the orange yarn, please

i'm so sorry!

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 17:49:00 +0000

i feel so bad for not posting and causing worry. all is well! i'm just megabusy with things, but it's all over now. well, almost, anyway. i had to finish up our school year, get the portfolio ready to hand in to the school district, get ready for our homeschool evaluation, and then finish planning and getting ready for our girl scout day camp, which officially ended yesterday. unlike last year, i broke no bones! i did trip over a rake and fell on my face, though, but i can't even say that i hurt my pride, b/c no one saw. anyway, i was the director for the camp, and we had almost 40 staff members and about 125 campers. it went well, despite the intense heat, and the best part is that it's over!

i have absolutely nothing new, knitting-wise, to present to you in an orderly fashion. i did ask my favorite yarn shop, labadie looms, to come out to camp and demonstrate spinning and weaving, which they did (our theme was medieval times). the kids loved it. so did i, although i was disappointed that they didn't bring any merchandise for me to fondle. they handed me some wool with deer hair blended into it to satisfy my craving.

again, i'm sorry for my lack of presence and general inconsiderate silence. i hope you all forgive me! thanks for your emails of concern and luv. as life settles back into a norm (god willing), i can hopefully take up the needles again and move into first gear. take care!

md s&w

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Fri, 06 May 2005 13:03:00 +0000

is tomorrow! or at least, that's when i'm going. and my lovely houseguest, the wonderful elisa,is coming, too! is there a meet-up point where everyone will be? nothing like asking at the last minute. :p

after a week of hacking our way through the dense, unfriendly woods ...

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Sun, 01 May 2005 02:50:00 +0000

. . .my girl scout troop and i finally reached civilization, where we made merry with large liters of diet dr. pepper and endless vats of fettucine alfredo.

okay, well i may be stretching the truth a little. we actually never got lost, we were only there for one night, the woods were rather friendly, i didn't get to celebrate with any diet dr. pep because it was all gone when i got home (ahem, hubby? you got some explainin' to do!), and i had a filet o'fish instead of the fett alf, but you get the idea. i was happy to get home. i loved camping and being with my daughter and the rest of the troop, but gosh, i missed my boys! (and cloudy, too!)

mike kept busy while i was away and finished up the floor downstairs:

great job, hun-bun!

our food turned out great, except for the poor orange cakes. to refresh your memory: we were to scoop out an orange, pour in cake mix, and bake them over the coals. well, our coals were leftover from our monkey bread at dinner time, and we never thought to do up some fresh ones. so the cakes weren't done after the prescribed 15 minutes. or 20 minutes. or 30 minutes. after 40 minutes, we decided to give it up and feast on the cookies people had brought instead. the cakes did smell divine, though. they were just, uh, overly moist. here's a shot of marah and her dear friend, L, who no longer has a black box over her face:

so anyway, i haven't blogged in over a week:
gabe's periodic fever syndrome + mike's far away clients = very little computer time for me

mike's back, and gabe is better now, so voila, here i am. i am late in my thanks, too. my secret pal revealed herself a little early because she is currently away. julie was my pal, and she was so sweet, kind, and generous. thank you so much, julie! her grand finale present was the following:

a cone of classic elite (my first cone!), two soft wool/mohair blend skeins in glorious orange, and a needle case to match the ones she had sent me. let me tell you, julie is a very talented gal! she's also very kind, as she sent marah a needle case, too (marah now feels so knitty!), along with a little glow-in-the-dark sheep, and gabe got a neat little telescope/compass gizmo. thank you, julie! you're a sweetie!

i also received some sweet raok's this week - marina sent me some luscious lavender sachets that smell just absolutely divine, and jenn, aka knitwit momma, sent me some beautiful knit picks sock garden yarn in "daffodil,"

along with a great cd with 80s hits. i can see my madonna lace gloves and white duran duran shoes now . . . ah, the (embarrassingly) good ole days . . .

oh, here's some proof that i'm actually knitting - two wips:
the pink opal socks (using yankee knitter classic sock pattern)

and the 70's suede jacket (done in berrocco cotton twist instead of the suede) from the 2005 knit it! magazine:

i'm still only on sock #1 of the pair. i just have had no time. the sweater right now is actually just the bottom half of the cardigan from whose top i will eventually pick up stitches to do the rest of the body. it's pretty dull knitting at this point, but that's what i think i need - just "veg knitting," if you will.

and here's one fo - a "yo, drop it!" scarf for my sis's birthday. it's done in giglio ribbon on size 13's i think. i can't remember what i used, needle-wise. it was a week ago - give me a break! it looks jumbled up in the photo b/c it's doubled up and lying on itself:

thanks to everyone for their camping well wishes, as well as patience with me for not blogging or leaving comments on blogs. honestly, it's just been a bit of a struggle trying to keep myself together and going these days, with all the things swirling around this way and that, but my world's still turning at the end of the day, and i guess that's all that matters. have a great rest o' weekend!

wish us luck!

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:06:00 +0000

well, my girl scouts and i are off today for some good old-fashioned camping . . . in the rain. wah! i'm hoping to fit things in between the showers, and possibly even keep going despite the showers. sometimes it's fun to do things when there's a light sprinkle out there. but if it's raining hard, it's inside our luxurious quarters we go! it's times like this that i'm thankful that the majority of my girl scouts aren't into tent camping. hooray for pseudo-roughing it!

my fingers are aching from cutting and scooping 22 huge oranges for the cake in an orange dessert tonight. i'll let you know how they are! we're also having walking tacos, where you put your taco meat (i'm having soy, thank you very much - i'm not a fan of ground up intestines) and toppings inside a bag of corn chips, and you can walk around eating it, hence the name. this is a new one for us, like the oranges, so i'm hoping it's good. after dinner, we'll be sitting around the campfire and singing songs, eating s'mores, and having a blast. i hope the rain doesn't show up at that point, although i plan to have a makeshift indoors campfire (some logs and a lantern underneath for the "fire") and some indoor s'mores with my indoor s'more maker. i am prepared!!! (famous last words)

in knitting news, i've started the 70's suede jacket with my berroco cotton twist. this yarn is okay; it is pretty and very springy, but it's also very splitty, which drives me bonkers. i'd post a pic, but my camera is already packed! i hope to work on it tonight while we adults are downstairs, listening to the girls having fun upstairs. my other wips - clapotis and some socks - are not getting much attention, but they'll have their moment, i'm sure. i hope, anyway.

the wildflower walk this week was a lot of fun. the weather was absolutely beautiful, and we saw tons of varieties of wildflowers. of course, my favorites, the dutchman's breeches, were there, waiting for me! i got some pictures, but again, the camera is packed for the camping trip and i didn't upload the pics yet. while we were walking, there was a deer crossing the creek, getting a drink. it would've been a great moment had there not been 30+ people there blocking our view. crapola. still had fun, though!

oh - the red bean ice cream was purchased, not made by me. i wish i could make it! we haven't used our ice cream maker for a few years, but i bet homemade red bean ice cream would be delish!

have a great weekend, and send us some sun, please!

oh yeah!

