A Flurry of Finished Objects

Why is the title sometimes the hardest part of the whole post? I swear....and to think that I was a copy editor for my college's newspaper - my job was to write the headlines! (BTW - my favorite - and the only one to make it in print without changes - was "Upside Down and Naked." It was about an art show of some sort. Think that'll grab the google wierdos?)

Here we go - a parade for y'all.

A finished fancy scarf number two! Y'all don't really need the specs for this one, right? Oh, you do?

Pattern: Mine. Cast on 15 stitches on sz US 15 needles. Knit until you run out of yarn. Bind off.
Yarn: Fancy Target Yarn in pretty holiday colors.
For: Gift for The Girl's teacher.
Started: Um, a few days ago
Finished: Sunday October 23

This one is a bit shorter than the first, due to a HUGE tangle in the last of the ball that I could not undo to save my life. So it got cut. It's still long enough though. It looks shorter due to the giant turtleneck sweater I am wearing. See that sweater? Remember how hot it was a few days ago? (102 for those of you who forgot). The Man came home from work Sunday and said "Do you know what the temperature is?" Hello? It's Sunday at 5 pm. I'm still in my jammies. No I don't know what the freaking temperature is! I just know it's chilly 'cause I've let the dogs in and out 50 times today. Um, yeah. It was 44 degrees out! People! That is freezing here this time of year! 44! In October! This of course, explains the nasty cold this week - sudden changes in temperature always mess me up.

On a complete side note - this sweater (obviously not made by me) is knit in the round (Um, did everyone examine all of their knitted goods after they learned to knit? Do y'all still do this? I do.) and because it is knit without seams it seems (haha) HUGE and bulky. This is of course why I love it. It is my scruffy sweater. I rarely go out in public in this sweater. But it is great for layering if I don't want to wear a big coat.

Why did I get dressed? Dog Party. That's right. One of the guys The Man works with (who gets to bring his dog to school with him every day!) invites people over about once a month to let their dogs play together. So we went Sunday night. In the 44 degrees. And the rain. But the dogs had fun! My fingers were almost too cold to knit when we got home. Almost.

OK - back on track.

Hole in One Scarf. This is knit out of some delicious bulky alpaca from Knitpicks - Sooooooooooooo soft. I want to knit a pillow case out of this. It is a *bit* uneven - my yarn choice had more yardage than the given yarn, and I tried to compensate by waiting to add the hole, but I didn't wait long enough. I'm making another, I'll try to work it out better on that one.

Pattern: Hole in One Scarf from The Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits notecards from my sockpal. Thanks again Kris!
Yarn: Decadence from Knitpicks in Winter Rose
Needles: Sz 10.5 Clover Bamboo Circs
Started: Wednesday October 26
Finished: Thursday October 27

This knit up quickly due to a lovely evening of Alias catching up on Wednesday. (Plus it's just stockinette all the way except for the one yo to make the hole).


Cabled Hat. Hmmmm. Let me tell you a story.
I find some lovely blue yarn to make the basic cable hat from SnB Nation. My first attempt at cables! I cast on Saturday morning, quickly discovered that I did not have spare size 8 DPN's (my others were in the secret project), force The Man to take me to JoAnn's to use my coupon, and knit away during the Tech/Texas football game Saturday. Wow! Cables are fun! I can do it! It doesn't take much brain power! I love it! Looks so pretty!

Show hat to Jen Tuesday night. She said "Looks kind of small." I say "It'll stretch." I knit on toward the finish line. I decrease away like mad. I pull the yarn through the last eight stitches. I have a yarmulke. I does not fit over half of my head. I made an adult size. The Man laughs like mad, but does wear it as a yarmulke. Looks pretty good. Too bad we're not Jewish.

Let me reiterate. I made the adult size, per the pattern. There is no child size listed. I followed the pattern exactly. I was on gauge. Googling this pattern has shown me the error of the pattern designer's ways and I will be making an adult sized hat with some modifications next. I hope this next one works. But seriously, do they have freakiskly small heads? It doesn't fit poeple! It fits babies! I tried it on the nephew and it barely fits him. It will be gifted to him - after all, I was going to make him a hat anyway. I was hoping to make matching mittens, but we'll see. I'll probably have to buy more yarn, so this is a possibility.

Pattern: Basic Cable from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino in the light blue (I'm too lazy to look it up)
Needles: Sz US 7 for the ribbing and 8 for the rest. And a cable needle.
Started: Saturday October 22
Finished: Tuesday October 25

Oh- the lovely yarn from Knitpicks arrived (in case you missed that in the above ramblings). I really like the Decadence. It is so freaking soft. More pictures tomorow. Try to contain yourselves.

I'm alive!

First, thank you all so much for your well-wishes! I appreciate them more than you know.

