Needle-dee

It's been a while

2009-10-26T10:49:00.003-04:00

So I turned into one of those bloggers that goes all hot n heavy for a while and then fades away. Ah well. I have actually been knitting, when not being a v busy full time working mom-of-two - check out the lovely stuff on ravelry (where I am DeniseE). Also set up a site for family pics so you can see what all I've been up to.
so anyway
did I miss anything?
what's new with ye all?

Pictures from Denise

2009-04-12T19:00:00.002-04:00

101 pictures - get ready for baby overload
View Album at Shutterfly
hey that's what happens when a new baby arrives, not much knitting and even less blogging :)
be back when I have more freetime, maybe 2014 or so...
meanwhile see you on Facebook and Twitter
xxxx

Want to see some more baby photos?

2009-01-28T11:00:00.005-05:00

Sure you do!
Here's Darcy in her new mitts from Knitty - and her hat from Nan (cardi shop-bought - but knit by somebody)

And here she is with her superhero Sheldon! A lovely surprise from Twiceknit -

Even sleeps with him :)

And...would you believe I've got some kntting in? I bought this ribbon yarn at MD Sheep & Wool and decided I wasn't busy enough so cast on - v pretty and might be ready for the summer!

My Mum is here for a month, which is so nice, don't know how I'll manage when she leaves......and look what she got me...Sue want to visit and show me how to use this? Free baby cuddles with every visit!
And finally - Darcy is still getting used to her new blankie

My daughter's hands

2009-01-14T16:24:00.001-05:00

How soon till I can get some knitting needles in these? Modeling a hat knitted by her Irish grandmother.

Babette Bulletin

2009-01-13T17:32:00.004-05:00

What do you think?

Finally finished the babette, and put it on the spare bed in Darcy's room (she, of course, sleeps in a crib!) It actually sewed up quicker than you'd think - took a whole day - and it turned out even better than I expected. This really is a little girl's room now.

PS - check out the wee boots by the bed. She has about 5 pairs of shoes, these are the ones she wears most days:

All change for the New Year

2009-01-06T20:39:00.003-05:00

Well - no posts for about a week, and a life-changing week at that...My little daughter Darcy was born last Wednesday (New Year's Eve)

Here she is, wearing a little hat I knit for her yesterday, under the blanket I made for her brother years ago. She is just the sweetest little thing.

I am still working on the babette, which will now be an integral part of the decor in her room :)

Last post of the year?

2008-12-29T12:10:00.003-05:00

Maybe!

UPDATED TO ADD PICTURES

Though I have been making some progress :)
Finished my Argosy scarf...here it is pinned, blocking

this you have to see - I ran out of yarn mid way through the decreases...so I substituted some other pinkish sock yarn - v obvious I'm afraid. I considered ripping out and making the whole thing shorter, and then decided instead to just finish and block it and see. So after all that blocking and pinning, I discovered some left over original-coloured sock yarn (see there to the left of the orangey bit?)(still with me? Am not explaining this very well). So now I have the option of ripping out and redoing my blocked scarf (still pinned), or wearing it with a big un-matchy bit at the bottom. Hmm. TBD...

Babette is coming along well! I have about 20 4-round squares to go, they are quick in themselves but that's still a lot...an evening or two should knock that out then 'just' sewing and weaving in ends...am determined to finish before baby makes an appearance*. The nursery is shades of blue/lilac, so this blanket would go a long way to 'girling up' the place, if it turns out to be a wee girl.

And seeing as it's coming into frigid season here in Merrilen, I cast on for a hat last night - haven't the patience (or probably time) to make one of those cool slouchy berets, but I thought the Beaufort would be both pretty and quick, dug out some dark red Paton's classic wool Merino, and hope to be done by the weekend. UPDATE - knit this up in a day - and the lace pattern stretches out really nicely :)

*No more false labor scares - am getting tons of exercise walking to and from bathroom and eating loads. Heartburn - check. Bloated - check. Stretch marks - check. Excited - check! Here I am:

Just another month

2008-12-19T14:10:00.002-05:00

Haven't mentioned being pregnant much on the blog - not a preggo blog after all - but it's obviously on my mind more and more as I approach 200lb and ankles the size my knees used to be.
Yesterday my lovely work friends had a shower for me - totally unnecessary as I have a 4 year old and they held me a shower for him back in '04, but I was really chuffed, and we had sheet cake - yay!
Last night we went for dinner at the mall and then lined up for over an hour to see Santa. Little guy was just delighted to see him, but apparently even standing for an hour is too much for me now - spent the night in hospital with v sore contractions, and came home this morning still cooking this baby but poked full of holes and exhausted.
Like I say, just another month.
Maybe I'm just a moaner. I mean - look at this woman. Hats off...

fun

2008-12-16T11:27:00.009-05:00

Only 9 days til Christmas!

Cookie swap was lots of fun last week, like I knew it would be. Made my 200 cookies, that's my baking over for another year. And brought loads home, have a couple of bags enticingly lining my freezer, yum.

Here is diastelo's Irish Potato Candy - not strictly a cookie but I forgive her -

KnitRedSox loitering by the chocolate fountain...

Table o' goodies, mmm

Pheelya and Knitty showing off their knitted finery!

There was even a rare appearance by Twiceknit, in between her travels round the world. Great minty cookies too, yummm...

Here's my Argosy scarf, which I am working on between Babette and wee sweaters. Just love the colours. And yes, it's for me. I really am embracing this whole 'Selfish Knitter' ethos...

On the home front - getting ready for Christmas by dropping many dollars at the post office. I always have a helper when I go:

Cheriwan got her swap package and I think she was pleased :) This is one of the best swaps I've been in. Thanks for organizing Pheelya and TulaBug!!

Paddy and Jamie also join in the festivities. Not willingly, necessarily. You know I had to hold out some serious treats to get this picture...

what a find!

2008-12-09T13:08:00.003-05:00

Just came across Knotions and The Inside Loop while checking, again, to see if Knitty winter patterns are up yet. I plan to cast on for this, for me, as soon as I finish my current scarf,
which, seeing as it's being knit on teeny needles with skinny yarn may make future knitting projects destined for the new decade...

Would love to show you pictures if my camera would cooperate.
Got about 10 dozen cookies made last night, then ran out of eggs...considered sending himself out in the cold to store but as he had been warned that none of the cookies were for him, felt it would be pushing my luck...although we'll have dozens of cookies in the next day or two when I get back from the swaps, hmmm.

Joined a great new group on Ravelry - Selfish Knitters. Moderator andreainblue has a great philosophy: " my litmus test(s) for The Worthy is determining whether or not the recipients would ever spend an equal amount of time/money on me."Makes you think eh. From now on, knitting for kids (mine) and my Mum. Oh and ME, and that's it.

Ahhhh feels good!

Thank Youuuuu!

2008-12-08T15:38:00.003-05:00

To my new friend Cheriwan (real name Jillian - rechristened "Jennifer" don't ask) who vvv generously sent me the following in the recent Ravelry swap:

Don'tcha love opening mystery boxes with wee individually wrapped presents inside?? Some lovely yarn (have always loved working with Crystal Palace yarns!) in pink (looks more red in pic), v. handy looking stitch markers, skull yarn notions bag (love.it.) funky bubblegum girlie card and bookmark - candy! And 2 patterns!! Yay She even went to the trouble of ordering me things from etsy - have included the links.

Thanks again Jillian!

Busy night ahead...

2008-12-08T13:43:00.006-05:00

I say this every year, and yes it's a cliche, so shoot me. I Love Christmas. It's The most wonderful time of the Year. From the reliable "Christmas is not just about shopping and eating you know" sermon from the parish priest, to the emergence of more and more lights every evening driving home, to the 'what on earth can I get for my father this year' dilemma*, just love it all.

And this year - we are home in our own house - for the first year ever! Usually we spend it with in-laws (Florida) or my folks (Ireland) - neither of which are bad options let me add, but I always feel like I miss the fun in our own neighbourhood. Grandparents coming up to share in festivities for Christmas week, adding their Boston Terrier to the mix. I predict a good snorty time...

And the fun starts tomorrow night, with a cookie swap. Making about 8 dozen cherry chocolate cookies tonight for a swap with neighbourhood ladies. And then the next night, another cookie swap with my knitting friends, about another 8 dozen. That means I need to make about 200 ~ 17 dozen cookies tonight, at least...

I didn't pick a great recipe (will post later - if successful). Bucking the usual trend the recipe I chose from a random cookbook (bought when newly married and planning to cook/bake a lot - ha!) turned out great the first time, so I passed it on to TulaBug, hostess extraordinaire, who is again hosting Wednesday's shindig.

Subsequent efforts, however, resulted in 1: tray o'crumbs; 2. tray o'hockey pucks. No room for mess-ups tonight so fingers crossed...

And my yarn swap loot arrived this weekend! Separate post coming on that as soon as camera cooperates, grrr.

*this year - donation to charity. So he's getting that, a sock keychain, and pictures of his grandson :)

Hmm...

2008-11-30T17:39:00.006-05:00

Just got an e-mail from Zazzle.com

I made some customized postage stamps on Zazzle.com last week, uploading the picture of my son holding the newspapers announcing President Elect Obama's victory.

Today, I received this e-mail from them:

"Policy Violations: ---

Incorporates the name or likeness of a current or former world leader or politician,

or a local, regional, national or international leader, religious figurehead, or politician."

Who'da thought, eh? Kind of annoying...

Still crocheting the Babette (really must take some pictures) and making wee little socks and sweaters for coworkers.

Or for my tree, haven't decided.
This is the first year we've had Christmas in our house, usually at one or other set of parents, so we're going all out this year - first house on the block to have lights out!

Best. Mittens. Ever.

2008-11-28T13:05:00.002-05:00

bob02
Originally uploaded by muffinm

Saw these on Ravelry - so cute!
I know I won't have the time to make these this winter, but maybe I can knit while the new baby sleeps, will have so much spare time being at home for a couple of months...ahem... :)

What's new with you?

2008-11-26T11:06:00.004-05:00

Wintry weather setting in here...worked at home last Friday and enjoyed this - this - and this - And wore my new socks!

Made them way too big though. They are practically slippers - I always do this, none of my knit socks are fine enough to actually wear with normal shoes. For once I actually used the whole ball of yarn though, have maybe 2 yards left, instead of the usual small ball that you hate to throw away (the thought!) but can't think of anything creative to do with. Though there's always these.

