How did that happen?

Here it is, the last day of 2006. I try to remember not to wish away my days (Oh, I wish it was time to go home, Oh I wish it was Saturday already!) and yet the year sped by and has flown away. I wish I'd taken more video of my son. I wish I'd taken more PICTURES of my son. (I wish I'd made ONE SINGLE ENTRY in his baby book. I suck.) I'm pretty sure I could have been a better wife, and I'm pretty sure I fit knitting into every spare minute I wanted to. I don't think those two things are related.
Anyway, my resolutions are pretty thin this year, and really, I've been thinking about them for a month or so. Here they are, in a very general way.

• Finish Sonnet and the socks I started for myself.


• Always have socks on the needles, and actually work on them regularly


• Learn to spin on my spindle


• Lose one dress size


• Take the Bug on an outing once every weekend, instead of indulging my inner hermit


• Get a savings account and learn to use it!

I think these are attainable goals for the year, so I'm stopping NOW!

Happy New Year, y'all, and if you party tonight, please be very safe. (If you go to bed early like I usually do, don't be too hard on the hungover people tomorrow, no matter how tempting it is to wear a neon orange shirt and speak VERY VERY LOUDLY.)

Tough lesson

Apparently the knitting goddess (I gotta come up with a (short) name for her if I'm going to be talking about her this much) was completely serious about the whole Zen knitting, no deadline thing. I thought the birthday party would be a reprieve, but no. No deadlines, period. It's done when it's done. I started to figure this out, with much cursing and frustration, when I decided to order more yarn.
(Pause in my kvetching to tell you about the adorable little finch pair outside - the male has a black head, a gray and white back, and the fattest, brightest yellow belly ever. What cuties.)
Anyway, I placed my order on Thursday, and the fastest shipping was 2-day. I thought that meant I'd have it by Saturday. Nope. When I called to see if I could even get it overnight(NO), I was told that 2-day would actually arrive WEDNESDAY. BAH. There is NO WAY I can bead up and knit two full balls of yarn in one day. Even if I call in sick on Thursday (which I am still tempted to do). I can't even show Aunt H what she'll be receiving, because I want to dye it a better color when I've finished it. I suppose I could dye it and the other yarn on Wednesday before I knit up the last two balls, so she can at least see how it will look. Is that just asking for Trouble?
In the meantime, I got some alpaca in oxblood from elann.com. It's very soft and yummy - after working with it for a little while, the Tendrils yarn felt positively scratchy. It seems a little thin for worsted weight, but it's making a lovely soft and drapey fabric. I'm doing the ubiquitous Irish Hiking Scarf, and I think it will be lovely. It's a little thin, which should be just right for alpaca. I don't want it to be too hot.
...sigh... I so love cables.

Hahahahaha

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Love it. Not true, but I love it just the same.

Getting there

Last night I measured Tendrils. I have 43 inches done, and the pattern calls for 65 inches before I finish off with the edge. I'm not entirely sure how long I'll knit it in actuality - there were more balls of yarn (Knitpicks Andean Silk Twist) with knots than without, if I remember correctly. I'm not sure what I've done with all my little bits and with the extra balls. I have two partial balls in my bag, which means that I should have two partial balls and some bits floating around the house somewhere. I suppose I should find them before I knit up all I have in my bag and have to get more or rip. It's my hope to finish up the knitting by the end of this long weekend, so I have the better part of the week to overdye it (and kill myself if I ruin it).
Damn, foiled again. Apparently the knitting goddess doesn't like it when we get too smug in our Zen-ness. (Can one BE smug and Zen at the same time?) Anyway, I have lost the last two balls of this damnable, dratted, flugen yarn. I had to order some more. Of this yarn I don't particularly care for. Oy. I had to have it sent two-day. I suspect that means it will get here next Tuesday, since that's two business days away. This means I will not be able to finish the bloody thing this weekend. This also means that somewhere in the house is yarn I dislike. It prolly knows I dislike it, so it's hiding. I have looked everywhere I can think to look, and it is gone. It will come out the day after I receive the feshlugen package from Knitpicks. Urgh.
Curses.

Brrrr.

This is my back step.


and the back patio.


This happened in ten minutes. See the hail? The ice? The BRRRR???? I know some of you up north are chuckling at me and my paltry ice. However, not four hours ago, the temp outside was 70 degrees. 25 degree drop in four hours. Brrrr.

Ungh.

That's what I felt like this morning when I had to get up for work. I may have said that very thing. I think people make the new year's resolution to get in shape in the new year because of all the excesses of the previous two weeks, or in some places, 6 weeks. (I am too lazy to maintain the holiday frenzy from Thanksgiving on.) Cookies for lunch, cookies for breakfast, cookies for desserts and snacks. January is one long sugar crash for me. My only saving grace is that I still enjoy my morning walks to work. (Ask me again tomorrow after the storm hits and we have sleet.)
Anyway, I have a few more days of Tendrils, and I find my devotion flagging just a bit. I am craving light fluttery fabrics. Something that weighs about an ounce, finished. I'd purchased some yarn ages ago for Clapotis, but I think life may be too short to knit the same thing twice. (Except socks.) La posted about wanting to make Faina's scarf from FiberTrends recently, and OH BOY do I like that pattern. It calls for sport weight yarn, which I just happen to have in a lovely deep red/wine that was to be the base of Clapotis-for-me. I think it might want to be Faina's scarf. I'll have to find something else to do with the laceweight I got to carry along with the sport weight in the Clapotis-for-me. I gotta call my LYS to see if they can get that pattern for me. I hope they have to order it - if they have it right now, Aunt H's Tendrils might get put off a little longer!
Hypatia, Patty, are you there? I have yarn for you!

Yarn Drawing Boxing Day!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day, whether you celebrate it as a holiday or not. (There are worse ways to spend a Monday than not working.
Anyway, today is the day I intended for Bug to draw a name for the yarn.



I decided that he would draw two, since I have two colors of yarn. (I got some other yarn for my own red scarf donation.)



I did not actually wait for him to chew on them, as he selected the names while he was eating his bananas at breakfast.



Unfortunately, the two commenters who were selected left no way for me to contact them. Would Hypatia and Patty (not Patricia, sorry) contact me and gimme your info please?

In other news, we had a wonderful, if slightly hectic, Christmas. I am glad to be home, although the bits of wrapping paper and the lights look a little gaudy in the post-feast light of day. Now I get to spend the next year atoning for this season's excesses. Just like last year.

