The Youth of Today...

... know nothing of history.

Hey Flan,

I hope the new job comes with a clothing allowance because now you have to be all official all the time and someone else should have to pay for that.

Ok, the title. Sunday, The Hubby (who has RETURNED from Field Camp!!!) and I went grocery shopping. I had an overwhelming craving for a lemon poppyseed muffin. I was going to purchase said muffin mix at grocery store, but was hungry didn't want to wait for the baking. We went to baked goods store #1, found lots of muffins but NO lemon poppyseed. We then went to coffeeshop#1, which sells baked goods, found no muffins at all. Off to coffee shop #2. I asked the teeny tiny pre-pubesent worker if they had any lemon poppyseed muffins. She looked at me completely bewildered and said, "What's that?? I've never heard of that kind of muffin"

I was stunned. I was trying to be polite and asserted that it really was a very popular type of muffin though not, apparently, in our part of the deep South. I looked at the second employee who had walked up, trying to find someone who had heard of this type of muffin. To my relief he shot teeny tiny pipsqueak a withering look and agreed that the type existed and was popular, though, sadly, they did not have any.

In the end I stopped at a second grocery store to buy a stupid mix and then had them bake while I put away the groceries. It was far more stress than a muffin should ever incur.

Knitting news... Let's see.... There is none. I was starting to make a cute little skirt for Gracie's offspring. Until I measured the child and discovered that I had made it too small. Stupid fast growing children (not stupid children, just the rate at which they grow). I decided that the EZ February Sweater I was going to make for E&H's baby looked good but I was definitely going to run out of yarn. I have not yet had the courage to rip, but have liberated the needles and stitch markers. I organized my notions bag as well as all of the WIPs. They each have a separate bag so it doesn't look like there are as many as there are- sort of a divide and conquer. Thankfully, tonight is for knitting, so I will hopefully get some work done on The Hubby's sweater.

Blocking, Ripping, and Knitting Again

Kathleen-
I'm slow at posting, which is a combination of new work responsibilities and the beautiful weather making it hard to concentrate.

I therefore present the short version of my knitting life since my last post:

• I finished the shrug and blocked. I then ripped out the edging to continue knitting. Still working (big black blob!)
• I ripped my sockapalooza socks for time #4. I'm now happy with the fabric I'm getting, and just starting the pattern, so I hope it'll work this time. The good news is that the Bearfoot seems to be amazingly resilient to the ripping
  
• I knit a pair of baby booties for H & E. Just seaming is left. They're really cute!
• I spun quite a bit last weekend, but have nothing to show for it. That's the problem with spinning laceweight yarn.
  
• Jess brought birthday cake to Knit Night, and it was amazing and delicious.
  

Other than that, my life is consisting of work and car shopping. It's true. I'm looking at replacing my approaching vintage 1991 Toyota Camry Station Wagon with a brand spanking new Toyota Matrix.

A Little Bit of Sunshine

Hey Flan,
I am happy to report that after two thoroughly miserable, overly emotional days it seems that the phase is over. Thank goodness. Right now I'm exhausted but doing better.

The Hubby's Sweater and I are again on speaking terms. I think it will turn out well but my fingers are still crossed. For a control freak such as myself, EZ's decidedly freeform guidelines are pushing the boundaries of my comfort level. She gives two different ways to do the decreases in Kw/oT and then a third way in Knitter's Almanac. The problem is that I really like whatever Mr. Jared did and I really don't like one in the picture of Kw/oT and I can't figure out which is which. There should really be a Kw/oT for dummies, but I suppose it would sort of negate the whole spirit of Unventing...

Anyway, The Hubby comes home tomorrow (!) and I have a meeting with an extra important person today, so I should probably focus on the latter and not the former.

Happy Thursday.

Pity Party

Hey Flan,
You're probably still very busy with your new job and everything. I can't remember if you posted about this or not, but the head of the organization for whom Flan works resigned to go work for another org. What to do whilst the search for a new head honcho went on?? Have Flan run the org! While this is fabulous and totally beats the crap out of anything I could put on my resume, it seems to have the unfortunate effect of stealing absolutely all of her time, leaving none for emailing, telephoning, sleeping, etc.

The Hubby comes home Friday!! I'm so excited I could scream and it's making me even more distracted than before. It's also making me acutely aware that he's been gone for almost a month and that two weeks ago I told him that I feel that he's learned enough and why doesn't he come home NOW?? It didn't work.
By the way, he's decided that not only should you and M get married, but that y'all should get married at the Grand Canyon and time it for during a meteor shower. You probably didn't know that my husband had so many opinions about your completely theoretical wedding, but there they are.

Bottom line: he's been gone a really freakin' long time and I miss him and I'm tired of missing him and the whole world sucks.

The knitting has also been proving more difficult than it should. Gracie and I started our mini Knit-a-long last week. We had been making about equal process up until the weekend or so. Then I decided I should focus on The Hubby's sweater so that it could get done before he comes home (stop laughing, it's theoretically possible). While I was knitting the second sleeve Gracie was trucking along, staying focused. This morning I opened my email to find that she is COMPLETELY DONE with the WHOLE THING. I am happy for her, but not only does she have a 6 month old infant, she also has a husband and a dog to care for and she still found time to get hers finished. My husband is thousands of miles away and whilst he's been gone I've been on sabbatical from cooking, so there are very few demands of my time and I'm still inches from getting anywhere close to being done.

To top it all off, there have been issues with The Hubby's sweater. None of them stem from the "unventor", all of them are solely my fault. I was trying to debate whether or not to do the Seamless Saddle Shoulder Sweater or the Seamless Hybrid. I mistakenly thought that both had the same percentage on the underarm threads and that both were joined and knit for an inch before shoulder shaping started. Nope, not so much. Last night, after a deep breath and a group consensus that the Hybrid really is better than the SSSS, I ripped. There was only about an inch of ripping or so, but they were really, really long rounds.

Pretty gloomy in my world, and the clouds and rain outside aren't helping. O Woe is me... But not for long because The Hubby comes home SOON and chocolate, if nothing else, will help me get to then.

Confused

Hi Flan,
I have a knittery question for you and whomever else might be reading this. Gracie and I are doing a mini KAL with a tank. It's got a nice big V at the neck and the usual ribbing around the bottom. For the past couple of days I've been pondering needle size and ribbing and have come out very flummoxed.

Ok, here are the two parts that form my befuddlement.
1. Ribbing makes the knitted fabric tighter. If you're just knitting along and then, using the same needles, start ribbing it will get tighter - hence the whole point of ribbing (besides having a life goal of driving me crazy).

2. Going down needle sizes bumps up gauge, creating a denser, tighter product. Messing with needle size, and therefore gauge, is usually intentional- bigger needles= bigger knitting & vice versa.

So... if ribbing makes something tighter AND smaller needles make something tighter WHY on EARTH are you supposed to use BOTH methods when doing the hem areas?? Ribbing alone seems sufficient, why do the seeming redundancy of downsizing needles as well??

The combination of the two seems to make the hems oddly out of proportion to the rest of the garment. If you do an entire sweater on size 8s, then do 2 inches of ribbing on size 6s doesn't it result in really tight hems, clinging to the stomach region - a region not particularly known for being flattered by close fitting garments?? I'm very confused by the combo of these two techniques and am considering heedlessly flouting them.

"Of course, Hunters can mate with Knitters."

Hi Flan,
The above is a direct quote from a story in today's Seattle Times. The story is about relationships. The implications about relationships are not all that complimentary, but neither are they all that rosy for knitters.

Here is the entire paragraph (again, this is from the Seattle Times, the link is above- we strive to be a plagarism free zone- italics added by me), "Of course, hunters can mate with knitters, Republicans with Democrats, Jews with Christians and the filthy rich with working stiffs, but if more than two stark differences are there, the relationship is in trouble, Dobransky says."

Apparently, knitting reflects beliefs as significant as those of FAITH (see Jews and Christians comments). As much as I enjoy knitting, at the end of the day it is a hobby and a creative outlet, not a religion. I have opinions regarding knitting, but none of them are held as fervently as my beliefs regarding politics or religion.

Apparently knitting is on an end diametrically opposed to hunting. Hunters like animals and don't usually hunt the ones whose fleeces knitters enjoy and knitters don't usually knit from those that hunters enjoy. It would probably shock Ms. Dobransky to know that some knitters hunt and some hunters knit. Why wouldn't she have used "hunters can mate with vegans"??

My little rant has very little to do with the actual point of the article. I guess it's just a crabby Thursday. But the rant is not over and I have just one more thing to say. I was at a 3 day training earlier this week. Before we began yesterday I had pulled out my knitting and was sitting quietly, thinking about the day, with my knitting near my lap, partially under the table. I was not knitting something brightly colored. I was not talking to people about my knitting. I was reading through the presentation materials and sitting in a chair. If you didn't look closely you wouldn't have known I was knitting. One of my coworkers said, " I could never do that, I am the type of person who just likes to blend in."

