The Pittsfield, Maine Egg Festival

No eggs were seen at the Egg festival, because Pittsfield is no longer a major (or even minor) egg producing town. But any excuse for a festival during Maine's short but glorious summer, and so the name endures.

Karen and James, who live in Pittsfield



and mom and Dad.

Mom woke up this morning, after being in the hospital for a week and the house for the following week, and declared, "I am not an invalid!" So we drove over to Pittsfield.

In the morning there was a parade:

Antique fire engines are a big part of the parade.
As are antique cars
and tractors





And after the parade, this year the festival featured lobster dinners for $11. We carried them home and ate them in Karen's back yard.


My father demonstrates the technique for breaking down a lobster.
It was delicious!

One thing ends, another begins

I have lots of free time to knit these days, so I finished the shrug for Mummy quite quickly, and immediately got to work on a shawl I've been anticipating for a while.

The shrug seems like a pretty good success. I haven't blocked it at all yet, because I think it will grow when it hits the water, and I don't want it to be too big for my Mom.

The shawl is called Hilton Head, and it is quite simple. There lace edging is garter based, and then there's a growing section of stockinette, and the whole thing is knit as one piece.



I weighed out the yarn to find the center of the skein, and when I get to the center (or if it seems long enough before that) I will begin decreases.

And a few odds and ends

It turns out that given a three-day weekend by myself to do whatever I want, what I mostly want to do is dorky stuff. Go to Casa Arigato for breakfast. Go to Borders. Knit. Dye yarn. The most exotic thing I did was get a facial. At the cosmetology department at El Camino College. Whee!

Anyhow, here's what's done:


And here's what's newly started:


This is an anonymous pattern from Let's Knit for a clever little shrug that is knit as a rectangle, which is then folded and stitched to make sleeves and a back, and then has stitches picked up around the edge to make a ruffle that becomes the collar and bottom edge. Hard to visualize, but I tried on their sample, and I see that it works.

This will probably be a gift for my Mom, to wear as a sort of bed jacket while she recuperates from her hip surgery in July. And if that doesn't work out (Mom is opinionated, let's just say...) I will keep it for myself. Or something. Anyhow, it's a totally easy and relaxing knit, done in Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool, which is nice to knit with.

Le Livre, El Libro, the book!

We went out to Havana Mania to celebrate the publication of our textbook. We were not nearly as impaired as these pictures would seem to indicate!

(Also see shawl, from previous post, in actual use.)

Socks and a Shawl

So I'd better post pictures of the pink/grey socks before they disappear again and I have no evidence of their existence! I actually almost doubted that the socks did exist, since I couldn't find them for months, and I had no photos of them. My only thread of hope was that I had a little baggie with the left-over yarn. I am not even entirely sure when I knitted them. I know they were in existence during the time Kristen was home for Christmas.



This is Patons Kroy yarn, on size 1.5 needles, but I cast on 68 stitches, and they seem a little looser then I'd ideally like. I thought 64 on 1.5 was too tight, but maybe it is better. Or maybe I should decrease to 64 immediately after the ribbing. In any case, these are comfortable and entirely wearable. (or could these have been done on 2's? Since I don't remember knitting them, how do I know what size needle I used?)



I finished the Faroese Shawl that I was working on, in Elizabeth Lavold Silky Wool, and it's s great pattern. Through clever and rather inscrutable increases along the shoulders, it comes out in a nearly circular shape, perfectly fitted to the neck and shoulders. I didn't want mine to be too long, as I thought that would make it less wearable (since I'm not actually a peasant woman living on the windswept Faroe Islands). This is plenty voluminous, reaches almost to my waist in the back, and the fronts can be thrown back stylishly ( I like to think) over my shoulders.



Silky Wool is a great yarn. It's not silky, and it's not wooly. It is firm, a bit rustic, and a nice weight for lace that is not really lacy. I have a plan to knit a shrug-type thing out of it, if Mrs. Oyama can come up with the pattern she used. Some sort of rectangle thing that is seamed to make arms and then has stitches picked up around the edges to make a collar and ruffle.

Now I'm working on little odds and ends--a Greenleaf Baby hat for my pregnant Egyptian student, in dk weight (done) and a pair of booties to go with it, with little leaf-ended ties, if I can pull that off with the skein of yarn I have. I hairband for Nitza (also finished, but needing finishing), and I don't know--maybe some sideways garter gloves?

A Happy Mother's Day

Last night Sam took me out for Thai food at Bangkok Sapphires, and I ate myself into a coma. Had to take a nap on the couch, and could barely stand to watch cooking shows for several hours after!

And today, these lovely flowers were awaiting me on the dining room table.

Also, big news on the Saint Anthony front--my lost hand-knit wool socks have been found. It was a case of bad housekeeping. They were wedged at the foot of the bed, which means that I hadn't actually re-made the bed since January. Not the bed I sleep in, I hasten to add, but still. I did look there too, but apparently not hard enough.

I am well on my way with a shawl in the Faroese style called Alberta, designed by Myrna Stahman. The Silky-Wool yarn in a peacock color is quite pleasing to work with, and I have high hopes for this shawl.



Oh, and for once, I found yarn at the Goodwill. There were a dozen or so skeins of various sorts, and I chose 4 skeins of this sportweight 100% wool from Holland.

Finished Objects!

So first of all, I started and finished a small scarf made from the novelty yarn I bought in New Orleans. I used literally every inch of the yarn, including the leftover bits to make a couple of bits of fringe.

And then I finished up the socks that I began during my trip to Chicago just before school started in February. Another pair of plain vanilla socks in Patons Kroy FX yarn. Too bad I misplaced the pink-grey ones, but these, called camo color, are also nice, and not at all army-looking, imo!


And finally, and most impressive, I finished the sweater I started in January. This is made in Cascade 220 yarn, using a pattern called Chic Cabled Sweater from Red Heart. However, I made it a bit longer in the body, knit the sleeves in the round from the top down, and most importantly, removed the cables from the top of the sleeves and used them to make the cuffs, which I think was a good move. The sweater fits me to a T, though I don't have the photos to prove it yet!




And I've started on a Faroese shawl. Pictures much later!