espknits

10 Days To Go

2008-12-15T21:29:00.004-06:00

There is progress in the esp workshop, although it's slow going. I seem to take 2 steps forward and 1 step back (now I've got that old Paula Abdul song stuck in my head). And I added another project.

My favorite project is the beaded scarf for Mom's birthday. It took forever, but was a lot of fun to knit. It blocked very well (and I used blocking wires for the first time which wasn't as scary as I thought it would be). I forgot to take a picture between blocking and wrapping, so I'll get one later when she opens her present.

2. The felted clogs are done, they just need to be felted.

3. Big Snugs. It's insane how much knitting these things involve. You knit 2 outer boots, 2 linings, and 2 bases. It doesn't sound like too much, but I started this project 3 months ago and still have to knit most of the last outer piece and another sole. Hopefully they'll be done in the next few days so I can felt them (and the felted clogs) sometime next weekend so they'll be dry by Christmas.

4. The chunky alpaca cowl. This was really quick, but threw me for a loop at the end. I used a provisional cast on so I could graft the ends together, eliminating a seam. I blocked it flat, then spent a while trying to figure out how to graft the knits and purls. I finally finished it this morning and tried it on- too big. Crap. After about an hour of ripping out the original graft, ripping a pattern repeat and re-grafting, it's done. Whew.

5. Pirates! I wanted a new challenge for my nephews, and as they're getting a little older (2 and 3) they need cooler stuff. They're into everything right now - dinosaurs, firemen, Yo Gabba Gabba (my personal favorite), knights, Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, and pirates. After some serious work on double-knit reversible awesome pirate hats, I started to hate them. it was a really cool idea, but it did not work out. Sometimes the best solution is the simplest: knit a plain stockinette hat and embroider some bad-ass skulls on the front. Easy. They took just a couple hours each.

6. Dark Mark Scarf. Haven't touched it in a while (the recipient is going out of town for Christmas so I have a little extra time).

7. Robin's Egg Blue Hat. Done. I used Rowan's Cocoon and am now obsessed with that yarn and that pattern. Maybe I'll make another in January.

8. Toddler Socks. I started to swatch last night and can't seem to come up with a decent stitch pattern (out of all of my Barbara Walker Treasuries and other stitch dictionaries). I'll figure it out tomorrow.

9. Rowan Big Wool Vest. It blocked nicely, and I started to add the garter stitch border this morning (thought it would be something quick and easy to finish after the cowl gave me so many problems). It gave me problems. I ran out of yarn with about 4" to go. Rather than spending another $16.50, I'm going to rip and use less stitches and a bigger needle.

10. Habitat Hat. This is one of the coolest patterns I've ever seen. I knitted until my fingers went numb and am head over heels in love with this hat. I kinda want to make myself one in January to wear when I don't feel like wearing the Robin's Egg Blue hat. This is one of those projects that is absolutely perfect for the recipient - I know he'll be really happy, which makes me really happy.

11. Men's socks. I bought the yarn, but haven't even wound it. I'm hoping to knit an entire pair of socks in 8 days after Christmas.

12. This one I added yesterday, and look - I'm almost done! It's another Habitat for someone whose birthday is really close to Christmas and I was going to buy him something, but honestly, this is easier than running around town trying to find something for my Dad. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted that I found in my closet so I didn't even have to spend any more money.

I have to knit a snug lining, felt some slippers, knit half of a scarf, design and knit 2 pairs of socks, rip and finish a vest, and buy a few things for Mom and the nephews. It didn't seem like a lot until I wrote it all out. I'd better go knit now.

Christmas is Coming!

2008-12-07T10:35:00.002-06:00

I'm back! And I'm knitting A LOT! It's that time of the year when I try to knock out gifts left and right. My wonderful family and friends all seem to have birthdays in the fall, then Christmas, then a couple more birthdays in January, so my hands are busy. So far, I think I may actually be on top of things, because I would rather not spend Christmas Eve blocking 15 different things and weaving in a thousand ends. **If you might be getting a gift from me, stop reading this now**

1. Undulating Waves Scarf. Knitted, ends woven in, need to block.

2. Felted Clogs from Fiber Trends. Need to felt.

3. Big Snugs (boot slippers). Linings knitted, need to knit outer shells and seam and felt.

4. Chunky Alpaca Cowl. I threw in a big cable. Maybe 5" done out of 20" or so.

5. Pirate hats. They're double-knitted hats with a skull and crossbone motif. I finished one last night and am terrified that they are too big. I'll measure the boys' heads tomorrow and pray that they're the same size as mine. If not, then we'll find out if Encore can shrink.

6. Dark Mark Scarf. It's a really cool shadow-knitting scarf inspired by Harry Potter. I'm about a third of the way done and haven't worked on it in months.

7. Robin's Egg Blue Hat. Just started last night, will finish today. Loving it.

8. Toddler socks out of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in colorway Happy Valley. Haven't even bought the yarn yet.

9. Cinnamon Vest from Rowan's New Shapes. It's out of Big Wool and took no time. Need to block and add the edging.

10. Brooklyn Tweed's Habitat. It's a gorgeous cabled hat. Will start today.

11. Men's socks. Technically not due until January 2nd, so I haven't bought the yarn yet. I think I'll use Smooshy from Dream in Color.

I still need to buy a couple of things and have no idea what I'm going to get mom and dad for Christmas (they each get one knitted gift and one purchased gift because their birthdays are so close to Christmas). Whew. I have plenty of coffee, some Titans football coming up on tv, and am ready to knit all day.

By the way, I'm sorry for completely neglecting this blog for a while. I didn't want to blog for a while, then life picked up and got better and much busier. Now I'm knitting so much that I have to share!

How Cool Is This!!!!!!

2008-09-20T18:44:00.003-05:00

I have a friend who is so amazing that not only does she know Mike Keith (the Voice of the Titans), she took me to his radio show with Jeff Fisher last week.

Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited to meet Jeff Fisher?

I also got to meet Justin Gage, our top wide receiver. I was a little excited about that too.

It was such a fun night! It was also very very cool to meet Mike Keith, who I've been listening to on the radio for 10 years now. He was so kind and welcoming, and we got to talk football too. Coach Fisher and Justin were also very gracious and nicer than you'd expect.

Now it's time to talk football. The Titans beat Jacksonville in a great game in week 1, then went to Cincinnati in a windstorm and whooped the Bengals. We've got a strong team and I definitely have high hopes for this season. Tomorrow I'm going to the game where we face the Texans, who have had their season turned around by Hurricane Ike. While I'm praying for them and their city, I still hope we kick their butts tomorrow.

My prediction: Titans win!

Happy Feet

2008-09-20T18:05:00.005-05:00

Awwwwwwww..... Aren't they cute! It's been a while since I posted pics of the nephews and they are so grown up!!! That's Big D on the right, he just turned 3, and he's hugging (not strangling) his little brother, Buddha Bear, who is about to turn 2.

I am so proud of them - they are both incredibly loving, thoughtful little guys. They're starting to speak Spanish, and each of them can name about 3o different dinosaurs, although their favorite is the Mighty T Rex (with razor sharp teeth).

That's enough gushing for one post. I made their mommy some Fiber Trend's Felted Clogs for her birthday, and they felt very left out. They would steal her slippers and wear them around the house and cry if she tried to take them back. So, like a good Auntie, I made them each a pair.

I was really surprised at just how fast they knitted up. While watching football last Sunday, I knocked out 4 slippers in about an hour and a half. It's a fun knit, just complicated enough to keep you interested, but could still pay attention to the game.

I've painted the bottoms with puff paint for traction, and now they're a happy family with very happy feet. As a knitter, it's the best feeling in the world to know that your loved ones appreciate what you make for them.

Do I Get A Medal?

2008-08-24T19:32:00.003-05:00

I did it! My 2008 Olympic Challenge is done! Okay, it's not blocked, and I was weaving in my last end as the closing ceremonies started and frantically taking pictures outside in my pajamas before the sun set, but it's done.

I started off knitting "Scarf with edging 21 and insertion 25 from The Knitted Lace Pattern Book" from Victorian Lace Today, but didn't really like "insertion 25". The border is the same but I fiddled around with some things and came up with my own center pattern. It was fun! I love knitting lace, and love knitting with soft, luxurious yarn even more. I used a size 6 needle and Punta Del Este's Mericash yarn - 80% merino, 20% cashmere. Very very very very soft.

Unfortunately, there were a few things going on in the last 17 days that tried to derail this project. My bro and his lovely wife were in town and we enjoyed a week of family time - lots of good food (chocolate pie and peach crisp in the same night!), an AMAZING concert (go buy every album by My Morning Jacket. If you don't love it, I will come smack you upside the head), and we even roasted marshmallows and went "camping" in my bro's backyard. And I got sick. By the time we were sweating by the campfire Monday night, I was in full-fledged sinus infection hell. Then it turned into an upper respiratory infection and I'm still sick. I sat on my couch all day Thursday (except a trip to the doctor) and did not knit a stitch. I must be feeling a little better, because I knitted about 15" of scarf today to finish.

I haven't posted in forever, and it's been a hectic summer, but promise to post more. My family's birthday season is fast approaching, with Christmas coming soon after, so it's time to warn my family and friends that their presents may appear on this here blog.

Hope everyone had a fun Olympics!

Sunshine

2008-05-26T12:02:00.003-05:00

Happy Memorial Day! It's officially the start of summer, thank goodness, and I kicked it off with a perfect day at the lake with friends.

My dear friend Carrie (above) and I joined some other friends on Old Hickory Lake yesterday for some sunshine. (And SPF 50 sunblock).

I learned how to wear a diaper - not what you're thinking. If you wear a life jacket upside down in the water, you float effortlessly.

We drove around for a while getting sun, then stopped off at a restaurant - I would definitely recommend this place if I could remember the name - Anchor Something Or Other. They had a killer shrimp po-boy and a great selection of beer for a hot afternoon.

I'm still not posting a lot lately, and have had a lot going on, but just wanted to share some sunshine with the world. I'm so glad we got out yesterday because some storms are about to pass through, but after that I'm planning some pool time with friends and am thoroughly enjoying this holiday. It's been the perfect combination of good friends, sun (but not enough to burn my freaky pale skin), and laughter.

Sorry....

2008-05-15T21:29:00.003-05:00

It's been a while, and a whole lot has been going on since my last post. I've had plenty of things to celebrate. A bunch of my friends graduated with various degrees from Vanderbilt, and my brother and his lovely wife celebrated their first wedding anniversary! They even came over to share their anniversary cake with us.

Such a happy koala couple. Speaking of bro, he and his wife are travel nurses and just signed on to spend three months in Santa Fe. He's sharing their adventures with a new blog. Yes, my brother is a treehugging traveler with itchy feet and I love him lots. Check it out!

I've been spending a lot of quality time with my nephews too. Here's Hoss with his Auntie in the park. I know everyone says this, but they grow up so fast.

As for knitting, I've been just as spastic as ever. David, formerly of TBY, showed me some gorgeous lace he was working on and completely inspired me. So I grabbed the most beautiful knitting book ever, Victorian Lace Today, and started a new project.

I ripped out my old lace project with Schaefer's Andrea, and started again. I've just finished the border and am starting the center panel.

To counteract the intricate brain-consuming lace I'm working on a couple of semi-mindless patterns too. One is a surprise, and the other is a tank top for work - I'm teaching a class on it in June - check the schedule.

It's the Ribby Shell from ChicKnits, and is just enough boring and just enough going on to keep you interested.

Whew. Life seems to get busier and more stressful every day, and I've given up on just hanging in there until it's calm and have decided that it's alright to be crazy busy. I've had a couple of great weekend trips and lots of fun celebrations, but have also been dealing with drama too. Things are definitely looking up, and I'm looking forward to a great summer.

Just Like Heaven

2008-04-21T19:01:00.004-05:00

The Hosts

Saturday night I went to my favorite getaway - the Lakehouse. Abbie and Benji's dad has a little lakehouse somewhere between here and Memphis. The drive is just long enough to feel like you're far away, but just short enough to go away for a night. Abbie and I have been spending weekends there since I turned 16, sometimes with her brother (a.k.a. my "otha-brotha"), sometimes with friends, and sometimes just to get away for a girl's weekend.

The Next Generation

There are certain Lakehouse rules. Some came from tradition, others from necessity, and some from, well, we might have been drinking when we made those up. It can't be a Lakehouse weekend without wine coolers (don't ask why - just drink your darn wine cooler and get on with it). We also have to play certain games - Connect Four, Uno, and gin. There's really nothing else to do there after dark but drink and play cards on the screen porch.

The Neighbors

Guests must have a smile on their face within 10 minutes of arrival, and if you're not having a good time, go home. You'd better be easily amused, because you're on your own for entertainment. You're not allowed to know what time it is. There are about 15 clocks in the 4 room cabin, and none of them work. It's either time to eat, time to go to bed, time to get up, or time to go fishing. Everyone must pitch in equally when it comes to groceries, cooking, cleaning, etc. We all go there to get away, so no one person should have to take care of everyone else. The most important rule is that you have to go home stinky. You can't go to the Lakehouse and drive home clean. That would be just silly.

Little Tay and Auntie Em

This past weekend was fairly typical. Abbie, her daughter, Benji, and a couple other friends arrived earlier, so I showed up just in time for dinner (working Saturdays isn't always fun, but at least I got out of dinner duty). Afterwards we put little Tater to bed and sat on the porch for a quiet, but fun night with friends. We went to bed at about dark-thirty, every little bed and couch full.

The Fish Whisperers

The next morning, Benji and his niece collected sticks to give to Mommy. It's funny how we all revert back to high school at the Lakehouse. It's like we're playing house. When we all lived with our parents, the Lakehouse was just that. It was our own special place to get away and feel like adults, but now we feel like teenagers there.

Baby Turtle

After a great day, we cleaned up, packed our gear and headed home. I was about an hour away from Nashville when my legs started to hurt a little. Abbie and I were so concerned with not letting Tater get too much sun that we might have forgotten to re-apply sunblock. My legs are fried. It hurts to bend them, touch them, or even wear pants. It looks like I'll be wearing long skirts all week.

Other than the burn, I came home rested, happy, and most importantly, stinky. And it's not even summer yet. There are many Lakehouse weekends to come.

