The Trouble with Tribbles

I have both broken (not fatally, just damaged) and momentarily misplaced my camera. I am certain that I will both a) figure out where I put it and b) take it to Best Buy and hope they will make good on the extended warranty my husband got on it when he bought it for me. (I do love Best Buy.)

Last Friday was Friday the 13th and I have a confession: I fell off the Resolution wagon at about 11:30 p.m. on the 12th. See, my dearly beloved sister-in-law visited RC and saw this post about her dish rags and really really wanted a Tribble. Lori is good and kind and sweet to me and doesn't ask for much and so, I gave in and knitted Tribbles for her. This is not to say that others are not good and kind to me, nor do I mean to imply that others are not equally deserving of the knitted things on my docket for them. Put very simply, Tribbles are a nifty pick-me-up little knit - nearly instant gratification knitting, that uses very little yarn...and I am weak.

Speaking of Lori, if you haven't seen the short film The Landlord with Will Ferrell, stop by Lori's blog and watch it.

I took pictures of the of the Tribbles but alas, as mentioned above, the camera is temporarily out of commission.

I am going to need to revisit my knitting Resolution list, add and subtract (mostly add, I'm guessing) as appropriate and perhaps give myself a little extra time. Perhaps I'll have more success between now and the next Friday the 13th. June 13, 2008. I like realistic goals.

Beyond that, I have accomplished very little knitting in the last week. I have knit and unknit about 700 miles of yarn in the last 8 days because I am trying valiantly to learn to knit socks from the toe-up, based mainly on the article by Ann Budd in the Summer Interweave Knits. RC and Charity and I are having an informal little knit-a-long of the toe-up socks...I think this amounts to more of a toe-up sock support group than KAL. Call it what you will.

Tomorrow I am going to borrow the Mister's camera because I have goodies to share! I got a wonderful package in the mail on Thursday from the ever generous Joanie. Two skeins of yarny goodness from KnitPicks and something wonderful and perfect that she knit just for me! I am so jazzed - knowing that another knitter has taken her precious knitting time and made a beautiful something for me is simply magnificent. Thank you so much, Joanie!!! I love my gifts and I'll be posting pictures soon.

Today's Quote:

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way." - Mark Twain

Actual Knitting...and an Introduction

My knitting time continues to be drastically curtailed by the beads. I am reminded all over again that knitting is slow and steady, while beads are nearly instant gratification. This week, doing beads spiraled into some paper crafting, which is like an old shoe for me. Anyone who has met me anytime since I was old enough to hold a pair of scissors will tell you how easily I fall into the trap of snipping up little bits of paper.

Luckily this weekend did provide some knitting time. I made some good progress on the sock. It is a little slower going than would be ideal but that is of my own doing. Here is sock one at 4.5".
I am making the body of these socks in a K6, P2 ribbing, with a 1" K2, P2 ribbed cuff. Knitting around and around on this sock, I am reminded that I really do like to zone out when I am knitting and lately the K6, P2 ribbing doesn't allow my mind to wander too far. But I like them and I'm happy with the look so they are worth it.

I did a bit on the baby blanket yesterday but it is temporarily in time out. Can you see why?Yesterday afternoon, I got together with some friends to - imagine it - do some knitting! In the last few weeks, one friend who has never tried knitting before said she wanted to learn and two others who had learned to varying degrees many years ago, wanted to get a refresher so that was fun. Maybe they will all decide to take up knitting more regularly. If I can't meet knitting friends, perhaps I can create them.

One last thing. Friday night I spend the evening hanging out with my twin sister, Katy. I've mentioned her before and since we both had on make-up, I took advantage of the opportunity to take our picture. (Her on the left, me on the right.) Katy, who is ten minutes older, is a nurse. She is funny and smart and snide and sarcastic and really mostly wonderful. She has a wicked, sometimes disruptive, contagious laugh. She is largely responsible for my love of both quotes and rollercoasters. As you might expect, I've known Katy longer than I've known anyone in the world and there has never been a time I wasn't glad to be a twin, to be her twin. She isn't a blogger but she has recently purchased herself a Mac, discovered Yahoo messenger and connected her own "air internet", and we are thoroughly proud of her. So I thought it was high time to introduce her to the knitters.

Today's Quote:


"Cushion the painful effects of hard blows by keeping the enthusiasm going strong, even if doing so requires struggle." - Norman Vincent Peale

A Delightful Surprise

Because I have been crazy busy the last two weeks, I have been neglectful of my email and late Friday afternoon I finally got around to return an email to my secret pal Joanie. Then, Friday evening, I was riding home from my parent's house with my husband (who had already been to the house after work) and he wanted to know what I had ordered from Staples. He said I had a big package at the house, delivered UPS, all taped up with Staples tape. I had no idea what he could be talking about.


Sure enough, when we got home, there was a box for me. When I saw the return address, I knew it had to be something from Joanie. Hurray!!!

The package was perfect. A delicious smelling vanilla candle, springy happy notecards (I love notecards), two skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca alpaca/silk in the amethyst colorway (the color in this picture is pretty close but you can't see the delicate sheen or the luxurious softness), and Elizabeth Zimmerman's book, Knitter's Almanac.

What a wonderful package - and a perfect way to end the week! Thank you Joanie!!


Here's my May package for my giftee, blurred for anonymity.

I've finished the second strip of the Almost Amish baby blanket and the back of a hedgehog since my last post. Yesterday evening, I completed several rows of the first of my DrDoctor socks. Not too much knitting news...which could have something to do with the time I spent beading yesterday. The beads, they are like Starbucks. You want to resist, but you just can't.

