2011 and still no flying cars.

What is UP with that?? I am very disappointed in science.

What have I been doing lately? LIVING. Not blogging about it, but LIVING.

Bradley and I in October...



Captain Jack & I at the same shoot...



Now, for knitting...

I FINALLY finished Branching Out for my mother. FINALLY. Blocked it using my wire set, and love the wire set.

I finished those red Austrian Socks, which felted in our new washer & dryer to the point that I can't wear them. Thankfully, my friend Jen has smaller feet than I, and she knits, so she is among The Knitworthy and will be receiving them as soon as I get them blocked [soon, Jen, I PROMISE!!].

Here they are, pre-felting:



For Christmas this year, we visited B's aunts & uncle who live in the Midwest. They live in a very small, quiet town, and I was able to knit to my heart's content! I finished the Waving Lace socks in KnitPicks Turtle Multi, and cast on the Padded Footlets for my brother.



I have a couple of other socks ready to go, but they are gifties, so I will post pictures after they are all blocked and in the mail to the recipients. No worries on the surprise factor; they know what they are getting, but I want to post nice pictures!

Two at once

My usual scheme with life is one thing at a time. One book at a time, one knitting WIP at a time, one TV show at a time, one hobby at a time, etc. I've been working on adding variety in the past few months. I don't like it when different parts of my meal touch when they're on my plate - juice from my spinach running into my mac & cheese grosses me out to no end. But lately, I've tried some new things to see how I like them. I still can't read a different book while I'm studying for the CPA exam, but I cast on a new knitting project before I finished my current one.

I've been producing some scarves for my Etsy shop and still haven't knit anything for myself since I picked up my needles last year. Yesterday, I cast on Branching Out. I started it a few months ago and frogged it; using size 8s with the yarn I'd picked (KnitPicks Shimmer) made the stitches far too airy to even recognize a pattern. Last night, I went down two sizes to a 6 needle, and it's easy to see the pattern now. I've done about 4 repeats of the pattern, and I love it. The project I haven't finished is another My So-Called Scarf for Etsy. It's in Classic Wool Merino by Patons in Palais, and I love the rich colors - brown, purple, maroon, and blue. Today, I was catching up on my TV shows on the DVR, and switching from size sixes and laceweight yarn to size elevens and much thicker yarn was definitely an adjustment for my fingers. I didn't find it difficult, though, which was good.

I could knit all day, but it's 3:30 and I really need to get some chores done around the house. We have the Litter Robot for the cats, and it's time to change the bag. I'm also going to switch from clumping clay litter to crystals this week; several fellow cat caretakers (cause we all know that cats simply refuse to be owned) have confirmed that the crystals virtually elimiate the dust that comes along with the clay litter. My kitties have successfully used the crystals in the past, so I don't have to worry about them refusing to transition. I've already taken care of the kitchen; now it's just the rest of the house!

Ugh, and let's not even discuss the studying I have to do today. [Insert whining, bitching, & complaining here!]

Branching Out, revised

Hm, so, now that I've done a few repeats of the pattern, and I think I'll have to frog it all and restart with a smaller needle. It's turning out to be far too open to even see the pattern. I haven't used needles smaller than a 7 or 8, so I'm interested to see how the size 6s will handle. I dug around on Ravelry for a while to see how other knitters' projects turned out, and seeing those made the decision easy.

But I have a kitty curled up in my lap, and she's had a rough day today, so I think I'm going to wait a few before I pick up my project again.

Laceweight yarn

Seriously tangles like mad. I was winding it from a nice hank when something went wrong and it turned into a nightmare bird's nest. I spent all night at knitting group last night untangling, stayed an extra thirty minutes after the other girls left (I was so close to getting it all straightened out!), and then spent another half-hour on it at home before I went to bed. The whole thing is in a nice, neat ball, waiting for me to break out the Branching Out pattern and begin.

It was really nice to see the other knitting girls last night. The other attendees were my dear friend KD, good friends JL and LB, and soon-to-be-good-friend LR. We didn't really get much knitting done; it was mostly just chatting and catching up. JL told us about her wedding veil crisis; the wedding is just a few days away and the only thing going wrong is the veil. I'm so happy for her!

Had dinner tonight with another group of friends; it was CJ's birthday, so we all went to a restaurant called Luma on Park in Winter Park. The food was seriously delicious. I had looked at the menu this afternoon and was horrified at the prices, but hey, it's the girl's birthday, so I'll find something I can afford. I stuck with water for my beverage and a salad for my meal. It was the perfect amount of food, and the flavors were amazing. First time in my life that I've ever cleaned my plate at a restaurant! The chicken dish was also really delicious; LB and CJ both ordered it, and LB let me have a bite of hers. It was served with oven-dried tomatoes on top and on a bed of polenta. I'm seriously craving some polenta now!

Well - after the serious sleep issues I've been having lately, I'm heading to bed. Buenas noches, mi amigos!

Lacework

I finished the seed-stitch scarf last night while I was watching tv with B. Now I have two needing to be blocked and listed on Etsy, but he has my camera right now. :-/ Oh well. I can work on the rest of the listings and, ya know, block them while I wait. Instead - I started winding a ball out of the hank of Knitpicks Shimmer I bought from a Digsfriend months ago. It's Happy Dance, a color that isn't listed on the site anymore. I am planning on casting on Branching Out tomorrow at TNKG. My first adventures in lacework! I can't wait. I'm a little nervous, but I don't know why. I think it will be lovely.

Well, gotta do a few chores and then get into bed. Have to make it to the PO tomorrow morning to ship out some DVDs I sold on half.com.

Things I'm especially enjoying

Blue Moon wheat ale with fresh orange slices
Grilled wings
Red velvet cake ice cream
Family Guy
Fresh haircuts

And giggling at my cat after I give her (vet-ordered) sedatives.

This morning, I spent some time on the Digs Boards re-reading the knitting thread. I have some delicious hand-dyed lace yarn from Australia that I've been trying to decide how to use, and I think I'm going to try Branching Out from Knitty. I dunno, the colorway is just amazing! It sounds like it would be a good start for lace adventures.

I'm still working on the seed-stitch scarf with the Patons Rumors; it's just going to take a little while to finish. I've added another several inches and am getting close to the end of the first skein of yarn. I need to get my kool-aid pink ribbed scarf blocked and listed on Etsy.

Last thing that's making me happy: my husband B curled up on the couch with my cats watching Family Guy with me.