Words, Wits n' Wool

My Baby Kitty

2008-06-09T14:48:00.012-05:00

OK, so I recognize that I haven't done this in a while, but Ravelry makes knitting content kind of passe' at this point and I needed to come and tell you about my weekend.

A couple of weeks ago, I lost my Baby Kitty. He wasn't really a baby anymore, he was 4, but he was my Baby.

Magnus / Little Rotten / or The Breakfast Terrorist (as he later came to be known) came to us from a breeder near Green Bay, Wisconsin, back on Easter weekend of 2004. DH's parents were in town, staying with us, to help us get through our First Communion and Confirmation before our wedding that fall. We had a big weekend ahead of us and two new kitten arrivals coming in to keep our older kitty company.

It was Friday when I drove from Chicago to Green Bay all by myself to pick up our newest bundle of furry love (the other one would be dropped off the following morning). We had officially named him Magnus, but really he was just Baby Kitty. The whole ride home in his little carrier he yelled at me. "Yeoooooow! Yeow!! Pay attention to me!!" Only when I stuck my fingers through the grate and he could rub his little tiny 3-month-old face on my fingers was he quiet.

It's about a 4 hour ride from Green Bay to Chicago, so we stopped for a little break about half way home. I pulled this big-mouthed, little ball of fur out of the crate and he immediately climbed my shoulder, snuggled under my hair and promptly started purring up a storm. He was so tiny that his butt was on my shoulder and his nose barely reached the back of my neck. While DH may have picked him out, I was completely smitten. Who wouldn't be?

My MIL laughed when she first saw him because she said he looked like some one stuck him in the dryer without a dryer sheet and set it on ""Fluff"!

Little Baby Kitty turned out to be the biggest lover we've ever known. He was my Bud, my Best Friend and my companion. He was just as important to DH. He would climb up on DH while he napped on the sofa and snuggle in for a nap right along with him.

Every night when I came home from work, he would run to the door and greet me. He followed me about the house and often served as a model accessory in my knitting photography simply because he went wherever I went. He rarely, if ever misbehaved, though he did have a propensity for biting off my working yarn about 4" from the WIP....

He had the tiniest of meows when he wanted to talk to you. Yes; he talked to us. He mewed and grunted his disapproval when we woke him from a nap to administer the requisite 400 smooches per day. He "Yeooowww-ed" each morning and evening when he decided it was time to eat and he even yelled at you if he wanted your attention when he felt you weren't giving him his due respect. All of that being said, he was a very quiet kitty. He didn't yowl at the windows or squall in the downstairs in the middle of the night. He used his voice judiciously and only when he wanted to tell you something important like: Dammnit! Feed me!

The first time I took him to the vet when he was a kitten, we were walking into the office as our vet was coming out. Our vet looked down into the crate and said "Well, Hello!" and a full lunged, very frank, "Yeoooowww!" was his response. Little Man was never afraid. When we went to the Vet he wanted to be on his own to walk around the room but would always come back to check in and snuggle in my arms for a moment between sweeps, just to be sure everything was as it should be.

Magnus was a sock foot lover extraordinaire. If there was an unshod foot with a sock in it anywhere in the house, he would find it and make out with it. No matter if he'd never met you before; he loved feet in socks.

Lately, he'd taken to waking me up in the morning. The moment the sun started to come through the window he'd leap up onto our bed, march up my leg, across my butt, straight up my spine and start kneading bread dough on my back as I lay motionless trying to pretend The Breakfast Terrorist hadn't decided it was time for me to get up. If I pushed him off, he would march around my head on my pillow and sit in front of my face and STARE down into my eyes (which were squeezed tight) willing me to get up and feed him. It was at those moments that I loved him the most: his soft warm little body, patiently waiting in the early morning sunshine, willing me to get up and purring softly into my ear. If it was a really good morning, I would get a pink nose on the forehead and a soft little "Wow?" in my ear. Never obnoxious, just insistent.

Last November, DH came home one night to find our Baby Kitty dragging his beautiful little back legs up the stairs to say hello. He was immobile from the waist down. To avoid all the horrid details, we learned he had a clot that had broken free and was blocking the artery that fed his back legs. I refused to let my Sweetheart go. The Emergency Cardiologist vet gave him a bunch of medicine and took an EEG. We learned that even if he got a little better, our Baby Kitty had hardening of the heart walls and probably wouldn't live more than another 11 months. We would have to give him medicine every morning and every night. But he was my Lover Kitty. I wasn't prepared to just let him go.

Over the next 7 months, we cherished each and every day with him. He got tons better and each time we took him to the vet for a checkup, he would smile hugely and say "He looks like nothing ever happened. He's an amazing cat." I never failed to agree. He got his medicine every morning and every morning before I left for work I said "I love you Baby Kitty. You be a good boy today. You'd better be here when I get home..."

Then Saturday morning June 7th, I woke up at 5:50 am as I went to the restroom, I noticed that my Lover Boy was curled up in the hallway against the wall. I'd been worried about him since Thursday night when I came home and he didn't come to greet me. I picked him up and immediately heard his breathing had become shallow and quick. My heart broke at that very moment. I knew the hour glass had run out of sand.

DH and I gave him the emergency medicine they told us to give him when we noticed these exact developments and bundled him in the car and off to the Emergency Vet. Since it was 6:30 on a Saturday morning, they wanted to keep him until Monday and put him on oxygen and a bunch of other meds until the Cardiology Specialist would be back in. In my heart, I knew that we had reached the end and that there was no way on God's Green Earth that I was going to leave my Little Prince alone in the hospital by himself all weekend, just to put a bandaid on the inevitable.

DH and I talked and cried and agreed that it was time. We'd been blessed with an unexpected 7 extra months with Our Lover and we couldn't see making him suffer just so we didn't have to let go only to have to go through this again in a day, a week, a month....

I held my Darling Baby Kitty in my arms and DH rubbed his little white Bugs Bunny feet as the last breath of life left his precious body.

Sweet Baby Kitty, you will always have a special place in my heart. May Kitty Heaven have all the Chicken and Rice with Gravy you can eat and may chin scritches and sock feet abound.

All my love,

Mamma

Magnus

Jan 18th, 2004 - June 7th, 2008

I got Tagged!

2008-05-08T10:08:00.004-05:00

I got tagged by Alyssa. A dear friend of mine who up and abandoned our knitting group by moving to Oregon of all far away places and then went and had a baby that we can't cuddle and coo about in person! That's OK, I guess, we still love her anyway.

So here's the skinny:
The rules are:
*Link to the person that tagged you.
*Post the rules on your blog.
*Share six weird things/habits/quirks about yourself.
*Tag six others. And let them know they’ve been tagged!

So, here are six weird things about me:
1. I love 80's Euro-pop. My brother and I are going to a Yaz concert in July!! I'm so excited!
2. I'm super picky about the food I eat. If it's not fresh, I'm a total snob.
3. Despite Ravelry's newest innovations, I've had my yarn stash cataloged in an excel spreadsheet for a long time now.
4. I make homeade veggie smoothies and I put beets and cabbage in them and I LOVE them. Shamelessly.
5. I love Dancing with the Stars with absolute abandon!
6. I have a BA in French, a MS in Social Work and I am an IT professional.

I tag:
Tam
Drin
and ummm... I'm thinking.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night....

2007-12-25T22:03:00.000-06:00

There has been much Christmas knitting in the last few weeks and I've got most of it done, too. Some things fell by the wayside for delivery later in the winter season and some things fell off the radar all together, but those items which were essential (e.g. the long awaited Dad Socks) were completed.

More pictures later this week as I'm off on vacation the whole time! Woot!

Merry Christmas to all and may all your New Years' dreams come true!
jen

Why I have the best Husband in the World....

2007-12-18T15:22:00.001-06:00

He went to the Container Store without me. For which he is not the Best-Husband-in-the-World. We love to go each year and see what fun new wrapping paper they're pushing. But because he made this annual pilgrimage without me, lookit what he brought back for me!!

TWO ROLLS OF SHEEPY GOODNESS!

Good man.

BTW, there has been knitting. Lots and LOTS of knitting, but most of it is for gifts and I can't post pictures here yet. I'll try to get some shots on Christmas of the giftees wearing said gifts....

Holly Hippodays!
jen

Paying it Forward on Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T08:44:00.000-06:00

OK, so a funny thing happened to me out in the blogosphere today: I was surfing around my favorite blogs in Bloglines I happened upon Liz's blog Athena Dreams. Now, I've always liked "Athena's" knitting. She's a very talented lady, dontcha know.

Well, she had a post about Paying it Forward. I thought to myself, "Self, that's a wonderful idea, but she's already got her 4 people." or so it seemed to me. I posted a comment on her blog that said something about ... "well, I'm not 1st, 2nd ,3rd or even 4th, but I love this idea and I've always loved your blog. (blather, blather, gush, gush) "

Guess what, I got a reply from her! She said I was 4th and that now it's my turn! So I sent her my address and her I am, paying it forward.

Here's the basic principle. I want to pay it forward for all the blessings I've gotten. I could wax poetic about all the women who've come before me who have enabled me to have my own career, the right to vote, and the luxury to choose sides on any number of political topics. But I'd rather talk about the more practical things I'm thankful for.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who has supported me in so many ways since we met more than 7 years ago now. He is a true blessing. (Even if I do occasionally want to reach for the frying pan to clunk him over the head. Trust me the feeling is mutual. Love and clunking. It's a good thing.)

I am thankful for my family. Though they drive me crazy sometimes, I know I could have gotten much worse in the cosmic draw.

I am thankful for the second chance that we've had this week with our wonderful little kitty Magnus. He's very sick and I'm not sure he's going to last very long. But I prayed, yes, I prayed and some of my Dear Friends prayed (or sent good thoughts to the cosmos) and we get a second chance. I am thankful for this and for all our dear furry friends.

And speaking of friends, I am thankful for all my wonderful human type friends, both the Fiber Fanatics and the "Regular Folk". (Don't worry, that Fiber thing generally isn't contaigous...) Thank you all for being a part of my life.

The roof over my head, the wonderful career I have, the plentiful bounty available to us here in the US of A (yes, that, too is quite a blessing) and let us not forget the blessing of indoor plumbing and central heat and A/C while we're at it!

So, here's my plan (which I conveniently borrowed from Liz). For the first three people who respond to this post who are not my Mom (sorry Mom! But she gets knit stuff from me anyway); I will send you a hand-knitted item. I'm not sure what or exactly when but I can guarantee this: sometime in the next 365 days you will recieve a package via snail mail with a hand knitted item from me as a thank you for all the blessings I have recieved in my life.

Happy Turkey Day!

Have I mentioned that I have a problem?

2007-11-05T20:55:00.000-06:00

The new RAVEN series from Socks that Rock was just released today.....
Yeah, I'm out of control. But then, I got to use my 10% Sock Club coupon so that's alright then isn't it??? Isn't it?

If I hadn't gotten Lenore in the mail last week I probably wouldn't have fallen so hard for this colorway series, bu then that could be a lie, too.

So, here's what I'm thinking: Grawk is my hands down favorite colorway I got it in Laci for my long awaited Peacock Feathers shawl from Fiddlesticksknitting.com.

I also got Haida for my Butterfly Wings Shawl from Goddessknits.com.

The rest? Pure greed. :)

Hello, my name is Jen and I have a problem.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

2007-10-31T09:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Lenore,

I love you. You are beautiful beyond compare. You have a depth and a richness that I have not heretofore experienced with BMFA fibers. Your darks are so dark and your reds are like a subtle life line running throughout.

So beautiful!

Door County, I love you.

2007-10-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

While most Northern Illinoisans are familiar with Door County, Wisconsin, it hasn't always been quite so popular with the expensive Illinois-based tourist.

When I was a little pfffht-of-a-nothing, we went to Door County quite often (at least that's how my childhood mind remembers it). It's winding two-lane highways running north and south up and down the east and west coasts of the Peninsula. I remember fall colors and crystal blue lake, with crisp air and the scent of dusty leaves filling my nostrils.

My Father had a friend who'd moved there. A kind of modern-world expat. Escaping from the big city, he'd moved up to a little town in The Door called Ellison Bay, foregoing the hustle and bustle of 1970's Chicago. He was a Potter, meaning he makes Pottery and his shop is still there today. Now though, he's got a big sign along the side of that highway that snakes its way north through the many little boroughs on your way to Washington Island. We would often go and visit John of Ellison Bay Pottery and spend a little time. I remember his kindness and his calm. Most of all however, I remember his Laborador Retrievers. One yellow. One black.

There are beaches made up of big rocks along Lake Michigan up in that area. Rocks the size of softballs or very large baseballs at the least. Rocks like those that line the beaches of Southern France for you world travellers. On the shore they were dry, and dusty, and grey; like the limestone cliffs that ran the edges of the peninsula. With my little hands, I could take one of those big grey rocks, toss it in the water and tell his big doofy labs to go get it. Splash, splash, splash they would go. Wading out into the crystal clear, shallow and icy water. The water isn't very deep near the shore and my kid arms couldn't throw very far so I could always see the rock that I'd tossed laying on the sandy bottom. Truth is, I probably didn't throw it at all, but rather dropped it near-by so I could watch the proceedings closely. Invariably, one of the aptly named Retrievers would spot my rock and promptly stick his head full-on, into the water. Gaping and mawing at the rock trying to pick it up and bring it back to me on the shore.

Whenever they'd find one, up came a big square head, with a big grey rock in his teeth, dripping wet, tail wagging and smiling that smile that only a happy dog can give around a hard won prize. I'd laugh and squeal and get the rock back only to drop it right back into the water. Rotten kid.

I loved our trips to Door County. There was a little General Store that sold the basic canned foods that were a staple in most 1970's kitchens, as well as the most enchanting display of Penny Candy any child could ever wish for. My favorite was a two-toned lollipop that seemed to be made of two different flavors of Sweet Tart. Half on top and half on the bottom. I always got pink and yellow.

30 years later, I recently made that same trip with my Darling Husband and Door County is drastically different, yet somehow, exactly the same. Ellison Bay Pottery is still there and a pair of John's quirky coffee mugs now sit sentinel in our cabinets just like they did when I was a child. The General Store is still there, but the Penny Candy is gone. I managed to find my lollipop in one of the many the Door County Confectioneries and of course it didn't taste as SweetTart as I remembered, but the feelings and the memories were all the same. The cherry orchards and apple orchards line the roads and the people are slower, more gentle. Probably because even the tourists are being nicer, enjoying the last brilliance of summer into fall before the long cold winter.

The light in Door County in the fall is a magical thing. Something I wish I could capture and bottle. A thing to be opened in the depths of our grey and dreary Chicago winter when I don't think I can take one more day of driving through the slush and the muck.

As a child we always ate breakfast at a regionally famous place called Al Johnsons in Sister Bay. It's a HUGE log cabin building with grass growing on the roof and goats grazing on that same brilliant green verge. If you go there today, Al Johnsons is still there serving traditional Scandanavian/ Swedish fare. You'll find lingon berries and swedish pancakes, cardamom bread, potato pancakes and Swedish rye to your hearts delight. As an adult however, I prefer Al Johnsons' smaller cousin. A little place across the street called the Sister Bay Cafe.

When DH and I went to Door County a few years ago, we happened upon this lovely little gem and we've never been back to Al Jonshon's since. We were afraid we wouldn't find it again because we couldn't remember the name and we didn't know which town it was in. But as luck would have it, we remembered the lay of the land nearby.

"Come up over the hill, look down into the little valley and it's there on your right" said DH.

"Well that sounds just like Sister Bay near Al Johnson's..." says I. Sure enough. There it was. They have the most divine Cardamom Waffles you'll ever find. And the decor is right out of a little Scandanavian Gingerbread House. Yellow, White, Blue and Red with lace curtains with little hearts at the bottom. It awakens in me some very distant memories of time with my Mother's side of the family when I was very young. The Swedish side. ETA: Of course, silly me, Sister Bay Cafe is Norwegian, (just look at the flag in the sign!!) but for me anything served with cardamom and longon berries rings Swedish regardless of actual origin.

I was absolutely enraptured with breakfast. We ate there every morning of our 3 night stay. The proprietess looked like family to me and the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen made me wiggle with pure joy. Husband laughed to himself in the middle of breakfast one morning and when questioned he replied "It's just wonderful to see you so happy over something as simple as breakfast."

If you ever get a chance. Go to Door County and then once there, breathe in the crisp fresh and and stop by the Sister Bay Cafe for the Cardamom Waffles.

My Life in a Nutshell

2007-10-11T16:07:00.000-05:00

Driving to the store, minding my business when:

"Bbbbrrrraaaaappp! .... 'Scuse me."

"Ah, I just love the smell of a fresh Diet Pepsi burp in the morning."

"But Dear, that wasn't just diet pepsi, it was different."

"Really?"

"Yes, that was a diet pepsi, maple syrup, bacon burp with a pancake chaser."

Invited!!! And some cool new socks!

2007-09-19T11:41:00.001-05:00

I get to join the party!! I'm JeninChicago, for those of you who are looking for new buddies on the Playground.

Also, I finished my first pair of grown up socks from Cat Bordhi's AMAZING new book.

These are the toe-up Coriolis Socks.

Time to complete: 3 weeks with a break of a week in between.

Yarn: Jojo Land Melody in the purple and green colorway. 2 balls.

Needles: US 0 / 2 mm AddiTurbos

A note about the yarn: Let me first say it is beautiful and delightful to knit with (if not microscopic 9.5 sts to the inch, 12 rpi). These socks are both made from the same color from the same dye lot. the difference is in the plying. There are three singles and each single has blue, green, pink and purple at varying times. When picking the two balls be sure that the colors are plying in a similar way. As you can see, I didn't think to check for this when I bought the yarn. One ball has the plies coming together in one color all together, making that really neat geen toe, purple arch effect. In the other ball, the other the color is more evenly distributed, making a more muted transition. I like them both, but they don't look like they came from the same yarn.

I'm sure some would say, knit with alternating balls and it will make a more homogenous pair, but 1.) that's too much work for a pair of socks. 2.) It would muddy the transitions even more.

Now a note about the heels: These are W&T (wrap and turn short rows). Clearly my purl gauge is different than my knit gauge, hence the bubble heels. On the second to last page of Cat's book, there is an explanation for how to snug up your purl sts when doing the W&T heels. Frankly, I think I prefer the short row heels from Charlene Schurch.

Finally, a Note about the Master Coriolis Pattern itself: there is a side note (one of the little yellow boxes that appear so helpfully through out the book) that explains how to make the Coriolis stripe wider.
It tells you to place marker A n number of sts from the first decrease after you've completed the arch increase. THIS IS WRONG. Place marker A n number of sts from the first k2tog when you are setting up for the arch increase. Otherwise, you'll have a swirl that's two different sizes on the foot vs. the leg.

That being said, I love these socks and the pattern is ingenious. So, I'm already on to another amazing pair from Cat. These are the Dove Socks from the same book New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One.

The yarn is BMFA - STR in Yosemite. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colorway!! It's so cheery!! (Even more so in real life!) I gotta tell ya, after that JojoLand, the STR Lightweight seems positively heavyweight!! I'm loving how fast these socks are going!

I like the way the color is evenly distributed around the toe due to the short color runs and then the way it flashes across the top of the foot. If I were to give you a pic of the flip side, you'd see nothing but yellow and green on the sole where the increases begin. Yes, that V shape is the Arch increase. Soooo cool!

By the way, the dimensions in Cat's book allow you to make the most amazing fitting socks. Best I've found yet! I'm in LOVE with this new book.

Have I mentioned I'm a Nerd?

2007-09-18T12:43:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so I heard about this Ravelry thing back in May-ish (?) possibly June. And I said to myself; "Self, you can't even BLOG properly, what the heck do you need to do this Ravelry thing for??!"

And so I didn't sign up. Shame on me.

And then I did sign up. In. July. Shame on me.

I've been waiting breathlesly ever since as all my Knitterly Friends and my fav bloggers jump on to the Ravelry play ground.

Now, I don't check every day. I check more like once a week. At one point there were 7,000 some folks ahead of me in line. Last week when I checked, there were still 2,000 Fiber Enthusiasts ahead of me. Today... I logged in and here's what I saw:

I got all EXCITED and Gasp-y and whatnot!! Dude, if you look up Nerd on Wikipedia, you just might find my picture.
Also, I've been finishing some stuff lately.

This was a really fun knit, except for the splitty yarn problem and the really tiny sleeves for the really big armhole problem (must count rows per inch).

I figured out that the super-low neck line, while not represented in the design photos in the booklet, is a direct function of having to make super large arm holes for the bigger size, which consequently makes the bodice part longer and the ... neck line lower. Yep, put it on the first time, before I'd sewn in the sleeves and I was so upset. But now that it's all finished I love it.

Yarn: Ecologie Cotton from Nashua Knits Color: Chestnut (should've picked a different color as this makes me look all one color with my hair, I knew this and ignored my good sense.)
Pattern: Surplice Lace Top from Nashua Knits North American Designer Collection No. 4
Size: Largest and I should have done short rows in the boob department.
Total finishing time: about 2 months (just cause I didn't want to sew in the second sleeve and seam the sides. Otherwise, 1 month to knit.

Practice socks turned into.....

2007-08-19T11:47:00.000-05:00

I bought the new Cat Bordhi sock book at stitches and it's amazing!! I followed her directions and read he first chapter before casting on. Then I RAN to my stash and grabbed some BMFA Heavyweight sock yarn and cast on as FAST as I could. (color: Rocktober)

The little socks are just amazing, the increases for the arch seem to break right over the top of the foot. I can't wait to try the next pair. Getting used to the layout of the book has been a little challenge, but then it's a whole new sock "architecture" so I'm ok with flipping around until I get the system. I'm sure you can't tell but there's a little seed stitch heart over the arch.

That little baby sock inspired me and got turned into a pair of baby socks, the Heartbreakingly Adorable Baby Kimono from Mason Dixson Knitting, and a little newborn hat from the left overs.

I have exactly 46" of yarn left from the hank. I believe they call that "Cutting It Close."

I don't know if my friend's baby will be a boy or a girl, so I haven't chosen ribbon for the Kimono yet. Love the BMFA heavy weight for this application. Start to finish on the whole set? 1 week.

Oh yeah, and I made up the hat. I wanted the roll brim to match the socks, but I didn't want it to be too loose, so I knit in St. st for about an inch and then started k3, p1 ribbing. Of 72 sts, at for the crown, start with k6, k2tog and decrease by one st until you get down to the last 9 sts. Run the yarn through the sts and weave in the end.

Love it. BTW, if anyone can send me the code for how to get my pics to be clickable again, I would really appreciate it. I am jennifer(dot)j(dot)jones(at)gmail(dot)com

Pink Menorahs (a.k.a Meida's Socks)

2007-06-26T14:13:00.000-05:00

Finished, finished, finished!! I love these socks so much, I might need to make another pair just for me!! The pattern is georgeous, the cuff and heel turn is ingenious and I'm gaa gaa over the colors! You probably can't tell from these pics, but when I look at the pattern, it kind of reminds me of Pink Menorahs. You also probably can't tell from these pics but these socks are the most beautiful I've made so far.

Pattern: Meida's Socks designed by Nancy Bush for IK Favorite Socks.
Yarn: STR Lightweight in Mist
Needles: 2 24" Addi Turbos size US0 / 2 mm
Time to complete: Well, now, that doesn't count because I'm always working on several projects at once. But let's say two weeks of actual working time.
Changes: 1. I moved the pattern repeat to be in the middle of the foot when I did the heel flap.

2. Since the pattern called for DK weight yarn and I was working on microscopic yarn, I added two knit stitches in between each of the 4 pattern repeats. If I do them again, I'll mamke it two purl sts instead so that they appear receded.

Catching up on some old stuff

2007-06-21T09:57:00.000-05:00

I've got a little free time on my hands this morning (OK, not really free time, just no meetings), and I thought I'd give a little update on some goings on, finished projects and the like.

1. Knitting GROUP

Last night we had a little surprise party for Alyssa. You see she's our bud and she's moving which makes us sad but it also gave us an opportunity to do some really creative planning around her departure. It was totally cool, totally covert, somewhat chaotic what with 300 emails flying back and forth and TOTALLY FUN! She had no idea! Check her blog for the pics since I forgot to bring my camera.

2. I've got a few FO's that I need to share. For example: I finally finished, are you ready?

THE LOTUS BLOSSOM TANK!! Yes, I know, you thought it would never be done. I made the largest size and I can say with absolute confidence that IK did not test knit the pattern and try it on a real human of said size. The shoulders? Epaulettes. Totally. They're folded under in this pic.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that it's too big? I know it doesn't look like it here, but I'm less lumpy than when these pics were taken and it's now about 4 inches too big around the middle, floppy in the bust and too big in the back. Add that to the rolled under epaulette shoulders and I'd say this top is pretty much a bust... It was almost an almost... but it's just not very flattering. So, into the frog pond when I can bear it. There's no reason not to save the beautiful Cotton Classic for something else. Maybe a short sleeve cardigan with raglan shaping? Who knows.

3. I'm still working on the Dad Socks. I finally got him to try them on after chasing him around for about a month. I just need to rip back to the gussett of the first sock (which is the second sock I've knit) and switch to smaller needles or take another inch out of the foot. It fits around his ankle perfectly, it's the foot part that just "fits" like it has 0 negative ease and I'm pretty certain that if I switch to smaller needles, that will give me the negative ease I'm looking for.
In case I haven't mentioned this before, I'm using a pattern from Favorite Socks, Elegant Ribbed Stockings after I saw Adrienne making them in a dark color (without the ribbon) for her hubby and they were fabulous! As soon as I've got pics, I promise to share.

Gone a long time!!

2007-05-29T15:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the whole "I've been gone a long time" thing... DH and I got back from a two week tour of the UK about oh... three weeks ago. The only claim to sucky posting I can make is that my new (1 year) job eats ALL MY TIME and when I get home at night I'd rather knit than post (can ya blame me??) .

Anyway, we had a great time and we were really ready to come home. We flew into London on the 11th of May and drove to Bath.

