399

Hey Flan,

Happy Anniversary to US! By the way, this is the 399th post! Sorry for being incommunicado. There was the stressful insanity of Finals followed by the delightful insanity of a family visit followed by exhaustion.

But first of all, here's the yarn acquistion- not counting the Jaeger for the future niece/ nephew

There's a completed Rowan Sampler blanket made with Pakucho Organic Cotton; the Princess Pram Cover in Debbie Bliss Organic Cotton, Eco Wool, Knitpicks Andean Silk, Knitpicks Cotlin in Key Lime, Cascade 220 in green, Berocco Ultra Alpaca and Rowan DK Something in green and red.

But back to the family visit...

Here's The Sister wearing my silk pjs and her NEW CPH!

We had a "little" dinner party (5 course dinner for 8 cooked by The Brother) and at one point The Hubby was celebratorily dunked in the pool.

Also, for what it's worth...

We had a great time and it was super fantastic to see everybody. It's getting warm here (90s) so the summer knitting is starting. I had been working on a wool vest but wool is hot and so I've mostly switched to cotton.

How to Make Your Sister's Heart Stop

Hey Flan,

As I told you via email- I'm going to be an Auntie! Here's how I found out:

I was at work as I usually am on Wednesday nights. When on the way out of work I noticed there were TWO missed calls from The Brother as well as a voicemail that said "call me NOW." I started seriously freaking out. Our parents were visiting him and I couldn't remember if they were flying out that night (hence potential plane crash senarios) or the next day (hence potential car crash senarios).

When he answered his phone I demanded "what is going on?" He countered with "What are your plans for Christmas?"

Thinking one, the other or both of our parents had met with some unspeakably terrible fate and then be asked about our plans for the holidays threw me just a bit. After I ascertained that all parents were fine he said I was going to be an Auntie at Thanksgiving. Whew.

MAN- I tell you I can work up a really good freak out in no time. If anyone out there ever needs emergency preparedness senarios to practice they should just call me up. Also, I'm extremely prepared in case of natural disaster.

Back to the story, the conversation with him mostly consisted of "Ohmygoodness!" followed by "stork! stork! stork!" I then called The Mommy who didn't answer and then The Sister and our entire conversation was the two above sentiments along with "I know!"

The Mommy then called back and I had the "ohmygoodness!" "I know!" conversation all over again. Anyway, we're all very excited about the 15mm peanut and this Christmas might be spent fawning over a month old infant.

I told them not to worry about names yet but that they could name it after me if they wanted to.

What to do when finding out that there's going to be a baby born in WINTER (most favorite knitterly season?) buy some YARN. The WEBS sale is seriously hurting my bank account. I bought some beautiful pewter blue Jaeger cotton and I already have a bunch of bright pink, though I'll probably use the blue regardless of gender.

There has been stunning progress on the CPH and it is almost complete! I am down to the final ribbing. However, I seem to be having more problems then usual with picking up stitches. I picked up every other one and ended up with 94 per side instead of 146. Then I picked up almost every one and have 157. Next time I'm going to carefully measure, put markers in and attempt 73 per quarter. Oh! I am loving how the sleeves turned out. Like I said, I reverse engineered the sleeve caps and then knit them in the round to the wrist. I seamed them in last night and they look pretty darn good if I do say so myself. I was a little worried about whether or not they'd fit. Hope yours is going well.

Random Thursday

Hey Flan,

Sorry for being incommunicado. Things are moving along but at no notable pace.

Tuesday, I received an email from WEBS saying that they just happened to be havin' an anniversary sale that they wanted to let me know about - just in case I'd like to stop by and browse a little- but no pressure. So after Knit Night I plunked myself down in front of the computer and just kept clicking. What'dya know but there was $100 of yarn (worth far far more than $100 but it was just such a fabulous sale). I managed to dial it down to $80 and as soon as my feverish tracking on the UPS website pays off we'll have photos. I remember purchasing yarn for 3 projects, but who knows about what will actually show up.

Tuesday was also delivery day from our group knitpicks order. I ordered yarn to make this:

I ordered a cotton linen combo in "key lime" which is sort of a spring green. I'm thinking of making it in the smallest length so that it isn't too long for my very short self.

