What's That Smell?

Last night, Paul came home, stood in the kitchen, and asked, "What does it smell like in here?"

"Fresh air?" I asked.

He continued to pull his nose up and sniff around. "Really...what's it smell like in here? Were you burning candles or something?"

"No, really. It's fresh air. I opened the slider this afternoon."

It really was fresh air that Paul was smelling -- that scent that, after the cold, closed-in winter months, is so unfamiliar. But yesterday was gorgeous. The sun was shining. It was over 70. The Shrieking Neighbor Kids were running around in shorts. It's spring! Yea!

To further prove the point, our first daffodil started opening up yesterday. The buds on the trees are opening up, too. And my allergies are starting to act up, but I don't even care.

Spring! Wheeeeeeeee!

I'm hoping that we'll be able to get outside a bit this weekend and soak in some sun -- so I'll stop looking like death.

But now...on to the knitting news.

On Wednesday, I finished my aunt's clutch:



Now I just need to felt it and ship it off to Florida. (And, in case you're wondering, I did this one in Wool of the Andes -- two skeins of Hollyberry and two skeins of Coal.

Yesterday was coffee day. Since we had our dyeing party two weeks ago, this was our first coffee day in four weeks. And I've pretty much been tied to my desk (okay...or my *other* desk at the coffee shop) ever since -- so it was nice to get out for a while. Julie brought her little one (who also brought her knitting) because she was on spring break this week -- but she didn't last long without getting bored. I can't blame her, really -- who wants to spend quality spring break time hanging out with a bunch of knitting ladies? So they didn't stick around long. After that, it was just me and Chandra. She's working on an adorable short-sleeve cardi for her MIL -- the same one that the Sock Princess is making. And I'm jealous. I really do think I need one for myself.

Meanwhile, I started up another baby sweater. This one is out of Simply Soft -- in blue, with purple edging. I figure I can do the next one in purple with blue edging. That way, if any of my friends decide to have twins, I'll be all set. (Please, no one have twins, okay?)

Of course, I was so busy yapping with Chandra about pregnant friends that I wasn't paying attention -- and I ended up knitting about five rows too many. So I had to take it all out again. Grrr...! I did, however, get a little caught up last night. I took a picture, too, but Blogger has decided that you don't really want to see it. So never mind.

I noticed that Hobby Lobby has all of their baby yarn on sale this week. Really. And I am trying *so hard* not to go. It's using all the willpower I have. But I have a feeling that I may end up there before the sale ends tomorrow. I'm just not that strong -- and I have a lot of pregnant friends.

One Row at a Time...

Last night, I had a few moments of quiet -- while I was doing a load of laundry, between the time that Paul went to bed, in preparation for his 6 a.m. meeting this morning, and the time when I turned on 8th and Ocean (I know...I can't help it -- my brother used to be an Irene Marie model, and the show just cracks me up). That gave me enough time to knit six whole rows on my shawl. Okay. I didn't finish six whole rows in that time. Actually, I had to carefully knit a couple more rows during commercial breaks, too. But I did, in fact, finish six more rows of my shawl last night. At this rate, I should have no problem being done in time for my little brother-in-law's wedding (which is wide open, since he's 21, and he's not dating anyone right now). My sister-in-law's wedding in June, however, is another story.

I will, however, most likely have several really cute felted bags in various color combinations by then...

Also last night, I stopped by the mailbox and got my new KnitPicks catalog. Since then, I've flipped through it three or four times. And by the time I get the next one, this one will be falling apart. I just love looking through the KnitPicks catalog. It makes me happy.

In other news, I officially live in the noisiest neighborhood on the planet. If it's not the neighbor kids (the ones that I can hear shrieking all the way down the street when they get off the bus), or the Noisy Neighbor with the Hearse and his Equally Noisy Son yelling at each other, or some other neighborhood vehicle (none of which appear to have mufflers, for some reason), it's something else. Today, the people two doors down are having what sounds like every tree in their yard cut down and turned into woodchips.

When we moved here, we had no idea that, on top of the mortgage bills, I'd have to spend an additional $400 a week at Starbucks just to be able to get some work done in peace...

ADD

First of all, thanks for all of your comments on the booties. I hope they'll serve the little guy well.

To answer Emily's question, the yarn was Bernat Camouflage. It's your standard cheap acrylic, though I've gotten a lot of use out of it over the years. A couple of years ago, I knit my nephew a camo hat for Christmas. The next year, I had to make them for all of my cousins' kids. They were such cute hats -- and the yarn pooled in a diamond pattern, which made them even cooler.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm suffering from a case of Knitting ADD. I picked up Adamas for a while this weekend -- but not for long. I found myself constantly going back and re-counting everything (because the TV kept distracting me, darnit, and I couldn't keep track of both my stitches and Susan's fight with Doctor Ron), so I gave up and started the clutch that my aunt had requested. It's such a quick project that I'm almost finished already. And then maybe I'll start a sweater...

Come to think of it, it's a really good thing that I started that shawl more than two months before my SIL's wedding. I may need all the time I can get.

Yesterday's knitting adventure with the kids was almost mellow, if that's possible. Okay...maybe not mellow -- but at least it didn't drive me straight home to my liquor cabinet, so that's not bad. Miss H sent me a mysterious email on Sunday night, telling me that she wouldn't be able to make it, for reasons that she'd explain later -- and I must say, it was strange without her.

Little Taz, however, kept forgetting that Miss H wasn't going to be there, and she kept asking me, "When's Miss H going to get here?" Of course, she also asked, "When's Miss S going to get here?" -- when Miss S was sitting on the couch next to me...

I spent the early part of our session attempting to untangle Taz's ball of yarn. Last week, she'd been incapable of sitting, and as she wandered around the store with her knitting, she dragged her ball of yarn behind her (which, FYI, is not advisable). And, me being The Teacher and all, it's apparently my responsibility to fix things like that. So I did. But I let her know that if she got ants in her pants (a phrase that I would never actually use in front of the girls -- because I'd never hear the end of it) again, next time she'd be on her own. And Miss S decreed that from now on, if Taz must wander through the store, she is to keep her yarn in her bag. So be it.

Taz's bag, however, is coming along quite nicely. I've found that she knits much like she acts -- somewhat wild and out of control -- so felting is good for her. When it felts, all of the holes and inconsistencies will just disappear. For the first time this week, she could also tell that her knitted thing was going to be a bag. The sides of the bag are finally shaping up -- which had her shrieking "IT'S GROWING! IT'S GROWING!" about every five minutes.

