Knitting for Amazons!

Hey you!!!

2008-09-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

What are you still doing subscribed to or reading this place? It's dead. It's gone. It's no more.

The new blog is at http://picnicknits.com/ - yes I've been there for awhile. C'mon over!

I moved.

2008-04-15T18:46:00.002-07:00

Yes, again.

But this time I'm serious.

Come and see me here.

The FO Parade

2008-03-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

I know, I've been a horrible blogger. But I have discovered the secret to finishing projects. Wait for it... You pick one project. You work on only that project until it's done.

It's a sucky secret I know, but it's working for me.

There's been others too, but my picture software is giving me gas. Right now I am working on a lace cardigan in cotton fleece. It needs a name. Must finish it before I move on to something else.

And yes, I've been drinking the Ravelry kool-aid. I'm rincaro over there too. Come friend me!

The best laid plans...

2008-01-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

It was a good idea. I have four sweaters that are like 75% done. So I finish one each week in January. I was in the homestretch on the Sandy Cardigan. All I need was half the edging and half a sleeve.

I'm running out of yarn. I'm in negotiations on Ravelry to get a smidge more. Mind you, I already eliminated the collar in anticipation of this. The pattern lies. Or is misleading. I don't know. It's late and I'm tired.

So I move onto Juliet. And decide to try her on.

She's too big. And considering that I'm the biggest I've ever been, she ain't gonna fit. I will not grow into her. And yes, I've tried her on before. I don't know. She gained weight with me? Who knows.

So now I'm down to two sweaters that are about mostly done. Mr. Greenjeans and Tomato. Both of which are too small right now. But it's the new year. A good time to walk, and eat healthy, and knit sweaters that are too small? Geesh, I don't know. The more I type it out, the worse of an idea that it seems. What I really want to do is cast something on. Something easy, something happy. But that will kind of mess up my happy finishing plans. Such a bummer. Knitting isn't supposed to be a bummer.

Maybe I'll work on my vintage velvet. Scarves fit no matter what size you are.

Five in the sand...

2007-12-31T05:18:00.000-08:00

Why is that important things fall out my brain but totally inane things remain forever? If you must know my current earworm is Elmo singing about five. And the sand? Dude. I was doing laundry yesterday and I cleaned like half a cup of sand out of my washer. Yes, I live in Florida, but I live like 40 minutes from the beach for goodness sake.

Five sweaters. I have five sweaters on the needles. Four of them are nearly done. Not to confused with nearly dead. I'm trying to finish the Sandy Cardigan before the end of year (yes in 15 hours) but of course it won't happen. But if I keep working on it I can wear it this winter.

So you wanna hear my crazy (new) ambitious goal?

I wanna finish four sweaters in January!

I said it was crazy.

Sandy Cardigan - halfway through side 2, needs sleeve 2, collar and edging.

Mr. Greenjeans - needs sleeves and ribbing

Tomato - needs about 3 inches on the bottom and sleeve ribbing

Juliet - needs about six repeats of the lace pattern

I honestly think this is doable, plus it would make me feel way better about my pile of wips.

Oh wait. You want an update on the goals I made less than a week ago? You're silly.

Fuzzy Feet still need a bath
Celtic Tote is completely knitted. Needs seaming (no biggie) and embroidery (which is sucking the life out of me!)
Splash Scarf is no more.
Block 6 of the MQW is done and the bag o'yarn is back with Kathe and off my wip list for the near future.
Sooper Seekrit had to be frogged. Not enough yarn for the pattern I chose.

So there you have it. I'm working on stuff, and I haven't cast on anything new. My official wip count is fourteen. By the end of January I should be down to eight, not counting if I cast on. Which is just awesome. In theory anyway.

Second verse, same as the first.

2007-12-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

Yes I know I just did a wip list. But this is a more detailed wip list. With notes and such. For a good purpose.

Yes I know you are laughing. I'll wait. Ok, I'll wait some more while you clean the beverage of your choice off your keyboard. I'm sorry I made you spit.

I realize of course that even if I knit 24/7 for this last week of the year and gave up sleeping, eating, and potty breaks I *still* would not finish all of these projects. But I can make it better, no? And I can institute firm rules that will get me down to something manageable.

Since our last fireside chat, I have finished a few things. Hold your applause until all of our FO's have been announced.

Two very pretty ornaments, only one of which I have a picture of. These knit up in no time at all.

One Tam, view C.

Swirling Snow, the December washcloth for the Knitwitz Washcloth Club.

Foliage from Knitty

Original Knitting Basket Ornament (#12)

The Misty Hat (#7)

The Big Ole Baby Blanket (#5)

Are you still here? Wow. So I've finished 8 things in the last month. All of which were tiny. Only 3 of which were on my most recent list. Which is why (shudder) my list has actually gone up an item. I'm now at 20. Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame.

1. Daniel Socks - Not ready for these. Only done a smidge. Will take off the needles and wait for later.
2. Modern Quilt Wrap - I have decided to treat this as 72 mini wips. Each block being a project. I will not "count" the wip unless it is unfinished. Right now I am in the middle of my third block so it's OTN.
3. Oblique - Doing ok on this one, but it's not close enough to finished to merit end of the year attention.
4. #19 - Pass.
5. Endpaper Mitts - Also low on the priority list.
6. Ice Queen - This might be a contender.
7. Vintage Velvet - Also might be a 2007 winner.
8. Upstream Socks - These fit nicely but I hate the funky way they look off my feet. Does that make any sense? I think these will be purse knitting and not considered an active wip. I plan on making a different architecture for it's mate.
9. Via Diagonale - I would love to have this purse. Need to fit this in soon.
10. Mr. Greenjeans - Guess when the diet starts? This will be a first project to finish in 2008.
11. Scotch Thistle Stole - Also 2008.
12. Sooper Seekrit - Needs to be frogged and redone easier. Not enough yarn for the intended pattern. This is a one movie knit though. Definitely this year.
13. Sandy Cardigan - This will be my 2007 sweater. I'm on sleeve one again finally.
14. Celtic Tote - Back and front done, half of side/bottom combo done. But I ran out of wound yarn. Oh the tragedy. This will be a 2007 knit though too!
15. Juliet - Not sure about this one. Probably spring 2008 for wear in the proper season.
16. Splash Scarf
17. Maximize Socks - Nearly done, but I'm taking these off the official list because I have to have a pair in progress for my class.
18. Tomato - I would like to finish this, but the truth is that it's a spring sweater and too small right now. 2008.
19. Icarus - Have I mentioned that this is 85% done? I will not cast on for any more lace until I finish it.
20. Fuzzy Feet - I swear upon everything holy that I will felt these tomorrow. Yes, I have finishing issues.

Ok. Things I will finish in 2007 for sure:
Fuzzy Feet
Celtic Tote
Sooper Seekrit
The current Modern Quilt Wrap square
Sandy Cardigan
Splash Scarf (the oldest wip)

Things I am officially removing:
Upstream Socks
Maximize Socks
Daniel Socks

At the end of 2007 I will be down to 11 wips. Eleven. That's my pledge and goal. And I will have a veritable plethora of FOs to show you. Heck I might even handwind some yarn.

Ok, probably not the last bit. But the rest for serious.

P.S. Merry Christmas!

Every so often...

2007-11-26T19:23:00.000-08:00

I fall into the hole. The too many wips hole. Too many wips, too many ufos.

I think I might have some knitting issues.

Poor planning knitting issues. I start things that I never finish. Why is that? Many of the things I seem to never want to finish. You might wanna click away now. Go somewhere happy, that has pictures of puppies or ducklings.

Because I'm gonna make a list.

1. Icarus - still the same old place. Maybe I could finish this for Daniel's big party and buy a matching dress!
2. Tomato - fair isle too tight on boobies. So sad. Must lose weight.
3. Maximize Socks - these don't count because they are my sock class socks, right?
4. Splash Scarf - oh sweet niblets! Someone please take that thing out of my house!
5. Big Ole Baby Blanket - finish for December 8th baby shower!
6. Juliet - about half done with the lace. So fast, so easy, so forgotten.
7. Misty Hat - have about five inches. Need about seven before decreases.
8. Sandy Cardigan - would be nice since there have been chilly days. I'm such a slacker.
9. Sooper Seekrit - don't ask!
10. Mr. Greenjeans - stupid belly. See #2.
11. Scotch Thistle Stole - half done. Not dressy enough for party. Not high priority.
12. Basket Ornament - I. Hate. Bobbles.
13. Via Diagonale - anybody want this?
14. Upstream Socks - bored now.
15. #19 - For the love of all that is holy I will conquer this one!
16. Celtic Tote - Half done with back. Will be cute. Need to do.
17. Endpaper Mitts - fun in theory. Need motivation in reality.
18. Vintage Velvet - the love of the minute. I've worked nearly one ball of Touch Me. That stuff is sooooo nice.

19. Daniel Socks - Below is the picture of the yarn barf I pulled out looking for the freaking end of the trekking.

Just got an IM from my LYSO. The Riverstone is on the way. Caroline is slated up next. Must. Finish. Something.

I'm so pathetic.

Don't do the math!

2007-11-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

When will I ever learn? I've been working on Mr. Greenjeans for less than 2 weeks. I'm making fantastic progress although I've slowed a bit due to insane busy-ness. But then I did the math.

Check the clock. 10:27. Work one row. What time is it? 10:38. You want sixteen inches of body at 6.5 rows per inch and each row takes you how long???? Expletives are the appropriate response here. All told if I trust the math I have 20 hours plus still of work on this baby. Suck-tastic.

But look how pretty it looks....

C'mon get happy!

2007-11-09T05:57:00.000-08:00

And that's an order! And just to share my particular ear-worm with you....

So my good friend GirlWithNeedles tagged me as someone who makes her smile. Actually I think a good lot of my friends get smiles and giggles from my stories of the stupid things that happen to me, but hey, I am spreading joy in the world, no?

So here is my top ten list of bloggers who make me smile!

1. GirlWithNeedles of course! Her stitching makes me yearn for another hobby that I have no time for and she's the one that will keep you in stitches at knit-in!

2. KnitKimberKnit - She and I have been known to stand at the swift convulsed in the giggles and she's quick with the smiles and the hugs!

3. The Yarntender - Sometimes it seems like she and I share some brain material because we get all of each other's jokes. I feel sorry for her! ;)

4. TrishTheDish - Ahh... when we were five. And no, we didn't grow up together. We just have a tendency to act like complete children in each other's company. Remember Norway?

5. Fiber Freak - She's cooler than me. Well most people are, but she's really cool. Plus right now I am coveting her hand-dyed yarn. Or her dye-ing skills. Or both.

6. CrazyMexicanGirl - This one always makes me smile. There's something about her that tells me if I ever get over to that side of the country we would have the best time.

7. The Domestic Overlord - This one has the power. Her quick wit and current band names on the Knittyboard always makes me smile.

8. Batty - Every time I hit her blog, I hear the Count singing in my head. Good for a smile anyday!

9. Lolly Knits - I always love reading her entries and her photography is so gorgeous.

10. Poor Miss Finch - Her kids are so cute! And she is another one of those people that you get the feeling you would be fast friends with.

And just for your enjoyment, a story of something stupid that happened to me. Yes, you can laugh. My leg is all better now.

Are those ants in your pants or are you just happy to see me?

Saturday night I was cleaning out my car and getting ready to go to midnight knitting. I had backed the car up to the garage so I was actually standing in the mulch next to the deck. I was wearing jeans and suddenly I felt a sting on the back of my thigh. I didn't think much of it until I felt the 2nd sting and then a 3rd really make ya holler sting. I thought "I have (fire)ants in my pants." Seriously. The fire ants around here will just crawl right up your leg and start biting you like woah. So I ran madly into the house assuming some fireants had crawled up my pants, screaming the whole way because I was really getting stung/bit badly and each one hurt ten times worse than the last one. Rufus (the wonder beagle) is freaking out with me and starts to howl and bark at me. But then I I couldn't get my pants off because I forgot to take my shoes off first. So I'm hopping around my bedroom screaming, the dog is howling, and my pants are trapped on by my shoes. That's when I spot the yellowjacket. Yeah, I spot the yellowjacket still in my pants, next to my flesh. Did I mention I couldn't get my pants off? There shoulda been a hidden camera. Finally I get my pants off and start whaling on the yellowjacket with my shoe. "Die! Die! Die!"

I'm telling you. This sort of thing only happens to me.

Ode to the humble hot dog!

2007-10-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight it was pigs in a blanket. And the ketchup was served like this:

The pigs were crazy easy. Two cups of heartsmart bisquick, 1/2 cup of skim milk. Mix together and roll out into a 12x12" square. Cut into 12 4x3" rectangles and wrap around 12 hotdogs. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Tada! Betcha didn't know I was such a culinary genius, huh?

