Latitude 61...Land of the Midnight Sun

It's Not the Solstice!

I had planned to do a post on the Solstice because that was my blogiversary and our 40th wedding anniversary, so it seemed like a very meaningful day.  Unfortunately, our internet provider didn't cooperate and we were offline most of the time from last Thursday, June 18 until yesterday, June 24.

We went through "rolling" outages last summer too, so now we're going to be changing providers.  We had only procrastinated changing this long because connectivity improved for awhile and because it's a pain to change all our email addresses and log-ins. So, if you haven't heard from me, or can't get in touch with me via email, you can always find me through the Ravelry message system.

I have been knitting on Inishmaan and making sporadic progress.  (Lots of frogging due to an over absorption with the movies we were watching!)  I have since discovered that not only is it important to track horizontal patterns every row, it's important to check for vertical mistakes!  It's finally looking pretty good. After trying to fix multiple mis-crossed cables that caused really loose spots in the tension,  I just decided to frog it back.

It's a chameleon-like color that is really hard to describe. Sometimes it looks like a blueish grey; sometimes it looks like a brownish blue. So here are two pictures taken in the same lighting and same position and it looks like two different pieces of knitting.

Now onto another more troublesome subject...

I modeled my new Seaforth and then looked at the pictures... what a disappointment.  Not with the sweater, which turned out great, but with how I look in it.

I have been trying to lose weight now for over a year with only limited success.  I've been careful to exercise and diet but I've only lost a little weight, which is discouraging.  Last summer when I trained for the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon, I thought for sure that I would lose... after all, I was walking around 20+ miles a week.  Then I added biking to the mix... I'm still over-weight.    Most of the time I feel OK with the inability to lose... except when I see a picture of myself.  I never quite realize how heavy I look until I see a picture.  Having the camera add about another 20 pounds is not very helpful either.

So my goal is that I'll model this sweater next summer and look slimmer in it!

(I'm holding my arms straight out to show off the "exotic" gansey sleeves... patterned on the top and plain on the bottom!)

 

 

Seaforth is finally finished!

I'm so pleased. My oldest ongoing, or rather long time hibernating project is finally finished.  This project has been sitting in it's little basket since 1997 where I could see it all the time. (The better to "remember" to pick it up and knit on it again.)  Instead, seeing it all the time just made me feel guilty for not working on it.
Since it was on my first projects ever other than scarves or hats, I reached the point in the directions that I couldn't readily figure out what to do.  So, I avoided knitting it because it was "too hard".  Then, because it was on tiny needles with extremely tight tension, I avoided knitting it because it made my hands hurt. Now since I've retired, I have spent so much time knitting that my experience level is enough to take on this challenge; in fact it seemed easy!  Also, my hands/fingers have become much stronger so it didn't hurt anymore.

Presto... my first gansey style sweater!  It's knit so tightly that when I put it in water to wash all the dust out of it, it took almost 15 minutes to "get wet"!  It should be really weather proof.

Of course, yesterday was a pretty sunny day which would have given me an excellent photograph, but it was still wet.  Now that it's all dry and photo-ready, it's dark, gloomy and heavily overcast.  I couldn't wait though... I snapped the photo indoors, and if I take another better one later, I'll post that one instead.

This is my 4th NaKnitSweMoDo project so now I'm only 2 months behind.  Unfortunately, this is the last of the "easily finished" WIPs sitting around so progress will be slowing down substantially!

Something new... something wooly

I just couldn't stand it anymore.  Ever since January, I've been trying to only knit WIPs in progress and I've  done really well.  However... knitting a 12 cm. turtleneck with size 0 needles did me in.  Progress has been both boring and microscopic.  I will finish Seaforth, but in the meantime, I needed something different.  Just had to start a new Aran.  I have had the yarn and been wanting to knit this one since February, so here goes...

After knitting everything since January on small (3 mm) or tiny (2 mm) needles, this is refreshing to knit.  The needles feel like row-boat oars, although 4.5 mm aren't actually that large.  Right now, new is fascinating... I love new patterns!!!!   I'll get back to those unfinished WIPs soon.

(Of course, I always say that.  That's why I have so many.)   I just can't resist the allure of something new.

Something else new and wooly... my Mother's Day present arrived a few days ago.  I kit from Virtual Yarns that I have wanted for a long time... Oregon in Spring!  It isn't quite the colorway I would have chosen, but am I going to send it back?  I don't think so.

After several weeks of warm sunny weather, there are many wild flowers blooming. Many of our local flowers bloom on the tundra and I haven't been up there yet, but here are some of the wild roses in our yard.  They smell so fragrant...

I can't believe it's June already!

Mentally, I still feel like it's May... which was such a busy month filled with yard clean-up and knitting, biking and knitting, gardening and knitting, and walking/training and knitting, and entertaining guests for a week and knitting.  Even with all the knitting I've done, it hasn't been enough... too many other fun things to do too.

I joined the NaKniSweMoDo group on Ravelry (National Knit a Sweater a Month Dodecathlon) ... this being the only year that with all the WIPs I have stored up to finish, that I almost could finish a sweater a month.

I didn't join until May and I am already behind... just having finished my third one.  Then, I "wasted" February knitting a baby sweater, which doesn't count!  Still, I only finished 3 sweaters all last year, so to have already finished 4 is an achievement of sorts.

Here is a picture of Luskentyre... my third sweater... YAY!  It had been hibernating since April of last year so I'm glad to have it finished at last.

Apologies to everyone kind enough to comment on my last post... who I then didn't answer.  It's hard to find time to be on the computer when your house is full of company.