Meanwhile, Miss S was working away on a gorgeous scarf for one of her teddy bears. She's quite a perfectionist, so her knitting is tight and even (which, I'll admit, is a lot like mine). In planning her next project, she's not sure whether to make a small rug for her Barbies or something with big yarn and big needles. I was relieved to hear that she's planning projects that she can easily do -- instead of some girls (not to name names or anything) who demand to do big projects that are a little bit out of their league -- and who then spend the next several weeks asking, "Am I done yet? ...How about now? ...How much more do I have to do? ...Can I just start something else?"

We were also joined this week by Miss M the Elder, who came a few weeks ago to learn with her little sister (Miss M the Younger). Miss M is fresh off spring break, during which she spent the week knitting with her grandma (who, I'm sure, is so very proud of her).

This week was also the store's monthly potluck, which meant that I got to hang out with the gang for a while before heading home. It's always great to be able to chat with the ladies -- even if it's only for a while. Many of them even got the privilege to meet Taz (AKA Miss A) in person. And, as if to prove the point that I've been making in my blog for all these weeks, upon introducing herself, she lifted up her bag and declared, "IT'S GROWING! IT'S GROWING!"

I rest my case.

Time Off...

After Thursday's lace disaster, I took a little time away from my shawl to work on these:



Friends of ours from Massachusetts are due any time now. Unfortunately, the daddy-to-be is in the military, and he was deployed a couple of months ago. They're having a boy, so I thought little camo booties would be fun.

The pattern was one I found in Simply Knitting magazine a while back, and I thought it would be perfect. It was such a quick knit -- I finished 1 1/2 while watching a movie on Friday night. This is definitely a pattern that I'll be using again. In fact, I'm sure all my pregnant friends will be getting them in various colors.

On Saturday, I needed to pick up a few little things at Hobby Lobby, so I ran out for a bit. I was stopped by the giant rack of $1 clearance books right by the door -- I got a couple of books that I'd been eyeing for ages but didn't want to spend the money. Then I made it back to the yarn. I was just studying some new self-striping baby yarn when a cart came around the corner -- and pushing it was the Sock Princess. We spent a while perusing the yarn and catching up on our latest projects (she did two baby sweaters and a pair of socks in the last week!). And we picked out some really cute yarn for her new summer cardi -- which is going to be so cute that I may just go back and buy the yarn for a matching one. Then, after paying for our purchases, we decided to walk over to Starbucks for coffee.

I was so shocked to run into SP -- because in the 16 months that I've lived in Ohio, I've never just run into someone I knew in a store. Then again, how shocking is it that two yarn addicts would run into each other in the yarn aisle of Hobby Lobby?

So now I've decided that it's safe to go back to my lace. I did a couple of rows already this afternoon -- without incident -- and I think I'll pull it out again tonight. Of course, it could be dangerous to mix lace knitting and Desperate Housewives -- so I might want to have another project waiting in the wings...just in case.

Brain Strain

You know those days when you just think too hard, and it takes every last bit of energy out of you, and you just want to go to bed at 6? Yesterday was one of those days. I spent the entire day researching and starting to formulate a marketing plan. One would think that wouldn't be a big deal for me, since I spent several years working in advertising, researching and formulating marketing plans because my managers were too busy sitting in meetings. (Oh, so ironic, since I was a young college grad with an English major and they had MBAs.) But those marketing plans were (I can say now, since no one can fire me for saying so) total BS, meant to drain the client's budget and make the company enough money to pay the managers to sit in meetings all day and sip expensive coffee. I tried to argue a few times, but it always went like this:

Me: "But, Unholy Boss, a radio campaign won't do the client any good. It won't reach their target market."

UB: "Who cares? Just put it in there."

But now, years after I sold my soul to advertising and have gradually slaved to get it back, marketing is different. I can't blow a big budget because I don't have one. And I actually have to write the checks to pay for it. So I have to be careful and pinch pennies and things.

And that makes my head hurt.

So...after a long day of making my head hurt, I did the stupidest thing I could do. I picked up my lace shawl. I knew it was stupid. I knew I should have worked on a dishcloth or something. But no. I'm much too stubborn. When something gets in my head, I will do it -- even if it makes my brain scream out in agony. Even if it means making endless mistakes and occasionally swearing at the TV for distracting me. I will master the charted lace!

So I finally came to the end of my pattern repeat, and I found it to be...one stitch short. ONE STITCH! And for that tiny little yarn-over, I had to go back and take out two whole rows of SSKs and K2Togs and SK2TogPssos. But I did it. And I didn't even cry -- though, I'll admit it, I was tired, and I came pretty close.

And now I've learned my lesson. I will stop being so stubborn. If my brain is about to explode, I will not force it to read lace charts. I will work on something ridiculously simple, to allow my brain some recovery time.

Because my brain still hurts today. And, to make matters worse, Noisy Neighbor with the Hearse has invited his Noisy Son (who, incidentally, also has a big, noisy truck) over to do some landscaping. There's a lot of yelling and a lot of noisy equipment. And now I think I shall be spending the rest of the day in my other office -- the coffee shop.

BTW -- have you seen Jeanne's blog today? I made her Blog Scavenger Hunt! Sweet! Thanks, Jeanne -- I hope your Adamas is causing you less headaches than mine!

Project Spectrum Galore!

Finally...a few pictures of Project Spectrum Goodness:

First is my Girly-Girl Scarf. It's so pink and ruffley, don't you think? And I love it. I wish it were a little longer, but I only had 200 yards of my hand-dyed yarn. Still, it's a cute little scarf -- and it's long enough to spruce up my jacket (or maybe it'll go to my favorite little girly-girl, my niece, Kaari).

So last night, I decided to start my Fabulous Wedding Shawl. I sat on the couch for the longest time, trying to decide whether to do the Flower Basket or the Adamas. I had a bunch of pros and cons for each, and I had the hardest time committing (as I usually do in situations like these). But I went with the Adamas. After all, everybody's doing it (like Jeanne). So now I'm doing it, too. In gorgeous red silk, which I absolutely love.

I ended up staying home from Paul's hockey game last night so I could work. And after I worked until I fried my brain, I sat back down to work on the shawl. Then I ripped it out. And I started again. So here I am now:



I know -- there's no lifeline. I figured I could go without for the first 25 rows or so -- but it's going in now. Knitting lace is scary enough...

