Good News/Bad News

The Good: I leave on Friday for 7 days in Florida, on the ocean, with a gal lawyer pal. On the agenda -- novels, knitting and drinks with umbrellas. That's it.

The Bad: Every single client I have is having a crisis that must be resolved before I leave. Or so they think. I feel like the Rangers' Goalie will during the next round of the play-offs when fielding the hundreds of pucks that will be shot his way by Buffalo. None of which will be going in the net, of course!

Has anyone ever knit on the beach? I'm thinking socks will be good -- not too heavy on the lap, I can shake out the sand. And besides, I can always use one of the drink umbrella sticks if I lose a dpn. And the cotton-linen sweater for inside, when the sun gets too hot.

Here's hoping for good weather, and a sports bar nearby to watch the playoffs!

PS For those who are wondering why all the fuss about hockey, check out the Hockey Knitters Knitalong for others like me!

Swatch me!

It's Knitpicks Cotlin, in Nightfall. I picked a stitch pattern from the 365 Day Stitch Calendar, and I'm going to try to do a sweater ala EZ. I'm getting 5 stitches to the inch on size 8's, so it's off to the calculator to figure out the specs. I love the drape of the yarn, and it's not too heavy. I did "wash" it and let it dry, and it softens up very nicely.

So my question is this -- if I knit this pattern in the round, do I use the same ratio? By that I mean, it's an 8 stitch repeat, plus 6. So if I cast on 190 stitches -- does that work out? Or do you make it plus 5 because there won't be a seam stitch?

I've tried to look this up in various books, but can't seem to figure out the answer. Help would be greatly appreciated!

Baby News!

Baby Sarah has arrived, yesterday at 2 pm. All's well with Mom and baby, and I can't wait to see her.

No knitting news -- I've been too busy digging up the coffee cans in the back yard to find enough money to pay my taxes. Arghhhhhh. I'm one of those last minute filers who stays in denial until the end.

But the Quest for the Cup continues with my team up 2-1 in the first series. I have to keep reminding myself -- one puck at a time, one puck at a time.

It's April 16th?

I'm sitting here in my flannel pjs, looking at the juncos shivering at the bird feeder on the deck. There is at least 6 inches of snow, and more is falling. The wind is whipping, schools in Canandaigua are closed, and I'm wondering if I should even try to make it to work.

I hate these driving decisions. If I don't go, I'll feel like a wimp. And I have a custody trial scheduled to start at 9, and the odds are the Respondent/Mom won't make it in from Oswego (really getting hit by the storm), but I'm the Law Guardian for my 5 year old client, so I'll probably inch my way into the City.

Why can't we just declare it a "Stay At Home Knitting Day" once and for all? Hey -- maybe that should be a national holiday anyway? Or, yeah, let's make that everyday?

I think I'm snow-blind.

Baby Sarah's Sweater and Hat

As I may have mentioned before, a lawyer pal of mine is having a girl baby next week. Her C-Section is scheduled for Monday, and I can't believe I finished the sweater and hat even before the baby arrived! (There is a still unfinished "bee sweater" - yellow and black stripes, with bee buttons -- somewhere in the depths of my stash, originally planned for Ethan, now about to turn 3). Here are the specs:

Yarn: Cascade Superwash 22o.

Needles: Size 5 for the borders, size 7 for the body.

Size: 12 months, or so.

Pattern: Made it up. Yep, my first solo flight. I relied on both the EZ percentage system, and her notes for raglans in Knitting Around, and The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, by Ann Budd, both of which have the status on my shelf of The Bible.

I decided on seed stitch for the borders, and made up the little purl pattern on the body, randomly deciding to repeat it every 6 stitches, and stagger it every 6 rows. It's simple: p1 on the first row, p3 on the second, p1 on the third. Makes a nice little diamond "bump" that kind of looks like 3D polka dots. Here's a close- up:

Comments: As usual, I hate the neck. That's where I goofed. I tried to make a modified vee neck, and didn't do the decreases right, plus I think I left too many stitches on the back. But it's my first try, and babies have fat necks, right? (thinking of my chubsters with neck rolls and thighs that made you want to pinch them).

