4 weeks + 2 days

friends
The Tadpole is getting bigger. She was four weeks old on Wednesday. I thought about posting--honestly, I did. But she's been very fussy this week. I think she may be having a growth spurt, but we'll find that out on Monday at Mommy Group or Wednesday at the One Month Checkup.

She has spent much of the week in her pouch sling (I have this one and another from this company that were gifted to me before the baby was born), which is good because it generally keeps her from screaming, but still allows me to do some things with my hands. Like type this post :) Or knit. Or, God help me, eat something. Her father is wondering if we shouldn't be calling her Roo instead.

I didn't realize that part of the reason women drop so much weight when breastfeeding is because the little tyrant does not want to be put down long enough so that Mommy can restock the stores, so to speak. I've lost about 30 pounds in the past four weeks, and ironically look better than I've looked in years. Well, except for the dark circles under my eyes. And the fact that I really need a haircut, but am not sure how to manage that with Baby. I was out of maternity clothes two weeks after the baby was born and am now finding that my pre-maternity pants are too big. However, I am reluctant to buy new pants because I'm not sure where exactly I'm going to end up.

The Beloved suggests more ice cream.

Anyway. The Tadpole continues to be lots of fun when she isn't channelling Mussolini. We try to go out somewhere every day--mostly because Mama needs O-U-T at some point or she becomes very squirrely. And we're finding that if Mama is happier, Tadpole is happier. Funny, that. Last week, we had lunch in an actual restaurant for the first time with Laura, who is a very brave soul. Laura was also the photographer for this outing, so we thank her hundreds of times over for the pictures.

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She also captured pictures of Baby's first yarn crawl. You can't start them too young...

Here we are at the Yarn Basket:

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And at Yarn for Ewe:

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As you can see, The Tadpole already charms people wherever she goes. According to her Grandma (my mother), I have been blessed with a child just like me--absolutely perfect and angelic when around other people, and saving up all nightmarish behaviour for her Daddy and me. Ah, parenthood.

But I forgive her. Seriously, how could you not forgive this face?

DSCF7404

So much sock yarn...

Knitting
So little time...

I've decided to mostly put the Dublin Bay sock aside. It's still in my purse for waiting room and lunch break knitting because it's mindless at this point. I'll continue until I run out of yarn and then decide what I want to do.

In the meantime, I've started Cobblestone sleeve number one. Have any of you knit this sweater? I've seen hundreds online, but don't actually know anyone who's completed one. The sleeve seems really long. The size I'm knitting calls for a 20-inch sleeve, which just seems long, particularly for my husband who has short, stubby little arms. But with the yoke, I'm not sure where I should be measuring from to find The Beloved's actual arm length. Any thoughts? Otherwise, I'll continue knitting according to the instructions and if it doesn't fit my special guy, I'll see if it fits my brother or my dad (who are also special guys in their own right).

Since my socks have failed me (or perhaps I've failed the socks), it's time to move on and start something new. So I started going through my stash of sock yarns and this is what I found:
Sock Yarn

Mind you, that isn't all of the sock yarn I have, but my camera battery was running low. And the light today isn't all that good. Anyway.

So, I've got all of this yarn and no idea where to start. That's not true--I have some ideas, but I'm not sure which to chose first. Here's what I'm thinking:

I bought some KnitPicks Gloss in Burgundy with the intention of knitting a pair of Cleissidra Socks. Cute, eh? I think they would be very nice. Although, I might need to buy a skirt to show them off.

I've also been perusing my books of sock patterns. There are several that look good and I've narrowed down some choices. I've got some more Gloss in Parsley for the Anniversary Socks in Favorite Socks. Then, there's the Child's French Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks. I've earmarked some fuscia Lang Jawoll for those. Not photographed, but somewhere in my stash is some light blue sportweight mystery yarn (I think it may have bought it on e-bay from Dye Studio, but I can't remember) that is intended to become Whitby from Knitting on the Road.

That's not even mentioning the several skeins of Yarn Pirate sock yarn I could work with. And four balls of KnitPicks Essential in Cocoa purchased for my husband who then decided he wanted something else that is currently available for playtime.

It seems all that's left is to decide. However, I've not been much very good at deciding lately, and so they all sit...waiting...

