My Dog Has Fleece

Did Someone Say Roller Derby?

2012-01-22T22:53:00.000-06:00

Look at that - you go without blogging for a year and all sorts of things happen.

Like joining a Roller Derby team.

For those who've missed the revival, yes, it's back. Roller Derby - the biggest, baddest fad of the '30s, '40s, '50s, '70s, '80s, and 1999 is back - but this time it's all real, (almost) all-girl, and wilder than ever! (Except without the alligators.) Starting around 2001, Roller Derby has been re-invented as a flat track contact sport, and now there are over 1,000 leagues all around the world. I joined one of them last April. So I spend a couple evenings a week practicing skating, blocking, and hitting other skaters, preparing to skate against other leagues - and I spend almost all of my free time thinking about Roller Derby, talking about Roller Derby, surfing websites about Roller Derby, traveling to Roller Derby bouts, or being otherwise preoccupied with Roller Derby. In that way, it's kind of like knitting, but with more bruises.

There's even some crossover. One of the skaters from the Naptown Roller Girls of Indianapolis, Joan of Dark, has a book called Knockdown Knits: 30 Projects from the Roller Derby Track, full of knitting patterns for the derby skater or fan. Here's one of the projects - the Know Your Jammer hat. (The Jammer, the skater who scores points for her team, is identified by a helmet cover with a star.) This is a fast knit and funky construction for a hat - it's knit flat with an intarsia star, then seamed up the side. I have a feeling I'm going to be knitting a lot of these.

So, that's what's slowed down my knitting, and my blogging, and pretty much everything else. But it's helped me roller skate a lot faster!

A New Leaf

2012-01-07T07:26:00.001-06:00

It's been awhile since I've updated this blog, hasn't it?

Planning to spend more time on the Internet probably isn't the greatest New Year's Resolution, but I think that's mine. I'm going to get back to blogging - and knitting - regularly. I've completed some projects, started many more, and tried my best to keep the VeryBadDogs out of trouble.

What's on the needles now? This is my current favorite - the Stripe Study Shawl by Veera Välimäki. It's a funny design - a triangle that begins in the center of the long side, and works out to knit the other two sides at the same time. Short rows make the triangle lopsided, with wedge-shaped stripes. I'm using Zephyr lace-weight yarn, purchased from Ursula's Alcove, one of my favorite SCA merchants.

I love the graphic, modern look of this shawl. I'm thinking of adding a white stripe or two to the bottom, but I'll decide that when I come to it. It's a great pattern, because it's easy to memorize, so it will be perfect for in-car knitting.

Many other things are or should be in progress, and I'll update those as I go. Today I'll be spending a lot of time on my stripe shawl, as I'm off on a long trip with the Roller Derby team (see, there's a story there!)

2012-01-06T22:24:00.000-06:00

Margaritaville

2010-09-15T23:52:00.000-05:00

So, we had a lively time last night.

I've become a big fan of HouseParty.com, an online community that matches products and customers. Users can apply to host House Parties, where they'll share the contents of a party package provided by a company that wants to show off their product. Last spring, we held a party to introduce the new "Bet You Know It" edition of Trivial Pursuit.

This time around, our party was sponsored by Sauza Tequila. So I got a great party pack with a pitcher, margarita glasses, and coupons that let me get really cheap tequila. We have a semi-regular girls' night out, so I invited everyone over for a corporate-sponsored get-together. I made Tequila-Lime Chicken Tacos, all of the guests brought something yummy, and I made a "key lime" pie (the Cooks Illustrated version, which uses regular limes) for dessert.

We tried the Sauza margarita mix, and then had strawberry margaritas from a frozen mix (I'm sugaring glass rims here) for dessert. I think everyone had a great time - I know I did! Now I just have to figure out what we're going to do with all the leftover tequila.....

Pennsic XXXIX

2010-08-26T12:31:00.005-05:00

The most intimidating person I have ever met was my college Hebrew teacher. She stood all of 4'10", and was a sweet, grandmotherly woman with nothing but tender concern for her students. She was also utterly terrifying. One day I overslept and missed class - then skipped for another week because I was scared to go back. I'm not sure what would have happened, but a friend who was a year ahead of me realized exactly what I was doing, and told me I just need to jump in again.

The blog is a lot like that, without the terrifying part. I keep coming up with grand plans to catch up, but have realized that I should just jump in and pick up again. And so -

We went to Pennsic again this year. This was my ninth Pennsic - it seems like more, but I only had eight banners to hang on the tent.

Somehow, the preparations are getting easier. I've had these banners for years, but this was the first time I got them all finished so I could hang them. There weren't any seriously frantic last-minute projects. We had space left over in the car when we packed.

We even had time to make a stop on the way - at Grandpa's Cheese Barn in Ashland, Ohio. It was a tourist trap, but a tasty one - the provisions we picked up here nicely filled out our food supplies for the week. I think next year it will be a planned stop - maybe in both directions.

This was the first year I didn't see a single battle at Pennsic. In part, that was because I had to leave early to get home for a work meeting. In part, that was because it was really stinkin' hot and humid. But mostly, it was because there was too much fun stuff going on to spend time watching other people have fun.

One of the neatest textile things was this demonstration of silk reeling on Artisans' Row. This apparatus is based on a 16th-century silk reel, and the woman using it raises her own silkworms. She has a lovely blog devoted to all things buggy and silky.

This was the first time I'd been at a Pennsic with an Artisans' Row, and it was great. They had three tents set up as work space - each day, there was a vague theme for each tent, and people could come and teach and learn and work and show off and just have a good time. There were several fiber days, including one devoted to socks (lots of knitters here working on all sorts of things, not just socks).

I used the sock day as an excuse to start a pair of Pre-Literate Stockings. They don't look like much yet, but eventually I'll have a pair of toasty warm socks to wear at events. There was a great class on obscure knitting tools, and while I just caught the end of it I learned how to use a knitting pin to do Portuguese knitting. I've been switching back and forth on these stockings, and not getting any difference in tension. Right now, I seem to knit about as fast Portuguese-style as I do English-style, so I suspect that once I have some practice the Portuguese method will be considerably faster.

Artisans' Row also hosted a narrow-wares day, so after teaching two classes on fingerloop braids, I was able to share leftover handouts and supplies there. This is the absolute best site for learning about fingerloop braids. The authors have done all sorts of great research - although a lot of people say it's easier to learn hands-on. So I really liked having Artisans' Row.

The single coolest thing I bought - possibly from any Pennsic ever - was this set of veil pins from Acanthus Leaf Designs. These are perfect, spot-on copies of pins found in London. I was so excited when I saw them - and the maker was excited when she saw I was excited - so it was an exciting shopping trip!

I also bought a beautiful Turkish spindle from The Spanish Peacock,

And some dyed roving from Feeling Sheepish. It's going to be perfect for trying out my new spinning wheel.

"Spinning wheel? What? You have a spinning wheel?!?"

Yep. Aaron got me a spinning wheel for my birthday. So see, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Another round -for me and Butler!

2010-03-25T23:41:00.001-05:00

There's excitement all around in the VeryBadDog House

Just in case anyone's not paying attention to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, the Butler Bulldogs, a team from a school of 4,500, defeated the #1 seeded Syracuse Orange to go to the Elite Eight. It's nice to see the hometown team do well. Max is likely to become a basketball fan, as I did my best to secure Butler's victory tonight by feeding him orange segments, figuring he's sufficiently bulldog-like to bring good luck. And it worked - or something did. Max was more than happy to help, and would really appreciate it if the next opponent had a cheeseburger mascot.

I'll also be advancing to another round, for Sock Madness. I managed to finish the sideways socks at Knit Night on Tuesday, and even got in a little knitting on my sweater. We're told the next pattern will be coming out on Friday, so there's not much of a break. I'm glad they didn't seed us into a tournament bracket, because my performance was pretty unimpressive. I think I was second to last to finish - but finishing was all that mattered this time around. Next time, I have to finish fast.

So I'm grateful to Butler for getting so far into the tournament. It gives me a good excuse to sit and watch TV. Round 2, here I come!

Signs of Spring

2010-03-22T20:43:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning to find this, the first daffodil shoot. By lunchtime there were two others.

I hope there will be many more. Last fall I planted 50 daffodil bulbs, mostly in the front yard, so we're hoping they'll sprout. It's been a cold winter, so it's hard to know what will happen. Spring in a new house turns out to be something of a adventure, as we don't know what's going to pop up. It looks like we're going to have quite a few tulips, and some pretty little blue flowers are spreading from our neighbors' yard.

One thing we can be sure of is some sort of garden. Aaron went out yesterday and bought 700 pounds of rabbit droppings (you can find anything on Craigslist), intending to use them to fill a raised bed. There were so many that he built a second bed for them! I know he's planning all sorts of good things - tomatoes, greens, asparagus, rhubarb, peppers....and I really want to find space for some berries and some herbs. The first bed was composting all winter, so it should be ready for plants soon. Now we just have to get through these sunny days without giving in to temptation to plant too early - I think the last frost date is May 1. But I may have to start some seeds indoors so it will feel like spring - the sunshine makes it seem like it's really here!

(And yes, I'm still knitting the sideways socks. Picking up stitches for the heels and toes takes a long time, but I hope I'll be able to finish in time.)

March Madness

2010-03-20T14:42:00.002-05:00

This time it's the real thing.

I've never thought of myself as a real sports fan. Sure, there's the auto racing. And you kind of have to like the Cubs, on principle. And then there's the Colts - although I really only started paying attention to football to be polite to Aaron, at least until I found out how hot the players are.

That didn't mean I was into basketball. Not really.

I don't seem to have much choice in the matter. Things are going well for every team I'd have to care about. Purdue is progressing through the NCAA bracket, as is Butler. We can be cautiously optimistic about both teams - Purdue is short a good player, and Butler is an awfully small school (and just had a painfully close game), but either could keep going for awhile. We used to go to all the games at Hinkle Fieldhouse when I was a kid, so Butler's sort of the hometown team.

But now I've married into a Kentucky family.....which may make me a blue-blood, of the "bleeds blue and white" sort. They take their basketball very seriously in Lexington - so seriously that this life-sized poster of DeMarcus Cousins was published, section-by-section, in the Lexington newspaper. We celebrated Aaron's father's imminent retirement and some of his colleagues brought this out and encouraged everyone to see how they'd measure up to the 6'11" Cousins. Not very far, in my case - I don't even come up to his tattoo.

So now I'm cheering for three teams. Theoretically, they could all make it to the Final Four, so I don't have to pick a favorite until then. But I think I'd like having a life-size poster a lot better if it were of Blue II.

Progress and Parties and Pi

2010-03-14T21:44:00.001-05:00

After such a good start you'd think I'd have more knitting done, but I'm afraid I'm not there yet. I have half a sock, and it's the easy half.

This is the tube part of Sock #1. I've never had the Kitchener-hating that seems to crop up among knitters, but doing this long graft wasn't a lot of fun. Since I'm worried about the short yardage in a Jitterbug skein I'm going to knit the second tube before I start adding heels and toes and cuffs, just in case I have to add in a second yarn. I have to say I like the way the Jitterbug has striped, even if I'm not so confident about the fit. I think the foot is a bit longer than it needs to be, and the cuff a bit tight. But there will be some room to finesse things once I'm adding the other parts, so I'm optimistic that everything will turn out all right.

I've had Other Things On My Mind lately - we hosted a potluck for the Math Department on Friday, so I spent a couple of days cleaning and cooking, and then another day recovering. We had a great time, and were able to celebrate Pi day today with a delicious apple pie, thanks to some generously left leftovers. I contributed my own dessert (so cookie decorating ate knitting time) - sugar cookies decorated either for Illinois Wesleyan or St. Patrick's day, whichever seems appropriate.

This week is Spring Break, so soon we'll be getting ready to head to our respective hometowns for a few days each. I like trips home, because I can get Aaron to drive and have lots of knitting time in the car. I have to make a "reasonable effort" at knitting my sideways socks to qualify to get the rest of the Sock Madness patterns, and I'd really like to be able to make it to Round 4 this year. So I'll have a lot of knitting to do in the next week.

Sock Madness Begins

2010-03-11T23:08:00.003-06:00

Or Oops, I Did it Again.

Not that I need any more knitting stress - but well, who can turn down Sock Madness, especially when I'm from the home of March Madness? The first pattern came out yesterday, so I've spent Much Too Much time knitting.

This is a first for Sock Madness - a sideways sock. I love the look of sideways socks but haven't had good luck with them in the past, so I really hope this one will turn out to be a sock that fits. Unlike the Sidewinder, this sock is knit as a tube, and then stitches are picked up for the heel, toe, and cuff. That should give a little wiggle room to improve the fit.

I'm using Jitterbug yarn, since the pattern recommendation called for something crazy. And now I have two weeks to knit, in order to qualify for Round 2 of Sock Madness.

I had a pleasant surprise in today's mail - free Spa yarn from Caron! Caron was doing a "Try Our New Yarn" giveaway on Facebook awhile ago, and I was one of the lucky people who got my request in early. I don't know how big a fan I'll be - there's a high acrylic content in all of the "naturally Caron" yarns - but it's nice and soft, and I'm sure it will work well for something. Something to knit after Sock Madness, that is.

Start Crazy

2010-03-07T18:50:00.005-06:00

Any post-Olympics of pre-Sock Madness resolve I had about finishing some works in progress has disappeared. It helps that I realized I have until May to finish Elizabeth's socks, so Sock Madness won't interfere with my Sock Day Club knitting. (Are you amazed that Aaron can keep all my sock activities straight? I would be, but I'm not sure that he does. I think he just smiles and humors me when he hears the word "sock.") I started two projects yesterday, and will likely begin a third as soon as I can get to a yarn store.

The first project is a Sock Monkey Hat, for my chemo cap collection. When Cindy and her friends did Walk For the Cure, "Marty's Monkeys" was their team name. So I think she'll be amused by it, and I hope its eventual recipient will be. This is also Plymouth Encore Chunky, with some regular Encore held double for the mouth, because I couldn't find all of the sock monkey colors I needed in Chunky in one place, and driving around from one store to another trying to assemble a complete monkey kit would have driven me completely crazy. I'm pretty sure this will be finished by Spring Break, so that will be two caps, at the very least.

Project #2 is a sweater. The last one was so much fun - and I felt so good about finishing it, that I thought I'd go ahead and try another. (We're going to ignore the 4 sweaters I have on the needles, right?) I'm using some Knit Picks Wool of the Andes that Debbie gave me as part of her fiberalong destash, and I'm making the Drop-Stitch Lace Tank from Fitted Knits. Last week's mega-shopping trip left me with a lovely white shirt that one simply must wear something over or under, so this sweater should be a good match. I don't know if I can expect to finish this one in two weeks - although this picture is just a single day's knitting - a couple of episodes of Bobby Flay's Throwdown - so it should progress pretty quickly.

Project #3 will be a copy of the hats the US Olympic team wore for the Opening Ceremonies. Even if I have to buy yarn, I'm pretty sure I can get the hat for less than $75.00. When my official Ravelympics Pin (with an adorable picture of Bob the Dog) arrives, I can wear it on my new hat.

It's Really Over

2010-03-03T14:48:00.004-06:00

It's still sinking in that the Olympics are over, but since I've finished what was supposed to be my second Olympic project, they really must be.

This is Wavy Gravy #10, intended as a chemo cap. One of my sisters lost a dear friend to breast cancer right around Christmas, so I'm making a handful of chemo caps to be donated in Martini's memory. It's a surprise, but I'm pretty sure my sister doesn't keep up with my knitting. Because it's a chemo cap it needs to be nice and soft, so I've used Plymouth Encore Chunky - Encore is my go-to yarn for non-knitters. It has more acrylic than I'd use for myself, but it's nice and soft and durable. I hope to get a few more caps done before spring break, because then I could hand them off to my sister so she could donate them.

Here's another sign that the Olympics are finally over, along with the Olympic knitting. After three days of stalking Ravelry, I've received my Bob-bedecked medal:

along with this Franklin design from the Yarn Harlot. I first came to read Franklin's blog because of a conversation on Laurie R. King's blog about his 2006 medal, so it's especially exciting to have one of my own. I'm totally fine with the guy being naked.

Now I really should return to other useful things - working on the house, finishing knit Christmas presents, maybe even washing dishes or doing laundry. And maybe I'll squeeze a few of those in. But I signed up for Sock Madness today, and the new pattern will come out within a week or so. Organizing the stash is sort of like cleaning house, right?

So, what now?

2010-03-02T10:39:00.004-06:00

It's hard to believe the Olympics are over.

I've been wandering around the house in something of a daze, picking up the TV remote and then putting it down again when I realize it won't show me curling.

I've been a little dazed about the knitting, too. I started a Wavy Gravy Hat during the closing ceremonies, but chose post-ceremony sleep over progress and a chance at another medal. So it's about 1/3 finished, and I expect I'll make a lot more progress at Sit, Sip, and Knit tonight. Still, I haven't really wanted to knit much - which is weird as all get-out, I think. Or maybe not - perhaps post-sweater letdown is perfectly normal.

There's another project that I'm very excited about, and eager to knit - I just can't show or write anything about it. The Lafayette knitters have revived the Sock Day Club for another round, and I'm not going to let a 2-hour drive keep me from joining in.

The first round of socks will go to Elizabeth, and I love the socks I'm making for her. I love having a good excuse to knit these socks. I hope she'll love them as much as I do.

I just can't show them, because they're a surprise for Elizabeth. But come May, everyone will have a chance to love these socks!

The Finish Line

2010-02-28T22:26:00.003-06:00

I am a Knitting Olympian.

Four years ago, the Yarn Harlot created the Knitting Olympics. I made a pair of socks, and looked at her project in wonder, wondering " what kind of #&%^* maniac tries to knit a sweater in two weeks?"

Tonight I finished a sweater.

It was another busy day. We had a three-hour visit for a house-painting estimate (anyone ever use College Works Painters?), then went to meet the baby who received my hat and booties. So it was 5:30 before I sat down in front of the TV with five pattern rows and a garter stitch band to go on my second sleeve. I'd sneakily woven in all the available ends while the painters were here, so they wouldn't stand between me and the finish line.

I was binding off by 7:15, while NBC was still showing the pre-Closing Ceremonies highlights.

At 7:22, I had a sweater. There was just enough time to post to the Ravelympics finish line and sit down to the delicious dinner Aaron made before the Closing Ceremonies started.

Doing the finishing bits as I went proved to be a really good idea. I had just one end to weave in before I could put on the sweater and go stand in the kitchen looking smug, waiting for Aaron to look up from his salad preparations and notice. Pictures of the sweater being worn will follow - I have tried Aaron's patience enough for one day by leaving him to serve me dinner as I knitted.

