finished objects

This is the baby surprise jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman done in Lion Branc wool. The first picture is before it got sewn up.This picture is after sewing and felting.

And lastly, the finished mittens with added Icord so I don't lose them.

Happy Hanukah

In honor of hanukah, I hand grated 5 pounds of potatoes and fried them in oil. The only casualty was the pepper grinder that fell into the boiling oil, splashing oil everywhere and ruining the pepper grinder (but not the latkes). Luckily I was wearing an apron, so I was not injured. And of course the whole thing would not have happened without the assistance of my DH who thought it would be good to reach over the stove to get whatever... and kaboom!

I have been knitting and even finishing stuff, I will post pics soon. I have some serious starteritis, there are at least three single socks in my house, some have nearly finished mates.

world's lamest UFO

So I started these mittens a hundred years ago (okay at least three years ago). I put them down with everything but one thumb done, and there they sat and sat. I don't know why. So I dragged them out and decided it was time for mittens. I knitted a huge icord string to keep them together and am now slogging through the last thumb. I mean I wish I knew what I was thinking or if thinking was involved.

Today is my little guy's fourth birthday. I can't believe it! Also today, one of the kids I work with needed some help in his class with a craft project so I was helping him. At some point he touched my hand and he said "Your hand doesn't match your hair. Your hair is old and your skin is young". You have to love a kid with PDD for a backhanded compliment!

Lenore

Well, after several failed attempts and untold use of inappropriate words, I have kicked Lenore's ass. The color is pretty accurate, but the pattern looks a little flat here. The center line is a yo, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yo and it has a lot to texture that my photo does not show.

I also washed and blocked the carolis socks I made for a sockapalooza person who never received their socks. They will get mailed tomorrow. I loved the color but I don't think I am a fan of Lorna'a Laces Shepard sock. I have really enjoyed other LL yarns, but I think I prefer a sock yarn with more twist.

Other than that life is chugging along. My 11 year old daughter's 6th grade teacher resigned without much explanation and the school managed to screw it up even more. They told the kids on Halloween before communicating with the families. Then they had the school psychologist "process" with the kids as a group and in some cases individually, again without parental input. As a school social worker and as a mom, I am appalled. At the least, I would have not let her ride the bus all sad - I would have picked her up if I had any notice. There is a special place in hell for the teacher, who though she was young really should have known better and done better. She came from three generations of women who taught for more than twenty years each so I think she should have known whether or not this was right for her. Also, since I work in the school world I really think that the 10 month commitment is pretty sacred, and even the worst fit in a job can be tolerated for 44 weeks, especially since 10 weeks were done already. I think the kids can't help but feel bad, they liked her and they had no chance to say goodbye.

sooo frustrated

I got the new sock club package from Blue Moon and it is great! Its a semi solid, black over red. The Pattern is called Lenore, and was written by the Yarn Harlot. I was so excited that I dumped what I was doing and cast on. I got to the third row and had a problem (with the count and the tension), so I started over. Then I cast on again, got to the fifth row and my count was off. I tried to tink but it got to be a mess so I ripped it back. And then I cast on again and it seemed okay but I had to rip again.

I posted my problem on sock knitters, and I hope that someone can help me. This is giving me bad memories of the black aran sweater I tried in college that put me off knitting for several years. The dark color makes it really hard to read the stitches. I have been working in good light, but its hard!

To Rhinebeck or Not

For me Rhinebeck is turning into a logistical mess. My husband is sick, and therefore not reliable for child care. I am not sure that I want to do more driving with kids. I could live without spending money on yarn. If I DON'T spend money on yarn, I won't feel guilty about rejoining STR Club. I am edging into the don't go column. Now I heard that the weather may suck. Its really hard to live so close and not go. I will have to think on it.The picture is from last year, with the medium and small kids. The large kid stayed home and was sorry. We did have fun.

Still knitting the Carolis socks for my sock savee (I guess that's the word for the recipient of your savior socks). Hope she will like them, it really takes some getting used to - since the pattern is really different than your standard sock.

The Sanctity of Marriage

Well, Plastic Pam has married some ridiculous turd of a man whose claim to fame is being in the Paris Hilton sex tape. This is her third. Makes me so glad that the conservatives are fighting to honor this most holy of unions. I mean really how can any one expect gays and lesbians to keep this institution as fresh and clean as the straight people have. I give it six months.

Busy Day

I spent about an hour setting up some stuff on ravelry. It was suprisingly easy. I set up my flikr account, and was able to add some projects to my note book. I started adding yarn to my stash, but that will be a big project. There's a lot of yarn in my stash, and I want to take photos. My ravelry name in Lindapt2. I am very pleased that I was able to save a photo for my profile there, since I have never been able to do it on blogger despite several attempts.

I had a real muggle moment today. I was trying to explain ravelry to my mom. This is difficult because she doesn't understand the computer or the internet and she actually hates knit socks. SO you may wonder why I felt the need to explain a cool web site that is letting me catalog my sock yarn and sock projects. I wonder that two. I love my mom but I must say that our dynamic has often been my continuing to return to the empty well for a drink of water. So she was not impressed that I am spending time online doing stuff that relates to knit socks. She has other fine qualities!

Happy Dance

My sockapalooza pal can finally do a happy dance. The third sock made it through the hell that is the Canadian Postal service safely. Now I learned several things

1. The cheaper postage works better and saves money!



2. The reason smart knitters write down what they do for each project is so they know if they need to replicate it. Duh!



3. It feels good to get the task complete even when it takes extra effort.

And I have the satisfaction of knowing that a new friend in the North doesn't have an odd sock hanging out. Those odd socks make me crazy. I can't bring myself to throw them away because when I do the mate always shows up.

