How I Grilled a Pizza.

I wish you could have been here Sunday night. I decided to try grilling pizza. I've been thinking about it for a while, but honestly, I was a little daunted by the idea of throwing uncooked dough onto the grill. I was scared the dang thing would ooze through the grate and onto the coals. So I finally got up my nerve and whipped up some whole wheat crust using a combination of several recipes. I added more olive oil to the dough, because somewhere I read that an oil rich dough does better on the coals.

Well, it seemed obvious to me that grilled veggies were the appropriate toppings, so I sliced up an eggplant and sweated it with salt for 1/2 hour, halved a red pepper and a Vidalia onion. I also had some portabello mushrooms.. I diced up some Roma tomatoes and garlic and let those sit at room temperature for about an hour. I infused about 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil with chopped garlic, dried oregano, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. All the veggies except the tomatoes went on the grill. #2 had to get in on the action:


Here's a closeup of the veggies:


It's important when grilling pizza to have everything ready on hand. After I grilled the veggies I cut them up and put them into small bowls. I had 4 pizza doughs separated by plastic wrap. There's the olive oil on the right and fresh grated mozzarella on the left. A word of advice, don't let your cheese and dough get too warm. They become hard to handle. The first dough, the coolest, held its shape the best. The other 3 got progressively more difficult to pick up and stretched out a little. The cheese, well, it was clumping together and hard to sprinkle over the pizza.


You get the grill pretty hot and spread the olive oil on one side of the dough, put that side of the dough onto the grill and watch it bubble up. This takes about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough. Isn't that gorgeous? I was so excited when the dough puffed up instead of oozing down.


Then you flip the dough, spread that side with oil and put on your toppings. I started with the cheese then the tomatoes, then a little of everything else. I think the main thing is not to put on too much stuff. The pizzas weren't too difficult to get off the grill because I kept them pretty small. I had a couple of small pizza pans that I turned upside down and slid the pizzas onto them as they were done. This was hands down the BEST pizza I've ever eaten. Here's the finished product.


And that is how I grilled a pizza.

PS: I AM knitting, but the pizza pictures were more interesting than my knitted stuff. I'll get back on topic soon, I promise.

New Vintage Baby Jacket and More

I finished the second Vintage Baby Jacket (well except for the buttons. Seems like I have an aversion to buttons lately). Here's the final product:


I used Blue Sky Alpaca in sportsweight and Addi Turbos #4 circulars. I changed the pattern to accomodate the yarn and made some other changes. First I wanted to reduce the number of seams, so I knitted in the 1/2 round up to the sleeve openings, then I just added a ball of yarn at the beginning of each section, 1 for the back and one for the other front, so I was working with 3 balls of yarn at once. I like this technique and will probably adapt it to other cardigans.

I also felt like the original pattern had too much skirt, so I narrowed the circumference at the bottom, but maintained the original at the chest. I think if I made it again, I would keep the dimensions I have now, but would change the lacework. It seems a little heavy in this particular yarn. But that's my critical eye, and I think this will make a good baby present for a little girl who is making her appearance some time this fall.

It's been mighty quiet around here. I took the boys up to Grama & Papa's house last Saturday. I stopped by the LYS there, the one that's supposed to be going out of business. DH isn't convinced. He thinks they're trying to move stock, but I really don't care because I got 4 hanks of buffalo fingering at 40% off:


The boys were with me at the store, and to keep them happy I bought them some yarn and some needles. They picked this Lornas Laces specially dyed for the shop. I'm not a fan of the colorway, but the boys like it. The yarn and the needles were 40% off, too, or I wouldn't have bought them. The knitting in this picture is mostly mine, but the boys did some of it. Even my 7 year old nefew, who got up on my lap and asked me to teach him how to knit. In 2 minutes he had the hang of it, and knitted about 3 rows:


Finally, I promised myself I was going to use up my stash. Here is a sock I've been working on. The yarn is some Lornas Laces Shepherd Sock I've had since last summer. I'm about done with this one and will finish it up and start the other one soon. It's just plain stockinette, but the color is so pretty, I think it will be fine.


Happy Dog Days!

Vintage Baby Jacket

I'm just shy of having this thing finished. I have had all the pieces finished for several weeks, but felt discouraged by the discrepancy in the dye lots. I finally set out to block them for piecing together, with the idea that once I had it sewn up I could decide whether or not to over-dye it if the difference was too noticeable. Here are the sleeves and fronts blocking:


Here are the pieces just set together, no sewing.