Sides Hurt From Laughing

2008-04-09T21:27:00.004-05:00

The Harlot came to Tennessee, and did not disappoint. That woman can say "Hello" and I'd laugh uncontrollably.

There was a great group at Borders, and I always get a thrill seeing this many people knitting at once. It makes me feel just a little bit more normal (which doesn't happen too often).

The Harlot also brings people together. Here's my pal JP (it stands for Just Perfect) and his friend Ashley. His blog rocks, he's fun, charming, and an amazing knitter.

I just had to throw in a picture of the two of us - we usually chat via e-mail, so it's extra nice to see him in person. I showed him how to do magic loop, and he got it instantly. ('Cause he rocks).

These are two of my favorite knitters, Jen and Kim, who are now sock Queens. They both took sock classes from me, and it makes me feel like a proud mama to see just how much they love sock knitting.

After catching up with friends and knitting a bit, the Harlot spoke. Hee Hee Ha Ha almost peed my pants funny!!! She's funny, smart as anything, and tells the best stories.

We all got in line to get our books signed. She met TBY's incredible owner, Dana, and we took a group picture. OMG she's holding my sock! And OMG I got to hold her sock!!!! How cool is that? My eyes are actually open in this picture too!

The night was a blast. I'm still all keyed up from having so much fun. It's the same feeling I get after going to a great concert. My non-knitter friends have asked me about the Harlot - apparently they don't understand the term "knitting humorist". She's a rock star in the knitting world, and she liked my sock. Cool.

The Harlot is Coming to Town!!!!

2008-04-08T19:12:00.004-05:00

I have spent the last 45 minutes trying to locate one of my favorite pictures of all time - The Yarn Harlot and I, both with our socks. I would never ever delete that picture, because it's awesome, but it's gone from iPhoto. It's gone from all of my photo backup discs dating back to 2006. I was so excited that I had a good picture of me with a knitting rock star, but it's gone, so picture this:
The Yarn Harlot, in front of a gorgeous wall of yarn, holding her pretty blue socks, and yours truly, with my eyes actually open in a picture (it's rare), holding my pretty blue socks.

She came to the store about 2 years ago and I had just quit for a new job. (Still trying to remember why I left the store in the first place.) The owner asked me to come help, and I not only heard her chat, took pictures, and got autographs, I went out to dinner with the Harlot (and a few famous Nashville bloggers too). We drank wine and knitted and ate good food and it was such a fun night.

She's coming to town again, tomorrow night, and it should be just as much fun (even though I don't have the dinner invitation this time.) I'm starting some socks tonight to honor the occasion, and a good friend will be here too!

On a side note, the happy socks didn't make me happy. At all. My mind was set on a cool diagonal lace pattern, and the colors pooled no matter what size needle I used. After 4 hours and a headache (and a glass of wine) I finally put them down and decided they needed to be stockinette socks, no funky lace. It doesn't pool anymore, but I'm waiting for my magic loop class to begin for those - it's an excuse to knit a sock along with the class.

I picked up some psychedelic-lookin' Arucania sock yarn recently, and started a pair last weekend (or was it the weekend before?). After a lot of careful swatching and about 4" of leg knitted, I tried it on to show off to a friend and realized it was way too small. Painfully small. It wouldn't even fit over my heel. Whoops. Tonight, after I get my other work done, I'll start with 8 more stitches and see what I can get done before tomorrow night. The timing is great - I'm in the mood for something lacey yet psychedelic.

I've been working on another, somewhat secret, project. I have a great dress - brown, strapless, with a strip of pearly-white embroidery under the bust. It's perfect for summer parties and weddings, but I feel somewhat exposed in the dress, and need a little cover up. I thought about designing something, but that takes a lot more time and energy and I might wear the cover up in about a month. That was too much pressure.

I bought some Blue Sky Alpaca's Alpaca Silk and started to crochet Short 'N Sweet from The Happy Hooker. It was cute, but the fabric wasn't exactly what I wanted. So of course, I'm designing something, kinda. It's a cop-out design - I'm taking a great short sleeve wrap pattern from an old issue of Rebecca Magazine and changing the lace pattern and shape to fit my needs. I can't publish it, but it's coming up very quickly. Here's a sneak peek:

I started graphing and swatching on Saturday night, and now have finished one sleeve, the back, one front, and am 4" up the second front piece. It's just gorgeous. Hopefully it will be blocking by this weekend, but I'm not holding out too much hope for this week. Thursday is SNB so I work late, Friday I have a late lesson and am babysitting after that, then Sunday and Monday I'm helping a friend move. Ugh. Looks like I'll have to take my pencil, calculator, graph paper, and new design wherever I go.

Wait, didn't I just say that I'm re-starting that sock tonight? I'll start the sock, then work on the design.

Hope to see everyone at the Harlot tomorrow! It's at Borders on Franklin Road in Brentwood - just go here for details.

Socks, Easter, Birthdays, and General Insanity

2008-03-28T18:37:00.004-05:00

The cashmere socks are done! Woo Hoo!!

Ain't they purty? It really was a race to the finish. The legs worked up quickly, and were really fun. Then came the pain. I knew my gauge with the green yarn would be a little smaller than the cashmere, but didn't realize just how much smaller it would be. See this heel flap? Can you guess how many rows?

72. Yes, 72 rows in eye of partridge to make a 2.5" heel flap. My jaw was dropping too. It kept going and going and going and going. I was ready to turn the heel by late Thursday night, right on schedule, but didn't get them done until sometime Monday. I picked up stitches for the gusset as usual, but realized that if I picked up one stitch per slipped stitch the gusset puckered like you wouldn't believe. So I ripped both socks back and picked up 3 stitches every 4 rows and it worked out alright. The feet were knitted in a blinding fury, and I finished the toes at work by about 5:15 on Wednesday, steam ironed them at work, picked up a cake, sped home, took a shower, wrapped the gifts, and sped to the recipient's house for a party.

He adores them, as he should. They fit perfectly, and he was given strict instructions on how to treat the socks with the respect they deserve, and he will be getting a lesson on how to properly wash them in room temperature water with scentless Soak. I wouldn't have made these socks if they wouldn't be appreciated, and I am pleased to say that they are loved.

I had to really push to get them done because life has gotten more crazy every day. Saturday night I went to a dinner party with some old friends, and ate grouse. It tasted like chicken. I just had a bite, because I normally don't eat chicken or game, but that's not something you get to try every day.

The rest of the week has been a blur - Easter Sunday with the family, including my aunt and uncle from Virginia and cousin SassyFrassy, then the birthday party for cashmere sock boy on Wednesday (including seeing The Gourds at Mercy Lounge!).

Thursday night was another great birthday party - for my big brother. Mom cooked a great meal, topped off with key lime pie and hummingbird cake. I got the award for the best card - it was one of those musical cards that played "Play That Funky Music". Big bro and the nephews rocked out and were shakin' their booties all night.

I think I'm still full from last night. Finally, tonight I'm doing nothing. And it's so nice! After such a dreary day, I picked up some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the color Happy Valley to brighten my spirits. I'm a sucker for that 10-minutes-before-closing-I'm-in-a-bad-mood impulse buy. That's the best and worst part of working in a yarn store. The discount is amazing, but I spend so much more money because the discount can justify anything.

AAAAAH! I've been tagged!

2008-03-15T18:01:00.004-05:00

A certain friend was giving me hell for not posting lately (sorry) so she tagged me for a meme.

Here goes:

The rules:

1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I was tagged by my favorite PhD candidate, the 6 Speed Knitter.

1 - I'm terrified of slugs. One dark night, while walking barefoot, I stepped on a slug and it squished between my toes. The most disgusting feeling ever. Eeeeeeewwwwwww! It took a very long time to scrub the slugginess off. I've hated those darn things ever since.

2 - Heard of the Bell Witch? I'm a descendant of the Bell family, who were apparently tortured (and one was murdered) by the Bell Witch in West Tennessee. She's supposed to come back every 108 years or so and torture their descendants, but I'm not too worried.

3 - Last night on 20/20 there was a story about an artist who scratched her skin with knitting needles and the design would raise up and stay there for about 30 minutes. My skin does that too. See:

I did that on my arm at work today to prove to Abby that it would actually stay. If I've gotten a little sun, I can press down on my stomach and leave a handprint for a good 5 minutes.

4 - I have amnesia. 2 weeks after 8th grade graduation, I was hit by a car while riding my bike. (No, I was not wearing a helmet, so let this be a lesson to everyone else.) It was a hit-and-run, and I had a major concussion. I don't remember anything in the 2 weeks leading up to the accident, and my first memory is coming home from the hospital and watching Funny Farm on tv. Chevy Chase is so funny!

5 - My mom's dad was a cattle farmer. He was a bad-ass, and an industry leader. Dad's third cousins are the Perdue Chicken people. And I eat neither beef nor chicken (not for political reasons or anything like that, I just don't like the taste). I do gobble up a lot of turkey and seafood though, but don't think I'm related to any turkey farmers or fisherman. I am going fishing tomorrow, does that count for anything?

It's getting difficult to come up with things. Hmmmm.... I called my good dear friend to come up with more random and weird things about me and we realized that everything about me is random and weird.

6 - My pets live freakishly long lives. I got a dog, Hosie (her name is a whole different random and weird story), on her first birthday, and she lived to be almost 19 years old. I got a Betta fish, named Buju Banton, and he lived 6 years. My sister's cat, Angel, lived to be almost 20. I sure hope that by writing this I'm not jinxing Just Fish. I've become quite attached to the little guy.

7 - I DESPISE pretzels and have never met anyone else who shares my hatred. They just taste so bad! I don't know how everyone else eats them. People tell me that the big soft kind are a lot better, but no, they're gross too. It's like licking a pile of yeast covered in seawater.

That took longer than expected! Back when Flava Flav was cool the first time, my brother gave me the nickname "Flav Random" because he thought I was really random and weird. He still does, but he's just as random and weird as I am.

And scratch what I said in #5 about going fishing tomorrow. Plans are changing - I think I'm going to some horse race instead. Either way, it'll be nice to go on a little day trip and get out of NashVegas for a few hours.

I promise to post some knitting in the next couple days. Mom's clapotis is done, but I want to weave in ends and block it before I take pictures. I'm starting 2 projects tonight - one is a sexy little number for me, and the other is an ambitious gift.

I'm making a pair of cashmere socks on size 00 needles and have 11 days to finish them. How is it that I finish mom's mother's day gift 2 months early, and leave myself 11 days to knit a pair of socks for someone with 17" calves? At least they're not knee socks, but it's still going to be a race to the finish. I've got some travel time to knit tomorrow, but I'll be with the recipient of the socks so they can't come. I swatched some last night, and it looks like the socks will start off with around 100 stitches, then decrease to about 82 by the time I get to the ankle. The yarn is Jade Sapphire's 2-ply cashmere, and I'm using 3 strands of Lacey Lamb for the cuff, heel, and toe. The 00's are easier to knit with than I expected, and the cashmere is so soft that you don't want to stop knitting. They go even faster if I knit them at the same time, and I figure with a strong start, if both heels are turned by Thursday night then everything will work out just fine.

Have a safe weekend everyone, and try not to drink too much green beer!

Bi-Craftual

2008-03-02T14:48:00.004-06:00

It's been a while since I posted. This was not intentional, life has just been busier than usual. I've been knitting on socks, but mostly have been working on something for me! My newest book obsession is Knitting Lingerie Style. Yes, they have patterns for thongs, bras, and corsets, but they also have some gorgeous lacy things that aren't so risque. I knitted the Essential Top in no time, wore it on Thursday, and spilled lunch on the front before I took a picture. Once it's washed and re-blocked, I'll take a picture and post it.

Today is a beautiful day, and I'm taking advantage of a nice back porch and some sunshine. I've got good coffee, my i-pod, a crochet hook, and 17 colors of Cascade 220. It's a Babette day. Every once in a while I run back inside to block more squares and put them together. Here's what I've got so far:

This thing is fun! I strongly recommend that everyone makes this blanket. If you don't crochet, this is a great opportunity to learn. Granny squares are very easy and quiet mindless, and they hardly take any time to crochet. The pattern calls for koigu, and there are a lot of people using louet gems, but Cascade is less expensive and makes a bigger blanket. The construction is based on log cabin - start with the big center square, then make strips that build on each other. The second strip is 2 six-round squares, the third is a bunch of 4-round and 2-round squares, etc.

One thing that I seriously need to work on is getting gifts done early so I don't freak out before birthdays and holidays. My brother's birthday gift is done (purchased, not handmade - I get lazy sometimes), and I just started mom's mother's day gift:

It's a springy clapotis made out of SWTC's bamboo. This stuff is silky, strong, and is really nice to work with. So far I've just started the straight rows, and have only dropped one stitch. Can't wait to see how it looks once there's a little more done.

My hands are a little tired so I'm on my way to the park to meet friends. Enjoy this beautiful day, because they're calling for more freezing temps and snow this week.

Spoiled Rotten

2008-02-17T19:57:00.005-06:00

I left work early yesterday to go on a mini-getaway to Monteagle. We stayed in the same place as last fall. While the trees aren't as pretty in the winter, it was still a blast and quite beautiful.

I'm teaching another sock class, so it's another excuse to make a sock. This one is out of Flat Feet, an interesting way of packaging sock yarn. The store should get a shipment in March. I'm almost done with the leg, and knitted a few inches in the car on the way.

As we were pulling up to the house, we almost ran over a deer.

His friends were not far away.

After a little hike, we ran across a waterfall and I took a bunch of pictures.

The view from the porch hasn't changed much - this was after it rained all day.

While it was pouring outside, we stayed in and watched tv. I turned the heel on the vacation socks from New Year's. The colors are matching up so well.

I feel like this post has been a really bad version of a 3rd grader's "What I did on vacation" report. I really should blog when I'm a little more awake and have a little more energy.

Snowy and Cold

2008-02-13T19:57:00.003-06:00

It snowed!

This was the view from I-65 on my way to work this morning. Don't worry - I wasn't moving at the time. Nashville drivers (myself included) do not know how to drive in bad weather, so we slow down a lot. Apparently there was no reason why everyone was stopped on the interstate for 10 minutes, but I guess snow is enough reason here.

I finished the Uncle Argyle scarf last night and steam-blocked it. This morning I decided to bring it to work to show Dana, and realized that it could used a little Soak. Aquae is my favorite scent, and it's perfect for boys. We have a tester at work, so I washed it and laid the scarf out to dry in the corner. Yet another perk of working at a yarn store.