Cute Kid Story of the Day

I talked to my mom today, who just *had* to fill me in on the latest story from my four-year-old niece, Kaari.

Every Tuesday, Mom babysits for Kaari and her big brother, Nathan. During the day, when it's just Mom and Kaari, they often stop by their favorite haunts (like the dollar store or the thrift shops...or the bakery). This week, they were in one particular thrift shop, where Kaari came across a little ball of yarn. ("Really, it was just the ugliest ball of yarn," Mom told me.) Seeing it, Kaari's eyes lit up.

"We could get this for Auntie!" she told my mom. "We can give it to her for her birthday!"

So, of course, Mom bought the yarn. She swears it's hideous -- about a tennis-ball-sized ball of rose-pinkish wool. But she just had to get it because Kaari wanted to buy it for me.

I don't care how ugly it is. I love it already. And maybe I'll save my special ball of yarn for when I teach Kaari to knit.

Spring?

Well, I guess I don't have to stop thinking about scarves and wool sweaters quite yet. It may be the second day of spring, but it's snowing.

I do, however, need to start thinking about a lace shawl -- because I have a giant ball of red silk just waiting for the needles. Paul helped me finish winding it last night, and now I have this:



I measured it, and I happen to recall a 17-inch circumference. That's a heck of a lot of silk. I'm still debating which pattern to use for this one, but I'm currently leaning toward the Flower Basket.

I was hoping to finish the scarf yesterday, but:

1) I obviously had more yarn left than I thought
2) I spent a heck of a lot of time winding that giant ball of silk
3) I mostly just felt like curling up in a ball and sleeping after I got back from the store

It was another crazy day with the kids. I say "kids" instead of "girls" because we had a boy join us this week. Miss H brought her friends -- and her friend, Mr. N stayed to crochet. Seriously. He promised to come back again next week, and I'm so glad. I really like him. In fact, Miss H's friends were a lot of fun -- and since I tend to have a big-sister-like (because I refuse to say "maternal") concern for Miss H, I was very pleased to discover that they all seem to be great kids, just like she is.

Miss S was there this week, too. She started a scarf for her teddy bear in a really cool yarn, which was left over from one of her mom's recent projects.

Miss S told me that the sweater pattern I bought will look bad in orange. I replied with a very polite, "Forget you." She just looked at me and said, "Well, it will." Too bad I already bought the yarn. I will make the sweater, and I will like it, thank you very much.

We were also once again joined by little Taz, or The Knitter Formerly Known as Miss A. Little Taz had a bad day. First, she was angry because she'd been knitting on the wrong side of her bag, so I made her take it *all* out (less than a round), and I didn't do it for her. She was also angry because I once again hid the candy, despite the fact that she *needed* it. She was also angry when she found out that two rounds of knitting does not a felted bag make. She spent the entire two hours telling me that she wanted to start another project, and I spent the entire two hours telling her that she needs to finish her bag first. Then she bought more yarn (for three projects that I won't let her start -- because I'm mean). Fortunately, I was able to talk her out of buying fingering weight yarn for a doll blanket, which she would have worked on (with #3 needles) for approximately 2 minutes before getting angry and telling me to finish it for her (which she also tried to do yesterday with her bag). Finally, she walked up to me as I was chatting with the lovely Barb (mom of Miss S) and told me, "I don't want to make a bag anymore." I told her to go sit down -- which, I have to tell you, was a lot nicer than what I wanted to say at that point.

The Sock Princess also stopped in to show off her collection of newly-dyed yarns. Ever since the Dyeing Extravaganza, she's been dyeing up a storm. She had her arms full of newly-dyed yarn. She's going to have some seriously cool socks very soon. (And it really made me want to dye more. After all, I have a whole cube of yarn just waiting to be dyed. I think I could do just a little more...)

After an interesting conversation about gerbils, during which poor SP couldn't get out more than four words at a time without Taz inserting her own lengthy story about gerbils, SP decided that it was time to go home and feed her dogs. She left with some yarn and a pattern for a baby sweater. As she walked out, she smiled and told me to "have fun."

And at that moment I really, truly wished that I had dogs to feed.

And they wonder why I get there early to hide the candy jar...

Manic Monday

It's days like these when I find myself singing the Bangles' song in my head. Unfortunately, it doesn't help. It just makes me that much crazier. But this is what happens when I decide to take a little time off to knit and watch movies and generally chill out -- I only end up even more stressed out when I get back to my desk.

I got a ton of knitting time in this weekend. I finished the Anthropologie Capelet (pictures coming soon...). It's a gorgeous bulky alpaca. In blue. I'm in a serious blue rut, and I've decided that I'm not allowed to buy -- or dye -- blue for a while. But the capelet is really cool. If only the weather would get a little warmer so I can wear it... I also started a horrible pair of baby booties that I'm pretty sure I won't finish. They required all kinds of little pieces that need to be somehow put together. It takes too much thought. Not worth it.

I finally snapped a picture of my finished hanks from Thursday's Dyeing Extravaganza. I was hoping to include my beautiful cherry-red lace weight silk in the picture, but alas, it's still half in a ball, half in a tangled mess, hanging on the swift. So, for now, here are the other four:



From left to right: 200 yards of Project Spectrum yarn in Bubble Gum and Hot Pink, 200 yards of wool that I over-dyed in Cobalt and Bright Green, 200 yards of wool in Bright Orange and Lemon Yellow, and 880 yards of merino lace weight (from KnitPicks) in Robin's Egg Blue (which is more of a minty green).

Paul's flight came in at 4:30 on Saturday. By then, we were both pretty beat -- so we sat around watching all the TV shows he'd missed all week, and then we crashed. Yesterday was more of the same. I bought a bunch of DVDs while he was gone (which just goes to show that I really shouldn't be left unsupervised), so we spent the day doing laundry and watching movies. Lots of movies = lots of knitting.

Yesterday I started my Project Spectrum project. Well, I guess I can't say that I started it yesterday, since I've been planning it for a while now -- and I dyed the yarn on Thursday. But I started the knitting. It's an experimental scarf that I started and frogged about five times yesterday before ending up with something I like. Not only is it fun, but it's quick -- I should be able to finish tonight during The Apprentice.

