How The West Was Spun

Seraphim Shawl

Seraphim is finished!  I'm really pleased with how this project turned out.  Of course, I'm a fan of Mim's patterns, but the combination of this design and the Silky Wool yarn are going to be a perfect match for my mum's birthday request.  She wanted something "not too lacy" and substantial enough to actually be warm, so she can wrap up in the shawl while she drinks her tea in the mornings.  When she and my Da were out to visit for Thanksgiving, she appropriated the big "bunnies leaping" shawl Cathy made for me, but said she wanted something a little smaller and triangular. 

Project Specs

• Pattern:  Seraphim Shawl by Mim of Mimknits.
• Yarn:  Silky Wool (50% silk, 50% wool) in Red.
• Needles:  3.75 mm (US 5) Knitpicks circulars
• Modifications:  None.
• Summary:  This actually turned out even better than I expected. It blocked out (without very strenuous blocking - just enough to open up the lace pattern) to exactly 72 x 36.  Not too big, not too small.  The heavier silk/wool yarn gives it a reassuring heft when you wrap it around your shoulders, and while I think my mum is fully planning to wear this mostly around the house in cooler weather, she could dress it up if she wanted to.  I've read some comments where a few folks found the stockinette to be tedious, but I really didn't.  It was a nice soothing knit, and since you add the lace slowly as you reach the end, it'd be a nice way for a new lace knitter to get accustomed to the yarn and needles before having to worry about keeping track of the lace pattern.  I will store it for a couple of months until it needs to make the trek eastward for her birthday in June.

The artsy shot:

All for now......

WIP Wednesday - 03/26/08

Project #1:  Seraphim Shawl

Honest-to-goodness progress on this one!  D and I decided we really needed a quiet, stay-at-home, couch-potato Friday night last week and between that time, and trying to sneak in 30 to 60 minutes of knit-time before I fall into bed at night, I have managed to finish the last body chart, and have done all but the last 4 rows of the edging chart.

Goal:  Finish this up!  I'm so close, I should be able to keep chugging along and get this one off the needles, eh?  It's for my mum's birthday in June, so I do have plenty of time, but it'd be nice to get it finished.

Project #2:  Lace Diamond Scarf

I actually knit on this!  I completed the 2 pattern repeats I set as a goal.  No pictures, because frankly, you can't tell I've done anything on this. 

Goal:  I'm gonna try for another 2 repeats and see how that goes.

Project #3:  Little Child's Socks

Still on hold, but I'll rotate these back into active status once the shawl is done.

All for now....

Isn't It Ironic?

Doncha think?  (Everyone sing along now.....)  I little toooooo ironic.  Yeah, I really do think.  Hold this thought while I digress momentarily.....

Things are slowly returning back to normal around here.  (About damn time, too!)  Both D and I still look out and see a bay horse standing in the farthest stall of the barn and think "Hap??!?", but then the bay turns around and we can see the cute little white blaze on its nose and we both realize it's Bhen.  (Likely on the lookout for incoming Diggs, but nevertheless - not Hap.)

D and I had been worried about Hap this past year.  He wanted to take her out with us, do some camping, go to some races with me, but stuff like that really sent her into a tizzy sometimes and spending the night away from home, possibly not drinking enough water, especially in the warm summer months - that scenario had colic potential written all over it.  Of course, we worried too if we left her home and she didn't feel well, because although we have VERY kind and on-the-ball animal sitters, they aren't here 24/7 like I am, and if they missed her early warning signs, she might also be at a full-blown colic risk.  So we worried - worried about taking her with us, worried about leaving her at home.  D did a lot of thinking about his options and decided he wanted to keep her for what she excelled at - rough mountain trails and trail riding - and get a backup/second horse so he could come along to endurance rides with me.  And so, we had started looking.  The weekend before she got sick.

We had gone up to Idaho and found a very nice gelding, a Morab (that's an Arab and Morgan cross) who fit D's long legs nicely and who had pretty much done it all.  He had packed and camped in the mountains, did trail rides, cut cattle, jumped, and had even done some endurance.  He was out of shape as his owner has a 2-year-old daughter and hadn't ridden much since the little one arrived, but he was very gentle, had great ground-manners and was easy to ride when we took him to the arena after not having had so much as a saddle on in 7 months.

We drove home and slept on it, and thought about it some more, and Dave had decided he'd at least take the first step of getting the horse vet-checked for soundness - and then, as if she knew, Hap got sick.  (Classic Hap attitude:  "You sorry SOB, you looked at another horse.  I'll show you.... you.... you dumbass." )  So - yeah - ironic, isn't it? 

Sam the Wonder Horse (registered name something totally bizarre I can't even pronounce) passed his vet check with flying colors and I drove up to Idaho on Friday and picked him up. 

He came with my to my lesson on Saturday with Bhen and Jerry (heh) and while Jerry is really not partial to Morabs, he was suitably impressed with Sam.  So much so that he thinks he could do 3-day eventing without batting an eye once he's back in shape.  (No one should tell D what 3-day eventing is or he will probably want to do it, m'kay?)  Since Jerry signed off on him, we let the sellers know we'll keep him and he moved right in with my two boys.