Further Olympic Knitting projects did not go so well. According to the Ravelry rules, I have until midnight Pacific Time, so I could stay up until 2am and knit. But I could also go to sleep like a sensible person. I lost a lot of knitting time looking for the yarn for my planned second and third projects (yes, I know I could have pulled the yarn out earlier, but that would have eaten into my knitting time for the first project), and while I was looking for yarn Oscar the EvenWorseDog made it very clear that he was upset that I was neglecting his "take me outside" request in order to look for yarn. So I lost even more knitting time cleaning up.

I think I'm going for option #2. There's nothing that says I can't make chemo caps as a Paralympics project.

Yikes!

2010-02-28T09:50:00.003-06:00

It's Sunday, the day of the closing ceremonies, and I still have a one-sleeved sweater.

We did some shopping yesterday. The good news is that I have a cute top, some boots that make me 2" taller, and a shiny new cell phone that will allow me to check Ravelry while visiting my parents, at the same time leaving us with a family phone bill that's a bit less than what Aaron was paying for himself. The bad news is that I did absolutely no knitting. By the time we got home, we just didn't have the energy for anything.

It's going to be a busy day.

Getting There

2010-02-26T23:13:00.003-06:00

I'm making good progress on the Olympic sweater - on sleeve down, one to go!

The sleeves don't move quite as quickly as I keep telling myself they should, but they're moving. I thought I'd do the bottom band on Tuesday, and the sleeve on Wednesday. But I want a nice long sleeve, so it's worth taking the time to do this. I'm glad I bought the extra ball of yarn, because I had to use it for the last three rows of garter stitch.

The big question now is what to knit next? I originally planned to go through charity hats if I finish the sweater, but that was before the Opening Ceremonies. Now I really, really want one of the nifty hats the Americans were wearing, and Ravelry has the pattern. So if I finish the sweater, I'm going to knit one charity hat, which is the second Olympic project I signed up for on Ravelry. If there's any time after that, I'll cast on a reindeer hat. And then, sometime next week, I'll do things like housework, and trying to finish a couple of Christmas presents. But I'll be doing it with a new sweater.

Free Samples I Bought

2010-02-25T13:13:00.002-06:00

I once heard comedian describe cosmetic companies' "Free Gift with Purchase" like this: "If you spend $49.50 on something you don't really want, they'll give you seven little tiny things you don't really need."

I've found a way to cut straight to the chase, and skip the thing I don't really want. I bought my first-ever Groupon, so for just $12.50 I could sign up for the Eco Luxe Life's inTELL program, and get packets full of eco-friendly sample-sized goodies.

This is the first package's haul. The yellow sheet is a "reusable paper towel" - a cleaning cloth made from soy. I find I really like it, because it dries quickly, so I don't have something sitting around getting wet and smelly. I haven't tried any of the other things yet, but there's a coffee extract (just add water and you get coffee!), gum, an adorably tiny lip gloss, a moist towelette, conditioner, and a dryer sheet. Everything on my first floor now smells like the dryer sheet.

I have to confess that may be a bit crazy sample-sized things. Years ago, I filled out one of the grocery surveys from the coupon section of the paper, and received a package that included a sample-sized roll of plastic wrap, just six inches across. I loved that thing. I don't remember if we ever actually used the plastic wrap, but I thought trial-sized wrap was just the coolest thing in the world.

I'll have three more packages to look forward to, one for each season. It's sort of like getting a swap package in the mail, without having to send anything out. Anything but $12.50, that is - but I'm sure I'll have forgotten all about that by the time the Fall package arrives.

Somewhere, Something, Sometime, Sweater!!!!!

2010-02-24T22:04:00.000-06:00

Somewhere, I have a bunch of half-finished posts about all the knitting and other stuff I've been doing. There are pictures and everything, and they're just waiting for me to hit "edit post," finish something already, and release them. Sometime, I'll do that.

But for right now I should forget about catching up, and just start over already, because I'm really really excited about something - I may actually finish my Olympic Sweater!

So the brief catch-up is that I'm doing the Knitting Olympics. And I decided to do a sweater - the February Lady sweater. And I've been working on it.

Tonight, I bound off the bottom and started the first sleeve. This picture is from yesterday, just a few rows before I did the bottom band. It's kind of a lousy picture because I took it with a mirror, but it's the best I have for now. That will change soon - now that the body is finished it will be much easier to try on as I check the sleeve length.

So in case I never put up the posts with the "I'm starting a sweater" details, this is Cascade Yarns Lana d'Oro, which found its way into my home thanks to a generous Christmas gift from Aaron's parents. I'm using size 7 needles, rather than the 8 in the pattern, and knitting what's supposed to be a 37.5" bust. It seems to fit rather well. I'll probably use five balls of yarn before the whole thing's finished.

Now I just have to finish a sweater. Then I'll finish blogging.

O for Olympics!

2010-01-27T22:29:00.005-06:00

It's time to start thinking about the Knitting Olympics.

I've actually been thinking about it for awhile now, and I've been thinking that I want to knit a sweater. Four years ago, when the Yarn Harlot started this whole thing, knitting a sweater in two weeks seemed more than a little crazy.

But now I hope it's not the sort of thing that gets one committed, because I have committed. I'm going to be making the February Lady sweater, and I'm going to do it between February 12 and February 28. (Yes, the dates helped me make the final decision. Knitting the February Lady sweater in February makes a certain amount of sense.)

I broke out the Christmas money and visited Mary Lynn's Yarn Garden, and came up with this great yarn - Cascade Lana d'Oro. It's a wool/alpaca blend, and the colors are just beautiful. It's also just $6.00 a skein, which makes it a very attractive choice - knitting a sweater suddenly became a much cheaper undertaking. I bought four skeins, and Mary Lynn graciously offered to hold a fifth for me, so I don't have to buy more yarn than I need or risk her running out. Four skeins will cover what the pattern calls for, but I suspect I'll be making a somewhat longer sweater with longer sleeves. Mary Lynn wound all the yarn for me (except for the skein on hold), so now I just have to wait until the Opening Ceremonies. That may be the hardest part.

Knitting hasn't been the only craft on my mind lately. Emilio Santini came to Illinois Wesleyan, so we got to go see him lecture last night, demonstrate lampworking today, and hang out with him at a party. My fingers are absolutely itching to get back at a torch. I don't know how I'm going to wait until summer.

Just look at the cool stuff he made. This is a bug, more or less bug-sized. The antennae are lopsided because he was demonstrating two different ways to make bug antennae.

In the picture of Emilio, he's making a glass goblet. He also made a tiny goblet from some leftovers - that's the yellow one here, pictured alongside the blue one owned by a glass collector, and a quarter for perspective. (The glass collector proved to be a retired zookeeper. That may be one of the coolest professions ever for bringing up at parties.)

We also had a great time at the post-demo gathering. One of Aaron's colleagues lives in a renovated retail building; he and his wife have studios on the first floor, and the second floor is a nifty apartment. I'm not sure it's good for us (or me, really) to go see other people's fixed-up houses, as it creates far too many ideas. I know there's no good way to fit a big, free-standing bathtub into our little bathroom, but I just can't stop wishing we could.

And I can't wait for summer, when I can lampwork. Or the 12th, when I can start my sweater. I need to knit to calm down.

N is for...

2010-01-24T22:46:00.004-06:00

Nagging.

I'm being nagged to do housework, and I love it.

People who have been to my house know that I'm a rotten housekeeper. People who haven't been to my house might guess, based on evidence like this, that I'm a rotten housekeeper.

I've tried to get better, but it just doesn't work. A system like Fly Lady seemed nice, but I just couldn't stand all the cutesy sayings or the obsession with shoes, and it seemed to be geared towards stay-at-home mothers who lived in fully equipped houses and did all the domestic work. So I kept hoping that sooner or later someone would start a Fly Lady for adults - cleaning for the rest of us.

Enter NaggyBitch. Ravelry's latest character, she encourages us to do housework every day, starting with "just make the 3#$$%! bed." Next thing I know, I'm actually cleaning.

So, the house is starting to look pretty good. I can probably even show it to my mother. I just can't tell her who's encouraging me to clean it.

Speaking of my mother, I've finished her birthday present. It's blocked out to a nice size, I think, and it seems to fit like it's supposed to. So I'll be delivering this to its new owner soon.

For Mothers and Babies

2010-01-20T21:30:00.003-06:00

The Meret is finished, and blocking. Now I just have to wait for it to dry, then it's ready to ship. I'm not sure it will get there in time for Mom's birthday, but I'm not sure I want to go out to the post office, anyway. Everything is covered in ice right now, so there's no point in leaving home (or chipping out my car) if I don't have to.

It appears to be big enough, and it appears to be the right shape - snug around the ears, but loose on top. With the blocking, it should also appear to have a nice lace pattern. Properly blocking a beret can be a challenge, but I hope that just stretching the top over a dinner plate will do the job.

While that dries, I have a new project in progress - gifts for friends who are expecting their first child in February. I stocked up on Encore Colorspun on Saturday (I'm not a big acrylic fan, but this is a nice yarn for people who don't want to handwash), so I can get through some baby projects. I cast on this Iceland Tri-Corner Hat yesterday, and probably would have finished it last night if I hadn't messed up.

You can see here that I didn't pay attention to the direction of the grafting, and wound up with one of the tails in the center. I just wasn't in the mood to pick out stitches right before bed. But now it's all done, and I hope it's baby-sized. I modified the pattern to use the worsted-weight yarn, so it's Size 6 needles and I cast on 64 stitches. The i-cord tails are about 2" long, which may be just a bit much. I think babies have big heads. Does anyone know if babies have big heads?

I'm not so sure that they have big feet, though, so I think these may get frogged. I'm planning to make a pair of the Multicolored Sockies from Socks, Socks, Socks, but my Size 4 needles have produced an awfully big sole. Whatever size they wind up being, I'm likely to have a baby gift finished before the baby is born. Then I'll have just three more babies to go. For now.

"M" is for...

2010-01-17T13:07:00.002-06:00

Meret. Mine is almost done, and since I'm at the crown, it should go pretty quickly now. I made a lot of progress last night while watching the Colts win their first playoff game, so I'll look for more football today in hopes of getting it finished.

Mother. The Meret is a birthday gift, so it needs to go in the mail by Wednesday. I've decided to go with the "slouchy," but not "extra slouchy," option, so it should keep her ears warm without squishing her hair. I think the lace will open up nicely once I block it, and it should be plenty slouchy then.

Mojo. I went to my first knit-gathering at Ewe Knits yesterday, and brought along the Mojo Sock. It's not my first priority project right now, but it seemed appropriate to work on there. I'm close to finishing the first sock, I think. Next time I'm working on it when I'm not in polite company, I'll try it on and see how much longer it needs to be. The official deadline for the knitalong is February 10, and with the Olympics approaching that's a good one to try to meet.

and Me. Flat Me. A friend's daughter sent us a "Flat Me" doll, so we're supposed to take her out for adventures. Bloomington in the winter doesn't offer much in the way of adventures, but we're doing our best. So she went out to the Normal Theater on Friday to see Our Man in Havana. I think she's going to make a college visit tomorrow, and I'll try to find some other exciting places to go. Sooner or later, she's going to get some knitwear, too.

Post-Christmas Projects

2010-01-12T22:07:00.004-06:00

I've been sort of cleaning up from the Christmas knitting, finishing the half finished projects.

For Christmas, I made half a dozen sets of Totos and Tribbles to give as presents. I like to make sure that everyone who comes over for Christmas has something to open, but with 35-4o people I have to set a pretty tight budget. So these seemed like a good gift, even counting the original cost of the stash yarn. I think they went over well, as every person who got one had to try using it as a hand puppet.

Toto is a nifty design from the second Mason-Dixon Knitting book, and it's not a beginner's project. It uses several funky knitting techniques - picked up stitches, a 3-needle bindoff, and an I-cord bindoff, but they all serve a purpose, and create an object that's both functional and decorative. That sounds like the embodiment (or empotholderment) of Craftsman principles to me - so as we work on our house, I'm sure the kitchen is going to include some Totos.

It's a good thing they work so well, because they're absolutely addictive to make. I finished this set right after Christmas.

And I just finished this one tonight. The pink yarn is left over from my Son of Dish Rag Tag dishrag. I fell in love with its ice-cream colors as I was knitting with it the first time, so I'm glad to have found a project that will stay with me me to use the rest of it.

The Tribbles are addictive, too. Here's the post-Christmas Tribble production. In addition to the ones that join potholders in the kitchen, I have visions of having a whole basket of them in the bathroom, to use as bath scrubbies. I love handknit washcloths, but they often stretch too much - the Tribbles probably won't have that problem.

I still have a Christmas project or two to finish (start, in one case), but I can't show you those in case the eventual recipients see them. However, I know my mother doesn't hang out on line, so I can share the next project I'll start, as soon as I decide what it is.

Mom wants a hat. Specifically, she wants a hat that keeps her ears warm, but that doesn't squish down her hair. I'm not exactly sure what sort of hat that would be, but I'm pretty sure that Mom also wants a hat that's machine washable, so I picked up this Plymouth Encore at Mary Lynn's, and it's going to be Mom's hat.

I've narrowed the pattern choices down to two - either Meret, or the Warm-Ears hat. I think it's going to be Meret, because it's prettier. Warm-Ears might be closer to what she wants, but I can't be sure without trying it on her, and that would ruin the surprise.

The next decision is about the Knitting Olympics. I'm thinking about going for broke and trying to do a sweater - a sweater using a heavy yarn and big needles. Since I'm still "between opportunities" jobwise, a sweater really seems possible - and it's cold right now. I looked at the February Lady sweater and Bella Paquita, and after reading all the comments about difficulties with the latter decided to do February Lady. But then I looked at yarn. Little Knits has some great yarns at great prices, but once shipping enters the equation the prices become much less great. So I think I'll do a round of the local yarn stores before I make any firm decisions - the Olympics aren't until February, anyway. I'll hope to have my Christmas knitting finished by then.

Magic

2010-01-10T21:57:00.005-06:00

It's been cold here since before Christmas.

It's easy to tell that it's cold, because this is what I see for most of the day. Usually, the VeryBadDogs don't hang out so close to each other, so when they start stacking I know it must be cold.

This is how I've been trying to fix it. Christmas leftovers were a bit disappointing this year, because there were no rolls left. There was a time when my sister-in-law would make absolutely wonderful yeast rolls for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She'd rub butter over the top of them as soon as they came out of the oven, and keep them warm on top of the stove. They were delicious fresh, and we'd snack on the leftovers for days. These days, another sister-in-law brings rolls from a favorite restaurant. They're not quite as good as homemade, but there were good enough that there weren't any leftovers. These Betty Crocker rolls, mixed in a bread machine, turn out to be a reasonably adequate substitute - for the restaurant rolls, if not for the homemade ones. Having to turn the oven on is just a bonus.

I'm progressing on the Mojo knitalong socks, although I haven't made it over for the knitting yet. We had a pretty heavy snowfall, and it seemed more sensible to stay home and knit. Once I started knitting with the Half-Blood Prince, I had to pull out the book and re-read it, too. So it's been a magical week to start off the new year.

This is proving to be a nifty yarn. Here's how it looked in the skein,

and here's how it's knitting up. It's a funky-looking sock on its own, but looks nice on. I'm about to start the heel, and rather than doing the pattern's afterthought heel I'm doing a short-row heel. I've never liked short-row heels, but I want the sock to be done when it's done. Maybe this week I'll make it over to Ewe Knits to show off my progress.

Resolutions

2010-01-01T15:46:00.004-06:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged.

If I were to make New Year's Resolutions, "more blogging" would be a good place to start. Usually I don't make resolutions, but that's no reason why I can't blog more, and maybe try to Get Some Things Done with the New Year.

Thing #1 is knitting! I took knitting with me to the great New Year's celebration I attended last night, but didn't have a chance to get it out. We went down to Indianapolis, to a new club called Radio Radio, for a concert by the Born-Again Floozies and the Leisure Kings. You may remember the Leisure Kings from an earlier meeting with one of my socks - celebrating with them, and checking out the Floozies, was an easy choice to make. The two groups came together at midnight for an absolutely wonderful rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" - about halfway through they switched from the real lyrics to Christmas Carols, and somehow it worked perfectly, right to the "in excelsis Deo" at the end.

But knitting. We're talking about knitting. I didn't do any knitting at the concert, but I did see this great knit hat. I probably should have gone over to see if the hat's wearer was also the hat's knitter, but I never quite made it. If anyone recognizes the owner or the pattern, I'd love to hear about it.

And now for my New Year's knitting! I like to start a project on New Year's Day, even if I'm otherwise trying to cut down. This year there are two projects:

First is a very plain pair of socks, knit in some Fortissima Socka "Graffiti" yarn. It won't be the most exciting knitting, but it gives me a good in-car project. I cast on last night after getting home, and the knitting here is the result of the three-hour trip home. (Aaron's been wonderful throughout the holiday season about driving so I could knit, and so I took advantage of that.) The colorway is called "A Sunny Forecast," which makes a good wish for the new year, so it's a good New Year's project.

The second one is for a knitalong. Ewe Knit, one of the local yarn stores, has started a knitalong for the Mojo Socks, so even though I've never been to a get-together there, I decided to join in. The yarn is from Cosmic Fibers, a superwash merino in the Half Blood Prince colorway. It was a gift from Amethyst Aurag for one of the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swaps, and this magical pattern seems like the perfect excuse to use it!

So, now it's time to get down to knitting. And to blogging more regularly, I hope.

Cider Day

2009-10-18T22:22:00.004-05:00

Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day - and a fun one, too. One of our neighbors invited us (and many of his other friends and neighbors) over to make cider.

We weren't sure what to expect, so we wandered over around noon, and stepped in to help. I first joined a couple of people who were chopping apples.

There was a big tub of them, but it looked like we were making pretty good progress.

Then I looked around the corner and saw this. This was a serious cider-making operation. They'd started about 9 AM, and went through at least six bags of apples before I took this picture.

Cider making turns out to be a simple, if labor-intensive, process. The chopped apples - stems, peels, cores, and all - first get mashed in a mill. This may have been the messiest part of the process, because the apples had to be guided through, and the pulp would go everywhere.

Once the apples were mashed, they went into the press. They'd press by hand first, and then use the screw. It was kind of surprising to see what a difference the apple variety made for juice yield. Courtland apples produced just a little juice, but Jonathans freely yielded a lot of it.

Most of the cider is going to be fermented, so it went into a carboy...

and a keg. Aaron made a cyser a couple of years ago, and it was a complicated process - more like winemaking. We're just now enjoying the results.

