I just finished another project yesterday morning. This means that, at the moment, I have one active project OTN, and one non-active project sitting around waiting. Besides that, unless I am forgetting something, there are two projects that are so old that I will probably never get to them, and I should just rip them and either repurpose the yarn or sell it or give it away (edited to add: I did forget one more that I will finish someday; Ravelry certainly keeps one honest). One project I'm pretty sure is something that I wouldn't wear anymore, even if I were to finish it. The other is a pair of socks that I would like, in yarn that I would like -- it was the size 0 needles that have made this project less than enjoyable, but it might be time to pick it back up and see what I can do. On the other hand, that skein of STR from the latest installment of the sock club is calling...

Meanwhile, I blocked the project that I finished and let it dry. That took ages and ages, given that it is currently extremely damp and somewhat chilly around here. It's been misting enough to leave the ground wet, in fact; not a lot of water (and not as much as we need), but enough ambient humidity to make drying fabric a slow process.

And, of course, the gray weather doesn't do photography any favors, but I've done my best for you. This is the seasilk scarf/stole (Rav link) that I've been knitting for myself. The yarn is Hand Maiden SeaSilk from The Loopy Ewe, in the Sangria colorway, which I truly adore, even after all of this knitting. I really wanted to use up the entire skein, but I got paranoid at the end, and I started the finishing rows just a bit too soon; I probably could have squeezed one more inch out of it (another repeat or so), but I didn't. If this length bothers me, I'll unpick the end and do it again, but for the moment I'm happy. I was trying to find a length/width balance that would make it wide enough to cover my shoulders if I'm feeling cold, but long enough to wear in a more scarf-like manner if it's my neck I want covered. I think I hit it fairly well. I'm happy with the textures in this scarf; I wanted something that felt dimensional, and that broke up the striping, at least a little. What I ended up with were vague runs of color, rather than pooling or striping, and the color runs are diagonal. The seed stitch edges and the trinity stitch main body go nicely together, and make the light shine off the stitches. And I'm so happy that I figured out the faggoting thing (thank you, Anne!), since those little spaces always charm me to pieces. The ends turned out fairly well, too. I think I'll get a lot of use out of this; it's bright and cheerful, and it's a warm fabric, without being too warm or weighty. Looking at the pictures I got of this, I realize that there are no good modelling shots; they were all taken indoors either in a mirror, or by Rick, who is in the middle of a good bit in his book, and therefore not as inspired as he might otherwise be. I understand how that goes. But here's a quick PhotoBooth shot to give you a sense of the width. Other than getting this done, we've had our usual busy weekend. Older Daughter played a fabulous soccer game yesterday. They were up against a team who was undefeated this season, and I think that, for her team, that word was like a red flag to a bull. They just went out there and played harder and better than I've seen them play all season. They won the game 1-0, and we parents enjoyed the heck out of every single minute of it. They played their hearts out, and both teams worked beautifully together, using all of the strategies and tactics they've been taught by their coaches (which they so often forget to do in the heat of a game); we kept looking at each other and marvelling, "it's like real soccer!" What a treat. And then we got to go have dinner with some dear friends (no cooking after soccer, wow!), and go for a walk and hang out and laugh and talk. Life doesn't get a lot better than that.

This morning was all about completing the big errand of getting hiking shoes for Older Daughter, and making sure that Younger Daughter has a pair that fit, and getting waterproof hiking pants for our trip. We leave in less than a month, and hiking shoes need time to get broken in. Now I'm just hoping that mine are still waterproof. In fact, the plan for the rest of the afternoon is to head out to the trails for a nice hike; I'll try to find a few puddles to stomp in, shall I?
Posted by Knitting Linguist at 2:35 PM Labels: knitting, life EGunn said...

Puddlestomping! Certain to bring out your inner child. And very good for breaking in new shoes. I always feel that new sneakers are alarmingly white...

Love the scarf. The colors look great, and I like how they work with the stitch pattern. Yay for FO's!

May 31, 2009 at 3:27 PM twinsetellen said...

Ah, this sounds like a swell weekend. The scarf is really delightful and looks just the perfect width. And how wonderful to watch your daughter's soccer team develop into "real" soccer players and to actually recognize what you were witnessing - not many of those moments when you are parenting. You usually notice a couple of months later and wonder when the change happened.

Now I must ask, does having only one or two truly active projects OTN make you a little nervous? It does me.

May 31, 2009 at 5:45 PM Darcys Knotty Knitter said...

I love the scarf I have some of that yarn a couple skeins but not that colorway.I love the colorway so summer so happy.Congratulations on the bag from hip mountain mama:) I bet it will look great with the scarf;)(((((Hugs))))Darcy

May 31, 2009 at 6:30 PM knitspot anne said...

oooh, the scarf turned out so pretty!

May 31, 2009 at 9:16 PM Miss 376 said...

What a beautiful colour, the pattern suits it perfectly

May 31, 2009 at 10:53 PM ruthee... said...

Rock on (re: soccer)! It is awesome to see your kid really put forth an effort to make something happen. It is like getting a glimpse of who she will be.

June 1, 2009 at 3:34 AM KnitNana said...

the shawl/scarf is lovely!!! prettyprettypretty.
Hope the hiking shoes turned out to be waterproof, still.

(I know I'd have that STR calling me, too!)

June 1, 2009 at 10:17 AM Carrie K said...

I hope you find lots of puddles.

Your sea silk scarf is gorgeous, I love the edging. And how cute is that baby cardigan? At least it was finished for a baby!

And ah, is that why your email came back. I had a splitting headache last week so I didn't even try to resend it.

June 1, 2009 at 12:27 PM Wanderingcatstudio said...

I've wanted to try the Seasilk for a while... and that colourway is beautiful....

June 1, 2009 at 5:39 PM Alwen said...

The scarf is gorgeous, so warm and lacey! Love the colors.

SPeaking of waterproofing, I've been trying to find a good raincoat - when did that become so hard?

June 2, 2009 at 9:28 AM Rachel said...

How were the puddles and the shoes? :)

I love your scarf, very pretty and functional too, very nice job.

June 2, 2009 at 1:41 PM Gwen said...

Do you have puddles? There's always the bathtub.

Scarf is lovely and cheerful!

No cooking after soccer sounds perfect. The better to enjoy an awesome game!

June 2, 2009 at 1:57 PM Bea said...

Oh this is just gorgeous! I love it worn over your shoulders/upper arms and tied in front. Cute!

June 2, 2009 at 5:02 PM Rachael said...

Just gorgeous!

June 3, 2009 at 6:13 AM Lynne said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous scarf! Lovely colourway!

The sweater isn't finished! It's been too wet here to block it so I'm going to have to sew it without blocking! It's mum's birthday tomorrow so I have no choice!
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