Tidying up the place

Man, my links were a mess. I commented out some people who haven't posted in a while (I don't want to loose the links in case they do come back someday), and added Knit Knack Patty Whack (who wins the award for "Blog Title I'm Most Likely to Walk Around Singing"). I know that there must be more New England Knitters out there. Sing out and I'll add you!

I need to go through and clean up the other pages, none of the big Kokopelli sweater pictures are showing up, but my 'html' program is telling me that I'm missing a .DLL file, even though I can see it in the folder. Grrrr. Downloaded it twice I have. Grrr. Ordered the disk I did. Load it from there I will, and hope for best.

Why am I talking like Yoda?

Other than that, I've been playing Blogshares way too much. Knitting occasionally, because it's been too sticky to think about wool. And being goofy with the kid, who starts kindergarten in four weeks!!!! (Obsessive much? Nooooo, not me...)

I've run away to join the circus...

Well, not really. But it does seem like a delightful idea at times!

I've been helping some friends from work put together a quilt for another co-worker. He and his wife have a baby due at the end of the month, and a big group of us did blocks. This is the fifth group quilt that we've done welcoming a new baby into the 'clan' at work, and I'm always amazed at the creativity! I'm going to help do some quilting on it tomorrow, so I'll try to remember to bring my camera to get a few pictures.

I've also been finishing sewing the binding on a quilt that I made, umm...a looooong time ago. It's about time I got the dang thing done, because then I can justify starting another one.

I've also almost finished the back of Tony's blue sweater and Irina's Halloween sweater, literally about an inch left to go on each. Than I can start on the front of those! I'm going to see just how far along I can get on my current projects with the aim of having a "Satisfying September" while finishing them up.

But, knowing me, it'll probably end up being "Startitis September" despite my best intentions!

T.V. to knit to

I rarely get hooked into t.v. shows, mostly because I watch something once, say: "I must remember to watch that again"...and promptly forget about it! But I have come across what is, very unfortunately, going to be a short lived series. Not because it's not good; but because it's one of those quickie PBS shows.

My Sunday night knitting had been along to Diana Rigg and Neil Dudgeon in The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries. It's been a perfect hour of fun for the past three weeks. Sadly, there's only one more show left. I guess I'm just going to have to find the books! I forsee a little less knitting getting done once I do find them.

As it is, this has been a reading summer for me, and it feels very strange to say that, because I use to do nothing but read! I did, of course, read the most recent 'Harry Potter' book...in one 12 hour marathon! (Tony bet me that I couldn't do it in one day. I got a nice, home made, seafood tempura dinner out of it!) I read 'The Alienist' by Caleb Carr for the sixth (seventh?) time. I raced -pardon the pun- through Seabiscuit (who knew a horse could be that fascinating?)(Yes, yes, yes! I know it was about a heck of a lot more than a horse!). And yesterday was for Kate Remembered, which reads like nothing less than a love letter to a great woman.

Next up, I believe, will be The Six wives of Henry VIII, which also goes along with a PBS series. After that...I don't know! Any suggestions?

(Goodbye Bob...and Thanks! It took me many years to *really* understand what you were.)

Need a little help?

That's what Himself was asking as I was trying to get my armoire sorted and organized.

Took a nice little two hour nap he did. After all, it's not like I have anything better to do than wait for him to move, right? Heh.

And, in the time honored tradition of Knitbloggers who have finished socks, I present a picture of my foot:

I'm refering to these as my candy socks because they remind me of nothing more than chocolate and mint non-pareils. Is it any wonder that I get hungry knitting? Everything reminds me of food! (I thought about buying some non-pareils to take the picture, but then I'd have also needed the chocolate, and then...Well, I couldn't let it all go to waste now, could I?)

The HORROR

I just survived taking Irina to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's.

A million kids running around screaming.

It's going to take me a week to stop twitching...

It's a Flying Peeping Tom!!!

That's what it looks like, anyway ;-). The landlord has masons working on the outside of the building, and they have to use a cherry picker to get to the higher floors. Nothing like looking out your window (which is considered the second floor, but is actually the third on the back of the building), and seeing someone float by in midair. Veddy Stwange.

It's been a long week since my last post. Irina's been going through something, some sort of growth or maturity spurt, and it hasn't been easy on any of us! My Baby required lots of babying, poor kiddo. Fortunately she seems to have reverted back to her normal happy, energetic (i.e. exhausting) self. Six weeks to kindergarten, yah!

I haven't been doing a whole lot of knitting, though I am almost finished with the first sock from my newer Opal yarn. Another inch worth of ribbing and it will be done (I'm doing toe up). I just have to make sure that I finish it when I can immediately cast on for the second sock, or I'll keep finding excuses for not starting it.

Instead I've been doing some quilting:

This is what's called a whole cloth quilt, and it's only going to be about 16" square when it's done. Someday I want to do a bed sized one, when I live someplace that can accomodate a big quilt frame. It's lap quilting at this point for me. Oh, and when I'm done with the quilting, I'll soak it in cold water and those white lines will wash out.

I've also been working on a Fimo clay tile:

That's what I get for being home to watch the Carol Duvall Show. Yup. Another cool, hobby-ish thing to do! I worked on this so long last friday that I gave myself a serious crick in the neck that took two days to work out. And do you think that I could have started with an easy pattern to do? Naw! Why on earth would I want to do something like that? *Grin*

Score!

I did indeed make it out to the new lys on friday, with Mother in tow. There's not much there yet, but what I saw has me very, very hopeful that it's going to be great. Nice light and airy feeling. A big difference from the lys that I'm use to, which, while a good place to check out, is very dark in comparison. I did treat myself to some birthday sock yarn:

I admit it, I'm an Opal sock yarn fan, and this sock is going quick! I had to redo the heel, but it turned out to be the best short-row heel that I've ever done, I think. It's like while I was working on it the lightbulb came on over my head and I was blinded by the flash of insight. (The heel looks funky in the picture because of the way it's bent, but it's beautiful, really. And the keyboard isn't blue, but the colors of the yarn *are* accurate, oddly enough)

I've also been working on Tony's sweater:

Stockinette. Exciting, I know. At least I've been doing something. And I was right, I can't get the color to show right, but I tried!

Cake anyone?

Yup, another year down. Not quite sure how I feel about this, my 7th annual 29th birthday. A gray, rainy day too. Ah well, I have the day off to myself, Seabiscuit to read, and knitting to work on. If I feel the crazed urge to get out of here I might take a ride out to the new yarn shop in Needham that Amy has mentioned, but a yarn shop in quick walking distance of a quilt shop? I don't think my "won't power" (nevermind my will power) is quite that strong!

I finally picked up the Virgin sweater again. After screwing up the same row three times I was a little disheartened by it and tossed it in a pile to glare at for a while. ::note to self: reading an intricate chart and dealing with a 4-year-old do not mix:: I'm about one third of the way up the bodies of the lower figures, but not far enough to be worthy of a picture yet. It's too dark to take a decent one today anyway.

I've also been working on a sweater for Tony out of some of the wool I picked up in Vermont (Ah, the glory that is air conditioning, to be able to work with wool on 90 degree days!) Nothing fancy going on there, just straight stockinette on size 9's. It's the color that's going to make it fantastic, a dark blue tweedy purple, red, almost aqua color "Wow" of a color. I doubt that any picture of it could do the color justice. And because it is on big needles it's going quickly, which is a nice change of pace from the Vigrin sweater. That on feels like it takes me about 20 minutes a row! Sheesh!

I'm hot, hot, hot!

And no, I don't mean my knitting! Today I may actually get some done, if I can force myself off of this computer. It's been too hot to sit here the past few days, so now I'm trying to catch up on what I missed. Today is *still* hot, but made bearable by an early birthday present, a new air conditioner for the livingroom! With the one in the kid's window they actually cool this place down to a reasonable level!

The early gift was prompted by the fact that one of our neighbors was burning incense yesterday morning, which resulted in me getting a major migraine! (I missed going to the fireworks with Tony & Irina because of it. Loud noises and flashing lights during a migraine? No thanks) The incense is becoming a weekly problem. I don't enjoy having every Sunday, our family day, ruined because my head hurts. I don't know who it is, so I can't tape an anonymous note to their door asking them to have some neighborly courtesy and please not burn it quite so often. Who knows if it would have worked anyway, and starting a feud with neighbors is nowhere on my to-do list. So now we can close the windows without and ignore it! Hooray!