She smiled on me

The knitting goddess. Swift has been her wrath in the past, and now gentle and warm are her blessings.
Yesterday, I felt a weight lift when I said I couldn't finish Tendrils. DH and I have been in a rough patch since just before we left to visit the MIL, and it's just gotten worse. The stress of the holidays, MIL being ill... and then apparently, once, I jokingly said, "I'd rather knit than have sex" and he didn't get the joke. And he thought I meant ALWAYS. (While I don't remember saying it, I can see how it might cause hurt feelings.)
So, yesterday I didn't knit a stitch, by conscious decision. I made my boy some apple slices and went to fold laundry. While I was putting his clothes away, he came in and crawled up on my lap and hugged me, and just stayed there. And for once, I was paying attention and let him hug me as long as he wanted. (This turned out to be half an hour at least.) I wasn't worried about this or that or finishing Tendrils or wrapping Clapotis. I just got to hold my boy while he wanted some snuggles.
Later, after DH got home, I made some good hot chocolate with real chocolate and eggs and milk and cinnamon. (The eggs sound gross but that's what makes it rich and frothy.) We sat by the fire and had hot chocolate, we relaxed, we went to bed early and got actual real sleep. Real sleep rocks.
And the reason I think the knitting goddess was involved? Normally I see my aunts maybe twice a year, if I'm lucky. Always around Christmas, but any other time during the year it's by chance. I had resigned myself to having to mail their knits and not getting to see them open them. Yesterday, there was an invitation for a surprise party for Uncle N, Aunt C's husband. Thrown by Aunt H. I get to see them again in two weeks. Two weeks, I can do. I appreciate the lesson, and I appreciate the reprieve.
Tonight, pizza and hot chocolate with good friends, followed by some Christmas-light viewing, and maybe a little knitting by the fire. But just a little.

I give up

It's not going to happen.
I finished Clapotis last night, ends and all. (Even the one that I cut without weaving in, that I had to felt to a nearby strand. Oy.) That leaves about 25 inches of Tendrils before Sunday night. Oh yeah, and a green dyebath for same. Not happening. If I had the next days off, maybe, but I don't. I have made the executive decision that the holidays should be fun, and my family should not be punished by my ability to knit to a deadline. So, Aunt H and Aunt C will get little wrapped boxes with IOUs for knitwear, and my family and I will get a few days of peace. I'm not saying I won't knit during those days. I'm saying I will knit for relaxation, but not at the expense of time with my child or hot chocolate in front of the fire with my husband.
Instead, I will knit on Tendrils calmly, not frantically, and I will start my red scarf to alternate when Tendrils starts to get me down. I'll remember that knitting is a pleasure, not a chore. Since the winner of the drawing for the red yarn gets to pick between the bright red and the brick red, I have a few more days before I can start it. Time to devote to loving Tendrils again, time to pick up Sonnet? Good holy cow, I think Sonnet even predates this blog. Lawdy, she needs to have some love. And there's always Dulaan(link to PDF), the scam charity run by the indomitable Ryan. (For those that don't know, the scam thing is now a joke, based on the ridiculous comment left a few years ago by someone who didn't believe that there were homeless children in Mongolia. Search her blog for details.) Anyway, lots of choices abound for me to enjoy knitting again, with little thought for deadline or compulsion. Looking forward to some downtime as this year dwindles. I will try to get some pictures of Clapotis this evening or tomorrow, if there is daylight available.

Calling Harry Potter

Cuz I need a few things. Like Hermione's time turner? Yeah, one of those. (The only problem with that is that if you used it too much, you'd die younger. I mean, you're still living all those extra hours, so if it added up to extra days a month or a week, your life span would be awfully short by comparison to those not using a time turner. Um, I mean,... well, yes, I do think about these things way too much.)
The other thing I want is that spell that makes the insides of things much more spacious than they appear from the outside. Imagine it - unlimited closet space! I wouldn't want much more actual house, because that would mean it would be more to clean, but can you imagine a walk-in linen closet? Kitchen cabinets that held both your everyday dishes and your china? Never running out of room in the fridge? Yeah, that's what I thought - you want it too.
Anyway, I have yet to finish Clapotis. Which means I haven't touched Tendrils. Tonight I'm finishing Clapotis and weaving in the ends before I sleep, period. Here's where the time turner would be extra-handy. I could finish a few hours of knitting and still get a full night's sleep. I have so much time devoted to non-knitting pursuits in the next few days, I don't know if I'll finish. Dinner with friends tomorrow, Santa pictures Thursday, dinner with other friends and a light-watching trip on Friday... I need to have a few days off work to get it all done, but with the MIL thing of two weeks ago, I have no time left. I would berate myself for waiting until the last minute, but I started both of these MONTHS ago. I should berate myself for knitting slowly, maybe. Yeah, that would be helpful.
And one more thing: if you've recently applied ben-gay to your stiff, pained fingers, you should probably avoid scratching your nose or rubbing your eyes. Just sayin'.

Denial

Complete denial.
Cuz it's almost 10pm, and this is what I have:



This is the yarn Jessie dyed for me. There is no more. That little ball is all there is left. I have about 50 ever-decreasing rows. I hoped and hoped and hoped that I would have juuuuuusssstttt enough.

...sob...

I was so close.

Rrrrrriiiiiiiiipppppppppppp.

...sigh...

a meme and more weird stuff

Bug screamed for 8 minutes last night. I think it might be working. DH slept in the camper and felt refreshed, so we're getting there.
Oh, and I would like to thank whatever nut first thought of using cabbage leaves to alleviate engorgement pain. I highly doubt I would ever stop to think, "Hey, these leaves would make a stellar bra" so I wouldn't have come up with it, but it worked.
Dont forget to go to this post and comment to enter in the drawing for some free Red Scarf Project yarn!

I like this meme, so I stole it from Anna The Fashionable.

Egg nog or hot chocolate? Yes please. Eggnog straight or spiked, hot chocolate Mexican style, with real chocolate melted in a pan, and fresh grated cinnamon.

Does Father Christmas wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Wrapped and unwrapped. Usually, big or unwieldy things (like Bug's first bike or something) will be set out, twinkling in the lights, but the others are wrapped.

Coloured lights on tree/house or white? Colored LEDs, the more the better. But never, ever, running or blinking lights on my tree.

Do you hang mistletoe? When I can find it.

When do you put up your decorations? It's a process. Usually mid December. I like the idea of leaving them up until twelfth night, but DH believes "out with the old, in with the new" and tries to take everything down by 12/31 every year. (Except that one year when the lights stayed on the shrubs until August...)

What's your favourite Christmas dish? Hmmm. Swedish meatballs made by my aunt. As a kid I hated to make them (imagine rolling about 5 pounds of ground beef the day before Christmas) but they are SOOOO tasty. Also those weird Corn Flake wreaths that would be toxic at any other time of year.