Right now am back working on the Babette, crochet blanket. Hit All About Yarn on Saturday to get in more pink n green yarn supplies. Am on the home stretch, in terms of making the squares. The sewing and weaving-in-of-ends awaits...New pics coming.

more knitting-related stuff you don't need - and scarfapalooza

2008-11-18T15:43:00.001-05:00

Been trolling on Zazzle (who have a 10%-off coupon if you use Paypal - woohoo!)

Wouldn't I look smart showing up to S&K with these: knitting themed keds! Might be the only way I'd ever wear a pair - us height-challenged folks need a bit more assistance in the heel department than Keds offer.

Rory got a belated b'day gift from my friend J all the way in sunny (?) Belfast:

And this will be winging its way to her little girl shortly:

I even crocheted little flowers on there - to use up the yarn - see I do crochet sometimes still: this blanket was the first ambitious project I worked on - red heart yarn all the way but hey: Jamie likes it...
She is such a good model.

Here is is showing off my entrelac scarf:

(here it is folded in half - love this pattern)

Here's the clapotis, still not blocked...
Oh, and here's some sweaters I've knit - photo taken from 50ft up obviously...
And finally, the Grandiflora sock. I am now past the heel and into the gusset, but may have to rip waay back as I didn't center the heel in the pattern and so the lacey holes aren't even across the top of the foot. Grrr. The colours are totally mad too. I think these will have to be a keeper, can't see anyone else wanting them ;)

Yarn as art

2008-11-17T17:07:00.003-05:00

Look at this site:

I want every single thing she makes, especially this:

This is how it's described:

"DOLLHOUSE UPSET - This yarn is split into two skeins (because it was hard to fit on the bobbin with those doll heads). It is spun from various colours and fibers, a thick and thin single. There are hard plastic doll vintage doll heads throughout. Their hair is spun right into the yarn. "

I could never knit with any of it though - it's too pretty and magnificent to disrupt from the skein...so while it's the most impractical yarn purchase I may ever make it just might have to happen...will let you know...

all quiet

2008-11-15T21:23:00.003-05:00

Not a lot to report - am on my 5th scarf in a row - a blue stripey one for the brother, birthday in less than two weeks, and seeing as he is in Ireland and I left it in Panera's last week (thanks Sarah for minding it for me!) it may end up being a Christmas gift. It's a very simple pattern, 2x2 ribbing in Lion Brand wool, simpler the better if you actually expect a guy to wear something knitted I have found.

I've picked up the second Grandiflora sock, looking good. Plus it's coming into sock-wearing weather here. Thing is, am getting so pregnant - now weigh more than Himself - that normal sizes don't fit me and I have a lovely case of the cankles! Maybe will wear them in Spring.
Scored some lovely Sheila Rovelstad yarn for the Winter Wonderland Swap. Won't post a picture in case the swapee reads this :) (And I will also spare you a picture of my cankles).

Some pictures to keep

2008-11-08T22:52:00.004-05:00

Tuesday night was a momentous one -

Wednesday at Sip n Knit we were discussing whether this would be one of those 'where were you when...' occasions - all too often those are linked to tragic occasions - 9/11, Diana dying, Kennedy getting shot (bit before my time that last one), so it's wonderful to have a happy memory to anchor onto. Of course, if anyone asks where I was when the first black president was elected, I'll have to say I was fast asleep in bed, hugging big pregnant belly :) Ah well.

PS - though I had the chance to buy actual newspapers on Wednesday morning, it never occurred to me. By the time I realized that I was missing out on wonderful souvenirs, this is what I found:

Well - there's always Inauguration Day!

cheesy grin alert

2008-11-05T14:03:00.004-05:00

Been a good good week. Extra hour in bed on Sunday. A wonderful new President. And...my first week in two years

without

braces

!!!

Got braces two years ago because my not-very-crooked teeth were getting chipped from the bad alignment. Or something. Twenty four months and 4 orthodontists later (grr) they came off last week and I have a lovely All-American girl smile now. I even bought some of that teeth-whitening stuff last weekend. I will update later with some up-close-n-gorgeous pictures, but for now here's me and my two men and my big cheesy grin!

What amazed me was, when I went to work and met friends over the next few days, that they didn't immediately notice. Manys the person who smiled politely, then worriedly, as I grinned widely at them demanding an opinion. Like my teeth aren't foremost on everyone's mind, sheesh...

OK here's one more look:

A year already?

2008-11-04T10:19:00.008-05:00

Yayyy been blathering on here (intermittently) for a year now. And I still have stuff to say!

Well - the knitting is going good - deep into scarf season, my favourite. I recently finished a skinny clapotis and a short entrelac scarf for my friend's 5 year old - and am on my second entrelac scarf, all looking lovely and - thankfully - not boring to knit. I am using Noro matsuri for the scarf on the needles now and it's a lot of fun to see the colours developing. It's a cotton/wool blend - so no wispy bits to stick to my winter-chapped lips. (Note: I have been listening to this on audiobook while knitting this scarf, so will probably always have some weird associations with this particular garment...)

In sad knitting news - Himself washed and tumble-dried the purple cardi :(

let's just say it is now a wee bit snug...It may be stretchable, or maybe I'll have to wait to wear it when I drop some of the baby blubber. Speaking of, am now nearly 7 months along.

I tested presumptive for gestational diabetes though, have to do the follow-up this weekend. My major in college was Human Nutrition, I should know better*(she says, still scarfing down Halloween candy).

In other sad knitting news - the hat and scarf I donated to the school's fund riaser? They were put on sale for $2 each! I nearly bought them back in annoyance. I should have added labels saying they were handmade especially, washing instruction etc. But didn't. Ah well. Last I checked they were gone. No update on this accursed item...

In other sad news, my Tivo died :( And even though I have 18 months service paid up, the only option to access it is to buy a whole new Tivo box. Ranging from $150 to $350. Grr. And I had loads of stuff saved on there that I was going to watch sometime. Am a big fan of 'Murder TV' as himself calls it. I particularly like the Oxygen show "Snapped" where some long suffering women off their men. Usually following laundry-related mishaps...

Rare trip to the movies last weekend, to see Zack and Miri make a porno. I really liked it, Seth Rogen always cracks me up. The only reason I mention it here, though, is for the surprising amount of knitted and crocheted items on view - it's set in wintertime Pennsylvania so afghans/scarves/hats/sweaters are in nearly every scene. Good a reason as any to check it out :)

The Columbia Sip n Knit celebrated 2 years and counting last Wednesday, still going strong. I've been a member just over a year, and I love it. A nicer bunch of ladies (and Textillian!) you couldn't hope to meet. Lynn even had cake for us - and surprises from her trip to China!

Last night I experimented with a new cookie recipe for the 2nd annual cookie swap at Stacey's house next month: Cherry chocolate Yumsters, I think I'll call them. Himself thought I was having a 'craving' he should know by now that I kind of always crave cookies, and now I have an excuse to eat them (see*!!)

Another clapotis

2008-10-27T11:13:00.003-04:00

After a hiccup-y start (this yarn gets tangled very easily) I am motoring away on my clapotis/scarf. Jamie happily modeled for me (rather - she wouldn't get up so had to drape knitting over her). It's 47 st. wide, and very portable for commute-knitting.

I kind of wish I had made it maybe one repeat wider, because I have a lot more of this yarn. Also, am not loving the colour - it seemed more red in the skein, orange has never been my favourite...may well be an xmas gift for somebody.

I also went to visit the Celtic-Knot yarn store in Ellicott City, up for sale and maybe soon to close :( and got the pink/purple Karaoke yarn you see here:

I tried out the intarsia using the King Cole yarn on top - not a great idea, the yarn is waaay too variegated and that colourway is not for me... But the Karaoke yarn is coming along great - I plan to make 2 skeins of it into a scarf, felt it, and send to my friend's 5-year old. That's the plan anyway...

Some FO pics

2008-10-21T13:40:00.005-04:00

I already put these up on Ravelry but am nothing is not a showoff ;P

Here's my Grandiflora sock,

Made from the Opal Harry Potter Tonks Yarn - here she is on the label, cute eh:

And donated some knits to charity (daycare 'yard sale' for Make-a-Wish):

this scarf, that was languishing half finshed for over a year...

it started existence as a trial-run for this.

This hat - too big for any normal headed person

And (blush) the beleagured Baby surprise jacket!

The latest trend in xmas tree ornaments

2008-10-21T13:39:00.002-04:00

DSC02854
Originally uploaded by dcrre

Never too early to start preparing...
made a knitted uterus for a 'childless by choice' friend - for decorative purposes only, just like her own ;)

The bright side of election season

2008-10-20T08:33:00.002-04:00

15 more days to go...what to do...
try these: Presidential Finger Puppets from Lion Brand. Mc Cain is just uncanny...

Neat things

2008-10-17T14:22:00.003-04:00

I have all kinds of neat things I'd like to show you - and have finally uploaded pictures.
The blue&green flat feet socks are blocked and ready, hopefully my friend's legs are as slim as I think they are...and if time permits this weekend I may even break out the bead stash and make her earrings to match. Sure all the best-dressed folks have socks that match their earrings nowadays.

The pink/red lacy scarf for a friends birthday (already a week overdue, and she lives in Europe) s done done done, scarves are so boring to make, even when pretty. But for this one, one skein made a nice-length scarf (about 5 ft). I read somewhere the optimum scarf length is approximately equal to the height of the wearer...so if she hunches over a bit while wearing 'twill be perfect.

A couple of Friday's ago I got that serious burning-wallet feeling and ordered myself some yarn from Little Knits and from Webs. Little Knits should be arriving today (I should have paid for expedited shipping, I have nowhere near the amount of patience required for online shopping) and (most of) the Webs order arrived last week. Lovely lovely sock yarn, including the Opal Harry Potter yarn in Tonks, that are on their way to becoming the Grandiflora socks as we sit here. yay!

I think my knitting blah period is well and truly over for the year. I love the Autumn.
So what are you working on? Don't send me to Ravelry - comments please!

a few FOs and a newbie

2008-10-10T16:03:00.004-04:00

I finally finished and blocked Talia: Ta dah!!

Flat feet knee socks are blocking...

and a lacy scarf is slowly growing.

Knitting progress is slow though, as a wonderful book has me captivated. And will be busy bonding with the dogs on Saturday at the Walk for Paws. Both the dogs have birthdays in October, so they deserve a day out.

