Log Cabin Completed

It's done! Well, it was done a month ago and thanks to Wife, Mom, Knitter I have a lovely pic, but August was much busier than I'd expected (why is summer vacation always busier than the school year???) and I've neglected to blog this ginormous project to which I devoted all my waking hours for three months. Three months! I'd never knit for that long on anything before, and I will likely never do it again...well, unless it involves a marriage or a baby or a kid going off to college or something. Never say never, I guess!

So, without further ado, courtesy of Wife, Mom, Knitter:

It measures 70" X 75", which is weird because it looks much more rectangle-y than that on the bed. It's lovely, but it's really a summer blanket...it has even felt a bit too light during some cooler August nights. Now I know why I've seen so many tank tops knit in Silky Wool...it would work great for a summer garment! I'm still debating on whether or not to knit/crochet a border. I'm still not sure if it needs one. I'll keep thinking.

These days I'm starting a mitered cardigan for Schaefer Yarns. It's fun, but the Elaine yarn I'm using is BIG...not only on the needles, but in the ball I've made from the skein...I almost have to hold it with two hands! Makes for a bit of an awkward time knitting. But the Elena Piscopia colorway (whose shot looks very much like it was taken in Elaine) is really winning me over. This is going to be a beautiful sweater. I'll take progess pics and post. Promise!

Next come socks for my friend's father and a silk scarf for my mom for Christmas. After that, I think my partner really deserves some socks after all the knitting I've done for everyone else! And me! Me! I deserve some too! I hear the Tofutsies in my stash calling me!

Fifty Things

A Fifty Things about Me meme! Excellent, because I can't show pics of my work right now.... I broke our digital camera taking pics of our screens to show the glass shop. Actually, I don't really think I broke the camera, I'd rather like to think of it as old and dying of natural causes. But whatever led to its demise, the end result is the same. No pics to show :(. But I'll do a quick progress report after this fun meme....



1. Do you like blue cheese? No!

2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Yup, several. Started and stopped in my twenties. Never addicted, though my kids are absolutely scandalized that I ever smoked at all. Worse, I even smoked those clove cigs sometimes because it was oh-so-hip to do in the local pseudo-punk crowd. Did you know I was once a pseudo-punk? I was! Anyway, the kids think it's the neatest thing that I came home at 5 years old and told my parents they had to stop smoking because that's what we were told in school, and my parents did stop!

3. Do you own a gun? No.

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Never been, and I get so jealous when I see those Sonic commercials! They are so cruel to show them to someone who doesn't have a Sonic nearby!

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I used to love them as a kid. Now they kind of gross me out, but that usually won't stop me from having one if there are no hamburgers to be had.



7. Favorite Christmas Song? Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee.

9. Can you do push ups? 10 at a time, a few reps, but on my knees! I'm working on it :).



10. Favorite movie? Strictly Ballroom.



11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? A twenty year-old beat-up Avon necklace that I use as a bracelet.



12. Favorite hobby? Knitting, eating :).



13. Do you work with people who idolize you? I don't think so!



14. Do you have ADD? No.



15. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? Perfectionism. Working on that, too. Kids help with that, a lot :).



16. Middle name: Ann.



17. Three thoughts at this moment: I can't wait for the two-year old to go to bed! I'm so hot, even with the AC on. I have to knit!



18. Three things you bought yesterday: pool float, swim diapers, Mickey Mouse underwear for the two year old...specifically requested, so I had to hunt them down!



19. Name 3 drinks you drink regularly. Coffee, tea and water.



20. Current worry right now? Having enough of summer left to finish my summer blanket!



21. Current hate right now? Political game-playing and scheming.



22. Favorite place to be? Beach.



23. How did you bring in the New Year? Party with friends.



24. Where would you like to go? Italy.



25. Name three people who will complete this. I don't know, I haven't asked anyone yet!



26. Whose answer do you want to read the most? I am addicted to reading my friends' memes...I want to read them all!



27. What color shirt are you wearing? Pale blue.



28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Don't know, haven't yet.



29. Can you whistle? I can make a sound, but not a tune.



30. Favorite color? Red.



31. Would you be a pirate? Never.



32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Don't sing in the shower.



33. Favorite girl's name? My daughter's.



34. Favorite boy's name? Connor, right now anyway. Two year old, if a boy, was to be Connor Nathan.



35.What's in your pocket right now? No pockets.



36. Last thing that made you laugh? My SnB friends.



37. Best bed sheets as a child? Can't remember.



38. Worst injury you've ever had? Hmmm. I don't think I've had stitches, yet. I broke all four front teeth falling as a toddler - good balance, huh? Maybe I'll go with Nutmeg Knitter and say...giving birth?



