Is this what knitpicking means?

I know I'm weird but I actually like sewing up seams and finishing projects. Maybe not all projects but most of them. Except when I have to pick the seam apart, which takes all day, and then reseam it. For some reason both sleeves of the Hooded Sweater ended up wonky on the shoulders and I had to pick them out. And believe me I do a good job hiding the ends so this was no easy task. But tomorrow when I want to look at it again, I will re-seam using better pinning and measuring.

But tonight...tonight I will be working on the Jays. I want to finish them so I can start some new socks. I've been good this week and haven't started a new project. Instead I've pulled UFOs out and worked on them. Still trying to work from the stash as much as possible, as well.

I'm going back to my regular diet tomorrow. I just can't stop feeling hungry or munching all day. Plus, I've started having massive hot flashes like I haven't had since I went through chemo and ended my relationship with my monthly home companion. I've been leary of soy and haven't been eating much of it but I guess a little bit is too much.

So...I feel like I'm starting over again. I don't want to get on the scales tomorrow. I know for sure I've picked up a couple of pounds and today was a binge day.

I'm taping Laughlin tonight but the bits I've seen of it remind me of a show I watched on BBCA. I can't think of the name of it but it was set in a casino and people kept bursting into song. I never got to watch more than the first episode because always I had meetings the night it was on and never got it taped but it looked good. This looks like the American version. But...Hugh Jackman and Lloyd Owens make it well worth watching.

I think everyone is gone to Rhinebeck this weekend. I wonder if blogland will be slow?

TTFN

WIP Wednesday & Tom's new toy

This, of course, is Tom's new toy. Now we don't have to juggle one car for three people's schedules. Yay!!

Stor Rund Dug is getting there. I love how it looks but it seems like it's going slower now with the large number of stitches to knit each round. I haven't counted them. Someone on Ravelry is making this, too, out of Cascade 220. It's a purplish color, too. How neat.

I made these bears last winter but didn't get the faces put on until today. One's head is shorter because I misread the pattern. I don't think it will matter much. I'm going to make more. I found some yarn upstairs that someone from church gave me so I'm going to make several to send to Haiti. These bad boys will be headed for Haiti this Sunday.

Still plugging away on the Jaywalkers. I must admit I'm eager to move on to another pair of socks. Still haven't decided for sure which one will be next but I will know by the time the Jays are done.

I'm almost done with the back of the baby sweater. I don't have a picture of it yet because it's just plain stockinette stitch. When I do the front, then I'll take pictures.

Picking up stitches on hood of the Adult Hooded Sweater. I'm going to like the hood on this after all. I think I have enough yarn left over to make a child's version of it.

I'll be taking the Stor Rund Dug tonight for Zach's class. When it gets too dark for that, I'll work on the socks. They don't require a lot of light to work on. I've got the pattern memorized. Even though the stitches are tiny, it still is easier to knit on than the blanket.

Must go finish supper. I am feeling much better today. Thanks for the hugs and well-wishes. I think I just reached that point in the diet where I had to get past the hurdle. I stuck to it and am still vegetarian. It seems easier today but it still is more work. I'll get through it.

TTFN

Ramblings and someone else's birthday

This has been a week of UFOs so far. As well as OTNs getting finished. I finished the blanket/curtain I started last winter. It's very ordinary looking so I'm not taking a picture of it. Gryffindor colors with a garter stitch border and garter stitch row separating the colors.

I am almost finished with the hood portion of the hooded sweater on Lion Brand's site. There is a link in the post below. I'm terribly lazy today and don't feel up to hunting down links. Aren't I awful? But the fatigue aspect of my fibromyalgia is catching up with me and I have no energy. Anyway...I digress. I have the hood to finish, the pocket to knit and stitch on and the seams. It's a plain chocolate brown color and I think it's going to be way too big for me. I started it last year when I was 62 pounds heavier and although this is a large and not an extra-large, it still looks too big. It's to gauge though so maybe it's supposed to be a loose fit. I think I can handle that. If I can't, then Zach will get another sweater.

I've been working on the Stor Rund Dug as well. I'm up to round 87. It looks really good but I'm not sure how wide it will be. If I do this again, I will invest in more 16" needles so I have options. Maybe size 10. But it's for a 10 year old so I think it will be fine.

My baby is 19 today. It's so hard to believe. It truly seems such a short time ago he was taking his first steps. And now he is a man. Quite a fine one, too. He's going to make someone very happy in the future.

