Socks and Physical Therapy

Here's a picture of the current sock knitting. Ho hum, grey. What a surprise! (Actually, this pic is from yesterday, for whatever reason Blogger would not allow it in yesterday's post.) I've done a bit more on it, I've turned the heel and am working down the foot. I should finish this one tomorrow. Knitting on size 1s instead of 0s sure does make the knitting go faster! I've got several skeins of this and a blue version to make socks for "The Guys". What excitement.

I got lots of knitting done because today was Physical Therapy day! Yippee! I prepared by dropping my car off at Pap's yesterday so I just took the trolley out to his place (45 minutes) then I sat and knitted during his therapy session (~ an hour). And the therapist? Totally HOT! (I just knew he would be.) I was thinking about all these sports injuries Pap keeps getting. And really, the next one has got to be the groin. But you know, a Totally HOT guy working my groin when I'm 85? I should be so lucky. (Hmm, but Pap may not think so...If he's lucky he'll get the cute blonde girl.) Seriously, though -- If you're in need of PT I can't speak highly enough of this place --- Mercy Rehabilitation Services in Bethel Park (in the HealthTrax center behind Wal-Mart on 88). Very good people (and they're all so good looking! It was like a WB show!) and they have the therapy pool and everything.

But with all of that it was a looong day again. Out the door at 6:45 AM, not home until 8:15 PM. So here I am having mixed nuts (who ate all the eggs?) and diet coke for dinner again...

Mine!

You know what you do when you want to lay your claim to something? Well, here's this:

It's my Booga J Bag in my bright, bright Noro Kureyon. Love the yarn, love the bag. I figured out the Kureyon, and think I could sooo copy it, just have to dye me up some colors. Anyways, back to our story. So what's a girl to do when she finds herself at the end of a skein there in the parking lot at the Post Office waiting for her husband who is taking forever in there with a yarn that's perfect for spit-joining and so expensive she doesn't want to waste a single inch of it? Yeah, I spit on it. (It's MINE, I licked it! Twice!) And it worked great, too. I figure I'm going to be washing it when I felt it anyways. But the yarn? The color repeat is longer than a skein length! Look at this. Here's a close up of the beginning. See that light pink and the purple after it? That's where Skein 1 started. Now, look at the whole bag again, above. Skein 1 ends and Skein 2 begins just after the dark blue stripe (the orange stripe). Skein 2 ends just after the next dark blue stripe. Notice there's no light pink in sight? It doesn't show up until almost the end of Skein 3 (I used most of Skein 3 for my I-cord -- it's there in the last few inches of it). And the yellow stripe you see in Skeins 1 and 2? Doesn't show up at all in Skein 3. See what I mean?
This could drive some OCD people nuts. But not me, I figured it was long enough (longer than a skein length!) to look random, so I just joined it together any old way.

Since I finished this yesterday, I cast-on some generic socks. Guy colors (ho, hum) grey and white, but at least self-patterning. I got the yarn awhile back on Elann. The color repeats seem a little wonky, but at least it's guy colors...

And Lisa? I think you missed Dave, as he was lamenting missing the Google team. He really wants to work there. (He sent his resume off via e-mail). But darn! If I had known there would be a knitter there..But then again, someone had to herd boys into the showers, since they'd never go willingly...

My Day

It started off as usual, shower, dress, get ready for work. I got to knit on the bus (still making those socks for Younger Son). Work was more or less the usual -- my computer was acting up so I had to use the "spare" one. (It's not really "spare" -- it's the one hooked up to the scanner where we image all our documents, and I share it with a co-worker. But not today!)

Excitement!! I went to the Yarn Store at lunch, but I got SP stuff so I can't show it. Home, more bus knitting.

