More snow and a dropped stitch

It hasn't stopped snowing for long since it started on Saturday night. Our official measurement taken last night with a yardstick is 13". See how much more snow is on this table since Monday's post? Hubby and I cleared the driveway at 10:30 pm last night when we got a break in the lake effect snow. I had on wool socks, a down-filled coat, and 2 pair of wool mittens. The only thing that got cold were my toes. I HAVE to knit myself a pair of heavy wool boot socks.

This morning, our outside thermometers disagreed reading 1 degree and -3. However you look at it, it's cold! It is partly sunny today which is helping melt the roads a bit. They've been snow packed and icy since Sunday. Unfortunately, more snow is predicted tonight, tomorrow, and as far out as the weather forecasts go. We're paying for all that nice weather we had in December and early January.

I've made some progress on the Mystery Pi shawl. I don't know if I will get Clue #3 done before the next clue goes up on Friday. 288 stitches in lace pattern takes awhile to get around. That's 36 repeats of a 9 stitch lace pattern. You don't get to rest on odd rows and just knit. You still have to count because there is one K2tog in the odd rows. I freaked last night when I found a dropped stitch about 12 rows back. How I dropped a stitch when I have stitch markers between every pattern repeat, I don't understand! I usually find any mistake when I knit the next row and correct it.

The Traveling Vine pattern is not one I'd care to attempt ripping only a few stitches out and reknitting. Though I have successfully used this trick on less complicated lace patterns. It's either rip back 12 rows and 3,456 stitches, or see if I can fix it. I'm afraid if I tinked that many rows, this might become a UFO.

Once I calmed down, I compared the dropped stitch section versus the section next to it. They look the same except for a loose stitch. So I threaded up a needle with a little of my project yarn and stitched that baby invisibly into place. All there is to mark the spot is a knot on the back and two yarn ends hanging down. I'll leave them there for now. Once I block the shawl, I'll weave the ends in and cut off the excess.

Yesterday, I ordered an extra ball of yarn for this project. The one I'm working with is shrinking fast and I still have the largest part of the shawl to knit. I hope it comes before I need to start ball #2. If the dyelot is different, I'll have to alternate knitting a row or two from each ball so they will blend in. Cross your fingers!

Winter Wonderland

Woo-ee, was it cold this morning! Nine little degrees, though it may have gotten even colder than that. Until Saturday night, when it started snowing, we'd only had a couple of inches of snow for the entire winter. So NOT a typical winter for us in northern Indiana. Now it looks much more like winter here with 8+" on the ground and more coming down. See how much snow is on the table on the right? (And don't ask me why hubby didn't put it away last fall.) It's a lot lighter out than these pictures show. I'm guessing they came out so dark because of how hard it was snowing when I took them.

The Mystery Pi shawl is growing larger. I'm about halfway through clue #3. Now that we're up to 288 stitches per row, it takes awhile to knit one row. When the stitches double the next time, I'll have to hunt up a longer circular needle. I'm beginning to get nervous about running out of yarn.

I'm taking some time to do some design work on a hamster cat toy pattern. I've knit a least 3 versions so far and still haven't got the look I want. Pookie stole one of them to play with. At least he likes it! The weird thing is I had intended to work on a idea I had for a worm toy, not a hamster. Several years ago, I played around with a hamster pattern but never finished it. We'll see if I can make it work this time around.

Another Cat Toy Pattern --- Crocheted "Rollies"

Here's another of my cat toy patterns. These only take a minute to make. If you can do a chain stitch, double crochet and half double crochet stitches, you can make these simple ball toys.

CROCHETED CAT “ROLLIES”

Crochet hook size G or H
About 4 yards worsted weight yarn (scraps are good)
Large eye jumbo tapestry needle
Cotton balls

Pattern is now available through Ravelry.