HOWEVER... once I pulled out IK and rediscovered this photo:

I have plans to make it but with 3/4 length sleeves.

Today it was 78* which is apparently above the magic number at work so the air conditioner came on. Welcome to the frigid South. I think there is definitely a need for several cardigans to be added to my work wardrobe so layering can commence.

I decided (as always) that I absolutely must finish something before starting anything new and with all this new yarn around, Startitis is coming on strong. I am almost halfway through the second sleeve for the CPH and then the only thing is the hood. I have 4 weeks before The Sister will be here to receive it.

Enough with the blather. I'm headed off to watch some TV, eat some raw cookie dough and try to get more than 3 hours of sleep. Have a good weekend.

New Year New Yarn

Hey Flan,

I hope you're having a good New Year's so far.

With the New Year came new yarn. One of The Brother's friend and his wife are having another baby and The Mommy asked me to make a baby blanket. I had just received the notice from WEBS that they just happened to be having their sale and there just happened to be some beautiful DB cotton angora and some also delightful Rowan Cashsoft DK on crazy crazy sale. I had been planning on using my beloved Rowan Calmer, however for the price of one blanket's worth of Calmer I could get both of the above.

The box of yarn arrived yesterday and I'm so very happy. I think I'm going to use this pattern from Rowan for the DB. However, instead of making 20 separate squares and then sew them all together I'm going to just knit it in one piece.

I am beyond ready to cast on and get started. However, with the New Year has also come new resolutions- well really just a dusting off of former ones. I have one project that has been slogging along on the needles for a very long time and if I focus I could actually get it done- shocking. If I don't then I have a feeling it will get shoved to the black hole of the knitting basket never to be heard from again.

So, for now at least, I am holding my own yarn hostage. There will be no casting on for the beautiful baby blanket until the current WIP gets finished. Years ago this is the only way I worked. I worked on one and only one project at a time. It worked for awhile but quickly went by the wayside the more obsessed I became with knitting. Startitis is making my hands itch to begin and we'll see how long my resolve lasts.

Hope you have a good weekend.

Calm Before the Storm

Kathleen-
Warning: long, picture heavy post to follow.

I believe we've now reached the calm before the storm in my job. After a chaotic late Nov/Early Dec, we've now got a touch of downtime before craziness starts again in the New Year. I'm off to Seattle at the end of this week for 4 days for work- anything I shouldn't miss in my downtime in the evenings? Several people got the dates of my Seattle trip mixes up, and therefore called me during last week's flooding to make sure I was ok. I was completly confused until I figured out that they thought I was in the NW!

I've been VERY focused on Grandpa's Socks. Current progress:

That would be sock #1 done! And sock #2 only needs 2 repeats of the pattern and couple inches of ribbing to be done. I'm beginning to think this is going to happen on time. In the past week, I've knit on these socks at home, at work during lunch, on the bus, in the car (as a passenger!), at knit night, while bowling, while playing board games, at a really excellent concert, and at a party. They've been quite promiscuous about being knit in public.

Here's a closeup of the texture- the color is inaccurate in both the pictures, as we're officially experiencing "dreary" weather.

Friday Mike and I picked out a Christmas tree. It turns out I have an interesting relationship with the size of our living room, but it worked out. We'll be decorating it tonight:
Friday I also experienced credit card slippage at Borealis:
That would be 3 skeins of Smooshy in Nightwatch for Jeanie from the new Knitty: I'm hoping to cast on before heading for Seattle (as soon as Grandpa's Socks are done). Here's a closeup of the shade:
I also ended up with one more skein of Smooshy for socks for me, this one in Deep Seaflower.

Today once I finish cleaning up the living room and start dinner, I'm planning on working a bit on the following secret project... not knitting, blocking!

And last, but certainly not least. I won a contest on Shelly's blog, and the prize was a copy of the Knitter's Book of Yarn, which is fabulous! I've already read most of it since it arrived yesterday, and its chock full on interesting information about yarn.

Back from NC

Kathleen-
Less than 36 hours in NC, one very successful wedding, and some knitting too! Although I had work to do on the planes, I knit quite a bit in the airports.

I'm currently at this point in Grandpa's socks. Two heels turned, remaining yarn split in half, and I've commenced knitting up the first leg, and it's going fast! These are still the priority, since the dreaded date of Dec 25th is fast approaching.

