Rip it up

This weekend was going to be a weekend of finishing. It was also going to the weekend when the Cubs pulled through an amazing comeback. Neither happened, not really. I did finish the third Widdershin sock, and I must say, I'm glad I knitted a third sock in this pattern. I have a full pair again and a better understanding of the toe-up sock construction. Plus, knitting one sock instead of two is super fast and was good for my ego (look, ma! a pair of socks in just two weeks).

After casting off the Widdershin and weaving in the ins, a black dark cloud appear on the horizon. The Cubs began to complete blow their post season series, then, I finished knitting the Green Gables sweater and it looked extremely small. I tried it on and the sweater was more of a crop top, stretched to its capacity. I flung it off in disgust and frogged the damn thing. I hunted desperately for a new pattern, just so I could say I completed the Green Gables, but nothing really spoke to me for this particular yarn. I gave myself the chance to settle down and later that night, while reveling in Little Clover's stellar soccer wins (He scored 4 of his teams 7 goals across two games), I poured myself some wine and casted on. This sweater better be comfy.

From Irish Clover

i love you period

Since Wednesday was National Punctuation Day and I completely missed the opportunity to celebrate it, I felt like a failed English major and wanted to make amends by providing a bit of work without punctuation. Behold! A poem by e.e. cummings.

when god lets my body be
by e e cummings

when god lets my body be

From each brave eye shall sprout a tree
fruit dangles therefrom

the purpled world will dance upon
Between my lips which did sing

a rose shall beget the spring
that maidens whom passions wastes

will lay between their little breasts
My strong fingers beneath the snow

Into strenous birds shall go
my love walking in the grass

their wings will touch with their face
and all the while shall my heart be

With the bulge and nuzzle of the sea

(The Literature geek in me loves e.e. cummings)

I'm not exactly sure when my love for words and art and design took hold, but at some point in my life it did. I can think of few better examples of the combination of these three elements than Italian's subscriptions to Popular Woodworking and Woodworking. When these magazines are delivered, it's usually a bit of a mad dash to see who can get it first. He likes the pictures, I want it for the articles.

These two magazines share an editorial staff and a common style. The writing is eloquent, their designs are timeless, and their approach focuses on quality. These same characteristics used to be present in what was once my favorite knitting magazine, but which, sadly is becoming less and less enjoyable. Interweave Knits has undergone a layout change and although it still has many very nice patterns, I'm not sure I like the new direction. The new layout seems to focus more on fashion and themes without articles to support themes or techniques. There is already a knitting magazine on the market with a focus on fashion and if I wanted that, I would subscribe to the competitor. Instead, when I began knitting again, I chose Interweave Knits because it seemed to focused on the knitting, the techniques, the designs, the craft. It was a smart knitters' magazine which made knitters smarter in their craft. The patterns seemed to support a knitters journey as well through the craft with great articles on technique and history.

This direction and focus on the craft is waning, being replace by what seems to be a focus on clothing. If I wanted a fashion magazine, I'd subscribe to one. What I want is a knitting magazine that will advance me as a knitter and provide me with years of classic timeless well made designs and technical articles that will make me better at what I do.

Today's blog title is the song "I love you period" by Dan Baird

Saturday in the Park

Every year, my town's historic commission holds a heritage day at one of the oldest brick houses in the town. The historic John Gray house, built in the very early 1800s, is opened to the public for guided tours and demonstrations and booths are set up. A lady sat and tatted, a gentleman cooked outside in a Dutch Oven, a storyteller was on site to entertain the children, and I demonstrated spinning. Quite a few people had never seen anyone spin before. I think I was just as shocked by their reaction to the spinning encounters as they were with having one. Several people of all ages were just amazed to see a spinning wheel. Some people had no idea what I was doing at all nor what I was making. When asked what I was doing and what I do with what I make, they were just as surprised to hear I knit. I think most people just assumed I would weave with the "thread" (as they called it) and were a bit befuddled when I said I knit.

From Irish Clover

One of the best reactions I received was from a little boy who was close to Little Clover's age. He was walking by all the demonstrators with a definite purpose in his stride and without sparing them a glance. He walked right by me, stopped, walked backwards to me, stopped, watched me for just a few seconds, and then exclaimed, "Oh, now that is just too cool!" Then, he kept on walking. I had to chuckle at his pronouncing spinning as "cool." Spending my Saturday afternoon spinning in a park was definitely a pretty cool way to pass the time.

Knitting progress was not lost this weekend with the focus on spinning. Although, I did tuck away the Widdershin Sock and the Green Gable sweater. Instead, a knitted iPod sock received my attention. It's to keep my new toy nice and warm.

From Irish Clover

Nano 4th Gen Sock
Irish Clover Design
Yarn: Left over sock yarn
Needles: 1.75 mm (US size 00)
Gauge: I didn't knit a swatch, it would have taken longer than the sock

Cast on 40 stitches (I used the long tail cast on) and distribute evenly across 4 needles. Join for knitting in the round.

The basic
Rib
*Knit 1, purl 1* repeat across all stitches until sock is 4.5 inches (11.5 cm) long. After completing the last round, distribute the stitches across 2 needles, with 20 stiches on each needle. Using Kitchner stitch, join all stitches together and weave in the ends.

The cable
Rib
*Knit 1, purl 1* repeat across all stitches until 4 rows of ribbing are complete.

Cable Rows
Round 1-4: Knit 2, purl 2, repeat
Round 5: *Knit 2 together, but do not slip off any stitches. Knit into the back leg of the second stitch on the left hand needle (part of the knit two together). Now slip off both stitches. Purl 2* repeat to end of round.

Repeat rounds 1-5 until the sock is 4.5 inches (11.5 cm) long. After completing the last round, distribute the stitches across 2 needles, with 20 stiches on each needle. Using Kitchner stitch, join all stitches together and weave in the ends.

From Irish Clover

(Oh, and the iPod, it rocks. The slim design takes a bit of getting used to, but it is sleek and compact. The video resolution is quite remarkable and the shake to shuffle feature is truly pretty cool.)

Cowboys and Pirates

Let's face it. Show progress on miles of stockingnette just isn't exciting, especially when progress is slow. I've only been able to knit a few rounds a day on the sweater and not much more on the sock, so today, you will have cowboys and pirates.

Little Clover began horseback riding lessons this week. His joy poured out in the form of unending chatting and the desperate need for cowboys boots and a hat. I took him shopping. He settled on a pair of black boots with a little bit of gold on the toe. He donned them with a swagger and walked about the store, completely enamored with the look.

From Horse

When it was time for his actual lesson Wednesday, I heard he loved it. He learned the names of the equipment used and helped get the horse reading for riding. Then he learned the basics of riding. Finally, his lesson ended with washing the horse. He's the cutest cowboy I've ever seen.

From Horse

And how do pirates fit in? Well, because today is Talk like a pirate day! So pull out your eye patch, matey, poor a glass of grog, and dust of ye parrot. I bring to ye a few lines of pleasure from the smallest mate, Li'l Clover.

What do pirates do when they are together?
They arrrrrrgue.

What's a pirates favorite thing in the sky?
Starrrrrs.

And one final bit o' fun from the Capt Xavier Guy of the Flagship Scion
A pirate walks into a bar. He has an eye patch, a pirate hat, a parrot on his shoulder and a steering wheel hanging from the zipper of his pants. He goes to the bartender and orders a pint of the finest ale. The bartender pours the pint, hands it to the pirate, stares at the steering wheel before finally saying, "I have to ask, what's with the wheel?" The pirate looks at the bartender and replies, "Argh, that. Well, that be driving me nuts."

