2009 is just around the corner...

Another year has just about come and gone. Just flew by didn't it?

I have decided not to come up with any resolutions, or look back at what I did or didn't do over the past year.

What I decided to do is come up with a list of things that I am looking forward to in 2009. So here are some of the things I came up with:

• Starting something new careerwise, and walking away and shutting the door on this chapter in my life
• Finishing some beautiful sweaters, as many as I want, and enjoying wearing them and saying proudly, "why yes, I did knit this sweater"
• Knitting more small projects and finishing them - gloves, socks, things that just need one or two balls of yarn
• Going to Stitches South with dear friends, seeing knitting friends from around the country, and seeing my college roommate Lorretta
• Planting different types of flowers in the garden and tending to my roses
• Maybe taking the summer off and spending it with the boys
• Being in better shape, back to where I was before I let myself get too busy
• Trying the new contacts to see if finally there is a type that works for me
• Finding a new knitting retreat (I have one or two in mind for October.......)
• Reading more books and finding more authors I like
• Less stress and more patience
• Spending time with friends
• Exploring different parts of Colorado with my family

I think that is a pretty good start to what I am looking forward to. I wish all of you a Happy and Healthy 2009!

Okay, I just had to add this link, just do not drink anything while you watch it or you make spit it all over your computer screen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWiXy55OHyY

Forever 39

Okay, I will get to the title a bit later, but first I need to get to a VERY LONG OVER DUE THANK YOU!

Approximately a month ago, I received this package. I was one of the lucky three winners on Coggie's Blog Anniversary give-away over at her blog, http://www.coggiesyarntale.blogspot.com/. And it has been sitting right next to the computer, waiting for me to take a picture to show off all of my goodies and say thanks. And being a very bad blogger, I haven't blogged much, and alas, my thanks are way over due. Miss Manners would be appalled. So, I am going to thank Coggie here - THANK YOU and privately, and now I will show off my goodies. I have kitty sticky notes, and two other note pads. I have a button with my Ravelry picture on it that I can now wear to Stitches South - so Cool! I have candy that I am not going to share, never mind that I stole the Milk Duds out of my kids' treat or treat bags, these are MOMS!!!! And I have Gold Nuggets which are ChocoRocks which I know youngest son will try to snag, but then, I am faster than him even though he says he is the King of Chocolate. Never mind that I am the Queen of Everything! Anyway, back to goodies, I have new yarn, which is not entered into the enormous stash of hell yet, but oh, this is NEW yarn which I have never seen before. It is Socktails by Carpe Dye 'Em (Cute name eh?) in the color Royal Matador. Now isn't that fitting for the Queen of Everything? 400 yards. Oh, Coggie, are you trying to make me finish a pair of socks and enough already with the orphans? Okay, back to the goodies, the last thing is a wraps per inch key from Hornshaw Wood Works http://www.hornshawwoodworks.com/ (by the way go over there and look at the swift and the sock blockers), which is great because guess who wants to learn how to spin in 2009? And asked for donations for a wheel for Christmas instead of presents? So, again, thank you Coggie, what a great package, and I apologize for being a slug.

By the way CoggieTM and BammerKT have a great podcast - The High Fiber Diet. Go over to ITunes and check it out.

Okay, what other thank yous? Thank you all who wished me a Happy Birthday this week. I'm staying 39 forever, like Jack Benny. I think he celebrated his 39th birthday 41 times. Some of you know how many times I have celebrated it don't you? But I'm younger than you!

Knitting, shall I call it project flitting or knitting ADD? I think the reason that I cannot really concentrate on one project is that I am trying to figure out what I am going to do. I want to retire as soon as possible, but I need to do something else. That something else is the problem because I don't know what it is. I know I want to work part-time. I am done with working 50 hours a week. Anyone got any ideas? Know of any positions? Have any friends?

Some FOs

Here are a couple of FOs just in time for the last day of November. The first one is my Langsjalid Barur. My 8 year old son took the picture yesterday out in the snow.

The second FO is my Norwegian Woods Shawl. I had finished it earlier in the month, but had not posted about it. There are alot of beads in the edging, but they are red and blend in with the red Malabrigo lace weight in the picture.

Enjoying a lazy day today while it is snowing again. I am working on some mitered squares for now, but may choose another project for later that involves some thinking.

You're from Colorado...

A winter statistic:
98% OF AMERICANS SCREAM BEFORE GOING IN THE DITCH ON A SLIPPERY ROAD. THE OTHER 2% ARE FROM COLORADO AND THEY SAY, 'HOLD MY SODA AND WATCH THIS.

You're from Colorado if You'll eat ice cream in the winter.

When the weather report says it's going to be 65 degrees, you shave your legs and wear a skirt.

It snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be canceled.

You'll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature. (My DH thinks I'm nuts!)

You have no accent at all, but can hear other people's. And then you make fun of them.

'Humid' is over 25%.

Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.

You say 'the interstate' and everybody knows which one.

You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.

You buy your flowers to set out on Mother's day, but try and hold off planting them until just
before Father's day.

You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat. (This was the first year the kids had shorts on underneath their costumes).

You know what and where the Continental Divide is.

You don't think Coors beer is that big of a deal.

You went to Casa Bonita as a kid, and as an adult.

You've gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.

You always know the elevation of where you are.

You wake up to a beautiful, 80 degree day and you wonder if it's going to snow tomorrow.

**You don't care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High**

Every movie theater has military and student discounts.

You actually know that ** South Park ** is a real place not just a show on TV.

You know what a 'trust fund hippy' is, and you know its natural habitat is Boulder.

You know you're talking to a fellow Coloradoan when they call it Elitches, not Six Flags.

A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.

Your two favorite teams are the Broncos and whoever is beating the crap out of the Raiders.

When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.

You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels 'sticky' and you notice the sky is no longer
blue.

Stitches East

Wow, is it the 10th of November already? Where did this month go and better yet, where did the year go?

I just got back from Stitches East last night. I’m tired. A lot of staying up late and too little sleep. And there were travel issues this time too, not for me, but for my friend Robin who didn’t get to fly home on the same plane as me and had to get to DC from Baltimore on a bus to catch another plane because United switched her reservation. Not fun!

I took classes – Bohus Strickning, wow were the sweaters beautiful, a beaded bag class, a toe-up sock class, and a long-needle knitting class.

There was stash enhancement even though the market seemed smaller this year. Yarn for a shawl, 3 sweaters and a skirt. Two of the sweaters are versions of a sweater from AlterKnits and one is a new Vivian Hoxboro design. The skirt is a linen skirt to go with one of the sweaters. The shawl is one made out of some JoJoland yarn.

I wasn’t too impressed with the fashion show this year. Only bought the pattern for the skirt. Usually I see more sweaters or shawls that catch my eye. There were pretty things in the student fashion show. Brenda from Philadelphia had a gorgeous geisha inspired wrap that was just stunning and there were some beautiful Fair Isle sweaters. I modeled my Rowan denim skirt and my Sivia Harding shawl.

So I’m back. And back to work.

NaKniSweMo

Every year, http://www.knitgrrl.com/ readers knit alongside the writers over at NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). So this year, I decided to join in the fun, and I'm throwing down the gauntlet to all my friends. I dare you to join in the fun!

How it works with NaNoWriMo is that the authors have to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. As they say on that page: "This is not as scary as it sounds." Okay, I'm not writing, but I will knit.

So, for you knitters joining NaKniSweMo, you have to knit a 50,000-stitch sweater in a month. If you divide your chosen sweater pattern's rows or rounds by 30, you'll have an idea of how many rows you need to knit each day to make it. I know, counting all those stitches is crazy, but I think it's going to be fun.

So, I am going to try to finish as MANY sweaters as I can in one month. I did cast on a new sweater 2 days ago, and I'm hopefully going to resist casting on the new one that should arrive from Jane Slicer-Smith any day now. And, did I add, I'm going to Stitches East with Robin next week, and those of you who know me, know that I usually cast on a sweater while I'm somewhere on a knitting "va-cay?"

Join me. Go to the NaKniSweMo group on Ravelry and join in on the fun. I DARE YOU!

It all starts tomorrow.

Hey a Contest!

Over there at Rhythm of the Needles, my friend Joanne is holding a contest. And, you can win some yarn! Go check it out and see what you think. Hurry, it's only for like 2 days!

http://rhythmoftheneedles.blogspot.com/

Joanne and I will be at Stitches South together in April. Whoo Hoo!

What to knit? What to do?

I hear the rain outside, and I keep checking to see if it has turned to snow, but not so far. It's about time for our pre-Halloween snow, I still have roses on the bushes and there's a few tomatoes on the vines, but it's cold out there. And maybe we will have a little snow tonight and that's fine, because it's a three day weekend for me and I don't have to work tomorrow.

