Prime knitting time...wasted

The Girl Wonder's Dad owns a cafe'. Today I worked for him and took my knitting along to work on in the car, however, in the rush to leave this afternoon I left the clipboard where I keep all the patterns I am currently working on. So tonight I am home. The house is clean. The children are with relatives. The Gaming One will not be home until 11. And all my knitting patterns are locked in a closed store.

Mop head no more!

Thanks to my Saving Grace! I wore it all day yesterday and will probably wear it all day.
Me:Does this look better?

The Gaming One: Oh, God yes! At least now you don't look like a gang member!

Pattern:Saving Grace

Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool-this is the never-ending skein. I feel the spinnin' elves are visiting me each time I use this yarn. I have used this one skein to knit half a felted bag, trim for the noro minisweater, now this and there is still yarn left over!

Needles: sz 8 bamboo dpn's (I like knitting narrow things on short dpn's)

It took more time for this to dry after blocking than it did to knit it! I will probably make many more of these! Thank you so much Dawn!

My Renaissance Man

The Gaming One said something last night that caught me completely off guard. As he was coming from the kitchen, Wild Turkey on the rocks in one hand a Don Diego cigar in the other, he looks at me, knitting on the couch, and says "Maybe I should learn to knit. After all, how else can I be a renaissance man?" I couldn't hide the sheepish grin that spread across my face. I suggested he start with a washcloth...I will alert the media when he actually picks up the needles.
Thanks to Franklin I have a new appreciation for knitters of the male persuasion. If you have never read his blog, please do yourself a favor and check him out. He is hilarious! All this talk of knittin' men has got me to wondering...how many of you ladies out there have inspired the menfolk in your lives to knit? I know Emms hubby has knit, I have seen the pictures! Is this common? Do any of y'all feel like your man is hoarding in on YOUR hobby? I think it would frustrate me to no end to teach my darlin' husband to knit only for him to end up a much better knitter than I am...I guess that is just the self-centered gal in me...I should be happy that he wants to pick up such a relaxing hobby. Hey, maybe he will even pick up a fiber fetish and then we can scope out the LYS together... Yeah, and hell will probably freeze over as well...

As for my own knitting, I have cast on for the NY Yankees blanket for my sister. I planned to knit a double sided blanket with the NY logo in the middle, but after about 25 rows I was not pleased with the way it was coming together, so I have decided to do a flat blanket. I will post a pic when I am a little further into it, since I only have knit 3 inches or so. I am hoping I can finish it without feeling like I am working in a sweatshop, furiously knitting as if my life depended on it. Her baby shower is the end of next month, so it should not be a problem. I casted on for Saving Grace, a headband pattern by Dawn (see her May 25th post) last night. I already have worked 10" of the pattern, so I should have it finished a little later today. When I saw the pattern I knew it was for me. I frequently have what I refer to as "mop head"...you know the condition that afflicts those of us that rarely go to the salon... See what I mean (lovely ain't it?)
This is the way I often combat "mop head" and for some reason my darling husband HATES this look. Whenever he comes home and I am fighting the "mop head" he asks "did your gang have a meeting today?" So, I am trying to find more girlie ways to combat "mop head" so we can all be happy...and I will no longer be accused of being a gang member. Saving Grace, I think, will be my saving grace!
My fingers are itching to cast on again for the Silk Corset Top that I started last weekend, only to realize that I was knitting the wrong size...Thankfully I made a mistake that required frogging the entire thing. I cast on for the wrong size partly because I just guessed what size I would be. I lost my measuring tape and could not find it anywhere... well, two days ago I found it, in The Boy Wonder's bag of army men. When I asked him what MY tape measure was doing in his bag (note: I suspected him all along and asked him quite a few times what he did with it) my sweet little 4 yo son looked up at me and said "I had to make sure the all the men were equally spaced." What do you say to a 4 yo that uses phrases like 'equally spaced'? I just shook my head, stifled a laugh and reminded him to ask before he takes things that belong to others. This kid really scares me. I think one day he and his sister are going to realize they are smarter than I am and plan an uprising...gotta love those precocious kids!

