A Return

My knitting group usually meets twice a month, on the first and third Wednesdays. Occasionally, if there are five Wednesdays in a month, we'll meet a third time. In spite of this frequency, I had not managed to make it to one meeting since sometime in August -- either the Mister was traveling or had a work event or I had some event to go to. So last night, when I finally had a Wednesday night free, I gladly made the drive, even though I'd had a very long day and probably could have curled up in my bed and passed out early. I'm very glad I went, though, because it was a good opportunity to catch up with some friends I don't usually see otherwise -- and to get in some uninterrupted knitting time.

I left Rainbow's doll at home, because taking it would have also meant taking the giant bag of polyfill I'm using to stuff it, so instead I worked on my sweater and made a lot of progress on the first sleeve.

I think I mentioned the last couple of times I've talked about the sweater that I had more stitches for the sleeve than called for in the pattern (I had to pick up more around the armscye than specified), so I'd been pondering how to deal with those extra stitches. I finally settled on decreasing them all away, so in order to do that and not have a sleeve that was too long, I moved the increases closer together, from every 10th row to every sixth row. I finished all the decreases while I was out last night and tried on the sleeve; the length I had at that point was about at my elbow. I've decided to make these sleeves full length, so I'm adding in some straight rounds before I start the patterned cuff.

There's still a good chunk of knitting to be done on this sweater before it's done, but it's moving a lot more quickly now. It also looks like I may have an entire skein of yarn leftover when I'm done, in spite of the added length to the sleeves, as I only just joined the fourth skein last night (the fifth was used to knit the swatch, which is still attached to it). I can guarantee that this sweater will be worn right away as soon as it's off the needles -- they're calling for snow on Saturday!

Knitting at a Slow Pace

In the past few weeks, I've been making a concerted effort to work on my Icarus shawl, long dormant in my WIP pile. I started it last August (in fact, I can remember the movie I was watching when I cast on), but it got put down for the wedding and honeymoon, and then the lure of sweaters and socks and other wooly things distracted me for a long time.

Now that it's summer (in spirit if not in fact), I've been hearing the siren call of lace again. Lace is great for the summer because, even with a nearly complete shawl, the pile of wool in your lap is light and airy and entirly tolerable. I've been working on Icarus in part because I feel guilty for neglecting it for so long but also because I have it in my mind to finish it before the Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery Shawl KAL starts up. That goal might be a tad bit too ambitious, as the first clue comes out a week from Saturday. At the moment I'm in the fourth of five repeats of rows 19-42 of chart 1 in Icarus. It looks bigger than the last time you saw it, but not by much (for scale, that's a 32" US 3 Knit Picks circular in there):


(I do realize that's a awful photo, but it was the best of several that I took. It's already difficult to capture bright red on camera, and as fate would have it, we're having an overcast, rainy day just when I want to do a photo shoot.)

The knitting on this shawl is going very slowly, even though the pattern isn't very tricky at the moment. This yarn, while labeled laceweight, is actually closer to cobweb weight, and added to that is its tendency to snag on rough spots on my fingers, so I have to be very careful and deliberate in my knitting movements.

I discovered last night that a really bad thing to do when you're trying to knit lace with what is essentially thread is to watch a playoff hockey game, particularly when the Cup is on the line. I had a couple of scary moments where I nearly dropped stitches, and I decided it would be best to put the knitting away after the second period. Fortunately the lace was fine, and the game ended for the best (and no, I didn't stay up until the end).

Depending on how brave I am, I may actually bring the shawl to Hurricane Knitting tomorrow night (7 p.m. at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble) -- but maybe I should be safe and just bring socks. You'll have to be there to see!

Knit Night Reminder

Tomorrow night is the second-Wednesday meeting of the Hurricane Knitters -- but this time, we have a twist. We'll be trying out a new location (one that we hope won't kick us out at 9 p.m.): the Coffee Tree Roasters in Fox Chapel. Come and join us if you're in the area!

Does This Make You Dizzy?

