The addiction

Even though I got some perfectly good vintage yarn from Clockwatcher for Xmas, I couldn't help but go down to Webs when they very kindly sent me a postcard detailing their big end of year sale.

I started trying to knit a pair of socks Xmas morning with the aforementioned vintage yarn, but it was a little stiff from waiting for a willing pair of needles, and I feared the socks would not be very comfortable, so I ripped them out and formulated a new plan for a throw pillow for the couch. But I really wanted a pair of wool socks since I am the only one in the house without a pair.

Thus, my plan to go down to Webs for sock yarn was born. And that picture is what I came home with. Two balls of sock yarn, a sock on the needles (bottom left); 4 balls of cotton yarn for a little baby jacket (bottom right); a fancy skein of pink and orangeyness so Christine can make a hat (in the middle, leftish); and 12 balls of shimmery cranberry cotton for a jacket for me.

I am not prepared to admit what this set me back, but just know that it was a lot less than it would have been full price.

Fits like a glove... but it's a sock.

After the multiple distractions of samples for the yarn store, I finally finished sock #1 of my mystery socks.

As I have said before, I think I would like the finished product better in a more solid colored yarn, but that isn't what I used and I do love this yarn anyway.

And because I was done with one sock and one sleeve, I obviously deserved to cash in my chips at the store and take my yarn that I get in trade for the samples. More distractions!

Now the question is: More selfish projects, or do I actually make things for others for the holidays?

New Year, new sock

I just finished the first of my pair of socks, and I'm quite pleased. Because I have a hard enough time holding my hand still when taking pictures with no flash, and I would also have had to keep my foot still, I was forced to use the flash and therefore wash out the colors. (My old lady palsy is so sad. The extra "t" is for tremors.) Anyway, they are actually quite vibrant, the red and yellow and blues. Perhaps when I finish the pair I will take a nice natural light photo for you.

Obviously, this sock is not totally done since I don't think I could fit those 2 needles into any of my shoes, but the knitting is done and that is what counts today.

May your new year also be filled with warm toes. Yours or someone else's, I don't care which.

The final Xmas project

Last night I got halfway through the final Xmas project. Can it be that I could finish this one today and finish the second sock a couple of days later and be totally done with more than a week before Christmas?

It's certainly possible. This particular project has been a long time coming. I started a similar item with this same yarn a few years ago and then an event arose that postponed the completion. Well, it is probably for the best, as this pattern is way better than the one I was making up as I went along. I can't reveal what it is, but suffice to say, it involves I-cords which I have never wanted to do before, but now find oddly appealing.

I also practically finished Dorian's first sock yesterday. It just needs to have the toe sewn up with the kitchener stitch. Assuming I don't give myself arthritis or carpal tunnel or something, this is shaping up to be a decent Xmas creating season.

It's official!

I literally have yarn coming out of my ears. I was cleaning my ears after a shower and a scrap of sock yarn was embedded in my earwax.

Awesome.

The invention of boring

Jeremy and I got to have a much needed date night on Friday which I will rate thusly:

• Food: B. We went to the restaurant in a local brew pub and while my Indian turkey burger was fine, they forgot to bring me my soup that I desperately needed to warm myself after Sebastian's soccer game.
• Games and Tea: A. I won both checkers and Trivial Pursuit. And the chai at the Twilight Tea Lounge was delicious as always.
• Movie: C- to D+. We saw The Invention of Lying. It was truly boring. Sadly, profoundly boring. I do not recommend watching it, except for the part with my favorite Wallace lookalike. Except for that all too brief moment, it was deadly dull. And all the more depressing for the abundance of actors that I like. Boo.
• Companion: A+. Jeremy's still my favorite person in the whole wide world.

And in other news, the body of my sweater is finally done. I am not fond of the angle at which this shot was taken, but it is the only one I've got.

And a closeup of the edging (which I cribbed from the mystery sock):

And on to the sleeves!

My hands are sore

I'm not sure that the 4 to 5 hours of knitting I did yesterday were entirely advisable, however I do have something to show for it.

I finished the body of my little red riding hood. Jeremy's boss gave me a ton of red yarn she decided she would never use, so I am using two strands at once to make this bulky, top-down jacket. I'm just expanding on the bulky shrug pattern that I made a while ago to add long sleeves and a hood.