I have to say that Project Spectrum is really doing its job of broadening my color horizons. This month, I've just *noticed* pinks and reds more often. I wear more pinks and reds. I buy more pinks and reds. I even dyed my silk red -- without even thinking twice about it. So kudos to Lolly. Thanks for encouraging me to give other colors a chance...

Now it's back to the insanity. I've only got a little over an hour before I have to run out to the library on my way to knit with the girlies -- and I've got about three hours' worth of work to do... Can I pull it off? Doubtful. Will I try anyway? You betcha!

Dyeing Extravaganza

Last night was, in a word, insane. The Sock Princess showed up at about 5:20, and we got our pizza order in and started going through our yarn and our color samples. Julie showed up shortly thereafter, and we got right to work. The next several hours are mostly a blur of color. Fortunately, I took a few pictures so I'd remember it all. Here are a few pictures of SP showing the dyeing process:

First she picks out her colors:



Then she carefully and oh-so-artistically paints her yarn:



And what do you get? Psychedelic Sock Yarn!



We did a ton of dyeing. Julie did four hanks of pink cotton and two hanks of cobalt cotton/rayon. She also did a hank of fingering weight. SP did two hanks for her socks. And I did a hank of robin's egg lace weight, a hank of pinks (for Project Spectrum!), a hank of blue and green wool, a hank of orange and yellow (inadvertently getting a head start on next month's project -- or maybe I just like orange and yellow). And (drum roll, please) a hank of red lace weight silk.

The silk was a pain in the rear. I prepared a ton of dye and let it soak for hours. Then I started rinsing and found that there were a bunch of undyed spots. So I tried again. That was about 11 -- right before Julie left. I went to bed a little after midnight, after giving up on rinsing the silk again. This morning, I got up and went running back to my silk/vinegar-smelling kitchen to rinse it out and found *more* white spots. So I dyed it again (while gulping my morning coffee). In the end, I ended up dyeing it four times before I got everything (I hope) dyed. And then I couldn't get the color to rinse out. Finally, by the suggestion of Julie (who returned this morning), I ran it through the wash on delicate. Now it's a bit of a tangled mess, but at least most of the color has washed out.

Now everything just has to dry. I'll be sure to post pictures of all my gorgeous dyed hanks as soon as they're dry.

Now for the hard part -- deciding which lace yarn to use for my shawl...

Let the Dyeing Begin!

The dyes are here:



The yarn is here:



I think we're about good to go...

I've Created a Monster

I was running out to the library and the grocery store yesterday (to stock up on Things That Paul Won't Eat), and I thought I'd give my mom a call. She wasn't home (she never is, actually), so I called her cell. She was giggling already when she picked up the phone.

"OOH!" she said, "I've got my hands full of yarn!"

Mom was in Hobby Lobby, stocking up on all kinds of sale yarn. There, she met another lady about her age, who had a cart full. The two were wandering around the aisles, comparing notes and showing each other even more fabulous yarns.

It reminded me of an entry from Lolly's blog -- when she got her mom hooked on knitting. I happen to recall that Lolly's side of the conversation was nothing but "Ha ha." So was the case with Mom and me -- except my side of the conversation was more of a "Hee hee." It totally cracked me up (and, at the same time, warmed my heart) that my mom was so totally jazzed about yarn.

I have taught her well.

Last night, I got another call from Mom. She wanted to know how many stitches she should cast on for her next scarf. And this morning I got an email saying that she'd already finished two feet.

You go, Mom!

Today is a big day -- it's the day of the great Dyeing Extravaganza. Julie just stopped by to drop off her yarn and our powder dyes, and I pulled out my yarn and our RIT dyes. Tonight, the Sock Princess will be arriving, and Julie will be returning, and the insanity will begin. Actually, I have no idea how I'm going to be able to concentrate on my work this afternoon -- with the whole kitchen and dining room covered in yarn just begging for color.

Stay tuned for a photo montage tomorrow...

KIPing at the Cheap Theater

Last night, I went to the local super-cheap, second-run theater to see Pride & Prejudice -- a movie that I would never be able to take Paul to see without feeling guilty for the rest of my life. When I go to a movie by myself, I always bring some knitting -- nothing too involved, of course -- and sit in the back, where it's a little bit lighter, just in case... This time, I decided to work on another doll scarf that I'd promised for my niece (a purple scarf for her baby that cries real tears). Just for something different, I decided to knit it diagonally, in garter stitch.

By the time I got to the theater, all the back-row seats were taken, so I had to move in a little bit. It was a little intimidating, pulling out my needles in the middle of the theater, but I did it anyway. And heck, it was Pride & Prejudice, and the theater was filled with people who love old-fashioned girly movies about a time when women had nothing better to do than sit around and gossip and go to balls. I'm sure these are people who can appreciate doing one's knitting at the theater. Toward the end of the movie, I stopped knitting -- and then I came home to bind off and add some tassels. And that marks the end of my doll-scarf knitting for my niece (or at least until she gets another doll with a cold neck). Now I need to knit her that felted purse that I promised her...

After not being able to sleep on Monday night, I really did intend to go to bed early, but there was so much to do. After finishing the scarf, I decided to clean up my corner of the living room. I finished a dishcloth that I'd been working on from time to time, and I wound my leftover baby-blanket yarn into balls. Sure, there are still projects all over the place, but it's a start...

After all the knitting for pregnant friends that I've been doing lately, I decided it's time to be a little selfish for a while. So I think I'll be starting that Anthropologie capelet tonight. For me. I'm going to cook up my favorite chicken (the one that Paul doesn't like because it has curry in it, so I haven't had it in years) and maybe even some couscous (again, Paul doesn't like it). And then I'm going to watch America's Next Top Model, which I've started watching while Paul takes his pre-hockey game naps. And I will knit something for me. Because I deserve it.

All Over But the Finishin'

Finally!



I refused to go to bed last night until I'd finished the stupid baby blanket. Now all I need to do is weave in the ends, and it's done. Thank goodness. Now comes the fun part -- choosing what to do next.

Since yesterday was Monday, I headed over to the store to knit with the girls. This week, I was repeatedly poked in the head with a metal needle from one side and got constant demands to fix a project from the other.