Have a wonderful weekend!

in a departure from regularly scheduled programming...

2008-10-07T16:17:00.002-04:00

A bulletin from your friendly microbiologist

There is a big outbreak going on right now of Salmonellosis linked to breaded partially-cooked frozen chicken products. Though it's not a recommended cooking method, people have been using microwaves to heat these up till they are warm enough to eat... then getting (very) sick. Here's one of several related news articles I've seen.

If you have to use a microwave, use your thermometer.

really fun project!

2008-10-07T12:33:00.002-04:00

Have a look at this great link from Berroco: Minutia 2008 - 12 tiny sweater patterns, some knit, some crochet instructions - perfect for favours or coworkers and a great way to use of left over bits-n-pieces of yarn. Yay!

sock knitting season again

2008-10-03T10:11:00.006-04:00

That wee nip in the air makes me want to sock-knit again. I am still wearing sandals, even in October, because I have a nice pedicure. But this weekend I want to get a cute pair of clogs to show off my knitting prowess (ahem) while still having dry feet, and, of course, comfort. I gained eight pounds last month (new readers: not quite as bad as it sounds - am in 6th month of pregnancy) and hefting this girth around in my usual high heel boots isn't going to happen this winter.

So right now I'm working on some knee socks for my work friend P, a workaholic who has about 2% bodyfat and always looks like she is about to freeze solid in winter. She's only a couple of inches taller than me (who isn't) but I will probably double her body weight by xmas (and yes, am only carrying one baby. I get all-over-body pregnancy, where my legs arms and ass gain weight in sympathy with my belly) and I think a pair of woolly socks might just keep her around through another winter. Last year she got these:

and this year, hopefully, a completed pair of these:very plain vanilla pattern - toe up with short row heel...the heels are a little untidy and the toes don't match, because I cast on the first sock in June and decided at the time (I guess) that I could commit the method to memory. Hah! These are knit from the flat feet pre-dyed sock blank, round and round and round in stockinette...Colour is great though. They don't look too great in that picture but they haven't been blocked yet...

Already looking forward to the next thing, here's a lovely pattern I bought off Ravelry today: Grandiflora socks, which should hopefully work with ultra-patterned sock yarn. Yay!

Look at what I found online today, tucked amongst regular boots on sale:

Knitted boots, but with outdoor soles...

And also: it's breast cancer awareness month. My dear friend Flibbertygibbet has made quite a commitment, and I am very proud of her.

Quickie

2008-09-28T22:21:00.004-04:00

Finished Talia! Here it is before the edging to armholes and neckline:

Great pattern to make - and fast. Didn't much care for the yarn though - the wee bit of mohair in it sheds everywhere. I think I would make this again, maybe in a cotton mix, something less sheddy.

Next, need to block this, and then put away till xmas! Aren't I organized..okay, doesn't fit me so not like I'll be tempted to wear it...sigh. 24 weeks and counting!

On and off the needles

2008-09-23T19:51:00.004-04:00

Cast on for Talia, a Knitty pattern, with yarn from the Colorado trip - this is a fun pattern, on big needles, going pretty fast.

Finally finished the red scarf, yay!

And am back into the flat feet socks - I am over the novelty of knitting from an unravelling piece of pre-knit sock blank, but I suppose it's a cute idea. I decided not to do anything more than a basic toe-up sock pattern, because using such variegated yarn will overwhelm a pattern. But just makes it a zzz to knit. Good commuting project though.

And... here's a picture of me and a guy I met in Wyoming

Stash acquirement...

2008-09-17T20:58:00.009-04:00

So, this week finds me in Fort Collins CO, visiting some coworkers, and loving it here.

There are mountains...
trees...wildlife...

(the Colorado Boston Terrier contingent)...

and yarn stores...

First place I stopped was The Stitchin' Den in Estes Park

Picked up some Lamb's Pride worsted and Mango Moon Chakra for Talia.

That evening hit Lambspun, like a yarny candy store...
Buttons and yarn balls andneedles and weaving supplies...

and this is all I got...some pretty yarn for a scarf (maybe this?) and buttons for Talia.

Finally, visited My Sister Knits (like Lambspun, not someplace you'd stumble across, but well worth finding). No pictures...all I bought was more Lamb's Pride Worsted, for another Hey Teach :)

Anyhoo - the upside of business trips, in addition to guilt-free yarn shopping (it's a souvenir) there is time to knit on cross-country flights and nights in the hotel room. What could be cuter than an eggplant baby cap?

An eggplant baby cap and a strawberry baby cap!

Best Ravelry Pattern ever!

2008-09-14T20:46:00.002-04:00

Look this this great new pattern on Ravelry - a Boston Terrier finger puppet!

Like it wasn't cute enough here already...

Sunday update

2008-09-14T09:09:00.004-04:00

Finished 'Hey Teach' - I tried to wear it yesterday but it was realllly humid here. I am pretty happy with it - except it seems a bit big - when it blocked out I had to stretch it a little to let the lace show - but this made it very wide. And I am already on the unusually wide side what with being 'with child' and all...

On Wednesday at S&K The Other Denise very nicely wound my Blue Heron rayon metallic for me - and I started to make the Drop Stitch shawl pattern that came along with it...Here's how far I got till I lost confidence in it. The wee little 3x2 in. picture that came with the pattern didn't look anything like what I was making, plus it was looking way too pointy. So I frogged it. Yarn is pretty slippy and tangly, so not sure what to make now - maybe Jeanie? Or another Clapotis?

Meant to show you the yarny gifts I got recently:

from my ole college friend J:

a needle-felted doggie to match my real dog :)

and from work friend P:

a necklace made, I believe, from Bernat Matrix -

clever way to use this yarn, and it's a pretty striking necklace. Plus now I have an idea what to do with the several balls of this stuff I picked up a couple of year ago, thinking I was getting a great bargain (hah!)

I'm off to Ft. Collins Colorado tomorrow, for the week. Have already scoped out where I'll be buying my souvenirs: here and here.

Election '08 - there's no avoiding it

2008-09-12T15:27:00.002-04:00

No don't run away!
NPR took the whole 'lipstick on a pig' furore to it's logical conclusion - right here.
Love it :)

Pregnant head, I suppose...

2008-09-04T20:19:00.003-04:00

This is not going to turn into a pregnancy blog, but I am going to use my 'delicate condition' to explain away my actions today. On my way home I got on the green line train, as usual, plugged in iPod, pulled out (awesome) book, and settled in for the ride, having timed it, as ever, so I'd arrive at daycare in plenty of time.

Looked up around 10 minutes before my stop - I have this ride down, I mean, I've been taking it for 6+ years...what the? Got on the line going the wrong way. Was about 7 stops away from where I usually start. feckingfeckingfeck.

Go to daycare 15 minutes late, and now owe them $40. Little man not a bit upset so suppose that's all that matters. Ahhhhhh

In happier news, look at the progress I'm making on "Hey Teach!". I even did gauge swatches!

Am half done with the red scarf. Getting to the boring repetitive part now though. Doesn't help that the yarn for both ongoing projects is very similar...

Red scarf progress

2008-08-31T19:53:00.004-04:00

Almost 1 skein thru my 3-skein red scarf. Am getting fed up with the pattern now - don't have a whole lot of patience when it comes to the middle boring part of a long and skinny scarf. In fact, this may end up being a 2-skein scarf...

Here's the patterned bit at the bottom - maybe I should have continued this all the way up? It curls a lot, which will come out with blocking, but makes for unimpressive-looking progress.

Also finished another pair of my 48-stitch-around fingerless gloves , in about 3 days of commuting. Love these. Now I know what to do with all that left over sock yarn, yay!

Sounds like my kind of outing...

2008-08-26T13:32:00.002-04:00

Look what I found posted in a couple of places: an official yarn crawl of eight lys on the Eastern Shore - with discounts and everything! Just last week I was over on there and visited two of the great stores mentioned. Surely by September I'll have all that yarn wound, knitted, blocked and happily gifted, and will be ready to buy some more...
Who's with me?

So good to myself...

2008-08-24T12:50:00.009-04:00

Finished the Olympic scarf a few days early at Wednesday's Sip n Knit: blocking now. I folded it over to block (didn't have enough spare space that I could guarantee would remain unvisited by dogs). I really like it, and the pattern is easy to memorize and it looks so good :)
(Note: helper at top left)

So what next? Well, I discovered a partially made sock in the knitting bag: even though the colorway is a little '1970's living room' I decided it was too pretty for a sock:

Love these! Great way to show off sock yarn, esp when all bundled up in dark winter colours (I'm ready!).

Haven't I been good at using my stash yarn? Of course, this leaves quite a void...

On Friday took the day off and we went across the Bay and visited a couple of little towns. So pretty and peaceful over there. And guess what - found two yarn stores!

One was a teeny tiny place, Fibre Cafe run by Bonnie and Fiberetta, where I picked up 3 skeins of bright red cotton (on sale) for the Red Scarf yarn project. And, Bonnie gave me a couple of her own knitting mags she was done with, including the Winter 2007 Interweave Knits (yay!) It is a very small store, so restraint wasn't too difficult.

But then...in the next town ran across Frivolous Fibers...where I couldn't resist these:
which I am planning to use for what will be a vay vibrant (and soft) scarf;

this:

which will make a gorgeous shawl (assuming I ever get it wind it up...)
and this:

which is already half knit - more later.

So the stash is well and truly plumped up again. And all is well...

Darn Ravelry

2008-08-21T09:24:00.003-04:00

So yesterday, while on a conference call at work, I decided to skim through Ravelry to pick a scarf pattern for the upcoming red scarf drive. Still thinking. Then, ignoring the notion of the large stash in an ever-expanding corner of my closet, I clicked on several of the yarn stores advertised to find a red yarn bargain. Ah Ravelry, what did I ever do without you...

Not 2 minutes later a big ugly message pops up - Warning - Virus Detected

And that was that. All access to The Internets, gone. E-mail, gone. Went to talk to the IT guy, and 5 minutes later: computer, gone... :(

So see? Ravelry can in fact be bad for the health...knew it ;)

Fun weekend

2008-08-18T14:15:00.003-04:00

Ah summer weekends. This last was a fun one. Spent Saturday morning/afternoon knitting/chatting/shopping/eating - doesn't get a whole lot better than that. Visited an LYS I hadn't been to before and bought the supplies for this lovely thing, thanks to Lyn for helping me find just what I needed - a bright red cotton blend yarn. I'm not sure whether I'll make this for my(ever-expanding)self, or for Mum (birthday in 2 months). Hmm...