Happy talk like a pirate day!

Homeward bound

This weekend, I went home for a much needed trip. I haven't seen my family in a long time and the drive across the state would be good for the soul. I love road trips. Of course, being on a trip means packing knitting. My creativity hasn't fully recharged yet from the brain numbing weeks at work, so nothing but miles of stockingnette are on my needles. I'm knitting a replacement sock for the one Widdershin I've lost. I have no idea where the missing sock could be, but I'm sure the washing machine ate it. I just hope the washer doesn't develop a taste for handknits. I've dubbed the project Widdershins III because it is a third sock. At least I don't have to worry about second (fourth?) sock syndrome.

From Irish Clover

A lovely mostly stockingnette Green Gable nestled into my knitting bag next to the Widdershin III. I'm knitting it in a luscious Malibrigo silk and wool blend which my LYS scored before the awful Malibrigo warehouse fire. This is my first experience with Maligrigo and it is yummy. I can't wait to wear this ultra tangible yarn.

From Irish Clover

All the stockingnette must have been what my knitting soul needed. By the end of the trip, as I drove home, my thoughts began to turn to lace. The simple knitting and the trip home was just what I needed.

Home. What a simple word, yet, still slightly complicated. As I prepared for the trip, the idea of going home struck me as extremely odd. Here I am a woman in my 30s with a family and a full time job who has lived in the same city for the last 14 years; and I was excited about going "home," to the place where I grew up. I have officially lived longer in my current city in the delta than the place where I went to grade school and high school, yet the city where I was small will always be home. What struck me even more was the realization that Little Clover will probably always call the delta home and this is one of many ways in which his differences as an individual is obvious. He will hold a fondness for our town I could never have. Our thoughts of home, in regards to a place, will be somewhat out of sync.

Fortunately, I think memories filling our homes will be more closely aligned. We had one of those nights last night that will dwell in my memory at least. Our evening as a family consisted of Italian and Little Clover playing for a while, then us sitting down to dinner together. We told stories of our weekend and exchanged jokes and banter as we shared our meal. Then, as the evening drew to a close, Italian and I shared an a few moments with a new Nina Simone cd, some wine, and some dancing. These simple ordinary events really are what define a home.

Knock knock

From Irish Clover

I love joke books for little people. Really I do. We just spent this evening reading listening to Little Clover read us jokes as Italian and I laughed and inhaled sushi in our mirth. As we listened to jokes told to us by a 9 year old, I couldn't help but think "these jokes are great for explaining grammar mistakes and philosophical fallacies" (because I am that big of a nerd). Yes, it was good times at dinner tonight.

The humor at dinner was much needed after the last couple of weeks. It is good to finally be out of the woods of sickness and work, and I plan on making the most of it with the family, jokes and all. I started making amends to Italian and Little Clover this weekend. Because Little Clover's birthday was not celebrated in a manor that is proper for children, I promised him we'd celebrate all of September. We kicked things off with a hibachi dinner Friday. Since our trip to Japan in Epcot, Little Clover has decided hibachi restaurants are the best. Then Saturday, we went to our annual town festival. This one of the highlights of Little Clover's year. He even has a bit of a routine whenever we go. We have to stop and try out the rubber band guns. Then, he stays in the petting zoo for 40 minutes while Italian and I sip a cool beer.

From Irish Clover

Then, it is off to the inflatable rides and games. I tried out the rock wall.

From Irish Clover

The weather remained sunny and beautiful and it wasn't too hot to be out for a festival. Italian and I even rode our bikes to the festival the next day. Although we missed the annual "Running of the Weenies" weiner dog race, we still managed to have a good time eating festival food and scoping out the vendors.

After the rest and relaxation, the knitting even came out to spend some time with me. I didn't realize just how close I was to finishing the Shaped Tee. It only needed some seaming before it ceased to be knitting and became a sweater.

From Irish Clover

Pattern: Shaped Tee from Knitting Lingerie Style; also know as Krista on White Lies Design
Notes: This was the oddest pattern I've ever knitted, but not because of construction or even the pattern instructions. Overall, the pattern itself is very easy to follow and quite pretty. The oddity of it lays in the sizing. I originally began by casting on the number of stitches required for the 38 in finished sweater. After knitting well past the armholes of the back, I held up the sweater to my frame and realized my instinct was correct, there was no way this sucker was going to fit around my back. I laid it back down and measured across the knitted to piece to discover it was 14 inches across way too small for a 38 inch size.

The back was frogged and promptly reknitted two sizes up. After finishing the back, I decided I didn't like the armhole instructions for the size I was knitting, so I knitted the armholes for the medium size. Then, ripped back the back to the armholes to reknit it to match the front. Then I ripped the sleeves for the two smallest sizes. So I guess I knitted a small-medium-extra large top. At least it looks nice.

Hello? Is there anybody out there

Dear readers who are left after my long hiatus,

I am very sorry for the long silence. Life has gotten the best of me the last few weeks. Work has consumed much of my life which is odd because when I first became gainfully employed as a college graduate, I vowed never to work long hours and to keep time at home strictly my own. Oh, how things have changed, especially when you enjoy (for the most part) your job, work for a company who does good (for the most), you feel as if you are making a difference in the lives of people (generally for the good), and you have probably the best boss ever (I sincerely mean this). So what are long days? Nine to ten hours in the office, plus an additional two to four at home on weekdays and working a few hours on weekends and holidays. Other than a brief three hour time period while traveling, I have not knitted Since August 20. There is an upside to all this working, my family really misses me (and the job I do at home, you should see how much laundry has piled up).

To add insult to injury, a bout of bronchitis hit me and stayed relatively mild, until Little Clover's birthday when my body had enough and forced me to rest and stop working. This meant though that I missed my baby's birthday since laying woefully on a sofa with a high degree fever hardly constitutes "being involved." The bronchitis was bad enough for me to let my mother-in-law clean my house, to which I am very grateful!

Now, this is the part where the blog begins to sound like a country western song, oddly appropriate seeing as I am from Tennessee. Spot, our wonderful family yellow lab was discovered to be infected with heartworm and had to stay in the doggie hospital for a couple of nights while getting treatment. We were all very worried about our poor Spot and a few tears were shed. I was especially worried about the state he would be in when we picked him. Let me tell you that if I ever have to undergo treatment involve toxic chemicals being forced into my body, I hope I leave the treatment with as much joy and energy as Spot did. He's home and doing great.

In case you may be wondering if anything good happened while the blog was silent, there was sunshine in Clover Fields the past couple of weeks. For starters, we took some time out to celebrate my birthday with beer, bbq, and baseball.

From Irish Clover

I got some tickets for our local baseball team from work and some friends and family gathered for a small little celebration. It was grand.

Then, there was Little Clover's birthday. He's getting old now. This is his last year in single digits and I must admit I'm heartbreaken about it. He's a different kid this year. He is confident and decisive and collective. He has a grasp on life and has seized it with zest and joy. He's laugh is richer with the experience of his last eight years. He is blossoming into his own person and has begun challenging me with logic and arguments. I love it! He brings me to task when he disagree and he is armed with facts. You can sometimes find us both on Google researching our positions on very important matters of contention such as the ages of the Jonas Brothers. He loves his school and teacher and there is no hint of the math anxiety that was once present. In fact, he claims he is a math whiz, and he is right. He is become him and it is an amazing thing to watch. I told him that since I was miserably missing from his birthday this week, we would make September and entire celebration to him, so watch for the fun. Thanks to all those who have stuck with me. I appreciate you more than you can know. Oh, and I promise, there will be knitting.

