I Plunged

I did it. I signed up for Ravelry. There are over 17,000 people in front of me. I see Heather has just over 10,000 people in front of her. Celtic Queen of course is already in.
I've been knitting on my Pomatomus socks (or unknitting, as the case may be.) I have a big weekend planned, as it is CQ's birthday, and the Elder Celting is competing in the Metropolitan District level of the Elks Soccer Shoot (he won at the local level). I would like to go (really) but started worrying today that my Sports Jinx might kick in. What to do? I'll discuss with CQ tomorrow. Maybe she has a good luck antidote for me.

Last Rose of Summer

Roses are my favorite flower, so I planted three rose bushes last spring, a white (my personal favorite flower), a yellow (they were my mom's favorite flower so a sentimental choice) and a shaded yellow to orange (because I'm a sucker for multicolored roses). The yellow and white died, but this one seems to have survived my gardening style (dig a hole, stick it in there and leave it to fend for itself). This is its third (and probably final) bloom of the year. A bit overblown, but then aren't we all?

In knitting news, now that I have more yarn (thanks again Steel City Knitter!) I'm getting reacquainted with my Pomatomas socks. And still working on the Pseudo-Pod sweater for a future baby. I think, though I'm going to have to dissect Widdershins and rewrite for a smaller gauge for my next travelling socks.

Fait Accompli

The Jitterbug socks are done, finished, ends woven in and everything. I had to take Older Son to an appointment this evening so my car hood had to stand in as my knitting backdrop. Nothing says "I'm a geek" quite like posing knitting on the car hood in a parking lot and then taking pictures of it. I finished these up just in time, too. Steel City Knitter sent me more yarn to finish my Pomatomus socks. My knitting bag overfloweth. (Still working on the Pseudo-Pod, too.)

In non knitting news, I think I may have figured out the new DVD recorder. Cross your fingers for me. I wish I could somehow get my dad to figure this out. He would happily spend the next 5 years transferring all his video recordings to DVD. Also, I had lost the next book in the series I was reading (Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. Did you hear he just passed away? Before the series was finished? I'm trying not to thing about that too much, it makes me a little crazy.) But after making OS search his room and the attic for me we found it on the floor by my bed. Ooops. (But really, it had apparently fallen off the bookcase over there and I never use that side of the bed anyways.) Hmmm. Heather has a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Pudding Pie on her blog that I may have to try this weekend. Speaking of recipes, and cooking, I was thinking about making potatoes and eggs for dinner this week. Do you make this? It was a regular when I was a kid, but I myself haven't made it since the boys were very small. More peasant food, probably German (I've at least seen it mentioned in literature as German). City Chicken was another regular, which I didn't care much for as a child and so I never make it (I have a strict policy of not cooking food I don't like). I still see it in the grocery store and I wonder why it's called City Chicken. Is it a corruption of satay? Hmmm. Bet it is. Let's Google, shall we? Well, not according the Post Gazette (this is essentially how my mother cooked it, as well). Another source says no too.This one even says it originated right here. So I guess I was wrong. But I still don't care much for it and it's more expensive than real chicken now anyways.

Open House

Oh it was Open House at the school tonight. What fun! I signed up for parent/teacher conferences and it was like a walk in the park because I only had to schedule time with one child's teachers instead of two. I even managed to group them so as to minimize the climbing up and down stairs. Of course here at the beginning of the year the teachers are all very nice and want to appear approachable. We'll see how long that lasts. One teacher even commented on my knitting socks and told me he wore a size 12 shoe. I told him good luck with that.

