Twenty-Nine of Fifty-Two, The Final

My finally finished Fabel vanilla socks from hell. Never have I had such problems knitting a self striping sock! The second sock has about five joins in it, at least, in order to make them match. Started March 14, finished the 31st. Pair 30 of 52 for the 52PP, my final contribution to the KAL before the deadline. Plain old vanilla, 60sts on 2.25mm needles, heel over 30sts, toe to 20sts. (BTW, there's going to be a 52PP 2 starting June 1. Details here.)

They're as close as they're going to get.

Part of the reason for the second sock not matching up was stupidity on my part. (Which was sooooo stupid I won't even go into detail on just how stupid it was. I must have been smacked with a stupid stick is all I will say.) The other part was the discovery of this little fellow upon winding the ball for probably the 20th time (no exaggeration). Of course it wasn't joined where the color repeats would continue in sequence. (Heddy, didn't you have that problem with your Fabel Sockapalooza socks?)

Took Jewel and the boys to the tennis/basketball ball court beside the community swimming pool and a ball field last night. It's totally enclosed, so we thought we'd take her there and let her off the leash so she couldn't escape. Of course, the back corner was tore apart. Hubby had extra bungies in the truck and tried to get it closed as much as he could to prevent her from getting out. There are three ball fields about a two minute walk from home, right across from my parents. The big field is totally enclosed but is now locked due to vandalism. The littlest field is totally enclosed, however that also has a hole in the fence straight down from first base, big enough for her to walk through. These thing probably won't get fixed. I doubt they're high priority (especially since they really aren't dog parks, but since there's none around here ya gotta make do).

Come on, someone! Let's play!

Nice action shot of Jewel running at us with the tennis ball.

Tired from running. The kids were outside the fence, so she wanted to follow, of course.

That's about it. I had to drive to the city again Saturday to fetch Hubby at the truck terminal again, second weekend in a row. This time he was in Sydney, hooked to his trailer, went to leave, and BANG! Something broke in the rear end. He managed to drive it with the power divider on to the garage. They spent the afternoon today tearing it apart but haven't found the exact problem yet. Big bucks regardless, on top of the breakdown the weekend before. (Broken spring, new king pins, machined front axle.) Plus he lost basically three days work for the spring incident, and this will probably four or five days, depending on what they actually find wrong, what they need to order, etc. (Then there's the moose bumper he got a few days before the truck started being difficult.) They close at 5, too, not like the garage in Bridgewater that is open til midnight, and the one we go to in the city is open til 2am. He says no more working the weekend, nothing is open, can't get the truck fixed, and he has to hitch rides home. Plus I hate driving any distance. Needless to say he got to drive home both times.

Anyways, I will stop here. I've been depressed enough as it is lately, don't need to bring everyone else down with me. We were watching Fargo, Hubby's never seen it, but of course the pager went off for a chimney fire. That thing has perfect timing, I'll tell ya! So it's paused so I could finish the post I started this afternoon.

Happy knitting!

PS There's a contest going on over here. Check it out. Tell her Lexa sent you!

Easter

I hope everyone had a good Easter and didn't eat too much chocolate! (Or turkey or ham or anything else.) The boys dyed Easter eggs on Saturday.

Their Easter loot. The Littlest One got a Nascar basket, and the Oldest One got a Monster Garage basket. Plus there was the baskets from the Easter Bunny with chocolate bunny, mini Monster Truck speed demons, dinky car, and chocolate eggs. Plus the standard egg hunt throughout the house, carefully placed by the EB so Jewel wouldn't get them.

The little bugger even has strong enough legs that he could jump way up to my candelabra and hide eggs! They needed help getting these down.

