Rain again. The day lilies are blooming and are gorgeous. All the perennials did well this year with the extra water. We however are rusting. Went to Portland today and finally got off of I-295 and took back roads as the crazy drivers weren't slowing down for the heavy rain. There are times I miss the ammenities of a city but don't want to live in one again. Today I watched the three red fox pups wrestling in the field across our road. Don't see that in a city!

Lismore is coming along well. Picked up 3 out of 4 sleeve edge stitches and am about four inches down. I have this love/hate thing with sleeves so really have to force myself to finish them.



Miss Boots the Cat was happy today as I've got piles of quilt fabric all over the work room floor. I want to make a quilt for the camper before fall (HA!). Have the dinette cushion from the camper in the house to guide in color choices. I think it will end up being a cream/white/beige/tan scrap background and a simple 9 patch block with batiks. "Combing through the Scraps" by Karen Combs is a good inspiration and a way to use up some of the fabric in this house.

Knitting again! Home from our western trip and the weeding is almost caught up. Those five weeks away and Maine had rain almost every day. The weeds were huge and dug in tight. Yard really looks good and the day lilies are starting to pop in all their glorious colors.

Joe's brown sweater got ripped back 3" the other night. Simple pattern means you don't pay as much attention so sometimes a cable doesn't get crossed when it should. The back is almost done.

On one of the Ravelry knit groups we've been discussing steeks. There are a lot of ways of making a steek but this is what I do. I make my steeks pretty wide, usually a total of nine stitches with the two outside rows being the darkest colors so I can use those to pick up neck and button bands. I crochet my steeks leaving one full stitch between where I’m crocheting. That stitch is cut exactly in half vertically. This makes a nice neat edge that folds over to the inside easily. This example is Lismore being made with Jamieson & Smith two ply jumper weight wool which is quite sticky. I know many of you just cut and let the edge remain as cut but I like the look of the crocheted edge. I’d also probably wake up at night and listen for the sounds of unravelling coming from my closet if I didn’t finish the edge.

The first photo shows the crochet hook picking up the two adjacent stitch edges. The black vertical line is the crochet edge.



Second photo shows the steek being cut with very sharp scissors with a small blade so they don’t get away from you. Take your time!



Third photo shows the steek cut open with the tight finished edge.



The shoulders are now together using three needle bind off. Next comes the dreaded pickup for the sleeves. Trying to get this one finished as the Ravelry group will be starting another Knit A Long mid September for Henry VIII, a Starmore design.

The Kangaroo Pockets from "Guy Knits" is progressing. I really like the Berroco Ultra Alpaca in the brown color called Potting Soil. The photo is the back which has a bad cable cross way down about 3” from the bottom. This is one time the mistake is going to stay. The yarn does shed some but is just beautiful. Reviews I’ve read on the yarn says it does stretch lengthwise a bit so I’m making the sweater an inch shorter to compensate. The color is much prettier in person. The photo makes it look washed out. The panels of trinity stitch are smooth, not pucketed as they are appearing. It's a very simple pattern that is perfect for knitting while riding in the truck or watching movies.



I’d started that old panic we all do as in “Do I have enough yardage????”. However I’m not quite through the third ball and have started the arm decreases for the back. I have/had 13 skeins so should have enough even though he has long arms. Right?

Not a lot of time to knit on this trip as we are doing so much and seeing the sights of the west and west coast. Follow the trip at

What knitting time there has been has been good. I like the Berroco Ultra Alpaca and the pattern out of "Guy Knits" as written. Plus best of all is Joe is a captive audience so I can measure it against him often!



Almost finished with one repeat and the pattern is going to work out okay.

June 4 - Fort Peck to Great Falls, MT

Morning came early again and we spent the time before places opened, doing basic maintenance on the TC. The gas hot water heater was not working, giving a constant reset light. Joe called our TC friend Mikeee who can fix just about anything in the HVAC line. Joe had already done most of what Mike suggested but he gave a few more hints and one of them worked. Probably a loose wire by the tank where I had put in paper towels - where I wasn't supposed to store anything. Well paper towels are light right? Mike's "payment" of a box of Klondike Bars will go to him next we see him.