Favourite Christmas memory as a child? When Mom and Dad got us a puppy. Dad was so worried she'd be cold (she was in a box in the car, still warm from having gone to get her) so he kept saying "Open that one, open that one". It was a box with a dog brush and a leash, and the ribbon led out to the car. We didn't follow it, though, we just tugged on it until it all came in the house, then stared at my parents wondering WTF that was all about. Dad finally had to tell us to GO LOOK IN THE CAR.

When and how did you learn the truth about Father Christmas? My nasty older cousin told me. I must have been about ten. (I wanted to believe, and still do, really.)

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? My aunts on my mom's side always throw a big bash, and all the cousins receive a similar gift. (Everyone gets a shirt, or a CD, or whatever.) We got to open those on Christmas Eve. Now that we're all grown, I still exchange with my two aunts, so I open their present when I'm with them.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Colored LED lights, glass bulbs, and all the ornaments my mother bought me over the years. Plus new ones for The Bug.

Snow! Love it or dread it? Wish for it.

Can you ice skate? Not even to save my life.

Do you remember your favourite gift? Nope, but I remember the gift I wrapped myself. All the cousins got little portable radios for Christmas, and my mother asked me to wrap them. It never occurred to me that I would get the same thing, or that there was one extra, so I was genuinely surprised when I opened it.

What's the most important thing about Christmas for you? That feeling that, just then, all is right with the world. I know it isn't true and that poverty waits for no secular/religious holiday, but when it comes together, the petty family squabbles and the late gas bill are forgotten, for me, just for a little while.

What's your favourite Christmas dessert? Chocolate Christmas bells. It's crappy chocolate, but I love them beyond reason.

What's your favourite Christmas tradition? Walking through the Winterhaven neighborhood in my town, where most of the residents do a major, over-the-top display. There are horse-drawn carriages, hot chocolate, karaoke and a dance contest at one house, and everything is beautiful, festive, and tacky in a way that I still love. This ain't no Thomas Kinkade neighborhood.

What tops your tree? A woven straw angel with a red vest and red bow. I have no idea where she came from, but I associate her with my mother, and I love that little angel.

Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Giving. I'm sometimes a little embarrassed about receiving extravagant things (and DH is nothing if not extravagant at Christmas) but I love getting that One Thing that the recipient will just LOVE.

What's your favourite Christmas song? O Holy Night, sung by a male trio on an old record my father has. I have searched the innernets for it on CD, and have so far been unsuccessful. Also, Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt.

Candy canes? Not so much.

Zoinks

Thanks Lynn, I knew you'd come through for me with a well-placed Bitch in the comments. (See, Lynn loves me!) Hee hee.
I am tired. So tired, there are no words.
So I'll tell you all about it.
Last night was the first night in his young life that we allowed Bug to cry it out in his bed. He did so, with gusto, from about 2:30am to 3:02am, on the nose. (I looked at the clock when the deafening screeches stopped.) This after about half an hour of on again, off again whining. Then the darling boy slept until almost 7am this morning. I would have found that extremely pleasant, except that I was supposed to be at work at 6:30 and I had to wake him to dress him for school. Someone PLEASE tell me this gets better, because OY. During that half an hour of screeching, we also indulged in a lovely hissed argument, where the words "sadist" and "child abuse" were hurled at me in a fit of exhausted crabbiness. In DH's defense, he would likely not say such things during the day, but at night, his mouth hooks into the part of his brain that only knows his exhaustion, and usually in the morning he has no recollection of talking to me at all. (I say "likely" because, well, he's a guy, and you never can tell about their judgement.)
Really, I know it has to get better, because it was my pediatrician and his wife who recommended this path to me (after 15 months, Bug sleeping in our bed and nursing all night to put himself back to sleep wasn't working for me). My pediatrician and his wife used this tactic on their first, and not only did it not kill them, they went on to have and/or adopt seven other children. This may speak to their mental state, but they seem so normal in all the other ways. In the meantime, DH will sleep in the camper. Bug's screaming I can handle - the midnight fights I cannot.
During the actual pleasant part of the evening, during which we watched our show (Criminal Minds), sat in front of the fire, and relaxed while I knit and Bug played with his blocks, I got a good bit done on Clapotis. I think I have less than a repeat left before I start the decreasing, so having the knitting finished this weekend continues to look like a possibility. I might even have time to weave in ends, although I do hope to get many many naps. Of course, I have to go to Circuit City on Friday, so this may all be moot - I may not survive the crowds.

Mostly because I'm a little nuts

I'm somewhat disappointed that no one wrote "GIMME THE YARN, BITCH" in the comments of the last post yet. I thought for SURE at least Rabbitch would wander over for the sheer joy of cussing at me in print. Giving away yarn is definitely a good way to boost the comments. Hee.
Anyway, my little counter is starting to freak me out. No knitting was to be had last night - I skipped SnB and instead spent my evening fighting with DH and shrieking. It was So. Fun. Yup, skipping knitting with friends in order to feel bad, cry and sit in icy silence was totally glorious.
(Can I tell you that we're all a little tired over here, and we're trying to wean The Bug AND get him to sleep the night in his crib at the same time? And can I also say that engorged DDs are LARGE and UNWIELDY. And I bump things a lot, and it hurts.)
Hmmm, I was going to write about how I was in a good mood, but it turned into a post about my underwear and the giggling induced by same. Apparently, when I am tired, brand-new polka dot skivvies entertain me to no end. (I would like to thank whoever it is at Fruit of the Loom who realized that not all plus-sized women want undies that require a full yard of fabric each. Is ANYONE really comfortable in those bloomer-sized things?) Anyway, before I allow myself to really get going on the undies theme, I will just say, go comment on the last post for the chance to have some red superwash from knitpicks.

please excuse my absence

We have been away. Last Monday DH received a call that his mother was dying, so we scrambled to find plane tickets to Montana and flew away. We actually had to fly to Spokane and drive to DH's hometown, about four hours away, so we didn't get there until Tuesday. When we arrived, we found MIL sitting up and smiling, thrilled to see The Bug and feeling much better. Fortunately for all of us, she rallied and was stable and feeling reasonably well when we left. We were granted more time to spend with her, and DH got to sit with her and talk for hours, and she got to see her youngest grandson, and we are thankful.
I didn't get as much knitting done as I would have liked. I didn't touch Tendrils, but did make a dent in the last ball for Clapotis. I spent way too much time chasing Bug away from all the detritus that forms the household of an old woman. Unfortunately it was a little too cold for him to play outside much, especially since the ILs don't have a fence, and the Bug had his eye on the neighbor's swingset. He had to burn off all that toddler energy playing with the VCR, shredding MIL's magazines, unloading all the cabinets in the kitchen, and banging on the china cabinet full of hummingbird figurines. Poor FIL was at his wits' end - there was no place for him to find peace. I think he was glad when we finally left.
Anyway, this is my artistic Clapotis picture.



