Leapin’ Day!

Some leapin’ Leap Friday thoughts…

Yippee! (sorry about the dark pics... took these as soon as I finished last night around 9:15). The Entrelac Socks are finished. I have to admit, all the trouble with this project didn't stop me from loving the pattern. Most of the problems were between the knitter and the needles anyhow (like not reading the actual yardage on both the yarn label and pattern before starting to knit.. hee, hee)
“Cosmic Socks” Project Details:
Annetrelac Socks from Holiday Knits 2007 (Interweave)
Socks that Rock in Space Dust and Almost There by in Creatively Dyed in Lawless #103
Size 0 needles
Started Feb 5, 2008
Finished Feb 28, 2008

Thank goodness for extra time!
I think sometimes I’m just a big goofball. I was trying to hurry up and get my secret swap package in the mail since those socks practically finished themselves. Because I thought I was already at the deadline, I went online to double check the swap details and discovered that I have until the end of March to mail the box. Not that I need to wait that long or plan to mind you… it’s just that I was feeling bad because I didn’t get a chance to really shop around for something extra-special to tuck in with the socks and other little items I had already picked out. So it came as a big relief to find out that I have a little more time to do that.

Upcoming events!
Yesterday we got our notice that tickets are going on sale for the “stitch and pitch” game at Brewers stadium. DH already gave me permission to call and order tickets right away.

My Mailman is a disappointment.
I know I’m supposed to be getting a couple packages… but all he brought today was junk mail.

Empty knitting needles:

Now that the two sock projects for February are complete… I have empty needles. I have so many projects I want to start! Some goals for March (not necessarily in order):
Baby Sweater
Kitty Socks
Diagonal Delight Vest
Super-secret group knitting project contribution
Maybe 2 or 3 hats?

(Although, that could be too ambitious, March isn’t as long as February, you know.)

Finally, since winter doesn’t seem to plan on leaving for at least a week or two, I think I’ll go fix those Noro mittens while I think about which pattern I want to cast on first.

It’s Magic!

Round and round and round she goes,
All that’s left to knit is the toes…


I took on finishing these socks as a “fearless knitter” challenge. Due to my lack of faith in the quantity of yarn, I wanted to make sure that both socks had the exact same number of rows before the toes started. So, I plunged into doing two socks with “magic loop” to see if it would speed up the process any! Wow! The only previous experience I have had with the “magic loop” technique was a class at stitches and then I did the secret swap socks individually on magic loop, but not both at the same time. What a difference it makes to do them both at once. I can’t explain it, but it just seemed to go so much faster. Of course it helps that this was straight stockinette with just the gusset decreases for a few rows.

Now of course I would be remiss not to show you this…

That’s all the yarn that was left when I got to the last row before switching to the gold for the toes. Fearless knitting indeed!

The next sock frontier is toe up!

Plan “B” = Reverse progress

It’s official.

I had to resort to plan “B” for the Annetrelac socks. I pushed on with the original plan of doing the whole sock in the STR yarn; but alas after finishing one sock and 17 rows of the heel flap on the second…. It was extremely clear that there was no way there was going to be enough yarn to do even get through the gusset. So… to the frog pond! Here’s as far as I’ve gotten on plan “B” with contrasting heel and toe. (The heel is turned on both).


It might be a good thing that we have an extra day in February, maybe I'll still be able to meet my goal of getting both pair of socks done before the end of the month.

A Granddaughter!

Alanta Marie: Born 7:56 AM ET

This picture was sent via cameraphone, I’m sure we’ll have more pics down the road.

So, what have I been up to with my knitting?

I finished the secret swap socks. They are blocking and the package will be heading to the post office before the end of the week. Full details will be coming then.

The Annetrelac socks are going to go down to the wire on whether the yarn will hold out till the last toe is knit:

I have part of one foot and the entire other heel/gusset/foot to do yet… See the very puny yarn cake. Pray, cross your fingers or make a sacrificial offering to the “knitting goddess” for me. (Whatever you think might help this quantity of yarn to be sufficient...)

With March nearly upon us I have several projects in my queue and not in my queue but on the very long list of things I'd like to make nonetheless. I am itching to start something different. Oh and maybe I need to make a short detour to repair these….

