Fuzzy

Here are the Fuzzy Feet I'm making for Older Son. Hmmm. Don't those colors remind you of something? Yeah I think I have my next project figured out. I'm sure I can find oh, someone willing to take them off my hands. Then I'll make the mate to my Ugly Fairisle Glove on the bus and maybe work on a sweater for me at home. It's all from the stash too.

I've come to the realisation that I'm addicted to television. I'm Tivo-ing and I can't stop. There was a real reason I didn't spend 20+ hours watching television. I didn't have it. But you know, it's all quality stuff. Last night I learned everything I didn't want to know about rhinoceroses (rhinoceri?). Tonight it was Chingiss Khan -- beginning with the fact it's Chingiss, NOT Ghengis (which was a mistranslation of the ancient Persian). Who knew? Yep, my elementary/middle school education is obsolete. Maybe yours too. Makes me feel so...youthful and energetic. Right.

It's 12:15 AM

Do you know where your husband's sweater is? The Husby is done! Done, done, done! It seems like this sweater took forever to finish. (Gee, you think? It's only a man's extra long 2X.) I spent all afternoon watching Star Trek and sundry other Tivo'd shows and finishing. But I'm pretty happy with the finishing. I'll make my final decision after I see it on Dave. Oh yes, and I had less than 5 yards of yarn left at the end. It was close. Anyways, onward and upward. I'm working on some Fuzzy Feet, then I think some mittens and the second fairisle glove. I want to get a couple small projects in before starting another big one. That will be a Lopi-style sweater for me. Wonder if Heather finished her sweater? She was finishing off her neck last night at knitting, a little ahead of me. BUT, she's much more conscientious about things like taking care of her family and not spending all day watching sci-fi shows and knitting than me.

Don't Work So Fast

I'm behind at work. Not through any fault of my own, I'm down a person and so I'm trying to do the work of two and am just slipping behind. I have some temporary help this week and permission to work overtime so I'm making a valiant effort to catch up. But apparently our system is incapable of handling three women working their hardest. I got an e-mail from the system admin complaining about the amount of stuff we've put on the system. So I was told, essentially, "Don't work so fast". Gotta love that.

In Blogging News, I'm trying to put the "Knit From Your Stash 2007" button in my sidebar with no success. Don't know what's up with Blogger there.

And in knitting, I'm working on my last sleeve cap and my last skein of yarn on The Husby. I'd show you a picture but my camera is AWOL and my knees aren't up to the stairs again. It's going to be close. I'm hoping to get the knitting and sewing done so I can just do the collar at knitting on Friday. It looks like Heather and I are going to be in a dead heat to the finish.

A Night Off

I didn't mention last week, but I'm all done with Physical Therapy. Tonight was my first Monday night off in months. Last week, at my last therapy session I vowed to the Sadist that I would be in the gym faithfully every day riding the bike. So what did I do today? Forgot my work-out clothes. The first day! And what did I do with my night off? Drove over, past the physical therapy building to my dad's place to check on him and take him some meds. The more things change, the more they stay the same, right?

I watched Heroes tonight. I love Hiro. He'as my favorite character. I've been using the Tivo (aka Dave's birthday gift). It took me awhile to come around to it, but I'm really starting to get the hang of it. The best thing about the Tivo is that you don't miss any TV shows. The worst thing about the Tivo is that you don't miss any TV shows. So I'm now spending several hours that I don't really have watching TV. And I can't just shrug and say "oh well, I missed that show". And once it's saved, I am compelled to watch it. (It's a personality quirk, ok? I'm sure you have some too.)

Anyways, back to my knitting. I'm concerned about The Husby. Apparently I only thought I finished the first sleeve. There's a two more pages of knitting I just skipped. How I did it is a really good question. Your guess is as good as mine. So instead of the 8 skeins it took to make the back and one sleeve it's more like 9+. So the 19 skeins of yarn I got may just squeak it out. But remember I have to make a collar. It's going to be close.

