Tiger at Rest

Waiting for the mail

2011-05-10T08:58:00.004-05:00

Last Wednesday, Zach got a call from his Peace Corps placement officer, saying his invitation to serve as a math teacher in Africa will be here soon. We don't know what country yet. My bet is South Africa as they seem to use a lot of volunteers and I see online that they're starting a new group about the time the placement officer told Zach he would leave.

Meanwhile, here are the latest socks I've made. Knitpicks Felini in ecology colorway, size 2 needles, "Go with the Flow" pattern by Evelyn A. Clark. The cat is Starlight, a former stray who is now ours.

purply bluey socks

2009-04-23T06:46:00.002-05:00

Trekking XXL socks have gone bye-bye. You can see them trying to make a getaway but I made them get in an envelope first so they'd stay together.

noro scarf

2009-03-31T08:59:00.002-05:00

Ivan demonstrated how to lay back and take a snooze.

I finished the Jared Flood scarf with the Noro Silk Garden yarn. I could have gone on one more color change but it seemed so long already and I felt unsure about finding off so it's done. It's for Zach to use next winter. Living in Florida, he didn't have a scarf but it got realllly cold here.

I just wanted to add this picture of the first socks I ever made when they were new. A picture of how they look now is on the March 10 entry.

March Rain

2009-03-26T09:38:00.007-05:00

I've always loved rain. When I moved to Florida, it rained every afternoon about 4:00. Sadly, the climate changed. Now, whenever it rains, I run outside and take the same picture which always looks the same and is not so interesting. But I keep doing it and here's today's version.
I started Cookie A's Monkey Socks but messed it up quickly and started over with new yarn. I have made it all way through one repeat and just everyone else who knits this sock, I think it is very fun and very well written. Cookie A is some kind of cute sock genius.The yarn is a Trekking bamboo blend.
The ugliest socks I have ever made went to a honey-haired honey in snowy Maine who continues to say she loves them. I felt guilty and decided to make her pretty socks. Here's one I just completed It's Trekking XXL is one of their "jean" colors.

knitting is kicking my butt

2009-03-25T10:23:00.005-05:00

First, I can't find my camera so I can't document this headache. I am simply knitting a simple sock with Trekking XXL yarn and nothing should go wrong. I was almost to the end of the toe when a little stitch that had not been knit into starting mocking me. I kept knitting thinking it would hide and leave me alone but it stuck out its little yarn tongue as I went row after row around. If the socks were for me, I might have just basted it down but they are not so I went back to fix it. I reknit the toe once, twice, three times, screwed up the kitchener, cut off the end of the toe, took out stitches one-by-one til it was right and am reknitting again.

I am intending to knit the monkey sock but really if I can not even do a toe, how am I going to make lace?

Here is the fabulous Jared Flood scarf that I'm making
and two of my favorite things: my son and some yarn. Isn't he wonderful to hold it for me?

assortment of things I feel happy about

2009-03-10T07:54:00.007-05:00

My wonderful son came home on Spring Break wearing the very first socks I ever made. I have offered to throw them away before but he's said, "Where else am I going to get short wool socks?" I clearly didn't know what I was doing, was afraid I didn't have enough yarn (Fleece Artists merino) but wanted my first socks to be for him. Awwww.

He was taking a picture of me and the bad cat, Empy, when I said I must either look cute in the picture or not be in it. So Empy hid my face. Good bad cat.

This is Ivan, my beautiful Siberian sweet cat sitting in the window behind a shredded screen. Guess who shredded it?? Not Ivan. No.

Zach shared this picture with me. He took it outside his math building because the bicycles were arranged in a bike-rainbow. Lovely!

Amnesia knitting

2009-03-06T12:25:00.003-06:00

Wait a minute! Without realizing it, I finished another pair for the pile. I'm one to lose labels and not look back, but I have more of this yarn and can read that the dark part is Fortissima Socka and the heels/toes are .. well, also Fortissima Socka. I think they would've liked size 3 needles but I used smaller and the socks are thick and warm.

petticoat socks

2009-03-05T06:58:00.006-06:00

I started these socks from Opal Petticoat quite a while ago. I was making them for Michelle, my son's girlfriend at the time, but she has disappeared from my life and so I didn't finish them. Not too long ago, I took them to my Saturday knitting group to work on them, told this story and my lovely friend Pat offered to buy them for her daughter if I didn't have a plan for them. Pat bought them and, to my delight, kept them for herself.

Michelle, if you're reading this, I miss you.

strawberries !!

2009-03-02T08:03:00.004-06:00

I finished these socks last night and posed them with fresh strawberries from Plant City, Florida! The berries are sweet and on sale at three lbs. for $5. Yum and cheap.

So this is pair three of my marathon. I hope to have six pair finished in time to mail for the birthday but he'll be home for Spring Break one of those weeks and I can't work on them then.

Speaking of surprises, Harry Shearer was paying tribute to Paul Harvey on his NPR show Le Show. He played several bits from Harvey's shows over the years including a bit about a woman who went into a shop to buy a coat for her dog. The salesperson told the woman that if she'd measure the dog, they'd make a coat, but the woman replied, "I can't do that! I want it to be a surprise!" Then we heard Harvey laughing for minutes and unable to read anymore news.

pile of socks

2009-02-28T12:36:00.004-06:00

Zach, who I assume doesn't read this, will be 21 in April. I'm so broke all the time and so happy to know that he really does wear the socks I've made him, that I've decided to make him a pile. The goal is six pair in three months. I have two pair finished and three more in various other stages.

Through all this happy but concentrated knitting, I've developed a numb spot in my right index finger, the finger that puts the yarn over the needle. I don't feel it at this moment but decided to lay off knitting for a few days. But that was too hard to do so I'm blaming it on a pair that I'm making on needles that are too small for the year (6-ply, size 1.5 needles) that are making very thick socks, indeed. Maybe this is too hard on my finger? Let's say it is.

These pair are both Opal, I think. The orange/black is crocodile that you just can't find anymore but happens to be 1/2 price at thefifthstitch.com. I bought it years ago to make socks for him and now I have. Another goal met. Good girl.

The afghan is on hold. I have all the pieces, I think, but am not so sure about putting them together. I'm waiting for someone else to go first.

An afghan is growing

2008-08-26T06:44:00.004-05:00

I've joined an afghan square swap on ravelry and have been getting these beautiful squares in the mail. There should be 12 when it's all done, with one being knitted by me. Here are the first three. The blue one is from lissa9501; the orange and brown one from michelynntires; and the third from lulubelle. I asked for blue, brown, tan or orange squares so you see how it's coming along. Great work ladies!

Sock it to me

2008-06-05T16:47:00.006-05:00

First, here are socks I finished for myself. They're Opal. As for people who are annoyed by not having the specifics of the yarn posted, well, sorry. I'm not into that. Ta da!!

My cat decides that 90 degrees isn't too much for him and refused to come inside. Here he is refusing:

And this is a picture I took out the window while we were driving through the air force base.What is that white thing? It's in anothere picture, also, but not every picture I took.

scanner working fine

2008-03-18T17:45:00.003-05:00

I gave up my camera to my son who promises to take pictures and send them to me. So I put the socks right on the scanner and .. here we have a folded up pair of socks. They look more charming unfolded but that's not happening unless I get a bigger scanner or shrink the socks.

I am happy with how identical they are.

This is the church, this is the steeple

2008-03-02T11:43:00.004-06:00

Open the door and there are the people. Except me. I am so lonely here in Teeney Town and so depressed that I decided to go be around people. Specifically, I decided to go to the church where the preacher told me I wasn't saved because I didn't have a story (testimony) about the exact moment it happened. This morning, I got dressed, grabbed the Bible, drove past the church to see if people were going in. See, on their marquis they don't have the hours of services posted; they have posted in Spanish some ads for Spanish classes the church is offering. That's been there for weeks.

I wanted to sneak in to the church and that means getting there at the exact moment that the doors are closing so I don't have to open them and make noise and that I don't get there early enough to talk to anybody. People were walking around the grounds so I drove on by, turned and went back. I drove down the little street the church is on and people were still walking around. Very confusing. The doors were closed. I went home. They have another service at 6:00. Somebody go with me!!

I took 23 pictures of Ivan this morning. He moved during everyone of them and this is the stillest.