EEK! My beautiful Noro mittens have suffered a thumb blow out due to our terrible weather. I think I can unravel the thumbs to the place I joined the yarn and reknit them. I hope. They are part of the only hat and mitten "set" I have. (the rest are all mismatched). *Sigh*

Just a Little Whimsey

I’ve been thinking lately about the personalities of pets. I think most people who have had any contact with animals and most pet owners would agree that each pet displays a distinct personality. My cats are definitely individuals. I was further wondering though, if pets have a self image the way people do. You know how people tend to see themselves one way, while others generally think of them a completely different way. I think Saucey has a self-image of being a wholesome, innocent sweet girl, like Dorothy Gale and there are times that is true, but most of the time I see her as a little more rigid and obsessed kind of the Church_Lady of the cat world. Zelda on the other hand, is a little harder to read. She’s still young and we haven’t had her very long. She acts fearless and I suspect she has sort of an Ellen Ripley complex going on. DH on the other hand is still trying to convince me that she is some sort of scary monster kitty. (Of course Saucey just thinks she's Satan.)Anyway, it’s fun to anthropomorphize the kitties and guess which of our human friends, acquaintances or celebrities they are most like.

4:37 AM

I’m wide awake. (for the third time this night.) I’m curled up on my right side in an “s” shape. Zelda has snuggled up in the spot between my thighs and ribcage, Saucey is tucked in behind my knees, and DH has his knee wedged into my hipbone. I feel the twinge of a cramp beginning in my thigh. Rolling over is impossible. The vapors of my last dream ‘why was I riding that bike on the grass?’ are being chased from my mind by random but persistent thoughts… ‘what am I going to cross of my to do list today?’…. ‘what else do I still need to do today?’ …. ‘will I still be able to finish both pair of socks this month?’… ‘How come this man has such pointy bones?’ I struggle to calm my mind, think calming thoughts… worry about my kids… pray…try to count sheep - it doesn’t work because I start wondering what breed they are, how their fleece will feel spun up…. Socks, sweaters, hats begin jumping over fences… too distracting… I drift, hubby shifts… now I have a pointy elbow resting on my clavicle… insomnia my curse… finally, Saucey gets up, stretches, decides to go investigate a noise in the other room. I shift, stretch my thigh, Zelda relocates to the foot of the bed… I am drifting, the pull of sleep almost complete… Saucey returns… she stands on my hip, surveying her Queendom, looking for a new spot to sleep… … 5:05 AM awake again… as if on command, Zelda walks up one side, across the pillows and off the bed to check out the nightstands for “toys” I hear a rattle and thump of something being knocked to the floor… then the jingle of her tags as she attacks her prey. I settle down and drift again… thoughts swirling… 5:29 AM Hubby leaps out of bed with exclamations. He forgot to set the alarm, then discovers Zelda’s theft and searches for the missing item in the covers and under the bed… his watch maybe? I roll over and try to sleep once more… I must have succumbed. 7:24 AM I awake, groggy. Saucey has taken up her usual spot at the foot of the bed; she is annoyed that I have woken her up! And so starts another day. I try to reconstruct the things I remembered that I need to do so I can add them to today’s list.

I guess the blessing in all of this is I don’t have to be anywhere or function at more than a glacier’s pace today.

Speaking of a glacier… that’s the pace it feels like I have been knitting at lately, too. But, now I feel my enthusiasm returning. The socks are actually coming along a little faster. The second SS sock is done thru the gussets and all I have left is the foot and toe. I worked on the second entrelac sock awhile yesterday and I have 3 tiers done. I was shamed by my friend Heidi who had seen my sock the week before and went home and knitted one right up. So not right! But she agreed with me that the pattern does suck up the yarn a little more than straight stockinette stitch. I have been looking at new magazines and some of my books and am getting excited about what projects I’ll be casting on for next … that’s a good sign right? Maybe a sign of spring’s imminent return?

I probably don’t talk about my Christian life enough. I know that my knitting is a gift from God. I also know he allows difficulties like insomnia and suffering of other kinds for a reason. I seek daily guidance to discover how God wants me to use my gifts and understand my afflictions so I can bring glory to Him. I struggle daily with learning to just be the person God wants me to be. I feel like I don’t succeed very often, but I do know that when I get it right, I’m not the only one who is blessed.

