WeeBugKnits

Even though the circular needle that has been cut in half is still usable, I don't recommend knitting that way for long. The yarn kept getting caught on the rough ends and I ended up getting this huge tangle. I really don't need any help in that department, the kids, dogs, cats and husband are way too available to help. As well as my own general klutzyness.

I dug out a shawl that I had started way back in April I think. The last time that I worked at it was at the guild meeting that month and evidentally I had dropped it in the parking lot on my way out to my vehicle. Some nice soul picked it up and took care of it, posted it's finding in the news letter, and I fortunately was able to get it back. It is the Elfin Shawl, pattern by Cherry Tree Hill, Inc. I am making it out of a skein of helen's lace that I bought quite some time ago and alas I don't rember the name of it. But it is very muted teal, taupe, lavender and green varigated and I think that it is going to be beautiful. Once again it will be a gift, but that is part of the enjoyment of knitting. I am wondering though, the top of the shawl I am suposed to just bind of loosely, but I think that I might do an I-cord bind off so that it ends up being a bit more stable. I dunno, I will have to check my yardage on the pattern and see if I will have enough extra to be able to do that. But after doing a couple of repeats of the pattern, I think it is pretty much the same as the bulk of the last shawl that I did for my friend Tracie. I will have to hunt down that pattern and do a quick compairison.

Other projects in the works at the moment are the Moonlight Sweater from this fall's Rowan, I am on the second front of the cardigan, a pair of socks that are somewhat on hold due to the circular knitting disaster and I am making some christmas stockings for a customer. I need to swatch, then I can start figuring out the patter. Never a dull moment is there?

My friend Anita laughed when she read my blog from last week. She absolutely loves toe up socks. Sigh. At least I know that somebody reads this! My current sock in progress just came to a screeching halt. Some imp, who at this point in time shall remain nameless until I figure out who it is, broke my circular needle cable. I still could probably use it for now, but what a pain. I was just cruising on the heel flap too. Darn it all anyway.

My hubby and I went to the Seahawks game yesterday. I surprised him by buying tickets. Actually surprised my self as well. The weather was beautiful, low 70's and sunny. An added plus was that they actually pulled off the win. I was begining to wonder there for a while. Got lots knit too, which worked out just fine with me. That is my number one reason for not minding when he turns on the tv to watch sports, I can sort of watch what ever it is that we are watching and knit too. Kind of nice to multitask once and a while.

I have been home with a sick kid today. One would think that I would get caught up on some chores around the house and get some progress made on the knitting I can't take with me everywhere. Like zauberflote from VY (virtualyarns.com) I still don't really like the colors, but I am going to finish the darn thing anyway. Maybe it will grow on me. Who knows. But I haven't gotten a lot done. I did make the bed and start some stew for dinner. And I am about to turn off the computer and go knit awhile. I guess I will have to be responsible and work on my stuff for the shop!

My apologies to those of you who revel in doing toe up socks. In theory they should be a snap, and much easier. But I can't seem to get the hang of it! Me, who's first pair of socks had the warning not to use them as my first pair because they were really lacy. I still have them somewhere I think. But for now I am going to shelve the idea of toe up socks and give it a nice long rest somewhere nice and quiet, the circular file comes to mind!

So it was back to negative knitting. Not to be confused with the lack of knitting in planned out patterns that constitutes lace. I frogged the sock that I started in August after trying the heel 4 or 5 times yesterday,only to find out that the foot was way too long and I was going to have to rip out even further. It is now in a nice tidy ball, ready to be metamorphed into a workable sock (for me at least)

To those of you in Isabel's path, I wish you safe harbour from the storm.

I should have added lesson # three to my blog yesterday. Keep fingers out of range of knife when slicing bagels. Fingertips are not very tasty. Yup, sliced a bit from my left index finger which has been rather a bother. Especially since I have to keyboard for my job. Oh well, at least it did not require stitches.

I am now a firm believer in stitch markers. You can make your own pretty easily using pieces of string, orthodontic rubber bands and a few other little things lying around the house. My favorite though are the beaded stitch markers that I made. They are a bit more difficult to los, and they sure are pretty!

Off I go to get my knitting ready for the commute. I think I have my boo boo's corrected on Moonlight, although I am on the side of the cardigan for the button holes and panicked when I was knitting merrily along and finding the first buttonhole on row 35. Since I am notorious for skipping things like that and have often had to frog bag to correc that little omission, I triple checked the pattern, then looked at the picture and decided that I had not really lost my mind. But it sure seems strange to me to not have buttonholes all the way down. And since I am knitting for the shop, I feel that I have to do it the way the pattern suggests. But since the buttonhole band is garter stitch, I may go ahead and put them in anyway. They should hide well enough!

Knitting was rather blah this past weekend, I think that if I thought about it, negative knitting resulted. Lesson #one, never expect great results when dealing with disaster children such as mine were Saturday. Lesson #two, never expect any results when dealing with a major headache as I did yesterday afternoon. So much for my great weekend knitting plans, I had really wanted to go to the lacy knitter's meeting yesterday, but sleep seemed a better option.

I did spend a bit of time Saturday evening working on my drop spindle. Which lasted until I got too darn frustrated trying to get the two pieces to mesh together. I know it can be done, I have seen it with my own eyes, but it is kind of like spit splicing. I never quite get that right either.

Progress? Well I did locate a bunch of patterns and put them all in the same pile. Hopefully it will be right where I left it so that I can get them put into the proper notebooks. Also used the ball winder to wind some sock yarn that is a luscious purple. I will have to take a look at the band later, because the name escapes me at the moment.

Oops, where did the time go? I have no idea how it spins by so quickly. but here it is the 11th already. 9-11. I remember riding to work with my carpool buddy that day, shortly before the second tower was hit. As the reports of the second plane flying into the World Trade Center, my carpool buddy turned and asked me if this was for real or not. My response was that I wasn't sure, but as the radio reports came in with more and more details, it was readily apparant that it was not a hoax. We listened to the radio in horror that day while trying to perform our regular job duties. I remember calling my husband at home to tell him that the kids shouldn't turn the televison on before school and why. I think that for a moment he thought I was kidding. Now, two years later, my heart and prayers still go out to the victims of that fateful day, and my now 5 1/2 year old regularly remembers them in prayer as well.

It is hard to think of knitting content after this mornings musings, so we will now pause for a bit of silence.

Ahhh, the last days of summer vacation ~ ~ that is for the kids. And not a moment too soon. The bratlings may very well kill and or maim each other by the end of the day. Hard part for me is that it makes it extrememely difficult to even want to go do something with them, which may be a solution of sorts. Sigh.

The orange triange shawl is done. Two more ends to weave in and then I need to find a horizontal surface to block it upon. That may very well be the more problematic issuse. So now I am knitting away on Moonlight, and I am enjoying the fact that since it is aran weight yarn, it is knitting up quite quickly. I am almost done with the back. Remind me to get a housekeeper in my next life, it keeps getting in the way of life. I am trying to go with the Flylady method of housekeeping but old habits are so difficult to break.

Got a bookmark blocked last night and I am going to pop it into the mail today to my lace bookmark partner in Canada. It looked great last night, all blocked out on the ironing board with the steel pins that I purchased to block lace with. Alas, with all of the knitting stashed around the house in various states of finishing, where does Reilly Cat decide to plunk his sizeable carass for the night? On the ironing board. On top of the pinned out bookmark. Sigh. I hope she isn't allergic to cats. Perhaps after the park I will have to run up to Hilltop Yarns and use the steamer to do a better job.

Well, it is off the race of housework, laundry and trying to keep the girls from killing each other.