We toured the Fort Peck dam area and learned the story of how the dam was built during the 1930s depression. There was a catastrophic and deadly collapse before it was finished. At the base of the dam is the Fort Peck Interpretive Center which lays out the discovery of dinosaur remains and traces their history and the ecology and geography of the area. Excellent exhibits and well worth the time to go there.



There was also an art and sculpture exhibit. I liked this one thinking of all
our TC friends who hike deep into the wilderness.



We travel led on Route 2 today and whoever said this part of Montana is called the Big Empty was absolutely correct. Between Big Sky and Big Empty there is nothing but grass, horses and cattle. We think the vast planted fields are wheat but not sure. You have to be a hearty soul to live out here especially during the winter.



At Malta we stopped at the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum. They had one real intact skeleton which was interesting but what was more so was the county museum. There were photos loaned by local families from early pioneer times through the Great Depression up to current farming. Quilts, a roster of those who have served in the wars, class photos, exhibits of old kitchens, parlors, etc. Fascinating to tour and you felt as though you were sitting in your grandmother's parlor looking at family history.

At Havre, we switched over to Route 87 south to go to Great Falls. This road is two lane, no shoulders and 70 mph. I have to hand it to those who live here and put up with the tourists who know one wrong twitch of the hands and you end up in a ditch. Actually not bad driving, much more civil people who pass a TC going 62. The tip of their hat is better than the hand wave back east.

We're in a tiny campground just prior to Great Falls but amazingly there is internet. We're feasting on corn husk covered tamales, fresh salsa that is a bit hotter than we are used to and local nacho chips. When in the country, eat like a native.

Tomorrow our choices are the Memhke Steam Museum (tractors not trains), the CM Russell Museum Complex, Malmstrom Air Force Base museum and a second Lewis and Clark Center. We are close to museum done and time to head for Glacier. I keep checking the "Going to the Sun Road" and know it is not open yet. But there is so much else to see, do and hike that it won't matter in the long run. We'll take 89 north and wander to see what there is to see.

We're on a truck camper RV trek out west and was able to meet up with an online knitter friend in Fargo, North Dakota. Here we are in her favorite local yarn shop, Boucle Yarn Studio. It is a fabulous shop and I wish I were about 1,500 miles closer. Maureen is on the left, I'm on the right.



Of course I didn't get out of the shop without a book and yarn. The project I'd brought with me to work on isn't doing what I wanted. I now have "Guy Knits" an XRX Best of Knitter's book and some luscious Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I've started the "Kangeroo Pockets" men's sweater for Joe and it is working up wonderfully.

Thanks Maureen for taking the time to meet up. If anyone wants to follow the adventure it is at http://otrafrommaine.blogspot.com.

These kilt hose were fun! Here is a pair of really handsome legs showing off the cuff and start of the leg. I think Joe would win the ugly knee contest but he enjoyed trying on the hose as they were knit. These are "He' mo Leanan Kilt Hose" by Anne Carroll Gilmour of Park City, Utah. My uncle in South Carolina has received them, they fit and he will wear them to a pipe band concert on Memorial Day.





I've not really been missing - just camping again. We had another truck camper RV rally near Sturbridge, MA. Lots of fun though rainy and cold for four days. Lots of knitters there and we sat under a big party tent and knit sweaters, socks, etc. I even had a friend Kitchner the end of the second kilt sock.

I wrote asking for the Dragon Boat pattern which has been long out of print



and got the PDF back the following morning. This pattern so looks like a jacket to me I might knit it in Lion Brand Fishermen yarn in brown and white. I get 7 sts to an inch on US #2. Nice tight fabric that would be very warm. I've also been working on the top down raglan in Cottage Crafts worsted weight (see the blog post of April 7th). Top is all done in a basketweave down to the start of the sleeves which are now on a thread. Body is started with big wide flat cables. I tried it on and it will fit though a bit big. I bet it will block smaller.

We're going to take another long RV trip this summer, going out to Glacier National Park. I've got to figure out a fairly easy pattern to take so I can knit at night. I'm not taking Henry VIII so I won't start it early!

Henry VIII was waiting in our mailbox today when we got back from errands. I ordered the kit from Virtual Yarns, Alice Starmore's company in Lewis, Scotland. It came in a good size box that stuck out of the mailbox. Fortunately it hadn’t started raining. Amazing I didn’t have to sign for the box.