It's all I have, though with some diligent effort I think I can finish that puppy this week. It would be much easier if that pesky work thing didn't get in the way.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off reading the 300+ new blog posts on my Google reader. Whew.

Oh yeah, and I have some yarn to give away for the Red Scarf Project. Keep an eye out for some form of contest or another. Maybe I'll just make you comment and then pull a name from a hat. I'm lazy like that.
Yeah, that's it. Leave a comment in this post (only this one, I'm too lazy to compile names from other places) and any names in there before Boxing Day (12/26) will be placed in a hat. The first one Bug chews on will get three balls of Knitpicks Swish in either brick or bright red. I'd prefer you use the yarn for the Red Scarf orphans, but really, it's up to you.
(ETA: I should probably not have tacked that little yarn giveaway on the end of a depressing post - thanks for the well wishes, but you get entered in the contest even if you only write GIMME THE YARN, BITCH in your comment. Although I might spit on it if that is your comment, and you win...)

IT

The knitter version of IT is nearly as scary as the Stephen King version, especially for slow knitters like me.
I think it is time to add a few hours to my day and give up a little sleep here and there. I hate to do it, but I don't think I will finish otherwise, and since Aunt H only received her Christmas quilt (intended for Christmas 2004) in September of this year, I would really like to avoid having things on the needles. I would have plenty of time, but I can't seem to convince DH that it's perfectly reasonable for him to assume responsibility for all household and parenting chores. I don't know what his problem is.
We put our tree up early this year, since Oldest Stepdaughter (OSD) was visiting. Bug looooooves it. He did the Happy Baby Stomping Dance around it the first morning, trying to decide what to rip off first. Once he realized he could reach almost all of it, he dove in with wild abandon. I will tell you this: the shatterproof ornaments from Target are FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. He bangs them together, on his bananas, on the floor, on the dog

and they do not shatter. He did manage to break one, after nearly two days of constant assault, when it landed just so and broke the little bit that holds it on the tree. I think it's fixable.

Click for closeup.

Anyway, more knitting to come, and by all that is holy in this world, after Christmas I'm knitting something for ME.

Browbeaten

Okay, three times in two days I have read about this, and Norma has guilted spurred me to participate. It's fun to think about not only messing with the Muggles, but throwing their sociology experiments a loop. Knitters have long been underground in polite society (mostly because we're too busy Knitting To Warm The World or something) so it's time the researchers took a look at the wonderful effects to be had by playing with wool and sticks.
Here's the research link.
Here's the place to ping.
Here's a little more background, if you like. (Scroll down to "Unleashing the Knitters".)

26 days, people. IT is coming.

Y'all, it's time to panic

Do you see that counter? As of the time I'm writing this, it says 27 days and some hours. That counts down to the midnight boundary of Christmas day, so we actually have about 28 days on the nose. Folks, that is just Not. Enough. Time.
(As an aside, is anyone else sick of that Overuse. Of. Periods. thing? It's just so expressive and easy - a Chandlerism in the written word.)
Anyway, that means there is much knitting to be done. Yesterday was the first day all long weekend I was able to knit. I finished the block for a comfort blanket (my own "design"!) and did almost a full repeat on Tendrils. It felt really good to have the yarn in my hands. My sinus infection still rages on, but the good folks at Alka Seltzer have provided me with a fine product that masks nearly all the symptoms so I can function until I get some antibiotics. Normally I like to ride these out, but this one whupped me right good on Friday and Saturday. That's Alka Seltzer Plus Cold and Cough. Go now. Buy the pills. Buy stock in the company. I have no affiliation, just a deep gratitude and abiding love for my purple happy pills.
In the last post, Judith suggests putting my Christmas tree in a playpen. This would be a perfect idea, except that I do believe the Bug would just view it as a challenge. You know, like if someone put a big fence around Everest. A friend told me about those frosted glass bulbs that are actually plastic but don't look it, so I will be scouting them out at Target later this week. I remember them from last year and loved the colors.
And now for something completely different - the coolest entry on the List of Things That Should Not Be: Smells Like Teen Spirit. I'm looking this up on iTunes.

It's been a loooong time

Yes, it's true, I didn't even have the grace to post about what I'm thankful for. I will tell you that one of the many things is this: no matter how they drive me crazy, whenever my family walks in the door for An Event, the first thing anyone says is, "How can I help?" Brilliant family feature, I must tell you.
A new thankfulness item on my list this year is AlkaSeltzer Cold and Sinus tabs. Ahhhh. I awoke the Morning After with sinus pressure so bad my teeth hurt. Blinking was excruciating. DH had to go out and run errands, and the darling man went to the pharmacy of his own accord, asked the pharmacist for a recommendation, and then brought me some with a glass of water. Sterling man, my husband. My body still feels somewhat trashed, but I no longer feel the need to lie around with a warm washcloth over my eyes, and I can actually focus on things. It's been wonderful. I still haven't knit more than a stitch or two in three days, first from stress, then busy-ness, then pain, but there is a light ahead. I hope when I get there I can find either my car keys, my cell phone, or both.
So, that is that. No knitting, only whining. Next weekend I have to throw a baby shower (why on earth did I sign up for that?!) and then it will be smooth sailing until next spring. Christmas will not be too involved this year, although with The Bug's newfound love of climbing, I may just have to decorate the tree and then lay it on the ground.

Saturday, at last

So, the last five days have nearly killed me. First, we moved to a new building with cubes instead of offices. This is actually mostly okay with me, since I sit at the end of a row of cubes and have only one cube neighbor, and I used to be fairly isolated in my old office. The not okay part is the fact that the woman in the next cube thinks that cubes are created to foster togetherness rahter than inhibit slacking, and thinks nothing of joining in any conversation within earshot. She'll stand up and lean over the wall if someone stops by to chat briefly with me, and twice I've heard her question people as they're walking by conversing about something. She is THE nosiest woman I've encountered in a long while, and has no concept of appropriate boundaries. (This is exacerbated by the fact that I have an overinflated sense of boundaries and get really tense and annoyed if someone gets in my space.) I'd hope she'd read this and get a clue, but a) I don't tell real-life people about this blog, and b) she wouldn't get it anyway.
Second, I started a new schedule at work, so I arrive at 6:30 and leave at 3pm. This is cool, because the afternoon just FLIES, but that morning has gotten long enough as to be soul-crushing.
Third, the bike riding is working out well so far. I have only been making the round-trip once instead of twice. I'd thought I would ride home for lunch, but at this point in my riding and my new schedule the lunch ride isn't feasible. My commute is 2.5 miles round trip, which is a nice short trip that still gets me a little exercise. The ride home is nicer than the ride there, since I ride a different way to avoid traffic. It's such a pleasure to get on my little bike and cruise on home through the neighborhood, past the park, down the little hill and into the driveway. Plus, the mornings are cool enough that I think I need to knit myself some mittens. Heh. (I know that 2.5 miles is piddly, but I suffer from two of those luxuries few outside the first world know: overabundance of food and complete sloth. I gotta work up to it.)
Anyway, all of this adds up to some serious exhaustion and not so much on the knitting. Yesterday I managed four rows on Tendrils and thought I was doing feats of Herculean strength. Today I hope for some napping, some house cleaning, and a little knitting. (The house cleaning is necessary - the cleaning lady is on vacation until the week after Thanksgiving, and I couldn't find anyone else to cover for her, so the house looks like the set of Lord of the Flies.)