Elfin Slippers

Solitaire likes the pair of Elfin Slippers I finished last night. This is the third pair I've made. The first two pairs went to my Mom for Christmas. She loves them because they keep her feet warm. This pair is earmarked for my SIL Mindy. If you like easy, mindless knitting, these garter stitch slippers are for you. The slipper looks like a letter "T" before you sew up the toe and heel seam. I used a smaller needle size than the pattern recommends and felt them slightly. I haven't felted this pair yet. One ball of Patons Merino Classic Wool (223 yards) will make a pair with a little left over. The color I used is Regency, a variegated red and pink colorway. I like knitting slippers in warm colors. It may all be psychological, but I think they keep your feet warmer than cold colors like blue. The Elfin Slippers pattern is by Amy O'Neill Houck. You can find it for sale here as a downloadable file.

Oh, what a pretty yarn!

My friends, Elizabeth S. and Liz M., came over yesterday to spin and knit with me for a couple of hours. The time flew by way too quickly. Elizabeth is working on a hap shawl and a felted bag. Liz brought her spinning wheel. She's working on spinning some Dorset wool into sock yarn. It's some of her hand dyed fiber. When she got tired of spinning, she switched to working on socks from her handspun in her signature Chocolate Princess colorway. While she was here, Liz delivered the roving she'd dyed for me. I was shocked, since I only took it to her last Thursday! She's speedy! The colors are all beautiful. I plyed the BFL and skeined and washed it in the evening. It dried overnight hung near our wood pellet stove. Isn't it pretty? Out of 4 ounces of combed top, there are 404 yards of lusciousness just begging to be knit. It's a spun a little thicker than the merino. It was such a joy to spin that I let it tell me what weight yarn it wanted to be.

Fighting kitties & one bobbin done

I finished spinning half of the BFL top last night. Here's what's left of the roving and a bobbin full of singles. Pooka decided he needed to be in the picture too. If Mom finds it interesting, so does he. See how he's grown and his fur is so shiny?

Boo and Pooka are getting along well and playing together. Unfortunately, Boo has taught him how to tackle a kitty and bite them in the belly. To Boo's horror, Pooka uses this move on him. That's what he was doing here (Boo on left, Pooka on right). Boo isn't very happy about it as you can see. Click on the picture for a closer look.

My friend, Elizabeth, is talking about starting a prayer shawl ministry group that will meet once a month. I will definitely join. We've found some simple shawl patterns to knit that aren't too boring or too complex. I want to help others get through their trying times and pay back some of the good wishes and prayers sent my way over the past 4-5 months. All that healing, positive, energy really does help. Since last September, it has been one family medical emergency after another. My 82-year-old FIL hurt his back and couldn't get around or take care of my MIL. My MIL was diagnosed with colon cancer and had surgery to remove a sizeable tumor in October. After several months of not feeling well, my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer in October. She had surgery to remove part of one lung in late November. My Uncle John died and I couldn't travel out-of-state for the funeral because I was needed here. My relatives understood though it upset me that I couldn't be there for them. My Aunt Maxine was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery to remove it a week ago. It has spread to her lymph nodes. She will have radiation treatments starting soon. And, if that wasn't enough, my MIL was taken to the emergency room on January 6 and almost died. She is home from the hospital but is not doing as well as we would like. Another real concern for me is that the rest of my family---my Mom, Dad, and both of my brothers---have all had cancer in the last 10 years. All four are doing well and the prognosis is good. But...you still worry about them and yourself too. Hubby and I wouldn't have made it without the support of friends and family. Knitting, spinning, and kitties have helped me keep my sanity too. :-)

I love Blue Faced Leicester!

I started spinning the BFL roving that I got from Liz last week. It's not roving, it's top! The fibers are all aligned which makes for an easy spin. It's like spinning butter! So much easier than the inch worm spinning I had to do with the turquoise merino. I'm stripping the BFL it into thin lengths to preserve the colorway. It's luscious in pinks, orange, and brown. I'm going to love the finished yarn!

I finished clue #2 on the Mystery Pi shawl. It's a long time until Friday when they post the next clue. I've placed a button in the sidebar (to the right) if you'd like more information about joining this group.