Kony 2012

What we can do!
Here is a link I hope you will read, and watch.
There is a problem in Africa that has been around for more than 20 years... and it threatens children there.  It's a man, and his self-made army. The problem is this man, Joseph Kony.  Now that you know his name, you should know what he's capable of.  And should be punished.
The video is well presented and enlightening. It could be much uglier than it is.  Will you help?  I'm publishing this to make you aware of him, and will write to my representatives in Congress.
A Commentary:  Here  and NPR.
But more importantly, watch this video.  Yes, it takes 30 minutes, but we can afford to wait that long to understand a small bit of this movement.
Can this be the same world as the video?

New Stuff!

Yep!  Can't stay with the old for too long... and with a class starting next week, I whipped up this Q-UTE mini bag.
Before felting:

Dimensions:  11-1/2" x 11-1/2"

After felting:

Dimensions:  7" tall, 7-1/2" (base), 9-1/2" across the top

Easy!  This one is already spoken for...

Colors:  No, I didn't use two shades of blue.  They are the same, only next to the red and green they look different.

Curious...

Pattern:  Grab-&-Go Bag by Eileen Adler from Creative Knitting, November 2008

Yarn: Classic Wool by Patons, 100% Wool, Worsted / 10 ply, 210 yards / 100 grams (red and green) Greenwich by Valley Yarns, 100% Wool, Worsted / 10 ply

109 yards / 50 grams (blue)

Tea time

Needed: Rainforest Magic
Sometimes memories are hidden in cupboards.  The other day I was putting mugs on a shelf and this packet of tea appeared!  I'd say it jumped out at me... nicely sealed in a baggie, since I stopped drinking tea for a decade.
It looked heavenly, with bits of orange and lemon, from North Queensland, where I spent a few weeks lolling on the shore in July, 1998.
The tea seems fine, although I'm not a connoisseur.  Anyone want to join me?

Orchid

Life is good!  I can't help smile when this greets me... three full stems of blossoms.  And I didn't buy it like this.  It had its rest, and now it's popping!

Old Stuff

Back to... Dahlia!
Today, finished the body... I'll be able to open the sleeve openings and discover what I've done.  Will it fit?  Will I have it for next Fall, or by April?

Focus, Woman!
And the answer is...
I don't know.  I tried it on, and it's so.... odd.  I thought, "I've been working on this since August, and it's such yummy yarn, and I SO want this sweater."  I was determined to have it done by the end of January, but I had to go to plan B.  I finished something else... and packed another sweater.
It's really "old stuff" since it's been around for 6 months, and when I put it on I was deeply disappointed.  It doesn't look right. A funny shape... a wide rectangle, with holes for sleeve openings. The fronts are rolling up, the collar is strange, the shoulders are in the wrong place, and I don't know... Hopefully, "when it's blocked...."

Optimism Every Two Weeks

Last Thursday, we met.  Every two weeks we meet.  Sometimes it's three, and sometimes only one week... to feed our knitting urges for support, lively conversation, and a row or two.
Usually, I get my camera out and go around the room while everyone proudly displays their progress.  I don't know what happened last Thursday, maybe the jet lag, let's say that's it... I sat chatting wildly about the past month, and then moments of near coma would overtake me.
Next to me was something that was truly unique.  Even though the hostess put a sign on the door "NO crocheters allowed", Lee managed to slip by.  Oh, wait!  The sign was posted AFTER Lee arrived!  LOL
So that's how it happened:  Lee, who proudly knits with and without antique sock machine, was creating a HAT, out of PAPER, and CROCHETING!  What a rebel...
Gorgeous.  In MY color, too... ahem...

Yes, using raffia.  A sinister grin, too... Rebel!
And then, instead of continuing around the room to admire

1. The unfinished baby sweater turned hat,
2. Someone who appeared to NOT knit a stitch,
3. Perpetual two-at-a-time socks, which are definitely different from 2 weeks ago, and will be other socks in two weeks,
4. A huge, almost finished shawl/wrap, too complicated to be knitted in public, and
5. A scarf with holes (for ribbon, silly), that I know I saw in January or before,

I put the camera away.  Jet lag, I tell you.  That's why I can't sleep past 4 AM.

Then, almost everyone was gone, and Bee pulls out her never-ending scarf project, photographed numerous times before... from last September, we've seen it at every 2 week interval... and her please help me eyes.

It's finished!!  Isn't it, Bee?  At the time of this picture, 2 days ago, all but the finishing little triangle was finished... and a little bit of Plan A yarn attached.  I'm waiting eagerly to hear if a Plan B was needed. LOL

It's a beauty!

Fixed and Finished

Two weeks ago I wrote about fixing something that you've knitted.  At the time, I was consumed with my errors, and I didn't have a way to include pictures.  Today, I have the means to post photos, AND it's finished!  And not JUST finished, but last week finished.

I told you, she likes that pose!
Here's the stripe problem, front and back. These go with the blog about fixing (see February 13, 2012)

Quite an original pattern, with the false sleeves.  I started with orange cuffs, but they were sub-standard so I cut them off and knitted purple (larger) cuffs as an afterthought.

 This became my Egypt-sitting-on-the-beach project since I was determined that at least ONE of my projects would be purchased, knitted, completed and delivered without crossing the Atlantic several times!

The pattern:
From DaleGarn mini 2-8 år (years) nr 184

The pattern is "Sweater" 18407 designed by Kari Haugen.

The yarn: Falk by Dale of Norway/Dalegarn, Sport / 5 ply, 100% Wool, 116 yards / 50 grams

It was a joy to knit, and went so fast!  I've been knitting on 1's and 2's... Bigger needles!  Yay!