On Track...Sort Of...

I've been working hard at the "52 Projects" goal. I've finished three things (yeah, yeah...I WILL do pictures soon) and have numbers 4 and 5 almost done. Actually, one of them is the Noro sweater I was working on during our death trip drive to Knoxville last month, and all I have to do is sew the side seams, take care of a few yarn ends, and steam the neckline a bit. Why, then, am I procrastinating so? I could have had this stupid sweater done a week and a half ago if I'd just gotten busy and blocked it. I finally did that, which of course was not nearly the pain-in-the-neck I'd expected it to be, so I should have zoomed right through the rest of it. Well, I did have to pick up and knit around the V-neck, but that was pretty mindless. It has taken me two days to sew in the sleeves, and I simply cannot force myself to pick up (hah--I originally typed "puke up") that needle and finish sewing the sides. I'd better come up with some sort of reward to spur myself on. Nothing is coming to mind. This is serious resistance. 
 
The other almost-done project is a Noro striped scarf. You know, the one made popular by Jared of brooklyn tweed. (BTW, I also want to make the Girasole and the Hemlock Ring off that website. He's a talented guy and I should totally stop reading his blog. New patterns I need like I need a root canal.) My scarf is turning out really well--I'm happy with the colors I chose, though I really cannot recall when or where I bought the yarn. I find that disturbing. Anyway, I do have a question. Why is it that when I have two balls of yarn in two completely different colorways that share, say, ohhhh, a yard or two of the roughly the same color, those two colors will ALWAYS end up being right next to each other in the stripe pattern?? Why why why???

I also finished a cross-stitch project. Now, technically, this "52 Project" group on Ravelry is for knitting, crocheting, and spinning. But I did ask the moderator if cross-stitch and needlepoint would be okay to include and she was fine with it. That's good because I have about 87 cross-stitch projects in plastic baggies waiting to be made. You think I'm kidding? (Note to self: take picture of vintage suitcase containing cross-stitch projects and post on blog. Or maybe not.)  This was another "procrastinated" project, and it was all because of one teeny fact that I had never grasped until now. If you are working a project that has "over one" stitches (meaning you work the 'x' over the intersection of two perpendicular threads instead of four, which also means that the said 'x' is extreeeemely tiny) you really, really should not use fabric that is of a higher thread count than 28 threads per inch. It's a major headache. Sooo, this project has an entire verse in "over one", and I did it on 32-count linen. AND I MADE A GLARING MISTAKE BECAUSE I CAN'T COUNT. So that had to be (carefully) pulled out and redone. Maybe that's why I can't finish the Noro sweater. I used up my motivation on that stupid blankety-blank cross-stitched verse. But it's done now, only five years after I started it, and since it's a "mourning" sampler in remembrance of a lost friend, I'm glad it's finished. Now I have to come up with the funds to frame it. Speaking of which...

...I've added an Amazon store widget at the bottom of the page. So just in case you're jonesing for a Kindle or several hundred a few books or CDs, well...you know...there's a convenient link right down there at the bottom. Look down there. See? It's right there, right at the bottom of the page. Just sayin'.

The family is fairly well. Mom struggles on, daughter-in-law is discovering the joys of early-pregnancy fatigue, and Rugrat's mother is discovering the joys of ER visits with the Rugrat. Apparently Rugrat fell off a slide at the McDonald's Playland while she was visiting with her father yesterday and knocked herself out. Daddy said when he got to her, he couldn't wake her up for about ten seconds or so. Off to the ER, but everything checked out fine, and she's on her usual tear through the house today, or so I've heard. Really, these things are harder on the parents (and grandparents) than they ever are on the kids. I still shudder over accidents my kids had that they don't even remember!

I'm doing my usual grousing at the hot weather. I've spent four days out of the last ten dealing with heat and/or exercise induced migraines, so I'm looking forward to October already. I really need to find another climate to live in. Is there anywhere in the world where it's October year-round? I'd even take October through March year-round if it could be had. Oh well. I stay inside with the AC on high and continue to work on the Projects. Three down, 49 to go. At least for this year.