This was finished and blocked earlier in the week, but I'm only now getting around to blogging it (sorry I couldn't get a shot in better lighting).

Pattern: Chevron Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, colorways P514 (green) and P621 (pink), 1.5 skeins each
Needles: 16" US 5 (3.75 mm) Knit Picks circular
Started/Completed: January 24/March 17
Mods: none

This scarf has a special place in my heart, because it was knit with the very first Koigu I ever bought. I kept saving it for a special project but could never bring myself to make socks out of it because I thought they would wear out too quickly. As it turned out, the colorways work very well together, even if they do look a bit like a psychedelic watermelon.

I'm a bit skeptical about the yardage specified in the pattern, which calls for Koigu and a size 5 needle. Supposedly two skeins would yield me a scarf roughly six feet long; somehow, with at least half a skein left of each colorway, I've got a scarf that's at least that length, and I didn't vigorously block. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I have plenty of things in mind for that leftover yarn.


Last night was knit night with the Hurricane Knitters, who were all incredulous when an announcement came over the loudspeaker that B&N would be closing at 9 -- that's an hour earlier than the store used to close. At least the knitty company was good while it lasted (I suggest you visit Yvonne and Amy for some snippets of conversation and more details on what ensued after we were so unceremoniously kicked out) and I got some good knitting time in. I was able to cast on for the pattern I'm test knitting for Knotions, a new online knitting magazine. It's a top-down raglan, and I'm happy to say that I'll be able to share my progress with you! Right now it doesn't look like much, hence the lack of picture, but from the description and diagram it looks like it's going to be super cute.

Still no sign of my wheel, nor has there been any response to my e-mail asking for a tracking number. At what point do you think I'm allowed to get annoyed?

Me and My Perfectionism

Ah, you all know me so well. Most of you said (more or less) that I should just suck it up and knit a third sock.

I waffled on this for a while. One part of me really didn't want to have to knit another one if I could get away with it. I thought about washing the socks that were already done to see if they'd even out. I even thought about overdyeing them -- anything to get out of knitting with more blindingly yellow super-thin sock yarn.

In the end, though, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't bear the idea of giving a good friend a pair of socks that I knew to be a mismatch. I checked the remaining skein of yarn I had in the stash, and it matched one that I'd already used. So, I cast on. The good news is that I have plenty of time (two and a half weeks) to finish it, not that I plan on taking that long. And, when it's done, I'll have most of that garish yarn out of the stash for good. I'm still not sure what to do with the odd sock out, though.

In any case, my brighter-than-bright yellow sock and I will be at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble tonight for the second February meeting of the Hurricane Knitters. Hope to see you there!

Boring

Since the excitement of finishing the Bird in Hand mittens (and thank you for all of your compliments, by the way!), my knitting has been decidedly boring. The most exciting thing I've knit in the past few days is the first Salish Sea Sock (my first Cat Bordhi attempt). I finished the really exciting part -- the patterning on the instep that also magically creates the arch expansion -- on Friday, so the knitting on this sock the past several days has been nothing more than working the heel flap and the pattern on the leg.

I was skeptical of the instructions, but the sock does fit remarkably well. The second sock is started, but it's just a toe at this point. Even more boring than a footless sock.

I spent the car rides to and from Cleveland this past weekend working on the Chevron Scarf, which is fun because of the colors, but, with only one row of patterning out of every four, it doesn't exactly make for a stimulating knit. (I also discovered that I have a horrible inability to count to eight, which stunted my progress several times.) It's now approximately two feel long and I appear to be about halfway through the first skeins of yarn.

The most boring knit of all is probably the sweater for my aunt or, as I like to call it, The Big Gray Tube. I love stockinette in the round because I can knit quickly without looking (meaning great TV- or movie-watching knitting), but I'm stuck in that stockinette black hole where you knit and knit and knit and it never gets any bigger.

Fortunately, I know of one thing that is decidedly not boring -- the first-Wednesday-of-the-month meeting of the Hurricane Knitters, tomorrow night starting at 7 p.m. at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble. I'll be there with one of these boring projects, and I hope to see you there!

