KNITTING

No new projects this week, but progress on the ones I started last week. First, there's another baby sweater sitting in the basket waiting for blocking and ties; that's #16 for the year. It's getting time for me to call the newspaper lady that wanted to do a photo shoot last year but waited until everything was off to its donation site. In another month or so I'll be done with this year's charity knitting, so time to make a nice display.

I finished the first sock in the Tofutsie, and it actually fits my foot. Today I cast on the second one and got it far enough along that I can knit while i play computer games. I also did a swatch in the Sock It To Me to check gauge. I have another pattern I want to try, but will have to adapt the pattern.

The EZ square blanket turned out to be more of a saga than I had planned. I decided on Tuesday afternoon to drive to Monroe to see what Hobby Lobby had for Wool Ease in colors that would coordinate with the white sparkle. It was a wasted trip; HL no longer carries Wool Ease in worsted weight. I got a few skeins of Red Heart worsted off the sale rack for mittens, and came home. A whole afternoon on the road for nothing.

Next I checked Ebay and found 7 skeins of the white sparkle, so bought them. But when they came, the dye lots were so far different I could tell them apart in dim light; combining them was not an option. So I finally decided, after knitting a whole quarter of the blanket, to tear it out and start over on a smaller scale. This is coming along fine. It's taking me just slightly less than a skein to make an 8th of the square, and I have 8 skeins in the same dye lot. I started on the second quarter today, so I'm making good progress on that. It's a good tv project.

I've also done a little on the silk shawl, and contemplated pi shawls. The skein of blue merino lace weight has enough yardage for a pi shawl, so I'm going to get out some of my old lace books and see what looks appealing to me. But I'm not going to do anything with that until I'm done with hats, mittens, and baby sweaters for the year. Arkansas Children's Hospital is looking for 30,000 hats this year in their Knitting for Noggins project, so I know they'll be able to use anything I can whip up.

Meanwhile the quilting studio sits idle. I can't concentrate on too many projects at one time. And knitting lets me sit like a slug indoors in front of the tv through these sweltering hot days. This week I've been enjoying The Simpsons Season 10 dvds; they are the perfect accompaniment to mindless knitting.

KEEPING SABBATH

Monday is my Sabbath, and I try to make it a day of renewal and not just a day off. I didn't do anything special today, but it was still a good day.

Yesterday I wound the silk yarn I bought in Alberta and started knitting a shawl from it. During the night my #1 yarn thief, pictured left, got hold of the ball and completely unwound it all around the living room. I was strongly tempted to commit mayhem upon him, but instead I just quietly rewound the yarn while he did his best to be invisible sitting on a white dining room chair. There's one section that will have to be discarded, but most of it came through unscathed except for dust and cat hair. I'm not sure which Bart enjoyed more, the unwinding of the ball or watching me crawling around under all the chair legs to rewind it. And the little snot had the audacity to snuggle up in the bed with me after doing his dastardly deed.

As much as I try not to do housework (or any other kind of work) on my Sabbath, some things are just necessary. I started the morning by dumping grits all over the kitched floor when the box slipped out of my hands while I was reaching for the measuring cup. Then the grits boiled out of their bowl in the microwave, so there was another mess to clean up. Since I was already in cleaning mode, I did a few things toward getting my bedroom back to the tidy space I like it to be. And there were dishes to wash and litterboxes to tend. I also moved some side tables around to move one that has closed storage into the den from the music room. It seems hiding balls of yarn in my knitting basket is no longer adequate protection from the Yarn Thief. The silk was pretty sturdy and took his abuse pretty well. I'd hate to think what he would have accomplished if it had been the merino wool he'd stolen.

In the early afternoon the mailman brought a delivery from Amazon.com which included two of the Elizabeth Zimmermann knitting books I ordered last week, and the 10th season DVD's of The Simpsons. I was waiting for the EZ books because one of the groups I belong to has been talking a lot lately about both pi shawls and her square baby blanket. I browsed through both books for a while, then got out some white Wool-Ease I'd been saving for something special and started a blanket. I had to learn how to do provisional casting on, which was another thing I've been hearing about but had never actually done.

Part of Sabbath for me is to cook meals that are special in some way, so for supper I cooked some fish I found in the freezer and put it with some Tater Tots and green beans. The fish was some seasoned tilapia, and was actually quite good. I felt good that I had put a balanced plate together. After supper I sat with the Simpsons and knitted on the blanket for a while. And I ended the day by starting the new Diane Mott Davidson novel I had bought for my trip to Canada then decided not to pack.

It was a good Sabbath. There were new treats to enjoy, and good food. Except for rewinding Bart's mess, I did nothing that was stressful or that could be in any way construed as work. It wasn't a particularly spiritual day, but it was still a good Sabbath.