Loop To Loop

Swatch Island

2011-07-25T22:16:00.009-04:00

Hmm...having trouble deciding on an alternate color scheme in case my Knit Picks order doesn't arrive by August 1st for the WestKnits Mystery Shawl KAL 2011: Earth & Sky. So far I'm really not liking these. I bought things to match some stash, but that really never works. As it is, I'll need to buy new, but I love that the Brown Sheep Nature Spun sport is so affordable. Here it is in charcoal and gray with my stashed Rowan Felted Tweed. I think it needs a denim blue instead of the red. The fabric has really nice drape on size 4. These photos are really crummy and I folded the swatch because it's curled.

Here is the stashed Koigu with the new Dream in Color Smooshy in a dark black raspberry sort of color. I love the DIC and Koigu separately, but so NOT together. The koigu will be sent back to it's originally purchased purpose: socks. Now I need something to go with the Smooshy.

I'll most likely end up doing the KAL with the knit picks yarn as that is my palette of choice these days: tidepool heather (a turquoise), celadon heather, verdant heather (a dark greyish green).

WIPs Week

2011-07-25T09:56:00.007-04:00

Well, it's been over 2 years since I posted, but I have been knitting and crocheting. Recently joined a new knitting group after several failed attempts trying to get some of my Hip Mama friends together. There was interest, but with motherhood, child emergencies come up at the last minute resulting in cancellations.

I'm going to join in on the WestKnits Mystery Shawl 2011 KAL, which means freeing up my size 4 needles. Stephen West's "Herbivore" had been hibernating on those needles for a while because the twisted rib stitch was so slow. On Thursday, I retrieved the project and pressed on, finally completing it Saturday night. The cast-off took the entire duration of a movie! Ugh. Will block today, pics to follow soon. I wasn't pleased with the Malabrigo Sock yarn either, it pilled/fuzzed up a lot while working on it. My hands get dry and snaggy in winter, which really fuzzed up the yarn despite using hand lotion. Not sure what yarn I'll use for the KAL, pics of color choices coming soon.

Now I'm going to spend the next few days completing my Citron, using Dream in Color Baby in a lovely shade of mossy green. Love that yarn, picked it up at a nice sale price. I'm using the whole skein, so modified the pattern and calculated more section increases.

I'm also going to unravel a cotton cowl in progress (that had a major mistake) and set it aside possibly for a Boneyard Shawl in the future. It's a nice denim blue that will be great with jeans.

After I finish the KAL, I will start a Daybreak. I am really in love with Stephen West patterns.

So once I finish up a few things, that leaves only a couple WIPs remaining: Lady Eleanor, Hanami Stole and a Clapochet. My Lade E has about 4 skeins to go, Hanami has 1 chart to go and Clapochet is half done, using Zauberball sock.

Other crochet projects are a Hexagon baby blanket (half done) for a brand new baby, and another hexagon blanket for my daughter. Almost done with a daisy square throw as well. These will be mostly be winter projects since they grow on one's lap when joining.

Scrappy Doo

2009-06-26T07:13:00.004-04:00

When the crawling began, along with the warm weather, I thought some baby knee pads were in order. Used up some Cascade Quattro stash scraps. I know I wrote down what I did, but can't find the email to myself. Not much required in the way of a pattern. Made a tube with ribbing at each end, then folding the ends in for double thickness and stitched the ends together.

I don't know what has happened to my hands, wrists and elbows lately, but my right hand is killing me, my left elbow aches and this morning while knitting, my left fingers went numb! Augh! Stop the insanity! I think my evening knitting posture may have something to do with it.

S's Runaround Raglan Cardigan (ravelry) is pretty much done, just need to weave in ends, block and sew on buttons. I've cast on for K's Runaround Raglan Pullover (both in Cascade 220), and cast on for Shawl That Jazz (ravelry) in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Twisted. The Pinwheel Sweater (ravelry) needs one more sleeve, but I need a break from doing a sleeve on dpn's. Also, my row gauge was a bit off so the sweater doesn't encompass me as much as I would like. It will be a shruggish sweater rather than a warming jacket kind of thing.

I'd Rather Be Knitting

2009-04-01T17:52:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, I went for a full body massage for the first time ever, using an ancient unredeemed gift certificate. From what I had heard from people, seen portrayed on TV and in movies, I was expecting to leave there in a state of puddleness. Not so. I couldn't turn my brain off during the massage. While I enjoyed the quiet room and soft music, I found myself thinking of the laundry, home improvement projects that will never get done, and a myriad of other things I shouldn't have been wasting thought on. Oddly enough, my friend felt the same way. We both said that one of the only things we do that allows our mind to be free of thought is knitting.

I awoke the next morning with a very stiff neck, blaming the massage. My friend also had a sore spot on her shoulders. Coincidence? Maybe. We also both came down with a cold the day after the massage.

Won't be doing that again. I'm just not into the whole pampering lifestyle. I'd rather be knitting for relaxation any day. During my illness I have recently picked up an incomplete pair of Colinette Jitterbug socks (yarn that I won from a contest SJ had a while ago) and am working on that in between moments of twin feeding and diaper duty.

Finished Object!

2009-02-09T09:57:00.004-05:00

Moss Stitch Beret, by Kent Turman - on Ravelry
Time Frame: Saturday, January 23- February 6, 2009
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) circ and dpns
Yarn: Cascade 220, a dark mossy green (lost the band)
Made for: my dad, for his 75th birthday

Mods: cast on 98 stitches to fit my dad's 23.5 inch head, for increases stitch markers were placed every 18/19 stitches.

I love, love, LOVE this pattern! This was my first time doing a hemmed brim. Can't wait to do another. I really like the nicely finished edge!

Cozy Noggin

2008-11-10T09:05:00.004-05:00

I know it's been AGES since I wrote anything, but it's also been AGES since I've had much chance to knit. Here is girl baby in her new hat. She only looks sad because it was hot that day, and anyone who knows babies knows that their heads kick out a ton of heat! This pic accentuates her kissable and pinchable cheeks! Must go, have boy baby's sweater to finish before he's too big to wear it!

Hopefully, after Knit Fest at Yvonne's this weekend, much progress will be made on my Startitis problem. Maybe I'll have some Finishitis on the horizon, but it's doubtful with all the hilarity we will encounter. Must not have hopes of working on anything too mind-numbing.

STARCH...it's what's for dinner!

2008-04-27T18:00:00.005-04:00

NOT crummy white pasta, NOT white bread french toast...NO! Nothing other than banana buckwheat pancakes, from scratch. Not even a buckwheat mix...no way. That's not the way I operate. And...they were drizzled with grade B pure maple syrup, which is less processed than grade A. Mmm mmm, washed down with a cup of PG Tips tea. It doesn't get any better than this. It's been a weird food day in general. 2 dippy eggs and toast for breakfast, a big handful of parsley (my warm weather addiction) mid-morning, vanilla soy chai protein shake for lunch, air-popped popcorn for a mid-afternoon snack, and now these pancakes that are reminiscent of steam-rolled banana nut muffins. Not that you would really want to EAT flattened muffins. Sadly, I was out of nuts.

