Knitless

I have been mostly knitless all week.

I have been studying for the bar exam, I am way behind where I'd like to be and I haven't had much time for knitting.

Sad

You would think a person would learn

I'm knitting away on a lovely green sweater and measure it - check the schematic - measure again - knit some more - measure again - check the schematic. It's not coming out correctly.

So rather than looking for errata I frog the whole thing, in spite of the fact that my gauge swatch was perfect.

This morning I get up and do a bunch of scribbling and decide to check for errata. There it is - a simple measurement missing from the schematic. Drat!

Oh well. Back to knitting.

Swaps

I love swaps. Admit it - we all love swaps.

I love shopping for my swap partner - looking for that little extra something to make their day. My first swap was a delight - she was a brand new knitter so there were all sorts of little notions she didn't have. I found the best technique book ever ever ever while shopping for her. And she updated her blog - sometimes.

Lately I have had several horrible experiences. I've been stiffed twice. My angel the first time was so sweet, the second time my swap partner strung me along with promises until about 4 months after the swap ended, the she just disappeared.

The rest of the swaps have only been unhappy because there was no communication. Emails went unanswered and blogs weren't updated. And recently - no answers to my emails. I sent one a week and I think one was answered. What makes this fun, at least for me, is chatting with someone and getting to know little bits about them and then sending them a package you've put together based on what you learned about them (or think you did).

So here is some advice for potential swapees - check your email often - and junk mail too, send your partner emails - chat about 'stuff", make sure you update your blog, read your partners blog - you would be amazed what you can learn about someone by reading their blog. And a significant part of the fun is getting to know someone new. Send your package Priority or however you like - but get that delivery confirmation, it only costs an extra 65 cents, but it's well worth it. I have only had one package disappear but I really wished I had the delivery confirmation.

For the organizers - even handed application of the rules is a good thing - REALLY, but common sense is also a useful quality. There is no way to avoid the random flakes. but communication requirements help. And if you can't keep up - ask for help. I know there are a lot of people who would like to help.

As if anybody cares what I think anyway

WWKIPD

Today didn't start out so well. A smoke detector started a low battery beep yesterday. I had a new battery so I wasn't worried. I put the new battery in but it still beeped. It was late so I just closed my door so I could ignore it and get some sleep - It'll still be there in the morning.

Around 3am the one in my bedroom began to beep then the one in my daughter's room began to beep. I messed around trying unsuccessfully to get them to stop until 6am. Then I called my spouse, who is on vacation and woke him up at an ungodly hour. We talked about it for some time, he told me to unplug them, I figured out how to unplug them (they are wired in but they have a little plug - who knew). I managed to get them unplugged and then waited until 9 when the store opened. New batteries fresh from the store did the trick.

After that morning fiasco I stomped around for a few hours, finished a shawl and baked some bars.

My friend and I headed out to World Wide Knit In Public Day (we do it all the time so it was hard to see it as special). She needed to replace a broken needle so she could finish her socks. We hit two stores before we managed to find them. Then we went to The Double Ewe. They were having quite the festivities. It was fun. I didn't win a door prize - but really - what do I need with more yarn.

I started working on my Box Sweet sweater. I have finished 7 squares and I hope to finish a couple more yet tonight.

After knitting we stopped at the liquor store and headed to my friend's house. Her husband was making us dinner. It was really tasty.

So in spite of everything I will count today as a win.

Should have brought a camera

I'm sitting in lovely Tucson. It's a work trip so I'm not getting much chance to enjoy it, but it is beautiful here. I think I could live here.

But tomorrow I return home. It's too bad that I didn't manage to find any souvenir yarn. I didn't even have time to look. (le sigh)

I'm suffering a little from the time change - that or sitting alone in a hotel room is boring enough to send me to bed early.

UFOs

I have been quite busy finishing stuff and starting socks. I started two new pair in the last week. I am also working on finishing a shawl I started last year. I'm just past the half way point.

I have also been working on my garden. The plants are growing and lovely. I have flowers and seedlings to brighten my day. Today we put down mulch to protect the new plants and keep the weeds down. I don't really care much for mulch but weed suppression is important. I don't have time to give an un-mulched garden the attention it deserves.

