One Crazy Fiber Lady

Midweek Madness

Well my brief spring break is now over.  I've spent 5 solid days with the monkeys.  Just when I finally adjusted to life at home without begging to go to the office, it is time to go there.  It was a busy couple of days, coupled with some beautiful weather.  Here's a quick list of thing we did:

Monday: 

• Modern Yarn where mom and I shopped while the kids colored so nicely with markers. 
• Walk to Soda Pops for lunch to discover they are gone
• McDonalds Lunch
• Walk/Trike around block
• Play in park
• Nap
• Work on Setesdal (lose to Sara who wanted to sleep on it)

Tuesday:

• Van Saun Park Zoo / Park
• IHOP lunch
• Nap
• Sew buttons on Fana

• Begin Mitered Square Blanket as 1824 Cotton arrived on Big Brown Van
• Begin to play with new Palm T|X also on Big Brown Van
• Block Swallowtail
• Enjoy new front porch

Wednesday:

• Haircuts (mom, Kat's bangs, me)
• KMart for Dora, Ariel and Tinkerbell panties
• Burger King lunch
• Nap
• Unpin Swallowtail

• Sync Palm T|X with iMac after getting iSync and finding old Palm stuff that had been on the much missed Treo
• Block Forest Canopy Shawl

Time to go work on the much neglected abs now.  Bathing suit season is around the corner! :)

Craft on.

Knit Goes On

I can't believe the amount of time that elapses between posts these days.  Between work and the kids, it really comes down to knitting or blogging.  Recently, unfortunately, the blogging has been given the short shrift.  I've composed a dozen posts in my head, but actually sitting down and typing doesn't always happen. 

While I was in NYC on Thursday, I wasn't able to represent.  Damn.  Judging by all the posts, I missed some good fun.  Looking forward to MDSW all the more now.  Especially since the folks have already agreed that they'll watch the children for the weekend enabling me to go unencumbered.  I've been debating between staying with my sister in Lancaster area or getting a room near the fairgrounds again.  I'm leaning towards the hotel, probably the same one I stayed in two years ago with the twins.  It was a nice place and convenient to the grounds.  Oh wait, I think I've got the answer.  I head out to sister's house Friday night and use that as my launch base Saturday late morning.  Hit the fairgrounds Sat afternoon and then to the hotel for the night with the fair the main event on Sunday.  There we go.  Sounds like a plan to me :)

While potty training has, in the past, been less than successful around here, we've finally made a breakthrough with Kat.  I took Kristen's suggestion of M&M's for potty success.  Though the bag sat unopened for close to a month, it has finally worked.  That's not to say that we're down to periodic accidents, not by a long shot, and the boy doesn't even try, but at least Kat is starting to get it.  I got the first "I have to go potty" out while shopping yesterday!  We're close and maybe this week's vacation will do the trick. 

Speaking of which, due to the sale of the school building probably, they've had to reschedule their spring break from the first week of April to next week.  Fortunately my work is flexible enough that this isn't a problem, I can't imagine what someone with a less flex job has to face.  I'll be home thru Wednesday so I'll probably be scarce but you never now.

In all that, I have been knitting.  Icarus is now halfway through Chart 2.  Love it, but it comes out of the bag and can't be commuting knitting any more.  Its no longer the mindless knit it was.  It is a pain to photograph and is certainly at the shapeless lump of floss stage so any further photos will be at the finish line.

I finally cast on for the second STR sock yesterday morning.  I knit on sporadically during the day.

Friday night I finished the second sleeve for Setesdal.  Yesterday during nap, I cast on for the body.  I had some serious brain farts in trying to get 154 sts into a 2x2 rib.  Took me three tries, but now I have 3/4" of ribbing done.  Geez...

I managed to actually finish something too.  On Monday (3/19) I finally got to the end of the Swallowtail Shawl in the Sea Silk that I started a while ago.  Its now sitting in the pile of lace that needs to be blocked.  Someday.  Maybe today if the twins cooperate.  Ha ha ha.