Guess it's back to the sleeve for me!

Please advise....

socks
Right. So, I've been knitting on a new sock. It's done in a merino-tencel blend and was the Yarn-Pirate Booty shipment from, like, September. I like the colors, but I'm not sure how I feel about the way they're striping in my chosen pattern. So, I want to know what you all thing.

butternutsock(Note: We have sun today. It's frigid, but there's sun.)

I'm using the "Dublin Bay" pattern from Mossy Cottage Knits. I like the pattern. The little strips of lace on each side of the sock is just enough decoration for me. Well, that and the picot. I like me some picot trim. But the stripes are awfully wide, aren't they? I've thought about yanking it out and working it on slightly larger needles for fewer stitches to see what would happen (that there sock is 72 stitches on size 0s). Then I think, it's a freaking pair of socks and they really don't look that bad, do they?

So, what do you all think? Rip out and start over? Not that bad? Other thoughts as they may or may not apply?

Good News, Bad News

exchanges
So, the good news is I've gotten a lot of knitting done lately! I've finished my picot socks knit with Yarn Pirate Calamity. They just need to be washed and blocked. I'm also nearly finished with the body of the Alpaca Silk Shrug--I've got about 20 rows left on the last sleeve, then seaming, then the six-inch ruffle.

The bad news? I can't show any of them to you. I've misplaced my freaking camera. Sigh.

This has been pretty much par for the course for me this past week or two.

A week ago today, I left for work at 7:30. Only I picked up the wrong set of keys, locking myself out of my house and my car. Yes, I felt smart. Particularly when The Beloved had to drive home from work--45 minutes away--to let me in. Did I mention how smart I felt?

Then The Beloved asked (very nicely) if he could have a night to raid on freakin' WoW. Yeah. This made me happy. But since I don't want to be the shrew wife who tells him, no, no hobbies for you, Computer Man, we agreed on a night. The deal was, I give him Friday Night for raiding and he reads chapter 11 of this book for me. I'm striving for the delusion that we will at least be speaking the same language vis-a-vis certain topics.

And add to all that fun the fact that I've just been extremely out of sorts. I'm not sure if it's my bad week or if it's seasonal depression or if it's something else. I'm just exceedingly moody and not desirous of getting out of bed in the morning. Meh.

The only thing I can think that could possibly help is to start a new knitting project. So, as soon as the body of the shrug is finished, I'll wind this yarn up:
ypbutternut3

and begin some new socks. I'm thinking about knitting these socks (scroll down, they're there) with that tasty merino/tencel yarn. And as soon as I finish the ASS, er, Alpaca Silk Shrug, I'll start on the Cobblestone Sweater for my darling spouse. So, I'm hoping that those will suffice as glimmers of hope on the horizon.

On an unrelated note...well, maybe related, because the activity tickles me just a bit, I have two to Pay it Forward: The Crafty Preppy; and The Quintessential Procrastinator! In six to nine months, you will each receive something handmade from me! I'll be in touch shortly. But the rest of you--notice that I've only got two people for whom to make something! That means there is room for one more! So, the next person who leaves a comment and wants to pay some handmade gift goodness forward will be in. If you've got questions as to what in the hell I'm talking about, read the bottom half of this post.

Startitis

Knitting
So, not only am I suffering from short-timers' disease, I've got a wicked case of startitis. The two may well be related. I've tried so hard to be good. I worked on Conwy this morning. And the shrug sleeve is underway--I worked on it yesterday at lunchtime. (It's not quite picture-worthy yet--maybe tomorrow.) But, alas, they just weren't enough.

I've had not one, but two skeins of Yarn Pirate Booty marinating in the stash. And I just couldn't take it anymore. So, this afternoon I took this:

YP_Calamity_2.JPG
Yarn Pirate BFL
Colorway: Calamity
(Booty Club Exclusive, August 2007)

and sat down in front of the HBO Free Preview and came up with this:

picot6
Plain Vanilla Sock with Picot Cuff
Needles: Knitpicks US 1 (2.25 mm) dpns

Please ignore my lack of photography skills. It's time for both a light tent and sock blockers, but craft time cuts into knitting time. I need to find balance. Or someone who lives to carry out crazy craft projects for me.

Anyway.