Am on the last skein of yarn for the lace ribbon scarf - of course, I am thinking that the "lace ribbon" in the name suggests I should have used something finer, but the colours are pretty. And heck I'm 6 skeins into it - some people might have the patience and sensibility to rip and do over but that's something I could never face :)

On Saturday night myself and Himself went to a restaurant in Baltimore to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. I bought him a wedding ring to replace the one he lost last year doing yard work, and he bought me a pretty new ring just because. Aww.
I think I'll keep him.

My Olympics project

2008-08-10T16:47:00.004-04:00

Decided to start something new, to knit-along to while watching the Olympics (I tried to link into my knitting group's Ravolympics site but had technical difficulties :( ).
Anyhoo, had fun looking round Ravelry and Knitty, and decided on the Lace Ribbon scarf. Trying to use stash yarn (of which there is scads, of course), and picked Louisa Harding, Cinnabar: So - got about 5 pattern repeats done here - it's a fairly simple pattern though the yarn is surprisingly hard on the hands. My left index finger callus will be back before long - anyone else have a knitting callus?
Coming out quite pretty. Hope to have finished for one of the 4 female family-member birthday's in Sept/October.

Have another business trip (Atlanta) this week... and I volunteered for it!? Need to learn to keep my big mouth shut...but at least 'twill give me plenty of knitting time. Last trip I flew US Airways, where I was relieved of $25 for my checked bag and $2 for a bottle of water. Will let you know how Delta manages to coax additional $$ from me.

The Baby 'Surprise' Jacket - now with pictures!

2008-08-08T15:30:00.006-04:00

So, after a few blah months, I finally found a pattern to get excited about again. Browsing around Webs I found the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket pattern. Being a 40-year-old pattern this is old hat to many people (but it was new to everyone once). Here's the description from the Ravelry page:

The Baby Surprise Jacket was designed by Elizabeth Zimmerman in 1968 and remains a popular baby garment to this day. It is an excellent pattern for making use of oddments of yarn or self striping yarns with long color repeats, but looks equally nice knit in a single color with a contrasting button band.”

The jacket is knit in a single piece with just two seams that run across the shoulders and down the length of the sleeves. It includes extra ease across the back of the garment to fit well over a nappy (diaper).

Commonly referred to as the "BSJ", the baby surprise jacket is a very entertaining piece of knitted engineering."

I was intrigued by the whole 'entertaining engineering' thing - so I cast on the evening the pattern arrived, using Schachenmayr nomotta Crazy Cotton, colorway # 81 (pink and green). I very soon realized that the almost blasé instructions weren't going to cut it for this literal chick (hen*) so I wrote notes all over the A4 envelope the pattern came in...At this point The Other Denise mentioned she'd seen a handy spreadsheet for this pattern online, and sent me the link. Very helpful.

From there I sped along. I was out of town on a business trip last week - usually this allows for plenty of knitting time, but as my family (including in-laws) were along on this trip, not so much. (Did get to have Club Orange and Taytos at the Dublin, OH Irish Festival though...mmm).
Anyhoo...on the plane back I cast off. Yay! Figured out how to fold it, and...oh dear...
It's a surprise alright...Look at those joins across the front!Here's the instructions that do not say anything about making a hole-free join, grr...
Actually it looks better mid-blocking. Or maybe I'm just getting used to looking at it :)

*Had another birthday yesterday - already!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2008-08-02T07:57:00.003-04:00

Ah happy days...Candy corn back in the stores! I bought myself some Autumn Mix in Giant on July 31st. Time really is moving faster as I get older...

In other news...

2008-07-29T16:13:00.003-04:00

One of the most daunting/exciting/fun/fractious parts about being pregnant is coming up with a name for said future person. The power!
I love this website - should be on the curriculum for all parents-to-be. I have a poll on there to help me decide on name for my future person - join in and give me your feedback!

Ooh - and seeing as this is a knitting blog - I started the Elizabeth Zimmerman baby surprise jacket at the weekend! Such fun to knit - details coming when I get a picture to post.

An Irish story.

2008-07-26T21:07:00.005-04:00

Look at this wonderful carving I got in Sligo - a wedding gift for the couple whose wedding I recently attended:
Ireland has a great storytelling tradition, full of warriors, princes and princesses, magical creatures, spells cast and hexes...One of the stories everyone knows is Niamh and Oisin in Tir na nOg*. This carving shows Niamh on her horse, when she meets Oisin.

This was carved by a wonderful artist named Michael Quirke, who works in his renovated butcher shop in Wine St. Sligo. Should you ever be in the vicinity, take the time to visit - not only does he have wonderful art on display, he'll take the time to explain it all to you. I was delighted to find something special for my friend.

*sorry for the rather breathless prose in the link ;)

Oh yea, Ireland pictures

2008-07-26T20:38:00.005-04:00

Got back from Ireland about a month ago - were there for a friend's wedding held here - vay fancy and lovely. Been meaning to post you all some pictures...

I've always loved foxgloves. My two favourite colours together - bright pink and green. Yes I know they are terribly poisonous...

Glorious Irish weather...

Running water!

Yummy food... (Dame St., Dublin)

Bog 'cotton', Co. Sligo (maybe Leitrim?)

My son, at my Dad's house...(not really)

Lough Gill, Co. Sligo.

Knitting on NPR

2008-07-22T08:25:00.002-04:00

There was a segment on Marketplace last night on yarn stores, and the tough times owners are facing in the current economic climate. According to this piece, people turned to knitting for comfort after 9/11 (I started a big cross-stitch piece that day), and yarn stores blossomed. However, in the past couple of years people have started to go online for their supplies, and yarn stores are learning that they must make their presence felt online, or perish.
Personally I love to go into LYS, both in the neighbourhood and when I'm travelling, and I always come away with something....It's not the same when I go online - I'm much less likely to impulse buy. I have in fact been very good about not-adding-to-stash lately, but that'll likely change when the nesting instinct kicks in in the winter.
Have added two squares to Babette this week. I think the dogs/my son have a conspiracy against this blanket, every time I pick it up they need something. Ah well, 'tis nice to be needed :)

Sip n Knit Group

2008-07-16T10:39:00.001-04:00

So excited - look what I found (3 weeks later). I didn't go on this night so no pics of me. If you click on the founder pic you can see the lovely Lynn, who I am ever grateful to for having brought us all together. I don't think Denise (group co-organizer) is pictured, though they do tell us her age, while I notice Lynn's is not divulged :)
Look us up on Meetup.com - it's a great, fun knitting/crochet group to join. See you Wednesday!

Now with pictures!

2008-07-12T17:45:00.005-04:00

So here's my well-travelled yarn from Capri (see - even the bag has a pic of Capri on there) courtesy of my lovely Mum:And here's my progress on the Babette blanket - won't I have fun weaving in all those ends...And here's a cute little dog trying to give me a hint...

Not a lot going on here - brought DS for a haircut, always a family affair because it takes two adults to hold him down. And finished This Charming Man...loved loved loved it. I had the chance to meet the wonderful Marian Keyes a couple of years ago, she was signing books at a Border's in Virginia, many miles from here. But my niece (my husbands niece...) had her communion at the same time :( Border's were nice enough to keep a signed copy for me though. That book was Anybody Out There. Just as with the book I finished today, it left me in tears on the last page. She's just a great writer, perfect mix of humour and seriousness...

97 or so...

2008-07-10T15:37:00.002-04:00

Wow coming up on my 100th post!
I may retire after one hundred - my blog is going like so many others, running out of steam with more and more infrequent posts...so anyhoo, for another off-topic post, let's invigorate some debate: In these days of technology and convenience, what are the things that set your teeth on edge but aren't exactly worth complaining about - two that come to mind for me are:

Voice mail instructions.

First you hear your friend/coworker/whoever give a detailed description of why they aren't there to talk to you, and what you should do next. Then you hear that chirpy "At the tone please record your message. When you are finished, you may hang up, or press 1 for more options..." When I call DH it takes 57 seconds before I can get a word in (longer if he answers ;) )
What ever happened to "leave a message after the beep" ???

Magazine subscription inserts.

There I am, settling down on sofa with dog, kid, cold non-alcoholic beverage, and copy of new Glamor/Entertainment Weekly/The Week/Newsweek/News and World Report/Interweave Knits* and out slithers 3 of 4 of these. I already subscribe to the magazine...

*I subscribe to a lot of magazines...

So what's your most irksome small annoyance? Here's your chance to vent!

Ruining my carbon footprint...

2008-07-08T21:26:00.003-04:00

Completely off topic:* today I was at a meeting in a hotel conference room and it was perishing cold. WHY do these places turn the air conditioning up so high? My power bill shows a definite bump in July and August by cooling my little house - what must the Holiday Inn power bill be like? And last summer in Orlando I stayed at a hotel that provided buses to and from attractions, and those buses were invariably so cold there was condensation on the outside of the windows...
Anyway, tomorrow I'm digging out a cardi (purple maybe??). Perhaps I'll bring along a flask of soup too...

*though I was wishing for knitted goodness

A New Project

2008-07-07T14:13:00.002-04:00

I put my knitting aside, put those three WIPs into hibernation, and revisited the Babette blanket idea. I've been putting aside oddments of pink and green for months, and then while laying around watching King of Queen's DVDs this weekend I decided to go ahead and cast on...or hook up I guess. This blanket involves making 126 granny squares:
50 x 2 rounds
49 x 4 rounds
16 x 6 rounds
7 x 8 rounds
2 x 10 rounds
2 x 12 rounds

So far I've done 25 x 2 rounds and 10 x 4 rounds. This is where I'd insert a lovely colourful picture if I hadn't stood on the USB cable insert thingy and squished it...