Walked in the front door of my house, picked up Younger Son, walked out the back door and went to Wal-Mart (sorry Heather) because I had to get some Niacin for my dad, and I looked for some snaps for my baby thingie I knitted over the weekend. Years ago I bought some tape that had the snaps all sewed in already; that was what I wanted. But they didn't have any. Maybe if I had gone to a real fabric store I could have got me some, but I was pressed for time and I had a Wal-Mart gift card so I had to get what I could get. Which was some velcro stuff. Not as good, the yarn is just a bit fuzzy and I think it will get all fuzzed up. But what the heck, this is for a newborn for crying out loud, he's not going to fit in it long enough for the velcro to get fuzzed up. I also got some fabric glue stuff because even though the velcro stuff says its self-sticking I want to make sure it's not going anywhere.

Then to my dad's and I had to fill out a million pieces of paper for him to go to Physical Therapy tomorrow. We were at the doctor's yesterday, and the doctor looked at his shoulder that he fell on last weekend and announced that he has a torn rotator cuff (you know, like the baseball pitchers). So he has to go to physical therapy again. Last year it was for a torn hamstring. I'm seeing an eerie correlation between sports injuries and geriatric injuries. But we're happy to go to the PT, Pap did great with it last year. It's just the million pieces of paper to get started. And Dave's taking off to take Pap to the appointment, so I had to get everything ready, all paperclipped together and placed prominently on the console in my car. (I just hope Dave remembers to take my car tomorrow. Not just for the papers, but because Pap won't fit in his car.)

Then YS and I stopped and got some dinner at the McD's up the road (it was about 8:00 by then) and came home to eat. (BTW, I love the new Asian salad.) I passed Dave on our street as I was pulling up. We rolled down our windows and said "Hello". He's going to Geek Night with his friend and cohort Mark Stroup. So I ate dinner, herded boys into the shower, read some blogs, and here I am.

So how was your day? I'm ready for bed.

The Other SP

My favorite yarn to knit with is:
I wracked my brain over this one and can't come up with a favorite. Hmmm, I really liked the Paton's Classic Merino. And the Noro Kureyon. And the Socks That Rock. And the Koigu. You see??

I really do not enjoy knitting with:
Kudzu? Nothing! There's no knitting I don't enjoy.

If I had a choice, I would banish this yarn from my LYS:
Fun Fur (I love it, but a little goes a long way, you know? Once you make the scarf, what else are you going to do with it?)

If I could knit only one more project for the rest of my life, it would be:
Ooooh I know this one. This:
In the black colorway (Dale Salt Lake Olympic sweater.)

My favorite flower is:
Roses. White are my personal favorite, although yellow hold a special place in my heart because they were my mom's favorite.

My current color obsession is:
Red. But (and as shocking as my sisters will find this) I think this is currently in flux, alot of blues have been showing up on the radar lately.

My other interests are:
Reading, spinning, crocheting

Something I wish I knew more about is:
Particle physics, and extremely high level mathematics. In the fiber world, tatting and nalbinding.

A knitting technique I want to learn is:
There isn't one.

10. My favorite needles to knit with are:
Metal. Inox, Susan Bates, addi Turbo.

-- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

11. Do you knit socks?
All the time

12. Please provide your foot measurements*:

length (longest toe to heel): 9.25"
instep circumference: 8.75"
ankle circumference: 9.25"

(*a note to my sock knitters: If I have that request wrong, TELL ME so I can change it! Thanks!)

13. What was your favorite childhood movie?
Willie Wonka (the original)

14. What is one thing in your knitting bag that you can't live without?
My measuring tape. But I currently can't find one. So the measurements above are..."-ish"

15. What is lacking in your notions bag that you really, really want? (Cable needle, Kacha Kacha, Chibi, etc.)
Definately a Chibi

16. What is currently on the needles at your house?
Socks (perpetually), and I'm currently tossing around ideas for a new "big" project

If you could do nothing but knit all day, every day, for the next month (and get paid for it!), what would you knit?
A tough one. Maybe a vintage knitted "quilt" from Weldon's.

18. Least favorite color(s):
Purple

19. Favorite genre of music? Or any way you want to answer that question...basically it's the what kind of music do you like question.
Jazz. Cool jazz or light jazz.

20. Favorite candy or sweet:
Hershey's Symphony with almonds and toffee

21. What is the most challenging thing you have ever knit?
A simple poncho made from "Boa" (a fringe yarn). The pattern was simple enough, but the yarn was a pain to work with.

