Everyone's doing it!

I blame MJ. Her really cute tube sock she's making for her husband has inspired me to knit a sock. Well, 2 socks eventually. I desperately need a ball winder, though, because winding 100 yd of sportweight yarn is not my cup of tea. So my ball of yarn looks like catyak.

This is another image of it, kind of sitting next to the oval catyak ball of sportweight yarn. I'm using 50 sts on size 4 needles, and for some reason, k3p2 is more interesting to me than k2p2. I think it's that one has to think a tiny bit with the k3p2, but not so much with k2p2.

And this final one shows the pretty pretty k3p2 ribbing. What a pretty color! I'm thinking I want to do an afterthought heel, and I'm going to try to do the 'piggy toes' from the Twisted Sisters sock book. Hard? Sure, but I *heart* toe socks. Just ask the KWA gals about my cow toes! (I had to show them off -- I really like the cute pink-toed cow-spotted socks.) If I can make my own toe socks... look out world! Here come my toes! The ones I can re-knit if they wear out! Woo hoo!

Name 6 of your favorite songs

Ok, ok, I got tagged by Kathy on this one.

"Baby Seat" by Barenaked Ladies: "You can't live your life in the baby seat. You've got to stand on your own, don't admit defeat."

"I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz: we picked up the exclusive ITMS Wordplay EP while waiting for his new album to be out. It's a sweet, simple love song.

"Another Postcard" by Barenaked Ladies: Any song that has chimpanzees in it is obviously cool. :D

"U Can Look"" by Jump, Little Children: I saw them in person at SXSE, and at a couple places in Augusta. They're cute, this song is sexy-cool, and it's just a great song.

"Elevation" by U2: It's just a great song, and works well for driving. How can you not sing along? El-e-va-tion!

"All Around Me" by Savage Garden: similar sexy-cool vibe as U Can Look, and Darren Hayes is Cuuuuuuute. My aunt and I saw Savage Garden in concert in Atlanta, and this was the only song that wasn't on the album they had out. I ended up buying the Australian import CD to find it.

I actually have a 7th, because I *have* to include him on this list,

"Let Love Be Your Energy" by Robbie Williams. It's a great happy song, and fits with me like "I'm Yours" and "Baby Seat".

Now I have to figure out who to tag...

Not a single knit stitch

I haven't knit a stitch since Sunday. I've been so busy with work and then when I get home, we go out... sigh. These sleeves will never get done at this pace! Waaah!

At least it's Wednesday. I work Sun-Wed, with Thur-Sat off. (Although I came in an hour early today because the 3rd shift dude has the plague.)

Yay! It's my Friday, and while I have some bathroom painting to do tomorrow, hopefully there will be enough downtime to pick up the needles again so I can get this thing done before knitgroup on saturday (which, this week, is RIGHT BY MY HOUSE, yay!).

Things I've learned about knitting...

1. Stockinette will curl. There are edge treatments you can do to force it flat, but it wants to curl.
2. Knitting looks like ass until you're done with the first 5 rows. Don't judge yourself too harshly on the first few rows.
3. Gauge matters. Really.
4. Knitting is very calming, and somewhat mind-engaging as well. Great for a cross-country trip.
5. Knitting is better on Saturday mornings.

Speaking of Saturday morning, I'll bring the Wool of the Andes for anyone to swatch with for eris.

Already a Curmudgeon...

I've not been knitting but 3-4 months now, and I'm already a curmudgeon. I'm tired of the One-Skein Wonder. If I see another one, I'm going to scream. I think it's ugly, and doesn't work well on most women over the age of 14.

I'm also tired of seeing kool-aid dyed wool. I'm tired of fun-fur boas, and fingerless gloves that are a tube with a thumb hole (but no thumb). Knitty, while somewhat cool, is *not* the greatest thing since sliced bread. If I see another "Branching out" scarf on craftster, I will scream. If I see another rah-rah cheerleading "I love everything about knitty" on the knitty boards, I will scream. If I see *ONE MORE* poncho disguised as an anything (capelet? really? looks like a poncho to me!)... argh.

I get grumpy when someone starts a new discussion about something that's not just on the board still, but something that was talked to death last week, but they didn't bother to do a search to see if anyone else had the same problem.