Calling All Fiber Fantatics

This is your regular bi-monthly reminder that tomorrow night is the third-Wednesday-of-the-month meeting of the Hurricane Knitters at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble, starting about 7 p.m.

I'm going to be bringing my Bird in Hand mittens. For some reason, even though it only took me two or three days to finish the first mitten, this


is as far as I've gotten on the second. I'd like to be able to wear these while it's still winter, so I think a break from the BSJ action is warranted.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Hurricane Holidays

Last night was the last meeting of the year for the Hurricane Knitters, and the holiday spirit was all around. First, Amy surprised us with some treats:

Sneaky quilter that she is, she poked around on Ravelry to find out everyone's favorite colors and then stitched us up some fabric-embelished mini moleskine notebooks. As if that wasn't enough, she also had a cute wintery tin for each of us filled with candy, stitch markers, and coiless safety pins. Ain't she sweet?

We also had a little White Elephant sock yarn swap. This is what I came home with, courtesy of blogless Dee:

I wish you were able to touch this yarn, a dreamy 80% merino/20% cashmere blend. I think it may be too precious to put on my feet, so this may be destined to become a Chevron Scarf.

As if this new yarn weren't enough, I came home this evening to find my sock club shipment waiting for me! This was the first time I hadn't peeked at the spoilers ahead of time, and I'm glad I didn't. This colorway was by far my favorite one of the whole year -- and it came with a gorgeous Cat Bordhi pattern. I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone still waiting for this shipment, but for those of you who want to peak, you can see it in my Flickr photostream.

Tomorrow is my last day of work this year(!) and afterwards I have about a week and a half of knitting time to look forward to. Can't wait!

Enhancements

First things first: Jenn and I both wore our recently completed Central Park Hoodies to the meeting of the Hurricane Knitters last night, and we took the requisite shot of each other:

We had our usual good time, and towards the end of the evening we got a bit punchy. But it was just what I needed to cheer me up after a stressful day at work. What also helped were the packages waiting for me at home.

Remember the test knitting I did back when I was fresh out of the hospital? Well the designer sent me a package of goodies as a thank you. There was a gorgeous skein of yarn, some edible treats (pumpkin seeds and hot cider mix), and a beautiful wood inlay box that will serve perfectly to hold these gorgeous stitch markers:

My less-than-stellar photography skills have failed to capture the real color of the beads -- a beautiful indigo with an underlying silvery sparkle.

The other package was a shipment from Knit Picks. The original reason for the order was to get the book (you know, since I had the stitch markers all ready) and some navy sock yarn for the socks my father requested. Then I decided I really wanted to try some Felici, and then I noticed that there was some Shine Sport on clearance (for less than $10, it'll make another Pea Pod set!). At that point I was so close to the free shipping, I threw in a skein of Telemark with no particular project in mind. I'm sure I can find some use for it -- suggestions, anyone?

I got a surprise package in the mail today, from Miriam. Inside was my Adamas, which she'd borrowed to photograph. As a thank you, she sent me two jars of homemade jam. Yummy! Thanks, Mim!

Now that the CPH is done (and I promise a full write-up with photos will be up in the next day or two), I'm not feeling the same sense of urgency to knit any particular project. I resurrected a very old UFO for knit night last night; I'm hoping to have it finished for my mom before it's a full year old. I did work a little on The Mister's sweater when I got home last night, but I'll spare you the picture of dark brown stockinette. Then there are the socks I started for my mother-in-law:

More no-purl Monkeys, in Lorna's Laces. Would you believe this is the very first Lorna's I ever bought? It's been living in the stash for a couple years now; I thought it was about time I used it.

'Tis Done

My Central Park Hoodie is finished! Unfortunately, it's a tad bit tight, especially in the lower arms, so I'm going to have to try some serious blocking. I'm also sorry to tell you that you're going to have to wait a couple days to see it; this sweater really deserves a proper photo shoot, and these days all the natural light is during the day when I'm at work. So I'll have to wait until Saturday for the full write-up.