Not only are knitters all Bambi-loving granola crunchies, we also don't blend in while sitting quietly.

Rant over.

Happy 250th Post!

Gauge is a Fickle Beast

Kathleen-
This entry brought to you by Gauge is a Fickle Beast. Now showing wherever I'm knitting, for the foreseeable future.

So in my search for the perfect shrug pattern, I looked at lots of patterns and lots of yarn. I chose the lovely Royal Bamboo for its silkiness and fair price. After a false start involving the bolero from Vintage Knits, I decided on the One Skein Wonder pattern that has made its way around the blogs. Let me say up front that I love this pattern, and the problem is not with the pattern.

I made a gauge swatch. My gauge was terribly compressed. I did math. Lots of math. I triple checked. My swatch and the math told me that I could knit the largest size, and it should fit me. So I cast on. After knitting a few inches, I measured again. Right on track. So I kept knitting.

Which brings me to last night. I sat down to watch TV in the evening (two episodes of West Wing on DVD), and knit happily along. I knew I was approaching the end of the knitting of the main part of the piece, and then would need to knit the border. After two episodes, I counted stitches. I was done with the main knitting! Then I draped it around myself. Not happening. Several inches too small.

I measured, and lo and behold, the gauge was off. Way off. After a small fit of frustration, I decided to set it aside for the evening (measuring and knitting to resume tonight at Knit Night).

Then I started watching the end of the Minnesota Legislative Session. I know, I know. What an exciting life I have. Watching the legislature isn't generally too exciting, but with a midnight deadline and chaos threatening, it was actually pretty entertaining. As the evening wound down, I found myself ripping out and re-casting on for my sockapalooza socks for the second time. Apparently I really can't be trusted to count.

Tonight my Knit Night agenda involves reconsidering the pattern for my sockapalooza socks and deciding how to proceed on my one skein wonder. Wish me luck in my continuing battle with the fickle beast of gauge.....

PS: Hi Kathleen's brother.....

This One's for You...

.. my brother.

Hey Flan,
Last night a few of us were headed up to Gracie's for a fabulous dinner. The Brother called and mentioned that he had read our little blog. So this post is for you. Also, here's a big cyber Congrats on your Masters!

Oh my the planning. Waaaay back when, your mother was visiting and I don't think you had graduated yet and all three of us went shopping. After an expensively successful trip to the Rack we were at the Yarnery. I succumbed to y'alls peer pressure to purchase some Artful Yarns Fable (color: the three little pigs- how cute is that?!). It was on sale and I had been lusting after it for months. Later I found more at Borealis. Also on sale. I ended up with 5 skeins of one dyelot and 3 of another.

Gracie and I found a very cute little tank pattern over at zephyrstyle. She's using the 3 of one dyelot for hers and I'm using some Cascade Sierra. Oh, if you end up doing the "Ms Marigold" the needle recommendations seem not to be based in my knitting reality. They recommend size 5s for 5 sts/ in. I had been trying to use DK weight and it was not going well. I'm now going to use size 7s and worsted wt and everything is looking up.

THEN I realized that the 5 skeins are EXACTLY enough to make the world's most adorable shrug/ sweater thing (pattern courtesy of the fabulous, but blogless, Jacquie). Absolutely perfect. Just goes to show that the perfect pattern will come along as long as you have patience.

The day long trainings continue. Yesterday was a review of the 3 day long training we underwent in February. They even used some of the same photos. I spend a lot of time wondering if I promised them that I remembered if I could be excused. Hopefully today will be less painful.

I'm so jealous about the Jon Stewart! Have fun housesitting and give Sally a nice pat from me. You sound less stressed, so I hope things are going well.

Reading Weekend

Kathleen-
Mike and I are house and dogsitting this week, which presents an opportunity for a slower speed of life.

Have I mentioned that our friend C, who just graduated from college found himself without a place to live between graduation and his new lease beginning on June 1? So he's staying at our house, and we're at Mike's folks.

The weekend started with a bang, as on Thursday one of my office neighbors came over and asked if I'd like tickets to see Jon Stewart on Friday night! Of course! So I procured four tickets, and Mike and I took C and his girlfriend out to dinner at the Loring Pasta Bar, and then off to see the show for free! Jon Stewart was fabulously funny, and since he was doing two shows, we were out early, and went out for drinks afterward.

I of course knit through the entire show, much to the bemusement of some of our neighbors. My current no-thinking, knit in the dark knitting is those socks that you started and then left with me. Mike sadly rejected the colors, so now I'm making them for me, and I'm loving the way the yarn feels. Any memory of what it is? It feels cottony and cool, but doesn't hurt my hands like cotton sometimes does.

After that start to our weekend, we deliberately planned to slow down for the rest of the time. Saturday I spent most of the day reading on the couch, and Sunday I alternated between reading and watching the Twins play on TV. The only knitting that got done was some work on my bamboo shrug, which is fast advancing. The body of it is almost done, and then I need to knit the edging, and I'll be all set. A good thing too, since the event the shrug is intended for is just a couple of weeks away.

It should be a good week for knitting though. I'm planning on finishing the shrug, working on my sockapalooza socks, and doing some spinning for a change!

Hope your Monday is going well!

Two Woohoos and an Arg

Hey Flan,
I've heard good things about Shepherd's Harvest and it sounds like it was good. Not so much sheep down here in lower AL.

Woohoo #0: It's FRIDAY!! Always a good thing.

Woohoo #1: SOCKS ARE FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!! I cast off last night. I was a little surprised that the second one went so quickly. I did the toe Tuesday night, the foot and heel Wed. and the ankle Thursday! They are drying in the back of my car, I'm hoping it's very warm in the car and that the next 6 hours will produce happy, dry socks. It's kind of hard to believe that they didn't even exist a week ago.

Woohoo #2: The number on the scale sayed down for TWO days!! I have been at the exact same weight for so many days it's not funny. Once, a couple of weeks ago it went down a pound and a half. I was excited. The next day that pound and a half was back! THIS time, the scale went down yesterday and I was cautiously optimistic and today it was STILL GONE. I guess slow and steady is good.

The Arg: Yesterday I tried to embellish things in LeBlog. Specifically, I was trying to figure out where the sidebar thingies were so that I could add some "on the needles" and some blog linkies. No such luck. Apparently LeBlog and I need to have a sit down and work out our issues.

This weekend is house renovation! Custom made curtains will be hung, chairs will be sanded, primed and painted, then topped with custom made cushions, pictures will artfully grace the walls and, hopefully, it will stop looking like the reject pile from the Goodwill and start to have some homey cohesiveness.

Catching Up

Kathleen-
Here I am, it's wedensday and I feel like I'm just catching up from the weekend.

Last week at Knit Night, we were talking about Shepard's Harvest, and suddenly we had plans to carpool! So Saturday afternoon off went a carload of happy knitters to Shepard's Harvest. A lot of shopping, sitting on the grass eating lamb gyros (yes, we understand the irony) and drinking lemonade, and petting the lambs in the sheep barn ensued.

There may even have been a wee bit of stash enhancement. Which brings me to my next point. I think I'm officially off the wagon for the Knit From Your Stashathon. I did well on it right up until THE Event, so I'm not feeling too much guilt. I also don't anticipate feeling the need to buy yarn this summer, so that helps. Stash enhancement pictures to follow at a later date (the camera is having a fit at the computers).

The other yarn I've bought recently is Royal Bamboo in black. I'm making the famous One Skein Wonder shrug for Mike's family anniversary party in June. I'm going to wear that lovely black and white Ann Taylor dress, and now I'll have a little coverup available if it gets chilly on the riverboat!

Other than that and a little sockapalooza knitting (which will be more detailed in a later post), there's not been a whole lot of knitting going on recently. I blame it on a packed schedule and enjoying our recently warm and lovely weather by gardening and such.

Hope your sock knitting is going well and that the third time remains the charm!

Third Time's The Charm

Hi Flan,
I hope you had a nice weekend. Happy Belated Mother's Day to all of you out there who are, will be, or just think about being mothers. Mothers are angels and heroes all rolled into one and we are lucky to be your children.

This week begins week two of The Field Camp experience. I'm doing slightly less well than I was for week one. The reality of bills to pay and heavy things to carry is a hard one to confront on a daily basis. However, there has been knitting. Friday I went to the fabulous public library and got some of Geraldine McEwan's "Miss Marples". One of my most favorite characters no matter the actress, but I have to say I especially enjoy Ms. McEwan's interpretation.

The oddest Start-itis hit Friday night. I wanted to knit socks. I know! ME knitting SOCKS?! But there it was, regardless of the fact that I had just purchased needles for a completely unrelated project. I pulled out my dpns- not circs- and some beautiful cream Regia Silk happily swatched. These are intended for one of the SF Aunties. Short row toes and heels with a single cable up each side of the ankle. While watching Miss Marple I finished the toe. Saturday I went over to The Grandmother's in anticipation for Mother's Day. I made 2 layer Key Lime Pie (so good), we ate dinner and then watched TV. Enough TV to complete the entire foot part of the sock. I never knew watching home improvement shows could be so productive for knitting.

