Found The Patterns I'd Seen

I went to my History file and keyed in skirt and up popped four sites. The third one was the one I wanted, the patterns for the little skirt and one-button bolero for my goddaughter. The pattern is from Tahki (see, I did remember correctly that it was one of the big companies) and it calls for eight or nine balls of DK cotton. I'm thinking that Elann might have a good version of this (like Sonata) for less than the Tahki.

Here's a picture, swiped from Jimmy Beans and uploaded (not linked):


Now isn't this just right for a college freshman? She's got almost waist-length hair and is very slender and graceful. I think this will look good over her swimsuit.

Come to think of it, I might have some DK cotton in my stash at the other house. Looking at my account history at Elann, I see that I probably do. Maybe I'll hold off on this project until June, when we go back up to the other house. There's a possibility that my cousin and his entire family, including the goddaughter, will be out here in SoCal around then and I can measure the kid. I know she's got an itty-bitty waist; she might have an itty-bitty bottom to go with it. I've got the little tees and shrugs to knit to do before I get to this, so I probably wouldn't start much before then anyway.

Knitters will be pleased to hear that when she opened the box full of scarves I sent in February one of her friends remarked "Wow, someone must really love you to knit so much for you!" The other girls agreed, so we know at least some of them understand why we knit for them.

Here's the baby alpaca scarf I sent her for St. Valentine's Day:

It's in faux ribbing stitch and is over eight inches wide and over seven feet long. I didn't put fringe on it because I wasn't sure if the yarn was strong enough to sustain it.

You'll have to tilt your head to see this one correctly:


Here are some of the others I sent:


I'm told she wore the red and silver one, here, on St. Valentine's Day.


Right now I've got one big scarf and another Moebius for her specifically, four eyelash scarves for the group, and two washcloths ditto. I'm going to try to do a couple more washcloths and get it sent off on Monday. Photos will be taken before the box is closed. Her birthday is on the 24th (the same as my mom's), so I'm going to try to get a couple of tops done for that.

Here are a few more photos that I should have posted earlier. The first is my Clapotis, done in hand-painted sock yarn. It's at least twice as long as this now, but I put it aside to knit scarves.


I like the way hand-painted sock and sport yarns look for scarves, so I bought some more, mostly on eBay. You might be able to tell that these sock yarns are Cherry Tree Hill (wide band) and Lorna's Laces (narrow band).


Yes, I do like blue and turquoise and purple, as well as red and pink and purple. How did you guess?

Package From Elann!

My second recent order from Elann showed up on my doorstep this morning. The first order had mostly been three bags of Jumbo Merino, which I just love. It makes wonderful scarves for our Iowa relatives. I also got a couple of patterns.

This order had yarn for the patterns I'd bought and yarn for its looks. Mostly I bought three skeins of a type and color, for scarves, but I also got some larger quantities for tees for my goddaughter and a couple of shawls. Pretty yarn, good quality, good prices--what more could I ask for?

I just love opening a box of yarn, even when I know what's in it. I can remember back when I was a kid and my mom would order Germantown wool. This wasn't exciting yarn, it was just high-quality worsted-weight wool in solid colors. I can still remember the excitement of opening up the box. It would be full of skeins of yarn in beautiful colors and we'd take them out carefully, to avoid tangling the skeins. It seemed as if they expanded as they came out of the box, because the piles of skeins on the table always looked too large to fit back into it.

I also remember gathering black walnuts, still in their hulls, one year, for our neighbor across the street. We also saved onion skins for her that year. I think there was something else, too. Anyway, when she had enough black walnuts and onion skins and other materials, she got a big box of white Germantown wool and dyed it with the various materials. It came out pretty well, too. This was back in the '50s, by the way. I don't think dyes were readily available, so using natural materials was pretty much the only choice for hand dyeing.

So anyway, I got a couple of patterns in this order, too, and I just sent off for the yarn (Elann Sonata and Esprit) to make a couple of cute little tops and a shrug or two for my goddaughter. I talked with her mom yesterday and remembered to ask about cropped tops. Her mom said she wore them, so I'll knit her a couple.

Somewhere on the Web I saw a pair of kits for a one-button bolero and a little skirt to knit. Both were really cute and the set would be a good cover-up over a bikini. The only problem is that I can't remember where I saw them. I'm going to look through my history and bookmark files and see if I can track them down. They were from one of the big, traditional yarn companies, I know.

Yes, I do know that placing three orders with Elann in two weeks isn't exactly knitting from my stash. Nor is buying Katsura rayon boucle or a bunch of Great Adirondack. I've been weak, but I'm going to strengthen my resolve as soon as everything I ordered last week arrives. Except that Chez Casuelle sent me a 15% discount that expires on 15 April and my 60th birthday is on the 9th. Hey, it's going to be less expensive than a red Mustang convertible....

Found Them!

I finally found the second box of knitting books. Of course, I had to empty and put away three more boxes worth before I got to it. Why do I always end up with the important boxes on the bottom of the stack? Oh, well, I got the David Weber, John Ringo, and Eric Flint books shelved, so it wasn't a waste of time.

I need to say, quick, that these boxes I keep talking about aren't exactly huge. They're not even as big as copier paper boxes. Rather, they're one-foot cubes from U-Haul. One cubic foot is just about my limit for being able to pick up a box when it's filled with knitting or bead books, magazines, or catalogs, things printed on coated paper. If it's just paperback books, I can manage a 1.5-cu-ft box, the U-Haul "Small" box. I'm not Superwoman and I know it.

