KarenJoSeattle

C as in...

...Calcite, Cacti, Canyons, Coyotes, Castles in the Air, and Childhood Memories.

I started to put together my 'D' entry for the ABC-Along and realized that, though I'd thought a lot about what I'd do, I never actually posted my 'C' entry. In the spirit of following the few rules that Vicki suggested, I'll do it before I do 'D.'

Earlier this month we took a trip to Arizona. We started in Tucson, where I was born but where I haven't been since. While there we shopped the ginormous Gem and Mineral show where we bought quite a few specimens and fossils, including this Calcite-filled fossilized whelk.

We also spent a couple of days in Sedona, arriving just as the snow melted off the roads and you could get there again.

I lived in Sedona as a small child between 1957 and '61. I wanted to show my husband why I have such vivid memories of the place. It's changed a lot since I could cross the main road to my Dad's gas station, the only one in town, all by myself at age five. But as soon as we drove into the red hill area, I felt I'd Come Home.

We saw Cacti in the snow, reminding me of the time my father carried me to the bus stop on his shoulders because of the snow and then I had to walk home on my own since school was canceled. Sedona lies at 4500 feet and counts as High Dessert where you have real seasons.

We saw vistas of Canyons much too big to fit in a photograph and with much too vivid a contrast of red rock and blue sky for little automatic cameras to believe those colors were right, so everything came out toned down.

We saw Coyotes who seemed completely unfazed by our presence (we were in a car.)

The Creek-side backyard of one of the places I lived lay just across from our hotel.

We could see Coffeepot Rock, a favorite of my mother's, from that house - actually more a shack.

On the way to Sedona we stopped at one of my favorite spots, Montezuma's Castle. Neither a true castle nor at all related to Montezuma, it always seemed like a Castle in the Air to me.

Though the town has grown badly now that paved roads get you there, the landscape really is everything you've ever heard about it. Go there if you can. Then imagine it with one gas station, one coffee shop, and a small, impressionable girl who learned there to love nature in all it's forms and mysteries we can't explain.

Several Issues

The error shown in yesterday's post actually resulted from catching and knitting the first knit stitch next to the cable panel with the last purl stitch defining the cabled braid. When I started knitting again and noticed it a row or two later, I tried just making a replacement knit stitch. In the knitting it didn't show much since that edge rolled under. But when the sleeve was on my arm and stretched out it showed quite a bit.

If I'd only had that error, I'd definitely just rip or drop back and fix it, depending on how competent I felt at the moment. I'd have about a dozen rows to reknit - not much since it's on the lower part of a sleeve.

But I already had one other thing that bugged me. For my set of increases in the first row after the ribbing I did nice, neat Make Ones. Then I spaced out on the second set and forgot I was not knitting seed stitch as I have so much lately and did a pair of Knit-into-the-front-and-backs. In seed stitch I find this increase easy, in a similar rhythm, and it blends in well. It does not blend in well in stockinette. Actually, when I first noticed a few rows later I thought they were an error.

But I'm resistant to unknitting the cable. This really is my first sweater-sized cable project and I haven't gotten comfortable with the whole process yet.

I had a third issue. As planned, this sweater would have a V-neck and need to fit over a shirt. The first sleeve looked like it would end up fitting a bit tightly around the elbow when I got that far so I added one set of increases. This improved things but I thought I'd still get some binding around a bent elbow.

One issue I could live with. This many felt like sloppy work.

Sleeve #2 has two extra sets of increases in the same length. Given that the cable in my swatch grew just slightly when washed, though the gauge didn't change, I think this will give me the ease I need without a floppy cuff. And note that sleeve #2 lacks about 3 rounds to match funky sleeve #1 just 30 hours after I cast it on, with a normal amount of knitting fit into the day. That seems like a fair trade-off for a sleeve I feel much better about.

One bit of serendipity; I have an 8-row stitch pattern and 8 rows between increases. I'm using a chain of markers to count rows for the increases. The same chain tells me which row of my stitch pattern I'm on. I love it.

And for something not orange, finally, here's a specie crocus from my garden. These always make me feel like Spring must be close, even though they bloom in late Winter.

New Knit Nite

At Madrona I learned that a twice-a-month Knit Nite happens at the WAC, just 8 or 9 blocks from my place. Last night I attended my first one.

Since I arrived a good hour after the start, the conversation was already in full swing. Actually, the size of the group usually resulted in more than one conversation happening at once.