Here is the jacket sewn up, no buttons, and with a few loose ends in need of weaving in. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The difference between the sleeves and body isn't too noticeable, don't you think? I don't think I'm going to mess with it. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn, and I forget what size needles I used. I think they were US #3's, probably my Addi Turbos. I look back at previous posts and figure that out later. The color in the picture below is more true than the ones above. Can I just say how much I love the Cherry Hill Tree yarn? It's so soft and slightly fuzzy once it's been blocked. I'll use it again for baby clothes.


The garden is growing. Here are some zinnias:


My lemon basil is out of control. I can't keep the buds pinched back, so the bees are in heaven!

New Socks

Lately I've been on a mission to use up my stash. I periodically remind myself I HAD to have that yarn or this, and it's been sitting in my basket for months, or even years. So, it's time my yarn gets the attention it deserves. The first yarn wasn't an impulse buy at all. No I started with some very special sock yarn, Regia Silk Sock. It's smooth, soft and easy to work with. The fabric it yields is wonderful, but what makes these particular skeins special to me is how I got them.

Last summer I was sick from Grave's Disease, and a good friend who lives far away sent me this yarn out of the blue. She said in a note to make myself a pair of socks. I had been knitting socks for everyone else all summer, you see. So after knitting a bunch of socks for Christmas gifts, I was too burned out to think of knitting socks for myself. But that was a year ago, and I'm ready to roll again:


My first pair of socks for myself. I used a vintage cable pattern, but left the cables out, to create a rib stitch that is P1K1P1, K3. I thought anything more complex than a rib would compete with the stripes, but I can see how a ripple or chevron would look nice. The stripes met up pretty well, but that was unplanned. The needles are some plain aluminum #2 dpns (4).

While the stripe matching was unintentional in the previous pair, I decided to make it happen in this pair of baby socks. Remember when I was talking about making baby gifts in advance? It occurred to me that all the small leftover balls of sock yarn from last summer would yield some quick knit baby socks. Since I just finished with the Regia, I used it for the first pair of baby socks. This is some basic baby sock pattern I found on line, nothing fancy. The pattern had a few dents and dings that I fixed to make it fit my style of sock knitting. So here's the matching stripes Regia Silk baby socks:



I've started another pair of baby socks, and have the vintage baby jacket blocking. I seem to be over my knitting blahs and I'll try to post more regularly again. I hope everyone is doing great and summer is treating you right.

Home Again!

At last! The travelling seems to over for now. We took a road trip to DC with the boys and had a blast. They didn't get too antsy in the car and once we arrived, they had a great time. We took them to the Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshorn Sculpture Museum. We walked on the Mall some, but it was really hot and we tried to stay out of the sun.


A few days after we got home, I took the boys to my folks and saw my sister who was visiting from California. I dropped the kids off, and headed home. DH & I then travelled to Biloxi, Mississippi for a professional conference for him, and just lounging for me. We stayed at the Beau Rivage Casino Hotel, and other than gambling and overpriced shopping there wasn't much to do. I did catch up on my sleep a little, and had a couple of really good meals. I drove to Grama's yesterday and picked the boys up after a week of not seeing them. While I was there, I dropped by the LYS and discovered it was closing. Even though it's 100 miles away, it's the closest yarn store to me. I'm so bummed. I did buy 2 hanks of Art Yarns Merino in this blue green color and 4 balls of Blue Sky Alpaca Sport at 30% off. Next week the sale is going to be better, but I'm not driving up for that.

Me, Sis & a cut-off #2:


My new yarn and cable needles:


On the knitting front, I'm almost finished with a sock out of Regia Silk Sock I received from a friend about a year ago. She sent me the yarn to cheer me up when I was sick and couldn't do much more than knit socks. I did get all my Christmas presents done early last year, but was too burned out to knit any more socks for a while. I'm making these for me. My first pair I knitted for myself. This picture was taken about a week ago, so I'm much further along. Since starting these, I've read the Regia Silk isn't very elastic, and I probably should have used fewer stitches, but I'll go with slouchy if that's what happens.


So my friends, it's tomatoes and basil, knitting socks, watching the kids in the pool and reruns of I Love Lucy. I really DO love Lucy you know.

Just not that into it.

Hi All.

I haven't been knitting at all. I made the bonnet to go with the vintage baby jacket and was not pleased. It appears too large. I know my kids had melon heads as babies, but really! I need a large headed 9 month old to try it on and see if it' just me or the bonnet.

Anyway.