Random

Today's post will be a compilation of random thougths.

First random thought:
As Fay rains down on the Sunshine State of Florida, the weather she brings is slowing making it's way north and has hit the Delta. The days have been gray and cool with lots of rain and small occasional pockets of sunshine. To cope, I have a secret weapon at work. My work office is located across the street from the main building where they keep the Starbucks. I love having a cup of coffee in the afternoon, but the rain hinders my desire to run across the street, so I keep coffee at my desk and this:


A nice mini French press. It is a lifesaver. I've had it for a few months and bought it on pressured impulse. I say "pressured impulse" because I loved it the moment I saw it but wouldn't buy it because I didn't need it. After staring it during multiple visits to the local Starbucks, Italian finally told me to just go ahead and buy the damn thing. I'm glad he did! I've used it several times at work and it's been a great little pick me on gray days. It's even been a little pick me up for coworkers who have stopped by for a much needed break.

Where the mini French press has helped me cope at work, my knitting has often been a coping mechanism outside of work. The watermelon socks helped me cope with long lines at Disney and the Shaped Tee helped with the flight. Sometimes, though, the knitting backfires, like when you realize the armhole shaping in the Shaped Tee is just too deep and really needs to be ripped out and reknitted, which is what I did.


I may have lost some progress, but at least the shirt should fit a bit better when it is finally finished. As for finishing, I did finish the front, as well as a pair of socks.


Pattern: Diagonal Cross Rib from Favorite Socks
Needles: Knit Picks US size 0 (which I still do not like because of the weight.
Yarn: Custom dyed sock yarn in the colorway Watermelon
Notes: This yarn has gotten the most comments from people, both knitters and no-knitters. It's fun to knit because the yarn is just too cute and looks like watermelons. It also reminds people of Christmas. The pattern is quite easy to follow and makes a nice comfy sock. The pattern works well with striping yarn as well.

Always with me

No pictures today, but just a few thoughts. Little Clover and I talked a bit about my mom. Today is the anniversary of her death, and he asked me if I miss her. I told him that I do miss her. He also asked if I ever forget her. I asked him what he meant and he asked if I ever not think about her. This was an interesting question to me because it made me wonder how much I'm on his mind. I told him that yes, sometimes I don't think about her, but I still love her and she's always in my heart, and with each passing year, I'm less and less sad on this day. We kept our tradition of eating Korean today and made a toast to her. Little Clover and I talked about her while eating ice cream on a beautiful sunny day. I saw her in every patch of clover I passed and a small sprinkling of rain brought thoughts of rainbows. Even though today is a reminder she is gone, she's always present. I miss you, Mom.

And we're back

We are home and we hated leaving Disney World. We've been to Disney before and had wonderful times then, but this trip was just a tad bit different. Little Clover is in one of those in-between ages. He isn't a little kid anymore, but he isn't completely a big kid yet either. Sure we did the big kid rides like Big Thunder Mountain and the Primeval Whirl. We even went on a water coaster at Typhoon Lagoon, which is essentially a super charged water slide that you go down, and up. We still went on the little kid rides, too, like "It's a Small World" and the Animal Kingdom equivalent of the Dumbo ride. There were a few times when I even felt this little hand slide into mine while walking. I doubt I'll have many more moments of these with Little Clover, so I cherished each one with him this past week.



One of the best parts of Disney with this particular little person is visiting his favorite park, Epcot. Yep, my kid loves Epcot above all the others. He likes to walk around each country. He especially loves to eat the foods of each country. We sampled Japanese cuisine twice. The first night consistent of a little hibachi dinner,


where Little Clover displayed his mad chopstick skills.



The second trip to Japan consisted of a visit to the sushi bar where Little Clover order his usually: a seaweed salad and an order of flying fish roe sushi. The nights in Japan were the only times when he didn't eat Mac 'n Cheese or hot dogs.

A couple of nights later, we feasted in Germany while listening to a traditional band. Little Clover tested out his flirting skills with the older girls at our table. He got a few laughs telling them about how I almost stepped on a snake that morning and completely freaked out. I maintain the snake was huge and at least 10 feet long. Little Clover and Italian swear it was under 10 inches, but they weren't the ones who almost stepped on it. At least it gave Little Clover a great story to retell.

We also had the pleasure of visiting Norway were we spotted Dale of Norway sweaters. I've got to get one of these patterns. The shop had the Peace pattern from the 1994 Olympics and it was beautiful. One day, I'll be able to knit a beautiful Dale pattern.

Speaking of sweaters, did you know Disney World has sheep?

It was like a mini sheep and wool festival.

And in case you think I didn't knit a bit, let me tell you, you can get a lot of knitting done while waiting in line for rides. When we left for Disney, I had just turned the heel of the second sock and picked up stitches for the gusset. After waiting for buses and in several lines, I managed to knock out a good chunk of the foot.

I made the most progress while waiting in line for one ride for 2 hours. Yes, 2 hours was spent winding my way through a throng of people to go on a 6 minute ride and it was totally worth it. What was the ride? The new Toy Story Mania, and yes, it was worth the 2 hour wait. We had a blast and it was one of our favorite attractions.

As with all good things, the vacation came to end. I plowed my way through the front of the Shaped Tee on the plane.

Normally, I'd have plenty of time left to finish the top and wear it this season, but the weather has been oddly cool. Maybe I can layer it under a cute cardigan. (Guess I'm knitting a cardigan next).

Cool weather always makes me think of fall, as does the start of another school year. Today, Little Clover officially became a fourth grader. This is the last year of elementary school and I tried my best not to cry a single tear. I almost made it, too.

Happy first day of school, Little Guy. May you have a year of happy memories ahead of you.

May the force be with you

All the hoopla from the previous post was after a two hour detour to Tampa :) This has been an adventurous trip.

Vacation continues

In April, I booked a one week vacation to Disney World, staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in a room overlooking the savannah. Little clover loves animals, so this seemed to be the perfect place to stay. We left Friday and after a slight two hour unplanned detour to Tampa, our plane landed late in Orlando. I went to check into Disney and hop on the first of many Disney buses for the week, only to discover that our travel agent booked us for the wrong month. This vacation was turning into quite an adventure. A couple of hours later, between the efforts of Disney, the travel agency, and myself, we had a place to stay, we were still on property, and we could stay in the same room the entire week. We're in fact, at one of our favorite places, Fort Wilderness. So far, the rest of our vacation has been wonderful. More to come later!J

Finally

Hi! You've reached the Irishclover blog. The blog may be a bit skimpy on post and photos for a bit because we are finally on vacation; and not just in a "wow, it's been a long time" kind of way. It is more of a "after everything we finally made it."

Post mobile

Existing blog is irishcloverknits.blogspot.com. I would like to post to this from my mobile.

Three years later

I wasn't completely useless while Little Clover was gone. My spinning flourished and is becoming more consistent. There is still room for improvement, but I'm becoming happier with my singles. I also finally finished a tank top I began three years ago. I have no idea if I'll ever wear it, but I'm glad to finally have the project finished.

