Wow, it’s been ages since I last posted. I won’t bore you with the “life got in the way and here’s what I’ve been doing instead” stuff. I’ll just say that I work at my computer, and for the past few months I haven’t wanted to spend my free time in front of it too. But, there’s knitting to talk about, so let’s get crackin’!

First, last week I released my newest pattern: Claire’s Shawl. Here’s a pic:

I’m so happy with how it turned out. It started as the 2008 River Knits Mystery Shawl. It was so much fun watching everyone work through the pattern as the design slowly but surely emerged on their needles. I hope everyone was pleased with the end result.

I’m sitting here on the porch at my parents’ house, watching the kids swimming in the 3ft pool….and trying to decide if I want to work or knit. Maybe I’ll knit this afternoon and work all day tomorrow. I only brought one project to work on: a pair of socks using Panda Cotton in the College Prep colorway. This yarn is wonderful. It’s cool to the touch and just glides along, regardless of how hot it is. I think I’ve just convinded myself to knit….

And what a birthday it was!  It started with breakfast at my parents’ house. Biscuits and gravy. Pancakes. Fried potatoes. Mmmmmmmm. Then back home to sit and knit for a while. This afternoon, we returned to Mom and Dad’s to drop of the kids so Tim and I could go to the movies (Harry Potter) and then to Nine Irish Brothers for dinner. If you are ever in West Lafayette and craving Shepherd’s Pie, this is the place to go! But be sure to just get a half order so you have plenty of room for the Creme Brulee Bread Pudding for dessert. Super tasty!

But, let’s back up a minute and talk about the knitting I did today.

Traditionally, there are two days of the year when I always cast on a new project: January 1 and August 5.  The first is New Year’s Day and the second is my birthday. Both carry the same philosophy: New year, new project.  And these can’t just be any project. They must be something a bit challenging. This year, one January 1, I cast on the Faux Russian Stole.  I only have 1 1/2 repeats left before it’s finished. If I finish it in 2007, it will be the first time I’ve finished a New Year’s project the same year that I cast it on. It’s totally doable. I can see myself wearing it at Christmastime.

Which brings us to my birthday project. Last year, I will admit that I didn’t cast on a new project on my birthday. Instead, I ripped out an entire sweater because I hated the way it looked on me. And I wasn’t about to waste 17 balls of Noro Kureyon on an ill-fitting sweater. But this year will be different.

I have 5 skeins of Malabrigo Lace Baby Merino and a plan. Of course, I can’t share my plan with you because it’s the River Knits 2008 Mystery Shawl*. So you won’t get to see finished pictures until June 2008. But, I’m hoping to have the shawl finished by October or November. I also believe it will only take 3 or 4 skeins of this yarn, so a mobius scarf may be in line for the leftovers. (By the way, the color is Tuareg, and I love it. After spending a good portion of the afternoon with this yarn, I can honestly say I’m in love.)

I was also gifted with a lace blocking kit from Tim and the kids and two skeins of Malabrigo and a book from Elizabeth and Michelle:

I thought the combination was a little ironic. No Sheep for You and two skeins of wool yarn. But I like irony. This yarn (and the lacweight version above) is heavenly soft. I haven’t decided yet what these two wonderful skeins will become….maybe mittens and a neckwarmer. Or a shrug. Or a little shoulder shawl. It will speek to me and tell me what it wants to be in time.

All in all, definitely a good birthday. I’m thankful to be a year older. Now I’m going to go do some online browsing because I have some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket.

*More on the 2008 River Knits Mystery Shawl as we get closer to 2008. I can tell you this: I’m working on writing the pattern (and test-knitting it) in three yarn weights: lace, fingering, and sport. I’m excited about it and greatly enjoying the knitting.

Wow! I thought summer was supposed to be relaxing and easy going. Not a care in the world. Right. I’ve been working quite a bit this summer and, as a result, I don’t want to spend my free time in front of the computer. Thus, the huge gap since my last real blog entry. So, let’s play catch up!

Like everyone else in the civilized world, I spent last weekend reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

To some, this would mean a complete loss of knitting time. However, when you just have something in plain stockinette in the round like….oh, I don’t know…. a Wonderful Wallaby, you can make a surprising amount of progress while reading 759 pages!

