the PinkPorcupine knits

It's official!

2008-03-05T10:58:00.001-07:00

I'm live at the new site - PinkPorcupineKnits.

Don't forget to update your links/Bloglines/Google Reader/etc!

See you there!

I've been busy

2008-03-02T01:23:00.001-07:00

Tell me what you think....

Say it with me: Awwwwww

2008-02-15T13:24:00.001-07:00

I woke up yesterday morning and found a simple brown paper bag on my desk with a simple note*. Inside was a single skein of Colinette Jitterbug in Whirley, a soft tonal pink. How sweet! He did that all on his own. Plus? When he got home, he had flowers for me. All this sweetness even though I gave him, in writing no less, an out of "Valentines is just another day this year. I don't feel like doing anything, and I don't want anything," Still, how could I say no to yarn? That he picked out all by himself! So, I made him donuts. Poor man's donuts**, but nevertheless.

Mmmm....I glazed them with a powdered sugar/milk/maple flavoring mix, too. They were good.

So, since I'm on about MathMan, and I don't think I've blogged this before, let me tell you about the Christmas present he made for me. Yes, made. Ever heard of detonography??? No? Click the link, I'll wait.

Ok, learned all about it? There's really only one person that makes detonographs, and that was her site. Aren't they pretty? However, when you work with things that go boom, like MathMan does, you get to play with lots of fun things like this. MathMan even went to the school where Evelyn Rosenberg pioneered and practices the techniques. Well, long story short, MathMan was running tests at work one day, and figured that since he was already detonating, why not make something pretty for me. He put down a piece of copper, a few leaves, and the explosive. He carved them up, mounted and framed them, too. Isn't it pretty??

I've been knitting, though not much. Every few years, I decide I want to play a computer game, and I spend some time obsessing about character development and the best key controls, and I'm in that phase right now. I tried to design a "Jaywalker-esque" chevron pattern for some self striping sock yarn, with the resulting sock to be gifted to my grandmother. However, once I had the toe knit enough to check gauge (I was working with 0s instead of my usual 1.5s) I consulted a chart as to how many stitches I would need. Luckily I only got about 2 inches done on the foot before I realized it would fit bigfoot, while my grandmother has dainty (for our family) size 7s. So I ripped out, recalculated the number of stitches I need, and redesigned the chevron pattern. I have yet to cast on, though, as most of my knitting is currently during "Loading" screens!

I took all these pictures last night after it was dark, so horrid lighting, but amazingly enough the colors on the sock came out fairly true to life, if only slightly washed out.

I almost said sorry for all the pictures, but then I remembered my "BWO" promise to myself, and have now decided to simply say I was attempting to break a few dial-ups, if there are any anymore. Off to see if I can finally sneak into that bandit camp!! :)

* Yes, I see it too. Hey, he's the math one, I'm the English one. I let it slide!!!

** Poor man's donuts - open a can of exploding biscuit dough and fry it up. If you want to get really fancy, you can poke a hole in the center, too!

Tangled

2008-02-05T13:15:00.001-07:00

I was winding a ball of Seasilk for the Clementine Shawlette (seems like good plane knitting) when something happened. I kept repeating something in my head, and realized it sounded very much like haiku. So, I give you - my first haiku:
my precious SeaSilk
why oh why did you tangle
in the gears like that
No, there are no pictures of that debacle. The skein survived, but it wasn't a pretty sight to behold.
I'm going to Phoenix tomorrow. Was going to go to the Renaissance Faire, but life and poor scheduling got in the way. So Ikea, yummy LYSs, and a trip to the zoo will have to suffice.
I finished Marvelous Mitt #1 - blocked and everything. It's so pretty! Also? The Log Cabin is growing. Slowly, though, as a certain little girl has hijacked it. I have to wait until she's asleep to work on it, otherwise she grabs it and starts saying "Mine. Soft. Have it." Several of the blocks had their sizes determined by that phrase. I just get a kick outta the fact that she likes it!
I've also finished one of the two Chevron Scarves I started so long ago - the purple-y one out of CTH. It's not my colors, so I don't know what I'll do with it, but someone will likely get it. Since the needles are now freed up, the happy colorful Koigu one is now on them. I also whipped up a quick pair of fingerless mitts for MathMan's co-worker. She gave us a computer (a nice one!) that only needed a hard drive (of which we had two we installed) just for MissV. Well, she's also a knitter, she works at a computer most of the day, and she's always complaining that she's cold, so fingerless mitts seemed the obvious choice. I used a little less than half the ball of Trekking XXL I've had around for over a year now. It's so nice to stash dive and finally find the perfect application for yarn that had been frogged one too many times to like anymore.

Winter Blues

2008-01-23T17:38:00.001-07:00

This winter? Really starting to get to me. If I have to make one more *casserole* or *roast* I'm going to scream. We never go out in the winter, especially since we don't want MissV getting sick, and the bloody grill isn't working even if we did use it during the months of "go outside and freeze in two seconds flat." I've been getting into a real down slump, and I'm sick of it. I want to be able to go on walks during the day (I did yesterday, but I feel really bad - I really bundled MissV up and she still had a nasty fever last night and a yucky cough today.) I want to go to the park in the evening. I want to get out!!! What do you do to keep the endless winter blues away? Recipes? Activities? Books? ANYTHING!?!

I got some yarn in today. I ordered from Etsy, I was sorely tempted by the $4.00/skein price tag. I didn't get a single letter from the seller, but she did refund my overpayment on shipping, so I was going to let it slide. Dude, seriously, I could have driven to get it for cheaper than the shipping I paid. WTH!? And the color? Not as pictured - prettier, but still not as pictured. I ordered it mostly as a test, since there's a bit of controversy going on with it (which is why I'm not mentioning names...) and the only thing I can say is that the shipping is too fast to be what it is thought to be. Otherwise? Twins. Seriously.

I've been working almost solely on a log cabin blanket for MissV out of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (random colors) and the Marvelous Mitts (they will NEVER fit me, but they do fit my friend T.) I'm not seeing the end of either - one is large and brainless, the other requires more attention than I can give it most days (the terrible twos have hit full force, and she's not even two yet!) Well, the same two projects were getting a bit relentless, and what with the endless winter downers (see first paragraph) I was feeling the need to *finish* something, and QUICK! So I whipped up a quick Calorimetry for MissV and myself last night (sorry, no pictures due to sad, pathetic lack of light from dreary winter sky.) I feel a little better, but the thought of all the garter stitch waiting for me upstairs is enough to make me cringe. I'll slog through, though. Cause I know if I don't, it will forever be a UFO. Well, I'm going to sign off now, before I use another parenthesis.

Dooode....

2008-01-16T13:49:00.001-07:00

You can *rent* movies in iTunes now. I'm excited. Can you tell?

I went with a red....

2008-01-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

But I may have been a leeeetle too aggressive with the blocking - I snapped two threads in the edging. But look how pretty!

Title, title, who's got the title...

2008-01-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Almost done with the Sir Didymus socks. Just the ribbing and cast off of the last one. They feel so nice fit-wise, I just hope the yarn softens a bit with a wash. It's gorgeous colors, but I'm not so in love with the base yarn. When I work with sock yarn, I tend to prefer the tighter plied, like Koigu and CTH, and while I'm ok with Lorna's Laces, it's not my favorite, and this yarn is more like Lorna's.
I haven't done much work on the Marvelous Mitts, but I did finish the interminable edging on the Pi shawl. It's going into the dye pot in a few minutes. I like the yarn, and MathMan did gift it to me, but man colors + laceweight make for strange bedfellows, so a-dyeing I will go. I'm thinking red, but I may change my mind at the last second (which is where I am right now.)
I also started (and finished) a plushie for MissV. I used the Cheese-kun pattern, but left off the center "leg" and worked it in different colors. MissV likes it, but my mother said it looks like a rotten tooth. Gee, thanks mom.... I'm calling this my test swatch for making many more crocheted toys, some for me and some for MissV, though in all reality they will all probably end up in her hands.
I went to the LYS yesterday to pick up some yarn I ordered for another toy, and couldn't escape without another skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock jumping into the bag. But, in my defense, as much as I love pink I didn't have any predominantly pink sock yarn, so it's ok, right? I don't have a picture right now, but it'll be in my Ravelry stash soon enough. Oo!!! I forgot to take points for stash acquisitioning in KnitWars!! Gotta go!!

DalekDalekDalekDalekDalekDalekTruck

2008-01-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

It starts suddenly and loud, so don't play this too near a sleeping toddler (ask me how I know.)

But Doctor Who fans? Won't be able to stop playing it....ask me how I know.....

Happy New year (Yeah, I'm on the ball....)

2008-01-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

So, the first FO of the new year was a pair of Dashing for MathMan, at about 1am on the first. Talk about starting the year off right!

Since the last post, I've also made a pair of Rose's Wristwarmers,

finally taken a picture of MissV's kilt sweater,

begun a pair of fleegle's seamless baby booties for a baby that was born mid-December,

cast on for the Marvelous Mitts,

and knit up an entire skein of KP Gossamer that MathMan gifted me (It's an EZ Pi shawl, up to the sixth round of 576 stitches.)

I have another skein of the same to add to this thing, but I'm not sure how to calculate the yardage requirements for the knitted on border I'm doing, so it's on hold. Yes, I agree - I dislike the colors, but MathMan gifted the yarn to me, and the best way to say "I like this gift, get me more" is to use it. I may overdye it green when it's all done, we'll see.

Oh, did I mention that I've been to the LYS three times in the last month, and every time I go I grab a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock? They got several "Lottery" colors in, and I fell in love with most of them! I'm already addicted to CTH sock yarn, slap a label on that says I may not get another chance at it, and you've got me hooked. I just wish I knew the names of these colors! (The CTH is the variegated, the solid is Louet Gems Fingering. These two are planned for the Handpainted Gloves once I finish the Mitts, which are done with the other half of the same skein.)
I haven't done much on those socks from last time. They're mainly for car/waiting room knitting now since they're plain stockinette, and I haven't done much of either lately. Huh, I just checked. I must've thought I blogged them - so here's a picture.

Sorry if I broke anyone's computer due to the excess of images. Just trying to catch myself up, next time won't be so bad (provided I keep caught up.)

Happy whatever!

2007-12-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

to those who celebrate!

ps - the hats? Done. Made three for her kids (son, too) and liked it so much I made another for my girlie! I did the spiderman pattern, then the other three were Center Squares with some stash KP Merino Style and hand-dyed alpaca.

What was I thinking?

2007-12-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hmm, still no pictures. But craziness? I've got that in abundance! My friend told me this morning that she had gotten missV a prezzie, and of course I start worrying since I didn't do anything for her kids. What do I do then? Decide to knit her two girls a stranded hat, each! I'm freakin' nuts. Oh, and if I have time? The mittens to match. I really think I've lost it this time!

Busy time of year

2007-12-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

Wow. Dude. October. I'm not dead, really.
Sometimes I wish I could blog from a direct link to my head. I mean, it's not that I don't have things to say, it's just that I either don't have the time to say it or I get distracted (read: ditzy) and forget. And pictures? I've got pictures from going on two months that need to be uploaded, not just knitting either. Kidlet pictures that need to be added to her photo archives. See what I mean? Distracted.
I've been trying to design something, but it's slow going. I finished all the holiday socks, with more than enough time to spare, and now I'm just kinda working on other stuff. I made little girl a "gansey." (just a drop shoulder sweater with patterning on the upper half, not a true gansey.) She seems to like it, and it looks great with her kilt. I've got a pair of socks otn out of Dharmafey's Sir Didymus colorway. It works great - no pooling and really looks like the little guy! I'm knitting the last row of a pair of FT felted clogs for my mom, then I start on a hat for a friend to go snowboarding with. She's always used a store-bought hat (read: plastic) and was talking to me about how her ears were still cold in the hat. So I'm going to make her one. I asked her what she wants, and we sat down to browse Ravelry together. We've worked out that she wants pink and blue (pink to match her board, and blue to match her jacket, plus I'm adding black for contrast,) a beanie, with ponytail holes and a small brim. I've decided that the best way to make a really warm multicolor hat is to strand. So I'm going to do a basic stranded pattern, out of a superwash wool/mohair blend yarn, and I'm going to finish it completely, then steek for the pigtail holes, and knit a little tube for them to stick out. Now, let's see if I can get this done before she goes boarding this year. Wish me luck!
What is everyone else working on?

Aww dun!

2007-10-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

I had tried, SEVERAL times, to turn this yarn (both skeins) into *something*. First was my attempt at the Gothic Leaf Stole. Too variegated. (Can you even tell that's lace?)
Then I tried socks, about three different versions. I'll spare you the pictures of those. (Mostly since there aren't any. I was too ashamed.)
Finally? I decided to attempt overdying. I had been playing with the idea of Kool-Aid dyeing for quite some time, and seeing this at the top of the basket every day, combined with the sale on the drink mix at the local grocery, determined that now was the correct time. Armed with grape (and some lime, to take the edge off,) I began. And I tell you now I love it!
First picture is in direct sunlight, and is truest to color. The second picture is a little washed out, and with the flash, but shows the variation in color that resulted. Isn't it just....yummy? Smells good, too.... Kinda makes me crave something....what could it be....ah-ha! Grape Kool-Aid! (Alright, I know, bad joke, but it's 10:15 after a long day. Give me a break.)

Oh, and this last picture? This is proof that taking yarn photos in indirect natural light is not always the best way to do it. >ppphhhtt<

Wish me luck!

2007-10-21T22:08:00.001-07:00

Also? Please ignore the dirty dishes. The picture came before the washing.....

Come shop the stash with me.....

2007-10-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

I'm getting so sick of knitting nothing but socks. I need a quick pick-me-up, something on larger than threes (but no fours, that's one size I manage to not have save in 4" DPNs) and not taking more than a day or two to make, but something that isn't socks!!! I've got Eunny's Endpapers (I'm so not linking that. If you don't know Eunny or her Endpapers, then I would like to purchase rental time under your rock to soothe my overworked brain.) to make (out of alpaca/cashmere and alpaca/silk, yum) but I don't want to hold a size 1 for at least a day, and I have Cherie Amour, which is tempting - silk/merino bulky - but I'm reigning myself in and not casting that on until all the giftie socks are done. (I'm seeming to like the parentheses today, eh?) The giftie list *is* growing, but the socks are the only things that *must* be done. Everything else can just be whenever. I have Cadenza for a baby boy's sweater vest, and have you ever felt Cadenza?? Buttery soft, and superwash to boot! I may do that, though it is in the not necessary giftie pile. But I have to work out the pattern on that one myself, and I haven't measured the baby yet, so that's a no go. I have some self striping Socka (no. 12) that called my name a few days ago, but again with the no socks/teeny needles thing.
-UGH!!! It ate over half my post!!!-
So, I think I said something about really wanting to do Extermiknit, but that's not good vacation/plane knitting. Yeah, didn't I mention? San Antonio for a week, leave early Tuesday. Don't ask me why I'm not packing or cleaning (I like to come home to a clean house.) I could work on MS3, which stalled out about halfway through clue 4, but I misplaced my crochet needle and I'm not going to just stop the beading this far in. For some reason, though I tend to work lace on smaller needles, the thought of it doesn't make my already clawlike hands ache. I'm not going to cast on any new lace, though. One of those projects at a time is enough, no matter how much I love it. I have quite a few things I could use for a BSJ, but I won't have access to a copier and I'm not bringing originals or books with. I'll probably be good and just cast on for the last of the two giftie socks. They are in sport weight, and size threes will feel nice after such a long stint with US0s and 1s. Well, I finally got ahold of a way to watch Blackpool, so I'm just going to go console myself with David Tennant while I do mindless stockinette in the round. Wish me luck.
Did I mention that I've finished the plain tan socks? Yeah, the last two socks will have 2x2 rib throughout, at the very least.

