It's not a sock...

Dishcloths
But it's something.

KelInCal has made about eleventy-million round dishrags in the past week or so. I was inspired. Go read her dishrag posts if you want to make some of your own--and then thank her for the wealth of fancy dishrags you'll have. Seriously.

This was just what the doctor ordered. My wrists are feeling better, but my mood is... meh. My dryer broke down this weekend, resulting in some nice piles of mildew-scented laundry, The Beloved was determined to try my patience as if it was the new favorite activity for all the cool kids in town, and...and...and.

But I have a nice, round, purple dishcloth to use tonight when I clean up the dinner dishes! Wahoo!

My weekend in knitting

baby things
As promised--photos of my weekend knitting:

Dishcloth in Diamond Drop Lace. Unblocked. Knit in Sugar 'n Cream "Yellow" on US 7 needles. Here it is up close:

It's a pretty pattern and would likely make a beautiful scarf or baby blanket--two types of knit object I am currently avoiding like the plague.

The Dream Swatch. Coming along. There are miles to go before I sleep.... But it looks pretty, doesn't it?

Haiku. Progressing nicely. The right front and the armhole are done. I've knit about an inch or an inch-and-a-half of the back. You can see a bit of the Dream Swatch in the corner. What a drama queen!

Magic 28 sock. It's lonely and needing a mate. Hopefully I'll have time to make one before the end of the week. It's cute, isn't it? Here it is a little closer...

Here's a confession--this is my first-ever sock. When I took up knitting again, a couple of years ago, I did it with the goal of making socks somewhere in the back of my head. For some reason, I thought it would be hard and that I didn't know enough to be able to attempt the fine art of sock-knitting. Lo and behold, it wasn't that bad! There are some things I will probably change the next time around, but all in all, I like it. I hope it will serve its purpose well. And now I'm not nearly as intimidated by the Cherry Tree Hill yarn in my stash waiting to become something gorgeous.

And now, for the final round-up:

I think our models deserve a nice round of applause, don't you?

Here comes the sun

baby things
Spring has sprung--I think. Today it seems a bit more like we skipped over spring and went straight to summer, but since it isn't cold and rainy, I don't feel as though I should complain.

To celebrate, I did what any red-blooded American girl would do--I got a haircut and bought shoes.

Aren't they cute? I went in looking for sandals. But these were on sale. They were calling to me. They're green and pink and absolutely oozing spring-ness. They're also imminently more practical for work. (Have you ever dropped a good-sized book on your foot whilst wearing sandals? Take it from me--it's not fun.) And, did I mention, they were on sale? OK. I'm done rationalizing. However, the fact that I really don't have any sandals to speak of since the cat puked on my Tevas at some point in the past month and I've only just discovered it is plaguing me just a little. I've got to have another pay period coming up soon, right?

Since I haven't mastered the art of photographing myself, you don't get to see the haircut. Too bad! It's actually not any different from how I've been wearing my hair for the past four months--it's just two inches shorter, which managed to get rid of all the dead, fuzzy ends. If I was together enough to blow dry my hair before work, it would look sleek and straight. Instead, it looks acceptable, and less crappy than last week. The haircut was a bit of an adventure. I went someplace new, which was only a little terrifying. My previous hairdresser is a wonderful woman. She's been cutting my hair for about five years now. Unfortunately, we've moved, and it just seemed silly with the price of gas to drive half an hour away, particularly since, as The Beloved so eloquently stated, we moved to "the cultural center of New Hampshire."

So, I made myself an appointment at Portsmouth Spa, "Portsmouth's fun spa." It's a cute enough little place, and the woman who cut my hair was not only competent (which is always wonderful), but a good listener. Now, I'm not one who talks and pours out my life story to the poor soul charged with cutting the disaster that is my hair (that's why I have a blog, you see), but there are few things that drive me crazier than being granted a lovely hairstyle that requires more upkeep than washing it and drying it straight. Particularly when I say, "I am hair-challenged. Please do not ask me to do anything more with this than blow dry it." She also listened to my growing concerns regarding my current color--or lack thereof. And provided multiple options. So, next month I will go back and, God willing, she will use her magical skills to make my gray less obvious.

