Need a lift...

It's a rainy gloomy day. I know better but would love to find some wool in my door when I get home. That would be just the thing to cheer me up and occupy my evening with more interesting things than laundry and dishes.

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things in My Refrigerator Right Now:

1. A quart of apple butter that I made this weekend. 
2. Organic milk for the Little Dude
3. Some of my Mum's homemade sauerkraut. Best. Kraut. Ever!
4. Jug of apple cider for hot mulled cider...one of my autumn indulgences. 
5. Inglehoffer cream style horseradish- the hottest horseradish sauce out there determined by our delicious but unscientfic tests at work. Good for clearing out clogged sinuses.
6. Portabella caps waiting for some gorgonzola and carmelized onions to become the perfect dinner. 
7. Pure maple syrup from Vermont...some things I don't compromise on. Maple syrup is one of them. 
8. Orange juice. I'm pregnant. I inhale the stuff. 
9. Green olives. My husband's latest passion has been vodka martinis. 
10. Greek yogurt.

Ordered...

and now waiting. I've got enough Blackberry to make my Duster. I'm holding off on the other for now. I didn't want to wait while I made up my mind. I guess I'll finish up my socks until this comes. I'll be stalking my mailbox.

Well I'm exhausted and hungry so I'm going to eat and then crash. Let us all pray that the Little Dude sleeps in tomorrow morning.

Almost there....

with a decision. I meant to order last night, but the night did not go as planned at all. Immensely irritated (read severely pissed off) at having to miss Stitch n Bitch and knowing I won't be able to attend the next few weeks I was in a mood. I turned my irritation towards housework and vacuumed before I picked up the Little Dude from 'school'. After we played outside I made dinner for the two of us (Pasta!!!) and after much fuss and tears and pleading for "Down!" he ate it. I also did three loads of laundry, stacks of dishes, set the dishwasher to run, bathed the Little Dude, put him to bed, mopped and cut my husband's hair. And even though I was rather furious with him, I refrained from shaving something into the back of his head. That's true love.

Once all these were accomplished, I settled down in the bed with my laptop to surf, and write and order away while waiting for the diapers in the dryer to finish....and I promptly fell asleep. My husband pointed out that once the screen saver pops up, it's probably best to go to bed. So I did and my yarn remains unordered. I've narrowed it down to a few color options: Currant, Blackberry, Lullaby and Indigo Heather. I'm leaning towards Blackberry.
I might order two sets to make another top from my queue. I've been wanting to make the Ballet Wrap by Nora Gaughan for quite a while but it falls in to the pile of items that my stash cannot supply. Plus it works well with a baby bump and seems like much of it is rather mindless knitting. Again, I'm slightly stumped on color. I might go more neutral as it is something that I would layer with a ton of other things. Or stop being practical and go with one of my other options (Currant or Hollyberry or Claret Heather) and have fun with the color.

We'll see what the night brings.

Decisions, decisions...

I'm still debating on a color for my Tilted Duster. I've decided that I need to order tonight, if I'm going to do this. I've banished the idea of a neutral. I've got too much of that going on in my wardrobe. Besides, if I've had to stop dying my hair funky colors because of the Little One then I might as well wear them.

I'm still looking at the Wool of the Andes. My top choices are the following:

Currant
Blackberry
Lullaby
Hollyberry
Winter Night
Indigo Heather
Amethyst Heather
Evergreen

I'm just stumped. This is the dilemma I have with online ordering. It's hard to pick when they aren't right in front of me. Looking through Ravelry I've noticed that several people have used Amethyst Heather, so that has moved that color on down the list. Any guidance, suggestions, or opinions would be appreciated.

Ten on Tuesday

I've nearly forgotten about these.

10 Ways to Have a Happy Birthday:

1. My number one rule is that I wear a tiara on my birthday. Hey, it's your birthday. You should be Queen. This tradition started when I spent way too much on my wedding tiara, but it was the only gold tone one I could find. So I rationalized it by saying I'd wear it at every opportunity, and I do...only I have a collection of 7 or 8 by now. Even if I'm wearing respirator, ear protection, and goggles my tiara graces my head every birthday.
   
2. Cake--a must. And the birthday girl/boy gets to choose the type. That's the rule in our house. Even if it means I'm making the pain-in-the-ass-to-make cheesecake that my husband loves and spraying myself and the kitchen with chocolate every year, so be it. He gets the cake he wants.
   