Socks...socks....socks....and more socks

2007-09-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been a busy little bee. Every time I decide to post an entry, something else happens to take up my time or interest. I worked on my MIL's holiday socks. I hated them. They were made out of Louet Gems Fingering in Teal, a very pretty color and a very soft yarn (IMO.) It did twist up a bit out of the ball, but I didn't really find that to be much of a problem, and it wasn't so bad as to cause any knots. I really like the stitch pattern - easy and attractive. It was Twin Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. What, you ask, made me hate socks out of yarn and pattern that I enjoyed? The needles. She has tiny feet, so I went down a needle size thinking that...well, I don't know what I was thinking. But it was intolerable. My gauge was 10.25 st/1'. My row gauge was just as intolerable. And once I noticed that it was going to take For. Freaking. Ever. I was so far into it I wasn't about to rip back. (I have noticed that this yarn does not take frogging very well.) I would post a picture, both here and in Ravelry, only the socks are upstairs and I'm not. Doesn't bode well, huh? Regardless, here are my newest SIPs. More Louet Gems Fingering, this time in Champagne on US 1.5 needles in plain stockinette. This is what naptime today yielded.

Sorry for the flash photography, but the sun has already gone down and this is the closest color representation. It's maybe just a little more "buttery" colored.
I've got two more pair after this one, then I'm giving myself a present. I'm already shopping for the yarn, but since I do have two more pair (FIL and grandfather) I have a little time. I probably should stick in the endpaper mitts for my friend (out of elann.com baby silk and baby cashmere) and one of the chevron scarves for my other friend, plus *something* for her 1, 3, and 5 year olds. Wow, holiday knitting really piles up on you. At least I'm giving myself time to actually get it all done this year!!! (I started in early August.)
Well, I'm off. Wish me luck. And I'm keeping the sweater up in my browser at all time for motivation!

Oh, yeah, if anyone is curious, here's the photoset for the "housework" I've been doing recently.

What an AMAZING idea

2007-09-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

Because for most of us blogging is just a hobby. A way to express yourself and connect with others. You should not have to apologize for lapses in posts. Just take a step back and enjoy life, not everything you do has to be "bloggable".
Because if you blog without obligation you will naturally keep your blog around longer, because it won't be a chore. Plus, just think you will be doing your part to eradicate post pollution. One post at a time. . .
Because they are probably not going to inscribe your stat, link and comment numbers on your tombstone.
and one of my own - Because while I have much to blog about, I find myself wanting to *live* life rather than blog about it.

Ravelry is eating my brain...

2007-08-31T10:35:00.001-07:00

Seriously. I cannot tear myself away. My queue has grown exponentially over the last few days. I’m trying to get the jump on the holiday rush. Unfortunately? Those socks that I mentioned starting in the last post? The ones for my grandfather? Yeah. I finished them. *Then* I cound out he doesn’t wear a 9.5. He wears an 11 wide. 11 WIDE. I need some sportweight. At least I have another pair of socks ready for my dad. I have a friend with a wool allergy and I’m looking for something to make for her. I’m thinking maybe the Clementine Shawlette from…well, from one of the more recent IKs, in some SeaSilk. But not *my* SeaSilk. That’s my Seattle souvenir. Plus it needs to be a purple color for her.

I have my camera. I have some pictures. I do not, however, have my cable available at hand, and I’m feeling a mite lazy this morning…er, afternoon. So pictures will come later.

I’m off to watch Dr Who. I’ve just got the first season from Netflix (the new Who) and I’m in love. MathMan has a friend who is a ig fan, and he burned me discs of season 2 and 3 as well as Torchwood. I’ve started third season already, too. Oh, and that Dalek amigurimi? Yeah. Gonna have to make one.

I got bored

2007-08-25T14:26:00.001-07:00

So we have a new look around here again. I know it’s not *technically* a porcupine (in fact it’s a hedgehog) but I couldn’t find any good porcupine images to use, and isn’t that little guy cute!

I’ve been toying with the idea of starting up a wordpress blog, but after tinkering with them and finding out that I can’t do any *real* customization without paying, that idea went out the window. I may check out another site, but I’m mostly looking for something with multiple static pages as well as the blog.

I’d like to thank everyone who replied to me about the previous post. I have been doing a lot of snuggle time with my daughter, and had a load of strange dreams and unpleasant thoughts. It was extremely sad, but the situation woke me up to the fact that life is what you make of it, and I need to make more of mine.

I have been knitting. Gotten one pair of “Man Socks” done –

Gentleman’s Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks in Lang Jawoll Color for cuff/heel/toe, and Lana Grossa Meilenweit Color for the main body. Fit my dad wonderfully, and I’ve already gotten through the gussets of a second pair for my grandfather out of Lang Jawoll (again cuff/heel/toe) and Lorna’s Laces. I don’t have a picture to show for that one though.

Well, today’s the “lazy day”, so I’m off to take a nap!

2007-08-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

I promise a real post soon. I have much to talk about, but just no time to blog!!!

No knitting content

2007-08-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

We were at the park last night. It was going to be a great night - some of the other moms and myself decided to have a potluck dinner. We were all sitting around eating, when two moving trucks drove by, big ones that you can rent and drive yourself. One of them was pulling a trailer with a truck on it. There was a kid (nine year old boy) riding in the truck bed. None of us noticed that as they drove by. We commented on getting new neighbors, and how they rented two trucks instead of making two trips. The next thing we know, all the teenagers at the park are running toward the street they turned on. We just thought it was another fight. (We've called the cops on these kids several times - typical teenagers.) Turns out that it was the kid in the back of the truck. They hit a bump in the street and he tipped out backwards. There were things on the street that should never see the light of day. He lived for a little while - unconscious, but breathing. They landed the life alert helicopter at the park, but after a few minutes, the ambulance with the boy in it drove slowly away, turning off its lights, and the chopper flew away unoccupied. The boy's mom and little sister were a day behind them in the car. One of the moms I was with was a nurse. She went to help out until the EMTs got there. When she got back she grabbed her kids and hugged them for quite a while. I didn't put my daughter down for the rest of the night. It made me realize that while I would never let her do what that boy was doing, just walking down the stairs at home is putting life at risk. I don't want to be overbearing and overprotective, but I do want her to be able to calculate the risks and make good decisions on her own.
And for those of you who think I was just another rubbernecker, we had driven to the park. The roads were blocked off and the parking lot was packed with police and rescue vehicles. We couldn't get out.

Green and Silver.....

2007-07-31T09:15:00.001-07:00

What's that, you say? Why, that would be my HSKS2 Package from Beth. The bag is a quilted drawstring bag with two outside flap pockets. I'm trying so hard to figure out the construction of it, cause it's just so nifty! But anyway - included was an addi turbo (I do :heart: the addis!) a cute little pen, two different Fibertrends Patterns, some Exploding BonBons, and Yarn. Pagewood Farm hand dyed. I've never heard of the dyer, but I'm glad that's remedied. The dye job is an amazing semi-solid green (it's got tones and shades and greengreengreen) and it's nice and light. I'm thinking lace, maybe some Horcrux socks. Or Pomotomaus, or Hederas.....
What didn't make it into the picture? The weekly planner notepad was immediately snapped onto the fridge and put to use, and the small black sheep tape measure (never have enough!) was spirited away by LittleMissV, and is presumably in her room, being played with even now. (I suffer no illusions - she is the reason I'm always having to get more.....)

Fidelity only goes so far...

2007-07-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

I've picked up an old project. I've even taken a better photo of it.
(Did I mention that I love my new camera??)

However, in picking up an old one, I started (and finished a new one.)

Toddler socks go so quickly. And toddlers are pleased with anything that is made for them.

Wanna see something??

2007-07-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

Scary:

Pretty:

In progress:

I'm back, again.

2007-07-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

I read the book. I'm happy with it. The in-laws came and went. I'm happy with it. I've been trying to photograph my stash for Ravelry. That's actually going well.
I made a hedgehog! Isn't he cute?
I finally took a picture of what I got from Hilltop yarn in Seattle. From left to right: two different colors of Rowan Summer Tweed (pale pink and pale green), Handmaiden Sea Silk (!!!), and two skeins (for one pair of socks) of ShiBuiKnits Sock in a mulberry-esque semi-solid. None of these have true color names printed on the labels, sorry.
I'm actually taking a break from organizing my computer/sewing/everything else area. What do you think? I think it's coming along well. The area is *huge*, so it will make for a nice sewing area. Combined with the closet:I think I'm going to be happy in the new setup. The closet is (obviously) not full yet. I've apparently got enough fabric alone to more than fill this thing top to bottom. So I'm going to work through what I've got first before I start unpacking too much more of the fabric. I have a *LOT* of quilting fabrics. However - I learned a long time ago that I don't like quilting. Sewing, yes. Quilting, no. So unless I can come up with something to make out of the quilting fabrics, I will probably destash those. If you (or anyone you know) like quilting - let me know and I'll photograph what I've got to go and let you take a look.
I also got myself a new camera - I LOVE it!!!! Of course I had to research before I got it, but I already had a Fuji, so the idea of being able to use my same memory cards made me happy, and the only really bad things were said by pro photographers who thought that an entry level camera should be the same quality as a pro camera. So I got it. Yay me! And thank you to the in-laws for giving me the gift certificate that paid for almost all of this thing!
Well, I'm off to deal with organizing the huge pile'o'yarn that is sitting here next to me. But how happy making is it to see a pile of this? (The boxes are DVDs waiting to be unpacked - yarn takes precedence, and I got the boxes from a liquor store before we were moving.)

2007-07-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

This blog silence brought to you by Harry Potter and the InLaws. See you soon.

Put down the needles and step away from the laceweight.....

2007-07-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

ETA - I'll fix the formatting later, it's time for our walk to the park!
Disaster struck. I knew that I had wound the MS3 yarn into too tight of a ball, but I soldiered on anyways. Well, last night I tried to tug a bit more out to knit with, and got more than I bargained for. At the time, I simply set it aside and went to sleep, then today I brought it downstairs to try to work on between laundry loads. I thought about taking a picture of the carnage, as well as my tools for dealing with it (Dr Pepper, an iPod and a big bag of Dove chocolates) but I didn't want to document the Misery. (Note the capitalization.) I did however, take a picture of the aftermath:That's a huge chunk of yarn that I just didn't feel like trying to untangle. Spit-splicing is your friend!
I also took pictures of the "good" part of the stash. I came across some yarn I got from an unnamed* vendor. 10/2 tencel. I ask you, do these pictures look alike?

The one on the left is what the vendor had on etsy. The one on the right is what I received. I understand, and accept that one is reskeined and one isn't, I also accept lighting differences (mine has no true green, only a teal that looks slightly green in a photo) but neither accounts for the fact that what I got is nowhere near what I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty, just not the green with small random bits of blue and purple. After I took my pictures, I balled it up to see if it could look better. Still looked like a rainbow mix. I've also heard lots about this vendor's yarns bleeding out very badly, so I decided to soak it to see what I would get. This:
Can you see the yarn in there? No? Let's try another view, shall we?
(Note the lovely ballband dishcloth. That was from my Winterwonderland Swap pal.) The water was so black it stained my hands, even. I was actually hoping for this, hoping that the darker colors would bleed into the lighter ones and make a more even color. All they did was fade and make the yellow look dingy. Don't get me wrong, the yarn is still beautiful, but not what I wanted. Oh, yeah, and while I was winding into a ball, I lost a good twenty yards to a HUGE knot. I'm swearing off the laceweight for today, I don't want to have to rip the MS3!!!
*mostly because the vendor has a tendency to google themselves and badmouth anyone who talks about their bad experience. Email me if you want to be warned.

Goody!

2007-07-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

I walk to the park every evening after dinner and let MathMan and KMV play while I knit. I ran into someone a few nights ago who I thought I could be friends with. She was there again tonight, and she asked (in a roundaout way) for me to teach her. I found a knitter!!!! She doesn't know it yet, but she is!! So tomorrow night, I'm going to tuck a small ball of purple yarn (her favorite color) and some needles and show her the knit stitch, and if she catches on quickly enough, the purl too. I'm excited, can you tell?
Plus? There's a knitting guild in my area, and they're having their annual picnic next weekend. I'm so there!

Quidditch

2007-07-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

1. Stew
2. Sandwiches
3. Hunger
4. Cocktail Onion
5. False
6. That he spend the Christmas and Easter holidays at Hogwarts
7. Irish International Slide
8. Cherry Syrup and Soda
9. 37 Galleons, 15 Sickles, and 3 Knuts
10. 11 Sickles

Fountain from the Ministry of Magic
Quidditch World Cup Campsite
Diagon Alley
The Knight Bus
Flourish and Blotts

Finally!!!!

2007-07-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

I finally have my camera, the cable, and batteries!!! So here are some of the pictures I've been promising. So, without ado, here's my HSKS package from Meg!

That's a great little tote bag (which I'm already taking everywhere) that she sewed up. Not one, not two, but three great sock patterns, and the beaded one? I just had in my cart at TLE the day before and decided to wait! Knitter's ESP! A beaded row counter (helping me keep track of MS3) and stitch markers, SOAK that I can't wait to try, two bars of soap - one for LMV and one for me (I think I'm going to toss the one for me into a stash bag and scent the yarn with it....cinnamon = yum!) A pear scented votive that I can't stop smelling...I want to just bite into it it smells so good! Two tubes of a gaw-geous black seed bead with an "oil-slick" shine, and a package of Bertie Botts. The coup-de-gras? The WoolGirl sock yarn. Sooooo pretty! I managed to forget the new Addi Turbo circ and the Orange Creamsicle (!!) limp balm, but that's because it was already in my pocket being used! I take the tote bag to the park with me every evening with my current "easy" knitting and work while MathMan and LMV play.
I'm currently in design-a-holic mode again. I know, I know. I *need* to actually write up the designs that I've already done. Well, at least the ones that worked. The "different construction" one? didn't work so well. Pooey.
I'm off to try to finish (or more realistically get close to finishing) the second clue of MS3 before the new one comes out!
ETA - oh, yeah, I've got the Seattle pictures. Loads of them, mostly taken out the window of a moving car. Rather than make this a massively picture heavy post, here's a link to the flickr set.

