ShopVac

Well, mother nature in all of her glory has blessed our region with rain, rain, rain and more rain. Our basement is the recipient of a rather large portion of these gifts. Since Sunday, we have pumped out over 200 gallons of water, ripped out carpets, moved furniture and moped. It is still coming in. I am so sore. Not really from moving things, but from the shopvac activity. That has been my job. I finally figured out that the noise level could be reduced with ear plugs (how many years of education do I have?) and that if I stand at the bottom of the drainage area and vaccuum, I am likely to be more effective. I also came to understand one important problem with the shopvac. It was not designed by anyone that would ever use it. The thing is cumbersome, it falls apart everytime you have to move more than two feet, and is too short for all but the very small of us. Here is my solution: it should be redesigned to be ridden not pushed or pulled. The riding shopvac. What do you think? Can I retire early?

P.

Fun Places to Go

I was going through some rather recent photographs on my "thumb drive" and found this one. Husband and I went to the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis, IN this past July. It was hot, hot, hot. I am in the picture with the Loopy Ewe (you can find more information about him and vacations that he has participated in at http://www.loopyewe.com/). We had people seated quite snuggly against us and as I said, it was hot, hot, hot. Husband is a big F1 racing fan, so that is why we were there. Louis Hamilton won the race. It was very exciting even if we were dripping. On one of the breaks, I took my fold up chair down below the bleachers and finished up a lace shawl for my sister. I believe that I must have been the only attendee knitting lace (if not knitting period) that day. Racing is one of those things that I had no idea about until I met Husband. I enjoy watching him enjoying the race and recently realized that I am actually learning something about it.

Here are socks that I received at the end of May from a knit exchange pal that I hooked up with through yahoo. They are a perfect fit and I find that I wear them as often as I can. She did the socks in a toe-up fashion. The leg is in a k2, p1 rib. Very, very comfortable. The yarn is Sockotta (or something similar to that spelling). I found the yarn at Wisconsin Craft Market. Very reasonably priced. Since receiving these, I have made a second pair (slightly different color) with the same sort of pattern. I am looking forward to finding another sock exchange to be part of. Do you know of any? I have participated in 2 now and think that they are great fun.

I heard from Husband's sister today. His mother broke her rib and the discussions have begun about alternative living arrangements. Not a lot of choices, but hoepfully, this will add to the quality of her life.

P.

Transition

Husband and I were in MN this weekend visiting with his mother and other family members. We went because we received an email from his sister saying that his mother was down to 78 lbs. and was falling with regularity. Other family members were there. Lots of laughter and good eating was had by all, but underlying the weekend was the reality that in the very near future, a difficult coversation would be required. His mother can no longer stay on her own and does not want to live with a child. The county that she lives in does not have a middle ground, i.e., services available to help an elder stay in their home. What does a family do? Her ability to reason has been compromised due to malnutrition and the aging process. His sister is handling this with the aid of his mother's doctor. I have no doubt that at the end of the day, a good solution will be found, but the next several months will be difficult.


P.

Super Sockapalooza 4 Socks Received!!!

Look what I received from Dawn - my sockapalooza 4 pal....!! I came home from work last night and found this waiting for me. What a wonderful treat! The socks are so soft and fit perfectly and the treats were very yummy! The colorway of the sock yarn (Old Rose - Cherry Tree Hill) is made up of my favorite colors. Thank you, thank you Dawn!!

I went to Stitches Midwest last week for the first time. I am going to go next year. The classes were excellent and I was able to pick up 2 sweaters worth of an alpaca/wool blend at 25% off plus three skeins of STR yarn (no discount but really, really fun colors).

I continue to plug away at my KnitPicks socks. I couldn't in good faith "cut and run" because the sock will likely turn out ok. It is just not really fun to knit with. I am also working on a sweater from Knitting Pure and Simple that crosses over in the front. I am using a Knitpicks Merino sport weight wool in the charcoal colorway. I wear a fair amount of black during the winter so will likely wear this one quite often. The wool is very soft and the sweater is knitting up quickly. I think that I might knit this same sweater for my daughter. She is getting ready to have senior pictures taken. I am thinking something in a forrest green.

Speak with you soon. P.

Sockapalooza4!!!

