So much better...

My back healed up fine by the next day. No pain at all. I don't know how that is possible; it must be some sort of baby miracle. Either the bath and tylenol worked, or the same hormones that make your joints all lose and drop things also helped my back to loosen itself up. All I can say is thank goodness. Because normally I would be fighting the pain for 3-4 days (or longer at the worst case).

I am trying to get my knitting mojo back. I think it is slowly. I am trying to fit some knitting back into my mornings while drinking my coffee and watching the news. Then I can still spend most of my time later in the day still "getting ready for baby" (GRFB). Part of it is some finishitis (DH's socks) and startitis (Baby Surprise Sweater).

DH's socks are the Garter Stitch socks I have been working on forever. I am finally past the gusset and working on the foot. He will be so happy now since the weather was 78 degrees yesterday and I am finally finishing his first pair of wool socks! (Yeah, doh!)

My baby-chemical addled brain is easily tricked by the sketchy instructions of the EZ Baby Surprise Sweater. Bare with me if I sound like a whiner; I honestly don't mean to. I am normally very good at less than obvious instructions that lead to math, hence the engineering degree. I am just easily confused right now and when I have a tendency to set this down for a week at a time, I forget where I was. The colors are actually much deeper and intense in person.

Pattern: EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket

Yarn: Yarn By Mills Worsted Hand-Dyed

(sorry, I can't find the label)

Needles: Size 5, 36" circ Addi Turbos

And my new STR kit came in! It is gorgeous. I will post about it soon.

This weekend....

Don't forget that the SC Knitting Guild's Knit Inn will be held. It starts Friday night, and formally ends Saturday night (but informally usually Sunday morning). It is a good way to spend your time before Super Bowl festivities, or to do something nice for yourself to make up for being ignored by your significant other during the Super Bowl. I will be balancing cooking for Super Bowl parties and attending the Knit Inn.

Check out my new Dansko clogs. A little over half off at Mast General, and more top o' the foot space to show off cute knit socks. I know you are jealous. I really don't need to spend money on myself with the baby coming, but since I foresee in the near future not being able to tie my shoes, more slip on shoes cannot hurt. I will probably be living in Danskos and Crocs very soon. :)

I did not get much knitting done over the weekend, but I did order nursery furniture and install more shelving in the laundry room. I am so proud of myself for finally getting the shelving up and therefore being able to clean off the top of the dryer and the few huge things of detergent on the floor. DH finished painting the ceiling in the nursery; we still have to do touch up painting and then faux some clouds on the ceiling.

Yarn P0rn for this week:

I received the January STR club kit. I am excited by the color of this one. I just need to get going on knitting socks again. The pattern is called Serendipity and the colorway is called Dragon Dance in lightweight sock yarn.

And then I bought this Shui Bui sock yarn at The Needle Tree. I went there to buy some knitwear wash for my mom and to see what baby yarns they had. I ended up with this sock yarn. I just need to figure out what I will do with it. They say this yarn has been very popular. There is no name for the colorway, it is just called color #41301.

I am on a push to finish some projects. So I am still working on the Fleece Artist Cardigan on and off, and a charity hat. I hope to start on poor DH's socks again too. Definite SSS.

Squee! STR 2008!

In the back of my mind it was lurking...I have not heard anything from Blue Moon on paying for the 2008 Club. I was starting to wonder, because it feels like January is almost over already. But I checked my credit card online (Thank God for online banking, because it really has made my life sooo easy) and behold! The charge for the club posted yesterday. Yay! That means I am on my way. I just have to check to see if my friend has seen hers go through or not. I had to send in her registration while she was away on a cruise, so I am a little worried about whether she will be signed up or not.

