Dawn Brocco's Life and Design Blog

Well, the 3rd lens that the ophth. ordered still isn't right. I can see better than with the previously ordered lenses, but still can't read wearing it with the other prescription lens in the other eye.

So, he's sending me to the optometrist to see about a gas permeable lens. One of the problems is that only the office visit is covered by insurance. They get a whopping *fitting* fee, then the ghastly cost of the lens itself. Other problem is that the eye is still healing, and as my prescription can still change, spending a fortune now isn't wise, when I may need to do it al again in a few months. If I had that kind of money floating around, I'd get a new cap for the 13+ year old one in my mouth that needs replacing, not for a lens with a short-term life.

And finally, I've never worn a hard lens, always extended wear lenses, which one doesn't even feel on the eye. From a conversation with a gas permeable lens wearer, it appears they are fussier, take longer to adjust to, are more irritating and much more sensitive to fuzz. Ha! I design knitting patterns. I deal with fuzz all day long. And I still have the soft lens in the other eye - how weird is that going to feel - hard lens in one eye, soft in the other?

So, a consult is coming up in early March and we'll go over the options.

Design Work.
Am doing the last proofing on 4 patterns, and am working on getting the new designs into my website on my computer and into the retail and wholesale catalog pages. A few more days should do it, I hope. Though I may release 3 of them and spend more time torturing through the aran cardigan pattern, to make sure it's right.

I CO last night and began the second cashmere beaded scarf sample. And am deciding on a 3rd color to offer for the kits and have decided on a mushroom color. It's a lovely soft beige with gold-lined beads - it will be *very* elegant!

No carpet cleaning this weekend - gonna finish up the kitchen - last of the bits and pieces to go up and the painting.

Hubby and I got the family room painted today. Had started yesterday, but the paint we needed to match was only available from a store that is no longer near us! So we got something that *looked* to be close - but you *know* how those store florescent lights change color. So, yes, indeedy, when it started to go on the walls, it was peach, not the sandy tan it was supposed to be. But thank goodness hubby had 2 tubes of tint - one yellow and one black, so we experimented with a small amount of paint then tinted the entire gallon, and we got it darn near close to what was here in the adjoining rooms.

We also bought an oval mirror for over the kitchen sink, as it doesn't face a window, as sinks tend to do, and a wall cupboard for one of the upstairs baths, so we have a place to put our stuff, while we gut most of this bath downstairs. And we want to acid etch a band around the edge of that kitchen mirror to make it more interesting - it's rather ordinary now and that won't do.

I also managed to get a pair of cozy corduroys and a thick cotton ribbed pullover sweater at my fav clothing store in the mall - the only store that *ever* has pants to fit my figure, and fit it well. And I only ever shop their clearance racks, as I don't, yet, have $40 to plop down on one pair of pants, but I do often manage to find pants marked down to $9.99. I may only find one pair I like on each shopping outing every few months, but that's OK. Eventually, I'll have a full wardrobe! And the sweater was 1/2 price at $15.

If we didn't have to spend so much on this house, I could probably splurge a bit on wardrobe, but the house comes first, just as the kids came first before it. Thank goodness I work at home. I can't imagine the cost of maintaining a *current-styled* wardrobe to work elsewhere.

Designing work. I wrote up the pattern for that new design the other day and only need to reproof it. What a breeze compared to the aran cardigan design. Arans are SO much work to write up. That's why it's going to be a $6 pattern, instead of my usual $5 patterns. I should remember this more often, when I get that hankering for another aran sweater, then think twice and NOT do it! I so prefer colorwork designs, anyway. Love cables but I am happy with simpler cabled and ribbed sweaters, they don't *need* to be multi-cable and stitch pattern complexities.

I am taking and retaking the aran's photos, trying to get just what I want. It would be easier to get what I want by taking them outdoors, but not in winter.

And tomorrow is yet another trip to the ophthalmologist for yet another lens. I'm hoping this one works - the last 2 didn't. Surgery was in October, and this is February and I still can't focus out of the stupid eye.