As a result of a late night and much excitement Irina has stayed home from day care today. Why she hasn't crashed yet, I have no idea.

I still want to be in Vermont. Wimper, wimper, whine.

Ah, blogging ennui continues...

*Chapter Next*
In Which Our Intrepid Traveler Returns Home

And I really do want to be back in the green, green mountains of Vermont! Coming home was rough. Going back to work
today and cleaning up the mess left by the folks who worked in my office while I was gone was tough. Ah well, to be expected I guess!

So, Thursday my friend Margo and I lit out of here, bound for places north. The five hour drive to Montpelier felt like it only took about two it went so smoothly. Once there we checked into Betsy's bed and Breakfast. To our delight we discovered that we had access to a full kitchen, so that made meal planning so much easier! A trip to the grocery store and we were set for the weekend.

Friday was spent at the Quilt Festival! We got there at 10. We left about 4, brains completely fried! My favorite quilt was by the artist Christine Fries (which, unfortunately, is not shown on her site yet!) The pictures of her quilts do not do them justice! Not even remotely close! I could have stood in front of her current quilt for days.

Saturday we consulted our schedules ("Schedules? We don't need no stinkin' schedules! We're on Va-caaaa-tion!"), and decided to take the hour trip to Shelburne and the Shelburne Museum. Granted, our main motivation was the fact that a quilt exhibit was going on up there too, but the place was so much more! Easily the favorite was the Ticonderoga. Walking around a hill I honestly did not expect to be coming face to bow with a 200+ foot long boat! In the middle of a field! Very cool.

Dinner Saturday was at a Montpelier favorite (and I don't think I'm giving any secrets away here. This place is popular!), Sarducci's. If you ever get the chance to go there, do. Just go. Wait however long you have to for a table, it is worth it! Two words: Lobster Ravioli. Ohmigawd, was it good!

Back to the quilt show we went on Sunday, trying to figure out what we missed the first time around. We had only planned to stay a short time, but ended up spending another four hours gawking. The creativity and imagination was just stunning.

And then it was home again on Monday, a five hour drive that felt like it took ten! We really were not ready to come back to the real world, but what can ya do? But I did do dome shopping, and picked up some quilt patterns and souviners. And, no, I could not go to Vermont without buying one local product near and dear to this knitting fools heart:

That's thirty (yes, 30) skeins of yarn at 220 yards each, and two 1750 yard cones of lovely Vermont wool! I was happy that the people I had bought the yarn from that I had used for Irina's Kokopelli sweater were back this year in the Vermont vendor's tent. And before you think that I maybe went a little nuts with the wool, it all cost me *under* $200.00! Ok, yes, maybe I did go a little nuts. But at that price, wouldn't you? (Like I have to explain! You understand, right?)

So now I'm trying to catch up with life, but I'm not pushing it too hard. I'm still moving at that slower pace that is Vermont.

Summer's finally here!

Nothing like a couple of 90 degree days to make you long for the, well, 80 degree days! Yuck, yuck, yuck!

So I'm really just stopping in briefly to say that I'm still away! Today (in about an hour if my partner in traveling crime is running on time) I'm heading for Vermont! WaaHoo!!!

So a big MWAH to you all, and I'll see you next week sometime with more pictures than I will know what to do with. Stay cool!

fake-u-out award from artgekko

Actual content coming soon. Really. I've just been doing more reading than knitting lately. ("Outlander" for the umpteenth time!) And I ripped the neck out of my current project for the third time because I kept making dumb mistakes. (Grrrrrrrr) And I'm gearing myself up to head to the Vermont Quilt Festival next week with a friend! (WooHoo!!! I took well over 500 pictures last year. Talk about sensory overload.)

It was "Preschool Graduation" today...

I need a little break.

2 times the fun!

So last night the big city girl, Alison, made her way out into the 'burbs for a few hours of knitting. The experience was enhanced by the fact that we managed to snag the best chairs that Starbucks had to offer. It made the time we spent sitting that much cosier.

Even better was the fact that she, and her boys, came back out today. We met at the local A.C. Moore, for a Cotton Ease exchange (and, yes, I bought a few skeins). Then it was over to the next mall where lunch was had of the finest in McDonald's cuisine. Afterward we cut the kids loose in the play area and let them wear themselves out for a good long time. (I'll tell you a secret...You know how cute the pictures of Alison's sons are? They are even cuter in real life!) Irina had a blast playing with them, and can't wait to see them again. I think a generally good time was had by all.

So now I have some black and orange Cotton Ease to make a Halloween sweater for the short one, as per her request. Now I just need to find some...oh, what's that stuff called? Oh yeah, TIME!!!

I haven't knit in a few days.

Terrible, horrible thing to admit, but I've been sucked into a book. The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Very strange, and very good.

Went to visit my parents the other day before I realized that they weren't going to be home (have a good time, Mom?), and ended up taking the small one for a walk through the woods. The only good thing about all of the rain we've been having, as far as I'm concerned, is that fact that you can see things like this:

I love the fact that there are orchids that grow wild in Massachusetts! Finding a dozen Lady Slippers made running the gauntlet of mosquitoes worth while!

And if anyone wonders where I got my odd sense of humor, I need only direct them to my parent's yard.

Redoing some stuff

So the much neglected blog formerly known as "Free Range" is getting an overhaul. You know how sometimes you start a project, but the materials you're using don't agree with what you'd like it to be? It's kinda like that. It just wasn't right. Back to the drawing board.

I've also had a lot of thoughts going through my head lately about being a parent and what a bizarre, strange trip it is. I mean, there's nothing like having a kid to completely turn everything that you *thought* you knew upside down. And it's getting even worse as Irina gets older, wiser, and so much more her own person. Add on top of that the fact that she starts Kindergarten in 12 weeks!!! YIKES!

SO Free Range is being reincarnated as Momma Hen, someplace for me to deal with/chronicle the fact that my baby isn't a baby anymore. (Yes, I know, she will *always* be my baby...)

Yay and Hooray for KIP-ing!

So Amy and I met, talked, warmed comfy chairs, and knit our fingers off for about two hours last night! Unfortunately Tammey couldn't make it this time, hopefully we'll see (and meet) her next time! We were a little thrown off our stride when we got to the bookstore last night because they were having an art opening right where we wanted to be sitting; but we made it over to the cushiest chairs near the cafe and grew roots. It was a little funny, because we managed to seat ourselves right next to a woman who is a beginning knitter and had just finished her first scarf. I hope that she keeps it up.

So we are planning to knit again next week. Tuesday this time, because Tony's schedule is suddenly all over the place and he doesn't have the same nights off two weeks in a row. If anyone wants to join us, I think that we'll be doing Chestnut Hill this time. (Alison?)

And I finished the boa!

Thursday night (6/5)
7:15-ish
Barnes and Noble in Framingham (near the cafe)
I'll be the one (hopefully one of a few) knitting.
Come and say Hello!

Well, oops.

I owe a belated Thanks to all of those who commented on my vest! I am glad that you liked it. I think that I was just so numb by the time I finished it that I didn't want to think about it for a while. How those people who design the frighteningly intricate knitting patterns do it, I don't know. I can understand the drive and urge, but it really was quite exhausting! I do plan on putting up a page with my basic directions eventually, if I can figure out how to write them clearly!

Now I know why the original pattern that my Mother had shown to me was so confusing; because until you actually start doing it, it *is* hard to wrap your brain around what the process looks like. OK, clearly marking the left front, back and right front sections of the pattern would have gone a loooooong way to helping! A diagram would have been nice, too.

It was a happy day in our household yesterday! We discovered that there is indeed a Deity, she does listen, and does grant prayers! How? The "monster neighbors" down on the ground floor, the guy who liked to party loudly and who's every other word began with the letter *F*, MOVED!!!!!! We were absolutely giddy, running back and forth to the window, watching them load up the truck. It wasn't until I saw the building maintenance people going in there with ladders and paint cans this morning that I believed he was really gone. Now maybe the kids in the building will start playing out in the common area again. I know that ~I~ didn't want my kid out there while he was around!