Having seen a lot of links to Loopy Ewe, I finally went and bought something myself.  I had to get the German Stocking pattern and some Louet to knit them.  High in the queue these babies are.  Service was super fast.  I'll definitely be shopping there again.

 
The pattern indicates 3-5 skeins are necessary, but I figure with my little skinny feet that I should be able to get by with the 3.  I seriously hope so, I only bought 3 ;)

I have a few other projects in the prep stages too.  I'd like very much to knit the Mitered Square blanket from Mason-Dixon.  I ordered Mission Falls Cotton from Purl in a variety of colors.  It was on sale cheap and currently winging its way to me.   Its a cute blanket and I like the idea that each block doesn't get larger as in the Log Cabin.  I'll probably supplement with some other yarn I have in stash.  I recently did a little spelunking and came up with forgotten packs of Rowans All-Season Cotton, some Cotton-Ease, and quite the cache of TLC Cotton Plus.  Put together, it should make for a good blanket. 

Time for more coffee and a little knitting...

Craft on!

Snowblind

Geez, this winter is never going to end.  The 70F temperatures earlier this week were nothing but a tease!  I must have gotten a foot of snow/ice in the last 24 hours.   I had the kids out this morning for some fun in the snow, but boy am I glad that they wanted to come in.  They are currently vegging out on the couch watching some TV giving me a primo opportunity to catch up.

Here's how I've been spending my commute time during the last week:

The current socks, as Christine correctly guessed, are from STR in the Lucy colorway.  It is a slightly thicker yarn than I normally.  I "swatched" with the normal US0's but wasn't happy with the feel of the fabric so I went up to the US1.  As a result, these socks are only 52 stitches!  Combine that with a short foot and these babies basically knit themselves.  Which is a good thing when you see that sexy toy holding my needles for me ;)  That's the sweet PSP.  I played Me & My Katamari until my fingers cramped.  Oy.  I've since taken a break and played Lumines (Tetris on steroids!) and even put a couple of movies on the 4 gig memory stick I bought for it. 

I've done a bit of work on Icarus, but don't have any progress shots as of last.  I finished the 5th repeat of chart one and am in the prep for chart 2.   In other lace update, my Sea Silk Swallowtail has come out of timeout and I'm ready to start the final chart today.

Yesterday Kat awoke with a fever, I had a headache and combine both with the snow, I took the day off.  I was very productive though.  Beyond getting through the Lily of the Valley chart on Swallowtail and well into the partial repeat of Chart 1 for Icarus, I started a project...  I don't think my baby sister reads the blog regularly and if she does, MOVE ALONG NOW RIKKI!....

She's due with her first baby, July 2nd.  The baby shower is April 21st so I need to get knitting.  While I did pick yarn and a pattern at the MY SnB on thursday, somehow the pattern didn't make it into my bag.  I'll have to pop down there tomorrow to pick it up as I won't be able to make the SnB this week (folks are teaching a final class on charting/plotting to a bunch of local police turned activated Navy Reservists who are off to Iraq shortily).  While the u/s pretty much indicates that I'll get getting my first niece, mom thought it best not to rely on that quite yet.  We've had a few u/s indicated nieces turn out to be boys at birth ;)  U/S technology is far better these days, but better yet save the pink yarn for a couple of months.  So I went spelunking in stash and hot off the heals of my success sewing together the Dale sweater for Alex, I remembered the Baby Ul marinating that I bought to make a baby sized one.  I got to work and by the end of yesterday finished this:

I'm pretty sure the pattern is Sedestal (its way upstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it).  I "swatched" by starting the sleeve, getting spot on gauge.  Nice.  Its a cute little knit.  Now to maintain focus long enough to finish it ;)  Knit on US0 and 2's, I'm seriously glad it is a baby sweater.  I'm making the 6/9 month size so it should be perfectly sized to get my niece through the fall and winter.  I hope her mama likes it.  I hope to have it finished for the shower.  I might try for one of these sweaters too if I can find the right yarn for it or maybe upsize it for one of the monkeys.  (Thanks go to Dorre for the link!)

Time to go relax..

Craft on!