And I finished my socks this morning. All that was left last night was the toe of the second sock, but the pain in my wrist at 10pm told me it was better to stop and pick it up again in the morning. I'm glad I listened to myself for a change.

And, look! They match almost exactly!

Finally, check out this scrumptious little stack:

All it needs is an ice cream cone underneath. This pile will eventually become a color work beret sample for the store. If I don't eat it first.

The reason I don't use patterns

Alright, I do use patterns. But there's always something I want to do differently. Not this time. I was fully prepared to follow the directions for this baby jacket. Every single direction. Without fail. Not only that, but I even scored the exact yarn the pattern was designed with, except in orange instead of mint green. I should have been all set, right?

Well, my gauge is apparently totally ridiculous. In case you don't know already, knitting patterns come with a gauge that tells you how many stitches and rows there are to make a 4" square. Even with size 3 needles instead of size 6 ones, I am still knitting way too big. I must be the loosest knitter around. (Don't laugh.) Now, this doesn't explain why my gauge is perfectly fine with the sock I'm working on (above, right).

Maybe it's the cotton yarn that isn't as elastic as wool. Maybe it's me. Either way, I get to tweak the pattern so I don't end up with sleeves to fit an adult.

I knit so I don't kill people

This is a somewhat popular slogan amongst knitters, and it has never been more true for me than lately as my stress level continues to rise. But I won't mention the PTA or the out of control event we are throwing this weekend or the fact that I haven't had a day off in over a month. No, I'll just show you my handiwork. Because even though I am sure a knitting needle would make an awesome murder weapon, I don't want to get blood on my wool.

My mystery sock:

I do wish that the yarn weren't quite so stripy so that the pattern would be more visible, but I like the pattern so much that I will probably knit it again in a color that shows it off a little better. The second clue took me almost the whole week to complete because it was a longer section and I didn't set aside a lot of time for it, but I finished the third clue in one day. I like how the fake cables and the ribbing continue down the heel. I'm really happy I started this project.

My sweater:

The heathery gray simplicity of this knit sort of depresses me, especially since it has been reflecting our weather for the week, but I'm sure that what is not so fun about it to knit is exactly what will make it a staple of my wardrobe. So now I'm on a search for an interesting edge for the cuffs and the bottom, so I can spice it up a little bit.

And, finally, a purse:

Kaci gave me this yarn from her trip to Ireland and I decided a long time ago that I would use it for a bag of some sort. I found a pattern yesterday while I was working and started knitting last night during Mad Men. I have 4 more rows for this piece which will be the front. What I thought was cute in the pattern book is looking suspiciously like underwear. But I'm going to ignore that and keep going. I'm sure when it is finished it won't look like it belongs over a cloth diaper.

It's gettin' there

Last night, the last disc of Big Love season 2 got me through the left front of the baby jacket. It only took me most of 2 episodes and I also finished off the first sock of my pair.

I sort of surprised myself by watching the second season of Big Love since I felt so blah about the first one. But I really liked Margene's character and I love Chloe Sevigny because she's so awesome even if her character is so not. So, here's what happened both times. Both times I enjoyed the beginning of the season and then was less than impressed by the end. And I think the reason for that is that the family dynamic is what appeals to me most about the show and the Juniper Creek/business BS is what I like least. And I think the balance of those two shifts over the season and the end of the season is heavier on what I don't like as much.

That being said, since I am so ambivalent about it, it's perfect for knitting time. I don't really need to pay attention to the screen to know what is going on, but it is interesting enough to listen to while I work.

A quick recap

Thanksgiving weekend was very busy, with my mother in town Thursday lunchtime until Sunday morning and then work on Sunday.

Wednesday

• Took Dorian to Little Peoples and had a cafe date with Sebastian.
• Did the last shopping of the year at Walker Farm. (Sob.)
• Made an apple pie, a pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce.
• Watched Singin' in the Rain with the kids which they loved and I am so happy they loved. Dorian was crying he was laughing so hard during this scene.
• Went out with Christine, Steven and Rosemary for a little pre-holiday fortification.

Thursday

• Made a 13 pound turkey. As usual followed the directions and as usual had the turkey finish cooking an hour early.
• Had a lovely meal with the kids, the husband, the in-laws and my mother.
• Made several quarts of turkey stock to put in the freezer.
• Was very tired. Can't remember anything else.

