I suck!

Has it really been nearly two months? I'm really really bad at this blogging thing.

Life has been extraordinarily busy. In roughly chronological order: a cousin announced her second pregnancy when she and her half sister came to visit with a set of adorable and ohsoTINY twin girls and a very grown-up two year old, took a trip to Okeechobee to visit Grandparents, there was a wedding shower and subsequent cruise ship wedding for some friends (we did not get to go on the cruise but the ship was magnificent and the wedding was lovely . . . speedy but lovely), Mathboy's sister announced her first pregnancy(she's due around April 30th), Mathboy had his surgery and was in Tampa General Hospital for four days and then his dad stayed with us for five days to help care for him during the early stages of recovery (he's doing really well by the way. Three week check-up is on the 20th and we're confident that everything will be perfect), and we quietly celebrated our third anniversary on the seventh of October. Throughout all of the busy travelling around and visiting though, there has been knitting.

I finished the mimosa for my co-worker.

(Euroflax linen in Champagne with jet, amber, and coffee coloured silver lined glass beads)

Made a stocking hat for Miss Em from a pattern in Itty Bitty Hats. Note the matching pom pom . . . and yes, it will fit her little noggin . . . it's just crazy stretchy.

(Knit Picks Swish Bulky in Flamingo, Creme Brulee, Sea Foam, Lilac, and Honey Dew)

Started, and frogged, a pair of Six-Pack socks designed by Wendy Johnson and available here.

I think the yarn is lovely (Fibra Natura "Yummy" in some numbered and hard to remember colourway) but it completely and totally obscured Wendy's beautiful cables and eyelets.

Started and frogged ad nauseum before near completion (waiting for a report on gender before choosing between two different cuffs) a pair of baby Coriolis socks from New Pathways for Sock Knitters.

see how the one on the left looks all cute and neat and the one on the right kind of resembles a hot mess? That's what happens when you don't actually read the pattern for the opposite foot.

Top: "boy sock" with narrow applied i-cord cuff. Bottom: "girl sock" with flouncy applied i-cord cuff.

And last but not least I tackled a EZ's surprise jacket in the original baby size.

Jacket and socks are all made with Lion Brand Microspun in black and the the poorly named "Lilac".

Next up? Adult Coriolis socks in the yarn I used for the failed six-pack socks. There's also a stole that I want to make for myself but let's be honest here . . . we all know that I'm going to stumble across ninety-dozen projects that I just have to make for other people (like the four bsj's that I want to make for the twins, their older cousin and her little sibling). *sigh* I know that I am capable of astounding selfishness but you'd never guess it from my knitting.

Cat for Sale.

Really. He's adorable and all (if you can get past the "I'm so happy that I'm gonna drool on ya" thing) but I'm sooooo done with his habit of chewing wires. Some of the things he's noshed on include a telephone wire, the power cord for my laptop, and, most recently, the cable for the digital camera. I've got lots of pics to show and no way to show them.

So. Picture Behold Mathboy modelling my completed LionBrand MicroFiber Clapotis in "Lilac" (cornflower blue from the same people that call tangerine "Mango")
Picture Behold a very small LionBrand MicroFiber drop stitch cap in that same shade.


Picture the beginnings of (at long last) my Strikke-along project . . . Elann's Pinwheel Sweater in . . . guess what fibre and colour of said fibre? This has got to stop because if I keep showing up at knitting with that yarn I'm certain that Eileen's going to try to stage an intervention.

(ETA: Ummmm, so I'm a bad strikke-alonger/blogger. Didn't take any pictures of the early stages of the Pinwheel. Not going to take any current pictures right now either.)

The pinwheel is coming along nicely but somehow I lost the plot around . . . I dunno, maybe row 7 or 9 and at least one of the intervals between increases is too short. Or maybe the others are too long. *shrug* Maybe I'll frog it one more time on the weekend if I just can't stand it. Or not. Isn't knitting fun?!

Still Alive

(edited to try to repair the odd spacing and ask what bloggers problem is with spaces and pictures.)

Long overdue post with PICTURES!

