For Want Of A Zipper........

................the race was lost.

Yes, despite my best efforts, I just couldn't manage to get that "Tomten" jacket finished in time for my parents departure back to the UK at 5pm on Sunday night. With the weekend packed full of events like 'The Little Guy's' first soccer game of the season and a tourist trip to the local Ice Caves, I just ran out of time.

I did try hard. I knit the final border up the front and around the hood on Friday night, which made a superb finish. My plan then was to sew in all the ends, stitch up the sleeve seams and then put in the 16" zipper. The problem was, I only had a 10" zip in my stash (it's a zip because I bought it in England and that's what we call them there.)

After Saturday morning's soccer game, I raced to my LYS in the vague hope that my friend might have a secret supply of zippers hidden away somewhere. No luck. Even the swift round of phonecalls she made to local quilting stores along my proposed route to the ice caves that afternoon, proved fruitless. Looking at my schedule, there was just no way that I could fit in a drive to the city, just to pick up a zipper and then get said zipper stitched correctly into the garment.

I gave up.

The jacket is rather on the large side, so there's plenty of growing room knitted into it, I reasoned. There really is no rush to get it off to my niece. Pride was also beginning to take over. Did I really want to rush the finishing touches on this project? Haste would only raise the odds of making a gargantuan mistake at the last hurdle. Did I really want to risk that?

The answer was "No!"

So where is the "Tomten" now? Sitting in my basket of WIP's. After all, when the pressure's off, what's a knitter to do?

Why, cast on for something new ofcourse. =)

PS. If you're in the UK, check out BBC2 at 8.45pm on Wed 16th Sept and see my cousin, James Bumpass, boning an oxtail on "Masterchef!"

A Race Against Time

Pattern: "Tomten" by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Materials: Plymouth Encore

Needles: US 8

I don't know how it happens, but somehow I always manage to turn a nice gentle knitting project into a race against time. Maybe I just have this deep desire to add spice to a simple project or perhaps I just get a kick out of self-imposed deadlines? Who knows. What I do know is that my glorious garter stitch project, which was supposed to lead me gently, in a 'California cruisin' style into the autumn, has suddenly become a race against time to complete. Maybe it's just because I'm on the homeward stretch, always the time when interest starts to wane and I can easily end up with an eternal 'Work-In-Progress' (WIP)! Or perhaps it's because my parents are returning to England on Sunday and I really don't want to have to post the Tomten jacket to my niece?

Whatever the reason, I am now knitting like a woman possessed. I knitted the hood last weekend in between trips out with the family and sat grafting it late on Sunday night while watching a DVD of Dale Chihuly's fantastic Glass Art. I followed EZ's Kitchener tips in her book, "Knitting Without Tears," but I know that "Knitty" and "TechKnitting" also have great articles on this easy sewing technique. (Video Tutorial at You Tube.)

So far, I have resisted the urge to alter Elizabeth's pattern. I wanted to stay true to her original jackets, the ones she knitted for her own children back in the '60's. You can see pictures in her book "The Opinionated Knitter" along with a reprint of the origional newsletter that she published.

Now I'm on the sleeves.

One child went back to school today, the others go tomorrow and with soccer practice tonight, I think I have a rainy date with the car and my Ipod later today. Should be able to make some headway........I hope.

A Knitter's Note

Pattern: 'Tomten' by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Materials: Plymouth Encore

Needles: US 8

I write a lot of notes. I am always afraid that I'll forget something and so my house is littered with bits of paper decorated with my semi-legible scrawl. I have lists of groceries, a general daily 'To-Do' list and a liberal sprinkling of reminders to clean out the cat's litter tray, pay the bills or drive the kids to an event. In fact I really should write myself a note as a reminder to put my son to bed at a decent time (or actually 'at all!') Last night, I forgot and he was up until I went to bed. Not a very good omen when school is about to start back next week!