I finally got my ravelry invite, but haven't had the time to set up my account or explore the site. I hear there is much socky goodness there, so I can't wait.

The picture is of my friendly neighborhood bear. I discovered that after his attack on my trash can, there were huge claw marks on the can. Spooky!

In knitting I am working on a sock savior pair using the carolis pattern. It will be my first full pair using Cat's book. I made a cute baby carolis just for practise!

where do the days go?

Well, I haven't been writing but I have done some knitting. I would show you but I am having blogger issues. I made two of the practise socks from the new Cat Bordi book, a pair of sidewinder peds for my niece at Penn state, the replacement sock for my sockapalooza pal (thank you Canadian Customs!), and a square for a group project. You can't see them (thanks, Blogger). I also had some excitement in the form a bear that came up to my front door, knocked over the garbage and threw it all over my yard. The local wildlife people said they only come out if its a nuisance, clearly we do not share the same definition of the word nuisance. DH is out of state for two weeks, which leaves me with no plan B for childcare. My next knitting is going to be a pair of socks for someone whose sockapalooza pal crapped out on her, so they are rescue socks. I am think about yarn and choices. I really wanted to do a pair from the new cat bordi book, but this gal lives in California and a lot of those socks are pretty thick for a Cali girl! I would use fixation but I am kind of tired of it sine I just made a third fixation sock. Hmmnn. I may have to go shopping in my yarn closet!

On a lighter note, one of the kids at the school I work at have a real yarn obsession and he likes to play with lengths of yarn (to the distraction of his peers and the detriment of his work). He is on the autism spectrum. Today he was talking about how mad he was that I hadn't let him play with yarn during group therapy, and I told his teacher that I thought he might like me if he knew how much yarn was at my house! I understand the love of yarn but I always want to knit with it.

Cat Bordhi's book

Lets just get this over with. Clearly Cat is a genius. Her mind is capable of innovation and understanding things in unique ways. But I am scratching my head. I just bought her new sock book. It is gorgeous, the samples are gorgeous, the yarns are gorgeous. Some of the socks are not my taste, but all are gorgeous. The book is huge! I don't love the binding because I know that I will wear it out or break the spine. I may have it spiral bound. But that lady must have the world's coldest feet. Some of those socks are super thick, some are double stranded. I don't think I could fit them in shoes. My goal for this book is to knit the sample baby sized socks and see what I can use or adapt from the methods. I have to say that there are some seriously cool toes to try!

In other socks, I have about 27 grams of the cascade fixation left to re knit the lost broad ripple sock. Sucks that I need 33! DH realized that the job in California was turning into a choice between his career and his family. He chose family but not without putting me through the ringer. He is sulking. Poor man lacks a sympathetic audience for the sulking show!

The mystery of the missing sock

Well, some how between the geniuses at the United States Postal Service and their brethren to the north, the Canadian Postal service my sock pal received her socks a little worse for the wear. The package I sent priority fro $17 (promised in 6-10 days) arrived at her home on September 2nd. The box was smashed, and the contents were disturber, very disturbed. She received 1.5 pairs of hand knit sock, yes that's right three socks. Two Baudelaire and one broad ripple. Socks are less effective when not in pairs. So she is trying to track the missing sock, I am looking for my left overs from the yarn to see if it is enough for another sock. Sigh. Check out her account of the mystery.

OTN- the second sidewinder ankle sock for my niece.

much tsuris

That's yiddish for angst. I spent most of the week twisting my psyche in knots, but finally realized that for very many reasons - there was no way I believed this opportunity was right for my family. I hope DH would get there but he remained 100% positve about all this. I finally had to say no so we (by this I mean him) are in a deep stage of simmering in bitter resentment. I hope that he comes around, but in the end I felt like I could not make that CA situation work for the family. Gulp!

sock pics

Just so you know that in addition to not being in the photo, I am also not eating ice cream. This is the family enjoying frozen custard in bethany beach, de.

This is the cuff of the monkey socks I made for my daughter. The colors are indeed bright and nearly impossible for me to photograph well. My only change in the pattern was the addition of the picot cuff, for me my default cuff! Right now I am working on a sideways footie for my niece. That and in non-knitting, I am working on a nervous breakdown. In addition to the major stress of starting a new job, the kids starting school and arranging all the childcare - DH got a job offer out of state. Far, far out of state. In a state I don't really want to live in. No offense to that state, I am sure it is a perfectly nice state. I am also pretty sure its not for me. I worry about the changes for the kids. I am up every morning at 4 am worrying about all the things there are to worry about. Still this feels like a runaway train. Clearly it is what he wants and thinks he needs - therefore he is glossing over all the minuses and sees this as an adventure. I see this as an adventure that could f**k up my life and my family. Not alot of grey area, is there?

out of the frying pan

So, I got back from a week vacay with DH and kids in Bethany Beach, DE. We love it there and have been there for a visit for the past 13 years, usually for a week. This year I was ready to bail after three days of rain. We were able to make it to the beach three days, but we really pushed the outer limits of what is a beach day.

