Eureka!

Well, in all fairness, I don't know that I made any great discovery that will improve the world of knitting but it makes me happy.

Did you know that, when knitting in the round, if you turn your work for the first row (after joining your cast on stitches) you'll end up with a really pretty purl row at the start of your work, and no jog! Well. Ok. There might be a jog if you don't cast on an extra stitch at the end and knit it together with the first stitch but I usually still get a jog even when I do that so I'm pleased with myself.

Also, when knitting something like Knucks (look! I linked! Sorry, big moment in my little world) Make sure that you try on all of the fingers to be certain that they're the right length and that you don't end up with, oh, say, an index finger that's two rows longer than the middle finger. 'Cause it just looks dumb. And it's kind of hard to tink down from a cast on edge. *Grin* Just sayin'

I've been hearing a lot lately about how I must be very patient and I have to come clean. Patience? Not so much. I'm incredibly impatient. Some days, the only thing that keeps me sane is my knitting and the sure knowledge that Spring Break, Summer Holiday, or Christmas break is right around the corner. In fact there are some days when I can't even look *that* far ahead and I have to focus on my next seven minute break. Do I enjoy my job? Absolutely. Are there days that I find it more frustrating than I have words to express? You bet. So no. I'm not patient. What I am is decently compensated for a very challenging job that I enjoy 80% of the time and that I am able to leave when I step off of my bus.

Wanna see what else I'm up to?

This is a housewarming gift for some friends who are moving into a brand new home in two weeks. It's Lion Brand Homespun in "Mediterranean" and I'm expecting to use 12 skeins in total.

I'm using these:

And if you're wondering just what size that is . . .

Yup, U.S. Size 50. These are Lion Brand's "Speed Stix" and they're enormous. I'm holding four strands of yarn together and getting a really soft fluffy fabric out of it. Love the Speed Stix. It's a little like knitting with kindergarten crayons, or carrots, and they make me giggle but things just knit up so fast! Hmmmm, could that be why they call them "Speed Stix"?

We were visiting with some friends last night and talk turned to hitchhikers. Our friend Adam related this story;
One evening he was on his way home from some grocery shopping and saw a man waiting by his truck. Adam asked if he could help him and the man said he needed a ride home. This was Wisconsin in the 80's so Adam didn't hesitate in agreeing to take the man where he needed to go. The fellow hopped into the truck and, a few minutes into the drive, offered to repay Adam's kindness with a blowjob. As it happened, they were close to a police station, so Adam pulled over and told the guy to get out of his truck right then and there. It wasn't until some years later that Adam saw a face that he'd never forget on the six o'clock news. His overly friendly hitchhicker had been Jeffrey Dahmer.

The Elizabeth blanket came to work with me for its portrait session and I showed it to one of my colleagues who is a quilting and sewing type. As I put the blanket back in my bag, she asked if I sewed and when I said that I don't (very well anyways) she told me to pick up some fabric, measure the folded blanket, and draw her a picture of what I wanted in the way of a blanket storage bag! Well, I had no idea what I wanted but Bill and I picked up some cute fabric, a pair of honey bee shaped buttons, and I returned to Connie and said "can you do a flap?" And this is what she came up with:




It's got a nice little front pocket, the flap, beautiful emerald green lining, and a hidden strap. I love it to pieces. I could have done without PoohBear . . . simply because I think Elizabeth will outgrow it for ten years or so but since the nursery is done in Pooh, and since Elizabeth's daddy is Bill's oldest and closest friend, he got his way on the fabric choice.

My apologies for the blurriness of the photos. Evidently I've been having a series of bad picture days.

In other news, I've been working slowly on a pair of fingerless gloves for one of my bus kids. If he manages to avoid getting into trouble for the rest of the school year he'll get a pair of black gloves with deep red stars on the backs (his colour and design choice). These are the fingers :)

I've finished the baby blanket! It's all blocked and I'm just waiting on a friend who was kind enough to offer to sew a pillow/pouch for storage. The whole shebang should hit the mail by Wednesday at the latest and with a little luck and some cooperation from the USPS it should hit Richmond Saturday or Monday *grin*

Blocking:

Something tells me that I need a larger cat free surface for blocking.

Edited to add: I used four balls of Bernat Baby Coordinates (hooray for Michaels/Walmart yarn) in Lemon Custard and cast on 128 stitches with a set of Susan Bates 4.5 mm circs (which I will never ever use again! Ever!) After six rows in garter stitch, I started a feather and fan pattern with a six stitch garter stitch border. I then knitted in pattern until I decided it was long enough, did another six rows in garter, and bound off.