All this uncertainty about the economy has made me wonder about what I am going to do about retiring and when I am going to do it. I know I do not want to work 50 hours a week anymore, but it's hard to make that leap from a secure job to another when the market is so bad and everyone has taken such a hit. So I sit and think, and try to figure out what to do, knowing that I am not sure and really wishing I was. Crossroads, choices.

And I think the uncertainty has spilled over unto my knitting. I have drifted from one sweater project to another this weekend, and finally picked up the Norwegian Woods Shawl and worked on that for a few hours. And I think about teaching, and if I want to continue teaching knitting, or if I just want to knit what I want and not worry about anything else.

But right now it's so easy not to think about things and just read blogs and knit, so I don't have to make decisions. Chicken.

Texture

My knitting and focus on projects has been a little different lately. Those that know me, know that I am a small needle girl, most of my projects, we are talking sweaters here, are knit on size 2 through size four needles. And, I am a fan of colorwork and complicated designs.

But lately, I have becomed enamored with texture. And I am using worsted weight yarn on size 7 needles for almost all of these sweaters. I have one sweater, the February Lady Sweater, that has the lace body. I have the Silver Belle on needles, that is just one cable after the other, as is the Aran Wrap from the Fall issue of Vogue Knitting.

And then throw in two Norah Gaughn designs. One is a coat, and the other a cardigan.

Texture, texture, texture. I just can't seem to get enough of it. Yes, a different focus for me, but I like it. Luckily I have been able to fit in a lot of knitting lately, at the boys' football practice, at their games, and at the Rockies game last night, because I have so much on the needles that I want to WEAR!!! And class projects to finish, but we won't go there right now will we?

It's Fall, isn't it?

I'm sitting here looking out the window, and it's overcast, so I'm thinking that today might not be as pretty a fall day as yesterday, but oh well, I have SO much knitting to do, and there is football to watch later today, so no big deal.

I have been knitting for the past 2 hours, I woke up at 5:00AM and have taken advantage of a quiet house and been in the yarn room listening to podcasts and working on a class sample for a class I'm teaching next month at String. I listened to The High Fiber Diet this morning which is a new podcast. They are having problems with the sound quality, but once they iron the bugs out, I think it will be one on my continuous download list. Two gals in Michigan who love to knit.

I have so many things I want to get done. I made a list of the high priority items and holy crap I think I have 17 sweaters on it to finish. I have several that I would like to get done to wear to Stitches East, so we will see. I cast on Silver Belle this week, the yarn has been in the yarn room for a year, and as much as I love to knit cables, it was time to cast it on. So between it and lace, I am trying to work on a million other projects. And, I told the boys yesterday that I was going to knit them Transformers hats, so I need to get the yarn for those. Luckily I knit stranded knitting fast so I can get those done before our pre-Halloween snow that we always get in early October.

Youngest son's football game was postponed yesterday due to the field being wet, poor guy was so disappointed, especially since his brother's game went on as scheduled - his team won. Hey more knitting time for mom!

I was one of the lucky few that got in the Wollemeise sock club (actually got in by way of the 2nd lottery drawing - I didn't think I got in) and received the first package this week. Two skeins of beautiful yarn, one in elderbush and the other in box wreath, some Holz & Stein DPNs, a ruler, a piece of candy (okay I ate it already - yummy) a beautiful sock pattern and a letter from Claudia. SO COOL!!!! I am being good though. I am going to finish September's socks - just turned the heel on the first sock yesterday, before I even think about another pair. Oh that's right, add socks to the mountain of knitting to finish..............................

Well, the sons just came downstairs to see mommy, my quiet time is over.

Have a good day everyone.

Well, lookey here, she posted!

What have you been up to?

I don’t know about you, but 2008 has just seemed to fly on by. It’s almost September already, and where has the time gone? I certainly have do not have the pile of finished objects that I thought for sure was going to happen this year. I walked into the yarn room the other day and wondered, what happened?

I know I have been knitting, because I knit Every Day. I knit on the bus and train to work, I knit at lunch, and then I knit on the way home. If I am lucky, I get some knitting time at night, either while the boys are at some type of sporting practice, or while I am watching TV. (Speaking of TV, did you watch last night’s Project Runway with the Drag Queens? Oh my goodness, that was a hoot!)

But where are the FOs? I still have too many things on the needles. I have sorted things into high priority projects – the things that I had really hoped would be finished this year. And I had hoped there was going to be some designing going on. Hmm, things did not happen. Now, I know I am not good with project monogamy. Okay, I know I SUCK at project monogamy, but I have worked steadily on a number of projects.

I need to go back in the yarn room and figure this out. And make a plan. Before I cast on. The mittens from the cover of the latest Vogue. And before my yarn arrives for the Aran Wrap. From the same issue of Vogue. Yep. I need to figure this out.

Yeah, Yeah, I Know!

I know it's been ages since I have blogged. But, I have a good excuse. See who is looking at my Kauni sweater (okay - yes that is me with big hair, I was in Wisconsin you know where there is HUMIDITY)? Yes, that is Meg Swansen. Holding my knitting. Yep. Cool, huh? I think so. I was asking her some questions about the hem I had put in, because she recommends 10% less stitches for hems and I wanted her opinion if she thought I should rip mine out (she said no, I had a nice loose cast on, asked me how I had done it).

You see, I was at Knitting Camp with Robin, Leanne, and Pam. We had a great time. Now, I will not bore you with the travel NIGHTMARES that I had getting there and getting home, and the details of my solo 225 mile drive from Milwaukee to Knitting Camp while Robin and Leanne got to fly there (flight screw ups). But I will tell you that we had a great time. Meg of course is fantastic. Joyce Williams is awesome. Amy Deitjen is a hoot and the reigning Queen of Purple (someone will have to ask about a purple starter kit comment), and Spotted Cow is the beer to drink when in Wisconsin! The girls across the table can knit with us any time.

A good time was had by All!

Okay, so it's been a while!

I know, I know, it's been a long time since I have posted. All I can say is that I have been knitting.

But, I'm also trying to finish things in a ridiculously short period of time. For instance, Tuesday night I bought yarn to knit a skirt. To bring to knitting camp. This week. Knit a skirt in a week. I don't even know if it will fit or look good on me. Then there is the other knitted knit that is halfway done. I am trying to finish that skirt. To bring to knitting camp. This week. I leave Thursday morning.

I leave Thursday morning with Leanne, Robin and Pam. I bet they are not knitting 2 skirts last minute.

What am I, an idiot?

Andrea, aka dnaprice on Ravelry, advised me yesterday, ala Brenda Dayne, to "Knit, Knit Like the Wind." I'm trying, though it didn't help that I ripped out 20 plus rows on the new skirt yesterday because I miscounted some increases.

Back to my knitting.....

I'm blaming it on Stacey!

This one is not my fault. I was sitting at the computer. Working on my Lacy Skirt with Bows (Leanne and Cathy - this is probably when I knit one whole repeat too many), reading blogs, and then I read Sheep in the City. And what did Stacey post? That Colorful Yarns had Dream in Color Classy in stock. What? That stopped me dead in my row. In stock, with "lots" of yarn still there? I wonder if they have that tomato red color, hmm? Or the sage green color. Oh no. Oh this is bad. And Stacey brought up the February Lady Sweater that I have been looking at and looking at, and is in my Ravelry queue. Crap, I don't need more yarn. I have projects to finish before going to Knitting Camp in three weeks. Don't go there!

Now, did I go? Of course. There was the yarn siren calling, or screaming at me to get the hell over there before others realized the yarn was in stock. And there were only 2 tomato reds. Bummer. But, there were four Spring Tickles that had my name all over them. And three funky buttons to make the sweater pop. And this sweater happened to jump on my needles last night.

It's all Stacey's fault!

I have been tagged

My partner in knitting crime, another enabler extraordinaire, Joanne tagged me with a meme so I need to answer these five questions:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was working in San Francisco. I had just graduated from Law School, got married the next weekend, and immediately started studying for the July California Bar Exam. Working full time and trying to cram lots of law in my brain!

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?
(1) I have three court appearances
(2) Work on my Lacy Skirt with Bows
(3) Take youngest son to baseball practice
(4) Do laundry and bills
(5) Post this meme on my blog

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Almond M&Ms, Yogurt covered raisins

4. Places I have lived:
West Allis and South Milwaukee, WI; Plantation, Gainesville and Hollywood, FL; Memphis, TN; Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Martinez, CA; Highlands Ranch, CO

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Take my knitting friends on Jean Frost's Gardens and Mills tour in the UK; become a Bull Gator; donate a huge amount to my church; start a scholarship for working women going back to school; donate to charities supporting breast cancer, juvenile diabetes, allergies, take my dad and mom to the Kentucky Derby, these are just a start.

The rules say I have to tag five people now. The people I'm tagging are Leanne, Cathy, Judy, Diane, and Tim. I wonder what they were doing 10 years ago?

Have a great day!