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Sun, 17 Apr 2005 23:56:00 +0000

check out the creamy goodness that is red bean ice cream:

mike worked so hard on the floor today and was really in a bad mood, worried that he wouldn't get it done. well, he's about 96% done! it's nice to have a little bit of good old normalcy back in the downstairs of our home. seriously, what is it about redoing a room in your house that makes the whole place go batty? anyway, i thought i'd reward him with one of his favorite desserts of all time. anyone else out there a fan of this stuff? it tastes great. kind of like chocolate goes exotic.

i have very little knitting news to report. well, i actually did finish up something, but i can't show it until this weekend, after i've given it to the person who is getting it for her birthday! she knows who she is . . . but she doesn't know WHAT it is. ha! sorry, sis :)

aside from the downstairs being a mess, i've also been busy with girl scout stuff. this upcoming weekend, our troop is going camping. okay, we aren't roughing it at all, but we're still camping! just because the place we're staying has a cathedral ceiling, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, electric heat, two floors, etc. doesn't mean we aren't really camping. we're cooking all of our meals outdoors. that means something, right? the one thing we're having that i'm excited to try is "cake in an orange," where you cut an orange in half, scoop out the pulp (and use for something like fruit salad), mix up a cake mix, pour it into the half of orange, and then cook it on the coals. of course, i love oranges because of their color, but i really love orange flavored cake. i'm looking forward to that and the other things we'll be doing (earth day theme - lots of fun recycling crafts!), but the forecast is for rain both days. i can easily adapt all of our activities and meals indoors, but i don't want to have to!

at least i'll have tomorrow - our first wildflower hike of the season. i'm psyched! it counts as school for the kids (i even made up a worksheet for them to help them identify some of the flowers we'll see), and it counts as a pure dose of happiness for me. i live for spring and wildflowers. among other things. here's a shot of some dutchman's breeches i took a few years ago - i hope i see these tomorrow!

i've got a shout out to give! hey rox, thank you so much for the yarn you sent for my knitting club! rox, aka fearless knitter, sent a bunch of encore dk and other fun things. my girls are going to love this so much! thanks for your generosity!

well, keep your fingers crossed for sunshine this upcoming weekend, please! and have a great beginning o'the week!

i'm floored

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 17:25:00 +0000

it's been quite the weekend here at ye olde orange homestead. one of us had the brilliant (read with sarcasm) idea to redo the flooring. see, our old carpet, which i fondly renamed as "stainmart," was, well, stained. and smelly. remember that old cat-ignores-litter-box problem little cloudy had a few months ago? although she is doing better, the carpet was still wearing her battle wounds, and they were rather pungent ones at that. so we rolled up our sleeves and replaced the floor with some laminate. it has made a huge difference. poor cloudy, however, seems a little at a loss and can't figure out why her litter box away from home has vanished.

the worst part of the whole project is that when the builders of our home originally poured the cement for the floor, they thought it'd be funny if they didn't pour it evenly, so laying planks of laminate on an uneven floor has been a true delight. argh.

hey, secret pal! thank you for the beautiful circular needle case you made! my secret pal is the most crafty, talented secret pal evah. she has sewn me a little bag, a mini dpn case, a regular-sized dpn case, and now this lovely circular needle case - all out of the same orange-oriented fabric. thank you so much, dearie!

i also got some really sweet prezzies from some awesome raok'ers. check out the cool note cards and lamb's pride sent by amanda at clothesknit. she also sent a cappuccino filled chocolate bar, but gee, it seems to have disappeared. okay, i just didn't want to shoot a pic of an empty wrapper. thank you so much, sweet amanda! that was a lovely surprise indeed!

then, today, i got another raok from abby, the knitlette. she sent me this 2-ply jamieson and smith shetland wool that she dyed with wilton. how beautiful! i'm really looking forward to making something lacy and orange :P thank you, abby! you're a sweetheart!

aw, yeah! i almost forgot to mention that my berrocco yarn finally came in! it is bee-yootiful. check it out:

bad self-portraits are fun!

20 skeins of pure violet delight!
now i can finally start this up:

i was worried that spring would pass me by and i'd still be waiting for the yarn for the darned thing. patience, my child. patience.

lastly, i may have mentioned this before, but my darling hubby, the mikemachine, has a fascination with any and all things japanese and chinese. he found this one website where this lady will send japanese snacks from her catalog to you. his order came in the other day (enough to feed a junk food army), and it contained yummy things like macadamia nut oreo bars, banana split sundae pocky sticks, and qoo drink (made by coca-cola). we opened up our big box o'cavities right after we finished day one of working on the floor. it was fun knowing that i had pre-paid my fat grams in advance and could eat what i wanted!

lastly, if you're in the market for a new felted bag pattern, you have to see the panes bag from trish, the bloomin knitiot. it's really quite cool!

happy monday (oxymoron?), all!

take that, winter! and other quips

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Thu, 07 Apr 2005 19:31:00 +0000

1. our palette has expanded beyond broken browns and wintry whites.

the above photo taken by gabe.

2. no more stale snow crunching under our feet.

3. sour faces are quickly disappearing.

4. take that, winter!

(end of spring photo shoot)

5. clapotis resembles underwear at this point. with beads. i'm almost done with the increases.

marah is proudly modeling my shawl drawers.

6. my berroco cotton twist still hasn't come in. i called the lys in question, and the first response i got was "if you haven't been called, it hasn't come in." well, duh. my question, smarty toots, is when it will be expected. i've waited over a month. i want my yarn. she put on the owner, who said it was backordered twice, but a shipment is coming in tomorrow, so she's hoping it's on there. seriously, if i can order yarn from an online shop and get it within a matter of a week, why can't a lys do the same? gripe gripe gripe gripe gripe gripe GONG.

7. i am happy to report that my homeschool knitters club met and really enjoyed the yarn ends and what not that lauren and jenn sent along. thank you again! my evil plan to turn these girls into stash divas is coming along just splendidly. mwah ha ha ha

marah gave up after doing an exhausting two rows. :p her faceless friend somehow finds the strength to carry on.