Although this scarf seemed to take forever and a year, it was still a whole lotta fun. The idea to make another using a different stitch pattern is creeping back into my head. It'll have to get in line behind about 10 other projects, as usual, but I'll get it eventually.

Tired Auntie

2008-02-11T18:19:00.000-06:00

It's Monday, which is my favorite day of the week - I get to spend all day with the nephews. While it's always fun, I end up absolutely beat and the older (and bigger) they get, the more exhausted I am at the end of the day. My brother taught Hoss (the 2-year-old) to go up to pretty girls and say "What's happening hot stuff?". A friend of mine stopped by, who Hoss has a big crush on, and he didn't stop saying it. Little Buddha (who is now only 3 pounds shy of his big brother) is starting to put words together and is so excited about everything! It's great that he's talking, but he doesn't stop. It's nice to be home to peace and quiet.

Yesterday I had a wonderful adventure.

A friend took me sailing on Percy Priest. While it was frigid, it was great to be in the sun. January and February are so horrible - dark, cold, and all around dreary. It drives me crazy every year. So when I get the chance to be outside on a sunny afternoon, it is greatly appreciated.

As for knitting (and crochet) I finally picked colors for the Babette blanket.

It's all Cascade 220 - some regular, a few superwash. I love the colors. Blankets are great because you can pick colors that you don't work with much - while I can't wear that pretty gold in the top left of the basket, I can sure crochet squares with it.

I'm also working on a little weekend project that's a surprise for a couple of people. It's a bonnet from Itty Bitty Hats, pattern slightly altered (of course). I can't get enough seed stitch. It's my favorite.

It's just about knit o'clock, and my project for this evening is the Uncle Argyle Scarf from Son of Stitch 'N Bitch. It's so much fun to work on, but takes forever and ever and ever. I feel terrible that what was once a Christmas gift is now turning into a Valentine's gift. At least the recipient is patient. So far 18 pattern repeats are done, and the pattern calls for 23. If I get 3 done tonight, 2 tomorrow, then I can block it on Wednesday and give it away on Thursday. Hopefully.

It was a dark and stormy night...

2008-02-05T21:09:00.001-06:00

It's downright nasty outside. The news is talking about gusts up to 100mph and 2" hail. The scary part is that this isn't even the big bad storm - that one will hit us in a few hours. Now they're talking about a super-cell thunderstorm that's right over us, and a house was leveled about 15 miles away.

I live in a really old house with lots of windows, so I'm now at a friend's house who has a basement. The neighbors (who are all good friends) have started to pile in and we're having a storm party - and I'm the girl blogging in the corner.

Remember Benjie, the guy who got the awesome fair isle hat? He just commented that this post could be my last communication on earth. Thanks, man.

The best part of watching storm coverage on tv is the names for storm tracking devices. Our local CBS affiliate has named their radar system "TITANscan". Nice.

Before the storm arrived, I embarked on a pretty big project. I recently inherited a very nice oriental rug. It's absolutely gorgeous, but is not my favorite colors. At the moment, it is hanging out in the hall outside my door.

A plan has been hatching in my brain. Everyone lately is obsessed with the Babette Blanket, and I am too. A few customers have brought the finished product to the store, and it is amazing. So I'm making myself a big babette - using Cascade 220 instead of Koigu, so the squares will be bigger.

So how do you match yarn colors with a huge rug? I devised a plan. It turned out to be a little harder than imagined.

First, I had to see the rug in my hall. The problem is that our light bulbs are out at the moment, so I brought in 2 lamps.

Once the rug was properly lit, I made a list of the main colors.

Second, find a way to match the yarn to the rug. I can't bring the rug into work and hold it up to our wall of 220. And I can't grab one of each of the 80-something colors we have and bring them home either. So I stole the color cards and brought them home! This is definitely one of those things that you only get to do when you work at the yarn store. (Notice my awesome doormat in the bottom of the picture?)

This process also took a lot longer than expected. Once I've figured out which colors match the rug, I'll play with the selection, add some colors that are more my style, and choose the final 17. This should be fun.

Alright I am so scattered right now - between trying (in vain) to write a coherent post, watching news coverage, and making fun of Benjie, my mind is not in the right place to post.

Now they're talking about dorms being demolished at Union University, students still trapped in storms, and a 22-semi pileup, this is scary. And to think that I turned on the tv a few hours ago to check election coverage.

2008-02-04T17:21:00.000-06:00

There's not too much knitting going on in my little treehouse right now. It's been a calm, contemplative, and quite restful weekend.

Saturday night was Art at the Arcade, and it was a blast. I saw a bunch of good friends and even more great art. If you haven't been, you really really need to check it out. One of my favorite exhibits was by John Hung Ha, who has a really cool perspective on asian art. Another friend bought one of his pieces, and I'm jealous. Twist has a tres-Nashville exhibit that just opened, which you have to see. And of course, there's Daniel Lai, who always rocks. If I had any extra money, I would have bought one of his pieces.

Not much else going on. It looks like there's a night of good food and a good book ahead of me. Quiet is just what I needed.

Super Bowl 2008

2008-02-03T15:26:00.000-06:00

It's that time of the year again!

I'm actually a little sad about this year's Super Bowl. I'm not rooting for the Patriots because they are cheaters. If they win, I hope there's an asterisk by their title just like there's one for Barry Bonds' records (due to his steroid scandal).

I'm not rooting for the Giants because I just don't like them. I don't like the Mannings at all. As a Titans fan, I don't like Peyton because he's in our division and the Colts are such a big rival. I'm not quite sure why I hate the Giants so much, I just do.

It almost feels like election day - I'm choosing to root for the lesser of two evils. And I still haven't figured out who that is.

The saddest part of the Super Bowl is that it marks the end of the football season. After tonight, we have to wait until August to see anymore NFL. That sucks. I'll follow the off-season, the draft, and will start to get really excited when training camp kicks in again, but what will I do on Sundays until then? The Nashville Predators rock, but the games are only on cable tv, which I refuse to get.

Although I'm not rooting for anyone, I'm predicting that the Patriots will win, 27-21.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Super Bowl.

2008-01-28T18:40:00.000-06:00

After a week of housesitting, it's strange to be home again. I love this little apartment, but it was really nice to take a jacuzzi bath every night. I did check out this thing they call cable tv and there was never anything on but cheesy reality shows and crappy movies. Do people really watch that show about Scott Baio? He was cute in Charles In Charge, but it's been 20 something years. Waiting for me at my doorstep was a flyer from the cable company, and it's safe to say that it's not worth the money.

So far I don't think any mice are dead. The traps haven't worked, but they have been eating the poison. Thanks to a heads up from Betty, I picked up a thingie you plug into an outlet and it's supposed to emit a sound that scares away rodents and spiders and such. We'll see if it works.

It's been over a week since the mousetrap went off on my finger (twice) and here's the progress:

It still hurts, but only if I bump into something.

While it's been a fun week, there hasn't been much knitting. I'm still trying to finish a kickass Christmas present and am about 2/3 of the way there. It's the Uncle Argyle Scarf from Son of Stitch 'N Bitch, and it is so much freakin' fun to knit! The recipient saw it last week, and loves it, so the home stretch shouldn't be bad.

Isn't it purty? Notice the little red thing attached to the working yarn - it's a yarn guide and I couldn't do fair isle or double knitting without it. Because I'm a continental knitter, I hold both yarns in my left hand and the guide keeps them from getting tangled.

This scarf is so cool that I'm now about to design another one for me. Other than this scarf, I'm working on a couple of designs and a whole lotta socks. The vacation socks still need to be finished, and I'm teaching a class and have to do homework along with everyone else.

It might be time to make some hot chocolate and look through my favorite book - 1000 Great Knitting Motifs - and start thinking about the next double knitting scarf. Maybe I'll dream of a jacuzzi tub...

Score: Mouse - 1, ESP - 0

2008-01-20T16:18:00.000-06:00

Bad news. He ate the peanut butter off 2 traps and they didn't go off. So, like a big dumb human, I decided to mess with the traps to figure out the problem.

I know better than to stick my fingers in a mouse trap, so I used a plastic knife. And yes, I set it off on my finger. Then my thumb. Then my other finger. Then broke the knife. I reset all 4 traps, added peanut butter in other places hoping it might get him, and set them down again.

Then I found mouse droppings on the floor of my closet.

While I am usually a pacifist, this mouse needs to DIE. He's eating my food, pooping on my stuff, and living here without paying rent. I'll get you, rat bastard, and soon.

If anyone has any better ideas about how to deal with this evil stowaway, let me know!

Eek!

2008-01-20T15:00:00.001-06:00

Plans are made to be broken, right? I was so looking forward to a relaxing day of knitting and watching football, but alas, a small creature has ruined it.

Friday night I heard a noise on my kitchen counter. When I went to investigate, I saw a tiny little mouse coming out of a box of soft batch cookies. Eeeewwwwww! I don't hate mice, but they sure aren't my favorite roommates. I bought poison and traps and haven't caught one yet. So today I am deep cleaning my apartment, with the game on in the background. The home is due for a good clean anyway, but I was hoping to put it off a little longer.

The kitchen is now CLEAN, and the only place I've seen droppings is there, so hopefully I won't find mouse poop anywhere else. The thing that freaks me out the most is that it's a studio, and my bed is 2 feet away from the kitchen counter. It's no fun to be in bed, trying to sleep, and thinking that there might be a mouse near the end of my feet. Gross. I'll get that rat bastard and kill him. Trust me.

The good news is that I'm housesitting this week, and will hopefully kill him before I'm home again.

Last night was best friend's birthday party, and we had a blast. I was almost done with her socks when the mouse appeared, and didn't quite finish them in time, but there was plenty of time to knit the legs while playing Charades.

Of course I ripped and started over with a new pattern shortly after I turned the heel on the first design. She ended up getting socks with baby cables: that 2-stitch cable where instead of doing a real cable, you knit 2 together and knit the first stitch again. They were a lot of fun and there's enough yarn leftover to make myself some too!

The best part is that she LOVES her socks! This picture was taken after breakfast this morning - she put them on last night and has not taken them off since. And they fit perfectly!

As of yesterday, Abbie and I have now been friends for half our lives. We are so different - in looks, personality, careers, family lives - every way. But we get each other. And we're always there for each other. When we hang out it feels like we're in high school again, but instead of sneaking out of my parent's house to smoke cigarettes, we're sneaking around her house trying not to laugh too loud or else we'll wake her baby. Life's funny like that.

I'm so thankful for Abbie, and all of my closest friends. I'm thankful for their families, who have become my family. They make life so sweet!

Icky

2008-01-17T16:37:00.000-06:00

I'm sick. It's my annual sinus infection, and it's a bad one. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon.

When not sick, you forget just how much sickness affects your mood (and knitting). I'm mad because the doctor's visit and prescriptions cost way too much money, because all food tastes terrible, because my nose is chapped from kleenex, because the medicine makes me drowsy, and most of all, because the knitting mojo is shaky at best. It also sucks that I'm missing work. I had to cancel a knitting lesson and am missing stitch 'n bleep. Ugh.

This morning I decided to knit some worsted weight toe-up socks to help pass the time. I'm wearing my favorite handknit socks - lime green mini-cable socks out of Cascade 220 superwash - and there's some off-white 220 in the stash. I swatched and swatched but nothing seemed to work. I'm too lazy to purl, so that rules out ribbing, and lace doesn't work with the bigger gauge.

So I called my dearest best friend to talk about our plans for her birthday this weekend. I was sitting there, staring down at my favorite pajama pants (that I stole from her years and years ago) thinking 'what a pretty stitch pattern':

Then I thought about how I have some time on my hands and should make her something for her birthday. It took way too long for me to put 2 and 2 together, but once I got it, I started knitting.

Abbie will be getting a pair of toe-up eyelet birthday socks! It's an easy knit, and works up fast on just 40 stitches. I'll do a short row heel and a 5" leg, and will be able to make a pair out of 1 ball of yarn. Now I'm much happier and instead of thinking about how bad I feel, I'm thinking about my amazing best friend and how much she will love her cozy socks.

Knitting makes everything better.

Back From Cali

2008-01-14T19:09:00.000-06:00

Long Beach was a blast!!! It was tiring and overwhelming, but Dana and I managed to cover the entire show floor, take some cool classes, hang out with some amazing people, and made it home with about 200 pounds of luggage between us. We saw some cool fibers too, from buffalo to possum. Yes, you read it right - possum. It was surprisingly soft too.

While the last few weeks of traveling have been fun, I am so glad to be home. The nephews and I had a lot of fun play time today, I caught up on some knitting this evening, and am about to crash.

To Market, To Market

2008-01-09T19:10:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow morning Dana and I are hopping on a plane for LA - we're going to Market!

It's the TNNA show (The National Needlework Arts Association), and I'm very very excited! We'll be roaming the Long Beach Convention Center checking out all kinds of cool vendors and seeing what's new in the knitting world. Unfortunately, the dreaded ankle is not much better. I'm hoping that the yarn will drown out the pain.

I've got a few knitting projects for the trip: the vacation socks from Florida are still not finished, and that's an easy plane knit. I just cast on for gloves made out of Colinette's Jitterbug, colorway Toscana, and I'm kinda winging it and not really using a pattern, more like a guideline. Should be interesting. I really want to get some work done on my double knitting project, seeing as how it was a Christmas present, but it's so bulky and doesn't travel well. We'll see if it fits in the knitting bag. I'd better finish some projects soon because there will be so many cool ideas at market that I'll want to knit when I get home.

Please send my ankle good healing vibes, and wish us luck!

Just Call Me Princess Crankypants

2008-01-05T19:19:00.000-06:00

Vacation letdown is setting in.

From my couch, I can see piles of Christmas pj fabric, yarn, books, needles, and patterns that need to be put away in the stash closet, there are even more piles of dirty laundry, and a decent pile of dirty dishes in the sink. My fridge is starting to smell funky, and my bathroom is a wreck too. I actually want to clean and get things done, but this darn ankle is driving me insane.

Why is it that when you're in vacation mode, nothing seems to get to you? I'm glad to be back at work, but all I do is run around all day and by mid-afternoon the ankle is freakin killing me. That's when I turn into Princess Crankypants. I've called bro several times to ask if there's anything else I can do to heal faster, and his answer is to rest. Not what I want to hear. So I sit here and look at the piles and piles of things that need to be done.

