Must...survive...until...Saturday

I got a flyer from my LYS yesterday & the big news is the sale on Saturday. The earlier you arrive, the bigger your discount (up to 40%). I'm a total sales sucker, so I plan to be there when the doors open (7 a.m.). My plan this week is to peruse my books, mags, the web, etc. for any patterns I think I may make in the near future (you know, up until 2009 or so), jot down everything I need & then on Saturday run in the LYS like a crazy woman stock up. I'm so excited!!!

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What a quick FO

I finished the tank. This is my first top! I'm so happy that it came out as good as it did. A loves it :-) Of course, K asked me for a shirt, too, but I told him boys don't usually wear shirts like this & that I'd make him a sweater for when it cools down (he seems to forget I made him something last). He asked for an animal on his shirt. I felt like saying, "Kid, your mom isn't that good yet." I may go back to the bookstore and...oh, stop it! You probably have just as many knitting books as I do. Like I was saying, there was this neat book there that was 50% off when I was there last & I don't know why I didn't buy it then. Oh, right. I bought books for the kids because they were all with me that day. Drat! I'll go back & get it--it had lots of intarsia projects specifically for children's sweaters.

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Tank nearly done

This is probably the quickest I've ever finished anything, save for a basic, boring dishcloth. I'll knit on the straps this weekend & call it a day, YAY!

Then I can start on my own tank top, once I get my size 3 circulars. Problem is, how can I go the LYS & just buy needles?? They have all that scrumptious yarn practically begging you to buy it--yes, it begs! Have you never heard it? I hear it all the time. The same way that cute, strappy sandals beg even though you already own four pair in similar styles. I'm a sucker for begging, OK?

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On knitting & American Idol

C has been pretty good about letting me knit. So long as I'm sitting next to him, he can occupy himself for a few minutes with a book or whatever while I sneak in a few rows. Don't think I tempt it, however--I work on the most simple things when he's awake because you never know when he's going to go from Patient Toddler to Fussing Hunk of Meat.

As a result, I've gotten this far on A's tank since yesterday. I love the fact that it's so simple, plus, the pattern can easily be modified for other sizes. I could make a tank for myself based on this pattern & for someone like me, who's the furthest thing from "Knitwear Designer", that's saying something.

I worked on a lot of it last night while watching American Idol. Since this is my blog, I'm going to say my favorite idol is by far, Elliott Yamin. I think he started out as kind of an underdog, but I've been blown away by his performances the last few weeks ('Queen' week & last night in particular). I guess I'm kind of an underdog favorite because you look at someone like Katharine, who has had formal training & has "the look" that makes record executives salivate & you know you can slap some cellophane on her & she's going to sell a million records right away. I like people to win who otherwise don't have the connections & all the insider advantages going for them. Just my two cents. But more importantly, Elliott can sing.

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New WIPs...ahhhhhh

It seems like I haven't had a new WIP in ages. What a good feeling, sorta like being in love.

Here's the beginning of some socks for DH--may be his birthday gift, maybe Christmas. I haven't decided yet. You might think, from looking at these socks & my last FO, that gray was my favorite color. All that gray! My favorite color is actually red, but I thought gray was a good, neutral color for the wrap & DH is only going to wear socks in gray, blue or tan. Gray was what I had on hand, so there you go. I started the socks last night while watching Soul Food. I should just go ahead & buy this movie since I've seen it so many times. The one time I stopped knitting altogether & looked at the screen was when Terri pulled a butcher knife on her cheating husband, Miles, and her backstabbing cousin, Faith. I love that scene. Go Terri, Go Terri!

Here's the beginning of A's tank top. The pattern called for a stockinette border/hem, but I don't like those rolled edges, so I'm doing seed stitch for the hem. I'll knit her top first since I told her I'd make her one. My top will have to wait until I get some size 3 circulars. I can't believe I don't have any. Gee, another reason to order knitting-related stuff. Hubby will just love that.

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Shawl is done!

Here it is, blocked & everything. I just had to wrap myself in its yummy softness once before I give it away. It's for my MIL, who I think will really appreciate it. No doubt hubby will tell her how much time I put into it--because that was time I could've been cleaning up the place and not burning dinner, LOL.

Ignore those hideous pants--those are my cleaning pants. They have that comfy elastic waistband that horrifies all fashion-philes. Sorry, fashionistas! This is how I clean. I wish I could prance around with capri pants on, Blahnik heels & a skimpy (and of course, knitted-it-myself) top while carrying a feather duster (oh, and don't forget the MAC makeup) and never breaking a sweat. Just be glad these aren't holey sweatpants with bleach stains on them--I threw those out last week.