Organizing the nusery continued this morning, after a brief stint to the flea market in Aspinwall. I was hoping some of the local farmers would have SOMETHING from their fields, but then again it is only the end of April and we live in Zone...blah blah...one of the cold zones. I thought for sure there would be some greenhouse lettuce or spinach, but the only findings at the market were fleas.

Anyhoo, after the baby shower last week, it really looked like a bomb went off in the nursery, and I was bit overwhelmed by the amount of stuff. But...after some perseverance, it's coming together and we are ready for parenthood. Even got my hospital bag packed.

I finished the Modified Drops Eyelet Baby Cardigan (for more details, look it up on Ravelry. I'm too lazy to link) 2 weeks ago, but have yet to buy the buttons. Late this afternoon I resumed work on the Baby Cardigan Set by Opal Yarns, which should be done pretty soon. This one looks like a mess at the moment, but you can use your imagination.

The COOLEST news of the day is that our lawn is even greener. No, not because of Chemlawn or some other earth-unfriendly poisonous treatment. We bought a REEL mower today...you know, the Norman Rockwell kind! K has been complaining for years that he feels sick after running the gas mower, and he had the most joyous lawn mowing experience of his life! He can't wait to cut it again! The contraption is from Home Depot, weighs 30 pounds, and is a dream to push rather effortlessly. It makes a really neat clippety-clip sound. I can actually have a conversation with him while he's mowing, it's that quiet. It's nice to just smell cut grass instead of gasoline and exhaust.

So what with the reel mower, drying clothes on the clothesline, and no cable TV (which we haven't had for several years and don't miss in the least), we are venturing back in time to a simpler life. Ahhh...bliss.

No More Feng Shui

2008-03-27T15:35:00.005-04:00

Well, bottom line is...Babies = Clutter. This room WAS the most serene in the house until we started gathering gear and stuff. The first shower was yesterday at work.
Babies also = strangeness. Form out of function? Perhaps. Hence, the diaper cake, which is falling apart a bit, and the stork baskets. They had plants in them, which are gardenias. I'm going to have to recycle the plants to someone soon because gardenias are one of THE biggest headache triggers for me. The storks are actually things we get from one of the specialty pharmacies. Will recycle the baskets back to work for the next shower.

And lastly, babies = organizing. Already with one shower and a couple drawers of used clothes, there's A LOT. Can't really do much until the family shower. Then I'll send my mom on some return/exchange missions.

I'm gimped out today because I pulled some ligament in my left hip. Am using a cane, and also borrowed crutches from my MIL. As a result of said injury, slept worse than ever. Am going for another nap. The baby sweater knitting can wait.

Progress despite a Black Hole Weekend

2008-02-26T18:35:00.004-05:00

12-14 weeks to go till my belly turkey timer pops!

Have made some knitting progress. Allyson's BSJ has been done for a while, just need to mail.

So, ever have a set of days off where you have a couple fun errands to run that go horribly awry?

Well, not THAT horrible, but definitely mood-crushing potential. Saturday, Renata and I went cruising, and had a very late lunch at Aladdin’s in Squirrel Hill. Who knew it would take so long? I had a hunch and put 90 minutes in the meter just in case. First the dweeb waiter comes to take our beverage order, gets me, C (Renata’s daughter), and says, “Is there another person?” Renata says, “Uh, yeah, me, but I’m still thinking.” The waiter says, “Oh, I didn’t mean to be rude or anything. I don’t want you to think I’m a bad waiter.” Well…THAT should have been the first clue.

They bring my freshly brewed mint tea in a tiny tea cup that’s not even full to the brim. For a buck-fifty! And no refills! 3 sips later, it’s gone. Hmph. A while later, the dweeb returns to take our order. A MILENNIUM later, the food arrives. We dine, we’re sated in about 20 to 30 minutes, ready to get leftovers wrapped and get the check.

It takes FOREVER to get someone near us to inform them of the need for a takeout box. The waiter comes by, I tell him and ask for the check. 15 minutes later, seemingly, we’re still sitting there…WAITING. Finally, we’re sat with our coats on, obviously ready to leave. The hostess comes by, asks if we need anything. I say, “Just this wrapped and the check.” She takes my plate and wraps it up. The waiter whizzes by, dropping the check on the table. We give it to him right away. Then it’s another LONG wait until he returns, and when he does, he didn’t even bring the right receipt that gets SIGNED! AUGH! At this point I’m DYING!

As things get finalized, I say, “I WILL BE OUTSIDE.” SIGH.

So THEN, we finally get to Knit One around 4pm, and the usual sloooooooowwww employee is at the register. We find what we need swiftly. The place is SWELTERINGLY hot, we’re standing in line behind another customer, the employee is poking along. Then she gets to us and says, “Is it hot in here?” I say, “Yes, EXTREMELY.” She says, “I’m going to go open the door.” ANOTHER DELAY! She rings up Renata and then calls over the other employee to ring me up. Strange. The person starts scooting some ghastly ribbon yarn into my pile, and in my stupor I muster up the energy to say, “That’s not mine…NO RIBBON yarn for me.” Fortunately it had NOT been rung up. I think we got out of there at 4:45.

But to make an ARDUOUS journey come to a happy end, I got started on my boy baby sweater, and knitted from about 6-9:30pm. I bought Opal sock yarn in a wild blue/yellow/green/white/brown color way. Yes, it’s size 1 needles, but I like a small gauge on small humans. I’d also bought some Dale Baby Ull in a pale lilac solid and swatched, but it wasn’t speaking to me and I couldn’t get gauge. Pics coming soon, Blogger wasn't cooperating today.

So Sunday, after a leisurely morning of more tiny knitting, we went out to lunch to the Indian buffet at Taj Mahal, then went food shopping. Before stopping at Trader Joes, popped in to Natural Stitches to return a skein from Allyson’s BSJ and a skein of Cascade 220 from K hat. Scanned the aisles in search of something less plain than the lilac Baby Ull for my baby girl. Hit the sock yarn aisle and the heavens opened, highlighting the Aurucania on the bottom shelf. Mmmm, yummy, hipster psychedelic and machine washable! The night before, K had said, “How come the boy gets psychedelic stuff and the girl gets boring plain yarn?!?!” Grabbed two skeins in a purples/blues colorway and asked the proprietors, “Think this is too wild for a baby sweater with a bit of an eyelet pattern?” They gleefully sang in unison, “Nooooo wayyyy!” And I was on my way. I’m going to return the two skeins of lilac Baby Ull to Knit One and finish off my gift cards…once and for all, and inform the usual gifters to patronize Natural Stitches for me in future.

