The Dilettante Debutante

Olly Oxen Free

2008-11-10T09:31:00.003-05:00

Dear J's baby,

I finished your sweater last night. It is now blocking (photo soon). It's ok to come out now - your Mom, Far, and big brother B can't wait to meet you. So if the sweater is what has been holding you back, now you have no excuse.

Love,

Auntie K

still here, still trendy

2008-09-13T17:40:00.003-04:00

Quick knitting check in: two projects underway.

1. Green Classic Elite Star sweater for R (pattern came with yarn, basic pullover in fairly boring stockinette).

2. Following the Ravelry herd and making a February Lady with some red (Vermillion) kettle-dyed Malabrigo I got on sale. I vacillated between the red and some white/natural. Trying to convince myself I made the right choice. I started this on vacation on Cape Cod and am now about halfway done with the body. The lace goes pretty quickly.

Incorrect Marital Profiling

2008-07-10T10:43:00.002-04:00

I'm a big fan of Laurie Perry, aka Crazy Aunt Purl. So much so that I purchased her book Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair from Amazon for my recently divorced sister. And what does Amazon send me today?

Dear Amazon.com Customer, We've noticed that customers who have purchased or rated Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split by Laurie Perry or other books in the Family Relationships > Divorce category have also purchased Contemplating Divorce: A Step-by-step Guide to Deciding Whether to Stay or Go by Susan Pease Gadoua. For this reason, you might like to know that Contemplating Divorce: A Step-by-step Guide to Deciding Whether to Stay or Go will be released on August 1, 2008. You can pre-order yours at a savings of $5.42 by following the link below.

And of course the first thing I saw open opening the email was a big graphic of the Contemplating Divorce cover. I quickly checked with my better half to make sure everything was hunky dory and that this wasn't his way of telling me something (neither of us have Facebook accounts, so, y'know, I might not be up on our relationship status). He assured me all was well and I went back to read the text and realized it was all due to my Crazy Aunt Purl fandom. I guess it's a good thing I don't use Facebook and the Beacon service or my friends might have been wondering about us. Awkward!

Stashbustapalooza

2008-04-28T14:38:00.003-04:00

Check out this sweater and hat combo made for Baby AW, far away in London:

Pattern: Daisy by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I used up stash leftovers of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and Cotton Classic. I like bright colors on babies, and it seems Miss AW would agree!

Also stash busted two pairs of socks (no photos yet), one in army green mock cable rib, one self-striping blues in a chevron pattern.

Currently on the needles:
Fast Florida Footies for my mom (began during vacation in FLA last week, will be Mother's Day gift)
Green Classic Elite Star pullover for R
Baby hat for one of my colleagues due next month
Sitcom Chic - time to pull it out of storage and finish it already

And...for my birthday my better half bought me a copy of 2 at Time Socks. I'm about 3 inches into the cuff - it was slow starting, but I'm getting the hang of it. The book has nice patterns too, regardless of whether you end up liking the two at a time approach (consensus at yesterday's knitting group was split 50-50).

If that doesn't work, try a carrier pigeon

2008-04-01T20:23:00.003-04:00

While I love my new job, there have been a few hitches in the area of telecommunications.

-my email address used to belong to a student with the same last name as mine, who seems to have graduated recently. He gets mailings for things like College Republicans and the Scandinavian student society. Also, he either thinks his old address is forwarding things to him or he likes giving out fake info, as he apparently took a ReMax real estate training class last week and gave my email as his.

-my desk phone was until recently a fax number for another department. I have learned to answer the phone with the headset well away from my ear. It took a while to convince the would-be faxer from Croatia that she had the wrong number.

-my work-issued Blackberry (fine after its flour bath) number used to belong to an apparent deadbeat lothario named Richard who routinely gets calls from debt collection agencies, credit card companies, and random women. The women are surprised to hear a female voice answer; the debt collectors assume I am fronting for Rich. He/I also gets many calls that ring twice and hang up. Maybe it's the Postman?

Also, fun fact: At my last job I had inherited the former email address of one of the real life students whose story is depicted in the new movie "21." A few years ago she wrote to warn me that casino detectives had a record of her email address and had incorrectly deduced that my maiden name was one of her aliases. She alerted me that I may encounter problems should I ever try to play blackjack in Vegas (unlikely, as I'm too frugal to play more than the nickel slots!).

Facts and figures...

2008-03-06T20:52:00.004-05:00

...from the past six weeks:

Number of tourists whose photos I have taken in front of a famous statue on campus: 3
Number of tourists in whose photos I am likely in the background: at least two dozen
Number of knitted objects completed: 5 - a Bainbridge scarf for my sister, the second baby cable rib sock I had begun last summer, a moss stitch pillow for our new living room, a modified Ice Queen from Knitty (no beads, and lace only at the edges), a washcloth for women's shelter "moving out" kits.
Number of steps from my assigned parking spot to my office: ~2500 (I started wearing a pedometer to trick myself into moving more)
Amount of hair trimmed from my head (about 3 inches, and I'm still coming to terms with it.)
Number of spit-takes induced in new coworkers by making references to MatchGame: 1

A Working Mother's Lament

2008-02-05T10:32:00.000-05:00

Last night I got home late after a work-related dinner, and realized I had promised to bake something for the PTO bake sale today. I hurriedly put my things down on the counter and got out a mixing bowl. While I was measuring flour my hand slipped and I proceeded to dredge my new Blackberry which was charging next to the bowl.

Mites vs. Peewees

2008-01-22T12:54:00.000-05:00

After seeing the new Dunkin Donuts commercial (the Peewee hockey one), I demanded that BH Google to determine who was behind the catchy jingle. Was it Fountains of Wayne? No, word on the street is that it's They Might Be Giants,, the nicest band I ever met (tm). I crewed a show they did just after their first album, and they were funny, humble and grateful to everyone on our staff. And of course they rocked the house.

I got a chuckle though from a comment on another blog critiquing the commercial for showing kids who are supposedly too young to be in the official Peewee age class. I guess "freezing at Mites hockey" just didn't sound as good...

The cold wind is howling outside and I have an inexplicable urge to get to a DD, stat.

You gotta cut down on yer pool-playin' mate. Get some exercise!

2008-01-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

Z seems very musically inclined, and enjoys the mix tape CDs we listen to on our commute to preschool. This week she is a backup singer for Blur, and I have to bite my lip to keep from cracking up when a winsome little voice peeps "Park Life!" at the correct intervals from the backseat. She's stronger on the chorus though - "All the people/So many people..." Which come to think of it must be how our rush hour crawl seems to her.

Two weeks into my new job at a different locale. I miss my old friends (who threw me a boffo farewell bash) but I'm liking the new place so far.

Does he know me or what?

2007-12-21T12:08:00.001-05:00

Last night my Better Half was sorting through the mail and catalogs. He lingered over the latest from Victoria's Secret. "Should I leave you two alone?" I inquired. "Nah," he said. "But I think there's something in here you'll really like!" He handed me the catalog, and I began flipping through it. Stuck in the middle was a postcard announcing a 25% off sale at a local yarn shop. "Woohoo!" I yelled, "there definitely *was* something in here I like...oh, wait. That's what you meant."

Jokes, malaise, and potentially nauseating mittens

2007-11-28T19:31:00.000-05:00

Although it's a month post-Halloween, this is my kids' current favorite joke:

Q: What does a vegetarian zombie eat?
A: Grains. Graaaaains!

The kids and BH have been knocking themselves out thinking up other versions, including:

Q: What does a zombie plumber fix?
A; Draaaains!

Q: What does a zombie prisoner wear?
A. Chaaains!

(You may need to live in our area to get this next one)

Q: Where do zombies go bowling?
A: Laaaanes and Gaaaames!

And so on.

What with the unpacking and work business (and a visit from the multitalented Table setter), I have not had much inclination to blog. Or knit much, for that matter. I made a ribbed hat for me and one mitten each for R and Z, but then we located the winter accessories box in the garage so finishing the pairs became less urgent. Z came with me to the yarn shop to pick out her yarn, and she wanted Noro Kureyon mittens with pink Lion Fun Fur cuffs. The woman at the store was practically gagging at the idea that I would be combining those two fibers. She bent down and told Z "your mom loves you an awful lot to agree to knit you these mittens!"

Next items to finish will be the Maizy socks for R (so I can give him socks for Hanukkah, of course - my only holiday deadline knitting for once) and, with luck, the Mario scarf. Then I have a slew of in-progress items to consider:

-the moss stitch pillow for our new living room
-the second baby cable rib sock for me
-the Branching Out scarf for me (would match the hat I just knitted)
-Jesse's Flames (still haven't located my other yarn stash box in the garage) for R
-Kid Seta stripy scarf (uses leftover pink and blue, each color lovely alone but together in two row stripes make a pale washed out violet that I find unappealing).
-Tofutsies socks, but maybe try knitting them two at a time which would necessitate winding the skein into two balls assuming I find the ball winder. Frankly, I'm not sure I can be arsed to get that done.
-Sitcom Chic. Not sure I'd actually wear it. Not sure to whom I could give it. Not sure it'll get finished.
-the remaining mittens for R and Z (R's is in bulky Sheep Shop, which I officially adore)

Things I'd like to knit:
-The Modern Quilt Wrap. My pal the StitchingNut is going to show me hers to I can see what the "wrong" side looks like. Kidsilk Haze may be sticky enough that the reverse side looks ok...I'm considering attempting it using all nine colors of Knitpicks Gloss (including Bare). I loves me that KSH though; tough call.
-A work sweater for me. Most of the pullovers I've made are too casual for work. Time to find the Softwist Bulky or the Noro Sumile and appropriate chic patterns.

Thing I'd like to do:
-Update my Ravelry entries.

Back in da house!

2007-11-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

We moved back into the house last week. That was a lot of work, but manageable with good movers and help from friends (husband still recovering from knee surgery). We're working out some plumbing and electrical issues, but that's for another post. We were doing ok until the POD came back. Husband and I agree that for a modest fee PODS should offer a POD-crushing service so you don't have to deal with all of that stuff. Seriously, with the exceptions of my musical instruments and yarn stash, I couldn't even tell you what is in those boxes now taking up most of our (now-double) garage. We have sworn to be ruthless in purging the PODded stuff. Ruthless! Absolutely no Ruth whatsoever. I think I need to read Flylady a few times to steel myself. I will not clutter up my lovely new home.

Knitting: working on a Mario scarf, a ribbed hat for me, and a lace scarf for me. Can recommence the Jesse's Flames sweater for R once I find its box in the garage.

And here's baby A modelling her Haiku. She appears to be thinking quite serious thoughts for someone so young. Hopefully not along the lines of "someone get this preppy-colored monstrosity off of me, now." Yarn is Patternworks Bretton in Pink, and yes, I am still sensitive to alpaca, even yarn that is 5% alpaca.

Everything but the kitchen sink

2007-10-05T13:44:00.000-04:00

So, the lease extension to our sublet has now reached a second month, and our 3.5 month renovation has turned into a 5.5 month renovation. Why, you may ask? The answer lies in the kitchen.

We decided to use recycled engineered quartz for our countertops. The place from which we ordered our kitchen cabinets assured us that they had "a guy" who could order and install countertops for us. On the appointed day, he showed up and proceeded to install a sink in our kitchen. The workmanship was lovely, and the countertops sparkled. Too bad he accidentally cut the hole for and installed the *laundry* sink instead of the *kitchen* sink. To top that off, our contractor had somehow ordered the wrong kitchen sink (an inset model instead of an undermount). Undo! The existing hole would not fit the kitchen sink (that is, the undermount style one we had originally wanted to use), so we found an alternative "close-enough" model online and quickly ordered it. We were happy, the architect was happy, and the kitchen place was happy that I wasn't going to make them redo the entire counter.

Oops! The kitchen place forgot to tell this to the countertop installer, who, in an additional bout of "don't let the facts get in the way of my initiative", came back unannounced a few days later and made the hole larger to accomodate that inset sink that had been ordered by mistake. Which, of course, now rendered this entire slab of stone useless for our kitchen. For the first time in the entire remodelling process, I dropped an F-bomb in front of the architect and contractor.

Sooo....kitchen place is giving us a new countertop, the new correct undermount sink is now installed, and the incorrectly-ordered inset sink and cut-to-fit quartz countertop will find a new home in our laundry room. I hope whoever buys this house from us one day will appreciate their high-end laundry room.

I've been knitting a lot to ease the stress...finished a sock for R, working on a sock for the BH, and on a moss stitch pillow for the new living room chair. We're due to move back on Halloween. Sure hope that's no trick.

So imagine my surprise

2007-09-17T14:37:00.000-04:00

Post title an homage to Local Egg, who always manages to find song lyrics to fit.

Recently I was driving somewhere with Z and someone cut us off at a rotary. "Dude!" I shouted (I do make an effort not to swear around the kids). "Mommy, why did you call that other driver 'dude'?" Z asked. "Uh, because I didn't know their name, honey." I replied.

A few days later we were walking down the street when a tall woman with short hair passed us. She said hi to me and Z , and we returned the greeting. Before the other woman was out of earshot, Z asked me her name. I told her I didn't know. Z thought for a second and inquired "Oh, Mommy, was that a dude?". The woman shot me a dirty look.

Also, as a follow-up to the Noam Chomsky post - last week Z narrowly avoided a collision with Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Nobel prize winners of the Boston area, beware of small blonde children!

Please, sir, may I have some heavy artillery?

2007-09-11T21:28:00.000-04:00

I read this Metafilter thread on recommendations for books that are good introductions to the field and was reminded of a former colleague of mine who had recently been discharged from the Navy. He was finishing a distance learning degree and complained that the university was making him complete a literature survey course before graduation. "I'm studying computer science," he said indignantly. "Why do I have to know about the cannons [sic] of Western Literature?"
"*Cannons*?" I asked, thinking I hadn't quite heard him correctly.
"Yeah," he said, "you know, like, the big guns! Dickens and stuff!"

Incarcerated at 7-11?

2007-09-07T14:34:00.000-04:00

I recently switched offices, and to R's delight my new workplace is close to a 7-11. Last week he was hanging out with me because school hadn't yet started, and one afternoon I decided to treat him to a Slurpee.
While we were waiting to pay he was watching the premade breakfast sandwiches and burgers slowly spinning inside their glass case. The case had labels in both English and Spanish: "Sandwiches to go" and "Jale".

"Mommy?" R asked. "Why are those sandwiches in jail?"

You call it corn. We call it maize.

2007-08-29T18:36:00.000-04:00

We were supposed to go on vacation last week, to a beach house in a warmer clime. Unfortunately, on the last play of the last game of his summer softball series, my better half re-ruptured his ACL and tore the meniscus in his knee. Yes, the same knee on which he had ACL replacement surgery two years ago. He'll have to have a repeat surgery in October once the swelling subsides. I have been nurse wife and primary driver for the past week.

With luck, we'll be back in the house by then. We're still waiting for the contractors to finish the tile, painting, and carpeting. Also waiting on the Marmoleum flooring for the kitchen. Waiting, waiting. I also spent three days of what was supposed to be vacation week chasing down Craigslist leads for a Sept-only rental, as our landlord had been telling us all summer that they wanted us out at the end of August. I finally managed to locate a tiny, expensive place near the T, and booked movers. When I called the landlord's office they said "Oh, we thought you wanted to stay! We haven't rented your place and you can stay for Sept if you want to." Gak. Luckily I hadn't put a deposit on the new place yet, so we can stay put. BH still won't be able to help with the moving, but happily the moving company rescheduled with no problems.

To cheer myself up I went to a yarn sale, where I bought some sock yarn made of corn. I like knitting with it - it sort of feels like my hands have been dusted with cornstarch. Not to overlook the soybeans and shellfish, I also bought a skein of Tofutsies. I wonder what Halacha would say about shrimp-based yarn?

So yeah, there's my week: emergency room visit, literally watching paint dry, poring over Craigslist, buying sock yarn.

Yay for good customer service

2007-08-15T10:23:00.000-04:00

As I've had several jobs that involve customer support, I tend to be quite a stickler about good service. I've been known to up and leave establishments in which I wasn't being waited on or acknowledged (even with hungry kids in tow), and I've refused to give business to firms that do not return phone calls in what I consider to be a reasonable amount of time (or to businesses whose vehicles cut me off in traffic). On the flip side, I tip extremely generously for good restaurant service, and I've been known to, say, buy a six-pack for the stereo repair guy who fixed my cd player but refused to charge me.

I present to you now, three (3) excellent customer service experiences I've had recently, as I feel those businesses should be rewarded by more than just my continued business.

1. The Stata Cafe', whose executive chef was filling a steam tray as he overheard me ask the server whether there was cilantro in the grilled chicken salad. Was I allergic? he inquired. No problem - he darted back into the kitchen and emerged moments later with a cilantro-free dish. I know this seems minor, but considering how busy the place was and how quickly they generally try to move people through, I was astonished.