It took me 9 days to recover from that hellish virus. I am calling it the mondo virus. It seems to wipe out everyone in its path except DH. Go figure. Anyway, since then I have been making a concious effort to Get Ready for Baby (GRB). Lots of reading and phone calls and baby registry junk and organization. And I know my poor husband is stressing out about his work projects. He gave me the puppy dog eyes this morning asking if I could come in and help out. I don't know what the heck to do sometimes. Of course he says he would rather have me organize the house, but the poor man seems to be so stressed. So I have to go in. I may not work for a salary anymore, but I can't get it all done as one think I should. I am going to have to make a conscious effort to work even more. But it is hard. Being pregnant makes one so tired. I spent the whole afternoon running errands (to conserve gas) and by the time I came home, all I could do was sit there with my feet up. It is too hard to try to work in the kitchen from a stool. It strains my back too much.

I hope all of my SC friends will go and vote in the primary this week (Revised to say: Jan 19if you are voting Republican. Jan 26th if you are voting Democratic. Sorry, I blame the TV news for dumbing it down for me and my forgetfulness.). I can't stand seeing on TV how 6 inches of snow in Michigan, and I think it was 30 degree weather, was keeping people home from voting. WTF?! I remember my parents voting in every election in Alaska, no matter what the weather was like. And I would think, that like Alaska, 6 inches of snow in Michigan would be considered a "routine" snowfall. No biggie, break out the shovel and ice scraper and get on with life. The snowplows are out so you should be able to catch the bus to the polling place. I mean, come on. People have no excuse. And before I hear excuses about those less fortunate, YES, I have been without the benefit of a car until I bought my own AFTER college (college paid for by ROTC scholarship and work money). And I struggled to pay it off in 4 years. Yes, I wanted a nicer car, but I bought what I could afford. I rode buses to almost all of my jobs in high school, or walked and took the bus to jobs and classes. I know what it is like to walk home alone at night, on top of 4 feet of snow in the dark cold next to a highway hoping you don't fall down into traffic. Or walk to 6 am ROTC workouts 5 days a week in all sorts of weather. And never did I complain about my situation. You just suck it up and deal. The only excuse would be if your shift schedule vs poll times made it impossible for you to go. So that is what I am saying about voting. It is a privilege not matter what the weather is. And if you don't think it is, just look at what that cutie Chavez is trying to pull in Venezuela. Well anyway, enough of politics. No matter who you vote for, just vote.

Git R Done...

(...an aside, this post was written 9/23 and I had yet to post it and take pictures. I apologize. I just got back from another trip to Florida, and now I am turning around to go to DC for a wedding. The good news is that I am finally going to see the capital! After that, I will go to stitches. Also, I have been helping my husband at work most days between trips. So it has been hectic around here. Anyway, here is my best at a partial post, I will see if I can swing my husbands laptop to post while I am on the road.)

...I so realize that I am way behind on posting some of the cool new things that I have purchased. And where I am on some things. As glamorous as traveling is, we all know that it distracts us from getting things done. So, here is my attempt at "Git R Done."

The new STR club kit arrived. I have not done anything with it. It is quite cool.

I purchased some Handmaiden Sea Silk to do a small scarf or shawl with. I don't think I have decided on what pattern to use just yet.

The new Cat Bordhi book. Yay me!

I finished my HW for Stitches East! Yeah, yeah all of my whining was just too much. It only took me a few hours. For all of the whining you would think it would have taken days or weeks like last year. But I have been on a real no-crafting mood lately. I was empathizing with a quilting friend about this. We both have been going home and just sitting there, watching TV, and thinking I really need to do XXX but not getting up to do anything about it. I guess it is a lack of energy? Not wanting to mentally tackle anything? Not sure. I am not home at night hardly. I think that contributes to it.

Next on my list is to tackle Part 2 of the Basics, Basics, Basics course. I have alot of feedback regarding my work on Part 1 to read through first. I have not had the focus to sit down and read and absorb all of that. Having worked for so many years under intense workloads and deadlines, I often find it hard to sit and read and truly absorb what I am reading.

I also need to start on my mom's Xmas scarf. So hopefully on these trips, I can get started on that.