I'm probably alone in thinking that addi's are too slick, and not useful (especially for the way I knit). Don't get me wrong, they're wonderful for people who knit tightly, or for people who like circulars for everything. I just don't. I prefer double-pointed needles when I can get away with them. I don't think Magic Loop will save the world. I think knitting socks on two circulars would make me go insane.

Sigh. I'm already old and grumpy. Who needs a 30th birthday to remind them of that? [T - 30 days and counting]

My box of yarn...

As those in my knit group should know, I got my KnitPicks order on Saturday. Here's a sample... this is Sock Garden in "Morning Glory".

And the lovelies together (I didn't open the 10-pack of yarn, so here's the 5 leftovers and the sock garden). Of course, I will bring them for fondling on Saturday, so that the KWA gals (and guy) can cop a feel of my new blue yarn. The Wool of the Andes (in Winter Night) is destined to be an Eris. Yes, I know my second sweater will be considerably more difficult than my first sweater, but I'm ready for it!

Sleeeves!

I finished the front of my sweater while at knit group and have started on the sleeves. I'm knitting them both at the same time to make them not take forever (and ever and ever and ever).

Allergies... it must be allergies

I felt so much better after it rained last night, it was uncanny. So, armed with Claritin (no more of that pseudoephedrine stuff for me) and a good attitude, it was off to work with me today. I'm about to finish the last 6 rows of grey and start into the stripes on the front of the hoodie (Yay!).

Yes, I will be knitting at work. Why? Because it's Company Picnic Day, and no one's at work but the NOC (my group) and Customer Care. As long as nothing breaks, there's not much for me to do.

Feelin' Woozy

I shouldn't have taken that Advil Cold & Sinus this morning. Now I feel achy *and* lightheaded. Or I should've eaten something. Or not had that cup of coffee... I'm not sure which was the worst decision. So I'm at work, kind of working. Spacing out, mostly.

I've had "the plague" since Sunday morning, so hopefully I didn't infect anyone else. If so, I'm sorry. I didn't know I had the plague. I thought I just knit too much on Saturday and that's why I was tired and achy on Sunday. :D

Houston, we have a pocket.

While knitting with the girls (and guy) from KWA on Saturday morning, I came within one repeat of finishing the pocket on the front of my hoodie. I knitted the pocket to the front last night at 5pm. No pictures, but still, it's a pocket! :)

I ordered yarn from KnitPicks this morning (Wool of the Andes Winter Blue) for Eris (which I also purchased this morning). If things go well on the sweater I'm currently working on, I could be done in another week or two, and ready for Eris by the beginning of September. The girls are planning an Auntie-along (Rogue and Eris), although I have a feeling it will be a total Eris-along. :)

Books: Knitting books from my aunt

While on vacation, my aunt Sharon gave me a bunch of her books; in addition to a few on celtic knotwork and crafts of ireland, she gave me the following:

Fishermen's Sweaters by Alice Starmore
The Celtic Collection by Alice Starmore
Classic Designs (ARCO Publishing)
Sweater Design in Plain English by Maggie Righetti
Patterns for Guernseys, Jersey & Arans by Gladys Thompson

They're all old and somewhat dated, but if you cover up the models' hair, some of the sweaters are really nice. :)

Baby's got Back!

... And I don't mean my prodigious posterior. I finished the back of my sweater (Under the Hoodie), and the neck stitches are on a 'holder' -- a scrap of acrylic threaded through the stitches. [Probably the best use for acrylic.]

I'm already 38 rows into the front of the sweater... 19 more and I start into picking up the pocket stitches. Yay! Pretty pretty sweater!

Finished Object: Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers

My armwarmers... they'll probably be on their way to Maine, to my brother. Yes, they're fraternal, but I like them that way. They're unique that way(and only used one ball of Kureyon... mmmmm Kureyon). These were my first foray into cables. My second pair, which I'll post later, I used another repeat of the cables. I use them to shield my arms from the sun as I drive to work. Being "generic white people" -- German, Irish, English, with a touch of Cherokee -- I burn easily. Mostly German (my father's parents came from Germany to the US), then Irish (my mother's mother's parents came from Ireland -- she was a Catholic, he was a Protestant -- you can see the issue there), and then English/Cherokee (mom's dad's grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee, the rest of the ancestors were English).

