Happy Little Trees

Another Veteran's Day is coming to a close. Bruce has had the movies going. We went to the parade. We won admission for one to the 2009 Chicken and Egg Festival. We have exceeded our yearly quota of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA."

Please enjoy today's autumn leaves while I attempt to clear my brain.

A Case of the Mondays

I gave away my Monday and have nothing to show for it but a bad mood. Actually, I have come to terms with it all and am doing my best to display a more pleasant affect. The single serving of chocolate ice cream in the freezer is ready to swoop in and assist.

Anyway, I think my evening would be best spent knitting something that requires significant attention. Either that or a challenging aerobics workout might be a good choice. That being said, I do not know that I will have the opportunity for that kind of knitting, and definitely not for the workout. Never fear, there is plenty of other knitting to do, and it will help me.

Lest this all be doom and gloom, I started the son's hat.

Knit Gifts That Make You Go, "Huh?"

When I first saw Calorimetry, I did not think anything more than, "Meh." I just did not get it. Then my friend sewed the button on hers and modeled it, and I finally saw the appeal of it. I knew it would be great for me, and I could think of several other people who could use one.

I decided to knit one the other night, and I was done in no time. I love Calorimetry, but there is something of a problem with it. It is a gift knit that requires a little bit of explanation. When I showed my mom the one I had knitted, she offered a kind smile and a generic compliment. Then I modeled it, and she understood why I said I would make one for her. We were soon discussing color options. I gave this to my sister-in-law for her birthday. She smiled and thanked me, and then I demonstrated what I had given her, and she liked it even more.

I think I will knit a few more of these for gifts, and for me. Oooh, and it will be another project pile in need of buttons!

One Week Later

I am flying along with the February Lady Sweater. I would have shown it before, but I cannot get a nice picture of it. I decided that I could not wait any longer to show it. I promise that it is much nicer than this, and it keeps looking better each time I check the fit. I have not decided how long to work the body, but I am already thinking about buttons.

Las night, I had reason to browse my button box, and I confirmed my suspicions that I do not have any that will work for this sweater. This means I have a nice outing to look forward to soon. I like to shop for buttons. They are lovely little treasures.

Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself. I do not know why I am so excited to have this finished. I love knitting it, and I still have most of the month left to complete it. I suppose it is because I am happy to make this for my sister, and I think she will really like it. I almost want to give it to her before Christmas.

If you have the yarn, needles, and desire to knit this sweater, I highly recommend it. This is such an enjoyable knit. The pattern is easy to follow. It is amazing how quick a sweater works up in worsted weight yarn. I just might have the body finished by the end of the weekend.

Rinse, Rinse, Repeat

When I got my wheel out the other day to ply, I thought that would be the longest part of the process remaining between me and my new yarn. I planned to ply, skein, and wash, and that the yarn would dry overnight. I did not count on the amount of excess dye I would have to deal with. I lost count sometime after the seventh go-around.

Anyway, if my calculations are correct, I have about 570 yards of new yarn. The fiber is Mountain Colors Targhee Top in the Lupine colorway. It looks to be somewhere in the lace/fingering weight range, and I want to knit with it. I had hoped for Waves of Grain while I spun the yarn, so I might just try it soon.

Colorwork Calls

I decided what to knit for the son. When he saw it in the Knit Picks catalog, and noted that it is the type of hat he likes, I went to order it right away. However, it was unavailable at that moment. I checked back later, and saw in my Saved for Later basket that I could add it to my shopping cart, and I did so immediately. When it arrived a few days later, I was so excited. I looked over my kit, and discovered that they had made a few color substitutions. I think they did a good job with the other colors they chose, but I was still surprised at the changes. In my stash, I have one of the three back-ordered colors, so I can use Bark (as in the original pattern) instead of its alternate, Navy, if I choose.

My color options are not the only choices I face. The pattern for this hat is neat. There are extra charts from which to choose. For example, I can use either the ripples or the llamas chart (the charts label them as alpacas, but they look more like llamas to me) on the earflaps. There is plenty of yarn in this kit to make more than one of these hats, but the son is probably the only one who would wear one.

I am excited at all this project offers me. As the earflaps are worked back-and-forth, I have my first opportunity to work stranded on the purl side of a project. I also plan to try a different method of colorwork. I have never tried this before, but I think it might be ideal for this hat. I have also seen the beautiful work of other knitters who employ this technique, and I would like to try it.

Now all I need is to make the time to get going on this hat. I have everything set aside in a bag, and the kit calls to me. It has several different calls. At times, it comes from the colors, or it can be the promise of new techniques and learning, and other times it is knitting for my son and the impending deadlines that urge me to this project. Whenever I do sit down to knit it, I know I will enjoy it, and it will be a wonderful labor of love.

