Happy

This makes me happy:I finally just sucked it up and frogged the heel, added an inch to the foot, then reworked the heel. Much less painless than having a sock that made my toes curl up. And not in a good way.

This makes me happy:An old-fashioned bell for my old-fashioned bike.

These make me unreasonably happy: I mean, what 34-year-old doesn't need a pair of patent leather Mary Jane-style ballet flats?

And, friends? This makes me very happy:

My first attempt at colorwork. Yes, it is bigger on one side than on the other. Yes, the gauge isn't perfectly even. I'm still thrilled with it. It's a swatch for a little sweater that I will make for Rose. And if Rose's works out, I will make a matching one for myself. Happiness!

One Year

This blog is a year old!


This time last year, Lena and Rose looked like this:

Just babies! Now they are "big girls" and so funny together.

A sample of dialogue from yesterday's visit --

Lena: (holds up a stack of colored wooden disks) "I made a birthday cake! Rose, sing 'Happy Birthday!'"

(both girls sing)

Rose: "That cake smells delicious!"

Lena: "It's a splendid birthday cake!"

At the time of this writing, Rose is supposed to be having a nap. I've already been upstairs three times to remind her of this. The second time was because she had reached through the bars of her crib to turn off the nursery monitor. The third time was because I could hear her jumping on the bed. Now she's up there saying "huevos con papas" over and over again. In different voices. High, low, slow. "Hueeeevoooos con paaapaaaaas." If it weren't so funny, I'd be losing my mind. She's been great with naps all summer; now Andy's gone back to school and it's like she's forgotten how to sleep.

In knitting news, I'd started another pair of toe-up socks and worked the heel too soon, which became obvious when I tried them on after starting the ankle rounds. I know I've got to frog it back, but I don't want to. So I'm at this stupid impasse with myself: I know the sooner I rip the heel out, the sooner I can get back to work on it and make the foot the right length, but I just hate the idea of going backwards. *Sigh* Well, I like to knit, right? I mean, it's my hobby. This just means I'll get to knit more.

So much to share

but so little energy.The pair of toe-up socks are finished, and I am pleased. I like the short-row heel, and I like the striping pattern. These are supposed to be for my sister, but I am very tempted to keep them for myself. Yarn: Steinbach Wolle Strapaz Cotton Effek. Started: April ?, 2007. Finished: July 7, 2007. Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock.I cast on for a pair of Monkeys right away. I've been daydreaming about these all through knitting the second toe-up. I don't usually hop on the "popular knits" bandwagon, but Cara has been an effective evangelist for these, and I really do think they're cute socks. I'm using Regia Bamboo, which feels beautifully soft and springy in the skein.

Tagged along with my parents to Ikea yesterday. Holy cow. I haven't the words (or, again, the energy) to describe that crazy store. I wasn't going to buy anything. How all that stuff got home with me I'll never know.

Then Andy and Rose and I attended CityFest this morning, and, well, City Knits is right there. Honestly, how could I help myself?

That's Cascade Ecological Wool up above, and at 478 yards per skein, I'm expecting to get two sweaters out of those four skeins. Below is a selection of sock yarn; two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in pewter and some Brown Sheep Wildfoote. I've never tried either, but I've heard lots of good things about Lorna's Laces, and I've never been unhappy with any Brown Sheep yarn I've ever tried.

So much more to share, but I'm so wiped out from all the shopping and the constant battle with the construction dust. We have a bathtub and walls now, though!

Socks, Sweaters, and CDs

Well, I'm up to the ribbing on this toe-up sock. I still like the pattern, and the heel went a lot more smoothly than the toe. Jo, I did use the double wraps. They were much easier after I realized I could scoop up the wraps and put them on the needle, then knit them together with the stitch. Sometimes it takes me a while to catch on...
Here's Nuala again. I think any cat owners out there know exactly what she's after.

And here's a better look at the actual colors of the sock. This pair will be for my sister, who has adored the color green her entire life.

Green Gable progresses. It's a nice, easy knit.

I've tried it on twice -- once when the lace section was completed (I couldn't tell much from that experiment except that it wasn't too small), and again when I was past the arms. It definitely is not going to have negative ease, like the pattern calls for, but I don't think it will be too droopy. It's such a pretty, simple little pattern. And I love the yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. It's the first time I've used it, but it certainly won't be the last.

