7 x 7 meme and bits and pieces
I was tagged by KnitNZu for a meme!! Finally got it finished…you wouldn’t think 7 things would be so hard to think of, now would ya?
7 things to do before I die
- Finish knitting a friggin adult-size sweater.
- Go on a Cruise.
- Conquer the perfectionism that dogs me and keeps me from being all I want to be.
- Kick the procrastination habit.
- Learn to play a musical instrument.
- Learn to paint with watercolor.
- Make a quilt for my bed – and finish it.
7 things I cannot do
- Read music
- Organize anything, including myself.
- Read a map.
- Motivate myself. (I’m VERY good at motivating others, however).
- Think of a good retort when I’m “in the moment.” Later, I can think of many things “I could have said”.
- Eat just one Hershey’s kiss.
- Accept praise or compliments without cringing. Working on that…
7 things that attract me to (Oregon)
- Sunshine 300+ days a year in Central Oregon, where I live
- Mountains
- Trees….gotta have trees
- The Oregon coast is stunning
- Pretty liberal, all things considered
- Friends and family
- I was born here, what can I say?
7 things I say
- Bite me
- FINE!
- Get over yourself.
- Pull up your big girl panties and just do it.
- It will be what it will be.
- “If your head is bobbing…..stop it!!” – when teaching dance.
- Okie Dokie
7 good books
- Dark Mage – Barbara Hambly
- The Belgariad – David Eddings
- The Mists Of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley
- The Crystal Cave – Mary Stewart
- Rebecca – Daphne DuMaurier
- Dead Until Dark – Charlaine Harris
- Blood Bound – Patricia Briggs
7 good movies
- Galaxy Quest
- Princess Bride
- Lord of the Rings trilogy
- Pretty Woman
- A League of Their Own
- Crash
- Pirates of the Caribbean
7 blogs to tag
I’m cheating here…if you’d like to do the meme, consider yourself tagged!
Let’s not talk about how many times I’ve made foolish errors in the RPM sock…suffice to say, it’s been ripped a time or two or three. Almost done with the gusset…whew. Precious little knitting is going on…I’m sponsoring a huge bellydance event – for which I’m poorly prepared, lol – and that has taken the majority of my so-called free time.
Next week….hopefully reality and routine will return and we’ll have pictures! We can hope at least… 🙂
You have now knit all stitches…er..or not
Having reached the point of decision for heel style on RPM – I decided I’d try the Short Row Version. I made myself comfy in a relatively distraction-free zone and began. Had some trouble with the “purl through the back loop” on three stitches bit, but I soldiered on. Got to the “last” row of the instruction…where it said something to the effect of “you have now knit all the stitches, there remain 1 yo on the left needle…” Except there were more than that. There were several more than that. As I began to look at it…it was also crooked. The heel. It was literally crooked. Don’t ask me what I did…I’ve no clue. I ripped it and chose the heel flap option. Short row heel will be tried again when my mind is apparently on my work.
KnitNZu Tagged me last week for a meme – first time ever!! I’m so pleased. 🙂 I hope to post it soon….
That’s it. That’s all I have to say for myself. Life is so hectic right now it’s unbelievable…Heh. Somehow, that makes me think of a line from one of my favorite movies, “The Princess Bride”. ” “That’s inconceivable!!”…..”I don’t think you know the meaning of that word.” “
A matched pair
The title refers to the finished Columbine socks. Yep, they match in the usual way, but they also match in that I FUBAR’d the toe on the second sock as well.
After having a funny seam-like thing on the OUTSIDE of the first Columbine sock, I was determined to get it right this time. I sat in front of the computer and went through the kitchener tutorial on Knitty step by step. It worked FAB! I was soooo pleased. No funny “seam” this time. However, I did it on my lunch hour and then things have been really hectic with getting Jodie home and taking care of her. I just got around to trying it on my foot the other day…..
and realized….something was wonky. It layed “funny.” Took me a couple of minutes, but I finally figured out what I had done. I had finished the toe….and kitchenered…..but I’d forgotten to put the toe back on the needles “front to back” rather in profile.