I also REALLY want to get started on the StrickWear cardigan I purchased. I keep trying to get my daughter to ball the yarn for me - but so far she keep resisting. I might lose this particular battle.

Today we had - Family law, more specifically - alimony (in all it's many forms), child support, visitation, and conflicts of law (or is the conflict of laws?). The lecturer should have used terms other than foreign and forum. They sound much too similar on tape and when strung together two or three in a row I had no idea which one he was using. I'll have to grab text for that in order to get it all figured out.

I also managed 2 of 3 on some crim law questions. Must remember assumption of risk.

Why did I think this was a good idea?

In knitting news I had to rip back the second sock of my third pair of Sock Wars socks. The prior assassin had finished the first one and used a stockingnet heel. I had already completed the s1k1 heel, turned the heel and almost finished the gusset before I noticed. Great attention to detail. I had checked her gauge but nothing else. Her gauge was perfect. The yarn is a lovely color of Tofutsie I will have to seek out.

Woohoo

The weather has finally gotten beautiful.

We have had quite the week. Last weekend the bathroom had issues. We had to pull out the toilet and do some clean up and then replace everything. That was mostly done Friday. Last night we came home and the closet rod had come loose from the wall. After we cleaned up that mess and replaced the brackets I put most of the stuff away again.

In the midst of this I finished my Lucy Bag. It's nice enough - but I'm not sure if I like it. It may become a raffle prize. We'll see.

This week my daughter comes home from her school trip. I'm going to start prepping to clean up the basement bedroom it will be a really mess. But it will also be nice to have that finished as well. We are also going to start finishing the basement bath. Yikes!

I have nearly finished the knitting part of the sheep for Shannon. I'm going to go ahead and knit up the rest of the yarn I have (I think I will get two sheep) before I do the felting.

There really isn't any other finished object news this week. But I am mostly between projects. So there is a significant likelihood that something new and interesting will make an appearance on the needles. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures of yarn girl!

Weekend of Knitting

This was a weekend of finishing knitting.

Here are some lovely green socks.They are a sock of the month kit from The Knitter.com. I have no idea which month (or March 2008 which is what it says on the pattern). I'm so far behind that I will never catch up. The pattern is Down the Garden Path by Judy Alexander. The yarn is Trekking XXL, which I liked well enough to seek and buy. I knit them with 2.25mm Options dpns.

I also finished my second pair of Sock Wars Socks and the secret project. The only socks I currently have on the needles is a pair of Schaefer socks. I love the sock (I finished one) and the yarn, but the pattern is really tough. I'm sure I have frogged three socks worth of knitting just on the first sock.

I am busy with my purple felted bag. I have finished the body of the bag and 1/2 of one strap. I hope to have the knitting done this week and maybe even the felting! I am also going to (finally) start the socks I am making for my mother. It would be nice to have them done when my daughter goes to visit, so I can send them with her. We'll see. The pattern doesn't seem that hard, but you never know.

And sheep - I am ready to knit sheep!
Summer is here. Tomorrow - garden pics.

Oh my aching muscles!

This weekend was spent putting in a new garden. I convinced my spouse to allow me to put a ‘wild’ flower bed in the front yard. I explained many times that this garden won’t be ‘done’ for years. My friend S came over to help and we worked our collective butts into the ground. I spent a crazy amount of money on plants and planted a space larger that I anticipated and it is more full than I expected but still pretty barren. We will need to put down some mulch – but not until the seeds come up. We may get mulch and mulch everywhere except where the seeds are. I hate mulch.

There was some knitting. I finished a sock and my friend G came over and turned some skeins into nice balls for me (she wanted to use my equipment and in payment she took care of some random projects that needed to be helped along). I planted the veggie garden and then G and I went to have a coffee break and I helped her vet a portion of her new pattern.

G is writing a pattern for a pair of socks from the 16th century, based on pictures. I started this several years ago and then never finished. She is more dedicated and will be finished. She already knows what needs doing – but she uses me to talk through things. I’m going to use the knitfont I have to do the chart for her in knit speak, knit a sample to proof the chart. I think I will just make the socks and that way I will have a pair when the pattern is complete. It’s fun to talk knitting with her. We noticed yesterday that one of the pictures we have has the one sock right side out and one sock inside out. We don’t agree on which side is the right side. This was a very cool discovery. Neither of us had noticed before in spite of pouring over the pictures for hours and hours.

