The Endless Afghan -- Twenty Two Down - Eighteen to go

This block is featured in The Great North American Afghan and was designed by Deborah Newton of Providence, Rhode Island.

It was very easy to knit. I cast on while waiting for our flight from Seattle to San Jose last weekend. I was at the halfway mark when the plane touched down two hours later. I can't knit in the car (I get motion sick) so I had to wait to finish it this weekend at my Saturday morning knit together.

I blocked it Saturday afternoon and this morning I have yet another square completed! Although I am now more than halfway through my goal, there are still 18 more squares to knit. I have been thinking that I may modify my plan and add a large border and keep all the squares on the top of the bed. I 'll have to play with the measurements.

The Endless Afghan - The Twenty First Square

I have been working on the afghan as much as I can. I would like to finish it this year but, quite honestly, that may not be realistic. But whether I do complete it or not, I am having a great deal of fun which each square.

This block is from the book, The Great American Aran Afghan. It was designed by Marian Tabler of Cincinatti, Ohio.

The twin cables wander back and forth throughout the square giving the block a "bas relief" look. Best of all, it knit it up exactly at gauge!

The Endless Afghan - The Twentieth Square (or only 20 more to go!)

Last Monday, our receptionist had the flu but came to work anyway. When Bear found out she was sick, Bear immediately sent her home but apparently, not soon enough. On Friday, I felt the first chills and slight headache. By Saturday afternoon, the fever had arrived as well as chest congestion and stuffed sinuses.

Since it was obvious I wasn't going to be out and about over the weekend, I settled into my easy chair, wrapped up in a blanket, and picked up my knitting. I decided to knit a square from The Great American Aran Afghan.

This square was designed by Barbara McIntire and features Celtic cables as the centerpiece as well as the borders.

As with all cables, it was important to pay attention to the direction the cables crossed each other. Once I got the pattern memorized, the square knit up quickly. It blocked beautifully. Only twenty squares more to go.........

The Endless Afghan - The Nineteenth Square

I am finally knitting again! Christmas is over, the office has slowed down back to normal, and Kenny’s homework is under control. What better project to celebrate "I-have-time-just-for-me-again" than the endless afghan.

This square is from the Great American Aran Afghan and was designed by Julie Levy.

It features interlocking diamond cables at the center of the square and a single row of diamonds at each of the edges.

Overall, a intricate looking square that is not difficult. And I am now one more square closer to finishing.

I'm Back.........

I have been on a blogging hiatus. Being a Family Law Attorney is often stressful. When a marriage is dying, divorcing couples are rarely at their best. Now add in the stressors of the holiday season and things go from bad to worse. The time period from the end of November to the middle of January tends to be a very intense time at my office. This year was no exception.

My staff and I had to prepare for and put on four trials lasting one to two days each. In between the trial preparation, I also participated in fifteen office settlement conferences with opposing counsel and our clients in an effort to peacefully settle Christmas visitation schedules between upset and angry parents, who tend to each want Christmas their way. These conference typically last two to four hours before we are able to reach an agreement. Once an agreement was brokered, I had to draft a Stipulation and Order which had to be signed by both parents, both attorneys, and a Judge. As if all this wasn't enough, domestic violence is always an issue during the holidays and this year I appeared at six emergency hearings seeking restraining orders as a result of domestic violence. Add to the mix all the clients that want to their divorce paperwork filed before the end of the year and new clients who need immediate appointments and you get a scheduling nightmare. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, seventy hour work weeks are the norm for my staff and me. By the time December 24th arrived, we were all exhausted and looking forward doing to our winter break (I close the office from December 24th through January 2nd each year).

As if this isn't enough, I still have to try to decorate the Christmas tree, purchase and wrap presents, help Kenny with his homework, attend various school plays and band concerts.

I haven't been knitting........

I haven't been blogging.......

I haven't been weaving.......

I haven't been reading........ (except for reading endless declarations and case law).

But now, finally, things have settled back down to a semblance of normal and I can now catch up.

December 17th was the 50th birthday of my sister, Kris. Before the holiday madness began, I knit her a shawl.

I used Royal Bamboo and a lace pattern I particularly like.

I finished the ends with Swarovski crystals.

This is the knit side.....

.....and this is the purl side.

I really like the color of this yarn. Too bad it is a discontinued color. However, I saved enough of the yarn to make a scarf for myself.

Dan, Justin, Kenny and I spent Christmas in Washington. I just downloaded the pictures and will post the highlights tomorrow. In the meantime, I finally cast on a new square for the Great American Aran Afghan.

The Endless Afghan - The Eighteenth Square

I finally managed to finish another square despite all the homework assignments Kenny has been bringing home from school.

This square was designed by Ann Strong in Olympia, Washington.

It is based on a pattern called "pomegranate" and does resemble the fruit after it has been cut in half.

The side cables are also interesting. It alternates a solid knit cable with a seed stitch cable intertwined with each other to create an unusual look.

Overall, there is a lot of seed stitch throughout the square which gives the square a very pretty and very distinct look. It was also fun to knit.

The Endless Afghan - The Seventeenth Square

While in Washington I was able to complete two squares for the Afghan I am making.

This is the second of those squares which features an oakleaf and acorns.

The design is featured in the book "The Great American Afghan" and was fitting as the oak leaves were just starting to turn red.

The Endless Afghan - The Sixteenth Square

With all the rain, I had time to work on the Great American Aran Afghan. I chose this square designed by Judy Sumner because I like spiders.

It was actually quite fitting for vacation because there were several large Orb Weavers making webs by our front deck which I enjoyed watching while knitting.

Here is a close up of the spider....

And the web with a bug...

And finally the leaves and branches with a "X-O" border. I think this is my favorite square so far.