I've been doing a little bit of knitting. Sunday turned out to be a complete wash-out knitting wise though. The change in atmospheric pressure as the rain came through triggered a major migraine. Double yuck. I did manage two rows of the Vigrin sweater, but I know that in the time it took me to do those two rows, Wendy would have managed to do about two inches! (I'm only half joking!)

I've also done about half of a boa out of some copper Lion Brand Fun Fur that Irina begged me to buy at the craft store a couple of weeks ago. How do I know that I may have a budding fiber lover? She had to just keep the skein and 'pet' it for a while before asking me to make something out of it for her! Can it be long before she has a yarn stash of her own?

Waaaa!

I'm feeling the need to knit in public with others of similar knitty persuasion, despite the potential of knit-dweebishness. Any Boston area knitters care to join me? I'm thinking thursday night in Chestnut Hill if anyone's interested. Anyone?

I've been doing a bunch of swatching, trying to work out some ideas in my head, but not settling on any one thing. I think that a rainy day tomorrow will drive me around the bend give me an excuse to just hang out and play with my yarn. It's all in boxes now, and appears to be taking up less space; but I think that's because it's all piled vertically instead of being allowed to spread all over the place. I still need to go through the boxes and make lists of what's in them eventually. I also found many more knitting needles stuck in plastic bags with half finished projects.

I really am feeling very uncentered right now.

I don't know what was worse

The freakishly bad, über apocalyptic, psychotically heavy metalish, sci-fi laden nightmare that I had last night or;

Waking up and having this song stuck in my head for absolutely no reason what so ever.

Anyone playing Blogshares?

Buy me baby! I may be cheap, but I ain't, um...oh, nevermind.

Chocolate and Ibuprofin

Just give me what I want, back away slowly, and everything will be fine. Just fine...

Has anyone seen the commercial for the new show For Love or Money? Now I have to admit that I think the premise of the show is pretty skanky and I won't watch it; but at the beginning of the commercial is a *sweater*! A glorious, cabled, fantasy of a *s*w*e*a*t*e*r* that takes my breath away every time I see it! if you've seen it, you know what I mean. Must...find...picture...

The sun may not be shining right now, but at least it's not raining!

So the vest has gone to live with Mom

Do you think I remembered to bring my camera with me? No, of course not.

Whatever fits Blogger was going through earlier, it seems to have resolved itself so I can post and update my template. You're thrilled, I'm sure.

I *finally* made it through the neverending rows on size 1 needles that will be the inside hem of the Virgin Sweater (all 5,040 stitches of it) and have started the color work. Only three rows of that done though, so there is certainly nothing to show as of yet.

The sun came out today, for one brief, glorious moment! But I think it was just a tease. More rain is on it's way. Even the ducks are fed up by now.

WTF?

Blogger reverted my template way way back. Grrrrrrr.

Michal, my web hosting guru, is working on a new blogging system called Rantelope. I'm going to see if I can figure out what to do with it, but it's going to be a learning experience. I mean, Python? Ain't that a really big snake??? (I can just see Michal reading this and going "No, No, No!!! Ahhhhhh!")

I want to get way, way, way far away from Blogger.

Loose ends

No, not in my knitting, but how I'm feeling. Totally at loose ends after finishing the vest. I have plenty of things that I could be working on, but my brain is enjoying coasting right now. What I should be doing is designing a quilt square for a "Welcome Baby" quilt that is being planned for a coworker, but I'm not finding inspiration for that either.

Oh well. Or as my teenage nephew would say: "Whatever". It'll happen.

So, in lieu of anything more exciting, how about a random link? The Coffee Cup Project

And now it's the moment that all some a couple of you are waiting for.

for the stalkers, psychos, weirdos, and just plain curious: yes, that's me

Detailed pictures are here.

I feel like I've run a marathon with this thing.

Hat
A performance in words, music, and knitting.

Knitting is the new rock and roll? Cool! I was never into yoga much anyway.

***

I'm missing buttons! I went to finally finish T.P.T.I.N.G.T.T.A. last night, and two out of six buttons were missing! AUGH!!

That discovery lead to my grabbing all of the yarn that I had just hanging around on the trunk I use as a table in the livingroom and tossing it in a box. A very large box. I don't want to think about what's in the bedroom. I also found a lot of knitting needles that I knew I had but were never able to put my hands on when I needed them. So now I have three 29" size 8 circs. *Shakes head* But do you think I'll be able to find them when I need one?

I'm bringing boxes home from work with me today, and having Tony teach me how to use Spreadsheet tomorrow. It's time to weed and get organized.

My Queendom for three really big Rubbermaid containers.

It's done.

It is, it is, it is! Well, except for the buttons, and those aren't going to get done until tonight.

Pics in a couple of days, because I have to go spend a holiday weekend at work. Unfortunately, thanks to the rain (which really is a good thing for me because it's knocking all of that nasty pollen out of the air), we most likely aren't going to be a busy as we would like.

Later Gators! If you're traveling anywhere this weekend, stay safe!

Knitting revival?

There's an interesting discussion going no over at Darilyn's message board that some might consider 'knitdweebish' beating of a dead horse, but I'm finding that it's a bit more intelligent than the usual 'meme's' of: "Well, I've been knitting for X years, so it can't be a revival".

I don't know if I would personally consider what's going on a 'revival', considering that fact that there are many of us who have been knitting for many years. I think of it as more of a resurgence. After all, knitting was a daily fact of life for many families for centuries. The women of the family knit, as did the children (girls and boys). In many instances the men of the family also knit.

Then it kind of went underground. It was no longer the part of daily life that it had been, but it was still being done. There were yarn stores, but they were few and far between, and the yarn wasn't always of the highest quality. But we knit anyway. Even when the only yarn we could get ahold of was acrylic from Woolworth's, we knit.

Then something happened. Some people think it was as a result of September 11th (personally, I couldn't knit on that horrible day, or for many days after-I was too stressed to focus). I think that they needed a 'reason' to knit again. And I don't look at it as a return to the 'domestic arts'; I mentioned that to my husband and he just laughed, because being domestic is *not* second nature to me.

Whatever it was that raised awareness of knitting, and I don't think we can pin point any one thing, it was only to our benefit. Yes, there are many new knitters, some who have picked up needles because it's suddenly trendy. Not every one of them will stick with it. Who among us hasn't tried something new and decided it just wasn't for us? So what? But some of those new knitters are amazing! And they are the ones who will keep it moving forward to the next generation.

We also benefit by the fibers that are available to us. I mean, 20 years later my first sweater, an acrylic thing from a pattern in Vogue Knitting, is still kicking. But I never would have considered bulky wool, cotton, alpaca, because I wasn't aware of it, or exposed to it. This resurgence has opened doors to options that just weren't readily available to me when I was a teenager.

If someone wants to consider it a revival, so be it. Like I said, I consider it a resurgence. The good thing about either of them is that it may slow down or receed, but things never go back to the way they were.

When avoiding doing anything useful make buttons

(not entirely true, my kitchen sparkles)

Slight detour

I got so incredibly frustrated with my major project yesterday that I finally put it aside for a while. So it isn't done today. It may not be done tomorrow. Who knows when it will be done?

I know that I'm standing in my own way on this. I am my own roadblock. I'm not happy right now because of the stupid mistakes I've made on it, because it is not going to match completely the image in my head. I am being my own worst enemy. Gack!

So I worked on the Virgin sweater a little, only a few rows last night before being distracted by other things. This is sleeve number one so far, about 1/3rd of the way up:

I'm liking the pattern, it's a fairly easy one to memorize (except for those center snowflakes-those keep throwing me), and is going quickly. I still have six 280 stitch rows to go on the hem for the body before I can increase and switch to larger needles needles. I'm in no rush, it's not like I'm going to be wearing it any time soon!

Tomorrow

This stupid thing will be done tomorrow, maybe even tonight. Which is a good thing, because I am really beginning to hate it. I hate the colors, I hate all the work that I've put into it, I hate the really huge honking mistake that *yesterday* I discovered I had made. I did discover, through that mistake, that me fear of steeking is completely gone. After all, the only solution was to cut! (The problem? Think: Linda Evans...Dynasty...bad '80's fashion...)

How happy am I that this will be going to live with my mother soon? How happy that I can stop looking at it?

So close, so close, so close.

Oooooohhhhhh....

My parents babysat and Tony and I got to have a grown up dinner last night! We sat for an hour and a half! The bliss, the luxury, the unexpected hedonism of it...Can you tell we hadn't done it in a while?