YUP. I kitchenered the toe VERTICALLY rather than horizontally. After the first moments of disbelief (that I could be such a dumba@@), amazingly, I felt a sense of release. The first toe was mucked up. Now the second toe was mucked up. I’d learned from both events….it’s all good. They will be “house” socks. No…they won’t last as long and blah blah blah. But you know what? Oh well. They are my first finished pair and I’m happy. It’s like mucking up the second toe gave me permission to quit obsessing about it.
RPM: I’m on the 6th (last) repeat of the leg for the first sock. LOVE the pattern. “Just” enough pattern I have to pay attention, but it’s very easily and QUICKLY apparent if I’ve boo-boo’d. I’m comfortable enough with it that I actually have it as “take along” knitting….something I could never do on DPN’s.
Pictures? Yeah, yeah. I have the camera back…I just have NO time. Working, taking care of Jodie, and I’m sponsoring a huge bellydance thing this weekend….I’m at the “sleep is an optional luxury I don’t have time for” stage. Pic’s will come. I promise.
In Which We Are Most Grateful It’s Friday
Oh my. What a week.
Jodie was released from the hospital in Louisiana yesterday and will attempt to fly back to Oregon tomorrow. Let’s cross our fingers on that.
I finished the Columbine socks! This is my first completed PAIR of socks ever! A Very Happy Moment indeed.
To celebrate…I cast on for RPM! However…not in the new Claudia Hand Paint from KnitNZU, but in some sock yarn gifted to me by Marie at KnittiMe a couple of years ago. The Claudia HP will be next…but it wasn’t wound and I needed to cast on NOW. So I dug around in the sock yarn stash and the bright colors of the yarn Marie had gifted me with just spoke to me. After an ugly week…I need some cheer.
It was also a VERY good thing to really look at my sock yarn….because after deciding last week I really did have enough sock yarn and I could just hold my horses on some STR…I counted enough sock yarn in my stash to knit …oh…..about 22 pairs of socks.
Ahem. *blush* Obviously, I could wait awhile to purchase more sock yarn, don’t you think? Maybe I’ll make myself a deal….finish X pairs of socks and then I can reward myself with some STR. Something along those lines.
Pictures next week when the camera comes home from Louisiana.
Sahara and the Terrible, Awful, No Good Day
7:15 a.m.: 6th grade drama queen’s conference: She has 13 weeks to pull herself together and show she can turn in her work. If not, she may find her self being a 6th grader again next year
9 a.m. Jodie calls from her visit home to Louisiana. She’s been in pain for awhile with an “owie” that wasn’t healing right. It’s now “getting sort of big” and in fact, she couldn’t sleep last night because of it. I said…go to the doc. This is your vacation, they’ll fix it.
10:30 a.m. It’s an owie all right, it’s probably a staph infection. With her out of control diabetes this is a Very Serious Thing. They’re sending her to a specialist, who will make the final decision, but she’s looking at getting admitted and surgery.
11:00 a.m. Take a break, go to my car, call a friend and try to calm down. Very anxious about being 2300 miles from partner in medical emergency. Have good cry on friend’s shoulder.
11:09 a.m. Lock the only key I own to my car…in the car.
11:10 a.m. Swear profusely in parking lot at work.
12:15 p.m. Friend uses AAA to get my car unlocked….we get caught that it isn’t her car…endure 10 minute lecture from tow truck dispatcher on phone how AAA is not for your friends, they’ll do it this once, but don’t do it again.
12:15-1:15 p.m. Go home for lunch. Cry because I’m frustrated, again. Cast on for Vestee in stashed Cotton Ease. Get through four repeats and feel much better about the prognosis for this baby Sasha sweater.
1:15-3:00 p.m. Back to work. 29.7 phone calls with Jodie/Jodie’s sis. They are fussing about admitting her..she has no insurance!! Me: WTF? What happened to that efing oath thing? Wonder if my head really COULD pop off…..
