My Swift!!

It came yesterday - it is beautiful!
I had no idea!
I am really thrilled.










I like the workmanship.













And it folds up quite nicely.

Gusset Time

The cuff and leg are done.

I just finished the heel flap turned the heel and am ready to begin the gusset.

Here is the latest pic:

Lots to do this weekend - symphony for the next four days in addition

to the students.

Must get some knitting time in to finish sock #1 and get started on it's mate.

The fish are asking to be tended to as well.

There is too much algae and too many snails cohabitating with the fish.

Too much to do and not enough time .....

So back to work for me!

Broadripple

I began Broadripple last night with the yarn I previously used for the basic sock (see a few days ago). I just got bored with that one and thought I would try cuff down instead of my usual toe-up. This is what I have done so far; it is approximately 4". Here is the link to the pattern:

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer03/PATTbroadripple.html

Student news: One of my sophomores sent in and audition CD for a concerto competition and was invited to play live yesterday. The student, her parents, the accompanist and I went to the location. She played her concerto from memory like an angel - with great passion and accuracy, beautiful sound and lovely musical phrasing.

The great news is that she was awarded 2nd place in the senior division. I think this is fabulous for the first time out! Although she will not get to perfom with the orchestra, she will be recognized at the next concert and awarded a lovely plaque. I am hoping the experience was good and will motivate her to try again.

Fishies

This is a Clown Pleco who has been with us since 1999.

Cute for an old guy, eh?

Well, okay, maybe not so cute except when he's peeking out of his log.

This bad boy resides in our 33 gallon flat-back hex front freshwater tank.

This Plecostomus is around 4" long and is one of the smaller species. He has lived a long life (7 years now!) and all seems well...

Here is a Rainbow. Now he's cute, no?

This is an Australian Melanotaenia Praecox (Neon Blue Rainbow). We have two adults that are about 3" long and just bought three more babies to join in since they are schooling fish.

The little flashes are Harlequin Rasboras, also a schooling fish. There are 15 of them residing in this tank.

So here is a glimpse of our fishy friends sent to you from a Pisces who is married to another Pisces - hmmm, do you detect a watery theme running through our lives?

Leisel and Mom

Mom and I rose before the sun this morning. She had a flight back to NY that left at 9:00 a.m. which meant we had to leave the house by 7:45. Since neither of us are morning people, that was very early. The airlines let me go to the gate with her and I saw her get safely on. Then she called from Chicago in between connections. When she arrived at her sister's there was one more call. I can sleep well knowing she is home. We had a wonderful two weeks together... I wish we lived closer together. I am lucky to have such a great lady for my Mother.

We mostly took daily trips to the grocery store, yarn shops, and out to lunch or dinner. We talked endlessly and even got in a game of Scrabble. Over the two weeks, Mom baked 3 pies: apple, peach and blueberry as well as a peanut butter cake (from scratch). I think we need to fast for the next two weeks to make up for all the food!! I cooked spaghetti with meatballs, turkey, pork, lamb, salmon, seafood (out), Chinese and went out to a steak place one night. We would have also gone for some Tex-Mex but Mom isn't a big fan of it.

Our part of Texas finally got some rain and our pansies seem to have sprung back to life! Woohoo!

Here is Leisel so far. She is really coming along and I just love the texture of this pattern!

Leisel Update

Here it is as of last night.

Today was our Cooking Light lunch club, so this morning was spent preparing pork tenderloin. We also had cauliflower, asparagus, couscous, muffins, salad and of course, dessert. We all ate like there was no tomorrow - after all - if we can't eat or knit or make music, what is there??

Time to Post

Whew! After my NY trip and my out of town Symphony weekend, I finally have a few minutes to update.

Mom is here and we have been sitting at night knitting, talking and watching TV. Here's Mom working on her latest afghan:

Dainy Bess is taking a rest while I decide what to do with her. I realized I left off an purl row after the very frist repeat, so the bottom is knit backwards to the rest. I must decide whether to rip out and start over or just continue.