We spent three days in Bath (which was really only worth two). We saw the Roman Baths (shocking, I know) and on our first night there we were able to go to a concert at the Cathedral of something Handel, and something Purcell. It was beautiful, but after an overnight flight with very little sleep on the plane; well let's just say Jen looked like a bobble head on the dashboard of a car on a bumpy road. It was warm and close and I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

Next we spent one night in Stratford on a total crap shoot. We knew what was playing at the Royal Shakespeare Company, but were weren't able to get tickets in advance. The show was completely sold out. On a chance, we elected to spend one night ther in hopes of getting returned tickets or standing room. We got VERY lucky. We got to see Sir Ian McKellan in the title role of King Lear at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Incredible. Did I mention there's nudity in the play? Yeah, Ian McKellan? Hung like a horse. (We were in the back of the upper balcony and we did-not-need-binoculars... you do the math).

Oh yeah, and the actor who plays Argus Filch from the Harry Potter movies lives in Stratford and I spotted him! We tailed him into the grocery store but we were reasonable enough not to take an unsolicited picture of him. You know that gaunt, sallow, kind of unwashed look? Yeah, it's not make up....

Then on to Conwy in northeast Wales. The countryside is breathtakingly beautiful. If I was going to relocate to somewhere in the UK, that's totally where I'd go. But then, I'm all about SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and DH was kind enough to point out that what with all the rain I'd probably be swingin' from the rafters after one winter.... thanks, Dear.

From Conwy, we drove (or I should say I drove, Hubby was too freaked out about driving on the wrong side of the road) to Edinburgh, Scotland. It's always been a dream of mine to see Scotland (seeing as how that's half my heritage), but I must admit; I was sorely disappointed. Edinburgh Town Center was filthy. The rest of Europe has cleanedup their historic buildings but in Edinburgh everything was covered in black soot. Yuck. We went to see Edinburgh Castle and the Honors of Scotland (their equivalent of the Crown Jewels)... all three of them. Again with the disappointment. But we did find a lovely Thai restaurant that was run by a very nice Thai family. We ate there both nights.

Oh and fish and chips?? :( yuck. Food in general? Yuck. I'm very picky about my food. I don't like food where I can't identify that the ingredients originated from the earth in some way and there was a fair share of processed or creepy combinations. I'm just not going to eat a Bacon, Cheese and Butter sandwich on Whole Grain bread. No matter how good the locals think it is... call me small minded, but there it is.

From Edinburgh, we were supposed to go to York, but by then we couldn't stomach driving to another town, lugging our ludicrously large American suitcases up to the third floor of another B&B, not having enough time to unpack, lugging them back down the stairs and reloading them into the car, only to drive away again 24 hrs later. So we didn't.

I called our hotel in London and asked if we could come early. Fortunately, we could and we wouldn't have to switch rooms half way through. So we did.

We spent 5 days and 6 nights in London. Sights that were seen were as follows:

The British Library (Treasures of.... and the special exhibition Sacred, check out the Turning the Pages link.) This was my favorite stop in London.

The British Museum
Westminster
St. Paul's Cahtedral
The Tower of London (oh, the Crown Jewels....)
British Museum (again. You can't do it all in a day.)
Windsor Castle
The Millenium Bridge
The Globe Theater (where we saw Eammon Walker of the HBO series Oz fame in Othello)
The Royal Opera Company (fromt he outside)
Picadilly Circus (not worth the effort)
Parliament and Big Ben

By Friday afternoon, we were ready to come home. So my dear friends, if you'd like a pictorial tour of our visit, follow the link to my Flikr pages for our UK Trip 2007!

Glad to be back!

The Harlot is coming! The Harlot is coming!!

2007-04-03T10:57:00.000-05:00

She'll be here tonight at the Borders in Oak Brook on 16th Street, starting at 7:30! I'm going to go and try to be inconspicuous about holding seats for my peeps. We'll see what happens....

Also on the knitting front, I finished my first pair of toe up Duet Socks last night with the after thought heel. I went a little screwy on the shaping in the ankle area, increased too soon, but you can't tell when they're on. I also need to rip out the top two rows of the ankle and do a Picot Cast-off cause they're a little too tight even with my Super Loose Cast Off.

Magnus Kitty the Sugar-Lump-Sock-Lover (he has this thing for feet in socks and needs to make out with them) definitely approves of the new socks. That is kitty happy if I ever saw it.

Quick details: Duet Sock Yarn from www.aswellyarnshop.com
Color: Merlot
Needle: US size 1 (2.5mmm)
Pattern: The one that came with the yarn
Cast on: Knitty Magic Toe up Cast-on
Time to complete: 6 days! Roughly 7 hours of knitting for two socks in DK weight

So now, on to new projects!! I have a pair of socks OTN that I like, but I don't LOVE. I'm thinking if I pull them off the needles but I know that if I do that, I'll never finish them. Then again, I'm not so sure this is the right pattern for this yarn either. Thoughts? It's (there's a pic in this link) Meida's socks from Interweave's Favorite Socks.

Here's my dilemma.... last week I finished the Chocolate Cake socks for Hubbo and I finished them in the presence of my Dad for whom I have yet to finish any hand knitted object of love.
This does not mean I don't love him. Au contraire, he's the best Daddio a Girl could ask for. The truth is, I'm a slacker.
I promised him some socks like a year ago for Christmas and then I. Never. Delivered. BAD BAD Daughter.

So what's the Score?:
Mom 2 pair of socks.
Brother Bear: 1 labor of love sweater
Husband 2 pair of socks.
Dad: Zip. Zilch. Nil. Nada.

Better yet, when I proudly handed the completed socks to my husband he turned to my Dad and said, with a wicked little smile: "Jealous?"

So now, not ONLY do I have "Non-delivery Guilt", I now have "Dumb-dumb Husband Guilt" compounded by the "Silently Really Really Jealous Dad Guilt!!"

The problem? I've picked the pattern and the yarn for the Daddio socks but darn it, I don't WANT to do more cables right now! (Suck it up Jen) I only have one set of size 0 Addi Turbos in 24" (my needles of choice for socks in Lorna's) and I'm sick and tired of cables! BUT I have to make the socks for Dad as nice as the socks for husband. There's no dashing off a slacker stockinette pair after I clearly labored with blood, sweat and tears over my ~~Bone Headed~~ Darling Husband who doesn't realize how sensitive my Dad is.

And what I REALLY want to do... the socks that have been calling to me are these. They're called Oriel in the SKS book but if I do them in Lorna's Pewter then I'll have to call them Gothic Arches. Their Siren Song is calling me like no other pair of socks ever has before. Maybe my reward for finishing the Dad socks should be the Gothic Arches.....

Whaddya think? I should start the Dad socks, right? Suck it up and do the cables, Chickie? Swallow the bitter pill of Bad Daughter-dom and get on with the Repentance?

Yeah, that's what I thought. Guess what I'll be doing while I wait for the Harlot from 5:00 until 7:30 tonight?

Finally! & The Harlot Letter

2007-03-27T09:24:00.000-05:00

And the Heavens opened up and the Angels sang a chorus of Alleluja! for Husband's Chocolate Cake Socks were finished!

I made it all the way to the toe of the second sock and realized that I'd missed an increase round immediately after the cuff.... [sigh] I didn't even blink [I'm quite proud of myself, you know], I walked over to the swift and just started reskeining the whole bloody thing right then and there.

That was two weeks ago. In the meantime, I've learned how to use the sewing machine my husband gave me for christmas 2 years ago, made a HUGE 6x8 foot banner for an idjit sketch that we had to do at work, run two Lunch& Learn Sessions with very little planning and a semi-hostile audience (it's wonderful inheriting and cleaning up someone else's mess), fertilized my garden, anti-rabbit and deered my garden and managed to start working out again. So, frankly, I think I've done quite well.

Husband loves his socks, I didn't have to rip back anything else once I got rolling for the third time. Any errors in the teeny tiny moss stitch between the cables is going to be our little secret cause I can guarantee that Husband ain't ever gonna know about it. If the sock was too small, (like 11 sts in circumference smaller than the 1st one to small), he'd know it. But little tiny moss stitch? Nope. Or that one of the cable rows is two rows longer than the 17 other cable rows.... nuh-unh.

And. We're. Not. Going. To. Tell. Him.... Are We??. I didn't think so.

Whew. So glad that's over. But they really are beautfiful and I'm embarassed to say that I can't wait to start more socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, even though it's so tiny, the fabric just comes out beautifully!

So here are the details:
Pattern: Sensational Knitted Socks - 3x3 Cable with Moss Stitch
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock - Chocolate Two balls and a stupid arse little bit of a Third for 1 pair of size 12 men's EE feet, but they go half way up his claves.
Needles: US 0, 2 mm
Time to Complete: 6 weeks for three socks with other stuff in between.

On another note, I took the following letter over to the Border's in Oak Brook along with some turnout pics from the Harlot's previous book tours just so's they'd know what they were up against.

Dear Mr. or Ms. Event Coordinator,

I just wanted to drop a friendly note to give you a heads-up about an impending book signing.

Ms. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, author of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting will be coming to your location on April 3rd, 2007.

Fondly known as the Yarn Harlot by her fans, Ms. Pearl-McPhee is a regular blogger (www.yarnharlot.ca) with over 7,000 subscribers as recorded by Bloglines.com. Often, when this author arrives for a signing, the hosting location is unfamiliar with her work and the popularity of same.

I would hate to find you caught in a bind with not enough books to sign or space set aside for Ms. Pearl-McPhee’s fans to attend and hear her speak. Last night, March 22, 2007, the Yarn Harlot spoke in New York City at The Fashion Institute of Technology in an auditorium that holds 750 people. I imagine pictures of the turn out will be up on her blog tomorrow or Saturday.

As an interested supporter and fan, I have included a few pictures of her book signings from last year’s book release in an effort to help you understand the sheer numbers of people that come to her signings.

Please feel free to contact me directly at the number listed below if you have any further questions as I would like to see this be a successful event for both Borders and the Yarn Harlot.

Sincerely,
Jen in Chicago insert real contact info here if you feel like it

The Never-Ending Socks & An Inventory Story

2007-03-06T11:32:00.000-06:00

The Chocolate Cake Socks aren't finished yet. And I'm bored. Oh my GOD I'm SOOO BORED!

Now, don't get me wrong....they're exquisitely beautiful and I love them, but Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock for TWO, count 'em TWO, Size 12 Double-Wide men's feet is killing me. For those of you who are wondering, that's 385 little teeny-tiny cable crosses in deep. dark. brown. microscopic. yarn. at. night. I'm past the second heel turn and into the gusset and I've meticulously written down every little change I made to the pattern so that they would fit my ~~exceptionally fussy~~ handsome husband's feet perfectly. That means I've only got 35 more rows to go once I finish the gusset and then another 20 to finish the toe. The END IS NEAR!! But damn; I'm bored.

So, last night, to break up the boredom I opened my Personal Sock Yarn Index. PSYI for short(it's got some other stuff in it, too, but it's mostly sock yarn). I played around matching patterns to yarn and added all my new Socks That Rock acquisitions. While I was sitting there, laptop in my lap, going through my spreadsheet with it's tiny print and it's many many lines, Husband happened to look over my shoulder.

Holy Crap! What the hell is that??!! Is that your Yarn Inventory??!
No. (Cause technically it isn't)
(Puzzled pause, scanning the screen) Is it your manufaturer inventory?
No.
(with infinite patience) OK, Dear. What. Is. It?
(in my smallest voice possible) It's my sock yarn inventory. [insert manic grin & hold for 10 counts]
Sigh...
Look, I've been a lot better this year than I was at this time last year. I've spent like 8 times less.
It's March!
I KNOW!
Scroll down. (scroll, scroll... It's about 50 some lines) Oh, it's not too bad.
Yeah, most of these are just single skeins. (This was my fatal mistake)
Wait a minute. Where's the sum line?
(Shit. I tabbed over to the # of skeins column and hit the Sum button and up came the fatal number: 94)
94?! think you've got enough? don't you think you'd be better to make something with the yarn you've got than buying more?
Dude, don't even start with me. What the hell do you think I'm doing here night after night? Have you seen how many things I've finished since Christmas?? Just don't even start with me. (He can get ~~exceptionally~~ a tad preachy sometimes if I don't nip it in the bud )

Apparently he decided this wasn't a battle worth fighting cause he turned his head back to the TV and didn't even sigh or make a face. Let's not tell him that I still had another 8 hanks of STR in the bedroom closet that needed to be inventoried shall we....

I present my new-ish love: It's Koigu KPPPM in a lovely lemon lime color with a little peach thrown in for good measure. I want to make the Embossed Leaves Socks from the IK Winter 2005 issue. Won't they be loverly?

Also, yeah, I got my STR kit. It's OK. I'm choosing to call the colorway Rainforest rather than Monsoon, since we've already got enough dreary here in Chicago in March (as Franklin so eloquently attests to here).

Finally, I won't be in GROUP tomorrow since I've got one of my last two Operas Cosi fan Tutte so please bring your STR skeins next week, for show and tell, too!

Hello, my name is Jennifer. I have a problem....

2007-02-28T15:25:00.000-06:00

I can't stop buying Socks That Rock. I just can't. I understand that the newest shipment from the Sock Club just went out. I get that. But here's what I did.

You remember my out-of-control acquisition at the end of last year? Yeah, then last month I did this:

I needed more. I really did. And they had these beautfiul new semi-solids.

From left to right are Lover's Leap, Stormy Weather, Rose Quartz and Obsidian. I thought the two darker colors would be good for Himself.

So, then I joined the sock club. Two weeks ago I was waiting in breathless anticipation. Cause you know, I don't have enough sock yarn.... right. And also, I saw BMFA's spring colors spread in the new IK.

For the record, about three months ago I emailed them asking for a pink and chocolate browns colrway. Kaci replied: "Thinking...." and nothing more. Then the srping colorways came out and what do I see?

Little Bunny Foo Foo. I had to have it.

And while I'm browsing, I come across the Blue Moonstone and a couple of patterns that look beautiful, Meandering & Titania's Revenge. Must. Own.

Yeah, it's already shipped. Along with my Club stuff. I have a problem.

Oh, and I'm still working on the second Chocolate Cake Sock (I had to frog and restart the cuff, I did 1x1 on the 2nd sock and 2x2 on the first, duh). But the first one is finished and fit LIKE A FRICKIN' GLOVE!!! Yeah BABEEEEE!!!! I'll get you some pics just as soon as I finish the second sock.

Oh yeah, and I'm working on these. Not so sure I love them: BMFA STR in Mediumweight Thistle, acquired at Stitches Midwest last August. They're a lot Greener/ Purple in real life. The camera just wasn't cooperating.

Finally, GROUP is moving! We're still meeting tonight from 6:30 to 8:00 ish, but now we're meeting at the new Starbuck's just a little west of the Borders. It's at Lake and 94 on the Northwest corner. Hope to see you there!

Are you sitting down? You'd better....

2007-02-21T12:49:00.000-06:00

I wouldn't want you to fall over from the shock.

I'm working on "The Other Mitten". Let's just let that sink in for a minute shall we? Yeah, now it's coming back, isn't it..... That mitten. Remember this?

I guess 2007 is the year for Finished Objects. I'm still working on husband's Chocolate Cake Socks and I wanted to work on something that wasn't so small it made my hands cramp.... so what did I decide to do?

I figured I'd wrestle an octopus just for grins. No, really. These mittens are worked in Fair Isle on 5 DPNs size US-2. Fair Isle is fiddly and to be frank, (Alyssa cover your eyes) I hate DPNs.

I'm sorry to all those folks who love them. I know there'll be gnashing of teeth and such, but I'm an Addi Turbo girl myself. If I can't work what ever it is on two circulars, I'm miserable. That, and I'm so used to working on two circs that are connected that when I get to the end of the row, I just keep letting go of the needle and dropping the damn thing on the floor! (which my cats love and think is the "Best-Game-Ever", BTW)

So, I worked all the increases for the tip of the mitten on those blasted DPNs and then I switched to Circulars as fast as my little fingers would carry me. Interestingly, while I still struggle with the best way to hold the yarn in my left hand, the pattern is going a LOT faster than I thought it would. I got an extra inch finished last night while Hubby watched another something about WWII on the ~~Hitler~~ History Channel. Maybe someday I'll even graduate to the Lion Scarf that I ordered from Herself lo, these many months ago.

I've even been thinking about using the finishing techniques I learned from Catherine Lowe last year. It's funny how finishing knits makes you think on what you've learned. Now if I could just figure out how to Start a project with sufficient lead time to Finish it the way I want to, well then, life would be just Ducky now, wouldn't it?!

Touched by Royalty!
For those of you who haven't already heard, The Harlot is coming to Chicago-land!! She's coming on April 3rd to Oak Brook, IL. at Borders. 1500 16th Street at 7:30 p.m. And here's the cool thing. Are you ready??

I work almost across the street from where she'll be making her appearance!!! I'm so excited I'm wiggling again!! Here's a map, just for proof.

If you read her blog you'll know that she's been talking about "Representin'" in New York and how her Wonder Publicist has booked a hall that holds 750 people where she will speak and show the sock and take pics and such.

Thinking about Representin', I left a comment yesterday on her blog mentioning how close I work to the venue and offering (half in jest) to go over and let them know just how many people they might want to expect. I was planning on doing it anyway when I checked my email this morning and what did I see?

A reply. I got a reply from the Yarn Harlot h-e-r-s-e-l-f!!! She said she thought it would be a good idea and would I please do so? Holy Canoli, Batman!! I've been touched by Knitting Royalty (even thought Stephanie herself would probably choke at being called "Royalty")!! So, I figure I'll print out some of her attendance pics from past events and write a short but professional note for the store manager explaining what to expect.

Thanks Miz Stephanie! I hope lots of people call Borders and tell them to expect a whole load of people. Maybe then they'll get the message not to underestimate the amazing power of knitters!

Tonight is GROUP night at the Borders at Lake and Skokie Blvd. from 6:30 until Whenever! I hope you can join us!

The Mom Socks

2007-02-20T09:04:00.000-06:00

This pattern was so fun and easy (with the exception of the "Afterthought" heel) that I finished the first sock for my Mom's size 11 feet in 3 days including learning a new technique! (In case you're unfamiliar with the speed of my knitting, that is amazing; it's like Flying the Concord from here to Europe on my needles).

Pattern: Chevron pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks (as usual).
Yarn: STR Chanticleer Mediumweight
Needles: Two Addi-Turbo circs US size 1
Start to finish: Two weeks (I was dreading that second heel so I put them down for a week when I got to the point where I had to add it.)

Thoughts on these socks: Next time I'm going to try Alyssa's suggestion and try a Peasant Heel, cause I got to the heel part and, while it was an interesting experience, the whole thing was too fiddly. The heel is constructed using a provisional cast on worked and then divided in half on two needles (just like for a top down sock cuff). From there, you decrease to the heel "point" and kitchener both around the heel and across the heel point. At one point, I had 4 circulars hanging from my work and then had to Kitchener the heel to the on hold stitches or some such business. What a pain. Not doing that again. Realistically, it was only about an hour of focused attention, but still

Regardless, the rest of the sock was SO FAST that I made them a little too long! BTW, STR medium weight can easliy cover a pair of large feet. I tried the socks on my husband as a sample to make sure that they would fit my mom (is that wrong?) I guess that's why they were a little long, but then, if you look at the pics, they're not terribly long, just a little loose in the toes (unless Mumsie was being nice and did some magic pinning on the heels like they do with jackets on mannequins....

Now if I could just finish a sweater that fit for me..... (more on that later)

Chocolate Cake Socks

2007-02-17T21:56:00.000-06:00

I'm knitting a new pair of socks for hubbo. You see the last pair (a.k.a. the first pair) of socks I knit for him were too big by about a mile. Also, he's used to Costco cotton socks that squeeze the life out of your toes there's so much elastic in them.

So, shortly after the new year, in a fit of UFO work, I added a significant amount of elastic to the cuffs. They stayed up while we were out to dinner with some friends, but when he put them on the next day, they promptl slumped around his ankles.

Now, while I tried to explain to him the physics of handmade socks and how they don't stay up forever, they stretch while you wear them, they're bigger cause they're made specifically for his feet and what have you, the subtleties were lost on Darling Hub.

So, I'm knitting him a new pair of socks that will F.I.T.. They will fit because
1.) I'm a little more experienced
2.) I don't have to hide them from him while I finish the toes because they're not a X-mas present
3.) I can regularly take his foot hostage while he watches TV and slide the in-progress sock over his big gunboats just to check my progress. (BTW, why doesn't anyone in my family have small feet?)

I call them the Chocolate Cake Socks because the color of the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock I'm using looks just like perfect chocolate cake. You know how the little bubbles in the crumb are sometimes light and sometimes dark, but always look yummy.... yeah, that's it. Actually, the little wound balls look like little chocolate cupcakes to me but you're just going to have to take my word on that one...

I'm using the Cable with Seed Stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks, of course. I let hubby pick from the patterns and choose the yarn color. He calls this red, but we know it's really brown.

Finally, while I was taking a few shots in the brief afternoon light, the sock had a near brush with death... do you SEE the talons on that beast? They're like the claws of a Velociraptor!! I had to swoop in and save the sock from certain death!

OK, yeah, Mr. Whiskers needs his claws trimmed.

Doesn't it look like chocolate cake????

The Christmas Hat in Lorna's of my Own Design

2007-02-15T10:23:00.000-06:00

OK, I know I mentioned this before Christmas and I wanted to get you all some pics.

The pattern is one of my own design with heavy credit to Grumperina's Odessa pattern (though I've never read it) and EZ's Knitting Workshop book. I only had one ball of Lorna's Laces Bulky (clearly my new favorite yarn) less one 6"x6" swatch.

The best part about Lorna's is that it becomes super soft once you wash it. Oh yeah, and that whole superwash thing is to die for. What I like about this hat is how the swirls come together and merge into one swirl as the top decreases. Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky 1 hank in colorway Vera

Needles: Addi Turbo Size 5 in 16"

Time to complete: 1 afternoon to design and 2 hours to knit. (I had to rip and restart a couple of times.

Just call me the Queen of Finished Objects

2007-02-13T14:48:00.000-06:00

My Lovely Cousin Michelle had a baby last month. I believe it was on January 8th. His name is Cole Lawrence (short for Nicholas).

I knew she was having a boy a long time ago, but in the interest of finishing already started objects, I didn't begin this little treasure until after the Little Treasure was born.

That being said, here it is.

V-Neck Cardigan with Contrasting Ribs

Pattern: Debbie Bliss Baby Knits for Beginners (the patterns are cute, quick and written for beginners but with a little knitting knowledge, you can see where changes should be made)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (it's wash and dry-able)

Needles: Addi Turbos US size 4 & 5

Alterations: This pattern calls for Cotton Glace' which I had no intention of using. Accordingly, it also calls for a smaller gauge. So, I swatched, washed, measured gauge and made a baby sweater that's too big for the little guy right now, but will probably fit him all the way through next winter.

Comments: this is a super fast knit, even for me, what with my finishing problems and all. It only took 12 days cast-on to buttons. Only thing is, you can see on the left side collar decreases that the stitches are a little weird. The pattern says K2tog TBL, which makes for a wonky laying stitch (as you can see in the bottom two decreas rows on the left hand side). So on the third row, I subbed a ssk and it lays much flatter. I still don't like how the left and right fronts don't match, but I'm guesssing the non-knitting-sleep-deprived-parents won't notice the little things that bug me.

To attach the buttons, I used the same yarn as for the body of the sweater and I had to do some fancy knitting around the YO button holes to snug them up a little, but overall, I'm pleased with the way this came out.

Of course, it's my Uncle's 70th birthday this weekend in Kansas City and while I won't be able to atend, all the cousins will be there so it's not like I'm sending this just to show off or anything.... it's all about baby congratulations. Really. ;)

Finished Pics of Brother's Urban Aran

2007-02-12T13:37:00.000-06:00

Well, it's finally finished and gifted. Brother Bear loves it! In our opinion it could stand to be about an inch longer in the torso, but he's also very pleased with the longer length of the sleeves.

Here are some exemplary photos.

One of them is a little blurry, sorry for that, but I'm hoping you can see the fit and detail well enough.

Thank you Mr. BrooklynTweed!

SO PROUD I'm wiggling

2007-02-04T12:59:00.000-06:00

Finished! Finished!! FINISHED!!!

I finished the Urban Aran with changes inspired by Brooklyn Tweed. I can't remember his given name right now so let's just say a huge thanks to Mr. BT for taking a ho-hum pattern and making it spectacular! Thank you!

So here's the saga.

Step 1: See Mr. BT's post last summer when you first find his blog. Recognize immediately that Mr. BT and your Brother Bear have exactly-the-same-hands and torso shape (weird in and of itself, if I do say so). Then, due to the striking resemblance, realize that you are looking at the first sweater you will knit for your brother. Search for months for the pattern and finally find it on ebay in late September.

Step2: Email your Brother a boat load of links with pics n stuff asking if he'd be interested in you knitting a sweater for him and if so, how does this one look? Brother acknowledges that yes, he'd like a sweater from you and that even more yes, the Urban Aran is just his style. What with the double zipper and all...

Step 3: Send Brother a load more links with pictures of yarn. Asking questions like does he like Heathered, Hand-dyed, nubbly, smooth, solids... what? Brother gives you some ideas and you set up a date for him to come over and touch yarn and hang out for measurements with a few of his favorite sweaters.

Step 4: Order a bunch of single balls from Webs in different colors of Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed. Then order two hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Charcoal, thinking that if he doesn't like the color, you can always make hubbo a pair of socks with it. Angelika is an angel, and Webs was awesome as they took back the Jo Sharp singles that were untouched for a full refund (not credit, which is what I expected, a refund).

Step 5: Have Brother over and take all kinds of measurements following Eunny's tutorial on where and what to measure (Sorry, I can't find the exact tutorial right now). Try not to laugh like two-year-olds or make embarrassing jokes when measuring your Brother's hips and butt. (Brother was extremely patient with my first-timer-ness in measuring btw.) Then, show brother al the differnt kinds of yarn he has to choose from and be very glad you showed him when he picks a color you would not have picked for him, but it's your personal favorite anyway.