I'm not frustrated or upset about knitting, just a little too busy to be fussing with iffy patterns, you know? Summer has begun and I'm home with the kids. We have been trading visits with friends, trying to teach the kids the art of sociability, a skill DH & I sorely lack. Their kids over here, our kids over there, repeat, repeat, repeat...

Baseball season is finally over, thank the stars. Oh, what a shitty season #1's team had. It was painful to watch. Especially painful on Sunday afternoon from 1-4 with the sun in full force. I have decided I don't like baseball for kiddies. It's too competitive, too stressful, and the parents are just awful. Something about it makes even mild mannered parents turn into raving fanatics. Well, we have a year to decide if we're going to do it again. Bleah!

June is completely scheduled out. This Wednesday we're taking the boys on a road trip to DC. We'll be driving for 2 & 1/2 days, just 5 or 6 hours daily, so they don't get too burned out in the car. We have a DVD player in the vehicle, which they are hardly ever allowed to use, so we plan to stock up on new movies and let them wallow in their new toy to their little hearts' delight. Add some new coloring books, and a couple of hand held electronic toys (use of these is restricted as well, so the boys will think they're getting away with something) and we're set.

Have I ever mentioned I went to grad school in DC? I haven't been back since I graduated, so it'll be weird to be there as a tourist. I didn't have much time for anything but going to art museums and painting while I was there, so it'll be fun to explore a little. The boys are really excited about seeing the Capitol and the Air and Space Museum. I'm looking forward to the National Zoo and the National Cathedral. I plan on bringing some yarn and needles and knitting in the car.

As soon as we return we are visiting my family for a few days, then we are taking a quick trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for a Business/Semi-fun trip. Then June will be over, and I'm hoping for lazy days with a cool drink beside the pop up pool watching the boys flail in the water.

Who Woulda Thunk It?

I got this from Beth at 3 Sheeps to the Wind:

hesira zoysia -- [noun]: A hard-core grave robber 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Dye Lot Problems

The vintage baby jacket has problems. Dye lot problems.

Here's how it goes: The pattern called for 3 oz of yarn to make the jacket. I had 4 oz of Cherry Tree Hill Sock yarn that fit the gauge, so I thought, plenty-o-yarn. After finishing the back, and the 2 front pieces, I could tell I wouldn't have enough yarn to finish the project, SO,

I ordered another hank of the CHT yarn. I knew the dye lots wouldn't match. I figured, the color repeats would be different lengths, or there would be some difference in the darkness or lightness of the yarns, but what I didn't expect was this:


The left side is the original yarn, the right is the new hank. I ordered this yarn about a year ago to make socks. When I got it, it was so cotton candy, baby colored that, I didn't want to make socks out of it for me. I was expecting something subtler, grayer, something like, well the stuff on the right. The yarn sat in my basket all these months, just waiting for the right pattern.

Recently I decided to bust some stash. I also had these vintage pattern books that weren't getting much action. I figured I'd make some baby clothes, and have ready made baby gifts when I needed them. I found this pattern, and it seemed to be the right one for the yarn.


(Don't cha just love fat babies. I wonder where she is today. The copyright on this is from 1942. The book is Woolies for Babies, Book 178, Chadwick's Red Heart.)

Now we're back to, I didn't have enough of the original yarn. I wondered if the original hank was short some yardage, so I did some knitting math. I counted up the stitches in one of the pieces and divided the weight of that piece by the number of stitches. Then I figured out how many stitches the entire jacket contained, and figured out how much yarn the entire project SHOULD take. 4.3 ounces. That's 1.3 MORE ounces of sock yarn than suggested. That's a lot of sock yarn. That's 2 sleeves worth.

What to do, what to do. Well, I wasn't going to frog it. There's a hellova lot of stitches involved. The colors were too different to leave, and I didn't want to do the gradual incorporation of the second color, so I got some advice from a friend at an online knitting group about dyeing. I thought, maybe if I soaked the 2 yarns together, they'd bleed and transfer dye, creating some kind of equilibrium. My friend suggested reeling off 3 yards of each yarn, making tiny sample hanks and first soaking in hot water, to create a bleed, then boiling with vinegar together to set the transfer.

Here are the little hanks waiting to be abused:


Here they are soaking in a white bowl, so I can judge the amount of bleed. Not much, huh?


