Misery

I just can't win with the Sweater of Frustration Christine sweater. Maybe it's me, but I'm finding the chart for this pattern to be ambiguous at best. It has two markings for the five sizes and markings indicating sleeves, edge stitches, and a 10-stitch pattern repeat. But what does one do with the different size markings and the edge stitches? The number of stitches cast on is a multiple of 10, plus 5. But the marking for the size I'm knitting seem to suggest no right side edge stitch and a single wrong side edge stitch, and that does not work out to a multiple of 10, plus 5. This morning I knit the blue and beige band and after it was all said and done, tinked it. Tomorrow I'll knit the five edge stitches and the pattern repeat and see what that does.

I seem to be approaching this process by trial and error. Try it, see if it works, if it doesn't, rip it out and try something else. When it finally clicks, I know it will stay with me forever. Getting to that point is a painful process.

But as Margene says, it's the process. I'm just ready for this process to work.

Just Shoot Me

Last night we went out to Samurai in Ashburn for some great sushi and sashimi. The chef owner used to work at Kobe in Leesburg and dreamed about opening his own restaurant. He did and he makes some amazing sushi and sashimi. My favorite is the white tuna. It's very buttery and tender and oh so tasty! The white tuna has displaced regular tuna as my favorite.

I returned home fortified and ready to tackle the Christine sweater. I read through the instructions a couple of times, circled the stitch counts for the size I'm making and proceeded to cast on, going for 195 stitches. Long tail cast on, of course. I reached 70 stitches and realized the long tail was not nearly long enough. I ripped it out and started over. I counted my stitches twice, getting the same count each time. Excellent! Maybe this time the sweater isn't going to whip my butt. The lower edge consists of four rows of seed stitch. I knit three of them and then went to bed, feeling pretty pleased. Of course, the seed stitch edge has always gone well.

Except this time.

This morning I opted to knit the Christine sweater instead of the Jenna sweater. I started the fourth row, moved the button band stitches to a pin, knit the remainder of the row, moved the other button band stitches to a pin, glanced at the pattern and it said "185 stitches remaining." Suspicion grew and my heart sank. 185 stitches remaining. I counted, then counted again. I have 175 stitches left. I hadn't cast on enough stitches! Resignedly, I slipped the work off the needles and started to rip back. I really hate casting on hundreds of stitches. I looked at the cast on tail and decided that I had enough tail left for the remaining 10 stitches. So carefully, oh so carefully, I removed the last row and placed the cast on row back on the needles and cast on the remaining stitches, with yarn to spare.

Tom came in while I undertaking this operation. "I hate this sweater," I said. He replied "Don't knit it."

He's got a point. But I cannot let a mere sweater get the best of me. I will prevail.

Here's a picture of the Sweater of Frustration:



Emma, however, is not fazed by any of this.

90 Rows

This is what 90 rows of cable-y, bobble-y sweater looks like:



That's about 10 inches. There are just over three inches left to knit before I start the shoulder and neck shaping and then I can move on to a front or another sleeve. There's hope that the Jenna sweater will be completed before my niece enters high school.

However, the Christine sweater? Sigh...it has been relegated to the basket of unfinished work. I'm going to rip out the sleeve (again) and start on the body of the sweater (there's minimal shaping). If I can make progress there and feel good about it, I'll continue on and get help with the sleeve later. If it isn't happening for me, I'm going to give it up and find another sweater to knit.

Several weeks ago, I ordered a copy of Victorian Lace Today. Of course, I want to knit everything in it. But I chose a simple diamond lace rectangle and purchased the yarn the other day. See?



Kidsilk Haze, in color Drab (588). It's not the prettiest color, but it's sort of neutral. I've never knit with this yarn but everyone who has seems to think it's wonderful. I'm a bit concerned about the mohair-y part, given my tendency to have to rip over and over again before I get things right, but hey...everyone needs a little challenge, right? It's very tempting to open up one of those balls and cast on and start knitting. But I don't need another work in progress at this point.

Weather Update
We actually got some winter weather on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, about four inches of snow and some ice, causing school and government closing and prompting me to work from home. (It's nice to have the technology to work from home, but it also means that there's no reason to take a snow day.) The temperature hasn't moved above the freezing point, so the snow (and ice) is going to be around for a while. In fact, I can walk on it and not sink in. Our driveway is a mess; Tom cleared only tire tracks and only for the part of the driveway closest to the street. I should have cleared the rest, because now it's near impossible to shovel. And it makes for getting in and out of the driveway very interesting.

Sheer Joy
Remember a few weeks ago when I thought my iron stopped working but it turned out that the outlet had stopped delivering electricity? Well, the iron actually did stop working later on and the outlet works just fine. After extensively researching the ironing options, we bought a Black and Decker Digital Advantage. It isn't the holy grail of irons, but ironing with it is sheer joy! The steam power is amazing and makes short work of wrinkles in cotton and linen. I can't wait to block something with it!

Emma Update
Our little cat seems to have gotten over whatever drove her into the deep, dark recesses of the basement. And once again, we learned that we cannot leave food or food scraps out. Tom cooked a stuffed turkey breast for Valentine's Day and put the pan with the drippings in the sink before bed. Interestingly, Emma did not sleep with us that night and when I got up in the morning to feed her, I discovered why. She spent the night lapping up the turkey fat. It's cute, but annoying. She's very interested in whatever it is I'm eating and would very much like to share what's on my plate. I don't let her, of course. Jez was not interested in people food at all, except for vanilla ice cream. Emma also loves vanilla ice cream and comes running whenever she hears the freezer door open. Now that is cute!

Firsts

I didn't freeze to death on Tuesday while walking to the gym. For the record, the low Monday night and Tuesday morning was not 1F, as predicted. It 7. I still walked to the gym, but I wore my down jacket instead of the usual fleece jacket with a sweatshirt underneath. It wasn't too bad, but the walk home was a little more unpleasant since the wind picked up. After the unseasonably warm weather we've had this winter, I'm relishing the cold.

