At long last thay are indeed done...They are only six or seven weeks late for my Mom's birthday. And for some odd reason it took me weeks to do the first one, and only four days to do the second! (OK, not so odd...it's amazing what you can accomplish when you plant your butt on the couch and deny any responsibility for minor things like child care, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, things like that.~And have a sweetie who will indulge you on occasion!)

Hopefully you'll be able to see the detail in these



Toe with leaf line



I'm rather taken with the heel turning. It was one of the neatest I've done.



Leg Detail



I don't know if you can tell, but these are left & right feet, with the leaf row running down thw outside of the foot.

The pattern source was the "Leaf Socks" in the book Socks, Socks, Socks. I used Lorna's Laces sock weight yarn in the near solid color 'sage' (which I liked an awful lot).

(edited Wed. morning: OK, so the pictures I put up last night were pretty bad. I retook them this morning without a flash, and they looked good. Live and learn and "Hooray" for the instant gratification of a digital camera!)

The Completely Pointless Personality Quiz



Which is funny, because I'm allergic to perfume...

They're DONE! They're DONE! They're DONEDONEDONEDONEDONE!!!!!!!!

I finished the Lace Leaf Socks!!! WAHOO!!!!!!

As of 7:30 this evening I had fastened off and woven in the ends, decided that I was not going to make the extra leaf border that they show sewn on the top in the book (I tried it with the first sock, and it was just a pain in the *), and declared them DONE!!!

Pictures tomorrow when I have the time...

Mega knitting afternoon!!! Irina decided that she needed a low-key day and actually spent most of her afternoon playing by herself in her room. (We'd go to check on her and she'd tell us that she needed some "Privacy playing time"-What were we going to do? Argue with her about it? Nope! We needed the quiet time too!)

And as today was such a miserably rainy day it was perfect for planting myself on the couch with the Discovery Channel playing in the background, a blanket covering my cold toes, and my knitting in my hands. Ah, if only more afternoons could pass as pleasantly...

OK, so the thought of actually turning the heel last night was a pipe dream. The nap I ended up taking yesterday pretty much put paid to that idea! (But it was so nice, and much needed) If I can get to the heel today I'll be happy.

I did find an online source for the yarn that I needed, or at least they haven't emailed me yet to tell me it's not in stock. I've also ordered the yarn for my next major sock project (details pending), and some white fingering weight wool so I can play with dying it. *sigh* So many projects, so little time...

Oh dear. The small one has discovered The Wiggles.

Crummy all the way around today. Irina was up coughing all night, and I'm completely congested today. I've also got an ear infection brewing. Bleh! Going to do nothing but sit on the couch, knit, and channel surf. (Turn off the tv week? Not likely in this house!) If I apply myself I bet I could get to the heel of the sock today, if not actually get it turned...

Here it is, my first Friday Five:

1. What are your hobbies? Knitting, quilting, reading.

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what? Matryushka (Russian nesting dolls), and tea pots. Does yarn and fabric count? They're more than just a stash...

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do? I'd love to learn how to do stained glass.

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity? Not yet

5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to? I wish I had the time!

Re-re-restarted the second lace leaf sock last night finally. If I don't get through it this time Mom is just going to have to cut a foot off or something, because I am getting very disenheartened by this constant redoing! I will admit that I am more of a "process" knitter than a "project" knitter (how many UFO's do I have because that final step of actually finishing something just seems so huge?); but I feel like I've knit this sock so many times! *sigh*

My poor sleepy sweetie! With the way she's snuffling I don't think she's going to preschool tomorrow...

Oh, Hooray! for small miracles! Irina picked out a Blue's Clues video to watch, climbed onto the couch, and fell asleep before the first clue was found! Poor kid, she needs it so bad!

OK, I'm definately better today. Last nights mood passed after I had a decent amount of sleep. Sometimes you just gotta vent.

Now today is being a long one. The squirt was up at 5:30 this morning, coughing like crazy. Tony took her to lie down on the couch with him, in hopes that she, and I, would be able to go back to sleep, but that didn't work very well. She's been going full tilt for hours! I dragged her through the Fabric Place, picking out fabric for a few pairs of pants for her, and then through a craft store in hopes of wearing her out enough to take a nap...but it's not working! Waah! (I think I need the nap as bad as she does at this point)

And her cough isn't getting any better, which is very much a bummer because she & Tony are suppose to go to the Aquarium with one of Tony's sisters and a nephew this saturday. She doesn't know, so if it doesn't happen it isn't going to be a huge trauma; but I think Tony is going to be dissapointed!

