Stress Reaction

It's a question I have been pondering for awhile now. How do you accumulate a stash? I mean, I go into the LYS and it's like sensory overload, so I have learned to make a list. The list is of those things I need for specific projects. I go with my list. Once or twice I have come out with just the things on my list. But I almost always find yarn that I just can't stop touching, or looking at, or dreaming about. And so I buy. But here is where my stash building system breaks down.

How do you know how much yarn to buy? I mean, I know that this or that particular yarn would make a wonderful sweater, or shawl, or scarf (yes, I still make scarfs, and I know I'm not alone in this! Just ask Kate. I love them! They are warm, they add color, they are that so important quick and satisfying knit which provides momentum for those big projects {more on this later}). But how do you know which it will end up being? Thus, how much yarn to buy?

A great big Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each and all in this wonderful season! (And a special "Hey Girl!" to Lucy from Chantilly and Einstein!)

It has not been an auspicious beginning to the New Year. First three days I was sick. Like in bed sleeping straight through with strep throat sick. Since then it has been just the sinusy, allergy kind of sick that doesn't keep you home from work but leaves you with little energy for much else (witness the lack of blogging activity. Being a newbie blogger, I should be a slave to the blogging bug. Sorry to say, the only bug I am a slave to at this moment is the dust mite)!

Despite these apparent setbacks, I remain curiously motivated by my New Years Resolutions. Probably because I have given myself the whole year to accomplish these tasks. How liberating! Since these are lifelong goals, I do not expect to accomplish them in the first week of January.

So without further delay, I give you the Years Resolutions of 2005.

1) This is the year I will become a writer. Fiction or nonfiction I don't know yet, but I do know that it will be directed towards the empowerment women. I meet so many women day after day who feel trapped by their circumstances in bad jobs, or bad marriages, or bad relationships, and I want to help these women discover the strengh that abides within themselves to make their lives anything they want it to be.

2) This is the year I will become a runner. I know that some of my inner strengh is tied up in this desire to be a runner. I have always dabbled at, but never completely been an athlete. Now it is time to take the plunge, and realize the dream. This will also accomplish the second part of goal number two, which is to make 2005 the last year I have to resolve to get in shape. How exciting to think that I will never have to make that resolution again!!

3) My only knitting related resolution: I will trust my own judgement in yarn substitutions. Too often I am hesitant to start a new project because I don't have the exact yarn the project calls for and I don't trust my own judgement in yarn substitutions. Honestly, what's the worst that can happen? I go to the frog pond? So this is the year I allow myself to experiment and, {gasp} make mistakes.

And, on the fiber related front, the beeeeeautiful Manos you see before you!! Soft and the colors are to die for!! There are two skeins of Persimmon, three of Hollywood Pink, and three of Wildflowers. All except two of the Wildflowers are going into a Felted Yoga Mat Bag from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. The other two skeins are going into a scarf for moi!

How fun was this? Very!! If you get a chance to see it, take it. I took my daughter to see it as part of her fourteenth birthday celebration, and we both really had a great time! The music, the dancing, just breathtaking!

And continuing in the dancing theme:

Now, on to Clappy and FBS Redux!

It's hard to believe it's 8:30 in the morning in this photo, isn't it. Gloomy, dreary, cold, and wet. Normally I like a good crisp snow fall, but this is not what this was. Yuck!!

All the more reason to finish my Flower Basket Shawl, both for warmth, and as a reminder of the sunny days of spring to come.

I am so loving this knit, and the colors, and the fiber. I'm just not sure I am crazy about the yarn for this project . It's Filatura Di Crosa's College in Herbal Garden. Hopefully with some vigorous blocking, I will come to love this project as much as I long to do.

Any input would be invaluable at this point, since I don't want to spend any more time on something about which people are going to say "Isn't that nice?, but really mean, "what the heck are you giving me"? You know what I'm talking about?

Somewhere between rows 54 and 60 of the lower basket pattern of the infamous FBS there exists a black hole. And I have fallen in. As many times as I have knit, and ripped, these rows, I should be done by now. Yesterday, at lunch, I had a pile of yarn on my desk that was equivalent to eight rows of between 163 and 179 stitches. I only wish I had my camera with me, because the sight of it was enough to reduce the most stoic of souls to tears. Anyway, in the end, I think it will be worth it. See for yourself.

Of course, the stress of all of this resulted in some much needed Yarn Therapy at a LYS.

And, just for fun. A fat pig!

There, I feel much better now!

See how generous my sweet husband was to me? Sweets and sweet scents, and of course some bling-bling! Many kisses, honey!!

And how is this for sweet?

I have decided to knit Clapotis in Morehouse Merino (made possible by our hostess with the mostess, Amanda, thanks dear!). BUT! I already know I will want to knit more than one, thus the reason for the stash acquisition before you. Bit the bullet and bought the Lion and Lamb in Purple Iris. Thanks Rob!

I took a short break from the Flower Basket Shawl, which seems intent on consuming me. First I whipped up some yummy Manos flowers, one for my February Flower Exchange pal, and one for me, 'cause they are just so pretty.

And then, moved on to the Anny Blatt angora and ribbon scarf I purchased for my daughter at Christmas because she wanted to learn how to knit, but of course hasn't.

Isn't it loverly?

Now I feel refreshed, and revived, and ready to dive back in and finish the neverending FBS!

I am in major accessory project mode right now. Larger projects are in the planning stages but on hold until I develop a bit more confidence in my skills. Witness the amount of angst that went into the start of Clapotis. Anxiety such as this would definitely qualify it as a major project. Hours surfing various blogs to choose the fiber. Queries posted on several sites about gauge and outcome with chosen yarn. Major stash enhancement all with Clapotis in mind. Multiple swatches cast on and knit on various size Addis and Clovers.

The end result? Lion and Lamb in Purple Iris on size 8 bamboo Clovers! We live and learn!

I have detected a disturbing trend in my behavior here of late. I have developed a habit of evaluating all non-essential purchases by potential yarn value. For instance: The antenna on my cell phone is not only broken, but lost.

Now, since I don't make a lot of cell phone calls, this has been relegated to the non-essential category, and a disclaimer prefaces any calls I do make. "I may lose you if I move out of range of a transmitter." I have learned where I can expect better reception along my daily commute. This minor inconvenience is more than offset by stash enhancement equal to the value of cell phone repair or replacement.

I also need a pedicure. I will spare you a picture of that particular non-essential need. It is determined to be non-essential because there is at least another month of closed toe shoe weather before me, and because it allows for stash appropriation equal to the value of a spa pedicure plus tip.

