Catching Up

With Mercury in Retrograde my life has been crazy. But here is a little update.

WARNING PARTIAL NUDITY......



…I tried to blur it as much as possible. This is a bikini top I made and I loved every minute of it. You can find the pattern on Knitty Gritty . I love the Cascade fixation and I love the way this looks. A very fun knit which could be easily accomplished in a day.







My little boy has been away and I miss him so much! My car is in the shop for a very expensive overhaul...both oil and steering fluid are leaking. DH just had an operation on his knee. He fared much better than my car (thank the Goddess!) The cats just take it all in stride. They have been sleeping more than usual. Here is a rare shot of them together.

Here is a moth that graced our window. She was so lovely. Nature is just amazing.

I love the way this ponchette came out. I used a wool/hemp blend that was wonderful to work with and I really like the way it worked up. This is my 2nd ponchette and I think the lattice of the lace is really pretty…I had to make a second one!

I have to be brutally honest, I hate to seam. I avoid it at all costs and redesign projects so I don’t have to pick up a needle. So since there is so much seaming at the end of this I kept the stitches on the needle and picked up a stitch at a time from the other side of the seam and did a three-needle bind off. I can’t tell you the joy that I experienced as a lovely little seam was created that was so beautiful I wept tears of joy at the simplicity of it.

So as much as I loved this simple pattern before…I adore it now! I look at my other one and want to rip it out and re-seam it with another 3-needle bind off…but I will resist. It was good enough for me once and I don’t want to be totally fickle about it.

I’ve been trying to find ways to stop having to weave in ends by spit joining or Russian joining. My philosophy is having a beginning and ending yarn end to weave in is more than enough. LOL

I spent the weekend at the frog pond and I could photograph a BIG ball of yarn that is really two hanks spit joined but it really would do nothing but depress me. I’ve swatched and ripped this project more than any other and it should be stuck on stupid easy but alas it is not.

Yarn - 6 : Ruinwen – 0

I have a few more things to try, one of which is a provisional cast-on in huge bulky yarn…it is like Manos on steroids. And my DH suggested going up to a 17…which will mean more swatching and pulling of the hair as totals need to be recalculated.

But I’m a stubborn Aries and I’m not down for the count yet. My niece will have a nice little dress if I have to spend every free moment conquering this yarn!

If you happen by the frog pond look me up I’ve got a little lean-to down on the East end…rip it, rip it….

Happy crafting,

Ruinwen
:)