On shapes

I would like to state that I am in terrible shape. Well, my shape is mostly spherical, which is not a bad shape as shapes go, but I would prefer something a little more svelte. Anyway, toward this end, I recently started riding my bike to work. Recently meaning yesterday. It's a short ride - today it took 7 minutes - but I arrive huffing and puffing and generally in a disgraceful state. I can see the bloody building from my front yard (the 7 minutes is due to the presence of a gated community between me and the building) and I arrive sweaty and breathless. Oy. The only reason this is going to work for me is that it is ONLY seven minutes. I can do that. I can do that no problem. Then if I want a little more later, I can go around the back way, or go up the street further and cut back, or what have you. When I get REALLY good, my intention is to ride the additional 2.5 miles round trip with a little kiddie trailer, and pick the Bug up from his daycare. We shall see. In the meantime, seven minutes, four times a day.
And can I just tell you something? Even though it's only seven little minutes, my sit bones feel like I rode a marathon. With as much padding as I have on my butt, you'd THINK that I wouldn't feel it as much.
No knitting content to show. Tendrils and Clapotis proceed. They look like slightly longer versions of the last photos you saw. Switching buildings, working hours (now I work from 6:30 - 3) and modes of transportation have served to tucker me out right good, so I hope that sooner rather than later I will have the energy to stay awake at night and knit. (Last night was SnB, and I only had energy to watch my friends knit. It was sad. Apparently I looked so tired that one woman was concerned that I wouldn't be able to drive the two miles home without falling asleep.)

I would like to direct your attention

Please note the counter in the sidebar. 42 days, people. Six weeks, plus a few hours. That is not nearly enough, I promise. Six freaking weeks.
I cut the Bug's hair yesterday. I think it's pretty cute. Suddenly he's a redhead. I'm not sure why, but he looks so much more like a little boy and less like a baby to me now. Anyway, a few photos.


Small boy with yarn.


Ten years off my life.

Please note in that second picture - he's not just standing there, he's walking from end to end.

Clapotis proceeds apace. I have about four rows before I start the straight rows and get the entertainment of occasionally dropping stitches. I am easily entertained. No doubt that if I were Wannietta or The Harlot, I would have been done days ago, but I am a slooooooow knitter.

I am also considering throwing away the Heinous Purple Thing. I have plenty of that purple yarn, and I really think there's a project that would be less heinous. If I don't rip it, I'll never finish it, and then MIL won't have a knitted Christmas present.

Eye Candy

But not in the usual sense.


I'm such a good sport.


Remember Ed Grimley?


If only ALL the little gargoyles were this cute.

In the land of the living.

So, that barfing flu was actually probably food poisoning. I was feeling much better the next day (DH swears it was because it was SnB day) but he and The Bug got some cold/flu thing that still has them feeling ucky. Good thoughts for me that I don't get it, cuz UGH.
Tomorrow, our company is moving my department to a brand new, shiny happy people facility. We go from offices to cubes, but I don't care, because the new place is blocks from my house. Hooray, riding the bike to work! YAY! Anyway, since all of my office things will be in transit, I get to work from home for the day. This means I will get to catch up on the laundry while working. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to being caught up on the laundry.
Last night during the second daily viewing of Cars (DH does love him some Pixar) and Criminal Minds, I cast on for Clapotis. The yarn is even lovelier knitted up than in the skein, if possible. I lurve it.

Softly shimmering little triangle of yarny goodness.

Jessie wasn't kidding when she said it stank, though. Anyone know how to make silk smell better after dyeing, because OMG, it's pretty rank.

Oooh, and I forgot that I read The Conjurer's Bird, by Martin Davies. Excellent book! I loved it. Good mystery, good adventure. Loved it. Buy it, read it.

Chaotic Rants Of A Card Carrying Dreamer

I have the barfing flu today, so I am home trying to not think about barfing. Bug made it extra hard this morning while he ate his banana slices. Bananas make me gag on a good day, but when I'm already feeling gross AND the bananas are in the hands of a toddler... oy.
I am feeling a tad better, though (woohoo, drank a whole glass of water without barfing) so at some point I imagine I will have time for fiberly pursuits.
This last weekend, we went to a little wool festival in Tucson. It was on one woman's farm, and there were all of about ten vendors. It was fun, though, and Bug liked the animals. DH even got him to pet a freshly shorn lamb, but sadly, no pictures were had.
I only bought this:

Scratchy fluffy Shetland.

The spindle is an Ashford that Bug got me for my birthday a while ago. (Such a big boy - his 13 month old self got online and ordered it all the way from Montana.)
Anyway, I have yet to spin anything on it, since the only fiber I had before this weekend was silk, and I'd been warned that I should probably know what I'm doing before I tried to spin it.

Oh yeah, and Deb is doing that November calendar thing. I apologize for the glare on this picture - there was no way to position it that didn't cause some, and this is the best.


I do love me some moosies.

The picture was from a calendar of all moose. A Year of Moose or some such. Given to me by the friend who gave me the moosey sweater for Bug. Mooses. Rock.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go recline on the couch with the back of one hand on my forehead. That water doesn't seem to want to stay where it is.

Oh. My. Gawd. Y'all.

Jessie is a color genius. This is three skeins of Henry's Attic Andromeda (50/50 wool and silk) she dyed for me when I couldn't find the color of Lion and Lamb I wanted for my aunt's Christmas Clapotis. I haven't taken the picture below yet (it's dark, I'll add the picture tomorrow before I post) but I can guarantee that no piddly amount of camera skills I have will do this yarn justice. I can't freaking wait to knit it.


Sorry for the lack of artistic posing - the Bug was headed for the yarn.

Below, 6 skeins of elann.com Peruvian Highland wool, in rainbow colors. For a Dulaan hat pattern that has been swirling around in my head. Yeah, someone has probably knit it before, but I haven't seen it, so in my reality, I thunk it up all by myself.



