theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Well, not much.  Both Surly and I are working on some ‘stealth’ projects, though mine will be wrapping up very soon.

As I was looking through some old boxes the other day, I ran across this little baby blankie.  I knit it in the 80’s, before I knew if and when we would become parents.  So, each stitch was knit out of love for a baby not yet born.

After our girls joined our family, they both used this blanket to play with their dolls, so when I happened upon it, it was in kind of rough shape!  I washed it, but it still looks pretty rough.  I used [crappy] acrylic yarn — it was for a baby, after all! — and it is now fuzzy and pilled.  But just finding that blanket was like stepping into the past and returning to a time of anticipation and unfettered optimism — the kind of optimism you can only feel before reality sets in!!

I am thinking about my next project and am narrowing it down. I did buy yarn today so THAT part is taken care of!  One candidate is the Alexandria Cardigan, which I highlighted a week or so ago and the other is the Jali Cardigan from Summer 2010 Interweave Knits.  I bought Shepherd’s Wool in a natural off white.  This yarn is deliciously soft and knits up beautifully.  I really like it!  I know off white sounds boring, but I keep wanting to grab a cream-colored cardi and do not have one!  Now I need to swatch and think…

PS to those with questions about the source of this lace pattern: The pattern stitch is called Rose Trellis Lace and is in the first Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G. Walker.  It is written in long hand notation (all 44 rows!) instead of charted.  At the time, I was not a lace knitter and charts were a rarity.  Now, the first thing I would do is to chart it.  By doing so, I know I would have made some changes (such as not starting partial patterns along the side edges).  I can’t even believe I sat there reading each line as I worked this, but I remember having that piece of paper with me and following along!!

PPS: Alexandria won!

Hope you were able to enjoy this long weekend, the harbinger of summer.  It is one of those odd holidays because it is based on sadness, but is celebrated with picnics and water sports.  I feel conflicted because I have personal reasons for honoring this day. 

So, enjoy the beautiful weekend.  Enjoy the rite of spring and summer.  And honor the sacrifice of our service men and women, and the families they left behind.

As many of you already know, our blog has been hit hard by a hacker/virus/whatever!  My own computer became riddled with disease and caused me no end of despair. 

Sally is the “man behind the curtain” here at The Rainey Sisters and spent HOURS working on the problem, both with our host-site geeks and through trial and error. 

It appears that the problem has been remedied, at least for the time being.  These viruses are pesky and determined, so we can’t make any guarantees!  We are sorry if this caused you any problems and hope things settle down.

Not a lot going on — a stealth project and little more — so I thought I would share some of the designs I have saved in my “favorites” file in Ravelry.  I LOVE the fact that you can ‘favorite’ both patterns and specific renditions of patterns for future reference.  It makes Rav worthwhile even if you do not want to catalog all of your WIPs and FOs or your yarn stash.

Here are a few that I have favorited recently:

Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl (free pattern) — it looks crocheted, but isn’t!

Ormolu by Barbara Gregory and offered in The Twist Collective — mosaic knitting which is not my favorite but the design is stunning…

Alexandria by Connie Chang Chinchio — classic and beautiful

Norwegian Rose Socks by Wendy Johnson of WendyKnits — nice if you like to knit socks!

Luiza by Jane Araujo — very pretty and downloadable for $5

This just proves how dangerous it is to explore Ravelry!!  I have no idea if I will ever get to any of these projects, but it is food for thought!