2. Yale Appliance and Lighting. As part of our home remodel, we wanted to replace our very old kitchen and laundry appliances with more energy efficient models. I've mentioned my trip to their showroom before, but I did not mention their excellent customer service. I was trying to decide between two washer-dryer sets, one of which was considerably more expensive than the other. I asked the rep what he thought, and when he said "Oh, I'll make the decision easy for you" I braced myself for a hard sell on the higher-priced pair. Nope - he told me that while that model was good, they were seeing thirty percent coming back in for repairs. He recommended the other set, hundreds of dollars less expensive. Both he and the kitchen rep printed out all of the rebates associated with my purchases (about $1500 worth!), and highlighted all the due dates, model numbers, and addresses to which to send them. They also fixed it so that my purchase was rung up over Tax Free weekend without me doing a thing. Woot! Finally, they both read and respond to email questions promptly. It's no wonder to me that this place consistently wins Best of Boston awards.

3. Jordan's Furniture Interior Design Program. Realizing that our milk crates and thrift shop furniture no longer "made a statement," we realized we needed help. I called a few interior designers, but they all wanted to work on the entire house, and were loath to keep any items I already had. I had heard the commercials for the Jordan's service, so figured I'd give it a shot. The designer came to the house - in all its ripped-down-to-studs glory - and took measurements and photographs. She suggested wall colors and furniture layouts, and asked me what we wanted and how we used the house. I sent her the measurements and photos of items we wanted to reuse in the decor. A week later, she met us at the Jordan's closest to us (even though she works at another location), and spent three hours showing us items she'd picked out. There was no pressure to purchase any of her selections, though I must admit, I think we bought nearly everything she suggested. She even gave us some tips on window treatments and decorations that they don't even sell there. She compiled the order, and like the Yale guys, told me it would be put through over Tax Free Weekend.

Here's the unbelievable part: because this purchase, ah, kinda maxed out my credit card, my card company put a fraud alert on it. When I called them to confirm, they said that they would allow the Jordan's purchase to go through. Cool, I thought. Appliances and furniture done. And here I will publicly admit to being an idiot...I was supposed to call Jordan's over the weekend to confirm, and I...didn't. I thought the credit card company confirmation was good enough, and even though the designer had specifically called me the previous week to tell me to call over the weekend, I somehow thought I didn't need to because the charges were already on the credit card. And, Yale didn't make me do anything special, so...no. The designer called me on Monday to say she'd noticed I hadn't called, and that it meant I would unfortunately be taxed. Fudge. I told her what happened and she said she'd talk to her manager and see if anything could be done. I said I doubted that an exception needed to be made because a client was stupid, and she laughed. Last evening she called my cell phone as I was driving to pick up the kids...guess what? Because of the credit card confusion, they are giving me a discount in the amount of the tax. They have just won a customer for life.

Birthday Bear

2007-08-06T16:16:00.000-04:00

Today my son R turns 8. I can hardly believe it. Those little feet that once wore hospital bracelets (whose info we nervously Photoshopped out when posting the first pictures of him online) are now wearing some of my own socks, at least when one of us mistakenly puts my socks in R's drawer. I am trying not to let this be an excuse to not finish making socks for myself. Me: "Hmm, getting kinda tired of continuing the baby cable rib on the instep...maybe I'll just start the toe here and give these to R."

R is a great kid - funny, smart, kind, an amazing big brother and tremendously enjoyable company. He'll still let me hold his hand to cross the street and for a few seconds after. I know that's not going to last much longer. Man, I'm tearing up just thinking what a wonderful kid he is. Or, perhaps it is just leftover from watching a rerun of Dirty Dancing last night. I'm not an overly sentimental person, but I have never, repeat never, not needed a tissue when Jennifer Grey does the leap into Patrick Swayze's arms during the ending. I am not made of stone.

Happy Birthday Bear! I love you.

Noam Chomsky and Nacho Cheese

2007-07-25T10:01:00.000-04:00

Something I recently had to say to Z that I imagine most parents have not had to say to their offspring:

"Honey, please don't step on Professor Chomsky's foot again!" For the record, NC was cool about it (and was lucky the damage wasn't worse as Z was running full tilt).

House renovation news: they are doing the blueboarding today, so we're picking out paint colors. The architect and designer from the furniture store helped me make selections. Dining room will be a pale sage green, living room and hallway a taupe-ish color called Malton, our bedroom Colorado Gray, Z's room will continue to be light blue (Forget Me Not), and R picked his room color solely based on the name: Nacho Cheese. Yes, it looks like liquid, pump-dispensed fluid fromage. With white trim it might actually be okay. This however has led to a daily gag: "This is my cheese!" "It's not your (nacho) cheese!" "It's my cheese!" "It's nacho cheese!" Ah, hilarity.

Also thinking that the title of this post should be part of an REM song...

These colors don't (usually) run

2007-07-06T13:03:00.000-04:00

Z and I made the Barefoot Contessa's Flag Cake for the 4th. She helped mix the batter and lined up the raspberries for the stripes. I did the other parts. We didn't have the right size pan, so I reduced every measurement by 2/3. Also, I didn't think the kids needed additional frosting so I left off the white stripes and 3D stars. We should've taken the photo right after we decorated it, before the 45 minute car trip to Sudbury during which the berries sweated. Oh well, it still tasted good. Not a perfectionist, moi.

House is going well - we should have the rough inspections done next week. The plumbing is done, and Chris the electrician has discovered that the original wiring a: was apparently performed in a seat-of-the-pants, haphazard way, and b: had crumbling insulation and needed to be almost completely replaced. Chris apologized for having to bust holes in random spots in the kitchen and living room, but needed to in order to figure out where the wires actually go. He has long since stopped recoiling in horror at finding ungrounded outlets and junction boxes hidden under plaster. Frank says we will now have an electrical system that is "far less likely to kill [us]."

We picked the exterior house colors (Van Deusen Blue and White Opulence), and are moving on to the interior. I'm trying out the Jordan's Design Service to help with the dining, living and bedrooms. My Better Half is planning his bachelor pa-I mean, media room in the basement, complete with risers so people sitting in back can see over the heads of the people in front. I anticipate that ours will be the house where the neighborhood kids come to hang out and play video games. Said our architect, "It'll be like a Sunny Delight commercial!"

Knitting...I vaguely remember knitting. Did I mention I finished my Clapotis and the fair isle pillow? And the two Harry Potter hats? I'm on the hook for two additional HP hats (I donated them as auction prizes) and am about halfway done with a Diotima shell. I upsized the pattern a bit because as written the thing would only be about 18 inches long. I subscribe to KnittingDaily and am toying with the idea of making a yellow Tomato. I bought some Shine Worsted in Sunflower from Knitpicks, so perhaps it'll start to come to life while I'm at a conference next week (or at least maybe Diotima will get finished - I'm a slow knitter).

Swedish steel, shower "experiences" and the F-word before 9 AM

2007-06-05T13:44:00.000-04:00

So, our house renovation is in full swing. We moved out on May 14th, and the next day the interior looked like this:

(formerly our bedroom and the house's full bathroom. Do I miss the blue tub, sink and toilet? No I do not)

(formerly our kitchen - the sink was under the window, and the avocado green range hood was to the right. I can't figure out why this image is so small, but, well, you get the general idea)

The entire basement has been ripped down to studs, and plumbing and electrical work has commenced. Our general contractor seemed impressed that we really did (mostly) empty the house so his guys could have free rein. Frank (the GC) is an old school kind of builder - no web site, no front office, just him and his van and seemingly thousands of contruction workers and tradespeople who know him well. It is as if we hired a contractor out of Central Casting. Frank is well on his way to becoming part of the family - R has included him in his weekly spelling assignments "Frank and his friends are building our garage." and Z told her teacher that "Frank is making our house nicer and more colorful." I would include a shot of Frank here, but I don't think he'd allow me to take his picture.

Perhaps I should backtrack and tell you what we're doing. Well, it's pretty much a whole house remodel, plus the addition of a garage and master bedroom suite. The house was built in 1961 and is a fairly nondescript split level. We hired an architect to design the addition and make the house not seem like two trailers sitting on top on one another.

After the foundation for the addition was dry, a group of workers parked their van on the front lawn and spent the next 48 hours framing the addition. And swearing. A lot. We tried to take the kids out to other activities that weekend so they'd be away from the bits of falling lumber and partially used nail gun cartridges (for the record, Frank is against nail guns - he really is old school) and, mainly, the near constant use of the F-word. I was sure the neighbors would be pissed, but in fact our project seems to have brought them closer in touch - they are curious, in a good way, about what we're doing.

Frank asked us to pick out our plumbing fixtures asap so he could build the proper rough ins and valves. This meant a trip to the bathroom store, where we had to remind Z that the potties on display are not for using. We also looked at the Kohler website, which lets you custom-design your bathroom. As we decided not to put a tub in the master bath, my Better Half instead decided to, as the website invited, "create his ideal showering experience." Which, now that I think about it, sounds kinda dirty. In reality though it meant that he was able to use the site to pick fixtures: a variable spray showerhead plus two side-mounted sprays for our new shower. I am sure Frank now thinks we are yuppie scum.

And speaking of yuppie scum, this weekend it was time to pick out kitchen fixtures, so I went to the recommended appliance and lighting store near here. They have full-equipped working kitchens, and you can bring your pots and pans to test things out. They even cook things in the Viking/Wolf test kitchen and give you free glazed chocolate donuts that were cooked just moments before in the built-in deep fryer. It was like Homer Simpson's perfect kitchen. There were free fridge magnets with stickers reading "Experience Swedish Steel" and tasteful black and white photos inviting you to imagine how easy entertaining will be when you have a built-in steam drawer and under-counter wine fridge. I got so woozy from all the choices that I wandered back into the Viking area, where they now were serving mini cupcakes and cookies baked in the high-speed convection oven.

The architect and I also met with the kitchen cabinet lady on Friday. I had seen a kitchen in a magazine I rather liked, and asked for a variation of that. We're going with maple base cabinets, with white cabinets above. There will be a blue/green floor and backsplash, and a contemporary look. How contemporary? Later that day I got an email from the architect good-naturedly pointing out that this seemed to be the look we were going for:

Well, there *will* likely be an iMac in the kitchen...

Day 2: In which our heroes are beleaguered by airlines but persevere

2007-04-23T15:01:00.000-04:00

The next day we get another lift to the airport and decide to check in via the skycaps to avoid more lines. You didn’t think this part was going to go smoothly, did you? It had been so noisy in the AirTran area that the USAirways agent did not hear our names correctly. The boarding passes are misspelled by one letter and thus do not match our identification. The SkyCaps cannot check us in and tell us we must face The Line. R and Z learn some new words from Mom and Dad that I hope they do not repeat in school. We go inside to The Line, and BH grabs a passing customer service person to explain our dilemma. He directs us to the front of a particular queue, where a clerk looks at us dubiously. “I’m not sure I can fix this in time.” he says, gravely. Z starts to cry. R looks like he’s close. I grovel – please, please, it’s my birthday and none of this was our fault. He cracks back “Sure, hon, it’s your birthday, you have to get to an important meeting, you have to rush to a sick relative, I’ve heard ‘em all.” Annoyed, I whip out my driver’s license and ask him to check the birthdate. He stiffens, says “Happy Birthday,” and starts typing into the computer. After about 20 minutes of computer timeouts and consultations with other customer service reps, we get our corrected boarding passes.

Of course, the fact that we made last minute changes to our ticketing means that we get the super special security screening, or at least that’s what I assume the SSSS on our boarding passes meant. So, not only shoes off and liquids confiscated, but every item in our carry on bags was removed and swabbed for explosives, including Z’s teddy bear Brady. Z and R were patted down (“Z, pretend you’re a bird and stretch our your wings” I said, coaxing her through the screening) and BH’s laptop, camera and lenses were examined thoroughly. Strangely, the TSA said nothing about my bright red double-pointed needles holding a sock in progress. Deciding we posed no imminent threat, we were allowed to board the plane. Our flight took off in the stormy weather and we made it to DC just as they were reopening runways after the storm passed down there. Our connection to West Palm was delayed by about an hour. I had a burger from Five Guys as my birthday meal inside National Airport. We got to Florida just before midnight, and drove across Alligator Alley in our rented minivan, arriving exhausted in Naples at 2:30 AM. I finished a pair of Cascade Fixation socks for Z in the car.

I’m happy to say the vacation portion of our program was delightful – beach time, pool time, veg on the couch time, knitting time (began a baby cable rib sock for me), shopping time with my sister, fine dining (Truluck’s is amazing) while grandparents babysat, etc. Saturday morning BH called AirTran to make sure our flight from Ft Lauderdale was leaving on time. No, they said – we rebooked you on a flight that leaves 3 hours earlier. BH freaks – it’s a 2.5 hour drive to get there, and the new flight leaves in less than 3 hours. AirTran claims that they called us on the 14th to inform us of this development. No, BH shouts, we were home on the 14th because you bumped us off our flight. I try calling the airline to see if they can put us back on our original flight or get us something out of Ft Myers. I am on hold, abruptly disconnected, then I call back and get a different agent. More time on hold (to dead silence, so I had to keep checking that the call hadn’t been dropped), and, mirabile dictu, the nice fellow from AirTran found us a flight to Atlanta that would connect to our originally scheduled flight home. As we figured that the airline had now overbooked this flight too and it was to be “survival of the earliest to arrive”, we took off for Ft Myers and checked in over two hours early. We had an uneventful layover in Atlanta and made it home on schedule. And what did we learn?

1. AirTran’s MO seems to be to overbook all flights. If you are flying with them, get your boarding pass ahead of time and show up as early as you can to check in. Also, realize that even if you have a boarding pass for a connecting flight but your incoming flight is late, they will not hold your seat (this happened to us last year). It is apparently less expensive for them to make alternate arrangements for bumped passengers than it is to take off with one or two empty seats. Working on an IT help desk would be a piece of cake compared to being an AirTran customer rep – their employer’s policy isn’t their fault.

2. Alamo Car Rental rocks! We rented via Costco and got a great rate, and they were incredibly nice about all our switches (Ft Lauderdale, no wait, West Palm! And we’ll return it to Ft Lauderdale, no, make that Ft Myers!). I think they charged us a whopping $8 for the dropoff change.

3. Always give your airline your cell phone and email. Granted, Orbitz had my email and still I never heard about the changed return flight, but they could’ve texted me had I given that info to them.

4. To hell with appointed school vacation week. Next year we’re either leaving early or staying later. Perfect attendance is for pinheads.

Day 1: Our heroes leave for a vacation in Florida

2007-04-23T14:57:00.000-04:00

Our friend C gave us – me, Better Half, R and Z - a lift to the airport on Saturday. We got there two hours before our flight was to arrive, and encountered the Longest Line I Have Ever Seen. Hmm, I think, we should be able to get through this line in an hour. It started out promisingly. R had his Gameboy, Z was happy to people-watch and try to read signs. A group of sorority girls in front of us ask me to take their photo – they are on our flight to Ft Lauderdale but then are heading to the Bahamas for spring break. An hour comes and goes, and we are only about halfway to the front of the line. A harried-looking AirTran rep calls anyone in line for Ft Lauderdale to come to “an expedited line”. About 20 of us comply…and find that AirTran has massively overbooked this flight and we will not make it on. They ask us to step aside and a customer service agent will try to help us make alternate arrangements. However, they warn, it’s school vacation week, a long weekend, and there’s a Nor’easter storm heading our way.

Better Half gets in the customer service line, while I herd the kids and bags off to the side and call my dad to let him know we may not be able to make it to Naples after all (we hadn’t been able to get a flight to Ft Myers, so were planning on driving from Ft Lauderdale). He says he’ll see what he can do and hangs up. I text back and forth with BH as he waits in line. I pray that neither kid has to go potty because there are no bathrooms in sight and I can’t carry the bags alone. I envision TSA about to perform a controlled explosion on our seemingly abandoned car seat bag, with me running in yelling “Wait, wait! Z had to poop!” I start doodling mean-spirited things about AirTran on one of their free luggage tags. Being bumped off a flight with my 2 small kids on the day before my birthday turns me childish. I tell myself it’s consumer-oriented civil disobedience.

My dad calls back and has tentative seats for us tomorrow on USAirways to West Palm Beach, for $1600. Is that each, or total? I ask. He isn’t sure and goes to check. I text this info to BH, who tells me to bring him the bags and head over to the USAirways counter to find out more. The kids and I set out, only then learning that USAirways is in a different building. We eventually get there and the clerk is pleasant but firm that because of the weather they have no way to get us to Florida in the next 24 hours. Dad calls again…the tickets are $1600 each and he thinks Air Tran should pay. BH tells me AirTran has been offering double the ticket price back to people, but this would be quadruple. He then says it’ll still be some time before the customer service agent gets to him (he’s still helping the beleaguered sorority gals) so we get snacks at Starbucks and chill for a while. I read books to Z, let her do the jigsaw puzzle I brought, then invent games for her (can you find a T on that sign? Go touch it and run back here! Now find an N! Let’s use this scrap of yarn in my purse to make shapes. Can you make a triangle?). R is electronically anaesthetized by his GameBoy and then by dad’s video iPod.

