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!

Looking for my old self....

Actually, I just want my head back, to clarify that, the left side of my face and all the sinuses lying underneath it. I hate sinuses and sinus problems. They have plagued me for years. I can forecast the changes in weather. I can tell you within 24 hours when it is going to rain. Because I get sinus headaches and migraines. I also get sinus infections and they usually are pretty nasty. I hate it when I get one, because I know it, and the doctor always tells me, you will probably get a migraine or two. So I have this baby since Thursday. Feeling like the left side of my face has been broken by a full out hit in the face with a swing of a baseball bat. And if it's not gone by Thursday I get my head scanned, and I hate lying still in that tube. I hate it. I have a little bit of claustrophobia when it comes to that and going underground.

So I stayed home today and I am pumped full of guaifenesin and antibiotics waiting for the dam to break. And I had time to knit, but these things pretty much kill any knitting desire I have. I think I have knit 3 rows on a shawl today. I hate losing good, quality, sick knitting time, to a head that just is about as worthless as a used Kleenex. I finished a good Monica Ferris mystery, "Cutwork." I like her books, they are set in a needlework shop in Minnesota.

So I downloaded some knitting pod casts. Not sure if I will be getting into listening to them on a regular basis, but I thought that I would give it a try. I really dislike talk radio no matter the topic, so this is a big departure for me to listen to a podcast.

And I tied knots while watching good old Martha Stewart on DIY (Please tell why Knitty Gritty is now on at 3 in the morning?) Lots of overhand knots. Many knots. On one side of Lady Eleanor. I will show you a picture, oh she is very pretty (sorry the picture is blurry). I still have to fringe the other side. But there are a lot of knots, very boring knots..... But she needs to be finished, so I need to fringe.

I need to work on the two sweaters in the active pile. They are badly in need of attention. Leanne told me she is almost done with her back, so I had better get knitting. Now which knitting bag is it in, in which room? Hmm...

Okay, Okay, I know I should be upstairs lying down!

I went home sick. Rather, I have been sick since Thursday and I went to work today. You see I had a court appearance this morning , and the Chief of Criminal was going with me, so there was NO WAY that I wasn't going to show. So I went, made my appearance, the judge said I did a good job (first time in her court room, she has been known to yell at attorneys), who knows, could always do better, went back to my office, walked back to my other office, grabbed my knitting and my purse, a Christmas present for Kris of the Lunch Bunch, walked over to where they were, said hello for 10 minutes, met a new knitter - blanking on her name, grabbed Robin's shawl to do a repair, got on a bus to catch my train and went on home. Whew, I talk like that too, as Renee at work says breathe Kath Breathe!

Anyway, why am I not taking a nap yet? Because I need to drink a boatload of water with one of my new meds I picked up at the pharmacy or as I was told I will be VERY SORRY! So I am slowly sucking this down. A half glass to go.

See this? You should see beautiful mountains between the two houses across the street from me. I see nothing. I can usually see five to seven mountain ranges from that window. What you see is a rapidly moving snow storm. I watched it roar down the foothills as I was driving home with my meds. I took that picture about 10 minutes ago and it is now snowing outside my window, just some tiny little flakes. Here we go again!

Sunday stash update, a day late. Not much knitting happened this weekend, you know I am sick when I don't knit. Two additions to the stash that I received in the mail this week. The white is Black Pearl Cashmere, just lovely, in jasmine pearl for some lace gloves. The other is a gift, which I haven't thanked the gifter yet, but I will. Beautiful yarn, straight from Germany. 574 yards of beautiful Rohrspatz& Wollemeise in the colorway Suzanne. Oh so nice, and from a very nice person I might add! Knee highs perhaps? My own design? This requires thought.

There are also finished items on the horizon for the Sunday Stash report, not quite there but close. But no more time for blogging. I am done drinking the water. The meds have a left a horrible taste in my mouth. I must now eat some chocolate.

Off to bed! Holy Crap! You should see the size of the snow flakes now! Oh well, the shots through the window weren't too good.

Fast Knitters

As I was knitting on my Kauni sweater on the train ride home from work yesterday, I was looking at how the colors were coming together. I am now to the “Gator” section; for you non-University of Florida people - one ball is feeding orange yarn and the other blue. And I was thinking about how I couldn’t wait until I got to the other colors and wishing I would get there quickly. Quickly just doesn’t seem to happen soon enough when you are knitting a sweater with 258 stitches per row.

