Picking Myself Up

I've dusted myself off and I'm back in the fight. This looks to be a better week (so far). Lacrosse season is over so I no longer have to deal with rushing to practice and we have our weekends back. As much as Young Man really, really enjoyed the season, we were all ready for the end. We went to the end of season tournament on Sunday and Young Man played his heart out for two games. He has become quite the able defense player. Given that he is so much smaller than most of the kids on any of the teams, it is almost comical to see him face off against the opposing team. I'm sure the opposing team players think he is amusing. At least, they think that until the first time they try to get to the goal. Young Man is very good at putting on the pressure and keeping players away from the crease. It was a joy to watch. There was also time for knitting between games while we lounged in the sun. The parents lounged. The kids ran around and played and then still had energy for the second game. Amazing.

Good news arrived today as I learned that the Surprise is no longer a secret! The USPS gets kudos for delivery today. The Adamas shawl in custom-dyed laceweight is in its rightful home.

It really was a fun project. As always, I had my doubts. I think all lace knitters know the problem. Lace knitting looks dreadful while it is in progress. The only thing that looks worse than a lace project on the needles is a lace project pulled from a pre-blocking soak. It isn't until the pins are applied that the entire project comes together and the doubts ease. This is a good, easy project. It is of the same family as Kiri. I do have to say that the Kiri directions are better. I was very glad that I had knit Kiri first. So, here I am in my glory with Adamas and apple blossoms.

Project: Adamas Shawl from Knitpicks
Yarn: Custom-dyed Paint-Your-Own also from Knitpicks
Notes: This project is very similar to Kiri in size and construction. The difference is just the motif as this is a diamond and Kiri is a leaf.

Ever Have One of Those Weeks?

You know those weeks. The ones where nothing seems to go right. The entire world seems a bit off axis. Okay, so I was a royal B this week. Even my normally cool work persona was blown. Everyone at work now knows that I can be utterly unreasonable. All in all, many important things were accomplished. My team lead and manager assisted in getting the right people locked into the right conference room long enough to get the input we needed for the Very Important Documents that were not getting attention. Many long hours were put in. I confirmed my deep and abiding loathing for Citrix Server. Whoever designed that nasty bit of software should be tortured. Still, I was no fun to be near.

If nothing else, this week confirmed that my decision not to enter the Knitting Olympics was a good thing. The Pirate Hat is still kitted and ready for knitting one of these days. I did finish my surprise for my friend and it has been posted. I'll put up some pictures when she has received it. I also finished half of the first sock in the Vintage Socks KAL. It is in a deep purple shade of Wildfoote. Again, pictures to follow.

Much weakness ensued upon completion of Surprise. I visited Suzoo's and there was a front room sale. I mean, $3 a ball yarn and I wanted enough to make the Aran Rose pattern in the latest Interweave Knits. I now have some lovely Debbie Bliss Cotton DK in a lovely light shade of peach and some Cotton Angora in a Leaf Green (a wonderful sagey green that is perfect for me). I have read negative reviews of the Cotton Angora, but I think it will still make a good Tricot once I pick up some coordinating white. Thus, the week ended well, but I still made many apologies to my co-workers.

Jaywalking Across the Room

I did it. It was a squeaker, but my very own Jaywalkers are finished. I completed in time to hit Cara's cutoff and send an email before her midnight, but I update the blog a little later out here on the West Coast. First the glory, then the terror.

Pattern: Jaywalker, by Grumperina
Yarn: Wildfoote Handpaint by Brown Sheep Company in Ragtime colorway
Needles: US1 dpns
Knit per pattern except for using a tubular cast on and k1p1 ribbing because I like it. Besides, my falling for the tubular cast on is all Kathy's (a.k.a. Grumperina's) fault.
I really enjoyed this pattern and I love the socks. They are a bit wild, but very fun. I had no problem with fit. If I end up doing these again, I may change the toes just a bit, but that would be my only modification.

In other news, we have headed full steam (okay, maybe half steam) into family room renovations. Oh, did you think I was only going to clean out a guest room before my sister arrived? Oh, no, I had to go completely crazy. We now have no more cottage cheese on our ceilings and I have completed one coat of topping compound on the ceiling to cover over the quickie job done by the original builders. Just why do you think they sprayed that nasty stuff all over the ceilings?

