"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"
Knitting Friday
OK, I totally missed Website Wednesday. You see, I had three nights out this week and Wednesday night included my hosting our annual New Year's Eve after-dinner dessert party. What?, you say, NYE in May! This started a year ago when the real December 31 festivities were postponed due to sickness. Then we started to think: Why do we have to celebrate NYE on NYE? That time of year can be very problematic in terms of weather. Plus, have you seen the jacked-up prices they charge for even an early dinner on NYE?
That's how a springtime celebration began and I think it's going to be our new NYE dinner out.
We're four couples so every four years you get your turn to host the dessert party (because restaurant desserts are always very pricey; not to mention the price of a cup of coffee.) I think this is the second time I pitched in when the scheduled party host had a problem so I think I've gotten to clean my place more than just once every four years - which isn't the bad thing. The bad thing is that my loft-type living means I have to clean the whole place.
Anyway, the good thing is that I was proven right: adults like a "make your own ice cream sundaes" bar. I got a lot of sophisticated turned up noses when I mentioned I was having one but it was the hit of the party. The cheesecake (The Cheesecake Factory makes an excellent frozen one), the chocolate-dipped cream puffs (excellent from Sam's Club; tiny, real cream, yummy - I added the chocolate) and the cookies were eaten; but the ice cream bar was devoured. Everyone made a sundae; even I.
So with the meetings, cleaning the house, the kids, I never got to Website Wednesday but I will give you a fun site to visit:
http://www.freegamesjungle.com/
I'm playing Skull Island. It's like an open space room escape game variation. I like the fact that "Help" brings you to "Walkthrough" although Skull Island is more convoluted than complicated.
Now, on to Knitting Friday. As you can imagine, I got very little knitting done this week. First, I had to clean and then I had to sleep. So my window for knitting was just before I fell asleep - a dangerous time for lace knitting. And that's what I seem to have been making this week. First, the Goddess Mystery Shawl on circs. That's coming along very nicely but you must be so careful. I'm not using a lifeline because I think that's a bear with circs. We'll see.
But my other lace project is worth a posting. Some time ago I spent $50 (the free shipping threshold) at Knitpicks on 26 skeins of different colored lace skeins. My objective was to take each 431 yard skeins and make shawls in all the colors. That project has been on the "drawing board" all this while because 1) 1 skein is not enough for a good sized shawl in crochet - even with an N hook and 2) a knitted shawl may work as an triangle,
http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/2007/08/296-triangle-shawl-patterns.html for great ideas
but I always seem to make mistakes with lace and small needles (except my Mystery Shawls); and I'm not wild about triangle shawls.
So, then I started a foulard, which is lace yarn on US 11:
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/knit_a_handy_scarf_with_case.php
and I'm tooling along in my garter stitch, liking the stretch, hating the garter stitch. Rip it. Rip it.
But this got me thinking: What about larger needles and a real lace pattern? I wasn't ready to start a complicated pattern so I'm working my old reliable:
Row 1 & 2: Stockinette stitch
Row 3 & 4: *YO, K2tog* - with the appropriate border stitches, of course.
I'm knitting diagonally for the stretch but you don't have to.
It's working well. I'm already past the increasing to width section and on the straight length section. Having only 1 skein and this being my first try, I probably stopped at too few stitches for the width (52) but this a learning curve.
Next week, I'll post the finished shawl; I hope.
Happy knitting.
That's how a springtime celebration began and I think it's going to be our new NYE dinner out.
We're four couples so every four years you get your turn to host the dessert party (because restaurant desserts are always very pricey; not to mention the price of a cup of coffee.) I think this is the second time I pitched in when the scheduled party host had a problem so I think I've gotten to clean my place more than just once every four years - which isn't the bad thing. The bad thing is that my loft-type living means I have to clean the whole place.
Anyway, the good thing is that I was proven right: adults like a "make your own ice cream sundaes" bar. I got a lot of sophisticated turned up noses when I mentioned I was having one but it was the hit of the party. The cheesecake (The Cheesecake Factory makes an excellent frozen one), the chocolate-dipped cream puffs (excellent from Sam's Club; tiny, real cream, yummy - I added the chocolate) and the cookies were eaten; but the ice cream bar was devoured. Everyone made a sundae; even I.
So with the meetings, cleaning the house, the kids, I never got to Website Wednesday but I will give you a fun site to visit:
http://www.freegamesjungle.com/
I'm playing Skull Island. It's like an open space room escape game variation. I like the fact that "Help" brings you to "Walkthrough" although Skull Island is more convoluted than complicated.
Now, on to Knitting Friday. As you can imagine, I got very little knitting done this week. First, I had to clean and then I had to sleep. So my window for knitting was just before I fell asleep - a dangerous time for lace knitting. And that's what I seem to have been making this week. First, the Goddess Mystery Shawl on circs. That's coming along very nicely but you must be so careful. I'm not using a lifeline because I think that's a bear with circs. We'll see.
But my other lace project is worth a posting. Some time ago I spent $50 (the free shipping threshold) at Knitpicks on 26 skeins of different colored lace skeins. My objective was to take each 431 yard skeins and make shawls in all the colors. That project has been on the "drawing board" all this while because 1) 1 skein is not enough for a good sized shawl in crochet - even with an N hook and 2) a knitted shawl may work as an triangle,
http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/2007/08/296-triangle-shawl-patterns.html for great ideas
but I always seem to make mistakes with lace and small needles (except my Mystery Shawls); and I'm not wild about triangle shawls.
So, then I started a foulard, which is lace yarn on US 11:
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/knit_a_handy_scarf_with_case.php
and I'm tooling along in my garter stitch, liking the stretch, hating the garter stitch. Rip it. Rip it.
But this got me thinking: What about larger needles and a real lace pattern? I wasn't ready to start a complicated pattern so I'm working my old reliable:
Row 1 & 2: Stockinette stitch
Row 3 & 4: *YO, K2tog* - with the appropriate border stitches, of course.
I'm knitting diagonally for the stretch but you don't have to.
It's working well. I'm already past the increasing to width section and on the straight length section. Having only 1 skein and this being my first try, I probably stopped at too few stitches for the width (52) but this a learning curve.
Next week, I'll post the finished shawl; I hope.
Happy knitting.
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