The morning of the wedding, Mom and I had some extra time in Asheville, and we went exploring, and found a truly excellent LYS: Purl's Yarn Emporium. This is a little gem of a store in downtown, where the yarn was organized by color, which is quite a sensory experience! Not one to turn down souvenir yarn, I ended up with 2 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Azul Profundo.

The skeins are actually slated for different uses. I'm planning on using 1 skein to line Mike's snowflake hat, and to knit it at an extremely tight gauge (goal: virtually windproof, and super soft). The other skein I think I'll turn into a really soft wristwarmers for me!

Day 29

Kathleen-
Another exhausting day at work, and hosting Game Night tonight means I have little to report. I do have pictures of the new yarn I bought for Mike's hat though (when all else fails, post yarn pictures).
I knitted at game night, but I'll be ripping out most of my progress. I'll have a bit of time to knit at the airport tomorrow (of to NC for my Aunt's wedding.....)

Wedding Report and Socks for Granpa

Kathleen-
We're safely home from Arizona, where I met my mother's new puppy, did quite a bit of work, and attended a lovely wedding. Pictures of all of these things when we unpack and I manage to get the camera and the cord that connects it to the computer in the same location.

Last week at Knit Night I was on a mission to accommodate a special request. You see, my mother had called me about the dreaded Christmas knitting. She's knitting socks for my grandmother, and it turns out that my grandfather would like a pair too. Nice warm wool ones for cold Michigan winters. And when someone so charmingly requests a hand-knitted item, and you know how much they'll appreciate it, what knitter could turn them down?

Mom assigned my grandparents to measure their feet, and in my mail appeared the vital stats....which leads to the question: why do all the people (except you) that I've knit socks for have such enormous feet?

So at Borealis on Tuesday I searched the sock yarn with enabling provided by the full cast of characters at Knit Night. I finally decided on Dream in Color Smooshy, which is truly Smooshy and has a lovely hand. I picked out a skein in beautiful shades of green and brown (color name to be added once I'm home with the ballband). The lovely ladies of Borealis wound it up for me, and then I was off.

Once home I scoured my books. Nothing jumped out at me in Favorite Socks. Likewise in Socks, Socks, Socks. Nor in Folk Socks. But then I opened my copy of Knitting Vintage Socks (one of my used finds at Powell's on my Oregon trip). And there was a treasure trove of patterns appropriate for a gentleman who is a bit conservative in his dress.

I cast on in Arizona and knit most of a foot, but promptly ripped my progress out when I returned home, deciding that the yarn and the pattern were not a match. But now I know what I want to knit: the Gentleman's Fancy Socks, though I need to buy a contrast color for the heels and toes. I'm modifying to knit toe-up to use all my yarn, but I'm looking forward to the simple yet attractive and stretchy pattern! Pictures once I cast on tonight at Knit Night!

BSJ

Kathleen-
On Wednesday evening, I carefully cast off the Baby Surprise Jacket, thus removing any impediment of H having the baby (the baby won't come till the knitting is done). Sure enough, as I finished a crazy day at work, I got voicemail from Mike telling me that Harmony had been born! Woohoo!

So here's the completed jacket (needing ends to be woven in and buttons attached) that will be off to E&H on Monday.
Having completed the current baby knitting emergency (more to come of course, as there are more pregnant people in my life, including a baby due at the end of October), I cast on for Henry from the newest Knitty.

Tracy from Knit Night had contributed to me falling down and buying yarn two weeks ago, when she draped a hank of this lucious yarn around my neck. Baby Alpaca and Silk? What could be better? Next think I knew, I'd bought two skeins. Thursday, I used it to cast on for Henry.
(Ignore the dark blue, it's the provisional cast on). So far, I like it a lot. I'm hoping to finish it for my trip to Oregon in a couple of weeks- I think it should look smashing with my new brown jacket.

I think I've seen those on TV

Hey Flan,

First of all, Gracie and I just got back from Atl where we saw The Harlot!! She was, as expected, fabulous. We were just a teeny bit late from getting lost and 5pm downtown traffic, so were only 30 min early. All the seats were taken, so we ended up sitting on the counter at the concessions stand at the top of the theatre and if we stood on the counter could just see her head. She gave the same speech she did in MN, but it was still fantastic. We left before the Q&A in order to get to the yarn store before the hoardes.

