Sunday, November 30, 2008

November Roundup

Here's my monthly roundup--late as usual (but you didn't expect otherwise, did you?)

I finished the Spring Forward socks and the VeryBig project which are Christmas presents.

Applause please! Two Christmas presents were done in November! Plus, I took final pictures of VeryBig and wrote the blog entry, so if I can remember to post it after Christmas you can see what I actually made.

DD#2 made several scarves and some braided lasagna, but we won't talk about her.... much....

I mailed a box that contained 6 larger pairs of socks, 8 pairs of toddler socks, and two toddler sweaters to Mittens_for_Akkol that should be on their way to Kazakhstan right now.

Oh, wait, I also finished the Wedge scarf which was also a Christmas present.

Even more applause, please!

There's at least one more present to go--I can't be done in November, now can I?

The race

DD#2 and I had a race today. I lost.

All I was doing was finishing the toe on sock #1. This time it fits. I've tried it on at this stage before I've cut the yarn.

DD managed to not only knit this entire scarf, but she hid the ends.



And not only that, but since the last time I blogged (which was just yesterday), she's made two scarves!



And for an added display, here is her scarf collection. I've knitted several of them, but she's definitely knitted a lot, especially this weekend.



They will keep her neck warm for many days.

(Note to self: Must knit faster.)

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Craftiness

I've been knitting and knitting. I've finished my first sock. Feeling all happy, I tried it on.

Too short.

I've made about a bazillion socks, including about 10 pairs for me. How can I mess up that badly? I used to finish the toe but not cut the yarn in case it was too short or too long. Confidence got me this time, though. I cut the yarn and even hid the end. Sigh.

Since I have nothing to show you, I thought I'd show a couple of finished objects from DD#2.

This is her glow-in-the-dark scarf which actually got finished yesterday. It took a total of 24 hours to make (with the necessary bathroom breaks. And naps. And snacks.) It's really cool 'cause it really really glows. What fun for the morning bus ride, huh? (Yes, it is completely dark at that time.)



In an unrelated craft (although it falls into the category of playing with anything nearby), she decided to braid a piece of lasagna.



She's becoming more and more like me each day. I remember sitting at the dining room table and my parents periodically removing everything within my reach. The candle (what fun to get wax on your finger then peel it off as it dries), the salt and pepper shakers, my knife and fork. This was interchanged with "put the chair on all four legs".

Also, she's already cast on for another scarf. (Shhh.....don't tell. I think she's becoming a knitter.)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Day of many knitted objects

Today was the day of many knitted objects. First, I finished the Spring Forward socks. This was done while still watching the morning's parades.



It's hard to get a good picture of this pattern, but trust me that it's easy. Done on size 1 needles, 60 sts, yarn from Ellen's 1/2 pint farm. There is actually some mauve in the colorway even though it looks all grey and white.



We ate Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant--which I'm truly thankful for. (I'll probably go back to cooking again next year, but this made for a nice change. And no dishes to wash!)

Then, there was more TV and more knitting. This is a hat with my handspun, very lumpy, yarn. I ran out of yarn so will have to spin some more to finish it.



And.... since I ran out of yarn on the hat, I started a pair of socks. This time they're just plain vanilla. The kind I like the best.




I wasn't the only one knitting.

DD#2 finished up a scarf that she was making. (She started this last week, so it moved along very quickly.)



Then, she cast on for another one. This one is using glow-in-the-dark yarn. It's hard to photograph when it's glowing since the flash just goes off and the scarf shows up. I'll have to give that as a project for my DH to photograph.




If you're in the US, Happy Thanksgiving. If you're not, then Happy Thursday. If you're like my dad and are on the way to Australia (Or live there), Happy Friday!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Potential vs. Kinetic

Since I've been knitting but I'm only about 2" further along on my sock, I'll skip the photo. Instead, I present DD#2's science project. It's not the big, dreaded science project that creeps up upon us every year. This is just a little one night project that we can handle without shreeks and meltdowns and crying and hiding in the corner. But that's just me.

This is her project on Potential vs. Kinetic Energy

1. Potential: Getting ready to mix the pumpkin bread. (These were loaves 1-3 out of 9 that we baked this weekend.)




Kinetic: Mixing the pumpkin bread. (these loaves went with DD to school for a Freedom Feast, which they forgot about for her class and instead fed them to a different class. Bitter? Not a bit.)