Anyways, on to the knitting news. The Jitterbug socks are almost completed. I knit more at Open House after this picture was taken. I only have a round or two to knit and then cast-off. These babies just flew off the needles. Love the pattern (Widdershins) love the yarn (Colinette's Jitterbug). A bit of problem with the yarn, though. When I was winding it at Heather's, it had several breaks in the skein. I initially thought OMG, it's moths,and right there in front of another knitter; which is the knitter's equivalent of a very public and extreme attack of flatulence. "Well," I thought, "the knitting will tell." And so it did. Not moths, I think. I found 2 clean breaks in the yarn and 3 more weak spots, but no webbing or cocoon casings. I'm going with a caustic, I believe this skein may have had some undiluted acid dripped on it during the dyeing process. If it was just the breaks I'd have said that it was an unfortunate encounter with a box cutter during unpacking, but the last weak spot (which was a little crunchy as well) convinced me. Mystery solved, as far as I'm concerned. The sooner I finish these and get them washed, the better.

Wake Me Up Before You GoGo

Here is the toe of my latest Travelling Socks project. It is Widdershins, knit with the yummy Jitterbug yarn that Celtic Queen gave me for Christmas last year. I've got the increasing done and now it's just knit to the heel.

In non-knitting news I've been actually working at work (shocking, I know!) and next week promises to keep me busy as well. The guys are doing mostly ok, but I don't know what got into them tonight, it was like they were just going out of their way to be annoying to me. And bickering. About everything. At one point each of the boys had the other's memory card and they were bickering about exchanging them, and about who would get to play what game. That's what I get for not going to knitting. Urgh.

Avast!

It's Talk Like A Pirate Day. I can't believe I forgot while I was at work.
To celebrate I've completed the Perpetually Travelling (No More) Socks. There they are in all their endlessly ribbed glory. I will present them to Older Son on his return from class later this evening. This frees me up to start the Jitterbug Socks, as soon as I find some size 2 needles. As you may (or may not) recall, my favorite size 2s are stalled in the Pomatomus Socks I don't have enough yarn to complete. So I either have to rip that sock, or find another pair (I believe I have set of Inox size 2s around here somewhere.)
Or I could work on more baby sweaters. Chalk one up in the "You get what you ask for" column. After stating last week that someone else I knew had to have a baby so I could have a flimsy excuse for continuing to make baby sweaters, Younger Son informed me today that one of his teachers is expecting. I'm sure my other friends are heaving a big sigh of relief that they won't be called upon to step up to the plate. Here is my Pseudo-pod sweater, which is worrying me with its propensity to roll, even though there are 8 rows of seed stitch at the bottom. I believe that a bit of judicious blocking will set things straight.

I Need to Work on My Image

Well, I didn't get out to get a picture of the knitting before it got dark, so I have no knitting to show. I started the toe of the final Perpetually Traveling Socks (Yay!) and I think there will be just enough yarn. Tomorrow will tell, though. I've also worked a few more rows on the Pseudo-pod and am still very enamoured of this yarn. (And CQ I will probably never do the "Knit Buttons in as You Go" thing because that would require either a)some kind of foresight and pre-planning on my part or b)some self control to hold off on starting the new knitting project until I ran out to the store and bought buttons. Neither of which are qualities I'm really known for.)

So the point of this post is something that's been on my mind for awhile. I kind of mentioned it to CQ in an email today when we were discussing why people wear colors that don't suit them. I said some of it could be that these were colors that suited when they were younger, but now that they're more mature they are no longer right. I fall victim to this myself. I am constantly surprised when I see my reflection and I look like this: Because in my mind, I think I look like this:
Never mind the fact that I haven't looked like that for almost 15 years. It's still always a shock. I'm not really sure what to make of this, it's just something that's been on my mind for awhile. I don't know if I'm in denial, or if it's an aging thing. Is everyone surprised they're not 20 anymore? Or am I just really, really slow on the uptake? Where did those 20 years go, anyways? It's those boys -- they've sucked the life right out of me!

I'm a Winner

Celebrate with me! Today I won a game of Spider Solitaire at the most difficult level. Yeah baby! I said I would do it and I did.


Ok, now that I've had my congratulatory moment, on to the knitting. I finished the Babies and Bears sweater. I had enough yarn for the hood after all (and then some.) I just have to purchase and sew on some buttons.
Of course, flushed with my baby sweater success I immediately cast on and began knitting another baby sweater. Love this yarn (Zitron Life Style in the color green.) Is it not the perfect gender neutral color?? And note, please that my knitting needle is perfectly color coordinated.