My life also consists of knitting notes. Sometimes I run out of row counters and so I revert to scraps of paper marked with roman numeral chicken scrawl. It's extremely effective and has served me well for 35 years. As long as I remember to put the note back into the knitting bag at the end of my session, I'm good.

It is not surprising then that I have had to write myself a rather large 'Note To Self' just so that I don't forget that I now have a man downstairs! Yes, having barged in on several important business calls during the past few days, I have reverted to the 'visual reminder' method of mental prompting that I know works so well with me. My note is kingsized and is working like a dream.

I've also taken advantage of a few moments in the car at soccer practice working on 'Tomten.' Despite the blazing sunshine, I was determined to make headway on the hood and spent a peaceful 45 mins knitting in the heat. In fact, I feel that I really owe EZ a knitter's note. I'll send it as a prayer, I think. It's very simple really. It'll just say:

"Thanks!"

Ready For Change?

Pattern:"Tomten" by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Materials:Yarn: Plymouth Encore

Needles: US 8

I have a man in my garage!

Yes, along with the three children lurking somewhere in the bedrooms and the visiting parents in the garden, I now have a husband working in my garage! In the absense of a home office, poor P.A. has been forced to take up residence in the only other quiet spot in the house...his beloved garage workshop.

The start of September has seen several changes here at Wilde Thyme including the slow disintegration of the job that brought us to America. With the lease up on his company's offices, working from home has just kind of happened, but for how long we don't know. Naturally we are "down" but by no means are we "out" yet. Let's face it, we are British and that stiff upper lip is alive and well and living at our house!! For want of a better analogy: "The show's not over until the fat lady sings!"

So with fortitude we have launched ourselves into our new routine. I can no longer go in and out of my house via the garage, but must now remember to take the front door key with me to lock and unlock the main door. This could well leave me searching my pockets, handbag and the car glove compartment on a regular basis, but I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. Nipping out to the grocery store today though meant moving the truck, then my car, then replacing the truck, before I could drive my parents out. This was after I'd been on a hunt for P.A.'s keys. Reaching the freezer also caused a small hiccup as well. It now supports a fax machine so I'm going to have to get myself slightly more organised when it comes to defrosting things.

Thank goodness for "Tomten". I've been taking EZ's advice and have been 'knitting through all crisis.' Yesterday I took my knitting to my daughter's pediatrician's office. I'd just settled down to start, when the doctor walked in to see us. Thankfully she's a fellow knitter and was quite happy for me to continue with my garter stitch while we all talked. I managed several rows on one of the fronts while we discussed vaccination charts and medical insurance.

In fact, I really am going great guns on this project. I'm almost looking forward to the day I get trapped in the car by rain at soccer practice. Just imagine it, an entire hour out of 'the mad house', alone with my knitting! Now that's a change I'm ready for.

Knitting With Confidence

Today is the end of the month and it is D Day for us. As well as having house guests from England at this stressful time in our lives, I am racing around organizing physicals for the children in case I end up without a doctor and doing all those things that one normally does to try to prevent major fallout.

I am also, I'm very happy to say, knitting again!!

Yes, EZ has been my saviour. Cracking open Elizabeth Zimmermann's book to research her "Tomten" pattern has got me back up and running in the knitting department. The pattern is perfect as a social project. Its simplicity lends itself perfectly to those occasions when you want something to work on but need to have your wits about you to converse with fellow knitters or your mother!

I leapt into my stash this weekend and pulled out several skeins of Plymouth Encore, an acrylic/wool blend, in a gentle shade of pink that will make a perfect warm winter jacket for a little girl. I'm using size US 8 needles and coming up with a gauge of 4sts per inch. After one false start when I swear the item could have stretched to fit around me(!) I have now cast on 104sts and am merrily producing pink garter stitch while my mum brings me up to date on all the news back in "Ol Blighty."

As to the rest of life? EZ even has an answer for that. She says: "Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crisis."

Sounds like good advice to me.