Secondly, it was just a cold, but boy I can be dramatic when I want to! It was a pretty nasty sucker (still lingering around here - don't have much of a voice and still can't breathe through my nose), but I've conquered it.

The Man knew things were bad when I came home Monday night and didn't even have the energy to check my bloglines. Then I went in search of mindless stockinette, and he nearly had a heart attack when I pulled out the cat bed. Soon, though, it became evident that I didn't even have the energy for that. I tried to read, and couldn't concentrate. So I decided to take a nap. It's bad things around here when momma is sleeping in the afternoon. She doesn't nap (unlike the other members of her household).

The Girl was concerned that I was asleep - that's how rare it is! But I sucked it up and forged ahead - I was being observed on Wednesday, so I had to go to school.

Jen got me out of the house for a mini SnB session Tuesday night (I did make The Man drive me). I got to pet her new yarn from Knitpicks - soooooo soft. She also got some of the self-striping to make socks for her honey. I'm excited to see it knit up - I haven't used any self-striping yarns yet.

There has been knitting. I will take some pictures in the daylight tomorrow for you - I promise!

Real quick, before I have to go hack up a lung again, I started the "Bold Banded Mittens" from Adorable Knits for Tots and I swear there is a mistake in the pattern. I have searched online for errata and found none (but did find several people looking for some!). Any advice? I could try to wing it on my own, but I'm worried that if I solve this problem it will be messed up again later. I'm debating calling the publisher. They don't have any info on their website though, so I'm not sure how helpful they'd be.

Pictures tomorrow!

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We're sorry, we can't come to the blog right now - the blogger in residence is ill. She has some FO's and beautiful new projects to share with you, but she can't breathe and can barely keep her head up, so leave a message and she'll get back to you as soon as possible.

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She who hesitates is lost

So I've been waiting for weeks to join up, but kept delaying it for blog fodder purposes (and because I wanted to start MY pair). I've learned my lesson. Socktoberfest is full. Boo Hoo.
But y'all know my KAL curse and all, so perhaps it's for the best. And I certainly can't finish these in 11 days, so it would be at least Sockvember and maybe Sockcember before I finish.

I did finally do the perfect pattern search, wound the yarn and cast on. (I just typed yearn, haha!)

I used a new technique - I used a toilet paper roll with a notch at the top to wind the yarn to make a center pull ball. I cannot remember where I saw it, but great tip! It worked great.

Doesn't it look purty?



After much deliberation I settled on the Leaf Lace Socks from the Spring issue of Southern Cross Knitting. (Can I tell you how funny it is that it is spring there? I guess I never got this when I was younger - that the seasons are opposite and all. I'm just glad we're headed for cooler temperatures, not warmer!)

I'm a little concerned though - there are only two sizes for the pattern - one for a 20 cm circumference and one for 26. My feet are 22. I tried to make a middle size, but it won't work out with the pattern repeat, at least I don't think it will.
I ended up casting on for the small size, hoping it will stretch, but it looks WAY too small. I am supposed to go up a needle size, so that might help, we'll see. Any suggestions?

And because we're all socks here today, I found a silly sock quiz!


Wow! You would have been a pair of socks as long
as it's possible for socks to be before they're
tights - and all multi-coloured with pretty
patterns and detail all over the place - then
you could stand and admire your sock-self all
day!


What type of sock are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Frogging and Holiday Knitting

So, some people love frogging. But I am not in Laura's camp.

There has been much frogging in the past few weeks here. :(

First, let me tell you the unfinished story of "I Do." I Do turned out to be I Don't - it never cooled off here, and I just didn't have a good feeling about it being good weather for a wool shrug during an outdoor wedding. Good thing, as it turned out to be in the upper 80s the morning of the wedding, and we were all sweating buckets standing in the sun. Luckily, I wasn't far up the second sleeve when I decided not to continue. Unfortunately, I had finished all of one sleeve. So, if anyone wants one sleeve of "I Do" knit in LB Wool-Ease in Fisherman's wool, let me know. I've got one just lying here that I don't have the heart to frog.

Sadly, not too long after I Do's demise, the ruffles scarf followed. I really wanted to take back the Cotton-Ease to try Samus with, and I was worried I wouldn't have enough, and then not be able to get more. I'll try it again, but probably in a different yarn.

And when we went to Austin I ripped the ankle socks. I had messed up the short row heel - somehow had ended up with 8 too many stitches, and the fingering weight yarn seemed too funky knitted up on size 3s - too stretched out on my foot. Of course, I was over halfway down the foot when I frogged. I'll go back to this in the spring, so I can have some cute spring/summer socks. But now I want wool socks!

Two other projects that were slated for the frog pond were reincarnated as other projects.