Again my luck was down because there were LONG lines at Trader Joes. It was less painful having The Mister with me, but I have NEVER seen it so crowded! Then again, I’m usually there at 10am, not 2pm. Then we went to Whole Foods, and I forgot a few things that were even on the list! But The Mister had the list while I traipsed around gathering things and then wearily tried to find him, the cart, and forgot about the list. Ah well, all was not lost. Swatched the new yarn, got gauge on size 1’s, had a sumptuous repast of broiled teriyaki salmon, garlicky bok choy and brown rice, and continued on boy sweater till 9:30. On the menu this week at Chez Amanda is more thai food: red coconut chicken curry with butternut squash, potatoes and peas, hot and sour soup, and who knows what other yummy goodness. Really could eat that EVERY day.

Deal of the Century

2008-01-12T15:22:00.000-05:00

My venture to Moon Township resulted in: 2 infant carrier/car seats, 2 bases, and a snap and go stroller for them...all for $80! AWESOME. That's about $350 worth of stuff!

O Sole Mio

2008-01-11T20:43:00.000-05:00

Ugh...hubby is sick with flu-cold-thingamajig, so doesn't look like there will be much conversation in our house this weekend. Even if there is, I avoid it because it's too much work tuning in my decoder ring to figure out what the hell he's saying, not to mention that I can barely hear it anyway.

Tomorrow my plan is to buy a new air mattress for him that stays inflated, so he can sleep upstairs, far from the madding crowd. I'll be going solo to the OB, no big deal, a quick stop at Trader Joe's, (By the way, the BEST EVER CAKE is that of the Tiramisu Torte, in freezer section) then out to Moon Township to check out a good craigslist deal on infant carriers. Then...I'll come back and knit. I might take pity on the poor soul and make some homemade chicken noodle soup...even though it disgusts me that, at the age of 41, he still hasn't figured out how to successfully take care of himself when sickly! Afterall, who takes care of the female??? No one...EVER. I say, "Ok, now remember, feed a fever, starve a cold. If you're gunky, you need LIQUID, not BAGELS AND CEREAL!!!" Does he listen? Noooooooo.

To make matters worse, he just left to go play a gig at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern. I said, "Remember, you're not 25 anymore, so it will take longer for you to recover from this tonight." He never even told the guys that he was sick, and I said, "Ok, you are never allowed to call ME a martyr ever again."

As much as I love staying in my quiet, chemical-free, unscented sanctuary on weekends, on Sunday, I must escape the ennui again. I have to run to the Strip to get supplies for making my mom's B-day dinner (at her house), thai coconut curry shrimp, then maybe go to the dreaded mall (my fingers are making a cross sign!) to hunt down some maternity clothes. Right now I only have 2 shirts, 1 pair of work-worthy pants and one pair of jeans...can't go on forever with that.

Then, and only then...will I knit.

Projects...some yarn, some not

2008-01-05T19:19:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been AGES since I posted. My main project of late is this!

Almost 16 weeks along, due in June with TWINS. Yowza!

Brooklyn Tweed's Hemlock Ring Blanket is done, and a Baby Surprise Jacket is started for a SF baby due to enter the world any day now.

Inspiration!

2007-09-29T08:05:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday night, Renata and I went to the studio of Joanne Baxter (in Wexford) for the Fiberarts Guild of Pgh studio/critique night. It was so inspiring! Joanne makes art dolls. She showed examples of her own designs as well as various things she has made at workshops. I particularly liked the industrial necklaces. I came home totally inspired, full of ideas to apply a few techniques to some ideas I have brewing; not for dolls, but other art. But I was also depressed because I had to work on Thurs and Fri and couldn't jump right into my ideas. I did make lists while at work to file in a binder. Yes, my mind is much more organized than my house! I'm determined to organize my studio/craft room so all supplies are readily at hand and I can walk in, sit down and start making instead of wasting time hunting for my stuff. I managed to do some organizing last night, and it's coming together nicely. I've moved all the yarn out of the chiffarobe down the hall to the cedar closet (where it belongs), and filled this open space with paints, beads, paper, etc.

Annie Lawrence was there on Weds as well. She's teaching a felting workshop this weekend at Touchstone Center for Crafts near Uniontown. She has spent her summer at workshops all over the country, and brought some of her pieces along with a really gorgeous purse done by her hungarian teacher (I can't remember the name!). I saw that the Society for Contemporary Craft has some felting classes in November. I just might have to investigate!

Today Renata and I are galavanting around Pittsburgh. She moved here from Brazil 3 months ago, and hasn't learned where all the good stuff is yet. We're going thrifting, hitting Utrecht and checking out the Society for Contemporary Craft. The weather's going to be GORGEOUS! I want to find more wool sweaters to felt for my recycling idea.

Then K and I will be going out for dinner to Gypsy Cafe to celebrate our 7th anniversary! Yay for us! Then we'll hang out with our pals at the drum circle in the grotto at Flagstaff Hill.

La dolce far niente

2007-09-09T18:39:00.000-04:00

My, what a blissful afternoon yesterday was, full of sweet nothingness. First, I went down to Knit One to partake of their sale and use a big gift card that had been waiting for such an event. Well, despite the fact that there was seemingly only novelty yarn (yuck) majorly discounted, I didn't really get anything on sale. Some other knit pals saw me with a list and laughed. I explained that I have to arrive armed with a list or I get so overwhelmed I end up walking out with nothing.

As it was, I procured some Mauch Chunky (New Zealand/Domestic wool) in a toothache butterscotch to make Brooklyn Tweed's Hemlock Ring Blanket. I cast on in the afternoon, abandoning my long list of chores, and revelled in the quiet meditation of the stitches...a much needed Om, I must say.
This little lap blankie is cruising along. I'm now into the feather and fan "ad nauseum" which is relatively mindless knitting. I knit so much yesterday that this morning, when I did a few rounds, my left fingers were a bit numb! Ah this yarn is by no means the softest. It's rather scratchy and has that very wooly smell that a rough military blanket may have. But it was only around 6 bucks per skein, and who needs luxury for a blanket? Not me. Save that for next to my skin, which brings me to this yummyness.
Rowan Felted Tweed (merino, alpaca, viscose) in a color on a par with black rasperry coulis. With that, I shall make the Cinnabar Pullover from Interweave Fall 2007.

Today, we got down to all those chores that were blown off yesterday. It was an action packed day of cleaning, priming, etc. The pale yellow front hall is not done, as I need to put another coat of primer in the corners of the walls where the previously attempted dark mustard is still showing through. But here's the red wall that was finished last week! Yes, I know the wing chair covers seem a bit bedraggled and ill-fitting. What do you want for seven years! I'm on the lookout for something new.

Wow...has it really been that long?

2007-09-03T20:28:00.000-04:00

I've either been busy or lazy. Maybe a little of both. Ok, so I'll post 1 day shy of 2 months since my last rambling. Zoinks. It's going to be LONG.