3:15 p.m. Call from J’s sis, she’s been admitted. Starting workup for surgery. Begin discussion of “what if” she can’t fly back as planned on Saturday…curse at realization we purchased no travel insurance and wonder if beating my head on the cement would feel as good as it sounds.
3:35-4:05 p.m. 5 th grade drama queen’s conference: He is dangling in the same direction as his sister, PLUS exhibiting some smart mouth behavior that is going to get him into trouble. He has this week to pull himelf together, or he is going to have A Very Boring Spring Break next week.
4:10 p.m. Talk with J’s sister and find out J went into surgery at 4 p.m.
4:15 p.m. ONLY EFFING BRIGHT SPOT OF THE DAY…..MY PRIZE YARN FROM KNITNZU IS IN THE MAIL!
4:15-4:20 p.m. Fondle yarn, tell it how much it means to you that it came right when I needed it….and decide it would be lovely in RPM.
4:20-5:50 p.m. Start laundry, deal with Drama Queens, fall in bed for a 20 minute nap. Have call with J’s sis. They removed a cyst/abscess the size of a golf ball. She’ll be in hospital two days minimum. Waiting for test results to see if it is Staph and what kind. Make calls to people waiting to hear the news.
6:15-8:30 p.m. 6th Grade drama queen violin concert at school. She plays for 10 minutes. Then 4300 other school bands play until my butt is cement from sitting on wooden bleacher and we leave “early” at 8:30, after I’ve successfully knit the requisite 6.5 inches of Vestee’s back.
I cancelled the dance student. I was so tweaked out by the whole day, I knew I would not have what it took to be effective in coaching her.
Today has GOT to be better, aye??
Can It Be Friday Now?
You know it’s just plain sad when your first waking thought on a Tuesday is “God I wish it was Friday….”
Today is crammed full…and I’m just not excited.
7:15 a.m. Meeting with 6th grade Drama Queen’s teachers. She is failing. The first term, I thought, okay – it’s a biiiiig leap from elementary school to middle school for a lot of kids. She’ll pick it up. Second term – Better in some spots….no better in too many other spots. It’s not that she isn’t learning or can’t learn…or even that she is s-l-o-w or has a learning disability. She is horridly unorganized (boy, the apple don’t fall far from the tree, sigh) and she doesn’t have her proverbial shit together. Stuff doesn’t get done till the last minute, then gets left at home and never turned in. Her teachers are concerned. I’m concerned. She re-did the third grade. Best thing we ever did for her. She struggled before that, afterwards she was right on track and was actually a total star last year – top of the class. One teacher has put out the “wondering if we should hold her back” idea. I am NOT against this at all…it’s just we’ve already done it with her and geez, a 20-year-old senior? Not a good idea. I’m just not sure holding her back is the right choice – will it improve her disorganization? They aren’t pressing the issue, we’re simply talking about what we can do.
Work till 3 p.m. I like my job well enough – but I’ve been unmotivated. I think I have spring fever.
3:35 p.m. 5th grade Drama Queen conference. He’s doing okay academically….not so good emotionally. Pulling some behavior at school that he previously only reserved for the good folks at home. Sigh. He’s a great kid….who has a hairpin trigger temper and it’s never his fault in his eyes. I wonder a bit about some OCD tendencies….he can NOT handle it when his routine is disrupted – never has been able to deal well with that. Likes to sort stuff into categories… very particular about his “stuff”, which is not to say he is tidy, he’s not particularly…he just needs his stuff to be a certain way or he flips out.
Say, I think I hear my hair graying. Is that possible? Mmmmm. Yep. I think it is.
4:30 p.m. Dance student till 5:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m. 7th grade Drama Queen’s orchestra concert.
Not the Worst Day Ever or anything…just a lot for me.
Knitting
What? You came here for knitting? Not whining, eh?? Damn. Okay…knitting.
