Shopping success, for the most part (with photos!)

   That's right, I was successful in my shopping yesterday. I found a 36 inch long size 13 circular needle, as well as stitch holders. I also made a jackpot discovery of a package of 45 stitch markers, some of them big enough for at least the size 13 I'm using! A girl can't have too many stitch markers! I also found some great rings for the purse!

    Here is a photo of the short needle with all the stitches on it:

    And now, on the new circular, with the short needle included to emphasize how packed the stitches were! I had to use a point protector just to keep the stitches from falling off...

 

    The only thing I couldn't find was more wool. Michaels was out of it, so I went to Joann's. They didn't have any either. I'll just have to wait a while and check again.

 

 

    After I finished writing this, I was sitting watching TV. I noticed that Doctor Zhivago was on, and it reminded me that that was the Knitting Nazi's favorite movie, and that Lara's Theme was her very favorite piece of music. See, I have good memories of her as well as bad ones!  

Surprise, I'm Knitting Today!

     I'm working on my bucket bag today. My head hurts from doing the math, for the dividing to start the handle. It helps me to visualize it if I draw a circle and divide it into six wedges.  So the handle is split now, half the stitches are on a stitch holder.


    I even took some photos and measurements today. I guess I got ambitious! The crocheted circle is 14 inches across. The body of the bag is 14 inches tall. It looked right to me, so I stopped. I measured after I had split and bound off the top edge. Purely a coincidence that it's as wide as it is tall.


    Now for the photos!

And finally, one with the cable remote, for scale, like I did for the black bag...

    I am also watching the weather today, as we are supposed to be getting our first snowfall of the season this afternoon into tomorrow. I am not happy about it, but I guess it's to be expected living in upstate New York.

In Which I Go Stash Diving!

    Yup. Today I went stash diving. I was looking for something specific, a pair of crocheted pot holders that I had made for my MIL and that we got back when she passed away. I wanted to show them to Kim, my knitting buddy. I couldn't find them. I've looked all over this house and still can't find the stupid things.


    However, while stash diving, I did make a very interesting find! I pulled out a skein of  > gasp <  black Malabrigo sock yarn! Then a second. Then a third! And OMG there was a fourth! I was in sock yarn heaven! Much to my surprise, I also pulled out a skein of AtKnitsEndYarns sock yarn too! I'm not sure which colorway it is, but as it's dark red and black/brown, I think it might be Tip It Ewe Lush. It's probably a skein she rejected as not "perfect", I am the luckiest minion on the planet, to know a dyer who gives you her "failures"!!

    This discovery got me thinking, I could make another Arachno Shawl, by Jennifer Dassau!! A black one! I think I could also work in the Ewe Lush, between the cobweb edging, at the beginning of the main body.


    So I got out my swift and ball winder, and started winding. I did two of the Malabrigos for now. If I can get the edging going without any mistakes, I will wind up the Tip It Ewe Lush. So there I was, casting on 301 stitches of sock yarn on a size 7 circular needle. I put stitch markers every fifty stitches, because hanging around with someone who can't count seems to have rubbed off.

    As you can see in the above photo, one of the little buggers gave me a harn time while I was winding him. That's why the left one is so small, and why I'm using it first.


   I have completed the first row of the cobweb edging. It's a bit difficult working with the black sock yarn, as it's hard to see the stitches because they're so small. This may take a while.

    I love going diving in my stash, I never know what goodies I will find! Somewhere in there are the two big hanks of Lace weight, one natural one back, that I bought at Rhinebeck last fall. And who knows what other goodies I've bought and forgotten about!! It really is like Festivus in July! So watch this space for photos of my progress, if I dont' have to frog and start over....

Some Catching Up To Be Done

   So our beloved 61" Samsung TV is safely back home. It's wonderful not to have to wear my glasses to watch TV, or anything associated with watching TV. Like changing the channel, or reading what the shows are about. Here she is, all snug in her unit:

   Today I have been working on my sweater, as the pain in my shoulder allows. I can do about two or three rows until the pain forces me to stop for a while.  Since I was able to replace the battery in my camera this morning, I was able to take some new photos of my progress! Here they are:

   This is the left side, see the pocket and sleeve! Then it goes to the pleat in the center. The next one is from the center pleat out to the right side. It was too big to get all in one photo, and see all the details.

   It is a little rolled up, but I managed to unroll it, mostly. I have trouble finding an open space big enough to lay the sweater out. Today I decided to use my son's bed. He has nice blue fleece sheets.

   I would like to mention how much I enjoy reading all the comments I have received. To Laura, thanks for reading! And I would like to welcome my newest reader, Stacey, of The Adventures of Yarn Salad! I enjoy reading your blog, I hope you enjoy mine.  I look for new posts every day. Hopefully you will be reunited with your husband soon. In the meantime, keep your chin up, maybe someday you will look back on this time and find it amusing.

    Terri, I would like to thank you for reading, and also for your comment.  I do use stitch markers when casting on, they are very helpful! My dad was a math teacher, you'd think I would have learned to count. I was very sure I had the right number of stitches when I started out, that's why I was so flummoxed when the stitch count was 11 stitches off! I'm just glad it was the math that was done wrong!

   And especially, I want to mention my biggest supporter, Kim, of AtKnitsEndYarns, who has read me every day since the beginning! She just doesn't comment, as she can't from her phone. Love her anyway!
   Hopefully soon, I can post photos of the finished sweater! Perhaps the color will even look right! I swear, it's not pink, but cranberry! Those who have seen it in person can testify. I will be working on it at Stitch n Bitch this coming Friday morning. So all who come will get to see it!

   Kim out!