22. How long have you been knitting?
Since I was 9 so that would be....a few years ;) Seriously though, 31 years.

In Memory

Happy Belated Memorial Day. Got my poppy while out running errands on Saturday. While I was pinning it on my purse I wondered how many people out there know why we use poppies to symbolize Vets? (If you don't know or just want to read the poem, go HERE.)

So what did I spend my long weekend doing? Did I finish the Fuzzy Feet? You betcha. There they are in all their unfelted glory.
But then I veered off and finished this ensemble. I designed it OTF -- The basis is one of my favorite summer outfits Older Son wore as a toddler which was nothing more than a very large T-shirt that snapped at the crotch. This is for a co-worker's son, due in early July. The hat looks alarmingly big, but I'm trying to convince myself it will be OK since babies really do have alarmingly big heads (ask any new mom) and it's meant to be floppy anyways.

And finally -- has anyone seen this guy's baby hat book? The patterns are all ripped off from Internet sources. I have a Baby Hat pattern at Knitting About.com and I know some of the patterns were harvested there. I don't want to give this guy my money to verify whether or not he has my pattern (I'm thinking maybe not because there's no professional-type photo, but who knows?) so if anyone out there has seen the e-book and can verify for me, I would definately fire off a "cease and desist" notice.

Thank God It's Friday

Whew! It's been a rough week. I'm sooo glad it's Friday and I have a nice long weekend stretched out before me. My plans for the weekend are to maybe finish my current sock project, to knit up a pair of Fuzzy Feet for Younger Son, and start on my Booga J Bag for me. I got some great bright yarn a MDS&W and I see it as a fun summer bag. I plan on felting both projects together. We'll be going to the movies to see X-men 3 for Older Son's birthday (we usually see a movie on his birthday, he delayed it for this one to open). I still have to do all the regular weekend stuff like laundry and grocery shopping. In addition my SiL will be here visiting so I can finally give her her Christmas gift I never mailed. (There was stuff that was too delicate to trust to the mail). And on the room front I hope to clear the stairs up to my new room. A feat in itself, let me tell you. I was going to post a picture of it, but chickened out.

What Do Smurfs Do All Day

When Older Son was small Dave and I read this book to him ad nauseum. For some unfathomable reason it was an all time favorite. We even have two copies of the cursed thing. What do Smurfs do? Turns out lots of things. But it's a good segue way to what I've been thinking about lately, which is that we spend our time doing what we really want to do. Let's face it, if we really want to do something we find the time, right? And if we don't want to do it, we certainly don't do it every day. So what do you do all day? I've thought about it and here're some things I do every day (or close enough it makes no difference). I knit. On the bus, at home, in the car, at work. I do it just about everywhere.
And lately, I spin. Mostly on a spindle, but we'll see about getting the wheel back into the mix.
And I read. It helps me to quiet my mind so I can fall asleep more easily at night. I also take time for my family (but how can I show a picture of that?) I ask the boys about their homework, talk to my sisters, take care of my dad.
Finally (and I was horrified when I realized this one) I do laundry. Every day. What's up with that? Lets make this a meme, shall we? I tag Heather and Holly. OK ladies, post 5 things you do every day.

All I Want is a Room Somewhere...

OK, I live in a big old house that has five bedrooms. (Five!) You would think that I could finagle one room just for me. I could put my wheel there, my RH loom (maybe even get a stand for it) and my Triangle Loom-To-Be, maybe even a table to work on. Lots of bookcases for my books and magazines. Well, no. Apparently that is too much to ask. The two bedrooms that we are not currently using have become a repository for all Things There Is No Other Place For. (And you know how much stuff that is!) Oh, don't get me wrong, I've tried. Five separate times during our tenure in this house I have worked long and hard to completely clear these two rooms (they're connected, both on the third floor). Each time, through some obscene twist of fate, SOMEONE we know ends up in desperate need of a place to live, and moves in with us. And EACH time, they leave behind more stuff than there was before!! The last time, I swore I would never do it again. And it's been awhile (~6 years). So call me a glutton for punishment, I think I'm going to do it again. (My apologies if you are the one that ends up living on the street unless you move in with me. Remember, you were warned!) Some of my fiber stuff is already up there. Alot of Dave's music stuff is up there. Here's my plan. If I actually move my bed up there I can let Dave have the current bedroom for all of his stuff. He should be happy with that, and it gets his stuff not only out of those rooms, but out of the living room and dining room which he has taken over because he doesn't want to carry stuff up two flights of steps. The plan definately has merits. It remains to be seen if I have the personal fortitude to see it through.