Do I Get a Prize?

That would be for being the world's worst blogger. I'm always stunned to see how many days weeks have passed between blogs. It's not as if I'm doing nothing. I am still knitting and playing violin and doing housework. Ok, I'm not really doing housework. At least not regularly. Sometimes something comes over me and I have a momentary spasm of cleaning, but it passes quickly. I did clean the bathroom yesterday. But that cleaning urge is now but a faint memory, though I do feel a let's-move-the-computer-out-of-the-bedroom-and-into-the-freshly-painted-office-that-was-formerly-the-Rugrat's-room-where-it-belongs twitch. I hope it lasts until DH gets home, because it's not something I can do alone, and I do so look forward to having a bedroom that actually looks like a bedroom, not a computer room that also happens to house a king-size bed.

We have had some familial excitement around here the past month. My mother was taken ill on the trip home from vacation, and had to be hospitalized for a week in a town five hours away. It looked pretty serious at first, so my brother and his wife, my two kids, and I jumped in my son's mini-whatever-it-is (not a van, but not quite a car either) and headed down there to check in on her and Dad. Fortunately, she's home and recovering, but it was a bit iffy for a while. It would have been a great trip if it hadn't been for her illness. My family's way of dealing with stress and worry is to get stupid and silly and laugh at inappropriate times for totally inappropriate reasons. It's a good thing my sister-in-law is used to this, otherwise it would have been an extreeeeeeemely long trip for her. As it was, I think she was ready to disown us all. And we had to laugh hysterically to cover the fact that we were gripping the door handles in sheer terror as my son zoomed through the mountains of southern Kentucky/northern Tennessee during a raging storm. It was dark, but I know the view over Jellico, TN quite well, thankyouverymuch. I'm not sure if it would have been better if we had been able to see. The imagination tends to work a little overtime in such situations. And my son did NOT learn to drive that fast from me!

So Mom is home and doing as well as can be expected. Aaaaaand....I found out I'm going to be a Grandma, er, Mimi again!! My son's wife is expecting in January! How's that for excitement? It hasn't really sunk in yet, and I've only just begun to think about possible knitting projects. I do have plenty of yarn left over from the great cotton blanket I knitted for the Rugrat, so I guess she and her cousin-to-be will have matching blankets. I think I'm hoping it's a boy. But OK...I guess I can make do with another granddaughter. Heavy sigh. If I must.

We've had the Rugrat over to spend the night once since Missy's wedding. Pappy took her out to buy her a special sleeping bag, so she has her very own Disney princess "feeping bag" to use when she stays. Of course, she has to fall asleep in our bed first, and we have to be lying down with her, but well....what can you do? No, she's not spoiled. Hush.

In the knitting department, I've joined the "52 Projects in 52 Weeks" group on Ravelry that started June 1st, which kind of makes me giggle. I mean, really. A project done every week??? Me??? But maybe it will help me finish some things, and since that's what this blog is ALL about-- cough, cough --that's a good thing, isn't it? I figure I'll have to finish a lot of socks and scarves and such, and work on the big projects in between. I have a pair of socks that I need to finish by tomorrow so I can post them in the first week's tally, then I'll go back to the cabled sweater for a few days before I finish whipping out a scarf for the second week's tally. That, my friends, is the master plan. Discipline, however, is not my strong suit, so we'll see how it goes. It's a good thing I started that Noro sweater right before we took off on our trip to see Mom. I had something to work on when I wasn't clutching door handles, and since all I have to do is finish the second sleeve, block and sew it together, and knit on the neckband, I'm golden! See, sometimes it pays to start new projects when you shouldn't, right?