DH went from DE to CA, leaving me to drive the three kiddies home. The fact that we made three stops in the first hour tells you something about the ride. The dryer in our rental broke the last night, so I had to travel across three states lugging a giant plastic bag of damp clothes. Finally back in CT, and I started the new job today. I am still debugging my childcare situation. I am a little overwhelmed with the people, personalities and case load at the new school but I am sure I will get up to speed fast.

As for knitting, I completed one and 2/3 of a pair of monkey socks with some hand dyed yarn for my 11 year old daughter. This doesn't reflect the amount of knitting I did because I frogged the first sock when it was complete because I didn't like the ways the heel was turned. Some how my gauge changed but only on the heel and I decided I hated it after I finished my decreases for the toe. So rip it went. Hopefully I will finish tonight and post it tomorrow.

Update

I ended up with two offers, and took a part time job in a therapeutic children's school. Now I am rushing to line up all my duckies. I hired a before school sitter, and the kids are registered for after school programs. My wardrobe sucks but I can't afford new work clothes yet. I guess that will have to wait for some paychecks to come in.

I have two weeks before my son is done with his "phase" in to preschool, so I will be doing some serious begging to get at least four days of coverage for him. Its a good thing he's cute! I am really excited about the job, my Connecticut social work license was finally approved, which required 2x a week phone calls to licensing people for several months. Bet they are happy to not hear from me every Tuesday and Friday. Sunday we go to the beach for a week. I am planning my vacation knitting (one sock, one BJS for my niece). If I get desperate, there is a knit shop in Bethany Beach. When we get back, I start work. Whew, it makes me tired thinking about it!

Ptoy, ptoy, ptoy

So Jews have this weird superstition that to avoid bringing bad luck by talking about something good, you spit three times on the ground. As time went on and my peeps got house proud we instead started to make this weird noise to simulate spitting. What does this have to do with knitting? Well I am having a darn good week. I had my Stitch and Bitch group over for a pot luck, yarn swap and s'more roast. We had fun, people went home with yarn different from what they came with. I know the photo sucks but we had fun.

Thursday I had a job interview that went really well, and when I called one of my references to let her know she would be getting a call about me I ended up with a job offer from the place that I worked at for 4 months this year! And my transfer of my social work license from Illinois to Connecticut (which has been stalled in bureaucracy since February) was finally approved.

Then I came home today and found my sockapalooza socks had arrived. And they are awesome, made out of Collinette Jitterbug which is one yarn I do not own. They are a perfect fit. And they are from the adorable 17 year old knitter from Finland that I originally thought I was knitting for. So as to not piss fate off, I will say it was a heck of a good week, ptoy, ptoy ptoy!

Is 11 the clusterf**ck birthday?

I thought I was crazy to invite 24 kids to celebrate my daughter's birthday. I KNEW it was crazy to plan to tie-dye with all those kids. I had no idea that things could get even crazier. With 20 kids actively engaged in preparing thier clothes for dyeing, my three year old son came up to me crying, something about bugs in or near the food. He was giving me the bad finger, which I then realized was about five times normal size. (My mom later asked if it was as big as the foam fingers at the ball park) Then I saw the swam of wasps or hornets or some angry insect, and there were several kids crying. I looked at the swarm and figured out that this was not good. The end was that the 20 girls who were at the dyeing area were okay, but there were four people stung - each getting about two bites. No one who was stung was allergic. Benedryl was drunk by all who needed it and I sprayed the hell out of the nest or hive or whatever it was. No one will forget this party! I tried but even several glasses of wine could not wipe away the memory of this.

In knitting, I am on my second sidewinder and hoping I will manage the increases with more finesse, or at least less tight!

anxious knitting

Taking this yarn from point A to point B was about as nerve wracking as knitting can be. I followed Nona's sidewinder pattern with no changes, I got gauge. Because there is no way to know if it will fit until you have done a lot of work, it requires a lot of trust in the pattern. I was surprised by how well the sock fits, now my only concern is whether there is enough yarn to knit the second sock. I guess I need to weigh the yarn.

My only disappointment is how tight the yarn got at the lifted bar increases even with an effort to keep it loose. I wonder if there is a way to finesse this?

Whoo Hoo

I am unblocked, I guess this means that nothing dirty happens here. I was one of many blogs that were erroneously blocked because "they contained elements consistent with spam blogs". My friends at blogger did not explain further but after several days it is unblocked.

I had really wanted to post last week because I was mid-dilemma about two pairs of socks. Since then with consultation from my SnB group, my monkeys were undone. They were in an opal yarn from Germany that had some serious contrast. I thought it didn't look so hot in the monkey pattern. The SnB'ers agreed and they are kaput. I made several starts at the sidewinder, and have just finished Act II. This sock is so hard for me because I will not know how it works out until it is done. The yarn choice seems good, it is from Opal Rainforest I. I will post pics later.

I was in New Hampshire to see my nephew at camp. It is his last summer, and his camp is super close to Patternworks. I bought a few things to send to my sockapalooza pal, nothing for me. So that makes only one slip from the yarn diet since January. I finally got my package from Marianne, and it was worth the wait and worth the slip!

random pics

Item number one finished, broadripple socks in cascade fixation for sockapalooza pal.

Item number two, finished Baudelaire for sockapalooza pal.

Item number three, gratuitous sock in progress shot. Now that all the knitting for my sock pal is done, I am considering my next project. I am thinking of something for -hmmmmm- me!

I am also thinking hard about what else to include in the package for my sock pal.