My parents ' anniversary dinner went off very well. The dining room at Smithfield Inn was quite nice. The service was very attentive and I thought the food was good, although not quite as good as it should have been for the price. My parents seemed to enjoy themselves and all the kids were on their best behavior and fairly quiet. When the family gathers at my parents' house, it's typically pretty loud, which was another reason why I thought a private room was a good idea. I didn't want to disturb the other diners with loud conversation and potentially crying infants. My brother's girls wore their best party dresses and acted quite grown up. All in all, there were 18 of us. Daniel wasn't able to make it back from college, as he's got a pretty heavy schedule this semester (organic chemistry and lab, physics and lab, genetics, microbiology and lab). A good time was had by all.

Mouse!
For several weeks now, we've been hearing suspicious scratching sounds inside our dining room wall. It could be one of two things: either a bird flew down the unused chimney or a mouse (or several of them) has taken up residence in our walls. Since Emma was very interested in the goings-on behind the walls, we suspected a mouse. The mouse theory proved to be correct (I think the bird theory is also true, but short of breaking into the chimney, we'll never know).

When Tom got home from work the other day, he discovered Emma following around a very tired mouse. It had left its cozy home in the walls by way of the pocket doors and immediately became a cat toy. Emma didn't kill it, but did a good job of wearing it out. Tom scooped it and put it outside. I don't think that's going to be the last of the mice, though. As I was backing out of the driveway yesterday, I saw at least two mice scurry towards the house. I just hope Emma doesn't catch one in the middle of the night and bring it to us in bed. That would be quite the rude awakening!

Bath!
Recently we've been noticing that Emma's fur has not been feeling quite as clean and soft as it normally does. She's also been disappearing for long periods of time and has been impossible to find. She enjoys going into the basement; it's her refuge when there are guests in the house.

Our basement is not the cleanest place in the house. It's an old-fashioned, unfinished basement, with pipes and wires running through the joists. Since there isn't a ceiling, dust filters down from the first floor through the floor boards. And there are cobwebs...lots and lots of cobwebs. In the early days of the house, the house was heated by a coal furnace, then by an oil furnace before we made the switch to natural gas several years ago.

Well, it turned out that Emma discovered a way to get up on the pipes and into the joists. Our pretty, soft, stripy kitty has turned into the Pigpen of cats. She emerged from some hiding place Friday morning, looking pretty pleased with herself, with huge cobwebs hanging from her tail and whiskers. After I touched her, my hands came away tinged with black. I wiped her down with a wet paper towel and it came away black. A second wipe down produced the same results. There was only one thing left to do.

Give her a bath.

Cats don't like to get wet. A bath involves getting the cat wet, immersing it, if you will. Cats have claws, often very sharp, pointy claws. They can inflict a lot of damage. Emma's claws are of the very sharp, pointy variety, making a pedicure a prerequisite to the bath. Hoo boy. It was going to be a fun day.

I haven't quite mastered the art of claw-clipping by myself. And whenever I'm ready to clip claws, Tom isn't. So I've developed the stealth method, clipping only a couple of claws while Emma is sleeping. It takes a while, but it's effective.

Emma's first bath took place in the clawfoot tub, since the high sides would make it a little more difficult for her to escape. I strategically positioned the baby shampoo and towel. I grabbed the poor little kitty, took her into the bathroom, shut the door and plopped her in the tub. Emma didn't like it, but she didn't fight it. Mostly she stood there looking like a drowned rat, shivering. When I rinsed her, the water ran black. I think she must have found a mother lode of ancient coal dust.

I'd like to say we now have a clean kitty, but darned if she didn't go up into joists yesterday. Fortunately, she's not quite as dirty, but she leaves black smears wherever she lays. I think another bath is in the future for her.

Gymnastics Competition
My sister-in-law and her daughter were in Leesburg this weekend for a regional gymnastics competition and stayed with us. The gymnastics team from Poquoson High School is small, only three girls, although there were a couple of schools that had even smaller teams. There are four events: floor, vault, beam, and uneven parallel bars. Holly competed in the floor event, while her teammate Caitlin participated in all four. As it happened, Holly didn't place, but Caitlin placed 8th in vault, 3rd in floor, 1st in both beam and bars, and 1st in the all-around, barely beating out a girl from Goochland. Caitlin qualified for the State competition next weekend.

It was interesting to watch these young women compete. Not all of them were good and some were clearly struggling with their chosen apparatus (I had a major flashback to junior high and high school gym classes). But they still competed and seemed to be supportive of their competitors. Even the parents cheered on their daughters' competitors. I never had the opportunity to learn gymnastics or ballet as a child but like to think I would have been good at it. Of course, that would have meant having to practice and be focused, and about the only thing I was good at focusing on was reading.

Knitting Progress
Two words: not much.

The Divine scarf continues to be my travel project. One ball is almost gone, which means I'm about a quarter or a third complete, depending on how long I want to make it. If there's leftover yarn, I think I'll make some wrist warmers or fingerless mitts. They'll be simply divine in Divine!

The Jenna sweater back is about nine inches, leaving three inches to knit. We aren't even going to mention the Christine sweater, although I'm rethinking the wisdom of knitting the sleeves first. There don't appear to be any increases in the body, so I might rip the sleeve one more time and start on the body. Anything, anything to make some progress!

That's about it. They are calling for a significant weather event starting tomorrow, although now it looks like we might be getting freezing rain instead of snow. I'm mightily unhappy about that. I'm hoping beyond hope they'll be wrong and we'll get a couple of feet of snow. What could be better than having a snow day and sitting in front of the fire, knitting and spinning and drinking hot chocolate?

Happy knitting!

1

That's the low for tonight. That translates to -18C. Add the wind chill and we're talking about -8F or -22C. For Virginia, which is a "southern" state (although it's really the mid-Atlantic), it's a mite chilly.