Pattern from: Vogue Knitting, Fall 2005. Project #15, Lace Wrap. Designed by Deborah Newton.

Yarn used: Andean Silk in Slate

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Shawl blocking

At last, here is the lace shawl blocking. It's too long for all of it to fit on my blocking board, so I'm going to have to block it in 2 parts. In the darker picture, I think you can see more of the detail that the light kind of washes out. Anyone care to pop a cork with me??

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The end is in sight!

This, my friends, is one of the borders on the lace wrap. Which means I only have to do one other border & then I'm done. I may celebrate by drinking a bottle couple of glasses of wine or champagne or something. I feel I deserve it. Now there's a mistake in here somewhere because I counted one extra stitch on one of these rows, but darn if I can find it & I'm not frogging it again.

I'm going to try & finish today, but I don't know. The border is just a little more involved than the main body & if I can't have some semi-quiet concentration time, forget it. It feels like I haven't had a FO in forever because of the time I put in on this wrap, but all of my projects I have in mind from now on aren't nearly so large in scope--the baby blanket is the only one that comes close, but I'm thinking of doing one of those block ones where I knit individual squares & sew them together at the end. It seems less intimidating that way.

I cast on for a sock for hubby--oh, lovely lovely socks, how I've missed them!

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Went to the LYS today

I haven't been to my LYS in a loooooong time, for various reasons. Today was nice because I was 1 of 2 customers in the store (the other was getting a lesson) & they were pretty helpful. I know sometimes, LYS employees/owners have a bad reputation, but my visit today disputed that.

I had a hard time deciding on yarn. I was supposed to pick some up for the baby blanket, but I'm going to wait (I guess) for my cousin to tell me what sex child she's having. I was going to go neutral or bright-colored so that it wouldn't matter, but I'm still debating. I haven't made a firm decision on what blanket I'm knitting for her, anyway, so I need to make up my mind on that first.

This is all I picked up today. I'm going to use it for a summer top for me, which will be a first because knitting usually conjures up images of winter to me. But I'm going to continue my fearless campaign & try something new & different. Maybe then I can join The Sexy Knitters Club, LOL! My hope is to knit something cute & flirty, while at the same time, turning away from the Hershey's Kisses so that by the time my top is finished, I'll be 8-10 pounds lighter. It doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm petite, so every pound shows. This is the top I have in mind, from Interweave Knits, Spring 2006 (the current issue):

I'm working the border for the shawl. I tell you, that design feature that lets you do the majority of the shawl first & then pick up stitches to attach the border is what saved me. I started on it & messed up big time, but since I was only 5 rows in, that's all I had to unravel, instead of an entire shawl--at which point, you would have never heard from me again as I would've killed myself, LOL.

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Knitting Journal & other plans

This is my knitting journal, which I started keeping just a couple of months ago. (And look! I actually use it!! Frankly, I can't believe I'm being so organized.) It's really nice to have because before, I often couldn't remember what kind of yarn I'd used (if it was machine-washable or not, etc.) or if I even liked knitting with a particular yarn. Plus, I keep track of all the (many) projects I want to tackle next.

I usually put a scrap of the yarn along with the ball band in it & a note or two. It even has a few graph pages in it & so far, there's only 1 project I have in mind that I need graph paper for: I want to make my cousin socks in her school colors of bright orange & green & put "FAMU" on the back of both socks. I've had no problem finding the right green, but the only orange I've seen in the right shade came in one of those Pound of Acrylic behemoths (large enough to choke an elephant) & since I would never, ever use that much acrylic or neon orange for anything else, I'm still searching.

I've been very good about using what's in my stash, although that was not my plan. Plus, all those miscellaneous balls which were only half-used (if that much) can contribute to the Fair Isle projects I'm wanting to try next.

See that dark object? That's the lace scarf I'm knitting for my mom, which has been hanging around ever so patiently while I did myriad other things. It's lace, so since I'm still working on it & it's unblocked, it looks like nothing spectacular at all--though I hold it up to the light every now & then & it looks better, not so much like squiggly lines. Soon as the shawl is done, or at least stitting on the blocking board for a while, I'm going back to this scarf.