Maybe tomorrow I can get to cast on another sample for the new beaded cashmere hat and scarf design. And I still need to slot in time for more samples to knit for the next design collection booklet......

Spent much of yesterday rewriting the notes for my newest design - organized into separate groups - actual pattern notes then all the math notes. Today I've been getting it into the computer and formatting it. I finished the turtleneck, washed it and it's lying drying. Sweater was finished yesterday and is nearly dry.

I have 2 previously finished designs, so it looks like I'll just release all 3 at once. There's just some last proofings to do then getting them into the computer webpages, uploaded, and into the shopping cart. I'll be working on all of this this weekend, in between house sale prep work - painting the family room ceiling and walls tomorrow. Then maybe next weekend we can rent the machine and clean the carpets.

Pickles had his trip to the kennel for his haircut today and is sleeping off the stress! Wish I could do that that easily!

TGIF, but I must get back to work.

I've been cutting the 6 gold clasp sets off a new aran cardigan sample and resewing them on, as I didn't put them on back enough on the facings, making the front edges gap when clasped. I've sen Norwegian sweaters gapped at the clasp closures, and I don't like the look. I like the front edges to butt together.

Then I need to retake its photos, but the light is dimming, so tomorrow for the photos it looks like. I also have to reprint the latest copies of this and another design and reproof. I think this is the 3rd or 4th proofing - should be the last.

The walls and ceiling in my office are finally painted, and I just have the woodwork left to do. Looks immensely better already. It was DD's bedroom, years ago, and she had a thing for push pins and staples! Hubby did a lot of spackling and sanding to get the walls as new again! The connecting family room is in the spackle and sanding stage as well. It will get painted this week. 1.5 months and counting left, and lots to do yet. I should get to the woodwork later today.

Have one sleeve on the new Beaverslide pullover almost done - just a couple inches left. Then one more sleeve, and the neck edge / turtleneck. Then a bath and lay flat to dry. I chose a nice teal color. I'm not crazy about greens, but at least a blue green tends to be more flattering against the skin than a yellow green.
well, work awaits.....

Dyed 18 hanks of cashmere in lavender today. The hanks came in yesterday, along with many more jars of dye, so I began retying the hanks last night. I've begun offering the kits at wholesale to shops, so I need to get much more stock made up.

Been getting very little knitting done, though, on that new pullover design. I've started the back, but, again, I have more printing to do. Also gotta do some vacuuming, but I may put that off until tomorrow, and put some large boxes up into the attic, for the packing.

Found another house to consider buying - this one is really adorable - it has that seaside cape cod cottage look to it, which we both like, as well as true historic styles. Won't really know until we see them all - as we've seen what real estate agents can leave out AND put into a house's photo for the listing. One such place is still on the market a year later, and for good reason, the photo shows the neighboring house's front lawn, as it if it *that* house's lawn! Tsk, tsk.

Just finished my yogurt for dinner and am getting back to work.

I'm so pooped! Tons of printing and binding today, hardly got to sit at all - books for Unicorn and a Patternworks order. Still need to type and print up the invoices and packing slips.

I had planned on doing more painting, but the 2 orders came early in the day and preempted the painting. I did get laundry done at least. And I've done a row or 2 of knitting here and there inbetween the printing and binding. Am working my way up the front towards the neck shaping, and just now did the math for the neck for the 4 sizes, so I can proceed. The back is plain stockinette, so it will be a breeze. I'm doing shoulder and back of neck shaping, though, and configuring that always takes a bit of time.

I'm going to go have dinner then knit! And I'm only getting up to walk the dog!

I figured out on Saturday, what to do with those 7 hanks of Beaverslide Worsted wt yarn. I've sketched a new design, ran the math and proportions, and CO for the rib.

As of last night, I have the 5" of twisted ribbing done and have the body up to the armholes done. Twisted ribbing makes a sharp, crisp rib, which is especially helpful when using a soft yarn, that *isn't* crisp! So, instead of a blah, disappear-into-the-walls ribbing, it now stands out as a strong vertical design element.