Step 6: Swatch. Swatch bigger, then swatch again and do a load of crazy calculations to figure out how much yarn you'll need since your gauge is bigger than the pattern gauge. Add on two extra hanks just to be safe. Email Angelika ('cause he picked the Charcoal) and ask for 17 hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky in Charcoal. Spend a lot of money.

Step 7: Knit, knit and then knit some more. Curse at Pattons for using the stupid ass backwards-e cast on. Pray that you'll finish by Christmas. (You started in Early November for heaven's sake!)

Step 8: Cry, gnash your teeth and tear at your hair on Dec. 23rd when you've finished the body but you haven't even started the sleeves. Throw a pillow at your husband when he laughingly says, "I can't believe you thought you'd get that done by Christmas."

Step 9: Acknowledge defeat. Seam up the shoulders. Knit the collar. Pin the sides together with coilless pins and pack it all in a big box on Christmas eve. Give to your brother on Christmas morning in all it's hanging-ends glory. Worry for the next two months cause he looked silent and kind of confused when he tried it on.

Step 10: Knit those-damn-sleeves. (Knit a pair of socks cause you can't stand looking at black yarn anymore) Knit-those-damn-sleeves some more.

Step 11: Wait for a sunny weekend. Seam up the sleeves and the sides, weave in all those freaking ends. Dig up any and all resources for sewing in a zipper. Decide on Nancie Wiseman's Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques. Wait for another sunny weekend. Baste the two fronts together. Wait for a third sunny weekend. Sew in the zipper. (Did I mention that this was done by hand? Thank goodness for Audio Books)

Step 12: BE FINISHED!!!

Step 13: Sing, dance, act like a fool, run around the house, (try it on even though you know it won't fit you properly, the sleeves are about 8 inches too long and the body covers your bumps in a most unflattering way) take 1,000 pictures. Run around with it some more, show your husband (who is appropriately appreciative of your efforts, by the way). Pet it, call your brother and leave him a voice mail telling him that it's finished except that maybe you were so excited that you sounded like a scratched 33 being played at 45 rpm.... hope he understands what you just said. Hang up. Reluctantly put the sweater back in it's bag and in the closet waiting for brother's arrival and the Urban Aran's final unveiling.

Here's the cool thing. Last weekend Brother came over when I had finished seaming the sweater and basted the two fronts together. I wanted to wait to show him until it was all finished. But I couldn't stand it. I explained that all that's left is the zipper and it's sewn shut right now but did he want to try it on?? And oh, yeah he can try it on, but I can't look while he does it cause I'm so terrified that it won't fit.

Brother pulled it on and it fit perfectly!! Wooo Hooo! He was awed with it and kept petting it. Now that it's got the zipper in it, it's just that much cooler! Yeah, I'm so excited I'm wiggling. :)

Here are the insides for those of you who would like to see them.

So here are the construction details:
Pattern: Paton's Urban Aran from the Street Smart booklet.
Yarn: 15 Hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky in Charcoal
Needles: US 3 for the collar, US 4 for the edges, US 5 for the body and sleeves.
Start Date: 1st Week of November 2006.
Finish Date: Feb. 2, 1007
Total time to complete: 3 months. (I only knit in the evenning after work).

p.s. I promise to make the sweater pics clickable this afternoon while I'm sitting in my never ending meeting....

Well, I was going to show you ...

2006-12-06T11:05:00.000-06:00

a creation that I designed myself and am VERY proud of but then.... I realized that the Giftee reads my blog so I can't. Rats.

That being said, here are a few pics of yummy yarn and some snow to tide you over.

Above: STR Terra Firma in heavyweight, Roctoberfest in heavy, and Chanticleer in medium. I'm planning on making Bonne Marie's Bucket hat out of the Terra Firma to go with my Chocolate Brown winter coat.

Above: Jinglebell Rock sooooo pretty! I'm thinking Christmas socks for my Auntie who's a Christmas Elf in the very core of her being.
Above: this color is County Clare and the photo doesn't do the beautiful colors justice. They're much bluer that you can see here. It's medium weight and I must have been thinking that I would make another pair of Knee socks, but someone suggested making a lace something out of it. The question is now, What Lace and How do you think Superwash would work for something like that....?

Above: yet ANOTHER two hanks of Mediumweight, color Dutch Canyon. SOOO pretty!! I just LOVE the pink and green combo. What does that say about me?

Finally, above: Dreidel. Also known in my house as Swedish Flag colors. Love this colorway too....

So, yeah, I went a little overboard in the STR shopping last month. But, since I went so overboard, I kind of scared myself and I haven't made any yarn purchases since. For that, I'm proud. I mean, yeah, I'll admit it, I'm an addict and I have a problem. I think I'm finally getting to the point where I'm reaching capacity.... never mind. I know that's a lie. But I haven't had any yarn shipped to work for at least a month!!!

I know I promised some snow pics too, so here are my favorite two:

In the first, I didn't even see the female cardinal behind the male when I snapped the pic.

In the second, you all get a gratuitous "Kitty Footwarmer" pic. This cat is IN LOVE with socks. This is not the Sock Eater Kitty. This one will just make out with any foot encased in a sock.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to join you all at GROUP tonight. But just in case you've never been and would like to join a lovely and hilarious bunch of ladies, GROUP meets at

Border's Books and Music
3232 Lake Ave (Edens Plaza at the corner of Lake and Skokie)
Wilmette, IL
from 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm
Hope you can make it!!

Finished!

2006-11-14T15:27:00.000-06:00

I swear I think finishing a project sedns me to the pinnacle of the happy bush!

Here are my Smoky Topaz Knee Socks !!!

I love the color blending at the top, and the flashing on my feet. While they don't exactly match, they're close enough that my husband asked how I made them "do that matching thing on the feet and ankles".

Yarn: STR mediumweight in Smoky Topaz

Needles: US size 1

Pattern: http://www.hjsstudio.com/kneesock.html with the foot completed using the Sensational Knitted Socks book and the Eye of Partridge heel flap. I'll get better pics of the socks laying flat as soon as the sun decides to show its face again.

LOVE THEM!

Comments:

Go down one needle size on the cuff ribbing and ktbl on all knit sts. This will help counter the tendancy that socks have to a.) stretch b.) fall down. I ktbl-ed but I didn't drop a needle size so they slip when I walk a lot in them.
Check your gauge more than once. See that unsightly little bubble behind my right calf? Yeah, that's cause my gauge is off on the second sock. I even ripped back and did it again thinking I'd done something weird. Nope. Same pattern, same row count same everything. I just got looser and looser as the sts rolled off my needles so my row gauge got all wonky. It's not different sized calves; I swear, since the sock is too big on both legs.
Say it with me slowly.... these Babies are W-A-R-M!
I love them anyway.

47 things you couldn't give a hoot about regarding me

2006-10-19T14:25:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to lie to you all and tell you that I have 48 things to tell you about when there's really only 47!! Check your meme's they're all missing #34. :)

1. FIRST NAME? Jennifer

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No and yes. The 'rents knew they wanted to use my Grandmother's maiden name as my middle name and they decided that Jennifer sounded better than Jessica with my middle name; which is Jarrett by the way.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Cry, aw heck, I cry at the drop of a hat. Not at real life stuff mind you, it takes a lot to make me cry about real life stuff.... except when I'm really mad. Mostly I cry at the emotional manipulation of TV shows, those stupid junk mail sob stories that people send and movies. I got it from my Dad. At one point we took a box of Kleenex to the theater with us.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yep-ers

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? That's a tough one, it's either smoked turkey on a homemade sandwich or smoked ham on a Potbelly Sub. (If you've never had one, next time you're in the chicago area, you gotta try one. My Dad owned the business across the street from the original shop so I grew up on them. I could never leave Chicago, cause I'd miss my Potbelly Subs!)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I hope so.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Nope. I've tried but I could never get it to stick.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Affirmative. (W'eve been watching a lot of Star Trek: Next Gen in my house lately).

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Nope. Do I look like a nut job to you?? (Don't answer that.)

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Hmmm, probably Special K with Red Berries

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Never, I always use the toe of my other foot to pop my heel out. And actually, I get really annoyed when I have to bend over and untie them cause I've tied them too tightly.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Emotionally, I'd like to think so but then, I know that physically I'd get my arse kicked in a fight.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Cookies and Cream, hands down.

14. SHOE SIZE? US 8.5

15. RED OR PINK? Both. But I don't actually wear pink anywhere but on my fingernails and then it's more fuschia than Barbie. So, I guess mostly red. My first car was red....

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My weight. (Apparently, I'm in good company)

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? France. Yeah, I know that's not a who, but I've been blessed in my life that I haven't yet lost anyone who I'm really close to permanently. Except France....

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Um, much as I'd love to see them,I probably won't have time to respond appropriately, so let's go with No.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Taupe pants, Cream canvas shoes, Periwinkle blue button down and a really snappy silk scarf with all three colors in it tied around my throat (I accessorized today! Go me!)

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Tukey and Roast beef sandwich with lettuce and tomato on Swirl Rye with a little mayo and mustard. Quite yummy if I do say so....

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Click, click, click... tap, tap, tap ... I'm at work.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? RED!

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Really ripe, fresh strawberries

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? The guy at the Dock here at work, I was looking for my sock yarn which arrived yesterday but I hadn't yet seen!! LOL!

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I don't really "know" her, but yeah, I like her.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Water. (I know, boring)

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Football

29. EYE COLOR? Green, grey, yellow with a freckle

30. HAT SIZE? Ginormous... what you hadn't heard?? My family motto is Big Craniums 'R Us!

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes but my eyes are too dry so they make my eyeballs fall out. It's a good look. Trust. Me.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Filet Mignon done medium rare. Not RARE. Medium rare.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scary. All the way.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Um, Spring and Fall? I hate extremes of temperature in both directions.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Yes, please.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? My husband made the most divine Genoise yellow cake (read: light fluffy butter cake), filled it with Lemon curd, whipped some more lemon curd into the frosting and topped it with Fresh Raspberries and Blue Berries one year. THAT is my favorite dessert and he hasn't made it ever again since it's such a pain in the arse to make. :(

37. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No telling.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not sending, just blogging.

39. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOUR CURRENTLY READING? The 13th Tale by Diane Setterfield, Cabinet of Curiosities by Preston Douglas and Lincoln Child.

40. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? Optical mouse, no pad.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Dancin' with the Starrrzzz, Baybeeee!

42. FAVORITE SOUNDS? My husband's "Scooby Doo" laugh (that's what he calls it and it only comes out every once in a while)

43. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Oh, Beatles. Totally.

44. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Rome is the furthest east I've been.

45. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? My husband says that it's my ability to identify famous peoples' voices when they do voiceovers on commercials. I think it's just my musical ear in general.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? LaGrange, IL

47. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I copied it from Cara

Speaking of....

2006-10-14T13:37:00.000-05:00

no willpower....

I followed a link from All Things Heather and I went out to a new online shop for me: The Loopy Ewe.

Here's what I got. You all should be proud of me since they're not exactly my normal colors (purple and green, purple and orange, green and blue, yeah, they're a little different)

May I introduce Lapis (100% superwash merino)

and her sister Clover (50% superwash merino, %0% tencel) pretty....

I'm so pathetic I'm having them shipped to work so my husband won't see the package come in... do you think I need an intervention?

BTW, any of you know what the heck happened to my style sheet that dropped all my links to the bottom of the page? It doesn't look like any of my pics are too big....

May I take your order?

2006-10-13T14:08:00.000-05:00

Funny, Little.Red.Boat's post reminded me of Jobs I've hated and Loved to Lose.

My first "real" job (as in "not babysitting") involved spending one afternoon per week stuffing envelopes for my best-friend's mom's Med-Tech staffing agency. My best-friend and I would sit on the floor of her little office in downtown Chicago, folding and stuffing for two hours at $3.50 an hour. I made $7.00 a week. Train fare there and back cost me $2.00. To cash the check at the currency exchange cost me about $.90 cents. My first job at age 14 or 15 netted me $4.10 per week (at hourly wages that low there was no such thing as taxes). I don't know how long I felt that was worth my while, but I know it wasn't long.

There was the 20 minutes (or maybe 5 weeks) I spent working as a cashier at the local White Hen Pantry (a.k.a Quickie Mart). My Dad got me that job. I used to work Saturday and Sunday mornings starting at 7:00 a.m. This is distinctly "Not. So. Good." when you're 17 and out partying with your peeps until the wee hours. I vaguely remember the day manager lady looking at me and saying something like "You don't belong here. You've got too much class." I believe I said "Thank you."

One weekend my name wasn't on the schedule and then again the following weekend. This went on for about 3 weeks until one afternoon after school I walked over to the shop where the boss man was dilligently sweeping the floor. I said Hi and made the usual small talk while he focued intensely on non-existent dust.

"So am I ever going to be on the schedule again?" Mutter, mutter.... he wouldn't even make eye contact. "Dude, it's ok if you want to fire me, just say so." He looked like he felt terrible about it, but his manager lady was right. I didn't belong there.

... or maybe it was because I kept stealing frozen chocolate chip cookie dough balls from the freezer. We'll never know.

Oh yeah, then there was the summer I worked as counter girl at a Brownie Shop called Square Deals. Also downtown. Also making nothing per hour.

I never got to work in the bakery, though I would have liked to (I'm good with flour). I was a temporary replacement for the regular counter lady who'd gone on maternity leave. I think I gained 10 pounds and lasted one month. Bleh.

Bank Teller. Sooooo very not fun. One month, maybe two. Another girlfriend's mother was the teller manager there. She was kind enough to give me a job when I needed one, but she took one look at me and said "You won't be here long. You're too smart and you look good in that suit. Like a professional. You'll go a lot farther than some silly bank teller job."

Yeah. Truthfully, the Teller job wasn't that bad until one day when my favorite teacher from grade school (Mr. Coffee Breath) pulled into the drive up and leered at me with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. Hello, Shattered Dream, how are you? and again with the Bleh. Shortly thereafter, I got a new job.

How about you all?

Reverse Culture Shock... ever had it?

2006-09-26T15:49:00.000-05:00

I know I have. This morning I read this blogger's post about reverse culture shock. It brought back a lot of memories for me.

I have always been "good at French." My Dad says that my Grandma used to speak French to me when I was little, but I have no recollection of that. In grade school, we took Latin and French classes. I got it. In high school, French class was the only class for which I specifically remember sitting down to do my homework (I'm lucky I'm smart or I never would have graduated due to that whole "lack-of-studying" thing). When I went to college, I ended up in a French class though I don't think it was a requirement. Then, fate stepped in and my (get this) Great Aunt died and left me some money.

During my 20th year I moved to Paris. France. For school. It was an opportunitiy I never thought would come my way. We were not rich. My family was a living disaster. After 11 years of living with an abusive Step-monster and a clinically depressed father, the Step-monster moved out the week before I was scheduled to leave for Paris.

I left for France with an opportunity to start fresh. A fresh start.... now that's something we don't often get.

In my first weeks in Paris I met and moved in with a family with whom I still communicate with and adore to this day. I was the AuPair (French version of a Nanny) for their four children ages 11, 8,7 and 1 year. My Family, as I came to call them, lived in a little but beautifully appointed apartment in the 17th.

My room was in a building down the street in the 8th. It was a 7th floor walk-up and no bigger than your average bathroom in the US. I had a single twin matress on the floor, a desk, a dresser and a cold water sink. The shared toilette was down the hall. The best part was, my floor to cieling windows looked across the courtyard to the back of a music school from where classical music often streamed in fairy-tale like waves. If I climbed out the window onto the little 2 foot by 2 foot ledge and leaned waaaaaay out, I could see the Eiffel Tower. There's really nothing like it at night when it's all lit up.

That year was the best year of my life. I was dirt poor with only $300 a month to live on for food, phone card, transportation and any shopping I wanted to do. This was in the days before every teenager had a credit card and a cell phone in their pocket. I was poor, but I didn't notice. I was in Paris. And I had wings.

I walked everywhere. I went to school at the Universite de la Sorbonne. I met people from all over the world in my classes. I made a good friend in a woman journalist from Iran. She was in Paris because she'd written a book investigating an Iranian Head of State's mistress who'd disappeared. Then she had to disappear or end up disappearing herself.

There was a man from Algeria, the former French colony. A whole mess of Americans, a Canadian guy we all adored and a bunch of other Europeans, including one Spanish diplomat's daughter.

I lived, laughed, travelled and did silly things that a young American girl is supposed to do while living abroad and every evening I would travel to The Children's schools to pick them up, feed them dinner, get their homework done and get their baths done. FYI...French people actually bathe everyday, it's just that thier deodorant doesn't have anti-persprant; hence the Extra-Special Metro Funk.

I loved those children. I remember more about my time with them than I do with most of my friends in Paris.

That family loved eachother. Grand-pere lived in the apartment downstairs where he spent time with Jacqueline, his "Amie". Madame, who bade me call her by her Christian name worked for IBM France, and Monsieur, who made me laugh incessantly with his attempts to appear taller than me, was in the Music industry. He was a Count and she a Countess. While they say the Nobility in France is gone and meaningless, that's not true. It still means very much.

They were/are loving gracious people who accepted me into their family with open arms and no questions. They took me on vacation with them, they bought me a Christmas present when I could afford none for them or their children, and they laughed, teased and complimented me in ways that I desperately needed during a year when the news that came from "home" seemed so desolate. They grounded me and gave me a safe place from which I could spread my wings.

After I extended my "year" abroad as long as I possibly could, I had to return "home". To Chicago.

Now don't misunderstand: I love Chicago. In the grand scheme of cities that one might call home, I'm pretty lucky. Chicago is a big, friendly, international city with LOTS of options for making a difference. BUT, when I returned home I felt lost. I missed my friends, my freedom, (my French boyfriend), and my new found sense of self.

You see, I'd grown up a lot in that year abroad and when I came home, I was supposed to step back into the role I'd left behind.

Then there was the whole American Experience itself that suddenly seemed so foreign to me. Americans live large and loud. I was shocked and pained by how LOUDLY everyone spoke. How BIG were the gestures and how IN YOUR FACE people can seem to be when you're suddenly immersed in your own language after a time apart. It's amazing how much information we can take in without realizing.

When I'd been home about one week, I remember crossing the street near my Dad's house, standing on the corner, looking up at the sky and feeling absolute desperation. Not for my lost love or anything so trite as all that (I wasn't THAT in love). Just desperation for the loss of culture, history and belonging that the country and My Family had instilled in me.

It was the little things that I missed the most. An aperitif before dinner (a small cocktail). A cup of coffee in tete-a-tete with a girlfriend. The ability to spot travelling Americans (Germans, English) from 500 yards, simply by the way they move their mouths when they speak. A warm croissant from the vendor in the Metro station each morning (best croissants in Paris).

Standing on that corner in the middle of Logan Boulevard, I was a stranger in a strange land. I know reverse culture shock, sometimes I still do... How about you?

Finished Objects!

2006-09-25T09:41:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!! (waving wildly)

I apologise that I've been so absent the last couple of months. There's no excuse really so I'll just dive right back in.

I have finally finished my first sweater!! Well, almost finished, and I had A LOT of help (See above and below). It's blocking and drying on the guest bed. I haven't attached the big glass button that I bought for it, but I've got the shank thread all ready. I just have to go through my stash of old buttons and find a good sized backing button.

Pattern: This sweater is from the Fall Vogue Knits 2004.
Yarn: Thaki Ghost Print on sale from Webs. Normally $18.95 ball, I got it for $7.95 each at Stitches
Needles: US Size 10 circs (I always go down 2 sizes)

Well, I adjusted the pattern (don't I always?) I made it a little longer than it was originally. I added about 4 inches to the bottom. The patttern was originally designed as a drop shoulder and I made it a set-in sleeve. I only had to rip out one sleeve and re-do it so that's a good thing. Also, at the suggestion of Alyssa, I added a button loop (which you can't see here). I've set it on the inside so that if I don't want to wear the button, I can tuck the big honkin' button loop inside the sweater. I made i-cord fromthe Ghost print. It looks pretty cool. We'll see how it fits.

It is difficult being a sweater model, you know. The expectations to stay awake next to said sweater are just too much to bear and require snuggling up and preparing for sleep. (Never mind that the sweater is virtually soaking wet!)

Another FO, socks from earlier this summer in conjunction with the Koigu eater of the house... Notice the tentative nose work while Mama takes a picture.
YARN: Yes, it's Koigu.
Needles: size 0 US (a little too small for the yarn, makes a yarn stiff fabric)
Pattern: Twisted rid stitch (KTBL on all knit sts, which causes the ribbing to pullback together after each washing) and Eye of Partridge Heel from Sensational Knitted Socks.

Finally, a swatch for a lace sweater that I love but I'm not so sure I want an entire sweater in this pattern. What do you think? Too many purl bumps between the motif abnds? The yarn is Blue SKy Alpaca/Silk in color Kiwi (it's actually a lot greener like split peas before they're cooked). The Pattern is from that really cool Japanese pattern book.

Next up? Sizzle from Wendy Bernard. I also swatched for the Everyday Tweed sweater last night. The Jo Sharp Silk Road DK Tweed is divinely soft once it's been washed, Interestingly, though, there's a fair bit of vegetal matter in the yarn which seems pretty silly to me. Hunh, well, we'll see how my gauge is once it's all dry....

Stitches Pics (or Sorry, my camera battery died...)

2006-08-16T09:21:00.000-05:00

Whew!!! Stitches was amazing! I had so much fun with Mom and running around seeing all my Peeps! (OK, so I'm not the type of girl to say "Peeps" but, well, you know...)

I SHOPPED, I gawked and I talked A LOT!

I thought I went shopping bananas but in the end I really didn't. Mom, on the other hand, was a shoping maniac! She reminded me of my first visit to Stitches last year with Kara. (Kara bought a "Fixer-Upper" house, BTW, and has since gone MIA).

First things first we hit the Socks That Rock Booth. I must say: WOW!

From Left to right in Mediumweight: Smoky Topaz, Celestine, Thistle, Falcon's Eye & Rock My World. Then in Lightweight on the right: Yosemite and Mist. Above: Sock Candy (96% cotton, 4% elite) in Kabuki.

Next we went to Tess Designer Yarns. I wanted to get some more 50/50 Silk Merino in this beautiful dark grey color but she didn't have enough and unlike Lynae I was not prepared to order $210 worth of yarn right then and there. SO, Mom bought some really yummy Seabreeze Silk and Merino. It's the same color I bought last year and it's going to look lovely on her. (You can see it in the total stash pic above. It's in the botton left corner.)

Third we went to Brooks' Farm. Soooo Beautiful! Above is what I got in Harmony. I still haven't used the Brooks Farm I bought last year, but I'm holding on to it for the perfect project. I love Brooks Farm because they're NOT cheap with their Yardage. 500 yards per hank at $34 for silk, mohair and merino. That's cool.

Next Stash enhancing visit was to the Book Booth (I think it was Village Spinning & Weaving but I always remember it as the book booth).

Here I got EZ's Knitting Workshop book that I have been coveting for a while and some beautiful Superwash Sock Yarn in this yummy Grass Green. I must admit that I picked it up because I've been envying Alyssa's Shamrock Socks since she made them last month. This generous hank has 582.4 yards (it's sold by weight and it's 1/2 lb). I'm hoping, depending on the gauge, to make some Loooong Knee high socks to wear with winter boots.

Finally (for me at least) we went to the Webs Booth. How amazing was that? I got to touch a lot of their Valley Yarns (really soft and lovely), I met the girl on the cover of their catalog (she works there and helped me find something) and bought some Tahki Ghost print that I've been oogling for a specific sweater for along time.

Now. Here's the dilemma. I'm not a little person and I got this faboo SUPER BULKY yarn. But I absolutely LOVE it. It's Tahki Ghost Print in a yummy colorway that I like to call Watermelon cause it's pale beige/green and pink.

There was a pattern in VK in Winter 2004 (It's the blue and sand colored one). It would be nice if I looked like that when it was finished, but then there's that whole reality thing. That being said, of course I'm going to alter it to be a cap-sleeve sweater and a little bigger than the pattern in the book.

I had to ask everyone's opinion about whether a big girl should make a big knit and Lynae finally convinced me by saying "If it makes you look like a house, you can always make it your "at home" sweater for the winter." SOLD!!

I lurve this yarn......

The guy at the Webs Booth was wonderful, too. I didn't know exactly how many balls I would need to make the sweater I wanted and he called the shop at 5:00 and asked one of the women to go look for the VK magazine for me. They couldn't find it in the store so he ran over to the Book Booth an looked for it, too. It wasn't at the book booth but the girl in the shop found it online. They really went above and beyond the call of duty and helped me to get what I need. Thanks WEBS!

So I came home and Swatched for the Sweater. Yes, Alyssa & Josie, I washed AND blocked it (you can see proof in the Summary Stash pic above). My gauge was exactly what it needed to be (2 needle sizes smaller than usual of course, but that's still on US 10's I NEVER get to use 10s). So I'm working on editing the pattern, but I figured out that I will definitely have enough yarn and I've got some of the schematics worked out. So, last night I cast on for the yummy sweater and later I will get you a pic of my progress.

Finally-Finally we stopped at Moving Mudd buttons. I picked up a lovely glass button with a pink center that is going to look great with the Bulky Sweater.

Overall, we had a wonderful time at Stitches Marktet and, like Claire, because this was my second trip to Stitches I already have all the knitting accoutrements that I need so I was able to concentrate on YARN and only yarn that I can't get at my LYS.

I hope you all enjoyed this little trip down Jen's Shopping Spree Lane.

Tomorrow: Mom's Purchases (which she left at my house to ship back to her in Houston what with the crazy airplane situation lately)

_________________________________________________________________

GROUP Night is tonight!! If you want to see the newly acquired yarny goodness in person, feel free to join us at:

Border's Books & Music at Lake and Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette, IL from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Cafe'

Stitches is happening RIGHT NOW!!!