Progressing

Knitting time this weekend was fruitful, if minimal. I did make progress on the F13 Resolution projects and I didn't start anything knew so the weekend was a success. (I have low-ish standards for a good weekend.)

I finished Lori's Sophie bag. See? There's the lining peeking out of the top.

And here is a look inside.

I finished the first row of the Almost Amish baby blanket (pictured) and I finished the first 4 blocks of row two, though I didn't take a picture of it.I have decided to only go 8 squares wide instead of 9.

Today's Quote:

"You always have certain strengths and certain weaknesses, and you want to compensate for your weaknesses..." -Erskine Bowles

Pick Your Path, Then Follow It

Nothing brings joy to a knitter's heart quite like being asked to knit something for someone. Even showing someone something you like and saying "I think you'll like this" then having them nod in a vaguely non-committal way is about all the encouragement we need. (I am assuming this is true for other knitters - correct me if I am wrong.) And of course, there are to-be-gifted knitting projects that the recipient knows nothing about and those are always great, too.

My proclivity for this kind of knitting has generated a bit of a backlog. This is no one's fault but my own and so I am taking responsibility for my knitting to-do list. I am enacting a Resolution. I am resolving to complete my current list of projects before casting on for any more projects.

New Year's resolutions would be inappropriate in the middle of April so I'm making a Friday the 13th Resolution. This Resolution will be in effect from Friday the 13th to Friday the 13th. Conveniently enough, the next Friday the 13th falls in July of this year and three months is a very reasonable amount of time for tidying up the knitting landscape. (On an irrelevant but serendipitous note, that is the amount of time I am going to need to continue being gentle to my ankle.)

So without further adieu. . .

As Blog is my witness, I declare the following Friday the 13th Resolutions:

(In no particular order)

1. I shall not start any new knitting projects between today and the next Friday the 13th.

2. Between now and 07/13/2007 I will only knit on the projects as itemized below. (Some of the listed projects are literally started - as in already on the needles - and some are just on the docket.)

3. My little Christmas ornament sweaters are exempt for the following reasons:

a. They are an ongoing project that was started before the Resolution was enacted.

b. They are the aperitif and thinly sliced ginger of my knitting life these days.

c. It is my Resolution so I get to make up the rules.

4. Swatching doesn't count.

5. Charity knitting doesn't count. (Hey - there might be some sort of knitting emergency.)

6. This Resolution is purposefully silent on acquisitions.

The Approved List:

1. Mama's hedgehog herd. I need to make her a total of five. Hedgehog-1 is complete - knit, felted, stuffed, seamed. Hedgehog-2 has been knit but not felted or anything else. Hedgehog-3 is on the needles. Hedgehogs-4 and -5 are in the stash.

2. Socks for my ankle surgeon. (This is my current on-the-go project. This has a slightly different deadline in that I want to take them to my July 9 appointment.)

3. I need to sew the lining in Lori's Sophie bag. (Not technically knitting but the knitting project isn't done until the non-knitting part of the project is done, too.)

4. The Almost Amish Baby Blanket. (The challenge of this blanket is that the Pima Cotton Silk sheds. I can't take the shedding knitting with me to work on when I have to then go back to work or anywhere else. This is at-home knitting.) 5. Socks for my oldest niece. (I have made significant progress since this picture was taken. This sock is beyond the gussets and the second is just past the cuff, however, both of these socks are on holders at the moment because I have borrowed the needles to work on Item #2.)

6. A white llama for Carrie. (She got a brown one for Christmas and now wants a small white one with a black face, too.)

7. Felted magazine bag for my friend Donna. (The pattern for which I need to work out. Right now this pattern is only in my head. A dangerous place for a pattern.)

Should the stars and planets align causing a shift in the fiber of the universe which then results in me finishing 1-7 before 07/13/2007, then the following projects are permissible.

8. Mama's Tahki Cotton Classic Colorific Daddo blanket.

9. My Briar Rose Knitalong Abundance shawl from the Cozy pattern.

10. Socks for me from Susie's yarn or the Trekking. I will cross that bridge in the unlikely event that I come to it.
Well there you have it. The Resolution. So now I've said it "out loud" which should help keep me on task.

Today's Quote:

"However vague they are, dreams have a way of concealing themselves and leave us no peace until they are translated into reality, like seeds germinating underground, sure to sprout in their search for the sunlight." - Lin Yutang

First Things First

I am working on the smallest of my mother's hedgehogs - this one from black and white Blue Sky Alpaca and Whisper for the novelty yarn. I'm sure he will be at least as cute as the others and quite a bit smaller.

As I've seen many others say recently, I am not generally a maker of New Year's resolutions, but for what ever reason, I am inclined to make a (very short) list this year. Nothing terribly exciting but here they are, nonetheless.

1. Exercise more and lose weight. (Aren't these New Year's resolution staples?)
2. Finish more projections than I start. (This actually IS possible, considering how many unfinished projects I already have sitting around.)
3. Be a better housekeeper. (My husband will be happy if I manage to keep this resolution and nothing else.)
4. Work more efficiently - both at work and at home.
5. Manage our household budget better.

Very run-of-the-mill goals, I know but that's ok. I've never been a very exciting girl and there's no reason to start now. (It didn't make the list.)

I have long been a lover of quotes so I think I'll start including a quote in my posts. And considering how often I seem to discuss my kniting good intentions, I decided this would be a good one to start with:

"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."
--Augusten Burroughs, Magical Thinking