That’s why I want to tell you about a funny “God” thing that happened yesterday. I joined this Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) group on Ravelry. The point of the group is to do nice things for other people without expectation of anything in return. (Or, in Jesus’ words “to love one another”.) The way it works is that people post “wish lists” of things they want or need and you can send them stuff or if you post one, they can send you stuff from your wish list. Anyhow, that’s how I met Anne who did my lovely new header. Tuesday, I sent one package off to Christie who asked for some circular needles and I had a darning egg I was going to send to Ann , but needed her address and a box. She had sent me her address Tuesday by the time I got back from the post office. Well this is the cool “God” part. I knew that the Veterans Administration (which definitely works in mysterious ways) was sending me a new pair of glasses (for driving) and I should be getting them soon. I knew that the box they would ship them in would be exactly the right size for the darning egg and so when I went to the mailbox yesterday, I kind of said a prayer that my glasses would come so I could use that box to send it off. Well, what do you know? The package key was in my slot and the glasses were in the package box! Perfect! That’s what I love about my relationship with God. He cares about everything I care about, big and small. I wanted to do something nice for someone and He filled the need I had so that I was able to do it. Don’t get me wrong, God doesn’t answer every prayer the way you expect, but when He does… it’s amazing.

So, is it just me or do these girls look cranky?

Hurry March!

I can’t wait until St. Patty’s day…. That’s when, according to the Ground hog, the last six weeks of winter should be over… ha, ha! Well, fortunately we didn’t get the big snow that the initial forecasts were predicting; we just ended up with a fresh dusting to cover the grimy gray snow that was already there. Unfortunately, despite the rain, nothing melted, sigh… the rain was followed by falling temperatures so it just added a layer of ice in-between, so now we have ice spots and crunchy crusty snow. Yech! Today and tomorrow temperatures are supposed to be in the teens. (Thinking warm green thoughts…..)

I made some knitted progress on both pairs of socks yesterday. I got the ribbing and the row of triangles done on the second Annetrelac sock and I’m almost to the heel flap on the second secret swap sock. (Say that three times fast!). No pics, sorry. (The one of the Annetrelac sock looks pretty much like the one I posted of the 1st sock and you’ll have to wait until the swap package is mailed to see the secret socks).

I can show you this… before I forget again… last Wednesday I got [this] in the mail. There will be more about it in March so watch this space!

Check out my new look. Many thanks to Anne aka Irish99 from ravelry!

Sunday, Sunday

Between the weather I’m tired of having and hearing about and the craziness in the news lately, I find myself just wanting to curl up in a ball and hibernate along with the cats. I don’t know anyone currently attending NIU, but have several family members and friends with ties to the school and the Dekalb community. The whole incident is stunning, distressing, perplexing and just a little creepy. What can I say? I’m so sad that something like this can happen. (Ever, anywhere)

Yesterday was pretty much all about getting our taxes done (yet another reason to hibernate) in the morning and in the evening we had a “Sweetheart Banquet” at church. One event was decidedly more pleasant than the other.

I have been doing a little knitting, but the project I’m making the most progress on is not being tracked here (due to it being a secret swap project). The Annetrelac socks are progressing, I’ve actually turned the heel and started on the foot;

but I wanted to get more of the other pair done first… plus on the Annetrelac, there’s a yarn-sucking-pattern issue threatening… I think I’m going to have to start the second sock before I finish the first sock because my yarn cake is looking pretty skimpy in terms of doing a foot and a whole other sock.

I do have some complimentary yarn in the same weight if I need to do the contrasting heel-toe maneuver… that’s why I think I’ll probably go ahead and start sock number two before I work any more on sock number one. So that’s a little less than motivational on that pair. But, there will be less ripping and gnashing of teeth later on.

I also realize that I have a baby sweater that needs to be knit sometime in the next couple of weeks for our new grand-daughter. The baby is due the 24th. We will probably go up to MI to see her sometime in March, so in my mind there is no hurry…. But everyone knows that best-laid gift knitting plans often do go astray. I have a pattern and yarn picked out, but have been too unmotivated and only worrying about the two simultaneous pairs of socks to actually think about casting on for a baby sweater.
Good thing baby sweaters are usually quick knits, and the pattern I plan on is a very quick knit by all reports.