I'm delivering it to the Mom today, on the condition that I get a photo of Sarah wearing it, plus unlimited holding privileges, of course!

What Is It?

Okay, knitters, help me out here. A friend's mother-in-law passed away last year, and she was a knitter. A Latvian born knitter. Janet found this in her MIL's things, and gave it to me.

I think it has something to do with spinning, not knitting, but I'm not sure what. Does it get attached to a wheel? Should I let the cats play with it? Or just use it to hold down the flurry of papers on my desk?

In hockey news ... Thursday is the big night for my team. Game 1 against the Islanders. Go Sabres!

Frog City

I have declared today "National Frog Day." Having left my Wool Peddler's Shawl at the office, by accident, mind you, I am faced with devising a Plan B for knitting over Easter Weekend. (There is no way I'm going into work this weekend, no way, no how, even for my favorite knitting project de jour).

So I've decided to take the plunge into Kermit's Pond and do this:
Exhibit A: Is (make that was) the Family Tunic from Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick, designed by Debbie Bliss. Don't get me wrong, I love this pattern. I love the yarn -- Karabella Marble from School Products - a 50/50 alpaca wool blend. The problem lies in the seed stitch.
The body of the sweater -- actually, all of the sweater except the yoke -- is in k1 p1 seed stitch, on size 7 needles. By the time I finished the front, my fingers were ready to fall off the end of my hands. All that shifting the yarn from front to back. So I let it sit. And sit. And sit.

For 2 years.

Exhibit B:
A cardigan, sized XS, started by TwinB over three years ago, when she was about as big as a toothpick. Now, I'm happy to say, she's taller and, although still slender, not an XS. The yarn is one of my favorites, Kid-n-Ewe by Bryspun, discontinued (sigh), but still bought up by me anytime I find it on ebay.

So all this ripping has led me to formulate a Personal Knitting Rule (hereinafter "PKR").

"If it's on the needles for more than 6 months, rip rip rip."

Believe me, it's not easy. The Family Tunic was hard to let go of. But it was also sending out those invisible waves of knitting guilt -- You should be working on me -- everytime I saw it. So I finally came to my senses and decided to return the yarn to a guilt free state, and am contemplating a new pattern (without the dreaded seed stitch) for it.

Off to get the winder!

PS (said softly as not to offend other hockey knitters, "Go Sabres!")

My Week So Far

... more court appearances than humans should be allowed to have.

... Judges who think, "I'll encourage these folks to settle, I'll schedule a trial for ALL DAY ON GOOD FRIDAY. That'll show them." (not the lawyers, of course. no)

... a punk-ass lawyer from the big city to the North threatening me with sanctions because my clients won't agree to visitation with his psycho-abusive clients, who have been formally declared psycho-abusive by a court appointed psychologist.

.. clients who cry in open court, cursing the system for mistakes they've made and for which they take no responsibility.

... clients cursing at me because I cannot get them out of their aforesaid mistakes.

... Judges who think, "I'll encourage these folks to settle, I'll schedule their cases for 9 A.M. THE MONDAY AFTER EASTER." (repeat above comment)

... a disgruntled ex-husband of a client threatening my partner in our parking lot, causing the police to be called.

The only positives I can think of are that my hockey boys won the top slot in the Eastern Conference (now if only Dominik Hasek pulls a groin muscle like he did when he was in Buffalo, we might win the League),

and, I'm successfully into the lace repeats on the Wool Peddler's Shawl.

Is it time for chocolate yet?

Why I Like Knitting Lace

even though it's frustrating. This is the Wool Peddler Shawl, in probress. I just got to the lace part, and it's driving me crazy. I certainly can't do it while watching hockey, or talking, or almost anything else.

So why do I do it? The same reason I climb mountains in the winter. When I'm trying to make it to the top of one of the Adirondack peaks in, say, mid-January, all I am thinking of for six hours is where to put my feet, and trying not to fall. One foot in front of the other. And when I'm done, hair plastered to my head, legs and feet aching, dying for a Sam Adams draft, I really feel like I've accomplished something. And ... I'm relaxed! One day of mountain hiking is like three days away.