Daylight

Having lost an hour this weekend, I have to make serious use of the rest!  Not to mention that I've pretty much disappeared for a while, it is time for an update.  Work has been busy for certain.  I've spent the last week learning Java Servlets and JSP.  Ain't going to bore you all, but from a technological standpoint, they aren't a huge departure from what I've been working with just the underlying programming language is different.  But since c# was based on Java, it is proving to be a relatively easy transition. 

Enough geek talk...

If I didn't have enough time-sucks in my life, I got another one.  I've been eyeing these things for years and finally gave in.   I've developed a serious addiction to Katamari Damancy.  Oy.  Not a lot of knitting time at home in the week since this toy entered my life.  Okay, so I was sick and going to sleep at 9:30 for a couple of those nights, but still, its been a week.  Knitting has been relegated to the train and home when the kids are up.  I just LOVE rolling around collecting things.  Stuck on Make a Star 8 though but will get past it.  Took me three evenings of playing to finaly get through the last level.  Good fun!  Oh and there's more than a possibility that I'll be playing Katamari on the train soon as I found a used PSP through Craigslist that is being delivered today :)  And yes, I bought the PSP version of the game.  Addict indeed!

Yes, there has been knitting.  I finished the Decadence socks.  Again, it took me one skein :)  The joys of having small feet.  I think I'll exchance the second skein of brown for a different color or possibly make some lacey-like scarf with it.  I'm leaning that way actually.  Anyway, here are the socks.  The color is far deeper than the photo indicates,  but this one gave the best shot of the lace.

I finsihed it during 24 last week.  Letting no moss grow under my sock needles, and having another 40 minutes of show to knit through, I started another pair.  This picture was taken on the train Friday morning, shortly before we hit a car at an intersection giving me an additional 20 minutes knitting time.  No one was hurt fortunately, but this brings up a huge peeve of mine, specifically people who don't know better than if that they cannot cross a train track entirely, DON'T GO.  They sit on the %#@@# track and far too often, get trapped with an unmoving car in front of them, a gate behind them and a train bearing down.  This happened on Friday during my commute in.  The idiot was fortunate that it was an east bound local and not a westbound train.  We just hit the end of the car.  The westerly train would have t-boned her at the drivers' door.  I bet she never sits on the tracks again but waits until her whole car can clear before she proceeds.  DUMB.

Off my soapbox...  here are the socks.  Any guesses as to yarn/color? 

I'm further on both the sock and the book since this picture :)

It's not all socks, all the time at Chez CFL.  I got some motivation to dig a much neglected project out of dormancy.  Alex's Dale of Norway sweater.  I saw an episode of Knitty Gritty with the fair isle bear sweater that went through the construction! Thank goodness for DVR's.  Armed with this new knowledge, I dug out the sewing machine and over the course of a Saturday, finished the sweater.  I ordered (and got) buttons this week and will hopefully end this project!

I made a few modifications though.  The button band was picked up and knitted along the edge rather than sewn on.  Due to a serious yarn quantity limitation, I did a basic 1" collar rather than the one called for in the pattern.  I don't think anyone will be wiser for it.  I ordered pewter buttons from SpinBlessings that look perfect with it.  Now I just need the motivation to sew them on ;)

There's also been a little lace work going on to.  Namely, Icarus from IK in some divine Claudia Handpaint Silk.  The colorway is Just Plum.  LOVE IT.  Again, much progress has been made since I snapped this shot as I'm on the 4th repeat of chart 1.

Finally, I leave you with some Kat and cat zen.  The two girls were napping on my bed the other day..

Craft on!

Nothing

Just a quick post. Yes, I am alive. Yes, I've definitely been knitting. I've just been so damn busy at work that the last thing I want to do when i get home is actually spend more time with the computer. I finished some socks, a sweater, two hats and started other thhings since I last posted. I also met some pretty hairy deadlines and have now embarked on learning a new language for work. Computer programming language that is. I can't learn foreign languages worth a damn...

Anyway, I've got the sniffles, a sore throat and a cough. Not sure if it is allergies or another cold now that I FINALLY shook that cough that had me forever. I'm taking to bed with a cup of tea and a book on Java.

Craft on!