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For all of you podcast lovers, check out Knit Knit Cafe. This week they cover Acorns by Carol Sunday and my technique is discussed.

It has been hard to find something worthy to blog about. Sure, lots of things are going on, but to sit down and actually put something into an interesting context...that takes some concentration.

I have been knitting. Still flying high from the Acorn sweater, knitting continued on with Wendy Knits' tribute to Elizabeth Zimmerman's 100th birthday Shetland Pi Shawl. I double-stranded some incredibly beautiful Briar Rose Angel Face and went down a path that led to casting off over 1100 stitches. I thought it would never end! The shawl is ready to be blocked and every night leaves me wondering where in the world this monster can be pinned out and left for a day or two.

October 1st marks the beginning of Socktoberfest and Kristen Kapur's Through the Loops mystery sock will be the project again this year. Last year's sock is a favorite and the yarn for this year nearly matches in color.

The closing of Bloglines nudged me to finally find another way to track blogs. Google Reader allowed easy import of my tracking file. It is very pleasing to have those blogs there waiting to be read, but there hasn't really been time to peruse them.


Physical therapy has taken a lot of time. My calf muscle was strained playing tennis the first week of day play. 3 visits a week for 3 or 4 weeks now has left me irritable at not having the regular activity that brings such satisfaction. It is better and we began strengthening it last week. The first few times back on the court were questionable, but there have been a few wins (one miserable loss) to boost my confidence.

So, I am not sure these tidbits leave you with anything useful. Just sitting down and putting it out here has helped me slot my thoughts in a more organized manner. The last drop of coffee has been drained from my mug and the day began long ago with Darby nuzzling me to get up out of bed. There must be something that needs attention.

My favorite new knit

I've fallen helplessly in love with this sweater. My journey began nearly two years ago with a package from Chris at Briar Rose Fibers. The box contained a huge, squishy hank of Grandma's Blessing which is a superwash sport-weight wool. The colors fit me (Chris has often indulged my desire for greens and blues) and that huge skein called to me.

Enter Carol Sunday's Acorn pattern. Hours were spent on Ravelry while looking for the perfect sweater for my coveted yarn. Acorns did not disappoint.






It took a quick month to finish, but it honestly sat over a week waiting for buttons.


The only modification made was to lengthen the torso by 1 1/4 inches.

Instead of using waste yarn for the cast-on, I decided to use an extra cable with the screw-on ends already attached. These are from Knit Picks. The cable was just held in place of the waste yarn and is flexible enough to stay in place. This worked wonderfully and the live stitches are already on a cable! When ready I just screwed on the correct needle size and knit. When using this technique, you want to keep the provisional yarn tight and you may want to work the stitches through the back loop for the first row to tighten-up the provisional stitches.

Although it seems intuitive, I also slipped the live sleeve stitches onto small cables with the screw on ends. They were waiting there and when it was time to work the sleeves, I attached the needle ends and went to work.

Next up: Completion of the EZ 100th birthday Pi Shawl