I'm reconsidering walking to the gym tomorrow morning.

Happy Anniversary!

Fifty years ago today, in Baltimore, Maryland, my parents married. They had known each other for only six months when my father discovered he was going to be transferred to California and wanted my mother to join him. He proposed, she accepted. She recounts that she went home and asked her family what they were doing in two weeks and if would they like to attend a wedding. Two weeks later they were married and off to California. And so began fifty years of what I can only describe as an interesting (in a good way) partnership.

Mom and Dad had four children in the next seven years and lived all over the country. My father's job transferred him far more often than the military transfers its personnel. We lived in California, Washington, Utah, New York, Maine, New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia, and West Virginia before finally settling in Virginia in 1964. We drove from place to place, with at least two kids in diapers. Imagine driving cross-country with several children, in diapers, without the benefit of disposable diapers or any of the electronic gadgets that keep the kiddies amused. Looking back on it, I've come to the realization that my parents had incredible fortitude to survive that experience.

We also camped for our vacations, in a tent. Mom was a city girl, born and bred in Baltimore, so camping was a new experience for her. Dad was raised in a more rural setting, and fished and hunted and trapped. In the early days, the campgrounds we went to had no running water or indoor toilets. We had to pump the water and use outhouses. For us kids, it was an grand adventure! I recall arguing over who got to pump the water. After we returned to the east coast, we camped at Cowan's Gap State Park in Pennsylvania most years. It was these early experiences that instilled my love of the outdoors and to this day, my best vacations have been camping vacations, not luxury vacations.

So, to my parents I say: I love you more than you can ever know and thank you for sticking out the early days. I hope my marriage grows and strengthens over the years as your has.

Happy 50th Anniversary!



Happy 11th Anniversary!
To my wonderful husband, I say: Thanks for putting up with me and all my foibles for the past 11 years. Even though I don't always say it, I deeply appreciate all you do and your support for my endeavors. I love you and still look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.

Happy anniversary, my love!

Still Cold

It seems that winter has finally settled in. As I write this post, the wind is howling outside, making the windows rattle in their frames. We got a dusting of snow tonight, with more on the way Thursday and Friday. Usually, I'd be ecstatic that there's a chance of snow. But not this weekend. This weekend we're traveling to my parents to celebrate...

(Drumroll, please!)

...their 50th wedding anniversary!

It would be fitting, however, for us to have seriously inclement weather on Friday. The day before our wedding (also on February 3rd), the northern Virginia area had 12 inches of snow dumped on it. Regions south of here got ice. Nonetheless, my intrepid parents were undaunted, tossed my grandmother in the car, and braved the wintry weather to attend our wedding. By the time they arrived, their car was coated in ice, making the locals wonder where they were from. The weather was just the beginning of the wedding adventures. But that's a story for another day.

Tvåändsstickning
The Swedish twined knitting (also known as two end knitting) class was excellent. If you ever have a chance to take a class by Beth Brown-Reinsel, do so. She explains techniques well and is very patient with knitters who are literally all thumbs (that would be me!). Her handouts are very well written. Beth provided various samples of the twined knitting, as well as a blouse from the 19th century (the knitting was impressive).

We learned how to cast on using three yarns, making the cast-on edge twined as well. The cast on method is the same as Old Norwegian (or German) cast on and makes for a nice stretchy cuff. We then moved on to the basic knit and purl stitches. If you think regular purling is awkward, you ain't seen nothin'! All twined purling is beyond awkward. The tendency, for me, was to purl using my thumb. I was beginning to despair that I would get beyond the first row. However, the twined knit stitch was a breeze in comparison, and the stitch patterns that alternated purls and knits were also easy. I (the world's slowest knitter) actually kept up with the majority of the class.

Beth introduced us to the work of Anne-Maj Ling, showing slides of her work. In addition to the usual hats, mittens, socks, and sweaters, Anne-Maj also knit dresses, skirts, dickeys, and (get this!) slacks! The slacks were stunning...very tailored and not saggy at the back end at all. Warning: Anne-Maj's web site is in Swedish, but browse through it anyway. Click the links in the left navigation panel below the phrase Bilder på några av mina: to see examples of her work. (Alas, there isn't a picture of the slacks.)

Knitting Progress
I haven't made much progress lately. The Jenna sweater grows by about three rows a day. The Christine sweater still languishes. I think I'm going to take the rather desperate measure of redoing the chart, this time including all the repeats. It's probably unnecessary, but it will give me a good sense of how the Fair Isle pattern is behaving. Of course, if I don't understand the marking for each of the pieces of the sweater, I'll get nowhere, other than having another colorful chart.

The knitting group at work met again today, since we can't meet Friday. Attendance was much better and everyone was very enthusiastic. I love the feeling of walking into a group of knitters and knitting with everyone else. It feels like coming home. The Divine scarf will be the primary knitting group project, since it's rather simple.

I'll have pictures of my twined knitting sampler, as well as scarf and sweater pictures later this week or early next week. I probably won't post again until Sunday, depending on what time we get back.

Have a great week and happy knitting!

Brrrrr!

It's cold! Admittedly, it's early in the morning, but still, 18.5 degrees is cold. Here I sit, laptop on my lap (sans the laptop cat), in my cozy place in front of the fire. Tom, on the other hand, left a little before 6:00 this morning to go on a 15-mile, hilly run. He wasn't looking too happy as he headed out the door into the cold and dark.

Buddha,on the other hand, is perfectly happy no matter what the weather:



I'll spend the remainder of the morning trying to get the house clean. Every weekend, I've got the same list of tasks I want to accomplish and every weekend, I find reasons to put them off. Now that we've got another cat, the amount of dust, fur, and other detritus has increased. She has a propensity for disemboweling her toys and there are little mouse chunks scattered about.

