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My Monday was great because I got to knit with my Skanks! I have missed them so much. I managed to show restraint and not go about creating an uncomfortable situation by hugging everyone. It had been way too long.
I am out of the running to become Supreme Sock Madness Champion. It seems like it was a rough round. Several knitters seemed so tired at the start of the round and ready to admit defeat just after the pattern release. For a minute, I thought that might give me a chance to make it through, but the three spots in the Tennessee Twisted Knitters division filled up quickly. Go, TTK! I do have one completed sock to show for my effort. I think that there might be a couple of problems with the pattern, but my brain was fried. I might try to tackle it later.
My Icarus is coming along, but not quickly. If I do not have 
the right rhythm, the rows drag by and I only complete one or two. Otherwise, I can complete a chart repeat. Still, the rows are getting longer, so it makes sense that they are not sailing along. In interesting news, my shawl has an admirer who inquired if it might be for her. The color changes of this yarn still entertain me.
Everything turned out fine with the daughter. It was just one of those unlucky things for her. The upside to the situation is it inspired her to register for classes.
I figured out yesterday that I owe an H post for the abc-along. I thought I had another week. I will try to get it done soon.
I have made a mad dash through my backlogged blog reading. This means I did not make too many comments. Sorry! I do not want to make grand announcements about how I am going to do things differently. However, I have noticed some areas that are in need of improvement and within my ability to change.
Much of our Monday went something like this: 
The medical drama is a continuing saga without many answers and several frustrations. We will not get into it for now, lest this post require a Rantdom Wednesday title. We shall just say that so far, everyone is fine.
Anyway, times of concern and waiting can equal excellent knitting. I did not accomplish much at the hospital, but at home, it was another story. I just kept knitting. I love this pattern. The cables and lace are beautiful, quick, and fun to knit. I was unsure about the afterthought heel, but when I finished the first and tried it on I was sold. Anyway, I knit all night long, and
before my husband was up the next morning, I had a new pair of socks and a spot in the competition for round five of Sock Madness.
The next pattern release is Sunday morning and it will have a Japanese short-row heel. Only the first three finishers in each division will advance to round six.
My Icarus restart is a success. The Jojoland Harmony is much nicer
to work with, and the slow color changes are entertaining to me. Nora asked for more photos, and I am not one to turn down such a request. You see my experiment with the blue. It looks nice, but it just was not right. I am more pleased with the new one.
I neglected to mention that I made it through the third round of Sock Madness. Arrival of the fourth pattern could happen at any moment. I was knocked out of the competition last year in round three, so I have already made it further this time. This is about the only kind of deadline knitting that I have been able to enjoy. We will see how this goes. I just got off the phone. One of the kids is not feeling well, so we may have waiting room time ahead of us today. I was called upon for my knowledge of the location of the appendix. I hope it is just gas.
I've been sick with the crud. The good news is that I have finally gotten some sleep. The bad news is that my sleep is at odd hours and I am still missing out on life. Actually, that is fine, because I have not been up for much else.
I finished my experimental Icarus. I had intended to do more, but I accidentally pulled the needle out and then decided to be done with it. The yarn is not right for this project, but then I remembered the other yarn I had in mind for it. I have never knit with Jojoland Harmony before, but think it will work out nicely.
Take time to save time; check gauge.
This week has wiped me out. I think the fact that I celebrated four consecutive hours of sleep today as an accomplishment has something to do with the way I feel. I nearly burst into tears when I could not join the Skanky Knitters on their Yarn Harlot adventure yesterday. You can see Jaspher and his first pair of socks over there.
I got just the boost I needed today when we went to the Cracker Barrel for supper. I was a bit dizzy and in a haze when I caught familiar faces. Since there were two empty chairs at their table, and because they are so fabulously nice, Christina and her family invited us to sit with them.
I think that this is what gave me the boost to be able to begin the latest round of Sock Madness. This is the infamous laceweight round which has been the subject of much fear and speculation for many participants. I decided to bring another Skank along with me (I miss them so much) by using some yarn that Laura gave me. You can see my progress atop my experimental Icarus.
That rumpled mess is all the knitting I have been able to accomplish this week. Yeah. Anyway, I am hoping for sleep tonight, but if it stays away, maybe I can make progress on Sock Madness socks. It does not look great for either.
Sock Madness is between rounds. My EPS FIYC is coming along nicely. It is wonderful, whenever knitting. Still, I need something else to knit. I keep missing opportunities to knit with my friends. I need lace. It has been nearly a month since I have had lace on the needles. Then I saw a nice lace-along that
interested me. While I am not giving up on getting together with my Skanks, I am pleased to have the chance to knit along with online friends.