Colours are great though. If I have a girl, it'll be hers. If I have a boy, it'll be mine :) see below for details...

back in the saddle

2008-06-24T15:54:00.003-04:00

well, sort of.
I have still lost the knitting mojo. I did about 4 inches of the back of the baby sweater I started weeks ago, just can't get into it. Maybe tis the weather?
Just got back from Ireland, my second trip in 5 months. Yes I am a lucky sod. Mum and Dad recently visited Italy (what family of high-fliers we are) and she brought me back yarn as a souvenir! Ahh. From the isle of Capri no less. Maybe I'll remember to take a picture of it and post that soon.
So because I haven't been knitting much I've been reading loads more. Let me recommend to you:
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. Read it all in one day. Just blew me away.
This Charming Man by Marian Keyes. What can I say - Love. Her. Have only just started this - got it from Amazon yesterday. My joker of a postman wedged it into my postbox so tight I had to rip off the packaging inside the box to get at it. No way could I wait another day till he realized his error...

More Guilty Pleasures

2008-06-06T08:11:00.004-04:00

Check out Entertainment Weekly's list of Cheesy Ballads: be warned, not for the lactose-intolerant.

One of my all-time favourites is on there: Crazy for you. I actually won a competition* in the mid-80s in Smash Hits, and the prize was a Crazy for you tracksuit. Basically just a grey jersey tracksuit and Crazy for you across the back and I think up one leg. Which I wore till it fell apart...
*Competition question: what is Madonna's real name?

So tomorrow we're having a bbq to celebrate DHs 40th (actually falls next week, while we're in Ireland). You know that Guilty Pleasures Mix will be played loud and proud - he's Class of '87: The Golden Era of Guilty Pleasure music...

Here he is being welcomed home by Paddy and Jamie:

Happy Birthday hon!

A short one.

2008-06-03T15:16:00.006-04:00

Here's what's been languishing in my knitting bag...this lethargy is hard to shake...
Baby boy sweater - this is the back of a sweater for a 6-month old (to be born in August) that will have a brown heart on the front. Hopefully.
The toe-up sock I am making from the Flat Feet yarn - really love how it is striping, though perhaps the pattern I've devised here isn't the best to show that...
And this is the Debbie Bliss bear I've been working on..It is honest! I cast on for this months ago, got this far, and then realized with all those increases and decreases etc. it just wasn't going to happen with 2 dogs, 1 kid and 1 husband all wanting stuff ;) maybe I'll rip out and make Twiceknit's elephant...Red is a good elephant colour right?

Speaking of dogs, look how happy Paddy was this weekend:Bought him a new basketball, and put some water in the old baby pool. He was out there all day long, just chewing and snorting up a storm...

In other news - am off to Ireland in a week (yay!) to see family and friends, and attend the wedding of a very dear friend in Dublin. I'm sure I'll have lots of say about that when I get back...unfortunately last weekend I learned that my brother and his fiancee are no longer an item...which means that I made these in vain...

I had even knit their initials into the heels, eegit that I am. After his wedding a few years back(he was recently divorced) I cross-stitched a whole sampler for them... Next time I'll hold off on the handknits till at least the first anniversary...

lost my knitting mojo?

2008-05-28T12:56:00.006-04:00

The big push to get the purple cardi finished has robbed me of my knitting mojo. I haven't picked up the needles since last Friday. I even brought my knitting camping over the weekend but never took it out of the bag (except to show it to a very disinterested 'tween. I am so uncool).
There are 2 baby showers coming up, babies due in August but showers at the end of June. I have, of course, enough yarn to clothe both kids many times over, but need something to get me going...suggestions?
Anyone else ever have this blah feeling?

P.S. I am slooowly burning those Guilty Pleasure CDs. Your patience is appreciated :)

Ta dah!

2008-05-23T21:37:00.003-04:00

A momentous day.
The purple cardi is done! And the birthday Jaywalkers are ready too (top right).
Blocking away on the dining room table (I won't need it again till Thanksgiving so no rush)
Of course, I am still adding to the stash. I was in Bryan, Texas this week, at The Hook and Needle ( lovely wee store) and got some "Flat Feet." Basically a piece of knitted fabric that you knit from, without ever rolling into a ball. Colours are great, and I'm planning to go to Goodwill to pick up an old knitted wool sweater next time I need some sock yarn ;)

Guilty Pleasures: the final cut

2008-05-17T22:15:00.003-04:00

OK - so had to make some cuts as there isn't a music CD (that I could find) that holds 71 songs. So may I present:

Guilty Pleasures - Rock:

You Shook Me All Night Long/AC/DC
You Give Love A Bad Name/Bon Jovi
Total Eclipse of The Heart/Bonnie Tyler
Money for Nothing/Dire Straits
Sweet Child O' Mine/Guns N' Roses
Me and Bobby McGee/Janis Joplin
Don't Stop Believin'/Journey
Rock n Roll all nite/KISS
Paradise by the Dashboard Light/Meat Loaf
Come As You Are/Nirvana
Crazy Train/Ozzy Osbourne
We Are the Champions/Queen
Black Betty/Ram Jam
I Wanna Be Sedated/The Ramones
The Galway Girl /Steve Earle
Come Sail Away/Styx
Whiskey In The Jar/Thin Lizzy
Pride (In The Name Of Love)/U2
Jump/Van Halen
Brown Eyed Girl/Van Morrison

and

Guilty Pleasures - Pop:
All Out Of Love/Air Supply
I Write The Songs/Barry Manilow
Uptown Girl/Billy Joel
Top of the World/Carpenters
If You Leave Me Now/Chicago
Brick House Commodores
You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)/Dead Or Alive
I Want To Know What Love Is/Foreigner
MMMBop/Hanson
Like A Virgin/Madonna
Beat It/Michael Jackson
The Other Woman/Ray Parker Junior
Can't Fight This Feeling/REO Speedwagon
Never Gonna Give You Up/Rick Astley
Don't You (Forget About Me)/Simple Minds
We Built This City/Starship
When Will I See You Again/The Three Degrees
Africa/Toto
The Hustle/Van McCoy

Like I said - let me know if you'd like a copy!

Fancy clothes

2008-05-17T21:27:00.006-04:00

The Tuvstarr is blocking...The purple cardi!: Cast off the second sleeve last night while watching Roman Holiday. Had a girls night in - my friend (a Bombay native) stayed over, and helped me finally try on the sari DH got for me in India last year:
I could easily get used to dressing this fancy...

The long list of Guilty pleasure songs

2008-05-13T21:29:00.002-04:00

Here they are:
If I didn't include your suggestion there's probably a real good, irrational reason*. Like I slowdanced with this one guy to Phil Collins...nope even 20+ years later that's still off the list.

GUILTY PLEASURE SING-ALONGS
Crank it up and let ‘er rip

Take On Me
a-Ha

You Shook Me All Night Long
AC/DC

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
Aerosmith

All Out Of Love
Air Supply

All I Really Want
Alanis Morissette

Sugar Sugar
The Archies

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
Bachman-Turner Overdrive

I Write The Songs
Barry Manilow

Stayin' Alive
Bee Gees

Piece of My Heart
Big Brother & the Holding Company

Lovely Day
Bill Withers

Uptown Girl
Billy Joel

You Give Love A Bad Name
Bon Jovi

Livin' On A Prayer
Bon Jovi

Total Eclipse of The Heart
Bonnie Tyler

Top of the World
Carpenters

If You Leave Me Now
Chicago

Tubthumping
Chumbawamba

Brick House
Commodores

(I Just) Died in Your Arms
Cutting Crew

You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
Dead Or Alive

Come On Eileen
Dexys Midnight Runners

Money for Nothing
Dire Straits

I Touch Myself
Divinyls

Return To Innocence
Enigma

A Little Respect
Erasure

I Want to Know What Love Is
Foreigner

Radar Love
Golden Earring

Sweet Child O' Mine
Guns N' Roses

Hollaback Girl
Gwen Stefani

What Is Love
Haddaway

MMMBop
Hanson

You Sexy Thing
Hot Chocolate

I Want You Back
The Jackson 5

Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett

Jack & Diane
John Mellencamp

Ring Of Fire
Johnny Cash

Don't Stop Believin'
Journey

Carry On Wayward Son
Kansas

Rock 'n Roll All Nite (Live)
Kiss

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
Leo Sayer

Like A Virgin
Madonna

Paradise By the Dashboard Light
Meat Loaf
Beat It
Michael Jackson

Love Hurts
Nazareth

Come As You Are
Nirvana

Crazy Train
Ozzy Osbourne

I'm So Excited
The Pointer Sisters

U Got The Look
Prince

Purple Rain
Prince And The Revolution

We Are the Champions
Queen

Black Betty
Ram Jam

I Wanna Be Sedated
The Ramones

The Other Woman
Ray Parker Junior

Can't Fight This Feeling
REO Speedwagon

Never Gonna Give You Up
Rick Astley

Don't You (Forget About Me)
Simple Minds

Mandinka
Sinéad O'Connor

Baby Got Back
Sir Mix-A-Lot

We Built This City
Starship

Come Sail Away
Styx

Where's Me Jumper
Sultans Of Ping

Eye Of The Tiger
Survivor

Tell It To My Heart
Taylor Dayne

Whiskey In The Jar
Thin Lizzy

Africa
Toto

Pride (In The Name Of Love)
U2

The Hustle (Original Mix)
Van McCoy

Brown Eyed Girl
Van Morrison

Y.M.C.A.
Village People

Low Rider
War

Here I Go Again
Whitesnake

OK so some serious cuts must be made. The average CD holds 80 min of music (not 5 hours like this playlist...) Plus - how can I have Thin Lizzy and The Carpenters on one mix?
What to do - come up with sub-genres?
Suggestions please - and the offer to get you a CD of the final mix still stands. I've been having fun listening to these - all but a few already on my itunes list ;)

*I was just as irrational when it came to picking DS's name: so many otherwise decent names were out because of past experiences with people of the suggested name...

Becoming a theme...

2008-05-13T21:04:00.002-04:00

Could be worse.

According to a story on NPR today, 14 people a day die on this service.

A DAY

I got a seat again today :)

I should have known

2008-05-12T16:11:00.003-04:00

I should have known...
Last Friday I wrote a long post about all the lovely timefilling activities I've devised to occupy myself for the 60min or so I spend daily on the train.

Of course, most of these involve a sitting position to be comfortable.
Last Friday I got on the train, sat into a seat, had momentary conniption at the sight of a nearby used plaster (band-aid) but got over it, drug out jaywalkers and started listening to my book. Fifteen happy minutes later I realized we hadn't moved, and everyone around me was hoofing it back to the platform...when the next train arrived all 550 of us (or thereabouts) had to cram into one carriage and I had to stand, balancing with my legs astride my unreasonably big carrying case and clutching the tiny piece of wall mounted hand rail that was within reach (hanging off the roof-mounted one would have required feet leaving the floor).