I am incredibly close to finishing the knitting on T.P.T.I.N.G.T.T.A., so I am going to shut up and go do it.

Did you find me ok?

I know that I need to go through and change my links for the rings I belong to, but it may take me a day or two. I also need to go through and update my links, put some stuff that was on my old /index page on this one. It'll happen. No, really, it will! But right now I'd rather go watch the History Channel, which I am going to be glued to next week when they do the history of Russia, and knit!

And I do have one great picture from NHS&W. Great to me at any rate, which is reason enough for me to force you to look at it!

That tall guy in the background? With the beard? That's my Tony showing up here for the first time, I think

Nutso couple of days

We did indeed make it to the NHS&W on Sunday. Fun, fun, fun. I didn't take as many pictures as I expected I might, but I think that was because I was on complete fiber overload! Barn after barn of venders with buttons, bunnies, alpacas, spinning wheels, and yarn, Yarn, YARN!!! Tony was quite impressed with my restraint ("admirable", he said)...until the last half an hour, when I kinda lost it. But only a little!

The last half hour found me at the Fiber Studio booth, where I ended up buying a Schacht School Loom! It's a cute little loom, and I'm having fun playing with it. Of course, it's also having the drawback of making me want more. As it is, I already want one of these, or these. I also picked up two skeins of gorgeous hand dyed cotton there.

I made my second, and final, purchase on our way to the gate to leave. There was a white tent placed strategically right by the exit with some of the yummiest alpaca yarn! I was a good girl, I only bought one skein; but the temptation to bring the whole rack home with me was huge! And it is so soft! I think that a big, snuggly sweater make from alpaca would be the best thing in the world; like a giant, warm hug.

And I successfully avoided looking at spinning wheels. I know that if I did take a look, maybe sit at one to try it out, that I would have come home a whole lot poorer! Call it: "spinning wheel seduction" Maybe next year? (My logical train of thought: Weaving=using stash that I already have. Spinning=a whole new stash and an unhappy husband! I think I'll stick to learning the weaving for a while!)

On the knitting front, I'm about one third of the way up the first sleeve of the Virgin sweater. I didn't frog it after all. Once I made it beyond the beginning I became much happier with how it looked. And, hopefully, I only have about two more days major work on The Project That I'm Not Going To Talk About! I just want it to be done! I really am getting sick of it. (And I'm sure that you're getting sick of hearing me "not" talk about it, right?) I'm aiming for finally finishing it in the next week! Crazed weasel knitting, anyone?

We are heading north tomorrow!

To go to the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival! It's going to be an hour and a half either way, but I am very much looking forward to it! Irina too, if the fact that she has been constantly talking about petting the "baby sheep" is any indication. (She has already been informed that, no, we are not bringing any live animals home with us. The cat would not appreciate it.) Tony is a little less enthused, but is being a good sport about it. Now I just have to hope that my camera holds out. It's eating batteries at an alarming rate, so I think it isn't long for the world. Fingers crossed, and all that.

I'm thinking that I'm going to change the URL of this page, drop the "/knitblog" and just make it the "/index" page; but I'll give plenty of warning, and put up something to redirect you anyway. Just wanted to let whoever might have linked to me know.

I'm in fear of being boring again, so I'm going to go knit. I've been working on the first sleeve for the Virgin sweater, but I'm not very pleased with the way it's coming out. I'm thinking that I may frog and start again. I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere on any project at all. Hopefully tomorrow will give me inspiration or something.

Man, I am being a downer, aren't I? Sheesh!

Gray, rainy, yucky day

I started the colorwork on one of the sleeves for the Virgin sweater last night. I just 'had' to see some of it. I didn't get far enough to justify a photo of the sleeve, and it's just too gloomy to take one today anyway. I still have who-knows-how-many-rows left on size 1's for the hem before I can do anything on the body. The needle I need for the body still has work on it anyway and I really don't want to go buy another one! I'll force myself to finish the other project first.

What a depressingly dark day. If I put Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase on a continuous loop, do you think that the small one would let me spend it in bed?

Oh dearie me.

I seem to have upset some people. It seems that someone on the message board that was using my bandwidth posted the url to this blog. They're picking on little old me. They think I'm boring. I'm...heartbroken. Sniff.

(FYI: No, I am not a member of the board. I signed up long enough to see why I was getting hits, and then I deleted the account. And, yes, I am aware that someone did a Whois search on my domain name. Hi there! *Waves*)

I am not going to turn this blog into a nasty flame war. It's just a waste of time. This is the last that I am going to say on the subject.

Quality knitting time

Tony and I watched "The Matrix" last night, which we hadn't seen before. Yes, I know that we were like the last two people in the world to see it. It was a good 2 1/2 hours of knitting time, thought Tony swears that there were scenes during which I stopped knitting! I kind of doubt that!

Tha answer Alison's question: I have a certain amount of bandwidth, or amount of information, that I am allowed to transmit from my host server on a monthly basis. My host also has a control panel that I can use to go and see where my traffic is coming from, and who is linking to my images. (Like my SiteMeter, but with a lot more detail) In it I discovered that I was getting a lot of hits from a message board for the band Level 42. Huh?

So I followed the link (I had to sign up for the board to find out just why I was getting hits from it), and lo-and-behold! In one of the messages was the steaming tea pot that I have on my home page. And it was copied over and over again in replies to the message.

Now I don't own the image, I didn't create it, but I am hosting the image on *my* server. What this person did was look at the source code for the page and linked it like this: <.img src="http://tea-ramblings.com/img002.gif">, the picture was showing up in his message, but the image was still hosted on my server, so he was using *my* bandwidth! This is known as "hotlinking" an image, and when you don't have the biggest amount of bandwidth in the world, a pretty unhappy thing. Heck, it was showing up as the #4 referer for the past week to my site!

I sent a note to the manager of the board to make her aware that it had happened, and to ask her to maybe let people know that it's not a nice thing to do. I received a really snippy note in return. I'm going to keep a really close eye on my statistics for a while.

Ha ha haha ha!

I found a bandwidth thief today. Idjit. And it was someone on a message board that a link to their own web site! You think they'd know better and download the image to their server and link it from there. Maybe they figured that I'm small fry enough to not notice but, believe it or not, I do check my site statistics!


(There was an image here-I deleted it from my server)

I'll leave it there for 24 hours and then delete the image. Hahaha. Jerk.

Yaaawwwnnnnnn

I am in total 'dragging my tush' mode. We're suffering from allergy helk around here, I've pulled a muscle in my back that is making useing the computer and knitting a little less than enjoyable, and if I don't get chocolate soon someone's going to die. (Ok, maybe they won't actually die, but I'm going to be giving them lots of nasty looks!) I'm trying to find some ambition to do something, but going back to bed seems like the best option so far!

I have some new knitting inspiration though. Earlier this week I picked up a copy of Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves at my LYS. I figure I can do mittens, and I can do fair isle, so why not? No, I haven't done gloves yet, but it would be just like me to make my first pair with a fair isle design. I mean, why teach myself a new skill using a plain, boring, solid color when I can really drive myself crazy by throwing in multiple colors? Besides, I know what would happen if I tried to do gloves in just one color: I'd do one, get bored, and have to walk around with one hand in my coat pocket all winter.

Alright...Goal for today: Finish the back of TPTINGTTA and at least start the right front! I've also cast on for my next big project, which means doing 18 rounds of 280 stitches on size 1 circular needles, using black yarn! GACK! So I now have to finish TPTINGTTA because I'm going to need the needle that I'm currently using for the body. (Am I being a lemming because this sweater has already been done? -And done wonderfully I might add- I don't think so...at least I hope not...And I'm sure as heck not going to have it done on a month! It might take me that long to get through the hem!)

I should also work in the Dalmation sweater. Sleeves, must do sleeves.

So much for dragging my tush!

So much for my weekend

I ended up getting called into work yesterday anyway! Three hours in the afternoon + a 4-year-old to try to amuse so she doesn't run rampant = maybe 45 minutes actual work done! It wasn't pretty. (OK, it wasn't as bad as all that. My kid can and will talk to anyone, so the trick was keeping her out of other people's offices so they could get some work done! Fortunately where I work is very big on family, so bringing her along wasn't a problem. And I kept sending her up to the community room we have on the third floor and telling her to run around in circles. Kept her distracted for half an hour, it did!)