I can only hope that if she knocks off it's soon, because if it's much later I'm not going to be able to let her sleep very long.

I'm most bummed, because I went to Fabric Place looking for a particular color of yarn, one that I bought a few weeks ago and didn't get enough of. I didn't even care if it was the same dye lot! But they didn't have any of it, and I really didn't want to go through the pain of seeing if they would order it for me. (Most of the people who work there are nice enough, but some of them! Jeepers! Don't look at them cross-eyed.) There's always the internet...

Ugh! It took, I think, over three hours to clean the kitchen to where I wanted it to be. I literally tore everything apart, scrubbed it, and then put it back together. My back didn't care for it, but it had to be done! I can't remember the last time I did an all out cleaning like that (or had the urge or energy). Blah, I'm just being so dragged down lately. I know it'll change, but it just stinks that everything is such an effort right now. My lack of ambition is huge.

Here I go...anyone want to join my little pity-party? I'm serving the sourest lemon tea and can't find the sugar.

Well the small one is splashing in the tub overseen by her Daddy, I can see four WIP's from where I'm sitting, and Antiques Roadshow is on. Tommorow is, as they say, another day...

Walked in my kitchen this morning and took a good look around...



'nuff said?

Owww...My back is still killing me today! It won't help that I've been sitting at the 'puter way too long today. I ended up not going into work, but I don't think I was expected as I left early yesterday.

Irina had this awful, croupy kind of cough this morning, so it was decided that she would stay home as well rather than risk getting her to preschool and have them send her right back. (Of course, as soon as Tony made the phone call that she wasn't coming she stopped coughing; but she's still been kinda 'off' today) And Tony, bless him, called in to his job so I didn't have to cope with Irina alone today...and it would have been a long day because he works his other job tonight.

I, as a result, got to take a glorious two hour nap this afternoon!

And I have very high hopes of an early bed time for the girlie tonight. (She's not coughing, but it's obvious from the way she's whining that she's not feeling herself)

I love this site! Anne has put together the biggest list of free sock patterns on the internet that I have ever seen! Everything, and I mean everything from beginner to expert in alphabetical order. It's enough to justify going out and buying more sock yarn! *grin*

*Yawn*

Just so tired and crabby and cranky and achy. I don't know what bug I managed to pick up this time, but it's doing nasty things to me.~And I think I picked up every bug that came along this winter.

Spent the day in bed yesterday, sucking down ibuprofin and peppermint tea and feeling small. I missed my nephew Lee's 5th birthday party, bummer. He's the only member of that generation in my husbands family who will grow up knowing me as "Auntie Kim", as the others were all older when we got married. (He did come to the wedding, but at that point my sis-in-law wasn't even sure she was preggers, so she hadn't said anything yet)

I did end up casting on for a sweater with the cotton yarn I picked up the other day. Much too bulky for a sleeveless top, but it'll make a nice cardigan, which I could use. Hopefully I have enough yarn. Hmmm...but if I do the sleeves from the top down, and do them at the same time, then I can just make it short sleeves if I have to...Hmmm... (*sniff*sniff* Anyone else smell something burning?)

Yes, yes, yes...So I've been messing with the template again. I just wasn't able to customize the other one enough for what I wanted, so I went hunting for a new one. Now this one, teeheehee, is something I can play with! ('cuz I'm just that kinda grrrl)

Just been too tired to function lately, it feels like. At least the small one has been doing me the favor of going to bed early the last few nights, which has helped. Now if I could just convince myself that I don't have to sit at the computer all night...

I feel like I've been starting a million things, but not finishing. I picked up 2 bags of mill end yarn at the craft store today, a nice soft pink cotton. I'd like to made myself a sleeveless something, but at the rate I'm doing things at this point I'd have it finished in November.

I must to bed, my spelling is really going down hill fast...*yawn*

How can you resist a face like this???

Oh dagnabitgoshdarngollygeewillerkerspoopydoop!!!

A needle got yanked out of the second lace leaf sock that I'm working on dropping stitches down for rows, and I don't have a life line set!!! Ok, so I'm only 20 rounds into it, but still! I've had to start this soopid sock so many times (this is the one that I yanked out because doing it on the recomended needles made it way too small) The thought of ripping it and then starting over yet again is driving me crrrrraaaaazzzzyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

Sheesh!

(Mom, it's really not a stupid sock and they will look lovely on your feet, and you will be the envy of all your coworkers who think it's strange that your daughter knits socks~but why should they think I'm strange when they know you is beyond me(<---joke!)~but this sock is driving me nutso!)

Neat!

Oh yeah...