The box is heavy cardboard, carefully wrapped in brown paper with royal mail stamps and customs voucher. Inside the yarn is wrapped in tissue paper and has a Starmore seal holding the tissue paper closed. The yarn has an AS lable on each group of colors. There are many different sizes of skeins with no indication of yardage or weight.

The colors are just glorious with intermixed flecks of color in each skein. As a super treat to myself, this is worth the price for the kit. There is also a heavy stock paper pattern card in color with all sizes.

Is it mid September yet when the KAL (knit along) is going to start? I will try very hard to not even wind a skein because once that is done, I'll start to swatch and once I swatch, I'll start to knit. Henry's been put into a cloth box and set on the bookcase, in sight but out of reach - for now.

Long time since I've caught up on the blog. It has been a sad time in our family but in addition to mourning, we celebrated the life of our mother. Mom passed away on Sunday, April 19th after a good life of 89 years. April 9th, we had traveled to Virginia for a visit with her and family and spent five days taking mom out of the assisted living center. The stand out was Easter dinner at brother's home where we shared a meal with family and got to sit out in the very warm southern sun. We took her to several of her favorite places for seafood lunches, a drive through some of the national civil war parks and, best for me, a ride across the ferry at Scotland Wharf to Jamestown, VA. Mom seemed to get stronger every day, more talkative and physically stronger. We left for the Mid-Atlantic Truck Camper Rally at Tall Pines Harbor in Sanford, VA telling her we would see her again in about ten days. After three years of declining health, she just passed in her sleep on the 19th after a last great day out with my sister. She was an amazingly strong woman who loved life, the sunshine, her native VA and her family. She is missed.



The extended family came in from Maine to Florida for the funeral. The gathering gave us the opportunity to talk about mom's life from childhood to her working life to her older years. Her two sisters who are 70 and 90 years old, cousins and friends all shared many stories of our VERY large family going back to great-grandmother times. The funeral service, burial and church reception were attended by many family members and friends. The old southern traditions are very comforting.

Rather then continue with our camping trip, we chose to return to Maine. We've been clearing up winter yard debris, getting the camper and truck cleaned up and ready for the next trip.

I knitted quite a bit while on this trip. The mindless top down raglan with a basketweave design is close to the division for sleeves. It wasn't totally mindless as it got ripped often since I kept forgetting the increases.

My uncle from SC came for the funeral so got to try on the kilt hose himself. The measurements were right on and he was quite pleased with them. He'd love to have them for a bagpipe concert Memorial Day but the first one is not even done yet. Great pattern, fun knit and I've learned a lot. Doubt I'll get the DH to wear a kilt but he'd look "cute" in shorts and kilt hose.

You know how sometime you just need a really easy project? I've always kept a list of projects to do one day and ran through the list looking. In Knitter's Magazine #57, Winter 1999, there is a cabled sweater called "Dressed Alike Cables" by Traci Bunkers. Sweater is sized for both kids and moms.



This is an easy set in sleeve pullover with big flat cables to the armhole and then an easy V gansey type pattern at the top. I went through every one of [mzannieknits](person) books, all the other design books and the web looking for something a little more interesting for the cable. As designed it was an eight stitch cable
crossed every ten rows. I've substituted "Double Twisted Cable" from "The Harmony Guide - 440 More Knitting Stitches" as it had a bit more interest. the double twisted is over 8 stitches, 22 rows and has triple crosses with 13 flat rows in between. I'll be able to knit this one without looking at cable charts - just what is needed for knitting around the fire at nights.

I'm using some of the [Cottage Craft](yarn) in Copper. Swatch looked good for fabric feel and I got the gauge I wanted. I'll convert it to knitting in the round up to the armholes - unless I decide to further change the pattern and knit it as a raglan top down. Can't leave anything alone can I? At least I can attribute the idea to the author.