For those of you who can't wait to see the finished sweater, I'll be giving a little preview of it tonight at the meeting of the Hurricane Knitters, Waterworks Barnes & Noble, 7 p.m. Hope to see you there!

I tried to come up with a clever title for this post ...

but I couldn't. Will you settle for some knitting content instead?

Last night I decided on my Central Park Hoodie for my Hurricane Knitters knit night project. I felt like I'd been neglecting it; I hadn't touched it in a week, not since I cast on for the Seamless Hybrid. After knitting Cascade 220 on US 5s, I realized how much faster the knitting grows when you knit Cascade 220 on US 8s. Here's the back, approximately 3/4 complete:

I just love this yarn. It's a heathered shade, so there are subtle color changes that in no way approach pooling:

Knit night was a blast. I think Roaming Tigger (or, as we're now calling him, Taliban Tigger) had the best time. We had a big crowd -- so big that we added a table not once but twice to our original grouping. So big that those of us at one end didn't really get to talk to the people at the other end because they were too far away. We're all hoping the newcomers join us again.

I am anxious to finish the back to the CPH, but first Kenny tagged me for a meme. It's the Eight Random Things About Me meme (stop me if you've heard this one):

1. For a period of about six years (middle and high school), I refused to wear pink. My mother was shocked when I came home for Thanksgiving my freshman year of college with a pink sweater.
2. For many years, when I was sick or couldn't sleep, I'd watch Little Women -- on VHS.
3. I have a birthmark on the inside of my right calf. It's a little red rectangle.
4. I minored in art history and classics in college; my last class for the classics minor was an introductory course in ancient Greek.
5. I've had two articles published in scholarly journals.
6. I'm still bitter than I never had a sister.
7. I love Indian food, but The Mister won't go near it.
8. The one book I can read over and over again? Pride and Prejudice.

Technically I'm supposed to tag eight people for this meme, but I'm going to buck the trend. Instead, why not leave me a comment with a random fact about you?

My Secret Plan for Finishing the Shawl

Today I am home sick with some sort of stomach bug, which, as the Hurricane Knitters will tell you, was bothering me last night. This morning when I woke up still feeling icky, I decided that I'd rather stay home than spend the whole day at work running back and forth to the bathroom (which is no easy feat these days, as the restrooms on our floor are closed for remodeling so we're forced to go to a different floor). I haven't taken a sick day since last fall, so I think they can survive a day without me.

Fortunately I'm well enough to knit (frankly I have to be really sick to not be able to knit!), so I'll make use of the time to work on the wedding shawl. At present I'm two rows into the 15th repeat, with roughly 32 grams of yarn left:

I'm beginning to worry that my yarn supply won't hold out for the 18 repeats I was shooting for, especially considering the edging is another 12 rows past the main chart repeats, so I may be ending this earlier than I thought.

Last night's meeting of the Hurricane Knitters, in spite of my stomach issues, was a lot of fun. We had another good crowd with most of the regulars. Julia was back, as was Lynn, and we were joined by a newcomer, Joyce. Marybeth finished her very first project, an adorable garter stitch hat -- she even mastered seaming garter stitch to sew it up!

Unbeknownst to me, Jen and Jenn had done a little scheming beforehand. They had figured that since this would be my last knit night as a single woman, they'd have a little knitty bachelorette party for me. Using leftover tulle from her own veil, and a tiara-like comb she found in the children's dress-up section of a store, Jen made me this little number and insisted I wear it all evening:

It looks quite fetching on the lava lamp, no? It's actually quite cute; I couldn't believe Jen made it herself! She insisted I bring it home with me, just in case I have a veil emergency on the day of the wedding.

Before I pull out the shawl and get down to business, I do want to give you a peek at a WIP I started last weekend but haven't mentioned. I'm afraid it's rather boring.

