Thursday, April 30, 2009

Soon....

Soon I will post. Really.

What can you look forward to? Travel, friends old and new, finished knits, new WIPS, new yarn and gadgets, reading, kids and computer disasters. Oh... and a bit of TV of course!

I've missed so many of your blogs and am trying to catch up.

For now I'll leave you with a sneak peek:
Slinky Ribs

See you all real soon!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Spring Break Silence

I've been meaning to blog for a while. Really!

But my laptop crashed hard and my desktop computer is sooooo sloooow and unreliable that it takes extraordinary patience just to check my e-mail let alone communicate in blogland. Since I am not a woman of even minimal patience, obviously extraordinary patience is way out of reach for me. But I have a bit of time this morning and my computer is cooperating at the moment so I thought I'd give it a try.

In spite of a flu bug making a toxic sweep through our house, it has been a very relaxing spring break. I'm feeling very grateful for the time to relax, knit and read while the kids did, well, pretty much whatever they wanted.

Anyway, as proof of my intentions to blog sooner, here is a picture I was going to post a week or so ago.

"Rick" cookie a

It's the "Rick" sock from Sock Innovations, the new book by Cookie A. (A fabulous book btw.) I'm using some of the Malabrigo Sock I've collected... this time in the Turner colorway.

Since then, I've finished the first sock and am almost done with the second.

"Rick" cookie a

"Rick" cookie a

The pattern has been very addicting and if I had to choose one yarn to knit with for the rest of my life, it just might be this Malabrigo Sock yarn. It's soft, squishy, stretchy, and rich in color. I really can't say enough wonderful things about it.

I think my next sock from Cookie's book will be "Eunice".

cookie a

By the end of this weekend, I should be done with the second Rick sock and my Slinky Ribs sweater (only a few more inches of sleeve to go)!

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Under the Sea and Under the Weather

Finished: One pair of Under the Sea socks in Handmaiden Casbah (the ultimate in sock yarn I might add). The color was a special dye lot for The Loopy Ewe sock club and the pattern was especially designed for the yarn by Sharon Hart.


I am crazy about Handmaiden yarns... not only are they all high quality but they manage to blend beautiful colors that never pool.



Ongoing: The 2009 family flu... 4 days of fevers, chest congestion and misery. So far my oldest son and I are the only ones who've escaped it but realistically it's just a matter of time. Unfortunately for my poor children, compassion is not a strength of mine to begin with (and probably why God never saw fit to give me any little girls) so I'm good for about 48 hours of care taking before I have to start struggling with my inner self who begins to feel, well, annoyed and starts saying soothing things like, "The moaning isn't going to help."

Anyway, #4 came down with it first. Since he's my Mamma Mia buddy, this gave us an excellent excuse to relax with yarn and a movie. When #5 awoke ill, it meant a trip to Blockbuster for Bedtime Stories (cute), Bolt (I took a nap), Marley and Me (I'd rather not talk about it), and more Pierce Brosnan although (and this is where things begin to take a drastic turn) this time as James Bond in, well who knows, Somebody Never Dies.

With the collapse of #2 and #3 then DH, Bond and Transporter flicks have taken over... with Lethal Weapon in the line up. I did grab An American Carol but have yet to convince anyone that they would really rather watch a comedy.

So I knit... and I read (and I go to the store for more Gatorade). I'm currently reading Atlas Shrugged and have The Lace Reader on the iPod for audio back-up. However, I've found that the narrator of The Lace Reader has a soothing voice that, in spite of the interesting story, puts me to sleep.
Aside from being completely boring, I did finish the socks and make some good progress on Slinky Ribs. (Making note to clean the bathroom mirror in between pouring Gatorade and distributing Motrin tomorrow.)


I'm really taking the time with this sweater to take advantage of the measuring opportunities knitting a sweater from the top down provides. I found that I had to make the armholes longer and the neckline a bit lower for the fit that would work best for my shape. I'm really enjoying the Silky Wool and it's light enough that I'm inclined to go for the long sleeves after all. (I know the picture is less than flattering, but it's less boring than no picture at all, right? Right.)