The Art of Tying Holes Together

A Frenzy of FO Friday Finishitis

2011-03-25T19:41:00.000-04:00

It's true...even though I didn't post for a couple of months, I was still knitting like a madwoman. I've always said knitting keeps me sane (actually what I USED to always say was that knitting kept me off heroin...then someone didn't realize I was joking...eek.). When you look at this collection of FOs (and realize I have as many left to share as I'm showing you today), you'll realize I have to be the sanest woman on the planet. Or not... Maybe you'll just understand why I have a sore hand.

Pattern: Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West
Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed DK in Tabby
Needles: #8
Date Started: April 15, 2010
Date Finished: October 15, 2010
Most. Awesome. Shawl. Ever. This was truly my go-to shawl this winter. The pattern was fun and easy to knit. I expected to get bored. It never happened. And I can never say enough about City Tweed DK's softness and lovely drape, especially in this pattern. I have wrapped myself in this shawl in any number of ways this winter, including here, during the December Harmony Project concerts. I hope y'all can access this FB link. I look all enthusiastic and ready to hit the stage, don't I? It's the shawl folks...this was the third night of performances, I was way beyond exhausted, in the beginning stages of that killer sinus infection and probably had a temp of about 102 when that picture was taken. But the shawl looks great and did a fine job of warding off the chills.

Pattern: My Kind of Town Cowl by Trish Woodson
Yarn: Knit Picks Suri Dream Hand Dyed in Nightshade
Needles: #17
Date Started: October 29, 2010
Date Finished: October 31, 2010
This cowl was so easy to knit...and so awkward to knit on those gigantic needles, but worth it. The result is a cowl that is as soft and fluffy as a cloud. I wasn't sure about the yarn at first. I'm not usually crazy about hairy, fluffy yarns, but I ended up loving it and buying a couple more balls to make a few more of these cloudspun cowls. I made this as a gift...but it's still sitting on my desk. Yikes!

Pattern: A Better Bucket by Amy Swenson
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Alpine Pearl
Needles: #7
Date Started: November 14, 2010
Date Finished: November 15, 2010
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Ravelry Red
Date Started: November 17, 2010
Date Finished: November 20, 2010
I knit the first of these two hats while hanging out at a great little restaurant watching Pete's band play. The Alpine Pearl colorway looked wonderful on the skein, but I was unimpressed with the way it knit up - purple and grey camo. Ick. It is, however, a wonderfully warm hat that I've used for dogwalking most of the winter.

I modified the red hat slightly, making it an inch shorter. And I stuck that old G-clef brooch of my grandmother's on the side just for kicks. LOVE all the subtle shadings in the yarn.

Pattern: Revontuli huivi/Northern Lights by AnneM
Yarn: Noro Sekku in 02 (Black/Grey/Brown/Green/Blue)
Needles: #6
Date Started: January 15, 2011
Date Finished: March 12, 2011
Even though it didn't block out with those razor-sharp points you see on so many project pages, I love this little shawlette. Had to make some modifications at the end because I thought I was running out of yarn. Turns out, I could have knit a couple more rows. I worked rows 123-129 in garter stitch, then skipped to rows 140 and 141 and bound off on row 142.

Pattern: A Very Braidy Cowl by Maryse Roudier
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Maxima in Currant
Needles: #8
Date Started: February 27, 2011
Date Finished: March 14, 2011
Every now and then, there is a project that is so awesome, so much fun, with yarn that is so beautiful and feels so luscious that you never, ever want it to end. And when you finally bind off, you find it almost impossible to tear the resulting garment off of your body. This is one of those projects. I'm wearing this cowl as I type. We've been blessed with a sudden cold snap, so I'll be wearing it for at least another week. I really tried to prolong the knitting of this cowl, but I couldn't keep my hands off the yarn. Manos...yarn o' the gods, truly. There were a few anxious moments when I thought I might run out of yarn, but I didn't. Wanna see how much I had left?

Pattern: Sideways Hat by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence
Yarn: Lana Grossa Cento in 009 (Green/Purple)
Needles: #9
Date Started: March 8, 2011
Date Finished: March 15, 2011
This is a reknit of a hat I made about a year ago that mysteriously grew while in storage over the winter and literally covered my eyes when I tried it on this year. The pattern called for #10.5 needles. I went down to #9, which was a little awkward with the bulky yarn, but I love the results - especially the part about actually being able to wear the hat now.

Pattern: Baby Boy Five Hour Sweater by Gail Bable
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted in 0517 Nautical Blue
Needles: #9
Date Started: February 25, 2011
Date Finished: March 17, 2011
This is the second of these great little sweaters that I've made for Austin. As fast as he's growing, it will probably be the last unless I try to modify the pattern and make it larger for him. I took these pictures before I wove in the ends so you can see there are only TWO ends to weave in - where I cast on up at the left side neckline and where I bound off at the right inner corner. Amazing pattern...find a baby and knit this!

And with that...I must rest...till next time...happy, happy knitting (happy weekend, too)!

Wednesday Again???? Good Grief...

2011-03-23T22:28:00.000-04:00

I really do have this kickass post full of FOs percolating...slowly...I got a big list, and I keep plugging away on the draft. Yesterday, I wanted to post this for "Ten Things I Like About Spring":

Yup, pink sparkly toenails to celebrate spring! However, there are some things less liked about spring. Like thunderstorms...and doggies who are afraid of said thunderstorms. Doggies who woke me up at 2:15am yesterday morning to get me to take him down to the living room, turn on the lights and the stereo so he wouldn't have to see or hear the storms. Ya know what? It's a little hard to come up with a snappy blog post on 2 hours sleep. LOL! So...here we are, back at Wednesday! Woo hoo, bring on the WIPs!!

I knocked off a couple more repeats on Evenstar tonight. That means I'm now at only, ONLY 18 repeats to go! Then I have to figure out how to graft the edges...then I have to find a BIG place to block this baby...should be interesting. I'll post a picture once I'm there. You really don't want to see any more pictures of my wrinkly lace.

I also worked on Clapotis this week. I'm almost to the halfway point. Yippeeee!

Pattern: Echo Flower Shawl
Yarn: Wolles Yarn Creations Color Changing Cotton in Lights 2
Needles: #9
Date Started: March 18, 2011
Progress: 40%
Last year, I knit the Luna Moth Shawl in the Rainbow colorway of this yarn and had a blast with it, so I just didn't think it would be officially spring without casting on a new Color Changing Cotton shawl. I chose Echo Flower because one of the women in my knitting group made a gorgeous one (in red silk with beads...to die for!), and I thought the echo-y flowers would look quite lovely in this yarn.

The pattern calls for #4 - #7 needles. I cast on with #7s and worked about 30 rows. I hated the results. This cotton has a wonderful soft drape with the right size needles. I used #6 for Luna Moth, but that pattern didn't have nupps or the big, awkward 2into9 and 3into9 increases. My fabric felt heavy and stiff. I contemplated using a different yarn but first decided to bump up the needle size to #9s and see what happened. You can see the results above. The increases aren't bulky. I haven't come to the dreaded nupps yet, but I'm optimistic about them. The shawl feels all soft and fluffy...awesome!

Just before I stopped working on this yesterday, I came to the beginning of the first color change - always a WooHoo moment with this yarn.

Pattern: Ruffled Edge Wrap
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed DK in Watery
Needles: #8
Date Started: February 17, 2011
Progress: 25%
Chugging along on my knitting group project. I love the yarn, and the pattern is a lot of fun...and it's easy to knit while eating and talking which is a MUST for knitting group.

Pattern: Hearts Abound Socks
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed in Wine (Discontinued)
Needles: #1
Date Started: March 5, 2011
Progress: 10%
Isn't that gorgeous yarn? It's been hard to restrain myself from working on these while my pesky knuckle mends. Not that it's totally mended, but I figured, hey, what could 8 or 9 rows here and there hurt? So, this morning, I finished off the toe and worked a couple rows of the instep...and lived to tell the tale. ;-) I can't wait to have enough of this done to show you the darling pattern!

The knuckle? Well...it's still there. I've started weight training again, and I'm confident the problem isn't a carpal tunnel thing. Wrist curls would kill me if it were, and I'm easily curling five pounds right now. My theory...and it's a crazy one...is that my hand is complaining from too much knitting because it doesn't move enough. So...I decided to make playing my instruments a priority again. A half hour of knitting...a half hour of rest then a half hour of fiddling...or playing guitar or piano. And I found a copy of my hand exercises from my heavier fiddling days and have started working on them. Knit on, knit on!!

WIP Wednesday...Knitting In the Slow Lane Edition

2011-03-16T17:08:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've been poking along in my knitting due to this sore hand. The pain seems to be in what I call the "hand knuckle" of my left middle finger. And it is getting better as I've limited my knitting time the past couple weeks...sigh...no more six-hour knitting marathons for me. I even bought a timer so I can stop and stretch every 20 minutes or so. It really works great...when I remember to turn it on...

Evenstar has been put on temporary hold once again, as have the Hearts Abound socks and the Ruffled Edge Wrap. This week, I've been focusing my knitting time on smaller projects and projects I could finish fairly quickly. Since the Ruffled Edge Wrap is something I won't actually wear until next fall and it's an easily memorizable pattern, it's going to be my official knitting group project. And I'll be picking up those two little-needle projects as my hand improves. Right now, it seems to be happiest knitting with #7 and larger needles.

My last post mentioned some health issues going on with both Wilbur and Pete, and I spent Monday and Tuesday chauffeuring both of them to medical appointments. Pete's back injury is not as severe as we had feared - he strained his sacroiliac joint lifting a 75-pound bass amp. He's been working from home this week and slowly getting better. He also had his quarterly follow-up with his oncologist yesterday, and all is well on that front (YAY!).

Wilbur is probably beginning to show signs of arthritis. The vet couldn't find any specific areas that were "touchy", but his symptoms kind of point to lower back/hip discomfort. He and Pete are taking the exact same pain medication. It's upsetting Wilbur's stomach, and we'll probably have to change to a different one. It's making Pete sleepy. He's quite happy being sleepy right now. LOL!

The totally awesome yarn bowl I ordered from Temptations a month or so back arrived, and I picked it up this morning. I also picked up a couple other things, just to celebrate the bowl's arrival.

The Awesome Yarn Bowl

Other Thing #1: Malabrigo Rios in Primavera

Other Thing #2: Malabrigo Rios in Solis

As for the active WIPs...

Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Araucania Ranco Multy in Brown/Grey/Charcoal
Needles: #7
Date Started: February 16, 2011
Progress: 35%
I'm so excited! I've done two whole pattern repeats of the straight section, and now I understand how this pattern works. Seriously, up till now, I was just knitting along, thinking, "Yeah, right...". But I have seen the Clapotal light! This yarn is kind of weird and crunchy textured which is kind of fun. I'm not sure what will happen to it once it's blocked. Oh, and please disregard that needle stuck on the right side of the photo - this project just LOVES to roll, and I used the needle to hold my work in place so I could show off those two wonderful drop-stitch rows.

