Knitting E-scape

Friday, April 29, 2005

Slip, slip knit boo boo

Yesterday I cast on a new sock from Knit Socks. It's an easy, lacy pattern which includes lots of ssk stitches. I *thought* I knew how to perform that stitch, but was dreading doing them, since each round has 8 and ssk requires such a maneuvering process in order to knit the slipped stitches. I decided to double check the technique in my handy illustrated how-to book. Yikes. What I had been doing was wrong. No wonder the dread. I discovered that instead of inserting the left needle from the bottom (into the slipped stitches), you actually insert the left needle from the top. a bit easier. duh.
Today was a "down time" day. Felt miserable. Not even feeling much like knitting. Yesterday was very busy. We had doggie "issues" again, which necessitated a late afternoon trip to the vet. More medicine. Doggie is better today. I am recovering. Glad to have some time off work for the rest. Doggie therapy is going home for the weekend. I will have withdrawal. We are having custody issues.
Good Site:
I discovered a good site called Knitter's Review . Check this out, I thoroughly enjoyed the comments about Knit Picks yarns and am anxious to try them! (It will be awhile since I must save up and knit/reduce the stash, ya know??)

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

SOCKS: DONE!

I can hardly wait to put them on my feet! The only item left is to weave in the ends on sock #2. I have not mastered kitchener yet, but oh well. I will do some practicing. My sis sent me this link. It is a Socks 101 Tutorial. I looked it over briefly; it seems to be a good site with excellent pictures illustrating each step of the sock-making process. Again, I reiterate: follow the directions when "turning the heel". The directions will seem screwball. You'll say, "that can't be right". But the magic will occur if you are careful!
Agenda Items:
Doggie eyes and illness
Vacation
Beautiful weather
Hmmm. What's next on the knit calendar?
Stephanie's Rant
Doggie Days
Yesterday I took Miss Whitney to the doggie ophthalmologist. Yes, it's true. Now Shih-tzus are a docile breed, but even the eye doc was amazed at how well behaved and tolerant she was. Lots of testing, poking and prodding of the eyes which involved great patience on the part of an elderly dog unprepared for such actions. She was amazing, and the doc thinks she will be helped by a rigorous medication schedule. We are hopeful.
This morning, however, I was awakened by dear Miss Whitney. She was so embarrassed to tell me about her nighttime mishaps. Without going into much detail, I will say that my morning involved activities having to do with large amounts of dog poop: cleaning carpets, laundering bedding, laundering myself and the embarrassed doggie, and cooking rice. We are better this afternoon, thank you very much.
Vacation
Officially, I am on vacation, although I did go in to work for 4 hours yesterday. I made progress on charts and correspondence. I did not finish, but made a dent that may get me through next week. To be continued...Anticipating the visit from DS#2 and DDIL#2 from Juneau next week! Code: Tech support. and Fun. Hopefully we can (all 6 of us--that includes local DS and DDIL) go see "Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe". Also making arrangements to visit Portland at the end of next month. Janet (sister) and I will pet yarn and knit (hopefully) and celebrate our parents 65th wedding anniversary!
The weather here in beautiful Anchorage, Alaska is record breaking. Clear blue skies and low 60s. I think my coworkers are a bit sour grapes that I selected such beautiful days to be "out of the clinic". Did I consult the Farmer's Almanac? No. Duh.
Knit Calendar:
I reverted back to working on the simple lace scarf. I told myself that I needed to finish something that has already been started. BUT the siren song of the sock yarn sitting on the sofa is making me crazy! I must promise to finish the felted mittens for my 2 DS by cutting into the luscious suede pieces, designing the palms and sewing them on. I have everything, why don't I just do it? It's the sock thing. To be continued...
and Knit Picks. Has anyone purchased yarn from them? Please share. Do you like the yarn? Does it knit up nicely? The prices are awesome. I want to try it.
Did anyone read Stephanie's blog this week? Quite a rant on April 22nd. (I am so enjoying her book!) Oh, those days of raising children.They grow up sooo fast. I gave birth "yesterday", and now look at them. It's scary. I never waxed as eloquent as Stephanie, but I can recall saying or thinking some of those same things in my own scrambled, demented version. Those people who used to *make me crazy* from time to time are now responsible adults, employed doing such things as *gasp* "control air traffic", "install security systems", and more. They are both loving and committed husbands to wonderful women. In other words, those "times" are fleeting and temporary, no matter how crazy making they can be. Thank you God, you've always seen me through!