Regarding the spa itself, I will likely go back and avail myself of some of their other services. Once my hair color is determined, I'll get my brows shaped and tinted--an expenditure that The Beloved feels is equivalent to my flushing money down the toilet, but I insist makes me look "polished." The only downside? One of the hairdressers is a guy with whom I attended high school. This is one of the hazards of moving back to your hometown, I suppose. No matter where you go someone knows who you are. Anonymity no longer exists....which, ordinarily, is a good thing. But sometimes a little anonymity is a good thing when your head is covered with chemicals and foils in the never-ending fight against premature signs of age....

The weekend wouldn't be the weekend without knitting. I knit on the Dream Swatch. Outside. In the center of town. While drinking a latte. And shooting the breeze with the other locals (seriously--I saw a guy from my church, the priest from the other Episcopal church in town who filled in for us while ours was out on paternity leave at Christmastime, and a couple of other folk who have known me since I was knee-high to a grasshopper). It was pretty sweet. Then I finished a dishcloth. I also did a little work on Haiku, particularly since its future owner came to dinner on Saturday night and allowed me to measure her arms and torso. If I finish the sweater soon, it may actually fit her. And, the baby cardi/kimono finally went off to its new home--right in time for the 80 degree weather. Last, but not least, I knit my first "Magic 28" sock. It's very cute...but a little pointy. I'll need to do something different with the toes for the next pair. But, it makes me happy to think of this sock keeping some little child's foot warm. I think it was just what I needed to get me out of my slump. I'm now ready to finish off some of my languishing projects (I'm talking about you, Dream Swatch)--if only to knit more teeny-tiny socks.

Pictures to follow...I am currently sans camera, but will rectify the situation with a nice picture-heavy post later today or tomorrow.

There Can Be Only One

baby things
Several weeks ago, The Beloved was struck with an uncontrollable desire to own the entire Highlander television series. So he ordered it from Amazon.com--only to discover he hadn't changed his address from the last time he ordered something several years ago. Since we moved into our current abode about a year ago, this did not make him happy. Particularly since the items shipped later than planned and just missed mail forwarding.

He tried again and ordered the series on E-bay. And waited. And waited. Meanwhile, several items I ordered around the same time arrived without hitch. And The Beloved grew angrier and angrier. His mood was not helped when he e-mailed the seller to ask for a ship date and tracking number only to be told, "I don't answer individual e-mails in order to keep my costs down." The Beloved took the following days to craft the perfect negative review in retaliation.

You can imagine his delight and surprise when a large heavy box of DVDs arrived at the house on Tuesday. Since then, we have watched 10 episodes. If this doesn't prove my love for him, I don't know what does.

On the knitting front:

I'm about to pin the baby cardi out on the blocking board. Point of information: As Resident Sibling pointed out, it isn't actually a cardigan, but a kimono. Please forgive me if I have misled you. Anyway, back to the sweater. Since it is still in pieces, I won't bore you with a picture. I will, however, bore you with the following:

This is a dishcloth I've been working on since I finished knitting on the baby sweater. It knit quickly and has an interesting look. I think it's called "Squares on the Diagonal." It's knit corner-to-corner, like a grandmother's favorite. I love corner-to-corner dishcloths. I think this might knit up into a nice baby blanket. But I'm trying to finish off the blankets I've got going before beginning any new ones. Here it is close up:

And here it is posing:

It's cuddling with my new ball of Koigu. I blame KelinCal over at HypKNITized for this. And for this:

It's the beginning of a Dream Swatch. And while I'm a bit more enamored with hers than with mine, I'm thoroughly enjoying the yarn and the knitting. It brings me great joy. I might have to buy more Koigu tomorrow. In spring colors. Even though it is definitely not acting like spring today. We've been enjoying "wintry mix" here on the NH Seacoast today--which basically means we have a potpourri of crappy weather including snow, sleet and rain. Blah. The only good part about this weather? It means I can enjoy this with my knitting:

Ah. Wonderful. Now I'm off to block the baby sweater.