How I wish I had something to say

2008-02-25T16:07:00.004-06:00

I am realizing I am a hermit. I need to get out. Somebody tell me to get out. And tell me where to go. Living in the sticks is probably wonderful if you have family/friends/support but if you don't, it's just lonely. In a city you may have trouble breathing the bad air but there are places to go, support groups, different kinds of religious groups, classes.

While I'm waiting for direction, here are the latest socks on needle. I really really like this yarn except for the red/white stripes. Why did they put that in there? It's Opal yarn and I still love it.

Secret Harbour

2008-02-24T07:46:00.007-06:00

I belong to a postcard group. Someone sent me this gorgeous card of Secret Harbour Beach, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. This is a perfect picture to think about while trying to relax. I would love to be there reclining under a palm tree. I wonder what kind they are? Coconuts? Dates? Ummm. Yum.

I am copying this idea from my darling friend Christina. Instructions:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open it at page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence/ phrase.
4. Blog the next four sentences/ phrases together with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig your shelves for that very special or intellectual book.
6. Pass it forward to six friends

I've just mentioned the book I'm currently reading so I looked around next to the bed and found Murder Being Once Done by Ruth Rendell. Coincidentally, I first heard of Ruth Rendell from Christina who heard about her from her mom. Rendell writes two kinds of mysteries: one (such as this) features Chief Inspector Wexford and are lovely British mysteries with a cop you'd love to go home to. The others are dark, complex, fascinating stories of minds going wrong.

In this novel, Wexford's doctor tells him he needs to get away and relax. Since he already lives in the idyllic countryside, he can't think of where to go to that would make sense and ends up in London with a nephew. The nephew happens to be a murder investigator, Wexford happens across clues and tries to help but the nephew shows no interest and Wexford feels unappreciated. He goes ahead and solves the crime, later to learn that the nephew badly wanted his help but had been told by Mrs. Wexford to make sure her husband forgot about work and just relaxed.

Page 123:
"I don't understand your generation. You accuse us of being promiscuous and casual and so on, but you're the ones with the unclean minds. I honestly don't care if you believe this or not, but Lulu lived here with me for four months and we were never lovers. Never. I supposed you're going to ask why not. The answer is that these days, whatever happened in your time, you can sleep in the same room as a girl and not want to make love to her because you're not frustrated. No one any longer has the power to force you into unnatural celibacy, you're free to have the girls you do want. We didn't attract each other, that's all, and we weren't in the positon of having to make do with any port in a storm." He held up one hand. "I'm not queer. I had girl friends. I went to their places. No doubt, Lulu saw her boy friends at theirs."

Lulu has been found dead and Wexford just can't help following the clues. Rendell's characters are individuals and realistic. Some of them, like Wexford, are very intelligent. Some are very colorful ( ohhhh, should I put the "u" in colourful or not???)

The Los Angeles Times: "Undoubtably one of the best writers of English mysteries and chiller-killer plots."

Notice the price is $5 because I cleverly bought it used. The original price was $11.

part II

2008-02-22T23:30:00.003-06:00

I finished these socks for a sweet couple.

I called the hospital this morning and learned that the final bill was $2,010 not $5,000 andddd they have a discount policy that if you pay it right away, it's cheaper. The bill was $834. What can I say? Nothing useful.

My friend Patty, a nurse, told me the reason I feel so sluggish is because I take beta blockers. She suggested a different medication so I'll have to call the doc on Monday to see what he says.

This is what it's been like around here lately.

overwhelmed

2008-02-22T05:33:00.002-06:00

This is the book I'm reading, Midnight's Children by Salman Rusdie and a pill bottle. The book is one I'm enjoying more than anything I've read in decades. In fact, in the front it's compared to The Tin Drum and 100 Years of Solitude and those are my favorite two books ever. It's just delicious language.

The pill bottle holds some little beta blockers which I've been taking for about a month. I got to the point that I dreaded nighttime because I'd go to bed and hear my heart beating .. beat, beat, beat, nothing, beat, beat, beat, nothing. This makes it better but how much better I don't know because I'm uninsured and broke and this is a cheap fix.

Yesterday as I was eating lunch at work, parts of my left hand became numb. I noticed a red spot near the thumb but didn't know why it there. I said outloud, My hand is numb, but the person I was talking to didn't hear, I guess, and continued with what she was saying. I thought I'd heard that this kind of thing was a sign of a stroke so I left work, went to the emergency room. I called my doctor first and he said go to the emergency room. I knew what he meant was I'm going home soon so go bother somebody else but what could I do? Waiting til the next day was advice I wouldn't have given anyone else.

At the ER, they did the following list:
1. EKG
2. Blood work

The bill isn't determined yet as something happens in their system at midnight but it's over $5,000. That's all they did. I didn't see a doctor, I saw a nurse and Physician's Assistant who told me that everything was normal and it was probably a pinched nerve. He sent in a wheelchair to take me to x-ray to have a CT scan done of my head but I refused to go. That was just incomprehensible to me.

On the way out, I was asked for a $500 deposit and I'm sorry to say I paid it with a credit card that I just paid off. When the office opens, I'll call and ask if they have charity care or any other ideas because I can't pay this bill. I'm billed out.

The morning, I got email from the credit card company I'd just paid off telling me my new bill is online. The $500 hasn't posted but my bill was $22.48. What? I had paid the whole thing. Everything it said I owed, I paid. So I called India and had the mechanics used to calculate interest explained to me. I pretended to listen because I didnt understand it all then whined that I had given them a lot of money and it took me a long time to get that money and couldn't they take this $22.48 off?? They ended up taking off $10 of it.

Honestly, I am trying to so hard to get out-of-debt. I have dear human people I owe money to and I regret that the most. Or, I mean, they most deserve payment. But I can't pay them until I feel a little less wobbly here.

It's a wonderful book. I wonder if the two young ladies at the credit company have read it. I think it's set in their country.

cat worries

2008-02-17T17:50:00.004-06:00

I have lived in this house for almost five years and for the first time, I saw my bad cat cross the road the other day. He has to go outdoors because he refuses to use a cat box. The other cat, the good cat, was held at the vet's for five days recently due to illness and I think the bad cat was relieved to have him gone. He has hissed at him since then, refused to share food (just walked away), and I think it's why he crossed the road. But he won't live long this way and I'm unhappy about it.

Meantime, I have knit this pair of socks and this other sock. They are big socks as some people are not thoughtful enough to have small feet.

Further complaining, I have an earache. It was supposed to storm today so I put up the shades and happily waited. Then I heard that Prattville Al had serious destruction and felt guilty. It's just that I work odd days and was glad to have the day off during the a storm. It rained here about five minutes.

These socks are planned to look this way

2007-09-12T11:29:00.001-05:00

I don't know what to think of these socks. They're Opal Traumfanger (Dreamcatcher) Farbe 1237 Partie 1. Joy says they're purdy. She is very kind and lives far far north where they can be completely hidden in boots.

Ho hum

2007-09-01T12:30:00.000-05:00

I am experiencing the limits of our digital camera. Other people like Christina post closeups of bumble bee faces. I can't even get an unfuzzy photo of a sock so I can see the pattern the colors produce.

And the moon was gorgeous last night. There was a grey cloudy glow around it and all I got on camera was black with a white uneven spot in the center.

New and Improved

2007-08-30T17:28:00.000-05:00

This blog not only has a new look but it has a NEW NAME! Welcome to Tiger Knitting. Grr. Isn't that a gorgeous tiger!! I don't have pictures of knitting or tigers or children today but the sky caught my eye. It's thundering and the sun behind the clouds is amazing.

Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright

2007-08-30T12:57:00.000-05:00

Do you see a tiger on this page? Isn't he beautiful?? Yulle drew him AND she reformatted the whole blog.

I have nothing to say as nothing has happened in my life. I just love the tiger.

when will I ever make something else?

2007-08-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

I have cast on four socks. I keep thinking about knitting something else but A) I have a lot of sock yarn and B) I don't feel like figuring anything out. I haven't even made a toe up sock or two socks at once or anything new and mentally challenging. One of the new socks is plain dull brownish-grey and it's for me and I will use a new stitch. I say that with emphasis like Scarlet O'Hara. I WILL use a new stitch. Dammit. It will be some little baby cable or something. Yawn.