Usually the Metro glides in and out of the stations, and after many years of this I've predicted my balancing act. Sometimes (like guess when?) rookie drivers stutter the train in and out of stations. Usually not a big deal except I was stood right in front of a seated man, and had to exert woefully underused glute and quad muscles to avoid landing in his lap as we lurched along.
Standing on the Metro also involves very close proximity to total strangers, though it could be worse.

I got a seat today though.

D'oh! Foiled again...

2008-05-09T20:49:00.003-04:00

Knitting daily poetry contest results are out!

I didn't win :( but someone else called Denise won a prize so it's not all bad.

Here's my entry - which I didn't post at the time in case I won - Hah!

Jaywalkers and Tuvstarr

2008-05-09T12:53:00.005-04:00

I am so pleased my my new commuting arrangement: having a dedicated train project makes me feel much better about the hours I spend there...

Here are K's Jaywalkers - still on track to have them done for her birthday. Took a pic of them laying on my clapotis/blanket, and no matter how I adjust the colours either the blanket or the socks look madly psychedelic...
Other things I have done on the train to amuse myself include:
- talking to people (hah!)
- reading work related materials (awoke snuggled up to grim-faced fed muttering about how she was getting too old for this shit)
- reading books from my stash (had to draw the line when the 7lb Happy Potters were released)
- reading the free papers (Metro/Examiner/Onion/City Paper)
- audiobooks/podcasts
- crosswords (I <3 Timothy E. Parker)
- Kakuro (haven't yet managed to finish a Sudoko...)
- people watching

Now there's a new distraction Bit o lit - the premier issue came out May 5th and included an excerpt of the book Sold by Patricia McCormick, the story of a young Asian girl sold into sex slavery. It's an overused word - but I found it riveting.

In other knitting news: my Tuvstarr vest is nearly done:
The Bling-Bling yarn leaves you all a-shimmer, but I think it'll be very cute when finished. I don't want to put buttons on (to avoid that grandpa look) and instead am going to just have an i-cord string to tie. I'll need to add a single crochet edging - look at the messy way I've knit the edges:
The bumpy side shows where I carried the silver and gold flecked yarns to alternate rows. Ah well.

I'm still collecting my guilty pleasure songs - which Bon Jovi song to pick? Which Air Supply? Decisions, decisions...

Guilty Pleasure Sing-alongs?

2008-05-07T09:56:00.003-04:00

DH is preparing to go on a very long car-ride soon and to keep him awake I'm making a mix CD (how very 80s) of those songs you crank up and sing along to when driving...if you're by yourself. The idea came to me as I belted out the chorus to REO Speedwagon's "I can't fight this feeling anymore" in traffic yesterday. You know the kind of song - generally it came out more than half your life ago, people born around the time the song was released wonder how on earth you know the words, it's melodramatic in a way that today's music doesn't dare to be...
This is where I need your help!

I'm going to include the REO Speed wagon song, Journey's 'Don't stop believin'', something byAir Supply... what else?

Please if you read this leave a song title in the comments section - if you do I'll promise to send you a copy of the finished product OK. To start the ball rolling I'm tagging Knitty McKnitknit, Twiceknit, Flibbertygibbet, Ginger Lucy, Pheelya, A Pile of Laundry, Thyme to Sew and heck why not Crazy Aunt Purl.

My Sheep and Wool haul

2008-05-06T13:12:00.004-04:00

I went along to the Sheep n Wool festival last Saturday, as did every other fiber enthusiast within a 500 mile radius (and some from waaay further afield by the sounds of things). It's just such a treat, quite the nicest thing I've done for myself all year. It was held at the Howard County Fairgrounds, only about 17 miles from home, and was set to open at 9am. I left home a little before 8, thinking I could amuse myself (by knitting maybe) before the gates opened. To my surprise, when I got there (missing all the traffic yay) the parking lot (i.e. surrounding field) was about 1/4 full, and the gates were open, and the majority of the stalls were already doing a steady trade.

Second stall in I met Helene and Karen from Sip N Knit, and we talked about how we were going to be good and pace ourselves...then another friend came and joined them, her shopping bag already happily bulging.

Later on I met up with Lyn and Knitty McKnitknit and we walked around fondling yarn, cooing at alpacas, marveling at the skills of Textillian and others who fared well in the various competitions, and wondering if the small of roasting lamb flesh had anything to do with the apparent consternation of some of the sheep...

And my haul: I got these, from "The Fibre company", 4 skeins of about 100 yards each of...something...in my rush to avail of these ($2.50 each) I managed to snag 2 skeins with no label, and the other two have labels but no yarn name. It's an alpaca/ingeo/merino/silk mix. Anybody know what it is??

Then, in a fit of madness, I bought 400 yards of boucle (mohair/wool/nylon)- I could not resist - look at these colours, all natural dyes, from, appropriately enough a company called Natural Dyed Yarns, who do not seem to have a website...
I say madness, becuase I have 400 yds of undyed boucle from last years S&W, which has been wound into a ball but lain untouched for about 9 months...maybe the two will come together some day in something wonderful. Maybe?
After I left Lyn & Debbi to go home (to bring DS to a birthday party) and was heading for the gate, I was called, drawn I was, to Tess' Designer Yarn, where I bought the pattern for the traveling cable top, and 2 skeins of microfibre ribbon. Soooo silky and pretty. I think I might make this into a waistcoat/vest rather than a shell as pictures...will see. And finally - couldn't make it all the way out without getting some sock yarn.
Lovely lovely soft hopefully non-itchy sock yarn. I felt kind of bad for the bloke running the stall though - his wife and daughter were keeping up a constant stream of moaning at the old guy.

But I left with a song in my heart, ten skeins of yarn in my bag, a sack of kettle korn in my hot little hand. Ahhhh life is good.

small progress

2008-05-02T08:37:00.004-04:00

This new job is all well and good but is seriously cutting into blogging time. However, because I can't work from home (but rarely) anymore, I get some good knitting done on the Metro:

These socks are for my friend K for her birthday (around Memorial Day). Knit solely on the Metro. Kind of gives me a sense of achievement...hey you take it where you can get it right...

A few weeks back I went into All About Yarn (car just swung that way as I drove down Rt 108 - funny that) and bought something or other - and was told I had just earned my second $25 bonus. Which means I have now spent $500 there. And it's not like that's the only place I buy yarn or anything. Most friends would steer me to an intervention after such a confession. But I know you all are nodding along (right?)

So here's what I bought with my $25 (and the rest): An Elsebeth Lavold pattern book, and some Berroco Bling Bling yarn, to make this waistcoat/vest thingy. The yarn was on sale, but still expensive, and there wasn't enough of a single colour for the pattern so I mixed the gold and the silver. I've completed the back and one half of one front. This'll be a gift for Mum for when we visit in June (yay another Ireland trip!). I sent off the Mother's Day gifts to Mum and my MIL two weeks ago (they both waited maybe half an hour before opening, apparently).

And yes, am still plugging away on purple cardi.

Got the summer Interweave Knits in the mail last night yay. A lot of mad colourdey stuff I'd probably never have the patience to make. pretty though. Love my pattern pr0n ;)

Had to miss Sip n Knit this week, DH and I have seen each other for 5 min all week what with him traveling and me traveling, so someone had to watch the little guy. So I haven't made any arrangements to meet up for the Sheep & Wool, but will probably locate them by the squeals/catfights (heh).

Till tomorrow!

Denise xxx

another blog post on the price of gas

2008-04-28T12:17:00.004-04:00

Or petrol.
Truckers from all over the nation have converged on DC to protest the spiraling cost of gas, and are blazing a path down highway 395, which runs three floors below my office.

This morning I spent $42 to fill up my little car - the kind of price I was used to paying in Ireland. I can't imagine having to fill it up everyday, out of my own pocket, just to do my job.

Desktop nightmare!

2008-04-24T08:21:00.006-04:00

Here's a scary sight, from my desk yesterday:Not only is that the nastiest soup in the world, there's a (gasp) empty plastic water bottle in the background! Been a lot of discussion on plastic bottles lately. From The Onion, to knitting bloggers and NPR. Forgive me for being a little fatalistic, but before I go throwing the baby out with the bath water (and also the blue plastic bath, I guess), I'd like to hear a few facts. That's why I was so annoyed with the quality of the interview given by Dr. Michael Shelby, head of the research study that led to this scare, to All Things Considered April 16th last. So much so, that I even sent in a listener comment:

Date : 4/17/2008 1:58:13 PM

I was disappointed in the interview with Dr. Shelby on the safety of Bisphenol A.

The news that everyday items like plastic bottle and baby food containers could be a cause of cancer, early puberty etc. is a headline grabber, but this piece only increased my confusion.

Dr. Shelby may have been the brains behind the study, but needs to learn the importance of risk communication. He provided no useful information on the applicability of the findings from the study, and seemed to be unsure even as to their significance to the average consumer. The obvious question "should I throw away my baby formula?" seemed to stump him - what did he imagine National Public Radio listeners (i.e. members of the *public*) would want to know?

All I learned from this study was that I now have one more thing to worry about. Maybe...

They didn't play it the next day, but they played others in the same vein. Then yesterday I got this response from Kate at NPR:

Dear Denise,

Thank you for contacting NPR's All Things Considered. We regret if our programming has not met your expectations. We strive to offer the highest quality of news and information available. Listener feedback helps us to accomplish this goal. We welcome praise, as well as criticism, and your thoughts will be taken into consideration.

Thank you for listening to All Things Considered, and for your continued support of public broadcasting. For the latest news and information, visit NPR.org. Sincerely, etc.

I realize it's a form letter - but I certainly didn't mean to imply that it was their programming that didn't meet my expectations - And I'm still unsure what to do about all the plastic in my life...

Let's go smell the roses. And pansies.

Grumperina socks coming along slowly but surely. Great colours aren't they? Finally a sock pattern that is interesting to do and let's a pattern show thru a variegated colourway - yay!

The saga continues

2008-04-23T09:29:00.003-04:00

Cast off the first sleeve of the purple cardi! Very excited. Took many pictures as proof of knitting awesomeness. Thought shaping looked weird, but eh whatever.