Firstly . . . about two weeks ago, I met up with Alyson, Chris, Kelly, Phoebe, and Valerie (no that link's not a mistake, Valerie is one of the brains behind Yarn4Socks) at Knit'n'Knibble in Tampa. From there we went to dinner (well, Alyson, Kelly, Phoebe, Valerie and I) at Pane Rustica which was delicious, reasonably priced, and under lit. Our third, and final stop, was a nearby Barnes and Noble where we chased away an older woman (who was so deeply ensconced in her cozy chair that she'd actually brought a blanket from home) by being unruly and giggly. Well jeez. What else can you expect from a gaggle of knitters?

From left to right: Me, Valerie, Alyson, and Kelly.

Photo credit goes to Valerie's very patient husband Reuben.

The following Sunday was our usual knit-out at (lately) Jason's Deli where Sandy was kind enough to model her clap-in-progress. Incidentally, I'm working on one in the same colour (because I abandoned put the SWS one on hold). The yarn is Lionbrand Microspun in Lilac. Because of course periwinkle blue is the first colour I think of when I think of lilacs. *sigh* Anyways.

The monkeys were completed in plenty of time to be gifted to my mother in law this last Sunday but on Friday I decided to make something else to go with them.

Any guesses what?

Here's a hint (Mathboy made this part)

Oh! Saturday we picked up The Deathly Hallows and I read it on Monday. Like Kelly, I devoured it in about 5 hours. My problem now? Mathboy won't read it until he's finished the series he's reading right now . . . and he wants to read the first six in the Potter series before he reads book seven. *sigh* Keeping mum about it for goodness knows how long is liable to kill me.

Lastly, here's the evil large green bug who's been munching on my roses. Anyone know what it is?

I'm off now to consume large amounts of orange juice, ruby red grapefruit juice, and soup in an effort to combat whatever the heck it is that's been inflicting a fever and headache on me so that I feel somewhat human tomorrow (not feeling one's mortality on one's birthday is kind of a nice thing) and on our trip to Virginia Friday.

Graft and re-Graft

Ordinarily, I wouldn't feel the need to point out the silly things that I decorate my blog with but LOOK! It's a skinny cute little knitting me (with pointy ears! )! If you want your own cute little knitting you, head on over to www.meez.com and join. In the space where it asks who referred you, type cornssss (note the fourth s) and you'll get five free coinz to deck yourself out (can't get the knitting or the wedding ring without coinz). In the interest of full disclosure, I also get coinz for any references that join up . . . but they're of no use in the real world. Also, Kelly? They've got Hairspray outfits! I'm ashamed to admit that I could easily send hours in there messing around and playing dollies.

On to the knitting content. I finished monkey 1, did something that I was calling kitchenering, and decided that it looked absolutely horrible. There are no pictures because it was very very bad, however, I do have witnesses to the badness.

Last night found me on the couch, muttering and grumbling as I returned to this point:

Once I got back to the start, I ran the video found here, watched it maybe three or four times, gritted my teeth and settled in to graft my little heart out. In the end, I did this:

I could only be more pleased if it'd looked like this on the first try.

And so, I'm proud to present Monkey 1.

The cool sock blocker is a bent-out-of-shape coat hanger. I found the tutorial here thanks to this post of Kristy's.

Tonight you'll find me on the couch doing this:

and watching Mike Rowe play with reptiles on Dirty Jobs.

Incidentally, Monkey 2 came to the immigration offices with me yesterday and evidently the size 2 bamboos she's on were not deemed nearly as dangerous as the zeros that Boudica was on. No chin poking test this time (the last time I was at the immigration offices, the screener checked to see how dangerous my needles were by stabbing himself in the chin repeatedly with them.) and while I was able to while away my time without getting bored, all of the knitting I did got frogged thanks to a ginormous error made as soon as I got there. I got my new stamp and so I'm good to go for another year. Next year at this time, I'll be able to apply for my long term (ten year) green card. Woot!

Monkey Passion

On Tuesday, the monkey sock and I went to its place of conception. I'm only about three or four inches away from the toe and rather pleased with myself.

Here's Monkey enjoying the music and lights.
