Monday, April 25, 2005

Blog Troubles and I Love Socks!

Yesterday I intended to publish the RAOK button. I followed the directions from the website. I am not sure whether I was successful (the button didn't appear, so maybe that is a hint). What I did succeed in doing was change the font style and the background. I am hoping that in a week or so I will have some "tech support" to set me on the straight and narrow.
What is RAOK? Random Acts of Kindness. Visit this site: Fiber ROAK
I am waiting to see if the ring is closed or if I can be on a waiting list.
Here's the site where I linked to the Fiber Roak. Laura: Knits for Sanity
Now, when I get my "sidebars" working, I will post a "Blogs I read" section. And thanks, Laura, for listing my blog! The pressure is on! To keep up that is. :)

SOCKS
I am on the final stretch, heading toward the toe on the matching sock! I have actually done a better job on my second sock, so the first is the official "learner sock". And because I love these socks and beautiful sock yarn, I went online today and ordered a new pair of Birkenstock's so I can show them off! At Birkenstock Central I found a pair of *on sale* sandals! Hopefully they will be tasteful enough for wearing to work...
I am loving making socks! I can actually turn a heel, pick up and knit, and make a nice heel gusset. Wowee.
Yarn/Quilt shop news: Saturday was sale day/class sign-up day at one of the LYS/LQS destinations. I only signed up for two classes, which really aren't classes. One is Friday Blockbusters. I'm hoping for motivation to finish quilt projects. The other is basically an excuse to sit and knit with an experienced knitter/instructor available. I also *gasp* looked at yarn. What did I buy?? Only two hanks of gorgeous Lorna's Laces sock yarn! A real cool splurge. I had been coveting this yarn, but decided not to buy any until I was sure I could knit a decent sock...I have been rewarded. Still waiting on the upload picture problem to be solved because this yarn is worth a picture. The color is called "Mixed Berries". Does that give a hint as to the colorway?
As I stood at The Yarn Branch (matching colors of reinforcing yarn) another customer was also perusing sock yarn. She said she was looking for yellow to make socks for her daughter. There was no yellow in the sock colors....I wanted to say, try a non-sock yarn! But, not knowing much about socks (yet) I didn't say anything. Later, as I was scouting out the rest of the stock, I saw a lovely yellow in the baby yarn section. Hmmm. I also found the book that Poor Miss Finch mentioned the other day. I was reading this book over the weekend, along with some other stuff about socks, and as far as I can figure out, you don't have to only make socks out of designated sock yarn! Epiphany! So I got some reinforcing thread for my eBay alpaca yarn! I figured out the gauge, and I will soon have some lovely blue alpaca socks (well, wait, maybe they will move farther down the list, closer to next winter)...Another confession: Last week I picked up a couple skeins of Brown Sheep's "Wildfoote": one shade is Elderberry and the other is a lovely purple. So, I definitely need the new Birkenstocks!
Other news: DH is again in Seattle. I am off work for a couple weeks, although I will go in tomorrow to work on charts and correspondence leftovers from last week. It is sunny and heading toward 60 degrees, so as I was raking the yard earlier, I felt hot. Outside! Amazing. Doggie Therapy is visiting today and will spend the night, as she has her eye doctor appointment in the morning. I love this dog. DS and DDIL are grilling salmon outside tonight and I will join them, yum!

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

I won the scarf!

