Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Weinterruptthisregularlyscheduledprogram

Wearecurrentlyhavingkeyboarddifficultyduetoabottled
waterincident.Mybottleofwater
thoughitwouldbefunto"mate"withthekeyboard.
Theygottoegther,thenthewaterleft/
mykeyboardheartbrokenandhalfaman.

Pleasebepatientwithme.

Canyouguesswhichkeyswereaffected?

Monday, August 20, 2007

Fashionably Late

Well, I am fashionably late to just about everything. Tennis players receive 15 minute "grace period" or default time before the match is called for no-show. RM calls my constant lateness my "default-time." Mom says I could be late to my own funeral. So, naturally we usually plan accordingly. People expect me to be late.

So here I am telling you much later . . . I got my invite to Ravelry! Well, I really received a month ago, but have been secretly working on it since then. Still a work in progress, but I am loving all the options available.

Pssst. Can I tell you a secret? I am relieved to have everything in one spot. Honestly? I have spread sheets for needles, stash yarn, completed projects and queued projects. Add in a three ring binder with photos and short notes about each project and we have a lot of information hid spread all over the house. But I could not keep everything organized or up to date. Too much work in too many damn places. So Ravelry is really working for me. Gone are the spreadsheets (but not the binder, I kinda like it) freeing up my time to knit or play on the Internet with my other knitting friends.

And to be even later to the party, I also have a flickr account now! Finally. So when I can figure out how to get links in my sidebar to each of these sites, I'll let you know.

Hey, does anyone know how to get certain keys on the keyboard to work after 1/2 a bottle of water is spilled on it? They worked this morning right after the spill incident. Help *** the delete button won't work! ***

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Yarn Peaks

Casting on for my Habu Jacket was interesting. So far, I am enjoying this knit. The stainless steel makes the yarn extremely fun to work with. Right now, the novelty of knitting something with metal is engaging me more than a typical yarn would.What I find truly unique is that the yarn can be molded (due to the stainless steel component), by which I mean you can sculpt or pull (gently) on the fabric and it remains exactly where you put it. How amusing it is to have a sweater with little bumps all over it (almost like peaks) and not have had to knit a single bobble or do anything fancy. I have to laugh at the thought of making two peaks right in the middle of my back. . . you wouldn't be able to tell if I was coming or going! And, if later you want a smooth jacket, just gently stretch the fabric back into shape. How clever is that!

Roza socks are at a stand still. I ripped them out, began again, and asked for my mulligan. My calculations were a bit off and I could not get the foot to work out correctly. Very tight, very, very tight fitting. Which I considered odd because I cast on more stitches than the pattern required. It has to do with how many stitches I used for heel vs. top of foot (more in heel, less on foot) which didn't compute for me. My math skills weak. Let's just say if I were to play this game, I would definitely be on the loosing end. Now, I am following the pattern word for word. If they are too small for me. . . I'll give them as a gift. Yet, my heart longs for them to fit. The yarn is splendid and the pattern is simple and classy.

We spent the weekend between a charity Pro-Am tennis tournament and Fall Futbol Frenzy tournament. RM has been organizing this tournament for 19 years, raising a total of over $95,000 for scholarships. This year was another fun year. I am proud of his commitment to charity works, but do not hesitate to tell you that by Sunday he is exhausted. The soccer was great with Soccerchica's team taking second place overall. She played super, even in 97 degree heat!

I need to send out a "Happy Birthday" to JJ. She celebrated her birthday over the weekend. You can check out her blog at Mum's the Word.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

New Socks - Roza's















I have cast on for Grumperina's Roza's Sock from IK Spring '07. Initially I had concerns that the width might not be right for me. I have an 8.5 size shoe, with the ball of my foot being 9 inches around. This pattern says that they are 6 inches around unstretched. In my simple mind, I am feeling that as written the socks would knit up too small for me. So instead of casting on the 60 stitches as directed I added another 6 stitches (or one repeat) to help conquer the width issue. Let's see how this works out. . .

Friday, August 03, 2007

There Is Yarn In Arizona!

Yea, even wool!

Here is what I scored while there. Very pleased with myself, if I do say so.

Some beautiful Rio de Plata 100% kettle dyed merino wool. A very nice yarn that does not seem to split or felt as I knit with it, making me a happy knitter. This little beauty came from a small shop in Phoenix called, aptly, Phoenix Knit & Needlepoint Co. Sadly, they do not have a website. About 60% of the shop was devoted to needlepoint and the yarn selection was limited. But I spied this cutie and had to have it. My yarn cake is already well on it's way to becoming a pair of Roza's socks from IK Spring '07. So far this pattern is a joy to knit. I am attempting a small modification to the size. My feet are an 8.5 and 9 inches around the ball of my foot, so a size 7-8 might not fit me. I'll let you know how this turns out. I'm turning the heel now.

Oh, it gets better my pretties . . .

What you say?! Take a look, it can't be denied.

Just a little Habu 100% cashmere that is hand-dyed!

Yea, uh huh, I'm a lucky gal (if you could see me I do have my thumbs in my ears with fingers waving back and forth in true na-na-na-na-boo-boo style). Oh, did I mention these came with a free pattern for a scarf? Why yes, yes they did. So three little cashmere scarves it is. One for Heidi (as a thank you for putting up RM & Boo-boo during Tri-athalon weekend), one for SIL and one for me (very unselfishly, of course).

And, drum roll please . . . .

My big preezie for the trip. The Habu Textiles kit #48. A wonderful jacket that will look great with a skirt or jeans. This kit has two lovely cones of steel wrapped in wool and one large cone of silk. Yummmmy! Though the photo shows grey, it's really a green with heavy grey undertones. My photography skills are still developing or the camera is slightly color blind - you choose. Truth? For the price this jacket better be all that and a bag of chips. You know the really flavorful, salty, high fat, straight to your hips kind of chips.

I am a very, very lucky girl indeed.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Marigold's Finished

These popped up in my sock garden a few weeks ago. Aren't they fun?!

This pattern is easily one of my favorites. Clearly written, you can fly through these in a few days. The repeat is easily memorized, so I didn't have to carry the pattern with me (a big plus in my teenager/pre-schooler filled world). It was not necessary, nor did I want to make any modifications to this pattern. Sizing was dead on for me and once we get some fall/sock weather these will be on my feet!

I see another pair or two of Marigold's in my future. Next time, I think I will use a slightly more solid color way instead of one with so many different colors. My thought being the ever changing colors are obscuring a lovely pattern, which I would prefer to see more of.

So here are the details for anyone who cares about what I do.

Pattern: Marigold Socks by Pamela Wynne of Flint Knits fame
Yarn: Hill Country's Sweetfeet in Shasta Daisy.
Needles: Addi Lace US2 Circular
Started: June 10, 2007
Finished: July 11, 2007

So there we are . . . pair 10 of the 52 Pair Plunge!