Happy Holidays

To all those who celebrate, a Merry, Merry Christmas. To everyone, a peaceful, healthy and fulfilling New Year.

A new Meme

Time for another knitting meme, courtesy of Wife, Mom, Knitter. Thanks!


1. What are your favorite things to knit?

Socks, I think. In general, though, I prefer not to knit circularly and would rather just knit on two straights. So I don't really know why I am in love with socks now. Masochism, maybe.


2. What yarn/fiber do you like most?

I just recently began knitting with a wool/silk blend, and I am really liking it. Something about the sheen of the silk, and the way the yarn falls kind of heavily as you knit with it...ahhh, it's late, I am not explaining it well.


3. What needles do you tend to use (i.e. type/material)?

Well, metal dpns, that's what I prefer to knit socks on. So, in my current sock craze, that is what I tend to knit with right now. But I *prefer* to use two long metal straight needles. I knit with a needle tucked under one arm (just like my mom and sister, so I'm guessing that's where I learned it), and so that's the type of needle that is most comfortable for me.


4. Do you tend to knit more in one specific part of the year than others?

Yes. I seem to knit more in winter.


5. What style of knitting do you use?

I throw. With one needle under my arm...or as Wife, Mom, Knitter calls it, "pit knitting". Mmmm, that always sounds *so* attractive!


6. Do you consider yourself a “fast” knitter?

I don't. Some friends have called me fast. I think this is because using the "needle-under-the-arm" method can make some projects go fast, but unfortunately, this method doesn't work so well with dpns, and so I'm not a very fast sock knitter. It doesn't really matter so much to me whether I work fast or not when the project is for me or for family, because I really just enjoy the act of knitting. But if someone else is waiting on a project of mine, it bothers me to go slowly.


7. Who is your favorite knitting author(s)?
8. What is your favorite by said author(s)?

I don't know....I just don't think I'm all that into it. I like some books, but I'm not in love with any books or authors. I'm such an anti-intellectual when it comes to knitting!


9. How long ago did you learn to knit?

In the stone age, it seems like. I guess in reality it was 30 years ago. Well, if you ask my kids, or even me on trying days, that *was* the stone age.


10. How do you knit small in-the-round objects?

On dpn's. For hats, a circular and then to dpn's when decreasing.


11. What is the most useful technique you’ve learned so far?

Gosh, I can't think of one. I must be cranky tonight.


12. Do you prefer to knit fine gauge items, mid-range gauge items, or large gauge items, or do you like it all?

Small gauge. I think those nice neat small rows are so cute. For me, the more it looks like it was knit by a machine, the better. I'm warped that way. I don't really get into bulky knitting. Hah. Well, I just figured out why I like knitting socks so much.


13. How do you like to knit your sweaters?

Flat, on straights. I don't have any issues with seaming and so I'm never looking to eliminate it by using circ's. I'm boring, but predictable. The idea of a circularly-knit cardigan that is steeked to preserve the pattern of the colorwork, now *that's* something I could get jazzed about...that may be in my future.


Who do you wish to tag?

Nobody! I can't! Wife, Mom, Knitter tagged every knitter/blogger I know, LOL!
If anyone is reading this and has not yet done it, consider yourself tagged! Have fun!

Kucinich on Colbert

Funny. Runs a bit long for the MTV generation, but still a hoot. I gotta say, after all that we've seen in the campaigns so far, no one's been able to truly sway me from Kucinich.

Catching Up

OK, for weeks I’ve talked about posting pics of this great yarn I’ve bought for projects I have planned, and then life got in the way….well, so did Rhinebeck, but I’m not complaining :).

So, without further ado, the yarn:



This is the bonafide Rowan 4-ply cotton I’ve bought for my partner’s modified Isabella. I love the color, and look how it knits up!

Gorgeous. I can’t wait to work with it! Unfortunately, it took forever for the store to get it in, and it arrived here a bit too late for me to get a short sleeved sweater knit even for late fall, so I will be keeping this project on hold for a while and will try to get it done for her for the spring.

