Done: Oaklet Shawl

I had a fairly productive weekend, knit-wise. I managed to finish another triangular shawl with a lace edging. Go me! I’m on a roll. My Summer of the shawl continues…Isn’t is prettiful? I love this shawl. So simple.

I had to use the flash on my camera to get the colors to come out. It’s so dark and dreary here this morning. Cloudy and cool, here in PDX right now. I refuse to complain about our lack of Summer weather, here, while the rest of the country is in a serious heat wave. I keep telling myself, it could be worse. I will take the cooler weather, thank you. I think my cats will agree. They hate the heat as much as I do. 🙂

Info On The Shawl:

Pattern: Oaklet Shawl, a free ravelry download by Megan Goodacre.

Yarn: Berroco Sox Metallic, 1 skein with a bit leftover. Color: Papaya; 73% super wash wool, 25% nylon, 2% other fibers. 380 yards. (the yarn has a silver sparkly thread throughout.

Needles: US # 5 ciruclar needle.

Notions: two stitch markers used to make the center area of the shawl.

Ravelry Page: You can view more photos and notes on the shawl, here.

Mods: None.

Time: 17 days, or so. July 1-17, 2011.

Verdict: I love this shawl. It’s so simple and pretty. The pattern is well written and I had zero issues with it. I worked on this shawl (stockinette section) while watching TV and movies. Not much concentration required. The lace portion of the shawl is written out as well as charted. I used the written instructions to complete the lace part, personally. It turned out really great. The yarn is great, love the colors and I am pleased with the finished shawl. Love!

More Pics…

 

Today’s Random Thoughts

Today’s post will be some of my random thoughts and happenings…

– My allergies are killing me this morning. Does one built up a tolerance or immunity to the dose of an allergy pill? Mine do not seem to make much of a dent anymore.  I managed to sneeze myself into a headache, this morning. I bet I sneezed 10 times in a row. Now, I have the drippy nose. So annoying! When will the allergies go away? Usually I have Spring allergies from late February through mid-June. This year is so different. I am still suffering. It’s mid-July. I’m just tired of it, over it.

– I received another letter from Taelor, yesterday. She is doing well in South Carolina. She actually likes boot camp. What, is she nuts? I swear she is not my child. I am glad she is doing well and enjoying all of the physical activity. She misses some foods. She made a list of all the foods she wants to eat when she gets home in early September. Burgers and fries were on the top of the list. I reckon I can swing that.

– I have a sweet and understanding Husband. I’m lucky. Last night, we were both sitting on the couch, immersed in our laptops. Hubby asks me, “Hey, do you like this color?” It was a golden yellow color of YARN. I said yes. What’s not to love? He didn’t mention it again. I did not think too much of it after that. This morning, in a text, Hubby said that my yarn should arrive here, by early next week. Ummm…what yarn, I had to ask. I was confused and had already forgotten. So, Hubby ordered some yarn for me. Isn’t that the sweetest? My guess, it is a belated birthday present.

– Today is an anniversary of sorts. Not necessarily a happy one, but I do observe it yearly. Today, 17 years ago I was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic. I had just turned 20. My doctors, at the time, were baffled on why I ended up with “juvenile diabetes” at that age. No one could figure it out. I have no family history. Relatively healthy and I weighed 125 lbs at the time. I got sick quite suddenly. I just felt awful one day…thought I had a flu-type thing going on. It progressed to other symptoms and I ended up in the ER. At the time, I did not know much of anything about diabetes. I had heard of it, in passing. So, I had to learn everything. Injecting myself with insulin was the worst thing ever, at first. Not being able to eat what I wanted, when I wanted was second worst. Low blood sugar episodes are also awful. 17 years later…I have managed to live with the disease, for the most part. I still dislike it. It disrupts my life. I still resent things about it, etc. I now have other health issues that are directly related to my diabetes. I have my good days and my bad days.