And the value of dog grooming? (Because what are kids for if not giving the dogs a bath, right?)

You get the idea. I could go on, but frankly, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and to go further would just be embarrassing. Besides, the mail hasn't arrived yet today.

Flower Basket Shawl and I have been reunited. We weren't speaking for a while. She had become quite demanding. I am by nature a multi-tasker (a favorite being knitting and catching up with the backlog on TIVO), and I found FBS unforgiving of my shared attention. However, after a brief hiatus, I found I missed her, and have now returned to her embrace.

While there wasn't a lot of knitting time with the kids out of school for spring break, we did manage to work in a little culture.

Click here for a nifty radio that plays music from the soundtrack. Cool!

This was an extremely entertaining show, and resulted in an intense wave of nostalgia. It also seemed like an appropriate time to share the booty from a recent estate sale.

These are just a few of the patterns. (I would like it on the record that while I am quite familiar with the music from ABBA, these patterns are before my time).

And my own contribution to the muse retro.

Lace Camisole from Vintage Knits

Finally found the time to update and share my Clapotis. She is made with Lion and Lamb Purple Iris on size 8 bamboos. Gauge is pretty much right on, and I added two extra repeats to the straight section. I can attest that I thoroughly enjoyed this pattern and I learned a lot. I will be making at least one more, but I doubt I will use Lion and Lamb again. It is unquestionably soft; almost to a fault. I am concerned as to how well it will hold up to wear. Even in the process of working up, there developed a heavy halo, and in places the twist has relaxed almost to the consistency of roving. I love it nonetheless.

More photos here...

Though not in keeping with the usual lighthearted theme of a knitting blog, the recent suicide of my girlfriend's husband deserves comment. The waste of the loss of a life so little appreciated that it can be obliterated in a single drunken moment of irrationality.

It makes me sad.

When I witness the devastation that remains in the wake of this tragedy, it begs believability that 30,000 people a year consider this a viable option to end their psychological or physical pain.

It's not.

A friend of mine sent me this cute card to pull me out of my funk. How fun is this? It is the perfect example of the kind of day I need. The only difference would be to replace the white cat with my fluffy white bichon babies.

Flower Basket Shawl is finished! Though sorely in need of blocking (afterwhich I will post a picture of the fully finished shawl), I love it, I love the pattern, and I now know I love knitting lace. Already in stash are the makings of Birch in KidSilk Haze Nightly. Madli's Shawl from Interweave Knits Summer 2004 issue in KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Iris. And Bella from Fiber Trends in Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in the Mixed Berry colorway.

In preparation for the move to the more challenging technique of Fair Isle, a major score on ebay, all from one seller, several of the much sought after and out of print works of the diva of Fair Isle and texture alike: Alice Starmore.

Until then (which actually should be soon, since it will take me until winter to finish one of these masterpieces), I have cast on another Clapotis (linking is surely unnecessary in this case, is it not?). Artyarns Supermerino #110 on size 8 Addis. I honestly think I am liking this better than the Lion and Lamb the pattern calls for (she whispers, knowing the sacrilege of this statement). It is soft, has tremendous bounce, and will hold up extremely well. It is, after all, machine washable. WOO-HOO!

The completed Flower Basket Shawl from IWK Fall 2004 issue and the FBS Redux hosted by the sublime Amanda.

The yarn is Filatura Di Crosa College in Herbal Garden. I lost count of the repeats but I think I ended up with fifteen (more than twice the seven called for in the pattern as written) and I blocked the garter stitch border out to seventy-two inches. It's large, but it came out soft, light, and IMVHO, absolutely lovely. I am tempted to make another, but I am also enamored of A Gathering of Lace, which I hope will arrive from Amazon before I have to take the one I am drooling over back to the library. Lace, lace, everywhere! Oh what to do next?!?

Mostly random, but I wanted to share a picture of my almost finished second Clapotis. I love this yarn! It's Artyarns Supermerino in #110. It's soft, bouncy, and will maintain the waviness that defines Clapotis, which is something the Lion and Lamb failed to do after blocking.

And, because one picture is just never enough, I will share with you the fun mug my friend Amy gave me. (We won't mention here that Amy was offended that I failed to mention her by name in my last entry). Hey Amy, I love you!

She knows my two of my greatest passions are breast cancer research and roses (well, three of my greatest passions, the third being PINK)! And the Avon polish I just had to share, cause it's pink, and the name of it is, get this, Leah's Courage! How fun is that?

...no more! Amanda tagged me for my first meme! Yeah! And on books no less. Being the voracious reader that I am, I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse, but here goes...

1. Total Number of Books in Your House:
Easily in the high hundreds! I put myself on a book diet several years ago, not for financial reasons, but because I had nowhere to keep them all. Despite that, I still manage to accumulate four or five new books a month because the library cannot keep up with my varied interests and demands.

2. The Last Book You Bought Was:
I am incapable of buying one book at a time. The last time I shopped for books I took advantage of the Buy 2, Get the 3rd FREE offer at Borders (only I bought 4 and got 2 FREE)! Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. At the same time I picked up Adobe Photoshop 6.0 Classroom In a Book from the library (which has seriously cut into both my knitting and blogging time, but I am having a blast)!

3. Write down 5 (or 6) books you often read, or that mean a lot to you. (I am a bit embarrassed to admit most of these. I read to relax. If I want to work out, I go to the gym, and I get to be intellectual at work).

-The Bible (the one exception to the relaxation rule, it's soul food).
-Shogun by James Clavell (I have read all 1210 pages at least six times. The ultimate escape novel. I become so immersed in the story, I wouldn't be surprised if I started speaking Japanese).
-The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (I am all about the historical fiction).
-The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (I thrive on epic novels).
-Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen
-The Stand by Stephen King (the 'best of' in the opinion of many).
-Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein (epic sci-fi! Woo-Hoo)!!

OK, I'll stop now, but only cause I have too!

4. Who are you going to pass the stick to (three people) and why?
Difficult, since I'm thinking that I don't really have three regular readers of my neophyte blog (with the exception of the sweetie that tagged me, of course), so if you stumble across here, feel free to chime in (I found this quite entertaining). Jo, Bev, and Nancy, you get tagged by virtue of being kind enough to comment more than once. Have fun!!

This is, in my opinion, absolutely the best Mother's Day present ever! From my adorable third grade son, a bouquet of Promise Posies! Awesome!

The promises are (sic):
1) feed the dogs
2) clen the hous
3) I will not get in a fite with siste

I'm sorry, but that is too funny, and believe it or not, this kid gets all A's and B's. Too cute! Here's hoping each of you received a gift that warmed your heart as much as this did mine!