I had a major fall down in the Artyarn Ultramerino 4 section. Hellooooo socks. I know, I don't knit them, but this yarn is prettier than any yarn ever and I loveitsomuchIwanttomarryit. PLUS, The Sister mentioned that she wanted socks for Christmas (along with real peanut butter- it's a long story) and seeing as she's going to be in Chile and that's very far from here I thought it might be nice if they got something really nice for Christmas and socks are way smaller than sweaters.

There was major progress completed on The Coronet for The SIL's bday. It was started on the way to Atl and completed on the way back. She really does have a lot of hair and the hat is ginormous, but it is ginormous and completed, so all is good.

The Hubby does not have a hernia. At least if he does it's not a very big one. I'm really relieved.

Oh yeah, the title of the post. I was sitting in the breakroom eating my ultra healthy snack of half a whole wheat pita with hummus and sprouts. For some reason this batch of pitas won't open, so the hummus and sprouts were on top, like an open faced sandwich. One of the cleaning ladies looked at my snack and asked me what the green things were. I said sprouts. She said, "brussel sprouts??" I said "alfalfa". She thought about it and said, "I think I've seen those on TV."

Happy Graduation!

To The Sister!!

She's now an official graduate from WWU with a Bachelor's Degree from the College of Business and Economics with a degree in Business and Operations Management -AND a brand new inductee of the College of Business and Economics' Honors Society! We're so proud.

The whole family showed up...

... and promptly froze our butts. Notice the plethora of sweaters. It was MID JUNE and we're ALL freezing. The highs were alleged to be somewhere in the 60s. Mighty chilly if you ask me. (Notice the lovely sweater worn by The Brother?? Yup, it's the one he was gifted with last Christmas. He would like me to make some "slight" modifications, which mean I "get" to re-knit both sleeves- again.)

Before Graduation there was a backyard picnic and I thought my siblings just looked adorable. This also gives a good shot of The Sister's startlingly short hair. Damn it all that she can't chop it all off and still be a cutie.

We also got to meet The Girlfriend. They're so cute together.

She's done with college and ready to head overseas for the summer. I'm so excited for her.

There were also yarn stores and some fabulous yarn I found, but more on that later.

Happiness and Joy

Hey Flan,

I am delighted to report 2 things.

1: THE YARN IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dear Yarn Store, I am sorry I ever doubted your methods. You are right, I was wrong and need to learn to be more patient. Regardless of my error-filled ways, I have been rewarded with the BEAUTIFUL yarn. The BEAUTIFUL yarn is made from fiber I've never knit with before, but have always wanted to. Nope, I'm not saying what it is. The potential project is super secret for now, so now it's y'all's turn to be patient.

2: The knitters of moBEEL totally represented for World Wide Knit in Public Day. When I sent out the email asking the knitters if they wanted to do something for WWKIP day they all said yes, but it turns out that they thought I was making it up! How obliging are they that they would agree to show up for what they thought was a completely made up holiday??!! It cracks me up, but it's also very sweet. We comandeered the front room of a local coffeeshop and represented.

That's all for now. I have already been to the grocery store today and saw all of the "regulars" (yes, it is scary that there are enough of us that have our schedules routinized to the point where I recognize them). People should seriously prevent you from grocery shopping when hungry. I think I just purchased more food than I have ever before in my ENTIRE LIFE. The Hubby's so happy. I made him carry in the bags. It took him 3 trips. It would have taken me 14. I love that he's home to carry stuff. Happy Sunday.

Dear Yarn Store,

I sincerely love your website. You have a physical store but it is thousands of miles from me, so not really convenient for a quick visit. I thoroughly enjoy perusing the online photos of the gorgeous yarn, needles, books, etc.

I have noticed that you insist on posting photos of the yarn. This is probably just good marketing, but it really is starting to effect the amount of funding available for the groceries. So far I am hoping that my dear husband has not noticed that we have become vegetarians. He seems to believe me when I tell him the dish in front of him is, by all means, chicken.