– Recently my 15 year old daughter has asked me about birth control. I am SO not ready to deal with this whole idea. She promised me that she is not having sex yet. She was just discussing with me the whole idea of protecting herself for when she does want to. I want to hold my hand over my ears and repeat, “No, no, no!” I had better get with the program. She will eventually “do it” whether I agree with it or not. I have always been open about sex with my daughters. We discuss it, talk about what could happen, how to protect oneself, etc. I don’t wish for my daughters to end up as a teen pregnancy statistic, like I did. I have no regrets about having Taelor at age 17. I want my girls to have choices that I did not have, is all. Did I mention…I am not ready for this, with my youngest daughter?

– Knitting. Well, I have taken to knitting on personal projects in the evenings now. I sleep much better, thank you. I had issues with turning my brain off at night. I would obsess over design ideas or mistakes instead of sleeping. I now save the designing and sample knitting for the mornings. I like this schedule much better. I am hoping to get more done this way. More productive, maybe? We shall see…

– Lately, a kitty has been visiting me. He’s been around for several years. Sometimes I won’t see him for months and then he just pops in. He sits on my back patio and stares at me through the glass door. Often he will tap the glass to get my attention. He wants me to come outside and pet him. A few times, the cat even trots into my apartment and partakes in my cats food dish. He is extremely friendly and sweet. I know he belongs to someone around here. He wears a collar and his tag says his name is “Elvis.” This makes me giggle. He does not seem like an Elvis. He is a beautiful brown, multi-colors of browns/black Maine Coon. He is large and a fluff ball. I want to take him in and keep him all to myself. He is also “fixed” which is a good thing. Elvis has visited me twice in the past week. He likes my scratches, I guess. When he left…I told Hannah, the youngest, “Elvis has left the building!” We had some laughs over that.

– What is up with the weather in the Pacific NW right now. Clouds, rain and cool. We have yet to reach 90 degrees this Summer. I suppose I shouldn’t complain about that, because I HATE the heat. It’s been in the 60’s mostly here the past week. We did reach 71 yesterday afternoon…and humid. It even rained for a short time. Summer is usually our dry season…and it will not rain until September, sometimes. Just an odd year all around, for the weather. I am guessing this is why my allergies are all wonky too.

Well, that is all I have in my head for this morning. I have some work to do. House cleaning stuff first. Then some design knitting. Is it the weekend yet?

Busy Bee Is Me

This is my view for today. It’s the clean, neat version of my “desk area.” It will get messy real quick, give it 5 minutes. Technically I no longer have a desk. I gave it to the youngest daughter for her studying, upstairs, in her bedroom. I have to convert the dining room table into my desk, when needed. Believe me…the dining table allows for sprawl. I usually have papers, yarn, swatches, spread out over the entire table.

Creativity cannot be contained…

I have way too many design projects in the works. I seem to have inspiration ALL at once. Without giving too much away on my designs, here are what I am working on, in varying degrees of finish-ness.

• – A new sock design, made for a knit-along that will be going on in September, on ravelry.
• – A scarf with a lace edging along the side.
• – A new slouchy hat design made with cotton yarn.
• – A triangular lace shawl for a new book proposal, in the works. (mummmms the word)

With all four of the designs going on…my brain hurts. I was up until almost 3am last night, errrr morning, working on the charts for the lace shawl. I have discovered that it isn’t enough for me to calculate numbers and chart it out…I have to draw the chart out and visually see it before I “get it.” I drew out one chart over and over again, making adjustments, for hours, last night. I refused to go to bed until I figured it all out. THEN, I layed in bed, while my brain kept going and going.

Seriously, I need to make a morning schedule for all of my designing. I will keep late night for knitting on personal, more relaxing projects. I may be able to sleep better. You think? I can’t help when inspiration strikes. I have learned to keep a notebook nearby for writing down my ideas. Yes, I have gotten up in the middle of the night to write an idea down. I have even had a design idea while in the shower. I get weird timing, sometimes.

