purlingswine

I have an uber personal question. Can I see the backside of your garterlac dishcloth? I’ve tried to make that so many times but keep giving up because the back looked funny. I want to see what the back of somebody else’s looks like. Please???????????

Kris left this comment on yesterday’s post. So here it is ……

tips on picking up stitches:

• always have the right side of your work facing you. Picking up stitches leads to a ridge and you will want that ridge to end up on the wrong side. Picking up with the right side facing you will make sure that it happens.
• when picking up, insert the needle/hook (I use a crochet hook to pick up stitches) under both strands of the edge stitch. Inserting it under just one may lead to a lacy little hole, which is usually not the effect you are going for.
• I did tweak this pattern a bit. The way this is knit, certain sections will end up with stitches being picked up with the wrong side facing. And this will lead to the ridge being on the right side. Whenever this was going to happen, I simply twisted the work around, and did a backward sort of pick up (from left to right instead of the usual right to left) and that put the ridge on the wrong side where it belongs.

I hope that last bit made sense. If I knit another of these, I will take pictures as I go along.

I am not too proud to show you my latest knitting efforts. I even put all the details on my Ravelry page - but really, does anyone out there not know the details?

ballband dishcloth made all the rage by the Mason Dixon Ladies

yarn: Peaches and Creme

well, maybe I am a little proud
Garterlac dishcloth

Two gorgeous ladies! D#2 has had loads of excitement lately, she graduated high school and the next weekend turned 18.  We had a big bbq to celebrate.  The weather that day was dicey, so there was some last minute reconfiguring, but in the end the rain held off and everyone had a great time.

Miss Meli came over to celebrate and party like a rock star and wore her party binky! There are certain people who will tell you that I had too much to drink and that I could not manage to take a decent picture and that they took the picture of Meli. I have nothing to say about that. I can’t remember.

As part of her birthday-palooza, the next day D#2 joined a bunch of friends and their families for a slumber party on Shelter Island. D#2 sure knows how to live it up. Luckily for me she brought home a souvenir!

fleece

Originally uploaded by purlingswine

Do you remember that at last year’s Rhinebeck I bought a fleece? The only reason I even remember is that it has been in the garage lo these many months! Every time I park Onslow I have a guilty reminder of all those promises I made myself in the seconds before I bought it.

I figure the least I could do is get it washed before Rhinebeck rolls around again. geesh!

So washing a fleece is first and foremost a big pain in the ass.

Everything I have read highly recommends that you do not dump the dirty water down the drain since the lanolin can cause plumbing problems.

I am not into plumbing problems. I live in fear of my cess pool and will go to great lengths to keep my cess pool happy (yes, we are on cess pools here in Suffolk County NY - civilization seems so close and yet so far away) .

Fleece washing is therefore an outdoor activity.

Fleece washing takes a great deal of hot water. The last time I did this, I set myself up on the deck, right outside of my kitchen with the hot water not too far away. Well, I like to keep Mr. Boar happy as well. I may not worry about his happiness quite as much as my cess pool’s, but I at least try not to make him unhappy.

I do believe that dumping dirty, lanolin soaked fleece water all over his new deck boards would make Mr. Boar unhappy. very very unhappy.

So on Friday, I started washing the fleece out in the yard. This is not close to the hot water. And with every electric tea kettle full of hot water that I trotted out back, it seemed to get further and further. I only did one tub full of fleece, it took me an entire afternoon and by the end I was exhausted and stinky.

This is where my friend Flair comes in to save the day. I was bitching to her on Friday night about what a colossal pain in the ass it all was. (by the way, friends with full time jobs just love it when you complain about crap like this) She reminded me that she holds the keys to the kingdom. Hot Water in the Back Yard!

Sunday saw me at Flair’s, reveling in the steamy outdoor availability, realizing that fleece washing isn’t as bad as all that and wondering just what it would take to get Boar to put in an outdoor shower?

D#1 was showing us some of her mad bartending skillz last night. I had a Godmother and Boar sipped (gulped, really) a Godfather. She was talking about all the different drinks and why they are in different glasses and was full of details and I just had to say, “You’ve learned this all in three nights?” Seriously, the way she was going on and on it was a freakin’ dissertation. I can’t decide if it sounds like she has been pouring drinks for years or working in the glassware department of Crate & Barrel. Well, I know for a fact that she has never worked in the glassware department of Crate & Barrel …….

Onto fiber related things ….. I am still questing for my knitting mojo and biding my time knitting dishcloths. I keep giving them away, so I have only increased my own dishcloth pile by one. It’s the loneliest number.