8. i think american idol has worn its welcome on my telly. how in the world could nikko be voted off and scott and anthony be safe? what in the world. anyone have a favorite out there who is still on the show? i'm just underwhelmed with the lot of them this year.

9. i have repurchased part of my youth by winning auctions on various 80's cds on ebay.

10. "i'm in the kitchen." my creepy find of the week is ghost voices. in looking on the web for haunted places in maine (where we're headed in july for a vacation), i came across this website of professional paranormals, or is it paraprofessional normals, and they have this one activity where they place a tape recorder in a haunted place and just let it record. this group has put these captured ghost voices onto their website. they are supereerie! don't listen to them when you're alone or trying to impress someone with your bravery. click on that link above and scroll down to see the list of available creepy auditory delight.

have a wonderful weekend!

i'm a fool

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Sat, 02 Apr 2005 02:01:00 +0000

because it's april fool's day, and i didn't prank anyone! i just plum forgot. (do plums forget a lot, hence that expression? just wondering.)

i haven't been blogging much, and i'm sorry. it occurred to me last week that the kids are up to day 146 with our homeschool, which means we have 34 days left, officially. this also means that we have to get crackin' and work hard to finish up our subjects. in our state, we're required to homeschool for 180 days. we can definitely go beyond 180, but i like to be at a certain point in each subject when we reach that day. since the days are a-dwindlin', there isn't much free time to blog and what not.

or knit! i simply have had no time, unfortunately. therefore, i've made very little progress on my pink opal socks, (about 6 inches done out of 7 on the leg of one, count 'em - one, sock) and absolutely no progress on clapotis. the yarn still hasn't come in for the 70s suede jacket, and while my yarn did arrive for the hourglass sweater, i still have to get the needles. whenever i get a chance to run out for some, it's usually evening, and no lys is open. i wish ours were open later around here. they keep bankers hours. i wonder if bankers knit? if they do, they better think twice about going to a lys for supplies after work.

good news! gabe lost his first tooth. he's very proud:

unfortunately the one that he lost WASN'T the half-broken one on the top. i'll get you, my pretty. and your little roots, too.

i'd like to thank two wonderful knit bloggers for their kindness. first, denise sent me some really pretty wool for a nice pair of mittens. thank you, clever and creative denise! check out the terrificool sergeant pepper's postcard :)

then, today when i got home, there was a package from the generous jenn. inside was a huge selection of yarn for my homeschoolers knitting club (which meets this tuesday!). thank you, jenn! you should've seen my daughters' eyes popping out of her head when she saw it all. between jenn's recent send and the earlier send from the lovely lauren, my homeschool knitting girls are going to have one fun stash dive! thank you!

one fun thing i did find time to do this week was run to jo-ann's for some material for some capris. i made some two years ago, and they're so fun and easy to make. the pattern's a cinch. anyway, i had been bitten by the sewing bug two years ago, but my broken leg last summer kind of put all creativity on hold (except for knitting, which was very easy to do while lying on the couch, watching passions). now i am def more mobile (did i sound like a rapper when i said "def?") so i'm happily rebitten. yay! i'm a sewer again! :p

i'm a sewer.

'scuse me, have you seen my brain?

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:05:00 +0000

because i don't think it's around here anywhere. sorry to not be around for awhile. i've been the sole parent for the past few days (mike's away on business), and i've had infinity plus two things to do. i think i've knitted maybe twenty rows total in the past six days. argh! plus, i'm mega behind in reading blogs. i so look forward to catching up!

while i miss mike something awful, the kids and i have been living it up. they're on spring break this week, so i let them stay up late, and we're all camping down in the living room. i go to sleep each night listening to them giggle. they're awesome and are instant spirit lifters.

btw, have you seen this show? it's house, on fox, and it's one of my current favorites. what always fascinates me is how english actors can affect an american accent, like the star of this show does. i guess it makes sense - we can pretend to have an english accent. but for whatever reason, i always think it's harder for an englishman to sound like an american. and what's more, how is it that some english singers sound american, and some sound english? hmm.

at any rate, i did manage to order some berroco cotton twist for the little "70s suede jacket" that i want to knit up. here's the sweater, one more time:

and i chose this color:

sweet violet

unfortunately, i have no idea how long it'll take to come in. the lys i ordered it from isn't the quickest with these things. but i had a gift certificate, so finances won out over instant gratification.

i've also been working on some pink opal socks (shout out to susan!) and a clapotis! any guesses what color mine will be?

i received some great yarn for my homeschoolers knitting club from lauren, who also sent me a cool prezzy. i'll post a pic once my camera gets new batts! thank you, girlie! you're a sweetie.

also, my wonderful sis took me out for a smorgasbord breakfast as a belated birthday prezzy, and also donated to my yarn fund. i got some mission falls 1824 cotton in a pretty clayish-mauve color. i was originally going to do clapotis in that, but i think i'm saving it for something else a little more special. thanks, mabs! *waves at sis*

hey, here's a great fact for you to chew on (or not): if you don't close the lid of your toilet when you flush, microscopic particles of your recent bowl deposit will fly out - i think at a distance of 6 feet or something. i heard it on that how clean is your house show. so you might wanna close that lid next time you go, for your toothbrush's sake. (i originally had 60 feet, but thanks to jen's comment, i stand corrected. still, the fact remains - it flies.)

hope you weren't eating breakfast. which reminds me, i got me some pops down there. oh yeah!

p.s. have you ever come to my blog and seen nothing but the orange yarn background? that's been happening to me lately, but i wondered if it was just me.

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 20:36:00 +0000

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

(which means all of my old blogger comments are gone. wah! oh well. i hope this makes commenting easier!)

i love lucy!

