Subtle, no? No!

Here is the first bicolor unity sock. I'm not in love with the colorwork, but I knew that going in. The plan now is to make these relatively short in the ankle, 1" ribbing, then another 3-4" tops before the heel flap. I'm a bit out of practice on the two handed colorwork, so I think it looks a bit wonky, but I'm not sure if that's just me. If I had the luxury of time and these were for me, I'd knit them at a tighter gauge, but if I continue as is, I should be able to get all three pair done in a timely fashion. If I'm honest with myself, they do look just right for "Teacherware" I mean, nothing stands out under an embellished denim jumper like black on hot pink! (I can say that because I was a teacher, and, yes, if you look in my closet, they are still there. Jumpers. Wanna make somethin' of it? Do ya, punk?)

Tried on the blocked Zigzag sleeve and it fits like a dream. Lovely. Someday, it will have a mate, too. But first, back to the socks!

The Slave of Duty

Sock yarn arrived yesterday. Swatched last night, first sock of six on the needles now! No time, must DEAK (Drop Everything And Knit). DH is in Denver 'till Saturday, at which time he will return with my MIL in tow. House is a mess, and though I'm fairly good at multitasking, I doubt I can knit, pull up an unruly area rug, dust, organize clothing donations, do laundry, clean out the fridge AND empty the dishwasher simultaneously. My heart says knitting first, but the queasy feeling in my gut says I should probably get all those other things done first. Bummer.

Finished sleeve #1 on Zigzag. I'm seeing if it will block out so as not to make my arm feel quite so much like a stuffed sausage.

The closest thing Pueblo had to an LYS has gone out of business. I can't say I'm surprised. Or all that upset. They didn't stock enough of anything for a project larger than a skinny scarf, their prices were atrocious, and they sold "wearable art" which, as is often the case, was neither. How they expected to survive is beyond me.

Well, back into the fray!

80 is Great (y...)

So. This is my 80th post. Hmm... Seems like it's only been about 78, huh? Not a huge milestone, but I missed my Bloggiversary back in March, so, why not celebrate a mediocre blip on the radar?

The sock yarn is coming. They weren't ignoring me, per se, but, since I didn't name names, we'll just leave it at that. It will come. Oh, yes it will. And with little to no actual violence, at that!

To celebrate the fact that I must soon begin knitting a half dozen hot pink socks, I decided to order this and some of this, to treat myself. I may never achieve SABLE (Stash Amassed Beyond Life Expectancy), but I might just get to PPBLE (Projects Planned Beyond Life Expectancy).

Potty training is going, well... It's going. The Pirate King, shown here in full Pirate regalia (my daughter wants to be Kevin Kline, so?), is now a fully trained, princess-panty-wearing, 24-7 potty pro! She even got up last night and went to the bathroom without asking for help. Her sister (the Prolific Pooper) is another story. She is just a little too laid back. Oh, did I just poop my pants? Oh, well. No biggie. Except that it is becoming a biggie, since nothing seems to motivate her. Not special time alone with Mom (which is a rare commodity for twins), not the pretty princess panties, nothing seems to be doing the trick. I know that she is capable, as we had several days of no accidents about three weeks back, so I don't feel I'm unduly pushing for something she cannot do. We had told the girls that when they were potty pros, we would get them guitars. Said guitars have been purchased and squirreled away, and so here is my question, to all you wise mommies out there: Do we give one girl her guitar to use as a motivational tool on the other? Or would that just be asking for trouble? The Pirate King has a tendancy to write songs and broadcast for one and all when her sister has an accident. I've tried to curb this behavior, but I'm concerned that arming her with an instrument will make her the Prolific Pooper's troubadour, wandering the streets of "Tha 'Blo" singing about poopy undies.

Oh, okay then...

I really didn't need that sock yarn anytime this century. No, really. Taking almost two weeks to process my order and then, only after I pester you, letting me know that it will SHIP one or two weeks from today is fabulous customer service. Really. Oh, wait. What's that smell? Is it sarcasm? Nooo... It's you, lousy yarn store! You stink! I want my damn yarn already! Don't make me drive out there and beat it out of you! (I need to move somewhere with a LYS. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous)

In happier news, Skippy is now really motivated to learn to knit, since I pointed her in the direction of Big Girl Knits. I am seriously so very glad that this book is out now. I am not a large woman, myself, but I have several in my life and I really get upset when I see what's available (or not) for larger women to wear or knit or whatever. I'm just so glad to see some patterns out there that aren't dumpy or frumpy or just plain dumb looking, and the fact that the book aknowledges that not all larger women are shaped the same is fantastic as well. What really excites me, though, is Skippy's reaction after her perusal of the book's website. I really want to suck her into the world of knitting! I've gotten her to confront her wool phobia, which was a big start, now let's see if I can get her to pick up the sticks and cast on!

Stop the Insanity!!!!