First, you have NO idea how glad I am that September is here! I'm counting the days till the autumnal equinox! Sweatshirt and jeans weather. Hoo Ahh!

So what exactly HAVE I been doing? Not really that much knitting. Lots of yoga, though. I LOVE Steve Ross's "Inhale" on the Oxygen channel, Mon-Fri, 6am-7am. I tape a week's worth and I'm good to go. So usually I get up around 5:15, do yoga for an hour and get on with the rest of my morning ritual. Yoga gives me a totally positive feeling, a sense of invincibility and euphoria. It's very much like the feeling you get when you kiss someone for the first time.

Uh...I DID finish that baby sleeper thingy, in time for the shower! K watched as it ended and said, "That looks like it could fit you!" He was almost right. The neck opening was huge due to the fact that I decided not to do the hood, so I had to do a couple rounds of single crochet to cinch it in. The recipient would never have known the difference. Definitely not some of my best work, it shows that my heart wasn't really in it. Also, the grafting of the shoulder seams didn't work right.

I have several other projects currently in the works. The main one is Annie Modesitt's "Corded Yoke Pullover" from Interweave Winter 2006. Several people have told me they can't see me wearing such a thing. Little do they know. Heh heh. I've hit a standstill on the sleeves. The flaw in the pattern is that they don't say to use dpn's to knit the sleeves in a tube. Well, sorry, but there's no way 45 (or however many) stitches are going to be doable on a 24 inch circular, or even a 16 inch for that matter. Indeed. The troubling part though, is doing increases in 2 x 2 rib. Looks kind of shoddy. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong. Will bring it to B&N Waterworks on knit night for some advisement.

So this weekend the master plan was to paint the living room fireplace wall a dark cranberry red. Mission accomplished. Have decided to leave the other walls ivory. Here is a before pic.

Stay tuned for the after pics. By the way, those yellow and green wing chairs were free...from a family friend. Have had them for 7 years. I'm sure they are circa 1964 or so. Aren't they purty? They're very comfy and are usually wearing slipcovers which are being washed. I have yet to put the drapes back up. Definitely not one of my favorite activities. Almost all of the pottery on the mantel was made by yours truly, by the way. Walked in the woods at Hartwood Acres 90 minutes Sat, 60 minutes Sun and 60 minutes today. Sheer bliss. The weeks of yoga are turning my legs into steel. I would have never been able to charge up the hills like that a year ago. I may soon be able to join my friend N on one of her Wonder Hikes!

This afternoon I continued unravelling some Takhi Donegal Tweed. I had accidentally made a gigantic sweater a couple years ago, and I need to recycle the wool into something wearable. Perhaps I'll join Jenn and SJ in the Central Park Hoodie escapade.

The last knit night was fun. We were really boisterous! The girls gave me a hard time when I said I was non-traditional and artsy. They said, “No! Really! We would never have guessed that!” They were stunned when I said we’ve lived in the house for a year and still don’t have curtains in the bedroom…well, we do have those roller blinds, but I’ve had higher priorities to take care of both financially and in terms of time. Originally I thought I’d sew curtains, but considering there are 5 windows and by the time I pay for fabric and spend the time, I’m better off buying. Target has exactly what we need for way less than what it would cost to make, and they match (in color, anyway) the comforter, a faded cobalt blue. The girls can rest assured that I HAVE purchased the curtains, but they're not yet installed. I procrastinate heavily when drilling is involved. Not because I can't, but because it requires careful measuring and makes a mess. I’m thinking a pale chartreuse will look great with the blue curtains and dark woodwork. My mom recommends I do some research on colors that are conducive to sleep.

On that note, it's almost time to hit the hay.

Recruiting for the knitting epidemic

2007-07-04T20:15:00.000-04:00

I was at a picnic this afternoon, and K and I didn't really know anyone there, but the host and hostess. Don't you hate when that happens? K played a few songs in the host's band and left me to fend for myself. When I was chatting with some ladies and others heard I was a knitter...WELL...that's when things got rolling! I have recruited Janis and Barb (both blogless) to join in our knitterly goodness. Hope to see them soon at B&N in Waterworks!

He claims it wasn't a guilt complex

2007-07-01T07:47:00.000-04:00

K left me again for the second weekend in a row on Thursday night. One of his bands played a festival in Brooklyn, NY this weekend. He had taken the day off Thursday to wait for the Verizon guy and tile guy and run some errands. I called at one point to see how things were going and K said, “I folded all the laundry and put it away, tidied, vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom sinks, cleaned the stove, and now I’m getting ready to go out and trim up the fallen branches.” I said, “Wow, are you having a guilt complex?” He said, “Nooooo, I just figured that since I wouldn’t be around all weekend I’d do some stuff that needed to be done.” I said, “Uh huh. Who are you, and what have you done with my K?”

So I walked into the kitchen and couldn’t believe my eyes. There were no piles of stuff anywhere. I glanced at the stove, and it looked clean. I figured by “cleaning” he meant wiping it with paper towels which is usually his modus operandi.

BUT…Friday morning when I was making breakfast, I noticed that he had actually scrubbed the burner grates! Wow…I really have never known him to clean like THAT.

I was reeling at the joy of not having to spend the gorgeous weekend inside engaging in the drudgery of cleaning. That meant I would have ALL day Saturday and Sunday to loll around and knit!

Well, not really, because this is how Saturday went, but I had a blast. Some of you may shudder at the thought. I got up at 6:30, was out at Home Depot by 8:00, bought 18 bags of mulch (which I loaded by myself because it was so early there wasn't really anyone around to help), came home and spread mulch till 10:30, got showered, went to the library, went to the nursery to finally buy a few annuals and 4 more bags of mulch, came home, ate lunch, knitted about 4 rows and started to fall asleep, went inside, had a 2 hour nap, went to buy a few groceries, ate a bowl of cherries (which gave me a second wind), planted my flowers and finished at 7:00pm. Made dinner, ate, knitted outside till 9pm, came inside and watched the last hour of some half-way decent made-for-TV Tom Selleck movie (in between running down the hall to watch several communities' fireworks shows from the second floor window), watched more mindless drivel and went to bed at 11:30.

K got home at 2:00am, I was awake for a little while, but today I got up at 7:00 and am planning to take Sheeks to Hartwood before going to my parents for a lunch party. I was trying to get Sheeks' attention while she was busy chewing on a log. When I said, "Want to go to Hartwood?" her ears perked up.