Gimme a break. I'm tired. The party was a smashing success except for all the leftovers. Seriously. RSVP. Répondez s'il vous plaît. Sometimes I feel very old when I feel the need to critique people's manners. But I'm trying to give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they honestly don't know what it means. Maybe they think they only have to call if they are coming. But here's my Miss Manners lesson for the day. Even if you are not coming, it is still expected (and gracious) to rsvp. That way the host/ess knows that they don't have to plan food or whatever for you. In this day and age so many people don't rsvp that you almost *have* to plan for the non-responders. Ask me about the birthday party where I didn't. Well actually I did, but I didn't plan for the sheer number of people who showed up without rsvp'ing. Legendary disaster.

But really. If you are invited to a party, cut the hostess a break. Call or e-mail and tell her you can't make it (or can). It really does make life that much easier for her. That way a poor girl like me doesn't end up with 100 cans of various soda and 50 hot dogs leftover. Yeah, I'm not kidding. Apparently my slime punch was a raging success and that's all people drank. Ok. I'm done ranting. Really.

In knitting news I picked back up my endpaper mitts. They just weren't gonna fit over my gorilla hands with a 56 st cast-on on size 0 needles. (Yes, I have gorilla hands. I'm 5'10", whaddya want?) So I tweaked the pattern slightly for 60 sts and I'm finally to the fair-isle portion. Ribbing is evil, of this I am sure.

The Grudge 35

2007-10-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've had 35 years of holding grudges. No, seriously. I am the queen of grudge-holders and bridge-burners. There are always flames leaping behind me because I never stop burning bridges. Never.

Sometimes I give people too many chances, sometimes too few. Many times I wonder what the hell is wrong with people who seem to be gluttons for punishment. You know, those people that keep going back and back to allow the same person to hurt them over and over again. I did that once. Well I mean I did that with one person. I guess it was due to the fact that once I had kids I felt like I should do anything to preserve my family. It didn't work of course. He was never my family.

Sometimes I wonder why I am so quick to cut people off. Is it because of the butthead? Not sure. Very few of the people I've cut loose could ever have that much of an impact on my life. Mostly it's just the random, I don't need this crap kind of cut-offs. But I'm damned good at it.

Ah, introspection. A Saturday afternoon nap will do that to you. You'll have odd dreams and heavy thoughts will hang in your head as you search for a strong enough source of caffeine to clear out all the cobwebs. Mostly my head is filled with one thought. If I sucked it up and invited my sister (and my beloved nephew) to our Halloween party would she suck it up enough to come? I mean I'm still incredibly angry at her and I miss him the most, but still.

I think it's time for a Starbucks run.

Cheez o Petes

2007-10-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what that means. But it's a good pseudo curse word. Lil dude has been saying "Oh for the love of Uncle Pete". Uncle Pete is my stepbrother. I didn't grow up with him though, and the boys barely have seen him. But he is forever implanted in their brains because he is a rock star. Actually for real. He has a really great band. The boys wanna be rock stars (and spies and firemen) but I don't think their "uncle" would appreciate their High School Musical rock star aspirations.

By the way, those movies are like kiddy crack. Every kid I know, boy, girl, whatever loves those movies. Poor Kim had to sit through one the other night. I think it made her develop a tic.

Why am I awake at midnight when the alarm will ring at 6am? Because I am stupid. That is why. I am re-working Statistics homework so that I can get points that I missed the first time around. I'm trying to convince myself that it's worth it. This whole college thing. The more I hear about public schools the more unsure I become. I'm supposed to do field experience this semester. I've been assigned to an algebra class in what can only be described as an "inner-city" high school. Well as inner-city as Jacksonville gets. But the teacher hasn't called me back yet to arrange times. Sometimes I feel like I should take a step back and just do elementary teaching. Other days I'm convinced I need my master's so I can teach college. I'm nothing if not consistently indecisive.

And while I'm having a midnight whinefest (although sadly without wine or Irish cream) I might as well complain about my spring schedule. I wanted to leave a couple of days a week open to substitute teach. You know... experience, dollars, blah, blah, blah. But my Calc three class is at an odd time and it's impossible for me to schedule around with having to pay to put the boys in morning or after care.

Wait. Did you say you were here for the knitting? Silly me. What am I working on?

1. Juliet in double-stranded sage Cotton Fleece
2. Upstream Architecture Socks in a red/orange/fair isle Meilenweit
3. A simple baby blanket in Muench Big Baby

Things I'm not working on:

1. The Dead Bride. Guess it's not her year.
2. Katherine Hepburn - I screwed it up and haven't started over yet
3. Sandy Cardigan - And it's gonna get slightly chilly soon....
And more other things than I can possibly count. Might be time for WIP control again.

Tilting the duster...

2007-10-07T12:19:00.001-07:00

Dusting the tilter... It's such a cute name for a sweater coat, the tilted duster. I feel like I should wear it with a drink in both hands. As you can see my duster is hanging out in the yarnstore (near the malabrigo and the IK) until it gets cool enough to wear it here. All in all, I must say, I *adore* this sweater!

Notes about this project:
If you knit it in malabrigo (or a similiar kettle dyed or hand dyed yarn) do some looking before you start. In hindsight I wish I had purposely chosen which two balls to use for my sleeves. One sleeve has a lot more of the lighter pink in it than the other. But rather than rip, I decided to "embrace" the kettle dyed qualities.

I was afraid I was going to run out of yarn, so I knit the fronts, the back, the sleeves, and then the collar. That way if I ran short I could just shorten the skirt. Turns out I was fine. I used way less than 6 balls of the red mahogany malabrigo on size 10 needles for the 40" size. It came out a bit bigger than 40" because my gauge was off, but I had planned for that.

Regardless of the yarn issue, I think knitting the skirt last was a good idea. The skirt is long and tough to get through, but it's nice to know that you're done at that point.

I had saved my original swatch so I tested out steam iron blocking it. It worked fine and didn't hurt the precious yarn so that's how I got the curl out of the stockinette portions of the skirt.

I must say, this is one of my favorite projects ever!

My life in pictures.

2007-09-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't get a new camera yet. But I did get the old one to squeak out a few more pictures. Here's what I've been doing lately...

Taking the boys to school...

Knitting the tilted duster...

Knitting the tilted duster (someone force me to finish this danged thing, I'm down to bindoff and set in sleeves and my motivation went to Brooklyn or something).

Knitting Cat Bordhi's sample socks....

Making ABCD stitch markers for Cat Bordhi's sample socks...

Why yes, yes it was.

2007-09-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

I am exhausted. No really. All weekend I cleaned. And then yesterday we partied. The cupcakes turned out delicious. The pizza came on time. I forgot to put spoons in the dips. I forgot to give the kids balloons. There was some serious brain farting going on.

But the end result really was happiness. The boys were happy and had tremendous amounts of fun. The spy mission (scavenger hunt) was a hit. The boys wrote their own clues and the end result was a can of silly string for each kid. They then attacked the D.A.D.'s (the Destructive Anarchy Droids) in the backyard. So awesome. And the dads were such good sports.

The little guy got so excited over a Harlem Globetrotters basketball that I thought he was gonna pass out. We are fully outfitted in spy gear and spider-man gear and gift cards. The boys are are ready to go shopping. Right now at ten til nine in the morning.

Oh and someone learned to knit. I was crazed but a couple of my friends found her yarn and needles in my stash and got her started. (Thank you so very much for that!!!) I predict that soon she will be fully addicted just like the rest of us!

Would you like to see some pictures of all of the fun? Yeah. My digital camera decided to crap out on me. Fortunately I had some camera happy friends so soon I will have some pics. I really need a new camera. Like yesterday.

Oh and today? Today I am doing nothing. Ok, not nothing. When does a woman ever really do nothing? Today I am knitting, catching up on laundry, knitting, doing my homework, and knitting. Three hats done, five to go.

Seeing Red.

2007-08-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

My husband has been home on vacation on all week, while I've been working at the yarnstore. Somethings are hard to find.

Like camera batteries. And all of my comfy undies. This is *not* because he's done something odd with them. (I hope). This is because he has decided to be helpful and put things away for me.

I started my tilted duster in the red mahogany malabrigo. I have a very cute picture of strongman modeling the now-seamed back and fronts. I can't upload it due to lack o' batteries. Same with the picture of the red yarn I kool-aid dyed this evening.

Strange thing, this kool-aid business. I've done it before. And the package per ounce thing worked fine. I dyed 100g or roughly 3.5 ounces of yarn. I used SEVEN packets of red kool-aid. There are *still* unsaturated places. I started with 3 packets and added 4 more. I can't stomach the idea of going back to Publix yet again.

My cherry red Katherine Hepburn cardigan is stalled. I made some mistakes in the sleeve increases. So I kind of need a do-over. And I haven't the heart to rip it out. Yet.

I also spiffed up a totally cute hat in some pink lemonade colored poems. Only seven more hats to go. Yes, seven. Don't ask.

Sometimes the wrong side is so right!

2007-08-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... colorwork. I've only tried intarsia once in the past, to quite disastrous results. But I decided to give it another go. With the Tomato. I cast on last week, and that sweater is fast like whoa. But I digress. I have beautiful pictures to show you:

It is not a Tomato, it is a chocolate covered pecan. Cocoa and Butter Pecan Main Line from Knitpicks. Overall, I don't *love* KP yarn, but this one is very nice. It's a true worsted cotton/merino blend and it's round and sproingy. But wait, look at the wrong side:

I am so proud of myself. My floats are all even and happy. And since I taught myself continental the weekend before last, I was able to do it two-handed. It worked so nicely. Now I want my next project to be fair isle. That or a malabrigo tilted duster.... (A girl can dream).

What you get for the money

2007-08-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had on a severe case of cast-on-itis. Which might interfere horribly with the whole "less than ten" master plan. But then Kim reminded me that crochet projects don't count. Of course I finished the crochet hotpad in a couple of hours, but still. So here is what I did yesterday....

50 grams of mainline worked into the first five inches of a Tomato, which is a free pattern if you sign up for Knitting Daily. Personally speaking, I HATE it when they name designs after colors. Or things that have a definite color associated with them. What am I supposed to call this, a chocolate covered tomato? A rotten and festering tomato? I mean honestly. And then the bright orange hotpad. They call it a dishcloth, but it's really not big enough and the crochet makes it too thick in my opinion. Dude, I'm full of opinions today, aren't I?

And then we have the beauty projects.

Six inches of the right sleeve of the Katherine Hepburn Cardigan. This sweater is gonna be so lovely. And 2.5 repeats of #19, aka the dead bride. The lace has become a bit of a sore spot with me. I'm just bound and determined to beat this one. And I've never found a finished one online anywhere. It will be the club of me.

In other news, if I used to comment on your blog and stopped, please post a comment. For some reason gator purged ALL of my subscriptions. Which was half of my knitting blog-friends. I have the other half on bloglines. I need to go back and look through comments, but truth be told, I'm busy AND I'm lazy. A deadly combination if there ever was one.

Oh and if you're counting, I'm still only up to nine.

Eight is great!

2007-07-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

Pictures of eight works in progress. The only eight I own.

The Sandy Cardigan looks way more finished than it is. I have to rip out the sleeve and the side panel on the left, and re-measure myself and do the math again.

And here is a shot of the beautiful #19, which I swear I will wear to my husband's fancy Christmas party this year. Probably with something red.

After some very sophisticated math with my carbiner calculator, I have figured out which project will be the quickest to finish. And the answer is Via Diagonale. And for some reason, that just ain't calling my name. The 2nd quickest, Icarus, is likewise not calling my name. The Scotch Thistle stole will take twice as long as Via Diagonale to finish and I think that's what I wanna do. I don't know. But I'm down to eight. And I feel pretty darned good about that number.

Fe, Fi, FO, done!

2007-07-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

And then, there were nine. Which is decidely less than ten. Less than ten people!!!

I now officially only have ten projects on the go. I just wove in ends on the fuzzy feet. And tomorrow morning I will throw them in the new washer and see how it goes. St. Andrew's Cross Blue for my Scottish husband.

And now, it's listy time! Because it makes me happy.

OTN:

1. Lillian's Tank - front & back done, needs ruffles & straps.
2. Scotch Thistle Stole - nearly half done.
3. Icarus - 86% done according the shawl calculator.
4. Wren - got 1.5 sleeves done, so pathetic.
5. CK Sweater - nearly done with the yoke.
6. Sandy Cardigan - basically only the diagonal panels are done as I need to rip out the sides.
7. VK Fall 2005 #19 - only 2/12 repeats done, and will need border and collar.
8. Via Diagonale - about half done.
9. Embossed Leaves Repair - need to rework about 40% of the pair.

