A relief to be back!

Ah, it's a relief to be back in the blogosphere, and to normal life in general. We spent a truly enjoyable 9 days with the ILs over TG, and then we sprinted to Fl for my grandfather's funeral. These things are never expected, never welcome, and never fun, but it was good to see friends and family that I haven't seen in close to 5 years or so.

I didn't get any knitting done during the Fl trip, but I did finish the modified Sharkif over TG. I CO for the second jaywalker (a companion to the first, and a gift for my mom). The jaywalker is slow going as we're settling back in at home, getting back into work, and resuming normalcy. It all takes time to get the big machine of the daily grind up and running.

We're also in our first real cold snap of the season, and DD has NO HAT! I'm So frustrated that I can't find a simple hat pattern for a 2 year old. I tried to design a hat for her - a simple knit hat in the round with stockinette. Not rocket science, I'm telling you. No fancy stitches, no patterning. Just a simple, every day, WARM knit hat.

My gauge is 6 st/in on 4mm using Cascade 220 superwash, and DD's head measures about 18". Simple math, right? That works out to about 108 st. So, I did a simple picot CO to 108 st and started knitting in St st in the round. I didn't like the CO, and when I took the first 3 rows or so off the needles, the thing was HUGE! I don't know if it's because a) my gauge is off, b) the hat didn't have enough rows to make it draw in, or c) I'm an idiot. (PS - or maybe the picot CO makes the hat less stretchy and bigger.) I'm thinking about trying it again with a regular CO, simple rib for the brim, and then straight St st for the head and crown. Using YH's hat decrease method (from a post months ago that I traced back recently), I'll finish it.

The girl needs those ears covered and head warm, so I gotta jump on this one fast. I hope to have it finished by Friday, just in time for weekend fun. We shall see!

In the meantime, if anyone has suggestions, bring 'em on! I could use all the help I can get.

Thanks Amy!

I know this is a non-knitty issue, but it's directly related to my knitting time and energy, so I'm posting about it.

Amy is right: I need to change my definition of exercise and health. So so so right. I eschewed advice from others, but I took her words to heart. All I need are some comfortable clothes (which I have), decent shoes (which I have), and somewhere to walk (which I have). Doesn't take much more than that.

We're leaving to visit the ILs, and I packed my exercise clothes. And DD's stroller. Out we go! It's time to enjoy the crisp South Carolina air. Since this is a quasi-vacation (part work, mostly vacation), and I'll be surrounded by helpers with DD, I'll have the time and mental space to exercise. It will be nice. I'm really looking forward to it.

As for knitty issues:
My version of Grumperina's Sharkif isn't that much different than hers. As it turns out, moving the middle cable four rows down from the end cables isn't that noticable. In fact, I know I'm doing it and can't really tell. What it does do, however, is avoid super long stretches (9 rows - OK, it's not that long but long enough) of plain-er stitches. Cabling is fun, so doing the middle cable on rows 3 and 7 just mix it up a bit more and keep it interesting.

FIL's scarf is going well. I think I have about 6" (of 60"). My goal is to give it to him before we leave from our visit with them.

My first planned modification

NOTE: All credit goes to Grumperina for this pattern! I am using her Sharkif pattern and modifying it to suit my interests, but she deserves all the credit for this stunning pattern.

Here is my first graphed and planned modification. I like the Sharkif, but I wanted to see what it would look like with the middle cable twist staggered with the border cables. I haven't swatched this yet, so I might abandon it, but I wanted to give it a go.

Here's my first ever knitting graph. I used excel to create this - very easy!

---

Update:
First: I think the needles are too big, so I'm going to go down to 5.0 mm. The fabric is very loose and I don't think it will hold up well for a scarf or for a man's scarf.

Second: I dislike the k1, p1 (it's an effective and attractive pattern; I just hate knitting it), so I did the pattern for 5 st instead of 7.

Third: It's really not good to start a cable immediately following a CO row, so I moved the first cable row from R1 to R3 and moved the cables on R5 to R7.