I think I'll go clean off the computer desk before hubby gets home. I stand a much better chance of getting the darn thing out of the bedroom today if the printer, monitor, and keyboard are "temporarily" housed on his side of the bed. I don't think he'd like sleeping in the Disney princess "feeping bag."

Nuthin' But the Knittin'

Since I've strayed so widely from the whole point of this blog, I decided that today's installment will be about The Projects.

First, the biggie:

What you see here are the sleeves, back, and one front half. I still haven't decided how long to make this, but since my hands are killing me, the short (hip-length) version is getting more likely all the time. I really wanted this to be almost knee-length, but I don't think I can do it.

Here's a close-up of the cables and how terrific this yarn (wool/mohair blend from Brown Sheep) makes them look:

For those mindless TV-watching moments, I give you the Sock Yarn Blankie:

This was originally done by Shelly Kang, and the info is on her blog. After doing Summer of Socks '08, I had lots of little bits of sock yarn left over, so what else could I do but start my very own blankie?? There's a great group on Ravelry that does yarn swaps, so we trade all over the country for everyone else's leftovers. We even have swaps with new yarn, which has been great because I've gotten to fondle yarns from lots of indie dyers. Another nice thing about this project is that I'm in no rush to finish it. It will take a lot of little bits of yarn to make a good-sized blanket, and as time passes I'll get to add new, fresh yarns and colors. It's nice to be working on a project and feel no pressure to get it finished.

Of course, would I ever not be knitting socks?Click on the picture to make it bigger so you can get a better idea of the colors and textures:

The yarn on the left is from Creatively Dyed Yarns. It's Calypso yarn in the color Barbuda. She has an overabundance of fabulous colors, and this photo does not do it justice. I've also read that her yarn base is the same as the elusive Wollmeise yarn, so I wanted to try it. It's very different from "normal" sock yarn. It feels almost like cotton, and is made up of about eight verrrry fine plies. That makes it a little splitty to work with, but the knitted fabric feels wonderful.

On the right is Numma Numma Toasty in Blackberry Jam. My skein is much darker than the website shows, and again, the picture doesn't do it justice. It's the most mouthwatering color I've ever used, and the yarn is soft, squishy, and a total delight to work with. It's my new favorite yarn. Unfortunately, it's hard to get hold of, but I happened to snag some at The Loopy Ewe a couple of months back.

Speaking of socks, I won a contest! I get to pick out a skein of Mathieu's manly hand-dyed yarn. How cool is that? I mean, I'd hate to run out of sock yarn!

So that's what's going on here, besides the Great Sewing/Stash/Weaving/Knitting/Quilting Room(s) Clean-Up. I hope to have pictures that show clean and organized rooms soon.

It was a beautiful day today, so I planted some yellow violas around Emmy-cat's little gravesite. I still can't quite believe she's gone, but I'm getting used to it. That makes me sad too.

My Final Caturday

This will be my last Caturday post--not that I did many of them, but I have put a few pics of my little Emmy-cat up. Thursday I had to have her put to sleep. I've had lots of kind comments on Plurk and Ravelry--so many people know what it's like to lose a pet, and they've all been comforting.

It was the right decision, given her age (14) and health issues, and I was really expecting to have to do it when I took her to the vet. But it was harder than I could have possibly imagined. Part of me wishes I'd brought her home for another day or two, but part of me wonders if that would have been worse. At any rate, she's not suffering, and she was a good kitty. Ok, she wasn't always a good kitty, but she was my baby, and it hurts to lose her. I keep expecting to hear her little chirps and mews as I go through my day, but it's awfully quiet around here.

We won't be getting another cat. DH never was crazy about having cats, and my brother is so allergic that he can't come and visit. So yesterday I did what felt like burning a bridge--I threw out the litter box.

Here's a picture of her final resting place under my lilac bush. I put down some pink poppy seeds, and I plan to get some Johnny Jump-ups and transplant a Bleeding Heart. I'll mulch it and this fall I'll put in some little bulbs and make it a nice little garden spot.