Emma is definitely challenging. Mostly she's well-behaved, although active, but sometimes she just gets it in her head to do things she's not supposed to do. She'll use the corner of the couch as a scratching post, but only if I'm in the room, even though I've moved the scratching post to the living room. Last night, she was determined to play with the cords on the venetian blinds in the kitchen. I very carefully tucked them behind the slats. Did that stop her? Not at all. She worked her way under the blind and proceeded to climb the window screen. It makes me think that we need to get another cat to keep her amused, but I'm afraid we'll be plucking two cats off the screens and drapes.

Knitting Progress
I finished charting out the sleeve increases for the Christine sweater last weekend. I checked and double-checked my chart against the original. When I started knitting, however, the chart and the knitting didn't match. I counted and calculated. I stared at the chart and the knitting, perplexed. Then I ripped the sleeve out, again. I'm going to give it one more go, then I'm going to call in the reinforcements. This chart has me totally flummoxed. I finally figured out there is a total of five edge stitches and the pattern is a 10-stitch repeat. But the number of stitches on the needles doesn't work out to a multiple of 10 plus 5. Grrrr!

The Jenna sweater is slowly growing and I'm feeling optimistic that I'll be able to finish this sweater before Jenna graduates from college. I've completed 68 rows, which is one row short of three and a half repeats and the back now measures about 7-1/2 inches. The pattern has finally etched itself into my brain, which should make the knitting go faster.

The Divine scarf is also coming along quite nicely. I've worked out the problems with the transition from the border to the main stitch pattern. Going down a needle size also helped improve how the scarf looks. This project will be my lunchtime knitting project, assuming that I get around to actually taking a lunch at work.

I haven't quite worked up the nerve to bring my knitting to meetings at work yet, although I do knit if I'm on a conference call in my office. I've started a knitting group at work. There are four women who are interested in knitting and we'll be meeting every Friday. Unfortunately, only one person was able to attend yesterday, so it's getting off to slow start, despite everyone's enthusiasm.

Tomorrow I head to Old Town Alexandria to attend a class on Swedish twined knitting at Springwater Fiber Workshop. I have a suspicion it's going to be a bit challenging. I'm also afraid that I'm going to forget to go or take the supplies (flashback to the nightmares about showing up for class totally unprepared for the final exam). I need to stash dive sometime today to see if I've got the appropriate yarn. I've got the needles, so no worries there. Springwater is relatively close to Knit Happens. If there's time after class and if it's within walking distance, I'll wander over. I've heard nothing but good things about the store and all the yummy yarns they carry. Of course, Springwater also has yarns and such for sale, so the temptation will be great!

Emma says "I don't care about any of that. Just throw the mouse again!"

It's Coming From the South

Sunday sky:



It looks like a snow sky! And indeed, the National Weather Service is calling for a bit of the white stuff today, mostly after 4 p.m. Unfortunately, the accumulation is supposed to be less than an inch. And they're calling for a mixture of snow and freezing rain tonight. However, the low pressure cell is coming from that south and historically, that means big snow. Sometimes, however, the big snow is farther east than Leesburg. So, it's time to put on my snowflake earrings and do the snow dance and hope for way more than an measly inch of snow. At this point, however, any snow will do.

There's also a chance of snow (or rain) on Wednesday night and Thursday. Woohoo! To the snow, I say "Bring it on!"

Progress!
I've completed another half repeat on the Jenna sweater, for a grand total of 50 rows and 5.75 inches (out of 12.75). It's slow going, but the knitting is beginning to flow. Emma was mostly good this morning and I had Tom to help keep her away from the plants. And she even sat on my lap for a little bit and didn't seem to be too interested in the knitting. And that's a very good thing!

After much contemplation, I decided that it's probably not a good idea to start that sexy little lace number, no matter how much I want to. Just check out the WIPs and the UFOs section in the sidebar. Bad news. I really should start working on finishing some of my current projects, don't you think?

Victorian Lace Today should arrive tomorrow and the temptation to cast on for a shawl is going to be immense. Must...complete...current...WIPs...

Something Yummy
The other night as I was digging around in the refrigerator trying to figure out what to fix for dinner, I came upon a container of mascarpone cheese. Hmmm...better use it before it goes bad, but what to do? A flash of inspiration...add it to spinach! Here's a recipe for a very quick and tasty creamed spinach:

1 10-oz. package frozen spinach
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1-2 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Put the frozen spinach in a pan over medium heat. While the spinach is cooking, heat the olive oil in a small saute pan. When the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft. By this time, the spinach should be thawed and most of the water evaporated. Add the spinach to the onion and garlic mixture and cook until all of the water has cooked off, stirring frequently. Add the mascarpone cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. This recipe serves two.

A Milestone
Early Friday morning, I became a great-aunt. Tom's nephew Martin and his girlfriend Veronica had a little baby girl, Sylvie Elizabeth. Mother, father, and baby are doing fine.

What's that, you say? What did I knit the wee one? Nothing...yet. I couldn't stand the thought of making another baby blanket, so I think some booties and a knitted stuffed animal are in order.

Truth be told, though, the idea of being a great-aunt is a bit troubling. That means the nieces and nephews are growing up. And that means I'm getting older. Well, duh, no kidding. But in my mind's eye, I still picture the kids as...well...kids, not young adults and certainly not young adults old enough to be having children of their own.

This could be the beginning of a mid-life crisis. Maybe I should start knitting that sexy little lace number after all!



Afternoon Update
Hahahaha! It's SNOWING! The snow started around 12:30 with eensy-teensy flakes (always a good sign). It's been snowing steadily for a couple of hours now and the snow is beginning to cover the grass. I'm so excited! The snowflake earrings worked!

There's something about a snowy day that makes me want to stay inside and bake. Bread, cookies, cakes...it doesn't really matter. Alas, I did my baking yesterday, turning out some lemon biscotti (delicious) and Amish Friendship Bread (a bit rubbery, according to Tom). I'm out of flour, too, so there's no baking this afternoon. But there will be soup-making, as soon as Tom goes to the store to get ingredients.

