I is for ingredients

Pre-emergent Pad Thai.

Much of my life revolves around ingredients.

Cooking, one of my favorite hobbies, is all about ingredients. Even if you're making cupcakes from a box mix, you still need the mix, the eggs, and the oil - ingredients.

Knitting is all about ingredients as well. The yarn, the pattern, the needles - all ingredients needed to produce wooly works of art.

I is also for Immigrants

I wish I had thought to take a picture yesterday, but I was honestly rather dumbfounded at an occurance in my neighborhood. A branch of a local Mexican place is very near my house. There was a handwritten closed sign on the door. The owner is Hispanic and the employees are predominantly Hispanic as well. Only three of the restaurants have non-Hispanics anywhere - front of house or back of house. The man owns 24 restaurants in the Dallas area. He was not able to open 21 of his restaurants yesterday. I would be very surprised if he hired illegals. This raises an interesting quandry. Here is a man who is Hispanic. He is a civic leader. He is a businessman who has a large effect on the Hispanic community and also in the Anglo community. He had no idea his legal immigrant employees wouldn't show up. What kind of action should he take against the employees who don't think enough of their jobs to show up? Or should he?

At some point, all Americans were immigrants. My paternal ancestors emmigrated from France to Holland to America because of religious persecution.

I'm in an area that is very strongly affected by the walkout. We've had roads shut down over the past few weeks. I don't know how I feel about all of it. But I'm not sure that walking out on a job and closing down businesses run by people who have completed the immigration process is the answer. And I know that much of the Anglo community here just ate somewhere else so our dollars were still spent, just not at a Hispanic business. There were Hispanics at SuperTarget yesterday. Would they have spent their dollars at a Hispanic business instead, had it been open?

(I realize that Hispanics are not the only immigrant community, however in Texas they are the largest illegal immigrant community and the one I come in the most contact with.)

Speaking of conspicous consumption

There is a new kit on the market. Yes, parents, for $30 (that's thirty dollars), you can have a kit that allows your child to create their own t-shirt.

I can't believe people would pay for that. I can get a very nice white tee from Target for 3 or 4 bucks. I can get a Sharpie for a dollar. If I want a color block on the shirt, I can get Rit dye for what, maybe 2 bucks? Total kit price: $7.50. Max. Including tax. 8 bucks if you include the gas to get to and from Target.

Southern dramatics

The hissy fit - a temper tantrum

The tizzy - a hissy fit you brought on yourself. For example, knowing you have a major charity fundraiser in two weeks, waiting until Friday after 5pm to find the mailing list, and then having a panic attack because the person with the mailing list doesn't check their messages until Monday morning.

The conniption - a tizzy gone bad on you. For example, taking the above situation and then calling everyone you know and sending out lots of emails about the person with the mailing list not calling you back and how you have tried and tried to get hold of them but they just will not call you back.

This behavior is annoying but somewhat understandable from small children. From forty-year-old women? Not so much.

Anyone know where I can get valium-coated paper to print in on? (And wouldn't that be a major seller! Bad news for the boss? She won't care if you print it on new and improved paper from the fine folks who brought you valium.)

Now, the real question is how to infuse it into an email.

Leftover birthday cake eaten straight from the freezer is really, really good.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Yes, I'm totally snaffling this concept from Carole but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so...

The Good: Having a fairly nice teaching schedule set up for summer knitting classes.
The sort of Bad: Having to teach on Saturdays.
The sort of Ugly: Realizing that I now have to knit a ton of samples.

The Good: Bean slept all night. The trip to Austin upset her sleeping a bit - although that didn't manifest until we got back. Combine that with a bit too much busyness lately and she reverts to her former Non-Sleeping Self.
The Bad: After going to bed, she started hollering that she was hungry. I brought her bread and water (no, really) and told her to put her snack on the bedside table when she was finished. I came back in about 15 minutes later to check on her and she was pretty close to sleep. I put the snack on the bedside table and tucked her in.
The Ugly: Either I got the napkin and missed the bread, or she got up and grabbed the bread again, but either way she slept with half a slice of bread. And I just washed her sheets yesterday. This morning, I vacuumed my child's bed. Bean thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

The Good: I slept all night myself. No insomnia!
The Bad: Waking up a bit too early because husband had an early meeting.
The Ugly: Stepping into a puddle of dog pee on my way to the kitchen.
The Uglier: Finding tons of dribbles of something very sticky all over the kitchen and den floor and having no clue how they got there or what they were.
The Ugliest: Having to mop the floors at 7am.

To summarize: I'm knitting, but not for myself and I had to not only vacuum my child's bed and room this morning, but also mop the floors, even though I had cleaned the entire house on Wednesday. And it's just turned 8am. Stellar!

I need a recommendation

I have 3 skeins (750 yards) of Kidlin Pixie. I'd like to knit a shawl and I need some recommendations. While Louet classifies the yarn as "laceweight", it's closer to fingering - one strand of mohair and one of linen. I'd say it's like a strand of Zephyr wrapped with a strand of Kidsilk Haze.

I'm looking for patterns other than the Diamond Fantasy Shawl, Leaf Lace Shawl, Flower Basket Shawl or Kiri. I have either knitted those patterns or I have plans for them in other yarns.

It doesn't have to be a free pattern.

I'd really appreciate some help. I'm itching to knit this yarn, but I want a nice project that would be suitable. My main issue is not running out of yarn - I bought the last three skeins in the Cranberry colorway and I don't want to have to search for another skein in that dyelot. So, it has to take under 750 yards.

Thanks in advance!

Hissy Fit

Bean threw a major wobbly this evening when Hubster drove her to the store to get cupcakes for school tomorrow. She's always pretty firm on her musical preferences (Instanbul not Constantinople by TMBG is on the hit parade this week) and today was no exception.

Unfortunately for Bean, the car was already in motion when she decided, "I WANT THE BOSS!" The CD was in the house. No Thunder Road for you, Little Bean. Hub said she was majorly mad. I, on the other hand, am still laughing.

RE the school thing, it's a really laid-back Mother's Day Out type of preschool and the main teacher (who recently left) was pretty crunchy granola in her discipline style. It isn't a big enough deal for me to raise a stink about it (especially since we go to church there). Also, the mom is a single mom with two adopted girls from China and that's got to be awfully hard so I hate to be an ass about the whole deal. Doesn't mean I can't vent a bit of frustration, but I think acting on that frustration would blow the whole thing out of proportion.

Dear G's Mom

I'll cut to the chase.

It's annoying that you constantly bring treats for the teachers to dole out to your child during the day for good behavior and not bring anything else for the other children. The other kids don't understand that this is a side deal you have worked out between you, your child, and the teacher. All they see is the teacher giving your child a treat and nobody else getting one, even though they behaved themselves equally well. I picked Bean up a bit early and the teacher told me that she has to explain this to the kids every day your child is there.

