This and That

The Adara Shawl and I are fighting. I am not speaking to it until it stops removing yarnovers that I know I placed and messing up my count. I have put her in the basket for a time out. I cannot tink the same 200 stitches again this week!

As a distraction I decided to try an easy lace pattern with an actual laceweight. (Note: laceweight and Chicago public transportation do not mix well)

I love the yarn, KnitPicks Shimmer and now that I've tinked it a few times I'm alot more comfortable handling what seems like a thread. Sorry for the grainy shot, it's my cameraphone.

Yesterday I picked up the last item for my tourist in the Virtual Knitting Vacation Swap and got all that mailed off today. It had been awhile since I spent any time at LoopyYarns so it was good to see the ladies there! With volleyball over, I've sworn to make Friday night knitting there a priority at least twice a month!

I have been messing alot with Ravelry too now that I finally got my invite - it is pretty amazing! It kind of boggles me too, I mean I feel rude being able to 'add friends' that bloody well have no clue who I am! The Harlot must be innundated! (No, I didn't add her but I was tempted)

Knitting Helper

This is one of 3 furry helpers I have in my home - her name is Chloe. Her favorite thing in the WORLD is to chase the knob end of a long knitting needle and she does it whether or not I happen to be using the other end! I'll introduce the other 2 in a later post.

This is my boss on his birthday. Welcome to my world. He does, however tolerate the knitting on my desk.

ARGH!

ravelry > antsy
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Projects and Yarn!

This is my ever growing shawl and first effort at 'lace' knitting.....below is THE BAG FROM HELL, my vacation yarns and my yummy wool and spindle. Oh yes, and the Skully facecloth and finally finished wonderful table runner!

WOW!

I swear, I didn't realize I'd totally abandoned this blog! No way has it been a month since I posted anything!

Actually it has - I was depressed over losing Louise (thanks for the kind thoughts, everyone!) and then we had a little vacation trip to D.C. and then the re-entry into the real world after vacation..bleh! Time just flies!

So, D.C. was cool, I'd never been there. We stayed in Baltimore and commuted each day to see different stuff. My sweetie mapped out a trail to several different yarn stores and very patiently spent an entire day driving me to them and waiting while I prowled around. I bought some souvenier yarn here and there but really didn't go crazy. I 'did' treat myself to a pair of Lantern Moon wooden needles that I loved!

I finished 3 dishcloths on the trip as well as forging ahead on the table runner I was making. BAG from hell. I knitted like crazy to finish this thing and was soooo excited about felting it and 70 dollars worth of yarn later um...it just doesn't work right for me. The straps won't stay over my shoulder and it now sits home hanging over a doorknob. Lovely decoration. Pffffffffffttttttttt.

Stitches Midwest was here last weekend! I began knitting after all the cool classes had sold out but I went to the market on Sunday. I ran across Franklin, this great guy who is doing a photo shoot of a thousand knitters. I was really, REALLY shy but worked up the nerve to sit for him. He was funny and very easy to talk to! The best part of the market was finding the ladies at the wool coop booth and getting a lesson on a drop spindle with some lovely green shetland. OH YEAH! I've been dying to learn to spin but know better than to bring home a wheel before I've exhibited the correct fortitude to Jack by learning the cheaper version first! I'm still struggling with tension and stuff but it is such an awesome process and I feel incredibly smart for trying! Ha! Modest too!

Ok, that's enough psycho babble for now. Here are a few pictures I happen to have downloaded to my work PC.

Really Sad

I'm very sad tonight. I woke up this morning sick with a fever and many icky symptoms and I just have to say that when I was smoking feeling sick was evidently just a way of life. Now that I don't smoke getting sick is a whole other awful world and I hate it.

I stayed home because I couldn't be vertical and functional even though I can't afford time away from my desk. During one of my lucid moments I went to the living room for more yarn and snagged the mouse's cage for feeding/attention/love.

Our mouse was dead. :( Her name was Louise and she'd gotten mega vet care recently after ripping her ear somehow in her habitat. We'd administered antibiotics and continued lots of hands on handling but she's gone and it makes me so sad and afraid that I should have done more. She was fine yesterday, ran into my hand and up my shirt and we talked in that she squeaked and I made appropriate noises back and we had mousie love.

I hate losing a pet. In fact I live in fear of my old cat dying, she's 11 and hugely overweight and the light of my life. When she dies I will be using vacation time because I know I won't be able to go to work and act as if just a cat has gone elsewhere. Honestly, I'll be postal and imagine my doctor will prescribe nerve thingees and recommend counseling. I look at her alive and sleepy here, imagine her moving on and it makes me cry. Ick.

Catching Up!

I kept avoiding posting because I have all these pictures I want to share but really NEED to set up a photo storage account to link to and I really just NEVER take the time to figure all of that out…I mean, I need knitting time here!

That said there’s been a lot going on here in our little world. Pride was the 29th and as usual it was a great day with great friends! Not so great was the mini van that had parked directly behind us blocking our exit…bleh!

Work is very hectic for us both and most evenings we’re exhausted but I still manage to knit. I finished the gargantuan entrelac market bag and took it to my LYS to felt it. I LOVE how it turned out! I’ll post pics later today, I swear! I also finished the purple socks pictured below and I cast on another sock in an absolutely gorgeous yarn by Lorna’s Laces called Hawaii. The pattern for it is here: http://www.knitlist.com/00gift/japanese-feather-socks.htm I’m hoping that the white will really make the pattern pop – the purples and blues are really short segments within the yarn.

I am also working on the Adara Rainbow Shawl but in 3 colors instead of 12. I can’t do all those pinks and stuff, I am a green kinda gal so I picked 3 in the green/blue spectrum. It’s my first (successful so far) attempt at lace techniques and I am finally getting to know the pattern well enough that I’m not constantly ripping out as much as I knit! I’m starting to worry already about the size – it doesn’t look big in the picture but I’ve used 1 ball (of 12) and it is already like 20 inches wide when I stretch it a little! And yes, my gauge swatch was right on even though it says the gauge isn’t critical. I may end up with a triangular blanket, who knows.

The sock monkey has been adventuring – he traveled to Lincoln Park via bicycle recently and stopped with us on the way for pizza. Soon there will be pics of him in his travels! I also was assigned my 'traveler' in the Virtual Knitter's Vacation Swap and have been shopping for her already!