We are buying a used truck tomorrow. Zach's schedule will be frantic starting next week and we can no longer survive with just one vehicle. It's a Dodge Dakota in very nice shape. It was a company truck, used for business purposes so it's a bit high mileage, but the price was right. And we really do need a truck for a second vehicle for Tom's hunting and other hauling you just can't do in a Concorde. So first thing tomorrow we go pick it up. I'll try to get pictures tomorrow. I think we may actually see the sun for once.

I'm waning on enthusiasm for the vegetarian diet. I'm not terribly imaginative and the cookbooks call for ingredients I don't have, can't pronounce and wouldn't know where to buy. I've tried to cook just plain meals with plain food but I have to say I'm hungry all the time. I did manage to lose a pound or two but all I think about is food. Not necessarily meat but I just don't feel satisfied. I'm making pizza tonight and will have mine veggie but I don't know if this is going to work out for me.

I'm just drained so I think I will go rest and knit some more on a baby sweater that was sitting in a bag in the corner for quite a while and watch Bones (the first season.) Apparently it was only a one week loan from the library so I won't be able to finish the whole season and there is a waiting list so I can't renew it. Dang. Should have done a marathon over the weekend.

Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.

TTFN

Help me! I've discovered Radar

For those of you not on Ravelry yet, Radar is an option to watch each post as it's entered. It's like eavesdropping on a hundred conversations at once. The hugest bonus is it scrolls for you (until it gets tired and you have to refresh the page.) The negative is (beside the obvious that you get addicted very quickly and you will grow old and die while watching the screen) is that sometimes everyone on the earth posts at once and you have to catch the scrollbar and work like crazy to keep up. It makes for interesting gyrations while knitting and watching the screeen.

It's raining. A light, steady, drizzly rain. The cat is demanding to be let out but I am on to him. Probably because we've played this game for 7 years. He goes to the door and cries (we have him leash trained and yes, he's perfectly safe...he can't climb up on anything and we check on him every few minutes to make sure he's not tangled). Then I open the door and he stands there sniffing the air as if he's never smelled rain before. Instead of then walking out the door, he stands in the doorway while cold, damp air intrudes into my home. He acts surprised that it's still raining from the last time we played this game 3 minutes ago. Then when I attempt to close the door with him still inside, he blocks the door (a clever manuever on his part.) I can tell by the expression in his eyes that he believes if he stands there for just a minute the weather will change and he can then go outside to a warm, dry evening stroll through the garden. I boot him out the door and he turns around and runs back inside, glaring at me for trying to murder him by rainwater.

Three minutes later, he stands by the door and cries.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

I've been working on the blanket formerly known as the Gryffindor curtain. I'm up to the final edging (thanks to Radar) and will finish tonight. Yay for finished objects!

I made a lot of progress on Stor Rund Dug last night. I had to start working with two circulars because it's way to big for my 29" needles. I decided while I was at it to gradually switch to larger needles. I used size 6 because I had a 16" circular in that size. It didn't occur to me to change to a larger size when I finished the center design. That's why I'm doing this gradually...so it doesn't show up a lot. I'm working with size 7 & 8 and will keep it at that. I have two size 8s somewhere. And I am finishing up with my second set of size 7 needles tonight (said Gryffindor curtain/blanket) but I think I like the idea of swapping back and forth each round. I still have about 40 rounds to go so I may end up having to buy a huge-o long circular needle anyway.

I dug out the Hooded Sweater I was working on last spring. I just lack the hood and the front pocket plus the finishing. Time to get back to work on it.

I should leave the Radar and actually get some things done soon. I'm washing the flannel sheets and need to get some cooking done for tomorrow since Zach has classes in the evening and I will need something for supper.

TTFN

He's finished!

Jesse's Flames is finally done. And since Zach's birthday is Tuesday, I gave it to him early. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

And I didn't suffer post-project depression with this one.

I've been busy the past couple of days finishing Jesse and winterizing the house. We had to replace glass in two of the storm windows and I put plastic over the windows upstairs. I'll get the downstairs this week.

Debating when to switch to flannel sheets. I don't think I'm there yet but if the nights keep up with the temps we've been seeing, I may be using them before next weekend.

I have this thing about not using the furnace until it's absolutely necessary and when we do turn it on, I keep it around 60. I know it seems cold but if you wear the right clothes it's not bad. And I get to wear those nice knitted things I spent so much time on.

We do turn it up when company comes though. Not everyone is used to it. At night we drop it down to around 54. It's surprisingly comfortable when you're bundled up under a lot of blankets. Everyone has his/her own hot water bottle to heat up the bed so it's nice and toasty when we hop in there.

I didn't do this when Zach was little but he's a man now and he seems to prefer it that cool as well. We are all winter people here. I told Tom this morning that I was a winter girl. When the clouds turn gray and I close the windows and drag out the throws, I bloom. It seems like I come alive in the winter.