Belated

2007-07-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have pictures of the swap bag from Meg, I have my camera. I even have a finished *pair* of socks, that fit no less!!! I do not, however have the cable to transfer said pictures. So I placate you with this: my podcast review. I've been listening to a lot lately, partly due to MathMan getting me a set up so I can drop my iPod into a player in the kitchen, or the dock upstairs, and partly due to MathMan being asleep and me not wanting to wake him up by turning on the tv. Anyway, on to what's on the iPod.
I'm going to say, even though it will probably get me flamed, or beat up, or whatever, but I don't like Brenda Dayne. There, that's out in the open. Her podcast seems to be loved by all, but it's so monotonous, and contrived, and just plain boring to me. The music is (mostly) horrid, the essays could be interesting if not read so blandly, and it seems the "themes" she uses really rub me wrong. In all, I tried, for quite a while, to like CastOn, but I don't. So there.
However, I'm really digging Sticks and String. He's an Aussie, so the nifty accent works great, and he keeps the show nice and neutral, no political affiliations, no negativity (except for that one show where he was more warning about lack of truth in advertising) and the essays actually have heart and life. There's music, but not much, and it's not *too* bad. I'm finding his older episodes are great subconscious mind diversion while knitting on this mystery stole. I stick that on, and start tuning it out, and while I'm listening I don't have to tink or frog anything. I guess my brain just has too many monkeys running around, but a little something to listen to soothes them right down.
Lime and Violet? Love 'em. Like being at the SnB that I can't go to (toddler + busy restaraunt + loads of people = no thanks) but I'm starting to get behind on the episodes (HORROR!!!) because I actually want to *listen* to them, and no space them out. This mystery stole is taking a lot of time and attention...
Knitters Uncensored. Another in the ranks of Lime and Violet. And Elemm is hi-larious, but in a good, Sideshow Bob sort of way, not Krusty-ish. Hmm, that didn't come out as nicely as I wanted it to. Maybe it's something about listening to men who enjoy knitting. I don't know, am I looking for some sort of hook to get MathMan to pick up sticks, maybe? Regardless, I love listening to these three gab.
Stash and Burn is nice, again with the more than one person, but this one is a bit more structured, and it's not interspersed with music. That's a pet peeve - if I wanted music, I would listen to music. I want a podcast about knitting, not what music they like.
I have the Knitpicks podcast in the lineup, and it's ok, I guess. I still haven't formed a complete opinion about it yet, but it's good distractionary stuff. Her voice is soothing, there's no music, and it's fairly long, which all make for something to distract the monkeys.
That's really it for what I listen to so far. There are several more out there, but either they moved too slowly, or I didn't like the format, or something, so they're not on my list. There are some new ones that I ought to give a listen to, but I'm a bit lazy in the looking for them. I'll get around to it sometime. I guess this just shows that I want to listen to the less "professional" podcasts, and the more "I just stuck a mic in the middle of my friends and started recording" type.
ETA - Durr, I forgot one! I also listen to Dharmafey's Socks in the City, but there were none on the iPod, so I completely forgot about it! I love that all she talks about is socks, there's no music (other than background) and she dyes some yummy yarn! How could I not love someone that dyed a whole line of sock yarn based on my very favorite movie!!!???

HSKS2 Quidditch

2007-07-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Trivia:
1.Harry and Ron
2. Fred
3. Dedalus Diggle
4. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington
5. Ronan
6. Ravenclaw
7. Emerald Green
8. Scarlet
9. 11
10. Grindylow

Harry's Aunt
Whomping Willow
Cornelius Fudge
Buckbeak
Emma Watson

Alive....barely.

2007-07-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Still unpacking, still stressing, but add in a night of no sleep spent at the ER with my little girl, and you get me now. She's fine now, but I'm working on catching up with myself.
I have been knitting. Got through about ten rows of the second chart of the MS3. I'm not too sure I like how open the needle size is making everything, but I'm NOT about to start again.
I've had to set it aside for a bit - I'm making a swap bag for my HSKS2 pal. All I will say is that I'm doing something I've never done before. How's that for cryptic?

Back in the saddle again....

2007-06-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

So, radio silence is over (as evidenced by this and the previous post). I've been to Seattle and back, and we're in the new house now (!!yay!!) though *nothing* is unpacked at the moment. Makes for lots of mess!
I saw nifty things in Seattle, and got great souvenir yarns there too. Sadly, I didn't get to meet up with some people I wanted to, but I still managed a good time.
I'll post all about the trip and the yarn later, right now my camera is packed away in the suitcase that needs unpacking (along with the rest of the house.) And my, but there are pictures. Too bad there's no "behind the cut" feature 'cause I'm sure some will be of no interest to anyone but me.
So, my friend's husband has a new camera and was clicking away at anything he thought would be a good picture. He can take a good picture with a crappy camera, too, but it got me thinking. I want to be able to take better pictures, and I've seen some other knitbloggers who say the same thing. So, I'm proposing a ring/blog, kinda like SPT. Basically, every week there will be a "theme" - a word or phrase to interpret and take a picture of. Something like "bars" could be taken as where drinks are served, things holding in prisoners, or chocolate. Get it? And everyone would post their pictures for the week, which would give everyone the chance to check them out and decide what it is about the composition of those pictures that draws you. All in the interest of taking a better picture, since I've found that if I really look at the ones that I like, I can see something that can be applied to my photography. Plus? Makes for a nice little photo scavenger hunt every week. :) So, I think it's going to be a blogger blog (for now) and if anyone interested could leave a comment, or drop me an email, I'll get an invite out to you!

HSKS2 Questionairre

2007-06-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Slytherin

2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars? I *prefer* DPNs for most projects, but due to LMV being as active as she is, I've been using circs lately. I really like the magic loop since the two circs method tends to create clacking loose needles, so whatever project I have on those I can't work on while she nurses or sleeps. I do like metal just because the smaller sock size needles seem so flimsy. I don't like Inox, though - the join on those are horrible!

3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? Hmm. I would love to try an ebony circ, but that's a caviar dream on a tuna budget. :)

4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? See question #1

5. Do you have any allergies? I've never used mohair, so I don't know about it, but otherwise I haven't been allergic to anything yet.

2007-06-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

It's official. We're homeless. As of 10:30 this morning, we signed the papers and surrendered the keys. YEAH!!!!!! We take possession of the new house 9am Friday morning! I'm so excited, I can't sleep.
So what do I do? Why, I'm a knitter. I cast on for another project! I'm working in Lion Brand Microspun, which is the recommended yarn for this particular project. What is it, you ask? Well, here's a little picture from the pattern, since I currently have NO idea where my camera is in the jumble of boxes. I started this outfit (in crochet) in random yarns several times, back when I didn't think there was anything better than Lion Brand, and I didn't understand that *any* yarn could be substituted with *any other* yarn. So, working it again tonight in knit and the right yarn is making me feel like I've come full circle. It's really cute, too, and will be on LMV. So far, I've got bot legs going on the back, and have finished the crotch shaping. I'm using the purple (which on the website does *not* look anything like the yarn,) and I have two balls of contrasting color, but I'm not liking them together. I may go to the store tomorrow and see if I can get one or two more contrasts, depending on if they have anything that will work with what I already have.
The odd thing, as I'm knitting, a thought flashes through my head. I wonder, am I getting gauge? I know, I know. I *should* have swatched. But I didn't. If it's smaller than the written measurements, then it will fit now. If it's bigger, it will fit later. LMV is on the smaller side (she's still fitting into some 9m clothes, at least around. She's a bean sprout, though. Got that from ME!) so sizing is a little off for her. Finding her shoes that fit *and* she can walk in? Near impossible - she's still in size 2 - or three if they have adjustable straps - while most kids her age are in 4 or higher.
So, in a fit of... well, I don't quite know but I was definitely off my rocker, I signed up for Mystery Stole 3. What have I gotten myself into??? I'm hoping it's a way to help me finish a lace project, so everything else is going to be sidelined while I work on this. (Except, of course a fairly mindless traveling project.) I think I may have picked out the yarn - silk in anthracite - and the beads - matte gunmetal - but I'm waiting to place the order until I have an address for them to go to. (I'm not exactly a placing the horse before the cart kind of gal.) Once it gets in I will actually swatch it, beads and all, and decide if the silk will work, or if I want a wool laceweight. So, just in case, does anyone know where I can get a smooth or semi-smooth wool laceweight in black or grey tonal? And, hey, if they have a pale pink tonal, that'd be great too!

2007-06-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

1. Hannah Abbott

2. Bellatrix Lestrange

3. Florean Fortescue

4. Petunia

5. Bill

6. Bloody Baron

7.Cat

8. His hair in a ponytail

9. Broomstick

10. Cadwallader

Picture Scavenger Hunt
You can either upload the pictures to your blog or you can link the pictures. Please show us . . .

Lord Voldemort
Lu(s)ci(o)us Malfoy
The poster from movie number 5
Dolores Umbridge
Ginny Weasley

Knit across the desert on a sock with no name

2007-06-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

Oh, poo. I had to rip back the design sock. Again. I started the shaping too early, and I don't know of anyone's foot that is that short and wide. But the good news? I'm making great progress on the design. And the yarn is holding up well to all the working. I don't want to post pictures of it - I want it all to be a total surprise. And I *am* still looking for a test knitter or two, once the pattern is all worked out. I'm going to try to give enough information that it can be worked toe-up or cuff-down, cause I'm all helpful like that. (More like I'm crazy like that.)

Puzzles, cookies, and a little green dress

2007-06-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

My great-grandmother died two weeks ago, just three months shy of her 100th birthday. Everyone in my family called her Nanny. I don't think she had heard her given name in years. Nanny was a quilter. Everyone in the family has at least one quilt hand pieced, and maybe even hand quilted by Nanny. I even have a quilt top that needs backing and quilting. Nanny was my source of information on the "old days." The first time I heard about carding and spinning (cotton) I went to Nanny and asked. She dug out some old carders for me, and explained how they worked. When I was little, hopping across the US with my military father and mother, we would always come back home, where the rest of the family was. I would walk up the driveway from my grandmother's house to Nanny's. She let me (and usually Cousin J) in the garage door. We would procure a cookie from the jar in the kitchen, and go sit with her in the living room on her vinyl sofa. There was always a puzzle half worked on a card table in the corner of the room, and masses of family pictures on every flat surface. I swear, every time I walked up to her little house, I would ask about the little green dress hanging in the kitchen. I vaguely remember the story (remember, I *did* need to ask all the time) that she wore it as a little girl, but when I asked my aunt about the dress, she said it was a "holder." Of what, I don't know, but that dress and sitting with my cookie in her living room are what I think of when I think of Nanny. My daughter got to meet her great-great-grandmother, twice, and for that I'm thankful. I still haven't shed a tear over Nanny's passing, but I think that's because I know she had a full, happy life with her family. The family reunion was just a month before her death, so she got to see us all one last time. I just wanted to remember Nanny to someone else, and let my daughter know who that little old lady was in the pictures from when she was one.

Old business, new business.

2007-06-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Old business first - the HSKS trivia answer is Voldemort
On to new business - I'm designing another sock. Yes, I know I haven't made the mate to the last one, but this one was just SCREAMING to be made. I'm at the tricky part right now, and I just ripped back for the second time, but this sock is scratching at the inside of my skull, trying to get out and say "LOOK!!! how cool I am! Admire me!!!" Normally, I wouldn't be so, I guess egotistical? But this sock doesn't seem of me - it seems more like I'm the vessel it's using to get made. But anyways - a description. I recently re-watched Cat Bordhi's recent Knitty Gritty appearance, and her discussion about approaching sock construction differently got me thinking about how I could do it differently. It's nothing too outrageous, but it's definitely different. And that's all I'm saying about that. So the new business? I need a test knitter for when the pattern is done. If you think you may be interested, let me know. I'm trying to keep meticulous notes, but this will be my first written out pattern. I should *hopefully* have it done by the end of the month, but if it takes longer, it takes longer.
We get our house in just over a week! AAAHHH!!!! Hmmm...I better do a double check on all my addresses.....
In other news, the SockMonkey bag has been found, contents and all!!!! It got stuck away by MathMan, who then promptly forgot that he had touched it at all. The problem? I now have to face the fact that the sock inside is too small for it's intended recipient, as well as everyone else I know. Oh, well. I enjoy the knitting, right?

It's done! It's done!!!

2007-06-04T22:07:00.001-07:00

weasley V
Originally uploaded by PinkPorcupine

::Doin' the happy dance:: ::doin the happy dance::
The Weasley is done!! And that means MMT has a new nickname - Little Miss V! (or LMV for short.) Since "MissMonkeyToes" doesn't really describe her anymore, and there's already a "MissV", LMV it is! So, what does everyone think?

Another year older.

2007-06-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I did not get my books, but I did see my movie. I got a yummy dinner, and a new gadget for one of mine.
Now, I'm wondering if I can set something like this up at the new house.....
My first blogiversary is coming up in a few days. I'm thinking of maybe a contest, but I'm not sure what. Let me get back to everyone on that count.

Look, ma!!! A title!!!

2007-06-01T10:02:00.001-07:00

Have you seen these? Soo pretty. I *MUST* get these books! Every time I go to the bookstore nor the LYS, I see them. I flip through. I contemplate getting them. I put them back on the shelf. Why?? Why do I do this to myself? Maybe it's because I've dropped mad hints to MathMan that I want them for my birthday. (Which is today. Happy birthday to me.) If He doesn't give them to me, I may go out and get them tomorrow. Right before I make him take me to PoTC3 (he's trying for Shrek3. But 2 didn't end in a cliffhanger, and JOHNNY DEPP!!!!! Hello!!!) We're having dinner with friends tomorrow, after making a trip to the house for a load of stuff. (I still hate moving.) Girlie (who will have a new blog nickname once the sweater is "initialed") is staying with the grandparents during all this. I may ask them for a solo nap as well. MMT has gotten particularly rough when she is sleeping, plus being that close to a little furnace during the unbearable heat is not conducive to good sleep for either of us.
I've been plugging away at Chevron #2, but as I'm only getting about 15 minutes an evening to knit, it's slow going. I'll try to get a picture later today.
I just learned today that cousin J has made his goal for the Aids Life Cycle! Go, C-J! I'll be rooting for you on that loooong ride!
SheepofaDifferentColor has turned me on to this. Possibly the greatest thing on the internet: free, accessible, and it streams fast, too!
I had to run to the store yesterday, and MMT stayed with grandma. When I got back, grandma told me about the heart attack waiting to happen, and MMT showed me her new trick. Repeatedly. She has learned how to climb onto the coffee table. And walk around on it. And even fall off. I love that she is independent and fearless, but she's giving me grey hair!!! It's like the Harlot said, children need to be taught the skills needed as adults (free thinking), not the ones desired by adults (obedience).
So, a few people have asked me about Ravelry. OMG, it's so wonderful! I figured it would just be another site, eh, whatever. But since it's made by techno geeks that knit, and knitters have been putting their input in, it's AMAZING. That's all I can really say that hasn't already been said. From what I understand, they're finishing up the bugs, and it will soon be open to all. I can't wait to see everyone on there! (The only thing I'm not using right now is the "stash" options. Since I just started my StashSheet, I figure I'll get everything into that, and once we move I'll take pictures of everything and get it into Ravelry.)