2006-08-11T10:27:00.000-05:00

Mom is here from Houston for the weekend and the Stitches convention. We've got our tickets and I have the afternoon off!!!

We'll be meeting Lynae, Alyssa, and Claire as well as some other blogless friends this afternoon for some amazing shopping and fun.

I'll be back with pictures too!! I'm going to charge up my camera bettery right now!!

See you soon! (um, yeah, I did dream about yarn last night now that you mention it!)

2006-08-08T12:25:00.000-05:00

Just a note to all my dear friends out there....

I'm sorry. I must admit that I have thought of you often, of late. But as can be witnessed in my blog, I have done NOTHING to remedy that situation. I know that if you haven't forgotten about me (Thanks Lynn!) that you'll probably expect pictures to accompany this post. Unfortunately, I'm at work. Camera? At Home. So pics will have to come later.

The briefest of explanations is due to you regarding my absence (ok, I'm incapable of blog brevity):
1.) I have a new job.
2.) I'm in a knitting slump.

"Cur-int Projeks"

1. ) I'm still working on my Lotus Blossom Tank ("top": I'm adding sleeves). I got all the way through my first attempt at a top down sleeve (which was way cool, btw) and I discovered that, despite the inordinate number of times I COUNTED. I picked up 12 stitches TOO MANY!!

Exactly how many is 12 stitches too many, you might ask?? Well, I'll tell you. 12 stitches is exactly the number of stitches I need to pick up under the arm in the bound off row.

What does this mean you might ask? It means I have to rip out the whole friggin' sleeve!!!! ARRRRGGHHHHH! I wanted this to be an easy summer project!! I wanted it to go fast!! BUT NO! I am physiologically incapable of following a pattern. I must always change it. So, could I just go with the little tank with pretty straps? Nope. I had to add sleeves. From the top down, nonetheless! So to fix them I have to rip them out entirely. [sob]

That bloody "quick and easy" top is sitting in my bag and it just might remain there until next summer. OR, I could follow EZ's advice about ripping and say to myself "Hooray! More of my favorite hobby!!" (Or I could just parcel post the whole damn thing to her, were she still with us.)

OK, I've got my emotions back under control. Sorry.

2.) In class I've started a swatch for a lace sweater out of Blue Sky Alpaca Silk in color Kiwi for an all-over lace sweater, but then I decided to boycott the project. Not because I don't want to do it. It's just that I don't want to do it RIGHT NOW. I finally got the yarn for my Alice Starmore sweater and I want to work on that since it's already started.

3.) Sock 2 of 2 in Koigu KPPPM. Stash knitting. I bought the Koigu more than a year ago and I want sock from it. So, I'm making some twisted rib plain socks for myself. I still can't seem to get the foot length thing right. They're either a little too long or a little too short. Annoying, if I do say so.

4.) Baby blanket for a girlfriend's friend. The friend who asked me to make the blanket for her friend is kind of going through a rough spot right now and needs all the support she can get.

OK, so it was also an opportunity to try some of that yummy Blue Sky Cotton in delicious baby colors (baby blue, pink, teal, yellow and mint green). I wanted to reverse engineer the log cabin blanket from Mason Dixson but then my conscience got the better of me and I went out and bought the book. It's fun and has some lovely non-challenging projects. I can use big yarn on big needles and I fell in love with the Contemporary Baby Blanket. I'm still using Baby colors but the squares are kind of random vs. in lockstep log cabin style. Loving it.

5.) On hold until I finish something else:

Innishmore by Alice Starmore
Lady Eleanor (OMG, boring) from Scarf Style (all three projects are listed in this link)
Those really cool fair isle socks out of two solid colors of Koigu that I was making (that two handed knitting stuff is hard) with the pattern from Estonian Knits
Somewhat Cowl in Elann Alpaca Silk doubled by Wendy Bernard from Knitandtonic.com. (pending cooler weather, it's too darn hot to even hold that yarn) Finally...the OTHER mitten.

Hey! That's not so bad. I know I'm forgetting something, but then, I went through my stash a few weeks ago and ripped out anything that I wasn't loving.

For example, I ripped out that Cowlneck Mohair Sweater from IK Winter 2004. Boy was that a disaster, anyone want 11 skeins of La Gran Mohair in Highlighter Blue? That was my first attempt at a sweater. Ever.

While I didn't end up with a sweater, I learned several things:
1.) I hate fuzzy fly-away mohair.
2.) To wear that particular mohair sweater, you must be rail thin as mohair clings to all your bumps and curves.
3.) That cowl would have been better served in a darker color. The blue was just too, tooo, for that sweater. Pretty, but not a good person to sweater combo.
4.) Swatch, check your gauge. Do it again.

Finally, I say I'm in a knitting slump because I'm not in love with anything I'm working on. I just want to finish something and that seems to be a challenge for me. Then I think back about the projects I've done and I realize that it's not that I don't finish things, it's that I give them away once they're finished. So, I want to finish something for ME and that blasted tank top is giving me fits!!

Oh yeah, and it was my blogiversary on July 26th. I totally missed it cause that was my 2nd day at my new job.

Pictures are coming tonight. I promise.

See, you didn't really miss this did you?

Smooches,
jen

New job... trying to get my act in gear.... owe you lots of pictures....

2006-07-27T11:51:00.000-05:00

In the mean time, if you're interested in reproductive rights, read this:

The New Law

It sickens me. If I offend, well, I'm really not so sorry today.

jen

The South

2006-07-04T09:59:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I'm a Yankee, there's just no getting around that fact.

I'm also a damn good mimic so after 4 days here in small-town South Carolina (where, incidentally, it's hotter than Hades during the annual pig roast) I'm tryin' really hard not to sound like a local.

B'leev me y'all, it's Hard. It's hard.

I'm decompressing from the last week of adventures. I finally got a reasonable job offer from the company that I'd been negotiating with at 11:00 on Friday. I gave my notice at 11:05 at my my curent job. I was a little anxious as I had an Estimated Time of Departure of 12:00 for my two week vacation.

I expected my current boss to kind of freak out. She didn't. I don't know if that's just because she was having a "grown-up moment" (we don't have many of those) or if the truth is that she and I just never really got along so she's not that disappointed. (I won't be kicked around) Course she did have the wherewithall to say "Too bad, you were good." Note the past tense.

So, we left Chicago at 2:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon and promptly spent 2 hours and 30 minutes trying to get what would normally have taken about 1 hour. DH was fit to be tied. We then spent the next 11 hours driving straight through to West Union, SC. Yep. Deep. South.

We tried to stop in Knoxville around 2:00 a.m. to get some sleep but the only places that had any room were Roach Motels. On we drove. At 5:30 a.m. local time we pulled into my in-laws driveway.

My in-laws are nice people, but I gotta say, the rules of engagement here are vastly different than those with which I am familiar.

Here is a brief list of "Things I Have Learned" during our brief stay:

1. Jesus is Our Saviour. (My 4 year old niece, the Southern Baptist, told me so at least 5 or 6 times)
2. When you go to a Southern Baptist Church for the Christening of your newest nephew, it is not good for your Catholic husband to join in the Hymn at the "Crucified, Bled and Died" part in his best Monty Python voice. It causes even the most strident guest to melt into a fit of giggles despite all attempts to be respectful of others' faith.
2. If you are asked a question, don't expect anyone to wait or care for the answer.
3. Do not under any circumstances, think that the locals want to know anything about your damned yankee ways.
4. You can say anything about anyone, if you follow it up with "Bless Her Heart". To wit: "She's a nasty little whore, Bless Her Heart. "
5. Keep your head low and your opinions quiet if you happen to be of the Democratic bent, believe that women should have the right to choose or that same sex couples should be allowed to join in a legally binding union. (Those are the only subjects that have come up thus far. God I love vacation).

Oh yeah, and we're sleeping in a full size bed. My 6" husband and myself. Oof. Is it time to go home yet?

Did I mention ticks and fleas? Yeah, I haven't stepped foot in the grass yet.

Tomorrow we're on to Charleston, SC where we can, at least, be tourists and not expected to behave like a southerner. Or like my Husband's parents, New York transplants to West Union, SC.

Sign me,
A Fish Out of Water

Out of Touch

2006-06-29T15:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I've been so out of touch lately. Also, I'm in the Deep South right now, where we only have dial-up at my inlaws so posting pics is um, let's just say it's not an option right now.

I've had a lot going on both exciting and nerve-wracking.
Gosh, there's so much I want to show and tell you all that I don't know where to begin...

I'm still working on the Lotus Blossom Tank. I've finished the lace and the front and I put it on waste yarn and tried it on. It fit!!... Whew.... It's going to be sooooo pretty. I'm excited. I'm now working on the back and I have to do 9 inches of stockinette, not-in-the-round, using two balls of hand wrecking cotton. Ugh. I’m up to about 5 inches here.

I can’t wait for this to be finished. I totally need to put sleeves on it though, and then I need to get off my extra-round duff and start working out again, cause this just ain’t alright!!

My mom came into town last week for our annual Enormous Birthday Bash (more later), so we've been hanging out. We were going to go to knitting class last thursday at 3 Bags Full but then DH asked if I wanted to go look at a new car.

Now, you know you’re a knitting addict when you have to stand there and THINK about whether to go car shopping or go to knitting class.

Hence the following conversation:

“ I can’t believe you have to THINK about whether to go to knitting class or to buy a new car!!!!” says DH

“OOOHHHHHH!! BUY a new car, why didn’t you say so??! Before you said, ‘look’”.
(Dear reader, I need help on these bloody sleeves and just looking at a new car wasn’t my idea of fun.)

“Well, if they won’t give it to us for invoice, then we’re walking away.”

“Oh, of course we are. I’m not interested in paying more than invoice either.”

“OK, so when can you come home?” (I was getting ready for work, you see)

As early as possible, but probably around 4:00. (Dear Friends, I made it until exactly 3:10 p.m. and then said to my co-workers, “I can’t standit anymore, I’m going home”.)

It wasn’t until quite a while AFTER I woke up and had the above conversation with my wonderful husband that I remembered that it was my birthday that day!! (Crazy Aunt Purl and I are exactly the same age…. we share a birthday) And only then because my mom remembered and wished me Happy Birthday. Sheesh, think I’m a little busy?

Later, around 2:00, DH called to see when I was coming home and said “How’s things today?”

“Well, it’s my birthday….” I said quitely.

“Oh. Yeah. It is your birthday isn’t it?? (chuckle) Happy Birthday.” We were both so wrapped up in the whole buying a car thing that we totally forgot.

So, we went to the dealership and DH was standing in the lot grousing about how he wasn’t going to deal with “Slick” and blah blah blah bluster bluster bluster. I walked into the Building with Mom and walked up to the desk with The Lady and several salesmen standing around. (You know there’s always a desk with “A Lady” in the Dealership).

“HI!!!” says I, in my most cheerful voice.

“Hi!” Say the wary looking salesmen and The Lady (who incidentally, looks like she smokes too much)

“I need to talk to your most laid back salesperson.”

“Why?” mutter the even more aprehensive looking salespeople.

At this point Dear Reader, I turn around and point to my husband who is out in the lot yapping on his phone looking very serious (he was making party plans for the upcoming weekend).

“Because my husband hasn’t had dinner yet.”

This broke the ice and made everyone laugh. At which point a kind of schlumpy gentleman named Mike introduced himself with “I’ll do it... Hi, I’m Mike and I’m laid back.”

He was even gracious enough to walk out into the parking lot and introduce himself to my husband and say “Hi. I’m Laid Back.”

Three hours and much laughter later, we drove out with the car we wanted which we had paid invoice price for. Oh yeah, and we were starving….

Here’s a little more knitting for your viewing pleasure. Oh yeah, and my Innishmore yarn came.

This Blog as a Graph

2006-06-20T14:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no update pics of Lotus Blossoms today, but here's a cool pic of the Words Wits n' Wool website as a graph.

I picked this up off the Mason Dixson knitting and their pic was so pretty I wanted to see what mine looked like... so there you have it.

Have a lovely afternoon.

Nellie n' The Lotus Blossoms

2006-06-13T11:27:00.000-05:00

Sounds like a girl-band from Scooby Doo doesn't it? And then they start disappearing and there's a ghost and a mummy and a big kitchen for Scooby and Shaggy to ransack...

Right. Focus.

On the knitting front I'm trying to be more like Alyssa and go on a yarn diet.... (we'll see how long that lasts). But there's a very good reason for it. I spend an ~~enormous~~ ~~huge~~ ~~extravagant~~ A LOT of money on yarn and knitting books n' stuff each month. Let's say almost enough for a car payment. Yeah, a nice car.... SOOOOO, I'm going on a yarn diet.

See, I want a new car. Yep, Ole' Nellie The Red Rocket (a.k.a my 98 Red Jetta) is gettin' up there in years. Her saddle bags and wrinkles are starting to to become more than just character lines. Oh yeah, and she's startin' to get the dreaded "Old Lady Smell". Now, don't get me wrong, not all Old Ladies have The Old Lady Smell. But when they've got it: you know they've got it.

Yeah, there's a pin hole in the front wheel well and when it rains a lot well, she's a little ripe. Enough so's that my DARLING husband gets into Nellie and says "Whew!! Did you rip one in here??!!" (Darling, isn't he??)

"Quit talkin' smack about my car!! She's a good girl and has taken good care of me!!"

"She's got 3 and 3/4 tires in the grave..."

"Get out."

I love my hubzind.

I'm going on a yarn diet, because I would rather have a new car and if I quit spending my hard earned ducats on yarn I might be able to get one sooner. (Did I mention that I got my shipment from Elann.com? She eez Beouuuteeefullll, she eez.)

Lotus Blossoms Progress
I've made it to the stockinette stitch part!!! Woo Hoo!!

Course, I'm a little nervous about being on St st, cause that's where I usually lose patience and let a project drop.

Oh yeah, and I went to Mosaic Yarn Studio this weekend and got three more hanks of the same yarn (different dye lot) so that I can add on short sleeves.

Even though the camera greyed out the color, you can kinda see the tiniest difference in the two balls. The one on the left is the original and it's just a fraction more intense than the one on the right. It's actually even less obvious in day light but all the same, I can see it. So, now I'm knitting with two balls at a time. Thank goodness the Lace part is over. The last 10 rows of lace were an adventure with two balls of yarn.

What do you all think in the way of sleeves? They're going to be top-down to just above the elbow. I'm thinking about starting a bottom up round with a lace repeat, and then kitchener-ing the two together, but I'm afraid that might be too much lace and draw unnecessary attention to the arms. What about a tiny picot edging?

GROUP

Finally, Group night is tomorrow and I'm probably going to be late (like 30 minutes late). All the same, I hope you all can join us!

Border's in Wilmette, IL @ Lake and Skokie from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Cafe!

Be there or be square!

Lotus Blossoms and Clematis Blossoms

2006-06-09T11:27:00.000-05:00

Just a quick Update to show progress.... I'm hoping to get the 5th repeat and start the stockinette for the bust. I'm also thinking about ordering 4 more skeins and attaching elbow length sleeves with a single lace pattern repeat at the edge. But boy, if I'm going to do that, and have it to wear by the 2nd of July, I better get crackin'!

The Clematis is Comtesse de Bouchard and even Hubbo says it's the prettiest clematis he's ever seen! Woo Hoo!! The reason it's so much prettier than the other ones we have is because I actually picked and ordered this one as opposed to the other three we have that I got as box plants from Jewel (the grocery store)! Gratuitous kitty pic....

Have a loverly weekend!

Peonies and Lotus Blossoms

2006-06-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

I love me my Peonies!

So my second peony bush bloomed on Tuesday, just like I thought. Then these horrible storms started coming through with "Nickel-sized hail". Well you know I just HAD to run outside and cut the two blossoms that had already opened so they didn't get ruined buy the rain!!

Wednesday morning, here's what I saw out my window. So, beautiful!! And the color in the shot below is true to their actual color. I know it looks like I just cut out paper flowers and laid them on the bush what with the way my camera handled the color changes and all...I don't know the variety so I can't help there but it's got a kind of spoiled fruit smell about it. Despite its beautiful color, I can't help but wish it smelled good, too. But the pale pink one (yes, there was only one) smells heavenly and spicy!

Lotus Blossoms

I also figured that since this is primarily a knitting blog that I should show you all (y'all, for short) some "knit stuff".

Voila the Lotus Blossom Tank! The color is truer in the above pic than in the pic below. I'm seriously thinking about doing this again if it fits nicely. I'm pretty sure it's going to fit properly because I'm on gauge and I measured around my (ahem) lower middle and even on the smaller needle for the main body, the width should be perfect. Since they have you start up one needle size, the width should be even a little roomy for the first 9 rows (about midway up the first repeat). If it fits nicely, I'm hoping to wear it to our god child's christening in S. Carolina in Early July. I'm not so sure about the no sleeves thing tho.... I don't really want my lily white wings flapping in the air-conditioned breeze. Maybe a wrap too? Oh yeah, and if it's even the teeniest bit tight around the bustages, I'm going to rip back and do short rows.

If you squint, you can see the lotus blossoms here, below. I'm on the third repeat and for the largest size it takes about 1 ball per repeat.
I really like the way this cotton works up, so I just picked up a whole bunch of Sonata Cotton on sale from Elann.com in Coffee Bean, Light Turquoise and Silver Sage. I got 20, 10 and 20 hanks respectively. I'm hoping that this will be enough for a tank (plain) and maybe a cardigan sweater set, but I'm guessing that I'm going to have to order more. (Yeah, and I'm going to knit these when??) My guessis that one of the three colors I won't like so very much and I'll be able to send it back and buy enough cotton to make one sweater set in all the same color.

Oh, and just so's you don't think that I've completely dropped the ball on that beautiful Alice Starmore Inishmore, I'm still waiting on the yarn from Webs. They told me it would be about two more weeks since it was a special order..... boy, the things we will endure just to get yummy yarn for less than sticker price!

Yeah, and Lady E, she's still on the needles too. I love, love, love, the way she looks and I'll be so excited to wear her when she's finished, but man... can we say Boooooorrrrriinnnngggg? Every time I look into my knitting bag I see her smiling face and I reach for a different project. Bleah. Must finish Lady E before the guilt becomes all consuming!

I love my garden in the Summer time!

2006-05-29T11:53:00.000-05:00

For the last few days I've been out in the sun/shade trying really hard not to give myself a stroke, but also trying to get some plants in the ground before the heat really hits.

I went out Friday afternoon and nearly did give myself a stroke, so I had to come back in and take a nice coool nap in the A/C (thank goodness for central air, I never had it growing up and I LOVE it) :)

Saturday morning I woke up and went to the Garden center with DH and we got enough almost enough flowers to fill the planters outside and the border around the front bed of the house. When we got back it was already getting warm but I wanted to get everything in the ground asap.

I spent a good several minutes digging a BIG hole to put this beautiful lime green hosta in. It's H. Sum and Substance and right now it's about 3' across and 2' high. At full maturity, it can reach 7' across. I love its bright yellow-green leaves in my shady garden. Behind it to the left is H. Blue Angel, another giant Hosta and another favorite. In fact, it's such a fav that we have about 4 of them. Beneath the leaves of S&S are some plants that look like lettuce (or so says DH. What's that stuff that looks like lettuce?). They're actually FoxGlove 'Giant Shirley' mix. The flower spike on those when they come up will be about 3' high.
I'm hoping they start coming up in time for my mom's visit at the end of the month. Also, you can see the Impatiens that I planted yesterday running along the border of the hosta bed. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Impatiens in the world, but they bloom in nearly full shade and that's what I've got. When I bought them on Saturday morning, I thought that I might not have enough for the whole border, but then I started planting..... yeah. 36 little pain in the a$$ plants later, I'm finally finished and I'm sure they'll be lovely all summer long.

Finally for today, my Peonies are blooming for the first time since I put them in three years ago!!! I have a part shade /shade garden and I read (after watching them not get enough sun to create buds for two years) that you can get peonies to bloom in part sun but you need to feed them like crazy. So, this spring way back in March when they first started sticking their pretty little red shoots out of the frozen ground, I waited for the first warmish day and went and fed them like they've never been fed before. Then, once the weather started getting warmer, but super rainy, I spread 3-month fertilizer pellets on the ground around them.

I'm sorry, my mom won't be here to see these beauties bloom but I'm so exited they're blooming at all. I thought I was going to have to move them to the sunny (buit less frequented) side of the house and wait another year for blossoms.

I have a deep magenta one next to this lovely pale pink, spicy scented one that should be in full glory by the end of the day today.

Ahhh, I love summer gardening ....

They Say Third Try's the Charm

2006-05-24T09:55:00.000-05:00

I'm waiting for my shipment from Webs. I got an amazing deal on the yarn for my Inishmore but now I have to wait for it to arrive so I can continue.

That being said, here's my progress from one ball of yarn:

This is the whole back bottom panel.Detail from back left.
Detail from back center. This yarn is so beautiful and sooo soft. It's Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK (right, you knew that already). I'm so happy with how this is coming out. I can't wait to wash and block and see it bloom. So yummy.

SO, while I'm waiting, I'm working on the following:

That blasted top-down "Somewhat Cowl" from Wendy Bernard. At 6.5 sts to the inch, and increasing 8 sts every RS row, I still have about 36 rows to go to make it long enough and wide enough to go around my widest parts. Sigh, this project will be so beautiful when I'm finished and so hot (Alpaca Silk). It's even getting to hot just to knit with, so it's in the "Yarn Closet" as my husband now calls my closet.

As an aside, he was telling some friends of ours about the "Yarn Closet" and I quote, "I'm afraid to go near that place, man. I'm afraid that if I open the door there will be an explosion and I won't get out alive!"

Nice. Thanks, Dear. But at least he has a sense of humor about my obsession.

I'm still working on the Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style. It's really beautiful, but kind of a boring knit. Soooooo, I started something new.

I blame it on the Lovely Jo from my knitting class (Hi Jo!! [waves]). She decided to do the Lotus Blossom Tank from the cover of Interweave knits Summer and she picked some Beeyyooouuuutyful yarn from Tahki Staci Charles Cotton Classic in this lovely color of pale lilac. True to form, I couldn't resist. I got the medium lilac color, #3935

I also partially blame my Mum. She started knitting a cotton top for summer about a week before I saw what Jo was going to make. I got cotton summer tops in my head. Now, I wish I hadn't.

Why? You might ask, do I now wish cotton tops were never an interest? Because this lovely top is knit in the round on 24" needles. 280 stitches for the size that will fit me.

Note to self: be careful not to twist the stitches when joining the round on the first row.

2nd note to self: Once you've ripped it out after having completed 17 rows of 280 stitches and you start again, be careful when you start knitting on row two in the car in traffic, that you haven't twisted one of the needles around the knitting, thus causing the stitches to be twisted for a second time, only to be discovered after knitting another 7 rows of 280 stitches.

3rd note to self: when starting this stupid, frigging, ratty-a$$ project for the third time, USE A LONGER FLIPPIN' NEEDLE SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE STITCHES ARE ALL HANGING BELOW THE NEEDLE WHEN YOU JOIN THE FIRST ROW.

There, I've said it. And now for the "Third Try Cast On Row +2 rows of Garter Stitch".

Finally, tonight is GROUP NIGHT.

We'll be meeting at the Border's at Lake and Skokie Blvd.

Wilmette, IL

6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in the Cafe.

Hope to see you there!

Fresh Start

2006-05-16T15:26:00.000-05:00

I started the last bit on my Innishmore on size US 2 needles when it called for US1 (one size down from main gauge). I thought it was no biggie, but then I didn't like the way it was coming out so into the Frog Pond it went.

Here's my second attempt.

The color isn't faboo, but it's nice and cozy. I'm still waiting to hear back about my Crack Order.

So Inspirational & So Sore!

2006-05-15T09:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I did the Y-Me 5K Walk for Breast Cancer in Grant Park in beautiful downtown Chicago. The day started out painfully enough with a Sunday morning alarm at 5:45. Ugh.... I was walking with several friends and scheduled to meet at lovely Rosana's house at 7:00.
Problem 1.) it's been about 50 degrees here lately.
Problem 2.) It's been raining for about a week and was still raining when I got up with no chance of sunshine in sight.

That being said, while contemplating calling my friend and claiming sick, I had a good breakfast of a yummy fresh sesame bagel with chive cream cheese and Nova Lox from this fabulous and ancient Jewish deli. I pack up my bag, donned my weighted shoes (they're ergonomically designed so that I won't have back problems from walking so much [at the time I thought it was a good idea, I swear]), and dragged DH out of bed (he was scheduled for a long bike ride with Rosana's hubby).

We drove over to their house where I met up with 3 other ladies and we headed down to the CTA (public transport). There were 5 of us that travelled together; Rosana, Judith, Teri, me and Kiki. (We picked up Kiki on the way to the train)

Between the above ground trip from O'Hare and the subway ride downtown, the rain stopped (whew!). When we arrived downtown the trip up the stairs was enough to start us all grousing but even in the subway there were easily 150 people dressed for the race/walk.

We walked over to Columbus and Balbo where we met up with the rest of our group Hemanas y Amigas.

Though we complained and moaned the whole way down about being awake so early and we all fessed up to calling Rosana and claiming sick, once we got there the feeling was amazing. The event organizers said 20,000 people registered to walk or run and they were expecting 30,000 on race day. There were so many people there! Young, old, families, couples, dogs and more.

As I looked around at all the people, I knew I was glad I brought some tissue with me.
While we were waiting to start there was an African American family near us. They had a big parade type banner that said "In loving memory of Althea A-something(one of their family members). 1965 -2000". She was 35. The WHOLE family was there. There were young men with corn rows, do-rags and big gold jewelry walking right next to their grandmas, the whole family wearing bright pink Y-Me Race for the Cure t-shirts.

There was an elderly couple right behind us, he was in a wheel chair and she was going to push him the whole way. Their t-shirts said "In Loving Memory of our Daughter".

There were women there with "Survivor" T-shirts where they'd written in the number of years they'd been alive since their diagnosis. Those families often pulled little red wagons with small children whose t-shirts said "Reason for Living"

Let's just say I was glad I brought kleenex.