Just as well I went in yesterday, because I missed this morning getting the breaks on the car fixed! That screaming sound you may have heard? My credit card. Just ignore it.

And now I am having a really, really hard time getting my act together to go in for the afternoon. The reason? I picked up a box full of lovely, lovely yarn at the post office, all for mememememe! The color I need to continue on The Project That I'm Not Going To Talk About, and two cones of black and red wool. Hmmmm...black and red...what could I possibly be thinking about making with that?

My weekend is here!

Or, the two days in a row that I have off, at any rate.

I'm woking on a fun little project. A cardigan/coat made from Linie 42 Plush in color #10 that I scored from Elanna few weeks ago. It's the black and white one, and it is apropriately named "Cruella".

Yup, I'm making the kid a dalmation sweater. She's so excited that I think her head's gonna explode. I did one side of the front last night, and there's no reason why I shouldn't get through the other side and part of the back today. Heck, I'm doing this on 11's! I'm cruising through it! I want to find some dog bone buttons for it.

On other knitting projects: The Project That I'm Not Going To Talk About is on hold for about a week. I ran out of one of the colors and had to order another skein (I was afraid that it was going to happen. Fortunately dye lot isn't going to be an issue...Wouldn't you like to know why, hehehe...) Only about 8 rows done on Pinky yesterday. I'm working on straights, which I use to swear by; but after all the circular knitting I've done lately they're feeling really odd. And I'm dropping stitches constantly because the cotton yarn just slides off of the metal needles! I think a trip to get some wood size 8 circ's is in order.

Love Letter to a Web Host

When I decided to be a big "grownup" blogger a year ago I took the plunge and purchased my own domain. I liked the thought of doing things independently, not having ads for things I'd never purchase blaring in peoples faces, and just generally learning the whole web site process.

Part of that was finding a host for my domain. One that wasn't going to break the bank, was easy to use, and comfortable. I was very happy to find all of that, and more, in Cornerhost. In the past year Michal has answered every single stupid question that I've asked with patience and humor. When things went wonky last week it was Michal who pointed me in the direction that I needed to go to fix things. And he was helping dinky little me while he was also working on what turned into a major server problem that ended up affecting many of his "bigger" accounts. I really don't think that the man slept at all over the weekend. (At least, it doesn't sound like it!)

If I had Michal's address I'd knit him a pair of socks in appreciation for the help that he's given me over the past year, but I don't. So instead I'll do what I can by singing his praises, encouraging anyone who might be looking for a new web host to check Cornerhost out, and signing on for another year!

Thank You Michal!

Remember this picture?

February 26, 2003 (8 weeks ago)

Now it looks like this.

Pansies as far as the eye can see!
Gotta Love Spring!

It's spring, and my life gets crazy

Working where I do I end up having a different crazy work schedule than the regular "retail" employee. Any other retail job that I had the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were the big shopping days. Even the mere suggestion of taking any time off then, especially the day before Christmas, was enough to make the manager ask just how much you valued your job. For us, asking for time off between now and June 20th would get you the same response. I may be a bit quieter over the next eight weeks because I'm going to be working my butt off!

I'm *still* working on my pink sweater and The Project That I'm Not Going Talk About. (this has been a recording) I have this fantasy of finishing Pinky by Mother's Day, but chances of that are slim. And as I am now in fear of boring myself to death, nevermind anyone else, I'm going to go knit and watch some ST:NG. (That's Star Trek: Next Generation for the unenlightened. Yes, I'm a Trekkie- not a Trekker, never a Trekker)

Hey, anyone up for knitting Wednesday night?

Nice Afternoon

We wanted to do something interesting that we would all enjoy. For a while we considered going into Boston and hitting one of the museums in there, but the idea of driving in didn't rock us much. We thought it would also have been a much bigger commitment of time and patience than Irina would have been capable of at this point. It's not like we can just stick her in a stroller and push her around anymore, and I don't know how we would have delt with our "prepetual motion machine" at the MFA.

So we decided to stick close to home and went to the Danforth Museum in Framingham. The museum itself is small, but it does have a few really nice pieces. I was looking at one in the permanent collection, a metal sculpture, and suddenly realized that I knew the artist!

My father worked for David Shapiro for years. Somewhere at home my parents have photographs of my brother and I taken at a gallery opening that our family was invited to. I think we were maybe 5 and 6. (Yes Mom, I remember that too! Mostly I remember lying in the back seat on the way home, looking at the city lights out the car window...but I also remember curtsying when I was introduced to someone. No, I don't know why I curtsied.) It was incredibly cool to be standing in a room that had a *Picasso* in it looking at a piece done by someone I had actually met!

The Danforth also has many great art classes for all ages. I'm going to see if I can put Irina in something this summer, she'd love it. I also discovered that they offer beginning weaving classes. I know what I'm going to sign up for this fall!

WooHoo! I'm back Bay-Beee!

It really was annoying to not have a blog for a day. Dependant, I am. Is there a local chapter of BA?-Bloggers Anonymous? I'm sure that they meet in the same hall as the KA group (and if I have to tell you what *that* is...!) I at least did some knitting yesterday, working on my pink cotton sweater and a little bit on The Project That I'm Not Going To Talk About, which I haven't worked on since our last S&B. My excuse for not working it is that it's wool, and it's been too warm to deal with wool!

Tony took the day off today so we can have a family day without running around doing errands! So out of here I am!

Oddly enough

I can't find my site. Nope. Nada. Zip. This is actually a test to see if I can even post, bucause I do believe me server is having technical difficulties!

Under the catagory of "Huh?"

Sleeve #1
22 increase rows=104 stitches=18 inches (with 6 more rows in stockinette to reach a total length of 19 inches)

Sleeve #2
21 increase rows=104 stitches=17 inches (with 12 more rows in stockinette to reach a total length of 19 inches)

How the heck did I manage to do that? I even had Tony count the stitches on sleeve #2 because I didn't believe what I had counted myself three times.

Oh well, if you think I'm frogging anything you would be wrong, wrong, wrong! After all, who's going to know besides me? (Ok, you are, but you won't tell, will you?)

Irina and I get to take a walk to the center of town in a few hours to cheer on the runners in the 107th Boston Marathon. At least we will if she's still awake. I think that she was so overtired when they returned home yesterday that she ended up not sleeping well last night. Either that, or she's getting sick too. Poor kiddo. (Really strange: she asked me if she had time for a nap before we left and then put herself into bed! At 10 in the morning! Weird.)

I think that I put all of the New England Knitbloggers my list over there, but if I missed anyone clue me in, 'k?

So, I lied

I'm home. I woke up with a major screaming sore throat yesterday and not wanting to be "Typhoid Kim" opted to stay home. I ended up spending way too much time on the computer yesterday, but I also got a decent amount of knitting done too. One sleeve on a sweater for "Me" done, and half of the second. I'd forgotten just how fast plain stockinette goes when you're doing it on size 8 needles!

And in my surfing of the ring this morning, look at the site that I found in the queue! Little Stitches, a knitblogger from Japan. Look at how incredibly small that knitting is! Boggled, I am absolutely boggled! I really can't wait to see more.

And when I said "surfing the ring", I ment "Surfing The Ring"! By the end of the day today I think that I will have visited every single blog in the knitting ring!!! Astonishing! So many people that I haven't seen in a long time, so many new faces! (The length of the list of blogs that I have saved in my favorites just keeps getting longer and longer!) And I am finding more New England knitters:Knit-Tastic, Blissful Knitter, and Loose Ends.

Now...what am I going to work on knitting today? I have waaaayyyyyy too many options!

I'm out of here for a few days! Tomorrow we head out to my in-laws for Easter. We come back late on Sunday, so it may not seem like a major trip; but considering that there will be a minimum of seventeen people for Easter morning breakfast, it really is a big trip. And after we spend two, maybe three hours tops, digesting our Easter hard boiled eggs we head over to one of Tony's sisters for even more food! (and more chaos, and more people) It makes for a very long day. I'm just happy that they don't expect me to go to 8 a.m. mass with them, being the terribly non-denominational member of the family. I wouldn't understand it anyway, because it will be done in Polish!