So as I wishing I would get to these color changes, I started to think about fast knitters. Now, I happen to think I knit relatively fast. Now, I do not put myself in the category of the Lenes, Eunny Jangs, Anne Hansons, Lilly Changs or Karen from a Knitted Peace, of this world, but I do knit along at a fair pace. And I do remember a woman named Carole from my old knitting guild in California who could knit really fast, although I can’t remember her speedy nickname. These women’s fingers really do fly.

What I was wondering, do they get the same “buzz” or relaxation or whatever you or I get from sitting down and picking up a piece of knitting? Being at such a different pace than you or I? Hmm? Could be. It might be that it’s just the act of picking up the knitting and working on the project at whatever pace you want is enough. I don’t know.

There’s a beautiful sunrise of blues and fuchsias going on outside my 9th floor office window and a great old Hall and Oates tune on the station. Enjoy your day!

New Years Eve 2007

Okay, it is New Years Eve, and I decided to look over the blog to see what I have written over the past 12 months. Below you will find the first few lines of the first post of each month, kind of a year in review of Mountain Purl.

January 2007 - 2006 sure seemed to fly by. In keeping with tradition, I have my resolutions for 2007. Whether or not these will be kept, only time will tell.

Okay, some were kept, some were not, there are still many UFOs, I still have some unwanted poundage, the yarn room is a wreck and so is the house. Oh well. And I still need patience.

February 2007 - This is where I have been hiding myself, and it's not pretty. The yarn room looks like a bomb went off in there. I had to move numerous projects off the bed to make room for my outlines and books, with room for me to read.

Yep, it is still a mess.

March 2007 - The test is over, in the books, finished, done! Don't know if I passed, I was not happy Tuesday afternoon, and you never know with the multiple choices - it always comes down to 2 answers. But I'm done!

I managed to pass the Bar, and the lunch bunch took me out to celebrate at Knit Knack. A good time was had by all, and we enjoyed pomegranate margaritas!

April 2007 - It's April. I have leaves on the rose bushes that made it through the winter. There are purple buds on 2 of the 3 lilac bushes. We mowed and fertilized the yard. So of course it is snowing.

Nothing unusual here.

May 2007 - Our ship sailed into the San Francisco Bay this morning, right under the Golden Gate Bridge. Joanne and I were out on the balcony watching. We sailed past Alcatraz and then docked by the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

The cruise. My seasickness. Such fond memories. Poor Joanne! Nice yarn purchases though!

June 2007 - It always seems to be that you zip on home Friday after work, and before you can blink your eyes, it is 9PM Sunday night. What happened? The work week never goes that fast. I need a two day work week and a five day weekend.

This is a weekly occurrence for me.

July 2007 - This is me knitting outside on the front porch. Okay I know I need to trim the bushes, but I'm knitting. I have the house decorated. I put the bunting up for the Fourth of July, along with flags. What am I knitting - Koigu. And I need to knit my Koigu.

I STILL need to knit all my Koigu.

August 2007 - I’ve been really busy. My best friend Beth from high school arrived in Denver on Friday with her family. Her DH is a nurse anesthetist, so they are in town for his conference. So we have been running around. Saturday they came over to the house for a cookout, so there was a mad session of trying to clean the mess that is my house.

The house got cleaned, we had a great time. I miss her.

September 2007 - Where did the summer go? It seemed like yesterday that the outdoor pools around here opened, and now they will be closing next weekend. Must be all the traveling I did this summer that made me completely lose track of time. The beefsteak tomatoes are starting to turn red - hurry up before we get the first frost! My roses are looking good, and I am now planning to put in numerous bulbs in the front for a glorious spring display.

Never planted them bulbs did you Kath?

October 2007 - I decided to knit a pair of socks for Socktober. I cast on the Tyrolean Stockings from the Fall Interweave Knits. I am using Green Mountain Spinnery Vermont Organic Wool in a cream color. The yarn is a nice wool, although I am picking a lot of grass or whatever, out of it. It shows the pattern nicely, but right now the yarn is pretty coarse.

You just looked at those socks on the needles in the yarn room this weekend didn’t you? Or should I say 2 inches of just one sock in the yarn room?

November 2007 - Okay, it has been a while since I have blogged, and I do have pictures to post, but alas, I am not at home, where the camera is. So you get the idea that I really should be doing something else right now (oh yeah – working) but oh well.Let’s start with the Rockies. They lost. It was sad.

World Series. The Rockies lost. That really sucked.