Reid: Reid is a lovely cardigan that will NOT be gracing “baby Sasha”, at least by my hands. I made it through oh…..six rows after a lot of effort. I would need a lot more quiet time to work on this than I remotely have. I have to pay attention to every single stitch or I’m in trouble. Duh. It’s lace. Why I imagined this was doable at this point in my life, I’ve no idea. For me, this is “heirloom knitting.” Do I have the time or desire to put in this kind of work for an acquaintance’s child? Uh, no. I guess that’s called a reality check. I’ll have to dig around in stash to see if I have the yarn or a good substitute for Vestee. Sasha’s mommie was very cool about it…and I was relieved when she went for the short-sleeved version of Vestee.
Columbine Socks – These are the “lagoon” socks I’m knitting on two circs. Few more rows done….I’ve been working on little projects around the house while Jodie is gone as a surprise, so not too much knitting has been done.
STR – Haven’t ordered it yet. Considering another Portland-area yarn shop that carries Blue Moon products. It’s in Lake Oswego – basically a suburb of Portland. I’ll probably be smart enough to CALL this time tho and find out….how much STR do you have in stock and is it ALL mustard yellow??
Mostly, I’m making myself realize, I have a LOT of sock yarn. Ahem. I love sock yarn and my stash shows it. I could easily substitute any of what’s in my stash for RPM. I have several colorways of Lorna’s Laces and 3 or 4 options in handpainted sock yarn. I don’t NEED STR.
Well….I do…but only because I’m a sock yarn ho.
Wherein my expectations exceeded the outcome
I’m home from taking Jodie to PDX. She flew out to visit Louisiana for a week – taking the camera with her, so no pics this week, conveniently letting me off the technology hook.
When I left the airport, I drove to Farm House Knits. It’s a lovely shop, beautiful yarns…spots to relax and knit both indoors and out. Indeed, they do carry Blue Moon yarns, as well as many other lovelies.
I left quite deflated however, as they possessed exactly four skeins of “gold” (ie mustard yellow) STR. That was it. I looked at other yarn….other Blue Moon yarn….I gave myself permission to vary from my plan of allowing myself enough STR for a pair of socks to spending the same amount on other yarn…but my heart wasn’t in it. I’ll order the STR off the internet and be done with it.
Lucky!
I won some yarn! This is especially pleasing to me since I’m not purchasing yarn and well, it’s gorgeous! I won it from Lisa at KnitNZu! It’s Claudia’s hand painted – I’ve seen it on other’s blogs, but it will be my first experience with it and I’m very pleased. Thanks Lisa!
Alas, no pics of Baby Genius Scarf…time just hasn’t permitted. I’m at the last yard or so of the first ball of Noro…and this is proving to be a long scarf. I don’t think I’ll need both skeins of Noro or the scarf will be 8 feet long and since I’m only just over 5′, that seems a bit of overkill…I think I’ll knit till the Lamb’s Pride gives out and that will be the end of it.
How did I run over my own foot? Yeah, you gotta wonder, don’t you?
About 10-15 years ago, I started selling lingerie at home parties. Wanna see people display their odd little personality issues? Sell lingerie at home parties, whew.
My very first booking, I was very nervous. I pulled into the driveway of the hostess’ home…turned off the car…and got out. As I started to walk away from the car, I realized I’d not put it in park and it was s-l-o-w-l-y beginning to roll back down the driveway. Panicked…in 3.5 inch pumps (FUCHSIA spike heel pumps I might add – it was the 80’s after all…) I ran to the open driver’s window and reached in and rammed it into park, but not before the front wheel had ran over my toes. Looking back, I suspect I broke a couple of tiny bones in there..it’s never been the same and now I have arthritis there as well….
Lastly for today….
It’s all Chris’ fault….