So begins the Eternal Knitters Dilemma...What project to bring? A sock? Two different socks so I can switch off if I get bored? Socks and a sweater? Decisions, decisions...And, no, I'm not one of those who sees car rides as quality knitting time; because I like to drive!

May all of your chocolate bunnies be solid and from Godiva!

(i really must remember to read my patterns. *(yo,p2tog), p3* accidently became *(yo, p2tog)* p3, which results in a very different fabric. serves me right, trying to blog and knit at the same time)

Into the Woods We Did Go

It was such a perfect day today that I tossed the small one into the car and we went down to the Elm Bank Reservation which is currently under lease to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Mass Hort is in the process of restoring a lot of the gardens and original plantings, as well as using the property for classes and lectures. There are tons of trails for walking along the Charles River in the woods, and the grounds are open to anyone. (I think we easily did 2 miles-I'm amazed that she hasn't gone down for a nap, I feel like I need one!)

One of my favorite things to see this time were these statues. The last time I was there they were lying on the ground!


What does this have to do with knitting? you might ask. Why, absolutely nothing at all! (Other than the fact that I didn't get any done!)

And another one!

Hippygoth Knits...Really!

(Jenn, you are in Mass, so I deem you close enough!)
(or, I'll get you added when blogger decides to behave)

I think I should change that list to New England Knit Bloggers. All those in favor say "Aye!"

Oooooommmm

I knit in the break room at work, and it's always interesting to see the reactions of people around me. At this point my knitting is such a fixture to the year round workers that if I'm not knitting for some reason I get asked if I'm ok.

Last week a friend told me that she loved seeing me knit because she found the rhythm of my hands moving very soothing to her when she'd been having a tough day. She didn't think that it would work as well if she were the one actually doing the knitting, because she'd have to pay too much attention to it; but watching sitting in my quiet spot on the couch was different.

Today she walked into the room, saw me sitting in the corner with a sock in hand, and sighed. She literally slumped, as if all the tension had drained out of her. Then she looked in my eyes, smiled, said :"Thank You", and grabbed some more coffee and went on her way.

I am Zen Girl...see me knit...Ooooommmmm...

Yup, found another Boston area blogger:

Country Turtle

Harrumph!

I really want to know how I missed another Boston area knitting blogger-type person! Was there a memo that I didn't get? Damn it, am I out of the loop again!?! I find today that I must add Kerstin to my elitist list with a fine "Hi, Howdy, and How the heck are ya?"

Anyone else?

Do I dare say that I've started yet another project? Two, actually; but one of them is a pair of socks for the short one, so those shouldn't take long. The other is a pink cotton sweater. No, not the pink that I posted a few weeks ago that looked more red because my scanner was acting funky. I just needed to *not* work with wool for a few days!

So my day shall be a lazy one (It didn't even start until 9:30! Bliss! Sleeping in!). I have the movies Chocolat and Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secerets to knit to, and the new Robert Crais book to lure me away from both the movies and the knitting. Tralala, off I go...

Such the BrewHaHa

I'll admit that a certain knitblogger's post rubbed me the wrong way (and it appears that I'm not the only one). I guess if I were ~~Popular~~ enough to be getting 20 or 30 comments a day that I too might feel the need to make sure that they were witty enough to keep my interest. As it is, if I get one or two I'm happy. Heck, I find the fact that anyone might spend a moment of their time leaving a comment on anything I might have had to say wonderful! Leave me comments! I promise to treasure each and ever one of them for what they are. (Ok, anything pornographic will get ditched, but I'll have a wicked hard laugh at it first)

This really kind of reminds me of the cliques in high school. I wasn't one of the popular kids then, either. (Now I prefer to think of it as flying below the radar.) But you know, I knew who my friends were, and I didn't have to worry about them saying anything catty or rude about me behind my back (or on a message board). I could be myself; quirks, rants, and hissy fits in tact. And can I tell you just how thrilled I am that high school is long over?

One thing I've noticed about myself is in the last year is how my blog has evolved. In the beginning I really did compare myself and my style to the "bigger" knitting bloggers (Theresa, Bonne Marie, and Carolyn at the recently defunct Dangerous Chunky). It took me a while to understand my own style of posting, and what I really wanted to use my blog for, ( if you really -HaHaHa- want to know my thoughts on that, ask! I can't promise that you'll understand the long, rambling, stream of thought monologue that follows; but I'll try to explain!) and to discover My voice. I probably bore a lot of people, I don't stick strictly to knitting; but this really is me, slices of my life.

Speaking of long and rambling, I really am in danger of putting to sleep more readers that I usually do! I just want to say Thank You! to each of you who took the time to visit me today! Some of you I know, some of you followed a link, to a link, to a link and I will never know. You are all welcome. May I offer you some tea?

Hey Hey Hey

It's a Friday Five that I'm actually interested in answering!

1. What was the first band you saw in concert?
Styx, during the "Kilroy Was Here" tour which was back in 1983/84 I think. Man, I tell ya, the crush that I had on Tommy Shaw was huge! I'm almost embarrased thinking about it. (Nothing like a teenage girl in Lurrrrve) I saw a Styx concert last week on one of our local PBS stations. It was fun, but I couldn't figure out why the audience was full of grown ups...

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?
I don't know that I could pick a favorite! I don't know a lot of the newer bands, and some of the ones I do drive me crazy with dislike. (I wish that guy who sings "Your body is a wonderland" would stop mumbling!) Give me Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, The Beatles...

3. What's your favorite song?
"Paradise By the Dashboard Light" can always incite me to sing loudly in the car (With the windows up, of course! It wouldn't be fair to torture the human race like that)

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
Drums! I love pounding on things.

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
Hmmm...The Lizard King, Janice, Jimi...Wildly talented and terribly tragic. It would have been cool to see just a glimmer of that.

I am disgusted with some members of the human race
*NO knitting content follows*

I returned home today just in time to see one of my neighbors (and I use the term very loosely, as I live in a big apartment building) smacking his wife around in the parking lot. Charming, huh? He was carrying their kid, who's just over a year old, at the time. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Asshole.

I don't think they saw me, and only the fact that the small one was with me made me stop from taking him on right then and there. I'm not sure what I could have done at that point, anyway. Knowing the mindframe of abusers, saying anything would only have made it worse for her in the long run. Made me feel incredibly helpless. But I'll tell you what I did do.

Our landlord has cameras everywhere! In the parking lot, the lobby, and in the elevator. I dropped an anonymous note in the landlords' office mail slot, telling them what had happened, what car they got out of, and what time it happened. I just hope that they caught the fucker on tape! And if they did, and do contact the police, I hope that the wife is strong enough to press charges.

You would not believe how mad, incredibly fucking LIVID, I am right now.

She does not get it from MY side of the family!!!
(I've decided that, next time she asks for a piece of yarn, I'd rather not know why!)

Much needed escape

The chance to get out, away from the kid, and have some adult conversation with Amy and Alison couldn't have happened soon enough yesterday! Of course, a lot of conversation centered around our kids! Can't escape them, joys of being parents, etc. Also, finding out that Amy, when she moves, is going to be living literally five minutes down the street from me was very cool!

I'm planning on an incredibly lazy day today (if the kid'll let me). I have a sock that I want to get the heel turned on, and a pattern that I need to start writing out before I forget what I'm doing.

And finally, Oh Joy! Oh Rapture!! I don't feel like I have to go crazy cleaning anything in this place! Happy, happy Guilt Free Knitting Time! I'm gonna go do it.

When I was a kid

We moved into a new house. The previous occupant (I can't say owner, because we rented) had a huge loom set up in what became my bedroom. I only saw it briefly, when we looked at the house before moving in, but the image has stuck in my head for a long, long time.

I will admit that I've been intrigued with weaving for a long time now, and seeing what Clara has been doing is starting to reawaken the interest. I've been thinking about a kid's size loom from Brio as a possibility for learning, and to see if I really get into it. (Ok, there are space...make that lack of space...considerations) Something like that also has an added benefit that Irina could learn to use it too, if she's interested. I'll have to check around and see if I can find one locally.

And, Yea! Hooray! It's knitting night tonight. I get to leave the house for some grown up "Me" time in about nine hours! Can I survive that long?

Why is it...

That I can't hold onto a measuring tape to save my life? There are three of them in this apartment somewhere! And I'm going to buy another one today!

Love It!


