swallowtail

I'm blocking! This has been a super interesting knit. I'm finding that I really do like doing lace work (altho' it's a real challenge doing it with a 3.5yo and a 4mo old, especially the older one pulling on the arm whilst knitting). But I finished this lickity split fast (for me).

Stats:
start date: August 29
end date: Sept 7
blocking: today
yarn: 1 skein of Misti Alpaca in Blue (I have some left over)
needles: size 3 Clover circs




Challenges:
Thinking that this:

would turn into this:

I did make a major error in knitting this (besides not paying attention to how I'm blocking this sucker), I shifted off a stitch on the edging and didn't realize it until much later. It's here. On the edging, I misknitted and then somehow recovered such that two of the triangles aren't pointy (extra yo?)
I'm pretty darn proud of this. And it was such a nice fun knit that I'll just have to do another one. It really is too bad that I don't like triangular shawls...I may have to make another, but alter it to become a stole (ala print o'wave).

It's a good day

It's been a good day. We went to Baby knitting at Article Pract today. Wow, there were lots'o babies and many moms. In fact, stroller parking was in the back (aside: didn't know that they had a back yard, will have to investigate another time).

Very nice moms and kids ranging in age from 7 weeks to 14months (that was the teacher's baby, so that doesn't count). Not alot of knitting got done, but I tried. I brought my swallowtail because I'm binding off (happy dance happy dance)...I've not done this type of bind off before, but pretty cool. I'll have to check to see what's the real name for this bind off and also whether this is SOP for lace. I managed to bind off maybe 12-15 stitches...the rest of the time was spent chatting and admiring other babies. Like I said, a good day.

I come home to find this:

yes, this is my sample pack from ColourMart. Plus they sent 250yds of washed cashmere. I will be super good and just knit up one of these samples (and then wash it) to see how it compares with their sample. Their laceweight is a bit thinner than I expected, and I believe I'd like the 4-ply the best.

The only thing is that their DK and Aran weight is just strands plied together.

I do want me some cashmere...

Did I mention that I have very expensive taste in yarn? I always seem to find the absolute most expensive ball of yarn in a yarn store. Today for example, I am minding my own business and browsing and come across a little ball of pretty yarn. Yep, Qiviut at $52(?) for a small ball. Or the hank of yarn that I was admiring, only to find that it's cashmere (sigh).

Can you knit up a neckwarmer with 250 yds? I think I'll have to find the perfect pattern before I invest in this yarn. (they're about $30/1150yds plus $5 shipping). That is not too expensive. Maybe for my birthday...but I may want either a pressure cooker or a swift for my birthday...I'll have to try to remember if I got myself a present last year...

Lace on the brain

I had to post this picture from IK as inspiration. As I'm nearing the end of IK's swallowtail, and feeling that I'm screwing up the final edging. Don't ask, I somehow gained 2 stitches and tinked it a couple of times back a couple of rows, and couldn't figure it out, so I just faked it.

Anyway...I felt the need to get some inspiration, so it was pack up A and head to lovely Lacis (I also had to run errands, so it wasn't too bad). Yes, just you shush, I've driven by it how many times and never went in. I wanted to check out their book selection as well as their tools and you KNOW I just had to take a look at cobweb weight yarn.

What a neat place. I was directed to the knit lace part of their book section, I got a chance to look through (albeit quickly since I had A in a sling) some of their books. Prices for books were steep. Maybe I misread the sticker, or else it's signed by the author or something, but they were about twice the amount I've seen elsewhere. I was specifically looking for A Gathering of Lace, but didn't see it there. But what I really liked was their needle selection. Wow. There are some seriously dangerous tools there. Their metal dpns were amazing. They had 000 (?) double pointed needles. I swear they were wire. They looked like wire. Anywhoo, they carried the Inox, so I got a circ for my next project.

I was shown what cobweb weight yarn look like (yes, it looks just like sewing thread, but slightly thinner!). Yeah, I'll be doing a project in that weight real soon...yeah, right.

I was told that they're getting Zephyr yarn in pretty soon. They will only be carrying white ecru and black to start. I can't wait!

Back to Lacis, they have all this lace stuff, just beautiful stuff. It's so inspired me that I may pick up crocheting again and doing some lace. I wonder what I'd do with lace doilies...

So, if you're in the neighborhood, definitely go!

Oh, and since Lacis doesn't open until noon, I had a little time to browse at Article Pract in Oakland. They reminded me (again) that they have baby knitting Thursday mornings. I'm going. I'm really going to go. Really. 10:30am. Really.

Nupps suck!

So, I'm thinking that lace is fun. It's easy, lot's of yos, ssks, and k2togs...until now, got to nupps and thought, 'oh, my friggin goodness' (okay, in stronger terms than that). How are you supposed to purl 5 stitches to 1 stitch.

I had recently checked out of the library the Barbara Abbey's knitting lace book and there's a bit on bundling stitches and such. Instead of trying to purl all the stitches at once (which was what I was attempting) the book suggested purling a couple of them then psso. Now, I'm thinking, the book is old, that can't be the "correct" way of doing this stitch, otherwise, they'd tell you in the protocol, right?! Anyway, googled and found that yep, that's the way to do them without going crazy. (At one point, I had extra needles out, a couple of crochet hooks, it was ugly, really ugly...AND I had to tink back to reknit the ,k,yo,k,yo,k into the same stitch several times because those yos tend to sprong away if you're not careful).

So, pics will be available when I get around to it.

Happy Labor Day!

On another edge

While waiting for a reply to my dilemma regarding the stole o'the wave, I couldn't help myself...I started the Swallowtail from IK. I'd read about it on Yarn Harlot's blog( I think it was her site) a bit back and I thought 'wow, a scarf done with one ball of yarn -- I'm so there'. I think if I could do 1 cone/ball/skein projects, I so would.

Anyway, I casted on and started working on this project while waiting for an answer, any answer from the KAL. Thanks so much to Eileen, I now have the numbers correct in my brain to finish Print O'Wave, but first, I must must finish the swallowtail. I'm at the edging now. Will post pics later.

Postcard from the edge

Dear Reader,

I'm having a grand time! Wish you were here...

The center of the spiral rug was finished in 2 days, liked making the circle, very cool. And then the madness began. That outside piece? that would be done in knit stitch for the circumference of the rug (wait for it...twice). Since there's another knit piece for the outer section. All I can think of is 'don't run out of yarn don't run out of yarn don't run out of yarn...'

On why I don't want to run out of yarn: Peaches n Creme is an okay yarn, but I don't want another cone of the darn thing. Unfortunately, the way the edge is knitted, if you run out of yarn, you either rip it and reknit with less stitches (I'm doing 9 vs. their 10) or buy another cone. Update: yep, need to buy more yarn (at least it's cheap!).

On another note of madness, I just picked up and am knitting 240X2 + 160 stitches for the edging of the shawl. Picking up 240 stitches per side was a little harrowing. I calculated that I needed to pick up approximately 7 stitches per wave motif. Yes, I had to repick up the first 50 a bunch of times before it was okay. The last 40 stitches were also a pain since you can't fudge it since you run out of edge. And the other side? I tried my best to match the previous side, but oh well. Oh, and since I knit it all in one piece without reading the directions carefully, I have an additional knit row on one side.

And now, I'm stuck on the stole. If only I knew how many stitches I needed at the end, I could fix it...really I could.

Bandwagon here I come!

Yes, I'm knitting a rug! Something I never thought I'd do. I'm doing it due to the Mason-Dixon book (I WILL get value from the book, besides a good read). I really liked the concept that your house will never complain...good thought. Oh, but I'm not making Absorba, I'll be working on the pinwheel rug using short rows. I'm using Peaches n' Creme denim 3 strands held together. At SnB last night, I wound some of it off the cone and then realized I didn't have the appropriate sized needles -- I think my assortment of needles from size 10-13 are all on UFOs.

So, I swatched with #13 and 9's and realized that I almost got gauge with the 9's (12st/4in verses their 13st/4 in). Not a big surprise since they're using wool and doubling the yarn while I'm tripling.

I was able to finish one wedge last night. I think I'll be doing alternating with the ecru color. Not sure yet about the look.

Oh, if this rug turns out, I've got the wool yarn ready for a rug in the kitchen! Yep, kitchen.

Parties!

We left a and z at our wonderful friends' home and went off to a beautiful wedding in Berkeley this weekend. Although the bride (and some of our friends) asked about the children, I must say it was absolutely liberating attending an event without having to have mom-radar on and repeating over and over 'please stop doing that'...

It was a very touching ceremony at the Botanical Gardens -- now, why didn't I know about the site? It's absolutely serene. Very gorgeous. I recommend this site to anyone wanting a smallish outdoor wedding (besides our beloved Oakland Rose Garden, of course). And honestly, I think that it takes being married (and having had to plan said wedding) to really appreciate a wedding. I now understand all about the care that goes into such an event, the songs to be picked out (they really are meaningful!) and the details...things I didn't pay attention to when I was single and clueless...oh, well.