This and That

My latest knitting- 1 baudelaire done, one half od the second sock is done. I am seriously worried that these will not fit my sockapalooza pal. She did not give measurements but said she had generous ankles, or something like that. I know the lace has a lot of give but I don't really know what size they should be! I think I will make a second pair of footies out of fixation, so I can eliminate the ankle problem and know that they will stretch. The baudelaire socks look great, but I really want them to fit her!

Today's plan includes dentist for ds, and swim team practise for dd #1. Temperature is expected to be in the 90's, so I expect to maintain a slothlike activity level. Cooking will be minimal to non-existent, as will house work. I went to the post office on Saturday and mailed some yarn to Phyl for posting a comment to my 100th post! Hope she enjoys the choices. I went stash surfing to find goodies for her.

I want to give something away

I wanted to send a yarny gift to the 1st poster to my 100th post, but she did not leave any way to get a hold of her. She has an unlisted profile. Please let me know how to get some yarn to you or I will have to go send something to the next post!

brush with greatness

Well imagine me sitting in a playground in Brookline, working on Baudelaire when who walks by. Alison of the blue blog with her three lovely children, including the baby in a hand knit hat and pants. So what do I do? Nothing. I couldn't think of a way to say hello that did not seem weird and stalkerish. So I told my non-knitting friend that I had recognized the family. I am not sure what was weirder to her, the fact that I saw and recognized Alison or that the knit blogging community exists or perhaps that I would not say hi. Oh well, maybe it was a weirdness trifecta.

By the way, this is my 100th post. I am thinking I should commemorate this in some way. How about first comment gets a gift of sock yarn from the crazy big stash? How about it? Any takers? Make sure to leave a breadcrumb trail or at least an email address so I can find out where to send it. Hey, let me know if you have a preference (Hand dyed versus machine, color).

done and undone

What's done? The pedicure socks are fini, but have not yet been gifted, I will write and post the pattern soon. The Naga sock is done and gifted, and posted on the recipient's blog!

I cast on for Baudelaire in an apple green opal uni. These are for my sockapalooza 4 partner, who turns out not to be the original person I was sent but someone very interesting. I was intimidated by her recent post showing a drawer full of hand knit socks. I feel like I am sending coal to Newcastle. But the Baudelaire pattern knits up pretty fast and it is looking great! I am about to start the heel of sock number 1!

We are going to the Boston area for the forth, leaving tomorrow AM. I am not ready, not close. The minivan looks like it has been taken over by squatters with a sweet tooth. I can't pack it up till I remove all the extraneous shit that is there. I love the blink ads about how to clean a car, but those folks have not met my car! I hope to take in a yarn store or two while I am in the Boston area, one is near where we are staying in Brookline! Am I sounding like I am off the yarn diet?

summer sucks

So Monday was my last day at work, and I also found out that DD 1 has strep. By Tuesday, it was clear that I also had strep. Several days of fever and chills foloow. Then I took DD2 and DS to the doctor because she complained of a sore throat. They are all on antibiotics although DD2 did not show positive for strep. Hey barkeep, a round of cefzil for the house.

I was supposed to drive to Philly today, but I can't see that being remotely safe. I am not sure if I will make it tomorrow. Time heals all, right?

How do you teach manners?

I try to teach my children to be civilized, some days it is hard. Today at the swim club we had a problem with the mommy's not wanting my child to share their child's toys. I know three is an uncivilized age and I know he is a bit wild but when the one mommy told me I needed to do something and I saw her friend (we'll just call them bitch and bigger bitch) wresting her son's toy from my son I was appalled. She actually said, these are ours we brought them from home. Well, where did she think the rest of the toys came from? We all bring things from home, but we still share. Usually if other kids play with my kids' stuff, I just let them know where to leave it when they are done.

The bigger bitch had been talking loudly about her son's need for pt, ot and speech - all I could think was this was a bad enough example for a typical child let alone a kid with special needs. My friend walked by and found them bitching about me, and commented that not only were they not nice but they were caught being rude. I would have cancelled my membership on the spot if it hadn't been for the two nice moms who made a point to come over and tell me how appalled they were. I still don't know if I can hang out there every day this summer and face that! I just don't know how I can tell my child that he must share nicely with other kids but that he must not touch the toys at the pool.

Let me share a happy amazing thing. I was going to post the new firebird color of STR that I received on Wednesday, but saw that someone had already knitted hers up and boy are they gorgeous. I will now humbly link to Nicole. I bow to her knitting speed!

new sock

This is the first pedicure sock, made with yarn dyed by my daughter for our dear friend from a made up pattern, now on to the second sock. I always forget to write the patterns as I make them up so the second sock is always a challenge. In this case the gauge seems slightly looser on the second sock. I'll have to get my foot model (aka dd #1) to test drive the second sock which is done up to the heel turn.

On a personal note, I finished up at work this week and I am hugely sad to be leaving this school. It was great to be back using my clinical brain, and I really enjoyed the kids. It makes me realize that I have no great interest in working with typically developing kids. To walk into an established team and have people welcome you and your input is amazing. I am glad I didn't get weepy on the way out. I got lovely cards and a few gifts. I will never again think that acknowledging the end of the school year does not matter to the school staff. Now on to the task of looking for permanent employment!

Guess who's been knitting

I just realized how long it has been since I have posted any knitting. So I have finished a pair of socks using the Naga pattern, which I linked in a previous post. I added a picot cast off, my new current obsession. The yarn is flamingo by opal.

The second shot is the beginning of a pedicure sock, which I am designing as I go. The plan is to end with k2tog yo picot edge (as opposed to the picot cast off which involves lots of cable cast-ons). Then I am going to make a little i-cord thong thing for between the big toe and its little friends. The yarn was hand dyed by my six year old daughter.