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:57:00 +0000

i finished her up this a.m. here's cloudy staking her claim on the pre-felted version:

for size reference, that's a weeble sitting on it (one of three childhood toys i still have), and there's my big toe in the bottom right corner.

and here she is, being blocked.

stats: i used 10 1/2 circs and straights, 3 skeins of lamb's pride "orange you glad", and the pattern is the lucy bag from two old bags. fun, easy, and quick. excellent for that mindless knitting while watching american idol.

lucy ended up being a nice, large bag. marah (my dd) says she's really looking forward to finding my cell phone in this bag. marah enjoys sarcasm and moonlit walks on the beach.

check this out! one of the girls in my homeschoolers' knitting club made this for me:

it's a little knitting pin. she used orange yarn! isn't she a sweet coolie? thanks, a!

mmmmm know what i had for breakfast this morning? here's a clue:

yeah! it's cream of wheat, baby. i love cream of wheat! i like to make mine very lumpy so that you have to chew it infinite times before it goes down. it has to be made with lots o'milk and sugar. oh yeah!

but i guess i should've added some green food coloring, since today is st. patty's day! so have a happy one, everyone!

thank you . . . thank you very much

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 01:57:00 +0000

i realized today that i am in my fat elvis period. this doesn't mean that i drip with sweat in a white, bell-bottomed pantsuit. it does mean more rice cakes and less girl scout cookies. at least i'm not eating 100,000 calories per day, like the King did before his demise. read about his daily diet if you're interested. there's even a sound clip of a guy talking about elvis being dead.

i remember when elvis died, and i was like 7 or 8. my granny and i went into montgomery ward's department store (are they still around?) and bought one of his records of golden hits. "poor soul," i commented, as we paid for the record. my grandmother and the salesman both laughed at me. what was so funny?

anyway.

i'm delighted to say that the pretenders are being inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. i love early pretenders - back before their mid-80s hits. have you ever read about their early history? it's rather heartbreaking. anyway, i really admire chrissie hynde for her raw genuine spirit. but not for the shirt & jacket ensemble she's wearing on this album cover:

okay, knitty-wise: amanda is a dear chum of mine. we've never met, but we know just about everything about each other, and we're almost identicals. except i don't think she's going through a fat elvis period right now. so amanda, being the sweetiekins that she is, begifted me with the queen kahuna crazy toes and heels sock knitting book. i'm really excited, because it shows how to do different methods than i'm used to for sock knitting, and really helps you customize how you want to knit and wear your socks. how cool is that? almost as cool as amanda! thank you, girl!

i hope to post a pic of the completed, delightful orange lucy bag for you this week. but first it needs to be, uh, completed. it's already delightful and orange. two out of three ain't bad. i have just the small strap and some kitchener stitching to do, some felting magic, and then voila, she will be done. it was very easy and fun, and working with lamb's pride worsted only made it even more enjoyable. all of that thick and thin and thin and thick in each strand. maybe this is lamb's pride's own way of being a sympathetic fat elvis with me. God, i love knitting.

p.s. thanks for all of your input re: canada & passport stuff. i'll take my tattered birth certificate in case my license isn't enough. the photo on it is pre-fat-elvisian, so i may not be recognized by that alone. thanks!

hip hop hooray!

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:13:00 +0000

this little guy just hopped in to say hi!

actually, he's no "little guy," he's a little hefty. i think he thought that if he had carrot cake instead of just plain carrots, it'd be the same difference. wrong, dude. your cotton tail is getting lost on your big bunny booty!

this was a fun knit. i did use the baby cashmerino that my wonderful secret pal sent to me, with some size 5's and this pattern, and i knit away. all in all, it took about 3 hours to do. fun, quick, instant gratification, and cute. what more could a restless, impatient knitter ask for in a project?

good news: my homeschoolers knitting club is growing! we are actually running out of space, it seems. the girls are doing great work. some are knitting scarves, one is doing a hat out of some black bernat boa, and some are just doing practice pieces. marah is working on a washcloth (turquoise, her favorite color!) these girls are awesome!

here is marah's washcloth:

however, some of the other customers at the bookstore where we meet are so incredibly mean. this one guy had me so upset, i was fantasizing about pouring a nice piping hot mocha latte over his balding fat head. he was so annoyed that we had the area reserved, that he even sassed the employee who was helping me set up. when my girls showed up, he said "my God, we're surrounded." what a *insert your favorite curse word here*! things like this really get me bothered, and they shouldn't. i guess i can never believe it when people are blatantly rude, even though i should know better. sheesh. if he wanted to read his book in peace so badly, he should've bought it and scampered away to his hovel of hate. cheapskate weirdo grumpbiscuit.

anyway, it was fun to watch the girls go crazy over my stash giveaways. i had a bunch of yarn ends and things i don't plan to use,and i put them in a box for the girls to rummage through. so hey, if any of you have any remnants or the skein-ends that you want to get rid of, i'd be happy to help you find them a new home. these girls love getting yarn! feel free to email me if you have something you'd like to dispose of, and i'll give you my address. thank you!

now, onto another question - do you need a passport to go into canada? we're going to be so close to the land of maple leaf when we go to maine this summer, and i think fdr's vacation place is around where we're going to be staying - but he vacationed in canada. i won't pay $75 for a passport just so i can see where fdr sipped his lemonade. i love my presidential history, but not enough to part with that much buckage. anyone know?

kyoto ky-oops!

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 14:43:00 +0000

i had pledged to myself that i wouldn't post on my blog until kyoto was done. i had grown tired of saying "i'm still chugging along on kyoto." i could've just reworded it, but the message would've been the same - kyoto wasn't done!

but now she is. however, there's a catch. in fact, there are two catches - these two road blocks that are on my chest that make kyoto seem shorter in the front and longer in the back. i want this blog to have unscary pics, so you'll have to deal with a body-less shot:

so i gave it to marah. she has yet to develop, uh, road blocks, and while it looks a little big on her, it's very cozy. she had wanted me to make one for her in the same colors (she was the one who chose the color for the sash, anyway), so she got it earlier than she expected! (p.s. i hope my gentle readers know that i'm not bragging about said road blocks. i'm pretty disgruntled, actually.)

specs: four seasons roma in aruba aqua & jo sharp summer soho cotton in sailboat; size 5 circs. i didn't modify the pattern in any way, except that i added onto the length of the torso when my sleeves ended up not being centered correctly. instead of taking off the sleeves i had slaved over, i undid the cast on edge of the back portion of the sweater and added a few rows - sweater surgery!

would i make kyoto again? not for myself, but i would for someone else. it was a fun knit, but it certainly wasn't a quick one. my next project is the "70s suede jacket" in the 2005 issue of knit it. i tend to not like a lot of the patterns in that magazine - they're kind of, oh, i don't know:

-y

but this one's cute:

i'd like to do it in the berroco suede that is called for, particularly the shade named wyatt earp. however, being the mom of two young children and one income, i'm not about to spend over $100 for yarn for one sweater. so i'm currently trying to find a substitute. i don't want wool, because i don't want anything that will pill. i'll probably search for a fun ribbon yarn that would make this very springy and light.