Kid's Keyhole Scarf

I finally finished creating the PDF for this scarf which I originally designed for my cousin's 3yr old son. They had been everywhere looking for a scarf suitable for a small boy and in the end they asked me if I could knit one for him. I spent several weeks just mulling the project over in my mind while I got on with other things. What yarn should I use? Which stitch pattern would look good? How could I make my little friend feel independent when he got himself ready to go outside?

Unsure if he was sensitive to wool and needing a yarn which would hold a stitch pattern well, I settled on Encore by Plymouth Yarn. I figured this acrylic/wool mix would be easy to clean in the event of an accident and the vast range of colours it comes in was another plus. I settled on blue.

The Mock cable stitch gives the scarf a warm cosy look and the keyhole design means that small hands can slip one end through the large hole unaided encouraging independence. It also means less bulk at the neck, enabling the child to still be able to swallow or move their head whilst wearing the scarf!

Older children seem to like it too. If the length is too short for them, you can just make it longer, but remember to adjust the placing of the keyhole too. My son actually likes the shorter scarf because it doesn't get in the way when he's playing, but keeps his neck draft free. He also thinks it looks cool!

To access the PDF file just click on the picture in the side bar. Enjoy!

Pomatomus

Don't you just love the way this "Happy Feet" by Plymouth Yarn is knitting up? I knew the Pomatomus pattern would be perfect for it! Mind you, it is very complicated. These few inches are the sum total of hours of work. By the time I've finished one sock, I may never get on to the other!

Perhaps I should plan to wear them to next years annual physical. At least that prospect might give me the impetus I need to complete them both.

This And That

Well, we had a lovely Thanksgiving and I trust that all my American friends did too. The Central Park Hoodie was put on the backburner for the long weekend in favour of smaller projects that don't require quite so much concentration. It's still sitting there calling to me inbetween all the Christmas shopping, card writing, cooking and event attending that goes on at this time of year.

I did make one little foray to the yarn store on Black Friday. I hadn't planned it, but my dear daughter persuaded me to take her. I had a long chat with the owner about choosing buttons. I had been surfing the Central Park Hoodie group on Ravelry checking out other people's versions and noting the myriad of different button choices. It got me thinking. It would seem that the best thing to do is to take the finished garment to the store, lay it out on the table and choose the buttons there. That way I am less likey to make a mistake with my choice. I'd hate to get home and discover that the buttons were too heavy for the fabric or just didn't look as good on the piece.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I haven't knitted the hood yet! You see, I've also been trying to decide whether to continue the cable up the back of the hood or to keep it plain? It looks lovely both ways, but I've concluded that, as I won't be wearing the hood up very often, it would be a waste of time to decorate it. I will just stick with the single cable across the front, which will look fine layed flat across my shoulders, which is how I'll wear it most of the time.

Meanwhile, I've finished the Tretta hat. What a pretty pattern Grumperina has created. I think my choice of yarn could have been better though. My Lion Brand Wool seemed just a little too thick for this design. I thought I'd got a DK, but it turns out that the yarn symbol 4 (Medium) is actually classed as a worsted weight/Aran. I think that a DK/sport would have been better. I know, it says in the pattern DK, but I fell for the colour. I still haven't got used to these yarn weight symbols. I much prefer it when the band tells you straight whether it's a DK, worsted, fine etc. I hail from the old school of 2-ply, 3-ply, 4-ply and Double Knit, you see! It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks!!

Still the hat turned out well, so now I will just have to take some pictures of the finished product.

While I was at the yarn store though, I did fall in love with a sock yarn called "Happy Feet" by Plymouth Yarn. After the "Oh My!" debacle, this is the first yarn by "Plymouth Yarn" that I've bought. I'm hoping that it performs well. The colorway is a glorious red with a hint of burgundy here and there. On Sunday I cast on for Pomatomus by Cookie A. I'm hoping that this pattern will have the right balance of design to go with this yarn. I'm using 2.5mm needles, so it's very small work; progress will be slow.