Since I don’t have many pictures to show of the socks I’m working, here’s the finished shot of the yarn I dyed the other day. I haven’t come up with a name.

Wow just as I was typing this, it just struck me that the purple didn’t quite turn out as bright as I hoped and is actually more … gray… so … wow…NIU colors. I think it might be fitting to call this colorway ‘Husky Love’.

Happy Valentines Dye!

I tried my hand at something new today. Kool-aide dyed yarn. Here’s what I did.
I used instructions that were given out at last year's Knit Out at Mall of America (which is coming up this weekend again, *whoo* but no road trip to MN for me *sigh, sniff*). Anyhow, the instructions were published by Leisure Arts, but I could not find an online version of them, but I did find this one and another one with slightly different instructions.

The yarn specified was Patons Classic Wool Merino (Aran #0202). I had some in Winter White; 1 package of Kool-Aide per ounce of yarn, a microwave safe dish, dishwashing detergent and microwave. The skein was 3.5 oz, but I only used 2 packs of kool-aide. I used grape and fruit punch. Here’s how it went:

First I prepared the yarn by soaking it in warm water with a little dishwashing detergent – this opens the "scales" of the yarn (according to the directions).

So I let it soak and waited:

Good time to catch up on the internet…

Then I mixed the "dye"...

Once the yarn soaked for about 30 minutes, I rinsed it, squeezed it to get out all the excess water and then the real fun began:

I put the yarn back in the microwave safe dish, and spooned on the dye.

After all the dye was on and the yarn absorbed most of it; I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes on high; let it rest for 2 more minutes and repeated until the water was clear... which means the yarn has sucked up all the dye.

Then I let it cool and rinsed it again, squeezed out the excess water and hung it up to dry.

Voila… pretty hand-dyed yarn (oh, and it smells nice too!). (hee, hee). Once it’s completely dry I’ll post some pictures of the finished product!

Too fun! I might have to try again with another flavor… um color!

Oh, and lest I forget it is Valentines Day…. I have to show off what my sweetie got me:

Behold:

Yummy, yum, yum... a huge box of chocolate ..... He spoils me!

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!

It’s Lincoln’s birthday The yard is white I’m so pooped from shoveling I can’t even write. The cats are sleeping I'm lacking wit The hubby is waiting There are socks to be knit So have a nice evening stay warm and tight this poem is over that's it for tonight

Winter Weather Wimp

That’s me. I know I sound just like a big whiner, but I’m officially done with winter. Unfortunately, the weather man keeps babbling on about freezing temperatures, more snow, blah, blah, blah! I’m ready for some steady sun-shiney-warm days.

Did lots of stuff this weekend, but not too much of it was knitting related. On Friday, I did a little knitting project diversion and made this:

Calorimetry from Knitty
Yarn: Freedom Spirit by Twilleys of Stamford Shade 506
Size 7 US needles
It was the February project for a KAL from one of my Ravelry groups.

Saturday, we went and saw this movie, which was actually pretty funny. We needed a good laugh after the rough weather last week.

And, I spent Sunday afternoon making these:

Some stitch markers which may be used as little gifts here and there.

Today of course was mostly housework but I did brave the 12 degree weather to go to one store and pick up a few things. The Calorimetry did it's job nicely!

Progress on the swap sock is very good. I made it to the heel turn before it was time to switch projects. Progress on the Annetrelac has reversed direction because I had to frog back to the ribbing and re-do the entrelac portion on smaller needles. Good thing it works up fast, I am almost back up to the fifth tier. (Of course I was almost done with 8 when I figured out that it was going to be a tad large). {sigh}

So with ugly weather forecast again for this week, I suspect I’ll be mostly staying in (again) and, I’ll just have to make the most of the opportunity, I guess.

S’No Exaggeration.

I don’t want you to think I was exaggerating about the amount of snow we got this week. The weather services 'official' total for our city was 13.5 inches. (Not counting the dusting we had this morning). But that’s just counting what fell… The real measurement is here:

The piles of snow that amass once the plowing and shoveling are done. Note the position of the street sign relative to the top of the mound.



And apparently Mother Nature does not think we have enough. That is if you can believe that Doppler radar forecast. *Sigh*

But enough already; I’m trying to remain focused and upbeat. If I can’t go out, I still have plenty of yarn and needles and patterns… endless possibilities.

