She Knits By The Seashore

Hurricane Sandy and Autumn Updates

Though we live in a shoreline town, we were thankfully not in the evacuation zone for Hurricane Sandy, and our basement stayed dry. We did lose half of a V-shaped tree at the end of our driveway.

 

It was uncomfortable living without power, heat, and water (we have a well) for a week, but compared to the destruction in other places, we consider ourselves very fortunate. NY and NJ are still suffering from the damage.

I'm working on a secret knitting project, so unfortunately I can't share any photos of that. Instead, I'll show you what I hope to work on once the secret project is done.

 

I bought this yarn and pattern pre-blog when we were on vacation in Cape Cod one summer. It's a simple ribbed turtleneck, and dark green is supposed to be one of the popular colors this fall and winter, along with burgundy.  The pattern (I want to make the dark green sweater on the lower right) calls for a separate front and back, but I don't see any reason why I can't knit it in the round up to the armholes.

The Knitty surprises are out, and I love the crescent shawl Beithe. I have some special hand-dyed yarn that I'm hoping will work with the pattern. I also want to find a cowl pattern that will work for the sportweight hand-dyed yarn in the photo below. I don't know if it will pool, so a textured pattern might be best. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

What are your weekend plans? Will you be getting ready for Thanksgiving? What knitting projects are you working on?

Baby Sophisticate Sweater & Gillette Castle

For my friend M's baby L, I knitted the Baby Sophisticate Sweater. He's a boy, so denim blue yarn and train buttons it is.

The pattern's gauge is a little wonky (the designer noted on Ravelry that knitters were reporting it runs small), so I knit the larger size. L will fit into it in a few months, right in time for winter.The pattern is otherwise easy, knit from the neckline down in one piece, with armhole stitches picked up for the sleeves, and the shawl collar knitted last.

I'm working on one last gift, and then I hope to start on a sweater for me!

Fall is not my favorite season, but I've got to admit the scenery is absolutely beautiful this year. Last weekend, Chris and I took a little road trip, and stopped at one of the tourist attractions in CT, Gillette Castle.

It was built early in the 20th century by William Gillette, one of the most popular actors in his day. He is most famous for playing Sherlock Holmes in the theater, but dabbled in many other areas as well.To celebrate his great success, he built a stone home on an estate on the Connecticut River he called Seventh Sister (referring to the surrounding hills). Today we know it as Gillette Castle.

Although we didn't take the tour this time, I have been on it before -- it's a rite of passage if you attended a nearby public school or belonged to a local scout troop. The castle is filled with Gillette's little inventions and quirks, such as mirrors positioned in such a way to spy on the servants or guests before entering a room, and locks that can only be unlocked if you know how to solve the puzzles that form them. He also had a railroad that ran along through the large property. It was dismantled but the engine is still visible in the visitor's center, and rumor has it that they may re-install part of the track on the property in future. 

The castle sits high on a bluff overlooking the river. Here is the view from the "backyard." And here's what it looks like from the ground below -- actually the ferry that we rode across to the other side of the river:

Visiting the castle as an adult made me appreciate it more, want to know more about the eccentric-- and, I suspect, lonely--Gillette. He married in 1882, and only six years later, his wife died from a ruptured appendix. He never remarried. We will probably never know why; upon his death in 1937 he requested that all his personal papers be burned. There is only one biography available for him, written recently by a local man, and the only research materials available seem to be second-hand stories and news articles.

I wonder if it's possible for today's celebrities to be as mysterious as Gillette, given all of our technology?

Several blog posts and articles I've come across lately recommend being a tourist in your own local area, and discovering or re-discovering what it has to offer. I hope to do more of this with Chris -- we had a great time that afternoon. What places have you visited lately?

If you are new to my blog, I want to recommend my Facebook page, Shoreline Writing Services, and my Twitter feed, ShorelineWrite. I'd love to see you there!! Feedback is very much appreciated. Have a good week!

