Wednesday...

I joined a new knitting group. The sweater club. We meet on Wednesdays at 10AM at String in Highlands Ranch. And, we knit sweaters. And we talk, and eat lunch, and knit and talk. This as my second time knitting with them. I found this group last week when I walked into the store, looking at the yarns for potential projects for classes to teach. Yes, that's right. After about 10 months or so, I'm thinking about teaching knitting again. So while I was in the store, I sat down and knit with the group. On a skirt. Oh well, I didn't have a sweater with me in the knitting bag. They are a nice groups of gals.

I went to Stitch and Pitch with the girls Friday night - Sharon, Sheri, Kris, Robin and Denise. And I saw Judy there, and Cathy (thanks for the book by the way!). I also saw people from the Denver Knitting Guild. We had a great time, although the Rockies didn't win.

I've been reading a lot, since I now have time. I have recently finished First Family by David Baldacci, Dyed in the Wool by Mary Kruger, and Back to Blosson Street by Debbie McComber. I have been going to the library at least once a week. I got in the habit when I was taking the boys to meet with tutors over the summer. And yes, I read while I knit. I use a book weight to hold the pages open.

As usual, I have many sweaters on the needles. I am hoping fall will bring many finished objects. Can you believe it's only 4 months until Christmas?

Where in Colorado is Mountain Purl knitting?

Where did you knit in public this past weekend? This is where I was knitting yesterday. Devil's Head fire lookout is in the Pike National Forest at an elevation of 9,748 feet. We hiked up to Devil's Head yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful day here in God's Country, perfect temperature for hiking. We had a little bit of rain, but mostly sprinkles. Gotta love Colorado!

A Mile a Month

I've been thinking lately about how much I knit. Now, I know that there haven't been finished objects lately, but, I knit every day. Most of the knitting is doing a repeat on one project, then doing a repeat on another, and so on. So, there is progress, but not completion.

And, since I knit so much, I was wondering just how much I knit. And whether it would amount to a mile a month, twelve miles a year, or would it be more? When you look at it, a mile a month would be 5,280 feet of yarn a month, or 1,760 yards. Surely I knit that much. And if you wanted to knit at least twelve miles of yarn a year, it would be 63,360 feet or 21,180 yards. I think I knit a lot more than that!

So, I am going to keep track for 2009. But, I am only entering the yardage from COMPLETED projects. I counted it up. Right now I have only .49 mile of completed projects for 2009. That is pitiful!

I guess I had better get knitting!

Sunday Musings....

It's August 2nd and I find that a little hard to believe. Because it's been three months since I retired but it doesn't feel like a quarter of the year has passed.

I have been busy. The boys and I have been together pretty much 24/7 since the last day of school on June 5th. And now, we meet with their new teachers on Wednesday and they go back to school on Friday. We have gone to the pool, and on many walks with the dog. We have been to Rockies games and have eaten out way to often. There were many baseball practices and baseball games, which all ended yesterday with the last games of the season. The oldest's team beat the only remaining undefeated team in the bottom of the last inning 10-9, and I'm proud to say he had 2 RBIs as part of that score. The youngest had his last hit sail into the outfield, and I was so happy for him. They ended up tying, but to 7 year olds, that's the same as a win!

We have been to some beautiful state parks this summer - Cherry Creek, Castlewood Canyon, Chatfield, Eldorado Canyon, Eleven Mile, Golden Gate Canyon, Mueller, Roxborough, and Spinney Mountain. Whether we will go to any more before Friday, I am not sure, but I had fun hiking with the boys and playing in streams and lakes.

Knitting. Well, I have knit, but I don't know if I have one FO to show for it. But that is okay. I bought myself some new tools, wonderful needles and books. I will have time to work on the projects that interest me the most. That is, if I get away from the time suck that is Ravelry. It's so easy to spend hours on the computer, and not knitting!

I also have started to spin. It's not perfect by any means, it's lumpy and bumpy, but it's getting better with each time I sit down at Bella. Bella, my wheel.