Next, the yarn-I-never-stop-talking-about-and-should-knit-already, the Silky Wool purchased for the Moderne Log Cabin blanket!

I just love these colors. I took a chance because it was impossible for me to figure out how to see them all together while I was ordering the yarn (maybe because I’m an idiot, I don’t know), so I tried hard to picture them together and luckily, it worked out fine :). I can’t wait to start. And if I want it ready for summer, I’d better start soon! I hear that this blanket can take forever to knit.

And finally, this beautiful, beautiful sock yarn I received from Sami at SnB. I found this simple lace sock pattern for my daughter in my good ole Paton’s Happy Feet book, and the colors and self-patterning have just transformed the sock. I’m so, so pleased.

I did actually knit two child’s earflap hats to finish off the hat/booties/mitts set I knit (same yarn as mitts and booties here, pattern is here), but I was on a tight deadline and both flew out of the house moments after I finished them and long before I could get my mush-brain to remember to take pics. But just look at Julie’s pic and my hats look like that, in navy with I-cord ties. Yea, that’s right, just like that :).

I knit another pair of Berry Sunburst socks

but almost didn’t include the pic cause they look almost exactly like my first, so I thought…who cares? But I realized I do have something to say about them… I used the WEBS podcast sock calculator pattern for these, and they came out bigger than I had intended, wider all around. I was disappointed about this. It still made a lovely sock, but not what I had expected. There are other sock calculators around the web, and I may look into those. But I don’t think I’ll be knitting from this pattern again.

Well, that was a lot. I’ll try (once again) to post a bit more often so I don’t have a crate-load of stuff to post. Then again, after Rhinebeck, I’m sticking to a strict yarn diet and won’t have new yarn to show for a while. Hopefully. Then again, there’s that Yarn Ahoy sock yarn I’ve been coveting…OMG, when did I turn into a knitter with a stash and a yarn habit????

Rhinebeck, of course!

OK, I’ll say it…Rhinebeck was absolutely and totally….magical. I don’t even know if I can find words to describe just how much fun this whole thing was. The drive to the festival was lovely, my companions, Yankee Lagniappe, CostumeChick, Knelley Knits and Wife, Mom, Knitter were such a riot, and the best traveling companions ever, the late October day was oddly summer-like, and the smorgasbord of yarn, fiber, animals, food, and friendly people was unbelievable.

Of course, it’s me, so I didn’t take a camera and have no photos to show of the day :(. But I did buy things! First, the yarn:







My first ever Socks That Rock, and I’m so excited to use it! I was very happy to see that The Fold still had STR on Sunday morning, and I had to grab some. The colorway is called Amethyst. Meaning, purple. Meaning, not the blue that seems to be all over this skein. Purple. Trust me.

Next up:


A 50/50 wool and bamboo blend…it's pretty, it’s bamboo, and best of all, it's machine washable and dryable! How can you beat that???? And again, it's also much more purple than my old camera, or my abilities in that department (which we all know are poor) seem able to convey.

And last, but certainly not least, a little surprise I got at the end of the trip when my friends gifted me with this in return for my chauffeur services:

It’s Aussie Sock yarn, a brand that I’d been eyeing earlier in the day, but that I ultimately found I hadn’t enough money for. No problem now! This wild colorway, named Spanish Fiesta, is way cool. Thanks, guys!!

And look at this :) :

I bought Mason-Dixon Knitting, and Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner were there to sign it!!! And Kay gave me some tips on finishing for the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket that I talk about incessantly and someday will start! Ooops, that's right, I meant to post pics of the yarn...next post!

Did you see their cute-as-all-get-out stamp heads????

What *nice* people!

And that was not the only celebrity sighting...we met Jess and Casey of Ravelry on a couple of occasions that day, and, while doing some last minute shopping as the festival closed, we ran into the Yarn Harlot too! Woo hoo! A very heady day in terms of celebrity viewing, and meeting!

It was, put simply, amazing. I still can’t quite put the whole experience into words, though I’ve taken up a page trying :). But I will say one more thing: I can’t thank my friends enough for joining me, they made it so much fun!