HSKS trivia for the week

2007-05-31T11:52:00.000-07:00

I meant to stick this to the bottom of last night's post, but I forgot. So, the answer is Hermione and Ron from Order Of The Phoenix

2007-05-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

I talk about how much I enjoy daily blogging, and what do I do? Go and skip the next few days. Completely not by choice, though. Baby girl is trying to cut her eyeteeth right now. Not an enjoyable experience for anyone involved. Poor thing. Plus there was moving of household items. Again with the lack of enjoyment. But I was blogging in my head, really!
First up, I have a(n) FO!!! The Weasley Sweater is done (sort of.) Here it is, lounging in the swing outside. I'm quite proud. And as soon as I wove in that last stitch, I slipped it onto MMT to check the fit. Too big, which is actually a good thing in this case. It looks like it will just fit once the cooler weather rolls back around, and continue to fit through next spring. She loves it, too. She'll pick it up and take it to me or my mom and ask us to put it on her. She even goes so far as to get upset if we take it off - even though it's 90 gajillion degrees around here right now, and muggy to boot. (Monsoon season came a good three months early this year. Blecch.)
Speaking of weaving in the ends, and finishing in general, I see so many people complaining about doing it. I just love it. I feel like I'm really accomplishing something when I'm finishing - I fly through it. I love seeing those perfect little seams begin to emerge and create a recognizable shape out of a few bunched and rolled knitted pieces. How could anyone hate that??
make a plea for assistance - this is a Weasley. For those of you who don't read HP, a Weasley is a sweater with your initial on it. In case you didn't notice - there is no initial on this sweater. That's where you come in. Should I duplicate stitch it, cross-stitch, or otherwise embroider it? The thought of doing it in intarsia crossed my mind for the briefest of moments, but lets just say that intarsia is the bane of my existence. It's the one thing I wouldSo, now comes the final part, the one in which I actually take a class on at the LYS, if I could ever get over my extreme hatred of it. So, the initial got left to be part of finishing. How would you do it?

A long time ago, this was going to be a cooking blog along with the crafty. I kinda forgot about that, but I do have a recipe for you today. (No picture, by the time I had grabbed my camera, the evidence had been doled out and was almost totally consumed.)
It's a meatloaf. Don't groan, it's a *good* meatloaf! It's Cheeseburger Meatloaf. Yum. And it's more of a recipe a-la Harlot Socks - I don't measure unless I'm baking, so it's kinda more chatty and less "2.5 tbsp squee."
So, you take about one pound of ground beef, and mix in a small dollop of mayonnaise, a big handful of grated cheese, 1-2 eggs and some bread crumbs, and a dash of Worcestershire. In a separate bowl, mix together ketchup and mustard until you get an orange-y rust color. Add a little to the meat mixture, and save the rest to top the loaf. Mix everything together well. It should be moist, but not runny. Plop it down onto a sheet pan and pour the topping over it. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about a hour and a half, or until done. It tastes just like a cheeseburger, and you can add other things to taste. Think about what you like on your burgers - onions, jalapeños, bacon (needs to be cooked beforehand) pickles (though I would put those on after baking.) Don't forget to add any seasonings to make it your own (MathMan always likes to put Lowry's Season Salt on his burgers, so I add a little to the mix.)

I finally go invited to Ravelry!!! I'm so excited, but I haven't had a chance yet to really play around with it! For anyone who is curious, I'm (again) PinkPorcupine.

Just a quickie.

2007-05-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

This blogging every day thing is kind of... well, I had the word a second ago, but it slipped. It just feels good, like I'm keeping myself a part of the world. I've tried to start a stitch group for moms of young kids in my area, but no one ever showed up. It's nice having somewhere to go, even if it's just a quick pop in like this one, where people understand my love of fiber!
Today I actually made it to the LYS, *with* my skein of Koigu. Unfortunately I was alone with MMT, and they were hella busy, so I didn't get it wound. I also *shock and amazement* DIDN'T spend any money!!! I was going to buy two balls of Austermann Step for the socks Cat Bordhi recently did on Knitty Gritty (btw - have you seen these?? So neat! I can't wait for the new book!!) but they were all out of it. She wasn't sure when it would be coming in, as it's been on order, but she was able to tell me that the new sensation, Superior, *will* be available in late August! Another thing I can't wait for!
I'm currently sitting in bed, knitting on MMT's Weasley and watching some of season 2 of Xena (baaad tv, but in a good way, like Bruce Cambpell!) on my laptop. I finished the sleeve and the collar earlier tonight, and I just picked up the stitches for the second sleeve. Would I be reviled if I say I'm actually *looking forward* to seaming it up? I've found I enjoy it, maybe it comes from sewing on the machine and hand stitching the finishing work.

Pictures? Huh! What a novel concept!!

2007-05-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's right - I have pictures today!
First up is one of the Weasley. (!!!) I finally got the chance to take a nice daytime picture of it.I'm really trying to take better pictures, or at least easier to look at ones. I'm going back and looking at some of the first ones I took, and eek, they were bad!
So, on my monitor this is a pretty true representation of the colors. I loved the pink color so much, but every time I go to the LYS either I forget to look, or they don't have anymore. I know I can order it online, but you know how it goes. I'm thinking about making either the baby pants from LMKG or Mickey to go with this sweater when it's done. We'll see how well that pans out. The little tiger in the corner is my daughter's backpack, which I commandeered until she's old enough to use it. It's great for carrying around a larger project like this, yet still not so big that it's annoying. It's a perfect fit for my Lantern Moon striaghts, plus it's little tummy is a tiny zippered pouch that just fits a chibi! You want a closer look you say? Here it is - feel free to turn green with envy of it's utter cuteness!
I'm going to leave you with a shot of the next chevron scarf. That's right, the first one still isn't finished and I've already started a second. So much for project monogamy. At least it's the same pattern. The rose is one my mother helped MMT pick and bring to me this evening. It just looked so lovely I had to include it. The iPod is to remind myself that I'm getting behind on listening to podcasts. I managed to find two balls of CTH at my mom's that I had gotten at the same time as the Koigu - these were even purchased to be a chevron. I'm still sitting on the one skein of Koigu waiting to wind it into a ball. I know - I could do it by hand, but just once with Lorna's Laces swore me off doing that. I'm lazy, remember? So sit it shall until a ball winder I see. Oh, did you want to know what colors those are? See the StashSheet in the sidebar.

2007-05-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

I futzed and fought with the previous post - blogger tried to make the text so tiny I couldn't see it with a microscope. Somehow, in all that, comments got turned off. I'm sorry, and I'm also not going to bother trying to turn them back on. I'm afraid of throwing off that precarious balance of getting the formatting right and actually being able to READ the post. I know I can get into the HTML and fix all, but I'm really feeling lazy here.

Jenean got my HSKS package yesterday. I wish I could have taken longer getting it to her (meaning I wish I could have had a few more justified shopping trips) but I was so afraid it would get lost in the jumble of moving so I sent if off to her.

Knitting techniques meme

If you read this and you knit -- consider yourself tagged! Be sure to leave a comment (you non Xangans, too,) so I can see your list.

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do eventually and normal for stuff you don't intend to do

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl - not done yet, though
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL - one day, when I have the time
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn - I can't find any good sweaters to take apart - only plastic
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with Bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting - again with the "when I have time" thing
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/Doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental Knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with Alpaca
Fair Isle Knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured Knitting
Kitchener Bind Off
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and Purling Backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed Toys
Knitting with Cashmere - doesn't everyone!?
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia - I "get" most everything else in knitting SO easily, but this is the thorn in my side.
Knitting with Linen
Knitting for preemies - see "knitting for charity"
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/Bolero/Poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Miscellany blather

2007-05-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to steer people to trek's contest post for some time now, but I just keep forgetting! So, go, help her get 290 comments on a single post. That's double the original number of 145, which was passed pretty darn quickly. It's one post per customer, though, which is why it's taking longer to reach the new goal. If anyone reads here that doesn't read her blog, why not?!? Go over and leave a comment!

So, the closing on our house got pushed back to the original date - June 12th. Oh, well, it would have been nice to be in the new house by next Friday, but it's only two weeks out from there. Not that long in the scheme of things (everything inside me is screaming that is BS - that it's years and lifetimes away!)

I've got all but the last inch done on one sleeve of MMT's Weasley, with just one last sleeve and a collar to go the end is most definitely in sight! I may make a trip out to the LYS today to pick up a size 5 circ to do the collar. My Denise kit is packed away who knows where right now, and I don't want to wait 'til I find the box and unpack to finish the sweater.

I know I've mentioned I adore anything Google, and now that I'm working on the stash spreadsheet, I've got it on Google Docs. So if anyone is actually curious how much sock yarn I have, or what is planned for that alpaca I got at Aspen Ridge Alpacas, here ya go! (I'm putting a permanent link in the sidebar, too.)

And, just for fun:

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Goddess. You are constantly giving and are unconcerned with reward, you simply want others to love knitting as much as you do. If someone wants to knit miles of novelty yarns, you are there for them. If someone wants to learn short row shaping, you can help. There are no taboos in knitting, only opportunities to grow. Everyone should have friend like you around if they want to learn to knit, and there's a good chance that your passion has rubbed off on a few others.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Is it possible??

2007-05-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

Can I create even one post that doesn't have to be edited? I guess I'm just a "fixer" at heart, there's always something to be done to make it better. The last few posts all have an "ETA" at the bottom. Jeez.....
I just wanted to respond to Jenean's comment about the Dobby picture - thanks for the word of Qte, but I don't believe that's Harry. That's Sir Hotting-ton himself, Lucius Malfoy. Like this Slytherin would post a picture of *that boy* unless she had to. :D

Uh-oh....

2007-05-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged.

Jackie at Anja Knits tagged me with the 7 weird facts meme. Wasn't it just 6 a few months ago? Oh, well, here it is.

The rules: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those who are tagged need to write on their own blog those 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven other people and list their names on your blog. Then you leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I am a belly dancer. I have been in performing troupes as well as taught. I prefer the tribal style in music, movement, and especially costuming. I occasionally vamp out into Goth or Rave Tribal.

2. I have one daughter born April 2006. I chose not to give birth at a hospital, and did not receive any medication. I cloth diapered for a few months (until money got in the way) and am still breastfeeding.

3. I moved all the time growing up - every one to three years. My father was in the navy. It helped to experience the nation, but at the time I hated it.

4. I hate to just sit. I don't sunbathe, and I don't like just riding in the car. I love to multi-task. It's rare that you won't find me doing at least two different things at once.

5. I have a form of dyslexia, but instead of hindering me, it is actually an asset. I can read backward, upside down, and mirrored text without even realizing that it is. (And I love to read.)

6. My mom is my best friend. I know that may not seem very weird to some, and overly weird to others, but seriously. We talk about everything, we shop, we hang. All the time.

7. I despise alcohol in all forms. I've had thousand dollar a bottle wine before, and I detest it. It all tastes like alcohol. That's why if I drink, I go for the battery acid stuff (tequila or Long Island Iced Teas, mostly) because I drink to get drunk. I've been drunk a total of three times in my life. I don't smoke, and I've never done drugs.

I hope those are weird enough for everyone. It took me a good two hours to figure out what to post. If not, oh well - I guess I'm just too normal for you.
I'm such a space case! I forgot to tag other people for this thing! (That is how it works, right? Like a chain letter from hell that you can't say no to cause the person on the other end is a fiber goddess like yourself? Right??) So, lessee - Jenean for being my swap pally, Mama Turtle for being my prefect, Brooke and Cassie for being fellow house members. Everyone else has already been tagged or done the meme, so that's what I got. Plus? I'm including an out - if you don't wanna do it, you don't hav'ta!!!!

I've come to an impasse on the Chevron Scarf. Last night I knit until I ran out of Koigu, and one of the two remaining hanks is still skeined. My winder is packed, as is my swift, so it's sitting there, four feet long, in need of a good blocking, and on a large safety pin style holder until I can either get the winder out, or make a trek to the LYS to wind it up. Makes me so sad - it went from 7 inches to over four feet in a matter of days, and now it's just sitting there. I don't even have access to my stash, so I can't start another one. (I ran into the LYS the other day for a quick swap p/u, and they had just gotten in some new yarn - Fortissima Socka Disco 3 in color #03 that would make another great chevron with some L&V yarn that I have. The Disco has a tiny strand of metallic fiber running through it - sooo pretty!)
I've decided that once I've got the Koigu scarf the length I want it, I'm going to make these to go with it. If it knits up half as fast as the scarf, they'll be done in no time (once I can get to that point!) Sorry, no pictures. The scarf looks like a wad of yarn and the baby is asleep on my lap. I'm going to go knit on the sleeve for her Weasley.

ETA - Fixing a link and Durr!!! I forgot to tag other people!

House stuff

2007-05-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this??? I want to make one....but I've still got about 3/4 of MathMan's Linux Illusion Scarf to finish. This'll have to wait until that one is done. :/ I would love to be able to wear it to the movie, but there's no way even if I cast on right now. I just don't have that much time to knit.
Speaking of not having the time, here's a picture of what is sucking up my time.Isn't it beautiful?? The driveway was poured about three days ago, but I haven't been back by to take an updated picture. The person buying our house wants to close early - like next Friday early, but both realtors are telling her that is impossible. One of the inspections that needs to happen is being pushed back - not by us, but by the inspectors. There are only three companies servicing the area and they are all extremely busy at the moment. -But- it looks like we may have everything done by the 29th. Only four days off, then we can close on this beauty on the 1st. What a wonderful birthday present! I hope that works out, cause otherwise, my birthday will still be crazy without the gooey new-house center in the middle. :P
Anyways - the reason for the house sucking up all my time is that we're having to make hour and a half trips about every two hours. Packing and storing is a massive time-eater. But the happy is that my parents are loaning us their garage for storage so we don't have to pay storage fees! Yay! The sad? We have a *lot* more stuff than we thought we did.
Well, gotta go pack some more. I will say that as long as I'm not driving, I'm making great headway on the Chevron scarf. It's now almost four feet long, and a great mindless, don't-even-have-to-look-at-it knit for in the car.
ETA - durr. The link of what I want to make...

HSKS Quidditch Round 2

2007-05-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

Trivia
1. Who is the Fat Lady's friend?
- Violet

2. When the Fat Lady was attacked by Sirius Black and fled her portrait, who took over for her as guard of Gryffindor Tower?
Sir Cadogan

3. Usually when Harry is in Dumbledore's office, what are the portraits of previous headmasters doing?
- Snoozing

4. Which one of the Triwizard champions did not go to the World Cup?
- Fleur Delacour

5. Who did Harry give his Triwizard winnings to?
- Fred and George Weasley

6. Minerva McGonagall

7. Oliver Wood

8. What author's name appears on the book "Quidditch Through the Ages"?
- Kennilworthy Whisp

9. What does the Keeper do in a game of Quidditch?
- Guards the goal

10. In the Goblet of Fire why did the Mad Eye Moody imposter put Harry's name in the goblet?
- He wanted Harry to win the tournament

Picture Scavenger Hunt
(linked)
- Dobby holding his sock from Harry - no one said it had to be from the movie!!
- Cho Chang and Harry's first kiss
- Viktor Krum and Hermione at the dance
- Mad Eye Moody

HSKS Trivia

2007-05-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Trivia #1
What's the name of this potion?
This potion has the colour of molten gold, and while exposed to the air, large drops will leap like goldfish above the surface without spilling.
Felix Felicis (I don't have my book, so I'm not sure if that's how it's spelled.)