Sarah rocks my world! My girlfriend Cathy and I treated ourselves to a girls night out with a lavish dinner at a fancy resturant and floor seats at the Sarah McLachlan concert.

It was a totally awesome time! If you ever get the opportunity to see her in concert, I would take it. The setting is intimate, and her songs are so poignant. I'm a sucker for love songs, and that seems to be one of her passions as well. The catch is that it's not all about chocolate and roses. Her lyrics are about life. The poor decisions we make, the losses we suffer, and ultimately, the triumph if we endure.

I think it may be time for rehab! It probably goes something like this: "Hello, my name is Leah, and I am a fiber addict. I buy fiber with such frequency, and in such quantities, that I have on several occasions forgotten which project I had in mind when I placed the order. It has been less than twenty-four hours since my last purchase." Hopefully it won't require any time as an inpatient. They will probably just take away my credit and debit cards, as well as my computer (or at least my cable modem) and put one of those thingies on my car that I have to blow into to prove that I don't have any yarn fiber on my breath before it will start. (This is not as ludicrous as it sounds. I get very intimate with my yarn. But please, no gutter thoughts. I fondle only)!

For your vicarious enjoyment, I give you the following:

Top row, from left to right:
-Classic Elite Yarns Premiere in Tearose tagged for Just Peachy, Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2004
-Dale of Norway Svale in the colors needed for the tank on the left from Dalegarn #143. (The green will be arriving on the 23rd according to UPS along with some Lopi that was backordered).
-Denim Silk by Berroco for a cropped tank from Vogue Knitting Spr/Sum 2003.
-Madil Kid Seta in Pink Cloud. This is slated to become the Cherry Blossom Shawl from IK Spring 2002.
-Sock yarn! There's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Vera, Black Purl, Blackwatch, and Watercolor, Handpainted Opal Sock Yarn in colors 17, 19 and 20 (shouldn't something this pretty have a name? I am a sucker for creative naming), and Handpainted Twinkletoes from eBay seller lotusblossom in Cranapples, Goldfire, and Autumn2 (now that's what I'm talkin' about)!!
-Finally! The Inky-dinky Spider Stole by Fiddlesticks Knitting. This is a kit that includes 5 skeins of Artisan NZ Merino Lace in Pansy (these suckers are gorgeous but tiny, only 20 grams each). I purchased this kit from The Knitting Zone, and I have to say, these people provide pretty close to instant gratification. I placed my order Sunday May 15th, and it was waiting for me Wednesday May 18th when I got home from work! And the shipping is free over $40. WOO-HOO!!

Amanda is a goddess. She is hosting the Flower Basket Shawl Redux and wowing us with her superb organizational skills. The KAL includes a contest for those of us who finished our FBS by Mother's Day. Readers of clothesknit voted on their favorite FBS and the winners received a fiber prize. Becky justifiably won first place. Colette and I tied for second, which I don't think is too shabby for my first ever lace project. Today I received my booty! (Sorry for the late afternoon shadows. I couldn't wait to share this).

Amanda and I have very similar taste in color! Two hanks of KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Iris, and a hank of Halcyon Yarn Victorian Brushed Mohair #110 which looks like a dusty rose to me. Bellissima!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
a) I am a yarn snob. I much prefer natural fibers. There are a few exceptions, however. Lion Brand Homespun produces such a soft fabric, I will occasionally use it to make a quick one or two winter scarf. Just cause it feels good. I also use their Kool Wool.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
a) I do crochet, quite well in fact, and I love old wooden crochet hooks. I can spin, though I haven't practiced it much in the past few years, but I plan on getting some roving and taking it back up.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
a) I don't like the smell of smoke, and angora makes me itch like crazy.

4. How long have you been knitting?
a) I learned to knit over twenty years ago, but I have only been knitting consistently, using any technique other than garter and stockinette stitch, for about three years.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
a) Yes, my Amazon wish list can be found here.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc).
a) Lavender, Linen, and just about any tropical scent. I avoid food scents with the exception of cinnamon.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
a) Absolutely. I love milk chocolate, gummy bears, jelly bellys, peanut butter cups (yummy)!

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
a) Crochet and cross stitch mainly.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
a) Yes, my computer plays MP3's (as does my iPod and my iPAQ). Sarah McLachlan is probably my favorite. I also like Dido, Jem, Josh Groban, Lucy Kaplansky, Lucinda Williams, Vienna Teng, Sting (this could go on for a while).

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
a) Pink, all shades. Purple, lavender, blue, green, burgundy, gold. (Such a royal palette)! I am not a fan of orange.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
a) I live with my husband and three school age children. I have two Bichon Frises and an obese guinea pig.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
a) I love learning. I hope all of my children with grow to appreciate and love learning as I do, and continue to find awe and wonder in the world around them.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
a) Wool is number one. I also like Alpaca, silk and cotton as well as blends of those mentioned above. I am not a fan of acrylics.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
a) Cheap synthetics. Angora makes me itch.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
a) Lace and socks.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
a) Stoles, wraps, and socks.

17. What are you knitting right now?
a) Several stoles and scarves, and some socks (Duh)!

18. What do you think about ponchos?
a) I like them, but I haven't completed any (started some, though).

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
a) Circular!

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
a) Addis and Bamboo.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
a) Yep!

22. How did you learn to knit?
a) My mama!

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
a) Almost a year (sorry again, Amy)!

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
a) I like white fluffy animals, hence the Bichon's and "whitelamb". The guinea pig is just fluffy!

25. What is your favorite holiday?
a) Christmas. (I am pretty conventional).

26. Is there anything that you collect?
a) Fiber, antique sewing and crafting tools, old sampler patterns for cross stitch.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
a) IK, Vogue, Rowan. I would love to have Rebecca!

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
a) Any of the Alice Starmore pattern books. (Hey, a girl can dream, right)?
~Knitting Lace: A Workshop with Patterns and Projects.
~Poetry in Stitches. Got it!
~A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, Charted Knitting Designs: A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns, A Fourth Treasury of Knitting Patterns, all by Barbara Walker.
~Anything on my Amazon Wishlist!
By no means all inclusive, I would be thrilled with any of the above mentioned books.

...everywhere a sock, sock!

I love the de rigueur summer sock knitting. Socks are cropping up all over, just like spring flowers. Claudia has knit a lovely pair in an Easter egg colorway and has another on the needles in a textured orange (yummy enough to make me rethink my "not fond of orange" mindset). Amanda has a scrumptious pair in Opal Rodeo using the custom fit Queen Kahuna's Crazy Toes & Heels (I'm going to have to check this out. What an awesome fit)! Mary Heather has a multi-ribbed pair in luscious Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock that makes me drool. Finally, the Harlot, was lamenting the variant nature of Lorna's Laces colorways and her blotches. So, of course, I had to cast on as well.