Note that I have updated Monday's post with pictures. Thanks for the well-wishes for my Dad, he is feeling much better, and seems improved today.

Weekend

Well, I had quite the weekend. It started off great with knitting Friday night. Heather finished up her Booga J Bag and doesn't it look great? We were all amazed that she dressed to match the bag, serendipitously.


Celtic Queen was there too, working on a (Socks That Rock) sock. I taught Heather how to spin on a drop spindle, hopefully she's still at it. I spun on my spindle and worked a bit on the new sock-in-progress.

Then Saturday things went downhill. I arrived at my Dad's for Older Son's birthday party to see an ambulance outside. He had fallen. CQ and the Celtings found him and called the ambulance. Fortunately he was ok, although I'm not sure how long he had been laying there. (He says it was just about 20 minutes, but I think it may have been longer.) What really frightens me is that it was only sheer luck that had us there that evening. Normally no one would have checked on him until Sunday morning at the earliest. He refused to go to the hospital, of course. So I stayed with him Saturday night. Again, a fortunate occurance, because he ended up having severe low blood sugar and was unresponsive when I checked on him Sunday morning. I called the ambulance and we were off to the ER (I insisted this time!). They gave him sugar and x-rayed the shoulder that he had fallen on the night before (just bruised) and sent him home. So he's home now, and as comfortable as can be expected, but I feel like a nervous wreck!


But I did get alot of knitting done while waiting at the hospital. I finished the first sock of this pair (they will be for Younger Son, he tried it on and it fits perfectly.)


And just to round things out, here's my spindle spun yarn. I abused the skein to finish it, and it really feels great. It shrunk about 30%-40% in the process. But it's nice and springy now.

*OK, I know I reference photos, and I have them here on my computer, Blogger just won't let me upload. I'll try again later.

You Say It's Your Birthday

There's the birthday boy. 17 years today. I was going to relate all kinds of sweet memories of him as a baby and go on about how important he is to me, how smart and good looking; but not now. He did NOT like the gift I got him. The ungrateful brat. And as if that weren't bad enough, he couldn't even fake it for me so I now have to listen to his father gloat about the fact that he told me so. It's the Tele Tubby incident all over again. Hmmphh. I should have just stuck with the yarn that I initially said I was going to get him. I don't think he even ate any of the birthday brownies I made a special trip to the grocery store to buy him. In retaliation I have cancelled one of his birthday parties. (Not really, the planning for it just fell through. And lest you worry too much, his father went out and bought him something from his list so he did get a gift he wants. I was not privy to the list.)

The knitting and the spinning continue, though. I spun up more singles, and grafted one of the underarms on the Red Head sweater while watching Love Story. I was in the mood for a good cry anyways.

Birthday Knitting

Well, the birthday knitting is just about completed. Actually, the knitting part is completed, I just have to do a bit of finishing on the sweater -- graft the underarms and sew down the fold-over collar. The sweater is the "Shirt Yoke Back" from the Seamless sweater yokes in EZ's Knitting Workshop.

Here's a shot of the shirt yoke back. I might finish it up tonight, or maybe tomorrow. Since we're having three birthday parties for Older Son, I need three gifts. The sweater will be gifted on Saturday when Celtic Queen will be in attendance so that she will have the opportunity to examine it. The socks will go on Sunday. I have a DVD (Final Fantasy Advent Children) and a book (The Encyclopedia of Mythical Creatures) to fill in the gaps. Dave doesn't think OS will like the gifts (well, the DVD and book, I know he'll be nonplussed by the knitting). He keeps bringing up the Tele Tubby mistake I made when Younger Son was four. Gee, it's only been eight and a half years.