There were three girls this week. Miss H is *so close* to finishing her bag -- but we'll need one more skein. Miss C spent the entire time pouting and moaning about her scarf. She's sick of it. It's pink, and she now officially hates pink. But her mom won't let her start something else until she finishes the scarf. She's so close -- but instead of following my advice and just getting to work on it so she'll be able to finish it and start on that bag she's been talking about forever, she spent most of the time pouting and not knitting. And Miss A (I think I should just start referring to her as Taz because she often reminds me of the Tazmanian Devil on the old Bugs Bunny cartoons -- she's just all over the place, a tornado of activity) picked up the stitches and began working in the round on her bag. She's already said that she doesn't like pink and purple (the colors in her yarn), but she hasn't specifically said that she's sick of working on her bag. She may have decided to make it smaller than originally planned, but at least she hasn't thrown it aside and refused to work on it. She did, however, buy more yarn to make felted potholders for her dad, so who knows what will happen next week.

Afterwards, Miss H and I went out to the Chinese buffet for dinner. Not only did I have a blast (because Miss H is a great kid -- and she's kinda like the little sister I never had) but it was way better than having dinner at home by myself.

When I got home, there was a package from Mom waiting for me. She knit me a scarf!



This is Mom's third scarf! Doesn't it look great? I called her to thank her (in fact, I was talking with her on my hands-free while I took this picture), and she told me that when she was finishing it, she realized that she remembered how to bind off -- and she didn't even have to look it up. She's having so much fun knitting -- and I couldn't be happier. Next lesson: purling. I told her that her next scarf should be a k1 p1 rib -- and I sent her off to Hobby Lobby, where their Yarn Bee yarns are 1/2-off this week.

After talking to Mom, I got to work on the blanket while flipping between the hockey game and The Apprentice. I've gotta tell you -- it was nice to control the remote. Once I finished the blanket, I ended up sitting in my office writing for a while (since I'm at my most creative late at night -- which is why I worked on my big college term paper nightly between 10pm and 4 am). Then I did some reading.

Even then, I couldn't get to sleep. I think there were a number of reasons:

1) I'm not used to sleeping alone anymore. When Paul's gone, so is my built-in heater. And it didn't help that it's been so windy lately that it sounded like the house was going to blow apart.
2) I may have had a teensy bit too much caffeine yesterday.
3) And I couldn't stop thinking about an issue on the site -- and I was trying to solve it in my head.

The result -- I got next to no sleep, which means that I'll need even more caffeine today. It's an endless cycle.

(And now for a shameless plug...)
Speaking of the site, we're running a little contest to choose the stories for our very first print collection. I'm hoping to have as many people involved in the process as possible -- so if you've got a few minutes, please visit NightsAndWeekends.com, and vote for the best stories (and if some of those stories happen to be mine, I won't complain...). And while you're at it, sign up for the newsletter. This week, I'm drawing the names of the winners in our latest giveaway -- and I've got another giveaway starting on Friday.

Almost Done...

I kicked it into high gear on the blanket yesterday. I was determined to finish it, but I didn't quite make it last night. I'm just 15 rows away (after quickly working up another row while the coffee brewed this morning). It's just such a boring knit -- and it's a gigantic blanket. I'll just be so happy when I finish. And, so help me, I'm not starting another baby blanket until the pain of this one totally goes away.

I'm sure it would help if I had another project to work on every once in a while, but the blanket is so huge, and poor Paul tends to get a bit cranky (and understandably so) when my knitting takes up the entire living room. Heck, even I get a bit cranky when my knitting takes up the entire living room. We really need one of those coffee tables with big huge drawers underneath. Then I can just close the drawers and make the living room look like less of a disaster area.

I'm already dreaming about what I'll start when I finish the blanket. Maybe I'll humor the girls and rip out my Super-Secret Project and start it over in the right size. Maybe I'll do this capelet, for which Barbara got me the yarn for Christmas. Maybe I'll finally start on that cardi. Then again, there's always my Project Spectrum project, which I'll be starting as soon as I finish dyeing the yarn on Thursday. And the wedding shawl, which I also plan to start next week. So many projects...

In non-knitting news...remember my neighbor with the excessively noisy truck? The one that shook my whole house and woke me from my sleep (and made me seriously ticked off)? Well, the truck is gone, and there's a new vehicle in its place.

The good news: it's not (quite) as loud as the truck. It's still loud, but it doesn't usually shake the house.

The bad news: it's a hearse. Circa 1972. Brown.

I realize now that I should be careful what I wish for -- or, at least, when I make my wishes, I should be more specific.

It Snowed in Phoenix Yesterday

Normally, that wouldn't really be worth mention. Sure, it's pretty crazy, since it's Phoenix. But upon seeing the pictures of kids sledding in Arizona on TV yesterday, I turned to my dear husband and said, "See? This is what happens when you go to Arizona and leave your wife in Ohio."

Ha! It's a balmy 64 here this afternoon, and it was only supposed to reach 58 in Phoenix. I feel better now.

After I dropped him off at the airport this afternoon, I did what I always do as soon as he leaves on a business trip. I cleaned the house. And I cranked the stereo.

While it always sucks when Paul gets to go to a fancy hotel (in a state that's usually quite hot this time of year) for a business trip that involves schmoozing and an open bar, there are a few things that I get to do while I'm stuck at home. For instance:

1) I get to watch all the girly movies I want.
2) I can also take charge of the remote.
3) I can go without cooking. Yea!
4) I can order pizza with pineapple on it.
5) I can work until midnight and sleep in to make up for it.
6) I can play with yarn without anyone looking at me like I'm on crack.

So today, after cleaning the kitchen, I decided to prep for my next dyeing adventure by winding some of my yarn from the *last* dyeing adventure into balls. Then I hanked some wool to get it ready for dyeing:



This weekend was generally just plain fab. I got all kinds of great things in the mail -- like Anjo's Project Spectrum CD. I was so excited! (Click here for a close-up of her super-cool design.) Thanks, Anjo!

But wait...there's more! You know in movies, how when something spectacular happens -- something beautiful and/or miraculous -- there's often the sound of a chorus of angels singing in the background? Well, a chorus of angels were singing in my kitchen when I opened up my package from KnitPicks.

See the yarn-y goodness:



There's more paint-your-own lace weight yarn (which I'll be dyeing on Thursday), some Wool of the Andes to make a clutch for my aunt. And then...the Gossamer. This picture doesn't do it justice. I just want to sit around and stare at it all day. It's that gorgeous. Now I need to decide on a shawl pattern. I need one that's fabulous yet simple enough not to get drowned out by the variegated yarn... It's a tough call...