Hmmm.

Dishcloths
Last night I finished the monthly dishcloth KAL. I suppose it was Good Friday appropriate. Yet, I wish we had been given more guidance in color selection. The moderator sends out an announcement a few days before the KAL officially begins, and while we don't find out what we're knitting (it's supposed to be a surprise), we will get a yarn suggestion. This time around, it was to use a solid, worsted-weight cotton. I chose a nice, bright, sunshiney-yellow from my stash. And knit this:

I'm not entirely sure what to do with this. I don't know that I feel comfortable washing my grimy pans with the dishcloth version of Calvary. And the sunshine yellow somehow seems very, very wrong. Oh well. I suppose it can go into my dwindling pile of finished objects to be used as last-minute gifts...although I fear the only proper use for this is as the door prize at a tacky party...

Knitting Confession #2

Confessions
I knit Continental. But, until recently, I purled English. Fortunately, I could practice Continental purling with my Monthly Dishcloth KAL. I just finished the mid-month offering--Basket Weave in Sugar 'n Cream Soft Violet:

Pretty neat, huh? Here it is again in a little more detail:

Yes, I'm getting worked up over a dishcloth. It's purple!

Actually, all of the dishcloths I knit this month have been purple--or soft violet. The KAL from the beginning of this month was also purple (picture to follow). I'm thinking that I'll save these and give them to my mother. Her dishes have grapes on them (she has this Pfaltzgraff pattern) and she has a matching mural on the wall in her kitchen over her stove. I've still got some more Sugar n' Cream in soft violet, so perhaps I'll seek out a pattern with grapes.

Anyway. The first March KAL:

Bunny! Isn't it cute? I might have to make some more of these before Easter appears. We're hosting Easter Dinner this year. That means The Beloved and I will welcome: My parents; my two siblings; his parents; possibly his sibling and her significant other; possibly my aunt and uncle; possibly my cousin, her husband and their two kids; possibly my other cousin and her son; and the remote possibility of my uncle's son. So that gives us a grand total of 19.* What was I thinking? The one thing I can tell you for certain--we will be eating dinner off of our finest Chinet.

Speaking of Easter--it's the first full day of spring! And this is what it looked like outside of my office at 7:00 this evening:

Ah, spring.

*A correction: While standing in the shower and trying to wake up this morning, I realized I had left my grandmother off of the list of Easter Dinner guests. That brings us up to a possible 20. I just knew 19 was off--it would be too weird. 20 is much better. Anyone got any ideas on how to fit 20 people into a small ranch house?

Progress!

blankets
On Friday we got hit with an obscene amount of snow. Well, obscene since I'm ready for it to be spring. And since the snowblower we inherited finally decided to give up the ghost. Saturday was largely taken up with shoveling out so I could get to the craft store to purchase supplies for Sunday's Church School lesson. Yes, folks--this is life in the fast lane. After hours of shoveling, The Beloved in one of his moments of brilliance, suggested Chinese Takeout. It may have been the high point of the weekend.

I didn't get to knit or spin at all on Saturday due to hours of manual labor followed by the creation of two parable boxes for Sunday School. Sunday, however....

I completed the following: Watermelon Hat 2.0;


Airy Scarf;


Dishcloth KAL (well, we're not done yet--but I got current on the day-to-day allotted rows); gauge swatch for baby sweater. Nothing has been washed or blocked yet, and I still need to weave in the ends on Airy Scarf, but woot! I'm happy to be able to cross a couple of UFOs off my list. Yippee! Now, it's on to the Blue Lagoon Blankie. You know, the project isn't bad...sometimes row after row of garter stitch can be quite therapeutic. But....because of the striping, it doesn't travel well. Too many balls of yarn. And all those ends....maybe I should train one of the cats to weave them in....But I can work on that in between the now nearly finished dishcloth, a project that is yet-to-be-determined for my mother's birthday (unless I decide she gets the Airy Scarf), and the baby sweater for which I dutifully completed a gauge swatch.

