Ravelympics

Well, I've taken the plunge, with one day to go. Those of you in-the-know know that Ravelympics starts tomorrow! I've committed to do some WIP Wrestling, and picked two projects: my Peacock Feathers shawl and my BYOB. An old project and a fairly new one. I'm afraid I have other projects which are calling to me, but I'm going to try to focus on these. The Peacock Feathers has been waiting a while because I have to rip back a number of rows (eight? ten? I haven't looked at it in a while) to fix a mistake. It has been easier to put it aside than to fix it, so that what I have done. Tomorrow, though, it all changes. WIP Wrestling, here I come!
The BYOB has been cast on and the bottom finished, but I keep working on other current projects--I can see this languishing by my bed for a long time.

I have been working on a baby afghan for a mystery baby (gender, that is) that has been fun. It is called Animal Antics, and I've done the five animals in different colors, with the background in brown. I'm afraid it doesn't scream (or even feebly whisper) "girl" to me, though, and that is what I've just found out this baby is. She's not due until October, so I've got a little time left. The afghan I've done needs an edging, but I haven't decided how to do that just yet. I thought about making a pink-y or flower-y afghan for Ravelympics, but I think I should finish off some of the things I've started first. What to do?

DH and I think we should write down some of the things our boys say. So--drumroll--the funniest word ever said in a movie is--Underpants. That's right, underpants. The boys and I have been going to see the free movies at the theaters all summer, and we accidentally saw one called "Everyone's Hero" or "Everybody's Hero" or some such thing. (It really stuck with me, huh?) I was not enthralled, but the boys laughed through the whole thing. There was a talking ball! And a talking bat! And they said "underpants" twice! Wow--tears rolling down my face. I was sitting there quite bored, and both boys would laugh and repeat the funny bits. That would make me laugh. Then we got to listen to semi-quotes for two weeks. It probably still isn't over. "Big Bob toys. Big Bob newspapers. Big Bob UNDERPANTS!" Actually, it isn't Big Bob at all--it was Babe Ruth. Details, though, aren't really important to a 4 yo.

More later--really!

rag

Stuff

Well. We have had a birthday party for a REAL LIVE person! DS#1 turned seven, and he requested a Lego-themed party. He wanted to invite everyone in his class (12 kids) but only three RSVP'd. Why? I'm not sure. Then, only two of those came. Very disappointing. We had fun with the two who came, though! We had all sorts of Lego games--guess-the-amount-in-the-jar, speed-building, height-building, chopsticks-moving, relay racing with spoons, aiming into buckets, scavenger-hunting/clue-following. There may have been other games, but it is kind of a blur! We had Lego pizza (thanks Saporito's! They made rectangular pizza with the cuts and the pepperonis just so) and Lego cake. All in all, it was a good time for my boy.

Two more Letter Boys have also had birthdays. We have celebrated H Boy and I Boy days. H Boy saw everyone wearing Hats in his honor, and Hot dogs eaten. Everything was pronounced Hilarious. A couple days ago we celebrated for I Boy. He got Italian food and homemade Ice cream. There were many sprinkles involved--I think the kids liked it. J Boy will probably see Jello eaten, but I'm not sure what else...

Knitting! I've been enjoying myself. I've finished the knitting on the Mrs. Weasley's bag. (Have I said this already?) The bag needs to be lined and have handles attached. That may take me a while, but there's no real rush. I also got on a string bag kick--I think I made four out of cotton. Different patterns, different results. I also made two out of plastic bag strips. One is extremely colorful, and I really like it.

When that little burst was through, I made a hand towel with linen I bought at Knitch the first time Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was in town. I didn't think I would like knitting it at all, but I did! I have used linen before, but didn't enjoy it. That time the yarn was held doubled; this time it was a single strand. Maybe that made the difference? Maybe it was the stitches? In any case, I'm glad I made the towel. I would be glad to make more if I could find an excuse!

Now I am knitting some yarn that my sister gave me three years ago for Christmas (or five?). She used to travel extensively with her job, and had an opportunity to go to Hong Kong. I asked for cashmere yarn (I was going to pay for it!), because I thought it would be cheaper/easier to find there. (Four years makes a difference in yarn shops and what they carry.) At the time, she did not knit--what a brave girl she is to have done this for me! She actually found a yarn shop, managed to communicate what I wanted, and got beautiful yarn. The yarn wasn't from or made in China or Hong Kong, but it is beautiful. I got 5 skeins of On Line Linie 38 Kaschmerino, which knits up at 9 1/2 stitches and 5 3/4 rows per inch. She also gave me a pattern for a beautiful cabled scarf which is NOT written in English. Thank goodness for charts! This project has, for some reason, been languishing for a few years. As this is The Year I Will Finish UFOs, I have brought it out. In the past couple days, I have knit about 1 1/2 skeins worth of the scarf. Why, oh why has it taken me this long to finish it? It really is beautiful yarn and a beautiful scarf. I have decided that I will use some of the yarn to make fingerless mitts to match the scarf, so when I have finished skein #3, I will pause what I am doing to make those. Then I can finish the scarf with whatever yarn remains. I will be oh-so-stylish next winter!