Not pictured: the skeins of Knitpicks yarn I ordered on 10/24, that shipped on 10/25. La's opinion notwithstanding, I like Knitpicks yarns. But seriously, do they pick "extra slow" at the post office or what? It shipped on 10/25 according to the website, and it's not here. The Elann.com yarn and A Piece of Vermont (Jessie) yarn both shipped on 10/30, a full FIVE days later, and BOTH of the later packages arrived first. Really, it's my only complaint about knitpicks thus far.
(Okay, after I wrote this post I wound five balls of Andean Silk into center pull balls and strung two with beads. Out of the 10 balls I ordered, three had knots. I think that's a little excessive. Even for cheap yarn.)

After all the new and wonderful yarns, it seems almost anticlimactic to show you Frill.




No, I don't know how to wear a stole gracefully. Why do you ask?

Bug-a-BOO!

The Bug's second Halloween has passed. He was a little more alert this year.

Then:

Bug as Wombat

Now:

The Flash!

We had fun carving pumpkins last night, and of all of them, the Bug and Boo ones were the biggest hits with the kids. (Mommy! That one says Boo! Look, it does! And that one says BUG!)


Punkins!

We went to four neighbors' houses, and then got in the car to go visit friends with a boy Bug's age. We didn't get two blocks before he conked out in his seat, so we turned around and went home to dole out more candy. All in all, a fun evening.
(Well, except for when I started to pin out Frill and found a hole with two live stitches right in the middle, but we won't talk about that.)

Do you see what I see?

That little counter in the sidebar is now showing less than 60 days. That means less than two months. That means the time to panic is getting C-L-O-S-E-R.
Over the weekend I finished the knitting and weaving of ends for Frill. I have yet to wash and block her, but I hope that will happen soon. In the meantime, there is still Tendrils (10 repeats and counting) and HPT. Jessie has just sent my yarn for Clapotis, the partner for Tendrils. Good grief, I hope it is a faster knit than Tendrils is.
On another note, can I tell you that I have rediscovered the library? When I was in high school, we were urged to buy books so we could take notes in them. (What a way to kill the joy of reading.) I got in the habit. I got in the habit of being super-selective about my reading. I learned to scan the artwork on the cover and read bits here and there to decide whether a book was worth the obscene price they're charging these days. (It amazes me how often it has worked out that if I like the artwork on a fantasy book, I have liked the book, and vice versa.) Anyway, recently (last week, I think) I got a library card with the idea that I would check out Generation T. Since then I have picked up a couple books that looked like they might be good, checked out a couple that I wanted but couldn't find locally, and have two more on reserve. Brilliance! If I don't like the book, who cares? It's free! My only complaint is the lack of popular knitting books in my local library. I suspect publishers don't like pattern books in the library to minimize copyright infringements - no way to control who's making copies that way. Anyway, I love it. I was reminded about how I used to go to the library with my mother when I was a kid. It was always a fun outing, always exciting to browse and find new books. And what a privilege it was when I was given my very own library card! I had forgotten. DH thinks it's mildly weird that I am so excited about it. I hope I remember all the time now. I hope I can pass on the excitement of a smorgasbord of books to The Bug.

fly by

I have nothing to tell you except that THIS is the cutest dolly in the whole wide world.

Knitting content

But it's not mine.
The Bug and I have been under the weather. Well, the Bug has been under the weather for a solid month now. First the cold from Montana, then an ear infection, then pneumonia (!) and now a viral throat thing. This kid should have more immunities than a whole continent, but unfortunately, new bugs keep finding him.
DH has been in Montana for the last few days for his mother's birthday, so the Bug and I have been flying solo. Given the extra work (how do people do this by themselves every day?) and the yuckiness, no knitting has happened here.
However.
My good friend has made the Bug a sweater. She and I share, among other things, a love of all moose-kind. So, naturally, what better for her pseudo-grandson than a moose sweater?




As always, click to embiggen.

I dunno the pattern, I dunno the size, she made the chart up herself, and I think she said she knitted it from Lion Brand Microspun. It's just a little too big for him right now, which means it should fit him for most of the winter, and hopefully any bits of next summer when he needs a sweater too. At the beach, maybe, or at the lake. When it's too small for him, I think I'll frame it.

(As I sit here typing at my hideously messy desk (it's not my fault, there's no storage) I have discovered that the Bug is tall enough that he can reach everything that I have pushed back from the edge. When did he get so tall?)

16 inches

That's what I have left on Frill. 16 inches before I graft the second frill on, block the puppy, and never think about her again.



For blocking considerations, though, I may stop after nine more inches (for a total length of 80 inches) and call 'er good.

It turns out that I am not terribly in love with the stitch pattern.



It's very easy, but I think my desire to do the pattern was more about the colorway of the sample in Knitty, here. The pattern is simple enough, I am just not in love with it the way I was when I saw the pictures of it the first time. Since it is not for me, though, I don't have to love it once it's done.

Anyway, this is the weekend of Rhinebeck, which I sadly cannot attend. This is also the weekend DH is road-tripping with his youngest daughter and friend, helping them to bring youngest daughter's car from our house to her mother's house, where it shall live out its days as the receptacle of all the detritus from the life of a teenaged girl. It was a good vehicle for us, and I hope it's happy there. So, while DH is visiting family and seeing beautiful countryside, and the rest of you are engaged in a wool orgy of epic proportions, Bug and I will be here all by our little lonesomes, knitting and/or trying to shred balls of yarn. I am looking forward to hearing all your exploits and seeing the pictures of your haul. Fondle some fibers for me, please.

a meme

Cuz it's a contest, and I can't not enter a contest.

1. Where is your favorite knitting spot?

My cushy chair with ottoman. I have good lighting (at night - during the day my knitting is backlit by the picture window) and my stash is in boxes next to the chair.



You can't really see the chair, but you can see the stash boxes off to the right and the lamp posts behind (one is an Ott light, YAY). It's also right next to the fireplace. Aaaahhh.

2. If you suddenly could never knit again (shudder) - what would you do instead?

Go back to quilting.

3. If you could travel anywhere in the world - where would you go and why?

Ireland first. It's GREEN, people, and I live in the DESERT. Then a really long time in the Caribbean, wandering from dive spot to dive spot. Then Toronto, to Lettuce Knits. I think that store has everything.

4. When you were little - What did you want to do "when you grew up?" Are you doing it?

For the life of me, I can't remember what I wanted to be, but I guarantee it wasn't what I'm doing now. (Well, except for the Mom part, that rocks.)

5. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Moose tracks or Chubby Hubby.

As a funny, I clicked the link that said "Translate this site to English" on my Yahoo toolbar. (I'd never noticed that there.) Amazingly, things were changed, and it gave me this:

1. Favorite Where is your knitting spot?
2. Yew you suddenly could never knit again (shudder) - what would you C instead?
3. Yew you could travel anywhere in the world - where would you go and why?
4. When you were little - What did you want to C "when you grew up?" Are you doing it?
5. Favorite What is your flavor of ice cream?