I also have a sock knitting machine that needs attention. And my new sewing machine that is still in it's box, yet to be unpacked.

But it's all okay, because I soon will have time. For me. Time to work out, time to read, knit or do whatever I want, even lay by the pool. Drive my new car. Because school starts Friday. I love my boys, but, oh boy August 7th! Who's counting the days?

Nothing to show for it!

I just got back from a walk with my dog. And, it kind of made me want to burst into a rendition of "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," but then it would not have been a beautiful morning when others heard "my" singing. However, beautiful the day is. That gorgeous Colorado blue sky, only 58 degrees, no one else was out on the trail except a runner. I didn't run into any coyotes this morning. And I saw 4 hot air balloons out over Chatfield lake. Yes, a beautiful morning. And the house is still quiet, but I am sure not for long...

I have been retired for 2 months and how time has passed that fast I do not know. I have had the boys now for the past almost 4 weeks 24/7 and, well, that has been an adjustment for me. To go from working full time to all these years, to having kids around, who do not do what I say immediately, well, let's just say, mom has been "pissed." And my workout routine has gone out the window, and the knitting time has decreased immensely and I feel completely unorganized. I guess that sums it up.

So, I have nothing to show for my knitting time. No FOs. I know I have been knitting. I have been knitting on a pair of socks, a shawl, another shawl, a sweater, a skirt, and who knows what else. But there is not one FO and frankly, I don't remember my last FO. It might be a shawl. I did join a group on Ravelry - WIP Wrestlemania 2009. You try to finish as many of your WIPs in July. I have high hopes, but it's the second of July. Let's see if I'm smiling on July 31st!

On another note. I have a new acquisition. Her name is Bella. She is my new Schacht Cherry Matchless spinning wheel. Whoo Hoo! I had my name down on a waiting list for one of these wheels and they finally came in last week, so I picked mine up on Saturday. I start spinning lessons this month up in Boulder.

Well, the house is starting to wake up. Happy July everyone!

Added at 6PM. Oh, my goodness, you just have to check this out! Just don't have anything in your mouth when you do, just saying!

http://pictureisunrelated.com/2009/06/30/made-for-the-modern-woman-about-town/

Musings on a Monday

Boy, it's pretty outside. A beautiful, almost summer morning. Can you believe it's almost the first day of summer? I for one, am tired of all the thunderstorms we have been having. Very unusual. I just went out and examined the garden for hail damage and of course, the big, beautiful Hosta is shredded. And there is some damage to the leaves of the vegetables. Oh well, it could be worse. I think though, whenever I'm thinking the Hosta is looking great this year, that's a cue for hail.

The boys have been off from school for a week, and we have started our summer exploration. There are 42 state parks in the state of Colorado, and we are trying to see how many we can visit during their vacation. Last week we started with Eldorado Canyon, which the boys really loved. We saw Prairie Falcons and mountain lion tracks. The boys waved to the rock climbers as we hiked along a trail. The next park we explored was Golden Gate Canyon after we went to Lookout Mountain and visited Buffalo Bill's grave. We had a great view of the Continental Divide from Panoramic Point and enjoyed hiking until rain chased as off the trail. The last park we explored last week was Chatfield Lake. The boys had fun in the lake until another thunderstorm came up and we raced for the truck. We have more exploring planned for this week.

We went to the Estes Park Wool Festival on Sunday. The oldest fell in love with the Jacob sheep and the youngest wanted a Vicuna. I bought some mohair from Neota Designs in the colorway Purple Mountain Majesty for a shawl, and bought some beautiful grey alpaca from Paradise Valley Alpaca Ranch for a scarf for DH. I'm thinking the shawl will knit up fast. We ran in to Joanne at the festival - Hi Joanne!

Well, time to figure out what we are doing today. Have a great week everyone.

Happy June 1

Okay, where did May go? I know I for one thought I was going to get SO many things done in May, including finishing many knitted items. So where did it go, because, I'm looking around and I'm not seeing ANY FOs!