Nothing finished on the knitting front. Too many things on the go, I feel at the moment. I have the body of nephew's sweater finished and one sleeve almost done. I should set everything aside for a day or two and make myself a new pair of slippers since I have yet another pair wore through. I had to drive to the city yesterday morning to get hubby. The truck broke a spring on Saturday and couldn't get repaired over the weekend, naturally, since everything was closed. He hitched a ride to the city terminal with another driver, so I had to go get him. Today he got a ride back in with a company driver, then he'll have to hitch a ride with another company driver who's going to the Moncton terminal where his truck is. It's always something, no wonder we never get ahead. This on top of the bill for the new bumper he got. I haven't seen it yet, but the old bumper was shot, so he got a moose bumper. I'll have to take a picture when he gets home. (Click on this link, and the truck with the guy standing by it looks just like our truck, so I'd imagine hubby's new bumper looks similar.) He's wanted one of these for a long time now. The company he works for pays for half, but still, they ain't cheap. But if he hits a deer he can keep on truckin' no problem, and this will greatly reduce any damage if he ever does hit a moose. They can write your truck off and/or kill the driver with their massive size. He runs New Brunswick a lot, and the moose season is coming. Having one of these also reduces the insurance deductible on an animal strike.

Anyhoo, I really should go work on something. I took my sweater yesterday to knit on the drive home. I really need to finish something!

Happy knitting!

Scattered

My knitting has been very scattered lately, it seems. I have too many "active" things on the go. I usually won't work actively on more than two things at a time. Right now I have a pair of socks, my sweater, sweater for nephew, plus another sweater just like nephew's but was going to be waaayyy too big. (Yes, I started another one. This one looks much better size-wise.)

I finished one sock last night and grafted to toe this morning. I am having a helluva time trying to figure out where to start the second sock so it stripes the same. I think I finally found it. I hope so or I know I'll end up ripping it out. They have to be matchy-matchy. (Fabel sock yarn, btw.) I'll take this with me to the Oldest One's curling tomorrow morning and start it. Tonight's knitting is nephew's sweater.

Been slack at the knitting the past two days. School was cancelled yesterday due to freezing rain, so the kids got a five-day weekend. (Nice treat right after March break, eh?) I'm off for six days in a row, Thursday through Tuesday, go back Wednesday. I thought I'd get great things accomplished. But then Pogo releases a new game (Mahjong Safari), and I'm addicted. So a lot of time has been wasted at the computer. Some games I can knit and play, some I can't. My favorite games are mostly ones that I can't knit and play. Of course. But the kids demand computer time, and they like the new game, too, so it's starting to even out. Plus Most Haunted is on later, so I'll be glued to the television with knitting in hand.

This isn't a very good picture, granted, but this is the new Patons Stretch Sock that is coming out next month. It's not a link on their site yet. I preordered a bag of each color. It's a wool/cotton/nylon/elastic blend. I'm not sure of the price yet, but I'm hoping it will be along the same line as what the Kroy is now, $5.69-$6.39 at our store. Could be more, though, with the cotton in it. We have some Regia cotton sock yarn, and that ran a little more, $7.99. (20% off now, though, all of the Regia we have in-stock) I'm sure a couple of skeins will come home with me to try. (They're 50g balls.)

Anyhoo, it's getting late, and the kids haven't showered yet. Yes, my boys are pretty much night owls. Can't sleep in tomorrow, either, as curling starts at 8am. I got to catch a few minutes of the World Figure Skating Championships on tv tonight, but I couldn't spot Nova Knitter. Apparently she's across from the judges three rows up, but I'm half blind, and the cameras didn't go close enough for me to see her. I guess she's kind of a knitting celebrity now? LOL! At least she didn't get arrested at Heathrow with her bamboo needles.

Oh, yes. I saw this today (the socks!) and think I'll try it on my next pair of vanilla socks. I always do 60sts on 2.25mm needles, and they fit fine except I find them a little baggy above the ankles. This may help a lot. Worth a try.

Lots of knitting to get accomplished tomorrow night. My movie is on, and it's a long one. I watch it every Easter without fail. Has to be the original Ten Commandments, I didn't like the remake they did.

Happy knitting!