Knitting lace is kind of like that. All I can do is follow the pattern, count, sometimes say it out loud, and I absolutely can't multi-task. No phone calls, no t.v., no chatting. It's a nice breather. I don't know if it's the job, our culture or my personality, but I'm always trying to do at least two things at once. Eat breakfast, read the paper. Talk on the phone, cruise the internet. Talk on the phone, drive. It doesn't seem that there's enough hours in the day to get everything done, but maybe it's just that I expect too much of myself (okay, and my clients and the courts) and keep taking on more and more.

So lace is slower. Prettier. And maybe some of that philosophy will rub off each time I wear the shawl.

My, I'm philosophical!

In the meantime, here's the Koigu sock in progress. I do love this yarn; Jessica was right! I like the "twistyness" of the ply, and the colors are fantastic. Lizzie wanted ankle socks, but I bought two skeins anyway, so there might be enough for me to have a pair too!

Well it's off to my Sunday knitting clan --- and I won't be bringing the lace!

Yarn from Philly

Of course, I couldn't visit a new city without going to at least one yarn store. It's Rosie's Yarn Cellar, and it was very nice. Lots and lots of yarn, a friendly salesclerk (who even called to find out if a lunch place was open for us two vegetarians), but a bit small. I took the plunge and bought this:

My first foray into Koigu. It's going to be socks for oldest daughter, who picked out the colorway. I've read so much on blogs about this yarn, and have wanted to try it out. The label says 7 sts to the inch on size 3 needles, so that's how I'll start out.

I also bought some boring ring markers, for the Wool Peddler's Shawl (I'm up to the lace), and some reinforcement yarn for socks. They had a wonderful selection of buttons and some lovely shawl pins, but as I blew my budget at the Tut Exhibit, I ignored them. *sigh*

Well it's off to fight for truth, justice and the Family Court way today. Thursdays are intake days, and I have 5 cases on this morning, 2 in the afternoon. Usually the sort of day I call home and say, "pour the wine, I'm approaching the driveway."

ps Sabres beat the Devils last night, but by the skin of their (mostly non-existent) teeth. I, for one, am ready for the play-offs.

Tut Mania!

What an exhibit! What fun! I loved every part of the exhibit -- especially when our "VIP" tickets (part of the hotel package) got us past the loooooong line of timed ticket holders and into the private lounge, then right into the first gallery. It was very well done, with a few rooms of artifacts from Tut's parents and grandparents, then those from the tomb itself.

It was amazing to see in real life what I've seen photos of in so many Egyptology books and magazines -- the crown, the dagger found on his mummy, a coffinette made of gold that contained his liver ... and lots lots more, including wonderful jewelry. Hard to believe, but I resisted buying a $5000 replica of the chest pectoral with a jeweled scarab in the center ... but I also resisted the Tut bobblehead, which, when my daughter saw that, she said ..."He gave his life, for bobbleheads."

Well, we're off to have more Philadelphia fun ... including yarn store visits! More later.

What I Have Learned ...

or observed, I should say, in the 8 days that I've been spouse-less.

1. The house stays cleaner. Big surprise, eh? Maybe it's that I feel less inclined to put my "stuff" away when his is laying around, or because he's generally working at home all day, and I'm not there to add to the clutter. Or -- because he's messier than me. Let's face. That's why I've really concluded!

2. I liked the peace and quiet for the first feew days. Then, not so much. When I started talking to the birds at the feeder, I knew I'd gone to far.

3. I don't drink coffee if Jack doesn't make it. What's that about? I'll just make tea instead.

4. Even though I'm alone, I stay on my side of the bed. And I leave his pillow alone. When we're together -- it's a different story. I steal the covers and his pillow.

5. The dog misses him. Not that she doesn't love it that I'm the one taking her for walks, or giving her treats, she's been mopey the last few days.