I know one member from the Guild, Sue in red on the left, and I met Jenn, in the black sweater on the right, at Madrona. Otherwise, this group consists of all new-to-me knitters. Still, I felt comfortable as soon as I sat down. I hope my California real estate deals don't keep me from attending at least one of next month's meetings.

One note - even if you only have an eight-block walk home, use the restroom before you leave the bar.

This morning when I got out my EPS sleeve I noticed a little souvenir of Knit Nite. I ignored it for a few more rounds, but then had to try the thing on to see how noticeable it would be. I'm torn as to whether I want to continue to ignore this, rip back and reknit, or rip and start over. I have a couple of other minor things I'd change if I did restart. Interestingly, based on placement I did this before my red wine even arrived.

Ultimately I did the logical thing - started the second sleeve. That should give me some time to come to grips with what needs to happen to Sleeve #1. And I can try the other changes.

Deborah (gray sweater on left), here's the link to the one source I know of for this discontinued yarn. For everyone else, the color is between that in the two photos; a rosy rust called Maple. The price is for a bags of ten balls.

Cables in the Round

In the last two days I've cast on nine times and knit four cuffs for my EZ EPS sweater.

I think this one works, finally.

For some reason yesterday I just couldn't getting my knitting brain to kick in. First I couldn't knit the first row and join in the round successfully. Then I didn't catch that the issue I had with my cable came from not accurately converting the pattern to circular knitting until I'd knit a second cuff.

The 'Wrong Side' rows for the 4-rib braided cable of my swatch are symmetrical so I could just convert knits to purls and purls to knits. (Ignore the unidentified error in the middle of the cable panel below for this discussion.) (K2, P2)x2, P1, (P2, K2)x2 became (P2, K2)x2, K1, (K2, P2)x2 without regard for which direction the stitches traveled.

But the 3-rib braided cable I used for the sleeves has a first row of K3, P4, K2, P2, K2. When I first converted this I forgot that I would not just knit this wrong side row from the right side, but also in the opposite direction so I needed to knit P2, K2, P2, K4, P3. (No, I didn't swatch this cable - officially. Sleeve = swatch) I'm sure I've learned this idea before but (Ssh, don't tell anyone) this is my first non-class or fooling around cable project so this time I had to learn it for real.

The other wrong side rows read Knit the Knit Stitches and Purl the Purl Stitches so no issues there. That actually lead to some confusion as I only had a problem with one row and it was the first one after the cast-on.

Then today, after spending the afternoon looking at Roman art from the Louve and panels from the Gates of Paradise with a very large number of other people, my brain tried and failed to figure out a clever way to start this cuff with a couple rows of something akin to the 2x2 ribbing before morphing into the cable.

I went back to my original plan to start the cable at the sleeve edge and am finally pleased.

While working on the swatch I had an 'Aha' moment and a 'Duh' moment simultaneously. If I intend to knit my sweater in the round, I knit my swatch in the round. Since it usually takes me a couple of needle sizes to get a good gauge, this can take a lot of time and yarn.

However, I also knit in the round on two circular needles - which are knitting opposite sides of the swatch totally independently and can be different sizes. I used a purl row to mark change in needle size on my swatch after I came to this realization.

I made sure to measure row gauge in the center of each side where it would have less influence from the change in gauge.

Note I used my new size 7US Addi Lace needles. I really, really like the way these feel and knit. I do need some shorter ones for this project.

The yarn is Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran in Maple. The first photo above shows the color most accurately. Jaeger no longer exists, but Cucumber Patch does still have some.

Seattle Sky

I only have a (finished!) swatch today, but I do have some beautiful sky though it's not quite Saturday.

Yesterday the weather people predicted rain for today. By this morning that changed to scattered showers in the evening. Ultimately we got none and even had few clouds.

Such is the variability of West Coast weather. Fronts over the ocean can be fickle about what they actually do.

Not only did the showers not develop, we got up to 58F, though I should say normal for now runs about 50F. Between the sun, warmth, and noticeably later sunset, things felt truly Springy around here.

Seattle has an early Spring, but a very long one. We won't feel Summer has arrived until the Fourth of July. Actually, we won't feel that way until after the Fourth. Historically we have a 50% chance of rain that day. June is pretty wet.

But our average highs in July and August run about 75. Ninety degree days are rare and the all-time record high of 100F fell in the last decade. When the temperatures rise, the humidity drops. What little rain we get in the Summer mostly falls at night. September can be gorgeous.