Well, I do know that I did not spend as much time knitting as I thought I would. I am still trying to get into some sort of routine. I have gone on school field trips with the boys. I am trying to work out more. I have spent a lot of time out in the yard. The bush beans have come up and are now about 2 to 3 inches high. I have yellow flowers on the tomatoes. The squash and zuccini have new leaves. The cucumber is very slow growing. I have not seen anything yet of the sun flowers or the corn. Hmm, I wonder why? And, the new rose bush is in, all the rose bushes have been fed, and all but the new one have rose buds. So, we have progress outside.

The knitting, well, that is another story. I have knit on my Sasha skirt. The inner lining is a stockinette tube, which is I think, 190 stitches around, and goes forever since I am making the 30 inch skirt. So, I knit on the lining for a while until I want to poke my eyes out. I have knit on some lace. I have knit on a couple of sweaters. And, I worked on some toe-up Monkey socks.

Okay people, WHY AM I SO PICKY ABOUT SOCKS? They are just socks for goodness sake! I hate the heel on these. I've turned the heel and thrown the sock down. Disgusted. I haven't decided if I will rip the whole thing out or just put another heel in and just rip this heel out. Right now the heel has me IRRITATED!

I am going to organize the yarn room this week. I need more room. I'm also drooling over an Elna 7300 sewing machine. Guess why I need more room?

Finally!

You know, knitting blogs should have knitting content. And it's not like I haven't been knitting because, I knit every day. But, was there something to write about? I have something today.

Meet, Olivia, my new dress form. Quite attractive eh? I have been wanting a dress form for the longest time. I have been knitting on sweaters and not finishing them. I have a list of UFOs that would make you run away screaming. And most of that is due to the fact, that I have gotten so particular about my knitting, that the sweater MUST fit the way I see it in my mind. And I am short waisted. Probably at least an inch shorter than most commercial fitted garments are made. And most knitting patterns are written. So things just do not fit. So, for the past 2 years I have been searching for a dress form. And, I debated the duct tape method of making one. I also debated having a dress form made. Now, I wasn't deterred by the expense of having one made, but, you were stuck with the size. So to alter it if you lost weight, or heaven forbid, added a few pounds, good luck. Enter "My Double" Deluxe. The size small, which I purchased has adjustments for bust, waist, hips, back waist length (Can we say Hallelujah?) and neck. So I added a bra and some "padding" to get the right cup size, and DH helped me measure her and set the stand to exactly my height and I'm ready. And, I'm going to start sewing again, because now I can alter patterns and things will fit! This model even allows you to fit pants and skirts. Cute summer cotton skirts are in my future. And you know the best part? I had a 40% off coupon and a gift card, which knocked a lot off the price. So, now I can knit my coats to fit. And my sweaters. And if I get in better shape, I just change the adjustments and off I go. Yes, I'm a happy girl! Oh man, I just thought of something, I can now knit my Ann McCauley dress to fit. So cool.

So, what else is new? I'm retired. Yep! As of April 30th. What am I doing? I'm SLOWLY cleaning the house, bit by bit. I planted a vegetable garden with summer squash, zucchini, early girl and cherry tomatoes, bush green beans, cucumbers, corn and some sun flowers. I have planted stargazer lilies and anemones and 3 other flowering bushes in the garden. I am waiting on a new rose bush to arrive, a gorgeous lavender rose, Sweetness, which is the 2009 Grandiflora rose of the year, which will replace a rose bush I lost over the winter. Oh, I love lavender roses!

I bought a sock knitting machine. I haven't played with it yet. But I have LOTS of time. And, lots of sock yarn.

I'm buying a spinning wheel. A Schacht Cherry Matchless. I don't know how to spin. But I will. I'm going to take classes from Maggie Casey this summer.

I'm knitting. Mostly on linen and cotton right now. I bought lots at Stitches South. Oh, did Leanne and I have a GOOD time! So, I have cast on some new Maggi Knits in her Maggi's Linen. And, I cast on a pair of socks on Mother's Day at the Rockies game. I need to work on those socks.... And, I have sweaters to work on :) The boys started baseball practice this week. Four practices a week for now and then the games start. A lot of prime knitting time.