I’d really only be hard up if I was stuck snowed in somewhere with just one project.

I can’t show the progress on the secret swap sock, but I can tell you that I figured out a timesaver for that pattern… you’ll just have to wait until the swap package is sent off… so until then, you’ll have to settle for this:


The Annetrelac sock is up to 5 repeats of the rectangles. I’m switching off between the two pairs to keep things interesting and to make sure I finish them both before the end of the month.

BTW… the maintenance crew finally showed up and has begun to shovel the snow off the front stairs. (All that is left of what DH didn’t already do) Please, please, please finish the path to the mailbox .... (Oooh, be still my heart, they are putting down salt too!)

Life the way Saucey Sees it.

Saucey Here….

I’m just jumping in to tell you that the rumors about me needing rehab are entirely untrue. I can hold my nip as well as the next cat. Zelda, on the other paw…. She gets crazy and tries to scale appliances and stuff!

See for yourself… Things have been, shall we say, gloomy around the house here. Yesterday, the sky was full of white stuff, all day. It got so bad, even the windows were covered. Mommy opened the door to the deck once and I peeked out… couldn’t see much but the white stuff in the air smelled just like water, so I had the good sense not to go out. Mommy wasn’t in much of a good mood today. She slept so late and then moped around the house and complained about ‘sore muscles’ whatever that is. I don’t think I even saw her sit in her knitting chair once. She did go to the store, but she didn’t bring home any kitty treats. Just that round thing in the big flat box that daddy really seems to go for. I think she likes him best, hmpf. The mailman must have stayed away yesterday because of the white stuff, cuz when mommy checked the mail she brought in a great big stack. Then she spent lots of time looking at the new knitting magazines that the he brought. I think she likes one of the sweaters she saw because she spent an extra amount of time looking at that one.

Well, I think it’s getting close to supper time; I better go make sure to tell mommy and daddy so they don’t forget to feed us. That’s one of my really important jobs here. Oh, yeah, and keeping Zelda off the bed. (maybe some day mommy will let me do what I really want which is to start my own advice column…. If you think this is a good idea, you should let mommy know… don’t you think “Ask Saucey” has a nice ring to it?).

Snow Bound

I’m sure I’m probably the millionth or so upper Midwest blogger to post about the incredible amount of snow we got in the last two days, but I just thought I’d show you the view from my deck this morning:

I don’t know the official totals, but I think it was somewere over 14 inches... to give you an idea, the city plow only came thru once, and because our maintenance crews haven’t been here yet at all, it took both me and DH shoveling for half an hour to get a path wide enough just for him to get the car into the driveway and pull in the garage. I guess I’ll feel that tomorrow.

On the upside, not being able to go out is great for knitting … the I Love Gansey socks are now a complete pair. These socks are kind of hard to photograph, so here’s a view on the blockers and one on my feet.

There was literally no way I was going anywhere today. DH called me from work and told me not even to try. As if I would ….

After my chores were finished, I hunkered down with my good friends; Holly, 'Fred' and Cat (sigh) and spent time knitting. I have a couple of projects going so I worked on each a little bit, first my entrelac socks then my secret pals socks… which are a secret, so I won’t reveal anything about the yarn or the pattern until she gets them… but I have learned a new technique and am getting practice using the magic loop.

So wherever you are tonight, stay safe and comfortable and wish us the best in being able to get out tomorrow!

FIBERATARIANS UNITE!

A new candidate has emerged who might be the unifier we need. Check out Dolores’ declaration today.

Too bad I didn’t see this post until after I voted! On a slightly related note, have you seen this Economic Plan?

In other more mundane matters; I’m still going at the ILG Sock, but am very near the toe shaping so that makes me very happy. I forgot to mention that I had cast on for the Annentrelac Sock (IK Holiday Knits Issue). Or maybe I did mention it previously and forgot that I did… Well anyway, they are the “February” socks for my SAM5 KAL and have been a back-burner knit due to my working on the ILG, sneaking in the slippers I just and generally finding other non-knitting things to do. Here’s what I’ve got so far… 2 inches of ribbing and the base triangles for the entrelac portion, Whee!

Not much else to write about, other than balancing the checkbook, putting out a few Valentines day decorations and inhaling a lung-full of coffee after reading above linked post I’m just sort of kicking back and catching up today.