Forever (and Ever) Tweed Sweater

 

 

Pattern: Forever Tweed by Wendy Bernard, Knitscene Spring 2009

Yarn: Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran in Thistle, 5 1/4 skeins

Needles: 9 & 10 circulars, 9 dpns for sleeves

Modifications: Added 2" to body because this is a cropped sweater, and I am long-waisted

This sweater took so much longer than it should have, because there is a mistake in the pattern not noted in the usual places. After finishing the collar, the directions say to increase every other row 15 times (for a total of 30 rows), and that section should measure 8” when completed (according to the schematic). However, the gauge indicates there should be approx. 45 rows, not 30 as the directions imply. I increased every third row instead of every other row, which for the Rowan yarn, worked out just fine.

I love this sweater! I became obsessed with the yarn color when I first saw it, and still adore the moody purple. The length works well, hitting at just above my hips. Most important of all, it's WARM. I may have to live in it until mid-May. :)

 

 

This is a hideous photo, but since I cannot seem to get a better one at the moment (oh Sun, where art thou?), we'll go with it. Chris took it for me after the last Bethel bike race, and the sweater is terribly wrinkled after being mashed inside my coat all afternoon. Please ignore the knotted "Bethel hair" and squinty face I get after a day in the brisk winds there. I'm only including it so you can get an idea of the sweater fit; it's a boxy 80s shape that somehow doesn't swallow me. The pattern calls for extra-long sleeves that come to about mid-palm; I like them, but you might want to roll the cuff back, or knit the sleeves shorter.

The best part about finishing this is that now I can work on spring/summer projects. I'm cranking out rows on my pink Vogue skirt, and have again picked up Paloma, abandoned out of frustration two summers ago. If you've ever heard of "Purl in the Row Below" (PRB)," or know how to do this stitch when the previous row is a K2Tog, YO row, I beg your assistance. Otherwise, I'm headed to the wonderful not-so-LYS for help night really soon.

Have a great weekend!

Purple Sweater Progress at Last

I'm sure you're tired of reading about it, but the "beginner" Forever Tweed sweater has been a real challenge. After ripping it back three or four times, trying various fixes that didn't work, and also going to the LYS where no one could help me, I gave up and took it to a help night at a large, not-so-local LYS.

This was the best thing I could have done, as I proved to myself, It's Not Me. The shop owner discovered that the math didn't work as written. I got nervous when she started talking square roots and geometry of triangles for raglan sweaters, and I couldn't follow that enough to rewrite it here for you, but the short answer is that if the gauge is 4"= 20 rows (5 rows an inch), and if you are to knit 8" down from the collar according to the schematic, that would be 40 rows. But the directions say, "Rep Inc rnd every other rnd 15 times..." which totals only 31 rows. Maybe you all would have figured that one out on your own, or made up your own directions, but a math person I am not. My gauge is a little different with the Rowan yarn, so I have approximately 45 rows, and I'm closer to 9", as she figured out with her geometry. No matter. Once I knit through the revised directions and tried on the sweater, it fit well enough that I could proceed to the separation of the armholes.

 

I dearly hope this is the worst of it, and this project will now begin to fly off the needles. Otherwise, I'll be taking the FO photos for this wool sweater in 80 degree weather, as I did last May. :)

It's been a really rough week around these parts, and to be honest, I am worn out. In addition to a promising job hope that fizzled out faster than a Fourth-of-July sparkler (after a whole lot of work), our beloved Rainy had a mild seizure last Sunday night.

 

I am OK and I just want to take a nap!

We took her to the emergency vet (Thank God for emergency hospitals for animals!!). Her blood work & blood pressure looked pretty good, so we took her home with us for the night and had her stay in our room to keep an eye on her. On Monday I took her to the regular vet for X-rays, more blood tests, and we should know something tomorrow (Friday). We may need to do an ultrasound or MRI.

The veterinarians don't know for sure what happened, but possibilities are a dormant virus, a blood clot, epilepsy, or a one time thing. I'm not even going to "lesion on the brain." I was fortunate that about a month ago, I was talking to a woman in a vet waiting room and she had told me about her cat's seizure -- because of that I knew what happened and what to do and felt at least a bit prepared. I don't leave Rainy alone for more than a couple hours at a time right now, and every little noise sends me running to make sure she's OK. If you all have any stories or advice or experience with this, I'd be so grateful if you could send me an email and let me know. My email is scarlett22770 at yahoo dot com.

