Turbulence Calmed

All is calm on the Turbulence U-Neck Pullover, it is done! I love the fit, it suits me well, and I am happy to say, "finished!" The sleeves did come out a little longer than I had measure (they are supposed to three-quarter length) my came out between full length and 3/4s. I like it though, because I love a pushed up sleeve, so it works for me. I really loved doing the half-twisted ribbing, it made the ribbing more detailed looking. There were other surprises in the design, like the make one at the cuffs to the elbow were by making a stitch between two stitches which created a lovely yarn over hole on both sides of the seam. And the neck was fun, applied after sewing together the front and back on one side and then picking up stitches along neckline in a knit, knit, purl bind-off for the three rows added! Well, back to the lacy summer knit sweater.

My good friend Patty and I have been walking since the weather has finally broke around here! I have been taking some lovely photo shoots to use for painting. I particularly love these two just taken two days ago. One of the creek and the close up of the bird. The other photo is of the bird before I enlargened and cropped.
Okay, maybe you have seen this, but I thought this jacket was worth talking about. Linda Mendelson is kinda doing a Madame Defarge type of jacket now, wouldn't ya say? I have seen a lot of knitted word in work lately, but I love this one. I love the cut and it is so visually interesting, as is her other things, she is inspiring....her color work is exceptional!

I had a lot of fun yesterday. Another friend talked me into teaching her grown deaf daughter to sew. We got a very good start on a baby quilt. My friend called me this morning just to tell me how much fun they both had! She said I was a blessing! I told her that she and her daughter were blessing to me! I had taken sign language in college and I remembered some of it. I struggle with reading, not so much with signing. I can't figure that one out being the visual person I am? It is something I think is kinetic with me, I have to be feeling the motion, interesting?

More Turbulence and Tpins

I get grumpy when instructions begin to die out and become vague, but I have alas, trugded on to knowing I may be able to cast on the sleeves tonite!

But first, I
decided to make a new blocking pad and needed to find a new stock of t-pins for blocking. Well, pins have certainly gone hi-tech. I couldn't even take a decent picture to capture all offered. I managed a Joanne's back in the late eighties, early nineties, I have say, I am grateful, there was less to merchandise back then! Everywhere I looked were more pins, on the end aisles, in the quilting department, virtually all over the place, but to find them in the knitting department, oh no, no blocking pins in site! I had to laugh and be thankful moved on to brighter things, like teaching for them. It really bugs me when things are not where they are supposed to be and when they are not even sold, so okay, flash back to the 70's, t-pins really do work nicely for blocking. And the blocking pad, well, a nice to the eye, blue 1/4 inch gingham, a layer of dense cotton batting and ironing board cover material for the back! I will just serge around it and call it good!

Tulip and Chocolate time

Well, I didn't exaclty get the tulips in the time laspe order, but I think you get the point. They are called Appledoorn hybrids. They almost remind me of pink peonies. Then I saw my irises are shooting right along! I love blue irises. I have a love of a purplish-burgandy colored ones, which I had when I moved in here almost five years ago! Well, those burgandy ones were overgrown and I dug for three years to break them up and scatter them about! I think this year will be the start of the big payoff! But, last year hubby took me to the Iris Societies Annual Sale, and I made off with as many blues as I could possibly get my hands on. I can't wait to get pics when they are in bloom! Then, some painting will really begin. Yes, besides it being the year of joy, I believe it will turn into the summer of love, I will be painting lots of flowers this year!

The choclolate, well, the darker the better! I love dark chocolate, especially when I think I have accomplished something good. After finishing the back and now up to the chart on the front of the Turbulence U-Neck Pullover, yippee! The Queensland Katmandu is so soft and has a very cushy feel to it, I love working with it, I can't believe I bought this stuff last Saturday and are so far along with it. I just can't put it down.

A Water Theme - Green Turbulence

The Turbulence U-Neck Pullover from Norah Gaughan's Knitting Nature of Queensland "Katmandu" DK back side is complete and the front is started on today. Three days, and a whole lot of other stuff going on. One reason or another, I didn't get back to the lacy summer sweater. My aim is to finish it tommorrow, but I am really on this Turbulence.

A friend who's mother passed on, brought me this luscious silk and wool "Bernat Klein" (from Scotland) sweater which her mother had worked up. Gosh, I think the project may be forty years old by the looks of the intact label. My friend would like me to remake it, saving as much of her mothers stitching as possible. The shoulder seams were back-stitched with 1/2 inch seams, which I found to be rather interesting. So I went into my cedar chest and pulled out this vintage 1983 sweater I had designed to see how I had done the lace yoke. I couldn't help myself and just had to document it. I still love it, and wonder how I was ever that skinny, I tried it on and it is barely loose, it used to hang on me, oh the years of youth are slipping by, at least I could get it on! I really loved it and had a matching pair of jeans in the blue color. I can't remember the yarns, but the ribbing and yoke look like a heavy pearl cotton, and the slubby stuff is definetly viscose and maybe a little cotton. I would buy these yarns and make it again. So I am thinking to go from a 5'3" petite to an XL, I will frog the upper armholes out and apply the eylet lace to the top. I will then extend the sides by adding gussets.

Here's a jewelry set I made up a few months ago. I custom dyed the mother-of-pearl(mop) beads in the microwave. I also dyed the mop in some other pastel colors and have made a few bracelets. I think the green will appropriately be worn with the Turbulence, I like the whole idea of a water theme.

All that dying made me desire to try my hand at painting some merino. That is on the calendar this year for sure, and being taught to spin.