And, as it's now a bulky wt gauge, I'm keeping the design elements simpler than I ordinarily would - just a few cables up the front, and a full turtleneck, with a surprise!. Square inset sleeves for easy knitting and a good fit. It's cropped though, so it won't be sized up into the XL sizes. So far, it's looking like 35.5 / 38 / 39.5 / 42" for a P / S / M / L. I'm making the size M, which will be plenty for my 36" bust, with the fit I'm aiming at - close fitting. I've seen the trends for next year, and the styles are snugger.

My office is in forced disarray! Had to move things about, so hubby could spackle and paint the ceiling and walls. I need to paint all the woodwork. So, I'm left with just my desk and no work tables - aack! But half the room looks great!

Well, today's a busy day - have a small dyeing batch to do in addition to al the usual work, so I better get to it.

PS Been searching the MLS every other day or so, looking for options for our next home, and I think I've found it! Hopefully, it will still be available when we're ready to buy, but one look at the photo and I was struck - this doesn't happen much. Very few listings have taken my breathe away, not in our price range, anyway! As our taste in antique homes far exceeds our budget! But this one has the workings of one day being absolutely lovely, and it's an antique. This is more crucial than I can express.

Just the other day, we had nearly resigned ourselves to a new house, as it was all I was finding in our newly-reduced budget range, and I felt like I had sunk into a black hole and life was over. There's just no way I can be happy in a new house. Open floor plans, *decks*, jacuzzis, aack - modern contrivances of modern living.

I like *rooms*. Separate rooms with separate purposes, not one big all flow together room. I like woodwork, big, deep woodwork, and solid wood doors and plaster walls! Wood floors, preferably old pine ones, and if one *must* have an outdoor area for dining or relaxing - a slate or herringbone-patterned brick patio, surrounded by plants - simple, stylish, and definitely not modern! I need an old house to love, to love living in, to love caring for, to feel warmed by its character, its history, its solidity. Solid, not airy. New feels empty, unrooted, like floating in the air, tethered by a weakened rope that could snap at any minute. A house that can become a home must first have caused a gut reaction.

A few months ago, I mentioned in a post about my dreaming of places before we buy them. I dreamt of this house, several times before we ever saw it, and I had been wondering if I was ever going to dream of our next place. 6 days ago, I awoke and all of a sudden, the phrase "Council of Kent" burst into my head. I get these early rising words, phrases, songs all the time. But this sounded odd, like it crept up from some grammar school history lesson. So googled it, and no, it wasn't any important historical happening. There actually is a county called Kent in England and they have a council. And, one of the google responses mentions that the town of Sandwich resides in Kent! Well, where had I begun recently searching for homes? Sandwich. Hmm.

Well, despite fulling that yarn yesterday, it still isn't getting the right gauge well. Ah well, back to square one.

I got the hank of Fine Merino in today's mail and immediately began swatching. It is soft, as one would expect, but some soft yarns feel like dry like cotton when you knit them, as does this one. It softens even more upon washing, but I don't like the feel while knitting, especially at tighter gauges, and as knitting *is* an investment of time, one shouldn't work with yarns that don't please. So, I'm not sure about this yarn. I may or may not use it. It wasn't inexpensive and the UPS shipping on 1, 4 oz hank was atrocious, but this is the only way to try out a wide variety of yarns. I can write it off as R & D, but it's been adding up lately, so I can't go on much longer like this. Besides gettign more and more frustrated.

So, I pulled out the hank of plain Rambouillet - with no kid mohair in it - and swatched - and it does get gauge for some of the designs that need this heavier worsted gauge (about 4 sts/1" with US size 9 (5.5 mm) ndls. The necessary yarn though, must do well at 4.5 sts/1" with approx. US size 8 (5 mm) ndls, as well.

