what to do

instead of bitching and moaning about how I hate August? I decided to usher it's irritating ass out with a bang. I cannot bear another round of dad's socks. I have finished the heel shaping and just have to knit them long enough to fit his size 11's. All I can say is I am glad he prefers short socks. I do love the pattern, though, it has just enough twisty ribbing to keep it interesting for those that do not worship at the alter of sock knitting.
Pattern: Gentleman Socks from the Fiber Fool
Needles: size us2 dpn's
Yarn: Trekking XXL yarn

I have been so jealous of Lara, since she was one of the cool kids that knew about Mystery Stole 3. So, after reading about Secret of the Stole on Ravelry, I signed right up without a second thought. I also decided that I would spin my own yarn for this stole since the KAL does not begin until October 5 and 'hello, still bored and unmotivated here'- I need a challenge and spinning 1200 yds of laceweightish yarn right is up my alley. I have a pound of white roving (85% wool, 15% mohair) from Sheep Shed Studio burning a hole in my stash close- finally it has a purpose! It is perfect timing because the first clue comes out on my dad's birthday and I need to finish his socks by then.

I managed to spin this bobbin full last night. My spinning has come to a halt in the past few months because I had cotton on the bobbin and really wanted to finish spinning all 8 ounces, but I hate it! It is so slow going and the resulting yarn is not even that nice. But I have plans for that little bit of yarn, oh yes! I decided to wind it off and be done with it. Anyone interested in learning to spin cotton? You can see the color here (it is the last post on the page by Awynkoop). I have about 5 ounces left and will send it to the first person that asks for it for the cost of shipping-frankly, I am tired of it mocking me. Leave me your email addy because Blogger's stupid commenting system leaves me no way to get in touch with you otherwise.

Now I'm off to spin and drink a few Newcastles. Cheers!

I got the August blogging blah's

It seems August is the month of little blogging for me...last year I only made one post in August and this year if it were not for the Magknits issue I would have little to blog about this month either. I have done precious little knitting. The Stargans for the Super Twins have come to a screeching halt as I realized I forgot to order one color, of course, that one color can't be toward the outer edge, it is about 8 stripes away from the outer edge. Stupid stupid stupid. So I ordered that lone skein and will be praying hard that it arrives by at least Wednesday next week so I can finish the final blanket by the baby shower (September 8). Shit like this really pisses me off. It was such a careless mistake. As for my pregnant friend, she is finally feeling fabulous, looking great, and carrying two healthy growing boys! She is almost 31 weeks along- We are hoping she can keep those younguns in for at the very least another month so she can be more prepared and they can be a bit bigger and stronger.

I have had the knitting blah's as well. After finishing Icarus there is nothing I am really inspired to make. I have socks on the needles for my Dad, but they are slow going. I don't understand sock knitters...I mean, I love that socks are so portable, but they just seem to linger on my needles. Sock knitters must be made of different stuff than I. Give me some lace or a nice cabled sweater any day. So far, this sock knitting thing sucks. Maybe it is the dpns, the knitting in the round and losing my place over and over again, perhaps it is just the fucking August blahs (I started the Gaming One's never ending socks last August as well). What ever it is I am glad August is coming to a close. The soul sucking heat, the stress of family reunions and school starting back makes me glad it is almost over! I have to admit the back to homeschooling went very smooth this year. No arguments and good effort all around. It all makes my life so much easier!

I bit the bullet and submitted a design to Interweave Knits for their summer 2008 issue. I really like my design (I may be a bit biased) but will have to patiently wait to hear back from them. I have high hopes, but will be shocked if I am accepted. After all this is the Interweave Knits! I have set a design goal to submit at least four designs a year to various publications to try to get my foot in the knit design door. Two down this year...two to go!

Hope y'all are doing well, my commenting has been sparse lately, though I have been reading blogs a plenty. I have bunches to add to my blogroll thanks to Ravelry! I hope to get my groove back in September, which is only a few days away!