I have completely ripped out my Rogue. There is more than one way to take care of a UFO! I love the pattern, but really DON'T love the yarn (for this sweater). The pattern will have to wait until I can afford nicer yarn than what I was using. The yarn, though, will make wonderful felted bags. I have a couple patterns that I've wanted to make but couldn't justify right now, so those now have a chance to get knitted. I want to say "Stay Tuned" (like this is heart-stopping drama), but I have a couple baby blankets to plan and knit, so those will probably make the queue first.

ttfn--rag

And tomorrow is for G Boy

Wow. I haven't told you about the fun we've had celebrating birthdays for D Boy, E Boy, or F Boy! Where does the time go? Here's a teensy summary: D Boy got a Dozen Decorated Doughnuts from Dunkin' Donuts. E Boy got a bit more...Es and many E words and pictures on the driveway until it rained, Eggo waffles, Edamame, burned-to-a-crisp Empanadas (put out in the rain to stop the smell), and Egg decorating, as it was the week before Easter (fortunate!). F Boy got Formal Fancy-Font invitations to his Fete, Fiesta, Festival... There were Fragrant Flowers, Fajitas, Flour tortillas, Fanta, and fun. It was Fabulous! It was also on Friday (natch!), as it is every year (according to DS).

G Boy's birthday is tomorrow. The menu hasn't been completely nailed down, but I have a few options: there could be Grilled cheese, Grapes, Granola bars, Ginger Ale, Grape juice, Gatorade, Ground beef sandwiches (sloppy joes), Garden Salad, Guacamole, &/or Garbanzo bean salad. DS and I were at a store yesterday and saw a huge display of G things for the University of Georgia. He was terribly excited by all of the Gs, but I didn't think we needed to buy balloons or cups or stickers or anything else UGA related for the birthday. Now, if they'd had napkins, I probably would have buckled. G napkins would have been really cool.

What's funny about these "parties" is that the older kids (one in 1st grade and one in Kindergarten) seem to feel that they are missing out on something neat. If only they knew.

Knitting is happening. It's weird--I haven't been doing any "have to do" knitting at all. I've been on a string bag/farmer's market bag kick lately, and it is fun! I have a bit (ahem) of a cotton stash, and I've been trying to make a dent in it. So far I've finished four string bags from four patterns. One was crocheted, three were knit. I've been testing their sturdiness today--boy, are they strong. Also, the one which was my least favorite to make has been GREAT (G word!) to use. I may have to make another one. That is, after I've tested the other eight or so string bag patterns I have printed off...

Today we Celebrated...

Today we celebrated C Boy's birthday. What? You didn't? C Boy's birthday was today, B Boy's birthday was last week, and D Boy's birthday is next week. This is according to my youngest, who tells us all about the letter boys. They are Super Heros, and they each have different talents and abilities. There are also Evil Letter Boys (to oppose the Super Heros) and smaller, usually lower-case Letter Girls. Lost yet?

So today we had a little party for C Boy. We had Mexican Chicken tortilla soup, Cornbread, Carrots, Cheese sandwiches, Chips, Cran-Grape juice, double Chocolate Chunk Cookies. The kids made Crowns. We Created (ok--we knit). My sister sent an unexpected birthday card to C Boy that arrived TODAY! (She's good.) The card had glitter and kid art. It was fabulous! My nephew didn't "get it" but he wished C Boy a happy birthday anyway.

C Boy, for those who are interested, wears a Cape, Chases Cats, and rides in a Car.

D Boy is up next week. What to do... Donuts? Drums?


Well, I've (nearly) finished my Lizard Ridge. I love it! It is fully knit, blocked, and sewn together. It needs an edging, but that shouldn't take too long. I finished the Santa Scarf--it turned out pretty cute! Now I'm working on a Mrs. Weasley's Bag from Charmed Knits. Fun project.

ttyl...

Knitters are great!

I love knitters! I've been to two great things lately that have just made me happy. Yesterday I took a road trip with two friends and a Very Little Boy to Greenville, SC. The Greenville Knitting Guild had a Knit Inn. Registration was (get this) FIVE DOLLARS. I could actually afford it. Had I registered in time, I might have been able to take one of many classes they had going on, again for only FIVE DOLLARS. Since I didn't decide to go until Monday, I didn't get into any classes. I still had a fabulous time. We drove for 2 1/2 hours or so and then basically parked ourselves in the Drury Inn dining area along with a bunch of other knitters. There was a room with cookies and pop, a few vendors, a silent auction, and door prizes. People shifted in and out, but mostly we just WERE. We knit. (knitted?)