I’ve worked on it a little since finishing the book, but the bulk of the knitting was completed while reading. If you choose to knit while you read, I have one word of caution. Pay attention to what color yarn you are picking up when you are ready to knit stripes. If you aren’t careful, you’ll end up with this:

Those aren’t two different dye lots of green. They are two completely different colors. Silly mistake, but at least it isn’t glaring. At least they are both green.

Other knitting I’ve been doing: The MS3:

I haven’t started Clue 4 yet because I’ve been busy reading. However, that’s on my agenda for this weekend.

Yesterday, I started this:

It’s the Stag Bag from the current issue of KnitScene. If you want to make one, but you’re a little intimidated by it, I’ll be teaching a class on it at River Knits this fall. Come join us. (BTW: I’m in love with this yarn! It’s the new Ultra Alpaca Light from Berroco. YUMMY!!!)

Finally, I’ll leave you with something….um……interesting. Last week, I went to the library to pick up a book that was on hold for me. While I was there, I decided to look at crochet books. I *always* look at the knitting books, so I thought this would be a nice change. Well, I found this:

Yes, that’s a man smoking a pipe and crocheting. Inside the book, there’s this picture of the same guy:

Isn’t that a riot?!  The best part is that this book is REALLY great!  There’s tons of good info and excellent illustrations. As well as the standard bizarre garments. (Warning: All of the instructions are British, so if you decide to check out this book sometime, be forewarned. The terminology is a little different than what we use in the States.)

So, that’s what I’ve been up to. Now, I better get back to work! 

This morning, while Tim was reading a book, Aaron was playing a game, and Victoria was at a friend’s house, I finished Clue 1 of Mystery Stole 3. This is what I had after 15 minutes of knitting Friday morning:

And this is what I have now:

Obviously, it isn’t blocked, so you can’t really  see how lovely it is. I would have to put it on a longer circular needle or slip all the stitches to scrap yarn to stretch it out to really show it off. But I’m sort of willing to wait until it’s completely finished to see what it will really look like stretched out. According to Melanie, the last clue will be posted on August 17….do you think I can wait that long?

You can’t really see the beads in this picture either…I decided on “gunmetal” instead of silver. I’m quite happy with the decision and am really enjoying adding the beads as I go (as opposed to stringing them all on first).

Just FYI, in case you are now thinking about joining MS3, Melanie is planning to close membership on Friday, July 6. So, if you want to join, you better click your mouse on over there right away so you don’t miss out!

I’ll admit it. I’ve been doing a LOT of crocheting lately. Like, almost exclusively crocheting. First, I nearly completed, then completely ripped out the Lacy Leaf Shrug. Then I completed and loved the Chanson en Crochet. Now, I’m working on (and have nearly completed) the Short ‘n’ Sweet from The Happy Hooker, and Victoria picked out several colors of Reynold’s Saucy Sport to become a granny-square inspired halter top.

What’s wrong with me???  Am I ill? Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I’m really having fun with this!  Except for the slight pain in my right hand after I’ve been crocheting for a few rows. Not so much when I’m using wool, but cotton can really hurt after a while. I picked up a Handeze Glove yesterday, but it didn’t really seem to help. I think because the pain is actually in my thumb and forefinger, not my hand. Oh well…maybe it will go away with more experience.

So what does it take to pull a die-hard knitter out of a crochet jag? How about Mystery Stole 3? That’s right! Melanie is doing it again. I had heard of the mystery stole in the past, but never participated until now. After looking at Melanie’s website, I couldn’t resist. Her shawls are gorgeous (and I really couldn’t resist purchasing the pattern for Scheherazade, last year’s Mystery Stole). But, knitting that will have to wait until after this year’s stole is complete. After reading the guidelines and suggestions, I decided on my yarn and knit a swatch:

The yarn is Jaggerspun Zephyr in, I think, Steel. The yarn was given to me, so I’m not entirely sure about the color. I used size 4 Clover Bamboo circular needles. I definitely want to add beads, but I need to make a trip to the bead store. I’m thinking silver. But something darker might be better. We’ll see.