They turned out cute, and I think my brother can use them more than I (especially since I already have a pair). :)

Nulla

We've wanted a Shiba Inu since before we knew what one was. Ben saw one in a pet store and asked what it was because he thought it was cute. We did our homework, and last fall, we drove to a breeder in Kansas to get the Nulla-dog. She was one of two left -- they had 2 litters 2 weeks apart, and there was one girl left from each litter. Nulla and Willow. When we got there, they were running around, chasing each other (as pups will do). I picked up Willow (a sesame), and she just kept on wiggling. I put her down, and Ben picked her up, and she did the same thing. I reached down and picked up Nulla, and she quieted right down. I put her down, and she was running around again, and Ben picked her up, and she was quiet again.

She's been fixed, and she's 17 lb of muscle from running around her back yard. She loves the kitties. She kisses them, and chases them around the house. She's eaten all of their good toys, and pulled apart their wooly bullies. But she's a sweet dog, and a happy dog. She gives kisses (sometimes a bit too much) and tolerates being held and snuggled on (not bad for a 1yo shiba!)

Murrie

I had been living with Ben for about a year and a half, and we had talked about getting Stefano a friend. We jokingly said that the new cat would have to be named "Murray" because that's what Stefano kept saying when he talked to the house. We weren't looking for another cat specifically at the time we found her. We were shopping for a Christmas gift for Mrs. Benny's Mom. The kitchen store was next to a pet store, and the humane society was out with puppies and kitties. He saw the muted calico and said "I want that one." We went shopping, found what we wanted, and we went back outside. A quick trip to the ATM later, and we had a tiny kitten who was doomed with the name "Murrie".

She's still rather petite, but she loves to stretch out. Kelly (my friend from down the street) was watching them while we were on vacation, and freaked out because Murrie likes to lay on her back, and as I tell Murrie all the time... CATS DON'T LAY LIKE THAT!

Stefano

I got Stefano 7 years ago, when he was just a kitten, from the Montgomery County Humane Society in Montgomery County, Virginia. We were visiting my aunt Sharon, and had spent Thanksgiving with her. My aunt Susan (who I was living with at the time) took me to show me how hard it would be to walk away from the kittens. He reached out of the cage as I was leaving, and grabbed my sweater. So I took him home. An 8-hour drive. He met the dog when we got home (a chocolate lab/border collie mix), and climbed up my face to stand on top of my head to hiss at her.

He's the man of the house, and puts the dog in her place. Even though she's slightly larger, he still knows how to deal with her puppy-isms.

Christmas! (already)

So Ben & I (while at my oldest brother's wedding) made plans with my family to have Christmas in Colorado this year. Mom called on Saturday while I was out drinking coffee, so I gave her a call back, and we talked about Christmas -- she's been on-call for all of the other holidays this year, so she's already put in for it. I called my oldest 2 brothers (I have 4 of them, 2 college-age, 2 teenagers) and reminded them of this decision, as I couldn't remember if they had been informed during the 48 hours we were all together.

We need more beds. Bedrooms, we have 5 of. We have 3 guest beds (a double, and two twins), and a sofa now, and my supacool Pier 1 loveseat that converts into a bed. Not quite enough for my mom, Buck and Jen (my new sister-in-law), Jeff and Sara (girlfriend who we've invited), Matt, and Travis. Even if Sara doesn't come, we're still one or two beds short.

I'm actually looking forward to having a big Christmas this year -- we had one when we moved into the house with all of Ben's family (both parents, both sisters, both brothers), then a quiet one last year. We'll do another brined turkey (Yay, Food Network) and maybe some fondue one night... it'll be tons of fun. :)

Finished Object: The laptop bag

This was my second non-scarf finished object, and If I ever have the urge to install a zipper into 1/4" thick felted wool, I will allow anyone to smack me upside the head with a sheep.

I made one rather large change to the pattern from the Stitch n' Bitch book. I matched the stripes. I hated the non-matching stripes in the book. They gave me the heebie-jeebies.

Finished Object: Princess Snowball Cat Bed

This was my first finished object that was not a scarf. Although technically, the green bit was a terribly long garter-stitch rectangle that if not sewn to the 'circular' bit, would qualify as a scarf.