You Know You're Sick When.........

You don't even want to knit..........bleeeech!

Death Socks!

These are the socks that caused my demise in SockWars III. Knitted by the lovely Alvia. They fit perfectly, although I wish she had taken much longer to knit them.

My completed SMDs (Socks of Mass Destruction) managed to take out my target, before I met my demise. But, idiot that I am, I forgot to take pictures of the completed socks. Thanks go to my target, Amy, who kindly sent me pictures of the socks that caused her demise.

Poor girl, she didn't have a chance. HER target as size 10+ feet. Amy's are a petite 6.5. I SO got the better of that deal!

Gotta Put This Out There..........

I decided this morning that I need to put something "out there," in order to give myself some kind of kick in the butt. I have harbored a fantasy, for about three years now, to go back to college to get my MFA in Creative Writing. I am NOT ready to take this step.......yet. I have to get back to some decent writing habits, get the youngest kid a little farther along in school, and the family business has to settle down some for this dream to become more plausible. My old Alma Mater, actually offers a low-residency Creative Writing program, and is only an hour away from my house. So this is a do-able thing....If I WANT it bad enough.

See there's the rub. Do I want it bad enough? I love good writing. I love writing a really great piece that touches someone. I am amazed that my oldest son (Mr.-I-hate-to-write in high school) is now a creative writing major and loving every minute of it. And I want to write, too! But then again, I love knitting and I want to become better and better at that, too. Can I do both? Soon, two of the three kids will be out of the house grown-ups. If I'm gonna do it - there is no better time.

I really think I will need two to three years to prep myself for this. The first goal is to write. Write every day. And not just emails, board posts and blog entries. REAL writing. It may be good, it may be bad, but it needs to be out in the world. I'd say "on the page" but really, who actually writes longhand anymore?

The next goal - write something others may want to read. I can do it, I know. Crap! I used to write and edit a community newspaper all by myself. I can do it again. I'm not saying write a book, but how about a few essays, a small article or two. Try to get something published. Publication doesn't even need to be the goal. Just write something I willingly want to share with others.

Finally, make the plunge and apply for the program. Actually, if I can do step #1 and #2, step #3 will be cake (almost a given).

So why am I making this statement? Well if you want it, you have to declare it. Find a way to make yourself accountable. So this is it. I want to earn an MFA in Creative Writing. So there!

I'm Baaaaack!

So, we're back from our trek to our Great Nation's Capital - otherwise known as the alternately wet and hot Washington, D.C. Did a lot of REALTOR schmoozing, got drunk for the very first time in my life, and tried to work on my SockWars III socks. Still not done, but not doing too bad.

The SockWars sock was a good traveling companion, and visited several DC landmarks.....

The sock visited The White House:

The sock was afraid to get any closer, for fear of being arrested by the Secret Service and sent to Gitmo as a "Sock of Mass Destruction."


The sock went to Camden Yards in Baltimore to watch the Orioles beat the Red Socks...


And the sock sought a photo op at The Library of Congress:



The sock was also secretly in on a couple congressional meetings, but no photographic evidence of this exists.

The sock did NOT accompany a rowdy group of REALTORS to The Russia House, where we discovered the joys of orange/pineapple infused vodka (YUM!!) and Baltika #9 beer. Hey, while looking for that link, I discovered that The Russia House actually serves FOOD! Wow, maybe I'll actually eat dinner there next year!

I used to be a good girl.....then I went to DC with my hubby......I drank way too much vodka and learned my hubby knows the cure for bedspins.

Washington, DC has one serious deficiency, however. Apparently, there is only ONE yarn shop in DC - granted, it has three locations, but still only one shop. That must be a sin. Although I did score some fab-u-lous black merino fingering weight for a new shawl there.

Hiatus

Going on a little business vay-kay this week. Will return with pics and lots of blog-fodder, hopefully! See ya next week!

Tickle Your Tofutsies

Using my #3 son as a foot model, I present to you my first Tofutsie socks. Done on US 1 needles, using the free Tidal Wave pattern from the SWTC yarn website. I did make one alteration.........Thanks to BeckyB at my LYS (and new Ravelry bud) who just mentioned in passing that it would be so cool if the second sock would spiral in the opposite direction........So I did. I cannot ignore a comment like that!

So not being able to install a chart here; offer my alteration to the pattern in words.

8 stitch repeat, 12 row pattern - all even numbered rounds are plain knit. Between * and * is one repeat of the pattern.