Here is a picture of the Perpetually Travelling Sock, along with the tangle of yarn that is all that is left of the skein I'm knitting it from. I still can't determine whether or not this will be enough to finish it. (No real fear here, I have another skein of this yarn....somewhere.)
And here is a better picture of the B&B sweater I'm working on. I love this yarn! First, the colors are just absolutely gorgeous. Second, though, the hand is soft and wonderful...this may be the self-striper you're looking for CQ! I'm bringing it to Bloomin Yarns tomorrow (where I bought it) so if you'll be there you can feel for yourself (and then get your own.)

New Love

I'm in love. Here is my new project I cast on last night. I love the yarn (Wisdom Yarns Poems), I love the color (#553), I love everything about it. I don't think I'll have enough. (I'm making yet another baby sweater. Someone else I know needs to have a baby, this is becoming indecent.) I'm working on a Babies & Bears sweater, it's been awhile since I made one. Celtic Queen makes them all the time, and I was inspired. But the pattern calls for 420 yards and I only have 300. I'm hoping if I eliminate the hood I'll be fine. Cross your fingers for me. And I'm seeing the end of the Perpetually Travelling Socks. I think the Jitterbug is up next.

My current new obsession is Spider Solitaire. According to what I've read, you can win up to 50% of the time (Highest Difficulty). HA! I haven't been able to win a single game and I've played hundreds. The closest I've gotten was one suit eliminate (on two separate occasions). I thought winning was impossible. But now that I know it's possible to win, I'm a woman obsessed! With God as my witness I vow I will beat this thing.

Updates

Update on the baby sweaters of last weekend. I got a thank you from the mom and she says they're planning on using the smallest sweater and leggings set I made for the baby's homecoming outfit. I'm so pleased and happy! I was secretly hoping that would be the case when I made it, but didn't want to say anything.

School updates -- the boys are still getting up and going every day, and no calls yet about missing homework assignments.

Knitting updates. Still working on the Never-Ending Travel Socks (these seem to be taking forever) and the Even More Enduring Cotton Socks. Let's not talk about MS3. And I'm fighting off some Startitis. I want to start a cable sweater for the Younger Celting (Celting II -- The Return of the Aran). I got some yummy limey heather yarn at the yarn sale this weekend. Celtic Queen did not win the knitted fashion show on Saturday with her completed MS3 (which was a miscarriage of knitting justice). It's breath-takingly gorgeous. I'm waiting for pictures (hint, hint). I also want to start a Babies and Bears sweater and the Pseudo-Pod sweater (both of which I have the yarn for already) and there's the Green-Eyed Boy sweater destined for the Elder Celting. Oh yeah, and some Leaf Lace. I'm starting to rethink my pattern choices. I have to start swatching. I don't want it to be so simple as to be boring, but then again, not too busy either. Maybe if I'm wandering around the South Hills with my skein on Thursday someone will take me in and wind a ball or two for me...

Job updates. I've got a genuine project keeping me busy this week. And it even uses some of my special skills. Yippee!