Other things I am doing today…House chores. I did half of my “to-do” list yesterday. I am working on the other half, today. A lot of vacuuming will be performed some time today. I need to clean my bedroom, do a load of laundry, vacuum the upstairs and downstairs. I will make the youngest child take out the trash and recycle this too. There will be arguing over it. It may just be easier to do it myself.

Phinn is being Mr. Cuteness this morning. He likes to roll around on the carpet. He will stare at you until you talk to him, then roll into another position and stare again. I call this his “pose.” He poses like this all the time. Phinn also sleeps sprawled like that. He is a bed hog. He will lay on his back, in bed, between Hubby and I. It’s like having a toddler between you all night. Heaven forbid, Hubs and I get in a snuggle. Add in Pixie, my middle cat, and the bed gets quite crowded at night. Pix likes to sleep curled up at my back, on the outside of the bed. Occasionally I wake up and she is wrapped around my head, on the pillow. One day I will be smothered by my cat…

Phinn is such a rolly-polly. I leave you to admire his cuteness. Off to work I go. Have a great day, everyone.

The Knits I Can Show

It is all dark and cloudy this afternoon. It’s been this way all day. I think I saw the sun for about 5 minutes, as it came up over the building, around 7 am. I guess I am alright with the clouds for a change of pace. It was pretty warm the past two days and having a cool day to recover is sort of nice. The cats are enjoying the cooler day too. They are more active. Phinn has been playing and chasing Phoebe around all afternoon. She’s an old biddy and cranky about it, but Phinn is sure having his fun.

Look at that bratty face. He was evil-eyeing Phoebe as I took the photo. You can’t see the twitchy tail. Two seconds after i snapped the photo, he jumped off the couch and went tearing after poor Phoebe. Meh, it keeps her young, right?

Yes, my Vlad Shawl is certainly coming along. I have about 10 rows of the edging chart to knit before I am finished. Done, done, done! The shawl pattern is not as hard as I thought it would be. The shawl looks really intricate and fancy, after blocking. I found it kind of easy to work. This will be my first completed intricate triangular lace shawl ever. I’ve been knitting for over 7 years and it’s about time, right?

I may have to make this shawl again…probably bigger and in a different color, of course. I am anxious to see how much my red Vlad will grow with blocking. I won’t share my blocking process, since it is most embarrassing. My method does work, though. Let’s just say, I need to purchase a blocking board and pins some time soon, if I continue with the lace knitting.

I have also been knitting, slowly and randomly on the Oaklet Shawl. I work on it, while watching TV or listening to my iPod. Right now, it is mostly mindless stockinette. The colors in the yarn are a bit bright and wacky. I do love the bit of sparkle the yarn has going on. I am hoping to wear this one as a triangular neck scarf, more than an actual shawl. This photo of the shawl is not a very good one, since it is all scrunched up on the needle. My size 5 circular needle is currently occupied with a project. So, Oaklet is being knitted on flat needles until such a time that I can transfer it to the circular needle.

I think when these two shawls are completed…I am going to cast on a project that uses at least US # 8 size needles. Maybe even US # 10 needles. I need something quick and larger to work on. This tiny needle and finer yarn project obsession I have going on…is getting a bit crazy. I am considering a cardigan. I always need a cute cardigan to wear. Any suggestions? I’ll look at patterns later.

I’m also knitting on some designs. Three to be exact. I can’t really share them right now. It drives me crazy not to be able to discuss them. I spend more time working on the designs, then all of the above shared shawl business. ~sigh~ I keep telling myself, “Soon. Soon, I can share.” I am also thinking of opening an Etsy Shop to sell a bit of my hand knits. Not sure just yet. I’m always up for making a bit of extra money. I have a huge plastic zip-up bag with tons of over flow hand knits. Hats I have made over the years, mostly samples of my designs. I never wear them. I just put them in the bag, zip it up and put it up in the top of my closet. I only wear a select few knitted hats. Maybe a handful. I would not sell those…just the ones sitting in the bag. I don’t know? Do people really buy hand knitted items from etsy? Just a thought…

My youngest daughter, Hannah, and her friends love to take artsy photos, lately. They go to the park and break out the camera for the afternoon. They are pretty good at it, if I do say so. Not bad for a few 15 year olds. I love the colors in this picture.