Row 1 - *knit 5, k2tog, yo, knit 1*
Row 3 - *knit 4, k2tog, knit 1, yo, knit one*
Row 5 - *knit 3, k2tog, knit 2, yo, knit one*
Row 7 - *knit 2, k2tog, knit 3, yo, knit one*
Row 9 - *knit 1, k2tog, knit 4, yo, knit one*
Row 11 - *k2tog, knit 5, yo, knit one*

Haven't test worn the socks, but the look is amazing. Tofutsies is my weapon of choice in Sock Wars III - so I liked the practice I got working with this yarn. I still think it would make an awesome lace shawl.

My Back

So you see my back, with my newly completed Syrian Shawl draped across it. For some reason, this shawl is disconcertingly NOT black in this photo - what do you expect when you let a 10 year-old handle the camera? There was a pic of my front taken, but my only reaction was "moo!" You would think after spending nearly $300 at Gene Juarez Salon yesterday (cut, color, eyebrow waxing, and professional make-up application) I would look better......but it's a "me thing" I know. I hate getting my picture taken. But hubby just won't model my completed shawls for me - weird, I know.....

Now I don't normally wear a cocktail dress in my front yard, but DH and I had a black-tie optional affair to go to last night. This was my shot at "glamorous."

Next on the knitting front, completing the Diamond Brocade Baby Blanket and getting back to my Diamond Fantasy shawl.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Well, it is done! and a full 24 hours ahead of schedule - The Syrian Shawl, ladies and gentlemen! Really I am pretty proud of this. It is only my second triangular shawl (with knitted on border) AND my first successful foray into laceweight knitting. Tried it before - failed misrably. Which was really bad, since I had difficulty resisting not buying it. Now I can pull out all my skeins of laceweight and start making plans!



That edging used every blocking pin I had and then some to get it pinned out, but the cool thing is laceweight dries in a flash, so a couple hours on the board and it was done.

Now lets hope a new shawl makes this sow's ear look like a silk purse tomorrow night. If you're very good, I will post a pic with the shawl wearing me tomorrow night.

UPDATE!!

Rounded the third and final corner last night on the Syrian Shawl. I will make my deadline! Pics when I have it on the blocking board!

Around the Corner.........

And the other corner too! Hard work on the edging of my Syrian Shawl had me rounding corner #2 early this evening - last full edge and half the top edge to go and I am DONE! Can't slack off though, I have a deadline. Thursday night is the REALTORS gala (black tie optional) and I needed a pretty to go with my LDB - new accessories can make the same dress go so far!

Gotta get back to knittin!

Sock Pron

After reading about the Yarn Harlot's adventures in sock photography, and knowing that I would have several opportunities over the next year or so to take pictures of my socks in progress in some interesting places, I decided to start my own "traveling sock" photo collection.



My first entry is a very special one.....a picture of my friend (and NYT bestselling author) Jodi Picoult, me (the craptastic looking one in the glasses) and my first Tofutsies sock at her reading here in Seattle. Ya know, in all the years that I have been going to Jodi's readings, this is the first picture I have ever taken of her, or her and me. Partially, because I hate getting my picture taken and partially because I just recently figured out how to use the digital camera without swearing at it in the process. Mastery of technology trumped my distaste of getting my picture taken. It likely won't happen again. BTW, thanks Eileen for taking the picture. I love Eileen. I only manage to see her once a year or so, but she always makes me smile. And she knows all sorts of great stuff about visiting authors.

I think my sock photo essay could be interesting. I have some things coming up that will be fun to take the sock to. Come to think of it, I may be a little envious of the sock - it can go to black tie affairs without having to squeeze into a pair of Spanx to do so! I wish I could say the same thing!

Spring??

I don't think the lawn is getting mowed today..........




If I lived in Colorado or Minnesota, this would not be strange, but this is WESTERN WASHINGTON. Mariner's opening day is tomorrow! Can they call a baseball game on account of frozen balls?

Kid Merino Syrian Shawl

In an effort to have a new accessory to wear with my stand-by LBD, I am trying my hand at knitting a Syrian Shawl from Victorian Knits Today with Crystal Palace Kid Merino (otherwise known as the "economical knitter's Kid Silk Haze"). Lace weight yarn and I have had a love/hate relationship for quite a while. I have a ton of it, mostly because I can't resist the colors and feel, but I have yet to complete any project I've started using laceweight. This project may be the one that gets me over the hump. The Syrian pattern is way easy to remember, and I can happily keep knitting it until I get the size of shawl I want. The only real challenging part will be the knitted lace border, but that isn't a new technique to me, so I should be pretty comfortable with the yarn by then. I am, at this point, genuinely optomistic. I'm even considering adding beads to the border.