I don't have a problem at all with you bribing your child. And I'm not talking about what people pack in lunch boxes. I just think you should give bribes after school, rather than in front of the other children. It's gotten to the point where the teachers are starting to hand out lollipops after nap just to keep the peace. They buy the lollipops with their own money.

The treat thing is making the other kids not like your child. You have created a situation where the teachers treat her differently, so the other children see her as different as well and these little ones are, unfortunately, getting to the age where they notice different. OK, there's also the problem of what Bean terms as "I don't like playing with her because she swipes everything," but Bean has also commented that she's not particularly fond of your child because of the treat issue. The treat thing is seen by these little kids as being a big example of not sharing.

In the big scheme of things, this isn't that big a deal. I know that. But it's a big deal to my kid.

As part of my stash-cleaning, I also cleaned out my closet and found the dreaded Pile O' UFOs. UFOs in this instance are project left unfinished for five or six months or more. Most of them are from last summer.

I decided that I am going to finish them, frog them. or fix them and get to where I have mostly current projects.

The UFO of the Month is the Fiery Bolero.

This pattern is from the Summer 2005 Interweave Knits.

It is a UFO for several reasons: it was the third Debbie Bliss one-piece-construction garment that I had knit in about eight months, I decided I hated the color, and I knit most of it on last summer's car trip to Iowa and after 1500 miles of round trip knitting, I loathed both this garment and Soleil - the other car trip knitting - which also needs some fixing.

I picked this project back up on Sunday and am already finished knitting the fronts. That still leaves me with enough ribbing to circle the globe a few times, but it's a start. I'm still not crazy about the color, but I've decided that I like the knitted fabric and the look of the finished garment enough to get over it.

I had hoped to finish my orange Log Cabin socks for the April Project Spectrum. However, I can wear FB and Antoinette now and I can't wear the socks. Even though it's already in the 90s here, Texas public places think summer air conditioning needs to be set to the low 60s so a light sweater is a necessity. And if you're going to the movies, wear jeans and take a sweatshirt or prepare for frostbite.

The little black pile of crap is one of the fronts of Antoinette. It's bigger than the other front and, since it took about an hour to knit the whole thing and I have plenty of yarn, I'm going to just toss this one and reknit rather than try to figure it out.

My May UFO is Soleil, which needs to be frogged to about mid-chest and reknit with a different top half - maybe something cap-sleeved. I look like crap in most tank tops and the handknit factor did nothing to save that fact. Soleil also fits nicely in with May's Project Spectrum color of green - convenient that.

Habu any wool?

Well, as a matter of fact...

Hill Country Weavers is such a luscious shop with so many fabulous yarns and the nicest people to help.

With the exception of two skeins of Koigu, my purchases were all very textural yarns. I was interested in yarns I can't get here, as well as yarns that might do somethng different from my regular purchases.



3 skeins of Kidlin Pixie in cranberry. This is a new yarn from Louet Sales. It has a two plies - a core of linen wrapped in mohair. The fluffiness of the mohair makes the linen look really shiny. The yarn has a slightly stiff feel due to the linen, but I think it's going to make a fabulous lacy shawl.


Habu
The best way I can describe these yarns is architectural. Most of the yarns I purchased are little more than thread, but they produce very interesting effects.

Kasumi Triangle Scarf Kit

This wee ball of yarn is two yarns wound together: Kasumi, which is a polyester yarn that is dark grey and has what Habu refers to as "little legs coming out with white dots on them"; and Cork Chenille, which also has the little legs.



The scarf comes out looking for all the world like the contents of my paper shredder. It took me maybe two hours of inattentive knitting to complete the kit. A simple knit but, texturally, very satisfying.


Habu Bolero Kit.

Because I'm insane. The Japanese pattern didn't look too terribly hard until I got home and noticed a notation I had missed: short rows.

And, folks, that's all it says. A bunch of numbers and that term: short rows.

I'm sure I can figure it out when I get to that point.

Habu collection 1:

Tsumugi Silk Combination, I'd say this is worsted.
Tsumgui Silk, laceweight.
Cotton linen spiral, thread. Seriously.

I'm seeing scribble lace.

I can double the cotton spiral as well as combine it with the laceweight tsumugi. The result will be less drapey than your average laceweight mohair and chunky wool combo.

Habu collection 2:

Where I went overboard.

2 skeins of silk stainless steel and one of wool stainless steel. A skein of cotton linen spiral and a skein of a Louet yarn called Granite which is a slightly heavier and more homespun look, but otherwise mimics the spiral. Another skein of tsumugi silk combination - this one more of a dk.

And a pile of other interesting tidbits such as GEAR linen which is very crunchy, like paper; paper moire, which is softer and more like linen; mix tube which is a slubby tube yarn; and paper ring, which feels papery and has little flags on it.

My starting point is a rectagular shawl with intarsia blocks of the different yarns. I'll probably combine some yarns in sections and then double or triple yarns in other sections. I'm not too worried about the different gauges - that will just make the piece more interesting. I'm not expecting it to lay flat when I'm finished. The stainless will bend and crumple rather than drape and the paper yarns will be very stiff. The cotton linen spiral and the granite will be the only yarns with a "normal" drape.

I feel a bit guilty buying all of this yarn when I'm really trying to reduce the stash, but I can at least say that I have nothing like this in the stash. I have a feeling that there are more Habu purchases in my future. The Japanese patterns and textured yarns provide a new twist on the same old thing. And, as much as I love the same old thing, a new thrill is very welcome.

Tax Day

Groan.

Blogger won't let me upload any pictures right now, so the post about the trip will have to wait for the accompanying visuals.

I read that the IRS has a plan to convert 80% of taxpayers to e-filing by 2007. All I can say is that it costs me a stamp to mail my tax return as opposed to fifteen bucks to e-file. I always knew the government was even worse at math than I am. Why the hell would I want to give the government $14.60 more than I have to?

Eat at Jo's

More like drink at Jo's. Jo's being a South Congress coffee joint. I'm sitting outside in the shade with a breeze blowing. It's a gorgeous, sunny day. Warm but not too hot (which non-Texans can translate to pretty hot - it's in the 90s). I love Austin. Except for Mr. Stinky sitting upwind of us. In Austin, there is usually the risk of a Mr. Stinky either from BO or an overabundance of patchouli. This guy is the rare OD of aftershave. I didn't even know they allowed aftershave in this part of town!

We ate breakfast at the wonderful Magnolia Cafe. Enormous pancakes for Bean and J., migas for me with big chunks of fresh jalapeno in them.

Last night was dinner at out favorite Mexican joint in the whole world: Guero's. Guero's has amazing margaritas and really good tacos.