Most of the tourists who complain about our wet summers came in June when it wasn't yet summer.

Give Me Something Simple

The stockinette EZ EPS project I cast on the first night at Madrona very quickly turned out too unwieldy to tote around.

The yarn I used was Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 hand dyed sock yarn. So I had a small gauge and skeins that varied in color a bit.

I cast on 270 stitches on each needle using Judy's Magic Cast-On following Cat Bordhi's method in New Pathways for Sock Knitters, then knit on only one needle to turn it into a provisional cast-on. From there I started switching between balls halfway around and knitting the two strands together for one stitch to both secure the joins and make a false side seam in my circular sweater.

At this point I had two needles, three skeins and, somehow, 280 stitches just 6 rounds into the project. There was no way I could haul this out in classes, much less in the bar.

So Friday afternoon I bought a half-pound hank of this tweedy undyed Peruvian Alpaca. The stuff feels wonderfully soft, very light, and is spun and plied loosely, to say the least.

This yarn also had a reasonable cost and 600 yards in a hank. I think it was the most-bought yarn at the retreat, especially if you include the four other tweeds and also the seven or eight lighter-gauged solids he had there.

I chose a seed stitch to play up the tweedy look and cast on about 14 inches worth using a crochet cast-on.

By the time I got home Sunday I had four feet of scarf and an ounce or two of yarn left. The knitting on US9 needles became so automatic during the Retreat that I looked at my stitches just once or twice a row and still only rarely split a stitch or snagged the one below. I caught most of my mis-knits the next row, but the tweed and the moderate halo covered any I missed.

Because I started knitting this right after I bought it, It didn't get wound into a ball first. Luckily I'd successfully knit the purple airplane project so I knew I could manage this. The biggest issue came from the other end unwinding from the hank and ending up a splodge I had to carefully set to one side.  Oh, and the time I needed to convince the cat that through the loop was not the shortest route to my lap got dicey.

Unfortunately for conference knitting, you can't knit a hank from your purse but must have somewhere like your knee to drape it. Once you get the hang of it, so to speak, you can even manage it sitting on the floor of the bar drinking 18 year old single malt.

It took me until tonight to finish the last foot of knitting. Sitting and knitting for more than ten hours a day really produces, but it also results in stiffness and aches.

The scarf turned out long enough to wrap around my neck twice and still drape over my shoulders and chest. Still, the weight will fit under a coat to give me a snug layer during those occasional cold fronts that move down from Canada for a few days. On just chilly days I can drape it around my neck and shoulders. Though light, the hollow-cored alpaca holds a lot of heat, especially with the halo this has.

But being alpaca and loosely spun, this scarf will stretch despite the seed stitch pattern. Already my 51 stitch, 14 inch wide cast-on measures more like 13 inches as the thing pulls in and lengthens out.

In a sweater I'd do something with hems and seams and probably a pattern stitch and still I'd think about running a fine but sturdy yarn with it. Otherwise I'd end up with a sweater dress in short order.

Rather than returning to the sock-yarn sweater right away, I've started to swatch an Aran weight Jaeger merino from my stash. The piece hasn't grown enough to warrant a photo yet. I'll  do my V-necked and saddle-shouldered EPS first in this heavier yarn, probably with a cable down the front.

Yes, I just returned from Madrona with bags of new yarn and have WIPs, but I wanted to get something quicker and easier on the needles. Both my house in California and my mother's have sold in the two days since I got home and the house we're buying for all of us to share closes in two and a half weeks. I anticipate several trips down there in the next two months to get needed work started on the new place and move my mother and myself.

I might also start another mindless scarf for those times I really need to sit and knit but just don't have energy or brain power for any structure.

PS the only things I saw ride the horse lamp at Madrona were some sock monkeys and night-owl me left with the last knitters both Friday and Saturday nights. But I did catch this knitter photographing her sock in the fireplace. The newly-installed fan actually kept the whole thing from being hot to the touch, though it still warmed the space.

Decompression

I'm so glad I scheduled a Pilates class the day after Madrona. I really needed the unkink.

I  think I knit about 12 or 15 hours a day - while eating, while chatting, while sitting in classes, and while sitting on the floor in the bar.

I learned a lot, especially a lot of the little details that make for good knitting - both in process and product. Much of it I actually learned in classes but I seemed to be learning all the time. No wonder I came home so exhausted - that and averaging less than four hours of sleep a night four nights running.