Many many moons ago I started a belt, that I had to steal the needles from this to use for something else, so it sat unfinished in my knitting basket for months. Until I decided to rip back and bind off, and reincarnate it as a bookmark! It will be a gift for The Girl.

Also reinvented was the charity scarf. It was really too wide for a useable scarf, and it was acrylic, so I didn't want to finish it. I ripped back a bit, bound off, and it will be a blanket for The Girl's animals/dolls.

I would show you a picture, but, well, I'm lazy.

i just finished spending all the last of the christmas gift knitting project money. I would tell you what I bought, but well, many of you reading would have your gifts ruined! But I can't wait for it to get here - new projects!!!!!

One last note - I went by a different branch of the library than I normally go to tonight, and they had a bunch of knitting books I hadn't seen there before. Many old, out of print tomes, and a few newbies. One that I enjoyed was Nicky Epstein's Knitted Embellishments which has some cute things that I might use as gift tags. The other, I am really excited about. [WARNING: Nerd Alert. We will not be held responsible for the huge laughter that may follow.] It's No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting. Would I be a huge nerd if I knitted while reading this? I am so excited - it's that history major in me, I suppose.

Finally, before I become comatose, why do we have to wait 3 FREAKING WEEKS for new LOST episodes! With scary Walt, too! Boo......

Fake Knitters and the KAL Curse

So we're sitting at SnB tonight, and a woman walks up to us and says "Hi, I'm a real knitter."

Oh, I'm sorry, I missed the memo that I was a fake knitter. Good thing I wasn't knitting with the fancy Target yarn - she might have avoided our table all together!

In other riveting news, I apparently have a Knit-a-Long curse.

It all started back in May when I joined the Tempting KAL, and ripped out my sweater a few days later.
The curse came back to visit right after I joined the Scarf Style KAL, and ripped out my ruffles scarf (oops, did I forget to tell you that? My oversight......)
Last night I joined the Branching Out KAL, and this morning I ripped it out. Somehow I made 3 mistakes in 2 rows. I couldn't seem to figure it out. I had been charging along. I guess I've learned not to knit lace before the coffee has kicked in.

Must go sleep. Had a great time at SnB tonight - some new faces over the past few weeks - so delightful!

Your picture du jour - my new knitting needle holder - courtsey of Michael's - on sale. I love it - it is cute and Mary Englebreit!


Oh, and I resist these memes, but this one is pretty funny. Google [your name] needs - choose the best ones and post them. I'm very needy...and how funny is it that some of these are true!

Jenn needs....
to post office hours
what jn to get better is a healthy dose of sweet, magical caffeine
to pull something out of the hat to win
a hot rod...and a good insurance policy
to stop smiling
to get her grove back
a cigarette
to switch to decaf
your support
lovin'
and attitude adjustment
rent money
to further her skills as an artist
cuddling
to get past her handcuff thing
to quit smoking
a root canal
therapy
to grow up and deal
a mental evaluation
to shut up

And now you know it all.

New Projects

Because I can't seem to help myself.....I started some more new projects.....someone please stop me before I hurt myself....

Branching Out - in Misti Alpaca Laceweight. Looks blurry (sorry) and scruncy, but I hope the miracle of blocking will help...


Super Secret Project - This is some hideous bright orange color - much worse than the picture shows. It hurts my eyes to knit with it....and squeaky acrylic, blech.

I've been finishing a bit too -

Back of the baby cardi is finished and I cast on for the right front tonight.


One pair of upside down elephants....

Oh, wait, they are booties! One more pair to go...


And because you know you really can buy anything on ebay...

Blame it on my mother

Things are quiet here in blogland today - everyone is at Rhinebeck, or consoling themselves at their LYS if they can't be at Rhinebeck.

Perfect excuse for a non knitting/reading post!

Most women my age blame lots of things on their mothers - their weight, hair color, parenting skills, etc. But my mom really did me in.

She made me listen to Neil Diamond.

It started off innocently enough - she'd play his tapes (later CDs) in the car, sometimes at home on the weekends. It was then that the subliminal messages started. He'd sing "Sweet Caroline" and I'd hear "You know you love me, just admit it." He'd sing "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" and I'd hear "Become one with the spangles, glitz and glitter."

Before I knew it, I could sing along to all of his records.

Thankfully high school came, and with it, rebellion. No more listening to mom and dad's music. I had a car, I had my own tunes! I had a job, I had money to buy the CDs I liked! Ha ha - I was the winner!

College followed much like high school, but since I lived in a different state I was even further from the musical stylings of the Jazz Singer. More points for me.

Post grad it started. I was in a music rut. I didn't care for most of the bands I listened to in high school. I got rid of those CDs. My personal views changed a lot, so I didn't care for most of the music I listened to in college. I got rid of those CDs.