in other knitty news, i frogged lucy. i know you were all so kind in saying that she didn't resemble tigger, but i couldn't take it. every time i picked her up to work on her, all i could see was this:

don't get me wrong, tigger can be cute. mostly i found him annoying, though, and tended to identify more with the morbid eeyore. thanks for noticing. anyway, lucy is now on her way to being clad in pure orange delight. ahhhhh. but i want to thank celia for her kind post and support!

non-morbid update: my wonderful secret pal sent me a second prezzy. look what i got! a needle case for my dpns! now i have the one my mom made me for my regular needles, and a special case for my double pointed babies. thank you, secret pal! your talents amaze me!

well, today's our homeschoolers knitting club meeting. and it's snowing! hooray? hoowrong! why, just yesterday, it was 68 degrees! it was so nice that the kids and i searched for signs of spring, and found several, in a nature hike at a local park. looks like it's back to looking for animal tracks in the snow! *sigh* i think mother nature has her winter hat on too tight.

begifted

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Wed, 02 Mar 2005 13:48:00 +0000

today is show and tell day for me! i am excited to share the pictures of some wonderful presents given to me by some wonderful people! first, check out how talented my secret pal is!

she made this little orange bag - perfect for toting around my sock knitting projects! she also gave me these cute little ice cube-inspired stitch markers, some wool wash, and some yummy debbie bliss baby cashmerino. i think i might use it to make up one of these little knitted bunnies, a la alyx and laura! her little pressed flower card is perfect for me - i am a wildflower freak and am beside myself waiting for the first blooms to greet me. thank you, secret pal!

and look at what my mom made for me for my birthday. she sewed this needle case!

isn't it awesome? my mom is a fabulous sewer. i pronounce this "sew-er", not "sewer," as in "waste treatment facility." i'd call her a seamstress, but to me, that implies that she works long hours slaving over some rich lady's dress. what do you call a sew-er?

finally, i had to begift myself when i saw these cute sandals at bj's the other day. all i need is my orange nailpolish adeptly slathered on my toenails, and i'm all set! some warm weather would be helpful, too :)

the toes on my right foot look like they're miniatures, but they're not. i guess i had them curled up for some reason. weirdo :)

my cute dh is so, well, cute! we passed by this shop the other day that had all of this "red hat society" stuff in it. do you have the red hat craze where you are? it's a bunch of women over 50 (i think that's the age requirement?) who wear red hats and have a grand old time. well, there was this shop with this red hat stuff, and in the shop window was a red feather boa scarf. he thought it might be a yarn shop, mainly because he saw this scarf, and the name of the place is "the barking sheep." i told him no, it was a red hat shop.

"Oh," he said. a short silence followed, and then: "well, do they make yarn, too, like red heart does?"

no, my cutie, they don't. but thanks for stepping into my world for a second and talking about yarn!

hey, have any of you interweave knits subscribers gotten your spring issue yet? i haven't. apparently it was mailed out around 2/16. what's the story!?

i'm about to blow away here. i think they must be filming winnie the pooh & the blustery day here. of course, the windiest day of the week is always trash day, so that means i need to go and chase our trash cans and recycling bins down the street. maybe i'll put on my new sandals just to show the weather - i mean business! i want spring NOW!!!

a fun & fast weekend

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 00:26:00 +0000

is it friday yet? wait, it's sunday evening. how did the weekend go so fast? well, at least i have a bunch of stuff to show (and tell) for it!

fun things first! the delightful sUsAn and i met up at a lys this weekend to put faces to our names, which was megafun. sUsAn said she could finally put a voice to my blog. i'd never thought of that and told her that if i knew that that was her agenda, i wished i'd greeted her with a deep, manly baritone instead of my typical squawky squeak.

anyway, we were so excited to meet, and i think the planets must've been lined up in the yarn constellation because the lys we went to was having a sale. we walked in and were greeted with "everything in this basket is 40% off, this one is 20% . . ." and we just stood there, like hungry clownfish chancing upon some really dirty anemones. what? sorry for the image. i was tired of the typical "kids in a candy store."

this is what i got:

clockwise, from the top right: debbie bliss cashmerino aran, crystal palace cotton chenille, artful yarns ballet, filati ff's shine (in two different colors - mulberry and sky), some locally spun merino silk for ene's scarf (ha, like i'll ever get to that), some opal sock yarn in orange and pink, and some green crystal palace splash for marah.

susan begifted me with the orange opal magic sock yarn! (thank you, friend!) and we both grabbed us some pink opal magic, which we'd both been craving for quite some time.

do you like how i didn't take a picture of this historical meeting? yeah, me too. i brought my camera. i even remembered i had it when i dropped it (inside my purse) as i knelt down to check out a yarn clearance basket. but i totally forgot to say cheese. oh well. you'll just have to imagine the meeting. insert my manly baritone voice and you can have some audio to dwell on.

here's a project update: i am currently sashing up kyoto, and once that's done, it's all downhill from here. (take that anyway you like). apparently they say that the hardest part of this sweater is the putting together. since "they" could be someone big, hairy and mean, i will try not to anger them and will struggle every second while putting kyoto together, just to make sure i don't prove "they" wrong. (that should read "them," but i was going for the effect.) cross your fingers or, if you can, your toes. i can't, but i need all the luck i can get.

and here's an fo - the peacockial scarf. it's done using some teal choo choo (crystal palace) and some olive colored trendsetter eyelash. marah's new marshmallow peep is modeling it for us.

speaking of models, i am tired enough to admit that i spent about six hours yesterday watching america's next top model, season 3. susan, did you put something in that water you gave me? anyway, there were no marshmallow peeps, but the girl who won has the last name of "pig"don, so i guess that's close enough.

to sign off, here's a shot of marah and gabe at last weekend's maple sugar demonstration. gabe's holding some maple sugar cotton candy. *insert shudder here* that stuff is sweet with a capital cavity!

mutt post

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 03:29:00 +0000

this post is a mutt because it's a mix of this and that. this is what happens when you don't post for over 4 days. you have a bunch of stuff that doesn't connect very well (except for the fact that you lived through it) because it doesn't have a short period of time holding it together nicely and neatly. first, we'll tackle the non-knitting news:

a. i had to remove this part - it was only me talking about taking 100 scouts to nyc this summer. but whenever this part is up, my sidebar keeps moving down to the bottom of my page. what in the world?!

b. my diagnosis has changed (i think). it's a bulging disc that has me all ouchy. i went for some physical therapy today. it wasn't half bad, although i'm not sure that electric stimulation thing really does anything other than make you feel like you're in a bad sci fi movie from the 50s.