The Latest

I've actually done lots of knitting lately but I've been too hypnotized by Ravelry to do any blogging...but I just loaded the pics, forcing my commitment to actually blog today. So, first things first....


I know that you've seen these socks before, in all states of completion, but they came out so pretty in this pic (surprisingly, considering my minimal photographic skills) that I just had to show them off again. Here they are, finally, done :).

Next, these took far longer than I thought they would, mostly because of gauge/needle changes that needed to be made:

Tiny, tiny mittens, fitting a six to nine month old. I used the Baby Nordic Mitts pattern, and I highly recommend it, even though I didn't get the chance to do the colorwork because I was requested to make them in navy blue (in Wendy Peter Pan Double Knit for easy care). They actually came out looking much different from the pattern pic, likely because I ended up using 0's and a DK yarn (instead of 1's and the fingering weight called for in the pattern). The DK yarn and tiny needles resulted in a thick, warm mitten with nice snug cuffs. I love them.

I can't stand baby booties. But I was asked to make them, so here they are:

These are Two Needle Cable Baby Booties. So darn cute that they've kind of changed my mind about baby booties! I really love how they turned out. The only alteration I made to the pattern was to rib in needles two sizes smaller than the body to make a more snug-fitting cuff. Actually, four were requested:



And now it's on to two Kids' Earflap Hats to complete the set, using the same Wendy Peter Pan Double Knit in navy blue.

I have in my hot little hands enough Silky Wool to make the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting - but alas, no time to do it yet. And I keep forgetting to take pics of it. I'm waiting for some Rowan 4 ply Cotton for another Isabella, and when I get that, I'll take pics of everything. I started a sock for my daughter out of that rockin' Marks and Kattens blue and white cotton that I got from Sami at SnB (see my entry Sock Blocking for a pic). It's knitting up on 1's, so it will be slow going, even for a little one's socks. But it's pretty. I'll post a pic soon...maybe even less than a month from now :).

A little Melissa

I have knitting to blog, and I'll put it up very soon. Blame Ravelry (where I am lkmcland)...I've been sucked into the vortex for about a month now. Anyway, for now, Melissa...just because I still like her so much. And Rosie, painting/crafting. I think she started this with her kids, and finished it here:

Sock Blocking

Look at what I made!


Well, I actually *did* make the socks, and I'm really happy with them, but this is what I was referring to:




I made sock blockers! I made them from wire hangers, using the directions given in Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch Nation (p. 139). They aren't perfect, and after I took the pic I ended up having to clip a part of each sock to the hanger to secure it, but still I think they are quite clever!


Next up, socks for my daughter made out of this rockin' yarn given to me by a fellow SnB'er (thanks, Sami!). I can't wait to start knitting...maybe tonight!

Here's a closer pic of the swatch I made. These socks are going to be so cute!

Also in line is yet another Isabella, this time with short sleeves and in a muted green, I think, at the request of my partner. I'm also seriously considering knitting the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting (pp. 77-79), in the actual costly Silky Wool that the pattern calls for. I just might do it, although both I and my budget are hearing that Swish Superwash from Knitpicks calling us, *very* loudly.

OK Go

Today, just pure, unadulterated fun. This is ancient in internet years, but it's so neat that I never get tired of watching it. Then again, I get a kick out of watching ant farms and weather fronts, so maybe it's just me. Anyway, check this out....

Knitting, for a change

Yes, I thought I might add some knitting related news to my knitting blog. Not much, though...sciatica won the battle most of last week, but I am doing much better now and have started back on...

...my socks. Up to (down to, I guess) the heel flap on the second one. I'm happy with them, no worries, they seem to be chugging along just fine...but take a look at the pic above, and the one below:

Same socks, same camera, same room, same time of day...but shot from a different angle they almost look like two different colorways. Weird. For the record, I like the second view better, so I guess I'll always have to look at them from that angle, no?

