Husqvarna Platinum 16

The local Husqvarna dealer offered an opportunity to try the new mid-arm machine with the Husqvarna Educator, on Saturday. I love having the chance to try new machines, in a setting like this where there is no pressure to buy.

Here is my sample.

They had us trying it without the stitch regulator and I was not really impressed because it didn't do any better at free motion than my regular machine. The stitch length was as difficult to control, so I have lots of different stitch lengths. Since we only had a small sample to work on, it wasn't really obvious what one would gain by buying this machine. The educator did demo the machine with the regulator attached, but it was again on a fairly small piece of fabric, so I am not sure how well it would work on an entire quilt. 

All and all, I decided that they didn't convince me to part with a large sum of money to add a new machine to my collection. Oh, and I managed to break one of the regular store machines, trying to tack down the binding!

The dealer did give us some nice goodie bags, though.

Kittens

Springtime means kitten time at animal shelters. It has been a long time since we have had any teeny-tinies to foster, since we had an adult cat all last summer as we waited for him to find a forever home.

This week, we got our first batch of spring chicks.

I have named them after two young women in my knitting group.

So meet Leah:

And Erika:

To give you an idea of how tiny they are, here is Erika playing with a tennis ball (I think the ball is winning).

And here they are, together, eating of course (not ginger cookies, like the real Leah and Erika).

All together now: Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Paramedic Services Week

A warm hug to all Paramedics (and especially Mini's Dad)

Birds of a Feather - Take 3

Last week, I talked about the problems I was having, casting on my Birds of a Feather shawl. The yarn of first choice was defective, so I had to pick a new yarn to get started. Since it was a long weekend and my choices were limited to what was in my stash, I chose a blue-green yarn.

I was already behind on the knit along, so I have been trying to catch up. A trip to a family gathering over the weekend seriously cut into my knitting time, so it was today before I finished Part 1.

An interesting start to the shawl. The 691 stitches had become 649 stitches, in 23 rows...really long rows.

I wanted to tone down the green and make the shawl bluer, so I chose this lovely angora blend for my second colour.

All was well until I started the second part and discovered that I had not put the point in the centre of the knitting and my second part wasn't working.

So this is what it looks like now.

And I have started again.

Just over 300 stitches left to cast on. While the variegated yarn relaxes, I will start with the solid this time.

Knitting teaches you that if things aren't working out, sometimes you just need to give up and start again. It also teaches you to count carefully, and I should know better.

Meanwhile, Grayson is now healthy and will be moving on to his forever family soon. Here he is, guarding the space under my chair while I knit in the sun room.

And here he is, hunting for bugs that got through the screens, or came in with the dog.

Linking to Needlework Tuesday at Books and Quilts.

Glitz

My Ravelry Project Page says that I started Glitz at the Ritz on September 29, 2013 and finished it on May 18, 2014.

What it doesn't tell you is that half way through, I made a mistake, had the wrong number of stitches and lacked the patience to figure it out, so I put it aside for many months.

This week, it is finished!

TADA! I love the way it looks, even before it is blocked.

Here is the lace.

And here is a lovely curving end

By the numbers:

The shawl weighs 161 grams. I have 17 grams of yarn left from a skein of 115 grams. So I used 98 grams of yarn, and 63 grams of beads. The manufacturer says there is about 12 beads per gram. so the shawl has 756 beads (lets say 760). Although it doesn't show well in the pictures, the shawl shimmers, since the beads are silver lined and the yarn is silk.

Now I just need a dress to wear with it! (stay tuned)


The motivation to get this one finished was that I needed my long cable to knit my next MKAL, Birds of a Feather.
First step: Cast on 691 stitches! I took out the yarn I was planning to use and it shredded after casting on about 20 stitches. I tried again and had the same thing happen. Tossed that ball back into the bin and went to Plan B.

Not quite what I had planned but I am sure it will make me happier than the original "achy breaky" yarn.
I need a contrast colour to go with it, and I feel like turquoise might be a good choice.

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Knitting Update

I haven't posted much knitting here lately, so I will show you what I have been up to.

First up, the socks I thought would never end.

I started these socks in February, got the first one finished in no time, and then I just kept starting new things without finishing this pair. They are done now, and in the hands (and on the feet) of their new owner (Happy birthday!)

I found a shawl pattern that looked fun and easy and it is progressing.

The pattern is Yarn Crawl Shawl.

Next, my Glitz at the Ritz is nearing completion.

I spent 8 hours in the car yesterday, so I started a new pair of socks.

Not sure who they are for, but they keep me busy without a lot of thought.

Meanwhile, a blackmail picture.

And people wonder if Dolly gets along with the fosters. The answer is YES!

Spring Retreat

I spent last weekend at my semi-annual quilt retreat. I didn't manage to get anything finished, but I did manage to make some progress on  the projects I took with me.

The closest thing to a finish was this bag.

It still needs grommets to hold the straps.

I figured out how to put in a magnet snap, and I think it looks pretty good!

Inside of bag with lots of pockets

Some of the other ladies did some wonderful work.

Diane's Hunter's Star progressed nicely.

Margery won these blocks in a BOM draw, and made a top out of them.

Kelda made a stunning top from a jelly roll.

Anita finished TWO tops!

Two baby quilts by Kathryn.

Audrey made a Snail's Trails quilt top. She had enough blocks left over to make a second top, because she was so keen at making the snails.

Looking at the pictures, I feel like a bit of a slacker.

We all had a great time, with lots of laughter and  a rousing game of "strip poker".