In non-knitting news, I missed posting because I was sick. I've been down with a stomach bug since last Wednesday. Not major, but enough to make me feel just...bleah. I finally got some medicine today and now I feel better. Yeah! Wish I would have lost a bit of weight, though.

And Younger Son survived his camping trip. Although there was a bit of a snafu about picking him up. I kept questioning Dave about whether he had heard anything about picking YS up. No. So I got a call from YS on Friday -- I'm here, but I don't see Dad. I had to call Grandma to come to the rescue and pick him up (both Dave and I being at work and at least an hour away.) YS insists he made arrangements with Dave to pick him up....

Current Works

I am almost to the toe on the second of the Birthday socks.
I was just a tad concerned about whether or not I'd have enough yarn -- I did make the cuff a bit longer than usual on these socks. But I estimated I'd have to knit 10 stripes of the yellow color, and the last stripe was number 9. I still see some yellow in the skein, so I know I'm golden now.

And here's the current spinning project.
It's actually an old project revisited. I started it about 8 years ago before I even had my wheel. The skein was made then. It was before I made my first niddy-noddy too. The skein was made by wrapping the yarn from my hand down around my elbow. That's why it's so small. The spindle on the left represents my work this week. I spun one of the singles making up the yarn, and did the plying. Looking at it compared to the old yarn, I see I plied quite a bit tighter. Well, I have to admit I am a bit more twisted now than I used to be. The spindle is a Mondial spindle bought way back then (it was a major investment for me then) and not used since. It's been sitting away with all the fiber for this project waiting for me to get back to it. I'm struggling with putting it away again. I don't like the spindle (it's wobbly) or the yarn (plying, bleah). But I'm going to try to persevere to the finish.

In non-fiber news, Younger Son has been off on a school sponsered camping trip. Wouldn't you know it, we've had drought conditions here for a month and now it's been raining steadily all day. He's going to be one big mudball when he gets home. I'm a bit nervous about him being away. He's been on camping trips before with scouts, but I don't trust the supervision from the school. I keep checking the phone all day (hoping?) for a phone call telling me to come and pick him up.

Maryland, Oh Maryland

I had a great time at MDS&W. And spent way too much money. I took alot and I was thinking, "Oh, I'll never spend THAT much. I spent it all the first day. I had to get more to go back on Sunday. I know, I know, you're thinking "Shut up already and show us what you got!" So here it is (since Blogger is graciously allowing me to post pics today -- I added them to yesterday's post too.)
This is a mohair/wool blend I got at...I can't remember. I was buying this fiber when Holly spotted me. (Well, actually my bag. She recognized me by my knitting. How cool is that??) We chatted for awhile but I forgot to take a pic. Holly looks AMAZING. I hope she enjoys her purchases! And Holly? I'm thinking predrafting will help you with the bumpiness. Back to the fiber, nestled there in the navy fiber is a Bosworth spindle made of Tulipwood.
Here's a selection of the fibers I got to spin and yarn. Most are from Little Barn. Some flax, some "Angora", some colored wools, some nylon (to blend with wool for my own sock yarn), and a cotton/silk blend. The grey yarn is to make an Aran for Younger Son. As you look at my selections, I'll relate a conversation I had with Celtic Queen last week. We were discussing Socks That Rock colorways. I said I liked Tonalite and CQ said "Yeah, your color choices are like that -- they're either screamingly bright or very tonal." So yeah, look at what I got. These next two projects show this very well. Screamingly bright -- Noro Kureyon to make a Booga J Bag for summer use (to contrast with my very tonal Olympic Bag in more wintery colors). Yarn from All About Yarn in Columbia Maryland. Their signage said they were a new vendor, so I did my best to make them feel welcome.
And very tonal. A mitered mitten pattern with yarn from Wool in the Woods. I had actually picked out very bright yarns for this first, but then changed my mind, opting for something I would actually wear. I dithered about this purchase, and bought it on my second time in the booth. I had to leave the first time after I accidentally stepped on some poor girl. I was standing there on her foot and had no idea. How embarrassing.
We'll chalk this one on the screamingly bright side. Steeler yarn (but I think the official name is "Magic".) Maybe socks, maybe gloves.