During this lull in my knitting mojo, I have been trying to do a good deed for a non knitting friend. Years and years ago before I knew her, this non knitting friend hired a young woman to knit her a Rowan cabled cardigan. She had almost completed the project but had many health problems and is not able to finish. Since I am without any mojo, I told my NKF that I would take it on. The problem I have discovered is there will not be enough yarn to finish. And naturally this yarn has been discontinued.

So if you, or any of your knitting friends who don’t happen to read my site (what??!!!) are sitting on a few skeins of Rowan Magpie color #608 I would love to talk to you!

and finally, one last pic of Mr. Boar tipping his new favorite child …..

one whole dollar ….
Mr. Boar is a bit thrifty, no?

How about a quick update?

• This photo was taken on Wednesday. Flair, Nancy and I went to the beach. I did a bit of knitting, got pummeled by some waves (actually knocked down and rolled around in the surf - how’s that for a visual?) and then they cleared the beach because of incoming electrical storms. But it was a fun day and I made my usual vow to come to the beach more often!
• I believe I have failed to mention that D#1 is going to bartending school this summer. A few weeks ago she said she had a great gift idea for her 21st birthday, that she hoped I would hear her out, that it is the kind of job where she could have another job. She had her defenses all lined up, clearly expecting some kind of argument from me. I said, “Make me a gin and tonic”. She didn’t know how and had to be shown. what?! I thought college was supposed to be a bartending head start program! what’s the matter with kids these days?
  It starts next week and runs for two weeks. One thing I find tremendously funny - she keeps referring to it as the academy. I realize that they call themselves the academy, but really do we all need to follow along? I stay quiet and just give myself knowing looks in any available mirror.
• We are throwing a graduation party/bbq for D#2 tomorrow afternoon. The weather reports are looking ominous. fingers crossed! Today will be spent getting ready - chopping celery and onions for various mayonnaise laden salads!
• I have decided to not fight my lack of knitting mojo. I am waiting it out and knitting dishcloths. I get an inordinate amount of pleasure from the colors of kitchen cotton. For instance, this one makes me want a lemon water ice!

You asked for deck, you get deck.

This project has consumed our every waking moment for the past two weeks. We couldn’t be happier with the way it is turning out. I didn’t realize how bad our old deck had become! Are you also noticing the Mason-Dixon Adirondack chairs?

I am sure that Mr. Boar would like me to draw your attention to the stair risers.

He is in love with his deck, but is especially pleased with the way the stairs are turning out. Because he decided to do these vertically instead of horizontally, they are taking much more time and so the deck is not totally finished yet.

Actually if you go over to my Flickr pages you will be able to see more deck pictures and see that the built in planter still needs to be done too. Another two weekends and it should be completely finished. You will also see pictures of the dogs, doing what they do best - sunning on the deck!

Life at Chez Swine is not only about the Great Deck Project of 2008,  we have been marking milestones around here!

That is D#2 (she’s in the black dress) all gussied up for her Senior Prom.  The prom was held on Friday night and today was her graduation.  I can’t believe it.  In one short month, she will be off to college.

~sob~

Does one have to be Tevye to hum a few bars of  Sunrise, Sunset?

Where the hell have I been? Playing assistant to Mr. Boar as he refurbishes our deck.

Mr. Boar loves to build decks. This was the first house project we did when we moved into this house. (before the desperately needed kitchen as a matter of fact - no, I’m not bitter) When he suggested that we needed to redo the flooring on the deck, my first reaction was “What?? It’s practically new!”

The truth of the matter is we have been in this house for 15 years and many of the original boards were rotted. This time around we are using composite decking. I was very very resistant to this idea at first, fearing that it would look totally fake and I would be living in some kind of Little Tykes nightmare, but the whole No Maintenance thing is very seductive. As was the lifetime guarantee.

So this is where I have been. Boar has taken two weeks off of work and we have been diligently working away. The deck is huge - roughly 1700 sq. ft. and we are more than halfway through! The end is in sight!

Speaking of sights …… it’s not all drudgery around here …….

is there anything sexier than a Boar in a toolbelt?

Did you know that I have become a complete Ravelry addict?  I am constantly checking the new patterns page with the full knowledge that there is not enough time to knit all of this stuff.  But still I check, and check and recheck …..

And now I am beginning to think that Norah Gaughan may be trying to kill me.  Have you seen all of her recently posted fabulous patterns?!