At least I finished stuff...

...even if I didn't blog.

Opening a new store requires tons and tons of meetings. Plus I have real work to do so that greatly cuts into my free time at work, which from my employer's perspective is a good thing. Last week I was on vacation but I was in a full out lazy mode. I spent the majority of it on the couch watching DVDs and knitting. There were also successful parent teacher conferences as well which was a nice note to end on.

While I've been silent it's been a veritable finish-pa-looza. Are you ready?

The mid-March dishcloth:
...the Buffy socks:
...a baby hoodie from Debbie Bliss Simple Knits:
The March dishcloth:
Happy? I missed 2 weeks but you get 4 fo's for your suffering.

Do you realize I have finished more projects in the past 3 months than I did in all of 2008? Yup 11 was the total in 2008, I have now finished 14 items. Damn.

I have two books to review this week so hopefully you'll be hearing from me again this week;)

Combo post

I'll do my Monday finished object post and a Random Wednesday post. It's like getting 2 for the price of one. I am stimulating your blog economy!

I felt the pressure this weekend about the finished object a week issue. I would have finished the Buffy sock but I accidentally skipped the last pattern repeat and went straight to the heel. This led to frogging a finished heel. I was a bit pissed about it Thursday so Friday I inadvertently left my knitting home. I'm guessing it was on purpose subconsciously.

This meant I had a crisis. No fo to show on Monday! Oh my gods! Whatever will I do? Enabler extraordinaire Dani to the rescue. She's starting making Tribbles with her washcloth leftovers. As soon as I saw one I knew I had to make one (or 50) too. My first one is a bit wonky but workable:


It's a good little pot scrubber and took all of an afternoon to make.

I did not go back to the Buffy sock. I decided to cast on for a baby sweater for a pregnant co-worker. I'm using the Debbie Bliss Simple Knits book, the Hooded Sweater patter. I started with the sleeves:


...now I'm up to the hood:
Can I mention that Bron is so, so right? I am loving the Cotton Ease I am using for this project. The drape is great, it's soft but sturdy and amazing stitch definition. It is now in my top 5 favorite yarns.

For the random, Avery loves the Questionable Content webcomic but Roe posted this on Facebook today so I stole it. Too funny.

Julie had this on her blog:

Your International Spy Name is Electra Sparks

Your Code Name: The Pharmacist You Reside in: Prague Why You're a Good Spy: You're a good lover

What's Your International Spy Name?

Oh yes I am so Electra Sparks!

If it's Monday something must be finished

There's really no way I can keep this up but I will enjoy it for as long as I can. My latest finished item is the mid-month dishcloth and with batteries in the camera now you can almost see the true colors:



It's actually not the best shot but it is the closest to the actual colors so I decided to go with it.

I also finished the sleeves for my sweater:



I liked the way they came out. It makes me have high hopes for the sweater. I also solved my sock issues on the Buffy sock. That is what I'm working on at the moment. I need to borrow a cable for the Knit Picks needles from Maribel for the sweater. I'll ask her to bring it to knitting tomorrow.

I managed to get most of the housework done over the week so the weekend was pretty relaxing. If only I could be disciplined enough to do that all the time but that's a battle long lost. I'll just try to do it as much as I can and not get too upset when I fall back into lazy habits.

Guess I'd better get to work. It's a long week ahead.

Happy Monday all!

A Plethora of FOs

I didn't finish one project last week. I finished two even though one is kind of cheating.

These for example have been finished for months but I couldn't be bothered to sew on the buttons. On Friday I finally did:


I also finished my February washcloth. It took a little longer than usual because I had a sinus headache off and on the week before. The idea of reading a pattern was a little beyond my means at that point. I did manage to finish it last week finally:



I also thought I'd show you how the hat looks on it's recipient. Mr. Ian loved it and wears it proudly:


I've cast on for a couple of projects but I ran into gauge issues on one and pattern weirdness on the other. I'll show those to you Wednesday.

How did I miss Monday?

Maybe because I am sick. There is lovely stuff coming up from my lungs and I'm weak as a kitten. This lead to me missing my Monday post. I do have a finished object to show you. My star crossed cable beret is done.

Blocking:

Obligatory mirror shot:

and from the back:


That's all I got. I'm going to pass out now.

Monday morning finished object

I am on quite the roll here. Having given up on the two socks one circ idea suddenly socks became fun again. Here's the proof:

I know it's cheating a bit to call one finished sock a finished object but I've been working on these since September so I'll take some gratification where I can get it.

