Happy New Year & Insight on the Channel Island Cast On

Well, it's officially 5768 on the Jewish calendar. Can't believe Rosh Hashanah came and went, and today I am cooking already part of the pre-fast feast for Friday (split pea and barley soup today, to be followed by pot roast later this week, if the butcher ever gets a silver tip roast in, that is). Between work, back to school for DD#2, and getting ready for the holy days, I feel as if I live in a whirlwind. Not to mention helping DD#2 apply for college (she's applying to my alma mater early decision, ED in the lingo of today). AND - most important- DD#2 is concertmistress (Konzertmeisterin, if you're really picky) of the wind ensemble in high school the most elite music group. Not bad for a kid with perfect pitch and absolute pitch......

Some knitting did get done- check out the hats completed for Ships Project:

From left to right, starting at top: out of Lamb's Pride, a 2-color version of Blueberry Waffle and Smariek's Utopia hat out of some leftover Galway. Next row: red Beaverslide Dry Good wool/mohair in Smariek's Asherton pattern, middle is the debut of my own gansey-patterned hat (used the anchor motif I found in Gladys Thompson's book on jerseys, guernseys, and arans; debating how to publish pattern-stay tuned), and last but not least another shot of Claudia in the round.
I'm doing another guernsey-motif hat, but using my own motif, and a Channel Island (CI) cast-on. This truth came to me yesterday, probably because i was up at 5 am to eat before the minor fast and then take DD#2 to Brooklyn for her ACT exam. Since DH had to work after Sabbath, then came home in time for SNL (and had to watch it), I got only 4 hours of sleep before heading to the Big Apple. I just bought Beth Brown-Reinsel's gansey sock pattern (it's at www.theknitter.com, btw), in which she uses a CI CO. OK, I figured I should a CI CO for my new hat. Which is being made out of Moss Magpie from Rowan, once again I deplore Rowan's decision ever to discontinue this marvelous wool. Now, for CI CO, you make a slip knot to secure (remove it later), then doing a little wand, er, needle waving to make the YO secure, then scoop up the multitude of strands wound 'round your thumb. Remember I am left-handed, and have trouble looking at images and doing the mirror-image (try it sometimes, it's not easy). I really, really was not liking my YO's at all. How to make nicer YO's? Well, why make YO's in the first place? Why not just use the ol' thumb- and do the simple CO instead? Or do the same motion with the index finger (the more orthodox CI CO). So I did both ways, and now the YO's come out right, and the index finger does its dance just like in the descriptions, and the little knots I nudged into places and voila! the Channel Island cast-on. Truly, not for the faint of heart.

On other fronts, one new piece of jewelry was completed:
See the nice Czech button of vintage glass used for the clasp again? I love these buttons, I may make necklaces featuring them in front. The purply beads coming from the weaving really match the rest; they are color-change vintage Lucite beads, with exceptional clarity. you'd swear they are crystal, if you saw them. This color change is seen in a lot of jewelry from the '40's and '50's; Swarovski called the color Alexandrite. It's real unusual in Lucite.

And one collie distinguished himself with some pathos:
See Egmont the bunny lying face=down on DD#1 knapsack? Egmont is the treasured toy of the older collie, Rocky, who treats stuffed toys like puppies - bathes them, asks us to let them out for the bathroom, etc. Skye, however, treats stuffed toys like any other chew toy.
See Skye, the younger collie? He spent the previous day with DD#1 at work (she's a surgery vet tech, or animal nurse). Rocky knows where Skye has been (he has a nose!). We think Rocky put Egmont the bunny in DD#1's knapsack so she'd remember to take Rocky along to work.

Oh the soup! Must run.