Why did it take three years to finish a tank top? Because I only knit it when I was at a beach. It began as a beach project three summers ago, when I had just picked up the needles again. The yarn was a synthetic ribbon and seemed perfectly capable of enduring sand, sun, and water. I casted on a few weeks before the trip so I would be in a good spot for knitting in the car, which I did. I knitted on the beach. I knitted on the ride home. Looking back, I must have been a very slow knitter back then. I packed away the project, not knowing the term "UFO" at the time, until a year later, when we went back to the beach. Out came the tank again, and away it went when we arrived home. I repeated this for two more trips to sandy areas, having expanded my definition of "the beach" and finally finished the knitting part on our last trip to the cabin. All that was left was the seam of two straps and the weaving of ends. Now, it's really ready for a beach trip.


Pattern: Ribbon X back tank Knitty from Spring 20005
Yarn: Tahki Stacy Lily Ribbon yarn
Notes: Overall, the pattern is super easy and very easy to put down and pick up at random.

Now, I'm focused on finishing up one more top before summer's end.

While you were out

I discovered this week while the baby was in Disney World that I am an incredible sap and extremely boring. I ended up crying one more time mid week because I missed Little Clover terribly. Italian and I did manage to keep ourselves entertained. We cooked late night dinners, ate out once, played a full tennis match, and had dinner at The Engineer's. Then, Saturday came along, and I discovered I'm really, really boring.

Italian had to work a bit and had also made plans for some man time in the early afternoon. I pretty much had the entire day to myself, and was excited at the prospect of doing laundry. Lucky, I stopped myself before it was too late. I then had to intervene again when the thought, "I could finally get the house cleaned up" popped into my head. I grabbed my yarn and iPod and sat down to knit. I spent the afternoon, knitting, spinning some yarn, and reading. I am boring and lazy. Here I was all alone on a Saturday afternoon and all I could think of doing was laundry, cleaning, or finally settling on reading and knitting while plopped down in a comfy chair. I liked being lazy and boring. After a few hours of boring bliss, a little spark went off. I could go get a pedicure and manicure and no one would miss me. So I did. I hoped on my bike and peddled to the nail salon to pretty up my toes. I then further redeemed myself by taking my knitting out to a baseball game that night where we watched the home team blow a 7 run lead in the ninth inning. At least the beer was cold.



Italian noted we should do just fine when Little Clover leaves for college, and I think he's right. Between baseball games, movies, long conversations during dinner, and boring knitting, we'll find a way to manage.

All grown up

with someplace to go.

That's my little guy this week. He decided last minute to pack up and accept his grandparents' offer to go to Disney World and left Sunday. I've only cried twice, which is a huge accomplishment for me. I think I'm getting better. He's having a grand time on vacation and is telling us all about the rides he's tried and the food and driving. From what I hear, Little Clover has been driving a go cart. He's growing up way to fast.

While he's been gone, I've been finishing up my last week of Lean Sigma training. This means a couple of late nights at work and a fierce competition. I'm really only getting this training for the trophy. Outside of work, I've finished one of my watermelon socks and made some significant progress on my second attempt at the Shaped Tee from Knitting Lingerie Style. My first attempt at the silk tee end woefully when I tried to stretch the front across my front. I casted on the required number of stitches for the 38 inch size. The front was supposed to measure 19 inches across, but only came out to be 14 inches across. I have no idea what happened, so I'm knitting two sizes up and will see what happens.


I've also been staying up late reading "First Among Sequels" which is fantastic, just like all the other books in the Thursday Next series. The book hit the I-can't-put-it-down phase this weekend and enjoyed each word. Fforde is a witty and brillant author who has done an excellent job bring the classics and a character to life.

Now I just have to figure out what to read next to keep my mind off missing my little guy.

Cow-a-bunga

I took a rare and much needed lunch break Thursday and actually left my office complex. It was liberating and exciting and I even got to spend it with Italian as a little mini date. I was happy for the chance to be out and about until I passed a bank with a nice screen displaying the temperature outside. 104 F (40 C). That's really hot, people. The humidity has been down though, hovering around 35%, which is good for the Delta. Rumors are flying around the office warning people to expect humidity in the upper 80%. That's hot and muggy, people. Oppressive temperature like this makes me wonder yet again why I live in the Delta. Fortunately, I got a bit of a morale boost this week in the form of cow.

I am lucky enough to live close to a hormone and antibiotic free, pasture raised, grass fed cattle farm who delivers. They dropped off our quarter of a cow this past Monday and we celebrated by having local steak for dinner accompanied by potatoes from Mr. Soprano's garden. Opting to try pure steak, Italian simply gave the steaks a sprinkle of salt and pepper with a little bit of olive oil. They were then grilled to medium well, a bit over cooked for our taste, but amazingly good. Most steaks I've had cooked to medium well doneness tend to be bland and lacking in flavor, but not these steaks. They smelled like cow and tasted like what one imagines steak to taste like. I know, this is the oddest and most non descript way of describing these steaks, but they tasted like steak, real steak! To celebrate our cow delivery day, we served Chimney Rock wine with the meal and savored every bite of our locally made meal.

Orginially, I had planned on starting the Bayerische Sock in Trekking Pro Natura wool/bamboo yarn as soon as I finished the Uptown Boot Socks, but the Watermelon yarn was just way too fun to pass up. Besides, I needed some relativelly mindless knitting for the Fourth of July weekend. Wine and Bayerische just didn't seem like they would mix well. Flipping through Favorite Socks, the Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks by Ann Budd seemed to be the perfect pattern for the Watermelon yarn. The rib would match the varigated colors and the diagonal cross would add enough interest to keep the socks from being boring. I grabbed the Watermelon yarn and some newly purchased blondewood Sox Stix in size 0 prepared to use my new favorite sock cast on, the Channel Island cast on.

First, though, I decided to actually read the pattern, (I know, novel thought) and the pattern called for a Norwegian cast on. Intrigued, I flipped to the notes section and gave it a go. The Norwegian is very similar to the Long Tail cast on, but with a couple of extra little maneuvers. It results in a chain across the cast on edge, which looks quite pretty, especially in the white of the watermelon rind.


Getting the color repeat just right took two tries and both ends of the yarn. To have the "watermelon" sitting correctly, I'm knitting from the outside of the ball instead of the preferred inside (are you and inside or outside the ball knitter?).

After finally getting the color repeat down, I knitted the cuff and then began the diagonal crosses, which are really just a one way slanting cable. Here again, the pattern recommends doing something different from my normal way of knitting cables, and here again, following the pattern gave way to better results. I think Ann Budd is a genius.

I generally knit cables without a cable needle by knitting into the second stitch on the left hand needle, then drop the first and second stitch of the left hand needle, then place the first stitch back on the needle to cross the stitches (either moving this first stitch in front or behind the second stitch depending on the cable cross. I can explain in another post with pictures if anyone is interested). This pattern though called for knitting into the back loop of the second stitch on the left hand needle, leaving the stitches on the left hand needle, knitting through the back loops of the first and second stitches on the left hand needle, then dropping both stitches of the left hand needle. I tried it once and was in fear of my new Sox Stix breaking, despite the amazing amount of flex the needles had. I thought it was a hassle and didn't see a need for it...until I did a full repeat of the diagonal cross pattern. I noticed that on the one cross where I followed the pattern instructions one time, the diagonal looked better and more like a diagonal. Hmm, I wondered what would happen if I used the new technique for a full repeat. This required changing needles to my much pointier heavier Knit Picks nickle needles, but the result is worth it.

The diagonal cross towards the top of the sock is using my classic cabling technique, while the diagonal closest to the bottom of the picture is using the new technique.