The runners went before the walkers. The first loop of the run/walk brought the runners back past the walking crowd where we were perfectly sationed to see them go by. As is expected, there were a few of those really skinny "Running Men" who went by in first and second place, then the pack started to come through. The beginning of the pack was mostly men (hooray, woot!, Go Runners! we all screamed)... and then there was a woman: the crowd went wild!

While we waited for the walking crowd to catch up to where we stood we watched the runners go by some more. And then a 9 year old boy ran by near the head of the pack. A few seconds later... an even younger boy (7 or 8). So fast!! I was amazed and touched and then thought about why they might be running. Just to run? or maybe... Mom? Grandma? Auntie? (Oh Lord, grab the kleenex) Did I mention I'm a big sap? They were so fast!! It was wonderful.

So, we walked. And laughed. And talked. And laughed some more. Everyone was smiling and greeting eachother. There were so many teams with custominzed team t-shirts with a picture of some woman or man on their shirts. "In Loving Memory of..." "Beauty and the Breast" "Team Betsy's Boobies" and more.

Remember those weighted shoes? Yeah, my back doesn't hurt but, OY my legs! After running to catch the train, the mile to the race from the train, the 5K walk and the 3 mile walk to lunch afterwards... I'm movin' a little slow today.

I'll be there next year all the same.

Crack a la Mode

2006-05-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

I know I have about a thousand projects on the needles. But I went to class last night and I just HAD to cast on for my new love.

Innishmore from the Alice Starmore book Fishermen Sweaters. It's a saddle shoulder, not a drop shoulder. The first one I was looking at doing (Innishman) is a drop shoulder, but not this one.

I was a little concerned about the whole "convert the pattern to a raglan" thing (okay, white knuckled) but then Lovely Instructor Josie brought one of her sweaters that's a saddle shoulder and let me try it on. Everyone in class was so gracious and said "Oooh!! that fits perfectly! Ooh!! It's lovely!" and such. And they were right. Saddle is significantly better than drop shoulder.

So, I had to choose between Oatmeal and Natural. Oatmeal was very pretty, but too close to my hair color I would have looked like I was all one color (except for my pink face).

I chose (at the behest of my classmates) the Natural color which looked more flattering.

Here's how much I've done so far....

I also thought you should know that Webs (that amazing place) does, in fact, take special orders and you still get the 25% off. The limitations are you must order complete bags (e.g. 10 balls) and there are no returns, which is pretty standard for an LYS, anyway. I traded emails with them and they told me to call it in.

So, first thing this morning, sitting at my desk in my Corporate Job I made the call. I felt like I was doing a drug deal at work. Here's the image:

Jen hunched over her phone with her back turned to the wall where the next cube connects.

ring ring

"Good morning, Webs!?" says the bright and chipper voice at the other end.

"Hi, my name is Jennifer X, I'd like to make a Special Order. I've been trading emails with umm... I can't remember his name."(says I, all soto voce)

"Oh yes, I saw that. What would you like?"

"Jaeger Extra Fine Merino in "Natural"" like I'm ordering raw crack cocaine.

"Okay, let me see, would you like the Industrial Strength or the Minor League?" (this, Kind Readers, was actually, "Aran weight or DK "?)

"Domestic Krack weight, please." so softly my voice cracks.

"Alright and how much would you like?"

"Two bags. That's 20 kilos (balls). I'll get the volume discount right?"

"Yep."

Cool, the shipping details are worked out and the total is significantly cheaper than it would have been to purchase it at my LYS. Don't get me wrong, I heart my LYS, but $8.95 a ball was silly when I could get it for $6.90 US shipping included. $194 with tax vs. $138 = $56 dollars I can spend on a lovely dinner with my DH this weekend instead of supporting my crack habit.

Have a lovely weekend!

Swatch, swatch, swatch

2006-05-11T12:44:00.000-05:00

So, you all might be wondering what I've been doing lately seeing as how I'm totally delinquent in my blogging. You may remember that Lovely Knitting Instructor Josie asked me what I was going to do that would be Hard. For. Me.

Yeah, that's what I said. Hard.... um, Dunno. I mean I can do cables, I can follow a pattern, make lace, entrelac and what have you. But, to date, I have never finished a "grownup" sweater. (The Somewhat Cowl is still OTN, I'm doing about 2 rows a night and they just. won't. end.)

I thought I would do an Aran, but then there was the drop shoulder thing which Alyssa graciously reminded me that that might not work. Drop shoulders are Not So Good when combined with b00bs. So, I had a long chat with Madame Josie about that Aran sweater and the whole drop shoulder thing. While we talked, Josie convinced me to turn the drop shoulder into a raglan (yeah, right). She said we would need to make the cables meet at the shoulder at the same point as the body cables and such. I allowed as how that would definitely qualify as "Hard for Me".

So now, I'm swatching. I need 51/2 sts and 7 rows to the inch in Moss Stitch (aka Seed stitch)

Let's talk a little about my knitting style and yarn, shall we?

I am a "Loose Knitter" (this may actually have something to do with that whole Knitting Monogamy issue we discussed earlier, but the jury is still out). Being a loose knitter means that when a ball band says use US8 needles, I get to use US3 to get gauge. I was just in the Keweenaw Shepherd yesterday afternoon and the LOVELY shop owner said "The only knitter I've ever known who had to go down 2-3 needle sizes to get gauge was left handed."

"Um, well, I'm left handed but I don't knit backwards", says I. "Doesn't matter", says she. So, friends and compatriots if you're left handed, do you have to drop down several needle sizes to get gauge, too?

Being a loose knitter has it's advantages and disadvantages. For example, I don't get crampy hands the way some knitters do, BUT I cannot get gauge with Aran weight yarn on anything larger than a US2 and even then, my st gauge is too big and my row gauge is too too too tiny. So, the whole Aran Sweater with Aran yarn idea is Right Out (saw Spamalot this weekend, it was hilarious).

Here are my test swatches just to prove that a) I really have been working on my knitting (even though I have no appreciable progress to show on anything) b.) I have tried EVERY BLOODY YARN I could find that might work for an Aran sweater.

First I swatched with Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran and it was WAAYY to big. Back to the pile. So, I picked up some single balls of other stuff to test...

Swatch Set 1 (sorry about the bad lighting)

From bottom to top:

Queensland DK Tweed (US3)- Too big and you can't see the cables. (Scrapped)
Filature di Crosa - Wave (US 2) - Bumpy and bubbly and you can't see the stitch definition. (Scrapped)
Jo Sharp - Silk Road Aran (US2) - OMG!! This yarn is soooo beautiful! You can tell I loved it because the swatch is twice as big as all the others. BUT this is the one where I was getting 8-9 sts and 18 rows per 2 inches. I blocked the bejezuz out of it, but because it's silk, it just bounced right back. Lesson learned: When using silks or silk blend yarns, make sure the gauge you want is the one coming off your needles. (Oh yeah, for this application: Scrapped)

Swatch Set 2

From Bottom to Top

(Actually swatch #4) The Fiber Co. - Babe (US3) too fuzzy, not the kind of stitch definition I want. Beautiful but not right. It's super soft Alpaca and Merino.
(#5) Jamieson - Aran something (US2) - In this really pretty oatmeal color. I like the color, but it's too scratchy and it made my index finger RAW knitting with it.
Jamieson - DK (US2) - this is really a Sport Weight it's Maroon and I get gauge, but again with the flesh falling off my finger thing. (Scrapped)

THEN late last night I'm sitting there and BLAMMO!! It hits me. The lovely lady from Keweenaw Shepherd looked at the original yarn called for in this pattern and said Rowan Magpie in 51/2 sts to the inch!!! Magpie was the same weight as Malabrigo! Look at the sweater in the book, does that look like it was knit with Malabrigo?! No way!" She looked up Magpie and it was 41/2 sts /in, not 51/2.

I get the dummy award for the day. Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK. I have it in my stash left over from the C. lowe workshop. In Stockinette I get 6 sts and 8 ros to the inch. In seed stitch I bet I bet I get 5.5 by 7, just. like. I. need. And... it's soft and yummy.

So, at 10:58 p.m. I rip the finger chewing Jamieson DK off my needles and throw it aside, careless about the kitty chewing opportunities (they didn't touch it either, btw) and march off to the "Yarn Closet" as my husband now fondly refers to it. I dig around for a few minutes and PRESTO! Rose Petal Pink, Kermit Green and Chocolate Brown partial balls of goodness in my hands. I sit down and start swatching.

PERFECTION!!!

The lady at Keweenaw was telling me that I wouldn't be happy with an Aran where the cables didn't "pop". Last night, it occurred to me that I'm not all that crazy about Aran's with cables that pop. I like the stitch design, but I don't need extra lumps on my already somewhat lumpy body.

So, now I just have to find someone who carries Jaeger XFM DK in the pretty Oatmeal color I want. I've got to go check and see if Webs takes special orders. I really don't want to buy 19 balls at $8.75 each. Bleh. From Webs I can get them for just over $6.00. I'll keep you posted.

Group night is Moving

2006-05-08T20:52:00.000-05:00

By majority vote* GROUP night will be moving to Wednesdays.

SO, here are the details.

The 2nd & 4th Wednesday of the month
Border’s at Edens Plaza (Lake and Skokie Blvd)
6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Cafe

Hope to see you there!

*including some email folks who don't read this Blog (horrors!)

Poll - Changing GROUP Night

2006-05-04T09:20:00.000-05:00

Much to our dismay our lovely GROUP has dwindled to just 3 or 4 regulars. Hence, an Executive Decision has been made to take a quick vote about Wednesday nights instead of Tuesday.

The Hazards of Blogging

2006-04-28T14:20:00.000-05:00

One of the Hazards of Blogging is that when you don't blog, friends and family start yelling at you because you haven't posted in a while. So, dear friends and family, here I am with updates about my current projects.

Now, just to refresh, since I haven't been around much, let's say it all together now: Jennifer is not a monogamous knitter. Very good....

Since I seem to be sweater challenged, I decided to start with this beautiful pattern from Wendy Bernard of Knit and Tonic. If you haven't been there before, go check her out. Not only is she hilariously funny, observant and smart, she's a psychotic knitter, too (a little heavy on the knitting OCD if you ask me). A woman who's stash the proportions of which I can only aspire.

Project 1
The Somewhat Cowl
This lovely piece of work calls for Blue Sky Alpaca Silk at $11.95 USD per hank. For a sweater that would fit me I would need 16-17 hanks. Yeah, that would have been about $200.00. I don't like it that much. So, I decided I'd try something else and see if I can't figure it out. Off we went to elann.com (see post below). I chose two colors, Raspberry and Eggplant (ok, Aubergine, whatever).

Minor problem: the gauge of Elann's Baby Alpaca Silk is fingering weight, Blue Sky is sport. I have to double the strands of Elann to get the right gauge in a fabric that isn't transparent. (Can we say: Wow, this sweater is going to be WARM...)

It's a top down raglan and while the setting in this pic isn't all that great, the color is pretty true and the shaping is somewhat visible. The bottom of the U is the back neck, the shoulders are at the right and left and the little wedges near the pointy ends are what will become the VERY DEEP V-neck.

I love the color. It almost perfectly matches the same color in BS Alpaca Silk. Love it! The best part? 40 some balls at $2.50 each is still only half the cost of the BSAS! Love that!

Project 2

The Sock. Inspired by Alyssa's Eye of Partridge Heel from Sensational Knitted Socks and by January One (another of my favorite blogs). I saw J-O knitting this sock and she said she got the pattern out of Folk Knitting in Estonia.

"Well, heck", says I,"I've got that book"!

I picked it up at the IK Hurt Books sale for like $4. Awesome. I went and found the little chart. It's an 8 st repeat, and I figured out how to do it in the round. The join from row to row is a little weird, but who cares. They're beautiful. (Was I talking about Wendy Bernard being knitting OCD? Yeah. Takes one to know one). The photo's a littel blurry but the colors are pretty true. I love the way the green and the berry look together.

I've decided that I will knit down through the heel flap (I've never done the Eye of Partrigde heel) and then start the second sock, otherwise I'll never finish the pair.

Project 3

Um... oh yeah, the Lady Eleanor wrap from Scarf Style.

This is the lovely yarn that Darling Mumsie picked up for me. I don't think it's the color way I asked for but that's okay, I love it now. I had to buy two more hanks because I made it half way and figured out that the wrap wouldn't be as long as I wanted with the 11 hanks I've already got. So, 13 it is. This is up to ball 6 or maybe 7. I'm thinking about doing the Lattice Fringe that's shown in the book. We'll see how that comes out. If it's icky, I might have to do an edging from Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge. What about the cables fringe that's on the cover? Too much? Yeah probably.

So THEN I went to knitting class last night and my lovely, wonderful instructor Josie asked me what we were going to get me to do that would be hard for me since this class is supposed to be about doing something you've never done before and pushing the limits.

Well.... we did say I'm not a monogamous knitter right?

Loads of people in class are doing these beautiful Cabled Sweaters from the Alice Starmore book Fisherman Sweaters. (I own that book, too) And now, I've caught Cabled Sweater envy. I've been looking at the sweater that's on the cover, called Innishman or something (if you've got the book, it's the one with the bobbles).

So, I picked up two balls of Kathmandu DK Tweed in colorway 418. I don't think I'm all that crazy about the color now that I've worked it a little but the yarn is beautiful. It's got little flecks of pink, purple, orange, goldenrod and steel gray in it. I'm thinking of swatching on some of the Black Water Abbey wool that I've got and if I like the texture once it's been washed then I might get some of the Wine color. So yummy.

So here's the dilemma. I have a (ahem) fairly large chest these days. Should I make the sweater size that's an inch larger or 5 inches larger? I know it's supposed to be a bulky sweater that can be worn over a lot of other stuff, but if it's too big, I probably won't wear it then either. Hmmm... I'm wondering if I should even bother since it's a drop shoulder. Hmmm... but it's so pretty.

Stop by Alyssa's Blog and wish her Happy Birthday today!! Have a lovely weekend!

I am a Total Slacker

2006-04-25T11:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been so out of touch lately. I've been held captive by the sunshine and I haven't spent much time on line at all. I've been reading but not posting. I hope you all are well and that the lovely sunshine has made it your way.

To commemorate the departure of said sunshine here are some pics of my lovely coming up garden:

No idea what this is, it's a wild tree/ shrub growing in the thicket next to my house. We've seen them in tree form along the bike path (It's not a Crab Apple, it produces dark black berries the size of small blueberries). I'm thinking it might be an Elder Berry since we've had a big problem with the Box Elder Bugs getting into the house this season (I'm a geek but not that bad, the exterminator told us what they were and that we couldn't do anything about it, they'd just go back outside once it gets warm.)
Grape hyacinth which I usually don't like because people plant them as little individual plants just hanging out there by themselves, but this year I put in three different shades and they're all clumped together in a 1x2 foot patch next to the Hyacinths: dark blue, pale blue and white. So pretty.
Dicentra Spectabilis, commonly known as Bleeding Heart because of their unusual shape.
Um, tulips. Love me some spring tulips!

These beautiful blue flowers below really are this blue. They're an oversaturated summer sky blue and they're no bigger than a pencil eraser each. The plant is Brunnera Macropylla "Jack Frost" and the leaves will be heart shaped and the size of salad plates in the warmest part of summer with that beautiful silvery pattern that is just starting to appear on the leaves. Right now the plant is the size of a paper box and covered in these beatiful blue captured bits of heaven.Happy Spring, and if you're local, don't forget to cover any tender plants you might have. It's supposed to frost tonight!

They came! They came!!! Two shipments!!

2006-04-10T13:17:00.000-05:00

Introducing the Lovely San Remo from Catherine Lowe. The yarn is enough for an ample sized sweater for my ample size these days and it all came in just six balls! That's just over and one half ball each part: front back and two sleeves. There's also enough here for a much larger swatch (think 12x12).

I'm so excited, I just hope my attention span can handle it!

Next we have the lovely Baby Alpaca from Elann. Two colors: Raspberry and Aubergine (a.k.a Eggplant, which I guess is a less marketable color than its identical French cousin)

This yarn is destined to become the Somewhat Cowl from Wendy Bernard at knitandtonic.com.

I'm a little concerned because the gauge is a little bit finer than the Blue Sky Alpaca Silk. That means more math! I just want to sit and follow a pattern to the recommended gauge. (sigh) I'm sure it will work out fine, I'm just a little disappointed and now concerned that I'm not going to have as much yarn as I'll need.

Send it back or keep it? What do you think? Sorry the pics are so dark, I'll take some fresh ones tomorrow or later tonight!

By the way, GROUP NIGHT is Tomorrow night and we'll be meeting at the Border's Cafe at Lake and Skokie Blvd. from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Monogamy (or the lack thereof)

2006-04-07T10:33:00.000-05:00

I've been having a knitting crisis ever since I finished the Harlot's Knitting Olympics. I didn't participate in any official way, but I decided to challenge myself nonetheless.

I was a success at completing a project in a specified time (see Ene's Shawl), but that whole Complete-a-Project-in-a-limited-time thing got me all wonky in the head. You see, I am not a monogamous knitter. Now don't get me wrong. I'm all about monogamy in my marriage and it's wonderful. I'm not knocking the whole wedded bliss thing. But, damn if a girl's gotta sow her wild oats somewhere!! And where better than in knitting projects??!!

To most of you who know me, this will not come as any surprise. (Well, duh, Jen, we've known that about you since you started knitting.) And you know, I kind of knew that, too. But then there was that unprecedented success with the Knitting Olympics and I somehow got it in my head that this was the "right" way to knit. I've been working on Lady E and I've actually quit knitting cause I'm bored.

Knitting for me isn't about having new stuff to wear, it's more about the act of knitting itself. I find knitting to be a very meditative activity. I feel the stress of my day just drain away with the feel of the fiber flowing through my fingers, the sound of the needles clicking away, the rythm of my hands and I love to see the new material unfold before my eyes. However, I also don't like to feel chained to the idea that I M.U.S.T F.I.N.I.S.H. the project I have in my hands before I start a new one. It's been over a month since the end of the Olympics and I have only 1/2 of a Lady E wrap and about an inch of that Jaeger swatch done.

Oh, yeah, and about that Jaeger swatch, I'm giving up on that particular sweater for now. I just can't get the hang of that whole two-color-purling thing (that sweater isn't done in the round...). I've been practicing two color knitting backwards, which seems to work much better, but my tension is still all wonky and I get frustrated which defeats the whole zen-meditation in knitting thing. So, for now, I've put it aside.

I am at peace with my newly accepted "Knitting Floozy" status and I have happily cast on for another project that is challenging but not impossible and will give me a quick fix for something satisfactory. Meet the Purly Whites inspired socks.
Sorry for the dark pic, it's raining this morning. The pattern is one she picked from Folk Knitting in Estonia (which I also own) and I like the way it looked so well, that I went to my stash, picked two complimentary colors of (mmmmmm....) Koigu and cast on. I even measured my washed and finished gauge on the older pair of Koigu socks that I did on size 1's. I should probably be knitting these on 0's since I'm such a loose knitter, but I'm pretty happy with how the fabric is coming out in stranded knitting on size 1's. I don't kn ow if you can tell or not, but the dark color is this lucsious brown-y green like a fir tree and the red is acutally a magenta pink. It looks good together in real life. I just couldn't see myself wearing bright pick socks and the green is too nice to make for anyone but me!

I used a 1/2 twist rib on the cuff to ensure that the cuff stays stretchy forever and I'm going to try that really pretty Eye-of-Partridge heel that Alyssa does. I'm also thinking about getting my Sensational Knitted Socks spiral bound this weekend as I'm tired of fighting with it to stay open.

"Drowning my sorrows in Yarn"

2006-04-02T11:31:00.000-05:00

Kathy mentioned that I shouldn't go out and drown my sorrows in yarn or anything. But funny you should mention that!! Last night, in a moment of weakness I went and bought enough Alapaca Silk from Elann.com to make two (yes, TWO) Somewhat Cowl's from Wendy Bernard at Knitandtonic.com!

Yes, I'm an addict. I got Raspberry and Aubergine. I don't usually wear Aubergine (plum) but DH made me try on a turtleneck in that color a long time ago and it looked really nice. So there you have it. Drowning my sorrows in yarn. The best part is that enough yarn for two sweaters from elann only cost me about $60! Alpaca silk!! Yummy.

I spent a lot of time thinking last night about why I haven't finished a sweater yet. (It's true.) I think my problem is that I've never actually been able to follow a pattern. I always want ot create my own design but the problem is that I don't have ANY sewing experience.

Mom said she would come visit this summer and teach me a little, but I'm guessing that I'm going to need to actually take a class at Vogue Fabrics to really begin to understand better.

I must say that Catherine Lowe ,Eunny Jang and Grumperina have been truly inspiring for me.

Two new sweaters, here I come! I will follow a pattern! :)

It sold.

2006-04-01T11:45:00.000-06:00

Well, DH called me this morning while I was out. Our Realtor friend called and said the house sold yesterday. (I knew it would go fast; listed on Sunday sold on Friday. We should be so lucky).

That being said, I've still started the process of getting our Townhome ready to sell and I'm going full bore with that so that when the house comes along that's meant for us, we'll be ready!

I'm disappointed but I knew when I saw the sign go up last Sunday that the timing wasn't right. Ah well, this whole process will definitely make me a smarter woman!

The House

2006-03-31T10:16:00.000-06:00

HI!!! Sorry, yesterday was ridiculously busy, didn't get a chance to post.

Okay, The House! I loved it! It wasn't the perfect house but it was darn near close enough.

Day 1

DH came home at 6:20 and our appointment was at 6:30. We walked over (it only takes about 45 seconds) and the Realtor wasn't there. {insert panicked husband here}. I called the Realtor's office and got his cell phone. I left him a message and waited for a call back. Meanwhile, all the lights were on in the house but we couldn't see anyone. Realtor finally calls back and thinks that we're supposed to be seeing the place on Friday!! {cut to freaking out husband saying "Reschedule, reschedule." and wife giving him the abrupt "hold on" signal while she talks to confused Realtor on her cell standing on the sidewalk outside The House}.

Realtor says something about the email I sent him. "I never sent you an email". Because husband is so freaked, I'm doing my best to stay as calm as possible. Realtor agrees to call owners and ask if we can come in and see The House. "They're really flexible" he says.

Okay, so 30 seconds later, the front door opens and Realtor calls back and says "Go ahead on in, they're just finishing dinner but they're really nice and say it's fine to come in." We walk to front door and I am holding Husband's hand so he doesn't run away. (No idea why he's being such a spaz, we already own a town home for Heaven's Sake! It's not like this is his first home or I'm dragging him to the altar!)

The couple that lives there is an Indian couple and their two beautiful daughters have grown and moved away so they are down-sizing.

Inside Layout: enter into a mid-sized foyer with the formal living room to the left and a big ornate mirror in the alcove on the right. The Dining room is a shared space into the living room about 20 feet further forward on the left. (It's laid out much like every other home that is being built right now, which is good because that's the layout DH likes) Pass through an archway and into the kitchen on the left and the HUGE family room on the right. The colors are beautiful (not exactly what we would have chosen, but close enough that Husband, who doesn't visualize very well, can get the idea). 1/2 bath on the main floor. There is a stair to the second floor just before the entrance to the kitchen/ family room. The kitchen is plenty big with granite counter tops and an island in the middle. Brand new appliances which are staying with the house (awesome! a silent dishwasher!) The cabinets are not as tall as ours, but they're not painted either, which would have turned off DH. Cool.

There is a good sized office and a laundry room right on the main floor.

Next we headed down to the fully finished basement with two crawl spaces! The basement was very nice. They'd surrounded the support beams with beautiful wood columns that added to the atmosphere rather than detracted from the overall space. There is a Pool Table and a Wet Bar that stay with the property (this speaks to the wanna be party animal in DH-- he's always wanted a pool table).

Next, we proceed to the second floor. There is a loft space right off the stair which could actually be reasonably converted to another bedroom, but there are aleady 3 bedrooms on the second floor. There is a large bathroom with a double vanity that is shared by the 2 smaller bedrooms. The Master bedroom was plenty large and they had a huge screen TV which diminished the space to begin with. There were his and her's closets a double vanity, whilpool tub, separate toilet and shower room and a skylight.

Overall a lovely house. I want it.

Day Two
DH told me before we went over to see The House that he is "not ready" to buy a hosue right now. Huh? We've been looking at houses for nearly a year and half. What the heck does that mean??!!

So, I waited 24 hours and went home and had a very reasonable discussion with my Sweet Wonderful Husband trying to determine what the heck he was Not Ready about.

The long and short of it is that he is concerned about how much we need to do to sell our existing townhome. The answer is: we don't know yet. I convinced him to let me be the primary on this because he is so busy with work. I was VERY proud of myself. I did not get upset, yell, get emotional or play the tears card. I was very logical, calm and patient. Go me!!

After about a 30 minute conversation, DH said "I'd don't want you to get your hopes up about this house."

In my most, patient and calm voice I replied, "Dear, my hopes are already up. But I'm being realistic about this, too. If it was meant to be, then the house will still be there when we're ready for it. It's also possible that the chick that the Realtor told me was coming to see it on Friday could come in and buy it right out from under us. I know that this may not be the house we end up in, but I would be very upset if we missed it because we didn't even try. This is very important to me.

I also don't want to wait another 12 weeks for your schedule to calm down and start from ground zero only to find out that you have to get on a plane and fly to Tennessee or some other far away place for the next 6 months. Do you think you can let me at least start this process without too much discomfort?"

Big sigh; says he, "Okay, you can start figuring out what it would take to sell this place."

WOO HOO!!!!! So, this morning on the way to work, I called my girlfriend who's a Realtor and asked her what I needed to do. I'm going to start tonight! (Am I nuts or what?!)

Hi, My name is Jennifer....

2006-03-29T10:26:00.000-06:00

Caston-itis
Hi, my name is Jennifer. I am a Cast-On Addict. (Hi, Jennifer!)

I got home from wonderful GROUP last night and couldn't wait anymore. I cast on for a swatch for Chesterton from the newest Jaeger book for their Extra-Fine Merino.