Yesterday I came home early, rearranged parts of the storage unit and knit the short row heel. Then I decided I didn't like the short row heel and it went on Time Out while I knit on The Broad Street Mittens for awhile. Still not liking the heel I finished the first sleeve for The Hubby's Sweater and cast on for the second sleeve. I finally ripped out the heel. Watching even more Miss Marple I did the heel again. It came out worse than the first time. Thoroughly upset with the entire heel process, I decided to go to bed. This morning I got up early, cleaned a bit of the house, then ripped again. I think the problem was that the yarn wasn't tight enough on the knit half, making it loose and holey. I am proud to say that, before getting to work, I managed to re-knit the stupid heel a third time and it looks much better and we can all move on with our lives.

The only thing I have to say now is that I am so happy she has small feet.

Happy Monday.

Slogging Along

Hey Flan,
Thank goodness you're alive, doing well and survivied The Event! It sounds like you had a fantastic trip with your mom and had some amazing yarn finds. I'm so jealous.

Monday I finished The Hubby's socks. It was a happy day. All ends are woven in and the pair is safely ensconced in the bottom drawer of the yarn storage area, hidden until his birthday. I cast on for the Broad Street Mittens. I was going to do two on one long circular, got 2 rows in and absolutely hated it. I'm headed out to find some dpns and hope that they will make everything better.

The Hubby's sweater is also coming along. I finished the body!! 48inches around x 15 inches long = a whole lot of knitting. Oh yeah, I now have an excuse for not having any photos- The Hubby has the camera so for the next little bit there will be no photos. I worked on the first sleeve, faithfully increasing until EZ had said to stop. However, that only got me to half of the total length. The calculations seem correct according to the recipe, but I got out the sweater upon which I'm basing the calculations and decided to increase some more.

Artyarn supermerino is the best damn yarn there has ever been. Period. Inspite of my undying love of alpaca even it cannot beat this yarn. Best Ever. I'm working on EZ's February Sweater for E&H's baby (as I've decided they're having a girl or a boy that will have to wear purple). I did have to rip out a couple of rows- apparently I can't count to 7 repeatedly- but this yarn makes me smile. It's just that fabulous.

I did it. I actually told someone in the knitting community that I didn't like something. In the world of knitting I try to keep everything positive. People might make something that makes me cringe, but I try to remember that not everyone's asthetic is the same as mine and that at least they are contributing to the Knitting World. There's usually always something nice that can be said about the knitting (the knitters however are sometimes a different story). But the new IK layout is something I just don't like. I tried to keep an open mind with the first edition of the new layout, but the second edition came in the mail last week and I just don't like it. I actually emailed them about it. I know that I welcome change the same way mothers-in-law welcome daughters-in-law, but I rarely tell the people about the stuff I dislike. Something made me email them and they emailed one sentence back, thanking me for my feedback.

I'm off to prep for a meeting. Tomorrow is Friday and I'm trying to keep that in focus.

Alive and Relieved!

Kathleen-
I'm alive! And very relieved that my event is over for another year!

My lack of posting can be blamed on the event that ate my life, and on my mom being in town for a aforementioned event. Having survived the event and the inevitable next day cleanup, Mom and I took off for Duluth for the weekend, which was a welcome respite.

As you can imagine, I don't have too much knitting progress to report. I did spend a good deal of time this weekend knitting on the socks that you had started and gifted to me during your visit. I'm enjoying the fabric they're making, and I need to get Mike to try them on this evening to see if they'll be for him or for me.

I also knit quite a bit on the lovely lace shawl I've been working on, but progress beyond those two things has been slim.

Not nearly as exciting as your discovery, but pretty amazing none the less, I did happen to buy some yarn while up north.

Mom and I visited a lovely Duluth yarn store on Saturday (a great shop with excellent selection), and then decided to take a scenic drive up to Two Harbors. I had browsed the Knitty and Knitters Review yarn store threads before we left, and saw mention of another store in northern Minnesota, this one with an official highway sign marking its location. Not knowing the area all that well, I noted with interest, and kept going. But as we drove north, I started seeing signs for Knife River, which I remembered to be the town in question. Sure enough, just around the next bend, there was an official highway sign that said "Yarn Store." Naturally, we had to stop! So we discovered Playing with Yarn, right on the shores of the lake! After much browsing and pattern gazing, Mom and I both left with sock yarn: she bought Tofutsies in a bright pink variegated colorway, and I bought some Panda wool in a (big surprise) teal shade.

Then on the way home, we stopped at what was advertised as an antique shop, but was so much more. TONS of books, glassware, cds, etc. I ventured upstairs, strolling past bin after bin of knitknacks, and spotted something that looked suspiciously like a bag of yarn. Further investigation revealed sever bags of navy blue wool, totalling something approximating 5,000 yards, and feeling like a light fingering weight. Each bag was marked .75, so I bought the whole lot for $5.25. I've been eyeing Ann's Starlight Evening Wrap, and now I have (WAY more than enough) vintage wool to complete it!

Since I don't always want to be knitting with navy, I'm also contemplating overdyeing at least some of it, and whether that would involve bleaching first....

So I'm back! Pictures tomorrow, assuming that camera talks to the computer tonight!

(Hope the husband is safely embarked on field camp!)

Done!

Hi Flan,
So- are you done?? I haven't heard anything this week and I'm starting to get nervous. How was the event? Oh, I just realized that your mom's probably still visiting, so you're probably very busy running around with her, making victorious "I'm so happy the event is done" purchases.

Sidenote: while I was writing this I looked over at the 4 cup coffee maker I use to heat the water for morning tea. It was overflowing. I just got to clean up a hot, soggy mess. Happy Friday to me.

Clapotis is finished! I was madly decreasing last night and made it to the end! I completely loved this project from cast on to cast off. The yarn instantly relaxed upon hitting the water and laid down perfectly, making blocking a breeze. It's on the floor of the second bedroom drying and I can't wait to show it off.

The Hubby leaves for Field Camp Sunday. The vans pull out at 6 AM and he wants to be there no later than 5:30AM. In all honesty he would like to be there earlier, but I refused. Also, the knitterly brunch is Sunday. I'm so excited. The menu is still shifting as I decided there wasn't enough food. I never think there will be enough food. Oh well. Have a fantastic time with your mom and I hope you have a great relaxing weekend.

Magic Numbers & Cow Udders

Hi Flan,
Again, I hope everything is going well with the impending crazy. We had a very productive, if not very restful, weekend. Saturday morning, as my crazy garbled message said, we were at the Mobile Public Library's Annual Book Sale. That's where I found THE book. One of the knitting world's holy grails- for $0.50. That's right, fifty cents. I looked up the book when we got home and people sell it $200-$400. After I found it the world got a little wobbly, but I couldn't let anyone know what I had found, so I tried to act nonchalant, but was completely paranoid, so probably came across as a nutcase. I have the receipt, just in case the public library gets mad that they could have made $199.50 more if they had noticed the incredible find, and I can prove that they didn't want it and even stamped "discard" on the front.

I pulled out all the UFOs and I think there are 6. I decided that I am going to try and focus on two at a time, one that's straight, solid, unending knitting (it is the year of the sweater) and one with a pattern. So far The Hubby's Sweater has 10 inches of the body completed. That's 2/3 of the total body length. I'm so excited.

Clapotis is coming along. I decided to go for broke and try to make it as long as possible instead of trying to have enough left over for a second project. I'm completely loving how it's coming out.

The Hubby met with his advisor last week. She has been working tirelessly to get him finished and has been negotiating about how much the current University will accept from his transfer credit. After Field Camp he only has FIVE classes to go! Two in the summer and three in the fall! I almost cried.
The Field Camp List is having things slowly crossed off. I'm so tired of buying stuff and spending money. We don't have everything, so there will have to be some more buying and there's $900 due tomorrow. We bought a cot so that he can be as comfortable as possible whilst camping in the desert. It was the only extra long in the store and the regulars are too short. The stupid thing is too long to fit in the blessed tent! Now we either have to borrow a bigger tent or take back the cot. Oy.

Now, the "Cow Udder" part of the title. Last night The Hubby and I were watching our usual geek tv fare- Antiques Roadshow, followed by Nature (it was all about dogs and actually very interesting) and then IT came on. Completely unannounced. And IT was amazing. The PBS website describes IT as such:
"...step inside the colorful and competitive world of "Show Cattle" and follow the trials and tribulations of competitive cows in pursuit of the ultimate honor - "Supreme Champion" - at one of the most prestigious cattle shows on the East Coast, the Fryeburg Fair. See inside the little-known world of bovine makeovers, where pride and determination, not to mention steel-capped boots, transform a barnyard cow into a regional celebrity."