Oy.

Hellos and goodbyes

I was going to title this post Lazy Sunday, but I do believe that was last Sunday's title. I sense a theme.
Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! There were roses, lots of fettucine alfredo, and an Ashford Spindle that has yet to arrive in the mail. Can't wait.
Anyway, I must say goodbye to an old and dear friend. He served me well for many years and kept me going when I was at my wits' end.



He gave it up the last time yesterday morning while trying to steam milk for a latte. I wish his end was dignified, but he went out spewing steam from every orifice. He will be missed.


Well, he was missed until yesterday afternoon, when my new love came a-calling.



He's so shiny.

Bug says, "Sometimes, dinner is just too boring.

Happy Birthday to ME!

And to Dave.
The bedroom has been put back together, but the guest room is still a roiling mess, and the rest of the house looks like a band of Cornish pixies swept through. (In reality, it was just one little Bug.)
The wedding we were to attend is not in the cards for us, so I have a free afternoon. I need a nap in the worst way, and I think I might actually have some time for one. DH is taking me out to lunch and we're going to run to JoAnn's to get the supplies for the Bug's Halloween costume, but other than that, it's just me, a nap, and maybe some knitting. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, so more knitting time for me!

It turns out

That DH didn't want to rip out the carpet and let the girls walk around on asbestos-filled tiles from the 50s. Weird. Anyway, I called about extraction. I was given a quote and an appointment time. I left work early and met DH at home and we ripped all the furniture out of those two rooms. (How long has it been since YOU looked under YOUR bed? Yikes.) Anyway, the extraction people arrived right on time, amazingly enough, and wandered around those two rooms testing for water. There was A LOT. It went under the walls and soaked the closets. (Did you know that walls and floor are only minimally connected?) They got to work.
When my bedrooms look like this,




The rest of the house looks like this.





Turns out that there was too much water. They sucked out all they could, left big giant fans, and told me they'd be back tomorrow to finish the job. Oy. The three of us camped out in the living room.
(An aside: Bug scoots around a lot when he sleeps, and I was concerned he'd scoot off the edge of the bed, so I moved the recliner against the bed, and was happy to see that the seat of the recliner was at the same height as the top of the mattress. When I woke up this morning, the Bug had scooted, face down, on to the seat of the recliner and turned around so his head was on the bed and his legs were on the chair. It was pretty damn cute. I'm extremely glad I put that chair there!)
Anyway, the guys say they'll be back at lunchtime to finish the cleaning part, and I will have shiny clean carpets that should be dry in time to move back into our bedroom tonight. We're both pretty sure we're going to leave the guest room ripped apart and let the stepdaughter and her friend put the stuff back where they'd like it. We're pretending to be accommodating, but really we're just lazy.

PS - it's after lunch, the carpet is clean, and the creepy guy is gone! YAY!

Serenity

That was a really kick ass movie, by the way, which is causing me all sorts of weird dreams involved Reavers and yarn. There was no yarn in the movie, although that would have been the only thing to make it better.
No, the Serenity I experienced was brief and wonderful.

• It was two hours at SnB.
  
• It was Sarah reminding the waitress, who is also cool, that I like piles of whipped cream on my nonfat latté. (what?)


• It was actually knitting to the end of the ball of yarn.
  
• It was winding one of the other balls on my little swift and winder at home.



• It was NOT the discovery that I have two balls of Frill left, not one.
  
• It was NOT the discovery that the toilet has an issue shutting itself off when it refills the tank after a flush.
  
• It was NOT the realization that the toilet ran for close to two hours while we were out to dinner.


• It was NOT the fact that two hours gives the water a LONG time to seep into the carpet of both my bedroom and the guest room, which will be in use on Friday.


• It was NOT the realization that my carpet is so dirty underneath that it looks like mud and smells like wet dog.

New carpet to be had when I can figure out where DH, the Bug, three dogs and I will live while all the bedrooms are ripped up.
Very soon, there will be a break in the busyness and by all that's holy, I will have some good knitting time.

out of time

Isn't it weird how all the big time-sucking things happen all at the same time? Somehow it's always in the fall. The Bug's birthday starts it off, and there's my birthday, and MIL's birthday, punkin-pickin at the local patch, Halloween camping trip, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. DH likes to head to Montana for his mom's birthday, Thanksgiving usually takes up at least two weekends and many weekdays for planning, cleaning and cooking, and Christmas... well, we all know about Christmas. Anyway, this year we have the added events of a family wedding and a visit from the youngest SD followed by a road trip for her and DH (she's receiving her car and they're driving it back to Montana together). Oh yeah, and a baby shower I have to plan and throw. Couple that with two major product releases that I'm working on and you have a recipe for NO KNITTING AT ALL. I can't stand it. Tension and stress abound, and I have no time for knitting, and then that increases the tension because I'm NOT WORKING ON MY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. Aaaaarrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Maybe I'll go home at lunch and wind a ball of yarn, just to take the edge off.

Lazy Sunday morning

We are home from our short camping trip. DH got to ski his little heart right out, and the two guys from work who came with us turned out to be one guy and his seven year old son, whom we nicknamed The Dash. (This is the best weekend EVER!) The weather was pleasant in the morning and evening, and when it got too hot, we fired up the generator and napped in Air Conditioned Comfort(tm). On our way home, we stopped at the pizza place in the little nearby town and had some fan-freaking-tastic calzones. The Bug LOVES him some pizza.
Not much knitting was done. I brought some paperwork from the office and alternated it with knitting rows while the Bug napped yesterday, but I still haven't finished that last little bit of the third ball of Frill. Today, hopefully.
I was mostly busy all weekend checking this out.

...sigh...

Things that make me sigh with contentment.

• The house is clean, thanks to a little bit of cleaning three days in a row, followed by a visit from the cleaning lady.


• Dinner is in the oven right now, simmering its little gringa-green-chile heart out.


• It's cloudy and only 90 degrees out right now.


• We are going camping tomorrow at the lake, and it will only be in the 80s there. (Almost cool enough to wear jeans outside)


• It is 2pm and I get to go home a little early today.


• I am almost at the end of the third ball of Frill. (Since the second frill was knitted from the last remaining ball, that means I have less than one ball left to knit on this project that has taken me a million years.)

I read a few posts back and noticed that it said I'd knitted 7.5 repeats on Tendrils at that time. I don't know what has happened to my counting abilities, but I've knitted at least two repeats since then, but I only have 8 repeats now. Is it too late for a WTF Wednesday?

