Nothing Much

Not much going on here. I'm inspired by Jean to make a shrug. She is thinking about one for the Highland Games this summer. But no pictures, since it's meant to be a surprise for a sometime reader of this blog. I still feel icky. It's been a week, so hopefully I can call the doctor and they'll take me seriously.

Dave is off trying to get his shining armor by retrieving my yarn. Updates tomorrow. Hope everyone's Olympic knitting is successful!

Ungrateful

That's what I am.
First off, yesterday I met up with Celtic Queen and Anne for the Knitting Olympics Team PGH Local Event (which looked alot like knitting and having lunch). I had a fabulous time! I was extremely thrilled to meet Anne, (but I think I hid it well -- being kinda sick with the chest thing), who was very gracious and seemed to have a good time also.

You see CQ and Anne here. The screen behind was showing the Olympics (CQ asked them to change it for us). CQ has moved on to blanket #2. Anne is working on Grapevine, which CQ and I greatly admired. My entrelac bag is on the table in the lower left corner. Also notice the sweater Anne's wearing, it's this one. I was most impressed, and now I want to make it myself. I have some yarn, and I may even have the pattern. (Either CQ or I have Starmore's Aran Knitting.)

And speaking of having patterns....Remember the whole thing about the Olympic sweaters? Well, I'm poking around the net and I see the Retro Collection from Dale with all the Olympic sweaters from 1956-1994. First I asked DH to get it for me as a belated Valentine gift. Then it hit me, the booklet looked awfully familiar. It seemed to me that I already owned it. But a cursory search (I was too sick to be up for more) didn't turn it up. So I called CQ and asked her if I owned it. She said she was wondering about me -- Yes, I did own it, didn't I remember? Well, duh, no. So I searched a bit harder and turned it up. (Dave tried to tell me he had run out and bought it for me already.) So I'll have to knit ALL the Olympic sweaters. I think I'll start with 1956 (those ones are easier anyways). And besides, I can't find Nagano or Salt Lake. (But at least I'm sure I already own them.)

And on the Olympic front -- the Entrelac Bag is knitted!



Here it is, ready for its trip to the washing machine. (I included the scissors for scale -- it was either that or a fork, which says way too much about me, I think.)

So why am I ungrateful? Because despite all this knitterly goodness I'm cranky and upset. I lost a skein of yarn yesterday at the restaurant. Dave even called them for me today and asked about it, which is another thing for me to be grateful for. They said it WAS there, and may still be. We were told to call again tomorrow. So am I grateful? No, I'm irritated that Dave's not storming the place to get my yarn back for me RIGHT NOW. I mean, this is YARN we're talking about here. He wasn't moved to go and demand my yarn even after I told him I was devastated by the loss of it. See how ungrateful I am. But really. It's YARN....

Olympian Dreams

No knitting last night -- I spent the evening putting in (and fiddling with) my Olympic Countdown banner. See it over there in the sidebar? Neat, isn't it? Yarn Harlot had one, but instead of ripping off her code (which would have been easy) I got the one from my Spinning Page that counts down to MDS&W and modified it.

My Olympic Knitting continues. I'm hoping to finish up a couple of skeins of yarn here soon so I can add them to my tally (yes, I'm over). I think I'm going to have lots of yarn left over after the bag is done. I'll have to knit a sweater to get rid of it. I'm ok with that, I like the yarn (Paton's Merino Classic) and the colors for a sweater. I think I'll get more of the charcoal grey and knit a fairisle yoke sweater but with the little fairisle band at the top of a sleeve. It'll go well with all my black skirts.

I ordered Torino today. So now that makes four Olympic sweater patterns in my collection:
Nagano,



Lillehammer,
Salt Lake,
and Torino

I'm contemplating making my inter-Olympic knitting goal being the knitting of all these sweaters. (And maybe as many other Olympic sweaters as I can find.) Then I can spend the next Winter Olympics wearing a different Olympic sweater every day. What do you all think? Well, I'm still feeling kinda crappy, and I'm hoping to be able to stay awake for some Olympic viewing tonight.