I wish you a happy weekend, dry basements (lots of Rain predicted here; our girl is up to something!), and lots of stressfree knitting and reading.

 

When I furrow my eyebrows out the window, watch out! Storms are on the way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have hit a wall with my purple tweed sweater, Forever Tweed by Wendy Bernard (Knitscene, Spring 2009).

 

The schematic says that the collar is to be 7 1/2" long. It is. It also says that from where the collar attaches to the body of the sweater, to the underarms where you separate for the sleeves, the length is to be 8". Though my gauge is correct, the length from collar to underarm is actually smaller than the length of the collar itself.

I checked for errata on Knitscene & Ravelry, and re-measured three times (you increase every other row for a total of 30 rows to make the shoulders) and then gave up and took it to the LYS. The usually helpful saleswoman was also stumped, photocopied the pattern with my notes, and offered to call if they could figure it out. No calls yet. What to do? If I keep going with the increasing, the arms will be too big. If I don't, I'll lose the nice diagonal of the raglan design. Does anyone have any ideas?? Maybe I am missing something.

 

Last weekend we went on another used bookstore trip, this time to Brattleboro, Vermont. It's only about 2 1/2 hours by car from our home, and our friends Dorothy and Hobgoblin joined us. I always feel better book shopping with them, because Hobgoblin finds more books than I do! I made up for our last bookless trip by coming home with six mysteries, one new and five used. I might just make it through winter now!!

In the finishing department, I enjoyed Lorna Barrett's Murder is Binding, the first book in the Booktown Mystery series. Trisha, newly divorced and beginning the next phase of her life as a mystery bookseller in Stoneham, New Hampshire, is horrified to discover her store neighbor, Doris Gleason, murdered one night in The Cookery. Doris was not well-liked by any of the other shopkeepers or villagers, but for some reason, the sheriff seems intent on charging Trisha with murder. Further complicating matters is Trisha's sister, Angelica, who has decided to relocate to Stoneham. Trisha and Angelica have never gotten along, and to Trisha, the thought of her sister living in the same town is unbearable.

Despite their differences, the sisters team up to solve Doris' murder, and the solution was believable and satisfying. The strength of this series, however, is its characters. Some mystery series have stock characters who are not well-developed or even interesting as people, and are there to move the plot along. In this case, the elderly Mr. Everett and Ginny, who work in the bookshop, are people I want to know more. Angelica is a person clearly trying to overcome her past, though she still occasionally offends Trisha with her old habits. I've started book #2, Bookmarked for Death, and I'll see how their lives unfold.

Most of you know that I volunteer at our local no-kill shelter, giving out medications to the cats, providing transport to the vet, and helping with the seasonal newsletter. Occasionally, I do a bit of rescue too. If someone calls the shelter about a stray cat in their neighborhood, I might be asked to pick it up and take it to the shelter.

Last Sunday night, a stray cat came to us. We had friends over, and one of our cats made that special growly noise they do when someone is on their property. Sure enough, when I looked out onto our back deck, I was greeted by a tiger cat with glowy light green eyes.

I borrowed a hav-a-heart trap from the shelter, tempted our stray with some tuna in the trap, and the next night, we discovered her waiting for us. Though covered with ticks, she didn't seem too worse for the wear of being on her own outside. Meet Ashley:

 

I took her to the vet today (Wednesday) for her exam and vaccinations, and she's ready for adoption into a new home. I'm so thrilled to know that her hard life outdoors is over, and thankful that from now on, she'll be warm inside with plenty of people to fuss over her at the shelter until she finds a new family.

This is the second cat this year that's come to our home needing rescue. I'm beginning to wonder if we have a sign on our door alerting them to our safe house??

And with that, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving -- warmth, good food, and plenty of people to fuss over, family and friends.

Forever Tweed and Reading Update

For the last two weeks, I've been knitting a new sweater, Forever Tweed by Wendy Bernard. The collar is finished and I have a few more rows before I divide for the sleeves.

 

This sweater, knit on size 9s, is flying off the needles! I'm not sure why so few knitters have made it (according to Ravelry); perhaps it is the 1980s boxy yet cropped shape? I'm long-waisted, so will probably need to add a couple of inches to the length when I get there.

I absolutely love the Thistle-colored Rowan Tweed yarn that I found on sale last fall for this project. It's a nice break from my Vogue pink skirt, which I'm still working on, that is knit on size 3s. In fingering weight sock yarn.

 

 

Last weekend, we visited an old mill-turned-used-book store (with a cafe, music/DVD shop, and art studio as well). Would you believe I didn't find a single title on my list? Book Mooch made up for this, though, because I have received two knitting books through them -- quite a coup as the waiting lists for knitting titles are long and it's really hard to snatch them.

 

Thankfully I have been reading a lot (though still not as fast as the acquiring part). I very much enjoyed The Ghost and Mrs. McClure, the first title in a present-day Rhode Island-based series. Mrs. M and her aunt have recently refurbished and upgraded their local independent book store, and their first visiting author dies during the intermission of his booktalk. While of course bringing lots of publicity and sales to the bookshop, the murder also brings police suspicion. Not to worry, though, when the ghost of a 1940s detective, Jack Shepard, reveals himself to Mrs. M. Though his spirit cannot leave the brick walls of the shop, he coaches Mrs. M in detecting, and helps her to find the killer. One of these days, in a future book, Mrs. McClure is going to help Jack identify his own killer -- I just know it. I'm looking forward to book 2!

The Poisoned Chocolates Case is a vintage 1929 mystery, republished by the very cool Felony & Mayhem publishers. The mystery centers around wealthy members of a crime club, who meet monthly to discuss historical and current crimes. As the story begins, a visiting Scotland Yard detective presents to members a current, unsolved murder, of a wealthy rogue whom everyone had reason to hate. Each member is given a week to investigate and gather their own details and then, one at a time, each presents his or her solution and murderer. I loved the concept of this mystery (almost like Agatha Christie's Thirteen at Dinner) but I found a few of the crime club members rather annoyingly pretentious. The eventual murderer seems rather obvious, but perhaps it wasn't when the book was originally published? If you like Golden Age mysteries, try this one and see what you think.

Anne Fadiman, author of personal essays, was a delight to read in At Large and At Small. If you are a fan of coffee or ice cream, you'll especially enjoy her confidences on those sweet addictions. The essays on Charles Lamb and Coleridge were a little dense, and I often have to run to the dictionary when I'm reading her work to look things up. But her honesty, quirky stories, and sense of humor make it totally worth it.

On a very different shelf, I finished The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron. I'm not one that usually reads psychology/self-help books, but after scoring highly on the author's quiz, I couldn't resist finding out more about HSPs. HSPs are usually but not always introverted, and the author stresses the differences between sensitive and shy. Sensitive is not, as you might think, describing people whose feelings are easily hurt. It is more about being sensitive to any sort of stimuli -- loud noises, strong scents, caffeine, activity. Think of your nervous system or senses being overloaded by your surroundings and that might give you a better idea of the types of things the author discusses. While I did find comfort in this book -- knowing that there are others who need time alone each day to collect their thoughts and recoup from social activity (even of the most fun kind) -- the author was on the borderline for me of enabling some people to make excuses rather than give explanations for asserting their needs. She refers to Carl Jung often (also an HSP), and some of the comparisons eluded me as I took very few psychology courses in college. One of the best things about this book is her explaining that our culture favors extroverted people, and in that light, tries to "fix" those of us who are introverted to meet that ideal, rather than celebrate our different strengths, like intuition and sensitivity to other people's feelings, awareness of great detail, etc. If you have ever felt pressured to change to be someone you are not (extroverted, not-so-sensitive), reading this book will explain why and how you can be comfortable being you.

I've started two new books, Gunpowder Plot in the Daisy Dalrymple series, and A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, which I have wanted to read for a very long time. What are you reading and knitting?