I heard from my sock pal this morning! Yeah! Can't wait to see what was made for me!! Can't wait to learn who that person is!!

I visited my LYS this afternoon and purchased two Rowan books (Classic Style and Pure Wool). I am really looking forward to pouring through those patterns. I bought two skeins of Ultra Alpaca in my favorite color of all time --- pink! I plan on making the scarf in the Pure Wool book right away. Well, actually after I complete the Tilling the Soil vest from Amy E. Anderson. I have the trim to do and the clasps. I decided not to use buttons, but try clasps.

I am seriously considering frogging the KnitPicks socks that I am working on. I just don't like the way the yarn feels in my hands. It would be a waste. But, life is too short to waste on bad yarn.

It is very, very hot today. In fact, the weather forecast was "oppressive." Can you believe that? Thanks for the positive outlook Mr. Weatherman.

I am planning on posting some pictures this weekend of projects that I have been working on. Stay tuned. P.

Yarn Review

Hi,

Ever tried Knit Picks Dancing for Socks? I am working with some now and am not convinced. It took me a long time to find a stitch pattern that the yarn would work with. I found one in the More Sensational Socks book. I am using a 4 stitch pattern repeat that is a decorated cable.

I don't like the way that the yarn feels in my hands - it is a cotton, wool, elastic nylon blend. I am worried that it will be harsh on my feet. It kinks as I knit and is just plain strange. It was on sale. Now I think that I know why. I am interested in hearing what you think of it.

I just finished the Jaywalker pattern (see www.knitty.com) using Apple Laine's Apple Pie yarn. The yarn is L-O-V-E-L-Y to work with and the colors are beautiful. Go over to www.loopyewe.com to look for yourself. That's where I bought mine. I used the carnival colorway. It is soft and oh, so, fun.

I am also planning on finishing Amy E. Anderson's "Tilling the Soil" vest this weekend. It am using Cascade 220 in the Garnet colorway. The pattern is easy and fun. I wear a lot of vests throughout the winter, so am looking forward to adding this to my collection.

Did you finish your sockapalooza4 socks? I did! I put them plus other goodies in the mail yesterday. I am so looking forward to this exchange!

P.

Freedom (?) and the Spare Tire

Hi There,
My kids are teenagers. My oldest is 17, starting to think about college and drives. My youngest is 15 (soon to be 16) and does not have his license. I stayed home with my kids until my youngest was in kindergarten. I am like most moms, I suspect. My kids were born, but are still very much a part of me. They hurt - I hurt. They are happy - I am happy. Over the last few years, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I will soon be living in a house without kids. Empty nest, I guess. I think that I am doing pretty well in that department. My husband and I plan fun things to do. I have my knitting and my work to sink my teeth in to. But there has been this sneaking feeling of something not so good lurking around the corner. Last night, I felt first hand and came face to face with what that thing is.

I am no longer able to protect them.

When they were little and fell, I was usually around to help soften the blow. If I was lucky enough to reach out in time, I might even have been able to help them avert the fall entirely. Not any more. As I mentioned, my daughter drives. She and her friends were on their way home last night from Milwaukee and blew a tire. I received a call from her at about 9:30 pm. They were about 45 min. away from me. Her cell phone had died (she has a charger - but she left it in her room!!) so she was on a friend's phone. I got up to go get them immediately. One of the other kids' parents got there first. They were ok and a spare tire was installed. Everyone went on their way. Crisis with the potential to be really big, was handled well and no one was hurt. But it really made me think. Before she called, I was watching a movie, knitting, enjoying the time to myself and thinking that I had a handle on this empty nest thing. Life could be really fun and a whole new chapter was before me. Then the call and the realization that I have no way to see to it that they stay safe.

How do I balance this?

I am reminding myself today that although I can't be there to catch them, they do have all of the lessons that their dad and I tried to teach them. Maybe they were listening. Maybe not. But I can't stand in the way of their growing independence because I am afraid of what that might bring for them. For me. My role with them is changing about as fast as ever. I need to get up to speed. Freedom is an inalienable right.

P.