BH texts again – AirTran is going to pay for the $1600/pp tickets tomorrow and give us vouchers for roundtrip travel. Yay. However, the flight tomorrow is due to leave during the forecast Nor’easter. Boo. We rejoin BH over at AirTran while he fills out the paperwork. We decide that, since we’re here, we may as well get our USAirways boarding passes now to save time tomorrow. We head back to the other building, and Z “helps” by holding on to the luggage strap and occasionally pushing the rolling bag from the back. Ineffectual but highly cute. We got the boarding passes and C phones to say he’ll come get us. However, ten minutes later he calls again to tell us he got a flat tire. Great googly moogly. OK, we try our neighbor up the street, who picks us up, and we get back to the house about 6 hours after we’d left. BH runs out and gets us a pizza and me a chocolate birthday cannoli. We all collapse into bed.

Go Go Power Rangers!

2007-04-13T08:21:00.000-04:00

Working my way through the unfinished projects pile...finished my Toe Socks, the Fair Isle pillow (need to get a pillow form, but the knitting is finished), and, ta da! R's Power Ranger socks, so named because the yarn (Trampoline) has all the colors of the Power Rangers. And the colors of Bionicles, too, which is good as over the past year R has become less interested in Power Rangers and more into Lego Bionicles. Kind of a slow sock knitter, me.

(Don't worry about the boo-boos - soccer practice has started again)

I've also made it to the decrease rows of my Clapotis, and it's coming out better than I dared hope in the nylon ribbon yarn. And, I finished the first Sitcom Chic sleeve and attached it to the body of the sweater.

Off now on vacation where I hope to get another Sitcom Chic sleeve and husband's second toe-up sock finished. I was working on the latter while watching 30 Rock and figured I must be close to making the heel, then got out the finished sock and realized I was only about halfway done with the foot.

At peace at last with (some) sushi

2007-03-29T09:37:00.000-04:00

I have never liked sushi. Well, back up a step. I've never been a big fish person. I grew up in the midwest, and the only fish my mom ever served was breaded and square (or in fish stick form). Maybe occasionally tuna salad. When I was feeling exotic I'd order a clam roll at the Howard Johnson's. When I moved to New England, I tried a clam roll at a seaside seafood shack. Eek! That day I learned the difference between clam strips and clam bellies.

When I started working at my current place of employment, many of my coworkers were sushi fanatics. They would pool their money and have a big sushi lunch once a week, taking over our common kitchen space. I used to resent this because of, oh my word, the smell. I couldn't even be in the same room and had to eat lunch at my desk on those days. When going out to dinner with friends, I would state "I'll eat anything but sushi."

About a year ago my visiting Californian father-in-law volunteered to pick up dinner. He brought, well, you know. Trying to be polite, I picked apart a veggie roll and ate the rice and avocado. The smell I associated with sushi was still there, though, so I didn't eat much. I figured that it was the nori wrapper that I found off-putting. Fast forward to a few months ago...I was looking for a quick healthy lunch at Whole Foods and walked by the Asian section. I found some non-nori sushi - wrapped in spinach leaves instead, yay! I paid for my purchase and opened the box, but whoa! The smell. What the heck *was* that? At last I realized - it was the pickled ginger. The stench that drove me from the lunch table was not the sushi itself, but the large mounds of pickled ginger that ringed the 120-piece platter. It was my Eureka moment. I love regular ginger, but this stuff? Huh-uh.

Am I now a sushi omnivore? Um, no. There's still the fish, especially the raw fish, thing to overcome. But I will happily go have sushi with you and eat my California roll, my veggie roll, my chicken teriyaki roll, and my inari. Just keep the pickled ginger far, far away from my nose. And overlook the fact that I might poke out some of the cucumber from my roll before eating it. Oh, and I've learned that some of the sushi from Trader Joe's comes with the ginger in its own hermetically-sealed pouch. Stink-free! And TJs has awesome wasabi-tamari almonds, but I digress.

Cute kid story - we had lunch last Saturday at Mr. Sushi, and the kids got bowls of Udon noodles (guess what I had). The soup was very hot and they were hungry, so I fished out noodles with my chopsticks and dangled them into their little waiting maws, one by one. When Z wanted a noodle she'd say "Mommy Bird, another worm please!".

Next time, some knitting news - finished socks, hats, and possibly a pillow.

Unexpected things I found in my purse this morning

2007-03-08T13:57:00.000-05:00

1. Son's Nintendo DS. The Mario keyfob was sticking out of my purse and looked very fetching.
2. A pair of preschool-size cotton socks, worn.
3. Most of a ball of Cascade fixation and a size 3 circular needle. (Now I remember: I hastily packed these long ago when I took the kids to the McDonald's PlayPlace and needed something to do to keep my sanity)
4. Minutes from two meetings last week that I should have already typed up and sent out.
5. My recently-expired AAA card.
6. One small yellow rubber duck.

Wee gifties

2007-03-06T09:34:00.000-05:00

Made a few little gifts over the past few weeks. I had been working on some Cozy Cable Socks for my eldest sister, and had finished only one before we went to visit her for a ski weekend. Just as well, as the cabling made the sock too tight to get over her foot (though it fits me). So, I had to quickly whip up something else, and made her this little Cotton Chenille washcloth/puff to match her zinnia shower curtain:

Was only slightly disheartened to receive this question from her in email:
>I'm afraid I need to ask you what the beautiful "flower" you made me is for :)
On the bright side, she thought it was way too nice to be a washcloth.

Next, thanks to some sneaky outreach from his lovely separated wife, I learned it was Neilochka's birthday! I've enjoyed reading his blog for some time now, so I knit a Mason-Dixon ball band washcloth to match his purple bathrobe of indeterminate origin:

I used the extra Valley Yarns' Stockbridge that I will not be needing to finish the cable socks to make a Santa Cruz hat from MagKnits, but even with blocking it still barely reaches the tops of my ears. If I can't find a worthy recipient maybe I'll just keep it and wear it as a "feminine yarmulke" at temple. I do think it still looks kinda cute as a decorative Juliet-cap kind of hat, but it might be a little young for me. I'm also trying a Point Lobos hat from the same designer, but I'm going to add an extra pattern repeat. Photos of those another time.

Oh, and just for laughs - here's the aftermath of when Z covered her hair with yellow Silly Putty at preschool in an effort to look like SpongeBob. It took two hours, half a can of Pam cooking spray, and much of our TiVo's backlog of SpongeBob episodes for me to coax the stuff out of her hair, bit by bit.

If my children were current rock bands

2007-02-26T09:50:00.000-05:00

An analogy that came to me this weekend:

If my children were rock bands, my son (7) would be Death Cab for Cutie, and my daughter (3) would be the White Stripes. I guess this means I have an emo son and a rockin' daughter.
Though in practice son R has shown an affinity for both the stadium rock parts of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes and Sweet Child of Mine as performed by dad within Guitar Hero. And Z's most requested song in the car is Fatboy Slim's Going Out of My Head.

Short attention span knitter

2007-02-08T11:16:00.000-05:00

I just can't bring myself to work on any sweaters lately. Don't know why. Partly I've had less time to knit, partly the thought of stockinette bores me, partly I know that none of them will be done for a good two months at my pace.

Also, we got a Nintendo Wii.

I'm on a "GetFit" team at work, and each member has pledged to do 30-60 minutes of exercise a day. It's been too too cold to contemplate going out to the gym at night, so instead I've been getting my time in via WiiSports, particularly the tennis and boxing (the bowling, golf, and baseball don't get my pulse going nearly as much). Husband is amused at how much I go on the the attack in the boxing game (hey, I *have* been taking kickboxing for a few months now at the YMCA); R says he doesn't like to see me, i.e. my avatar, get hit. Aww.

I have made a few small things though. I bought 3 skeins of Fonty Riviera at a sale - it looks like Himalayan silk, but it is mainly acrylic. I made a little keyhole neckscarf out of slightly more than one ball. Also, I tried out some of the Patternworks' Bretton superwash and made a pair of navy "Scrumptious Shagged Slippers" for R. Also have pink Bretton for a matching pair for Z. Of course the pattern name kept evoking Austin Powers to me during the knitting.

Also, I had been turning the ball of Kidsilk Haze into a Seafoam Shawl from One Skein Wonders, but as usual I tried to rush and finish it late at night and bound off way too tightly, and now have to try to frog about three rows of sticky laceweight. It also does not appear that it'll be big enough for a shawl, but maybe a big triangular scarf. Not as satisfying as I hoped.

Smitten with music

2007-01-09T18:58:00.000-05:00

My blog crush of the month: Smitten Kitchen. After reading her witty entries I too have made the Barefoot Contessa's pecan bars (a big hit at work and my Stitch&Bitch meeting), the Korova cookies (as transcendent as she said) and the braised beef short ribs (did smell heavenly but frankly I prefer my brisket recipe). Perhaps I can simplify my life by only cooking what Deb cooks.

Further proof that I am no longer a college DJ: I have twice now remarked to my husband that he might like certain bands because he has a thing for female lead vocalists. Trouble is, neither of the bands I meant (the Delays and Silversun Pickups) have female lead vocalists. And I even *saw* these bands on TV. Now granted SSPU does have a female bassist/vocalist**, but she does not sing lead on the song I heard (update: in the video, a girl in the club is lipsynching along, so maybe that's how I was confused?). For the other I have only the excuse that I have a small TV. And apparently lack an ability to recognize Adam's apples.

Knitting...scarf for Red Scarf project halfway done. On front of Jesse's Flames sweater for R. Still basking in reflected glory of Baby Viking hat.

**my one regret in life - I never learned to play the bass. I play air bass. I'm looking forward to playing bass in Guitar Hero II. Heck, even my rabbi plays the bass. Can I be reincarnated as the bassist for Stellastarr*?

WoW, knitting!

2007-01-02T23:02:00.000-05:00

My husband (who was amused/horrified to see I referred to him as "DH" in earlier postings) is an avid player of World of Warcraft. One of his WoW guildmates just became a dad, and my better half/ball and chain/hunky studmuffin said 'Can you knit him something "Warcrafty" as a baby gift?' This seemed to fit the bill - it's Chile Con Yarne's Baby Viking Hat pattern:

Alas, the rivets don't show up well in this photo. Can you read the cute but geeky WoW item tag that my POSSLQ/partner created? Click on the photo for a close-up.
Yarn: Lion Wool Ease; Sz 7 Pony Pearl dpns; ties crocheted with my index finger because it was late and I couldn't find a crochet hook.

Note: no, that is not the baby wearing the hat, that is a stand-in basketball. And no, that is not a standard size basketball. I do have *some* sense of gauge, thank you very much.

Happy baby, Happy Hanukkah

2006-12-13T16:27:00.000-05:00

Meet my friend's new baby J:

J is modelling the kimono sweater I made him (from Mason-Dixon Knitting). Two balls of Rowan All Seasons Cotton in dusty blue, with a crocheted tie rather than ribbon. My husband's friend in Atlanta just had a baby too, so might need to whip out another one of these, quick like.

Today I'm wearing my Picovoli sweater - it's a good "under-a-blazer" top. Maybe one day I'll photograph it for you.
I also finished a cable headband for my son's Spanish teacher, but otherwise I'm going to be lame on the knitted gifts this year. I already have three sweaters in progress - Jesse's Flames (one sleeve done, started body), a simple pullover in the Classic Elite Bubbles I bought at Webs, and Sitcom Chic (which will be waiting until spring). As Z has 5 - yes, f-i-v-e teachers for her preschool class, and R has his primary teacher plus 4 (f-o-u-r) afterschool program teachers, I chose Ye Olde Gift Cardes instead of Ye Olde Carpal Tunnel. This is not to say a ball of Kidsilk Haze did not jump into my hands at the yarn store on Saturday. Well, they were out of the lavender Eucalan, you want I should go away empty-handed? I guess that's my Hanukkah present to myself - a one skein shawl from One Skein Wonders.

Just had our office holiday party. I made Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle, which was well-received. I barely had to clean the trifle bowl, it had been so thoroughly scraped clean. And now I could use a nap.

I went to Webs and all you got was this lousy blog post

2006-11-16T11:27:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday I gave a talk at a conference at UMass. The conference ended at 3:45, and I was due to meet my niece for dinner in Northampton at 6. That meant...time for my first ever visit to Webs! I spent a glorious 90 minutes perusing the store and warehouse and after a few false starts came away with:

-14 skeins of Classic Elite Bubbles in white. I was never attracted to this yarn when I saw it in catalogs, but the sample sweater in Webs convinced me to give it a try.
-3 skeins of Sugarloaf - to add to the 3 remaining from the Captain America baby hat, to make a stripey sweater for Z. Though having measured her today, I may need to order more. She's growing fast!

Plus,
-Having coveted Anna's Pony Pearl dpns for a while, I tried to get some myself but they were out of sizes 1-3. I decided to try the size 7s for the sleeves of the Jesse's Flames sweater.
-Because I am being very dilettantish, all my Denise cables are currently in use (and one is broken). So I got me a set of the Susan Bates Crystalites in a cute pink zippered case. (can't find a link to this set, but it is kind of adorable)
-In preparation for house remodelling, I am trying to reduce my stash (pretend not to notice that I just increased it by 17 skeins. Thank you.). I bought a copy of One Skein Wonders in an effort to do that. This is a collection of patterns from yarn shops around the country. The Webs ladies excitedly showed me which patterns were theirs.

Possibly luckily for me they didn't have the Rowan Arabesque book in stock as I am sorely tempted to make the Jocelyn shawl. They also didn't have the Lantern Moon City Lights bag, which looks very cute in the catalog.

Happy early Hanukkah/Xmas to me!

Why he's worth three color intarsia

2006-11-13T10:07:00.000-05:00

Almost done with the first Jesse's Flames sleeve. Because I have little patience for duplicate stitch, I decided to do three color intarsia instead. The back only kind of looks like crud, but the right side is turning out quite nicely, if I do say so. Let's just hope R doesn't routinely snag a finger in the carried yarn when he eventually puts the thing on.

I wouldn't do ths kind of intarsia for just anybody. Reasons why the boy deserves it (and I may need to be reminded of these if he becomes an obstreperous teenager, but for now he's a very sweet seven-year-old):

I let him get McDonald's after Sunday school, and they forgot his fries at the drive-thru. I doubled back and returned to the window, somewhat aggrieved, and told the clerk what happened. R piped up from the back seat "It's ok, we're not mad. Everyone makes mistakes!"

The other night there was a full moon. I pointed out how bright it was, and he said "Wow, it's like a streetlight for the whole world."

And last night he didn't want to go to bed and kept asking for more books. I finally picked out Runaway Bunny and read him the story (about a little bunny who wants to run away and his mommy who tells him how she'll always be there for him). At the end of the book he said "I don't need to run away because I love you Mommy!" and he went to sleep.

So yeah, you want intarsia, kid? Fair Isle? Entrelac? You just tell Mommy honey and I'll get right on it for you.

Inheritance

2006-10-18T10:10:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we moved my late mother-in-law's stuff from her rental house, as new occupants are about to arrive. She was a fiber artist and RISD grad, so among her personal effects were:

-a weaving loom (I forget what brand)
-four large boxes of coned weaving yarn (some of which may also be suitable for knitting/crochet)
-a sewing machine
-a serger

Anyone want to teach me how to weave and/or give me a refresher course on sewing? I once learned for home ec class on my mom's ancient Singer; this machine (and like the loom I forget the brand) is newer and does fancy stuff. And a serger, that's new to me.

Knitting news: Tubey is really done! I added an inch in length and cast off more loosely. Picovoli is done except for the weaving in of ends! Great, just in time to *not be able to wear it for 6 months*. The Simply Lovely Lace socks? Done, and already trashed! They went into the wash with some kid clothing containing Velcro, and got all snagged. When I tried to shave off the fluff, I broke the yarn in the middle of the lace pattern. Eh, they were pretty itchy anyway for superwash wool. No heartbreak there. Clapotis is still about 2/3 done. Working on second flip flop sock although fall has come quickly to New England and I really doubt I will wear the Naots again for a few months, except indoors. Sitcom Chic is awaiting sleeve attachment and yoke, but I see it as more of a spring sweater so will probably hold off on that.

R wants me to start his Jesse's Flames sweater, so that's due for casting on this week. Yesterday I realized I still didn't have the red yarn for the flames, so he and I stopped at the craft store to pick up some superwash wool. On the way to the yarn aisle he spotted a bin of colorful latch hooks and started playing with them (men and tools...). He asked what they were, and I showed him the kits on the shelf above. He spied a kit to make a soccer ball pillow, and asked "Mom, can I get this? It's ok, right, because boys can knit too?" How could I say no to that? However, why do I have the feeling he's going to do about two rows and make me finish it?

I also had a thought: would a latch hook project using cut-up Noro Kureyon look really cool, or would the variegation be completely lost? Oy, I just realized that in one post I have described taking on three (3) new crafts. That is crazy. Or *is* it...?