Rather than starting on the second sock right away, I decided I desperately needed a hat. So I cast on for the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (rav link):

It's in Lush which I won in a blog contest from Chris millions of years ago. It's been marinating for just the right project. I couldn't find my 11s yesterday so I started it on 10 1/2s but Kathleen (who I was having lunch with) jinxed me and of course they were too small, way too small. So I'm on a 13 today and the gauge seems spot on. It's a little odd since it's a worsted but I'm guessing the loose gauge gives it the slouchy effect. The pattern is fun and the yarn is decadent so I'll be monogamous until it's done.

What are you working on?

Vacation is supposed to be relaxing!

I am more exhausted this week than I usually am during a work week. I took off the week to hang with the boys before my cruise. The weekend was just a little crazed, in a good way but exhausting nonetheless. Amanda, Tisha, Rinaldo and I did Comic Con on Friday which was a blast. We hung out with old friends:


I returned with Avery on Sunday for Kids Day. When we finished up on Sunday I had to rush back home drop Avery off and then Rinaldo and I returned to 42nd street to the BB King Blues Club to see Pat Benatar.

Best. Concert. Ever.

You know how you see someone who you were a fan of 25 years ago and they can't hit the high notes or they seem like their energy was left behind with their cocaine addiction? So not the case for Ms. Benatar. Her voice sounds even better than it did all those years ago, she still rocks out like she has all the energy in the world and the comfort between she and her husband, Neil Giraldo, on stage is adorable. Well worth the price of admission.

Monday, I took the boys on one of those double decker tour buses around lower Manhattan. When I was a kid my cousin Ingileif and her mom would come visit and do all this touristy stuff. I always got to tag along. I feel like I really appreciate my city because of it so I try to do some cheesy tourist type stuff with the boys whenever I can. It was fun.

Yesterday was a trip up to Yonkers for cruise shopping and then home to rest for a couple hours before heading downtown to knitting. See what I mean about the lack of relaxation going on? Today is my day to catch up on household stuff, laundry, cleaning etc. Plus, well blogging obviously. I have an article to type up. I also planned on working on the sadly neglected Knitting Blogger's Ring but Ring Surf did an upgrade and I can't get it working in any productive way. Risa and I are going to have to come up with a plan to keep the ring going.

Two weeks to the day I started it I finished Swallowtail:
and I didn't completely screw it up:
Oh, uh you noticed something different about mine did you? Well the oracle, aka Kathleen had said to me on her visit, "do you have enough yarn?" and the fact is I didn't. So I decided to forgo the peaked edging, which is in fact my least favorite part of the shawl[ette] anyway. I love the way it looks. It is small but it's as big as I expected. Which is perfect for my needs.

So early Friday morning I am flying off to Florida and getting on a boat with my girls. My dear husband will be holding down the homefront and I'll be back for dinner on Monday.

Try not to miss me too much;)

TTGIF
thank the gods it's Friday

I didn't end up pinning Ice Queen out at all. It blocked quite nicely in the wet towel. The picot edging on one side is lovely the other less so but I knew that. Once you put it on it makes no difference. The nice end goes on the neck the other frames the face and it works just fine. It is a bit short but Maribel has deemed that Mami will love it so it's all good:



I started Jeannie for my trip but after a week this is all I have:



Will I get it done in time? Damned if I know. I have about three weeks. I have sped up on it a bit. Getting out my chart holder helped a lot. Balancing the charts on the train was a pain in the ass. Also its basically the same 4 stitches over and over in different order so you can get used to it quickly but it's basically k1 p1 which I am slow as molasses on no matter what the project. I'm still going to try though.

The week has been full of meetings and presentations. I am so glad it's finally over. Tomorrow Rinaldo works but I have to take the boys to a party for a friend's daughter at Build a Bear so that should be fun. I can get some knitting done on the train also.

I know what I'm doing tonight, what about you?

Trying to kick my malaise to the curb...

Saturday was Imbolc. That is the pagan holiday to commemorate the end of winter and the beginning of spring. I decided to try to take that to heart and force myself out of this dazed hibernation I feel like I've been in.