Actually, I'm thinking about making this plastic bag from Hakucho's blog. Because A) I like it and B) I don't have to buy yarn and C) it's green. Mostly, I like it and can use it.

Two of the new socks are mates for these. They can talk to each other while they're waiting for me to finish.

put your hands together

2007-08-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

Finished these fingerless gloves. I'm showing one purlside out and I think it look good that way if you don't mind seeing where the ends are woven in and cut off. It's Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch in Fabre Co. 710. The ball of yarn still looks puffy so it might make a second pair .... maybe I should get them weighed against the gloves to check.

I can't type because my fingers are crossed

2007-08-23T18:49:00.000-05:00

Having not landed a job teaching I decided to sign up to be a substitute. This means I have get fingerprinted ($61) even though I was a year ago and still have the same fingers. Then it means that I don't have income unless I work in the evenings and on weekends so I told my supermarket boss that I want that schedule. Then it means getting other people to answer the phone and accept substitute assignments for me as I can not answer the phone while cashiering. A lot of trouble and I could end up working all day and all night.

I was halfway to the school board office and didn't want to pay out the $61 so I thought I'd call this one school one more time. And yay!! He said he expects me to get a call in about a week. The room is ready. The position is not filled and I'm the person.

I got to go to lunch today with Yulle. Very sweet. It's good to have young people around.

It's Wednesday

2007-08-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

Is that a good enough title? I have pictures today:

It's so hard to get a good picture of Ivan and he so deserves recognition. He's just 100 percent sweet and soft and cuddly. He's a rescued Siberian. If you're not familiar with that breed, many people aren't allergic to them and they have other characteristics such as loyalty. Ivan comes when he's called. My other cat might flick an ear in our direction.

And I finished these socks today.

This Ivan's boy. He left for college again today. It's his second and final year at UF and it doesn't get any easier. I cried more today than last year. He's a wonderful kid. Ivan is lucky to have him.

This is the boy packing his car to leave. He paid for the car himself.

My new friend Patty sent me kefir grains !! Very good news. I feel horrible emotionally most of the time but great physically so I can keep on going. Kefir plays a big part in that.

Since I can't stop thinking about him, I casting on socks for him today. This is the yarn.

2007-08-20T09:40:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I'm posting here. I have no pictures and no knitting news. Just sad. Today is the first day of school. All summer, I tried to get a job teaching with no luck at all. Mostly, I couldn't get an interview. Then one principal criticized my printing and said that "Betty" looked like "Berry" and she couldn't read it. You know that if they're not even going to try to be nice at the beginning of the interview, you're in a tough few minutes.

I interviewed for the best job in the world and the worst. Both were at correctional facilities for adolescents. The best had a staff of teachers who bragged on the academic accomplishments of the kids. The teachers were treated with respect by the institution and had some nice benefits. The worst had stand alone trailers all spread out over acres of land and the teacher would be alone in one of them with up to 15 adolescent boys who had been adjudicated to the facility. Scary!

So I'm running out of money and feeling bad bad bad. I do work parttime but my boss didn't schedule me this week! My son also worked there as a summer job and he hurt his hand last week. The boss seemed to think he was blowing it all out of proportion (but cashiers do work with their hands!) and didn't schedule either of us for this week.

Some nice things though: The guy who cuts my grass stopped by. I told him I was out of work and would call when I got a job. He said, "I'll do a quick run through and you call me when you get a job." So the yard is decent. And Patty, a woman I've never met, is sending me kefir grains. I've been drinking kefir to keep my health going but it's expensive and soon I can make my own. And weeks ago, my son lost his cell phone in Virginia while he was traveling through there on a tour bus. Someone found it and mailed it to us. I wanted to thank her with a pair of socks but she won't reply so Patty will be getting them.

Ok ... if you're reading this, wish me luck.

Sticking toe in water of blogging

2007-08-18T07:36:00.000-05:00

Why am I not sticking my toe in a sock? What is the sound of one toe sticking?

Blogger boasts that it automatically saves drafts. But I was just writing a post, hit a wrong key, was out of blogger and there is no saved draft!! So pooey on braggy blogger.

I know it's obvious that I haven't posted in a long time. Just haven't felt up to it. I've knitted a few things since then but haven't photographed some of them. Here's a couple that I did: Gloves and socks for darling Yulle .. son's friend. This is my hand and her feet.

This morning, I woke up screaming. It didn't wake my son so I guess I don't scream loud but it was meaningful to me. My sweet cat, the cat who cuddles and who is incredibly soft and good and beautiful, jumped into bed with me and landed on my hand with his claws out. Two went into my hand and stuck there!! He was pulling and not getting free and I thought he'd rip my skin off. I couldn't get a good picture of the puncture wounds but here's a bad one and mug shot of the culprit. I put antibiotic cream on it and hope for best. I've heard about cat scratch fever. Yow!!

Sock update

2007-03-04T11:26:00.000-06:00

Delivered these Lorna's Lace Shepherd's Socks on Tuesday. Naturally, I hope she likes them.

These "Opal" socks are almost done. I tried on the finished one and it feels wonderful.

Just a little progress

2007-02-24T09:30:00.000-06:00

One of the socks for my yoga teacher is finished and the other is half done. Working with bigger yarn on bigger needles sure speeds things up.

I'm ribbing these k4p1 all the way down. I have doubts they'll stay up and I'll like them anyway, I think. If anyone knows that yarn this is, please tell me. I think it's an old Opal but can't find it anywhere.

The Maine Socks

2007-02-20T19:02:00.000-06:00

I had two hours of comp time to use this morning and it was WONDERFUL to go to work late. I had a chest delivered to replace the defective one I bought in December. Then I finished these socks and mailed them to Kath who lives in a small place with a huge Indian name. Then ... all relaxed I went to work.

Once at work, I learned that the teacher of three-year-olds quit. I like her and will miss her but it didn't concern me that much. Until. Later, I was told that she had been paid her two weeks notice and told to go home. I will be replacing her, I learned. No longer am I relaxed. This is supposed to last only two weeks but you know how that goes.

Who needs a life?

2007-02-17T12:50:00.002-06:00

The next pair of socks I finish will be sent to Kath the Sailor Woman. Meantime, I'm also knitting Fortissima 6-ply on size 2 needles for my amazing son:

And Lorna's Laces New Town Shepherd Socks for my yoga genius teacher:

And I think these are Opal .. for me:

These will also be for me. Right now they're in baby stage. Pretty cotton colors.

And theeeese are marianne's feet in her hand knit Opal socks. When in New Brunswick, please drop in her shop and spend your Yankee dollars.

What lovely feet!!

2007-02-06T07:40:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, I mailed these socks to California by regular mail. Not 2-day mail, not priority, not express, not any words like that. My clever friend snatched them out of the postal system on Monday. How'd she do that? I did send them from a UPS office but was under the impression they were being mailed USPS. Even so, this is fast.

Ta Da

2007-02-03T07:46:00.000-06:00

Finished the Trekking socks in the colorway Autumn. I think it should be called Painted Desert. One sock turned out a little bigger than the other which is embarrassing. If they were for me, I wouldn't mind at all as once they're on feet, they stretch out to fit so I'm hoping the recipient feels the same way.

They're shownn next to a lovely handmade bowl that my son brought me for Christmas.

A sock is born

2007-01-21T11:56:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my darling taffy-colored-hair friend who lives in middle of a snow-driven forest and who said these socks are CUTE!! She gets them for that and I hope she hides them in tall boots and they serve her well. Here's the first sock:

This is Online yarn, I think, but not sure. The label has been lost.

And my other darling strawberry-frappe-colored-hair friend who lives in the middle of Metropolis and who wants socks in earth tones will get these socks if they're earth-toney enough. If not, I will knit others.

Not a great picture of this second sock. I'm assuming she'll wear them in the dark and wants to know how they'll look. This is Trekking yarn (Trekking XXL 105, I think) and I love knitting with it.

