Monday, May 11, 2015

Old and New, Shake and Twirl

Joanie and I went to the Acorn Antique Show in Ogden, Saturday, with her companion, Ana.


We had lunch at the Union train station, as usual, at the Union Grill. Joanie presented me with a boy sheep and a girl sheep for Mothers' Day. I took this selfie with my two new friends.

There's always a quilt or two, but this time there were loads of them. I can't remember when I've seen so many quilts at the fair. Here's a little antique quilt show for you:












While we were at the antique show, DH and an old college friend were going over photos and slides from field work they did in Mexico in the '60s, putting names to faces, dating the photos and scanning them. They finished on Saturday, and he left Sunday.
I knew on Monday that we would be having company staying in my fiber studio, so I cleaned the place up (again). Here's what it looked like before I cleaned this time.



And after—



We saw "The Music Man" at Pioneer Theater Wednesday night. Great show, one of my favorites, and this cast was outstanding.


Common Threads met at Ginny's on Thursday. Kay brought this afghan to work on.



Kay had just returned from a four-month cruise. She had lots of photos, a whole iPad full. We only got through February, so we will have to see the rest of her photos next time.

While we looked at the photos, I worked on DH's Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks. I got more done in the back seat of Joanie's car on the way to and from Ogden, while Ana drove.




Details of pattern and yarn are here.


This week also saw progress on the Kai-Mei socks. The first sock is done.



Kai-Mei details here. I had a hard time getting a good photo. The navy yarn is almost black, and so you need lots of light, but the flash turns it into a regular dark blue.

The other big event this week was the earthquake. This is the first earthquake you could feel from our home since we moved into it in 2003. It happened on Saturday, so I missed it because I was on my way to Ogden. It wasn't a big earthquake, but it was exciting, because they are pretty rare where we live. DH and our visitor both grew up in California, so they knew what it was.
For this week's cuteness, Miss Daphne got decked out for her dance recital dress rehearsal.


What's on my needles: The Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks for DH, second sock moving along. Ready to CO his "March of the Fibres" cardi when I get a chance. Also the Kai-Mei socks, first sock done.

What's on my Featherweight: Still the third block for the First Ladies Quilt. The next class is this week, so I'll be back at it.

What's on my wheel: Still Full Circle spinning fiber in "Pigeon."

What's on my loom: Still some warp for another scarf. Watch for some progress this week.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listened to While Drowning in the Desert by Don Winslow on the Overdrive app. It was hilarious, but with suspense. Just finished reading Marie Astor's To Catch a Bad Guy from iBooks. It was well worth the read.

What's in my wine glass: Twisted Old Vine Zinfandel, 2012. A favorite, but not because it has the same name as my favorite yarn shop in Portland.

What's my tip of the week: While knitting, I find I often need to work a row/round with some change to the pattern along the way, such as decreases or increases, followed by a row/round of working straight in pattern. When working back and forth, there may be a noticeable right (or public) side and a wrong (or nonpublic) side, with all of the pattern maneuvers done on the right side. If so, it's pretty easy to know when to work the decreases.
Sometimes, however, you can't tell which side is the side where you work the pattern, or you're always on the right side, as is the case when working in the round. Take sock toes. You might work a round with some decreases, then work a round straight knit. (You really should learn to read your work, of course, so you can tell which round you're on.)
However, if you're sitting in one spot, working away, you might try this little trick I use, which saves me from having to squint at my dark navy sock toe. I get my tape measure, stitch-marker box or some other item that has a right side and a wrong side. (Even the TV remote will do.) Lay it on the table or couch near you, right-side up, as you start the first decrease round. When you get to the end of that round, flip it over so it's upside-down. If your mind wanders (as mine often does) or you get interrupted, you can tell at a glance which row or round you're on. Right now I'm using my little sheep measuring tape. If I can see his face, I know I'm working the decrease round of my sock toe. If his butt is in the air, I'm working the round straight without decreases.



Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

No comments:

Post a Comment