Another knitting related item. I tried to break my yarn diet by ordering from marianne's opalwolle in Germany. She has gorgeous undyed yarns, including a bamboo blend sock yarn. She has opal patterns that probably will never make it here. I haven't bought a single skein since before January 2007. Needless to say, I tried to order more than a single skein but somehow never got the thing from paypal to pay. As soon as that happens I guess I officially broke my diet. Oh, well- its the longest I have ever gone on any sort of diet!

Off the knitting thread, I was a little gathering this weekend with lovely women from my area. There was jewelry selling and wine drinking going on. I tried really hard to not be my usually strident self, but eventually I erupted. What set me off was listening to these lovely, well-educated women talk about how great our local school system is based on statistics. I couldn't hold back. How great do the school have to be to educate a bunch of privileged white children being raised in a community where more than 60% of homes have one advanced degree? Show me those stats in a city school where the homes do not average 3000 square feet, then I will be impressed. As someone who works in a school, I can't buy accepting the whole statistic thing without questioning it. I asked one mom who was talking about the great curriculum if she knew what the town's educational goals for kindergarten were. She did not, nor was she aware that there is no gifted intervention until middle school. I do not wonder why I don't get invited out more! I realize that I am by no means the world's easiest human. I am glad that there are people who get it and get me or it would be hard living in the blinding whiteness of this area.

redo photo

I just realized what a bad photo I posted. This is much better!

Mary's big day

My daughter had her graduation from primary (aka kindergarden). At the risk of sounding immodest, she looked so cute. Her behavior and that of her brother were less than cute. The nadir of the day was when George lifted the back of my skirt up so that I essentially mooned all of the Cobb school. Ahh, good times.

On the craft front, I finished a painting this week for a little guy who likes outer space. Hope he likes it, I liked painting it. I got a little carried away. There was glow in the darlk paint involved. Hehe.

my latest obsession

Well, just when I thought that I could go no further with my knitting obsession I joined a group that blows me away! The German sock knitters group is beyond belief. I joined thinking I could use my bad grad school German reading to understand but its more than a little over my head. I can say that language barrier or no its great fun to just check out the blog links. I have seen some great socks and some awesome dying. And just when I thought it couldn't be better, I realized that many Europeans understand some English and have gotten some great email from members of the group.

I have been proud of the fact that I have bought NO yarn since the beginning of the year, but I have been finding some amazing stuff from the SKL. If these vendors ship to the US my yarn diet is doomed. I consider it a bad sign that I have emailed one vendor, the diet is circling the drain.

not that I am vain

I want a photo on my profile and this cockamaimie blogger thing says first I have to post a photo. So this was taken on a rare good hair day. I have a bad edit gene and end up erasing all images if myself, after 9-11 I tried to stop because I was worried that if I died somehow my kids would have no clue what I looked like. But yet I delete, in a ballsy move for me - I will keep my hands away from the delete key. You should see, its like the scene in Dr. Strangelove, one arm is pulling the other away from the delete key.

Any bets about whether from this point I can figure out how to get this connected to my profile?

the cutest sock pal

Painting by Mary age 6

Painting by George age 3

Painting by Sophie almost 11

George and the stars from his class

I just checked out my sockapalooza 4 pal and she's a 17 year old from finland! I love young knitter except they make me feel like an old knitter.

In other craft news I have taken leave of my senses and am allowing 4 kids ages 10 through 3 to paint with acrylics in my house. I am sure I will live to regret this but the paintings rock. I will post pics later.

happy mother's day

Happy day to all of us hard working b****es. I am celebrating on this day by doing several thousand loads of laundry. Would it be too much for the people in this house to use a towel more than once? They can be easily hung from a towel bar or hook and used againd, the same can not be said for the towels that lie in a damp heap on the floor of the bedroom. I also buzzed the little guys hair because he was looking sort of shaggy.

I am also knitting the naga sock in opal flamingo (this is the doomed ball of yarn that I rescued from a fellow snb'er because she wanted to set fire to it after attempting the sideways sock). I think that I have taken the smell of doom off the yarn. I have turned the heel on the first sock and am up to the second repeat of the cuff. I finished two pairs of socks in april, but have to cop to the fact that one pair was started earlier.

I mailed off my package for knitter's treat exchange. Now I can start to work on my sockapalooza socks!

a huge mea culpa

Last week on Wednesday, I received the most lovely package from the knitter treat exchange and I couldn't believe how lovely and thoughtful each item was. Patty clearly read my responses to the questions and shopped very carefully.

Literally the gift was too large and generous for one photo. It didn't help that my daughters were grabbing at things. And truly it couldn't have come on a better day. My husband is finally off disability, and I had my first tough day at work. The politics of the environment caught up with me and I was feeling pretty low. So needless to say, I am so grateful. It was truly what I needed.