Oh, and check my new tshirt design below at the bottom of my blog. You too can proclaim your sock yarn love! I designed it for myself for Stitches East, and decided to make it publicly available since the design website allows me to do that. You can see me wear it around the market on Saturday. :)

Mmmm....quiet time

Since my last post, I have been trying to turn off the TV more and to read more. Thanks to a neighbor who is alot like me in personality/preferences, I have a new book to read about different types of thinkers. It is helping me to formalize my strengths and weaknesses, and to understand why I was unhappy in my last career...I kind of already knew, but it helps to have affirmation. It also hope that it helps me settle on what I would RATHER do. It also helps to explain my sometimes knitting ADHD, which happens when I get too many projects going (more than 3). :) Ha ha!

I have also started a TKGA class called Basics, Basics, Basics. I am knitting my little swatches and learning away.

I can't believe it has been a week already. I have so much catching up to do. So down to bid-ness.

SP10

SP10 Contest #8: Blog/Post about 3 yarns you're just dying to try/get your hands on, and why!You have until Saturday, June 30th, 2007 to post your entry.

Apple Pie Sock Yarn - Why? I have heard it is heavenly. That the colors are beautiful and it fuzzes up nicely. I have not ordered it yet because it sells out quickly, and she doesn't really do alot with my favorite color, green. So that has kind of held me back just a bit. I also have not seen it in person yet, and I tend to buy sock yarns that I see in person. I have been disappointed in ordering online with true colors unseen. :)
Kauni Rainbow - Have you even seen that sweater? That Yarn Harlot is knitting? Enough said. It is gorgeous, and it looks like an easier fair isle to do! The yarn does the color switching for you! It may become a group project for some friends.
Hanne Falkenberg Mermaid - Really the whole shebang. The Yarn and the Pattern. Because together they just work. But it is sooooo pricey. That is what holds me back on this one. (Anyone want to contribute to my Hanne fund? Pleeeeeeeaaaaaase?)

Why I have the Bestest SP10 Pal in the World update.

Dear SP10 Pal,

Do not despair; I do truly love you. Please forgive the late posting of the glorious packages that you have sent to me. Trust me, I truly understand the anticipation and stalking of your pal's blog to see how much they love what you have sent. So I sincerely and deeply apologize. Please see my post below.

Your Pal,

Yarngineer

Don't cha wish you had a pal like me? Check out the latest package to arrive from Elann.com. Beautiful green laceweight merino and addi turbo lace needles and a beautiful shawl pattern. I think my pal is telling me that I need to get off my butt and finally knit lace in laceweight yarn. Oh, okay, I guess I better!

After taking this picture, I am dutifully going to put the yarn and needles back in their plastic bag until I knit it so that the laceweight yarn does not get all snaggy.

Socks that Rock!

Oh my, this month's is great. The yarn is Firebird in lightweight, and the pattern is the Solstice Slip. It looks easy and pretty. What a great choice.

Christmas

The Father Daughter Hat for my dad's Xmas present is going. It looks different because I have adjusted the pattern to add an extra 3 inches of ribbing, because in Alaska one needs extra protection over the ears when the temperature drops.

But I was silly and did not check my stitch count as early as I should have after starting the decrease rounds. I was over by one stitch, so I figured out that I had forgotten to do one K2TOG. No problem, I think. I will just drop down the few rows and fix it. Ah, but no grasshopper. This alpaca/wool blend is not as elastic as plain wool. So after fixing it and working the stitches back up it was all too loose and gappy looking. Argh. So I had to frog back anyway, and here is what it looks like right now. I still haven't straightened out the stitches to lie in the correct direction after frogging it. And it is soooo unlike me to leave the yarn all yarn-barfy. I usually wind it back up right away. But this summer has been crazy for me. No fear, I will finish it soon. I just need to knit more little swatchies for my Basics course first.

Well, I need to run and start typing up some answers for my Basics course. I promise to post more frequently!