I use Hannah as my model for some of my knit designs. Any excuse to put on make up and primp for a 15 year old…is the thing. I am sure to use Han in my upcoming designs. I already warned her to be ready and cooperative.

And that is all I have to share for today. I am going to make myself a home-made iced coffee and watch the evening news for a bit. Then it is off to cook dinner for the family, cleaning a bit. I also need to work on some knitting…I probably won’t get to bed before 1 am. Oh well. Have a great evening, everyone.

Summer Begins

Well, according to this picture…Summer begins.

When it gets hot in the apartment, Phinnegan, sprawls across the floor. He’s sleeping that way. He does this every Summer. I snuck up on him with my digital camera. Poor kitties all covered in furrrrrr.

It was a really nice Summer day here. 82° and sunny. 8) Perfect!

Photos From This Week

Since I haven’t had much to share the past few days. I’ll share some random photos of the week. Here goes…

Pixie, in the window.

A bowl of fruit. Grapefruit, apples and black plums.

A friend visiting my backyard, watching me cook dinner.

A cellphone pic of the highway near where I live.

Phinn taking a cat nap. Cute!

Just me, yesterday.

Monday Randoms

It’s Monday. This means some random thoughts from my head…Pixie the cat is snoozing in the morning sunshine. I feel exactly the same way, this morning. S-L-E-E-P! Isn’t it cute how she sleeps on her cat pillow? I think so. She does this ALL the time.

– It’s official. This Spring has been one of the wettest in 117 years of record keeping in Portland. I could have told you that. Spring here pretty much sucked this year. Now, I am anxious to see what this Summer will be like. Cool, like last year? My mini-roses have kicked the bucket. The cool and wet Spring has finally done them in. It makes me a little sad. I loved those roses.

– For the next three days it will feel like Summer around here. (Today – 79, Tomorrow – 84, Wednesday – 79) After that, it’s rain and 60’s again. I plan to enjoy the next few days as much as I can. I get to wear a tank top and some shorts, for a change. I’ll even make some iced tea. You never know when the weather will change in Oregon. Enjoy it while it lasts.

– I received another letter from Miss Tae. She relayed how much boot camp sucks ass. What do you expect…it’s not Summer camp? I am sure she is fine. Oh, and she told me the bugs are huge! I remember the bugs in the south. Texas had huge bugs and spiders. ~shiver~ We are a bunch of wusses in Western Oregon. Our bugs/spiders are fairly small and the snakes are non-poisonous on this side of the mountains. I plan to sit down and write Tae a letter, later tonight. I miss my oldest daughter terribly. She has a fun sense of humor and it is lost while she is away.

– I wonder if I am getting arthritis in my right hand. For the past two weeks, the joints at the base of my index and middle finger are kind of painful. It kind of has a dull constant throb, mixed with sharper pain when I move them. It’s my right hand only. The funny thing is…I’m left handed. Arthritis does run in my family. I am not sure if it’s hereditary, but several family members have issues with it.

– The hand problem is starting to interfere with my knitting. I do still knit, but for shorter periods of time. I think I ripped out knitting more than any progress was made, over the weekend. I ripped out a sock and restarted it. I also ripped out a tank top that I just was not loving. I plan to knit for a bit this afternoon, out on the patio.

– I have a long “to-do” list for today. Mostly of the domestic variety. Things like, clean out the cat box, bake some cookies, do a load of hand wash and hang it outside to dry, vacuum the downstairs, etc. I have many things I would rather be doing…a nap. reading, knitting, generally being lazy. I can’t, though. Things to do…

– I am not sure why, but I slept terrible. It was a night of perpetual dozing. I did not lay down until almost 2am. I wasn’t tired and there’s no point going to bed if I know I will toss and turn. I dozed off and woke up at 3am. Dozed again and woke up at 4:30am. I heard Hubby’s alarm at 6am, etc. I did not sleep for more than an hour at a time. Not sure why.