c. we're going to maine this summer with my parents. my mom is a little afraid of bears. i told her they can't get in the cottage we're renting. my question is, can they? the wildest thing i have in my world is a hungry child. and they're rather easy to tame. so, anyone know anything about maine bears?

knitty stuff
a. i now officially have too many wips going on. i did shorten the list by finishing up the drop-stitch table runner i made:

uh, it's orange.

i did it on size 15s with the cortez expedition i got from
dj runnels.

b. another wip: my lucy bag, which i'm doing in lamb's pride shade "orange you glad" and some pretty manos del uruguay. i had intended to throw in the manos every now and then to give it a big slub effect. however, mike told me that he thought my bag looks like tigger.

that isn't exactly the look i was going for. now i'm not so hot about this bag. pffft.

c. of course, i'm still doing kyoto and am almost done with sleeve 2. then it's the sash, the putting together, and the wearing. finally.

d. i also started up a fun scarf using some crystal palace choo choo and trendsetter eyelash. personally, i don't like eyelash yarn. i have used it in the past, and it is okay, or, as randy jackson says, "it's just alright for me, dude." but the choo choo is a teal and olive blend, and the eyelash is olive. it has a very peacockial effect, and i happen to like that bird. so i'll post a pic and you can tell me how ew it is or isn't. just please don't say it looks like tigger.

e. the wonderful elisa is beyond wonderful. she sent me some beautiful orangey jaeger matchmaker merino and some fun bath beads, along with a really sweetiecue card. she rocks . . . and rolls. when ds gabe saw the bath beads, his face lit up. know why? not b/c he imagined his mom finally getting some peace and quiet and time to herself in a nice hot bath. no. it was because he thought it was candy. somehow i don't think he'd like the taste of them. thank you, sweet elisa!

f. i got some eros in for some fun spring scarves. here's a pic, along with elisa's jaeger:

thanks to amy for giving me the color for the easter egg eros!

g. finally, this is non-knitting, but a knit blogger tagged me with the tv meme. thanks, erica, for the tag!

1. How much space is left on your Tivo or Comcast Box? Well, considering that I don't have either, I'd have to go with the obvious answer: marshmallows.

2. Have you ever bought a DVD of TV series and if so, which one? No, although I've implied a beg or two for the first series of the OC. Hint duly ignored.

3. What was the last TV show that you watched before reading this message?American Idol.

4. List five shows you won't miss. Must see TV: American Idol, The OC, The Apprentice, Surreal Life 4, and, arrested development. I like to catch Passions, but you won't hear me admitting it.

5. Name 3 people to whom you will pass this stick. Since I took a bat's lifetime to respond to this tagging, I think I'm safe in saying that everyone has probably already done this one.

Sorry this was so long. Ew.

today, i'm half of a 70 year old

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 13:09:00 +0000

i was born on this day in 1970. here are some other monumental things that happened in 1970:

1. paul mccartney announces that the beatles have disbanded

2. apollo 13 returned to earth, and the first earth day is celebrated.

3. both the ford pinto and the american motors gremlin were introduced.

4. the first known exploding whale incident occurred. (i'll spare you the pictures)

5. J. Lo, Mariah Carey, and Lara Flynn Boyle were also born this year (again, i'll spare you the pictures).

this has been a pretty exciting week. earlier i received some raok's:

it's more orange yarn!!!! wooooooooohooooooooo!
orange regia sock yarn and some orange filatura di crosa orange cotton. orange orange orange!
thanks to cara and michelle for these lovely gifties. what to do, what to do!

i have one fo to report: i had this yarn from a year ago. no label, no nothing. it's a ribbon yarn (woohoo!) with a few strings hanging from it. i decided to make it up into another yo, drop it! drop stitch scarf:

it's really long (i doubled it up in the photo) . i'm finding that i'm only catching onto trends when they're already gone. i hated novelty yarn scarves when they were "in," but now i'm really starting to like them. i feel kind of gross in that respect. like the girl who wears high fashion items when they've hit the clearance bin. just behind in the times i guess.

maybe that's because i'm half of 70. :)

my funny valentine

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 21:15:00 +0000

does anyone remember when ralph malph sang "my funny valentine" on happy days? well, i'd like to share with you the details of my very funny valentine.

my valentine is so oddly funny. his sense of humor is so subtle and dry, which is one reason why i'm so attracted to him. he and i love to sit and watch shows like family guy with tears in our eyes because we're laughing so hard. fortunately, our darling children have the same sense of humor. otherwise, they'd just think we're weirdos. there's time enough for that line of thinking when they hit teendom.

my valentine is also very sweet. he knows what mama likes. see? proof is in the pudding, er, presents:

(that's an orange sharpie, diet dr pepper (he got me two bottles!), an orange gamecube controller, and a buster keaton dvd set.)

but most of all, my valentine is very loving. he'll miss the latest episode of teen titans just to fix my parents' computer. he'll come home hungry and tired from work at 9:30 at night, after having just eaten his first meal of the entire day only minutes before, but he'll still sit and read to the kids before they go to bed. he'll run to Office Max after working on a sunday afternoon in order to get me ink and paper for the printer so that i won't fret about the papers i have to print. he'll take my place as day camp director when i do stupid things like stand on a wet log and break my leg. and he'll sit and patiently unravel my tangled yarn while i just sit there and watch tv.

hey valentine. i love you. you're incredible, and i'm blessed. thanks for loving me.

END OF MUSH - END OF MUSH - END OF MUSH

sunday was a great day. i met up with heather and rachel marie at gallery 141 for some knitting fun! rachel brought her sweet little baby, elvira - isn't she cute?

she carries elvira around in a baby sling. it's too precious.

here's heather, working on her big kureyon hat, and rachel, wearing her valentine scarf. at the bottom of each end are some of her handmade felted beads.

and just for proof that i am indeed working on kyoto, here's a shot of me wearing one of the (unseamed) sleeves, which i've recently finished:

i have one more sleeve, the sash, and then the seaming to go, and i'll be all done. i can't help but be psyched! look, even this guy is excited for me:

thanks, everyone, for your help with the whole cd burning issue. i finally figured out how to use windows media player and immediately burned away! thanks for all of your input. it's highly valued and appreciated!

happy heart day!

note to secret pal - thanks for the valentine! it was the only one i got in the mail, which made it doubly special. thanks!

a list

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 22:02:00 +0000

i can't find any way to link together anything i have to post about, so i'm listicizing today:

1. i love february. we're still in winter (yay, snow!) but spring is in sight (yay, wildflowers & birds!). aside from that, february is the home of valentine's day - my favorite holiday - and my birthday! i posted a few months ago that yoko ono and i share the same birthday. you have to understand how cool that makes me feel (humor me - not many things make me feel that way!).