First up. I ripped out the top of Avery's hat and added a few more repeats. It was a tad short for him:


Then in a particularly bizarre move for me I joined the Project Spectrum group on Ravelry. I'm not typically a color person but this year's theme of elements spoke to the pagan in me. It actually got me spinning again. November's Spunky Club fiber looks a bit more like cotton candy than fire:


...but there is a bit of red in there and pink is officially accepted for February and March. There is also some blue that was reminding me a great deal of smoke as I spun it:

...a closer look:

I also started organizing my stash. A lot of it simply doesn't speak to me any more. I've moved on from certain colors and fibers. I'm hoping as I catalog it and get it onto Ravelry I'll be able to figure out what could still be useful to me and what absolutely needs to go somewhere else.

Other than that the weekend was relaxing. Although I will say that Kathleen is a horrible influence. Heady with the idea of a tax refund check (smaller than expected but money nonetheless) we went out and bought our own Rock Band.

I may never leave the basement.

Blehh...

That's how I'm feeling today. I was sick last week but it really caught up with me on Friday. I called out and slept the day away. I had every intention of going in for a few hours on Saturday but I didn't wake up until 10:30 so I decided I must need more rest since I never sleep that late. I'm definitely better today but still a bit foggy and queasy. Poor Ian seems to have picked it up so he maxin' and relaxin' at home with Grandma.

I did manage to get those damn buttons on the booties. Please don't point out the different colored thread on the buttons. I'm calling it a design element ok?
They are so tiny. I did the larger size on a larger needles and still, tiny, but babies are tiny for at least a minute or two so I'm hopeful that she'll actually get to wear them once or twice.

Avery's hat has been going slowly. Not because of the pattern, I love the pattern. It's the lady hat that I love so much sans the lacey parts(scroll down it's number 3 the Man Hat) . It's simply that I screwed up at first. I read the pattern as Row 1 - cable Row 2 knit purl alternating and repeat from 1 but actually its Row 1, then 2,3,4 are the same. Yes, I should know better, yes I felt like an idiot. Whatever. I ripped and started again. Then I realized a ball of SWS was actually not enough so I kind of shoved it to the bottom of the bag. Rinaldo kindly ran me by Michael's this weekend and I picked up a second ball. So here we are today nearly at the decreases:

Since I have no issue begging for sympathy. This is the report I need to get through so I can send orders to publishers by 6 today:

...before I start however I need to get through all this crap:
I wish I was a praying woman I could use some divine intervention...

OMG! Can it be...

...yup a finished Dalek:



Aren't you impressed? Well I am damn you;) I have to say I have rarely followed a pattern so blindly. In principal I knew where I was going but since it was literally done row by row I wasn't always sure what the next piece would look like. The shaping is really well done but man row by row instructions are taxing. All in all I'm glad it's finished and the husband is thrilled. It stands on the table right next to his side of the bed ready to exterminate lesser beings at any moment. Of course he keeps us up at night saying stuff like this.

Meanwhile I haven't had the brain power to work on my rogue sleeve. Yes, yes I know the sleeve isn't all the complicated but charts while not as daunting as before are still a second language to me.

When I am low on brain power and energy I go back to my comfort food, socks. I cast on for some Charade socks for Rinaldo (dude, what is up with all this knitting for him, how did he make that happen) in Fearless Fibers merino superwash. Very nice to work with.

Rush is still going. We're in the second week where all we deal with are the screw ups and the sold outs so it's very unpleasant. I will be thrilled when Friday gets here. No more working weekends for me. Well at least for a little while.

Happy Tuesday or not depending on you view...

Is it Thursday already?

This month has completely flown by me. After my birthday we had inventory and the July 4th holiday. Then I was away on vacation. I came back and jumped right in with the kids' camp routine and work having me snowed under. Then Monday and Tuesday we were off to celebrate Avery's birthday. We planned a trip to Sesame place on Monday but the weather was horrid so we went on Tuesday. Back to work yesterday and now the week is nearly gone.

I completely screwed up the planning for Avery's birthday festivities with friends. I still haven't officially invited at least 2 kids. I haven't really cleaned my house since just before we went to Virginia. I missed a blogger meet-up 10 minutes from my house in the Botanical Gardens with Sharon because I was in such a daze from Friday's Harry Potter activities (finished the book by the way, it so rocked but I am so going to miss those characters). I missed Risa's birthday. I haven't worked on the Knit Blogger's Ring in two weeks. I am a complete mess.

I do have some finished objects to show off amazingly enough. I did manage to finish Rinaldo's book scarf before he finished Harry:

It's pretty cute I'd love to make another but I really hated making it. I'm toying with a one sided version. Hell maybe I'll be really blasphemous and do a garter stitch version, flat. We'll see.