All praise to the Amodex

2006-09-25T11:15:00.000-04:00

I'll get to the knitting stuff in a minute. I need to wax lyrical for a few moments about a product that has made me truly happy - Amodex. Two Saturdays ago, Z decided that she would pack a significant portion of her "terrible two-ness" into one morning. Before I got out of bed, she grabbed one of my necklaces, put it on, then couldn't figure out the clasp so just yanked it off and broke the thin leather cord. While I was in the shower, she grabbed a lipstick from my purse, smeared it all over her face and on a curtain, then tried to put it back in my purse sans-cap leaving a trail of berry-colored stains. Next, at temple for "Tot Shabbat" she grabbed a Sharpie at the name tag table and I foolishly tried to wrest it away from her. In the process of keeping her trophy, she drew a four-inch line of black Sharpie across the front of her new Hanna Andersson dress. Oy Gevalt. DH restrained me from selling Z on eBay that afternoon.

I did a web search for ink stains on cotton. Tried a few of the recommended solutions. Zilch. I found a pointer to Amodex, and DH brought some back from the grocery store. The instructions warned not to wet an ink stain before using the product (oops), but I followed them just the same. I blotted, I scrubbed, I rinsed. It took three applications, but now the four-inch angry back stain is now a half-inch faint grey line. I'm sure it'd be gone completely if I hadn't wet the stain first. You would only notice it if you were looking for it, and Z isn't much for sitting still anyway so there you go. Thank you Amodex! Now someone please explain to me how in the space of ten years I've gone from someone who gets really excited over having little-known (sorry) New Zealand rock musicians autograph her concert t-shirt to someone who gets really excited over stain removal products.

Knitting. No, I don't have photos. My DH hogs the camera (hi honey). Finished: two finger-knitting scarves and the Cotton Braid sweatshirt. The latter is very drapey, i.e. not exactly flattering. But it's comfy and is an alternative to the old college sweatshirts i would ordinarily throw on to go outside and collect the newspaper. And it cost $10 to make. OK, maybe I'm a little bitter I don't look like a Rowan model in it.

In progress: Clapotis in Filati FF Must, finishing straight rows; Toe Socks in Trekking XXL (really like this yarn!) - one sock done; Falling Leaves scarf in Valley Yarns Stockbridge, about 6 inches done (btw, this confirms it, I'm sensitive to alpaca - the yarn feels vaguely like fiberglass to me and it's a blend). Must work on Sitcom Chic, Cinxia, and Picovoli to clear conscience so I can start R's new sweater.

Baby knits and vacation too

2006-09-05T13:41:00.000-04:00

Some successful baby knits:
A green sweater for baby H, who is already on the verge of outgrowing it:

(Tahki Capri, size 11 needles, I winged the pattern myself)

A Captain America hat for hubby's friend the comic book geek:

This was trickier...couldn't figure out a way to do an intarsia star what with the decreases needed at the top of hte hat (yes, I looked at the Shining Star and Odessa hats for inspiration), so I just knit a stripey hat and then crocheted a star and affixed it to the top. A little bulky, but it works.

(Valley Yarns Sugarloaf - really nice and soft!)

No photos yet from Baby G's family of her yellow kimono sweater.

Other knitting news:
I am on the cusp of finishing my US$10 Rowan Cotton Braid sweater. It used to be the $15 dollar sweater but I decided to save the remaining 5 balls for a tank or something. I could easily have finished it on vacation but it was way too hot for sweaters there, even at night. One sleeve is finished, one is halfway done. I got bored with the second sleeve and instead I made a ball-band washcloth and a pair of socks for my mom and dad (respectively), whose birthdays were in the past month. The one rainy day we had I also taught the cooped-up older girls in our rental how to do finger knitting, and they made some cute i-cordy scarves.

I really need to address my sleeve avoidance issue. Let's take a look at what's in my unfinished basket, shall we?
-Cinxia...finishing second sleeve (twisted stockinette on sz 10 dp, ugh) and need to figure out how to join to body of sweater)
-Sitcom Chic, on second sleeve, now it's cooler out and I actually need a cardigan so maybe...
-Rowan Raglan, awaiting second sleeve finishing.

Sensing a pattern here? I even tried knitting something sleeveless (Picovoli), but now it's cooling off and I am not motivated to finish it if I can't wear it right away. I did however acquire the motivation to make something new - flip flop socks, from the subscriber section of the Interweave Knits web site (I think they are called Toe Socks there). Why they are pressing: a little store on the boardwalk of our vacation spot was having a "buy one, get one half off" sale on Naot sandals. Naot sandals, if you've never tried them, are just the comfiest things around. I'm very picky about shoes, and I love these. One of the pairs I bought (Jennas) is white, thus I won't be wearing them much later this season (though I am today, the day after Labor Day, so sue me), but the Bali ones are lovely and I will need socks so I can wear them into the New England fall. Hence, the Toe Socks. Luckily I had a ball of Trekking XXL in my stash and new Knitpicks dpns to try. First sock about half done. I hope my Naots motive me to finish the second sock. I don't want both second sock syndrome *and* second sleeve syndrome.

Did you say "yarn sale"?

2006-08-07T10:08:00.000-04:00

Now, I've been really good about de-stashifying lately and showing restraint at buying yarn, but something about the heat and/or humidity of July and August has gotten to me. In July I was tempted by the Webs' Valley Yarns catalog and ordered yarn for a baby hat (for a friend), a Picovoli (for me) and a scarf (possibly for me). A few weeks later, Ms. Aswim in Knits plaintively asked on our email list whether anyone might be interested in going in on an order to get discounts or free shipping from either Webs or Knitpicks. Well, the Diotima shell picture in the Webs catalog had been beckoning, so I bought 2 skeins of the Windsor yarn in pastel lilac too. Probably a good thing to get two, as although the pattern says it'll fit sizes 32"-42", the pattern notes that when fully stretched the top would only be about 16" long. And after two kids, my six pack more closely resembles a two liter bottle. So yes, I'll be sizing the pattern up a little. I figure I could maybe make a matching top for Z with the leftover. OK, so that's a lot of yarn to acquire in the span of a month, right? But wait, there's more.

My in-laws were visiting (more technically, my father-in-law and his longtime "galpal" to get all Inside Track about it) and noticed that Woolcott was having their anniversary sale this past weekend. The galpal is a scarf knitter and figured she'd like to see if there was any Eros or other glittery stuff on sale. Z and I tagged along. And oh yes, there was yarn. Everything in the store was 20-25% off, and there were many bins of $1/skein yarn. Z was entranced by a cuddly ball of Plymouth Sinsation, while I idly sifted through the bargain bins as galpal was in line. And lo, what did my eyes see...the familiar beige of a tasteful Rowan label...some lone balls of All Seasons Cotton, some Glace, and...a huge pile of Cotton Braid in Monet and Degas (blue and pink), for yes, $1/skein. Reader, I bought it. All of it. 15 balls, 10 pink and 5 blue. I'm heading to the beach in two weeks, and I'm making a stripy Cotton Braid sweatshirt that I will wear as my sweetie and I take long evening walks on the boardwalk. I will have a $15 Rowan sweater.

My jovial father-in-law catches up to us in the store. "Ladies!" he announces to everyone, "I just got off the phone with your husbands and they said to buy all the yarn you want!" (Really ingratiated himself with the owner with that). As I was about to get in line, Z was petting a cute kid-sized Fair Isle sweater on the sample rack. "Mommy, I like this!" The box of Jameson's Spindrift was next to it. I pick out 5 balls of brown and 7 other complementary colors, and Z starts getting tired. I pay for my haul (total: $27).

And now I have yarn. Lots of yarn. And, oh! I won one of the Yarn Harlot Knitters Without Borders giveaways, so a kindly knitter is going to be sending me two cones of kitchen cotton and a collection of circular needles. Score!

Ow.

2006-07-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

Can you say stashbusting? In the past two months I have finished:

-a Panta headband made from Jade Sapphire handpainted cashmere I got on sale on vacation in Florida.
-a drop stitch scarf made from Meteor, scored at same sale
-Rosebud, but in tank form. I don't like the color so decided to bag the sleeves. Now what to do with the leftover 4 balls of pale pink Svale? The tank is very comfy though.
-a picot-edged baby kimono for new baby girl G, from Mason-Dixon Knitting, leftover yellow Lion Homespun
-a green pullover for new baby boy H (born same day as G, coincidentally), own "pattern", green Tahki Capri
-a bright yellow chenille warshrag for my friend J in Seattle (figuring she could use some sunshine)
-one Simply Lovely Lace sock from Interweave; just finishing cuff of other sock
-a bright yellow cotton warshrag for my daughter Z, by her request
-a pair of baby booties for new baby girl R of coworker (which I understand were quickly appropriated by R's big sister to serve as socks for her stuffed dinosaur)

I have also worked on but not finished:

-a Clapotis in Filati Must, a plum shiny ribbon, about half done
-a Sitcom Chic, body finished, on first sleeve, electric ("popsical blue" [sic]) blue Cotton Ease from Bldg 19 sale
-three socks - the matching Simply Lovely, the match for my husband's sock, and my son's first multicolor "Power Ranger" sock
-a log cabin baby blanket using leftovers of various cottons and cotton blends, from Mason-Dixon (I like log cabin-ing. This has been my World Cup project)

Also on needles/stitch holders but untouched:

-the fair isle pillow
-the Cinxia
-the crochet baby blanket

Would like to start within the next few months:

-Jesse's Flames for my son R, for fall
-a multicolred raglan for Z, also for fall (new tradition...yearly back to school sweaters for my kids. Can I keep up?)
-a Picovoli or Ballet Camisole for me (an excuse to make an order from Knitpicks or Webs/Valley Yarns)

Oh, and why the title? My left wrist hurts. Don't know if it's from playing with the kids or, as I suspect, using long metal needles for the cotton warshrag when my other Denises were busy. Or I could've just slept on it funny. The older I get the more often I find I can injure myself via sleeping. Or eating. Last week I bit into a stale baguette sandwich at a staff meeting and seem to have messed up my jaw. So yes, Ow.

Stuff I've been working on, invisible to the naked eye

2006-04-04T14:17:00.000-04:00

Which is a way of saying I've been knitting, but not taking photos.

-Tubey! Is done and has been worn on several occasions this cold spring. I think I may add a little to the bottom though, and anyway I cast off kinda tight (always an issue for me). So, I'm wearing it, but should fix it. Tahki New Tweed in Sky, 10 balls. Pattern from Knitty.

-Fair Isle Pillow from last year's Interweave (Spring? Summer? the "Simply Marilyn" one). I'm really getting into the groove of fair isle. I feel like I could tackle that Knitpicks vest now if I wanted (I love the cardigan too, but, hello, it's sock yarn - I'd be eligible for AARP before it was finished). About half done, using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in rose, pink, light blue and dusty blue, to sort of match the rug in my living room.

-Simply Lovely Lace socks from the current Interweave. Wanted a relatively quick project, so started these last night. Taupe sportweight German yarn scored at the Knitsmiths yarn swap.

-Rosebud. I started this last fall, just picked it up again. Just passed the gathered section and am close to armholes. Using Dale Svale in a color that I now think will not suit me at all, but maybe I can do some darker embroidery around the neckline to compensate. Knitty pattern.

-the never ending crocheted baby blanket. I pulled this out of my stash box and worked on it a little. Too bad I forgot what size hook I had been using before. Had to rip out the rows I added before putting it away in disgust. At this point will be my daughter's high school graduation present. She's 2.

Next time maybe some photos and finished objects...

Some old, some new.

2006-02-21T14:27:00.000-05:00

First a couple of older projects...remember the Baby Tart hat? It fits Z now, albeit a little loosely. Here she is modelling it at the zoo:

Someone left a comment asking me if I could give them tips on knitting a Baby Tart. I'd be happy to, but you didn't leave me any contact info. Write again and I'll see what I can do. Mine isn't perfect - I miscounted on some of the bobble decreases toward the top - but I think the end result is still cute.

Here are two of the six beaded votive sleeves I made as Hanukkah and Xmas gifts for my kids' teachers:

I really enjoyed making these, even if my hands hurt. I may make a few more to use as Shabbat candle holders.

And though I've been extremely lame about updating my knitalongs in the sidebar, I am taking part in the Knitting Olympics on the MIT Relay team. We're each knitting a square for a blanket to be donated to Afghans for Afghans. Here's a picture of my square, the Noro Kureyon one closest to the camera:

This week I also finished some baby booties for coworker's new baby Liam (welcome, Liam!) and am working on a tiger/Cinci Bengals baby hat for another baby and the second sleeve for my Tubey. It took several frustrating attempts, but I finally was able to pick up the crochet cast on edge and get a fairly invisible join. The stitches are twisted, but you wouldn't notice if you were a normal distance away. If you see me wearing it, please don't tell me that you can see the twisted stitches. Just...don't.

Oh, and here's a nice anecdote: my kids' favorite TV show right now is Brainiac, a British science program. Last night we watched an episode in which they tried to influence the testosterone levels in two subjects, a "weedy man" and a "bruiser." The bruiser was forced to spend two hours dressed in fake lingerie, watching soap operas, singing children's songs, and...knitting. My son R pointed out that he knows it isn't just girls who knit because he knows boys who do too at my Sunday knitting group. Granted, Brainiac is somewhat "laddish" in nature, especially given that each show ends with the buxom and if I'm not mistaken surgically-enhanced "Brainiac Babes" who choose a different explosive to blow something up.
OK, maybe this show is not so appropriate for kids, but it actually has made my son think about how to design science experiments and that's pretty cool. And the upshot of the testosterone experiment? The bruiser guy's levels dropped from about 900-750, while the "weedy man" - who had been treated to "female companionship", shall we say, and fighting lessons - went from 150 to 350. It's a fun show, but don't take it too seriously. And don't try the microwave experiments at home.

Winter blahs

2006-01-27T15:29:00.000-05:00

Cinxia creeps along...I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm just so not into finishing this sweater. I'm about to attach the sleeves but can't really visualize what I'm supposed to do, and I'm the knitalong coleader for heaven's sake. And the twisted stockinette means I have to pay attention whether I'm on a twisty row or not, and the size 10 doublepoints are a pain...aren't you sick of me whining? I sure am. Which is why I've started a Tubey.

This, *this* is more like it. About a mile of stockinette (i.e. suitable for that 45 minutes I have at the end of the day after the kids are asleep, chores are done and I still have energy to lift my arms at all), size 8 needles, yarn that isn't splitty and black (stashbusting the bag of Tahki New Tweed in blue). And, unbeknownst to me, one of my friends at work is leading a knitalong for it!

In between I'm been working on bits of socks here and there...nearly finished husband's first Knitpicks Dancing sock that I've been carrying in my purse since September, and working on booties for the impending baby of my coworkers Bill and Christine. And, the MIT group is joining the Yarn Harlot's Olympics and we're all knitting squares of a blanket to be donated to Afghans for Afghans. Go Team MIT!

I really must do something about Cinxia though. My co-knitalong leader has graciously refrained from pointing out my descent into slackerdom; meanwhile from our mailing list I see others finishing their sweaters. Oy, the guilt.

Happy 2006

2006-01-03T08:35:00.000-05:00

Oh, it has been a while, hasn't it? I had the best of plans to finish Cinxia and not do any holiday knitting other than finish the lap blanket. I even remember walking back from knitting group with Local Egg and telling her that this year was going to be different from last year. So what ended up happening? In a week I made six beaded votive candle sleeves and a Kidsilk Haze scarf, all for my kids' teachers. I have a photo but it's still on the camera, and as I'm home with the kids because of a snow day, I don't have my cable to download. You can see Grumperina's version though - mine aren't quite as pretty, but Grumperina thought I did ok (she and Omar came to our holiday party, reprazentin' fo' the knitterz). I made two red, two blue and two multicolor ones. Let me just confirm that knitting with 24 gauge wire is murder on the hands! Thank goodness I had a whole tube of my fave lotion, Sally Hansen Radiant Hands and Cuticles. I know, "radiant" makes me think of Charlotte's Web too.

The scarf was another 4-hour scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I think it even took me 4 hours this time. And I finished the lap blanket and sent it to my delighted niece after my mom hinted that she would prefer socks (gave her the stripy Fixation ones at Thanksgiving).

After that, I didn't knit at all for about a week. I had grand plans for finishing Cinxia, but with the kids home and serious basement decluttering to do, it just didn't happen. I'm still on the second sleeve and trying to figure out how the sleeve attachment process is going to work. It's true - I'm the lamest knitalong co-leader ever.

Feet, neck, arm, hands

2005-11-15T21:25:00.000-05:00

Lots of work on extremities-related projects recently. Here's a photo of the Fuzzyfeet I made for R in Noro Kureyon:

I also wove the ends into the ruffle scarf made from Knitpicks Twist, which I get to keep because R's school did not sell scarves at the fundraiser after all. I wore it today and like it very much. And R begged me to start the Morehouse Merino bear paw mittens as soon as he saw the kit (scored at the Knitsmiths swap); one mitten minus claws down, one to go.

Still plodding on the first Cinxia sleeve. The size 10 double points are slightly unwieldy, and the black is getting a little dull, but I must be a good knitalong co-leader and make some progress on this sweater! Next week I'll have a ten hour car trip which might be just what the doctor ordered for knitting catch up.

