Cue Fanfare for the Common Man

Once again I am proud to say I'm an Olympian! Yes, I'm competing in the Knitting Olympics with Yarn Harlot. Also on Ravelry as part of Team PA (just because I had to pick a team to participate there. Whatever.) Anyways, my project is Rib Waist Cardigan in Waterlily (Rav link) from Curvy Knits Vol. 2. I'm knitting it in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Kettle dyed in Soot (which has been discontinued). Here is my progress after the first half day of competition:


Can you see the snow on my knitting? It's still snowing here. Today the sun was shining and it was still snowing. I'm living in a giant snow globe!


This looks really big to me. I quadruple checked my gauge and I'm right on, the width is even what the pattern says it should be, but it still looks too big. I'm just going out on a limb and trusting Jillian Moreno here. I can always rip and reknit later (after I complete it for my gold medal, of course.) I know some of you out there are also competing -- I can't wait to see all the projects!

My Spidey Sense is Tingling

I had this conversation with Older Son recently:

OS: After putting on his glasses and waving his head from side to side This is really weird...
Me: What's weird?
OS: I have this kind of proximity alert thing going on that's somehow linked to the bridge of my nose and my glasses are setting it off.
Me: What?
OS: It's an alert that's telling me someone's close to me and it's going off because I'm wearing my glasses...
Me: You mean your glasses are setting off your Spidey Sense??
OS: Well, yeah....

I've been knitting footie socks (aka "No Show Socks") for me in brown (I have no brown socks) and tonight I spun up some Wensleydale from Spunky Eclectic in "Cold Front" (blues/greens) -- the December fiber club selection. I'm trying to perfect my low twist singles, but I think I'm overtwisted. Even w/ slooow treadling on my slowest whorl. Don't know what's up w/ that. No pics because everything (camera, knitting, spinning wheel) are all downstairs.

Needling and Snowmageddon

Remind me of this photo the next time you hear me whinging about how I can't find any of my knitting needles.





You say you can't find your size 6 double points, Laurie?







Yeah. I didn't put them away when I was done with them. There's a pair of 10-1/2 straights on the floor next to this couch right now, too. Notice my cool spinning bag, though? Spunky Eclectic.

Also, you may have experienced or heard on the news that we had a bit of snow here. I like the term Snowmageddon (stolen from Knitterly Things. Here's a picture of Older Son shoveling.






He's standing on a step up from the ground. That's 27" of snow.







We were snowed in over the weekend. Dave and Younger Son were camping (I know! They were in cabins, but still...Must be a guy thing.) The guys will have their third day of no classes tomorrow. I was told that if I don't go in to work tomorrow I will have to use a vacation day. I'm still undecided about going in or not. Monday my commute took 2 hours to work and 3 hours home. The roads in the city looked like they hadn't been cleared at all. Several inches of hard packed snow/ice. Today was better. I blame this on panic. I think the city panicked because there are several more inches of snow forecast for tonight and so finally cleared the roads today; and everyone else panicked about the threat of snow and left work early so that when I finally got out of work after 5:00 there was very little traffic and although it was snowing the roads were mostly just wet.

Belated Belated Roc Day

Several other beautiful fiberistas and I celebrated Roc Day belatedly on Sunday. Since Roc Day fell on Thursday this year and my employer doesn't acknowledge that day as a holiday (I know! Go figure), we celebrate on the closest Sunday. Heather hosted, as usual. We all brought our wheels and had a wonderful time, and I even managed to get some spinning done.



From left to right in this picture: Julia, KnitLust, Heather, and Celtic Queen. The empty wheel is mine, I was behind the camera.

This baby is sooo knit spoiled, we're always making something for her! But baby things -- who can resist? They're so little, so cute, so quick to make! Julia knit this most adorable bear for her.

Holiday Goodies

I didn't quite make the Epiphany deadline for my knitted gifts. Younger Son gets half a sock (or one quarter of a pair, which sounds even more depressing). But I'm cranking away on it.