A 'friend' (what do you call a person you like, but doesn't live in the same town, don't keep in touch with, but really enjoy their company when you see them?), a friend just had a baby (5 weeks) and was telling us about their delivery -- much to my surprise, we had similar (horror) stories. At 48hrs after birth, her son's heart also had to be restarted, just like a. And I totally understood about the trauma of trying to recover from a c-section (her's was an emergency c-section after 30 hrs of labor) and being told you need to sign this consent form because your child's heart is getting ready to bounce out of their body!


So that was Saturday. On Sunday, we went up to the Marin Cheese Factory to celebrate MIL's birthday. It was lots of fun seeing family and meeting her friends.

She had said she didn't want presents, but what was I to do? I got the yarn early this year specifically for her...so I presented her with this (completed of course).

Interlacements Rick Rack II
Scottish Lichen - purchased at Stitches West in February
Feather and Fan pattern from them
80in X 30in?
off and on knitting 2/2006-8/2006

The nice thing is that I've got more yarn so I can make one for myself! Altho' this is 'novelty' yarn, it was pretty spendy. But it does feel lovely!


Yarn Info:

Rick Rack II - Scottish Lichen - Color 119
The most beautiful rayon yarn to weave and knit. Knit as a fine yarn or as lace with a 6 needle, we have a Feather and Fan Shawl that is to dye for. Also weaves into scarves and in combination with other yarns for clothing.
Colorway:	Scottish Lichen
Colorway Color:	Sky Blue, Olive, Turquoise, Dark Green, and Blue Green
Type:	Novelty
Fiber Content:	100% Rayon
Yardage:	1400 Yards
Size Weight:	Approx 16oz.
Putup:	Reeled Skein
Gauge:	10 epi plain weave, 13 epi for twill.

What I knit on my summer vacation pt. I

While down south, when I wasn't dealing with the kids, or when I wasn't lazying around watching TV, I knitted--actually, I knitted while dealing with kids, lazying about, and watching television. I finished another bib and worked on Eunny's Print O' Wave stole. I originally got the Misti Alpaca to do the Mystery Stole II, but as the clues got printed, I realized that I wanted a lacy lace stole, not one that was knitted fabric with a few YO patterns. I do like the MSII stole (especially the pictures I saw on the yahoo group--gorgeous!), just not right now.

I then hit the intarweb...what a wild wacky world...where all your dreams can come true. Anyway, I searched a number of sites and found Eunny's beautiful stole pattern. It's supposed to be an easy pattern -- if I can make a Liesel scarf this should be a cakewalk given that it's only a 9 row repeat. I'll put some markers in...first mistake. I ripped it by the 5th row. Oh, yes. Step back and realize that although all the stitches at the end of the row end up totalling 80 stitches, umm...well, the markers I so diligently placed, well they move!? Now, why didn't I think of that before. I literally knitted and ripped it 2-3 times before I got it, then it was a smack on the head and a 'doh'.

I then searched 'Eunny and wave' and found that there was a Yahoo group, which I then joined. I also found that there were much discussions about this stole so I spent time reading that too. Finally, I looked at the joining the two center pieces together and vacillated between knitting the pattern as written or knitting a big long piece.

Many bloggers were in the same boat regarding the seam down the center. Now, I'm a symmetrical type of a girl. Given there's one side, I'm compulsively trying to make sure there's another that matches...sort of. For example, socks with variegated yarn, yes, I do make an attempt at trying to sort of match the two socks (that's not to say that by the end, they do match -- but I try). And I did like the waves flowing downward. But then I kept going to the center of the pattern and how there's a visible connection seam. Well, that just won't do. A blogger thought she was going to knit an additional pannel to 'fix' it, but well, I've just not looked at enough lacework yet to figure out what pattern would look nicely there. So, my solution is to just keep on knitting...
After that issue was resolved, I'm continuing to knit. But again, as this is my first true knitted lace item (don't count worsted weight scarves or bookmarkers), I'm stressing about how big and long it's going to be. Again, Eunny has written how if you use laceweight yarn, it'll turn out huge at 70in long...BUT I like scarves/wraps/stoles long. On one hand, I really want to believe the lace knitting gurus, but on the other hand, as a scientist, I compulsively 'do the experiment' to confirm results. You may think it's reinventing the wheel, but as a scientist, you need to confirm published results before you build on them...yeah right, you should do a gauge swatches too!

Since I'm knitting one long panel, I have a ways to go before I decide whether to veer even farther away from the original pattern...

So, right now I'm on 21/34 pattern repeats. But I read that the edging is what kills ya.

I should add that it's being knitted on #4 bamboo straights mostly and somewhat knitted on SB circs when I need to add a lifeline. Why not Inox or Addis? Don't have #4's in either, that's why. Also, that blue bit on the needles, that's the curly doodad in action

Curly Doodads

I love tools, specifically knitting tools. You know, point protectors, stitch markers, needle sizers, organizers, needle holders, counters, I love them all. And I like to collect them. And organizers to put the doodads in (sigh).
I'm not one of those folks who would rather use cheapo needles and spend all their $$$ on yarn. Nope, not me. Yarn, once knitted up, becomes an object to be used/worn/given away. It's the perishable part of knitting...unlike the tools, which are more like the well-honed chef's knife or the perfect pot for making toffee.

But my newest love are these plastic phone cord deals, made by Clover (Clover Coil Knitting Needle Holders). They're outrageously priced at $5plus for 5 small plastic coils, but I've only gotten the set when I've had a coupon, so they're a little more reasonable. But man, they rock!

They're even better than the plastic needle holder licorice twist looking things. With these, they hold the stitches on the needle well enough so that I'm not going to come back to a big mess. Yet, the holder can be 'wound' onto the needle so (yeah!) I can find the darn things when I need to set the knitting down momentarily -- like when the baby cries.

Anyway, they're awesome.

In other news, I'm reading Yarn Harlot's newest book Knitting Rules . Of course I should have read her first book first, but oh, well. I really do like her blog and thought her book would be interesting. As I said, I just started it, but I've already learned a lot. For example, I am a Knitting Scientist (according to her quiz). She must have known about my uncontrollable need to do quizzes. Maybe this is knitting thing, the urge to quiz, or maybe a blog thing, or a knitting thing. I do wonder if there's a natural selection for certain traits to be a knitter. hmmm....

Oh, and I did enjoy her table on how to determine the fiber type of an unknown yarn. My first response (as a scientist) was to put it under a microscope. You'd be able to tell fibers pretty easily, especially if you had control fibers on hand. But then again, I guess not everyone has access to Zeiss scope. But very handy tool to figure out what type of yarn you have.

Just back from 'TV vacation'

Not at all what you think...it's a vacation full of TV watching. Yep, went south to visit the family and you know that my mother (actually parents, but the driver is my mother) is a technophile. Growing up, I never thought twice about the fact that we got a clunky box thing called the VCR (VHS not Beta -- that was my brother-in-law), SelectTV, Apple II Plus computer, etc...

Well, for the last how many years, my parents have had all-the-channels-all-the-time-cable-tv with the DVR AND my fave 'On-Demand TV'. Sweet!

Z was in TV vacation heaven. He's normally monitored as to the amount of television he watches due to the fact that we have experimentally concluded that z + TV in the morning = non-listening z for the day. Why yes, it was imperically determined. However, when you put z in front of the TV ALL DAY LONG, he does eventually get bored and will turn the thing off. When asked what his favorite part of this vacation was, his answer was "watching TV". that's my boy!

As for me, I only watched TV when z slept (he's only 3 1/2). So, here's a list of the movies I saw (in no particular order)**

Proof - Gwyneth Paltrow movie. Why yes, math geeks are crazy (no. really, they are) and they can party too!
Serenity - sci fi by Buffy the vampire slayer guy. It was a series for awhile. I didn't like the series. But the movie rocked!
Robots - This I watched w/ z. Robin Williams sometimes gets a little old. Overall a cute movie.
Herbie movie - Matt Dillon and Linsey Lohan. Linsey used to be able to act when she was a child star, what happened?
Sky High - Didn't remember Kurt Russell was in this flick. Kinda lame, but another one that I watched w/ kids.
Alexander - Didn't watch it all...missed the middle part. It was disconcerning seeing Alexander with a Scottish(?) accent.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith - cute movie. Nice eye candy.
Final Encounter - really bad futuristic Dean Cain movie. Yeah, you never heard of it? yes. waste of time.
The Island - another eye candy movie.
Lords of Dogtown - I saw the documentary, heh on the movie. Keith Ledger as the stoner head guy was pretty cool.
Kingdom of Heaven - Orlando Orlando Orlando

**if there's more, I'll add later

Oh, there was knitting too. Will post pics later.

Cotton and food entrapment devices

Here's a picture of the dishcloth that I whipped up awhile ago as requested by z&a's dad. And here's the bib done also in Sugar n' Cream for the girl. I didn't have the book at the time, so I faked it. Casted on 40 stitches w/ #7's and knit until the right size. Then knit the straps 10 st wide.

As a 2nd time mom, I know that the buttons used to hold the bib , whether the back of the neck or on the bib are very nice and super cute, but guess what? It's a NFED (nasty food entrapment device). I just know that I'll be having to hand wash the bibs because the buttons are fragile--and you're not going to see me w/ a toothbrush cleaning out the crevices. Instead, I made an I-cord and this system seems to work. I'll also be making more bibs in the lime green, blue, variegated, etc.