Wonderful Socks, Camping, Rain and Yarn

First of all, let me just say that the socks that I received from my sock exchange friend are wonderful!! Soft to the touch, beautiful colors, and simple, yet elegant knitting. The fit me perfectly. We are in an exchange that is organized through yahoo. I am working on socks based on the RPM pattern from Knitty.com and yarn from Cider Moon (www.cidermoon.com). I should have them done by the weekend and ready to send. I hope that she likes them! I tested the pattern variations on some socks for myself before starting the ones to exchange. The pattern uses a twist that moves clockwise. I varied the pattern to have the other sock go counterclockwise. The guage for the counterclockwise sock is looser. I think that it might be because of the way yarn is generally spun. I noticed with other twist-type patterns that the twist is usually done clockwise. I wonder if this is because of the same problem that I encountered? What do you think? Ever found this to be the case with your work? Anyway, I have never had anybody knit anything like this for me before. I was so touched.

Husband and I went camping this weekend in Door County, WI. Penninsula State Park to be exact. We took the ferry over to Washington Island and biked throughout the Island. We stopped at Sievers School of Fiber Arts. Every been there? It is worth the trip. I bought a book on finishing (really, really needed) and some size 000 and 00 dble point needles. About 2/3 of the way through the Island, the clouds started to darken. We had to peddle really fast to beat the rain. The heavens totally opened up! It rained while we were on the ferry going back to the mainland. Our campsite was soaked. But, it was a really nice weekend anyway. We were able to get away and spend some time together.

Here is my yarn dilemma. With the exception of sock yarn, I buy only enough yarn to complete a project. That is, I see a pattern that I like and then I look for yarn that would be suitable. I think that this is backwards. I suspect that I am limiting myself. Cost considerations aside (and yes, I really have to consider this), I would like to be able to buy based on color or texture or some combination of both. I would purchase enough for a standard sweater or shawl. I hope that maybe this way, I would expand my color and project options. I seem to always be limited by practical considerations. What do you think? What do you do?

One more thing about yarn. I save way to much of the left over stuff. 1/3 - 1/4 balls of yarn pretty much occupy my yarn stash. Nothing to really make into a project other than bags of ok combinations to felt for Christmas projects. I have got to weed my yarn. We are in the process of clearing out a room for me to work. I think that I will weed in tandem with the set-up. What do you do?

Speak with you soon. P.

It's My Birthday

Happy birthday to me! Today is the day, 42 years ago, that I was born. As you can imagine, a lot has happened since then. I went to school, turned 23, married, had one child, grew up, finished school, had another child, went back to school, started working, finally grew up, got divorced, fell in love again, remarried, started my business, and so on and so forth. Many different things have happened, but there have been several constants in my life. My family's love, knitting, the great outdoors, chocolate, laughter, chick-flick movies, curly hair, music. I am blessed.

Tonight I will go out to eat with my husband. I am looking forward to eating sushi and cake although not necessarily in that order. I will knit more of the socks for my sock exchange pal. The color is wonderful (Victoria) and the yarn is from Cider Moon (check out their website: www.cidermoon.com).

I went to a shaping class last night at Lakeside Fibers. I finally learned how to do short rows, double decreases (miter stuff), ssk that is not lopsided, and invisible increases. For the last umpteen jillion years, I have been grinding down deeper into my trench and not really learning new skills. I am finally taking the plunge and trying new things. Lace, socks, new techniques. The sky is the limit. Have a wonderful day. P.

Knitting Olympics

Is knitting a sport? Should there be a knitting olympics? I think so. I would enter the marathon. My body sure would fit the profile. Skinny fingers, muscly forearms, weak eyes, reader glasses ridge on my nose, spreading hips, and somewhat curved spine. I am in it for the long haul this weekend. Better stock up on some Gator Aid and sports gel. Wouldn't want to dehydrate.

I want to make great headway on my latest lace project and finish an RPM sock. I would also like to start a vest with a pattern by Amy E. Anderson. It is called "Tilling the Soil." I bought some half-price (!!) yarn at The Sow's Ear the other day. It is a merino, alpaca blend. Sort of a heathery purple.

The niece and nephew are coming to stay Sat. night. Should be fun. The weather is wonderful. P.