There is alot to be excited about today...but also some sad news

Bovidae Farm Trip, FO, new sock yarn, Stitches East signups, and I think some more....

On Saturday I trekked up to Bovidae Farm in Mars Hill, NC with some members of our local knitting groups. It is best to visit Bovidae Farm in a group, because they like for you to call ahead and arrange a visit since they are a real-working farm and have alot of work to do! Anyway, we all made lunch dishes and drove up there and ate lunch on their wrap around porch, and petted their corriedale and merino sheep. Most of the flock is corriedale. I forgot my camera, so I will post some pictures when one of the other ladies on the trip sends some to me. They process and dye their own wool, as well as sell some other yarns in a little yarn shop in their cabin. Very nice people...what else can you say about people who let a group take over their house and knit! Hey, at least we brought food! I picked out some worsted weight in their Lichen colorway (dark sage greens and brown to match my eyes) for the rogue sweater. I will have to wash it first because the lanolin in the yarn will drive my allergies nuts.

It is funny, but in this light it looks more of an emerald green. Anyway, it will look great on me no matter what the lighting is.

We decided to leave Bovidae early to visit a yarn store up the road called Yummi Yarns in Burnsville, NC. The ladies in the store were very nice (I think they let us take over their shop for two hours), and they have an impressive selection of yarn, from high end to more modest yarns. Louisa Harding, Rowan, Noro, Hanne Falkenberg Kits, Colinette, Lamb's Pride, etc.. Too many to remember. Anyway, I had fun playing fashion model for the Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Show. I am glad it was there, because I got to try on many styles and narrow down what Iwould really buy if I was ever lucky enough to do so...some day I will own Diva or Mermaid. Man, am I a sucker for scandinavian designs. I will really need to save up for them, as they run ~$250 per kit!

They don't have a website yet, so I will post the info here: Yummi Yarns, 7 So. Main Street, Burnsville, NC 28714, 828 678 9890

I also finished my Inside Outs yesterday! Finally! It took forever since I have been working on many projects and traveling too much!

Yesterday, I also received my Sundara Yarn Petals Collection for May. It is gorgeous! Let me tell you, this girl has an eye for color you won't believe. And this kit is modeled on Dahlias, which I love. I have even planted some this year. I am so tempted to jump into this right away.

And last but not least, I signed up for my Stitches East classes this morning! And I got all of my first choices!! squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I am going to take alot of design classes this year, to work on my New Years Knitting Resolutions. It is time to take off the training wheels and dive in. I know I can do it and already understand some design. But I have not really done much of that yet. Mary and I also have already reserved a hotel, so we are good to go!

We found out last week that our best local yarn shop, IMO, Yarns Forever, is closing its brick and mortar doors. I am saddened by this, but realize that this is also an opportunity for the owner. She is going to instead focus on expanding her growing wholesale and retail hand dyed yarn business, and on starting an alpaca farm. Have no fear, she will keep selling yarn through her websites for Yarns Forever and Creatively Dyed. It is unfortunate, but the local market is not enough to support the overhead of a bricks and mortar store. So, to all of my local readers, please go by and support her while she closes out the store. I know that many of you have not had the time to go there yet, but please make the time. She is open for a few hours on Saturdays, so please try to fit it into your schedules.

My red daylillies are totally in bloom now. Each has about 3-4 flowers per plant, and more buds waiting to bloom. I am excited. It is time to go and feed them some liquid fertilizer, and to plant my tomatoes and herbs.

I think it is time to slow down and spend some time at home. I have been on the road way too much. I need to feel a little more grounded. :) Plus, DH is starting to forget who I am!

All is quiet on the Southern front....

But anybody who knows anything about an army...be wary when an army is quiet...as they are preparing to launch an offensive! (Or establish a killer defense, but that analogy does not work here.)

Yes, I am talking about Maryland Sheep & Wool (MSW). My blog has been kind of quiet. I am preoccupied with mainly MSW packing, and I was gone last weekend so I am catching up with things.

