Wild Wild West

It's a beautiful morning here in Colorado -- no photos to post as I'm using my DIL's computer. Regna loved the scarf, and is wearing it to the grand opening of their new business today -- an old movie theater in a town called Paonia, which they named "Paradise". We're still at their house in Cedaredge, and about to head over for the morning event -- a children's theater, followed by a matinee movie (the one about the old Indian motorcycle -- I'm still slightly fried from travel and the time change and can't remember the name), and a reception with live music starting at 6.

Of course, yarn hunting will be done during the intermissions! :)

I started a new sock on the plane, with yarn received in a great "swap-o-rama" on the knitty coffeeshop site. Great colors, and I'll post as soon as I can.

Well, time to move 'em on out!

Three Lovely Ladies

... and all under five feet tall! This was taken several years ago of, in order, Aunt Alice, Aunt Louise. and my Mom. I'm hoping by posting photos of Aunt Louise on the web, some weird cyber-connection will loop around and boost her health. Could be true!

Anyway, you can get alot of knitting done when you're worried. Purple heathered sock #1 is almost done, I'm up to the armholes on the cotton cardigan, and I'm going to start a shawl. Whew. And I even went to the Elmwood Yarn Shop (on Hertel Avenue, not Elmwood Ave - go figure) in Buffalo in between hospital visits to add to the mix, but of all things, the store is closed on Wednesdays! Wednesdays? Don't the owners know about mid-week slump, cured only by the purchase of yarn? Seems like a major marketing error to me.

Tomorrow morning, Jack and I are flying to Denver for a visit with Jason, Regna and my two step-grandkids. I'm packing more yarn than clothes, or so it seems, and hope to find good shops on the western slope of Colorado, near Grand Junction. I'm looking forward to driving across the Continental Divide, and general sight-seeing.


This is a scarf for Regna -- who is tall and willowy, as well as an artist. It's Cherry Hill Sachet, Indian Summer, and mixed with some nice merino wool and a few strands of Baby Loop.

Well, back to packing -- where to put those circular needles!

Weekend with Aunties

Comic relief. That's what the photo to the left represents. There is, apparently, nothing funnier to two octagenarian ladies than watching their niece, a knitter since age 8, learn to crochet.

The strip, made of cotton twine, is my first project. A bookmark! Never mind the uneven size. Or the gaping holes. No matter that it took over an hour and many curse words (causing even more hilarity among the aunts), or that I kept holding the crochet hook like a knitting needle. I did it! Toilet tissue covers here I come!

On a serious note, I had a good weekend with the "ants", though there will be more medical tests for Louise this week. She goes to Roswell (not New Mexico, but the big cancer hospital in Buffalo) Wednesday to find out if surgery is even possible. I'll be going along, for moral support for her, Aunt Alice and cousin Kris.


And will probably bring the sleeves that go with this -- a cotton cardigan that's waiting to be divided between fronts and back. The is in the current "Creative Knitting" magazine, but I decided to make the trim a darker color, and knit fronts and back together up to the underarms, rather than in pieces. The yarn is called "King Tut" -- don't you love it? -- but comes in hanks that are beastly to wind. Maybe there was a pharoah's curse after all.

Every little breeze ...

Aunt Louise that is. The one on the left. The mysterious one in the glasses is my mother.

The reason Louise is on the blog today is because I received some bad news about her health. Really bad news.

She and Aunt Alice (the older sister who is not just a red hat lady, but a red cowboy hat lady, and deserving of a post all her own) have always been "second mothers" to me and my sibs, and even more so since Mom died 10 years ago.

And I can't think of a better way to say how much she means to me than to post this 1943 babe shot of her on the web. This was, of course, sent overseas to their respective husbands who were keeping the world safe from Hitler.

I couldn't love her more.

Knitting and Legal Insanity

As I sit here at my desk, waiting for opposing counsel (aka the Prince of Darkness, Puff Daddy, and many other expletive deleteds) to call me back regarding whether or not my trial tomorrow will settle, I was wondering about the relationship between knitting and keeping sane in the legal profession. [ok, some may argue, my brother-in-law especially, that no lawyers are sane, but he's also Canadian by birth :)]

All I know is that when a particularly difficult client calls, and I'm in for 15 + minutes of who did or didn't do what to who, or that the other spouse gave the kids -- gasp -- Cheerios for dinner (of which I am guilty, especially when the picky eaters were small), I pick up my knitting. And in between difficult files to work on, I click over to knitting websites and blogs.

I think that knitting gives me the feeling that I'm actually accomplishing something, something both useful, colorful and good for the world. No one can hear my needles clicking, and I usually stay calmer.

What a world! Now if only clients would learn to knit ...

If I ever knit this, put me away.

Seriously, I will have gone over the edge. But it is hilarious!

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/02/knit_your_own_digestive_system.html


And now for something completely different -- hiking socks for my sister! She's an avid (read crazy) Appalachian Trail hiker (can anyone say bear food?) who hikes part of the trail every spring with our similarly inclined (again, read crazy) brother. But seriously, I admire her, both for braving wild, carnivorous animals, and for being able to poop in the woods. Especially the latter.