Kathy and Cathy

What did you do last night? This (not so great) picture is Cathy and Kathy at Coors Field. We took in the Rockies-Mets game and I have to say, had a marvelous time. I introduced her to garlic fries, which she swears must have crack in them because they are so addictive. We screamed, we high fived, did some dancing, she wore her new Matt Holliday jersey, and the Rockies won. And they scored seven or more runs for the cheap Tacos at Taco Bell, which my family took advantage of today.

Went to Castlewood Canyon today and went exploring through the Canyon with DH and the boys. Here's a picture of us near the ruins of the Castlewood Dam which broke in August 1933 and caused the second worst flood in Denver's history. We had fun hiking along Cherry Creek near the ruins seeing the ecologically unique Black Forest region of Colorado.

What's on the needles, working on my Lacy Skirt with Bows, and trying to figure out what I will attempt to finish for knitting camp. Decisions - Decisions. Too many nice projects and less than a month to go.

I am going to Stitches East this fall, and looks like I will be going with my friend Joanne in February to Stitches West to celebrate a major milestone with her. Fun, fun.

Well, things need to be done, the weekend is almost over. Enjoy what is left of it!

Happy Father's Day!

Here's DH and the boys at the spillway at Evergreen Lake. We went up there after church and had a nice time walking around the lake and then going into town to get pizza and ice cream. A nice relaxing afternoon with the boys to celebrate Father's Day.

What's on my needles? Well, I was busy going to my sons' ball games yesterday and couldn't attend any World Wide Knit in Public events, but as usual I was knitting in public. I cast on the Lacy Skirt with Bows from Greetings from Knit Cafe, in the hope that it will be one of the items I will manage to get done before Knitting Camp next month. If I can knit this skirt in a week, I may be on track. I have a sweater I would also like to knit, but I might be pushing trying to get that done too, along with 3 other projects that need to be finished. (I know, I know, way too optimistic!)

I am waiting for my new roses to start putting out new growth. If they are going to make it, I should see some progress this week. The others are starting to flower, and as long as the wind doesn't beat them to death and break them, they look beautiful.

Well, here's hoping this week will be a good one. Enjoy the rest of your day!

What have you been up to?

Baseball, baseball and more baseball. That's where we were yesterday. Started off yesterday morning when son #1 had his first game of the season in his first kid pitch game. And this proud mama is happy to boast that he had an RBI and scored a run! I'm smiling just thinking about it. Then right after lunch we were off to son #2's game. He is in coach pitch ball, where all the kids still get to bat in each rotation, and he got up there and as we tell him to do "hit the dog snot off of the ball."

Then, Saturday night, DH and I went to the Rockies game. Perfect weather for a ballgame, not too hot, in fact I needed my fleece because of the breeze. That's me working on a Rockie purple cashmere stole at the game, which of course the Rockies won. Can we finally see a change for their season? Let's hope so!

I'm working on projects that I want to finish this summer, especially those I want to bring to knitting camp. I have one really calling my name right now, a sweater in the stash that I am going to pull out and look at today. I really think it is in the infancy stage, and I have other things that I really want to get done before winging my way off to Wisconsin with Leanne, Robin and Pam for so much FUN!!!!

What else? This gluten free lifestyle is not fun for me right now. Finding foods is hard enough, and I'm not a big drinker, but I am finding that having a glass of wine and a half without being able to eat a bread product with my nice meals when we open a bottle of wine makes me feel so sick the next day like I had drunk perhaps a whole bottle of wine. So I need to find something that I can eat with my meats or fish that will absorb the alcohol, because the potato dishes I have tried don't work, nor the meat, neither do nuts, and corn. Who would have thought?

Well, I want to knit, and I have chores that did not get done yesterday while we were running around with baseball.

Enjoy your day!

Just a quick post

I just finished blocking what is probably my last finished object for the month of May. This beauty is the Serenity baby blanket, pattern by Laura Wilson-Martos. Knit out of Lion Brand Cotton Ease, it was an easy knit and it will be shipped off to our Nation's capital for a gift for someone I work with. I think it turned out pretty nice.

Busy day tomorrow, the oldest son is having a birthday party, so I will have my hands full. I still have things to do. Have a great weekend!

Has it been over two weeks?

Wow, has it been that long? I looked at the last posting and today's date and realized it's been over two weeks since I have posted. It's been crazy, hectic around here, and I for one am waiting for things to get back to normal.

I had a college roommate in town from Atlanta. It was great to see Lorretta and to get caught up. It's hard to believe we met each other 30 years ago at the University of Florida - Go Gators! A lot of things of happened in those 30 years, she has a daughter, I have the boys and we live on opposite sides of the country.

DH also had company. His best friend was in town, also from Atlanta. So he had time to spend with Paul.

The boys started baseball. Practice is now in full swing, the oldest is now in kid pitch, the youngest in Advanced TBall. We got lucky this year, only one Saturday with games at the same time, though we will be driving all over town on Saturdays to get to games.

I was in LA this past week, for a hearing on a case I have worked on for 3 years. A case I detest. Now it's a waiting game until we get the decision from the judge. I never wanted to work labor law, and hope to never work another labor case again.

What's on the needles? I am trying to finish up a lot of projects. You know I am not good at project monogamy, but I need to get some presents and class samples done! Right now the main project is the Serenity blanket. I am on row 100 of this blanket with 460 stitches per row, not bad since the blanket started with 8 stitches. I am finally into ball 4 of 6 so I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am now a fan of using the twisted German cast on for any knits joined in a circle, like circular shawls.

I did get yarn in the mail this week, but I will post about it later, as the boys are up and I need to get off the computer. Have a great day everyone!

Busy

What have you been up to? Me - what's that old saying, busier than a one-armed paper hanger? That's me. At work there is some turmoil, and I am also in the middle of getting ready for a hearing on the 20th and the 21st. So I am reading, and reading, and interviewing witnesses, and reading... I am so sick of this case.

In the middle of this, I have managed to finish some projects. The pink shawl is the Triangles within Triangles Shawl. I had this knit without the edging for months, and had decided I did not like the edging when I first knit it. But after seeing my friend Patti's at the beginning of April (hers is a beautiful shade of purples which she claims I talked her into purchasing the same day I bought the yarn for mine at Lambspun in Ft. Collins), I realized that the edging in fact was a good addition to the shawl, so out of the stash it came and I knit the edging. Tuesday night, while DH and the eldest son were at the Rockies game, this was blocked. I think it came out nice don't you think?

This baby sweater is a sample for a class I am going to teach at String. Isn't it cute? It is out of 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon. I changed the pattern to knit the sleeves in the round, and I am happy with the yarn I wound off for the sleeves. I think the colors matched up pretty nicely.

So that's about a 1400 yard dent in the stash for the month so far. Not too bad.

What's on the needles, oh way too much. I am working on the Roslin hoodie today. I was hoping to get the color work section completed today, but I am thinking I might have been too optimistic. I hadn't planned on taking a trip to the mall with the youngest to buy him shoes, and to buy a graduation present. DH has been next door brewing beer most of the day, so I thought I would have serious knitting time. Oh well, I still have tonight to work on Roslin.

They are saying freeze warnings tonight. I am so glad the three new bare root roses have not arrived, or I would not be happy. I lost three rose bushes in the same place in the garden for the second year in a row. I am going to be removing the soil, looking for anything that could possibly be in those areas before the new bushes go in. My other five bushes in the same general area are doing fine. I know hybrid teas don't do as well here, but they are my favorites, I just have to figure this out. I had 34 beautiful rose bushes in California, and I will get these eight to be gorgeous some how.

Well, I hope you have a great rest of the day. Happy Mother's Day tomorrow to all of you Moms!

534,559.5

Okay, I know I have been missing in action lately from updating the blog, but I’ve been busy.

This is why. 534,559.5 yards of yarn. That’s right. That’s about 101.2 miles of yarn. Wait a minute, that's not right, it's 303 miles of yarn! I’m not sure if that is all of it, as a matter of fact, I know it’s not, because there are miscellaneous balls without labels, and some kits that I just didn’t want to figure out the yardage, and then there is the yarn on the cones that I have no idea what the yardage is. But that, my friends, is what Ravelry tells me I have in the yarn room.

Okay, let’s all say it together, Holy Crap! I can also think of other words not suitable for print. Whoa!

But, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I didn’t hit 1,000 yarn items. I think I stopped at 788. And, now I have a great spreadsheet so I know what I have. And, I know people who have more than I do (thank goodness!) Okay, I'm adding this later in the day. At lunch time, after talking with Kris and Robin, I realized that I missed entering about 5,000 more yards of Skaska lace weight and Angora Cottage yarn. It keeps growing, and growing....

Yep. That’s a whole lot a yarn. I had better get knitting! One skein at a time...

Some yarn and a sock

I'm back from the mountains. A quick over night up to Beaver Creek (near Vail) to give a presentation. I have to admit, the drive was one of the easiest I have ever had up the hill. Probably because ski season ended over a week ago. And it's very strange to be up there because there is still SO MUCH SNOW! Loveland and A Basin are still open, but all the other ski resorts have closed because their leases are up for the season with the National Park Service. So all this beautiful snow, and quiet chair lifts and no one skiing. And Beaver Creek was virtually a ghost town. I walked into shops where I was the only one in the store.

