Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Footprints

We went for a walk today (no work or school - we're very lucky, lots of folks in the ATL area were stuck in cars for 6,8, 12 hours or worse) and appreciated our luck. We found:
Mouse footprints
Deer prints
A large bird's prints 
Somebody tiny who tried to get into our trash 
Small bird prints. 

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Snow day!

It just took me over two hours to get home from work because it's snowing. 
I'm safe,my husband will be home soon, our son will be home soon. 
The blackbirds down here freaked out by the weather this winter. There so many of them up and down the street, mobbing, that when a big flock of them took off a few minutes ago it sounded like some kind of muffled thunder.  Kind of startled me at first. Even inside the house I can hear them chirping, calling to each other.  They sound like squeaky hinges on tens of rusty screen doors. 
Here they are at my front yard. 

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Finishing

So, from all the books and tips on blogs I've seen, lots of people seem to hate finishing. I actually really enjoy it, most especially on Fassett sweaters.  Here's why ....
When you do intarsia or fair isle, with lots of ends and sometimes varying weights, the knitting may be great, 
but the edges tend to be a sloppy mess. 
So a nicely finished edge on intarsia is a must. 
It turns you peice from"oh, wow, did you make that yourself" to just "wow". If you knit, you know what I mean. :)
So, tips:  
Pick up sts for you edge one full st away from the edge to give wide berth to the wobble ones that both look bad and will be loose and create an unstable edge. 
When you work around a corner (armpit, neck hole) mitre for ease - I do this on single thickness rubbings, or if you're doing a folded edge, decrease a couple sts on the outside, then increase them again to match in the inside. This will make the peice lay flat, especially if you're going to wear it layered like this vest. 
When you do a folded over edge, make the inside a couple rows longer than the facing side. Again, it will ensure the edging lays flat and gives you a nice, stable and solid backdrop for where you picked up for your edging. That way if you're layering, nothing will show through your pick up. 
I just need to finish my edges and find and put on buttons.  Then I'm thinking of using up more this yarn on a Toothed Striped vest. 
I'm also thinking about doing some of these and putting them on EBay. Or setting up a link to submit a picture showing colors you like and I'll make you a Fassett sweater or vest. I could do 5 or so a year. Any thoughts, takers?