You are a phoenix.

What legend are you?. Take the Legendary Being Quiz by Paradox

Kinda how I've seen myself anyway...

(Test link found over at Wendy's place)

Ahhh(spring cleaning)Choooooo!

I really am on a "clearing out the crap" spree. I got the Hubby involved today, going through all of our numerous bookshelves to see just what we can get rid of! My main goal was to get all of my knitting and quilting books, which are currently in piles all over the place, on one shelf and in a central location.

Hardee-har-har!!!

Four decent size boxes of books later and we still don't have all that much extra shelf space! As it is I'm sitting here, looking at the shelf across the room, wondering just what else can go. Our local libraries annual book sale is going to majorly benefit from us. (If I can stop Tony from buying back books that *we* donated, that is!) We have another empty box still hanging around here, I'll have to see what else can go.

I'd tell you that I'm just over half way done with The Project That I'm Not Going To Talk About, but I'm not going to talk about it. I'm going to work on it instead.

I don't need to post pictures of my cat on this blog

He has his own page

(I know, I know! I have way too much time on my hands!)

Socks Happen

Yes, they *are* that bright!

Yesterday *was* knitting

With a hefty dose of apartment cleaning, something that I always put off until there is no choice in the matter. Now if someone drops by unexpectedly (yeah, right! Like that ever happens!) I wouldn't be mortified. And Irina is always amazed at how much more floor space she has in her room when everything is picked up and put where it belongs. Oh well, I've never been a spaz about cleaning, so I can't expect her to be either. (Mom, stop laughing)

So, yes, I have been working on the Project That I'm Not Going To Talk About...but I'm not going to talk about it, even though I am almost halfway done with the knitting.

I believe that I still remain unchallenged in my quest to be Most Boring Blog!

Let's see

Yesterday: Worked and knit.
Today: Worked and knit.
Tomorrow: I will not work, but I predict that I shall knit.

Am I seeing a theme here? I do believe that I would win the award for Most Boring Blog, though the honor is in just being nominated, ya know. I'm going to watch a movie...and knit!

My Sweet Guy

Brought me home a brand spankin' new copy of Richard Rutt's History of Hand Knitting. Unfortunately, it says in the description that there are 14 color photographs, which are missing from my book. I sense an email to Interweave Press in my future!

Otherwise I'm knitting away on a sock and the Project That I'm Not Going To Talk About. I'm also considering making a spreadsheet that lists my stash, but that might hurt too much. Maybe someday when I really have nothing better to do.

HoHummm

I wish that there was something terribly exciting to say, but I'm afraid not. If you couldn't find me earlier, my host was having server problems, but it's back up now. (Obviously, duh!) Fortunately I had the sixth sense to save my post in Word, which I never do, so when Blogger ate it, it wasn't completely gone. Phew!

I do have a project in the works (gag, yet another project), but I'm not going to talk about it as much as I want to, because that just seems to jinx me into not finishing! (See list to left for examples <------) I really should go into a UFO finishing spree, but it's so much more interesting to start things...

I did get to have a fiber filled day yesterday! A trip to the LYS scored me some more sock yarn to use for making socks for the Ships Project, and some Brown Sheep worsted for a pattern that I'm "unventing" several times over. (Ooh, ooh! Charity knitting and unventing in one sentence! I'm a Knitdweeb, Baby! So sue me.) (Ok, PMS moment over) I also picked up some more non-traditional knitting patterns for baby clothing. NO, not for me!!! I have several friends that are due in August, and the pink and blue thing just isn't going to cut it!

When I returned home I found box from Elann sitting in the lobby under the mailboxes. Hooray! A wonderfully soft cotton/acrylic blend in a vibrant pink (confession: I'm not girlie, but I like pink. It looks good on me. The brighter the better.), and a pattern to be used with said pink yarn.

And then, while visiting my parents, my Mother gave me a copy of the Ultimate Knitter's Guide, a book that I had been lusting over ever since I first saw it. I had, however, been unwilling to pay $40. fo it. Don't worry, my Mom didn't either! She snagged it at a library book sale for...ready?...$2.00...Sweet!

Yesterday was "A" day

I imagine that it could have been worse. Dealing with a cranky kid and being late to work was bad enough. Having to unpack some really poorly packaged mirrors did nothing to improve my mood. (Why the heck would someone staple cardboard to a mirror that retails for over $300? It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but really!) The capper was when I was hanging one of the afore mentioned mirrors. Driving a nail into the wall incited a picture hanging further up to jump off. I caught it...with my forehead.

No major damage done, no blood, and no bruise though the spot is a little tender this morning. Fortunately that was as downhill as my day went yesterday, though there was potential for it to get worse. I didn't get into a car accident on the way home, for instance. I'm not in intensive care someplace. And after a good cry (and some lemon poppyseed cake someone had brought in) my sense of humor started to reassert itself.

And the day did end on a high note when the small one and I fell asleep snuggled on our bed...at 8pm!!! I was tired!

So, I have finished the wild socks, and I'd show you pictures, but Irina insisted on wearing them to preschool yesterday! Like I was going to tell her no? They're in the laundry pile now. I'll try to remember to take pics next time she has them on.

I've started another pair for her. I'm going to give in to the strange, crazed urge to knit something pink and frilly for her by making some fancy socks to wear for Easter with her dress shoes. (Do I not make her frilly little girl stuff because she's not a frilly little girl type, or because I'm not? Armchair analysis, anyone?)

And, having read that column that is ticking everyone off, all I can say is "Puh-LEEEEEEEZE!!!" She's obviously never had anyone knit her a pair of socks, or a sweater, or even a scarf. Then again, she wouldn't appreciate it if someone did. I think that others responded to her *far* better that I ever could, so I won't waste my time even trying.

I must admit

That I have been watching the news much more than is good for me. In a way it's like driving past a car wreck: You don't want to look, and you tell yourself not to look; but your head swivels as you go by despite your best intentions. It's sad, sad, sad...

On to other things!
This sock has been determined to drive me crazy. I knit the heel flap last night, decreased back down to the original number of stitches, and had Irina slip it on so I could check the length. Lo! and Behold! The ankle was fine, but the foot itself was huge! So ripping I go. I did an extra row of ribbing, decreasing 8 stitches in the process, knit the heel flap, started doing the guset decreases...and it didn't look right. Huh?

So, scratching my head, I head for my multitude of sock knitting books (multitude=3) to give myself a refresher course because I haven't knit a top down sock in, like, forever; being a generally toe-up sort of girl. So I pull out my copy of "Folk Socks", flip open to the heel variation section, and...

D'oh!
I forgot to turn the heel! No wonder the dumb thing looked so strange!

So now with my heel safely turned, and my gusset decreased, I can continue happily along until I realize that I've knit an inch too far and have to rip again! (Which, if I make myself actually sit and do it, should only be in about two hours)

When dealing with a crazy world...

Dig out the wildest sock yarn that you can find in your stash, surf the Knitblog ring, and make socks for the kiddo!

The yarn is Stahl Socka "Color" yarn in Tuttifrutti bought a way back when I was a beginning sock knitter. Not knowing any better (heck, I'm self taught), and that I wouldn't need so much, I bought four skeins. Two became my second pair of socks ever, the heels of which are completely gone because I wore them with clogs. (What is it with clogs? why are they so hard on sock heels? Can't figure that one out...) One of the other skeins will be a pair for Irina. The second one? I'm thinking mittens. Next year! I an sincerely hoping that new mittens are no longer needed this year!!!

I wish I understood what was going on on this planet.

Or maybe I'm glad that I don't.

For those who need one, consider yourself

((((((((((((((Hugged)))))))))))))

I'm going to go sit on the couch, knit, and watch Scooby Doo with my girlie.

Oh boy...

It's nice having someone who understands your strengths and can appreciate them!

The computer, this morning, was fried! I have no idea how it happened, but it thought we were part of a home network, and had somehow uninstalled MSN! (or, could not "find" the program)

I fixed it! I'm not sure exactly how, but I fixed it. I had to install MSN 8 in the process (which I think I'm liking a lot more), but I figured out what the hell was broken and fixed it!

WoooYah!

I told Tony about it. His response? "I'm glad that it happened on your watch, because I wouldn't have known what to do and would have left it for you to figure out!" (As he puts it: he plays games on the computer, I'm the one who actually "uses" it)

No if only my comments would come back! Oh well, someday...

