Friday, October 5, 2007

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

DH had a big birthday today. I wish I could have done something fabulous for him. He has been a wonderful support for me, and I'm lucky to be married to him. Almost ten years--can you believe it?

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Pics...

I'm trying to take pictures and get them here and in Ravelry. I'm failing. I got some really poor pictures taken--I don't think this camera is working too well. I found the plug and attached it to both camera and computer. Go, me! I walked through the guide-thing and I created a Flickr account. Easy-peasy. Then I tried to find the pictures, and it all went south. I can't find them. I feel like a dunce. Where did they go? I looked and looked. The file name listed in the picture software doesn't seem to exist. Ughhh. DH took the boys out for some fun, I have all this time to get pictures on Ravelry (finally) and I can't find them. You know if I ask him for help he'll find them in about two seconds. I want to find them first!

Yesterday I took the boys out while DH went golfing. It was Free Museum Day, sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine. One of the museums in our area that was free was the Michael Carlos Museum over at Emory. They were having an Egyptian/mummy exhibit that I thought would interest the boys. DS1 has a Jack & Annie book (Magic Tree House) about Egypt, pyramids, mummies, hieroglyphics and all, and we've read it many times. He has seen a Trading Spaces in which they decorated a boys room in an "Egyptian" style. For months he told me that his "next room" was going to be decorated like that one. (Also, I was to have a flower/garden-y design for mine. So Not My Style.) So all this bodes well for the museum, right? Wrong. We went through that place faster than I've ever gone through a museum before. Oh, well. I'm trying, and it was free! I'm not happy about how it went, but I'd be even less happy if I'd spent $15 a ticket. I will keep trying to educate and infuse an appreciation for art and aged things.

Do look for Free Museum Day next year! They seem to have it the last Saturday of September. Last year I made them go to the High Museum here in Atlanta, because I hadn't been able to go. I enjoyed that one--it is a fancy art museum. The boys, not so much. (I didn't expect it last year, though.)

As soon as I FIND the pictures, I will post them... Yesterday I finished two things, both crochet. (WHAT is up with the crochet? It's starting to get annoying.) There is a necklace/scarfy thing from Berroco called Coral made of Boho. It is really a string of little attached circles. It is fun, and different. Mine is greens, and I like it.

I also finished the body of Kluster, another Berroco free pattern. It is a crocheted crochet hook holder. I'm in the midst of felting it now, so I can add the center strip later this week. My excuse for this is that even knitters use crochet hooks. There is the occasional chain needed, or single crochet edge (makes for easy pick-up of stitches), or threading beads onto fabulous lace knitting. Previously I denied crocheting a place in my knitter-existance, but I still need a place to keep the hooks. Might as well be crocheted.

My dad's vest is coming along. I believe I am four rows away from finishing the back. Now I am really scared that I am going to run out of yarn. Since this is such an old project, I doubt that I will be able to find any more. WHY did I procrastinate? Well, keep knitting and find out the horrible truth. That's my plan.

Now, since I am boy-free for the afternoon, I think I'll knit!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

"Tomorrow"

I guess "tomorrow" is a relative term here. I meant to write, but...

Anyway, Wednesday was great. I did go by myself, but I got a great seat because of it. The talk was in a theater in/past/through an ice cream place. Funny that it could be there, but it was. They put me on the raised section in the second row. Still technically in the back, but raised so I had a pretty good view. When Stephanie came out to sign the group A books (for those people from far away), she was sitting right next to me. (Or I was sitting right next to her. Whatever.) I sat next to a nice lady from Peachtree City, and we gabbed. I also saw several people I knew from Guild and elsewhere, and I got to gab with them. Stephanie talked to the approx. 700 of us for about 1 1/2 hours. Boy, is she funny, thought-provoking, entertaining... Well worth the scary driving-to -VH-by-myself that I had to do. Since I was in the group B (for those of us "close by") signing group, I had a lot of free time after the talk. I hung out at the shop, gabbed some more, got dinner (hummus and grilled bread--yummy) across the street, and hung out at the shop some more. I met some great people from Athens, GA behind me in line, and got some knitting done on my current project. I finally got to have my book signed (I was one of the last), and was tongue-tied. Idiot. Stephanie was really nice, though, and I'm so glad that I went. It was a fun night.

