Tomato Optimism

This morning I had a craving:  Tomato plants.  I didn't crave the taste, just the plant.  I should have tomato plants growing within reach.  What's wrong with me?  It's July 30 and any tomato grower knows that by mid-May they should be out braving the elements. But alas, mid-May I was packing my suitcase.  It's only now, thirty days at home, and the prospect of 2 more months of summer that it occurred to me that there might be a homeless, orphaned tomato plant, so I went shopping.  Here they are: Annie 1 and Annie 2.  Annie 1 even has a tomato that could be picked for supper!  BONUS!!

This patch of dirt was recently rid of a huge overgrown pyracantha with numerous cottonwoods seeded into it.  Or maybe they arrived by traveling root--I don't know, but they were 8-10 feet high (3 meters, eh?).  Perfect mostly sunny spot, inside a protective patio wall - what's not to like?  GROW!!
btw: It's a jungle out there:  I was surrounded by wasps at the front of the house, and bitten by mosquitos at the back of the house.  What's to do in 88ºF/31ºC temps?  Sit inside, knit some little projects, and listen (keeping one eye on) to "Days"... (poor Elvis)

Knit Out!

I 'heart' loading up a basket of yarn and in progress pieces, and getting in the car to GO KNIT.  (I'm a geek in many ways...)
Last night there were four of us lazily knitting in the cool comfort of Bee's geothermal induction cooled home.
All of us haven't progressed very far from a month ago, except Kee who threw up her hands in disgust as she mis-counted for the fourteenth time.  She then picked up her ICE (in case of emergency) knitting and settled into the rhythm of a garter stitch scarf.
Dee and I haven't seen each other since May because of travel on both our parts, and I was surprised that she was wearing a wrist/hand support on her right hand.  "Must make knitting a bit difficult," I say, and she replies, "A bit, but I'm NOT going to stop knitting!"  We all agreed, and then she picked up her project:  A baby blanket in the round, and proceeded to grunt, moan and tear at THEE most difficult row:  The row AFTER cabling 21 stitches over 21 stitches.
I never thought about it... but I have now!  The pull of the many stitches so far away from each other, being forced into a new order is, well, like this:

Go ahead and click on the above picture, and you'll see that the stitches are crammed together and so tight on the needle as to make moving them along almost impossible.  Dee worked on it for awhile, and I thought, "That's not doing her wrist/hand any good, and I love a good challenge..." so I said, "Would you like me to work on it for awhile?"  To my surprise, she handed it over.  I thought I'd hear something about knit gauge and no two knitters...(blah, blah, blah)  No such thing.  And, wow, was that something! I was pushing and pulling so hard I thought something was either going to break or suddenly let loose and all come off the needle, leading to the end of our friendship and possibly "knit nite" altogether.  An hour later I had managed to knit the 4 repeats to the end of the row, and lose only one marker in the process.  Good luck with THAT!  No one else, including me, thinks they'll be knitting THAT one anytime soon!!
Meanwhile, I look over and see an example of pooch-knitting! Makes me smile...

Udder Realization

It came to me.  Not in a dream, but by holding little mysterious pieces of knitting, and wondering whether I should just throw them in the trash or...  I noticed an almost perfect vertical row of knit stitches down the middle.  There were 2 purls mixed in, as if by mistake, which they were.  (My mistake or the pattern's? It was very confusing.)

Said vertical row led me to think that maybe it was meant to be folded along that line, and when I did, it magically turned into the coveted teat that can be seen drooping in all the cow pictures.

It magically invigorated me, and I quickly knitted up 3 more, plus an "udder patch" (which would be the udder itself) and since I was on a roll, I continued with one ear.  Maybe the second ear will be tonight.

With 9 pieces done, and 11 to go, I think I'll take a break, and work on something else. How can there be so many pieces to a cow?  Legs (4), hooves (4), ear (1), horn (1), and tail (1).  Not that much...  Sure looks kinda cute already!   And she needs a new name.  Sonia isn't going to cut it since that is also the nickname of Juju's babysitter.
CONTEST!  Name the cow!