Five Fruits Dilemma

Last Saturday we got a snowstorm. I had to work, and it was one of the longest days I ever put in at work in my life. Hardly anyone around, we shouldn't even have been open. I don't make much, and I didn't even sell enough to cover my wages. Anyhoo, Jewel likes the snow.

And I brought home this. The stuff to make Five Fruits for my nephew. I decided to make him the middle size, 12 months. He's only 4 months old, and I wanted to give this to him for Easter in hopes that it will fit him this fall.

It's a really cheerful knit. I like the bright colors, makes for interesting knitting with the color changes. I like the top down construction. There isn't even any grafting under the arms, just some sewing on the bottom hem. I've run into a problem, though. See, I have this aversion to swatching. I don't do it. Well, maybe two or three times ever. Anyways...

I finished the body of the sweater, the whole time thinking, "Gee, this looks big." I measured it, and it's more like 18 months. Sooooo.... here's my dilemma. I will continue to knit this sweater, but should I give it to nephew or make another smaller one? I think I'll end up making another one for nephew. I wanted it to fit him this fall, not fall of 2009. Next time I'll make the smaller size and go down from 4.5mm needles to 4mm needles. It really is quite cute.

In an effort to get the nephew's sweater finished for Easter, I'll probably start his before I finish this one. I did tell his mother I was making him a sweater for Easter but that it might not be finished in time. Doesn't really matter since it will be too big regardless. I also started some socks for myself, plain vanilla in self striping Fabel sock yarn on Saturday. I'd like to finish them this week, too. And work more on my sweater.... Oy!

Happy knitting!

Twenty-Eight of Fifty-Two

March socks for SAM5, also pair 28 of 52 for the 52PP. They are knit with Regia Mini Ringel and are for the Littlest One. Started March 9, finished March 13. Knit on 2.25mm needles, 52sts, standard heel flap over 26sts, toe to 20sts.

Side shot showing the stripey heels.

He wanted to show what the bottoms look like!

He wants more socks, but they have to be colorful. I told him we don't have any more of this kind of yarn, and he wasn't too impressed with the colors I told him he could get. I was wearing a red sweater, and he said, "I want bright colors, like your shirt." Don't have to tell me twice, I'd rather knit with those kind of colors!

I haven't touched the sweater I started for myself in awhile. I'm working tonight and tomorrow (in a snowstorm, according to the forecast -- will spring never come?!) and will probably work on socks. I like small, easy stuff that I can drop in a heartbeat and not lose where I am.

Thanks, Heddy, for stopping in at suppertime and selling more yarn for me! Too funny -- Heddy stopped in just as a lady was there to pick up the yarn she ordered. Heddy was wearing her bamboo socks and showed them to her. The lady ended up leaving with three skeins of the bamboo sock yarn and one of the new sock/slipper books in addition to the forty skeins of Astra she ordered!

Off to do some sweeping and mopping. All so it can get messed up tomorrow in the storm, provided I even get any customers.

Happy knitting!

New Knitty

The spring Knitty is up. Nothing there really screaming to be that it must be knit. If I knew any little girls Charm Shrug and Emma's are cute.

Got my first issue of Creative Knitting yesterday, finally. It was the only knitting magazine in the Oldest One's school magazine campaign brochure. I ordered it back in September. I haven't had a chance to really take a good look at it yet, but there seem to be some cute things in it.

Happy knitting!

Whiskers W, Approx 1992/3-March 10, 2008

So I had the unpleasant job of taking my mother and her cat to the vet this morning. She doesn't drive, and she would have been too upset to drive anyways. (Not that I was much better.) He definitely had kidney failure. I had to keep the cat carrier outside for now, it reeks that bad. The poor thing totally stank to high heavens, and the vet took one whiff and was like, "Yes, definitely kidney failure." It was that infection/poison/gonna-make-you-sick smell. I can't find a digital picture of the poor old guy, will try to scan a copy of a 35mm print of him. I hope when they go to heaven they lose the urge to fight -- he was a scrapper, didn't like other cats or dogs. I'm sure they're all mellow in the flowers beyond the Pearly Gates.