And then there is the yarn. After breakfast, I dropped the fam off at the hotel and went on a teensy little expedition to Hill Country Weavers. I've only seen small bits of Habu yarns in person prior to this morning. So, understandably, I went a bit nuts. I bought a sweater kit, a scarf kit, and a pile of yarns that will become something yet to be determined. I also bought two skeins of Koigu and three of a really nifty Euroflax linen/mohair blend called Pixie. Now, all I need is a camera phone so you can see the booty (still stuck in pirate mode).

We've been to the Austin Children's Museum and are taking a break from a bit of window shopping. The most challenging aspect left in the day is deciding where to have dinner.

We really are doomed

Husband to Bean: OK, it's bathtime. Let's put the pens up and get clean!
Bean: I want to play a monster game.
Husband: No, Sweetie, it's time for bath.
Bean: I want to play a monster game.
Husband: I said N-O.
Bean (with no delay): And I said Y-E-S!

Help!

At least I wasn't in the room at the time, because I can't keep a straight face when she comes out with her pronouncements.

HI! Remember me?

The Pirate birthday was a smashing success! Everyone had a ball. The day started out gloomy and chilly and very, very windy. We're talking Toto Level wind advisories. Around noon it was suddenly calm and warm but not hot and gloriously, deliriously sunny. We took about two digital pics - most of it was with the regular 35mm, so I don't have pics yet. It was the cutest thing EVER!

Each child got a pirate bandana when they came in. So, you had 15 4-year-olds running around in pirate headgear. A friend lent us his canoe, which was the hit of the party.

Once pretty much everyone had arrived, we went on a treasure hunt. We laid out blue tarps and put out a plank on a layer of bricks so everyone could walk the plank and then jump into the "ocean". They had to get to the "desert island" where the pirate ship had wrecked (the 16 foot canoe and a big pirate flag with the skull and crossbones on it). The kids found the pirate treasure (an old wooden ammo box hidden in the bushes), but it was chained up and locked with a huge padlock. Where was the key buried? Better find the map!

The map was discovered and then they had to make a mad dash to the sandbox where X marked the spot. 15 kids digging in a sandbox is too funny. My nephew was a big help and found the key and everyone ran like crazy back to the treasure box to unlock the padlock and get to the loot. Each child got their goody bag stuffed with fake coins, beads, fish necklaces, telescopes, and lollipops.

We let them play with that for a bit and then pulled out the cake and ice cream. After cake, it was time for the bubble machine and then time to go home.

The parents loved it and the kids had the best time. Sarabeth had a ball!

And now, the inlaws have gone home and J., Bean, and I are going to go on a little mini-vacation to Austin!

G is for Grumpy

I'm going to take a short break until Sunday or so.

I have to get out a newsletter today, I have a board meeting tonight, I have another meeting Friday morning before my class meets and I have a private lesson I'm teaching today.

Bean has her birthday party on Saturday and I still need to create a pirate treasure chest, pick up a canoe, order the cake, hope the favors arrive in the mail on time, and find a dozen small plastic shovels.

The outlaws arrive tomorrow for the festitivities (yes, AGAIN).

I need to run the carpet cleaner thing over the living room carpet because the dog decided to pee on the carpet and, while I got it all out, I'm paranoid because there are 15 mothers coming over on Saturday with their children. Yes, somehow we ended up with 15 children invited to Bean's party. Oh well, it'll be fun.

Bean's ballet required in person registration. Of course, that's Saturday morning. At least it's next door to a Starbucks.

All in all, I'm a busy bee and I'll be lucky if I knit a stitch, much less have anything interesting to talk about until after Saturday.

I was going to quote Warren Zevon "I'll sleep when I'm dead." but that's a bit creepy even for me. I'll sleep Saturday night!

Spring Cleaning

Flashing my stash has led to organizing my stash. Scary stuff.

I threw away yarn.

Don't look at me that way, it's nothing you wanted. And I was numbing the pain with a nice margarita. I tossed a large bag of little wads of this and that, accumulated over the last 10 years. I found one bag of yarn from 15 years ago that had mated and melded and merged into pretty much one big giant knot. It was downright ugly.

The rest of the yarn has been separated into a few different piles. The sock yarn is in a small box in the linen closet. The wools are in my cedar chest. The cottons remain in their plastic tub. The felting projects are in a small plastic bin.

That leaves a large box to sell and a large box to donate to the women's prison knitting program.

And then there is the Cross Coat. I have a back and one of the fronts complete. The rest has been untouched for 15 years or so.

What am I going to do with it?

Everybody into the Whirlpool!

Fire Applesauce

Bean has invented a multi-charactered, multi-song, singing and dancing extravaganza called Fire Applesauce. The characters and songs and dances change with her whims. When I asked her what Fire Applesauce was, she replied, "It's not very good for you."

Upon further querying, I think it's something like applesauce mixed with hot Cheetos. Ick!

chortle!

If you like The Manolo, read The Manolo now for the best April Fool ever. Even better than that damn Norma.

And here's the best Yarn Flash EVAH!

Flashing my stash

My first thought was, "I have a ridiculous amount of yarn."

Then, I realized I hadn't photographed the Cotton-Ease or the sock yarn or the other cottons. I have a truly ridiculous amount of yarn!

Then I realized that I need to cull my stash!


Embryonic sweaters. From the top left and clockwise: Rowan Cork in Chilly and Sour, Araucania Nature Wool in green, purple Takhi Chelsea Silk, Blue Lonesome Stone worsted, pink Atacama Alpaca, gold Rowan Magpie, rust Rowan Kid Classic, Mountain Colors 4/8 Wool in Flathead Cherry, Noro Kureyon, and blue Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool.




Lots and lots of Cotton Ease. Good for kid's sweaters. Some of this is going to EBay because I have more of it than I want to knit.







Sock yarn. A little bit of everything.

And alot of STR!












The box of cottons. A huge sack of Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a lovely red that I got for something like 3 bucks a skein on Ebay. A few other things masking a large stash of Rowan Denim.






From the closet. Lots of yarn for Dulaan. Sari Silk from Cara. A Denim sweater in progress. A Calmer sweater in progress.









The lacy stuff. Mostly El Coyote Ranch handspun and Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Some felting things in there as well. And a kit for making Color On Color in the back.




Not shown is the big pile of 2 or three balls each of different yarns that I'm donating to a local knitting charity.

Alot of the Cotton Ease (hot pink, turquoise, and red) will be going on Ebay as will the Kid Classic (8 skeins) , and a bag of Rowan Cork in Sour. Leave me a comment if you are interested in any of it because I still have to get myself together to put it on Ebay and I'd rather sell it to someone I "know"!