Can you guess who this sock is for? This is my usual pattern (Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks) in very boring black Fortissima Socka. I'm not enjoying the yarn; it's very scratchy and rough, and it's drying out my fingertips. But the pattern is so easy and fast that I can't complain that much. These socks fall solidly in the category of long-term planning, as they'll be a holiday gift for J. I know it's only August, but I have several sweaters I want to knit this fall, so in my opinion it's not at all too early to start my holiday knitting!

Finished: Garter Rib Socks

Stitch Pattern: Garter Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch
Yarn: South West Trading Company TOFUtsies (50% superwash wool, 25% Soysilk, 22.5% cotton, 2.5% Chitin), colorway 724, one skein
Needles: two US 1 (2.5 mm) 12" Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: July 8/July 18

These were my Stitch 'n Pitch socks and proved to be an easy mindless knit (although don't think that means I didn't make mistakes!). The most pleasurable thing about the was the yarn. I'd been hesitant to knit with it for a while because of the high cotton content, but I found that it didn't feel at all like cotton. It was smooth and soft and only a little splitty. And the yardage! Look at how much I have left:

That's the ballband for scale. I wish I had a digital scale to know how many grams are in that skein, but it appears to be significant amount. I'm not going to use it to make baby socks, though, just on the offhand chance it could trigger an allergic reaction. (Last night at knit night, Amy wore the first completed sock for a while in an entirely unscientific experiment -- she's allergic to everything that lives in the sea, but not deathly so. She rated it a 1.5 on a 10-point itchiness scale.) I am definitely going to be buying more of this yarn in the future, so I think for now I'll just save the leftovers to be combined with the leftovers in future skeins.

I cast on (finally!) my June Rockin' Sock Club socks and have the toe done so far. I also cast on for another French Market Bag the other night, after the power finally came back on following a ridiculous storm. I'm using the four leftover skeins of Patons SWS from my MIL's Lady E stole.

This chunky, fuzzy yarn is certainly quite a change after all the socks and the baby sweater, and I'm quite enjoying it. I'm going to get as much out of the yarn as I can and make the bag bigger than the last one. I have to say, with all the stress at work and the stress of wedding stuff, I am really looking forward to the miles of mindless stockinette of the body!

Last night's meeting of the Hurricane Knitters was a real hoot (I hope we didn't scare the newcomers away!). Amy joined us for the first time, as did Mary Beth (Marybeth?), who was a NEW knitter -- but boy, was she a natural! I showed her how to cast on one stitch using the long-tail cast on, and she was off. The same thing happened when I showed her how to make a knit stitch. I really should have taken a picture of her swatch -- I've never seen such even stitches from a beginning knitter! In any case, the group made a decision to increase the number of our meetings; we'll now be meeting on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. That should really freak 40 Guy out, don't you think?

An FO and a Reminder

I've never done such a fast finishing job in my life (I suppose it helps that this project is itty bitty)!

Pattern: cardigan from Pea Pod Baby Set (pdf) by Kate Gilbert, offered as a Web knit by Interweave Knits, summer 2006
Size: 6 months (20 1/2" chest circumference)
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport (60% pima cotton, 40% modal), colorway Sky, approximately 3.5 skeins
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) 32" Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: July 5/July 16
Recipient: baby boy Bowden, due to make his arrival in November

I am, to put it simply, in love with this sweet little sweater for so many reasons -- not least of which how quickly it knit up. I love the little peas created in the border by a yarnover and cleverly placed cable. I love the lace panel and how it breaks up the soothing monotony of stockinette. I love the asymmetrical placement of the opening and button band. And, as always, I love the miracles a good blocking worked in terms of (1) opening up the lace panel, (2) smoothing out the stitches, and (3) allowing me to cheat the gauge monster.