I met/spent time with other knitbloggers like Erika (no photo, sorry), Weebug (left), and Ryan (right). Ryan and I communicate regularly via comments but at many Guild meetings and other knitting events just managed to wave as we rushed past each other. We finally got to spend some real time chatting.

I found a group of knitters meet regularly about six blocks from where I live. And I got on the e-mail list for the meets.

Besides close encounters with great instructors in the hallways and Marketplace as well as in the fairly small classes, we got to both see and touch examples of their work on the opening night.

Lucy Neatby's table:

Ruth Sorensen's:

Myra Wood's:

At the Marketplace I almost got run down by Stephanie on a mission to get the black and gray Kauni yarn for the ribbed and lace skirt shown on Ruth's table above. Luckily, I'd just decided I wouldn't get it right then and asked the owner for a card for her shop. (Note re Stephanie and skirts - she wore one on Sunday, perhaps only to prove that she does wear them so knitting one is not futile, but then, she did pack one.)

Really part of the reason for the delayed decision, aside from all the yarn I'd already bought or special ordered, was difficulty choosing between color combinations.

The colors on the pairs of balls are the same. The difference comes from the direction the color repeat got wound. I was warned that if you just used two of the contrasting balls from the start for a stranded Kauni sweater that you'd likely come to a spot where the colors of the two balls were too close in tone. Instead you're supposed to get two of the same wind and start one a bit further along.

Note that Stephanie got a pair of differently wrapped balls. Since she's knit a Kauni cardigan, I expect she didn't have this problem. But, wait, on the skirt you alternate rows of the same color from two balls to get wider stripes with graded color changes. Hmm.

I feel in danger of drifting off into babbling. I'd better go catch up on more sleep. Maybe I'll have another night of Madrona-based dreams.

Saturday Sky - Arizona Desert Style

So, I didn't take these on a Saturday and I'm not composing this post on a Saturday. They're still pretty pictures.

These were taken on our trip to Arizona a couple of weeks ago. The red rock one is from Sedona, where there was some snow on the ground and it was freezing except at mid-day.

Yes, the sky really is that blue.

Random Tidbits

Stephanie posted her Tour Schecule for her new book. Don't plan on my doing anything else on April 21st. She has the entire tour scheduled into 6 weeks. On her last one she came here for the first day of one of her rounds, so looked pretty fresh. We'll see how she survives this one.

Vicki has a link to a YouTube clip of vintage James Brown feelin' good in a red and white ski cardigan as he entertains a lodgeful of Young Caucasians. I don't think I ever saw film of him that young and lanky, though I certainly remember the styles shown.

Madrona First Day Photos

The 3 stitches/inch blend of cream alpaca and 'Lilac" Jacob wool I bought. I have 1389 yards in 3 skeins, though there are some slubs and loosely spun spots I may want to eliminate as I knit.

This looks like a cream yarn but with some depth and a light grayed tone. It should make a nice basic heavy cardigan with maybe some cables. I should have plenty of yardage for anything I want to do.

A cardigan of some interesting cream yarn has topped my want list for a couple of years, so this was an easy choice. I might even get more tomorrow to do a scarf and hat as I use my one off-white scarf more often than any other and it's not my most warm one.

The display of the new black colors at Blue Moon. I bought two sweater's worth of heavy weight and one t-shirt sweater's worth of light weight, but not in one of these colors. they're all blues, mostly with gray tones, and they don't want to photograph tonight.

The Kaunis at the Charity Night function. Ruth, the pattern designer here from Denmark, stands second from the left in the back row. Purlwise is at the back right, Stephanie center front.

And look what I got, Margene - size 7 and 8US Addi Lace Needles from Acorn Street Yarn.

Besides interesting classes, good teachers, and a 34 vendor market there are almost 600 avid fiberistas, mostly knitters enrolled and more dropping by to shop and chat.

More tomorrow. Like the glass buttons I'll likely buy.

Travel Knitting, Yet Again

This week I travel with my knitting once more, though not far, especially as compared to the other knitters with whom I'll consort/cavort. I actually composed this post before I left in case the revelry at the Madrona Winter Retreat leaves me little time to post.

Though I drive for this trip, every time I post on travel by air with my knitting I get comments indicating that many knitters believe needles are still not allowed on planes. In the US, knitting needles were only banned from planes for a couple of months. In Canada the ban lasted much longer.

