Brainless Knitter & Brainless Gardener

The Brainless Gardener

2010-05-07T15:56:00.010-04:00

The brainless knitter is also a brainless gardener. Especially around this time of year. Here's how the yard looks like right now.

This is the formerly shady spot down by the mailbox. The ash tree is dying and the birch trees already died, so there isn't so much shade any more. This patch was where massive trucks full of dirt and septic paraphernalia drove into my yard. Talk about compacted soil! The contractor moved the spindly rhododendron out of the way and replanted it. I'm hoping my Ligularia, May Apple and Sweet Woodruff can spread back into the devastated area.

The strip along the old horse fence. If there were any horses here now they'd nibble these plants to death. The climbing hydrangea seems to have reached its "leap" phase. The bed is mulched with brand-new wood chips - can't wait until they age a bit. They're kind of jarring right now. But hey, they are free.

All the wood I hauled up from our wooded area, as well as the wood (stacked) from our Norway maple. There's nothing like hiring a guy with a chainsaw.

This is what central air conditioning looks like when it first gets into your house. It's why I'm parking outside for a week or so.

The pathetic looking vegetable garden and the especially pathetic rhubarb plants I transplanted from the raspberry patch, where they were getting overwhelmed. All there is now is a bit of lettuce, peppers, kale and Brussels sprouts. And, I think, some garlic which I planted last year but have no idea how to really grow.

This also shows how horrible the lawn is where they put in our new septic system. This is after three attempts to seed grass. Really, only the clover seed took hold. It's a good thing we're not lawn nerds.

Bode posing by the perennial bed. The ajuga is about the only thing blooming now. The orange and yellow primrose was great a few days ago.

Felted rug - not square but at least it's done

2010-01-11T12:53:00.008-05:00

My crocheted felted rug is finally done. I had to learn how to crochet to do this one, which is my excuse for why it's far from square. (Here's where to get the pattern.)

Here's what it looked like before felting. You can't tell the scale from the photos, but it shrank a lot, which of course is the point of felting. It also hides lots of sins.

And in pieces:

The cats don't seem to mind that it's not square.

Yarns Unlimited of Pennsylvania

2009-11-27T16:51:00.005-05:00

I was happy enough to simply find some of my favorite hard-to-find yarn at an online yarn store. But then they emailed me after I ordered to let me know that it was actually on sale, plus they were going to charge me less for shipping. This was sweet -- I would never have known otherwise.

Hats off to Yarns Unlimited for super customer service!

Here's Bode modeling the new yarn:

The Bates College Moderne Log Cabin Afghan: Done

2009-08-30T12:20:00.007-04:00

A mother's work is done. Last night I finished the Moderne Log Cabin afghan I started in January. Tomorrow I drop the boy off at college.

Am I crazy to put so much effort into something that's going into a boy's college dorm room? This was a true labor of love. Hopefully he'll look at it and think of mom knitting during all those episodes of The Sopranos we watched together as a family this year.

Now my tired hands can get a rest. At least I have three years before his younger brother will need a college afghan. (Or, rather, when I want to knit him one.) Unless he decides to go to school in Texas, as he threatens to do, the brat.

Graduation Girl Scarves

2009-06-04T11:36:00.004-04:00

I'm so in love with Noro Silk Garden after making these three scarves for the girls who are graduating this year.

The center one is in the pattern from Brooklyn Tweed. The two outside ones are
the Multidirectional Diagonal scarf pattern.

All of these have been so much fun to knit - and easy, too. Now I better return to the Bates College Afghan and finish that up!

Take this cup and give us a yarn sample please

2009-04-13T19:53:00.003-04:00

I have knitting and yarn on the brain. Today I brought my knitting with me during a doctor's appointment. While the tech was taking my blood I thought she asked me for a yarn sample. Heck, my scarf project was hanging out of my bag, so why wouldn't she notice it and think the Noro Kureyon was so lovely she wanted a sample of it?

But no, she said a URINE sample, not a YARN sample.

Oops.

Airplane Knitting - Brooklyn Tweed Noro Scarf

2009-02-24T19:43:00.007-05:00

An almost perfect project for knitting on an airplane: the Brooklyn Tweed striped Noro scarf. I say "almost" perfect because unwinding the two skeins of yarn while crammed into a middle seat between two teenage boys (lovely as they are) was a little tiresome. I made a lot of headway on the plane from Boston to Denver, then knit a lot in our slopeside condo (watching the Sopranos) after strenuous days of skiing.

I used Silk Garden in colors 258 and 264. Here's Bode helping model it:

Not to be outdone, here's Dixie modeling it.

Lastly, here I am wearing it as we attempt to patronize the only yarn shop in Aspen - The Yarn Gallery. Despite the fact that it was 5 PM there was an "out to lunch" note on the door. I never did get inside...

Moderne Log Cabin Afghan (Bates College Afghan)

2009-02-09T19:51:00.002-05:00

I've started the afghan for my son (mentioned here). Since I took this photo I've finished the second rectangle and started the third one. Pretty soon this won't be a portable project.

Bode my Portuguese Water Dog is always willing to liven up my photos.

"Real" Toe-Up Socks are Done

2009-02-06T18:22:00.006-05:00

Yay, my first "real" socks are done.

Here's my fat kitty Dixie helping model them:

I've definitely been bitten by the sock bug. I recently bought enough yarn for three more pairs. The next pair will be with Noro Kuryeon sock yarn and itty bitty needles.