At first, I was all like, why would you make bibs for a baby? especially when you can buy them? but you know, z&a's dad really likes to use the dishcloth, and you just rinse them out or toss them in the laundry...what could be easier. And for less than a buck a piece, pretty darn good deal.

Picotless Picovoli

As you know, I hate to seam, so I really do try to find patterns that are in the round. Yes, it does drive me a little batty (and yes, that's an intended pun to raglan sleeves), but yes, back to patterns in the round. I've had this yarn for a year (gotten from that yard sale) and there were 10 balls of it. I was thinking I'd make myself a cardigan from it, but given that it's summertime, and I'm not carrying around a beach ball aka big belly, I thought I'd make myself a little something smaller.

I loved Ms. Grumperina's Tivoli/Picovoli pattern (later put on Magknits) and I think she presented Tivoli around the same time I started reading her blog. So, I printed it out and actually did circular swatches. Of course I cheated and swatched in like a 4inch circumference swatch. I switched needles a couple of times and actually got gauge. But then I realized the knitted fabric would be way too dense and stiff, so I bit the bullet and got out the ole calculator. I also did my research and checked out her gallery of tivoli/picovolis and found that they all looked different and maybe some folks did some pattern modifications (come to realize that maybe they just have different body types). I decided I wanted a more tanktop look without the neck plunging.

Here's my modifications:

I kept the front and back the same across and increased the shoulder/arm stitches. As I was experimenting, I didn't feel the need for the picot edge--mostly since I'd have to rip it out if the neckline turned out to be too hootchy mamaish. Well, I then followed the raglan increases as specified and when I was doing the bodice part, did 17st under the arms. I followed her basic pattern and then bound off.

Instead of the picot edging, I did a single crochet edging. I'm a lazy knitter (and apparently I enjoy tinking) so I sort of faked it. Now, is it a one-to-one ratio for crochet to knit? or different. I just crochetted into spots I thought were appropriate.

Did I mention that when binding off, I found that I ran out of yarn almost at the end? I was using the remnents of another ball for the crochet edge, but that's not enough for the bottom. I'm thinking that I may go back and tink the bottom back a couple rows and seed stitch it or something.

General comments:
The yarn was nice to knit with-- very sprongy. And the negative ease, devine.

Probably took 1.5 weeks to knit. I forget.
Yarn:Reynolds Cantata 90% cotton, 10% nylon 110yds
4 or 5 balls
#6 Addis

Follow up on sale at Skein Lane

Went on the first day of the sale. TOO CROWDED! Stood in line for over 2 hrs w/ A in baby bjorn. She was wonderful and slept through the whole thing. The crowds were horrific. Knitters are great people, but too many in one spot?! yikes. It does blow my mind to realize that the line was huge and each shopper spent probably a minimum of $200! I think that your mind goes to this 'sale' place where you think that if you don't buy it now, it'll be gone and you won't ever see it again. And then there's the 'think of all the money I'm saving'...

I specifically was looking for Addis. Well, even though I went early, the pickings were slim. In line, I was talking to one knitter who said that Carolyn had not been restocking when she sold out of stuff. Oh, well. I found all 3 Addis that were over 40 inch and held on to them. I originally thought I'd get enough yarn to make a sweater for myself, but the thought of digging through the yarn to find enough of the same dye lot was too overwhelming, so I didn't. I then decided I wanted to purchase laceweight yarn. Well, all the lace yarn I found didn't have price tags and I couldn't find anyone to tell me the price, so they too went into the bag. I also saw a gorgeous silk laceweight cone of yarn... She also had stuff like the Lantern Moon needle holder and wooden swift, they also went into the bag.

But I snapped to my senses and realized that a swift could be had for less (on sale it was still $47) and the needle case, yeah, that's what I need, another needle case. I think that if the line was not so long, I wouldn't have thought so much and returned everything. Back to the lace yarn, I stood in line to get a price check!? To my chagrin (actually horror), the yarns were $50, $52, $40, $40, and $52. So, the 3 hanks of yarn and 2 cones added up to $234 before tax. Yeah, right. Away went all the yarn except for the silk on the cone and the Loren's Laces Helen (both in natural colors). Which to get? Carolyn and the other sales person suggested the LL but you know what, I didn't say anything at the time, but there were yarn issues! I slid the band a bit and saw that the yarn's a little different in color. I'm sorry, I'm not going to pay that kind of money for yarn that's either dirty or faded. I ended up with the $40 cone. I'd better get 2 shawls out of it (I should, there should be 3200yds on the cone).

How disappointing was that? I also put back 2 of the Addis since I really didn't need them.

What did I walk out with? One set of needles, a cone of yarn, and needle protectors ($.40/each).

How sad was that?

TEOTWAWKI?!

No, I'm not talking about oil prices, the freakish heat wave, or even any volcanoes erupting (and political unrest and nuclear threats, let's not go there). Sheesh, I'm talking about the fact that Janice is selling Yarn! and Carolyn of Skein Lane is retiring and closing the shop. That is TWO of FOUR yarn shops I go to...

What's a girl to do?!

You guessed it...I'll be going shopping. Yes.

Of course, I do wonder if knitting is becoming the next scrapbooking -- you know, fair weathered crafters that embrace an old craft and make it new again...you remember scrapbooking. LSS popping up in every shopping center and such. Such cute stores with such not-so-cute prices...for paper! And I've noticed they've slowly gone away. There's only a few left, the rest, well, you'll have to shop at the big box stores to get what you need. I can say this 'cause I still like to scrapbook, I just enjoy the portability of knitting more.

I do really hope that LYSs aren't closing because of fickle crafters. Altho' if you want to quote me, I think that the next 'craze' will be sewing--haven't you seen the trend? why knit fabric when it's already available and all you have to do is to construct the garment. How many knitters sew, or are learning to sew? They've gone to the dark side...

Or maybe glass fusing will be the next 'in' craft. Or stained glass. I'm just hoping that bleach bottle animals, folded readers digest dolls, and such do not make a comeback. Macrame would be cool 'tho.

Peace

I've been knitting! and even a FO

I checked out One Skein from the local library with the idea to make the baby bolero. Very cute. And only one skein! Of course I'd already had the Bernat Cottontots in strawberry (2 skeins). But upon reading the pattern, realized it took a lot of seaming and you all know I hate to sew together when I can raglan...

Anyway, I was faithful to the pattern and got about a third done (okay, don't be too impressed, it's not that big of a sweater) and realized that I really really don't want to sew up the sleeves. Ripped it out (no tinking there) and started over and made a top-down raglan sorta bolero cardigan. I printed out the various 5 hour baby sweater patterns to look at their neckline count, then I just started knitting. Yes, go ahead, you can say it...'and it looks like it too'.

A raglan cardi was born. I liked the islet motif on the back of the sweater and was too lazy to get a stitch pattern book so again I winged it. I knit it sort of to the specifications of the baby bolero sweater and tried it on the live model (baby o'mine) and stopped knitting when I thought it was done. I picked up stitches all the way around for the ribbed edging. The only thing I wished I'd done (again, that pesky laziness thing) was I should have casted onto waste yarn so that the neck edging would have looked better. Oh, well. This took very little time and I recommend it for anyone w/ a baby (or needed to make something for a baby). I figure I can whip out more of these as the mood strikes me so that she could have coordinated sweaters...yeah right.


Here's a picture of the sweater as being worn by the model.

Happy 4th

We did the Independence Day thing:

parade -- check
barbeque -- check
fireworks -- check.

Yep, that was the day.

The parade was fun. It's always fun to attend a parade where you spot folks you know, and in fact, if the feeling took you, you too could have joined the parade. There were clowns (scared Z), there were electric cars, there were horses and riders and horse poop, there were political floats, there were nonpolitical floats, there were a lot of local businesses' floats, and there were floats where to the best of our knowledge, they were just folks that wanted to walk the parade route. You know, our local parade is the longest in the state of California, and it's the 2nd longest in US (according to local info). Anyway, we ate bagel, croissant, and muffin (and milk for the baby) and watched for awhile. Then we went home to ready ourselves for barbeque/birthday party for one year old.

The Q was great, yummy chicken sandwiches w/ veggies, fruit salad, tater salad, and chips (we were requested to bring said chips from Chevy's -- didn't know that you can buy chips, but okay).

Then it was off to San Ramon for the fireworks -- very nice. What was scary was that on the way home, we kept seeing additional fireworks along the freeway, and it wasn't the sanctioned ones...quite scary. I don't know if that's something NoCal, but I've not seen this type of blatant unsanctioned display of fireworks ever. What's w/ that?! Don't folks realize that fires can occur? that your house can burn down?! sheesh! Of course the frightening thing was seeing on the news today about how people were throwing (yes throwing) lit fireworks at cars driving by! Had we gotten off the freeway, we would have been on the road the reporter was talking about. Double sheesh!

Anyway, Happy 4th and I do hope everyone had a great time.