The Aftermath

We had The Barbecue To End All Barbecues this weekend, in honor of the Bug's first birthday.
I didn't know I knew that many people. They kept coming in, and I kept saying, "Oh yeah! You!" Due to some weird Fly Convention in my backyard, most of the forty or so people were crammed in my little house. The Birthday Boy spent a good portion of it in his bedroom sleeping off the fever and ear infection he developed the day before. Even so, he was a good sport and snuggled with everyone before his nap, and played with his buddies after his nap.
And now, I have this.

Saturday sky

On Saturday, twice in a row. Tell me that doesn't freak you out.


The real question is, why am I always late on weekdays, but get up before dawn on the weekends with no problem?

And here, for your viewing pleasure. The Bug watches TV in his "recliner".

WTF?

I do know it's Friday. I also know that it's the end of September, and October is just around the corner. Where the hell has my year gone? How is it possible that nine months zipped by and I didn't notice? Oy.
On the other hand, this is my favoritest of all favorites time of year. (I'm that annoyingly chipper person who loves everyone and everything between now and New Year's Day.)
I knitted another half a cable on Tendrils last night, and YEEHAW, I'm ready to join the fourth ball. I think I have about nine repeats (a repeat being a whole back-and-forth of the cable), mebbe a little more. I'm ahead of "schedule" since knitting four rows would leave me ready to twist the cable, and in my little head, that's the fun part, so I don't stop until I've done the twist and the WS row after. It looks roughly the same as it did here, except a bit longer. Still loving the yarn, still wrestling with the beads, still hating the color. Still thinking I can get it and it's partner the Clapotis done by Christmas.
This weekend, the Barbecue That Ate My Life. It went from "a few people in the backyard grilling burgers" to "I gotta rent some tables and chairs". Do I need to make goodie bags for the other kids? Do I have enough beer? Is it weird to serve margaritas at a 1 yr old's birthday party?

I admit it

I am unreasonably fond of my little countdown machine over there in the sidebar. Not because I'm one of those smug people who will have all my Christmas knitting/shopping done by Thanksgiving, but just because I love Christmas. There's a neighborhood in our town called Winterhaven that goes all out every year. There are carriage rides and hot chocolate and amazing displays of creativity. I can't wait to take The Bug back. I can't wait to get him a new ornament, and see him play with the wrapping paper on Christmas morning, and all that stuff. It's the best. This year I may have to go up to Phoenix early and buy my dad a Christmas tree. Christmas was my mom's favorite time of year, and he hasn't decorated once since she died 11 years ago. If The Bug will be there at Grampa's for Christmas, there will be a tree, and lights, and the whole deal. And I'll skin my brother's dog if he does anything to it. (Okay, not really, but I really dislike that dog.)
I HAVE already started my Christmas knitting. However, since my knitting speed is set to Glacial, it will take me ages to finish the few projects I have going, and I won't be able to do half the ones I wanted to do in my head. The other night I worked on Tendrils and did 2/3 of a complete repeat. 8 rows total. At the end of it, my shoulders, arms and hands were throbbing. I didn't figure it out until the next morning, but those beads are heavy and they make a difference! I had grand plans of a repeat (one full cable twist) a night, but those plans are gone. This one will take me until the very end, I think, if I knit a few rows a night, alternating with other projects to give my hands a break. I have 7.5 repeats done, and I need somewhere between 25 and 30. Figuring for the most repeats and giving myself three weeks for dyeing, blocking and wrapping, that means I need to do four rows a day. That is completely doable, since I usually do a full repeat (12 rows) each weekend day. Yeah, this one is in the realm of possibility, even without killing myself.
I also cast on for double-knit socks after Kory Stamper's recent Knitty article on the subject. I overcame my mental block about doing proper short row toes (five tries for two toes, people) and put them all together. It's difficult to work with right now. I am not crazy about alternating each stitch, but someone mentioned in the comments on Kory's blog that she'd been taught to knit one round of sock A, slipping the B stitches, then switch. I found this very easy and convenient, except that I didn't remember to move the A yarn to the front when slipping the B stitches. I am fixing that stitch by stitch, but the nature of this dark yarn means I must do it in full daylight. These socks are a killer learning experience, and I am loving it completely. I may knit more this way, who knows?

And a meme, from Grumperina. Ten knitterly things you don't know about me:

1. I learned to knit about two years ago, by taking a class. I'd tried to teach myself from a book the way I did with crochet, but it didn't work out. After I learned to knit, I realized I HAD been doing it right from the book, but I'd been using size 10 needles on sport weight yarn, and it just didn't look like it was supposed to.
2. I will try anything (that I like the looks of) once. If I don't like it, I won't do it anymore, but how will I know if I don't try?
3. I don't understand why people say they are afraid to try a knitting technique. I am afraid of scorpions. Needles and yarn? Not so much.
4. Frogging frustrates me, but not too badly. I like knitting well enough that I'm generally happy to knit even if I've done the same bit before and screwed it up. (See five toes for two socks, above.)
5. I like acrylic yarns. There, I said it.
6. I also like ridiculously expensive hand dyed silks, qiviut, llama, etc. (Someday I will knit with qiviut, and someday I will knit with buffalo.)
7. Noro feels ungodly scratchy to me, to the point where I wonder why anyone would bother knitting with it.
8. I never hide craft purchases from my husband. I work my @ss off, I pay the bills, I put food on the table, and once he bought a boat without consulting me. He owes me.
9. I am afraid that, between my knitting and quilting stashes and that little obsession with buying cross-stitch kits on eBay, I may be close to the end of the boat excuse. He got a good deal, and I have a LOT of craft stash.
10. I am slowly amassing bits of roving stash. Someday soon I will learn to use a drop spindle.

In case you didn't know,

There are 91 days until CHRISTMAS.


Just sayin'.

Saturday sky

Now on Saturdays!
Yes, it's true, I was neither too busy nor too lazy to take a picture this morning. It's shaping up to be a beautiful day.



That picture shows an odd gray on my monitor, but it wasn't when I took it - I don't know if it's my sad dying monitor or my sad camera skills that was the problem.

Knitting!

I started my Bearfoot socks. I plan to knit them two at a time, a la extreme knitting from Knitty, but I am cheating a bit. The process of doing short rows while trying to keep my yarns and wraps straight in a yarn that looks nearly black except in the best of light sounds a little too extreme for me. So, I present two little sock toes.



I will stuff one inside the other when I finish them both, and then I'll double-knit. Weenie way out, I know, blah blah blah, but I just didn't wanna screw it up early on. I plan to short row the heels at the same, so I will get some practice.

OY. I just ripped both toes. Will someone please remind me, next time I mention short-row toe up socks, that I really need to start with a provisional cast on if I don't want that ridge across my toes? OY OY OY. And also, Caramba.