I think everyone should take a holiday when it snows. You know, suspend the usual house chores and going to work. Slow down, and appreciate the peace and beauty of the snow. Revel in the silence. There's nothing better than waking up after a snowfall and all the normal sounds are muffled.

I love it!

A Cozy Place

I'm slowly making progress on the Jenna sweater, thanks to early morning knitting sessions. I've completed two entire pattern repeats for a grand total of 40 rows! My progress is nothing if not snail-like. But it is progress.

I've come to cherish my early morning knitting sessions. The house is quiet and the bustle of the day hasn't begun. I get up between 5:30 and 6:00, feed Emma, then light a fire. I take up position in my favorite chair, pull out my knitting and knit a couple of stitches.



Then:

"Emma, no! Don't scratch the furniture!"

I knit a couple of more stitches.

"Emma, no! Don't eat the Christmas cactus!"

This last admonition is usually accompanied by me getting up and forcibly removing Emma from the radiator (which is where the plant lives). This routine continues for about an hour or so, during which I might be able to complete two rows, four if I'm lucky.

Emma's personality if very different from Jezebel's. Jez was a Buddha-cat, very contemplative and calm. Emma is...well...busy. She's still a kitten and that accounts for part of it. But she's much more mischievous than Jez was and is interested in the house plants, the drapes, the food on your plate... She likes to be held, but needs to be draped over an arm, which impedes knitting. I did manage to get her to sit in my lap for a bit this morning and that was promising. Despite the frustration, she's still a sweet little cat.



Other Knitting News
I've made no progress at all on the Christine sweater. I started to chart the increases, but it was late last night and I realized that it just wasn't going to work. For one, the graph paper squares are too big. For another, I had a headache. I'm hoping that I'll find some time to work out the increases this weekend.

And that sexy little lace number? I haven't started it. I did order Victorian Lace Today. I've heard nothing but good things about this book and can't wait for it to arrive. And then maybe I'll start that sexy little lace number.

The extra yarn for Tom's scarf arrived. I worked out the modifications and cast on during lunch yesterday. The seed stitch border was looking good, so I moved on to the pattern rows. Row 1: Perfect! Row 2: Excellent! Row 3: Looking good! Oops...In my rush to get started, I neglected to calculate how many stitches I needed and didn't cast on enough. So it's back to Frog Pond.

There's one more bit of news on the knitting front. Springwater Fiber Workshop, located in Alexandria, regularly holds classes for all types of fiber arts. They also have a visiting artist program and I was very excited to see that Beth Brown Reinsel is teaching this month. I promptly registered for her Swedish twined knitting (tvåändsstickning) class. We'll be making a sock. It should be a very interesting and challenging class.

Weekend Activities
The original plan for today was to go for an early morning run. But low temperatures combined with a fierce wind (and the persistence of yesterday's headache) put an end to that idea. I'll be focused on the domestic arts today, cooking some individual pot pies and biscotti for my mother-in-law, and cleaning house. Tomorrow we'll deliver the food to my mother-in-law. Every year for Christmas we make her a variety of soups, stews, and pot pies so she gets some home-cooked meals. She hates to cook and lives off of frozen dinners.

And of course, there will be some knitting. And if the stars align properly, there might be some spinning as well.

Farewell, Sweet Scarf...

I hardly knew thee.



Even though I enjoyed knitting this scarf with this stitch pattern, there are some things that are dreadfully wrong with it. First and foremost, it's only a mere 30 inches long, which far too short for Tom. It's barely long enough for me. I also had some difficulty following the stitch pattern and realized the mistakes only after knitting far too much to rip back (or so I though at the time). So I did what any lazy enterprising knitter would do and incorporated the mistakes as design elements. This would have worked swimmingly, had it not been for the fact that the scarf was way too short. The scarf is destined for Frog Pond and a reknit and probably a slight redesign (decreasing the width and improving the transitions from seed stitch to stockinette).

I'm pleased with the way the Jenna sweater is coming along.



The only part of the pattern that makes me want to run from the room screaming is the bobble motif. And it's not the bobble making that drives me crazy. It's the working the CR2L and CR2R on both the right side and the wrong side. It really slows things down. But I'm persevering and have completed almost half of the second repeat.

I made no progress on the Christine sweater yesterday. The sleeve remains where I left it, waiting for an increase in pattern.



I stare at the sleeve, I stare at the chart, I ponder my options. I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm going to have to sit down with graph paper and chart out the increases. While I'm sure that I'll learn a lot from that exercise, there's a very good possibility that I'll copy the chart wrong, no matter how many times I check it. The goal of having the sleeve completed by the first weekend in February seems unattainable.

Did I start a new project yesterday? Nope. Did I spin yesterday? Nope. Did I work on the business plan yesterday? Nope.

I did, however, finalize the plans for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration. That took a fair amount of time, but other than planning the food, it's mostly complete.

After a hopefully brief excursion to the grocery store and a quick housecleaning, I plan to be able to make more progress on the knitting front. And perhaps, just to fulfill yesterday's horoscope, I'll cast on a new project. That sexy little lace number, perhaps. Like I really need another complicated knitting project.

Someone shoot me now.

Kitty Antics

So, here I sit, trying to decide what the heck to write about today. The sad state of this nation's political affairs? Global warming (it is awfully warm for January), my inability to finish knitting projects?

How about kitty stories?!

Emma is now about six months old and is developing quite the personality. She loves to play fetch and will bring back her toys to me after I throw them. This provides hours of fun and distracts me from getting to the job at hand, like writing the business plan for the yarn shop or knitting the Fair Isle sleeve from hell. She also loves carrying her little mice around and if I'm cooking, she'll drop a mouse right on my foot, indicating that she wants to play. She also loves putting her mice in in things, like the trashcan, and will very carefully place them there. Then she'll walk away, only to return a few minutes later to root around in the trashcan to perform a mouse extraction. And then there's the variation of "drop the mouse on the foot," which involves her sneaking up on me as I'm working at the computer and climbing my back to deposit the mouse on my shoulder. While this game is endearing, it's not going to be so much fun when she's fully grown.