Thanks for the comments yesterday! you gals are great!

Blog beautification project

I feel a bit better about my blog baby...everything *seems* ok to me, but you never know how I'm gonna come across to all my bloggy friends, so if ya don't mind will ya leave me a little comment if anything looks wonky? you know like the sidebar moving all the way to the bottom of my post...or anything else! Much appreciation! Still on my agenda for the blog beautification project is turning this photo into my title...I have found some web refrences on how to do this, but am not quite sure how I am going to go about it, so any advice on that would be appreciated as well! Off to enjoy the beautiful day!

please excuse the mess...

I have decided after looking through my favorite blogs, that they all have something in common...a light background...and now I must have one too! So excuse the mess I have here, hopefully everything will be shiny and beautiful soon!

Anthropologie inspired-inspired capelet

So I was inspired by this, and made one back in February. I wear it almost weekly so I figured I needed another one. I had some beautiful Noro Kureyon color 115 patiently waiting to become something lovely. After seeing a capelet on craftster made with Noro I knew what my lovely Noro would become...

Since the Noro was lighter weight than the original pattern called for, smaller needles and a calculator were in order.

Pattern mods: With Sz. 8 circs and contrast color cast on 112 stitches. k1p1 rib for 2". Switch to main color

Row 1 (RS): k21,yo,pm,k1,yo,k7,yo,pm,k1,yo,k52,yo,pm,k1,yo,k7,yo,pm,k1,yo,k21

Row 2 and all WS rows: p across

I followed Julsey's pattern from there except my RS rows were the ones with the knit stitches facing. I continued the stockinette stitch for the body for 4" after I put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn. Switch to contrast color and work k1p1 rib for 2". BO in rib. Here is when the knittin' laziness set in. I intended to knit 2" of k1p1 rib to finish the sleeves, but kept getting those nasty ladders where my dpn's met. Fed up with the dpn's I decided to simply crochet a little ruffle around each sleeve.

I carefully pulled out the scrap yarn and with a sz G crochet hook and contrast color, RS facing, starting in armpit and inserting hook knitwise in the live stitch I slipstitched around until all the live stitches were picked up. join. (disregard the armpit gap) through back loop only *DC 3 times in first stitch, skip a stitch, SC in next stitch, skip a stitch* repeat around. I then used some *ahem* creative stitching to close the armpit gap. I weaved in the loose ends, handwashed and blocked. I can't wait to wear it!

Imagine that!

I thought this was cool, since I love a nice dry vodka martini! I think a trip to the ABC store is in order! As I told my family this weekend, I am NOT a lush. I am, however, luscious!

You Are a Martini

There's no other way to say it: you're a total lush. You hold your liquor well, and you hold a lot of it!

What Mixed Drink Are You?

a frogging we will go...

So I tried to fix my mistake on the silk corset top and it looked horrible, so I took it off the needles fully intending to frog away my frustrations for having to start over on on this long coveted, beautiful top. I had a moment of clarity before starting though and had this conversation with myself...
.this looks like shit, you can totally notice where I fucked up the pattern
..well, maybe you can fix it with a crochet hook
.not such a bad idea
(ladders down the stitches and tries to pick them up)
.this looks even worse, I gotta start this over and it was so pretty.damn.
..before you pull out all the stitches maybe you shoud try it on...it does look a bit small
.ok.sure.whatever
sure as shit, after I tried it on I realized I was knitting the garment of my dreams. in the wrong size!
so once again my friends, bad things sometimes happen for a good reason, even if we do not realize it at the time! thank you fate!

A Myrtle Beach trip...