Cynthia from my work knitting group will be proud to see that I am now in the habit of carrying a sock to knit with me at all times. I worked on the blue Fixation socks while waiting to get into the new Massachusetts IKEA (along with seemingly the rest of New England) and I have been known to pull out the Knitpicks Dancing socks for my husband during lunch breaks.

Ah, but here's a non-extremity project - Z's finished yellow sweater.

She doesn't want me to make the neck any tighter, so it's a little sloppy...but she loves it.

So, the next week the Cinxia sleeves will prepare for their beatdown, and um, I will also work on a scarf for one of my favorite colleagues who is leaving to take a job elsewhere. But Cinxia will be the priority. Oh, dang, got to finish the lap blanket before seeing Mom at Thanksgiving too! Oy. Stay tuned.

A few detours

2005-10-24T13:05:00.000-04:00

I finally picked up a pair of sz US10 double points this past week to start on the Cinxia sleeves (I am using a bulkier yarn than the pattern calls for). My 6 year old son was with me and reminded me that I had promised him some Fuzzyfeet from Knitty, so I tested out the new Bryspun dpns (love them!) on a pair of Noro Kureyon color 134 slippers this week. It took three felting passes before R liked the fit. I tried to convince him to leave them a little big so he could grow into them, but he would have none of it. A photo when he agrees to pose in them, and when I can find the camera.

Bryspuns proven to be in working order, I then began the first Cinxia sleeve. And yes, Cinxia knitters, although the number of cast on stitches just seems wrong, the sleeve slip stitch pattern does work out after the 4th row. I am considering ripping out the inch of sleeve I have though because I realize that my yarn is too bulky to fold the finished sleeves up - it would look like I am wearing black "floaties" outside of the swimming pool. The pattern is written assuming you will fold the sleeves and has you knit the wrong side. If I continue my started sleeve I guess I could knit the twisted stockinette backwards... Hmm. I didn't think this through (who, moi?). Another thing I wish I had done - *not* cut the yarn after the armholes because I didn't want to retrieve new ball of yarn from box from under my sleeping daughter's bed so I could start the sleeve the other night. She admitted, sheepishly. So, no Cinxia progress this week because...

I decided I needed something to wear for our office Halloween party, so I'm making a Hallowig from Knitty. Easy to knit while watching the World Series. Maybe I can pair it with a tank top and leather skirt and claim to be Sydney Bristow from Alias? Yeah, I'm a dead ringer for Ms. Garner. Though this idea amuses me too. A few years ago my former model friend Janet and I went as Edina and Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous, and I think it was my best costume ever. Haven't decided yet what Z will be - maybe a puppy so I can reuse an old family costume. Or, as she's into The Wiggles, I'll dress her in a red turtleneck and black pants and tell her she's Murray. But I doubt she'd carry a guitar.

Hey, Bub.

2005-10-13T09:58:00.000-04:00

I'm back from my conference at Yale. I even managed to get some knitting done on Cinxia - I'm up to the armhole openings and now need to buy another circular needle or else free up one or two of my Denise cables so I can move on to the sleeves. I didn't take a photo because, you know, more black knitting. I also used my conference attendance time to make this:

It's a Bubby from the new Knitty. Stacy and Rhonda had also made one, and I needed a gift for a friend's baby who is expected any time now. Because the baby will be an October baby, Bubby was outfitted with an orange crocheted scarf. Here's another shot so you can see the scale - my row gauge was a little different, so he is slightly smaller than the pattern says:

Bubby gives TiVo a big thumbs-up!

This past weekend was Z's second birthday. The yellow sweater is not quite done - am on last sleeve. I am thinking of *not* making it a hoodie but instead adding a crew neck and maybe some colorful duplicate stitch as it's a very pale yellow. I have some (shock, horror) Fun Fur that was donated by someone who probably wishes to remain nameless. I wonder if that would impact the current machine washability of the sweater? Yes, we here at Chez Debutante are almost as concerned with Mr. Washie as is the Yarn Harlot.
Here is a photo of Z at the exact moment she turned two (it's ok, my husband parked the car before taking the picture):

And, because I have to keep things even between my kids, here's R simultaneously doing his Spanish homework, playing Connect Four, building a Bionicle, and having a snack. I think one of my crocheted doilies is under there, and the white bag in foreground has the lap blanket in progress inside. So it's knitting-related. Kind of.

Is that some twisted stockinette on your uniform?

2005-09-27T09:26:00.000-04:00

Behold - if you can - black does not photograph well - the beginnings of my Cinxia:

I figured out my miscounting issue and my misplaced stitch markers, and am cruising along on the twisted stockinette. It's easier to make out the detail in person, and yes, you really can see the slip stitch edge, even in black (if not in photo):

The Softwist Bulky snags if you even look at it funny. This does not impress me. But, I intend this to be a "keep at the office for when I get chilly" sweater, so that's ok.

I'm also working on a lap blanket for my mom, using the pattern from Weekend Knitting:

Her birthday was earlier this month, so I'm a little late. I'm hoping this cozy thing will make it up to her though.

In other news, I'm presenting at a conference next week and am debating whether to take the train for extra knitting time or drive so I can get home quicker. As it's Z's birthday the day I get back, I will probably drive. My little baby turns 2!

My husband is still getting over his knee surgery, so I hope he can drive by then. To thank me for being nursemaid/single parent/mom's taxi, he bought me the Thin Man box set on DVD! Now I can channel my inner Myrna Loy.

Cinxia knitalong

2005-09-23T13:43:00.000-04:00

I'm cohosting a knitalong for Cinxia from the fall Knitty! See http://cinxiaknitalong.blogspot.com if you'd like to join, or check out the Yahoo group "cinxia".

Full of hope

2005-09-19T09:44:00.000-04:00

Here is my finished Hopeful drying last week. I have since worn it twice and love it to bits.

Specs: Sirdar Snuggly DK in Khaki green, not quite 4 balls; size 6 needles (Denise). I made the largest pattern size.
The Snuggly is a very lightweight yarn, so it was nigh on impossible to press the seams flat, but luckily the ribbing stayed put just fine. I could've made the sleeve openings a little bigger but they are ok as is. Once my daughter is a little older, I'd be tempted to make myself another one of these in Wool Cotton. It's very cute. And did I mention my husband really likes it on me? 'Nuff said.

Currently on the needles:

Rosebud. More stockinette in the round on size 5 needles. I need another long car trip or something because I frankly get too too bored. Plus I must've missed a couple decreases because I'm ready to start the ribbing but have too many stitches. And while I love the Dale Svale, I am getting less enthused with the pale pink. As I was getting curmudgeonly about this, I decided to start...

Cinxia. Subway Knitter was counseling me on whether Softwist Bulky would work for this. She feels it would be best to rework the pattern for the heaviness of the yarn and is I think planning to do that. As an experiment (I.e. because I don't know how to adapt patterns and am lazy), I'm knitting a smaller size to account for the different gauge and will see how it goes. It's not that fitted a garment, so maybe it'll work out. If not, someone will get it for the holidays, heh. I have finished the slip stitch trim and have done the first row of twisted stockinette (I was attracted to the pattern by the complete lack of stockinette!) but again have a different number of stitches than the pattern says I should. After just one row! I mean, I know I am math impaired, but honestly. I'll figure it out tonight.

Hoodie for Z - on last sleeve, may finish it this month so it can be a birthday present

Lap blanket for my mom - in Patons Divine, froth, froth. Also hard to work on for long periods at a time - size 13 needles.

Fair Isle pillow - there's no deadline for this one, as my living room doesn't have a birthday or a baby due or anything. I do have a number of friends with babies due, though, so I should get cracking.

Oh, and I ordered a bag of Noro Sumile Multi 102 from Webs. Was thinking I'd use it for a Klaralund, but am now reconsidering. My husband saw the Klaralund photo and said he thought it wasn't "form-fitting" enough. Maybe a Rosedale United? Or the Hourglass sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts? Any thoughts? Your input is welcomed.

You have arrived at your destination.

2005-08-31T09:11:00.000-04:00

Just returned from our weeklong vacation in Ocean City, Maryland. We all - husband, R, Z and I - had a lovely time boogie boarding, building sand castles, eating crab cakes, and relaxing by the surf. It was an admittedly long drive to get there (about 8 hours), but that was made more tolerable by three things: the newly-purchased Fast Lane/EZPass transponder, so we didn't have to stop for tolls; the also newly-purchased GPS unit to guide us from Boston to the Delmarva peninsula; and miles of car-appropriate stockinette in the round for Hopeful. I'm nearly up to the armholes, see?

We became really enamored of the GPS device, a Tomtom Go. Not only does it count down the distance to your destination (thus enabling you to answer with authority when asked "when will we get there?" by a small person in the back seat "At 5:37 PM - and you can watch it yourself so you don't have to keep asking us.") - it also talks to you to tell you where and when to turn. My husband picked the female British voice, reasoning it would be like (the female) Holly from Red Dwarf. I think I would like a Tomtom for knitting. Can you imagine? You wouldn't have to look at the pattern! A friendly voice would prompt you : "In eight stitches, knit two together.......knit two together now. Continue to next marker." You could pretend the English voice was Debbie Bliss, or load the Australian voice for your Jo Sharp pattern. I think I need to get the MIT engineers on this idea immediately.

The day after we returned we went to our goddaughter Morgan's first birthday party. I made her a pink frosted cupcake hat:

The base (Tweedy Cotton Classic) is supposed to look like the muffin tin liner. The top (Knitpicks Crayon) is the icing.

Hopeful-ly I can finish these soon

2005-08-16T13:40:00.000-04:00

I just joined the Hopeful knitalong. Such a pretty top, and a great cause. I went to Windsor Button yesterday at lunchtime to pick out yarn (and got a Chacarero sandwich around the corner after, yum). They did have the Rowan Wool Cotton, and I also liked the SWTC Bamboo (especially the deep red of the latter). But reason won out, and instead I bought some supersoft Sirdar Snuggly in a ferny green. Why? I finished the ribbon top last weekend, and after wearing it an hour at most Z squashed a grape tomato into my shoulder. So, it's machine washable stuff for my garments for a little while longer. Began swatching last night - hope to knit a lot on vacation next week.

I finally received my Interweave Knits subscription (took almost 8 weeks for first issue). I like the Blissful Jacket, might be just the thing for my bag of Takhi New Tweed. Also bought the Fall Vogue Knitting - the Annie Modesitt shrug/jacket on the cover is strangely compelling, but I think it would take me years. And I liked the Debbie Bliss shawl collar jacket too. Yes, I like that Debbie Bliss lady's designs. The cabled sweaters were cool but What Not To Wear says I have the wrong body shape for cables. And you know, it's hard to argue with Trinny and Susannah.

I took a lot of photos at the MIT S'n'B last week but haven't had time at home to download them, so no photos yet. I'm hiding so many finished objects from you! Another buttonhole bag (for Z's departing teacher), a potato chip scarf, Bob, and the ribbon top. Photos soon, I promise.

Currently on the needles (again proving why I am the Dilettante):
-Fair Isle pillow from Spring04 Interweave (about a third done)
-Yellow hoodie for Z; on last sleeve; will pay more attention once it's hoodie weather again
-Power Ranger socks for R; on ankle of first sock (toe-up, and slightly too big, wait for him to grow a little)
-Knitpicks Dancing socks for husband - almost to heel of first sock
-Pink frosted cupcake hat for goddaughter Morgan; a cross between a Baby Tart and a Coronet from Knitty
-Rosebud in Dale Svale (had picked this up again and set it aside when I saw Hopeful. Again, the long sleeves thing can wait.)
-have yarn for three novelty scarves to sell at school fundraiser in Sept - maybe for knitting in car on vacation.

Three socks and a ruffly thing

2005-08-04T14:53:00.000-04:00

Et voila! My sparkly Fortissima Colori Disco socks:

A big *Mwah* again to Alasdair for giving me the yarn, although in truth Alasdair and I do not really have a Mwah kind of relationship, mainly a nod-hi-across-coffeeshop-table kind of relationship, but still, he's a cool guy and definitely worth sitting next to at a yarn swap. And want to know what's freaky about the socks? One was made cuff down (Yankee Knitter pattern), while the other was made trying Lucy from Mind's Eye's toe-up pattern. Yet...the socks match almost perfectly. I'm sure the yarn was designed that way, but somehow the whole thing is just a bit...spooky.

Cynthia from the MIT group must be giving me subliminal messages because, yep, here's another sock in progress. I call this the Power Ranger sock as the Trampoline yarn is of such bright primary colors I expect Dr. Tommy Oliver to appear at any moment. OK, maybe he's the wrong color - Kira, Connor and Ethan then. Yes, I watch Power Rangers with my son. It's quality knitting time!

Alert readers will also notice what appears to be a pastel pretzel in the above photo. In truth it is the beginning of a "Potato Chip Scarf" in KnitPicks Twist, Cotton Candy color. I like the yarn very much - it is less garish that I thought it might be based on the catalog photo. It's a nice muted lavender color. I'm making this and a few other scarves to sell at the next school fundraiser - last year they asked me to make furry scarves, and I'm hoping some non-fur but still novelty will also sell. Not liking the pattern though, kfb'ing in every stitch. I think there will be 720 stitches to bind off. The KnitPicks catalog made it sound cute and effortless - something about not being able to knit just one, in that chirpy tone they have. No, Kelley, I think it may just be one potato chip scarf for me, thanks all the same. I like your yarn though.

Oh, and Bob is done but I keep forgetting to photograph it - Z got a maple syrup and ketchup handprint on it so it's in the wash. And the ribbon pullover and I are in a standoff over the sleeves, so it is in timeout currently.

At last, it fits

2005-07-08T11:31:00.000-04:00

I remember when Stacy showed me the issue of Knitty with Anouk on the cover. I also remember saying "ooh, that might inspire me to knit something other than a scarf, once I'm done with my dissertation." Well, obviously it did. I finished this not quite a year ago, when I was still a fairly novice knitter. Lessons learned:

-I did not fully understand how to pick up stitches for the neckline. I'm better at it now.

-The 18 month size really is for 18+ month girls. I tried this on her at her first birthday party and it was comically large.

-It might be a better idea to make the smaller baby sizes so you won't have toddlers pulling off side tab buttons and squirting juice boxes onto your carefully crafted intarsia tulips.

Last night after getting Z to bed for the third time and her brother the second (peer pressure?), I finished the last sleeve for the as-yet unphotographed Bob raglan. Tonight there will I hope be ends-weaving and seaming. I also worked on the ribbon top while R got his checkup at the dentist. Two hygenists stopped by the room because they had never seen anyone work with ribbon yarn before. :) Bob would have been perfect for this week's rainy weather but will instead be ready for the next heatwave, sigh.

I am thankful that my friends in London are okay and am creeped out that two of the incidents occurred right where I used to go to school at the University of London. Eight years ago I would've been walking by that very intersection at about the same time. One of the more ironic touches? The park in Tavistock Square features a lovely statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

Knitting entropy

2005-06-15T10:24:00.000-04:00

The whack weather in Boston means I keep changing projects. I was about a third of the way through Rosebud during our freezing rainy spring when I had to make a brief detour into the Haiku sweaters (baby Penelope was born two days after sweaters were completed, yay!). When it was time to restart Rosebud, the weather was warming up and it was not appealing to work on a long-sleeved garment. Then came the Wild and Woolly sale, at which I bought some Sunsette to make Bob. Bob was nearly half done (no photos yet) when it hit 94 degrees with about 90 percent humidity. Whoa. Don't think I'd be wearing a rayon-based Bob soon in this heat. I had to stop by W&W again to pick up some needles for Grumperina, and while there a sale bag of Crystal Palace Choo-Choo in dusty blue jumped right into my arms. It did! Really! Hey, were *you* there to claim otherwise? And that is how I came to start the Zen pullover, which really now is a Choo-Choo (note to yarn makers - kindly cut out the cutesy and "hip" yarn names like Choo-Choo and Bling-Bling. I am not 6 years old and am not some hoodie-clad trim [to quote Que Sera Sera] who wants to pimp her ride and hang with J.Lo.) pullover:

Here's what the Choo-Choo looks like close up:

It's kind of cool, and this is coming from someone with a general disdain for foofy ribbon yarn. I like how the knitted fabric looks kind of like Liberty print.

Oh, and the Knitting Room in Arlington is for sale. If they don't find a buyer they will close next year. Jackie and Laura said the shop is doing well, but they have become less enthralled with working retail as opposed to knitting as a hobby. I mentioned this offhandedly to my husband, who looked at me in a horrified way and said 'Don't even think about it." I wasn't! I grew up in retail and I know it's not for me.

There once was a sweater from Nantucket

2005-06-06T10:37:00.000-04:00

Hey, that's not a Haiku. But this is:

and so's this:

These are the preblocked Haiku for my husband's softball teammate's daughters (the second daughter is expected to make her appearance any day now). Though the photo doesn't show it, the yellow one is newborn-sized and the green is for two-year-old Amelia. I hope they will take a photo of the girls wearing the sweaters. Haiku is a very easy pattern.
Details: Cotton Ease in Banana Cream and Pistachio; pattern Haiku from Knitty; buttons from Wild and Woolly, Lexington.