I have true diagonals without the sloppy "step" effect of the needless cable technique. I'm using this new method from now on for diagonal lines.

Entertainment

I had a quick trip up to Minneapolis last week and on the flight back Friday, I sat next to a very nice guy. After the flight reached cruising altitude, I popped in my iPod and began knitting and listening. At one point in the flight, I caught a glimpse of the guy next to me nodding and smiling. I looked over and he smiled at me and pointed to a lady across the aisle and one row up. I looked at her. She smiled and held up her knitting. I beamed back and held up my knitting. We both waved our works in progress in the air, hers a Five Hour Baby Sweater and mine a Shaped Tee. There is no telling what everyone in the rows behind us was thinking.

But this isn't why I'm blogging. Today's blog post is to show off how awesome my hubby is. For the last few months, he has been working diligently on an entertainment center:



This entertainment center is not just any entertainment center. It is a mission style, designed by Italian, built primarily in solid cherry. Little Clover helped.



He built drawers with a removable drawer divider to store DVDs, and we have almost already filled the drawers. Finally, it looks beautiful in the living room and is a lovely piece of grown-up furniture, worth the wait.

Nature Boy

I was once strongly in the "Nurture Camp" of the Nature vs. Nurture argument, then I had a kid and he is all boy. Granted, I love being outside and I love hunting for wildlife. I've even held a frog once, but my little guy seeks out all things wild in the great outdoors, with great success. While I'm happily snapping photos of the life I see, Little Clover is in the mix of it and loving every moment.

At our annual Fourth of July Cabin outing, he hunted out a little green frog after hearing Xavier Boy had to coax one out of the shower.



Then, he played with the tadpoles swimming in the fountain outside the cabin door before he found a little red toad in the clay.



His weekend was filled with little wee beasties, bird spotting swimming, and massive amounts of yummy food. I sneaked in a slice of watermelon while everyone swam in the lake.




When, not in the lake, we enjoyed the company of our friends and neighbors in the cabin next to ours. We spent our evenings dining and drinking and making memories. Teh weather was cool enough to allow us to dine al fresco, and relaxed in the cozy comfort of the familiar. New faces and friends have always graced the cabin and I hope they always do. This lake house has watched children grow up and in my case, the chidren bringing children. Xavier Guy and his guest seemed to enjoy their first trip and I hope it is the first of many. All in all, I think we had a wonderful time at the little cabin by the lake. As I savor this last visit, I'm looking forward to the next one.

What are you eating

I've been reading the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and last week, I hit the last chapter. I savored it like a good meal, pouring myself a glass of wine at noon on a Sunday and found a comfy seat on our sofa to enjoy the final crumbs of the book. The words swished about in my mind as my eyes enjoyed each letter. I didn't want this book to end.

The book, which covers the stories around 4 different meals, accompanied me through many evenings and lunches the last few weeks. I love to eat, I love to cook, and I love talking about food. Pollan's conversational style lends well to engaging readers in its conversations on food and often sparks discussions outside of the book. This book in particular lead to many intriguing talks with Italian, with knitters on Ravelry, with co-workers here, with co-workers in California, and with knitters in my local knitting group. I had a community of people who shared an interest in food and in knowing from where it comes, who had either heard of the book or were reading it themselves. It was an instant conversation starter and a community builder, and I didn't want it to end.

While finishing the final chapter, I thought of how this one little book impacted my life and in turn, the life of my family. I've replaced the BPA plastic bottles in my house with either BPA free plastic or with metal bottles. Another like minded friend forwarded a link to a local farm, and I've ordered a quarter of a pasture raised grass fed cow. I've found a source of Kosher chicken while I hunt out organic or local chicken, and Italian and I have started talking about having a little garden of our own next season.

Pollan does an excellent job of balancing out the 4 different types of meals. He doesn't leave you wanting to be a vegetarian or swearing off processed foods forever. Instead, he thinks people should know what they are eating and what the total cost of the food is, not just the price on the barcode label.

I'm with the band

We're busy packing to head to the cabin for the weekend and were in need of a little relaxation before we started our trip of relaxation. Who knew preparing to relax could be incredibly taxing? Packing required some shopping, so we decided to stop off for dinner at one of our local favorite restaurants, The Half Shell. Evidently, Wednesdays are devoted to live music and crawfish (a Southern Girls favorite). Little Clover really wanted to sit on the patio, and since the weather was cool, Italian and I agreed. Since they had already run out of crawfish, we settled on oysters on the half shell and made a mental note to come earlier in the evening another week.

The band was already fully into their set and Little Clover was enthralled. He told us later that the reason he wanted to sit on the patio was because he had never seen a live band before. Well, he had an awesome first band experience. The band, Afterglow, played steady favorites from the late 70s and 80s in addition to their own material. The covers were great and a few tables on the patio were singing along. Then, the guitarist played the opening riffs of the Clash's "Should I stay or should I go" and Little Clover lit up. This was the first song he knew the words too. He sang and bopped along, much to the amusement of the lead guitarist who chuckled. At the end of the song, he looked at Little Clover and said, "Man, whatever your parents are letting you listen to, they need to keep doing it." He smiled back.

At the band's break, the guitarist offered to show Little Clover all the equipment and gear. He beamed with excitement and came back saying, "Wow, I got to go backstage." How could a first live band experience get any better?


Little Clover "backstage" with the band.

Wipeout

The gas companies and I almost had Italian convince! With gas inching towards the $4 a gallon mark in my town, the thought of getting a Vespa was becoming more and more appealing to Italian. I've been slowly working on him for the last five years or so and I was quite close to getting the green light. Then, I had a wipeout while riding my bike to the yarn store. I came home and asked Italian to help me realign my wheel. He took a look at me, then at my leg and said, "You are off of Vespa consideration." Seriously, I wish I wasn't so clumsy and didn't live in a city with a horrid traffic record! Oh well. At least my town has decent bike lanes, so I'll keep pedaling along.

I do love being able to ride my bike to my LYS, especially when she's got great yarn waiting for me. The shopowner has started contracting with a local dyer who is producing very fun and pretty yarn. One colorway in particular is in high demand and has been on back order for several months, but it was worth the wait. After all, what could be better for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend than a slice of watermelon?

Happy Birthday

Today, I send best birthday wishes to my Daddy, a man who will always have my love and gratitude. You have taught me much about life and living in particular. One of the best gifts you ever gave me was the gift of giving. I have watched you give of yourself throughout my entire life and you leave things and people better than when you found them. You are an example of stewardship, kindness, and love. I love you, Dad, and happy birthday. (I hope you enjoy your Wii!)

Simple

How odd is it to find joy in something as simple as yarn? This yarn in particular makes me really happy. The yellow and blue and green just makes my heart smile. I love the blue heels and the blue toes. I love the texture, and I love the squishiness of it. It may be just yarn. Some people may say it's just a sock. But to me, it is a tiny piece of happiness that starts at my toes and works it's way up to a smile.



Pattern: Retro Ribbed Socks from Favorite Socks
Yarn: That Swell Yarn Shop Sock Duets in Spring Glen (love it!)
Needles: KnitPicks metal DPNs in a size 0 (not so loving it, they are heavy)
Notes: I love the yarn in all it's squooshiness and the pattern was super easy to remember. I think the rib works well with the varigated yarn, too. The only changes I made were to knit the legs shorter than the pattern recommends and to change the toe box so it isn't so pointy. I'm looking forward to wearing these socks.