I tried to rest last night, but the knitting mojo is off. My current favorite project is a belated Christmas present for a good friend, and I want to finish it as soon as possible, but I keep messing up the pattern and not realizing there's a mistake until 5 rows later. This isn't the kind of thing you can frog - it has to be tinked stitch by stitch because it's double knitting and the whole idea is new to me. It's amazingly fun to do, and I hope to get the mojo back tonight.

There's a really good reason for me to heal the ankle asap - and I'll talk more about it later - but I'm going out of town on Thursday and will be walking and walking and walking all weekend. It's a really cool trip and I want to be in top form.

So tonight I rest. I'm not going out with my friends (which really sucks) and I'm not getting anything done but knitting. It's time for pj's and hot chocolate, and maybe a little icing of the ankle, and there's a great football game on tv. Hopefully the crankiness is on its way out.

Best Vacation Ever!!

2008-01-03T22:19:00.001-06:00

I cannot say enough about how amazing my vacation was! I relaxed for 5 days straight and knitted and sat in the sun (under a big floppy hat covered in spf 1000 sunblock). I brought some Regia sock yarn (in Kaffe Fassett colors) and an Addi lace needle because socks are the perfect vacation project - small, portable, easy, and fun. I did my best imitation of the Yarn Harlot and took some shots of the sock.

A good friend of mine is from Florida and has family in Key West, so I had a free place to stay and a host who knows the area well. A couple of his friends from up north came too, and they were a lot of fun. They all grew up on the coast and were really comfortable on the water, so I felt like a fish out of water (ha ha!) because the only boats I hang out on are in lakes. I never got seasick (thanks to Dramamine) and LOVED being on the boat. Honestly, I'm a little landsick still - I keep expecting the ground beneath me to sway with the waves and it's a little frustrating.

The second I arrived on Key West we picked up some snorkel gear and headed out to a reef. I saw the coolest key lime green moray eel, a bunch of fish, bright orange coral, and some huge conchs.

The next day we hung out on the houseboat and I sunned and knitted and ate sandwiches. The view from the boat was unbelievable, and the weather was perfect.

Shortly after that picture was taken, this happened:

Yup. Sprained my ankle. I wasn't even doing anything exciting. I was walking to the bathroom to pee and just slipped. I propped it up and iced it and took Motrin and watched the end of the Titans game (We're going to the playoffs! Woo Hoo!!!)

The next day we headed to an island a little north of Key West to go camping. It was absolutely gorgeous! The ocean was on one side and there was a little canal on the other, both teeming with all kinds of fish, shrimp, crabs, and other creatures.

When we arrived I sat in the shade to knit a bit and enjoy the view.

After exploring the islands collecting firewood, we went for a dip and made some dinner. The sunset was incredible. The rest of the night involved a little music, lots of stars, a decent amount of rum and a very exhausted New Year's countdown.

The next day we went back towards Key West again and did some more snorkeling. Back at the houseboat, we found a huge grouper hanging out. It looked like a dinosaur and was about 5 feet long. It stayed there all day.

The weather turned a little sour - no rain but the wind was blowing steady at 35 knots, and I think that's around 40 mph. It was cold on Wednesday so we just hung out, ate ice cream, and I finished the sock. I'm about 4" into the second one, thanks to a couple long plane rides and a 3 hour layover in the Miami airport.

That's it. This post could have been more eloquent but I'm super duper tired and cold and had a long day.

And JP - my ankle is much better, thank you. I consulted with my favorite medical professionals tonight (my bro and his wife, both ER nurses) and found out that we don't have to amputate. To quote bro, it's a "really gnarly lower ankle sprain" and the worst is over. It will take a couple weeks to really heal, and is very sore right now, but the swelling is down and it's starting to turn into really funky colors - at the moment it's the color of the Atlantic ocean - and I have to wear a brace for a while and rest as much as possible. Of course I can't find one single Motrin in my apartment and am way too tired to go to the store.

I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, but I actually accomplished last year's (tackle fair isle knitting). This year my knitting resolution is to actually finish the sweaters I start for myself, and make bigger projects in general. Although I knit every day, my attention span only keeps up with small projects and that will change.

My other resolution is to become a better photographer. Right now I take a whole lotta pictures and hope I end up with a couple of good ones. That will change too.

And right now I'm going to bed to dream of pretty sunsets and rum drinks by a campfire.

Back to Reality

2008-01-03T09:02:00.000-06:00

I'm home. I didn't want to come back. And it's 16 degrees here. Ugh.

This was, quite possibly, the best vacation I've ever had. No sunburn, no seasickness, not too many bug bites, and my only problem was a sprained ankle, which kinda sucked. I'm incredibly beat and got in at 1:00 this morning and am working 10 hours today, but I'll get some pictures up sometime soon.

Happy 2008 everyone!

Early Happy New Year

2007-12-29T04:25:00.000-06:00

I'm leaving town for a few days of relaxation and sunburn. Have a happy happy New Year and see ya next week!

Merry Merry!

2007-12-24T19:10:00.000-06:00

I'm hopped up on coffee and cream cheese braid (my favorite Christmas delicacy). Today I made 6 pairs of pajamas in 4 hours. It's a personal record.

The gifts are done, and I even had time to make myself a little somethin'. Here's the rundown:

PJ pants for Dad (goldfish), Sis-in-law (flowers) and Bro (monkeys for the monkey):

Curious George / fire engine pj pants for the nephews:

Fair isle snowflake hats for the nephews:

A shawl thingy for mom (which I gave to her last week on her birthday, although it's a birthday / Christmas gift). Back:

Front:

And of course, the Alchemy silk scarf for big Sis:

And the little somethin' for me! Tennessee Titans PJ's!

Now all I have to do is wrap the gifts and try not to eat any more cream cheese braid until morning, which is easier said than done.

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone has a happy happy holiday!

Making Plans

2007-12-16T17:01:00.001-06:00

First, a fish picture. Just Fish is just pretty and he's the best roommate I've had since his predecessor went to fishy heaven. He was a Beta too, named Buju Banton, and that poor fish had to live in several apartments, with several roomies, until he died a couple years ago. The nephews are so excited because I'm going out of town for New Year's and Just Fish is living with them for a few days. Just Fish would probably be fine at my house, but it's an excuse for the nephews to have some fun.

I jumped on the Quant bandwagon yesterday and am loving it! This is yet another Christmas gift, and a very manageable one at that. I used a yarn called Teseo, by Dive. It's a soft, fluffy wool that stripes perfectly for this design.

In order to make it through the last week or so before Christmas, I've been daydreaming about my post-holiday plans. I bought some gorgeous yarn yesterday - Lana D'Oro in charcoal and teal for a New Year's present, the Teseo for Quant, and some sock yarn for me - Regia in Kaffe Fassett colors, and some Lana Grossa that I've been drooling over.

I am desperately waiting until I can make myself some socks. I finally bought plane tickets to Florida for New Year's, and then started to remember how much I hate flying. And I have 2 long plane trips planned in the next month. Ugh. So I'm stocking up on plane necessities, like audiobooks, Dramamine, and portable knitting. My idea of a perfect vacation definitely involves knitting, and I'll have plenty of time to relax, but also have to think about which projects will be suitable for planes and boats. Socks are perfect.

It's been over 3 years since I've had a vacation, and cannot freaking wait! It's hard to leave my job for more than a weekend without missing the store and everyone there (I know, it's strange, but I work at the best place in the world). But once I feel the warm sunshine and see the ocean again, I'll forget all about TN and will come home ready to start a new year.

I just have to get through the next couple weeks.

The Titans gave me some great knitting time today - we won!!!!! The final score was Titans 26- Chiefs 17. It was a great day for football. Brett Favre broke Dan Marino's record for all-time yardage, and the Dolphins got their first win of the year. Better late than never.

Next week we play the Jets, then finish out the season with the Colts. The only problem with the vacation is that I will be away from the tv, internet, and civilization in general (which is generally a good thing) but won't be able to watch the game. It'll be tough to stay away, but maybe I can call friends in Nashville to get a recap. Go Titans!

Sugar, Yarn, and Wine

2007-12-14T18:51:00.000-06:00

Whew! Yet again, December is doing a number on me. I really tried to have my Christmas / birthday knitting done in time so I could enjoy this wonderful month, but it hasn't worked out like I planned. Oh well. I'm still having a blast!

My favorite day of the year is Christmas Cookie Day. Bro, sis and I made cookies every year as children, and never stopped as adults because it's so much fun. We listen to the same A Very Special Christmas cd over and over, make the same psychedelic cracked-out cookies, and now we have 2 more cute little helpers.

Sis, sis-in-law and I cut out the cookies while bro puts together the colors. This year we had red, green, white, yellow, orange, burnt orange, brown, black, 3 shades of blue, spearmint, and a couple more that I can't quite describe. We make the usual Christmas shapes but don't stop there. There are numbers, elephants, rhinos, monkeys, fish, whales, aliens, hearts, guitars, cacti, pigs... you get the idea.

Note that there's wine in most pictures, because that makes it a little easier to deal with the little boys who have been pouring sugar sprinkles straight into their mouths. After an hour Buddha Bear was running in circles around the table screaming and Hoss was jumping up and down in the corner and then shaking his booty to the music.

These are the bleeding hearts courtesy of bro. The political beliefs in my family are all across the board, so we make fun of each other (and ourselves). I think the grey/green blob is some sort of camouflage camel.

And of course, most of the cookies have been eaten by now (I've got one left - saving it for breakfast in the morning).

I've been using the sugar high to knit even faster. Here's a goofy picture of yours truly in my unblocked new hat - Misti Alpaca Chunky. So pretty! It's now on my hat blocking thingy - a canister with an upside down bowl on top of it. It should be plenty cold this weekend so I'll put it to good use.

Everything is at least started, except the pajamas. Best Friend is getting an alpaca scarf - Cascade's Baby Alpaca Chunky - in her signature color. I got lazy on this one and am using a pattern from a fabulous gift book, One Skein. It's coming up quickly and is so darn soft!!!

My super cool totally awesome project is for mom. She has a big birthday coming up next week and asked me to design something based on a shawl thing we saw this fall. The original was not shaped, made in garter stitch out of cheap acrylic, and the shawl collar was a total joke. She picked out some Pastaza to match one of her favorite outfits and we took some measurements. The fronts and back worked up fine, but the shawl collar was more of a challenge. It's all done with short row shaping and took a few tries to get it right, but that part is done. Now all I have to do is pick up about 300 stitches for the border, weave in ends, and block.

But at the moment it looks like one of those sea creatures that only lives miles below the ocean's surface.

The knitting has taken over my life and I've completely forgotten about dishes, laundry, and general apartment tidiness, so I must clean now. Hopefully there will be more updates soon...

Just Fish

2007-12-06T21:47:00.000-06:00

See what I've been up to? Having fun with scarves. I still have a whole lotta knitting to do before Christmas, but am making headway. The boys' hats still need to be blocked, the hat for my "niece" needs to be embroidered, Dad's socks are 75% done, but they're not due until January 2nd, Sassy's present is in the works, and I still have to start mom and Abbie's presents, and finish some knitting work for the store. OK, I don't have a handle on things, but look at the pretty scarves!

The one on the right is an entrelac scarf for me, just because. It's knitty's Danica scarf, and I completely stole the idea from Lauren. And she quoted me on her blog recently. I used K1Ctoo's Paintbox, and it was one of the most addictive patterns I've ever knitted.

The gorgeous red one is for my sister. It's Alchemy's Silk Purse, a yarn that I am completely obsessed with, and the picture doesn't come near to giving it justice. It's the prettiest red I've ever seen in my life. I got all I could out of 163 yards, and it's a good length. The pattern is Fir Cone from one of my Barbara Walker Treasuries. I pinned it to my towel and grabbed my iron to steam it, but realized I made a big mistake by letting my neighbor borrow my iron and now it's broken and they're not home, so it's just chillin out waiting for blocking.

Nephew Hoss and I had a fun little adventure this week. We went to my dad's favorite store, Aquatic Critter, and had a ball checking out all of the funky reptiles and cool fish. I really liked the boas and caymans, but Hoss only wanted to look at the tarantula. He knows I'm terrified of spiders and I think he just wanted to torture me. We decided on a gorgeous orange Beta, picked out some blue marbles and a pretty little fishbowl, and went to Starbucks for a cookie (and Auntie needed caffeine).

We had a tough time picking out a name. I suggested all kinds of crazy names, from Elmo to Orangina to Bob Marley to Macchiato (we were at Starbucks and I was getting desperate). Hoss said "No!" to everything I said. I asked him, for the 100th time, "What should we name him?" and Hoss looked into my eyes and replied, "Just fish." I asked "Fish? Or Just Fish?". He replied again, "Just Fish." So say hello to my new pet, Just Fish. That's what I get for letting a 2-year-old name my pet.

Mmmmmm... Leftovers

2007-11-26T10:58:00.001-06:00

There's still some dressing and rolls in the fridge, and my pants are still a little tight. I'm sad Thanksgiving is over. It's always fun to sit around with your family and eat all kinds of good stuff. And this year, somehow, I didn't have to bring any food!

After our early Thanksgiving lunch I went home to drink hot chocolate and watch football and knit with a friend. It's now officially Christmas / December birthday / Hanukkah gift crunchtime, and I am writing and re-writing lists and even made a spreadsheet to see if I can maintain sanity.

I LOVE this time of year! I might seem stressed out and slightly overwhelmed with all of the knitting to be done, but it is so much fun! I've got some pretty things done so far:
(and this is a spoiler alert for sis, dad, nephews, and Carrie)

I've started Dad's second sock with a fair isle border, sis's scarf is looking beautiful (but you can't really tell in the picture). The nephews' hats look great, although I'm still trying to figure out if earflaps will be added. The pale greenish thing in the middle is a crocheted washcloth out of Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille. I bought 3 skeins for 3 washcloths, and think that I can squeeze out a bath mitt from the leftovers.

I'm head over heels in love with Misti Alpaca's Handpaint Chunky Alpaca yarn. It's starting to really cool off here, and every girl needs a new hat for winter. The picture is blurry and fuzzy (kinda like I feel right now when I've only had half a cup of coffee) but the hat is gorgeous. I brought it in to work with me on Saturday and all of a sudden we only have 3 hanks left. The sad part is that I dreamed about chunky alpaca yarn last night - my friend was knitting a hat out of Cascade's Baby Alpaca Chunky, and it was way too big so I was helping him with decreases and it was the prettiest shade of light blue-grey. Wonder if I'll dream about Alchemy Silk Purse tonight...

