Cattywampus

Stress & Rednecks

During our trip up to NY I experienced much stress, so there was much stress knitting.  I did finish Loppem, FO pics to come soon.   

I started Ishbel, by Ysolda and got through the stockinette part, I will start the lace part this weekend.

It's kind of blurry, oops.  But the color is true, it's Perchance to Knit, Harlot's Peacock colorway.  The base yarn feels like Zephyr Wool/Silk.  This stole is meant to be long and narrow so it can function easily as a scarf and that is what I am going for.  I think the mix of colors will go nicely with a lot of things.

We also experienced a lot of rednecks while sitting in the hospital waiting room, unintentionally eavesdropping on the people on the other side of the curtain, and while sitting in the hotel bar in the evenings.  WOW.  I could recount some stories, but that would be a tad bit rude, but I can just say WOW.  The rednecks!  

Okay, rudeness aside, I have to tell ONE story.  We were in the waiting room for about 45 minutes at one stretch and there was a family assembled with 3 infants, one newborn, one 2-3 months old, and one about a year.  I have no idea which children belong to which part of the family, but there was a man who seemed to be in charge of the 2-3 month old little girl and every time he spoke to her he called her 'sexy'.  There is something infinitely distressing.  BEYOND distressing.  To hear a grown man talking to a baby girl saying 'hey sexy, watchya doin' sexy, how's my sexy, sexy little girl...' etc etc etc.  OMG.  The other part of the family was in a bizarre crisis about the newborns' circumcision.  He was bleeding still and after calling the doctor and having the doctor tell them to go to the 24 hour clinic b/c the doctor didn't have any open appoints, they called someone else and concluded he would be fine, 'just put some gauze on it'.  OMG again.  Rednecks.  

Stress & rednecks.

I returned home to find my final SP13 package.

This was a wonderfully bright spot in pretty bad week.

There are chocolate covered pretzels, one of my absolute favs, a cute little notebook that says 'Beauty therapy is a must! What else can do so much for your hands, hair & head at the same time?!', some colored pens, a bag of pretty little beaded stitch markers, two skeins of cascade sassy stripes in fantastic color #713, and one skein of supersock in a blue Holiday colorway.  Very fun!  It was a very nice package to come home to.  Thank you Amy!  

Running up to Christmas

I finished the quilt top for our godson this week, I am hoping to have it quilted and finished to give to him at his christening in february. 

I have to say, this new typepad format makes it difficult to do word formatting, I can't seem to unbold this.  Very annoying, and causes more aggravation than it's worth to attempt to fix it.



I took these pics on a cloudy day, it is much prettier in real light.  Boo hiss on winter lighting issues.



I am in the midst of holiday parties, 4 at work, one in our building, of course multiple family visits and get togethers and so on.  I enjoy the preparation for the most part, I have made cookies and pies, chex mix and candies, wrapped presents and purchased all purpose work gifts for the Pollyanna, gotten wine for our parties and I still need to get paper plates and napkins and carry pies to work tomorrow.



I enjoy the get togethers of friends and family, but the work ones - oy vey.  I get so worn out trying to have meaningful conversation with people who I don't know and will not see again for a month or two, to make vapid conversation, have the same conversation over and over (and over) again.  I find this painful and trying.  As much as I enjoy the music and the spirit and the food and celebrating good times with friends, I find the parties that involve people I don't see very often quite trying.

It is in these moments, when I feel oh so incredibly anti-social and just want shut to myself in my house for 4 or 5 days straight, that I realize I am really and truly an introvert.  That and my sense of humor is more sarcastic than the general population, I am always checking myself so as not to accidentally offend, that takes energy too.

ANYWAY. 

I'm still typing in bold and I can't make it stop. 

My very first sock that I finished two years ago exactly had a hole in it!  ACK!!!  So I attempted to darn it.  I picked up the stitches on either side of the hole



And then I kitchenered it together and duplicate stitched over the rows directly above and below it.  And now it's not pretty, but there isn't a hole!  (for now)





Secret Pal Questions:

Part A:

Are you doing any holiday knitting? 

Yes, I am making my BFF a pair of socks.

Part B:

Have you finished?

Um...yeah...

But she knows they're going to be coming in between Christmas and NY, so it's all good.

And we're not going to talk about this stitch on the edge of the heel either.  I don't know why it's there, my stitch counts are right, I'm just going to sew it in and no one will be any the wiser.  (dont' tell my friend 'kay?)

Hey, the bold stopped!

Fun things

Lookie what came in the mail today!

My first package from my already fabulous secret pal!

This is a sock kit from Robyn's Nest, a fun online yarn shop in CA - so, my pal could be in canada...or she could be throwing me off the trail by sending me stuff FROM canada when she's really in Des Moines or somewhere equally not another country.  Mysteries abound!

This is Sweet Surrender Spark Sock Yarn in the Cotton Candy colorway.  This is a little bright for me, but I think it will make perfect socks for my 4 yo Goddaughter, just the right kind of colors for little girls!

There are also two sets of stitch markers, a size two needle, some candy (see that lollipop?  I haven't had one of those in YEARS.  I used to get them at the local small town store/post office when I was a kid for 10 cents each, I remember the jar and the way they smelled and everything, I hope they are as good as I remember!), some cute little erasers and a cd with two patterns on it. 