A week last Thursday, I cast on for this. Yes, the Cabbage Patch doll scares me too. I’m modifying as I go because I don’t think a sleep sack should be permanently closed at the bottom. I’ve done eyelets that will have a purchased drawstring run through. Again, a time saver, as i-cord takes too long. An open sack will facilitate those middle of the night diaper changes! Since the bottom of the sack will be open, I don’t see need for 6 buttons, so I think I’ll pare that down to 3. It’s not going to be snug in the chest area anyway. And lastly, I’m not doing this in basketweave stitch because that’s not mindless enough for a quick baby shower gift! I’m cruising through with stockinette and have 13 inches done already. For 140 stitches, that’s not bad! The shower is August 2. The yarn is a sage, mint and white heathery worsted cotton by Bernat bought in a 1-pound ball from JoAnn’s. Yes, not a fan of JoAnn’s, but I was obsessed, not too picky, and needed yarn FAST. I wanted something natural, comfy and inexpensive. It’s for a coworker who made it tougher on us by not wanting to know the gender, so we’re stuck with the less fun baby colors. It doesn't look like much yet, but I'm hoping that some sleeves will get the cuteness going.

Cool beans…knit night at Coffee Tree

2007-06-28T18:49:00.000-04:00

Got home from work last night to find a large chunk of tree had fallen in my front yard that missed the kitchen roof by 10 feet! Yikes. There was a downed wire of some kind, probably harmless cable, but I was heading out the door any minute. I left K in charge of calling Verizon to have them come take a look. The power was on, the phone worked, and we don’t bother with cable, so it was probably no big deal.

So I ventured down to Coffee Tree Roasters in Shadyside, where the temperature inside was literally roasting! Not comfy while drinking tea. I was trying out a different knit night where I newly met Min and Susan (sadly both blogless). Min had a fun laissez faire attitude towards sock knitting. She said, “Hmm…the leg looks kinda big, but it’s for a guy. It’s good enough.” Susan was crochet-embroidering a sun face on a cute little baby sundress. Her craftswomanship is marvelous. She is in the Master Knitting program and was grumbling about the strictness of the mandatory swatches. They both regularly attend a knitting group on Sundays that alternates between meeting at the Tango Café in Squirrel Hill and Crazy Mocha on the Southside. This Sunday group is planning to put a website together and get T-shirts made that mimick the iPod listener silhouette with knitter silhouettes! Way cool. Here's a list of other knit-togethers in Pittsburgh.

The three of us all take the same approach to buying yarn. We go with project in mind rather than being lured by yarn just because it’s calling to us. The exception to this is sock yarn, but I don't let myself fall victim to the gold-plated socks. I once saw a pattern calling for 3 skeins of Opal Gems, and the total sock cost from a LYS would be $39! If I’m going to spend that on yarn, it’s not going to be for something trampled by my feet.

When I told them about my other knit night, I mentioned that the Knitting Queen, i.e.,SJ, is one of the fastest knitters I know. Min and Susan were shocked when I told them SJ made 7+ socks in a week!

I just found out yesterday that the Compass Inn Museum out near Ligonier, PA will be hosting a Living History weekend July 21-22, 2007 including a Sheep to Shawl event. They'll have more details on the website soon. Here are some of the sheep that will be participating from Twin Springs Farm.

Well, I must get on with my knitting!

Ring around the rosies

2007-06-22T18:34:00.000-04:00

Found this on The Knitting Doctor. While you're at her blog, be sure to check out DancesWithWool. She does gorgeous twined knitting and really cool creatures.

Everything in this finger personality but "you see the best in everything" is absolutely true! If K was reading over my shoulder, he'd say, "Wow, you are SO off in your inner world at times!" I guess that's a nice way of telling me I'm spacy.

You Are a Ring Finger

You are romantic, expressive, and hopeful. You see the best in everything.
You are very artistic, and you see the world as your canvas. You are also drawn to the written word.
Inventive and unique, you are often away in your own inner world.

You get along well with: The Pinky

Stay away from: The Index Finger

What Finger Are You?

If I had 6 hands, my knitting would be so productive!

2007-06-22T06:42:00.000-04:00

This brings me to my recent encounter with a South Carolina native, the Palmetto bug, otherwise known as a big cucaracha!!!

I was in Charleston, SC on a conference for work, staying in a swanky 5-star Orient Express hotel, Charleston Place. Much to my horror one night upon return to my room after dinner, I had a 6-legged visitor in the bathroom. I froze for an instant, did a double-take, and thought, “Wow, that’s a roach! I’ve never seen one so big!” This was a hefty specimen, measuring about 1 inch long and ½ an inch wide.

My rescue reflexes snapped into action. I grabbed an empty wastebasket and upturned it on the critter, trapping him. I darted to the phone to call the front desk to report the intruder. They said, “Oh my…hate to tell you this, but…it’s the…South. Would you like us to relocate you?” I said, “No, I just need someone to help kill it.” Again, rather lackadaisically they said, “My, you’re handling this quite well. We’ll send someone up as soon as possible.”

An eternity later, a man appeared in his navy blue workman garb, armed with a foreign accent and a generic can of bug spray. I pointed to the wastebasket on the tile floor outside the bathroom. My savior carefully scooted the can out into the hall, lifted it ever so slightly, and when the bug scuttled, it swiftly met its maker beneath the toe of a black work boot. As I turned to go back into the room, he shyly said with a woeful brow, “Sorry…about ‘zis’,” waving his hands parallel to the floor.

I put a towel at the base of the door, and for the remainder of the evening I wore shoes.

C3FO's

2007-03-18T10:03:00.000-04:00

The other day, I made a spreadsheet of all the projects that are either in progress or for which I have the yarn waiting in the wings. There are now 6 still in progress, and 10 waiting to be started, but I've recently finished 3!

First is the fluffy baby blanket, sorry no pic. Had to hurry to get it to the mom-to-be.

Second is a run-of-the-mill b-day hat for my brother made out of Cascade Quattro leftovers. Size 6 Addi's, 16", then size 6 casein dpns.

Third is a scarf knit horizontally, with the ends cut left for fringe. Still have to knot and finish the fringe. Yarns are: natural indigo worsted (bought near Taos), Karabella Festival 06, and Lampedusa 07, size 10.5 bamboo circs.

Also, I've started Bauble. It's taking forever to string all the beads, and I'm worried that it all may be too heavy when it's done and might fall off my wrist, but we'll see. If nothing else, it's been a good meditation project so far. Here's my palette:

And lastly, these are the socks that just don't want to be knit. Yesterday I was cruising along, tried 'em on and noticed bunchiness in the sides of the heel. Of course I thought, "AUGH! Now what?" Well, let's just say that, uh, I wasn't paying attention and forgot to turn the heel! So I had to rip out 3 or 4 inches!!!! Dang...the pattern is a baby cable rib.

Fluff Knitting

2007-02-19T18:48:00.000-05:00

You know how there's fluff reading? Well, there's also fluff knitting. Literally. I'm talking about this, from the book Greetings from the Knit Cafe, by Suzan Mischer. They call it Fluffiest Baby Blanket:

And I've started to make it in Sensations ICEE in turquoise from JoAnn's, with a long furry eyelash, Sensations PERSIAN in pale lime green for the edging. This is NOT "your grandmother's baby blanket." It's going to be funky and hip. The true life colors look better than the pic. It's a close proximation to the original yarn texture (Trendsetter Zucca and Gedifra Techno for trim) and probably much cheaper too. I've already finished with two skeins (only a 55 stitch cast on), so I'll have this done long before my coworker's due date in mid-March.