I got swoops!

I am using a new (to me) technique that I downloaded from The Knitting Zone. Socks 2 by 2 is a pattern you can use either toe up or cuff down, and I cast on in two different colors to avoid confusion as to which sock I am working on. The blue and black is Lorna's Laces in Blackwatch, and the other is Opal Handpainted in Color 19. Oh, happy feet!! I figure I have a fifty-fifty chance of eliminating second sock syndrome. The other options are two orphan socks or an extremely mismatched pair.

Other summer knitting, in preparation for fall wear. Midwest Moonlight from Scarf Style knit with KnitPicks Merino Style in Frost.

I lurve it!! (Look, Amanda, no more errant yo's)!

This yarn has wonderful depth of color and knits up super soft. On the surface it appears a medium blue, but it has shades of much deeper blue depending on the angle from which it is viewed. The pattern is easy to memorize and the variety of stitches keep it from getting tedious.

Look at me. I have become such a joiner. As my sidebar would indicate, I have jumped on multiple bandwagons and joined the Secret Pal 5, A Gathering of Lace KAL, and the Mystery Stole KAL. Sheesh! Who needs to work, anyway? Unfortunately, I have nothing to show on either the GOL KAL or the Mystery Stole KAL, and I am not allowed to show anything for the SP5, so, no photos.

Speaking of which, I have my secret pal! It is like the week before Christmas trying to suppress the urge to blurt out my identity. I want to post photos of all the goodies I have thought of to spoil my buddy!

I am fast approaching the six-month anniversary of my blog. I have to decide if I want to stay with White Lamb, or go with my own domain. I find that I am suffering more angst in deciding on a domain name than I ever did picking a name for one of my children. How sad is that? Here's hoping that none of my children suffer irreparable harm with some identify crisis because I didn't put enough thought into naming him or her.

My Secret Pal has sent me a virtual card! I anticipate being treated like royalty for the duration of this exchange!

I can already tell she has great taste!

And my sweet husband picked me up a knitting gift. Don't you just love spur of the moment surprises? No special occasion, just because he was thinking about me!

Just perfect for my current sock-knitting obsession!

All in all, not a bad day!

And here is the proof!! In my lovely package, which was waiting for me when I got home from work today, was "an assortment of purple things. Buttons, yarn, a polar fleece scarf and lap blanket, a kerchief that we dyed ourselves, a picture frame, a bath set & hand creme set and some superwash wool roving".

This tremendously thoughtful person even offered to send me a spindle for my new roving. But look at what my husband found for me! An antique drop spindle. It originally was wound with some loosely spun, unwashed wool that practically dripped with lanolin (which was probably antique as well) but it totally grossed me out, so I unwound it and threw it away.

She cleans up real nice, doesn't she?

Now it's time to put my money where my mouth is and see if I can remember how to use the spindle. I took that fiber arts class a long time ago, after all. With roving like this to tempt me, however, I think I shall be picking it up again quite quickly!

Turn, turn, turn. I have turned my heels! This does not in any way resemble turning over a new leaf. Nor does it equate to turning the other cheek, turning the tables or turning a blind eye. But, I do have neatly turned heels. Lets hear it for short rows! Yeah!

I am ambivalent about this sock knitting method. There is tremendous appeal to knitting both socks at once. (They will, in future, be matching socks. Since this was my first attempt at Socks 2 by 2, I used two different yarns as recommended by the pattern writer to reduce the risk of knitting my two socks into one giant sock). I pride myself with having excellent spatial skills, and yet I found it challenging to get this started. Now that I am up and running, I continue to marvel at the architectural genius of knitting with two circulars at once. I especially enjoy the baffled looks I get from knitters and non-knitters alike.

There is, however, in my humble opinion, an elegance, a tradition if you will, to knitting with double points that is missing with this two circular method. Nonetheless, particularly when efficiency is an issue, I can see myself using this pattern in the future. You can download the pattern here.

I have my ticket. I have my party. I have my destination. Is it not beautiful? Who could not love it?

I am taking a five-day knitting vacation. Such an indulgence, I know! (Or maybe just lame because I have no where I particularly want to go, and how sad is it that five days of knitting, thinking about knitting, blogging about knitting, reading what others blog about knitting, and online browsing/shopping for knitting supplies satisfies me)?

Anyway.

I will also be visiting Mystery Island. This is a popular destination that I have long neglected, and others, who have gone before me, can attest to its attractive appearance.

Stay tuned for vacation photos.

Watcha gonna do? Buy more yarn!

I'm cruising to my not so LYS today to pick up some Silky Wool so I can get started on this awesome pattern. I've got the air cranked, and I'm listening to Mystic River on audio tape to take my mind off the fact that this trip will take three hours (between the drive and the shopping) of quality knitting time out of my Sunday afternoon. I am so in the zone.

And traveling 83mph in a 70mph zone. So not the zone I wanted to be in. Somehow, I'm thinking the patrolman who pulled me over would not be sympathetic when, in answer to his question "Are we in a hurry today?" I said "Why yes, Officer. The sooner I make my purchases and get my ass back home, the sooner I can get back to my knitting!"

My friend Terrisa (not a knitter) said to me at lunch yesterday, "Can I be honest? Your knitting thing? Kinda over the top!"

She may be on to something.

Besides discover that the bags under my eyes are not, in fact, permanent?

I knit! A lot!

First up. The quick and satisfying One Skein Wonder by Stafanie Japel.

Super fun, super fast and very luxurious in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. I tend to knit over gauge, so I went down a needle size (to seven instead of eight) and it took just a smidge over two skeins of the Cashmerino. I'll admit to not checking gauge (shoot, the whole project is practically a swatch), but the fit is right on.

I finished my first pair of socks using the cuff down pattern of Socks 2 by 2.

The plan was that this would help me avoid second sock syndrome, but like all good plans, Murphy's Law applies. By the time I finished this mismatched pair, I was sick of the colors and have yet to cast on their mates. In reality, I think that when I cast on both socks of the same pair (as I plan to do in the future), the end result will be a finished pair of matching socks. Oh! Mustn't forget to mention the beauty of having them end up exactly the same size. Woo-Hoo!!

Finally, I completed the first two clues and got a start on the third of the Mystery Stole Along.

Tomorrow, back to the grind-stone. Like all good things, Knit-cations too must end.

I think we are!