Friday

• Had a lazy rainy morning and then went to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was fantastic. My favorite part was when one of the characters called something a "cluster cuss".
• Made a pot pie-ish thing out of leftovers with mashed potatoes on top. Starting to be really sick of turkey.
• Played dominoes. Lost every time.
• Somehow got sucked into a show about wedding dress shopping. Can't explain it. Clearly swept up in some holiday weekend vortex.

Saturday

• Took the kids ice skating. It was Dorian's first time and Sebastian's second. Sebastian's first time was when he was Dorian's age and he started screaming a quarter of the way around. Jeremy barely got him back to the door to get off the ice. Dorian's first time almost went the same way, but he relaxed at about the halfway point and ended up doing fine. I had not been on ice skates since 7th grade, so it was an exciting experience for me as well.
• Went to lunch in Greenfield and then to the Montague Bookmill-- "Books you don't need in a place you can't find."
• Had a popcorn dinner while watching Hard Day's Night. The kids also loved this one. We're riding a large wave of Beatlemania around here these days.
• Played more dominoes. Lost every game.
• Played Waterworks. Won the last game.

Sunday

• Got my mother on the road. Sent Jeremy out for donuts. Breakfast of champions.
• Went to work. Tried to work on my second mystery sock which is supposed to be finished by midnight tonight if I want to enter the contest.
• Had none other than John Hodgman sitting on the couch in the store while his wife shopped for yarn and his kids all took turns needing to use the restroom. I couldn't decide whether to say anything to him, so I opted not to. Later I realized I had missed an opportunity to punch him for all the times I couldn't sleep because Jeremy was laughing so hard next to me while reading his books.
• Played more dominoes. Lost every game.

Now I need to put my fingers to a different use and get these socks done. Only 14.5 hours to go. I don't even know what I could win, but I want to dammit!

A prize in and of themselves

So, I didn't get them done in time for the contest. Oh, well. They are a prize on their own-- so soft and warm. I finished them last night, but I won't be wearing them today since it is almost 60 degrees outside for some strange reason.

And once the socks were off the needles, I immediately made this little cutie:

An ornament for the store. I'm in the middle of a tiny stocking also. I'm trying to use up all my extra bits of sock yarn left over from other projects. And in the midst of all that I need to find the time to finish all my Xmas knitting for presents...

Laziest blogger/knitter ever

Considering it has been almost a month since I posted, you probably weren't expecting to ever find another post here. But here I am, with very little to show you. The camera gets almost no use these days. We're busy, but not with much you'd want to look at.

I've been hardly knitting at all. I am not working on Sundays this May, so there goes a whole day of knitting time. And I missed last week's circle and will also miss this week's. Couple that with watching a lot of movies that require reading, and the knitting has slowed considerably. The other day I remembered that I had been working on Jeremy's first sock while watching the absolute worst movie during February vacation. And here we are, fast approaching summer vacation, and I've only just finished the heel on number 2.

On the right is a sweater vest requested by Sebastian to have an alien theme. So far, you can see UFOs and planets. There are also alien faces and rocket ships to come. Assuming I ever pick up the needles again...

The knitting is the only thing keeping me sane

I think the only way to make my life more hectic right now would be moving. So thank goodness I'm not doing that, even if there is a cardboard box in the background of the picture.

No, I'm just busy regretting ever joining the PTA or a cooperative preschool. And having wonderful, interesting children who feel the need to do things to make their lives more wonderful and interesting, like soccer and spelling team and such. Doesn't the world know I just want to wear my slippers and eat chocolate? Ha!

But I digress... I have gotten as far as I can get with my mystery sock until the next clue arrives on Thursday. Here is the cuff, with a background of sweet peas from Christine who brought a little Spring back to my life this early Fall:

The colors are 10x more intense than that, but I couldn't get them to photograph better. Think peacock. And I tried to photograph the (3rd) start of my top down raglan sweater, but it is not so impressive at this point, being gray and 3 inches long. (Insert joke here.)

I'm not dead and the computer isn't broken.

I just haven't felt much like blogging lately. I'm trying to wind down from all the PTA rigmarole and remember what to do when I'm not counting other people's money and having meetings and answering endless emails. (Hint: it involves laundry. And having coffee with Amanda while we both fight falling asleep in our armchairs.)

Not having all that to do certainly doesn't mean that I'm not busy, but it has been a more positive kind of busy-ness. Like the boys' birthdays happening last Friday and today. 7 and 4 is a little crazy to think about, but sounds about right. And Rob's birthday falls in the middle, so it has been a week of birthday celebrations, including a trip to the Montshire Museum on Saturday.