Pattern: Baby Boy 5-Hour Sweater
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted in 0517 Nautical Blue
Needles: #10
Date Started: February 25, 2011
Progress: 45% (1 hour, 46 minutes)
Hmmm...at the rate I'm going, I'll have this baby for the baby done in a little over three hours. Warp Speed Knitting! LOL! This is a really interesting spot in this sweater...let me explain. There at the top...that little curliqued circular needle...that's the left front of the sweater. That square thing on the left, anchored by the straight needle...that's the left sleeve! The remainder of the sweater is on the larger circular needle of which you can only see the right point in the picture. I have about six more rows to work on the sleeve, then will bind off all the stitches, slip stitch the sleeve seam together, and knit back across to the other side to work the right sleeve. This is a fascinating project - I'll need to take more pictures for your enjoyment!!

Oh, and here's a sneak preview of a future WIP using some amazing yarn I bought from one of my favorite yarnies, Wolles Yarn Creations, source of that amazing rainbow colored yarn I used last year for my Luna Moth Shawl.

The color is "Lights 2", and my plan (once I've finished the baby sweater and passed the halfway point of Clapotis) is to use it to knit an Echo Flower Shawl. It's gonna rock!

You rock, too - thanks for reading!

What's On My Mind...

2011-03-13T20:45:00.000-04:00

When I was in second grade, a Japanese-American family moved in across the street from us. They had a daughter who was a year older than me, and we became close friends. My mother made lovely kimonos for our Barbie dolls, and I learned several phrases in Japanese, much to the delight of my friend's mother who spoke little English.

The summer after they moved in, my friend and her mother went back to Japan for a couple weeks, and she brought me this lovely little wooden figurine that I cherish to this day, even though I eventually lost contact with my friend. Her dad was in the Air Force, and they moved away after two years. We wrote each other faithfully through her moves to three or four different states, until we were in high school.

With all the horrific images coming in from Japan on Friday, I just couldn't see myself yammering on about my projects. Hopefully, I'll catch up tomorrow, but I have to take Wilbur to the vet (he's just been acting a little "off" and, at his age, that needs to be checked out), and Pete to the doctor (he injured his back lifting a bass amp Saturday night). It's been one of those weeks here at Chez THT, but nothing compared to what is happening to our friends in Japan. Please remember them all in your prayers and healing thoughts and donate to the helping charities of your choice.

WIP Wednesday...Did You Just Hear a Frog?

2011-03-09T18:03:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah...I just dropped the "Knitter's F-Bomb"...FROG. Wanna see the destruction?

Yup, it's those damn Thermal Socks in that damn black yarn. Frogged. Gone. At the county refuse facility at this very moment. I have never thrown away perfectly good yarn before. But there's nothing good about splitty black yarn. Sadly, for as much as I complained about the pattern, it wasn't the pattern that did these socks in. I'd adapted it and made peace with it. It was the yarn. When I started working on them last weekend, I discovered I'd used the wrong yarn for the wrong socks and had joined them. This started a futile bout of cussing and tinking, with more cussing than tinking because the yarn began splitting, stitches began dropping, and the whole thing was just so freakin' dark I couldn't see where to try to pick the stitches back up. And that's when I said, "Enough". These socks had served their purpose of helping me learn to knit two toe-up socks on one circular needle, and I decided to put me out of their misery. Frogged. Croaked.

The rest of my knitting week was much more successful. However, not a lot of knitting (at least not a lot for ME) got done. I'm having some discomfort in the top of my left hand, between my index and middle fingers, and some stiffness after a good power knitting session. So this week, I went easy on the knitting. I made a little progress on Evenstar, Clapotis, Ruffled Edge Wrap, and Revontuli-huivi, but not enough to warrant boring you with pictures of the measly ten or twelve rows I managed to knock off. I'd hoped to have made it past the first drop stitch row on Clapotis, but as it turns out, I'll probably get there later tonight.

Here are the remaining projects that for one reason or another I thought were photo-worthy this week.

Project: Baby Boy 5-Hour Sweater
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted
Needles: #10
Date Started: February 25, 2011 using #9 needles. Frogged and restarted using #10 needles March 5, 2011
Progress: 20% (46 minutes)
Pete stopped by to see Raechel and Austin while I was getting my hair cut this week and told me he is really growing fast. I knit the gray sweater on #9 needles, and it fit him nicely, but I wanted him to be able to grow into this one a little (hopefully!), so I moved up to #10s. This pattern calls for a knitted cast-on, but I didn't really see the advantage to that in the last sweater so I did a long-tail cast on, which is what I prefer.

Project: Hearts Abound Socks
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed in Wine (Discontinued)
Needles: #1, 47" circular
Date Started: March 5, 2011
Progress: 5%
This is the "February" sock, next in line after the frogged January sock debacle. I decided to use a 47" circular on this one instead of the 40" because I thought the frogged socks were a little crowded on the needle and that it contributed to the laddering problems. Obviously, I'm not very far into this pair, but it does feel a lot easier to move the socks around on the longer needles and even though I'm kind of fighting the extra needle length, I like the results a lot better. I like the yarn a lot better, too! Yummy shade of wine...and the pattern is adorable. I'm going to really enjoy making these socks.

Project: A Very Braidy Cowl
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Maxima in M9079 Currant
Needles: #8
Date Started: February 27, 2011
Progress: 45%
Ok...I really have no reason to show my progress on this except that I'm almost halfway done...and isn't this just the most freakin' amazing thing you've ever seen in your life??????? I'm totally in love with this pattern and this yarn. So in love that, for as much as I want spring to get here, I'm praying for one more good cold snap just so I can wear this baby a couple of times. And for as amazing as it looks, it feels even better...so soft, warm and cushy.

Project: Sideways Hat

Yarn: Lana Grossa Cento in 009 Green/Purple

Needles: #8

Progress: 20%

Date Started: ~~February 8, 2010~~ March 8, 2011

Date Finished: ~~February 9, 2010~~

Ok...I know you're scratching your head and wondering why I'm featuring a project I finished over a year ago. Um, because it doesn't fit. I loved this hat when I knit it. I started it a year ago on my husband's birthday and finished it the next day when we had a snowstorm that dropped about ten inches of snow on us. I remember finishing the hat, putting it on, and heading out to shovel the driveway. I remember thinking how warm my head was and being happy that I didn't have hat hair when I came inside and took it off. I remember it actually fitting on my head and not dropping down and resting on my nose which is what it did this year when I put it on. My hair was shorter and fluffier a year ago...that's my only excuse. I don't think my head shrunk nor did my hat decide to go on steroids while in storage over the summer. Regardless...it didn't fit, so I frogged it, went down a needle size, and have started it again. It's a fun project, so I don't mind.

Hope you enjoyed this little excursion through my WIP world. I also hope my hand starts feeling better so I can start knitting at my usual accelerated rate again. Don't want to bore my readers! Happy knitting!

Ten on Tuesday - 10 Favorite Smells

2011-03-08T19:44:00.000-05:00

In a lot of ways, I'm fairly scent-averse. I can't handle perfumes or colognes or most scented candles. The last time I wore perfume, my allergic reactions included swollen glands and fever! Today is a particularly scent-sensitive day for me, and I've had a borderline migraine for most of the past 24 hours due to some very unpleasant scents at a venue where I rehearsed last night and sang this morning: sewer gas, some kind of really sweet, nasty, Raid-smelling air freshener that must have been piped in, and some other kind of kerosene-smelling fumes in the area I had to walk through (for about two city blocks!) to get to my car. I swear, I can taste that sweet smell six hours later!

There are, however, many smells that I do love. They are (in no particular order)...

Coffee! There is nothing better than the smell of fresh-brewed coffee. Except maybe the taste...
Lavender. I love lavender. Sometimes I dab a little lavender oil under my nose when I go to bed so I can fall asleep enjoying the sweet, relaxing fragrance.
Lilacs. I can bury my face in lilacs and inhale till I'm dizzy. I try to do this at least once every spring.
Hyacinths. Like lilacs on steroids.
Asphalt. Yes, that's right...asphalt. I grew up a couple miles from an asphalt plant. The smell of asphalt was always in the air, especially when the wind blew in from the southwest (which it usually did). I don't even want to think about what that does to my chances of getting cancer. Someone once told me if the air you breathe has an odor, it's doing bad things to you. Eek. One of my scariest memories is when there was a huge fire at the plant that also threatened a nearby oil refinery. I was in first grade and remember looking out the classroom window across an empty cornfield and watching huge fireballs shooting into the air only about a mile away. We were sent home from school soon after that. My dad came home from work early, and we climbed up on the roof of the house to watch the fire. Later that night, special planes from a nearby air force base had to fly in and drop foam to put out the fire.
Gasoline. Yup, asphalt and gasoline. Grandpa Young was an auto mechanic at a garage in Newark. He always smelled like gasoline. Whenever I fill up the tank, I flash back to Grandpa Young in his green and black wool jacket, just home from work and washing up with Lava soap (which isn't a particularly favorite smell).
Spring air. You know it smells different...warm...alive...
Jergen's Lotion. The classic cherry-almond scent. Timeless...
Roast beef, the way my mother made it.
Caswell-Massey's Nantucket Briar products. One of the very few scented products that don't do me in. I constantly have a Nantucket Briar candle or two in the bedroom and love to sprinkle a little of the powder on the sheets when I change them.

What are your ten favorite scents?

FO Friday, Past and Present

2011-03-04T06:00:00.019-05:00

How amazing is this? I'm actually getting TWO blog posts done in a week! Can I get a "Woo-Hoooo", somebody?

I'm actually a little surprised this is going so smoothly, especially on a Thursday which is "crazy day" for me right now. I have an awesome yoga class for knitters in the morning, then I run errands that for whatever reason (like a library book being due) cannot wait till Friday, my usual errand day. Added to that, I have a book study group on Thursday nights...and today, I'm baking for that group. Did I really think I'd have time to write? Um...no, not a chance. But here I am!!

So, the plan here is I will feature my three oldest FOs from back when I seriously fell off the blog wagon, then my three most recent FOs till I'm caught up. Only this week, there will be four most recent. You'll see why.

Pattern: Olive Entrelac Neckwarmer (my original pattern)
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend in Moss
Needles : #6
Date Started: August 14, 2010
Date Finished: September 27, 2010
I bought this yarn for another project that didn't pan out. When I started knitting that project (which I've now forgotten), the yarn screamed "CAMO!!!", and I frogged it. A few days later, I wanted to do an entrelac project and grabbed the ball of "I'll Never Use It Cuz It Looks Like Camo" yarn just to practice the entrelac technique. As I knit, I realized the yarn looked pretty darn snazzy in entrelac, so I worked up this little neckwarmer pattern. I love wearing this. I have several other colors of this yarn that will make equally beautiful entrelac neckwarmers. And the buttons are amazing - wanna see a closeup???

