Crazy Eyes

I have discovered the secret to terrifying young children...blue eyelashes!

From Irish Clover

This weekend, Little Clover and I attended his annual school Halloween party. He dressed as Annakin Skywalker (again), and I decided to get a little bit crazy and put on blue eyelashes. The reaction was more than I expected. Little Clover brought all of his friends around to gawk at my eyes. One little friend even exclaimed "Whoa! Those are huge!" Children stared at me in shock as they slowly backed away towards their parents in scary ghostly costumes. Parents I regularly see stopped in mid conversation because they just couldn't talk to me with my crazy eyes. Who knew that a little bit of colored nylon could cause such a stir.

Little Clover did have an awesome time running amok with his friends. He is officially a big kid now. When we attend these school parties and get togethers, he immediately attaches to his pod of friends and they gallavant about as a single unit without parents. They are all very good though with checking in with the parentals throughout the night (generally when they want someone to hold something or to feed them). The freedom to socialize is not just for Little Clover now. I've had the opportunity to get better acquainted with the other moms and dads. We generaly look to the ones with older children on how to get through this new milestone. They smile and tell us that when the kids hit college age, they come back. In the meantime, I'll hold Little Clover's jacket, his water, and hand him a dollar for concessions.

Oh, and I'll knit mittens, which are just as wonderful as handknit socks, but much faster to knit.

From Irish Clover

This is one of a pair of modified Pink Sonata mittens from Vogue Knitting. The are modified because I made a few changes and for a brief day, kept on knitting even though I didn't have the pattern with me.

For starters, the pattern calls for sock yarn knit on US size 2 needles. These pair of mittens are for fishing, so I wanted a denser fabric and knit them on size 0 needles and followed the pattern for the medium mittens. Since my row gauge would now be completely different, I increased for the thumb gussett every 4th row instead of every 3rd row and added a couple of extra rounds of knitting at the bottom and the top. Then, I just winged it when I got to the fingers. I'm curious to see what will happen if I follow the pattern.

Daily (Wonder)Bread

First, let me begin by wishing Mrs. Soprano a very happy birthday. Her special day was yesterday and I hope it was filled with all the warmth and love she sends out into the world coming back to bless her day.

For those who know me, you know I am a foodie, and despite setting the microwave on fire at a young age, having meals pre-made for me when my parents were away from home, and marrying a man who did all the cooking for our first year of marriage, I love to cook. When Italian finally convinced me that cooking and new foods are indeed fun, I ended up jumping into it with my typical voracity and began watching the Food Network, collecting cookbooks, subscribing to cooking magazines, and finally, reading non fiction works on food, the food system, and food economy; so when Michael Pollan was interviewed on Fresh Air, Italian naturally wanted to let me know.

The community garden in my dad's neighborhood

Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, recently authored an open letter to the Presidential Candidates request a reevaluation of our food system for the sake of health and national security. If you have never read any of his work, this is a great time to be introduced to him and reintroduced to your food. In his letter and interview, Pollan encourages us to become more engaged in our food process and what it is doing to our economy, our environment, and our bodies.

Small tomatoes from the community garden

I think one of the things I love most about Pollan's works is his focus on quality food and enjoyment of food. He's approach is not preachy, but matter of fact, and he takes takes some of the polarizing undertones out of the food argument. There are not moral justifications of eating meat or not eating meat, but there is a strong focus on eating local and building a food community. The eat local movement, or otherwise know as sustainable food cultures, strives to bring the community back together by emphasizing something we all have in common, eating. I kinda like his description of the eat local movement as culinary home schooling. So set the table, find local sources of food, and share a meal and conversation. Happy Friday.

(Oh, I also finished a sweater! Woo, hoo!)

From Irish Clover

Pattern: Green Gables
Yarn: Malibrigo Merino Silk
Notes: I have no idea what I did, but I did something truly wacky. I knit this sweater twice, once in the size 36 and then in the 38 size. The difference between the two sizes was close to 8 inches, not the two inches it should have been. The 38 fits better, but has more ease than I like, but at least I can get it on without it turning into a halter top. I had serious 80s flashbacks.