I'm very excited because I won the famous Branching Out scarf from Susan She is the creator of the scarf and has kindly knit this scarf to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Thanks! I will be sending Susan the "payment" but since I wanted to include a personal payment as well, it will go out tomorrow night....my LYS didn't open until noon today and waiting until they opened (to get the treasure I'm going to send her) would have made me late for work. Hee hee.
DH is home from Seattle, and he brought a huge collection of *gasp* knitting needles! Some are very odd and unusual...more later. DH is helping his DM clear out her home and the things she can no longer use or keep are going "elsewhere". Since I am interested in trying my hand at a shawl, the extra long circulars will come in handy!
My first sock is finished!! It fits! there are only a few boo-boos, but they don't show, and if nothing comes unraveled with wear and washing I will be quite satisfied. Of course, everyone knows that One Sock is not enough, since I (last time I checked) have two feet. I'm into things that match. Another week or so, and I should have new socks to show off!

Monday, April 18, 2005

Absence makes the blogging harder...

Well, what's up? or as Tim would say, wazzh-up? Or something like that. Here are a few subjects I want to talk about (not necessarily in this order):
The weekend
Socks
Taxes
Gardening
Knitting
The eye doctor
Preemie Hat
no photos: camera was hijacked and taken to Seattle
ok, so I'll start with TAXES
I signed some papers. At 11:30pm April 15. Here's my take on this: Filing taxes is like giving birth. It is so much work. And so painful. And takes so long. And causes people to say things they should't say. The analogy ends there because the only joy involved is knowing that you met the deadline. That's all I have to say.
The Weekend: It officially started when the taxes got mailed. Then an hour later I took DH to the airport with the hijacked camera, thus no photos. They both went to Seattle for the weekend. Now it's Monday evening and I can hardly remember what I actually did. Oh yes! Since DS went with DH to Seattle, the DD-I-L and I went to Bell's Nursery on Saturday afternoon to look at plants---she with the hope of buying starts for hanging baskets. Now this is Alaska, remember, and the weather has been warm and sunny--close to 50 during the day! And the snow piles are almost gone! So therefore the thoughts about outside things. Well, we hoped to get a jump start on the plants, but for now, we decided we would let them continue to grow in the fine, controlled greenhouse environment for two+ more weeks. The target date for putting living plants outside is Memorial Day. Good thing. I woke up this morning with snow falling, and it's cold today! Another 3-6 inches possible overnight.
SOCKS: Good news! I'm working down the instep of sock #1 and it is beautiful! I was intending to go ask the LYS for help, but it got late on Saturday. As I was perusing _Knit Socks!_ I happened across this helpful statement: "The key to turning a heel is to believe the pattern and follow it for a few rows before forging off on your own." Bingo. I can't believe that the author knows me! So I believed (although hugely skeptical) and voila! It morphed into a heel! So now I look at the sock and I can't figure out exactly what I did. It just doesn't LOOK LIKE what the instructions said you just did. If that makes any sense...So this is a new revelation to me, but for anyone who has made socks, I can hear the derisive laughter.
...and I am making a Preemie Hat in a purple acrylic yarn with "squiggles". This is inspired by the local guild charity knitting for May. Acrylic because the hats have to be sterilized.... pictures to follow when my camera returns and I learn how to do photos...It's cute. I might need another yarn though, since it isn't super soft. And that reminds me of felting...DDIL finished knitting her bag...she came over and we felted it on Sunday. It's drying now. We both stood over the washer and smelled the hot wet wool (very earthy and animal like..like a wet dog...) and marveled at the miracle: the huge funky knitted thing became a gorgeous, chic bag...hopefully I will be able to photograph the wonder bag as well...
I guess that covers the majority of the weekend. It's back to work tomorrow. Oh yes. the kitchen got a good clear out cleaning. Nice...
Eye doctor? That was today too. Kinda disorienting to have the pupils huge all day. Hard to knit...can you spell "ocular hypertension". Otherwise all is ok for another year, unless something unforeseen happens...
Tomorrow: Watch for the Branching Out knit along...and the auction scarf!