– I don’t expect to see the youngest teen awake before 1pm. She was still awake when I was awake at 3am. Crazy kid. I am just too old to be up that late anymore. I remember the days where I would stay up all day and all night and function fine the following day. Not going to happen these days. My ass is dragging today as it is…

I am off to begin that “to-do” list. I may grab a nap later in the afternoon. I also need to work on my sock today. I will pop a pain pill for the hand. Toodles and Happy Monday, everyone.

Feels A Bit Like Summer

The lazy days of Summer seem to have begun. I’ve been having a kind of laid back kind of day, so far. Watched a movie, knitted a bit, cleaned the kitchen, cooking dinner as I type, etc. I haven’t been that lazy, really. Just a relaxed pace…No nap for me today, though.

It’s the weather. It’s sunny and 72 degrees. It makes me want to sit on the back patio and sip iced tea. I love this weather so much. I wish it could last. It’s supposed to drop 10 degrees and rain, tomorrow. I heard on the news that 80 degree temperatures will be here next week. I am crossing my fingers. I’m desperate for some summertime.

Other summertime happenings today. Hannah, the youngest, had her boyfriend over for a visit. He’s a nice kid. Polite and even cute. I promised Han that I would not embarrass her while her boyfriend was over. I refrained…I was good Mama. At once point, this afternoon, there were 4 teenagers upstairs. Two more friends of Hannah’s came over for a bit. I have a feeling this will be a regular summer occurrence. I should get used to it.

This time of the afternoon (after 4pm) I usually get wonky, sleepy. I decided to make some coffee for myself. It was either that or I was going to fall over on the couch for a nap. More coffee, no nap!

Wanna see something funny?

Okay, my cat, Phinn, loves music. He has been this way since he was a tiny kitten. I’m not entirely sure why. As a little kitten he would park himself on my desk when I played music on the speakers. Maybe it was the vibration? I have no idea. He would sleep on my desk as long as the music played.

Fast forward 4 years…I no longer have a desk. I have a laptop instead, that sits on a little IKEA table next to the couch. I will often turn iTunes on and knit…if I am home alone. As soon as I turn the first song on…Phinn comes running to the couch, to sit on the arm, right in front of my laptop. He will sit/lay there as long as I play music. Odd?

I guess it’s as odd as my other cat, Pixie, watching TV. She loves animal programs (PBS, Nat Geo, etc) and she will talk to the television. Once, she was talking to a cat food commercial, because the woman on TV said, “here kitty, kitty, kitty.” Maine Coons are known to be chatterboxes. Yeah, Pix is a very verbal cat. I guess Phinn is musical?

Yes, I have strange cats.

Happy Weekend, everyone.

Wordless Wednesday # 2

Lazy Saturday Cat

I have no big plans for this weekend.

Phinn, the cat, has the right idea. A cat nap on a lazy Saturday afternoon. He has his favorite white blankie. I mentioned the blanket in my previous post. It’s always spread out on my bed, so he can lay on it anytime he likes. Spoiled much?

The funny thing is…Phinn’s blankie is not really a blanket at all. It’s my bathrobe. When Phinn was a kitten, I had taken a shower and wore my bathrobe. I took it off and laid it on the bed, to get dressed. Phinn decided to investigate the bathrobe, eventually got comfortable and slept on it. The rest we say, is history. He loves this blanket/bathrobe sooooo much. Every night he will crawl onto it and knead it, purr for at least 20 minutes before falling asleep. Have I mentioned Phinn snores? LOUDLY!

I no longer have a bathrobe and Phinn has a favorite blanket to sleep on…

Yeah, the things I give up for the cat.

Happy Lazy Saturday, everyone.