By the way, I highly recommend the inter-library loan system. I hopped online last week and reserved every knitting book published in the last two or three years they had that I don't own. I now have a stack of twenty books to peruse. Often I find that knitting books aren't worth buying as there may only be one or two patterns that catch my eye. There can be great inspiration, and I've come up with some fabulous ideas for really cool MARKETABLE stitch markers. The books I do buy are more for reference...knitting bibles. I still own more cookbooks than knitting books, but that's another story. Maybe I should start a cooking blog too...

A little Amish?

2007-02-19T08:47:00.000-05:00

YARN: Cascade Quattro (worsted)
PATTERN: Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Socks
CAST ON: 48 stitches
NEEDLES: size 4 and 5 dpns

K and I were under the weather, so we ended up delaying the birthday party till next weekend. I finished the socks on time though! I started the second sock Weds evening. These are going to be sooooooo comfy for my dad!

The Amish look is that you know how Amish quilts are sometimes not perfect and there may be a color change as if they didn't have enough of the same fabric for consistent design? Well, my Amish touch is that I wasn't paying attention in the toe decreases and ended up alternating the decrease round and knit round ALL the way till the END! They were a bit pointy, but they're the right length, so I didn't really feel like frogging.

When I was totally done with them it felt funny not to be knitting for a few minutes, and I had yarn leftover, so I looked up a free hat pattern online and cast on to make my brother a Bday hat. A coworker is having her second baby in mid-March, so I really should make her something, too. Plenty of time for maybe a little kimono sweater or something.

Better than store bought

2007-02-17T09:27:00.000-05:00

On Valentine's Day, the weather was frightful. We're not the type of couple to go out and be amongst the happy or unhappy couples who are at uppity restaurants out of obligation. They let us go early at work, so I stopped at Whole Foods for some dinner supplies. I made a warm chocolate raspberry pudding cake(very easy and good), baked salmon, green beans and baked potato.

Safari...on our street!

2007-02-10T06:07:00.000-05:00

This is the CUTEST thing ever!

Our street is a small circle, with about 15 houses which are all different. It's not one of those BUP's (Big Ugly Plans). There's a yellow lab that gets walked, usually on a leash, and occasionally I'll see it's cat sibling trailing behind.

Well LAST evening, the dog was off-leash marching ahead of Master, and the TWO cat siblings were trailing behind Master. You should have seen their little legs go! They looked like they were on wheels. One cat is white with black ears, a black and white striped tail and a spot on its back, so it's a little reminiscent of Snoopy. The other is a gorgeous orange tabby.

They do several laps around the circle and I giggle every time they go by. It's nice entertainment while I'm making dinner.

1800 Stitches a Day

2007-01-28T19:25:00.000-05:00

Like 1800 calories a day...I too am on a yarn diet.
Here are the Koigu socks that have been frogged from a previous baggy stockinette endeavor and are now snugger with baby cables. Fortunately there's no pooling.

Next up is the Tahki Donegal Tweed sweater that I worked on for a few years before my re-born obsession with knitting. Much to my dismay I had made a plus size by mistake. DUH! This needs to be frogged and reknit into something more fitting. Ha!

Now on to the stash. This is a very strange assortment of stuff that might very well be relegated to gifts for my nieces. I am NOT reponsible for the pink Sizzle in the lower right front. That was in my goodie bag at the Knitting Festival a few years back. In the back left is some weird Lion Brand Suede, a chenille, that knits up irregularly. I was going to make a scarf for my mom since she vetoes all the wool scarves I've done for her claiming everything is too scratchy. Her complaint WAS warranted on something I made in Reynolds Lite Lopi. That one's a big OUCH. It felts GREAT for the Felted Clogs though!

Clockwise from top left: KnitPicks Quarry in (Stream?) for the Teva Durham Fringed Pullover from Loop-D-Loop; some Cascade Quattro, Shepherd Colour 4 Me, Dalegarn Falk leftovers from niece projects, Dalegarn Baby Ull, Harrisville Flax and Wool.

The sock section, clockwise from left: Trekking leftovers, Sockotta (need to make mate), Lion Brand Magic Stripes, 4 Koigu (don't have colorway info handy), and 4 Knitpicks Sock Memories. The last sock memories here looks like it might make some interesting Jaywalkers!

And last but not lusciously colorful least is the Mission Falls assortment for "Fair Isle Jazz" from Pam Allen's Scarf Style.

More conducive to creating

2007-01-19T11:21:00.000-05:00

I always like using one of my 3 days off, when no one else but the dog is home, to organize my life. We've lived in our new old house since August, and some of the rooms aren't arranged optimally. Two nights ago while trying to get to sleep after knit night, I was envisioning how to better arrange my craft room upstairs. The ideal situation is to have a room that you can walk into and start creating, and the ability to open closets and drawers and grab what you need right away without having to sift through piles of stuff and clear space. And most of all, it's great to be able to leave works in progress out and not have to clean up afterwards. I used to be one of those dining table workers...we all know the type. My husband would come home and say, "Uh...I guess we have to eat on the porch tonight?" This would be in the dead of winter.

So, here are some before and after pics. The befores look like a dark uninviting garrett. But the afters take advantage of the northern light.

Sheeks says, "Oh, yeah, watching TV from this angle works!" There are two big closets in this room. One has coats and stuff, and the other is full of totes of supplies. My plan is to get those plastic drawer wheely things so I can see what I have and find it in an instant. The couch only weighs 3000 pounds. The dog didn't even offer to help move it. We'll be cozier when we watch movies now, sat right next to the radiator.

This is sooooo much better! That windowless wall needs mega bulletin boards! You can laugh at the curtains. They were there before us.

This antique dresser is calling to be an art supply storage chamber.

The view of the back yard from the window above the drawing table. Fortunately the window is high up. I would daydream too much if I could stare out while sitting down.

Bond...James Bond

2007-01-05T08:24:00.000-05:00

The year is 2...007!

Well, I felt I needed to add to the knitting from stash concept being bandied about. K stole the camera today for work, so I can't take pics yet but here goes:

Projects I have the yarn for:

From Teva Durham's "Loop-D-Loop": Cast Away Fringe Pullover in Knit Picks Quarry, a boucle. Hopefully fringe will turn out like cool dreadlocks.

From Pam Allen's "Scarf Style":
1) Fair Isle Jazz in Mission Falls 1824 wool. I have most of the exact colors called for in the pattern. Tweaked a couple in the fair isle scarf ends, but at least I have the raspberry for the main section!
2) Ene's Scarf in Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud. This will be my first lace endeavor. Think I might practice first making some little heart bookmarks for Valentine's Day.