I Have a Problem.

I can't stop buying yarn. Seriously. I'm out of control. I have a KnitPicks order on the way, and I can't even hold off until it gets here before I buy more.

Last night, Paul had places to go and things to do, so we met up at Arby's after work to grab a quick dinner. Since I had a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby, I thought I'd stop by on my way home to see if I could pick up a cute little needle set for my mom, who's been working with any old needles she could find. I found some needles, all right. I also found a bunch of yellow clearance tags. And yellow clearance tags are my downfall. They had Baby Boucle on sale this week, but I found one skein of pink that was on clearance. So I got the pink and one skein of white -- which I thought would make at least one cute baby sweater. Probably two. Then I was walking down the aisle and caught a glimpse of yellow clearance tags on a bunch of fuchsia WoolEase. I've never actually bought WoolEase before -- and I hear it has pilling issues. But I didn't care. I could buy enough for a whole sweater (or even two sweaters for my niece) for $7. I tried SO HARD to walk away, but I couldn't.

Actually, despite the fact that I'm ashamed of myself for buying more yarn that I really don't need, I'm also a little bit proud of myself. I got needles for Mom (8s through 10.5s) and yarn for two baby sweaters and a me sweater for $20. That ain't bad at all. And it was all pink -- except for the one ball of white. I'm all about Project Spectrum.

So after buying all that yarn, I went right home to hide it. It's a little bit like how my brother used to hide behind the living room chair when he wet his pants (when he was little -- not recently, as far as I know). He knew it was wrong, but there was just no stopping it. I guess he figured that if no one saw him do it, it didn't really happen. I'm the same way. I figure if I go running home and put everything in its place, my impulse yarn purchases didn't really happen. See? They look like they were there all along! And as I put them away, I will go over all the reasons why it was okay to buy them. They're for other people's babies. That makes it good. The yarn for me was so cheap! And I deserved to buy something nice for myself after I passed up the 99c dishcloth cotton, which I actually had in my hands, and which I put back because I already have a ton of and didn't need to buy more...

Then I called my mom to confess. That always makes me feel better -- because she just laughs and helps me come up with more reasons why it was okay.

Speaking of Mom, when I talked to her last night, she proudly announced that she's nearly finished with her THIRD scarf! She just started knitting three weeks ago! Add that to the number of scarves that I've made for her over the years that I've been knitting, and it's quite clear that Mom's neck will never go cold.

But I am so proud of my little mom. I can't wait for her to visit again. We're totally going on a yarn shop crawl. And then we can both buy yarn we don't need.

Spring Is In the Air...

...And in our front yard.

Look what I found when I went to get the mail today:



These little guys are all over the place. Since we didn't plant them, I have no idea what they are, but they're so cute! While I was out, I walked to the side of the house and noticed that our daffodils are blooming, too. Yea!

In other good news, my blanket is starting to look like something:



I had a little time to work on it last night because Paul had a late hockey game -- which meant that he spent much of the night napping before leaving shortly after 9. I'm starting to remember why I don't really like working with big needles -- working stockinette on 15s is just clumsy. But I'll survive -- and then I'm not making another baby blanket for a while. I'm all about the cute little baby sweaters now.

And...in one last piece of good news, my KnitPicks order has shipped! Yea! Yarny goodness on its way!

Two Strikes...

Last night, I sat back down to work on the baby blanket again. And for some reason, the pattern just wasn't working for me. I was *one stitch off*, and I had no idea how it happened. So I frogged it. Again. And this time, I decided to learn my lesson and try a different pattern. So after three nights of working on the blanket, I've gotten this far:



Pathetic. If I were working on another baby cardi, I'd be almost done -- and I haven't even finished the bottom edge of the border. I'll finish this one, but after that, I'm taking a break from baby blankets. Stupid blankets.

Julie and I met at the art store by my house yesterday to hunt for acid dyes. We were fortunate enough to be helped by a woman who has a degree in textiles, and she told us not to bother with acids. Basically, she told us they smell bad, and they're not worth it. She said the MX dyes and the silk dyes would be every bit as good. So we're going to stick with that. I just placed our latest KnitPicks order yesterday, so our new dye-your-own lace weight yarn should be here in time for our little dyeing party next Thursday. If all goes well, I may just be wearing a hand-dyed, hand-knit lace shawl to my SIL's wedding...

In other news, my new glasses finally arrived yesterday. Woohoo! I haven't actually had glasses that I could wear in public for about five years now, so it's all very exciting -- and strange. I'm used to my contacts, so putting on a pair of glasses that make everything all weird and curvy had me feeling a little motion-sick last night. I put them on for a while this morning, but then I gave up and put my contacts back in. It'll take a while to get used to them, but I'm so excited -- they're so very cool.

A Case of the Mondays

Considering how exhausted I was all day yesterday, I was a little nervous about knitting with the girls. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I could handle it without having a total breakdown. To make matters worse, everything was just going wrong for me, and I was in a seriously cranky mood.

I made it to the store early, so I thought I’d stop by the grocery store Starbucks to get myself a nice relaxing cup of tea. But when I got there, no one was there to make my tea. I waited a minute, then I left, thinking I’d run to the Starbucks at Target instead.

But then I realized that it was just the perfect opportunity to get to the store early and hide the candy jar.

Miss A was the first to arrive. She was excited to start her new project—a bag. But not just any bag. She wanted to use circular needles just like Miss H. For her second project (okay—her first real, non-doll project). I warned her that knitting a felted bag is a big project—and she’ll have to stay interested in it for a long time. And she told me—very emphatically—that she knew, and she was ready for it. That lasted for about ten minutes—until she had to cast on 40 stitches and found out that she’d have to knit about 20 rows, just for the base.

Miss S and Miss H also showed up, along with two new girls—the two Miss Ms. M&M, I suppose. Miss M the elder already pretty much knew what she was doing. Miss M the younger is only 7, and she needed a little more help. Her mom, a non-knitter, tried to help her, but Miss M was having none of it. As I’ve often found, kids want nothing to do with getting help from anyone who’s related to them. So Miss M’s mom left for a bit and left me to it. It took a while, but by the time her mom came back, she was knitting away—and totally excited about it.

We had a rowdy group of five. Poor Miss M actually told me at one point that it was so noisy that she couldn’t think. I could totally understand.