So now I've got my Harmony Guides and Stitchionaries at hand, plus a couple of lace books and some more scarf books. I've also got several of the various "Hip" knitting books, so I can knit something stylish for my goddaughter. I don't think she wants anything too edgy but would love something a bit on the edgy side. I thought I'd start with a not-too-cropped cropped tee and work from there.

I'm just about done with the third garter-stitch eyelash scarf for her and her dorm-mates. Yes, I know what everyone says about those, but I like them. They're quick, they're easy, and there's not a lot of emotional attachment. If one gets lost, well, too bad, but it's not like losing a scarf made with a zillion stitches of hand-painted cashmere, in either actual or emotional cost. I'm going to make some washcloths, too. I've got one about half done.

Some wicked cool Great Adirondack yarn arrived in the last two days. There's a skein of Waterfall, a combination of a ribbon and a strand of mohair, dyed together, in Cantaloupe. Then there are two skeins of rayon with "Holo Hoops", donut-shaped holographic sequins, and two skeins of rayon with drops, drop-shaped holographic sequins. These four are just so cool it's amazing. Colors are Mango, Cocktail, Hydrangea, and Peacock. I just love Great Adirondack yarn and colors. Think Superwash worsted-weight merino in Bahama Mama, for example.

If I were a sock knitter, I might consider the sequined yarn for shortish cuffs on a very special pair of socks. Some people may dress conservatively, but in their hearts they're ready for a little flash that only they know about.

One of Neil the Collie's responsibilities was the inspection of yarn. When it arrived, I'd hold it out for him to sniff and when I'd put it into my active-projects bag, he'd come over and sniff again. Now and then he'd find a ball that was intensely interesting and he'd sniff it very thoroughly. He, like all collies I've ever known, was curious. They'd sniff at packages, help with the unpacking, and watch the clearing away of packing materials. Ditto shopping bags. I've always joked that they have those long noses to poke into everyone's business.

It's Sure Been Sad Around Here Today

I've been picking up all of Neil the Collie's things today. Dog beds, water dishes, food dishes, treats, shedding rakes, and so on. He had quite a collection of things and they were scattered all over the house, although a lot of it was in the kitchen. I'll probably pack up all the food and take it to a nearby shelter.

I sure do miss him. He wasn't a noisy dog ever and he'd slept a lot in the last couple of years, but still it's way too quiet now that he's gone. I keep expecting to look up and see him and he's not there.

I called the woman who bred his sire, Spif, to tell her the sad news. She was sorry to hear it, of course, but glad he hadn't been in pain or anything. She also suggested that I check with a breeder near San Diego, who has one of Neil's half-brothers. He may have a litter bred by him.

Incidentally, it's Spif's name, Narnia's Intrepid Spaceman Spif, that led to Neil and Buzz's names. They were born the year of the 25th, silver, anniversary of the first moon landing. Not only was their sire a spaceman, but their dam's call name was Silver. We didn't need any omens to convince us to get these two puppies, but it sure did make naming them easy. They also each had personalities a bit like their eponymous astronauts. Neil was reserved and dignified and Buzz was outgoing and extroverted.


Here's Neil on his dog bed last year. It was in the corner of my office, right across from my chair. It was Neil's secure place and he slept there and carried special treats there to eat. This photo was probably taken last winter or spring, before we went up to Lancaster for the summer.

I can't quite tell what that is on the floor in front of him. It wasn't edible, though. Neil loved to eat and he would never have ignored a tempting bit of food like that.


Here he is dropping off to sleep. He'd start out like this, not quite curled up, but he'd usually end up on his side, stretched out. He fit just exactly on this bed, nose tip at one edge, rump at the other.


Here are Neil and Buzz in our first Palm Desert house. probably about four years ago. Buzz was up in the chair because I'd been trimming the hair on his feet. Normally our dogs don't get on the furniture and Neil took this rule so much to heart that he was very uncomfortable even when I'd lifted him up and was right beside him. He'd get down at the first opportunity. Buzz, on the other hand, was willing to hang around, given the chance.

Incidentally, Neil was a beautiful, perfect collie. He really met the standard and would have done very well had he been shown. Buzz, on the other hand, wasn't quite so perfect in his looks. See how his ears are set close together on top of his head, for example. He was still a handsome dog, just not quite standard. It didn't bother him, or us, one bit.

Neil the Collie and the Rainbow Bridge

Neil the Collie set off for the Rainbow Bridge at about 1030 this morning, I'm sorry to report. He'll join his littermate Buzz there, as well as MacDuff, Duncan, Donal, and Malcolm.

He'd turned 13 on the fifth of March, which is quite old for a collie. He'd been having neurological problems for a couple of years, caused by narrowing of the spine and compression of the nerves. Last night he had some sort of attack or seizure that damaged his already-precarious balance and reduced his limited mobility.

He wasn't in any pain physically that we could see, but his dignity was in great danger. He was always a most dignified dog and the loss of dignity was painful to him (and to us). So we sent him on to the Bridge, to be re-united with Buzz and to wait for us.

Since his passing, the skies here have clouded up and it may rain. Even Nature grieves with us for this most excellent of dogs.

I know there's no reason at all to believe in the Rainbow Bridge, not theologically, not logically, not realistically, but I truly hope it's true. Our dogs have each been as much a part of our family and our lives as they could be; they have enriched our days, lightened our sorrows, rejoiced in our joys, and been beside us, loving and trusting us unconditionally. Faith is when you can believe something with absolutely no evidence.