Now that I have the "Knitting Sensational Socks" book, it sheds a whole new light on sock knitting, particularly the fit. I have an unraveled pair in Koigu that I shall reknit into something sensational that won't fall down. Also have another pair in (I forget the yarn) to unravel and reknit. Only got one of these done to begin with. Was very bored with them.

Still have to finish unravelling a sweater made out of Takhi Donegal Tweed, wet it, hang it...this was a sweater mishap that turned out way too big. Over $100 in yarn is too valuable to have sitting there in a useless state. I'm not in love with the color anymore, but I think the right pattern, i.e., if it's interesting and funky enough could revive the color. Recently found a nice cabled hoodie pattern in Vogue knitting that actually CALLS for this yarn! I'll probably have enough, since the original sweater knit was erroneously a plus size. Yikes. The unravelling process is arduous as I have to unweave all the woven-in ends! This really cuts into my KNITTING time! Would be a good project to work on during a camping/cabin week.

Also have odds and ends of Reynolds Lite Lopi that are good for adult hats, some Dalegarn Falk suitable for kids hats, and some Dalegarn Baby Ull that might constitute a pair of mittens.

Last but not least there's some Harrisville Flax Wool...not sure what that will be, and some Cascade Quattro that felts beautifully. Might make some bags.

I'm collecting wool sweaters from thrift stores to felt, cut and make into a throw. Need to find some more inspiring colors. There's a great pattern for turning these into tote bags in "AlterKnits."

Needless to say, my stash is not very organized, but my new old house has a cedar closet that is ONLY for the storage of yarn! How serendipitous is that?

In review, I have no business buying any new yarn for a while...but I got gift cards and money for such for xmas AND b-day is coming up soon! What I really should get is a swift and ball winder, which cost MORE than yarn. :-)

Benjamina Franklin

2006-12-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

Well, there we were, amongst what I figure must be the throng of Pitt employees who were off this week, lollygagging at Barnes and Noble. 40 Guy was nowhere in sight, but he had a stand-in. A rather androgynous human appeared. We really couldn't figure out this one. It had blond Ben Franklin hair and donned genderless garb. A while later, through the thick layer of sweatshirt, I could detect some female-ness. I said, "Aha! It's XX, not XY!" Wow...

It was as though the heavens opened when 40 Guy finally did appear. He was doing weird things, like not reading, and swooning back in his chair, his 40-full belly protruding into the table edge. We think he may have been asleep. I'm not so sure. I'm wondering if it's all an act? What if it's the same 40 bottle he carries around with him, like Linus and the blankie?

We freaked when he stood up at the same time as us and lurked a minute. We were all prepared with our panic buttons in hand as we fled to our cars.

Even worse...what if 40 Guy IS a super hero and his special power is supersonic hearing??? We are so DOOMED...

Now I can make something for ME!

2006-12-26T18:27:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start this:
It's the Cast-Away Fringe Pullover from Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop book, in Quarry (boucle) from Knit Picks. My goal is for the fringe to look like dreadlocks.

Finished the shrug at 9:30am xmas day!!! Pic isn't great, but I was NOT presentable at that time of day...

Under the wire

2006-12-24T09:17:00.000-05:00

Happy Festivus, Everyone!
Well, it looks like I might just make it in time for the endless cream shrug to be delivered tomorrow morning to my MIL! Just a couple more rows, binding off and weaving ends in!

When stitching the seams Friday night, I looked around at my surroundings in the bedroom and thought, "Why is it that when the husband is left in charge of the laundry, it looks like a bomb went off???"

Manly mitts!

2006-12-07T18:03:00.000-05:00

I modified Knitty's "Fetching" pattern. After making some of these girly fingerless gloves, I had to man-ify them.
The result is, no cables and a worsted weight. If anyone wants details, I can provide that. Yarn was Cascade Quattro.

It's not everyday you get resurrected

2006-11-09T18:55:00.000-05:00

That's EXACTLY what happened to me this afternoon. No kidding!

I had a doc appt then had to get some bloodwork done, so I go to pre-register. She asks if I work in the hospital, since I'm wearing my scrubs, and I wearily say, "No...I just finished the 11th day of my shift and I'm starting to shut down now that I don't have to do anything and I'm REALLY looking forward to going home." She does the usual, asking for my insurance card and the script. She pulls up my record and I hear her say, "Hmmm...it says, 'This patient is DECEASED.' I've never seen that before."

I laugh and say, "Well, I almost died a month ago after surgery." She looks concerned and says, "Really?"

"Oh, you know, drug allergy and everything that goes along with that...and nearly slipping into a coma..." I explain, still laughing. At this point in the day, my exhaustion has me delirious.

She asks me to confirm my demographics. What I say matches what's on the screen. She is stumped and calls over her supervisor who coaches her through a variety of screens, but then the SUPERVISOR says, "Wow, this is really strange. We're going to have to call MR (Medical Records)."

I'm enjoying playing along with the humor of the situation and say, "Can you find out WHEN someone decided to kill me?" They had obvious difficulty trying to find the last change date.

The registrar makes the call to MR. I hear her explain the situation which sounds really funny. It's something like, "I have a patient here to pre-register who's showing up as deceased in the system and I was told to call you to have her switched...yes, it's her...yes, we've verified her demos...she's sitting right in front of me!" Moments later, the supervisor asks her to take the person waiting behind me while they sort this out, and I move to the next chair. I say, "You know, this is like when you go to the grocery store and ALL you need is a loaf of bread and ALL the aisles are full of people with jam-packed carts..."

They nod knowingly...as I almost nod off. The supervisor asks me for my driver's license to make a copy, I guess so they can match my photo to be sure I'm me. FINALLY...a third registrar comes along, asks me for my script again, says it was a coding error, apparently a single digit mistake! She sends me on my way.

I go over to the lab and am overjoyed to find some decent reading material: Dog Fancy magazine. After a short wait, a cheery phlebotomist takes me back. He checks my labels against my script and says, "Hmm...one says Wray and one says Way."

I say, "Oh, that's nothing. Half an hour ago I was dead according to your computer system!" We both laughed. He said I made his day.

Upon leaving the hospital and seeing the parking lot jam, I thought, "Oh noooooooo!" But miraculously, I dodged all traffic jams on the way home. This was not only due to my rebirth but my excellent collection of lesser known short cuts. It was a joyous rush hour trip actually, laughing all they way.

Tricksters

2006-10-31T06:05:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are again on the day of the year when it's okay to let your kids bounce off the ceiling from too much sugar and enhance tooth rot.

We are new to our street, and have no idea how many kids to expect. I count about 5 youngsters on the street, which is a loop off a busy road. We have enough candy for 42 kids...I KNOW (hope) we won't get that many.