We're thinking she needs another cat. I think a trip to the shelter is in my future.

Of Dearly Departed Irons
On Monday, Sheepish Annie very eloquently wrote about the demise of her beloved ancient iron, which had been with her since her college days. A couple of days later, I plugged in my iron, and after the requisite number of minutes had elapsed for preheating, I commenced ironing. After a few passes with the iron, I realized something was amiss. I felt the fabric; it was hot. But the iron was not gliding like it should have. I checked the soleplate; it wasn't gunked up with melted fabric. I kept ironing but the job became harder and harder. It was then it hit me. My iron was dead! Hallelujah! Drat! Now I'm forced to get a new iron, maybe this one. Visions of effortless ironing and steam beyond compare danced through my head. So what if it's expensive? Quality and effortless ironing (and blocking!) are worth it! Then a little voice in my head whispered "Maybe you should try plugging the iron into another outlet." I did, and lo and behold, the iron worked. It was the outlet (which is 100 years old) that died. Oh well...I hope our house doesn't burn down now.

Knitting Update
Have I distracted you from the lack of knitting? Before I started writing this morning, I pulled out the camera to take pictures, but alas, the batteries were dead. They are charging even as I type. So, pictures tomorrow.

I successfully completed two rows on the Fair Isle sleeve from hell. The next row is an increase row, within the Fair Isle pattern. So that stopped me dead. Now I have to figure out how to maintain the pattern over increases. Someone shoot me now, okay?

Fortunately, I seem to have gotten into the flow on the Jenna sweater and other than it being fiddly, the knitting is progressing more quickly now. If I look at it as groups of 20 to 40 rows, it's not nearly as overwhelming as the total number of rows. But it's still going to take a long time.

And that why I chuckled with glee to read my horoscope for today:

Finishing up all your errands isn't important today -- starting new projects is.

Hee hee! I have official permission to start another project and ignore temporarily set aside my existing projects. What shall I start? A sexy little lace number? Another pair of socks? A new roving for spinning?

Tune in tomorrow to find out!

Thank Goodness I Had My Knitting

Only in a theoretical sense. I wasn't there. But if I was there, I would have been prepared. I'm very, very glad I wasn't there.

To what am I referring?

Denver, of course. And Stephanie's account of her and her brother's trip out to Big Sky, Montana, the day the really big blizzard hit Denver. Sadly, Stephanie is not a knitter. She missed some prime knitting time. I wonder how many people out of 5000 were observed calmly (or frantically) knitting in the midst of all the chaos that was the Denver Airport the Wednesday before Christmas?

Anyway, as predicted on Monday, there hasn't been much knitting. I'm still recovering from the cold and have moved into the guest room. As a result, I'm sleeping so much better. Even Emma is sleeping better; she didn't petition to be fed until almost 7:00 this morning! She normally wants to be fed a little before 5:00. That's much too early, but it does force me to do some early morning knitting.

I actually sat down this evening to work on the Christine sweater and am cursing every stitch. I managed to knit one row and have it come out correctly. The next row was a wrong side row. I knit a couple of stitches and noticed that the floats are on the right side. What?! I was carrying the yarn in the back! Duh. I unknit, and tried again. It still looked weird. I ripped it out again and start knitting one more time. I'm knitting. I should be purling! And how many years have I been knitting? Apparently not long enough.

My goal is to finish a sleeve of the Christine sweater by the first weekend in February, which is the next time I'll be visiting my family. At this rate, though, I'll be lucky if I get another couple rows knitted by then. I'm beginning to think that there's something very unnatural about knitting Fair Isle flat.

Almost There

I decided to stay home from work today, given that the day started with me hacking up a lung or two (I really didn't want my coworkers to have to endure that). This would give me the perfect opportunity to get some more rest, get caught up on some reading, and perhaps get caught up on some spinning and knitting as well, between a couple of well-placed naps.

I did get caught up on some blog reading. I finished Tom's scarf, only to realize that it was too short for me and would be way too short for him. I should have gotten three balls of Divine, not two. I'm not even sure that I like the way it looks. Depending on the availability of another skein or two of the same dyelot, I might just frog it and start over.

Given the weather, it's not like Tom's going to need it anytime soon.

I also spent a fair part of the day doing work stuff, calling in to meetings and reviewing documentation, all of which took longer than I thought. Given my congestion-fogged state of mind, it was really difficult to concentrate on all of the meetings.

So much for the well-placed naps.

But another day at home was just was I needed. By the time the afternoon rolled around, I was feeling much better, the congestion diminished, and both lungs stayed put. However, word has it that one or more stomach viruses are making their way around work. I'm hoping beyond hope that they stay away from me!

So, tomorrow will be back to normal and my blogging will drop precipitously again. The plan will be to have pictures for the weekend's post.

A bientot!

Retribution

I was feeling a bit smug about having dodged all the plagues that were dropping folks like flies last winter. I got nary a cold. My immune system rocks!

I'm not feeling so smug now. On Wednesday, I had a little bit of a headache and just a hint of scratchy throat. So I started the megadoses of Vitamin C, l-lysine, and zinc. I took the precaution of working from home Thursday and Friday so as to not infect my team. Thursday was a little worse than Wednesday and by the time Friday night came along, I was feeling a bit rough. That was nothing compared to Saturday.

I woke up Saturday with sinuses that felt like they were filled full of yucky stuff, my teeth hurt, I was cold and hot, and had a 100 degree fever. My throat still hurt and I was much more congested. This state of health was quite inconvenient because my nephew came up to visit for the weekend. I had visions of us touring Oatlands Plantation, the new Air and Space Museum and participating in witty and engaging conversation. I was lucky enough to be able to drag myself out of bed, make pancakes for Daniel, then head to the farmers market to get some of Chef Eloy's extra hot salsa for Tom. After we got back, Daniel and I laid in the sun on the deck and took a nap. Given that the temperature yesterday was 73 degrees, how could I not pass up the opportunity to make like a very large, somnolent cat? Later we had lunch and then spent the afternoon and evening watching football games.