First of all, thanks, Klugula for reminding me of our good friends Susan and Richard. Always a good pair for pulling one back from the brink, as you know, "One piece of fried chicken equals 500 baked potatoes!!!"

Thusly, one row of cotton on size 2's equals most of a wool sweater on size 5's. Zigzag is now almost a vest, and the Prairie Tunic is now almost a nice, wide, macrame belt. The lace pattern for this tank is kind of nice in its simplicity, though.





Then there's the problem of this:
Which I really like the color of and can't decide what to make from it. So, gentle reader, should it be this, or this, or, perhaps something else entirely? Chime in with your opinion, and I will knit the popular vote winner (unless I like the winner of the electoral college better ;))! See your voice make a difference in the life of another knitter! Vote now in the comments, a winner will be decided at the exact moment I completely lose my mind and cast on for another project (or, after Zigzag and THE CARDIGAN have been dealt with to full completion. Yeah, I still need to put the sleeves in. Sheesh!)

Please, Please, Mr. Postman (I think I might have some kind of a problem...)

I'm waiting for the Unity Sock Yarn to get here. Ordered it online, and instead of just twiddling my thumbs, waiting for it to arrive, I have cast on for another project (fine gauge knitting with cotton, yeauch!) and am sitting by the window like an abandoned puppy waiting for the arrival of six skeins of HOT PINK sock yarn so that I can begin the "So, Lisa, do you think you've over-offered yourself yet?" project. Then there's the sample knitting I might have on deck, and the free-lance tech editing... (Did I tell you I do that? Well, I do. Sort of.) I wonder if there's a support group out there for women who love knitting too much and the knitting that taunts them. Anyone?

Sock It To Me!

Well, the Unity sock orders are in. Three pair. Oh, and would I mind having Unity in a contrasting color? Of course not. It just means redesigning the whole sock, that's all. But, anything for a good cause. And money. I likes me the green stuff. So, anyone know any good alphabet charts out there? I see a lot of Pepto Bismol Pink in my future.

Just as Soon as I Get Out of the Bathroom!

Just as soon as I get out of the bathroom, I will write an entry all about:

How I finished the Baby Kimono and found a really sweet organza ribbon for the closure.

How I've been secretly knitting away on a pair of Jaywalkers for the Sockamonthalong, 2 at a time on 2 circs, how I didn't enjoy this knit how my own frugality bit me in the a$$ yet again since I thought I'd use up some self-striping yarn from the S.O.S. and discovered halfway through that they were from (noticably) different dyelots and my first attempt at making identical socks was horribly doomed from the start! Oh, well, Ilsa took time out from her knitting to admire them.

How Zigzag lives again, and is a much easier, more pleasant knit in wool!

What I will tell you is that I have now seen the inside of just about every public restroom in Pueblo. I know that this is a good thing, as Zoe is now completely diaper free, and Ilsa is making great progress as well. I also know that the fact that they have to see every public restroom on Earth is payback, as I was the same way as a young child. The only difference is that I get double what my mom got! I'm sure she's loving that! So, just as soon as I get out of the bathroom, I will post something more knit related.

Frankensleeve!!

Long, long ago, in a state far, far away, a knitter made a promise. She promised to knit her best friend a sweater. "No pattern? No problem!" she exclaimed, as she was overcome by one of those passing waves of unquestioning belief in her own "mad skillz" and was giddy with the fact that she and the aforementioned friend were actually in the same room at the time. Thus was the conception of The Cardigan. In the time that has since passed, the knitter has come to acknowledge some of her shortcomings; most importantly, when she took the measurements from the existing sweater she was to base this one upon, she left out a few, like length of side seam, armscye depth, you know, nothing major (hah!). Eventually, however, The Cardigan began to slowly emerge from the skeins of black yarn. The knitter considered asking her friend if she wouldn't prefer A Really Nice Vest instead of The Cardigan when she was forced to contend with...

Frankensleeve!!!
If, to quote Maggie Righetti "Buttonholes are Bastards," then sleeve caps are surely some crazy-a$$ biatches. Attempt #1, of which no photographic evidence exists, resembled the tip of a sharpened pencil. So pointy that if you touched it, it might just hurt you. Pointy.
Attempt #2: The true Frankensleeve.

Enter the angry villagers armed with torches, pitchforks, and, oddly enough, knitters' graph paper. As the battering ram threatened to take down not just the door, but the entire house, some quick calculations and sketchy drafting were done to produce this:

At this point, all sleeves are looking to the knitter like mutated monstrosities, so, kind reader, have we put the monster to rest? (I'm pretty sure these will fit the armscye, unless something truly horrible has gone awry.)
Will The Cardigan be fit to present to Skippy upon her visit in mid May?
Will the knitter cease refferring to herself in the third person (God, I hope so!)?

Only time will tell...

BTW: Spell check just suggested I replace "knitter" with "janitor." Is someone out there trying to tell me something?