Secret of the Stole

After two months, the secret is revealed! The Secret of the stole is complete!
Pattern: Secret of the Stole (name not yet release) available via DK the Nautical Knitter.
Yarn: My handspun (mill ends from Sheep Shed Studio wool/mohair) less than 1234 yds.
Needles: Size US5
Finished size: 16" X 7 feet

Opinion: I do like the finished product, it is warm and soft although the mohair sheds. I am glad I participated in the KAL as it really kept me on task. The pattern was well written and easy to follow. I am not a huge fan of the sword motif, but I am not complaining- it was a secret after all! Now to figure out all the clues and take a stab at guessing the theme!

Is there a way to wear a long stole and not look like a little ol' lady?

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

So sorry for not posting the promised pictures yesterday, we went for sushi for lunch (I am so lucky my kids would rather eat sushi than McDonald's for any meal) then went shopping for the kiddos some winter clothes. Both of them have grown so much since last year! After that we got a call from the in-laws requesting a visit, so by the time we got back home it was after dark. Anyway, here is my meager progress on my so-called rug... So far it is 20" x 2.5" I like the way the colors are pooling, so I hope they continue to do so. I love the fabric this fiddly stitch makes!

As for the slipper/boots I am knitting for The Boy Wonder, I finished the first garter stitch one in the car yesterday during our shopping excursion, realized I really don't like the fabric garter stitch makes and ripped the entire thing out. I started another in stockinette, but only have a few inches of the cuff,so again you will have to wait for those exciting pictures.

Ironically, in a matter of weeks I will be cursing these beautiful trees for dropping all these beautiful leaves that are bringing such a smile to my face this week...

I adore this tree covered acre...until it comes time to rake all the damn leaves!

The Girl Wonder loved this yarn I spun and dyed a month or so ago. Yesterday she started on a scarf for herself with it and has already knit 16"! Makin' her mama proud since 1996!And since it would be unfair to post a pic with one of the kiddos and not the other, here is my little war monger.. I slept like a baby before I had babies last night! Ahhh sweet relief!

Keeping busy

I am still trying to look on the bright side despite having the daylight hours shaved away minute by minute, day by day. I am fighting the blahs by sprucing up my surroundings- raking leaves, cleaning out closets, spackling the dents and dings in the drywall that are inevitable when you live with a rambunctious 6 year old. These things are filling my days, causing me to collapse from exhaustion around midnight (I tend to go to bed around 2) only to wake around 3 or 3:30 unable to sleep- my mind racing from one thing to another. Worry, worry, worry... I wish there was a switch just to turn it off- I guess we all do. The thing is I tend to worry about things I have no control over- my brother's crappy relationship, how my friend is coping with her twins, why my bank account seems to be hemorrhaging money (perhaps I could do something about that last one...). I try to tell myself to think about something else, I count sheep, I say the alphabet but nothing seems to work. Suggestions are welcome! I can't be the only one! What do y'all do to turn it all off?

On the knitting front, I am still working on the Secret of the Stole and am really happy with the pattern so far. I have to say, I am glad I took this on as a secret project because I am not sure I would have chosen it had I seen a completed stole first. Not that I don't like it, because I do! There are just so many lace stole patterns out there and I have such a hard time choosing between them. I would have missed out on a great pattern. I am really enjoying the larger sections of stockinette as opposed to a more open pattern. There are just two more hints to be released and it will be finished. I can't believe it is almost over. I really like getting a pattern like this in chunks- it gives me a good deadline to keep me interested and does not seem like such a daunting project.

Of course, I have also started a new project or two since finishing the Tyrolean Stocking. (Thank you for all the compliments, by the way! Y'all are always so sweet! I have to do something about being able to respond to comments left on my blog. I don't want people to think I don't appreciate all the nice comments, because I do! They really make my day. I feel kinda silly posting a reply on their blog. What to do? Again, any suggestions? Is it in poor taste to respond to them in my comments? It has to be better than not respond at all.)