Pattern: Citron by Hilary Smith Callis
Yarn: Crystal Palace Mini Mochi in 110 Jungle
Needles: #10
Date Started: April 9, 2010
Date Finished: October 5, 2010
This is another project I started by just playing around with some yarn. I'd made a Pretty Thing Cowl in Mini Mochi and had a little over one ball left. I cast on with #8 needles and fell in love with the pattern. It soon became obvious I'd need more yarn to finish, so I bought two more balls and knit along happily until disaster struck. It was the end of September, and I was eleven rows from the end when I realized I would not have enough yarn to finish. Nowhere near enough. I tried ripping back a repeat or two, and it was then I realized the shawl felt heavy and too tightly knit on the #8 needles. No shawly drape whatsoever. I frogged it, went up to #10s, and cast on again. This time, it felt perfect, and I finished it about a week later. I worked one less pattern repeat than called for and made the ruffle half the width so I wouldn't run out of yarn. I'm not pleased with the way the ruffle blocked out. Maybe it would look better if it were the full length? But I do enjoy tossing this very, very soft and warm little shawl around my neck when I get a chill.

Pattern: Merope Shawl by Romi Hill
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Rayon Vert
Needles: #4
Date Started: July 10, 2010
Date Finished: October 14, 2010
I love my Merope. What more can I say? I loved knitting it, and I'm wearing it to death. This is the second Romi shawl I've knit (my beloved Brandywine being the first). Funny story: When I got to the end of this shawl - you know, what you'd think was the fast and easy bind off row - I discovered there was this snazzy bind off that was going to take...um...a whole lot more time. At first I was frustrated, then I got into the rhythm of the pattern and now, it's my favorite feature of this pattern. I remember finishing this shawl (and doing that endless bind off) while I was watching the 33 Chilean miners being rescued and dabbing teardrops off of my new shawl. Check out this bind off...it'll make you smile (sorry it's a little blurry).

Pattern: b18-21 Bonnet in rib in "Alpaca" by DROPS
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease Sportweight (sadly discontinued) in 107 Blue Bell
Needles: #2 (16" circulars...hand cramps...ouch...)
Date Started: January 25, 2011
Date Finished: February 1, 2011
Yarn: Plymouth Encore DK in Regal Red and Grayfrost Mix
Date Started: February 5, 2011
Date Finished: February 22, 2011
I'm still singing the praises of Julia from Yarn and Ivories for sending me the link to this fabulous baby bonnet pattern. The bonnet is made in one piece and, if you can handle knitting on 16" #2 circs for longer than about 30 minutes, you can make one of these really quickly. I can't and have to take breaks, so it took me longer. If you look at the blue hat, you'll see the "helmet" effect I ended up with doing the crocheted edging. When I looked at all the project pages, I saw that a lot of people had this same issue. I think it looks kinda cute, but I didn't want the second one to look the same way, so I decided to do an inch of knitted ribbing around the face.

Raechel and Jay went to school at Ohio State and are really into the "Scarlet and Gray" theme, so I decided to make a few items for Austin in those colors. I didn't originally intend to do the charcoal gray trim on the second hat, but I could see I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish with that extra inch of ribbing around the face, so I did the trim in charcoal. Even though I'm not into the whole team spirit thing with those colors, I do think it makes a very attractive hat for a very handsome young man. And I think my Franklin Bear looks pretty good in it, too, don't you?

Pattern: Baby Boy 5-Hour Sweater by Gail Bable
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted in 194 Medium Gray
Needles: #9
Date Started: February 3, 2011
Date Finished: February 15, 2011
I LOVE this pattern! Believe it or not, this is knit ENTIRELY in one piece. There is no seaming anywhere, no breaking off and rejoining of yarn. It is a masterpiece of knitting architecture. Does it take five hours to knit? I'm not sure. It probably took me longer the first time because I kept reading the pattern and saying, "Really?????? If I really do this, it will look okay???" This cardigan doesn't have a closure, which can be nice for babies, but I'm sure you could add a button band if you wanted to. Now that the weather is starting to warm up and Austin is venturing out in the world, a sweater like this really comes in handy. Raechel asked me to make him a few more, and I have the yarn to make several more - in fact, you saw the beginnings of the blue one just a couple days ago. So far, I've knit 23 minutes on it...got a ways to go to fit the five-hour mark.

Pattern: Ten Stitch Twist by Frankie Brown
Yarn: James C. Brett Marble Chunky in MC03 Wild Field
Needles: #10
Date Started: June 11, 2010
Date Finished: February 15, 2011
It's done. Yay. Am I happy with it? No. As you can see from the picture, it has all these ruffles. I can't get it to lay flat. It's also a little smaller than the 36" I wanted, but not significantly so. I really did enjoy knitting this. I think the yarn was a big factor in my enjoyment. It might also be a big factor in why the rug won't lay flat All in all, this "rug" for my room is really not so much a rug as a comfy place for Wilbur to snooze when I'm in there. It's really his rug, and since he seems happy with it, I'm not bound to change it (though I think it would have turned out better if I'd used #11 or #13 needles).

So, there you have it - the three oldest and four newest. One thing is for sure - I don't shy away from color, do I? I'll be back on Monday with something probably totally unrelated to knitting. Happy weekend!

In Which Everything is a WIP...

2011-03-02T06:00:00.020-05:00

True, is it not? Aren't we all works in progress? I know I am. And I know I'm totally overwhelmed by everything I want to write about and the fact that I have almost 20 (yes, TWENTY) FOs to show you from the past few months when I've been a mostly MIA blogger. Every Friday, I look at this growing list...and then I have to go lay down and put a cool rag on my forehead.

When I started blogging, I really wanted to write something every day. Some weeks that worked, but most weeks not so much. It did put a lot of pressure on me which I relieved by avoiding my blog and knitting - creating more things to blog about. A vicious circle of unbridled creativity. I've learned that daily blogging probably isn't for me. I'm toying with the idea of blogging on Monday, Wednesday (WIPs!) and Friday (FOs!). Monday probably won't be knitting related. I'll talk about life, music, maybe share a book or recipe I've stumbled across. Maybe share an old, non-knitting FO. It's going to be random. I'll participate in Carole's Ten on Tuesday as much as I can.

So...since this is WIP Wednesday, I have more than just some unfinished knitting to write about - I have some unfinished business. The past few weeks have been quite lucky for me. I won TWO contests and scored some lovely yarn in a big stashdown sale. There's still a little bit left in that sale, and if you'll go here and buy it all, it'll help my credit card cool down a few degrees. There are some skeins still calling my name, but I'll bet they'd like you, too.

BIG THANK YOU TO...
Ivana from the wonderful Fridica blog. Ivana had a contest last month in which she asked us to send pictures wearing our knitwear in a real-life situation (NOT modeling our latest FO). I sent in this picture of me wearing my Merope Shawl and holding Austin when he was just a little less than one day old, and I won!!!

Last week, I received a wonderful package from Ivana containing beautiful yarn from Croatia and some patterns for darling little baby socks.

I love the sock patterns, but may have to hold off on them. They're knit on #0 or #1 needles, and my hands are still recovering from two little hats I made on #2s. Ouchie... But look at that beautiful yarn! I'm thinking of a darling little polo shirt or cardigan for Austin. Thank you, Ivana!!

Also thank you to Margene from Zeneedle. Margene had a blogiversary contest...and I won one of three prizes! I'll be honest and say I was terribly embarrassed to win two contests in a week, especially when I was trying to figure out how to have one of my own (and I'm still working on that...). My prize was a skein of Margene's lovely handspun yarn and a copy of Twist & Knit. Oops...I already have a copy. Soooo...when my package arrived last week, here is what was in it:

The beautiful yarn AND a darling little Namaste goodie bag...AND some delicious tangeriney/pepperminty soap from blessed juno, appropriately named "Tangent" (cuz heaven knows I can go off on one of those every now and again!). I think that yarn deserves closeup, don't you???

Thank you, Margene!! I cannot wait to cast on for that Comfy Shawl. It's next in my queue!

Last, but in no way least, a big thanks to Allison from Alaskan Purl for putting such beautiful yarn up for sale! I'm still bummed that I didn't act quickly enough to snag her mega batch of laceweight, but just look what I got:


6 skeins Rowan Felted Tweed in Watery

4 skeins Rowan Scottish Tweed DK in Celtic Mix (Yes, I'm on a tweed kick...)

6 skeins Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in Spiceberry Mix

2 skeins Cascade Heritage Sock yarn in David's Eyes (really creepy name, but beautiful yarn)

And now for the other WIPs....

Pattern: Evenstar Shawl (aka "The Project That Wouldn't End")
Yarn: Knit Picks Shimmer in Bayou
Needles: #3
Date Started: March 3, 2010 (yes...really...it's been a year...)
Progress: 60%
Yup...I've taken Evenstar out of hibernation. There really isn't any problem with this project. It's been challenging but, for the most part, fun. That is till I got to the edging. The edging is 20 rows of 20 stitches repeated around the entire shawl...hundreds and hundreds of times. It's tedious, and it makes me crazy. I can only do one pattern repeat, two at the most, then I have to put it away for a couple days. 56 repeats of 20 rows. The good news is, I think I have only 21 or 22 repeats to go. I started out with the whole thing on a 60" circular needle and I'm now on a 24" circular with a good amount of room to spare. Heartening...I may finished it before I die. I hope so, because it is a beautiful project.

Pattern: Thermal Socks
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed in Soot (Discontinued)
Needles: #1 (Pattern calls for #2s, but I have itty bitty footies...)
Date Started: January 7, 2011
Progress: 70% (Yes, that's right...it's the end of February, and I'm almost 3/4 of the way through the January sock. Gotta love progress!)
I've modified this pattern as much as I can, and I'm fairly happy with it at last (except for that dreaded black yarn). I decided to do a p1, k1 ribbing on those stitches that had the bizarre increase/decrease rows. It's moving along fairly quickly at this point. The heels were a little sketchy, but that's okay. This is my "learning project" for knitting two socks on one circular needle. The first heel is pretty much an (un)holey mess. The second is pretty much perfect. Can't complain about that and won't go back and fix the first one. Charging on to the February sock which is in a lovely deep red yarn. Can't wait!

Pattern: A Very Braidy Cowl
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Maxima in Currant
Needles: #8
Date Started: February 27, 2011
Progress: 25%
I fell in love with this yarn the moment I saw it. I had to buy it and start a project with it right away. The name of this pattern made me laugh out loud, and I love the thick, chunky cables. I haven't done serious cabling in many years, so this is a fun refresher for me.

Pattern: Baby Boy 5-Hour Sweater
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted in Nautical Blue
Needles: #9
Date Started: February 25, 2011
Progress: 15%
Made for: Austin
I can't wait to show you the first one of these wonderful sweaters I made. When I gave it to Raechel, she immediately asked for more of them. This is a perfect little cardigan for a baby. It doesn't have closures, though you could knit on a button band if you wanted to. And...this is the most amazing thing...it is knit entirely in one piece! The only "seams" are in the sleeves, and they are slip-stitched together. I really don't know if it takes five hours to knit or not. I suspect the first one took me a little longer, though I didn't keep track. I'm going to try to keep track on this one. The pattern calls for #10 needles, but I went down to #9s because Austin is still a little guy (growing fast, but still little).