Oh yes. Competitive Cow Showing. Complete with nearly pornographic udder shots and in depth descriptions. The phrase "mammary system" has a whole new meaning. There were even allegations of sabotage. Never has there ever been such a thing on TV and everyone should have to watch it. It was fantastic.

Rambling Random Friday

Hi Flan,
Here's a whole bunch of random:
1. I got 11 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Please don't throw things at the screen, it wasn't my fault, honest. I was reading after dinner and, next thing I knew, it was two hours later and The Hubby was waking me up to ask if I wanted to stay in the guest bed or move to our room. Sleep is the best facial a girl ever had. This morning my skin looks great. Or maybe my eyes rested. Whatever it was it worked.

2. I decided E&H need to have a little girl. Firstly, it would be fun to see E raising a little girl and secondly, I had a "stash rememberance" and recalled that I have 2 skeins of lavendar Artyarn that would look fantastic in EZ's February Sweater. Plus they live in Michigan, so the child-to-be can't have too many sweaters, right? We should email H and let her know she needs to order up a girl because I don't think they want a purple sweater for their little boy.

3. Today is Buy The List Day. Technically, the list is comprised of 12 separate lists. Yes, that's right, TWELVE. There was the big professor issued list and it had to be broken down into the stuff we have, the stuff we can borrow and then stuff to be purchased, separated by store. All in all that's 12. Then we "get" to label every single little thing with his name. Thankfully, it's short.

4. We found the connecty-bit from the camera to the computer. It was next to the computer the entire time. The Hubby is no longer in charge of looking for things. There was a successful transfer of photos to computer A, then computer A to USB drive. I successfully ejected USB drive and put it into computer B- and then everything went south. Computer B no longer thinks the USB drive is formatted- ACK! So I unplugged it from computer B and called The Hubby. He said to try to plug it into computer A. So I did. Computer A (instigator of the whole problem) now thinks the USB drive is not formatted. Don't worry- the photos of The Harlot are still in the camera and computer A so even if the USB drive has gone kaput we still have the photos. I have successfully used this USB drive in both of these computers before, so I think they need to sit in the corner and think about their actions and then apologize to both the USB drive and to me.

5. Mistislav Rostropovich passed away last night. He was 80 and had intestinal cancer, but it's sad. He was an incredible cellist and maestro. I remember being in master classes and watching videos of him. He had the most incredible hands and his expertise was both humbling and inspiring.

Hope things are at a manageable amount of crazy. Remember to deep breathe and that we all love you and that Wednesday will be over soon.

Finals

Hey Flan,
I hope things are less harried than they were yesterday. It's Finals time down here, so that's fun. Lab final for the Hubby tomorrow and a class final next week, though he's not sure exactly when. Oy.

In addition to trying to get him ready for Field Camp (a losing battle by the way) there has been knitting. I found the needles I had been using for The Dad's Sweater. They had been needed for a different project but whatever that was is now done. Sunday I found the needles and put the project back on them. It seems happy.

Clapotis is trucking along. There was some progress last night while waiting for The Boys to grill kebabs. Kebabs are seriously the fastest things to grill, 5 minutes total if you're slow and the fire is too. They managed to take a very long time, so I knitted.

The Hubby's sweater is actually coming along nicely. I have not only flipped the hem, but am about an inch and a half past that point. It's now the project I work on during my lunch hour. So much faster than The Garter St blanket on 3s. The LYS owner seemed kind of confused about why there is a different color for the hem/ lining part. Brooklyn Tweed's was done that way and it looked fantastic, so I'm doing it that way too. I'm such a follower.

I'm thinking about frogging The Mommy's Socks. I don't wanna knit socks. I don't like knitting socks. I realize I will be taken to a remote location and severely poked with sharp sticks for that last sentence, but some of us just don't knit socks. Every other knitter (all of whom knit socks like there's no tomorrow) on the planet needs to take a deep breath and accept it. The yarn, which The Mommy says looks like a box of crayons, would be good in a kid's sweater, or really anything other than a pair of socks. I just don't wanna.

Happy Blogiversary (slightly late)

Kathleen-
It's hard to believe that its been a year (and a day, but who is counting?)

I've been trying to write a post in my few free minutes this week, and so far its been a total failure, so I'll do a short version now, that I can hopefully fill in over the weekend.

Since I last posted, I have started two new projects, one of which is about to get ripped as I need to come up with a new plan for it. The weather has decided to be spring (complete with predicted severe storms this weekend).

Work is busy busy busy, as you know.

More later in the weekend, and congratulations to us on a full year of blogging!

Happy Blogiversary!

Hi Flan,
Happy Blogiversary to us! It was one year ago today when you were sitting on the only remaining chair in the apartment as The Hubby and I were madly packing and we decided to launch The Blog. Why a blog? Because I am not so good at responding to emails (though I am trying to be better) and you don't like to answer your phone. It seems The Blog has been a good compromise.

No one has ever asked about the name, but seeing as it's our blogiversary I feel like reminiscing. Flan had been so kind as to come over and assist with the nightmare that was packing. The Hubby and I were leaving MN to move to AL, hence a lot of packing needed to happen. Flan had brought over dinner from Panera and I had mixed cosmos (this was way back when Flan was still drinking). However, in my enthusiasm- or desire to try and use up the Sam's Club sized Vodka- I had sort of gotten the proportion of vodka to cosmo mix 'slightly' off and "Emphatic" cosmos were born. They had an amazing amount of power- one that sort of explains the randomness of what was packed with what that night. Yes, we named The Blog after the strength of our drinks that night.

Congrats to us! We made it one year and tonight I will have a drink in honor of our blogiversary.

P.S. Thanks to Flan I learned that the first anniversary gift is paper, but since this is a digital age in which we live I'm choosing to ignore that. And I couldn't make the post it note thingy work properly.

Curl Up & Dye

Hey Flan,
I hope the nutty is going at a livable pace.

This weekend we were hit by a truly astonishing multi-hour rain storm. We discovered that my car really does have a leak, though unlike The Hubby's car, the water in mine comes in on the driver's side floorboard, not through the sunroof.

What to do whilst it is pouring outside (during the less intense downpours the boys were swimming in the pool)? Dye some yarn. I had collected a bunch of Kool-aid and some jars. Gracie also had some Kool-aid in the cupboard. Yes, there are pictures, no, we have not yet found the connect-y bit. We had approximately 6 different shades of red/pink. My inexperience with Kool-aid made me believe the different flavors would be different colors. I used all the different colors of reds and pinks, separately and in conjunction. Almost ALL the yarn came out red. Really really red. There is a small bit of difference between the 4 different dye pots of red, but not enough to suggest there are 6 different colors involved. I now have 2 skeins, each dyed into (theoretically) 3 different colors. There is a lot of red and one part of dark purple and one part of lighter purple.

What to do with 500 yards of worsted weight in reds and purples? So far I'm thinking of doing a Clapotis, using both balls, switching every 2 rows so the different balls will work together to make a nice (?) combo. I suggested making felted tea cozies and The Hubby looked at me like the Kool-aid fumes had gone to my head.

On happy knitting news, my finger no longer hurts! I did something to the back of my right hand between the first and second fingers, making the index finger hurt when curled. The index finger and only the index finger. There had not been any knitting for 4 days and everyone was getting on edge. I'm happy to report that it's doing much better and the Clapotis and I are trundling right along.

"Is that handpainted merino?"

Hey Flan,
I hope your week improved as it has gone on. Mine certainly has. My meeting yesterday was surprisingly not horrible and my meeting scheduled for today has been moved. Pretty good way to start a Friday.

The Hubby and I had one of those moments the other day. The moment when he says something knitting related or asks a knitting related question that makes me think he really does pay attention when I blather on and on about The Yarn or The Knitting. I was happily going on and on (and on) about how much I was loving The Clapotis. In a "No wonder everyone else on the planet has made one already" type of manner. I found some Artyarn I had purchased at LYS and hadn't known what to do with. I pulled it out and showed it to him as a Clapotis contender for either The Mommy or The Best Man's Mom (who loves the color but does live in AL- so not much opportunity to wear merino, especially if you are at the "power surge" stage of life). And then it happened. He was looking at this fabulous yarn and said, "Is that handpainted merino?"

I almost fell over. This man, the man I married and pledged to love forever in front of lots of people, the man who loves rocks above almost all other things had, apparently, come out of the rock loving haze long enough for some of the knitting chatter to sink in and asked a beautiful, insightful knitting question. And got a great big kiss.

Excused

Hey Flan- or whomever might be reading this.

This is just to let you know that Flannery has been excused from regular blogging. In every life there are seasons and, so far as I can tell, there are two ultra crazy ones in "The Life of Flan". The first season she goes into hiding is around the elections. Elections are what she does- not all of us understand, but we're usually happy that someone gets elected and that Flan helped make it happen. The second is the month or so before the first Wed. in May. The org to which Flan gives her time, effort and energy has a humongous event. Flan is the "go to/do" person. The Event is less than 30 days away, so Flan is currently hunkered down. We hope to see her again around Mother's Day or so. Fingers crossed.