We got to meet a wonderful knitter from (who currently lives in) Greenville. (Hi, Heather!) We walked over to Whole Foods for lunch and we found beer samples--I even liked a couple of them. After a cruise through AC Moore, we had dinner at a cool coffee shop called Underground Coffee. We were definitely old fogies, though--everyone else there was 25 or younger, and Cool. We were Uncool, but that's one of the benefits of being old(er). We didn't care, and we had a great time anyway! What a great, great day.

Last weekend I was invited to another knitter's house for a Pride and Prejudice marathon knit-in. From 2:30 to 9:30 we watched all five hours of the BBC version of PaP, drank tea, and knit. There was talking, sharing, crying--I'm sorry I had to leave. I had left DH home with one sick boy and one bouncing-off-the-wall-recently-healthy boy (101.5 to 103.3 fever for a week, but finally over it), and I thought I should see how they all were. I hope the girls decide to gather again.

I love knitters!

The *!@#*#@ Vest is Done

Yesterday I finished the vest I started knitting for my dad several years ago. It has been three or four years--I'm not sure. I think I've blocked it out. There is nothing wrong with the pattern (from Knitter's, years ago), the yarn was wonderful. If this were a computer I would say it is a PEBCAK issue. You know...the Problem Exists Between the Chair and the Keyboard. In this case, I guess it was PEBNAY. Between the Needles and the Yarn. Me. Me. Me. The problem was all me. Luckily, I seem to have put all of my knitting issues in this one project. May they all stay there.

Just after Christmas one year, my parents were visiting. I purposely didn't give my dad a present, but gave him a Future Vest. I showed him a pattern I had picked out and asked his opinion. He didn't care for it, but did pick another pattern from the same issue. So far so good. I ordered the yarn. Still, so far, so good. Slowly but surely I knitted one side. That was with the correct needles, size 9. Later (why rush) I knitted the other side. With size 6 needles. Go, me. As it is a mistake rib pattern and I was knitting to measurements and couldn't tell the difference, I soldiered on. Finally (it must have been 1 1/2 years by now) I finished it up and sent it off to Iowa. Turns out the vest was about three inches too short for my father. Yea.

Again, go me. I said "no problem--send it back." I thought I'd be able to take off the ribbing, knit up or down--whatever--make it longer and send it back. Don't get too cocky with knitting. It will get you back. I could NOT figure out how to attach knitting to this funky mistake rib pattern without having it show, so after Much Procrastination, I finally decided I'd have to reknit it. Several times over, I hated this vest. It doesn't even have sleeves. There is no reason for this thing to take years to knit.

I reknit it. A front, a back. After I added three inches, though, I ran out of yarn. There was not enough left to do the neck and arm bands. So close and yet so far. Guess what--the yarn was discontinued. (Note to self--Knit Your Projects in a Reasonable Amount of Time!) I finally found a wonderful person on Ravelry who pointed me to another wonderful person who was willing to sell to me her one skein of Artful Yarns Jazz in colorway Dizzy. Whew and wow. Project underway again.

Around New Year's 2007, I sewed the shoulder seams and did the neckband THREE times, for various reasons. (Sewed back on backwards, sewed inside out...for the record, it was really hard to tell inside from outside when I wasn't looking carefully). Third time was charm enough--I don't love the result, but it will pass. Then when I was sewing up the SECOND side seam I noticed that the ribbing on the front is half an inch shorter than the ribbing on the back. How on Earth did I do that??? And why didn't I see it until sewing up the SECOND seam??? That mistake stays as is.

Now the ends are woven in. It is DONE. AGAIN. I hope it will be long enough for my dear old dad. I also hope that I haven't breathed too many bad thoughts into that stupid vest.


So I don 't leave you with all negative thoughts, think on this...Lizard Ridge. Again! For Christmas 2006 I made one for my sister and BIL. I LOVED the pattern, the project, the yarn, the end result. I had to give it away. It's a good thing they like it! (As a matter of fact, my knitting is famous now! They sent it out on their New Years cards this year! OK--the picture is of the dog, but he is ON my Lizard Ridge, which is draped over my BIL. Nice!) So I am now nine squares into a 30 square afghan. I am loving it again. Theirs had more brights and more contrast--mine is not turning out that way, but I've got a ways to go. It is fascinating to watch it grow.

I think my next big UFO to tackle will be my Rogue. I don't remember when I started that either, but I don't hate it yet. I just got sidetracked. I may get sidetracked again, though, because I've got two pregnant friends...

Love--Becky

Happy New Year!

2008. Wow. I'm short on time right now, but I do want to officially state that I will finish four UFOs this year. My dad's vest and three others--doesn't matter which ones, but I'm going to get the lead out and finish some things. I'm going to eat right and exercise--really! I'm going to get a job.

Happy New Year!