As for knitting, I've swatched and started Picovoli with much neckline alterations. I hope it turns out...

I knitted something!

Amazingly, I actually knitted something. What is that something? Well, it's a dishcloth for the husband. Made from cotton (Sugar'n Cream Natural) using Grandma's favorite dishcloth pattern. Ya'll know that one, k2, YO, k, YO, k2. Makes a diagonal square. In fact, I received a beautiful baby blanket using that pattern.

About this dishcloth: I've made him a couple already. The first one he thought was too closely knit and turned out too bulky to use on some items(I used #7 on SnC yarn). So, I've been using #9 or #10 needles and knitting loosely.

Well, last week, I ran the garbage disposal and it didn't run. I thought it was kaput. He investigated and found that the old dishcloth was jamming the mechanism and was a gonner (the dishcloth, not the disposal). I told him I'd make him another one and while he was away this weekend on the annual rafting trip, and while the children were sleeping, I actually whipped the dishcloth out.

As for the rafting trip, he's been going since he was in highschool, and when I met him, I got to go too. Since A wasn't due until May 23, we had thought a month post-partum w/ c-section was not consistent with rafting. And by the time A was born, well, the rafting trip was already all set up. Maybe next year.

Knitting while Bjorning/Slinging

So, I have another one of those children. You know, the ones that seem like they're easy babies? Sleeps through most of the night, sleeps in the car seat, cries for a reason like hunger or poopie diaper... or in this case, if the baby is set down during the day. What this means is that both my children have been carried around alot while they're babies. I had forgotten that I carried z all the time. I'd also forgotten that we had figured out that apparently, by definition, what we do is called attachment parenting. This means that feeding's on the baby's schedule, sleeping is co-sleeping and very big on the family bed(we try not to do that, but we definitely find children in our bed in the mornings), and the baby's carried whenever the baby wants. And attachment parented babies are usually 'worn' by the parent, usually involving some cloth contraption that straps the child to the parent. I myself own 3 slings, a baby bjorn, and 2 back packs.

The bjorn works well for computer surfing. However, I'm having a heck of a time trying to knit like this. Not that knitting is the most ergonomically task around, but to have to stretch your arms around a baby strapped to your chest is not a good thing. Slings work a tad better for knitting. The baby's a little ball off to the side and you can get stuff done.

Altho' my other alternative is to pop her into her car seat. That also seems to work fairly well. But only sometimes and not for too long.

What am I working on? why I'm working on projects that got interrupted when I went into the hospital. I did manage to knit a bit while on bed rest before, but I had to take a break from just keeping my fingers busy and instead, engaged my brain and did alot of reading.

So, while folks suggest that you should sleep when the baby sleeps, this mom will be trying to knit instead.

Time passing and zero knitting and other ramblings

Can't believe that it's been so long since I've posted. As the title says, I've done nada, zero, zippo knitting. But I have been reading knitting blogs, does that count?

It never fails to amaze me all the folks who knit and blog. How do they have time to knit amazingly beautiful garments on super small needles and tricky yarn in a few days (really, I exaggerate not). And they turn out beautiful? The sweaters, the gloves, the tops and even skirts...what's with that? skirt that's hand-knitted? AND then to take pictures, shrink down to size, then post and write about said garments -- and even write up the pattern, in multiple sizes?!

What's even more amazing are all the multi-tasking multi-talented knitters that also sew. The last time I sewed a garment, I was in maybe 6th grade and I sewed literally a burlap sack dress and ruined my grandmother's sewing machine. It was a rectangle with arm holes cut out. My mother didn't help me 'cause she thought I said a dress for a doll, not one that fit me...so I winged it. Anyway, it looked pretty bad.

Oh, and there was the time I was going to sew a dress for myself (having blocked out previous traumatic experience) and didn't realize things like bias cut or super stretchy material or that maybe stripes would not be the easiest pattern to match up for a dress. Again, a disaster. I think maybe the material and the pattern may still be at my mom's house ( 25 yrs later). Naw, mom's most likely thrown it out already.

Speaking of throwing things out, we've got a big project coming up and our basement is full of stuff. That whole thing about Nature abhors a vacuum? Well, apparently so does my basement and shed. They're full of stuff. What's even worse is that we've got tons of empty boxes. I guess the thought was that when we were done with 'it', it could go back in it's original box, but when really, would you put a 8 year old microwave oven back in it's original box? Or the barbeque? or 20" TV? Really, these are some of the empty boxes at our house. To make matters worse, they've been stacked on top of each other, not nested, nope, on top of each other. Maybe it's because both z's dad and I (note to self, now it's z&a's dad) lived for so long in apartments and gee, you never know when you're going to move again and need to put things back in the boxes...NOT. Since our goal is not to move for a very very long time, I think that the appliances will break before we actually need to rebox them to move.

So, this weekend, I donned some gloves (in case of spiders and other crawlies) and did some excavating. I found a bottle of unopened sparkling water from 1998 along with candy and popcorn from that same era. I know it was from that year because it was in a box from 3 jobs ago. I found my college transcript (shudder)...I'm not sure how I got into grad school with those grades. In fact, had I read the requirements more carefully for graduate schools, I probably wouldn't have bothered to apply (apparently, I didn't meet grade requirements). It was a good thing I tested really well on the GREs.

So, what made it out to the trash? Nothing yet. I did manage to get my Alumni sticker out and put that on the car. And I took the pictures. The transcript was too horrid and I put it back in the box to await rediscovery in another 10 years.

Thanks for the good wishes

I'd like to thank all the folks at the SnB for the good wishes. I was able to stop by w/ A not this last Monday (being Memorial Day and all) but the Monday before that to say hello to the ladies that were there. And she totally behaved herself. Okay, she slept the whole time and didn't poop or cry.

Stopping by reminded me that I should pick up my knitting again. But w/ the warmish weather I'm not feeling like picking up wooly yarn. I may have to finish secret project (not out of wool) or start a cotton project.

Well, now that the big ginormous belly is no more, I should think about knitting something for self. When I was pregnant, I didn't want to knit a maternity sweater because I wouldn't wear it that long. In hindsight, I wouldn't have worn it since I was in the hospital for a month plus. Add to that A was 3 weeks early (with that original threat of being 11 weeks early). Not to mention that after I found out I had placenta previa, I wouldn't have wanted to get blood on it. But my original reason for not knitting a maternity sweater back when I first found out was that I simply didn't want to invest that much yarn and time to making a big giant pumpkin sweater (like the Perry Ellis Bubble sweater -- oh, my goodness!), 'specially since there are actually some pretty cute maternity clothes out there ( gotta love GAP and Old Navy). Well, that was before I saw what else was out there. There are 2 patterns that are pretty ingenious. There's the 'Before and After' sweater from Canadian Living that consists of a cardigan and a triangular panel that you can take off post-baby. That would have been okay. And there's the other sweater from Summer 2006, Interweave magazine. Now that is cute. Had I seen that sweater, it would have been done. It's a ribbed pull-over with buttons on the side for expansion. How cool is that?!

Anyway, I'll work on project secret while thinking about what cottony goodness to knit up.

btw-- too lazy to post pics of the sweater, y'all just google it, okay?

Knitting content!

Well, actually, it's not MY knitting content...rather, we received beautiful knitted items.

From the NICU, A received a cute little pink and white striped hat (see below). And from K, who I taught how to knit last Thanksgiving -- okay, she had the SnB book, and just needed a little bit of help with knitting. Anyway, she gave A a couple of darling hats. Talk about a learning curve for knitting. They turned out wonderfully.
My neighbors across the street, J and R, have been lifesavers through this pregnancy. When I had to go to the hospital (I forget if it was the 2nd or 3rd or 5th time), they actually babysat Z and totally entertained him for the afternoon. And if you have a 3 yr old, you'll know that these are wonderful neighbors...
So, J came over yesterday to drop off a baby present of a cute outfit (no pics) and to my surprise...this totally soft baby blanket. Ya'll recognize the pattern as the dishcloth pattern. What's great is that this would have been the other pattern I would have chosen if I were knitting a baby blanket (I'm still partial to the circular blanket).

This was made from Big Sky cotton in a very pretty pinkish mauvy color.
Of course I was trying to nurse right then, so J didn't get a chance to see the baby. Will have to make effort to go across street to show A off.

Introducing (albeit a bit late)

Amy E.

Born May 1, 2006
10:58 AM
6 lbs. 12 oz. 20 inches

*Will include more info later...

How was TKGA?

I'm so envious of all that were able to attend TKGA last week. I had it marked on my calendar...and even when I found out that I was going to be bedrested and likely not be able to attend, I was still hoping that hey, maybe I'll be able to go and look around for 30 minutes on Sunday(that's the length of time I can 'exercise' per day).

Well, gee, guess what? yep, that darn Placenta Previa...I had to go back to the hospital again and had a couple of nights stay. So, no fondling of pretty yarns, no great yarns to pick up (sigh). Instead, I got to read a really pulpy badly written romance novel (think Harlequin but longer and more trashy). Hey, it did pass the time since I didn't get a chance to bring my knitting.