Also working on a more complicated project called "He'mo Leanan Kilt Hose" by Anne Carroll Gilmour. My sock knowledge is low but since my cable skills are high, this is a great learning project. The cuff is made first and the sock is knit down from the cuff. Here is Joe modeling what is knit to date. These hose will go with us camping this summer but will need some attention paid to the charts. These are being made for Uncle Wayne to wear while he is pipeing in the bag pipe marching band. Hope they don't turn out too hot to wear

Both Lismore and Shalor are progressing. The colors in Lismore are just beautiful and are working out well. They remind me of standing on the rocky coast of Maine in the fall - ocean and leaves. The white line at the bottom of the ribbing is just a cotton yarn backstitched on to keep the ribbing flat until it is blocked.



The sleeves on Shalor are almost ready to put on a holder thread. They will be put aside until the back is finished. Then I'll string them all together on a long thread and try it against Joe. For some reason the sleeves look too wide but I have to remember it is a raglan and the sleeve top is part of the upper body.



We've been discussing yarn storage on the Ravelry groups especially in the Starmore Junkies section. When we finished off the room over the garage, we built in wooden storage bins to the slope under the eaves. The top serves as great storage for books and some baskets of yarn, needles, etc. The bins were built to accomodate big tubs for quilt fabric, yarn, batting, etc. In my usual OC mode, I put everything on a spread sheet so I could find it by looking at the index rather than having to go through each bin. Cascade 220 in red in Bin 1, Blarney Spun in Bin 2, etc. The hardest part now is keeping the spread sheet updated when I use something.





The Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper weight yarns plus a lot of the stash already dedicated to projects are stored in canvas bags I got at Christmas Tree Shops. Very inexpensive but they still stack well. The boxes contain the yarn for the project, copy of the pattern, notes, etc. I have a large stash, but nothing like some of the Ravelry folks. This will last me way until heaven - or I'd better save some of the thinner stuff to knit if I end up in the other place.

Catching up on what is on the needles and in progress:

DH's "Shalor Pullover" is on the second sleeve which is up to the elbow. I can knit on this while watching TV in the evening including shows like "24" and "American Idol". Those are pretty mindless, just background noise, so don't have to reference the charts very often.

Below is the progress on "Lismore" which I'm doing in J&S jumper weight yarns, not in the original Rowan yarns which are long gone. The chart is 50 rows and is like popcorn - hard to stop at "just one more row". The white thread at the bottom is just a cotton yarn sewn on to keep the bottom from curling. The top photo shows the pattern better but the colors are washed out; the bottom shows the true colors a bit better. This is a stranded work with bands of horizontal colors but has enough vertical patterning so that it doesn't appear to be juts going round and round.





I remembered starting Starmore's "St. Brigid" before the holidays but couldn't remember where it was. I'd stopped to do some holiday gift knitting. Found it today and remembered that I'd substituted one of Annie Maloney's cables in place of the generic horseshoe. It's now moved out of its hiding place and out where I can easily reach it. I like having more than one project and different types of projects going at one time.

Below is a photo of two corrugated ribs, both of which show the little blips of color that occur when you first start the ribbing on the purl stitches. I’ve read every where I can on how to prevent this but closest I can come is Meg Swenson’s PWYC (purl when you can) method. I’m probably not understnading something as I cannot figure out how to prevent those little blips of color when you change from one purl color to another.



I've started "Lismore" in Jamieson & Smith colors. The top rib is the start of Lismore. Still working on laying out a more vertical stranded sweater but it isn't as easy as I thought it might be. Lismore is large charts so doesn't look as horizontally striped. This photo is my internet knitting friend Junie's Lismore from a few years ago. I won't make the high turtleneck and my colors are a bit more muted but the design charts are the same.

Time to start a new stranded project and I've been searching for a panel type (vertical) instead of horizontal bands. There are some excellent examples of knit designs on Ravelry plus I've been pulling out all the design books and magazines for ideas. I want a pullover but one where I can hopefully create a modified set in instead of a drop shoulder. Don't need all that bulk under my arms as I'm feeling shorter all the time.



Here is one I'm previewing since I'm trying to use stash and not buy one single solitary skein of yarn for this. The larger photo in the book does not look quite as horizontal stripe. Recently all the skeins and balls of Jamieson & Smith, Jamieson and Harrisville in two ply jumper weight were laid out on the floor and sorted by color. I kept one skein of each color out and put those in a canvas box like you would for a box of crayons. Easier to see the colors this way rather than have to sort through tubs of yarn looking for similar blues for example.