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Had to put my bamboo down for this one

You don't ever stop learning with knitting, do you? I'm sure there are some knitters out there who feel they know absolutely everything there is to know about it, but I feel I learn something almost every day. Which is nice; it keeps things interesting. I switched to some metal needles for the shawl because the bamboo was going so slowly. It really pained me to do that because I love, adore, and worship my bamboo! But darn if this metal isn't working & working out so well. I'll be done in no time with this; I only wish I'd done it sooner. So I learned something else--although I have a preference, it's OK if I switch it up sometimes for the sake of speed, especially when I've been working on something for 2 months & just want to reach the end already! I don't even know what brand these needles are; may be INOX, I'm not sure. They've been sitting around for the longest, unused, while I used bamboo needles semi-religiously. The wood feels so much better in my hands, just warm & smooth. Oh well...I guess I can no longer refer to metal needles as "the devil's sticks". Just joking!!! I guess I prefer bamboo because I'm such a loose knitter (no jokes here, please) that I worry about my stitches slipping off.

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Happy Easter

"Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised..."

Mark 16:6

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Back from the bookstore

I picked up this little number in Barnes & Noble today (by none other than Our Favorite Harlot). I was only in there to pick up a gift card for a friend's birthday, I promise, and next thing I know, Knitting Rules! was in my hand. Actually, I flipped through it & couldn't resist. I was going to buy Mason-Dixon Knitting (see "On My Wish List"), but after looking through both books, decided on KR! Plus, I can buy MDK cheaper (brand-new) on Amazon. I could've bought both books if I was a single, childless woman, but this is the downside of having kids. You want something, you hafta get them something. I buy shoes, they need shoes. Shoes, what's that anyway?? I haven't bought a new pair of shoes in over a year. A year, people! If you had told me, oh, 15 years ago, before I was even thinking of having children, that 365+ days would go by & I wasn't going to make a shoe purchase (because the little gremlins need clothes, shoes, books, etc.), I think I would've screamed to see such a bleak future!

Anyway, my lovely new book is resting on the lace wrap, which is nearly done, YAY! But I foresee more reading in my future today...I knitted yesterday until my arms were aching--isn't that awesome?

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On my wish list

This is on my wish list at Amazon. I love to read about knitting about as much as I love to knit, so whenever I see there's a book about knitting, I check it out to see if I want to add it to my growing (stash) library. I'm happy to see there's even a few novels out now with major knitting themes. Well, since I was planning a trip to the bookstore anyway...

Tomorrow is Cleaning Day, *ugh*. One of the necessities of life when you can't afford cleaning service all the time. I don't mind cleaning, I only mind the time it takes because I could be doing other things (like knitting) instead! Maybe I'll clean the fridge & mop floors tonight after C goes to bed; then I wouldn't have so much to do tomorrow. I shouldn't complain. I was able to work on the shawl a lot today already & could be finished in a week if I continue to stay so motivated. At this point, finishing is my motivation. I just want to put this big project behind me & I have no other huge projects planned. I want a shawl for myself, but good grief, after getting this one done, it'll be quite a while before I tackle another one.

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More books

I got out in my garden yesterday. I'm later than usual (I usually plant mid-March or so) due to all of the other fifty-leven things going on. But A & K are now officially on Spring Break! I hope, in 10 days time, you don't check in & see that I've shipped them off to Antarctica in a one-way box. Anyway, I only planted tomatoes (just 4 plants), collard greens & bell peppers this year. I'm still learning about tomatoes & hope I can avoid some of the previous problems I've had with them. The tomatoes come out fine, but the plant itself has some weird growth on it--I think it may be fungal or something. Just not pretty, OK?

These are the last 3 knitting books I bought. I just quietly slid them onto my knitting book shelf, hoping they would blend in, not be obtrusive & call attention to themselves. Like, "heeeeyyyy, hubby, look what knitting stuff your wife bought now!" Poor man, he just doesn't get it. I think he likes that I knit--he finds it intriguing--but I don't think he anticipated all of the accessories that come along with it.

Andean Folk Knits is so interesting. I love how Marcia Lewandowski wove the history & stories of the local people (in South America) into the book. I was going to use the book more for inspiration & eye candy, but there's a few patterns in it I would be willing to attempt, which would be my first venture into Fair Isle or Intarsia (uh-oh!). And since I love knitting socks so much (and can't wait to finish the lace shawl so that I can move on to other things), the other books just go without saying.