Bits and Boots

Olympic knitting continues. Thanks Holly and Yvonne for the well wishes. Physically, I feel better today, but I sound worse -- I've definately got a frog in my throat. I did not get any knitting done at lunch today, a friend coaxed me outside and I ended up buying these:


That's two pairs of boots. And I got them both for only $18! For BOTH! Don't you just love a bargain?

Otherwise, have you seen the latest Interweave Knits? Normally I don't notice these things, but just look at the model on the cover. Good Lord, someone please buy the woman a sandwich! She looks like a holocaust survivor.

I really wanna make the Sunrise Circle Jacket (and not just because I read Kate Gilbert's blog, but that factors in). It might be my next big project. Personally, I think they could have left out the dorky fingerless mitts and belt-bag and put the instructions for the jacket in the mag.

News from the Olympic Knitting Front

OK, first things first. Here's the state of the Olympic project.

I have to report that I'm having some equipment issues. Remember the needle separation I had on day one? Well, it's happened twice more (once on each needle end). I must twist my needles in some funky way whilst knitting. It could be all that twisting around I do picking up stitches. Who knows? I'm not ready to throw in the towel on this Boye set yet, but it's getting closer. (This same problem is why I don't use the Denise set I bought a few years back too.) I think I'm just not cut out for those needle sets.

And I'm sick. Not so bad that I'll have to withdraw from the Olympics, but I think I'm going to miss my knitting workout tonight. I woke up with a bit of a scratchy throat this morning, and it's been progressing all day into a full blown cough/chest/throat thing. I'm headachey and have chills. I think I'm just going to go to sleep early. Great thing for Valentine's Day. Bleah. We're taking a raincheck on celebrations. (Although if things progress as they are I stand to lose my voice in a day or two. Dave may consider that a great Valentine's gift.)

Entrelac Entire

My knitting and I spent the weekend watching the Olympics.

It's all entrelac, all the time here. I am fairly confident that I will be able to finish my project, and I think I have accomplished my goal. That being to challenge myself by learning a new technique. (The time crunch thing just wasn't where I'm at.) Which I did. Not only do I feel I have conquered entrelac, I also taught myself to knit back backwards, a handy little skill to have in your knitter's bag of tricks. Neither of these skills were difficult to pick up, I simply needed a project to push me to learn them, which the Knitting Olympics provided.

Celtic Queen and I decided today that had we just been given the chance we would have been phenoms at some of the more obscure Olympic events like biathalon (me) and skeleton/luge (CQ). Glossing over the fact that neither one of us has ever, at any point in our lives, been particularly active in athletics or sports of any kind. What can I say? The Olympic spirit lives on in us all. We also agreed that we have to get the kids out there doing more stuff. (Have you seen the bios on some of these athletes? They all started out when they were like 7 or 8 at the latest!) Those boys have a lot of catching up to do!

Fanfare for the Common Man

Which was the Olympic Theme in the days of my youth (John Williams wrote a new one in either '80 or '84). Here I am casting on for my Olympic Knitting Project at a few minutes after 2:00 yesterday:

The original plan was for several of my co-workers to stand behind me cheering me on and waving Terrible Towels. The reason they did not is because standing directly in line of sight in front of me (behind the camera) was a Vice President of our company. So no cheering (not even from the one whose review I will complete.)

And we had some drama, too. Shortly after casting on (which took 3 tries), THIS happened. A needle separation. It caused a dropped stitch, but I was able to recover, tighten my needles, and move on. So far no recurrence.

Knitting night last night and there was plenty of Olympic knitting going on.

Celtic Queen is knitting TWO blankets, one for each Celting. Here she is working on the first, a "regular blue" one.


Heather is making an intarsia sweater for her youngest (really cute, with a frog) which is her first intarsia project. And she charted it herself! I'm impressed. And she introduced me to Minkee -- I'm in love! Good thing I don't know how to sew (I don't need another stash, although I did dabble in quilting for a bit.)

On Your Mark, Get Set...

I'm ready!!

Here are my supplies for my entrelac bag. All my yarn, my needles and pattern just prior to stowing them in my knitting bag for the trip to work tomorrow. I'll be taking a late lunch at 2:00 and casting on for my project then.

And here is the current state of sock #2 for Celting #2, and the remaining skein:

See how little yarn there is left? It's going to be a squeaker. Time-wise, too if I don't get knitting. I've only got tonight and my commute time in the morning tomorrow. Hope everyone else is ready for the Olympics tomorrow. Drink plenty of fluids, have a good meal, and get a good night's rest.