Pattern: Ruffled Edge Wrap
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed DK in Watery
Needles: #8
Date Started: February 17, 2011
Progress: 10%
For the past several months, every time I've gone into my favorite LYS, Temptations, I've seen a sample of this wrap and admired it. I don't think the sample is knit in Felted Tweed, but whenever I've looked at it, this little voice in my head told me it would be a perfect combination. This will be another "long slog" project, but luckily the pattern is easily memorized. It's a perfect project to take to knitting group on Saturday mornings.

Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Araucania Ranco Multy in Brown/Gray/Charcoal
Needles: #7
Date Started: February 16, 2011
Progress: 20%
I am the only living knitter on this planet who has not yet made (or attempted to make) Clapotis. It's my turn. Actually, this is one of those rare cases where I had yarn and couldn't figure out what to make with it. I bought this yarn on sale a couple years ago and attempted several projects with it, but none of them were good matches for the yarn, so I packed it away. A couple weeks ago, I was updating my stash page on Ravelry, noticed a picture of the yarn and lapsed into a "must find a project or get rid of the yarn" obsession. When I saw several Clapotis (Clapotees? Clapoti? Clapotisses?) knit from this yarn, I decided to give it a shot. So far, so good. I know it's another "slogger", but the color changes will keep it interesting for me, and I like the way the yarn feels in my hands while I'm knitting.

Pattern: Revontuli-huivi/Northern Lights
Yarn: Noro Sekku in #2 Black/Gray/Brown/Green/Blue (with a little purple and red tossed in just for giggles)
Needles: #6
Date Started: January 15, 2011
Progress: 80%
I am definitely in "long slog" territory with this shawl, but I am still intrigued by the color changes, so it isn't making me crazy. I am beginning to see why people love Noro yarns. You can work on really boring patterns, and there's this constant little adrenaline rush of color change going on. I really cannot wait to finish this and wear it. This is a fun and pretty easy pattern that looks a whole lot more complicated than it is. I'm eyeing some other yarns in my stash that I think would make spectacular Northern Lights shawls.

FOs on Friday, I PROMISE - the three oldest and the three newest. It'll be fun!

WIP Wednesday With Some Changes

2011-02-09T06:00:00.006-05:00

Oh! And I just realized my blogiversary was last week AND I just passed my 100th post. Can I get a WooHoo? I'd kinda hoped to do a little more than just say "Well, how about that!" but...well....how about that???

Reading back over the past year, a couple things really stood out for me. The first was my Wilburdog. A year ago, he was one sick puppy, and I was on a feeding schedule with him of every four hours, around the clock. I don't think I got a normal, uninterrupted night's sleep between January and July. Never in a million years would I have thought he'd still be here, blissfully snoozing at my feet. But he is, and not only that, he's eating and drinking normal amounts at normal times, his energy level is really great, and despite the fact that he has always had SAD in winter, he is having one of the best winters of his 13+ years. YAY Wilbur!!!

The second thing I noticed was...holy crap did I start a lot of projects last year!! And more than that, I started a whole lot of projects that are yet unfinished. This guilts me to no end. I've begun wonderful projects with beautiful yarn. There really isn't a project I don't like in the group...I just got bogged down in them all. So, my main focus for this year is to finish everything I started last year. I will start projects that are fairly easily finishable, but my main focus is on the moldy oldies. I also decided to get honest with myself and admit that I have about a dozen projects in hibernation and mark them thusly on Ravelry. So my blog list only shows projects I am really, truly, actively working on and not something that's been sitting since last August but which I intend to finish...someday...

Sooo...with that in mind, here are my WIPs for the week...

Pattern: Ten Stitch Twist
Yarn: James C. Brett Marble Chunky
Colorway: Wild Field
Purchased at: YarnMarket
Needles: #10
Date Started: June 11, 2010
Progress: 80%
Dear gosh, yes, this is a serious slog, but it's a great project for watching TV (which I rarely do), and the color changes keep things fairly interesting. I only have about 3/4 of the final round to knit, then the end shaping, and I'm done! This was going to be a rug for the area at the bottom of our stairs, but I think it will get too much traffic, so am going to put it in my room instead.

Pattern: b18-21 Bonnet in rib in Alpaca by DROPS Design
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore DK
Colorway: Regal Red
Purchased at: The Yarn Shop
Needles: 16" circular, #2
Date Started: February 5, 2011
Progress: 35%
Made for: Austin (of course...)
This is the second one of these darling little hats I've made. BIG shoutout to Julia at Yarn and Ivories for recommending this wonderful baby hat pattern to me. Thanks, Julia!!! There are a few awkward moments with this pattern. You start out by knitting a little over 4" of ribbing, then break the yarn and pick up a bunch o'stitches on the side of what you've just knit, knit across the row you've been working on, pick up another bunch o'stitches along the other side. It's what makes it a hat and not a...well...not a Mohawk cover. Those first few rows after picking up those stitches are a little tight and fiddly to work, then, at just about the point where I am in the photo above, it all becomes much, much easier, and this cute little hat just flies by. There is also a wide range of sizes for this pattern so, if Austin likes these hats, I can make them for him for a few years.

Pattern: Baby Boy 5-Hour Sweater by Gail Bable
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted
Colorway: Medium Gray
Purchased at: The Yarn Shop
Needles: #9
Date Started: February 3, 2011
Progress: 40%
Made for: Austin
This is a fun and interesting pattern. I don't know if I could knit it in five hours (even though I'm a pretty speedy knitter). I bought some cute little buttons - red with a dog paw design for this one. I bought this yarn, along with some blue and red, to knit a sleep sack for Austin, but I frogged it. It was really cute but just didn't seem real practical to me. So...more yarn for cute baby sweaters!

Pattern: Noro Keyhole Scarf by Terri Decker
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted
Colorway: Verde Adriana
Purchased at: YarnMarket
Needles: #10
Date Started: January30, 2011
Progress: 75%
Made for: My friend, Ann, who is still having chemo
When I saw Ann in December, I asked her favorite color. When I knit the hats for her last summer, I just picked bright, cheery colors not knowing if she really liked those colors. I wanted to make something for her that she would really love. She told me she'd love a green hat. I set out to find the perfect shade of green yarn for her hat. I thought this was it, then I found another shade of Malabrigo that is just perfect for Ann. And since this yarn goes well with it, I decided to knit a matching scarf. I'll show you the kickass hat on Friday.

Pattern: Revontuli-huivi/Northern Lights by AnneM
Yarn: Noro Sekku
Colorway: Black/Grey/Brown/Green/Blue
Purchased at: Temptations
Needles: #6
Date Started: January 15, 2011
Progress: 55%
People have a "thang" about these Noro Yarns. There seem to be two camps: the camp that thinks it's the greatest yarn ever, and the camp that screams "Clown Barf!!!" at the mention of the name. I don't have a tent at either camp. Call me a Noro Nomad. I'll freely admit there are many colorways of Noro that make me chuckle at the sheer clownbarfishness of it all. There are other colorways, like this one, that do catch my fancy. I seem to be drawn to the colorways that have a lot of neutral colors mixed in with the bright, vivid shades. I like that. A lot!

This shawl has been fun to knit, but I think the needles are a little big for the yarn. Kinda feels like I'm knitting with sewing thread at times. It looks good, but is a little awkward to knit, especially the M1Ls and M1Rs. It's an easy pattern, the charts are well done...and I'm really diggin' on the yarn. Can't wait to get to the red!!!

Pattern: Thermal Socks by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed Sock Yarn (Discontinued)
Colorway: Soot (a.k.a. frickin' black...)
Purchased at: Knit Picks
Needles: 40" circ, size #1
Date Started: January 7, 2011
Can I get an "UGH!", somebody??? Four or five years ago, I bought these two sock kits from Knit Picks. The theme was "Sock of the Month", and I ended up with yarn and patterns for a year's worth of socks. Above, you see January's sock in progress. I originally started this sock on New Year's Day of whatever year it was that I bought all this stuff with my goal being to knit the appropriate socks for each month. I had never tried toe-up socks before. After a couple hours of confusion and frustration, I pitched it all in a bag and threw it in a closet.

About a year ago, I rediscovered the Socks of the Month. I think I remember blogging about sitting down with a book, a skein of worsted yarn and some #8 needles and just knitting toes till they became second nature to me. I then knit the April sock - a cute little green pair with snazzy cabled butterflies. They were a smashing success, and I love them to this day. See...aren't they cute????

So emboldened, I decided to take my monthly sock challenge up anew with the new year. Just to make it more interesting, I would also knit these socks on one circular needle (yet another skill I'd never tried before). All would be going fairly well if the January socks weren't....well...black. Actually, that's not true. All would be going well if the yarn wasn't black, if there wasn't a weird, awkward pattern with lots of knitting and purling in the front and backs of stitches then decreasing them all on the next row. Makes for a very laddery sock, IMO. When I looked at some of the project pages on Ravelry, it seems like a lot of people had similar problems with this sock. "Nice sock, NOT fun to knit" seems to be a popular opinion. I concur. Oh, and if I hadn't decided to tackle an entirely new technique while knitting a black sock in a fiddly pattern.

It took one evening and part of the next morning to get the hang of knitting two socks on one circular needle. Yarn and needles flew across the room on several occasions. Bad words were said. Husband ducked several times and looked terrified when I brought them to the breakfast table the next morning. But once I got it...I got it. I can now do it in my sleep. I think in the future I'll use 47" needles, but I'm cookin' happily along with this technique.

Not cookin' along happily with the socks. I've decided that I'm using these socks strictly to perfect my technique on circs and don't care a whit what they turn out like. I eliminated those fiddly K1fb rows. I tried ribbing for a little while, then discarded that idea and just knit on in stockinette. The yarn is so dark, you really can't see what's going on there anyway. The little cables are kinda nice. We're now a week into February and I'm only a quarter of the way through January's sock. Good thing I made the April sock last year - I'm going to need the catch up time!

And if you thought THIS post was long...wait till you see the FOs on Friday!!!

P.S. Here's a wonderful tidbit: Allison at Alaskan Purl is having a BIG destash sale. She's already unloaded some amazing yarn that I was seriously coveting, and I'd better get over there and stake my claim before y'all beat me to what's left. Go! Buy yarn! You'll like it!

Ten on Tuesday - Ten Favorite Oscar Winning Movies

2011-02-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oh, this should be fun (she says sarcastically)! I can't remember the last time I saw a movie that wasn't part of some 24-hour Cary Grant or Gene Kelly film festival on AMC. Truth be told, I refuse to watch any movie where anyone bleeds or throws up, so that severely limits my choices. My philosophy of movie watching is this: I want to be entertained. I don't want to be grossed out, pissed off, scared to death or driven to wrist-slitting depression. Just a little entertainment, please.