Bean of the week:

B: "I have bones! (Pointing to her ribs)"
M: "Yes, Sweetie, you do. So do I (showing her my ribs)"
D: "And I have bones"
B: "You have bones, and Daddy has bones, and I have bones. That means I'm an adult!!!!"

good, then you can start contributing to the mortgage...

Just how Super is it?

Pretty good, I'd say. I have not tasted the food yet, but it was easy and fun. Most meals come with six chicken breasts or pork chops and the owner suggested that I package them in twos, since Bean eats a bird portion if she deigns to try it at all. That was a really helpful suggestion and will stretch the meals alot further as I won't have leftovers.

Everything is frozen or canned. I'm sure it's from Sysco or wherever, but it all looked pretty good. The marinara sauce smelled nice, the chicken and meats looked lean, and there was an excellent assortment of meals. But there weren't any veggies.

I wouldn't call it "meal preparation" as much as entree marination. You are still going to have to thaw the chicken in advance and then cook it. And that's where I was needing the help. I can do a marinade. I've got several Fischer & Wieser marinades in the fridge (mmm, Mango Habanero Ginger!), not to mention my own marinades. There weren't alot of things you can just thaw overnight and stick in the oven, add a salad, and bingo! - a meal

The whole experience has made me think of how to prepare my own super suppers and what I really need. What I need to do is set aside one day a month and have a marathon cooking session so I have a freezer of meals that are already pretty much cooked and just require thawing, some quick prep, and cooking in the oven or on the stovetop without requiring alot of tending. And I need to make sure that there are alot of veggies in the meals, so I can really just add a salad for a healthy and low-fat meal.

I will definitely do Super Suppers again. I think it's a great idea and it's nice to have a freezer stocked with food that I didn't have to mess with alot. But if you go to one of these things, remember that there will still be cooking involved.

It's not all bad, though!

Amazingly, we have managed to get necessary errands run this morning before ballet class. Usually, getting my daughter out of the house early on a Tuesday requires a crowbar, but the waking up at 6am meant she was bored by 9.30 and raring to go. Ballet class is next to a Starbucks, so now I'm raring to go ;>

Ronda (owner of The Shabby Sheep) and I are going to perform an experiment tonight. We are going to Super Suppers. I feel a bit pathetic staying home and yet needing meal prep, but we have at least one night a week where I really don't want to cook or where I'm totally out of ideas. These meals need a veggie or salad to round them out and that's it. Makes it really easy. The test will be in the taste. Reviews to come.

Adventures in Sleep Deprivation

This lesson is for those who have completed course level 101 (the 7th month and onwards of pregnancy), level 201 (dealing with an infant or house training a puppy), and level 302 (living next to a construction site). Attempts to complete this level of sleep dep without completing the prerequisites may result in a nervous breakdown.

Step 1: Instigate minor but painful back problem.

Step 2: Work full day on feet, thus aggravating said back problem.

Step 3: Convince non-napping preschooler to go to bed half an hour early. Child is exhausted and falls asleep before stories are finished being read.

Step 4: At 11pm, have full-blown panic attack for no apparent reason.

Step 5: At midnight, calm down and go to sleep. Just before dropping off, have said child wake up and need an Edwin story before she can go back to sleep. (Edwin is my child's imaginary best friend. Edwin is an alligator. Edwin is NOT a crocodile.) Tell Edwin story (Edwin goes on a hot air balloon adventure) because saying no would take more time and result in crying.

Step 6: Go to blissful sleep at 12.30am.

Step 7: At 1:15am, wake to horrible screams from said child. Husband blessedly says that he will deal with it. Go back to sleep. Wake up 5 minutes later realizing that child is still screaming hysterically. Get up.

Step 8: Child is having night terrors and cannot stop screaming (and you can't exactly slap 'em in the face like they do in the movies). Child is responsive, but not really awake. Get child calmed down enough to breathe normally. Rejoice that child did not throw up because for a while it looked close. Rock with child for a while and then convince child to go to bed. The process takes over an hour before resulting in sleep rather than more crying.

Step 9: Drag sorry self back to bed and sleep like the proverbial dead until 6am when evil, evil child comes in and brightly announces that she is a big girl because she slept all night! Realize that child has no memory at all of 1am festival of horrors.

Step 10: COFFEE is my friend.

I was working at the Sheep today and had a horrific realization. I happened to glance at my reflection in the mirror - much better light than at my house - and I realized that My Eyebrows Are Out of Control. I thought I took care of them Saturday morning in preparation for a social event that night. I was wrong.

I'm going back to sitting in my driveway and plucking them using the vanity mirror. It's the only way I'm not going to have big, black Brezhnev's escaping my notice.

Speaking of big and black, Antoinette is growing. I'm on Sleeve Island, to be followed by Collar Island. [Go look at a black sweater in your closet and you'll see more detail than my camera is capable of revealing on a pile of black sweater.]

I'm enjoying this knit immensely. The pattern is my perfect combination of interesting details and relaxing stockinette. It will be interesting to see how heavy the Debbie Bliss Cotton Silk Aran is and whether the Rowan Cotton Rope would have been lighter. I can see making this one again in a color. It's very trendy but in a way that will last a few years. Good old Rowan. I love their patterns.

The last two weeks have been too much party and too much work. I'm hardly a dull girl, but I am also absolutely unable to return to my former glory days as The Party Queen. Forget alcoholic beverages, even in limited quantities they give me a headache. Late hours? A good idea until a certain someone comes into the bedroom at the earliest possible definition of sunrise and jumps on you.

I look back on the Party Days with a mixture of horror and fascination. I lived about a block and a half from our favorite strip of night spots, so I never had to worry about driving. I didn't have any money, so I didn't really drink either. But, I had a big group of friends and we went out almost every night. Seriously. Get home from work, have a quick snack, and go to sleep until around 9pm. Get up, primp (In those days, we *really* primped - none of this jeans and a hoodie stuff for going out. We went all out.), hit the club, dance until 2 or 3 (no workouts necessary when you dance for 4 or 5 hours a night), go home and crash and be at work at 8am the next morning.

Fast forward to the days when I sometimes struggle to stay up for Jon Stewart!

I have two weeks until Bean's birthday party and I don't even have the invitations out yet. YIKES!

We've ripped out all the bushes in the front yard (due to extreme deadness) and have to re-sod some major portions of the back and front due to the grass being washed away in the storm. We've got today and next weekend to finish the project because I want it done before the party. Mama had better be a good girl if she's going to get all this completed in time!

Ducks!

We got nothin' but ducks here. Pecking me to death once again.

Our phone doesn't work. DSL does, but the phone is as dead as the proverbial doornail. Once I finally got through to a human at SBC (half an hour), I found out that there is a short in our line and the soonest they can fix it is tomorrow. The woman asked for an alternate phone number and I gave her my cell phone number. Then she said, "Can you give us an alternate number in case we can't reach you at that number." I modulated my tone to the one I have used when dealing with someone with a profound mental impairment, "Yes, but that number isn't working right now."