I think I'm gonna make myself finish another before I cast on. Or two. Hmmm... which would be the quickest two to finish? I guess the sock repair and the Lillian (Monica) tank? The Scotch Thistle Stole goes very fast if I actually work on it. Decisions, decisions.

In other news, I got an A in film class. This is very good news, because when I took film class back in the day I blew it off. Which equals an F. On my freaking transcript. So an A in the "grade forgiveness" category is a beautiful thing!

Picture Pages...

2007-07-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

Do you remember picture pages? What show was that a part of? Bill Cosby and the magical marker. “Time to let Bill Cosby do a picture page with you!” And the magical marker would make wonderful sounds as it traced the lines. Dude. I’m old.

But I did finally squeak at least one picture out of ole Carmen the Camera. Yes, I’ve named her. This is so she won’t die on me before I can get a replacement.

What you see before you is a fit of finishing, nestled in with some of my Secret Sox Box Swap swag and topped off with the “newest” thing.

We have four washcloths. The round one on the left, the blue bunny in front, the making waves one under the needles, and the secret yellow & white one under that. Those penguin needles are my official washcloth needles. The secret one is the August pattern for the washcloth club so I can’t unveil it yet. The purple under there is another secret, but not a washcloth. More on that later. In front we have the blooms bracelet from pick up sticks and perdita. On the top right is my gilligan hat from Knit.1 done in cream cotton fleece. Yes, I know you need a modeled shot.

The red case on the left is the motherload of all notion holders. My Secret Sox Box Swap partner sent it to me, along with the Tofutsies and that completely precious sock bag.

The cherry red yarns is Louet Gems Sportweight. For my Katherine Hepburn cardigan from Lace Style. Now if I could make some decent 1x1 ribbing to get that puppy started, we’d be cooking with gas.

My list is doing ok. I started and finished the Knitting Daily Summer Shawlette in Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Light. It’s a model for the lace class that the owner is giving at the yarn store. It’s beautiful and is blocking as I type.

So I have seven projects on hold and four technically on the needles. I think I might give up on the mystery stole. Truth be told I just don’t love the yarn I ordered. And I started with beads, so I sort of have to keep doing them. And dude, those beads slow you down, down, down. I don’t know. So I have eleven projects. Which is so much better than before. But as usually I have itchy fingers. I wonder if they make a cream for that.

I blame her.

2007-07-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

She knows who she is.

I gave up on the silk/mohair scarf. Everything I was doing with that yarn combo was craptastic. Seriously bad. So for those of you keeping track, I would be down to four active projects.

I tried to cast on today for something else. It's her fault. She sent me home with a skein of SWTC bamboo. And when I googled it, I was reminded of the lovely Silk Corset pattern I have. Unfortunately the serendipity bamboo is not meant for that pattern. Or maybe that's a fortunate thing. I don't know. All I know is that the swatch on my needles ain't going nowhere. Although I am now tempted to see if it will work in Knitty's Convertible.

But right now my fingers are itching. She was the one who helped me figure out that the new Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Light will probably be perfect for the Summer Shawlette on Knitting Daily. So now I want to make it. And how.

But I have a paper to write. And some birthday Carolan's to drink (thanks to her!) and so I will not cast on for anything new. At least not tonight.

The answer.

2007-07-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

It's simple really. The reason I don't finish any projects is because I never stick with anything. Even now. I only have six projects that I'm actively involved in. (I frogged the July washcloth - something was off about it). But even with only six, I flit from project to project. From day to day, I never focus on the same thing. I could finish stuff I wasn't so willy nilly about the whole business.

I've decided to put the Maximize socks on hold. I will have another Magic Loop class in August and it will be good to have those to work on during class. Plus I can get them to same point the class is at for the 2nd class, which is the short row heel portion. So now we have five.

And I shall prioritize.

1. Silk & Mohair Scarf
2. Mystery Stole - try to keep up!
3. Lillian's Tank
4. Fuzzy Feet
5. Scotch Thistle Stole

Are you tiring of my lists yet? Be glad you're not on my livejournal friends list. When I was moving, everyday I posted annoying lists. Hopefully soon I will find the battery charger, (which my husband swears is in the garage!) and I will be able to post some nice FO pics.

Now wip it... into shape!

2007-07-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

Whenever I think of wips, I think of Devo. I'm sorry, I'm an 80's child. I would love to show you pictures of my finished projects. Or of my Super Sox Box Swap swag. But alas, the fates are against me. I finally found my camera (under all the stuff on my desk) but the batteries and the charger are somewhere in a box.

So we’ll give you happy lists instead:
1. Lillian's Monica Tank – Now 65% done!
2. Silk & Mohair Scarf -- Finish ASAP
3. Fuzzy Feet -- Finish ASAP
4. Maximize Socks -- Now 70% done!
5. Scotch Thistle Stole -- Finish ASAP

I have seven projects on hold – Icarus, Wren, CK Sweater, Sandy Cardigan, VK Fall 2005 #19, Via Diagonale, and Embossed Leaves Sock Repair – which brings me to twelve. The French Silk Socks are coming off the list, because my friendly LYS owner assures me that an unstarted second sock does *not* count on your wip list. And then I cast on for two things: the July Washcloth, and Mystery Stole 3. So…. I’m down to 14 projects total. Which is way better than the original 25 I came up with when I had too much Irish Cream the other night. Dude, I couldn’t even read my handwriting for part of that list!

I got an awesome box of stuff from my Sox Box partner. Tofutsies yarn, two beautiful lace sock patterns, a whole set of traveling notions, a beautifully embroidered sock project bag, and some yummy flavored coffees. I organized all my yarn today, so I separated stuff – I think that was the whole shebang. The traveling notions set is awesome. Everything you could possibly need for knitting on the go. Everyone should have one.

In the last bit of news, having a birthday on the luckiest day of the year is not turning out so lucky for me. All three of my guys are being buttheads. So I am off to the store to buy ingredients for one of my favorite cakes and/or some more Irish Cream. Happy seven-seven-seven to you!

Don't Let Me Teach Your Children

2007-07-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

I kept saying "less than ten" in that last post, over and over. But clearly the math would give me exactly ten. And I wanna be a math teacher. Geez. And it gets worse. There aren’t 22 projects in that list. There are 21. Seriously folks. Someone pass me a calculator.

But here's the good news. I've finished three projects. And frogged four more. So the list of 21 is now down to 14. Which is good news for my itchy fingers. I have seven that are on “pause” and seven that need to be finished.

I love the number seven.

July Goal: Less than ten.

2007-07-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

I would like to have less than ten projects going. Right now I have 22. And I am itching, nearly dying, to cast on for two more. Make that three.

What's calling my name? Mystery Stole Three. I have all the supplies. It would already be in the wip count if I hadn't screwed it up like five times yesterday. The second project is Tomato, available for free download at Knitting Daily. Yes, I have the yarn for that as well. A beautiful cocoa color with a nice tan for the stripe. The third project would be the July washcloth pattern. I'm in the KnitWitz washcloth club and the July pattern is on its way.

So.... although I really dream of less than five, I'm shooting for less than ten. So how do I get there? I have 22 projects. I have to get rid of 15 of them to allow myself to cast on for three more to equal ten. Ok. I can do this.

Here's the list of 22 and what I plan to do with them - the ones that say "Finish ASAP" are in the basic order I plan to finish them in:

Perdita -- Finish ASAP
Blooms Bracelet -- Finish ASAP
Bunny Washcloth -- Finish ASAP
Pie Crust Cloth -- Finish ASAP
Lacy Baby Bonnet -- Finish ASAP
Lillian's Tank -- Finish ASAP
Silk & Mohair Scarf -- Finish ASAP
Fuzzy Feet -- Finish ASAP
Maximize Socks -- Finish ASAP
French Silk Socks -- Finish ASAP
Scotch Thistle Stole -- Finish ASAP
Baby Boy Socks -- Frog
Sarcelle -- Frong
Splash Scarf -- Frog

And the remaining seven:
Icarus
Wren
CK Sweater
Sandy Cardigan
VK Fall 2005 #19
Via Diagonale
Embossed Leaves

Tell me I can do this?

Can't post. Must pack.

2007-05-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

There's been precious little knitting. Hell, there's been precious little showering. Saturday is moving day! Got the keys from the owner today. Yay and wahoo!

Seven.

2007-05-27T09:58:00.001-07:00

Seven is a good number for me. Particularly this year. On the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year of 2000, I will turn an age that is a multiple of seven. And actually, I'm not into numbers. No, really.

So when V tagged me for seven things... how could I say no?

1. My hair started going gray when I was 18. Nowadays if I let it go, it would easily be more than half gray. Of course in periods of high stress (like this move) I tend to let the roots go. It's always very sobering.

2. I have a not so secret affinity for all things Scooby. I actually have a good sized box of items packed up that is all Scooby stuff. Magnets, toys, stuffed animals, stickers... I even have a bumper sticker that says "What would Scooby Doo?"

3. I have a fundamental aversion to cleaning. It just seems there are so many better things to do. Of course I am regretting this aversion now, with six days til moving day and a bunch of people coming to my apartment, but oh well. Sleep is overrated.

4. I have a bunch of port wine stains on the bottom of my feet. When I was pregnant I was terrified that the babies would end up with them on their faces. I always feel self conscious about them when I get a pedicure.

5. I think I am addicted to diet pepsi. No really. I know the chemical cocktail is not good for me, but I've tried to quit (subbing in other caffeine) and I'm more afraid to quit than I am of drinking it.

6. Back when I was thin (before the boys) and pseudo-single, I had very long hair. I dressed up as Pocahontas for the Halloween street party and braided it. I got so much attention that I wore the same costume the next year. Best costume ever.

7. I was a National Merit Scholar and blew a full ride my first time at college by basically just not going to classes my 2nd year. Not my finest hour.

I am the anti-tag. But if you haven't done this one, you should. It was fun!

The biggest socks...

2007-05-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

So I've been working on these jitterbug socks. And I was hella worried that the socks would be super short. Because, you know, less than 300 yards? And what with me and the boat-like footies?

So I cast on toe-up. And I kept them in stockinette except for a simple faux cable motif running up the sides. The finished sock is gorgeous. I only cast on 60 stitches on size 2 addis. Did I mention the gorgeous?

But here's the thing. I've used less than half of my skein -- 54/112 grams. And the sock is the longest sock I've ever made. It's almost taller than my sock blocker.

So I'm kind of scratching my head on this one. Here I was being all careful not to use too much yarn and well... Of course I could be speaking too soon. It could be that the remaining 58 grams are somehow different and the 2nd sock will turn out much shorter. I mean I guess. I don't know.

Anyhow. It's dark and rainy here and my sock is wet on the blocker hanging in the bathroom. Not the best photo opportunity. So we will take pictures tomorrow. And post the pattern.

Super Sox Box Swap Questionnaire

2007-05-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

1.What are your favorite colors? What colors make you cringe? No yellow! Other than that I like just about everything. I'm partial to purples, deep jewel tones, browns.

2.Are you a new sock knitter? How long have you been knitting socks? Not a newbie. Been doing it for a couple of years. I've never done colorwork in socks though, but I'm not sure I want to.

3.Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? Semi-solid? My favorites are those ones with variations on the same colors.

4.What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn? Superwash wool blends. Although I've never knit with silk blends, and I'm sure they are nice.

5.Where do you usually knit socks? In carline, waiting for the boys to get off of school.

6.How do you usually carry/store small projects? I have a few small bags.

7.What are your favorite sock knitting patterns? Any favorite designers? I'm a big Nancy Bush fan, and have two of her books - Knitting Vintage Socks and Traveling Socks. My favorite socks that I've done so far have been the Embossed Leaves patterns in Favorite Socks.

8.What are your favorite sock knitting techniques? I love lace socks. Makes them a bit more wearable in Florida.

9.What new techniques would you like to try? Hmmm... don't know.

10.Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting? I mostly do magic loop, but sometimes dpns.

11.What are some of your favorite yarns? Jitterbug is dreamy, and I love Lorna's Laces. I've not tried any of the indy sock yarns though.

12.What yarn do you adore and yearn for? What yarn makes you happiest? That's a toughie.

13.Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? There isn't a particular sock pattern on my dream list.

14.Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? I love addi turbos, but I'm all set in my 40 inchers.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? I think I would be Lorna's Laces nearly solids. Pretty consistent but with interest.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Sweet or salty? I'm a chocolate girl. My favorite is Ritter Sport Butter Biscuit. But I don't know how mail-able that is.

Do you collect anything? Anything Scooby Doo!

What is your favorite scent? I like fruit scents. Florals are nice but they make me sneeze.

Will you be celebrating a birthday, anniversary, etc. between now and the close of the swap? Nope!

What’s your favorite animal? I love butterflies?

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? Rufus is a rescue beagle. We don't know how old he is, but pretty young. He's my sweetie!