I boiled them for 20 minutes , with fears that they would felt. They looked pretty awful when I pulled them out, but I hung them to dry overnight. This morning I was pretty pleased with the results. No felting, but quite a bit of fading, and some transfer. Again, left side original, right side new yarn:


Now the plan is to sew the jacket together, and make a bonnet with the remaining yarn. The bonnet and 2 sleeves use the new yarn, and the rest of the jacket is from the original. That will be approximately half & half old to new yarn. Once the bonnet is finished, I'll put the jacket & bonnet through the same treatment as the sample hanks, and see what happens. If the sleeves still look too different, I'll over dye the whole project with Koolaid.

Whew. Wish me luck!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mine started with breakfast in bed. There were a couple of gifts and flowers, too. Check out the swank salt & pepper grinders DH got, along with the bamboo tray.


We had a great day. Went out for lunch and took a drive. Got home and chilled out for a while, then DH made me dinner:


All in all a great day.

A few days ago I received this in the mail. It's Hand Maiden Sik & Cashmere. I have no idea what I'm gonna do with it, but I like to pet it every now and then.



I've been knitting on the baby jacket, but there are some dye lot issues I'll have to figure out. I'm going to do some swatching and maybe some over-dyeing this week. More later.

I hope all of you had a great day yesterday!

Saturday Morning

Hello Friends,

I'm sitting on my porch having my decaf and listening to the birds sing. Sometimes a distant dog barks or a car passes, but mostly it's quiet with birds and crickets. The sky is hazy and there is dew on the porch screens.

I've been working on the little baby jacket. I'm almost to the second lace insertion panel on the right front. It's supposed to be the left front, but I put the garter stitch button band border on the wrong side accidentally. No harm no foul. And I can't find either of my measuring tapes. I'm the kind of person who loses small objects ALL the time. I lost my measuring tape, so I bought another one. I lost the new one, found the old one, lost it, found them both, lost them both...I think I've knitted about a half an inch too much. I have to measure this thing before I can go any farther.


Next comes some decreasing and then the lace, then the neck line shaping. It will all go pretty fast once the decreasing begins, so I'm ready to get at it. WHERE'S MY MEASURING TAPE, DAMMIT? Wait, knitting supposed to be relaxing, right?

OK. It's 2 days later, and somehow I found both of my measuring tapes. It's a sickness really. I tinked the overshot knit rows and worked out that problem, and now am into the neck decreases. I should be able to finish this side of the front tonight. Then I get to weigh my remaining yarn and see if I can start the left front side, or wait until my second skein of yarn comes in.

Saturday we had 3 birthday parties and 1 cookout. At the first birthday party, I met this absolutely gorgeous woman. Here is another image of what I think is beautiful:


Finally, food. Has anyone tried the South Beach Diet? We did a couple of summers ago. It really worked, but the veggie chopping and carb deprivation were just too much for me, The recipes however, were surprisingly good. I bought the South Beach Diet Cookbook, and here's the Portabello Mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese and pine nuts. This was so delicious!

Where has the time gone?

All I can say is I've been sick and busy at the same time. I've got a bad case of bronchitis and between that, baseball and the end of the semester, I haven't had the time or gumption to sit down and write.

I get irritated when things are sitting around and not being used, so I've been thinking about stash busting. I don't have any real projects in mind. There is one pair of socks I need to make for myself, but other than that, I'm relatively free. I decided to make some baby stuff out of what ever is in my basket. Now, whenever I need a baby present, I can have a few things around in case I'm not in a knitterly mood, you know?

First I decided to use up some of my leftover Devon from the Enid cardi, and Addi Turbos #3 US. I have several vintage pattern books from the 30's through the 60's. I chose a raglan cardi pattern and reworked it on so many levels, it might actually be my own pattern now. Here's the finished product, sans the buttons. I've GOT the buttons, but I have yet to sew them on.



I'm not too crazy about the way the purple and green stripes separate from the rose color, but that's what I get for not swatching the pattern. I will say that stripes, as annoying as they are for weaving in, make seaming a breeze.

Now I'm working on a little jacket from the early 40's and following the pattern as closely as possible. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Handpainted in Spring Frost and US #2 straights. The pattern called for 3 ounces to make the jacket, and the yarn comes in 4 ounce hanks, but after weighing the back, I discovered it has almost used 2 ounces. I will probably have to buy another hank of the yarn, which sucks because the dye lots are bound to be completely different. There's an awful lot of small stitches in this little jacket, so I'm not really willing to frog it.

I'm much further along than this picture shows, but you can get the gist of the color and the pattern.



Finally, here's a little gift from my garden:



I hope everyone is doing well.