Friday, April 15, 2005

A Trip to the Yarn Store: Therapy after a difficult week

One of my favorite LYS is now carrying a huge and diverse amount of Lorna's Laces yarn! I finally got to see and touch...it's all very tempting, and I now understand the blogs that talk about these coveted fibers. I did not buy any. I need to save up. I did buy a few other items that weren't so spendy, though. More later on the new sock obsession that drives me onward, even though I am stuck after finishing the heel flap on my first pair. Back to another LYS tomorrow to ask for help...
Which is fine, since I need the therapy. I have some doggie therapy this weekend as well, and perhaps I can photograph said therapist and manage to upload a picture...will see how the weekend progresses.
And, oh yes, my weekend started today. A wonderful Friday off. I spoke sternly to myself on my way home yesterday evening that I would start some lists: "Why I love my Job" and the counterpoint: "Why I want to retire". Not that it makes much difference, but the goal would be to keep the "why I love my job" list longer than the other evil list. Time off is great: I am so thrilled when I can go to bed and slide the button on my clock to the off position: the button that silences the dreaded alarm...ahhhh....sleep.
I hope to make some progress on the socks over the weekend, but this week I have been working on a simple lace scarf, mainly because it requires little thought, looks good, and provides the escape I desire. And this week called for intense escape and therapy. But I am needing to finish the socks, since I found some lovely sock yarn today...pictures to come later.
The DH will be gone over the weekend, and while I have many "household management" projects to accomplish, I will fill lots of time with "handwork", I am sure.
BTW, I am enjoying other blogs that are discussing the "Cable 8 along". It is tempting. Look here: http://www.poormissfinch.com She's on vacation, but is at least thinking about Cable 8 and has several links to other knitters that are in different stages with theirs. Including one total frog job...poor thing, the second try will be a charm. http://shysalamander.typepad.com/shy_salamander/2005/04/so_this_is_prog.html
Check it out and wish Rebecca luck!
And, Janet, cotton yarn and beads sound wonderful...but beads are quite a challenge. Still haven't made any progress on my beaded scarf.

Monday, April 11, 2005

Power Weekend (powerpoint, that is)

The weekend flew by. As usual. I was buried, up to my eyeballs working on my presentation that I have to give this afternoon. Still need to do some revision, but first things first: catch up on the blogs and projects in knit-blog land.
The more I look at Cable 8 (hosted by Poor Miss Finch), the more I like it! Having attended a cabling class recently, I am suppressing the "fear". www.poormissfinch.com (Please note: I will learn how to link soon!)
And Stephanie (famous author) talked about fear in her new book: something like it's ok to be afraid to try skydiving, but it's not ok to be afraid of a knitting project! Follow Stephanie's book tour here: http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/ and get the book! Try this link to Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-5605461-6332639
(note to Janet: do not buy this book) can you guess why?
Ok, like I said, I will get the link thing soon!
And one more. Look at this scarf! Is it beautiful or what?
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html
The scarf's creator resides here: http://ma2ut.blogspot.com/
I know this looks super confusing, but ONE link at a time. Anyway, I am tempted to bid on the scarf. It's for a great cause. Which reminds me that on Saturday at the guild meeting, one of the members showed her original scarf creation, being submitted to ? (I'm not sure!) for judging. It was a gorgeous original cable design in pink--in honor of breast cancer as well. Wonderful work!
Back to powerpoint land!



Saturday, April 09, 2005

My First Post

Welcome, friends and family! I finally did it! My blog template is set up and I can start. Woo-hoo! I am not sure that I have much to say that will be of great interest, but... Here goes!

I have been fascinated with the multitudes of interesting and provocative (in a good way) knitting blogs that I have viewed. Lots of knitting inspiration, advice, and encouragement. Most of the bloggers I have read are very experienced. As a newbie, some of this can be intimidating. So I intend to write about (at least in the beginning) my milestones as a knitter. And as a computer operator. I have not yet learned how to upload pictures to the site...Hoping for the best in a week or two. (When work issues diminish and time allows.)

Note: in Alaska, the daylight is expanding exponentially it seems! Last night as we exited the "movie theater" at (9:30 pm) it was still "light". Love it. And the snow piles are diminishing. Soon it will be time to "wash the car". (Which causes it to rain here, for those unfamiliar to Alaska.) Temperatures during the day are heading towards "50", but we have freezing still at
night.