This time the kids and I went with my parents, sisters, brother, and spouses/children of all. 14 people sharing 3 rooms for three days...too much togetherness any way you look at it! We managed to have a great time regardless...lots of alcohol was consumed (the main advantage of having Catholic parents!) and a few of us were, um, shall we say shitfaced...I had enough friday night before dinner that I only had 2 drinks the rest of the weekend. I also think I got food poisoning from the seafood buffet ($68 for me and 2 kids- I felt violated after getting this check!) because I was VIOLENTLY ill friday night about 3am...My sisters joked it was all the alcohol, but without giving y'all tmi, I think it was a bit more than that...My oldest sister (who only drinks liquor about 2 times a year) was so drunk by the pool at 4pm my other sister and I had to go collect her before she embarrassed herself (*ahem* she was too drunk to be embarrassed by the time we collected her). We safely got her back to the room and fed and she was out cold by 5:30. The menfolk managed to hold their beers a bit better than the women folk... The kids had a great time by the pool and ocean (don't worry, there were sober adults watching the kids swim!) .
I was also able to give Mom her Somewhat Cowl, however the fates were against us (the Cowl was still damp on saturday and she did not want to stretch it out of shape) so I was unable to get a picture of her in it. She absolutely loved it though! My sisters even told me it looked like I bought it! My Mom had it spread out on a table in our hotel room all weekend (she said she just wanted to look at it because it was so pretty!) The stitches looked so much better after washing, and all my concerns drained away with the rinse water! Thanks again for all the comments!
During the trip, I finally casted on for the Silk Corset Top by Annie Modesitt. I have lusted after this top since I first saw it last September or October. I have to admit, I was intimidated at first. After all, it is so pretty and looks so complicated. I'm telling y'all now, there was nothing to be afraid of! Sure there are charts, but Annie also provided written instructions for all that are chart virgins, or just scared. It is knit in one piece (Yay for no seaming!) from the top down. From the looks of this I am about a quarter of the way through. I really wish I had a pair of size 6 circs...this back and forth action is getting heavy, and I really feel it in my wrists much more so than when I knit on circs.
However I noticed this flub. That column *should* have been purled... but I think I can fix it with a crochet hook, cause I really do not want to frog and reknit this...I am using Knit Picks Shine Worsted (60% cotton/40% modal) color bachelor button. Is it possible that I love this yarn more than Knit Picks Shine? I just might! It seems to have a bit more fluffiness than Shine does...almost as if the plys are twisted a bit tighter in Shine. But I have a feeling I will use these yarns again and again!

Did I mention I Love this

Sorry, I just can't get over myself...I really cannot believe I knit this!
Excuse my ghetto methods of drying my lovely knits...

Somewhat Finished!

The Somewhat Cowl is finally finished, and I could not be more pleased with it. I took it to Mom (half finished) on Mother's Day, beautifully wrapped, with pattern and needles included, and joked that for Mother's Day I was giving her the gift of learning to knit. Her response, "so for Mother's Day you want me to go completely crazy?! All this time I thought you loved me."

I convinced her I was just kidding, and she loved the sweater. I can't wait to get a picture of her in it. I love this so much I am sure I will make one for myself.

Yarn:Knit Picks Shine-color, orchid (60% cotton/40% modal) 9 skeins for sz 38 bust.

Things I learned: knitting small circumferences with two circs, as well as Magic Loop. I also learned that magic loop only works when your cord is very flexible. I learned I can successfully pick up stitches around a neckline as well! The following picture is the actual color. I am still baffled by photography... as you can see, I still need a bit of practice to ensure my knit rows and purl rows are the same.

Somewhat progress...