So, I decided to make the most of my time and hit a yarn store on the way up, and two on the way back to Denver. The first store I stopped at was the Yarn Studio in Minturn. Kathy is the owner and we had a great time talking and I found out I had seen her at a Rockies Stitch and Pitch game in 2006. When I went upstairs in the shop while she wound my yarn, I saw a framed picture of that game that was in the Rockies Magazine. Guess who was in the picture? Me. There I was sitting a row or two behind her knitting away on a shawl. I need to try to get my hands on one of those magazines. I want the picture. Any way, the Tahki pattern book is from there, I am going to make the sweater on the cover, and have ordered the yarn. This is a stretch for me, because anyone who knows me, knows my favorite size needles are either 2s or 3s and this is knit on 10.5s. But it is such a cute sweater that I had to get the yarn.

The purple yarn is from the shop too. It is Suri of the Western Slope in Bright Purple Melange and so far it is only sold at the Yarn Studio. It has 5% Magenta Flash, a sparkly thread plied with it, and has 465 yards fingering. Oh this is pretty. The little glass heart is also from the store, and is fired glass and can be worn as a pin or a necklace. I'm thinking it might hold a light shawl.

The colorful yarn with purple and blue and yellow and orange is also some local yarn. It is sport weight for socks, hand-dyed by the Leadville Ladies and sold at the Tea Time Quilting and Stitchery in Breckenridge. For all you quilters, oh my, you should see the fabrics in this store. Makes you want to jump right in and start a quilt.

The last store I stopped in was in Frisco - What's Needling U. The owner was very nice, but they were out of a KFI pattern I wanted for a zippered hoodie. She's going to call me when it comes in.

I didn't get much knitting done last night because I ended up being social and not going to my room as I had planned. I ended up dealing Texas Hold'em for 2 hours and giving the players a hard time. The April sock needs some work, but it is coming along. Still haven't finished March's but you know me, the sock orphan Queen.

Have a good night, me I'm trying to stay inside, even though it's pretty out there. Too much pollen and mold I'm afraid. I went to the allergist on Monday, and they are going to do more testing on me a week from Friday. There is something in the air that this nose and these eyes just don't like! I am hoping to get to the colorwork on the Roslin Hoodie tonight.

Whoops, I forgot to talk about the skein of yarn on the right side of the picture. This is also sock yarn in the colorway Goody from from Tempted Bad Grrl Hand Painted Yarns. I got this in the mail from Loops in Tulsa. I get interesting sock yarn from that store, things I have Never seen before.

Happy Earth Day.

Today

Today sure was a pretty day. I think it managed to get to 70 degrees, but it was a blustery day, so at times it felt a little cooler. But the sky sure is a pretty blue, and there are tulips and trees blooming.

So far, not much knitting has been done today. I worked some on the Roslin Hoodie while the oldest son was at a birthday party. I decided to enjoy the time he was in one of those "bouncy places" and bought myself a cold Diet Coke and pulled the car under a tree. I proceeded to listen to podcasts and work on the hoodie for an hour. So, that's about the extent of today's knitting so far, but at least that was a quiet hour for myself. Yeah!

I have to drive up to Vail tomorrow to give a one hour presentation Tuesday morning. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but there you have it. I am going to make it a leisurely drive after I go see my allergist and stop when I want to and get there when I feel like it tomorrow. I will have to see if there are any yarn stores along the way, make it even more enjoyable to stop.

I was hoping to have a lot of FOs this month, but oh boy today is the 20th. I don't know. I haven't worked on the Mandarin Jacket because there have been too many interruptions. I will have to look at what I thought I was going to accomplish again. Hmm.

Well, have a great rest of the day. I hope you had some of this nice weather like we did.

Whew! That's a lot of Koigu.

That is a picture of 300 mitered squares. 11 colors of Koigu, knitting time approximately 1/2 hour per square so about 150 hours, eight pieces to assemble. Yes, the miters are done and now the finishing begins. So far I have attached one band to one sleeve, easing 104 stitches into 88. This is slow going. I am using black Koigu and picking up stitches along each edge and then using a three needle bind off to join the pieces. I am not sure how I am going to do the underarm seams yet. Right now the sleeve bands are first, then the shoulders, then the neckband, then attach the sleeves, then I will think about the underarms. There is also a crocheted edging around the entire edge.

Today is tax day, so that means eight months until another birthday. That's one way to look at it. I don't want to think about how much money we paid!

Spring is finally here. Boy, yesterday was gorgeous, in the 70s. But along with the Spring comes pollen. Anyone else sneezing? My poor nose and eyes aren't very happy this morning. And today is a fire danger day. I guess since not much has started to grow and with all the dead grass and stuff from the winter, you add that with expected high winds and a warm day and you might have trouble. I hope not. I'm just looking forward to another nice day before the temperatures drop again.

Well, time to get this day started, I hope you have a good one!

What is the deal?

Okay, it is supposed to be Spring right? What’s with the blowing snow? All right, it has stopped snowing, but my goodness; I was bundled up and bent over against the wind and snow this morning. I wonder if the boys - Rockies are playing this afternoon. There was supposed to be a 1:05PM game. Oh, no thank you. No snow baseball for me. Oh, just saw that it is postponed until June 16th; hopefully there won’t be snow on that date. You know, I just got off the phone with an attorney in St. Thomas. He told me it was a “cold” 79 degrees and sunny. Man oh man. Sounds nice doesn’t it?

I had a toe up sock class last night. A good group of students. Good knitters and we laughed a lot. My kind of class.

What are you knitting on? I am trying to finish projects. Four squares to go on the Mandarin Jacket and then I will start the finishing work. I pulled out the Marilyn cardigan which has been in the stash FOREVER! I ordered a Habu cardigan out of wool and steel – can’t wait to knit that! April is definitely a finishing and prioritizing month for me. I am also going to be doing some knitting for a friend who needs samples for TNNA. Keep on knitting, keep on knitting!

Well, got to get back to work. Still thinking of the beach in St. Thomas……

Darn, it's Sunday night!

Yes, that's right - Sunday night. I spent an enjoyable weekend in the mountains with a group of great knitters, just hanging out knitting, eating, laughing, and having a good time. Thank you Judy! And you ladies from Colorado Springs, it was great meeting you! Princess Moonbeam, you are something else.

Didn't go crazy buying yarn either. I am really concentrating on finishing some projects and getting some designs down on paper. I was pouring over some stitch books tonight, because I have an idea for a shawl that I'm working on which will combine lace and cables. I have the center panel worked out in my head, but need to work out from there and swatch it. Hmm.

So I don't have much to write about now, I need to get ready for bed, knit a row or two and then get to sleep. Back to reality tomorrow.

April 1

Is Spring finally here? Okay, we did have some snow this weekend, and the breeze today is feeling really kind of cold, but what do you think, have we finally turned the corner? I have my fingers crossed. I really like Spring. I like the colors, watching the grass change from shades of brown to green. I like the buds on the trees, and then the explosion of flowers and leaves, and the “rain” of petals if you walk under a flowering tree when there is a good breeze blowing. And I like daffodils and tulips and robins. Oh, and don’t forget the start of baseball! Yes, I like Spring.

So I am trying to finish up projects, and looking to work on new things that have more of a Spring feel to them, and I am also looking to start the design process. Because it is time. I need to get the ideas down. And there are some “hopefully” good ones which I have in my head right now. But they will need to be swatched, and written down, and charted, and rewritten. A work in process. But it is time. Time for something new. But I am still working on the miters, because the end is very close for this jacket. 26 more squares and the finishing begins. It’s also April 1st, and I have sock number 1 of April’s socks on the needles (okay – they were March’s socks, but I don’t care, they will be completed in April!)

And, I’m thinking of taking a spinning class. I KNOW! Before you say it, I KNOW! I am so busy now. And I’m not talking April fool. I’m thinking maybe this summer, not right now, but maybe then. To see if I like it. And I am talking about on a wheel. I have taken a drop spindle class, and I did not like it. But I want to try a wheel.

Did you get on Ravelry today? How fun! Little hats on your Avatars in the small talk groups – mine was a Cat in the Hat hat. Finding a Fabio book and a Happy Hooker book in your library. Very fun and creative.

I have a knitting weekend and opening day to look forward to this week. Yeah! Not so bad for the first week in April. Alright, time to get back to work, darn!

Bad, bad Blogger!

Okay, I know I have been a bad Blogger! Part of it I can blame on Ravelry. Okay, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Ravelry, but it is a major TIME SUCK! I find myself on the computer for hours, talking to my friends in the various forums, researching patterns and yarns, looking for new ideas, and boy the time flies! Knitting time is gone. Blogging time is gone. Housework time is gone. (Okay I don't care about the last one!)