Not quite sure how long they've had him, but it's kinda funny how he came to be their cat. He belonged to the neighbors directly across the street. Before that he belonged to the lady's nephew (who still stops by to see him sometimes, he'll be sad to hear he's gone). Can't remember why the nephew parted with him. Anyways, Whiskers used to visit the neighborhood houses. He'd just walk in, make himself at home for awhile, then leave. His owners split up, and the lady moved in with someone else outside of town, leaving Whiskers and the other cat with her ex. Then the ex got a girlfriend, and he sold his house and moved away. By that time Whiskers had moved in with my parents. (Apparently the ex didn't like the cats, and he wouldn't let them inside. I think his daughter used to let the other one in, that one belonged to her, but Whiskers found a comfy waterbed and good grub across the street.) He never would have gotten Whiskers back anyways since he'd moved in well over a year before. The other cat wasn't too friendly, very skittish, and I think the SPCA got her. She wandered the neighborhood til someone reported her as an abandoned cat since winter was approaching. I mean the guy knew that Whiskers had become my parents' cat, but the other one... just left her! She wouldn't come near the house or else my parents would have taken her in, too.

I did promise knitting content next post, so here goes. I started a pair of socks for the Littlest One out of Regia Mini Ringel #5219.

I also finished the baby set I mentioned. It's my own design, Little and Large Diamonds. Hard to get good photos. One day it's nice out I'll take her outside and try to get some better pictures. Too cold today. Started February 22, finished March 9. Worked on this off-and-on. Knit with Sirdar Denim Tweed DK, and pretty accurate to the true color. The set is a little big on her. If I remember correctly she's 21 inches long and just under 5 lbs. This yarn was a bit heavier than what I usually use for baby sets, so I went down a bit in needle size. Still came out a tad bigger.

Just a basic 2x2 ribbed hat. I also make a bonnet that has the same diamond pattern, but I wanted this to work for a boy as well.

Closer look at the diamond pattern. I have two skeins of this yarn is a slightly lighter color and plan on making another set of mine, different pattern next time. I used to have a web site where I sold baby sets, but I think I closed it. Used to sell them on eBay, too. I've been thinking about opening an Etsy shop and listing some, but I've not decided for sure yet.

So that's about it. I found another contest. Mari is giving away some Malabrigo. Oh, and I finally got to see No Country For Old Men. Hole-ee-cow! Awesome! Javier Bardem was sooooo good, no wonder he won the Oscar, he definitely deserved it. I'm sure he's one of the nicest men in the world, but I'm telling you, if I ever met up with him in a dark alley with that terrible hairdo I'd pass out with fear! He played the psychopath killer perfectly, couldn't have gotten anyone better. (Interesting tidbit -- his birthday is the same as mine, March 1, but he's a few years older.) And I loves me some Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin is quite the looker (man, does he ever look like his dad in this film!), but Javier was definitely the star of the movie. I so love the Coen Brothers. Fargo was an excellent movie, and I rank this one right up there with that. Next movie I'm watching is The Bucket List. I love Jack!

Happy knitting!

Ho-Dee-Hum

Still nothing finished to show. I should have the hat done tonight to the baby jacket I finally finished. No pictures til it's blocked and totally finished.

Last Wednesday we had some slippery ice happening. I didn't think it was too bad til I went out to put some things in the truck and nearly fell when I got to it. This is what it looked like.

Good thing it has heated mirrors. I didn't scrape any of it, just let it warm up and melt off.

It's been pretty nice the past couple of days. I took the boys to the park Thursday and Friday. There was a couple kayaking up the river. I took my knitting the first day cuz we had the truck, and I knit a little bit. The bench is in the shade, and it got cold on the hands after a bit. The next day we walked, and I didn't take the knitting. It was a bit colder, too.