The original plan was the Muggle Watch Party at the local Borders. Little did I know that they started handing out raffle tickets at 8:00 pm and if you pre-ordered a book, you could pick up and (after waiting in line) pay for your book when your number was called. If you didn't pre-order, you might, or might not, get a book tonight. IF they didn't sell out. NOT!

My neighbor, who did pre-order a book from Barnes and Noble, was told that they were expecting 1200 for their pre-release party. Gah! Not my scene. But also not what your two expectant and avid Harry fans want to hear. And who has the heart to quench that innocent and youthful expectation? Isn't there plenty of time for that later? Doesn't life do a pretty good job of that without my contribution? I think so!

Trusty Wally World to the rescue! Woo-Hoo!! One for each of my muggles, and happiness reigns. Checked out by 17 minutes after midnight and I won't be bleary eyed at my 9am workout in the morning.

Life is good!

I'm sorry!

I love my Secret Pal! She is attentive, and generous, and very clever. Witness the evidence:

Bad recipient that I am, I not only haven't blogged about my recent package, I even neglected to write and tell her that it had arrived and how much I appreciated the wonderful (I'm assuming) hand spun goodness that was gifted to me!

My determined husband managed to extract the contents without cutting the container! Bet you thought it would never happen!

I can plead long work hours and total exhaustion, but that is not an excuse for just plain rudeness! I am hopeful that public self-flagellation will put me back in her good graces (though of course she was too kind to do more than send me a nice email asking if my package had arrived yet)!

Forgive me wonderful Secret Pal. Your yarn is beautiful, and soft, and I love it! Thank you so much!

Not much knitting to show for the last few weeks. The Mystery Stole, in it's current incarnation, and I have parted ways. As much as I love the way the Shimmer knits up, I just couldn't get into the variegation. KnitPicks has some new heathered lace weight merino called Shadow that I have on order (I even paid seven extra dollars for the three day shipping, so it should be here by Friday). I also ordered some more of the Shimmer in Morning Mist which I am hopeful will be more subtle.

The irony is that for all my concern about variegated yarns and lace patterns, I have cast on for the Shetland Tea Shawl from A Gathering of Lace in a boldly variegated Cherry Tree Hill lace weight.

The color is Old Rose, and I love it! My husband and I collect gem stones, and this looks just like a tourmaline. It's gorgeous! The real mystery is why anybody would enjoy knitting with what is essentially thread! Yet I do! I just love it! I guess it's all just a matter of taste.

I also wanted to share with you my new toy. It probably has a lot to do with my current distraction from knitting. On a recent trip to Best Buy, I picked up this little cord, which according to the sales person is called a "mini to mini". (New item, but not the main event. Wait for it...)

One end plugs into this little gadget (not new, as you can see from the older style) which is loaded (at this moment) with 751 songs or 2.2 days of music.

No knitcasts yet, but soon!

The other end plugs into (drum roll please) the in-console adapter of this (new) little gadget!

No FM transmitter for me, no sirree!!

Kinda makes the in-dash six CD changer obsolete.

You got me! I've been chasing mine for weeks now, and not only isn't it any fun, I haven't come anywhere close to catching it. I have been buried in work, getting the kids ready to go back to school, and other miscellaneous shtuff! Unfortunately, very little of it had to do with knitting. Or, come to think of it, blogging. Or reading blogs. (Much to my chagrin, I missed two {count 'em, TWO} contests on blogs I usually read on a near daily basis. And one of them? I was a shoo-in, since the correct answer is also my Alma Mater)!

Prior to the onset of the madness that has been my life, I had a minor crisis with my Shetland Tea Shawl for the Gathering of Lace-A-Long. Specifically, which yarn to use for the STS. So I chose three. Yep, read it right, THREE! (In retrospect, that may very well have been the beginning of the madness)! Cast on and worked the first pattern. Trying to pick just one, ya know?

Lots of rain here in the Southwest has resulted in some pretty strange shrooms!

In the end, I think I am going to flout convention and go with the Cherry Tree Hill Old Rose colorway. Yep, the variegated. The very yarn that instigated the crisis in the first place. It's just so freaking pretty! (Though, lest you think I am completely insane, I am not tearing out either of the other two. My second choice, which may end up being first in the event of another crisis, is the Sunset colorway of KnitPicks Shadow).

During the incessant shopping for school supplies, and school clothes, and new glasses, and shoes, I did manage one totally unexpected and awesome score (read half price at Dillard�s). A knit bag! Cute, huh?

It's a knit bag, but is it a knitting bag? Time will tell!

And she is wonderful! Thank you, bethieee, for being such a spectacular secret pal. I have so enjoyed your gifts and your creative packaging. Purple being one of my favorite colors (which bethieee obviously noted), I caught my breath when I opened this final box.

Also included: fun notecards, a pedicure set, and Jellybellies!
Woo-Hoo!!

A gorgeous one of a kind (as in designed and knit by her roommate) stole in Jagger Spun Zephyr. I have some Zephyr in cinnabar on order from my not-so-lys for the Spring 2005 IK Paisley Lace Shawl. Now I know I am going to love, love, love it. It is so soft, and so light, that all I had to do to hang it on the fence for its photo shoot was pat it into place. Luscious!!

It's the first blooms of the fall sock garden (and the completion of the mismatched sock pair, and the much needed and motivating finishing fix, all in one glorious step)!

The blue/black/green is Lorna's Laces in Blackwatch.
The red/yellow/brown is the Opal Hand Painted #19.

Valuable lesson number one: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock is very luxurious, but Opal Hand Painted Sock Yarn, though just a tad more course, feels as if it is hugging your feet. If you are like me, and would gladly pay a large sum of money to keep a skilled foot masseuse on staff, then this is indeed a good thing to know.

Valuable lesson number two: Keep in mind that it is a good thing to knit both socks either from the inside or the outside of the ball!

Left sock knit from the inside (I think I like this one better).
Right sock knit from the outside.

I have to say that I am now a HUGE fan of knitting socks on two circular needles. Despite the fact that knitting socks on double points is very traditional, and despite the fact that I consider myself a very traditional person, I am rapidly becoming convinced that a new tradition is being born. I cannot imagine a more gratifying sock knitting experience than finishing a complete pair of socks at the same time. Orphan socks, I firmly believe, are destined to become a thing of the past. Like Small Pox. And, unlike Small Pox, it is hard to imagine a terrorist plot to inflict upon the world a plague of unmatched socks.

And she said (ad nauseam) "I love knitting two socks on circular needles!" But seriously, what is not to love about this? Lace. Socks. Koigu. Two at the same time. Heaven on earth!

Late afternoon picture washout. Sorry!