So for now, y'all are pretty much stuck with me until Flan re-emerges.

In knitting news...
I have completed the increases in Clapotis and am starting my way through the straight rows. There was not much progress last night as we had The Best Man and His Mom over for her birthday dinner. Dinner turned out well; pork tenderloin with a maple glaze, cheese grits, salad with toasted walnuts, dried cherries and avocado. Dessert of chocolate strawberry shortcake was good too. After dinner the boys did the dishes (I almost took photos) and His Mom and looked at all my recently organized yarn and current projects. She knits a little and crochets some, however her obsession hasn't reached the level that mine has and I think she was a bit taken aback. At one point she said, "do you do anything but knit?" She looked through my library and found some nice patterns for the upcoming baby boom occurring at her work. It was a nice night.

Freakin' Fabulous

Hi Flan,
Can you believe we made it on the blog?? She, and the freakin' fabulous talk she gave, are still making me happy. I know, I know, I sadly do not have any photos up- yet. The Hubby was gracious enough to offer to help and then couldn't find the part that connects the camera to the computer. Since I was unloading the dishwasher, finishing laundry, talking to The Mommy and cleaning at the time, all with the tv turned to his program, I was not much help. Fingers crossed that today we pry the things out of the camera for the world to see.

I hope you had a happy Easter. The cheese blintzes were completed and actually came out pretty well. Also, people had fun decorating egg shaped cookies with mounds of colored frosting. We agreed it was more fun than decorating actual eggs.

Last night, while trying to work through the piles that had exploded from the many suitcases, I realized there was a lot of yarn to be put in the wardrobe. Then I realized the drawers were in sad disarray. We watched "Antiques Roadshow" and I organized the heck out of my yarn. It's so pretty. As long as the neurotic OCD applies only to myself it's alright- right?

And then there was casting on. Under quasi-instructions from Stephanie, I decided that I too needed a Clapotis. Since apparently every other knitter on the planet seems to have one (according to the Harlot Gospel) I was feeling left out. Gracie had gifted me with a beautiful ginormous skein of handpainted yarn, so I knew I had something in the stash that would work. So far I'm completely smitten- and the blue that had dyed my fingers last night is mostly gone. I was so struck by the fun it's being (at a whole 20 rows in) I have scoured the internet looking for possible yarns for which to make something for The SIL and The Sister for Xmas. So far I'm besotted with Artyarns' Regal Silk. It's pretty and it's varigated and it's silk. All good things for gifts. I know I know, apparently I think I'm going to win the Lotto, but it's nice to dream.

The Harlot.

She came. She talked. We were stunned.

There is more but we are overwhelmed (but not too overwhelmed to eat cake and buy yarn).

Snow.

Helloooo from MN!
The minute I landed the snow started. Sort of a cruel "up yours" from good ol' Mother Nature right there. There is now snow on the ground (which is fine) and a really really cold wind (which is not fine). I took photos and thought wistfully of the sunny, 80s that The Hubby is having right now. Sadly, Flan has to go to work today. I'm trying to convince her that she needs to get a "crushing headache" and not be able to go to work today. Her darn work (and a big meeting tomorrow) have her chained to the desk. It's sad.

Flan and I went to SNB at Borealis last night. I love that store. It's happy and there's a coffee shop connected by an archway so the knitters don't even have to get cold in pursuit of the caffeine high. Yarn was purchased. It took 2 hours to decide on what to get. There was the initial craze of running around like the true nutter that I am, grabbing everything in sight, but then there was serious contemplation and sorting. After a final edit I have some fantastic things. Even the morning after they look good (even better than I do).


On the plane I knit on a sock. After turning the heel I realized that there were 4 extra stitches. Well, not really extra, they were supposed to be there, just not on the heel flap. They were supposed to be waaaaay back there on the instep. We went on time out for the remainder of the flight while I read a trashy mystery. Last night, in the presence of truly talented knitters I took a deep breath and ripped. The flap looks better now.

Today's agenda (in chronological order): Shopping, meeting with a professor, and.... The HARLOT. I hope she likes the coffee from Carpe. I thought about bringing yarn but decided that caffeine is never a bad idea. Now I just have to find some warmer clothes....

The Lists

Hey Flan,
Here's a paniky post in addition to the nutty email I just sent.
At 7:43am the day before departure (btw: in 23 hours I should be landing in Atlanta- oh Lawd).
The Lists:
List A:Remind The Hubby to do whilst I'm gone and how to fake it so I won't know he hasn't done them upon my return- 4 items.
List B: Food to pick up whilst in MN- 4 items at spice store, 3 at grocery store- remember to write down list off white board in kitchen.
List C: Stuff to pack- have realized I won't be gone for a month and can bring fewer than 1 pair of shoes per day. Am trying to remember that shoe space could be better used by yarn.- items undetermined.
List D: stuff to remember to put in carry-on (also, remember carry-on)- items also undertemined, though pile is large.
List E: wish list of yarn to purchse- constantly growing (seriously, they could derive mathematical formulae from the life cycle of this thing)
List F: where to go in MN- so far 3 or 4 yarn stores, 2 malls, 1 jewelry store, 2 cooking stores.
List G (G for Gracie): Gracie's List- book, (got to remember to have her book signed), stuff for baby- approx 5 items.
List H: places to eat in MN- 3 items so far.
List I: stuff to remember to do before I leave- this is also changing and it's the one that's currently freaking me out.
List J: what on earth am I going to knit on the plane??- 2 items so far with stuff for third.

Ironically, now that I have listed my 10 lists I feel much better. Whew. Only 70 minutes until my meeting where I can write all the itemized lists down. Will try to remember to only drink decaf.

28.5 hours to go until I land!

Deep Breath..

Hi Flan,
Thanks for the phone call. I'm so happy for them and their upcoming large ankles and odd food cravings. It's definitely baby knitting time (it's for someone else in case anyone happens to be reading- don't put me on the baby wagon yet).

So I managed to make it through the application. Granted, this was after the typewriter incident and after my computer crashed. I had to take a nap. It was long and there was sunshine. It turns out only the first 7 pages of the application were able to be done online (this time I printed each one as I completed it). The remaining 3 pages could not be done online and the typewriter experience actually came in useful. It is now done. Whew.

Here was the next train of thought: Bailey's is yummy. But at night-time you're supposed to drink warm milk to help you sleep. Know what goes well with warm milk? Hot chocolate. Know what's good in hot chocolate? Bailey's. Everyone's happy. Well, mostly me, but that's who I'm concerned with right now.

Now I get to go and pick out baby patterns for E&H though I'm slightly tipsy so who knows what I'm going to come up with. Maybe sleep will help... Or more Bailey's... Or a combo...

Are you Freakin' Kidding ME??!!

Hey Flan,
No worries about the swamp-ed-ness. I just had one of those moments where you really can't believe that you're as stupid as your actions. I had all the job applications forms ready to be filled out. I even made copies. I borrowed an honest to goodness Typewriter. This is after schlepping downtown yesterday to take the prerequisite Typing Test. I spent an hour painstakingly trying to fill out the forms on a typewriter with NO ERASING TAPE. I was about half way done.
Then I checked my email. There was one from Gracie asking if I wanted to go shopping, then another cancelling the shopping. Concerned that her baby was driving her crazy, I gave her a call. In the midst of our conversation, I described my ordeal with the Typewriter. Gracie, being the sensible one, said something like, "why don't you just type it on the computer?". My work computer doesn't let you do that, so I figured my home one wouldn't either. While on the phone, I sat down at my 6 year old wonder laptop and, 'shore 'nuff, can totally type on the forms.

Yup, that's right. Over an hour of extraordinarily slow progress fighting with a Typewriter for friggin' sakes when I could have been doing what? Typing on the COMPUTER FROM WHICH THE FORMS WERE PRINTED??!! Are you FREAKIN' KIDDING ME??!!

Now that I have entered the information in the computer, taking all of 4.5 minutes, as opposed to the 45 minutes it took before I am torn between both being happy at this discovery and ready to cry. The Typewritten forms do look very good and thank goodness I never have to do it again- but seriously??!! I am so far behind the technology and I'm going to cry. And I'm only 25. Shouldn't this not be happening for another decade or so?? So sad.

Knitting news: I'm designing a bib for Gracie's baby. I was going to do the petal from One Skein but it required counting past 4. Somehow, the star motif doesn't look centered though I know it is, so I'm deciding that it's a design feature and is totally supposed to look like that. I might have to go to a movie with The Hubby tomorrow. If so I'm taking The Dad's Sweater and I defy anyone to make disparaging remarks about the noise of the needles. If I have to suffer through a full length motion picture then everyone else has to suffer from the noise of addi's. It'll be good for them.