Home at last!

I did get a tiny bit of knitting accomplished during my week away, but nothing like I thought I would (less than half a sock knit the entire week). There was just too much going on. Read all about it on Self-Centered Momma, since I promised to keep this blog more knitting related instead of bitching about my family related. I took my Icarus shawl with me and wore it everyday. It is a very useful knit indeed! Although my oldest sister did crack quite a few 'granny' jokes at my expense... More to come after I unwind a bit more and recover from the week...

Vacation

We are packing up and heading to the beach for a week. Well, I should be packing. Instead, I am in denial that I am leaving very early in the morning and am spending the day on Ravelry and reading blogs... I will be sharing a house with my two sisters, their husbands and kids, my brother, his girlfriend and kids and my parents. There will be 18 of us in all. The Gaming One has to stay home and work so I will not even have him to rescue my sanity. I think by about Tuesday I will be ready to kill people. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and we all get along great, but I need my space and suffer when there is to much togetherness. Unfortunatly, we will not be vacationing at the beautifully clean and quiet Sunset Beach, NC (pictured above). The rest of my family prefers noisy, crowded Myrtle Beach, SC instead, so I was outvoted....

The silver lining? There has been record highs here with temps over 100 and my airconditioner quit working! At least the beach house will have AC. How did people survive the summer with no AC? They must have been made of tougher stuff than me for sure. Me, I have the tub full of cold water and when it gets too unbearable I sink down to my shoulders until I am shivering. ahhh sweet relief! The Kiddos are lucky enough to be at grandma's house!

Onward and upward

First of all, a million thanks to all of you that took the time to reassure me about the picture of The Girl Wonder. It really means a lot to see that others saw nothing wrong with the picture. Silly me for being so concerned with capturing the details of the sweater that I did not even notice that you could not see her shorts. So (now that I have slept on it) I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone. That was not my intention at all. Also, I want to publicly apologize to Kerrie (the editor of MagKnits) for any drama she had to deal with in connection to this. I know you have so much to deal with and you did not need this at this time.

How about some actual knitting content?

I took the Icarus shawl with me to the mountains this past weekend and was binding off the last stitch just as we were pulling into the motel parking lot. I must admit this project took way longer than I expected it to. I think I started it either the end of last October or the beginning of November. Granted I would knit a bit then put it aside for a couple of weeks then pick it up again out of ufo guilt. It was a very easy knit and I see myself using it often (I am always cold and tend to stay wrapped up in blankets most of the year) but I really had to make myself work on it. I was often bored with the pattern because it was so much of the same, but I had to count every stitch to ensure I did not make a mistake. I admit I thought it would be a bit funny to wrap up in it naked and take a pic to put on my blog as a 'you thought that pic was bad, well what do you think of this' gesture, but realized that might not be the smartest thing to do... I realized in blocking this that I will buy blocking wires for my next lace project. After trying for hours (I kid you not- I started blocking at about 1:30 and at 5 I finally walked away from it) to pin it to my bed straight and perfect, I broke out a 4 square foot pvc frame I use for square foot gardening and basically sewed it to the frame. It is still not perfect, but it will do. At one point I was crumpled on the floor ready to cry - The Gaming One was quite concerned about that and very sweet and encouraging (Thanks Sweetie!).
Pattern: Icarus Shawl (Interweave Knits, Summer 2006)
Yarn: Peru Alpaca (ebay purchase) No idea how many skeins because I spit spliced the ends together as I went along.
Needles: Size US4 Circs
Finished size: 80 inches across top edge, 40 inches from top edge to bottom point. I believe I could block it even larger after some blocking practice...

This little pink kitty toe always makes me smile. All his other toes are black except for his pink, pinkie toe.

hateful mail...

I gotta get this off my chest... so a'la Dooce I present you with a little forwarded gem that graced my inbox this morning.

