back to work

I have been busy with work stuff this week. Registering kids for school. It takes quite a long time. My back and neck ache from sitting all day on very uncomfortable chairs, so my knitting has been put on the backburner for now. I can't bring myself to sit and knit after 8 hours of sitting. I did take my sock with me today and got a few rounds in during the lulls. No pics. Will hopefully have a pic of my pair of finished socks soon.

knitting meme

I just don't have anything better to do right now. Consider yourselves tagged on this one if you are reading this. :)

Bold for stuff I've done/am doing
Italics for stuff I plan to do someday
Normal for stuff I'm not planning on doing

Afghan/Blanket (baby)
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting
Purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

new knit books

I got two new knitting books in the mail yesterday. Amazon was quite quick with getting them here, having just ordered them on Tuesday. I was updating my wishlist and saw that Stitch N Bitch Nation was on sale for $3.95! Isn't that amazing. I don't know if it still is, but go check it out if you don't have it. I couldn't quite get over having to pay more for shipping than the actual book, so I threw in Charmed Knits as well. It too was on sale, but for about $10.oo. Anyway, very exciting. I am ready to be through with my wips and start something new. On that note, I decided against frogging the sock and finished it last night. Now comes the SSS. :) The sweater is now ready to be put together. All the pieces are done except for one sleeve. Seaming, ties and bottom ruffle will be all that is left to do. Yay.

chocolate-my drug of choice

First, Vinokourev out for blood doping along with his team, Astana. Now, Teams Cofidis and RaboBank. RaboBank, the team of Rasmussen, the Tour leader. The team sacked him for missing off season drug tests and then lying about where he was.

This is making for a strange tour. Contador will be the tour leader tomorrow due to Rasmussen being removed from the Tour. Evans and Levi right behind him.

The article I read by Phil Ligget mentioned the fact that there has never been any suspicion of doping amongst the three which will hopefully help to save the face of the Tour de France.

No knitting today. I spent the day, after watching the tour this morning, with a friend. We went to a Pilates class, had lunch, then scrapbooked until about 5pm.

Last night, however, I put my sock away (until I figure out what I want to do with it), and worked on my wrap around sweater. I finished the right front and have begun on the sleeves. It may actually get done before the end of the summer. A bite of the yummy peach vodka truffle I got yesterday should help.

Chocolate is an allowed substance

to frog or not to frog

That is the question.

The ulimate knitter's dilemma. I am so close to finishing the sock and yet, I am thinking of frogging it all. Why? Because of that ugly splotch on the top of the foot.

When I first saw that pattern in the yarn coming out I figured, "Hey, it's on the foot no one will see it anyway," and I continued to knit. Now that I am on the toe and have tried it on, I hate it. It would look so much better if the same pattern followed throughout.

So why the change? Because the number of stitches along the foot after the gusset decreases is different than the leg and caused the yarn colors to line up a little differently. Urg.

What should I do? Frog, I think. I don't think I can live with that splotch on the top of my foot. I will have to frog and decrease one less time on the gusset and hope that that helps to set the pattern right. It will, of course, make the foot a little wider. Urg.

These socks are turning out to be quite the pain in the arse.

short break in my knitting

Well, since Saturday morning, at around 130am, all I have been doing is reading. Reading, crying, laughing, cheering, more crying. I finished the book last night while friends and my husband drank and played poker. I joined them after finishing and making sure my face was washed so I wouldn't give anything away to them. Now I will wait until my husband is finished to reread it again. It was wonderful.

I did take a break from reading yesterday to watch the time trial. Wow! Vinokourev was amazing. Who knew he could come back like that to win the stage? Then came today. The Pyrenese (sp?). I was so sure he would be able to stay with the rest of the gc contenders. Poor Vino, once again. He came in almost half an hour after Contador. Yay for Contador, though. And Levi! He didn't do too bad today either, coming in fourth. I am still cheering him on, even though the husband thinks he has no chance. He picks either Rasmussen or Evans to win.

I picked up the Jaywalkers while watching today's stage. The first of the pair is coming along fine. I am on the foot, a little less than half way. I would have been further along but there was some mishaps on Friday. There was something not right with the pattern on one side of the foot during the gusset decreases that I had to tink all the way back a few rows to the pick ups to fix. Yes, tink not frog. I hate frogging on socks. those little stitches can get away from me very quickly and I would have probably messed it up even more.

More Jaywalker knitting tomorrow during another stage in the mountains.

poor, poor knitter

Urg. My LYS is teasing me with their wonderful knitting classes. I just got an email from HCW about a class on entrelac. Entrelac! I have been wanting to learn how to do entrelac and this class would be perfect. Unfortunately, there is no money at the moment for doing that. I don't have $65 plus the cost for yarn. We are just about to put a lot of money towards remodeling our kitchen and it is the end of the month. The paycheck is about gone. I haven't taken a class in quite awhile. Not since the lace class. Oh well, I know this class will probably get offered again at another time. I will just have to wait.

harry potter book 7!!!!!

I am feeling the need to hide from everyone and everything that will likely leak spoilers about the Harry Potter book. There are only a couple more days before the book is in my hands. I don't want to know anything about it. I had to turn off the national news today when they started talking about the book being available on the internet. I was scared they would mention some spoilers/rumers that are going around. Ack! Who knew I would have to go into hiding?

Anyway, I am getting very excited about the whole thing. I have my book preordered at B&N and will be there Friday night to get it at midnight. My husband will be out of town so I will be there on my own. I was thinking I would take my knitting with me, park myself at the coffee bar and knit and wait until I could get the book. That is the plan. Anyone want to join me?

out of the alps

They are out of the Alps today. I was getting a little worried about Levi yesterday but he did good. He is still there and in the running for the GC. I must say, though, Contador is pretty awesome. Also, I couldn't help feeling sorry for Vino. Did you see him crying after he finished the stage? I guess Kloden will be Astana's leader now.


While watching yesterday I made some progress on Jaywalker. It looks so much better with the KnitPicks Dancing than it did with the Wildfoote. You can really see the zigzag pattern happening.

Wildfoote is a bit dark and doesn't have any lines of color when knit up so the pattern kind of got lost.

I am really happy with how it is turning out now. I just have to be very careful about getting my pair of socks to actually match up with each other when I am done. Of course, I regularly get Second Sock Syndrome so there is no need to worry about it quite yet.

jaywalker, take two

Yesterday I started on another pair of socks. I wanted to try out the Jaywalker pattern that everyone is doing. I started it with my Wildfoote yarn and got a few rounds into the zigzag pattern before i realized that this yarn wasn't a good choice for Jaywalker. You couldn't see the zigzag at all. I had to frog and put my yarn back in the bin. I pulled out the Knitpicks Dancing instead and cast on again. Still on the ribbing so not sure if this will work any better. It is a variegated yarn, so I have my fingers crossed that it will look much better.

I probably should have not started another pair of socks and continued with Ruffled Surplice. It needs to be finished, but it takes so much pattern reading that I can't do it while watching the Tour on tv or when my mom and dad here. They talk to me and I lose my place. I am very incapable sometimes of doing more than one thing at a time.

Mom and Dad are leaving tomorrow. Bright and early, I think. I am very happy I got those socks finished, even if they are a bit uneven. OOps. Anyway, mom will have some socks to keep her feet cozy on the drive back to California.