This cider is going to naturally ferment, using whatever yeast was present on the apples and in the air. There were some bottles of last year's, and it was a tart, very fizzy drink - almost like an apple Champagne. Apparently you never know what you're going to get, so it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

The results will be in soon - this style of fermenting just takes a couple of weeks. I hope we'll get a chance to see how it turns out! We were able to bring a bottle of the fresh cider home, so we'll enjoy that in the next day or two. The whole day was a fun way to get to know some of our neighbors, and the dogs (especially Max!) had a great time acting as the apple clean-up crew.

Yesterday was also a knitting day. The Hogwarts swap has a competitive element, and the first pattern came out yesterday. So I spent the evening knitting - only to lose by 27 minutes. I'm kind of sorry I skipped dessert to knit, but perhaps my sweet-looking hat will be some consolation. This Wizardly Incognito Cap is made from Cascade 220, on Size 6 needles. I hadn't planned candy corn at first, but when I realized that the yellow & orange I pulled were candy corn colors, I decided to go ahead and add the white, and have the excuse to knit nice wide stripes. So yes, that's another project started - but it's also another project finished. I think I really will be able to turn to finishing things now - or at least in a day or two. Between the apple mashing and the knitting, I'm pretty sore today.

In the Mail

2009-10-16T12:00:00.003-05:00

This was a good week for mail - I received my very first LSG RAK, and couldn't believe how nice it is.

KnotMyDayJob posted a pair of shoes as "free to a good home," and since they looked like my size and I don't have many respectable shoes, I said I'd love to have them. So I was expecting shoes - but I wasn't expecting all the other things that came with them. She sent me candy, cookies, nuts, and some fabric bits which will come in very handy for sewing little bags. My small sewing projects don't use much fabric, and I feel kind of guilty asking the people at the fabric store to cut me a bunch of eighth yards of calico, so it's nice to get other people's leftovers.

Getting the package nudged me to get my own RAK action going, so I sent off four packages today. Three were for LSG members, and one is for my sister - I finished her Calorimetry this morning. I've been pretty good at guessing how many stitches I need to cast on for each yarn, which is lucky. I'm wearing my own headband almost every day.

I'd like to report that I'm going to get back to finishing things, but I'm afraid it's not that easy. I went out shopping yesterday to pick up yarn for the latest Hogwarts Swap, and I've started something for my spoilee. I won't be sharing pictures of the work in progress, but since I have a separate character blog it's probably safe to show off the yarn here. I think my spoilee's "team colors" (this round is Quidditch-themed) make a lovely combination, and I was lucky to find a Homecoming sale at one of my local yarn stores. So that's one more project started, but sooner or later I'll get around to the finishing.

Boo!

2009-10-15T21:45:00.003-05:00

Here's a finished project, just in time for Halloween.

Meet Boo. Boo the Bat is a Mochimochiland pattern, and a project I started last October. He's been on hold for quite awhile, but he knitted up really quickly once I paid some attention to him. I did most of the knitting at Tuesday's knit night (a little less than two hours), finished him up yesterday, and then blocked and assembled him today. Blocking is really important for this pattern, because the wings are just a single layer and have to be blocked to shape.

And the wings are functional! Boo has a little button, so he can fold his wings together and take a nap. His little loop feet make it possible to hang around like a proper bat. When Kerry described Boo's feet to me last year, I knew I had to knit one - so I'm glad he's finally finished.

I'm not exactly sure where Boo is going to make his home. Since our bats in the attic are still around, Aaron's not feeling especially bat-happy right now. But who wouldn't love Boo? We'll see if I give in to the temptation to make him a few friends before Halloween!

Well, um....

2009-10-12T12:21:00.003-05:00

So I may have started a new project. Or two. Or three. Three is still "just a few," right?

I've been down with a nasty set of migraines for the past week - the first one hit while I was in Indianapolis for my cousin's wedding, and they just haven't let up. (The wedding, by the way, was lovely. It was a very fall-themed wedding - Crystal made the leaf-decorated invitations and programs herself, the attendants were in fall colors, and they used silk leaves as place cards for the tables. They even had an autumn-orange getaway car!)

So I haven't gotten much of anything done - but it seems like I've managed to get a lot of things started.

I misplaced my new Calorimetry headband, so I've had to make myself another. It's still cold here! We finally had some sun over the weekend - it was almost confusing to wake up to bright and cheerful light. But that seems to have been just a weekend treat, and there's no warm-up in sight. So I have another headband, this one made from another mystery yarn I had around. Cast on 110 stitches, and I've lost track of how wide it is - I was going for something a bit narrower this time.

They're so quick to make, why not another? I'm trying to take it easy, so I curled up with NUM3ERS on the on-demand TV, and spent several catch-up episodes knitting. (I'm glad Amita said "yes" to Charlie - I can vouch for the quality of mathematicans as husbands!) This Calorimetry is about to go in the mail, as a Random Act of Kindness for someone in the LSG group on Ravelry. I cast on 90 stitches, and used Nele, a big, thick yarn Aaron brought back from Germany. The yarn I had made kind of a narrow band, but it should be enough to help keep someone warm.

And now I'm working Calorimetry #3 (or #5, if you count all the ones I've made). This one will go to my sister, in Montana. Two weeks ago they were enjoying 80-degree days, and now they have blizzards! She actually closes off part of her house each winter, in an attempt to conserve heat. (Her dogs are bigger than mine. I wonder if that helps?) So I guess I can't complain too much about the cold days here - and I hope this will help Nancy keep a little bit warmer.

Once these are done, I'll get back to work on the UFO collection. I spent some time going through the stash, trying to find projects that needed attention. I seem to have a few....

Winning the battle, losing the war

2009-10-02T22:34:00.001-05:00

So far, so good. One thing finished, and nothing new started.

I have my very own Calorimetry, and it's nice and toasty warm.
But not warm enough, I fear. Although I've tried - really tried - to avoid turning on the heat, I had to give in. It's just too darn cold, and too darn wet. I really can't make pot roast for dinner every day, and I'm running out of excuses to turn on the oven.

But I'll still appreciate having the nice warm headband. I've set the thermostat to 69 degrees, and I'm not touching it. I won't say anything if Aaron feels the need to turn it up, but I'm not touching it.

Next project - the Baby Surprise Jacket. At least I hope it's next - I've had some trouble finding the leftover yarn for seaming. But tomorrow we're off to Indianapolis for a wedding, so I'll do some serious knitting during the trip, and then come back to sew up a jacket. And to avoid starting any new projects!

Starting Finishing Again

2009-09-30T11:27:00.002-05:00

It's time to get back on track with the project-finishing project. So I'm going to try this again - two projects finished for each new project I cast on.

I'll make it less of a challenge or commitment this time around, and more of a good idea. With Christmas rapidly approaching, I'm sure I'll be starting (and, I hope, finishing) a lot of quick projects as gifts. I'm already planning one that I can't blog about yet - but it's the perfect Christmas present for a certain friend with a certain favorite word.

Here's what Ravelry tells me I currently have in progress:

Red Scarf
Kauni Cardigan
Norwegian Socks
Chain of Hearts Socks
Boo the Bat
Christmas Garland Socks
Bellini Lace Shawl
Wedding Shawl (oops!)
Drop Stitch Socks
Highland Bonnet
Honeymoon Socks
Baby Surprise Jacket
Handspun Scarf
Calorimetry

And the Hibernating projects are:

Lana Grossa Cardigan
Sidewinders
Belle Epoque Sweater
Granny Square Afghan
Bulgarian Rose Socks
Bavarian Strolling Socks
Pomatomus Socks
Sunrise Circle Jacket
Traveling Socks
Snowdrop Shawl
Coriolis Socks

This list is going to be a bit harder to control than the last one - there aren't many easily-finished projects, and I'm pretty sure I no longer own the yarn to finish some of them, having diverted it to something else during the long hibernation. But if I can get my active WIP list down to two rows - 10 projects - by the end of October, I'll feel pretty good about the upcoming Christmas rush.

Home improvement projects do not get a spot on the list. Two of them pop up for every one we so much as think about, and I don't want to have to think about that.

Furnace Wars

2009-09-29T17:20:00.001-05:00

When I read the Yarn Harlot's accounts of the Furnace Wars, I kind of laughed it off a some weird Canadian thing. After all, it's so stinkin' cold in Canada that of course they'd have to get silly about the furnace. I just pulled out my fall jacket - and realized that the last time I wore it was in Canada, in June. Then it got put away, because no one in the more temperate regions of the continent needs a jacket in June.

But there's this other thing - I hate cold. Really, really hate cold. 80 degrees would be a reasonable daytime temperature for most of the year, as far as I'm concerned - maybe just a little warmer in the summer. For the past few years, I've been fortunate enough to live someplace where I don't pay for the heat, and sometimes didn't even control the heat. For a couple years, I was doubly fortunate - not only did I control the heat, but I didn't like the people who were paying for the heat very much. So either I had no choice in the heating decision, or I could keep things as warm as I liked, whenever I liked.

This year is different. This year, we're paying for the heat. After paying for a house, a honeymoon, a move, and me being unemployed. So we're going to have to be a bit more responsible about heating - and Illinois was a heck of a lot colder than Indiana last winter.

So I've declared the Furnace Wars to be on! There's no competition against anyone else - this is just my own challenge, a personal jihad against wimpiness and my cold nature. We're having pot roast for dinner tonight, so I've been able to have the oven on for most of the afternoon. I finally, FINALLY found my socks, just today - at the bottom of a closet. (We must have thought something like, "oh, we'll have finished painting the bedroom long before we need wool socks" when we put them there.)

And here I present my first weapon in the local Furnace War. I'm making myself a Calorimetry headband, so I can have something that will help keep the heat in, without resorting to wearing a hat inside.

I don't know what the yarn is - it was a gift from Debbie when she was destashing, and at the time, someone said, "this looks like enough for a Calorimetry." I'm working it on size 4 needles, with 110 stitches, and that seems to be working out right. Once I get this done, the next project is to do more box-shifting so I can find my long pants and long-sleeved shirts. If all goes well, we'll be able to keep the heat off until Halloween.

It may be finished tonight. It's supposed to get down to 37 tonight.

Did I Mention the Bats?

2009-09-25T21:20:00.004-05:00

So, we have bats in the attic. $826 worth of bats in the attic.

I don't know which of the twelve types of bats that live in Illinois they are, but I'm told that it's a bachelor colony, so there's somewhere between one and a dozen bats. And they're in my attic, which means they're hanging out right above my craft room.

I have nothing against bats. If they made decent pets, I'd have a pet colony. I once went to a Parks Department class about bats, and was rather surprised to find that I was one of the three people not of elementary school-age in the class. But I am trying to be a responsible adult homeowner, and I know that having animals (other than the VeryBadDogs) in the house is a Very Bad Thing.

So when I heard something squirrel-sized moving around above the attic one night, I called the good folks of Critter Control of Peoria. They sent a very nice guy the same day, and he was able to diagnose bats pretty quickly. I think I'm lucky - squirrels or raccoons could get a lot more expensive, because you pay a per-animal charge for removal. Bats are a package deal.

Jeff, the nice guy from Critter Control, is going to install one-way valves so the bats can leave but not return. Then he's going to seal up the holes that the bats are using to get in. Then he's going to seal up all the other holes he found, so no other critter can start using them to get in. An animal exclusion inspection was something I wanted to do eventually, so the bats have just re-arranged our moving-in agenda a little bit.

Cleaning up the guano and the bat-damaged insulation? That's my job. I'm now really appreciating the hardware store gift cards we got as wedding gifts, because they provided us with a shop vac.

My other job? Celebrating the bats in our home decor! I found a wonderful book of Art Nouveau cross-stitch designs at the Antique Pattern Library. Since we're trying to decorate our Craftsman-inspired house in a roughly-period style, this pattern seemed absolutely perfect. Eventually, the bats will probably go in the guest room. The people staying there won't have to know that we also had guest-bats for awhile.

Works in Progress

2009-09-21T00:46:00.005-05:00

With the Equinox approaching, it's a good time to take stock of the works in progress, and figure out how well I did with last year's Winter Knitting Goals. This is where I make lots of excuses for why I haven't finished the knitting I'm trying to finish. For quite awhile, I was feeling pretty good about only having two rows of active WIPs on Ravelry (Hibernating projects don't count, right?) but somehow that's changed lately.

The winter plan was that I'd finish two projects for every one I cast on, through the solstice. I kept going fairly well, right up until my birthday, when I cast on the project that messed up the balance. I decided I really needed to make something for my wedding officiant - a Highland bonnet - and that left me with 12 new projects to 23 finished ones. After that I got shameless, casting on sock club socks, socks for the bachelorette party, and a charity knitting project. And then I got married, and moved, and didn't knit much at all. So now it's time to hunker down and get back to finishing projects - especially since I haven't really unpacked the stash yet.

So, what's in progress, and what needs to get out of here?

The eighth Wavy Gravy Hat should be finished soon.

Maybe, just maybe, I can finish the Red Scarf this year. If you've lost track, since this is the third fall I've been knitting on it, this is a project for the Orphan Foundation of America. I'm more than halfway, and they've extended the deadline, so maybe this is the year I'll really finish the scarf!

Once I find buttons, or give up hoping to find buttons, I'll finish and mail the Baby Surprise Jacket.

This is the project that got me in trouble - the Highland Bonnet. (It's also the reason I had to get a new bank card a week before the wedding, and had to worry about scraped knuckles in the wedding pictures, but that's a different story.) All I need to do is add ribbon trim, and it's ready to mail. So once we can dig out the sewing machine, I'll be able to finish it.

The honeymoon socks are at the point that they're my work-in-the-car project, so I'll save them for long trips. However, I'm not sure they'll last through the three-hour ride to Indianapolis, so I'd better find a backup. The Norwegian Socks would be a good candidate for this, if I can find them.

Boo the Bat is one I'd really like to finish in time for Halloween

And I should get the Christmas Garland socks done in time for Christmas.

Then there's the spinning - did I mention the spinning? We went to an SCA-oriented get-together over Labor Day weekend, so I thought I'd bring spinning.

So now I'm committed to turning this into a lacy scarf. It's a Fuzzarelly Fibers blend that I picked up at last spring's Fiber Event, and there's supposed to be just enough to make a nice scarf. Spinning is less portable and less interruptable than knitting, so work on this one might be saved for SCA events and knit nights - once I've finished some of the real knitting projects at knit nights.

So, a plan of attack: finish the Wavy Gravy hat ASAP. Finish the baby jacket, and the bonnet. Then take my time with the honeymoon socks, and work on Boo and the Christmas socks at home.

Except - friends keep having babies, or expecting babies, so it looks like I have a few more baby projects to cast on.

And, we have the time-suckingest WIP of all.

This is our bedroom. At the end of August, we thought we were launching a weekend painting project.

We found out that the paint on the trim was peeling badly, and we'd have to sand it pretty carefully just to paint it again. So refinishing the wood seemed like a good idea. Now we have woodwork coated in SmartStrip, and will peel it off, clean everything up, refinish, and THEN paint. Now that we've figured out what we're doing, the paint removal is going fairly smoothly - most of the cleanup work will be for the parts we did before we knew what we were doing. The walls will eventually get painted in the lighter green color, and we'll probably just leave the yellow-pine color of the wood as it is.

I'm sure we'll be happy when it's over. I'll be happy, because it means we can put together the new bedroom furniture, unpack our clothes, and find my socks! We never had summer here, and it's getting colder every day.

Happy New Year!

2009-09-18T12:14:00.002-05:00

If you're Jewish, you're celebrating the beginning of the year 5770. So happy new year!

If you're Jewish and have some BadDogs hanging around, your New Year celebration might look like this:

I think I'll avoid walking my boys anywhere near a temple for the next two days!

Tag!

2009-09-17T22:53:00.005-05:00

It's here! It's here it's here it's here!

And it's gone already. My Dish Rag Tag box came today, and now it's on its way to Minnesota, with a new dish rag tucked inside.

The mail came just a little early today, so I got the box about 2:30. Fortunately, I'd just walked the dogs, so they were pretty tired and content to sit on the porch with me.

Here's what I found inside the box - a nicely beribboned dishcloth, a pretty little notebook as the surprise, some ice cream-colored yarn, and an encouraging note for the team. So I made myself comfortable and cast on - it's a fairly simple pattern, and easy to remember and keep track of.

By 3:32 I was halfway through. This proved to be break time, as the dogs decided they wanted a walk, and then Aaron came home. It's probably good for me.

And I didn't lose much time - I finished the Official Dish Rag at 4:26.

I took it inside, and packaged everything up again - finished dishcloth, new yarn, new goodie. This was my first time using the Post Office's Click-n-Ship, and it was amazingly easy and convenient.

I walked out the door at 4:49, and had it in the mail before 5:00. It hasn't shown up in the tracking system yet - but I'm sure I'll be checking its status a couple of dozen times tomorrow. I'm really hoping it gets to the next knitter on Saturday, so she has the weekend to knit. The Fast Track Knitters have kind of fallen behind, so we could use some lucky breaks.

Here's a better look at my finished dishcloth. The pattern is called "Checkmate." I like the pattern, and I like seeing how the stripes line up on the knitted and purled sections. If I have enough leftover yarn, I may have to knit one of these ice-cream-colored dishcloths for myself.

Something else is capturing my attention today - this flower just turned up in our backyard. Does anyone know what it is?

Still waiting....

2009-09-16T20:45:00.001-05:00

Nothing today.

My box was in Champaign at 7:15 this morning. So I'd hoped it would make its way to me, but I guess I'm waiting another day. Which means I was able to do other useful stuff, like stripping paint and baking gingerbread - but a box with a dish rag would be really nice.

I have a feeling this will be my view most of the day tomorrow. See that space on the street? I'm just waiting to see it filled with a mail truck.

Would you like some actual knitting content? I've started a new Wavy Gravy Hat - #8. This one is for the latest KFBO charity project. It should have also been my 9/11 service project, but I couldn't find the yarn. Does looking for yarn count as community service? What if my stash is really, really disorganized?

I'm it!

2009-09-14T22:30:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged in Dish Rag Tag.

A box is on its way to me - a box which contains a dishcloth, a ball of cotton dishcloth yarn, a super-secret dishcloth pattern (well, it looks like this, but the pattern itself is secret!) and a surprise. When I get it, I'll take the dishcloth and the surprise, use the yarn to knit a new dishcloth from the super-secret pattern, and send it, a new ball of yarn, and a new surprise to the next person in my Dish Rag Tag team. As quickly as possible.

It's a race, you see. There are 20 teams of 10, and we're trying to see which team can complete the relay first.

So there can't be any delay. I'm ready to knit as soon as the package gets here. I have my ball of yarn, my size 6 needles, and my (carefully hidden) surprise. I'm scheduling my days to leave free knitting afternoons. I'm walking the dogs in the back, so I don't scare away the mail carrier. And I've scouted out the post offices, so I know how late I can mail my package. Things didn't go well the last time I tried this, so I'm hoping for better luck this time around.