Now with 30% More Camel

I finished binding off this shawl almost a month ago. It was close, with only about five yards of the discontinued yarn remaining. I blocked it, and then secured it in a difficult to access area of the wildly piled-up room. Once I made my way to it, I attempted a photo shoot. It was not a success. I kept thinking that I would get back to it, all the while feeling bad about not getting it in the mail. I finally decided that getting the shawl to the owner is more important than modeled pictures, so you only get to see it being blocked. Sorry.

When I wrapped myself in the shawl in its lumpy-bumpy, pre-blocked state, it did not look like it would be very big. I knew the size of the Noro one, and I had only knit one more repeat of the main chart on this one. The blocking was magic, and if I were not so fond of my friend, I would keep this for myself, too.


Yarn: Froehlich Wolle Camel 70% superwash wool/30% camel (discontinued), 3 skeins
Needles: US 6 (4.0mm) Knit Picks Options
Size: 86"x43"

I Brushed My Teeth, Too

Stay tuned to the blog. I may share other responsible, adult outings such as paying the utility bill. Cranky much, Sarah?

I have never missed our old polling place across the street more than I did today. Actually, the process only took about ninety minutes. I was number 555 at my polling place. I did people-watch and knit while I stood in line. I carried way too much knitting stuff with me. The lace ribbon scarf was enough. I managed a couple of repeats, and it made the wait and close proximity to people more bearable.

Autumn Afternoon

Weekend knitting was productive. We had a niece for the day on Sunday. All that stands between her and felting her purse are about five feet of i-cord. I kept my needles flying alongside her. She needed encouragement to keep going. The poor dear struggles with a chronic state of boredom, and difficulty keeping to an activity beyond the shiny stage. The fact that she is this close to the finish is quite an accomplishment for her. I hope we will be able to spend time with her again soon so she can complete it.While she worked on her purse, I was busy with a sweater. By the time she left, I only had one more set of raglan increases, and I started reading discussions on the February Lady Sweater. I wanted to familiarize myself with modifications others have made (no need to re-invent the wheel) and make myself aware of problems people have had with the pattern. Considering the fact that Ravelry shows 1013 finished FLS, I figure that the pattern is good, and I should achieve the desired results. However, having just enough yarn to knit the sweater has had me a bit anxious. Add to this the sizing issues people have encountered and the fact that it is a gift, and you will find me constantly checking and re-checking. I have already put it on waste yarn and tried it on, and it looked like it might be OK. For now, it is almost time to separate the sleeves from the body, and I am looking forward to the shorter rows.

Arrrr!

I am not quite sure how this happened. This greeted me Saturday afternoon with pleas for repair. I still have yarn leftover. I will try to fix it, but am not looking forward to the work. These are the perils of knitting for children. At least I know my nephew has been wearing his pirate hat.

When Abbreviations Attack

I decided to take a double plunge. Not only am I doing NaKniSweMo, but also, NaBloPoMo. After I saw that I would be in good company, and received a bit of encouragement, it became an easy decision.

It was easy to plan for NaKniSweMo. I only hope the knitting goes as smoothly. I will be knitting the February Lady Sweater for my sister. I did not tell her about it, but I think she knows I am planning a new knit for her. We discussed purples, and I think I know which she would prefer for her sweater.

I was surprised at how quickly I was able to come up with a nice plan for NaBloPoMo. I do admit that much of it relies on me making a fair amount of knitting progress. That concerns me a bit, but not too much. I think I might have fun with this.

Double-Triple Day

I had a wonderful birthday today. Celebrations began early. First, my husband had me order some presents from Knit Picks. It shipped quickly, but when I clicked on the tracking number, I always received an error message. Imagine my surprise when the box arrived just a few days later. I planned to wait until my birthday to open the package, but the daughter was here when it arrived, and my husband wanted her to see what he had gotten for me.

The next day, my mom had a marshmallow fire shindig. We celebrated both my younger brother's and my birthdays. My brother liked his new emo kid. I received the third season of Futurama. It was a wonderful night. The excitement of the night was when a wandering, friendly, stinky pit bull puppy found his way to the party and curled up in a lawn chair by the fire.