We'll see how this works.

An FO!

An FO!

It only took me two weeks to make Grumperina's Sharkif (and only 4 weeks to learn how to pronounce it, and I still mess it up sometimes). I LOVE this scarf - I finished one for my grandfather and am starting another for my FIL. I think this pattern is so well suited for a large man (big and tall, not fat in these men's cases).

I finished the first one using Zara burnt orange merino on size 4.0 mm. The fabric came out a little stiffer than I like, so for this next one I'm using Zara chocolate brown merino on size 5.5 mm. I think I'll like the drape a lot better on the larger needles.

Finally the orange merino found a good home. Here is the list of things it tried to be:
* cardigan from YGG
* sweater for DD
* Tempting II from knitty
* (another sweater for me from knitty that I can't remember)

I thought the yarn was cursed even though it was the squishiest, softest yarn I've knitted with in a long time. It held its spring really well despite all the ripping and reknitting, and after a long soak overnight, it's now drying peacefully and looking just gorgeous.

All of the ends are woven in, and I just need to add fringe.

Two weeks, you might ask. TWO WEEKS? THAT LONG!?!

Well, keep in mind I work 50+ hours a week in a very full and consuming career (as opposed to a job that I leave behind at the end of the day), commute over 2 hours a day, have a child and a husband, and manage to knit. So, in all I'm pretty happy with how fast it went. I was able to memorize the repeats after about 2 of them, and I just used a row counter to keep track of what row pattern I was on.

On another note, I have given up exercising all together. This depresses me. Exercise helps me manage the natural depression I have (since before kindergarten, so there's no "curing" it). It helps me feel invigorated and fit. It helps me feel mentally and emotionally clear. I love sweating.

My friends and colleagues tell me to "just do it." As a one-time gym rat (for years), I know it. But the only options I have are to get up before 5 AM. I know that the advice people give is well-intentioned, but I have talked with DH on end about this, and schedule-wise it's just impossible. I used to get up before 5 to hit the gym, but since having DD, it's been harder and harder, and when I do make it to the gym, all i can think about is stopping so I can feel better. My WOs suck at 5 AM.

Another part of me is OK with this change. It doesn't feel long-term to me. I lost about 40 lbs around 5 years ago now, and I've stuck with healthy eating and exercising for a long time. Right now life is pinched, and something has to give. As important as it is, sleep is more important to me. I can function without exercise. I cannot function without sleep. I've known some rare breeds of people who can EXCEL - not just function but EXCEL! - on less than 5 hrs sleep every day. I'm not one of those. I need a full 8 hours if I can get it, 7 at least.

So, after DD is potty trained and starts to be a little more self-supportive, I have a strong sense I'll have some space to start up again. For now, it just feels overwhelming.

But I still miss it.

A meme

I'm not so up on the memes. I like reading them but don't post them all that often. But I like this one. I'm a no-bones-about-it kinda person, though I can be long winded. (As I explained to my boss in my 3-mo review yesterday, if you knew the unfiltered thoughts in my head, you'd fire me. Or disown me. Or hate me. Or generally avoid me at all costs. So, I'm long-winded in an attempt to stall long enough to find diplomatic words to express the rather nasty thoughts in my head without actually sounding so nasty.) But really, I'm actually quite short and snippy.

That was long. Longer than it needed to be.

Anyhoo, thanks to Rabbitch for this one.