Now I just need a package. I'm ready!

Want to be surprised?

2009-09-11T20:20:00.002-05:00

I'm very nearly finished with a project!

I've been fascinated by the Baby Surprise Jacket for a long time, but never talked myself into making it. I usually have a "nothing that fits for nothing that grows" rule regarding handknit clothes, which means babies get socks or hats. Besides, I'm not very good at finishing projects on a deadline (I have a baby quilt in progress for someone who will be 18 soon), so smaller is definitely better when there's a due date.

But the Baby Surprise Jacket is just so intriguing. Kerry was knitting one at my bachelorette party, so it's been on my mind lately. So it was very nice of my friends Heather & Ed to start their family, and nicer of them to come visit for a few days. I was able to show them pictures and make sure they liked the project, and have Heather pick out the yarn. Heather picked my favorite of the colors I have, so it's been lots of fun to knit.

It's just amazing that with just some folds and two seams, something can go from this...

...to this. It turned out to be a reasonably quick project, too - I started it on August 24. I was able to show off the halfway point at their baby shower, and was happy to see lots of cooing over the other handknit presents they received. Even if this is easy as knitting goes, it's nice to know my work will be enjoyed!

But it's not quite finished yet. I still need buttons - a very specific type of buttons. The father-to-be is a New Orleans Saints fan, so I'm looking for gold fleurs-de-lis. Any leads?

Before, Part 1

2009-09-02T20:49:00.003-05:00

So there are serious upsides to moving. One of them is that we'll have a craft room.

Or perhaps I should say that we'll have a craft room, eventually. This is the "before" picture, and I hope it will soon be followed by lots of nice and organized-looking "after" pictures.

Our attic is semi-finished - probably in the 60s or 70s, judging from the paneling and the orange carpet. I had the same carpet, but in red, in my childhood bedroom, and I think my parents picked it out when they moved in.

So it's going to be a craft room. Eventually, I'd like to swap the paneling and orange carpet for drywall and linoleum. But for right now, I'll be happy with some sense of organization. The sooner we get the attic craft room in shape, the sooner we'll be able to work on the basement workshop, or the garage space for crafts with fire. And then, finally, we'll be able to do fun crafty stuff again. Or we'll just take over the dining room table - I'm not ruling that one out.

Bundles of Love

2009-08-28T21:02:00.002-05:00

So, have you heard about Iraqi Bundles of Love? An American serviceman stationed in Iraq is trying to help out the locals, by distributing sewing and knitting supplies. That's where we come in - most of the people I know have more supplies than we need, and for just $11.95 we can send a good-sized box of them to Iraq. He says the people in his area have been hard-hit by two wars and the sanctions, and that the stuff that's taking up space in our closets will be used and appreciated by people there.

I think it's going to be a win-win deal. I just sent off two boxes, and now I've been able to get one of the fabric totes out of my closet.

He asked that we wrap the bundles in fabric, and tie them up so they're self-contained and easy to distribute. In honor of Dr. Tom Dooley, I tied mine up in red, white, and blue trim - this is American aid!

And here is my American aid. I tried to send things that I thought would be useful, so I went for big pieces of fabric. There are some calicoes that I should have known better than to buy for SCA garb, and a lot of lightweight fabrics from when I learned the "traveling to the Aurora Bleachery in a pick-up truck is dangerous" lesson. I'm getting rid of some weird stuff, because IBOL guy assures us that anything will be used, but I tried to include plenty of good stuff.

The fabric at the very bottom was the hardest to decide on. I kept telling myself I'd make something summery from it - but I never have, and I probably shouldn't even try to wear those colors. I convinced myself to let it go to someone who would be more likely to use it - although looking at the pictures makes me miss it again. But I'm sure I have plenty of other fabric to take my mind off of what I've given up. I can't wait to see the pictures once he starts handing out bundles!

Out for a Concert

2009-08-26T22:01:00.003-05:00

So the honeymoon socks and I had a good time tonight.

Aaron & I and some of his colleagues went over to Urbana, for a concert by Justin Townes Earle. He was the opening act for a concert last spring, and I think his show was much better than the headliner. But this show was all him - and in a fairly small venue, with a very diverse crowd.

One of the amazing things about Justin is that someone as talented as him still hangs around to talk to people after the show. Or to pose for pictures with socks.

Fair Time!

2009-08-13T17:55:00.003-05:00

Living in Illinois doesn't mean that we'd want to miss the Indiana State Fair!

So, yesterday we headed over to Indianapolis for a visit to the fair. We already had a great time at the fair's annual wine tasting - but yesterday was all about the food. And the fiber, of course.

Some of the food turned out to not be such a good idea. This year's "signature food" was Deep Fried Pizza - apparently an elephant ear spread with marinara sauce and sprinkled with cheese from a can. It was very disappointing - especially since I never got a proper elephant ear to make up for it.

But the fiber was a lot more fun. You can pet the fiber-in-progress, at Goat Mountain.

I think this might be an angora goat. Isn't he cute? There's a gumball machine that vends handfuls of goat treats, so most of the goats don't mind being on display.

Then there's the finished fiber. This was the Year of Tomatoes, so some of the entries reflected that.

And some were just plain cool. I love fish designs - and this one's a lot of fun!

We spent some time trying to recognize names at the knitting display. I saw some people I know, and some people I think I know.

And I saw this really nice afghan.

But my favorite thing was this. I've been wanting to try rug hooking for some time. I don't know if I'd come up with anything this fun, though.

ES 4 Goodies!

2009-08-09T21:23:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've mentioned the Envelope Swap before, which is an unfortunate omission, since we're on Round 4 and about to start Round 5. The Envelope Swap is a Ravelry project, and the brainchild of a 14-year-old Raveler. She thought a lot of people who might like to swap were put off by the cost, so for this you send only what can fit in an envelope, and spend about $5. It's loads of fun, trying to come up with goodies for someone with such tight money and space limitations. And it's loads of fun to get stuff in the mail, too!

My Round 4 package had to chase me around for awhile - it came all the way from England, and I'd only given my old address. But now it's here, and it's great!

This round had a theme - "Fun in the Sun" - so Jody sent me two fun yarns that she said reminded her of sea and sky. There's also a cute little purse ("for your ice-cream money," she says) with a lucky penny, some butterfly buttons, some flower seeds, and a note on a beautiful sunflower card. We're finally getting some sunny summer days here, so I know I'll enjoy everything!

I've been a slacker, but finally found most of the things I meant to send, and got the package in the mail. I was almost embarassed when I had to go buy thread for my spoilee - I know that somewhere I have a whole box of embroidery threads - I just don't know which of the 100 or so boxes it's in. I really hope I'm a bit more organized by the time Round 5 comes along.

Ants in the Pantry

2009-08-07T22:12:00.002-05:00

Just in case moving isn't enough of a hassle, we're getting to do parts of it twice. After we'd cleaned the pantry and put away a whole bunch of food, we discovered that we have ants.

These appear to be pharaoh ants, which may be the worst kind of ants to have. They could be thief ants, but you tell them apart by counting the number of segments in their antennae. These things are so small that if they weren't moving, you couldn't tell they're ants. So even finding antennae is a little bit challenging. Either kind of ant is really, really bad to have.

These ants can be difficult to eliminate. Pharaoh ants have multiple queens in a colony, so spraying insecticides just encourages them to scatter. Since they're in my pantry, which is where we keep food and lock up the dogs (once the food is safely in the cabinets), I don't especially want to use poison. But I'd read that a borax-sugar mix would do the job, so I tried that - a mound of borax and sugar, right in the middle of their path.

They tunneled through it.

I almost hate to kill something that sneaky and persistent. But when they're not eating your food, they eat silk, so that "almost" isn't enough to hold me back.

Who's It?

2009-08-04T14:37:00.002-05:00

I'm not unpacked or anything, but I know where the yarn is.

That, I hope, makes it ok for me to sign up for Dish Rag Tag.

It's my first competitive knitting at my new house, with my new name. Isn't that romantic?

Take Socks Out to the Ball Game

2009-07-29T22:01:00.001-05:00

I've never made it to a Stitch-n-Pitch, and I haven't seen a baseball game in years. But tonight, we went to a Lexington Legends game with Aaron's family, so I brought along my knitting, in my own personal Stitch-n-Pitch night.

I can see why baseball lends itself so well to knitting. The game moves pretty slowly, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of cheering or anything, so nothing really interrupts the knitting. The Department of Justice had a table set up at the park, and I got to meet the most friendly explosives-sniffing dog in the world. I think I'm still drying off from all the doggie kisses. It was a beautiful night for a game, and so the whole thing was a lot of fun - except for the part where the home team lost.

Maybe they would've done better if they'd had more knitters to cheer them on.

The sock, which I very nearly finished at the game, is the first of my Mock Cable Footies. This was the May/June Sock Club sock, another one of Michelle's designs. I'm using the Cantata yarn that I bought in Banff - at some point I'll try to blog about the lovely yarn shop in Banff.

I started these socks at the Sock Club in June, which was the same day as my bachelorette party, which was the same day I cast on the Honeymoon Socks. So it's an interesting coincidence that I've finished the first sock in each pair today. I wasn't planning on this - it's just a matter of the stages each of the socks were at, and the opportunity I've had to do knitting that's complicated or less so.

So here's the Honeymoon sock.

It's a toe sock!

That's part of why it's being worked on now, when we're in one place for a few days and don't have boxes to unpack. Toes are a bit complicated. But I'm really growing to like toe socks as an option for the funky yarns that don't lend themselves well to stitch patterns - it offers something interesting to do, and toe socks are cool.

So I've cast on Sock 2 for both pairs. It's not my intention to finish them at the same time, but we'll see what happens. We have a 3+ hour drive tomorrow, with a trip to Ikea throw in, so that should provide a fair amount of knitting time - then it's back to the boxes.

Was there knitting at the wedding?

2009-07-28T14:41:00.006-05:00

Heck, yeah!

But you don't want the short answer, right? You want proof. I have some.....

I started my Honeymoon Sock on the day of the bachelorette party. The yarn is some that Aaron brought back from Germany, so it seemed appropriately sentimental for wedding knitting.

The sock got to come to the party, and hang out with the friendly bartender at Jillians.

And while there were a few of the more traditional bachelorette gifts (none of which will be pictured here), Kerry brought me yarn. Handspun yarn! She's saying good-bye to it here, and I'm just amazed and touched that she was able to part with such lovely yarn.

It turns out that there's a lot of hurry-up-and-wait at a wedding. I had to get ready early, and spend a lot of time hiding so none of the guests would see me. Just think - nearly an hour of uninterrupted knitting time! It's almost a shame I can't get married every weekend!

I didn't actually knit during the wedding, but two of my Sock Day Club friends came, so I'm pretty sure there was knitting during the actual ceremony.

And I brought the sock out again for the pictures.

I thought I was being very good by not actually registering for yarn. Fortunately, Kira knew I'd be more than happy with non-registry gifts. She made sure I had yarn at the reception - because she wanted me to be well-stocked for the honeymoon! She stressed that I was only supposed to knit in the car.

And I stuck to that, for the most part. But some things just cried out for sock pictures.

(No, I don't know why there's a giant swan here - it's at a Chamber of Commerce office someplace in Michigan. But when you see a giant concrete swan, you kind of have to stop and take its picture.)

As it happens, I didn't need to tap into Kira's provisions. We found this on the way to Mackinac City - possibly the best business combination I've ever seen.

We spent the honeymoon driving around Lake Michigan. Aaron did the driving, so that gave me lots of time to knit. But there were some times when knitting just wouldn't have been a good idea.

Like this.

I am happy to be miserable.

2009-07-24T21:41:00.002-05:00

I haven't been able to blog in nearly two months.

The trip to Banff was the most consecutive nights we have spent in one place since the end of the semester.

I have hardly bought any fresh fruit or vegetables in the last two months.

My furniture is either in boxes, covered with boxes, or made of boxes.

I have many, many, things I should be writing.

My printer is on the kitchen counter, because that is the only 3-prong outlet I can find.

I have been bitten by every spider in West Lafayette. And the bites itch.

And I am happy.

This is one reason why.

And this is another.

Aaron and I are married. And we have a home, a home in which we will live, together. It was a beautiful wedding, and it's a beautiful home, in a beautiful neighborhood, with beautiful streets for walking the dogs.

I should try to post more to catch up, but that covers the important parts.

In Banff

2009-06-02T22:46:00.001-05:00

While I would love Aaron were he in any profession, I've discovered that there's a big advantage to marrying a mathematician. He has to go to math conferences in all sorts of interesting places, and I get to go along. So we're in Banff, and he's spending his days locked up in a room studying math, while I'm out enjoying the town.

We got in Sunday evening, and settled in to the Banff Centre. It was established in the 1930s as a gathering place for artists to come and work, but somewhere along the line they added a little compound for mathematicians, tucked way back into a corner - the Banff International Research Station.

So we're in our little corner, but we get to use the rest of the Banff Centre. There are great recreational facilities, and the artists and musicians who gather here put on all sorts of programs. (No knitters. I've been checking. Perhaps we need to propose some sort of knitters' gathering here.) And it's beautiful. This is the view we get on our way to the dining hall, where the mathematicans share space with artists, a jazz musicians' seminar, and an international conference on pig reproduction. The last group isn't as fun as it sounds - I haven't seen a single one of them wearing a pig nose.

We did just a little walking through the woods, before discovering that the advice about getting used to the altitude probably should be taken seriously - as should the advice about reading a map and knowing where one is going. So we turned back pretty quickly - but not before I saw these. I think they're some sort of wild orchid.

We're told there's all sorts of wildlife in the Banff National Park. So far we've only spotted one mule deer, and a whole bunch of these guys. They're Columbian ground squirrels, one of the five kinds of squirrels that live around Banff.

So this is an educational trip, as I'm learning about the wildlife. I'm learning that they take some things very seriously here because of the wildlife - like garbage. There are no regular garbage bins in town, just these things - constructed of heavy steel, and closing with a latched door. They try very hard to keep the animals from being fed by humans, and most people seem to cooperate with the effort.

Mostly, however, this is a pleasure trip. How could it not be, when the main street looks like this?

To provide some knitting content, I'll mention that I touched Qiviut (called Quiviuk here) yesterday. Notice that I said "touched," not "bought." At $79 a ball, I'll have to think long and hard about how badly I want to buy yarn. But the nice people at Jacques Cartier clothing were happy to show me around the store, and let me enjoy visiting the yarn, and the clerk gave me a pamphlet about qiviuk. They have some other exotic yarns as well - some even more expensive!

The biggest downside to this trip is that we're living on a mountain - a small mountain, but a mountain. This means that the trip back to the Banff Centre is all uphill - up fairly steep hills. So I've learned the hard way to stop wandering around town before I'm completely tired - because I know I'll be completely tired by the time I get back to our room. I'm sure sooner or later the benefits of crisp mountain air will kick in, and I won't feel tired at all.

The $3.50 Sweater!

2009-05-29T11:26:00.002-05:00

It is really nice when things just work!

My sweater is finished. Totally finished. Blocked, seamed, buttoned, ready to wear - and I still have enough yarn left over for repairs. This did not seem possible six weeks ago.

But here it is, blocking. I finished it last Friday, blocked on Saturday, then did the seaming on Sunday while listening to Helio win the 500.

This marks some firsts for me - first time blocking to a specific shape, and the first time I've sewn any knits with any kind of care. I found this great page with instructions for all sorts of seams, and I think taking the time to pay attention was really worth it.

After that, there was nothing left to do but wait for Aaron to come home so he could take pictures. It's been 80 degrees almost all week, but I'm still going to wear the sweater long enough for pictures.

Finished. Not bad for $3.50. Thanks for the yarn, Debbie!

The Sock that Defeated Me

2009-05-23T19:44:00.004-05:00

Sock Madness has moved on and then some, and I've finally finished Round 3.

Talia's Wings socks, made with some sort of mystery yarn. I hope I can figure out what the yarn is, because I have about half of it left.

It's a pretty little sock, and I'm reasonably happy with the way it turned out. It seems just a bit too small in this yarn, but I think it's ok.

It's probably even ok that I don't get to continue with Sock Madness. I've realized that I've come dangerously close to starting too many projects for my Winter WIP Workdown, so I really need to focus on finishing rather than starting.

I was doing so well for awhile, but then I let things get out of hand. This is one of the latest culprits - a Wavy Gravy hat for charity knitting. If I'd been good, I would have pulled out one of the ongoing charity projects - but those were hard to find, and I had the yarn handy. It's Outback Wool, a gift from a friend who was de-stashing. I'm glad I can use it for a good cause, even if it's not so good for my project-finishing. At least this one's finished.

It Must Be May

2009-05-18T22:55:00.004-05:00

It's time to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

We headed over yesterday for the 4th day of qualifying. There was a pleasant surprise when we got there - Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James were conducting a question & answer session. So we got to hear from them even before we went inside.

Somewhere, I have a picture of me with Janet at her first race. I'll have to find it to post later. It was the coolest thing in the world when she started racing - before that, I never knew who I'd be when we played race drivers, but after 1977, I was always Janet Guthrie.

So then it was time to head inside, and it was a lively day of qualifying! Quite a few drivers took advantage of the great weather to re-qualify with better speeds, so there was something going on all day. There was plenty of knitting, too - I had my yarn, and several other Ravelry knitters showed up. It was crowded enough that most of us didn't find each other, but I got to hang out with Clare (who doesn't have a blog) and her family. The Speedway is such a great place for kids.

This was the beginning of one of the most exciting moments of the day - John Andretti's successful qualifying run. He'd been bumped earlier in the day, and it looked like he just wasn't going to find the speed. That would have been kind of sad, since he's a NASCAR racer who's returned to the fold, and for the sake of his family it would be nice to see him do well here. The redneck fans were pretty excited because Andretti's team owner is the famous Richard Petty, so they wanted to see Richard do well at Indy. And he made it with just minutes to go - putting up the time and making for an exciting last hour.

It was an exciting day for socks, too. The Spring Forward socks and I have a new favorite driver - E.J. Viso. Isn't he cute? And he's obviously a good guy, since he's willing to hold a sock.

He spent every spare moment posing for pictures and signing autographs. A lot of drivers are good about meeting with fans, but E.J. was really good - especially since he had to re-qualify. He had a deal going with his crew that for every place he dropped in the qualifying order, they could paint one of his fingernails pink. He got to take the polish off at the end of the day, though - and I hope he'll be celebrating next Sunday!

It was also a productive day for socks - here's the finished pair of Spring Forward socks. So that's the March/April Sock Club socks finished - I'm going to miss the May Sock Club, but if I were going to be there, I'd be done just in time.

Darn Yarn!

2009-05-05T15:00:00.002-05:00

My friend Sam has reason to celebrate today - she and her partner are the proud mothers of a wonderful little girl!