Also, the TSA figured out the cutters in the necklace fob within about a month and did ban those. They specifically mention them under Needlework tools in their regulations.

The regulations and recommendations suggest plastic or bamboo needle rather than metal. They also recommend circular needles be 31 inches or shorter. I'm not sure how they'd react to a Magic Needle project that could not be used to garrote the pilot without sacrificing the knitting. Perhaps they have some secret algorithm for percentage of project completion.

Of course, the initial lines of the regulation gives the agents authority to treat knitting needles as a weapon and decide to prohibit them on a whim when circumstances warrant. They suggest an SASE, crochet hook and yarn in case you need to remove your needle and mail it onward or back home. I carry a padded envelop, blunt tapestry needle and dental floss but have never had to use them.

For all of my current projects I always carry a small bag of basic knitting tools. This bag goes in checked luggage due to clippers and other sharp object, though last week I inadvertently had my husband carry one on with no issues. Perhaps the small Gingher clippers don't meet some size standard or just don't show up on x-ray. Usually I just have a carry-on bag and a few accessories in my knitting project bag. I rely on the dental floss cutter for emergency clips.

In the past I've carried my projects in the clear plastic packaging that comforters or sheets come in. I like the see-through walls that allow a view of what project and at what stage. However, the zippers, handles, and other parts of these don't stand up to much use.

I now use sturdier transparent plastic knitting bags and totes. I've bought some in local stores, but also gotten them through Knit Picks. These stand up well to my usual levels of revelry.

The Sweater Won't Be Done, But I'm Prepared

In no way, no matter how optimistically I look at it, can I expect to finish my Biscuit cardigan for Madrona. I could finish the sleeve, but that leaves the button bands - and lots and lots of seams.

I do have other knitted items I can wear.

Later tonight I'll cast on my EZ EPS sweater for some simple Retreat knitting. As I have Fleece Artist sock yarn for this project, the cast on may take awhile, especially as I plan to use Cat Bordhi's version of Judy's Magic Cast-on, so I need to cast on twice my number of stitches.

Elizabeth Zimmerman often used a hemmed bottom edge on her sweaters, but she usually picked up stitches and knit the hem down. I'll test the use of the Magic Cast On provisionally by casting on the total number of stitches on each needle and then knitting on only one of them. That leaves the other set of stitches waiting on its needle to make a hem by knitting down.

I think I'll make cuffs using the same technique - if I can get one more skein of my yarn. Currently, the Loopy Ewe doesn't have more and my current stock may not stretch to cuffs and collars.

Tomorrow I'll spend my day driving. First I'll pick up Myra Woods, one of the instructors for Madrona, at the airport and take her to the hotel to check in. Then we head back to Seattle to have dinner with the Seattle Knitting Guild board of directors before Myra speaks at the Guild meeting. Then we return to the hotel for four days of sitting and knitting.

In preparation, today I had a Pilates lesson and then a nice relaxing facial. I still need to pack, write a generic post or two to queue up in case I don't get on line during the Retreat, and do my cast-on. Instead, I'm I'm watching Tivoed Jane Austin.

In my normal form, I'll start off my retreat with a short night of sleep. And I'll probably continue in that vein. And have a great time.

Make My Day

Back on the 30th while I was tied up with life beyond blogdom, Laura, who is probably my oldest blogging buddy from this first year of posting, tagged my for an award. This is definitely my first blog-related award. And it's a good one from someone who's opinion I value.

The rules of the You Make My Day Award are:

Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.

Since I've gotten so behind on my blog reading lately, right now I can really see who I make time for as often as I can.

Some of the blogs I read regularly are the big ones that top most lists. I've read The Yarn Harlot for as long as I've read blogs and comment regularly. Stephanie is one of those people so amazingly nice and real that, despite the volume of comments she gets, she reads her commenters' blogs and occasionally sends responses to comments. It really made my day when she knew who I was at her last appearance here. I also read Franklin's posts and Laurie's pretty much as soon as they post them (but even here I have gotten days behind recently). Though three very distinct personalities, they all have that ironic/sardonic/self aware kind of humor I like. Plus, they all can write well while very rarely tipping the the balance to too silly or cutsie or flip.

But these big-name blogs aren't really the point of an award like this. This is more about those people you develop a relationship with - a relationship akin to the neighbor where you really click  and get together for coffee and chatting on a regular basis. I've had neighbors I got along with and visited often, but in the world of blogs I have so many 'neighbors' I can find ones I really feel comfortable around and miss that daily contact when one or the other of us is busy.