Trivia #2
Which book is this line from?
"Harry and Cho were now too embarrassed to look at each other, let alone talk to each other; what if Ron and Hermione started going out together, then split up? Could their friendship survive it? Harry remembered the few weeks when they had not been talking to each other in third year; he had not enjoyed trying to bridge the distance between them. And then, what if they didn't split up? What if they became like Bill and Fleur, and it became excrutiatingly embarrassing to be in their presence, so that he was shut out for good?"
HP & The Half-Blood Prince

Trivia #3
Who utters these words?
"Oh I am glad I'm not on duty. I wouldn't fancy having to go and tell the Irish they've got to stop celebrating."
Arthur Weasley

Pictures are fun

2007-05-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

We bought a house! We have one month to get packed and out of this house, and three days later we move into our new house. Brand spankin' new! Never been occupied! How did we get this lucky? The hard part? MathMan works regular hours, and MMT requires constant supervision. Packing and moving is going to be a pain.

MathMan beat me to packing up the "shadow frame" of oddballs and samples, so I snapped a quick shot of the sock yarns on the wall. Right after I took this picture, they were all down and in a box.

I had been talking to someone about knitting back, and I got MathMan to take a quick video of me working on the Chevron Scarf. I slowed down so it wouldn't just be a blur. Hmm - I don't have the time to set up a YouTube account, and it doesn't look like I can imbed, so you get a link.
Here's a shot of what the scarf looks like currently.

Just a few things

2007-05-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

Firstly - thank you to everyone who comments here. Makes me feel like I'm not just some crazy mumbling to herself. I try to respond to everyone, but sometimes blogger just won't let me reply to a comment, so I occasionally post a response as another comment. Just so you know.
Whee! I found an online cataloger for personal libraries on Meg's blog. We all know I'm a joiner, so I started inputting some of my books, and I even put a widget in the sidebar over there.-----> That's not even half of my books - I'm down in the city looking for a new house (SQUEE!!!!) so that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. Minus my guilty pleasure from the earlier post, of course.
Currently I'm working on two things. No, that's not all that's on the needles, but it is all that I'm actively working on. The Weasley sweater for my girlie. It's out of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. It's splitty, but not as bad as some other yarns, and I *love* the hand and drape of the fabric. It's out of English Rose for contrast roll edging at the hem, collar and cuffs plus the big letter on the front, and a LimeLight for the body. As I'm typing all this, I feel as though I've said it before. Oh, well, if I have I'm sure you can skip over that part easily enough.
The other thing I'm working on is a sort of stashbuster project - I had two skeins of Koigu from last fall that I tried to make into socks several times. I >heart< style="font-size:85%;">I fell off the wagon. I got another two skeins of Koigu to go with these two - and I'm loving how it's knitting up, too - but I also got two skeins of CTH Supersock in two different colorways to make another. I am glad I did in the end, though, because it's a fun, easy knit. And I like knitting back. :) Someone asked me how this is managed. There is a video on knittinghelp.com, but I'm also working on getting someone to hold the camera so I can post a video of how I knit and knit back.
I've been shopping for my HSKS swap pal. Do you know how hard it is to find stuff in Hufflepuff House colors that don't look like a bumblebee barfed everywhere? But I found yarn that I wish I had gotten two skeins of - it's that pretty, and still the right colors! And I got the things to make the bag, too. (Sorry for the stealth, but she knows who she is, and I want everything to be a suprise, down to whether I'm knitting, crocheting, sewing, or *paperfolding* a bag!)
On the house front - I'm looking at one today that is Brand. Spankin. New. Someone had a builder build it, but the deal fell through on the table. It's in a lovely neighborhood, with great parks and close access to MathMan's commute, but because the builder is having to sit on it and lose money, it's selling for 50,000 less than original list!!! How excited am I? Other than that, I've got the list narrowed down to three houses that MathMan is going to see with me tomorrow, then it's decision and offer-making time. I'm going to have a dedicated craft room!! (With a Murphy bed - gotta have somewhere for guests to sleep...)
Wow, I'm wordy today, and without a single picture. Could be because the camera is in the other room and I have a sleeping baby on my lap. Oh, well, I promise pictures later!

Devils and Daemons

2007-05-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

Or, more precisely, sheep. Cause that's what I am - a sheep. Everyone else is doing it, so here's mine. I hope it's not too large, but if it is, oh well.

Quidditch Round One

2007-05-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Round One
Trivia - answers in bold
1. Who isn't or hasn't been a Quidditch captain?
Cedric Diggory
Cho Chang
Oliver Wood
Marcus Flint

2. Who are the Gryffindor chasers? (books 1-5)
Hermione, Dean and Seamus
Alicia, Angelina and Katie
Fred, George and Oliver
Parvati, Colin and Neville

3. Who are the Slytherin beaters? (books 1-4)
Crabbe and Goyle
Flint and Montague
Derrik and Bole
Pucey and Warrington

4. What type of broom isn't made anymore?
Firebolt
Silver Arrow
Nimbus
Comet

5. The Slytherin team all ride the same broom, what is it?
Cleansweep Seven
Nimbus 2000
Comet 260
Nimbus 2001

6. Which of these is not a Quidditch team?
Pride of Portree
Appleby Arrows
Tudshill Tornados
Caerphilly Catapults

7. Who is Head of Hufflepuff House?
Professor Binns
Professor Flitwick
Professor Sprout
Professor Sinistra

8. Which Hufflepuff student is reported to have been one of the only peple to have ever given Hufflepuff success?
Justin Finch - Fletchley
Cho Chang
Cedric Diggory
Lily Evans

9. In Book 1 who was the first Hufflepuff student to be sorted?
Hannah Abbott
Terry Boot
Susan Bones
Lisa Arygle

10. What is the emblem of Hufflepuff House?
Deer
Beaver
Badger
Bear

Pictures: linked
Harry, Ron, and Hermione together
Hagrid
Buckbeak
Sirius Black
Uncle Vernon

Stash, in all forms

2007-05-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

So, I was a bad girl yesterday. Went into B&N for a look-see since I was in the area. They had Favorite Socks. Now, I've been wanting this book as I'm new enough to knitting that I don't have any of these patterns. So, I decided to grab it. I also saw a stitch dictionary. Very well done and positively LOADED with nifty patterns of all sorts - lace, cables, colorwork, even simple knit and purl patterns. It's called The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns. Got it, too. I even saw Sensational Knitted Socks. I looked through it (for the first time) and wanted it bad, but I didn't get it. Showed restraint on the one most likely to help me with designing my own patterns. Go figure. But then, when I was at the counter I noticed a paperback: the next in a series that is a guilty pleasure. I won't cop to the name of the book or the series, but needless to say, it's only about a step up from trashy supermarket romance. Just has a little more woman-power and a little less save-the-damsel-in-distress.
So, socks are irking me lately (except the Sparkle sock) so they are all in time out. I'm knitting the very first thing for MMT - the Hug Me Sweater from Brown Sheep. I'm even using Cotton Fleece, which is a bit splitty but not *too* bad to work with. I like the feel of it. It's going to be in a pretty rosy pink and green, mostly the green. The store only had one skein of the pink in, and as it's such a production to go in, I decided not to wait. They aren't new purchases, probably about three months old, but I dug them out due to the yarn diet I'm imposing on myself after last week's splurge.
I did, however get some fun things for my HSKS swap pal, and she knows who she is. It may not be a secret swap, but by golly, it's going to be a secret package!!!!
So, we are finalizing negotiations on the house!!! I'm so unbelievably excited!!! We're finally getting out!!! The bad - it *won't* be such a production to go to the LYS. The good - it *won't* be such a production to go to the LYS!
In other good news - the girlie now has a front facing seat. I know, just because she meets requirements doesn't mean it's safer for her to sit front, but she DETESTS riding in the car, and the trip home with the front facer was much more pleasant than it usually is. She's not rid of the rear, it will fit her for another ten pounds, and ten inches, and I'm almost positive that the latter will come first.
Also, I'm adding links and saw this. I. Must. Knit.

The SQUEE that was heard across three counties

2007-05-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

We just got an offer on our house!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! I have to go and be excited now!!

Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap Questionnaire

2007-04-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Slytherin Rah-rah-rah!!!!

2. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Double points? Um, I'm a metal girl, so probably Inox, Knitpicks, and addi turbo, but I prefer circulars with the kidlet running around. Just not safe to try to knit with her on my lap with so many pointy things. That said, I have tried bamboo DPNs (granted cheap bamboo) and I guess I just grip my needles too tight. They feel like they're going to snap like twigs.

3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? People say good things about Crystal Palace, so I guess I would like to try those, but it's nothing urgent. I just got my knitpicks and I lurf them. I guess I would also like to try the addi lace needles, but again, not so urgent

4. --skipped--

5. If your pal decides to send candies or chocolates are there any that you don't like? Coconut and marshmallow.

6. What are your favorite scents? Fruity things, and heavy musky stuff. Nothing floral or flighty. I like spicy too. It helps to have something to smell: I like the pear stuff from Victoria's Secret, and Lancome Poeme is my favorite 'spensive perfume.

7. Do you have any allergies? Nope!

HSKS Trivia of the Week - Voldemort
I screwed up last week cause I didn't know to post on the blog, and I didn't email anyone my answer. :(

Swap-a-licious!!

2007-04-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm gone for about five days. I come back? I'm swamped in mail! It was like that holiday where you get a bunch of stuff, only it was better cause it was yarn!!
First up, my RSC shipment for April. I won't post spoilers, everyone else already has. But it's yummy!! I have it hanging on my wall now. (Did I mention that I hand skeins of yarn on some hooks on my wall? 'Cause they're so purty!) I'm not so sure about the handwash only part, kinda puts me off of making socks. The laundry monster (aka MathMan) has a tendency of "helping" with the laundry. It usually involves something being not white anymore or shrunken to doll clothes.

Next up, my L&V Pr0n Package. Two (count them, TWO!!!) skeins of awesome sock yarn, also hanging on the wall. STR lightweight in Lemongrass, and RubySapphire in Calista. Also, Kookaburra woolwash (over a year into knitting and I still don't have any woolwash...) yummy body lotion, colorful gel pens, and TWO (!!!) Knitpicks circs in sock size! I can finally try two at once on two circs! (What didn't make it into the picture? The candy -eaten-, and the cute little magnets that got buried in my bag when I was getting things together.)

The Magic Yarn Ball. Let me 'splain. Not, is too much, let me sum up: You take a skein of yarn and some goodies, wrap the former into a ball while randomly inserting the latter. Then mail. You're partner should uncover little treats as s/he knits. But hey, I'm a gemini. I'm impatient. I unrolled!
It's lovely Colinette Jitterbug in Joy, I believe. As I was winding I kept coming across pinky and lavender and yellowy and greenish bits that hide themselves until you get close. I can't wait to knit with it! There was a little sheep (!!) full of body wash, two star beads, and a cute little lollipop. Then I got to unwrap the yarn! There was some bizzaro but super yummy candy called Shrimps and Bananas that I had to fight the hubbs for, more star beads, some hand cream and lip balm, more body wash and lollipops, hot cocoa, a cute little ring, some tea, sparkly beads, and two different metallic nail polishes (one of which is MIA due to girlie seeing-wanting-taking-running)! I was so spoiled! Thanks, pal (who I still have not figured out...)!!!
Then, the Chum. The temporary, but Oh. So. Enjoyable. lapse in judgment, or at least in finance. The L&V Sock Yarn.Here we have, in order, Boing the Rubber Boy, Curiosity Shoppe, Dancing Girl Nell, and Fiji Mermaid. I vaugely remember someone on the L&V MB saying that the etsy shop was being updated, and clicking a link, but that's all I seem to remember. Then this wonderful package shows up, and something starts to come back to me. Yes, I *did* click on a few of those colorways MissV had up. Yes, I *did* drool a bit. Yes, things were beginning to disappear, quickly. Yes, I *did* put four skeins in my cart and click checkout. I tell you now, I don't regret a thing!!!!
Oh, yeah, one more thing. Some cute little stitch markers that I'm testing the design of for the Knit Stitchery. Adorable. I'm going to use them on the RSC socks that I'll likely start tomorrow.

I did manage to finish one of my "Sparkle socks." I'm writing out the pattern now, then I'm going to knit the other from the pattern to make sure it's right. After that, I'll have it up, possibly in PDF.
I have cast on a sock in Trekking like four times now. I just don't think it's ready to be knit yet. No matter what, the sock is huge. 9st/in, 72 st, 9 in around my foot, and the sock is huge. MathMan can't even explain it, and he does theoretical math. It's a "statistical anomaly." I just say it hasn't decided what it wants to be when it grows up. So there.

2007-04-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here's the SIP I've been threatening to post for about two weeks now. It's like Shimmer from MagKnits, only it's a different stitch pattern repeat, and the mechanics of how it's done is different. So maybe it's just loosely based on/inspired by Shimmer? I'm not going to be making any money off the pattern, so that's what I'm saying.

Last chance...

2007-04-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm giving ecto one last chance to win my heart. If this doesn't work it's uninstall city. Does anyone know of another good Blogger posting utility?

MMT is "helping" me type right now, so forgive any errors I miss correcting.

So, I'm a sheep. A joiner. A follower. Have you seen this? Scout's even doing it in the colorway I had her design for me. That's going to look luscious! I've decided I'm going to do it in Lisa Sousa Sock! but I haven't made the final decision on the colors. What do you think?

LNV + Printemps
LNV + VPR
Spumoni + Printemps
LNV + What-a-melon

I know I'm definitely ordering VPR, but if it's not in the cut for the scarf, oh well. It's purrrty, and it would look good just hanging on my wall! If I like the pattern enough (which I probably will) I'm going to make the MIL one for Christmas. Hmm, that reminds me - her b-day is coming up soon. Maybe I should finish her purse? It just needs about five minutes of knitting, seaming and lining. Oh, yeah, and a SEVERE blocking. The stitch pattern makes it tilt something fierce.

I'm planning on making the Horcrux socks in my Sunshine yarns Slytherin colorway. Maybe I should finish my Strawberry Quick sock first, though? Plus, I've got another RSC shipment coming in about a week. And I'm determined to actually knit the pattern and color that I'm sent - it's all about new experiences, right? I really don't want to get behind in RSC, but I don't want to wind up with yet another thing on the needles. Maybe I should be knitting and not blogging? Yeah, I think I'll go do that. Maybe MMT will "help" with that too?? :)

Hey - guess what didn't publish.....

Thank goodness for "trial versions"

2007-04-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

My second post using ecto, and it fails to post. Not once, not twice, but three times. I'm glad it's a free trial version. I don't think I'm going to be purchasing it. But anyways!!!! It's official now. I'm the PinkPorcupine. I got sick of there being two of us, especially since we both started our blogs at almost the same time. So I switched to another blog name I've used in the past. And when I did a search on "PinkPorcupine", I get no other bloggers using the nick. Now I match my L&V name, too! So, what do you think of the new look?

Say cheese!

2007-04-14T22:11:00.001-07:00

SO, I have a pic of my Magic Yarn Ball.

Hmm. I have begun using ecto, and it won't link to Picasa. Let's see if I can do this the hard way:

Hmm. That may have worked!!

Now I have to go kick myself for not taking a piccie of my purty-ful sock in progress. It's in Scout's Swag. I like it!!!

Busy....