Now, this, this is something:

My very first roving purchase ever! Well, not counting the boring gray roving that came with my spindle. These colors are outrageous! I took my kids to a local yarn sale, picked out the blue, and while the clerk was weighing it I thought a pound of blue might be a bit much, so asked for half a pound and told the kids to pick the second color. And they picked the green! Fun colors, fun together too.

So, this means I actually will *have* to pick up that spindle again soon (because I am not one to waste money) and try to get good enough at spinning so that I don't actually trash this roving when I touch it.

Speaking of green, a certain son of mine has been asking me to post a pic of a finished project of his. It is, of course.....

a frog! What else?? A rather dapper one at that. He's so proud of this, his first ever latch hook project. Me too! I do wonder if knitting is in his future...

Yellow

Not much in the way of knitting progress to report...I've been visited by one of the worst episodes of sciatica I've ever had, and sitting and knitting seems only to aggravate it. I'll have more to talk about as this recedes in the next week or so. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this video of Greg Page, the Yellow Wiggle who was forced to leave the group after suffering from Orthostatic Intolerance (his heart works less well when he stands) for some time. Greg has always been my favorite, and this song seemed to fit him and this video so well. The video's creator had intended it as a "get well" video, but after Greg left, it turned into a "goodbye" tribute. I would venture to guess that this comes across as a really dorky thing to those who don't know or don't care about the Wiggles, but having spent literally years with my kids being a fan of them, well, it's really sad to me.

Progress!

That demonic face of George Bush (really, is there any other kind?) that I see at the top of my blog at each visit is really weirding me out, so I worked fast to get these pics in order for a new post :).


First of all, no new spinning to show. I just couldn't manage the three projects at once, as was proven by my coffee mishap at SnB :/. My guess is that I'll jump over to it from time to time, but that most of my energies will be focused on knitting projects. But you never know.


So, on to my socks. Or sock. One down, one to go:




The colors are a bit more washed out in this pic than in real life. Like I said, I'm no photographer...I did a better job with the previous pic of this sock (scroll down)....anyway, I'll work on it :).

Next, the Isabella! Finished and *worn* before the first snow, yay! I actually rushed to finish it last week to engage in the native geeky (dorky? hmmm, seems more dorky, I think) custom of wearing a hand knit item to see the Yarn Harlot. I thought I'd be kind of embarrassed, but I was really proud. Yep, dorky would just about say it all :).


The front:

The back:

And a close-up of the leaf motif. It's still kind of hard to see, but at least you can see it more clearly here than in the above pics:

Pretty, huh? I am pleased with the way the whole thing came out, but I think it's just kind of magical how the lace that you're knitting kind of stretches as you're working and forms the leaf shapes. Neat.

That's it. I was so burnt out from my non-stop knitting exploits of last week that I felt like I couldn't do anything at all on Saturday and only started back on sock #2 Sunday. After the sock, maybe some more out of Tofutsies yarn (scroll to #732 and #793) that is waiting for me. I was so stoked to make Tofutsies socks when I bought the yarn in May, and then I got all distracted by those frog socks and my tank. The time is now!

A Perfect Combination

I love Depeche Mode. I love the movement (however small and ignored by those we voted into office in November) to impeach Bush and Cheney even more. Nuff said.

The Yarn Harlot! And a survey

The Yarn Harlot was in the area tonight, and I got to see her! She came to a local bookstore to promote her newest book, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting. She spoke about her life as a knitter as well as her experiences, and more specifically, challenges, in the world of non-knitters. She was hilarious all the way through, but she also talked about some pretty serious things, like the negative social and financial consequences of society's "knitter" stereotypes (knitters have neither money nor buying power, knitters are dumb, are easily entertained, have nothing better to do with their time, etc.). And while Stephanie was too polite to talk about it, this even came up as an issue for this evening's talk, when the bookstore, like so many before on her tour, underestimated the number of people expected, downsized the space they made available for us, and in the end had to turn away a number of people who'd wanted to attend (people who would have fit in the original, larger reserved space).