If anyone from my old playground days is reading (doubtful, but whatever) and you remember the swingset and really tall slide incidents, no, I have not overcome my issues with heights. I hate ladders and I do not want to be up near the tippy top of our tallest ladder. Unfortunately, I am the one with "the touch" for this work. This means that I gamely fill my tray with drywall mud and face my nemesis. Young Man cannot figure out why I don't want his help, but Mr. Engineer has been generous with the compliments. I don't think this ceiling will look as good as the living room, but then, this one is higher and imperfections will be harder to see. If anyone has complaints, they can take them to the complaint department (100 yards west of the end of Balboa Pier). Cue music from Psycho now...
All this fun explains why I did not enter the Knitting Olympics. I wanted to. I had nearly decided to go for Team Wales (to honor my dad's heritage) or Team Merlot. I had my project all picked out and all supplies ready. Then reality set in and I decided to concentrate on the projects already on my plate and this big one really cuts into the knitting. Maybe next time.

Virtual Knitting in the Car

No, I haven't taken to terrorizing the drivers of Southern California freeways by knitting while I drive. However, I have found a way to enjoy knitting in a way that makes Mr. Engineer certain that I have slipped a cog. I could say that this is all his fault. Mr. Engineer gave me a really cool MP3 player for Xmas this year. I didn't go for the bitten fruit. Instead I now have a sleek, black Philips GoGear. This baby and its 30GB drive hold every single one of my ripped CDs. I cannot express how fun it is to click Music:Genre:Blues:Shuffle All. Way cool.

Luckily, there is enough extra space on the disk to hold my newest addiction. I have discovered podcasts! First, I found Knit Cast. Marie Irshad brings all sorts of wonderful people to my ears. I can commute with Debbie Bliss or Kate Gilbert. I am now impatiently waiting for the next episode. Until then, I am catching up on Brenda Dayne's Cast On. Brenda cracks me up and makes me wonder if I have the material and guts to try this out. Maybe later in the year.

For now, there are other priorities. Mr. Engineer surprised me with the news that he has taken care of one of my to-do list items and is organizing a trip for my sister and her hubby to visit us! As excited as I was to hear this, I was immediately filled with the horror that comes with the knowledge that I now have to clean the craft room! Buried in that room under bags of yarn and boxes of stuff is a sleeper sofa. I will find it. I'm sure it is in there. I have two months. Wish me luck.

I think they will like the sunrise here:

Sometimes, Life Isn't Fair, So I Knit

I've been away from the blog for a bit. Life got too real. Fresh from the news that Jo's friend does not have cancer and will happily regrow her hair and live a good, long life, I received completely the opposite news about one of my friends. One of my work friends is now home recovering from brain surgery and heading down a long, scary road. As Jo will tell you, if you have the choice of brain tumors, the one that you do not want is a glioblastoma multiforme. This villain sneaks in and reaches its tentacles into the brain. Left untreated, the prognosis is three months. Treated, the outlook improves to 6 to 12 months. The friend who is now wrestling with this demon had two tumors. One was removed (or as much of it as could be reached was removed) and the other was firmly entrenched around his optic nerve. My friend has started treatments and his family has a firm support structure and excellent health insurance. Still, it stinks. This friend has two young sons, one of whom is almost exactly the same age as Young Man. I can't think too hard about this or I will not function.

What I am doing instead is knitting. More compulsive knitting. Durrow is now almost 50% complete. The back and one sleeve look really good. I'm still getting used to the idea that Rowan Denim will shrink in length and this will all fit perfectly. I've made two swatches for FLAK. The Baruffa 7 Settembre just won't do. It is too thin even with US5 needles. I then got the idea from one of the FLAK members to try Cotton Fleece. This may fit the bill. The last thing I need is another wool sweater so this may be a good choice.

In my sock knitting, I have finished Whitby just under the wire. I knit most of these while watching lacrosse games. The other parents get a kick out of me knitting and cheering. It mostly works.

I used Lambs Pride Superwash worsted and US2 dpns. The color is Peacock and it is lovely!

They are a bit tight to get on and off, but they are really comfortable and warm when on. If I were to do it again, I would probably go up to US3s, but I am happy with them.


What is this? Why, yes, I am Jaywalking!

It took three cast ons to get going. After hearing so many people whine about how tight these socks are in the heal, I started out with the larger size. Two inches in, I could tell that these were way too big. Then I tried going to the smaller size, but with US2 needles. Not only were these too big, but the yarn (Wildfoote handpaint) was showing some unpleasant pooling.

I finally went down to the original pattern and the original needle size (US1) and I think I have it.

The other thing that I am doing is looking at the world, enjoying every day and hugging my family even more than before. Sunsets are especially striking. Enjoy every one.