Do I have the Diamond Brocade blanket finished?......no
The socks for #3 son?.........no
The Diamond Fantasy Shawl........ah........NO!

What are you, the Knitting Monitor?!?!!

I need to try to finish this shawl by April 17th for an event I have to go to, so this comes first - and that ladies is my rationalization for starting a new project, so there!

Have to say that I am officially in L - O - V - E with the Addi Turbo lace needles. Started this shawl on bamboo, and got tired of trying to do K2togs with dull points. Switched to a pair of Addi turbos I had in my needle stash and they were a little better, but still went out this morning and bought a pair of the Turbo Lace - had to resist the urge to change my needles out right there in the LYS. You really don't see a difference between the Addi Turbo and the Turbo Lace needles until you try them......really. I still love my bamboo - there's something natural and smooth about them that I can't give up, but for socks and fine lace, the turbo and turbo lace are THE thing.

Jaggered

Well, I am on a sock jag at the moment. After knitting two shawls to the total exclusion of everything else, I needed a little sock therapy. Besides, I've been promising my youngest that I will work on new sock sizing for him - 10 year olds and their feet, what can I say! It's plain jane 2x2 rib, but the goal is to calculate a sock size that will fit him for a while, or at least until his feet grow again!

The Diamond Brocade baby blanket is going along quite well. I have the body of the blanket just about half-way knitted. If I keep going at my repeat and a half per day pace, I should have the body finished by the beginning of next week (I hope!). Then I only need to knit the edgings and do the scattered embroidery. Plenty of time before the May 2, due date. I may actually get to that Bobbi Bear for the baby's big sister!

Knitting Schizophrenia

After finishing the Auction Shawl of Doom, I have lapsed into a period of knitting schizophrenia. One day, it's the Diamond Fantasy Shawl - the next I am obsessed with Clapotis - the day after that, I ripped out Clapotis and worked on my latest baby blanket while discovering another yarn shop and buying yarn for yet ANOTHER shawl, a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock for baby booties and added to my collection of random skeins of Noro for a Lizard Ridge afghan (a future project......sometime.

I made pretty good progress on the Diamond Fantasy Shawl during the Real Estate conference I went to on Monday.



Real Estate continuing education classes are great knitting times - the knitting keeps the part of your brain that says you're getting bored from getting bored (Thank God! It's not like these real estate classes are fun or anything). It also kept me out of the snacks that the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle offers during the conferences held there. The place is wall-to-wall food - fortunately, my knitting obesssion trumps my food obsession (sometimes). But the diamond fantasy shawl is not for "on-the-go" knitting, so it is relagated to at home or long stationary periods of knitting. Oh, using the addi turbo lace needles for the first time with this shawl.....what can I say, I'm in love! They really are nice to work with. And I can feel a difference. This was something I doubted initially, but it doesn't take much hands-on experience with them to recognize the difference.

I've also been working on a Diamond Brocade baby blanket (is there a theme developing here?) from Blankets Booties and Hats to Knit and Crochet.

This has been languishing for a while, but now the baby this is for is due in barely a month and I have to get to work. I started getting the rythym of the pattern yesterday, so real progress is beginning to be made. It's still portable - but a few more repeats and that may change.

I think I am settling down again. The baby blanket is drawing most of my attention, but there is a sock in progress in my purse, AND the Diamond Fantasy shawl is always on my mind.......and three other shawl projects on idle in my brain. Ya know, if I could just grow a couple more sets of arms like the goddess Durga.

Finally! Done!!

The Auction Shawl of Doom is Done!! Really, it came out really nicely and is blocking as I type. It blocked wonderfully, and I like it (well, I like it now that it's done). I'm anxious to see what it looks like when it's totally dry, but for now, it's great.



Here's a link to my Ravelry project page for details. I hope it works.

On to my Diamond Fantasy Shawl.



I have to go to a way boring conference tomorrow.....that means SEVEN HOURS of knitting time! Yay Me!! (now if I didn't have to spend 7 hours knitting wearing slacks, SPANX and dress shoes.....)

Ralph Patrol

I've been on Ralph Patrol for the last two days. We have been without "activity" for nearly 24 hours, so things are looking up. Today is dedicated to getting #3 son back to eating real food. I had been worrying that this was something that would go around the house, but now I'm leaning toward the theory that it was something he ate that caused it. Good, I've never been one for holding someone's head while they prayed to the porcelain god. And when my house becomes a porcelain prayer meeting, all I want to do is LEAVE!

The down time with the sickie kid saw some progress on Auction Shawl #2, but not enough. It's still hanging around kicking me in the ass. Apparently, my knitting endurance is being challenged by this product.