Flashbacks

Me: Hey, kiddo, how was the book fair at school?
LC: Great! They had lots of books and neat stuff.
Me: Did you get what you wanted?
LC: Kinda. They were out of red soccer pens, so I got an orange one and I'll just pretend that it was red and faded. I did get little iPod ear thingies.
Me: Oh, I quite like those.
LC: They were out of $100 bill erasers, so I got two fifties.
(This is the point were I choke on the laugh that almost escaped my lips.)


It has been a week of flashbacks for us at Clover Field. First, sock weather has finally hit the Delta and I was thrilled to be wearing my once again complete Widdershins. I'm not sure how many times I wore them before I lost a sock, but with some luck, this time they'll stick around as a pair a little bit longer. Knitting a third sock was actually good for me. I gained a much, much better grasp on the construction of a toe-up heel flap sock and could knit another pair with more confidence and a better understanding. I don't want to knit three socks all the time, but every once in a while doesn't seen too bad.

From Irish Clover

In addition to the Widdershin flashback, I'm still chugging away at my second attempt at Green Gables. Even though I am only knitting one size up, which should be a difference of two inches, this Green Gables is close to eight inches more in circumference and requires one more entire ball of yarn than my first attempt. I held it up against me last night and it does look like it will be a much better fit. Little Clover looked at me and said, "Mama, you need to keep knitting. That won't even cover your belly." I'll take his advice and work on it for another night or two.

From Irish Clover

The week wasn't limited to just knitting flashbacks, but also to a personal one. My college roommate came into town to attend one of our professor's jubilee celebration for his 50 years as part of a religious order. He was our theatre professor, so a few other former cast members were also present. Professors we hadn't seen in ten years still new our names and greeted us with warmth. We had a chance to catch up and reminisce, talking about our old plays and performances. Then, we had the luxury of seeing our old performance space, recently renovated. A new floor had been installed and some new drapes and panelling were added. The seating space was improved, but the stage still brought back a wealth of memories. Finally, when it was obvious we had been there long enough, we posed for one last cast photo.

From Irish Clover

Who knows if I'll ever act again, but I can smile knowing I have a few years of enjoying Little Clover's performances and the memory of a very cute guy who brought out the actor in me (yep, that's Italian in the photo).

Veni vidi vici

(or, "Honey, toga up!")

It was a victorious weekend for Little Clover. He had his last soccer game Sunday, and the tension was thick as he and his undefeated team entered the field to face off the only other undefeated team in his league. Not only were the two teams undefeated, but Little Clover's coach's son was playing for the other team. After spending the entire season playing for two teams, the coach's son had to play against his dad. One team would walk away, still undefeated, while the other would have a long ride home.

Little Clover, the future diplomat that he is, tried to negotiate a tie. The ref would have none of it, so the game began and the two teams played hard. Both teams scored one goal each in open play, but our team managed to score one extra penalty shot. With each goal Little Clover made, he held his arms out like an airplane and zoomed across the field, just like he has done since he was truly little. The best part of this season is not really being undefeated (although it is nice) but rather, Little Clover's oblivion to how much his scoring helped his team. When he was asked who has scored the most goals, he genuinely replied, "My team has." I, being the proud mama bird, will easily tell you, my baby scored more than half of the team's goals. I think, his response is better.

I should probably explain the subtitle of today's post. Italian and I had the pleasure of spending some time with our neighbors Saturday. In college, I began thinking of what kind of neighbors I wanted and what would adult life be like. The vision of close knit neighbors who actually hang out together seemed to be a nice idea but also, slightly antiquated. Italian and I found our current neighborhood a few years ago and began to notice more and more houses popping up for sale. The buyers were couples close to our age, mostly with small kids. This looked like it had potential.

Our neighbors have had small social gatherings a few times and for one reason or another, we were never able to make it, until this weekend. When The Pilot and The Pilot's Wife coordinated a progressive dinner, we were thrilled to actually be in town. Now, for the catch, it was to be a progressive toga party, and yes, I have pictures.

From Irish Clover

Everyone was a great sport, wearing togas and embellishments. We walked from house to house with each course, ending at Clover Field for desserts of tiramisu and panna cotta. I can only imagine the looks we must have gotten traipsing through our yards and streets.

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?