The flaw in the plan

The Plan: A last-minute camping trip required an hour long drive in my husband's truck. Ergo, he would be driving, leaving me free to knit. We had decided that the best bet was the leave in the evening, shortly before the kids' bedtimes, so that they would (hopefully) sleep the entire drive with minimal fussing.

The Flaw: Bedtime is after dark. You can't knit in the truck when it is dark.

The Solution: After the fact, my sweetie mentioned that he has these cool headlamps that he uses for hunting. We have two more trips of longer duration coming up in September, so I plan on, er, borrowing one (though I may forget to inform him of this) for those trips.

I was at least able knit a little on the drive home. On Grandma's socks, of course. I want to measure Grandma's feet. It may just be wishful thinking, but I believe that I may be getting closer to the toe decreases. I don't think I am there quite yet, but I want to measure to make sure that I don't accidently go too far.

Today, it is all about the best-laid plans.

New deadline

Over the weekend it occured to me: Grandma's birthday is a month away. Four weeks now. Wouldn't it be nice if I had her socks finished by then? Wouldn't handknit socks be a thoughtful birthday present? Wouldn't it be crazy for me to think that the socks I have been working on for six months will miraculously be finished in four weeks?

I have to finish these socks, before I lose my knitting mind.

Excuse me while I finished cleaning the kitchen so I can knit before bed.

Today, it is all about the ticking calendar.

Mere knitting mortal

I have been following the Yarn Harlot's self-imposed sock-of-the-month club with interest this year. Actually, it might be more accurate to say with shock and awe. A sock a month? How much knitting time does she have? I have been work almost exclusively on the same socks for months. Stephanie justs puts the rest of us mere knitting mortals to shame.

And if a sock a month wasn't bad enough, she posted yesterday that she finished a single sock in a single day. She totally deserves the hordes of adoring crowds that follow her blog chanting "We are not worthy." I have at least one fan of my knitting. Or maybe he is just trying to figure out why Mommy is taking pictures of her feet. (And please ignore the toys strewn all over the floor.)

Today, it is all about the mortality.

Conspiracy theories

I don't know how they have managed it (both being either completely or mostly non-verbal), but I know that the kids have started conspiring against me. They plan it that way. One goes down for a nap, and the other is awake. I finally get the second down for his nap, enjoy 9 minutes of peaceful silence (enough to knit one lonely row on Grandma's socks), and. . . . you get the picture.



Speaking of pictures, I considered taking some of the sock and shawl, except that they would pretty much look like the last pictures. Just scroll back a little to the previous pictures, and imagine an extra inch at the end. Then look at these two adorable boys. They are also conspiring to make sure that pictures don't show both of them smiling at the same time. Feindishly clever, and at such a young age.

I found out today that an old friend is one of the seven people a week that read my blog. (Hi Sheryl!) Knowing my former secretary is reading makes me want to proofread for typos better. Or at all.

Today, it is all about the conspiracies.

Mindless updates

Hospital knitting went fine, both the knitting part and the hospital part. The little tyke handled himself fine (aside from understandably impatient cries because he was hungry and couldn't be fed before anesthesia). Mommy and Daddy also handled ourselves fine, with minimum tears (Mommy) and impatience (Daddy.)



And the knitting was accepably captivatingly mindless. It had been so long, I was enjoying the project, but row after row of garter stitch is, well, mindless. I have kept the Merry Berry Shawl around for the occassional break from Grandma's socks, and have now remembered why I got a little bored with it.
Hundreds of tiny little stitches. Over two hundred and increasing. Of garter stitch. I used a smaller guage than the pattern specified (they were obviously smarter than I, and knew that the thicker the yarn for endless garter the better), so I have no doubt that I will end up with more than the 399 stitches listed in the pattern. There is no way I am halfway through it.

Then there is the slightly ruffled border. More increases. I don't think that I can count that high.

Today, it is all about the numbers

P.S. Grandma's socks are still progressing. Around halfway through the foot and still at it.