One of the better examples of a stranded work that looks vertical is "Whalsay Jumper" out of Ann Feitelson's "The Art of Fair Isle Knitting - History, Technique, Color & Patterns". When I first bought this book, this sweater was among the ones I liked the most and I had collected the browns, tans and peachy/lavender colors for it. Even though my hair is getting grayer all the time, it's basically brown and I would have washed out in this sweater.

It calls for J&S in these colors. The color names are Feitelson's but they give an idea of what the color looks like.

143 Chestnut Brown
80 Dark Brown
72 Light red heather
134 Maroon
1281 Yellow-orange heather
1288 Red-orange heather
1289 Orange heather
FC45 Medium dull gold
133 Medium Red-violet

Had all in stash except for 1281 and FC45 but, with help of the color card, came fairly close with FC50 and 78.

Here are my substitutions in J&S but in the green and blue color ways rather than the brown and orange-purple. These color names are mine for description purposes. The top row in each color is the original called for, the bottom row is the substitution.





143 = FC48 Deep Ocean Blue
80 = 21 Dark Navy
72 = FC24 Lightest green/gold heather
134 = 58 Dark Green
1281/FC50 = FC62 LightGreen/bluish heather
1288 = 29 Medium green/goldish heather
1289 = 1293 Darker green/goldish heather
FC45/78 = FC37 Medium blue/purple heather
133 = 1295 Darkest green/goldish heather

Since I'm also a quilter I had a set of the red and green colored squares to look through. These take out the color and leaves just intensity (darkness/lightness). These colors match up quite well in intensity. Since my favorite colors are blues and greens, this just might work.

Swatching next?

Town & Country is finished! It came out the right size from measurements taken with sister this Christmas. All that is left is to wash and block and send it off. Very happy with the color, the Cascade 220 wool and the finishing. Here's hoping she gets a lot of use out of it before hot weather hits Virginia.





Not sure what is next for knitting. I'm slowly working on Joe's "Shalor" but I think there is a problem with the sleeve size. Might have to rethink how I'm approaching that one.

Also anxious to get another stranded work on the needles and am looking at "Lismore", a Starmore pattern. I managed to pull all the J&S substitute colors from stash so maybe that is a sign to go for it? My colors are a tiny bit more subdued in the reds but I haven't swatched yet so not sure if my reds will go in there or not. This photo is of Junieanne's Lismore in the original Starmore yarns and colors.

This Cottage Craft Black Cherry yarn sure is sturdy! It's been ripped and ripped again and again. The top down raglan with the big swinging cable didn't work because it should have been all purl with just the cables instead of a line of purl to start the cable. Didn't look right and never would have. RIPPPPPPP

Restarted Shalor with the Black Cherry and the original patterns. Joe asked where the V shapes were. RIPPPPPPPPPP. Out come Annie Maloney's cable chart books and there were the right shapes. #95 is the cable to the far right. Parts of #71 make up the V shape. The Black Cherry is showing the cables, the gauge feels good on US#5 needles and the sweater is finally a go. This is part of the sleeve which I keep trying up against his arm. Looks big but so far it fits well.

The Cottage Craft Black Cherry is not going to work for Shalor. I went to "Sweater Wizard" and got the dimensions for a simple raglan top down that would give a finished chest of 54". Of course I cannot leave anything simple so am seeing if one of Melissa Leapmann's "Continuous Cables" will work on the front and back.



I may have to put this on a long cord and wash it to see if the division between the knits and purls where the chart starts will lay flatter. If not, I'll rip back to there and just do some vertical cables. The purple "Town and Country" sweater is going well. The back is almost done so time to decide on how to do the sleeves - top down or as designed.

Lots and lots of snow lately. Last one was 18" and as you can see, it's getting a bit deep!

Cold? You betcha ya'll and it has a long way to go before it bottoms out. Got probably 18" of snow settled on the ground but more coming. 10F here now but it was 22F this morning and the wind has picked up and here comes the Alberta Clipper. House is staying at its usual 63F but you can hear the oil burner kicking in a lot. So the remedy is hot soup and knitting.