My original plan for this yarn was to have my first "toe-up" knitting experience. But I'd also been itching to try out the picot cuff. I'm glad that I chose the route I did for this yarn because it's not exactly a dream to work with. Don't get me wrong, it's very soft and I think it will make a lovely sock, but I had read that it didn't rip back nicely and I've found it to be rather splitty. The colors, however, are gorgeous--of the three shipments I've gotten, this is probably my favorite in that regard.

The instructions for the picot cuff came from here. If you google "sock knitting picot cuff" you'll come up with a number of options--I chose this one primarily because it provided instructions for fastening the hem while knitting and without using a provisional cast-on. (I may have startitis, but I'm also exceptionally lazy and had zero desire to deal with a provisional cast-on in the round while trying to watch Superman Returns. Priorities, you know?)

Picking up the cast on row and knitting it together with a live row to make the hem was a little fiddly, but well worth the effort since I won't have to sew later. It also gives me a nice place to run some elastic thread if I find the socks refuse to stay up. (Thank you Crazy Aunt Purl.) And, now that the fiddly part is out of the way, it's smooth sailing till I get to the heel and the tricksiness around picking up gusset stitches and the like. Which makes this an excellent project for the HBO Free Preview.

Except that it's started to pour rain here and the satellite signal is out. Drat. Well, the Options came in the mail today.... I could always cast on The Beloved's sweater if TV doesn't return....

Third Time's a Charm

family
No pictures yet of the shrug, mostly because I started it for the third freaking time last night. Gauge, you are a cruel mistress. (Note: I did knit a gauge swatch and got gauge with a US 4 Addi Turbo when I decided to knit this thing--but that was a couple of weeks ago.)

So, when I started it the first time, I thought I chose the wrong sized needles. Pattern called for a US 4 and the stitches looked too loose. I was knitting on an Addi Turbo, and it was dark so I couldn't read the numbers on the cord. When I looked in my needle drawer, I found an empty package for a US 6 circular, so I assumed (stupid me) that's what I was using. Fortunately, I hadn't gone too far, so the ripping wasn't all that traumatic.

I pulled out a US 4 circular needle and cast on again. Knit some more. Last night I looked at my partial sleeve and thought two things: 1) I don't like how I've done my increases; and 2) This still looks kind of loose. So, out came the tape measure and, dammit, my gauge was off. Now, it's a shrug, and a loose-fitting one at that, so while gauge is important, I wasn't so far off that the sweater would have fit Tom Brady at the end. But it just didn't look quite right. So, out it came and I moved down to an Addi Turbo US 3. Where I finally got gauge. Again.

I'm wondering when my tension loosened up so much? How did this happen? It's certainly not because I'm relaxed. Especially after ripping out the damned sleeve two times. And why does knitting the same sweater on a US 3 circular needle seem so much more daunting than if I was using the recommended US 4? And why do I bother knitting swatches at all if they're just going to lie to me anyway!

In other news... Once you turn in your resignation, your desire and ability to be productive at work take a marked turn for the worse. Does this happen to other people, or is it just me? I now feel bad about giving so much notice, because I have another three weeks of just not caring ahead of me. I mean, I'll gladly help people if they have questions--it's more a question of motivation. Library work is not steady. Sometimes you have patrons with questions, often you don't. Today is a no-questions sort of day, which means I need to take care of other administrative sorts of things. Or catalog. Or do something. So I photocopied some more ILL and Equipment Usage handouts earlier in the day as an attempt to be a good worker bee, but now...I'm literally counting down till I can leave. Or at least take a 15 minute break and work on my sock. So pathetic.

On a happier note, I think I've decided what I'm going to knit for the Romantic Hand Knits-Along. I'm planning on making A Room with a View, which is a "lace peplum surplice design...excellent for all body types, especially a short-waisted figure." Sign me up. If the short-waisted part wasn't enough to make me want to knit this, the fact that surplice-styled tops flatter my ever-expanding upper-body doesn't hurt. I have no idea why they've decided to grow. I'm over 30. I'm not pregnant. This is driving me nuts and making clothes-shopping (and the concept of knitting a sweater) an absolute nightmare. Hence the shrug. If I can ever get past the lower half of the first sleeve. < /rant >