39. Do you love where you live? I love it! I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.



40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 4. Yes, I said 4. Got a problem with that? :)



41. Who is your loudest friend? Has to be Yankee. But it's part of her southern charm!



42. How many dogs do you have? None.



43. Does someone have a crush on you? Yes, I'm afraid. My Oedipal 6-year-old.



44. If you could marry a movie actor/actress who would it be? Gabriel Byrne.



45. What is your favorite book? The Four Agreements. And I'm really not a self-helpy type reader. But this one, this book literally changed my life.



46. What is your favorite candy? Chocolate anything. Or anything covered in chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Did I mention chocolate?


47. Who is your favorite sports team? Kansas City Chiefs.



48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Oh my goodness. I can't think of one.



49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Watching Keith Olbermann talk to my girlfriend, Rachel Maddow.



50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? Why did the kids wake up so early???



Fun! Whoever wants to take this, feel free! Just let me know that you did because I want to see your answers!



OK, progress...I am within TWO ROWS of finishing the length of my Moderne Log Cabin blanket! Hooray for me! Now I will have to add 33 garter ridges to the side to widen it a bit, this part is not in the pattern. Then the border but I won't even think about that right now.

I finished the Heather Zig Zag socks for Schaefer Yarns. They are mailed already, but I didn't have a camera to take an FO pic anyway :(. Here they are, half done:

You know, just picture another one right beside it, exactly like that one :). That works, right? Sorry you can't really see the zig zags. Even when my camera worked, it was horrible with close ups...hey, silver lining...my next camera will probably be better with that!! Anyway, if you click on the link above for the socks, the pic there shows the pattern pretty well.

On to the remainder of the blanket, then to some socks for a friend's dad. Busy busy. Even if I have no photographical proof!

Anyone Else But You

I thought I'd share the song that runs through my mind on a continuous loop these days, the song from the movie Juno that everyone knows, here sung by the movie's stars, Ellen Page and Michael Cera.




Come to think of it, I've also overheard my youngest son humming this song through the house some days, so this is not just happening in my brain. I think it's gradually taking over the minds of the whole family. I got it as a late birthday gift and it seems it never stops playing in the car when the kids are there. Humming son actually said, "Mama, this sounds like kids' music." And it does. Most of the songs have this deceptively simple, innocent sing-songy quality while they speak to much heavier issues. I love this CD! Can you tell??




Check this out at 3:59 (or see the whole thing if you are an Ellen Page fan). Besides being rude, Barbara doesn't know what she's talking about. She "didn't get it"? I'm much older than that generation of singer/songwriters myself, and the message came through clear as a bell for me. I've been forced to watch more of The View than any human being should be allowed, due to my partner's affection for it, and I've realized through this little exercise in torture that Barbara can be quite judgmental at times and just plain not nice.








Anyhow, I love the song and the soundtrack (and don't even get me started on the movie!), and I'd highly recommend it. So would my kids. Just, if you are around them, don't utter the words "Tire Swing" or the two year old will start screaming until you find a way to play it for her. And you will, believe me, you will. Her screams are brutal.

Released

There. I have been released from the daily torture that is my Moderne Log Cabin Blanket. Well, at least temporarily. A bit melodramatic, perhaps?? Listen, I love this pattern. The yarn is pleasant to work with...I might even venture to say fun. I know it's going to be a beautiful blanket. But frankly, the blanket-I-never-stopped-talking-about so long ago has become the blanket-it-seems-I-will-never-finish-knitting, and I've been feeling pretty trapped by it, more exactly, trapped *in* it (it's gigantic!), over recent weeks. I am on skein 17 of about 22 skeins that will go into this blanket, and I am ready to scream. I just can't feel how close I am to the end...I can only feel how many hundreds of rows I have still to go!

So, instead of stepping over the edge I've been teetering on into insanity, I have decided to step back from this project for a bit and move forward with another, one for Schaefer Yarns. I am knitting the Heather Zig Zag socks by Rebecca Hatcher, from whom I borrowed needles for the project...this has to guarantee some karmic goodness for this project, don't you think? And I am almost 100% completely and totally sure that these socks will not misbehave the way that blanket has with its allure of silky warmth which you will never fully know because you will never finish it.

Anyway, here was the blanket at last glance:

and thus far, with a 12-inch ruler added for scale:

Yes, it looks like I've made good progress, but that's just the blanket's evil magic working on you to trick you into wanting to make it. Actually, it's about a foot wider and two feet longer than it was in my last post but reality has nothing to do with this. Anyway, before I move on, I have to buy an extra skein of Silky Wool in red because the amount I bought according to the pattern ended up not being enough. Fair warning.