Use only one word to answer each item:

1. Yourself: bitchy
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): academic
3. Your hair: blah
4. Your mother: eager
5. Your Father: distant
6. Your Favorite Item: yarn
7. Your dream last night: zilch
8. Your Favorite drink: alcoholic
9. Your Dream Car: indifferent
10. The room you are in: multipurpose
11. Your Ex: forgotten
12. Your fear: inadequacy
13. What you want to be in 10 years? impervious
14. Who you hung out with last night? hubby
15. What You're Not? comfortable
16. Muffins: banana
17. One of Your Wish List Items: relaxation
18. Time: elusive
19. The Last Thing You Did: read
20. What You Are Wearing: jeans
21. Your Favorite Weather: crisp
22. Your Favorite Book: sudoku
23. The Last Thing You Ate: yogurt
24. Your Life: intolerable
25. Your Mood: sullen
26. Your best friend: missing
27. What are you thinking about right now? work
28. Your car: aging
29. What are you doing at the moment? working
30. Your summer: fleeting
31. Your relationship status: comfortable
32. What is on your TV? nothing
33. What is the weather like? damp
34. When is the last time you laughed? dunno

Calling for HELP!

I'm in search of good sock pattern books. Any suggestions? I'm hitting the knitting blogs I love to read for ideas, but I've only found a few.

I really like Potomus (SP?) but am also really dying to do more cables (has anyone ever said that??) now that I learned Grumperina's trick. I have Knitting Soars on Two Circular Needles, and I like the few patterns she has in there, but I'd love something with a nice pattern. I keep admiring Grumperina's socks - I just need to take the time to dig through her blog posts and find the sources of her patterns (knowing, of course, that she often changes the patterns to get them to her liking, and I won't have those notes).

So, please let me know of your suggestions!!

Dear Escalator Man

To the dick on the escalator this morning who - when I asked him to move so I could walk up the escalator - responded, "Use the stairs" and refused to let me by ...

Since when did getting on an escalator paralyze you? Are you a cripple?

That's OK, dear cripple. I understand taking your aggressive frustrations out on strangers. It's better than keeping that anger pent up and taking it out on your wife or your kid. And please don't kick the dog, either.

Fuckhead.

So did I say this to Cripple Escalator Man? No - I would have, but what stopped me was my employer. Yup, the job. Every potential person out there is a client or coworker or funder or on the board. So I'm just as passive aggressive in posting this message here instead of letting these words leave my lips and enter his ears.

This incident really makes me so perplexed. In DC - our lovely (and I'm sincere in using that word) capitol - people stand on the right and walk on the left. It's lovely. It's systematic. It's expected. It works!

In NYC, a place with a ba-zillion people, there are no escalator rules. Why? Of any place, NYC needs it the most! How many people are on escalators at any one time? A LOT! Some simple rules, some simple etiquette, would make the whole thing work so well. And not only that, but you'd be able to pick out the tourists from the natives. OK, it's pretty easy to do that already, but there are some cases. In DC, I could always tell the tourists because they didn't know the rules of living and functioning in an urban place.

OK, now I have to work. Good thing I didn't have my knitting needles with me, or I might have stabbed him (that's a joke, internet police).

I'm tired . . .

I'm tired. Really tired.

Not sick and tired. It's not a rant. I'm just tired.

Been working to help the rug-rats that Amy writes about (sorry, I'm too tired for links tonight - look in the right hand list and you'll find her last but not least), though in a completely different part of the country (and no, I'm not a teacher, but I help teach the teachers).

Anyhoo, here's some knitty updates -

- is it sacrilege to say I don't like the jaywalker pattern? I LOVE Grumperina's site (again, too tired to link to it), and I'm even knitting Sharkif, but I don't think I'm a big fan of the jaywalker.

- which brings me to another point - I AM a big fan of CABLES thanks to Grumperina. I LOVE her no-CN method for doing cables, and I'm a convert. Gimme more!

- Sharkif is going well, but I'm using a yarn that I've frogged about 5 times. First it was a cardigan that I ripped because the pattern was wrong and when I wrote the authors they were so goddamned pissy about it I said fuck it and ripped the thing out (and also refuse to go back to their yarn store). Second it was ... ah cripes, I don't care what it was. Point is, it is no longer, so why do I want to remember what it isn't? It's TIRED yarn, too. It's merino and lusciously springy, but I'm just not happy with the fabric on the size 4.00 mm needles I'm using. It's stiff. But, the days to Christmas are fast approaching, and there's no turning back. Granddad is getting that scarf with THAT YARN!