Hey,

I just realized that I started this blog a year ago today!

Well, a Happy Birthday to my blog!

Pink enough for you?
I needed some color. (Swatching a needle size smaller though, I don't like the way the fabric came out)

Bye-bye DangerousChunky!

I am among those who are saddened by Carolyn's decision to close the doors of her wonderful blog. She was one of the first people to link to me way back when, and I felt as if I had been touched by blogging, and knitting, royalty. She was someone that I visited with on a daily basis, and always had the coolest links and pictures. While I understand her decision, part of me wants to stomp my feet and hold my breath until I turn blue so she'll come back!

Good Luck Carolyn! I hope that you come back to visit the old neighborhood sometime...

Warning: Pattern Rant Ahead!

rant on/
Does anyone else have the most recent issue of PieceWork magazine? In it is a pattern for "Jody's Many-Color Vest", which on first blush is a really gorgeous, intricate fair isle pattern. And it's very intriguing because it is knit in the round from top to bottom with the cast on row being the left front edge, and the cast off row is the right front edge. (You know, where they meet in the center)

Unfortunately, the pattern falls apart from there! It is one of the most unnesessarily complicated patterns that I have ever seen! I, personally, found it almost illegible, and Mom and I sat there for a good half an hour last night tearing it apart!

Now, I said that this pattern is knit in the round, but what you can't tell is that the two front pieces and the back are actually three seperate pieces that are joined together to make one long tube with armholes and vents cast off so you don't have to cut them. (I know! I can hear you going "Huh?") Where there should have been 'bold' headings for those the type is just the same as the rest of the pattern-almost as if you were reading a column instead of a pattern.

And then you cut the tops and bottoms of the tubes to make the shoulders and bottom hem ("Wha?")

And while there are charts galore for the fair isle stitches, there is *no* schematic that shows measurements, cutting lines, sewing lines, or anything! And this pattern really, really needed it! The pattern is definately for a more experienced knitter, but you need to be an expert+++ to be able to actually read the pattern!

And, yes, while I know that PieceWork is not a knitting magazine, I would think that if they were going to print a knitting pattern they would make sure that is actually readable! I'm sure that if I were to actually knit the pattern it would make sense; but reading it I find it impossible to visualize just exactly what the heck is going on in it!
/rant off

Or is it me? Has anybody else seen this pattern? (My Mom, of course, has given me the challenge to actually make the vest for her, in the process rewriting the pattern. (Gee, Thanks Ma...) I'm going to be obsessing on this for a while...)

Pssst
She's gonna kill me, but...
Everybody wish my Mom (who's name is Rosemarie) a
Happy Birthday!!!

She'd really kill me if I gave out her email addy, so leave a note in comments and I'll print them out for her. And, no, she's not 60 yet! (I got such a young Mommy!)

Oops.

If anyone noticed that strange header that I had up for a short time yesterday...Yes, Kim screwed up. That's what I get for using the same title for different .jpg images. It made perfect sense at the time...

This is where that header belongs!
(With a tip of the hat to Staceyjoy for making me think about pulling out and dusting off an old page!)

Big time yawn

I was fighting that darned sinus headache all weekend (it didn't lift until late yesterday, really) so I didn't get a lot of anything done. My head was just hurting too bad. So now I'm going to try to make up for it. At least I'm not working on anything pressing. So, as a concequence, I have nothing enlightening to say!

The good news is that I'm going to have a knitting neighbor! Amy and her family are going to be moving to my town! How cool is that? It's a small, small blogging world...Yes, you know what tune to sing that to! (Sorry, sorry! Please don't flame me! It's stuck in *my* head as well!!!)

BTW, if anyone's tried to email me: I'm not ignoring you! I'm just not getting email for some reason (MSN is burping, or something). There are emails that I know I should be getting that haven't shown up. I'm kind of annoyed bt it.

I just went down...

to move my car so that the landlord could plow the space. I rode the elevator back up with our landlady, and I couldn't figure out why she was looking at me funny. (It was the old "do I have something on my nose?" feeling.) It wasn't until I got back to the apartment that I realized I had a dpn stuck behind my ear like a pencil.

What? Doesn't everybody stick knitting needles behind their ears?

A few quiet days

I've been fighting a sinus headache that's been trying really hard to turn into a migraine for the past two (and going on three) days now! Part of me just wishes it would become a migraine so I could get it the hell over with! But no such luck...

So I've been learning something new while sitting on the couch and trying very carefully not to move my head.

The directions to do this is in the spring 2003 issue of Cast On and is a lot of fun! (Kind of addicting, really) The only bad part? You see all those ends? I'll tell you a secret...you can't see them ALL!!!

I'm going back to the couch now.

YIKES!!!

I just registered Irina for kindergarten starting in September! How the heck did my baby get that old???

I'm not sure how about how to deal with this!

Oh Yeah...

HI Pam! Don't get sucked too badly into surfing the knitblog ring! (Teeheehee)

Yup, I'm here

I've just had a busy couple of days! We've started getting busier at work (heck, in about two weeks we'll have 30 new temporary employees to get use to), and I have just been tired. I will get use to it though. It will be the story of my life the next few months!

I've been swatching, playing with ideas, but nothing is jumping out screaming: "Knit Me!" It'll happen eventually (But that doesn't mean I don't want to go knitting! Hint, hint, Alison!) So, in lieu of any serious knitting content, I'll just have to give you another picture from the place I am lucky enough to work!

Knitting Ennui

Ugh. I just cannot find the ambition to do anything right now. I have a ton of projects that I could be working on, but none of them excite me. I have yarn that I could use to create new projects, but even my startitis has gone on hiatus. (betcha never thought that the words "startitis" and "hiatus" could ever be used in the same sentence. You are in awe, aren't you? I know you are.)

I am bored bored bored bored bored.

It is NOT a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Thank You Mr. Rodgers!!!

Signs that spring IS coming!

When it looks like this outside:

We start planting inside:

hands courtesy my friends Edie and Don-who thought I was nuts

Things start looking like this:

And signs of spring are everywhere!

If only I share with you the scents, the smell of wet potting soil just waiting for the little pansy plugs. The very "green" scent of a crushed geranium leaf. How vibrant a color the yellow pansies are! I've come home with dirt under my fingernails the past two days and couldn't be happier about it!

On the knitting front, I've started another pair of socks. (What else is new? I'm always starting socks!)

Mmmmm

I asked for a yarn color card from Black Water Abbey Yarns, and it came in the mail on friday. I have to say that the colors absolutely glow! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I am sensing an order in my future, maybe one of their sock kits, to see how the yarns work.

I really am quite taken with the colors.

And now the Dixie Chicks are singing "Landslide". Perfection all around!

Smile Today!

200!

Wow!

Trade Anyone?


I have one full skein (and most of another skein that I had started winding into balls) of Lorna's Laces lace weight yarn that I have realized I am never going to use. I am just not a lace sort of girl. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought two skeins of it!

The color is "near solid" Old Rose. There are aprox. 1250 yards in a 4oz. skein, and the picture doesn't do the color justice. I will trade just the full skein, or both the full and partial one.

Let me know if you're interested. Leave a comment, and my email link is over on the left, by Wednesday the 26th. (And no, it doesn't have to be for yarn!) Coolest swap gets the goods!

WooHooHoo!!!

My comments are back! Thank you to everyone who sent me email letting me know that I was not all alone in that great big knitting universe! I loved hearing from all of you! :)

And, as a double WooHoo, tonight's knitting night! That's Barnes & Noble (in the cafe), Route 9 in Chestnut Hill, 7:30ish. Look for the folks with knitting needles!

So, I made it into work for about an hour and a half this morning.

I would have stayed longer, but I had the small one with me. Making it home in one piece definately had more allure that hanging around. Irina got to go with me because I forgot that preschool was closed today, so I promised her that she could. (Actually, I also forgot that Tony was home today, so he managed to get a little bit of time for himself)

On the knitting front, I'm still working on the back of the aran for Tony. I'd show you, but it looks the same. Only longer.

So, I've got plenty of knitting to do, enough hot chocolate to float a battleship, and I know that my family is home and safe. Life is cool.

(But it would be nice if my comments came back! Is anyone out there? Hello???)

More Snow?!?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!