They've been going through the adoption process, and now it's official. So there was a little party today, and I found the perfect gift for a knitter's daughter:

Baby's First Graphic Novel.

This is a funny little book, with two stories told on opposite pages - one about a sock monkey being knit, and another about a sock monkey. I'm not sure if the little one is old enough to read it yet, but it was a big hit with the adults at the party.

The Liver of Ibbi-Sin

2009-04-28T17:50:00.009-05:00

Extispicy is the study of animal entrails to divine the future. In ancient Mesopotamia, the liver was the most important organ - so important that there are clay models of livers made as teaching tools for would-be augurs, a sort of "here's what the liver looked like, and here's what happened" manual. One of the livers reads "this is the liver of Ibbi-Sin, who died from the bite of a shoe."

One cannot help but wonder what the "bite of a shoe" may have been. Did a scorpion get Ibbi-Sin? Was he, perhaps, a diabetic, killed by an infected blister? In a way, I'm glad I don't know - of all the accidents I've had, I've never been bitten by a shoe.

But perhaps I should have been consulting the livers, because I cut my thumb on a cabbage. That's right, a cabbage. A decorative cabbage, to be specific, and the cut is one of those unpleasant ones that slips under the fingernail and hurts like crazy.

So far the bite of the cabbage has not been terribly dangerous for me, but it proved fatal to my Sock Madness ambitions. I've been knocked out in Round Three, with just a sock and a half finished when my division filled. Knitting hasn't been very much fun lately, and neither has any other sort of handiwork, which is a problem as I try to complete a project for the Hogwarts swap.

That, combined with my ocelot accident, and a bad cold that won't go away, has made this a somewhat distressing week. Yes, the spots really were the result of knocking a can of spray paint into the track of the garage door. The bad part is that when you tilt a can of spray paint on its side and break off the nozzle, it's not a nicely mixed paint that sprays out uncontrollably. Instead, you get only the colorant, which has acted rather more like a dye than a paint. I'm very, very, glad that there are still weeks to go before the wedding. And I wonder if there's any divinatory practice to warn of cabbages and spray paint.

Wedding planning created the week's bright spot - on Saturday, my mother, my friend Karen, and I traveled down to Cincinnati for a bridal shower, hosted by Aaron's family. So now I have all sorts of kitchen goodies that I can't wait to use, and a collection of family recipes that I'm going to put to good use right away. I also have my bouquet for the rehearsal, beautifully assembled by Aaron's sister, Megan. She's a complete expert at this wedding thing, and is going to have so many people owing her major wedding favors when her time comes.

It's hard to believe there are just over two months to go. I'd better get some wedding knitting done!

Round Three

2009-04-21T14:56:00.003-05:00

The Sock Madness pattern for Round Three was released yesterday, and so far it's coming along nicely.

This round's pattern is Talia's Wings, a delightful combination of knits, purls, and small cables that produce a pattern that's been dubbed the "heart pattern" by many of the Sock Madness participants. This is the sort of pattern I really like - something that involves doing something stitch-wise, as opposed to just following a blocky chart of knits and purls. The sample was knit in pink, and since I had this pink sock yarn from Debbie's Fiberalong destashing, I couldn't resist using it.

So far, the progress is good. I'd like to do 1/2 a sock a day - that should let me finish in the top 12.

I spent the weekend knitting on other projects, keeping the momentum going. Plus, I need to finish lots of things so I can start new projects, just in case I make it to some of the higher rounds of Sock Madness.

Here's my progress on the cardigan. Nearly three balls are in the back, which doesn't make things look too promising for the front. The one person on Ravelry who had a ball in "For Sale or Trade" has replied that she can't find it, so there's no luck in that direction. I stopped in at Ewe Knits in Normal just to see if they had any yarn that closely resembled this, and the woman there recommended that I call Knit Picks to see if they have a stash. So that's probably my next call, once I've finished the Sock Madness round.

I've made good progress on the Spring Forward socks, too. On Saturday, we drove up to Rock Island for a concert by Jason Isbell and Justin Townes Earle, so I got to knit for the whole trip there and during some of the concert. It was a fun show - I'd definitely go see either one of these guys again, especially Earle, especially if they were closer to home. Next time around, maybe I'll even get them to hold the sock for a picture.

The $3.50 Sweater - Maybe

2009-04-14T15:00:00.003-05:00

Now that the second Sock Madness socks are finished, I thought I'd start to work on something I've been eager to cast on:

This is the beginning of a "Hey, Teach!" sweater. I'm trying to plan ahead for wedding-related activities, when I might be expected to dress nicely. So delicate, feminine, and warm seems like a great combination.

And if all goes well, this sweater will be a great bargain. The yarn - Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Violet - was a gift from Debbie, who was destashing at New Year's. I picked up the buttons at the Fiber Event - $0.50 each in a bargain bin. (We will overlook the fact that I am certain that I bought identical buttons two years ago, but can't find them.) So if all goes well, I'll have a nice sweater for a total outlay of $3.50 - that's hard to beat!

And so far, it's going well. I cast on Saturday night, and I've already finished most of the back. It's true that I've been knitting when I should be doing other things, but progress is so seductive. Now I know why people like worsted weight yarn for sweaters - it's great to see the inches just fly off my needles!

BUT, there may be a problem. For some reason, I thought I had seven balls of this yarn, which would give me enough. Halfway through the back I started the yarn roundup, and it looks like I only have six. Oops. This is two balls' worth, so I'm not optimistic that I'll get the whole sweater out of six balls.

The color, of course, has been discontinued. So for right now, I'm knitting and hoping. Hoping that I was right about having 7 balls, and the missing one will turn up without too much canine damage. Hoping that I'll find someone on Ravelry willing to part with a ball or two. Hoping that, somehow, I'll be able to finish this sweater. I certainly don't want to think of frogging now!

A Sad Sock Story with a Happy Ending

2009-04-12T13:55:00.002-05:00

I've been knitting where I can all week, hoping to make it past Round Two of Sock Madness. I didn't make as much progress as I would have liked to, because other responsibilities ate up knitting time.

This worried me, because I really hoped to make it to Round 3 this year. I had some bad luck last year, but hoped everything would go smoothly this time around. My first day's progress was, I thought, pretty impressive. It didn't go as well after that, but I had plans to go to The Fiber Event on Friday - three hours in the car with a fellow knitter, who understands the need to knit while riding.

So I continued to make progress - about 45 minutes into the trip, we stopped for gas. By delightful coincidence, that was when I finished my first ball of black yarn. I reached into the bag, pulled out the next one, and tried very hard to not cuss.

It was the wrong black yarn. I'm making these socks from Baby Ull, and I'd packed a ball of Falk. I had another sock with me to work on, so the car ride wasn't completely unproductive, but I worried. I reassured myself by thinking I'd pick up a ball of Baby Ull at the Fiber Fair, and work on the socks on the way home.

But there was no Baby Ull at the Fiber Fair. There were lots of lovely fibery things, and I bought quite a few of them, but none of what I needed. Still, I reassured myself, I could always pick it up the next day at my LYS.

Saturday morning was cool and sunny. Aaron was in town for an SCA event. We planned our day, planned it around my yarn-shopping trip. I settled the dogs in, headed out to the event, and stopped at River Knits on the way.

And found no black Baby Ull.

I love Baby Ull because it's a nice soft baby yarn in grown-up colors, but the baby colors appear to be much more popular. I looked and looked, (in full 14th-century get-up, save for the Visa card), hoping to find something suitable.

Finally I settled on a Mission Hills DK. It's not quite the same weight, but the color and the feel are good.

On the way out of the store I got cornered by people Promoting A Cause. Talking to them cost me valuable knitting time.

But rather than talk about the hours of frantic knitting time, I'll skip to the happy ending. I made it. Finished the socks, and posted them to Sock Madness, with 5 places remaining after me.

Meet Tokena - made from Baby Ull and other stuff. I had to rip back and alter the toe to make it fit better, but now they're all finished. Much as I love these socks, I hope I won't have a good day for wearing them anytime soon - they're toasty warm, and I'm ready for spring.

And I'm ready for Round Three! I wonder how long we have to wait?

I want to do laundry!

2009-04-06T19:14:00.002-05:00

Is this not the coolest thing ever? It's a drying rack/clothes hanger from Ikea.

My swap-friend Darlene knows just what to do with such a thing. I'd be very sorry that I already washed socks today, but the nearest Ikea is three hours away, so I couldn't get there before they close.

Who knew laundry could be so cool?

I May Be Crazy

2009-04-05T16:28:00.004-05:00

This is a day's worth of knitting for Sock Madness.

You'll notice that the socks don't match. That's where the crazy part comes in.

I woke up yesterday morning, checked my e-mail, and went padding around the house taking balls of yarn to the kitchen scale to determine if I had enough of what I wanted to use. This is not my normal morning routine, which usually involves activities like walking dogs and eating breakfast, but everything's different on a Sock Madness day.

After choosing yarn, having breakfast, and feeding/walking dogs (who will only put up with being ignored for so long), I sat down to knit. By lunchtime, I'd come up with this.

The problem was that I wasn't really happy with this. I'd stepped down from Size 1.5 to Size 0 needles without swatching, just assuming that a 72-stitch sock would be insanely big - instead I was getting a kind of snug sock. And while the two colors of Louet Gems were the two I had that looked best together, they really didn't offer sufficient contrast to show off the pattern. I'd been consulting Ravelry on my breaks, looking at the nice socks people were turning out, and noticed that the designer was making hers in Baby Ull.

That's when I remembered the Yarn Suitcase. There was a time, not so long ago, when I kept my yarn in an old suitcase. That was also a time when almost all of my sock yarn was either Dale Falk or Baby Ull. Some things have changed, but I still have the yarn suitcase, and a good supply of Baby Ull.

So I switched. Frogged a whole morning's work, and got to here by midafternoon. Posted on Ravelry to announce what I'd done, and found out I wasn't the only one. I really don't think I'm going to win Sock Madness, so the reward will be getting a whole bunch of new pairs of socks. And now I'm getting socks I like - socks I really like. The pattern is based on Maori baskets, and I think the highly contrasting colors do a much better job of showing it off. So the Gems skeins are resting - and so am I. I was sore when I woke up this morning, and will probably be sore again tonight. But by tonight, I should be halfway through a new pair of socks - no pain, no gain!

Baking with Julia

2009-04-03T22:31:00.003-05:00

I'm backing off on the knitting a little today, since tomorrow is Round 2 of Sock Madness, and I know I'll be knitting like crazy!

So instead, I've been baking. These are Galettes au Chevre, from Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume I. Julia's recipe is actually for Galettes au Camembert, but she says you can use any cheese you like, and I had Chevre in the refrigerator. Our "Unraveled Readers" book club read My Life in France this month, so I thought I should do some baking for the meeting. Kerry brought a cake from one of her favorite Julia Child recipes, so we had a pretty tasty get-together.

My Life in France proved to be a very interesting, but somewhat sad book. It was actually completed after Julia died, so it's like getting to know someone when it's already too late. But it was fascinating to see all that went into putting together French Cooking - I'm not going to go into details here, because I'm running around recommending My Life in France to everyone I know, and I don't want to spoil anything. My chief criticism is that I don't think Julia gave sufficient appreciation to German food, but perhaps that was a function of historical context more than anything else.

Our edition of French Cooking is pretty old, which makes it a bit more difficult to use than a typical cookbook. She never meant the book to be easy - it's for a dedicated amateur who's willing to put in some work - but requires attention in ways I didn't expect. For example, the ingredients and equipment are all together in a "What You Need" list, so you'll find "Butter, flour, wax paper, cheese," and so on. She'll also give a base recipe, and then go on to say "and you can change this, and make this instead" - in some ways it resembles the cookbooks of 400 years ago as much as it does those of 40 years later. But my Galettes are downright tasty, and are definitely going into my list of Standard Party Fare (or maybe even post-party fare, since they'll be great for using up leftover cheese).

Even with all this baking, there's always knitting. I'm trying to get things off the needles in anticipation of more Sock Madness, so last night I finished this Unoriginal Hat. It's made from Nele, a bulky yarn Aaron picked up in Oldenburg for fifty cents a ball, so this hat sets us back less than one Euro.

Following the Harlot's pattern, this knitted up just a bit small for me. But I had it earmarked for charity from the beginning, and so it's going to head off to the Mattaponi Indian Tribe of Virginia, as part of the latest Knitters for Obama service project. This has been a fun one - after knitting for preemies, homeless veterans, and cancer patients, we decided to let one of the group's more active members pick the post-inauguration project. She was already doing a lot for the Mattaponi on her own, and so now she's getting a lot of help. I really hope the service knitting projects continue - so far, the momentum has been great.

But that's enough knitting for tonight. It's early to bed, so I'm ready for Sock Madness tomorrow!

Am I Good or What?

2009-03-30T14:26:00.003-05:00

Three - count 'em - three pairs of socks this month!

First there were the Sock Madness Socks, getting me through Round 1.

Then there were the Phaedre Socks, just in time for Sock Club.

Now I have these: Last year's Sock Madness socks.

Meet Reversai, a fully-reversable pair of socks. These were the socks that knocked me out of Sock Madness last year, so now I have that monkey off my back, ready to go in to Round 2. The yarn is some that I dyed at The Fiber Event two years ago, so maybe I'll wear them if I go this year.

So that's another project out of hibernation and off the WIP list. Right now I have enough projects finished to take me through Round 5 of Sock Madness. I'm not optimistic enough to think it going beyond that will be a serious issue - but it sure is great to have a whole bunch of new socks.

January Socks, March Socks

2009-03-29T09:21:00.003-05:00

I've just been up to my knees in socks lately. Finished another pair and started another pair yesterday, and who knows what's next?

Here's the finished pair - Phaedre, from the River Knits Sock Club. Phaedre is designed by River Knits' own Michelle Ogden, and inspired, I'm told, by my own Kauni Cardigan.

Michelle may have said something along the lines of "You know, I've been inspired by your sweater in progress, designed a pattern, knitted and published the pattern, and had other people knit the socks for sock club, and you still haven't finished the sweater!" But who'd want to talk about sweaters at Sock Club, right?

After all, we're getting together to show off socks. And I'm showing off mine. This is the part I like best - the stripes that run across the heel flap, through the gusset, and across the sole. Some people at sock club say you never show off the soles of your feet. I beg to differ - what else would you do when you have stripes?

The stripes were a huge pain in the neck, since it meant lots of carrying yarn through the blank rows of the pattern. But it was well worth it.

The Kureyon Sock is a funky yarn, but the finished socks fit surprisingly well. I'm not so sure that I'm excited enough that I'd do another pair of socks with this twisty kinky yarn, but I like the first pair quite a bit.

With these finished, I get to start another pair - Spring Forward, for the March/April Sock Club sock. Apparently Michelle has fallen in love with this pattern, and with the Dream in Color Smooshy yarn she used to make hers. I've been very good about limiting my yarn purchases lately, so rather than give into Smooshy temptation I'm using some Sockatta I got from Heather in a recent destashing. So far I've been happy with both yarn and pattern, and may have to go buy some more Sockotta (like this made-for-Laura colorway) on my own.

Finally, I have just a bit of a finished project (finally!). This snowflake ornament was a Christmas project, but trouble with blocking meant I haven't called it properly finished until now. I tried to block it with spray starch and an iron, and I don't think that was the best choice. But it's finished, and if I make more next year I'll worry about a new blocking method then. For now, I have another project finished, which helps my bind off/cast on ratio where it should be for a couple more rounds of Sock Madness. I'm eagerly waiting for the next one!

Round 1 finished!

2009-03-23T22:54:00.003-05:00

It's about 11:45 on Monday, Dave Letterman just announced that he was married over the weekend, and I've finished the Mertini socks for Round 1 of Sock Madness 3!

Here they are - the finished socks, on my feet. I'm not sure this is the best picture, but I'm in a hurry. I'll try to get better ones when there's sunlight tomorrow.

You can sort of see the "Drunkard's Path" pattern here, in the knits and purls.

But the truly fun and challenging part is the heel - it's an afterthought heel that looks like a normal heel. I think this fits me a little better than a standard turned heel, although there are lots of holes from picking up stitches, so that's a downside to this design.

I'm glad to be done! And I'm glad I stayed up knitting, or I wouldn't have heard about Dave. Now it's on to Round Two!

Sock Madness I

2009-03-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

It's here!

It's actually been here since Thursday morning, but given a choice between knitting and blogging, I'll go for knitting.

I've made pretty good progress, so far. This is where I was Friday night. I've since finished Sock 1, and made a decent start on Sock 2. When I last checked, only 7 people in my division had finished, so I should have plenty of time.

This is a weird sock pattern. It has an afterthought heel, but it's worked top-down, so you have to add a funky cast off/on to be able to try on the sock. Then there's a funky toe decrease, I guess just to make sure everyone's paying attention. (I had a grade-school teacher who would give assignments like that just to trip people up, and I have never gotten over that less-than-fond memory. Lots of "oops, you didn't read," and you didn't even get a sock out of the whole thing. I'm much more inclined to put up with finicky if there's a sock at the end of it.)

But don't take my grumbling to mean that I don't like the pattern. After all, this time I get a sock. I was skeptical about the heel at first, but I'm starting to like it. It's kind of a pain to do (an afterthought heel cleverly disguised to look like a turned heel), but it seems to fit me better than turned heels usually do. I'll wait until I've finished Sock Two before I have a firm opinion on whether I'll ever use such a heel again.

I'm using my Aussi Sock, which may not have been the best choice. So many sock patterns look better in a solid or semi-solid, but those aren't the sock yarns that catch my eye. This pattern is a combination of knits and purls that resemble a quilt design, so it probably would have shown up better in something else. But the sock on the pattern was knitted in a "Beach Glass" colorway, and beach glass made me think of this yarn. I'm getting a bit of neat funky stuff going on where the pooling actually complements the design, so I hope that continues. Even if it doesn't, I like this color well enough that I'll be happy with the socks.

And that's all the blogging I intend to do until I have a "finished" post. I hope that happens tomorrow.

"Working" Vacation

2009-03-18T21:24:00.003-05:00

It's Spring Break, but we haven't had much of a break so far. We started the week in Bloomington, where we attended an SCA event, and I did a lot of knitting.

Then it was off to Indianapolis for some wedding planning. This is the view from the outdoor garden of our wedding site. The railroad tracks and the heliport may make it appear to be a less than ideal location, but the rest of the site is beautiful. And I can guarantee a beautiful view for the wedding itself - the rightmost skyscraper is the launching platform for Indianapolis's 4th of July fireworks, so we'll have one of the best views in the city!