Prime Time Monday Night

2007-11-19T19:28:00.000-06:00

It's Monday Night Football time!!!!!

The Titans are playing the Broncos in Denver tonight, kickoff is in 3 minutes so I'd better hurry. It'll be a close game, and I'm so sad to hear that Albert Haynesworth is still too injured to play. Also, Travis Henry (an ex-Titan who now plays for Denver) is out of the game too, and I was really excited to see our defense give him a good challenge. Oh well. It'll still be a good game.

My pick: Titans 20, Broncos 14.

I've been knitting a lot lately, and have had a ball designing Christmas and Birthday presents. I'm also doing some knitting for hire at the moment, which is keeping me very very busy. I've got 2 scarves on the needles (actually, on the same needle). I fell in love with the design of my sis's Alchemy silk scarf, so I'm using the same pattern for mine, so why not knit them at once? Dad's socks are coming along well, but I'm really psyched about the boys' fair isle hats. I'm toying with double knitting earflaps and have had a lot of fun playing with that.

Here comes kickoff! Time for hot chocolate, knitting, and most important of all, FOOTBALL!!!!!

GO TITANS!!!

Happy Happy Happy Happy

2007-11-17T16:54:00.001-06:00

Wow. In the past 2 days I have been completely overwhelmed - in the best way possible. As my Nanee would say, I am so incredibly blessed. I have the BEST friends and BEST family on the planet!

Thursday night I left work to go on a birthday date with a cute boy (my birthday's the 16th) and walked through his door to a big surprise party! Most of my friends are out of town this weekend, which really sucks because it's my birthday and I have a couple extra days off. So the boy organized a huge birthday party one day early with all of my closest friends and a huge, amazing dinner (they even got my mom to cook my favorite food). It was EXACTLY what I wanted. We ate and drank and danced all night - just perfect.

Friday I sat around and played with my birthday present to myself - a gorgeous skein of Alchemy Yarn's Silk Purse in the color "San Francisco Sky" - pictures later.

The next party was with the family. We ate another amazing meal, topped off with chocolate mousse cake. Yum. After dinner I had to step outside for a moment and when I came back in my family looked like this:

They were wearing just about everything I have made them in the last 8 years or so. They were all wearing hand knitted socks, belts, scarves, hats, nephew Hoss was wearing a poncho that I made his mom, everyone was wearing jewelry that I've made for mom and sis (even the guys), dad was in pajama pants - you get the idea. They wanted to thank me for all of the strange little things I do for them, and again, I was completely overwhelmed.

I even snagged a pic of Buddha Bear in his first birthday sweater.

The color is perfect - his blue eyes look electric next to that sweater.

I am so so so so so so so so so thankful for my wonderful friends who pulled off the best surprise ever! I am equally thankful for my family who have been so supportive of everything I do! I am so very blessed!

NFL Week 10

2007-11-11T15:42:00.000-06:00

Guess where I went today? Here's a hint:

Carrie has season tickets, and took me to the game! Woo Hoo! But we lost and that sucked. My throat hurts from screaming and my hands hurt from clapping but it was a really fun time. Carrie rocks!

The only thing that really made me mad (besides the way we played) was Princess Frostilocks (he's the one on the right).

I love to play Mullet Watch. This is Music City where mullets are everywhere and you keep thinking that it couldn't get worse, but it does. I wish this picture showed the white blond frosted tips in their full glory. He had a bleach blond soul patch on his chin, and the wife-beater tank was hanging out of the neck of his shirt. He talked on his phone throughout the game and I was waiting for him to tell me to hush while I was screaming at our defense. It just made me scream louder.

This was the only second of the game that his arm was not around his woman (and her hair was almost as bad as his). When he put his arm around her he blocked access to my drink holder and I must have said "Excuse me" about a million times. If he messed with my hot chocolate one more time I would have gone on a frosted-mullet-bashing tirade, but kept my cool and was kinda worried that his girlfriend would scratch me to death with her scary press-on-nails.

I had to take a picture - that's for you, Sassy. She's my hairdresser/ best friend/ cousin/ knitting buddy and appreciates a bad mullet more than anyone I know. I normally don't make fun of people this much, but this guy needs to be in the Mullet Hall of Fame and he really pissed me off.

So we're 6 -3, still have a good chance at the playoffs, but the Titans had better get their %#*! together if they're going to win any more games. I still love you, Vince, and I really do believe in you, but right now my favorites are Keith Bullock and Kyle Vanden Bosch. I really like the way Keith sports the bright red gloves. The man's got style. And Vanden Bosch had a few really nice plays today.

Next week we're playing the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football! I do love Jay Cutler, but we'll be kickin some Bronco butt.

And Betty S. - thank you so much - I had the BEST coffee this morning and am enjoying another wonderful cup right now!

Friday Night Plans

2007-11-09T18:42:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to knit myself into a good mood. I've been a little off since the root canal and am still trying to work my way back to the normally happy-go-lucky esp. So, here's the plan.

Step 1: Make incredibly rich mint hot chocolate.

Step 2: Find a knitting project that makes me happy.

This one is tough. I'm designing all of my knitted Christmas presents this year and the patterns will (hopefully soon) be for sale at TBY. There's a book that I really really want but am waiting for it to come in, so some of the designs have to wait a bit.

I've designed something really cool for my sweet best friend, but swatched through an entire ball of Wool Bam Boo before I found the right design and still hold a grudge for that. I have yarn for hats for the nephews, but need the book to finish the design. I started Dad's socks on Sunday, but it gave me trouble (actually, I was unprepared and forgot my supplies and it's all my fault) and again, I'm holding a slight grudge there too. I need something relatively easy that will make me happy.

I think I'll pick up that darn sleeve from my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. It's easy, there's not too much left, and I just might be able to join the whole thing together and start the yoke tonight, which is the most exciting part.

Step 3: Ignore the laundry piled in the corner and sink full of dirty dishes. That's easy enough.

Step 4: Watch Men in Trees and then last night's Grey's Anatomy online.

That's a nice recipe for a good mood. Now it's pajama time.

Knitting Update, with Pictures!

2007-11-05T10:18:00.000-06:00

The Clapotis is done! It was pretty wide after blocking, but has shrunk up a little from wear. It's soft, gorgeous, and makes me feel like a million bucks. Just what the doctor ordered. I LOVED working with Schaefer's Lola - it's a superwash wool that's perfect for winter socks - it knits up to 6-7 sts per inch, so they're not like your usual fingering weight socks. I think I need new socks now.

Speaking of socks, this took me about 4 hours yesterday. I ran home and grabbed an extra circular and tapestry needle and wove in my ends, joined the hem, and knitted just a little bit, but had to put this one down for a break.

So I picked up the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. This is my second sleeve, and after this I get to join the front/back and sleeves and start the yoke. That's the super cool part of this pattern, and I'm so excited to see how it goes. This is my first Eunny Jang pattern, from the Fall 07 Interweave Knits, and I'll work on this today while I wait for the winter issue to come in the mail.

These are my dragon socks. It's Colinette's Jitterbug, in the color Toscana, and they're my first toe-up. I started them a while back and took a break and then lost them. Turns out they were in my t-shirt drawer shoved in the back with those shirts that I never wear anymore but can't quite get rid of. I've always loved the Dragon Skin pattern from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and the stitch count was perfect. The picture is a little fuzzy, but these socks are awesome and I can't wait to do the heel.

Before I started the Jitterbug socks, these were my dragon socks. It's the Pomatomus sock pattern from Knitty and I am so freaking proud of these socks because it's a crazy pattern done in twisted rib. The yarn is beautiful - my first ever Koigu project. They were so pretty that I ordered 2 more colorways and they're sitting in my stash because I am supremely pissed at this yarn.

I've worn these socks 3 times. I blocked them well and have hand washed them, 3 times, in my sink in the perfect temperature water with the best fiber washes out there, and they look like crap. It's hard to tell from the bad picture, but they're pilled and fuzzy and the pattern is already getting lost. It's not like I'm running marathons in these socks or running around without shoes on sharp gravel. I take very good care of them and they have let me down.

I expect some pilling and wear from my handknit items, but I have 2-year-old socks out of crappy yarns that look a whole lot better than these.

Koigu is so pretty and everyone loves it, and I love the colors. I've talked to a bunch of people who have used Koigu and while a few have had similar issues, most people say it holds up well. I'm asking you, is this just a bum skein or should I expect this from the yarn in my stash?

I loved the Pomatomus pattern so much that I'm getting some new yarn to make them again so I can wear them all the time.

It's time to go see the nephews and do some laundry. I'm also super duper excited about a little errand today - I'm going to the new Whole Foods in Green Hills! Mom went on opening day and went on about how cool it is, and I'm one of those crazies who LOVES grocery shopping.

Football Pajamas Day!

2007-11-04T15:21:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while, I get a luxuriously lazy day to relax. And I have really needed it. So, Happy Football Pajamas Day to me!

So far I've eaten blueberry raspberry pancakes and watched the Titans game. It wasn't pretty, but we beat the Carolina Panthers 20-7. It's still frustrating to watch because I know we can play so much better. But a win's a win, and I'll take it.

It's also been a day of knitting. I'm designing some socks, and had to rip out a lot. They involve a provisional cast on, a nice hem, and a bit of fair isle. But I'm not at home, and didn't have a crochet hook for the cast on so I improvised and made a chain with a knitting needle. I knitted the hem, turning row and fair isle section, and got ready to join the hem. To do this, I rip out the crochet chain and put the live stitches on an extra needle, then knit the sock stitches together with the cast on stitches. But there is no extra circular needle in sight, so I painstakingly put the live stitches on a piece of picture framing wire and started to join. But I forgot a crucial step - the ends need to be woven in first because once the hem is joined, you can't even get to the tails. There's no crochet hook or even sewing needle in sight, so I blog.

I also don't have my camera cord so there will be no pictures in this post of my gorgeous clapotis scarf. It was dry by yesterday morning so I wore it to work all day and then wore it to the bonfire cookout. That thing was around my neck from 7:30 am (it looks great with my bathrobe) to about 1:00 this morning. I love it dearly.

Now it's time to watch the Colts play the Patriots and maybe go for an afternoon drive. In my pajamas. With syrup spilled on them. It's Football Pajamas Day and I'm happy!

Waiting...

2007-11-02T22:31:00.001-05:00

It's blocking. The Clapotis scarf out of Schaefer's Lola. It's so hard to wait when your finished product looks so darn pretty.

I picked up my halfway done abandoned fall sweater project, the Tangled Yoke Cardigan, and am slowly knitting through the sleeves, but all I can think about is my scarf.

What a Day!!!!!

2007-10-30T19:07:00.001-05:00

I got to meet Laurie Perry ( Crazy Aunt Purl) today!!!!!

I might have had to take more Darvocet in order to drag my butt into work, so I was quite out of it, but it was worth it. I just wish that I didn't look so drugged out in this picture. Laurie's just as nice and easy going as she could be. She signed my book, which I still haven't finished, and hung out for an hour and a half and got to meet a lot of Middle Tennessee knitters. She took time to really chat with everyone, and got to buy some new yarn. I also gave her one of the sugar cookies that Hoss and I made, and it was a hit too.

I talked to my good buddy JP tonight to compare Crazy Aunt Purl experiences, and we both had a fun time. The only thing that sucks is that I didn't actually get to see JP while he was in town - he couldn't come to TBY today and I couldn't go to B&N last night. No fun. But we both got to meet an awesome woman, and I'll see him sometime soon. Huntsville is about halfway between us, so maybe there's a mini road trip in our future...

Laurie, thanks for coming to Tennessee! We hope you enjoyed some Southern hospitality, and hope you have an easy trip back to LaLaLand. We'd love to have you back anytime!

Thankful

2007-10-29T16:34:00.000-05:00

Woo Hoo! I got my root canal first thing this morning, and while I was in the dentist's chair a new hot water heater was being installed. The water's not quite warm yet, but I'm checking it every 30 minutes like a crazy stinky woman.

Jaime's scarf turned out great and she loved it! She loves that it's made out of wool and bamboo. Here she is with my sweet brother, Captain Redbeard (his hair is blond but his beard is red. Go figure.) She usually doesn't wear big plastic necklaces or flashing red pins that say, "Kiss me, I'm (insert age here)". Like I'd reveal her age, I'm a better sister than that. We go a little crazy over birthdays in this family and there are usually big party hats and balloons and mardi-gras-esque necklaces and other funky decorations.

After the root canal I decided to make Nanee's potato cheese soup, because that's what she always did for me when I was sick. Since I don't have a blender, I went to mom and dad's to make a mess in their kitchen. It turned out great!

My mouth is still really sore and the nephews were a great distraction. Buddha Bear had shots today too, at his 1-year checkup. He didn't feel good either so we snuggled a whole lot.

Hoss (and mom) made pumpkin shaped sugar cookies, so I got to help with the icing. It was orange too (in flavor and color).

While Hoss is pretty big for a 2-year-old, he's not that tall - he's standing on a footstool. I iced the cookies, he was Master of the Sprinkles. Please don't make fun of me for this picture - half of my face was still numb and I haven't showered since yesterday morning and I'm on pills.

The weekend wasn't a total bust. I finished knitting one of the nephew's Christmas fair isle hats, got some work done on my clapotis scarf, and today read the first 50 pages of Crazy Aunt Purl's book, "Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair". I don't want to put it down! Hopefully I'll finish it by tomorrow when I meet her. The more I read the more excited I get about meeting her! Drop by Threaded Bliss Yarns if you get the chance, from 12 - 1. She doesn't have much time here, and it's more of a meet & greet and book signing. Bring your copy of the book, and we've got plenty too. I'll show you my pretty front tooth and will hopefully be nice and clean, and maybe a little dopey.

Bring on the Pain

2007-10-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

Alright, that's it. I've had it with this crap. I think I finally fell asleep at 6am after tossing and turning all night while my tooth was throbbing. So I called my trusty dentist - the most amazing dentist on the planet - and he told me what I already knew. I need a root canal.

There is a teeny tiny chance that I don't, and I'm going in for x-rays first thing Monday morning and will hopefully get an appointment for the root canal on Monday.