Ahem.

I mailed Bean's student registration stuff two weeks ago. It's lost in USPSland. I'm filling out 10 pages of forms, cancelling the first check, writing new checks, getting a new immunization form from the doctor, etc. etc. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

If the doorbell rings, I'm going to co-opt Dorothy Parker and open it saying, "What fresh hell is this?"

It never rains

But it pours down socks!














After the torrential rains (for once, I can say that in a literal fashion), the grass has taken off. Except for the bare patches in the yard produced by too much runoff out of the gutters.

From left to right, we have a Sparkle Lace sock in Cherry Tree Hill something sparkly - I'm sort of making it up as I go along with the lace gacked from Susan's April 20th pattern.

A Jaywalker in STR Rock Star - my third pair of Jaywalkers and finally one in STR!

And, a gestating "yarn-ed sock" for Bean in Baby Star from Laines du Nord. I'm thinking of sizing down the Jaywalker pattern.

I am almost finished with the first sleeve of Antionette as well! It seems to be feast or famine with the knitting around here. I'm either tearing through it or not knitting at all!

SQUEEEE!

My socks ROCK!

Do yours?

The Blue Moon Socks Club came today!

This month's colorway is Rainforest Jasper.

F is for

Flood

This is the view outside my back door.

It's 3 in the afternoon!


The door is open and there is no screen - it's just raining like topsy. It's rained like this for most of the last 24 hours. The news said we've gotten 7 or 8 inches!

ETA: It's 10.30pm and I just watched the news. My area of town received around 10 inches of rain today. The flooding is really bad in parts. Now, 10 inches is alot of rain in any situation, but last year, we had 17 inches of rain for the year. We just got over half of the rain we got in the whole of last year today. And it's still raining and there is another line of storms coming. Better get that ark ready.


Feet

Wearing Burnt Peeps!

Jaywalker pattern
Koigu color P326 (aka Burnt Peeps)



Farfalle

With pancetta, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, crimini mushrooms, and parmesean.




Fancy

The Fancy Rib (conveniently Rowan's term) on the sleeves of Antointette. The sleeves have the Fancy Rib and then you pick up a large collar, which is knit entirely in the Fancy Rib.

I have completed the back and both fronts (a pile of black stockinette stitch - you can use your imaginations!).

Shipping News

Wheeeeee!

Blue Moon Fiber Arts just shipped the first installment of the Socks That Rock club!

I can't wait!

Things have been going and blowing in my world. Husband has been busy at work. Bean has had Spring Break, resulting in my having to schedule playdates and activities so we don't end up spending every day watching Fred Astaire movies and doing nothing else. And, we are embroiled in the School Situation. In Texas, the "s" in public school stands for Suck. It's really shameful how poor the schools in my district are. So, we either move to the 'burbs - not really an option we're willing to look at - at least not yet, or we send her to private school.

Thus begins the cycle of trying to find a good private school that doesn't cost the Earth. The "best" private schools have outrageous fees. We're talking $10K or so a year for Pre-K. Ten thousand dollars a year for a half-day program for four-year-olds. That school ends up being $20,000 a year for high school. Bizarre.

We have found a school we really like, and that has rational fees. But, it's been hard and stressful and I'll be happy when "school" starts next fall and this is all over with.

E is for Eviscerate

Molly decided that THE TOY MUST DIE!

It never rains

May 20th

Wedding in Amarillo. Husband has been asked to be a groomsman.

Wedding in Des Moines. Close family member of husband.

Murder mystery dinner to which we have already purchased rather expensive tickets.

ACK!

No, Mom, I said tapas bar!

Tapas!

Books!

Carole tagged me for this meme last week and I'm just getting around to it.

Meme instructions: Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won't, underline the ones on your book shelf, and place parentheses around the ones you've never even heard of.

There aren’t any I won’t read, but there also aren’t any on my unread list that I’m planning to read. That’s not to say that I won’t read them, but my reading these days is pretty much whatever strikes my fancy at that particular moment. I just finished a Maggody mystery and The Namesake by Jhumpi Lahiri. I just started London by Edward Rutherfurd (loaned to me by a friend who I watched the HBO series Rome with).

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
(His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert

Zounds!

The left passenger window on the Jeep has now become separated from it's moorings and goes up and down with every bounce and bump of the car.

I'm waiting to see what's next. I was hoping that this year might be an improvement over the pecked to death by ducks syndrome of last year. This year it just looks like the ducks are getting an earlier start.

E is for Ennui

I've been having a bad case of Startitus Interruptus.

Normally, I have raging Startitus. Rampaging Startitus, even.

Lately, I've just not been able to be bothered to cast on for a new project. I spent the first part of the year knitting mostly one project at a time. Now, all I have on the needles are the Burnt Peeps Jaywalkers and, frankly, I'm a bit tired of them. I'm one of those people who knit more when they have more to knit!

Last night, I decided that enough was enough.

I raided the books. I raided the stash. (Despite having crashed out of the Stashalong, I'm still trying to knit alot from stash!)

Bardot in a corally Rowan Calmer.

Gwen in white Cotton Ease.

Antoinette in black Debbie Bliss Cotton Silk Aran.

Lots of my beloved, meditative stockinette paired with interesting little details to make it a bit more fun.

I'm baaaaaaaack! I may finish the Peeps soon, too!

Never buy a Volvo

Unless you are into unreliable, badly built cars.

We have a 2001 Volvo S60 with about 43,000 miles on it. We've had to have both front struts replaced, a bunch of other stuff go wrong and, now, the transmission has gone bad. Yes, you read that right. The transmission is going out on the car at 43,000 miles. Fortunately, the dealership has responded to my husband's annoyed phone call and between them and Volvo of North America, they'll cover part of the repairs. But it's something that shouldn't have happened in the first place. You ought to be able to get 80K plus out of a car before having transmission problems.


ARGH!

D is for Dwarf

I think I told y'all abaout the house that was razed to the foundation and is being turned into a McMansion. Across the street from me. In a neighborhood of ranch and mid-century moderns from the 50s and 60s.

Yeah.

Here it is hovering over the house across the street from me. Keep in mind that the new house is at the absolute bottom of the hill - there is a fairly sharp drop from the ranch next door. Also, my house is at a higher point than across the street.



Godawful, no?

I'm all for tearing down something dilapidated to build something new, but folks, can we at least TRY to keep it in the general nature of the other houses in the neighborhood?

Apparently not.

At least there is some sky for Sandy!

