Brr…

It’s the time of year that reminds me of this time of year as a child.  We’ve had so many mild winters for so long now, this below freezing temperature is really starting to get to me.  When I was little I used to walk the mile from the bus stop home in these temperatures on occasion.  I am eagerly awaiting summer again.

I finally finished a scarf.  Nope.  Not Henry.  I used two skeins of Noro Silk Garden and I stretched the heck out of it after soaking it in cold water.  I hope it blocks okay this way.

Pattern: Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf by Karen Baumer
Yarn: 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden
Needles: US 8
Modifications: Just the suggested one at the end of the pattern to make the ending triangle look like a 90 degree triangle.

What did I learn?
1) I can knit in a week, but that does not include blocking in the true sense.
2) The multidiagonal scarf pattern can make a 4′ scarf from 2 skeins of Noro as long as it is 4″ wide.  Mine was not.
3) I like knitting the scarf, although the endless garter sometimes makes me want to cry.
4) I am basing a lot of faith on the fact that not all people like wearing 6′ scarves.  Right?
5) I’m hoping that Noro Silk Garden will block despite it’s high silk content.

I hope this is long enough. (edit:  It seemed to block out okay this way.)

I have 20 days to finish the kids projects.  I have the yarn, I have the patterns.  I’m still lacking the motivation because I’m still not sure where the bunny, dinosaur and sharptooth have run off to.  This is a silly reason not to get started, but it’s my excuse for the procrastination.

I finished my other sample spinning projects and now I just have to count the yardage and reskein them.  Perhaps a project for another day. ^.^

A Few Things

1) I apologize if I don’t respond to comments right away, or ever. I’m not sure what the etiquette is, although I sense that most people respond. I’m not the best at this since I have too many emails to sift through and often they get missed in 1 of 4 email address I have.

2) This just amused me. I wasn’t all that pleased with the wine sad to report.  Even sadder to report, I’ve had worse.

3) This fruit, not so tasty.  It’s a horned melon.  It’s green inside and tastes like a cucumber.  I was sad, it seemed so much tastier looking uncut.

4) I can knit. I’m almost done!  My aunt had asked me about something to cover her ears when she walks and she had seen someone with a thing to do so on one of hers.  I thought of this, thanks to Stringgeek.  It seems so much bigger than I thought it was going to be.  Is this normal?  No, I didn’t make a swatch. (ahem.)

5)  I’ve realized, I spend 90% of my knitting energy knitting things for other people.  60% for the kids, 10% for me, 10% for my family, and 20% for boyfriends I don’t have.  This realization came to me today when I realized that I knit, and that I’ve never knitted a boyfriend sweater for anyone, although I have knit scarves, many scarves…huh.  My thought kind of went like that.

6)  I think ice cream will solve all issues in the world.

It Went Something Like This…

There would be a picture here, except aliens took my camera!  Down from the sky they swooped in, they had big eyes and antenna and they were GREEN!  And…um, then my car had a uh, flat tire and I ran over a jelly donut, and when I did that the aliens got all freaked out and one tripped over my sock yarn and pulled out all the stitches!

So I’m having to recast, with a larger needle this time, because the smaller size got stuck in their jelly like substance and…

Are you buying it yet?

“Look ma, it looks like a sock!”

Stripes. Knitting from both ends of the yarn cake. Hmm, ever find yourself in a situation where you’re just inviting disaster? (Have you noticed, not a jellyfish or dinosaur in sight.) I think I might have made the cuff a little snug, but I’m not sure. It fit over my heel so I’m hopeful. I think I botched up the join at the top of the cuff by twisting it. (Yes, I’m sure I’ll frog it after this picture and fix it.)

My excuse for not starting the kids toys yet? I can’t find the ones I made last year. I think they are in a box, in the garage. So annoyed. I thought they were in with a big tub of stuffed animals and then I thought they were in a plastic bag of stuffed animals. (Or was that the other way around.) Either way, I can’t find them.

Ménage à trois

Dear Henry,

I’m not sure what has come over me.  Sure, I could blame it on the Noro Sock yarn’s long luscious color ways or the fact that I’ve made a successful sock before out of Noro.  It might be that the new cast on was just too enticing to resist.  Maybe I just needed a little more variety.  I’m certain guilt had something to do with it as well since it’s been over a year since I’ve finished a sock.