Yarn (3) - Clothing (0)

I have come to the conclusion that I have a problem. It is a secret, nagging, growing slowly, not really recognizable until you look at my closet, problem. This is my problem: I am addicted to feeling, squishing, viewing and ultimately buying yarn. Maybe you have this problem, too. I just bought more sock yarn from the Loopy Ewe. I don't really need the yarn. In fact, I have many skeins of similar yarn at home. But rather than purchase clothing for myself, I bought the yarn. I reacted to the colors and what I imagine to be texture. I am full of anticipation - looking forward to opening the box to add the new purchase to my collection. As I write this, I look down at my clothing. I need to update. I need to not cram my slowly growing wider body into these pants any more. But you know, I saw the yarn online and all of this just kind of fell by the wayside. I'll wear the current pants a few more months. I'll not look too closely into the mirror. I'll not look too closely at how lopsided my closet it. Yarn (3) - Clothing (0). Thankfully, it is soon to be summer. Full body attire will be optional. P.

Lots of Projects Going On

I have been knitting and knitting, but giving away most of what I have knit. I can't post many pictures because I gave the project away before being able to take any! I knit socks with yarn from the Loopy Ewe (www.loopyewe.com). I think that the yarn was Claudia Hand Painted Yarn and was in the earth colorway(?). It had a lot of purples in it. My law partner and I put together a basket for a local charity's raffle and the socks+ other basket items went to the highest bidder.

I knit socks from the spring IK 2007 (the light purple ones - very pretty). They were given to my husband's sister-in-law (does that mean she is also my sister- in- law?) to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. I also knit socks for her husband, my brother-in-law, that were made from a pattern posted on the Cider Moon website (www.cidermoon.com). The pattern was free! Their yarn is totally lovely. I am using the Lost colorway in Flurry to knit socks for myself. The pattern that I am using is RPM from Knitty.com. I want to work out the bugs before I make a pair for my sock exchange friend.

I also knit a shawl for my Mother as a Mother's Day present. The pattern was from Susan Lawrence and is called "Forrest Canopy." It worked out well and was my first ever lace project. I used some alpaca wool that I had in my stash and stretched my project in my son's bedroom. He was horrified, but he is rarely ever in there and it seemed to make good sense at the time. I guess that I will have to find someplace different next time.

In addition to the Lost colorway socks, I am working on a shawl from Hazel Carter called "Violets by the River." I bought it from The Sow's Ear (www.knitandsip.com) and am using wool from my latest yarn crawl through Minneapolis. The yarn is a merino/silk lace weight blend and is from Creative Fibers in Minneapolis, MN.

So you see, there has been a lot going on. What have you been up to? P.

Blog Buttons! ~ The Loopy Ewe

Blog Buttons! ~ The Loopy Ewe: "

"

Blog Buttons! ~ The Loopy Ewe

Blog Buttons! ~ The Loopy Ewe

Happy Monday!!

Happy Monday! (or something like that). I had my stash exchange this weekend. Not too many people showed up. Two + me = three to be exact. But it was fun. I exchanged magenta colored Cascade 220 for several skeins of sport weight yarn (kind of a grey color) and two skeins of a heavy worsted weight yarn in a lavender color from Canada. I made choc. covered strawberries and we had red wine. Very female and very fun. Husband and son left early on for the movie 300. I think that I definitely came out ahead on that one. I think that I will make Husband some socks from the grey sport weight yarn and still don't know what I am going to do with the lavender stuff yet. But I am sure that I will think of something.

I finished my sock of the month club sock this weekend (finally) and started one from a different yarn. Well, actually it is the second one of a pair that I started several weeks ago. Do you do that? I mean knit one sock set it aside and then start another one, only to come back to the first after you finished the second? Someone told me that this method was one way to avoid getting bored with the color that you are currently woking on. I don't know if I like it because I don't get to wear the socks until I finish both. The yarn is Claudia & Co. from the Loopy Ewe (www.loopyewe.com) and is terrific!! Red, gray, maroon, pink. All kinds of fun shares. It is similar in texture to Koigu, but more indy than that. I really like how it is knitting up.

How was your weekend? P.

Long time no post!! I have been busy (as the saying goes). I am having my first stash exchange this evening. I invited a few of my knitting buddies to come over for wine, cheese and crackers and to get rid of some of their stash! Sort of like a stash garage sale without the money part. Some of them asked questions as to the quality of stash to bring. Tough question. You don't want to get rid of your prize stuff, but you also don't want to unload junk on someone else. I think that I will give some brightly colored worsted weight with some fun stuff for trim. I asked people to bring enough for one scarf, one pair of socks, or one hat. I will let you know how it goes.