On the kitty-cat front, Polly went to the groomer today. They gave her a modified lion cut. It's a little more dignified than the last lion cut she received--they shaved her entire tail instead of leaving a big, poofy ball at the end. However, long-haired cats with short haircuts look ridiculous no matter how you style them. The important thing is that she is clean and matt-free and that someone else cut all of her claws. The groomer commented on what a great cat she is--and Polly is a great cat--but this always comes as a surprise to me because when I try to brush, bathe or trim this cat, she tries to kill me. Seriously--I've got the scars to prove it. Apparently, for the groomer, she is all purrs and smiles and stands still while they do their thing. Sheesh.

Now that she's home, she's a bit grouchy. But how can you not love that sweet little face? No matter how grouchy she gets, she's still my baby.

My Karma ran over my Dogma

blankets
Or something like that. So, yesterday topped off my already interesting week--which is scary because it was only Wednesday.

To recap:

On Monday, I called Virgin Mobile about my phone and went through menu/holding hell whilst trying to discover why my phone refuses to transfer pictures. After following the directions given to me by the oh-so-not-helpful guy in the returns department, my phone still will not do what I want it to. I have since e-mailed the returns department to discover that, though you can send them e-mail, they do not handle returns in that fashion. Oh, and if I didn't buy my phone through them directly (I didn't), I can't return it through them. Great. Which means I now get to transfer my frustration to Best Buy. Naturally, they no longer carry the phone in question. This should be fun.

Monday night I returned home to find a sick cat. The Beloved and I went to the vet where we dropped a pretty penny on the visit, burn cream, and amoxicillin. Each morning and evening, the two of us give Polly her treatment. This involves The Beloved putting her into a sleeper hold while I clean the affected area (yuck), apply burn cream, and then move to the other end of the cat in order to force a dose of liquid amoxicillin down her throat. It's the same stuff kids take for ear infections and the like--pink, bubblegum-scented, sticky goodness--and the cat is as fond of it as most kids are. Perhaps someone should look at creating special cat flavors. I'm sure she'd like it more if it smelled like duck liver or chicken.

Since my experience is that this sort of garbage manifests in threes, I assumed that my third misery-causing experience is the continued absence of a reimbursement check for which I've waited two weeks (turnaround time for these reimbursements has generally been under five days). I'd gotten down to the "dangerously low" level of funds in my checking account where the bank sends me balance notifications every 12 hours or so, possibly in hopes that I will rectify the situation. Unfortunately, as I found out yesterday, absence of funds--while distressing--does not qualify as catastrophic enough to knock one's karmic balance out of decline.

The Beloved and I have our phone service through Vonage. One of the great perks of this is that I get an e-mail every time someone leaves us a voicemail message. Yesterday I find a 3 minute message from "Anonymous." Hmmm--unusual. "Anonymous" generally signifies someone trying to sell us something we don't want. They never leave messages that long. So I listen to the message at work. This turned out to be a gigantic mistake, as the message is from my Library School Adviser.

The gist of the message is: They have lost paperwork I sent in at the start of fall semester. My program of study form does not match my transcript. Because these two pieces of paper don't match, I haven't actually graduated. I may have to pay a continuing registration fee for this semester. Oh, and what was your internship about again, because I can't find any of that information either.

This sends me into a panic on, oh, any of a number of levels--from the fact that I'm all done giving the Library School money, to the horrifying realization that if the places I've applied to work call to confirm my completion of the program in December 2006, I have no idea what the registrar's office will tell them. This is not good. Because I am sane and rational and together, I shut my office door before bursting into tears and e-mailing something absolutely incoherent and rife with swearwords to The Beloved. Because The Beloved is an amazing man who can occasionally reply with just the right thing, he tells me that this is not my fault and we will not have to pay for it, because if the Library School screws me over with either another bill or by creating problems for a potential employer, well, that's why God created lawyers. (The Beloved used to be an attorney, so I have confidence in his assessment of what is and is not a potentially litigious situation.)