3. Do something you wouldn't do on a normal day. Even a little something....just to make it special.
4. Fill the day with people you like (and avoid the ones you don't) even if it means taking the day off from work.
   
5. Calories don't count on your birthday.
   
6. If possible, sleep in.
   
7. Make the day about celebrating you, not some abstract number.
   
8. Look at pictures of your childhood birthdays....this is always fun. Share them with family and friends and reminisce or just laugh at the clothing/hair styles.
9. If you have your mom in you life, have her tell you about the day you were born. My mom finally wrote it down and sends me a revised document every year as she remembers more details.
   
10. Indulge in something special just for you. Something you wouldn't normally buy. Hey, you survived another year. You've earned it!
    

Fall is in the air....

and making me ponder going off of my very strict yarn diet. The chill in the air makes me long for hot cider and warm knits. My needles are longing for some wool and my stash just isn't allowing me to knit what I would like. With Rhinebeck looming in the near future I have a strong desire to wear the Tilted Duster as I peruse the stalls. Frankly, I've settled on getting the yarn I'm just stuck on the color. I'm looking at Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. The colors are lovely and the price is right. Just what color do I go with??? A rich brown or charcoal?? Or do I abandon my neutral kick and go for a lovely jewel tone....if so then what? Blue to go with my eyes or a woodsy green??? A deep red or a glorious purple??? I better decide soon if I'm going to manage this in time for Sheep and Wool.
I've been eying this pattern since it was printed. I know several people who made it and have admired it on several knitters at various festivals. I'm always cold, as my husband will attest to, so I never can have too many sweaters/hoodies/jackets. Plus, I think it'll be the perfect pattern to accommodate the new baby bump I'm sporting.
In all the stress and strain of the summer we achieved something thought we could manage on our own....namely getting pregnant without jumping through numerous hoops and much heartache. Yet here we are. The Little Dude with be a big brother come this March.
And speaking of the Little Dude, I'm happy to say that his new 'school' is working out very well. He's very happy there and they just love him to pieces. He's learned so much in just the month he's been with them. He's counting to ten and getting much better recognizing letters. M (said with a slight growl) is still his favorite. His hands are better and better all the time. It's even hard for me to notice the discoloration that had been left.
I've been silent here since I went back to work myself. I confess to the mixture of being back on the job full time and the pregnancy has knocked me on my butt. I'm often falling asleep after Little Dude goes to bed. I'm going to have to fight that urge if I'm going to get my Tilted Duster done.

Off to stare at some color swatches...and maybe a few kits. If I'm going off the diet I might as well splurge my way to free shipping.

Not an encouraging beginning

I had mentioned before that I was going to start the Eva raglan sweater. I've been swatching over the last several days and I'm not happy. It has nothing to do with the yarn or the gauge but the pattern.

The English version is full of confusion and inaccuracies. First off it wants you to swatch in M3 but never explains what the hell M3 is. Luckily my friend NutmegOwl, who is familiar with French patterns was able to explain. M is short for stitch. M3 would be the third stitch pattern given in the instructions. Excellent...then it took me a little while to find a needle size...whatever.

So I swatch and swatch...and learn to cable without a needle to make it easier... and something doesn't seem right. Well that would be that the damn chart is wrong. I've had it on this pattern. Luckily some Foliage I traded for arrived and I'll make some boot socks while I figure out what to do next. I'm not sure I want to continue with this pattern at all.

Ishbel

So I finished a project for myself....and I love it. You know, I could get used to this knitting for myself thing. Here she is.



Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda
Yarn: Ball and Skein Super Sock 416 in Atlantic





Thoughts: I love this pattern. I did the small stockinette section and the large lace, which left me a small amount of yarn left. Perhaps enough for some baby socks. I did the lace without a lifeline and had a few mishaps but nothing major. I had pulled out the needle on accident at one point, dropping maybe a dozen or so stitches, but they were easily recovered. I did have to do some tinking to deal with some mystery stitches (both appearing and disappearing ones) but nothing too drastic. I would definitely knit this one again.







I have some more of this yarn in a different colorway that is going be yet another Ysolda shawl. I'm also looking to start the Eva raglan pull by KatyTricot...but there are some issues with the English version of the pattern. I've written a few people on Ravelry for insight. I really have to say though, if it were my design and there were a bunch of questions posted about my pattern, I'd put the damn information on the main page. If enough people are having issues, there is obviously needed information that needs to be made readily available. I may just give up on this one and jump right into the Tilted Duster. The only thing is that I'm not sure I have enough of anything in stash for it.