I am going straight for Icarus. There are two reasons I chose this pattern over Forest Canopy and Flower Basket--I have wanted to knit Icarus since I first saw it but never got around to it, and it is the only one of the patterns I already own. So now must dig through to the magazine so I can make my working copy of the pattern. That is more of an ordeal than it should be, but I am continuing to work on this issue. Anyway, I have some pretty, blue, laceweight, mystery yarn picked out. I may add beads, but I have not thought that far ahead.
I had a hard time getting my Monday going. I thought about getting up more than once, but I never made it. I finally gave a big effort so that I might make it out to knit with the Skanks. I checked the email and discovered that I had been gotten. It was a pre-April Fool's Day surprise from Sock Madness in the form of an early release of the pattern for round two. I was over eight hours behind. I grabbed some yarn and then had a few moments of panic when I could not remember the great place I had stowed the sock needle stash. I cast on and got going, and never made it out to knit with everyone. In truth, I was not quite up for getting out, but I do miss being with them. I hope I can make it next Monday. Anyway, Tuesday ended up being topsy-turvy, too. I really needed a couple of thirty-minute naps, but I only managed one. I was unsure about the sock pattern at first, but before long, I knew it was a good one. It has a different stretchiness so that it can accommodate different foot shapes. My choice of yarn (Lang Jawoll Superwash) obscures the patterning, but I liked what I was getting. As I knit along, I thought that these might be good for my husband. Then he saw and 
admired them, and I knew they would be for him. He thought the yarn I was using was the stuff I had bought for him. Guess I should knit that pair soon, too. Anyway, I made pretty good time knitting these socks. I think it is so neat that these are reversible socks. Another reason they are good for the hubby. My actual knitting time was about 22 hours, but I took breaks and kept up with life as best as I could. Knitting the toes took forever, and by the time I was working that portion of the second sock, I was more than ready to be done. On breaks between those last few rounds, I changed the way I was moving my fingers with a typing test Norma shared the other day. It was with much relief that I scared my husband out of a restless sleep to put on a completed pair of socks so I could take the picture and upload it to the flickr group. This was another fun pattern. Our Sock Madness hostesses picked another winner.
I do not give much thought to the change of seasons. Much of this is due to our weather. We can have a run of days where the temperatures are in the seventies in the middle of December and then snow the next day. Falling leaves could mean autumn, or that there was a hiccup in calculating and using defoliant on a nearby cotton field. However, I have read many posts written about the new season, and when I read Mim's request, I decided to think about my favorite sign of Spring. I no longer look for the first robin to announce that winter is leaving. Instead, I eagerly anticipate the blooming of the violets.
I love this silly cartoon. I own the first season and will one day have the other three. I have yet to see Bender's Big Score, but hope to soon. I call it one of the most quotable cartoons ever, but when asked for an example, I say things like, "Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor." Ah, that is just another way I am weird.
I crocheted this Brain Slug the other day. It is a semi-recurring alien from Futurama. It was quick to make. I can attach it to my head and wear it about, but I have not been brave enough to actually do it. I did try to place it on the head of a stray cat and take a picture. I am sure you can imagine my level of success.
This past week has been full. We kept a nephew from Tuesday afternoon until Friday afternoon. Guess what? He is spending the night tonight here, too. We are not used to such excitement. Consequently, many things did not get done. I have not worked passed the hem on my EPS FIYC, I missed getting the garbage out to the street on Thursday, and I did not make it online much. It was
fun, but I hope next week is quieter. Two new items made their way into my home this week. I look forward to getting to know them better.
Somehow, the Zombies got my brains before I ever received the pattern. I am missing large chunks of last week. I am blaming it on Zombies and not worrying about the rest for now. You may be wondering why there is all of this Zombie talk. Last week, Sock Madness 2 began. If we had waited at home for five more minutes, I would have had the pattern as soon as it was delivered. Instead, I had it two hours after it arrived in my email inbox. I cast on and knit away. At first, I did not have any strong feelings about the pattern but soon enjoyed knitting it. It has such a wonderful rhythm. I liked the dropped stitches, and before I knew it, I was turning the heel. I motored on through without sleep. I missed a birthday party. No, it was not because of the knitting, but due to other bits of life jumping up and changing my schedule. I felt bad about missing the party. I just kept knitting. I caught little naps and continually refreshed the pool of pictures for the group over on flickr. 
I finally finished the socks in time to assist with a day of multi-vehicle maintenance. That kept us out until 2:30 Saturday morning. I caught up on a bit of sleep over the weekend. Now it is Monday, and there are still chances for many more knitters to make it to the next round. Although it is clear that I could have knit at a gentler pace, the frenzy of socknitting was good for me. Still, I am glad for the break until the next round. Time to cast on the body of the EPS FIYC.