In return she has agreed to help proof my new sock pattern when I get it finished.

There were many interesting happenings over at Sock Wars this weekend, including the untimely demise of my assassin. The socks she was knitting for me are now on their way to Ontario. I am still waiting for the SIP (socks-in-progress) from my victim to arrive. My nerves are starting to fray a little from the stress of waiting. That or I’m just really anxious to get back in the game.

Although some of the fun of the game has gone out of it for me. Since part of the game is waiting for the SIP to arrive I am unhappy that someone who has admitted to not waiting for two SIPs hasn't been disqualified. I have spent the last week waiting for socks. In that week I could have knit 2 more pairs of socks. That isn't the way the rules were set up and we should all have to abide by the same rules.

It’s been pretty quiet. There has been knitting - Some hush hush secret knitting. I have to get busy this weekend and ball some yarn so that I can make sheep. I’d also like to start some pre-cleaning in the downstairs craft room. This room is going to become the defacto library. Since the library has become the guest room because we couldn’t get the piano in the library and had to put it in the guest room which meant there was no room for guests. It is a vicious cycle.

The spouse goes to visit his mother in couple weeks and I will be free to fill the family room with junk while I clean out the room and put stuff away. Once this is done things will be much better (for some definitions of better). Of course your mileage will vary.

I also would really like to get my ‘stuff’ sorted so that I have tools together where I can find them. That will take more time than I have, the room cleaning is more necessary, and the sorting can take place without destroying the family living area. So time management will prevail. I may do some staging of both projects over the next few weeks.

In other news I have decided to sit the bar exam (again). This means that solitary time is the call of the day and I will not be attending my knitting groups from now until the end of July. This will allow me to listen to scintillating lectures on various legal topics. Yay? I hope things work out the way I want with that. The application was interesting. Who can remember stuff that happened 12+ years ago? I’m sure I’ve forgotten something and will be refused admission to the bar.

And that, folks, is the sum total of my summer. Because, really that will be all there is time for.

Mwaahahahaha!

Some people!

Since I washed out of Sock Madness (so close!) I had a little time on my hands (or something) So I've decided to try my hand at Sock Wars. I have purchased some Tofutsies for my 'weapon'. I love the socks I made with it from the Sock of the Month kit. So I figured why not.



I chose two colors and I don't know which one I will make the Sock War socks from but they are both nice. I will start my gauge swatch as soon as I finish my little girl's prom dress. I have everything done except hemming and I have to put the boning in by hand, since I don't want any sewing to show. I'm just a little compulsive. And I have to hurry and finish that dress because Sock War starts the 9th, which coincidentally is the same day as prom. Imagine that - sounds like fate to me!

Adagio!

Here is a picture of my Adagio shawl. All done! It took at least two hours to bind of the edge stitches. Or at least it seemed like it. The photo is washed out a little. I will have to make a dress to match it so I can wear it. As long as I don't have to put a zipper in the dress.


I suppose I could have put some clothes on the dressmaker's dummy.

Finally A Peapod Picture!

Here is the Peapod baby sweater I made for my friend Kelly's baby to be. It's knit from Knitpicks WOA in Blue Saphire (or Saphire Heather - I never can find the labels after I finish.)

Still in the Finishing Mood

I am just finishing projects. I have little urge to start something new but I keep digging out the UFOs for some special attention. I have nearly completed the Adagio shawl. It would have been done tonight if I hadn't found - The Mistake. I ripped it back and I almost back were I was when I sat down this evening. I hope to finish the shawl this week. (hahahahahaha!)

Then I have a couple of sweaters that are almost done. I think I'll pull out Beadwork and see if I can get that knit up.

And those second socks I have sitting here taunting me. Those I should finish as well.

Not mad any more

Well - I finished the socks but not in time. Alas. Must have missed by mere minutes. The second sock knit much faster than the first one. I think I'm knitting them bigger than I need to, because this pair is a size 10. These ones will be sent to Kelly - just as soon as I get the picture of the Peapod baby sweater (I am not above bribery!)
Knit with Scouts Swag in Orchid on size 2.25mm. Lovely stuff, frustrating pattern, beautiful sock.