Finally, I have finished my Christmas knits. DH's Navy hat was completed and hidden away until Christmas Eve, although I will need someone to model it for a picture before I wrap it up.

I wonder who's available? Perhaps Brad Pitt could oblige?

Creative Achievements

Things are beginning to come to an end in the garden now. I picked some tomatoes and the last of the cucumbers this week. I used up the pickles by making Sweet Pickle Relish, which made the house stink a bit, but will taste lovely on a burger or with some cheese and crackers.

To add to the homely smells, I have baked about 6 loaves of bread. My family adore them. The sandwich diet inherent to Norwegian life has left us all with a love of quality baking, so my investment in a bread machine when I moved to the US has really paid off. I've found that if I load up the machine with 2lbs of ingredients and set it on the dough cycle, it produces a wonderful dough that is easy for me to throw into two loaf tins and bake quickly in the oven. I make brown and white and then load them into the freezer to get us through a busy weekend (or week depending on what's going on.) I love to bake with yeast and have made all kinds of dough over the years: cinammon rolls, pizza rolls, German Stollen at Christmas....... the list goes on. Recently I found out that my Great Grandfather was a baker. It must be in the genes!

On the knitting front, the Frog Tree yarn was so tempting that I cast on for Nicky Epstein's Chameleon hat this week. I love the colour of this yarn and have nicknamed it raspberry sorbet. The design is looking amazing. It's easy to achieve once you get into it and so far so good with the yarn too.

I also recycled an old yoga mat last weekend when I was clearing out the garage. I cut it into 5 widths, one for each of us, so that we have something to sit on at football games this season. Those metal bleachers can be quite cold in October!

Finally, my piece de resistance for this week has been the completion of the Heart baby Blanket for my niece. I pinned it out on the bed, spritzed it with water and left it to dry. It turned out beautifully and I'm hugely proud of it. Hope she enjoys living with it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Herbs And Hats

This weeks creative collection started last weekend when I finally put all my dried herbs into jars. I picked them from my containers in the garden about 6 weeks ago and they had been drying on trays in the garage. With colder nights on their way, I needed to get my car back inside and so the herbs had to be sorted out. They smelled lovely as I carefully put them into jars ready for use during the winter.

I also harvested the first of my tomatoes this week. I have to say that I created the most delicious open sandwich yesterday from a slice of good, thick homemade brown bread, some cheese, ham and homegrown tomato to top it off. It was divine and I was so proud of myself! The tastes transported me immediately back to Norway, where a soggy, floppy sandwich is unknown.

I now have a mere 8 rows to go on the baby blanket! Hurrah! I intend to finish it this weekend and get it blocked. Meanwhile I've started out on another hat for the Safi Foundation's annual trip to Tanzania. I know the children will love the bright colours of this hat.

Finally, I have received closure on the Oh My! situation with Plymouth Yarn. They followed up with the owner of my LYS, but would not offer me a credit, just a bag of the same yarn. Not exactly ideal customer relations. However the sweet lady at my LYS decided to test the batch of yarn they sent her and has offered me the credit at her store instead. Yesterday I made the most of it and purchased some gorgeous worsted weight Merino and Alpaca Frog Tree. I feel a Gretel hat by Ysolda Teague coming on!

Small Is Beautiful!

The children went back to school this week (at least they did towards the end of the week) so there was little time for creativity. Sorting out everyones supplies, problems, timetables etc and transporting them too and from events has taken over as we struggle to re-establish some kind of routine. I managed two rows of knitting on the baby blanket while sitting in the car at soccer practice on Tuesday, but then realised I'd made a mistake and had to unpick the work I'd done!



Aside from flinging together a delicious sweet'n'sour chicken dish inbetween chauffeuring commitments, I have managed to make a super little hat this week out of remnants from my stash. It is going to Tanzania to help an African child keep warm. It was hugely satisfying to create something from scratch that could make the difference between life and death for a child living a world away. Small things can mean so much.