I think we're getting the wedding planning under control. We had dinner with both sets of parents at the rehearsal dinner location, then Aaron's parents and my mother came along for the big planning meeting at the venue. We discussed timelines, made lists of vendors, and picked napkin colors. It turns out there are a lot of decisions beyond the "yes". Next I'll be hiring a DJ, and shopping for shoes (white Birkenstocks!) - after that, I think everything will be in place.

So now we're in Georgetown, visiting Aaron's family. We managed one actual tourist activity - a visit the town's Japanese garden. The plants aren't in bloom yet, but the koi are out, and happy to be fed.

I may have been doing just a little knitting. Or more than a little. This is the second Phaedre sock, and I'm making nice progress. But I'm afraid it's not enough progress - unless I stay up really late, this sock will still be on the needles when the first Sock Madness pattern comes out tomorrow. At this point, it makes more sense to rest - after all, I'm carrying a full complement of needles with me. So Phaedre will wait another week. Or another day or two, if I'm really good!

Selection Sunday

2009-03-15T15:30:00.005-05:00

I understand that for some people, "Selection Sunday" has something to do with some sort of basketball tournament. But those of us who are doing Sock Madness know what the really important selection is - it's time to choose yarn for Round 1!

Here's what I've picked (with some canine help). I'll be away from home on the day the pattern is released, so I have to carry a whole bag of yarn with me, and hope I have something that works.

The candidates are (more or less clockwise, from the top left):

Louet Gems - enough to make a pair of socks in French Blue or Orange, plus some extras for the patterns that use two yarns.

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport - this is one of my favorite sock yarns. All of the patterns are designed for sock-weight yarn, but if I can sneak in the sport, I will. The colorway is "Tuscany," and it's something that I picked up entirely on a whim.

Tofutsies - another favorite sock yarn. The blue and white is fairly sedate as Tofutsies go. I counted and realize I have four pairs of Tofutsies socks, and yarn to make six more. Somehow this doesn't seem unreasonable.

Aussi Wool - I bought this at Broad Ripple Knits, but I don't know anything about it. I liked the colors, and it was pretty reasonably priced for a sock yarn. It's blended with a little nylon, which I try to avoid, but I'm a sucker for good colors.

Soxie - I bought two skeins for the Fiber Fish Mittens, but didn't even use up one. I'm glad to have the extra, because it's a great yarn - 100% merino and lovely colors.

Regia Canyon Color - I bought this one when I was visiting Aaron in Oldenburg. It's the only distinctly striping yarn in the collection, and that may be needed for one of the patterns.

I've also packed my entire set of Harmony double-point needles, so I think I'm ready to go. Now I just have to try to get Phaedra off the needles, so I have one more set of free needles, and one less project hanging over me to finish.

Still Knitting - Sort of

2009-03-14T21:14:00.003-05:00

So it's been awhile since I've had anything to post.

At least I've finally published the two that were just waiting for me to send them. So now it's time for some catch-up.

Catch-up # 1 is the Phaedra Sock. I just finished the first one today. This doesn't really keep me on track for Sock Club, because we're supposed to start a new pair of socks at the end of the month, but at least I'm making progress. Managing the striping across the heel and the soles is less than fun, especially since it means carrying yarn across the plain rows of the instep, but the result is awfully pretty. I've cast on the second sock, and have a lot of Spring Break traveling ahead of me, so I hope to have a full pair of socks by the end of the week.

Catch-up #2 is a new hat - Wavy Gravy VI. I know I've said some things about not starting new projects, but this one was essential. It may be Spring Break, but I'm not sure it's ever going to be spring. We've had below-average temperatures since January, and there's just been one bleak, cold day after another, with the occasional nice one thrown in just to taunt us. I'm afraid it's going to be cold on my wedding day, in July.

So I needed a hat, and in a hurry. I've been wearing the Hat Attack 2 hat, but it's just too darn itchy. The logical choice for a pattern was Wavy Gravy, since I've made so many of them, and they're a quick knit. In an attempt to come up with winter wear that's "not too knitty," as the Yarn Harlot's daughter says, I thought it would be nice if the hat went with my lovely Moebius Scarf.

This is what I came up with. It's the leftover Knit Picks Cadena from my Versatility shawl, held together with the handspun I used for the Moebius scarf. As with a couple of the other Wavy Gravy hats, I left off a pattern repeat because I was running out of yarn. This turned out to be a Very Good Thing, because the Bulky-weight Cadena makes a rather larger hat than the Aran-weight Kureyon, so the hat is almost too big as it is. But it's not quite too big, it covers my ears, and it's perfectly warm.

I finished the hat around noon today. It got up into the 50s this afternoon. And it's not getting cold tonight.

If we do get spring this year, I invoked it.

Finishing the Fishies

2009-02-17T15:08:00.003-06:00

I'm very, very close to finishing another project.

This is very nearly a finished set of Fiber Fish Mittens, a project I started last winter. All I have to do is weave in a whole bunch of ends, and embroider the fishy eyes.

Honestly, I'll be glad to see the end of this project. It hasn't been going so well lately. I had to re-do the thumb gusset three times to get it to where it would fit. And it's still not perfect. Then I had to rip out and re-do the decreases for the head, because it was crooked on my hand.

But it's worse than that. Right now I hate every single thing about this project, including the pattern, the yarn, the designer, the dyer, mittens, picking up stitches, the needles, weaving ends, the shop where I bought my supplies, and the color green. I'm almost to the point of hating fish - which would be crazy - Aaron points out that you can sit at any spot in our home and see at least three fishy things.

I'm not even sure why I hate it so much. It's a perfectly nice pattern, and a lovely yarn. I think I may be getting just a bit discouraged. At least it's almost finished.

And I have other knitting to distract me. This is Phaedra, the January-February sock for River Knits' Sock Club. Michelle says the design was inspired by the Kauni Cardigan I'm knitting, so I kind of have to make them. They're even a stashbuster - she wrote the pattern for the Kureyon Sock yarn, and I'd bought a skein on a whim awhile ago. They'll be somewhat of a finicky pattern, but I think they'll look neat when they're done.

I've also - finally - started my wedding shawl. I bought the yarn almost immediately after Aaron proposed, but it's taken me awhile to decide on a pattern. After hours, if not months, of browsing Ravelry, I decided on A Day in Venice. I like this pattern because you knit the center, and pick up stitches for he border - allowing me to tailor to the border to my wedding dress. I hadn't bought it at the time I chose and started the pattern, but that's changed now. You're not, however, going to see pictures of it!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T20:07:00.003-06:00

I spent the weekend visiting Aaron and celebrating Valentine's day.

Look what he had for me when he got home!

And look what else he had waiting for me! I haven't started reading yet, since burying myself in a knitting book didn't seem like a romantic way to spend Valentine's Day. Not even if it's the Yarn Harlot.

There were goodies for Aaron, too. Here's the Secret Project, before felting...

...and after.

It's a Cat Bordhi Moebius Basket, made with Cascade 220.

I meant for it to be filled with goodies, but there were more goodies than basket. I bought some Mexican Hot Chocolate from K. Dees Coffee, and then I made some savory muffins. He has just 40 minutes for lunch two days a week, and I worry that he won't have time to eat. So I made him some Confetti Muffins and some Deviled Ham Muffins, so he'll have something to eat in a hurry.

He still gets the basket - it's fun to play with, even if it only holds a few muffins.

They Are Not Raccoons.

2009-02-03T19:42:00.002-06:00

We're being invaded. My back yard is full of squirrels, who have been happily dining on all the seed that's fallen out of the bird feeder. I think they're cute, but Oscar thinks THEY ARE EVIL AND MUST BE BARKED AT! All day.

Today they knocked down the bird feeder and chewed a hole in it. And Oscar barked at them a lot more. It's a good think I'm a sucker for cute.

Apparently I'm also a sucker for starting new projects - I cast this one on yesterday, which makes two in three days. This is probably the last picture I'll show for awhile, because it's something of a surprise, but it's sufficiently unrecognizible in this picture that it's safe to post.

It's good to have some big, thick knitting. I've been plagued by migraines since Sunday, and haven't really been able to do anything that requires a lot of thought or dexterity. I hope that changes soon.

New Sock Club Year

2009-02-01T14:39:00.004-06:00

I have, I think, been doing fairly well on my Winter WIP Workdown plan. So far I've only cast on one new project, and I've finished it. But that's about to change.

Last year, I did not finish a single Sock Club sock. I only started two. That makes me sad, because I've really wanted to keep up with Sock Club, so I can explore patterns and yarns that I might not pick up on my own.

But now it's a new year, and so it's a new set of socks. So I'm off to a racing start, with these Phaedra socks, designed by Michelle. She was inspired by the Kauni Cardigan, so I'll wind up with socks that look something like my sweater. Not that they'll match - she designed the pattern to use the Kureyon sock yarn, so I'm virtuously using stash, but I'm not going to color-coordinate.

The cardigan is inching its way towards being finished. I have a neckband now. I also picked out buttons yesterday, so as long as I'm able to get more (Jo-Ann's doesn't carry large quantites of any button, for some strange reason) I'll be able to button up the finished cardigan. Once it's finished, anyway.

Steeky Situation

2009-01-30T22:38:00.003-06:00

Sometimes, finishing a project means doing some pretty scary things. In this case, it means I get to cut up my knitting.

I've been working on my Kauni Cardigan for over a year now. I've said lots of optimistic things about having a new sweater soon, but haven't come very close to that.

Until now - here's the body of the sweater, all ready for steeking.

Um, yeah. Steeking. Cutting up my precious knitting, and hoping nothing will go wrong in the process.

Fortunately the process is very much a "measure twice, cut once" sort of thing, with lots of opportunities to notice and avoid screwups. So here the cutting line for the neck has been marked, and then I've put two lines of machine stitching on either side, in hopes of avoiding any unfortunate unraveling. This Kauni yarn is pretty sticky, so I suspect it's not too likely to unravel on its own, but one can't be too careful with sixteen months' worth of knitting (give or take a few), right?

It's also a very stinky yarn, which may be why I had such persistent offers of help with the steeks. Aaron's suitcase smelled like sheep when he brought it home, and I can feel the lanolin on my hands whenever I knit. But that's probably good for me - and I know it will soften and bloom nicely once it's washed and blocked.

It's not quite time for that yet, but I've cleared a major hurdle: My first steek, cut and ready to go. Wow.

In retrospect, a steek-sewing plan would have been in order. I tried to do most of the sewing, and then start the cutting. I should have sewn and cut the small steeks for the neckline first, then gone back and sewn and cut the front opening. Fortunately, I had the sense to sew the armholes last, and to not cut them yet. There's still some work to do (and I need some new needles) before I'm ready to work on the arms - but I've definitely made progress on the sweater. Maybe I really will have it finished while it's still cold enough to need a sweater.

Goodbye, Rat

2009-01-25T16:09:00.006-06:00

So I didn't get to wear them much during the Year of the Rat, but at least I'll be wearing them before the year ends.

I've finished another backlogged project - my Lickety Split socks with the "Rat" kanji, started on last year's Lunar New Year to celebrate my own zodiac year, the rat. The socks are blue because I'm a water rat. And they have fish buttons, rather than rats, just because I like fish.

I'd meant for the buttons to be functional, but forgot to put buttonholes in on the second sock. That may be just as well, since they're kind of tight - I think there would be too much strain on the buttonholes.

So they're finished, and reasonably comfortable. The first rat sock got to travel quite a bit - it met the Yarn Harlot, and attended an election rally, but the second one was mostly a stay-at-home project. BUT the second one was what I worked on while watching the Inauguration. There are a lot of new beginnings to celebrate this month.

Craft Gifts

2009-01-22T22:24:00.002-06:00

Inspired by my new friend Wyn, I'm making an offer:

The first five people to respond to this with a comment will receive a handmade gift from me.

But wait, there are details, and a catch - so you'll want to read everything!

You will receive something handmade my me. It could be fiber, or fabric, or food, or glass, or anything else that strikes my fancy.
It will be something I make with you in mind, but that doesn't guarantee you'll like it.
You'll receive it sometime during this year. No promises when - that's more fun, right?
I reserve the right to do something strange.

And the catch: If you accept this offer, you have to promise to make the same offer on your blog or in some other way, and send homemade happiness to five other people.

So there you go - if you leave a comment, please make sure it includes some way to contact you. I'm the first person to respond to Wyn's offer - let's see how intrepid my readers are!

Celebrating and Shopping

2009-01-18T22:32:00.003-06:00

I'm home from a lovely weekend with the Knitters for Obama. The whole thing was even more fun than I'd hoped - it's amazing how well knitters click when they get together. It was a joy to get to meet my fellow KFBO moderators, and of course we'll have to do it again!

We started the day with brunch at Cafe Selmarie, where I was able to indulge my love of Eggs Benedict. Franklin became an honorary member of our group because he was graciously hosting Blackbunny, and it was a joy to have him along. It's so nice to be able to tell someone in person how much you enjoy their work.

And speaking of enjoyment, the Cafe Selmarie makes really tasty cookies. They sold out of their entire tray of Obama cookies ("cookies you can believe in") before we finished eating, but I was lucky enough to get one in the cookie assortment I brought home. All of their baked goods looked delicious, and I can report their rolls went very nicely with the pot roast Aaron had waiting for me at home.

After brunch we sent Retroknit and Franklin home, and Blackbunny to the airport, then Minjo and I returned to Loopy Yarns yet again, this time to meet up with a group of would-be tourists. Here you see CJaneKnit, seephillips, Laiane, pezwitch, knitterly, and minjo. Knitterly turned out to be a Chicago Architecture tour guide, and so she volunteered to give a tour once we revealed we didn't have formal sightseeing plans. It was a terribly cold day, but we were all wearing wool - and she gave a great tour! I was only able to stay for the first half, but with just that I was able to share a whole collection of tidbits with Aaron, sounding like a kid home from a field trip. Thank you, knitterly!

I didn't take a lot of pictures as we toured, but here's something neat - these banners are up all over Chicago. I think they're pretty excited about the local boy making good - or else the Mayor is happy to have another excuse to put his name on things.

And now, the fruits of my trip - since Loopy Yarns was so kind about hosting us, it seemed only polite to buy a few things.

Like Blackbunny's book, of course! I probably would've bought it just because it's hers, but looking through it I'm really glad I did. She explains all the quirks of hand-dyed sock yarn, and then offers some solutions for avoiding the nasty stripes that so many of those yarns seem to get. So now, I hope, I'll be able to have socks that look as nice as the skein of yarn does.

She autographed it, of course, with a message that was naughty but not terribly obscene.

I'd promised myself I could buy Franklin's yarn on this trip, but they were sold out of the Shepherd Sport, and Shepherd Sock just has too much nylon to be properly warm. So I got this pretty yarn from Fleece Artist instead - Nova. We don't get Fleece Artist yarn at home, and I just love their colors. Choosing just one was really difficult.

If you buy yarn at Loopy Yarns, you get to take your goodies home in a tote bag designed by Franklin. And he autographed it for me! So I left my book at home, and I didn't get my yarn, but I finally had something for him to sign.

It was a great weekend, and I can't wait to go back. But maybe I'll wait until some of the snow goes away - even knitwear can only do so much for keeping warm in the Windy City.

Knitting with the Knitters for Obama

2009-01-17T22:05:00.008-06:00

The Bad Dogs are in Bloomington, and I'm in Chicago, celebrating Inauguration weekend with a whole bunch of Knitters for Barack Obama.

I came up Friday night and first met Minjo and her shovel - she had to dig me out after we established that I am not good at city parking in the snow. I'm pleased to report that she lives in a very friendly neighborhood - two total strangers stopped to help push my car off the snowdrift. I really hate parallel parking.

Together, we headed back down to Loopy Yarns, where we hooked up with Retroknit and Blackbunny, bringing together four of the five Knitters for Obama moderators. Jazzypom couldn't come, which is perfectly reasonable since she's British, but we missed her terribly. We're all grateful for her doing so much to help the group, when she could have easily spent the past years saying "you didn't like our George, so we don't really care that you're stuck with this one now!"

Blackbunny signed copies of her new book, and we posed for lots of group pictures of the four moderators - here I give you Blackbunny, Minjo, Retroknit, and me.

And here is where I reveal just how much of a geek I am, because I am so excited to report that Franklin took the above picture.

Today I was very good and very bad. I finished another project - my Wavy Gravy III hat.

But I also started another one....

...Wavy Gravy V, from some leftover Patons Shetland Chunky.

I'd feel more guilty about starting a new project, but I finished it the same day. Both hats are destined for cancer patients at the University of Chicago, as part of the Knitters for Obama chemo cap collection, so I've done a good deed by being a bad and impulsive knitter.

These are the hats they'll be joining - 200 of them, ready to go for Monday. The story even made USA Today!

Tonight was a lovely dinner with Minjo, Blackbunny, and Franklin, and tomorrow we'll be sightseeing and maybe yarn shopping. It's so much fun to meet my fellow Obama knitters!

Fiber-a-long

2009-01-12T22:22:00.004-06:00

Yesterday the sockday club got together for a fabulous brunch hosted by Sam and her fabulous wife Lisa, and we began make fibery plans for 2009, following a Fiber-A-Long path laid out by Debbie (who is blogless).

First, according to Debbie, we all had to take the Fiber-A-Long Pledge:

I promise to support my fellow sockday fiberists. I will support them in all things fiberly, and probably non-fiberly, too. That support includes, but is not limited to, stash enhancement, stash reduction if absolutely necessary, sympathy when frogging is the only answer, encouragement when new and maybe outside the comfort zone projects are tackled, an anti-intervention if our families feel that a fiber intervention is in order, support in completing a fiberly goal…or giving it up…whichever we want at the time, and willingness to make the sick day call to work as someone’s mother in order to give you a mental health day to knit.

That was the easy part - then there was homework!

We had five questions to cover - as with real homework, I didn't to a great job of being fully prepared. So since I didn't have written answers at the brunch, I'll share them here:

1. Do you have any project or skill regrets from 2008?

I wish one or more of my attempts at competitive knitting had gone better. I especially wish I'd made it past Round Two in Sock Madness.

2. Do you have any patterns that you have found to be addicting? Please bring the patterns to show if possible.

I think we all know the answer to this one - the Wavy Gravy Hat! So far I've finished three, and cast on a fourth. Thanks to Debbie's destashing I have another ball of Kureyon - so do I cast on another hat, or see if there's anything else this yarn wants to be?

3. Do you have any WIPs that you are motivated to finish up? Any that you would rather just frog, but would feel better if we do the frogging for you? If so, bring it along!

I'm trying to finish all my WIPs. I want to finish my Year of the Rat socks by the Chinese New Year, so that's my first deadline. I'd also really, really like to finish my Kauni cardigan, and have the satisfaction of wearing something I made. I think I still have the remains of a mystery shawl to frog, and sooner or later I'll have to suck it up and either frog the Lana Grossa cardigan or wear a corset.