I went to the Oscar database and looked at all the films that have won Best Picture. There are 82 of them (very quick count, may be a little off). I've seen 30 of them, and not all of them would count in any way as a favorite movie, but here are my ten best.

Lawrence of Arabia. Yes, there is blood, especially in the newer release (ugh...). Part of my love for this movie is due to the fact that, when I was 14 and passionate about movies, my father took me to see it at the newly restored Ohio Theatre. Oh, and Peter O'Toole...
Out of Africa. Meryl Streep. Beautiful costumes. Nuff said.
Annie Hall. For the lobster scene. And the cocaine scene.
Rocky. Probably wouldn't see it now, but during the summer of 1977, my roommate and I must have seen that movie 20 times. Had the posters, too. And the soundtrack. DA DA Dadada Dadada Dadada...
Oliver! OMG...Oliver! Dad and I saw this at The Midland in Newark when I was 12. Ron Moody's Fagan is still one of my favorite movie characters.
My Fair Lady. Audrey Hepburn. Great songs.
On the Waterfront. Young, gorgeous Marlon Brando. Amazing performance.
An American in Paris. Gene Kelly. Best dancer ever. I'm still in love with Gene Kelly.
How Green Was My Valley. Classic tearjerker of a movie. Everyone dies, but it's beautiful.
The Deer Hunter. Lots of violence. Went to this movie with friends back in 1979. Didn't know anything about it. I was totally freaked out and traumatized, but loved the story, REALLY loved Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep, and (knowing when to clamp my eyes shut) saw the movie a couple more times.

Wow...I did it! What I learned from this is that most of the movies I really love were not Best Picture winners.

Tidbits From a Very Scattered Week

2011-02-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

Yup, we had an ice storm. Last Tuesday, to be exact. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been because after about an inch of ice had fallen, it warmed up and rained for a few hours and melted a lot of it before getting cold and snowing. We never lost power, though our cable/internet/phone was out for about 18 hours.

We only have one tree left, a pine tree, and it weathered the storm beautifully. However, the hood of our car was dented from a big limb from one of the neighbor's trees, and another one of his trees came down in his back yard, taking out all of his power lines.

The kids lost power, and they camped out at our house for a day until it was restored. Wilbur was happy to have a doggy playmate for a day, and Pete and I got some quality baby-holding time. For as stressful as it was for them having their power go out with a ten-day old baby and having to pack up everything (babies and dogs have a lot of "things" to pack!) and come here, we were able to laugh and say it will be a really good story to tell Austin when he gets older.

By Thursday, the roads were pretty clear, so I ventured out to...buy yarn! After all, babies NEED knitted things, especially in winter. Oh, and just a few things for myself...I need knitted things, too, ya know!

Encore DK in Regal Red

Encore DK in Grayfrost Mix

Malabrigo Rios in Arco Iris

Jojoland Melody in Wine Tasting (Seriously? I've never seen red-orange wine before...)


Jojoland Melody in Christmas Wreath (which looks absolutely NOTHING like a Christmas wreath...)

I'll leave you to think about this...what's up with the way Jojoland names their yarns??? Christmas Wreath...really? Rusty orangey wine? Who knows, perhaps they'll look different when they're knit up. I'm curious enough to move them to the front of my stash queue.

Ah well...knit on, even if the color names don't make any sense to you...that's my plan!

Ten on Tuesday - Ten Things on Your Bedside Table

2011-02-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

Ten? Really? I usually don't have a whole lot of stuff on my night table - maybe it's because my night table has two nice drawers that hold a lot of stuff. From left to right, here's what's on my night table:

My glasses case. It's a cheap little sunglasses case I picked up at Target for a buck, but it has a cute floral pattern, and I like it.
My alarm clock. Good grief that thing is old, but it keeps right on keeping good time.
Just between the clock and #4 you can barely make out my tube of Burt's Bees Rejuvenating Lip Balm with Acai Berry. I'm not on the acai berry bandwagon, but this is the best lip balm I've ever used. I have tubes of it stashed in every room, my purse, and a few coat pockets.
A lamp. Got these lamps at Lowe's a few years ago and really like them. It's hard to find a lamp short enough for me. Our bedroom is a finished attic, so the side wall you're seeing there is only four feet high. In fact the top of the headboard just about hits at the edge of the wall. These lamps fit perfectly without having to be moved way out to the edge of the table.
If you look carefully, you'll see a little square thingy leaning against the right leg of the lamp. That's my white stone from the White Stone Ceremony at church. Written on it is my word, my focus for the year. I keep it there so I can be reminded first thing in the morning and check in with myself the last thing every night.
Picture of Pete, taken on a trip to Adams County waaaaaay back at the beginning of our courtship. How far back? He still had that big, wild, musician hair, that's how far back!
A votive candle that I almost never light. Lavender. Smells nice.

Things you don't see today but are usually somewhere on my night table:

A tin of Burt's Bees Lemon Cuticle Cream. Love this stuff. It's in the top drawer right now.
A bottle of Norfolk Lavender Roll-On Perfume. Sometimes, if I'm having a hard time going to sleep or am feeling unsettled at bedtime, I'll roll a little of this right under my nose so I can go to sleep enveloped in the scent of lavender (without burning the house down as the candle might do).
Books. I love to read in bed. Sometimes I get a whole paragraph read before falling asleep. Then my husband puts the book on the night table when he goes to bed, and I take it downstairs with me in the morning.

Unrelated to night tables, but I want to thank everyone for your wonderful comments on my post about Austin's birth. I do want to clarify that, while I am old enough to be Raechel's mother (Thanks, Yaya...I'm blushing!), she and her sister are Pete's children from his first marriage, and they have a good mother who loves them very much. I'd like to claim them because they're brilliant and beautiful, and I adore them...but I can't.

Today, many of my blog and IRL friends are being slammed by bad winter juju. We're getting an ice storm here in Columbus. Funny thing...Pete's birthday is next week, and we almost always have either an ice storm or a blizzard (sometimes both!) right around his birthday. Wherever you are, stay safe, stay warm, stay dry...and keep knitting!!

A Very Special Edition of FO Friday

2011-01-28T14:17:00.000-05:00

Austin, 2 hours old

We have a beautiful, healthy grandson, born last Saturday, January 22, 2011. We weren't expecting him for another week, maybe two, but he surprised us all. He announced his impending arrival in the week hours of Saturday morning, and entered the world with a healthy wail not much more than twelve hours later. He's a bitty baby, 18.75 inches long and 6 pounds 9 ounces. Sometimes he looks like his father (like in the picture above), sometimes he looks like his mother and his grandfather.

I had finished the two blankets I was knitting for him, Anne Hanson's Cradle Me and Jared Flood's Shale Baby Blanket. Cradle me had been finished for about a month, and Shale was finished only three days before Austin's arrival, however, neither blanket had been blocked! Raechel called us at around 10am to let us know she was in labor and had been at the hospital for a few hours, Austin was born at 4:31pm...and in the interim, I was in a frenzy of soakenblocken. Since Cradle Me was knit with a washable yarn, I gave it a quick wash on the gentle cycle then dried. It came out perfectly! Shale, which is a bigger blanket and knit of Brown Sheep Nature Spun wool, had to be soaked for about a half hour. Did I mention it was really COLD last Saturday? I think my hands recovered from pressing the COLD water out of that blanket...oh, about yesterday. Shale was then hastily pinned out on our bed, and fans were set up and turned on Warp Speed 11, while I paced back and forth muttering, "Dry! Dry!" Ok, it wasn't quite that bad...but almost! But look at that face...so, sooooo worth plunging my hands into ice cold water.

Ok, I have many other FOs to share, but they will have to wait till next week. Here are a few more pictures of the greatest FO of all. Enjoy!

One day old

Raechel and Austin

Proud Grandpa!

Celebrating in my Merope Shawl

For some reason, whenever I hold babies, I start humming "What A Wonderful World". I might look like I'm smiling, but I'm really humming.

Proud new aunt!

Five days old, wrapped in his Cradle Me Blanket

I have one picture left...it is the best of all, IMO. It absolutely brings tears to my eyes. I was kind of jockeying for position amidst several happy family members and didn't think I'd got a good shot till I downloaded it. Beautiful mother, beautiful two-hour old baby... Welcome to the world, Austin. A whole lot of people love you very much.

The Good, The Bad...and all the other stuff...

2011-01-17T14:58:00.000-05:00

And another six weeks has gone by without a post from me. I did manage to get rid of that pinky-stripey background...and I hope y'all enjoy the picture of our Christmas tree this year. I want to thank everyone for your supportive messages about my situation. It was a huge step to share this...still can't believe I did it...but just putting it out in the world has helped so much. Sadly, you'll have to just enjoy the tree picture a while longer, as I am still in technohell. Update below...

The Good!
Despite everything you'll read below, we had a wonderful Christmas. I (barely!) survived the three weeks of Choral Madness, loving every exhausting minute of it. Pete got me several lovely, thoughtful knitterly gifts this year (including that snazzy red Namaste circular needle case. I then had to buy a second one because...well...after 30 years of knitting, I have more circs than will fit in one case.

We had another Christmas with Wilbur. If you've read my blog from the beginning, you know that he was a very sick doggy for several months last year. In fact, this time last year, I never believed he would still be with us at Christmas. And, since he has lost his hearing and become more confused this year, we really didn't know if he would remember Christmas. He remembered. Even if he no longer can hear the word "presents", he knows what they are, he knows when they are for him, and he still "unwraps" them with glee - and tries to help with ours, too!

My cousin, Carole, hosted a lovely Christmas Eve buffet at her new condo. It was great seeing my cousins! We also spent time with Pete's two daughters and many wonderful friends.

I have finished several knitting projects and can't wait to be able to share photos!

After years of searching, I believe I have finally found a spiritual home. This has been an issue that I have struggled with for many years. For the past few years, I have sung in the choir at a lovely church, however, I couldn't help but feel I need a more spiritual experience and did not want to give up singing with a wonderful group of people. About a month ago, my search led me to a small congregation whose beliefs and values fit me perfectly. Best of all, their services are on Sunday evenings, so I'm still free to sing in the choir at the other church. I could not have asked for a more perfect solution!

The Bad...
Pete and I have jokingly referred to this as "The Christmas from Hell". A week before Christmas, in the midst of Choral Madness, I woke at 3am with the most blinding headache I've ever had. When I got up to take something, the room started spinning. Enter Sinus Infection From Hell...and about a month of recovery time. My holiday consisted of looking at the endless list of stuff to cook, people to entertain, places to go, and figure out what I could cross off or make easier. No one got my special gingerbreads this year. I didn't do any baking. I did no entertaining - we met everyone at restaurants for our celebrations. We didn't go out for our traditional Christmas Eve Chinese lunch because my sense of taste was so messed up that I couldn't bear the thought of Chinese food. No coffee either - that's when you know I'm REALLY sick. I had several great blog posts perking for the holidays which obviously went unwritten. On Christmas Day, after getting the turkey in the oven and realizing the room was spinning much too fast and hard for me to even attempt my sausage stuffing, I sweetly asked Pete if he thought mashed potatoes might taste better this year. When he said yes, I flopped down on the couch and said, "Oh good...would you mind making them?" Of course he did...and they were delicious!!!