6. The cats couldn't care less. Big surprise there too, eh?

7. I don't cook. Dinners have been popcorn, peanut butter on crackers and cereal. I usually eat lunch out, and that's a decent meal. Or so I justify. So if he's messy, maybe I'm lazy!

8. It's not as much fun watching the Sabres on television if he's not there to see me yell at the screen. Besides, it scares Alice the dog when, out of total silence, I leap to my feet and whoop.

So he comes back Saturday afternoon, and I'll be gone, so he'll have a few days alone. I wonder if he'll have any of the same observations about me ....

Anyway, this is a long-planned weekend away with my oldest daughter, in Philadelphia to see the King Tut exhibit. I can't wait -- I've never been to that city, have already "googled" for yarn stores, and am looking forward to a 3 day respite from what seems like a flood of cranky clients. It also gives me a chance to stand before the exhibit and say .....

He gave his life, for tourism!!!
(credit to Steve Martin)

Wool Peddler Shawl and more!

Here it is -- The Wool Peddler Shawl in progress. I'm not sure the color came out right -- it's a dark red that I simply love, and a bit brighter than shown here. My only problem so far is that I tried to "spit splice" (say that 5 times fast) when joining a new skein, and it must be that my spit isn't sticky enough, because it came undone. I've carefully tied the ends into a square knot, and will try to split the strand and weave the plys in with a needle.

Almost done is what I'm calling Baby Sarah's sweater. My friend is due in mid-April, and she's already named the bambino. She picked the colors and I made up the design.

And, in honor of the first day of Spring, here is Elvis, trying to get the birds feeding on the deck.

Dream on, feline!

Why ....

... do cats always use the litterbox after you clean it?

(thanks to my little buddy Amanda for posing with Miss Kitty)

I'll Live ...

Finally, I'm feeling somewhat normal. I guess it took a few days for the antibiotics to kick in, but man o man, was this a nasty bug. I absolutely hate not having any energy. Today, I actually took a walk with Alice. Black dog, white snow. It was a picture.

Speaking of pictures, I left my camera at the office, so I can't show you the wonderful yarn a friend of mine brought me back from Peru! She took an empty suitcase, and promised several fellow knitters to bring back goodies. I got 10 skeins of a dark red baby alpaca, DK weight. I love it and immediately brought out Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle and turned to the "Wool Peddler's Shawl", and cast on. It's just the thing for when you're couch-bound. I'm still on the rows of garter stitch (with increases) and it's knitting up fast (size 8s -- KP Options). I'll bring it to work tomorrow, and post my progress.

I'm also in day 3 of spouse-less living. It's the annual go to South Carolina with a bunch of buddies and hunt wild boar week for Jack. He's also tacking on a few days to spend with his mother in Florida, so it's part-ee time for me and the pets! Big doin's -- popcorn for dinner, cats on the couch all the time, lots of knitting ... but I do miss the man.*

So it's back to the grind tomorrow, and I'm trying not to think about how much last week's sick time has set me back. One phone message at a time ...

* I had to share this story about the man. In the flurry of activity involved in getting ready for his trip, he was, of course, washing all his clothes in scent-free detergent, and packing all the special scent-block gear. As a joke, he said, "Why don't they make scent-block underwear?" I bit my tongue, thinking of all the possible uses (it's never wise to joke with a man packing camo-gear). So, they arrive in South Carolina, and head for the nearest Wal-Mart. Why, you ask? To see if they have any hunting gear not at the Wal-Mart up here. You guessed it -- scent-block underwear. And of course, he bought a pair. My comment (now that I'm safely out of range) was, "Well, now you boys can fart in the woods with wild abandon!" Can you believe it? I'm still laughing, and thinking of all the people and places that could benefit from these. Who knew?

Betrayed a Second Time

Yes, the virus morphed into a sinus/ear/chest infection. Complete with colorful snot. I know, TMI, but true.

I finally dragged myself to the doctor's and am on Day 2 of antibiotics. She also told me to take a few days off from work, but the boss (meaning me) won't let me. Too many court appearances; to many hassles to get adjournments.