I’m sorry you’ve had to share a bag with the Noro scarf.  There was just so much room, I thought you wouldn’t mind.  It was insensitive of me.  Even your to be recipient noted that I wasn’t working upon your luxuriousness.

Please forgive me.

Can’t Focus At All

Not even a little bit.  All I want to do is knit.  (If not that, I’m thinking about the wine festival or boys or food or…)

Unfortunately, my day job is keeping me very busy as well. So, I take time when I can, like the 5 minutes when I’m waiting for the school bus to drop off my kid. Walking to the elevator from my desk. Makes sense to me, and I me get curious looks too. I’m on a time frame people!

This is my first attempt at spinning with pencil roving. I think it’s possible I would pick up more Louet roving, although it isn’t very soft. It’s very easy to spin, even trying out long draw method.  After taking the roving out of the bag it was packaged in it just blew up on me as you can see from this picture.  I don’t think I would successfully get it back into the bag.

Dear Henry…

It’s not that I don’t love all of your 692 stitches per row or the variegation of your colors.  I’ve been putting this off for quite a long time now.  I suppose that it is because I don’t care much for conflict and I like to finish what I start.  I blame it on the holidays and the realization that it’s November now, mid November even and I haven’t even begun to think about the kids Christmas presents.

Sure, I could go to a store and buy them the Bakugan they want more, or the newly found Tech Decks.  (If you really hate your friends or family, buy their young children Tech Decks for the holidays.  I thought Transformers were bad…nope, try looking for a tire half the size of a green pea or a screw the size you use for eyeglasses.)  I’d like to think I’ve started quite the tradition now, for at least the last few years.

It’s just these time restraints.  You know, between work and family and friends, I just can’t commit the time.  I know it didn’t help that I gave the timeline of “sometime before I die,” but at the time it seemed reasonable.  I promise that I won’t stuff you into the bottom of my work basket or hide you in a closet.  (Apparently, that is saved only for finished projects.  Don’t ask, it’s making me grumpy.)

You are always welcome to accompany me anywhere I go because you are not a blanket, thank goodness.  I promise that I will try not to leave you at other people’s houses again.  I promise not to make fun of the 692 stitches that seemed like such a great idea.  (Since apparently I had none.  Yes, I have contemplated making one for myself, there’s a Seasilk color way just talking to me.)

Please don’t fret.

Love,

Me

Tuesday…

Three more days to go. While I hope the days go by quickly and become Friday evening faster, I hope they are full of productive work. So far, that seems a little slow in the going.  I will cry if I can’t go, Thing 1 seems to be catching a cold.  Guess which little set of people on my side of town will be going to bed early.

This is three 2-ply skeins of  yarn. Go me. (I didn’t get the fourth one done in time for a picture.)  If I take a close up picture you can’t even tell that these skeins are most likely not any longer than 22 yards long. They’re just screaming to be in something Fair Isle or a bookmark. Maybe I’ll be one of those spinner’s that actually plans out a project, but for now I remain to be a process spinner.

Sometimes…

Apparently you can tell where RL steps in quite firmly is when the blogging stops. I had a nice weekend, but the week was a little off for me, it went a little like this…

Thursday I had fondue with a friend of mine, which is why it felt more like Friday instead of Thursday. Friday then felt unusually long, due to all day training at work and the fact that I had had a nice relaxing Thursday evening. I swear the best present I ever received was the fondue set from my parents.

Friday evening finally came and I got to hang out with Stringgeek to knit. So many finished projects to show. (Really I know 1 finished project is more than I have done in a while so it excites me). She was pondering over toes on some toe up socks and I think I should have picked up some of that color way of sock yarn when I had the chance. It’s a bright blue main color with a rainbow like effect of colors that make up the variegation. I think they will make great looking socks.

Saturday I got to take my parents out to brunch at Rioja which was wonderful. My mom was tickled that the maitre’d knew my name and asked about my usual table. I have to say that their brunch is just as wonderful as their dinner. This was the first time I actually picked something off of the menu. The chef did send out some wonderful cream filled donuts with a blueberry reduction. Those were wonderful.