Cabling Without a Cable Needle -- Back Cross Part II

Ok, I will sum up. We've slipped the right needle into the front of our stitches, slipped the first bunch off and the second bunch to the right needle, then picked the first bunch back up with the left needle and you slipped the stitches on the right needle back to the left needle. All the stitches are on the left hand needle. Your cable cross has been made, you just need to work the stitches.

You can see the cable cross has been done. Knit (or purl) Second N stitches, our example is 3. Then knit (or purl) N (3) stitches.

Here is the completed cable.

Hopefully you've learned something from this. Coming soon (as soon as I can get someone to take the pictures) is Front Cross (but maybe you can figure it out yourself). And don't my hands look great? I'm pleasantly surprised. Maybe the rest of me looks much better than I think too.

Cabling Without A Cable Needle -- Back Cross Part I

Ok, so I edited yesterday. This manuever is a "Back Cross". Your instructions will read "Slip next N stitches to a cable needle and hold in back of work, knit next Second N stitches, then knit stitches from cable needle." For our example, I'm knitting a six stitch 3X3 cable, so N and Second N are both 3. Got that?
Skip the first 3 (N) stitches on the left hand needle and insert the right hand needle into the front of the next 3 (Second N) stitches. Wiggle the needle around and get them all on there. The first 3 (N) stitches are still on the left hand needle. (See them?)

Now, slip the first 3 (N) stitches off the left hand needle and off into space. But not too far. Here's my BIG TIP, which I haven't seen published anywhere else. HOLD the stitches at their base with your right index finger by pushing them against your right needle tip. They'll sit there all nice and well behaved for you. The second 3 (Second N) stitches are already on your right needle. See the photo above. Can you see how my right index finger is holding the stitches against the needle? See the stitches' little loops poking up all nice and ready to be picked up over the needle?
Finally, using your left needle tip, pick up your hanging stitches from behind the right needle. Just slide the needle tip right into those loops that were sticking up.

Ok, so tune in tomorrow for Part II, Completing the Cable Cross. Sorry, Blogger only allows so many pics in a post, and I seem to have hit the wall. A special great big Thank-you to the Blogless Stacy for taking the pictures. Also, did you notice The Judy in the background??

Mystery Solved

For about a week or so now there's been a distinct....odor coming from the refrigerator. Whenever the door was opened I'd say "There's definately something bad in there," and the guys, who are, after all, guys would just mumble or shift their feet or try to casually -- but quickly -- saunter away. I poked around a bit, but couldn't find the culprit. And let's be honest, I really didn't want to look too hard without some rubber gloves and bleach in hand. Well, tonight I found it. This morning I noticed a half gallon of milk on its side on the bottom shelf of the fridge. (Something Dave does.) "Funny, I only bought two half gallons this past week. I'll have to be sure to check that one." Well tonight I was getting some milk and pulled that one out to check the expiration date. It was 11/26/2006. Yep, mystery solved. And just so you know -- two month old milk is not something you really want to have in your refrigerator. Ever. Ewwwww.

I'm back on track with The Husby. Armhole decreases well under way. I've almost reknitted all the yarn I had to frog.

Ok, well maybe not almost, but definately more than half.

Tune in tomorrow for "Cabling Without a Cable Needle - Back Cross Part I"

I've Overshot the Mark

I discovered on the commute to work this morning that I'd gone too far in knitting the front of The Husby and will have to rip back two to three inches for the armhole decreases. So I had to squander the remainder of my commute knitting time working on the latest Fuzzy Feet for Older Son. (I couldn't just sit there, after all.) I'm sure Heather will be pleased. (Or at least her husband will be!) She's still definately in the lead in the Husband Sweater Knit-Off 2007. (Wonder if we can get a button for that?) She's already decreasing at the yoke and closing in on the neckline. I definately think her Mister owes me for encouraging Heather along in the completion of his sweater with a little friendly competition. I think some baked goods might be in order.

And Teenagers....Dave and Younger Son went camping last Friday leaving OS and I at home. Well, Friday was knitting night (B&N at South Hills Village, next meeting Jan. 26) so I got home late (we close the place -- they're escorting us out after last call) and OS was asleep when I got in. I got up a little late for me (aboutt 8 AM) Saturday morning, showered, and left to run my usual Saturday errands. OS was still asleep. Dave called me about noon.

