The Garter's in the Mail (almost)!

Well, folks, I actually finished the pesky little garter, the Gammon Garter. It went through several incarnations, including two actual patterns, and two made up patterns from my little brain. In the end the elasticized cotton proved a poor choice for the scallop stitch I chose for the bottom edge. The swatch I made was perfect, but somehow when I put it in the round, it became very much not a scallop! At any rate, after some brainstorming and internal cursing, I thought of adding lace to the bottom edge to simulate the edging I thought I was knitting in. I went this morning to pick it up, and found a pretty hand-dyed blue lace edging with elastic that looked perfect for my garter. A little grosgrain ribbon and some sewing/pressing tips from mother dear, and the fork is in this project! It was actually pretty simple in the end, but the figuring out process was really annoying! Hopefully Robin (the future Mrs. Gammon) will like it, and it will actually make it past her knee. My thigh is a bit...healthier...than hers, so I could not try it on:) Here's a picture of the notions, and finished garter solo.







A quick update on my projects as well. I have another washcloth done, which will bring the grand total to three, but my stash of Shine is never ending. I'm also going to make my mom some coasters for her desk to try to use up more of it. My knee-his weren't meant to be, and instead have become just plain old socks. Almost done, though. One more leg before the fork goes in that project as well! In preparation for finishing the socks, I have chosen Caron Simply Soft from my stash in white and yellow to make Anna's $5 Paris Sweater! I have a lot of Caron...I have to admit I really like the way it feels, and it's ease of giving. I'm sad to report I dropped a stitch in the vintage sweater body, could not retrieve it, and subsequently removed the entire body down to the ribbed hem! It hurt me deep in my core. I picked myself up again, and decided to jettison the cryptic lace pattern given to me, and choose my own. Life has been much better since I made this executive decision! So the sweater proceeds, as does my sanity, for now...


I also have additional Greece pictures that I would like to share. These include the two washcloths I made and gave away, as well as pictures of the site where I was working!


Zig-Zag Washcloth given to Eric B.



Butterfly Washcloth given to Evelyn A.


Sunrise over Kenchreai Beach from our entrance path


View from inside the "walls"


Little ole me excavating bones buried 1500+ ago!