December 2007 - Okay, there is no way it is going to happen. I finished the back of DH's sweater and had to rip out 30 or more rows of the front because I wasn't paying attention and didn't decrease 16 stitches. So there is no way this baby will be done by the 6th.

It’s still not done. I’m not working on it at the present. I just don’t feel like it.

Not a bad year. My half century mark. To all my friends and family. May you have a wonderful 2008.

P.S. I am not making any Resolutions for 2008!

A friend, a steek, and some knitting

This is my friend Robin. She is no longer a steek virgin. That's right, 2 days before the end of 2007, she cut her steek on her beautiful Dale sweater, and she's smiling. And she didn't even need a shot of alcohol before she took the first snip. This sweater is going to be so pretty and she has done a beautiful job. She has the armhole steeks to cut, the sleeves to put in and the neck and front facings to knit. Not much left. She is also working on a shawl which is now being bound off. Some FOs are in her not so distant future. She had two visits to my small shop called the yarn room and didn't pass out in horror or look at me as if I was insane. I think she was just being nice. She did come bearing gifts - 2 running books I wanted to borrow.

Today was a lazy day. Knitting with Robin, reading, watching TV and knitting. Ordering Chinese food, and then knitting. I am trying to stick with the two projects of each type plan. Sweater number one is the hoodie. I have knit 48 rows, but I am not back to where I started from, nor am I back to where Leanne the Purple Princess is. She is probably way ahead, because she had a long plane ride to Florida to spend some knitting time. Though, I am wondering about her gauge, because I am on the needles the pattern calls for, and I am usually one needle size down from her. But I have been the ripper, not her.

Number two is a two color Kauni that I put up on needles this weekend. If this turns out how I think it will, it should be a work of art. But it is slow knitting because I have 258 stitches per row. Right now the colors look too Christmasy, I can't wait until the blues and the purples come out of the balls.

I bought yarn today. I admit it. For two fair isle projects. I've got that bug again.

The most pressing thing right now is should I go to work tomorrow or stay home? Hmm, if I go, I will take Friday off. If I stay home, I have two days left of vacation. Hmm. I'll sleep on it.

Evening post, 2 in one day?

Okay, what is going on. I have ripped out the same sweater again. I can't tell you what it is because Leanne www.purpleprincessknits.com has a contest on her blog to figure it out. I found this stupid pattern, and I still like it. I'm just off row gauge, and then my head is somewhere else I guess. So the whole back to the arm holes was ripped back yesterday, and then 2o rows was ripped back today. I stayed up to 1AM re knitting this thing, to rip it back today. Oh, just slap me and put me out of my misery. And to top it off, I sliced my finger putting Christmas decorations away, and I'll be dog gone if I will let that get in the way of my attempt at knitting this thing. Why is it always the necessary knitting fingers, of course my left index finger?

I am trying to finish projects. I am trying something new. Working only on 2 sweaters at a time and 2 shawls, and 2 whatevers, you get the idea. Not bouncing from project to project. I am trying only to have 2 active projects in each category going at a time. And this is hard. Because I bought silk. Beautiful soft, yummy silk Fiesta La Luz that I order from Fuzzy Mabel for the hoodie from Interweave Knits. The hoodie that has been tempting me for months. I am not starting it. Leanne and I are getting are sweaters done at the same time. Or so I hope if I can ever get past my knitting errors.

I think I am blogging to avoid the sweater. I really do like it, I do. I will finish it Leanne, after all, I think I talked you into it, didn't I? And I am not seeing you having any knitting brain farts with it. Oh please, not another Damn sweater......

A new Day

I can't find it in me to be witty or amusing this morning. Maybe because it's early, and I stayed up too late last night re-knitting a completely ripped out sweater. Maybe it's because it's just so cold outside and my computer sits by two windows, which I love. And I normally watch the sunrise, which I am doing right now, but I can tell by the color of the sky that it is colder than normal. It feels like one of those days that you just want to stay inside and be warm. Drink the warm drink, knit, or curl up with a good book or good movie, in comfy clothes, and just not venture out.

I know a part of my lack of wittiness is due to the fact that DH's second cousin died yesterday. This is a big deal for my husband. This man was my husband's father's buddy. DH's father died 10 1/2 years ago. DH would go hunting every year with Don. He didn't go this year, partly because there was a screw-up with the tags, and partly because I was on a knitting retreat in Buena Vista. I told DH to go, but he said don't worry about it. Now there won't be a next year.

And I know how that goes, because I have always been the Queen of Next Years. Wait until I pass the bar, wait until we move from California, wait until I retire.... Makes you think, doesn't it, because, you don't always get that next year.