I started dating The Man. He introduced me to even more great music. And what was hiding on those shelves? No, not Neil, but many of my long lost favorites from my childhood - the Beatles, Beach Boys, CSNY, and the Other Neil - dad's favorite. (We'll save that for another post, another day).

I got sucked back in. I programmed the oldies station on my car stereo. And one day, driving home from work, Sweet Caroline came on the radio, and before I knew it, I was singing along at the top of my lungs. "What am I doing?" I asked myself. "I can't tell anyone about this."

Gradually, the secret came out. One of the girls I worked with admitted that she had a secret crush on Neil, and I admitted mine too. And I finally admitted it to The Man, he said - "My mom loves him too. He's alright."

WHAT? My secret, cheesy love affair with Mr. Spangle himself was not only NOT mocked by my significant other (who is a self-proclaimed music snob), but accepted! This was a whole new ball game.

After much pestering of my mother, she made me a CD containing all of her favorite Neil songs, and I received it for Christmas. It spent months in my car CD player. Wheneve I had a hard day, or was depressed about something, there was Neil with his pop music to brighten my day.

A few months ago we found out he was coming to town. I half-jokingly told mom she could come to visit and go to the show with my MIL and I. She ended up deciding not to, and was then angered to find out that The Man had purchaed MIL and I tickets to the show for our birthdays.

It was a second night sold out show last night. We were packed in like sardines - but it was great. I would have rather been on the floor (more energy, more singing along), but our nosebleed seats still allowed us to see the glory of Neil.

He sang many of my favorites - America, Sweet Caroline, Cracklin' Rosie, Forever in Blue Jeans, Beautiful Noise. Love on the Rocks. Play Me, Shilo, Thank the Lord for the nighttime, Brother Love's, Cherry Cherry, Holly Holy, I'm a Believer, I Am I Said, Kentucky Woman, You Got to Me, and You Don't Bring me Flowers.

Sadly, he didn't play these that I like - Heartlight, Hello Again, If you Know What I Mean, Solitary Man, Song Sung Blue and Yesterday's Songs. But I guess you can't fit it all into 2 hours.

The Man got a lovely voice mail of everyone singing Sweet Caroline, and mom got a phone call during You Don't Bring me Flowers.

Thanks mom, for my love for Neil.

I've been holding out on you

I've started some new projects and haven't blogged about them.....

First, The Man's x-mas socks - shhhhh, they're a surprise!


Plain vanilla sock pattern, Patons Kroy in Chelsea Heather

Second, Baby Cardi from summer 05 Simply Knitting - Lion Brand Baby Soft


Third - Fancy Scarf for The Girl's teacher - x-mas gift. - Target Yarn


In news of the weird - two of my friends who were pregnant both had their babies on Thursday! I know what I'll be doing tomorrow - knitting up some quick booties!

Must run - off to see Mr. Diamond!

Finally Friday FOs!

I know y'all have been waiting with baited breath....

Here they are! The finished (and felted) Buttonhole Bag!

I had to put it through the wash twice, and it still obviously shows the stitches, but I like it. It seems much larger than then one in the pattern, but it looks nice.

Details: Buttonhole Bag
Pattern: from Mason-Dixon
Yarn: Four strands of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Bluebonnet held together (with Mist for the trim)
Needles: Sz 15 29" circular
Started: Some time in September
Finished: Monday, October 10. Felted Thursday October 13.

Knitty Gritty: Pattern calls for two strands of Lamb's Pride Bulky. So I subbed 4 strands of WoA. Worked out fine, until I started to run out of yarn (very near the end). So I unraveled the 1/2 skein I had left from my blanket square and cut it into 4 pieces. Then I ran out again - one row from BO. So I unraveled the 1/2 skein I had left from Sophie, and cut it into 4 pieces. I had about 8 inches left of the Mist yarn. I really like the little touch of contrasting color at the edge. Very nice. I would choose to do that again. And next time I'll read the pattern more closely to make sure I have enough yarn before starting!

And....Wavy is done!

I know you didn't expect this one, but I powered through it while I was on the phone with momma last night and finished up tonight.

(Don't you like the way my nostrils look here? I was trying to get my head out of the shot - The Man was not home to aid in the photo shoot).

Details: Wavy
Pattern: from Knitty
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino Wool - I think the colorway is Blue Heather, but it's not labeled on the ball band.
Needles: Sz 7 16" circular
Started: Sunday October 2
Finished: Friday October 14.

Knitty Gritty: I really like the structure of this pattern, but by pattern repeat 7 I was ready to throw it away! I couldn't memorize the pattern and had to keep referring to it, and it didn't make for good TV knitting with all that concentration. Bleh. But it was fairly fast (and would have been faster had I not been disgusted with it). And it is so cute - a nice departure from a garter stitch or 2x2 rib scarf. I hope my MIL likes it....

