Daisy likes to help...

Since this blog is going to focus on my interests....and I have mentioned knitting haven't I???? Well, here's my first post on my knitting -- this is the Gerda design from the Simply Shetland 2 book You'll see that I'm in the critical stage -- for me, it's easy to get the tubular body done -- cast on, knit in the round, dropping off and joining shades as needed - right up to the neckline where you do some shaping and after tidying up the ends in the body, you're done right? WRONG! But here's where I always get hung up -- I hate doing sleeves -- I think it's because I love the rhythm of fair isle knitting -- and when you're doing the body, you get a real rhythm going on the round -- but a sleeve is too small a circumference -- you are just getting into the rhythm, and it's over! And remembering which rounds to decrease on -- what a nightmare!

Anyway, I'm determined to finish Gerda quickly -- it's amazing just how fast you can knit a sleeve if you spent some quality time on it. Gerda has a unique neckline (for me). Long story...but I originally started Gerda off with a band of plain stocking stitch in Granite to act as a facing -- then I was going to do the two color garter stitch bottom band (the pattern calls for a corrugated rib bottom band). After completing the facing and the garter stitch edge, it just seemed to me to be too much yarn you know? I'd already done a fair bit of body knitting, and didn't want to frog, so, I cut it off! Picked up the bottom row and knit the two color garter stitch band downward. What do you think of that? When I cast off in purl in Granite, I got Natural White blips -- so when it came to doing the neckline, I cast off in two colours, Granite and Natural White, and I really like the way it looks. What do you think?

My Daisy is going to be a big part of my blogging, so if you don't like dogs, you'd better leave town now LOL! The title of today's entry says it all...Daisy likes to help....so as soon as I placed Gerda on the carpet for it's blog debut photo, Daisy promptly sat on it, looked up at me, and you can just hear her saying "Time for a picture of me right?" -- check out my toes -- new OPI shade for Spring 2006 -- Magnifico Mexico -- you just have to love the OPI shade names!

Anne