Last night I finished my Loksins:
I am very pleased with them. I love the way the colors work with the pattern, not that you can tell by this picture. I wish it were cooler so I could actually wear them.

I brought swallowtail with me to start on the train but to do a provisional cast on one needs scrap yarn. Somehow I forgot that. I do have yarn in my office (are you really surprised) so I should be able to cast on today anyway.

I spent a fantastic day at Kathleen's this past Sunday. It was her birthday and she had her own knitters' get together. It was a lot of fun and the kids and husband had a blast too. Of course Rinaldo's number 1 fan was there so he got to bask in the glow of her admiration, lol. I got to hang with Kathleen's mom Sue, who I like much more than Kathleen;). Granny of Granny's Shop was there as well as another knitting friend of Kathleen's Marilyn and Ann's buddy Ricki. Her husband Kevin was chef extraordinaire and was kind enough to cook something that I would eat, I'm such a pain in the ass when it comes to food.

I think I'll go work on the ring now, of course I could do the work I'm getting paid to do but where's the fun in that!

Friday means nothing to me...

Normally Fridays are my favorite day of the week. I can look forward to a little break, from work at least. This weekend however will be non-existent. We do inventory in my store this weekend. That means I work both days, yes it sucks to be me (and anyone who works with me).

I managed to finish the last teacher gift right on time:

I'm not sure how the teacher who I gave it to liked it but the teacher who is expecting couldn't stop oohing and aahing over the baby kimono, booties and hat. It's nice when gifts are appreciated.

On Monday to commemorate birthday week, I started my Loksins!:


I love, love, love them. They are so quick and easy. I was able to memorize the pattern repeat quickly and I can finish the 8 rows in a train ride. I'm about 3 repeats away from the heel I believe. Cassie recommends 9 repeats but I'll have to see if I want more or less. They are definitely washing away any ill effects my foray into toe-ups may have left;)

The birthday was excellent. I took the day off and so did Rinaldo. He took me to IHOP for breakfast and I was supremely decadent and had funnel cake for breakfast. Then we met up with Tisha and caught Live Free or Die Hard, which absolutely and totally rocked. There were some issues due to a small blackout that occurred while we were in the movies but we were on the West Side not the East so it just meant we had a little trouble getting home. The evening was topped off by dinner at Unos. Gift-wise the boys (with Rinaldo's help;)) got me Guitar Hero II, don't laugh I asked for it. I've been dying to play it. Not to mention I know the boys will love it too. Rinaldo got me a Stevie Nicks CD/DVD collection. Birthday week festivities end tonight with a trip to see Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare in the Park with Maribel,our friend Heather and Avery. Avery and I read Romeo and Juliet together last year (I decided it was time for him to get to know Shakespeare) and I think seeing it will really get him to appreciate it.

Thank you all so much for all the birthday wishes! I really appreciated them.

Have a great weekend!

I actually finished the damn socks! Look they came out pretty damn well:



The second one was way easier and faster. It took me a little over a week but there were a few days where I barely knit on them at all so that was actually fast. I no longer hate toe up socks but it still feels weird. Next time I try them I want to do a heel flap and a different toe to see how that goes. Although I didn't hate the short rows at all.

This morning I cast on for a washcloth for Ian's other teacher:



Simple, quick, non-taxing...lol I've already had to rip it out twice, so much for non-taxing...

Go wish my dear Gina a happy birthday. While you're at it you could go wish Susan a happy belated birthday. It couldn't have been fun sharing your birthday with Father's Day! All us June babies gotta stick together.

Almost Friday people...

TGIF, TCIF or TFIF

I finished the first Anastasia sock, see:


I don't love it. I don't hate it but I don't love it. The colors are very pretty but I am not enjoying the toe up thing at all. It makes me feel like a novice all over again. I don't enjoy that feeling. I did do EZ's sewn cast off which is kind of cool. I'm sure it will come in handy for future projects. I feel I should also mention that my issues are not pattern flaws. I think it's well written and makes a very cute sock. I also think it's a really good choice for a first toe up sock since it's very clearly written. It's just me and my issues. I will make the second one though I'm just going to take a break this weekend and get me some tail, Swallowtail that is. That should chill me out a bit.

In the interests of full disclosure I did participate in a bit of retail therapy to help ease the pain of my toe up struggles. I bought Cassie's new sock pattern. I figure having that to look forward to will get me through the second sock.