OH, and I can't believe I've forgotten to write about this last piece of big news that's now a week old! Resident Sibling is out of the house! She's joined the Army and is happily settled at Boot Camp. OK--so I can't be sure she's happy, but this is what she's wanted, and more importantly, she's no longer in the next room over! Unfortunately, she left so quickly that she failed to get her things out of the room she occupied. So, she may be gone, but I'm still stuck with her crap. The Beloved and I are hoping to start in on a massive basement project so that her items may be moved out of what will be my fiber studio. (HA--Is that not the craziest thing you ever heard?) With the possible exception of her stash. Now, there's actually quite a bit in her stash that doesn't interest me at all. But she's got about a metric ton of Lopi that is just begging to be knit into felted bags. And maybe felted slippers. Laura reminds me that I really should be a good person and ask her what she would like done with her stash.... but being good is just so darned hard when my little brain starts making plans!

My Mojo's Back, Baby!

Knitting
My sock knitting mojo, anyway. Look what I finished last night!

Angel's Rest w/Yarn

Angel's Rest: Stand-up

Angel's Rest: Toes

Behold: Angel's Rest, one of the Peak Experience Socks from Fiber Trends. The colorway is called "Rum Runner" and is exclusive to members of the Yarn Pirate Booty Club.

Unlike the Jaywalkers which took about two weeks each, this baby took about a week from cast on to cast off. There's only one little "oops" in it, but I'm not going to tell you what it is. I'm guessing you won't be able to find it, either. I'm very proud of myself for leaving it in--normally I would have ripped back to fix it, but I'm trying to lighten up a little.

I really like the scalloped cuff instead of the traditional ribbing:

Angel's Rest: Cuff

Girly? Perhaps. But I still dig it.

I'm also really happy with how the toe and heel came out.

Angel's Rest: Toe

Angel's Rest: Heel Close-up

I'll cast on for the second sock after I finish posting. The Beloved has been in beastly pain for the past week or so with an abscessed tooth. Today he gets to go for a root canal and I'm going to wait patiently for him like the good and devoted wife I am. Hopefully, I'll get a fair amount cranked out on sock #2 during my wait.

While I'm really happy with how this sock came out, and I'm excited to knit the second one, I'm wondering if my next Booty Club Shipment shouldn't be a plain ol' vanilla sock. The colors are so beautiful and a plain sock may show them off better than any stitch pattern could.

I say this now...but who knows what will happen when the skein is actually in my hot little hands?

So, yes. My sock knitting mojo is back. But it seems to have returned at the expense of my spinning mojo. I am not having any luck finishing off the batt I've been working with. I keep doing stupid things, or the yarn breaks (probably because of something stupid I've done), and I get frustrated and swear. So, not much has gotten done. It's been beastly hot and humid over the past several days, so I'm going to use that as my excuse. I simply don't function well when it's hot, and apparently my wool doesn't function well, either.

In other news, the peaches are coming along nicely as are the blackberries. That means I'm going to have to decide what to do with all that fruit right quickly. Any ideas?

FO--Jaywalkers and other weekend happenings

books
In all honesty, I'm amazed that anything got done at all this weekend. That's because this came into my life:

Yeah. Mine and everyone else's. So, that's how I spent my Saturday. The letter carrier dropped it off at about 11 AM and I retreated for 759 pages. I was pleased with how the story wrapped up. But I won't say any more for those of you that may still be reading.

On Sunday, though, I managed to be remarkably productive. OK--maybe not remarkably, but I did finish these:


Jaywalker Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces in Funky Stripe from The Yarn Basket
Needles: Brittany US Size 1/2.25 mm (5 5-inch DPNs)

It's about time. The Beloved wanted to know how much these socks would be worth if I charged an hourly labor rate. Hah. They are a belated birthday gift for my friend, ESB, and I've been knitting them for, oh, a while. This is not the fault of the pattern or the yarn or anything other than my relatively slow and inept knitting. Nevertheless, I'm happy with how they came out. As you can see, I haven't blocked them yet. I'll wash them and block them this afternoon--mind you, they will not be blocked on sock blockers or anything fancy--I'd just like them to look a little slicker when they are finally handed off later this week. Yay finished socks!