SuperBowl Sale on Noro Yarn

2009-02-02T11:44:00.009-05:00

The best part of the SuperBowl is The Fiber Loft's sale on all Noro yarn: 15% off. I escaped with 4 balls each of Kureyon and Silk Garden, and one of Kureyon Sock yarn.

And I got a skein of Alpaca Sox, which was not on sale but irresistible.

I'm not sure what I'll be making from these (other than socks from the sock yarn!), but it's always nice to have some Noro yarn in the stash.

The World's Largest Coaster

2009-01-27T11:37:00.000-05:00

When I need something truly brainless to knit I turn to my multicolor rug. My husband calls it the world's largest coaster. Here's Bode, the world's cutest Portuguese Water Dog posing by the work in progress.

It's made with a three-stitch strip of garter stitch, then sewed around. I slip the first stitch, knit the second, and knit into the back of the third. This makes great TV knitting because it requires no thought at all.

I'm using two kinds of cotton. Top choice is Mission Falls cotton because the colors are great. But I do use a lot of Sugar and Cream, which is way less expensive, for a few of the colors like white, black, and some of the greens and blues. And I used up a little bit of stash yarn, like the hot pink in the center.

It's going to require some major blocking when it's done because the edges are curling up. When will it be done? Who knows? I guess I'll keep going until it drives me crazy.

"Real" Socks - Knitted Toe-Up

2009-01-18T16:04:00.006-05:00

So now that I've cut my teeth making these funky socks, I'm ready for some real ones.

I actually bought this yarn a year or two ago along with a pattern from Knit Purl in Sudbury, MA. They were doing a sock workshop while I was there. I figured I can't be too much dumber than all the women around the table, so why not give it a try. It's taken me this long to actually get started.

The sock pattern, which is toe-up, is from Art Yarns, but I don't see it on their website. The yarn is their Handpaint Stripes and this is the color. It's a heavier yarn that most sock yarns, and the needles are #5, making this a less painful sock-knitting foray than it might be otherwise.

The "Learning Experience" Knit Socks

2009-01-18T10:58:00.007-05:00

I decided it was time to learn to knit socks this year. I learned how to knit in 1981 in between my sophomore and junior years in college. My grandmother taught me to make a "scarf," which was basically just a long knit-purl thing that curled up and looked silly.

So after 30-something years of knitting (and no, that does NOT make me an expert) it was time to tackle the perils of straight needles and make socks. Everyone else is doing it, and they look so wonderful. And I could actually wear socks, unlike the sweaters that just make me too hot these days.

I needed an easy pattern. So I found the Tropical Punch Slipper Socks on Ravelry. The pattern was clear and well written, but I didn't follow the instructions and used a single strand of yarn (Noro Kureyon) instead of two. So they came out kind of funky.

But they served their purpose of getting me over the sock hurdle. Now I'm ready to knit some socks for real (and I will follow the directions). The next time I do the Tropical Punch Slipper Socks I'll follow the instructions and make some nice slippers as a gift for someone.

Because Anonymous said the blog needed more cat pictures, here's Dixie modeling the Noro socks:

Knitting Attention Deficit Disorder

2009-01-15T19:34:00.006-05:00

I'm getting hit with Knitting A.D.D. Allie left a comment about the Lion Brand Centerpiece Treasure afghan she made for her son when he went to college. I had to Google the name of the pattern to see what it looked like.

Just my kind of project: lots of colors and no sewing. (At least I don't think there's sewing.)

So now I'm so confused. Should I do the Moderne Log Cabin pattern(photo on the right) or the Centerpiece Treasure (photo on the left)?

Maybe I should let the college-bound boy decide.

My blog just got fatter (and that's a good thing)

2009-01-14T19:46:00.003-05:00

After a few hours of wrestling with Blogger I finally changed this blog over to a 3-column template. This exercise made my brain hurt!

Blogger only offers 2-column templates, so you have to find a 3-column one yourself. I finally found a simple 3-column template at Webtalks. After recreating some of the work I had done on the blog earlier, and creating a new wiiiiide banner graphic, I'm ready to relax and knit for the evening. The Lost recap episode is on, so it's a perfect time for some brainless TV knitting.

The Bates College Afghan

2009-01-13T16:53:00.005-05:00

It may be 90 degrees when we drop Jake off for his first year at Bates next August. But he'll still have a hand-knit afghan from mom.

I'm pretty sure I want to do the Moderne Log Cabin pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting. (Yes, that's the actual pattern in the link.)

Although I'm tempted to use up stash yarn, it would come out a lot better if I bite the bullet and buy new yarn, all the same kind. KnitPicks has this Wool of the Andes yarn that is $1.99 - 2.19 a ball - a great deal AND it comes in a lot of colors.

So, to see what colors I wanted, I downloaded their color images and dragged them into template of the overall pattern I made in PhotoShop. I stretched the images to fit the rough sizes of the color blocks in the log cabin design.

Pretty cool, huh? If you squint you can sort of get the idea.

I think I really like this combo of strong colors. They also have some gorgeous heathers, but I wanted really bright and graphical colors.

What do you think? Should I go ahead and order this yarn?

Patience is a virtue

2009-01-12T17:51:00.004-05:00

Yes, this blog looks pretty empty right now. You can't expect a brainless knitter (Andrea Harris) to set up a blog that fast, can you?

First on the blogging agenda: a nice banner across the top. Time to dig out the Photoshop book...

What does the Brainless Knitter do when not trying to knit?

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