Yes, I really do love it, despite all the grumbling you hear. It's gonna be a great blanket.

On to the (relatively) instant gratification of socks! Yay for instant gratification!

I'll get back to the blanket, and soon. I am determined to actually use this summer blanket this summer. Though it really is warm enough for fall...

Another meme

And it sounds like fun! And I have made great progress on my Moderne Log Cabin, but frankly, it's so gigantic to me at this point (the largest things I've ever made before have been sweaters) that I'm dreading spreading it all out for a pic. But I will try, and soon.

I've been tagged by Nutmeg Knitter for this meme, so here goes...


1) What was I doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago I was in a muddle of diapers, baby food and other unmentionables with nearly one year old twins. I was exhausted. And the happiest I'd ever been in my life.


2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

- Order new glasses for the now nearly eleven year old twins, whose eyes seem to be changing faster than we can make eye appointments for them.
- Go to library to return books and entertain children who have been home from school since Thursday (!). Yes, I'm still exhausted.
- Return emails to folks who haven't heard from me since Thursday because of #2.
- Make muffins for the kids to take for snack tomorrow. Yes, it's because I'm *just* that kind of mom (can you hear the angels singing?) But it's also because tomorrow is shopping day and there is next to nothing in the house for school snacks. This way I get brownie points *and* I can sleep a little later tomorrow because no one will be harrassing me for snack ideas. I'm so smart :).
- Knit knit knit on the Log Cabin during every crack and crevice of time I can find around the above. This deceptively sweet little project has taken over my life like none other.


3) Snacks I enjoy:

What don't I enjoy? I like the salty, the sweet, candy, fresh fruit, the stuff that's horrible for you and the stuff that's great for you. You will understand why I have to watch my snacking habits.


4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

- Set up great big college funds for the kids
- Buy a big house on the water (and vacation at Nutmeg Knitter's RI beach house! I love RI beaches!).
- Take all the kids to Italy like I had hoped to do when the twins were 10. My grand plan was to rent a villa for a month. These days, with jobs and other responsibilities, this feels like mostly a pipe dream. But I do hope to accomplish at least a part of this goal one day. I would love to show off Italy to my kids. They may just have to be a bit older. I must admit to a little trepidation at taking the younger kids overseas, and just the responsibility of managing the safety of four kids in Europe seems overwhelming to me now. So I guess it's not just a financial issue.
- Buy my mother whatever she wants.


5) Places I have lived:

RI, where I learned to love the RI beaches...CT for college....Urbino, Italy for a semester in college...MA for a couple of summers during grad school.


6) Jobs I have had:

Waitress (loved it!), more waitressing, anything-you-can-think-of in the library (for the most part, loved this too...in recent years I've unearthed a secret desire to be a librarian!), also almost anything-you-can-think-of in the mental health field. Stay at home mom. Big job. I'm exhausted. Did I say that already? I can't remember. I'm exhausted.

7) Peeps I want to know more about:

Wife, Mom, Knitter
Yankee Lagniappe
Costume Chick
Passimenterie
Anphoe

My apologies if these are double tags for any of you! I am also way behind on my blog reading. Exhausted, did I tell you?

A little bit, and a little late

Yes, yes, I know that my knit blogging has been woefully neglected in recent weeks. Okay months. Unfortunately, what I have to show now is not all that I had intended to show....




Question: What do you do when you realize that half the knitting pics you tried to download to your blog file never made it, just vanished into the ether? Scream? With my daughter cornering the market on that extracurricular activity, it wouldn't even be noticed. Cry? I'm tempted, merely from losing documentation of one project in particular that I'd worked *so* hard on. But, you know, my brother just got his car stolen, with his *laptop* inside. I think I'd feel a bit frivolous crying, comparing mine to *that* loss (he's doing fine, BTW).

So, I guess I'll tell you about the things I can't show you, and I'll show you the rest. I'll get over it :).

First up, the item whose lost pic nearly brought me to tears: the Wrap Around Cardigan for my gig wtih Schaefer Yarns. I don't really like wrap-arounds, but this ended up being really cute (you'll have to trust me on this, because I can't even find a pic on their site). It's made with Schaefer's Judith yarn, which is 100% alpaca, in the colorway Rosa Parks. The yarn was easy to work with, but the construction took a bit of time, as it includes a front band that is worked separately and sewn in, then has four i-cords that attach to the fronts and sides for fastening. You know, for the wrapping part. I gotta say, I was very proud of that sweater :).