There was only one thing to do--cast on another sock. Am I finishing Conwy's mate? Not on your life. I mean--I will. Eventually. But I got new yarn in the mail last week and have been dying to use it. Yes, my Yarn Pirate booty arrived. Wanna see it? Click here. On the chance that someone reading hasn't gotten their shipment yet, I'd hate to ruin the surprise. Because it's sweet. And mine will become "Angel's Rest" from the "Peak Experience" patterns available from Fiber Trends. At least, that is the current plan.

I've also been spinning. No yarn to show right now because it's drying. I gave Navajo plying a go, and while it certainly needs work, I did produce something that one could identify as yarn. So I got ambitious and spun up one of the Spunky Eclectic batts I bought at the Maine Fiber Frolic. It's purple and yellow and blue, so I kind of took it apart into it's component parts and have attempted to spin a striped yarn. My single is striped. And, as long as I don't destroy the yarn in the plying attempt planned for later this week the final product should be striped. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

And yesterday I also did something I haven't done in years--I went fishing with my Dad. Naturally, both of us forgot cameras. (Battery was charging--the call was somewhat unexpected). Dad is teaching me to fly fish. I suck. But, by the end of the afternoon, I could sort-of cast out to nearly the middle of the pond, and I had even caught a trout--a decent sized one! But we were catching and releasing, so it got to stay at the pond. We had a celebratory cigar. I hope to be able to go out again, but will have to spend a little time practicing in the backyard. I'm terrified of hooking someone with the fly as I whip it around. Yikes!

Since I had such a wonderful day outside playing yesterday, it's only fitting that it's raining this morning and I use the opportunity to do all of the chores I neglected this weekend. So I'm off to do some laundry and play with my new sock. Not a bad way to spend a Monday if you ask me...

Wheel on fire

adventures
On Saturday, I took myself on a little adventure to Windsor, ME for the Maine Fiber Frolic. The Beloved refused to accompany me, saying he preferred to spend drizzly Saturdays with our cats rather than with strange llamas. To each his own.

Getting to Windsor involves a two-hour drive. It's sort of near Augusta--which is Maine's capitol, but not much else. It's very rural out there. Beautiful, but rural. Everyone who might have gone along for fun had plans (Can you believe it?) and so I was left by my lonesome. In all honesty, it seemed silly to make the trip. Four hours in the car? With gas up around $3.00/gallon? Folly! But I wanted something to spin, and, well, what else was I going to do on a Saturday with sketchy weather? Clean my house? Bah!

By the time I got up there (around 11:30), I realized that my promise to The Beloved that I'd call when I arrived was said without much forethought. I was so far out of circulation that my mobile phone laughed at me when I looked for a signal. So I paid my entrance fee and proceeded to check stuff out.

There were tents and sheep and spinners and shoppers. Fortunately, it wasn't raining in Windsor--but it was gray and cold. So, I did a tour of the grounds and checked out everything once, remembering the advice Laura gave me on Friday--"If you find a reasonably priced used spinning wheel you should buy it." Naturally, I told The Beloved before I left (while putting my checkbook in my bag) that I wasn't planning on buying a wheel, but one never knows what one may find....

For example, I found this lady, with lots of yarn on her head. Someone commented, "Only at a fiber fair." I'm actually thinking more along the lines of, "Only in Maine," but that's because I hail from south of the border.

I did see lots of wheels. Some used. Not many "reasonably" priced. Well, they may have been reasonably priced to someone with a clue. My thought was, there's no way I'm spending scads of money on something I'm not even sure I can use. There is, after all, Chicago to consider (20 days till we leave!). So I walked around, and looked, and tentatively touched a couple of wheels (but God forbid did not spin on them) until I found the used equipment marketplace. Uh-oh.

There I saw a wheel that met all of my criteria. It was used. It was reasonably priced (but at the very upper end of what I could possibly spend). And it appeared to work. Well, for someone who knew what in the hell they were doing, it would probably work. It was an Ashford Traditional--a brand and model I could identify and knew to be a rather standard first wheel. I looked at it. I treadled tentatively. And then I went to lunch.