It could be much worse. My first root canal was on Memorial Day weekend and my dentist was out of town and it took 3 days with no painkillers for me to finally get help. The second was on New Year's Eve. That night was fun. I was the most loopy of all my friends and I'm the one that puked when we got home even though I didn't drink a sip of alcohol. Thank the Lord for hydrocodone.

This time it's Halloween, but the dental offices are open. I picked up antibiotics and painkillers today and left work early and came home to attempt some knitting. Before the meds took effect I got some work done on the fair isle hat, but am probably going to start a new pair of socks in a really easy stitch.

The thing about root canals is that by the time you get one, you're so happy to have your nerves deadened that a really sore mouth is not so bad. You've been in so much pain already that you don't mind swollen gums, achy teeth, and not being able to eat solid food.

The tooth still hurts, but I'm pretty loopy and am just laughing about the absurdity of the situation. I talked to Carrie for a while and she said that I have a very "Zen" attitude, so that's a good sign.

Blocking Makes Everything Better

2007-10-26T22:16:00.000-05:00

Blocking does make everything better, but this time I'm not talking about making the scarf prettier (although that is quite true). Blocking makes me feel better. It means that I've finished a project and washed it and it's waiting for its new owner, and I am so sick of that lace pattern. It was a lot of fun, but I knitted 20 inches in the last 48 hours to finish it on time. I thrive under pressure.

When it rains, it pours. I'm sick. I also have a nasty toothache, and with my soft, chalky, crappy teeth and history of emergency root canals, I'm freakin out a little. My hot water heater went out this morning. I called my landlord early this morning, but he decided not to check his messages. I finally reached him this afternoon but it was too late to get it replaced today so I'm s**t out of luck until Monday. There's enough going on right now to make my nerves shot to hell. I'm exhausted and jumpy and had a rough spider experience this evening (apparently if you spray a spider with Pledge, it doesn't die. You have to throw it, along with the shoe it's clinging to, out of the door and into the hall because you just can't deal with it right now.) And, because of my general sicky demeanor I had to turn down a ticket to see Widespread Panic at the Ryman tonight. Ouch. Really big Ouch. Enough bitchin.

Life has been so good to me in the past couple of years. There have been hard times, tough decisions, and minor pitfalls, but in the grand scheme of things I am so incredibly blessed. When it rains, it pours, then life goes on. But the good times definitely outweigh the bad. I'm starting to feel better. Tylenol dulled the toothache just enough. I have the greatest job in the entire universe. I also have the greatest family and friends who are always there for me. I have the cutest nephews on the planet. The weekend is almost here. I'm meeting Crazy Aunt Purl soon. My new sis-in-law is celebrating her first birthday as my brother's wife, and she's definitely something to celebrate. I'm going to a bonfire party at my best friend's house tomorrow night. All of that makes up for having to wake up extra early and go to my parent's house to take a shower in the morning because my landlord won't pay extra money to get a new hot water heater put in on a weekend. Sorry, I'm still pissed about that.

But Monday night I'll have something to be thankful for, something that I take for granted every day - a new hot water heater. Maybe I needed to learn how to appreciate it. If only I could learn to appreciate spiders, but I'll tackle that another day.

Sock Appreciation

2007-10-25T20:40:00.001-05:00

This is my nephew, Hoss, with my sweet father.

I have never met anyone that appreciates knitted socks more than my father. He gets that they are beautiful, comfortable, and the perfect fit that makes your entire day brighter. He has worsted weight blue socks for cold mornings, thin stripes to match his suits, solid camel-hair socks, blue funky stripes (shown above) and a little bit of everything in between.

There's nothing better than having someone really, truly appreciate your hard work. Sometimes you put a lot of time, sweat, and money into a project and you have that feeling that they're lying through their teeth when they say, "Oh.. wow... er...that's great..." The thing is, he's the greatest dad ever and is always there for me and taught me a lot about how to appreciate the finer things in life. I appreciate my dad so much, and am tickled that he appreciates my socks.

Now there is a new generation of sock-appreciators in the family. When Hoss opened his birthday present, he could care less about his ultramerino green and blue striped socks. To be honest with you, I was worried. But it all changed Wednesday. I called mom and heard Hoss in the background shouting, "Emmmmm!" and mom informed me that he had been touching his feet all morning saying my name. Not only does he love his socks, he understands that his Auntie Em made them just for him. He loves to watch me knit. When he comes to the yarn store he runs straight to the silk and cashmere and pets them - he doesn't throw hanks of yarn across the room or drool on them like most kids - I've taught him well. He doesn't like acrylic, and actually gets that wool comes from sheep and alpacas are very soft. I'm so proud!!!!!

When Hoss showed off his socks, Dad took him upstairs to pick out some of Auntie Em's socks for him to wear, and mom grabbed some of hers to put on. Poor Buddha Bear was left out, but he's getting some soon. He can wear big brother's hand-me-downs until then.

Not only do I have the most wonderful and supportive family on the planet, they really do love my socks and I couldn't be more proud of them!

Shaky Mojo

2007-10-23T18:32:00.000-05:00

My knitting mojo is a little off, and I think I figured out why - I'm only (actively) working on 2 projects right now, and it's just not enough. I've been finishing a lot lately, but have been bad about taking pictures.

I finished Buddha Bear's birthday sweater and it was a huge success. The nephews thought it was soft, and the rest of the family was very impressed. I want one just like it. I promise to dress him up in it and take a good picture soon.

I felted some clogs / slippers Sunday night for my friend Nick, and left my camera at home. I'll get a pic soon. Normally I put some puff paint on the soles of slippers for traction, but it's still not good to wear them outside without further protection. He and I were brainstorming about our sole-covering options, and I like the idea of sewing on faux-leather soles - they'll protect the sole without taking away from the design. Being the inventive crazy man that he is, Nick now wants to find some sort of liquid rubber that will harden and bond to the slipper without cracking once it's set. He's researching using bedliner (for trucks) paint and is kind of scaring me. He's not touching those clogs until he's sure that it will work, and has experimented on other fabrics. If he ruins this gift, he'll have to make the next pair himself - without my help. Any ideas anyone?

I have one gift with a deadline that is going along nicely. It's for my sis-in-law whose birthday is tomorrow, but we can't all get together to celebrate until Sunday (why did we have to schedule this during the Titans game? Can't we eat birthday lunch on trays in the den? Do you people not know me at all?) Actually, I'll miss a game for Jaime because she is absolutely wonderful and I am still so so happy that she's family now. I'm really digging the wool bamboo yarn, and the stitch pattern is just interesting enough. I'm a little over halfway done. And it's the most beautiful shade of green.

Last week I fell in love with some Schaefer Yarn - Lola - in a one of a kind colorway. Cheryl Schaefer visited my LYS and place of employment on Sunday, and I had a blast! One of the many perks of working at a yarn store is that you get to really hang out with any special guests that might come to town, and she's funny! It's a clapotis, pattern altered for a scarf. I might be the only knitter who has not made this, so here's my attempt.

Speaking of special guests, I get to meet Laurie (aka Crazy Aunt Purl) in one week!

In order to regain the knitting mojo, I bought yarn for a new project today. When I showed Benji's hat to the nephews, Hoss (the 2-year-old) ran around saying "Hat! Hat! Hat!" and Baby Buddha put it on and pulled it over his face and said "Pee-boo" (short for peek-a-boo). I asked Hoss if he wanted a hat and he firmly replied "Yesssssss!" He wants yellow, but my family looks scary in that color, so he's getting blue to match his eyes.

These 2 boys are 13 months apart and already fight over toys. I'm not sure if I should make 2 hats the same color, or maybe knit one with oatmeal snowflakes on blue, and another with blue snowflakes on oatmeal. They'll be the same size, so I guess they could switch it up every once in a while. They're not twins, but are very close in age (and size). The color selection in Cascade 220 is much better, but I ended up choosing Encore because it's washable. I try to help my sister out whenever I can.

So I'm starting with one that's oatmeal snowflakes on blue, and we'll see what I do with the second. I'm using another pattern from Charlene Schurch's book "Hats On!" - this time it's the Norwegian Star - Hoss picked it out himself. I'm so proud that those boys love my knitting! I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

It's raining and raining and raining here, and I'm glad because we desperately need it but am already sick of the dreariness. So I bought some new nail polish and painted my toes, and they're so fun I had to share a picture. It was hard to get a good shot (and I'm a terrible photographer) but they're a bright, electric blue. Gotta love the little things that make you smile.

Nanee

2007-10-18T21:17:00.001-05:00

Dorothy Nelle Lee Stanford Hutts is my grandmother, although I call her Nanee. She has been like another parent to me. We went out to lunch once a week, we talked almost every day, and she is more proud of me than anyone else on this planet.

I lost my Nanee 3 years ago today. It hurts just as bad as it did that day, but in a way it's easier to deal with. When my family is going through a hard time I desperately wish that I could just ask her for advice, or squeeze her hand, or just lay there in her arms, and that's the hardest part. As time goes by I feel like I need her more than ever.

She always had the best advice. When you're in your 80's and survived the depression, divorce, death, cancer, and all of the crap that life throws at you, it gives the most amazing perspective. She never sugar coated anything, but was so good at putting things in perspective and realizing that it's not the end of the world, even though you might feel that way. When she died I thought my world was over and that my family could never survive without her, but somehow we've made it so far.

She is my biggest cheerleader. I will KNOW for the rest of my life that my Nanee is so proud of me. When I won the senior design award in college, she had been gone a few months, and I stood up on stage to receive the award, wearing Nanee's pearls, I just about lost it because she wasn't there. She's the one who introduced me to O'More, and told me that I could do anything - even be a designer - as long as I was willing to do the work to make it happen. When she died she had just gotten out her favorite scarf - one I had knitted - and put it on the dresser to wear it.

She taught me so much about what it means to be a woman. Although she was conservative, Nanee taught us to be strong and be able to care for ourselves before we could let anyone else take care of us. Her first fiance died in the war, she and my grandfather had to get a divorce, and the love of her life died of cancer 5 years after they got married. She lived alone, in her own home, until she died at age 84. She had the busiest social schedule I've ever seen, and at her funeral so many people (who I didn't even know) told me that she was the best friend they ever had. She told me to treat the garbage man the same way as you treat the governor, and valued every person she met.

Her faith was amazing. That (and her wisdom) were probably the result of a long life, but it was a huge influence on me. I still think "How would Nanee handle this?" or "What would she say?". She was so thankful for every little thing in life, and didn't take much for granted.

She was also a whole lot of fun. She loved football and golf. We'd watch the PGA tour together and would talk about the cute senior tour golfers. When my dear friend Carrie took me to the first Titans game in (now) LP Field, I called Nanee so she could hear the crowd and she was so excited! After games I'd call her and we'd re-hash great runs, or dropped passes, and I still pick up the phone to call her in halftime. When my brother got a motorcycle, she had the best time taking it for a spin (clutching on to him very tight). On her 84th birthday my uncle took her out on his scooter and she rode down the street with a huge smile on her face waving to the neighbors like Miss America.

We'd argue about politics (the day she died she was still trying to convince me to vote for Bush), and I didn't understand why certain social graces were so important to her, but whenever we drank a coke at her house she would thoroughly clean out the empty can and take it to the recycling center in Green Hills. I'll never forget the day that my ex and I took her out to brunch after church. When the check came, he took out his wallet but she had grabbed the check first. She said "It's been 30 years since a man took me out to lunch, and I'm not letting it happen now!"

She held her head up high through whatever was going on, and I pray all the time to have just an ounce of her poise and grace. Now I better understand the importance of manners, grace, and family ties. Sometimes I look in the mirror and for a split second, I see her. A friend of hers stopped by my parent's house recently. It was so great to see her, but she left rather abruptly. Later she told my mom that it was so hard to see the family and not see Nanee, and that I reminded her so much of Nanee that she burst into tears. It was the biggest compliment I have ever received.

Since Nanee died I broke up with the man I thought I would marry, graduated college, got my first one-bedroom apartment, and tried my hand at the real world. My brother has lived all across the country, moved back to Nashville, bought a house, and gotten married. My sister has had 2 children, and my parents moved into her condo.

Mom and Dad knocked down a couple of walls, re-painted, updated the kitchen and bathrooms, and put their own spin on her home. Now I take my nephews swimming in the pool I grew up with, and we watch Titans games in the same den, we make her homemade rolls in front of the same kitchen window, and celebrate all of our family's traditions in that same house. It's filled with the same generosity and love that she showed us - and still shows. Tomorrow night we are celebrating Buddha Bear's first birthday and will take pictures of him sitting in the same position that my brother, sister, and I were at our first birthday. Her traditions kept us together, and strong, and it was (and is) always so much fun to be together. When I enter that home I know I am safe, and loved, except now when I pull out of the carport it's my mom and dad waving to me and not Nanee. I can still see her waving outside the kitchen door until I'm down the street.

It still surprises me that it hurts so badly to not have her here with me. I'm crying my eyes out and my stomach hurts and I have a huge knot in my throat just like 3 years ago. But it's easier to switch to "thankful mode" now. It's easier to remember everything that she taught me and to know that I will always have that. I still learn from her every day. I think about her every day - some of her art hangs in my apartment, I wear the silver bracelet she gave me, I think of her when I see an off-white Cadillac, and I especially think about her when I look into the eyes of my older nephew - he looks just like her. And acts like her too. I hate that she never met her great-grandchildren, but in one sense she knew them before we did.

Nanee is still my biggest fan, and I still ask her for advice, although the answers are not as clear. Her favorite Bible verse was Psalm 100 - and I read it when I think of her, even though I've had it memorized for years. It sums up everything that made her smile. Hope it makes someone else smile too. Psalm 100, verse 5:

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Much better than Monday

2007-10-17T18:38:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy 24 hours.

Last night was the birthday celebration, and Benji cooked dinner for 4 of his friends. (We offered to cook, but he wanted to). It was one of the best meals I've had in a while, and the company was just right. It was a beautiful night and we ate in the backyard, then laughed and danced. Just what I needed.

While my camera was passed around and we took a ton of pictures, I didn't get a decent one of the birthday boy in his hat. I didn't get a decent picture of anyone in the hat, so here's a bad shot of me, closing my eyes during the flash because I do it in every picture ever taken of me. I am obsessed with this hat because I'm so surprised that it looks so good! I showed it to the nephews and they both had a lot of fun trying it on. Looks like they'll be getting fair isle hats this winter too.