ETA: We don't have basements here. The ground is too unstable and we have lots of ground water. If I had a basement, there is a good chance I'd wake up some morning with my house next to the hole that had been the basement!

In-laws have come and gone. All the piled up laundry from last week has cycled through the wash and dry cycles and is currently mostly through the hanging up or ironing cycles. Hosted a dinner party last night for inlaws and my parents. Worked today. Am tired.

Ultimate Oscar-watching-with-Midwestern-inlaws-in-their-70s cringeworthy moment: Watching "It's hard out there for a pimp." Nope, I'm just sitting here knitting my sock - lalalalalalalalalalalala!

We will return to Burnt Peeps tomorrow. Much progress has been made!

It's been a busy time here. The outlaws are in town again. Yes, AGAIN. I don't want to talk about it because they will probably come back for Bean's birthday next month as well and if I think about it too much my head will explode. It's lots of fun for Bean but alot more work for me. The plus is that we had a big party to go to last night and a party tonight, so free babysitting!

Yesterday was the first sweater class. Seven people signed up! Including the two women I taught last month in a fingerless glove class! Very exciting for me. I've always had jobs that had a teaching component, so teaching knitting is so much fun.

I'd love suggestions from anyone on things you wish someone had told you when you first learned to knit.

Also, your top tricks and tips would be most welcome. I've amassed a reasonable list, but it's always nice to have input - it usually makes you say "D'oh" when someone else points out fun tips.

So, onto the party last night. These people have more money than God. They live in a very large house in a very nice neighborhood. The house itself is huge and there is a large guest house at the back of the property. The lots in that neighborhood are large enough to be deemed "property". They also just built a 10,000 sq ft lake house. Ten THOUSAND square feet. Apparently, that house has a guest house as well. Because you might not be able to fit all your friends in a measly 10,000 sq feet.

This was an early St. Patrick's Day party with three bartenders and a cook. Morris dancers. An Irish band (who played Smoke on the Water and other Irish favorites). It was wild. It would be nice to have all that money, but I want to live in a house that I can clean myself without getting lost!

Energized!

Monday was my first day of work at The Shabby Sheep.

It's been a long time since I've worked outside my house. I've taken in the odd technical writing contract job (and if you ever know anyone who wants a technical writer but doesn't want one on staff, contact me!), but that's all done from home.

The optical switching company I was working for in 2001, laid off my entire department and then folded about 6 months later. I was 4 months pregnant at the time and barely anyone was hiring technical writers, much less visibly pregnant ones.

I didn't realize how much I missed having a job.

I'm working on Mondays from opening until 2 (when Bean gets out of school). On Fridays, I'm teaching knitting classes for around 2 hours in the morning.

It's just enough work to get me feeling very useful but not enough to make me feel overwhelmed. That sounds like a sit at home feeling sorry for myself - far from the truth! But it gets kind of boring just doing laundry and paying bills and generally keeping house. I get too bored to even knit. Ennui at it's finest.

Hopefully, this job will get me revved up for a good year.

Last year was the year of being pecked to death by ducks.

Nothing actually bad happened, but we could not go a month without some annoying and expensive THING. And while alot of it was endless car repairs, water heater, oven, etc. ; lots of it was wierd stuff. Bean got ringworm on her head. We didn't get the simple "put some presription cream on it" fix. Oh no, when it's on your head, you have to take two months of oral antibiotics. Fortunately, Bean is a trooper, but imagine having to give your 3-year-old three teaspoons of oral antibiotic every day for two whole months. Sure, there are lots worse things that can happen. But man, it was a pain in the ass. Like I said, pecked to death by ducks.

2006 better be better!

If nothing else, this small job may perk me up to deal with the ducks!

Holy Buckets Part Two!

My new computer is now on speaking terms with my camera, so I can write an entry that does sufficient justice to Cara's marvelous final Better Pal gift.

First, there is a box of her art cards. Folks, if you need cards, get them from Cara. They are breathtaking.

Then there are the sheep. A mama sheep and a baby sheep. I have managed to retain ownership of the mama sheep. She sat on the back of my chair while I finished the Class Sweater and is now on top of my computer while I finish my pattern. A knitting mascot!

A sparkly purse (Bean refused to let me take it out of her grasp for photographing) and lollipops. Cara has been so wonderful about including my daughter in all of this. Bean is just thrilled with all of the fun, princessy treasures Cara has sent her.

And Socks That Rock! A skein of the medium weight in Ruby Slippers which is a variety of gorgeous reds. I think I'm going to use the Diamond Fantasy Shawl/Scarf pattern. A skein of the light weight in Hot Flash - fabulous pinks ranging from a magenta to fushcia to a softer pink. And a skein of Rolling Stone - chartruese, purple, maroon, red, and a mallard/teal green.

Thank you so much, Cara!

Breaking News!

At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later discovered to be
a  public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in
possession of a ruler, a protractor, a setsquare,
a slide rule, and a  calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said he
believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. The FBI
is charging him with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," Gonzalez said. "They desire average
solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a
search for absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y'
and  refer to themselves as 'unknowns,' but we have determined they belong
to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in  every
country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'there are 3  sides
to every triangle.'"

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had
wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have
given us more fingers and toes."

Where's my fork?

I didn't notice the pattern the pooling made until I took the picture.

This time yesterday, I still had the back and most of one sleeve to go. Sure, this is a child's sweater, but the difficulty factor is multiplied by my having to write down the pattern as I go so I can give it out in the Sweater 101 class I start teaching on Friday.

The sweater is now seamed, ends woven in, and I'm getting ready to sit down and pick up the stitches for the ribbed v-neck.

Woohoo!

For a while last week, I thought I might be in danger of pulling a Bode Miller and not even trying. Now, with the end in firm sight, let's hope I don't pull a Jacobellis in the final meters.

Holy Buckets!

My Better Pal is Cara!

And wow. WOW! WOWEE!

She's sent me two fabulous gifts, but this third one knocked my socks off. Pun intended.

Dude, you rock.

We don't have the camera hooked back up yet after Printer Wars '06, but that is now top priority. I'm going to wait to describe the glory of this package until I can post pictures because I don't think I can do it justice with words! Let's just say that STR is only the start.

Now, here's where it gets very interesting. My BP giftee is Carole.

Carole has her Masters in Library Science (MLS). I think Cara has her MLS. But, what I've never posted about here (that I can recall), is that I have an MLS!

Very cool coincidence.

(My degree is really a Masters in Library and Information Science - MLIS - but that's just a fancy way of saying I liked the computer part of Library Science better than the cataloging part ;>)

This pisses me off more than I can say. I am so mad I'm incandescent. If the Supreme Court backs South Dakota up on banning abortion, well, Bush Junior will completely cement his tenure as Most Incompetent President Ever.