The afternoon was spent checking out Gypsy Wools, which I’ve walked by a bunch but it was always closed. It’s an interesting little shop and right next to Amu, which is where dinner was spent. Amu is such a great little spot. If you go, go early. The last two times I’ve been there, my friend and I got there right when they were unlocking the door. On Saturday evening, they are busy, expect to wait outside. They serve a more, what I think is, traditional Japanese cuisine.

My friend directed me to an oil shop since I’ve been looking for white truffle oil. He asked me what I needed it for and I told him I wanted to try to make some parmesan french fries drizzled with white truffle oil because I had seen it on a couple of menus. He asked me why not just order the item from one of the menus, to which I said, well you are ordering french fries off of a fine dining menu. I think I’ll be able to get him to join me when I do in fact try that out. It’s funny, I’ll spend $12 on a plate of cheese that includes a teaspoon of 3 cheeses, but $12 on french fries seems weird to me.

Sunday, tried brunch at The Kitchen and looked at the menu at the newly opened Salt. (Was excited to find out they are open for brunch as well.)  The food at The Kitchen is good, but I’m still not comfortable with the seating arrangement. (The tables are very close, as in the first time I was there I could have hugged the woman next to me sitting down.) Then I spent a few hours taking a tour (being lost) of Boulder. I got to say hello to my friend Paul briefly (again with the lost, he made it a bit better and bought me a sandwich) before I met up with Imbrium for more knitting greatness.

She told me all about Sock Summit and showed me the new stash acquirements. ^.^ Pictures are great, but when your friends let you pet their purchases… I know sounds a little off, but knitters know…

The best part ever was that Imbrium showed me how to make purls on a long tail cast on. Best.thing.ever. I can’t wait to cast something on. (Socks, it’s just a matter of time.)  There was also this sort of vertical knitting thing, that just fascinated me, but I still don’t think I quite get (just saw the swatch).

Thank you Stringgeek and Imbrium for chatting with me while I continue on my plight to finish the Henry scarf. I know, you can hardly tell.

This will be my new spinning project. Blue, as determined by my online friend that I asked to pick a color. It’s Louet wool top that I picked up from Purls of Wisdom quite some time ago. The color way just had to come home with me. I have a couple more samples finish up, then I will be ready to start. It will be the first full project since the beginning of this year (if not last year).

Thing 1 spotted this evening and has decided I can make her a jellyfish out of it.  I told her that’s an awful lot of spinning to do by Christmas.  She said I could make one next year instead so then the purple one could have a boyfriend.  *giggle* Ah… to be 10.

What to Blog?

Good thing I checked the mail, I wasn’t sure what to blog about today.

I finally broke down and bought French Girl Knits, by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes.  I was never in love with the book. the patterns were interesting, but not interesting enough for me to actually own.  One of the Knit Picks catalogs sold me on Celeste (Rav link), which is a long light coat knit, that they had made a sample of in a light blue.  I was shocked to realize that it was a pattern out of this book.  I’ve been looking for a long sweater coat ever since I left my very favorite one from Burlington Coat Factory on the plane.  I was so sad when I lost that sweater.

I picked up Alice Starmore’s Book of Fair Isle Knits.  I haven’t ever looked at what is inside this book, but I have high hopes given that some of her out of print books sell for hundreds of dollars.

Knitting On Top of the World by Nicky Epstein.  I happened to look over this book at Barnes and Noble once.  I like to take the kids there to play with trains and look at books.  This book had a bit of history on how knitting has travelled throughout the world and how different areas have adapted knitting to their culture.  It was pretty expensive though to buy without many patterns I liked.  However, KnitPicks always has great sales and when I found…

The Book of Wool, by Clara Parkes.  I own The Book of Yarn.  It was interesting, I think I did lose some air of appreciation of the book the longer I have owned it.  This book has really impressed me.  I happened across it in one of my outings with the little ones and this book is the reason I now own the others.  (I love KnitPicks book sales and free shipping.)  It goes over types of wool, what the staples look like, the type of result you will typically get from each type of wool.  I liked this book so much, I actually found myself reading the book in the store.  I am glad I checked online before my final purchase decision.