Mr. Greenjeans, in Purple

 

photo above by Lucky Magazine, 2009; photo below by Chris, 2010

 
 

Because we all want to wear a 3/4 length sleeve heavy wool sweater for summer!

Pattern: Mr. Greenjeans, from Knitty

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, 5 skeins Elderberry Wine

Needles: 7 & 8 circulars, and dpns for the sleeves

Mods: Did not switch to smaller size needles for ribbing in body of sweater, per advice from Ravelry

Thoughts: This seamless, top-down sweater became a real pain when the second skein started to pool in spots. My OCD went into overdrive. I ripped back and alternated skeins, and still had to manipulate the stripe colors in some places, so there were a lot more ends to weave in than there should have been. If I were to knit this again, I'd either use the recommended yarn, or knit it in a solid.

The directions call for casting on 8 stitches under the arms, and I think it made the top of the sweater too big and blousy. It's hard to tell right now, with only a T-shirt underneath, but since it was 80+ degrees and humid when we took our photos (a model has to make sacrifices, right? :) ), there was no way I was going to get out the turtleneck that I'll probably wear with it in colder weather. Next time I come across a pattern where you cast on the stitches for under the arm, I'll add less and see if that reduces the bulkiness. Other than that, I'm pleased with the final project, especially the waist shaping.

I should note that I didn't knit this project because I was inspired by the first photo above; it was actually a fun coincidence that I wanted to play with. I'm always curious what makes some knitting projects "fashion" and others "craft."

So, so, so glad this is finally done, and I can work on my skirt full-time! I'm into the second panel, the block pattern now. I'm also still working on the beaded seashore scarf.

 

I went against my seasonal religion and bought the Early F-ll issue of Vogue Knitting. There are some very summery pastel pink, yellow, and purple projects that I like, along with the more somber, heavy, dark ones. If you've seen the issue, what projects are you considering?

And So the Epic Begins

I didn't quite make my self-imposed deadline of finishing the purple Mr. Greenjeans cardigan before May 1st, but I'm close. A cuff on one sleeve, the other whole sleeve, and the ribbed trim, and I'll be there. Ran into a little delay when I realized that the sleeves require double pointed needles (rather than circulars) and I don't have size sevens for the cuffs or trim. Off to the LYS.

 

This did not prevent me from starting my Epic Summer Knitting Project as planned.

No, it doesn't look like a skirt at the moment. But I'm so thrilled to be knitting something springy and pink that these long rows are going by pretty fast.

After a couple of weeks of pain, I am finally going to see a doctor again about my foot neuroma (basically, an irritated nerve). Back in 1997 or so, my foot got very sore from standing on my feet all day at work, and when I rubbed it enough, it would go numb. A visit to the orthopedist identified the neuroma, and I had some physical therapy in the form of iontophoresis (sadly, no weekly foot massages, which would have felt so much better!). It was fine for a while after that, but on and off through time it has been acting up again. I have managed to mollify it with magnets for the most part, but now, even they are not working as much as they used to. It's been difficult to keep to a regular bike riding schedule and I am frustrated losing time by staying off my feet.

I have a pretty good sized fear of injections, and I've heard cortisone injections are not the most pleasant, which is why I have been putting this off. But I survived a tetanus shot last summer and so I'm wondering if the cortisone would be much worse? Personally I'm hoping for sclerotherapy, to just shrink the nerve altogether and get rid of it, but we'll have to see what the doctor says. I just want to get this over with and get on with my bike riding!

I found a couple of interesting sites to share with you. First, Queen Anne's Lace Knitting. I'm not sure what the designer means by "aristocratic" knitting and crochet, but the idea of patterns inspired by poetry is cool, to me anyway. Second, I do not sew (or cook, really...), but a number of my blog friends do, and when I saw this site, it reminded me of the Amy Butler-type of designs and fabrics they like to use. So if you like these hobbies, you may want to take a look. I do not know anything about these companies nor have I purchased anything from them, they just reminded me of things that knit blogging friends like.