I mentioned I’m going to Portland this weekend and my big plan is to purchase my first STR? Well, I hadn’t picked a pattern yet, in fact, my brain sort of stalled every time I thought about it. What could I do that was NOT plain soul-suckingly boring stockinette but wouldn’t obscure the incredible color that is STR?? What did Ms Chris post today that I had missed whilst not blogging? RPM. They’re perfect. They’re knit with STR so I can SEE the kind of effect I’ll get AND they are knit on two circs. I’m even more excited for my little yarn store field trip this Friday! Thanks Chris!
Projects, birthday goodness, and “you did what?”
Future Projects
I have lusted to knit several baby/toddler projects over the time I’ve been knitting….but have not really had anyone that age to knit FOR. Knitting for ‘someday’ grandchildren seems to me tempting fate when one has a 20, 18 and 13 year old. Let’s not play with fire, hmmm? I’ve tossed out a Baby Einstein….A Baby Surprise….and more recently the Kimono from MasonDixon knitting….but the cutie projects I wanted to try – well, who would I have knit them for?
Enter, lovely baby “Sasha*.” She’s a doll, a total cutie pie. About 2 years old. I offered to her mom….and acquaintance in bellydance….that I’d love to make her something. In return, I got a very specific list of what would be enjoyed *cough* by Sasha. That she doesn’t look good in reds and pinks. That yeah, mom wouldn’t mind handwashing if it was a “really cool” item. That variegated yarn is gross and unbecoming to little Sasha.
I became a tad unnerved. If it wasn’t “cool” enough…if Sasha *cough, cough* didn’t like the color….oy. Now, I have no unrealistic need to make something for someone who won’t appreciate it. In fact, I think the work of making and FINISHING a size 2 sweater would be very good for my quest for self discipline….so in the end, it’s about the process (eh Margene?) not about whether Sasha’s mommie likes the finished project or not, tho that would be nice too.
So…in an effort to ensure I don’t work for umpteen hours on something that will be unloved, I gave Mommie options from past and present Knitty offerings… specifically of projects I wanted to knit or at least was willing to knit and had Mommie choose two.
The winners were Reid and Vestee. I’ve long admired Reid…but with no little girls in my life, there was no point. I’m not sure I’m not biting off more than I can chew however, so Vestee is the second choice. If Reid is past my abilities at this point, Vestee can come to the rescue. I also had Mommie pick out a color Sasha *cough* would be willing to wear…and she chose Viola. This will be a first knitting with Paton’s Grace…any tips?
*No, this isn’t her real name. Even tho people don’t know I knitblog, I’m not tempting fate further in case her mother can’t sleep someday and is overcome with a need to Google me and end up here….
Birthday Goodness and “You did what?” will have to be blog fodder for Wednesday dear readers…..I’ve taken up today’s blog time entirely already. Wednesday, pics of my birthday goodies and a story about how I actually ran over my own foot…yeah, in my car no less….scintillating, eh? I know you can hardly wait…
My Mind Works In Strange Ways…
So….when Argosy came out in Winter Knitty…I barely glanced at it. I had no interest in it whatsover. My first thought was …… blech. I’ll be humble enough to tell you, I never even scrolled down. That first shot with the green Argosy? Turned me off completely.
Then, killing time at work, surfing blogs….I saw a few Argosy that mildly interested me. Today, I checked it out again…and when I scrolled down and saw the Noro Silk Garden Lite…I caught my breath.
THEN…I went to the designers blog….and saw this page…An Argosy wrap….an Argosy dishcloth!!
And now I’m obsessed.
Isn’t the power of color amazing? It’s sobering to realize how little imagination I apparently have…that I need to SEE things in color before I’m interested.
Next week, Jodie flies home for the first time in two years to Louisiana…we jokingly call it the “food tour” as she insists you can’t get decent food here. I’ll be driving her to Portland International Airport and staying with an old friend overnight. I’ve looked around…and I’ll be checking out this yarn shop…..
Yup, I could go into Portland and visit Lint or the Yarn Garden….but I’m not much of a city driver and this is close to where I’ll be staying….and they carry this. Need I say more?
Sahara Knits 