- DD's beautiful intarsia sweater is sitting waiting for the sleeves to be knit. I think I dislike intarsia - I'm not a German knitter like Julie at Samurai (yeah, in the list), and I am slow. Plodding. Putz-ing around knitter. So, it sits.

And I'm working. Like not the hours the day-traders work or the wall-street types who live a block from me in the big fancy houses and buy their children silver teething rings from Tiffany's (it's true - go look on their gawd-awfully designed website) but long hours for me. Long hours for a non-profit. I get paid well, I think, especially for a non-profit. But LOOOOOONNNGGGGGG hours.

And I'm working from home a lot more now, too, which means work gets even longer hours from me (no commute and no getting-ready time to eat into my work day) and I have no knitting time (no more 2 hour train commute). And when I do take the train into the office? I work. ;(

At least I *like* my work. And I like the people I work with. That's a blessing.

But I'm still tired. So good night. ;)

Words of encouragement

I got the socks when I got home last night and I LOVE THEM!! You did a phenomenal job!! The pattern is great. They fit perfectly--snug, but not tight. I love the pattern. It was neat how the lighter colors formed stripes. I can see how it must have been fun to knit them, watching as the color striations emerge!

Thank you for making me your guinea pig!!

This is why I knit for other people. What a nice email note from my dear friend for whom I knit socks. The first pair I ever knit. I hope my mom and family like the socks I make them.

A Long Overdue Introduction

to the first knit adult garment that I like. I present the Lotus Blossom Tank. I started this tank this summer using Debbie Bliss Cathay. It's from Interweave Knits mag, summer 2006 edition. I really enjoyed this knit, though I didn't particularly enjoy the finishing (does anyone?). I wouldn't use the yarn again - I don't think I'm a huge fan of cotton for wearing (it doesn't have any stretch except to stretch OUT), and the yarn is splitty! It was difficult to weave in the ends, and I had to split the yarn into three different strands, thread onto a sewing needle, and get that sucker bound in the middle of other strands of yarn to hold it all in place.

In any case, I'm happy with the results, and I hope my sister likes it. She has much more of a figure than I do, so I think it will look much better on her. I just hope it's not too short as a result of her larger bust. It hits me at about the belly button now, and I have the great plains of the midwest for boobs. Any boobage at all will make that sucker rise up, so I hope it's OK.

In any case, here it is. I'd love to learn how to incorporate the lace pattern into a flat piece - it's knit in the round and probably just takes a little studying to translate it. I like it overall. My first knit adult garment that I actually like!

First Jaywalker Update

Work is screaming busy. I made some progress on my first pair of jaywalkers this weekend, but I've had to put them down for a few days.

I'm through the gussett, but I'm going to rip and reknit, as it took me awhile to figure out how to keep the pattern where the top and bottom meet (I can't remember the technical terms at the moment, and my boss is supposed to call me in about 30 seconds for a conference call).

Anyway, I just got the Lotus Blossom tank back from the cleaners, so pics of it to come before wrapping it for my sister.

Dashing!

48 Useless Things

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Rae

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Rae is my middle name, named for my beloved MawMaw (Marcella Rae), the very one who taught me to knit (backwards purling, I might add, which took me over 20 years to discover)

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Hm, I can't remember. I cried last weekend while watching a movie. Horrible, gut-wrenching, awful ending. Not a "wow that's so dreamy" weepy but a "holy shit how can we live life when things like this happen" sobb.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Used to. It's really horrible now. I type much cleaner and faster than a write. The doctor's signature that's a single line? Mine. No, I'm not a doctor, but that's my signature.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Bacon. Not a lunchmeat, you say? In my book it is.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Maybe. I'm grouchy and generally surly. I don't know how my husband and child stand me.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Used to have a wretched teenage journal in those days. Then I switched to a more fun daily log using a calendar book. Now it's the blog.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Holy smokes YES!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Barabara's ... um, what's the name? It's like UNfrosted mini shredded wheat but better.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope. And I rarely untie them to put them on.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not anymore. I used to be, but now I'm a mom and have no muscle mass. Just fat mass.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Ice cream is only a so-so dessert for me. Maybe butter pecan since it's usually not light or lite or diet and now I always go for the diet stuff. Usually. Sometimes. Well, OK, rarely.