Wandering aimlessly

Do you ever feel as if you've lost your compass and are just wandering about in a forest or bobbing around in an open sea? I've had this feeling for the last couple of weeks, waiting for the water to overcome me or for the forest to grow more and more overgrown and impenetrable. No matter how busy things are, I seldom ever feel this lost. Then I realized yesterday why I had this feeling, this lack of center in my life. I didn't have a solid long term knitting project on the needles.

Instead, I have been trying things out with my bamboo (some people my call this "swatching" except I was doing it on a large scale, think sweaters and shawls). I'd knit something, then rip it out, then knit something else, then rip it out, and this process was beginning to take a toll. I needed a project. I had to have something stable on the needles, something that would take a month or so to finish, something that would be relatively constant amidst the craziness of work and home, and evidently, something red.

I've made amends with the red lace weight silk. I'm ready to turn this formerly tangled and knotted mess into a controlled knotted lace shawl. In addition, I've casted on for the Shaped Lace Tee from Knitting Lingerie Style. I've found my compass and am know enjoying the forest scenery.

My mom is a green belt

but she doesn't know karate.
Quote by Little Clover to our friends.

My Lean Sigma Green Belt training continued this week, so it's nothing but statistics for me at work. I think I would have enjoyed life as an economist. With some luck, I'll be a certified Green Belt by the end of this calendar year. Speaking of belts, we saw Kung Fu Panda this weekend. The movie is fantastic. The film is complete and leaves you with a feeling of fullness. Yet, when we walked out of the theatre, I turned to Italian and said, "I want to see this movie, again." He agreed. It had everything a good movie should, and it had everything a good kids movie should. While the previews were showing, you could feel the buzz of excitement from all the kids in the theatre. There were children twitching in their seats and some were downright jittery. It was the cutest thing to see. At the end of the movie, the theatre clapped and cheered and all the little kids were practicing their kung fu moves as they jumped and kicked their way out. Again, cutest thing ever! Seriously, go see the movie. It's worth it.

In addition to the movie, a member of my local knitting group and her charity group at work sponsored World Wide Knit in Public Day on Saturday.

I brought my wheel, as did a couple of other spinners, and Diane even spun her first yarn! We had a great turn out and I met a few Ravelers face to face.

Of course, this weekend also included Father's Day. I have to admit, I think dads are gypped. Mother's Day seems to be surrounded by a hull-a-ba-loo, but not Father's Day. For instance, on Mother's Day, Little Clover makes me a gift, then is very insistent on giving me lots of snuggles and love. On Father's Day, he woke up, gave Italian a wave and a nod and a quick, "Happy Father's Day, Dad," before he leapt into my lap for snuggles. Italian, just laughed. I'm glad he has a good humor about the whole thing. Father's, though, deserve more. I for one, really am grateful for the dads I know. Italian is not only a wonderful partner, but a loving father. Any man who researches how to throw a curveball so he can pass on the knowledge is definitely worth his weight in sandcastles and mudpies.

I would be remiss if I also didn't mention my own daddy (Hello, Daddy!). Thanks, Dad for taking the time on one beautiful day in Colorado to take my training wheel-less bike out for a spin, and letting go. I understand now just how hard that was. I love you.

And to my father-in-law, thank you for welcoming into your family and for making an honorary Italian and fixing shells every year for my birthday. I love you, too.

I'm very glad we took the chance to have a family weekend. With training and baseball and housework, we seldom have the down time to do something fun. I've barely had the time to knit, finding myself pretty tired at the end of a long day. That hasn't stopped me from making some progress on the socks. The yarn and the pattern are quite lovely, so lovely in fact, that I found myself pulling them out of my bag at stoplights and hugging them. Imagine the looks I get.

One last thought for the post. If you ever get the chance to have a kid lead you in crafts take it. It's an interesting perspective and you'll end up with something cool. We ended up with monkeys.

Presenting monkeys as explained and demonstrated by Little Clover who showed us what he learned today at summer camp.

Skeins gone wild

(and the men who love their knitters)

There are some days when I love everything about the process of knitting. Then there are days when yarn goes naughty and misbehaves and drives me to the brink of frustration. I had a few of those days last week when my umbrella swift decided to have shaft failure.

You see, I placed a beautiful skein of Schaefer Andrea silk lace weight in the color Clara Barton on my swift to wind into a ball for knitting. I have loved my swift and ball winder and sometimes leave them set up on my kitchen table for weeks because they just look beautiful. My swift evidently doesn't love me back because after winding the first 20 to 50 yards of the 1093 yards, the swift collapsed and as it did, half of the yarn stayed on the swift while the middle fell to the table. I stood in horror and thought, well, I can just scoop up the middle, place it back on the swift and give it another go. Which I did. And the swift collapsed again after another 10 yards or so.

Looking at the mass of tangled yarn now on the kitchen table, I took a deep breath and thought, "No worries, I'll wind it by hand." 1093 yards is a lot to wind by hand, especially when the yarn is tangled. Just so you know, it takes approximately 6 hours of winding time to wind 1093 yards of lace weight. Yep, 6 hours of staring at teeny tiny thread, watching a ball of yarn form at a snails pace. I drank much wine.

Italian, being the very sweet and smart man that he is, left me to wallow in my fury the first night and then searched for swift types in the morning to present me with some options. He found the Farris Wheel style that is a swift/skein winder, and discovered that the umbrella swift's shaft is too soft. This proclamation made me giggle. He also helped wind the yarn as well and even spent some time untangling the knot.

While hunting for new table top swifts, I stumbled upon another man who loves his knitter a lot. He built her a Lego swift and ball winder. Ingenious!

A cabin in the woods

This weekend, we left for a cabin in the woods and had a much, much needed respite. Plus, I had to prove to our local fly fishing group that I really did exist and I really do fly fish. We decided to take an extra day on the river, so we packed up Thursday and hit the road for Mountain Home, Arkansas.

We woke up shockingly early Friday morning and decided to walk around the town in search of a coffeeshop. We didn't find the coffeeshop while on foot, but we did find a yarn shop. Of course, we stopped by. The Yarn Shop and More storefront wasn't slated to open for another 30 minutes, so Little Clover and I pressed our noses to the window to take a peak. Lo and behold, we saw the shop owner who graciously let us. I guess she could tell I was a knitter in need of a fix. She had a fair selection of sock yarns and was extremely friendly. I left with four balls of Jojoland Melody sock yarn. If you are ever in the Mountain Home area, stop by and see the shop. Bring cash though, she doesn't accept plastic.

After the little yarn detour, we headed towards the Blue Ribbon Fly Shop and Angler's Cafe to gear up and caffinate.

The Angler's Cafe makes a wonderful cappuccino. The owners are again extremely nice and the cafe is tailored to fly fishers. A fly tying table is on the ready in a corner, just in case you need to tie up a couple of flies before heading to the water. The drive through is also boat friendly, providing plenty of room for you and your boat. We loved the coffee enough to stop by the cafe twice. It was good.

After having our fill of coffee, we hit the water. Italian and Little Clover caught a fish almost right away.

I silently applauded and cheered! I was silent because I was on a conference call, while standing in the middle of a river, fly pole in one hand.

I guess, technology is a joy and a bane. Fortunately, the call only lasted 30 minutes, and I didn't have any other work obligations afterwards.

When the water finally came up, we trudged up to our cars and spent some time on Dry Run Creek, a fishing area restricted to fishers 16 and under. We did our best to help Little Clover catch a fish, but they were sneaky and elusive the first day. Finally, we headed to the cabin to check in and see our view.