It is a very good thing that Sam has wonderful manners and is a kind soul.  (You can see that in his eyes in the above picture, can't you?)  Because he is a big boy.  No... I mean BIG boy.  Here's a picture of him in his (double wide) stall next to Diggs.  Please note where Diggs butt is in relationship to Sam's.  And then look at where Diggs' feet are (his stall is elevated -it's the Napoleon stall - for short horses with bad attitudes).

Sam's a full 16.3 hands; Digger is 14.1... on a good day..... with new shoes on.... standing up really really straight.  When Sam stands up I can stand completely under his neck without his having to lift his head at all.  But he's a sweetheart.  He knows all kinds of tricks, like how to drop his head down so those of us who are vertically challenged can put a headstall or halter on.  AND, he's even smart enough to understand he has to drop it only a bit for D to reach, but a lot for me. 

He's carrying a bit of extra weight, but he has lovely bone structure and a nice set of hindquarters.  Cathy, this one's for you:

 

I think he and D are going to be a great match. 

All for now......

WIP Wednesday - 03/19/08

Back from beyond finally.  Thank you to everyone who either left a comment or sent me an email about last week.  It is lovely to know there are so many kind and caring folks out in blog-land.  I wasn't able to answer everyone individually, but please know it really meant a lot to me and to D, who misses his girl every time he looks out in the pasture.

As you might guess, I haven't been particularly productive.  Or at least not much with things on the list.

Project #1:  Seraphim Shawl

Due to a long day sitting at the doctor's office and various errands on Friday, I did get some time put in on this and I'm this close to being done with chart #3.  One more pattern row and a purl-back row and then I can move onto the edging chart.

GOAL:  Finish chart #3 and start edging.

Project #2:  Lace Diamond Scarf

Don't say you weren't warned - s-l-o-w going here.  Not one stinkin' thing done on this.  It looks precisely the same.  Sigh.

GOAL:  Think small.  Try for 2 completed repeats and more only as a bonus.

I did actually do some completely mindless knitting on D's Cobblestone Pullover, which isn't on my WIP list, but sometimes stockinette is about all you can handle.  This has been one of those weeks.  I'm about halfway done the body on this and I'm just gonna keep sneaking some time on it when I need something I don't have to think about to work on.

Yarn is Beaverslide Dry Goods merino in color "Marsh Sedge".  Yummy.

All for now....

Today had better be better

Seriously.  If I was the kind of person to go postal, this week woulda pushed me there.  Several days ago perhaps.  Today absolutely HAS to be better.  HAS.....TO.

Let's recap, shall we?

Monday:  Not a horrendous day.  At least not for me.  D got to have a lot of uncomfortable dental work done, and I was concerned about him, but that was mangeable.

Tuesday:  D got home for dinner and we looked out and realized Hap was not feeling well.  Looked like her typical colicky symptoms, so we went and walked her and gave her some medications we use for these instances (she is a colicky-kinda gal) and by 7:00 p.m., she was better.  By 9:00, much better, and when I checked her at midnight, grouchy that I wasn't out there to feed her breakfast.  Whew!  Long, stressful day. 

Wednesday:  I went out to feed at 5:30 and Hap was down on the ground and in a lot of discomfort.  We paged the vet, got her on her feet finally and hauled her the 5 minutes down to our vet's office.  It was obvious when we got in there she was in a lot of discomfort, so Scott (our vet) gave her some muscle relaxants and pain medications, checked her hydration and ran some other tests, pronounced this a full-blown colic and said he'd need to keep her at the clinic so he could keep an eye on her and treat her over the course of the day.  He called to update us about every 2 hours, and as the day went on, it became more obvious that she wasn't getting any better, and was actually deteriorating.  So, by 8:30 when he called and D and I drove over to see her, it was pretty obvious that we needed to make the decision to have her euthanized, which we did.  This was a very very bad day.

Thursday:  We got up and were still mopey.  D was home in the morning as he is fighing off a sinus infection and still having jaw soreness from Monday's excitement.  Around lunchtime, I looked out and both Sydney and Rowan were gone.  G-O-N-E.  From inside a chainlink fence, where all the gates were still closed.  I then (with the help of some really good friends!) spent from about 1:30 until 7:00 driving around a 5-mile radius looking for the girls.  I had been out looking in the hills to the west of us, thinking they had gone out bird-stalking in the sagebrush, and ran home to check for messages.  Both the girls have collars with the house number on them, so I was hopeful.  YES!  A guy named Josh had found them down by the river, about 5 miles (and across a major 2-lane highway) from our house.   Oh... but... since I hadn't called him back within 5 minutes and he had "stuff to do", he just let them go.   (ETA:  Friday morning here.  I'm pretty sure Josh's ears are still buzzing from the level of noise and profanity that I unleashed into them when I called him back to "thank" him for his "help".)  Back out again I went for another hour or so, looking for them down at the river.  Ran back home to check messages, because as D said "I lost my horse this week, I don't think I could take losing my dog too.", and Hallelujah!  A nice (and much smarter than Josh) lady had found then chasing cats and had put them in her outdoor kennel and called the house. We finally got the girls home (muddy and bur-covered) around 8:00 last night and D and I collapsed around 9:30. 