14. SHOE SIZE? A friggin 7.5, which means unless I get there first, my size is almost always GONE and only the really ugly shoes go on sale because they're all that's left.

5. RED OR PINK? Neither. Neither rock my boat.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? OCD and perfectionism.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Hm. My dear friend Tom who keeps disappearing. The last time he disappeared I tracked him down through the driver's license bureau. He was glad I found him (I'm not a stalker), but he was pissed they gave his info and has since had it blocked. Fucker. Now he's disappeared again so I have to call his ex wife to find him, and I'm pissed he disappeared and htinking of not trying to find him at all. But he's one of my dearest and oldest childhood friends, someone I trust implicitly.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Sure.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I'm pantless. Brown skirt (we're having a bit of warm weather now), white T, sandals.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? A really yummy turkey sandwich on whole wheat with vegan mayonaise (it's really good on bread; can't tell it's different from the real stuff), lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Delicious.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? "It's a Gas" by The Wedding Present from Watusi (it's old 80s/early 90s stuff)

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? army green. I don't like fatigues per se, but I like army green

23. FAVORITE SMELL? bread dough

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My coworker.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Body build and demeanor.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Yup. Even met her in person!

27. FAVORITE DRINK? That's a hard one. Water when I'm thirsty. Diet Coke when I'm craving sweets. Coffee first thing in the morning. Any myriad of alcoholic drinks at 5:30 PM.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Hm, dunno. I like tennis. I like baseball. But I don't follow anything to speak of.

29. EYE COLOR? Hazel

30. HAT SIZE? Normal? Is there a normal? I make hats for myself and just guess at the size, and most of the time they come out. Smallish to normal, I guess.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yup. For 13 years now.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? That's hard. I love food. Cheese, maybe. Can't live without yogurt everyday. Eggs. LUV eggs. Bacon. Sausage (the pattie kind).

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scary. I hate happy ending movies. hate hate hate them and only withstand them during the holidays when I'm stuck with the 'rents and have to find something to entertain and please the crowd. But overall, happy ending movies just don't do it for me.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer. I grew up in central Florida without airconditioning for awhile. Love summer. Love it love it love it.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Love hugs. Kisses, yes, for certain folks. But hugs definitely.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Dark chocolate, usually.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably very few, if any.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Mom

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? How to knit a sock on two circular needles. Seriously.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? Don't use a mouse pad.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Didn't watch TV last night. I'm way out of it right now. Can't seem to find anything I like, and the HGTV, Food Network, and TLC shows mostly seem like National Enquirer quality TV and I'm over it.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Silence. I absolutely love pure silence.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Oh my god, fucking neither.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Not far - CA.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Being a grumpus. Just ask DH. I'm really really good at that.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Isn't that a security question now a-days? Florida

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Ripped from Cara

Official First Sock FO

It's official. Here they are.

FO Date: October 2006
Pattern: Simple Socks from Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles by Cat Bordhi
Modifications: None
Yarn: (I think it's in German) Fortissima in Disco, 71% superwash, 26% polyamide, 3% polyester (My friend picked the yarn for color. I'm not a super fan of its feel - I can't wait to try a softer yarn. Maybe after washing this yarn will soften.)
Comments: For a first sock, this was a great pattern. I'm not a fan of ribbing, and there's obviously a lot of it (and I recognize its importance in socks). The pattern was easy to follow, except I'm a little unhappy that I had to consult other books in order to learn how to finish the toe. It was simple enough to do once I found it, I don't know why the author couldn't include it in the book.
Modifications I'd make if I knit it again: None really. I don't think I'll make this sock again. I'm interested in trying more challenging patterns.