I found the floss for the bunny hat details, so I'll try to finish that up tomorrow. We'll see.

I saw the new Vogue Knitting tonight, and all I have to say is FUGLY. Bleh. Glad I don't have a subscription to this one after all! Now....when is the new IK out?

Oooh, and on Monday - Knitty surprises will be up! I hope they are good!

Wednesday WIP

Shamelessly stolen from someone - sorry, can't remember who....

Cat Bed - hmmm, haven't worked on this in quite some time.....

Stripey Cardi - hmmmm, haven't worked on this in quite some time......

Pinwheel Blankie (how funny is it that I just typed pinwhell - it sometimes feels like hell!) - Working on this slowly but surely. Just a matter now of deciding how big to make it.

Wavy Scarf - one repeat and 6 rows from compleation. Bored.

Bunny Hat - needs a face - found the floss! This might happen tomorrow!

Buttonhole Bag - needs felting! Maybe tomorrow!


Wish I had more excitement for you.....

Cocoa says, who needs a stinkin' knitted cat bed when there's laundry to sleep in?

Nearly FOs

Yesterday I watched 3 episodes of Bones and 4 of The O.C. and knitted up a storm. First I finished the Buttonhole Bag.

It was a close call as far as yarn was concerned. I nearly ran out twice, and ended up using a different color for the last row and bind off, but I think it looks nice. However, it is not yet felted, so I can't claim it as a FO yet....

I also finished up all of the bunny hat except for the embroidery (face), but I cannot find the floss that came with the kit to finish it.....

And the wavy scarf is one repeat and 10 rows from completion. However, I CANNOT face it right now, so it will remain unfinished for the forseeable future. BORED with the pattern....

Wow, what excitement.....can you stand it?

Austin Anniversary

We're home, somewhat rested and recovered from our whirlwind trip to Austin. Trip highlights:

This is the view from our hotel window. That is Town Lake below us.
We ate dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. It was delicious!

In the morning our view looked like this. Pretty, yes?


We headed out to one of our favorite stops - Book People. From there we went to the record store, and ate lunch at the Waterloo Ice House (where they have the best tots in the whole world, according to Jen!).

Finally we made it to Hill Country Weavers. Wow. That's just about all I can say. Wow. Hill Country is in a tiny little house, but it is PACKED with yarn. They have yarn in every nook and cranny, and it is pretty overwhelming. They had a lot of fun yarn, and a lot of fancy ($$$) yarn, alongside the classics - Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Cascade, Trekking sock yarn, Lorna's Laces, and...something I had never seen in the wild - Koigu! Sadly, none of the Koigu colorways spoke to me, so I did not bring any home to be tamed. Jen got some fabulous bulky alpaca, and I got this.

Sock yarn for me and The Man (he picked out his own). This colorway of Lorna's spoke to me and said - fall.......the skein is in the other room so I can't tell you the colorway, but I plan on calling them my Austin Anniversary socks.

The Lorna's will look great in my new bag!


Yes, that's what she said. Here's the closeup.


I love it! I have been looking for an Angry Little Girls tote for some time, and The Man found this at Book People. It is a great size, and has two inside pockets and one outside zippered pocket (perfect for my keys - I'm always losing them in the bottom of my bag). Don't worry mom, I won't carry this when I'm with The Girl.....

We got home and had "non-anniversary" cake (the caterers lost our original "save for the anniversary" cake last year, so we had to buy a fresh one). And I remembered that I hadn't had any cake at the wedding! Crazy....

I can't believe it's been a whole year already. And to think that this time last year I was on a beach in Tahiti......ahhhh.....When are we leaving?

In Her Shoes

We saw In Her Shoes last night and it was SO GOOD! Go see this movie soon!

While there, only fitting, of course, I wore my new socks! They were, get ready for it....in my shoes! My new shoes! Oh, you never saw those! Here ya go!


Pretty, huh? The Man took me to DSW a few weeks ago, when I complained of having no fall/winter shoes to wear to school. The blue ones he picked out, the pink ones are for fun, and the black ones are my "sensible" shoes. And best part?? Regular price these would have cost $170. I got all three pairs for $53!!! Love the clearance section!

And speaking of socks....The Man's birthday, er, anniversary socks, are finished! Woo Hoo!!!


Off to Austin! And a visit to Hill Country Weavers!

I never win anything...

But I'll keep trying! All throughout growing up I never won anything - at school carnivals, drawings, you name it, I can't win it. But it sometimes makes for interesting blog fodder, so here are two new entries!

First, for Jane, all of my handknit socks. When The Man first saw some other people's entires, he said "You should post yours, since you have so few." Boy was he right.....My whopping two pairs, and only one was made by me!

In the spirit of socks, what goes in them? Feet, of course!