Oh, what else? no baby yet. She's not done at 36weeks (according to the amnio), even with the Betasone shots. Maybe next week. Or the week after. I guess the good news is that I didn't have to stay in the hospital for the duration. How sucky would that be?!

Oh, I'm trying to figure out a pattern for the pink baby blanket. I was going to do a sampler blanket (ala TV show this morning on Knitty Gritty), but I don't want to sew it all together (lame or what?). Then I was thinking maybe I'll do several 'scarves' that look like sampler squares that I then need to sew together, but again, can I do that and not have skinny and thick squares?

My other alternative is to knit a round blanket...hmmm...

Happy Easter (early)!

Another TV rant - cooking

I was catching up on the 'Top Chef' on Bravo and the chefs on the show sort of irked me. The show is based in SF, a destination for good foods, 4 star restaurants, and amazing ethnic foods and super fresh produce, yet they can't seem to wrap their brains around the fact that maybe their 'clientele' ( folks in the Bay Area) actually enjoy good food and have discerning palates.

I mean, it's annoying that the chefs on the show felt they needed to dumb-down to the kids when they had a challenge to feed children. Really, z's favorite foods are chicken tikki masala, char sui bao, and sui mai, and sushi (yes, even the raw type), and he's 3 yrs old.

And on another segment, they fed the Jr. League of Oakland and one chef in particular was just a boor. Please...tamales from Oaxaca, etc. East Bay has Gourmet Ghetto, Fremont Asian, International Avenue Latino, and Berkeley Bowl (where the chefs shop at), and they think that folks 'don't get' good food?!

And don't even get me started on their fusion Latin-something else street food...

However, this show is better than the show on Food Channel, where they are looking for a TV personality that maybe can cook. Again, maybe it's me, but don't you think you should know how to fillet a fish if you're going to become a TV chef? And julliene is not that novel of a term, is it? If you watched the TV cooking shows, you'd pick up that term. I guess that goes to show you that you don't have to actually know how to cook in order to host your own TV cooking show.

TV knitting siting!

I was watching the chick-centric 'Grey's Anatomy' and there was Mer and Izzie knitting 'cause they took vows of celebacy. Well, Izzie knitting a sweater in one day, AND being able to wear it for 3 hours before handing it over to Denny was pretty darn TV-fantasy (okay, maybe I'm just jealous that someone could finish off a sweater in a day...but still!) Well, maybe it was because she had Addi Turbos to work with... Can that be done? a man's sized sweater completed in one day?

As for Meredith, man, she's not very good at knitting (on the show, anyway). That was no sweater she was knitting. It was a really long wide scarf...but the yarn did look interesting.

My final comment is what is wrong with knitting in a bar? Okay, maybe you shouldn't be knitting at the bar itself, but I see nothing wrong w/ sitting at a table knitting, but hey, that's just me.

And yes, these are just characters on TV, but still...what if nonknitters now want sweaters in a hurry?

Hat Trick

Sorry, this isn't a post about how to knit a purty warm hat...but rather, another post about my 'complications'.

Apparently, 'hat trick' is a sports term that initiated from cricket. Yeah, it's some sports analogy that z's dad used alot this week, 'cause I took another ambulance ride to the hospital. Three's a charm, right? Well, good news is that I only had to stay until Saturday.

What was sad/funny was that the 911 operator recognized z's dad's voice when he called. Furthermore, I got to chat w/ the friendly paramedic, Josh, some more about his wife and kid and the fact that I wanted to make sure I had a 18 gauge IV put in, while enroute to the hospital. This time, we were smart and I was hanging out in our hallway to facilitate getting me into the ambulance. And they were smart because they first put me on a tarp before strapping me into the gurney. (I have a feeling that they had a huge clean up on their brand new gurney last time--the nurses had commented on that).

Anyway, while there, I managed to finish off the other sleeve of Bpt cardi and tried it on. It's a tad wide at the armpit area, but we'll see. I just have to do the hood and finish off the bottom as well as the trim on the sleeves. I wonder if I can block the sweater before I finish it off to make sure that I don't have gorilla sleeves...

More Bpt

I'm a little scared...I'm working on the 2nd sleeve already. I'm trying to figure out how long the cardi should be so I put it on waste yarn and worked sleeves instead. I'm also trying to figure out how much waist shaping to do since well, I's sans waist right now...

On a happy note, I'm doing the sleeves using magic loop and it's working much faster than the body part. I'm being lazy so I'll take a picture of it later.

Bpt progress

I'm working on Bpt from Knitty using the red Sisik yarn I purchased from WEBS at Stitches West. Here's the specs from WEBS:

DALE OF NORWAY
SISIK
Sisik is a beautiful wool/mohair blend with a terrific color palette. Each color is complimented by coordinating flecks of color that result in a lovely tweed look to finished garments. Sisik is very soft to the touch and a joy to knit with!

Content	30% wool/30% mohair/34% acrylic/6% viscose
Weight/Yardage:	50gm/148 yards/ball
Gauge:	5 sts = 1” on #7 needles
Knitting Weight:	Worsted

I really like the feel of the yarn and so what if it's somewhat acrylic. I got gauge using #6 Addi Turbos (yeah, I'm a loose knitter). The only thing I didn't like about this yarn is that the "coordinating flecks of color that result in a lovely tweed look" ends up flaking off the yarn and gets on your clothes and nearby surroundings.

As far as this pattern:
I initially had issues with where the increases were supposed to be and actually had to draw out a schematic to figure it out. Of course 9 inches into the sweater, I realized that altho' I got the stitch gauge, I missed on the row gauge (mine was 26row/4 inch vs. their 24row/4in). I asked the smart folks from my knitting group and was able to wrap my brain around how to fix it. However, I tried the thing on, and it fit fairly well, so I decided not to mess w/ the pattern (it would just spiral to no good, I'm sure).

Of course, when I went to join the cables, I realized I made a fundamental error, I had switched all but the back cables, such that my cables were all in reverse pattern. Oh, well. I'm just going to leave it and I doubt anyone will care. I'll have to take a picture of it for next time since my camera battery is charging as we speak.

One final note: this sweater is knitting up very quickly. I may even start thinking about z's dad's sweater again...

See Saw See Saw

Here's a post I meant to upload before I went to the hospital the first time...

I finally frogged my first real attempt at socks because I think socks were too loose and I just plain didn't like them. But I wanted to use the yarn to make a pair of toe up socks on one circular needle, so I wanted to split my yarn into two even skiens. How do I do this without a scale? Well, if you were me, you'd get creative with your 3 year old's toy.

z got this last year and it's a toy where you balance the animals on the two sides of the see saw. (And yes, it's more difficult than you think--but z can do it). It's an exercise in symmetry (which may not be what a then-two-year-old thinks of). Anyway, he got this toy, took off all the animals and just played with the base, saying "see saw see saw see saw see saw". (and yes, it was a little annoying, but also pretty cute)


Anyway, as I was trying to figure out the best way for me to determine approximately how much yarn was in each skein, I thought I'd use his toy as a balance. Yes. I realize that since the two skeins do not have the exact same shape, this is truly an approximate. But it's good enough for me.

Two socks on single circular needle

As promised, here are the finished socks:
As I said, these socks were made by using a single 40inch circular #1 Addi Turbo and following the general directions from this site. I followed the link on that page to learn the fancy schmancy crazy figure eight cast on (very unweldy to do the first couple of rounds). After some rows, I put them on the Addi and started knitting. Once I finished the heels, I decided to do a 3X2 rib. I wanted to do something more fancy, but I didn't have any knitting books with me at the hospital.
(note to self: moisturize)

(I think most of the nurses thought I was knitting something for the baby and were surprised when I wore them when I was done,)

Specs:
yarn - Lion Brand Magic Stripes (Bright Spring pattern) a little less than 1 skein
pattern - simple toe up from site
amt of time to finish - less than a week

here's a pic of the socks in progress (or more rather, almost complete)
I highly recommend using this technique if you're like me and really hate counting and recounting rows so that you don't get uneven socks.

I did even start the socks at the same point in the yarn to ensure that the socks match. However, when turning the heel, I must have messed up a little because the designs became out of sync and one sock pattern is a quarter stripe different than the other (the good thing is that you really can't tell).

Priceless...

Sorry for not blogging lately, things have been uhmmm...eventful.

2 calls to 911
3 ambulance rides*
~2 weeks total in the hospital
4 significant bleeds
2 days of fasting in case of 'emergency surgery'
too many to count hospital cafeteria 'gd' meals plus snacks
6 IV lines 'just in case'
2 painful shots of Betamethasone
1 diagnosis of complete placenta previa
1 pair of toe-up on one circular needles socks

ZERO 29/30 week baby...Priceless!



But, did ya notice? I finished my socks! I'll have to take a picture of the completed socks in a little bit.

Complete placenta previa--yeah, at 10 weeks, when I got my CVS, they mentioned that my placenta was there, but hey, it'll move. At 18 weeks, when I got my main ultrasound, again, they noted the position of the placenta, but hey, it's only 18 weeks and the placenta will move... well, apparently, it didn't move.

As for the bleeding, it wasn't painful or anything, there just were very impressive amounts of it. So much that they had to put additional IVs in to make sure that I would get lots o' blood if I needed a transfusion. It's a little freaky to bleed like that and have no pain (while blood is literally running down the legs). z's dad likened it to a CSI crime scene.

As for the hospital, the nurses were kind and very helpful. The TV sucked (no cable). And the food? blech. And you'd think that a large hospital would figure out a diabetic diet w/o any problems...but no. I had sugar spikes because they accidently gave me regular food . And there were times when the nurses scrounged food for me because the dietician so limited my carbohydrates that they didn't give me enough calories to eat.

Anyway, the good news is that every day the baby is on the inside means that she'll be healthier and have to spend less time in the NICU. We're shooting for 36 weeks, would be happy at 34 weeks and would settle for 32 weeks (I'm at 30weeks 5 days).


*the first time we called 911, the ambulance took us to the local hospital w/o any OB care and had to call for another ambulance to take me to my hospital.

Ribbon Clapotis

I had gotten the Moda Dea ribbon for a ribbon Clapotis. This is what I worked on during the Winter Olympics and I managed to finish it during the closing ceremonies. Here it is:

Specs:
Clapotis pattern from Knitty
Moda Dea Ticker Tape - 7 plus a little more skeins
Size 13 needles
~21 inches before drops

The only thing is...I'm not sure I like it. It was very heavy feeling before I dropped the stitches, and although it feels pretty airy now, I don't know. Maybe when the weather is less crummy here in the Bay Area, I'll take it out for a test run.

If it turns out I'm not fond of it, I can always frog it and use it for some type of sweater (I think I have enough ribbon).

Finally Stitches West Yarn pics

It's taken me awhile to actually take pics of my pretty yarn. As I mentioned, I had to try the Socks that Rock yarn. The picture doesn't do it justice, but oh, well. It's a very beautiful dark green grey.

And here's the two large yarn purchases for sweaters. I'm thinking cardigans both since that's what I tend to wear. Maybe the knitty hooded cardi (Bpt) for one and the other? Probably another cardigan from Knitty. I'm having difficulties thinking about pullovers since I have a big belly and don't want to knit a sweater that I won't be able to try on for months.




Finally, here's the Noro I got for possibly a small felted bag.

We have SOCKS!

Well, I finished them. And here they are. Pretty basic pattern from the net (I don't even remember which one). All I know is that they were easy peasy. The only problems I had was trying to turn the heel (not knowing whether it was half of the stitches turned, or the specific number-- see previous post).

Next time, I'm going to try the 2 socks at once thing. I was a-surfing and found this little gem -- The Boy Who Knits. In his most recent entry, he speaks of doing the Jaywalker socks from Grumperina ala magic loop two socks at once! I'm going to attempt this too. If he didn't have detailed instructions, I would have done them as written from Grumperina, but you know what I figured out the one thing I really do not like about knitting socks is counting the rows to make sure the socks actually matched. I figured that I probably counted the same darned rows of the second sock at least10 times...(but then again, mayhaps I have a smidgeon of OCD)

Potato Puffs....mmm....

I had a doctor's appt. today on Piedmont and went to check out the new Gregoire. It's an upscale takeout place right next to AG Ferrari. I had been reading about this place for awhile, but I didn't feel like dealing with the hassle of Shattuck parking, but when I heard a new store opened on Piedmont, I was SO there...

Walked in to what looked like a huge line, but in fact, folks were just waiting for their food. I ordered these potato puffs, not knowing what they were, only that everyone raves about them. I watched the cook/chef making them. Basically a little scooper of something going into the deep fryer. I had thought that maybe they're little baked puffs (ala creme puff) or that they were deep fried like binets or doughnuts. But what I got were light fried mashed potato balls with a really yummy sauce. I refrained from eating all of them and brought some home for z's dad to try. They are really good.

So, their menu changes every month and I've heard that their blue cheese burgers are absolutely to die for...I'll be checking to see if they have those in March.

Oh, knitting content. I went to check out Article Pract for #2 or #1 Addis for my next pair of socks, only to realize that today is Monday, and they're not open on Mondays (that would be Skein Lane that's open). Of course my next doctor's appointment is also on a Monday, so I'll have to make a special trip to Article Pract for the needles. Yes, I could have should have bought the needles at Stitches West, but I had a budget, darn it!

Walk-on Olympics

I'm totally not like this kid -- first, I'm not autistic, not in highschool, nor did I shoot 6 three pointers and another shot during a game...however, I did manage to finish a whole project (non-dishcloth) during the Olympics allotted time.

Of course, I didn't sign up for the competition or anything. I wasn't doing the Knitting Olympics 'cause I wasn't sure I'd finish anything in that amount of time. But, I managed to get some ribbon yarn (Moda Dea Ticker tape) and casted on for a clapotis some time after the opening ceremonies. Maybe I can be Emily Hughes, kinda like a walk-on for the Olympics.

So, amidst the Closing ceremonies last night, I realized I was 13 stitches from finishing the clapotis, and w/ much super fast knitting (as fast as I can, anyway), I casted off the last stitch...

I'd show you a pic, but z's dad has the camera in his car and he just left...

Stitches West (and I'm now South)

After trying to find folks that would like to carpool (or even a ride), I ended up going by my lonesome. Not bad tho'...no enablers to tell me...'really, that's a great yarn...just buy it'

I got down there pretty quickly and started shopping. Note to self: buy tix ahead of time to increase time at Marketplace.

What did I get? yarn and more yarn. You don't get to see them because I'm w/o them right now (maybe later). I got yarn for a green sweater and one for a read sweater (don't know which pattern yet, but I think possibly one that I saw on Knitty. A little Noro too. I also got a skein of Socks that Rock yarn (med weight). They were out of the light weight except for yarn of Cal colors -- and I decided that z's dad may not appreciate handmade socks yet, and there really is no way in heck he would wear socks that weren't white or black anyway. Also, if I'm knitting socks, folks better be able to see them, so they'll be worn by self w/ burks. Yes. I'm going to make myself another pair of socks (after I'm done w/ the first pair, anyway). I also got very cool yarn for a present--1400yds of loveliness. Actually, as soon as I got home, I wound that up to 3 skeins (w/o cutting them, so there's some twist to it now) and am working on the project while down south.

I did see some very cool shawl pins at Stitches West. But, you know, I can do that myself -- when I get around to taking another glass fusing class...

Oh, what else...oh, it took z and I less than 6hrs. to Magic Mountain and then we hit LA traffic and sat on the 405 for a good long time. We made it to destination at 4:30pm. I really recommend leaving on the earlier side on a weekend.

While I'm down here, I'll work on socks, secret project, and another clapotis (this time using 13's and ribbon yarn).

While down here, I was originally thinking about going to the Yarn Lady's store in Laguna Hills, but after seeing their stuff at Stitches West, I've sorta lost interest...their stuff at Stitches did not dazzle (but I may have just been overwhelmed w/ the cashmere and luxury yarns of some of the other vendors). I will try to head to the HB LYS tho'. Last time I was there, I got some neat 100% wool yarn there.

May post more from behind the Orange Curtain--you know, Reagan Country, and now more familiarly known as 'The O.C.'

Artfiber in SF

All I can say is 'very cool'. That and everyone should go to Artfibers in the City. It was too easy to get to. BART to Montgomery and then it's on Sutter Street. I was surprised at the size of the store. It was much smaller than I expected, but man, it was packed w/ amazing yarn goodness.

You may be asking what I got there...I was good -- nada. I ran out of time browsing around (since I had to meet friends for lunch). I had all intentions of stopping by after lunch and picking up some lovely yarn, but after lunch, I headed over to Old Navy instead. Never managed to come back that way. It's all good, tho. I can now go to Stitches West without guilt (or too much guilt).

Stitches West...

I really want to go to Stitches. My goodness, folks are coming down from Oregon and up from SoCal...sheesh...the least I can do is to go check it out since it's not really that far (and no bridges).

We've got a huge amount of stuff scheduled this week, culminating in z and I going down south to SoCal to visit the newest nephew (born in November). z's dad can be the single guy (woo hoo!). We were originally planning to go down Sunday (Stitches on Sat) so that we can do a weekend down there, but it's looking like we'll be back on Friday...so...Friday to Stitches it is.

But it looks like no one is interested in going on Friday...so, it looks like I'll be solo. Of course, this also means that I won't have an enabler w/ me, telling me what great yarns those are and how I can't get it anywhere else...

Wish me luck! And I am going to really try to limit my yarn purchases to stuff I'll use. I have been super duper good. I have not bought any yarn since October/November. I've been trying to bust the stash.

Uhmmm...of course, I'm having lunch w/ a friend today in the City, and realized that Artfibers is literally around the corner from her building....I will go and see what all the hoobaloo is about.

Even sock pics!

Here's my first sock! (and then some). As I said, the sock yarn is from ??? and I used a very simple pattern. I think that the toe part is wonky but once you put it on, no probs. I just need to find out how to sew the ends in w/o bothering me...

At last.... (no really, can I have a drumroll?...)

Here's my pics. errr...finally. Prefelted


Wait...they magically turned brown in the felting process...just kidding. If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that the blue pair didn't shrink down to quite what I was hoping for.


Specs:
-for the Blue pair: Galway medium woman's clogs
-for the Brown pair: Patons brown/black small woman's clogs

Walking around Alameda

I was reading the local paper and there's a story about this guy

How cool. To walk every street on the Island. Altho' the geek in me is thinking what is the optimal path to not double back on routes...

The other thing I was reading about was knitting while using a treadmill (on knitlist)...I really don't think I can knit and treadmill-- I barely can knit while watching TV or while reading. And definitely not while exerting myself --wouldn't the yarn get nasty? Anyway, there was a slight flickering of a nanosecond where I thought, hey, knit and walk theIsland? Naw. Part of the niceness about walking around Alameda is looking at the yards and buildings and such.

So, I'll stick to reading on the Orbital machine and knitting with the TV on...

I may be lame about blogging, but hey, I'm working on...

socks! Okay, I'm working on the first sock. (And it's not the same sock I worked on previously). This time, I'm using #2's w/ a neat blue sock yarn. I have no idea what type of yarn it is, it's part of the stash I got at the garage sale last summer. Anyway, I knitted following directions from the web -- it was some simple standard sock protocol. However, there are little bits of critical (to me) information that was omitted. For example, how many stitches to knit for the heel. Now, when comparing to another simple sock pattern that was downloaded, it appeared that half of the stitches goes for the heel, and that's what I did. 60st start results in 30st for heel, right? After I was done w/ this part, I read the next section (turning the heel) and thought wait, how come for both socks (the other used 56st), they start by knitting 18 stitches. Oh, crap. Did I screw up? Well, I ripped the 30 rows out and knitted 28 stitches for 30 rows.

Okay, note to self: please read all of the directions to a pattern/protocol before freaking out. Well, ends up the next section clearly states to knit the 30 stitches -- oh, doublecrap. Ripped again and well, that's where I'm at.

How sad is that?!

Waiting til she's 18

I told a couple more of the folks last night that I'm pregnant and when they asked when I'm due, I think they were a little surprised when I said end of May...that would be 4 months from now. Why didn't I reveal sooner? well...

Since 2002, I've had (count them) 4 pregnancy losses. One before z, and 3 after. When you actually add up the number of months I was pregnant (with morning sickness), I should have ended up w/ a baby, darn it! (hey, I got gipped!) Anyway, I read about Stitchy's losses last year and 'tho I was too chicken to comment on her blog, I did spend some time reflecting on the fertility issue. And then she commented again early this year about the expected due date...I did that too (the due date thing), but I have tried not to look too much into the future...just in case.

I mean really. You spend your life thinking that everything works fine and with the advancement of modern science, there'll be no problem having children a bit later in life (you know, after you find that perfect person, after you have some time with that person, after you get your career going...). Hey, all your friends are having babies, right? There's lots of babies everywhere. But only to find out that for whatever mysterious reasons, you find that you can't get pregnant or stay pregnant past the first trimester. What's with that?!

Anyway, I didn't tell because folks are so happy when you tell them you're expecting, but if something happens, well, you've got to remember all the people you told and remember to let them know that you've lost the pregnancy ('cause you don't want them to make an awkward comment several months down the line). With z, we waited until 16 weeks to tell most of the family members!

I am super lucky 'tho. After a 30 plus hrs of labor that resulted from a failed induced labor (labor ended when the pitosin was removed) followed by an emergency c-section, I got the most wonderful son--who continues to amaze and challenge and (yes) sometimes frustrate me.

And we have (hopefully) a baby girl in May. See! I'm still cautious. I still worry about all the things that may go wrong in the pregnancy. Did I mention I've got gestational diabetes again? And this time, they tested me super early, so I'm already on meds to try to knock the numbers down. And there's the scary statistics about still births, etc. w/ GD that I don't think about. No, really, I try not to think about it.

I guess I envy all the women who are oblivious to these issues, where she gets pregnant, and can do all those Hallmark moment things like surprise the husband with the positive test, or the to-be grandparents with a cheesy t-shirt proclaiming 'grandpa' or 'grandma', eat all the icecream she wants... Nope, we're secretive for months and months and when we announce, there's always a little bit of fear that we're jinxing it somehow. I mean, we haven't even started thinking about a name yet.

Oh yes, there are friends that we still haven't told...are we lame or what?!

I've been outted!

I was able to make it to SnB last night since z's dad drove the whole way back from the snow.

But yes, I was outted. Yes, I'm pregnant and we're expecting a girl near the end of May. I guess I'll have to start knitting for the new baby.

Body Dysmorphia or Holy Batwings!

I've had not one, but TWO major blows this week. And I blame the yarn, not the body...

1) the felted clogs -- felted very nicely, but they don't even come close to fitting my feet. True, I did knit a woman's size 8 (and I wear a 7), but they're way too big. They do fit z's dad tho', so not all is lost. How lame. I now have three choices: 1) Buy even more Galway yarn and knit the proper size 2) scrounge around my stash for yarn to make the darn things 3) another cycle.

2) z's dad's sweater--see above post about how the sweater is almost done? well, I was worried w/ the rapid decreases in the sleeves of the pattern and wanted him to try it on. I've had him try it on a couple of times and then I was using one of his sweaters to check sizing. Well, he tried it on and it was sad. No, really sad. My husband had bat wings! With the sleeve on, it was clear that the raglan was continued too too far and the arm holes were just way too big. A rookie move on my part was that I really didn't account for the additional 10 st cast on to connect the front and back on both sides.

You know, I'm thinking that I'm just going to rip the whole thing out, double the yarn, and make the husband a sweater w/ cables. There must be patterns out there...ugh...

However, I'm very glad I have such a wonderful husband who doesn't think I'm completely mad.

I'll post this now and see if I have the energy to actually upload the pics of these debaucles...

Happy Knitting Anniversary to Me (this weekend)

What a great turnout at the SnB. Gee, Julie's was packed with folks w/ yarn goodness. There were socks, scarfs, afghans, booties, sweaters, and I don't even know what else.

Me?! I'm still toiling on z's dad's sweater. But I see a glimmer of a light. I think I'm actually at the point of ribbing for the bottom. Altho' I still need to find out if that's the bottom he wants or a rolled bottom. Then it's off to the sleeves.

I'm hoping that this sweater gets done before or on our annual ski trip weekend coming up this Friday. We stay at a huge house w/ several other families and while some of the folks go off to ski, the rest of us hang out and relax. It was on this trip last year that I learned to knit from a great friend (and enabler), P. We even made a trip down to Truckee to the great yarn store Jimmy Bean.

Whether I finish his sweater or not, I think I should bring a couple of other projects to work on. Maybe I'll (gasp) try socks again. At least I'll bring the stuff for socks.

btw--I managed to find the camera so I'll have pics for you soon.

New Year projects

Well, I finished the clogs and got some advice on fulling them. (Sorry no pics yet, but they'll come when I get my act together and actually shrink these suckers).

My goal (end date to be determined) is to finish z's dad's sweater. I'm cruising -- uhmm...only 10 more inches of in the round knitting until I move onto the sleeves...

I had breakfast w/ some friends this weekend (on Jan 1) where they ate -- I didn't 'cause I had eaten earlier. And it was great. k who knits was wearing her very cool purple sweater. It looked warm and soft. Also, several of us had on scarves. How cool is that. Anyway, I think that after the sweater, I'm going to finish off my first cardi (it still needs buttons and I'm not too happy w/ the trim) and maybe I'll work on another sweater for self.

On the bummer note, z told me this morning that he wanted a blue sweater, but not the one that mommy made...I guess that may be it for awhile for me knitting for z, then.

Clogs, finally

I'm presently working on the felted clogs (for myself). I'm using Galway in blues. It's actually pretty easy once I wrote it out. I think that this is key. So, I had myself 2 skeins of dark blue and a skein of a lighter blue w/ speckles (I'll go look at the labels another day). I decided to make the women's size 8 for the following. I've used Galway yarns for felting before, and it seems to me that it felts at the last second AND shrinks much smaller. Plus, since I wear a 6-7, I thought, hey, why not. According to the pattern, I needed 600yds of yarn, 200 for top, 400 for bottom and trim. Well...as you may know, Galway skeins are 210yds/skein. Hey, 10 yds leeway, that's enough, right? Uhmmm, no.

The good thing is that this is a pretty easy and very fast knit. I knit one clog in one day and started on the other. That's where I ran into trouble...I ran out of yarn for the top! I'd bought this Galway at Skein Lane when they were having their ridiculously good sale. And it was 11pm when I ran out of yarn. I ended up ripping out row 35 down to row 32, and attached the dark blue as one strand. So now, there's a slightly different stripe at the end. I'm hoping it won't be too noticeable (and it's for me anyway...). I figure that if I run out of dark blue for the outer sole, hey, it's the darn bottom of the slipper, I'll deal and maybe get another skein (who cares if it doesn't completely match.)

I'll take a before and after felting pic when I finish the second clog.

Ofcourse z's asked for a pair in his size -- I'm not sure he'd actually wear it. I may make a pair for z's dad if he really likes mine. We'll see.