This is the little bag that I made for my camera



I dyed the yarn with easter egg dye...

It was a fun night last night! So nice to be able to sit and talk knitting and quilting with someone and not have their eyes glaze over.*Smile*

Such a busy day with the girlie today! After I picked her up at preschool we went to the mall. She really needed new sneakers, and some sandles for the warmer weather. She also wanted a football. (I got it for her! We are trying to do that non-gender thing for the most part. And she has a ton of dolls that she ignores!)

While we were there a childrens performer was setting up for a show, much to our suprise and delight, so we hung around for a while to watch. Irina had the best time! And I have to admit that I, proud Mama that I am, had fun watching her get jump into the center of a crowd of kids and sing, dance, clap, and jump with the best of them.

If I had smiled any wider I think the top of my head would have popped off! She, thankfully, went to bed very early tonight!

Take the which Silent Starlet are you quiz!

Tired and irritated right now. I stayed up way too late last night watching "Photographing Faries" on the Sci-Fi Channel last night. Then I could not for the life of me get to sleep.

Then getting up to get to work today was a hassle. I really wish that working wasn't something that I "had" to do, but you can't win them all and it gives me something else to whine about today. I ended up calling Irina's daycare and telling them that I was keeping her home today, and then bringing her to work with me for a little while. (Fortunately where I work is very family oriented and I can get away with doing that~As long as I don't try it too often) I did make it through most of my day before she started getting really restless, and it was more of a distraction for me than the normal work day.

And really irritating are the, *ahem*, people who live two floors below us on the ground level. It's a beautiful day, the windows are wide open, they are down there barbecuing (not a problem, even if it is making me hungry), and every other word out of their mouths are "f***ing this" and "f***ing that". I have times when I'd make a pirate blush, but does it have to be part of everyday conversation? I have a strong urge to open a window and pitch a thesaurus at their heads! Irina wants to go out and blow bubbles, but I don't want her in the same area with them. She won't come out with anything now, but I'm imagining some Sunday morning breakfast at my in-laws...

On the good side, I'm meeting up with a fellow knitter for dinner tonight! We've been chatting back and forth on a mailing list for a while and finally decided, since we're only about an hour away from each other, that it was about darn time that we meet in the flesh! Whoever gets to the restaurant first pulls out her knitting and waits for the other person to say:"Hey, are you...?" I've been looking forward to this all week!

Now to go and wind a ball of yarn or I won't be sitting there knitting, just waving my needles around in mid air...

Just found a new blog in the ring! Cherry Duckie Knitter. And she has a picture of Anastasia Romanov on her blog! (How cool is that...)

Ok, thanks to Teresa's hint about W.Bloggar I've been playing. Too garish? Too gross? Too hard to read? I imagine that I'll be changing things (again) soon. (Like getting rid of those yucky-poo stripes on the side------>)
But at this point I've been neglecting the stuff that I "should" be doing today (i.e. cleaning the bathroom. Blech), and my eyes are crossed from staring at the computer. Off to inhale lovely, lovely Comet fumes...

what's your battle cry? |
mewing.net | merchandise!


(I got this from Kat'nea)

~Knitting Magazine Rant~

So I crawled into bed last night with a heating pad and a knitting magazine. Not a knitting magazine that I pick up on any regular basis (and that shall remain nameless-though the whole thing was just an ad for the book "Hand Painted Country"); but I thought I'd give it a shot.

Anyhoo, I'm flipping through this magazine, and find a picture of a sweater. It's a nice sweater. I could live with it. So I look at the directions...

And see that the sweater on the model in the picture is an extra large...

I look back at the model...

And see that she might fit into a medium on a really bad "I'm so fat" pms-y sort day!

Question:

Why make an extra large sweater to put on an extra small model?

I'm not a petite person, and if I know that a sweater is an extra large I want to see it on a model that is also an extra large! I want to see how that sweater is going to fit on the size person that it was actually made for, not pinned and tucked on some skinny minnie. (and I have nothing against skinny minnies-I use to be one~grin~)

Yeah, I know that's how it's done. Yeah, I know that's what it's all about. They are trying to sell a product; but i'd have been much more likely to make that sweater if I had been able to see how it would have looked on me.

~End Rant~

How dumb can I feel?

I hurt myself knitting.

Yes, knitting.

I'm playing with a shawl idea and was using some circular needles last night. Maybe I was just sitting funny. I know that I was holding the needles differently than I am use to. All I know is that I woke up in pain from what feels like a pulled muscle in my back, and it didn't get any better as the day went on.

