Mama scarf, Daddy scarf and Baby scarf!




Mine is from Noro Kureyon, and is using that multidirectional diagonal stitch pattern that I've seen several people using lately. Tony's is made from some of the wool that I picked up in Vermont this summer. (I cast on 250 stitches on size 10.5, 40 inch long circs and just knit until I deemed it wide enough-which I highly recommend! It's the first scarf I actually finished!) And Irina's is the Two.Two/Linie 42 that I mentioned yesterday, in a simple gaters stitch. I'd have made it a little longer, but she requested that it be short. I'd have made *mine* longer, but I was running out of yarn!

Now I'm trying to convince myself that I really don't need to start anything new. I've got enough UFO's floating around here to keep me occupied for...a good long time.

But for now I'm crawling back into bed. Yup, guess who woke up with a massively sore throat this morning. (joy. rapture. yippee.) At least Tony had already planned to take today off, so I don't have to try to Mommy and take care of myself at the same time! This is *not* how I had planned to spend school vacation week!

(Oh, and yesterday's feel bad moment turned out to be paranoia on my part! My face is a little red about it, but I'm glad that I didn't do anything to get someone upset at me! Phew!)

Plague House

At least, that's what it's feeling like around here. The small one has the 'flu, after direct exposure to it from a couple of cousins ant Christmas, and she's miserable, the poor thing. I'm trying to convince myself that I'm not getting sick, and I'm hoping that Tony's immune system holds out through this illness. (Knock wood)

I'm using the quiet time, as she's been mostly sleeping, to work on a scarf and hat in Classic Elite Two.Two in black with Linie 42 in dalmation black and white to give it some oomph. Hopefully they'll turn out as cute as I want them to.

And, I'm feeling personally rotten, because I think I offended someone without realizing I had done it. I'm definitely not having a feel good moment.

She liked it!


Yes, the sweater was for my Mom. At least I hope that she liked it. There was so much going on at that point that I'm not sure. As Tony would tell me:"Kim, stop being paranoid!"

I have to admit that I really am quite pleased with the work I did on the finishing of that sweater. I took my time with it, and it really did turn out nicely. But you will notice that there are no buttons on it. In fact, there are no button holes! I was going to make frog closures for it, but as I was running out of time and getting slightly stressed about other things, I decided to skip them for the time being. I'll get some nice metal ones and put them on next time I'm down there.

As for us, Santa was a jolly old elf all the way around. Who else would give your husband daughter a huge pirate set with over 300 pieces to put together? And would make sude that you had all of the assistants you need to help you out?



The best part for me was seeing all my of family, laughing a lot, and generally having a great time. I hope that your day went just as well!

Yikes! and Gadzooks! I actually finished it. The Christmas giftie is done and ready to go onto it's intended recipient. You will, of course, understand and forgive me if I don't post a picture of it until it has gone on to it's new home.

Today was slightly on the bonkers side. I did have enforced down time this morning, two and one half hours sitting at the dealership having the water pump replaced in our car. Better having it done than to have the car suddenly stop while cruising down the Mass. Pike! That was when I finished the previously mentioned project (FIP instead of KIP?).

I normally wouldn't have minded, but today was what I consider the day before Christmas. My day for running around getting sorted and organized. (Organized? Me? In my next life, maybe!) I should be wrapping now, while I have the quiet time to do it; but the ambition ain't there at the moment.

Tomorrow we travel and have the mega Christmas Eve bash at the in-laws. Twenty-something people crammed around the table, tons of food, the sister-in-law who always brings the *huge* box of Godiva chocolates, trying to figure out who your secret Santa was, and placing bets on which child's head is going to explode first from the excitement!...And then we come back home and do it all over again the next day at my parents house! Significantly fewer people, but somehow we manage to get just as loud!

So, as I head off on my wild & crazy next few days, I wish you all a Happy Holiday. Stay safe and have fun!

Whoever You are, if You are reading this, You have no idea what your kindness means to us. Thank You so much!