The hyperventilating ends long enough for me to e-mail Adviser (complete with concerns), fill out required form (again), get to second job, and fax the document. Adviser admits that this is their fault and not mine, that my records will state a graduation date of December 2006 since I did complete all the requirements, and that I shouldn't be charged any extra fees. Adviser also says that if potential employers have any questions, I should have them contact him. Theoretically, crisis has been averted, but man-oh-man--I just want to be done with Library School!

Needless to say, I finished off the ballband dishcloth last night. It's stunning. Well, for a dishcloth. I didn't even try to kill anyone with my knitting needles. Impressive, eh? Tonight I start the March dishcloth KAL and this weekend I'm going to attempt to make some progress on my unfinished projects. Last weekend, I actually wove in all of the ends on the Blue Lagoon Baby Blanket, which means I have no excuse for not picking it up and working on it while watching TV. Except for the watermelon hat I really want to make for a friend's baby....

Knitting confession #1

Confessions
I've been under a fair amount of stress this week--between Sick Polly, Virgin Mobile Phone Hell, and just general run-of-the-mill BS like wondering if various reimbursements are ever going to arrive and allow me to have more than $20 in my checking account--which always leads to rather unusual knitting behavior. I don't always deal well with stress, which basically means I can't focus on anything and I turn into a raving banshee. Everything suffers--and I find that I begin to make peculiar craft-related decisions.

Although this may not be new behavior, I only really noticed it a couple of years ago when, during a particular rough patch, I was compelled to crochet potholders. Yes, potholders. Out of kitchen cotton. After I made potholders for our household (The Beloved hates them and refuses to use them. I don't think they're that bad.), I made some for my mother. And my aunt. And my sister. I also bought a truckload of Sugar 'n Cream and Peaches 'n Creme cotton yarn in various--mostly hideous--colorways. There are some solids in the mix, but honest to God I don't know what came over me. Ugly. Stupendously ugly. I don't even think I can knit baby hats or booties out of some of this yarn, it's so hideous. So, I put it in a box and tried to forget about it.

Lucky for me, this time my stress has decided to manifest itself in an insane desire to knit dishcloths. I don't know why--I'm not even knitting brainless garter stitch squares or Grandma's Favorite dishcloths. I am actually searching for new dishcloth patterns to try. I went so far as to join a Yahoo! group for knitting dishcloths. Tomorrow, the March Knit-a-Long (KAL) begins, and I'm a little too excited.

Currently on needles is the Ballband Dishcloth, brought to us by the fabulous Mason-Dixon ladies. (The pattern appears in their book as well--I found that out after finding the pattern online....and reading the credits at the bottom.) Naturally, I'm using yarn from my stash on this, which is a good way to get rid of some SNC in wine and midnight magic ombre. So far, I love it. The yarn doesn't even seem that hideous. Mind you, I don't plan on redecorating my kitchen around it, but I'm quite pleased with the way it's turning out. The Beloved says that it looks "intricate" and that it is too fancy to use in the kitchen. He is learning--this is a great improvement from "why do you want to knit dishcloths when we can buy them for under a dollar at the supermarket?"

I am a little self-conscious about what I feel to be slightly weird shifts of focus in my knitting, but perhaps I should just chill out. In fact, it seems to be going around. Yesterday, the Yarn Harlot wrote that she had put aside her current project in favor of garter stitch in plain wool on big needles: "the knitting equivalent of oatmeal." February and early March can be particularly ugly as the snow turns to gray slush and refreezes and we all wait in anticipation of spring. Whether dishcloths, baby blankets, garter stitch rectangles or socks, many of us need something to help get us back to a more comfortable and focused place where we create because we want to--not just because we need to.

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