Several years ago, I participated in a research study. It took about two hours to drive to the facility, and then two more hours to drive home. It was a tiring process. I recall returning from one visit and sitting at a stoplight. I was probably fifteen minutes from home, and I was ready to be out of my car. I do not know whether the exhaustion was more mental or physical, but I certainly was done for the day. Brief bits of the medical appointment flitted through my brain. Anyway, as I waited for the light to turn green, I saw a large truck drive past. This is what was written on the side: EGG PRODUCTS. I tried to comprehend it. Among the things I had just been through were an EEG, and an EKG. I kept thinking, and remembered that an EKG is sometimes called an ECG. Then my mind finally cleared, and I had to laugh. Yep, I had been puzzled by the word egg.
This
brings me to my E entry in the ABC-Along. E is for Eggs. I look forward to filling these plastic eggs with candy, hiding them, and watching the kids find them. One day this week, my nephew and I will probably dye hard boiled eggs. I hope we have better success with the endeavor this year.
The Nintendo Wii that my husband won arrived today. This is going to come in handy when we are watching the nephew for much of Spring Break next week. We have had fun with it today. My husband just laughs at me while he watches me play. I have not been able to convince him to give it a go. Anyway, this has been a great way to recover from yesterday, and prepare for tomorrow. I suppose that I ought to clear a path to my box of sock yarn. Sock Madness 2 is about to begin!
While I was unable to get in as much spinning as I would have liked to during NaSpiMoMo and the Redux, I did spin some. After seeing the Stork's Nest Scarf by Nancy Bush in the Jan/Feb08
Piecework, I thought that my Shetland/Angora yarn could be nice match. I wondered whether I had enough yarn and what size scarf I would get, but did not fret a bit. After all, it is a scarf. I could always change the number of stitches in a row, the number of repeats knit, needle size, or frog it if nothing worked. Then I saw the SpinKnit idea slated for March, and I knew I wanted to try it. I was also ready to get some lace back on the needles. I have enjoyed the sweater knitting, but it is not laceknitting.
This was a quick and easy knit. The charted pattern is a twelve-row repeat, but it is much simpler than that. Even after having memorized it, I still kept the chart by my side to mark the number of repeats I had knit. By the time I had knit the chart fifteen times, it was clear that I would not be knitting it the thirty-one times as written in the pattern. My handspun was a bit more substantial than laceweight, I bumped up a needle size, I never looked at the listed gauge, let alone check my gauge, so I was unsure of what scarf I would end up with when I finished knitting. I knit something like eighteen repeats plus the first eleven rows of the chart, and sweat my way through those six rows of garter stitch and the stretchy bind-off. I knit up every bit of my skein of yarn. I wondered about the length. Then it was blocking time. I was able to try for the first time my interlocking flooring squares and some checked cloth I had bought for blocking. After I pinned it all out, I tested out the ability to set the whole thing up on its side in the other room. It worked! After unpinning, I have a new 10"X60" scarf. I was going to give this to a friend, but I know she has some allergy troubles, and am unsure about how she would do with the fibers I used, but I really wanted to knit something for her. The length of the scarf ended my dilemma. It is too short for her. I will have to plan something else for her. Besides, the yarn I spun is not as soft as I would like, especially for a gift.
Anyway, I have had the scarf done since Saturday, but did not get 
any pictures taken until today. We had a small adventure. The new car bug bit my husband, so we ended up driving to Atlanta to check out the Smart car. It was nifty, but I do not think we are getting a new car in the near future. It was a long day, but it meant something to him for us to make the trip, so that makes it worth it. I slept through much of the trip. It was more comfortable for my back to be reclined, and I just kept falling asleep. Besides, I was in the sun on the way down and not up for having a pile of wool on my lap, and it was dark on the way home. Speaking of, I am glad to be home.
No, there is not some mysterious part of my past when I was mentally healthy. It is March, and I am getting excited about Sock Madness 2. I think that my desire to not be eliminated from the competition stems not from a need to win nor fear of losing, but rather a desire to remain in the fun frenzy. Yes, it is still fun from the bleachers, but being in the thick of it is great. This is such a great event that our two wonderful hostesses have organized. I know they put in a lot of work for us to have fun. What also impresses me is the great spirit of the competitors. When people talk about knitters being the best kind of people helping each other out, this is a great example.
Speaking of the organizational talents of our hostesses, they pegged me perfectly when they placed me in my division. I am part of the Tennessee Twisted Knitters. Go ahead and laugh. I did. Ours was the last division posted, and I am glad to see that I am the only Skanky Knitter there. We have two Skanks over in the Baylor Ball Bands, and one in Maryland Merino Madness. The only division in which we are not represented is the UConn Cast Ons.