But in the chaos that has overtaken me and sometimes immobilized me, I failed to immediately acknowledge the gift and today when I read through the 500 emails I have neglected during the week I got an extremely kind email from one of the exchange organizers, letting me know she was concerned that I had not acknowledged the gift, and that she was concerned because I also hadn't posted since April 19th. I so appreciate her concern, but am I feeling like a shit! I haven't mailed my gift, I haven't properly acknowledged this incredible gift and I haven't written in ages. The responsibility is mine and I feel every bit of it. All I can do is hope to find the time and energy to properly respond to all these lovely people who have done me such a kindness. Needless to say that I lack the words to adequetly thank these kind women, but I do thank you both.

time to buy a scale

Not for food of course, but for yarn. I ended the leg of the tofutsie sock because I thought I had reached the magic halfway point in the skein. I would have liked it to be longer. Then I went to a friend's house, and used her food scale (she does weight watchers) only to find that I had 67 grams of yarn left. I wasn't even close to half way. So its off to buy a food scale today, so I don't have sock regrets. Its amazing how helpful actual measurements can be, clearly I am not a good guesser.

So I am enjoying the week vacation from school, but not as much as I would enjoy it if it were a paid vacation. My goals for the week are already shot, but I remain optimistic about getting some time to dye yarn, maybe tomorrow. I have colors dancing in my head and I was inspired by Scout J on Knitty Gritty to try using less haphazard methods to dye.

The City of Sisterly Knitting

I went to see my parents over Easter weekend, and I got to see my sister knitting for the first time ever. She has been taking lessons and is now working on a scarf. I had to pick up a few stitches here and there, the sock at the left is mine. The good news about learning to knit at a great shop is that you are using nice wool, no matter what the out come is. She also got to experience knitterly insta bonding with the women in her class. Sadly she is not yet making sparks with her knitting as she does not yet have the compulsion to be knitting when ever and where ever possible.

This is my current sock in progress and it fits perfectly. I have not yet managed to get anyone else as excited about this as I am. Its the Queen Kahuna cast on, increases, gussets and heel. My plan is to do the picot edge, in other words - my favorite sock! The yarn is tofutsies, and I am using zero addi's (getting about 10 stitches to the inch). Shocking that I can't get my husband and kids excited by this, it looks so exciting in print.

I'm still here

I am also still knitting. I am doing a pair of sock from tofutti yarn. I like it so far. I am using my adaptation on MAB Queen Kahuna pattern. I have no pictures because I need to recharge the camera, and things are not where they need to be.
My good news is that I am really enjoying being back at work. I am relieved to find that the brain atrophy has been minimal. I feel really energized by being back in the clinical world. I think part of it is the sense of collaboration in the team but part of it comes from the validation of my peers (not to mention the validation of the first paycheck). Not to say that there were not great moments at home with the kids, but using the training I have and seeing the potential for impacting other people is great. I feel like this post is really pollyannaish, but I can't help it. I am grooving on the work world!

my belated questionairre for Knitter's Treat Exchange

1. What's your favourite type of yarn?
Seriously, its a bad sock yarn obsession, although I hoard kidsilk haze
2. What's your least favourite type of yarn?
Fun fur .
3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop?
Sock yarn, and did I mention sock yarn
4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do?
I dye yarn and other things. I also paint.
5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to?
Interweave and all sorts of fashion and gossip.
6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference: Knitting / Crochet / Other Craft / Food / Home / Fashion / Celebrity Gossip / Garden
Wow, that's pretty much how I would order it!
7. What items do you like to knit / crochet?
Did I mention socks?
8. Are you allergic to anything?
environmental stuff, ramie, animals
9. What do you like the smell of?
Lavander
10. What's your favourite way to relax?
Food and wine.
11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first?
Bakery!
12. What do you come out with?
A cupcake
13. Where do you go next?
Bookstore
14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal?
No coconut, no cilantro!

knitting update

Well, anyone remember the ambitious goal I had for this year? Something about knitting three pairs of socks a month from stash yarn? And not buying new yarn?

I am proud to announce that there has been no yarn buying in this house. I have received gift yarn and BMF STR sock club yarn, we all know that does not count. I am however doing a fair amount of imaginary shopping, cruising Etsy and Astrid's Dutch obsessions. Not doing so well with the sock goal. March's' total is 1 pair, but in all fairness I knit the same pair of socks two times due to gauge problems.

I am beginning to suspect (quite strongly) that working full time my f* with my knitting goals. The first three days I brought knitting to do at lunch, but I haven't seen anyone actually sit to eat lunch. I don't want to buck the trend. I am really feeling food about the job, the clinical stuff came right back. I had a moment of panic before the first day, I was terrified that I might have forgotten how to be a therapist. Now I only fear the paperwork. I know that the logistics will fall into place. The kids at the school are great, during group we were talking about hobbies and mentioned knitting. Imagine how surprised I was that the eight boys in group got really excited and started talking about people in their lives who knit. I hope I can get back to knitting goals, and that I don't blow my first paycheck on yarn!

wasted days

You know that your time and talents are misspent when the focus of a day (not to mention the last day home before the new job) is being a midwife to a child's difficult poop. You will be gratefull that there are no photos accompanying this entry. My three year old spend his day straining, red-faced and tearful. Weeping that his "tussy" hurt. Frantic phone calls to the doctor were involved. This distress was witnessed by many of our morning friends at the coffee store. They were all sympathetic.

When I finally left the house to pick the girls up, he finally took care of business much to the dismay of DH (who remains laid up in bed with herniated disc despite the valiant efforts of a massage therapist this weekend). I then had several phone call from DH with questions that clearly only I could answer (like were are the wipes). By the time I came home the crisis was resolved and the patient was playing in the bath. People wonder why re-entering the world of work is appealing to me!

tales of vomit and underwear

My week started out with a bang. The vomit comet stopped at our house and resulted in many extra loads of laundry for me, and increased the need for a good rug cleaning. The real casualty was my new issue of Interweave Knits that my son vomited on, I don't think it was a commentary on the new layout.