A few days after Christmas, Wilbur decided to go out in the back yard and eat...um...something he had left there a few hours (or days) earlier and got very sick. Pete had gone to band practice and had left a peaceful scene - tree lit, Wilbur snuggled up on the couch with me while I knit, soft jazz on the stereo. When he came home three hours later, Wilbur was virtually unresponsive on the floor, I was sobbing on the sofa...and the house, to put it mildly, reeked. When a 50-pound dog decides to spend two hours projectile vomiting, it takes days before everyone gets back to normal - and the dog is the first to recover, as we have found. Luckily, he missed the Christmas tree, but the rug and floor had to be heavily cleaned. Not to mention the walls... He slept for most of the next 15 hours, then bounced up like nothing had happened, wanting to play and eat again. Except for this one day, the past two months have been very good for Wilbur, and we're thrilled.

Earlier in December, I figured out what was causing the problem with not being able to get my computer to recognize my camera and fixed it. About ten days ago, more bad technojuju...my trusty laptop developed narcolepsy!!! It would go to sleep and not wake up without rebooting. It is now somewhere between here and Massachusetts, getting a new hard drive. Oh joy... I'm using Pete's MacBook, but don't much care for the keyboard. And if you find typos, that will be why.

The Other Stuff...
My goal for this year is to knit all the socks in the two Sock of the Month kits I bought from Knit Picks years ago. It will actually be only 11 socks, since I knit one of them about a year ago. I've begun the January sock and just to make things even more challenging, have taught myself to knit two two-up socks on one circular needle. There was much swearing and flinging of yarn and needles for a few hours, but I have the hang of it now. I'm not much enjoying the pattern, and the yarn is freakin' BLACK (there should be a law against black yarn...) so the pattern is hard to see, but I'm determined!!

My second goal is to finish all the projects I started last year, especially the lace shawls.

The due date for our first grandchild is only ten days away! I've finished one baby blanket and am about 80% done with the second.

My stepdaughters loved their Button Up Neckwarmers.

Life is good.

I have not frogged the blog!

2010-12-09T14:38:00.000-05:00

Oh, hi...yes, well, this is embarrassing...(I can just picture myself using the Geico gecko voice saying this). So...here are the top ten (or however many I can come up with) reasons I haven't updated my blog since Heck was a pup (whatever that means...Grandpa Young used to say it and it felt appropriate here).

Everyone jumped on that "Blog every day in November" bandwagon and I gave up on even trying to keep up with reading all of that, let alone trying to keep up with my own postings. I'm a rebel at heart, so I decided to do "Don't blog at all in November". Not really...except for the not being able to keep up with everyone else part.
There's bad technojuju going on at Chez THT. My trusty laptop is doing strange things these days. It all started in late October when we installed this dandy software to automatically back things up. I think it has evil elves in it, and I think Vista sucks rocks. Every day is a new adventure. The only constant is that my computer has suddenly decided it will no longer have anything to do with my camera - thus, no photos. It's really, really hard to have a knitting blog without photos. Yes, I'm knitting. Using grey yarn....kind of a dark grey...making a hat...with ribbing, about six inches worth....see, you really DO need pictures for a knitting blog.
I did cut back on the knitting for a little while. After the biopsy, I went into a serious fibro flare for a few weeks. It was really hard knitting when every stitch caused that trigger point under my right shoulderblade - the one that's roughly the size of Rhode Island - to scream with pain. So...I'm pretty much working on everything I was working on whenever I last posted. Oh, I did make Pete a snazzy helmetliner thingy for when he walks Wilbur in cold weather. It's grey...kind of a dark grey...with ribbing...you get the picture...cuz I sure can't download one right now.
I'm in the midst of "Choral Madness". How does this happen every year? I even dropped out of one chorus this year thinking it would free up my time in December. As it turns out, I wouldn't have had time to sing with them anyway! Yesterday was my ONE free day between December 6 and 21 when I didn't have a rehearsal or a performance. Next week will be insanity - awesomely wonderful insanity, but insanity nevertheless. I promise to come back and fill you in - really, I will! But I probably won't have pictures.
I'm doing The Artist's Way and getting up at really early o'clock in the morning to do my Morning Pages before Pete and Wilbur get up and my focus shatters into a billion different directions. I'm also trying not to hang out on the computer as much. I can kill a whole day here.
I'm trying not to hang out on the computer so much. It's like crack, only worse.
My blog layout seriously needs upgrading, and I'm procrastinating. If I see those pink stripes one more time...

So...all is basically well here. Pete's well. Wilbur's doing super (though he did have a minor tummy problem a month ago). I am, for loss of a better phrase, reconnecting with myself. This past year has been a year of healing, physically and emotionally, for me. A year ago, I was forced to quit my job due to my employer (a large and VERY beloved institution in my community) refusing to deal with a mentally ill co-worker who was bullying me and everyone around her, sabotaging my work, and making active threats of violence and destruction. When my doctor put me on medical leave (I had developed an ulcer and was pretty much in constant pain and unable to keep food down) and we both demanded that I be allowed to transfer to another area, said Beloved Community Institution decided to make ME the problem employee, and I resigned. Obviously, they knew if they got rid of me, I wouldn't come back and cause violence and mayhem...and they definitely could NOT say the same about the other employee. So...after a year of recovery, of which knitting has played a major role, I am now considering what to do to bring in an income again. I must be creative, as I know I will never again feel safe nor comfortable working in an office environment.

I'm taking baby steps to get back to who I used to be. Last year, I barely got the Christmas tree up. Yesterday, I crawled around in the maze of boxes in the basement, found TWO little tabletop trees I had forgotten about and brought them upstairs. One is now on the cedar chest in our bedroom, and the other is on the kitchen table. They both have gaudy colored lights which Pete loves and I usually hate, but this time I love them. If I can work the right camera voodoo, I'll try to get a picture. The main tree will go up tomorrow. Oh, and I strung this sparkly garland that looks like razor wire (but prettier, trust me...and not sharp...) on the tops of all the curtains. I've even decorated the bathroom. I've NEVER decorated a bathroom for Christmas before. All good stuff. Last year, all I could do was go sing every night...and knit. I might not have felt like I could do anything else in this world right...but I could sing, and I could knit.

Hopefully, I'll get back into the blogging swing. I might have to load my camera software on one of Pete's machines and blog from there, but I'll try to be a better blogger. I've missed you all.

WIP Wednesday - Slog Edition

2010-11-03T13:56:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'll admit it. About a month ago, I got completely overwhelmed with the sheer number of projects I had going on. I started to think it was really stupid to come back every week and say, "Gee, I knit 10 rows on this one, five rows on that one, 17 on the third..." on and on and on...yet hardly ever have any finished projects to share. So...anal retentive little thing that I am, I ordered all my projects by how much I had to do to finish, then tackled the "almost done" ones, the low-hanging fruit. I'm now working my way through the projects, one or two at a time, but no more (unless it's some really quick and easy thing that I can do in a day or two). I blew through five projects in record time, but now I'm caught in a certain degree of slogularity - both of my active projects are big ones - so I succumbed to the temptation of a sweater KAL. You knew I couldn't just stick with TWO projects, right? I mean, especially when they're so slogsome...

Pattern: Cradle Me
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Sportweight (sadly discontinued...)
Colorway: 107 Blue Bell
Purchased at: JoAnn (I think...it was a long time ago)
Needles: #7
Date Started: 9/11/10
Progress: 65%
This is a really great, easy pattern that looks harder than it is. The pattern repeat is 16 rows, and they zip by pretty quickly. I am about halfway through my tenth pattern repeat out of fourteen, so am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of completing it. My goal is to have it finished within the next five days (which will be a stretch).

Pattern: Leyfi
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Eco+
Colorway: Lichen
Purchased at: Jimmy Beans Wool
Needles: #10
Date Started: 10/21/10
Progress: about 20%
Yeah, I know...another project. But my knitting group was doing a sweater KAL, and I didn't want to feel left out. I figured this one would be pretty quick and easy, and I was right. I also needed a "World Series Project" to work on. Who knew the Giants would sweep in four before I even got halfway through the body? Go Giants (no, seriously...I love Cliff Lee and Josh Hamilton, but you Giant guys kicked butt!)!!!

I had gauge problems with this sweater at first and frogged it several times before getting "close enough" that I could slightly alter the pattern by knitting fewer rows and have it come out right. My stitch gauge is almost always spot-on, but my row gauge is frequently too loose, as was the case here. All turned out well, however, and I'm working my way down through the body of this sweater. The yarn has interesting subtle color changes and tweedies so it keeps my interest through the stockinette slog. "Slog" seems to be the keyword for my active projects at the moment.

I'm also slogging away on the Ten-Stitch Rug. I have about one and a half rounds to finish. Sounds quick and easy, right? It's not...it's taking forever. I'm not even going to post a picture until it's done.

Happily we knit along, knit along, knit along...

10 Ways to Simplify Your Life

2010-11-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

You are kidding, right? You're asking ME how to simplify my life? My life is utter chaos 24/7! Ok...let me think...

Control clutter. I'm working on this, really. I've pared way down on book-buying by using the library and CD buying by using iTunes. There is no downparing with yarn.
Admit you can't do everything. Last year, I sang in four choirs. This year, only two...ok, three...but the third one is a short-term, six-week commitment. Yes, I could sing in every community choir in town, and they'd be happy to have me. And I'd lose my mind and my marriage. Two/three is simpler.
Plan your meals. I really like the idea of only cooking once a month, but I'm not that good...yet.
Have caller ID. Since we bundled our phone in with the cable, our caller ID shows up on the TV screen. No need to get up and answer the phone or see who's calling. This is a VERY small simplification since our TV is off about 98% of the time.
Take time for yourself. Knit. Read. Do yoga. Meditate. Pray. I saw a plaque that said something to the effect that the time when we most need to slow down and relax is the time when we THINK we don't have time to.
Disconnect from the phone/computer/crackberry. Don't be available 24/7.
Have a spiritual practice. This kind of ties in with #5. I've just started revisiting The Artist's Way. Wonder where it will lead me?
Don't overeat/overdrink/overspend/over...ANYTHING!
You really don't need to read every magazine on earth. This was a hard lesson for me to learn. I used to be the Magazine Queen. No longer... There are three (not counting knitting magazines!) that I still read. If I want to look at any of the others, I'll grab a chair at the bookstore.
Gain control of your chaotic hotspot. Mine is the basement. OMG...the basement...eek. Obviously I need to gain control. I may blog about this...as long as everyone forgives me for the "before" pictures.

And the word is...

2010-11-01T11:38:00.001-04:00

B9!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for your prayers, positive thoughts and messages. You have really sustained me during this week of discomfort and waiting.