The only bad part of the evening was that I felt a migraine coming on, and it was rearing its ferocious head by morning. I've been completely off-kilter today, so it's time for another night of rest and dark chocolate.

The best part of today was a phone call at work - and the following announcement -

CRAZY AUNT PURL IS COMING TO THREADED BLISS YARNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She will be there on Tuesday, October 30th at noon. Woo Hoo! I can't wait to meet her!!!!!!!! I don't have a copy of her book yet - "Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair' - the best title ever - but I've browsed through a friend's copy and it looks awesome. There are also some really cool patterns in the back.

Now it is knit o'clock, and time to finish Buddha Bear's sweater and wash it and block it. I still have to pick up another gift for him - babies don't appreciate hand knits as much as they should - so it looks like a trip to Target is in order to get a stuffed animal. Probably a bear for the bear. How original.

It is what it is

2007-10-15T21:03:00.000-05:00

As my good friend Sheila says, it is what it is. When life sucks, you deal with it. And when I've been dealing with it so much and am just about dealt out, I knit.

So tonight I turned off my phone and locked the doors and poured a big ole glass of good tea and sat down to unwind. I knitted the entire yoke of Buddha Bear's first birthday sweater and had to take a chocolate break with 4 rows left. I don't know what it is about knitting that just melts away the stress and worry in life. There's the rhythm, meditation, and getting lost in what you're doing, but there's also something more than that. You're making something that will make someone happy, and in the process you're easing your own troubles. So I knit. I still worry, and am still so tense that my shoulders are up to my ears, but they've dropped about a quarter of an inch. After a good night's sleep in my own bed maybe they'll drop a little more.

I once heard a story about theologian Martin Luther. When his life was at its toughest, busiest, and most demanding, a friend asked him how he was dealing with his lack of prayer time. Martin Luther was astonished. He replied that when life was tough, he had to pray up to 5 hours a day just to deal with it. He recognized what he needed, when he needed it. We seek solace in prayer, knitting, dark chocolate (one of my personal favorites) and whatever it is that makes us happy. Thank God for prayer, knitting, and dark chocolate all at the same time. So tomorrow morning I'll wake up early to get in some extra quiet time - knitting, coffee, and prayer.

Before the insanity began, I did finish something - Benji's hat. His birthday is tomorrow.

I wish I could post a picture of me patting myself on the back. I actually tried to take a picture of the hat on my head, but they all looked terrible and I gave up. Again, next month I'm expecting a really thoughtful and amazing birthday present from Benji.

Also, here's a sneak peek at Buddha Bear's sweater:

Except for some pattern glitches I've really enjoyed knitting this. I first frogged because after turning to work the neck placket there were too many even rows between decreases, then I frogged again a couple rows later with I realized that the placket wasn't centered - it was 2 stitches to the left. I was made fun of by friends for being a perfectionist, but it has to be damn near perfect if it's for my sweet Bear (or "Bay-uh" as his proud big brother calls him). At first I was bored with the stockinette, but it turns out that tonight it's just what I needed.

UFO Wrangling

2007-10-09T19:53:00.001-05:00

First of all, here are some beautiful purpley-blue irises. And some yellow and white things. I forget their names. Having flowers around makes everything a little brighter, and I love to treat myself sometimes, although I go for the cheap stuff.

It's time to lasso some UFO's and whip them into shape. Here's the status check:

Big Snugs from Pick Up Sticks. They've been mostly finished for a while, but I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the sole. I picked up some faux leather at the fabric store and was ready to make my own soles, but of course, I brought the fabric to work and left it there. Whoops. While I am still honing photography skills, the light color is actually baby blue, and the brown is a dark espresso. Also, while I am paler than most people on this planet, this pic makes me look glow-in-the-dark. I'll blame the flash for the pastiness.

Here's the second sleeve of the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. Sorry, but you're on hold. Gifts (with deadlines) take precedence.

The lace cardigan out of Alpaca Silk is on super-hold, stuffed in a drawer with some chocolate organic cotton and an almost-finished sock. I'll get back to it soon.

One felted clog down, one to go! And it matches my little rug so well. While this thing is enormous, it's knit on big needles and I did the entire top in a couple hours. My hands need a break from this one for a night or 2.

This scarf is a gift that is due in a few weeks. I originally did another lacey leaf pattern from one of the Barbara Walker treasuries, but it went so slow and I kept having to tink my mistakes. I restarted last night and it's working up quick. I'm also head over heels in love with the yarn - Wool BamBoo by Classic Elite. It's like butter.

This is fabric for little Buddha (younger nephew). He's going as Bam Bam for Halloween and doesn't need a costume because he fits the part so well. He's on the verge of walking and will probably slim down once he starts moving more. I'll be able to whip out his costume in a night, and have more pressing matters.

The hat for Benji is going great! I've tried it on more guys and it should definitely fit. This deadline is October 16th, and the end is in sight.

There are 2 more gifts that need to be done asap and I haven't even bought the yarn yet. Little Buddha is turning 1 soon, and needs his own cashmere sweater. I'm thinking about the Child's Placket-Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. The gauge is right to use Cash Vero or Cashsoft DK, and it should work up quick. I'll buy yarn tomorrow.

The other gift is to make up for the fact that I hated the scribble lace. It's a pain to deal with, the big needles make me mad, and it's just not right for the recipient in mind. Since I was leafing through Last Minute Knitted Gifts, I think I'll use the Colinette mohair for the Airy Scarf. It's in the 2-4 hour gifts chapter, so I'll knock it out in a night.

Wow. This list is a little overwhelming. I think I'll drag out Benji's hat because it is closest to the end. It always feels good to cross something off the list.

The thing about having so many UFO's is that it's not overwhelming. This is how I do my best work. I have to have something simple, something complicated, something lacey, and something different going on at the same time. My UFO list is a little long at the moment, but knitting gifts is the best feeling in the world. Right now I'm thinking about all of these people that I love so much and how much fun it is to spoil them.

Why I Love Tennessee, Round 2

2007-10-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

I left work early yesterday (sorry Alicia!) to head out with some friends for a tiny weekend getaway to Monteagle (A sleepy little mountaintop retreat with amazing views, as you can see). Sometimes all you need is to drive for an hour and a half and feel (mentally) halfway around the world. It was a beautiful mini-vacation!

Today we went on a hike in Fiery Gizzard (great name!) I went there with my family many many years ago, and remember the sheer cliffs, up and down trail, intense rocky overhangs and water everywhere. So today we brought swimsuits and were expecting to hear the powerful waterfalls, but there was hardly any water. Tennessee (and much of the south) has been dealing with a tough drought for what seems like forever, and it was so sad to see a rushing creek turn into a standstill. One member of our group trekked around a slick waterfall and jumped in where the water was deeper, but after putting my feet in, I decided to stay dry. It was cold!

I snapped some great pictures, wish I could show them all. Below is an enormous old hemlock tree that must have been 12 feet in diameter.

I did bring knitting, of course, and wanted to knit on the porch last night after dinner, but there was too much wine around and it's hard to knit while looking at the stars - there were a bunch of shooting stars. Sometimes you have to get out of the city to see just how much light pollution effects the starlight.

Here is a current sock while driving down the highway. I got a lot done, but didn't count my stitches until about a half inch past where this picture was taken, and I have 28 sts on one side (how it should be) and 30 on the other (whoops). I have no idea when or how this happened, and am too tired to figure it out tonight. It's late, I just now ate dinner, and my legs are killing me. It's time to settle down with a certain project (felted clogs) for a certain good friend (who took me to Monteagle).

And I almost forgot - the Titans played the Falcons today, and it took all of the patience I could muster to wait until the hike was over to call friends in Nashville and find out that WE WON 20-13! Haven't found out the details yet, but apparently our offense was off but our defense saved the day. We're 3-1!

Did I Do That????

2007-10-03T19:01:00.000-05:00

Fair Isle, my evil nemesis, I'm kickin' your butt. Maybe I'm speaking too soon, but this looks even better in person - and it's a pretty bad picture.

7 years ago, when Benji first asked me to make him a fair isle hat, I didn't know it was difficult. Learning something new would be fun. My tension was so far off (this was when I didn't yet know that all of my purls were twisted - I didn't learn that until the winter of 2002). Since then, every year or so, I try again to get this fair isle thing right.

So I bought some Cascade 220 and knitted up an amazing swatch - 60 sts, in pattern, and 5" tall. My gauge was perfect. I cast on, did a stockinette cuff with a hem, and worked a few inches in the pattern. My gauge had changed - tightened - and went from 6 sts/1" to almost 7 sts/1". Thankfully I made the XL rather than Large, and it fits my head well. I took it to work today and made a bunch of people try it on (it's not done, so I put the live sts on waste yarn). It fit everyone - adults and children, thick hair and thin hair, men and women (ok only 2 men tried it on). I even got a gold star for the good work so far!!!

Benji - this hat better fit you. If it doesn't, too bad. You WILL wear it all around town anyway. It'll stretch eventually. And remember, my brotha, my birthday is exactly one month after yours. This year you're not forgetting it (again), and you're getting me a VERY nice gift.

Why I Love Tennessee, and Other Random Fun

2007-09-30T17:19:00.001-05:00

This is why I love Tennessee. It's just plain beautiful. It's a gorgeous sunny Sunday, not a cloud in the sky, and there's always a nice view. (Pretend that there is no glare)

Now that the camera has batteries again, here is my sparkling shower:

I tried to get better pictures by standing on the toilet but I bumped my head on the ceiling and gave up.

And I've gotten a lot of work done on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I've finished the front/back up to the armhole and one sleeve. This picture doesn't quite show the beautiful green celery color.

I'm taking a slight break from this to work on presents. There are 3 birthday gifts to be completed in the next month - one on October 16, one October 19, and one October 24th. Before I show pictures, I need to figure out if these people read my blog or not. My wonderful and amazing sister-in-law Jaime might read it, not sure. One is for baby Buddha's first birthday (he's my younger nephew. Did you know that he and his big brother hung the moon? Fun fact. They are also perfect in every way. Isn't that amazing?). I haven't started his gift yet but I'm thinking cashmere sweater out of either Cascade's Cash Vero or Rowan's Cashsoft DK. Cash Vero is softer, but Cashsoft is washable. We'll see. I get to see both nephews tomorrow so I'm bringing my measuring tape because while he might be almost 1, I think he wears a size 2 or 3.

The third gift is for by "brotha from anotha motha", Benji. Soon after I started to really get into knitting, Benji and I were roommates. He put up with yarn stuffed under the couch, and I put up with loud late-night poker games and lots of Steely Dan. He asked me to make him a fair isle Nordic snowflake hat, with earflaps. I tried and tried and my tension was all over the place. I finally gave up and bought him a polarfleece hat. To this day, he still reminds me that the hat I bought him sucks, and I'm sick of hearing about it. I've been swatching and found a great pattern, and am ready to cast on. I finally figured out how to make the tension even - holding both yarns in my left hand using a yarn guide. Pictures to come.

Time to knit and watch football. The Titans have a well deserved bye week, and we play the Atlanta Falcons next week here in NashVegas.

Holy Crap This is Actually Fun

2007-09-29T20:08:00.001-05:00

I have a rough relationship with my bathroom. I love to take nice long baths, but when I found my awesome apartment, it only has a stand-up shower and no tub. It took about a month and a half to figure out how to shave my legs without hurting myself or pulling a muscle - the shower is that small. I bought a cute new bathmat when I moved in, only to realize that it's 16" from the shower to the side of the toilet, so nothing will fit (at the moment I'm using an old towel folded in half, but I'm working on making a perfect size bathmat - details later). I rarely close the bathroom door when I'm getting ready in the morning, but it blocks the drawers under the sink so I can only open them about 3" unless I close the door, and to do that I have to stand in the small space between the shower and toilet. It's a teeny tiny wee little bathroom and I make do.

The place was not necessarily sparkling clean when I moved in, and I am not a clean freak. The kitchen and bathroom are kept up nicely, but there is usually a pile of yarn in one corner and a pile of clothes in the closet. But I HATE cleaning. It's tiring just to muster up enough motivation to spend 15 minutes doing dishes. I do it anyway, because it's more fun to knit in a clean house than a dirty one.

My main problem is this: cleaning my bathroom makes this entire apartment reek of nasty fumes for at least 24 hours. I could clean the whole thing in 15 minutes, but then have to open all windows and leave for a few hours (yes, my apartment is that small). And there is still that slight stain on the shower floor that has been there since before I moved in.

The inspiration came from a fellow Southern knitting goddess, Miss Crazy Aunt Purl. She rocks for so many reasons, and has been on a housekeeping spree. So today I picked up some Seventh Generation shower cleaner and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (heavy-duty) and went to town. Holy Crap the results were beautiful! I sprayed and scrubbed and literally watched however many years of mildew just wipe away. No fumes, no smell, no bleach on my shorts, and now I have a sparkling shower. It even took all the funk off my shower head. This is it. Now I'm officially obsessed with everything made by Seventh Generation. I already use their paper towels (even though they remind me of the ones in my elementary school bathroom) and their recycled toilet paper, which is a lot softer than you would think. Tomorrow I'm getting the bathroom cleaner for the sink, and will see what else they have.

The camera's battery just died on me so there are no sparkling pictures, and I might need a glass of wine to help me not freak out about how fun it was to clean. I think I'll go take a shower and bask in the fume-free shine.

The Start of Something Magical

2007-09-26T19:42:00.000-05:00

It's sock time! There is something special about socks. The first time you knit one you struggle to understand the pattern, do what you're told and you end up with a magical, beautiful fitted sock and you're not quite sure how you did it. Every single time I knit one there is a sense of amazement - there is powerful, ingenious knitting math at work - but it's not too hard. They are portable, relatively quick, and you never get sick of knitting socks. You can make them as simple or complex as you want.

While I've made several pairs of socks, all of them have been top-down. I've tried the toe-up method a few times, but never got past the heel. I like socks with a snug fit, and hate the way a plain short-row heel fits. I've run across a lot of toe-up patterns with a gusset, but haven't actually tried one.