But I have been knitting. Miter after miter and cable after cable. And I have been listening to podcasts and books on tapes. I have listened to Pride and Predjudice and Frankenstein. I have also listened to various short stories and poems.

I did finish the younger son's pirate hat. Made out of Dale Baby Ull, on size 1 and 2 needles. And he did get to wear it before Spring decided to show her face this week.

Let's see what else, received some Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 from Canada for a shawl this week in beautiful shades of red with a tiny bit of goldish yellow. Oh, so pretty!

There are some changes ahead for Mountain Purl, but I won't go into that now. I have some knitting to do. Enjoy the rest of the day!

Start as you mean to go on.....

The problem is that I want to do this now.

I have reached a point in my career that I am ready to move on. However, having the job that I have, and working for the government, you cannot easily make that change. The Federal Retirement system issues must be considered. Age is a consideration. I have what I term as a “golden handcuff” and I can’t just walk away now.

However, I am done. I just do not want to work 50 hours a week anymore. Add in the commute, and you now have 60 hours. I don’t want to go to work in the morning. And after what happened yesterday in court, I thought to myself, I am too old to have to put up with this crap anymore. And I just don’t want to!

So the problem for me right now, is amassing any type of desire to go to work and finish this. The 300 or so days left, or 440 or so days if I wait until the boys are out for the summer in 2009, seems like a never-ending task that I do not want to perform. And it makes me tired, and short-tempered, and I miss things that I should do. Little niceties for people that make you a good friend.

And I wonder if that is poring over into my knitting. Lately I need to get things organized and off the needles. Working on the yarn room. I don’t want to buy any more yarn because of what I know is in the yarn room that needs to be started, is a WIP or needs finishing. And I get that feeling of knitting to nowhere, though I did finish the little guy’s pirate hat. And the pretty things that are in there, that at one time or another were on top of the must knit now list.

And starting as I mean to go on. I want to start designing now. I have some ideas for a coat floating around my head. And ideas for a shawl. I am not a patient woman; no matter how patient I may seem to others when I teach, or take a class, or show something to a fellow knitter, and when I rip things back to fix them, or how long I will work at a project. When it comes to things that I expect for me, or if I expect someone else to do something, I want it done expeditiously. This is not a good trait when you have young children. DH calls me patience because he says I have NONE.

So, I’m not depressed or anything, I just want to escape. I want a change. See, I never got that when I passed the California or the Colorado bars, I just kept going at this job which I’ve had for almost 20 years, a job which I totally disagree with its merit system. I watched my friends go on to something new. I see my friends rewarded in their jobs and get promoted and I am happy for them. I however, just want to go, and I hate the wait.

On a side note, I did get new yarn in the post these past few days. Some sock yarn which is red, and purples, in honor of the Red Hat Society and the poem that I think goes, when I am old I will wear purple…. I have friends who would just love this yarn because of that. It made me smile when I opened the package up. (I am in a surprise sock yarn club. I don’t check the website and I just like opening up the package each month and seeing the new yarn). And I got some wool that I ordered from Montana for a Cobblestone that I will modify for DH. Beaverslide Fisherman weight. Very nice wool, and feels soft, which REALLY surprised me.

Okay, I need to work.

What's up?

So, what have you been up to lately?

I’ve been very busy at work and at home. Rushing from here and to there, a never ending madness of trying to get somewhere on time or get things done on time. Whew!

We did manage to go up to the mountains this past weekend, which bought me some knitting time. We drove up to Winter Park on Saturday and spent the night at the Vintage hotel. We put the boys in ski school on Sunday, for their first time ever on skis. I think they had a good time, and to my surprise, the oldest skied faster. He is usually the one that doesn’t like to go fast, and he had fun going as fast as he could until he would fall down. Me – I haven’t been on skis since the oldest was about 6 months old. So I took a 2 ½ hour lesson and then took it easy. I had a good time and I remembered how much fun it is. So, I think we will be doing a lot more of this with the boys in the future.

What is on the needles? Too much. I am still mitering and mitering on the Mandarin Jacket. And working on lace for Whispering Pines after losing the first shawl on my trip to South Carolina. And I need to do my swatches for my Saturday class with Jean Wong. What I want to do is dive into the yarn room and organize it. Must be a case of spring fever. I did sell some yarn on Ravelry and I am going to go through the stash and see if there is stuff that I am just not going to use. If so, it’s going up for sale. The yarn room is a mess, I don’t know what I have in there.

Belated stash update. Hmm, I really don’t know. I did buy some Beaverslide Fisherman weight to make the Cobblestone Pullover for DH, but that is on order, and I am not starting that until May in a KAL. I bought some sock yarn but only two skeins. You know, I just want to get some feeling of organization. I want to pull out projects and organize them in what should be finished before summer. 1. What I want to start soon, 2. what is close to being finished. 3. What is finished but just needs to be put together. Yep, it’s time for a dive in the yarn room. I also want to work on two hoodies, that are perfect spring causal wearing sweaters. Man, work is just getting in the way! I should be at home figuring this all out!

I took this test yesterday, to find out what kind of yarn I am. Here is my result:

You are Mercerized Cotton.You are always very crisp and neat. You are very playful and are happiest while outdoors in the sunshine. You are sometimes accused of splitting hairs, but in the end people find you pretty easy to live with.

What do you think?

Knitting to Nowhere!

Okay, I’ve been knitting and knitting and knitting. And knitting, and knitting, and knitting. A little ripping thrown in and back to knitting. And I feel like I’ve gotten nowhere. Yep, nowhere.

I’m thinking it’s the miters. I’ve been working on them. And some entrelac. And a sock. So to a corner and back. Knit back backwards. And knit in a circle. No wonder I’m getting NOWHERE!

I think I’ve got the winter blahs. Enough already, I want spring! Baseball season. Of course we are in March, our snowiest month, with two snowfalls already this week. Add to that I’m buried at work. So between snowfalls and piles of work, I’m back to wanting that island again…..

Was knitting with Sharon at lunch today and this VERY TALL guy walked by where we were knitting. I asked her, “Isn’t that Shaquille O’Neal?” It was, the Suns are in town playing the Nuggets tonight. Should have taken a picture of him with the two of us knitting. See what happens girls when you don’t show up to knit with the lunch bunch?

I’ve got a sock class tonight . Eight knitters. Boy that will keep me running around the table. I ripped my sock back to the ribbing this morning. I just didn’t like the eight stitch repeat I was using, so back on the needles and on to a new stitch pattern for the leg.

I have two new knitting bags to show at home, one is from Rowan – the Nolita Bag, very cute!

Well, I need to get back to attacking the piles in my office. Enjoy the day though it’s VERY grey out there!

Musings

Today after my seminar I took a walk around the University of South Carolina Campus. And as I walked around the campus, it reminded me of me, 30, yes 30 years ago, walking around the University of Florida campus. A junior, I think at the time I may have been a marine biology major.

It's hard to believe that was me 30 years ago. As I looked at the students, huddled against the cold wind, they looked so young. And I wondered what kind of dreams do they have? Do they worry about shootings that happened on other campuses? Where are they from? Where are they going? And I thought about myself.

I'm not doing what I thought I would be going when I was in Gainesville. Law School had not crossed my mind. I never once thought I would end up in Colorado. I love the water. I used to do teak work on sailboats. There are no oceans in Colorado. I have children. I never planned on having kids. Having 2 brothers and 2 sisters turned me off of that idea.

Hmm, look where I am now. Things change. Doors open, doors shut. People come in and out of your life. Hmm. But things start new. The azaleas are beginning to bloom around the campus. The bright magenta ones are appearing first. I saw tulip trees in bloom today and daffodils. Life goes on, in a different path.

I hope to knit tonight. I think I lost some knitting, but I don't want to think about it, because I still have hope it fell out of my bag on the shuttle from the airport, and I'm checking with that bus driver tomorrow morning. If not, okay, I have to start over, and it's my test knitting. Oh well, there is nothing I can do until that bus is driven over here, and it has not been to the Center since Monday night. I still have some hope.

I did a SWAP

HOLY MOLY, GUACAMOLE, I HAVE THE BEST SWAP PARTNER IN THE WORLD!!!!! HAPPY DANCE IN HIGHLANDS RANCH!

I stopped at the mailbox on the way home from picking up the boys at school, and when they saw the box was for me they said, ah, it’s just yarn. BUT IT WAS FROM SHARON T!! Sharon T is a knitter on Ravelry, and is part of the SheKnits podcast "knitting circle" that I am a part of. So, of course I had to open it. DH is working late, and the boys and I were going out for mexican food (margaritas for mom, it’s been a LONG week), and I asked them should I open my package and they said go ahead. So I opened it and I told them, hey there’s something for you in here. And they ran over.

SHE SENT CANDY FOR MY BOYS!!! Okay, how cool was that? SO many points were scored before I even looked at anything else.