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read. My favorite is from Clue, "And monkey brains, although popular in Cantonese cuisine, are not often to be found in Washington D.C."

What is your motto in life? Life is too short to have regrets.

Do you have a wishlist? (ie: Amazon, B&N, a LYS, online store, etc.) Please list link here. Nope. I guess I should make one of those. :)

Anything else you’d like to share with your Sox Box pal? Nah.

Any allergies to be aware of for this swap? Just the cat thing.

Coffee, Tea? I like flavored coffees.

Anything Else? I think I'm good!

Round up!

2007-05-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

Pictures of my beautiful package from my secret pal.

I especially love how my backdrop holder is peeping over the top. There was so much stuff. 8 skeins of KP alpaca cloud in two different colors. Those gorgeous silk scarves. And the opal shelridge farm? To die for! So much beautiful stuff. If you are very lucky, the sweet llamabean will be your SP next time, cause she has this SP stuff down!

Well, cleaning and purging and "pre-packing" has made me take stock of my wips. I did not count how many skeins of sock and lace yarns I have before I packed that box. But it's a good size box. Dang.

Recently Touched WIPs
1. Jitterbug Socks - my own pattern, 1 sock 65% done
2. Scotch Thistle Stole in Schaefer Anne
3. Sarcelle in Alpaca With A Twist's Fino
4. Icarus in Misti Alpaca Laceweight
5. Happy Trekking Sock - 1 done, but it needs adjustments
6. Monica in Cotton-Ease - about 40% done
7. Blooms Bracelet - Just needs stringing
8. Silk & Kid Merino Scarf - my own pattern

Very Neglected WIPs
1. The Revived Dead Bride
2. Via Diagonale
3. Perdita
4. Cozy
5. The Man's Fuzzy Feet
6. Embossed Leaves Socks that need repairs
7. Sandy Cardigan

15. Fifteen. Oh my. Oh my, my, my. The scary thing is, I typed this list out to justify casting on for the little beauty below. Surely my WIP pile wasn't that bad. Right? Fifteen says I'm wrong. Very wrong. Dead wrong.

What happened to my camera.

2007-05-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

Um, yeah. I took *none* of these pictures.

Sock Block

2007-04-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Nope, not sock blockers or sock blocking. Sock Block. One might compare it to writer's block.

I have too much sock yarn. Some of which I will never knit, like the umpteen balls of sockotta. But right now I need a pair of socks for my carry around project. So I did the entire cuff of a Friday Harbor Sock in my beloved Copper Beach Collinette Jitterbug. Wrong needles (too big) and wrong cast-on number (too small). I feel like Goldilocks here. I can't find just right for this yarn. And just for fun, let us not forget that the jitterbug is a little stingy with the yardage. And I have big feet. Shaddup. I'm 5'10", if I didn't have big feet I would constantly be falling over.

But wait. There is temptation in the house. Two skeins of this beautiful heathered Shelridge Farm sock yarn. Turquoise & smoky purple heathered. Beyond gorgeous. My wonderful secret pal Llamabean sent it to me. (Yes, I know. You want pictures. Tell my camera that. I think she ran away and joined the circus.) But seriously, it's so beautiful. And the only reason I'm not knitting that right this minute is that it's in skeins and I don't have a ballwinder.

Other things I should be doing instead of looking for a pattern for my jitterbug include: final review for my American History Exam, packing, packing, doing laundry, and possibly scratching all my skeeter bites from this weekend camping.

I have good news!

2007-04-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

I worked on my Icarus shawl last night for awhile. I went from 80% done to 86% done. Which means I could totally finish it up this Friday! Of course I need to prioritize a few other things. But it's alright.

If the sun comes out today, I swear I will take some pictures. Maybe even interesting ones.

The tentacles of bad luck....

2007-04-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

The tentacles of bad luck reached out and grabbed me. Yesterday, was of course, Friday the 13th. I don't believe in that nonsense. And I got through the day just fine, thank you.

Until I went hunting for my camera (which I found) and the last bag of knitting stuff I took to the store yesterday (which I did NOT find).

I threw a bag of knitting stuff away. My vera bradley notions case is gone. Along with some very precious notions and presents. And I can't remember all of the projects I took the the yarn store yesterday, but I'm pretty sure I threw away a couple of projects.

My husband is really good about taking the trash out. So that bag has already hit the dumpster. For a 13 building, 300+ unit complex. A dumpster that compacts everything very regularly.

Did I mention I live in building 13?

Fridays are for finishing?

2007-04-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a plan. The early hours at the yarnstore seem to be slow, so I was on a finishing mission. You know, all those projects that are "nearly done"? Not to be confused with nearly dead.

So I finished stuff. I finished the daffodil, by putting some stitches in the petals for some artful arrangement. Now all it needs is a vase. I finished the first of my joyful socks. And then I finished my ballband washcloth.

Yes, I know you want pictures. I'll get to it. As soon as I can put on some pants (they are in the dryer) and go down to my car.

I also did ALL of the knitting for the blooms bracelets. Who knew knitted bobble balls like that could be so much fun? They are felted, and now all I have to do is add the decorative stitching. It's gonna be very cute.

So do you think next Friday I could finish up Icarus? Time to pull out the old shawl percentage calculator and see how bad off I am.

Issues. I got 'em. Oh yeah.

2007-04-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

I seem to have cast-on-itis. I know that isn't a word. Saturday I cast on for the pick up sticks daffodil kit. I also got the blooms bracelet kit. I finished the daffodil and would show you a lovely picture, but I left it at my LYS.

I did finish the 1st Fancy Silk Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks. It's really pretty. It's also at the LYS.

I cast on this morning for a Monica from knitty out of some long-held cotton ease. It's going really quickly. Especially since cotton-ease knits up at 4 spi.

Did I mention that I have issues? I'm absolutely dying to cast on for the blooms bracelet. Dying I tell you.

I'm a few repeats away from finishing my version of the Happy socks. Well, only the first one. I seem to have contracted a BAD case of SSS (Second Sock Syndrome). Bad.

Things I'm insanely close to finishing:

Baby Cardigan - only needs buttons
Perdita - only needs buttons
Ball Band Dishcloth - needs like one more repeat

I really need to get my knitting ducks in a row. Quack.

Secret Goodness

2007-04-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

More later. Too pooped to blog.

Lack of natural light..

2007-03-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

It's too late to take a picture of my beautiful fancy silk socks. I modified the pattern to 72 stitches and I lined things up better. They are coming out awesome.

In other news, I was denied admission to a knitalong. I went back to the yahoo page to see if I had missed something. You know, how some groups will have very specific things they want you to do when you try to join. Didn't see anything. The page doesn't say anything about it being "invite only" or "not accepting new members". In fact, 20 new members were accepted this week.

I'm perplexed. Did I do or say something to offend someone? Maybe. Although in general I try to be rather non-offensive. Or is it unoffensive? Maybe the fact that I don't know the difference has pissed someone off. Maybe it was a mistake? The e-mail said the decision was final. Although I must admit, I'd really like to know why. Even if someone just e-mailed me back to say f*ck off, it would be nice to know. So hey, if you're reading this and you know why I was denied admission to the "Vintage Socks Knitalong" drop me a line. Throw me a bone.

I think the general pissy-ness that I'm feeling regarding this means it's a very good time to back away from the computer. Midol anyone?

Is feral the right word?

2007-03-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

My husband has been gone less than six hours. The kitchen is um, littered with empty grocery bags. It's a quarter to seven and I have no idea what's for dinner. I have 70 plastic envelopes that need 20-30 worksheets counted out into them for tomorrow at 8am. And I have a 2 page paper on St. Martin & the Beggar due, along with a presentation for tomorrow. The envelopes and the papers should have been prepared days ago. The rest of it, I think, is the fact that without the man around, the boys and I are quite likely to just live like wild people.

And dagnabbit, I already have a chip in my manicure. That I got yesterday.

I had about 3-4 inches of Nancy Bush's fancy silk sock from Knitting Vintage Socks, but I had to rip it out. It would not go over my heel. Lorna's Laces doesn't really work on bigger needles, so I've modified the pattern. As soon as I have a few repeats in, I'll have a picture.

Not a picture of the kitchen of course, a picture of the sock progress.

MIA: Knitting Mojo, Mine

2007-03-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

So today I took the boys to the park for a playdate with a bunch of other kids. We had a fantastic time. I packed my toe-up sock. You know, the one I'm working on for the class I'm teaching? Oh wait. Did I tell you about that? I finished one session of a toe-up sock class last Saturday. I need to have the heel flap finished by the next on April 7th.

I gave the sock away.

Let me repeat that.

I gave the sock away. The in progress sock. The Lorna's Laces Baltic Sea Shepherd Sport yarn on a size three 40" brand effing new addi needle.

I gave the sock away. Fortunately the person is gonna give it back. But the person is on the other side of town. I put the sock in a ziploc this morning, and put the ziploc in a paper grocery sack with handles. The sack that was full of scrapping supplies I had offered up on freecycle. I thought I had put it in the other sack. I was wrong.

So now my mojo is all confuzzled. I have that tank top for the shop to work on. I really need to whip that puppy out. But instead of working on that tonight, I scoured the internets for the perfect pattern for some long-neglected yarn. The beautiful terracotta Misti pima silk. I didn't find the perfect pattern. And now my neck hurts from sitting at the computer too long.

I think it's time to go to bed before something else bad happens knitting wise.

A little harsh...

2007-03-04T06:42:00.000-08:00

This is boring life stuff, no knitting stuff. Forewarned is forearmed.

"I kinda hope she doesn't call back."

I typed that. Yesterday. And here is why.

In January of 2003 my divorce was final. A couple of months later a group of work-friends in Ohio had a girls only divorce party for me at my house. The ex-friend was the "ringleader". I started dating. The EF cheered me on. On Saturday, December 6th, I spent the day at EF's house scrapbooking. The man, who had watched the boys all day, picked me up, drove us downtown to the ginormous Christmas tree, and proposed. The EF was happy for me.

In the next month or so the friendship fell apart. I was in an extremely stressful position at work, and planning a wedding. All of the sudden I realized that I wasn't wanted in the group. I probably had missed it for awhile. I was totally overwhelmed. But when I called EF on it, the explanation I received was vague. The only part I remember is something about me complaining about my work when everyone on my project was getting all sorts of perks. Perks like pizza when you had to work til midnight for no OT. Like I said it was strange and vague. Some of it was about the man and the fact that I wasn't around anymore. But mostly I wasn't around because I was working in a separate building and never got to take lunch. And lunch was the biggest part of when we spent time together as a group.

The man and I got married. Only one in the group offered congratulations. Not the EF. Come April the man got the job offer here in Florida. About a week before we left I stopped in and talked the EF. We didn't speak of whatever had happened. I'd been close to the EF since 1998 when she threw my baby shower. So we had a final lunch and said goodbye on semi good terms. Since we moved here I've called every couple of months. She would always talk and chat, but never called me. I was lonely for such a long time here that I never noticed that.

When we went to OH in November of last year I called her beforehand. We were gonna do lunch. When I arrived in OH I called again and suddenly she had no time to see me. I offered a couple of days, but she was "busy". I understand busy. But no time I offered was good, and she made no effort to suggest a time. We went to the office, saw her in passing. The boys hugged her but she just looked at me like I was a stranger. I finally got the message.

So yesterday she calls. Nearly 4 months later. And this is why "I kinda hope she doesn't call back."

And the beat goes on...

2007-03-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

I think I might be getting sick. But for the love of all that is holy, I hope not. I have a cold sore and I'm losing my voice. I've missed nearly three weeks of classes. I'm still not sure how that will all pan out. Calculus I'm auditing, so I'll just catch up as fast as I can. Programming I'm golden so far, even though I've missed three weeks of lectures, I've gotten 100's on my last three programming assignments. But then there are the histories... Art & American. Art I might be able to still squeak out an A with extra credit. Vigorous extra credit. But I think I'm pretty well screwed in American History. It's so not my strong point, and I've already missed so many points. *sigh* I might have to drop it. But life goes on and so must I.

In other news, March seems to be "out of the woodwork" month. My ex-SIL who I used to be best friends with, but lost touch with for reasons other than divorcing her brother sent us her wedding announcement. And called. And then another ex-friend called today. The last I saw her was in Ohio when she didn't have time to even hug me hello. I wasn't home for the ex-friend. Which is good. I kinda hope she doesn't call back.

I must share that the women at my LYS are my lifelines lately. Whenever life is kicking my ass, all I have to do is pop in there to feel welcome and happy. And they are all so vibrant and happy and funny - oh man, it is one funny group of girls. The very worst part about considering this move to TX/NM is the fact that I would lose these people. It takes me so long to make friends. Oh well. Such is life.