It wasn't till this morning I realized I forgot entirely to do the shaping at the top of the sleeve. In my giddiness at having knit the required 21.25 inches - which coincided exactly with the end of a pattern repeat - I cast off, took pictures, and patted self on back...Just as well no-one's waiting on this sweater.

getting on with it

2008-04-22T11:09:00.003-04:00

After some words of encouragement from the talented ladies in Sip n Knit I am persevering with the purple cardi. Feels like I've been working on this forever but actually only since Feb 10th. Am now half way up the first sleeve: both fronts and back, done.

And of course, I started another pair of socks. I planned to make Brother Amos, Brenda Dayne's pattern that she was talking about in the podcasts I was listening to - have almost caught up with Cast On. Then when I downloaded it...I saw the pattern requires Magic Loop - something I don't care to learn as I am very happy with my dpns thank you. Anyone know if there's a dpn version of this pattern? Or maybe I should learn - any converts out there who've adopted Magic Loop and can't imagine going back?

So instead - Jaywalker by Grumperina. I was a bit grumpy myself on the Metro last nite going through the first few rounds of the pattern. Made no sense, not at all intuitive...I was going straight home to see where the pattern errata were I mean honestly how irresponsible to post a pattern with mistakes in it...
Then I realized I'd cast on 2 stitches too few. Whoops.
So it's now coming on nicely. But at 76 stitches around, slowly. Using KnitPicks Dancing in a wonderful citrusy colourway. This yarn is now discontinued so Lord knows how long it's been hanging out in the stash...
Pictures coming - probably :)

Socky

2008-04-18T11:36:00.005-04:00

More socks

Finished these Wednesday at Sip n Knit - loved the Panera location also.

Lynn entertained us with her stories, including her curt dismissal of one J. Ashcroft, and we all got to ooooh and ahh at Deb's wonderful CPH! I believe it inspired Harrison to scoot off home and finish hers, so am looking forward to seeing that modelled next week :)

I went home and made DH try them on straight away - success!
And just so you don't think those are my hairy legs:

How do you know your handbag is too heavy?

2008-04-15T08:55:00.005-04:00

When you pop it on the passenger seat and the fasten seatbelt light comes on.
I must stop carrying around every last thing I could possibly need to entertain myself: i-pod, crosswords, knitting (of course), book, coupons, wallet, camera, blackberry, assorted make-up, two different hand sanitizers (I am a microbiologist, after all), cell phone, newspaper - and that's just my purse. I also have an overflow bag, ostensibly my 'briefcase' but I don't think it would know a brief if one came up and shook it by the hand. Still - I've been ignoring my weight-training of late so you take it where you can get it...

I was single-mommin it most of last week so blogging was out of the question. One 3.5 year old (human) and 2 middle aged (dogs) require quite a lot of fetching, carrying and toileting. I'm almost to the heel of my second Opal Tucan sock(knitting on train only), hopefully will be ready for the hike that's been postponed a week.

Got a great download from Knitting Daily this week. Although - I may be relegated to knitting socks and scarves forever after what's been transpiring with the purple cardi...ahhhhh, more details when I can face it... ;)

And - in case you weren't one of the hundred or so people I e-mailed these pictures to - Happy Spring!

Pictures taken in SC, by Jodie Lee

lovely stuff

2008-04-12T21:27:00.007-04:00

Got some lovely knit gifts this week - a book I've been wanting to read for ages, from my lovely friend Celine, who I haven't seen for 2 years and miss lots, and got myRavelry May Day International swap gift all the way from East London, thanks Estieknits :)
Yay! Gorgeous yarn in my very favourite colourways, some organic black chocolate mmmm and a notebook for knitting notes - much better than the backs-of-receipts I generally rely on :)
Finished one of the hiking socks. It looks real skinny but fits me pretty well - Himself is not here so I measured the foot against one in his sock drawer...And here's my little girl...

Back on the wagon

2008-04-08T15:28:00.003-04:00

Here's the most recent pair of socks!

These are for Mr. Needle-dee. He's off hiking in 10 days, so I'm making hiking socks. Size 3 needles, CO 48, 2x2 ribbing for the cuff and 3x1 ribbing for the rest. Socks knit up real quick on such nice big needles :)

Love these colours - this is the Opal toucan yarn.

I love NPR

2008-04-07T20:27:00.003-04:00

Usually I listen to an audiobook in the car - I do up to an hour driving on the days I have to commute so I can knock out quite a few books that are difficult reads this way. Today I didn't have anything that I particularly wanted to listen to so I turned on NPR. Love NPR.

This morning they interviewed John Banville, a Booker-prize winning literary author who recently published The Silver Swan, a truly excellent crime noir novel, under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. Fascinating to hear the author's voice reading his work.

Then this evening, they gave an update on the Amazon.com writing contest I was a semi-finalist in. I was weeded out months ago, and today it was announced that Fresh Kills came out as winner. I just pre-purchased - I know it'll be excellent - the competition was stiff after all ;)

Finally - another airing of a story that makes me cringe every time. Today it was announced that Gene Weingarten won a Pulitzer Prize for Pearls before Breakfast, his feature in the Washington Post describing what happened when he convinced world-class violinist Joshua Bell to play beautiful music in a Metrorail station to gauge commuters' reaction. From all I've read on the experiment since both Bell and Weingarten were somewhat surprised by the lack of recognition of the pearls by us swine. Yes, I was one of the 1,070 people who scurried past. In fact - you can see me on the accompanying video of the whole experiment: I was wearing the same jacket I had on today. I remember the day in question: I noticed the violinist because he wasn't standing where the buskers usually stand...and that's about all I noticed. I usually walk up the escalators and always have my ipod on. What can I say?
Oink...

Hmm

2008-04-05T22:18:00.006-04:00

So, I was very excited about my new socks...but after wearing them all day yesterday I couldn't wait to get them off. Too too warm. And itchy. I'm not allergic - it's just not cold enough for handknit socks in springtime Washington DC. But, constant readers will recall that I've fairly been stashing the sock yarn...so like I said
Hmm.

I think I remember seeing a pattern for a mitre-square blanket, made with sock yarn leftovers, this might be the way to go :(

Another pair of socks

2008-04-04T08:23:00.002-04:00

Finished!

Picture of my gaily clad feet.
Yarn: Schaefer Anne
Needles: Size 0 Bamboo
Pattern: Cable Rib - Interweave Knits Favorite Socks.

10 days from winding to wearing - not bad eh :)

Stitch n Pitch!

2008-04-03T10:24:00.004-04:00

Way back last century when I met the young lad who would one day become Mr. Needle-dee, I was a most-unamericanised Irish lass. One of his passions was baseball, about which I knew 2 things. 1. Babe Ruth 2. the phrase 'home run'. That's it. And as far as I knew babe ruth was some kind of cheerleader. When we started dating in the US* one of the first places we went was to Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia to see the Phillies** play the St. Louis Cardinals***.
Anyhoo, the home team won, and my love affair with the game began. Also my rather one-sided love affair with certain players, but mostly just with the fun of it all, outside on a summer's day, all the stats, the stories, the $7 beers...

And now, two of my great loves are together at last - Stitch n Pitch!
The closest games are:
Nationals June 20 ****
Orioles July 19
Phillies August 5 *****

I'm also posting this on the Ravelry board - but who's up for for it??

*I met him in Ireland, long story
** A pretty shockin team at the time, but they won that game
***This was 1996. Why yes, I do still have the ticket stub
**** in the snazzy new stadium
*****2 days before my birthday :)

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

2008-04-03T10:20:00.002-04:00

Planning to go along on the Sunday. This year minus DS and plus comfy shoes. And plus big shopping bag :)

Anyone want to meet up?

Is it Monday yet?

2008-03-30T20:52:00.006-04:00

Cable guy didn't come till Saturday. You all knew that would happen - I was just deludin' myself, sitting there, ears perked till way after 6PM - anyway look what I got accomplished:
One stretchy super-skinny sock!* Am now nearly at the heel of #2.

After I finally abandoned all hope of Cable Guy I stopped off at AAY en route to daycare:

Yep, more sock yarn, pretty...and replacement Brittanys :) There was only one ball of the Maizy (which I have used before and really love), not enough for one pair of socks tho, so I got the Panda Silk (also used before) as an accent colour.

But I knew that wouldn't work. Saturday morning I went off gallivantin' again, (hairdresser**/handbag shopping) and ended up at another LYS:

Some Pace yarn for heel/toe/cuff accents, Collinette Jitterbug, and size 1 needles.

I also got a hold of Cat Bordhi's book on new ways to knit socks: New Pathways for Sock Knitters.***

Pretty time to be in Maryland. Obligatory cherry blossom pictures coming soon - here's some springtime shots of the neighbourhood...

And my next project...
Spent Sunday afternoon prepping the garden for seed planting.**** Here's my co-gardener. She got a wee bit dirty in the process.

What are you all at this week?

*I do look like I've serious cankles though...
**She's taking knitting lessons!
***I need to go on a serious yarn/book diet
****Guilted into it by Michael Pollan, I've decided to grow some produce...

Waiting, waiting...

2008-03-28T11:59:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I had to take time off work for a dentist visit and a doctor visit, requiring much time spent in those cheeriest of places: waiting rooms. It occurred to me as I flicked through the magazines (Will Ross and Rachel ever get together? Aren't Angelina and Billy Bob a striking pair...) that I should donate some of my own mag stash to them. Usually I avoid magazines at such places as they are invariably old and grubby and germ-laden, having been thumbed by sick people. But I forgot to bring anything to knit and was too antsy and bored to just sit there.

And here I am today, waiting at home. For the Cable Guy. Bit the bullet and decided to go for Verizon FIOS. Hopefully it'll be better behaved than Comcast, which surely is responsible for a wrinkle or two of mine. Anyhoo I took today off work for no reason other than I'm starting a new job Monday (with attendant GS increase, woohoo) and I was planning to have a day to myself, probably involving time spent in bookstores/yarn stores without much-loved family members asking things like "don't you already have enough books/yarn?"

Instead I am waiting for the frickin Cable Guy who is now 29 minutes past the 8-12 window. Grr.

I have, of course, spent the time knitting. Look how far I got on my super skinny sock! I keep shoving my arm up it, muttering, yeah it'll fit, sure it will.

And I finished listening to "No Country for Old Men". I think I'll listen to something lighter next time - back to "A Short History of Nearly Everything" maybe?