OH NO!

I'm making slow progress on my mom's jacket. You know, the one Kate Gilbert designed in Interweave Knits mag. I had to use a substitute yarn because my LYS didn't carry the designated yarn and - at the time - I hadn't ordered from the web and was leary (leery?) of it.

Well, I've knit maybe 5" of the back and I'm just not liking the yarn. It's Ritratto S. Charles: 28% Mohair, 53% Viscose (Rayon?), 10% Polyamid, and 9% Polyester (in fact the picture is the exact color I'm using). I really dislike it. I really dislike Mohair, but this is for my mom, right, not me. So I thought this yarn would work. It's generally the color mom wants, and it's the weight the pattern calls for.

But I'm not liking the stitches, fabric, and general shape and feel of the knitted yarn. It's fuzzy, uneven, and doesn't hold shape well. When I look at the picture of the jacket, it looks like a very nice fabric - not stiff but certainly holding its shape and laying nicely.

So last night I looked up the yarn on the web to see if I could order it. Come to find out, it's 100% silk - Fiesta La Luz. I couldn't find the exact color i wanted, but I started to get close. Until I looked at the price.

$28.00/skein. 5-6 skeins needed. That's roughly $150-$180 for the jacket.

I love my mom. The cost has nothing to do with her. But, I'm not that good of a knitter.

Repeat: I'm just not that good of a knitter to shell out that kind of money for yarn that *I* will turn into a mediocre garment.

So, I think I'll make mom some nice socks using STR! I've been on a big sock kick. Mom wears a lot of socks during the winter. I can buy a nice jacket for her and still have money for the socks.

No groove, but making progress

With working at home, the new job, etc, I'm still working to find a groove. I'm not there yet, but I'm getting closer.

Workouts are spotty, but I'm getting them in slowly. Yesterday was a 30' jog. Today was 75' step. Nice.

Knitting is going well, too. I completely finished my sister's Christmas present (finished the second armhole of the Lotus Blossom tank) and it's off to the cleaners for a good wash and press. Finished the front and back of DD's baby sweater, and now I have the arms. I'm worried I won't have enough yarn, but it's a sweater for a 2 YO, so hopefully I will have enough (esp if I mix in some other colors, which I'm thinking about doing).

I finished my first pair of socks, too! Pics to come (I say that every time - I'm a liar). Actually, I will take pics since these are my first socks. I CO for *my* socks (jaywalkers), but I'm thinking of CO for my grandfather's Christmas pair.

OH! And I finally started my mom's sweater. It's the bolero-type jacket designed by Kate Gilbert in one of my fall knitting mags (Interweave Knits). My mom picked it out, and I like Kate's designs and blog, so I was happy with it. I'm not super happy with the yarn, but I think my mom will like it, so that's what matters.

OK, onward. Gotta get pics someday, but now to return to work.

Well whadd'ya know

I finally worked out.

Holy moly, it's a miracle.

Am I really **cking up?

I finished MawMaw's scarf tonight, and it looks lovely! It's a little short for a scarf, but she doesn't want to wrap it around her neck but rather drape it over her shoulders, so I wanted to make it a little shorter.

As a reward, I am knitting my swatch for MY jaywalkers. I'll get done the other gifts (sure, I'm sure, I promise). BUT, am I totally messing up -

The ONLY way I've chosen yarn is by the color. I ask for "sock yarn" and then make a pick.

Is this bad? Will I get totally horrible socks? Here's my current pick, which I really like:

Schaefer Yarn Anne
(shamelessly ripped from http://www.yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=2960 - check it out)
60% Merino Wool superwash, 25% mohair, 15% nylon
4oz/560 yds
Gauge: 7-8 St/In (on what size needles????????)

Anyone know??

Somehow I think that I'm not totally messing up, but I clearly know jack about anything. I just pick and go - pattern, yarn. No matching.