I've been knitting on my friend's baby sweater and it's coming along. Picture next post, I promise!

... drowning in Kleenexes ....

I Have Arrived!

My own parking space. How cool is that?

Boogie Time!

It's the Boogie vest from knitty.com.

















Here's how it looks on:


I blocked it, but need to press out the armholes a bit. As I altered the pattern by adding ribbing on the neck and armholes, I probably should have made the shoulders narrower, but it doesn't bug me enough to frog.














Close up of neck and cool cabling:

Yarn: Purchased in Ireland in 2005, with no labels whatsoever. It was a quite a feat to find wool there, in spite of the thousands of sheep I saw grazing. I found this in a clothing store, by asking the salesclerk if she knew where I could buy some wool (when I said "yarn", she had no clue). She dug around in the back and came up with two hanks of this -- charcoal/brown, a tad scratchy, and heavy worsted weight. It knit up at 4 sts to 1" on size 10s.

Pattern: Boogie Vest, knitty archives.

Modifications: Ribbing on neck and armholes; knit on circulars in the round until armhole length -- then back and forth. For the first time I used EZ's "phoney seams" -- dropping a stitch down to the ribbing, gooking up 2 of every 3 stitches. I like it -- not just they way it looks, but it helps the vest fold.

Finishing: Because of the scratch factor, I soaked it for a bit in warm water with hair conditioner. Softened it up just fine.

And more ... This is a baby hat, from Cascade Superwash 220. My own pattern, and the precurser to a sweater. A lawyer-pal is having a girl in April, so the needles starting talkin'.













But, this is what is interesting: See the top section of yellow? I was knitting in the round, and decided to alternate colors, and purl all the yellow stitches. I kept the yarn in front (yellow in the right hand, pinkish in the left with that yarn in back) and got this cool pattern! Don't really know what it is, but I like it! I'm going to do a few rows on the body of the sweater. If anyone has a name for this, please let me know.








On another note -- just got a new desktop for work, which came with Windows Vista. Does it drive anyone else crazy? Why can't things that work perfectly well just stay the same? I don't want to have to learn something new each time I upgrade. Maybe it's a sign of aging, but it makes me mad. Arghh -- I guess that's my bitch for the day. Well, maybe the first bitching -- it's only 10:30. :)

E-Bay Goodness!

I love this yarn. This discontinued yarn. When my local LYS went out of business, I bought as much as I could afford. It's soft, non-pilling, and works up great for shawls and sweaters.

So I occasionally cruise ebay to see if there is any available and .... lo and behold ... a seller had 10 green skeins which I snagged for $35!

Plans are for a cardigan -- kelly green is TwinB's favorite color.


Here's a close-up:




It'd be great for St. Patrick's Day, but unless I give up sleep ... there's no way it will be finished.


But one sock is done! I finished this yesterday, in between sneezing fits. Stayed in my jammies all day, slugged down NyQuill, and feel marginally better today. And thanks to all those well-wishers who recommended soup ... and rum! I can deal with sore throat and cough, but that woozy feeling in your head is something else. So it's back at the desk today, with cups of tea loaded with honey and lemon, wishing I could add some rum!



This, by the way, is from Knitpicks Memories -- handpainted merino -- which works up extra soft. It's for one of my friends who insists she can't wear wool socks. I've been knitting it at lunch, telling her it's for me and she's been oohing and ahhing over the feel of the yarn. I'll show her!

Sock#2 has been started ... I've learned to cast on right away or the project sits and sits.

Who says old lawyers can't learn new tricks!

Betrayed

My body has betrayed me. Felled by a microscopic virus. Drowned in a river of snot. (sorry, but lack of sleep makes me grumpy). A waterfall of snot.

My throat is on fire. My eyes are watering. I am barely visible in the pile of crumpled tissues on the couch.

And worst of all, I don't even feel like knitting.

Call the paramedics. Call the knitting EMTs. Call the scientists who are too busy designing new erectile dysfunction drugs to be able to cure the common cold. I hope their penises fall off.

*cough cough*