After washing it, it is heavenly, I must admit. Though Fine Merino *should be* softer and finer than Rambouillet Merino, the other yarn has nothing on this Rambouillet yarn. I can see that one will need to be careful with washing to avoid any felting, and it will likely pill, but it is so soft, squishy, buttery and doughy! It gets both gauges well, where I couldn't get the Fine Merino to go higher than 4.25 sts/1", even with a US size 7 (4.5 mm) ndl. The dryness just impedes stitch flow.

I had been concerned about the surface pills on the Rambouillet - those loose fiber bits not caught into the spinning and plying - and yet, the Fine Merino, which costs $4 a hank MORE than this yarn has the same loose fiber bits along the yarn's length. So, I guess this is just something to live with. So, this may indeed work for at least one design - now just to choose a good "work" color.

The other yarn I'm needing needs to be a bit thinner and slinkier and yet still be a heavy worsted by yardage and gauge. Worsted wt. yarns do 5 sts/1" well, but get cheesy at 4.5, so heavy worsted wt. it is. But it needs to be soft as well, as substitute for the cashmere yarn in the exclusive kits I'm working up. I think I am near a final choice. I love the Frog Tree Alpaca - the colors are delicious, the yarn is soft and , and the sport wt doubled *does* give the required gauge, but, as it is alpaca, it *is* much heavier than wool or cashmere and so, has many fewer yards per oz. This won't be a problem with hats or scarves or other small accessories. It's sweaters that would end up weighing a ton!

The doubled strands pull through the beads I'm using in one design, so that's good. What is not as good is that some knitters don't like using doubled yarns. Well, according to the sales rep, Frog Tree now has a worsted wt version. Again, alpaca is heavy, so the 69 yds/50 grams it supposedly comes in doesn't *sound* like it is worsted wt., but it is, I'm sure, and will surely beat using 2 strands of the sport. It doesn't come in the same great color range, but I don't know yet, which colors it *does* come in. I've got 2 emails in to the rep, as I've googled and googled and I guess this new wt. is SO new, that NO-ONE has any info online about it. When I want to know something, I don't want to have to wait my life away for the info. It often feels like the rest of the world moves at a snail's pace, but I'm an Aries, I can't help it, I work quickly. There's a lot to do and I like to *get on with it*!

So, the alpaca is an option. The Rambouillet and Kid Mohair yarn is the right wt., just not the right feel for these particular kits. It needs to feel luxurious, yet be far less costly than cashmere! - which means a certain drape, a certain weight, and a silky softness, not a light and airy wooliness. Honestly, it's like being on a search for the Holy Grail of yarn! Je ne sais pas.

So, I spent the entire day swatching and washing swatches, and checking yarn colors against bead colors. Now the weekend's here and I'll be doing more painting, for *sure*! but I also have 7 hanks of a nice teal yarn to use for something - just not for what it was intended for.

Got most of the family room doors, baseboards and window done the other day. Have more to do today, if I can get these shoulders unkinked!

Am working up the 2nd sample for one of the designs for an upcoming design collection booklet.

I had the perfect yarn in feel, but it was a tad thin for the gauge I needed - BUT as it is a very soft wool, and millspun, I gave all the hanks a hot water bath with Dawn dish liquid, letting them soak awhile initially, then giving them a good dunking then rinsing same temperature water. I then spun the water out of the hanks in the Spin-Only cycle of the washer and laid them on top of towels on my steam radiators. Et Voilá! What were once 240 yd / 4 oz hanks are now approx. 200 yd / 4 oz hanks, and is giving me the fabric I wanted. And though I thought the yarn would have felted, in order to lose the 40 yds, it hasn't - the plies are still discernible and able to be separated.

This technique might not work as well with wools that are coarser. This is a Rambouillet Merino and easily shrinkable! My only additional suggestion is to wash and dry all the hanks at the same time. I did 1 hank initially, before doing the others and it only went down to 220 yds, but I resoaked and rinsed and it is on the rad drying as I write.

Printing and Gazette fulfillments continue every day, as they come in. And I started photographing the finished designs.