4. Did Christmas this year bring up any ideas for projects for 2009?

No ideas from Christmas, or at least none that I'm going to indulge. I think Kerry's basket of hats idea was pretty cool, but I really shouldn't go that route for my huge family. I have some ideas from the post-Christmas math conference, though - I can't wait to start on a hexaflexagon!

5. Name two or three projects that you would like to have periodic encouragement to complete this year.

I really need to start and finish my wedding shawl. Some cheering along in Sock Madness 3 would be nice, too. And if everyone make sure I don't get a chance to see and be distracted by any new yarns or new projects, that would be really helpful.

So far, I'm still making good progress on the finishing-things binge. This is the latest, a Calorimetry headband. It's hard to photograph when it's not on a person, but it's also hard to take pictures of oneself wearing a headband.

My Calorimetry is made with Patons Shetland Chunky, and I cast on just 90 stitches. It's a slight bit small, but it's stretchy enough that I think it will be ok. This one is a gift for my mail carrier, so now I just have to figure out how to get it to her. Once I'm starting projects on a whim again, I may have to make one for me.

And last, here's the promised picture of the buttons for my Versatility scarf. Mine came from Jo-Ann's, but I've seen this collection at Wal-Mart before. I'm really glad I chose to do the removable buttons, because I think it makes the scarf more comfortable, and I use fewer buttons this way. Since I bought all they had and still didn't have enough to run the length of the scarf, that's really helpful.

So now I'm starting to run out of quickie projects to finish. I think the dogs' sweaters are next - we're expecting a run of below-zero days soon. That's definitely motivation to knit.

The End of the Moebius Band

2009-01-10T21:51:00.003-06:00

Get it? A Moebius strip doesn't have any ends! Ha!

Has it rubbed off on me? I don't know how many coffee cup/doughnut jokes I heard this week, but it's enough that I haven't been tempted to go looking for a bakery.

We're back from our travels, I'm re-settled in at home, and Aaron is in Illinois. All's right with the world, or as right as it can be with that "Aaron in Illinois" part.

I spent yesterday and today trying to finish my Moebius scarf - hoping Aaron would get a chance to see the finished thing and embrace its geekiness, but I wasn't able to knit fast enough. The attached i-cord bind off is great, but takes some time. So here it finally is, in all its one-sided glory.

This is the Moebius Blob, in all the glory it can manage. I've finished knitting the strip, and am ready to start binding the edge. I've been carrying this around all week telling the mathematicians, "I'm knitting a Moebius strip." I'm not sure if they believed me.

Here it is a bit over halfway through the binding off. The circular needle and the yarn are still twisted up in funky ways, but since I only need to work with four stitches at a time, that really doesn't matter.

And here's the finished object. One Moebius Strip scarf, ready (and long enough!) to wear. You can't really block a Moebius band, so I don't have to feel guilty about not blocking it. I'm going to have to drag out my black coat, so I can wear this and show it off.

The next challenge is figuring out what to do with the bit of leftover yarn. Morgana's handspun is far too lovely to neglect.

Fibery Math

2009-01-07T21:15:00.006-06:00

I've spent the past two days playing tourist, which shows that I am not as smart as the mathematicians who've spent the days locked up in a cozy hotel ballroom. It's cold, it's raining, and my feet are blue - although my Mountain Colors socks are more to blame for that than the cold.

I tried to take a look at the Capitol building, to see the Inaugural preparations. But this was as close as I wanted to get, walking through the rain, and as clear a view as I could get through the rain.

Even with the rain, this is the best view of the White House I've ever had. I think the cold left me absent-minded - I decided to walk from the wonderful Founding Farmers restaurant at 20th and Pennsylvania, to the Obama souvenir store at 15th and Pennsylvania, not realizing I'd pass anything interesting along the way until I stumbled across 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I must be the most absent-minted tourist in Washington.

Once there, I did clue in and realize something was going on - in part because this blocked my way. If I lived in this cold and rainy town, I'd be rather envious of the President-Elect's enclosed seating for the Inaugural Parade. I think it's a good measure of just how cold and wet I was that the "wow, this is cool" took a long time to sink in. But at least I had the presence of mind to get pictures.

It was much cozier inside the museums. I finally got to see the National Archives, which was incredible. Then I dropped by the newly-remodeled Museum of American History, to see the changes. Some things are the same, like the Nearly Naked George statue, when neoclassicism goes terribly wrong.

And there are some new things, like the Stephen Colbert portrait. I suspect the National Portrait Gallery's display was nicer, and I don't just say that because my friend works there. But I'm sure he helped make it nicer.

That's not a sock checking out the portrait; it's my Bellini Lace Shawl. It's been my first choice for on-the-go knitting in Washington, both because of its sentimental associations, and because I hope the wooden needles will slip past security checkpoints. So far, so good.

Meanwhile, back at the conference, there was knitting. Mathematical knitting. And crochet, and cross-stitch, and all sorts of other goodies. They had a whole special session on "Mathematics and the Fiber Arts" - how cool is that? Very cool, I assure you.

But...er...I didn't get it. The math, anyway - the whole knitting thing made perfect sense. It was probably the only time "i-cord" was the punchline of a math talk, so I got that part. And a lot of the things were cool.

They had a small display of mathematical fiber arts. I recognized some things from Ravelry, like the Celestine star. I'm not so sure about the other things here, but they're nifty. (I believe the things with the wiggly eyes are knots, sort of like the one that was running for President in Monday's debate.)

Other things led me to Ravelry pretty quickly, like Daina Taimina's crocheted Hyperbolic Plane, which I think is a teaching tool. She gave a talk about folding things to produce other things - so you can fold a two-holed torus (donut, for you non-math types) from an octagon, provided your octagon is made with 90-degree angles. Since they aren't usually like that, you have to crochet one. Makes perfect sense, right? No one would ever know that I'm about to marry a mathematician, would they?

The brightly-colored thing is a hexaflexacube, which was loads of fun to play with. It's based on a hexaflexagon, so there's nothing too weird there. Something mathematical that made perfect sense, and you can play with it. It's already earned a spot on my Ravelry queue.

I'm still working on my Moebius scarf, whenever I don't have to worry about having my metal needles confiscated. I can't wait to see what it looks like - and to make sure it's long enough to wear. I should have it finished in time for the Inauguration, which will be nice - and it will also be nice to not be standing out in this cold rain to watch it!

5,500 Mathematicians

2009-01-05T21:36:00.006-06:00

I'm in Washington D.C., surrounded by 5,500 mathematicians. Aaron has a conference to attend, and I came along for the ride. So did a lot of knitting.

I finished the "Versatility" shawl just in time, and stayed up late Friday night trying to block it. It's still not as wide as I'd like it to be, but I think it will get me through this trip. Later on, I'll get Aaron to take some pictures while I model it, and I'll show the nifty buttons I found.

After getting in late last night, we spent much of the day getting settled in, and sending Aaron over to take in the conference. I have a guest pass, but I don't know how much I'll be attending - although there's a talk on Mathematics and Fiber Arts coming up, so that may be fun to check out.

We had some time for a bit of sightseeing. I arranged a Capitol tour through My Favorite Senator's office, and we were lucky enough to have a pleasantly warm day for walking through the city. So we got to see the new Visitor's Center, and to tour the Capitol, but we didn't run into the President-Elect or the newly appointed Senator from Illinois - although we noticed a lot of commotion in front of the Senate chambers.

This is probably as close as we'll get to any inaugural activities - the newly-installed President will leave the Capitol via this stairwell when he heads back to the White House. You might notice that this sock isn't on the needles. The Capitol specifically lists knitting needles on their list of Prohibited Pointy Objects, so I had to bind off the sock before it could come. But I'm calling it a work in progress, because I haven't woven in the ends yet.

And here's a better look at the sock with its new friend at Union Station. It's the Year of the Rat sock I started back in February, coming out again to help with my project-finishing plan. Tomorrow I'll start on its counterpart, and go visit some more of the city, I hope.

Would you believe that I spent tonight at a Mathematical Dramatic Presentation? It was more comedy than drama, if that's any more believable - a Presidential debate between the Figure Eight Knot and the Euclidean Algorithm. I don't know if I'm relieved or disappointed that I didn't get most of the jokes.

New Year Knitting

2009-01-01T21:33:00.002-06:00

Last night's New Year's party wasn't meant to be a knitting party, but somehow things happen whenever two or more knitters get together. So I made some nice progress on my Moebius Scarf, and decided to keep going since I still have a lot of yarn left. No pictures, since right now it looks like a fuzzy blob of knitting. I look forward to casting off and seeing what I've made.

Today I cast on my first new project since before Christmas, and the only one that doesn't count in my 2-for-1 deal. This is the very beginning of the Bellini Lace Shawl from Morehouse Farms. This kit was a gift during the election, so it seems appropriate to cast on for this new year of a new administration. It's going to be a very simple project, so it's likely that this one will travel with me.

I really hope this project will travel too, but as a finished object. Since we're leaving for Washington, D.C. this weekend, I'm not sure that the finished "Versatility" shawl will get to go with me, but I intend to keep trying. So the newly cast-on project was mostly symbolic - I'm going to knit Versatility today and tomorrow, hoping to block tomorrow night and be ready to go on Saturday.

Sushi for the New Year

2008-12-31T16:43:00.004-06:00

Is there any room in the house that can't be improved by knitting?

My own bathroom won't enjoy the presence of my festive knitting for very long, but since I have this great tile, I have to work in as many pictures as possible. This Sushi Toilet Paper Roll Cozy is my most recent finished objects, and one of the last must-complete Christmas presents, just in time for its recipient to come visit. Who wouldn't want a knitted and crocheted toilet paper cozy that looks like sushi?

This is where I used the acrylic yarn. Not even the most natural fiber obsessive knitter would use the good stuff for a toilet paper cozy. At least I wouldn't.

Now I'm trying to decide what will be my New Year's project to start tomorrow. I'll have to look around tonight and see what I have. I'm wearing last year's New Year's Day project, so perhaps I should think ahead to next December when I make my choice.

Christmas Catch-up

2008-12-28T10:16:00.003-06:00

We've been all over the place this last week, and so has the thermometer. Last Tuesday, we had a scary drive to Kentucky, watching cars spin out behind us, thanks to the beginning of an ice storm which eventually closed roads all over the Midwest. Yesterday, we came back down for a wedding - in 70 degree weather. They had to open windows in the church to keep it cool enough. That's my idea of what winter should be - 70 rather than 80 is cool enough.

I didn't have to handle the icy roads myself, because Aaron has kindly been doing all the driving so I can knit. So far I've finished three holiday projects, and I'm making good progress on some of the others.

This was the first - the Jacques Cousteau hat for Aaron. I didn't work on this one in the car, although I have so much knitting around right now that I don't think it would have ruined the surprise. I left it out a couple times, and Aaron never asked, "hey, is that bit of hat in the giant pile of yarn and half-finished projects for me?" Sometimes clutter makes life easier.

I thought this would be a good pattern for him - it's simple, but has this funky decrease pattern on top to keep it interesting. It's long enough to keep his ears warm, too.

I think he likes it.

This hat hasn't gone to it's new home yet, but I hope its new owner will be pleased. This is Wavy Gravy IV, although it's the third one I've finished. Wavy Gravy II went to Aaron's mother, and I think she likes it. What's not to like about a hat made from a single ball of really nifty yarn? Did I mention that these things are fast to knit, too?

I finished this one on Christmas Eve, just in time to give to my mother the next day. It's Thorpe, made from Patons Shetland Chunky yarn. I think the sizing was a little off - the brim comes down over my ears, so the earflaps aren't really necessary. But they're fashionable, right? And you can't go too far in trying to keep ears warm - especially for my mother.

So for the record, that's four projects finished, and no new ones started. But I'm thinking about doing Sock Madness III, so I'll need all the project slots I can get. And I'd really, really like to have a lighter knitting bag for our next trip.

Winter Knitting Goals

2008-12-21T06:04:00.000-06:00

With the Solstice, it's time to review my progress on my summer knitting goals. I'm afraid it's not very pretty.

Of the original 26 things on the list, I finished 7. And one of those is not doing anything:

Amanda's Sockday Socks
Avoid the temptation to cast on "Isabella" until I've finished the Kauni Cardigan
"Hope" socks, in time for November
Preemie caps for any remaining primaries
Deliver the IN preemie caps
My Hogwarts kit, for the swap
Join the SP12 swap

To be fair, I did one of these twice - I've been through two Hogwarts kits since I made the list. I don't know how much of a difference that makes, but I'll take whatever Joy in Finishing I can find.

I also added two projects - the Gunnister Pouch and the Hufflepuff Head Wrap - to the list. So that gives me 9 out of 28. There were also some lovely projects that didn't make the list, but since the whole point of setting the goals is to finish them, I'm not going to count those.

The list of leftovers is starting to look pretty familiar:

Finish the Dog Sweaters
Travelling Socks, if I can figure out how to knit them
Reversai Socks
Lickety Split socks (in time for my birthday, although I probably won't need them then)
The Red Scarf
Finish the Kauni Cardigan in time to wear next fall
Other Obama charity knitting
My Wedding Shawl
Fiber Fish mittens
Bavarian Strolling socks
Sidewinders socks
Bulgarian Rose socks
Cotton socks
Coriolis socks
The "Walkies" pattern
Nordic Socks
March/April Sock Club socks
May/June Sock Club socks
Something fun - preferably with a fish!

I didn't finish any of these. I didn't even start some of them. And some of them have been on the list ever since I started making lists.

So this time around, I'm going to do something different - the Winter WIP Workdown. Starting today, I must finish two projects for every one I cast on. Here are the details:

There is only one exception. I will start a new project on New Year's Day, no matter what. Anything else - including gifts or swaps - has to be accounted for in the two-for-one scheme.
A project cast on during this time can count toward the finished total.
This will continue until Summer, or until I get rid of all of the WIPs.
Frogging counts as finishing, provided I really do frog and re-skein the yarn.
Here is the list of projects I have on Ravelry right now. I'm using this list as a rough guide, but if I come across any unfinished projects they can go into the pool.

The Unoriginal Hat, for Charity
Walkies I, the dog sweaters
Sushi toilet paper cozy
Calorimetry
Thorpe hat
Wavy Gravy Hat #4
Snowflake ornament
Jacques Cousteau Hat
Wavy Gravy Hat #3
Wavy Gravy Hat #2
Christmas Garland Socks
Versatility
"Flowing" Moebius Scarf
Boo the Bat
Chain of Hearts socks
Year of the Rat socks
Nordic Socks
Fiber Fish mittens
Kauni Cardigan
Wedding Shawl
Red Scarf
Bulgarian Rose socks
Reversai Socks
Herakles Coriolis socks
Snowdrop Shawl
Traveling Socks
Pomatomus
Bavarian Strolling socks
Granny Square afghan
Sunrise Circle Jacket
Sidewinders socks
Lana Grossa cardigan
Belle Epoque sweater

I think I'm going to have to hope for a lot of snowdays!

The Great Acrylic Invasion of 2008

2008-12-20T21:17:00.002-06:00

I am a fiber snob. After one too many cute little outfits invaded my childhood, polyester will not darken my door. I own no itchy acrylic sweaters. When I can get away with it, I rip the acetate linings out of jackets. And I'm looking for a good source of silk stockings to replace nylons.

It should go without saying that I do most of my knitting with natural fibers. I once made an acrylic hat for a baby, but that was because my LYS didn't have any wool baby yarn in black - and I left the extra yarn in the charity pile as soon as I could get it out of my house. Generally, I stick with as natural as I can, even accepting darning as a small price to pay to avoid the loss of warmth one gets when blending nylon into sock yarn.

Somehow, all that has changed in the last week or so. Four skeins of mostly-acrylic yarn have crossed my threshold, all with my permission. And with my money - I bought them, on purpose.

Everything you see here is destined to be a gift for someone else. I'm making a Sushi Roll Toilet Paper Cozy for a friend, a Thorpe hat for my mother, and Calorimetry for my mail carrier. For all of them, I chose to buy the acrylic yarn because it's easy to care for. Well, I also didn't want to use the good stuff for something that sits on the back of the toilet, but for the most part I'm thinking of the recipient's needs.

I've cast on everything at once for two reasons. First, it's the easiest way to make sure I bring along all the needles and yarn I need - I can't forget them if they're attached to each other. Second, today's my last chance to freely cast on new projects. I'm cutting back starting tomorrow. So this is sort of the knitting equivalent of a bachelor party.

This is the last project I started tonight - a fourth Wavy Gravy hat. This one is going to be a gift for a specific person - as opposed to the other two, which may become gifts if I figure out who needs them. Starting tomorrow, I'll be finishing projects, not starting them. And I hope I'll finish a lot of projects before Christmas.

School's out!

2008-12-18T15:29:00.005-06:00

I've finished my projects for the semester, which included the most depressing paper I've ever written, and after tonight I'll only have three more hours of work before Christmas. So I've had a chance to catch up on some knitting.

For the most part, I'm catching up on casting on. I'm going to cut back on starting projects after the Winter Solstice, so I'm trying to build up a reserve of works in progress that will get me through any Christmas needs.

I've even finished one project - Wavy Gravy Hat #2, my emergency knitting from last week's Knit Night. There's a good chance this will wind up being somebody's Christmas present, although I don't know who would get it. They're so much fun to knit that I may be bestowing hats on strangers, just so I have an excuse to make more!

Like Wavy Gravy #1, this hat used a single ball of Noro Kureyon. I had a little bit more yarn left over this time, probably because I used Size 7 needles instead of Size 8. Since I had to buy Emergency Needles to go with the Emergency Yarn, I didn't want to buy a set in a size I knew I already had.

I've nearly finished this - a snowflake ornament. It will need some pretty heavy blocking before it looks good. I thought about making several of these as gifts, but I don't know if I'm that happy with them, and I hate to go to a lot of trouble to do handmade things that won't be appreciated. But at least I'll have something handknit on my Christmas tree, which seems appropriate.

I've finished the bookmark, and it's on its way to Angelina Phoenixfire. I even wound up with a long enough band that I have a spare bookmark, so I'll have to hope I get a Gryffindor pal in the next round of the Hogwarts Swap - or else I'll have to cultivate friends who like warm colors.

Hmmm...I wonder if handmade bookmarks would be good Christmas presents? I have a lot of perle cotton!

I've also added to my yarn collection - this is going to become a Calorimetry headband for my mail carrier, if I get a chance to work on it. She's always very friendly to the dogs, even though they fight with each other when she comes, so I want to do something nice for her.

And I have more projects in progress. This Colour 4 Me yarn is in the process of becoming another Wavy Gravy Hat.

And this Cascade 220 is going to be a Jacques Cousteau Hat.