Harvest Time

I've been busy in the kitchen this week. It's harvest time in the garden, at least as far as the cucumbers are concerned! I'm overrun. I managed to make several pints of Bread and Butter Pickles yesterday. Thankfully the weather turned cooler so it wasn't as hot work as it might have been.

I also made about 8 pints of mint jelly out of some fresh apple juice that the children didn't like and mint from the garden. It'll go well with lamb in the winter. My tomatoes are beginning to go orange too so we're all very excited. As soon as they ripen, I'll be busy again!

I've almost finished my second set of curtains too. Just had to wait for the rod to be put up so that I can hem them to fit. It'll be good to have this done and return to some semblance of order in the house before the children go back to school.

On the knitting front, I am making headway on the blanket I am knitting for my niece. Just two more pattern repeats to go and it will be finished. I have enjoyed working on it while watching the Beijing Olympics in the evenings. I can hardly believe that it is almost over.

I have also contacted Plymouth Yarn about the disasterous batch of Oh My! that I used. They wanted lot/dye numbers etc. I am now awaiting a response from that e-mail.

(Sorry there are no pictures. Can't find the camera cable. I suspect someone else in the house has used it and not returned it yet!)



I also recently received this wonderful Blogging Friends Forever award from my friend Kimmie over at Art In Red Wagons. Do pay her a visit. She is a wonderfully talented artist. (Thanks for thinking of me, Kimmie!)

Sadness

I finished the dreaded hooded jacket - thankfully. It was such a relief to get it done. It was a good job that I took a picture of the finished product before I washed it though. It turns out that I was right about that yarn. I decided that I should wash it before sending it to my sister as I didn't want her to feel bad if the stupid yarn decided to play games and stretch or break. Look what happened when I did.......

I'm so upset about this that I can hardly talk about it. I'm just glad it happened when I was dealing with it and not when my sister tried to clean it. My poor niece will be receiving her cuddly toy minus the handknit that was supposed to accompany it in the parcel. I have instead returned to the blanket that I'm making for her and am seeking solace in a pattern and yarn that are nothing but wonderful compared with this project!

To console myself further, I headed to the kitchen and enjoyed the therapeutic effects of creating a zuchini quiche. We then grilled a marinated flank steak on the BBQ and I cooked carrots to die for, which I've added here at "Cooks Casserole."

Progress!

Well, I've been getting on with it! I decided the only way to get over the hurdle with the jacket was to attack the project and set aside everything else until it's done. On Saturday I sat down and seamed all the pieces so that it now actually resembles a jacket.

Sunday's Uefa cup final was the perfect opportunity to set to and knit the garter stitch hat. In between the excitement, I knitted away trying to maintain my gauge despite the tension created by the game. DD1 was rooting for Germany, but I had great hopes for the Spanish side. It created an interesting atmosphere in our family room. This was also when I really got hit by the major problem with this yarn. The "Oh My" sheds terribly! I kept having to pick little fluffy white lumps off my clothes, hair and face. Not exactly a joy.

I also got round to getting DD2 to model her finished Odessa. She's thrilled with it, although with 120F heat on our back deck this past weekend, it'll be some time before she actually needs to wear it!

By the way, Spain won!!

Oh My!

This is the swatch I've made from Oh My! an incredibly soft yarn made by Plymouth Yarns. It is 100% nylon, which for a yarn snob like me takes some knitting with, but you just can't argue with that wonderfully soft feel. I'm making this:

It's coming on very fast, but I have to say I'm finding it rather boring. I think it's probably not stimulating enough for me.

I've been going through my stash too and using my Ravelry notebook to get organised. That site is fantastic and I spend way too much time cruising patterns when I could be knitting. I was thrilled today though, to find 6 balls of Daletta in a wonderful blue colour hidden away at the bottom of one of my stash baskets. With that much yarn, I can make a decent project