Making good progress on Rosebud, but the stockinette in the round on size 5 needles was getting dull, so I have begun a Bob from Knitty. Instead of the cotton I am trying out Plymouth Sunsette - it's rayon, but not as annoying as Lion Microspun. And working ribbing has been a nice change (I am easily amused, I guess). Grumperina thinks I should alter the raglan seams to make them narrower. I hope I can figure out how to do that.

The Sunsette was acquired at the Wild and Woolly sale along with a bag of Tahki New Tweed, so I can make Subway Knitter's Spring Breeze top. Yay! I really like that one. Turns out she also got her New Tweed at the last W&W sale.

Oh, and I decided to frog the shapely tank. The ribbon was just too heavy when knit tightly and the short row bust looked odd, so I need to find another pattern that takes better advantage of the drapey ribbon. I'm thinking maybe a mesh tank that I would wear over a camisole or something. Or maybe just a shawl. Though I don't really wear shawls. Hmm. What would you do with 800 yards of Filati Must ribbon in a raspberry color? It's narrower and heavier than Zen and Glace, so those patterns don't really work for this ribbon.

Budding Rosebud and an FO list

2005-05-27T10:38:00.000-04:00

I've started on the first decreases on Rosebud, see?

The Dale Svale is so soft, I really like it. Can you tell from the photo that it's a pale pink? I think it'll look ok on me if I have some summer color. In winter I return to being Ghostly-White New Englander of Scottish Irish descent. Am almost tempted to order more Svale from Webs as it's on sale, but I will wait and see how it holds up first.

I'm realizing that I should make a Finished Objects page. On my commute home last night I made a mental list of what I've made in the past 18 months and it's been quite a lot:

3 adult sweaters (alpaca boucle, cable trim, 3XChic)
2 Weasley sweaters
4 pairs of socks
1 hoodie for my son
1 Anouk for my daughter
1 Baby Tart hat
2 flower washcloths
1 scarf-sized Clapotis
1 felted bag
1 cabled hat with matching fingerless gloves
1 Paris Loop
1 crocheted poncho and matching hat
2 lace bookmarks
6 scarves (two kerchief, 4 lace)
1 knitted gift bag for secret pal Marti
Some number of crocheted flowers and snowflake doilies
1 bunny
1 pair Gator mittens
Whew. My fingers hurt just writing that. I feel like I'm forgetting something but am not sure.

Current WIPs include
-fixing the neck on my Shapely tank
-two Haiku for the children of the friend who takes my husband to the ER for his annual softball injuries (one done, one in progress, stashbusting some Cotton Ease)
-daughter's hoodie (sleeves)
-second Disco Colori sock for me
-the crocheted baby blanket that may be finished in time for daughter's high school graduation in 17 years
-Rosebud

Next time: finished Haiku and plans for future projects.

Dale Svale, not Dale Sveum

2005-05-17T15:27:00.000-04:00

OK, let's get this straight:
Dale Svale is the cotton-viscose-silk DK weight yarn.
Dale Sveum is the third base coach for the Boston Red Sox.
Maybe now I will stop confusing the two? Don't count on it.

I finished another pair of footie socks for my Mom for Mother's Day, out of purple-green-blue Cascade Fixation. She really liked them, though like a goober I forgot to take a photo of the socks before I mailed them off.

I also finished the Shapely Tank in between visits to the hospital last week when they thought my little girl Z had a broken arm (ended up being a dislocated elbow, and she's fine now, but it was a stressful week). Shapely is currently blocking, and I fear I will need to redo the neckline. I think I picked up too many stitches, and the neckline is a bit wavy. We'll see after it dries. I also think the short row darts ended up in the wrong place, but that may be because I was using ribbon. I dunno. Feeling a little down on the tank, although I have yet to love love love any garment I've knitted for myself. Maybe I should stick to stuff for my kids, I'm usually happy with those and the kids aren't nearly as fussy about my finished objects as I am.

Last night I cast on for a Knitty Rosebud using Dale Sve - I mean, Svale, in Tea Rose 4612. And of course I just now am seeing the pattern for Fuchsia and am thinking ooh, that's nice too! Will I hunt down the pattern, rip and restart, or stick with Rosebud? Should I work on the Colori Disco socks and the crocheted baby afghan for the now 19-month old baby until I decide?

URL ABC Meme

2005-04-28T09:54:00.000-04:00

These are my URL ABCs:

A is for alison.knitsmiths.us/ - Blue is for knitting
B is for boston.com/ - Boston you're my home
C is for cnn.com/ - This is CNN
D is for defectiveyeti.com/ - One funny guy
E is for educause.edu/educatingthenetgen/ - Kids today...
F is for fodors.com - Don't remember visiting this, but I went to high school with two Fodor kids
G is for grumperina.com/knitblog/ - Funniest, grumpiest grad student and knitter in Cambridge
H is for howstuffworks.com/ - What it says
I is for imdb.com/ - Surprisingly central to my life
J is for jade.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/blogshop/archives/000062.html - Ed Tech stuff
K is for knitty.com/ - Gettin Knitty wit' it
L is for latimes.com/ - I think I read something from the sports page here
M is for marthas.blogs.com/massknitting/ - Want to knit in Mass? Start here.
N is for news.bbc.co.uk/ - When you need an international perspective
O is for oreillynet.com/mac/ - For work
P is for pbskids.org/ - La la la la...PBS Kids!
Q is for I had no Q
R is for redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=78995&format= - Curse reversed
S is for salon.com/index.html - My daily read
T is for travelocity.com/ - Cheap tickets to Florida during school vacation week? I think not.
U is for I had no U
V is for versiontracker.com/ - Software stuff
W is for web.mit.edu/ - Where I work
X is for Nope, no X either
Y is for yahoo.com/ - Thought maybe it would be Yarn Harlot, but no.
Z is for zones.com/Mac_Zone/ - Frankly I think my husband went to this one.

Irene Cara got nuthin' on me

2005-04-27T10:26:00.000-04:00

Fame! Our Sunday knitting group was a front page article (with photos) in the Somerville News last week. Included is a photo of yours truly and R playing his Gameboy. There's also a photo labelled as me but that is actually Julie. Someone once thought we were sisters, nope. We're sistahs in knitting though.

Just got back from a week in Florida, and not much knitting to report. I finished a sock for my mom using the Inox needles that Grumperina ordered for me, and made some progress on a sock for me. Haven't touched the Shapely Tank, but I did swatch for a Pinup Queen. Sadly, I can't get gauge using the sale Dale Svale (I should listen to Dick Dale while I knit it?), so I'm trying to rewrite the pattern. I did about half of the rewriting last night before my brain became too tired for math. The Svale is 5.5 stitches per inch and the pattern yarn calls for 5. I could just try and make the largest size PQ but that might be cutting it close. Or I can make life easier and just make a Rosebud.

Although I didn't knit much in Florida I did get to peruse my mom's knitting books. My daughter was enthralled with the Minnowknits, Too book - she constantly wanted to look at the photos of all the kids in it, especially the babies. She pointed to every cute little face and exclaimed "beebee!".

Cable trim raglan

2005-04-11T13:43:00.000-04:00

After a weekend of sunny, 60+ degree weather, a cold snap means I can wear my newly-finished cable trim raglan today. I bought the pattern from the Patternworks catalog. It was billed as a top-down raglan, and I naively assumed that the top-down part included the cables on the neck, cuffs and bottom, but no. It is basically a pattern for a top-down raglan in bulky yarn (written for Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande, I used Lana Grossa Due Chine), with cable trim worked separately and then sewn on - sorry, the photo is lousy...get a real camera, I know:

I liked learning how to do the top down part, but I think sweaters in bulky weight are not particularly flattering on me. But, the sweater is cozy and theoretically machine-washable, so I'm happy. I don't think I did the neck quite right - I have to adjust it a bit to get an appealing funnel neck thing happening. Either I made the neck trim too long (instructions were very vague) or the yarn is different enough that it doesn't drape as much as the Alpaca Grande. And I made roughly five feet of cable trim, in installments. I will posit that cables are the Rice Krispie Treats of knitting - ridiculously easy to make, but with an end result that looks both better and more difficult than the effort involved.

Now I'm moving on to a Shapely Tank to use up the Filati Must from my stash. It'll probably be a heavy tank, but it's an excuse to learn short-row shaping. And I ordered some Dale Svale from the Webs sale - in pink! My husband picked out the color for me - I rarely wear pink. I will use if for either Rosebud from Knitty or Pinup Queen from Stitch&Bitch.

Mommy, stop knitting please

2005-04-06T14:26:00.000-04:00

is what my daughter Z (almost 18 months) tried to say the other day. I was sitting beside her on the couch while she was engrossed in Teletubbies and I worked on her brother's second yellow sock. Suddenly a small person straddled my lap and put her forehead against mine, giggling. I gave her a biiiiig hug, being careful not to poke her with one of the double pointed needles. The yarn got a little tangled, but who cares? Then we played "Trot, trot to Boston." It was really sweet.
A recent post by Dooce made me realize I need to remember these moments.

Much to R's delight, I finished the yellow socks after he and Z went to bed. Upon presentation the next morning they immediately went onto his feet so no photo yet.

On the needles: cable trim for the raglan sweater (actually, I wore it Sunday without the bottom trim - I'm getting a little tired of the cabling), hoodie for my daughter (front almost done - not in any rush), and about an inch of some socks for me in Fortissima Disco Colori that Alasdairgifted me at our yarn swap.

No longer secret...

2005-04-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

So my "secret project" was a felted Buttonhole Bag for my friend Stacy, whose birthday is tomorrow (head on over to Stacy's Plate and wish her a happy birthday!). The pattern is available at the Mason-Dixon Knitting site, and is made with Lamb's Pride Bulky on size 15 needles, so it works up pretty quickly. I gave it to her yesterday, so now you can see it too. Here's the before, pre-felted:

and here it is after felting (my first felting attempt ever, by the way):

The main color is Garnet, with Blue Magic on bottom and handles, and stripes of Pine Green and Autumn.

Oh, and at lunchtime yesterday I finished my niece's Florida footies:

Done in Classic Elite Star, size 3 dpns. They are stretchy, but I hope they'll be big enough. Her feet are a little bigger than mine - in the past she has sent her aunt hand-me-down shoes. I'm sending them off today for her birthday next week. Happy Birthday Stacy and Emma!

Spring!

2005-03-31T10:05:00.000-05:00

So it's finally Spring - the snow is almost all gone from my yard, and the temperature has been in the 50s. I've been working on some Spring-inspired knitting. First, for my daughter's Easter basket:

Fewer calories than a chocolate bunny, which she's kind of too young for still, but which my husband bought and he and I ate anyway. Hee.

OK, Bunny, you caught us. Free bunny pattern is from HeartStrings. It's basically a sewn-up square!

My knitting group made a wall hanging for the coffee shop that hosts us each Sunday. We each made an 8x8 square and we had a seaming party last weekend. I decided to make a colorful square of granny squares; I had begun the squares thinking I would make my daughter Z the granny square jacket from Candy Tots. Luckily reason set in as the pattern calls for 200 2x2 granny squares. Can you imagine the seaming and ends-weaving for that?? R came along to the party and had a good time, although he looks sullen in the photo.

It was also teacher appreciation month, and the Knitting Room now carries Cotton Chenille, so I made two reverse bloom washcloths for my daughter's teachers:

The pattern is in the book Weekend Knitting. I have one more hank of Cotton Chenille and may make another washcloth for a family member's birthday. Or maybe not, I'm kinda tired of making petals. I'm finishing some socks for my niece, and still working on the cable trim for my sweater, which I now probably won't get to wear until fall. I've also been working on some Secret Knitting, the results of which will be made public shortly.

You've got questions? We've got answers.

2005-03-23T10:04:00.000-05:00

My friend Grumperina asked me to answer the following questionnaire. I will do so forthwith. I f you want *me* to interview *you*, leave a comment and I'd be happy to oblige.

1. I know you knit and crochet. Is there any type of project that you would only crochet or only knit?

I would probably only crochet blankets, just because it goes faster. Although the first project I ever started (way back in college) was going to be a knitted version of a Hudson Bay point blanket. I still like the idea in theory, but I got bored of the vast expanses of beige garter stitch and abandoned it. I like knitted fabric better, so would probably not crochet adult size sweaters. I have crocheted baby sweaters though.

2. Do you plan to teach your children how to knit and/or crochet, especially your cutie Z? (R is currently into video games and LEGOs, as far as I can tell). Will you suggest, highly recommend, or require that your children learn?

I won't force them, but I'm happy to teach them if they seem willing and will offer. I don't think my mom ever expressly offered to teach me, and I don't think I ever asked her to. She was thrilled though when I learned and I told her it was because I wanted to make things for my kids like she had done for me. Not sure R would be into it, but you never know. Maybe he'll want to make knitted Power Ranger accessories? I have a feeling Z will want to - she loves stuffed animals and dress up clothes.

3. What is the one yarn that you’ve always wanted, but don’t have? And why don’t you have it yet?!?

Well, I do have a high itchiness factor, so I'd love something like Muench Touch Me or some cashmere. However, as my kids frequently treat me as "Mommy the Human Napkin" I am trying to stick to easily washable fibers for the near future.

4. What is the most unusual or embarrassing thing that’s happened to you at a local yarn shop?

When I took a refresher class at the Knitting Room (after not knitting for like 10 years) the owner eventually determined I had misremembered how to knit - I was knitting through the back loop! Because I knit continental and she didn't, it took her a really long time to figure this out. She even dragged out the Vogue Knitting guide to check, and was trying to figure out how to say nicely "yo, doofus, you're doing it wrong!"

5. What do you do to relax when you’re really tense? And if it’s knitting/crochet, then pick another answer :).

I eat dark chocolate. These days I'm trying to do less of that and instead go to the gym and work out. My husband gives a good back rub when I need one too. :)

OK, anyone else want to be questioned?

Currently on the needles:

-yellow hoodie for Z (back done, front halfway, this week on hold for...)
-pink bunny for Z's Easter basket (trying this pattern. Usually I find knitted toys scary but this seems cute.)
-socks for R (one done, second up to heel)
-slipper socks for niece's birthday in April (seeing if I can get two out of one ball of Classic Elite Star, in teal)
-my cable trim raglan in Due Chine (sweater body is done; did cabling for one sleeve last night, neckline and bottom trim to go. And may make it longer. Will probably bring it to the seaming party on Saturday for group input).

Geez, that's a lot on the needles. No wonder they call me dilettante.

Ma petite clapotis

2005-03-14T11:12:00.001-05:00

Elle est ici! (Here she is!)

Done in Classic Elite Flash in Cool Mix. It's not as fabulous as Betsy's but it's pretty and fun. The cotton isn't as drapey as a wool-silk blend, obviously, but I still like it. Hurrah, another finished knitalong. Also finished one kid's cotton sock, one to go. Forgot to photograph it, though.

I'm cranking away on the top-down raglan, hoping that by working on a bulky weight sweater Spring will hurry here. Did most of one sleeve yesterday at knitting group; now on to the other sleeve and then the cable trim. Would I have bought this pattern if I'd known the entire instructions for adding the cable trim consisted of one line saying "Make cable trim to fit cuffs, neckline and bottom and attach to sweater"? No, I would not have. Note to self: next time don't buy pattern from catalog.

My "carry in my purse" project for the week has been a hoodie for my daughter. Couldn't resist the yarn sale at Building 19, don't you know. The yarn for the hoodie cost a total of $3.99. Woot!

Note the creative use of key fob as stitch holder as I finished the back while attending a conference last week. They served a pasta buffet for lunch before we had to sit for 4 hours - had to do something to stay awake.

Z is for Zesty

2005-03-03T10:21:00.000-05:00

Here is my 16-month-old daughter Z in her new Weasley sweater. Hi, Z!

I hope I made this big enough to fit her for another year. It's still cold here, so at least she can still wear it this month. (Plymouth Encore in Cranberry Heather with leftover wheat-colored yarn for Harry Potter kit from Yarn Warehouse).

I finished the Schaefer Anne cowl and gave it to my sister for her birthday. She liked! This week I hope to finish my Clapotis scarf and R's cotton sock. He has stipulated that the socks must be yellow with orange toes and heels. Well all right. After that I can start on the raglan pullover for me - like I said, it's still cold here. Oh, and I also have almost finished my square for the knitting group wall hanging. Weaving in ends from multicolor granny squares is a pain.

This morning R wore the red hoodie I made him to school. I am always a little surprised and flattered when he wears this, as it was the first thing I ever knit and I did a horrible job picking up the stitches around the collar. But he's 5, so what does he care about evenly picked up stitches? He loves it, and I get warm fuzzies whenever I see him wear it. He probably gets them too as the sweater has pilled quite a bit.

Because I have posted two photos of R in his Weasley I suppose it is only fair to do the same for Z. Here is an action shot taken after she and her brother have trashed the living room while watching Lazytown:

Socks and a Tart

2005-03-01T12:43:00.000-05:00

Haven't had much time to blog what with school vacation week, work, a Kindergartener and pre-verbal toddler, but I have had time to knit (mostly after the latter two go to bed). I finished my husband's socks a few weeks ago:

Note: those are his legs, not mine. The Smart Superwash got really nice and soft after washing. I luckily did not forget and put them in the dryer.