Miss H is turning out to be quite a leader of the group. Since she’s the oldest, the other girls really look up to her. They want to do whatever she does. Unfortunately, it also means that when she gets a little giggly, all heck breaks loose. At the same time, however, she’s getting to the point where she’s experienced enough to help out—and that means a lot to me, especially now that the group is growing so much. While I was working with the M&M, Miss H helped Miss A (AKA Miss “I MESSED UP!”). Miss H is the greatest. I’m so glad to have her there.

This week, Miss A learned a couple of things. First of all, she learned to vary her vocabulary a bit. In the past, everything was weird. This week, I told her to try to use a different word. She’s moved on to unique.

Second, she’s learned that she needs to chill. During one of her “I MESSED UP” freak-outs, I just looked at her and said, “Miss A, you need to chill.”

The next time she had a freak-out, she screamed, then paused. I heard her say under her breath, “I need to chill.” Then she realized that she hadn’t actually messed up after all.

I consider that a giant leap for Miss A.

As we were winding up for the day, one of the members of the new [adult] beginners’ class walked in. She stopped when she saw all the girls and said, “Awww…” Miss H thought it was funny.

“You girls are so cute,” I told them. “Especially now, when you’re being so quiet.”

In the end, despite the noise and my general exhaustion, I had a wonderful time. I love the girls. Miss S never ceases to crack me up with her quiet, dry humor. Miss H has been coming for so long that she’s practically family. And there’s nothing like watching a kid’s eyes light up when she finally catches on. It makes Mondays fun.

Last night, I decided to work on the new baby blanket while watching The Apprentice. I was almost done with a row when I realized that I’d totally screwed it up. Instead of tink out an entire 108 stitches of the stitch pattern using double-stranded yarn, I just frogged it out and started over. I now have four rows done. At this rate, it could take me a whole nine months to finish the blanket…

Zzzzzz...

I. Am. Beat.

Let me just start by saying that Oscar Night was a total disappointment. Nothing crazy happened. No one wore anything especially attention-getting -- except for the screenwriter for Brokeback Mountain, who showed up in jeans. (I am, however, still not sure who put together Naomi Watts's rags-n-rubber-bands dress. Or why.) No one did anything outrageous. Really, the only thing of interest was the Three 6 Mafia, who won the Oscar for Best Original Song, for their song, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," which officially marked the beginning of the end for the Oscars. Mark my words. Next year, a Rob Schneider movie will win Best Picture. Then the world will be overtaken by gerbils. The end is near!

Two fabulously cool things happened last night, though. First, I won Anjo's Oscar Night giveaway for a copy of her Project Spectrum March CD (as seen on Lolly's blog). I may have been sitting on my butt, in jeans and a spaghetti sauce-spattered sweatshirt, while all of Hollywood was all glammed-out, but I won something. That puts me one up on Joaquin Phoenix.

Second, I finished Baby Sweater #1:


Yea! I even got cute little flowery buttons. Those are my Girl Buttons. If they have a boy, that's a different story... I didn't find any good Boy Buttons to go with the sweater yet. I have to keep looking.

After finishing, I decided to forego the Something-Fab for me and start on a baby blanket. Boo! But it's on 15s! Yea! I'll whip that puppy out in no time.

So after I finished running around the house, screaming "I called it!" after Crash won its Best Picture Oscar, I couldn't sleep, for a number of reasons -- some of which don't even have anything to do with the fact that I just totally love Oscar Night. And it made me mad because I had to get up early this morning -- because I needed to get some work done before I went to babysit Julie's little one -- and I just needed to get to sleep. So then I got mad. Then I really couldn't sleep.

So Paul got up this morning, and I told him to let me sleep for a few minutes -- and get me up when he got out of the shower. A few minutes later (after I'd finally gotten to sleep for what felt like the first time), at SIX-THIRTY, I was rudely awakened by the frickin' neighbor. Our neighbor, you see, has the loudest truck in the world. In the morning (usually at 7:40, which isn't a problem -- just a serious annoyance), he starts up his crazy-loud truck and revs it in the driveway while he lets it warm up. For fifteen minutes or so. It's so loud that it not only wakes me up (even though I've got an air purifier running right next to the bed to drown out crap like that), but it shakes the whole house. I was so mad that I almost went out there in my jammies, bed head and all, and kicked some serious arse. Is this man deaf? Does he not realize that he wakes up people in the next ZIP code when he starts his truck in the morning?

So I finally got up, whining as I did, and took a shower. I've been living on coffee and Mountain Dew all day. And now I have to go to the store this afternoon to hang out with the girls. I'm frantically praying for patience.

BTW -- while I was at Julie's this morning, I saw the yarn she dyed on Friday. GORGEOUS! I'm putting in a big KnitPicks order so I'll have plenty of lace weight of my own to dye. I'm going to be up to my ears in hand-dyed lace shawls, and I'm going to love every minute of it.

Yea! Oscar Day!

It's Oscar Day -- one of my very favorite days of the year. I can't wait to spend the entire evening sitting on the couch in my old jeans and sweatshirt, eating junk food, knitting, and snarking about the unfortunate hair, makeup, and wardrobe choices made by the stars (as well as the unfortunate choices made by the Academy). Back when I was in Michigan, I'd have my friends over, and we would snark together, but today, I shall be snarking solo. My husband will be in the other room, trying to ignore me.

Tonight, I'll be finishing up Baby Sweater 1.0. Last night, I finished the first sleeve -- just one more sleeve (and the button bands) left to go. Maybe I'll go so far as to start Baby Sweater 2.0. Or perhaps Baby Blanket 8.6. Or perhaps I'll blow off all my pregnant friends and knit something for myself. Something fabulous. Something that would wow them all on the Red Carpet.

In other news, have you seen the new summer yarns at KnitPicks? YUM! I'm thinking the new Shine Worsted is calling my name. I will, after all, be placing another order this week -- because I obviously need more dye-your-own wools. Lots of it.

BTW -- the dyes that we were testing out on Friday were actually Procion MX Dyes. They weren't the acid dyes -- yet -- but they are permanent. These are supposed to be just for cottons and silks, and the acid dyes are supposed to be better for wool -- but we found that these worked wonderfully on wool. The colors were so vibrant!

The dyes come in a little jar, in powder form. You mix them up (and, if you're working with cotton, mix in some soda ash), and there you have it. We tend to wing it, as opposed to strictly following the directions, but it's actually worked really well for us. I can't wait to do more! I think I've already figured out what I'm going to do with the Project Spectrum yarn that I'm going to dye. And I'm thinking some pretty hand-dyed lace weight yarn is in my near future, too...