If you've never had a needle biopsy (and I pray you never have and never will!), let me just say it ain't a whole lotta fun. They do everything they can to make it as comfortable as possible...but it's impossible to be comfortable. For me, the procedure itself was not too difficult. The problem was the recovery.

I don't write or talk a whole lot about the fact that I have fibromyalgia and chronic myofascial pain syndrome. I live with varying degrees of pain on a daily basis, but I don't tend to let it impact my life or my activities. I'd venture a guess that most people I know have no idea. They're impressed with the fact that I do yoga and can (most days...) not only touch my toes but rest my palms on the floor. They think I'm Ms. Flexible Yogini. They don't know that I rely on yoga, weight training, serious stretching and often scary amounts of ibuprofen to become mobile most mornings.

So...for five days leading up to the biopsy, I couldn't take ibuprofen. One leg of my support base knocked out from underneath me. The procedure involves lying absolutely motionless on an exam table in a really awkward position until the samples are taken - I'm guessing about 20-30 minutes for each side. I relied heavily on my yoga practice of breathing through discomfort and relaxing to get me through this, thinking all along that once it was over, I could go home, swallow a handful of ibuprofen, hit the yoga mat, and I'd feel better.

Um...wrong... My post-procedure instructions were for Tylenol (really...does Tylenol ease pain for ANYONE???)...no ibu for three days. Yoga? Nope...no yoga or other form of weight-bearing exercise for five days. "Just go home and relax, take it easy." Don't these people know that exercise is my biggest way of "taking it easy"??? Oh...and wear a boobiesquishing sports bra 24/7 for 2-3 days.

Really, the first day was pretty easy. I slept a lot. I found the pain from the procedure to be extremely minimal even though many people told me I would be very sore. The tape they put over the incisions itched like crazy, and I got chafed from wearing that stupid sports bra for so long. And my back hurt...my neck hurt...my shoulders hurt. I counted down the hours before I could do yoga again. I counted down the hours before I got the results.

With every day of "taking it easy" my muscle pain increased, and my energy level dropped. And I had a big weekend planned...

Friday night, we went with our friends, Mark and Lynn, to see Marty Stuart. We'd been planning this for months. Lynn drove in from St. Louis for this concert. I hated not having good news to share. Here's some audio from the concert...if you love harmony, this will kill you...I'm not kidding when I say my mouth was hanging open in absolute amazement during the last 30 seconds of this song: Marty Stuart - "Unseen Hand"

Saturday, we headed out early to vote. Afterward, we went to a really cool craft show at Wild Goose Creative I bought this great camera/cell phone case from my friend Nikki.

I'd been wanting to make a new camera case for a while, and this one just grabbed me. Every time I look at that big, pink button, I can't help but smile.

After the craft show, we went to Jeni's for ice cream. I savored a Mock Turtle Sundae, even though I knew I'd get a tummy ache later. Then we went to the grocery and got the ingredients for chili. I came home, got the chili simmering...then hit the yoga mat.

An hour of yoga. It was heaven. I felt amazing the rest of the evening.

Overdid

It...

Woke up yesterday morning feeling like...well, I had a picture of the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz here, and it was credited back to the original source...but obviously, they have issues with that, so I took it down and will just tell you...I felt like the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz...oil can...oil can...

Could. Not. Move. Skipped church. Skipped a wonderful interfaith service I was supposed to attend in the afternoon. Laid on the couch in my jammies and moaned a lot.

By last night, I was feeling better. I went to bed early and woke up early this morning feeling great. At 8:56am, I got the "all clear" call. I called Pete. I found Bev on Facebook and told her via chat. She called me. I emailed as many people as I could think of. And now I'm telling you - I'm OK!!!!!

I do have...one...little...problem...

This lovely little girl has adopted our neighborhood. She's a tiny thing, and a world-class chipmunk killer. I thought the next-door neighbors were going to adopt her, and they are feeding her and giving her a warm place in their garage...but I don't like the thought of her living outdoors on our busy street. Also, I love cats (and my true weakness is the black and white ones)...but I really don't want another cat. We can't afford the vet bills - Wilbur's meds alone are over $100 a month.

For a few days, I rationalized not taking her in by saying it wouldn't be fair to Wilbur at his advanced age to bring another pet into the house and alter his routine. This morning, Wilbur met Neighborhood Kitty. They seemed very accepting of one another. Wilbur has always lived with cats - he thinks they're weird, but cool. NK seems totally unphased by the big, black dog sniffing her. Now, when I look out the front door, THIS is looking in at me...and Wilbur is looking out at her. They're doing the Vulcan Mind Meld or something...someone, please...come to Columbus and take this kitty home with you!!!!

Knitting content will resume on Wednesday...

Here, kitty...kitty...

Bumps in the road...

2010-10-24T16:24:00.000-04:00

Little, impossible to feel, scary...bumps...

Things are a little shaky here at Chez TyingHolesTogether. A couple weeks ago, I went in for the annual boobiesquish. A few days later, my doctor called and said they wanted to do a retake. Something about "benign calcifications" and how there are more of them than in past years so they wanted to take a closer look.

Thursday, we did the closer look. I spent half the day (what seemed like a hundred years) at the mammography center. In the midst of it all, I came down with an initially nasty but blessedly fleeting cold. They took more pictures, more squishing. In the end, they still didn't have an answer.

Tuesday morning, I go in for stereotactic needle biopsies on BOTH of the girls - I guess they like to do things together. I'm a little too old for piercings, but pierced I will be. Apparently I'll be wrapped and told to "take it easy" for a few days after, and will know the results by the end of next week. My doctor called me this morning and gave me a pep talk. I'm rallying friends wherever they may be to think "benign" when they think of me. I'm trying to distract myself with knitting.

If you have a moment, send me some Vitamin B9...

10 Things In Your Freezer Right Now

2010-10-19T12:57:00.000-04:00

Hmmm...the cupboards are a little bare right now, as it's three days before grocery shopping day. Nevertheless, if I poke around, I can find a few things in my freezer...

Several individual servings of homemade lasagna. We probably won't eat these. About six months ago, I made lasagna for just the two of us. I usually only make it when we're having company so there are few leftovers. I froze what we didn't eat but when we reheated it, we both realized we didn't like reheated frozen lasagna. So it languishes...
Ice cube trays. Three to be exact. We like our ice.
Gel pack to put on my neck and back when the fibro hits.
Half a bag of frozen hash browns left over from a breakfast casserole I made.
Many bags of various frozen vegetables, especially the Asian blend which we like to mix with grilled chicken and steamed rice for a quick stir-fry without the "fry".
Frozen blueberries. Bought them for something, don't remember what. They'll be good now that hot cereal season is here again.
A soup bone. Pete made vegetable soup over the weekend and the soup bones came in pack of two. Next up - beef barley soup!
Frozen muffins. Yikes. These are left from when my friends from New York were here back in July. They're not even home-baked.
A bag of hot dog buns. For when Pete gets a taste for hot dogs or brats or some other kind of disgusting tubular meat that he enjoys.
A bag of brown rice that Wilbur was eating before his latest tummy trauma. I'm hoping to be able to wean him back onto it successfully at some point.

This looks pretty pitiful but, as I said, we'll be shopping for groceries at the end of the week and, until then, we have this amazing, huge pot of vegetable soup to enjoy. Yum!!!

It's been a while...

2010-10-14T14:23:00.000-04:00

How long? Well, long enough that our houseguest took off for his Mexican vacation a few days ago. He did leave his sleeping bag, though...

Let's see...when last I posted, we were painting the bedroom and I was begging for relief in the form of anything alcoholic. We finished the bedroom. Without a drop of alcohol. It took three whole days, but it's done, and we're happy with it. I tried to get a good picture, but the light was kind of wonky.

The side walls and ceiling are painted in Olympic B12-1, Crescent Moon, a rich, creamy color with just a hint of yellow. The end walls and the closet wall you see in the picture are Olympic B1. 4-2, Belgian Waffle, a lovely, buttery yellow. The fan is for getting blocked projects to dry quickly - especially ones I block on the bed. Once we get the dejunking phase of the bedroom redo finished, that fan will probably be in the closet when not in use. We still have work to do...miles to go before we sleep...but it's painted, I've finally scrubbed all the primer off my skin, and we're still married. Yay.

I also had a birthday last week. I kind of screwed myself up by scheduling my annual physical for that morning. The lack of food and (more importantly) coffee for several hours gave me an evil headache that bothered me all day and kept me from going to a movie I'd been wanting to see ("Get Low" with Robert Duvall and Bill Murray). But Pete took me out to a lovely Italian dinner, baked a delicious devil's food cake, and gave me a gift card for Knit Picks. Is he a keeper or what??? No...I didn't buy yarn. I was focused on "gear". Here's my haul:

And Knit Picks must have known it was my birthday, since I didn't experience the usual shipping grief with them. I placed my order on Thursday and received it on Tuesday. I thought that was pretty darn good considering Monday was even a holiday!

In the midst of all the painting and birthdaying, I have been knitting. I've finished two projects and started a few more. Will update next week. I've put the two baby blankets I was knitting into hibernation and started two other projects in colors that will match the baby's nursery. Turns out neither my stepdaughter nor I are fond of pastels or "baby colors", so I'm really enjoying what I'm making now, and I think she'll be happier, too. After these are finished, I may knock off the other two blankets as time permits and just have them here for when they visit.

I worked on Merope most of the day yesterday while watching the rescue of the Chilean miners. Hopefully, it will be done today, though that knitted-on edging takes ever so long. It is a lovely touch.

I've also done a bit of stash enhancement.

Since it's mid-October, I'm firmly in the midst of choral madness. I'll spend most of this weekend singing with my church choir in addition to working on my music for Harmony Project. Last year I was singing with a third choir, but I decided to sit out this year. I miss the music and the people, but I don't miss having to sing a part that was frequently higher than my freakishly low vocal range and the resultant vocal discomfort and frustration that came with that. It's not easy being a female tenor, and singing is one place where you can still be told you can't do something just because you're a woman.

Speaking of Harmony Project, we were honored by the Center for Healthy Families with a Bridge Builder Award. It was one of the most inspirational evenings of my life.

Wilbur had been doing very well for several months, but the last month and a half has brought repeated tummy problems for him. Earlier this week we ruled out some big scary stuff and came to the conclusion he has irritable bowel syndrome. He has bounced back from his latest episode and is back to his happy, goofy self again, and I've decided it's best to give him a totally home-cooked diet. Lucky boy!

Ok! Pete is back to work after a two-week vacation, Wilbur is healthy again...I'll bet I might actually be able to keep up with my blogging again...at least for a day or two.

Thanks for reading!!!

No Knitting Content this week...