P.S. I know I haven't blogged any recent pix of me, but I have not actually undergone an extraordinary growth spurt and my arms are still about 12 inches shorter than yours. I'm flattered you think I could wear one of your jackets, but I'll probably bring my own (they'll be happy to be gotten out from the absolute bottom of the pile).
Damn. That wasn't supposed to sound snotty, and I'm sorry that it does. I think my typewriter/ technology crazy is rubbing off. I hope your Friday goes better than your Thursday.

Swamped!

Kathleen-
I'm utterly swamped again, so not posting so much. Last night I came home feeling sick and crappy and supergrumpy, and decided to take the night for myself. So I sat on the couch and watched A League of Their Own and knit on Clessidra. It was well worth the break, and now I feel like I can get stuff done tonight!

Still no pictures, but I'm on the 4th repeat, and it fits like a dream so far, and the color is gorgeous!

Also, just FYI, I'm currently reading a news story saying that light snow mixed with rain is possible for Monday! I'd recommend layering clothes...it's just that time of year here. However, we have more jackets than we know what to do with, so don't worry about that!

Hopefully more tomorrow....

81 Degrees!

Kathleen-
I started this post yesterday, but never finished it. So here it is, with additions at the end...

It's just a week till you're here, and I'm crazy excited. The way I can prove this is that tonight I'm going to go home and clean in preparation!

I've been reading all the comments about the REPRESENT event, and thanks for the great link to the story about Joe showing up. I was sitting at my desk crying because the whole thing was so overwhelmingly cool.

In recognition of the fact that the Harlot is going to be right here in St Paul, I've been planning. Rumor has it that the event is already full and they're doing a waiting list! So glad that I reserved a space for us! I left a comment on the Harlot's blog explaining how far Alabama is from Minnesota (in Miles and Kilometers). I also canceled one order for the new book (at B&N) because when I originally called they said they would receive copies by the 30th of March, and would contact me if there were any delays, and then today I called to check and their arrival date is now April 8th. Unacceptable! So I called the Yarnery (which already has it in stock), and ordered two.

SundayMike and I hosted an all day board game extravaganza. People arrived at 9am, and the game broke up around 9pm. One of the participants had dropped off the breakfast dish the night before, and so I put it in the oven around 8am. So we ate breakfast, played the game, snacked, played the game, ate sushi and pasta salad, played the game, snacked, played the game, ate dinner, finished the game, and ate dessert. I made Spinach-Pesto Lasagna and Lemon Ginger Cheesecake for dinner, and both were big hits. They also both had the advantage of being assembled the day before, which was key, and they easily feed 10 people.

All through the game, I knit away on Clessidra, which are turning out great. Now that the pattern is established, I only need to look at the chart occasionally, which makes them go much faster. There would be pictures of the socks, but my camera isn't talking to my computer at the moment.

Yesterday in Minnesota it was 81 degrees! In March! We set records! It was gorgeous! Mike got home and we decided that despite the enormous amount of leftovers, we should take advantage of the unseasonable weather, and so we took ourselves off to have dinner on the patio of the Happy Gnome. It was a brilliant plan, but it meant we got home and pretty much went to bed. Today we're back to seasonable weather, so it turns out to have been a good decision to sit on the patio all evening.

One week till you're here!

Rocks, Cake and a FO

Hi Flan,

You certainly have much more unexpected excitement in M's car than one usually does. Thank you for the birthday wishes. It's only a week from tomorrow that I leave!

After multiple people, two instruction manuals and a big fight with the computer I think we finally have some photos (though they won't go where I tell them to)! The Hubby and Gracie conspired to throw me a Hawaiian themed birthday party. Isn't that sweet?! I made a 4 layer coconut cake w/ coconut cream cheese frosting.

Everyone was dressed for the party... Including Olive.

There had also been fun with rocks...

Before
and
After

And I finished The 6 day sweater (technically the Stockinette Sweater from "Baby Style", in Cascade Sierra)

Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday Kathleen!

Kathleen-
It's your birthday! Hooray!

Yesterday I had what can only be described as a day from hell. I had to drive down to St. Peter for a job fair I was recruiting at, and I took Mike's car. Before I left, I went up to the nice tire place and got my soft drivers side (this is important later) tire pumped up. Halfway down, I heard a terrible thunking. "I remember this noise" I thought. "That sounds like the serpentine belt." Remember that?

So I called Mike, called a tow truck, and waited. And waited. Called my boss, called the Fair organizers to say I'd be late. The very nice tow truck guy pulled up, hooked up the car, and towed me to a car repair shop.

The very nice but intimidating head mechanic guy said "what do you think is wrong?" Very calmly, I said "I think the serpentine belt is shredded. I've been through this before with this car, and it sounded the same." He was skeptical.

So they open the hood, and a young mechanic came in and said "You think what? Everything looks fine." The head mechanic made him turn it on, and sure enough, I was right. The serpentine belt was shredded. One replaced serpentine belt later, I was back on my way.

Happily down the highway I went, and I pulled into St Peter. You have to go through downtown to get to the college, and as I stopped at the first traffic light, I heard a pop. I figured it was the air brakes of the giant truck behind me. Then I pulled out of the light, and heard thumping. So I pulled over again, got out, walked around to the passenger side, and my tire was FLAT. Not the tire that was soft earlier. Nope. The other front tire. And I have never seen such a flat tire.

So I looked around downtown St Peter, and walked into the nearest store, a cute little Swedish import store. So I said "I've got a flat tire, is there someone I can call to help?" So the nice lady behind the counter called the local repair shop. No answer. The ladies looked at eachother and said "we could call Don."

Don turns out to be the husband of one of the ladies who works in the shop (who wasn't there at this point). Without hesitation, Don agreed, and two minutes later, he pulled up. He looked at my tire, went home for some tools, came back, and had my tire off in a jiffy. Then he drove me down to Shorty's Tire Shop (By the way, Shorty is great), and Shorty looks at my tire and says I need a new one. So I buy a new tire, Don puts it on, and I thank him profusely. I go back into the shop to collect my thoughts before preceeding to the job fair, and the ladies made quite a fuss about how calm and collected I was given the day I'd had up to this point. (It's still only 11:30am).

The ladies decreed that given that the car that was so much trouble was Mike's, he should buy me a bauble from the shop. And so I picked out a pretty pair of earrings to bring home.

I did eventually make it to the job fair and home again safely, but this is all a long way of saying that I knit one single row yesterday.

Oy.

But happy birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Kathleen-
I definitely have copies of those very photos sitting in a yet to be unpacked box in the house!

Due to crazy schedules, Mike and I are Birthday celebrating on Friday, so I'm having a pretty tame birthday so far.

However, I'm way behind on blogging. So here we go.

I had a very good mail day Friday, getting both an exciting birthday giftie from you and an exciting gift from my Mom. Sadly no pictures as of yet. But I was very excited by the oh so soft and fun and funky scarf in such a pretty color! And then St Patrick's Day was the next day, so I wore it all day.

From my Mom I got the KnitPicks Options Set. I haven't tried knitting with them yet, but they're beautiful and very exciting. I think there are some sizes that I'll want two sets for, so I'm thinking about purchasing some additional tips and cords, but this gives me a great start, and means I won't have that sinking feeling of "but I don't have any 9s" while trying to cast on for a project at night!

Friends of ours are opening a pub in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis, and the "preview day" was St Paddy's Day, so we went down for a short visit. They open for real in early April (maybe when you're here). While there, I made our friend CK pose with my sock!


CK is always a great proponent of my knitting in bars, so it seemed appropriate to have him pose with the Sock In Progress.

We had tickets to a Great Big Sea concert on Saturday night (what could be better than Canadian Folk Rock on St Paddy's Day). It was incredibly loud and fun, and we're hoping they come back soon. For Great Big Sea, I cast on a hat for Stephanie's project. Simple, easy ribbing and stockinette for the concert, where I was knitting by feel. Amazingly, it all looks fine, and I apparently didn't drop any stitches.

I continued knitting on the hat when we went to see the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company perform the Mikado with Mike's folks. Always a good time. Now the hat is up to the beginning of the decreases, which I did not trust myself to do in the dark.

This week I've been knitting away at my latest Broadripple socks (which CK is holding in the above photo.) Yesterday on the bus I started decreasing for the toe, and this morning I finished the last decrease about a block before my bus stop. So now they only need to be grafted, and I'll be done! Given that, I decided it was time to cast on for a new pair of socks last night, and pulled out the Wildfoote you gave me and the pattern for Clessidra. Given the fact that these are knee highs with cables and seed stitch, I think they'll take a while.

I have more Fixation waiting in the wings for Broadripple socks, and I think I'll cast on a new pair on my way home tonight. I have Guthrie Tickets tonight, and I need something to work on while I'm there that doesn't require a chart!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FLANNERY!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Flan!
Happy Birthday to Flan!
Happy Birthday dear Flannnnnerrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
Happy Birthday to Flan!