Betsy from my knitting group inspired me to look into my unfinished object (UFO) bag and finally finish the Baby Tart hat. It ended up being too big, but it's cutely too big on my daughter Z. She wouldn't let me take her photo this morning, but my Mac was more obliging:

She looks very adorable in it, trust me. She even scored a free cookie from the ladies at the bakery when she wore it to the grocery store on Sunday. OK, so they give all kids free cookies, but they did admire the hat!

I also finished the Z Weasley sweater, started my son's socks and added onto my Clapotis. Those photos will have to wait til next time...

Maggie Righetti said

2005-01-31T14:38:00.000-05:00

that you can tell a lot from a pattern based on the way the model was photographed. I read this (in Knitting in Plain English) and thought I understood it, and then I made this.

Cute, right? Not a big boxy sweater. A sweater-girl kind of sweater, my mom would say. But why are the model's hands posed like so? An action shot? No. *She is trying to pull down the sweater because it rides up!*

I made the medium size, in Blues. 9 balls of yarn, said pattern. Um no. I'm a tight knitter, granted, but 9 balls would have made a t-shirt. After I finished the body with 2+ balls to spare I ordered another ball from Patternworks (and a skein of Cotton Chenille for a washcloth, just so the shipping charge would not be for naught), and barely finished two somewhat shortened sleeves. Barely. Had to trim the cast on excess and tie it on to finish binding off. And, did I mention I had to rip and redo the sleeves three times so it wouldn't end up with a batwing effect? And that checking gauge in alpaca boucle can make you go blind?

Well, despite all that, I do like the finished sweater. I wish it were a little longer, but I'm not tackling those sleeves again, huh uh, nope. I will push them up a little and pretend like I intended on 3/4 sleeves. You won't tell, will you?

In happier news I received a really sweet (almost gushing) thank you note from my son's Kindergarten teacher for the seed stitch blouse scarf I made her for Xmas. It was the nicest thank you note I've ever seen and made my day.

Sock it to me

2005-01-31T13:32:00.000-05:00

I joined the Sock It To Me knitalong! I knit a sock! Wanna see?

I'm making a pair of socks for my husband who starts at a new job making robots this week. (Note: if you have small children, they will be extremely excited to learn you will be making robots for a living.) The socks are made from Sandnes Smart superwash sportweight on size 3 dpns. I think I finally have dpns down - I'm actually enjoying using them. One sock is done and the other is about 2/3 of the way there. I used the Yankee Knitter Classic Socks pattern - it's very straightforward.

My next post will show you a picture of and detail my tribulations with the alpaca boucle sweater.

What's on tap for February?

Definitely: the scarf for my sister in Schaefer Anne (sis' birthday is in March, get cracking); my square for the TG thank you project.

Possibly: start Weasley sweater for daughter; finish Clapotis (did you see Betsy's? Oh my, is it gorgeous!); start either Rowan 23 Dune (in black Softwist Bulky) or cable-trim raglan in Due Chine. Finish Regia socks for son (one underway). Start reverse bloom washcloth for other sister's birthday in April.

Probably not: finish Baby Tart hat (daughter currently in "pull off all hats" mode, plus it doesn't cover ears so no incentive to complete it in timely manner); crocheted baby blanket (baby is now toddler and shows predilection for fleece).

Snowbound but chic

2005-01-24T16:06:00.001-05:00

3XChic, to be exact:

The perspective in the photo is a little off - it *is* a normal size neck opening. I am not a pinhead (Ed. note: says you!). This is a nice, cozy knockaround sweater done in Sirdar Denim Chunky (which now might be called Denim Ultra, I'm not sure). My only critique of the sweater is that when I have been sitting while wearing it it creases across my lap and the crease remains when I stand up, so I tug and adjust a lot. But hey, it's the first sweater I've ever knit for myself, and I think it isn't half bad. It certainly gave me confidence to try the alpaca boucle, which will be finished when the rest of the yarn arrives (about 50% of a sleeve to go, plus seaming).

As I can't finish the boucle sweater yet, I decided to make my husband a pair of socks to wear on his first day at his new job in February - my first socks. We had a blizzard here this weekend so I made some good progress on one sock:

I turned the heel just fine (helped that Cynthia went over the process in the toe-up-on-two-circulars session last Thursday) and am on the foot now. Alert readers will note I am using double points. These came with the Red Cross Knit Kit I bought from the redcross.org store. For a $25 donation you can buy a kit that contains sock yarn, needles, a finishing needle and a 1942 pattern reprint, all in a cute little tin. I like the red needles - makes using double points look even more dangerous!

Kindergarten was cancelled because of snow, so I worked at home while R played with Bionicles and watched cartoons. He said he didn't want to eat the veggies in his lunch because "my vegetable tank is full." We made a deal that if he at least ate the carrots he could help me make cookies. "OK," he said, "I still have room for *round* things in my tummy."

Look out for the gator, baby!

2005-01-21T10:24:00.000-05:00

Or gators, plural, in this case. Here are R's gator mittens, although he sometimes changes his mind and says they are dragons.

I have finished 3XChic (woo!) and am on the sleeves of the V-neck alpaca boucle. I must've knit too tightly or lost gauge on the latter, as I'm about to run out of yarn on the first sleeve. D'oh! I already have ordered an extra ball from Patternworks.

The knitting class I've been going to on Thursdays has been holding a tutorial in making toe-up socks on two circular needles - pretty cool. I have one sock for husband in progress on double points, so I can do a comparison test of the methods.

I checked out the Wild and Woolly sale last weekend and came away with two sweaters' worth of yarn - Lana Grossa Due Chine in a brick red (am thinking a cable-trim pullover) and Berroco Softwist Bulky in black (perhaps the Rowan Dune pattern from the Knitting Pattern A Day calendar. It's a November 2005 pattern. Yes, I looked ahead, whatcha gonna do about it?).

This post's title comes from, or is perhaps paraphrased from, the movie The Big Easy. I liked the movie, but then am not from New Orleans so cannot tell if the actors' accents were legit or not. It does irritate me to hear people get New England accents wrong. Wow, did the IMDB reviewer ever hate the movie. Go figure.

New Orleans-related note: my daughter Z is currently obsessed with mardi gras beads. She wears them daily. Usually green ones.

Knitting with R

2005-01-07T10:37:00.000-05:00

My 5 year old son has been a frequent party to my knitting lately. During his school vacation week after Christmas, he decided he wanted to go on a long train ride. Here was my excuse to go to a yarn store! We took the red and orange T lines out to Jamaica Plain one snowy day to visit Circles. It is a very nice store. I didn't get to meet the owner, but the staffer had her cute baby boy with her. R enjoyed playing with him in the playroom. In fact, he enjoyed the playroom so much, he didn't want to leave when I was ready to go. He picked out some yarn so I could make him the alligator mittens from Stitch and Bitch Nation. They are adorable! (Photo when I can upload photos again..laptop died before the holidays and I'm using a loaner)

The following Sunday my husband and daugher were sick and wanted to rest, so R came with me to True Grounds for the SnB group. He sat on the couch and played Mario Bros on his Gameboy. TG was out of cookies, so we had biscotti (I called it a "long cookie" and he was fine with it). R was somewhat astonished when Betsy and Omar arrived and Omar started knitting. "How come he's knitting - he's a boy!" R exclaimed. I found this interesting in that he really hasn't seen any evidence that knitting is "only" for girls other than the fact that I knit and Daddy doesn't (Daddy plays World of Warcraft while Mommy knits - an amicable arrangement). We told him anybody could knit if they wanted to, and he accepted this new information. I asked whether he wanted me to teach him, and he said "Sure." Hey, maybe I will. Don't think he's headed to a Waldorf School though - there would be no way to get him away from TV and video games. I mean, he likes to play sports and read and play board and card games too, but he cherishes cartoon time.

Yesterday was a snow day so no school. R came with me to work and we went to a lunchtime knitting class. He didn't feel like playing Gameboy, so he made up a game with an empty milk bottle. I managed to get him to do some drawing too. The class didn't have any men, so there goes my stereotype busting. He was able to sit still until he noticed a candy dish in the adjacent room. Then it became a constant "Can we go now?" "I'm bored." "Can we get some candy now?" I didn't get much knitting done.

And you will know us by our trail of yarn

2004-12-28T09:49:00.000-05:00

Hope you are having a good holiday week. I have the week off, recovering after the flurry of last minute knitting. Finished and gifted were the cell phone cozy, the first paris loop ("Is it...a skirt?" my sister asked nervously), four airy scarves in KidSeta, two lace bookmarks, five crocheted snowflakes, one kerchief scarf, two miniweasleys, and two seed stitch scarves. With the exception of the paris loop, all were knitted in December. Which is why I'm still on the first sleeve of 3XChic, who has been patiently waiting since November.

This week I hope to finish that sweater and get some significant house cleaning/decluttering done. Yesterday I worked on the kitchen. Ah, the sense of accompishment! January plans call for a blue alpaca boucle sweater for me and a Z Weasley for my daughter. Already have the yarn for those, and am in need of an excuse to go to the yarn store during my vacation week.

Almost forgot, Clapotis is on the last straight rows, then into the home stretch. Showed it to my mom this weekend and she loved the pattern too. Also, my oldest sister made me a blue metallic fuzzy scarf for Christmas. Although I generally don't like "novelty" scarves, this one is smashing.

Holiday knitting showdown

2004-12-21T13:51:00.000-05:00

(photo added to address special request of the Bookish Girl - this is an audience-friendly blog, albeit one with a crappy camera)

Gifts completed since we last spoke:
-cell phone cozy in Cotton Classic (filled with a tiny box of chocolates and sent to niece along with boucle Paris Loop for her mom)
-kerchief scarf in Lana Grossa
-lace bookmark for brother
-seed stitch scarf for Kindergarten teacher

Still working on
-seed stitch scarf for after school teacher
-mystery present for husband
-KidSeta scarf for day care teacher (yay, she's out this week so it doesn't have to be completed until Monday!)

Post holiday projects:
-finish sleeves on 3XChic
-finish Clapotis
-start ribbed alpaca boucle sweater
-start Z Weasley sweater (looking for a Z chart)

Happy holidays to all! And Secret Pal, I hope you will reveal yourself soon so I can thank you!

Weasley sweater meets Santa

2004-12-13T10:18:00.000-05:00

I'm using this photo to give you another look at the finished Weasley sweater. OK, really I'm using it to show off my cute son meeting Santa.

Gifts knitted so far:
2.5 day care teacher scarves (had to rip and restart one that had messed up YOs; ripping silk mohair yarn is not fun)
2 mini sweaters (similar to Alison's miniweasleys)
2 lace bookmarks
5 crocheted snowflakes (2 already gifted to son's friends)
1 pair of baby Ugg booties (already gifted to goddaughter)

In progress:
cell phone cozy
kerchief scarf in Lana Grossa Cool Wool Merino
Clapotis

Need to get cracking on:
another kerchief scarf
another KidSeta scarf
presents for husband and brother
maybe another cell phone/iPod cozy

Holiday Works in Progress

2004-12-09T10:51:00.000-05:00

Secret Pal 3 ended this week - my "giftee" was Marti in Seattle. She is an expert knitter and I was a little intimidated about what to send her. I made her the bag from the cover of Last Minute Knitted Gifts (out of what I think was some unlabelled Cotton Classic) and filled it with a tin of Trader Joe's Stroopwafels. I was pleased that she liked it. Although really, how can you go wrong with Stroopwafels?

I have also made some headway on my holiday kid teacher gifts, although I keep remembering more people to add. So far I have finished 2 Airy scarves (one in Schaefer Anne, one in KidSeta), 2 heart lace bookmarks (size two needles), and 4 snowflakes (crocheted). In progress we have these:

an unblocked snowflake/doily/coaster, a snowflake still on the hook, part of another Airy scarf, and (wait for it) a third-to-half of a Clapotis! A few of the women in my office are into Clapotis as well...we even brought our knitting bags to our office holiday party so we could compare notes. Kate Gilbert, you rule. I am aiming for 3-6 Airy scarves and possibly something for the husband. And maybe a souvenir for my male model/drummer/screenwriter friend who is moving to Tinseltown. Next week. Ack, looks like I'll be knitting at lunchtime again.

Husband encourages knitting - Film at Eleven

2004-11-29T15:58:00.000-05:00

"I'm making an Amazon order, want anything?" husband yells down the stairs. "Anything knitting-related from my wish list. Please." I yell back. And lo, what do I receive but Weekend Knitting, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, *and* Stitch and Bitch Nation! I think he's officially an enabler. Well, I let him play World of Warcraft too. Wait, who is parenting our kids?? Just kidding. I plan to make some of the airy scarves from LMKG for kid teacher presents, and maybe iPod cosies for my nieces. And perhaps something for my wonderful enabler.

It's not December yet, so I don't *officially* have to start my gift knitting. Heh. Thus, I have begun a small version of Clapotis using Classic Elite Flash in Cool Mix. My knitting group on Sunday saw the yarn in my bag and all but insisted I start Clapotis, then and there. Who was I to argue? I think I'm surrounded by enablers!

Weasley Accompli!

2004-11-29T10:48:00.000-05:00

Finished seaming up the Weasley sweater on Thanksgiving at my sister's in Vermont. The bottom rolled up to my son's navel, and, seeing as this is not the fashion for 5 year old boys, I decided to block it. Ah, much better. Husband was sure I was going to have to add onto the bottom, but the blocking helped immensely. The neck still looks big to me, but the boy likes it this way. He wasn't crazy about getting his photo taken, though. He wore it (pre-blocked) to a store in Vermont and was thrilled when the cashier exclaimed "Ooh, that's a Ron Weasley sweater from Harry Potter!" Mom was pretty pleased too. Will start one for the toddler girl after the holiday gifts are complete, i.e. 2005.

Almost Weasley

2004-11-23T09:58:00.000-05:00

We're getting close to a finished Weasley sweater. I had to rip out and redo the rollneck. It's really big now, but my son likes it better. He was ready to wear the thing as a sleeveless vest! One sleeve down, one half of one to go. Maybe I can finish it for Thanksgiving? I am also on the V-neck of my 3XChic...my first V-neck, and I'm not sure I'm doing it right. We'll see. Then sleeves for that one too.

I am determined that December will be my gift knitting month...I did a test lace bookmark and will dig out the crochet hooks and thread to make a few snowflakes. Just to undermine myself I also ordered some patterns and yarn from Patternworks. I'll make myself another V-neck (assuming I learn how to the neck shaping properly) in Alpaca Boucle and a variant of the Weasley for my daugher in Plymouth Encore (larger needles, hooray). As I don't think I'm quite skilled enough for Rogue yet I also bought a pattern for a pullover with cable detail on the neck and trim.

Stay tuned for an imminent finished Weasley!

No, dear blog, I have not forgotten you

2004-11-15T11:15:00.000-05:00

I've just been kinda busy. National election (not pleased with the result, but we'll press on), Red Sox World Series victory (not pleased with some players' publicized politics, but we'll press on), and raising a Kindergartener and nascent toddler (not pleased with some of their behavior, but...well, you get the idea).

But I have been knitting. Sunday knitting group continues to be fun if crowded. We have a nice range of knitters from 22 to about 60, and people come and go throughout the afternoon. I fear we are outgrowing the friendly coffeeshop but I'm not sure where else we might go. I've considered checking out some of the other Boston-area Sunday groups but now that I've made so many knitting friends in Ball Square it just wouldn't feel right. Yesterday we were talking about the FlyLady site - I had never heard of it, but I could probably use it. If given the choice I will knit instead of dust, and I have the sniffles to prove it.

My knitting progress: finished the back of my 3XChic and have about 5 inches of front done; finished body of Weasley sweater and possibly one sleeve. Have to try the sleeve on the boy because the specified length seems short. Not that my son is a gorilla, but he's pretty tall. I had to rip out and rework the neck of the sweater because when I tested it on him he found it too tight. That was very frustrating but was a good lesson in perseverance for me. I'll try and post a photo later.

I hope to finish both sweaters this month so December can be my knitted gifts month: scarves for my sisters and mom, and cell phone/IPod cases for my nieces. Then just have to shop for the boys (who are already harder to shop for anyway, sigh). Starting to think about what my January projects might be...a Weasley for my daughter? A husband sweater? I'd love to start using the Blizzard that my Secret Pal sent me; maybe for the heart scarf in Knitty, or something simpler. And I still have a first sock to finish. Hmm. I have many bookmarks in the current Patternworks catalog.

My songs of the week: "Nearer Than Heaven" by the Delays; "All at Sea", Jamie Cullum; "Coin Operated Boy", Dresden Dolls. Check 'em out on iTunes. Thank you TiVo for taping Subterranean for me.

My TV of the week: "Worst Week of My Life" on BBC America. It's like "Meet the Parents" plus "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Maybe not so original, but it made me laugh.

My movie of the week: "The Incredibles." I loved it, and so did my son. I guess I won't be knitting any capes (see the movie to get that reference...).

