Horseshoe Sock

I haven't done much knitting lately- partly because I've been working obsessively on the hooked chair cushion, partly because I sliced the bejabbers out of my thumb a week ago (in a particularly stupid way, which makes the injury even worse) and knitting was actually painful for awhile (not to mention all that blood), and partly because of SAFF prep. But I did find time to finish one Horseshoe Lace sock adaptation.

The lace was featured in the Summer '10 issue of Spin-Off, in a hat pattern, which I used to knit 4 hats. Evidently, that wasn't enough to make me tired of the 10 st repeat, since I plugged the lace into my generic sock pattern. This yarn was hand-dyed, and I bought it in a yarn store in Snohomish on one of my trips. It's a wool/bamboo blend, and totally lovely (though I still can't get the colors to scan/photo properly- it's more pastel purple and green, not brownish/greenish/gold).

The lace pattern originally came from one of the Barbara Walker treasuries (before it was plugged into the hat pattern), and the Spin-Off instructions weren't charted. So for my own convenience, I charted it. It took me awhile to warm up to lace and cable charts, but I wouldn't knit complex patterns without them now.
This chart is written for knitting in the round- if you're going to use it for back-and-forth knitting, On the odd rows: K the P sts, and P the K sts, and work from left to right.

I have the mate cast on, and I'll probably work on it steadily now that my thumb is healing and I'm nearly ready for SAFF (and I have no more Monk's cloth to use for another chair cushion).

Cushy Job

I finished hooking the seat cushion cover with handspun yarns last night.

The finished piece weighed 14.8 ozs, which means that there's about 3/4 lb of handspun yarn in this thing.

My grandma always said that the back of an embroidery should look as neat as the front. This doesn't quite qualify, but I think she might have been pleased anyway.

I had planned to sew the top to a backing and make a removable cover for the commercial chair cushion (which, itself, has a removable cover). But I realized that the commercial cover has one of those non-slip bottoms, which are really handy for use on metal folding chairs, which are a staple of fiber festivals and workshops. So I saved myself a step and trimmed the excess Monk's Cloth about 2" from the hooked design, folded the margin under, and then just hand stitched it to the piping around the ready-made cushion. I had to pull the hooking out of the sharp bottom corners because the cushion is more rounded, but otherwise, the new top fit just fine.

Ta Da!

It looks good, and better yet- it's comfy.

And what's more, I think I'll make another. I have plenty of odds and ends of handspun yarn on hand (and know where I can get more in the unlikely event that I run out). I need to order some more Monk's Cloth, and start thinking about the next design.

Too bad this won't fit in my carry-on. It would be perfect for SAFF.

p.s. The wonky window on the yellow house still bugs me.

No Susie, Thank you!

My friend Susie is an artist. I have several of her pieces prominently (and permanently) displayed in my home.

This glorious bird was made from a felted sweater, then embroidered and embellished in typical Susie fashion.

This woodburned and painted heart is officially a Christmas decoration, but it stays up in my kitchen, year round.

Unfortunately, Susie has had a particularly difficult year. But despite that, she took the time to make something absolutely and totally amazing for me, as a thank you for a very small favor.

Do you recognize the building? If not, take a peek at the blog header.

Amazing, no?

She even decorated the gift bag to match.

The rest of the hand painted, wood-burned bracelet is beautiful as well- all views of my back yard!

I am touched, and deeply honored to have (and wear) this beautiful piece of art. Thank you so much, Susie!

As I mentioned, Susie is an artist. She doesn't make things to order (as in, you can't ask her to paint a pink kitty bracelet, or a purple paisley heart), but she may be interested in an intrigueing commission, as long as the commissioner understands that the only reason that there is any blue in my bracelet is because she couldn't make the sky red (black, white and red are her signature colors). If you want to contact Susie personally with a request, or a notion, e-mail me and I'll give you her contact info.

Thursday Tab (on Friday)- Saalfield Jane Fonda

These were published before Barbarella, I presume.

Nothin' but blue skies

Well, and a few clouds, and a couple of birds. But mostly, all I have left on the cushion is the sky. I won't have enough of this light blue yarn to complete the entire sky, but I think I can make it up to the clouds (once I work around the yellow house, I'll divide the remainder of the yarn in half so the two sides sorta match, and then just hook as much as I can, until I run out). After that, I'll blend in a slightly darker shade of blue. It's going more quickly than I expected, though that's probably because this is a fairly heavy yarn (many of the greens were so thin that I had to double, or even triple, the strands to get good coverage).

Blog Commenter Maxine is right- it doesn't really matter whether the house windows are straight or not. After all, I'm going to be sitting on this most of the time anyway.
Oh- see how nice and sharp the willow fronds are, against the sky background? There's a reason for that.*
*They faded into the sky almost entirely, so I drew over them with a sharpie.

p.s. I forgot it was Thursday- I'll upload the paper doll tomorrow

We now enter Crazy Time

My big box of handouts, supplies, instructions and samples for SAFF is ready to mail. I'll get it on its way this morning, and it should be at the McGough Arena, waiting for me in 2 1/2 weeks! My final handout is written and printed, but I haven't knitted all of that class's samples due to a little Knife vs. Thumb confrontation (Knife won). But I can pack those pieces in my carry-on, so all is not lost. I'm flying out in less than 2 weeks (I'm doing touristy stuff before SAFF this year- Biltmore, here I come!)!

So, you might think that I could sit back and relax now that the SAFF prep is (mostly) done. Nope. I believe I have mentioned that I'm working on a YA Fantasy- the first fiction I've written in about a decade. So far, my work has been sporadic (and, well, lackadaisical, as my fiction writing often is), but my agent has read the first chapters and wants more. Quickly. And in an inexplicable fit of enthusiasm, I agreed to have the first draft done by Dec 1. So things are going to be a bit crazy around here- given that I am only about 1/4 done with the book. It's gonna be interesting.

However, I should be free in the evenings to work on my hooked chair cushion (and to knit, as soon as my thumb heals enough to be able to do it without wincing at every stitch). It's coming along:

I think the sky is going to be some major boring hookwork- all that blue. But it'll be pretty. I may need to take a restraining stitch or two to reshape the upper yellow house window- it isn't exactly square (straight lines never were my forte).

 The back is almost as pretty as the front.

Back to Work

The Reunion Weekend went very well indeed- at our age, it's worth celebrating the fact that so many are still here. The Hub had a good time, and I did as well (I've known many of these people for nearly 40 years, so it's Old Home Weekend for me too, even though I'm not an alum). The GrandGirls are heading back home tonight, after a lovely and very busy 5 day visit, which means it's time to buckle down.

SAFF is barreling down on me- I'm leaving in just over two weeks because I'm doing my touristy things  (2 days to explore Biltmore House, and Leaf Peep) before the festival this year. I'll be meeting Sister #2 (#3 and #4 couldn't make it), and we're going to spend six days together. I am very excited. I am also not ready - I have one more workshop to prep, and I need to get that done so I can send all of my supplies, handouts, and materials ahead (I'm not trusting this stuff to the airline- at least if the PO loses it, I can print again in time). That's today's job.

In the meantime, here's the progress on the hooked seat cushion.

I'm amazed at how heavy this is- There must be 8ozs of handspun yarn in it so far. It's going to be a very comfy, and sturdy cushion. Note that I removed the outermost edges of the tree trunk (wahoo for no knots). It looks much better this way.

And here's a bit of pretty.