2007-04-13T08:08:00.001-07:00

I know I have pictures promised to several places, but it's going to be a bit. I forgot my camera cable, MMT just got her shots and is worse for the wear, and I've got grand (and great-grand) parent issues going on. So pictures will come when they come.

Gah!

2007-04-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

How is it I haven't seen any of Yarntini's stuff yet? I'm addicted to Lost. A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D. I get every episode as soon as it's on iTunes. Yarntini? Has a colorway called "4-8-15-16-23-42"!!! OhmyfreakinggodIneeditnow! Plus? I love Appletini and Hope and Pureknits and Lemon Drop and Vintage and Fig & Plum and even though it's not my normal thing, Steel City! Wait! I'm getting a vision! It's of the future! It's me....giving my money away...and getting Yarntini in return!

More later re:the family reunion of doom.

Did I blink?

2007-03-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

When did this happen?! My baby girl will be a year old in DAYS, people, DAYS! Did I blink? I must have missed something, it CAN'T have been a year already!!!

I've been working like a fiend on my RSC February sock, and this is the second sock as of a few hours ago.* I decided against the two-at-a-time method, and hoo-boy, am I glad. I went up even larger than everyone else on needle size through the leg, and it still would take a feat of strength to get these socks on my feet. Darn instep....stupid heel. I've decided not to go any larger on the needles - it's already loose enough as is. I think what I'm going to do is modify the cable pattern slightly. Just one up the back of the leg instead of three around the leg offset. I like the cable itself, and this will keep the sock reversible. I've already done the ripping back, but I'm waiting 'til tomorrow morning to restart the leg. I have a few stitches I need to repair - they started dropping.
*The first sock is still just past the heel.

Thursday (how original.....)

2007-03-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

So, I have officially turned the heel on my RSC sock, and even better, it fits! Now lets see if I can keep it that way, shall we? I'm not sure if I want to put it on holders and start the second to this point so I can do the two cuffs at the same time (on two circs), or if I should just do the on cuff in case I need to frog back? Surely, if would grate less to rip back just one cuff instead of two? I just don't know what to do. I should take a picture. The camera's downstairs....I'll do it later. (got the camera.)
(Can you tell I've been reading high fantasy? About a royal family no less? I've always found that what I read really invades my thought processes....go figure. Maybe I should do that "6 weird things" meme eventually. I've definitely got some doozies!)
MMT is walking up to the closet door (sliding mirrors) and giving herself kisses. It's positively adorable! I can't believe my little baby is almost a year old! She's been walking since she was 8 months old....how did I get such a little overachiever? Let's hear it for Aries! (And Geminis, while we're at it!)
Hey - any of you uber-savvy bloggers out there know what code I use to imbed my labels into the sidebar? I'd appreciate any help!
Did you hear what happened to Jessica over at Rose-Kim Knits? I'm skeered, mine's only two months old.

*&$%#@ Pushers......

2007-03-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

And it's not even yarn-y!! I just checked the links for L&V's last podcast....Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs. I've just spent hours....HOURS! I was able to narrow it down to just four, but it was oh, so difficult. I wanted to cry every time I removed one from my cart. I had the whole Sin & Salvation line in my cart at one point!
Knitting...yeah, I still do that. I'm making progress on the BMFA sock. Nearing the heel turn, even. I've been using Addi Turbos for the magic loop. I don't love the points, so much, but I do love the joins! If only I could mix different parts of needles together. I've been knitting at such a tight gauge that the Addi tips (which are a tad too long, anyway) are bending!! Eeks!
I'm trying to get together with other knitting moms in the Q, but the first meeting sorta flopped (by no one's fault, truly, but my own.) I did get a massive sunburn taking baby girl through the zoo, though. She loved it! Especially the birdies.

Etsy and a notice

2007-03-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

I figured out how to link to favorites.
So I've been thinking I'm going to change my layout. There's another Twisted Knitster out there, and he started his blog right about the same time I did, so I'm considering switching my pseudo to one I've had for a very long time. It's not as knitting related, so I'm just warning you so you won't be surprised when it changes.

Serenity...

2007-03-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

So. Have I mentioned I got a BMFA Rockin' Sock Club membership? Well, I did. Got the first package about a week ago. The yarn? My first experience with STR. I love the feel - smooth and silky, squishy, and lush. The colors aren't something I would have picked out for myself, but once I wound it into a ball, they really screamed me! The pattern is definitely different. Not the type of toes or heels that I would normally have done, but that's half the point - doing and getting things I wouldn't normally. I haven't started them yet for two reasons - I have an RPM sock halfway through the toe, and I want to at least finish the one first, also, I need a few more circs. I want to do these socks two at a time on two circs, and it calls for several different sizes to get a good fit. So, I have one Addi turbo (my first) in size 0/32, and one each of size 1 and 2 in 24 inch Inox. Maybe I'll place an order through Knitpicks for a few more needles, something closer to 30 inch. Then again, not to presume, but I am in a swap right now, and I did answer a few needle questions in the survey. Maybe I'll wait 'til that's over so as not to step on any feet. (I'm not expecting, just trying to not ruin surprises!)
Speaking of, I'm having lots of fun shopping for my pally in the L&V Pr0n exchange. Loads of stuff on order, and I couldn't help but slip a few things in for myself, as well.
I think I'm going to drop out of the Saturday Sky ring. I just don't have the time to update the pictures, or even take them most of the time.
I found my camera after like two months. I need to find the cable now. I don't know what's up with me lately. I'm not getting anything done! The MIL purse is still in limbo, as is the FIL scarf. The purse is fine to knit, but the cotton yarn makes my hands stiff tensioning it, while the FIL scarf has hideous colors and terrible yarn, I don't want to work on it.
I'm watching Serenity right now. I love this series/movie. For the past two years, every one of my email signatures is a line from one or the other. In fact, I think it's time to change it up again. What will it be this time?
I've been playing around on Etsy, finally. It's funny, I did a search for sock yarn and started saving all my favorite colors, and I'm all over the board! The yarns I didn't so much as care to save, just the colors. I know I need superwash, and possibly with something for strength (tencel, nylon, etc) but the colors were gorgeous! I would link, but I can't figure out how! My swap pal asked me if I wear jewelry. I have found so much beautiful jewelry on Etsy, but I just don't wear it. Kinda sad, since I gripe to MathMan that I don't feel very girly/feminine, but I know that if I do try to wear it, it'll just bug me. MathMan has gotten me two very pretty bracelets, and they've both only been worn once - when he puppy dog eyes me and asks why I don't wear them. Oh well.

bad blogger - no cookie...ever.

2007-02-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Alright. I know. I'm not updating like I should. But there are mitigating circumstances, i.e. a bona-fide walking now 11 month old. (she started really walking just before new year, at 8 months. Eek.) I have not the time for the pointy needles when I have to race around behind her keeping her from danger. So the knitting as well as the blogging is falling behind.
Not that I haven't been knitting, I just haven't been able to do much. I did finish my dad's trigger finger mittens, just in time for his hunt that was canceled about twenty minutes after I sewed in the last end. Grr. But they looked real nice!
Well, I just figured I'd say that I have joined up. I'm officially a member of the L&V Pr0n Exchange! Yay me. So, here's my questionnaire.

1. What kind of fibers do you prefer? Just about anything, so far. Haven't tried much other than wool, cotton and wool/nylon, and I've gotten sick of 100% acrylics, but otherwise...
2. What kind of weight do you prefer (sock, worsted, bulky)? sock. or worsted. I desperately want the time to knit my girlie up a pink tweed Weasley, but other than that I love the sock.
3. Do you spin? I have (several) spindle(s), and some roving, but no, not really
4. Do you crochet? Since I was 6, but now that I found knitting, crochet is relegated to edgings
5. Are there any books, patterns, magazines would you like to own that you don't? That one sock book by Priscilla GibsonRoberts that everyone says you should have, the Interweave Favorite socks book, and of course the L&V book
6. Are you participating in any themed a-longs like the Project Spectrum? Yeah, I set aside time for that in the 27th hour of the day (in other words, no.)
7. Do you have a wishlist on Amazon.com or Half.com? (provide a link) I do, but it's only set up cause the in-laws have no brains and can't shop without someone telling them what they like to the letter, so don't bother with it.
8. Any Etsy stores that you would love to get something from? Sure....I just don't know which ones
9. What other crafty things are you involved in (quilting, drawing, painting)? I've tried it all, but knitting is the best (due to the whole takes-no-time-to-set-up-or-clean-up thing, and the portable thing.)
10. What is your favorite sort of scent? I like fruit scents, like pear and melon and mango, but not vanilla or flowery. I would mention my favorite perfume, but the husband gags when I wear it (not because it smells bad, but because he smells "$$$$", if you catch my drift...)
11. Do you have a sweet tooth and what kind of sweets do you like best? yes. yes. yes. Since the little bit, I have become a real chocoholic. I guess I'm making up for all those years not liking it.
12. What kind of music do you like? Tori Amos, Sarah McLaughlin, Emilie Autumn...should I go there? Yeah - Cradle of Filth....I'm a strange one.
13. What do you like to knit? And for whom? Socks mostly, highly portable, small repetitions, different parts.
14. What sort of things do you like to collect? I have a decent collection of "Tea-for-one" teapots (the one where the cup and the pot are together in one unit)
15. Do you want needles? And what kind do you prefer? I REALLY wanna try knitpicks circulars. Not the options thing, just the circs. I like my sock needles to be some sort of metal for strength. I snapped bamboo in like three stitches...twice.

2007-01-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

I do still have a camera, I promise! I completed the second river rapids sock. Did I already say that? Oh, well. I also finished one sock for MathMan. The second one is on the needles, but he doesn't get them until he finds my sock monkey bag. I still haven't finished the FIL scarf, but I don't have the heart to look at it right now. I do have my first Jaywalker on the needles, out of BMFA Sock candy in Thunder. I'm going to need to add elastic thread to the ribbing once they're done.
Have you seen the new IK Spring preview? I lust....

First one in a long time

2007-01-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

When I woke up at 7:30 this morning, this is what I saw out the window...
I'm done with the second river rapids sock. I had a marathon knitting session yesterday. Felt good, and who needs dinner anyway?

Woe of woes

2007-01-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

Not only can I not find out from my bank or the credit card company if my BMFA payment was refunded, but now I can't find my sock monkey sock bag I got from trek. And it had a whole sock and yarn for it's mate in it. Waaaa! I'm going to go console myself with some back "issues" of Lime and Violet and work on the second of my River Rapids socks.

Catching up

2007-01-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

So, I've done some major catching up today. MathMan took MissMonkeyToes (I need to find that girly a shorter nickname...) this morning, and I got caught up on her blog, so now I can truly focus on a real post for this blog. (BTW, I'm so excited I'm telling everyone I can: MMT cut her first tooth last night!!!!)
So, in knitting, the FIL scarf is still not done. Could it be the colors? That hideous mix of orange, black and white? Could it be the yarn? That hideous acrylic? Me, I think it's a combination of both. But I plod along. (Oh, and aside, I came close to finishing nothing for christmas, so all handknits became birthday gifts.) My dad's trigger finger mittens are almost finished. He was going on a hunt this weekend, so he was going to get them early. I knitted a blister into my hand finishing them, then the day he was supposed to leave, he tells me that it's been canceled. Worse than if I knitted like mad and didn't finish them. So, they need half a thumb and some ends woven in. He's getting them in two weeks.
As it turns out, I am turning into a choco-holic (yes, I'm going somewhere with this, bear with me.) Before pregnancy, I would have preferred Smarties to a chocolate bar, but now, it could be the worst quality chocolate out there, and I. Want. It. So, the MIL and I were talking about chocolate. The highest quality she's ever had is Hershey's. I, of course, had to extol the virtues of Dove. Sooooo creamy.... sorry, channeling Homer J there. So, MIL is getting a new gift, as hers is the only one I hadn't even started. She's getting a modified Promenade bag full of good chocolate, Dove included.
MathMan got me a swift and ballwinder for christmas! Yay! I spent an evening winding all my sock yarns into balls...even the ones already in center pull skeins. I haven't gotten to do anything else yet, but there will be another evening full of Rowanspun 4ply and lots of laceweight. I can hardly wait! I got myself an after holiday prezzie, as well: I am now the proud owner of "Mac & Cheeze," my very own iPod. I just listened to my very first podcast today, three actually, all knitting related. Two bored my socks off, but I won't name any names, however, I am in love with Lime & Violet! I still have a few more to test drive, but I may have spoiled myself by listening to them first.
I want to join a few "alongs." L&V have a Sock Marathon they're doing, and Project Spectrum is doing a 2.0. But tell me people, why does this always have to be flickr!?! I hate flickr with the firey passions of 1000 deaths, but that's all that seems to be used. I have nothing against your choice of flickr, I just detest it. So, until I find an along that doesn't use flickr, I'm going solo.
The only FOs I have since, well, since before Thanksgiving are dishcloths. I was in the Winterwonderland Swap, as evidenced by the previous post. I'm still waiting for my pal to say she got my package, which she should have done days ago, but I understand overstressed and overworked. I made my first miter, and garterlac too! I tried doing a log cabin dishcloth, but that really didn't work out.
The in laws really surprised me this year. Usually they get me strange little offerings from one of their many trips to Istanbul, or Kukamunga, or wherever the heck they go, but this year they got me knitting books. Gads of knitting books. Big Girl Knits, and Stitch and Bitch Nation, and Folk Shawls, and Yarnplay, and Inspired Cable Knits, and Finishing Techniques for Handknitters, and Pursenality Plus, and the all time fave: Mason-Dixon Knitting. I could not believe it. I could not lift it. I was very appreciative, sadly so much so that I knew they could tell the difference between "Thanks for the reindeer leather moccasins from Finland" and "OMG! MDK!!!"But, what the heck, it's all good.
As soon as I find my camera amidst all the chaos that is now my living room (My GOD, did we buy a ToysRUs and move the entire inventory DOWNSTAIRS???) I will post pictures.

I've put it off long enough...

2007-01-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

but it's high time I blogged about the grand swap package Alice sent to me in the Winterwonderland Swap. Here's a shot, minus the chocolate, of course:So we have the cutest little egg cozy you ever did see, two round dishcloths, and once ballband dishcloth (my fave - the colors are just so.....something, but I love it!) and the sweet little card. I agree, I have no idea what the egg cozy is actually *for*, but it's adorable! And the little mini-hanger? So cute it almost gave me a heart attack! Thanks Alice!!!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T08:23:00.001-07:00

Yay! I managed to upgrade my Blogger! I love Google products.
I'm not near a camera right now, so no pictures. I'm also not going to list my "FOs of 2006", cause that would just be a pathetic list. I am going to make a few resolutions -
1. If I don't like it, it's dragging me down. Just froggit.
2. I am determined to finish at least one big project this year. With a soon to be 1 year old, I think one is a good aim for the year. If I make more than one, then I can feel really good about myself.
3. Stick to my list of five. (Make hubby help me put the list on the sidebar. He said he would do it three months ago. grumblegrumblegrumble.)
That's all for now. I'll try to post more later, but I'm almost two months behind on daughter's blog as well, and that comes first.

BTW - I apologize to my WinterWonderland Swap pal (even though you won't see this for a bit.) I'm getting your package ready to go now. Normally I'm one of the first to send out a swap, but this time I'm just so busy I'm waiting til the end. I hope it's a good package for you!

