Half a century

By Sunday I will have been on this earth for half a century! I can't quite believe it. Normally birthdays don't phase me much but this one seems a bit different. I came to realise that I have now been longer on this earth than the time that remains for me. Perhaps now I have to finally admit that I'm middle aged.

To make the event more palatable Bruce and I are having a combined 110th birthday party on Saturday. We've invited all our friends and intend to celebrate with gusto.

I had hoped to wear my Henley on the weekend but I've been laid low by a virus and so no knitting has taken place the last couple of days. I still have one sleeve to knit. With any luck I'll have it done by next Thursday when our neighbours are taking me out for a Peking Duck dinner and a night in the city (and it will probably include a little yarn shopping?).

The other delightful news I had was to find that I had won one of the grand completion prizes for my SOSTIII. The theme has been revealed and here are a few excerpts from Nautical Knitter's description: "The Estes Park Stole was inspired by our son’s recent wedding which was held in Estes Park, Colorado. ... The rounded edges are symbols of the cyclical nature of life and the circle having no end, once formed, is everlasting. This was intended to be a reminder, much like the rings they exchanged represented the same reality and are constant, visible reminders of their union. The motifs you see in the stole are representative of snowflakes and the surrounding tiny motifs symbolize snow."

I'll leave you with a splash of colour. The garden is looking good at the moment and the rhododendrons have started to flower.

FO: Secret of the Stole III

This wonderful knit has sadly come to the end. But I'm very pleased with the end product.









I knitted this in Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 2 ply called Vanilla. I used 3.75 mm circular needles and size 8 clear crystal beads.

I had a moment of panic when I went to block the stole because several pink blotches appeared on the stole. Fortunately they washed out but I have no idea what caused the colouring.

I also have no idea of the name of the stole! It makes me think of starry nights when I see the beads glinting in the light but at the same time I think of snowflakes, clouds and flowers and funnily enough, brides! Whatever it is I like it and I want to thank the designer Nautical Knitter for a great stole.

This stole is going to go to my neighbour for her 70th birthday. I hope she enjoys wearing it as much as I enjoyed knitting it.

SOTSIII Hint 8

We are now fast approaching the end. Only one more clue to go. This stole has become a part of life and once its done and blocked I'm going to miss it! The photos aren't too good. I became impatient waiting for the sun to shine and just took them any way. (And yes, we have had a bit of rain, not much considering how dull and gloomy it has been the last three days).





I've also finished my No Sheep for You swap projects. I used alpaca and made a pair of Cabled Fingerless gloves for my pal. I made the gloves a little too big for my hands because I know my pal has larger hands. I hope they fit her!



And with the yarn left over I managed to squeeze in a Crofter's cowl for my pal. The alpaca is lovely and soft against the skin and I'm sure will be warm as well.

SOTSIII Hint 7

I've completed hint 7 and now there are only two more hints to go. I can smell the finish! But as to the theme, well, that's another matter. I still think it has something to do with snow???

I thought I would finish the second part of my No Sheep for You swap this weekend but by Sunday evening I decided that I didn't like the look of it. So I frogged the lot and started something else. This one seems to be working for me. Its knitting up quickly and I should have it completed by the end of the week.



I can't resist a mystery! So I'm knitting the Mystery Project # 1 (seven clues in seven days) over on Holiday Mystery Gifts. Here it is on day 2:



I still have no idea what I'm knitting.

SOTSIII Hint 6

I think we are now on the downward slope of this stole. I still puzzle about the theme and I'm none the wiser. Snowflakes, flowers, posies and insects drift through my mind. I love working on the stole with the sun on me. The beads glint and glisten as I move through the rows and bring me enormous pleasure.



I signed up for the Australian No Sheep for you swap on Ravelry. Since I found out who my secret pal is I've been agonizing over what to make for her. After changing my mind umpteen times I finally settled on a couple of items. Number one is done and only requires blocking.



And I've started on number two. So far so good. I want to do a third but I haven't yet finalised that decision.

Its also been some weeks since I knitted a pair of socks and I feel the need to cast on. But which pattern?

SOTSIII Hint 5

Hint 5 is done and is becoming tricky to photograph in its entirety.



So I took a close-up of the hint. Now I have started seeing insects floating up the stole. Mayflies or perhaps even bees?



I've also finally finished my Poet's Pullover. I knitted this in BWM Alpaca in, I think, Sphere. Hard to know as a bought a pack of the yarn in their fabulous back room and it was unlabeled. I used 3.5 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm circular needles to knit the pullover.




I had to redo the sleeves because they ended up too wide. I think there were a couple of errors in the pattern but nothing serious. I'm pretty happy with the end result.

SOTSIII Hint 4

HInt 4 is done. Again an easy knit - lovely! The pattern is becoming quite solid and now it looks to me as if leaves or flowers are breaking away from the solid section and drifting down. I eagerly await the next hint to see where this pattern is taking us.

In the meantime I have completed the body of my Poet's Pullover. I've had to make a few modifications because my stitch count did not end up the same as the pattern. I also found the armholes a bit tight so I re-knitted the fronts and lengthened the armholes. I'll finish the collar tonight and should be able to start the sleeves tonight as well.

A friend was interested in knitting a pair of felted clogs. So I whipped one up one evening this week to show her the construction. Now I need another free evening to knit the second one. Its rather satisfying being able to complete a project quickly.

SOTSIII Hint 3

Hint 3 is done! A nice quick knit again. I've been speculating about the theme. On Sunday I went to a wonderful piano recital given by the very talented young John Chen. While his beautiful interpretation of Schubert washed over me my mind drifted to my stole (as it does!) and I started to think about flowing rivers and thought that's it! And the beads are the glints on the water as the river swirls and eddies around the rocks and boulders.



But then when I looked at someone's stole on Ravelry and then pinned out my own Hint 3 all I could see was a circle of flowers, possibly a garland?

So the guessing continues and I eagerly await the next hint.

SOTSIII Hint 2

I have finished Hint 2 of the SOTSIII. This shawl is giving me great pleasure so far. Its a lovely easy knit. And, as always, I love seeing the mystery gradually unfold. It keeps me guessing. I started off thinking about snow and now I'm thinking about falling leaves. Perhaps even a combination.

I've had some bad news regarding my Rogue. The extra yarn I've ordered is out of stock. I have to wait for them to process some more and thus I have no idea how long that will take. Sigh, so near and yet so far.

Secret of the Stole III has begun!

I finally managed to cast on for SOTSIII and to my delight Hint 1 just flew off the needles. Here it is (apologies for the lousy picture but we haven't seen the sun in days):



I'm knitting with Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 2 ply in Almond on 3.75 mm circs and #8 clear crystal beads.

Limbering up

Yep I'm preparing for the Ravelympics. I've done my swatch for the Rogue Hoodie.



Fortunately my needle choice (4mm) was spot on. I'm not a big fan of swatches but occasionally you just have to do it.

Having got that out of the way I then thought to clear the decks and I finished Joy's socks.



And seeing as I was in swatching mode I did another swatch for the SOTS III. I went up to size 3.75 mm needles and now have to decide which look I like the best. I think I'm inclined towards the lacier look. Any thoughts?