Miriam wants to see your feet. Here are mine, freezing on the deck. What? Freezing? Did I take a trip? No? Then how can they be cold? I live in Tejas, home of 104 degree record setting SEPTEMBER temperatures....But wait.....it got cold yesterday! Not as cold as those of you up north think of cold, but I wore a SWEATER yesterday! (Granted it was thin, but a sweater nonetheless!) The Man told me I should wear my sockpal socks, but they just didn't go with my outfit (nor could I fit them into dress shoes).

Now if I could just get those two other pairs finished.....

And in other riveting news.....

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm really not sure I believe this though......I guess I can answer questions right..... :)

Baby Socks

So my sockpal finally got her socks, so I can finally post pictures of the surprise item!


Aren't they cute? I made these because she is expecting a wee one in a few months.
Pattern: Better than Booties baby socks from Summer 05 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Same as Sockpal Socks.
Needles: Sz 0 Susan Bates DPN
Started: ??? Sometime after finishing pal's socks - late August
Finished: ??? Sometime in early September. I'm not sure, but I know that I knitted each in a day, about 2 weeks apart.

Comments: So cute! I love the way they stand up, I like the ruffle at the top and I LOVE the cute zigzag grafting. I also really like that they match mom's socks - twins!

One more thing - as cute as they are, they caused much misery on the needle front.


Note: when your needle is not straight, you have problems.

I actually lost one of my set of 5 while knitting the first sock, so had to do the second on 4. I hate knitting socks on 4, it just seems so much more akward. And one of these 4 was bent!

There has been knitting this week....I'll try to show you soon. We're going to Austin for the weekend (our anniversary is Sunday), so I'm off to find those Austin LYS!

82 Days until Christmas

I'm just sayin' is all......

I'm still waffling on whether or not I'm going to knit most of my holiday gifts. There are a lot of things that I really want to make for people, but I'm worried about running out of time/energy/motivation. I've made a few lists, and revised them today to what I think is most manageable/believeable.

I have one already done for The Girl* - the Light and Lacy Shawl. I had forgotten about it until I found it tonight - so check one off the list! She will be getting more than one item - she chose some yarn for a scarf and hat when our JoAnn's closed, so I'll knit that up for her, and I'm thinking about making her a fancy scarf like mine.

I'll post what pictures I can, but many of the gifts will be for some of my readers - can't give anything away now!

I think this pretty much sums it up. And if you haven't called 877-SOS-KNIT, go do it right now. I put it on speakerphone for The Man* to enjoy as well. She is just so, so funny!


*DH requested a "real" name on the blog because he thought the "darling" part of DH was "insincere." I said, well, what do you want to be called, and he replied "The Man." Hence our new names. Just so ya know.

Sunday, yarny Sunday

First, FOs! (Yes, plural! woo hoo!)


Clappy is done. She is lovely. I still have to weave in the ends, but for some stupid reason, I keep avoiding this. Here is the artistic close up shot (all shots courtsey of The Man - he wants you to know).


Also done is the Fancy Scarf. I bound off this morning and had two inches of yarn left. Two inches. Yikes. But it is a great length and I'm really happy with it. The Man calls it my "girly" scarf. But I like it.


Jen and I had a little knitty outing today - yippee! We haven't had one in a few weeks, so this was nice. We met for brunch and knit for a while and went to JoAnn's to look for some reason to spend our 40% off coupons! :) Then we headed out to Bedford, to visit Simpatico. I had a birthday GC to spend, and Jen wanted yarn to make the flower washcloth from Weekend Knitting.

I really hate to make the blog be hatin' but I was not impressed with the service at Simpatico. This was my third visit, and the least impressive. The first was during their summer sale, and everyone was friendly and helpful. Last time they were a bit helpful, this time we couldn't get a simple question answered, and were made to feel "less" as knitters. (At least that's how I felt, I won't speak for Jen.) Can I tell you how much I hate not having a decent yarn store!?


Here's your stash enchancement shot - all is for gifts except for the Opal and Sockatta which will both be used for socks for ME! New projects en route!

Finally

BIL and SIL are happily married. They've been together for longer than DH and I. It was a lovely (though HOT) day, and everything went well - wish I had a picture to show you.....imagine one here......

And I took the damn test. I don't have any idea how long it will take to get my results. Let's say I'm a little nervous......

We finally started watching Alias again - the lovely folks at TNT are rerunning last season, doncha know? We're through 3 episodes so far....Love having my CIA/SD-6 friends back again - how I missed the Alias knitting.......

Best news in a long time - one of my BFFs is moving back to Texas! There may have been tears (of joy) shed over this news. I'm not telling. DH was the only one around......