The socks are a basic pattern, Cascade 220, in a 4 x 4 basketweave. She'll have to comment on how comfortable they are, and, after this May's hike, if they are bear-proof.

Easter Peep

... and sock. The first ankle sock is finished, and feels wonderful. It's a little baggy around the cuff, and I might decrease to 44 stitches on the second sock, but it could be because I pulled the yarn too tight when I was first knitting, then had to rip out and start over. The Cascade Fixation feels nice, but it's weird to knit with elastic -- I wasn't sure whether or not to make it taut or just relax, so in the end I relaxed. And yes, that's a Peep dipped in dark chocolate. Yum!

The foot is progressing nicely (I'll spare you a photo of the bruised toes) and it's off to the doc for unwrapping tomorrow. By the way, the doc himself called me last night to see how I was doing. The skeptical part of my brain says it's only because I'm a lawyer, but the optimist would like to believe it's because he is a really nice guy.

How many of my fellow knitting lawyers think we get treated differently by the medical profession? I think we do. My law partner got a letter recently from her doc because she had been lax in scheduling a test. He said, of course, that he "would not be liable" for any negative result for her failure to have the test ... She also thinks that doctors schedule more tests for us too. And we're matrimonial lawyers! Maybe they're afraid we'll represent their spouses! :)

Just call me "Chester"

I know I'm dating myself -- Chester is the limping sidekick in "Gunsmoke". No wonder I have a cat named "Miss Kitty!" Like my lovely footwear? It'll be on for a week or so. If only I could knit a shoe cover ...

During my recovery (lounging on the couch watching classic Star Trek episodes), I am joined by the ever faithful Elvis, all 18 pounds of him, wrapped up in my blue sock and tape measure. Life is good in the cat lane.










And now for some lawyer venting. I have a trial coming up this week, a nasty matrimonial (is that an oxymoron?), but the worst part is the other attorney. Not only does he litigate everything, at least until the retainer is used up, but he has the distinct impression that women attorneys are morons. It really gets under my skin, though my law partner tells me to let it roll off my back, but I can't. I want to kick his ass so badly -- even with the dorky shoe!

Well, back to classic Trek and untangling Elvis!

Sock in Progress

It's the Cascade Fixation anklet, and I decided to attempt the Eye of Partridge heel, which is very cool.

But with the color of yarn, it should be "Bluebird of Paradise" heel! It's very cushy and springy, and I think these will feel wonderful on the feet.

And speaking of feet, tomorrow is the big day for slice and dice. Nerve decompression surgery. I hope that this will solve the shooting pains in my toes and ankle, especially at night. And I can get back to hiking and general rowdiness.

The good news is that Easter dinner will be prepared by two of my DDs. Lasagna, I think. And not to mention ... chocolate.

Happy Easter!

Well I'm back! And eager to start knitting on all the luscious yarn I stuffed in my suitcase. But first, the promised photos of the shops themselves.

That's me at The Point -- a fabulous yarn store with a cafe, and lots of yummy goodies. There's also a long table to sit at and knit, helpful staff, and loads of great yarn. And, what's not to love about a shop that has pink flamingoes in the front window!

The next shots are of School Products. Did I mention the cone of laceweight merino, 4800 yards, muted tones of blue and green, for $34???? Plus, beautiful off-white wool, with gold threads, $6 per skein?

This place is amazing. From the outside, you think you're going into an office building, but once on the third floor, it's a slice of heaven. The owner and her staff were friendly and helpful, and the bargains just can't be beat.


My other yarn store visits weren't as positive. A stop at PurlSoho on Sullivan Street reaffirmed the sad fact that I have more taste than money -- lovely yarn, beautifully displayed. But at $40 a skein, for an admittedly beautiful silk, no way. And the biggest disappointment was Seaport Yarns on William Street. Lots and lots of yarn, but narrow rooms, hot and stuffy. It was, according to TwinB, like being in someone's closet. I know there are lots of fans of Seaport out there, but I was claustrophobic and left -- gasp -- without buying a thing.

But I left with: 2 skeins of Cascade Fixation in blue, for anklets for oldest daughter; the CONE; the gold skeins, which will be a shawl; and some lovely purple heathered Opal for socks. Not bad, and under (barely) my $100 budget.

New York City

KnittingJones

Well here I am, just outside the Big Apple, or should I say the Big Ball of Yarn, as I plan to go to as many as possible this morning. On the agenda are: Seaport Yarns, School Products, The Point Knitting Cafe, and any others I can squeeze in. I'll be taking photos, but can't download until I get back to home base on Sunday.

Wish me luck! Or, wish me extended credit card limits.

What to do when you're sick

Start a new knitting project, of course!

This week has been horrible -- no voice for most of it, the feeling of being underwater. And to add insult to injury, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. Spring at last!

So although I swore not to start anything new until finishing something, I cheated and did anyway. It's going to be a wrap, from the Vogue Knitting Spring 2006, "Geometry Lessons" article on page 46. I'm using size 8 circulars, and the yarn is Cherry Hill Baby Loop Mohair in Indian Summer. The garter stitch and simple increase/decreases are perfect if you have a fever -- easy to keep track of and the color changes keep in interesting, especially if you're on drugs.

In the meantime, the spoiled Miss Kitty naps in her felted mohair bed.

Life is good.