February Lemonaide

2007-02-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

Life has been handing me lemons. Broken arms, 105 (!!!!!) degree temperatures, flus, coughs, colds.... Lemme just tell you, the OTC cold and pain medicine folks are making a fortune off of me. Fastman is getting a motrin/tylenol rotation every three fricking hours to stave off the fever. I'm missing classes at an alarming rate. But life goes on.

Fortunately, there is some sugar. My secret pal has been spoiling me rotten. Two wonderful packages already and a steady stream of e-cards. Such a nice respite from the hell that has been February.

Despite the fact that my boys have been sick and broken, they are always joys. Right now strongman is digging out supplies to dress up like Zorro. And at the emergency room this morning, Fastman snuggled up and patted my arm like I was the one who was sick.

But that doesn't mean that I'm not counting the days til March comes.

Fellers and idiots...

2007-02-22T17:56:00.000-08:00

A very cute and very British man arrived at my door today. But instead of getting all worked up about the UPS guy, let's see what he brought!!!!

Time for reinforcements. My professional present openers. And yes, they will open your presents for you as well. Of course this is fastman with the huge red cast. "Mommy! Your favorite! Yarn!"

Next we see zombie eyed strongman. Fighting off the flu and a fever. With a book I've been dying to read. Thank you SP!

This is the entire amazing loot. A subscription to Vegetarian Times. Um, how did my SP know I let my subscription lapse? The Tenth Circle. Some anti-bacterial handsoap (presumably to keep away the flu germies!). Trekking XXL. An adorable little notebook purse. A purple argyle (!!!) journal. And a chibi. Oh wait. The idiot part of my title. Hanging off the book is a gorgeous handmade bookmark that I couldn't get a pic of because it's dark and the flash reflected off of it. I thought it was a necklace. And spent 15 minutes trying to figure it out. Then I read the note. So glad you referenced the bookmark. Otherwise... well the idiot would still be chasing her tail.

Trekking up close and personal....

The bigman had his own idiot moment last week. After making a big deal about V-day and after I bought him stuff, I got only stuff from the boys. But look... pretty peach roses last night!

And then we have fellers. As in fellers cakes. Cakes that no woman can aid in the creation of. For the Cub Scout blue & gold banquet. Bigman & fastman made this beach scene complete with fruit rollup surfboards. (Everything has to be edible!)

Bigman and strongman made these tiki heads carved out of poundcake, iced and flocked with graham cracker crumbs. They won judges choice.

This weekend it's off to the Northeast Florida Highland Games. That is, if strongman gets better. Otherwise just bigman (dh) and fastman will go. Send healing vibes our way!

What makes the world go round?

2007-02-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I got an awesome little package from my SP with nummy treats for me and Rufus. I took pictures, but they all turned out *really* bad. And that's saying something, because most of my pics are sub-par!

This is Rufus, complete with happy tail-wagging action because he's about to get an SP treat. That is the ONLY pic that is even viable. Oh well.

In other news, fastman broke his arm again. Actually he didn't break it, a girl in his class broke it for him. But this mama bear is trying to practice forgiveness. Um, yeah. Fortunately it looks like he won't need surgery this time around. We see the orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday morning to confirm.

Tonight is the blue & gold banquet for cub scouts. Hopefully the pics of the boys with their feller cakes will turn out. Basically they make cakes for a contest with no mama help. My kitchen may never recover. DH helped fastman make a beach scene complete with surfboards, and strongman made a set of tiki heads. It's hard for me not to help because I used to make cakes semi-professionally and sell them. But they really did a very good job. Oh, did I mention the banquet has a luau theme? Yep, should be fun.

Valentine's Day was a bit of a letdown. The man made a big point of asking what I wanted. Said he wanted to celebrate this and our anniversary (leapday) big this year. Ok. So I bought him some Glenlivet, among other things. He took the boys shopping and got me some Scooby candy. ????? I mean I love Scooby, but this was not quite what I expected. I didn't even get a card. And this is a man who usually is crazy happy with the cards. *sigh* Maybe we're just settling in. Thank goodness I bought myself a Michael Buble CD - gotta love that man.

In knitting knews, I have yarn to knit up a sample for the yarn shop.

Artyarns Regal Silk and Crystal Palace Kid Merino - only one skein each. Now this tank may never grace my figure but it looks fun to knit!

The UFO's are invading...

2007-01-31T19:01:00.000-08:00

I swear, I had really good intentions for there to be pictures today. But life intervened! And life is more important than good lighting or getting my nails done. And my nails are a big fat mess.

So I joined UFO Resurrection. And we all know I have a lot of them. And so many things I'm dying to knit. Note to designers - stop. Stop for five minutes so I can catch up without having to be distracted by all the pretties. Everytime I turn around, there is a new pretty demanding my attention.

So my UFO that I've been working on in January is... the Sandy Cardigan. And it will be the 1st finished object of February. Really. It's so freaking cold here right now. Well cold is relative. And yes, this born and bred buckeye is freezing her patooter off in 42 degree weather. I'm such a wuss. So I need to finish this puppy up. It's lovely, it's warm, it's the envy of all my knitting friends.

Saturday night is midnight knitting, so I will take it and work on it. Like crazy woah work on it. Really. I will. I'll try. Really.

In other news if you can spare a prayer or a thought... some friends of ours just had a baby girl. Quite prematurely. She's only 1 pound 2 ounces? Is that even possible? I'm hoping that was a typo in the e-mail I received. I remember how tiny the boys seemed when they were born. And they were 9-1 and 8-8. I can't even imagine a baby that tiny. At dinner strongman remarked that the carton of sour cream weighed a pound. So unbelievable.

The perils of dieting...

2007-01-29T17:36:00.000-08:00

So I went to the grocery on Sunday. Basically we were out of everything. So I stocked up. 3 bottles of the organic ketchup (no hfcs!) instead of one; double of all the basic ingredients like dried beans, etc. 100% whole wheat tortillas, pitas, breads, all the good, healthy food I need to follow our plan (YOU on a diet).

The cabinets are overflowing, the refrigerator is stuffed to the gills, and it makes me very happy. When I was single, I was freqently faced with a very empty kitchen. I did the best I could and fed my boys *way* better than I fed myself. But now, thanks to the man, there is always food in the house. Good, healthy food.

So why is it that all I want right now is a block of Ritter Sport? Target has them. For $1.89. And even though it's freezing (for Florida standards) I am so tempted to drive out there and get myself one.

What I really need to do is get over it and figure out what's for dinner tomorrow night and do some straightening. Ugh. Why is it so fricking hard?

Happy Feet

2007-01-25T18:56:00.000-08:00

And happy inspiration. I have this oh so lovely sweet tart sock yarn (Trekking XXL 134) and it needed the perfect pattern...

The toe is the "easy toe" from Sensational Knitted Socks. The heel will probably be from there as well. The pattern is modified from the lace pattern used on Magknits happy socks. Hers was a strange repeat (11 sts) and not carried on the foot. I have Mary Janes to show off cute foot patterning. In general, I've not loved self-striping or self-fair-isling yarn, but this is turning entirely too sweet. The trekking is not super soft though. Maybe it will wear like iron?

The post with no title.

2007-01-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

I finally got some semi-decent shots of my parents' extremely late Christmas presents. So here you go...

And a picture with some detail...

The Irish Hiking Scarf, in Lamb's Pride Worsted, 2 skeins on size 8 addi turbos. This made a scarf just a bit longer than 6 feet. And the Embossed Leaves Socks from Winter '05 IK in Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Sierra. This yarn is delicious by the way.

I *think* I'm usually more eloquent in my posts but right now every fiber of my being hurts. My grandfather passed away. He was nearly 88. And I can't go home for the funeral. So yeah. That's about it.

Happier things later.

My hair is strong.

2007-01-15T08:09:00.000-08:00

I know this because I just spent some very unpleasant time getting it out of my vaccuum cleaner. Untangling and other grossness. I hate this particular task. But until we can afford a new vac, I have to do this. Otherwise my vac has no suck-power.

I have to start blogging again. I joined the newest Knitty SP and with no blog, my spoiler will have nowhere to stalk. So I blog.

In the good news department, I finally finished my parents' Christmas presents. Now I just need to block them and mail them. Yes, I am a horrible daughter.

In the other good news department I got a very part time job at my most beloved lys. The 1st and 3rd friday of each month. I start this Friday. I'm pretty psyched.

And for the 3rd good news item, I found the perfect sweater for my Jaeger Shetland Aran yarn. Perfect! I swatched last night and it is beyond gorgeous. Just perfect. The Vogue Cabled Cardigan #19 from the Fall 2006 VK. What is it with me and #19?

Pictures coming soon. I swear!

A pre-emptive resolution...

2006-12-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

I will blog more often. I have an el-jay which is very, very angsty. And this poor neglected place in the interwebs. So this will be my lifeblog. Knitting, and college, and happy stuff, and a few sad things.

I cleaned the office today. And I found a lot of wips. I even *gasp* threw some wips in the trash. Like I cut them off the attached yarn and trashed them. It felt good.

The number one (and two) wips are presents for my mom & step-dad. Which of course are gonna be late. But I'm about 75% done on an irish hiking scarf for him and some embossed leaves socks for her. Once those are done I can tackle the wip pile.

3. Ball-band dishrag
4. The revived dead bride (VK Fall '05 #19 Lace Shawl)
5. Icarus
6. Via Diagonale
7. Splash Scarf
8. Sandy Cardigan
9. Fuzzy Feet for the man
10. Cozy

See? I pared it down. Mostly by frogging and tossing though. I've finished a few pretties and I will post pictures of all in the next couple of days.

So in the wise words of Kermit the Frog, I bid you happy holidays...

"I don't know if you believe in Christmas. Or if you have presents underneath a Christmas tree. But if you believe in love, that will be more than enough, for you to come and celebrate with me."

Four is the new three...

2006-10-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

And that makes it a magic number! Um, yeah. I don't post so much. I read a lot, and chances are I'm reading you, but I just. don't. post.

I *am* knitting. Right now I am on the 1st sleeve of my Sandy Cardigan. And I restarted the dead bride. Also, for something that's just yummy and easy, I'm making the Misti Chunky Ribs & Ruffles scarf in this quite lovely color. Ahh... the pleasure of mindless knitting with obscenely soft yarn. *sigh*

But we were talking about four. So here you go.

Four jobs I've had:

Cashier at a chinese take out joint
Front Desk Manager at a fancy hotel
Technical Trainer for a publishing firm
Domestic Engineer - oh yeah, I'm a SAHM

Four movies I can watch over and over:

She's All That
The Princess Bride
Anything Harry Potter
Anything Scooby Doo - the Scooby Doo is a little frightening. I own 80% of anything Scooby Doo, animated and live action. And I go out on the specific Tuesday when they release the new animated films. I got quite snippy with the Blockbuster dude about a month ago on a Tuesday when he tried to tell me that Scooby Doo: Pirates Ahoy! was not being released that day. And then I sent the man to Best Buy to pick it up.

Four places I have lived:

Milford, Ohio
Omaha, Nebraska - just don't do it. Trust me.
Dayton, Ohio
Jacksonville, Florida

Four places I have been on vacation:

Cumberland Falls, Kentucky
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Orlando - as a kid and with my own boys
Toronto, Canada

Four of my favorite dishes:

Chili's black bean burger
My own blueberry cobbler
My mom's barbecue - which I gave up to be a veghead
My mom's buckeyes - and no, I won't share.

Four websites I visit daily:

Bloglines
Knitty Coffeeshop
My bank account
Yahoo Mail & Groups

Four places I would rather be right now:

At the beach
At home with my mom
Sleeping
Getting a pedicure

Four bloggers I am tagging...

Eh, I am the anti-tag. But this was fun, so swipe if you wanna!

No, you're not imagining things...

2006-09-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

It's an update! With pictures! And lots of exclamation points!!!!

When life hands you lemons... I buy yarn!

I've been fondling this for a couple of weeks at my LYS. And I thought it would be perfect for ChicKnit's Cece. So Saturday I swatched. And I was right. Even though it's technically worsted, I got a gorgeous on-gauge fabric on size 6 needles. And it's so very soft. And the silk gives it a gleam. It's not a color I would normally buy, but for some reason the soft color of terracotta that it is looked really nice with my skin. So there you go.

Oh wait. I'm not done yet.

I've also fondled this many times. It's kind of a periwinkle mix, or a purple, depending upon what light you're in. But it's pretty. And it's like knitting with clouds, or non-sticky cotton candy, or something else dreamy. Anyhoo... I'm making the matador bolero out of the fall Knitscene with it.

And progress on something I did NOT buy on Saturday *snicker*.

This is of course the Sandy Cardigan from Big Girl Knits. One of two sweaters I plan to use as pseudo winter coats when I head home to Ohio for Thanksgiving. The other of course will be my Rogue cardigan. I'm midway through the first shaped side panel. After I do both of those all I have is the sleeves and the edging. But I want to make sure this is done and ready to go!