And, yes, I am being deliberately vague about this! I don't know if the person I'm talking to reads my blog; but as we received an *anonymous* gift, I have no other way of reaching them!

I solemnly swear with my right hand in the air, and my left on my Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches (volumes I and II), that next year I will decide to start any holiday knitting in JULY!!!

I did this last year too. I managed to get sucked into thinking that I have to make something for this person and that person, and "Ooh! That yarn would make the perfect {fill in the blank} for so-and-so."

Actually, I'm really not stressing that badly about it. I just keep finding other projects I want to do as well, distracting me from the one that I feel like I *should* be working on. Any keyboard psychologists want to give a whack at analysis?

Well, I've ended up with an extra knitting day today. The small one came home with a runny nose yesterday, and great big circles under her eyes, which was enough to get the Mommy radar buzzing. And she was really touchy, too. The slightest thing set her off. This morning she had progressed to being completely stuffed up, and even touchier, if that's possible! With that scary 'flu going around, we decided that keeping her home was the wisest choice. So, if I can convince her to actually rest, I should be able to finish sleeve #1 and make good headway on #2. It is entirely possible that I may even have it done on Sunday.

Now, if I can just ignore the siren song of the other projects I have lying around...

Yes, I lied. I said that I wasn't turning the computer on again today, but Blogger is giving me a hard time! It says that publishing is successful, but I'm seeing no changes in Netscape or Internet Explorer. So I'm trying this to see if I can kick it into actually working.

Woohoo! I got internet! It has been a gosh-darn-golly-gee-willikers of a time getting the DSL connection sorted out, but it's finally up and running. I'm so excited, teeheehee.

So, I have to admit, I'm suffering from "completion issues". I just can't seem to finish anything! I've got one and one half gloves, one and two-thirds socks, two scarves (one two-thirds done, one one-third), and someone I know is getting the pieces of a sweater handed to them with a promise that it will be finished soon...That is, if I can get the one and two-thirds sleeves done in the next five days!

That driping you hear? That would be my brain cells liquifying and oozing out my ears! Aaaaahhhhhhh!

So, after this post, I am not allowing myself to turn the computer on! Nope, no way, no how. but I can leave you with a blast from my knitting past!

This sweater my Mom pulled out of a bag of clothing that I had filled to go to the Salvation Army. Yes, I was going to give it away. No, don't ask me why! It must have seemed like a good idea at the time, for some silly reason. it was with another sweater that was finished, except for the buttons. (Which I do have now, so you may actually get the sweater back soon, Mom!)

So here's an example of Kim's knitting, circa 1987-88 (?):

The pattern most likely came from a Vogue Knitting magazine, because that was where I found all of my patterns in those days. Who knows what the yarn is! Doesn't it just scream '80's?

And, BTW, the sweater and hat set went over big time well! My friend was so excited that she ran around showing it to everyone! If she was in the office and someone new came in, she grabbed them and forced them to look at it! And the hat was deemed "Cuter than a bug's patootie". It was a huge ego-boosting day for me!

Now, the mall opens in 20 minutes, and I need to be there!

The internet connection has been spotty. I've been trying to get DSL set up, but it's being harder than it really needs to be, grumblegrumblegrumble...

So I've been keeping busy


(doesn't that lion look so jaunty?)

Today I'm handing them over to the woman who asked me to make them. I am really kinda nervous about it. I mean, I know she's going to like them, but still...

Time for a change, methinks. Something simple. Hopefully I didn't break anything, because it'll be a few days before I have time to fix it. (The day after Thanksgiving rush, don'tcha know. I work retail...pity me...) Future tweaking shall happen.

I have too been knitting!



The mittens are made from Regia sock yarn, and the glove is made from Opal. I think gloves might be my new favorite thing to do, they go up so quickly!