As this sweater is for a little boy, and as the lace panel might be thought by some (not me!) to be a little girly, I went with very plain faux horn buttons I had in my collection and sewed them on with a light blue thread to complement the yarn:

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this yarn. This particular colorway (a total of six skeins to begin with) had been in my stash since around the time I completed my Tivoli, for which I used the same yarn in a different colorway. I'd contemplated making another Tivoli at the time, but never cast on, so it had been marinating in the stash for many months. Then came the explosion of baby making among our friends (or so it seems) and I thought it best to make use of the baby-friendly and washable fibers in the stash when knitting for them. This yarn fits the bill: it's natural, it won't melt in the face of fire, and it's machine washable.

However, this batch I had shed like -- well, I guess like a long-haired dog who sheds. Every time I got up after a decent knitting session, I found myself covered in blue fuzzies. (Fortunately I did most of my knitting at night, in my pyjamas, so I didn't have to go out in public looking like a blue Muppet.) I discussed this fuzziness and shedding problem at length with Jenn, who is using the same yarn to knit her Josephine but who has not had any shedding problems. We've decided that Knit Picks must have "reformulated" their Shine, along with their other yarns, to make it less sheddy; we've certainly noticed that the Essential sock yarn has gotten softer.

There's one more feature of this sweater that I must point out -- in my opinion, my first fully successful set-in sleeve!

Tomorrow is the third Wednesday of the month, which means that the Hurricane Knitters and I will be at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble for our monthly meeting. Hope to see you there!

What else ya got?

*****Warning! Rockin' Sock Club shipment spoilage below!*****

This could have been a very bad day; it certainly started out that way. First, I have to backtrack a little. You see, last night we had some severe storms pass through Western Pennsylvania. The lights flickered a little bit last night (I was blogging wirelessly, for those wondering), but by the time I went to bed the worst of the weather had passed through. When I woke up this morning, shortly before 6, the power was still on and my alarm still worked. Everything looked relatively calm outside. I hopped in the shower, got dressed, and dried my hair. Then, as I was wrapping the power cord around the hairdryer, the lights flickered again -- and then went out all together. I waited a few minutes, hoping the power would come back on, but no luck. Okay, I thought, I can drive in early to work and get some coffee there since I couldn't turn my coffee maker on. And that's when it hit me: With no power, the garage door opener wouldn't work and I couldn't get my car out of the garage.

My long-suffering fiance to the rescue! About a month ago I woke him up at 2 in the morning when some piece of machinery (a battery power backup, I learned later) started beeping and wouldn't stop. Today, I woke him up before his alarm did for help with the garage door and then proceeded to yell at him that it wasn't going to work and I didn't know what I was doing (I wasn't mad at him, I was just nervous and hadn't yet had my caffeine!). Fortunately I was able to get the door open and my car out and everything was okay, despite a complete lack of power anywhere in the neighborhood.

I got to work really early. So early that I had to swipe my ID card to get in the building and up the elevator to my floor. So early that the deli down the street where I first attempted to get coffee and breakfast wasn't open yet. So early that, when I stepped off the elevator on my office floor, I set off the motion sensor to turn the hallway lights on.

Fortunately, everything turned out fine. I called home several times to see if the answering machine would pick up (meaning the power was back on) and by 9:30 everything seemed to be back to normal. Still, the whole anxiety of the morning and the not getting sufficient caffeine intake when I'm used to it really messed up my routine and had me feeling sort of off all day.

Lucky me -- I had knit night to look forward to! Nearly all of my regular knitting buddies showed up (although we were missing Donna and Betsy). Amanda was there to collect her winning yarn and, since she's been unsuccessfully trying to convince us to do a knitty camping trip, brought this little guy to share:

The best part? It's actually a music box that plays "Light My Fire." Hilarious.

After last month's surprising no-show, we weren't sure if we'd see our regular 40-drinking graphic novel lover. He didn't make an appearance at his usual time, so we assumed he wasn't coming and started making up stories to explain his absence. J even called in at about 8:45 to see if he was there yet! And then, just as we were all talking about him rather loudly, who do you think walked in?