I an very disappointed in your magazine for this issue.Why was it necessary
to sexualize that young child in your photos? If she was actually wearing
panties, that alone would have been egregious but to imply (visually) that she
is wearing nothing but a sexy top under your design is beyond the pale.It is an
indication of a mind lacking in any true creativity that you must depend on soft
porn to promote your designs. One third of all women have been sexually abused
by the age of 18 and you are doing what you can to raise that number by offering
this young lady as an object of lust. You should be ashamed of yourself. And
don't tell me that she wanted to be used in this way... you are supposed to be
the adults and taking care of her.I will pass my concerns on to others who may
care about children.

Wondering what was so offensive? It was this picture of my daughter. I assured Kerrie that I would not start an e-mail war with this woman. However, I can't just let it go.

First off, for her to imply that she is not wearing anything but a top makes me think that she needs to get her mind out of the gutter. Secondly, for her to think that I am presenting my daughter as an object of lust is beyond comprehension. Hell, I am doing everything I can, short of making her wear a burka, to prevent her being viewed as an object of lust. Thirdly, I am not ashamed in the least of my beautiful daughter or the picture. Perhaps it is just sour grapes on her part (maybe she is jealous of my ability to produce beautiful children while she is a troll). Fourth, I asked my daughter to choose what she wanted to wear with the top and those are the clothes she picked out herself. I do take damn good care of my kids- to the extent I home school them to prevent the horrors they might face in public school, so don't even imply that I am putting her in a position that is not safe or appropriate for a girl of her age. Finally, if she wants to pass her concerns to someone who cares about children she should send me an e-mail, since I care about my kids more than anyone. Poor, poor misguided woman- get your mind out of the gutter and find something productive to do with your time.

Edited to add: The picture was removed from the cover because of this well-meaning woman. So thanks alot for raining on The Girl Wonder's parade. I hope you are happy.

Now I feel like an ass...

Has anyone seen the newest Magknits? Notice anything familiar?



I am a bit speechless...

Rockin' Girl Blogger

In my 3am posting fog I totally forgot that KnittyMcPurlyPants nominated me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger! Amy, I am totally flattered! Thank you so much! To keep it going here are five blogs (only five is so hard!) that I check daily.
1. Lara @ Yarn It!- everything this woman knits makes me drool!
2. Del @ Cozy's Place - So funny! and a talented writer to boot!
3. Andrea @ Knit-Knac - She is actually in a band so she is rockin' for real! not to mention she talked me through the designing process for lemonade. Thanks a million!
4. Dawn @ Wild Yarn - Love love love her blog! She just seems so zen...I am striving to be like Dawn when I grow up.
5. Melinda @ Knits and Plants - Although her baby boy is sucking up her blogging and knitting time she still rocks in my book.

Now go forth and nominate other rockin girl bloggers!

Still Slummin'

with the crochet, that is. I have restarted the blankets for the super twins yet again and got this far before realizing that I will need at least 9 more skeins to finish them both. Swish is holding up quite nicely with all the frogging, so I think these will be pretty durable. After finishing the mitered blanket (Thanks for all the sweet comments by the way!) I again have the post knitting letdown. I have not knit a stitch until today. I knit a total of three rows on my Icarus shawl. I have two rows of the last chart to finish and then whatever line by line instructions for finishing/ binding off and I will finally be finished. The Gaming One's family reunion is this weekend (yay, three days in the beautiful mountains!) so I will probably take it to occupy the six hour drive. I just might get it finished by the end of the weekend!

I am feeling *blah* lately. I am not really sleeping well and generally feel disconnected from reality. Nothing bad is going on in my personal life, except that I have come to the conclusion that I drink too much and really need to cut back. I have not drank at all since last Friday. That is around 20+ alcoholic drinks I have not drank that I normally would have...My liver feels better already! It is not to the point that I drink in the morning or around my kids and it does not affect my relationships. I don't lie about how much I drink or hide booze. I have not hit rock bottom...but, I can see that road in the distance. Boy is it bumpy...