In no special order at all:

I have to return the compliment to Laura at Fiber Dreams. We really don't have quite the same style of knitting, but our interests compliment and contrast. I'll visit her area this summer and may actually get to meet her.

Karen (akabini) is the instructor who made knitting really click for me this time around. Though I see her in real life fairly often, it's nice to easily keep up with those little details.

A View From Sierra County, home to Birdsong, comes from a place just a bit north of the small town in the California foothills where I grew up. She lives that country lifestyle so many of us think we want but so few can really pull off.

Consummate commenter Karen at Yarn Is My Metier manages to design lovely knitwear that actually look wearable while nursing an uncooperative shoulder and seeming to appear everywhere in Blogland. I'm very happy she includes me on her rounds.

Vicki knitorious runs most of the few group blog events in which I participate.Her style of 'leadership' suits me well and her site really feels like a friend's livingroom.

Zeneedle suits Margene's site well as a title. Her projects and her shots of the Utah landscape where she lives rival each other's ability to inspire awe but both just feel like a part of the Zen that is Margene.

Despite her occasional insistence otherwise, Ann has an open, easy-going style in a space where she celebrates the ability to immerse herself in both her knitting and her pig-collecting passions with abandon at purlingswine.

Rabbich is just Rabbich - take it or leave it, it's no skin off her nose. At Laurie's book signing when Rabbich asked the person in line in front of me if they knew her, I promptly replied 'You're Rabbich.' Only several minutes later did I realized I'd never actually met her in the flesh before.

Erika lives in a smaller version of the residence in the country where I grew up. Though I'm now more 'mature' about sharing my space with mice and such - at least up to the point of actual contact - I recognize her wrong-place-at-the-right-time sort of bumbling through alien situations that I saw in my mother, especially, and to some extent myself, in my early youth. And she knit a sweater for a tree for her 15 minutes of fame plus the derivation of her blog name, Redshirt Knitting.

Feral Knitter Janine does some amazing colorwork and is patiently generous with her knowledge and expertise both on-line and in person.

ashpags wins Honorary mention for her regular commenting here, but she needs to blog more on her own site before I'd feel it contained enough to merit this particular award.

Notifications in comments will have to wait until morning. It's actually quarter to two and I just fell asleep sitting up for the second time. 

...Promises to Keep and Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Life's been a bit crazy of late. It will stay that way for a few months more, at least.

I apologize for been so absent from the blog world lately. Mostly family and house selling/buying stuff kept me away, but I did just return form a trip to Arizona where I got to combine a bit of fun with business. I have some great photos to share later in the week.

I really appreciate all the comments on my "A" post of a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, TypePad sent me only one e-mail notice out of 10. Since the notice gives me the commenter's e-mail address to respond, I couldn't send my usual replies without searching through blogs and address books, which I just didn't get to. Sorry.

I really like to respond to my responses. Maybe I'll respond to that e-mail from the new head of TypePad asking for feedback. First I really should sent in another report to let the fix-it people know it's still broken and let them have another go at it. In my spare time.

On the knitting front, all I've managed to do in the last few weeks is knit little squares. These are for a secret group project. I have no idea what the actual plan for them is or what the other squares will look like. A mindless project beyond my control was just the sort of knitting I needed. Of course, these squares are now late, too.

(Note the short period of sun that occured just as I shot my squares. I've left things a bit washed out in celebration of Seattle Winter Sun. Plus AutoCorrect did nothing.)

One thing I did come up against when knitting these for which I could not find a solution. I knit some of my squares in seed stitch but still starting with 3 stitches and increasing until large enough, then decreasing. I could not find a method of decrease (without digging out a pile of reference books which were usually in another state or not on the same bus) that did not put what looked like a purl bump at the second and second-to-last stitch. This, of course, messes with the seed stitch pattern. Since my seed stitch squares were only 3 inches across (if it's seed stitch it must be 3 inches - It was all about the mindless) this shows up more than it would in a larger square.

I tried knitting front and back (the ultimate default), knitting back and front, purling front and back and vice versa (ugh to purling into the back and this didn't work well anyway), make ones, and some things I'm forgetting. I believe there must be a method out there that would work. I will find it. Just not this month. Or next.

Wait. Next week I go to Madrona. I may find a solution this month.