And the reaction I got when I pulled it out in the break room at work during lunch was too funny. You'd think I'd figured out how to turn lead into gold. Co-workers were also most impressed with the fact that I managed to get the stripes on what we usually refer to as our "driving finger". I didn't tell them that it wasn't planned at all, just lucky happenstance because of where I started the skein!

Now I'd better hit 'post' before MSN decides to disconnect me *again*!

*cough*hack*weeze*

I've been sicker lately than I've been in a long while. Nuthin' like a respiratory infection to flatten you. But with antibiotics to kick the infection's butt, and cough medicine with codine so I can finally sleep (something I haven't done in about a week), I should be back to myself in no time at all.

I have been using the enforced downtime to do a decent amount of knitting, but have I got any pictures to show you? No, of course not! That would be like, well, a normal thing to do. I'll catch up with that in a few days, when I'm more up to speed.

Instead I'll leave you with a reminder: When your kid is nice and quiet, and lets you takes a two hour nap on a Sunday afternoon something's wrong!

It took a few hours, because I'm slow as molasses on a wicked cold day, but I did indeed kitchener the back pieces together:



It really is much nicer looking than the three needle bind off was. I'm glad that I took the time to do it. Much trial and error went into it. However by the time I had reached the end I was comfortable enough to go back to the beginning, unpick the first two inches (that I had really messed up trying to figure things out), and re-kitchener then going the opposite direction. I didn't even put the stitches on needles, because I found it easier to "see" what I was doing without having the needles in the way.

I hereby anoint myself the Queen of Kitchenering...for this week, anyway! ;)

Because I know that really not much detail can be seen in the pictures I've put up, here's a close up shot of the back:


Guess what? it's *not* fair isle! It's all done with slipped stitches, and is way easier than it looks! (You could do it Marg! You could, really!)

So all I have left to do is the bottom band, and to cast off what would normally be the button band. The sweater uses frog closures, so I don't have to hassle with creating button holes. But first, a break while I whip up a pair of mittens for the small one.

So I did the three needle bind off for the back of the sweater, as per instructions, and it was butt ugly! Yuck, ick, gross! Really bad. It was so bad that I didn't even take a picture of it so I wouldn't feel compelled to share it with the world. (Trust me, you'd thank me for it.)

What I am going to do? At this point I am attempting to kitchener it closed. (Did I spell that right? Do I care? The only soul in this apartment who doesn't have the flu in various stages of development is the cat, and I have major cramps, and whoever so shall attempt to get between me and my chocolate will die!)

Er, um, ahem. Where was I? Oh yeah. If kitchenering it doesn't work, as I can't seem to remember from one sitich to the next what the heck I'm doing, I'm going to go back, bind the stitches off, and mattress stitch it shut. I know when to cry Uncle!

It's amazing, how easy it is to get out of the habit of posting. Has everyone given up on me by now? I wouldn't be too surprised if you have. I've been going through a *insert your favorite four letter word here* of a time at work over this past month, and it's really just sapped a lot of my emotional and creative energies. I'm not going to go into details, because I am sick and tired of thinking about it. However there is a light at the end of the tunnel...For all I know that light could be an oncoming freight train, but I don't care! It's a light!

I finally got ahold of the baby blanket that needs finishing:

From the looks of it there really isn't all that much that needs to be done on it, just finishing the last repeat of the design and nine rows of knitting for the border. According to the directions the blanket is suppose to be 32 inches long, and it's already past that, so it just needs a little finishing which shouldn't take long at all.

I've also been working on the sweater for another friend's Granddaughter, who is two.


This really hasn't taken all that long to do, and has been a pure joy to work on! I could very easily do this pattern again, because different yarns and weights would give each version such a different feel.

