Christmas in May

Look what happened while nobody was looking. I finished the Arches and Columns scarf. A Christmas gift. While not quite the 55" the pattern called for, I like the length. Coming from Midwest winters I know that we like our scarves shorter and stuffed into our coats. No added bulk around the middle area thank you, and no long flowing scarves to get caught by the wind and smack you in the face. I know of what I speak. It took me awhile to get the hang of the pattern - but when I did I worked on it exclusively. I am usually a one project woman. I have socks still on the needles, and now that the A&C is complete it is full time sock knitting in my future. But be warned I have another Christmas gift scarf to make. Same yarn, different pattern. Stay tuned.

Do you iPod?

I do! I inherited my son's old gen3 iPod this year and I am hooked. Hooked I tell you! I don't even want to admit to you the hard time I gave him about spending that kind of cash (his own) on a "music player" when he already had a CD player. Ugh - my ignorance is showing. He upgraded to a video model and I got the old one. I use it at the gym, walking the dog, sitting out on the patio, listening to music or my new favorite....podcasts. Oooooh I loves me the podcasts. I am a regular with Cast-on and recently started listening to Pointy Sticks. I try at least 1 new one a month - there are so many out there. (anyone notice that knitting was not included there? Well you all know about my inability to knit and watch TV, just double that and you have me and the iPod - pitiful) So do you pod?
When - where - and with what?

Remember

Today I put out my flag and proudly let it wave until Veteran's Day.

Enjoy your holiday!

1 Year

Has it been a year already? I moved to WA state May 26, 2005. Yes it has been a year. I very good year. I needed a good year. 2004 was not a good year. It was filled with personal tragedy; the death of a father, the death of a marriage, the death of an ex-husband. In Dec 2004 I decided to move to WA and purchased a new construction home. I went back to IL and spent the next 5 months telling my job, my friends and my neighbors of my plans. I also had to sell my home (actually twice - bad story) and pack it up and ship everything I owned cross-country. I needed a break, actually I called it a breakaway. It was not a decision made lightly or quickly. And it was not made alone. I made sure my son was OK with it. It was going to be a big change for both of us. But as I look at the past year, the smiles on my son's face, the friends he has calling and stopping by, the good grades in a new school, I know it was a good decision. The picture at the top? Well that is Dot. She is 1 year old today. She was born as I was pulling into my brother's Ranch last year. Talk about a sign! A new life, new possibilities. It has been a good year.

Olympic Re-Knitting

On the left are my Olympic Knitting Embossed Leaves socks. I finished them with a Gold Medal. I enjoyed the knitting of them and the Rowan Cashsoft is to die for. Unfortunately they were too big. I was too intimidated to modify the pattern. I mean, what makes me think I know more/better than the designer? Now I realize I DO know better, I know my feet better. DER. So I frogged them and I am re-knitting them so I will wear them. I have a plan! I still love the pattern and the yarn. They should go much faster this time around. I am still plugging along on the Arches & Columns (A&C) scarf. I am 18/55 complete. The pattern says to knit until piece measures 55". Will I lose a lot of length in blocking? I have no experience blocking lace. Off to the Social Security office - I lost my card in the move. Sounds like fun :-(

Brown Socks

Here are my completed Brown Socks. They are my interpretation of boot socks. The cuff is a simple 2x2 and then after the heel I switched to St st all around. I like them. I have already worn them with my clogs. Now I know clogs socks are different - they have patterned heels and such. I am going to try one of those patterns in the near future. These were great TV knitting, just when you can't stand the ribbing any more you get to switch to St st. A very fast knit.

So you want to know about Plan B?

1) put mess of purple yarn into brown paper bag and into time-out. (it needed to be done)
2) purchase Crystal Palace needles. (I was using metal circs)
3) wind 2 balls of purple fuzz into one. (2 purple fuzzy balls jumping around was driving me crazy)
4) read A Primer on Knitted Lace part 1 in IK summer 2006 (alright I get the irony of reading the primer after attempting knitting)
5) get a cold drink, take a deep breath and try again
6) use lifelines!

As you can see we are about back to the place I was before the incident.
Those little white lines? Those are my lifelines. It does make me feel better. I also count, count, and count my stitches on every purl row.

I wasn't idle during the 24-hour purple time-out. I finished some socks. Pictures tomorrow.

p.s. loving the Crystal Palace needles. I also have a set of US 1.5 DPNs and those are my fav for sock knitting.

An Afternoon at the Airport

Now when you think about spending an afternoon at the airport you are probably thinking traffic, people, and delays. Not me. When I go to the airport (in my town) it is to visit the sheep. The SIL's sheep spend the summers at the airport. Actually they spend it on the non-airport property that belongs to the airport owner as well. We went over to give them a little maintenance and put on their new blankets.
Homer enjoys his blanket better than Chloe did. :-) Here are the rest of the group. Unfortunately one didn't fit - but we found a place for it anyway..... That's me on the right!