I admit that I was seduced by the clever marketing scheme of photos. This, in addition with the other super clever marketing scheme of the word SALE and DISCOUNT had the sought after reaction of me pulling out my overwrought debit card (it cried a little, I merely giggled with anticipation), clicked on the quantity and hit "purchase".

Immediately, there was a sale confirmation waiting for me in my inbox. Oh the joy! Again, very much anticipating the imminent arrival of the most fabulous yarn EVER, I emailed others, announcing that I had purchased yarn on the internet and it was going to be FANTASTIC. I was not even missing the immediate gratification of buying yarn in person and being able to cast on that very minute.

However, dear Yarn Store, I have yet to receive the email saying that my beautiful, perfect, ON SALE WITH A LIMITED QUANTITY yarn has been shipped. For the first couple of days I tried to stay calm. I went to your aforementioned fantastic website, obsessively checking the quantity listed, first nervous because the number had not gone down then, when it had, I thought maybe someone else who wanted MY yarn had purchased EXACTLY the same amount that I had and that all the good yarn was going to THEM!

It has now been a couple of days and I have to say that the distance between my current mental state and one of complete obsession and paranoia is quickly growing smaller and smaller. WHY won't you announce that you have shipped my beautiful, perfect, ON SALE WITH A LIMITED QUANTITY yarn?? My email account has gotten tired from me constantly clicking "check mail". I really will give it a good home. Honest.

For the record, I have been quite loyal to you, oh Yarn Store. Before ordering from you last December I had NEVER ordered yarn online. Since that first happy experience I have never strayed, never ordered from ANYONE else. Before you, I had always patronized Local Yarn Stores. Always. However, YOU offer things that cannot be found at my LYS and I went out on a limb, put my faith in the internet, and ordered. You made it so easy. I didn't have to have an account, a login or a password. There were blessedly few clicks between the yarn and me. I will admit that I have not always been very patient while waiting for my yarn, but have tried to contain those ugly episodes to the confines of my house. You have a good record, oh Yarn Store, of sending the amount I ask for and the yarn is always more beautiful in person.

So PLEASE, pretty pretty PRETTY please, send me the email saying my beautiful yarn is on it's way.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kathleen

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!

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!)

Warning: Credit Cards May Be Slippery When Yarn Present

Hey Flan,
Thanks for all your help to get me converted to the new format.

The LYS was having a "Superball" sale yesterday (yes, someone actually came in to tell them the sign was mis-spelled). It was the first Sunday they were open, so very exciting for those of us not really obsessed with The Game. There was a discount structure, so from 8-10 there was a 40% discount. As the day progressed the discounts became less (from 10-12 30% off). I was in FL celebrating The Grandfather's 80th birthday so gave my list to one of the lovely knitters. By proxy I procured EZ's Knitter's Workshop, along with One Skein, such a fabulous little book. I've checked it out from the library for two extended periods and it's just delightful. Now I have my own.

I also got a 40" needle for socks. I know, I know, I don't knit socks, but people can change. I had previously purchased some beautiful yarn for The Sister's upcoming birthday. Trying to expand my knitting repertoire, I learned the provisional cast on (it only took 2 hours) and am doing the short row toe. Well, I did it once and managed to flunk short rows on the purl side, so had to do the whole thing over again. I'm not sure I'm picking them up properly while purling, but it's just going to have to be ok. So far I'm a big fan of this type of toe, though the provisional cast on still has me scratching my head while consulting multiple books (the winner in the end was EZ's Kw/oT).

Until this weekend I was doing well with knitting from the stash. Everything was going swimmingly, until there was a mighty slippery spot in front of some Jitterbug yarn and woops, the credit card slipped, and the yarn ended up in my bag. I wasn't even going to buy yarn (very well intended), but had picked up a skein to show Gracie. It was really to teach The Little Ladybug about good kinds of yarn, and then... well... I had a little moment of weakness and slipped. It's just so pretty. I have it out to observe and admire. Allegedly it's sock yarn but the inside of my shoes seem an awfully poor audience, so we'll see what it turns out to be.

The slippery extended across cyberspace and I ordered yarn off the internet! I'd never done it before and would just like to thank the lovely people at Webs for making it so easy. There is no login name or password and really, everyone should make it so convenient. On the other hand, it was so hassel free that I'm almost sorry I know. Now I have nothing between me and my credit card from slipping. Better lock it up.