The good news is. . .

. . . .that I am OK. So is the bike. Mostly. Sunday was the local MDA ride. Beautiful weather, 100 miles of country roads, and shiny chrome as far as I eye could see.

It was a safe ride, except for me. I didn't notice an unmarked hairpin curve until it was too late to slow down enough for it. I overshot the turn, and went down. My sweetie didn't even bother with the kickstand or turning his bike off in his haste to make sure that I was ok, and not pinned underneath the bike. (Nice to know that I really do rank above the Harley. I wouldn't have bet the farm on that one.) I was a bit battered and bruised, mostly ego, but otherwise fine. The bike had a few things out of kilter on the handlebars and a few new scratches, but was otherwise fine.

Last Saturday was more fun and less painful. It was the monthly Sock Club thing. I was working on Pomotomus. Please excuse me while I bang my head against the wall every other row. I have just apparently completely forgotten how to knit this pattern. Still halfway through the foot.

For reasons, I can't explain, attending sock club created an insatiable urge to start something new. Something non-sock. It the fault of this light as air, lacy wrap that I saw hanging in the store. It called out to me. So I swung over to the office, just a few blocks away, (doesn't everyone have their LYS conveniently located so close to the office?) and started digging through my stash. Yes, I store my yarn at the office. We don't have room in the house. Accept this premise and move on.

So I shuffled through the plastic containers, and came up with three possibilities, all thin, fuzzy, mohair-y yarns. Without pausing the think or plan, I cast on. I had a vague notion of what I wanted, but was too impatient to practice or swatch. When I started the plain patterning I had in mind, it didn't look like I thought. Not that I bothered to check the book where I remembered seeing the pattern either.

So I backed up, cast on a smaller piece, and started testing a few variations on my mental theme. I think I have the idea mapped out in my mind, and am currently debating whether to practice to whole thing and eyeball it, or just blunder forward and see how it looks. Sorry, it would appear that she can't be taught.

Smackdown

I shouldn't have gloated yesterday. The knitting gods heard me, and smacked me down. I was playing judge in child support court yesterday afternoon, and getting the strangest assortment of cases. Instead of the usual whiny excuses and promises to pay better in the future if I would not throw them in jail, I had an arrogant, unrepentant man who thought it was perfectly acceptable to go months/years without paying anything, then pay large sums just before court, a lazy slacker who has twice applied and been refused disability (at the ripe old age of 28) but maintains he is unable to work no matter what his doctor says, and a bitter man who doesn't pay support on his older three children but saw no problem in fathering a fourth then claiming that he doesn't dispute the child support worksheet, just can't afford it or he would just have to not eat and die, and if I was going to order him to pay that much in child support then he wanted to see his child (as punishment to the mother for pursuing child support to begin with, I presume) and in fact wanted joint custody. I need a beer!

And the worst part, I couldn't even knit! I had brought Pomotomus with me, fully prepared to knit happily in pattern on the half side, stockinette on the other half, finish the foot, decrease the toe, and model my new wonderful sock. That was the plan. Instead, I realized that I had messed up. . . somewhere, and couldn't sit there in uninterrupted silence long enough to figure it out! Augh!

I am in court myself most of the day, and tonight is our usual Thursday night at the American Legion, so figuring it out today doesn't look promising. Maybe if I just leave it alone for a week to pout (the sock pouting, that is, not me) it will right itself and let me finish it.

Today, it is all about the humility.

Only two?

I realized this morning that I only have two active projects in progress. That isn't to say that I don't have several neglected projects in the basket, but I have only been working on two socks lately. Usually, I have the attention span of a gnat, so switch projects regularly. Only two in progress and one in the queue is kind of a record for me.

There is no way that I will publically admit to the flight of fancy that led to this tangled mess, but the good news is that I carefully untangled and balled it. Then decided that was sufficient yarn to make a swatch . (Ok, so I didn't come up with the swatch idea on my own. It is really more of a making lemonade with lemons kind of thing, but I really was concerned about choosing the right yarn for the right project.) The only roadblock: swatching is boring. Practicing, swatching, whatever you want to call it. Boring, boring, boring.

Actual knitting. Fun, fun, fun. Pomotomus. Well on its way to sock glory. Turned the heel, picked up and decreased the gussets. Just a few more inches of patterned knitting til the toe. Then I start over again, but we won't talk about that now. I am too busy basking in my upcoming glory.

And, of course, the mindless ribbed socks for my mother. Mindless knitting is good sometimes, especially when you are subject to interruptions or after a long day at work. Maybe Mom knew what she was doing by not adding anything complicated to my knitting plate. Also finished the heel on this one, and working on the foot.

And so my sweetie isn't left out, the project of the summer has half a head. For months, Indiana has been staring at the sky and doing rain dances, watching our lawns and crops struggle. When he is ready to shingle the roof. . . . it rains. Ok, our lawn thanks you, but he still needs a couple dry days in a row to finish shingling. Please?

Today, it is all about the feet.

MIA

I was MIA from pretty much everything briefly this week. After languishing for weeks on the waiting list, I finally picked up harry Potter #7 from the library. Trying not to be annoyed as I was interrupted by such mundane things as laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, and sleep, I still managed to finish it within a 24 hours period. Really, I was just trying to be considerate to the next person on the waiting list. My sweetie was very understanding and considerate of my single-mindedness.