She's back........................................

Now you know....

Well, two people in less than a week asked me about my blogging, and I have to admit I have been remiss about sitting down and writing. There are several reasons for the lack of blogging but a few main ones.

The first one is Ravelry. Because I go on every day and talk to people in a few groups I’m active in, I forget to blog. Or, I feel like it’s already been said and that blogging about it is repeating myself. The second reason is, I forget to blog. I went into Blogger a few weeks ago to try to make some changes to my page. The changes were not working and I got frustrated and just logged off without making an entry. And then I forget about my blog and get busy with something else, and weeks go by.

The third main reason is that about a month or so ago, DH and I came to the decision that it is time for me to retire from my job with the Federal Government. Stick a fork in me. I’m done! I had reached the point where I didn’t want to go into to work in the morning and would lie in bed when I woke up trying to think of excuses not to do so. I have worked 50 hour work weeks for over twenty years. Throw two kids and a husband in the mix and I finally reached the point where it was too much. I was leaving the house before 5 in the morning and picking the kids up from after school care at 5pm. Then it was a rush home to either do homework, or eat and off to swim lessons or baseball practice or football practice. And along the way, I became a mom who easily lost patience and yelled. So, enough is enough and I will be retiring on April 30th.

Along the way I have been knitting. I am trying to finish sweaters this year. And I am buying a sock knitting machine. And I’m thinking about teaching knitting again. I haven’t taught in over six months.

So now you know. Big changes this year. And I’m celebrating my upcoming retirement at Stitches South. Anyone going?

January and the Damn Sweater

It’s been a while and I have meant to post, and have even written the posts in my head, but just haven’t sat down to write. And now January is almost over, one month of 2009 already gone and it’s been a month since Christmas. Time sure goes faster when you are older, doesn’t it?

I’m now eligible to retire. It’s nice having that bullet proof feeling. That I can walk out the door when I want. I wish the economy was better, and that I could find a part-time job during school hours. So for now, I wait and figure out what is best for me, yet I know I am tired of having 12-hour days when you add in my commute to my 10 hour work days.

Knitting, oh, let’s talk about knitting. And the damn sweater. Have I told you about this sweater? Well, here goes…

I’m trying to remember when this started. You see, I started dating DH in 1994 and then we broke up and then got back together, and sometime in that period between 1994 and 1998, we bought some yarn in a store which no longer exists, called Placerville Yarns. It was a lovely yarn store, in a mountain town on the way to Lake Tahoe that I used to stop at when I lived in California whenever we went skiing. Anyway, I told DH I would knit him a sweater and he picked out some Lorna’s Lace’s Shepherd Sport in a lovely color way Pewter, and a complicated aran pattern which was to be knitted on size 4 needles. (To tell you how old this yarn is, Lorna still owned the company and dyed the yarn at her home in Placerville!)

Enter the problem. The pattern has errors. This is a raglan. Knitted in pieces. The pattern of the cables does not match up when the pieces are knit. There are cables that run up the front and the sleeves that look like arrows and they are to merge into each other. I think it only works in one pattern size of the instructions. I have knit and ripped out this sweater more than once. I have changed it and knit it in the round. I even asked Meg Swansen for advice about this sweater. So it gets knit again, and banished again, and knit again and banished again, back to a closed closet in the yarn room. And I know it’s been over a year since I re-knit it for the 4th time. And stopped again.

So, Saturday morning. I frogged it again. Yep, the WHOLE THING. This is a man’s 44 inch sweater. Knit 4 times. Frogged again. All the yarn had a day-long bath. It is now dried. Sunday, I cast on again, after converting the whole mess to a top down raglan, using the charts from the original pattern. I think the sleeve charts are the problem from the beginning.

I don’t like it. Back to the Frog Pond. Number 5.

I’m looking for a new pattern. I surrender.

The Florida Gators are again the National Champs!

It's Great to be a Florida Gator!!! It doesn't matter that I graduated from Florida a long time ago, I'm still an obnoxious Florida Fan!

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.