Hey Flan,
Happy 24! It's a good year. I was looking through old photos trying to find past birthdays and found only one. They are from your freshman year, taken back in Bigelow Hall (nostalgic sigh). I think all the other birthdays were during Spring Break so I have no photos. Of course at this moment the scanner and computer are having extreme issues and refuse to talk to each other. I will try again to get some photos. There's a chocolate cake and a dorm room but happy memories.

Hope you have a fantastic day!

Pure Intensity and Strawberries

Hey Flan,
I am in some serious need for sleep. Last week I couldn't sleep because The Hubby was gone. When he returned I couldn't sleep because I kept having really really bizarre dreams. Now I don't know why I can't sleep but I'm about to take drastic measures. It's probably because I'm so freakin' excited about coming to see you.

It's strawberry season down here. We picked up a half flat on the way to The Grandmother's. I got extremely ambitious and decided to make jam. It turns out I read the part about the amount of fruit wrong and had 8 cups of crushed berries instead of 5. There is now a ton of jam. And pie. And cookies. I'm completely exhausted.

The only knitting that was accomplished last weekend was working on fingerless gloves while in the ER w/ The Grandmother. We were visiting because it was the 2nd anniversary of The FIL's death and thought she would need some company. It turns she had not quite gotten over the bug that has hit Pensacola. Her illness was going on day 5 when we arrived. It turns out she had lied to me when she said she had gotten a couple of perscriptions from the ER on Tuesday. She went but got tired of waiting so went home. She was looking better Friday but Saturday morning asked me to take her to the doctor. They pumped her full of fluids, determined that there was no abdominal bleed, told her she would live to 97 and gave her some (real) perscriptions. I made the nice Navy man repeat the part about "no alcohol". She asked if that included wine.

Happy Monday.

Planning and Plotting

Kathleen-
Last night I made Chocolate Mousse for tonight potluck (yum) and sorted through boxes in an attempt to get things sorted and cleaned up before you come and visit. As a result of my sorting, the living room and main bedroom are a mess, but I have faith that I'll get it sorted out. Also as a result there was no knitting last night, but you can't have everything.

As planned, I stopped by the library on my way home and picked up my books on reserve (Handy Book of Sweater Patterns and Phillipa Gregory's Boleyn Inheritence on cd). Due to all the other stuff I did last night I didn't end up looking at the knitting book, but I'm planning on keeping it out for a while, and possibly buying it. It seems like it might help make sense of some of these moments when I want to make a pretty simple change to a pattern. I've also thought about buying one of the computer programs that allows you to do things like recalculate gauge, etc. However, I haven't done any real research into that.

So while I cooked and sorted and cleaned, I listened to the first disc of Boleyn Inheritence. I picked it up because I enjoyed Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl so much, and to a lesser extent I've enjoyed her other books. I was looking for some light reading material, and then when I saw they had it as an audiobook, I thought it might be the perfect thing to get me back in the groove with audiobooks. So far its enjoyable, though not as engrossing as The Other Boleyn Girl was. It will be good for knitting and spinning when I don't feel like having tv on in the background.

I can't wait for you to get here! As I made the reservations for Stephanie's talk and for books, I realized that its actually is really soon! By the way, did you see Stephanie's saga of renovation? The room looks gorgeous, but I think my favorite story of the week was the sawdust fire.... that would totally happen to me!

Raglan Moss

Hey Flan,
Although we had a pretty good SNB last night I don't recall any hedgehogs nor any transition therefrom. Would it be possible for you to hang on to that library book until after my trip? It actually parlays nicely into a matter that I've been thinking about.

In my Rowan Magazine 30 there is a sweater I've always wanted to do for The Mommy. For some reason it popped into my head yesterday and I went on a yarn search. So far, the field is dominated by two contendors; Mission Falls 1824 Cotton and Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton. The Blue Sky is winning. The sweater is a raglan V-neck with a single braided cable down the front. Completely beautiful and completely The Mommy. The only problem? The ENTIRE thing except for the cable is moss stitch. My nemesis. In the continuum of knitting I dislike it is below ribbing and only a smidgen above entrelac. However, I love how it looks. Sigh.

Problem two: this pattern was written for giantess-es who enjoy wearing their garments very very loose. For the smallest size (34in bust) the final measurement is 23.5 inches across the front (47in total) and 27 in long. It seemed extremely large. I pulled out a very loose sweater of my own. I do not fall into the 34in bust category and my sweater is 3 inches smaller around and 6 inches shorter. The pattern was clearly not written for a petit, short waisted person. I'm definitely going to need some help with the mods.

Hedgehogs to Feminist Theory

Kathleen-
Last night at Knit Night, the conversation went from hedgehogs to feminist theory and back again with barely a pause. My stomach literally hurt from laughing so hard.

Having learned my lesson the last time I tried to work on Arwen at Knit Night, I knit along contentedly on my Broadripple Socks. Did I mention that Minnesota threw us all a very cruel bone by reaching a record 66 degrees yesterday? I waited for my bus home in short sleeves, and we had the door open at Knit Night. So I'll confess that Arwen's wool wasn't appealing to me yesterday anyway. The temperature is dropping back into normal starting today("potential for 1-2" slushy snow tonight"), so I think my wooly inspiration may soon return.

Speaking of Arwen and my dilemma, I requested Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns from the library, and I just got an e-mail saying it was in. So I'll pick it up on my way home, and peruse the raglan section in detail. I glanced through it last night, and with some additional math and figuring, I think I can adapt my Arwen for raglans. Mike has choir practice tonight, so I'll be sitting down with the calculator and the book and working my way through. That is, after I make the chocolate mousse I promised for the potluck on Thursday!

I did a bit of spinning when I got home. The only problem with spinning to laceweight, and only spinning for 45 minutes or so, is that though your yardage is impressive, the bobbin doesn't really look more full! If it's sunny this afternoon I'll try and take some pictures of the spinning in progress, it really is lovely.

Promised Pictures

Kathleen-

My weekend goals didn't quite happen as planned. It turned into a more hectic weekend than I would have liked (complete with an emergency vet trip for the dog we were dogsitting), and there was therefore less knitting and spinning than I had hoped.

So all I manages was to finish the fiber I was spinning and clear my wheel of all existing fiber, and knit on (but not finish) one of the pairs of socks.

On Saturday we came home from running errands to discover a package slip waiting for us. Sadly our apartment office had already closed, so I had to wait till yesterday to pick up my package. I suspected it was my purchases from Montana, and sure enough, there it was.

This was quite a haul!


That ball of gray yarn resting on top of the spinning fiber is what I bought to finish my Dad's hat.

Then there was sock yarn:


On skein of Bearfoot from Mountain Colors in Teal (I think). It's beautiful, extremely subtlety variegated, and oh so soft. This is going to marinate in the stash for a bit I think. I'm considering the Here be Dragons Socks from Theresa at Keyboard Biologist Knits.

Then I bought three balls of spinning fiber, each was 1/2 lb. These are all from Sweet Grass Wool, located in Helena, Montana. They're hand dyed Targhee Wool, and absolutely soft and beautiful. This first one is called Winter Sky, and is a perfect blend of colors.

I also bought Wildflower, with all the shades of pinks and reds and purples (hand included for scale).


And Marias Falls, which I apparently failed to get a close-up of, but can be seen just above the sock yarn in the first picture. Marias Falls was actually the first one I picked out, and the others followed in quick succession.


And then there was this beautiful Predator Friendly Wool (article here). That would be just over 7 oz. of natural black Blue Faces Leicaster Wool. Its very fluffy and light, (as you can see, one ball of this is only 2 oz, but is almost as big as the half lb ball of Targhee above.

So I think I'll be busy for a while!

Last night after dinner I brought down my spinning wheel and started spinning the Wildflower colorway while we watched Shut Up and Sing, the Barbara Kopple documentary about the Dixie Chicks. It was excellent, and I got quite a bit of spinning done. However, given how much fiber there is, I hardly put a dent in it! I'm currently spinning toward laceweight in the hopes of creating a two ply yarn for a shawl. Pictures when there's a bit more on the bobbin!

Tonight is Knit Night at Borealis, and I think I'll take Arwen for adding that inch, and possibly my sock in an attempt to finish it so that I can cast on for Clessidra in that beautiful sock yarn you gave me.

P.S. I know I've linked to Eunny before, but did you see her big news? She's the new editor of Interweave Knits, my favorite Knitting Magazine!

The Story of a "Hat"

Hi Flan,
I hope you had a really nice weekend, even though it was tragically shortened by an hour. I hate daylight "savings" time w/ a passion. Even though Congress had nothing better to do 2 years ago than tinker with the damnable thing I don't see why we have to suffer. To top it all off, after having several enraged "discussions" with the nice npr people on the radio about their multiple stories about the change, I neglected to move my clocks forward until Sunday morning. Stupid clock moving.

