So what's new with you?

The other day Knitiot Savant had a great post about how we sometimes blog out of obligation and not because we have something great to say. Oh boy was she right! Sometimes I think that I should go blog about something but don’t because it would likely be boring or I don’t feel like taking pictures or the pictures are on the computer that is in the office and what I really feel like doing is being the boob in front of the tube. Or, I have absolutely nothing knitting related (seriously do you want to see those four rows of stockinet that I finished?) and I think y’all must be sick of the Piglet.

Ok, I know you aren’t sick of Piglet so here is a little photo array of our Wednesday. We started out at the local Farmer’s Market where the mom’s group got together for a puppet show, hayride and pumpkin picking.

After that it was all downhill. Later that afternoon I caught him standing up all on his own. Yep, he will be going to college tomorrow.


In the last post I mentioned being on a people hating kick… I am at a stage where I am tired of the drama. I love the different forums on Ravelry but I hate the people who just take everything too seriously and start drama. I am tired of the people who see criticism of an establishment and threaten to sue for libel (and you know who you are bitches). You know the type - they believe in freedom of speech until they don’t agree with what is said. And then there are those who always seem to be in the same mess and don't realize the problem is with themselves. Well, that is my soapbox for this week...

There has been some knitting going on. Let’s see… Print O' The Wave is sitting in a bath now and will block later this evening so that I can find those edge stitches to pick up; I am ready to attach the top edge to Piglet’s ginormous stocking; Lady Eleanor is still plugging along - I don’t think it will ever be finished.

The Great Pumpkin Charley Brown

Check out my cute little pumpkin! On Saturday we took Piglet over to the pumpkin patch at a local church, where Big Boy insisted we get a tall pumpkin so he could carve it. Say What? In 10 years of marriage Big Boy has never carved a pumpkin. He never even mentioned that he had pumpkin carving skills. Imagine my shock, fascination and fear! This is what he came up with. Isn’t it cute? It has one of those push on lights inside so that people can see it from the street at night. Now, you are probably thinking that it is really cool that he colored one of the eyes and several of the teeth black. Mmmm, nope. This morning I went into the dining room to turn off the light and take photos only to discover the pumpkin was turning moldy. All during this photo session I kept telling Piglet to not touch the pumpkin! Jack (as in O’ Lantern) has since been moved to the front porch and I suspect he won’t be living here much longer! Oh, in case you can't read his shirt, it says "I'm so cute it's scary". Yep, he's right!

Ok, I have tried endlessly to insert a video of Piglet and his pumpkin but it didn't work out so you will just have to follow this link instead... The version I have on my desktop is much better quality but still...

I heart Ravelry. I'm addicted. There, I said it. But, do you know why I love Ravely? It is purely selfish. I get hearted over there. Yep, it does my ego good to look at my notebook and see that people have hearted my projects. Better yet, everyone who is on Ravelry can see that my projects are hearted. Other than Ravelry I am still on my people hating kick and am contemplating hermitville. :-)

Stockings, Swatches and Scarves

Last night I had my first baby/yarn near tragedy. I was swatching along for Piglet’s sweater and suddenly one of the strands felt like it was caught on something. So, I pulled. And, it pulled back. You guessed it. Piglet had and end and thought this whole tug-o-war thing was quite hilarious. I guess my days of knitting while the boy is awake are over for a few years.

Speaking of Piglet’s sweater… here is the swatch for his sweater…
It is Fibonacci (thank you MaryAnne and Jen) - a three-row sequence of four colors. Make sense? Didn’t make much sense to me either until I started working on the swatch. Sometimes ya just gotta have faith! The yarn is Cotton Fleece. I need to go down to a size 4 needle (swatch is in size 5) because I don't like how drapey the yarn is. For a boy who is in constant movement the sweater will need a tighter knit. Plus, I need to learn how to better carry my yarns. Check out the back of the swatch - EEK!

His stocking is nearly done. Do you think the stocking is large enough? (You can click on the photo to get a larger image and see just what the tape measure reads) LOL! At least it will hold all the underwear and socks he will get as an older kid. I have had to rewrite the edge piece because as written it looked like crap. Can you see the eyelets? Nope? That’s ok, you aren’t really meant to see them. They are small enough to hide once this thing is sewn on but also large enough to weave a ribbon through if I so decide.

My final piece worth showing… Argosy.
I really like this pattern and I ‘specially love this yarn. Amy, queen-o-the-fish sent it to me in the Coffee Swap. It is yummy AND it smells good.

This week I had a coupon for Barnes & Noble and guess what popped into my bag?

Fried Blue Tomato

Tomato is finished! Actually, it was finished before I left and it blocked while I was away. Even with the stretching it is still too small for me (read: clings to all the wrong spots!). It will become Christmas for my SIL. This sweater is very cute and I would definitely like one in a larger size for myself. Thanks to Knitting Daily I now know that I have been knitting the wrong size and was dreaming when I thought a size 36" bust would fit me. So, which is cuter - the sweater or the baby?

Details: Started 7/9/07 and weaved in the last end on 10/1/07
Yarn: Sonata from Elann. About 3.5 skeins of blue and .25 skein of white
Needles: Size 3 & 4
Size: 36". However, the yarn I used is a smaller gauge than the yarn called for so my sweater ended up a little, um, snug.
Notes: With my yarn being different I had to do more increases at the top to get the right length. I also did more ribbing at the bottom and on the sleeves instead of having the rolled edge. I think it is neater looking. This is a super easy pattern!

For those of you on Ravelry, there are full details here.

Up next: A sweater for Piglet and Argosy for me!

Around the World in 5 Days

Ok, I didn’t quite go around the world but I did go here…A view from our balcony

Last Saturday I flew to Vancouver, BC, Canada and met up with three other cool chicks…

On Sunday, three of us toured around the city, shopping and eating. Vancouver has tons of both and we did a great job spending money on both :-)

On Monday the fourth chick caught up with us and we boarded the Coral Princess for a cruise to San Francisco. I have never been on a cruise and this was a great way to try it out for the first time. Even on a boat this large you still feel movement so I was very sporty in my motion sickness bands!Back of the boat

Front of the boat

There was more shopping and dining. The cruise has a 24-hour buffet and I was considered an amateur compared to my friends.

We hit San Francisco on Wednesday morning and guess what we did? Yep, more shopping and eating! By the time my plane left on Wednesday night I was tired from head to toe!

Have I mentioned that we had never met before this trip? Ain’t the Internet wonderful? We all met on an adoption group online. Two of us have completed our adoptions and two are still waiting. The invite went out to a whole bunch of girls but the four of us were the only ones crazy brave enough to say, “count me in”.

So, where was Piglet during this time? Home with Big Boy. Yep! They had a great time. They went to the park, Home Depot, out to watch football, story time at the library and Costco. They had hamburgers for dinner; probably every night even though Big Boy says only one night. The house needed a good scrubbing, the fridge was empty and Piglet was wearing shorts he outgrew in June but they had a great time together and that is all that matters.

Leaving them behind for a few days was better than any drug prescribed. It was great to have no cares except (whether I would be warm enough; it was cold in Vancouver), and to laugh at crazy, stupid stuff. Trust me, taking “ME time” is great for your whole family!

While playing in Vancouver I noticed one main thing - people there like scarves. I wore my Swan Lake but as a scarf and not as a stole. It kept me warm and toasty. So, I came home and added about 10 scarves to my Ravelry queue and intend to start on Argosy tonight using the Sea Silk that Amy sent me! Oh, I also got to wear the Ribbed Lace Bolero and it was great!