2. i got this yummy rowan magpie thru eBay:

i loved the price, and i love the color. heck, i'll go all out here - i just plain old love magpie. rowan has stopped making it (the dummies), so i'm grabbing it as i can. i know our lys still has it in stock (thank goodness the lys owner is a pack rat), but hers is at non-discontinued prices (translate=$13 per skein). it's such a thick and cozy wool. i won 3 skeins of it - just what my stash needed. i think i hear it groaning already. oh wait - that's just my hubby, looking at my paypal history.

3. oc watchers - dude, what's up with sandy? he's a fool. i think those eyebrows of his are applying pressure to his brain or something.

4. i'm running the girl scout day camp this year for our area, and our theme is the middle ages - you know, renaissance, medieval stuff, etc. i've got some ideas going, but i'd appreciate any others - craft ideas, games, etc. if you have any, pass 'em along, please! this would be for girls ages 5 to 17.

5. sweet honey! i was raok'd! check out this sweet little dip bowl and valentine's day spreader:

thanks, wendy g! she also sent cloudy some fun kitty toys (and i got some conversation hearts and heart-shaped confetti). what a sweetie! btw, the bowl came without the guacamole. i just happened to have made some yesterday, and it went perfectly in my new little dip bowl!

6. i'm finally enjoying kyoto. i heard the sleeves were horribly boring, but i'm actually enjoying them. the seed stitch cuff is just so sweet and intricate, and now i'm at the stockinette stitch part. yeah, that can be pretty ho-hummy, but it's perfect for watching my favorite tv shows. it's like a sock - great tv knittin'.

7. but i miss sock knittin'. i have some great opal magic sock yarn waiting for me, but i need to get kyoto done. plus the lucy bag. . . i'm currently in search of some pink opal magic (#1043) sock yarn - if you have some burning a hole in your stash bin, please name your price! someone used it on the sock it to me! sock knit along, and her pink feet look so cute!

8. finally, what cd burning software do you all use? we have deep burner, but it keeps malfunctioning. dh just ordered nero, which i'd used and loved before, but i've got some friends waiting for some cd's and mixes, and i'm tired of waiting. what do you all use?

that's it - except for a little cloudy update. she's doing great! the litterbox is now her friend. unfortunately, she did such damage to the downstairs rug (which was already pretty shoddy) that we're putting in laminate floors. hooray for house projects (not really, but i'm trying to fool myself into doing the work)!

happy fastnacht day!

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 19:11:00 +0000

have you had your fastnacht today? if not, feel free to lick the screen:

fastnachts are the pennsylvania dutch's attempt to rid the house of lard and other yummy things (!) in time for self-denial during lent. so they fry up these donuts, called fastnachts, and sometimes sprinkle them with powdered sugar (you can eat 'em plain, too, but yuck). we bought a dozen. there are 3 left now. and yes, that is powdered sugar that you see on my chin! (but not 9 donuts' worth.)

i want to thank you all for your kind get-well wishes, once again. i feel like i need to stop belly-achin' about things, like cloudy's attempt to decorate our downstairs carpet (we're putting in hardwood floors - take that, meowsie!) and my neck pain. i found out today that i have something called mild stenosis, which is like a narrowing of the spinal canal. i hope you've finished licking that fastnacht, i don't want to ruin anyone's appetite. :p

do you know who is wonderful? why, it's allison , the neophyte knitter, and alison, a creative genius, who both sent me lovely raok's! allison with two L's sent me some gorgeous orange wool that was waiting patiently in her stash to be used:

single-L alison sent me some yummy recipe cards. one is for a white chocolate raspberry bar. that beats fastnachts any day! thank you, sweet al(l)isons, you two are truly kind!!

i've been plugging away at kyoto. i'd show you, but it's just the back, front left, and front right sections, all stockinette, all in aqua, all ho-hum. i've decided to do a project in between each section of kyoto so that i don't get bored with it. i'm currently working on the right section but have already started a table runner using the cortez expedition i got from eBay last week. it's more than half-way done, and i'm actually using the yo, drop it! scarf pattern from stitch and bitch and have cast on about 20 stitches to make it table-runner width. it looks very folk-artsy, and i needed me some of that to help balance out cloudy's "creations."

on that appetizing note, don't forget to eat a fastnacht today! (if you don't have any, any donut will do!)

is it safe to come out now?

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 21:23:00 +0000

because last week was a big meanie! i had shared the continuing story of cloudy (who is doing much better, meow, thanks), but i didn't tell you about the herniated disc in my neck, or about the tooth i chipped while munching on a pretzel rod, did i? let's just say i made plenty a physician happy last week with my bemoaned state. fortunately i have a humdinger of a mama, who happily came over and took charge until i felt better. thanks, mom!

speaking of pretzels, did you know that in the mid-atlantic region, the average annual per capital consumption of pretzels is twice the amount in the rest of the U.S.? apparently, we each eat 4 lbs a year compared to the rest of you all, at 2 lbs. so, what else do you all snack on?

i have no super segue to go from pretzelspeak to this next topic, so pretend i gave you a real clever one and chuckle here as you continue to read.

my first mittens are completed! these were from a pattern in bev galeskas's felted knits, and they were a very quick knit.
they called for size 10 dpns, but i used 10 1/2's just for the sake of cheapdom. the yarn is nature spun worsted weight in color 109 - spring green. these only took one skein, since each one has a whopping 245 yards. the felting only took a few minutes on these, and they're a perfect fit. woooooooo! now all i need is some snow (none of this melted crud that's outside right now)!

yesterday i was raok'ed! allena of starknits sent me these pretty little stitchmarkers. they're so cute. i had admired the heart one on her blog, so she made sure to send that one to me, along with a pretty red and yellow one:

thank you, allena! you sure made my day!

question for you mozilla users out there - is my blog illegible? sweet colleen , the subway knitter, told me that on mozilla, my orange words blend into my orange yarn background - my second background isn't showing up. i checked it out, and she sure was right. i changed my second background to a bland puce-vomit color, so i'm hoping that helps.

another question - does anyone want to make me a new banner for my blog? this one is boring (i did it so i can say that). i'd like something a tad bit more fun. at this point, anything would be more fun than what i have, so you know, the sky's the limit. if anyone has the technological prowess to do this, i'd appreciate it!

before i sign off, i wanted to share a shot of marah's knitted cat toy with you. she learned the skills of fringe and knit two together on this project. she liked doing fringe; she didn't like k2tog. i offered to show her how to make the fringe all one length, but she wanted the fringe to fall over cloudy's face like those car wash things hang over your windshield. i think she did a great job! her new project is a turquoise (her fave color) washcloth - she's learning the fun-loving yarn over!

lastly, beware of this creature. he will shoot you and get you in the mood - but in the mood for what, i'm not sure. perhaps a veggie burger?

kit kat hooray!