I've been drooling over Colinette's Jitterbug sock yarn lately, finally gave in today and picked up a hank of the colorway Toscana. I also grabbed some Addi Lace size 1 circulars, 32", because magic loop is so much easier than double points. It's not that I mind using dpn's, but I knit continental and sometimes give the needles a kung fu death grip, so they tend to snap in half. The Addi Lace needles are my new favorite toy - the tip is perfectly pointy with a gradual slope, the joins are the smoothest things I've ever felt, and they are slightly less slick than the Addi Turbos - again, as a continental knitter I prefer a little more control.

I've been searching online for the perfect pattern, but am stubborn and don't know what my gauge will be so I've bookmarked a few to guide me through the knitting. I'm starting with the magic cast-on for toe-up socks from knitty and will check gauge as I knit. There will probably be some sort of stitch pattern involved, so I'll flip through my Barbara Walker Treasuries and find something cool. First thing first - cast on. After that, who knows, but the yarn is so pretty and the best way to learn something new is to dive in, right? Or am I crazy? Maybe both? We'll see...

NFL Week 3

2007-09-24T17:15:00.000-05:00

It's time for some Monday Night Football! For the Titans it's a chance to show the entire country that we're back, and we're powerful. For the Saints it's a chance to win their first game of the season. During the pre-season there were a lot of people picking the Saints to go to the Super Bowl, but they have lost their first 2 games. With a national stage, both teams will bring out the big guns.

My pick: The Saints really want this one, but the Titans will win 17-10.

UPDATE:

Wow! TN won 31-14. Keith Bullock had 3 interceptions. That was really fun to watch! And I got a lot of work done on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan.

Christmas in September

2007-09-19T21:15:00.001-05:00

Sometimes it's hard to exchange gifts with your friends during the holidays. Everyone is busy running around and going to parties and traveling and hanging out with family, so it can be difficult to exchange gifts with friends. Such was the case with my my dear friend Carrie. We've known each other forever, live 2 blocks away from each other, and hang out a whole lot. To make a long story short, we exchanged our 2006 Christmas presents today (please don't judge - we both may enjoy procrastination and might be a tad absent-minded, but there are valid reasons that it took months. I think.) Her gift has been hanging out in my closet for the last 9 months, while my gift has been sitting in her office. So here goes...

My gift to her: felted clogs out of Cascade 220 and (not pictured) the new Feist CD - the Reminder. That gift was added last week. If you haven't heard it, check it out. It's very very good. Carrie LOVES the clogs, and they fit perfectly. I did offer to put some puff paint on the soles for traction, but she would rather risk injury and slide around on her wood floors. I'll keep the paint handy just in case she changes her mind.

Her gift to me: A nice assortment. Some Miso Pretty products (not pictured) and they smell heavenly. Here's a picture of the only bumper sticker on my new-ish car. In case you're not a football maniac like me, the "V" stands for Vince Young, quarterback for the Tennessee Titans.
It rocks!

Also, I receved "the Best-Ever Vegetarian Cookbook". I've already flagged most of the pages and am looking forward to trying everything! I think the first dish will be the red pepper risotto.

While I'm not a vegetarian anymore (I eat turkey and fish), I still would rather cook vegetarian meals, and this cookbook is awesome.

Thanks Carrie! And Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Road Trip Wrap Up

2007-09-16T11:36:00.001-05:00

The road trip was actually fairly nice, and the wedding was incredible. My cousin looked so beautiful, her husband is so sweet and charming, and it was a great chance to catch up with my family.

Here's the best shot we got of the cousins

And some road trip pictures...

Dad lookin' cool in the front seat

Sis-in-law and I when bro hijacked the camera
(I was in the middle of making a goofy face and it didn't work out so well)

My brother acting like himself

Bro again, playing with the Rowan Felted Tweed (the color is celery)

My new sis-in-law wearing a beautiful Rowan tiara

As you can see, I didn't get much knitting done. The crazy family can be quite distracting, and I kept messing up the easy pattern. Being the youngest, I sat in the middle again, and there might have been some fights over cookies so the knitting was there for moral support. I did get some shots of bro-in-law driving, and of mom and sis in the way back, but they would hurt me if I posted them.

Congratulations to the bride and groom! I love you guys!

NFL Week 2

2007-09-16T11:06:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite game of the entire football season - we're playing the Colts at home. You never know what will happen. I don't care if the Colts won the Superbowl. I don't care that we're a major underdog. When we play our #1 rival, all bets are off.

Flashback to last season, Colts at Titans. I was there in Adelphia Coliseum, screaming my lungs out. We came back and tied the game in the 4th quarter, and with 7 seconds left, Rob Bironas kicked a 60 yard field goal to win. I must have jumped 10 feet in the air when he made that.

Yet again, all of the experts on all of the major sports sites have picked the Colts, (except Chris Mortensen on espn - you're a smart man, Chris). This is an easy pick for me. I've seen it happen before many times, and after the way we rushed last week, the Titans will win 20-17, just like last year.

Go Titans!

Scribbly

2007-09-14T19:45:00.000-05:00

It's now officially birthday season. All of my friends and family (except my brother, 'cause he just has to be different) have a birthday between the end of August and the beginning of January. Now is the time of year that I stop knitting for myself and start saving money and stashing for my loved ones. So of course, I just cast on for another sweater for myself while I already have one in progress. (I'm falling in love with Rowan one stitch at a time).

Anyway, I 'm in the midst of a first attempt at scribble lace. It blew my mind when I first picked up Unexpected Knitting by Debbie New, and while having fun on knitty I ran across an easy scribble lace pattern. The mohair is Colinette, and it's paired with Cascade's Baby Alpaca Chunky - so soft! It's coming along great, except for the fact that I hate working with size 15 needles and I feel like my arms are flailing around when I knit. There is the aspect of rather instant gratification because it knits up so quickly, but working with mohair and a huge needle with a rather blunt tip really sucks. But still, it's pretty.

Tomorrow I am driving to Birmingham for my cousin's wedding with my family. Mom, Dad, sis, bro-in-law, bro, sis-in-law, and I are all piling into sis's SUV for the ride. Yeah, we're crazy. Just because a car seats 7, it doesn't mean that's a good idea. I'm already having flashbacks of being in the back seat of mom's oldsmobile wagon while my brother and sister try to hit each other and end up hitting me because I'm in the middle.

Naturally, the scribble lace won't work on this car trip because I don't want to elbow my siblings the whole drive, but I still need something to knit on. (can you tell that this is a lame justification of buying a bunch of yarn?) It's payday, so I bought several skeins of Rowan's Felted Tweed today for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan in the fall '07 issue of Interweave Knits. After mad swatching to figure out what needles to buy before the yarn store closed, I picked up some Addi Lace needles and came home to play with it before going out tonight. New projects make everything better - even long car rides in heels and a strapless dress - and if the siblings make me crazy, I'll just poke them with my knitting needles. If only I had learned to knit as a child...

NFL Week 1

2007-09-09T11:36:00.001-05:00

It's football season!!!!!!!!!

Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars, noon today. I love the first game of the season. There's so much anticipation and excitement! You never know what to expect. We've got an amazing leader in Vince Young, but it's always exciting to see how the new guys fit in.

My pick: this is going to be a close one, and a fight to the finish. If we can stop the Jaguars' running game, the Titans will win, 27-24.

GO TITANS!!!!!

Update: WE WON 13-10! It looked a little rough in the first half, but we pulled through. Chris Brown ran for 172 yards and our defense kept the Jags at bay. Nice work boys! Next week: Indy.

A Surprise for the Queen and some Good Tea

2007-09-07T19:12:00.001-05:00

The Baby Surprise Jacket is complete! The ends are woven in, it's lightly blocked (I ran out of time) and I went to my FAVORITE fabric store today and picked out some buttons. The way this pattern is written is awe-inspiring. Elizabeth Zimmerman is my hero. Here's a detail of some of the cool shaping:

And this is the back:

What makes this project so much fun is the recipient, the Queen. She is the now 1-year-old daughter of my best friend, a.k.a. my "niece", and I couldn't love her more. She is the best disco dancer I know (next to her mom) and has a great appreciation for rock hits of the 80's. She's also going to be the best cowgirl since Dale Evans. Tomorrow night is the party of the century, where half of Tennessee will celebrate her first birthday. Because babies don't necessarily appreciate the goodness and love that is hand-knits, I also bought her a toy cowgirl and horse.

The best part about knitting gifts is the meditation on the recipient. As I was knitting this jacket, I was thinking about the Queen and how much I love her, how much she has grown, how she looks so much like her dad but has her mom's spirit, and how I can't wait to be her biggest fan as she grows up. That's why I don't knit for myself so much. I also LOVE being an aunt, if you couldn't tell already.

My contribution to the party of the century is 5 gallons of Good Tea (it's a big party). Because of a small fridge and no time this week, I talked my mom into making 2 gallons for me, so I have one in the fridge, one steeping, and one to go. If you were raised in the south, you know that we have a slightly obsessive love of iced tea, and we only drink it sweet. You can get it anywhere, but it's appalling how many restaurants can butcher it - either too sickly sweet, too minty, too weak, or just plain funky tasting. Southerners also love fruit tea, and everyone has a different recipe for it - some add apple juice, others add lemonade, but the best has a little citrus blend. People always ask me why it's called Good Tea, but it's simple. You take a sip and immediately say "That's Good Tea!" I'm sippin' on it right now. If you come to my house between May and September, there's always a gallon in the fridge. I've tried it with several types of alcohol, but it's best with a shot of spiced rum. Yum. And I'm not sharing the recipe.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

2007-09-04T22:29:00.000-05:00

I finished something!! I ended up crocheting 4 hot pads - 2 out of Big Kureyon, one out of Classic Elite's Desert, and one out of Karaoke. I briefly explained the concept of felting to a couple of friends - when you show up to someone's house to watch football and bring your yarn, crochet hook, Eucalan, and a bunch of old towels, it's usually necessary to let him know what you're about to do with his washer. But it was so much fun to crochet, and Georgia was kickin butt, so I started to make coasters for my friends, which are now sitting idle in the knitting basket. Add another UFO to the list. The only hot pad I'm really pleased with is the Karaoke one. The soy felts so beautifully, giving it a nice bright sheen. The others need to go through the washer one more time.

Big sis loved the hot pad, along with new cookie sheets (that's what she wanted). I forgot to get a picture of the finished projects. I was too distracted by her sons, who were especially fun last night. My older nephew turned 2 last week and has just started talking. He said the sweetest word I've ever heard in my entire life - "Emmmmmmmmah" - my name! It's just the first syllable, and sometimes it morphs into "moo", but he said my name!!!!!! I'm so proud!

I've been to 2 birthday parties in the last 48 hours and still got some other knitting done this weekend. Sunday morning I woke up early, made extra coffee, and sat down with the big scary lace project. The center pattern is starting to show, and it's actually getting a little easier. Only 50 more inches!

I'm told that it looks normal, and blocking makes the wonkiness go away. It better. Until then, I need to pick a UFO - probably the socks and hat that I'm working on for a class - and get on the ball because I bought yarn and swatched for a new pair of socks today, like a crazy girl with start-itis. It's a work in progress. From now on, you can just call me Emmmmmmmmmmah-moo.

The UFO's are taking over!!!

2007-08-31T19:10:00.000-05:00

I think my knitting mojo has been damaged by the recent heatwave. When it was 105 degrees outside for what seemed like 10 years straight, the mojo was at an all-time low. I developed a case of start-itis. I've seen so many projects crash and burn! All I have to show for it is a bunch of balls of yarn with bits of knitting (and crochet) that are in a corner of my apartment because that's where I hurl them when I realize they just aren't working out. This happens to everyone once in a while (or at least that's what I'm telling myself) and the only way to get through it is to go on a yarn diet and force myself into finish-itis. At least the high temps are in the 90's again, there's a little breeze outside and I heard it rained in the next county over.

Here are the UFO's (un-finished objects) and their status, in no particular order:

The hot pads, aka potholders, but "hot pads" is more fun to say. Basically they're crocheted spirals out of Noro's Big Kureyon (from the stash closet). I'll hopefully have time to felt them in the next 48 hours so they can dry before I give them away as part of a birthday present for my big sis on Monday. I want to finish the second and make a third just because they work up so quickly. I have a deadline, which is usually a good thing, so this won't be too hard to cross off the UFO list.

EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket. Elizabeth Zimmerman is my hero. This is one of those patterns that is just so freakin' cool that you have to knit it to see how it all comes together. It was completely worth it! The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash, a classic, and it took one ball of each color. The only thing left to finish this UFO is to weave in a few more ends, block it, and pick out some cool buttons. This is a gift for my "niece", who is the daughter of my oldest and dearest friend. Her first birthday is in a week, and the party will be one for the record books.

This is my big "am I insane?" project. Lace is so intriguing, and this is my first true lace project. It's the Alpine Knit Scarf from Victorian Lace Today, knit with Andrea, a laceweight silk from Schaeffer Yarns, and I think the colorway is Greenjeans. It's amazing. And really tough. I've already used my lifeline once, and couldn't knit on it for a week due to the trauma of dropping a stitch. This UFO has a deadline too, but it's a little more manageable. Cheryl Schaeffer is coming to my favorite LYS on October 21st, and I want to wear it. Did I say that deadline was manageable? I meant that I'm insane and have no idea what I'm doing and, what have I gotten myself into? We'll see how this one works out.

The saddest part of this story is that half of my stash is currently part of some sort of UFO, and there are several more out there that I don't have pictures of. There's that lace cardigan from Rebecca that I started in May (out of Blue Sky Organic's Alpaca silk - so nice), and the Big Snugs (think felted boot slippers) that need a suede sole, those Cherry Tree Hill socks, the petal bib that just needs to be blocked, the shadow knitting pillow that just takes so long to knit, the Honeymoon Cami that's done, except I keep ripping the straps because the i-cord looked terrible, then the crochet chain looked awful, braided cord didn't work, and it's staring at me from its current home in the top of one of my knitting baskets.

Is there a 12-step-program for UFO's? If so, then I've conquered the first step - admitting that I have a problem. Maybe the knitting mojo will start creeping back to normal levels. Either way, the next step is to finish these projects, because they really are beautiful, and if they don't all work out, the process of knitting is so much fun!

welcome...

2007-08-31T09:10:00.001-05:00

7 4 07 006_1
Originally uploaded by espknits

I'm esp, and here I am with one of my nephews. I can't last more than one day without knitting or crocheting. That's enough about me. Welcome to my blog!