Time Machine Tuesday: Wedding Edition

Hail wedded love,
mysterious law,
true source
Of human offspring.
-John Milton

It's a week of wedding celebration around here, so I thought we could have an extra special edition of Time Machine Tuesday. The wedding knit of the century in action, so to speak. You recall the chuppah I made for my best friend's wedding last summer. Turns out it's seeing lots of action of the resting at the foot of the bed kind. She was kind enough to tell me that it gets carefully placed aside at night. Isn't it great to see it out and about? The first chuppah I made, which the blog has still never seen, was also used recently for the bris of that couple's first son. And rumor has it that that son, otherwise known as my favorite baby, has grown into some of his handknits and is wearing his favorite sweater vest to some of the festivities! Get ready for next Time Machine Tuesday!

The Photos You've All Been Waiting For

That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
-Willa Cather

I'm sure that - to the extent you've thought about it - you imagined that the beau-turned-husband and I might be off on a fabulous honeymoon. Alas, life in the Navy dictates that we've been back at work for most of the week. Re-entry is always rough, and it's been a long week. And aside from the Chuppah, two weddings, Rowena gifted to it's owner, some finished socks, a new shawl, well, there's lots of blog fodder when I have time. But a little weekend respite gave me (er, I mean, the husband) time to at least upload the photos from the flitgirl's wedding.

We'll start with The Chuppah. It was beautifully received.The lace was lovely in the old stone chapel against a backdrop of an organ, and the ivory color that the white Zephyr is complimented the flitgirl's dress just perfectly.

And now that your curiosity has been satisfied regarding that master work, some gratuitous shots of all the general happiness. Because it's not every weekend my best friend and I get to both get married. She's already planning the anniversary trips . . .
One of the best photos of the evening -
My parents are celebrating their 30th anniversary this summer. Think we'll be as happy in 30 years?

Weekend Plans

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life,
the whole aim and end of human existence.
-Aristotle

All Your Questions Answered

I chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown,
for qualities that would wear well.

-Oliver Goldsmith

Q: Where is the FO shot for the Chuppah?
A: This will have to do until the wedding:

Don't you think it deserves a real FO shot from the real wedding?

Q: What wedding are we talking about here?
A: Not mine (although, yes, I am getting married - the wedding is in April). The flitgirl and Toasty Joe are getting married on the most popular wedding date ever. The Chuppah is a Jewish wedding tradition, and the lucky couple are having an interfaith ceremony. Although we would love to use The Chuppah as much as humanly possible, neither the beau nor I is Jewish. (But I do know what "Mazel Tov" means - and thanks!)

Q: Will you make me a Chuppah for my wedding?
A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: There are very few people in the world I love this much, but the flitgirl is definitely one of them. She even changed her wedding date early in the planning to accomodate my military schedule. We've been the best of friends since middle school, and no friends ever quite know you as well as the ones who prank called your seventh-grade crush for you. (And yes, I am nervous that the beau will be meeting the flitgirl - why do you ask?) Seriously, though, I think it would kill me to knit that much more white lace. Just ask JayJay - she has my extra Zephyr.

Q: What did you think of the Chuppah in Interweave Knits?

A: Too many people have asked me this to plead no comment. But they used doubled DK weight yarn and size 13 needles. I used laceweight and size 4s. And I think mine is much lovelier. I do like, however, that they knit it out from the center. For my next Chuppah . . .

Q: Will you ever knit lace again?

A: I wound the yarn yesterday. I'm making the Paisley Long Shawl from Fiddlesticks Knitting (the same wonderful people who have brought you the Peacock Shawl and the Tina Shawl - and may I say that my order arrived from Toronto about 2 days after I ordered it!). The yarn in questions is KnitPicks Shadow in Jewel - a lovely heathered blue that has no white anything whatsoever, a gift from Jenn when we were passing through Texas last summer. At that time I was working on the Peacock Shawl, getting ready to swatch for the Chuppah - It all does come around, doesn't it?

Blocking!

All weddings, except those with a shotgun in evidence, are wonderful.
-Liz Smith

Having a space with 3" to spare: Monthly rent.
Breaking only a dozen pins: $1
Old sheets getting a brief respite from Goodwill: Free
Finally blocking: Priceless

Aunt Theresa Teaches Knitting

Those that know, do.
Those that understand, teach.
-Aristotle

I know you're all here looking for photos of a blocked or blocking Chuppah. Well, you'll just have to wait a bit for two reasons:

1. I haven't figured out where to block it. My bed is not at all big enough. My spare room? The width between the bookcases only measures about 6 1/2 feet. Anyone ever fold anything in half and block it that way?
2. Just call me Aunt Theresa. Seriously. A major perk to marrying a youngest child is becoming the instant aunt to three kiddos. . . one of whom wants to learn how to knit!