She certainly gave us a lot to think, and laugh, about. I'm so glad I went! It was a lovely evening. I'm sorry I don't have any pics...I'm not much of an "events" photographer, or any kind of photographer, for that matter. It's a wonder that *any* of my kids' milestones are documented at all!

Speaking of "knitter" stereotypes, I'm hoping that you can help my friend Erin, podcaster of Damknit, who is trying to respond to some ignorant fiber-arts-related comments made by her co-workers. She's been feeling a bit harrassed by these co-workers who put down her efforts as a waste of time, grandmotherly, etc., and she's trying to collect some information from fellow knitters to give her argument some weight. She's made a quick, not very personal survey, and it literally took me less than two minutes to complete. If you are so inclined to participate, I'm sure she would be grateful! You can complete the survey here.

OK, update of my projects, with pics, to come in another post soon!

A Knitting Meme

Yay! A blog post that doesn't require me to take or upload pics! Woohoo!

It's a knitting meme, and I got tagged. Thanks, Costumechick! A list of knitting experiences, I guess you'd say.

You list in bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.



Afghan/Blanket (baby sized)
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl - I am *so* not into shawls
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns - I don't know what these are, but they sound like fun!
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting - another fun-sounding one!
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments - but I did design a little clutch that I'm mighty happy with
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns - I just don't see the point, just not a lacy person, I guess
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting - what is this???
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking - huh? I still don't get smocking, and why would I knit it?
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting - But not intentionally! I'd like to do it on purpose one day!
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards - sounds interesting...I'd do it!
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning - I think I've done this, anyway
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting - What is it? I'd like to try it!
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho - but really not interested in this craze at *all*
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

OK, Knelley? You reading this? Then tag, you're it! You get to do the knitting meme!

I'm Simple Like That

I am not a multi-tasker when it comes to knitting…why, then, do I have three things going at once??? This will not last. I actually get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach when I have more than one thing going knitting-wise…it feels kind of like I’ve compromised my allegiance to the original work by adding more. Man, do I need to get a life.



Thing #1:

Well, things, actually. I’m learning to spin on a drop spindle…how neat is that? A fellow SnB'er graciously taught me the basics last week (thank you Barb!), and I've been practicing since. I hereby present to you my first, gruesome piece of work:

My second mini-skein, approaching even a vague linear form in some parts:

And my third, that, dare I say it?..... Almost looks like something that comes close to resembling real honest-to-goodness yarn!! I’m so excited! It’s so easy, much easier than I’d anticipated. It just takes practice, and you get better and better the more you do it. Barb's the one who's got it going on spindle-wise (not to mention that she was nice enough to even watch my how-to-spin DVD that I never got around to watching and to tell me what it said!) but I'm pretty ok with how I’m progressing.

Thing #2:

A sock. A simple, ordinary sock, but I am so digging these colors. The yarn is Fashion Trend Sportivo, #5763 by Gedifra. The colors remind me of sunbursts and berry sorbet, all rolled up together, although of course you couldn’t really do that, what with the sorbet getting all melty in the sun. Wow, that reminds me of a weird nitrous dream I had in the dentist’s chair when I was five.... ok, moving on...

Thing #3:

Yes, the Isabella from Knitty Spring '07…I’m actually working on it! And close to finishing the back. Considering that there really is only a front and a back to this piece, turns out I might actually get to wear this before the first frost!

Now, you didn’t happen to notice that half of it is, shall we say, soaking wet??????

This thing, I was so proud of it. Just pleased as punch about it all. Quite smug, actually, until I spattered COFFEE over it last night at SnB. Yes, I am 43 years old and apparently that whole drinking-while-knitting thing remains elusive. I got some wonderful ideas from our resident textiles maven for how to remove the stain (thanks Val!) and they worked, yay! But it ended up being pretty messy and soapier than it probably should have been. Laundry is really not my thing.. Anyway, now it’s half soaked with water, and I’m holding my breath waiting for it to dry and hoping that there aren’t any lasting water marks. And frankly I really hope it doesn’t get any bigger as the water seeps into it (it is cotton, after all).