I have finished a few more things. Last week I made myself finish at least one thing/day. I finished a crocheted baby blanket for DH's niece's new baby girl. (That makes me a great-aunt four times over--weird.) I wove ends in on a head scarf thing from Knitty. Can't remember the name of it, but it'll come to me. I wove in the ends of the Touch Me scarf and felted it. Wow, is that thing great. I used every bit of six skeins, though, and came up five inches shorter than they supposedly did with five skeins. How did they do that?? I wove in the ends on Aunt BJ's bag. (Now MAIL it, darnit!) There were a couple other things, but I can't remember them now. It was probably just weaving ends in--I'm bad about not doing that until I simply must mail something.

I'm chugging away on my dad's vest. (Really.) Five more inches, and I'll be done with the back.

I am also making a scarf with some alpaca that sister AJ gave me from Peru. She used to travel there quite a bit, and I benefited in the way of great yarn! This yarn is a gorgeous red color, and knits at 5 1/2 stitches to the inch. The scarf is my copy of the Swiss Cheese scarf from Morehouse Merino. I'm too cheap to buy the pattern, because it is only sold in a kit, so I'm having to make it up by myself. So far, so good. For some reason it makes me think of Ralph Macchio. (It's backward, though--cast off, cast on.) Let's see--did I go to high school in the 80s?

In my head I'm also designing copies of two other scarves I've seen online. These will be for my boys, and are Santa and a Snowman. The long scarfy bits are hats that end in the appropriate face at one end and a pompom at the other. What I can't decide is stockinette, 1 x 1 rib, garter, or tube. Santa would be easy, but I don't like what I've got available for his face. Snowman has way too many yarn options for the hat part. What to do, what to do? Oh--I also want to have one of them finished by the October 4th Guild meeting. Knit fast, Becky!

More "tomorrow."

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Harlot!

Tonight (well, the 19th) the Harlot was in town. Wow, is she funny. Several hundred knitters and I got to laugh and appreciate ourselves as knitters. What fun. I was one of the very last to get my book signed at Knitch, but I didn't mind the wait. Knitters are great company. There were many that I know, and more that I didn't know. More on the story tomorrow, though. I'm beat--I got home at 11:30, and it's 2:00 now. Good night, all.

Monday, August 27, 2007

New week

Hiya--

I did finish my MS3 last week, and blocked in on Sunday. I unpinned it on Monday, and I do have to say, I am quite pleased with it. I plan to give it to my sister in law (in place of the Peacock Feathers shawl--now I can keep that one!), so I do hope she won't be thrown off by the asymmetricality of it. I think it is great, but you never know. I really will post pictures as soon as I find the camera cable.

I got in to Ravelry, so I really do need to find that cable. I'm itching to take pictures of my stash, my projects, everything. I love Ravelry! I've found new projects that I want to make, but I think mostly that is a good thing. I'm trying to concentrate on yarn that I already have, so maybe I will get inspired that way.

Today I will be finishing up Aunt Betty Jane's bag. I did it on an F hook, though, and I think it is a bit tight. Maybe it will stretch out a bit with use. I use mine to haul everything we get from the library, so it definitely gets used/abused. Still going strong.

LB gave me the Touch Me--I'm almost finished with four balls. I still haven't decided what to do about mittens/no mittens, but I'll decide that at the end of ball #5. Gimme a couple more days. She also gave me the Alchemy silk. That scarf is done and awaiting blocking. It is so beautiful! I was using some REALLY pointy needles at the beginning, and I kept splitting the yarn. When I switched to duller, slicker needles, it really started to be a faster, more pleasurable knit. I can't wait to wear it.

Job hunt is still on. Bleah.

So current knit-list: BJs bag, Touch Me scarf, Buttonhole Bag (Mason-Dixon pattern) out of SWS, Daddy's vest (really, I should do this one)

Friday, August 17, 2007

Monthly Update?

Well, I'm still here. That is, I'm back. I took DS1 and DS2 to Iowa through Oklahoma on a two week last-of-the-summer car trip. I had a great time--I hope they did.

Have I been knitting? Of course. I have been working diligently on MS3--I have 34 rows left. I think it is looking pretty good. It should be finished and blocked any day now. (Really!)