I even neglected my knitting. Still work on the first Pomotomus sock, just ready to start gussets, which I haven't done in a few years after I learned how to short-row heel. Mom's sock is about ready to start the heel. And I am drooling over possible lace patterns. I found this super thin wool on ebay, about a million yards of it, and I am looking for something to turn it into. I have not decided yet, but I am leaning towards this montrous, intricate shawl. (Whose name eludes me for the moment, and I am in the office so can't check.) When I say that I haven't decided, that really means that I really want to do it and just haven't convinced myself that I am not crazy. Also, I want to make sure that the yarn is right for the pattern, so I am actually SWATCHING. Practicing the pattern, which is surprising not all that complicated, and I want to see how the yarn behanve in washing and blocking. I don't want any surprises. This whole practicing thing is very foreign to me, as usually I just blunder my way forward, too impatient to plan properly. Yes, she can learn.

Today, it is all about the practicing.

Back on track

I finished the toddler sweater. Had some yarn leftover, so I decided to make a hat. Then I was afraid that the hat was too big, so used the final bit of leftover yarn to make a second hat. And gave to the intended toddler the day after her birthday, when we next saw her parents. Everyone ooo'd and ahhh's appropriately, and it appeared that the sweater would be the perfect size for her around the time that it was cold enough to wear it. And I forgot to take a picture. My humble apologies. All permanent record of this adorable sweater set is lost forever. Mea cupla.



I am nearly finished with the gray shawl. Halfway through casting off the few thousand little stitches at the top. A nice stretchy and mindless bind off. I love the way that the yarn drapes and feels. Except. . . . .I screwed up. In my defense the directions mentioned the side border, and head a special section labeled "BORDER", which I thought was the same. Several other triangular shwal patterns I had looked at added the side border at the end, after the body section was complete. So, it was not completely unreasonable for me to think that is what the "border" section was, right? Well, it turned out that the notes for what to add on to the sides were mentioned in the notes of the directions, and the "Border" instructions only covered the top border. That left only one row of little loops instead of three. So I made the adjustment on the top to match the sides, and continued on. EXCEPT. . . . I forgot about the curling nature of stockinette. One row of the border may not be enough to flatten it out. This may block out, but as I have limited experience with blocking (Ok, none), I am not optomistic. The yarn is from Poland, so I have no idea what the content is. Time will tell, I guess, but it makes my first shawl attempt a lukewarm victory.



In other news, I am back on track with the Pomotomus sock. Not only have I worked past the little glitch, but I think I can now recognize an error as it happens and correct as I go. I am really loving this sock, even it it takes a tad more concentration than my previous socks.

My sweetie is out on the bike today. Hooters was hosting a parade of bikes and bikini contest. That sounded like a ride that would be better done with his buddy than with me. I am staying home and knitting. Don't worry dear, I will have dinner ready for you when you are finished gawking at silicon-filled bikinis.

Today it is all about the little victories.

Just a couple more rows . . . .

Am I finished yet? For something like this, it is so hard when to call it done. I suppose I could take the shawl off the needles and onto scrap yarn to try it on more accurately, but that sounds like too much trouble. It isn't like shawl size is especially critical.

What most amazes me is that I am still on the first skein. I was thinking about calling it an end soon, to make sure that I have a little bit more of the yarn left. I have two skeins left of this yarn, and want the extra for swatching. I am thinking a light, lacy tank/shell. . . . I have been doing a lot of thinking/dreaming about new projects. I have been finishing a lot lately, and I feel a case of startitis coming on. Cough, cough.

The shed has been stalled for the last couple weeks. Partly because of money, since we need to save more of it to buy several more supplies, but this isn't as good of an argument as it sounds like. We have plywood, shingles, and tar paper, so he COULD do the roof before more supplies must be purchased. What is a better excuse is that he has been picking up so overtime, which is going to help pay for those new supplies. So he is off the hook.

This morning, I have been a whirlwind. My first appointment isn't until 11 am, so I have been busy at home. Two loads of laundry, boiled chicken breasts to remove the bone, made chicken salad, packed an overnight bag, updated the budget, paid some bills, and tidied up a little. . . all before 9:30 am.

Today, it is all about the whirlwind.

The middle of the middle

I am in the middle of my gray shawl right now. Except, not really. The bummer of a trangular shawl is that even though I am about halfway finished with the desired legnth, because the things gets four stitches wider every other row, I am probalby more like 30% finished with the whole thing. I am sure that there is some math that would give me the actual percentage, but I choose not to be be anal-rentative about the exact numbers. In the picture I also notice that the center line does not look perfectly straight, but I am CERTAIN that is only an error in the photography. Or maybe an optical allusion. Yeah, that's it. A trick of the camera's eye. (Meanwhile, I am drooling over lace weight yarns and complex lacey patterns for my next attempt. Gotta keep your eye on the ball.)


My sweetie is working today, so I did grocery shopping early and spent my morning making homemade soup. Yes, I know this is summertime, but I love this wonderful soup recipe, and who knows the next time he will have Saturday overtime while I have nothing that HAS to be done. Seize the soup. Of course, his kitchen is smaller with less cabinets than my previous one, so my giant stock pots are in storage, and I am forced to make my usual giant pot of soup in two crock pots. So I am doubling the recipe, only to divide it in half between the two pots. Somehow I think I was doing more math that I needed to. Laugh if you want, but I am certain the soup won't taste the same.


What I am not doing today is reading Harry Potter, much as I would like to. I am on the waiting list at the library, and am exercising admirable restraint in not purchasing the book to spent the next 48 hours unmoving on the sofa reading it. I can wait. (Or at least that is what I keep saying to myself.) Somehow, I think I will discover Harry's fate before I get my Raverly invite. Apparently slow on the draw for this (no one ever tells me anything!), there are over 8,000 people on the list ahead of me. At the current rate (so smart of them to have a page to check the list progress) of invites, I should be receiving mine in about, oh, 6 to 12 months, according to my math. See, this is why I hate math.


Today, it is all about the math.