theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Many years ago (I won’t reveal the exact number), our mother — a young widow — married for the second time. Susan was about four; I was two-and-a-half. We wore matching dresses made by our grandmother. Susan was going to be a flower girl, but I was deemed too young for such an honor. My sister, however, refused to go down the aisle without me.

It’s been that way ever since. Despite living 1000 miles apart, we’re inseparable. My husband doesn’t ask “if” I’ve talked to my sister on any particular day — he asks if we’ve talked “yet.”

So once again:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG SISTER!!!!!

PS from Susan:  Thank you to everyone for the lovely birthday wishes, and I am also thankful for having such a great sister.  I think I speak for us both when I say we know we are lucky to have each other!

Answer: It depends!  I am anal retentive and you are an anal-retentive person, but I digress!  More later…

I do, if nothing else, enjoy multi-tasking and that is certainly true with my knitting.  I started a project recently after being inspired at every turn by the Swirl Shawl.  Sally and I saw this often at Maryland Sheep and Wool, and it is in any shop that carries JoJoland Melody Yarn.  

It is gorgeous in the aforementioned yarn.  BUT, Sally and I stumbled onto this beautiful yarn at MSWF: Brooks Farm Acero — 420 yds/4 oz., 60% superwash wool, 20% silk, 20% viscose, in colors that are absolutely stunning!!  I was planning on making the Triple S Shawl that they had on display, but decided to switch gears and make the Swirl Scarf instead for two reasons: with the Triple S, you start with an Emily Ocker cast on and then work out, joining all the completed squares with a 3-needle bind off (annoying!!).  With the Swirl Shawl or Scarf, you cast on/pick up all the sts and work to the middle and attach the swirls as you go.  I am also weaving in my ends as I go, so when it’s done, it’s done!  I am very happy with my choice.

I am using three colors: brown (with a hint of purple), greenish brown, and bluish brown.  I do not have the labels so I cannot be more specific and none of the colors on their website look like mine — sorry!

The Finished scarf will be approx 9″ by 72″

I wish you could actually see how beautiful this yarn is and touch it — the viscose gives it a lineny feel, the silk gives it sheen, the wool gives it depth, and it is very soft against the skin.  Pictures absolutely do not do it justice.  

So, why the question about being anal retentive?  I think I must be!!!  At least about my knitting!

When I swatched my first swirl to see if the yarn would work, the swirl formed a lovely, natural hexagon.  BUT, when I started the second swirl — which is picked up between the green dots on the picture below — the points did not align.   As written, each pattern repeat starts with a YO at each of the 6 points of the hex, but the points actually form 3 sts back (see picture below).  In other words, the points of the hexes do not align in the pattern as written. 

So, I moved the start of the round 3 sts so the points line up — point to point — on all of my hexes.  Does it make a difference?  I’m not sure, except I know I could not continue with it without “fixing” it.   Thus, I am an anal-retentive knitter.  See details below. 

I love this project, highly recommend the pattern (with my “correction”), and highly recommend either the Melody or Acero.  Fun, fun, fun!!!

My notes:
If you own the pattern, this will make sense!!

Follow pattern as written until you get to Round 3.

Round 3: k3 additional sts past end of round on last needle (23 sts now on this dpn). Transfer 3 sts from needle 2 to needle 1, and 3 sts from needle 3 to needle 2. All dpns now have 20 sts again and beg of round has shifted 3 sts to the left.  Starting from the new beg of round, work remaining pattern rows as written.

Yesterday was the first day of the Twin Cities Shop Hop.  I met up with five of my favorite peeps at 9:30 am outside Amazing Threads to embark on our trek.  We took my car — I was the driver and Kim was my navigator.  She had the assistance of my brand new Garmin GPS.  Ms. Garmin was gentle and fairly accurate, though we did suspect her of drinking heavily sometime during the trip!

We cruised through seven shops in this order: A Sheepy Yarn Shop (White Bear), The Yarnery (St. Paul), 3 Kittens (Mendota Heights), Zandy’s (Burnsville), Needlework Unlimited (Minneapolis), Coldwater Collaborative (Excelsior), and ended where we started: Amazing Threads (Maple Grove).  All by 4 pm! 

I brought my camera but forgot to take pictures most of the time.  We did have our waitress snap a pic of the Thursdays at Four crew during lunch:

From left to right: Kim, Mary, Rosanne, Linda, Me, Emily
Missing, but not forgotten: Deb, Deirdre, Diane, Ellie, Pat, Rosemary

Here is a picture of the new 3 Kittens location:

The shop is located in a newly minted “Main Street.”  Mayberry meets city planner.  It is a very nice little area, and the store is chockful of beautiful yarn and fun knitting accessories.