MSW packing list:
-iPod and car adapter
-cell phone and charger
-closed toe shoes
-camping chair
-cooler
-sun hat
-sun block
-money
-camera?
-knitting shopping wishlist
-Others' knitting wishlists (something about buying for others makes me feel better)
-sock knitting
-raincoat (I am convinced that 95% of the time, if I bring a raincoat it will not rain. It is not even in the forecast.)
-vendor list (highlighted)
-map

You can tell I am such a gadet geek. The iPod makes many a long road trip fly by.

And now for SP10 Contest # 5:
Contest Number 5 is about to begin. All you have to do is blog about what you do while knitting. Is there aunique way you like to cuddle up with your yarn and needles? Do you watch TV? Do you listen to the radio? A podcast? Do you drink tea? Coffee? Wine? Do you have to wear slippers? Do you have to have peace & quiet? Do you have a fave spot?

Typically, I knit in my bed with coffee, first thing in the morning while watching the news. Or at night in bed while watching tivo'ed programs like 24, Grey's Anatomy, etc.. I sit under my brand new Ott lite which is totally helping with the old eye strain issue. I usually listen to podcasts while driving around in my car. Sometimes I sit in a chair, but often at night I like to spread out in bed to relax my back. I guess sock knitting and smaller projects is best for that. :)

Here is the April Socks That Rock Kit. Walk on the Wild Tide Colorway. Sorry, the Ott lite is not doing in justice, but my sunroom table is covered with stitch marker making stuff (for my swap partners).

I probably won't post for a few days. Since I will be gone to MSW!

This one's going to be short too....

I finally did receive April STR shipment on Friday afternoon. I will try to take pics later. The yarn is to die for soft. And the pattern looks cool.

I have to tell, for SP10, what is the oldest yarn in my stash. It is the sage green Lamb's Pride Bulky for my unfinished Einstein coat that I posted about awhile ago. It has been in my stash since the spring of 2004. But since I love Lamb's Pride, it will get used someday!

I need to get to the gym to work on my physical therapy, and I need to maybe buy some new khakis or mid-level dressiness pants. After working in more formal office environments, all I really have are jeans, shorts and suits! Agh.

Oh, and something else....Maryland Sheep and Wool is this weekend! OMG. I have to start getting organized here. I need to go dig out wherever the heck we put our camping chairs. Anyone else out there going?

No STR April Package yet....

>sigh<

I am overdue...

for an update!

I wasn't really motivated to sit down and blog after the Yarn Crawl. I ended up being pretty tired and cranky on Sunday, and all I can figure is that it was due to a lack of sleep. Not even Starbucks can overcome enough late nights and early mornings and transform me into some merry happy sunshine girl. (Which everyone knows that I am not anyway, even if I tried. I am more the calm, serious, inflappable type.)

Last Friday I went to Thimbleberries and picked up my house kit for this month. I washed the fabric yesterday, but I have not started on it. I have also washed the fabric for the table runner, so I hope to start on that sometime soon too. I also picked out some way cool fabric to make drawstring pouches for my husband and my sensei for Christmas.

Note the cool dragons, red and orange fabric that looks like fire, and the blue script. The red fabrics are batik. Too cool! This is my first batik purchase. I adore the stuff.

On Saturday we did the Asheville Yarn Crawl. We could have seen even more stores, but honestly, I did not want to drive us all insane running around at a crazy pace trying to hit the stores farther out from the city.

We started with the mandatory stop at Starbucks before our ~45 minute drive. Then we went straight into yarn shopping!

