Tiger Lily Pullover

One good sweater deserves another.  Having finished up Marigold, I cast on Tiger Lily.  The May Flower of the Month from Fiesta Yarns.  I have to travel next week for work and needed an easy airport/airplane project.

I really hate flying these days.  It was bad enough with the airlines cutting back and treating passengers more like cargo than humans, but now with all the security theater I dread walking into an airport.  I really hate being treated like a criminal in my own country, and it isn't even as if these measures are really effective.  Governments always use times of war to expand their powers, and the "war against terror" is perfect because it can never be finished or won.  The same also applies to the "war on drugs."  They provide an excuse for government to intrude into the lives of its citizens and erode our civil rights.  Rights that are enshrined in the Constitution that it seems most politicians never read.  George Orwell was right.  It appears that we are doomed.  For myself, I will opt out of the new body scan and endure the pat down.  I don't believe that the scanners are safe.  Exposure to radiation never really is.  At least the pat downs won't give me cancer.  Been there, done that, no thanks.

Marigold Pullover - Finished!

Finished this afternoon.  It was a quick and easy knit, and it fits perfectly.  This just may become one of my favorite sweaters.  The yarn is Boomerang, by Fiesta Yarns, in the October Flower of the Month Colorway - Marigold.  The pattern is a top-down raglan, from Sweater Wizard knitting software.  Boomerang may also become my favorite merino wool for sweaters.  It is wonderful to knit with, the colors are amazing, and it knits up so beautifully.

Marigold Pullover - Body Done

I spent yesterday and today finishing up the body of my Marigold Pullover.  I am quite pleased with how it is turning out.  It fits perfectly so far and I love the colors and how they are pooling.  The striping at the top of the bodice is due to the fact that the top portion is worked back and forth, with increasing row lengths.  When the yarn is joined and the body is worked in the round, the colors start to spiral.  The spiral is even carried into the ribbing at the bottom.  I wanted to finish the body before I started on the sleeves just in case I run a little short of yarn.  Sweater Wizard estimates that the pattern will take 953 yards and I only have 960 yards, but my gauge is spot-on, and my back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that I should have enough.  I weighed my skein before I started the first sleeve, and I'll weigh it again when I finish it to make sure that I have enough.  If I'm running short, I can always turn the full length sleeves into three-quarter length sleeves.

Cranberry Delight

I also started another necklace for one of my Larry Scott Byzantine Beads.  I have quite a stash of these beads as I always buy some from him every year at Bead and Button.  In the past I have usually just strung them with semi-precious stone beads, but lately I've been using seed beads.  I have been pondering what to do with this bead.  I picked out some colors a couple of weeks ago, but didn't really hit on a design until last night.  I am using size 11 and size 8 seed beads with tiny tear drops.  I'm going to do another spiral bead crochet necklace, similar to the one I did for Teal and Silver, but with different embellishments.  Once again I will do the crochet around Soft Flex to make it easier to assemble the necklace later.

The exact beads are (using the Beadcats stock numbering system):
2-11-479-02:  size 11 very pale amber transparent luster
2-08-507-90:  size 8 light olive transparent lined with lavender
DT1-198-00:  Tiny tear drops (3mm x 5mm) dark cranberry transparent

The colors are sort of Christmas colors, and with the cranberry drops and focal bead...hence the name.

Marigold Pullover

So this is another yarn that has been calling my name.  It is Boomerang, by Fiesta Yarns, and is another of their Flower of the Month Colors - Marigold.  It is 100% Extrafine Super Wash Merino.  It has great body, and feels almost like velvet.  A real joy to knit with, and who can resist those colors?!  Once again the pattern that they had come up with to pair with this colorway really didn't do anything for me, so I decided to do another top-down raglan.

Morning Glory Pullover - Update

I finished up the neck, body and sleeve increases today and started on the body proper.  I am very pleased with the fit and the way the colors are mixing.

Our Tables Arrived!

The tables that we bought in Jordan finally arrived!  They were shipped on November 1, and arrived in New York on November 2.  But it took until November 18 before they arrived at our doorstep.  Once they cleared customs there were issues with our address.  They were left in our driveway at 4:11 in the morning.  How do I know this?  Because the diesel engine of the truck woke me up.  No, they did not knock and ask for a signature.  For your amusement, I am including the tracking information that shows their journey here.

consignment 961369350
reference
pick up date 1 Nov 2010
destination KING GEORGE

status Delivered
delivery 18 Nov 2010
signatory DROPPED
Details:- 18 Nov 2010, 06:00, Usa Others, SHIPMENT DELIVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.

Details:- 18 Nov 2010, 02:08, Usa Others, OUT FOR DELIVERY.
Details:- 17 Nov 2010, 19:50, Usa Others, HELD AWAITING CORRECT ADDRESS. FOLLOW UP ACTIONS UNDERWAY.
Details:- 16 Nov 2010, 16:14, Usa Others, OUT FOR DELIVERY.
Details:- 12 Nov 2010, 19:21, Usa Others, HELD AWAITING CORRECT ADDRESS. FOLLOW UP ACTIONS UNDERWAY.
Details:- 12 Nov 2010, 09:59, HO9, SHIPMENT SENT TO NEW ADDRESS AS REQUESTED BY SENDER OR RECEIVER.
Details:- 11 Nov 2010, 15:40, Usa Others, HELD AWAITING CORRECT ADDRESS. FOLLOW UP ACTIONS UNDERWAY.
Details:- 10 Nov 2010, 11:57, Usa Others, SHIPMENT RECEIVED AT DESTINATION DEPOT.
Details:- 10 Nov 2010, 06:02, New York Jfk Airport, SHIPMENT IN TRANSIT.
Details:- 9 Nov 2010, 17:40, New York Jfk Airport, SHIPMENT RELEASED FROM CUSTOMS.
Details:- 9 Nov 2010, 16:19, New York Jfk Airport, SHIPMENT AWAITING PHYSICAL RELEASE FROM CUSTOMS CONTROLLED AREA.
Details:- 9 Nov 2010, 15:30, New York Jfk Airport, HELD CUSTOMS, AWAITING CLEARANCE INSTRUCTIONS FROM RECEIVER.
Details:- 9 Nov 2010, 15:17, New York Jfk Airport, SHIPMENT RECEIVED AT TRANSIT POINT.
Details:- 9 Nov 2010, 14:18, New York Jfk Airport, SHIPMENT RECEIVED AT ORIGIN DEPOT.
Details:- 8 Nov 2010, 08:41, New York Jfk Airport, CUSTOMS CLEARANCE IN PROGRESS. DELIVERY WHEN CLEARED.
Details:- 8 Nov 2010, 08:37, New York Jfk Airport, CUSTOMS CLEARANCE IN PROGRESS. DELIVERY WHEN CLEARED.
Details:- 2 Nov 2010, 09:24, New York Jfk Airport, SHIPMENT IN TRANSIT.
Details:- 1 Nov 2010, 22:01, Amman, SHIPMENT IN TRANSIT.
Details:- 1 Nov 2010, 20:56, Amman, SHIPMENT IN TRANSIT.

The wood table is especially lovely.  Here are a couple of close ups.

That is mother of pearl inlay.  One of the information requests that customs came back with was the generic and scientific term for mother of pearl.  I guess they were worried about ivory being imported.

We haven't quite finished assembling the mosaic table.  We still have to tighten up the nuts on the iron frame and make sure it is level.