I did much better this summer though. I dropped 62 pounds which made it a lot easier to deal with the heat. We didn't turn the a/c on once and didn't use the fans as much either.

My weight loss, however, has stalled. I haven't lost any weight for a few months. I had been thinking about switching to vegetarian for quite a while and finally decided to take the plunge. I haven't lost any more weight yet but I do seem to have more energy and was able to take a walk today with Professor. I doubt that I will ever go vegan but it is a good first step anyway.

I've been combing the vegetarian blogs looking for good recipes. If anyone knows a good website, let me know.

Off to cook supper, get ready for church tomorrow and finally sit down to knit. I can't believe no knitting has taken place yet today.

TTFN

Is it only Thursday?

It was a beautiful day but I was gone for most of it. Errands and such. I kept running into people I knew from my old church today. Them, I missed. The old church, not so much. But lest I run on and seethe about things that don't belong on this blog, I will shut up.


The Slytherin Crest Bag. I like it but in spite of allowing a lot of carry, it's still puckering. But when I flatten it out there is plenty of room and it shouldn't be doing this. I've even gone overboard on how much slack I'm giving and it doesn't make any difference. I need to research this but I suspect that if I were using wool it would block out just fine. Dang acrylic.




Still...it will look good when I'm done. Except I just noticed a mistake in it and I'm anal a perfectionist enough that I have to go back and fix it. Dang.


The Stor Rund Dug picture didn't come out very well. I'll take it outside tomorrow and get a better shot. I ended up working on it last night and got quite a ways. It was hard to put it down in order to go to sleep. I just wanted to work on it.

I don't think it will look right until it's off the needles and flattened out a bit (since acrylic doesn't block.) Then it will look smashing.

Making progress on the socks and The Half-Blood Prince. I have Interview with a Vampire waiting for me when I finish Harry Potter. And the first season of Bones for tonight.

My sister and I were having a discussion on how little we needed to live a comfortable life. I said I would be okay without cable tv since the library has such an excellent selection of tv shows on dvd, audio books and of course, print media. I get my news through the internet mostly because I can't stand the sound bites on tv news, not to mention they get a story and beat it to death for months sometimes. She said she would need ESPN because she's a huge sports fan, particularly the Indiana teams.

I said I would be happy (if I were alone) living in a room or an RV or something. Maybe a studio apt as long as I had adequate storage for my stash. She felt the same way except she needed room for her books (she's a minister.) If I lived within walking or biking distance, I wouldn't need a car except for those horrendous days when you couldn't go out otherwise. I hate phones so if I could live without one, I would be happy, except to call my parents once a week so a cell phone would work for that.

I know it still sounds like a lot in the scheme of things, especially when you consider what some people don't have. I guess I do have a lot and don't appreciate it. To tell you the truth, though, I would love to get rid of a lot of what I've got but Tom won't let me.

Except my stash. That I need.

TTFN

Gray skies, gray mood

Nuttin' but gray skies...so no pictures today. I'm going to have to make my own light box. I don't think dh is going to get around to it.

Definitely needed my woolease socks today. I put the storm window in the front door but since someone who shall remain nameless *coughmecough* broke a window in one of the storm windows for the bathroom, it will be a while before I get that one in. We upgraded half the windows in the house when we moved in, mostly because they were rotting out but haven't had the dinero to finish. It's always something with homeownership, isn't it?

I've been working on the Stor Rund Dug today but made a mistake in round 68. When I tried to fix it without frogging I made it worse and had to frog back to...gulp...row 65. I refuse to go back any further. Especially not to the dreaded row 64. I can't even look at it right now.

I'll just work on socks for the rest of the night.

But I will tell you what else I'm working on. It's this. Only in Slytherin colors with the Slytherin crest. I'll make a Gryffindor one after I finish this. Zach has decided he wants a man purse so I'm making it for him. He has a Slytherin banner on his wall and I made him a throw in Slytherin colors along with a Slytherin snake. There's a definite trend here.

I've decided to make my Gryffindor curtain into a Gryffindor blanket for curling up under while...guess...yep...knitting. So that will be another FO this week. I'm also going to dig out the hooded sweater I was working on last spring and finish it. I've got the body and sleeves done. Just need to make the front pocket and the hood. I don't know if I like the hood in the pattern so I'm looking around for one that is actually wearable. I made it out of StuffMart's brand of yarn before they quit making it. I like it better than Red Heart for clothing. It feels more like WoolEase but seems to be a bit sturdier. But totally acrylic.

So I got tons of it since it was on sale. I think I'll make the rest into bears for the kids in Haiti. It's a great way to use up some of my Red Heart stash as well. I love the pattern on Knitty Gritty for bears. Maybe I'll find other toy patterns when I get sick of bears.