After lunch, I went back to the used equipment marketplace reminding myself of all the reasons I should not buy a wheel. Spa day, anyone? Lo and behold, the wheel was still there. But there was another one there as well--one that hadn't been there before lunch. Same model. Dusty, but otherwise looked like new. And $100 less than the other one. Naturally, I wanted to know what was wrong with it. Turns out, it had been purchased in the late 80s or early 90s for someones grandmother who died shortly after receiving it. After that, it had never been used. The marketplace guru thought that it could probably use a new drive band and some oil, but that it should function just fine. Then she suggested I try it out. Gulp. I told her I was a brand-new, very beginning spinner and that perhaps it wasn't a very good idea that I try it out. She told me to sit in the chair and spin something. So, I did. Well, sort of. It wasn't anything that you'd show to another person or use ever. But I could make the wheel go 'round and draft at the same time which did result in a yarn-like substance.

Naturally, I bought the wheel. And then I bought fiber. Some lovely soft turquoise 50/50 wool/mohair blend from Friend's Folly Farm. (They were in the process of selling a goat when I got there. The one left behind was very sad and made the most pitiful sounds ever.) I also picked up a couple of small batts from Spunky Eclectic--one is yellow and blue and fuchsia; the other is in pinks and oranges. I'll show them off as I spin them up.

Because I have been spinning. There has been minimal knitting happening since the acquisition of the wheel. I've basically given up on the Christening Shawl being finished in time for the Christening. But look! This is my very first bobbin!


The fiber is still from that bag of NZ Sliver, which is, in fact, getting smaller. I may have to buy more. And this, my friends, is the yarn I plied last night. On the wheel and everything.


What you see before you is about 45 yards at 9 WPI. Naturally, consistency varies, though it was much better toward the end. I actually feel as though I could knit something with this, which is a nice feeling. Also a nice feeling--when looking at some of the spun samples different vendors had out with their fiber I realized something: my handspun produced on the spindle was just as good and sometimes even better than some of the sample offerings. I'm not going to let this go to my head for my spindling is by no means perfect, but I am actually producing some respectable-looking yarn, all things considered, which means I should probably lay off of the self-deprecation for a little while. And maybe even knit something out of the small stash I'm creating.

Knitting pictures in next post. None of the knitting is done with my handspun--but I've got a bit of lace that looks like cheesecloth in its in-process-unblocked state and a nearly completed sock--my first "adult sized" one! Yippee!

In which Saisquoi practices yarn abuse

spinning
This weekend I took my first humble bits of yarn from my spindle. The Beloved hopes that I am pleased with my 3000 year old technology and wants me to let him know when I master it. I think I love him most for his supportive nature. Anyway. It's over spun and inconsistent and rife with flaws, but it is my first yarn and so I share it with you.

Here it is right off the spindle:

After winding it into a sorry skein, it was time for a nice, hot bath. For the yarn. Not me. Mine came later. Anyway--yarn bath:

I washed it and rinsed it and squeezed the extra water out. Then the fun began. There are no pictures because The Beloved refused to take part in any of my barbaric fiber-related activities. What a coward.

Since it was cold and dark and rainy, I took the yarn into the bathroom rather than outside. And I whacked one end of the skein against the tile walls. Then I whacked the other end of the skein. I took the yarn and whirled it over my head for a little while. When I thought it had been punished enough, I hung it on the shower head to dry:

After asking which Rastafarian I had scalped, The Beloved promised to leave the yarn alone for the evening. I moved it in the morning before he had a chance to try and wash it again--accidentally--in the shower, thus dramatically reducing the likelihood of spousal abuse.

As I said earlier, the only reason this yarn is impressive--to me--is that I did it all by myself. What it will actually be used for remains a mystery to me. Laura has suggested tea cozies and big felted socks. I'm leaning toward the tea cozy myself, but there's still time. As you may notice, there's not quite enough yarn to make much of anything there. But I've got more Romney to spin and lest you think I've been lax in my labors since discovering the wonders of setting the twist through abuse:

Keep on spinning, keep on spinning, keep on spinning, spinning, spinning....

Weekend update

baby things
Well. I had a busy weekend. The weather cooperated and life, in general was good.

On Saturday, I went up to Contoocook for the NH Sheep & Wool Festival. This was my first time attending an event such as this. It will not be my last. I spent a good deal of time behaving badly with Laura. She is one of my favorite enablers ever. Naturally, Laura did not disappoint and I ended up spending more money than I intended--but not by too much.