So, I'm not witty today. I'm going to have a day of selfish knitting. I'm going to start some organizing, because this house is an utter mess. I'm going to hug my kids and DH. And I'm going to finish watching the sunrise.

A never ending sea of entrelac

First of all, here is my alligator. Shoot, I should have plugged him in for you. He is my non-traditional Christmas lawn ornament. He lights up, his mouth opens up and his tail moves. The perfect lawn ornament for a Florida Gator such as myself. Drives DH crazy. Real Christmasy he says. I told him I'd get the gator a Santa hat, but never got around to it. Anyway, I love it.

As you can tell, we haven't shoveled. We spent all Christmas Day inside watching it snow. I spent most of the day cooking, and really didn't get any noticeable progress made on any knitting project. And now, I am drowning in this sea of entrelac.

Okay, I know I am almost done. I went up to the mess I call the yarn room, moved 14 tubs of yarn, the Lantern Moon basket tree, miscellaneous projects and balls of yarn, and set out the two blocking boards end to end. I then dry pinned this baby to see how wide I could go and how long without totally flattening out the entrelac. I wanted 30 inches wide. Dudes, I don't think it's going to happen. I'm thinking I'm going to have to be happy with 26 to 27 inches wide and maybe 75 or so inches long. I think I have 6 tiers left to knit. I looked at it pinned out and figured 3 more side triangles to get the length I want. Will this never end?

On a funny note, my older sister sent me knitting needles from China as part of my Christmas gift. I have never seen these types of needles before, they are the Bamboo Premium Collection, environmentally friendly in sizes 10, 10.5 and 11. I thanked her and told her if she ever decides to come visit me I will take her on a tour of the small shop I call my yarn room and she can be horrified.

I hope you had a great Christmas. I hear the pitter-patter of little feet, so I think the boys are up. Have a good day.

Look What Santa Brought!

I'm waiting for the ovens to warm up - one for the pumpkin pie, and one for the "eggies" the breakfast egg casserole with eggs and sausage. For some reason the top one is running really warm, so I hope I can figure this out before I need to get the turkey in.

Anyway, we tracked Santa last night on NORAD, and if you haven't done this with your kids it's so much fun to watch his progress around the world as he makes his way to where you live. We put the kids down to sleep as soon as he was done with Newfoundland, because he had worked his way up there from Key West and we weren't sure how soon he was going to hit Highlands Ranch. And the radar showed good ole Rudolph in front, probably because of the snow storm that Santa brought along with him. We have about three inches of snow on the ground already and there is a lot more falling.

Well, the pie and the eggies are in the ovens, a shower is calling my name, the boys are playing their new Game Boys and Nientendos and waiting patiently on the other presents. I hope to knit a lot today in between cooking and opening presents. I wish I had bought champagne for mimosas, got to go check the wine cellar.

Merry Christmas!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

I can't believe that it is Christmas Eve already. I knew this was going to happen. A rush, rush, rush, with no time to sit back and enjoy the holiday until it is over. And here we are. Christmas Eve.

And it's a a typical one. Throw in a fight with the in-law's (DH's), having a flat tire on the way home from the fight at the in-law's, an unexpected large car repair bill (unrelated to the flat tire - that was on the loaner vehicle) again DH's, staying up too late wrapping presents, planning to cook too much for a small family dinner tomorrow. I feel like one of those made for TV movies where an angel is about to appear.

But we had one stop and help DH change the tire on the loaner car. He was a nice young man who was on his way to cook his mom a Christmas Eve dinner. There are nice people in the world.

So I have been knitting. The top photo is Lady Eleanor. I have 2 balls of yarn to go. I am tired of entrelac. But there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Maybe I will knit on it tonight.

And then there is the hoodie. My row gauge is a little off, but I am thinking it should block out because I am not starting it again. You can't really see the cables, but they are pretty.

Then there is some lace. I pulled out an unfinished shawl. I needed to work on some lace, so I am trying to finish up some projects.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and may God bless you and your families in the coming year.

Half a Century!