I am having a blast with this pattern. Truthfully, this is only my fourth pair of socks. And by far my favorite. I have learned a lot tackling this pattern (which is written for circs, but not for both at the same time, so I have had to do some swapping around at times to get everything lined up the way the pattern says it should). The high point occurred when I realized I had forgotten a lace pattern segment three rows earlier. With my favorite (and for this reason most frequently misplaced) Addi crochet hook, I bravely dropped down those three rows and turned five knit stitches into k2tog, yo, k, yo, ssk! Blessedly, the three rows above that were stockinette, or I would never have had the cojones to attempt it. But how psyched am I?

Next time? Amanda's Meme!

Just to let you know how boring I am, Friday night is for catching up on my blogging backlog. Sad, but true. Thanks Amanda for the tag to this short and sweet meme:

Rules:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag some other people to do the same.

"I much prefer natural fibers." In answer to the question of whether or not I am a yarn snob in the Secret Pal 5 Questionaire. Boring!!

Secret Pal, Lori-Ann (if you are still lurking{and by the way, get in touch with me girl}), Esther, and any other lonely soul who surfed this way, you're up next!

Booty arrived day before yesterday (negligent blogger, I know, but believe me, I was emailing a thank you before I dove into the Jelly Bellies)! A lovely package from my Secret Pal!

I'm thinking this would make a beautiful Marsan Watchcap.

The stitch markers are absolutely adorable!

Such a talented and thoughtful Secret Pal! Officially! Thank you!!

New computer! Yeah!! This was a necessity, since I was forever having to throw one minor or another off my computer. Then there was the whole husband playing poker on my computer which required me shutting down my comments for several weeks to get the spammers off my site. (In addition to running blacklist about a thousand times)!

So now I have a MOM'S ONLY computer. All mine! Life is good!

Only problem is, I found out that even though my blog looks good on my 17 inch monitor, the formatting sucks for a 19 inch monitor. Crap! So a-formatting we will go.

See you on the flip side!

To my faithful few, I apologize. There has been a tremendous amount of activity in my life here of late, both in and out of the blog-o-sphere. I will attempt to bring you up to date in reverse chronological order.

1) Work

2) Today my friend Terrisa and I, as well as our children, Raced For The Cure (in celebration of my mom, a breast cancer survivor). Great fun was had by all. Lots of goodies were passed out, and I just love the sense of camaraderie that prevails at this event. My team (yeah, team leader Leah) consisted of 31 individuals (though I think the majority of them slept for the cure). We rock!

3) More work.

4) Trip to Mt. Pleasant and Pittsburg, Texas to see my family. Pittsburg, Texas. Home of Pilgrim's Pride (for whom my accomplished sister administers the employee benefits. If you think your health insurance sucks, go get her). And a really big head.

5) I bought a new computer. While I am a total techno geek, and I love having new hardware to play with, I hate moving. Physically, electronically, it is all the same to me! HATE IT!! Half my files are on one system, half on the other, and as result, I cannot find anything. The new printer/copier/scanner didn't install correctly. Can't print anything. Can't find anything.

6) Oh, yeah, and work.

7) I upgraded Moveable Type. I didn't realize that the upgrade would require me to approve comments, so if I haven't responded to your most recent comment, that's why. Sorry. Hopefully the program will recognize a previously approved commenter, and only require comment approval once. If not, bear with me. I'll have to get used to that extra step. I've also noticed that blacklist won't work with the upgrade, so if anyone has any suggestions, sing out!

8) Did I mention? Work!

9) Saw Movin' Out, the first show in the 2005/2006 Broadway Season here in the Sooner Nation. Don't laugh! We have us some culture too! Loved the show. I like Billy Joel's music, but I never thought of it in terms of a cohesive storyline. But it works. I would recommend it.

10) I purchased a new domain. And I am trying out new blogging software. WordPress. While I find a lot of the program to be intuitive, I am finding other parts of it more challenging. All in all, I think I will like it, and you can expect to see a gradual move (there's that word again) from whitelamb, to stressreaction.com (we'll talk about the name later) over the next couple of months. So update those bookmarks and/or bloglines friends and stalkers!

11) And I think there might have been some work in there, somewhere.

Next time. Knitting. I have been doing some. Promise.

And this past weekend, it happened to be in my house. Now don't get me wrong, I love my family, but solitude is a beautiful thing. Such an infrequent occurrence for us mothers and wives. So when my husband and my kids were all out of town this weekend, the dogs and I had a party!! (A stitchin' party! A whole weekend of needles and fiber and movies and sweats. Tell me if you think that doesn't sound like heaven)!

I love that it is Clapotis (link redundant, but here ya go) weather again. Woot!
I have been able to wear one to work every day this week.
The pink one, cause it's October, ya know.

There was a brief interruption in the knitting line-up to acknowledge the upcoming holiday. ( Prior to my knitting obsession, I had a serious cross stitch addiction. Lately, I have been jonesing for a floss fix).

I did, however, make the distressing discovery that I have gifted every single pair of socks I knit this year. It's only three, but still. No socks for me! So joining Lolly's Soctoberfest is a good thing. My Soctoberfest contribution will be these lovelies, which will be cast on the very second I finish the up the Merino Lace Socks. (Which will also be mine, by the way)!! Mountain Colors Bearfoot. The colorway is Garnet.

Rib and Cable Sock design by Nancy Bush featured in IK Fall 2005.

Last, but certainly not least, a visit from The Best Secret Pal Ever! Sari Yarn. According to my Secret Pal, "it's the only silk out there I find worth using". And yes, SP, the colors are fabulous! Thanks again!

Suggestions for a 100 yarn lace scarf pattern welcome!

I am fessin up! I joined another KAL, and it came and went before I even talked about it. I am a Socktoberfester! Cast on Sunday for my entry for a prize. I know I cast on at the last minute (which the rules allow), but I was already knitting a pair of socks started in September and I am a one-sock-at-a-time kind of girl. Multiple projects work for me, but in men, and socks, it's one pair at a time. Just a little quirk of mine, I guess. In a departure from my standard modus operandi, I am knitting a more recent pattern (I am usually about a year behind the crowd). I cast on with two circs, and will probably have to adapt the pattern somewhat when it comes time to turn the heel. Right now, I am enjoying the making of the cables (I wish you could see them better). I haven't even attempted a cable stitch in probably close to thirty years. Telling on myself, huh?

Anyway, in the spirit of Socktoberfest, to provide inspiration for other Soctoberfesters that might, like me, be getting a late start, I present for your consideration these beauties. Merino Lace Socks from IK Summer 2003. Love them! Love Koigu! Love lace! I'm just in love all over the place!!