I remembered to take an action shot at Needlework Unlimited:

We ran into many of the same people as we moved store to store, including Beth and Jeanne from the amulet bag class!  It was great fun to see all of the yarns and people and be part of the festive atmosphere. 

At each shop, you had to get your passport stamped to be eligible for the main prize drawing.  They also had a free pattern give-away at each shop.  If you spent $5 or contributed to the food shelf, you also received a summer-themed charm.  We loaded up the car with canned goods just in case!  We either shopped or donated our way to all seven charms:

What did I buy?  Not too much.  I did load up on $1 patterns and bought a Debbie Bliss knitting magazine:

All in all, a really fun day with great friends.  Thanks to all of my peeps for a wonderful time!

The Annual Yarn Shop Hop starts tomorrow.

I will be hitting all seven shops (Amazing Threads, The Yarnery, Sheepy Yarn Shop, 3 Kittens, Coldwater Collaborative, Needlework Unlimited, and Zandy’s) the first day with my Thursdays at Four Knitting Peeps — yay!!  I am really excited to see the new 3 Kittens location.  They are in a completely new building, which should be very nice.  More to follow!

I am a traitor to knitters everywhere…apparently.  I think I may be the only knitter in the universe that gave absolutely no consideration whatsoever to attending Sock Summit 2009.  People are crashing servers and wreaking more havoc than Y2k, and I am not interested in the least.  Sorry to say, but true.  There, I have admitted my guilt and await the firing squad.

From Susan to Katie K:  I’m sorry you are unable to go — maybe next year?  It sounds like it will be a rousing success and therefore repeated.  I know that many knitters are thrilled with the idea of the Sock Summit and I hope they a) have the opportunity to attend and b) it exceeds their expectations.  I know that I am definitely the outlier!!

Today I taught a knitting class for a small group of very fun and special people.  They attended a class this spring and we had such a good time, we did not want it to end — so we decided to try the Beaded Amulet Bag.   Beth even brought a coffee cake!  What’s not to like??!!??

These bags are a challenge to get going, but they are also quite addictive:

 How many bags does one person need?  Lots more than this!

The gold bag in the center was one I found when we went through my mom’s stuff.  I must have made her this very early on as I now use a slightly lighter gold colored thread, and I have no idea where I got the gold glass cube.  It’s nice to have it as a keepsake.

And this is the good thing about blogs/Ravelry: I made a pair of Fetching Glovelets for my lil daughter’s friend — just out of cheap yarn.  She needs another pair — her mom “borrowed” them and won’t give them back!  Having a photo record of your knitting is great to recreate something.  And to be honest, I’d rather make ten pairs of Fetching Glovelets for someone who loves them than one sweater for a daughter who won’t wear it!  You know who you are!

Today we both returned to our homes and families.  We cannot express how much it meant to us to receive the many kind wishes from all of you.  Susan had a very special flower bouquet waiting upon her arrival:

Flower Basket with Yarn and Knitting Needles

Yes, flowers with yarn and needles!  From her knitting peeps, of course — so sweet and so appreciated!

While at my dad’s, we spent a lot of time with family…but we all grieve in our own way:

We needed to be in a place of beauty and inspiration — a yarn shop!  There is a wonderful shop in Omaha — Personal Threads Boutique.  We visit every time we are in town.  It is a lovely refuge, nestled in the Lewis Art Gallery, and stocked with gorgeous treasures for the knitter and the home.

We love the large windows that allow you to see the yarn in natural light. As for the yarns, Personal Threads has one of the finest selections of luxury yarns you will find anywhere.  Silk. Cashmere. Handpainted. We bought some gorgeous buttons (Sally brown 3268-0275, Susan red 3271-0275) and a “bit” of yarn.  (Sally walked away with the green Silk Rhapsody you see her holding in one of the photos.)

Joe (owner? manager?) is the sweetest person you will ever meet and made us feel so welcome and special.  This place is a must visit if you are in the area!

And it did help us forget our sorrows for the time we were there.

Thank you for all of the warm and thoughtful comments. We were very touched by the outpouring of support. We have spent the last few days with our dad, brother, and other relatives and it has been a time of sharing stories (including some new ones!), laughter, and tears: in other words, a time for healing.

We’ll resume our regular blogging within the next few days.