Waiting for the Bad Taste to Subside

Lookie what I finished!

It's the infamous Ribwarmer of EZ fame.
I plan to wear it with jeans to SOAR and hope that it's not shamed by the magnificence that it will be exposed to.




Right now however, it is enjoying "Quiet Time". Totally not the fault of the pattern. Just one of those mystical things. I got gauge. (Really, I got gauge.) Yet something that is supposed to take about 350 yds took over 400. I don't know how much over 400.

Ya see, I had four balls of Paintbox at 100 yds each. Last time I checked that was more than 350. I even did the shark mouth thing to see which number the fish ate. 400 is more than 350. Yet....I got gauge...being short I cut the number of ridges in the pattern down to 33 instead of 40 and the side down to 8 instead of 10. All in gauge. But I-RAN-OUT-OF YARN at ridge 27 on the back. Okay. If you've never knit a ribwarmer it was written as two pieces, but has long since been reworked into one piece. Thereby making a missing-any-rows garment unwearable. And do you see how cleverly I had matched up the yarn on the two fronts? Practically OCD. So I put a murder mystery in the tape deck and unraveled the two front shoulders from the cast on edge. (Tedious I tell ya.) Took out 4 ridges on each side, reknit the neck roll tabs, used that salvaged yarn to finish the back, and was left with less than 14 inches of yarn. I tried it on to confirm it fit and now it will sit somewhere and think about it's crimes until I don't grind my teeth when I look at it.

And yes, I got gauge.

Fall down, go boom.

I finally used my KFYS 2D - Get out of Jail Free Card.
Lovely Knitpicks Decadence in WinterBerry.

I am going to take my first knitting class ever and make a little Lace Kimono Shrug. I have visions of wearing it to SOAR. I wouldn't have taken the confounded class, except it was the only way to get the pattern and the shop sample was really darling even in Dirt Brown EcoWool and over my scrubs.

I also finally managed to wrestle a certain delivery "service" into submission and get my new Knitting Bag:

I feel certain that y'all understand that I am not a merchandising photographer. But you get the gist.


It is a Stone Mountain Handbag Oakland Bucket. They are having their big summer sale and shipping was free. So the $140.00 bag was $54.00.

The strap can go cross body or double up for a shoulder. In the first photo I have 3 knitting books and 2 VCR cases in the center section. It has two other large zipper sections for keeping keys and personal life separate from the crack knitting project as well as 2 smaller outside zippered pockets. I weighed it in at 17 ounces empty. Not bad for leather. Obviously I don't plan to traditionally carry it with that much stuff in it, but it's nice to know in a pinch I can get oodles in it.

That'll put a crimp in courting...

So I'm reading this Book and in it she discusses a technique used in the Jutland region of Denmark whereby dog hair is blended with wool as a strengthener. It was considered a ward against gout. She goes on to say that the dog hair socks were prickly and attracted dogs, who would sniff them and sometimes urinate on them (while being worn). Hard to meet a nice girl in socks like that eh?

Just asking...

I know this is classified as a knitting blog, but no knitting right now.

There has been some frogging and some knit related reading (Not Harry Potter) A Killer Stitch and Knit Fast Die Young, plus *Wow* where did the time go?!? blog reading. There was some cooking, laundry, breakage of the DVD player (oops), and oh yeah...anybody got good tips on how to brake on Roller Blades? The rubber thingy used to be on the other end of the skate.

Don't tell The Adored One

his first pair of winter socks are done.

Regia sock yarn, Lucy Neatby Garter Stitch heels done on .5mm bigger needles than foot, Lucy Neatby Garter toes and Spiral Rib.

They may look familiar - they were long-time UFOs with multiple do-overs.

Starting to find my Mojito ---Oops I mean Mojo.

All the hype about a certain movie and book aside, I do believe that we are like tuning forks and that what we resonate out, resonates in our lives. Is this a hard and fast rule? No. Is it always fair and just? No. Just a thought.

Recently The Adored One was getting slapped around by the Universe. And he’s a worrier. And so I worried about him. And we both got slapped around some more. Then I decided that this string of bad luck had to go. So here’s a queer little story for you:

Back in September 2006 I drove up to Niagara Falls. Of course I stopped at yarn stores while there. One was Karma Knitting & Clothing. They had a clever little shrug on display in Paintbox yarn. When I enquired about it, the girl told me how it was made – huge scarf, fold like origami, stitch, voila – and said 2 skeins. I bought 2 skeins and went on my way. I started knitting this 3 or 4 times since then but a little nagging voice kept saying that I must have written the instructions down wrong, there was NO way 2 skeins would make this.

Fast forward to July 2007. I go into the store again, the owner apologises profusely – it takes 2 skeins in this yarn over here but 4 skeins in Paintbox. If you look, you will see that this is a highly coloured and distinct yarn. Rats. However….

She had 2 skeins left in the same colour and dyelot! Yeah, look at the name of the store again…Karma….funny eh?

