Birds in the yard

Here's a few yard birds I managed to photo despite the crappy rainy weather. White throated sparrow likes the bird feeder. Loon liked the rain. The wren was singing in between showers. A vireo flew into the windows on the porch while I standing there but he was ok. No time to get my camera before he flew away. Too bad.

Finished weekend pullover

Finished weekend pullover
Originally uploaded by SeymoreMonkey

So now its about 1.5 inches longer. I tried it on an its length is perfect. The ribbing on the bottom edge is now a bit short compared to the sleeves because I used the 15s in stead of 17s that were used on the sleeves. But I think it looks fine.

Blocking it after gently washing in woolight and vinegar is a challenge in and of itself. Getting the water out of this wool took about 10 towels. Its raining here now and I hope it doesn't grow mold before it dries.

not long enough and whats with the middle?

Weekend pullover done - not
Originally uploaded by SeymoreMonkey

So why do I hate this? It seems a bit short in the body considering its width. Also, the ribbing doesn't seem quite right. I know its not supposed to be a fitted sweater but this is a bit stumpy if you ask me.

There is another even larger problem: The skeins don't match. When I first noticed this - when I was done knitting the body - I cursed the yarn shop that had sold me the yarn. I hadn't even checked my purchase to make sure it was all from the same lot number. It seemed to be such a high-end together sort of shop that when the sales person handed me my six skeins I didn't even give it a second thought.

But I now know that my truck-driver language was misplaced. The fault was my own. All yarn was from the same lot. At least that's what the label said. I just didn't think I needed to heed warnings about mixing hand painted yarns every few rows for homogeneous color. That would mean a lot less mindless knitting and paying attention to what I was doing. And I am too lazy for that.

So I ripped out the bottom to make it longer and tighten up the ribbing a bit by using 15 needles instead of 17's.

But screw it. There is no way I am going to start all over just to alternate skeins. The faded look of the middle of the body is now a design feature.

a lot of really big yarn

Winding up Burly spun presents numerous problems. Essentially, it is too big for the basic yarn winder. Never the less, here it is. It is quite large and lovely. The sweater - not so much. More about that after the pain is over.

"weekend sweater" for Pam

I could not knit this (#224) in a weekend because of the hand-soreness that results from using US17 needles and gigantic yarn. SeyMo wishes I would never finish it.

pirate's cove

Lets start this off by saying that my computer at home doesn't work so I have to write at work. This is not a good idea since I should actually be working. The problems at home with the computer are long running and ongoing and, as a result, my work computer has ton of photos on it that are personal.

For example, these photos are of Pirates' Cove (or is it "Pirate's Cove"?) in Alabama. They were taken back in January on a day with decent weather. You can get there by car but it easier and faster to go by boat from Orange Beach. From our place it takes about 5 minutes. Pirate's Cove is great. During the season they have bands. They have a white sandy beach that you can pull your boat or jet-ski up to. They serve a mean cheese burger. The Bushwacker works its magic efficiently.

And they have a lot of dogs. If you don't like dogs do not go to Pirate's Cove. If you have issues with dogs eating your food, do not go Pirate's Cove. I personally love the giant mastiff who has never met people food she doesn't like.

fun with guns in Vegas

I recommend going to the shooting range while in Las Vegas. I was awed and pretty freaked out by the power and noise. Steve loved it.













Not much knitting happening on this trip. Started a shrug from Heartfelt The Dark House Collection by Kim Hargreaves. Posts to come.