I have finally finished the body portion of the Somewhat Cowl. I absolutely love this so far, however I am again having fears that this will not fit Trucker Mamma, or that it will be more curve hugging than she would like. We shall see, I suppose. You cannot tell from the picture, but there is a noticeable difference in the back and forth section of the fabric versus the knit in the round section...my purl rows are taller (for lack of a better word) than my knit rows. Does this happen to everyone, or is my inexperience showing? I have never blocked cotton, so I am hoping it will smooth out a bit in the washing/blocking process. Maybe this is something only a fellow knitter would notice... I am using 2 circs to knit the sleeves instead of dpn's to avoid ladders...This is my first time doing this and while it was a bit fiddly at first (much like my first attempt at using dpn's) after a few rows it was smooth sailing! I love this method of knitting in the round. I am considering trying the Magic Loop method of knitting the rib portion, since I do like to learn something new with each project. I really got to get to knitting since Trucker Mamma is going to be home on Monday instead of Thursday like I originally thought... I have a feeling I underestimated how long it will take me to knit the cowl...6 inches of 2x2 rib over 200 stitches...yikes! I am gonna try my best to finish both sleeves by the time I go to bed tonight. That self-indulgent beach knitting is biting me in the ass about right now... y'all know what they say about hindsight *sigh*
Later Chicks!

Imagine that...something else in common with Emms... Cheer Bear was always my favorite!

See what Care Bear you are.

Back from Mini Vacation

Hi y'all, I spent the weekend at my inlaws beach house with the family and came back to all those nice comments on my last post. Thanks so much! I am so sorry to say I have no pictures of the Clapotis (I know, bad, bad, blogger) because I already gave it to my MIL. She is staying at the beach until the end of the month, and I knew this would be the only time I would see her. She loved it! She was also surprised that 1) I kept it a secret since I started it in March and 2)the fact that the Boy Wonder kept it a secret as well...Quite an feat for a 4 year old! I think she thanked and hugged me about 5 times...It is so satisfying to knit for fellow knitters! It looks like every other clapotis you have seen thus far...except the one I made was solid blue. But here are the specs for anyone interested...
Yarn: Peru4Less 100% Alpaca - I bought this yarn on ebay and it had no information as far as gauge or weight, however, I think it would be considered laceweight because it was really thin and it only took a little over 2 skeins to knit the entire Clap. Since I bid on 10 skeins I have quite a bit left so I see a blue clap in my future...I may even try to dye some of it and see what happens... anyone have any other suggestions for the 6.5 skeins of leftover yarn??
Needles: sz.8- I probably could have used smaller needles, but I really liked the openness (is that a word?) of the knit.
Mods: I followed the pattern except I purled the sts between the twisted sts to avoid using stitch markers.
My opinion: Like all of you that have knit this before me, I loved the pattern, I loved the result, and I will make another.

As I mentioned before, I spent the weekend at my Inlaws beach house... since the beach is 3 hours away I got in lots of knitting time. I was inspired by the Anthropologie inspired capelet found on Craftster to make one with the knotty Noro. However, I am using sz.8 needles and had to cast on quite a few more stitches. Here is my progress so far...

As with the other one I made, I am adding quite a bit to the bottom, so it is more of a mini sweater than a capelet with sleeves. In my opinion the colors look much better in real life than they do in the pic. After all the knitting bigamy I granted myself permission to cast on for this and just work on it over this beach weekend. So it will be on the back burner until I finish the Somewhat Cowl. I still have to knit the rib section at the bottom, both sleeves and the cowl, not to mention washing and blocking, so I must get back to it to ensure I will finish it in time to give it to Trucker Mamma.

I am feeling a bit brain-dead today and feel as if I am trying to type with someone else's hands thus, I have had to correct more typos than ever, so please excuse my lack of focus/poor writing...hopefully I will be back to normal soon...

Clapotis Finished!

Oh man, oh man, I want this now more than ever! The Clapotis is all finished and I love it sooo much! I am glad I have more of this yarn...Due to a new computer I have no idea how to post pictures (or how to get them off my camera) so pictures to follow as soon as I can get a lesson from the Gaming One! I have started another Anthropologie inspired capelet with some grey Paton's wool and the knotty Noro Kureyon. I love starting new projects... More to come when I am in more of a bloggy mood!

Can I knit 11 rows every day?