Mo' sox

2006-12-31T08:42:00.000-06:00

Because I work a lot of hours and a lot of days during the week, I don't have so much time to knit. But I finished a pair of sock, Trekking XXL 101, and here they are:

And I've been at certain sock recipients for not proviiding me with pictures of their feet in said socks. So DS took this picture:

And this is how painful it is to have such a picture taken:

Not caring a thing about any of this:

Talkin' about talking'

2006-12-10T14:42:00.000-06:00

Although I can't be heard like Christina, this is how I sound:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
The Midland
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Northeast
The West
North Central
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

being thankful

2006-11-26T16:16:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving was spent at the table of wonderful friends who know a lot about a lot of things. Cooking and friendship are two of those things but there are lots more. They own a bookstore and when I once suggested someone new to town go there, I was told, "Isn't it wonderful! They can actually tell you about the books." They can tell you a lot more than you find in books.

These two people went with me.
They arrived wearing hand knit socks and there is nothing more rewarding to a knitter than knowing her hours of work is actually in use.
And one of them plays violin. She's been teaching the other one who can produce a recognizable Mary Had a Little Lamb. That's one of my all time favorites!
As I write this, they're on the road back to Gainesville and I miss them!!

Tearfully

2006-11-12T10:38:00.000-06:00

I know that all moms love their kids but I love mine most, I think. If the world were filled with this much emotion, it would explode. He came home from college this weekend and was my little boy agian. His scout troop had a Court of Honor because he made Eagle Scout.
I drove him there and waited around just like in the old days and it was WONDERFUL> He's driving back to Gainesville as I write this and I miss him SO MUCH.

Now look at that woman next to him. She knits socks and has been thinking of making fingerless gloves for a cold-handed friend works in an office. She dropped in to see this friend a few days ago and was greeted by, "We're all getting older aren't we?" This woman nows feels too old to be bothered with those gloves.

I also made these socks for my DS:And finished this sweater for CIC. It looks MUCH cuter in the photo than it really is. I'm telling myself it's another wool layer to keep a child warm.

Sleeves

2006-10-19T18:58:00.000-05:00

I'm not enjoying making the CIC sweater verymuch. The pattern just isn't the greatest and will make a lot of annoying sewing together. But I press on and here are the sleeves so far. I started them on one needle but two stitches are added every four rows and they grow fat so one has been set aside til the other is finished.

Diane is figuring out a pattern for own use and I'll probably copy her as she's smarter and I'm lazier.

I swear I didn't expect this

2006-10-15T23:44:00.000-05:00

You Are Most Like George W. Bush

So what if you're not exactly popular? You still rule the free world.
And while you may be quite conservative now, you knew how to party back in the day!

What Modern US President Are You Most Like?

off the needles

2006-10-13T07:04:00.000-05:00

All righty! I would go ahead and put these socks in the mail but I work every minute of every day that the post office is open and since the go to an alien land, I must fill out some form and go in person. These are the Opal Tutti Fruitti socks made from yarn ordered from somewhere in Europe. Apparently, there wasn't much made in this colorway. It turns out, by the way, that ordering from Europe is cheaper than U.S. even adding in postage. They just sell it cheaper there by far.
Empie didn't finish his socks so I took them over. They look pretty good for his first effort. He probably meant to stalk and kill them once finished ... or sleep on them. As Diane suggested, he was proably just trying to get on my good side by pretending to have an interest in knitting. He has always been dishonest ... purrs when he really means "Get your hands off me so I can run away."

Kitty socks

2006-10-08T13:08:00.000-05:00

I haven't been working on the CIC sweater lately. Instead, I've been teaching Empie to knit. I don't know how he does it lying down but it seems to be coming along ok. The yarn is Opal Tiger. They will not fit him. I wonder who he's making them for. He's not know for generosity.

Needled

2006-10-01T16:08:00.000-05:00

The front and back of the CIC sweater have been finished for a while. Because I don't know how much farther the daffodil yarn will go, I decided I'd better make the neckband before starting the sleeves and discovered I don't have a needle with a big enough eye for the yarn. It's been years since I've attempted anything like this and it's reassuring to know there's plenty of help in the Children in Common knitters.

One of them, Claudia, has a yarn shop in Hudson, New York. (This is a page from Claudia's website.) This morning there was an email from her remarking on a new book, Knitting for Peace, that has devoted five pages to CIC. Claudia said in her email that her family roots are in Lithuania and she can imagine people related to her having to give their children to orphanages because they can't afford to feed them. She feels she's knitting for extended family. I haven't finished one thing for CIC yet but really am drawn to the idea that it's "real." People are genuinely involved in this effort and you don't have to wonder where your money, socks, toothbrushes are going.
And speaking of Russia and eastern Europe, I've had the joy of meeting several university students in the workplace this summer. These kids came from all parts of Russia (east, west and Siberia), Romania and Moldova. They were all smart as anything and came to the U.S. through agencies that sponsor them for four months to work and travel. They pay the agencies to come here, buy their own tickets, pay the agencies part of their salaries while they're here, pay rent, transportation, everything. The agencies put them in housing, move them around and provide the "personal taxi" transportation to and from work. The housing sounds nice. Some are at the beach, some in houses with yards and, since they're young it's probably not strange to them to find themselves living with kids from other countries and of the other sex. I didn't take pictures of them while they were here until the last one, Natalia, was left. This sweet girl from Moldova wasn't the most fluent in English of all the students so I didn't learn as much about her as I wanted. She did tell me that in her country there is no frozen food.

I just fell in love with Russian girl, Sveta, who I knew briefly. Most of the kids will change their names (or even countries as I noticed Natalia became Russian after enough Americans responded to "Moldova" with guesses that it was in the Phillipines and "Where in the heck is that?") Sveta, however, got right in my face, within my limits of personal space, and said her name over and over and over and over until she was satisified with my pronunciation. Then she taught me a few other Russian phrases. She promised to email me a picture and I'd certainly love to get it but as the mother of a teenager, I have little hope.

These kids worked two jobs while they were here, often 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. six days a week. They had two jobs and would get a day off each week from each job but not on the same day. It was tiring for them but some, at least, said they were bored when they weren't at work. Some sent money home. Hopefully, all went home enriched and with positive experiences in the U.S.

Uncross your fingers .. now cross them again !

2006-09-26T08:50:00.000-05:00

I got the job I applied for and NOW am focusing on what to do to be prepared the first day. In celebration, here's a picture of my son with a sock draped over him. He came home from the university for the weekend. Behind him is a baby blanket his paternal grandmother, Myra, made for him. She knitted some beautiful things!!

This picture is for Marianne who named the lake in my town "Duck Hudda Lake." Hudda .. I think .. is a Lebanese word that can be used in the sentence "Don't step in the dog hudda."

The boy took this picture of the lake as we walked around it at sunset.

tooting for tutti

2006-09-23T10:47:00.000-05:00

These .. tutti frutti socks .. are the last ones I will ever post pictures of and say who they're for. This is because I suffer from guilt and am easily pressured. So for those many many people in the world who don't knit their own socks and for whom I'd love to knit them, I can't get to it soon enough to feel unguilty. I'll still post pictures of socks though. Mariannnne, they're almost done. I messed with the colors on the puter but this is close.

My ever-so-good son is on his to see me from college. He has called four (maybe five) times so far to let me know how it's going: traffic updates, car lost in garage, directions needed. I really want to see him but there is no end to worrying about one's children. I'll see if I can get him to hold some knitting while I photograph him.

I also applied for a wonderful job yesterday so pray, cross your fingers, hold your breath, whatever.

Things I saw today

2006-09-20T15:33:00.000-05:00

Today I went downtown to have lunch with friend, Liz. The weather was SO beautiful that I couldn't help stopping to take pictures. First, we have some nice kudzu. This vine is not natural to the U.S. and since being planted in the South has taken over EVERYTHING. It climbs up trees. I just managed to find some that hadn't been covered yet.
The train doesn't stop here but we have a nice depot. It's used as a museum now. The train runs right back of it.
This is the lake where I walk, when I walk, which is never. It's one mile around. Perfect except the sidewalks slant downhill. There's another sidewalk (1.25 miles) at the top of the hill.

I always feel more peaceful when I go downtown. All the businesses are open and there are others to the right. I love downtown.

pretty pretty sock

2006-09-19T09:14:00.000-05:00

I just think this one is so pretty. It's Austermann Step with Aloe Vera and Jojoba Oil in denim and boy did it stick together. I didn't get the whole ball rolled up because it stuck and knotted so badly. I guess the heels and toes will be with something else so I don't risk running out. But I love it.