On Monday, I kept jumping up at the sound of passing vehicles in anticipation of the mail. I had no reason to be on the lookout for anything, but this did not stop me. Also, the sound of our postal worker's vehicle is distinctive. When he finally pulled up, the truck stopped in front of our home, and I saw him digging about in the back of the truck. I wondered what he was bringing that would not fit in the mailbox. I thought about some Knit Picks. It shipped on Friday; yet, the tracking info shows that the order had activity four days before it was placed. Anyway, I met him halfway to the door, and spied an Amazon box. My mind raced. Was it a book I had pre-ordered? No, Amazon said they would let me know before shipping it to me. Then I remembered something that happened at the marshmallow fire. My younger brother had asked for my address. He bought me the A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G. Walker. I immediately flipped through while my mind raced with inspiration. I'm sure it is no surprise that I spent more than a few minutes looking at the lace. Idea after idea flitted along with mental flashes of stash yarns. The fantasy portion my brain kicked in, and I imagined taking a stab at designing.

Today, I made my way about town collecting on a couple of free birthday offers. I enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Lone Star, and later it was a tasty Like It portion of ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. There was not much room left when my family took me out to Cracker Barrel for supper.

In between the adventures, I added a few more rows to my Lace Ribbons Scarf. It seems like I am finally developing a nice rhythm with the pattern, and it has become an enjoyable knit. I think it will be a wonderful companion for some upcoming extended knitting time.

Because November is Nearly February

The other day, I was leisurely reading the blogs, and I did not think I needed to be on my guard. Then, someone mentioned NaKniSweMo, and in my vulnerable state, I began to think about it. I have never really considered the BloMo, because I think I would fall off that within the first ten days. Now a new sweater in a month, that is something I could see myself trying.

Sweater in a month, sweater in a month, sweater in a month. It kept playing through my head, along with choruses of NaKniSweMo. Sweater month, month sweater, month February. Before I knew it, I was making my way to the yarn closet. I had been thinking of that yarn recently. I was considering using it for a Hemlock Ring Blanket. Anyway, I consulted Ravelry concerning this yarn and the pattern. I dragged out the yarn and counted skeins of various colors. It did not look like I would have enough in either of my two first choices (purples), but plenty for my third (red). Then I read the ball band for myself. It lists 130m, rather than the 103m Ravelry lists. That makes a bit of a difference. I did the math again, and maybe there is enough for one of my first color choices. If that is the case, there is enough for one in each of my first two color choices--one for me, and one for my sister. However, there is not enough for identical red February Lady Sweaters. Nah, I was not really considering that. I may be crazy, but not quite that crazy.

As the Weather Turns

My backlog of blog reading is finally out of the triple digits, so I am taking time to post. I was temporarily paralyzed by a need to comment on every post, became overwhelmed, and could not read. I can be so silly. So, I relaxed about not commenting, moved on, and will get back on the comment wagon soon.

If I seem a bit crazier than usual, I have something of an explanation. While I was out, I was not knitting. It was more than ten days of not knitting. I was too tired, too dirty, too sore, or unable to access my knitting. During one moment of desperation, I stuck my head in the piled up room to try to inhale some wool fumes. Also, there is some candy in there, but it was more of an ordeal to get to it than I could manage. Yep, that's my story on the chocolate. I did not really twist and squirm to score a hidden candy bar and eat it while I was taking a shower. That never happened.

So, what is happening? I am back to knitting. It feels good. I have been working on my sister's top. Yeah, that cotton tank will not be finished in time for the first frost, but I am making progress. The eyelet bits between the vine lace repeats have become ribbing, and four of those repeats are about to become stockinette. I need to place some stitches on an extra circ so that I can properly measure the piece. Now that I found the tape measure, I am well on my way.
Maybe it was the knitting hiatus, or maybe it is the change to fall weather, but I feel the need to start several new projects, and there are some UFO babies trying to wake up from a long hibernation and crying for attention.

Glad to Be Back

That was an unintended blog break. You might wonder what happened. The home repairs kept me away, but that was not all. We also had computer problems. That shook things up more than I would have guessed. Most things are back up and running, but now the lapdog (which was not the original problem) will not make friends with the innerwebs.

We finished the living room floor. It was a lot of work, but it is wonderful. I believe it will take some time to finish cleaning up from the job. There is dust everywhere, despite my best efforts to cover things with drop cloths. Anyway, we now have a bit of furniture in the living room. I must figure out where everything else should go now. Repairing the living room floor inspired us to think about other home repairs, but they will have to wait. We will take things a bit at a time. I know that clearing out excess stuff will help make everything else go more smoothly. The decluttering process is a personal challenge, but I am confident I can do this. I just need to do most of it on my own.