Then, I looked. There was a pattern from Knitspot for the Honeybee Stole and 1200 yards of YUMMY Tupelo Honey Laceweight merino. Okay, two things, one, I’ve ordered from the Woolen Rabbit before and I love the yarn. Second, KnitSpot is the lovely Anne Hanson. Anne Hanson is a lace designer who just was published in the latest Interweave Knits. I have not knit this shawl of Anne’s but I love it.

Then, there was the lace weight. The yarn that I drooled over and wanted SO BAD! And asked, is it mine. AND IT IS. OH SO COOL!!!!! It’s pretty, it’s purple, it’s going to Rockies games. I don’t know as what yet, but OH WOW!! Happy hands hand dyed fingering weight in colorway Northern Lights.

And, then there were the chocolates. These are mine. Not the boys. Not DH’s. Mine. hand dipped truffles from Amy Lyn’s.

Oh, and get this. Sharon T is from Waukesha, WI. I was born in Milwaukee, WI. I am hoping to be going to knitting camp again this summer in WI.

SHARON T IS THE BEST!!!!!! I’ve never swapped before, how cool was this!!!!

Miters, miters, miters

153 squares done. I've either been knitting mitered squares today, or working on EZ's mitered mittens. That's a lot of miters.

Today was a cold, snow day. DH was off skiing. The boys and I stayed inside and did a whole lot of nothing. Well, I knit, did laundry, cleaned the bathroom, they watched TV, played with GameBoys, typical boy things. And now it's Sunday night. Where did the weekend go again? At least I'm off tomorrow, although I do have a class to teach tomorrow night.

I've been listening to podcasts while knitting. I'm enjoying it, which is funny since I DETEST talk radio. Now I'm always looking to see if a new one is ready to download. It's kind of like listening to your friends talk while at a knitting group, isn't it. Kinda strange, like blogs where you put yourself out there and also feel like you know the other person.

Sunday stash report. Okay yarn came in this week, one I knew about which was yarn I had ordered for the Roslin Fairisle Hoodie. I have resisted temptation and have not cast this on yet. I need some more FOs and I think my test knitting charts may be arriving tomorrow so it will be off to the races! The next yarn that came in wasn't planned, but somehow managed to be purchased yesterday at String. We are talking gorgeous, Debbie Bliss 100% pure silk in the colorway #14, a beautiful coral color. It's for the Printed Silk Cardigan in the new Interweave Knits. Oh, it will be pretty. It is also in waiting, because I have projects to finish!

I decided to destash, so I put some yarn up on Ravelry and will probably add more as I go through the stash. Pretty yarns, with no project in mind. Out they go. Early spring cleaning.

Well, it's getting late, I want to knit at least two more squares. Hope you had a great day.

It's Saturday and I'm working

Yes, that's right. I'm working when I should be home doing laundry, knitting, folding laundry, knitting, cleaning, knitting, you name it.

I'm just buried right now at work. A lot of pleadings to draft and I have a discovery deadline looming this week So here I am, looking out my window at a beautiful blue Colorado sky. Oh well! I wish I was at Madrona with Joanne and Patti and Pam and everyone else!

Knitting has been a little slow this week. I've been busy after work with one thing or another, so I am behind in my progress, well, not really my progress, but rather where I wanted to be on the Hemlock Ring and my Mandarin Jacket. My Kauni has been sadly neglected this week and so has any lace. And I got yarn in the mail yesterday that I ordered at the end of December and you know what that means, a case of startitis. But I think I will force myself to wait until the Hemlock Ring is done, we shall see.

Well, enough of a break, it's back to work. Enjoy your day!

Me again, I just finalized my Rockies season ticket plan. Woo-hoo opening Day is April 4th! Man do I love baseball. Nothing better than a day at the park, a hotdog, a cold beer, knitting along of course! Come on Spring!

There's a mess on my desk.

I so have a mess on my desk. Well, okay, it’s not that bad if you ignore all the real work I need to get done, but I had my Harmony needle set out (which I am so in love with right now), a new cable, the end stoppers, the tightening tool, a big honking’ ball of yarn and my project spread all over my desk. Because I needed to change out a cable. You see, I started the Hemlock Ring Throw last night which to me is so easy, and I got to row 30 on the train in to work and now had 112 stitches of fat yarn on the cable. So I needed to go up a cable length. I love these needles!! So easy to knit off one cable and onto another, unlike my Denise needles with joins that love to let go.

Anyway, I’m knitting this up as a class sample as an intro to lace. This seems very easy to me so far so I’m thinking it would be a good project. The only thing that might be tricky to people is the initial cast on, but once you get going, it’s a no brainer.

Another day of being sleep deprived. DH fell asleep on the couch watching TV and when he came up to bed at 3AM guess who woke up and didn’t get back to sleep? Gotta love them circles under these eyes. Hey - finally, tomorrow is the last day of my having to take prednisone. Yeah! No more fat face I hope (I need to work out too! Been a long time since I've worked out regularly since getting sick.)

Madrona is this weekend. Wish I was going, but I’m hoping I got into knitting camp. There are five of us waiting to hear if we got in. Oh the trouble the five of us could get in to.

Well, I’ve got work to do. Have a great day.

Just a short post

Man where did this weekend go? I've been to three yarn stores this weekend in search of stuff for a swap, been to a one year old's birthday party, didn't do enough chores around the house, took a nice walk with the youngest son, and now it's Sunday night. Gees. Where did it go?

I knit a lot of mitered squares. Not much of anything else. Sunday stash report, some Malabrigo lace weight came in the stash. No plans for it yet. It's going upstairs for now. Oh, and I received my new Atenti bag. I will take pictures, but I'm tired.

So, it's a short post. Off to do some knitting.

Man what a day.

Exhausting. That's what today was. I had so much to do at my real job - get a discovery request out, draft an indictment and a pros memo. Too busy. And the lunch bunch was no where to be found. And I had been working on one of the cases since 3:45AM.

But the Purple Princess (http://www.purpleprincessknits.com/) came through. She must have sensed the desperation in my email that I needed to meet a fellow knitter for lunch to escape the madness. And sadly, her week has been the same, putting out fires with a watering can. We both wanted a good margarita, we settled for lunch together at the Corner Bakery and knitting. (Though sadly, I ended up ripping more than I knit, and convinced her to do the same to a project that she is just not having any fun knitting). So we ate lunch, chatted, knitted, recharged our batteries and headed back to our respective nightmares.

That's what friends are for.

Early

It's 3:15AM and I'm up. I've been up since 2AM and I finally decided to give up trying to get back to sleep. Too much on my mind I'm afraid. The 7 year old and I had a huge blow out last night, the kind that make you think why did I ever become a mom. The kind that make you want to walk out the door because frankly you don't need that kind of crap when you come home from work. Not fun for anyone. So, I'm up.

Time to knit before getting ready for work. I knit on the Kauni a bit last night. I need to start thinking about the sleeves and how I want to do them. I've also been doing mitered squares for my Mandarin Jacket because they are pretty mindless. I still am doing pretty good on working from the stash, but am not working on any socks right now after getting pissed off at the short row toe on Saturday. I will pick up a sock orphan on the 15th and finish a pair hopefully this month.

Enjoy the day, hmm, I wonder if we are getting more snow today?

I am so not a fan of short row toes on socks

I'm not. And the sock I cast on yesterday has a reverse stockinette short row toe. Now, don't get me wrong, I like short rows. I have made beautiful Hanne Falkenberg sweaters with short rows. But not for socks. Because of the double wraps. And my perfectionist knitting. I am never happy with how the wraps fall when knitting or purling the double wraps together. Never. So, the toe was ripped out at least seven times yesterday. And right now I've had enough. So I am taking a break. I may cast on another sock, though I am on day three on my 14 days to knit the first sock of the February pair. I don't know. But it will not be a short row toe sock. Not right now. I'm not happy with short rows.

Yesterday and so far today was chore day. Laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping before church. Ugh! The TV is going on in 45 minutes. I am watching the Superbowl pregame to see the commercials of course. I want to see the deaf one, have you heard about it? I also love the Bud commercials. My youngest son is rooting for the Giants cause baby brother (Eli Manning) is playing in the Superbowl, not big brother who always gets the attention. (The little guy is really learning that the baby brother also has his time to shine, and it's not always the big brother who is the best).

Sweaters have been a focus for me, though I need to cast on a mitten today since I have a mitten class tomorrow night at String. Katharine Hepburn, Twist and Kauni will be worked on today and I may swatch (don't laugh) for Silver Belle during the game.

I have an apple pie in the oven. BBQ chicken, roasted potatoes and vegies on the menu for the game.

Sunday stash report. Lady Eleanor out, the Leaf Lace Shawl out, and the Vintage sock kit in. I think I may be getting towards the negative side. I do have some lace weight on the way, but I am using it to test knit when I get my charts from Anne of KnitSpot. Oh, I did buy some other yarn, some Black Water Abbey lace weight, but that is going to be for my first design that I intend to sell, so it's really in a different category.