Some sock yarn. (Tonals on the left, brights on the right). What can I say? I'm nothing if not consistent. See the fiber in the first picture? Brights and tonal. And I finished up with some books. I'm up through Vol. 12 with my Weldon's and the mitten book just appealed to me.
And to end tonight, just a couple of scenes from the festival. The popular food this year was apparently these Curly Chips -- a potato version of nachos. The line to buy them was longer than the line for the bathroom. And the Sheep to Shawl. I didn't get to see who won. Anyone out there know?

Back in the Saddle Again

And with yarn too! Sorry for the long time no post. I lost my computer. It was borrowed from Dave and he needed it back for work. So he bought me a new one. I now have my very own brand spanking new laptop. It's very nice. I'm happy.

So where did we leave off? Oh yes, the birthday socks. Well, I was at Heather's knitting and showing off the birthday socks when I noticed:
A dropped stitch. Waaaaay back there. "No problem," I said, "I'll just chain that sucker up and it'll be as good as new." Yeah right. I dug out my little crochet hook the next day and did indeed chain it up. The problem though was that it left a definate ridge in the knitting. If it had been on the top of the foot I would have been tempted to leave it in the hopes that a few months of wear and washing would distribute the yarn around the foot and everything would even out. But it was on the bottom of the foot where walking on it could be uncomfortable. I didn't want the socks not to be worn because of it. So I sucked it up and ripped.
I'm happy to say it didn't take me too long to recover.

And the Read Head sweater. Well, I left the yarn behind that same fateful night at Heather's. (And what's up with that? That's the second time I've left some of this yarn behind. Is it some kind of omen?) Heather held it hostage for an undetermined item from MDS&W and some spindling lessons. What could I do? I ponied up and got the yarn back. The big day is next week, after all. I need to get busy!

And MDS&W!! I spent way too much money! Lots of loot to show. Right now, Blogger won't let me put up any pictures, so I promise to show and tell all tomorrow!

Finished!

I finished the Christening Shawl late Saturday night. There it is in all its glory. Sorry that I couldn't show the whole thing, I had nowhere to lay it all out, and it was a dark and rainy night so I couldn't go outside.

Just because I like it so much, though, here's a close-up of the edging. And here's the baby and her mother.
Now for an AWWWWWW moment; when I met them at the church, the baby's mother was carrying her in and there she was in her carseat tucked under the baby blanket I'd made for her mother over 19 years ago. Her mother still sleeps with it (when she can get it away from the baby.) AWWWWWW.

I've lost the Red Head sweater, though. I thought it was in the pile of stuff to the left of the bed (my side), but it is not. Not under the bed either. I must have put it somewhere in a misconceived fit of housekeeping. I'll have to mount a search. But to show I have not been slacking, I present this:
The current state of the Birthday Socks (I'm turning the heel).
And this:
My current spinning. I've got 300 yards of singles yarn, and I think I'll get just under 100 yards more. What, oh what can I possibly knit with ~400 yards of sport to dk weight yarn?

No End in Sight

I did not finish a knitted item today. I did get one side of the shawl edged last night though.
I have ummmm, three more sides to do. Let's do the math here, shall we? That's three days to do ONE side and only two days left to get the other three sides done. Do you see anything wrong with this picture? I thought not. Well, I do have knitting group tomorrow night and then all day Saturday. So it's still a toss-up.

CQ e-mailed me today to complain about how cold her closet er, office was. The woman needs a shawl! Good thing I got the wood to make the Tri-Loom. I'm going to try to get it together next week. Maybe I can start weaving on it by next weekend! Try to contain your excitement.

Well, I'm off to pick up stitches so as to attach more edging. Wish me luck.

Another Finish!