The purple Town and Country is proceeding well and I really like working with the Cascade 220. It will be finished long before our next visit south. The sweater in the round is done to the armholes, right front is done and the left 2/3 done. Next will be the back and then deciding how to proceed with the sleeves. I'll probably try knitting the shoulder saddles and then picking up the stitches for the sleeves. I do much better with sleeves top down.



Joe threw me a loop today and asked for a cabled sweater. This from a man who has not worn a sweater in our 26 years of marriage. Same person who can usually go one day on a flannel shirt in the winter before it really needs a wash. Fantastic man, love him immensely but does this sound like a wool Aran in his future. ????? Joe is 6’2” with a 52 inch chest (not a big belly) and long arms with a line backer football player neck.

The other day he found me with books, pamphlets, patterns, charts all over the knit room and got really interested. He picked out 3-4 he really liked and then pointed out things he liked and didn’t like about each one. He says due to the house being kept a lot cooler and his “age” he’s not as warm as he wants to be. Does he realize by the time this is done, it will be July?

The one he likes the best is Shalor by Penny Straker.


This is an older pattern, recently updated with more cables on the sleeves and larger sizes. It is a raglan that would be knit in pieces and sewn up. He likes the honeycomb front but doesn’t like the “O” between thin lines on each side of the honeycomb. He thinks it should have a “V” instead. The side and sleeve heavy cables he likes a lot.

Couple of years ago we had picked up some Cottage Crafts 2 ply light worsted weight wool on one of our RV trips up into New Brunswick. I'd started a raglan then but never finished it. I've been ripping it out, re-skeining the Medusa looking curled yarn, washing and then re-balling. Nice wool and worth the time to do it.



I've been making a good sized swatch so that the cables can be individually measured for size. I'm substituting two of Annie Maloney's cables, #117 which is called Celtic Cable and a smaller #84 V shape. At first I didn't think the cables would show up well in this Black Cherry color but it does. Phew or I would have had to order more yan. What a shame that would be right?

We're back from Christmas with family and had a wonderful time. Mom was able to participate in a lot of events, meals and travelling a bit while we were there. She really enjoyed being out of the assisted living center and with all of us. Sure wish we lived closer.

The sweater for sister was way, way, way too big for her. It just seemed to keep growing in length as well as the sleeves being monsterous. I've reclaimed it for myself and started adjusting by taking 4" off the bottom and knitting tighter ribbing andthen taking about 3" off the sleeves and making tighter ribbing there. Last was to rip the rolled collar and put in a graduated ribbing to tighten up the neck.



Not sure what to do about the underarms near the body but am thinking of basting a curved line from the elbow to 2-3" down the body to see if that will get rid of some of the bulk. If it does, will machine sew and then cut out the excess. At least the cables look good.

I've started "Town & Country" from Lisa Lloyd's book "A Fine Fleece" in purple Cascade 220. That will be her very late Christmas present. And yes we remeasured her to be sure this one fits. The yellow one was in too heavy a yarn (Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride) and it dragged the sweater too much to hold it's shape. Oh well!

It's done! Sister's sweater is drying on the wooly board. It turned out larger than I wanted as my gauge changed part way through the bottom. Oh well - if she doesn't wnat it, I'll take it home to cold, winter Maine. I doubt she will pass it up as it will make a great outdoor VA winter sweater.



Met up with friend Shirley and her DH today for lunch. She gifted me with a gorgeous pair of mittens and a bag of home made ginger snaps. The mittens will be well used.







The next project might be another stranded/fair isle sweater. I went stash shopping today and pulled every single of the 20 colors for Lismore, an Alice Starmore design from "The Celtic Collection". Here is a link to another knitter's photos in progress to see the basic colors - http://theraineysisters.com/?cat=19 . The original pattern called for Rowan yarns, long out of production. An internet friend who is a master AS fair isle knitter sent me her yarn conversion list to Jamieson & Smith jumper weight yarns. I changed out a couple but mostly liked what she had done. I'll leave them laid out for a few days to see if they grow on me or not as this will be a very long knit and I've got to really like it.

Snowed again today but the temperature keeps going up and rain will follow. The roof ice dam electric cables worked well so maybe we can prevent ice dams this year