And if you're having a hard time visualizing what I've done here, remember that this pattern is worked from the end of each sleeve into the center of the sweater. I still need to do a three needle bind off to join the pieces together. It'll look more like this when I'm done:


On other fronts, Irina had her cast removed yesterday; which turned out to be way more of a trauma that it needed to be! In her desire to get away from the saw she nearly landed a violent kick on a certain part of the *male* nurses anatomy! I ended up practically sitting on her until it was over. Of course, once it was done she was fine! And she's taken her cast into school for show & tell today, so she's well over it. Don't ask how many times I apologized to the nurse! (He was cool about it. His comment was that it "wouldn't be the first time" Ouch!)

I've also been doing a ton more cleaning and organizing around here, pulling out a few abandoned projects in the process. The Hubby may actually get a sweater from me, eventually!

EWWWWW!!!!

I can't believe that it was actually snowing this morning! What kind of bad joke was that?

Fortunately the short one had a new sweater to wear

She was quite pleased with it! (What? Kim finished something? Pass the smelling salts!) And as you can see, she chose blue for her cast. Irina doesn't even seem to notice that she has it on. Me? I'd have been gagged by now for complaining so much!

I'm beginning to like (sort of) this getting up to get the kid on the bus early thing. Not the 'getting up early' part, Heaven forbid! But the part after I put Irina on the bus, when I get to come back to the quiet apartment and have time to do whatever I want...Bliss!

Good knitting t.v.

I'd say that my knitting slump, and Nomar's hitting slump, ended at about the same time yesterday! Please, guys, please do it again today! (I am going to be among the very tired members of Red Sox Nation tomorrow. I just hope that we're going to be happy too!)

And, Chicago, accept my heatrfelt condolences! Trust me, we understand!

But yesterday (to keep the baseball theme going) I noticed my own error when I went to switch from straight to working back and forth on circular needles:


Yes, I will be doing the rest of the sweater like this! Silly me.

I swear...

I think that I've watched more sports in the past few days than I have in my life! Football and baseball both. I would really love to see a Red Sox/Cubs World Series, that would be a lot of fun! And while I didn't see it, as it was past my beddie-bye time, if I were a certain person at the Cubs game last night, I'd be in the process of moving to Siberia!

I haven't seen the Great-grandmother blanket yet! My coworker and I have been working alternate schedules the past few days and just havent connected.

But that's actually o.k. for now, because it's giving me time to work on the sweater I'm doing for another friend. I was originally going to do the snowflake sweater for her granddaughter, but absolutely could not wrap my brain around it! I'm not sure if it was because I didn't like the lack of contrast between the two colors, or if it was because we chose a different weight yarn, or if I was just rebelling against doing the same sweater twice! Whatever it was, it made me start, and frog, three times. I know when I'm beat!

So I grabbed my three ring binder of patterns, brought it to work, and we picked out another pattern. The really cool thing about the pattern we chose is that it doesn't have a set gauge. Pick your yarn, pick your needles, work a stitch gauge for each of the four(!) pattern stitches, and the pattern gives the formula for the number of stitches. Even more interesting to me, the sweater (a cardigan) is worked from each cuff to the center, and then joined in the back with a three needle bind off.

This is sleeve number 1 so far:

I don't know if you can tell, but the stitch I've used so far is making a wavy fabric. I wasn't sure about it at the beginning, but six inches into it I've decided I really like it. Now I get to switch to the next stitch pattern. And, oh yes, those are ends that I'm going to have to weave in! As soon as a new color is joined three stitches are slipped, making it impossible to weave in loose ends. So, happy me, I get to do it at the end! Don't you envy me? (Heavy sarcasm, there!)

Post about Knitting

(What? Kim's actually going to talk about knitting?? Is she feeling OK???)

I had a coworker call me yesterday. She had a friend who is expecting her first granddaughter any time now, and this baby's Great-grandmother was working on knitting a blanket for the new arrival. Unfortunately the Great-grandmother, who was in her 90's, died before she could finish the blanket.

From what I have been told, the family really, really wants the blanket finished, but no one knows how to knit. When my coworker heard this she said that the first person she thought of was me! So we talked and I said that I would take a look at it. I'll admit that blankets and afghans aren't my favorite things to, but I can't resist this!