On the Foliage front I'm arranging some trades on Ravelry so that I have enough boot socks for work this winter. I'll have to find a replacement yarn.

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things to Take on Vacation:

Frankly my last true vacation, one that was to somewhere we really wanted to go and didn't require a mandatory relative visit, was my honeymoon 8 years ago. I don't feel qualified to answer this week.

This is what happens...

when you're not paying attention. So apparently Berroco has discontinued Foliage when I wasn't looking. This is my go to yarn for my thick work boot socks. The yarn works great for the pattern I have, they keep my feet warm and it wasn't so expensive that I minded too much if I get paint on them. Now I must scour the Universe to keep me in work socks for a while.

On the Ishbel front aside from those few mystery stitches and a lost stitch last night (that I found easily this afternoon) I am chugging along. It is a lovely knit. I'm nearly done with Chart C. That leaves D and E (E being a single row). I might have FO before the month ends....or at least before the weekend ends.

Must ponder the next project so I don't lose steam.

Ten on Tuesday

I will confess I don't watch a lot of TV anymore. We don't have cable. I only let the Little Dude watch PBS and DVD's. I will admit that he's had a lot more TV this summer than I would like but between my surgery and his injuries it was the easiest way to keep him occupied that didn't involve me running around or him getting his bandages into sand/water/mud/what-have-you.

Ten Things to Do Instead of Watching TV

1. Knit (duh!) ---I do admit that I knit in front of the TV most of the time, but I usually listen rather than watch. The TV does make me look up from the knitting every now and then and that's not bad.
2. Sewing---a crafty thing I just can't do while watching TV.
3. Spin---something soothing and wonderful. I find the wheel very meditative.
   
4. Read---In my hiatus of blogging I've been reading a lot. I often fall asleep in bed with a book.
   
5. Cook--- Try new recipes, learn to can or just make something to share.
6. Garden--- If you have a yard, get out there and pull some weeds. I'm pretty against chemical warfare on my lawn so most weed control is done by hand, hence my horrible looking lawn. Start a garden. If you don't have land of your own lots of places have community gardens.
   
7. Go for a walk/hike/jog---I mean, really, who out there couldn't use more exercise.
8. Spend some playtime with a child---they really do keep us young.
   
9. Volunteer---there are so many non-profits that need help, pick your cause and go for it.
10. Spend some quality time with a loved one--- I think this speaks for itself but I know that my Love and I tend to get so caught up in the day to day that we neglect the romance. Pack a picnic and go off somewhere just the two of you.
    

Dang-nabbit!

So I've not been blogging to much but I have been knitting a fair amount. I cast on Ishbel and I've been smitten ever since. I'm doing the small stockinette and should have enough yarn to do the large lace. But today I hit a snag. First, halfway through the first row of my second go at Chart B I noticed a missing yarn over. So I tinked back and fixed the mistake. Now I'm short two stitches in the first half of the shawl. WTF! They seemed to be there a minute ago. *sigh* Then the Little Dude woke from his nap and Ishbel has to rest until this evening.

Otherwise it has been a rainy gloomy day, but at least I remembered to put away the sidewalk chalk before it rained....this time.
Pictures soon.

Ten on Tue....I mean Wednesday

I completely spaced on the fact that yesterday was Tuesday. Being home with the Little Dude all day everyday has warped my sense of time.

So here it is:

10 Things to Bring on a Camping Trip

1. Bug spray. Mosquitoes just love me.
2. Coffee and a percolator pot. Electric if you have power, one for the fire if you don't.
3. A cast iron frying pan (or you can cheat with an electric if you have power). Nothing beats waking up to the smell of coffee and bacon while in the woods.
4. A deck of cards
5. Lots of socks. Dry feet are important.
6. Extra pair of shoes. See above. You never know when you might fall in the lake. (ask my older brother)
7. Matches- preferably strike anywhere ones.
   