Dave: So, OS tells me you never came home last night.

Me: I was there, he was sleeping.

Dave: That's what you say...

Me: Well, I took a shower this morning, you can check.

Dave: Are you saying you left all your hair in the tub for me to clean up?

Me: Well...

Dave But you would take a shower if you were going somewhere you needed to take a shower to go...

Me: Whatever. I'll be home in about 20 minutes.

The Great Banking Debacle

Have you heard? I myself am not a member of Blue Moon FiberArt's Rockin Socks Club, but Celtic Queen is. (I am hoping to be gifted some STR at some time this year, though. Just saying.) Have you heard about The Bank refunding their customers' money to them? Because they decided "That many people can't be interested in knitting socks -- it must be a scam."?? Read the details here. Lots of people are justifiably outraged (as they should be) and screaming for blood (or at least the name of the bank in question.) Lots of comments along the lines of "this wouldn't have happened to a business run by men" (possible) and "they obviously didn't do any research" (very likely). Many want to send socks (a waste of my time and good sock yarn, if you ask me) or e-mails and letters to the bank (I might do that). But consider this. All those people at the bank (I won't go so far as to say they're all men, but that's possible) and not one of them has someone who knits for them. Isn't that kinda sad? Maybe that explains why they're so....Narrow minded (especially about knitting businesses.) So along with trying to find the name of the bank (e-mail me if you know it), the lesson we as knitters need to take from this is to knit for others, and let them know both how much effort went into it (I know, I make it look so easy) but also how much you enjoy the process and what it means to you. And maybe throw in how many other knitters you know.

Anyways, in order to help get the word out (to CQ if no one else) here's the letter sent out by Blue Moon Fiber Arts explaining the situation, and what you need to do if you are refunded your club membership fee.

SUCCESS IS SWEET . . . SO THEY SAY?!
Please read this for IMPORTANT credit card information.
The sign-up for the Rockin' Sock Club 2007 has been a resounding success. So much so that our bank thinks we are running some type of elaborate yarn scam and is refusing to accept our members' money! So, you know what they are doing? You are not going to believe this. They are sending all of that money back! Unbelievable and astounding!

Here are the details. Within the next ten days, all of you who signed up for the Sock Club by paying either $210.00 (domestic) or $240.00 (international) between December 31 and January 5, will be getting a credit back onto your Mastercard or Visa. It is the Sock Club only, all other yarn orders placed will go through and you will be receiving your yarn soon.

Do not panic!

Everyone affected by this incredible situation is guaranteed their spot through the end of January, including those on the wait list. After you receive your credit, just go to our website and use your same registration number to pay for your Sock Club (yet again). The website is temporarily under construction in order to install the new bank’s (who has guaranteed us they will have no difficulty accepting your money!) system. The site should be back in full swing in the next couple of days. In the meantime, you can view products and place phone orders.

If you have any problems, call or email us and we will gladly help. Keep in mind that there are a lot of you involved! It is going take us some time to sort through the mess the bank has so graciously created for us. Remember, those of you that ordered other products from the Blue Moon website during this period are fine. It does not affect your orders! It is the thought of a Club for knitting socks they cannot get their heads around.

This certainly is NOT how we envisioned starting the New Year, the launch of our website upgrade and the 2007 Rockin' Sock Club! We cannot apologize enough for any inconvenience this causes you. To honor all of your dedication and patience, we are including a coupon in your first shipment to help compensate for this.

So, knitting comrades, we can choose to look at this in many ways (and believe me we have run the gamut on this one). Disbelief, shock, outrage . . . it has been a surreal experience for us. This is not just about us here at Blue Moon. It is about knitters as a group. We are extraordinary people. We have seen our power when rallied . . . large fundraising for great causes, KAL’s across the planet, and standing room only at knitting-related gatherings. Because of this, the Rockin' Sock Club 2007 will prevail! We will have a blast and knit awesome socks that will be the envy of all nonbelievers!