Anyway, I have done almost no prep work for the competition. I have perused the supply list. I am relatively certain that I have all that I need to compete. I wonder about the laceweight round. I think that I am going to use some of the Bare Laceweight from Knit Picks for those socks. It is already in the stash, but just needs to be dyed. The sock needles are already naked and waiting. They should begin to itch about the time competition begins.
Have I finished any sweaters lately? Did that stop me from casting on a new project? Do I feel bad about any of this? No, no, and not a bit. I waited for March to cast on for some SpinKnit lace. I took the hank of pink Shetland/Angora that I spun in January to the swift and wound up a nice cake of yarn. I had already made my working copy of the pattern, so I was ready to cast on. I am knitting the Stork's Nest Scarf from Piecework (Jan/Feb '08) by Nancy Bush. I made it through the first ten percent of the scarf before I could no longer remain upright. It is so good to have lace on the needles.
Still, there has been some sweater progress. I went button shopping over the weekend. I think I may have the buttons for the TYC. I also felt compelled to purchase other 
buttons because I like the colors and they were on sale. That big wall of shiny color and the lights and the temporary price reductions, and the next thing you know, my cart had quite a selection. Anyway, I have been showing off the potential prospects to people to get their opinions. I have not made a decision, but I still have the button bands to work, so there is no need to rush, eh? Which buttons do you think are the best match? Maybe you think I need to continue the quest for different buttons. All opinions are welcome and appreciated.
I am off to chase down the garbage can. I have a bag ready to place in it, so I need to secure it a bit better this time. Yes, I live a glamorous life.
Ah, another month ends. It opened with the excitement of Groundhog Day, and closed with a bonus day. I have been extraordinarily unproductive, but it is okay.
The NaSpiMoMo Redux has been a bust for me. Back troubles have kept me from the wheel. It is sitting in the other room with my barely begun bobbin of alpaca. I hope to get back to it soon, but do not know when it will happen. I miss spinning time. I am glad I still have knitting.
However, my knitting progress is also slowed way down. I have somehow managed to make it to the three-needle bind-off on the TYC. Here I am last night wearing it in progress. This was before the short-row shaping, but after taking some medication that makes the tip of my tongue numb. Fortunately, I was able to discern that I could not count to work those short-rows. This afternoon I used Nona's Japanese Short Rows Tutorial to work that portion of the sweater. I like the way it worked out. I will probably use this method on the EPS FIYC, but we are a long way from that. Still, it is nice to be so close to a new sweater. I enjoyed wearing it last night, even with the needles and waste yarn. It seems like it is going to fit nicely, and it will definitely keep me warm.
It is going to be a busy Leap Day. We have an in-law adventure we refer to as Gerry-Duty, plus the nephew needs to stay home from school at least one more day, and my sister must return to work. I hope he is feeling better and we can make up some ridiculous Leap Day celebrations.
My weekend was eaten up by fun and new experiences. We had visitors--a nephew, a daughter, and a Wii. We had a great time, but I am still behind on sleep. It has made me more excited for the time when we have our own Wii. My husband won one, and it should be here in 6-8 weeks. As great as the weekend was, it did disrupt plans to meet up with one of the Skanks. She had organized a group order to Knit Picks and was going to give me my yarn and I was going to show her how to use a niddy noddy. She has some projects to frog and the yarn to re-purpose. She was also going to give me a project and remaining yarn she needed to have out of her possession. She
had begun a skirt long ago, but several problems occurred that let her know that it was not to be, and she no longer wants to see it or the yarn. While we did not have an opportunity to meet this weekend, she was able to drop off the yarn.
Much of Monday was eaten up by new technology. My husband ordered a laptop, and it was delivered Monday morning. There is still much to learn as we get to know our new machine. Monday night with the Skanky Knitters seemed to be off its usual rhythm. We had a nice time, but it was a bit of an off night. I know part of my problem was lack of sleep and the fact that I was sewing up knitting bits in public. I usually do not seam in public, but I wanted to get that piece finished. It was secret knitting, and I am glad to have the piece completed. It looked good when I was done, but I forgot to take a picture, so I cannot show you later.
After unseasonably warm weather, winter temperatures have returned. I was glad to have my mittens, and enjoyed wearing them today. The front porch has a light dusting of snow. I am pleased to have the cold for the sake of my sweater knitting. I think I will still have a chance to wear the TYC this year. In fact, I am off to knit on it now.
the right rhythm, the rows drag by and I only complete one or two. Otherwise, I can complete a chart repeat. Still, the rows are getting longer, so it makes sense that they are not sailing along. In interesting news, my shawl has an admirer who inquired if it might be for her. The color changes of this yarn still entertain me.