2. Potential: DS getting ready to kick the ball.



Kinetic: DS kicking the ball. (In the house? Of course. Where else could that happen, anyway?)




3. Potential: Getting ready to jump (that's quite a sneaky look, isn't it?)




Kinetic: Jumping. (Look at that height!)



P.S. Dear teachers who gave my kids homework today,

DON'T YOU KNOW THAT IT'S THANKSGIVING BREAK AND THEY WILL FORGET ABOUT IT UNTIL 2 MINUTES BEFORE GETTING ON THE BUS NEXT MONDAY? Thanks a bunch for a fun-filled weekend.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Weekend Update

I have finished the first sock of Spring Forward. (And I'm slightly worried that I didn't immediately cast on for sock #2. I don't usually get Second Sock Syndrome, so I hope I don't catch it this time.)



It has been fun to knit, but at the end I decided to take a mini-break and knit this sweater ornament. It's a pattern on Dawn Brocco's blog and this is my version.



It turns out to be about the size for a Barbie doll. That might be a bit big for a tree, so I'll have to see if I have DK weight yarn and make a smaller version.

I returned the leftover skeins from the VeryBig project and got two skeins of sock yarn, with $.24 to my credit. That's the way to do it--a new pair of socks that will cost me nothing.



Now if only I can get them knitted up, it's getting cold around here!

Friday, November 21, 2008

M4A Box

Since CIC has enough knitted items for the moment, I've been knitting for Mittens For Akkol. These items will be going to orphanages in Kazakhstan.

Here are the socks (the top row contains larger socks while the bottom row contains smaller ones.)



Plus two toddler sweaters to fill up the box.



Hopefully some kids will be warmer this winter!

Random is as random does....

In an effort to actually blog, here are some random thoughts.

1. We have two fall/Thanksgiving tablecloths. The smaller one has shrunk enough that it barely covers the table. As soon as I think it's done shrinking, it shrinks some more. What's up with that?


(And yes, that might be my bunnies tablecloth underneath. Let's just call me early for Easter next year.)

2. The footman connector on my spinning wheel has broken. (Impressed that I know its name and didn't call it a "thingie"? Thank the internet.) On the internet I read that a piece of leather strung in a figure 8 fashion can do the job just as well. And it does.

To try it out, I spun some random pieces of wool. One strand was white and the other was a mixture of grey and red. The two strands were plied together and then washed. I have two hanks in this picture. One stayed together. And one didn't.



It can be sorted out later.

3. I have this nice bag that contains my knitting. Since I had finished VeryBig, I could use the bag for the next project. The only problem was that it contained all the leftovers.

So I dumped it out, just like this:



(Really, I dumped it out on the couch and only later dumped that pile onto the floor.) It's still there two days later. (Please tell me that others of you have piles in your house that look like this and it's not just me.)

4. I dug out the wedge scarf that was just waiting a final blocking. I had had hopes that it would stretch during blocking, but still it didn't seem long enough, so I knitted on it some more. As much from the marker to the shorter end.



And then I blocked it. Now it seems a bit long. (The ruffled edge was fixed. I hope.)



How was that? Random enough for you?

Monday, November 17, 2008

Moving right along

Knitting has been moving along recently. My VeryBig stealth project is now finished, including weaving in ALL the ends. A really big mistake was made, but I'm going to leave it alone. I started this project on Oct. 21 and finished it today--not too bad. (If you're on Ravelry, you can check out the finished product--click on my user name in the sidebar. Sort by date and it'll be the one finished on Nov. 17. And be Very Big!)


That's right, it's a Christmas present and it was finished before Thanksgiving.

The first Spring Forward sock is now past the heel and moving down the foot.



It's moving right along and it's fun to use sock needles and yarn after so many miles of worsted weight garter stitch. If only I could count correctly, I wouldn't have to rip out so much.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Definitely NOT

I've heard vague rumblings that I haven't been blogging enough recently. One commenter even went so far as to write out my excuses:

"You are tired.
You are bored.
You are sick of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas items.
You are pregnant.
You have a garter stitch fever.
You have a mid-life crisis or itch.
Do you need to teach again?
Your stomach distress is still around?
You are hiding?"


Wait. WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!??! I didn't see that "pregnant" comment before. Now really. I have 4 kids and know how much they cost. They are all out of diapers and reasonably self-sufficient. Why would you think I'd want to start over again? Nope. Definitely NOT that one.