But in other not table talk news, my Little guy is sporting underwear and peeing on (in or near) the potty. In respect to his long-standing obsession with all things green, I dyed a bunch or underwear for him.They all helped!

new gauge

Well, clearly it was right to frog the socks. So far I have reknit about 4 inches of the foot and used up almost all the yarn it took to make the whole first sock. They would have been good for about one use. Disposable socks do not seem to be a good use of my knitting time.

My sister, the remedial knitter

My gorgeous sister, Jane, has been threatening to take up yarn and needles since she moved near Loop in Philadelphia. She is above frolicking in the sea with my middle child and her partner James (who is much slimmer that this photo would lead you to believe). His family recently gave her the gift of knitting, well actually a gift certificate for lessons at Loop. I can tell that she will master this, as she reports that a coworker taught her to cast on using a shoe lace and a pencil. I see yarn in her future (better not be mine though). Even though I usually feel like a pusher when I get someone started, this time its not on me!

how I spent my time at SnB

So after consulting with my knitting peers online and in person I realized that I had no choice but to frog the sock and start again. I didn't realize that I would use so much time undoing. I didn't get to cast on again until I got home, then I decided I might as well do it toe up so I could be really super sure of gauge. It is much better (now around 10.5 spi). I was left with a massive amount of yarn vomit, which I am wearing as a a hair ornament. Thanks for taking the pics Jenna! The beautiful yarn store you see behind me is Creative Fibers in East Windsor CT. The owner Laura is a major knitter and all around nice lady. She was wearing a gorgeous hand knit cashmere sweater last night. Wish I had apic of that. She is generous enough to hold on open knit nite the first Wed. of the month.

Update on Julie Amero

Yesterday's Hartford Courant ran a letter signed by about 20 noted computer scientists from noted Connecticut universities (including Yale, Wesleyan and many others) urging lawmakers and the appellate court to review Julie Amero's case. They state that this guilty verdict will have a chilling effect on the use of computers in the classroom as Julie was held responsible for content on a computer without active firewalls or filters in a class where she was a substitute teacher. Hopefully this will get some notice before her sentencing, which is scheduled to take place on March 26th.

my day

Woke up and found that the temp had dropped to really f***ing cold, realized I am angry at the lying groundhog. Then I got every cranky non-morning person in the house up and dressed for the weather. Fed all the cranks breakfast (the cranks include my DH who is still incapacitated by back pain). Got the whole sorry lot in the car, picked up the neighbor kid and dropped off at three different schools and one physical therapy center. Got drive in coffee from dunkin' donuts (who were out of the donut that would have neutralized my PMS). Then I picked up DH at physical therapy, drove him home. Then I went and got fingerprinted at the police station for my new job. Went to the post office. Then it was 10:30 AM. Really, 10:30 AM. How do you top that?

No knitting yet today, but I am trying to decide what to do about the shaeffer Anne socks I am working on. I have one done and 1/2 the cuff one the second sock but I am really starting to thing that this yarn may not "bloom" as much as I have been told it would. If that is the case, I may need to frog them and start over. I don't know, I may need to pimp my fellow SnB'er for opinions. I may just need a class of wine and a nap.

Yarn Lust

I have been a very good girl. Every thing I have knit since January 1st has been either gifted yarn or from stash. I had not officially declared myself on a diet but I was doing pretty well. Then on sock yarn sales yahoo group I saw a post by One Planet Yarn. Well, I drooled one my monitor (and a little on the keyboard). Now I am imagining all the ways I can spend the first paycheck when I go back to work.

On a serious note, please check out Eleni's and Scout's blogs about Julie Amero, who was convictived of several counts of risk of injury to a minor for porn pop-ups that invaded a computer in the classroom where she was a sub. The short end of the story is that she was not permitted to present her computer expert testimony which found the hard drive corrupted by spyware and the district acknowledged that there was no filter on the computer yet Julie could be sentenced to up to 40 years in jail. It is a travesty and has the potential to ruin her life.

What fresh hell is this....

My husband returned from his hospitaliztion in chi town with his back pain intact. Also intact is his inablity to tolerate pain. He has been to the chiropractor 3 times without relief. Any attempt to ameliorate his pain with deep breathining or guided imagery has failed. I fear that he will become sick from the medication because he is on so many meds for his heart. I am tired and cranky and I have been up and down the steps 10,000 times. I want my mommy.

The good news is that I got the job in the therapeutic school, now I need to find childcare. Knitting is still happening but nothing finished to post. I taught my BF how to knot during her visit, she is 1/2 way through a sophie bag. I like to start the newbies on a felting project because the washing machine erases all sorts of sins. The picture is the contents of the package I got from Germany from the Martinas Bastel & Hobbykiste swap. Very sweet note, two pairs of handmade socks that fit beautifully, candy, and shampoo for the kids that smells like the freshest rasberries ever!

I am woman...

I went outside at 6:30 am to shovel the 3 foot deep drift of ice that accumulated yesterday. I finished at 9 am. My muscles are trembling from the exertion. I feel like a hewoman or some thing when I look at what I accomplished. I even had to dig the garbage can out because it is a pickup day. I lost my mojo when it came time to shovel out a path to the mail box. Hopefully I will get it up to do that later today.

snow day

We are stuck in the house today by snow and ice. Hope we don't end up like the Donner Party. I am seriously considering leaving the kids in front of the tv and taking a nap. DH called at 2 am, 4 am and 6am to tell me that his back hurt and he didn't think the medicine was helping. It was doing something because he sounded as articulate as Paula or Anna Nicole. He is in Chicago for three weeks for work, and he got there Monday and has been to the ER twice. I hope it gets better, its hard to know how I am supposed to help from Connecticut.

