Purls Beyond Price

Persistence Pays with Progress

I've been diligently knitting away on my Cece, despite the fact that the Cascade Sierra is a little less elastic than I might like. I am nearly through the body increases. This is a cropped cardi, so there's not much more knitting after that. I've determined that this will be short sleeved. I'm hopeful I can finish it in time to wear at Sock Summit.

Start 'Em Early

Tonight while watching a movie, Ellie reached over to the side table and pulled my knitting project onto her lap. She grasped a needle tip in each hand and tapped them together, approximating the motion I make when I knit. I quickly grabbed the iPhone (it's great for these kind of moments) to capture it on video. "What are you doing, Ellie?" I asked. "Knitting," she replied. Gotta love that kid!
http://twitvid.com/7DEC0

PS: For some reason comments are not registering. You can send me email at purlsbeyondprice at gmail dot com.

So You Thought I Was Kidding About Those Ends

Before beginning the arduous task of weaving in the ends on Staccato, I just had to show you that I really wasn't kidding about them. There are tons! I have to admit, though, that I kind of like this sort of 60s fringed look.

Fifty Billionty Ends

Staccato is coming along beautifully. I have finished both sleeves, and picked up the stitches for the hood. There are only about six more inches of knitting before that's done too. I am excited to get this finished up so I can wear it in Portland for Sock Summit. I am not, however, looking forward to weaving in all those ends. I haven't counted them, and I don't think I will; the number is staggering!

Speaking of Sock Summit, Purlescence Yarns will be there, vending in the Marketplace in booth 818. Kaye and I have been dyeing sock yarn like crazy in preparation. If you're going to be there, please stop in to say hello!

Aeolian

Since the repetitive stress injury reared its ugly head again back in April, I have had to be very selective about what I knit. Unfortunately, socks are right out. I can work on worsted or DK weight yarn only for limited periods. I was beginning to feel really lost and uninspired until I decided to dive into some lace again. I wasn't at all certain that my right arm could handle it, but I was pleasantly surprised that it seemed to be no problem at all! I chose Winter Lace from Mountain Colors to knit a beautiful beaded Aeolian Shawl (pattern from the spring issue of Knitty.com). The beads are from Three Beads and a Button. It's fun to knit and will yield a spectacular result. I so love lace!

Staccato

Picture, as promised. I am loving the knitting of this cardigan! Not only is Dream in Color Classy one of my very favorite yarns to knit, the striping means I am never more than six rows from the next color change. That makes for exciting knitting, wondering how the next stripe is going to look. I'm about halfway through the body, racing to get as much as I can done before the end of vacation.

Poor Neglected Blog

It's no great secret that I have a very full and busy life. As Ellie has gotten bigger and more mobile - running, to be exact - I have taken less and less time to blog. I have recently, however, acquired an iPhone, allowing me to take my digital life with me wherever my crazy life takes me. I am hoping that this means you'll hear from me a little more often.

Meanwhile, here's a brief update. Ellie is just shy of 18 months. She is a constant joy and challenge. Her vocabulary is enormous and she solves problems we didn't even know we had.

The big girls will have a new horse as of tomorrow, a horse capable of the kind of jumping Kaelyn wants to do. Robbie will be a school horse at the stable, and Rory will go into a training program until she develops as a more mature jumper.

Kevin begins teaching Lego Camp next week. Play is his work this summer.

I am enjoying my vacation week, cooking, knitting, dyeing, doing lots of yoga. Hope your summer is going as swimmingly as ours!