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 21:26:00 +0000

she's home! my little cloudy girl has a urinary tract infection. we got some yummy pills for her (they smell so bad - wish us luck!), and she should be back to normal soon. i was sooo excited to get the phone call from the vet.

"cloudy peed, so you can come and pick her up."

words you never expect to get so happy about!

there's plenty more good news to spread around like butter. check out what came in the mail:

if you go to eBay on a yarn hunt, please check out life's an expedition . her yarn is so gorgeous, as you can see above. there was a little miscalculation on my part for the shipping, so she sent me a free ball of rose and jack, as well as some homemade soap (smells so good!). i had already gotten one of my auctions free because she combined the shipping. she also sent a cool homemade card that has samples of all of her gorgeous blends of yarn. if you haven't already, see what yummies she has for your stashing pleasure!

now it's time to play a guessing game. here - can you guess what i'm making? here's a tough clue:

i'll give you a hint: it has a thumb.

i don't have unusually large hands, in case you were curious. this one, and its soon to be cast on mate, will be felted.

thanks again everyone for your get well wishes for my little kitty girl. all of your comments really perked me up. we're so excited to have our girl back home!

good stuff bad stuff

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:36:00 +0000

first, the GOOD stuff

hooray for my lovely friend susan (who is going to hit a lys with me this month!!) for tagging me with the music bug that's been going around. here goes:

1) Total amount of music files on your computer:

Yeah, my lawyer (read= husband) has advised me not to answer that one. Let's just say I used to be good friends with Mr. Kazaa (before I knew he was a bad man).

2) The last CD you bought was:
Keane - Hopes and Fears

3) What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
"I'm Waking up to Us" - Belle and Sebastian

4) Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:

a. "You and Me Against the World" by Helen Reddy - my mom used to sing it to me when I was little. sniffle.
b. "I Will," the Beatles. It's a song that's special to Marah and me. I used to sing it to her when she was a baby (now if she hears the first few lines, she says "Mom, stop!"). When she was 2, she tried to sing it to me. Too cute!
c. "St. Judy's Comet," Paul Simon. I sing it to Gabe. He smiles and sleepily shuts his eyes when he hears it.
d. "Never My Love," the Assocation. Mike and I danced to it as our first dance at our wedding. We're old souls.
e. "(Just Like) Starting Over," John Lennon. Uh, you know, the whole "my dad left when I was 10, the same year John Lennon was shot" thing. It just reminds me of that time period. As terrible as it was, my mom, sis, and bro and I got a lot closer and did goofy things (like spy on his new house while eating doughnuts in the car). So this song is kind of like happiness and sorrow all rolled up into one.

5) What 3 people are you going to pass this baton to and why?
elisa , b/c she rocks. heather, b/c she rocks, and alisha b/c, you guessed it, she rocks.

now, the BAD stuff
well, remember i had said cloudy seemed to be fine again? nix that. she started peeing again downstairs, and then proceeded to poop in marah's room. i called the vet. i thought she was fine, and i didn't need to do it, but i had to. obviously something's wrong, you know? well anyway, i could either collect her pee in her litter box and give it to them to inspect, or take her there, and they'd collect it there. okay, problem is, she doesn't pee in her litter box! so i had to take her there.

"sometimes it takes four days for a cat to finally pee when they're here, just so you're warned," the vet nurse said.

what will i do early tomorrow morning without my turner classic movies and knitting buddy? she always perches on the top of the chair i sit on, and then rolls around and trills loudly in the sun when i open the blinds. i hope she's okay. this sucks.

gabesoxyarnlove

noreply@blogger.com (um) — Mon, 31 Jan 2005 02:21:00 +0000

fo alert! fo alert! i finished up gabe's socks. one foot fits fine; the other is a little snug - yet both socks measure out to be the same size. i guess his feet are a little uneven. i know they say that the typical human left foot is a little bigger than the right, but i didn't come across that problem with other socks i've knitted. well, he loves 'em and they keep his toes toasty, so that's all that matters!

one thing i noticed while knitting these - i used some heavy worsted for this pair, and the decreases were very obvious. i've decided that i prefer ssk to k2tog tbl. the latter looks a little sloppy. anyone agree? (or care? :p)

here they are (in a very wicked witch-esque pic):

ignore the toe in the corner. i don't know who put that there.

on friday, i ventured over to Labadie Looms, which is nestled in quaint little bird-in-hand (yup, that's really the name of the town). i got some great additions to the stash family. observe:
3 skeins of lamb's pride worsted in shade M110 - orange you glad

to go along with this, one hank of manos del uruguay kettle-dyed wool in colorway 106 (autumn):

i'll be using both of the above for my lucy bag. the main color will be the orange you glad color, and i'll every now and then add in some manos -- slub style. so it'll just be some random autumnal rainbow thing going on.

i also got some yummy opal magic sock yarn in colorway 1051:

i'm really excited about that! i also picked up some nature spun worsted in shade 109 - spring green:

for some felted mittens a la felted knits. it'll be my first try at mittens, but i'm hoping that it's just like a sock without a heel, but with a thumb.

wip report: i am done with kyoto's back and am now in the middle of the front left portion. i worked on it today when i was knitting with two great gals, rachel marie of gallery 141 fame, and faith from syndactyl salutations. i'd emailed/blogged with them before, but it was our first face-to-face meeting, and it was great! ( heather! i missed you! hope to see you soon :) )

kitty update: cloudy is doing tails better than she was a few days ago. on saturday morning, she started to show some energy and was back to eating. she didn't hide upstairs under the bed all day. saturday afternoon, she was lying in her favorite sunny spot. and this morning, we discovered that she has begun to use her litter box again. woohoo! (okay, so little things excite me!) i'm so happy to have my littlest girl back to normal, feeling good, and meowing up a storm. you know, cloudy is a very vocal little kitty. when we sneeze, she meows. i really do believe she's saying "bless you." (it may actually be "shut up" when i'm on my 14-in-a-row sneezing marathons.)

our house smells back to good and cloudy is sunny again. thanks again to everyone for their helpful advice!