Easter, Bloggiversary, Cabled Cardigan

I hope you all had a great Easter. Ours was mellow and chilly. Some kind of crazy Artic Blast has blown through here, and the weather has been less like April and more like January. The boys had lots of candy and little surprizes from the Easter Bunny, and we had a very nice meal of roast leg of lamb and mixed fingering potatoes with asparagus and red wine. We went for a little drive in the afternoon then sort of crashed out in the evening. Here's some food pictures:

Roast Lamb & Mixed Potatoes:



Asparagus and Parmesan:



This is my favorite egg from the lot:



My bloggiversary was yesterday. I was too busy and involved in family stuff to sit down and write. Seems like that's been going around lately. Anyway, as I look back over the past year and think about knitting, blogging and all of you, I realize that so many things have changed as a result of this wonderful medium.

I got involved in the online knitting world early last spring when I needed to find an answer to a particular question. I joined a couple of newsgroups and started noticing that when some people signed their names, a link would appear under it. I think the first link I followed was Elabeth's, and that's when I learned about blogs. I read hers and followed some other links and finally got the nerve to start my own blog. Before I joined newsgroups and the blogworld, I felt isolated as a knitter. When I had a knitting problem or a knitting triumph, I kept them to myself, because there was no one around here to share them with.

Over the past year, I have met wonderful knitters from all over the country and world. You guys have supported me through a frustrating illness and some frustrating knitting. The support and humor I've encountered has meant the world to me.

To honor this special occasion, I want to show you the best thing I've knitted so far. The Margaret O'Leary Cabled Cardigan from Vogue Knitting Fall 2006 (#19). This is the best fitting, most comfortable, most successful piece of knitting I've done.



The Stats:

Yarn: Knit Picks: Wakashan 100% Baby Alpaca (in black). I did end up with 3 spare hanks of yarn, but that's OK with me.
Needles: Addi Turbo Circular: #8 47", Some kind of straight #10, and #8
Size : 38 bust.

There are a few problems with the pattern: The cable chart for the right front has a mistake on row 13. It should be 6-st LC instead of 6-st RC. The collar shaping has a problem on the right half. The instructions have you making the collar shaping over the buttonband. If I remember correctly, all you have to do is end with a RS instead of a WS and then do the shaping. These corrections are not listed on the VK website, but others are. If you want to make this sweater, print out the corrections first then go for it.

I would absolutely recommend this sweater pattern. It wasn't difficult and the results are wonderful. I did change the length of the ribbing on the sleeves from 7 inches to 3.5 inches. They were too long and I didn't want to fold them over. Knitting the shawl collar takes forever and can be a drag. The collar which is double the thickness of the rest of the sweater, tends to unfold itself (you can see that in the picture below). A minor disappointment, I can live with it.

Thank you all for being such lovely knitters and bloggers!

Smooches!

Spring

Hi Friends,

I'm still working on the button band on the Cabled Cardigan, and have gotten the buttonholes made. It's my first time making buttonholes big enough to need binding off and casting on. Not much to show yet, so I decided I'd entertain you with views from my embarrassingly Spring-like yard:

Azaleas in full force:



More Azaleas:



Wisteria:



Maybe next time I'll have something knitted to show you.

Me Skull Cap

Howdy, Howdy. I hope you all had a wonderful St. Paddie's Day. Mine was completely uneventful. No green, no cabbage, no beer. How boring am I?

Well Spring Break is just about over and what did I accomplish? I knitted a whole lot. I graded some. I got absolutely no Spring cleaning done. Just to let you know, Springtime in south Mississippi means pollen. We are in the middle of a pine forest, and pine pollen along with a good dose of oak pollen is everywhere. All things are covered with a light green dust. I really need to sweep my porch and my dining room, as the stuff is getting tracked into the house.

So I was talking about knitting. I've got all the parts for the Cabled Cardigan made and blocked. They've been that way for several days. I bought this quilting grid at Hancock's for about 10 dollars and it really made blocking much easier, but it's constructed of corrugated cardboard, and probably won't hold up for many projects. It's doing the job right now, and that's all that matters. I'll start putting these pieces together, and knitting the front bands and collar this week.



What drew me away from my cardi was this project. I had all that Elann Devon left over from Enid and thought the skull cap would be a great way to use it up. I finished the first We Call Them Pirates cap this morning. It is intended for DH, but he had to go into the office this morning, so #1 with his massive cranial capacity volunteered to model it. Here he is looking mighty snarly:



Side view:



Top view:



This is such a fun little project. I intend to make one for each of us, and then I may make one for every baby I know. Don't you think it would be cute on a little matey? When I make the next one, I'll pass on the interior lining and just make a ribbed cuff or a moss stitch edge. I really don't like the tacking the hem process, but I did do better on the provisional cast-on this time.

