is plainly visible here.

The yarn overs were catching on the joins on the circular needles, and the straight needles have less friction and solve the catching.

Todays walk was 5 km. The temperature was back to – 6 degrees, but it was sunny, and most important, the sidewalks were completely clear of ice and snow. I will add another few km to that after dinner when I go downtown for the monthly meeting of the Downtown Knit Collective. These meetings are always inspirational, and the talent of many of the knitters is awe inspiring. More on the meeting later.

Week’s end

Posted on January 15, 2012 by patricia

Another week has passed. Yesterday, my husband, son, and I took another two hour class learning Scottish country dances in preparation for the Burn’s Dinner next week. Everybody had a lot of fun and the two hours went by very quickly.

Earlier this week I cast on 111 stitches of Hand Maiden Fine Yarn Camelspin to knit a Camel Spin Scarf. Camelspin is a blend of 70% silk and 30% baby camel. The yarn is amazingly soft and is a delight to knit with. The yarn and pattern were purchased from Linda’s Craftique in Mississauga, the first stop on the Downtown Knit Collective’s Annual Bus trip in early November.

Subsequently, I have ripped out the scarf twice. The pattern is for a shawl, so it was too wide. I decreased the number of pattern repeats to get the width I wanted. The gauge on the second attempt looked to be too loose for the pattern and I have decided to use smaller needles than the 4 mm the pattern called for. I hope to cast on later today.

This morning’s walk was 16+ km in frigid – 16 degree cold. At least there wasn’t much wind and the sun was out. I envied the runners who covered the distance in half the time. I really appreciated the jacket my daughter loaned me for the winter. My legs were very red, but OK at the end of the walk. It is mid afternoon and I am still thawing out. Hopefully it will not be that cold for the Chilly half Marathon, but – I am prepared.

Beginnings

Image

This is a year of two significant events, my seventieth birthday in a couple of weeks and my husband and my forty-fifth wedding anniversary .

This blog will be a chronicle of my life as I journey through my 8th decade. I thank my daughter for setting up the blog and for a lesson on how to navigate the blog software. It will take a while to become familiar with all the bells and whistles that are available, but, here goes…

HOBBIES: Two of my favourite pastimes are canvas work and knitting. Two of my latest projects are the rabbit from Cindy’s Needle Art stitched for my daughter and the Chevron lace scarf knit for myself.

The scarf was knit with two balls of Debbie Bliss Angel on 5mm needles.

CURRENT READING: The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gilbaldon.

That’s it for my first post.

8th-decade

My Life…..

Tag Archives: knitting