How to Assemble a Cow

Somebody, HELP!!
Some of you already guessed that from the previous blog about starting 5 projects, I would pick a favorite.  And I have.  Not REALLY a fave but one that seems more interesting at the moment, and it is:  THE COW.  I thought to myself:  Little pieces, no rush.  I'll knit a few and then a few more.... by November, it will be done.
I sat down, turned on some news, music and tv, and started to knit.  It went much faster than I thought, and I love the colors of the spots.  The red turned into a nice dark version of Ayrshire red.

 Those big pieces are the body.  Nowhere does it show what gets sewn to what, so I'm guessing here that the cow has a skinny neck.  And the head and muzzle turned out very cute.  But again, the instructions aren't very clear about the sewing, and attaching to the body.  I'm stalling.

  The little round (flat looking) patch is... an udder.  Someone doesn't know about cow anatomy, and I'm beginning to doubt myself (even though I grew up on a dairy farm and am more familiar with cow udders than most).  I believe it's supposed to be one of four teats. And a cow has only one udder. It sure doesn't look like it, nor resemble any of the pictures. Oh well. 

Maybe I'll get some help on this.  I looked for corrections, but didn't find any. So, this is a warning that if you're thinking of making this, be prepared to be on your own!  It is marked for "the more experienced knitter" as it should! 
A finished picture from the book:

 I'm hoping mine will look as sweet as this one!

Let's Start Something!

Yep, it's that time of year/month/day... I finished two projects recently and now I feel entitled to start more than 2 things.
Here's what's on needles (that I'm actively knitting on):

• Socks (of course):  Lacey Socks from Vogue (first one)
• Powell Pullover in Pink for my little one.

Quite plain with cable down the front.

• Tiered Cardigan in Sublime yarn (a great feel after all of my cotton projects)

White sleeve and bottom tier in blue.  (See my Ravelry page for pattern)

• Sonia the Cow (yarn bought a year ago)

One side of body started.  Orange muzzle, red spots and ears, orange variegated for udder, and white for horns.

• Cupcake Mittens (re-started-I almost forgot about these)

There are other projects languishing... someday...lol

Thanks, readers/friends, for letting me acknowledge my lack of dedicated knitting!

Done!

The final buttons are sewn... that ALWAYS takes an extra day, plus the blocking, and drying.  Lucky for me I have a dry climate!
Today's humidity was high, slowing the process but this evening I got to pose!

I adapted the button flap from the original.

Overall, it fits, and it feels yummy!

Pattern: Sunshine Cardigan by Mary Beth Temple from Creative Knitting, September 2009  Yarn:  Ultra Pima by Cascade Yarns DK / 8 ply 100% Cotton, 220 yards, used 3 skeins.

Does it bother anyone else?  This pattern is called "Sunshine Cardigan" due to the yellow yarn used in the pattern.  Those never seem to describe MY cardigan since I rarely use the same colorway as the pattern.  Just seems strange that so many patterns are named for the color and the pattern itself.

Remember back then?

I had a contest... back in March.  Details HERE.
And here's the short story version... Three contests in one, I invited everyone to guess how much knitting on the three projects I would get done while my daughter and granddaughter were visiting.  The results?  I finished the hat, the mittens and the scarf were partially/far from finished.
Today, I finished the scarf and ripped out the mittens.  (One of those mixed days...)
The scarf is super.

Pattern:  Hönkä by Eeva Saviranta from Ulla 1/07; Yarn:  Wool 8/2 Effektgarn by Kauni, Sport / 5 ply, 100% Wool, 656 yards

I can't get enough of those colors!

So off to Norway it goes.
The mittens... I knitted a bit on them last night, did a row of cupcakes and when I had to look for more bits of yarn, stolen from other projects I realized that the pile of yarn I "inherited" from Norway would be perfect for them.  I also have been having pangs of guilt about using yarn I specifically bought for a cardigan.
Today I felt justified frogging the whole thing, and will start with a thinner weight of yarn which will be pleasing to the touch and eye.

Cupcake Mittens by SpillyJane from SpillyJane Knits

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