Tony did some serious work on my back between his picking me up at my job and then heading out to his. I'm still feeling very stiff and sore. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

At least I got to get my hands dirty at work today! I planted a couple of plug trays of argeratum. I love this time of year at work, everything getting all green and flowery. And the chance to get dirt under my fingernails! I never thought that it would be something that I'd actually want to do, but as I get older I'm discovering that my mental health can actually hindge on how often I get to stick my hands in damp earth.

I really need a yard...

I just got to "run the blogs" for the first time in a few days. A couple of new faces, and a couple of re-names. I've got some updating to do!

I have been lurking, also, on the knitblogs list. (Yes guys, I'm there!) Ivete, I feel your pain! It's awful to put your heart into something and have it just not "be right".

Feeling rather blah and not with it today. A nap would be nice, but the chances of that happening are slim-to-none...

Find your inner donut.

Ugh. The doctor started me on some medication yesterday that has me half asleep most of the time. At least I have the mindless mohair to work on, everything else seems like a ton of effort. I hope this is a side effect that wears off quickly. *yawn*

I went and got my very own domain name registered! (Yahh! May not seem like much to some, but it's cool to me.) Now I've got to get rocking on putting my welcome page together. Six million ideas, just got to organize them...

Finished my "Knit for a Cure" scarf last night-finally! Simple, brainless garter stitch on size 15 needles and it took me, like, two weeks to do. Granted, I've been working on other stuff too; but sheesh!

I started trying to cast on for the second leaf sock, but couldn't get my brain wrapped around it for some reason. I think I'm still trying to adjust to the time change. So I grabbed some "sunset" colored mohair and cast on for another simple scarf-not at all practical!

Note to self: DO NOT rub eyes while working with mohair!!!

One of Tony's nephews is here. They are taking off to go play in a 7th Sea card game tounament. But for meinwhile he's amusing Irina to no end! It's wonderful...and making us think that we really need a NANNY! (We Wish!!!) They're taking off until who knows when this evening, and the small one and I are going to hit the quilt store. (I'm just gonna look, really...)

AHEM!

By Popular Demand...(Hi Kate! *Kim waving madly & spilling her tea*)

The Lace Leaf Socks Or, at least the one I'm almost done with...





And the really annoying thing is that they still have a leaf border that gets sewn on around the top of the cuff. No, actually that's not the annoying thing. What's driving me crazy now is the fact that there is a mistake in the pattern for the border. I was working on it way too late last night, and was wondering if there was something wrong with ME because I couldn't figure out why I suddenly had 12 stitches in one row when I'd only had 11 in the row before. Yes, I was swearing at my knitting last night...

But this morning a cooler head prevailed and I sat down and worked it out...And, WooHoo, the pattern was wrong. It wasn't me after all. So I should get the border finished tonight and sewn on tomorrow. Then I will begin the second one...

Take the Which Powerpuff Girl Are You? Test.

Oh, Hooray! I am really, truely almost *done* with the first of those lace leaf socks! (I'd have been done before now if I'd actually worked on it in any consistant manner-You're not reading this, are you Mom?) I will be able to start the second one tonight after the small one is in bed! I'd love to just do something mindless for a rew days, but I have the feeling that if I don't just dive into this other sock I am never going to get them finished!

The small one is going to drive me out of my mind today. Anyone mind if I scream?

Hmmm...I'm hosting a quilt block swap for my friends over at Foolishness, and of course, silly me, I made a challenge of the fact that you can only use fabric from your stash. Now I'm going through *my* stash (trying to come up with the fabric for a sample block) and thinking: Gee, some of this would be nice, and some of that would be nice...I'm feeling a trip to the quilt store coming on...

Sounds about right, but way too introspective for this time of the morning!

take free enneagram test

Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh!!!! A woman named Mary on the Socknitter's list created these amazing Snow Dancer Socks! Hopefully, someday, her pattern will be available for us lesser knitting mortals!

Ivete is cool! She set up the Knitting Blogs mail list! (Now we can all talk as well as read! TeeHeeHee!)

Had to go out and buy a new printer today. I didn't realize just how much I was printing until I couldn't for a week. Got an inkjet this time. The bubblejet that I had was OK, but I think I'll have a few more options of what I'll be able to print decently.

I also picked up a couple of loose leaf binders and page dividers and the like. Now I will have someplace to put all of the things I've been printing! This girl is gonna get organized! ...yeah, right, who am I trying to kid...

Spring is coming! Spring is coming!

Really tired and cranky today. Stoopid pms. Don't even feel like knitting, it just takes too much energy. Chocolate, must have chocolate...