I have also been working on a Vintage Velvet scarf out of Touch Me. Wow, is that stuff wonderful. I can't wait for winter! My wonderful friend LB gave me 6 skeins of Touch Me for my birthday. (Thank you!) I have wanted to make this scarf for years, but it is out of my justifiable budget for yarn. The pattern calls for 5 skeins, and she thought I might want it a bit long. I think, though, that I may stop with 5 and use the extra skein for mittens. I may have to buy a skein by myself, but wouldn't TM mittens be fabulous?

She also gave me a skein of luscious Alchemy Yarns silk in blues/greens/turquoise. It, too, is wonderful. It is beautiful, but I thought it wasn't a color I would have chosen, so was glad to be going outside my norm. LB told me I have a bunch of yarn in these colors, but I didn't think so. Lo and behold, this yarn matches at least 5 different yarns in my stash and two shirts in my closet. I guess I should pay more attention to myself! I'm knitting this skein in an Alchemy Yarns scarf pattern, and it will be beautiful. This one I will be able to wear in a month or two when it gets just a bit cooler here in Georgia.

Oddly enough, I have also been crocheting. My mother's aunt thought of me when needing to find a home for some little balls of cotton. There were a LOT of them, and I didn't have any of those colorways! (How is that possible?) I made a bag (called Inga's Bag? pattern is on the 'net somewhere) with fairly solid Granny Squares in 16 different colors set on the diagonal, and edged them with navy. Pretty cute, actually. So I took the bag to show Aunt BJ in Iowa. She liked it so much she asked me to make one for her and gave me another 24 or so FULL skeins of cotton. Fair trade, in my book! Hers will be edged in black, and I should be finished with that one early next week. Mailing things, though, is not a strong point of mine. I really need to make an effort this time. When LB saw the bag she said, "But--that's crocheted...will you make one for me?" Of course. Don't worry--I don't think crocheting is truly a new hobby for me--I think it is a temporary diversion.

After I finish these projects, I really do intend to get back to the old UFOs. My dad's vest will be first. Then I have a baby blanket to finish that didn't make the list(again crocheted. what is up with this?). Third, I think, will be my Peacock Feathers shawl. MS3 has made me want to do more lace...


DS1 has already finished one week of first grade. Where does the time go?

Sunday, July 8, 2007

SLACKER!

Wow, what a blogging slacker I am. In my defense, a lot has been going on/changing around here. Highlights: parents came to visit, turned 40, lost job. Here's the knitting stuff...

I haven't finished my dad's vest, but I am making steady progress on it. I am one inch from the armhole shaping on the back. When I get there, the back will go faster. The front should be a piece of cake, because I'm going to start that piece from the armhole. Much less to knit that way. (Detatch extra bits, knit three additional required inches, start armhole/neck shaping.)


I did make a pirate washcloth for DS#1, and I made a plastic bag out of plastic bags. I think I got the pattern from Magknits, and it was fun to do. My folks brought a LOT of bags when they visited at the beginning of June. I've cut those up (got three blisters in the process), so I'm ready to make some more soon.

Also finished were a little tank top and shrug for my niece. I'm not sure they went over too well, but maybe it is just the season. Oh, well.

I also finished a horrible shiny green scarf that was already on the needles. It didn't make my WIP list, but it has been around for a while. So, Success, even if I'm not crazy about it! A UFO!

That's all I can remember finishing, but that is about it, I'm sure. I have started the Mystery Stole 3, and I've even finished Clue 2. I did have to go buy beads, but they were only $3. Go, me. DS #2 even helped me pick them out. The yarn is from stash, is black and probably wool, but I'm afraid that's all I know about it. I think it will look great blocked. Five more clues to go!

I've also cast on a short-sleeved sweater for myself. Amazing. Since I HAVE to do the Dad-Vest, I knit a row of that, then a row of my sweater. Progress on both.

I have also been going to a knit-in every Monday night at a coffee shop here in Marietta. It's fun, and I'm recognizing faces. It's the best parts of knitting--talking, knitting, coffee, repeat. Fun.

Next week is Stitch -n- Pitch here in Atlanta. I can't wait! I've got tickets for all my boys, and we'll be in the shade!

Pics of what I can soon!