I have always considered myself a process knitter. As in, it's about the process, not the product. Despite this, I have found myself suffering with a bit of ennui. Having made the decision not to knit for Christmas this year, it's not like I am suffering from deadline indecision (that paralyzing anxiety that afflicts you when you know you don't have enough time to finish all the items on your Christmas gift list, but you are going to die trying). I have several non-pressure projects on the needles, and yet nothing appeals to me.

To bring you up to date, you see above (clockwise from the left):
1. Chevron Scarf, Last Minute Knitted Gifts, Koigu KPPPM (P511 & P604) on Addi Turbo 3.75mm (US #5)
2. Rib and Cable Socks, IK Fall 2005, Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Garnet on Addi Turbo 2.5mm (US #1)
3. Better-Than-Booties Baby Socks, IK Summer 2005, Opal Hand Painted #19 on Addi Turbo 2.0mm (US #0)
4. Marsan Watch Cap, Peace Fleece in Baghdad Blue on Addi Turbo 4.5mm (US #7)
5. Cozy, Rowan Summer Tweed in Smolder on Addi Turbo 4.5mm (US #7)
6. Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole, Scarf Style, Noro Silk Garden #84 on Addi Turbo 5.0mm (US #8)

That's it. Those are all the projects I have on the needles. (Midwest Moonlight from Scarf Style used to be on the list. I completed three of the five skeins of Merino Style before giving it to a friend of mine whom I taught to knit, and who was ready for something a bit more challenging. I love the pattern, and I even liked the color. Merino Style in Frost. I just couldn't see myself wearing that particular color with anything. I plan on trying it again, maybe in Andean Silk, in Old Rose).

Two things occur to me as I look back over this list. First, it's obvious that I do not suffer any ennui with my choice of needles. Addi's so rock!! Second is just a random observation. We knitters share a common shorthand. Most everyone who reads this will immediately know what IK and KPPPM stand for. No explanation required. I find that pretty cool.

There was, of course, nothing for it but to cast on a new project. The fiber is the ever luxurious Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Black Purl. The needles? Come on, all together now. ADDI TURBO 4.5mm (US #7).

I didn't knit a stitch yesterday. After a mini vacation which started last Wednesday afternoon, I headed back to work on Tuesday after tossing and turning the majority of Monday night. Too little sleep, an eleven hour work day, and way to much stress left me limp as a noodle yesterday and crashed out early in the evening. I woke up this morning with a book beside me, lying on a bed of popcorn. (Evidently my husband moved the bowl to the kitchen after I fell asleep). I can at least say I woke up refreshed, and knitting will resume forthwith.

While deciding on my yarn selection for the Holiday Sox Exchange, I have been blazing through Ella. LL Shepherd Sport in Black Purl is just heavenly. It's so soft you would think it has some silk in it. Love, love, love the color as well. I have some in the Shepherd Sock and I can't wait to pick a pattern that takes full advantage of this luscious color. Check out the back of Ella. It so totally cracks me up!

Get your banana boobs right here!

..and a mini rant.

Perusing the upcoming patterns from Interweave, and making a list of necessities for those projects that catch my eye. This is not an unusual activity when I suffer some knitting ADD. This is a stress induced occupation, because though Ella is coming along beautifully, I am having all kinds of gauge issues with Grace. Though the swatch might have been spot on, I am finding the actually knitting of the pattern to be fairly loose and without body. My fear being that if I continue with this current gauge, I will end up with a lovely soft jacket sized stadium blanket. Very soft and warm, but no body to speak of. Have to start again. This time I will being trying US 6 on the ribbing, and US 7 on to body. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

In my wanderings, I ran across this Interweave knit project. My ADD kicked into high gear, all thought of Grace flew right out of my head and I began looking for the yarn to make these lovlies!

Its love I tell you! Love a first site!

The six skeins of Plymouth Galway shouldn't be hard to come by, and I'm thinking that Cascade 220 would make a good substitution. Either way six skeins at $6 apiece won't be too hard to swallow. But the six skeins of Plymouth Foxy? The yummy, soft and fuzzy, but less than usually cheesy specialty yarn that retails for $27.99 a skein?!?

What's that all about?

But I just gotta have them. Have to! Any yarn subs anyone can recommend? Anyone at all?

My Secret Pal is the best. Now, I know we all say it, but in this case it is the absolute truth. My Secret Pal is the very best Secret Pal in the whole wide world. The day after Thanksgiving brought the return to regular operations of the USPS, and this lovely package. Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton in Purple and a heavenly scented candle called African Rain.

Thank you, Secret Pal, from the bottom of my heart.

The sock yarn! She is beautiful, non? All the hand painted goodness I could gather up from kpixie and one of my favorite ebay sellers! I am in love!

Between the to-die-for sock yarn, and my new sock knitting bible Sensational Knitted Socks, I will be in sock heaven for the majority of the sock knitting season (read: fall, winter and early spring here in the Southwest). Sensational Knitted Socks almost makes you feel like you are your own little sock designer. You pick the fiber and needles required to give you a pleasing gauge, then you pick your pattern (of which they have many to choose: between six and twelve for each of four, five, six, eight and twelve stitch patterns). Once you have determined those parameters, they have these nifty charts that tell you how many stitches to cast on based on your gauge and sock size. Finally, they give you step by step instructions for each section of the sock for either four or five double points, or my personal favorite, circulars! All this, and a bunch of helpful tips like how to eliminate pesky gusset holes, makes Sensational Knitted Socks by far the favorite of my admittedly limited sock knitting library!

What's your favorite and why? Be sure to comment here with your blog link so I can read all about it!

Who said that? Maybe nobody. But I'm saying it, about my Holiday Sox which arrived today from Lynda of Knit Together. Perfect fit, perfect colors picked just for me. Love them. Heart them. My very first socks knit for me by someone other than me! Thank you Lynda, so very much!!

Allison of Simply Socks was the recipient of the sox I knit. Talk about pressure. She seems to like them, and I sure had fun knitting them. Back to the pre-Christmas madness! See you on the flip side!!

Whatever your tradition, may your New Year be joyous, healthy, prosperous, and above all safe. Tasty is just an option.

Thank you all for your wonderful Birthday wishes. I took down my place saving Avatar so that I could bring you up to date on the real booty! What a wonderful thing to come home to at the end of a long working Friday.

I do have to give a shout out especially to my husband for his thoughtfulness in this celebration of my birth. The knitting needles, needle holders, and the most coveted wooly lamb measuring tape he bought all on his own. I gave him no hints. He surprised me with bamboo double points in sizes: 0, 1, 1.5, and 2; picked them out all by his little self. Thereby proving that sometimes Men Do Listen. And check out those knitting cards in the photo up above. See all the cute girls knitting?