Don't do as I do

I am not, repeat, Not condoneing Retail Therapy as a balm. However, finding these lovelies in the mailbox made me rethink my plan of going upstairs to poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick.


Should you feel the need to enrich your life with items that are both lovely and useful I recommend dropping by Craftlilly.

As an aside - if you're one of those who are interested in Gemstone properties: The stones are Crazy Lace Agate said to: Relieve emotional pain, open the way for laughter, bring energy to a balanced and steady state, helps to overcome negativity and bitterness of the heart. Hmmn...and I just thought they were pretty. The photo doesn't do them justice. Must go find a project that needs stitch markers, Ta Ta for now.

Changing the Mojo

Listening to Lime and Violet during the long drives I realised that I'm not the only one off my knitting mojo. Most of my "vacation" was spent casting on and ripping. I was much too tense to spin.

Digression: How can you knit a gauge swatch, have it be to big, accidently pick up bigger needles, and have it be right?

So I decided to break up the mojo. There will be some frogging, some re-purposing of yarn, and some hibernating of projects. And I'm looking at the bright side of things.

So please take note of the following Happy Things:

While I was home the baby birds stopped looking quite so much like aliens
and more like little birds. This is mom's second brood of the year, I missed the first batch.



I had two helpers while photographing the Stash for Ravelry

The Cairn and ....
............the Aussie.






Great Customer Service:
courtesy of The Loopy Ewe. Don't they just make you smile?

When Life pokes you with a sharp stick

Snatch it back and keep knitting.

The Adored One and I have received several swift kicks in the sitter lately. Did I mention that my bank canceled my credit card without telling me? I bought shoes. This is apparently a suspicious change in my spending habit, and they thought the card had been stolen. Guess I need to stop buying yarn and books and start buying clothes. TAO has received such a cascade that he is beginning to develop a little bit of a complex about it. I believe that after a little wallowing it's time to get up and kung fu back.

I know a lot of smart funny women. And traveling the way I do, I see alot of patterns played out. And with the new (Hebrew) year coming up in September I decided to end on a high note, not drag myself gasping across the finish line.

What does this have to do with y'all? Anonymity and Accountability. Not for public consumption. I would like to invite you to join me in a 10 week clean up. Why that new year and not the Secular New Year? Let's face it, we're all too busy in November and December to actually accomplish anything.

Here's the concept:
If you're interested click on my paperdoll in the sidebar and send me an email. If the group is small we will just email. If it gets big (unlikely) I'll set up a YahooGroup. Jot down some goals for the next 10 weeks.

Choose one Habit - something that needs to be done daily for at least 21 days to make it a habit (taking a vitamin, going to bed with a clean sink, taking the trash out of the car when you get out, using a Frownie, whatever).

Choose one Luxury - something that is for you on a regular basis (locking the door and soaking in the tub once a week, getting a beauty school manicure weekly, using a masque, buying a luxury coffee or new knitting needles, trying a new tea)

Pick something to Declutter - Set a box next to the trash bin and mark it charity. Choose your closet, your bathroom, a junk drawer. Everyday on the way out the door either put something in the trash bin or the charity box. (clothes, expired medications, expired cosmetics, gadgets) Be real about who you are today and release the Stuff.

Pick a Project - Do you want a photo album of your Stash to take to Stitches to keep your purchases on track? Is that recipe impossible to find? Do the flower beds need raising? Are you so far behind in your podcasts that Beegee's are still together? Need to brush up on your spanish before a cruise? Have you been putting something off because there's so many steps?

You will notice there was no mention of penalty. This is just going to be a little weekly check up to remind each other of those things that we let fall through the cracks and then beat ourselves up over. Not even 90 days long, just a little something to be proud of before the holiday craziness starts.

Hope you'll join me.

Sufficient Unto the Day

....Is the evil thereof.

I am practising letting go. My dental work and twitching eye would prefer that I learn it faster. As I was driving to my new Jobsite (Buffalo, NY); correction: as I was 45 minutes from the new jobsite....Ring, Ring, Riinng. Due to increased security the job will not start on the 2nd - nope the 9th. Nope not going to pay you for the unasked for time off, don't really care about you, your plans, your professionalism, your problem not mine because I still get my commission. Since I was so close I went ahead to the housing, which, well, Let's Just Say SERVICE company is an Oxymoron. Looked around, and decided...it's only a 12 hour drive home.

Early the next day set out....12 became 16.5 due to Road Construction Season. I don't know about you, but my butt-o-meter gives out after 6. Still, it was a lovely boring drive. Fortunately I had one of my favourite Audible books already loaded. (see above note about Service), and managed to listen to the book rather than scream filthy epithets at the universe. Sadly, due to the construction, I passed the exit for The Fold 10 minutes after closing. Sigh. But...at the end of it all....

The Adored One, the puppies, the Stash, A Really Good Mattress. And isn't that what it's all about?