.....

2006-12-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Should I apologize for my excessive absences? I think not, but I will explain them, and maybe you'll understand why.
MMT is mobile. It's the holidays. MathMan is recovering from surgery. I'm having to deal with the i-laws. (Let's be honest - whose in-laws aren't annoying/crazy/irritating?) I'm over-stressed, over-worked and underappreciated... I'm too busy keeping MMT out of trouble to worry with blogging. And while I love my crafty self, I think that on the (waaay) off chance that I get to blog, it's going to be in *her* growing up blog. So, there's not going to be much in the way of updates until after the holiday stress has be down to two tufts of hair remaining.
However, I do have a bit of content for you. First, a butt-load of Saturday Sky pics. I've been too busy to take them myself, but I have such a sweet momma....MathMan told her about Saturday Sky, and she's been snapping a few pics for me each week! I no longer know which week is which, but here they all are!

....Alrighty, then. Blogger is being....well, I can't upload images. Here's the links, if anyone really cares to see them.
Sat Sky 1

Sat Sky 2

Sat Sky 3

Second, the obligatory space filler, the meme:

What kind of a freaky mother are you?

You're" a punk rock mommy! DIY is probably your motto, because you're a punk mama at heart. Your kids are getting your independent spirit and guts, and learning to solve problems themselves. You love it when they show their independence, even when it's breaking your heart.
Take this quiz!

Whoops-a-diddle

2006-11-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

(I'll stick links in this later. Took long enough to write, I don't feel like looking at it anymore.)

So, deal is I live in a VERY rural area. Our water system covers a total of 8 houses. And it's one of the larger ones in the area. Well, said water system was working on installing a few hundred feet of new line, and whoops-a-diddle. They cut the phone lines. Now, the phone lines were properly marked by the phone company, and where to dig was properly marked by the water operator, however, the contractor that installed the phone lines was paid by the foot, so to line his pocket he created large loops all the way down the road. The backhoe sliced one of these loops in twain. Since the whole neighborhood was now out phone and internet service (aka as contact with the outside world) the phone company informed us that we were their TOP priority. Man, I would hate to not be TOP priority with them We were out so long that I lost count of the days!!!!! The engineer finally got his lazy butt out here on Saturday - gee, could it be the promise of weekend pay coupled with holiday pay that finally lured him? I guess we'll never know.

I want to say a thank you to everyone who commented about my rant in the last post, even those of you who didn't actually post it. (You know who you are!!! I've seen you type, I know you can do it! I see every time you visit, too....) It really felt good to get it out, and I have now added a new subject to my "never discuss with friends" list of topics: politics, religion, and PARENTING. Everyone has their own way of doing things, everyone looks at someone else with envy wondering how they have the child with the perfect behaviour, and everyone looks at someone else thinking "jeez, can't they do better than that?" So to make it easy on myself, I'll keep my thoughts to myself and hubbs. No more parenting boards, no more parenting discussions with relatives/friends, nothing. But seriously, thank you to everyone who let me vent - I really needed it.

So, on with the knitting content - I've been doing quite a bit during my forced silence, but almost all of it is gift knitting, and to top it off I forgot my camera at my parent's house, so no pictures for you, Soup Nazi style! I got the first of the mom socks finished - she requested a simple stockinette stitch sock with a two inch cuff. I did them toe-up using Judy's Magic Cast-on, and the Widdershins pattern for the reverse dutch heel flap. The only thing I didn't take into account was how much they would shorten when stretched while worn - what was a five/six inch cuff became a three inch cuff. Hmm...something to consider. And another thing - how is it that everyone else in the bloggy world can try on their toe-up socks while they're working on them, and all I get is massively bent needles and not a chance of getting them over my heel??? Can someone explain this to me please?!

I'm also working on a scarf for the FIL. Cincinnati Bengals colors, so in other words, black, a little white, and the most hideous orange you've ever seen! And to top it off, I'm having to use acrylic chunky, due to both "budget constraints" and washability factor. (Plus, the hubbs couldn't find anything near the right color of hideousness in any superwash I could find.) I had originally planned on making an illusion scarf, but I can't get this logo right without three colors. Then I thought up a way to do the illusion as intarsia inside a solid block, but as that would stretch the image waaaay too far, that doesn't work either. (Hubbs again - he said the "B" needed to be small, squat, and "Strong." Go figure.) So that's out. Now I'm just doing the logo as straight intarsia. I'm hating it. 11 balls of super chunky acrylic floating around behind my knitting, plus 11 tails to be woven in later. Add a small child to bat at the balls, creating tangles of epic proportions, and you've got my nightmare.

I have three projects sitting to the wayside right now. I'm not allowing myself to cast on for any of them until all the gift knitting is finished. That means - finish the scarf from hell, second mom sock, second MIL slipper, and trigger finger mittens for my father. Wait - can't forget about the Linux illusion scarf for hubbs, nor whatever I'm making for BIL. (That's still undecided.) I guess I'm lucky I'm an only child, and hubbs has only one brother, otherwise I'd be snowed under!

I've seen this floating around, and as I used to love doing these when I was younger, you get this one.

48 things.

1. FIRST NAME? Ansley

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I can't even get where they got the name from out of my parents!! But I do know that there is a mall in Georgia, and a china pattern/company/line with the same name, and it stems from Ainsley (Irish - male - pronounced "Ash-lee")

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? sometime last week

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? no, but I do miss writing. Taking out that brand new notebook on the first day of school and taking notes. I sometimes get a notebook and copy song lyrics into them, just cause I miss writing.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? roast beef, smoked turkey, and grilled chicken. I don't do ham.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably, but I have a tendancy of disappearing for stretches of time, so it would be difficult.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? No, not at all, and don't go looking for it either!!! (Wait, this is a journal of sorts, isn't it....)

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? By freak chance, or maybe childhood fears, yes. They should have been out long ago.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not a chance. I'm definitely not a Fear Factor girl.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Hmm....well, with milk I like Honey Nut Cheerios, without I like frosted flakes, and either way I like cocoa puffs. (Yes, I'm a sugar junkie, what are you gonna do about it?

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I try not to get the ones with laces, and my boots have a zipper up the side.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? willed - yes, muscled, no, hearted - sometimes

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Black walnut, but the walnuts can't be chewy.....that's nasty

14. SHOE SIZE? somewhere in the 9-10 range. My feet spread slightly during pregnancy, but not much at all. Plus, every time I buy shoes I'm all over the size range.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Laziness. If I weren't so lazy, I'd excercise more, making me not so overweight and able to wear smaller clotges. If I wasn't so lazy I'd finish more projects and be happier with myself. If I wasn't so lazy I wouldn't stay in situations that I'm miserable and feeiling stuck in. I guess there's a lot of things I don't like about myself, but they all stem from main problem.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My dear friend just moved to Seattle. I just recently re-found her, and now she's gone again.

18. WHAT FOOD WILL GET YOU OUT OF BED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT? I don't wake up for anything but MissMonkeyToes.

19. WHAT COLOUR TROUSERS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Sorry to dissapoint. I'm in my pjs. Navy blue.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? A Pop tart this morning. I'm hungry. See ya!

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? An air purifier and my neighbor's circular saw.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? ceraulean

23. FAVORITE SMELL? that's a toughy. I love my daughter's breath....

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mother during her lunch break.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Hair usually.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU STOLE THIS FROM? I don't read a blog unless I like it, and who doesn't like Aija?

27. FAVOURITE DRINK? Squirt. Hubbs swears that I'm the one keeping the company afloat.

28. FAVOURITE SPORT? HOCKEY!!!!!

29. EYE COLOUR? Blue-ish. Too light to be true blue, at least to me. More of a watery aqua color. Course, they change with moods and what I wear.

30. HAT SIZE? never checked.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Plurally? No. I wear one in my right eye, but my left is uncorrectable, and I don't really see out of it. Made the Magic-Eye fad a true bitch. It's just never gonna happen for me.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Currently, Thai yellow curry. Yum.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Mostly happy endings, but I occasionally come across something that actually scares me, and I love that adrenaline rush. Not like The Grudge. I couldn't hold in my laughter at the theater, and had to leave!

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? beginnings. I love winter at the beginning of the season, same with summer, but by the end, I'm ready for a change.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses from my daughter.

37. FAVOURITE DESSERT? Cheesecake!!

38. WHAT SIDE OF THE BED DO YOU SLEEP ON AND WHY? Am I supposed to be looking at the bed when I way, or in the bed? Cause that would change whether it's left or right. Let's just say that I like to lay on my right wide, facing into the bed.

39. IF YOU DIDN'T MAKE THE DECISION TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE A FAMILY, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING TODAY? Slacking off some more?

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Harry Potter #1 to MissMonkeyToes, and Harry Potter #2 for myself, as I've never read any of them and I can't go as slow as MMT makes me.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I have a laptop - ie: touchpad.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Grumpier Old Men

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Music, MMT babbling

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Eek, um, both!

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? I don't really have a home - I'm a navy brat and moved all over when I was young.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? If I set out to try something, I "get it" right away. No learning curve for me.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? East Texas

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Strange to have a "where did you steal this question" along with a "who sent this to you" I'm curious how it's stealing if someone gave it to you, and vice versa.

I can't believe it!

2006-10-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

Two pics of the Saturday Sky, and on Saturday, too!! These were taken at about 5:30 this afternoon, but Blogger wasn't letting me in so you get them now. I couldn't decide between these two, one is over the roof, and the other is away from the house.

I apologize now about this, but I have to get on a soapbox for just a second. Feel free to stop reading anytime you wish, but I've got to get this out. MathMan, MissMonkeyToes and I had lunch with some friends today, friends that we really haven't seen since MMT was born. MissX, as I will call her, doesn't like children, at all. She has dogs, if it doesn't have four legs, she doesn't like it. Well, today at lunch, MMT wasn't in a great mood, I had woken her up from her nap, and it was past time for a second one as it was. MathMan takes her and walks her outside so I could finish my meal, and MissX decided to tell me how to raise my own daughter. It made me furious, but I didn't say anything for the sake of civility. When you successfully raise happy, well-adjusted, successful children, then I *may* ask for your advice on some component, but don't presume to tell me how to raise my child when you can't even keep your dog from jumping on me or begging right at my elbow. I don't think I'll be spending any friendly time with her anytime soon, I don't think I could hold my tongue a second time. /soapbox rant

Oh, drat...

2006-10-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

Remember the Aran Braid socks?
Wanna see how they look now?
Pretty sad, huh? My mother and I have very similar foot sizes, so after I had gotten down to about halfway through the instep, I decided to slip them on to test the size. Despite the allover rib pattern, I couldn't get them over my heel. Mom came up to visit yesterday, and same thing, so it was off to the frog pond last night. MathMan did the honors/dirty deed for me while I fed MissMonkeyToes. So, I sent mom some patterns, and she happened to click another link and see Tulip Toes. She decided she wants straight stockinette with a small rib cuff at the top. So, off I go.

I don't like Mondays

2006-10-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday sky:Taken outside my parent's house during an evening walk with MissMonkeyToes.

I've been busy knitting away on the second Twiggy purse. I've been down at my parent's house for a few days. I had another trip to the dentist due to a toothache. Luckily I didn't need a root canal. Apparently I've been grinding my teeth when I sleep, an putting maor pressure on on of my molars. A little grinding down of my tooth and a nightguard later, and all is well.
What's this? Could it be my very first lace project ever? Why, it is! The yarn is the merino/silk handpainted I got from my laceswapr partner, and the pattern is Sarcelle. I'm loving working on this, but due to the squirmyness, yet neediness of MMT, I'm not able to do much more than a row or two at a time. I'm working on a size smaller needle than called. Getting to the LYS is a difficult thing for me to do, and when I went I grabbed the wrong size, so there it is. It's probably denser than it should be, but I like the way it's looking. I may throw in another set of repeats in the increase section to make it a bit wider, but otherwise I'm forseeing sticking to the pattern. (Sorry about the poor picture quality, MMT was asleep on one arm, so I was taking the picture with one hand.)

So, I've been thinking about the list of five. Lets take a look at where things stand right now:
1. socks - Aran braid socks for my mother
2. lace - Sarcelle
3. a sweater - Tubey
4. a gift project, or something else that's small, quick, or not for me or MathMan - Twiggy #2, Knucks
5. a simple, portable project, like a washcloth - River Rapids Sock
6. one afghan

Wow, I wasn't kidding!!

2006-10-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

I just finished taking all my pictures....there's alot! I've pared it down as much as I can, but there's still a load!
First off, let me try to alleviate my guilt by explaining where I've been. Aside from normal day to day, which takes up enough time as-is, Miss MonkeyToes had her six month early last week, which included a trip to the doctor's. Once that had worn off, she decided that it was time to try cutting her first tooth. All that adds up to "Mommy, don't put me down! I hurt!" Top it off with a toothache of mine own, and I had a few more important things to worry with. (No, MMT still hasn't cut the tooth, but she is dead asleep in my lap right now, so all is good.
Now, on with the wooly wonders!

First up, is an FO. Twiggy Tweed from the current Knitty. I used Shine Worsted from Knitpicks side is fraternal. . I'm not sure if I took a piccie of the yarn. I finished sewing in the lining last night. I'm pretty proud of it. I knew that I wouldn't have enough of one color to do the whole bag, so eachThen, I just knit up two strips in stockinette, crossed them, and mattress stitched the sides together to make them into tubes. I tried knitting back for the first time working on this purse, and I must say, I LOVE it! If it was as easy to purl back, I would use it all the time, but for ribbing and shaping, it just doesn't work.

Next up, is a few WIPs. First, some socks I'm making for my mother. She knows about them, so I don't feel so bad posting where she can see them. The yarn is Knitpicks Essential Tweed in Flint. The pattern is Aran Braid from Knitpicks. See a pattern here? I love Knitpicks! Living as far out in the boonies like I do, it's a great mail order option. Back to the socks - they're my first real kept cabling. I've practiced on some scrap yarn on a swatch, but never like this. The hardest part to me is that the needle I was using to cable was flimsy. I know all about cabling without a needle, but I don't feel up to that with this yarn. It's just too tight as is.

Second, is the another Twiggy I'm making. I'm modifying the pattern to be larger, and I'm going to knit a panel for the bottom so it will be larger on the inside as well. This is another gift for a friend. The color was difficult to photograph well. It's a richer, more "royal" purple.

Last up is the first of a pair of Knucks from Knitty Summer 06. Yet again, Knitpicks yarn, this time, Merino Style. The pinkish color is right on, but the other one is actually a bit more towards the red end of the spectrum Purples are just a hard color to photograph. The embroidery on these is going to be a secret, just to be on the safe side in case she reads before she gets them.

Now, on to the stash enhancement and other randomness. First, more merino style. This is for MathMan's Linux Illusion Scarf. I jsut didn't have it in me to work with the evil Red Hart anymore. It was too scratchy, and I know that for illusion, it's usually standard to use a worsted, but it was averaging about 15 inches depending on my gauge, and it just didn't feel like it would be cozy wrapped around a neck.

Next, some laceweight I got just to even out the order. Better to knock the order up to 40 and get more yarn than to pay shipping, cause hey, it gets you more yarn!! I'm not sure what this is going to be, but I've got almost 1000 yards of it, and a few shawl patterns I've been eying, so we'll see what happens.

