One Crazy Fiber Lady

This week is a much shortened work week for me.  Today is the last workday as the office is closed for the remainder of the week.  As a result, a goodly number of people took advantage of being able to get a whole week off by using only two days, leaving the office a bit of a ghost town.  I don’t have much to do as my big projects were completed last week.  Makes for a nice quiet time before a long holiday weekend for sure. 

As a bit of an experiment, I modified my commute again this morning.  I’ve gone back to switching trains in Secaucus to end at Penn Station NY rather than Hoboken.  Timewise, the two options are about the same.  The difference, even with having an extra train, is a shorter walk once in Manhattan.  The Hoboken + PATH leaves me at Sixth Avenue and 9th Street with a need to wander over to Broadway and 9th.  That’s three long avenues for those who aren’t familiar with the city.  (The distance between avenues is far greater than between streets.)  Penn Station + Subway involves a one avenue walk between Penn and Herald Square with a subway exit at 8th and Broadway.  Not sure about your math, but three trains makes for shorter walking, especially in the cold wind tunnels that is NY in the winter. 

The downside is potentially reduced knitting time.  I couldn’t get a seat on the Secaucus to NY train and had to stand in the aisle  (leaning against a bulkhead I could knit, but not standing) so I turned to the ebook on my Treo. 

We’ll see how the return commute works tonight before I decide whether I buy the NYPenn monthly for December.

I spent most of yesterday’s knitting time working on that sleeve for Ariann.  I’m one increase short the end goal on the first one and I don’t think it is a stretch of my knitting speed to predict it shall be finished today.  No pictures of it as it looks like the one yesterday, just longer.  I have, however, been able to work the increases into the eyelet pattern and am pleased with how it is coming out. 

I did put a little time last night into the Moderne Baby Blanket, though have not completed the third block.  I was itching to get Ariann’s sleeve done before the urge to start a new sweater overtook my ability to finish it.  Anyway, I do appreciate the suggestions in the comments yesterday regarding ack-rylic for baby knitting.  It really isn’t as bad as the ack-rylic I remember from my early knitting days, the yarn that squeaked.  Eeew.  This is the Bernat Softee Baby that is actually quite soft and is pleasant to knit with.  It ain’t wool, but then again, it ain’t cotton (blech).  The skein in the picture is the fourth color I’ll be using for this blanket.

Should I admit to the spreadsheet I created to calculate percentage completion on this blanket?  Nah

Here’s the final teacher scarf.  This was done in a Farrow Rib on US8 needles.  The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted in Old Rose.  I really liked the yarn and it held up well to the insane number of start/stops that this scarf had.  Offhand, I know I tried at least 5 different stitch patterns before hitting on the Farrow Rib, which was perfect commuting knitting!  I actually could walk to the PATH station while knitting the thing. I started it Thursday at lunch and finished it Friday night. I’m pleased with the results.  Next step is to block them all and get the kids to pick which scarf is for which teacher.  I’m terribly relieved to get the gifts out of the way but very glad that I did, in the end, opt to knit them something.

Sara found herself someplace far more comfy than my night table to sleep last evening.  Right before bed, I found her ensconced on the living room sofa.  Earl usually sleeps at the other end of the couch.  Right now, they have no view out the window as the builders put sheets of plywood up to protect the windows from accidental breakage.  The window will be replaced sometime during this project, but surely not now.  Memory is a little fuzzy, but if I recall correctly, mom needlepointed that pillow that Sara is leaning against.

And now for the daily house picture.  This was taken as I left for the train(s) this morning.  You can see they are now incorporating the new addition into the existing roof.  A not totally unexpected condition was discovered this morning as the sheathing under the roofing tile on the old part of the house was found to be in rather poor condition.  As a result the whole thing needs to be stripped off and re-sheathed before the new roof installed.  You can see that the pile of wood is greatly diminished. Mom has gotten her side of the driveway back and we no longer have to stack our cars up each night.

In case anyone has stuck around, I do have a question as to how you figure which size sweater to make.  I’m a 36" at the widest point, but just barely, more like 35".  One of the possible next projects is Celtic Dreams, with the Blackwater Abbey in Bracken purchased, delivered and starting to mellow in stash.  The sweater sizes are 36" and the next up would be 40".  I’d think that the 40" would give far too much ease and make for a big baggy sweater that I wouldn’t wear very much, but that the 36" would be too tight.  Which would you make?  Can I just block the 36" a little bigger?  Do I fudge the pattern to make a 38" somehow?

Craft on!