Here's the CIC sweater back and most of the front. It'll look better blocked but the knitting is coming along.

Puddles

2006-09-18T11:26:00.000-05:00

I went out to take pictures of rain and figured out, all by myself, that the background has be darker than the color of water. (Loved that book The Color of Water by the way. Title comes from mixed-race children asking Mom what color God is.) I got pictures of water dripping off the house.

I'm working on three socks and the little sweater. Someone really mentally sick was telling me how she hates her job, loves to shop with her dd because her dd is so smart she makes male salespersons look dumb, she hates some of her co-workers because they're bossy, prissy, attractive (guys are always hanging around her instead of working), etc. I was knitting knitting knitting a sock when this other woman came in and teased me about making a pair for her. Conversation went like this:

Nice Woman: Will you be able to finish my socks by Christmas?

Mean Woman: She'll charge you.

NW: That's ok. I'll pay.

MW: Do you want a pair like those? (ones I was working on.)

NW: That would be good. Anything she'd make, I'd want.

MW: They don't appeal to me.

It's really hard to let this kind of this roll off. Grrr.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Socks

2006-09-15T08:24:00.000-05:00

I finished these socks a few weeks ago, said goodbye, and sent them to live in Germany with their new Christina-feet. They're Opal Lollipop 1016, knit on size U.S. 1.5 needles (5 wooden/bamboo ones). I made them a little extra long knowing that Christina romps through the snow several months out of the year and when she washes/dries them they're look a little smaller. No worries. Put them on and they're go right back to size. But .. the outcome of the extra length was almost running out of yarn. I actually bought another ball because I was so sure I wouldn't make it. I sent the remaining yarn along with the socks for darning purposes and she probably hasn't noticed it in the toe yet, it was so small.

When your thread won't pull

2006-09-14T08:09:00.000-05:00

Sometimes ... when you're knitting and your thread seems stuck, it might be that something is lying on it.

I finished the Knitpicks Jig socks and the Regia Canadian Classic Colors 4741. The Jigs are a little stretched out as I wore them last night.

Saturday cartoons

2006-09-09T08:56:00.000-05:00

Cartoons are what I'm wishing for. I live in a rural area without cable, won't buy a satellite and so only get one station. Lazy Town is not a cartoon. I miss the clever little 2-d animals, trains and strange-haired people who are supposed to be on tv on Saturday morning. While I wait for CBS to wake up and fix this, here's my current knitting.

The Tutti Fruitti sock toe is being formed.

The back of my little sweater for Children in Common is almost finished. You can't really see the two oranges at the bottom but they're there.

nothing new here

2006-09-07T12:14:00.000-05:00

Just showing the work I've done on Marianne's socks (Opal Tutti Frutti) and the Opal Cameleon ones. Both these yarns are so nice to work with. Of course, they're both Opal so I must be talking about the colorways. Yes, I am. Yulle gave me the Cameleon. I hope she didn't want socks for herself from it! She's going to get another ball of yarn knit up soonish. The Tutti Fruitti is one of those "rare" yarns that I can't seem to find in the U.S. It's on ebay from Europe which is just fine. Yarns from Europe are cheaper, including postage, than U.S. ones. I really think it's pretty and wonder why I can't find it here.

little sweater

2006-09-05T11:13:00.001-05:00

I am finally knitting something for Children in Common (CIC) . In addition to what's shown on the website, they have a knitting group on yahoo and are currently asking for sweaters. These sweaters, socks, vests, etc. go to orphanages in or near Russia where children are cared for in very cold climates . The buildings are unheated or poorly heated and there is no hot water.

I'm using Ann Budd's Book of Patterns and Knitpicks Wool of the Andes. The colors are pumpkin on the bottom and carrot above. The top half of the sweater will be daffodil. This is yarn I bought months ago to make socks for CIC but .. because I was in school .. never found time.

So I have four projects going now -- three socks (one for foggy Marianne and two for my big feet) and one sweater. Should keep it from getting dull.

trouble in paradise (or pair-a-socks-twice)

2006-08-29T12:58:00.000-05:00

Since blogger started its beta version, it is SO HARD to post in the regular old version. Of course, they won't let me into the new one and I don't know I managed to get in to the old. Gripe gripe gripe. Anyhow, these lovely out-of-focus socks will be for a wonderful person who will look at them a lot as it is too foggy where she lives to see any further. The colors are nice even if the focus is bad.

These are my Regia Canadian Classic Colors #4741. They are working out so nicely. I think I love Regia yarn the most.

Chile socks

2006-08-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

Yulle, the cutie pictured in the last post, brought these socks to me from Chile where they were hand knit. You can see there's a seam up the side and the ribbing at the top is so interesting. They did k1p1 to the bottom of the band THEN knit the knit/pearl stitches together but knit 2 stitches out of them so there's the same number of stitches. It makes a nice little lacey effect. I would show a close up but the camera batteries died ... I LOVE the llamas.

Is focus so important?

2006-08-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

My son and his friend try to avoid the camera. If they knew I couldn't focus, they could've saved the effort. (See the basket of yarn behind them?) And here is my sweet kitty, saved and restored to our home. It's such a nice picture of him, I had to post it.

Jig socks

2006-08-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

Less than half a sock left! The yarn is "jig" from the "dancing'" series put out by Knitpicks. I'm not so sure I like it but I'm sure gonna finish it and find out. The sock is k two rows, then k2p2 two rows. I've been warned that when I wash it, the pattern will disappear. How sad. I'm afraid they'll get baggy.

The kitty is doing better. Hopefully, he can come home tomorrow. I miss him very much.

Snore

2006-08-09T09:07:00.000-05:00

I took a picture of the sock I'm finishing next but then, because I'm not computer smart, deleted it. There is a sock growing. Take my word.

The update on Velikan is that he's still at the vet's office. My darling son is footing his bill for a few days to see what's what. He is such a perfect pet. Sweeet. No bad habits. Adorable. Sleeps with me and comes when called. Really. This breed of cat, Siberian, comes when you call them.

Meantime, here's a picture of Emperor, the bad cat, taking over my bed when I'm not in it. He does not sleep with me but isn't above sleeping on the pillow when undisturbed by human hands who seek fur.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack

2006-08-06T21:52:00.000-05:00

I am not been able to knit for so so so very long. It's been about school and work and mothering a teenager. There has been no time. Now, school is over, the teen is on his way to university and I am knitting. But first ... look at my sweet kitty, Ivan. He is sick. He is not eating so I worry about him. He is the sweetest, most affectionate fluffo ever.

But .. here are the socks in progress. First, cotton/wool blend that have been in the works forever. Oooo, there are my toes.
And these are from yarn that I thought was really ugly. I thought I'd just knit it up and see how it turned out and now it's my fav!

And these are for my friend Christina who hopes to have them before it snows! Well, if it doesn't snow for a long time, I might make it.That's it! Please say hi and leave encouragment.

back on topic

2006-03-04T11:49:00.000-06:00

I am going to finish these socks today !! TODAY..!! I mean it. They look very cute don't they? Opal Brasil yarn. I've just away from knitting while I adjusted to other little things like school and work. But T O D A Y these socks will be done done done.

Where am I?

2006-02-23T08:13:00.000-06:00

Where am I? Why am I not posting? Can good and evil be assigned to a sock? Do all those movie stars really wear Earth Shoes? (found a list of 'em with photos in an online ad.)

I have not been posting because I have not been knitting much. My feet
have been really unhappy about a new job that requires me to stand on them all day. There's something wrong inside one foot that doesn't normally hurt but nowadays it does. So my hands don't want to work either.

Meantime, here's a picture of my cat attempting to control me with xray vision. It's not good at it so don't worry.
I am a bit down these days. Nice comments would be appreciated.

Awww .. sweet

2006-02-13T06:50:00.000-06:00

This is today's news:

Man shows love a stitch at a time

www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-13 11:16:36

BEIJING, Feb. 13 -- A HK man is knitting a scarf for his girlfriend when other guys are desperate for gift ideas to please theirs for the coming Valentine’s Day.

Jeffery Kwok, 26, has everything under control. “I hope to make a special gift. Before, I bought her a mobile phone or accessories, which can be seen everywhere,” the man was quoted by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post as saying Saturday.

He has been attending a knitting class for a month.