K will be on door duty while I try to keep our dog with the rabid-sounding bark contained in the kitchen. I will be able to see the costumed small humans from afar through the front kitchen windows. It's so annoying that this barrage begins at 6 pm. Most people aren't even home from work yet! I think we will eat on the fly, perhaps nuke some frozen soup. Oh joy.

Then again, dear Ashiko and I could hole ourselves up in the garrett craft room, which has a locking pocket door that she can't bust through. That way I may be able to catch up on some knitting!

I did try to scoop poop on the front lawn so the kiddies won't have to wade through the mire, but it was hard to see all of it through the fallen leaves. I'm not allowed to rake because I'm still healing. If I was really holiday-minded I would have made a cutesy sign that says, "Use the path, or the boogeyman will get you!"

Alas, off to the grind...

Use your noodle

2006-10-26T14:55:00.000-04:00

Inspired by Dooce (check out her entry from 10/23/06 titled Noodly Appendage) to take this pic of my mutt, Ashiko, donning some Noro scraps!

Just ordered from KnitPicks!

2006-10-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

Since I've been SUCH a good girl and have finished NUMEROUS projects in the last week and a half, I decided to treat myself and order from KnitPicks (which doesn't break the bank!)

I got Quarry, a slight boucle bulky weight in North Sea (heathery blue) for the Teva Durham Loop-D-Loop "Fringed Pullover" with fringe that resembles sheep dreadlocks!

Also got Alpaca cloud in Stream (nice indigo), 100% baby alpaca lace weight, for "Ene's Scarf" from Scarf Style by Pam Allen.

And last but not least, I got some Andean Silk in Cream (alpaca, silk and merino blend) for an xmas gift.

Hubby (K) and I have a big date planned this weekend! He's going to drive me to Goodwill so I can scavenge for 100% non-washable wool sweaters to felt and make recycled totes or a blankie! Woo hoo!

Foliage like Kureyon!

2006-10-25T11:49:00.000-04:00

This is the western view from my kitchen. I can't help thinking how the foliage hues look like a skein of Noro Kuryeon!

And I'm going to have to frog these Koigu socks. They keep falling down! Have to get a decent pattern.

Chipping away at UFOs

2006-10-19T15:10:00.000-04:00

Well, it took me a few days to come around after going under the knife last Thursday, but I finally got to the knitting on Tuesday night. I finished another fingerless glove in yellow, but here's the pair for myself in green, Fetching

Today I FINALLY finished the felted slippers for my hubby. He's been watching me waltz around in mine for months now while his feet freeze. Now he can join in the woolly warmth. The pattern is Fiber Trends' "Felt Clogs" and the yarn is Cascade Quatro.

The before and after is astounding!

Also, in progress is Marley's Ghost in Noro Kureyon, colorway 138.

Turnpike ignoramus

2006-10-06T21:12:00.000-04:00

Now I know what happens if you don't grab a ticket and erroneously enter the PA turnpike by going through the "Easy Pass - NO TICKETS" booth. It helps to NOT have any cash or a checkbook on hand should this occur.

If you stupidly do this mainly because of poor signage, you're tired, and you had two tangy margaritas, DO NOT FRET. For the record, the margaritas happened LONG before the drive home and the ingestion thereof was punctuated with a hearty meal.

The guy at the booth will tell you that you have to pay the "whole enchilada," so to speak. I just couldn't resist using that term after the earlier beverage reference. But I digress.

It DOES help to have proof of where you got on the Turnpike. For example, I was at Mad Mex in Monroeville and had a time-stamped receipt! This was emblazoned in my memory as I realized my horrendous error. I thought, "I'll show them! I can PROVE where I got on!"

Of course I told all this to the toll booth guy at the Butler exit, but he wasn't enthused. He was even less enthused when I said I COULDN'T pay because I had no cash or checks. He had to fill out my "CERTIFICATE OF PASSAGE" form. Then he nicely presented me with a scribbled 1-800 number to call and said, "Call this number, tell them EXACTLY what you did, and they'll send you the difference."

So the next day, I retrieve the 800 number and my passage form. I dial and sift through all sorts of recorded instructions until I find what I think is the right one for "Fare Collection." Of COURSE when I make contact with a human and tell them my story, they say, "Oh, you need to talk to...blah blah blah."

I get "blah blah blah" on the phone, whose name is Ted. After listening to my spiel that started with, "Uh...I did a dumb thing and...", he says, "Allright. Here's what you do. Put OK Per Ted at the top of the passage form. Write 1.00 processing fee plus your 1.25 fare, and send a copy of the receipt and a check for 2.25. That's it."

So that was a fun way NOT to have to spend $23.00! In fact it was WORTH the $1.00 processing fee just so I could write this recap!

Loopy drummerz

2006-10-02T18:14:00.000-04:00

Not only do loops have to do with knitting, but loops are repeated patterns of sound. And what better way to have a loop of sound than with a bunch of crazy hand drummers at a great mind-freeing drum circle! We call ourselves Three Rivers Thunder and in nice weather you can find us jamming away at the "grotto" on Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park. We've become a great circle of friends, and I highly recommend drumming as a stress-reliever. Of course this can't be done while knitting, but why limit ourselves?

A Few of Many

2006-10-02T17:55:00.000-04:00

I started working on a feather and fan afghan about a year ago, shortly before my friend was due to have her baby. Silly me. It's 240 stitches across! Get's boring after a while! I DID buy Addi Turbos to make it go faster though. Well, needless to say, the baby is now 1 year old...sigh.
This was a nifty little eyelt beanie from...i forget the name of the book. I can tell later if anyone wants to ever know.

Also currently on my needles is a magenta mohair short row shawl/skirt from Weekend Knitting, a skinny entrelac scarf in Noro Silk Garden, a few stray socks waiting to join their mates...don't get me started about what's in the works, meaning what I have the yarn for but haven't even started yet! I'm telling myself that I HAVE to finish some of the works in progress first!

Revamping!

2006-10-01T10:40:00.000-04:00

Well, I can't remember my old password, and Blogger never sent it to me, so I'm starting from scratch. No biggie, since I only had a few posts started back in April.

6 years ago today, my husband and I were enroute to New Orleans for our honeymoon for a week. It was the first time there for both of us. We stayed at Maison Esplanade, a B&B just outside the quarter. I highly recommend. As far as I know, it's still in operation. Had a great time. That was the last time we were on a plane. Hmmm...

I haven't done nearly as much knitting as I should have recently, since we moved house in early August. The summer was pretty much absorbed getting ready for all that, and it seems to be a common theme among some of you out there that people are too tired after a day of work to do much else than stare at the TV after all the daily chores are done.

I have more than 6 projects going at once...have lost track of how many. I'm almost done with FETCHING, in a nice green. The only thing I'm not crazy about the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran is that my "less-than-lady-of-leisure" snaggy dry-skinned fingers really drag on the fuzz of the yarn. But hey, these are really cool fingerless gloves!