Hump Day

Yeah, I wish. Some good news. The friend I made this scarf for:

finished up with treatments yesterday! Everything went very well, and the prognosis seems good! Hurray!

Work is crazy. I have code to write, and webpages to update, and spreadsheets to look at, and then all my "regular" work. But no overtime. Yeah. At least it's challenging. I'm hoping to hit the lottery -- $210 million.

And I'm knitting a little Celting sock. I'm hoping to finish sock 1 and maybe start on sock 2 tonight. I'll work on it tomorrow and Friday morning. Then Friday at 2:00 I'm casting on for my Olympic project: A Felted Entelac Bag. The stretch for me is the entrelac technique. Celtic Queen is very graciously lending me her pattern for the project. Dave is picking it up tonight so I can get all my supplies together tomorrow. And if I finish before the end of the Olympics, I can make the Danica scarf from the current issue of Knitty. Funny how that came out just in time.

You Know You're Old When

Conversation with Older Son yesterday:

OS: Mom, were you a Dead Head?
Me: You mean like the Greatful Dead?
OS: Yeah, you know, like a fan of the Greatful Dead.
Me: I'm just a little too young to have been a Dead Head. Ask your dad. Did you see that cd I just bought? It's only one cd, that doesn't make me a Dead Head.
OS: No, I didn't see it, really. That's funny though. I was just reading about the Greatful Dead and Dead Heads.
Me (suspiciously): Where?
OS: Umm, well, you know in school...In, uh, American Studies..
Me (interrupting): You mean in HISTORY?!!
OS (laughing): Yeah!

Yes, I actually had just bought a Greatful Dead cd (a cheapie greatest hits thing) and yes, he showed us the textbook with the passage about the Greatful Dead and Dead Heads. I can't remember exactly what it said, it was just too depressing. Kinda reminds me of when they re-released the original Star Wars movies in theaters and all the trailers went on (and on) about how "An entire generation has never seen these movies as they were meant to be seen -- On the big screen." Yeah, thanks.

So in knitting news I finished my socks, and am wearing them today. Here they are on my feet (it really is tough to get a good picture of your own feet.) And I've started making some socks for one of the Celtings with the leftover yarn (so as to use the skein up completely and add it to my tally). I think they will be for the smaller Celting, there's not too much yarn left. Also, I've been wearing my Flashy Gloves this week, and I really like them. I need a hat and scarf though. I have this book and am sorely tempted by a tam. I could make a plain one out of the Flashy yarn. It would be a good way to get the pattern down before trying it in Fairisle. Maybe the yarn will behave better. But maybe not, and then I'm stuck with a tam I don't like. Hmmm. It's a dilemma. Of course, I could always gift someone with the tam. Hmmm... to be continued.....

Button, Button

Team PGH has a button!
Thanks to the very talented Yvonne for the button. Feel free to use it, download it your own site, yada, yada.

I knit (well, re-knit) socks this weekend. I had to rip out the socks I made from the yarn my excellent Secret Pal Holly sent me. (The originals didn't fit anyone). I'm finishing up this pair and they fit me perfectly! And I think I'll have enough left over to make a pair for one of the Celtings, thereby using up another skein of yarn. I'm so clever. (That's why it took me 3 tries to get the dang socks to fit me.)

So I'm contemplating what to do next for the commuter knitting. Of course, next week it will be all Olympics, all the time. But until then? Will the socks keep me busy? We'll see. I think I'm making the Market Bag for the Olympics. Hard as it is to believe, I've never done entrelac, so that's the stretch for me. I've got to go visit the Celtic Queen to borrow her pattern so I know if I need to get some yarn. And if I finish before the end of the Olympics? I think I'll go on a finishing binge and try to finish up as many projects as I can (I have several that I've completed the knitting on, they just need "finished" to be useable.)

Here We Go

Just for the record, I will NOT be watching the game. Every time I watch, the Steelers lose. The Super Bowl in '95? First game I watched all season. The AFC Championship last year? First game I watched all season. The fumble in Indianapolis? I walked into the room and glanced at the TV. So I will be in my room watching Season Two of the Mary Tyler Moore show and knitting instead. The neighbors will let me know when the game is over, I'm sure.