Naturally, I bought yarn.


You can't go wrong with hand painted sock yarn. Besides, it's to make socks for The Beloved (you can see the humble beginnings perched atop the ball of yarn), so it doesn't really count as a purchase, right?



This is a ginormous cone of laceweight merino. It's posing with my IPod for scale. It had to be purchased. It was only $12! A bargain! I can make shawls--like, until I die. And I can take the opportunity to learn new skills. Like dyeing. The Beloved should thoroughly enjoy that little adventure...

These two purchases were totally rational and completely understandable. In fact, I planned for them. I knew I would buy some yarn, and since I'm knitting socks right now, the sock yarn made sense. The laceweight was practical (in fact, I'm going to have to start using it right away as a friend's baby will be baptized in about six weeks and some sort of gift is in order...). But we knew that wouldn't last. Particularly when we saw this:


These are drop spindles from Golding Fiber Tools. They are absolutely gorgeous. Words fail me. Now, spinning is not my forte. But it was like I became a woman possessed. I simply couldn't say no. These things belong in Rivendell. I needed one. How had I lived 30 years without one? How could I continue to live without one? Laura agreed. And so now I proudly own this:


You'll be pleased to know that my spinning still sucks, but if you look closely at the single there, you'll notice it's getting closer to something approaching consistency. Look--I can almost spin something that looks like Lopi!

Of course, there were other interesting and exotic things to check out.

Sheep and woolly-type creatures:



Alpacas:



And strange knitted creations:


Check out the bikini bottom. Doesn't it look like a deer?

I also did some knitting this weekend (see sock beginning at top of post), but was not very productive in that realm as I was too busy spending money. No, seriously--I've been working on Haiku, but have just had a beastly time with the back. I've had to rip it out three or so times. OK--a normal person probably would have ripped it out once and then lived with the other imperfections I've discovered, but I am not that sort of a girl. I'd look at the problems (the shoulders aren't quite the same width; the box stitch doesn't match up the way I wanted) and think, I just can't live with this. Rip, rip, rip.

But here it is, just the same, for your viewing enjoyment. I will finish this goddamned baby sweater if it kills me.


Perhaps if it behaves itself I'll take it outside tomorrow for some glamor shots. In the meantime, my weekend has vanished before my eyes and it's just about time to call it a night...

Finished!

baby things
Well, almost. Last night I finished putting together the baby cardi/kimono. Check it out!


I'm very happy with it, and it would have gone to its new home today but for the fact that my iron decided to act up when I was steam blocking the foolish thing. In steaming the foolish thing, it blew out some dirty water that left nasty brown spots on the front of my off-white sweater. Grrr! So, it will need to go back into the wash, which will happen as soon as I have another load to run...perhaps tomorrow. God willing, the spots will come out. If they don't the sweater didn't take that long to make and I suppose I could knit another front, but...Grrr....

In other news, I've cast on another baby sweater! Woo-hoo. This time, I'm working Haiku. The pattern isn't difficult, but I've done a fair amount of ripping due to my present inability to execute box stitch in an appropriate fashion. Sigh. Perhaps the yarn looks familiar. In an earlier incarnation, it was the Moss Stitch Baby Blanket. I'm happier with it in the sweater. I've got tons of this yarn. I believe it's Red Heart Soft Baby. I made a baby blanket out of this stuff several years ago. Then, Resident Sibling "destashed" a ridiculous amount of the stuff and added it to my collection. I knit a fair amount of baby stuff for charity and I've reached the age where every female I know seems to be procreating, so I figured it would go eventually. But I've still got, like, five or six large skeins of the stuff. So, sweater. Baby blanket. Horse blanket. I've got miles of yarn yet....and very few ideas on what to do with it.

I've also been working off and on with the Dream Swatch. I love it. I love my Koigu. It's going slowly because I like to gaze upon my yarn and stroke it and think about its utter loveliness. Why am I not working on it constantly? Because it's just the right size and complexity to work as my "traveling" project--the one that comes with me to work so I have something to do on my coffee break or if I'm stuck somewhere boring for too long. The sweater, on the other hand, involves measuring and two kinds of stitches.

Otherwise, it's been a quiet weekend. Even the cats have been quiet.


Polly made the most of it.

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.

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