I am still wading my way through emails, laundry, and blogs. Of course, life insists on carrying on while I struggle to catch up, but that is probably just as well. I feel the temptation to mark all as read and start with a clean slate, but I am not making any decisions just yet. Stay tuned next week for such exciting events as knitting, my birthday, and maybe even the story of Baby Mustache.

The Story of Baby Mustache

No, my niece is not dressed in her Halloween costume. This is what she was wearing when my brother woke her from her nap. She had already ripped out her superstar piggy tails. You see that she is holding her pumpkin. It had a boo-boo from when she dropped it. She named it. It is called Baby Mustache. Of course, I had to ask.

Me: Why did you name your pumpkin Baby Mustache?
KOH: Because you have to name it someone, and I wanted it to be a girl.

Yep.

She is ready for the big day. She will be a Go Packers Girl. She tells me that Brother will be a Witch, Sister will be a Go Cheerleader Girl, Daddy will be a Baseball Boy, and Mommy will be Nothing. Someone has already coached her on her lines. She says,

"Trick or Treat
Smell My Feet
Give Me Something Good to Eat
If You Don't
I Don't Care
I'll Pull Down Your Underwear!"

Be forewarned, she means that last line. She ran up behind my husband the other day and yanked at his waistband, and nearly exposed his everything to everyone.

Happy Halloweenie, Everyone!

Music Memories

Ten Bands/Artists That Remind You of High School

1. Nirvana
2. Nine Inch Nails
3. The Essence
4. Pearl Jam
5. Alice in Chains
6. R.E.M.
7. Toad the Wet Sprocket
8. P.J. Harvey
9. Queensrÿche
10. Blind Melon

I almost skipped Ten on Tuesday this week. I do not want to remind myself of high school. Also, there is some music I still enjoy from those days but do not really care to associate with that time in my life. Still, I guess this list still works for the topic, and this is a busy week and the knitting progress is likely to be slim to share.

October Overhaul

Excitement and adventure abound here in the form of home repairs. We are blessed to benefit from someone else's home remodeling projects. They pulled up hardwood, and it will become our new floors. Since our home is smaller than theirs is, we will probably have enough to do both the kitchen and living room floors. The living room needs the fix more, so we are starting there.

The fun has already begun. Bruce has been removing nails and sanding wood. I have begun the process of clearing the living room of everything. I have taken this as an opportunity to do a bit of de-cluttering. There is so much to do. I have been more than a little overwhelmed at times, but then I remind myself to take it one bit at a time. We need to enlist a bit of help to move the heavy stuff that will stay in my mom's garage while we work.

We have made steady progress on this project, and I am taking advantage of a break in the work. I have temporarily claimed the living room floor while it is still available. I will give you a hint: all of my rustproof pins are in use.

Ending, Beginning, Ending.

Today was the final stop of the 1000 Knitters project, the first book-signing event for "It Itches.", and I was fortunate enough to participate. Speaking of fortunate, nestled around my copy of the book are two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Franklin's Panopticon colorway that my friend won.

It was such a fun day. I knit away and visited with friends. I saw old friends I have not seen in ages, and got to meet many new people, too. People were exchanging Ravelry IDs and realizing that some of the people they were meeting today were ones they had already "met" online.

Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself. I was so nervous. I wore my Festive for the event. I jabbered like an idiot while Franklin took my picture as I knit on the massive scarf. Then I made my way back to knit with everyone else. It was a wonderful event. I wish I would have taken more pictures, and that I would have gotten over my nerves long enough to get someone to take my picture with Franklin. This is not to say that my camera stayed in its bag all day. There were the campaign signs. My friend, Helen, knit a fun hat for Franklin, and he was kind enough to model it for all of our cameras and us. Then there is my free bag from Interweave along with the yarn left after casting off something you will have to wait to see. Seriously, I had finished it about two minutes before the yarn shop owner announced that it was time to clear out of the store.

Finding Emo

Last Friday was my younger brother's birthday. As is our family's habit, we have not decided on a time to get together for the event. It will probably be rolled together with my birthday later this month. There is more to celebrate. He recently graduated from UCLA (local funny). In honor of his accomplishment, I made this little owl for him. I love the little amigurumi critters, but crocheting is a bit hard on my hands.

Thanks to the magic of Ravelry and watching friends' queues, I found my next amigurumi project, but it would be one I needed to make right away, too. I told my hands to suck it up and bought this pattern. I knew that I needed to make it for my younger brother as soon as I saw it. My brothers latch on to a word or phrase and then beat the living daylights out of it as they use it at every turn. My younger brother is most decidedly enamored with the word emo.

I hope that he finds this gift to be funny. If he fails to see the humor, at least he will have an emo kid to keep him company.