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Irish Hiking Scarf, take 1 & take 2

Why is there a take 1 & take 2? Because although this yarn was supposedly all the same dye lot number, there's just no way. There I was, happily knitting along, loving the scarf, joining a second ball and about an inch later, saw, to my horror, that the colors are different. Noticeably different. I checked all the balls I had; all have the same dye lot number, but as you can see looking at the first picture, it's not all the same color! Variegations aside, the shade isn't even the same.

Can I say I'm pretty p.o.'d? I couldn't continue. It wouldn't matter if this wasn't a gift. If this scarf was just for me (and one of these will be, I love the pattern), I'd still frog it because that drastic color change is just plain tacky!

Second picture is attempt #2, with 2 balls used & I'm switching every couple of rows. Now, I bought this yarn from ebay & I'm not going to return it. There's nothing inherently wrong with the yarn; it's the fault of the seller, far as I'm concerned. I don't like the hassle of returning things if I don't feel it's absolutely necessary, but I will contact the seller and tell her about this mess. She's done more than enough ebay business to know the ins & outs of what she sells. Plus, this is going to make it pretty much impossible for me to buy from her again.

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Monogamy is overrated

Where knitting is concerned, of course! I couldn't resist & although I had other things in mind, I decided I needed some instant gratification & cast on the Irish Hiking Scarf. Here's where I got in the 30 minutes I was able to get in before K's baseball game. It's quick, it's easy, I feel like I could knit this all day. This is the yarn I bought off ebay last month. Since I have 10 balls of it, I think I can maybe get 3 scarves out of it.

I've seen so many beautiful variations of this scarf at The Irish Hiking Scarf Knit-a-Long. It's hard to believe it's so simple to knit, yet so elegant. This is also my first cable project! I've been wanting to try cables for a while & started on a dishcloth pattern a while back, but it was so boring, I frogged it.

Yesterday yielded some quality knitting time. It was needed because C didn't take his regular nap due to the &*!%@*! construction. Now, these guys never show up with their bulldozers, bob cats, whatever, first thing. Nah, they always wait & do all their quiet work while C is up & about. Then, when it's his naptime, on go the loud machines. I am so over this mess. So he was extremely fussy in the afternoon, riding home after picking up A & K from school. *Read extremely fussy as screaming his head off for the entire 25-minute ride.* No amount of Wiggles worked, so when we got home, he fell into his crib, exhausted.

Out came the needles! I worked on the shawl for 90 minutes straight. A & K could tell that I was in no mood. For anything. Except the stress-busting of the yarn.

Oh, I also forgot to mention the TV repairman-from-hell who came to our house. This TV is 1 month-old, Sony. You would think it wouldn't have any problems. Anyway, the guy shows up & when he starts to maneuver the TV, I simply said "it's heavy" because I thought he was going to put it on the floor (and I know from helping hubby with it that it's very, very heavy). He says "I'm not going to take your TV!" Mmm hmmm. After he opens it & seems to know what the problem is, I asked "what's wrong with it?' His eloquent reply? "It's broke." Ooooookay. I'm looking at the kitchen right about now to make sure a butcher knife is within my reach. When my 14 year-old senile, feeble Cocker Spaniel hobbles into the room & coughs (instead of barking), he says "what's wrong with your dog?' I said "nothing, she's just old." He says "what does she have?" ???? I said "Nothing! She's 14, that's almost 100 in human years." So he says "See, I don't get that. Dogs are the only animals that do that. All the other animals, a year is a year. Their 4 legs must shorten their life. And I'm not one to say when you should get rid of the dog, but..."

Needless to say, I was happy to push him out the door! And guess what...the TV isn't fixed yet (!) since he didn't have the parts on hand.

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Gettin' that itch

My fingers are itching to start another project. I knew this was going to happen, but so far, I've managed to keep my word about first completing the shawl, at least. Just the shawl. Please! I measured it last night...*sigh* I've got about 25 more inches to do before I get to the borders--the body is knit first & then the borders are knitted on. Fortunately, the 28-row repeat goes fairly quickly, although I'm squeezing in knitting time here & there.

Next, I want to start either:
-socks, for myself or for hubby (as a Christmas gift, more than likely)
-A's tank top
-the baby blanket for my cousin (I'm trying to wait until she finds out the sex of the baby, although I'm leaning toward neutral colors anyway)

I'm trying not to even eye my stash right now because there's so much yummy yarn in there, it'd be all too easy to grab a ball & cast on something, anything. Socks really are addictive. And for some reason, I'd like to learn to knit socks on circs...so far, I've only used DPN's. Now DPN's have been good to me, but I like learning new things. Maybe I'll like socks on circs, maybe not, but at least then I can say I tried it.