Which was breathtaking. I spent plenty of time on this trip sitting out on the porch with a coffee or a beer, knitting and watching the river roll by. In fact, I spent enough time to finish the first sock and start on the second (pictures to come later).

The camp as a whole was a great place. The owners and their children live on site, so Little Clover spent some time playing with the kids. He also spent time following the chickens at the camp. He desperately wanted to hold one, but I don't think they ever let him get too close (smart chickens).


The next day was spent back out on the river with our fly fishing club. I had the pleasure of meeting two extraordinary fly fishing guides, and they introduced themselves as if they were regular people! I wonder if they know just how famous they are. At the end of the long day of fishing, I attended my first pig roast.

There is a pig behind the silver pot.

This was Italian's third pig roast which makes my Chicago born hubby more Southern than I am. The pig was from a local farmer and locally process, and yummy. Very yummy. We may not have caught a lot of fish on this trip, but as one of the guides stated, "It's called fishing, not catching." I definitely did catch up on relaxation and that was worth every fish that got away.

Wow

What an incredible weekend. The performance of Jesus Christ Superstar with Corey Glover was this weekend and Corey still has it. Not only does he still have it, but I think he is a performer one should see live to truly get an idea of just how good he is. I have a new found respect for him and the band Living Color, and he is the best Judas I have ever seen or heard. Little Clover attended the show with us as well and I think he loved the show. When Corey Glover started singing, Italian leaned over to Little Clover and whispered, "That's the guy from Living Color." Little Clover nodded. When Judas's opening number ended, he turned to me and said with a bit of surprise, "Wow! That was really good!" I smiled at Little Clover and said, "Yes, it was. He sings Cult of Personality." The amazement on Little Clover's face grew and he replied, "He did?" I just smiled and Little Clover clapped harder. Too cute!

After the show, Papa and Nana Clover took Little Clover for the evening while Italian and I went to Morton's for the best steak ever.

It was amazingly tender and juice. I was thrilled to be able to take Italian here since so much of our relationship has involved food.

I think he liked it!
Morton's even gave us personalized menus wishing us a happy anniversary and a photo to keep as a keepsake of our night. Now, I have a couple picture.

This weekend also saw the office launch of my Lotus Blossom Tank and I did get a couple of wows. I love wearing this. The fit is definitely bigger than expected, so knit a smaller size than you think you will need. Knitted in bamboo, it is the perfect sweater for southern summers. I see this sweater becoming a staple part of my wardrobe.

Pattern: Lotus Blossom Tank from Interweave Knits Summer 2006
Yarn: Alchemy Bamboo, 4 skeins
Size: Small (my bust is 37 inches), with inches of positive ease for a great drape
Notes: I extended the bodice of the sweater to make it an inch and a half longer than the pattern recommended and am very happy with the change. The yarn provides a great drape and knits at a relatively loose gauge. I also did one fewer decrease repeat on the the front to end up with the recommended number of stitches. I would use the number of stitches as the reference and not necessarily the pattern repeats.

Enthusiasm

The Lotus Blossom Tank has just zoomed along to the point where it is almost finished. I just have to knit the edging and weave in the ends and it will official be a finished object. For a tank top I didn't want to knit, I can't wait to work on it so I can finish it and wear it. This is an extremely wearable item and it has already received the praise of non-knitters; quite an accomplishment.

The appreciation of non knitters speaks volumes regarding this pattern. A knitter will look at it, understand the effort time and skill needed to make it and give a genuine nod of satisfaction at the finished item. The knitter is usually familiar with the pattern and has seen plenty of LBTs, maybe even a few in the wild. A non knitter, though, will probably have little to no awareness of the LBT pattern, and will often times think of the act of knitting as something odd and novel. So when a non knitter sees this particular sweater and gives me a "wow," I get a little giddy inside. The "wow" factor generally increases when I mention the yarn is bamboo. I'm hoping to get a few more wows when this sucker is finally done.

Not only am I enthusiastic about this sweater, but I am enthusiastic about Little Clover's baseball season. I love seeing the kids out there playing giving it their all. I love watching them improve throughout the course of the season, and I love seeing their excitement when they play well. Little Clover especially gets excited and will occasionally check the stands to make sure we saw his super awesome play or hit. I try not to disappoint and cheer loudly and exuberantly. I never knew being such a huge fan could be painful.

Somehow, I manage to injure myself at Little Clover's game, by clapping. Those of you who know me, are not surprised. Italian thinks I might of broken my hand because it is badly bruised. He asked if it hurt. I said only for a little while, but I knitted through it. I have a tank top to finish.

Growing

Today, I stole. I stole a little bit of time for just myself and had a date with Maggie, my spinning wheel. Maggie and I settled in the living room with this lavender roving and we made yarn. I feel slightly bad about stealing some time for myself instead of picking up Little Clover right away, but honestly, I wasn't ready to see him just yet.

Today, he became a fourth grader, and sure, he probably didn't grow a centimeter in the time between being dropped off for his last day of third grade and being picked up, but the fact remains, he's older now and, well, bigger. He's hitting the upper limits of elementary school. This school year, his friends will enter the double digit age range. Plus, I've already noticed the shift in his perspective. Now, when I participate in school events, I'm only present to him on the periphery. He's fully engaged in a world of boys and friends and sports, and I'm becoming more of a chauffeur and less a part of the activities. Trust me, I view these shifts as wonderful. Maybe I'm doing an ok job and he'll be a fantastically independent adult when the time is right, but I sure do miss his little hands in mine when I see him at school.

His hands have filled more of mine lately. My time to myself today was a way for me to pour all these thoughts and feelings into a yarn. One day, I'll pull out the yarn in whatever form it will have become and remember the day of transition, when my little person grew a little bit bigger. Then, maybe I'll have an easier time of looking at my big person and remember when he was little.

Lotus

I'm not sure if bad vibes lingered around my Lotus Blossum Tank or if it was purely a mental hump I needed to get over, but I was not really enjoying the LBT. The lace repeat seemed complex and difficult and I didn't pull it out of my knitting bag with excitement. Instead, a sense of obligation hung around the yarn and pattern. Each time I worked on the piece, a little voice in my head nagged me about not "feeling" like I wanted to knit it. This voice practiced tough love and shouted that she didn't care whether I felt like knitting the LBT or not, but to suck it up and knit! I don't like this voice. I think she is rude and a meanie, but she is also right.

After the first lace repeat was complete, the second repeat was easier and more rational. The third repeat was a walk in the park, and the fourth repeat was reading my knitting. Then, I realized, I was done. The LBT would be straight knit stitches from then on. Whoo hoo! I shouted with joy. Then I heard the little voice again. This time though, she told me I did a good job. I think I'm going to love this knitted sweater.

Encore

Remeber the opera? Well, Wednesday night, Little Clover got to do it again. His school did such an amazing job with our local Opera company that they were invited back, along with two other schools, to perform highlights from "Mystery on the Docks" as part of the Opera Company's season preview performance. The season preview was also broadcasted live over our public radio station. Needless to say, this was a very big night for Little Clover, so we let him pick a special dinner treat.

He picked McDonald's. I hate McDonald's.

I tried to steer him away from McDonald's by offering up other possible restaurants he likes, but we never visit. Burger King tempted him the most, but he wasn't sure what toy they offered at the moment, where as he knew McDonald's carried the Speed Racer toys. Italian and I told him we could go to McDonald's to ge the toy and go somewhere else to get food. Little Clover loved this idea, because he just isn't that fond of the food either. I pull up to the drive through, and when asked what I would like, I responded, "I'd like a Happy Meal toy, please."