Olympic Event

Here's my announcement. There will be an "unofficial" (isn't this whole thing unoffical?) Knitting Olympics event for all those participating. Any and all Knitting Olympians are invited to attend.

Where: Damon's at the Waterfront
When: Sunday, February 19 from 1:00-4:00 PM

Our plan is to take over the joint and knit while watching the Olympics. As with any true Olympic event, family and friends are welcome to cheer the knitters on. Please contact me at laurieDOTgrahamATcomcastDOTnet if you definately plan to attend and let me know how many are in your party. Right now I'm going, Celtic Queen is going, and Heather is going. If alot more people are going I'll need to alert the restaurant (and maybe the media).

I'm going off to promote in some other blogs. And if somebody could get us a button? I've plenty of talents, but they don't extend in that direction. We're going with Team PGH.

Just Call Me Granny

And boy, after the week I've had I sure do feel like it! Twice this week I came home and I was too tired to even eat! (And if you know me at all, you know that's absolutely unheard of for me.) My internet has been down all week too, that's why no blogging. So here's the entry I was going to give you all on Monday, and we'll go from there.

I was a grandmother last weekend! Here's a picture of my grandson:
Yep, he's one of those electronic babies. Older Son had to bring him home and take care of him for his Life Management (or whatever the heck they call that class now) class. OS didn't really come up with a name for him. I called him "Diggy". And guess what? Dave and I had to baby sit! OS had an opportunity to go out but he didn't want to with the baby. Dave and I wanted him to go (he never does, this was the first time all year) so I babysat. Then we went out to dinner. With the baby! Dave made me put a blanket over him, though. And I bonked him off the door leaving the restaurant and made him cry! I guess I'm not ready to be a grandmother after all. Anyways, I don't think this is a fair idea of what it's like to be a parent. The thing should require attention much more often. And it had this funky head thing going on which made it very difficult to hold it without setting it off. I think it taught the kids to just plop the baby in the carrier and leave it there until it cried. (Which was every 4 hours, almost by the clock.)

So knitting news, I finished the Flashy Gloves. Here's where I was last Monday on glove #2:





and here's the completed pair (I apologize for the clashing pink background, I was very tired and I can't find my white thingie. Also note and give me bonus points for not displaying obscene gestures with them, though I was sorely tempted.): I've cast on for a pair of socks for my commuter knitting.

If you're still with me, I am attempting to coordinate a Team PGH event for the Knitting Olympics. I need to consult with my co-conspirators and will give all the details soon!

I'm an Olympiad

Yes, I'm joining the Knitting Olympics. The Celtic Queen is, and she signed me up to. It's "Celtic Queen and aunt" so I'm an also ran. I would correct it but poor Stephanie has more than enough to do just getting everyone entered. I can't decide what to make though. I'm toying with the Knitter's Market Bag -- I've never done entrelac. I think I'll do it in neutrals, black, tan, cream, grey. That's my tentative plan, at any rate. (And it will use up stash yarn too! Yea!)

My first glove is going ok, I'm working on the thumb. I should finish up tomorrow. So what else have I been doing? Well, I made this from yarn and a pattern sent by my PGH Secret Pal, Holly. I still need to do the finishing. It's a little purse, if I were smarter I would have included something for scale. I still need line it and add the handles (Holly thoughtfully sent matching fabric and handles.) I think hers looks much nicer than my attempt, tho.

I've also been working on this, which has me frankly terrified. It's knit with Tess' Designer Yarn I got at MDS&W last year, the main yarn is the Cascade Silk and there's a subtle stripe in there of Microfiber Ribbon. It's the start of a sleeve on a tee knitted sideways. There will be a broader stripe of the ribbon in the center front and a bit of a decorative neckband with the ribbon as well. The yarn is way more expensive than what I normally use, and I'm terrified I'm going to screw it up. If I do, the silk can be saved, but I'm afraid the ribbon will be a write off.

And finally, Dave called tonight. I've been looking forward to seeing him all week -- I don't know why, but I really miss him alot this time. He called to say that they need him in Indiana this weekend. So he won't be coming home tomorrow night after all. But there's knitting group tomorrow and I still have that to look forward to. Yeah!