Monday Musings

Super Bowl is history and now we’re headed for Super Tuesday…. So don’t forget to vote! Whether you watched the game because you are a fan of one or the other team, just for the commercials or because you are like me and have a sports fan living in your house, and are therefor obliged to watch pretty much any playoff/bowl/sudden-death/tournament type thingy that comes along... you have to admit that it was a very exciting foot ball game. We personally didn’t care much about the outcome since the Packers, the Bears or ahem… the Rams weren’t playing. Our thinking was that if the Patriots won it would be the perfect end to the perfect season… if NY won… they got a parade… oh yeah, and it’s always fun to see the underdog win. (And it was!). Not to mention that it’s pretty neat to see brothers win in back to back seasons.

I needed something uncomplicated to work on while we were watching the big game, so I knitted these. I’ve done this pattern several times so it’s pretty much a no-brainer for me.

Pattern: Special Occasion Slippers from Socks, Socks, Socks (XRX)
Yarn: Handspun Shetland Wool (Worsted) from The Yarn Farm, Kewaunee WI (Purchased at the WI State Fair)
Size 6 dpn needles

When I bought this yarn, I had no specific plans, but I figured something would come along. I always like to buy a bit of yarn or something when we go to events or travel. Yarn makes the best souvenirs by far. It’s a fun thing when you buy it because you are excited over the find and it’s a fun thing when you get to knit with it because you remember when and where you bought it and you get to enjoy the memories all over again. We went to the fair one Saturday after DH played baseball, it had been a pleasant morning, but after walking around the fair for a little bit checking out the exhibits and finding something to eat (and buying yarn of course) we went into an exhibit hall, then came out to a little sprinkle, which quickly progressed to a heavier rain fall. We ducked into another exhibit hall, walked around while peeking outside occasionally, then once it looked dryer headed for the car before it decided to rain again. It was a really nice day. (Oh and I seem to remember potato pancakes, pork tenderloin and apple cinnamon donuts, yum!)

Over the weekend DH and I found another small organizing project (read: ‘excuse for going to the container store’) and while we were down that way, I talked him into letting me stop by the yarn shop. (Happy Dance). He’s so good to me. I really ONLY went in there for some needles… really… I did… but look what somehow ended up in my bag when I was all checked out and in the car heading home:

Oops! Is that a skein of Noro Sock yarn over there?

I worked on the I Love Gansey Sock a bit and have gotten the heel turned. I have enjoyed working with this pattern and will probably make another pair down the road.
Hopefully I can use a slightly different yarn/gauge combo as working with the aluminum size 000 needles is giving me a blister/callus on the joint of my pinkie finger (yuck). I hope to finish it off tonight!

My Cats are Nothing if Not Practical

Silent Poetry Reading; brought to you by: Third annual Brigid in Cyberspace (silent) Poetry Reading

The Song of the Jellicles

Jellicle Cats come out to-night
Jellicle Cats come one come all:
The Jellicle Moon is shining bright –
Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball,

Jellicle Cats are black and white,
Jellicle Cats are rather small;
Jellicle Cats are merry and bright,
And pleasant to hear when they caterwaul.
Jellicle Cats have cheerful faces,
Jellicle Cats have bright black eyes;
They like to practice their airs and graces
And wait for the Jellicle Moon to rise.

Jellicle Cats develop slowly,
Jellicle Cats are not too big;
Jellicle Cats are roly-poly,
The know how to dance a gavotte and a jig.
Until the Jellicle Moon appears
They make their toilette and take their repose:
Jellicles Wash behind their ears,
Jellicles dry between their toes.

Jellicle Cats are white and black,
Jellicle Cats are of moderate size;
Jellicles jump like a jumping-jack,
Jellicle Cats have moonlit eyes.

They’re quiet enough in the morning hours,
They’re quiet enough in the afternoon,
Reserving their terpsichorean powers
To dance by the light of the Jellicle Moon.

Jellicle Cats are black and white
Jellicle Cats (as I said) are small;
If it happens to be a stormy night
They will practice a caper or two in the hall.
If it happens the sun is shining bright
You would say they had nothing to do at all:
They are resting and saving themselves to be right
For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball.
- T.S. Eliot
(From Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats)