Sunday, December 17, 2006

what's new

LaLa turned 4 on Monday! She is big now. She got a two-wheeled bike, but due to the light situation and our crazy schedules, she only took it on it's maiden voyage today. She did pretty well, although it seemed like it was kind of exhausting for her and it freaked her out from time to time. Getting the hang of coaster brakes seems like the next big hurdle before we tackle balance. We went to Magic Kingdom yesterday with my sister and her family to celebrate (no party, although she did bring in cupcakes to school). This weekend splits the difference between her birthday and the monkey's. It was a fun time, but exhausting. We were all moving in slow motion today.

And now for the knitting report:

red scarf progress

The Red Scarf is coming along nicely. It's at about 36" and just finishing off one skein of yarn (out of two) so that is good. It's one of those patterns that pracically knits itself. It's the "Not Quite Straight" scarf from All Buttoned Up.

My sister tried on the Jaywalker sock and it was actually a little long! That did not offend her whatsoever and we're going to call it done. I need to wind up the second ball of yarn for car trip knitting.

Pink and Grey sock This picture is kind of a waste of bandwith, but it's the pink and grey sock, nearly ready for a toe. It's at the point where you have to be careful not to knit too far. Sort of high-maintenance for a stockinette sock and not so compatible with wearing sneakers while you work. Hopefully I'll get it wrapped up this week and be able to work on the second one on the trip.

cast on for green sweater We're going to pretend like this picture is artsy and not just under-lit. It's the beginnings of a sweater for DH. Look! The potential for car knitting! 196 stitches in a round, 2x2 rib. The needle was an heirloom one and the cable has been all twisted up for who knows how long. I would not be surprised to find out that either (a)I cast on the wrong number of stitches (b)I cast on the right number of stitches but my gauge is not what I thought it would be or (c)it's a moebius strip and I'll have to start it over again. I had to get my tire fixed today, woe is me, an hour and a half on a bench with no one tugging at me. ;^) DH offered to come get me so I could go grocery shopping and I declined. I was really just calling to let him know the time estimate. It really only took about 40 minutes - I think it goes faster when you're knitting in the lobby waiting.

We've got a road trip coming up. Could you tell? We're done with most of our holiday prep work, except for odds and ends like getting ready for the road trip -- winding yarn, getting some fresh books to read/projects to do (for the kids), food prep, etc. Plus we didn't get all of our weekend jobs done this weekend. Luckily, there are no meetings in the evening.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Unventing

Y'all see the new issue of Knitty? Lots of nice things in there. One that struck me was Monkey (and not just because of the name). I emailed myself a link to a scarf pattern in October, with the note "This is a scarf, but I think it would make a nice sock." This was the link I sent myself. The pattern really does look nice as a scarf and as a sock. Looks like someone did the work of figuring it out for me (and I really want to knit it. I think I can find the right yarn in my stash.)

I just barely got my mittens sent in. I think on Wednesday. Hopefully the UPS store guy didn't do the postal equivalent of spitting in my beer (this post sounds really grouchy so far, doesn't it? I'm really not sure why and I don't think I mean to come across that way. sorry.) [this is all for large padded envelope.] The first price he quoted me was $24 for guaranteed (confirmed?) 2 day delivery to Buffalo from the Orlando suburbs. But it was $6.50 for Priority Mail. What about first class? Thinking I didn't *really* need to have it be definitely there by the deadline. $2.25. Kind of amazing that I could send it via USPS-first class for 10% of the price. So, anyway, I'm hoping that I didn't push my luck with the UPS guy and the mittens are warming up the dead letter office.

I got the first jaywalker sock so that it might be ready to kitchner. Decided to leave it on the needles for a fitting. My sister (aka the recipient) is going to be in town next weekend and I figured we could assess the sock then.

Also finished the gusset and am on the stockinette home stretch of my pink and grey sock. It felt good to get the Jaywalker to that point and also to make some progress on something for me.

Two Socks

I ordered some yarn a while ago. I've gotten sucked in to the Red Scarf vortex. There have been a lot of very pretty FOs posted of late and I got all inspired and stuff. Here's what I've got so far.

Red Scarf The pattern is the "Not Quite Straight Scarf". The way the colors are turning out, reminds me of this wrapping paper we have. Wrapping Paper

LaLa turns 4 tomorrow. Hard to believe.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

U is for Under + FO's!

What you get when you combine


AND


?????

You get

And



Delightful drawings, hung UNDER the tables on display from the Artist in Residence.

She's also been using the edge of the kitchen table as a perfectly valid display area. For a while there was a sheet of paper that read "Breakfast" (sort of creatively arranged letters, but that's what she meant to spell) and then after that, the red outline one from above was on the edge of the table. #1 of 4 on the coffee table shot is my mom, me, and Amelia. My mom is the big one, I'm the pink one up high, and she's the little blue one (I think. I might have me and LaLa mixed up.)

Here are my recent finishes (all quick turn-around deadline knitting)

Striped Fuzzy Feet
Fuzzy Feet for my aunt (who is having surgery on the 7th). Cascade Pastaza in the stash. I had been toying with the idea of making a bag for myself with it, but I think this turned into the right tool for the right job. It took the better part of 2 skeins. I have a medium sized ball of orange and a smallish ball of pink left. The Fuzzy Feet pattern is really a nice one. This is my third pair. The heel turn in the pattern looks dodgy, but it works.

Green Mittens

These are just regular old mittens. Probably not quite big enough to fit the monkey (who's almost 13), but probably about right for a 5th grader. Instead of a swirly/circle decrease, I went with sock-toe decreases. They're cascade 220 superwash (the last of the green from Frederick's blanket), size 6 needles over 30 stitches (2x1 rib on the wrist. 15 rows of it).


Bad Thumb Concept
This was an afterthought thumb experiment. It seems like it matches up with the geometry of the hand, but (a) there's a line of holes in the decreases above the thumb and (b)I think I shouldh ave made the thumb smaller and (c)I didn't anticipate the side stitches when I picked up the live stitches. I think the YH's thrum along archives probably have some good afterthought thumb info.

Bright Orange Mittens
This leads me to this set of mittens. Do-over. The first needs a thumb and the second has about 10 rows left before the decreases and a thumb. I want to get them finished tonight so that I can send these and the green ones to Buffalo in the morning. Thankfully, I checked Rabbitch's blog and she mentioned the deadline. They're a Christmas present for my aunt and uncle.

That's the reason for the burusqueness of this post. :^)