Tee Hee

I have more finished objects to report! I did finish the big sweater for my customer on Monday night. I had big help from two of Guido’s podcasts. It took one to finish the knitting and another to get the ends sewn in. Stripes are always fun until its time to sew in the ends! I’ve now unearthed my friend Jessica’s sweater which is done all the way up to the underarm. It has been very strange going directly from size 11 needles to size 3’s.
I have three other things I’m working on right now that actually make me chortle to myself while I’m knitting them. The first is this entrelac scarf.

A few weeks ago, I saw several entrelac projects both in person and on the web and came down with a case of it myself. I really like it. You can do just one little square and feel like you’ve accomplished something in a day!
The next thing I’m tee-hee-ing about is this sock. Kind of looks like a mutant mitten, doesn’t it?

Well, it is the beginning of tabi socks for a friend of mine. I got the idea for the pattern off of Knitty.com. I’ve tried it on my toes and it actually fits! Putting the big toe together with the rest of it was such fun!
Last, we have this new yarn. I’m only knitting a sample for the shop but it is the coolest thing! It makes it’s own ruffles! The yarn is actually a two-sided tape. You pick what side you want out and then knit the stitches by poking holes in the side that you want in. I can’t stop giggling while I’m knitting it! I have the overwhelming urge to knit a flamenco dancer toilet paper roll cover for a friend of mine for Christmas. You know the kind with a truncated doll in the top? Someone help me.

Finished and Unfinished Objects

As you may have noticed, my busy season has begun. The shop was very busy this last week, especially since it had been a bit slow earlier this month. Stinkin’ global warming.
Since Christmas approaches, there seem to be a few more finished objects appearing here at Chez Full Service. The blue Trekking socks are done, as is my venture into the use of size 00 needles. The socks are nice and tight and will probably wear better than any I’ve made so far but 00’s are just too small. I actually have to look at my knitting more often because the stitches are so small they are hard to feel! We can’t be having that! There’s also the fact that these socks for a women’s size 8 took me over a month to make and the men’s size 12’s on #1 needles are going to take me just over a week. Hmmm.
Other FO’s are Wanda’s first sweater. I made it too big and am having to use an elastic band to hold it up in the back. Otherwise, she just walks right out of it. I will work more on the fit on the next sweater. There may be cables involved. So funny that my dog needs clothes!
The unfinished objects are many as well. There are the size 12 socks; another pair of tabi socks for a friend who likes to wear flipflops in the house, a sweater for a customer that WILL BE FINISHED TODAY, my friend Jessica’s sweater, a sweater for me, a number of socks that I started just because I felt like it, and the start of a hat for my friend Kathy. This hat is a bit of an experiment. She wanted a hat that shaded from dark to light so I knitted a big swatch with the yarn, dyed it dark to light and now I’m going to unravel it to knit the actual hat. We’ll see how it goes!
There are a number of other projects that only exist in my head so far. The nieces need socks as do several other friends of mine, my cousin’s wedding afghan remains just a bag of yarn, and the dog needs more sweaters. Does something count as a UFO if you haven’t even cast it on yet? I’m not sure.
Oh, and don’t forget the Mitten Tree at the shop. Patience and I put it up on Friday. We will be collecting hats, mittens, scarves, etc for the Somerville Family Network until just after Christmas.My plan for getting all this knitting done? Well, since I am sadly behind on listening to Guido’s podcasts, the plan is to download them and listen to them until I am either caught up or run out of knitting that needs to be done. Which do you think will come first? I’ll keep you posted.

Sock Yarn Arriving!

The Sock Fest yarn has started arriving and, oh, dear, dear, isn’t it nice. I literally dropped everything when part of the Trekking order arrived. I walked away from a customer in the middle of a sale to open the box and ogle the new yarn. Fortunately, she came with me to ogle too!
I’ve been filling people’s orders and calling them all week. I still have a few calls to make tomorrow. Even though a bunch of the yarn is back ordered, it seems that all but two people have gotten at least something. I have high hopes for all the yarn arriving by this time next month. Here’s hoping.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who sent kind thoughts and words my way this week. It is going to be a big adjustment with Grandma gone. I've been going to see her in a nursing home almost every week for seven years. When someone lives to be 103, you kind of expect them to go on forever. I always sort of thought that, 30-40 years from now, I would be in the nursing home with her and going to visit her from my room down the hall. Still, it is a relief that she is free of her tired, aged body. I'm happy for her.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the fish have started doing something very funny. The five big fish, instead of chasing the little fish when they are hungry, come to my end of the tank and do this:

That is them staring at me out of the end of the tank! (Sorry so blurry.) They do this all the time now when they are hungry. It was pretty weird when I realized that they were actually looking at me! I did tell them that they weren't to eat the little fish. I guess they paid attention!

Farewell, Grandma

Esther Elizabeth Goodway Scott

May14, 1903-November 5, 2006

Last night, a long and extraordinary life came to an end. My grandmother died quietly at the age of 103. I’m sad but in a way I’m happy for her. I’m glad that her fiery, energetic spirit is no longer trapped in a frail, helpless body. I belong to a school of Buddhism that was founded in this country by a Korean monk named Zen Master Seung Sahn. It was said that, during his final illness, he commented that our bodies were just rental cars and that is was time for him to trade his in. After a slow decline that encompassed not just years but decades, Grandma finally got to trade hers in last night. I hope her next one is a nice, shiny sports car.

Day Off?

For those who don't know, I take Mondays and Tuesdays off. People seem to be fascinated by this and ask me questions like "What do you do on your days off?". I do pretty much the same stuff everyone does on their days off. Sometimes I do so much stuff that I wait for the shop to open just so I can rest! Do you ever feel like that?
For example, on my days off this week, I did the following:
-Cleaned the kitchen.
-Dyed yarn.
-Went to the bank (twice).
-Carved pumpkins.
-Went to the Post Office.
-Paid bills.
-Ordered sock yarn (woohoo!).
-Visited my grandmother.
-Went on a nature walk.
-Had lunch with a friend.
-Bought Halloween candy (twice).
-Got pumpkins placed in windows and lit (Big Nephew's pumpkin is still in the front window of the shop. I forgot to get him to move it last night and it is too heavy for me to do by myself! Have I mentioned it's big?)
-Did laundry.
-Put together spinning wheels.
-Hosted Trick or Treaters.
All I have left to do in the next hour and fifteen minutes is clean the shop, take a shower, run errands and eat lunch. Phew! Thank goodness the shop will be open soon. Another day off would kill me!