So what's keeping you busy this weekend?

sock progress

2008-03-27T13:16:00.004-04:00

All about the socks lately:

Here's the flutter-by socks, finished, blocked and mailed away earlier this week. Can't say enough about how lovely this yarn is to knit with.

Started cable rib socks , another Interweave Knits pattern, using the Schaefer Anne I got in a yarn swap. Took me an hour to wind this using the swift and ballwinder God gave me (i.e. my hands and knees).

I am using size zero needles, thankfully it's a stretchy pattern...

And then yesterday, I picked up another ball of sock yarn that has been glaring at me from the stash - this lovely Opal Tucan yarn. Haven't decided on a pattern yet - something visible would be nice though...Cast on on the Metro last night and this is how far I got. Calamity struck en route, as you can see...

Guess I'll have to hit All About Yarn this weekend to replace my beloved size 2 Brittany's...

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T11:48:00.001-04:00

An under-celebrated holiday

2008-03-21T11:33:00.001-04:00

March 20th is National Sweater Day!

A very Good Friday

2008-03-21T10:27:00.007-04:00

Good Friday was a big deal when I was a child in Ireland. I went to Catholic school all the way through (otherwise known as "school" - secular schools very much the exception). By the time I was coming through the ranks the numbers of nuns was dwindling but there were enough of them around to have a pretty heavy influence on the favour of our education. "Holy Week" - of which Good Friday is pretty much the climax - was a very prayer/mass-heavy occasion. Also it's about the 38th day of Lent, so by now every cell in your body would be crying out for chocolate/biscuits/crisps/sugar in your tea. Most significant of all (as I got older anyway) this is the one day of the year that all bars close in Ireland. We'd always host/attend a big house party instead (not to be denied the ~25% of our nutrition that came from alcohol back then), but still.

But not here. It's a regular work day, something that I always find odd, even after 9 years in the US.

The Internets is acting up something terrible. I keep having to reconnect to the wireless connection, and about half the time I get the message to "contact the person who manages your network". You mean, me? Grr. Add to that my work e-mail connection is down and so today, working from home, I have to catch up on reading...not talking about the latest Marian Keyes here, you understand, but 30-page somnolents on industrial sanitizers and the like...

To answer Knitty McKnitknit - I can't knit at work, not exactly, but I can knit on the metro to and from, and while on conference calls if I'm doing something straightforward. I am very lucky.

I've been having fun the last couple of days putting together 2 swap packages and 2 birthday presents. The HSS3 sock swap is about ready to go out, once the blocked socks dry. I made 4 stitch markers last night, (and while I had the beads out I made myself an Eastertime necklace.)The sock swap also required a Harry Potter-related knitted pattern to be sent. Hmm. Couldn't decide what to do here as there are so many free patterns out there that my swapee could download herself. Then at the end of February this little guy popped up on the pattern-a-day calendar: So I decided to make a Hedwig kit, and sent my copy of this pattern, with a cover sheet about Hedwig and all the yarn needed.

How good is your Friday?

hi YAHH

2008-03-20T15:17:00.002-04:00

(Insert Miss Piggy karate kick sound here)
Looing good eh. One flutter-by sock down, one to go.

Don't know what's up with this last picture, I hope it's the camera angle and that I haven't actually knit a size 15 sock...

Again, unfaithful to purple cardi

2008-03-18T11:42:00.005-04:00

I'm about 4 inches up the second side of the purple cardi, but was enticed away by Sheila's yarn. My Ravelry queue shows me that the Flutter-by socks have been there more than 4 months, and the pattern recommended variegated yarn. I had cast on 64 as the usual sock cuff ribbing, so added in 6 to have multiples of 10 for the butterflies.
This shot gives you an idea of how vibrant the yarn is. Wow.

For the day that's in it...

2008-03-17T06:27:00.001-04:00

Getting down to it

2008-03-16T18:56:00.005-04:00

Hogwarts swap socks done! Done done done, yay... Not blocked yet, but still pretty good :)

Back to purple cardi. Been a few weeks now - I had a couple of rows done on the second front (the one with the cable) before I realized I forgot to leave selvedge stiches on the side. Rip & do over. I still like this - but I'm noticing that the colour of this yarn is different depending on the lighting...

Sheila & Staceys' yarn party

2008-03-16T18:06:00.005-04:00

Saturday dawned windy and bright - the perfect day to think about knitting socks had anyone asked me. After a false start the night of the ice-storm, Stacey rescheduled Sheila Rovelstad’s Hand-Dyed Sock Yarn party for 1PM Saturday.

Here's Sheila, with her pretty stitch markers, magnets and sock pattern:

And here...pretty pettable yarn...

the swift doing its thing...our wonderful hostess...
I got 2 skeins of sock yarn, one in a teal green and the other in various hues of purple. Matching stitch markers and a sock pattern were included. And if all that wasn't enough -
Yummy snacks too.

I made a start on the cuff of the teal coloured sock while I hung out eating strawberries and chatting, after my yarn was swifted into a cute little cake. Not sure how I'll proceed - I want to find a lacey pattern to show it off. But first, the Hogwarts socks beckon...

That Friday feeling

2008-03-14T13:49:00.005-04:00

Well - not yet. Still got a few hours till quittin' time (though it is 5 o'clock somewhere...)

Sip n Knit was fun as ever on Wednesday. Lynn spoiled us again by bringing us lovely yarn samples from a wonderful etsy seller who generously donated them:

The Christmassy one (called Kwanzaa, actually) I saved for Twiceknit at Lyn's suggestion - to persuade her to make another cute Christmas garland this year. (Ravelry link). It's never too early.

The other, a lovely fingering wt. yarn, is called Parrot. I may just have to go to etsy to buy loads more...

I spent my time at Sip n Knit working on the Hogwart's socks.

I will be so glad to see the back of these...my purple cardi hasn't had a look-in for nearly 2 weeks :(

Distractions

2008-03-13T16:11:00.004-04:00

I am currently reading three books.
Killing Floor by Lee Childs (read till past midnight on this last night). Well past my bedtime.

Silver Swan by Benjamin Black. This is actually an audiobook, read by Timothy Dalton. He has the most wonderful, expressive, sonorous voice...

Shakespeare: the world as stage by Bill Bryson. Bill (can I call you Bill? Thanks) is so adept at explaining commonplace, potentially very dull topics in such a way that has me adding up and truly interpreting things for the first time. A short history of nearly everything is my go-to audiobook. I actually have 3 copies of it, and have bought it for a few people too.

Who else reads more than one book at a time?

Four hour's knitting yields...

2008-03-12T08:50:00.007-04:00

In my hotel room in WV, with no distractions apart from an audiobook (Prision Diaries, by Jeffrey Archer) I got almost to the heel of the second sock:This time the spiral pattern faces the other way. Hope to make a final push at Border's Sip n Knit tonight.

I did make the time to go for a walk, in the lovely long evening. It's so pretty out here...

The glass is half full!

2008-03-10T22:42:00.005-04:00

One sock down. You can't see my v exciting and imaginative pattern too clearly, but I think it's turned out well. Am trying to cast a critical eye over it, and decide if I'd be happy to receive it from a stranger. I think I would. I mean, who wouldn't like to open a mystery package full of yarn-related stuff?

It occurs to me that the colour of the wall is probably closer to the bronze I should have paired with blue for Ravenclaw house colours. Oh well...

Socking along

2008-03-10T15:40:00.004-04:00

Almost to the toe of the first Hogwarts sock. It's going to be blue and yellow, only. The Ravenclaw colours are blue and bronze but this is as close as I could get, and have already invested quite a bit (of time, effort and $$) in these socks. After faffing about with different patterns last week I finally settled on the simplest possible pattern that is not just stockinette: the body of the sock is k3 p1 around, with the purl stitch moving one ahead each row to have sort of a spiral effect. You'll just have to imagine how lovely it as, as my camera is all out of batteries.

Went to see "Miss Pettigrew lives for a day" at the weekend, on a rare date night with DH. It was very sweet, set in 1938/39 before all hell broke loose in London.

Off to West Virginia again, to do some training. This probably means there will be some sort of weather emergency in the next two days in the Washington DC metro area. You have been warned...

It's not looking good...

2008-03-05T15:38:00.005-05:00

I've knit and ripped the Hogwarts sock three times now. I just can't decide on a pattern. The multi-coloured diamonds - forget it - far too many strings to keep a hold of.

Then I decided to do a lace pattern a la purple cardi. Nope - too fiddly on dpns and also too mistake-prone.

Here's where I was at 11 PM last night -

Back to just the cuff. Oh dear.

Yesterday wasn't all bad. I had an hout to kill in the morning so I stopped at Panera for a coffee and some ultimately-ripped knitting. I asked about the Irish soda bread advertised on the door. Not for sale, I was told, but as they were test baking they could give me some. Oh, OK then. I expected a little slice but got...a whole loaf! I couldn't tuck into it there and then, so I bought it to work. Here it is 20 minutes later. My co-workers helped! It was wonderful, sweet but slightly salty. Usually eaten with butter (not I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter, not Flora, BUTTER). But this didn't even need it.

So that's one of the great thing about St. Patrick's day. Yummy baked goods.

What's not so good about St. Patrick's Day -

Apparently St. Patrick was the Patron Saint of cheesy green crap for alcoholics...

And for the Jamie fans:

Another Monday

2008-03-03T15:18:00.004-05:00

Purple cardi officially half done!
OK well the pieces are half done - still have both sleeves and one front to go. And the button band, blocking, and sewing... Once I finished the first front I put the purple aside and started on the Hogwarts Socks. I got some knitting graph paper and graphed out a simple diamond-within-diamond pattern, using my 3-shades-of-brown=bronze idea.
Silky tan colour for the cuff - CO 64, 24 rows. Started on size 2 dpns and transferred when enough rows were done so that it was stretchy enough. Then I introduced the other colours to the mix. This is when things got tricky.

I guess I'll try this a little longer, at least see if I can get one diamond done and then reassess - what you can't see is the approx. 30 strands of yarn tucked into my wee sockling there. And these 4-5 coloured rows took longer than the preceding ribbed 24....let's see how it progresses tonight.

On writing news - for the Knitting Poetry competition I have so far managed one fairly lame haiku. It's so difficult when you are restricted to just their words - the word to isn't even there...

And I'm not one of the Amazon.com breakthrough novel award winners :( I guess that would have been a lot to ask. But hey - it's an honour just to be nominated right?!?