Impulse Buys and Impromptu Dyeing Sessions

Yesterday was Coffee with the Girls Day. Julie was home with a sick little one, but we still had a huge group. The Sock Princess was there (working on super-cool flame socks), as was Miss Carol (who shall now be known as The Mitten Maven, due to the collection of gorgeous mittens she's been knitting up lately). Chandra was there working on her baby sweater. And Aunt Gerry showed up, too! We took over the corner of Caribou where they have the comfy chairs and the fireplace -- and we were having so much fun that people couldn't help but stop by to say hello.

Once the party broke up, I went into the mall to browse around the Franklin Planner store. Last week, I'd walked past the store and had picked up a catalog, and that got me thinking... Back in my ad-agency days, I used to carry around a big ol' Franklin. I have no idea what happened to it, though I'm guessing that it got lost in one of our moves. Or it's in my mom's basement, in a box somewhere with the rest of the stuff that I didn't feel like moving. But I didn't need it then because I'd decided that all I needed was a PalmPilot. I was wrong. I'm a writer. I like to have paper and pens. I like to scribble things. Anyway, I was thinking that it would be nice to have a planner again to keep myself (a little bit) organized. If nothing else, it would be better than the little calendar that I bought at Big Lots for a buck. So I thought I'd go and do a little browsing. Little did I know that I'd end up walking out of the store with a full package -- a new (smaller and less formal) binder, pages for a year, and a few extras. I blame it on the caffeine -- and on the ultra-friendly saleswoman. And on the fact that the binder was on sale, and I'm a sucker for a sale. But I was so happy! I went running home and got myself all set up. And I've already scheduled all of my Coffee with the Girls Days for the rest of the month.

I (heart) my Franklin Planner.

Last night, Julie called to tell me that she'd put her not-quite-so-sick-anymore child to work yesterday afternoon, and they'd dyed some swatches using Julie's new acid dyes. And she asked if I'd like to meet her at the art store today to buy more dyes -- and then grab lunch.

It was going to be lunch. Really, it was. But those swatches were just so gorgeous...and the art store had so many colors that we just had to try. So we decided to reheat some leftover pizza at Julie's place and mix up more dyes.

(I was going to post a picture of our swatches here, but Blogger apparently doesn't want to post it, so you'll just have to take my word for it -- they're gorgeous and vibrant, and I love them.)

It wasn't long, however, before Julie had to pick up the Little One from school -- and I needed to get back to work. And now I'm kicking myself that I left because Julie just sent me this:



Ugh! Julie's dyeing lace yarn!

Stupid work.

We were just discussing (when Julie called to tell me how gorgeous the orange and Project Spectrum-worthy hot pink turned out) how crazed we've become. She likened us to someone who tries pot and ends up hooked on heroin. We just started with a little Kool-Aid. Then some food colorings and icing dyes. But that wasn't permanent enough for us, so we had to try RIT. But that still wasn't good enough, so we had to move on to the acid dyes. I can only imagine what's next...

I Got Yer Red Right Here!

Yesterday was the official start of Project Spectrum. So, in honor of our month of reds and pinks, I wore my new favorite red hoodie today (though I'm thinking I'll change into my new not-red-or-pink sweater when I go out for coffee this afternoon -- so I can show it off). And last night, I worked on a little red scarf for my niece's Bitty Baby. I'm told it matches her dress.



But it's not all red around here. It's also purple.



Yes, Baby-Rama 2006...Baby Sweater Mania...Pregnant-Friend-A-Long has officially begun. This lovely purple top-down cardi is for friends who are due in April. We'll be in Toronto for my SIL's shower right around the due date, so we may even get to see the little guy/girl. I'm testing out a new pattern, which I bought strictly on Chandra's recommendation. I've also got Julie digging around for her baby sweater patterns, which she swears to me can be finished in "a day or so." (I'll believe that when I see it.) So if you know of any good super-quick, super-simple baby sweater patterns, please let me know. I'm desperate.

ENOUGH WITH THE BABIES ALREADY!

An urgent note to my friends:

Dear friends,

You know I love every last one of you. Really. I love you loads. But I'm begging you. Please. Stop procreating already. It's more than I can take.

Sure, when this whole baby thing started, I thought it was cute. I knit baby blankets like crazy. I even knit one for one of Paul's employees. Am I the coolest boss's wife, or what?

But then I discovered that three (yes, THREE) of you are having babies in April alone. It was overwhelming, but I figured I'd just get them all over with at once. But now October babies are starting to be announced, and I just can't take it. I'm afraid to check my email or answer the phone, convinced with each new call that there's going to be another baby that I'm expected to knit for. Because that's what future aunties who knit do, right?

But this has got to stop. If it doesn't, I'll have to be put away -- not because I'll go insane (though that could possibly be a side-effect of non-stop baby knitting) but because I'll need the extra time alone to finish all those baby blankets and baby sweaters and baby booties.

Yes, I realize that pregnant is the new black. Everybody's doing it. Even Gwen Stefani and that poor little girl from Dawson's Creek. And I realize that maternity clothes are especially hip this season. But couldn't you just gain a bunch of weight and buy maternity clothes and just pretend? I'd really appreciate that.

If you must get pregnant, however, I would appreciate it if you'd give me a little consideration here. First of all, you're going to have to give me plenty of advance warning. Call me at the first sign of morning sickness, and I'll see what I can do to fit you and your spawn into my knitting schedule. If you think you can, for instance, not call for an entire nine months and then call a week after the baby is born (you know who you are) -- and still get a pretty hand-knitted gift -- you're dead wrong, buster. I'm not Wonder Woman.

Second, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop being so excited about it around me. Because then I tend to get excited for you, and I end up accidentally saying things like, "Oooh! I'll make the cutest little baby sweater!" out loud, and then I'm contractually bound to it. And I go home and kick myself repeatedly, since I already made you a frickin' blanket. And that should have been good enough. But I can't seem to keep my mouth shut.

From now on, I'm only going to allow one of my friends to give birth every six months. I figure that will give me enough time to knit you something cute and still have time leftover to knit myself pretty lace shawls. So give me a call when you get a chance, and we'll start scheduling your pregnancy.

Thanks,
kdk