So after all of these exciting updates, I now must tend to more mundane tasks. Just a word to the wise. If you take your boys to Steak & Shake after Scouts on a Friday night, and one of them makes wierd "whoa" noises... check the car before you haul everyone upstairs to bed. Otherwise you will miss the fact that Mr. Whoa has spilled a precious few ounces of his shake in the backseat. And you won't know about it until you go to drive to the library on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon. Oh but then, then you'll know.

Right now it's sitting outside with all the windows open, with the suspected spot scrubbed within an inch of its life, and the rest of the car sprinkled with baking soda. Next up, the car wash and the free vacuum. Pray it works. I can't afford a new car.

Don't knit with scissors.

2006-09-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

No really. Don't get the scissors out until you are done knitting. Until you need to trim the ends you've so carefully weaved in. Because you might think that you can use the scissors to cut your unfroggable mohair lace project back to a point where you can pick up the stitches. You would be wrong. And if you've had the week I've had, you might attack your poor knitting. And your lace, which looks like a serial killer attacked a bride with the gardening shears, will be sitting in the trash on top of the broken jar of barbecue sauce. And the dark red stains will add to the image of a bride snuffed out on her wedding day. It's a sad, somewhat disturbing picture.

So don't knit with scissors.

In other news, VK #19 from the Fall '05 issue is now officially off the WIP list. Officially, even.

The mystery that is SpongeBob...

2006-09-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

So presumably SpongeBob lives underwater, right? So how come he fills a bathtub with water to bathe Gary? Wouldn't all the water just meld together? It's like they show them as underwater when it suits them, but as if they are in air on other occasions (such as when they use a campfire). I know, I know, it's a cartoon. But the absurdity of it struck me this morning.

Can you tell I've had too little sleep?

Last night was a 6-midnight knit-in at my LYS. I had a great time and made some terrific progress on my Sandy Cardigan from Big Girl Knits. I have great plans to upload some pictures and soon.

But before I can knit or take pictures, or any of that, I've really got to clean up this house.

Gratify yourself.

2006-08-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

I needed some relatively instant gratification and I gots it. I halfheartedly cast on for this on Sunday - 11 whole stitches - and then promptly ignored it. But UFO August is helping me change my ways!

Pattern: Flower Petal Washcloth from Weekend Knitting

Yarn: Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille - less than one skein

Needles: Size six dpns from Lantern Moon

I picked this back up last night at Knit-In and then spent two episodes of Angel with it after I got home. One more episode of Angel this morning and it's finito! Very soft, very cute. The picture is natural sunlight, but it's really more of a plum color. I suck at the pictures. Yes, I do.

Kicking it up a notch!

2006-08-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

At the end of a long day, after my kids have gone to bed, and my husband is watching insipid television, nothing is more relaxing than a nice bubble bath.

Wait a minute. Scratch that thought.

Nothing is more relaxing than kicking back with my knitting.

Oh shoot. I can't decide.

I've heard tales. Of bubble bathing AND knitting. I'd even seen artfully arranged photo shoots of such activities. But would it really work?

Well, I'm here to tell you brothers and sisters. Yes, yes, it does work.

I figured starting with a warshcloth was a safe way to go. And I knitted in my bath. My scalding hot, my skin's still red when I get out, but it makes me happy bubble bath.

A few notes for the extreme relaxers out there:

1. The bowl is plastic, I just figured clear made a prettier photo op. I think glass would be more likely to tip.

2. It's probably better to stick with single stranded knitting. The resting yarn tended to get slack and wanna go swimming.

3. Wet kitchen cotton is really stubborn.

4. I highly recommend investing in one of those five dollar blow up pillows. Makes all the difference.

Now go! Relax! Right now!

I should have loved it.

2006-07-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

I love many things with the word Mystery in them. Mystery! the PBS tradition. I mean who doesn't love Miss Marples? She knits for goodness sakes. Mystery, Inc. is the company name of my favorite meddling kids. Mystery books are among my favorites. I even love a good surprise.

But the Mystery Stole? Well... I don't know. It's just not my style. Or something. Basically I'm bored out of my gourd with it. Having to pre-count all those little stockinette squares is time-consuming and sucks the fun out of the chart. And the fact that the last three charts have been basically the same motif over and over??? It's an easy quick knit and I imagine I will finish it, but right now it's just not making me happy. I may just buy Leda's Dream and do that one instead, because this one is just not doing it for me.

So I've returned to Icarus where fortunately, I'm just in time to start working on the actual lace. So I've been doing that and it's making me happy. Have I mentioned how dreamy the Misti Alpaca is? Dreamy.

I got my hands on the new IK and there were a few things I'm a-wanting. But one thing at a time, methinks. And that one thing right now is cutting down on the WIP list.

97, 98, 99....

2006-07-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, well not that many. But it's time to count the wips.

Wips I've touched recently...

1. Perdita in size #8 silver perle cotton, size 0000 needles, and pearl colored #11 seed beads.

2. Ball-band dishrag in sugar & creme.

3. Mystery Stole #2 in cashwool 100% merino on size 3 needles.

4. Icarus in Misti Alpaca on size 3 needles.

Um, other wips, that just aren't feeling the love...

5. Cozy in Iris Garden Shepherd Sport on size 8 needles.

6. Fuzzy feet for the man in royal blue Cascade 220.

7. Chicknits Cece in sugarplum cotton ease. Not the right yarn at all. Must find something different.

8. Via Diagonale in black & pink elann connemara cotton. Really a winter style purse due to the colors, so on the back burner.

9. Sitcom chic in bubblegum cotton ease. Um, next.

10. Vogue #19 Lace Shawl in Kid Merino. Ahh... the beauty project. Intended for my husband's holiday party. Which I have sworn not to attend. But that's another story for another day.

11. Airy Scarf - Wasn't this supposed to be a Christmas teacher gift. Not sure what to do about this.

12. Splash Scarf - Yes, a fun fur scarf. I really should finish it and find someone who might actually wear it. Meaning not me.

13. Flower Basket Shawl in Knitpicks Oregon Coast shadow. I'm not sure this is the right yarn for this one.

14. Baby Kimono in sugar & creme ecru cotton. Needs seaming. Needs a knitter with an attention span.

Um, wow. This is worse than I thought. Must start finishing things. Now.

Well that just sucks.

2006-07-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Um, well, my other knitblog? Gone-dee. Goodbye. You can't have it anymore. Had a little issue and it wasn't resolved to my satisfaction. So now I can't even get my entries. Oh well, such is my life.

Anyhow, if anyone is still reading, I'll be back later. And yeah, I've been knitting. I haven't finished anything, but I've been knitting.

It's been awhile...

2006-06-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve been knitting. Sort of. There’s this whole vicious cycle thing going. The boys are out of school so the house is a disaster. But it’s impossible to clean because the boys are out of school. But I feel guilty for not cleaning. So I don’t think I should knit. But even if I felt like it, the boys are out of school, so I can’t really just sit down. Because then the house would hit that mess level where you can’t find any unders.

For your amusement… Broken lantern moon needles. The boogers. So cozy is stalled.

The puffy lump aka Icky the Icarus. I’ve only done just two repeats of the five needed for the straight section. If you look above, you can see the true colors of the cozy.

But I’ve been really distracted by this…. This has my first Intarsia attempt with the star. The bad news is the instructions suck a$$ and so I’m kind of not sure whether or not I could continue.

So these are my frustrating adventures in knitting. How’s things in your little corner of the world?

The olympic equivalent of...

2006-02-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

I guess you could say I'm *this* close to being disqualified. Six days have been marked off of the Olympic Knitting Calendar. And I've only knit about 25% of my Sitcom Chic. I didn't take another picture, because quite honestly folks, there's nothing to see. Why didn't anyone tell me that knitting Sitcom Chic would be mind-numbingly boring??? I mean the sweater is a cutie. That's for sure. But the knitting itself is snooze-a-rama as only miles of stockinette could be. I can't even bring myself to think about the sleeves.

To make matters worse, the TV is conspiring against me. I thought that if there was interesting stuff on, I could knit through the boredom. But no.... Gilmore Girls was inspid this week *yawn* and then Supernatural and Lost did a double whammy on me. They had lots of grossness. (Gross is relative I know. It was gross to me.) So I had to close my eyes a lot. And while I can knit without looking, for some reason closing my eyes totally throws me off. Why? Who knows.

But I have done some very good knitterly things. Oh yes. The fifth FO of 2006, first in all it's glory blocking...

And then hanging out on the bed. Because yes I wore it today, but no, I am not showing you the oh so popular shawl shot. You know the one. Where they hold it up behind them with arms spread wide and someone takes a picture of their ass. You do not wanna see a picture of my ass. We are in the process of reducing said ass and we do not really need to see it to know that it is big.

The true color is somewhere in between the blocking "natural light" shot and the boudoir (flash) shot.

Project: Leaf Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark (Fibertrends)
Yarn: Zephyr Jaegerspun, two 2 oz. cakes, 630 yards each, held doubled
Needles: Size 7 Crystal Palace circs, 32 or 35 inches
Notes: The zephyr is to die for. Except for the fricking, fracking knots. I literally screamed out loud (once in the yarn store) when I found the last two. It really pissed me off that there were so many (at least 7) knots in the one cake. The CP needles though worked like a charm. Much better than the addis I've been attempting to use for lace. I did 12 repeats of rows 31-40. When all was said and done I only had 6g (out of about 112g) of the yarn leftover.

Please don't tell the knitting police about my Olympic failure so far. And Beth, to make matters worse, I'm giving serious though to finally finishing Rogue by adding the zipper and attaching the sleeves. I'm hopeless.

Regarding Unsupervised Husbands...

2006-02-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

If you wonder what will happen if you leave your husband alone at home to participate in the Knitting Olympics...

Friday night I hit the LYS to cast on for my sitcom chic. It was good. When I got home the man was doing laundry. Seems like a considerate thing, no?

No.

Just so you know, Big J is not mad because he has a brand new pair of fuzzy feet, that used to be his mama's before Big Daddy got ahold of them. No. He's mad because apparently I made him sit in a girl pose to take the picture.

On Saturday the man took the boys out to buy Valentine's presents -- supposedly for me. I went jeans shopping (yay for clearance) and then back to the LYS to work on my olympic project. I get a call. He's looking at aquariums and he starts rattling off sizes and prices. And I'm like, honey, it's your bonus, buy whatever you want.

Overnight it got all ph happy. And today we will pick up some of the hardier fish I guess.

You know the moral of the story.

If I didn't know better...

2006-02-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

I'd say he loves them. Them being the fourth true FO of 2006. As in I had to weave in ends and wash them. He actually helped me smooth them out.

Project: Socks
Yarn: Knitpicks Parade in Forest, maybe a skein and a quarter
Needles: Size 2 addis

And then we trained. Trained hard I tell you. There was swatching, there was sweating, there was measuring. Ok, so there wasn't any sweating. It's not really hot here today.

Bubblegum Pink. I tell you what. I'm gonna nickname this sweater Hubba Bubba.

I have made a decision.

2006-02-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

Yes I have. And to support my decision, I have also made a button.

It's a simple button. But it's my button. Plus I have that exact shade of cotton ease to do my sweater in. So next we swatch.

Last Minute Louie....

2006-02-07T05:43:00.000-08:00

Aka a later gator. Procrastinator extraordinaire. That would be me. I *still* have not selected a project for the Knitting Olympics. I'm feeling a bit guilty though because I still haven't knitted man socks. Or boy #1 socks. Boy #2 has socks. But that's it. So it may just be that I try to finish boy #1 socks, and then do the man socks as my KO project. I got the book Sensational Socks and the man loves all the cable patterns. Trouble is, I don't know if the yarn I have is enough for cabled man socks. I might run out. Which would be sucktastic and awful.

The real challenge this morning is to get off my duff, take a shower and get the day going. The more time I spend lollygagging on the internet, the less time I have to knit.

A severe case of finaphobia

2006-02-04T05:31:00.000-08:00

I'm working on repeat 11 of my leaf lace shawl. The plan is 12 repeats and then edging. It's getting closer. The taste of victory. So would you like to know what I did yesterday? Ahhh yes.

I went to the "other" LYS. I petted a bunch of dk weight yarns. I bought a couple of balls of perle 8 cotton. I want to make another sort of cuff or bracelet with beads. They had lovely silver perle 8. Yummy!

Then I went to the LYS. The one I prefer. I petted more dk yarns. The owner was kind enough to let me see the pattern on her computer so that I could decide which one was best. I ended buying a ball of cascade indulgence in a lovely shade of muted wine. And some 16" size 5 circs. And I came home and strung beads and cast on.

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME?