Here's today's knitting progress.
I finished the Halloween II socks and gave them to Younger Son. He was excited to get them (he hugged them to his cheek. Really!) and said he will save them to wear to church on Sunday. I've started on the Birthday Socks. (Traffic was bad, so I got in extra knitting time on the bus today.) I'm still attaching the edging to my shawl, and a bit of doubt is starting to creep in about getting this done for the weekend. I took it to work today and worked on it at lunch, and will do the same tomorrow. We'll see.

Otherwise, Older Son is a National Merit Scholarship quarter finalist! According to the letter he scored among the top 50,000 students out of the 1.4 million who took the PSAT/NMSQT. CPRS will recommend him to two colleges. I'm hoping this will translate into some $$.

Billions and Billions

Look! I've attached this much of the edging to my Christening Shawl. Only a billion more stitches to go!

In other knitting news, I'm almost done with the Halloween II socks, and so tomorrow should start the Birthday Socks.

I talked to an old friend last night and I told her I wasn't adjusting well to working full time. She pointed out that I had been working full time for over two and a half years, so it was time I got over it. I just don't know how everyone else manages. My "8" hours of work stretches out to at least 11 hours out of the house, more usually closer to 12. Honestly, by the time I get home I'm completely wiped out. I think there must be something wrong with me.

I'm getting pumped for MDS&W! I'm thinking about what I want to get. Hmmmm. Yarn, books, fiber. Yep. Too bad I can't get a sheep or two. I'm sure they'd keep the lawn better trimmed than the current grounds crew.

Ticking Away

Just tick another item off the list--One baby sweater set almost done. The knitting on this is done, just have to do the finishing (bleah).

It's the 5HBS, with matching bonnet and booties. Cotton Tots yarn, took about two skeins. Nice Easter-y colors to work on this weekend.

So on the agenda now is piecing together the Christening shawl for this weekend, and then finishing these pieces for the first weekend in May, then the Red Head sweater and socks for Older Son's birthday on May 18. Doable, I think. I'm grateful to be back to sock knitting for the bus this week (can't do any finishing there).

I was off this weekend delivering Birthday gifts (Forget the presents, the real gift was me hauling my lazy butt anywhere on a Saturday morning!) and afterwards stopped and picked up wood to make my Tri-Loom (yeah, I'm gonna do it!). I had this surreal moment when I was sitting in the parking lot at Home Depot drinking my coffee and listening to Car Talk on the radio. Wierd.

I also stopped and got this
at Half-Price Books. I was a big fan in the late 70s when the syndicated shows were on weekday afternoons. Its quirky off-beat humor appealed to me (still does). And the music wasn't bad either. (I liked The Kids from C.A.P.E.R for the same reasons.) My favorite Monkee was Michael Nesmith. I loved the scenes with him trimming the pom-pom on his hat. (What can I say? I've always been a geek-lover. Dave went to college for Physics and Math. 'Nuff said.) I remember that I knew all the episodes so well that within seconds I could say what the episode was and what song they would sing. Wonder if the series is out on DVD? Now that would be something to have.

The Celting

The Celting is DONE! Hopefully it will fit the boy when I get it over to him tomorrow. I like the way the neckline turned out, and I even have a bit of yarn left over after sewing up all the seams and making a nice fold-over collar (love it, btw!) But don't worry, I've still got plenty to keep me busy.

I'm starting on a 5HBS with matching bonnet, and will work on finishing up the shawl (just have to attach the edgings) for next weekend. Then the Red Head sweater and socks for Older Son's birthday. I got the sock yarn at Knit One when I was there to see the Yarn Harlot. It looks exciting (well, in a drab manly sort of way) can't wait to see it knit up.

So I'm off to do the family thing for Easter. We're going to my Mother-in-Law's and I'm making my famous "Easter Spinach Phyllo Dough Thing". (At least that's what they call it every year when I'm asked to make it.) Need an impressive dish to take to YOUR Mother-in-Law's for Easter? This could be it.