I went to Ravelry today and it seems like the big surprise is that when Ravelry goes public, it will be...gasp..public. All the posts and pictures and such will be available to everyone. Sorry, I'm trying really hard to take this seriously. (Yes, I'm a bit of a snark about this. My thinking is if you don't want stuff to get out forpetesake don't put it on the internet. Anywhere.)

Then someone else was upset because the Flickr pictures of her knitted socks are being used by people with foot fetishes. Makes me wonder why none of them have latched onto this blog. Maybe because it has to do with knitting and not feet?

I guess it's just the mood I'm in right now but I'm having a hard time not laughing at this. Although what wasn't funny was a woman who believed men shouldn't knit and talked of an incident in her church where she forbid discouraged this man from joining the women's knitting club and the "men" in her church thanked her because the man now had to seek out the men for fellowship.

God help me I used to be in a church like that. Used to be being the operative word.

Don't get me wrong, I do like Ravelry. And most of the people use it as a resource and a place to get together with other crafters. I just don't look at it as a refuge from the world or a safe haven. Or a secret club. It is what it is. And what it is is great.

And if some man someplace has your socks up on his wall while breathing heavily to them, feel proud he singled out your craftsmanship.

Maybe I need some snark therapy or something.

TTFN

Hannibal thinks this is all about him

But it's not. Although...isn't he handsome? Hannibal is Zach's cat but the bad boy likes to spread the love around. He has always slept in my arms at night, like a baby would. I thought it was his turn to have his picture in the blog. He poses for pictures just like Professor does. And just like Professor, he needs to be in my arms when I'm trying to blog or knit.

Windy and cold today. I love it. I was all set to knit and sit while listening to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while waiting for Zach to get out of math class. This was my view. Yes, it was that dark and gloomy but more gray than green.

This is the view inside the car. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of yourself knitting? Dang near impossible. Okay it is impossible. I ended up stabbing myself with the needle which got pulled out of the stitches when I jumped from surprise and pain. And it being a sock...and it being dusk and overcast...finding those stitches and picking them up again was loads of fun. I did turn the map light on for the duration of the pickup game. Mostly though the security light in the parking lot is fine. (Note the needle poking into my thigh. Seconds later it was actually penetrating my thigh and the camera and sock went in two different directions.)

I must be the weirdest person because I really like knitting in the car while waiting for Zach.

I had a wonderful encounter with Stor Rund Dug today. I got past round 64!!! It's really looking good now. This is the fourth try but this time it's in Iris and not Soft Pink. Obviously that was the problem and not the knitter. (Just agree with me...you'll feel better.) It's really looking good and if I have the lighting tomorrow I'll get a picture.

And maybe a picture of the last cast-on project that I haven't named yet. Maybe.

I've got the sleeves attached to the body of Jesse's Flames. I need to pick up the collar and knit it then sew up the side seams and he's done. But it being black, I need extra good light for that so I'll wait until tomorrow when the sun is shining (and the birds are singing and the frogs are hopping merrily.)

I'm knitting the heel flap on the second Jaywalker. Already I'm planning the next pair and changing my mind a dozen times. I need to work on the green socks but can't make up my mind what they want to be. Something that accents the self-striping but doesn't let the striping overtake the pattern. Any suggestions?

I've been having a low period in my knitting lately. I've been productive, but I haven't felt the joy. However...I've got my mojo back now and I'm in love again with everything I'm working on. Now my problem is I want to work on everything at once.

Off to bed early tonight. These three hour nights are catching up with me. Insomnia is a bear.

TTFN

She blogged while Rome burned

While I was writing the last entry I was trying to cook supper. I looked up and saw flames on the stove and instantly realized I had turned on the wrong burner and was in the process of incinerating my wooden spoon. A cool head prevailed and I turned the burner off, picked up a potholder, having the presence of mind to grab the not-on-fire-end of the spoon, and plunged it into the dishwater. Then I turned the fan on full force.

All this before the smoke detector could go off.

I'm an idiot.

A brief religious encounter

Apparently God wanted the shawl to go to someone else. I walked into church this morning, knelt in the pew and prayed, as I always do, and my eyes alighted upon a tiny woman praying a couple of pews in front of me. I knew instantly that the shawl was hers so during the Peace, I edged out of the pew and walked up to her and handed the shawl and a card explaining it all to her. She was taken aback but graciously accepted it. She told me later she cried a few tears of happiness.

The priest told me later that this sweetheart was someone who definitely was in need of the shawl today but she didn't explain why.

The verse I meditated on was Jeremiah 29:11: I know that thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.