Anyway, the new projects.... one is a rug for my kitchen using the stitch pattern for My So- Called Scarf knitted with Sugar and Cream cotton. I am sure I will finish it about the time it is too hot to actually need it in the kitchen. The cotton is a little rough on the wrists, though the pattern is pleasantly mindless, so I can only knit a few rows at the time.

The second is a design I have had in the back of my mind for awhile now- slippers for The Boy Wonder that look like laced up army boots knit with camouflage yarn. I am to the toe on the first one, writing the pattern as I go along instead of just taking notes as I have in the past. I knit the first in garter stitch, but am thinking of knitting the second one in stockinette to see if I like it better.

Pictures tomorrow, I promise! As now it is 6 o'clock and pitch black outside... sigh...

Tyrolean Stockings

Pattern:Tyrolean Stockings, Interweave Knits Fall 2007

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish, color Dublin 4 skeins

Needles: set of 4 dpn size US4- I knit a bit tight and they fit my size 6.5 feet perfectly.

I love these socks! They are so warm and squishy. There was so much going on in the pattern that I was never bored knitting them. The pattern was very straightforward and easy to understand. These are a little thick to wear with shoes and a bit slouchy (as in the pics in the magazine) but they are perfect for wearing around the house- especially since I am always cold!The details really make these socks...like the way the ribbing flows into the cable. I am in love with that cable!The cable also flows onto the top of the foot. Did I mention I love that cable?I love the very hard to photograph cable down the back of the leg and the slope of the decreases down the leg. The heel flap fits my heel perfectly! I shall never knit another short row heel!

Hands down this is one of my favorite knits ever! They were interesting to knit, the pattern was perfectly written, I learned a new technique (Old Norwegian cast on) and most important-they fit!

and how is your weekend?

Because mine is just shitty. Literally. You know the kind I am talking about. The kind of shitty day when you have brown water rising in your bathtub and the toilet refuses to flush. The kind of shitty day chemicals and sewer snakes can't fix. The kind of shitty day that requires the expertise of this company...

The kind of shitty day that you know is gonna cost ya. To make matters worse a certain someone had a bit of a hangover because she is apparently getting too old to hold her liquor. The very friendly Roto-Rooter man informed me that the only way to resolve the problem was to remove my toilet and use his high powered auger and that it would cost $350 for him for him to do this and do I agree to the charges. To which I replied, "well what other choice do I have? I have to be able to flush! I NEED the water to flow down the drains!"

He neglected to mention that the high powered auger was loud as hell. Did I mention that my head was pounding and my stomach was churning? 45 minutes later the very kind Roto-Rooter man informed me that my pipes were too small and his loud ass equipment would not fit down to reach the clog. I almost cried. He then informed me that that he would have to install a new 2 way clean out in front of the house since the one in my crawlspace was too small to fit his big ass high power auger. Again, almost apologetically, he informed me that this would cost more. Much more. $550 dollars more. Again I replied meekly "what choice do I have?" "none" was his only reply. He then informed me he did not have the parts on the truck he needed and would have to go fetch them. Now my house smells like sewage, my stomach is churning, it is almost 4 in the evening, I have not peed all day long and I am about to spend almost a grand for some sweet relief.

The very nice Roto-Rooter man returns from his shopping excursion, fixes the pipe, informs me that tree roots are causing the blockage and it is a common thing this summer thanks to the drought. Then he springs this little gem on me.
"How do you feel about replacing your toilet in the master bathroom?"
I must have looked at him like he was crazy, I just knew he was trying to take advantage of me. "Why? Is it necessary?"
"Um, well, yes, because I accidentally broke it with my auger. But I will replace it free of charge."
No shit! I think to myself. sigh. "I guess I feel pretty good about replacing it then."

Imagine my delight, after the man was paid and gone for the day, that I discover these shmeggy auger marks on the walls of each bathroom (since he was using the machine in one room and managed to break through the toilet of the other one). I do not want to venture to guess what grossness lies within those smears. After scrubbing with bleach, I realize the only way I am going to to fix it is to sand the walls and repaint both bathrooms. Of course, it is behind the toilet and therefore the hardest part of the bathroom to reach.

At least it can't get any worse, and I have been wanting to paint the hall bathroom... <---that is me trying to look on the bright side.