Basketweave & Baskets

I'm over halfway done with my next basketweave scarf. This yarn is a little challenging to work with, but it's very soft. It is going to be really nice when it's finished. I really wanted to stop by the craft stores yesterday and get some new stuff, but I was a good girl and reminded myself of all the delicious yarns I have here at home.

I need to get out on the balcony this and water my plants. I forget how frequently I have to water when the plants are in smaller pots or baskets. There's another tomato growing on my plants; I am not sure how many I'll get this year, but even having three little tomatoes is a big improvement over my scorched plants from last year.

TNKC

I really enjoy the friendships I've made at my knitting groups. Last May (2007), I met KD at the Knit Wits in southwest 0rlando. She had just moved here a few days prior and didn't know anyone. Of course, I had to take her under my wing and do whatever I could to help her settle in to Happytown life. She is one of my best girls now, and I really enjoy knowing her. Thanks to her, I started attending a different knitting group after we moved to the northeast section of town; the Knit Wits are simply too far away to make the drive. The new group, the Tuesday Night Knitting Club, is so much fun. The other knitters have become good friends... from JLo and her bachelorette party to LR's daughter in the new big movie that just came out recently to JI looking up belly-dancing classes on her iPhone for us...

I laugh when people are surprised that I, a 20-something, knit - "Knitting's for grandmas! I bet you're the youngest one at your little knitting circle." HA! Not quite. Well, actually, I might be, but it would be by a matter of months, not decades.

I really enjoy spending the time with other crafty people and seeing their projects grow. LB is working on a market bag that I might have to steal, and V. (a crocheter) was working on a little tin-type thing. Watching her crank out the lid of the box in one evening was amazing, and then I realized that's what I do, too. I had put out several inches of my latest basketweave scarf by the time I left.

One of the other things that is very helpful is conferring with the more experienced girls about how to actually do a new stitch. Trying to translate words on a page to actual movements can be tricky, and having someone guide me has really benefited me. Thankfully, there's YouTube for the times that I can't get to TNKC.

Well - I'm out of here for tonight. Have to straighten up my desk and then get to bed. I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday!

Etsy listings

I listed another scarf on Etsy last night and have another one ready to list tonight. I spent some time last night updating my Ravelry page (I'm amour over there) with projects. There's one more scarf I need to photograph; it's the one I made for my brother's birthday. I spent a decent amount of time knitting yesterday in between chores. Caught up on a bunch of shows I'd DVR'd, got my apartment mostly cleaned up, spent some time with the kitties...

And then the A/C went out.

Yeah. I live in Florida. The high yesterday was 94F. The temperature inside jumped from 75 to 83 in about 30 minutes. The husband is out of town on a work trip, so I tried everything I could think of plus whatever I could find with Google with no luck. Even calling the emergency maintenance didn't help: "Oh, we can't make it out tonight, but we'll be there first thing tomorrow morning." Slept with the bedroom windows cracked and all the fans on high to circulate the air... when I called the apartment office this morning, the sweet older lady that works there (actually, she's a firecracker when necessary) got all bent out of shape that they didn't come out last night. I was just concerned about my cats; we humans can get down to shorts and bathing suit tops, but Pax & Skye can't exactly take off their fur coats. I was very relieved when I got home after work and the A/C was fixed. I'll call tomorrow and see what they did to fix it.

So, stay tuned for more adventures in Melody's knitting and HVAC world!

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.

Branching Out

I cast on Branching Out this afternoon. I definitely have to pay attention to every stitch right now - the yarn I'm using splits very easily. Not to mention k3tog is tricky, regardless of what yarn it is. I am finished with the first repeat and am on row 2 (or 17, from the beginning).

I have some stuff to get done around my apartment, but I hope to pick it back up later this evening.

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.