To make myself feel like I could actually accomplish something I finally truly finished the baby stuff I had made. Look at the cable booties with the ribbon finally inserted:
Pretty cute right? I also sewed in the ribbon on the baby kimono II:
...and the first one:


See look I can knit pretty things well. Occasionally anyway...

Yay Friday. I'm out of here at 1:30 to pick up the boys at school. Since MIL has an appointment. I think we'll bake in the heat of the backyard.

Have a great weekend!

Late post...

Thanks for all the Mother's Day wishes. I had a fantastic day. I had two hours to myself in the morning, while Rinaldo went out with Ian and got me breakfast at IHOP and chai from Starbucks (whoo hoo). Avery being pre-pubescent was fast asleep. Then I spent the day out with Maribel and my adopted mom, her mom Lolita. We went into the city and caught a movie and had dinner. It was great. I had the best time.

I did frog everything this weekend. Which seems to have been the right thing to do. I immediately hit a productive streak once it was done. Look not one but two baby hats done:


I wish I could find the damn ribbon I bought so I could sew it on to the baby kimono then that would really be finished but I have no freakin' idea what I did with it.

I did cast on for the Anastasia socks but I haven't progressed far enough for them to be interesting as of yet. Maybe by Wednesday. I will say that my short row toe gets better and better each time I do it.

Oh well time to pass out. Damn, you know you're old when exhausted and ready to sleep before 11:00.

Good night.

Sundays are for spinning...

...seriously. Chante was kind enough to come over to give me some spinning lessons since my poor wheel has been sorely neglected since Christmas. Tisha and Maribel joined the fun as well.

There was knitting:
...and a whole lot of detangling:
I swear all I wanted to do was wind the Spirit Trail sock yarn I bought for Tisha at Rhinebeck so we could get her started on her first socks but we all spent more time untangling the damn thing than spinning!

There was spinning though:

Oddly enough I have no pictures of myself or Maribel at the wheel but they do exist, they're just on Maribel's camera. I'm not sure when she'll get them to me or up on her blog since she leaves for New Orleans in a few days.

Added later: Actually she blogged so go look, I'll wait...

Chante is an excellent teacher although I'm afraid we spent way more time talking, laughing and eating all the food Rinaldo was making on the grill. I do have a better idea of what I'm doing although the minute she left I tried to get going again and failed miserably but I'm hoping if I keep doing it for a little while each day I actually spin something of substance.

Rinaldo worked in the yard and grilled. Avery and Tisha's son Aaren played Wii and even Ian had a playdate with Chante's son. It was a fabulous way to spend a Sunday. I hope we can do it again soon.

Last night I stayed up to finish the RPMs:


The foot on the second sock looks a little smaller but they measure right. I suspect it's because the first one was already tried on so it stretched a bit. While I was applauding myself for finally getting to the toe I noticed a small problem:


DUDE I DROPPED A STITCH!!! Like a million miles back, before the heel! I need to get the fixed before I gift them obviously. Can you believe it's just been sitting there quietly all this time? I was so pissed. I'll fix them up tonight.

On my way home today I get to stop at the Post Office, there's some Socks that Rock there waiting for me. It's so nice to feel the blog buddy love.

Happy (?) Monday...

I appreciate all the feedback on my Philly post. It would seem I have to go back, perhaps with a tour guide! For a different take on Philadelphia read the post that Bakerina pimps in her comment. As I was reading it, I was struck by how simliar a love letter I could write to the Bronx. Every city has it's beauty and ugliness, true love is when you can honestly say you love it for both.

I finished calorimetry (which for the life of me I cannot say out loud) on Saturday:

I've grown rather attached to it. It's very comfortable and keeps my hair in check and my ears warm. The pattern is a breeze and it (obviously) knits up very quickly.

On Sunday I decided to start on the baby presents I need to make. One of Ian's teachers is pregnant and one of Avery's is as well. I cast on for the baby kimono from Mason Dixon Knitting:


It went along really fast. I finished the left side at Knitting Group on Tuesday. Which was a blast by the way. My friend Tisha came. Chante and I were actually there at the same time and she brought her friend Shameka who is also a blogger. I worked on the kimono sporadically the next two days and amazingly I finished it last night:

The construction of it is kind of cool, it's all one piece:

I'm not a huge garter stitch fan but I like the way this came out. I may try the second one in stockinette.

Just so you can see where my head is at the moment. I have yet to finish my square which is the homework for the knitting class I am teaching.



If the teacher doesn't get the homework done, do the students have any hope at all?

Have a great weekend!