Poor DeeDee has been a little under the weather. Friday he was very sensitive and a little snippy. And Saturday he slept until 10am! (I'm not sure when I will stop thinking that oversleeping is a sure indication of my children's deaths, but if I don't get over it soon I'll have quite a time when they are teenagers.) He was healthy and happy when he did finally wake up and was fine Sunday and Monday. But this morning he didn't want to wake up for school and fell asleep again before dinner and then at 6:30 announced it was time for bed. (He did find time to open his presents first.) He doesn't have a fever or anything, but has complained of some leg pain and a headache, and I wouldn't put it past him to be growing again.

Sebastian has been doing well and we had a good parent teacher conference yesterday, which was much better than the other four where either his teachers didn't know what to do with him, didn't think he belonged in their class, or provoked me into an argument. He even won a little prize at All School Sing for doing some extra math problems, so he was excited by that.

I have been trying to fit in the knitting time and am about 10 rows from finishing the first sleeve on my sweater, just have the toe to complete on the first mystery sock, and finished the knitting for the purse and purchased the lining fabric and buttons and just need to buckle down and get it done. Of course, all that has been interrupted by another design for the store. So I am also in the middle of a lacy cowl done in this yarn.

And Jeremy is up to his usual nonsense, monkeying up the English language. In one day he managed to admonish the children to use a "food towel" (napkin) and to ask why all my "hair bops" (rubber bands) were lying around.

As Dorian would say, "The End. That's it."

What do you think of this?

Here's what bugs me about our local library: they don't alphabetize the children's picture books. They are minimally alphabetized by the first letter of the author's last name. So not only are all the Lauren Child books not together, they certainly are not alphabetized by title. The librarians complain that it is too hard what with all the kids browsing through. Laziness, I say! How am I to teach my kids how a library is supposed to work if they don't do their part? When I'm trying to find a specific book, it's a real hassle to have to look through the entire section. I even overheard the librarians advising the new children's librarian up in Chester that this scheme was a great idea.
Am I just too anal? Do I need to lighten up? Or do these people need to get their shit in one sock as my aunt Marian is wont to say?

My awesome idea that will never come to fruition

The other night it came to me-- what the world really needs is a knitting band. A band that plays music about knitting, and-- get this!-- has a pattern in each song. So if you listen to the song (which would of course be amazing in its own right and feature cookie monster vocals like this) and follow the knitting instructions, you would end up with a sock or a hat or something.

This is pure genius, I know, which just makes it sadder that it will never happen. I just don't have any musical talent. Having a 94% average on Medium drums on RockBand just isn't enough. Maybe I should pass the idea along to Kelley Deal.

Sock it to me!

I forced myself to finish these babies yesterday so I could retrieve my needles for a new project-- a mystery knit along. I apparently started these socks back in February (!) to use up the leftover yarn from my socks. And then I was done with one and most of the other and somehow they slipped to the bottom of the basket and the back of my mind as other more pressing matters arose. If you are my facebook friend, you already know that these socks are up for grabs. They don't fit anyone in this house, that's for sure. They are size ~6-18mos, soft machine washable and dryable wool, and available to whoever wants them.

The gray day is not ideal for photographing my new socks, so they will remain even more of a mystery to you than they are to me. But this is the yarn and here is the pattern. The way it works is that every Thursday in October there will be another part of the pattern. So right now, I only have the cuff to work on until next week, meaning I will have to also start my other project for me, my new sweater made with this yarn which is mostly charcoal but with a greenish cast.

Goddamn tiny needles

Our current ice storm action coupled with a chest cold has left me inside for the last 2 days. The work you see to the left represents hours of ignoring the recipient yesterday. I am still loving the striping, and for someone who literally doesn't get out much (in this weather anyway), it is endlessly fascinating. But I do now remember why I tend to aim more for the bulky yarn in my projects. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to do 3 inches of sock last night. The top half is 6 inches + a double knit heel + those bottom 3 inches= a long time. I thought a pair of socks for a 3 year old would be a quick knit. Wrong-o.

That's okay, though, because I only have one more specific project for Xmas in mind and it should be relatively quick. I'll probably do it between socks since the socks don't need to be done for Xmas. As you can see, they certainly won't be a surprise.