“I’ve never done any knitting in my life. The scarf I’m knitting for her is pink, with some special patterns. She might think it doesn’t look good when she sees it, but I’m sure she will appreciate my effort,” he said.

Kwok, who has taken a new knitting course at the Hong Kong College of Technology’s Competitiveness Center, is among a growing number of men who have taken up knitting after it became trendy in New York. A wool and craft store in Manhattan organizes “boyz nights” where dozens of men gather for a few pints and to knit. It is said knitting helps relieve stress.

Competitiveness Center manager Santes Ma Sai-dan said the course had only recently begun recruiting men. “Knitting is a very good way to show your love and to take your mind off stressful daily life,” Ma said.

She said she hoped the center would help promote the culture of knitting among males. “In the past, you’d never see a man carrying a baby or feeding one. But these days, they are everywhere.”

While men in the United States seemed to be more open about their newly acquired interests, Kwok was a little shy.

“I didn’t tell anyone about attending the knitting class because it’s embarrassing. People usually think guys shouldn’t pick up such a girly hobby,” he said.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)

Oops

2006-02-12T22:58:00.000-06:00

Sometimes things just go wrong. It's nobody's fault. Little accidents happen. Leaning on the bag of Cinnamon Imperials you can see where I laddered three inches of this sock. I found a dropped stitch back there and couldn't figure out how that could be .. I had the right number of stitches the whole time. But look in the circle .. there's a jag. Where it's two rows of knit stitches, they suddenly move to the right. I really like the material this yarn is making so it didn't bother me too much to rip it out and keep knitting.

I think Christina is telling me the progress bar shows up in the right place on her screen. Is this true? How frustrating computer coding is.

--Double oops.
Christina has pointed out that the bar is in the right place is you're using Internet
explorer which I'm not.

Sock and bar update

2006-02-12T10:41:00.000-06:00

Update on the two socks I'm working on. Aren't they both just wonderful?? Yes, they are. Nod your head.

You may or may not see a little "progress bar" across the picture. Some really really nice man whose wife is a knitter created the html and is sharing it AND helping the computer-unsavvy knitters figure out to use it. If it's still over the picture, expect it to move soon.

Wonderful things to show

2006-02-10T15:14:00.000-06:00

I have things to show!!!

First, this beautiful Opal yarn arrived today compliments of OpalChatters. I won it because I have a blog. It's really beautiful ... I checked out how the finished socks look. Welcome to my home little Opal.

Isn't this beautiful and jewel-like? Knitpicks Dancing yarn growing into socks. I'm using a knit two rows, k2p2 two rows and I really like the look. The yarn is part wool, part cotton and part nylon. Most sock yarn is wool and nylon (for strength) so it's the cotton part that's unusual .. sometimes. The Sockotta socks you all so kindly made fun of are wool/cotton/nylon. I have washed them but not tried them on yet to see if they fit better. I like the suspense.

Opal Brasil is growing into socks for a certain young lady south of the border .. the border being the county line I guess. It's a fun yarn to work with .. beautiful colors and little patterns to entertain.

The neighbors dogs love me more than anything. This is one of them. He's wagging his tail and my cat is behind the door growling. Does that make sense? The dog is friendly and the cat growls? Cats are no judges of character.

Sockotta stripies

2006-02-08T10:29:00.000-06:00

I finished more socks. These are Sockotta 505 .. 505 being the colorway. The first socks I made for myself are Sockotta and I love them. I'm not so sure about these. I made them on smaller needles than the others but they seem bigger. Maybe after they're washed and dried in the dryer, they'll be better. I bought the yarn when one of the online vendors had a sale. I didn't know what I was buying but it is SO MUCH FUN to see patterns develop from yarn you're not familiar with.

I finished the Opal Rodeo socks minutes before I gave them to my wonderful yoga teacher. I rushed out of the house thinking I was late and did not even think about taking a picture of them. I've asked her if I can take their picture for this blog the next time I see her. Isn't that tacky? I mean, when you give someone a gift, you shouldn't ask them to produce it again for any reason. It's theirs. You're done with it. But she said yes and I will post their picture later.

I'm also in school which is good but has expenses I did not forsee and that's getting me down. And I'm looking for a job. And I have the best teenager in the world (don't argue!) but it's still hard being a mom. I think the less you care the easier it may be but I care a lot. He's great. He is not a problem. There are just things that go with the territory.

Meme

2006-02-03T08:46:00.000-06:00

I copied from Christina again.

Four Things Meme

Four jobs I’ve had:
Overseas telephone operator
Reporter
Cocktail waitress
Admissions clerk in hospital

Four movies I can watch over and over again:
Sergeant Bilko
A La Carte
Nothing Sacred
Connie and Carla

Four places I’ve lived:
California
Alabama
Germany
Florida

Four TV shows I love:
Monk
Gillmore Girls
Amazing Race
Laverne and Shirley

Four places I’ve vacationed:
San Francisco
New York
London/Paris
Cruise ship in Caribbean

Four of my favorite dishes:
Cobb salad
Tacos
Beef/sweet potato stew
Sausage/beet soup

Four sites I visit regularly:
Wikepedia
Google
Yahoo
Catoftheday.com

Four places I’d rather be right now:
Big Sur
On a train through Canada
New Mexico
Munich

Wow O Wow O Wow

2006-02-02T07:03:00.000-06:00

Guess what !!?!! I won a ball of Opal yarn from Opalchatters! Not this ball! This is Rodeo that I'm finishing into socks very soon. I had meant not to post pictures of socks in progress for a bit, only finished ones, but since I WON the yarn (and am quite excited) other Opalers might come here to see and I need something to show them.

There! Now, I'm going back to finish reading the Opalchatters newsletter to see what else is going on. I did see pictures of the PT Yarn storage building. Wouldn't that be fun to roam around in .. Enter with big empty pockets .. leave loaded down. Sigh. What a dream.

Thank you Soxie!!

Toally unique

2006-01-22T12:18:00.000-06:00

I finished these socks this morning and don't think there could be another pair like them anywhere. Well, that's because it appears something went wrong with the yarn but that's ok. They have their own personality and felt wonderful when I put them on. The yarn was Fortissima Colori 2425 and they were knit (if you care) on 2.5 mm wooden needles.

Dreamy yarn twins delivered by stork mail carrier

2006-01-21T18:25:00.000-06:00

The most beautiful of all possible yarns arrived today. Just look at them. Don't you want to touch them? Pet them? Just feel their soft perfect quality? These are (left to right) Opal Chameleon and Opal Brasil. They were sent by a the lovely girl with the shiny hair who leaves comments here ... but her name was nowhere on or in the package so I didn't put two and two together. Now, I wait for her to tell me which of these (or if not one of these ..which other yarn) she would like socks from.

Thank you Yulle. This is a wonderful, surprising gift ... the best of all possible yarns.

Yes, I am knitting

2006-01-20T23:04:00.000-06:00

Yes, yes, I am knitting but I don't feel like showing anything until it's finished. Just a mood, I guess. In the meantime, here's the scanner we bought today. It was $99 at Circuit City and one almost like it was $79. Puzzling. Which to choose? Well, they didn't have ink for the $79 one which made me suspicious that the ink wouldn't be available so we went next door to Office Depot where both were $79 and they had plenty of ink. There's a moral here. Don't trust the store with the better reputation without going next door first.

Then .. I was once again inspired by the beautiful Christina (GO LOOK AT HER BLOG) that I decided to take my own picture.

Here I am:

And here:

And here:

My hair's growing out nicely, don't you think?

A tough doughnut?

2006-01-19T09:46:00.000-06:00

Does this sound like me? Really, I don't think so. I don't even like doughnuts.

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you.
But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft.
You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily.
You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

School Days

2006-01-18T09:29:00.000-06:00

See this really big $107 book? It's my text book. (Later, I get to buy another similarly priced book.) Last night, I became a student again. If this goes well, in a few months I'll have a teaching certificate and ... a JOB!!!

They have mapped out all the dates for every class necessary through the end of July. Fortunately for them, they feel comfortable changing these at will and this has caused a problem here. I was set to take Zach to visit a college campus he's interested in but they've moved a Saturday class to that date. Zach grumbles about this. I am too overwhelmed with it all. Next to the book is a black blob which is really Ivan, my sweet dumb cat.