Today, Mathboy and I went for a stroll around our wildly overgrown back yard and found this lovely little fellow and his entire family and all of their friends attempting to overthrow our backyard. I really need to get out there and mow. In case you're curious, that's a purple passion flower

Roller Skating Sox and Evil Pets

On Friday I did a field trip to a Tampa Roller Rink. I worked on the Clap for a few hours and then decided that I really need to cast on my Monkeys. I completed my cast on, joined it and had just begun working in the round when a woman walked up, asked if I was knitting socks and began fondling my yarn. Clearly a Knitter. As I'm rather shy (shaddup Sandy and Kelly. It's true!) and don't do well one on one with strangers, I didn't really have much to say. In retrospect, I could have asked if she had any wip's with her, would she like to join me, where she buys her yarn . . . So, stranger from the Roller Rink? If you're reading this, I'm not snotty...until I get to know you :-)

Monkey at the roller rink. Forgive the crappy cellphone pic.

The weekend was fairly uneventful, I was late getting to Panera because we spent Sunday afternoon in Tampa visiting with some of Mathboy's relatives but once I got to the restaraunt we had a giggling good time.

This morning I interrupted an impromptu "learn to knit" session on my bedroom floor. I've had to dissuade the dogs from thinking they could knit in the past but evidently I wasn't forceful enough in pointing out that 000 needles are just not a good idea for beginners. The needles were cheap, and it was my fault for being foolish enough to leave them where the rotten beasts instinct driven darlings could eat them but I'm still royally ticked.

Will Penicillin Work at This Stage?

I have a confession to make. I've caught the Clap. I thought I was safe, in fact, I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't even think it was dangerous anymore but it seems that I was wrong.
Let me explain. Mathboy's favorite aunt has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and ever since she received her diagnosis, I've been wondering what I could knit for her. I thought about this, this and even one of these but frankly, she's just not a frilly person and while the Dragon Wings would probably do nicely I'm afraid of it taking longer than we have. Of course, there was also the small matter of decent laceweight not being free. As I looked at, and eliminated, each pattern a sibilant whisper echoed in the back of my mind.
"What about clapotis?" I had all sorts of arguments against it; it's more of a scarf than a wrap - it calls for sock yarn doesn't it? But, in the end, it drew me in and I'm trying it in the SWS natural blue colorway. I've swatched and the only thing I'm really worried about is getting the stitches to drop nicely . . . SWS is a little sticky. My other concern is that it's not easily washable and it is going to the house that Red Heart keeps warm. That being said, I'm probably overthinking it at this point in time. After all, I still need to finish the anniversary throw . . . crap, by this weekend. Gotta go!

Moving on

Boudica is on a time out, thinking about what she's done

You'll notice that I've frogged her completely and even rewound the yarn and now she's going to hang out in her little orange bag while I focus on other things. Like this:

My sister and brother in law are celebrating their first anniversary on Father's Day and I'm making a small afghan/throw for them to celebrate the occasion. Yes, I know that I only have 17 sleeps left to complete it. Thank goodness for my Clifford needles.

There's doings afoot! (With apologies to Kristy for my worse than usual grammar).
First, these came:













So, naturally, I promptly dove in and devoured my new books. (fyi, it's not a good idea to read a book like the Harlot's while there's a cranky muggle in the house. Giggle-snorting tends to poke the beast) "Casts Off" was reassuring because it reminded me that I'm not alone as a knitter, and I have been feeling a little lonely lately. Of course, it was also deeply deeply funny.

"Sensational Knitted Socks" is kind of an Idiots Guide to Knitting Socks and it led directly to this:



Yes, that's Mathboy modeling a pair of . . . well, deeply feminine socks. They're for my sister and frankly, chickie has feet like a duck. 9 1/2" around and 8 1/2" long. The yarn is Modea Dea's "Sassy Stripes" in the "Crush" colourway and I'm knitting the socks on size 2 needles. At this time, I'd like to mention that I love love LOVE the magic that is short rows. It started out straight, but now it's a smiley face! Gnomes!

Other goings on have included making another step toward having a proper office in place of our screen room/porch/lanai. To that end, Mathboy and his dad spent yesterday sheathing the frame that they installed a few months ago. Everything went well and we learned something new. Evidently our puppy thinks that tar paper is worthwhile entertainment and snack food.

Evidently, eating tar paper is thirsty work.

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"?

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 :)