Well, have a good day whatever you are doing. Me, I have a date with football. I hope it's a good game.

Just a short post

It's 6:15AM, and the house is still quiet. DH and the boys are still sleeping. I've done my favorite blog reading and checked Ravelry, printed out a sock pattern from my downloads and am about to sit down for what I hope is about an hour or so of uninterrupted knitting. So this will be a short post.

I am putting up February's socks. I missed getting sock #1 up on the 1st, but that is okay, I did some good knitting on some sweaters yesterday - Twist and Katharine Hepburn. I worked on Kiri, finally liked and finished the top of the mitered mitten (still need to do the thumb). So, this morning I am putting up sock #1 of Fratello in what I think is a ball of Cherry Tree Hill which I bought at String last year.

Speaking of String, we had a teacher's meeting last night and I think you are going to like what you are going to see in the coming months. Cassidy and Judy have some good things in store and we have some great classes coming up. I'm thinking summer projects already (probably because it snowed again last night), and I've got some designs on my mind.

Okay, got to go cast on. Enjoy the day. I've got chores and knitting to take care of.

Here's a white flag

Okay, what is that poem, Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? That's today. Start with a two hour drive to work because of snowy streets, and end with a bus driver driving away when I was 20 feet away from the bus, and a LYS that was closed at 4:45.

So, here's my white flag. I surrender. You win, I lose. I'm going to go knit on something I like, listen to a podcast or two, and happily watch the backside of January 2008 fade away into the sunset. Good bye, good riddance, adios, don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.

On a happier note, I close the month with two Finished objects:
Lady Eleanor
The Leaf Lace Shawl

Blame it on Ravelry

Okay folks, I am not taking the blame here. I have been following the rules. I have been good on the knit from the stash diet (though not so good on the buying new yarn bags diet), and really haven't bought "that much" yarn in quite a while. I have been sticking to the knit 2 projects of one type at a time rule, and am adding the cast on a sock on the 1st of the month, and cast on the second sock on the 15th of the month rule (maybe we will have pairs of socks in Mountain Purl's future, there is hope). And, of course, class projects don't count, because I need to work on them for my students and to have them for the LYS. But, I'm falling off the wagon.

So, number one, I am blaming it on Ravelry. You all know I can't sleep. So since I woke up at 1:30AM and there were 300+ others of you on Ravelry along with yours truly looking around. And I found a shawl. I wasn't looking for one. There is a knitter in Boston who has three projects in common with me, The Leaf Lace Shawl, Lady Eleanor, and Diamond Fantasy so I went looking at her projects which are very nice I might add. And there was the shawl. KIRI. And I read All Tangled Up, why I never saw this pattern, I do not know. And I have a ball of Blue Blood Red Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb that is perfect for it. And I know I could knit this baby in less than two weeks if I wanted to. So, needles, yarn and pattern are in knitting chair number one downstairs, waiting for me. So that will break the two lace projects rule. BUT, I only have 16 rows to go on the Leaf Lace Shawl. That's right, I am to the edging chart. So there will be some blocking in the near future, But, I am going to break the rule tonight. Soon. But I may be doing some edging lace first. Maybe.

Number two, podcasts and my lack of will power. Too many people said "Lace Cardi." I think I even heard it on What Not to Wear. So, what has been calling ever so quietly and then screaming in my ear "KNIT ME NOW?" The Katharine Hepburn Cardigan. And it's also been in my stash since last year when I had Cassidy order me the yarn. Louet Sales Jems Opal. In Cherry Red. I caved. It's been up, frogged (I am casting on in pattern and having major brain farts) , and is going back up. So there goes the two sweater rule. And I also need to put up one (Silver Belle) for a sweater workshop I'm teaching. Oh boy. I'm in deep knitting trouble.

Number Three. Red. I love red. These yarns are beautiful. I don't care that I mostly wear black to work, sans makeup. Pretty picture, no? Anyway, who can resist red? And Valentine's Day is 2 1/2 weeks away. Enough excuses. It's so pretty.

So I'm breaking the rules. I'm casting on.

FYI, I had margaritas last night. Just what the doctor ordered for this girl who has been sick since FOREVER!

Okay, what else? The Modern Quilt Wrap Knitters met yesterday at String. Oh my, too gorgeous. Marcia and Ann's are beautiful. I'm only on tier one. Lynn wasn't there but I want her colorway and I'm still looking for Erin. Everyone who saw these at String yesterday oohed and aahed. A must knit. You too can cast on.

Saw a lot of friends yesterday. Robin, Lisa (hey - did you have enough to finish the footies?) The normal String knitters, Tim, Kate, Diane, Dani, Jody and others. The store was so busy. Max is getting big. Cassidy has really cute hair. New classes are starting soon. There's some lime green lace weight mohair that has summer shawl written all over it. Didn't buy the new Noro sock. I want to feel someones after it's washed before I cave.

Sunday stash report. Nothing out permanently but very soon. Two skeins of green Lorna's Laces sock from Knit Knack. I also traded colors of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Blush pink for a peach which is in my colors, the pink really wasn't after I had my colors done (this is for Silver Belle). Two new size 0 Addi Turbos (Knit the socks Kath and you won't be needed to buy these!) A new Atenti bag was ordered from Dreamweaver Yarns - I know this was very bad, but look at Palms and Fronds and you will understand.

I think that is all. Chinese food for supper, yum. DH is on his way to pick it up.

I need to cast on.

Thinking

I've been sitting on the bed for the past few hours, knitting on the Leaf Shawl and listening to pod casts. One of the things that caught my attention was that not only are we knitting and creating things, but we are knitting our lives together.

And I got to thinking about that, the different people I knit with on a regular basis, the students in my classes, the people I meet when I attend a class, or a retreat or a convention, and it's interesting to look at the different people and see what they have added to my life.

Some are constants, the knits and purls. They are always there building your garment. Then you have your traveling stitches. These people zip across your life, adding interest here and there, not always staying. But always interesting. Then you have your cables. These people come in and out of your life. You may see them once a year at a convention, or they contact you out of the blue. They add a great design and you are always happy to see them. It's like they never left. They make you smile.

Then you have your dropped stitches. Somehow this friendship didn't last, or you outgrew it, or it was only there for a purpose which is now over.

I might be labled an SSK or a K2TOG. I pick up knitters. That's how I have met the nicest people I know.

Love them knitters.

Another day in Paradise...

Okay, so I'm wishing I was in a hammock down in the keys sipping a margarita. A girl can dream right? But I'm at home, it's Martin Luther King Day, one of the 13 federal holidays so I am off of work for another day. House bound again. But DH felt bad for me, bundled me up like the Michelin man and off we went to Tokyo Joe's for rice bowls for lunch so I wouldn't go stir crazy. The boys are at school, DH is off shoe shopping, and I'm bored. Oh well. I get to go to work tomorrow so it could be worse. I will start slowly, a few hours a day until I feel normal again.

I'm feeling a little better, but the lungs always start hurting at night. The steroids never made me feel like I have energy. I'm just tired.

By the way, you know what I have been doing? Knitting and watching stupid, cheerleader movies on the Family channel, and What Not to Wear Marathons, and the Food Network, and football.

Knitting. It's been lace lately. I am working on two old projects. One lace project was started in 2005, then was forgotten and I brought it out at the end of December. This is the Leaf Lace Shawl which I am knitting out of Tahki S. Charles Ritratto. I'm thinking I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on this one. I believe I need 22 full leaf repeats down the center back and I now have 17, so I think 50 more rows and then I can begin the edging. Yes, the end is in sight. This is very pretty. I don't know why I stopped working on it. I need to get to 427 stitches to start the edging, and I need to look at my beads to see if I am adding them or not. Decisions, decisions.

The other lace project is also from the stash. I bought this cashmere in Hollywood, Florida in 2005 or so at the Yarn Tree and when I picked the stole up I realized it was too wide. So it was ripped back at the end of last year, so I now am about six inches into this stole. This is being knit out of Jade Sapphire 100% Cashmere in Amethyst Haze, a lovely purple color. So these are my two lace projects. So no new lace projects until these are finished. And guess who signed up for 2008 the Year of Lace?

Class projects, still working on the mittens, the shawl, Lady Eleanor's fringe, etc. I tried to repair a friend's shawl this weekend and what a pain that was. All I can say is BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU BLOCK LACE!!!!!! Or at least let me help you the first time.

Okay, I'm tired, I think it's time for a nap. It's snowing again. Where's that beautiful Colorado blue sky anyway?

Whoops, almost forgot - Sunday stash report even though it is Monday. The new sock yarn came in from Hazel Knits and it's not scheduled for anything yet. The fair isle yarn for the Cat and Mouse blanket from England arrived (Alice Starmore). Nothing new was started except class projects - mittens. Nothing was finished. I am in the minus column, buying yarn vs finishing for 2008. Is anyone surprised? Okay. I need FOs.

What Makes a Girl Feel Good?