You'll need:
1 package of Phyllo dough, thawed
2 boxes frozen spinach (or equivalent), thawed and drained
10 eggs, beaten
1 bunch green onions (or 1 medium yellow onion), chopped
1 lb feta cheese, crumbled
~1/2 lb of butter
9" X 13" baking dish, pastry brush

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Saute the onion in about a tablespoon of the butter.
Mix the sauteed onions with the spinach and crumbled feta cheese.
Melt the rest of the stick of butter.

Using the pastry brush, brush melted butter on the inside of the baking dish. Working quickly, lay down a sheet of phyllo dough and then brush melted butter on top of it. Continue to place sheets of phyllo dough, brushing melted butter between each sheet until you have at least 7 sheets. Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the dough, and pour the beaten eggs over top. Place another layer of phyllo dough over the filling and brush with melted butter, then lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top. Continue to layer phyllo dough, brushing each layer with melted butter (you may need to melt more) until you have at least 7 layers. (Again, I often lose count and end up with more). Brush the final layer with butter, and then use a sharp knife to score the top diagonally, making diamonds.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

That's it, very impressive looking when done, and not really hard, just a bit time-consuming. I dampen a dish cloth and lay it on the phyllo dough to keep it from drying out. Don't stress over little tears, just use the pastry brush to push it into place. The phyllo dough even comes in 9" X 13 " sheets, how's that for convenient?

Almost There

I'm just about done with the second sleeve.

My regular bus home broke down, so I had an unexpected knitting opportunity while I waited for the next one. After all was said and done, I ended up with an extra hour of knitting time. The only problem was that standing and knitting while holding my bag put a knot in my back. But what's a bit of pain when there's knitting to be done? It looks like I'm going to finish in time. I only have a few rows to finish up in the morning, then I have to put it all together and knit the neckband. I hope I have enough yarn to make a fold over collar, that's what I'm envisioning here.

I may have to spend some time doing yard work at my mother-in-law's. Older Son took care of it last year (she paid him, which I objected to but got overruled on by all involved) but he says he doesn't want to do it this year. Anyways, I told Dave it was just wrong that a woman who has three grown sons living within a few minutes drive should have to pay someone to take care of her yard. So guess who's been volunteered? Me and my big mouth! (But I still say I'm right!) So I'll check with her in the morning. Younger Son may come with me and help. Older Son is going to be working on the yard here (which used to be my job) and he won't get paid for it either.

I'm contemplating purchases at MDS&W. I've been talking about getting a Tri-Loom for several years now. This could be the year! I keep saying I'm going to make my own, but decided that if it didn't get done before I went I would buy one. I think Younger Son's summer job may be weaving shawls and wraps on the Tri-Loom and my rigid heddle. Maybe we can sell them on E-Bay. Hmmmm. My own little sweat-shop right at home.

Progress?

First off, here's the progress on the current sleeve:
(Maybe not. Blogger seems to be objecting to photos this evening. We'll wait a bit while I blather on and see if anything develops.)
(Hurray! Blogger has relented!)
It looks like more progress than there really was, because I'm working up from the shortest rows. I'll slow down a bit tonight as the rows get longer.

Yvonne, I was wondering if you were there last Friday just today! I was a bit disappointed that Team PGH wasn't mentioned. If you see me again speak up! (You might if you're at MDS&W -- and I'll be there all by my lonesome.)

Oh, and since I was listing deadlines yesterday, here's a new one. I have to attend a christening on the 23rd, and I want to present the baby with a christening shawl. But I have a trick up my sleeve there -- the pieces of the shawl are already knit, I just have to put them together. But still, it's another deadline. (One step forward, two steps back.)

So I'm thinking about the baby sweater I have to make. I have some Cotton Tots in appropriate colors in the stash. (And look at the numbers over there on the sidebar, I have to use up some stash!) I'm thinking something along the lines of the 5HBS or EZ's Favorite Baby Sweater. I briefly considered the little dress, (I still have that pink yarn) but I think it would be too much knitting for the time window I have.

I saw another rainbow today! I'm thinking Powerball. Just think of all the stuff I could get a MDS&W with a couple of million....