This weekend I completed my first EZ pattern! Woohoo. I was thumbing through Kw/oT and came upon a little section behind all the sweaters. There are hats and socks back there! Who knew?? Having an assignment from the Harlot, I grabbed some needles and some Lana Grossa Due Chine (leftover from the KO, also thanks to the Harlot) and swatched. We had a bit of a problem, with EZ calling for 2.5 sts/in and I was swatching at 3.5. Fearlessly, I pulled out my calculator. This was the turning point.

There are at least two different hats in Kw/oT that call for 2.5 sts/in (one cleverly disguised as calling for 7sts/3"). One tells you to cast on 36, the other 50. That's an extra 5 inches. The other "quirky" aspect? The one that is 36 sts is a rib, which would hold tighter to the head, the one with 50 tells you to then increase to a number that is truly astonishing (somewhere in the vicinity of 100 if I remember correctly). Far be it from me to question the authority of EZ, but I was a bit nervous.

I cast on and after the band part I increased a mere 15 sts (one pattern repeat) and merrily went about the pattern. I would like to say that the pattern is brilliant. It creates a spiral effect and has the most intelligent decreases known to man. I love it despite of my inability to grasp the numbers.

A few short hours later and I was getting to the point of cast off. It was looking big. Really really big. Seriously large even. I consulted with a Norwedian knitter. She thought it looked pretty big too. Not one to be swayed by experience and consultation, and reluctant to rip it out and do more math, I kept going.

It turns out this, um, "hat" could double as a tea cozy. If the tea pot in question were the size of the nice gatorade coolers players douse coaches with at the end of the game. I tried it on. My bathroom mirror laughed. My head is about a women's medium and my hair is not at all fluffy. I am waiting until The Hubby returns from TN so that he can put it on his much larger head and we can see if there is ripping that needs to happen. I am hoping that the recipient has both a larger head and an inordinant amount of really really fluffy hair. The Hubby currently has the camera because something is lost when you take rocks out of their natural habitat w/o photographing. There will be pictures upon his return because this is truly something to behold.

Do you know if we're supposed to mail them to NY or should we wait to deliver them in MN?

Arwen, Knitty, Etc.

Kathleen-
Arwen progress: Good! The back and both fronts are knitted up to the measurement given in the pattern for the bottom of the armholes. However, it turns out that I'm six feet tall - which I seem to forget sometimes when it comes to knitting. For once, I'd love to have a comfy cardigan that I'm not constantly tugging down to make long enough. This, after all, is the beauty of knitting, lots of customization! So I think I'm adding at least an inch of length to each piece, and maybe more. Tonight I'm planning on measuring Eris, which I think is the perfect length, and using that measurement to decide how much to add.

I still have no revelations about the raglan sleeve question. I do have broad shoulders, so I'm not sure that the sleeve construction as written would be bad for me, but I love the feel of a raglan sleeve. Things to mull as I add length to all the pieces.

I'm contemplating starting some other projects in the meantime, but haven't made any decisions. I know the chance that Arwen will get done and be wearable while its still winter here is much more likely if I stick with one project, and yet....the siren call of startitis. Knitty started it I think. I'm tempted by Isabella, and I think that Clessidra might be the perfect use for that beautiful blue sock yarn you sent me between my Montana trips. Sadly for me I already have two pairs of socks on the needles, and according to the rules, I'll need to finish one up before I can cast on.

Given all of these thoughts, here are my weekend goals:
Add length to all three existing pieces of Arwen.
Spin and ply a bunch more of the wool currently on my wheel this weekend so when my Montana fiber purchases arrive I can dive right in.
Finish the pair of Broadripple socks currently on the needles so I can take the edge of startitis by casting on for Clessidra.
Take some pictures of all of this for the blog!

I can't wait for your visit, and I'm starting my own list!

Countdown Begun

Hi Flan,
Thanks to many calming words and the release of the new Knitty I am mostly revived after my meltdown over the airline industry. There is a little lingering resentment, but everyone needs some kind of pet peeve.

Fun news: There are 27 days until I arrive! That's including today and the day of arrival, so it's really more like 25. I am beyond excited. Yesterday, I spent some time on the Patina and Bibelot websites and have picked out some wonderful gifties for The Mommy and The Sister. My plan is to call the stores before I arrive to confirm that they have the items at the correct locations so that I can look at them before I buy. The Boys were somewhat befuddled and quite amused that I am now "pre-shopping" in anticipation. I reminded them that I do all their shopping so that they should be grateful for my dedication to research.

On the knitting front: I can cable without a needle! Thank you Wendy. It's sort of like having no training wheels. However, I have discovered that this works much better with cotton than with wool. I'm slogging through The Sister's request for fingerless gloves. The first pair, out of cotton, cabled w/o the needles nicely. The next couple are a heavier weight yarn and out of wool. The combo of heavier wool on small needles is not so conducive to the lack of a needle.

I am planning all of my projects to bring and, apparently, I feel I will be there for some time. So far, there is finishing a sock for The Hubby, socks for M, socks for The Mommy, a hat for The SIL, a garter stitch baby blanket on size 3s and that's just the beginning. I know that the flight from Atlanta to MSP is sort of long, but I have to remember that there is no actual time warp that creates indefinite knitting time.

Back Again

Kathleen-
Back in Minnesota, where there is even more snow than when I left.

All in all, this was a much better trip to Montana. Much less of an emergency rushing trip, and a much faster recovery for Dad. I'm happy to report that he's doing well, and aside from his shaved head and gnarly scar, all is relatively well.

To hide the gnarly scar, I worked up a hat while I was there. I used handspun I'd made, knit at a very tight gauge for warmth, and to make it practically bulletproof. Just a simple ribbed brim hat with a double layer for the ears. I'll try and get Dad to send me a picture of it. In the process of knitting the hat I discovered that Dad may have the biggest head in the history of the world. It just went on and on and on. This was my first real project with my handspun, and it was great fun to knit with.

I've found a picture of the handspun!

It knit up beautifully, but as I knit along in the hospital, I looked down and realized I was running out of yarn! So I quickly decreased and bound off for long enough to get Dad home. Once we were back in Bozeman, I visited a delightful local yarn shop, and bought some complementary yarn to finish off the top to fit better.

There may have been some additional stash acquisition there, but I'd like to direct your attention to Rule # 4 of the Knit From Your Stash Rules. I was clearly more than 2 hours from home, and in my defense, all but one thing I bought were things I can't buy here, and even that one thing is difficult to find here. Pictures once the box containing my acquisitions arrives. (Yes, I bought enough that Dad has to ship me a box).

Sunny Monday

Hi Flan,
M said that your dad's surgery went well. I'm hoping it did.

This weekend was one of those happy little weekends where not a lot gets done and that's ok. Gracie and I got our hair cut Friday. I now have a shoulder length bob. I think it's cute. I also purchased tires for the car. There should be greater payoff when you shell out that kind of money. Saturday was The Sister's 21st Birthday! Belated Happy Bday shout out to her. I called her on the special day and went to the yarn store to fulfill her request for more fingerless gloves.

I am now up to my elbows (figuratively) with the little cabled buggers. So far, there is yarn for 2 pairs out of combed cotton (periwinkle and raspberry), one out of chocolate cashmerino and one out of olive Aurora 8. I've decided to do one cotton pair, then one wool pair, one cotton, one wool. Hopefully, I will be done before it warms up so much they are of no use. Not likely, but a nice thought. One unexpected thing, the raspberry cotton is rubbing off on my needles, turning them a subtle shade of pink. I have to say I kind of like it.

A totally random note: Elizabeth Hurley got married last weekend. That, in and of itself, is not really newsworthy, however, she got married at Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe England. On our European adventure 13 years ago my family stayed on a cottage on the grounds of Sudeley Castle. Apparently, what is good enough for us is also good enough for the face of Estee Lauder. Always nice to know.

Bedraggled

Hi Flan,
I hope you got to your Dad's in one piece and everything has gone well w/ Neurosurgery, Part 2. I tried calling but I think the power of the ICU blocked the call.

The Hubby was working on a geology lab late into the night. I was feeling like he needed moral support, so I stayed up and knitted while he mumbled incoherant things, presumably about rocks. The happy side is that there is a FO for the new year! I think this year has been all about starting things and the outlook for actually finishing something was incredibly bleak. I am now happy to report that, even though more than an hour was lost due to untangling a manufacturer's error, we have a finished object. I'm very happy. I am also very tired. Today will be done on a caffine high.

Have you been reading the Harlot about the meany who sends her emails of her blog entries corrected in red? I think that's just rude. Blogs are there for us to read and comment upon, but what kind of effrontery is it that someone would correct it and then send the corrected copy to the author? I find it inexcusable behavior. I'm not saying that I don't sometimes mentally correct other people's blogs while reading, but there is a line that you do not cross, and correcting someone else's work and then informing them of their errors is just not right.

Off to find the first caffine of the day.