Thursday, June 21, 2007

Socks - here I come!

I've done it! I've purchased my first ever sock yarn (from Fearless Fiber) in the delightfully fresh Meadow colorway. I've also decided to use DPNs instead of the two circulars method as I have much less of a laddering problem with DPNs than with the two circulars. I have not a clue why, but, it works for me, I guess. I have won an auction on ebay and my dpns should be in the mail soon. So now I'm stalking the post lady... please please bring me my new gifts!

In other news, Isabella was frogged. I wasn't happy with the eyelets, I was dreading the joining together, the hemming, the short row shoulders, all of it. I'm currently attempting to re-roll my yarn from its ramen noodle state - any suggestions on how to keep freshly frogged yarn from tangling all up during the frogging to just like new status? This is my second frog and I have made a HUGE mess. So huge, my husband wonders why I'm wasting so much time on unravelling... can't I just buy new yarn? Well, not really, plus, there is something calming about untangling yarn. But not so calming that I'm not interesting in hearing how others avoid this problem :)

Well, I'm signing off for the weekend. I have a baseball game to attend, new bedroom and livingroom furniture to purchase, fresh tomatoes (homegrown!) to eat, a baby to chase around and some grandparents to entertain. All in all, it should be a fun, not-so-relaxing weekend ahead. Enjoy yours!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Serendipity

So, my day started out pretty good. I got the latest version of knitty. As always, there are patterns that I'm eagerly adding to my quickly expanding "to-do" list. One of them, "Grow with me" especially caught my eye as it uses cotton ease - an easy addition to my stash as it is relatively cheap and available at the local chain craft store. As I scrolled down to the bottom to read the stats about the designer, I was taken aback. I KNOW this person! Of course, its been 5 years, and I might be mistaken. But seriously. I'd even been thinking about trying to look her up lately. and Shazam... there she was. Published in knitty.

So, I send her a tentative email, hoping I don't creep her out and she replied that yes, indeed, she is the Laura Brown I worked with one summer between my sophomore and junior years of college. HOW COOL IS THAT?! I know a published knit designer. Sweet. Of course, back then, I knew nothing of knitting's joys and Laura and I chatted about politics and our life dreams and how much a college town sucks when all the students go home for the summer. If it weren't for knitting, I'd never have found her.

Unfortunately, my day sort of went down hill after that. The admin that had given her two weeks notice, decided that she'd rather just not come back in, so instead of having until next Thursday to get someone trained, I suddenly had both all of the training, all of the organizing, all of the shite back on my plate to deal with. And I was THIS close to finishing a gigantic project that I'm sick and tired of dealing with. THIS close, ladies and gentleman. Gurk.

And then I finally went to the dentist. I have naturally pitted teeth, so visits to the dentist are always traumatizing and painful experiences. Not so, this time. He didn't even stick his nasty little hook into my teeth. Not once! I have two cavities that need to be filled (boo!), but its been 6 years, so all in all, that's not too bad. I was told, once again, that I need to have my wisdom teeth removed. Since I actually have money this time (last time I was a college student and had better things to do with my time and money than undergo oral surgery...), I might actually call up their office and schedule an appointment. But not until work gets ironed out.

Annan is doing really well. She's still waking much more often than I'd prefer, but we're adjusting. And, really, not much is better than cuddling a warm, soft baby, even if its 3AM. I'm pretty sure she's very close to crawling. She has really started to turn around in circles well and has mastered the art of rolling from back to tummy to back again, so I have to be careful where I leave my knitting supplies. She's already tried to eat my WIP at least twice.

My mom comes out to visit at the end of next week. I'm excited. Its only been a few months, but its always good to hang out with family. And now that Annan's here, I don't have to worry about entertaining. My LO does that for me :)

Oh yes, knitting updates. I'm nearly done with my curly purly diaper cover. I'm currently trying to puzzle out the final knitting insturctions. I'm not sure if "continue in stockinette until leg opening measures 11" means that I should be measuring the length of the fabric since the leg opening started or if the length of the two sides of the legholes should be 11" from end to end when laid flat. I'm thinking the latter, but I'll need to test it on Annan before doing anything permanent to be sure. Tonight, we'll be watching the first disk in the last season of Deadwood, so I doubt much knitting will get done. I'm still not very good at knitting and watching TV.

Well, dinner is nearly ready. Hope you have a blessed day!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Life has come at me like a ton o' bricks

So, i've been busy. Knitting. Taking care of baby. Working. Attempting to get some sleep. Getting involved again in intellectual discussions... you know, re-engaging.

Where to start. I've finished one of the super easy leg-warmers - yeah! A diaper cover, and all of Kate's limbs. Now, she just needs to be assembled and we're off to the races. I'm nearly done with another diaper cover using kate's leftovers... now annan will match her toy :)

work has blown up on me. One of the VPs AND his admin have resigned. Fortunately (or unfortunately more like) I was crosstrained in the VPs duties, so guess who gets to do them for a less-than-executive-salary? Moi. Yup. Not so fun. However, this particular VP leaving is a good thing for our company, I think. That will bear out over time.

Annan has been having a rough month. Lots of grumpies + very little sleeping = a very tired and stressed out mama. Thankfully, the little one has woken up her usual happy self for the last two days, so perhaps, we can just put last month behind us and look forward to the sunny days ahead.

My tomatoes are GORGEOUS! Now, I just have to hope the weather keeps cooperating and the fruit can set. This is my first attempt at gardening edible things, and with all the rain we've been getting, seems to have come off without a hitch. I think I'll try to plant more tomatoes in the fall - some unusual varieties, like yellow ones, or zebra ones or something... make it interesting.

I started a knitting group from my home. Hey, when you have a sensitive 6 month old, you've got to bribe people to come over and hang out with you :) And trust me, its much easier for them to come to me than for me to go to them. Its been fun teaching them the fine art of knitting. I tell you what, kids are speedy learners. Makes me ashamed of how long it took me to get the whole cast0on thing right.

Well, must run, Annan is awake again. More later.