I sure hope so...cause if I want to finish all my Mother's day presents I am going to have to...hmmm I have 102 rows of Clapotis and 172 rows of Somewhat Cowl- granted not all of the rows are the same length, but that will be an encouragement when I get to them. Did I mention I do not even have the needles to knit the rib on the Somewhat Cowl? yeah...I have to order them...better get to crackin...

in other news...We have a new computer! Which is great! Right!??
well yes, until I realized that none of my saved website favorites would magically appear on this harddrive just because it is sitting in the same place on the desk...and since we did not also buy a new monitor, our old computer with all my precious, precious weblinks sits in the floor...as useless as useless can be...mocking me i am sure...did I mention all the pictures I have ever taken of The Boy Wonder since the day he was born are on that hard drive? yeah...ya think I would plan a little better than that, wouldn't you?

No new knitting...too busy looking at the flowers...

Everything is finally green and beautiful...it is my favorite time of the year. Everything looks so fresh and promising, before the sweltering heat of NC summer deflates all the tired, thirsty plants...
I think a haiku is in order...

Haughty spring roses
mesmerize passing noses
appetite appeased.

I tend to like things others do not. I live in a neighborhood so I try to plant different things than my neighbors... So I have a carnivorous bog. This is a great site to check out if you are interested in carnivorous plants http://www.californiacarnivores.com/. Most of my pitcher plants have bloomed. They all have such interesting flowers.
Here is the entire bog. It is right outside next to our patio. Besides the pitcher plants I also have a venus flytrap, a cobra plant and a sundew. It has been very fascinating to watch the plants, and kids are always interested in them.
Ok y'all, I am off to get some knitting done...(Emms, if you are reading, I hope you are feeling better...I know it sucks...)

happy birthday to me...

I am celebrating the third anniversary of my 25 birthday! Thanks mom for bringing me into this world and raising me to be the woman I am today! I, for one, think you did a great job!

Love is in the air!

We have a family of skinks living in our green house and back yard... I have seen these two many, many times the past couple of days...I am glad they found eachother!