It's very odd to be a knitter without a cat. My lap feels empty. So does a little place in my heart.

I've Almost Recovered

The wedding went off beautifully. Not perfectly, which I knew already, but beautifully anyway. Here are a couple of pictures of the lovely-though-ill bride. I'll wait while you ooh and ahh.

Done? She cleans up nice, doesn't she? I can finally post a link to the dress page so you can see it in more detail. She really was stunning, and her waist looked like it was about eight inches around. Fabulous!! Poor baby, she was really sick, and only a big slug (or two) of DayQuil got her through. Once the dancing started, though, she seemed to forget all her troubles! She nearly killed me on the dance floor. I'm sure there's a picture of that little incident somewhere...

As soon as my son gets the rest of the photos uploaded and fixed to his liking, I'll have a few more. I figure I'm obligated to show one of me, so I'm hoping there's one in which I don't look totally frazzled and exhausted (or lying sprawled on the dance floor.) And I hope there is at least one of Rugrat taken before her ringlets drooped!

We had tons of desserts left over, so I was begging people to take things home as we were cleaning up. And we had about a hundred twenty five pounds of cake left over too. It was delicious, but the cakes were the only real issue we had with the entire event. We were so excited about the groom's cake, because we ordered a carrot cake because the Fiance/Groom loves it so much. We were specific about the decorations--tiny carrots with a little piped vine, a few forget-me-nots to match the flowers on the topper, and the sides were to be decorated to match the main cake. Here's what we got:

I can laugh (sort of) now, but when we walked in and saw that, we were speechless. I really wanted to cry, and my mantra did not help a bit at that moment. Missy just looked at it and then staggered off to the dressing area (probably for another shot of DayQuil) and I tried to deal with the hideousness of it all. There was nothing to be done but to scrape the orange "poop" blobs out of the center so we could put the topper on. You can see a little bit of orange still there at the base of the topper, but the friend who was serving the cake took a little frosting off the back and covered it as best she could. We were soooo disappointed, because we wanted that cake to be sooper-special for The Groom, and I was actually embarrassed to show it to him. Here's the kicker: when we were ordering the cake, she had one like this in the display case. I said, "Now, our cake is NOT going to look like that, is it?" and was reassured that no, it would have tiny carrots, vines, etc. and space open in the center for the topper. Epic Fail.

This was the main cake:

This was closer to what we had ordered, but you can see some problems with it. Besides the gap between the tiers and the cockeyed swags, the color was wrong, and there were supposed to be swags of roses on the top tier--even more roses than on the bottom. Like I said, we told the baker all this, and she carefully wrote it down and drew diagrams, and even had the picture from the Martha Stewart wedding cake book to refer to. I don't think her decorator read those notes very well!

But it tasted wonderful, and it ended as well as could be hoped. When I returned the cake plates, I told the baker that we were not happy with the cakes, showed her the pictures, and said that I really hated to complain and had been putting off the trip to the shop because I just did not want to have the conversation. We talked a bit, she apologized (what else could she do after seeing that groom's cake???) and said she appreciated that I was being nice and polite, while expressing my disappointment. She ended up refunding all but about $100 of the cost of the cakes before I even could ask her for a refund, so that was very cool and upstanding of her. (I'd like to have heard the conversation she had with her decorator!!)

So now we're settling back to normal life, whatever that is. I'm swiftly reclaiming Missy's room for my sewing area, and have already moved in the fabric shelves, my portable cutting table, and my sewing machine. The next step is to get the window AC unit in, because it's already getting too hot to work up here. I got DH busy with painting one of the downstairs bedrooms which is now the office because I'm working from home. Once that's done, I can move my office stuff out of the sunroom, and then the sunroom can be reorganized into my sitting room and music room. It also needs to be painted, but I haven't dropped that little tidbit on DH. Next is the kitchen, then the bedroom, and then...maybe the bathroom, but we'll have to wait and see.

