lazy sunday
I love a lazy, sunny Sunday. Today is turning out to be one of those, which is a relief since I've been in kind of a bad funk for the last couple of weeks. (It's nothing clinical, just some anxiety about the coming year mixed with a little homesickness. I think I'm better now.) Today, Stuart has been quite productive in the kitchen, making sandwich bread and ciabatta - with Daniel's help, of course. Daniel absolutely loves to help in the kitchen (especially if it involves appliances that plug in). We're planning a scrumptious dinner of homemade noodles with meatballs and from-scratch tomato sauce, Stuart's ciabatta, cucumber salad with homemade yogurt, and baked figs stuffed with ground walnuts and cinnamon. This last item on the menu is definitely among the more exotic things I've tried, but Whole Foods had little baskets of fresh figs and I couldn't resist buying some, even though after yesterday's farmers market trip I was staggering back to the bike with my arms full of fresh, local fruit.
I even managed to forget the household chores for a bit this afternoon. Because it's hot today, we went to the pool, where the kids so exhausted themselves they both slept for an hour after we got home. During that time I pushed the messy kitchen, the pile of unfolded laundry, the not-yet-srubbed bathroom and the trashed guest room to the back of my mind and I sat myself down on the back deck to do a little knitting.
(Do I ever look like a 31yo housewife.)
Except for the occasional whiff of our foul-smelling compost pile, it was really very pleasant. This was my view - the swimming towels drying on the deck rail:
Droopy herbs:
And a few woodpeckers tap-tap-tapping on the large maple tree, but they don't stand still for pictures.
Clearly, I don't have much new to show you, but here's a picture of my current knitting bag:
And the left front of Keelin, which I realized just half an hour ago that I haven't been crossing the cables as frequently as I'm supposed to.
The charts are a little confusing that way, since one part of the pattern has a 12-row repeat, while the cables have an 8-row repeat. Instead, I was crossing the cables every 12 rows and I didn't notice until now. Since I've finished the back and gotten up to the armhole of the left front, I've decided to just live with it, even though I think the original pattern looks nicer. At least I'm consistent. I'm also a teeny bit concerned this is going to be a little small. Before blocking a knitted piece with twisted stitches and cable crosses, it's just hard to tell, and if anything, knitting stretches, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
That's all from here. I still haven't started the Sweet Peasy sweater for Anya, or written up that pattern for her hat and mittens, though I should soon, seeing as fall is nearly upon us. I did open up Excel at one point (b/c someone recommended it for charting) and stared at it for a few minutes, thinking "How on earth can I use this to make a chart?" (clearly, I never use Excel). I'll figure something out, eventually.
I even managed to forget the household chores for a bit this afternoon. Because it's hot today, we went to the pool, where the kids so exhausted themselves they both slept for an hour after we got home. During that time I pushed the messy kitchen, the pile of unfolded laundry, the not-yet-srubbed bathroom and the trashed guest room to the back of my mind and I sat myself down on the back deck to do a little knitting.
(Do I ever look like a 31yo housewife.)
Except for the occasional whiff of our foul-smelling compost pile, it was really very pleasant. This was my view - the swimming towels drying on the deck rail:
Droopy herbs:
And a few woodpeckers tap-tap-tapping on the large maple tree, but they don't stand still for pictures.
Clearly, I don't have much new to show you, but here's a picture of my current knitting bag:
And the left front of Keelin, which I realized just half an hour ago that I haven't been crossing the cables as frequently as I'm supposed to.
The charts are a little confusing that way, since one part of the pattern has a 12-row repeat, while the cables have an 8-row repeat. Instead, I was crossing the cables every 12 rows and I didn't notice until now. Since I've finished the back and gotten up to the armhole of the left front, I've decided to just live with it, even though I think the original pattern looks nicer. At least I'm consistent. I'm also a teeny bit concerned this is going to be a little small. Before blocking a knitted piece with twisted stitches and cable crosses, it's just hard to tell, and if anything, knitting stretches, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
That's all from here. I still haven't started the Sweet Peasy sweater for Anya, or written up that pattern for her hat and mittens, though I should soon, seeing as fall is nearly upon us. I did open up Excel at one point (b/c someone recommended it for charting) and stared at it for a few minutes, thinking "How on earth can I use this to make a chart?" (clearly, I never use Excel). I'll figure something out, eventually.
Comments
Now each little box (cell) = one stitch.
You can leave the knit sts blank, use a "." or "o" for the purls, "/" and "\" for decreases. I use the color fill for each cell for color charts. I use the outline function to make the cells stand out and then put numbers in the row and column surrounding my chart to make it easier to read. That is about how far I have gone with charting in excel. I am sure there is a way to put in cable symbols across multiple boxes but I have not done that yet.
Yikes that is a book but hopefully not confusing.
Dee Anna