8. The knowledge of what poison ivy is.
   
9. A good sleeping bag. Air mattresses are for pussies.
   
10. Someone you enjoy spending time with.
    

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things I Like About Where I Live

1. I'm in the Northeast. It's where I'm from, and where I belong. I don't know if the mindset in any other part of the country suits me quite so well.
2. I'm two hours from Boston and two hours from NYC...and I don't visit either as much as I would like.
3. The seasons. There is nothing quite like a New England fall. I don't know if I could live somewhere that lacks the cycles of the seasons. As much as I'm not into the snow and cold, Christmas just isn't Christmas without it.
   
4. My neighborhood is filled with trees. It may suck when it's time to rake but I wouldn't have it any other way.
   
5. Our house is conveniently located to major highways, but tucked back in a neighborhood where it is safe for the kids to ride their bikes in the streets.
6. This area is steeped in history. Everywhere you go are wonderful ancient cemeteries to explore, famous old houses to tour and so much more. Some of our nation's history began around here and I just love that.
   
7. Park, farms, green spaces. For being one of the original states and a small state at that, we have surprisingly large amounts of green space. I love how there are small working farms tucked in here and there. We have plenty of parks to explore to keep one grounded in this crazy technological age.
   
8. Diversity. There is so much of it around here. I feel good raising my son here, knowing he will be exposed to people from many different places and all walks of life. And that provides us with a wide range of culinary delights in both markets and restaurants.
   
9. The Arts. We have theatres all around us. You will find museums of all kinds if you drive in just about any direction. And we have a government and community that strongly supports the arts.
   
10. It's home. I've lived here for nearly 10 years. I bought a house and started a family here. Obviously there's something that keeps me here, even if I can't describe it.
    

An ending, a beginning and an ultimate demise

I haven't completely abandoned my knitting during my hiatus. I worked on it here and there. I often couldn't make it to SnB. Many of the nights I did, I had the Little Dude with me; which means friends and fun, but no knitting. Despite the small amount of time devoted to knitting I am keeping my promise to myself. For every thing I knit for someone else, I must knit something for myself.
My first two finished objects I have no pictures of. I knit a pair of Knucks as a gift for the guy that does my hair. And as the 'Me project' I knit one for myself. Not a pair of Knucks, mind you. Just one...to replace the one I lost from this pair. I had more than enough yarn left to make the replacement. You can easily get two pairs out of one skein of Silky Wool.

The ending from my title is I have finally finished Little Dude's vest. Granted it was meant to be an Easter vest, but I'm just glad I completed it while it will still fit him.

Let's start with the specs:
Pattern: Cable Tank Top by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Colorspun DK
I loved this pattern.I worked on the much of this project while recovering from my surgery. The cables are very easy to work in this project. And I mean, able to knit while on medications ending in -ocet without major (and even minor) mistakes. The most challenging part, I found, was picking up the stitches for the arm bands. The yarn color wasn't the best option to show off the cables but it was what I had in stash that would work, and he liked the color. He has been out of sorts since I completed it, so I don't have a picture of him modeling it yet. I promise to post it as soon as I do. Here's a detailed look at the back.

Don't you just love these buttons? They were a little gem I had in my button collection. Someday I'll post about my button collection.

From there I jumped into a "Me project". My Ishbel. This project started with a trip with some dear friends to Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair. I hadn't indulged in yarn for a year, or at least that I can recall. I was child and husband free on this day and I succumbed once again to Ball & Skein. Kris did twist my arm, ever so slightly, but that was hardly necessary. This is the booth where I could easily lose my head. I left with only two skeins of Sock 416 in the lovely shade 'Atlantic'. I knew it was destine to be a shawl, but which one. I had yet to decide on a pattern to pair with the two skeins I had procured the year before. I scoured Ravelry and queued about twenty-some-odd shawls. It was when I saw the finished projects of two of my friends that I knew Ishbel was it. And here it is so far:



As for the demise....it is time to say farewell to my first pair of socks.

I've made several of this pattern over the years and these socks are the work horses of my winter footwear. Paired with store-bought knee highs, these keep my tootsies toasty on those cold winter days in the warehouse that is our shop. Normally I would go to the trouble of darning and repairing. However, this pair had been slightly felted and wasn't worth the trouble of fixing. As you can see Isis inspected the damage and found them not worthy of repair.

So now I must get a few more skeins of Foliage and knit some more. Ideally I'd like to have at least a weeks worth of boot socks, and now I'm down to three pairs.

Ten on Tuesday

I thought this might be a good kick in the arse to get me posting again.

This week's topic: 10 Ways to Celebrate Summer.