One of the patterns, sweet dreams socks, is a really lovely cable & lace sock pattern that I like a lot.  I definitely will use that in something soon.

Thank you Secret Pal, what a great package of goodies!! 

All noro, all the time.

I caved and went to the LYS and picked up another skein of noro kureyon 213 to finish dh's hat.  I am MUCH happier with it now.

So is he b/c now it covers his ears.  :-)

I finished my gloves.  This is what they looked like with one blocked and one not.  I dont' know if you can tell but the one on the left is actually a bit smaller than the other.  Going into the blocking I didn't know if this was because I had to switch to new needles b/c I broke a dpn or because they just loosened up that much in the soak.  These are the things that worry a knitter.

They are Iranian Gloves knitted fingertip down with double stranded kureyon sock.  Insane coloring.  I would definitely pick a calmer color scheme the next time, but I didn't clearly think it through and I do actually like the end result.  If you were to knit these I would recommend picking a sock yarn with a little elastic in it, these suckers are tight! 

I have yet to determine how practical they are, but they are snug and warm even if I can't really use a zipper! The smaller one stretched out some, but it is definitely a touch smaller than the other.  That's what I get for changing needles in the middle of a project...

I liked using the square needles, though I don't think I would use them again on something that was knit this tightly b/c they cut into my fingers when I was trying to manipulate the stitches.  I would like to try them on socks.  The finish scraped off the ends of them in a few places but I emailed their customer service and they said they will send me a replacement pair no questions asked, so I'm going to try again and hope for the best.

This weekend DH and I being a bit under the weather lead to lots of couch time and me finding buffy seasons 1&2 on hulu as well as some LOTR in the evenings, DH's sweater is progressing nicely, I finally joined the arms to the body and started working on the yoke.  It's all downhill from here!  No pictures yet, but soon.

Back to buffy briefly.  I was worried it would seem awful and cheesy at this point but, except for a few episodes where I couldn't help rolling my eyes, I'm enjoying it immensely! Hooray for good/bad series to watch ad nauseum in my free time!

Secret pal question:  Since we've just had Thanksgiving here in the US, I'm wondering what everyone is most thankful for this year. You don't have to be in the US or even celebrate Thanksgiving to answer. Just share with us! :-)

I am thankful for many things, not the least of which are my friends and family, health and sanity and all that good stuff, but this holiday season I find myself most thankful that we are living in the northeast, that we can see friends and family at our leisure, more often, and at greater length than when were further away and had to try to squeeze everything into a few short days once or twice a year.  And on top of that we get to spend some of the holidays at home in our own home enjoying each other's company, hanging with our pups, and working on things around the house and NOT going through security, flying, deplaning, renting cars, and sleeping on airmattresses for what seems like weeks on end.

SP 13 Questionairre

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I like working with alpaca, merino, and BFL as far as woolly types go, I also work with rayon, silk and cotton.  I'm not a fan of all polyester yarn but I'm not against blends.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

The handy new denise zipper pocket case I just got!  (see last post for details)

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I have been knitting for about 7 years.  I inherited my great grandmother's knitting needles so I picked up a book and just ran with it!  I would guess I'm somewhere in the middling to high intermediate range.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yes, you can find me on amazon by searching for my full name.

5. What's your favorite scent?

I'm allergic to a lot of things, but I like natural scents - citrus, cinnamon, that sort of thing.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Chocolate, chocolate, chocoate!  ooh, and chocolate covered pretzels, they rock.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I enjoy cooking and I also quilt.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I enjoy classic jazz as well as some more modern stuff, for current bands I like fountains of wayne - happy music.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I like reds, blues, purples, teals, and some greens.  I'm not at all a fan of oranges or yellows.  You can see my color leanings by checking out my stash page on ravelry.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I am married with two small, cuddly, adorable dogs.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear scarves, hats, mittens and shawls but definitely not ponchos!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I don't think I have a particular favorite, I get on kicks - lace shawls for a while, socks for a while, sweaters for a while, etc.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A pair of gloves, a fingering weight lace shawl, a sweater for me, a sweater for dh, a pair of socks, a lace scarf, a fair isle hat, and two lace shawls in hibernation...I think that's it.  Most of them are in my projects page on ravelry.

One done, two fingers done on the second.

Body done, sleeves halfway, soon I'll be to the joining round!

One repeat left, then the edging.

About halfway, I think.

Almost to the heel turn, about another inch.

That's most of them, I need to do a new photoshoot these are definitely outdated, but I figured it's better than no pics at all.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Of course!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I prefer circs, I have a harmony options set that I love and I use addi circs for socks with the magic loop method.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

A year and a month or two.
sigh - halfway done.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?

Christmas!

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Not really...sock yarn - does that count?

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I get interweave knits...I don't think there is anything I'm dying to get my hands on.  I am always interested in trying new yarns, needles & so on, but nothing on my mind right now.  Ooh, here's one - I adore Fleece Artist colorways and I've been craving after some of their Trail Sock yarn, but I really don't need any more sock yarn, so I haven't bought any.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Not right now, I just took a class in Bohus - that's enough to occupy me for a while!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I am a sock knitter, I wear a ladies 7, narrowish.

23. When is your birthday?

June 6.  Not in this swap!

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

Of course!  Cattywampus