Our list of stores:

1. Earth Guild - 33 Haywood St., Asheville. 828-255-7818

2. Purl's Yarn Emporium - 51 College St., Asheville. 828-253-2750

3. Asheville Home Crafts - inside Grove Arcade, Asheville. 828-350-7556

4. Yarn Paradise - 6 All Souls Crescent, Asheville. 828-274-4213

5. Yarns to Dye For (Hendersonville) - 927 Greenville Hwy., Hendersonville. 828-697-0630.

All of these stores are great, and for different selections of yarn. Some of the inventories overlap, but there is not so much overlap that visiting all of them is pointless. As a testament to that fact, group members bought items at each store. Each carries sock yarn, so you are covered if you are into that. If you have questions, let me know as I do not feel mentally equipped to handle detailed store reviews of each. We ate at the Tupelo Honey Cafe, which is great and a highly recommend it. We also stopped by The Chocolate Fetish, and I do not have any pictures of my chocolates because all but 2 have been eaten already. I love their European style truffles, much lighter and more enjoyable than the more dense American style truffles (They have those too, by the way. So you can get either!).

I can't really show most of what I bought, because it is for various swap partners that I have. I can share a skein of heavenly laceweight malabrigo (what a deal at ~$8 for 470 yds!)

which I will use to make a branching out. My knitting group pal Sara and I split the last two skeins of the black malabrigo, since the remaining colors weren't really "us." We should each have enough to make a branching out.

I think my squeeing over malabrigo just shows you what a sucker I am for merino wool. It is my absolute favorite thing in the world. Then I guess alpaca.

I also purchased some Brittany Birch dpns to try them. I just want to ask y'all one thing...the next time you recommend that another sock knitter stop using dpns and instead switch to the magic loop or two circs, please don't act like it is the only way to do it and the dpn knitter does not know anything. (Just how it annoys knitters when they are told that whatever knitting style they use is wrong.) Keep in mind that the dpn knitter may have already tried the other methods, and still likes dpns. For example, doing the magic loop is usually best on metal circs. But metal circs aggravated my carpal tunnel. So I tend to return to dpns alot! I only say this because it happens so often! And if you only knew how impossible it is to find size 6 wood dpns in this town, you would jump at the chance too!

I also finished one Inside Out (the ends are not woven in yet, in case I need to rob it for more fiber to finish the second one). But I screwed up on the needle size for the second, so I have to frog that and redo the short row foot. I ended up doing 3 cable repeats on the leg, and I think it results in a good length and nice cabling.

I am not shim-shammin man....

I have been pretty scarce with the DH birthday jubilee this week. But I have been getting some things done.

A quilt block for Thimbleberries (this is for February, so you can see I am two months behind. Gasp!). I just received the April Kit today, so I am going to try to start on that here in the next week. It is a house and should not be too hard.

A little further on the Inside Out sock. I am a little further along than this picture, so I am deciding on how much ribbing to do before I bind off.

Golly, the flash makes everything look ickier.

And we have had something like 4 new member to the Alaskan Knitters ring in the last week. That is so exciting.

The Asheville Yarn Crawl is tomorrow. Unfortunately, only 6 of us can go. Boohoo...but at least we will be a lean, mean yarn buying machine all packed into one minivan! And we are all in trouble with me as the Cruise Ship Activities Director. (I will try NOT to revert to my old cranky ma'amerific ways learned in the Army...no really, I think I will be so sleep deprived it will not be an issue. And everyone is too cool. I just get cranky when I am around lazy idiots. And I am a sleep deprived officer working 5 jobs.) I will ensure bliss by buying a Starbucks sugar free, nonfat, no whip Cinnamon Dolce Latte. And I am probably going to buy my weight in truffles at The Chocolate Fetish. (That alone should boost my mood.) At least that was DH's directive to me. And hey, he is the bday boy and it is chocolate, so who am I to disobey?

Honestly, their chocolates are so good that if I lived in Asheville, I would probably try to work there. Maybe smelling all the chocolate would stop me from eating it so much?!