I felt much better today, but Daniel had to leave to head down to college. Oh, well...

Knitting Progress
I actually did get some knitting done. I knit another two rows on the Jenna sweater and worked on Tom's scarf. However, I need to rip what I did since I forgot about the seed stitch border. Duh...friends (or husbands) shouldn't let friends (or wives) knit while sick.

Hopefully, I'll be able to show you some pictures later this week. Or at the very latest, over the weekend.

Stay healthy!

Resolutions Are Made To Be Broken

One of my New Year's resolutions was to blog more frequently and provide more pictures. In order to provide more pictures, that means I'd have to get my knit on more than I have.

I'm failing miserably.

I've almost finished one pattern repeat for the back of the Jenna sweater. That's a mere 20 rows. The back is supposed to measure about 16 inches. 20 rows is a measly two inches. At the rate of two to three rows per hour, I figure that I've got another 50 hours or so before the back is completed. Of course, my knitting speed will increase after we take down the Christmas tree because I won't be distracting Emma from chewing on the lights or swatting at the ornaments.

Tom's scarf is coming along quite nicely. I'm using Skacel's Divine, which is named appropriately. This yarn is a blend of baby alpaca, cashmere, and silk. Yum! The only problem is the winter weather, or lack thereof. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70s! I have a suspicion that the scarf won't get worn this year.

All sock knitting has ceased in order to complete the sweaters and scarf. And two of my Christmas gifts are trying their utmost to distract me. Tom gave me Knitting Vintage Socks: New Twists on Classic Patterns. It's a fascinating book and the sock patterns are all lovely and most are knit on small needles, mostly size 1. Sadly, knitting socks from that book will have to wait until my other socks are complete.

The other knitting book that Tom gave me is Traditional Fair Isle Knitting. This book is a bit scholarly, but is very readable. It would have been nice if there were more color photos but it is what it is. It's still inspiring. I didn't know that traditional Fair Isle was always knit in the round. It makes perfect sense, though, because you can see the pattern develop. Flat stranded knitting is oh so painful!

Weekend Activities
Sadly, there won't be much knitting this weekend. My nephew will be visiting, which more than makes up for the lack of knitting. He turned 21 yesterday and is an amazing young man. He's studying biology at Virginia Tech and his GPA last semester was 3.97. His class load included organic chemistry, cell and molecular biology, and physics. I've never made it through a Chem 101 class. I'm very, very proud of him.

Have a wonderful weekend! Knit on, friends.

Long Time, No Blog

Well, it seems that I fell off the face of the Earth in December. Even though December happens every year, I always am caught unawares by it. For some reason, this December was worse than Decembers past.

The Christmas shopping didn't commence until the week before Christmas; I did most of the Saturday before. There was Christmas knitting and Christmas knitting that was started way back in May. Was it completed in time? Nope. I did, however, finish a sleeve and I took that down to my parents' for Christmas. My little niece (age four) was entranced: "Look, it's my sleeve!" Given that the girls are growing so fast and my progress on the sweaters is proceeding more slowly than a snail moves in the snow, I took measurements again to make sure that I didn't have to go up a size. I needn't have worried...Debbie Bliss sizes her garments so generously that I could probably get the both of them in one of the sweaters this time next year.

The other Christmas knitting was a scarf for Tom. This project was the early morning stealth knitting about two weeks before Christmas. I got up early Christmas morning, nicely arranged the scarf in a box (still on the needles and complete with the extra ball of yarn), wrapped it, and put it under the tree. Tom's reaction when he opened it: "I got a knitting project!" I was hoping that that would pique his interest in learning to knit, but no luck there.

Social obligations have also been a bit heavy this month, which took me unawares since December started with nary an invitation. By mid-month, we were pretty busy. And it looks like the partying is going to continue through mid-January. A New's Year Eve dinner party tonight, the nephew visiting next weekend, my company holiday party the following weekend, and the project holiday party that Wednesday. Sheesh! A serious diet and exercise program is going to be in order soon as the weight is creeping back on.

Emma is doing quite well and is quite the queen of the household. She has learned that the kitchen counters are an easy jump and it's been a challenge to keep her off. We've switched her to a raw food diet and she absolutely loves it. I'm not making it myself, but am using Aunt Jeni's Homemade 4 Life. To read more about a raw food diet for cats, click here. After losing Jezebel to cancer on Labor Day, I've decided to go with a natural and holistic approach to cat care. We're very fortunate to have a veterinarian in the area who does acupuncture and is in the process of becoming certified in veterinary homeopathy.

Another activity that is cutting into my blogging and knitting time is running. Tom has been running with the Loudoun Roadrunners on weekend mornings. In an attempt to get back into some semblance of shape (and see if my ITB problem has resolved itself), I'm joining them. At first, it was only on Sundays. Now it's both days. The runs through rural Loudoun County are gorgeous, not to mention challenging. The real time killer, though, is going for post-run coffee. By the time we get home and cleaned up, it's after noon. And I usually forget (gasp!) to take my knitting. Henceforth, my knitting will go with me on runs and I'll boldly knit in public, and proudly.

New Year's Resolutions? I'll reserve that topic for tomorrow's post. Suffice it to say that one of them will involve being a more frequent blogger!




May the New Year hold good health, happiness, prosperity, and lots of fibery goodness for you!

A Strange Week

This has been a very strange week for me. I worked from home on Monday because we had to go to Baltimore for my grandmother's viewing that evening. We met my parents at the home of their longtime friends, the Henschens', then went for an early dinner to The Bowman. The food was decent, and the experience was definitely "Bal'imer," complete with the hostess calling folks "Hon" as she seated them. Tom had the sour beef and dumplings (known elsewhere as sauerbraten) and I had the grouper Italiano. I think the best dish was Mom's Roughy St. Michael. It was good to see Mr. Bob and his wife Sue again, and to hear Dad and Mr. Bob's stories of when they were in the Navy together (back in the '50s). Then it was off to the viewing.