Stuffed Up

So what have I been up to since my return from Paris? Knitting-wise I've been working on the Funky Gloves, which have now been renamed the Flashy Gloves. On account of the yarn, which is variegated, flashed badly. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, flashing is my favorite effect from variegated yarn. But this yarn just didn't cut it. Look at it there in the skein, it looks so good (the colors are fairly true). But it's so disappointing knitted up. Will I continue with the gloves? Yes. Will I use them? Yes. Are they everything I hoped they would be? No. Just let this be a lesson for all of you thinking about variegated yarn. The skein seduces you with it's mix of colors, but the knitted result can be very disappointing. Interestingly though, this yarn looks like it was designed to try and prevent this, because the color sequence reverses itself. It's green, red, yellow, blue, green, etc. for 4 repeats, then it's green, blue, yellow, red, green, etc. for 4 repeats. Wierd.

Otherwise, I'm a bit down in the dumps this week. Dave has gone away again. He's in Detroit now. I know, I tried to get tickets. I told him to tell his boss I was so enraged about him leaving that the only way he could go was if he got Super Bowl tickets. No go. At least he's home on the weekends. I was looking for him in the bed all Monday night, I kept moving over in my sleep trying to find him. I woke up all the way on the other side of the bed. And we're short-handed at work so I've been working OT. Not to mention that I keep messing up the jobs and making more work for myself. And it's cold and snowing. The younger Celting got to wear his "Magic" ensemble, as the Celtic Queen posted in comments. He truly was thrilled with it. Older Son has shovelling detail. He said one of the neighbors complimented him on his shovelling. I couldn't believe it! That's like getting a raise because you showed up for work once! (But maybe it will inspire him to do more.) Younger Son is avoiding me because he doesn't want to go to bed, so I'd better go track him down.

Secrets Revealed

Finally, Saturday. My last day in Paris. Dave wanted to visit the Louvre (he'd never been there), so off we trekked. We saw Mona Lisa (they don't let you take photos of her anymore, although I snapped one when I was there a couple years ago). And lots of other impressive artwork. Dave had a "Top 10 Things to See at the Louvre" list so we trekked up and down, hither and yon to take them all in. I ended up seeing alot of the Dutch Masters because I wandered off and got lost in that wing. Shortly after arriving I snapped this photo of Egyptian spindles. And I did see "The Lacemaker" by Vermeer (it was one of the "Top 10") as well, but no picture (sorry!).






And.....YES! I did make it to La Droguerie!

Wow! I have to say, hands down this was the busiest yarn shop I have
ever visited, by far. I ended up buying this yarn which I must really like, because this is the third incarnation of this same yarn (navy tweed) that I've purchased. I'm thinking I'll make a vest or use it with something else for a sweater.







And, Secret Projects revealed! I was working on this ensemble for the younger Celting's birthday while travelling. (I completed the hat while delayed on my flight to Philadelphia, much to the amazement of my fellow travellers). Don't you just love the colors? The yellow is even more eye-popping in person. I'm a big believer on truly BRIGHT colors for young children. Makes them easier to spot in crowds. He also received a "regular" blue (not really) sweater. And some ugly men, as my mother always referred to action figures. He was honestly as excited about the knitted goods as the ugly men. Celtic Queen has raised him right!

Here he is excitedly ripping into the bag.

The dog was less thrilled about them, as you can see. (Although she does try to eat my fuzzy mittens every time I go over.)

I Love Paris in the Winter...

So let's see, we left our heroine walking about Paris. La Droguerie was closed, but in our search for another yarn shop I saw this window display of felted boxes and snapped a picture.



And as I said, we went to Notre Dame.


Notre Dame herself,




and the rose windows --







North















and South











and of course Joan (whose reputation was "rehabillitated" there, according to the sign.)







Finally, I really like this exterior shot -- with flying buttresses apparent.










Then back to the hotel to sleep. We had a great room:


Ha! I'm joking. That's really Louis XIV's room at Versailles, where we went the next day (I took my Funky Gloves for knitting on the train on the way out and back, and almost finished the first cuff). Versailles was....Versailles. As someone said to me this week when we were discussing the trip, "After seeing Versailles, it kinda makes you understand why they cut off Marie Antoinette's head." (Although I personally think Marie got a bum rap there, but who knows?) Dave and I were both a little wierded out by the Levee and the Couchee. It just doesn't seem decent to receive people formally from your bed.