Just to even things out, here's Emperor the evil cat. Look at his face. He's talking like that cat in The Master and Marguerita. What do you think he's saying? It's really too frightening to consider.

Spicy post (and tea-y)

2006-01-17T10:26:00.000-06:00

Per request, here is my spice shelf. The little basket holds a variety of tea though not all we have. It also has packets of Splenda. The basket dates back to the 1940s. Once, I saw Martha demonstrating how to wash a basket.

1. Wait for the first warm spring day.
2. Set the basket on your green perfect huge lawn.
3. Hose it off.
4. Let it dry.

It's so easy that my basket doesn't want to do it. Even a basket needs a challenge.

Everyone must eat

2006-01-16T12:07:00.000-06:00

I am following the lead of the very clever Christina and posting a picture of the inside of my fridge. Notice:

*chocolate SILK (Soy Milk) on top shelf. Sooo yummmy.
*that yellow thing on the second shelf is Durian Pudding. If you have not had Durian Pudding, you are just so lucky. If you have never been within 100 yards of a durian, you are lucky. In fact, we should all take out restraining orders against durians just in case. And, I suggest that any friends of Zach's who might be reading this say to him, "I'd like to try that durian pudding. Can you stand to share it?"
*third shelf, sodas and yogurt. Balances out the diet.
*fourth shelf, a bag of Arby's Roast Beef sandwiches. 5 for $5.99.
*on the top of the door, notice butter compartment is still covered with the original plastic. Keeps it new.

The fridge also has fruit/veggie trays but the camera had no interest in those.

The Aslan socks have gone to their new home and they were so happy. They would've wagged their tails had I thought to knit any.

Aslan socks

2006-01-15T17:21:00.000-06:00

The Lorna's Laces (Aslan colorway) are shown here relaxing on my yoga mat. Hmmmm. If only I had something else to say.

Little brain stress

2006-01-14T12:55:00.000-06:00

The adjective here is "stress" not "brain."

First of all, a very adorable person who comments here has mailed me yarn and I have not received it. It has been over a week. Just to show you what I'm up against, one day our mailbox was knocked over. Soon, the mail carrier, whom I had never met, called up offer to put it up again in a new place. She didn't say she had knocked it over but there is that appearance. She said it was difficult for her to reach it safely as it was too close to the road. I told her to come and show me where she wanted it and she came right out.

So if your mail carrier actually vandalizes your mailbox and won't fess up, what can you do about undelivered mail?

Second, I have just told too many people that I'll make socks for them. This has exhausted my brain and I'm taking it all back. After all this knitting (6 pair of completed socks), I only have 2 and wear them over and over. This makes me feel bad to know that my precious socks are sitting in people's drawers while my feet pine for them.

Third, here's something to look at. The sock is not being tortured. The yarn twists up and I hang it to let it unwind. It is scary looking though.

Here Kitty Kitty ... NOT

2006-01-11T22:06:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a moment out of knitting to talk about my cats .. my pets .. those things that are reputed to lower ones blood pressure and bring companionship in a peaceful, undemanding way. I hate them.

One of them, the dumb beautiful one, hid under the Christmas tree long enough to completely remove the fibers from a small section of carpeting.

The other one is smart but evil. In the past he has brought into the yard several dead baby bunnies. One baby bunny was saved from him and he whined as it hopped away into the woods while he was forced to watch from the grasping hands of my son. He has (in the past .. not now) left kitty dropping in the wrong place. He is dishonest and purrs when he's being held and is trying to throw the holder off guard so he can jump away and run. I'm sure there are other way he is evil but he BIGGEST WAY is that last night, he was on my bed and I was there petting him. Unprovoked, he put his ears back and looked at me hard. I could see his pupils dilate. Blacker and blacker they grew til .. POUNCE .. he jumped at my head and surrounded it with his evil kitty arms. I had a scratch on one temple.

After I chased with him around spraying him with water, I allowed him to make it to the door where he waited to be let it.

"You can go out all right," I said, "but you're not walking out. I'm putting you out." I lifted him and shoved him out the door. Then I had fantasties of having both cats declawed ... or ... not even having cats. Might as well have a rottweiller.

Striking gold

2006-01-10T07:56:00.000-06:00

I was so delighted when I the Fortissima Colori Socka Color yarn (right) developed a stripe-like effect with different shades of brown and different amounts of gold in each stripe. The yarn is made of two threads of different browns and one gold and each gets bigger and smaller as the yarn progresses.

I began the second sock thinking about getting MORE of this wonderful yarn. They started off the same .. kind of .. Both cuffs are plain brown but different browns. Then I struck it rich and hit pure gold.

I'm not pleased but I am kind of intrigued.

Brrr ... it's cold outside

2006-01-06T11:51:00.000-06:00

Remember I live in Florida. Brrrr. It's in the 40s outside. Brrrrr.

Now, on topic, I finished the Emu Superwash socks and will put them in the mail soon.

And I cast on new socks! Look at the gold specks in that brown Fortissima Colori Socka yarn! I will have rich looking feet!!

The other are Lorna's Laces in a colorway called "Aslan." Very pretty and pastel.

Opals on feet

2006-01-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

The orangey-striped socks (Opal is the wonderful brand) are finished ! And I, personally as a neutral observer, think they look great!! I sneaked up on the them to take a picture of them at work.

The other socks are coming along nicely also. We're through the gusset and onto the foot.

Now, I want to try the Six Sox pattern and cast on some socks for a woman friend who tells me she wears a size 5 shoe from the boy's department! Sheesh. This is not on my size chart.

Discipline problems

2006-01-02T09:18:00.001-06:00

I am sad to report that the blue/green/purple sock (2) has misbehaved. It took an attitude and opened a big hole in itself right where the gusset connects to the instep. No matter how I tried, I could not recreate fabric from the yarn in that hole and it had to be unknitted about a half-dozen rounds. Now it is banned to the arm of the chair while I finish the orange-stripey one.

While I asked people for yarn for Christmas I received none. Tomorrow, I have to bring a completed two-page questionare to the college to interview for a new program they have. I would appreciate a little encouragment here. (Guilt trip attempt.) These questions are tough and I mean they look simple but I believe there's only one answer they want and I don't know what it is.

Socks on the ottoman

2005-12-31T10:36:00.000-06:00

The boy socks (1) are done and (2) ready for heels. This is my goal for today. Heels. Do I have an exciting life or what??

Yesterday, Zach's adorable girlfriend came over. She's a vegetarian so I am cooking without meat for her which is fine with me. Made lentil pilaf with several veggies, lemon peel, asiago cheese, fresh basil and it was .. ok. Not all that flavorful considering .. but ok. After he had taken her home, he rushed in the door saying, "I'm making Top Ramen. Dinner was good but not enough complex carbohydrates."

"Not enough what?" I asked and he repeated.

"What about the lentils (which were red, by the way) and the rice?"

"Not enough," he said.

Personally, I think Top Ramen is simple carbohydrate but I know better than to argue with a teenager .. especially when he's actually preparing food for HIMSELF!

Socks on the barbie

2005-12-27T12:19:00.000-06:00

Both boy socks are ready for toes. They seem to have about the same size feet which makes this easier. I have one here to try them on.

I have nothing to say about myself today but sending well wishes to everyone who's sick and everyone who's being visited by the Holiday Depression monster.

Red socks

2005-12-26T08:41:00.000-06:00

These are my newly finished Lorna's Laces socks in Tuscany and I love them. sighhhh (please ignore the blue thread showing on the top of the sock..it is no longer there.)

Zach seems happy with his hat. He wore it when it went to see his girlfriend yesterday (such a doll by the way!) and told me she liked it. "Everybody likes goofy hats," he said.

"Would she like some goofy socks?" I asked. He didn't seem so convinced about that.

You Are Socks!

Cozy and warm... but easily lost.
You make a good puppet.

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

The hat is done

2005-12-24T15:42:00.000-06:00

I decided on a finishing for the hat and had at it while the boy was at work. It's kind of loose .. at least on me .. and he may not like it. And I hope in a way he doesn't so I can send it to Afghans for Afghans. I think it would be useful there.

Here's the back modeled by a shy penguin.