Here is the latest sock - just your basic toe up with a 3K 3P rib.

And I have just begun Leisel lace scarf with the first 10 rows. You can download the free pattern as a PDF file here: http://yummyyarn.indus3ous.com/patterns/MJG_Liesel.pdf

So there you have it as of Wednesday. See you later......

Home

We arrived home on Sunday pm after a cool (partial) week in NY. Dad's memorial service was lovely and we had good family representation. My octogenarian Mom is here enjoying our warm and sunny climate. We are discussing her coming with me this weekend for an out of town symphony gig. But we'll see what transpires.

Not too much knitting since returning with all the catching up with reedmaking needed, practicing, students and rehearsals every night. I am itching to get back in the swing maybe this weekend - while sitting in the hotel after rehearsals with a nice glass of Valpolicella. Mom has started another afghan with a wonderful turquoise blue yarn. It will be a warm and pretty one!

Tomorrow night will be an evening at home, so we will put a corned beef with veggies in the crock pot and a loaf of rye bread in the breadmaker. Mom said she will bake an apple pie - yummy!

I am already hungry in anticipation ~~~

Not enough time

After knitting like a madwoman on Dainty Bess, I realize I do not have enough time to finish and block by tomorrow night. Life has gotten in the way - taking down the Christmas tree and putting away decorations, preparing the spare room for Mom's visit and heaven forbid, work! I suppose I could take it up to Mom's and try to finish on Thursday. My goal was to wear it to the memorial service on Friday afternoon that the Bar Association is giving to honor my late father's achievements.

And it is going to be cold in NY!!! This transplanted NYer has become accustomed to the South and is going to freeze her little fanny right off I am afraid!

Here is a picture of our fish tank - lots of people have cute pets and post their pics - we have fish. They are not so cute but we enjoy the relaxing views.

Dainty Bess Progress

I have been feverishly working on this in hopes of finishing and blocking by Tuesday. Please keep your needles (or fingers) crossed for the target day! Knitting with lace weight yarn takes a loooong time to get any length ~ I had no idea. It sure has been fun and challenging to work with. We are at about 16" right now.

Here it is as of today:

Completed

Here are two little pictures of Tiger Eye all blocked.
I did not make the pattern symmetrical - just kept going to the end. It somehow seems more oganic to me that way.

Tiger Eye and Dainty Bess

Today we took my car in for 45K maintenance. Nice thing - they give us a loaner car to use! So my husband and I went shopping. We didn't buy much (with our gift cards from Xmas) but we did have a lovely morning together.

I finished the Tiger Eye Scarf and am in the blocking process. Now before you look at this, I use an old striped beach towel as a guide. It looks like he** but keeps me in line. Literally. Can't see too much of the pattern due to the lovely red stripes, so when it is dry I'll try for a better detail shot.

So here is the blocking of Tiger Eye:

Next on the needles is Dainty Bess. I bought the pattern from Knit Picks in a collection of three called Elizabeth I. This is using Knit Picks Shimmer, an Alpaca and Silk blend and #4 needles. The fingers at the top are my husbands, mine at the bottom. (No, I don't have three hands although sometimes it would be really nice!)

Merry Christmas!

It is still Christmas Eve here, but in the East you are already in this glorious day. So merry Christmas to you!

We played two church services tonight with string quintet, brass, timpani, harp, oboe, organ and choir. Quite a fete. Twice. The sermons were so short I could not get even one row knitted. I did, however get in a few between the services, so here it is so far:

Knitted Round Dishcloth (free pattern) from www.mielkesfarm.com

I am using Peaches and Cream in white with #4 needles. (Yes, I am a loose knitter who wants a dense cloth). I anticipate the Tiger Eye to be finished tomorrow, then I plan a real concentration on the Dainty Bess Lace Scarf. Pictures to follow........

Enjoy your evening and have a loving and joyful Christmas.

Already Friday

Where did this week go??? After a looooong weekend and students on Monday, I finally finished my Xmas shopping. Although there are still cards to write and send (yes, yes, I know they will be late) everything else is finished.