I've taught a number of adults how to knit, friends in college, etc. But teaching a 9-year-old is a whole new ballgame. Fortunately, her mother wisely decided that maybe it was time for her to knit, too. That way, when they're back home . . .

Something Missing

Respect the masterpiece. It is true reverence to man.
-Frank Lloyd Wright

Something is missing from this picture. Can you tell what it is?The knitting needles, of course. The Knitting. It is done.

Excuse the late-night photo of the blob. I wanted proof. Blocking will follow.

Progressing . . . Still

Was it love at first sight? It wasn't then - but it sure is now.

-Ann Meara

One last in-progress shot before I finish this . . .

And, just so you can see what I mean about the lovely corner-turning:

A Crafty Weekend

The land of the fairy,
where nobody gets old and godly and grave,
where nobody gets old and crafty and wise,
where nobody gets old and bitter of tongue.
-William Butler Yeats

I am thoroughly enjoying my month on Dermatology for several reasons. The good and noble reasons have to do with how much I'm learning and how this is actually required for my Internal Medicine Residency. The less good and noble reasons involve how there is no call, and I have entire weekends off. For an entire month. And, for the record, these are the first consecutive two-day periods I've had off in about 7 months. It's really nice. And I'm keeping plenty busy . . . which is why I'm getting around to posting about my weekend on, um, Thursday.

So, in addition to all that quality time with my sewing machine (three cheers!), and a birthday party, game night, and a Padres game, I did a whole bunch of work on some long-term knitting projects.

Rowena saw a great deal of fuddly finishing (ruffles!) and is getting very very close to blocking time. (I usually seam before wet blocking.) You know it's been a long-term project when my fiance comments that I've been working on it "for a long time."The Chuppah, of course, got it's due attention and is coming along. The border is now half done, and again I feel so greatly indebted to Victorian Lace Today for their excellent corner-turning instructions. Above and beyond.

I also started the Ballet T-Shirt, with many mods, from Loop-d-Loop. You'd be correct if you guessed that this was a book I owned from which I had not yet knit anything. . . . it's a Book-a-Month thing. (And, between you and me, I'm kind of glad there's only one month left after this one.)

And knitting even found it's way into non-knitting activities. The Retro Ribs saw some action at the Padres game.

And, speaking of baseball, take a good, close-up look at this photo - It caught the ball in mid-pitch, halfway between the pitcher and batter, all the way from the Upper Deck.

So Delightfully Victorian

It is a truth universally acknowledged
that a single man in possession of a great fortune
must be in want of a wife.
-Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

There are opening lines and there are opening lines. And then there are closing lines. And then there are all the lines in between. And then there's the gal who can actually recite the entirety of Pride and Prejudice from memory. (She can also recite most of The Cutting Edge, which is another classic for another time.) So when a gal like this (and I speak, of course, of the flitgirl) pulls out her 45 issues of Martha Stewart Weddings to plan her dream wedding, are you surprised that her bridesmaids' dresses are delightfully Victorian? Empire waist. Shirred bodice. A delicate color of gold. Truely lovely. (In a way that contrasts hideously with my bedspread, hence the partial photos.) The arrival of my bridesmaid gown (for this is an evening, classy affair) inspired a few more progress photos of the Chuppah. The border is flying around the first corner (and may I commend Victorian Lace Today for a fabulous description of how to arrange the stitches on a knitted-on wide lace border!). And it is so delightfully Victorian as well.

Random Saturday

In common things that round us lie
Some random truths he can impart, --
The harvest of a quiet eye
That broods and sleeps on his own heart.
-William Wordsworth

Welcome to Random Saturday! (Seals on the beach in La Jolla)

1. First off, if I owe you an email (and if you're reading my blog, I probably owe you an email), it's coming. It's been a crazy four or so days at work, so hang tight.
   


2. Alas, no knitting photos. See #1 above.
   


3. Rowena is 80% done? Inquiring minds want to know. Yes, indeed. Maybe even more at this stage. I realize it's just been off the blog radar, but it's kind of incredible how all that stockinette just seems to knit itself. Posts coming soon about the joy of ruffles and also changes I made to the decreases.