Sockmadness update

I managed to sneak in under the wire on Tuesday. I like the sock and the yarn - but I have to admit that you can't see the pattern that well. I also wish I had some rust colored sock yarn with which to do the afterthought heel. A not very good picture can be found here.

The next release is Sunday morning. I doubt if I will make that run, they are only taking the top three and I don't dare take Monday off. My mother will be here to visit this weekend and although she would happily let me knit all day (being all supportive and stuff) I don't imagine I really will knit all day. Of course you never can tell. I have my yarn selected and I'll ball it up tonight so it is all ready to go.

I have nearly completed the Strickwear shawl. The rows just keep getting longer and longer. I might be able to finish it up be Sunday. Then I think I will finish the linen one that I started last summer. I found it, the started bits, the yarn and the pattern. I think I'll take that as a sign.

I'm still plugging away on the AS Mary Tudor. I still haven't managed to get to the neck shaping.

The only thing I have cast on, other than sock madness socks, is a tea cosy which would have taken me a couple hours if I hadn't screwed up two hours worth of knitting, twice. Obviously I can't knit from worded directions while talking. Part of the problem is that the directions say Repeat row 4, repeat row 3 etc and I kept losing track of which time I was repeating row 3. I should just rewrite the directions for the following impaired. That and a pencil and post-it note should help me actually finish the silly thing, maybe next week. After I wash out of sock madness (sigh).

Dooby Dooby Dooby

Yarnover was a lot of fun. I met up with Kelly and Jen early (they were early, I was late) I admired several sweater kits I didn’t need and they managed to sell the ones I was interested in before I managed to decide to buy them. I was also considering the purchase of enough yarn for a nice Aran (I only have enough yarn for two or three of these already 1 for Steve, 1 St. Bridget and one I don’t know yet) It was lovely natural colored wool. I fondled scads of alpaca and silk.

Kimmet Croft, who once put together Bohus kits was there – I talked to her about getting one – alas I was once again denied. It seems she can’t get a mill to spin her angora properly, alas (sigh). Liz informed me that she deeply desires an angora bunny. I encouraged Kelly to buy yarn.

We went up to see Franklin so Kelly and Jen could get their pictures taken and Liz had hers taken as well. By this time it was nearly noon. Kelly and Jen wanted lunch – so we checked to see how close Kate and her mother were. They were minutes away so Kelly and Jen went for lunch and I stayed to wait.

Kate and Pat arrived. I admired Niamh. Baby Cuteness! We wondered back through the trail of temptation. This time I bought stuff (gasp). I had been doing so well. I bought a pattern and yarn for two tea cosies (one for me, one for Kate, perhaps more) and I broke down and bought a kit from StrickWear. I love her stuff. The graduated colors are fantastic and I already have a shawl kit I bought at Sheepy last year so I know the yarn is lovely. Candace told me I had better finish that shawl before the sweater was shipped – or else. I’m not sure or else what.

We wondered about a bit more and decided to go for lunch. We went to The Good Earth off 36 and Fairview. I think it is my current favorite. Carrot Ginger soup! Kate thinks Lars would like to eat there. Pat read the breakfast menu – she is searching for a brunch place. I think their breakfast stuff is good.

I then headed home, did some cleaning and some more knitting on my Sock Madness Socks. They were still not done at bedtime.

Sunday after finishing a bodice for a friend, starting a prom dress for my daughter cleaning up the room a bit (required to reach the sewing machine), and finishing the taxes I found the shawl kit, figured out where I was in the process, and knit a few inches. All in all Sunday was a roaring success.

Mad - I say!

Finished my socks this morning. I knit until midnight and was half through the second foot. I was up at the usual time (I don't sleep in) and finished about 9:30am.

Here they are:
The yarn is Soy Silk from Conjoined Creations on 3mm needles. The colors are very nice. And in spite of my concerns you really can see the stripes.

I will have to rip them back a few inches and reknit the toes so they fit my feet better. I really like them.

My mom is waiting to see them so I'll write about Yarnover later, but I had a great time.