But you know, whatever. I’ve decided I’m going to wear it anyway. Why? Because 1) this is all happening on the back and I can ignore things pretty easily; 2) I’ve put too much time and effort into this already; and 3) I’m really, really stubborn.

So, turns out that not only do I not like to do lots of projects at once, I can't even manage doing it without causing physical harm to one of them. Well, like they say, self-awareness is a GOOD THING.

Frogs R Us

Now, isn't this a better looking pair of frogs?

Well, then you got fooled too. My reknit sock (up there on the left) was so tight at the frog part that we couldn’t get it over my son’s ankle at first. You’d think if you find yourself sweating when you’re trying to put on a sock, you should stop. Not me. Just shy of using Crisco to help us, I got it on. I was so desperate not to knit this sock again that I heard myself actually making BARGAINS with him if he'd only agree to wear this pair as is. Bad, bad mommy. He said nice things like, sure, that’s fine, they're very comfortable when they’re on, I’ll wear them. But I had an inkling that he wasn’t as excited about all this as he once was. Duh.

So, onto reknit #2, or for those keeping score at home, my fourth frog knitted out of this pair of socks:

Ah, success! That tasted sweet!

A sweetness rivaled only by his hovering over me while I wove in ends and his insistence on wearing them for hours today in our 75 degree weather!

So, he’s happy, I’m happy, the frogs are happy. I am so completely and totally done with frogs!

Alright, alright, I *swear* I’m done now. I had to do it, it was his birthday. If you ask me, it seems like kind of an unnatural obsession. But then again, I knit and have to blog about it. You just go ahead and love your frogs, son. Not hurtin’ anyone.

Stuck

Welcome to the blog of the mad knitter! Yes, I've finally succumbed to the overwhelming drive to blog my knitting exploits...I fought this urge for quite some time, but I've now given up, surrendered myself to the universe and allowed my inner blogger some air time...she'd better behave or play time is over!


First up, my never ending frog-socks project. I hadn't *planned* on knitting frog socks. In fact, I had this lovely Knitty tank all lined up for myself to be completed by summer (I can kiss *that* goodbye now). But my hard-to-please son asked so very nicely, and I grabbed the chance to make something for him that he might actually want to wear, unlike the other sweaters/scarves/basically-everything-I've-knit-him since the age of three. So, without further ado, here they are:






Now, can you see the never-ending part? Here, look a little closer:



Aside from the fact that one frog has a smile and one doesn't (and why is the green showing through the blue? That has never happened to me before!), can you see the difference in width between, say, the top 1/4 of both socks? If you can't, it's my photographic/modeling abilities at fault because the difference in size is *quite* noticeable in real life. Apparently I was *so* worried about the cotton I used for the yellow stripe in the ribbing being tight around the leg that I overcompensated on the first sock and cast on too loosely, which seemed to carry all the way down through the frog section. I have some plans to fix this, but this means that I can't do the happy dance when I finish the second sock because I will be knitting what feels like a *third* frog sock after that! Well, not really, and it's only knitting (re-knitting?) the top section, but I *so* want to be done with this project, and it's not happening anytime soon!


And yes, I know the frog looks a bit like a bat, but I couldn't find any frog charts so I made this up all by myself, and considering I had absolutely *no* idea what I was doing I'm pretty darned proud of my bat-winged frogs.


And both will be smiling by the end of all this. As will I. As will, we can only hope, my son.

Anyway, this is what I long to be working on:




I know, it doesn't look like much now, but it will be stunning, I hope! It's Isabella from Knitty.com (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/PATTisabella.html) That bottom part gets hemmed and makes this gorgeous picot edging all around the bottom of the tank. I cast on for it while I was waiting to get to the store for the frog socks' green yarn, and I do regret that the wait wasn't longer! I'm not a simultaneous-project knitter, so I seem to be stuck with those socks until they are done. I still have some shred of hope that I can whip up this tank before the weather gets cool again, but knowing how fast I knit, I suspect this may be wishful thinking.