I'm a little scarce right now

I am calling these 9 days the jubilee celebration of my husband's birthday. He is having such a stressful time at work that I am planning surprises for him every day. So far it is going very well, but because of it I am going to be a little scarce the next week. I have completed two cable repeats on my Inside Out Monsoon Socks for the STR club. It is fun, but don't try doing a 5/1/5 cable with alot of action going on around you, especially on metal needles! Whoops! and they stitches you just cabled slide right off. It could be stressful if you are not good a picking up dropped stitches. Thank goodness, now I am on size one needles for these, so it is going a bit faster....



Meanwhile, the Alaskan Knitters blog ring has grown by two more members! Slowly but surely, we will unite all the Alaskan Knitters out there. :) It is fun to see what everyone is working on.

I also just have to say how much I am loving my Ott lamp. I no longer have eye strain when I work on my knitting in bed...and reading is nice too!

See you in a few days. Asheville yarn crawl this weekend! Woohoo!

Sad, sad times...

I finally did hear back from Brooks Farm today. They do not have any more of my dyelot. C'est la vie. They do so many shows, I knew not to hope. My choices are:
1. Continue knitting and pray I have enough yarn. Then frog if needed as described in step 2.
2. Try on garment, mark where I can eliminate extra middle section repeats. Go ahead and frog and rip back middle section repeats. Pick up dropped stitches and rock on.

Husband is an advocate to #1. If I do #2, I would probably want his help on marking the garment with stitch markers anyway. I think I will think about this and wait until tonight.

Inside Out sockie is progressing. I have to go to a stinkin' homeowners association meeting tonight, and I swore to DH that I am bringing my sock with me, I don't care what people say. Because we all know that I will be stuck there for hours in some uncomfortable folding chair, hoping to successfully fight the desire to self-lobotimize with my DPNs. I will have flashbacks to high school where I fought that same urge, only with pencils. Ugh. My neighbor (bless her heart) is trying to get me to run for the board because of my numbers background. I say nay. I have enough drama in my life. I made some excuse about needing to take more classes to get ready for graduate school (partly true) and that I am working on some business ideas (partly true too). I do not need to serve on the board with my neighbors whose dog keeps pooing in my yard and they never pick it up, etc., etc.. Okay, enough with that but you get the idea. I don't want to be a slave to people who are miserable and petty. If I wanted that, I would still be working as an FA in some silly pressure cooker company.

Oh, and a warning, the next statement may offend some: The assumption that a person who does not work a "regular" job and who does not have kids has all the time in the world to take on all the other crap in the world that others do not want to do annoys the crud out of me. And that I don't have enough other very important stuff going on that I am really into. I can draw two parallel situations, one of which I have been in:

1. The single person working for a company gets asked to work through holiday vacation plans, nights, weekends for any emergency that comes up because your personal time is not as valuable as those who are married (with or without kids). This applies no matter how many years of experience you have and where you are in the pecking order.

2. Mothers with children who get asked to take on all sorts of stuff at school, church, whatever (whether they work or not). Because it is assumed they "wouldn't mind" helping out, or taking on just a few more kids other than your own for an afternoon. As if you have a ton of free time yourself. (I've seen this happen to my mom and friends.)

Enough said. (You can feel free to submit your own rants on the same topic to me. I will appreciate all views.)

The Project Spectrum colors for the next two months are:
April / May: Green, Yellow, Pink
And Sundara's Bird of Paradise Yarn fits perfectly. Only I am not on gage. So I will have to frog back and start again. On socks, you can see a trend. I love to live dangerously and check gage as I knit. :)

The weather is supposed to dip much colder the next few days. I am not happy about that, but I knew it was a possibility. I just planted some dahlias, daisies, daylillies, basil and impatiens. The dahlias, daisies and basil are in pots and can be brought into the garage for refuge. The daylillies should be okay. I only planted two impatiens, so no biggie. But still. I knew I was living dangerously, but I don't want to wait till next month to plant in that heat.

And now for some viewer mail:

Beverly said...
" Not only do you have a lot of gardners in your guild, there are several master gardeners. I was definitely impressed."