Ravelry

There is a huge downside to Ravelry.

I started cataloging all of my stash and decided it would be easier if I had it all in one place.

Now, my husband Dan has never, ever, ever seen the sheer size my stash.......
He stood in shocked silence as he looked first at the piles of bright colored yarns waiting to be photographed.......

then slowly turned and looked at bags and bins stuffed full of twenty years of accumulated yarn acquisition.....
.........and finally ended with the stacks of roving waiting to be spun into yarn .

Poor Dan. He looks a bit shell shocked -- you know, that deer caught in the headlights look?

Which leads me to the question ---- Should I tell him that there is yet still more yarn in Washington?

The Endless Afghan - The Fifteenth Square

This square is from the The Great American Aran Afghan and was designed by Meredith Morioka. It consists of an intricate center cable and a seed stitch and lace pattern as the side borders.

I finished this square last week but apparently I misread the instructions and used a needle size too large. Previously, all of the other squares I had knitted were fairly consistent as to size. In fact, all of them had blocked nicely at twelve square inches each. But this square was huge...... and I do mean HUGE! When I measured it, the tape measure revealed the thing was fourteen inches wide and fifteen inches tall.

After mumbling a few choice knitting words, I frogged the entire thing, reduced needle size, and started over. The re-knit version happily was right on gauge so I have added another finished square to the stack! Twenty five more to go!

The Yarn Harlot AND Yarnhog --All in the Same Day!

Last June, Sanger High School had the temerity to schedule Justin's graduation ceremony without first checking The Yarn Harlot's tour schedule. Although I would have loved hearing her speak, you don't invest eighteen years into your kid and miss out of one of life's payoffs.

Consequently, I have been watching her "Harlot on Tour" posts hoping that she would be scheduled in California again before the end of the year. As luck would have it, she was the featured speaker at the Los Angeles Public Library on September 15th. When the schedule was posted on the Internet, I made reservations for two, hoping that Yarnhog would be able to attend as well.

Although I had never met Yarnhog (a.k.a. Suzanne), she and I had been commenting on each other blogs for several months and have an seem to have an almost eerie connection at times -- we are both fairly tall, we are both attorneys, we both have boys, we have the same make and model of computer, both of our fathers worked in the same field.......the list goes on and on. I emailed Suzanne, asked her to join me, and she agreed! The Harlot was scheduled to speak at 2:00 p.m. Suzanne and I wanted to get a good seat so we agreed to meet at my hotel at 10:30 a.m. She arrived right on time. We spent two hours getting to know each other. What a lovely woman. Then, since we wanted to get a good seat in the auditorium, we headed over to the Public Library.Even though it was only 12:30 p.m., there were knitters everywhere! It seemed Suzanne and I weren't the only only who thought arriving early was a good idea. We joined the line and did what knitters do best when confronted with a long wait --- out came the knitting needles, spindles and projects.
Suzanne sat down and started on her Icarus Shawl. Suzanne is knitting the shawl for a friend's wedding and her posts on it have been hilarious. She ordered the yarn on line. When it arrived she was stunned to discover that dental floss is thicker. She commented that she has completed 7943 rows and it seems to have increased in size by a whole inch. The wedding is rapidly approaching so she was working on it whenever she could. As we knit we chatted with other knitters/bloggers, including Cat Book Mom, Bee Bonnet and Dizzy Ewe.

When the door finally opened, Suzanne and I were delighted to snag front row seats! Next to us is Audrey, the lovely program director and librarian who set up the event.

The big moment finally arrived. Stephanie entered to a huge round of applause and immediately took pictures of the audience with the traveling sock.

Then she spoke to the assembled crowd. She was poised, charming and had the crowd in stitches (forgive the pun) with her offbeat sense on humor. Then, despite a grueling schedule which has her in seven cities in seven days, she graciously signed her books and chatted with the crowd.

This is Jean Roosevelt (goldenpurl.blogspot.com), the lovely knitter who collected the knitted hats donated to charity at the event.

And finally the requisite picture of yours truly with The Yarn Harlot herself. All too soon, it was time to leave and say good-bye. But what a wonderful day!

Block Party

This is what I did this afternoon.

Before......

......and.....

After!

It never ceases to amaze me as to the difference blocking makes!

The Endless Afghan - The Fourteenth Square

This square is the one I worked while on the road. The pattern is from The Great North American Afghan book. It is a combination of various Aran patterns which require careful concentration to avoid crossing cables the wrong way.
It also has lots and lots of bobbles which gives it a lot of texture. I was concerned that it was going to be slightly larger than the twelve inch square called for by the pattern but its final measurements was an acceptable 12 1/4 inches square. What a relief! I really did not want to re-knit it.

The Endless Afghan - The Thirteen Square

This is what I did when I couldn't work on the computer. I picked out a fairly intricate pattern out of the The Great American Aran Afghan and I knit.

Contrary to the opinions of the knit critics in the house, this in NOT a pineapple.
Nor is it an decorated Faberge' egg on a pedestal. (What goes on in the mind of an 11 year old anyway?)
It's a fish swimming through the water! It's also one more square completed on the afghan. Twenty seven more to go!

The Endless Afghan - The Twelfth Square

Kenny starts 6th grade tomorrow. This past week has been spent doing "Mommy" things after putting a full day at work ----- taking Kenny shopping for new school clothes, new shoes, school supplies and a new backpack. I have also been informed by my young man that he is "too old" for the kids dressing room so I was relegated to sitting outside the "adult" dressing room and waiting for him to come out show me his choices.

This left me very little time for blogging but a great deal of extra time for knitting.As a result, I finished the twelfth square of the Endless Afghan and have most of the thirteen square completed as well. Hopefully,things will return to normal around here next week.