Here's directions for the vinegar:

It's half decent while wine and half decent white (good brand name not store brand) white vinegar. We added fresh sprigs of thyme, basil and oregeno tied together with a strand of chives. A piece of garlic was dropped into the bottle and it sits for three months to ferment. You can get these wine bottles or other fancy bottles at those big container stores.

sock growth

2005-12-23T15:49:00.000-06:00

I keep going from one sock to the other:

Brown sock (2) has met with a mishap but is ready for the heel flap.

Red sock (2) proceeding nicely on the foot.

Orange sock (1) is growing a heel flap.

Blue sock (1) has a complete heel and the beginnings of a gusset. There was a worry that I didn't have enough of the colorway to complete the sock so the heel is done in green as will be the toe.

Whew!

sockies for boys

2005-12-22T15:16:00.000-06:00

I have finished the hat knitting and this person I've admired from afar named Nanette (knittingincolor.blogspot.com) has given me ideas for finishing it. I'm probably giving it to Zach as is and let him decide on what shape it'll take.

The two socks are not finished but just to keep boredom at bay, I've started two more. The orangey one (Opal prima) is for Zach and I keep asking him, "Are you sure you'll wear this?" The cool-colors one is heavier wool (Emu Superwash) and is for a young man in California. The socks can grow together as the boys sort of have.

Updates . shhhh

2005-12-18T09:53:00.000-06:00

This is the perfect little camouflage sock. You can see that I'm almost done with the heel flap on the second sock. There I was sitting in my chair looking for a dropped stitch when ... presto .. one of the needles vanished. I had already lost one so now I have three and can't finish the sock. I looked under all the furniture, took the chair cushions out, examined the afghan I was snuggled under, no needle. This is a size (2.25 mm) that I seriously think I never want to use again. I have 2.5 mm ones on the way.

Lorna's Lace Tuscany. I am loving this sock. It fits, is comfy and knits up fast with these 2.75 mm needles. I'm getting quite a lesson on metric math here.

And this is the hat as of the morning. The other day I had an html question for Zach and pretty soon he was looking at my website. He's a guy so MAYBE he didn't put 2 and 2 together and think about the hat picture. Anyway, I haven't wanted to post more of them. I'm not sure I have enough of the green. Hope so. It's my favorite color in here. I wish the tassels could be green also.

2005-12-11T14:51:00.000-06:00

I am freeeeeeee!!! For some reason, I have been seeing my knitting abilities up to the effort of producing hand-knitted socks for various people. All these would be done by Christmas and would be perfect. So I was starting things and problems popped up and I was just frustrated, getting nowhere. I totally frogged a couple of things, put them back in the basket and am now free to work on the hat you see below plus some socks that have been started that will be for me. After all this knitting, I only have one pair of socks for myself. After the hat and after Christmas, I will be without deadline, relax a bit, and maybe make some gift socks.

After I do this green/pink formation three more times, the knitting will be finished. Cute, I think.

Knitting preparation

2005-12-09T13:08:00.000-06:00

This is not Knitting 101. This is Knitting -101 maybe.

How the yarn starts.

How it ends.

How it should not be between beginning and end.

The almost perfect little sock I made has two choices in life:

1. I can make it a mate and then, like the kingsmen in Cinderella, go search for the tiny foot it will fit. Actually, it fits me but cosily. We will see.
2. I could frame it as proof I have knitted something that worked out.

I am making a Russian, tasseled hat for Zach form Charlene Schurch's book "Mostly Mittens." Because he's grown, it takes 180 stitches around. Somewhere on row 3, I saw an error in row 1 so I am unknitting (tinking). I neeeeed to sllllow down and check things often as I go.

Notice the two bottles in the picture with the ball of yarn. Those are herbed vinegars that I made at friend's house. She invited people over and taught us this tasty craft. Vinegar, it turns out, is made with vinegar. You pour some vinegar in a bottle, some white wine, throw in the herbs and set it aside for a couple of months. It's ready to consume.

Trivia: did you know the average woman's ankle measures eight inches?

Grumpies

2005-12-06T11:43:00.000-06:00

Problems with knitting. I finished the sock and it's gorgeous. It is truly beautiful and I could never rip it out. But it's smallish. I used size 1 needles like the pattern said but didn't notice (and didn't gauge ... bad !!!) that her size 1 was 2.5 mm and mine was 2.25 mm. So it's snug and not meant for a gift like planned.

And the glove isn't working either. I made one pair which turned out very well but this one isn't. The other yarn was more forgiving. This one show every little problem, every stitch that's not the same size, every twist. The places where the threads join for fingers look horrible.

Saw some magazine on the stand this morning that had a tiny article about how calming knitting is. I am withholding judgement.

Oh those tiny needles

2005-12-03T11:51:00.000-06:00

First, I want to show how friendly my cats are to each other. Acutally, Ivan (left) will try to be friendly but is usually rebuffed.

These socks are taking forever. The size 1 needles are smaller than skewers you barbecue with and it goes on and on and this is the first sock. It takes two, you know.

The green is another pair of fingerless gloves I've started. Hopefully, I'll be finished before Christmas.

Had to post this. Those who know me will faint.

yarn price phobia

2005-12-01T12:12:00.000-06:00

Stuff you make ought to be cheaper than stuff you buy, right? And I guess it would be if you started with your own sheep and ended up with your own sweater. You'd already own a spinning wheel, of course, and needles and have the pattern. Then it would be free.

I talked with a woman making a gorgeous tweedy sweater this morning. Her yarn cost upwards of $160. It was part silk. Along with the sheep, I need some silkworms and ... whatever it takes to turn the cocoon into a string.

my other cat

2005-11-29T08:39:00.000-06:00

This is my other cat, Emperor (aka Empie). He gets to go outside. Maybe that's why he waiting at the door instead of the window.

Showing off .. sock in progress

2005-11-28T15:30:00.000-06:00

I' m just feeling the need to show off this Christmas present in the making. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in camoflage, needles size 1 (my first time using this size !!!), and pattern is from here.

As you can see I found the pattern on another blog and must express gratitude for the wonderful clarity of directions. The pattern is fun and easy to knit with five needles, 16 stitches on the needles, patterns of 8 stitches each. Thank you Marguerite for making this so easy.

1,2,3 .. just chatting

2005-11-26T13:35:00.000-06:00

I finished the Sockotta Fair Isle socks that I was whining about so much. I couldn't get the toe right. After many many kind and helpful responses at socknitters.com, I frogged it up past the decreases, reknit and all is fine now. It looks good to me, anyway.

These are the first socks I have made for myself. My son has the first pair I made ever, as well as the first gloves.

Ivan really really wants to go outside. He can't though because:
1. I signed a paper saying I wouldn't let him out.
2. He's not savvy enough to trust not to get hurt.
3. His long fur attracts sand spurs.

Ivan was adopted online from a Siberian rescue site. This a relatively new breed of cat in the U.S. and in addition to being sweet and incredibly soft, they are mostly hypoallergenic and they come when you call. Honestly if I call this cat, he will come 70 percent of the time. It has nothing to do with treats or any other bribe, it's just genetic.

The person who owned him before said he's a Grand Champion showcat but I have no way of verifying. He also said Ivan has no bad habits and this is true. His real name is Velikan.
The celery plate that my darling friends Cathy and Charlene helped me make for my part in the Thanksgiving dinner. I think it turned out well and I made dip (per their instructions) also.

Learn to Knit Socks

2005-11-23T16:40:00.000-06:00

I have that book Learn to Knit Socks and I have a new philosphy of life which is that I will embrace my shortcomings. This started when two people, both of whom I respect, told me in one day that I might not be doing well on job interviews because my depression shows through.

First, I thought about what to do to cover the depression.

Then, I thought that if I were not depressed in this situation, some form of mental illness worse than depression would have taken over my mind.

Then, I gave up sugar and am no longer depressed.

BUT IF I WERE depressed, I would have a right to be. And as a new sock knitter, I have a right to be bad at it. So I have this beginner book Learn to Knit Socks and it has patterns for 12 socks, all knit on size 3 needles (which I know is not cool .. size 0 is the cool one .. size 1 is ok, too). Mostly, these are socks I would not want to wear. They have funny cuffs and curly-cues and look about right for a 12-year-old. Yet, I am going to make them all and from this, I will learn to make socks.

I'm wondering if CIC needs socks in adult women's size. I'm sure some kids wear this size. They don't stay small forever. The socks will all be wool, washable and warm.