Chickenlips Knitting

...because my last blog post could have been titled "Poor Poor Pitiful Me".



First of all, you guys are awesome and I appreciate your words of support and encouragement. I've stopped crying and today I feel so much better about things in general, even though my situation hasn't really changed. I know it will change eventually, and that alone helps cheer me up. I just want you to know that I loves each and every one of you!

Michelle and I came home from Spokane late Monday afternoon. The life remembrance for Jennifer was held the day before. We cried a lot, but laughed some too, because she left us with some great memories. The one I shared was of her at about age 3 or 4. Back then, I used to knit with Red Heart or Berella--imagine! And all I made were afghans. It's only been in the last 10 years that I really began learning about knitting and wool. Anyway, I was working on an afghan while visiting with the inlaws, and little Jennifer said she wanted to knit. I started to show her how to make a stitch, but she said, "I can do it" and started taking the stitches off the needle. It was funny at the time, but upon reflection it showed determination and faith in herself, which are essential traits for an artist. She was a talented painter, and her paintings were on display at the memorial gathering.



I will always miss you, sweet Jennifer.



***




On to happier topics. Here is what Mr. Stitchjones sent yesterday for our 20th wedding anniversary.

I love the little pink flowers in the bouquet; they really seem to set off the red of the rose blooms. And being sent flowers, who doesn't like that? Thanks, sweetie!

Now that I can knit with the big girls and boys, here is a sock I finished for Michelle's size 11 feet. (Thank God she doesn't read my blog, she'd kill me for that.)

The yarn is Malabrigo Sock in Ravelry Red. I bought it a couple of weeks ago from Knitting Bee. I'm using my Size 2 square dpns, which are like a size 1 gauge-wise, and the second sock is about one-third complete. I like to make socks on the plain side, so the pattern is yer basic seed rib stitch.

Last post I mentioned loving some new yarn colors that I dyed up. Here is some Alpaca Lace in a medium-pale turquoise I call "Alpine Lake". Couldn't resist a little wordplay there.










I got a sample of a new 100% merino sportweight. The jury isn't out on it yet. It doesn't seem to be a true sportweight, it's very similar to the base yarn I use for Titanium Sock. I may go with the sportweight I've used before, which comes from Henry's Attic. This is what I did with the sample skein, which is 100 grams/350 yards.

With fall coming, I definitely want to make more of this color. It's the mix I use for Forest, with Raven added.

Ya know, I love naming colorways. However, I'm stuck and don't know what to call this. As a matter of fact, it's been forever since I've held a contest on the blog, so let's do that. Leave your suggestions for a color name in the comments. Be creative. (Of course you're creative; you're knitters!) Be outrageous. Capture the Stitchjones "je ne sais quoi" --oops, I spoke French there and hurt myself! Seriously though, since it's naming my yarn, I'll have to pick the winner personally. I hope that's OK; I unfortunately can't use the random number generator thingy on this one. The winner will get a Stitchjones goodie. Let's set the deadline for Saturday, September 5th, at midnight in Bangalore, India. Just kidding! Midnight Pacific Daylight time.

One more thing- please leave an email address, if you would be so kind.

Let the games begin!