1. Eat a Popsicle while sitting on your front steps. It is a summertime must.
2. Go for a hike/walk in the woods. There is nothing more peaceful than the woods on a hot summer day. The shadowed world under the canopy is magical to me and takes me back to my childhood and the countless camping trips. The smell of moss and ferns, the sounds...sheer summertime delight. The summer woods are far different world than in the fall, which has its own special allure.
3. Run through the sprinkler. I am currently teaching my son this joy, which apparently takes a little time to warm up to.
   
4. Build a sandcastle....bonus points if it has a moat.
5. Buy fresh corn from a farm stand. Grill it, and enjoy.
6. Find a small independent ice cream stand and indulge in some soft serve.
7. Sweltering in the heat? Go to a museum. They are air conditioned and you might be inspired.
8. Go to the farmer's market and make sure to buy produce you've never tried before. Most of the sellers are wonderfully helpful with suggestions and recipes for their products. Plus you are helping out the local economy.
   
9. Go to at least one fireworks show.
10. Take some time to lay in the grass with a beverage of your choice and a book and just enjoy yourself. Better yet a book you wouldn't want most people catching you read. (Trashy romance novels tend to be my secret literary indulgence.)
    

Half year in review

So I'm sure a lot of you are wondering (or perhaps not) where I have been since my birthday post back in January. 2010 has been an interesting, if not a rather trying year so far. So here are a few of the highlights:

• I had spent much of the fall ill only to be struck down again at the holidays and remained so well into March.

• Christmas eve became our last nursing session, which I regard with mixed feelings of elation and regret.

• Work was a mixture of the same old (designers missing deadlines and shows growing out of control) and the very new (a new dean who is thankfully not hampered by the New England mindset of "We've always done it this way. We don't know why, but we've always done it this way").

• As I was getting to a point were life was coming under control, I developed a cyst in a rather delicate place that after much pain and inconvenience had to be removed by surgery. Recovery slowed me down a bit. This whole situation ended up leaving me only three days to work on a project that I had really looked forward to working on. (more on that later at Footprints)

• The most significant event in the last 6 months happened just a month ago. In the midst of having my hair done, with half a head full of foils, I got the call no mother wants to get. My son was injured at daycare and my husband was on his way to the ER with him. Luckily for us we have wonderful children's hospital nearby. My son sustained second degree burns on his hands from the water at daycare. (I'm going to take this moment to say...if you have kids, lower your water heater. And never, NEVER put their hands in water without testing it first, even if you just checked and had your back turned just for a second. Toddlers are fast. Very, very fast and very, very curious.) His bandages came off this week and he's healed up very well. There is no permanent damage at all. He has been a trooper through the whole thing and is the bravest little boy I know. But now we find ourselves without daycare. I'm in my summer lull for work so I'm home with him full time.

And he is a full time job, let me tell you. I should have named him Houdini Knievel. He's climbing everything in sight. Well, climbing, moving, dismantling, and examining everything he can get his little hands on. His favorite movies are Toy Story (1 and 2), Shrek and Cars. His favorite shows are Sid the Science Kid, Super Why!, and Dinosaur Train. He loves his stacking/nesting blocks and anything with wheels. He loves to splash in the tub, dig in the sand, and chase the kitties. He'd wear his Batman and/or Superman jammies day in and day out if we let him. He pics out the shirt he wears every day. His favorite food is pasta, with cheese and bananas right behind. Every night we read two books before bed, one always being Where the Wild Things Are. He's generous with hugs and kisses, and his laughter is my daily delight.

So there's my last 6 months in a nutshell. It didn't leave too much room for knitting, or anything creative outside of work. I'm working on that. And I do have a few things to show, but that's for another post, another time.

Me...now in color

One of my dearest friends, and a phenomenal fiber artist, just immortalized me in a colorway that we developed and she named after me.

Here's the blog post

And here's the Etsy shop.

She picks quality fiber and yarns and does amazingly beautiful things with them. Check it out.

Riddle me this....

How does one manage to misplace a rather large umbrella swift?

I'm sure my husband is involved somehow. Though the cats may be toying with my sanity so that they can later convince me that I haven't fed them yet. Hrm.....I'll keep you posted.

Update: It has been found....lurking in a corner of the office, hiding from little hands. And now some yummy yarn is ready for a new life. There will be pictures once I pull a Frankenstein on the camera battery and bring it back to life.