Why would I cast on for a new project, with money I really shouldn't have spent, and needles I had to buy, instead of working on any of the million UFO's I have floating around in my house? Besides, this is freaking Florida. I don't need a hat. Like ever.

I'm attributing it to finaphobia. The fear of finishing things. Yes, oh yes, I made that word up. I felt it was justified.

fe, fi, FO, fum!

2006-01-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

I *still* haven't figured out what to do for the Knitting Olympics. Although a recent look at my budget has helped me decide that it will be from stash. But as my training for the Olympics, I am trying to tie up all the loose ends per se. I'm shooting for a record number of FO's. (Ok, so record is a bit vague and subjective). I'm shooting for lots of FO's.

So we present, the third FO of the year... the "fashion scarf". Modeled by our favorite fashion model, PJ, aka my nephew, the son of the recipient. This is for my sister. And I *know* she won't let me snap a pic of her.

My sister picked out this yarn up in Fernandina Beach back in October when my mom was visiting.

Project: Fashion scarf aka cast on 12 stitches and knit every row til it's done.
Yarn: Online Linie 67 - label lost. The colorway is a mix of turquoise, blue, and navy.
Needles: Size 15 crystal palace circulars.

This yarn is actually very nice. I'm not a fan of novelty stuff personally, but it's very soft, and it has a pretty mixture of matte/shiny/furry. Did I mention it was soft? ;)

Cuff 'em & stuff 'em

2006-01-27T05:17:00.000-08:00

I don't like it. It reminds me of those cuffs people wore in the 70's while exercising (or not exercising). The striped ones. Maybe it's the yarn and beads I chose. They go nicely. The heathered shadow and the softly variegated beads. Maybe it looks like gym socks and not jewelry because the beads are matte? I don't know. But it's done. The second FO of 2006.

Pattern: MaryElla from Knitty
Yarn: Knitpicks Shadow in Oregon Coast
Beads: Sead beeds from Art on Park
Needles: Size 0000 addis

On a clear day you can see forever...

2006-01-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

Or at least to the end of your legs. Presenting the first FO of 2006.... Fuzzy Feet!

A nicer shot of them outside on the balcony relaxing.

Pattern: Fuzzy Feet from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220 leftovers - the heel & toe in quattro. Less than one skein total.
Needles: Size 10.5 16" circs and size 10.5 dpns (or something like it)
Verdict: Quick, easy, and delightful!

I was reading Franklin's blog and he has the nicest picture of wintery Chicago. Here we don't do so much with the winter. Although we did have to wear jackets today, I don't think it broke 65. So I present...

The view from here...

February is the new January

2006-01-24T05:38:00.000-08:00

I really hate it when they do that. "Brown is the new black". No it's not. It's brown. And yes, brown has become more of a wardrobe staple than it was in the past. But go try telling all the goth kids to start wearing brown. Maybe a nice tweedy chocolate? Yeah, right.

Speaking of chocolate, my dieting resolutions have already sputtered out. Well, not so much sputtered. More like I did a spectacular cliff dive into a lake of chocolate ala Willy Wonka.

And I was thinking about knitting vs. dieting. How they are similiar. The effort to result ratio that is. Losing a bunch of weight is like knitting a cabled sweater, or a beautiful lace shawl. Lots of hardwork, but the end result is so very much worth it. And you can strut around with pride in your new shawl (or your new butt) and just bask in the compliments.

And then there's quick and dirty dieting. A couple of days of frenzied effort to drop a few pounds of water weight. So you can wear your rings again and your face won't look quite so puffy in your new work ID card. Kind of like fuzzy feet. Or a washcloth. A short spurt of crazy knitting yields you something little and cute.

Of course maybe it's like one of those crazy big knit ponchos. Yarn the width of a garden hose, size 75 needles. And you're all proud of yourself until you wear it out. And realize that you look like a schmuck. Just like the water weight comes screaming back as soon as you eat a single lay's potato chip. And who can eat just one?

There are differences though. Dieting is about deprivation. Knitting is about burying yourself in piles of gorgeous yarn. And then there's the whole UFO issue.

UFO. UnFinished Object. Knitters are famous for their UFO's. Like my Rogue. I pick it up, I put it down. I've been working on it off and on since August. But everytime I pick it up, it is just where I left it. No stitches have unravelled. Just as much progress as I expected. No backsliding. It's a beautiful thing.

You can't leave dieting in UFO status though. You can't *stop* dieting and then pick up back where you left off. Nope. If you stop and ignore it for awhile your butt will get bigger. And don't even try on those rings. Who are you kidding?

Happy New Year folks. Come February 1st I'll be toasting you with rice cakes and um, rice cakes. At least I can still gorge myself on yarn.

Welcome to the block party!

2006-01-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

"Of doom" is such a useful phrase. The jaywalkers of doom. The sleeves of doom. The dirty toilet of doom.

Maybe you're not familiar with the dirty toilet of doom. Here's how you learn firsthand. Have two boys 13 months apart. Then when they are potty-trained they will start creating the toilet of doom. No matter whatcha do, perfect aim will never be achieved. Cheerio targets? Nope. Candy incentives? Nope. The aim will always be bad.

And then you, the mom, will have to don your lady playtex yellow gloves and clean up all the misses. Do you ever wonder why playtex makes yellow gloves and feminine hygiene products? I mean honestly, how are the two connected?

And just fyi, my 37 year old husband recreates the toilet of doom in our bathroom. So you don't have to pop out the kids. Just move in with a man.

Pardon the wide angle picture... But I had to show proof that there were two of them!

I need to do some smoothing and pinning while they are still wet. Yes, I realize it's very late at night. But I have Carolan's and no-bake cookies and diet pepsi. So hang around for awhile, won't ya?

I am very, very excited that I finally finished the sleeves of doom. Next comes the zipper of doom. Do you hear the ominous background music? Well if you do, you've had more Carolan's than I have.

I'll be blaming the boy scouts.

2006-01-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

For the record, I don't belive in karma. I believe in God. But it does seem to me that life has a way of giving you ups and downs.

Up the first. My husband's ex-wife called tonight. She and her father will be in town in a week or so and want to meet me and the boys. Um, ok. Not exactly an up. The up is that my husband still has a financial obligation to her, and she's wiping it clean. So yay and woohoo!

Up the second. I think I'm finally in the clear jaywalker wise. I've turned the heel and I'm in decrease junction. I've cropped the below picture to spare you the sight of my pedicure. Usually my toys are pretty darn well pretty. It is Florida, and flip flops (or toe shoes as my mama calls them) are de rigeur. But it's actually been chilly here. (Please let's ignore the fact that I still haven't finished my Rogue).

So where's the downside? Well there's some serious job turmoil for the man, and since he's the only breadwinner my nerves are all just shot to hell. And then there's this...

They're cute aren't they? I know. My boys are cutie patooties. (If you are a Nascar fan, please stop reading now. I'm sorry.)

Do you notice the background? That's at Daytona USA. I spent last Saturday with cars, and more cars, and a lot of people who made me kind of nervous. People who only wore clothing with big numbers emblazoned on them. And then there was the movie. Imax technology is wonderful. And loud. And Nascar on Imax. Really fricking loud. I'm just not a Nascar fan. Although I'm sort of scared that the boys might become fans. It was a boy scouts outing. So when my children are wearing scary jackets, t-shirts, hats, sunglasses, underwear, and tattoos sporting the number of their favorite racer, I'll be blaming the boy scouts.

Return of the Jaywalker!

2006-01-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

Sounds kind of ominous, doesn't it?

Please ignore the misshappen rewound skein of sock garden. That's the best I could do until my beloved buys me a ballwinder. But I think they are actually working.

Things I'm doing differently... Since it was clear that the 76 stitch version would not fit over my heel on size 1 addis, I had a choice. Go up in needle size or go up in stitch count. I decided to do the 84 stitch version. But I hated the way the ribbing flared everytime I did them. So I did the ribbing on size 0 addis. I think I will also use the size 0 addis to tighten up the sole area.

Interesting note. Instead of pooling, the 84 stitch version in hydrangea is striping now. Looks pretty though.

Frickin' frackin'....

2006-01-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

Insert your own pseudo expletives as desired. Why?

A rogue sleeve (for my size) is 118 rows. At least. Once I get past the increases I might have to add a few rows for my gorilla arms.

I'm knitting both sleeves at once. I have 45 rows to go. It takes me 5-6 minutes to work a row.

Do the math.

It's gonna take me another four-five hours just to knit the sleeves. Let alone the blocking and the seaming. I just don't see that happening today. At all.

Bummer.

Feeling Roguish...

2006-01-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

The body is blocking. Supposedly blocking A. takes forever, and B. will help with the sleeve seaming. So....

I'm not sure what to do with the hood. Most pics I've seen of other Rogues blocking show it kind of spread out. I'm gonna fuss with it in a minute.

The sleeves are about 60% done. I'm hoping to finish them tonight or early tomorrow and attach them sometime on Friday. See? I picked a project to finish. It's supposed to be in the 50's on Saturday (chilly!) and we're going down to Daytona for a "go-see-it". We'll be outside a good deal of the time at the track and won't I look stylish?

Methinks...

2006-01-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

Actually I probably *shouldn't* think. But that's a whole 'nother blog.

I would really like to be a finisher. As opposed to a person who starts 75 projects but never finishes anything. This is giving me gas today. Today I had a whole lot of knitting time available to me. But instead of knitting I played on the computer, printed out new patterns to try, and even cast on for something else. Something is definitely wrong with me.

So I'm gonna be a finisher. Stay tuned for what I'm gonna finish. I haven't decided yet.

Made in the shade?

2006-01-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

Ok. I am seriously confused. The best pics I can get of my knitting and/or yarn are in the shade?

MaryElla from Knitty, in Knitpicks Shadow laceweight, color Oregon Coast. The heathered effect has some nice purples and greens in it. The beads are from Art on Park, a local gallery. They have a subtle variation - purple to periwinkle to blue to green. It's extremely slow knitting on the 0000 needles aka the pokey needles of death. (Just ask my poor thigh about that...)

And this is some antique rose colored cotton along with black for my Via Diagonale. It's thicker than the recommended yarn, so I'm gonna have to do some gauge swatches and some math on that bugger. But it should be pretty.

And eventually I will get this picture crap down.

A (wo)man with a plan.

2006-01-07T06:27:00.000-08:00

Today, I have a plan. Would you like to see?

1. Shower - This will include the after tasks of applying makeup and blowing my hair out.

2. Sorting laundry - Gonna take it slow and just get done whatever today.

3. Knit - I can't decide if it will be my leaf lace shawl or my rogue. One or the other.

4. Library - I still have not been to the new library downtown. So today we go.

5. Carolans - The cheaper version of Bailey's. But just as tasty in my oh so humble opinion. Tonight there will be Carolans, and watching TV, and knitting, and general relaxation.

I did make it over to the sit and knit at the last minute last night (boy scouts was cancelled) but I didn't make any progress on my shawl. But it was fun nonetheless.

Leafy and lacy....

2006-01-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the man's Christmas presents finally arrived. After quite a run around, I'll tell you. But one of his presents was a video game. So of course he was lost to me last night. So I settled in with my zephyr and some BBC America. And I swatched with the zephyr on different needles and with one and two strands until I found the fabric I wanted.

Double stranded zephry jaegerspun on size 7 crystal palace bamboo circulars. Quite perfect and quite easy to knit. I'm on my 2nd repeat of the ten rows, and I'm looking at doing 10-12 repeats. It's coming together so pretty. I think I might have this baby knit up in no time. Finally, something rewarding.

Lettuce take stalk...

2006-01-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Celery stalk that is. I'm telling you right now, the dieting is getting to me folks. No chocolate makes for a grumpy rincaro.

But seriously, let us take stock. What I'm knitting, what I wanna knit, what I'm not knitting that I should be knitting...

1. Things currently feeling the love...

Rogue - I'm putting in some time most days on the sleeves. Course it's so danged hot here...

Um, that's it. Nothing else is feeling the love.

2. Things that should be feeling the love...

Red boy socks - the poor guy. He hasn't even noticed that mommy hasn't touched his socks in a week or two. I really need to churn those out.

3. Things I wanna show the love to...

Something lacy. I guess that something will have to be the leaf lace shawl. I have the yarn, I have the needles. I just need to decide if I wanna do it single strand on smaller needles or double strand on bigger needles. Cause single strand on size 5's is not making me a happy camper. I ordered lace yarn from knitpicks for the flower basket shawl, print of the wave shawl, and ene's scarf, but they screwed up my order and I have to redo it. And now I won't get $30 free shipping, I'll have to settle for $40 free shipping. Not a huge deal, but now I'm refusing to reorder on principle.