2010-09-30T17:15:00.000-04:00

Yup...no time to knit this week - we're painting the bedroom. Ms. If-I'm-Gonna-Spend-A-Whole-Week-Of-My-Life-Painting-It's-Gonna-Be-Done-RIGHT goes head-to-head with Mr. Nobody-Will-Notice-That-Little-Glitch(x100). Since we live in a Cape Cod, and our bedroom is the finished attic, painting the bedroom is roughly the equivalent of painting the entire interior of the house. God help us. Send beer.

As random as I want to be...

2010-09-24T17:03:00.000-04:00

Did anyone notice yesterday was the first day of autumn? Hello??????? Whoever controls the weather in Ohio, it's AUTUMN!!!! It's not supposed to be 90 anymore!!!! We're not supposed to be having freakin' tornadoes!!! Migraine season is supposed to be OVER!!!

But it isn't...I'm typing with one eye open, stoked to the gills on ibu and it's barely taking the edge off. The skies are darkening again, and I'm wondering if I'll need to make a mad dash for the basement like I did a few days ago when the weatherman on TV announced a "possible tornado" just a couple miles away at the same moment the entire top of a medium-sized tree next door blew off and landed in our back yard, severing Pete's shortwave antenna and my clothesline but, luckily, not the utility line. My one consolation is, once whatever this is passes, my headache will go away. Till next time.

There's not a lot to report on the WIP front. I'm making steady progress on all my projects except Evenstar and the Ten-Stitch Rug. Most of my focus is on the three baby blankets I'm working on, and I know I'll catch back up once they're finished. I started the Rivendell cowl and Dragonfly shawl last week, but both projects crashed and burned pretty quickly for insignificant reasons. With Rivendell, for the very first time in over thirty years of knitting, I twisted my join and didn't see it till I was on the ninth row. Since it's not supposed to be a moebius, I frogged it for now. Dragonfly started out really well, but by the tenth row I realized this project will need beads. The yarn is really, REALLY dark, and I don't think the pattern will be very visible without some kind of beading. Now the question is...what color beads? I'm leaning toward either clear or a pale yellow/amber, but will probably tote my yarn to a bead shop this weekend for further research.

I've finished a few projects: Two more Button-Up Neck Warmers

LOVE the buttons I found for all of these! I'm making one more in the grey color, then I'll be all neckwarmered out for the year.

And there was one more bizarre FO...a couple weeks ago, I was going through the closet in my room when I found a little canvas project bag kind of stuffed in a corner. Pulled it out and found this:

The yarn is Karabella Gossamer. I don't remember when I made this or how it ended up in the back of my closet. All I needed to do was weave in two ends and block it. I think I may have made this in 2007 or 2008 which is when I was madly in love with this yarn. The silver bits remind me of starlight on a clear, dark night. You can't tell very well from the pictures, but it's truly sparklesome.

Last Sunday, Pete and I drove over to Yellow Springs for the Wool Gathering. I really didn't think I was going to be able to go to this because Wilbur had some bad tummy issues at the end of last week, and I wasn't sure I could leave him long enough to go. Luckily, he bounced back like the champ he is. Pete and I not so much. We were seriously sleep-deprived from his multiple middle-of-the-night trips to the yard. And I was depressed. Way depressed. It seems the older he gets, the more every little bump in his road throws me for a major loop. When Sunday came and Wilbur was back to normal, I was still a basket case and didn't want to go anywhere. Lucky for me, I have this wonderful husband who cut through all that early in the afternoon by saying, "Let's go buy yarn!" And so we did.

Wool Gathering was fantastic! There were four tents of all kinds of fiber-related goodies, beautiful border collies, friendly people. I got to try out several spindles and find one that actually makes it possible for me to spin something closely resembling yarn. Yup, I'm NOT spinning impaired! Pete bought me some yarn and some roving, too. Oh, and a bar of soap that says "Lilac", but really should say "This smells exactly like if you completely submerged your face in lilacs at the height of their bloom and inhaled as deeply as you possibly can". I know because I've done this over the years at every opportunity. Truly amazing stuff!

Here are some pictures. Mr. Sheep was very aggressive about getting his share of ear scritches.

There were two things that made the day less than perfect. As you can see in the picture, the tents are colored - some red and white, some yellow and white. It was very difficult to see the actual yarn colors without dragging every skein outside. There were a few outdoor tents, and that is where I bought the roving. There's no way I could have seen the color variations if they were in one of the big tents. I wouldn't have given it a second look.

The other thing that was very disturbing was this:

Source

Yup...that x4 just on the other side of the field where the Wool Gathering was being held. Pete found me flattened against a tree, hyperventilating. For some bizarre reason, I have this irrational fear of plane crashes. I'm not the least bit afraid to fly, but I'm afraid of them falling on me. When I saw the four fighter jets fly over, I figured they were going to nearby Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton. But next thing I knew, I'm looking at the top end of one of those planes, maybe a hundred yards or less away, like in the picture. I asked the woman taking tickets what was happening, and she looked at me like I was crazy for being bothered by it.

After we left the Wool Gathering, we headed into Yellow Springs (one of our favorite places to shop and hang out even if there's not a fiber festival just up the road). I remembered hearing about a new restaurant that specializes in southern cooking, and after asking directions, we found CJ's Southern Cooking. Fried chicken, green beans, red beans and rice...all cooked to perfection and FRESH - cooked to order, nothin' layin' around under heat lamps. If you're in Ohio or if you ever come to Ohio, this is the place to eat! Jim and Carl are so nice and friendly, you'll feel like you've known them forever.

So, thrilled with my latest yarn acquisitions and happily full of fried chicken, we headed home. When we got there, Wilbur was healthy and happy to see us...and we discovered we have a boarder, Marty Monarch:

He/she should be hatching and heading off to Mexico in about a week. I'll try to get pictures.

This weekend...a reunion concert by some friends at a local club tonight, knitting group tomorrow, and coffee with one of my favorite dog friends on Sunday. It should be a lot of fun! Hope you have a great weekend, too! What's everyone up to???

Ten on Tuesday - 10 Ways to Have a Happy Birthday

2010-09-21T06:00:00.070-04:00

This is the "birthday" time of year in my family. Mine is coming up in a few weeks, and my mother and father and I were all born within a week of one another. This is not like my husband's family, where he was born the day after his parents' wedding anniversary. As a small child, he didn't calculate in the fact that he had a sister who was four years older, so his parents had to have been married at least that long before he was born - he was horrified that he was born the DAY AFTER HIS PARENTS GOT MARRIED! This is still a favorite joke in his family.

And speaking of birthdays...

Today, Wilbur, my four-legged spiritual guide and soulmate, is Lucky 13. Lucky, because I don't know which one of us is the luckiest that we found each other. Happy Birthday, Beebsterman. You've made the last 13 years the best of my life.

Now...on to the 10 Ways to Have a Happy Birthday

Eat cake! Pete always makes me a birthday cake, and he graciously enjoys my pitiful attempts at cake baking. I am a good cook, but cakes have always eluded me - even instant ones! When I was growing up, I usually had TWO cakes - the one my mother baked or got at the amazing bakery in our town, and a German kuchen with whole apples baked inside that the next-door neighbor always baked for me.
Remember, birthdays aren't about celebrating that you're getting older - they're celebrating your life and how happy everyone is that you were born.
Get away from the ratrace. Since my birthday is in early October, Pete and I frequently head to southeastern Ohio to enjoy the fall color. A couple years ago, we went to Hocking Hills were we stayed in a lovely B&B and did a lot of hiking...and a lot of relaxing...see picture above for the "relaxing" part. Unfortunately, his birthday is the first week in February - when Ohio is usually hit with a major ice/snowstorm. A few years back, we were lucky enough to be able to go to Nashville for his birthday. Usually, we're shoveling out. Same thing with Valentine's Day.
Get together with friends and par-tay.
Take some time for reflection - how did the last year turn out and what would you like to do in the coming year to make it the best one ever?
Get gifts of yarn and knitting paraphrenalia.
For those of you lucky enough to have living parents, thank them. You wouldn't be here without them! Graciously listen to the "I had morning sickness 24/7 and was in labor for six weeks" stories. You wouldn't be here without them, either.
Be grateful.
Eat cake.
Eat more cake, including those big buttercream frosting roses. This is the only day of the whole year when people will encourage you to do this. Don't let them down!

Random Thursday - Sneak Peek at Some Cool Yarn!

2010-09-16T06:00:00.081-04:00

I have a lot of cool yarn hanging around just waiting for me to come up with the perfect project. A lot of times, most times, actually, when I buy yarn, I already have a project in mind. It's like the yarn hollers, "Hey, lady!!! You don't know it yet, but I'd make the smokinest (is that a word?) Brandywine shawl you've ever seen in your life! C'mon, buy me!"...and I obey. Really...I can walk through a yarn shop and barely give anything a second glance till my eye catches that ONE yarn, and my brain connects it with that ONE project.

Then again, sometimes I just buy yarn cuz it's yarn and, you know...what if sheep were to become extinct?

Two of the four yarns I'm going to show you have very clearly defined roles in their fibery lives. The other two...I'm waffling between ideas and would love some input.

This lovely, deep greeny yarn, Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Sock in Logan Circle, is destined to become Susan Pandorf's Dragonfly. I got all caught up in the "dragon" part and decided I wanted something that looked very dark and dragony. The pattern calls for beads. I can't imagine a dragon wearing beads, so I won't use them.

This yarn and this pattern take me back to the winter of 1978. For many of us in the eastern United States, that winter was marked by a huge blizzard. It was my first winter away from home, and I was living with a boyfriend in a pretty nice little apartment. When the blizzard hit, I was not only recovering from broken ribs sustained in a big crowd surge to get into an Emerson, Lake & Palmer concert the week before, but was also in bed with a severe tummy virus, and what I remember most about those days are talking to my parents in the small town where I grew up (they had phone service but no heat or electricity for many days) and reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. I'm not a fan of fantasy or science fiction, but for some reason I latched on to this series of books in my boyfriend's bookshelf and read my way through the blizzard.

This is Kangaroo Dyer Poet Seat in Fiddlehead Fern. My plan is to knit another beautiful Susan Pandorf pattern, Rivendell Smoke Ring, with it. I don't have any romantic tales of dragon, blizzards, and broken ribs to share with this one. I was cruising Etsy one day, saw this yarn, and said, "Smoke Ring"!

Now for the two I'm struggling with...

The red yarn is also from Neighborhood Fiber Company (I'm a huge fan - and it really IS my neighborhood fiber company!). It's called Historic Dublin, which I absolutely love because it's red. If you've ever been to Dublin, Ohio, they take their Irishness very serious...one would expect the greenest of greens.

The grey yarn is Knit One Crochet Too Crock-O-Dye in Pewter. I love its silvery sheen.

Now...my original plan was to do Romi's Maia Shawlette in the Pewter and Traveling Woman in the Historic Dublin. But now I'm wavering...maybe Maia would look better in red...maybe the woman would travel lighter in silver. Maybe neither one is the best choice.

One thing I know for certain...I will NOT be combining them to make some scarlet and gray OSU football monstrosity. Just for the record...I don't do the whole OSU sports thang. LOL!

Whaddya think?????