Saturday, January 12, 2008

Ravelry, etc.

I got my invite and I'm now over on Ravelry. My name is -- here's a real surprise -- bonneewolf. And I've gotten sucked into the discussions on the message boards over there. Emailing and looking for projects so I'm not spending enough time doing my own projects or updating over here.

Okay, so let's start with projects. Where am I and how far along? Yeah, yeah, pics would help. I am overdue for some pics on the various projects I have planned. But the important thing is that I got my Color Your Own kit from Mom for Christmas. I started it shortly before Christmas (so I had something to work on that day... er, not that I did because we sat around and chatted for hours... ) Anyway, the sleeves are done and I'm almost at the halfway point on the pattern graph of the body. I guess that's about halfway (or a bit more) on the whole sweater. Good progress for someone who doesn't knit as much when she's off from work compared to the hours I've got when I am at work.

Geez.... I surely hope the boss never sees my blog. /wry g/

I have three technical days left before I go back. New students are moving in for orientation over the weekend, so I go back on Thursday. Part of me looks forward to it because I get a lot more knitting done. Part of me hates it because I spend 40 hrs a week sitting in a little aluminum and glass box. But the part of me that looks forward to it is bigger than the part of me that hates it, so I guess that's a good thing... /g/

I also have the Timber Framed kit for my brother's sweater here. It's waiting for me to finish the Color Your Own so I have an idea of what I'm doing. I'll never be comfortable until I get that first steek under my belt, so I'm anticipating and dreading at the same time.

Course, something dawned on me this week. I'm doing all the color changes at one of the side seams. Great for the sleeves since there won't be any steeking involved. But the sweater will involve cutting open the holes to insert the sleeves. This means I'll be cutting right through my color changes. Hmm.... maybe I should write an email to Ann and/or Eugene to ask about this. Should I move my color changes to another part of the sweater? Should I not worry about it and simply keep going? I mean, I weave in the new color before it begins and then weave out the old before I cut it. Now those woven pieces will be meaningless since I'll be cutting them effectively right at the beginning and end of the row. (Does that make sense or did I just type in babble? /g/)

Now, I have other good knitterly stuff. I have a huge order from KnitPicks due sometime this week. Lots of yarn and some EZ DVDs. We're talking over $150 worth of goodness. But I have to make some minor adjustments to the socks I made for Hubby. He likes them, but I need to make some minor fitting stuff for them to be a bit more comfortable. (He doesn't like the purl nubs under his feet, so reverse st st under the foot. And a bit of shaping so they don't sag over his ankles. Minor stuff.) The point is that he likes them!! Woo hoo! I also have some sport wt yarn coming so I can make another pair with smaller needles. (Yup, that negates that purl nub under the foot problem, but I'll work him down slowly.) More of the same heavy worsted wt yarn for more mittens. More needles for Magic Loop... Lots of goodies in this shipment.

And, now, where was it?!? Whitknits.com? They have a sale on Noro yarns. 20% off until, I think, the end of the month. I got a couple skeins for socks and they had a delicious silk lace wt for like $8 for 1100 yds. I've been looking at the box shawl design from Cheryle Oberle's Folk Shawls and I think I could make that one with like 3 skeins. So I ordered.

Yeah, my credit card companies are in love with me. I didn't use them before Christmas, but I've been liberal in the after holiday sale madness... /sigh/

Oh, and I found a terrific buy! Stopped at The Yarn Barn over in Amity and found Happy Feet in the most wonderful colorway for $6 a skein. Kewl! I'm so used to paying double that price for wonderful yarn and now I can get a pair of socks for about $12. Is that kewl or what? Biggest problem was finding the right pattern. I tried Jaywalker. Nope. Wasn't working for me. Tried the Garden Trellis that came out so gorgeous in the Stone Barn Fibers colorway Ice Cream Sundae. Nope. Looked like cat yak. I finally decided to rib the top and simply not bother with any pattern whatsoever. So this is my mindless knitting when I want to get away from the sweater.

I figure, if I get to work on my sweater, I should have the Color Your Own done by the end of the month. Get to work on my brother's and, if I knit my little fingers off, I might actually have it done by his birthday on Feb 25th. I'm not counting on it, but that's my goal.

Then I can finally start my Dale of Norway Albertville '92 Olympic design. I'm going to try that one in KnitPicks' Palette yarns and can do the sweater for about $35 or $40. Yup, I like that pricetag. I doubt I'll finish it before warm weather starts, but I should have a good beginning and be able to pick it back up in the fall and wear it before it gets downright cold. Course, having that done before the end of Sept when the Durham Fair occurs (and I can submit it in the knitting contest) would be fantastic, but we'll see about that. I have 8 months to figure it out... /g/

Other news? I never talk about my health because I've always been very lucky. If you happen to listen to the Lime n Violet podcast, let's just say that I know where the alien baby went. My doc has determined that I'm perimenopausal (think: semi-homicial) and I have a fibriod that isn't shrinking like it's supposed to. We might have to c-section that baby outa there. I'll know more when I go back during the spring break in March. Right now, I'm just uncomfortable and dreaming of new ways to hide the bodies of those I have to sacrifice for the greater good of humanity... LOL!

Now, I have to get to work. Yesterday, I did cleaning. Geez, what was I thinking!?!?!? Washed every dirty dish and utensil in the house. Emptied and washed out the litter box. Laundry. Even washed the outside of my trash can. Yikes! I must've found some crack someplace because I abhor cleaning and organizing and whatever. I've been bribing my kids for years. And, yes, I've figured that once the girls move out, I'll have free money that I can pay someone to do it for me then. But something came over me.... Oh, that's right. Alien baby. Don't let my husband read this or he'll tell me we're not only going to keep it, we're adopting so it can stay...

LOL!

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