I had a job interview for a full time temporary position in a therapeutic day school. The facility was great, the staff seemed at the top of the game and it would be a great experience. They are checking my references and then I need to find me a wife (or some one I can pay to schelp my kids around).

As for knitting, I have completed a pair of mittens that don't fit me (my bad), two dishcloths based on the EZ square baby blanket, a baby hat and I have a pair of socks OTN. They are Anne by Schaefer in the most gorgeous color way (browns, tans and dark blueish grays). They get the record for the most stops and starts for any one sock. I started to do the wader sock from Magknits, but the colors made it impossible to see the pattern so I frogged. Then decided to try a jaywalker but did not love it. I hope I will love what I am doing now because I don't think the yarn can survive another frogging. I am using a pattern from Sensational Socks. I will post some pics later. I was son incompetent last night that I couldn't make the pattern work and ripped it out several times only to realize that I had omitted two stiches. It was user error. I almost never screw up charts, I don't know what went wrong.

the lap of luxury

Today is my birthday and I was treated to breakfast is bed served by Dh and the kids. It would have been better if I had not been awake for an hour, and if I was not fully dressed. Oh and if George hadn't had a poopy diaper. But it was lovely. The cards were great fun, and George's commeny on the card that featured a woman drinking wine out of a gallon sized wine glass was "Its you mommy". Nothing beats the wit and wisdom of a three year old.

DH picked out a beautiful necklace which even matched the clothes I was wearing. He immediately said you can return it like you do everything, as I was putting on. Its a keeper. Other goodies for my bday are a gift subscription to Interweave Knits from my sister (go KK) and three knitting books from amazon (More Sesational Socks, IK Favorite Socks and the IK Lace Book). All are not yet out but will be soon - thank you Jane!

today is your birthday

So here it is 2-8 , my birthday! 44. WTF???? I don't know if this counts as middle aged because its hard to know how long you'll live. BUt is feels old and obsolete. However, I did score some knitting related bday prezzies- including my renewal for IK Knits, the new IK sock book, the IK lace book and more sensational socks. WHOO! So is 44 the new 34?

socks & mitts

This is the ribbing for themittens done in Lorna's Laces and Kidsilk Haze. The color is dead on for a change, and the finished mitten is so light and soft.

The close up better shows the color and pattern of my anastacia socks. The fulls shot is pretty dark. The socks look a little baggy because my foot model (aka my 10 year old DD) is two sizes smaller than the recipient.

January sock count

I met my goal to complete three pairs of socks a month, or at least I did it last month. I have started February knitting with the mittens that I received from my swap partner for Knit Mitten Kit Swap. They are gorgeous, and they are turning out to be a fast knit. One down, one to go. I think I will knit and i-cord connection for them so I don't lose them. I finished the socks to send to Germany and mailed the package yesterday. I will post the photo soon. For the purpose of my personal sock challenge I have decided that mittens count as sock. My S & B Group agreed to my loose interpretation of facts. I will have to knit fast because February is a short month.

My dear friend is coming to visit with her son during the kids February break. I can't wait to see her. She is having a tough time, so my plan is to ply her with sweets and wine. Maybe a trip to New York. But my real plan is to teach her to knit! Her son is deep into the Harry Potter books and I think she needs to make him a Weasley! Why does it make me feel like a back alley pusher when I teach someone to knit?

The best thing about swaps.

The best thing about participating in a swap (in this case the Mitten Kit Swap) is that no matter how much fun you have getting your package ready to ship and finding all the right little things to send, there is some one else you don't know doing the same thing for you! I cannot tell you how excited I was to see the box waiting at my door. Then I opened it and saw the gorgeous bag that Heidi made. I can't get over anyone being clever enough at sewing to know how to place a zipper. I love the bag and the fabric.

Then I opened the bag and found all sorts of cool stuff, not the least of which was a skein of my favorite yarn (kidsilk haze) in my favorite color. Loved the lorna's laces. Loved the notions and games for the kids. Love the pattern. Loved the candy (but I am pacing myself). Have I over used the word love? Don't think so - my package put a smile on my face the entire day. Thank you Heidi!

Now, I have to finish my socks for a swap partner in Germany. What fun!

new socks

Who-hoo! The first new socks of 2007. Here are the specs. The top pair for DH are regia mini ringel with knit picks essential heels and toes. Pattern was random from my head, knit on 2 circs. The extremely bright orange socks are for me and the yarn is a handyed yarn I bought a long time ago, I think from Ebay. The pattern is the falling leaves from IK 2005, and all the wonky yarn overs from the pattern evened out with light blocking. Sadly the pattern does not show up well here. This was also knit on 2 circs. I am sensing a trend here and I think ...(dramatic pause).... that this is probably my favorite way to knit socks. I have used dpns and magic loop but keep coming back to 2 circs.

Just so that noone thinks I am a prolific knitter or a woman of leisure, I will stipulate that the orange socks were 80% done by the end of 2006 and the stripes were 50% on New Year's Eve. My current project is for the spring swap from Martinas BaselKunst and I am using the anastacia pattern with sockatta yarn, because my partner said she preferred yarn with cotton, though I am not that happy with the colors.