Juliet Scarf (Knitting Little Luxuries)

juliet scarf 1_edited-1
Originally uploaded by bostonworkerbeeflickr

This is another gift. If you recall, I made an attempt with this pattern over the winter, but for some reason, I wasn't in the zone with it. The pattern seemed to make sense this time around!

Onwards!

Tonite I finished the beaded thingy that goes with Katie's lace stole. It is supposed to have elastic inside, but I couldn't quite figure it out. The elastic loop is so friggin' small, it is not quite as easy as the pattern would suggest.



I'm kind of loving this pattern book. I've already cast on for the lace hanger covers. The pattern is suprisingly easy (when you've had the benefit of private instruction from Mama Bee on how to knit, purl, knit into the same stitch!)



I think I'd better find some padded hangers before this thing gets any longer!

Feeling rather chuffed.

This Sunday I had a rather nice day. I was quite productive. Not only did I do a bunch of laundry, but I made a nice dinner for me and DH (flu-stricken as he is, poor thing), went to the Library, perused the local junk store hoping to find more interesting objet (found none, alas).... and, oh! I made my own blocking board.

How did you do that, you ask? Well, let me tell you!

How to make a Blocking Board, cheaply:

1. Go to Home Depot, enter Lumber Aisle
2. Ask the guy where the sheets of styrofoam are kept.
3. Purchase a 4' x 8' sheet of 1 1/2" thick styrofoam

[3a. Struggle against the wind, trying to get it to your car without it or you snapping in half
3b. Ignore macho construction guy who makes unhelpful and obvious comments as you try to get across parking lot ("Oooo... that's going to snap.")
3c. Try to fit said foam into car.
3d. Break said foam into 2 or 3 smaller ragged chunks.]



4. Measure and cut styrofoam using your art school tools and gadgets (i.e. 36" metal ruler, mat knife)



5. Cover one side of each blocking board with contact paper (from kitchen aisle at Target).
6. Staple the contact paper in securely in place.
7. Commence blocking! Spritz and spray away! There's contact paper on that sucker, so your board won't get soggy.


What you see here is a finished lace stole, that has been gently soaked in a lavender fiber wash, and pinned out to block and dry. Per pattern instructions, I'm also knitting a beaded loop with elastic inside to use as an optional clasp to hold the stole together when worn. I'm too lazy to take a picture of that right now. All in good time.



Here's a closer look at the zig zag pattern



What you see here is something striped, looking for some trouble.

Of things Green, and Spring

Happy Valentine's Day, to one and all. This morning I awoke at dawn to discover my winter blooming jasimine has finally done just that!

What a wonderful smell. The flower buds take a long time to develop and open. They become so long and white they look as though they might fall off, and then one day, they open! DH took a sniff, and said it smells like Florida.



My banana and blood orange trees continue to prosper....


As does "project green" a birthday gift for a fashion-forward friend:

Sci-Fi Monday

Give us the access codes to your tuna and kitty litter! Obey our commands!



Or we will unleash our terrible breath wrath..



HA! That is just Patches yawning. Her incessant napping prevents any cat uprising from being successful.

I have been "multi-tasking" (uh oh). Here's a little peek.

"Project Blue"


"Project Green"

Acts of contrition

Forgive me bloggy, it has been a month since my last confession.

So where have I been, what have I been doing? Why hath the blog sufferedeth? The burning questions of our time!

The past few months have been rather busy! Busy at work, busy job interviewing, busy with friends and family over holidays. Busy feeling psyched that we have a new Prez. The job interviewing has recently led to the successful procurement of a new position, which I am feeling excited about.

I'll be starting in a week or so. Turns out I really do have a little bit of the "city girl" in me, and I am looking forward to getting a lot of knitting done as I commute back and forth to the new job in town.

I'll miss a lot of things about my old job and my old commute: Grace, Marla, sleeping late, seeing Patches at lunchtime, having the time to cook real meals at dinner time for me and DH.

HAVE you been knitting at all, you might ask? Why yes I have! Over the holidays, I managed to finish this scarf as a gift for my co-worker Grace.





It is made with 3 skeins of Frog Tree 100% Alpaca (worsted weight, using a lace pattern from the Harmony Guide: Lace & Eyelets book).

Which brings me to my next thought (I'm freestylin' here)..

My Favorite Knitting Things So Far in 2009:
Romantic Style by Jennie Atkinson (xmas gift from DH)
French Girl Knits (new book published by Interweave Press, which I MUST have)
Kid Silk Haze (still a fave)
Frog Tree Alpaca
Alpaca, in general

I have been queuing up a storm on Ravelry. I'm kind of feeling like 2009 is my big comeback year. Look out world.

Sleigh bells ring

Are you listenin' ...? In the lane, snow is glistenin'!

I'm deliquent in my blogging duties, I know.

Had a lovely visit on Saturday with Reba and NPR Emily - wonderful to see you ladies! It is terrible that I don't have the pleasure of your company (and baked goods) every work day, as I used to! I tried to convince them to move to Salem, but thus far they have resisted. We'll see. Reba was pretty resistant to being called Reba, at first.

I've been diligently working on my Juliet Scarf which is (hopefully) going to be an xmas present for a co-worker.


Juliet Scarf



Juliet Rosette (to pin on scarf)

I was making great progress on it, however: it is a rather complicated lace pattern. So I had gotten this far on a previous attempt before I made a big mistake, tried to frog, and had a meltdown:




This morning I slept in, and when I looked out the window, it was snowing! Snowing hard! Hooray! Our first snow of the season.

I ate my breakfast, grabbed my camera, and took some photos of Salem in the snow.

Apple trees




Derby House



Big tree



Garden fence



The Friendship



Derby Street Witch



Derby Street Wreath



Festive Doorway



Blaney Street whirlygigs



Daniels House