I'm Knitting, Honest!

Just not very much...
The Reptilian Lace socks are super-nifty and will look great if I ever get them done. It's been a bit of a trudge since they stay home with the pattern.

I was in a bookstore last night waiting for the Husboy to join me so we could go get dinner. I was randomly wandering around the store for a while, feeling a bit lost and cranky, when it hits me; I don't have any knitting in my purse! No wonder I was so irritated about waiting! The best solution seems to swatch some plain stockinette socks tonight so I'll have something to keep my hands occupied starting tomorrow.

Or, at least I'll stop worrying that my tamagotchi isn't pooping enough...

Tripping on the Bar

Has anyone else ever gotten to the point in their knitting "career" where the projects just keep getting more and more complex until all you want to do is knit a garter-stitch scarf until you run completely out of yarn and look like the fourth Dr. Who? Don't tempt me people; I have the hair to pull it off....

Sorry about that, but my socks and the shawl both require me to read the charts line-by-line, leaving no room for the auto-pilot knitting that soothes the soul. The complexity + the heat= a knitter reading smut and playing with her tamagotchi instead of knitting.

I do have one finished project to show for all my reading and watching tv, the Cable-Ready bag from Lion Yarn, knit in WotA Bulky with some of the leftovers from (Hus)Boy's Holiday Socks thrown in for color. I love how it looks but actually opening and closing the bag is a pain in the tookus. This will most likely be foisted onto some unsuspecting recipient and reknit once I come up with a better idea for the handle.

Oh, and the Yarn Harlot's coming to LA in September; she'll be right across the street from Husboy's office, of all places. Anyone else coming?

My Bad...

It turns out that I am, in fact, a moron who can't read a chart. I apologize for any statements I made, on the blog or just in my head, that indicate otherwise.


It is coming out gorgeously, and now that I've finished the infamous book, I will continue my work on it and the matching Reptilian Lace Socks (same designer, matching enough in my book).

Something's Wrong...

The murky weather is back with it's cool mornings that evaporate into sudden hot stickiness, like someone peed in your kiddie-pool.

I've cast on the Beaded Diamond Fantasy Shawl three times now, but I keep losing proper stitch count around row 16. The first two times I thought I blew it somewhere, ripped, and merrily started over, figuring that, if I had to make a mistake, it was good to blow it after working on it for 30 minutes versus 30 days.

I am now on attempt #3 and, once again, I've got a funky stitch count in the same region as before. Either I am a bloody moron and can't seem to keep track of where I am in the chart (a clear possibility) or, what is emerging as my new hot theory, the chart may be wrong. Other folks have knit this pattern into stunning pieces of knitting art, so maybe it's just my chart (starting to sound unlikely again, isn't it)? This would not be the first time I've had this issue with a chart; it is usually something lost in the translation between the written instructions and the chart. Unfortunately, I can't seem to keep my lace straight from line-by-line instructions...

While I sort out this chart/knitter issue, I've been working on a quick little bag. I haven't bothered to take pictures yet, but it seemed some instant gratification was in order. Pictures next time, honest!

$1.50 My Ass...

...the buttons alone were $12.50!

I absolutely love this sweater and wore it to work before it was blocked and before I even found the perfectly matching buttons. My LYS has never, ever let me down in the button department. This may turn out to be the knitted thing I actually wear on a regular basis, yay!

Aren't they stunning?

I finally decided to read the last Harry Potter book (no, not the one that's not out yet, silly) so that when you all start babbling about it I'll know enough about what's going on for you to ruin the ending for me. Read the whole damn thing in two days AND started a new project:

Teeny-tiny lace, anyone?

Great, Now I Need Buttons...

A good blocking couldn't hurt either.... Better pics tomorrow.

Partner - Lover - Enabler

It may have come to your attention that I only have two projects going right now, one of which I haven't touched in eons and cannot for the life of me remember what needle size I used. This situation clearly does not follow the Rule of Three guidelines for knitterly happiness and satisfaction, so what's a girl to do?

I compla.... whin.... moa.... discuss the situation with the Husboy. I tell him I was thinking of joining in the Mystery Shawl 3 (if you're not already in, it's too late, sorry folks), but that there were quite a few knitters saying that the designer's patterns did not show up well with variegated yarn, and since all I had was variegated yarn (with gorgeous matching beads, purely coincidence) I didn't want to blow my yarn on a pattern that wouldn't work with it. He suggested I try it out, worst case scenario, I rip it out. Good point

I then start wondering how the heck I'm going to wind that huge hank of Helen's Lace into a usable cake. I consider going down to the yarn shop (yes, I bought the yarn there), but figure it will be a few days before I can head down there and wind up. Husboy convinces me that we can go THAT MORNING before I go to work, and that I should take the matching sock yarn with me and get it all wound up at once.

Ain't it pretty?

I continued to voice reservations about the MS3 pattern being ruined by the beautiful variegation of the yarn. He suggested I go online and find a beaded shawl pattern that I like that will work with the variegated yarn. I find one that would be perfect and where to pick it up. The Husboy concurs with my selection and urges me to order the pattern.

Bastard.

So, while I wait for the illustrious Ellen at Earthfaire.com to send me the pattern, my knitter in shining armor sent me the teeniest ball of yarn to help me finish the $1.50 Cardigan. It looks like I might even have enough to sew the darn thing up, thanks PK!


The knitting has slowed a bit, I've been re-reading some of my favorite vampire smut. Eh, we can't all be reading War and Peace. Speaking of books, Interweave Press is having its Annual Hurt Book Sale right now. Look for the package deals; I got Scarf Style and Wrap Style both for $20 with shipping.

Ick

Sorry for being so uncommunicative, but it's been too hot to post. Thankfully the lingering June Gloom has us socked in this morning. By the time it gets truly gross and muggy I'll be securely within the confines of work (A/C takes the sting out of missing summer days).

One baseball game
+ a whole lot of errands in which I didn't leave the car
a finished pair of Jaywalkers!


I feel like I've been working on these socks FOREVER... It wasn't a bad forever, but it has made me leery of starting another pair of socks. The last front on the $1.50 Cardigan will be purse-sized for a while yet; it will get me through to the next sock frenzy.