In speaking with our neighbor across the street, apparently 3 times in the last 10 days, his yard gate has been opened.  They have a dog too, but he doesn't roam - just hangs out in the front yard or goes back to sleep in his dog house out back - even if the gate is open.  So we think perhaps that's how the girls got out.  And I would just like to mention that this "prankster" should hope that D gets to him first if we find out who it is, because I have a baseball bat with his name on it (and enough Sicilian heritage) that I would be happy to introduce him to.

Friday:  Today absolutely positive WILL be better.  HAS..... TO....... Doesn't it?

All for now......

WIP Wednesday - 03/12/08 - The Short Version

No update from me on this today.  Hopefully I'll return later in the week if/when things are a little quieter around the house.

All for now....

WIP Wednesday - 03/05/2008

I was kind of hoping I would have an extremely productive week, knitting-wise, before March arrived and Bhen and I kicked our conditioning schedule back into a more intense gear, but between the 2 new kits and the new shop (which I think is letting folks pick the perfect yarn/colorway marriage, because boy! have we gotten some good-looking color/yarn combinations), that was not to be.  I dyed almost all day on Sunday (7:30 to 5-ish with 1 break to run more packages to the USPS) and still didn't quite get all the orders filled.  I am down to just a handful right now that came in late Sunday and Monday, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

PROJECT #1:  Seraphim Shawl

This probably doesn't look markedly different from last week's photo, but trust me, I did get through 6 more rows on this.  Still a whole lotta stitches on the needles for each row, but I'm going to keep chipping away at this.

Goal:  Knit 6 more rows.

PROJECT #2:  Child's First Sock

I didn't even bother with a picture - I got nuttin here.  I didn't even pick this up this week.  I was waiting to work on it this weekend, and then.... well.... the world of dyeing got in the way.  I think, considering how this weekend is looking, that I won't get to this again this week.

Goal:  None - ON HOLD

PROJECT #3:  Large Rectangle Scarf with Central Diamond Pattern

No pics of this either, but I did get all 5 of my goal repeats done (plus an odd half a repeat that I apparently stopped midway through the last time I put this down - took me forEVER to figure out where the hell I was in the chart).  I'm more than halfway done the edging for the first long side.  I'm going to press on with this.

Goal:  Five more repeats.

All for now....

Love, Digger

Dear Bhen:

Since you and I are now gonna be BFF pasture-mates for the summer, I wanted to share a few healthy rules about being my pasture-mate.  Ya know, when you first arrived here, I wasn't sure I was too crazy about a new addition, but since we've stood together through lots of snowstorms this winter, and played that fun game "bite my face" through the openings in the electric fence, I feel like you are probably an okay kinda guy.  So here are the "house rules".  If you follow them, trust me - you will be a much healthier horse.  Because if you don't..... I'll kill you.

Rule 1:  This is really important. DO NOT under any circumstances look at my mommy.  Even if you kind of are wandering by her to go do something else, do NOT, I repeat, NOT, look at her, make eye contact with her, even sort of glance towards her.  Not even through a fence line.  I will kill you.

Rule 2:  Do not EVER look at my food.  EVER.  Don't even pretend you don't want it, because I know you do.  Forget trying to "share".  It is all mine, or at least what my mommy lets me have.  Don't look at HER food either.  I will kill you.

Rule 3:  Do not try to make contact with the horses next door.  You may think they've got your back, or will try to help you by herding up.  They won't.  And if you try to talk to them, especially the good looking girl types...... I will kill you.

Rule 4:  Do not try to go into MY barn.  Yes, yes... I know the food (see rule 2) and water are in there.  Too bad.  All of that stuff is mine anyhow, and besides, if it starts to rain or snow, or if the wind blows, or it's dusty out, I will be inside the barn because I don't like to get wet or have my hair blown into my eyes.  If you try to go into the barn, sorry ol' pal, I will have to kill you then too.

Rule 5:  Do not try to roll in my dirt.  It is all mine, and while I am completely fastidious about my appearance (see rule 4), I pick who rolls and when, after my mommy tells me it's okay.  Don't touch the dirt.  Got it?  Or else.... well.... I'll kill you.

Rule 6:  Now this is a tricky one.  You know the blonde chick that comes out to feed me?  Yeah, well.  I saw her first.  And a lot of times she has treats for me.  ME - not you.  ME.  If you try to get close to her to see if she has any goodies, or get scratches behind your ears, or kisses on your nose - Fuggedaboutit - she is mine.  (Except if she wants to take me out and get sweaty.  I'm really fine staying here in MY barn, with MY food and MY mommy and having a nap.  The sweating is your department.  You go.  I'll stand behind you when she has the halter.  Just don't check her pockets for treats.  If you do, I would have to kill you.)

Just follow these simple rules, and I know we will get along famously, Bhen.

Love,

Digger