Samurai Knitter asked if a group wanted to do a KAL from start to finish. I should join because I need to learn this stuff, but I really don't wanna. She did convince me in her recent Knitty article to swatch, so that's an accomplishment for her. But I'm not sure how much I really want to labor over a pattern. I may just enjoy knitting scarves if other garments require a lot of calculations (I'm good at math, I'm just impatient).

I suspect I'm in the same boat as about 80% of the other knitters out there.

... and

I need to start friggin exercising.

Slackass.

Need Advice

I'm sure to be overwhelmed by the response to this post (I've not seen anyone beat the number of comments YH gets), but I have to ask -

To knit for the family, or to knit for myself?

Somehow I suspect a lot of folks will say to knit for myself. With the holidays coming, though, I have a long list of in-queue items to knit up for people. Then again, I always have a longer list of in-queue items than in-progress or FOs. Lately I've knit a whole bunch of stuff for others (non-relatives included), and I'm itching to knit myself some jaywalkers with some drop-dead gorgeous hand-dyed yarn that I picked up on sale.

Here's my Christmas list, just so you can see, in relative priority order -

finish Mawmaw's scarf (another week or so)
finish my dear friend's sock (the companion to the first one I knit)
finish my sister's Lotus Blossom Tank (one sleeve edge to go)
finish DD's pinafore (sew the buttons on, knit the tabs and sew on)
finish DD's intarsia sweater (finish front, knit both sleeves, piece together)

socks for Granddad
socks for mom's husband (who I love dearly)
socks for DH (??)
socks for FIL (??)
socks for MYSELF????

Even though it's October 3, I don't think I can get all of that done before Christmas.

On top of that, I'm starting to covet my grandmother's scarf that I'm knitting for her. The Debbie Bliss Cashmerino is so soft, so lovely, so plush and squisy compared with last year's mohair scarf (I think I really hate mohair) that I want it for myself. But she requested this scarf, and DD picked out the color yarn, and it's for her after all, so I'll have to knit myself one.

And DH would love another winter hat.
And I'd love to knit ...

Oh CRIPES!

Mom asked for a jacket in one of the knitting mags I have.
Cripes.
Double friggin cripes.
If I worked on that alone it'd take me to Christmas.
And I really do want to knit it for her - I'd love to give it to her!!

Why do I have to love folks so much???

One Sock Down, Nine More To Go

I'm such a slacker picture poster. I did avow myself of feeling guilty for non-picture posts in the desire to simply post more regularly, to not allow a pic-less post stop me from posting about progress. It's P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S after all, something I'm regularly short of.

ONE SOCK DOWN! I figured out how to graft the toe, and I HATE it. I hate how it looks. I even did the switch-the-end-stitches-to-avoid-donkey-ears move, and I still hate how square (triangular) the toe line looks. DH noticed it.

On my foot, though, it looks fine. I think.

I also don't quite know how to weave in the ends. On other knitting I have no problem, but for some reason I wasn't sure how to do it along the top of the sock. It's wool yarn, so hopefully the end will snuggle its way into the other stitches. I did the best I could and that's that.

So in the meantime of finishing this sock, I invested in 4 more pairs of addi turbo circs (two each of size 1 and size 0 in varying lengths). I also splurged on FOUR more skeins of yarn. I swatched some beautiful hand-dyed yarn tonight for the jaywalkers, and I'll have to wait for my 1 or 0 size needles to be delivered before CO.

As for the trip, I made it through security with no problem. They were more interested in my chapstick than my knitting. I finished the sock on the drive to the airport, so I didn't have to worry about taking multiple projects through security (or metal needles). I carried my MawMaw's scarf with me and packed DD's intarsia sweater in the checked luggage.

The trip was great, but I was BEAT afterwards. I knit about 3 rows before falling asleep on the trip back. So, no progress on DD's sweater, and minimal progress on MawMaw's scarf. But the sock is done.

Yay me.