The pattern in the book is for Cream and Cocoa but I picked Rose Petal and Cocoa. At this point I'm swatching because I have only one ball of each color left over from my Catherine Lowe Workshop.

Well, Harriet, let me tell you, this purling continental is a pain in the .... neck. I just can't get my tension right and it's driving me nuts! But it's going to be soooo pretty....

The House
I finally talked Hubzind into going to see The House tonight at 6:30! I'm so excited. I'm a little concerned that I'm going to be disappointed by the inside, but if I am, then it wasn't meant to be. I'm also worried that with the way properties a.)don't go on the market in our neighborhood and b.) when they do they're only there for a week, that we're going to miss out on this potentially fabulous opportunity. You see, Hubzind is ~~enormously~~, ~~hugely~~ somewhat risk averse so making a quick decision on a house, even if it's a great house, is going to be a new test of our relationship.

That being said, we're going to see it tonight and I'm such a stalker that I sat outside and took pics of it from my car before I turned up my own street last night. Sorry for the window glare and the A-pillar.

BTW, don't you just LOVE grey Chicago Springs? Course, I'm happy that it's after 5:00 in these pics and there's still light in the sky...

Serendipity

2006-03-27T16:44:00.000-06:00

Serendipity Part I

Alright, so I haven't spent much time talking about my job lately. Let's just say I've been happier.

It's not the work itself that I don't enjoy, it's the environment. You see, part of me is a Social Worker and part of me is a Technology Project Manager. So, I like to get to the point, but it's important to be respectful of your people while doing so. Which brings me to my current sitch... I like the people I work with, but currently my boss could use an HR intervention.

She is condescending and abrupt. Direct is one thing, insulting me in front of a client is a totally different ballgame. The stories of petty slights are myriad and unnecessary. Suffice to say that my husband has notified me that my attitude has taken a significant turn for the worse since I took this job. While I felt it was a real problem when I started, I believed that I'd become accustomed to the daily unconscious insults on the part of the Boss. Apparently, that was an incorrect assessment on my part.

Do you remember your favorite job? The one where people respected you and you got along with your co-workers and while everything wasn't "perfect", it was good enough to want it to go on forever?

Yeah, I used to have that job. I worked for and with a great group of people. I know a lot has changed in the two years since I've worked there, they've outsourced all their Operations IT people (same people, different paycheck provider) and some of the folks I really liked aren't there anymore. BUT, the woman that I used to work for is still there.

Since my contract ran out in December of 2003, they've tried to get me back in some capacity about half a dozen times but the opportunity just wasn't right. I don't want to work for another consulting company that will send me out of town at the next lull in local business and I was in school for a while thinking my life would be in Social Work (I was wrong).

I was talking with Hubzind about two weeks ago and said, "I would work for L-- again in a heartbeat given the right opportunity. I miss working for someone I respect and who respects me."

Friday evening, while in Galena (which was lovely - but cold, btw) my phone rang and it was L-- calling to offer me a Full-time Management position with the Company (you could have knocked me over with a feather). She said she'd been lying awake thinking about her position and how she couldn't do it alone anymore and she really needed someone with Project Management and Management skills and she wanted me but wanted to ask if I was interested before she went and did all the paperwork to create a Job Desc and a Req (yes, she said it nearly all in one breath, too).

She also said she went to talk to the Sr. Dir. we worked for way back when, with whom she still works regularly (she told me this part about 3 times, she was so excited). Before she even mentioned me to him, he said "So what's Our Girl doin' these days? Is she available?" (He's an older African American man, with whom I get along famously, so I don't bristle at the Diminutive he used).

I was so flattered that they have been looking so hard for an opportunity to get me back. Even if nothing ever comes of it. I am touched as heck that they think so fondly of me. I've been skating since Friday.

Interlude
We came home early from Galena. The shoping was a bunch of little junk shops. The countryside was beautiful but still cold and Winter Grey. DH and I usually love to go on Nature Hikes and see "Natural-Type-Stuff" but we have been working so hard lately that all we could do was sleep and browse not-so-exciting shops.

The new local yarn shop is quaint with a lot of spinning materials (yes, I was tempted, but not so much that I purchased any of the beautiful handmade spinning wheels or drop spindles or extra large looms). The yarn selection was good for a small town and inexpensive (as the shop keeper stated, Dubuque-ians have a tight grip on their dollars and the tourist season is only a few months a year, but I love it here). She has alovely collection of Alpaca with a Twist and some beautiful silks but nothing spectacular. I picked up three skeins of the Classic Elite Imagine that I'm using for the Mom Jacket since I don't know when I'll see it again. [BTW, the grey stone house to the right is the oldest house in Galena, just in case you were wondering.]

So, About 1/2 way through Saturday, Hubzind turns to me and says, "Maybe we should just go home...", we'd been valiantly dragging our exhausted derrieres around Galena in the cold and grey for about 4 1/2 hours at that point.

20 minutes later, I said, "So, uh, why are we still here?" And back to the hotel we went to check out!

I'm sure it's lovely in summer during tourist season, but it was pretty dull in March.

Serendipity Part II
I told you all of that to tell you this.

Sunday night (after we went to the last day of the Pompeii exhibit at the Field Museum), we drove home to find that one of the three houses in my sub-division that I really like has gone on the market!!!

I immediately called the Realtor and left a message inquiring about the property. I ran downstairs to my computer and checked on-line, not even posted yet!!

Woo Hoo! The price is right, the location is right, it's one of the builder's "Premium" homes in the subdivision and it's about 500 sq ft smaller than Hubzind would like, but it's still 3 br with a full finished basement and a beautiful big lot (big for our neighborhood anyway (1/3 acre on a corner lot). I talked to the Realtor today and sent all the info to Hubzind for review and he says we can go look at it this week!

Wow, a Maybe-Job and Maybe-Home all in one weekend! Whew, I think I need to have a little lie down. (Course, you know that now that I've blogged about it none of it will happen, right?) Keep your fingers crossed for me. :)

*************************

GROUP NIGHT has been moved!!

Tonight is GROUP night as usual.

Where: The Cafe' in Border's at Edens Plaza is underconstruction so we've moved 500 ft to the right and we're meeting at the Starbuck's in Edens Plaza

When: 6:30 to 8:00 pm

Hope to see you there!

(as added incentive to attend I'll be bringing the Lion Scarf kit for petting and examination....)

Pictures Pictures Pictures!!!

2006-03-22T21:06:00.000-06:00

Finally pictures!!

Here is the AS Lion Scarf (aka Still Life with Yarn and Pattern Artfully Arranged). The colors are pretty true on my monitor, but if you're wondering the bedspread is a wedgewood blue for comparison purposes.

Here is Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style: (Noro Silk garden #225, size 7 needles)

I'll be in Galena, IL for the next 4 days checking out the local yarn shop and the Resort spa (yep, face down on a massage table). So, I'll be back on Monday. Enjoy the pics until then!

Lights! Camera! Action! not....

2006-03-22T15:51:00.000-06:00

I have camera, sync cable, pictures loaded to pc, and post all ready to go. The problem? Blogger won't let me load pictures. It keeps blowing up.

I'll try again later at home....

Pride & Prejudice

2006-03-20T08:34:00.000-06:00

Sorry folks, but I've left my sync cable for my camera at home this morning so, no photos. I've started Lady Eleanor from Scarf style in Noro Silk Garden no. 228 on size US 7 needles. I would rather have made her wider, but I'm half-way into ball three of ten so there's no turning back now. I'm definitely going to work her up for a couple of friends, she's soooo beautiful.

I recieved my Virtual Yarns order on Friday!! Hooray! and oh my goodness the yarn is really soft. So this morning, I took a bunch of pictures in the morning light of "Still life with box of yarn and pattern artfully arranged" and when I got to work, no sync cable. Bah! So, sorry. You'll be getting pics tomorrow. :(

***************

In other news this morning, I saw about 5 minutes of the Today Show before I left for work. They did this really interesting piece with a security expert on Protecting Your Children. They got a Mother and her 7 year old daughter to cooperate. There was a security truck with cameras right nearby from which the mother sat and watched the procedings. The question they were asking was "Stranger Danger: Who will help your child?"

The Security Expert was a gentlman who was a child saftey expert who looked like a strongly-built Latin American man. The little girl was Caucasian. She was standing on the sidwalk on a lightly trafficked street, playing her Game Boy (or whatever the electro-thing-y of the moment is) when he would march up to her and loudly proclaim "You should never get away from me like that again! Stay with me!" while grabing her arm and marching her off. The little girl meanwhile would start screaming "Help!! Somebody help me!! You're not my Dad!!" over and over while trying to pull away.

There were 4 sets of people they showed just walking by: one middle aged caucasian couple, one 30 something man with a ~9 yr old boy - non-caucasian, a younger caucasian couple and a 30 something single woman. None of them stopped. They all looked back over their shoulders, but none of them stopped or got involved.

You know who did?.... Three, early-twenties, casually dressed African American young men. They walked by, looked back, stopped, watched for a moment, then fanned out and closed in on the guy. Think on that for a moment and think about your prejudices.

Catherine Lowe: Amazing, mind blowing, really cool stuff!

2006-03-14T12:59:00.000-06:00

This weekend I went to the really awesome Catherine Lowe workshop that my Wonderful Mum helped me to attend.

First: Catherine herself. She is a gracious, educated and kind woman with a wonderful sense of humor! She had delightful annecdotes, excellent clear instructions and an elegance that one does not see very often any more with our high-speed society that does not put much stock in the niceties of manners.

Here's the Cliff's notes version of what I learned.

The difference between hand knitting yarn and comercial manufactured yarn and why your stitches sometimes end up looking wonky no matter what you do.
The value of swatching and swatching BIG (10x10 or 12x12).
The value of creating a selvage for finishing
Measuring gauge properly
Invisible front-side seaming
Finishing: the difference between buying Ready to Wear and Couture finishing in knitted garments and how to create such
Decorative edging
Creating prefect Mitred Corners
Tubular Ribbed cast-on (which is way cool)
Taking Rib Gauge
Creating a double Welt finish on the edge of a garment (this is too cool...)

It was fantastic and by the end of the second day, when Catherine showed us some really cool technique, I broke down and said in a small voice "I think I love you..." which prompted the entire class to burst into laughter (there were only 8 of us so everyone got some personal attention). Then a few hours later, I was getting ahead of myself and Catherine gently asked me to wait for the instruction, to which I replied "Sorry, I'm just a little over-eager." One of my classmates chimed in "Sometimes that happens when you're in love...." Which sent us off into further gales of laughter.

The complete Catherine Lowe workshop was 4 days long, broken into two parts. Part 1: the Basics of Couture Knitting & Part 2: Couture Design Elements. I was able to sign up for only the first two days, for which I am eternally greateful as I learned things that will help me for the rest of forever and answered some of my early questions about garment construction.
The first two days were amazing and by the end of Day 2, I was exhausted and I'd taken pages and pages of notes. I was so glad to be home. Then in the evening one of the women who is in my regular Thursday night Advanced Knitting class and was also in the Workshop called.

She said "Jen, I can't take in any more, my brain is fried and I can't go to the next two days. You would be doing me a huge favor if you would go in my place. I will feel terrible if I just don't go. I know you have to go to work on Monday, I wouldn't even care if you couldn't go on Monday. Please will you go for me and then someday I'll come to your Knitting Group and you can teach me all the stuff you learned in the 2nd part." {gasp! my heart was pounding in my chest}

"What? Well, I, um..."

"You wouldn't owe me a penny. Please, think about it and you know, see if your husband is okay with being abandoned for the whole weekend and let me know."

Dear Reader, this Gracious Woman has just offered me the opportunity of a lifetime. I mean how often is Catherine Lowe teaching such a small class only 15 minutes from my house!!??! I was blown away by her generosity.

"Oh, are you sure?? I would love to, but let me think about it, talk to my husband and I'll call you back okay?"

I hung up the phone and my husband who was sitting on the sofa half-listening to this exchange looked at me with an exhausted wary eye. I gave him my biggest, cheesiest, smile.

"What?" says Wary Eye.

"PLEEEAAASSEEE?" said the Mile-wide Grin

"What?"

Now, Dear Reader, normally this wouldn't be a big deal but we've both been really busy lately and haven't seen much of each other at all and we were planning on spending the day together on Sunday to make up for some lost time.

I explained the proposal and Wary Eye said "Do whatever you want." Well, as we all know, that kind of response can mean more than just "Do what ever you want." Ultimately, I was such a mass of ecstatic wiggles that even Dear Exhausted Wary Eye had to smile and say "Yes! Alright! Go! Have fun!"

I called back my Magnificent Classmate and when she picked up the phone I nearly screamed YES!!! YES!! YESSSSS!!! (I'm glad she had caller ID or she might have called the cops for phone harassment!)

THEN she offered to drive over her swatch homework and her directions so that I wouldn't be unprepared for class the next morning and wouldn't let me come and get them from her. Sheesh. Her husband and her lovely daughter found my house late Saturday night in the pouring rain and delivered unto me her beautiful pale pink swatches and her class instructions which I dutifully reviewed before going to bed that night.

Since she didn't want any money from me, I did the next best thing I could: I gave her one of the nicest bottles of wine we had in the house. A fabulous bottle of CigarZin from M. Consentino vineyard that we picked up on our Honeymoon. It's a delicious, full bodied, fruity Zinfandel. I don't know if they like fruity wines but if they do, they'll love this one. (At least I hope so.)

I couldn't go to Day 4 as I had to go back to work, but I've got the class handouts and I'm thinking I might be able to figure out the techniques she's talking about. I'm also hoping that my Thursday night class instructor will bring her swatches to class this week.. (Hint, hint!)
The long and short of it is, if you ever have a chance and are interested in Couture Construction and Finishing Techniques, take a Catherine Lowe workshop. It's worth every penny!

I took the plunge

2006-03-06T16:33:00.000-06:00

You know that whole stash knitting ideal?? Yeah, well, I just crumpled like the bumper of a Yugo.

I have been oogling the beautiful works of art on Alice Starmore's site for the last year. (Yes, one of the first books I bought was an AS stranded knitting book before I knew you couldn't get any of the Rowan colors anymore). Then recently, I saw a REAL LIVE Alice Starmore pattern and got to touch it.... mmm.... beautiful.... so I crumpled. Crumpled like the bumper of a Ford Pinto exploding into flames at the first sign of impact with beautiful yarn & pattern. There will be no Red Heart acrylics for this addicted knitter, no siree bob!

Now, in the grand scheme of crumpling like yesterday's tin foil, I didn't do so badly. I'm really more like a gently folded piece that some spend-thrifty knitter will reuse just to save money to buy more yarn. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

I loaded up my basket with three sweaters. The Flora Jacket in the blue colorway, the Glen Albyn cardigan, and the Leo Scarf.

Then I did the math and figured out that just one sweater and the scarf would cost me OVER $500!! Yeah. Not so much. So, I unloaded the two sweaters and decided to start much smaller. Here's what I got:

I'M SO EXCITED!!!! If you look closely, the brown stripe is the Lion feet and as you work your way up, you'll see the lions are actually lionesses and they are sitting with their heads turned back over their shoulders. I figure DH is a Leo, he LOVES lions and my little lionesses can protect him from the clutches of raven haired, Latin, Penelope Cruz-type-beauties (mwah-hah-hah-haaaaaa)!!!

What? Oh yeah, sorry, right. ... and he loves jewel tones but ones that aren't too bright. Based on what I've seen, AS's colors aren't too bright. So, if he likes it, it's his. Why don't I keep it for myself? Well, cause if I make something for him, then I can buy a sweater kit for me, of course!! Yeah, that's assuming I can bear to part with it.

I'll let you know when it gets here!

Tonight, swatches and patterns for the Mom Jacket!

What's next on the Needles?

2006-03-01T15:27:00.000-06:00

I've been having some conversations lately with friends and such about what's next on the needles. One friend suggested that maybe I should finish some of what I've started and abandoned. That really stuck in my head. Let's see, if I go back and count the items I've begun and nothated, but just abandoned for various reasons I have a pretty interesting list.

Brother's socks for last Christmas -- the plies on the yarn were too loose and they laid next to eachother on the needles. It was so bad I couldn't read my stitch count. Then my class instructor said the yarn was too fine for socks (e.g. fine like delicate, not fine like small).
Dad's scarf & hat combo for Christmas -- Hat was GI-normous. Had to rip out and restart. Never got any further. Not so sure that they Plymouth baby alpaca will make very good cables (the intended pattern for the scarf).
My beautiful Manos self-designed jacket with seed-stitch border -- to create the fabric that I want, I had to use size 7 needles. Extremely tight knitting and while it's mindless, because of the single-ply nature of Manos and the tightness on the needles, it's just not comfortable to knit. Contemplating the "two-rows-per-night-method"
I also have "the Other Mitten" on the needles. It's a severe case of 2nd sock syndrome. I know how to do it now, so I want to move on to other funnfer things. But then I also bought a whole mess of yarn to make a pair of those fabulous mittens for my Aunt, so I guess I'm stuck... I'm going to have to finish the partner for the pair I've already made.
Finally, I have the Mom Jacket. It's going to be beautiful. I probably started it last June. Yeah, I was an ambitious new knitter. Ooh! I just checked through the Archives and sure enough, it's a PBO (pre-blog object, as opposed to Peanut butter and Olvie sandwich, ack!)

I semi-designed it from a pattern I'd seen for a Colinette Point-5 jacket and using my Handy Book of Patterns (not sweater, just regular) I custom wrote a pattern for Mumsie. I had to increase the sizing a little and there wasn't a collar that I liked or a cardigan pattern either, so I hodge-podged a design and wrote it all out and everything. I even made a gauge swatch and washed it. I liked the material and it was turning out beautifully. Then I finished the first front side and held it up and it started to GrrrooooowwwwwwwWWW. You see, the Mom jacket is made from Colinette Giotto ribbon and a strand of Classic Elite Imagine held together on size 13 needles.

I thought the Classic Elite would prevent growing a little, but um, yeah it's cotton. What do we know about cotton kiddies? It grows! Right.

So, knowing I would have to rip out, redesign, re-estimate my yardage and re-knit, into the stash pile it went all in a bag and sat ther until just- last- night.

Last night I ripped and re-started a new swatch on size 7's. I think 7's are too tight. I'll probably go with 8's but right now my 8's are in Clapotis (oh yeah, there's another UFO) and my Manos jacket. I'll probably get more 8's tomorrow night at my LYS. I'm also hoping to get some designing tips from Catherine Lowe that i can take back and apply to The Mom Jacket to give it some extra flair [Mom's an Extra Flair kinda gal...]

Anyway, here's the new beginning of The Mom Jacket. While the pic is dark, the colors are pretty true. It's the Giotto colorway called Morocco and Classic Elite Imagine in Spice Bazzar.

Here it is just waiting to be The New & Improved Mom Jacket!!

Now don't misunderstand, I want to finish all these things but the Siren Song of casting on a new project is so full of Possibility that everything else (finishing projects included) seems to pale in comparison. Course, now with my new Handy Book of Sweater patterns and my soon to be new understanding of Couture Knitting, making the Mom Jacket seems like a while new enterprise and a fabbo way to unload my stash a little!

Pictures, pictures, pictures....

2006-02-28T09:05:00.000-06:00

Heeeere's Ene!! Sorry for the dark pics, I took them last night while she was blocking and the light wasn't any better this morning. She is pinned diagonally across our Queen size guest bed. so however big that is, is how big she is.
Pre-blocking - she didn't come down to mid-chest when draped around my neck only.
Light blocking - down to my elbow but not comfortably around me..
Stiff blocking - down past my behind and easily over my shoulders and overlapped.

Detail of Ene:

Finally, some fun kitty pics.... two weekends ago when it was really cold here on Saturday the sun was shining bright for the first time in weeks, I decided to go sit at the dining room table and soak up the sunshine while I worked on Ene. At one point, I felt a kitty rub up against my foot looked down. From under my chair, this is what I saw....

Apparently, we all missed the sun!

Have a wonderful day!

Car Updates and Clapotis -- Part II

2006-02-27T13:10:00.000-06:00

Well, I got home on Friday evening and there was an "Urgent" message from my insurance company saying that a claim had been placed and that the other driver was ..... get this.....

INJURED!!!

The time stamp on the message is 4:15 p.m. I called back the office and got the following message: "Hi. This is Perky-So-n'-So with Allstate claims. Our office hours are M-F 8:30 to 4:30. I will be out of the office until Tuesday, February 28th. If this is in regards to a claim and it's during office hours... please press .... etc."

For the moment, let's ignore that this raging [insert expletives here] is lying about any injuries and is just pissed off that I wouldn't give him cash. Now let's ask the following question: What kind of fool calls at 4:15 on a Friday and leaves an "Urgent" message when she's going to be out until TUESDAY!!??

So, DH tells me to call the 800#. Which I do. The 800# guy tells me that there's nothing he can do, don't bother calling my agent tomorrow morning cause he won't know anything about it and I can leave a message if I want but there's no guarantee that anyone will return it before Tuesday when my claims adjuster get back in the office. Hello?? Can we say "Someone needs a lesson in Customer Service?"

Course, this brings to mind that whole "You're in good hands with Allstate" thing and makes me wonder who the hell they think they're kidding. Yeah, my agent is in my neighborhood, but according to the 800# guy, he can't help me. What-the-hell is the purpose of having someone close by if they can't help? Please, explain this to me. When I was a Geico customer (prior to DH) I could get a hold of anyone, anytime. Literally.

So, as of right now, I have a lying SOB claiming that I've injured him. (There's no damamge to my car. My license plate isn't even bent up, so you know I was standing on the brake as my car slooooooowly slid into his). A claims adjustor that I can't get in touch with. A premium that's going to go up, most likely, and unless I take this jack-ss to court, I'm screwed. So much for going through insurance to protect myself.

On to WONDERFUL news!! I've finished Ene's Shawl!! No pics today, but I'll publish tomorrow. I lightly blocked her last night and I'm wearing her today. Everyone's gushing {grin}.

I have to block again tonight...here's the deal. I got a whole mess of styrofoam sheets down from the attic. They're about 18"x 60". I taped 3 of them together with packing tape (approx 54" x60"). I set Ene on the diagonal to allow myself the most space and began to pin. Pinning, pinning.... not enough styrofoam. I took a 4th sheet that I'd brought down and put it along the short edge. Still not big enough. Sigh.... it's 10:30 pm and I can't get up in the attic right now because mostly I just don't want to. Un-pin... un-pin.... un-pin... fold the now barely damp shawl that has been lightly blocked and put it in the closet. [Note: I have three kitties, one of whom just last night ate a hank of Mom's ArtYarns super merino that she'd left available (e.g. not under lock and key).]

Speaking of Mom... she's so cool!! She gave me the money for the Catherine Lowe workshop at my LYS I've been pinning after for the last couple of months!! Basics of Couture Knitting the weekend of March 10th!! I didn't even ask and I was talking to her about it and how I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on it and she just gave it to me!! I thought about saying no, but then I'm still pretty greedy and I really want to take it! So, I'm leaving work today at 4:00 so I can run to my LYS before it closes and sign up and get my HOMEWORK!! I'm so excited!!! Hooray for the world's coolest mom!!! THANKS MOM!

Car Updates and Clapotis

2006-02-22T12:38:00.000-06:00

I put a message out on the Knitters' Review Forums saying I was looking for a single hank of Lorna's Lion and Lamb in Vera to complete the Clapotis that I'd started before I noticed that the dyelots were different.

I just got a message today from a lovely lady in Canada, Amy from Make One Yarn Studio in Calgary, Alberta. She came to my rescue! She has a pale skein of L&L in Vera and was kind enough to send me 4 pictures!!! She rotated the skein in each pic so that I could see each side of the color changes! Now that's what I call customer service.

I immediately replied back and told her I'd take it and she sent me a PayPal invoice and said it was all packaged up ready to go before I even submitted payment. This whole exchange took less than 30 minutes. How cool is that?!

Go check out her site and buy something from her if she's got waht you need. I'm definitely going to bookmark her site and watch it grow.

Now for the car update....

Mr. Camry called and wanted the $300 (no surprise). I explained to him that my husband was very upset with me for making that offer and that we had to go through insurance. So, I ate a little crow with Mr. Camry and apologized. After much discussion and explanation he understood that I was not going to write him a check he said "That's ok, I take cash." Um, no. Let me go over this again.

Then he said "If they no pay my car, then you must pay my car."

I actually laughed and said, "I'm sorry Mr. Camry but No. That's not how it works. That's why I gave you my insurance number." "Okay. I call you later."

"Actually, if you call your insurance agent, he will tell you not to call me anymore and that they will contact me."

Long and short, $10 says he doesn't do anything. I feel badly, but I don't want to get taken advantage of anymore than the next gal.

Car and knits update

2006-02-21T11:11:00.000-06:00

Editing to remind: tonight is GROUP night!!

I'm trying really, really hard to keep knitting on the same project until I finish it. I'm not exactly participating in the Harlot's Knitting Olypmics, but I wanted to see if I could do it. I'm still working on Ene and I'm in the middle of repeat 3 of 5 of Chart 3 and it's starting to go MUCH faster. I'll take some pics tonight and post tomorrow.

As for my Car saga, Mr. Camry called last week and said it was going to cost $498 to replace his bumper. I asked him where he went to get it looked at and he said "My Friend". Right....

Then I explained that I must talk with my husband before making a decision but that if we do choose to go with cash that I would require an estimate from his Body Shop and that he would have to sign a letter saying we are "done". Mr. Camry agreed.

Then I asked The Good Mr. Camry what year his car was and he stuttered 200...3. New car, my arse! Right... So, I decide right then and there that in the name of self-protection, I will be giving this man my insurace number and having him go through them.

DH and I discuss and I call my Agent (insurance, that is) who agrees with me and says I'm making all the right decisions, that I don't need his insurance number and that I just need to give him my info and if he chooses to file a claim, they'll call me. Sweet.

So, I called back Mr. Camry last night to tell him this and he says "I talked to my Body Shop and they say it will be $632 with labor." Right... here's my insurance number.