I was pretty nervous about the whole viewing and funeral thing. I don't handle grief well and I tend to absorb everyone else's grief as if it were my own. But I must say I did rather well. My grandmother had a lot of friends and even the children of her friends came out, as well as relatives. Even my mother's childhood Sunday school teacher stopped by, with members of the Order of the Eastern Star, who did a nice service.

The funeral was Tuesday afternoon, and most of the people who came to the viewing attended the funeral. Grandma had always requested that Pastor Yost, her favorite pastor, officiate at her funeral and he did. He told stories of her working the church suppers and how she liked to tease him. It occurred to me, then, that I really didn't know my grandmother well at all. My grandfather died in mid-'60s and she was always very sad after that, especially at holidays, which is when we saw her. So my most prominent memories are of a very sad grandmother, not a fun-loving grandmother. It was so good for me to hear stories of Grandma from people who knew her better than me. I wish I had taken the time to go beyond what I saw and get to know my grandmother better.

It was sad, too, knowing that the next time I see most of these people again will be at their own funeral, as everyone is getting up there in years.

There wasn't a gathering after the funeral, but Mom's friend Miss Beanie suggested that we go out to lunch at the Olive Garden (which in my opinion, isn't that good). Unfortunately, the Olive Garden doesn't have crabcakes, which I was craving. Donna (Miss Beanie's sister) suggested Pappas. We all ordered the crab cake platter and I think it was the best crab cake I've ever had. It was full of backfin, and very little filler. It was lightly seasoned so the crab wasn't overwhelmed. So, if you find yourself in Bal'imer and craving a crab cake, head over to Pappas. You won't be disappointed!

So what was strange about the week? It was the meeting of two cultures, I guess, that of mourning, and that of normalcy. I felt that my perspective shifted during the viewing and funeral. It didn't shift a lot, but enough to throw me off for the remainder of the week. I think I'm back now, but still have that lagging behind feeling.

Emma Update
Emma has fully integrated into our household and now has run of the entire house. She has discovered the bed and the large, warm cat toys (us) that inhabit it every night. Needless to say, we haven't gotten very good sleep. When she isn't pouncing on us, she's trying to sleep between the pillows, which greatly bothers Tom. So I'm sleeping very lightly in an attempt to keep her away from Tom. It's not working very well. And there are times when I have to banish her from the bedroom because she gets too riled up.

Tom broached the subject of getting another cat last night, to be a companion for Emma. He thinks she's lonely. I'm not so sure about that. How does one tell if a cat is craving companionship?

Knitting News
There's not much to report here. I made some progress on the Spirit Trail sock on the drives back and forth to Baltimore and have only a short length to go before I start the toe decreases. I have not touched either of the girls' sweaters and can officially declare myself screwed for completing these by Christmas. I might be able to finish them if I knit 12 hours a day for each day remaining in December. Henceforth, I will knit only on the sweaters and one other Christmas present. I will knit on one sweater every morning, the other Christmas present at lunch, and the other sweater every evening. And if I'm really, really lucky, I might complete one sleeve for each sweater by Christmas morning.

Yawn...

I spent a large part of yesterday learning all about the pros and cons of sole proprietorships and limited liability companies. I also spent a large part of the day trying to get my head around the intricacies of writing a business plan. While an essential part of starting a business, it's also mind bending.

For example, you have to talk about the purpose of the business. For a yarn shop, that's easy, right? Clearly, the purpose is to sell yarn. End of story. But that doesn't make for good reading, so you have to come up with a plot, a very concise plot. Who, where, what, when, how, why, and how much. Who is the target market...um..fiber enthusiasts? Who are they? Women between the ages of 23 and 80? What about men? What about the amazing young girls (and boys) who knit? Where? I dunno...I don't have shop yet. Historic downtown Leesburg. What? Yarn. What kind? Yikes! There's a million types. How do I choose?! Ummm...how about natural fibers?

And that's answering questions about the stuff I think I know. Legal structure? Ummm...sole proprietorship or limited liability company? (I really like the limited liability part; I don't want to lose our retirement because someone who has a cat phobia was terrorized by the sleeping shop cat and sued the daylights out of me.) Financials: cash flow, break even analysis, balance sheet...yikes!

I knew that writing a business plan would not be easy. I did not anticipate writing five sentences in four hours. But thank goodness for the internet and Google. There's a ton of good information to be had.

There's another reason why I found the business plan to be rough going:



Needless to say, very little knitting and housecleaning was accomplished yesterday. The Christmas knitting is sitting, forlorn and neglected, in my workroom. The sock is getting slightly more attention, but spends the majority of its life confined in the dark recesses of the knitting bag. And so it will continue. The remainder of the day will be spent cleaning, laundering, grocery shopping and cooking.

Then, perhaps, I'll be able to knit (or write a business plan) with a clear mind.

Giving Thanks

I don't normally "celebrate" holidays on my blog, but this year, I'm feeling the need. There is so much to be thankful for:

• My family


• My husband


• My health


• My friends


• My job


• My co-workers, past and present


• My community


• The freedom that comes from living in this country

I'm not one to wave the American flag and recently I've been appalled at what the current Administration is doing to this country's reputation. But despite that, we still have a lot of freedom and latitude to do whatever we want in terms of education and career. There are western countries where you choose your lifetime career in high school. If you want to change it later, you're considered to be somewhat crazy. I'm very thankful that I've got the opportunity to change careers if I want and when I want, no matter how young or old I am. And to have the support of my family and friends is so wonderful.

I hope that you took the opportunity this Thanksgiving to reflect on those things which mean the most to you.

Happy Thanksgiving!