A couple of days ago, I received a phone call from a group trying to "clean up childrens' television". I told them "Censorship is evil." The guy told me they weren't for censorship (huh?) but for labelling, etc. Then he launched into a speech about the leniency of today's standards and that they wanted more choice for children. I told him to do what I do and buy Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly movies for your child. I also I told him that I grew up listening to the Rolling Stones on the radio and they used to not censor "She makes a dead man come" in Satisfaction so what the hell was he talking about.

He hung up on me.

I find it interesting that, among my friends, alot of them have gotten more conservative as they have gotten older. I've not only gotten more liberal, I've gotten alot more vocal about it. And I was fairly liberal to begin with.

I can tell you how I'm going to vote this fall








And I got my wish; it's raining. We need it.

I had a blog post all ready and then I proofread it and realized that it was largely incoherent. I think I'll take a pass and just go get my glasses adjusted.

And, dammit, if it's going to be all overcast then I wish it WOULD GO AHEAD AND RAIN ALREADY!

MMM, a bit tetchy this morning, aren't I?

We still don't have the camera software loaded, so no pictures. I did start the second Burnt Peeps Jaywalker (goal: complete by Easter!). At leats I now have my bookmarks back!

And, of course, Jaywalkers bring to mind Cara, which brings to mind Socks that Rock.

There is now a Socks That Rock club!

It's all Cara's fault! And we love her for it!

Not quite back to normal.

But I'm working on it. I completed the back and one sleeve of the Class Sweater and have started the other sleeve. I'm saving the front for last, since that will require me to actually think about my knitting and how to explain it to others.

This project has been a real learning experience for me. I'm such an intuitive knitter, and now I have to figure out how to explain this to a class that has never knit a sweater before. I think I've come up with some really good tips and tricks, but it all boils down to fit and finish. You have to understand your measurements, what you already have in your closet that you love and how that fits, and gauge. And you have to be able to do a good job of seaming. The most gorgeous knitting in the world can be ruined by bad seaming. Likewise, an OK job of knitting can be elevated by a good finishing job. I'm really trying to understand myself and how I knit. What should I pass on to the class? What are my bad habits?

The new computer is great, but it's very time-consuming to get everything back on. Thank goodness I hadn't started the taxes yet!

Knitta!

I have a new computer. I haven't been knitting at all. I'm still in recovery mode from last week.

I have much fun and hilarity to report.

Posting form afar

OK, I'm really posting from the kitchen, but my computer is still blammo. Kaput. This is an ex-computer. It has ceased to be. (Monty Python's Best starts Wednesday here!)

If you commented last week and I have not sent you a reply, know that I appreciate your comments and will get back to you as soon as I can.

I am hoping to be back up and limping tomorrow and really up and running by Tuesday. My husband is reformatting the hard drive, etc. At least I hadn't started the damn taxes yet!

We interrupt your normally scheduled service...

...to tell you that my computer ate itself.

Thursday, I was in the middle of of printing the seating arrangements for the big charity fundraiser scheduled for tonight. I'm doing the seating arrangements for 400 people.

My printer ran out of paper and it got mad and ate my ethernet card.

I'm not kidding.

I haven't had internet access since Thursday and have been frantically pounding out seating on my husband's laptop from work and over the phone.

I have very little voice left and it's supposed to sleet tonight.

Keep a prayer in that it doesn't sleet, because last year we raised around $60K and much of that comes from the silent and live auctions which requires people to attend. For those of you in the frozen north, let me point out that we get sleet and ice, it's much different driving conditions that snow. And we know better to go out when the ground is iced over. It's 28F and the ground is wet. The only thing saving our bacon right now is the fact that it was 80F on Thursday and 50F yesterday. The ground is too warm for anything to accumulate unless it really comes down.

I thought I was exaggerating when I said I wouldn't have time to cast on until the 19th. Turns out I was right.

Beer and Special K - Breakfast of Stressed-Out Champions

What knitting?

Re: the Stashalong, the El Coyote Ranch was purchased last Friday and the Atacama, another skein of El Coyote, and three skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool (not shown because it's blue) were purchased on Monday. So, yes, I'm out of the Stashalong. Which is fine with me. I especially wanted the Texas yarn and the Silky Wool (because it matched the dyelot of some Silky Wool already stashed - now I have enough for a sweater). Then, since I'd already blown it, it seemed silly not to get the Atacama I wanted - especially since it was on sale.

Thanks for all the lovely comments. Life is a bit hectic around here because I'm doing the seating arrangements for a big charity fundraiser this Saturday. So, I may be a bit scarce for the rest of the week. One of my husband's clients is taking us to a big wine dinner tomorrow night, so stay tuned on Friday for a recap of the fabulousness.

Man Down! Man Down!

C is for Collection

My collection of pink yarn. With a bit of white for contrast.





C is also for Crash.

So much for the Stashalong.

I had a tragic Socks That Rock accident. (Pop Rocks, Rock Star, Hard Rock, Xmas Rock, Prove It All Night and Petroglyphs)

That led to a horrific trip and fall involving some gorgeous El Coyote Ranch handspun fingering weight at the Shabby Sheep (all pink and red yarns 20% off for Valentine's Day!) . When I got home and recovered my wits, I discovered that I had also inadvertantly bought a sweater's worth of Atacama Alpaca.

Oops.

I stuck some Addi Turbos in the freezer and am using them as a cold compress.

Tinkerbell

It gets the Jumping Seal of Approval!














I laughed myself silly over the following (particularly #6):

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Liz!

1. The average human spends about 30 days during their life in Liz!
2. It's bad luck to put Liz on a bed.
3. During the reign of Peter the Great, any Russian nobleman who chose to wear Liz had to pay a special Liz tax!
4. Liz is the only bird that can swim but not fly.
5. 99 percent of the pumpkins sold in the US end up as Liz!
6. Contrary to popular belief, Liz is not successful at sobering up a drunk person, and in many cases she may actually increase the adverse effects of alcohol.
7. The pharoahs of ancient Egypt wore garments made with thin threads of beaten Liz!
8. Liz can squeeze her entire body through a hole the size of her beak!
9. The canonical hours of the Christian church are matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, Liz and compline.
10. If you put a drop of liquor on Liz, she will go mad and sting herself to death!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Bean was insisting that we had sour cream in the fridge. Now, we don't, she's never eaten it, and I've probably bought it about twice since she was born; so that in and of itself is beyond strange.

I finally get tired of showing her that, no, there is no sour cream. I tell her, "Look, there is no sour cream. I did all the grocery shopping this week and I would know!"

Her response?

"Well, I would yes."

Priceless.

People, start your engines

Over here at Chez Casa Liz*, we are knitting other things than Olympic things.