The boys played for about half an hour, maybe a bit longer the first day.

Jewel supervised the whole situation.

My mother called today to tell me there's something wrong with her cat. I went up around suppertime, and he doesn't look good. He is about 15, and I think he may have kidney failure. The previous owners said he had urinary tract problems, and it could be a flare up of that, but I don't think so. She said he was fine yesterday, but today it's like he's kinda dragging his rear end, he won't eat, he drinks some, he just lays around, and it's not in his "normal" way. Plus he was laying on her sofa and just peed. I don't think he even knew he did it til it was done. She'll keep an eye on him tonight, and I'm on stand-by cuz Dad's still away and won't be home til next weekend. He drinks a lot and pees a lot, and that's a sign of kidney failure. He normally eats a lot but isn't really as heavy as you'd think with the amount of food he eats. He smelled bad today, too. Some of it was probably where he had peed shortly before I got there, and it probably was on his fur. Ma has a cold and didn't realize, but I told her he definitely had a stink about him, and that's not usual, either. Whatever is wrong, and if it is something that's been coming on, it sure hit all of a sudden. He's usually a really playful cat, and you'd never think he's as old as he is.

Anyhoo, there's a couple of contests to let you know about. Heddy has a great post here with links. Enchanted Yarn & Fibers has an awesome grand prize, a second prize, and a third prize! There's Name that Monkey at Flint Knits. (He's a cutie!) NH Knitting Mama's PMS contest has three prizes. (Check out her shop.) Spinknitup has a St. Patrick's Day contest. And Up Late Always has a contest for her 100th post.

Next post to contain knitting content, promise!

Happy knitting!

Nuttin'

I've been trying to upload a short video clip of Jewel and Pumba for two days now, but it's not working. I'll keep trying. So this is a pictureless post with not much to report.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. It ended up snowing on Saturday, so all we did was go to the Oldest One's school Winter Carnival for a bit. Maybe the weather is finally changing. The forecast for all week is between +7C and +10C, albeit rain a couple of days as well. I'll take the warmer temps any day. This time of year everything is so dirty and mucky looking. I can't stand it. Took the dog for a walk today, and she was a mess. Under her chest and belly, feet, legs, even her neck, all wet and dirty. Had to towel her off as soon as she got through the door. (She got her stitches out on Monday, btw, no problem at all. Didn't even know the vet had taken one out, and she had all three gone!)

So that's about it, I've got nuttin'. Been working on a sweater for myself and a baby set for the store. No pictures yet. I didn't get any knitting done last Thursday of Friday, and that doesn't happen very often. I usually manage to knock off a few rows on something.

Hopefully going to Knit Nite tomorrow, then obedience classes with Marti and Hank on Thursday.

Happy knitting!

36

It's snowing today. Last night we went out. I had this.

It was fun night for most of the time, then it wasn't. The bottle is empty, but I suffered no ill effects, if you know what I mean. Neither last night or this morning.

Today I let the boys decorate the cake. I had a cake at work yesterday. They each had a piece of that, too.

T at work kindly pointed out yesterday that there are only three birthdays left in the 30s. Good thing he didn't have anything sarcky put on the cake or he could have been wearing it! (I half expected him to have 40 put on it, and I wasn't in the mood. Lucky for him he didn't!)

Should be to Knit Nite this week, girls. It's been awhile!

My step FIL has a birthday today, too, hope it's a good one.

Happy knitting!

PS I missed leap year by 45 minutes. (The doctor argued with my mother over the due date, and when she went to the hospital in labour he said it was false and gave her sleeping pills. The silly thing took them, was so tired she could hardly push, and there I was, 45 minutes late for leap year, born at 12:45am on March 1, delivered by a nurse cuz the doctor wasn't there til after it was over. He's the same doctor that delivered the Oldest One, and he almost missed him as well.) She really wanted to have me on February 29th cuz her brother was born on the 29th. Unfortunately he was killed in a car accident when I was seven or eight.