Oh, knitting? You want knitting? Clappy is finished! Do ya hear that? FINISHED! But I think I'll have to block her. She is too big for the bed - any suggestions? Imagine FO picture here.......

Tomorrow - yarn store trek with Jen. Finally - Jen/Jenn knitting time and a chance to spend my birthday GC! Woo Hoo! I'll keep ya posted! (haha - posting/posted....blog humor, boy that's a stretch.......

Finally - I mailed my sockpal socks 17 days ago. I haven't heard anything. I don't know what to do. Surely she got them.......


Oh yes - I did buy more Target yarn....what can I say, I'm helpless in the face of a bargain......

Of Books, TV and, well, Knitting

So, I've been reading a lot lately. This isn't unusual (for those of you who know me!), but I've been in kind of a reading funk lately. I think it's because my time is so precious now, that I hate to choose between knitting and reading, and that I really wasn't excited about any of the newer books. I've been relieved of late to have found some inspiration, if you will, in the book world again.

I read Goodnight Nobody first. I blogged about it earlier, so I won't bore you again.

I finished Rococo on Saturday. Bleh. I was really disappointed. I really enjoyed her Big Stone Gap novels, but boy did this one suck. And I have to pay a fine because I turned it in late to the library (trying to finish it). I guess I just kept hoping it would get good, but alas, my hopes have been dashed. I hear that she's working on another Big Stone Gap book. I might try that one.

On Sunday I finished Cross Bones. Wonderful. Love Kathy Reichs. Have been TiVoing Bones, but have not sadly had a chance to watch it yet. (Due to the millions of other shows I have to watch, but more on that later.) If you haven't read Reichs, begin at the beginning, and read them all!

Also on Sunday I read Princess in Training. No, I'm not ashamed. I've read them all. And they really are good - frank, funny and refreshingly honest. They are not just like the movies either. This one is good - I can tell that Mia is growing up (she talks about SEX! And it doesn't have anything to do with knitting!).

Finally, I've just started Fire Sale, which is great, like all of Sara Paretsky's books (read them all too!), but it must be put aside so that I may attempt to finish The Big Over Easy before it is due back to the library.

Test? What test?

Oh my beloved TV. How I have missed you with all of your new shows this summer. Thank you for returning to me, with even better stuff than last year! All of my favorites are back - Lost, West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, The O.C., Alias, and my new potential friends, Bones, My Name is Earl and Everybody Loves Chris (now you all know why we have two TiVo boxes.). Thanks to the magic of TNT, in just a few weeks we will get to see all of season 4 of Alias, while we TiVo season 5, before it comes out on DVD! Thank you TNT!
Let me just say - What the hell is that symbol on Lost? And - Logan/Duncan? Help? Love Veronica! SOOOOOO good. More people must watch this show!

Right, the knitting. That's what y'all really come here for, right? Well, the TV time makes for great knitting - I'm on the decrease rows for Clappy, and it is just churning along. It stalled for a bit while I waited for DH to wind the last skein of yarn. And waited. And waited. And then I did it myself during Gilmore last night.
I've been working on a scarf from the fringe Target yarn while reading (picture to come), and I finally pulled DH's second sock out of the basket, thinking I'd find that I had to pick up stitches for the gusset (for some reason I HATE this part),only to find that I was only four rounds out of the decrease after the picking up stitches until I could knit on happily to the toe. And this is GREAT reading knitting. Why didn't I think of this before? I made about 6 inches of progress just on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I hope to have it done early next week (maybe anniversary socks?).

One last note. The superpowers that be sucked me into Target last night (hey, I had to use the gift card I've been saving all summer to get season 4 of Gilmore! and it was only $39.99, with a surprise $5 gift card back! yippee! More Target yarn!). I had to get wedding gifts and too many birthday gifts. Some more yarn may have jumped into the cart too. I'm enjoying the fringe yarn, so I'm thinking it would make quick cute gifts for peeps.
And I found this.



I'll admit - I checked them out when I first heard about them. But $15-$20 for acrylic yarn and plastic needles? No thanks. But $3.78 for it? Hell yeah! Besides, I really wanted the bootie pattern! I'll let you know how it turns out (of course!).

Catching Up Part 1

First: The Decemberists.
We saw them Thursday night, and although I had to stay up WAY past my bedtime, it was SOOOOOOOOO worth it! They were great. They sounded great - just like on the record, even in a small venue. The audience was really into it, and there was much singing along and dancing and giant whale eating. Wanna see? We all had to scream like we were being eaten by a whale. Love the interactive concerts! I was surprised that the crowd was so small - but it made it nice not to be crowded! If you don't own Picaresque go buy it, I'll wait.

Next, Mim wants to know if you've got your revolution on.. I guess the most "revolutionary" thing I do is KIP. No one KIPs here. I get weird looks all the time. Football games, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. The only other KIPers I've ever seen are my SnBers! I found this today, and I'm wondering what we/I can do to DO something.....any thoughts?