This confused the drive through attendee, who asked, "What kind of Happy Meal do you want?"

"No, no," I said. "I just want the Happy Meal toy."

"You want a Happy Meal"

"No, just the toy."

"Just the toy?"

"Yes, just the toy." Finally, I think he got it.

"What kind of toy do you want?" This was an odd question to me because I thought we were clear that I wanted the Happy Meal toy. Granted, I didn't go to McDonald's often, but now, I'm beginning to wonder if I am confused.

"I want a boy toy." I respond with a hint of a question in my voice. At this time, Italian looks at me, pauses, and says, "Oh, really? You want a boy toy? Nice."

By the way, all the little kids did a great job at the Opera.

In addition to the opera this week, Italian and I celebrated an anniversary (and I can't wait to show you the gift!) I feel very fortunate to have such a wonderful husband who is not only the love of my life, but my very best friend. He is someone I am blessed to share my life with.

The day after our anniversary, he was telling me about an article he read online that questioned whether it was better to marry your best friend or your prince. I asked, shouldn't the person you marry be both? I think this brought a smile to Italian. He is my best friend, but he is also my Prince Charming. He is my McDreamy and I love him. Happy Anniversary honey :) I love you more than four.

Ok, so I tried to find a "couple" picture of the two of us, but all the picture I have are family pictures, which I think fit us better. We've been a couple for a very long time, but being a family really suites us a bit better.

To be a mom

There are many moments where the love of being a mom hits me. Of course, this strong feeling of enjoyment always occurs on Mother's Day and this year was no different. Mother's Day began with my annual breakfast in bed. Italian gets up early and spends the morning making Eggs Benedict from scratch, topped with fried oysters and served with Andouille sausage cheese grits and a cheese biscuit. He also makes a pancake for Little Clover who likes to have breakfast in bed with me, so my day starts off with extra snuggles from the little person who makes me a mom. Generally, Italian also spoils me with a mimosa, but not this year. This year, I had to drive to my Mother's Day present, the second in a set of knitting class with Lucy Neatby. Gas prices being what they are and in need of exercise, I biked to the yarn shop on Saturday for my first class.

Sunday, though, I let myself sleep in a little longer and drove.

The classes with Lucy Neatby were fantastic. She is lively and colorful and very knowledgeable. I think of myself as a fairly proficient and daring knitter, and stilled learned a lot by being in her class. The first class covered multi-directional knitting. I knit my first triangle and tried free form knitting. Free form knitting was extremely difficult for me because I am a product knitter. I've never knitted for the sake of knitting. I've always knitted with an end goal in mind, so being told, cast on a few stitches and just try things out was a mind scramble. It took about 15 minutes before I relaxed and let my hands go. Once I did, it was actually pretty fun and relaxing. Her tips for keeping track of stitches to pick up later is indispensable, and I love the modified bind-off.

Lucy's second class covered sock knitting. Again, I feel comfortable knitting socks, but learned new things in her class. I adore the channel island cast-on and will turn to it first before any other. Besides, her sock class dispelled the lingering bad feelings from my last socks and I casted on for a new pair later that night.
Casted on for the Retro Rib Sock from Interweave Knits using That Swell Yarn Shop Skinny Duet yarn.

Before I could start knitting after the class, I spent the evening throwing a baseball with my little guy. I love being the mom to such a great kid. He gave me one of the best Mother's Day ever.

Not only do I feel lucky to have two great guys to share my life with, but I also feel fortunate for the moms in my life. My own mom loved me with all her heart. I know this because of the love she gave me growing up. I could feel her love everyday I had with her. I miss her, but her love still lingers around me. I also have a great mother-in-law who has opened her family to me and brought me in as a part of it. One day, I hope to live by her example and be at least half as great of a mother-in-law as she has been to me. My stepmom is yet another mom who I feel blessed to know. She brings great joy to my dad, has been a wonderful grandma to my little guy, and is a joyful addition to my life. I hope she knows how much she is loved by our family. Finally, my grandma is a amazing woman. She is strong and a true matriarch who has guided her family through good times and not so great times. I look up to her as a model of what it means to be independent and sure of oneself while raising a child and being a loving wife. These are just a few of the phenomenal women I know. I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Put a sock in it

Today, I present socks:
I think these socks took the longest to knit, but I blame the long knitting time to having to knit the first sock twice. Now that they are complete, we are in full sandal season down South. They will be tucked into a drawer, ready for the first cold snap sometime in November. I still love them.

Pattern: Uptown Boot Sock from Interweave Knits Favorite Socks book

Yarn: Araucania Ranco Multi

Needles: US Size 1, mm

Gauge: 9 stitches to the inch

Size: Made for a US size 7.5 woman's shoes

Notes: I only casts on 56 stitches instead of the recommended 64 stitches. I did increase back to 64 stitches after knitting the cuff for the cabled socks. I also decreased to 12 stitches at the toe instead of the 4 recommended in the pattern.

After casting off the socks, I contemplated what to knit next. I could start another pair of socks, but I have this little sock knitting class this weekend with Lucy Neatby (hee, hee, I am brimming with excitement). For my non-knitting readers, imagine taking a class with an industry pioneer and expert from your field of interest. My weekend is going to be really incredible.

I decided I didn't want to knit socks since I might be inspired by the class and want to cast on something related to what I learned, so I'm knitting a little baby hat for a co-worker instead.

I still want to practice my fair isle. My stitches just pull in more than I like. If I ever want to tackle a stranded sweater, I want my technique to be impeccable. The pattern is from Knitting Little Luxuries by Louisa Harding, knit with cotton from Rowan and Patons. Instead of doubling the strands as the pattern suggests, I kept single strands and only casts on 72 stitches. The hat was a huge hit at the shower. The mom and dad to be both loved it.

p.s. My orchid finally bloomed again after 2 years!

Oh, oh, oh, it's magic

There is something amazingly magically in first flowers and sock heels. Between extracurricular family activities, crazy work schedules, personal commitments, and a disasterly messy house, I haven't had much time to knit, refocus, or clean my house. In addition, reknitting the first Uptown Boot Sock and picking up the cursed Lotus Blossom tank mad my spirit sink and sadden. The knitting was becoming "obligation" knitting and to me, that is one of the worst kinds.

Then, this week, I got two extra "pick-me-ups." All of my flowers in the front yard have been blooming steadily and look lovely. They have even garnered compliments from neighbors. Yet the rosebushes in the back remained bare. I sneaked a peek this week to see if any buds decided to come out and was surprised to see a rose. This lovely little rose quickly bloomed into its full glory a couple of days later and brought some friends. It made me smile.

In addition to the flower, I decided to work on the second Uptown Boot Sock. Some little voice suggested I measure it before I knitted and it is a good thing I did. The sock was ready for the heel. I love sock heels, really I do. It's like taking the last turn on the track when running a 400 yard dash. The heel means you are entering the finally stretch.

I'll soon have a new pair of socks and just in time for a sock class with Lucy Neatby. Now how is that for a fresh start?

The knitting mojo didn't stop with my socks either. The week ended today with a little gift at work. The mailroom dropped of a coffee mug from the company knitting charity group as a thank you for being part of the group this year. Isn't it cute????

Then, I got a call from our community affairs coordinator about expanding the charity group down to my local office. I'll have even more excuses for knitting now!