We thank you so very much for your support, and community. There will be more (much more) to say about this saga in the first shipment’s dyer’s notes!

Our socks are still rockin',
Team Blue Moon

email: sockclub@bluemoonfiberarts.com
phone: 1-866-802-9687
web: http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com

Nothing Much To Say

Still knitting The Husby. It still looks alot like yesterday, only it's a little tiny bit longer. (OK, so the knitting is waaayyy downstairs and I'm all situated nice and warm and comfy in bed with my 20 below sleeping bag and my hot water bottle. Use your imagination. It's good for you.)

I've been knitting on the bus again. Every once in awhile someone comments on the knitting. Today it was some old guy. I get the same questions all the time. They're probably familiar to you, too.

OG: What are you making?

Me: A sweater.

OG: How long will it take you to finish?

Me: A couple of weeks. [10's a couple, right?]

OG: I'm too impatient for that.

Me: Well, that's why I do it -- I'm too impatient to sit and do nothing....

But he was already not paying attention. So I'm just pleasant, and nod, and move on.

PT is tomorrow. I think I only have one more session on Monday, and then I'm done. What will I do with all that extra time? Boggles the mind. I'm going to try and get a picture of the Sadist before I'm done.

Hmmm, not very much to say...Have you made a Red Scarf yet? I'm going to root around in the stash (it's all about the stash) and see what I can come up with. Heather is knitting one and CQ says she's going to too. I might make mine blue. Or maybe brown. Stripes would be good. But I have to get cracking if I'm going to get that "plain, regular blue" sweater done in time.

Colder Than a Witch's....

I'm freezing! I think the furnace just isn't cutting it anymore. I was watching some TV and I couldn't even knit, I was so cold. I was huddled there on the sofa under two throws and some laundry that hadn't gotten put away yet. So I retired to my room where I have an auxilliary heat source, a comforter and a sleeping bag that Dave dragged up from the basement that's rated to 20 below. But, if you ask Dave, the furnace is fine, peachy, just great! Now, I'm all for the "Put on a sweater" attitude (hey, I live for it) so if I think it might be too cold, it might just be too cold.

I braved the frigid air of my bedroom to bring you this picture of my current knitting. (Yeah, that's the 20 below sleeping bag in the background.) The astute among you will note that it has cabling and is kinda wide. That's because it's the front of The Husby. I finished the first sleeve. (Back plus first sleeve took just over 8 skeins of Wool of the Andes, so I'm confident that the 19 skeins I got will finish the front, second sleeve, and collar. What a relief!) Now the question is....Am I going to catch Heather? She's got a pretty sizeable lead, but it's not over yet! I've been knitting on the bus again. (The Access databases were just too exciting, I had to take a break.) I completely mesmerized the two women sitting across from me on the bus tonight. One said she wanted to learn, I told her to come along to our knitting group at B&N (At South Hills Village, every other Friday, and we're on the calendar, so call) and we'd teach her.

And speaking of teaching, I'd like to show the "cabling without a cable needle" thing (esp. because Holly mentioned wanting to learn), so I will do that in a future post when 1) It's not too cold to knit in the house, and 2) I have someone here to take the photos. Maybe I'll get CQ or Heather to help out at knitting on Friday.

And speaking of Celtic Queen, in reference to the title of this post, I always say "elbow", but she says another extremity. Since she's the witch, we'll have to bow to her more intimate knowledge of the subject.

Weekend Stuff

Blogger has scheduled an outage in 35 minutes, so I'll try to be quick.
I went to the Judy Garland scarf knit-along on Saturday.





There were a couple of babes one reaaallllly long scarf, and lots of knitters and food.
That's me waaay down there on the left. I not only knit on Judy but did some crochet too. (What can I say, I'm a woman of many talents.) Dave came with me and played a little guitar for us (it was the new guitar) which was very nice. Hopefully everyone else thought so too. We both enjoyed the afternoon. A big thanks to Steven for organising the whole thing!

