Silver Falls Retreat Part 1

This past weekend was wonderful! Driving down to the retreat was relaxed an uneventful. I stopped at several of the rest areas, taking the time to walk a little so that I would arrive not too sore and tired. I stopped at Molehill Farm and purchased a little scarf project. This included a Fiber Trends pattern and two balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. Then, I made one more yarn stop, where I was unimpressed and did not buy anything. Then, I wound my way through the many Christmas tree farms up to the Silver Falls Oregon State Park. I took it slowly, enjoying the scenery. The road was very quiet, so I only needed to let one car pass. Arriving at the conference center, I checked in and did a little unpacking. Afterwards, I went down to the common area in my lodge to meet new friends and knit. It was lovely. At one point, a couple of the women were complimenting my Lace Cardigan sweater that I was wearing. One of them said, “Hold your arms up,” in a joyfully, commanding voice. I did it immediately and the room broke into laughter! Only in a group of knitters could a circumstance like this one be good. You see, they all wanted to see the decreases and seams on the inside of the arms. I knew that was probably what was being asked and had no problem with it, either. :) After several hours of socializing and knitting, during which I finished the lower body of my Brilliance Pullover, we headed off to dinner. The food was very good all weekend long and so was the mealtime conversation.
After dinner, I followed the others into the conference room, with knitting in hand. We went around the room showing our items, talking and laughing, all while knitting or spinning. I wore my pale blue Lace Cardigan and took my black and white gloves from the book “Selbuvotter.” They all loved both projects, many thanks to those who helped me choose which projects to take!

Bamboo Pullover

Well, I have no new pictures, but I have been diligently working on my Bamboo Pullover. Now that I am back at work, I don't have near as much time to knit. (Feeling better is worth it, though.) When I arrived home, yesterday, I had about a half hour to get ready to leave again. My employer, Seattle Children's, was having a celebration at Safeco Field, complete with music from the Beach Boys. They gave me 4 tickets and so I invited my parents to go with me and my dh had other plans, so my mom invited her good friend. It was so much fun to be there with 3 people who knew the music and really wanted to be there. I did take the sweater with me and finished the first sleeve. It calls for very short sleeves, which I am making longer to an almost elbow length. While watching and listening to the concert, I was very glad that I brought such a simple project so that I would not have to look at what I was doing. Stockinette is great for that! I still have about 3/4 of an inch left to knit on the body and then finish the second sleeve. I started the sleeve in the van pool this morning and hope to finish either the body or the sleeve tonight.

When I finally arrived home last night, I was too wired to go to sleep, so I worked with my Hey Teach cardigan to attempt to fix my over blocking of the back. When I knit the ribbing, I bound off the stitches using a tubular bindoff. Because I did this, I was easily able to weave a piece of elastic cord through the edge of the ribbing without it showing. Now, the sweater fits great and doesn't fall off my shoulders. I've been wearing it today and I think I have found a new favorite!

FO Parade

I've been home from work, sick, for way too long now. For the first 4 or 5 days, I couldn't even knit, but as I'm starting to feel a little better, at least I can do that, now. I have started and finished 2 projects. The first is the Beaded Beret that I bought the supplies for when I went to Churchmouse Yarns. It looks so wonderful! The second start to finish project is the Mystic Waters shawl. I knit it up in about 4 days and even have it blocked, already.

I've also been finishing some older projects. First up is my Auburn Camp Shirt which came out lovely, soft, and very drapey. Second, is my February Lady Sweater which I also love. I wore it once, but it was too warm, still. This one will have to wait until the weather cools a bit more. (I finished both of these a while ago, but have just now taken the time to post a picture.)

Then, there is Hey Teach from Knitty. I started this one rather recently, but also finished it while I've been sick. I over blocked the upper back, just a little and since it is cotton, I'm not really sure what I can do about it. The sweater is beautiful and will coordinate with many different outfits as this is one of my favorite colors.

After finishing all of that, I pulled out the Bamboo sweater that I've been making. The miles of stockinette were getting to me, which is when I started Hey Teach. However, there is a simplicity to knitting in stockinette that I've been enjoying while I have been sick and not wanting to concentrate on anything too complex.

While recuperating, I received some wonderful packages in the mail. The first contained stitch markers and a row counting bracelet from a friend that I met through a swap on Ravelry. (She was my down stream, so I was pleasantly surprised by her wonderful surprise!) The second is a skein of Socks that Rock Lightweight that I won through the Sock a Month Blog. The color is called Pebble beach, and is very lovely. Its so lovely that I'm tempted to wind it up and start knitting immediately!