Holy Crap, I'm old! Okay, I did wake up this morning and nothing fell off during the night that I know of - though I probably have a new wrinkle or two, and wonders of wonders I can move my left arm because I got a tetanus booster yesterday (this dumb arse forgot her last one was in 2003 so I said, sure - go ahead and give me one it's not MY $ and then later checked my records). And I'm not too stiff because I stupidly fell out of what I call the hole, the opening into the storage area that runs the length of the house in the basement which is about 6 feet above ground, and I should have waited until DH was around, but I just HAD to have the Christmas tree skirt when I WANTED it, and hurt my right wrist and shoulder. Okay, turning 50 did not make me smarter. My mom would tell me, for someone who is so intelligent, you certainly can be pretty stupid sometimes. Yep, she would have loved yesterday. Well, I look at it this way, now I know, tetanus shots - birthdays, 50, 60, 70, and so on. And I probably will try to get into the hole by myself again.

And it snowed yesterday. It's that pellet snow, dry, kinda like sand, or maybe like non pariell candy balls. Doesn't stick together, blows like crazy, and it's cold. We did go out in it last night and get a beautiful Christmas tree, which is in the garage right now, because I didn't want the snow melting on the carpet. Boy does the garage smell great.

I met my friend Leanne at the Corner Bakery for lunch yesterday. I have to show you what she gave me for my birthday which made me laugh! First of all, let's talk about the card. I have been in law enforcement for 19 years, so the old joke with the 3 caballeros "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" has been a favorite and gets mentioned every once in a while. So when I saw this card I roared. These women have hanks of yarn for their bandoleers and needles stuck in them, and inside it reads, "Swatches? We don't need no stinkin' swatches!" And they have needles stuck in their pockets as if they had holsters on. TOO FUNNY!!!!!! And so definitely me.

And then we get to the gift. Do you see what it is? It is a silver flask with some knitting on it! Two knitting needles, some knitting and a ball of yarn. It holds three shots of what will be in my case Baileys. Just what every well - equipped yarn bag needs don't you think? This other picture shows the knitting picture on the flask better. I don't know where she found this, but it was perfect. She did warn me she had a nasty card for me, but that was for after I turned 50. Remember, Leanne, is the nice one, always sooooo thoughtful!

Here is the progress on the hoodie - three inches and counting. I'm on size 5s right now and will soon be changing to size 6s when I get out of the ribbing. I should get a lot of knitting done today because DH and the boys changed my birthday plans and are taking me first to breakfast and then somewhere else. So no zoo lights tonight. I'll let you know what we ended up doing. I think the flask will be tucked in the knitting bag just in case we go somewhere cold.

Well, I still have some quiet time to myself before the boys and the sun come up. Enjoy your day!

Happy Half Century Birthday to Me!

Last day...

It's four in the morning, okay make that quarter to five in the morning, but I have been up since four, walking around the house, digging through tubs in the yarn room, winding yarn. Four, why you say?

First of all, I think I woke up so early was that I was expecting to see snow, and since I have major running around to do today with having to drop the boys off at school, get to my physical, get to work, meet the girls to knit at lunch, back out on the road to get the girls picture taken (mammogram), I just did not want to see a lot of snow, and if was there I better start shoveling. And it's not snowing. Hmm, being the weather nerd I am - I love the Weather Channel and Weather Stories, I'm going to have to check out local on the eights and see if they lied, or if this storm is going to hit later. Oh, it's snowing in Barrow, Alaska, doesn't help me here.

Second, I am used to waking up early, although lately, I just haven't wanted to. (I am trying to cast on a sweater as I type this, and it is just not working too well as I am trying to cast on in pattern). Okay, I don't need to be casting on a sweater, but it is the last hurrah sweater, the last sweater cast on in my 40s. So this baby is being cast on today, I didn't even buy new yarn - that's why I was digging through the tubs, I KNEW that I had something suitable and I did. 1320 yards of Blackwater Abbey in the blue, I can't remember the name right now, will check the color card, but Marilyn, if this turns out like I think, you are so going to want this for your shows (smile). Cute, modern, fitted hoodie. Cables, buttons. It's a great pattern - wish it was mine.

Okay, back to the weather, oh 22 degrees and they still say snow. I just walked to the front door and looked out, hmm, nothing.

Pictures, I think I have one. Let's cast on a few more stitches while I look, where am I 66 - stitches? Found the color card, okay what color is this, would help if I didn't only have the one light on, hmm, it looks like Bluestack. I wonder how fast I can knit this? I need to finish DH's too. Decisions, decisions. Thank goodness I did not commit to any Christmas knitting!

Here's the picture. That is my new Della Q knitting bag. Isn't it nice? I like it because it goes great with my mainly black, boring work attire. The knitting is some chunky Misty Alpaca that I turned into a real cute hat out of one ball.

I'm so hungry. Can't eat until after my physical because of the cholesterol test. I'm thinking french fries.