Also, this week is Banned Books Week. This site gives you lists of the most frequently banned books by year, most banned authors, etc. Pick one. Read it this week. Pick another. Read it to your kids.

Speaking of kids, are you getting old when your kiddo starts reading/watching your childhood favorites? DD has been bugging us to watch The Princess Bride since my dad mentioned it on vacation. We had a little free time, so we popped it in (and I tried in vain to not quote every line). She said it was "a little long." This was my FAVORITE movie as a kiddo. I rented it every year on my birthdy, until it got to the point that one of my friends asked, "Do we have to watch The Princess Bride again?" at my slumber party. Yes. Yes we do.
We also just finished reading The BFG, one of my favorite kids books, and are now well intoThe Secret Garden, which makes my top ten childhood books list. I have a lot of expectations for her to love this book. We'll see.

More tomorrow, must go finish watching Bob.

Beads

Since I started this stitch marker making, I thought I might try to branch out a bit - I found these beautiful beads at JoAnn's a few weeks ago and thought that they would make a lovely bracelet (for me of course!). I couldn't resist. I found a cute clasp and some wire, and I brought them all home. When I finished mom's stitch markers, I sat down for this right away. Here it is.



I've worn it to work twice now, and it's holding up well - I really like it.

While at JoAnn's again over the weekend I found that they had the charms I used for mom's stitch markers on clearance - so I bought some others for other gifts and just to stash. I'm hoping to make some more markers soon, but, alas, I have to study this week. See, I have to take the TExES on Saturday. Blech. I've sort of let time get away from me recently, so I've not been studying. It's cram time baby. Don't worry - I've got knitting stored up to share with y'all. I'll be here......


Edited to add: Damn blogger won't upload my picture. I'll try again tomorrow.

Momma don't feel so good

In place of original content, today you get results from stupid online quizzes! Aren't you excited? Momma is. Hopefully momma will feel better tomorrow and will tell you what she's been up to. Now she's going to bed.

My pirate name is:

Mad Jenny Kidd

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

You Are Fall! Thoughtful Expressive Creative Poetic Smart What Season Are You? Take This Quiz :-) Find the Love of Your Life (and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

Tri-Lamb Material 86 % Nerd, 30% Geek, 73% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd and Dork, earning you the coveted title of: Tri-Lamb Material. The classic, "80's" nerd, you are what most people think of when they think "nerd," largely due to 80's movies like Revenge of the Nerds and TV shows like Head of the Class. You're exceptionally bright and smart, and partly because of that have never quite fit in with your peers or social groups. Perhaps you're realized, or will someday, that it is possible to retain all of the things that you like about being brilliant and still make peace with the social cliques around you. Or maybe you won't--it's really not necessary. As the brothers of Lambda Lambda Lambda discovered, you're fine just the way you are and can take pride in that. I mean, who wants to be like Ogre, right!? Congratulations! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Professional Wrestling Love & Sexuality America/Politics Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 96% on nerdiness You scored higher than 34% on geekosity You scored higher than 99% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid

Looking up

For Sandy.

OK, these aren't my sky right now, but they are pretty!



Honeymoon morning (Tahiti).



Eclipse from last fall.



Colorado in July.

There are like 3 Bottoms!

Or, What DH just said while watching Survivor.

Finally, a modeled shot!



I've been really tired lately, and blogging (or reading blogs) has been sparse. Plus, there was that Lost show on last night. That I just sorta had to watch. I'm not a big one for spoilers, but I had goose bumps at the end of the episode!

Warning: Geeky moments ahead!

DH and I got just the specials disk of Lost from Netflix, and watched almost everything. I most enjoyed the stuff about how they "created" and cast the show, and how they shot the pilot. Oh, and how they "made" the music - very cool. We watched the special episode last night, even though we were a little wary that it was just repeat of the DVD material - it wasn't, but was just a "Lost in 45 minutes for those who've never seen it." Oh well.

Geeky Moment Number Two: After we couldn't figure out what someone was saying during the episode (see, no spoilers!) I got on the internets and looked, and got sucked into several "forums" that discuss the geekiness. I could have spent hours reading these theories, but was almost asleep sitting up, so I went to bed.


There has been knitting, though simple stuff I can do while reading. I just finished reading Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner. Weiner is one of my favorite authors, and the new book doesn't disappoint. I wouldn't say it's my favorite of hers (Good in Bed and Little Earthquakes probably tie for that honor), but it's good. I've had it for a few weeks, and put off reading it because I didn't want it to be over. I know - nerd. There may have been a new knitting project during this reading, but I'll hold off pictures for a few days (and by then I might be done!).

Must go - time for the Decemberists!