I'm always tired, bored, and sick of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas items. (Not really Thanksgiving since we almost completely skip that holiday at the store.) My stomach is doing okay and, as has already been addressed, I'm definitely not pregnant. I don't have a mid-life crisis or need to teach. Hiding would be fine except I haven't done anything (lately) that I need to hide from.

The "garter stitch fever" guess is the closest, but not quite.

I guess I'm just boring.

I'm knitting on my VeryBig project, but being a stealth project I can't blog about it.

Nothing much else is going on. DS#2 isn't really doing anything crazy. DD#2 just started basketball practice tonight, so there might be news on that later.

Two nights ago I realized that if I start a sock, then I'll have something to blog about.

So....I wound my yarn.



Yarn is from Ellen's 1/2 pint farm that I got at MDSW08. Then I started a sock.




The pattern is Spring Forward from Knitty. I'm loving it so far. Very easy pattern that makes a very pretty pattern. (I know you can't really see it, but check out the pattern link--it's really cool.)

As I was looking through photos, I realized that I never blogged about my recent surprise package. Look, circular needles in really small sizes! And a chocolate bar!



It came right during my "shoot me now" stomach virus, so I don't think I ever ate that chocolate.

Hmm.....gotta go!! Thanks so much and.....I forgive you for that pregnant comment!

Thursday, November 06, 2008

I got nothing

I got nothing. Absolutely nothing to blog about.

I've been knitting, but it's my stealth "VeryBig" project, so not much talking about it going on here.



Instead, I present DD#2, who will entertain you with an "oh, so interesting" story.

TADA! Here i am! ................... Man now i have nothing to say either. i guess it runs in the family. So i guess i will just talk about my day. So i woke up at my normal time in the morning (5:30 AM!) and begged my mom to let me stay home and sleep being i was EXTREMELY tired! And so my mom constantly came into my room nagging me to get out of bed and in the car to go to the bus stop. But of course i was practically glued to my bed and getting out was not on the top of my list.

After i lost that battle and got driven to the bus stop i stood in a light drizzle with winds (one of my reasons for not wanted to get out of my bed.) Then the bus came and i got on in and got in my comfortable spot and slept for 1 hour on the bus before i got to school. I walked into the school and complained to my friends that i was tired did all my class stuff and then after a long day at school i went home.

And do you want to know what i did right when i got home? I WENT STREGHT FOR MY ROOM AND WATCHED TV!!!!! AND THEN AFTER I WAS REALLY TIRED I WENT TO SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So now after sleeping for about 3 hours 30 minutes i'm wide awake (well kinda.)

When i woke up i ate dinner and then went for basketball sign-ups because..... I MADE THE SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Right now i am waiting FOREVER for my mom to be ready to watch some tv. But she still has to doddle for another half an hour. Until then i will wait... and wait.... and wait....

DD#2 signing off...

Well, wasn't that interesting? (Maybe next time I'll think harder about something to say....)

HEY! Time for bed!

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Sunday afternoon

This is one of my favorite days of the year--the day that I can sleep in for an extra hour without feeling guilty. Ahhh....

Except this morning, I woke up out of a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep.

The nightmare? I was at my hair stylist having my hair colored (for the first time, since I always do that at home). All these famous people were in the shop doing different things to my hair and when I got the bill it was $900! I was speechless and then I woke up. It was one of those dreams that almost felt real and I'm now a bit leary about going to the stylist in case she talks me into some color, and we all know how much that will cost!

Other than that, this in one of my favorite days of the year. The trees are all pretty colors and it's pleasant weather.



In case anyone's wondering, DD#2 got the long-anticipated call telling her she made the basketball team. And as predicted, not all friends made it, so there's mixed feelings about the whole thing.



Practices will be starting in a couple of weeks, so there will be plenty of time to do my stealth knitting that shows in the right corner of the above picture. I'm calling it "VeryBig" because...it's very big. It'll be tough to finish by Christmas, but I'm going to give it a try.

My Wedge scarf has been sitting around waiting for some blocking. In the meantime, here's a couple of pictures.

I haven't cut the yarn yet, so if it doesn't block and stretch out to be long enough, I have the option to knit some more.



Short rows are placed in between rows of garter stitch which provide lots of visual interest.



The wedges would show up better with smooth yarn, but this had exactly the right colors, so I'm fine with it.

Now....it's time to make some noise. If I'm not napping on a Sunday afternoon, then nobody should be. Especially when it's every member of my family in this house but me. Maybe I'll go and bang around some pots and pans.