I emailed the url for my blog to my mother last night, so hopefully she'll be visiting today. Wanna see a photo of my mom? Here is a photo of all of us taken on my parents' 50th anniversary last February.

My mom is the person who first gave me needles and yarn . . . the rest is history! So everyone send a virtual "hello!" to Wendy's mom.

Speaking of needles and yarn, Izzy volunteered once again to model my work in progress, Rosendal. What a gal! Here's the pic. Okay, maybe it's a little big for her.

Here's the photo from the pattern -- this is what the completed cardi will look like. But when I wear it. I won't have the inane simper on my face that the model has. At least I hope not.

Well Happy Friday, Bloggers! And happy long weekend to those of you for whom Monday is a holiday. Like me.

Oh, and I saw Elvis on the train this morning.

8.29.2002
Thursday -- The Sock Yarn Hall of Shame

I decided to have a look-see at my sock yarn stash last night. Here are the favs:

Well, that's what would fit on the couch, anyway.

Here's most of the Lorna's Laces I've got. And here's most of the Regia.

We won't talk about the Opal. Or the assorted other yarns.

Hey, I discovered that Confessions of a Craft-aholic is back! Shetha, nice to see you again! I hope you don't mind that I swiped the button off your blog and put it in my A-list. :-)

8.28.2002
Wednesday -- what was that sound I heard this morning?

It was rain! It was actually raining when I left for work today. First time I've had to use the windshield wipers in months.

This morning before I left the house I spent a few minutes browsing through Terri's sock photos. If you haven't seen them, go look -- you're in for a treat.  And of course, her Socks 101 is fantastic information  for anyone with fear of socking. Terri, thanks for posting those great resources!

I worked on Rosendal last night -- yes I did. Photo here. I've got a few more inches until the front neck shaping. The pattern directs you to cast off and knit back and forth but I always hate doing that. I will either do a neck steek, or just work straight around, the machine stitch the cutting line, and cut later.

8.27.2002
Tuesday

Here's why I've been having trouble keyboarding lately. Could I possibly file down my nails? I did, and my number of typos per paragraph went down considerably.

Got some sock yarn in the mail! To replace the black sportweight Regia that gave such offense -- more sportweight Regia -- here it is. The lighter color for my brother Dave's socks, the darker color for my Dad's socks.

And did some Rosendal knitting last night. Janis has been commenting on how evenly I knit and wondering if the type of needle I use has anything to do with it. I've used metal, plastic, and wooden needles, all with the same results. I've always had very even tension, even as a tiny tot, knitting doll blankets. Just lucky.

So here is a close-up of my Rosendal knitting. And here is the wrong side.

Wendy's Knitting Blog Presents . . . A Book Review!
Sweaters From Camp (design production team Amy Detjen, Meg Swansen, Joyce Williams)

I received my copy of Sweaters From Camp last week. The book is the result of a contest to design an all-over patterned garment using Shetland Jumper-Weight Wool.

The 38 designs were contributed by both professional and never-before-published designers. So, as you would expect, the designs vary quite a bit. There are traditional fair isles with traditional shaping, and there are designs that are based on traditional fair isles that go beyond -- with interesting shaping techniques and color use. There are a few very non-traditional designs.

I am a traditionalist. I love fair isle motifs and traditional construction methods. Some of the designs in the book I liked, some I didn't. I would never put an i-cord edging on a fair isle, for example.

There were no designs in this book that made me say "Wow! I must knit this." There were several, however, that made me say "Hmmmmmm -- I could use this and change this . . . " And there's a wonderful section on designing your own fair isle that has very valuable information. and the photography is simply beautiful.

So for me, I consider this a good buy. While I may never knit one of the 38 designs offered, I think it very likely that at some point I'll knit something based on something in this book.

You can purchase Sweaters From Camp from Schoolhouse Press, as well as other retail establishments.

8.26.2002
Monday -- Shameless Self Promotion

To start your week off right, photos of Ian demonstrating a couple of the extremely attractive and highly desirable Fearless Fair Isle goods available in my Cafepress Store.

Isn't Ian a good sport?

Got some knittin' done on Rosendal -- here is the photo.