And then there was none...

Uh, moving on to plan B.

Crap TV = Sock Knitting

Doesn't everyone know that? After I watched the season finale of Bones there was nothing to watch on TV. This means knitting time for me. I am jealous of all those knitters out there that can "pop a movie in and knit all day." Well not me. If I am watching something - then I am watching it. I can't knit and watch at the same time. It may have something to do with the fact that I wear glasses. I need my glasses to watch TV, but cannot wear my glasses to knit. So here's me knitting with no glasses on, something is on the TV that I want to see so I have to stop knitting and put the glasses on. Now repeat that about 100 times during a 1 hour program and you get frustration. Or at least I do. So when there was crap on TV last night I put on the History Channel (no groans) and listened to a 2 hour program about the Knights Templar. Interesting enough to keep me company - but not enough to want to look at it. And see what happened? Sock knitting. What was that? What about the purple scarf you say? Well I relagated it to inside knitting and spent the sunny day listening to a Cast-On podcast and reading more Knitting Rules. Ahhhh much better.

Sunburned and Spanked

A gorgeous, beautiful, sunny day here yesterday in the PNW. I spent a good portion of it sitting and knitting on the patio. Sometimes in the sun (slathered with 45 spf) sometimes in the shade. Sitting and knitting on the purple lace scarf, where I got it. The pattern repeat. I got it again. So much so that I didn't need to reference the chart. Ahhh, pure pleasure. Lounging in the sunlight swiftly knitting along feeling rather smug. This is the life. Uh, until the wind takes your very light balls of merino/mohair and sends them into the yard. Until you realize at the end of row 4 in the repeat you have an extra stitch and need to tink (merino-mohair here people - blowing in the breeze) back 4 rows. Until you go inside for a cold drink and pass the mirror to see red looking back at you. A lot of red, on your face, chest, arms, and those knees. OUCH. You then get a feeling of being good and thoroughly spanked by the Knitting Goddess. I lit a candle and said a prayer. Today's forecast? More sun, less tink, and a shout out to the Goddess.

The Spring line of Sheep Blankets

Have I told you my SIL has sheep? She does. It all started with a friendship to the local shepherdess Alice of Reflection Farms. She now has 4, and they are the cutest things. We had a notion to shear the sheep and process it ourselves and SIL can spin it and I can knit it up. Can you say filthy fleece? I didn't know sheep could get that dirty. So this year we are getting smart. Sheep blankets. I was recruited to sew them up. Here is my dog Chloe modeling the hazard Cone collection. She was NOT amused.

Woo Hoo - a picture

Ah, the unveiling of Be Bop. Mom's day present made for my mom. Ain't she cute?

Mother's Day

I hope you all enjoyed your mother's day. I was lucky enough to spend the day sitting and knitting with my mom out in the backyard sunshine. Beautiful. I was gifted a copy of Knitting Rules by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee by my son. This came as a complete surprise because in gift-giving times of the past he asks me "what do you want for ______? But I am NOT buying any knitting stuff/yarn/books!" I love the book and have only read a few chapters - I am savoring it. I made my mom a new knitted doll. I gave her one for Christmas and she immediately asked for more. It was like giving birth, I needed to forget the pain of creating the first doll before making another one. Thankfully the experience improved with version 2.0. These are made from the Best Friends Dolls pattern from Interweave Knits Summer 2002.
****no pictures due to blogger problems, argh!****

Purple Haze

I am knitting a scarf. A scarf for a Christmas gift. This is Arches & Columns Lace Scarf from my Knitting pattern-a-day Calendar. I am using the suggested Crystal Palace Yarns Kid Merino. I have chosen color # 4682 as this is for my friend Amy (no worries - she doesn't know about the blog) in IL and her fav color is purple. It is my first foray into lace knitting. I swatched before buying the yarn and liked the pattern. (and got the pattern) But for the life of me I now can't knit the 4 row repeat to save my life. I have tinked back, in mohair/merino, about as much as I've knit. I need to be at a table, alone in the house, with the TV off to knit this simple chart. Not what you would call relaxing. It is a lovely pattern, and the yarn is very soft on the hands. I have only 4 out of 55 inches complete. Good thing I started early huh?

Happy B-day Bro

Yesterday was my brother's 40th birthday. I had to go welcome him into my decade. His ranch is a mere 20 mins away and we had dinner on his new grill and my SIL made her family famous potato salad. Oh and the beans were excellent too! Bro took the plunge this year and started his own business. I am so proud of him.


Enjoy your 40's little bro.

Sockapaloooza

I participated in Sockapaloooza these past couple of months. It was my first KAL and it was a blast. These were the great socks I received from my pal.

Hello all, this my first post of my first blog. Please bear with me as I figure this out.