Weasley update

2004-11-01T20:37:00.000-05:00

OK, with the World Series over it has been back to knitting. Made some progress on the orange scarf and also have almost finished the front of the Weasley sweater, including the intarsia R. I carried the yarn a little too tightly, so it's a little lumpy, but I think it mostly looks ok. Kinda like me, I guess. :) I hope blocking smooths it out a little. The boy is very excited.

Sports trumps knitting; Secret Pal rules!

2004-10-25T11:31:00.000-04:00

First off, a huge thank you to my secret pal for my new bevy of gifts - a needle case and a variety of lovely yarn. I didn't get a chance to take a photo to post yet, but I shall. I'm pretty amazed that my SP has even had time to think of me - she has a lot going on in her life.

Because I live in New England and am a sports fan, not much knitting has happened in a few days. I gave my officemate a lesson on Friday and got her started on a ribbon scarf. Might be tricky as a first project - the ribbon is wide and it's easy to poke through it. But, she caught on pretty fast and made some progress on it over the weekend. I also loaned my daughter's teacher my copy of Stitch and Bitch. Guess I'm a knitting evangelist now.

Why not much knitting of my own? On Saturday and Sunday I was nursing a case of Red Sox fever. We had friends over for Saturday's game (knitting around barbecue unadvised), and yesterday my husband and son went to the Patriots game, leaving me in sole charge of baby daughter. Thus knitting group was out, and I was too nervous watching the Sox victory to pick up the needles. I'm keeping the faith.

Harry back and furry boot

2004-10-19T09:46:00.000-04:00

I finished the back of the Harry Potter/Weasley sweater and am about 2" into the front. It's time to make the decision whether to do the initial intarsia or duplicate stitch. On the pro intarsia side, I think it will look neater and it will be an opportunity to learn how to do it right (I have limited 2-color knitting experience). On the pro-duplicate stitch side, I could theoretically rip out the R in a few years and add my daughter's initial instead (ever the frugal knitter). On the anti-duplicate stitch side, it would be a whole lotta duplicate stitch to sew. Hmm. Stay tuned to find out what happens.

Also included in the photo below - about half of the back to my 3XChic, which I am loving, and one baby Ugg-style bootie. I tried it on my daughter and it fit perfectly! The other bootie is in progress. Oh, and the baby sweaters were gifted on Saturday. Alas, my photo of them is blurry but I'll see if someone else at the shower took a good one.

Boots, food and seams

2004-10-15T10:21:00.000-04:00

Check out this pattern for "Ugg" style books knitted in Berroco Suede. So cute! The Candy Babies book also has a crochet version of the pattern. Someone gave me a handmade pair of mini-Uggs made out of the other kind of suede, but if they don't fit maybe I'll use this pattern for slippers for the boy.

I supplied two recipes (Millionaire Shortbread and Warehouse Store Salad) for the Knitting Bloggers Cookbook - entries are being accepted until October 31. Millionaire shortbread is a chocolate caramel cookie bar that I first had on our honeymoon in Scotland. The salad is a lettuce-guacamole-beans-and-corn type thing I threw together after a Costco run.

Twins baby shower is tomorrow, so I'm seaming up the Plush baby sweaters (will take a photo before gifting). And I finished the back of the Weasley sweater. On to the front and my intarsia adventure.

You win this round, Schaefer Anne

2004-10-12T13:00:00.000-04:00

Thought I might get a jump on my holiday knitting this past weekend by starting a scarf in the Schaefer Anne I had bought at a sale a few months back. At knitting group I started on Clapotis from the current Knitty, but realized it was not something I could work on at home with small children around. I then started Cozy, also from Knitty, but same problem - I'd get interrupted and forget where I was in the pattern. D'oh! I'll give you one more try, Schaefer Anne - I have a pattern from the Interweave Staff Scarves special (not the Pooling colors - I'm already impatient with Anne as it is) that is simpler.

Betsy reminded me that I still haven't yet knit anything for myself, so I decided to begin my first sweater for me - 3xChic in Sirdar Denim Chunky. So far, so good!

Names changed to protect the innocent

2004-10-08T15:53:00.000-04:00

Well, who'd have thought...there was someone else out there with a (mainly) knitting blog who called herself Dilettante. Oops. My bad. I had checked Blogger and LiveJournal before choosing this moniker, but didn't think to Google. So now I'm the Dilettante Debutante. I'll keep the old url until I get a chance to make a new blog and link this one to it.

Still working on Weasley sweater, about to begin 3xchic and debating whether to use my nice green Shaefer Anne for a Clapotis or Cosy. If you have an opinion, press 1 now. I mean, leave a comment.

British things and baby sweaters

2004-10-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

People who know me well already know that I'm kind of an Anglophile (did a semester abroad and still have many UK friends), particularly where music and TV are concerned (alert! The Boston Museum of Fine Arts will be showing British TV Advertisements of 2003 starting October 13th). So, I am finding it kind of fun to be using the WeasleyAlong yarn that comes from New Lanark, Scotland (i.e. the Yarn Warehouse kit). It admittedly isn't the softest yarn in the world, but New Lanark is an historic mill and uses restored equipment to produce its yarn. American readers, think Sturbridge Village or Colonial Williamsburg as equivalents, although not having been to New Lanark I can't tell you whether they have the same sometimes annoying "in-character" docents like they do at the above spots and at the now-closed Museum of the Moving Image in London. Well, I'm assuming the yarn I'm using is produced that way. I find it nicer to think that it is. If you know for a fact that it is actually mass-manufactured in East Kilbride, please don't tell me. Navy Weasley sweater back progress depicted below, along with one nearly finished Plush baby sweater. Still have half a front and sleeves for the second to go - baby shower on 10/16. If I have enough white yarn left I'll do a crab stitch edging in addition to I-cord ties.

Okay, maybe socks can wait...

2004-10-05T09:25:00.000-04:00

My Harry Potter sweater kit from Yarn Warehouse in the UK was waiting for me when I got home! Only took six days from placing the order, so if you want to join the knitalong there's plenty of time. The yarn is 90% wool, 10% silk...we may have scratchiness issues with the boy, but he can wear a t-shirt under it. He was very excited to see the package once I told him what it was. He asked why there was a small hank of tan yarn, and I told him it was for the R on the front of the sweater. He asked if he could see the yarn, examined it carefully, and said, "But I don't *see* an R on it!" What a cute kid. I am going to need some help with the British pattern instructions though. Anyone know whether "Mark armhole at nn cms" means simply to place markers there, or would I decrease a stitch or two as most patterns require for armhole shaping?

I'm trying socks

2004-10-04T10:59:00.000-04:00

With Anouk finished and successfully worn by my daughter at her birthday party (and spilled upon with juice and removed before cake consumption and further potential staining) and my Potter sweater kit not yet arrived, I'm trying my hand at socks. I have about 4 inches of ankle complete (using Regia in Power Ranger-worthy primary colors), and am about to start the heel. Photos of Anouked girl as soon as Daddy gets them off the camera. And my son decided to wear the hoodie I made for him to school today! Aww.

Anouk is (basically) done!

2004-09-29T09:26:00.000-04:00

I finished the neckband on Anouk last night and sewed on the pockets, two of the side tabs, and buttons (you can't tell from the photo, but they are cute tulip-shaped buttons that match the pockets). Tonight I will make an attempt at blocking, then will try it on my daughter to see where the second side tabs should go. Now she can wear it for her first birthday party this weekend, yay!

Two other knitting-related items: Monday I went to a reading by writer and medical doctor Perri Klass. When she is not practicing medicine or writing, she is an avid knitter, and said that she has a book about knitting coming out soon.

And, Amy Singer, editor/goddess of Knitty.com will shortly start on a Wee Book Tour in support of her new book. Finally, I hear that Stitch and Bitch Nation is due out in October. Whew.

Paris Loop Take Two and Fun with Plush

2004-09-27T10:27:00.000-04:00

OK, my film fest knitting last week allowed me to finish my second Paris Loop. It is oh so cosy and just right for my often chilly office. I have still worn the other one (see previous post) on occasion, but this is a better neutral that will match more. The photo doesn't do the color justice - it's an ice blue with some very slight darker blue variegation. Yarn: Marks and Kattens Kosmos, Needles 15, 11, 8. Pattern from Magknits.com.

As I was under the weather over the weekend I didn't get to finish Anouk - it must be done for my daughter's birthday next weekend, but I couldn't really concentrate to do the neck finishing. So instead I started on the baby sweaters for the impending twins (baby shower mid-October). I'm using Berroco Plush, and it is soooo soft. I might have to make my daughter a jacket in this later. I have one back finished and will start on the fronts soon. The pieces will all be different colors (bad idea to have the front of a baby sweater be white, don'tcha know.

And after Anouk is done and my kit arrives, I will join Alison and Jenn's Ron-along (Weasley-along) to make my son a Harry Potter sweater.

Knitting and movies

2004-09-20T11:26:00.000-04:00

With the kids going to bed a little earlier these days, we've had the chance to watch (and, in my case, knit during) some movies. I saw three great films this week alone:

Last Orders, based on the novel by Graham Swift. Stellar cast, true to the novel, just great.
Lost in Translation - I was afraid that I wouldn't like this because there have been times that I haven't liked certain "indie" movies that others rave about (eg. Before Sunrise), but this was a delight.
American Splendor - I don't know too much about the comic, but you don't need to in order to appreciate the movie. I stayed up well past my bedtime to watch the end, even though it was already TiVoed. TiVo is great, by the way, and you need to get one.

On Saturday I stopped by the Knitting Room for yarn for a redo of Paris Loop. I couldn't decide between Marks and Kattens Kosmos and their boucle, whose name I forget. Jackie recommended the Kosmos, and it is a joy to work with. Very soft and lofty. Let's hope Paris Loop mark two is a success. I worked on it at knitting group yesterday and while watching American Splendor (it's an easy pattern). Oh, and I also got some Berroco Plush for baby sweaters for my friends' impending twins. Loverly!

Paris Loop

2004-09-17T10:51:00.000-04:00

I finished a Paris Loop. I like the pattern a lot, but should've used a different colorway and/or a single color yarn. Oh well, an excuse to go yarn shopping for new yarn! I'll see if one of my sisters or nieces would like this one as a gift. Or perhaps you? Leave me a note and let me know. Ever try to take a photo of yourself with a camera phone? The big white blob is my arm holding the phone under the cheerless fluorescent lighting.

Paris Loop from Magknits.com; Yarn: Lion Boucle "Tutti Frutti", 4 balls. Needles: Denise 15, 11, 8.

Poncho mania

2004-09-14T16:16:00.000-04:00

I guess I don't really understand the poncho trend. I vaguely remember hippies wearing them when I was very small - why the sudden resurgence? I do find them cute on kids though, so I crocheted one for my daughter (see below).

The pattern is from Candy Tots; the hat pattern (hard to see the hat as she was in the process of pulling it off to play peekaboo with it) is based on one from the Lion Brand site.

 

 I also decided to try to make one for myself to see whether, as I suspect, ponchos are only flattering to children or to tall, lissome people. I like the looks of the Magknits Paris Loop poncho, so I've got one underway. Stay tuned for photos. At lunch today Kathy forgot her knitting to I made/let her work on some purl rows while I worked on Anouk. Thanks, Kathy!

Weekend Knitting

2004-09-13T10:48:00.000-04:00

No, not the book (which I've been meaning to buy) - what I did this weekend. Saturday I came home to find a gift from my SP3 secret pal! Two yummy skeins of Lana Grossa Niki (I think it's enough to make a soft, soft t-shirt for the baby) and a cute ducky soap. My son confiscated the froggy card too - he has it on display in his room. Thank you, secret pal - you made my day!

Yesterday was the Knit Out/Crochet Boston, on the Boston Common. I brought Anouk to work on, but only managed a few rows as it was sunny and hot. I almost wished I had gone to knitting group instead just to get the three hours of knitting done - I really want Anouk done before October. But, the Knit Out was fun - kid activities (my son made three pompoms and festooned his sister's backpack with them), a vendor demo and store area (lots of coupons and a few free patterns), and many many knitters and crocheters. We then went out to eat in Boston to celebrate my son's first day of Kindergarten (today). Wow does time fly. I'd love to say he wore the sweater I made him, but it's still t-shirt weather. He did though transfer one of the pompoms to his own backpack. :)

Anouk partial photo

2004-09-08T18:07:00.000-04:00

Lookee, a photo! A mediocre one from my phone's camera, but still. It's the front of Anouk with one of the intarsia pockets (I made a tulip instead of a poppy as the pattern called for). The back is done, but I left it at home as it was raining. Sorry for the lousy lighting - the bodice is pale pink, and the green trim is the same green as the stem of the tulip. See, I really am too working on things.

Jennifer Aniston never had this problem

2004-09-07T14:58:00.000-04:00

Well, at least her character on Friends never did. When I arrived at the coffee shop for SnB this week, the couch area was taken up by two (rather surprisingly foul-mouthed) old men. They had long since finished their food and drink, and Kristina, Betsy and I pondered how to make them relinquish the spot. "We could talk about *tampons*," I helpfully suggested. And it worked! But I have to ask, did Rachel Green ever have to stoop to this on Friends? What, TV is not like real life?

Actual knitting content: I finished the back of Anouk and have now started on the front. I hope my daughter will be able to wear it for her birthday in October. I also worked a little on the orange keyhole scarf (and an SnBer's very cute 2-year-old daughter modelled it for us) and on the cherry pie hat. Hearing me complain about bobbles and my bamboo circulars (I am spoiled from using my Denises), Omar suggested I just knit the "filling" in garter stitch and make a lattice "crust" from the rest of the oatmeal yarn. What a great idea! And authentic - you don't usually see one-crust cherry pies. I may still do a few more bobbles so some will stick out under the lattice. My fingers will welcome the change from all the k3togs.

Hi Secret Pal! Thanks for the email. Hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend.

Secret Pal info

2004-09-02T14:41:00.000-04:00

I just joined the Secret Pal III gift exchange. An excuse to go to yarn shops this weekend, ooh! We were requested to post the answers to the questionnaire here, so here you go SP:
1. I'm not really a yarn snob. I tend not to like variegated yarns so much, but I don't mind acrylic since I need my kids' stuff to be washable.
2/4. I crochet and knit - I'm still a relatively new knitter, less than a year but making up for lost time.
3. I'm not allergic to wool or pets although my husband is; I can't stand the smell of smoke though.
5. I do have an Amazon wish list.
6. As my husband really dislikes scented candles and my small kids don't allow me to take leisurely soaks I would say candles and bath goodies are sadly verboten at this time.
7. I love dark chocolate. I wish chocolate were one of the four food groups (Chocotastic Group).
8. I sometimes dabble in polymer clay and origami; I'm also an avid gardener and cook.
9. I mostly like indie-pop, electronica, "college" type music but always enjoy hearing new things.
10. I like blues; I've never had my colors done but someone on the street once told me I'm a "winter".
11. Husband, son (5), daughter (almost 1), no pets (see 3)
12. I'm livin' it, baby! Seriously, I'm pretty content as is, but I think I need more yarn. :)
13/14. I like the cotton fleece I'm using right now; also enjoyed the woolease. Haven't tried socks yet as the lady at my LYS said they involve a lot of counting that may be incompatible with knitting around small children. I had a love/hate relationship with homespun - soft and forgiving, but splitty. And I nearly always seem to get skeins whose center pull strands don't work right. That has nothing to do with anything but I thought I'd vent. I untangled the cherry yarn in the car this morning - don't worry, husband was driving.
15. Currently focused on projects for my kids; I did buy yarn for my first sweater for me, which I'll start on after Anouk is done.
16. I like projects that aren't too big or that are finishable within a month or two. I'm not crazy about non-winter-functional scarves - I just don't wear long ones but I do wear triangular ones on occasion.
17/18/20. "Baby Tart" and "Anouk" from Knitty; Windy City Scarf from SnB book; crocheted baby blanket from Lion Brand pattern (blanket begun in January, my oldest UFO). I made a poncho for my daughter but don't really think I would wear one. Maybe the Paris Loop from Magknits, that's kind of cool.
19/21. I primarily use the Denise interchangeable needles. Since I use a computer all day I find them kinder to my hands. Strangely enough I don't remember exactly who taught me how to knit - I knit Continental but my mom knits English. I either learned from a book or possibly a yarn shop near my college since I did my first primordial garter stitch projects then (and then gave up knitting for like 15 years).

Well, there you have it! More than you ever wanted to know.

Anouk underway

2004-08-31T14:56:00.000-04:00

Anouk is underway! I am using Cotton Fleece yarn - green for the "grass" trim, pink for the main bodice, and blue pockets with intarsia tulips. The pattern called for poppies but I liked pink tulips better. I managed my first two-color knitting for the pockets, and I'm up to the neck shaping for the back. So far it's a relatively easy pattern - I like the seed stitch edging.

Because I like to have take along projects too, I also just started a Baby Tart hat this morning during a staff meeting. I figure I pay more attention to the meeting while knitting than do the people who bring laptops and surf the net. The yarn for the hat was discovered at Michael's for $0.75 a skein as it was being discontinued - so my daughter will get a cherry pie hat that cost $1.50 (plus labor).