(My camera apparently thought I was trying to nonchalantly take a photo of Yvonne's glasses.) We knew he was a regular there, but we had no idea just how regular he was; when he walked in, he was greeted by name by the woman working at the cafe counter. Yes folks, that's right, 40 Guy now has a name: Calvin. Does this guy look like a Calvin to you? Nah, me either.

The other ladies did a lot to make this day better, what with their knitting gossip and yarn petting (and sniffing) and goofy making up of stuff. A special thanks goes out to Yvonne, who presented me with a pair of 16" US 2 Addi Turbo circs. She'd tried them for socks but found herself to be much more of a fan of magic loop; knowing how much I loves my two circ method, she thought I'd get good use out of them. Thanks so much, Yvonne!

What else made my day a good one, in the end? When I opened up the mailbox, there was a very thick envelope inside. I knew immediately what it was, and I was not disappointed:




This colorway is called Firebird. It reminds me a little of the yarn I used for my Hederas, but with a few more colors and much more depth. I love it.

What did I say?

Okay, so that last post got a resounding response. I'll shut up about that site now, I guess.

Knitting content! That I have for you. To begin, the first of J's gray ribbed socks, just now completed:


Very nice, and definitely much better on the foot; the ribbing makes this sock shrink up and look positively tiny when it's not being worn. You'll notice I'm not showing you the far end (i.e., the toe) of this sock and for a good reason -- J's foot is a good 3/4" longer than mine, so there's a funny piece of fabric hanging off the end of my foot.

The more interesting knitting going on these days is Aidan's sweater, which saw a lot of attention last night:

As you can see, I'm just about to the end of the first skein of yarn. It lasted a lot longer than I expected, and I anticipate the whole sweater might take me somewhere in the range of three skeins of the blue. I bought five, so that will leave me a couple skeins with which to make myself a pair of socks.

I'm in a little bit of a knitting funk these days and I'm not sure why. I think perhaps I've been knitting too many socks and need to change things up a bit. I'm feeling the need for a little lace -- Icarus Shawl, anyone? I have the yarn all ready for it.

A reminder: this Wednesday is the third one of the month, so the Hurricane Knitters will be meeting at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble. Please come and join us if you're in the area! The big question is, will he be there, or won't he?

Shocking!

Last night was the monthly meeting of the Hurricane Knitters at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble. We were a smaller group than usual, although Yvonne came to join us and Julia came back for a second time and we had a newcomer, Alice. Jenn and Betsy were there as usual, but we missed the company of Donna and Jen (although we suspect Jen was probably having a better time in England).

The real shocker of the evening? 40 GUY DID NOT SHOW UP! Although I left about 9 pm, Jenn told me that some of the group was there until closing and he never made an appearance. We may have to go on a non-Wednesday night and see if he's acutally gone or if he's on to us and is avoiding knit night.

Now, back to blog business. Donna has tagged me for a meme. Here are the rules:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Alright, on to the eight weird facts ...

1. I hate to drive, but I love being a passenger on car trips (more knitting time!)
2. I have a scar just above my nose and next to one of my eyebrows from when I had chicken pox when I was four years old.
3. I sleep with a stuffed elephant just about every night (or at least when J isn't home). I use it as a pillow that I stuff under my chin.
4. I am perpetually early. It seems to run in my family, as my father is the same way. However, this works out, as J tends to run late -- so between the two of us, we're usually on time.
5. As far as music is concerned, I have a weakness for Italian pop. My favorite is Eros Ramazzotti, and I've bought his CDs in such far-off locations as Disney World, Canada, and Israel.
6. I eat cheese just about every day, including in the sandwich I take just about every day to work for lunch (hummus and swiss on a bagel).
7. I am allergic to lilies.
8. I once bit down on a crayon. I was in kindergarten and was coloring on a piece of paper taped to the blackboard. I guess I was really into it and must've had my mouth open and rather close to the crayon, because when the girl next to me bumped into me -- CHOMP. To this day, I can't stand the smell of crayons.

So, who to tag? I'm not sure I have eight people to tag, since so many of the bloggers I know have already done this meme. I guess I'll tag Becky, Rebecca, Jen, Amy, Amanda, and you (if you haven't done this one already).