Bleah

My absence here can be explained by the fact that I am struggling with a stomach bug. Bleah. I got sick Monday afternoon/evening and ended up calling off work on Tuesday. I'm still not feeling 100%. Tonight at dinner was the first time I've eaten "real" food (it was nothing at all on Tuesday, then the BRAT diet since.) And I'm still feeling a bit peaky. But on the plus side I've lost five pounds! So anyways, what did I do with my weekend before I got sick? Well, I only get about two invitations to social events a year, and this year they both happened to fall on the same day. I had both a baby shower for an old friend and a wedding to go to on Sunday. Unfortunately, they were over an hour's drive apart. So while the guys went off to the mountains (where the wedding was) on Friday I stayed here to hold down the fort and go to the baby shower. I was simply amazed at how much stuff I got done Saturday morning without any guys lounging about in their underwear getting in my way! So after completing a few errands I had some prep work for the baby shower.
Lots of baby sweaters in need of buttons. Apparently I have a "thing" about sewing on buttons. Who knew? So we have let's see...1,2,3...4 sweaters in need of buttons. I might have gotten a bit carried away with the baby sweaters. But I had some lead time and I was obsessed with the baby sweaters. To be completely honest here, I have yarn to make another one that I didn't get around to knitting. Fortunately, they were having a Button Sale (50% off) at JoAnn's this weekend. So I got some buttons. Can you guess which ones go with which sweater? Here's the line-up:
The little pink buttons with the little white sweater. (Not pictured here -- there were leggings that matched this too). The sweater is from a Paton's Preemie collection, it's actually a real newborn size. I designed the matching leggings myself. I thought these buttons had a nice retro look that went with the sweater which I felt kind of had a retro feel to it. The larger sweater is the Peapod Baby Sweater by Kate Gilbert. The buttons match the sweater, so the leaf design takes center stage. I was hoping for something a bit more flashy, but couldn't find anything. This was a nice compromise. The very plain pink buttons go with the Lace Sweater. This is EZ's "Favorite Baby Sweater". I subbed out the lace pattern for another from BGW. I think this is English Mesh. And finally, the lime green buttons go with the Striped Sweater. Devan from Knitty. I love this pattern! I think this is the fifth one I've made. This is Lion Brand's Jelly Bean Stripe. The striping is random enough that I just knit the whole thing with it. I've also knit it in the same yarn in the Denim Stripe colorway for a boy sweater and it's really cute too. I was standing there looking at buttons and found a match to the blue in this sweater but thought, "No, that's not really the color I want to hightlight." And then I thought about what color I did want to highlight and there were the lime green buttons!
So I sewed all my buttons on, made it to the shower but had to leave early to make the wedding. If you're reading this Jean, my timing was perfect. I pulled into the parking lot, walked up the hill to the pavilion, sat down, and the wedding started immediately. Like they were waiting for me.

Nothing Much

Nothing much to talk about here. I'm working the heel on my current travel socks. I know I say this all the time, but it's true. No matter how many times I've turned a heel on a sock it's still magical to me. It just never gets old. Otherwise I'm avoiding my MS3. I did a little work on it on Saturday and ended up out of synch. Argh! I've tinked one row back and am going to try and sort it out, but I may have to tink another two rows. Argh again! But on a positive note I got the latest Yarn Barn of Kansas catalog. Can't wait to order some more yarn. Wait..I have too much yarn. But I need to insulate for the winter, right? Hmmm, this could take more rationalization than I originally thought.

My Bane

I spent the weekend working on my Cotton Cable socks. And I came to a difficult decision. Although I think they look pretty good, the cabling is 1) Too much work 2) Too difficult to execute, 3) Not stretchy enough, and 4) Just a bit too lumpy/bumpy to make comfortable socks. I think the pattern would do well in wool, but the cotton was just too unyielding. I decided that the effort just wasn't worth it for a guy who really wouldn't appreciate it and would possibly not wear them. So I ripped it out and will start again with my generic ribbed sock pattern. Seems like plain vanilla knitting is all my life can handle at the moment. Ah well, I'm sure the pendulum will swing the other way another time.


In other news, the Sons have both gone back to school. Older Son is a freshman at Pitt, and Younger Son is beginning 8th grade. (Does anyone else take pictures on the first day of school?) I had to take a picture of YS, it's required for his Science Fair project. That's right, the Science Fair. Bane of my existence. You would think, with two scientists (I'm chemistry and Dave is physics) in the family as well as a good mix of engineers and computer professionals we'd have it made for the Science Fair. Ha! The Sons have it in for me. And the school too. YS has the same evil science teacher OS had. And what do they need a picture of the boy for anyways? Sounds suspicious to me. I can't believe we have to do another Science Fair. This may turn my hair completely white. I should count my blessings, though, OS had to do two Science Fairs in three years. I'd hold out the hope that I've learned my lessons from those experiences, but there's no chance of that. Not only am I apparently a slow learner, but the boys are smart enough to think of NEW! and IMPROVED! ways to make my life miserable. I'm afraid it's going to be a rough year.