I finally broke down and cheated on the Auction shawl by casting on a new shawl for myself. A little Diamond Fantasy shawl, designed by Sivia Harding. I had a skein of Trekking Natura in blues. Just enough to make the scarf in the pattern. It should be perfect with jeans and a blouse, or tossed over my navy blazer later.

Only 19 rows in, but I'm already liking it - mostly because it is not the Auction shawl.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Auction shawl #2 is STILL kickin' my butt, but I added on skein #4 today......that will be the last full skein in the shawl. Only a partial skein after that and I'm done. But Lord, am I getting antsy......I keep paging longingly through patterns, reading about triangle lace shawls, and scrutinizing the yardage on some of my skeins to see if I have enough to make a Diamond Fantasy shawl like the one the Yarn Harlot made a while ago. I have at least three skeins of sock yarn that will do the job, and they're calling to me. Oh Alyson, come look at our soft and shawly goodness.

And while I am getting bored out of my skull knitting the zig zag pattern, my brain plays little tricks on me, telling me of more interesting ways to modify the pattern for a yummy skein of seasilk I have.

Can you tell, I am having a true love-hate relationship with this shawl.

And THEN, there is the little voice that's telling me that I should give toe-up socks another shot, because the rumor is that the Sock Wars pattern this year is a toe-up. I have never done a successful one, and I feel a need to practice to prevent my getting assinated in the first round of sock play.

How much longer can I keep working on this thing??????

Still Rockin' the Anny

The official Anniversary day was Wednesday, March 5th, and hubby didn't disappoint - maybe I should say his assistant didn't. Received a lovely arrangement of 25 sterling silver roses on the day. These are very cool for two reasons: 1) it is our silver wedding anniversary and 2) sterling silver roses were the roses used at our wedding. They are really cool, but pretty hard to find.



They are this amazing pinkish, soft purple-ish color. The photo doesn't do them justice. Unfortunately, they are also rather delicate, so they are starting to bloom-out already. But I love them while I have them.

As for knitting content. Auction shawl #2 is going more reliably, but hardly any faster. I have rarely been so bored knitting something.....I just want it done so bad, so of course it is taking forever.



I even started a new shawl from Victorian Lace Today this week, just to break up the monotony, but the knowledge that I need to get that auction shawl done keeps nagging at me. Funny thing is, the pattern is starting to grow on me. I have a single skein of SeaSilk that I plan to use a variation of the zigzag lace on to make a scarf. I think it would look lovely. I'm just desperate to make something for myself after the holiday knitting madness directly followed by baby blanket knitting, followed by auction knitting. I haven't made anything for myself in months. And I haven't added to my personal shawl wardrobe for nearly a year. Now THAT is a sad turn of events.

Romantic Interlude

In celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary, hubby (with a great deal of input, planning and effort from his assistant) arranged a surprise overnight trip for us this past weekend. Originally, our plans were going to be much more grandiose, but business being a mad affair right now and our natural tendency toward procrastination blew that out of the water. So right now, a overnight was the best we could do. Hubby kept me in the dark right through departure. All I could get out of him was that I would not need dressy clothes or my passport and it would take only about 2 hours to get there.

So heading out from the house, I started eliminating possibilities….we went toward 520, instead of I-90; we didn’t turn on to 405. We headed into Seattle, on to Eastlake – around the Lake Union and into the parking lot of Kenmore Air. Finally, Hubby admitted we were going to Rosario Resort – by SEAPLANE. Apparently, I had never told him about my intense dislike for small planes. Actually, I’m not that fond of big planes, either.

Strangely enough, the idea of getting on the seaplane didn’t terrify me. There are some advantages, definitely. No long line at security, no stuffy recycled airline air, and the pilot sits right there in front of you.

So off we went, north winding our way along between the coastline and the San Juan Islands.




Of course, I knit furiously on the plane to ward of my fear of flying, but found myself looking out the window more and more. The weather was glorious and the possibility of perhaps seeing a whale passing below was too enticing.




No joy on the whale watching, but it didn't diminish the experience. We arrived at Rosario Resort.

This place has been known as a romantic rendezvous for years and it doesn’t disappoint. The main building dates back to the early 1900’s, and possesses that solid charm of old mansions of the Roaring 20’s.


The meals are wonderful, the service fantastic, and the fact that we had absolutely no cell service a joy! Other parts of the weekend were very fun, as well, but that is not for public consumption (at least not on a family blog!) Oh and we saw no less that four bald eagles! No pictures, of course, that would be way too easy.

Knitting content next time…….