It's a little more than half a sock now after I knit on it this evening.Yarn is a Wee Skeins kit from Knitterly Things




I received this Christmas a new Butterfly Girl spindle from my BiL's SO (she's a fiberista too). It's even Steeler Colors! I immediately started spinning some 100% Merino that I had got as a gift from Julia at Knitterly Things last year. The colorway is "For Laurie" (in case you can't see). Yummy! (This may have in some small way contributed to YS getting half a sock for Christmas.) I was so inspired by knitting Ishbel that I've decided I want to do a big shawl. I think this fiber when spun up to a 2-ply will be perfect, enough color variation to give it some texture, not enough to make it stripy or not show a pattern. Mmmmm. Stay posted.

What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate

Knitting -- I'm so totally in love with my Knitterly Things Wee Skeins Vesper Sock kit. I can't wait to get another one. LOVE.IT.

Non knitting, and really apropos of nothing much except that we're talking about men, can I just say that I had a big arm pump "Yeah!" moment yesterday when I heard a (male) psychologist say in an interview about James Ray and the deaths during his "motivational exercise" in October that he was "in a state of testoterone induced psychosis" at the time. We all knew testosterone poisoning makes you crazy, right?? But back to the knitting. I'm sitting next to Dave just a few minutes ago having the following conversation:
Dave: "Did you notice I found your babbaloo?"
Me: "Huh?"
Dave: "You know, your babbaloo." Waves arms about.
Me: "Wha??"
Dave: "Your babbaloo, your babbaloo, that thing you use." More waving of arms.
Me: "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Older Son: "Yeah Mom, your babbaloo!" He had no idea either, he was just making fun of us.
Dave: Still waving arms."That thing, you know, the babbaloo. I put it in the bedroom." (Have you figured out what it is yet?)
Me: (Having been in my bedroom and noticed the new addition) "You mean my niddy noddy? Yeah. Where's the rest of it?"

He didn't know, he'd dug it out of the attic (actually a finished fourth and fifth bedroom that we use for storage) while he was up there setting up a server for work.


Poor Babbaloo is missing a leg

Socks and Frustration

Knitting-wise I've finished a pair of socks (Knitterly Things Vesper Sock yarn, colorway "Hellfire")


and started another (Knitterly Things Vesper Sock yarn, Wee Skeins kit w/ Pavement, Stormy, Lumber Jack, and Twitterpated -- I wanted something manly.)

I'm cranky and frustrated. Last year we went through this thing with Older Son where he wouldn't register for classes. We went through all this aggravation w/ the insurance company threatening to cancel his health insurance and having to rush him out there to register at the last minute, it was a nightmare! And he did it not once, but twice! So I kept after him all this term. Register, I said. Remember to register before the end of the term. And he told me he did. Over and over and over he swore to me that he did. But I'm trying to pay his bill and there's no bill. Did you register? Yes. Well guess what? Finally it comes out that he's not registered. He still insists that he registered. I don't know what the problem is. All the kid has to do is register -- that's it!! Now he has to rush out there tomorrow (classes start and registration ends on Wednesday) and talk to his advisor and try to get things worked out. Arrrgghhh!!!

Epiphany

So I didn't get all my gifts knitted by Christmas. But I've decided -- and I'm making this a new rule, feel free to adopt it -- that a knitted Christmas gift isn't late if it's completed before the Epiphany. It's the Twelve Days of Knitting rule. So, want to see some of the things I DID get done for Christmas? Sure you do.
A Noro Striped Scarf for my sister (details on my Ravelry projects page).

Another scarf for my sister-in-law






along with Ishbel by Ysolda Teague. (That's Older Son holding it for me. I make my minions do the dirty work.)



Bella's Mittens and a matching neckwarmer for my boss -- she's a HUGE Twilight fan. Loved the pattern and the yarn (Knit Picks Cadena). Two thumbs up!A couple of other things too, that I'm waiting for someone else to blog. Check my Ravelry projects page for the full details.