Again, I'd like to say that they are awefully easy to make and I'd recommend this pattern highly.

yeah, I didn't get coal

I've been bad. I've not been blogging. And worse yet, I can't even blame it on knitting...I only made one gift these past couple of months...a white scarf in feather and fan pattern. Yeah, not hard, and didn't take too long, but still...

and worse yet, I forgot to take a picture of it before I gifted it. Here's what I remember...the yarn was some white yarn (w/ angora maybe) and I used a size 9 needle (to get a more lacy look). I casted on 40 stitches and followed the pattern of 2 rows knit, 3rd row: knit 2, (k2tog)X3, (YO, k)X6, (k2tog)X6,(YO, k)X6, (k2tog)X3, k2. Row 4 knit (this is also the row I count to double-check that I didn't screw up the pattern).

It looked pretty darn good after blocking. And it was gifted to MIL. Hope she liked it.

Anyway, I didn't get coal for xmas...I got some very lovely presents.

Stupid cupcake!

Was set to go to SnB last night--really I was. I ate dinner early,and had gotten stuff together. We were getting set to go when z started saying his tummy hurt. I look over and he's spit on the hard wood floor (not looking good) in the living room. As I started to tell him (in super slo mo) 'noooooooo' he threw up. Poor little kid -- came out his nose too, and you all know how yucky that is. I told him to stay there and got paper towels to clean him and the mess up. After I clean him up, and in the process of cleaning up the floor, I ask him whether he's going to be sick again or not. There was a no -- right before the second vomit on the floor (this time in the dining room), followed by a third vomit, of course in a third location.

After all that, he said he felt better, but man, I wasn't going to risk taking him to SnB.

What does it have to do w/ cupcakes? Apparently, he had cupcakes at daycare yesterday afternoon 'cause it was a's birthday (he turned 2). Anyway, z seems to think that's what got him sick--and I'm inclined to agree...stupid cupcakes...

Rain and SnB

SnB was last night and saw several new folks. Always cool. I brought z so that z's dad could pick him up when he got into the island. We had to park relatively far away (around the block), but z had a grand time w/ his yellow slicker and g'loshes. We found big puddles that he could jump in --so I also got a bit wetter than I would have liked, but he really liked it. We got to Julie's Teas and ordered a hot chocolate. z really liked the hot chocolate. And when z's dad showed up, he also really liked the hot chocolate.

I remembered I promised to make my nephew a red DNA scarf and brought the yarn to work on that. However, cabling is not the best at SnB. After 6 rows of pattern, realized that I'm going to have to rip or tink it...ah well...

It was great seeing everyone. I think that SnB is the reason that I keep motivated to knit. I'm still trying to be good and not spend additional $$ on yarn. Instead, I'm trying to do some stash bashing...wish me luck!

Other uses for Kool Aid

Instead of Black Friday shopping, z and I made play dough using Kool Aid. I had packs of Kool Aid from fiber dyeing and figured hey, I don't have any food coloring (what kind of mom am I that I don't have food coloring?!) I'll make the dough w/ Kool Aid.

Here's the recipe:
Kool-Aid® Play Dough

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid
  
• 1/4 cup salt
  
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
  
• 1 cup water

Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar and Kool-Aid® in a medium pot. Add water and oil. Stir over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes. When mixture forms a ball in pot, remove. Knead until smooth. Put in a plastic bag and refrigerate.

I decided refrigeration is unnecessary. It turned out really well. We used Blueberry ('cause you know what z's fave color is) and followed directions.

All's I know is that I will likely never buy play dough again. This was way too easy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!

Happy Turkey Day! Hope all gets lots of knitting done, turkey cooked (and eaten) and football watched.

Berta and Hilda

While in SD last week, one of the places on my list of food to eat was Berta's in Old Town. Now, you may be wondering, why there? sure, they're in Frommer's (but do I read that? no), so why go to SoCal and eat South American food (instead of Mexican which SD has a ton of). Well, I wanted to go to Berta's because it's owned by Hilda's sister (Berta). Now, you may not be aware of Hilda, but Hilda owned a wonderful South American restaurant in Eugene, OR. This would be the restaurant that we would pick for 'fancy schmancy' dinners like for birthdays, or if a guest speaker was coming into town.

Well, on a foggy night, z's dad, myself and z drove to Berta's and all was looking like it was maybe going to be okay when z decided he's had enough of this vacation stuff and decided to be a pill and have a major meltdown. We barely got through dinner. I ordered paella venezuela (my long-time fave) and z's dad got a chicken dish. And z? he had tortillas and that was it. He melted down. Fortunately, the place had emptied out a little and so as soon as z's dad was done eating, they went out to the car. The food? I thoroughly enjoyed mine. z's dad thought the chicken was overcooked.

The sad part was when I was talking w/ the waitress (Berta's daughter), and I mentioned that I came here because I used to go to Hilda's, I found out that Hilda closed down her restaurant over 5 yrs ago! Did I mention that an alternative to going to SoCal was to go to Oregon--but w/ the yucky weather (rain and cold in November), we opted to go to SoCal. But that would be one of the only reasons that I'd want to go back to Eugene--to eat at Hilda's.

Very very sad. But at least I got to eat really good SoAm food. If you're ever down in Old Town, I highly recommend Berta's.

Back from birthday vacation

Gone for a week in beautiful SoCal on holiday. And boy was it warm down there. I always forget about Santa Anas, as well as the coastal fog in San Diego...anyway, I had great intentions of knitting while on the drive south, but nope, knitting never came out of the bag. When you've got a 2 3/4 year old, you sorta need all hands and eyes ready to make sure there's no dashing into parking lots, streets, etc.

So, bottom line is that my knitting took a vacation with me.

It's my Birthday!

Wow! Can't believe I'm this old. sigh.

I did already get the happy birthday song from both z's dad (last night) and z (this morning). I'm just amazed that z, at 2 2/3 years old, can and does sing the happy birthday song, and insert the right name (momma) in the song. Maybe it's me, but you kinda think about how you don't really have memories of when you were 2, yet you have the cognitive abilities to memorize a song, and sing it, and alter it (in tune, sort of). Blows my mind.

We get to go do fun stuff today and this week, so I'll blog later.

Oakland yarn shop and food

Took a little trip to Oakland yarn shop yesterday, hoping for some creative knitting mojo...well, the good news is that I didn't purchase any yarn, but you know, I just wasn't that inspired...but I did stop at my favorite bakery Bake Sale Betty and finally got their fried chicken sandwich. Ohmyfriggingoodness, it's pretty darn good. Highly recommend. And the folks there are just so nice. I've gotten their super delicious scones from the Alameda Farmer's market, but they weren't there this week. sadness.

So, while I was in the Temescal area, went down to check out their brick and mortar store. The sample I got (they're super wonderful about giving out samples) was their lemon bar. If I can make lemon bars like that...my oh my.

Anyway, I did break down and get a pair of Addis of the right length for z's dad sweater. I'm hoping that the sweater will now knit itself.

Can you believe it? a post!

Well, I'm not sure when I'm going to get out of this knitting funk. But just because I haven't been knitting doesn't mean that I haven't been reading about knitting. Naw, not like knitting mags or books or anything like that (see, that would be constructive--seeing purty new things I could be knitting), nope. I've been reading knitting blogs. You know, marveling at how folks can crank out sweater after sweater after sock after sock. You all know that I still have that half finished sock in my basket...as well as z's dad sweater and z's two sweaters...(sigh)

But I was surfing a non-knitting site (cynical-c) and came across knitted zombies on flicker! How cool is that! The person that has the collection of knitted dawn of the dead characters also knitted Mr. Zippy, the monkey seen on craftster.org. (which I love and am planning on making uh, soon as I get my knitting mojo back). You know that the internet world is getting much smaller. Kinda like 6 degree of separation of Kevin Bacon, but in the 'e world'.

Me, I'm still working on the sweater...

Candy Coma

We went trick or treating and gave out candy...z got some good loot. Yummy. We haven't stolen any candy from him yet, but we shall...

We also had lots of kids come and trick or treat. Two interesting experiences. One was our first treater who ended up being an elderly asian lady not in costume w/ a bag asking for candy. How weird is that. She wasn't w/ anyone else (as in she didn't come to the door for a kid or anything). And she wasn't dressed up...yes, I know the difference between someone dressing up as an old lady verses an old lady. She didn't speak English, but when I offered candy, she nodded her head. Well, I gave her candy and wished her Happy Halloween.

My theory is that she didn't buy any candy and was going around collecting candy to give out at her house...what do you think?

The other experience was that we had a group of ~8 kids at the door and z was giving out candy and wishing everyone Happy Halloween (once in a while, he'd slip and say 'Trick or Treat'). Anyway, for whatever reason, z didn't give the girl in front of him any candy, and would give candy to the people next to her. As more and more kids came up the side and got candy, she gave a huff and left without any candy. She looked about 10 or so...hmmm...maybe she didn't like the selection. Oh, well.

It was all great fun. We carved pumpkins and put candles in them. We have seeds soaking right now for roasting today.

Knitting? well, didn't get around to doing any at all since I didn't want chocolate on my yarn!