I agree. I am going to go to the garden organizations with some of them. I am going to see if I want to go through the master gardener program myself or not. Growing up where I did in Alaska, the soil is so rich all you have to do is plant something and fertilize it. Here, it is much tougher and I feel I could stand to learn alot more. I also have friends and family who will think I have lost my mind undertaking such a thing; they will think I am wasting my time. I don't care. I defy stereotypes and expectations all the time as it is. :) And I have always had a natural green thumb, even for a city girl. There are also some other areas of interest I am going to pursue this year as well, but I am keeping those to myself. :)

This is going to take awhile...

I have been diligently working on my STR Inside Out pattern. But I knew I was in trouble but kind of in denial and the whole let's wait and see how it fits before I decide situation. Basically, I am probably knitting this pattern TOO LOOSE. Yeah, wtf? Notice the UBER-pooling situation in the pics below.

And how the ribbing barely stretches on my little baby feet.

So I bit the bullet this morning and took these pics, and then frogged it back to within 1/2 inch of the start of the ribbing (because you all know that I do not want to accidentally frog all they way back to where the provisional cast on stitches were picked up and end up accidentally dropping those too far). At least now the color striping seems to be more satisfactory.

Finally pics of my dream swatch...my apologies to all of you sweet people out there who have been waiting to see it. I wore it out and about last week. I am sure some people thought it was unusual. DH thinks it is cute. With my medium-length hair, it makes another bad hairday option possible. The pics are a little blurry because I had to take them myself.

I still haven't really looked at my More Sensational Knitted Socks book. I have a legitimate excuse. I have started working on my garden, going out and buying flowers and pulling those that did not make it through the winter out of my beds. I bought daylillies, gerber daisies, africian daisies, and impatiens. Thing is, I am now really scared because between a bad fall in aikido and gardening, I may have really killed my knee again. About 1/3 of my knee is bruised today. I almost cried yesterday, worried that I may need to get another knee surgery. So I am trying not to stress the knee too much. I will try to go just do some planting in my large pots, so that I hope that I do not have to crouch or kneel to work them.

I am probably going to join some local gardening societies too, to help me learn more. I am thinking about doing that, especially since some of my knitting friends are big gardeners and are already involved in the organizations. Growing up where I did in Alaska, I did not have to learn much. The soil is so rich that you plant something and it grows like gangbusters. Here in the hard red clays of SC, one has alot more work to do!

Squeeee! STR club package arrived!

So as not to spoil it for those who have not received their package yet, I will place in some blank space. For those who want to see, scroll down....

Isn't it beautiful? I stopped by my PO Box on the way to my knitting group last night, and it was there! I called my STR Club buddy in Florida while I opened the package. Immediately, I decided these colors are right up my alley since I love greens, blacks and some browns. But then when I looked at it again last night, I decided it reminded me of my old army fatigues. And I decided, since I owe my husband some socks, maybe I would just make these for him. They seem like they would be perfect for a man, especially since the pattern calls for extra arch support, toe and heel padding. The pattern is also reversible. Since my husband wears through socks like kleenex, this pattern may be best for him. :) He is tough on the toes and heels of his socks. It is only fair too, since the Sundara Petals Yarn is more suited for me. :) Oh, I don't know. He doesn't wear this color of green really. I am torn.

I love the new binder, to put all of my sock patterns in one place! Perfect! I will put the button on one of my knitting bags. I don't really want to use the bumper sticker on my new car...who knows. And I love the 10% off an order coupon. BMFA makes fun of their old bank on it. I am going to have to save it and prioritize which colors I am going to buy out of the ton that I love.

I also really need to start my applique block today for my class on Thursday, so I am torn. Start on these socks? But I have never done toe up before (but want to). Or start my block and put off that bias strip I don't want to do. Aiaiai. I think maybe both?

I finally frogged back about four rows on my Clapotis yesterday, so I have restarted that. I am two rows away from the third section of the pattern. Yay!