Does this mean my crochet kick is over? Probably not. I will very likely finish the Short ‘n’ Sweet this evening. And Victoria has her heart set on the halter top. However, my excitement about MS3 is a good thing. It means I really do still like knitting.

Okay, maybe not completely different, because it still uses yarn. But it’s not knitting.

It’s crochet!  Want to know what it is, what yarn I’m using, and more? Visit Tales from the River, the River Knits Blog.

 I finished this last week and just thought you’d like to see it.

The yarn is leftover Papiro from my summer sweater. The bottom half is feather and fan just like the Ophelia Poncho. In fact, I followed the Ophelia chart exactly until I had a decent number of stitches, then I continued straight to desired length. (I promise good close-up pics as soon as Tim gets me a new camera…which will be one day this week.)

I realize we’re already well into 2007, but I’m officially proclaiming it The Year of Lace. I mentioned this as an idea in my last post, and I’ve held to it since then, but now I’m making it official. Every new project I’ve started this year has been some form of lace, and I’d like to continue that through the end of the year. So, with all of you as my witnesses, I commit that all of my new projects in 2007 will be lace projects. This means that they will all contain some element of lace. And, no, yarn-over button holes don’t count. Some may consider this a bit of a cop out because it leaves open the option of knitting on old projects that aren’t lace….but for those who know my track record of working on old projects, you know this isn’t a cop out at all.

I will grant myself two “get out of lace free” cards. The first is for socks for my son. He doesn’t need them right now because it’s getting warmer here in Indiana (near 80 yesterday, which is just crazy!). However, once fall comes, he will need a pair or two because his others are just too darn small. These will offer mindless knitting when I can’t wrap my brain around lace or when I need travel/waiting knitting. The second is for an afghan I’m going to start designing soon. There will be lace elements, so I suppose it sort of counts as lace. However, there will be plenty that isn’t lace in it.

All other new projects will have some element of lace. Here’s what I have on the needles now, along with a few finished items:

The Faux Russian Stole that I started on January 1. I love knitting this shawl! The combination of cashmere yarn and rosewood needles is the ultimate luxury. The lace pattern is just complicated enough to be interesting without driving me crazy. I love, love, love this shawl.

I also have a pair of secret lace socks on the needles. Sorry, no pics. They are a Sockday Club gift and must be kept a surprise until May. 

These are the socks I finished a few weeks ago. They were a Sockday Club gift for Sam. (Sockday Club: there are 8 of us who decided to knit each other socks. We assigned each person a “sockday,” starting with the oldest and working down to me, the youngest. Every three months, one person gets a pair of handknit socks from everyone else in the group. It’s a blast!) The pattern on the leg is Open Twisted Rib, a very subtle lace pattern. Each “cable” has an eyelet in the center.
There are also a number of lace projects on my growing to do list this year. I have some wonderful yarn in my stash that wants to become The Forest Path Stole from the Summer 2003 issue of Interweave Knits.  I knit the bottom border about 2 weeks ago, but have been distracted by other projects since. Anyway, I’m using Jaggerspun Heather in Sherwood Green on size 3 needles. Here’s the swatch: 

I also have two skeins of purple Jade Sapphire Cashmere that really wants to be a Celtic Knot Shawl. I’m not usually fond of knitting the same project twice, but this was a joy to knit, and I did it long enough ago that I think I can make an exception. Then there’s the Half Hexagon shawl from Victorian Lace Today. I don’t have the perfect yarn for it yet, but it will be mine.

I’m also eyeing some non-shawl lace projects. From the Spring issue of Interweave Knits, the Ribs and Lace Tank and Bonsai Tunic are calling my name. The adorable Sapphire Wrap Sweater from One Planet Yarn and Fiber is lovely. I know the pattern calls for cashmere, but I’m thinking it would be great in cotton (maybe Butterfly Super 10) for summer.  And have you seen the preview for the Spring/Summer issue of Vogue Knitting? How much do I love the Grace of Lace garments?! Maybe it will be in at River Knits today…..

Okay, so here’s to 2007, The Year of Lace!  Anyone care to join me?