And a quick note to Holly -- the rest of the VK is ok, there are some good articles and a couple other (nicer) sweaters. And I'm thinking one could take the pieces from the cover sweater and make a blanket out of them. Maybe if I have time. The construction does intrigue me.

And CQ, we'll see about Maryland. I'm struggling with the yarn thing already. Well, gotta go, my time is up!

Just What I've Always Wanted

I got the new issue of Vogue Knitting in the mail yesterday. Look at this cover sweater. First of all the model is just freaky-looking. She looks like an elf (and I mean that in the best possible way. Really.) I guess "otherwordly" was what they were going for here, but its weird. And the sweater. Come on. First off, it looks like you just couldn't afford the yarn for a whole sweater. And then the circles on the boobs? Come on! They look like pasties! I swore it was a guy who designed it. I thought "No one but a man would ever believe that women want to wear knit pasties on their boobs." But no, it was Norah Gaughan! And it's a pity, because it looks kinda interesting and like something I might like to make/wear except for the whole pasties thing. I'm thinking if she had designed a whole freaking sweater she'd have had room to move the circles around a bit so they weren't boob targets. Because to give her credit, it does look like she tried, the left front circle is not exactly centered on the boob. But there's just not enough room to work with there.

I've cast on for the sleeve of The Husby. Once I get that done I'll have a better idea of how much yarn the whole sweater is going to take (back + one sleeve = ~1/2 a sweater) and I'll know if I have to order more yarn (I'm worried about it). I'm hoping to get much knitting done this weekend. I have to take my dad tomorrow for some blood work, so maybe I'll have to wait awhile.

And to answer Celtic Queen's question from yesterday, I will not be buying yarn (or fiber!) at MDS&W (although it might just kill me!) Instead I'll stock up on books, needles, and other fiber supplies.

Back In the Saddle Again

The back of The Husby is done! I spent some quality time with the Tivo and my knitting tonight (Dave is at choir practice so I got the prime spot on the couch). The blurry picture shows just how it looks to me (I'm a bit tired and bleary-eyed). I couldn't fit the whole thing in one shot. It's big. It might be too big, but I really want Dave to be comfortable in it. I love the way this cable (BGW #4, p. 146, Cable 1) merges into the stockinette and back out.

I told the Sadist today I was breaking up with him. "It's not you, it's me," I told him. But I'm finally comfortable enough with the progress I've made on my shoulder and knee to leave PT. He's probably happy to be rid of me. Or not. I do have that effect on men sometimes.

Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? (Or Revolutions or Revelations?) I've decided to do the Knit from My Stash 2007 . Also, I'm attempting to see if I can feed myself on $1 a day. It's not really a resolution, just trying to see if it's possible. My rules say that anything that was in the house on Jan. 1 counts as free, so I haven't spent any $$ yet. It should be an interesting experiment. Also, stuff other people buy doesn't count. So if you see me, offer me food and yarn!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to Me! OK, and Dave too I guess. New Year's Eve is our anniversary, and I haven't killed him yet! (He says I'm a saint.) It's 23 years, in case you're keeping track. I told someone recently who had been married for just over a year that staying married this long is the hardest thing I've ever done. But as I told someone some years ago -- I made a commitment, and what kind of commitment would it be (and what kind of person would I be?) if I threw in the towel when things got difficult? [Btw, he went ahead with the divorce anyways. Apparently persuasiveness is not one of my strong suits.]

We had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, that's my cheesecake flaming above there (picture courtesy of Dave's cell phone). We were unimpressed with the restaurant. We'd go back if we got gift certificates again (why we went), but otherwise, not.

Very little knitting going on here. The Husby is ready to start the shoulder/neck shaping on the back. (The thing is HUGE!) I've been spending my time reading this on my commute. It's riveting. And if you happen to know anyone looking to hire an Access 2000 Developer...

I miss socks. I've been using my 2007 Knitting Pattern-A-Day Calendar at work. Today's pattern was for slippers. I think I can modify it to make Elf Slippers for next year, along the lines of these (crocheted) ones.