I have been knitting. I got quite a bit done on my Jo Sharp cardigan. I've finished the sleeves, and I've gone as far as I can on the back, and I've started one of the front panels. The fronts have to be finished, then the back finished to the same length, so the back is on a holder for right now. The original plan was for this cardigan to be somewhere between mid-thigh and knee length, but I'm not sure if that will happen. It really hurts my hands to work on this, and I am nervous about whether I'd have enough yarn to make it that length. The pattern shows it as hip-length, so I estimated the extra amount I'd need, but I worry about getting through the whole sweater and coming up short when it's time for the shawl collar. I think I'll make the fronts to the point of decreasing for the neckline, then make my final decision based on how much yarn I have left. Here are some older pictures of the sleeves, but I'll take some of recent progress when I get a moment.

You can see how much cabling there is in this pattern, and it's turning out beautifully. The color in the top picture is pretty accurate--a lovely silver-gray. I think I've put these pictures on the blog before, so sorry for the recycling!

I also have my usual sock project going, and the sock blankie as well. Now that I have the space again to work on quilts, I may get back to the one I was making for my bedroom. I haven't decided yet. I have so many UFOs that it's hard to decide which one takes priority, and now that I've been sorting and moving things in my sewing rooms, I'm rediscovering things I'd forgotten about. I did not need that!

The Final Countdown

It's the final few days before the wedding, and I'm not sure that I can do anything that needs to be done until Thursday and Friday. I need to make cookies, but it's too soon. I need to get my hair cut, so that will happen tomorrow. I need to get DH's clothes ready, but he has to go buy a new shirt and tie--so all I can do is nag and get his black suit to the cleaner's no later than tomorrow. I need to clean...no, I don't need to do that. No point. I need to iron my dress, but we're borrowing a friend's steamer, so I have to wait until we get that. I need to make Rugrat a slip to wear with her dress, but Missy hasn't bought a little tank top yet, so I have to wait for that.

In short, by Wednesday I'll be starting to get wound up, and Thursday and Friday will be insane.

Good news: the MOB dress now fits, due to dieting and a nifty waist cincher that hides the back fat but still allows me to breathe and move.

Bad news: I still have not gotten a check, so I have no more money. I can pay some bills this week, but I'll have to put some wedding stuff on a credit card, which REALLY ticks me off, as I had plenty of money set aside for the wedding that ended up being used for bills.

Good news: today is baseball's Opening Day. (OK, technically they made last night Opening Day, but it's not really Opening Day until the Cincinnati Reds have the parade and throw out the first pitch. I don't care what the baseball Powers That Be say, it ain't Opening Day until the Reds SAY it's Opening Day.)

Bad news: the Reds probably don't have a snowball's chance of making it to post-season play. But we're used to that now, so maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised this year.

And my mantra for the week: "They will still be married." As in:

• If we don't have enough styrofoam coffee cups, they will still be married.
• If we don't get the decorations perfect, they will still be married.
  
• If Rugrat doesn't walk down the aisle like we hope she will, they will still be married.
• If we run short on food or people think the food is crappy, they will still be married.
• If this giant zit on my chin doesn't go away and looks like a stoplight in the pictures, they will still be married.
  

It's a rather comforting mantra. I plan to repeat it often.

Hey, It's Only Been a Month!

So I'm not setting the world afire with my blog. Meh.

That pretty much describes my mental outlook these days. A lot of things are combining to make me feel like my head is going to go all 'splodey, so I'm only doing the bare minimum to keep going.