I hardly ever talk about what I'm reading, but I finished Gulliver's Travels last night. I never read it in high school when we were supposed to. It's a little crude at times, and I'm surprized they want high schoolers to read it.

We went to the library yesterday and I checked out Richard Rutt's A History of Hand Knitting. I'm curious to learn about the development of this craft. I'm a little obsessed with sticks and thread these days.

Spring Break

The first day of break. I went to the office and found a parking spot nearby. Graded 19 portfolios and fewer sketch diaries. (Those kids are in trouble). Caught up on a little gossip, then went to the grocery store. Had lunch with DH. Went home and started a crock pot dinner. Bratwurst, slaw mix and chicken broth. The house smells yummy.

Sat down and got a little knitting done on the cabled cardigan before time to pick up the kids, and here's how it stands. I frogged the right panel and reknitted it over the weekend. Then I made a sleeve. After the sleeve was done, I was pretty sure it was WAY to long, so I pinned the sweater together, and tried it on. Yes, the sleeve looked as if it had been made with an orangutan in mind. I mean, on the model, it just brushes her knuckles. On me, it hangs beyond the tips of my fingers. I folded it up and it was the right length, but the sleeve is pretty close fitting, and the bulkiness of the folded cuff didn't do it for me. I measured how much shorter it should be in order to do what it's doing on the model, and it needs to be exactly 1/2 the length it is, which would 3.5 inches, also how long the ribbing is on the bottom of the sweater. Does that model have abnormally long arms, or am I the freak?


So I'm reknitting that sleeve to have a 3.5 inch cuff instead of a 7 inch one. When it's done, I'll pin it to the sweater body just to make sure it's the right length, and if so, I'll make another. I'm determined to get this sweater just right. (You know, after ENID). I googled the pattern and found a few bloggers who also made it, and they all seem to have the too-long-sleeve problem.

I'm not frustrated though. I'm looking at this as an exercise in patience and reward. I am thinking in advance of how nicely I'm going to sew the seams, and how I'll finally overcome my "picking-up" clumsiness. The button band/collar/button hole band is one long k2 p2 rib that is picked up from the bottom of one panel, around the neck to the bottom off the other panel. That should give me plenty of practice on picking up and knitting. I think I'll block the pieces before sewing together, instead of after, just to see what happens. Hopefully, the reward will be a sweater that I love and will wear often.

A New Cardi

I bet you guys think I really love cardigans, don't you? I've started my 3rd adult cardi. It's Project 19 from Vogue Knits Fall 06, aptly named Cable Cardigan. The original pattern calls for Trendsetter Kashmir yarn, and at $25 a ball, that just wasn't going to happen. (The pattern calls for something like 10 ballls). Anyway, I'm substituting Knitpicks Wakashan 100% Baby Alpaca. Much more affordable. We'll see how the thing drapes.



I've finished the back and the front left panel, and am almost to the armhole shaping of the front right panel. At this point, I have discovered some shaping mistakes I made on the left front, not to mention the big boo-boo in the first row of cables. Did you notice it? Well, I can't live with the errors, so when I finish the front right, I'm going to frog the front left, and fix those problems.

I'll wait until the whole thing is done before I decide on whether I want to make the belt or not. It's getting really Spring-ish here, so I probably won't get a chance to wear this one very much. We are going to Chicago in May. It'll probably be cool enough there to wear an alpaca sweater, don't cha think?

What is Beautiful?

Recently Susan wrote a wonderful post in which she refers to the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. At the end of her post she told any reader to consider themselves tagged. As soon as I read that I knew I must respond and I immediately thought of this young woman.



As a college professor, I deal with many young women. My job also requires that I consider the meaning of beauty. To me, prettiness is surface and fleeting, but beauty is ageless and truly comes from within. As soon as I met "Medusa" (her own screen name) I knew she was special. She is tall and carries herself with confidence. She defends her opinions (which are well informed) respectfully. She is curious and unsatisfied with partial understanding. She pursues knowledge and creativity with joy. And she is kind. To me she exemplifies what a young woman should be. Happy, smart and beautiful.

So, in the spirit of Susan's post, I'm passing the tag along. Think about what beauty really means and do something about it. Encourage girls and young woman to recognize their own beauty, because I believe it is there in us all.