Now, I know that in the land where this gentleman comes from bargaining is a cultural thing. When I give him my insurance number he asks "If you would pay cash, how much? Just give me number." "$300".

"$300? Okay, I have to talk to my wife and see."

I know damn good and well that his car is not visibly damaged and that for him to file an insurance claim means a lot of extra work for him. Right about now I'm not caring a whole lot that Mr. "This-is-my-new-car!" might have to do some extra work. Harumph! I understand that it might be a New Used Car, not my problem. I do feel terrible about what happened, but I don't think he needs $600 of my dollars for it and especially if he took his Two-Thousand-and-Three Camry to his "Friend" and wouldn't tell me the name of the shop.

Sorry, Dude, I don't want to steal from you, but I don't want to be stolen from either.

DH, wanted me to give the guy a really hard time and get his insurance number et al and if he wouldn't give it, not to give ours... yeah. Not doing that. I want this done, over and dealt with. I'll keep you posted.

Pits, Pats and Past Knits

2006-02-15T15:11:00.000-06:00

Okay, so the title didn't really mean anything at all, but I liked the way it sounded.

I don't have a whole lot going on in the knitting world today. I spent last night "tink"ing on Ene and knitting and switching from Chart 3 - Repeat 1 to Chart 3 - Repeat 2 and messing up the whole thing becasuse I'm not experienced enough to knit, place markers, reliably count to 6 AND watch the Olympic Men's figure Skating competitors slam to the ground over and over and over again. (Why is it that they keep saying the men are "better, stonger, faster" if they can't stay on their feet? Why is that, praytell?)

So, for your viewing pleasure, here are a few picks of some past knits that I've never posted.

First up tonight ladies and gents in the Past Knits Fashion Show we have the socks that I made for my Mum this Christmas. It turns out that one foot was longer than the other so she left them with me to undo and re-knit the toe on the bigger sock (I have a sneaking suspicion that I didn't actually fix the problem when I re-knit the one sock).

The yarn is Artyarns SuperMerino in this really fun Pepto /Exlax colorway (ick, sorry, I just dissolved into giggles over that one!) Ewww. Anyway, Mum has ~~Gunboats~~ stongly supportive feet so they required 3 hanks and it's kind expensive but the yarn is soooo squishy and soft and machine washable! I love Artyarns Supermerino! I almost love it enough to go and buy some of the same colorway for myself. But instead I got a really fun red/magenta/pink one.

The pattern came from sensational knitted socks and to tell you the truth, this is my 3rd pair of socks with a slipstitch heel and I'm not liking it so much, not so much. I'm going to have to forray (or is that foray) into my Nancy Bush Vintage Socks book for a short row heel adventure.

I knit this next bit of joyousness early last summer. He was accompanied by an adorable pair of little blue baby booties with bobbles on them for my cousin's new joy. This little chap came from Debbie Bliss' Toy Knits. I made him with Knit Picks Dye-your-own sock yarn (doubled) and some leftover JoSharp DK (recognize it from the Entrelac bag and the mittens? I got a LOT of this yarn for really cheap). I loved making him and my cousin swears her boy loves him, too. OK, not exactly washable, but small enough to hand wash without much fear of mildew. I should be getting my shipment from KnitHappens.net tonight, I'll keep you all posted on what happens....

They got it!!

2006-02-13T13:04:00.000-06:00

After my nasty email to Knithappens.net, I got a reply. A VERY apologetic reply.

I will not reprint her email as I do not have her permission to do so, but suffice to say that Kristine will be sending me the correct color in the Misti Alpaca that I ordered, the correct dyelot in Vera and a return UPS envelope for the incorrect items. I am very pleased.

She was gushingly apologetic and even gave me her cell phone number should I want to call and talk to her more. She also gave me a coupon for 10% off my next order ("assuming I want to give them another chance" said Kristine) and give them another chance, I will.

They definitely have some great sales. Check them out here: www.knithappens.net

Some online retailers just don't get it....

2006-02-13T10:38:00.000-06:00

KnitHappens.net

On January 27th I placed an order with KnitHappens.net

3 hanks of Lorna's Laces - Lion & Lamb in Vera. (See below for my progress on Clapotis)
4 balls of Misti Alpaca - Lace in Natural Dark Brown
2 hanks of Lorna's Laces - Angel in Jay Pond.

On February 2nd, I received my shipment.

3 hanks of Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Vera 2 different dyelots (I didn't notice this until a couple of days later: there's a significant color difference between the two lots) ($32.99 each)
4 Balls of Misti Alpaca Lace in Natural TAN ($6.20 each)
2 hanks of Lorna's Laces, Angel, in Jay Pond. (at $12.25 each, well,at least they got one thing right).

The shipping receipt that was in the package was blank up the middle as though their printer needed a new toner catridge so you can't clearly see the color in the lace requested, but when I checked my online receipt, it clearly states "Natural Dark Brown".

"Simple mistake" I figured, so I called the shop to find out what to do. The woman on the phone informed me that the online store has nothing to do with the retail store and that I would have to send an email to Orderinquiry@knithappens.net.

OK, I can do that.
So, on Feb 3rd, I sent this:
*************
Subj: Incorrect Order Received

Hi,
I placed an order last week and just received it last night. The order was for 4 balls of Misti Alpaca in Dark Brown (#408) and I recieved Natural Tan (#605). I would like the dark brown that I originally ordered, but I see on your site that the Dk Brown is out of stock. I'm wondering if that's due to my order or someone else's. If it's out of stock because of someone else, I'll take the Green Meadow or a refund instead.

I don't have my order number with me, but there were 3 hanks of Lion & Lamb and 2 hanks of Angel in the shipment as well. I am very happy with both of those. My home address is 12345 Main St. etc.. I can be reached at the number listed below during the week and at nnn/nnn-nnnn via cell.

Please let me know how to procede in returning this Natural Tan to you and getting the Dk Brown that I ordered. I also see from your site that I am responsible for the shipping costs on returns, which would make sense if the mistake was mine or if I didn't like an item that I had ordered specifically. Since this shipment is an error on your part please advise about return shipping charges. Finally, I will be happy to include a copy of the original invoice I received with the yarn however, the middle of the page is not visible as it appears your printer needed a new toner cartridge. Please understand that the poor quality of the printed receipt copy is not due to an error on my part.
Sincerely,
***********

That was Friday, by the following Monday I still had no answer. So I reforwarded my email thinking it might have gotten lost.

Still no answer by Wednesday. To their credit, they've had contruction in the area and a couple of stints with no power... still. At this point I realized that I'd gotten two different dyelots of Lion and Lamb, so I sent this:

***********
Subj: FW: Incorrect order recieved

Alright, so I went back and looked at ALL the yarn I recieved from you and it turns out that of the three Lorna's Laces hanks you sent to me, there are two different dyelots! Now come on, for $33.00 a hank you could at least have sent me the same dyelot. Shall I drop the odd numbered dyelot in with the Misti Alpaca that I'll be returning and get the dye lot # from the two that match in hopes that you'll send me the correct one?

I'm really disappointed and I can't believe that I still haven't heard from you. There's no contact number that I could find for the online store on your website and this is something that could be resolved quickly over the phone. When I called what turned out to be the retail store, the woman told me that I would have to send an email to this address. Not feeling real satisfied with your customer service these days (power outage or not)

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
************

Then came Friday with still no word. So I called the retail store again and asked the woman who answered the phone what I had to do to get in touch with this "Kristine" who the website says is responsible for the online store. Is there a way I can reach her? I've sent 4 emails since last Friday and I haven't gotten any response. Is there a phone number I can call or can you get her on the phone for me?

"No, I'm sorry, but you can try emailing her directly at Kristine@knithappens.net. Why don't you give me your name and email address so I can tell her to look for your email?" So, I gave her my name and email address and I sent all of the above plus this to kristine@knithappens.net:

***********
Dear Kristine,
It has now been a week that I have patiently awaited a reply from your Returns address. Please review all *three* messages attached below and let me know how to proceed.
Jennifer

************
Monday, February 13th, 2006.
Still no reply and so off this went. Which I really didn't want to do, I just want the correct yarn but I'm not sending the yarn they've sent me back until I hear from them (I don't want to lose what I've already paid for, I don't trust that I would get a credit for it).

**********
Kristine,
Last chance. Order #xxxx. Three hanks of Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Vera: you shipped two different dyelots ( I would like a third hank of dyelot #4657). I ordered 4 balls of Misti Alpaca Lace in Natural Dark Brown: you shipped 4 in Natural Tan. I am not interested in paying to return ship an order to you that you messed up.

This is my 4th email, I have called twice, the first time I was told by the live person in the retail shop to use the Orderinquiry address. Most recently on Friday and the young woman in the retail store took my name and email address promising to ask you to look for my messages. I was also told that there is no way to reach you by phone.

10 days after my first attempt: nothing.

I have a knitting blog that's hit by 100 people daily and I'm a regular poster on the Knitter's Review Forums. I will post this correspondence and the lack of response from you, advising that my readers and the Knitter's Review readers not do business with you. Honestly, I don't want to do this and should you contact me and make amends, I will explain how you've chosen to do so but in this instance I feel I have been more than patient.

Regards,
************

I hope she replys and recitfies the situation. I really just want the right yarn...

Here's my progress on Clap

Bad to Worse

2006-02-10T10:16:00.000-06:00

After yesterday's horrible day I was really glad that today is Friday. Then the inevitable... this morning with the light snow I had an accident on the way to work. It was not a bad accident and I'm fine but consequently I'm an emotional wreck today.

I was at the Mobile station near my house (which I hate by the way because it's such a friggin' rip off) and when I was pulling out there was a car in front of me. We were sitting on a downward slope waiting for traffic to clear when I realized that I was sitting on a patch of ice and my car was sliding inexorably towards his silver Camry.

Thunk! Crunch!

I rear-ended him. He leapt out of his car and said "This is my brand new car!!" "I'm sorry. I'm on a patch of ice, there was nothing I could do." "Look at my bumper. That's going to have to be replaced." "Actually, it looks like just paint that we can rub out."

I went back to my car, Dear Knitters, and I didn't have anything with which to rub on his car except.... a beautiful swatch of Lilac colored Rowan Aran weight in a discontinued wool. I showed it too him and said "It's soft wool, I'm going to see what we can do." I started rubbing and all the streaks came off. Then he looked underneath the bumper and there is a little scratch /indentation thing that's smaller than a plain M&M and he said "See, that won't come out."

Now, Dear Friends, I have no idea where that little bump came from, it could have been me, it could have been something else, but in the grand scheme of hurt bumpers, it wasn't. He said he would be willing to negotiate if I didn't want to go through insurance. When I asked what that meant, he said "Well, the whole bumper will have to be replaced." If Dude lived in the city and had to park on the street that little thing underneath his bumper would be that least of his concerns. Nonetheless, I feel terrible. I cried almost the whole way to work. Talked to my Mom who, graciously, was only happy that I wasn't hurt.

Now for the "I'm so stupid, stupid, stupid... part." I gave him my name, phone and address along with my license plate number and I didn't get his. Do you remember how I said yesterday that it's easier to take pics of your knitting when you have the camera with your knitting? Yeah, I usually have my knitting in the car with me but today? Nooooo, I figured after yesterday that today would be hellish and so I left my knitting at home along with my CAMERA!!

Then I had to call and tell my hubzind. Boy, that was fun, too. Let me tell you.

I'm just sick thinking about the whole thing.

A little joy in an otherwise icky day

2006-02-09T16:12:00.000-06:00

I'm having a nasty icky day but one thing I've learned recently is that it's much easier to blog about your knitting if you keep your camera in your knitting bag!!
Here is the beginning of Clapotis in Lorna's Laces - Lion & Lamb, coloway Vera. I'm just loving the sheen of the silk and wool. It's so soft and lustrous.... yummmm. And I like the little pools of color. If they were big honkin' blobs I might not be quite so happy, but these little gentle blobs, I'm diggin'.

My hands have been cramping with my Ene so I'm taking a little break and working on something in bigger yarn with bigger needles. Heaven's knows I can't stop knitting, that would cause me to go into withdrawl!

Tomorrow, the online shopping experience. The good, the bad and the ugly.

The Lovely ladies of GROUP & a FO

2006-02-08T12:59:00.000-06:00

I wanted to show you all a picture of the lovelies that came to GROUP last night but one pic was WAAAAy too dark and the other was not all that flattering so you'll have to wait until next time and I promise to stand when I take them next time... fewer nostril shots.

To tide you over until I can produce better pics of the lovely GROUP ladies who are so cool, here's few pics of the Husband Christmas Socks that I finally wove all the ends in for about two weeks ago (so? so they got finished didn't they?)

Imagine the color to be a lot more red burgundy and a lot less red-pink...

I hope you enjoy the pics!

Books , Knits and Group

2006-02-06T14:14:00.000-06:00

Right now I'm reading The Outlander. It's the first book in a series by Diana Gabaldon. I've heard a lot about this series and I know a bunch of people who have just flown through them. The problem for me is this, while I love the book, it cuts into my already limited knitting time. Also, I'm thinking there might be a bit too much bodice-ripping "love making" in this one for me.
I've never been a big fan of the Romance genre and while I love the way this author is developing her story, the sexual interludes are getting (dare-I-say-it) somewhat tiresome. That being said, I'm not going to stop reading and seeing as how I've got the next two or three already on my shelf, there's no sense in stopping now.

Darling Mum's read them all in about six weeks total and while she found them completely absorbing, admitted she was happy to have her life back. I guess I feel like knitting has done that to me in the last year.

What are you all reading lately?

On a knitting note, I've made a lot more progress on Ene but my throwing hand seems to be rebelling against the really tiny yarn and getting stiff and sore that the juncture where my thumb meets my hand. So, I did two rows on chart three last night and decided to take a break. Here's what I did:

The camera had a really hard time focusing on the Angora cause it's so fuzzy... :)

Oh yeah, and what with Valentine's Day happening mext week, we'll be meeting the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month for February. That's TONIGHT (2/7/2006) and two weeks from TONIGHT (2/21/2006).

Hope to see you there!

I finished the 2nd bootie over lunch. the color in the pic above is truer.

P.S. I've noticed a preponderance of Exclamation Points!!! in the titles of my posts. I promise to stop that. BTW, what do you think of the new design? I like that it's cleaner but I guess I liked the blue as well. I'm going to have to learn more about HTML and such to be able to customize the template for myself.

Girlfriends and other ravings

2006-02-06T10:47:00.000-06:00

I started this post thinking I was going to write all about how important it is to have girlfriends and how glad I am to have the ones I've already got (be they knitting girlfriends or otherwise).

THEN I got that little tickle in the back of my brain that reminded me that there's one of those horrid junkmail things that covers the very same topic which got me off on the the following rant. Please forgive the rant-before-the-interesting-post that follows.

Let's start out with this: I hate junk mail. Prayers, baby pics (of the Anne Geddes type), tearjerker stories that are often Christian based and those "forward this or your house will burn down" emails are nothing but a nuisance. Please don't hate me for this. If you've sent me junk mail in the past, don't worry, I'm SOOO VERY NOT MAD at you. I don't think there's anything worng with those individuals who forward that dreck, I just hate being on the recieving end.

Why?? You might ask? Because I get all excited that I've gotten an email from a friend when their name shows up in my inbox and then I'm totally disappointed when it says "FW:blah blah drivel" in the subject line. I would so much rather get a one liner that says "Hi, I don't have anything new to report, I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you and hope you're well."

So, please don't send me junk. I'm already cleaning out about 80 spam messages a day. I would love to hear from you, even if you've got nothing to say.

That being said, girlfriends are important. I love having them and I don't spend enough time with them. I love my friends dearly and I wish I was a better friend as far as being available and spending time together. I guess part of that is the newly wed syndrome (it's only been a year and a few months) so I'm still crazy about my DH (which I hope stays that way forever despite life's ups and downs). Even so, here's a public apology to all my girlfriends that I don't see or talk to often enough. I'm sorry and I'll try not to suck so badly in the future.

Last Monday, my girlfriend "R" who is pictured here on the bottom right had surgery. She had her thyroid removed and I took both Monday and Tuesday off of work to be with her. You see her (biological) family is very far away and could not travel to Chicago to be with her. So her Chicago family was there in the waiting room breathlessly awaiting word to hear that she was alright. She is alright and came out of surgery looking as beautiful as she does in this picture, if a little groggy (I wish I looked as good as her when I came out of thyroid surgery in 1995!).

The Saturday morning before, we all got together to celebrate her birthday at a really yummy Mexican restaurant that has awesome food and beautiful decor. It's called Hay Caramba! in downtown Park Ridge, IL. I'm told it used to be a much smaller place but they've moved across the street and they're still in the process of getting beautiful handpainted trees on the walls but it's just gorgeous and the best part is: you can't smoke in the restaurant! (Sorry to my smoking friends, but that makes me really happy!)

So here we are last week (I know, I'm slow) celebrating a belated birthday for R. We love her and I'm so lucky to have friends like her. :)

Ene's Shawl

2006-02-02T16:28:00.000-06:00

So lately there's been some discussion about how to pronounce the name of this lovely lace shawl. I, personnally, pronounce it Eee'-nahz

That being said, Alyssa asked me to post some pics about my progress on the shawl because she wanted to see the colorway and how it looks in Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace. So, Miz A, here you go.

This one gives a good color example but you can't see the eyelet row above the border. When I did the first chart, I put markers at every pattern repeat. I ripped and re-started 3 times before I learned that I MUST COUNT EVERY STITCH BETWEEN EVERY MARKER for lace. Now i'm happy as a clam.

Next pic shows the eyelet row but isn't in very good focus... sorry and enjoy!

Tag I'm it!

2006-01-26T10:08:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Alyssa for tagging anyone with a blog who comes to visit hers..... kinda ;-p

So here goes:
4 Jobs I've had
Nanny for 4 beautiful French children
Library Data entry intern at the Indiana U. School of Music Library (zzz....)
Project Manager for infrastructure www.Sears.com
Therapist - Niles Family Services

4 Movies I Love
Legally Blonde (power to the blonde girl!)
The Incredibles (power to the intact family in a Disney movie!... that's rare)
Downfall (recent German docu-drama about the last 10 days of the Third Reich as written and experienced by Hitler's secretary Traudle Junge)
The Bone Collector (Denzel.... nuf' said. And I love that Angelina Jolie plays smart women even tho she's a little nutz herself)

4 TV shows I watch (this does not include the innumerable Discovery /History/ War Channel shows that are watched by DH, and listened to by me, while I knit. These are the shows for which I put down my knitting.)
Dancing with the Stars (love that show!!)
Most Haunted (Travel Channel on Friday night)
Supernatural (yes, I'm a sucker for monster shows... especially whenthey recycle monster costumes from my favorite show of all times which is....)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I own seasons 1-6 on DVD. It's true: I have no shame)

Places Lived
Chicago, IL (birth 'til 21 years, then 23-31. What can I say I'm a Chicago girl? I just pretend I still live in the city... )
Bloomington, IN (for two painfully long semesters. I said I was a city girl, right??)
Paris, France (Age 21-22)
Wheeling, IL (I love my little suburban garden :) and you'll notice that the biggest news on their website is the new Metra schedule... [sigh])

Places vacationed
Door County, WI (so pretty)
Barcelona, Spain (1993, right after the Olympics, they hated tourists)
Rome, Florence, & Venice, Italy (of the three, Venice was the most icky, while Florence I thought was more beautiful and less touristy, but Rome's got a corner on the Antiquities)
Napa Valley, CA (Sonoma is way more picturesque and right around the bend. Napa is actually pretty industrial, surprised the heck outta me!)

Daily Websites
Crazy Aunt Purl hilarious
See Eunny Knit great tech knitting talk
Body Wisdom by Lani helped me get away from too much dangerous dieting
Yarn Harlot makes me feel organized

there are so many more but that will do for now...

smooches and happy day!

I'm Walking in the Y-Me Race!!

2006-01-24T09:28:00.000-06:00

Alright, so this is a shameless request for support.... (I'm sorry) and if I was selling something for my personal gain I would never put this here as I'm against all things junk-mail and soliciting for personal gain. Please forgive me, I really believe in this cause...

This Mother's Day, Sunday, May 14th, I will be walking with several friends in the Y-Me race against Breast Cancer and I'd love it if you'd join me or support me in the walk! Even if you, personally, haven't been touched by breast cancer, I bet you know someone who has been touched or even passed on due to this terrible disease.

For the last several years I've had a group of friends who have walked the Y-Me race and I've always been "too busy" to walk with them (wedding, graduate school, whatever). This year I've changed my tune. I have the time and the inclination to walk for a cure and while my little bit of money may not make a big difference, all of us together can effect massive change. So, here I am and I hope you'll support me in this walk.

This is my personal Y-Me race page : Hermanas & Amigas (Sisters & Friends)

Thank you! - jen

It's Group Night!!

2006-01-24T09:20:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry ladies, that I won't be there tonight as I have an exciting Fair Isle class at 3 Bags Full, but just in case, GROUP meets at the Borders' at the corner of Lake and Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette, IL from 6:30 to 8:00.

Hope to see you there!!

BTW: The next GROUP meeting is on Valentine's Day.
Here's the Question: Should we meet on February 7th instead?
Talk amongst yourselves.

It snowed last night!!!!

2006-01-21T13:46:00.000-06:00

So we had to get up and test out my 1 new mitten that I've made and take some pics.... sorry I haven't been around much. I'm going to try to be more consistent this year. :)

Here's my new mitten which many of you have seen over at irisheyesknitters.blogspot.com

The littler green one is a practice mitten prior to starting the big one. I lined the big one with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in teal. Basically you pick up purl stitches around the inside of the cuff and knit another mitten but in a bigger gauge. They were so fabulous!! The cuffs are long (almost to my elbow in a regular jacket) and just fit over the puff of the cuff of my down coat. The designer says they're made like that to keep snow out of your cuffs! Brilliant!

Neither has been washed or blocked yet.

So, since I only had one bigg-y mitten and I didn't want to wear one leather glove and one mitten, I grabbed the green practice mitten and wore it too! Now for you my Dear Discerning Readers who might have noticed that I have TWO left mittens, I'll have you know, I just twiseted the practice mitten on my right hand to make it fit.

I couldn't just flip it over because these are what the designer calls "invisible thumb" mittens. You'll notice that the pattern on the thumb to the right exactly matches the pattern on the palm of the glove (How cool is that??!!) so, the thumbs are woven in via the three needle bind off two stitches in from the side of the hand. Hence no stick-y out-y thumb to just flip over.

In case you're wondering, the idea for these mittens came from this book by Anna Zilboorg.

So, I shoved on my beeeeautiful mittens and out we went into the snow...

It was a magnificent winter wonderland.... the DH said we had to shake some of the trees whose branches were almost to the ground with the wieght of the snow so that they didn't break off and hurt or kill the tree. Perfect opportunity to test the snow-in-the-cuff-blocking-ability of my new mitten. Immediately the sad little practice mitten had snow down my sleeve but the big one? Never! And soooo warm and soft inside with the cashmerino!! Yum!

This is right outside our house.... so beautiful!!

DH wanted to take some more pictures of the amazing world we live in today so we hopped into his big truck and off we went... to the Botanic Gardens.

It was breath taking. I'm a big sucker for crabapples covered in snow, so I turned into the Quickshot Queen.

Then I decided I wanted to go see the Japanese Garden which HAD to be stunning in the snow. On the way over there there was yet another magical snow scape which was fronted by a big hill covered in pristine snow. I'm sorry Botantic Garden people. I couldn't help myself. See the pretty snow scape behind me??

I hope they can forgive me. By the way, my tush got immediately soaked through and my derriere is still frozen 2 hours hours later. I guess I should have thought aobut that before I let myself fall unhindered into the magnificent snow!

HAPPY SNOW DAY!!!

Welcome back! It's Knit Night!

2006-01-10T08:59:00.000-06:00

Well friends, I've had a lovely time off from work and blogging. I know I've abandoned you for several weeks. I'll be posting more fun stuff in the next couple of days. For now, know that it's Knit Night and that we'll be meeting at the Borders at Lake and Skokie in Wilmette from 6:30 to 8:00.

Just to tempt your palate, I learned how to knit Fair Isle over the holiday and I've already finished a mitten from this amazing book.
Magnificent Mittens by Anna Zilborg
I finished a mitten using the cuff from the picture on the cover but I chose a different hand pattern. I guess you'll have to join us tonight or wait to see the pics a little later!

See you all tonight!!

Jen

Okay, TONIGHT is Group night!

2005-12-13T08:54:00.000-06:00

Tonight is group night AND I posted an FO on the Scarf Style Blog! So excited!

Umm, there are only t-w-e-l-v-e days left until Christmas... yep, just 12. Not 14, not 21, 12. Anyone else panicking? I have two socks (not part of the same pair), one hat and a whole OTHER pair of socks to finish before the BIG DAY!

Eeek! I am NOT a fast knitter and one of the unfinished socks is the second sock for DH (9 sts per inch, ack)!

Pretty much once a day DH looks at me and says in his most playful voice, "Shouldn't you be knitting? Shouldn't you be knitting MY Christmas Present?" Now while he's being playful I know that he will be really disappointed if I don't finish his present by Christmas morning. So, I gotta get crackin'. I have about 4 inches left on the first foot and the whole second foot to fininsh with fancy cable pattern. That alone will take me 12 days.... sigh. I think I'm going to be a big knitting disaster this year.

Darn It!!

2005-12-06T14:31:00.000-06:00

In my eagerness to meet with my knitting friends, I'm a week early this month for GROUP. It's next Tuesday night. :(

Alyssa was kind enough to let me know so that I didn't end up sitting at Border's by myself....

See you next week,
Jen

GROUP, GROUP, GROUP NIGHT!!!

2005-12-06T09:36:00.000-06:00

We're meeting at the Border's at Lake St. and Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette, IL, from 6:30 to 8:00. I hope you all can be there.

If you've never attended before and you'd like to, feel free to join us! There's no charge, no junk mail and as far as we can tell, no really icky people. We'd love to have you!