My friend Kerry has spent the past couple of months knitting hats for absolutely everyone on her Christmas list. I don't think I'll manage that, but she's inspired me to try to have a few handmade hats in the Christmas stash. Eight days to go - how much knitting can I do?

Surprises

2008-12-16T15:23:00.005-06:00

I don't have much new knitting, so I'll show off some other projects here - things that are for other people, but I'll just hope they aren't reading this and I'm not spoiling any surprises.

This is my bookmark for the Hogwarts Bookmark Swap. The swap is intended to give us a little something to do now that Term 6 is over. We could do anything we wanted for the bookmarks, so I decided to card weave mine for a change of pace. I wanted to have some little cards in order to avoid waste, so I made these from a cardboard box - they're about 1.5" on a side. The bookmark will be about 1" wide, and is made from perle cotton. My recipient is a Gryffindor, so that's why I picked the colors. The nicer part of the pattern is actually on the other side - somehow things got all twisted around when I put it on the loom.

And this is the project that's been keeping me entertained at work - enclosures for the Knitters for Barack Obama holiday card exchange. I printed out 2" squares with the Obama logo on a color laser printer, and now I'm using directions from Home Decorating with Origami to make the stars. Originally I thought about trying to incorporate the stars into a homemade card, but decided that was way too ambitious - even with commercial cards, I'll be lucky to get any Christmas cards out before New Year's!

I hope that the next few days bring me back to my regularly scheduled knitting. I'm sure Aaron hopes the next few days bring me back to my not-so-regularly-scheduled housecleaning.

Merry Christmas Meme

2008-12-14T20:23:00.003-06:00

I stole this Christmas meme from Amanda. Since I'm not finishing knitting or getting much decorating done, this is my best shot at some Christmas spirit for now.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper. I've tried to be good and use newspaper and such, but I've learned that I really like the festive sight of a pile of gaily wrapped packages under the tree.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial. Absolutely. Always. Have you ever read Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir Tree?" I don't recommend it. I'd cry all month if I brought a real dead tree into the house. Do not, in the name of all that is holy, ever read this story to your children! Ever. I'm surprised I can still celebrate Christmas.

3. When do you put up the tree?
The weekend after Thanksgiving. "When do you decorate the tree?" seems to be another question, one that I can't answer yet.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Twelfth Night - or just after, if I have a Twelfth Night party.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Real eggnog, yes. The stuff from the stores is an ok drink, but I'd be ashamed to say that I liked something so fake.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Hmmm...that's tough. One year my brother and I got a pedal-powered car as a joint present. That was pretty darned cool.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Aaron's parents. I want to get them something nice, but don't want to fill their house up with stuff they don't need.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Karen. There are a couple things she collects, so it's easy to follow the theme.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes. It was a gift from Aaron's parents.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail. But sometimes they're New Year's cards.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A "Sorry" game. The givers couldn't have known, but that had become the favorite among some members of my family, and I was positively sick of it.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
White Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I keep my eyes open all the time. I'm cheap, have a lot of people to buy for, and want to get good stuff.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No, but I can't say that I wouldn't.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
It's hard to pick. I'll say cranberries, in all sorts of things.

16. Lights on the tree?
Yes, and they must be colored. Plain white lights make it look like you're a yuppie trying to "style" for a decorating magazine. (With apologies to white-light lovers, yuppies, and interior decorators!)

17. Favorite Christmas song?
White Christmas!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel - which means going home. And then more travel.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner/Dunder, Blitzen. And Rudolph. And we may have to start adding Bailey to that list.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
I'm still looking for the perfect tree topper. For the last few years, it's been either an American Flag or a Santa hat. But when I find something I like, it will probably be an angel or a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas day, now. When I was a kid, we'd get to open one present (officially from Mom & Dad) on Christmas Eve, then get "Santa's" presents Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
The complaints about the "War on Christmas." Now that Kathleen Hudson's gone it's much less nasty around her, but it's also a lot less funny.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I like to buy ornaments as travel souvenirs - that's the closest I come to having a theme.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Turkey for dinner, and Chinese food for supper.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Everyone wants to know that! A sturdy silver chain to hold my engagement ring when I'm not wearing it is at the top of my wish list.

26. Lights, blinking or always on?
Always on. I like the chasing lights and the twinkle lights well enough, but I'm less fond of the ones that just blink. But what's really important is that they're colored!

Merry Christmas and everything else!

I should not have laughed at the Yarn Harlot.

2008-12-09T14:07:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, the Yarn Harlot wrote about running out of knitting, and said she took backup yarn to her LYS for Knit Night. I laughed at the Yarn Harlot - not just in that "gee, she's funny" way, but in that "gee, I'm glad I'm not that crazy" way. I may have even said something to Aaron along the lines of "see, I'm not that crazy! The Yarn Harlot is so obsessed with knitting that she brings spare yarn to the yarn store." (That he knows what I'm talking about when I cite the Yarn Harlot as a source of wisdom is clearly a sign of his love for me.) Prior to this, my best benchmark of not-that-crazy was Sam, who won't knit from stash yarn. But even if I don't quite get around to knitting from stash, and have to point to my good intentions as a sign of sanity, surely I can proclaim that I'm not crazy enough to bring spare yarn to the yarn store.

Well.

Last night was the monthly Knit Night at River Knits. I was looking forward to an exciting time - Christmas goodies, a yarn swap, and a chance to work on my Christmas Sock. I brought cookies and a yarn gift, found a seat, and pulled out my knitting - only to discover that I hadn't brought my pattern. Oops.

This is a pretty complicated sock, so there was no winging it. I was on the heel flap, so I knew I could knit for a little while, but then I'd run out of knitting. (To make things worse, I'd given myself a little "you remembered to pack the needle you're using right now! How organized!" pep talk as I was leaving home.) So I sat there with my lonely little heel, getting nervous and twitchy, wondering what I could possibly do once I'd finished.

There was really only one option, wasn't there? I may have said some things about finishing rather than starting projects. I may even have said some things about not buying any more yarn. But this was clearly an emergency.

We learn from our mistakes, right? In this case, I learned how to use the web browser on my cell phone, so I could copy down the Wavy Gravy Hat pattern. I'd already learned that I love this pattern. I may try to give away a couple of hats as Christmas presents, if I can bear to part with them, so it's possible that this won't be wasted effort.

Once I had knitting in hand, I could breathe easy and enjoy the evening. I've never seen such a crowd at Knit Night before! People were spilling out of the back room into the shop, and sitting on the floor - it's just lucky that I got there early enough that I could get to the yarn. We had to pass around all the treats, but that was ok - it meant that no one had to put down her knitting to fix a plate.

And the Yankee Yarn Swap was loads of fun. Enough people brought extra packages (which I will attribute to the natural generosity of my fellow knitters, and not to anyone's opportunistic de-stashing) that everyone there was able to participate.

I wound up with this - another ball of Tofutsies! I love Tofutsies - although if I started knitting right now, I doubt I'd work my way through all the yarn before it's warm enough to wear Tofutsies socks again. And yes, this yarn really came wrapped in this box - proof that good things come in small packages, and that Scotch tape is tough stuff.

Before I left, I picked up just a bit of yarn for a possible future project (I had to pay for the Kureyon, so why not add a bit more). Even so, I left with fewer skeins of yarn than I brought - and I traded yarn that I won't use for yarn that I will. That makes my Christmas merry.

And I won't laugh at the Yarn Harlot any more.

Christmas Socks

2008-11-30T14:07:00.004-06:00

I like knitting. I like holidays.

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. And socks are my favorite thing to knit.

It would seem that these two things should go together well. But for me, for some reason, they don't.

Since I started knitting socks, I thought it would be fun to have a pair of Christmas Socks. Something festive, something Christmas-colored, something that would keep me warm and cheerful. I have a Christmas Hat that I really like, so I've wanted to have Christmas Socks that would be equally fun.

Once, long ago, I thought I'd buy some Socks that Rock yarn, and use it for a Christmas project. But I discovered I didn't like the way the colors striped, so I talked myself out of what probably would have been a very expensive yarn-buying spree.

Then, two years ago in Oldenburg, I found some yarn I'd wanted for a long time. I'd been eying a single skein of this Regia Silk in River Knits, but the second ball that I'd need for a pair of socks never came in. So when I spied it through a shop window, I dragged Aaron into the yarn store I'd thought we could safely bypass, carried on a conversation in which I understood only two words - "seide" and "gut" - and came triumphantly home with my new yarn to discover that Elizabeth had restocked. But that didn't matter - I had my silk, and thought it would be a lovely yarn for wintertime party socks.

And it is, to some extent. The silk makes a nice, soft, yarn, and I adore the silver-and-gold colors. I used the "Feather and Fan" pattern from Socks Socks Socks, and thought it worked wonderfully with this yarn. But they weren't quite the perfect Christmas socks. They just aren't Christmasy enough, and aren't warm enough to wear for tromping through the snow.

Last year I asked for Christmas recommendations, and Elizabeth suggested this yarn, which had fortuitously just arrived at River Knits. It's Panda Wool, in a mostly red-and-green "Nightshade" colorway. After some false starts, I finished these Christmas socks - just a little bit late for Christmas.

But they're still not the perfect Christmas Socks. The colorway looked a lot more Christmasy in the ball than it did in the finished sock. Worse, the fiber content of the yarn means that it's not very warm - it gets cold and soggy with the least amount of slush. So they're not great winter socks for someone who lives in Birkenstocks.

This year, I'm trying again. Thanks to Michelle, I have some fun new yarn that should be just perfect for Christmas. Thanks to Ravelry, I found a great pattern - the retro-looking Mystery Socks from Through the Loops. And thanks to Aaron, I was able to knit my way through yesterday's drive home, so I've already finished the cuff of the sock I cast on Thanksgiving Day. Will this be the year of the Perfect Christmas Socks? We'll all know in 25 days!

Circle of Lights

2008-11-29T21:23:00.004-06:00

Yesterday provided that perfect confluence of events - we were in Indianapolis the day after Thanksgiving, and it was a reasonably nice day - that allowed Aaron and me to head downtown for the city's traditional Christmas kick-off; the lighting of the "tree" at Monument Circle.

We made our way to the Downtown area about an hour before the actual lighting, and had to park a mile away, leaving us glad for the nice day. The walk proved to be much more pleasant than the evening's entertainment - a handful of goofy redneck soul performers and some singing children - and we got to gawk at the huge line of people trying to get into the Starbucks on the Circle, when there was another one just a block away.

They put the lights up a few weeks ago, and many of the surrounding buildings were already decorated. But that's not what drew us to stand outside on a cold November evening.

This was.

It's goofy, but it's fun. Santa, a dramatic countdown, and the "ooh-ah" moment when the "World's Largest Christmas Tree" lights up.

And knitting, of course. I'm still working on my Moebius scarf.

The scarf didn't get to come along for the final stop in our Christmas tourism. The City-County building obligingly left its observatory open until 10:00 so that visitors could enjoy the Christmas lights, which was lovely. What wasn't so lovely is that some genius decided they need to screen, all the time, for "dangerous items" - which include many of the things a reasonable person might reasonably carry in her/his pockets or purse. Including knitting. And they don't offer any sort of checking service - "take it back to your car" was their only suggestion. (Remember that whole "parked a mile away" thing? Now add a few blocks.) The first day of the Winter Holiday Season is not a good time to get grouchy about idiots in government, but that's something I'll resolve to do with the new year.

So there's no knitting to be seen in this otherwise lovely view of the city - but perhaps the lights can stand on their own. The observatory also has a fun exhibit of souvenirs presented to the city, so we took that in along with the view, and generally had a good time. Now I'm just waiting for it to sink in that Christmas is less than a month away, and I have knitting to do!

Shrinking the List

2008-11-28T20:50:00.004-06:00

We've been driving around the state for Thanksgiving - but the nice thing is that Aaron's done a lot of the driving, so I can knit!

So we've visited relatives and enjoyed a bunch of food (including wild turkey!), and I finished two knitting projects.

The first was more of an embroidery - and - felting project. I've had the knitting finished for my second Dumpling Bag for several weeks, but I've been slow on the embroidery, and wanted to felt this one in a machine. So after we got home from Thanksgiving dinner, I finished up the embroidery and tossed it in.

And here's the result. (The dog toy was the handiest thing for scale. Grandma provides a lot of dog toys.) Much as I hate felting by hand, I think it may be worth doing. I just don't like the shape of this bag as much as I did the previous one. I've mixed two yarns - Lion Wool and Cascade 220 - here, and I think that may be part of the problem. I'll see if it grows on me, or if I need to sit down with a tub of hot water and give up my fingerprints again.

The VeryLongSock was my on-the-road project. On Monday, it will be on its way to a new home. It's a cute bookmark, and I think some careful blocking will make it even cuter.

So that's two things to strike off my Ravelry list. I'd feel smug, but I started a new set of Christmas Socks yesterday, so the list isn't shrinking very fast.

When things work out

2008-11-26T11:39:00.003-06:00

Take a look at this:

These are the leftovers from my Noro Kureyon hat. Almost exactly one ball of Kureyon - how perfect is that? Now, I can buy a ball of Kureyon anytime I'm entranced by the pretty colors, and I'll know what to do with it.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I have my Wavy Gravy. Not the guy, or the ice cream, but a really nifty hat. A hat which covers my ears, which is important. If I hadn't just packed a giant bag of Thanksgiving knitting, I'd run to the yarn store in a heartbeat so I could get yarn for another hat.

Yarn to be Thankful For

2008-11-25T15:19:00.005-06:00

I've had all sorts of yarn goodness coming my way lately.

First there was this.

We did a "Wizard Cracker" exchange as part of the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap, and these were the goodies in my cracker.

Traditional crackers include a hat, and the person who put my cracker together managed to do that- in a slightly unfinished way. What fun!

And so I've already started knitting. It's the Noro Kureyon One-Ball Wavy Gravy Hat - which will, supposedly, use just one ball of this lovely yarn. It's knitting up pretty quickly, so I could see getting addicted to this pattern if it works.

Then I bought some yarn for myself. My friend Michelle gave me a River Knits gift certificate as a post-election surprise, so I had fun using that. (Yarn AND a new President! Isn't that just great?)

This is Jojoland's Kaleidoscope yarn, in a nice Christmasy colorway. I've been on a quest for the Perfect Christmas Socks for the past few years, so this will be my next try. I'm really glad Michelle inspired me to buy the yarn, because when I want to enter it on Ravelry, I saw it had been discontinued.

Then yesterday, the newest collection to my yarn collection arrived - my Hogwarts package. All these goodies are from loomatic, known as Amethyst Aurag in the swaps.

All the details are over at my character blog, so you can head over there if you're interested. Let's just say that the dogs and I are all pretty happy with this swap!

Reversing Versatility

2008-11-18T12:30:00.003-06:00

I've been working on a depressing paper. A very depressing paper. So to help move things along, I promised myself that I could start knitting "Versatility" when I got through the first outline/draft. So I packed up the Cadena yarn and brought it to Bloomington for the weekend, so I could reclaim the dogs and get started knitting.

There's a lot of quiet time during football season, so I made good progress. Until I got to my second pattern repeat, and found the mistake. Can you see that a row of bobbles is missing?

The pattern has been fixed on Knitty, but I was working from an older printout. I'm not sure I like knitting bobbles, so I wasn't inclined to notice their absence very quickly. I wound up ripping back four rows, which isn't fun to do with lace - even lace on such a grand scale.

But now I'm back on track, and it's coming along nicely. The Knitters for Obama got me hooked on "Countdown," so I got through the frogging and 17 rows of re-knitting thanks to Keith Olbermann and the local news. I find I watch a lot more TV when I have knitting I really want to do.

I'm worried, though, that I won't have enough yarn. I've already used one skein, and I've only completed one of the eight repeats of the main pattern. I'm even thinking about making the thing longer, so it will fit better in the cardigan formation - but I'll make that decision once I've figured out how much more yarn I'll need. This is bad, because I know I'll want to buy at least two more sweaters' worth of yarn when I go to Knitpicks, and I really don't need to do that.

Maybe I'll get another sweater out of hibernation, so it can give me guilt-inducing looks if I think about ordering more yarn.

Back to Knitting

2008-11-13T14:24:00.003-06:00

I think the post-election high is wearing off. I went from "yay, we elected a President!" to "yikes, I have to write a really depressing paper!" to "oops, I haven't cleaned house in two weeks." So that helps me come down to earth and focus, a bit. Plus, I just had my stitches out, so there goes my excuse for not washing dishes.

Surgery on my middle finger made housekeeping and typing more difficult, but didn't really get in the way of the knitting. I've started a new project - the Dobby-Style Sockmark in Gryffindor colors. It's a little something for the HSKS6 swap, but I won't worry about sharing it because there will be plenty of other loot in the package!

This is NOT, by the way, an easy pattern! There aren't any instructions for the heel, and since you're doing one heel toe-up and the other cuff-down, it helps to have a selection of heels handy. I think the toe-up heel from the Roman Rib Socks looks best, but I had no luck getting it to work on the smaller sock - I don't remember where I was working on this, but I was somewhat distracted. So I went with an afterthought heel, but I'm not very pleased with the way it looks. She recommends a short-row heel, but I hate short-row heels. So I don't know what I'll do if I try this pattern again.

I'm also gearing up to start a new project for me - "Versatility," from the current Knitty. I placed my first-ever Knitpicks order, getting some goodies for me and some to share. I didn't want to use the Lamb's Pride yarn from the pattern, because I'm not fond of the mohair. So I hope the Cadena is a suitable substitute. I'd also planned to do this in blue, but made a last-minute switch to the gray. I think it will be more versatile and more useful - we'll see what happens. I hope to have this finished in time for a planned January trip or two.

I know what I'll be knitting on those trips already. This fun little kit - the Bellini Lace Shawl from Morehouse yarns - showed up in my mailbox just before the election. It was a surprise thank-you from Fran, known as Mustknit on Ravelry - I'd sent her some Obama buttons and some Hillary-themed yarn. (She's a big Hillary supporter, but came over to help the Obama campaign as soon as the nomination was certain. So when I saw Black Bunny's "Sisterhood" yarn, I knew she had to have some!) I hope to be casting on this shawl around the Inauguration - something to keep me warm, and remind me of how much fun it was to meet people over the campaign.

By the way, if you're on Ravelry, check out Mustknit's "Lady Liberty" sweaters. Prepare to be amazed.

This weekend is another trip to Bloomington, to reclaim the dogs. I won't have to make do with puppycam anymore. And now that I have all 10 fingers working again, I'll need another excuse for not getting things done around the house.

Best Political Race EVER

2008-11-06T16:58:00.002-06:00

I'm sure that soon this blog will turn more to knitting and less to politics, but not before I share this picture of what has to be the best match-up ever, from Colorado's State Senate:

Read all about it at Serious Eats.