I am working on a sock with wool that is made with soy and chritin (sp?). I have had to rip it out twice so far. I got it as part of my sock club. I didn't like the lacey pattern that came with it because the yarn was too varigated to show the lace on the sides. So, I am knitting a traditional pattern (k2,p2 on the calf, with ss on the toes). It has taken me a while to find the gauge. I hope to finish it this weekend.

The weather is finally warming up. Husband and I went for a bike ride last weekend. Very, very nice. I am so ready for spring.

Speak with you soon.
P.

Hi,

The weekend was so snowy! We received about 15 inches of snow over approximately 48 hours. The snow was wet and heavy. Perfect heart attack and slipped disk while shoveling snow. Husband was wonderful and took this task on himself. I cooked, knit, and helped paint the kitchen. We painted it a light yellow - golden buttercup was the name, I think. It took 2 coats before looking really nice. I have always wanted a yellow kitchen. We have spots to touch up, but it is essentially done and a pleasure to view.

I stayed up way too late last night watching the Oscars. I am really paying the price for it today. If I had a quiet place to lay my head down this afternoon, I would have done it and been down for the count.

I knit almost one whole sock this weekend. I used a German yarn that is thicker than what I have been using (a Koigu look-alike). I got through most of it and then realized that it was going to be way too small so - I ripped it out. Serves me right for not checking my gauge. I started over yesterday and it is already feeling loser. The gauge was better this time. Has this ever happened to you or do you check your gauge every time? What are you working on? What is your weather like?

P.

Hi,

So...I signed up for the sock of the month club sponsored by Fiber Nooks & Crannys! It should be fun to see what they send each month. There is no minimum time that you must be a member, so join for a month, 2, 6, 8, ... The yarn that they send is typically Opal, which from what I understand is a fingering yarn from Germany. Never used it myself, so it will be fun to try it out. They also send a different pattern each month.

The sky is so bright today. We are having a sign installed with our firm name on it as I write this. This is the first time that I have worked for a place with my name on the door. I am very excited!

P.

Hi,

Well, I was able to do it. I figured out how to enter my blog again. I was concerned because I couldn't seem to find the right combination of username and password.

I am considering joining a sock club. $23 a month. The store (Fiber Nooks and Cranneys) has a sock club that seems like it would be a good fit for me. Nice yarns and the patterns appear challenging and something that I would likely wear. I have to think some more on it, though. $23 per month is a lot at this point for me to spend. Are you a member of a sock club? If so, how do you like it? What do you do with all of the socks that you make?

The weather was beautiful today. I always am amazed that the weather actually gets warmer as spring gets closer. After 41 years you would think that I would not be surprised anymore.

I am going to make blackened fish tonight for dinner to celebrate Mardi Gras. I'll let you know how it turns out. I have never made it before. We were in New Orleans about 1 1/2 weeks ago. There is a lot of rebuilding going on. The City seems to have come together. It was my first time there. Bourbon Street was amazing. I had many different types of food. My favorite was beignets.

Speak with you soon. P.

Welcome!

Welcome!

I just created this blog to reach out to you to chat about knitting and life. I guess that I should start with introducing myself to you. I am 41, a mother of two teenagers, and a lawyer. I am recently married (18 mos.! - still feels like we are honeymooners). I live in the midwest. I have been knitting since I was 8 years old. My mother, a "southpaw", took my sister and I to a local knitting store to learn to knit. I have knit off and on since then. I am looking to improve my skills. There are so many gorgeous patterns out there and wonderful fibers - I sometimes feel that my eyes are bigger than my knitting stomach!

I am currently working on a little hat for my nephew and a pair of socks for myself. I am trying to create the hat pattern as a I go along. This is the third pair of socks that I have knit - ever! So far so good.

I have a couple of questions for you. Have you found that knitting socks with hand dyed yarns is a problem from a color-fast point of view? I wore the last pair that I knit for a couple of hours. When I took them off, my toes were blue! I washed the socks in Woolite. Hopefully, this will help the situation.

What are you working on? Send me a picture! Tell me what interests you in knitting. Why are you doing it? I would love to hear from you.

Speak with you soon. Posie Knit