Giving people the finger...

My middle finger on my left hand triggered again yesterday. It continually surprises me -- when that finger doesn't work right, it really makes life more complicated!

I found out on Monday that I'm most likely not going to be able to wear contact lenses anymore. Prior to that, I last saw the eye doc three weeks ago, when we decided to order sample lenses of the daily disposables, since my eyes are hard to fit. (I have a difficult prescription due to the weird amount of astigmatism that needs to be corrected, and apparently an uncommonly shaped eye surface. Yeah, I knew you wanted to know that -- you're welcome!) So I scheduled a fit appointment, which was Monday at (gasp) 7:30a. The right lens is lovely, the left one hurts.

Turns out the bumps either haven't gone away or have come back. (Oh -- it's called giant papilloma conjunctivitis... I won't show you the pictures; if you're crazy enough to google it, you can live with the results. But don't say you weren't forewarned!) Since the primary cause of the bumps is wearing lenses, well, lenses are probably out. Minimum time before another attempt is 6 months, which probably means more than a year for me.

So, I'll have a full exam in three weeks (when she'll check the bumps again for progress!), and get new glasses... sigh.

Finished Neck Warmer

Here's my Faberge Neck Warmer thingy, modeled by my Eddie Bauer bear. (Funny, he might be the only stuffed animal I've ever had that doesn't really have a name!) Anyway, made of Malabrigo worsted in cinnabar, with beads and vintage buttons. This is basically a short scarf that buttons around the neck...

And yes, that's my as-yet-unfinished quilt from Carol Taylor's class in the background...

Ruffles and Flourishes - Finished!

Just Enough Ruffles, pattern by Laura Chau, modified with 230 stitches cast on
Malabrigo Worsted Merino, in color Burgundy
Button Basket from Longeberger (thanks, mom!)
Fabric is Moda, I think, from my stash :)

Ruffles and Flourishes... I've always loved that phrase. It's actually a military bugle call, played immediately prior to Hail to the Chief. Chances are good you've heard it without knowing that's what it was called!

- - - - -
I decided to give the pink ruffly scarf a soak and block, too, since it's scratchy and the tub is clean. Fingers crossed... it's lounging on the ironing board now.

Trying something new

I'm going to stop apologizing for the lack of posts... 'cause you don't really care if I cleaned my bathtub or got stuck in traffic or whatever. I'd rather talk when there's something to talk about, even if it's sometimes only interesting to me ;)

I've been working on another ruffly scarf, this time in pretty Burgundy Malabrigo Merino Worsted wool... MMMmmmmmmmmmmmm.... yummy! I finally finished binding it off last night; I made it a little longer than the first, so there were almost 700 stitches on the needles. I tried a stretchier bind off, too, which works beautifully but I did not like doing it at all. K2, slip both back on left needle, then K2togTBL. K1, slip both back on left needle, then K2togTBL. Repeat until you're ready for the padded room, then do some more. I learned I don't generally like knitting through the back loop. Good to know, I guess.

So, the problem most people, including me, have with this beautiful scarf is that the garter edge (which you couldn't see when George modeled it the other day) really folds over to the right side. The only sure-fire way to stop it seems to be a full wet block. EEP! Since the folding drives me nuts on the first ruffled scarf, though, it seemed necessary.

I started by cleaning the tub. In theory, I might have been able to do this in the sink, but the tub needed cleaning anyway ;) I ran a tepid little bath, and doused the scarf, making sure to soak it thoroughly. Malabrigo felts if you look at it crosseyed, so I had to remember NOT to swish it around or anything in my desire to have it be fully soaked. "They" say it takes 20 minutes, but George was rather intrigued by this, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get past 15 at the most.

Carefully squeeze out the water, roll in a bath towel a couple of times to soak out as much excess as possible, and now it's on a sheet on the ironing board to dry. The idea is to make sure the garter edge (the non-ruffled one) is nice and flat. I also wanted to stretch it a little width wise -- it seems slightly too skinny this time around. My guage was definitely tighter, so that's part of the problem, I think. We'll see... this could take a while to dry. On the plus side, the tub is nice and clean ;)

Ruffles and Flourishes

I have absolutely no idea why George-the-cat allowed me to do this :) Since I was sure he'd bite me instead of just sit nicely with the scarf around his neck, I didn't bother to turn it around so the right side was out...

Pattern is "Just Enough Ruffles" by Laura Chau, knit in Burgundy Malabrigo Worsted Merino. Yummy! (This is the same pattern as the pink scarf from a few days ago, by the way, but in much nicer-to-knit yarn.)

I gotta post more often!

My sister has started sending me "bump" messages to blog :) [As an aside, dear one, you *could* start your own blog...]

Nevertheless, I'm here, and watching Iron Chef. Cat Cora is making something with deep fried frozen ketchup canelles. I'm intrigued...

Here's what I've been working on:

It's Faberge Neck Warmer (pattern by Nina Machlin Dayon, published on Ravelry), which uses a beaded trellis stitch. Yarn is Malabrigo worsted merino, in color Cinnabar (yum!).

I also started another ruffle-y scarf in a non-pink color, but it's only eight rows in, so it's not really anything to show off yet.

Enjoy...