I spotted them out my kitchen window...kitchen view of the greenhouse

100 things about me

1. I am a down-to-earth, blue jean and t-shirt wearing southern girl.
2. I see no reason to ever be mean to anyone, ever. Karma is a big enough bitch without my help.
3. I try to see the silver lining of the cloud, no matter how dark the cloud.
4. I tell my friends what they need to hear, which is not always what they want to hear.
5. I read my horoscope everyday.
6. I am a taurus.
7. My favorite color is yellow, but I only have 2 yellow pieces of clothing-1 is a dress, the other is a skirt.
8. I like to drink alcoholic beverages, but not girlie drinks.
9. I drink coffee with sugar and cream every morning.
10. I have 13 different types of hot tea in my cabinet.
11. I was the last of my friends to lose my virginity.
12. I was almost 17.
13. I got pregnant 6 months later.
14. I figured out I was pregnant when I fainted at band camp-two weeks before the start of my senior year.
15. Baby's daddy and I got married when I was three months pregnant.
16. I graduated early, but only after my Mom wrote a note to the school board.
17. My Mom had to write me excuse notes when I missed class-even though I was married and did not live with her.
18. I was married to The Girl Wonder's dad for three years.
19. I did things during those three years I will never do again. I hope my family NEVER finds out about some of them. They probably know more than I would like to think.
20. I honestly believe that being married with a child while so young kept me from catching numerous STDs during college.
21. I am kinky.
22. I am bisexual. My parents don't know.
23. The Gaming One was a room mate of mine and hubby #1.
24. We are all great friends now. But it took a few years for us all to get there.
25. I still feel guilty about leaving hubby #1- even though I know in my heart that it was the right decision.
26. The Gaming One and I only got married so I could have great insurance.
27. We wanted a baby.
28. We had both been married before and realized a piece of paper (marriage license) would not keep us together.
29. We were married in September and I was pregnant by October. The Gaming One was very proud of himself.
30. I have homeschooled my kids since day 1.
31. My parents thought my decision to homeschool was a phase/crazy notion, until kids started shooting eachother at school.
32. I think I am a good parent.
33. I am often critical of other parents.
34. I feel like I have two personalities-1)Mama 2)Sexy Wild Woman
35. I keep Sexy Wild Woman away from my children.
36. I try to be a good role model for all kids.
37. In public, I would rather speak to kids than their parents.
38. I am a bit antisocial.
39. I drink too much when I go to bars.
40. I prefer to drink at home.
41. I rarely eat breakfast-although I cook for my kids as soon as they wake up.
42. I do not like chain restaurants.
43. I do not like processed food- but love me some raman noodles!
44. I was a vegetarian for three years.
45. I started eating meat again because my extended family gave me hell about having an eating disorder.
46. They still think I am too skinny.
47. I weigh 20 lbs. less now than when I was in high school.
48. I love rare steaks and sushi.
49. I learned to knit by accident...I bought a purse at a thrift shop and it was full of knitting needles.
50. I had only crocheted before, but never finished anything until after I was a knitter. I made a granny square blanket and gave it to my mom. She cried.
51. I taught myself to knit.
52. My MIL is the only other person I know that knits.
53. I am totally obsessed now-I knit at least 2 hours every day.
54. I prefer to knit at night.
55. I do not have a driver's license. never have.
56. I have only driven about 20 times in my whole life.
57. My parents are divorced.
58. I have 2 stepsisters and a brother.
59. I did not like my stepsisters before my mom married their dad. We are great friends now.
60. My Mom is my favorite person. We are very much alike. I was always her favorite child.
61. I wanted to be a doctor when I was growing up.
62. Now I would rather be an RN or a midwife.
63. I hope someday to go back to college to get a degree.
64. I am in no hurry. I have kids to raise first.
65. I do not want more kids.
66. I have realized I am too selfish to raise another baby. and I value sleep.
67. I tend to be bitchy when I am not well rested.
68. I would rather say nothing than argue.
69. I can go all day without eating.
70. I love reality tv-but only the ones on cable tv. No network reality for me.
71. I love to garden, but hate to water and weed. The Gaming One has threatened me with apartment living if I don't water on a regular basis this summer.
72. I am 5'3.
73. I am attracted to tall men...The Gaming One is 6'6.
74. I prefer to go barefoot.
75. If I go out I wear high heels or chunky heeled shoes- even to Lowe's and Home Depot. The Gaming One gets on me for not wearing sensible shoes.
76. I think my best features are my legs and ass.
77. I secretly want to be a writer so I can work from home.
78. I also wanted to be an earthworm farmer.
79. I do not think I would be good at a normal 9 to 5 job.
80. especially since I often sleep past 9 -if The Boy Wonder permits.
81. I am an overachiever.
82. If I am not good at something when I first try it, I usually will not attempt it again. see #55 for example.
83. I have worn glasses (or contacts) since I was 10 (13 for the contacts). I am practically blind without them.
84. I think there is nothing worse than being a liar.
85. I would rather someone steal from me than lie to me.
86. I was raised Southern Baptist and Catholic (a result of my parents divorce).
87. Now I am not even a Christian. I feel like a hypocrite when I go to church.
88. My parents do not know that either. They keep inviting me to church.
89. I have not been in 5 years.
90. I am very spiritual.
91. I believe that there is good in everyone.
92. I am very empathetic.
93. I will cry if I see a grown man cry-even if I do not know him.
94. I always cry at weddings and funerals. and tv drama if I am on my period.
95. I loved to read as a kid-books were my escape.
96. Since I have started knitting I do not read much at all-unless you count blogs
97. or kid books...I read to my kids everyday.
98. I am surprised that I update my blog-I have never written in any journal more than a couple times, though I like to start them.
99. I am good at math.
100. I am vain, though I wish I were not.

Wow. That was easier than I thought.