Well, I am going to finish casting this baby on, knit a few rows, and then start the morning. Enjoy. Less than 24 hours until I'm a half century old!

I'm not Scrooge, but I don't have the spirit...

Are you in the mood for the holidays? I am not and it’s already the 10th of December. St. Nicklaus day has come and gone, Christmas will be here in 15 days. We went to our annual Christmas program at church, which I enjoyed very much. I have been to two Christmas parties, and one of the Friday grazings at my other office was this past Friday, and yet, I am not in the mood.

Kind of like my knitting. I have bounced restlessly from one project to another this weekend, started three different socks and ripping out two. I finished a mobius and I don’t like the finishing and I will rip that out too, but for now it is banished to the yarn room. I pulled out a cardigan to work on, the tangled yoke, and put it back. I am doing some mitered squares, because they are mindless. Nothing has my attention.

Maybe it’s because it’s my last week to be in my 40s, and I think my birthday will be a bust. Always seems to happen. And I don’t think it’s selfish to expect that one day a year will be all about me. 1 out of 365. DH and I had a blow out at dinner Friday night, the kids are on my nerves, and I don’t feel like working. Some kind of December malaise. I’m feeling blah, its cold outside and cold in my office.

And I feel bad for DH even though I am mad at him. His second cousin, who grew up with his dad (DH’s dad died 10 years ago), got sick with what was thought to be pneumonia. And he has been in the hospital, and in a drug induced coma, and they did a biopsy on his lungs because no medicines were working. And unbeknownst to the doctors, he had a series of strokes, which were masked by the pain medication. So this man, who my husband hunts with every year, and through a mess up, didn’t get to hunt with last month, is never expected to awaken. Pretty crappy.
So I am just blah. But I did go to Chicago last week to celebrate my friend Terry’s retirement. Here’s a picture of our table, Terry is the one that looks like Harry Connick Jr. I even had a good hair day. After the party, I took a cab over to Loopy Yarns where a new Della Q knitting bag was purchased. And I bought some chunky alpaca for a cap, and some Monica Ferris fiction books that I enjoy reading (they are set in a needlework shop in MN).

Oh, and my friend gave me a beautiful silver and gold David Yurman bracelet. He saw it a few months ago and the chains looked like knitting to him, so he bought it for me. And he is right. He was way too extravagant, but I love the bracelet.

Tim Tebow won the Heismann. The voters got it right. A fine young man, a great athlete, a strong Christian, and a great role model. His parents must be so proud.

I hope you are having a good December and are enjoying the holidays. I’m looking for that Christmas spirit. Can’t seem to find it yet.

Off to the Windy City

A day trip. A quick fly in and out of the Windy City. I am going to my buddy's retirement lunch. My best bud from work, another attorney from Chicago that I became fast friends with after a walk on a beach during a lightning storm in Miami. (No one said attorneys have common sense!)

I miss him. We traveled a lot together, teaching updates in the law to agents. Terry is such a class act, I love him to death. You know, they say, a friend is someone who can see through you and still enjoys the show. That's us. We can say absolutely anything to each other and never think badly of the other person. We are buds.

So I am off to Chicago for his party tomorrow. I am going to relax, knit on the plane, have a cocktail or two and enjoy the day. I know I will be talking at the lunch, and I will do my darnest not to cry, but I probably will.

So DH's sleeves will be joining me, along with another yet to be determined project. And if I have enough time, I'll be stopping at Loopy Yarns on State Street, a shop I like to visit when I am in the Windy City. No time, I'm afraid for some good Chicago pizza. Hmm, next time.

I surrender

Okay, there is no way it is going to happen. I finished the back of DH's sweater and had to rip out 30 or more rows of the front because I wasn't paying attention and didn't decrease 16 stitches. So there is no way this baby will be done by the 6th.

Finished FOs - let's see, the back of the sweater, one sock, and one scarf. Pretty pitiful pickings I am afraid. There has been too much knitting on too many projects for any of them to be finished. I think December might be a good finishing month. We saw see...

I lost most of today for knitting because I went to bed with a headache and woke up with a migraine. It's been a while since this girl has lost her cookies, but this one was so bad, it happened. I still have some pain floating around my head, but nothing like this morning. My doctor had wanted me to go 2 weeks without headache medicine to try to get rid of the rebounds, but I only made it 4 days. Oh well, tomorrow I start over.

Well, I have 2 cuffs to cast on, and not much desire to knit right now. Have a good night.

P.S. Like the new slippers? They are so comfortable, and of course the sheep are adorable!