Socks. I am not lucky in socks. I cast on the other day for pomatomus in knitpicks dancing (jig - greens, yellows, and blues) but it wasn't quite right. The needles may have been too big. I have size 0 addis on the way. Those might make it better. I also want to make jaywalkers so badly, but I'm afraid to cast on after all of my false starts. I know that 76 stitches on size 1 addis with the sock garden is too small. Except for when it's too big. But 84 on size 1's always turns out too big. I think. Would 76 work on size 2's? Or would that be too loosey goosey. It's giving me gas. Gas I tell you. I'm tempted to pick up one of the self-striping yarns in my stash and just give the bird to jaywalkers. But it's such a nice pattern. *sigh*

Via Diagonale. I ordered some black & rose cotton for this. I've coveted this bag for awhile and I think pink & black will be a good everyday combination. Or at least less frightening than my favorite color combo - pink & orange! The yarn I ordered is thicker than the rec'd yarn, but I'll figure that out later.

I have yarn for so many projects it's frightening. What is it in me that just wants more?

Malaise

2006-01-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

Did I spell that right? Who knows. All I know is that my house is a post-Christmas disaster, even though everything is put up. But yesterday, in the mail, I got this:

And I want to make the butterfly (there on the cover) so very badly. But fat girls do not look good in gauzy lacy things that you wear over tank tops. So.... I guess I will print out lots of pictures of the too skinny model and put them on fridge? I don't know.

I'm done with the charts on the rogue sleeves. Now comes the mind-numbing stockinette and shaping. I need to pick up a zipper this weekend. Of course yesterday I was wearing shorts. But presumably it will get chilly again. I hope.

A tale of two sleeves

2005-12-30T11:04:00.000-08:00

I was gonna call this double the p-l-e-a-s-u-r-e but I don't want any more stranger dangers showing up round these parts.

Two lovely Rogue sleeves. They seem a bit wonky at the bottom, but I am assuming that's what blocking is for. I'm working them two at a time to avoid that other form of SSS - second sleeve syndrome. I'm itching something terrible to cast on for something else. Something lacy. Something that's a shawl. But I'm trying to resist the temptation and be diligent about working on this here "winter coat". It'd be a heckuva lot easier if the weather would cooperate. These balmy temperatures make me want to work on tank tops. And it's gonna be in the 70's here all weekend. Geez Louise.

To answer Mamma - the cascade 220 is a dream. So soft and nummy. And I've heard it gets softer even when you wash it.

In other news, I quite honestly won't be knitting any more tank tops. Or sweaters, or garments that fit my body. I've decided that until I lose this weight I'm gonna concentrate on accessories, and lace, and socks, and oh did I mention lace? Is this not gorgeous?

Because he's cuter than me.

2005-12-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

He kind of looks like a druid or something. A toothless druid that is. Were druids toothless? That boy will take any opportunity to show off his latest tooth loss. (The top one if you were wondering).

I finally finished the Rogue hood. Just two sleeves and a zipper and we'll be good to go. I made one mistake on the decreases, but I decided I did not care. Most of the time the hood will be down anyway. This was very good for helping me to better understand cables. I'm wondering though, should I block the body before or after I attach the sleeves. Guess I better read the instructions.

In other news, Beauty Shop with Queen Latifah is cute and amusing and quite good knitting fare.

Not the year of the jaywalker...

2005-12-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

I ripped it out. Again. I still don't understand this. Sometimes the 76 stitch version in sock garden on size 1 addi turbos is too big. This time the same version was too tight. Plus the ribbing was ruffly from the pulling in effect of the pattern. I give up on sock garden. I think I am moving on to pomatomus in this yarn. I think it will go nicely. I just can't stand the jaywalkers anymore. I don't understand how it works for everyone but me.

In other bad news, my making waves socks look like shit. They are crazy fuzzy. To the point that the texture is obscured. I guess the lesson from that is that superwash is a lie. A mad lie. At least in the case of these socks.

Deranged

2005-12-27T05:40:00.000-08:00

So... I've been happily tooling along on my most recent Jaywalker attempt. 76 stitches, size 1 addis, stargazer lily sock garden. The leg is tight over the heel, but I can work it. And it's not a sock fit for King Kong.

So I should be happy right? Wrong.

This is what I'm thinking. Wouldn't the stargazer lily look just absolutely gorgeous as a flower basket shawl?

I never said I was normal.

Proof!

2005-12-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

First off, Merry Christmas. We did the crazy present thing. I only got one knitting present - the 2006 pattern-a-day calendar. Lots of other neat stuff though.

Proof that my husband does NOT love me.

That would be the first nearly finished glove of a pair from Knitty's cigar pattern. Which he specifically requested. So I make him try them on, just to be sure. And he looks up at me with pleading eyes... "Can't you make a skull design on them?" *sigh*

Proof that my yeast is viable.

Even though my bread is not risen enough and my loaf is misshapen, my yeast is good. I tested it. See, it rose to the top of the cup. It's good.

Proof that my husband actually does love me.

A beautiful turquoise and silver beaded cross (one of a pair) that he got for my cross collection.

So many bad ideas.

2005-12-23T10:27:00.000-08:00

You know what's worse than too much risotto? Too much risotto followed 5 hours later by too many oatmeal scotchies. Oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips. Quite delicious. But oy, my stomach is killing me.

I am not making any progress on boy socks number two. I'm just out of oomph. And the man comes home early tonight. Or I should say today - he'll be leaving the office at 2pm, which means less knitting time for me.

So I will go take a shower, hope my bellyache subsides, and try to straighten up before he gets here.

But I leave you with this cuteness.

Who says acrylic yarn doesn't have it's uses? Yep, big brother is teaching lil brother (the dark haired baby) how to knit.

Too. Much. Risotto.

2005-12-23T07:19:00.000-08:00

Last night for dinner we had crispy ranch tofu, yellow risotto, and corn. It was the totally yellow dinner. It was the boys' idea, don't ask. Just now I decided I needed breakfast. Lemme just tell you folks. Leftover risotto is just way too danged heavy for breakfast. Next time I'm making waffles.

Next we present still life with bicycle and mini-tramp...

No not a short hooker, a mini-trampoline. *sigh* Lil dude's socks are done except for weaving in ends. I fixed the too short toe and the ribbing. So they are all nice and done. Big dude's socks are slow going. I picked a broken rib pattern. I figured I couldn't do solid straight stockinette socks, now could I? I have 5.5 inches on the first footie. I need at least 6.5 before I do the short row heel. I need to get my booty OFF the computer, do a smidge of housecleaning and then settle back in for some serious knitting.

In other news, it looks like my husband's Christmas prezzies might be lost in delivery land. Not good, not good at all. I have about zero dollars to replace them. I'm contemplating a nervous breakdown. I'll get back to you later on that.

Slow and slower...

2005-12-22T05:29:00.000-08:00

Very slow progress on the boy socks. I haven't even started Big J's. Here you see Little J's....

They look nearly done, don't they? But looks, my friends, can be decieving. I screwed up the ribbing on the socks. One is k2,p2, and one is k1,p1. The k1,p1 stays up better. The one with the finished toe is too short. So there will be ripping and reknitting of those areas. *sigh* I have quite a bit of laundry to do today, so I guess I will launder and knit. And launder and knit.

Here's the super strange part. I bought the knitpicks parade and totally missed the part where it was only 137 yards per ball. But both of these socks are from the first ball. I started using this yarn for boy socks because I thought I would run it. I think I might be able to get two pairs of boy socks out of this yarn. Strange, no?

Not much knitting going on...

2005-12-20T07:04:00.000-08:00

But I really need to finish up the boy socks. The boys are fulling expecting hand-knit socks under the tree. I have one of Justin's done. Jeremy's will be solid red and I'm trying to find a good pattern/texture for his. Thank God for little feet.

I've decided that 2006 is the year I will get skinny. And my motivation will be to knit things like this... Fat people just can't wear stuff like that. And I want to knit myself cute LITTLE stuff.

I had leftover birthday cake for breakfast. It's a good thing that it's still 2005.

Huh?

2005-12-16T06:17:00.000-08:00

Pray for me sisters (and brothers) in knitting. Today the man has a day off. And a list. Can you hear the whip cracking? He's in the shower. It will begin soon. I only pray that he will let me have some Starbucks before he starts the day. It won't be good.

And in other news. Since when does Harry Potter sport a mullet?

In lieu of...

2005-12-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

Instead of handknitted gifts, the teachers are getting very nice ornaments from pier one. I had great plans to crank out scarves yesterday, but life had other plans. Which included cutting out 40 kindergarten size handprints, making a chinese dinner that made everyone sick and gassy, and the mama (that would be me) throwing a tantrum and showing her ass in the span of oh let's say 15 minutes.

So.... this is what they get!

They are pretty, they are handpainted, and they come in lovely gift/storage boxes. Can you tell I'm extra super tired?

The center one with the sleigh actually comes in a red box. Now I have to pack up 3000 pounds of Christmas party supplies and write out cards for said teachers and fix my hair and makeup and get my ass in gear.

Yes, I am a tired mama. And tomorrow the man has a day off. That never bodes well for me.

Master Procrastinator

2005-12-14T06:33:00.000-08:00

I am the queen of procrastination. Bow down before me.

What you see there is half of an Airy Scarf. With beads! Actually I used smaller needles, so it's really only a third of an Airy Scarf. It knits up very quickly. It's quite lovely. It's for my sons' teachers. And it needs to be finished soon. I could have finished it last night, but instead I went to bed. And this morning I've wasted two hours on the computer - most of which I spent planning out my 2006 budget. Yes 2006 is just around the corner, but these presents need to be finished yesterday.

There is definitely something wrong with me.

Unbelievable.

2005-12-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

The first unbelievable thing. I had to turn on the heat. It's actually only 46 outside. It will probably heat up to the mid 60's today. But that's danged cold for here. The crazy people will be breaking out the parkas. Last year I only turned on the heat maybe 5 times. We live in a third floor apartment and heat rises, you know?

The second unbelievable thing. I went into school this morning to deliver 27 pounds of Holiday party supplies for my 1st grader. Then I checked in at my kindergartner's class. What does she need help with for the party.... You won't believe this. The party is Thursday. She's gonna write a few phone numbers in my son's planner so I can make calls and figure out the party. She's done nothing! The other teachers have been planning their party since 1972. This totally peeves me off. But if I blow it off, my son's class gets no party. You know?

I did some quick net research and found some good party ideas. But it just jacks up my week. There's no way I will finish a shawl for the holiday shindig at this rate.

The third unbelievable thing. If you lose thirty pounds, last year's party dress will be too big. Ok, maybe that's not unbelievable. But it is annoying. Especially when you have neither the time nor the money to buy a new party dress. Watch this space for my amazing duct tape seamstress skills. Just kidding. Well sort of....

Well crap a duck.

2005-12-10T17:37:00.000-08:00

I was at the craft store today and I totally spaced picking up ribbon or buttons for my Sweet Mary Jane.

A week from today is my husband's fancy ass holiday shindig. And I have made absolutely no progress on #19. I'm half wondering whether or not I should cast on for the leaf lace shawl and see how fast that goes. Cause I know #19 is gonna take me for frigging ever. *sigh*

Oh my. Plus all three boys, two little guys and the big one, really would like hand knit socks for Christmas. I guess I better go measure some feet.

All Hail Queen Mary Jane!

2005-12-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

I needed knitted happiness. So I did something quick and dirty. For the Sweet Mary Jane cardigan, your gauge swatch is a little sachet. How cute is that. So that is Celeste's Sachet blocking. I'll post a finished pic of her today.

I do see a problem though. The sachet is 54 stitches knitted on size 6 dpns. Despite being really careful, I got some pretty serious ladders that didn't seem to wash out. The sleeve is about the same number of stitches worked on the dpns. I don't want ladders in my sleeves. Course I'm only really seeing the ladders in the stockinette. It might not affect the lace pattern. I'll have to wait for it to dry.

The majority of this knitting was accomplished while waiting for the dentist yesterday afternoon. I just finished it up this morning. Talk about quick and dirty! This would make cute little Christmas ornaments. Done in a hollyberry red with some cinnamon potpourri stuffed inside.... Hmmmm.....

And then there were four...

2005-12-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

Well, my sock was giving me gas, and I didn't have the heart to re-cast-on, so I made three more stitch markers.

Thanks again turtlegirl for the photo lesson! I'm off to the dentist here in a bit.

Scorecard: Jaywalker 75, Me -10

2005-12-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

The jaywalker kicked my ass again last night. I finally had turned the heel and was getting ready to knit up the reverse heel flap. So I tried it on again. (I've done this about 75 times during the process). This was the moment when it went from "kinda loose" to "too damned big". I should have known better than to use the stargazer lily. It's sock garden you know. Of the curs-ed sock garden variety you might say.

I now have a very misshapen re-wound skein of stargazer lily. Bummer. I might have to abandon this pattern. I don't know.