On tap tonight: watching the season finales (The Office, Grey's, and ER), finishing the first Grasshopper sock and casting on for the second, and downloading some podcasts.

Come Join Us!

Thank you for all of your extremely nice comments about my Forecast. I'm so, so pleased with how it turned out and I'm a huge fan of the pattern. I highly recommend it, especially to those of you who (like me) may not be such a fan of knitting sweaters in pieces and sewing them together. This pattern is easy to follow and is easily adaptable to your own modifications, and the top-down construction eliminates finishing and allows you to try it on as you go. An added bonus is that the yarn the pattern calls for -- Cascade 220 -- is very affordable (as yarns go), comes in numerous shades, and has fantastic yardage. Holly had asked me how much I used in my Forecast, and I'm still amazed that I used only about four and a half skeins, or roughly 990 yards. I think that's probably a pretty conservative estimate, too. This yarn is a great basic wool yarn and is one of my favorites; I have two sweaters' worth in my stash now, iintended for two other Stefanie Japel designs.

If anyone out there is currently knitting or planning to knit Forecast, I'm happy to help you if you encounter any tricky bits or just need another knitter's perspective.

I'm dying to start one of those other sweaters right now (still high from the success of the last one), but for now I'm focusing on socks. I started a pair Sunday night for my future MIL for her birthday (June 17) and I'll soon be starting a pair for my mother's birthday (June 18 -- Mom, if you're reading this, this is your notice that once your socks are started, you will be banned from the blog until after your birthday!), plus I'm still working on my first Knee High to a Grasshopper sock (just into the leg).

I'll be bringing at least one of these socks to the monthy meeting of the Hurricane Knitters tomorrow night, 7-ish at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble. All of you in the greater Pittsburgh area are welcome to join us for knitting and 40 guy watching -- and any of you not from the greater Pittsburgh area who'd like to join us are certainly welcome as well!

I am off to work on one of the aforementioned socks and probably cry my eyes out during the final episode of Gilmore Girls. (Feeling sad already? This will make you nostalgic.)

Your Monthly Reminder

Here's your friendly monthly reminder that tomorrow is the third Wednesday of the month, which means it's the monthly meeting of the Hurricane Knitters at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble. Come one, come all, come see 40 Guy. (One of these days we will have a button!)

See you and your knitting there!

Of 40 Guys and Phallic Socks

Last night was of course the monthly meeting of the Hurricane Knitters (one of these days we will have a button) and we had a very good showing. I got there first and snagged a table in the center of the cafe so that we could all have a good vantage point from which to look out for you-know-who. Jenn and Amanda (with her fab-oo new haircut) soon showed up, followed by Betsy, Donna (fresh off her contest win), Jen, and Lori. Donna and I compared our February RSC socks and found them to equally resemble male genitalia; I'm sure someone has a picture of our socks somewhere and will shortly be posting it to her blog. We also petted each other's sock yarn, shared the newest additions to our knitting book libraries, and I did some show-and-tell with the surprise that was waiting for me when I got home yesterday:

Still life with Socks That Rock

(left to right: Lucy, Little Bunny Foo Foo,

Ruby Slippers, and Lemongrass)

All of us kept checking our watches and were getting more and more anxious, as 40 guy did not seem to be showing up. Then, just as we were starting to discuss what we would do if he didn't show (what would be blog about? could we still call ourselves the Hurricane Knitters?) -- well, he did. He performed his usual routine -- read a little graphic novel, muttered a little to himself -- and then took his 40 and went. And that was that.

Meanwhile, I've made good progress on my first RSC sock:

I plan on doing two more cable crosses and then binding off, probably using Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind-off so it doesn't cut off my circulation. I desperately want to start a new pair of socks or some other new project (can you believe I'm dying to cast on for another sweater as spring is finally arriving?), but I am determined to finish these socks first. I can do it, right?

BTW, did you see Guido and the other knitters on the Today show this morning?