Now, some DK weight that I had to have, but I don't know what it will become. I made a visit to an alpaca farm just a few miles from my house, Aspen Ridge Alpacas. I asked about the yarn, and they showed me the "shop". I saw this and couldn't not have it. So soft, so beautifully handpainted. Maybe it'll be a One Skein Wonder, maybe something else. We'll see. (Click the picture to see a close-up with better color matching.)

I made a trip down to Village Wools last week. I met Scout - she's much taller than I thought she would be, but just as nice. She talked me into getting a book, Spin to Knit. I went in to get some roving, and didn't know how to buy it. (I thought it would be in a "skein" type thing, not just pull some off and weigh it.) I felt bad, seeing her rant about how she hates it whe people come into the shop and ask a question they can get the answer to online. I really did research, I just didn't know how to buy the roving! Well, I got talked into a hi-lo spindle from Schadt, instead of the purple stained one that I almost nabbed. I also picked up some...something wool for learning on. It's something local (as in from this state) but I can't remember what it was. That's my first try at spinning there on the spindle, and I'm pretty proud of it! I also got some colored corriedale in green and lavender. And just cause I could, I got some alpaca roving when I was at the ranch the other day.

Now that this qualifies as the longest blog post ever, I'm off to sleep. And a note to myself and anyone who uses blogger - if you're gonna blog around a bunch of pictures, load them first. It's a pain to move them from the top when you've already got a large amount of text.

Edited to add - I have tried to make this post "lie" better with the text and the pictures, but I just can't do it this late at night. If you want to see text that is over a picture, just highlight it, you should be able to read it better. Sorry!!

Bad blogger, no candy....

2006-10-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe just a bit. Smarties, my favorite!
Well, I give you with two Saturday Sky pics from yesterday:
This one was taken in my parents living room. I loved the way the clouds looked through the long, thin window high up on the wall. I missed a good picture of the mass ascension, plus, I was high above the valley and the balloons stayed close to the ground, so there wasn't much to see anyway.

The other picture was taken at dusk at my own house. The colors were just so purty-ful that I couldn't resist!

I have lots to report about my absence, I was massive busy. Lots of knitting and fiber related goodness coming up, so the next post will be picture heavy, just a warning!

Lace-y goodness!

2006-09-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

So, I was upstairs feeding MMT when MathMan came home this afternoon. I hear him laboring up the stairs and he comes into the room with a laundry basket full of clothes for me to fold (thanks, dear.....) Sitting on top? Not one but two, count them, TWO packages for l'il ole me! One was two teapots I ordered from e-bay. You can check them out here.
I grabbed the second - I squealed. I saw the name on the return address - I squealed louder! It was my LaceSwap package!!! My pal was Shelby, and MAN did she put together a nice package!!! About 1500 yards of a beautiful handdyed laceweight merino/silk blend. It's so lovely and squishy and soft....and the colors are beautiful! Tones of blue with green, tan, and aqua, and a few undyed spots for good measure. Reminds me of a peacock feather! She included the Gothic Leaf Stole from Sivia Harding. She definitely did her homework on me - she included two pairs of chopsticks with lovely cases, a maple tree kit to grow one of my own, and some maple tea. Mmmm....maple tea! How could your mouth not water! And to top it all off, she's from the land of my favorite team - Go Canucks!!! (Yes, I live in the desert, and yes, I love hockey. I even met MathMan at a NM hockey game. Gotta problem with it!?! :) )

I leave you with a close-up of the gorgeous yarn...
ETA - I adore the GIMP, thanks to the auto-levels feature, this is the truest to color I think I could possibly get!

(Finished) Objects in Space

2006-09-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

First up, my first completed sock. I finished the first of two River Rapids. I really like how it came out, now I just have to cast on for the second sock. Sadly, I don't see it happening soon - Miss Monkey Toes has gotten a good deal more squirmy, and those size twos are mighty pointy, so I'm not going to be knitting them very much for a little bit.

Next, is a tea cozy I knitted for a friend out of Patons SWS. Hopefully she doesn't see the blog before I give it to her, but I don't think I'm going to have to worry about that. I tried to make it with the pocket for scents, but it curled up far too much and I had to sew it down so the teapot would sit flat.

Last, I have some fun fiber I got in the mail from MaryKay. Ten skiens of Rowanspun in Jade, and ten in Temptation. Goody, goody! Ahh, stash enhancement! I think I'm going to try to make a pair of Knucks out of two strands held together.

I've also got a bunch of different dishcloths done in blue and white for the mil, but I don't have them handy for a piccie. One I did in the Chinese Waves pattern, twisting the slipped stitches, and my right ring finger is still numb from how tight a knit it was.

I guess I'll finish up by confessing my guilt - I didn't take a picture for Saturday Sky. I did look at the sky, but there was just too much stuff to do that every time I thought about taking a picture, something would come up that needed to be taken care of right away. By the time that I had the ability to snap a shot, it was waaaay past dark. I'll make up for it next week.

Pictures

2006-09-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

From Works in Prog...

Here's a picture of those WIPs from the previous post, and something I forgot to mention (bad blogger!!) My newest sockbag from trek!! It has a purple ribbon, and most unexpected (and very happily so) a lavender lining! It's so me - punky yet femme....I <3 it!!

Please Mister Postman look and see....

2006-09-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

After years and years of waiting (well, it seemed like it anyways) I got a swap package!!!

From Bare Fiber, etc.

On the way home last night, MathMan stopped to get the mail and what did I spy in the box? A package key! Was it going to be a phonebook, Rxs from the mail order company, or...something else? It was my swapcloth package from KatieB!!! (Sadly, I don't know if she has a blog.) She made me two warshrags in gorgeous colors, and threw in a cute little knitting notecard, a knitting basket scrapbook embellishment, and two adorable knitting charms! (Oddly enough, I had been looking unsuccessfully for knitting charms in a jewelry catalog the day before! KatieB, you're a mindreader!) Thanks so much for everything!!! And I didn't even notice it was a recipe card, it was so cute!
I'm almost through the instep of River Rapids sock #1, and I'm on the second sleeve of Tubey. I've also been working on a new washcloth today, but I have no pictures for you. MissMonkeyToes hasn't felt wonderful today, and let me tell you just how long it takes to type up an entry lefthanded and without waking up a sleeping baby in your arms.
I leave you with Saturday Sky from out the window earlier this evening.

From Saturday Sky

2006-09-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

This is my sky, out my front door, at twilight tonight. I've been doing a lot of knitting, but I'm cozy in bed right now so you get no pictures until tomorrow. I've gotten the handles on my Promenade bag, so it's truly finished now, and I've turned the heel on the River Rapids sock. Just the instep and toe, then the second sock. I managed to get the cuff done in just two days, but the rest is going markedly slower. I'm still slowly, yet surely plugging away at Tubey and Hoover, but nothing really visible.

Mail Bag!!!

2006-09-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

I finally got some fun mail-y goodness yesterday! First up is a sock bag from trek:

Teal Sock Monkeys. I love sock monkeys! I don't know why. Maybe it's that I never had one when I was growing up. But wait! What's that peeking out of the bag? Could it be my River Rapids sock? Why, yes, I believe it is!

Confessions of a Knitting Heretic by Annie Modesitt. Can I just say yay for this book? Tons of useful stuff for us combined knitters, heck it's good stuff for every knitter. Knowing how stitches are formed is a great thing for any knitter.
Last night I made two apple pies. Haven't tried them yet, but one is for a BBQ that a friend is having tonight, the other is for us. I only had two cookie cutters, and I kinda thought that the dog bone wouldn't be very appropriate...

And I leave you with a cute little picture I found on Cute Overload. There was no credit, so I don't know who took it, but I imagine that they're a knitter!!

Post, the Second

2006-09-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

So here's the picture of everything. MMT needed to eat, so I had him take this picture. I really like how the slippers came out - matching, yet not match-y. I have a good deal of leftovers from each ball, but I don't know what I'm going to do with them. The other two balls in the picture have counterparts, so they may be other socks. Who knows.
So, I'm thinking about joining the Knitters Tea Swap 2, but I'm just not sure. I've been in two swaps so far, and I really enjoy giving gifts, but I've only heard from one swap partner once, and the deadline is over for that swap. Maybe it's my mail, or maybe I'm just not in a good mood (I'm hungry, and getting over being sick, two things that make me cranky...) but do I want to do it again? Something to think about.
So, this is what I want to turn the Koigu into. Toe-up, top-down, who cares. I love these socks. And check these out! I want the faces of woman ones. How cute!!

Oh - I forgot! My swapcloth partner got her package!!! Yay!

Being sick sucks, plus a FO

2006-09-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

So, as of the last post, MathMan and MissMonkeyToes were just getting over being sick. What does that mean? Of course, it means that *I* start getting sick. Blecch. Though there was knitting to be had, after all, what else is there when stuck in bed with the TV on?
First up, there is the Hoover blanket, still growing (slowly) and still looking the same. Next up, there's Tubey. I got halfwy down the sleeve in a marathon session, and again!! It's baggy. I did the math. Swatched up and measured, everything. Still baggy. So that got ripped. I'm determined to have this sweater, though. It's been re-started again, hopefully for the last time. Then, a quick trip to Michael's for some size 8 DPNs and I came upon some Paton's SWS. I couldn't resist. I got two balls each in three colorways. As I was picking them up, I was thinking log cabin for MMT, but once I got home I decided on some slipper socks. I used the pattern form Knitty Gritty's Sock-It-To-Me episode. I finished the second one yesterday. This morning I got MathMan to help me wind a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock into a ball and started River Rapids. I think it's time to have a discussion with myself about what I'm allowed to have on the needles at any given time. So here it is.
1. socks
2. lace
3. a sweater
4. a gift project, or something else that's small, quick, or not for me or MathMan
5. a simple, portable project, like a washcloth
6. one afghan
So lets look at what I have on the needles now. Tubey, the two-up socks out of Koigu, River Rapids in lorna's laces, a pair of fingerless mitts in Moda-Dea Simply Stripes, and MathMan's Linux Illusion Scarf. The last two are UFOs sitting in the back of a drawer as they are 100% acrylic scratchyness, but the first two I need to address. After finishing the slipper socks, I've realized that I prefer top down construction on socks, and I really don't like the way the koigu socks are working up, so I think I'm going to frog them in preference of this pattern worked top down. So once I do that, I'm going to be ok.
In other news, the only size 8 DPNs I could get at Michael's were Clover Bamboo. Oh. My. I get it now. They're so smooth, yet not slick. They feel so nice in my hands, light and manageable. And I like how blunt the tips are. I may just have to get several in different sizes. Plus, I grabbed a size 8 circular, and I'm loving that too. I like how short the needle portion is - my Denises are much longer, and I have a tendency of curling my right pinky around them far too hard, which results in a very stiff and painful pinky after just a few minutes of knitting, but the Clovers fit nicely into my palm, making it easy to keep my pinky relaxed for hours of knitting fun!
Well, I'm off to cook dinner. I'll take a few pictures and update this post with them later.

You're Kidding!!

2006-08-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

10 bucks a day??? A DAY!!! I was prepared. I brought my computer, my cables, my camera. But internet access at our hotel was 10 bucks a day. Sorry, I don't think I'll be blogging for that price. No, thank you.
Well, anyway, I did a good bit of knitting on the trip - both in the car and the hotel room. I am such a project h0r, though. I brought some cotton for dishcloths, my mercerized cotton to make the Promenade bag, and I managed to go to a yarn shop and finally get the right kind of yarn for Tubey. Well, I used up the two balls of Sonata that I brought for Promenade. I started two different warshrags, and once I got the Tubey yarn, I cast on for that. I also have like three projects in my mind.
I finished one warshrag for my swap partner, but I didn't like the way if came out, so I did another one last night. I like this one much better, came out nicer, more like something I would be ok with giving to someone else. Of course, no pictures of that until my partner gets it.

I finished my Promenade bag two days ago (yes, I've been home for a while) once I got back to my stash. It's wider and shorter, and still needs the handles, but other than that... :) I really like how it came out. I ordered some gorgeous natural rattan handles off ebay, they should be here in a few days, hopefully by then end of the week.

Ahh, can't forget about Saturday Sky. Here's the pic from this Saturday. We got back on Friday, but MathMan and Miss MonkeyToes were sick, so I don't feel guilty about neglecting the blog.
So I tried to like Flickr, but I guess I'm just a Google girl, so I signed up for Picasa. I definitely prefer it., and it's got a web version in beta testing. So that's what I'm gonna be using from now on.

Saturday sky - a day late

2006-08-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

I swear I took this yesterday, but it was 8:45. I was in a scramble yesterday. The house was a mess, I was packing for our trip up to Denver (we're leaving tomorrow before sunrise!) and the realtor calls and says that he's showing the house...in half an hour!!! I hadn't even taken a shower yet! It was a mad scramble to get me dressed, MMT dressed, and everything cleaned and straighented. To top it all off, the downstairs has developed an odor. I'm not sure what it is, but part of it reminds me of old nicotine. If someone did come through and smoke, it would be dissipating, not intensifing. I've checked every nook and crevass that I possibly can, nothing. It's really bothering me.
Dropping that, and on to knitting content. I finished a warshrag last night, but I can't share. It's for a swap partner, so no piccies. But I'm very proud of how it looks, so when she gets it, there'll be pictures.

Party Time

2006-08-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

So my friend just recently learned to crochet , and now she wants to learn to knit. What does that mean to her? A Stitch and Tea Party! Oddly enough, I'm going to be teaching a bit of both - crochet tips and tricks, and knitting. How is it that I became the authority on yarn in my circle of friends?
**Yay! I just got an email from my laceswap partner that she got my package! Yay! She's going to post about it tomorrow at CatKnits**
So, anyway, my friend is having a party. Yummy tea, fun fiber, and oh, yeah - we're going to the LYS first. Twice in one week.....what's come over me? Whoops, did I not mention that I already went two days ago? Could it be because I got some swapp-y things that I don't yet wish to share? Though, I did get myself some Lorna's Laces in Jungle Stripe, as well as some DPNs and cable needles...what was left in the bag is going unnamed until the recipient gets it.
I'm currently at my parent's house again (wanted to have social interaction...and not wind up talking to the trees...) and I actually remembered to bring both my camera and cable! Yay for me!
I'm making good progress on the socks, considering I can only work on them a total of about an hour per day. I just finished turning the heel, again. I didn't do the math right, and it wound up being about a half inch too short. Woe as me. But I just finished the second time, and I need to try them on again to see if I managed it this time. I did a short row heel, and after fighting with the wraps the first time, I decided not to pick them up as I finished the turn. I don't notice much of a difference, except that the yarn didn't get as fuzzy from me overworking it.

Evil Yarn

2006-08-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong - I'm so not a yarn snob. I'm totally fine using man-made fiber. Readily available, easily cleanable, and cheap. There's even some pretty neat and soft ones out there. However, this?This would be the evil Red Heart my husband chose for his Linux Illusion Scarf. This is the same super scratchy, calling to be made into a hideous granny square afghan stuff that your mother bought for you to learn with due to it's super cheapness factor. And all MathMan kept saying was that he wanted greyscale. Yecch!