Don't be surprised if you tune in tomorrow & I've cast on another project!

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Don't know what to do!

OK, I'm really hating the wool sweater now. I look at it & want to tell it, "I really despise you. I'm getting hot & itchy just looking at you & you're not even finished yet!" Of course, if you hear me talking to this sweater, please call for help.

This is the sweater for A I'm referring to. There was also supposed to be a sweater for K & C. (Yes, I'm aware that my children's initials come out to be AKC, like I'm some rabid Eukanuba fan, which I'm not. I have a dog, but the only thing she knows how to do is "sit." Sometimes. I just can't see myself trotting around a ring in a jolly way with this dog on a leash.) But I want to frog the sweater now. I think A will understand since I'm making a tank top for her for the summer. She'll get way more use out of that cotton top than she would a wool sweater. And I figured I could turn all that wool into scarves & hats (for who?? I don't know, I haven't gotten that far yet). Those great big balls of wool are hogging up my stash like unwelcome guests. I thought of swapping or selling, but I'm not quite there yet, either. I have to figure out a way to use that wool. In case you haven't yet figured it out, I will die before I sell or swap anything. Call me crazy, but once yarn is in my possession, I guess I'm like a crazed lover: if I can't have (knit) you, no one will have (knit) you. But take out the parts where I kill the yarn & then myself.

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Back to writing!

I actually did more writing than knitting yesterday, though I did manage to finish sock #2 (ta da!). It feels weird not to cast on a new project, but I'm trying to work through my UFO's, in all areas of my life, including the writing. I'm on the back half of the book now and the closer I get to finishing, the more anxious I feel. I can't explain that. I was up at 4:30 this morning because that's what time C started fussing. *sigh* And I thought K was a bad sleeper at this age? Ha!!! As if to mock me...anyway, sometimes C sleeps good, sometimes not. He's very unpredictable. So when I heard him fuss in the dead of night (yes, 4:30 a.m. is the dead of night), I didn't get right up because most times, he'll settle himself back down. Not so today, so after I rocked him and put him back down, I went ahead, got up and wrote. Two cups of strong coffee helped (that's why I'm a Plain Ole Cup of Joe, I guess) . Then he woke back up at his regular time (6-ish), but I felt really good about staying up and writing because it's been a long time since I did that--normally, I'd climb back into bed. Any sane person would.

I only did 2 rows on the shawl last night, after I finished the sock. I'd gotten irritated and I didn't want to knit while in that mood because the shawl is a gift for someone. So I read my Calvin & Hobbes book, which of course made me feel better, but knitting time was over for the day.

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Spring is making me sorta un-knitty

I did minimal knitting this weekend on purpose. I felt I needed a break & once I finish these current projects, I plan to take one. If I get all my Christmas gifts done this year, great; if not, I'm not going to beat myself up because I have other things to do.

I started reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith, which is how I spent much of the weekend (when I wasn't at birthday parties Saturday and Sunday). So far, this is a very good book. However, I have an issue with Ms. Smith--she's too pretty. Now I'm not saying all writers should look like Stephen King (no jabs there, I love Mr. Horror!!), but there's no crustiness about her. LOL. Lucky her!!!

Anyway, I'm almost done with my current sock. It's going to be hard for me not to immediately cast on another sock when this one is finished (especially with that Regia in my stash), but I really have a book to finish writing. I also have been neglecting my reading. One good thing that C has done lately is allow me to knit more when he's up and about. This helps a lot as limiting my knitting to his sleeping hours didn't allow me to get anything else done--my own fault, I know, but knitting is addictive in its therapeutic qualities. Ask any knitter; heck, ask yourself! And socks have been the perfect mini-project for me to do around him. Still, there will be more time for knitting. I'm just trying to reorganize my priorities because they've gotten a little screwed up lately.

The weather doesn't help, either. We've been outside a lot more; this is when I get my small vegetable garden planted. I tell you, there is nothing like going in your own backyard & pulling a tomato off the vine--when my tomatoes aren't blooming/in season, I hate having to spend money on them at the grocery store! So we've been walking, biking, just soaking up the warmth and for some reason, my idea of knitting conjures up images of hot drinks, blankets on the lap & cold weather outside. I usually slow knitting down in the spring & summer and I don't think this year will be any exception. Still...the needles call to me sometimes.

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