There is this pile o' sweater which, at Bean's insistence, must be seamed and collared and eleventy million ends woven in so she can wear it to a birthday party tomorrow.




And then there is this:


Knitting for work.





Say that phrase out loud, people. Savor it. Realize that I just said KNITTING FOR WORK. I am knitting a project that will result in my earning funds to undertake more projects. Woohoo!

Plus, I love the color! Mmmmm!

*Yes, I am aware that Chez Casa Liz means House House Liz. It was named Chez Casa [lastname} when we moved in and ever it shall be.

KO

Over the past three weeks, I have been teaching knitting classes at an LYS. I'm teaching what I would refer to as "advanced beginner" classes. You need to know how to cast on and off, knit, and purl. The first class was making the Gardening Mittens from the Louisa Harding Accessories book. It's a great intro to sweaters. You have to master ribbing, seaming, knitting part of the mitten and then putting on a holder to proceed to another part of the work, and you have to learn to pick up stitches.

My class asked me to teach a sweater class and the owner of the LYS asked me to design the pattern. We're thinking classes would start March 3. So, I have to design and knit a sample ASAP, so people will be encouraged to sign up for the class.

Just to add a bit of excitement to the mix, I am on the board of a local charity. Our major fundraiser is on February 18th. Last year, over the first three weeks of Feb. , I worked about 60 hours on the fundraiser. That comes out of knitting time.

So, do I pick a project for the Knitting Olympics that is a true challenge regardless of time available, knowing I'll probably be busted for KUI* and thrown off the team? Or, do I decide, given my constraints, to opt for the downhill and not participate in the Super G and Slalom as well?

It's all downhill, baby.

I'm knitting the Cotton Candy Sweater from Rowan Babies for Bean. It's not a total copout. I'm knitting the largest size! And it's stripes! And it's Rowan and you know I'll have to write half the pattern myself! And it's in Rowan Denim so the pattern is written 10% bigger to account for shrinkage when you wash it! (Heh, shrinkage.)

OK, it probably is a copout, but there is still a pretty good chance I won't finish in time. I may get to knit a bit on it the first week, but I won't really get anything started until the 19th. More likely the 20th because I'm planning on having a hangover on the 19th since the fundraiser has an open bar!

*Knitting Under the Influence

Hmmmmmmmm, drinking alot makes my tinnitis go nuts. I feel like I'm at a bad concert right now.

Yes, it is only 7.15 here.

I had a long day.

Time for Burnt Peeps.

Jaywalking!

Jaywalker

by Grumperina

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock

Old Rose Colorway

LOVE THEM!




(While my skin is pasty white, it is not yellow. Those are bruises in various stages of healing on my shins. I have a three-year-old, a dog who likes to trip me, and I'm a klutz.)

Seaming with Blossom

Thank to everyone for all the nice comments about Pipkin!

Several of you asked about seaming. In my opinion, Blossom is totally unsuited for seaming. Between the little "blobbies", the loosely spun nature of the yarn, and the two plies that separate at every chance they get, I think trying to seam with Blossom would tax even the most expert knitter and turn a relatively easy seaming job into a total nightmare.

I had a skein of Silk Garden laying around that had reasonably close colors, so I used that. I found the Silk Garden a bit fragile for seaming, but it was certainly easier than the Blossom.

I've been wearing this sweater almost non-stop since I finished it. I will definitely knit another sweater in Blossom at some point because the yarn produces a fabric that is soooo comfortable to wear. Next time, I'll probably use Cascade 220 or a similar yarn for seaming.

Pip, Pip, Hooray!

Pipkin

Naturally Noro

Blossom

color 6

9 skeins







I changed the garter stitch hem from 5 1/2 inches to 10 rows. I also added 8 rows of garter stitch to the hem of the sleeves instead of just starting right off in reverse stockinette.

This is a lightweight sweater. Warm, but comfortable for our climate.

The Dreaded Lurgy

Bean ended up feeling pretty punk for most of yesterday and took an unheard of 5 hour nap. When she woke up, her fever had broken (resulting in wet sheets but I'll take it). She's been eating a bit today and seems pretty cheerful. I decided to give my regrets for the birthday party tomorrow, though. She's still got a pretty good cough (coffles as she puts it), and the party is at one of those places that are filled with bounce houses. Somehow, an hour of vigorous exercise seems like an invitation to a relapse.

The bad side is that I may be getting it. I was hot and cold all night long. I don't know if it was just lovely old hot flashes, or the evil stench of impending doom. Keep your fingers crossed.

Poetry Call

I think the silent poetry reading is a wonderful idea.

I adore TS Eliot. Especially The Love Song Of Alfred J Prufrock.

When I was in college, rap was still very, very old school and the Beastie Boys were a little known NYC band (this was about the time that they sang the rap song about Carvel Ice Cream). I was in a band (horrible but fun) and we did a rap version of Love Song. It was pretty funny at the time.

One of my favorite stanzas:

For I have known them all already, known them all
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?

And another:

And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!
Smoothed by long fingers,
Asleep … tired … or it malingers,
Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.
Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,
Though I have seen my head [grown slightly bald] brought in upon a platter,
I am no prophet—and here’s no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.

Socks!

Thanks for all your good wishes for Bean. They must have helped, because she woke up hungry and with a lower fever. She didn't eat much, but she ate more than she has for about the last three days total. Thank goodness, because after three days of high fever I was beginning to get worried and going a bit stir crazy as well.

Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays
Rowan Cork in Delight (Orange)

This is a fun pattern to knit.

I have a bad feeling that, somewhere on the leg, I lost track of the chart and will have to rip. I can't see the error, but I'm going to knit the second sock and compare and then finish the first sock.

Jaywalkers
Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Old Rose

Just completed the gusset on the second sock. I have an extremely high arch, so I decrease every row on the gusset and decrease an extra stitch.


Burnt Peeps Jaywalkers in Koigu (the colorway looks like Easter Peeps that have been in a fire)

Completed the leg on the first sock!




Oh, and Hasselhoff! This video is hysterical. Yes, I know, it's Hasselhoff and it's awful, but just wait 'til the end of the video when he's snowboarding with a fish in his mouth.

Yarned socks

Pronounced "yarn - ed" - two syllables.

Bean wants in on the sock action. She loves the Broadbean socks I knit for her (I used the Broadripple sock for my starting point), but those are getting a bit short. So, she's asked for some more "yarned socks".

She's still pretty sick, so you won't hear from me until Friday. Keep your fingers crossed that she can attend school then.

The second Old Rose Jaywalker is at the heel. Hopefully, I'll finish that one this week.

I also cast on for the Log Cabin socks from Handknit Holidays. I've finished the gusset of the first sock, but I think I'll wait to knit any more on it until I get the Old Rose Jaywalkers completed and also finish at least one of the Burnt Peeps jays.