We saw this statue at the top of the Queen's staircase:

The placque says it was to commemorate some royal's wedding (can't remember now whose). It amused me no end -- just what exactly do you think that quiver there represents? Hmmmm?

After returning from Versailles we went to the Eiffel Tower, arriving just after dusk.. The top floor was closed, so I still have not made it to the top, after three trips! I don't know if it was security or not. There were soldiers patrolling the grounds of the tower with machine guns, though. I wanted to get a picture of them holding their guns on Dave, but he wouldn't go for it. (Although he did accidentally walk into a soldier {and his machine gun} while looking up at the tower when we walked up.)

Then dinner and off we went to Le Caveau De La Huchette (just around the corner from our hotel) for a night of jazz and dancing. Dave wants to learn more swing dancing (he did take some lessons for awhile a few years back and again before going to China). He was very impressed by the 60+ (a few very +) gentlemen who were dancing with the cute 20 year olds at the club. He's also busy learning to play the jazz standards.

So, did I make it La Droguerie? You see my yarn counter has gone up....Tune in tomorrow!

Le Retour de l'Indigène

I'm back! The trip was great, I tried to squeeze in everything I possibly could. It started off inauspiciously. I was delayed at the airport because of weather in Philadelphia. (I completed an entire [secret] knitting project while we were sitting on the runway waiting to take off. The other passengers were suitably impressed.) Then, after take off for Paris I started smelling something really bad -- I wondered if the plane was on fire. But no, it didn't smell like something burning. But WHAT, I thought, are they going to serve for dinner? It really smells like stinky feet! Stinky feet? Wait a minute... Sure enough, the guy across the aisle had taken off his shoes. It was REALLY bad. Eventually, the air recycling system kicked in, but still I'd get a whiff of it every now and then during the trip. I didn't get to sleep hardly at all. Every time I'd drift off for a few minutes the guy behind me (who was travelling with Mr. Stinky Feet) would kick my seat. So I arrived in Paris all bleary-eyed and bumbled my way through customs. Really. I followed some people who I thought knew where they were going, and they led me right out of the security area. Without my baggage. (But Dave was there.) I had to go back and explain to the nice French policeman that I needed to get my suitcase. I could just tell from his expression he was thinking "Stupid American!" But I managed to escape from the airport and we made it back to Paris. We decided to spend the day shopping. I of course wanted to go buy yarn. So I looked up the address of the La Droguerie and we consulted several maps and then took La Metropolitan. We walked out of the station and there was La Rue du Jour right there! And La Droguerie! It was like a sign! There was a sign alright:
For those of you who don't read French, it says " La Droguerie will be closed for inventory from Monday January 9th thru Friday the 13th. Reopen Saturday the 14th at 10:30." Can you believe my luck? So Dave and I walked down the street looking for another yarn shop I had read about. We walked for about an hour and a half but never found it. We did find something else though.
So you don't feel too bad for me, it was about here that the day started getting better. We visited Notre Dame (it was like a stone's throw from the hotel)
had a nice lunch and then went to see a concert by Evan Christopher and Tom McDermott at Le Chatelet. Dave had met Evan at a jazz club the night before and he graciously invited us. The jet lag was definately catching up with me, so I was not at my sparkling best. The concert was fabulous, though, definately the highlight of the trip. Afterwards we had dinner and then I collapsed in bed.

Sooo, did I get to shop at La Droguerie? What else did we do? Tune in tomorrow to find out more.

My Bags Are (Almost) Packed

And I'm almost ready to go. I just have to pack some toiletries, and my carry-on which will have my knitting projects and reading material. I'm taking three projects. Two are secret and one is the Funky Gloves. I decided to go with my original idea and just knit gloves from the multi colored yarn. As of now I haven't restarted them.

I am taking off tomorrow from work so this is it until Monday the 16th. I may be able to post between now and then (Dave said he had internet access) but I can't guarantee it. I will post pictures and tell all (well maybe not all) when I return next week!