Next, the London Beanie for a friend, with no pic of my own to show :(. It was my first adult-sized hat and came out really nicely. I was told that it fit, too, which is a bonus :). Made with one skein of Cotton Ease in the Violet colorway (not my pic, either),




but I eliminated the stripey parts of the pattern. She really liked it :).

Now, my daughter's socks that I thought I'd never finish. If you remember, in November, they looked like this:

And in early March, they looked like this:








Kind of a problem, considering I wanted them for the spring. So I put all else aside and worked on these exclusively, finishing them just in time for Easter:








These were made with one skein (much less, actually) of Marks and Katten's Clown yarn, which is 45% cotton, 40% superwash wool and 15% nylon. I used the Child's Lovely Lace sock pattern from a slightly aged Paton's book, Happy Feet. The yarn is a bit stiffer than I'd like, and it doesn't give much on her foot, as you would expect from many cottons. I do still like the idea of cotton or cotton blend socks for kids, and I'm pretty sure I can find a cotton that gives a bit more. I want to try this again. My daughter likes them, but I think the stiffness gets to her as well, and they don't really fit into her shoes :(. That's a bit of a problem, since you kind of need shoes to go out. So, since Easter, they've been really fancy house socks.




Next, my latest work for Schaefer, the Winter Bag made with Schaefer's Laurel. This is a 100% mercerized pima cotton, in the colorway Frida Kahlo. I had lots of trouble with pooling on this bag in the beginning:







and I ended up splitting the one skein I had into two and working with two balls, switching off on random rows. All in all, it turned out pretty well:









with much less going on in the pooling department, and frankly, aside from the pooling, it was a fun knit. I also really love working with mercerized pima cotton, even more than any wool or wool blend, so this was a treat. Hmmmm, mercerized pima cotton kids' socks? Maybe?








Finally, something I am actually working on right now! Progress on the much-talked-about-and-finally-begun Moderne Log Cabin blanket, which used to look like this:
and now is starting to look like this:









I was a doofus and forgot to place something in the pic for scale, but I can tell you that the measurements in this pic were about 39 inches long and 38 inches wide...that would be a bit bigger than a baby blanket so far. And maybe in the next pic I'll actually get the stray yarn ends out of the way, who knows?



So, I thought I had more to show, but this will have to do til I finish that blanket, whose endless garter stitch rows fill every waking hour these days. I'm not kidding. Really. I'm not (help me!). I'll *try* to remember to take more progress pics as I get further along. Hey, I hear you laughing out there...don't misunderestimate me, I blogged twice in two weeks!!!

Yarn Nirvana

Yes, we made another trip to look at yarn we don't need and buy things we hadn't planned to! This time it was the CT Sheep, Wool and Fiber Festival, and it was lovely. It isn't Rhinebeck, but I don't think it's really trying to be. It's just a modest, contained celebration of the fiber arts (of course with plenty of opportunities to purchase!), including music, food, border collie trials and real live alpaca! And the obligatory sheep and angora rabbits, of course :).


I took the trip with KnelleyKnits, WifeMomKnitter, CostumeChick, Yankee Lagniappe and blogless Pat. As expected, it was as much, if not more fun, traveling to and from the festival as was the event itself! As with Rhinebeck, my friends made the trip so much more than just another adventure in capitalism. Thanks, guys, I had a blast!


And, as expected, I didn't bring a camera :(. But I do have pics of my own modest take!


First, can't forget the family. I surprised them with this:



Maple cream from Just a Mere Tree Farm in Worthington, Massachusetts. If you haven't had it, you don't know what you are missing. It's a spread made from maple sugar, kind of like a Nutella for the maple crowd. In previous trips to Canada, this was a highlight of the trip, my partner being Canadian and having grown up on the stuff. I must say this made quite a hit at home.


Less popular, but still missing half its contents a mere two days post purchase:



Maple sugar, from the same farm. Great on toast or virtually anything you might want to put sugar on for sweetening.


And these for the kids:



Alpaca pops! Actually I loved them more than the kids, which is kind of dangerous for my waistline. Glad they are almost gone!


And lastly, these:


Raku-fired earrings from Keith O'Connor Pottery of Exeter, New Hampshire. So beautiful, I couldn't decide on which color to buy so I bought them both.


Yes, you read right, no yarn whatsoever in this haul. No knitting books, no tools. So boring, sorry y'all. I'm kind of feeling okay in that department and don't find myself longing for more yarn or more toys at this moment. Nevertheless, I still managed to spend more than I'd intended at the festival. As expected :).

My knitting is suffering from severe underblogging. Will catch up in the coming days, I promise! Well, I promise to try! Well, I promise to have every intention to blog and then apologize profusely when I don't ;).