Friday, September 28, 2007

Go Phillies!

Go Phillies!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

I Heart Fall!

I sure wish it would come back! It's too darn hot here in NJ right now. But they say it will be nice again by this weekend, so there's light at the end of the tunnel.

We have all settled into our Fall routines, although Rich's work has been keeping him running around. There's light at the end of that tunnel, too, as he thinks things should calm down after this week. MathBoy is having fun playing "fall ball" (baseball), and Cat Crazy Girl has got soccer. We started with a different piano school, which seems to be OK, and we put a deposit down on a Real Piano. Cat Girl's honeymoon with her new teacher is not over yet--she still is very happy. Mathboy is happy, too. It's all good.

But before we say a final goodbye to Summer, let's relive that week at the beach with a few pix:

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What a gorgeous week. By the way, have you ever noticed how many more pix there always are of Cat Girl than of MathBoy? We're not quite sure how it happens, but it happens all the same. She's such a ham. MathBoy did a lot of digging and building this trip, Cat Girl spent a lot of time searching for starfish, and they both did a lot of wave jumping.

Here are some more goodies: First, the Zig-Zaggy Scarf:
Multidirectional diagonal scarf 2
This pattern is fun and easy, and the yarn, Knit Picks Andean Silk, is very nice. In fact, this yarn is so soft, I wonder if it isn't too nice for MathBoy. I got it during a summer sale, so it really was inexpensive, but it's sooooo soft. It may not quite stand up to the demands of an 11-year old. Dunno about this one.

My Finished Chevron-y Scarf. I post only a small picture, because the colors here got messed up by my software, and I deleted the original picture:
Chevron finished
The software turned the pinks into tomato-y reds, and the leaf green became kind of chartreuse. Ick. It looks much better in real life. I had enough of the dark Schaefer Lola to edge almost the entire thing. In fact, I got within 3 inches of the end with the right yarn. I couldn't believe it! So close! I hunted through my stash and found some old sportweight navy superwash to finish it up, and that worked out fine. After the edging and blocking, this project turned out great (if I say so myself). Now to decide who will get it for Christmas....

Some Rockin' Sock Club Solstice Slip Sock goodness:
Solstice Slip sock
Yeah, I know it was the June shipment. I'm only a few months late. I like the pattern very much. I like the addition of the gusset to the garter stitch short row heel: the results are very good. I think I would like to try this pattern again in the future with a more sedate colorway so that the stitch would stand out more.

And an unexpected case of startitis caused the casting on of this:
Fiesta Clematis Sock
I did Wendy's toe-up sportweight pattern with the gusset heel, adding a lacy "V" pattern to keep my brain involved. The yarn is Fiesta Boomerang, in the Clematis colorway, purchased from the Loopy Ewe. This yarn is reeeeeeeeally nice: soft and spongy, and incredibly easy and fast to knit. I mean, look at this: one sock done already? Sportweight socks are so quick. And it helps that the Phillies are keeping us watching quite a bit lately at night, and it's easy to knit while cheerin' 'em on.

I love this sock, and already cast on the second. I know it looks a little clunky laid out like this, but it fits the foot very nicely. It's quite comfy. :o)

Off to do some paid work so I can watch the Fightin' Phils tonight. Tied for first for the wildcard! Woohoo!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Back into the Swing of Things

We had a lovely time at the shore for the last week of August. It was so relaxing. The weather was great, the water was perfect, the waves were fun, the kids are old enough that you don't have to be standing over them the entire time.... It was awesome. All too soon, our week was over and we had to pack up and go home. We returned Labor Day Weekend, just to be thrown RIGHT onto the hamster wheel of life, what with soccer, fall baseball, piano, school and work all demanding that we get our heads back in the game right away.

Finally, I can show you the progress I made during that idyllic time at the shore, while we all watched the Phillies on the TV in our beach house after pleasantly exhausting days riding the waves and digging in the sand.

First up, the hated The Knittery merino/cashmere socks. Lookie, lookie--I finished one and started another. Good knitter, good.
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Next, considerable progress was made on the Bigfoot sock for Rich, using the Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn in Cocoa Kiss. Still loving this yarn. I do hope the sock fits Rich OK, he would not try it on for me, so I had to guess at the length.
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And finally, I finished the knitting on the Chevron Scarf. It looks wonderful. I have been putzing around trying to find an appropriate edging, though. I think it looks naked on the side without some kind of edging. First (Plan A) I tried an applied i-cord a la Kay's tutorial from Mason Dixon Knitting. This looked great, but there was no way my li'l ball of dark Schaeffer Lola was going to be enough to edge the entire scarf, so I ripped that out. I tried the i-cord with the lighter yarn, which I seem to have more of, but that looked stupid so I ripped that out too. Plan B: Now I am doing a modified version of the i-cord, using only 2 stitches instead of 4 and making a stitch when I knit up from the scarf's side. I am satisfied with the result. It gives the pattern a nice frame, and even makes the wrong side look so much cleaner.
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I am praying that I have enough yarn. If I don't, I will have to rethink the entire idea. I may end up doing a single crochet instead (ugh) or finding a similar color yarn. I hope I won't need to find a Plan C (Fingers crossed).