4. Ribby Cardi - Bonne Marie emailed me some helpful hints, one of which was that I had an older version of the pattern and that the new version has a deeper raglan. As a bonus, she sent me a copy of the new version of the pattern. I owe her an email, too (of course), but I'm very impressed with her diligence and unsolicited (but very welcome) pattern support.



5. This is good because I'm now dying to make Ariann. Have you seen Cara's version?



6. And about starting Ariann, should I make it in Cotton Ease or Cascade 220? I have some lovely (old-style) blue Cotton Ease in the stash, and it might be lovely for San Diego. But I think I may have enough Red Cascade 220 in the stash. Decisions, decisions.



7. The Chuppah border is coming along swimmingly. We had a day of lectures on Navy-specific medical stuff, which was a solid five hours of knitting (before we had to run our Physical Readiness Test . . . only in the Navy). I'm now half-way down one side, and there is an anticipated 50-60 hours of knitting on it left. Should be done by early June for an early July wedding. And looking lovely, I might add.
   
8. And I did get a Webs order the other day. I'm thinking Regia Silk for my Hogwarts Swap Partner. There was a sale, after all.
   
   

The Border

There is no remedy for love but to love more.

-Henry David Thoreau

This is the photo you've all been waiting for. (Even if it's a bad night photo.)Meet the border of the Chuppah. It's perfect. Just perfect. I know I can't show you too much yet (or how much work it takes to get it all set up and pick up all 220 stitches from the provisional cast-on), but rest assured that it is the absolute perfect complement to the center pattern. The perfect width (8 inches), the perfect bordering, the perfect diamond-ness, the perfect scale, the perfect edge. Want a close-up? Of course you do. Want more details? It's one of the borders from the wide border chapter from Victorian Lace Today. I'm blanking on the name. It's the prettiest one, though, rest assured.

You may remember when I was trying to come up with my own set of border patterns for the Chuppah . . . and they were all just not exactly right. Then I saw this book. And the rest, as they say, is history. Or history in the making, at least.

Making Progress

I chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown,
for qualities that would wear well.
-Oliver Goldsmith

Ever notice how the blog and real (knitting) life don't always have a 1:1 correspondence? The vast majority of my knitting time has been going towards The Chuppah, and yet I haven't posted much about it recently. (Last progress photo here.) And so I present great progress: I had all sorts of grand plans to get home and get a nice daylight photo today, but you know how those best laid plans can go . . . To appease those who can't see much above, here's an (unblocked) close-up: The progress portrayed above is a little more than half of the center section. That would be 6' wide by 3' long, for those of you keeping track, and represents about 1/3 of the overall knitting. Right on schedule. And you know how much I love schedules!

Giddy-up!

Rodeo cowboys usually keep goin' until they're crippled-
injured by animals, run out of money for entry fees
and traveling expenses, quit or get killed in the arena.
-Chris LeDoux

Is your knitting scattered all over two apartments, three purses, and your locker at work? Do you feel like you've been in a haze where you can't tell a ruffle from a cable, a lace lattice from a beaded rib? Have I got a solution for you!

WIP RoundupClockwise from top left: The Chuppah, Rowena, The Humbug Pillow, The New England Socks, a ball of yarn meant to be Dalarna socks, and Plain Winter Socks.

The beauty of the UFO Resurrection (and yes, The New England Socks seem to be in this photo as a Work in Progress, doesn't it?) is that all those other projects? They don't count. Of the above, I can only really claim to be making progress on The Chuppah and the Plain Winter Socks, but Rowena gets a few rows when I'm on the phone, and the Humbug Pillow when I'm reading email. Overall, quite manageable. Quite.

If only I didn't want to drop it all and knit the new Interweave Knits from cover to cover . . .

Lucky

The only things one can admire at length
are those one admires without knowing why.
-Jean Rostand

1. Lucky Guesses
You are doing great on the "Where is Rowena" guesses. Keep them coming until tomorrow and I'll randomly pick a couple of lucky guesses from the correct winners.

2. Lucky Flitgirl and Toasty Joe
I have not much in the way of interesting photos at the moment. All the knitting this week so far has been working on the Chuppah. It looks like this, but longer.

3. Lucky Me
I got a great package in the mail yesterday; ironically it was a belated Christmas gift from the lucky recipient of the Railway Stitch socks I finished belatedly. Look what it included! This is yarn from Iceland, personally imported by my friend. I knew he deserved handknit socks . . .