Okay, let's face it, the girl has been in the middle of her own pity party over here and major moaning and groaning and some tears were shed last night. Why you might ask? Because I don't want to take my medicine. One of my new medicines, I picked up four yesterday on the way home from the doctor's.

Okay, I know I'm a big girl, and I know this crap has been going on since the 4th, and I had no idea my lungs were in as bad as shape as I found out yesterday. But Prednisone? Who the heck wants to take steroids? I had a friend have a bad reaction to this same stuff. And a side effect is not sleeping. Just what I DON'T NEED! So DH asked me why I was crying and I told him 1. I was sick of this ___, and 2. the steroids. He said it's not forever and just do it.

So anyway, there are things that make a sickie feel better. I looked outside and saw that it had starting snowing during my nap, but then I saw a box on the front porch. And I thought, could it be? Possibly yarn? And I won't get yelled at by DH for sneaking out and going over to String and breathing cold air which the doctor told me I AM NOT TO DO? Oh please, let the box be for me.

Oh Hazel Knits, THANK YOU!!!!! Look what Wendee got out to me. Artisan Sock Yarn in Chocolatier and Lime Granita. Are we thinking Mint Chocolate chip mittens or gloves or something here? And to top it off, she sent me the nicest card with a stitch marker that matches my sock yarn. HOW CUTE IS THAT? Yep, I'm smiling.

And then there are two friends, Leanne and Nachaele. They know what they did, I know what we did. I'm not talking, but thank you.

Eating chicken noodle soup and knitting lace

No Kauni today. I ripped at least 6 rows out last night. That's over 1,600 stitches. I found that my tension had loosened up, so out the rows came and the Kauni is having a day of rest. Hmm, sick fair isle knitting is looser than normal. Interesting.

So today is a lace day and I think it is Wednesday, right? I feel like I have lost the first five weeks of the year and today is what day (had to go look at the calendar, the 16th). Wow, I've been 50 for a month already. I have lost all track of time with being sick. Enough already, I need to get some semblance of order back. So I am eating chicken soup - nothing else has worked. Every time I call my boss to let him know I am still sick, he's in Philadelphia, he gives me some new advice to try, today it was honey, yesterday chicken soup. Aren't men cute, they think they have all the answers when we are sick.

So today we are knitting lace. And lace that I have to pay attention to because I am placing beads, and I am also throwing the yarn on the resting rows to turn the stitches for the SSKs to try to gain a little speed. I am going to try to take a picture. Of course it's not blocked out or anything, but you get the idea. One bead in the middle of each diamond.

Today my friend Joanne was sworn in as a US citizen. I really wanted to go and am so bummed that I missed it. But common sense prevailed and I am sitting at home thinking about her and hoping she's having a wonderful day with all her knit friends. Yay Joanne! I hope the little something I ordered for you arrives in the mail today.

Well back to the lace.

I'm trying not to breathe...

First of all, this photo is for Joanne. I've been talking about my Kauni Sweater and hoped to show it to her tomorrow, but I don't know if I will be there, so here the beauty is. Not a great picture, but you get the idea, and you can see the stranding on the back which is looking good also. I hope to work on this today.

I am trying not to breathe, rather I am not doing anything that will make me breath in deeply or breathe in cold air. I have bronchitis, better than the walking pneumonia which was ruled out by two chest x-rays yesterday afternoon, but it still hurts. My lungs are on fire. So as long as I don't breathe too hard, or breathe cold air, they feel better. I have two inhalers of medicines so hopefully with today's rest and probably tomorrow, this will be going away. As long as I don't cough, the one medicine with a pain reliever seems to dull the fire a little.

So I'm knitting and watching TV and resting today. Since coughing woke me up at 2:30AM I actually saw Knitty Gritty this morning, too bad it was just scarves, and scrap booking, always good programs to knit to.

I am trying to post to Ravelry, but am having issues this morning. I am tired, so it just be me. Just a short post, need to get back to the couch and the knitting.

Sheep, Chickens and Cows

Like my little friend? DH bought her for me at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo yesterday. We decided to go at the last minute and took the boys to see the animals. I'm wishing we had planned it better because we missed the International Sheep Shearing Contest in the morning and apparently there were contestants from New Zealand, Australia and Canada that were amazing. I saw the fleeces later on in the judging area and said to DH I wish that was I spinner, and he said "YOU DON"T NEED ANOTHER HOBBY!" I was a little offended. Do you think he was talking about my knitting and teaching knitting?

We saw a lot of cattle also and birds. We saw varieties of chickens and roosters that I never knew existed. Big, puffy, outrageously soft and cute adult birds. Just amazing. All in all, I think everyone had a good time. The boys and DH went in the petting farm and pet all kinds of animals. I wisely had a beer in my hand, and you cannot go near the animals with food or drink because of health concerns. So I smiled, and watched, and drank my of course - Coors light. What else in Colorado at the Stock show?

Speaking of health concerns. This crud is now in my chest. I'm not happy. Ten days of antibiotics and it is not gone? I'm calling the doctor tomorrow. Last thing I want is pneumonia.

Knitting. Slow going on the beaded shawl. I dropped a stick and it ran like a silk stocking this morning. I have NEVER had Helen's Lace run like that. And I could not fix it. So I ended up ripping back about five rows which doesn't sound like much, but there were beads on two of those rows. So I'm re-knitting it.

Sunday stash report. I was good when I was at Knit Knack earlier this week and didn't buy anything. I did get a skein of cashmere in the mail this week, but that was needed to make the lace gloves the length I wanted. I pulled some yarn out of the stash - 2 skeins of Southwest Fibers Karaoke. I threw a pair of mittens up on needles Friday night after trying to locate a copy of EZ's Knitter's Almanac at two other stores and finally finding one at A Knitted Peace. (I'm thinking I have one upstairs in the yarn room too, although this might be the book I left on a plane coming back from knitting camp!) By the way - what customer service from Marcia at A Knitted Peace! She told me she would keep the store open until I got there - for an $8.00 book! Can't beat that. Other stores should take note. Though my kids were a nightmare in the store - sorry Marcia! Anyway, I am debating teaching EZ's mitered mittens for a winter class, and the Karaoke yarn stripes so well. I just am not sure about the thumbs, because they are after thought thumbs. Hmm. Everything else I worked on this week was already started and part of the two project plan, so I doing good with it.

Well, that is all for this post. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Do you face West?

As I was driving to the park and ride this morning, again I was reminded about how glad I was that people that DH and I have hired in Colorado have done their jobs. I’m talking about our realtor. You see, we live on a street that winds a bit for a half mile before you get to a main road. A main road meaning it will be plowed if it snows. Now sometimes they will take a grader down part of my street but not always. So during a good snow, you can get a build up of 3 or 4 inches of packed snow and ice on the street.

Anyway, being a girl who lived in Florida for 18 years and California for 11, and only had purchased a house in California, I was not aware of the importance of how your house faced. My priorities of house facing were - where was the master bedroom, and was the sun going to wake me up in the morning which is not a good thing for this light sleeper. So our realtor enlightened us about west and east facing driveways. (Though I wish he would have said something about how steep mine is – I’ve slid sideways down it on many occasions when there is ice under the snow when I am trying to shovel it during a snowstorm!) If yours faces east or west, the sun will melt that snow and ice so much faster and you will not have that ice jam in front of your house.

So as I was twisting and turning my way down the road this morning at 5:45AM, going from dry road to ice slick, I was thinking thank you Don, I am sure glad my house doesn’t face that way. It’s dry in front of my house.

Anyway, knitting. Cast on some lace yesterday. Actually cast it on, didn’t like the openness, ripped it out, went down 2 needle sizes and now am on row 48 of the Diamond Fantasy Shawl. I’m using some of my favorite lace yarn – Helen’s lace that was in the stash, but I can’t figure out the color way. It’s not Chino and it’s not Firefly. It’s this golden color and I am putting a cubed gold glass bead in the middle of each diamond and at the end of each point just like Cara at January One did. And I’m not breaking the two project rule because this will be a class sample for a spring intermediate lace class. And it’s so pretty already. I’m thinking this is going to be a quick knit for me, the only thing slowing me down is trying to bead on the bus and train while not spilling beads, or my purse, or my yarn bag, or my Ipod, or my water. You get the idea. Though, I need to switch to Addi Lace needles to be even faster, though that would involve moving them out of another started project….

I’m thinking I may be getting yarn in the mail this weekend. The Princess and I have twin projects. Besides the sweater we are making absolutely stunning cashmere gloves. Wait till these are done! And I think there’s yarn coming from England any day now and some Jamison from Canada. But I am sticking to the two projects of one type rule, so I could only start the project from England, but that is major Fair Isle, and not until my Kauni Dale is done will I even attempt another fair isle (so she says).

And I should have an Aventi bag coming from Dream Weaver Yarns. Birthday Present to me!

I’ve got work to do. The fog is starting to clear from feeling so sick. Its Friday my friends. Pretty day out there!