In the Pink

Still not alot of knitting going on currently chez G. Therefore I will entertain you with pictures of more birthday gifts.
The pictures are of the yarn Celtic Queen got me for my birthday. She ransomed the Younger Celting with them this past weekend. The top is Socks That Rock Silkie in the "Walking on the Wild Tide" colorway. I admired it when CQ got it in her Sock Club so she gifted me with it! And also from Blue Moon is the lace weight in the yummy neutrals I love. (Looking at it I'm inspired to make a November shawl. The colors make me think of bare trees in November after all the leaves have fallen.) She was waiting for the lace weight to arrive to give me the gift. She wanted to get the lace weight because she figured I wouldn't make something for the guys out of it. And the Silkie had a bit too much pink for the guys. I have to tell you, growing up I was never a fan of the pink. I was too much of a tomboy (climbing trees, riding bikes, and hiking in the woods) and a bookworm to be really into the pinkness. Too girlie for me. But living in a house with three guys convinced me. Gotta love the pink. GREAT way to keep the guys off my stuff. My toothbrush is pink, my hairbrush is pink, my slippers are pink, my favorite cup is pink. Pink is the color for me. And there can be no feigned cluelessness. "This is yours? I didn't know."

Small Miracles

Hardly any knitting done today. I had a pretty stressful day all the way around. These stitch markers were made by Carly for me for my birthday. And since I got them I've seen two dragonflies!
Anyways, during my bad day today I prayed for some things to work out and you know what? They did. Which got me thinking about small miracles. Answers to little prayers in our everyday lives. Have you ever experienced a small miracle? I believe they happen all the time. When I was much younger, I believed that God didn't really answer prayers, or if he did, it was only in a vague, disconnected kind of way. Miracles were only for big things (if then) and didn't really happen very often (almost never). Belief was a matter of faith, and faith alone. But then I actually read the Bible. And you know what? God rewards faith with...Miracles! And furthermore, God answers prayers. He doesn't always give us everything we ask (I don't give my kids everything they ask for either) but He does it alot. In fact, miracles are the most common way He gets our attention and builds our faith. Always have been. So the next time you hit a snag in your life, try a little prayer. You could be surprised.
This yarn was another gift from Heather. (She has a hat on her blog today knit from some yarn dyed the same day.) I'm up in the air about what to make with this yarn -- I love it and want something I'll use all the time. Socks or fingerless gloves. Maybe both.

Out of Sorts

I have nothing much to say today. I'm feeling very cranky. I don't know if it's stress, the weather (very gray and rainy with lots of thunder and lightening), or something else. No one seems to be updating their blogs, so I'm feeling unconnected and just plain out of sorts. I think I've knitted a total of one round on my travel socks today. I'm struggling with MS3, and starting to feel weighted down by all the stash and projects lined up. I feel like I have to make some kind of progress to justify the amount of time and space taken up by this hobby, and it's just not happening right now. Hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep tonight (not sleeping well -- see stress/weather/whatever above) and be able to sit and do some work tomorrow and I'll feel better. Trying to be positive. In other news, I got some wool sweaters at Goodwill to felt up and make something out of. Maybe a blanket, maybe a bag. I want to make the round of some thrift shops looking for more felting fodder. Any takers? Call me. Oh, and I found out that I already have the Inox needles in 2.25mm. So I'm good to go. Yay me! I even have a needle sizer that differentiates them from my 2.5mm Inox needles (picked it up at Liberty in London). I'll be knitting cotton socks for the rest of my life. Nothing much else new. Older Son starts orientation for college tomorrow, classes for both boys start on Monday. I'm not ready.

A Little of This, A Bit of That...