As to books, I haven't done lots of reading lately since I've been trying extra hard to finish my sweater, and I'm reading the new May magazines -- I love some of the fashion and home decorating ones, and summer knitting magazines are out now too. Lots of knitters dislike the spring/summer issues but I find them most inspiring, with the lighter colors and patterns and all those pretty shawls. The beaches and exotic locales for background scenery are not to be missed either! When I do make time to read, I'm going over some of the sections in Too Perfect. And, I just received Moon Spinners, the next Seaside Knitters mystery!

Purple Cardigan Update

I hope everyone had a wonderful week of bright sunny weather! It was such a thrill to finally open windows in our house last week and enjoy the fresh air, and drive with the top down on the car. We're back to March weather this week, windows closed and coats on, but spring-for-real can't be far away.

I'm so excited to start the pink Vogue skirt in my last post, but I promised myself that I would finish two projects first, by May 1. The beaded seashore scarf is going faster now that the bead placement on the yarnovers has become more intuitive. I'm nearly to the half-way point, and I think the scarf may turn out short, but I'll wait until blocking to decide.

My other project to finish is the purple cardigan. When I last posted about it, I asked your opinion about the odd striping/pooling, and agreed with the majority that it was best to rip back and alternate skeins. I've done that, and am now almost to the beginning of the cabled rib section that forms the waist and lower body.

What do you think of the patterns in the new issue of Knitty? I love the Que Sera cardigan, and Petrie is interesting for its vintage style. I'm looking forward to Twist Collective's new issue too. Do you know when that is due out?

In book news, I started and finished J.D. Robb's Rapture in Death. It was a great escape from having to deal with more water in the basement from all the rain. Robb's visualization of a future world, where virtual reality games can be manipulated by unscrupulous people to alter moods and behaviors to the point of inspiring suicide, is frightening, but perhaps not all that far-fetched. I'm fascinated by the computers and other high tech tools that Eve Dallas, the detective, can use to solve these types of crimes, and am looking forward to the next installment, Ceremony in Death, soon.

In the meantime, I've just started Death by Cashmere, the first book in a recent seaside knitters mystery series. The series is set on Boston's North Shore, near the historic, picturesque real-life fishing villages/art colonies of Rockport and Gloucester. Though I haven't visited there in some years, I'm hoping to go later this year, perhaps on a bike trip. Reading books in this series will make me want to visit even more.

What are you reading and knitting this weekend?

Shine Jacket

Finally finished!

 

Shine Jacket by Louisa Harding, size 38.25"

Knitting magazine, August 2009, Issue 66

Glisten yarn: 6 skeins

Needles: Sizes 8 & 10

Mods: None, though instead of crocheting the trim to seam it, I used mattress stitch

Here is a not-so-great photo to give you some idea of fit. I purposely knit one size up, and it still seems small to me.

 

When I started this project late last summer, it seemed like the perfect little shrug to have as a coverup, since I am always cold. It quickly became apparent that the yarn was going to be miserable to knit. For one thing, it slides off the ball, so you have to keep a rubber band on it, taking off maybe a yard at a time to work. That will then twist on you, and so you then have to stop and unwind it, or you'll end up with a version of the old telephone cords hanging from your needles to the ball. But the thing that frustrated me most, and nearly stopped me from finishing the project, is this:

 

The yarn catches on absolutely everything. As careful as I tried to be, and even wore gloves when I seamed the trim, it caught and snagged on itself! It was so disappointing to realize that I probably wouldn't wear it much before it became too fuzzy, and one catch on a rough chair edge or seatbelt, and it will be done. 

This has been a bittersweet project; the best I can say is that it's finally out of the knitting bag. If you decide to knit the shrug, be sure to triple check the measurements, since it's a British pattern and the conversion may not be what you'd expect. I still like the design, and it's a quick knit, but whatever you do, do not use Glisten yarn if you want it to last a few wearings.

On a happier note, bike racing season started last Sunday:

 

Chris is in the middle, in a new black and red team kit. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we were all thrilled to be outside to enjoy it! Tomorrow's race is supposed to be rainy, so we're all a little nervous about the road conditions. Good luck to the racers, and I hope everyone has a great weekend!