One of my students is entering a concerto competition, so we were recording her last night. The sound was good except for the dratted minidisc player skipping! We are re-recording today.

We put up the tree 2 weeks ago but only on Wednesday did we decorate. It has been difficult for me to get in the Christmas mood this year.

I am almost finished with the Tiger Eye scarf. I think I will keep this one for me and wear it Christmas Eve. I have not been working on the Dainty Bess but will get back to is as soon as Tiger is done.

Pics of the works soon ..... I promise.

It's Friday Again

And there are four more Nutcrackers in the works this weekend in addition to three church services. I love my work and I love to work. But I am ready to be able to stay home evenings with my husband, cook nice dinners for us, and of course, knit for an hour or two a day. After Sunday, there are only the Christmas Eve services to prepare for so the schedule will let up until January.

I haven't had much time to sit and knit and am feeling very itchy to feel the needles and the rhythm of the stitches in my hands. Maybe if we arrive at the hall early enough tonight, I can get in a row or two. I will try to take a few pictures Sunday or Monday of the Dainty Bess scarf I began, so check back after the weekend. Sadly, Tiger Eye has been on the back burner while I figure out how to knit with laceweight yarn.

I hope you have a safe and joyous weekend.

Happy Husband

Since I finished the scarf for him, my husband is happy. I bet he thought it would never get done since he sees me knitting the other projects all the time. So here it is!

This is the Irish Hiking Scarf, knitted in Simply Soft (machine washable and truly soft!) on #8 needles. Here is the free pattern link: http://www.helloyarn.com/irishhikingscarf.pdf

Sunday Link

Here is the link to the Tiger Eye Lace Scarf as requested. It is a free pattern that was posted about in Knitters Review.

www.tmooka.net/blogs/stitchingirl/patterns/tigereyescarf.pdf

I am hoping to get mine finished soon. I did finish my husband's Irish Hiking Scarf today and will post a pic as soon I can.

Hope your weekend has been joyful.

Finally Friday

And it is off to make more music this weekend. I drove to St. Stephen Presbyterian Church last night for a rehearsal. It is a remarkable building considering it was built in the 1900s. I have to go back on Sunday morning to play the service.

Tomorrow morning is a Messiah rehearsal, then home to teach. And that evening will be the last performance of "Tales of Hoffman" so I will go hear my husband and friends perform in the orchestra. Oh yes, I guess I will also listen to the singers. And yes, I will also take my knitting to do before the show since we will be there quite early.

Sunday will be busy with the early morning St. Stephen service, then another church service in the afternoon, then off to play my final Messiah performance for this Christmas season.

I sure hope I can get in some knitting here or there. Maybe during the sermons?! After all, we won't be seen up in the choir lofts and I can knit and listen at the same time. (Unlike at the Opera, thank you.) I hope to get my husband's Irish Hiking Scarf done as well as the Tiger Eye. Wish me luck!

Wintery Wednesday

The wind is blowing, the sleet is falling, the city is getting all backed up. Traveling on icy roads in an urban setting is no fun! Since we have no snow removal and lots of bridges and overpasses, the area basically shuts down. Many activities for this evening have been cancelled - gee, I wonder if my rehearsal will be cancelled?

My dear husband has a crummy cold, so I made comfort food for dinner - Chicken Shepard's Pie.
Too bad he has to drive downtown and play opera tonight. At least when he returns home, the fireplace will be burning and the room cozy and warm.

I just started the second skein of Tiger's Eye.
So here is a pic of my WIP.

First big weekend

This was the first big music weekend for the Christmas season. Today we played two performances of Ahmal and the Night Visitors (fantastic 1 hour opera by Gian Carlo Menotti) after the Messiah rehearsal. Also have the complete ~ yes, all three hours ~ Messiah tomorrow evening. In the afternoon is an opera performance (for dear husband) and I am going to hear some friends (oboe, harp and organ) perform with a choir.

Monday is sounding like a day of rest.... I hope whoever reads this has a lovely week enjoying the Christmas season.