I'm thinking about the 27th, which is our next GROUP night. I'll be off of work and would love to meet, is anyone else going to be around???

And just for your viewing pleasure, here's a picture of the YUMMY, 750 thread count hand-embroidered sheets we bought in Italy.... mmmm.... soft.

Oh yeah, and Christmas knitting? Yeah. I'm working on it. BUT, I've been a delinquent and I haven't taken any pics of it since the lighting has been so cruddy. I've finally finished the Vintage Velvet scarf that was Kicking-My-Arse for so long thanks to Alyssa's lovely chart.

I'll bring it tonight and try to post pics this week. Right now I'm still working on DH's socks (those friggin' stitches are tiny) and I'm singing the Dory song from Nemo, "Just keep knittin', just keep knittin', just keep knittin' and knittin' along". I'm also working on another pair of socks that I can't show cause they're a surprise for a friend of mine who reads my blog. But they're out of this faboo Superwash Merino from ArtYarns in this yummy pink and brown combo. Soooo squishy! and they're almost a worsted weight yarn so they're keeping my desire for visible results satisfied.

Anyway, I really should go back to work now so, I'll see you tonight!
jen

Finished, FINIshed, FINISHED!!

2005-12-02T09:58:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I really finished them like two weeks ago and I meant to put a pic in my last post but I just plain forgot and that post was a picture intensive monster anyway.....

Right. So [drum roll, please...]

THE SOCKS!!

Sorry these pics are so dark! Yes, these are the socks that got a hole the size of a quarter eaten in the back of the 1st completed one, so they took me twice as long as they normally would have to finish.

This is me wearing The Socks to work!!

Have a lovely day!

jen

Picture-palooza!!!

2005-11-22T08:29:00.000-06:00

Just a little catch up blogging for the holidays...

Here is all they yummy yarn I bought in Italy. The colors are pretty true, and that's Mr.Whiskers . He's headed for the sweet fuzzy yarniness (he's not even the yarn eater in the family).

Here's what happens when you buy yarn from a fancy shop in Italy. You get a cool little cedar button in a bag that says "Against the Moths". How cool is that?

After that we have pics of yummy Lorna's Laces sock yarn and some LL Helen's Lace. Does Jen knit lace, too?, you might ask. Well, I sure try, but darn if it ain't a pain in the booty! All that counting and frogging?! Yeah, I'm just learning lace and darnit, I think it should be easier than it is. I'm working on Ene's Scarf from Scarf style and I'm on row six and I have to frog it.... sigh.

I've been having a lot of challenges regarding frogging lately. I guess this part is where I spend six months rebelling against doing a gauge swatch and learning the hard way that you just can't get around it. I've done a couple more recetnly and so that character flaw of mine seems to be getting better.

That being said, here is a pics of the socks I'm designing for DH for Christmas. They too came from the faboo shop in Italy. They're Cashmere and Merino from Lana Gatto on size 1's. They're going to be plenty warm for his little tootsies since they make my hands sweat when I'm knitting!

Now to distract you from my lack of FO's with some gratuitous kitty pics.
Kitty #1 in the basket....

Kitty #2 deciding if he should be in the basket with Kitty #1...

Kitty #2 in the basket.... (kitty #1 wasn't interested in sharing the claustrophobic space so he got out.)

Happy Turkey Day festivities to you all!

jen

Paul

2005-11-15T09:01:00.000-06:00

Paul was a Social Worker that I worked with at The North Shore Senior Center. He's in this picture standing on the chair at the back next to the post. He's a young guy; very private and very kind. He is a dilligent Elder Abuse Investigator and Supervisor who helped me to go on my first investigation and helped me to make many scary decisions. Because he is so private, I didn't get to know him very well while we worked together but we always got on well when we talked.

Paul was killed in a car accident early Monday morning. For the last several months (at least since August), he'd been working on an Elder Abuse case that was particularly nasty. He went to court last Friday and won his case, protecting the elderly woman. Despite winning his case, he was apparently still very stirred up by the circumstances surrounding it. No one knows exactly what happened but he woke up around 2:00 a.m. and went for a drive. Paul never came home.

There are people in this world who actively spend their energy to make it a better place every day. It's a crime when they are stolen from us in an untimely way. Paul was one of those people and he will be deeply missed.

If you pray, please say a prayer for him and his family.

Here are some of the things he was involved in in his life:
German Shepherd Rescue
Vital Bridges
He's quoted in this article

Alright, so I'm a bad blogger....

2005-11-11T10:08:00.000-06:00

I apologize for the lack of blogginess for the last month. I've been trying to keep several plates in the air and I have a bunch of photos to upload and I just haven't gotten around to doing it...

I've been sick this week and I missed my performance of Manon Lescaut at the Lyric which was severly disappointing. My girlfriend had Strep, I had a terrible sinus cold and Darling Auntie was left to attend all alone (at this point, I don't even know if she went or not). That was Wednesday evening, I stayed home from work on Wednesday because I was feeling sick and hoping to be able to make it to the opera that night (you know, that hit by a truck feeling? Yeah, not fun, that.). I didn't make it.

That being said, I'm going to Houston this weekend (read: tonight) to visit Darling Mums. We're going to the Opera tomorrow night, too. We're seeing The Marriage of Figaro. Not a bad substitute for Manon, but I've wanted to see Manon since I was a French Major the first time through college and read the short story in Fr. Lit. Maybe I'll buy myself a single ticket for early December.... who knows.

Then yesterday, I was hoping to go back to work in the afternoon, but I wasn't able to get there. BECAUSE... my cool-as-heck little brother (who's not so little anymore) got inducted to the Illinois Bar Assoc.!! SO PROUD!!

It was open seating so I got to sit next to him at Arie Crown Theater. It was fantastic to be there with him, though the speechifying became kinda long and boring. The coolest part about this whole event was that Brother Bear was cool with me bringing my knitting with me to work on through the speechifying.

He informed me when he first asked if I would come that there would be "Little or no actual entertainment value in attending this event. It would just be cool for me to have you there." So, me and DH's new cashmere and wool blend socks went to Arie Crown Theater to watch little Brother "get lawyered". I knit through almost the entire ceremony until Brother said "Okay, this is the part where you have to pay attention." At which point I put down said burgundy sock (which I'm designing myself and I'm very proud of, btw). Then the lawyerly type on the stage continued to speechify for another 40 minutes or so... Brother said, "Oops, sorry go ahead and knit some more, I'll let you know when you have to pay attention again".

I have a pic of him taking The Oath (you know, "I promise to uphold the Consitution of the United States etc. etc. etc."). The pic is actually of his back while he is standing up with THOUSANDS of other young lawyers surrounded by spouses and families getting inducted. It's a pretty funny pic. I'll try to post it when I get back.

So... smooches to you all and I'll leave you with two of the most hilarious blog posts I've read in a long time just to keep you entertained while I get my act in gear again. Both are courtesy of www.CrazyAuntPurl.com. I aspire to her hilarity, but not to the mishaps in her daily life which keep me coming back for more side-splitting humor.

Her Bus Catches Fire

Her Crackhead Drunken Neighbors

Bless her for this respite...

GROUP NIGHT!!!

2005-11-08T15:26:00.000-06:00

Hope to see you all there!

Jen

Happy Fall!!

2005-11-04T09:31:00.000-06:00

Well friends, no pics today as I'm at work without my camera. (Shhh... don't tell on me!)

Last night I went to Mosaic Yarn Studio for their fun fun fun long long long knit-in night. They have it every Thursday from 7 to 9 o'clock and sometimes they have special nights. Last night was Polish night. There were pierogis and kolachkes and yummy sausages (you know, the kind where just one bite gives you indigestion for the next 6 hours? Yeah, I had just one bite and it spent the rest of the night talking to me). THEN, here's the best part. All red and white yarn (Polish flag colors) was 20% off; including Touch Me by Meunch. Yummmy... and I didn't get any! I did however pick up two new pair of needles. Size 0 and size 1 in 24" Addi Turbo Circs.

Gotta have more than one pair so I can work on more than one pair of socks at a time, dontcha know....

Lovely Kara from GROUP and I rode over together. Claire from Knit One Chick Two was there and showed off her beautiful Mogul Sweater for DBF. It's made of some lovely navy blue cotton and boy, oh boy is that sucker heavy! I'm envious of her cabling ability and (of, course) I forgot to ask her to show me how to cable without a cable needle! Ah well, next time.

Alyssa was supposed to be there but the poor darling got stuck in Jury Duty (can we get a resounding UGH! from the crowd please?). The knit-in started at 6 and the poor darling was still stuck there! How terrible. I hope she was at least allowed to knit while she sat, but probably not.

So, I'm hoping to finish "The Socks that Went to the Vatican" tonight. I know it's taken me a long time but when I finish them and post the story, you'll understand why. Let's just say I've now made three socks in the same pattern.

Hope you all have a lovely friday! -- jen

Back from ROMA!

2005-10-30T16:14:00.000-06:00

Well friends,

We're back. We walked and walked and walked and walked. We both lost visible weight we walked so much while in Rome. That's cool... Not cool? Sweaty. 100% humidity. 2-3 showers per day.

Cool: Roman Pizza -- Not Cool: Black bogies in your nose from riding the metro
Cool: Ancient Roman ruins EVEYRWHERE Not cool: Two hour wait lines to get into the Vatican
Cool: Going to the Vatican at 12:00 when everyone else is having lunch Not Cool: finding that the hall with the sculpture you want to see is only open in the morning.
Cool: Roman fashion Not cool: Being so not in line with Roman fashion
Cool: Roman fashion Not cool: no one wears deodorant
Cool: Climing to the top of Palatine hill to see Cesar Agustus' home (it's not a palace, those who came after him were big on palaces.
Not cool: Waiting too long to eat, not feeling hungry but having a random crying jag for no reason. DH says: "Uh, do we need to get you something more to eat??" "I don't know!!" I wail.

Cool: DH found a really cool yarn shop in Rome "Lana Gatto" which you can get online here but only through 1 or2 distributors and not in nearly the selection. For my darling knitting friends who asked me to take pictures of yarn: Here you go. If I'd been faster I would've gotten the nice lady in the shop waving at you all, but I wasn't fast enough. BTW, "yummy" and "oooohh, alpaca and cashmere" translates in any language cause I made the shop lady laugh.

Earlier that day we were at our hotel and I pulled out my trusty list of Roman Yarn Shops that I'd gotten from woolworks.org. Frankly, very few of the shops listed were on streets that were necessarily accessible for a tourist. The congierge lady at our hotel was looking at the socks I was working on and was concerned that I needed to match the yarn I was using for the project. Here's the best part: DH piped up and said "Oh, no, she needs yarn for OTHER projects." Did you catch that? He didn't say "wants", he said "Needs". Cool. So as we were walking along headed in the general direction of the shop listed at ww.org (which incidentally isn't there anymore), DH said "Hey, isn't THAT yarn?" Pointing at two very yummy, puffy looking balls of something bulky in the traditional dumpling shape in the window of a shop. "YES!!" "Who do you love??" "You, baby, you!

So, there we were in the shop and I was fingering some fingering weight wool regular wool after picking some cashmere and alpaca for myself. I asked DH if he wanted me to make him some socks (he doesn'tt wear sweaters). He touched wha tI was holding and said "Sure, but I ain't cheap sistah, if you're gonna make me some socks, you better head back over to the other side of the store where you picked yourself some cashmere!" I laughed and back we went. I convinced him that cashmere woudl wear through pretty quickly and and that we should get him a wool blend so he picked a wool / cashmere blend in a yummy burgundy color. Sorry the light in these pic isn't so good, the light in the shop was pretty crappy unless you were under one of the spots. Interestingly, this shop sold ready to wear sweaters, knits and yarn but no needles... hmmm... I wonder where you get needles if you're in Rome?

Ohh!! I forgot to tell you we went to the Vatican and in Honor of the Yarn Harlot, the sock made an appearance with the Vatican Guard! DH was so embarrassed that he had to walk away while I took the picture! I love being a knitting geek. Only thing is I have another pair that I'm planning on that would have matched almost perfectly with their uniforms. Oh well, maybe next time. :)

Anyway, that's probably good for tonight. I'll post more pics tomorrow.

A Bad Day...

2005-10-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

A bad day
It all started with a happy day.... as most of you know, I just got married last fall. It was a wonderful and happy day, the first anniversary of which is nigh upon us the 16th of October (that's this Sunday for you non-countin' folk)

Well, I have a passport, albeit a couple of years old, and it's even got a really nice picture in it. See, I was really skinny back when that picture was taken and I'm kind of fond of that passport even though my dieting days made me an insane crazy person (to put it mildly), I'm still fond of the skinny chick in the official govt. picture. i even delude myself into thinking that I still look like that sometimes.

So, back to the topic at hand. I got married last fall and changed--my--name. Yeah. Going to Italy this week and I'd forgotten that my passport was in my maiden name. So, last week, I called the 800# listed on the website to schedule an emergency appointment. They let you do that if you're travelling within 14 days. I called on Monday of last week and the first available appointment was this Wednesday (2 days before my alleged departure...) So, the phone service tells me that all I have to bring is marriage cert, old passport, proof of travel dates and pic id with new name. Check, check, check and CHECK.

Wednesday morning (really I don't procrastinate like this all the time) at 6:30 a.m., when I'm trying to leave for my new job that's only 3 wks old, (my new job who is, incidentally, already not so happy that I'm leaving town for a week and that I have to leave in the middle of the day to go and get my passport updated), I can't find my old passport. Let's say that again shall we? I cannot find my old passport.

Freak out #1: [Commence Internal Wheel Spinning] Oh yeah, new job, photocopies for tax purposes. Maybe it's at work. [end IWS] Hop in car and start speeding off for work. 10 minutes from the house I realize that there's no way it's at the office cause it's in my maiden name so I wouldn't have used it. Too late to turn around. Guess I'll leave work a little earlier than I had planned to go downtown and swing back by the house to search some more.

Freak out #2 Meeting at work, surprise to the new girl on the block, Introductions of new staff to the entire Communications and Marketing Fashionista Team. Yeah, um, I didn't wash my hair this morning.

Freak out #3 Driving home before heading downtown. Told boss that I would be back at work later in the afternoon to finish working the rest of the day. [Re-Commence Internal Wheel Spinning] Maybe it's in my big bag that ... NO! How could I be so irresponsible?!!??! What the hell did you do with it you idiot!??!" [end IWS]

Driving up to the house: Okay, I'll just go inside and check the folder where I normally keep it, one single page at a time. Taa-Daa!!! There it is!! FOUND!! Wave passport at them and they all smile and look Understanding though I KNOW they all think I'm crazy. Don't care, race back out to the car and burn rubber out of the garage in an attempt to get downtown before said 1:00 pm appointment. Blood pressure's up: hot and sweaty. Windows down, hanging head out like a dog in the summer time, tongue lolling in the wind.

Get on the road and head down 294 towards the Kennedy junction. Cruising along just fine despite the inordinate number of mid-day elderly and generally poor driving lunatics on the road. Turn onto the ramp to go to the Kennedy and WHAM! Traffic stops. There are multiple lane closures in the middle of the day due to the installation of new toll lanes!!!! Aaaauuugggghhhh!!! .

S-L-O-W-L-Y progress through the toll lanes despite some jerk-y boy in a big unmarked white van putting his BUMPER ON THE FRONT OF MY CAR SO THAT HE CAN GET IN MY LANE!!!!!

Call dear friend who lives in St. Louis now and gripe to her about what an idiot I am and how stressed out I am. She dutifully tells me that all will be okay and proceeds to talk me through the remainder of my trip downtown. God bless her. [Still over heated and "glistening", God I'm so happy I quit dieting so that I can be over heated in 50 FRIGGING degrees!] {breathe}

Make it downtown with no accidents and 15 minutes to spare. Oh yeah, there's NO parking down near the Federal Building. Drive around to all the rat hole hidden parking lots I can think of and all are full. Why cause it's party day for the rats! They're having a shindig and cars are not allowed!! ....Finally find garage that isn't full and high tail it to the Fed Bldg.

Realize that Awesome-Little-Brother-the-Newly-Licensed-Attorney is clerking for a federal judge. Maybe he's in the same building. Call and leave him a message as I run, asking where he is and if he wants to say Hi before I leave for Italy on Friday.

Go through Security, no problems. Run to elevators, because it's now about 2 minutes before my appointment time and I'm terrified that they won't see me if I'm one minute late. Get to the Passport floor, sweating, trying not to pass out from heat stroke and stress.

Now let's revisit this a little, shall we? The automated appointment machine told me that I needed what? Marriage cert, old passport, proof of travel dates and pic id with new name. Check, check, check and CHECK.

Go up to the window and the lovely young woman says to me as I pass her my passport and marriage certificate,
"Do you have your application?"
"Uh, no."
"How about new pictures?"
""New WHAT??" [I have not washed my hair today....]
"New pictures."
"I'm sorry, I'm just here for a name change."
"I know, you have to apply for a whole new passport." [already I'm seeing my dreams of returning to work near the Wisconsin border evaporating before my eyes...]
"I have to do what? Why didn't the phone service tell me that??!! I thought you were just going to put a sticker in the old one!! " [Desperation creeps into my voice as I stand there feeling my blood pressure rise and tears start to well up in my eyes]
"Well, it's a new system and we haven't updated everything yet. Fill out this application, go across the street to Walgreens and get new pics taken and we'll honor your original appointment." [I nearly crumpled]
[in the smallest voice possible and on the verge of tears] "But I don't want to take new pictures... my old passport has a pretty, skinny picture in it..." [she really was a nice person and I made her laugh a little]
"I'm sorry, you have to go take new pictures."
"I'm going to cry."
"Oh, please don't cry..." [sigh, I take my application and my paper work and start downstairs again.]

I crossed the street and went to the nearest passport picture place I could find where they proceeded to charge me $35 for new pictures of my huge sweaty head with unwashed hair that looks like I stuffed an air-hose up my behind. The very nice lady at the picture place handed me my pictures (two sets of two different pics, one with little double chin and one with big double chin). When I took then out to look at them, I really did start to cry, and I cried back across the street, through Security for the 2nd time and all the way up to the office on the 18th floor. The nice young lady checked my paper work and told me to go get in the next line and someone would call my number.

Just as an aside, they have really nice facilities up there. Clean bright, friendly and there was no one else but myself in the office when I came.

So I sat for a few minutes until the next lady called my number. She took all my paper work and punched holes in my pretty picture passport so it's officially dead.
"Can I have my old passport back?"
"You'll get it back when you receive your new passport." [Now, Gentle Reader, the manner in which she delivered this small tidbit of information led me to suddenly question *when, in fact,* I would be getting my new passport back?]
"And when might that be since I'm leaving on Friday night???"
Passport lady #2 responds to my general anxiety by getting her undies all up in a bunch and getting nasty back at me... I don't remember the exact exchange, but it culminated in her asking if I wanted to wait around and pick it up "later today".
"Yeah, I'll wait." [foolish me, I thought it would be like an hour or less. At this point it is 1:30 and I'm thinking I might still get back to New Job.]
"Okay, here's your pick up receipt. They'll ask for it when you come back to pick it up... come back between 3 and 4:00." [Can you hear my reputation at my new job crumbling like the Towering Inferno?]

Oh yeah, and I haven't eaten since 6:00 this morning either AND I forgot to take something to knit while I waited, which would have helped to calm my anxiety. [sigh]

So, I start to cry again as I'm walking out of the office and I decide to go get some lunch. I walked east one block and came upon a Garrett's Popcorn shop. Knowing full well, that I should keep walking and find some real food, I instinctively turn into said shop and get the smallest nag of mixed caramel and cheese corn they make. I ate about 3 handfuls and immediately got sick to my stomach. So I walked across the street and went to Subway (which reminds me too much of my starving dieting days) and got a sandwich, which was icky. Bleah...

With no call back from Awesome Brother and an hour and half to kill, I went to Barnes and Noble and picked up a Streetwise laminated map of Rome and Knit Lit,too. A little nurturance for the soul on this most challenging of days, or a little in flight reading pleasure, as necessary.

Then Awesome Brother calls and says "Hey, I'm right across the street from where you were, are you still here? Wanna meet for coffee?"

HOORAY!!! So Brother Bear and I had a yummy cuppa from Intelligentsia which has WAY better java than that silly Mermaid place.

We chat for about an hour and I feel totally special that my little Brother Bear has taken an full hour out of his important busy lawyerly day to meet his not-feeling-so-good-about-herself sister. I'm really proud of him and I think he's a totally cool dude. I got lucky in the sibling department. Then, far too soon, it's time to go back to the Evil Passport Office. Oh yeah, and I haven't called my boss to tell her that I'm still downtown either, so I'm still dreading that and it's hanging over my head. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Back through Security for the THIRD time today and on up to the 18th floor. I got into the pick up room and there were about 100 people in there. Oddly enough, I gave my will-call ticket to the lady expecting to settle in for the long wait and not a minute after my butt hit the seat she was calling my name! Thank God for small favors.

Now it's 3:15 and I already know that there's no way with Chicago traffic that I'll get back to work before 5:30 pm. So, as I walk to my car I'm deciding exactly what to say to my boss to let her know that I'm not coming back to work and Brother Bear calls. "Hey, did you get your passport? Do you want to come see my office?"

Totally! So I head across the street and march through Security for the 4th time in one day, with thoughts of cancerous x-rays beaming through my already weakened frame. Brother Bear meets me in the lobby and escorts me up to the top floor where, as we are walking into the office, his boss, Federal Court of Appeals Judge, the Honorable William J. Bauer, steps into the hallway wearing his hat and coat.

[Did I mention I hadn't washed my hair??]

"Ah, is this your lovely sister?? I'd heard she was in the vicinity and I hoped I would get to meet her before I left for the day...."

He was handsome, distinguished, gracious, kind and funny gentleman of about 80. I sincerely hope I didn't say anything foolish. I followed Brother Bear's lead and called him "Your Honor" and "Sir". Then I got to meet the rest of the folks in his office which amounted to exactly three people, which made me even more impressed that he'd taken a full hour to have coffee with me. It was really cool. The judge's secretary let us take a small tour of the Judge's Chamber's and the Federal Court of Appeal of the 7th District since court was not in session. Brother Bear showed me where he sits while court is in session and he showed me his very big, very lawyerly desk surrounded by countless very dry looking legal texts.

I also met one of his co-clerks, Mike, who was a very nice man as well. It was neat how nice everyone was.

Finally, after much praise and proud feelings on behalf of my younger sibling, I headed down to the street and my lonely little vehicle. Funny thing is I called my boss after I left my brother's office and told her I was "Just leaving the passport office" and she was really cool about it and just said make it up later this week".

Total cost for the day including parking, passport photos, new passport Rush Job, lunch, coffee, map and book? $229.00 oh yeah, and then there was gas... which I didn't include.

End of day: home by 5:00, new passport in hand and on the sofa with a bottle of yummy Zinfandel from my favorite winery. www.peju.com. If today had been a football game, there would have been a penalty for "Unnecessary Roughness" or "Roughing the Pass(port)er". Thank Goodness vacation starts tonight!

jen

Tonight is Group night!

2005-10-11T08:08:00.000-05:00

Just so's you know. I'll be there.

Lynn is out with a bad back: wishing her well.
Kathy is working the superlong n' evil shift today.

Check in as you can! Hope to see the rest of you tonight!

That's at Border's at Lake and Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette for anyone new who wants to join us.

Happy day!
Jen

Okay, so I just HAD to share....

2005-10-06T15:39:00.000-05:00

I was going to do a thesaurus search on Dictionary.com to come up with another funny cute acronym for GROUP. When I typed in my first search word "knitter", I got this:

No entry found for knitter.
Did you mean nutter?

ROFLMAO!!!! I nearly got caught blogging at my new job!

jen (the resident Nutter)

Daily Status

2005-10-04T08:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I've frogged, rewound and cast on that friggin' Vintage Velvet scarf again. In case you didn't see my comments from the other day, I've just figured out how to track where I am in the pattern so I don't have to do this again. I'm definintely giving it to my soon to be SIL.

Oh yeah, and remember that scarf I made up for my Dad? The one with blues greens and purples? Yeah, I think I'm not going to have enough yarn to make it long enough.... I definitely need more practice on designing projects. :-/ Now, I'm thinking or making it into that Interlocking Balloons scarf from Scarf Style. Any thoughts?

On to funner things (yes, funner is a word, I just decided). I also got an email off line from Lovely Lynn who suggests that we continue to call our little group just that: GROUP - Girls Relaxing Over Unfinished Projects. Frankly, that made me laugh out loud and I love it! Any other funny acronym suggestions?

let's hear 'em!

Jen

Vintage Velvet et al.

2005-10-02T19:31:00.000-05:00

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

I'm one of those knitters who usually has 4 or 5 projects going at one time so that I don't get bored. I also love the planning stages of making a new project. So, here are some of the others I'm working on.

Vintage Velvet in Touch Me by Meunch. I'm thinking that it's the color recommended by the book (Scarf Style by Pam Allen), but I'm not sure.

All right, I need to take a poll too. My soon to be Sister in Law is a knitwear designer for Reuhl (the menswear store from Abercrombie & Fitch). She told me last time they were over that she's giving me a load of yarn for Christmas. (Think Italian wools and such). Since I'm knitting Christmas presents I' wondering what to knit for her. I've already planned a Button Hole Bag for her in Black, Camel and Beige. But then What else. I mean for heaven's sake, this woman is giving me yarn! I can't wimp out and just give her something silly. Do you think VV would be a cool gift to stick inside the bag?

Thoughts?

Okay, and here is the jacket I'm making for myself that I've titled Greed. Alyssa at Group told me to "knit faster." I gave her a confused look and she said "I want to see what it's' going to look like!" LOL! She makes me laugh! I love the ladies I knit with; they're too fun! Thanks Beauties!

Oh yeah, and I'm going to see Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera this week with Denyce Graves. Too cool. I'm so excited! Then on the 15th, we're leaving for Rome for a week. Exciting times ahead!

Smooches,
Jen

Should we move GROUP Knight to Wednesday?
	Yes
	No
	Not sure, let me check

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