I'm now working from home, which is a good thing. But because the parent company is having a cash-flow issue because of some things that happened last year, I haven't been getting paid regularly. Which is a bad thing. I know things are looking up, and I'm sure the money will start coming in soon, but in the meantime there's a tiny person running around in the back of my brain screaming, "OMG, we have no money and we have all these bills and the wedding and I need new glasses and what if I don't get paid and what if they raise the interest on the credit cards and should I make an appointment with the endodontist or just start flossing regularly and geez I haven't had a mammogram for five years so I really should do that and how am I going to get this weight off before the wedding and I just got an invitation to the 30-year class reunion which means I'm really old and OMG we have no money and we have all these bills OMG OMG OMG!!!!"

Which is why I've been sleeping a lot.

In knitting news, because of the maniac running around in my brain, I'm doing simple things like the Sock Blankie. I'm part of a group on Ravelry, and we trade sock yarn bits for our mitered-square blankies, and that's what I've been doing. I'm expecting three packages in the next couple of weeks. It's always fun to see what surprises you get from the trades. I'm not picky about my blankie--I'll put just about any kind of sock yarn in it, except Tofutsies (and I might even use that if I double it.) I'll put up a picture sometime soon, I promise.

The Fiance has moved into an apartment here in town, so we've been back and forth, taking boxes over and putting things away. We can actually see the southwest corner of our basement now. Missy has a lot of household stuff from her first marriage, like pots and pans and dishes, and those were all packed away in our basement. We're looking forward to clearing out some of the things stored in the garage once it warms up.

To tell the truth, because of the wedding planning and all the moving about of stuff in my house, I feel like my life is on hold right now. I'm not cleaning much, because I figure that once she and the baby are moved out, I can do a major clean-up which will include painting and possible re-flooring in a couple of rooms. (I haven't shared this plan with the husband yet, so it's kinda iffy.) AND I can re-claim and rearrange my sewing/weaving/knitting rooms! I'm so looking forward to that. But it's going to be tough when those two leave us. I'm glad they'll be living close by!

No pictures this time. It's more than my tiny little brain can handle. Give me a month or so and I'll get going again. I'm coming up on my first Blogiversary on the 14th, so I'd like to do a little contest, but I think it will have to be postponed. Everything is on hold until this wedding is over. Then maybe we'll return to what passes for normal around here!

Score of the Century!

I decided to take a day just for myself. I wanted to go to the half-price bookstore to pick up a book on writing and anything else that might catch my eye. Something always catches my eye in the half-price bookstore, so I had high hopes for an extremely pleasant morning/afternoon (depending on how long I browsed and whether I felt the need to hit a yarn shop while I was at it.)

Boy, did something catch my eye. I stood and stared in disbelief, while my mouth opened and closed like a trout snapping at a fly. Ready? Check it out:

Yes, it's the infamous "Tudor Roses" knitting book by Alice Starmore (who may be a mythical creature instead of an actual flesh-and-blood designer.) For those of you who are not knitters, and know nothing of the legendary status of this book, check out this link. I'll wait here. What was that? Used copies selling for anywhere from $175 to $292??? Look closer at the picture below. See the little price tag? It's hard to read, but, yes...it does say $9.98.



Now you understand the hyperventilating trout imitation I was doing in the store. I managed to contain myself after the first audible gasp, but believe me, it was tough. I clutched it in my sweaty hand and didn't put it down until I checked out. I think I would have let someone snatch my purse before I would have given up the book! I couldn't resist telling the clerk about how much this book was commanding on Amazon.com (after I paid for it.) What makes me wonder is that the original owner's name and phone number are inside the book. Many of the other knitting and quilting books I looked through had the same name, so I don't know if someone was just clearing out her stash and had no idea what she had, or if perhaps the lady had passed away and her family disposed of her hobby books this way (a fate I expect most of my fabric, yarn, and books to have.) If I were a ridiculously nice, self-sacrificing person, I'd call the phone number and ask if she wants it back (if she's still among us.) Hmmmmm....I'm not that nice.

Whatever the case, I can't believe that I found this book. I haven't had a chance to look at it, so I plan to make myself a nice hot cup of tea and savor the reading of it. Wouldn't it be ironic if I don't like a thing in it?