Not much going on in the knitting front. I'm working on these Cotton Cable Socks which will be for one of the guys (we'll see whose foot they fit around). They're ok, but hard on the hands. I'm using my new Knit Picks sock needles which are a bit of a disappointment -- they are apparently about an inch too short for my big hands, and the needle point just catches me on the edge of my right hand while I'm knitting. I prefer my Inox needles. (Also available in a 2.25 mm size, but in a more comfy 8" length.) I got in only two (2!) rows on MS3 this weekend. I had to take Older Son to Pitt (we saw Steven on the bus. He really does have one big cast thing on his hand. He says it's not as bad as it looks, and I hope so! Best wishes for a speedy recovery.) We spent the day wandering around and getting OS's text books (almost $500 for books!). OS got familiarized with the bus routes and we got his books so I consider the day a success. But walking around wore me out! Saturday evening Dave and I went to dinner and a movie with friends, while the Younger Celting came and spent the night with the guys. (Hopefully they didn't teach him too many bad habits.) Hard to tell if he enjoyed himself. He's more reserved than his brother, but he seemed to enjoy playing Uno with Younger Son. Anyways, Older Son was "in charge", and between the two of us we worried enough for a half dozen people. Younger Celting woke up (briefly) at 5 AM, which woke up Older Son, who woke up me. I checked on YC who was fine (he told me he wasn't cold even though his mom didn't pack him a shirt) and who promptly rolled over and went back to sleep. OS and I however were up for the duration. Then Sunday evening we spent at my dad's celebrating his 86th birthday. Yippee, cake and ice cream! So all in all a busy weekend, but not much time for knitting (just a bit of sock knitting on the bus.)

Quality Time

After an exhausting day at the office spent holding down my chair, I was too tired to do much of anything (I was too tired to cook dinner, Dave picked up something on the way home. He had to stop and get milk. Again.) I didn't even want to go to knitting at Bloomin Yarns. So I spent some quality time at home with MS3 this evening, and made excellent progress. I'm very pleased with my work so far, the knitting is going much smoother. If I can put in the same amount of time tomorrow evening I should be back to where I was before I ripped. We'll call that a "swatch". If my counter curse is working, Celtic Queen will have to rip back (she's using life lines so it's not that bad) any time now, and will begin to feel a bit of indifference toward her stole. And in other knitting news, still working on plain ribbed socks and I didn't have to use my knitting needles to break into my office today, but I was prepared.

We had thunder storms here last night. Several systems went through. They were spaced just far enough apart for me to barely drift off to sleep before I was woken up by thunder and lightening (again). I'm pretty tired. Spent some quality time with the guys, too. While I was sitting in bed knitting MS3 both boys came in and sat on the bed, too. Older Son to use the laptop, and Younger Son to read (I think because it's coolest in here). Dave walked by on his way out the door to choir practice and asked "Why are you all sitting on the bed?" I said we were just chillin'. He just shook his head and left.

Knitting to the Rescue!

I finished the first of my latest Travelling Socks (nothing fancy, just plain old ribbed socks knit in a cotton/wool blend yarn) on the way into work this morning and then immediately cast on for the second. BUT, when I arrived at work I found my office door was locked! No, I don't have a key. I found my boss and asked her if she was trying to tell me something (she looked kind of panicked and insisted she wasn't). Apparently no one had a key, though, and she said building maintenance wouldn't be in for awhile. One size 1 dpn to the rescue! Once I looked at it I saw it was the kind of lock that just has a hole, not a key. So I whipped out my needle and was able to pop it open. Everyone was impressed with my lock picking skill (it was all those times my sisters locked me out of the bathroom when we were teenagers!) and that I had the perfect implement on hand.

Dave and I went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory tonight. I'm stuffed, and I only ate half my salad (but most of my cheesecake!). Then we wandered around the bookstore for a bit. I was unable to locate any knitting books, even though this was the store that hosted Yarn Harlot's latest book signing. You'd think they'd have figured out the knitting market. Whatever. I was tempted by the latest issue of Craft magazine, but ended up not buying it. I'm really beginning to develop a burning desire to learn how to sew. Really sew. I think I'm going to have to dig out my old portable machine and get it cleaned and oiled and get me some stuff to experiment with. Goodwill here I come!