I do feel I need to start something a little more complicated now, you know? Peg, like you said, it's good to have a bit of a challenge going as well as something mindless and easy to pick up (and put down) at any time. I've got two easy ones and no tough ones. It might be time to get the Kid Seta out of my stash and try Kiri! *tremble* I don't know if I dare! ;)

Another fun project I'm working on this week is related to my other life -- what I actually do for a living, LOL! As part of my job as music director at my church, I work with the choir at our parochial school. We rehearse once a week and then sing at the school Mass each week. They've really blossomed musically this year, so I recorded them singing ten of their favorite songs and put them on CD. I'm going to give each of them a copy inside a custom made CD case. Now that the music is recorded and the CD cover designed, the hard part is over, but it's still very time consuming to print out each cover and copy each CD. I'm really proud of them and their hard work this year, and I'm trying to make this little treat very special. So I'm making five a day; then I'll have enough by Friday morning, when I see them for the last time this school year, to give them out. That's been a lot of fun.

Weekend Update

Well, I guess if I'm going to post once a week, it might as well be on the weekend. Seriously, I don't want it to be only once a week, but it's just amazing how the time flies. On Monday, Rachel and I took our respective children to Greenfield Village, which is probably our favorite place to meet up this time of year.

We got to see a sheep being shorn, one of the merino sheep that live on the farm at the village. And folks? Notice that the man was using shears. I love the historical demonstrations at Greenfield Village, but this was a first for both Rachel and me. We've never been lucky enough to be present for a shearing, as they only do it once a year.

Elsewhere in the village, there was a spinning demonstration, but you mothers out there recognize the low melting point of two toddlers and an infant. Rachel and I didn't want to push our luck. So I took the girls on the carousel!

No one got sick; we all had a great time saying "Yippee!" and waving to all the stationary people on the ground, including Lena's mommy and baby brother.

In case you wanted an update on my eBay situation (I know you've all been dying to know), the e-mail was indeed from eBay. I was pretty sure it was authentic, because it used my full first and last name, and it had no links within the e-mail, but directions for contacting help through the website. Anyhow, no damage has been done and I'm free to buy on eBay again, but I sure did change all of my passwords.

Knitting is still slow, although I'm about to attempt the heel on this toe-up sock. I guess I'd better apologize for my earlier crabbiness about toe-ups ("My cuff-down socks always fit fine if I get gauge; who needs to try them on? I hate picking up the wraps on this short-row toe, crab, crab, crab...") because, friends? Even though I don't need to, I just love putting this half of a sock on my foot and admiring it! And it's not even for me!

I'm not a total convert. I know I'll still be knitting my share of cuff-down socks. But I don't resent toe-up socks anymore, and I'll be knitting those, too. Hopefully, I can learn to clean up those sloppy wraps!

Love,

Kim

Sidetracked

Indulge me in a bit of a fashion show.

I wish these pictures showed how close the sweater color is to the color of Rose's eyes.

She likes it so much. The day I took these, it was fairly warm, but she didn't want to put her t-shirt back on. "No, I wear sweater!" So she wore it for the rest of the day.

In the meantime, I've been sidetracked from Green Gable by a few different things.

a) So far, I have not been able to get gauge, which is 5 stitches per inch. This will definitely affect the look of this sweater, so I have had to do some thinking. If I use #6 needles, as the pattern recommends, I get 5.25 stitches to an inch, not 5. If I go up to #7's, I get a little less than 5, and the fabric is a bit untidy. Now, I did some math, and 200 stitches (the body stitches in the large size) divided by 5.25 stitches per inch is 38 inches. That would make a pretty good fit for me, not too loose, and not too tight. So I keep asking myself, do I trust my math? I haven't decided yet, so there's always...

b) Wendy's toe-up sock. So far, so good, but I'm reserving judgement until I finish one. In theory, you can try it on as you go to get a better fit. But as long as I accurately and honestly count my stitches per inch, my top-down socks fit me just fine. I'm not sure I like the sides of this toe. They're not as neat as the decrease, knit, knit, decrease on either side of a top-down toe. Of course, it could be my sloppy short-rowing. :P

c) The "celtic cable" from A Cardigan for Arwen in the winter 2006 IK. This is a reversible cable, the first I've ever seen, and I couldn't for the life of me wrap my brain around the idea. I've done more than a bit of cabling, and I just did not understand how a cable can have two "right" sides.

Here it is, front side and back side (sorry, they're not the greatest quality pics, but you get the idea -- you can see the pattern on both sides!!).

I still don't understand. But it works.