Friday night was spent in leisure eating shrimp scampi from my favorite Italian Restaurant, as well as Boston Crème Pie for my cake. Lovely choices. My husband knows me so well.

The rest of the weekend was spent with this result. My first dyed roving. I just jumped in with a full immersion dye technique, since I had no idea how the colors would take. I can see that it is going to take some finesse to get the more subtle colors that I am fond of.

This is the best blonde joke ever! (Born blonde, I can get away with this.)

Lemming like, I joined Weight Watchers today in order to shed some extra pounds. Being January, it was of course wall to wall people, but I found it motivating none the less. Planning and organization were the topics, the thought being that if you plan ahead, you are more likely to reach your goal. I felt of course that this theme transitioned nicely to knitting projects and blogging.

Apparently I go through spurts of joining. Lot's of joining. Right now, as you can see from my sidebar, I have joined three KAL's and one sock swap. I have also ordered the pattern book for the Crossed in Translation KAL (joining to be determined at a future date when and if I find the pattern to be decipherable) and have been watching closely the upcoming sign up for Sockapalooza.

So, in the spirit of planning and organization, instead of composing a shopping list and planning a menu, I give you my KAL round-up.

The Amazing Grace is back on the front burner. I was having all kinds of gauge issues. The called for Cotton Angora, which I purchased, and would obviously want to use given the expense, was knitting up a bit too loose for my liking on the called for size 8 needles when I used my adored Addis. Size 7 was way too tight. The answer? Bamboo! That bit of extra drag from the bamboo tightens up the gauge just enough that I nailed it first time! Woot!!

I've finally chosen the sock yarn for the Bloomin' Feet sock swap. Fleece Artist Merino, Hand Painted in the Dragonfly colorway. I think my sock pal, who expressed a preference for bold colors, will like this.

The Red Hot Sizzling Socks KAL presented me with a no-brainer as we say in the biz. I scored almost a pound of CTH Supersock in a luscious red on eBay and the urge to knit this up is irresistible. Despite the fact that I have stashed an abundance of Supersock, I have yet to actually knit with it, so I am excited to get started.

Last, but by no means least, I have joined the Harlot's Knitters Olympics. Brave, brave woman that she is, Harlot is organizing a KAL likely to be remembered as the largest KAL in history. Casting on February 10th with the lighting of the flame, I will attempt to complete Ene's Shawl from Scarf Style using Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in the Mixed Berries colorway by the time the torch goes out on February 26th.

Sixteen short days to complete my second charted lace project ever. I think this embraces the "Citius, Alitius Fortius" ideal, don't you?

I had visions of a cyber catfight. Hair pulling, eye gouging, knock down drag out. Books for sale! Knitting books, spinning books, dyeing books (and more) all available over at Interweave Knits Hurt Book Sale. Good prices, and they seem to have several of each; I managed to purchase everything I attempted to put in my cart (no less than fifteen new books headed my way on knitting, spinning, dyeing, color theory and even one for crochet). Expect slow loading of the pages though, and wear your protective clothing. It's a jungle out there!

Apparently I am challenged in the blogging arena. Mornings are probably the best time for me in terms of creativity, and I can compose blog entries endlessly while showering and blow-drying my hair. Unfortunately time is constrained most mornings getting my children and myself ready for the day. Work involves approximately a million split second decisions a day, so by the time I get home from work I am brain dead and unable to compose an articulate sentence, let alone a snappy blog post. I also can't seem to get my picture taking down to the science I would like it to be. It's either late or overcast, and when it's sunny with lots of good nature light, I just don't think about it.

But I think I have a new plan, and it doesn't involve getting up any earlier (thank God) and shouldn't result in my having to stay up any later than usual (which is pretty late anyway being the night owl that I am) since this comprises the brain dead time of day and is therefore useless as blogging time.

Up until today, I would get up, compose a blog post in my head while preparing for the day. Drop the kids at school, get to work about half an hour earlier than I needed to and read bloglines or knit a few stitches, work, go home and attend to the various feeding, homework, TKD/Chorus/Ballet/Track/Cross-country tasks, and then try to reproduce the ephemeral thoughts that floated through my head that morning. If I managed that, then I have to try and find half decent light for some semi-interesting pictures.

I think we can all see the problem. What is supposed to be a relaxing hobby (the blogging) had instead become another time consuming and demanding responsibility.

The key, and I hope the solution, lies in that half hour after I drop off the kids and before I am supposed to be at work. Today I went home instead of straight to work. I took some photos with what I hope is adequate lighting given the overcast day, cropped and uploaded them to the server, and saved the entry. Then began to put down what was composed in my head this morning. We'll see how it works.

Obligate fiber po*n shot:

I think it spins up beautifully, and I believe I see more of this coming my way in the near future.

After one week on Weight Watchers, I am now two pounds lighter (before and after pictures and weights will be provided only at the end of the journey, so we can oooh and aaah together)! While gratifying, I was somewhat dismayed that I was not miraculously a svelte size two. Too bad I do not have the same approach to dieting as I do to knitting. Apparently when it comes to weight loss it is not all about the process. Even though by training I am fully aware of the necessity of making lifestyle changes that are maintainable for the long term, there is so much tied into it, I suppose, having to do with self-esteem and appearance. And yet, the process approach would be much more reasonable. How much less stressful would it be if any positive progress was as rewarding as watching the blending of subtle colors on hand painted socks, or the sinuous twisting of the cables on an Aran sweater?

A process it has certainly been in the knitting of Grace. The gauge has been a challenge, but now that this issue has been resolved, I am pleased with this weekend's progress. While it's a light and airy fabric, I think the bloom that should develop after her first bath will result in a wonderfully cozy sweater. I modified one of the pattern stitches slightly to give what is to me a more pleasing result. The stitch called for was a Tw2R, which I did not like at all when knit as per the directions. The internet provided no less than four variations of this single stitch, so after trying them all, I settled on k2tog but leave on the needle, then knit the first stitch again and slip both stitches off the needle together. I have used this on another project, which I have yet to share, and really like the result.

Sorry about the shadows, the morning sun was not cooperating with me.
Hopefully you can at least see the cables.

My poor son is cowering in the corner right now. Terrified that his mom will go off on another rampage about why my tax dollars haven't resulted in his knowing how to do long division. Four hours in two nights have convinced me that they spend all day playing charades or something, because I sure as hell seem to be the one teaching (or attempting to teach) my fourth grader long division. And I am not a teacher. NOT A TEACHER. Not only not a teacher, but never had even the vaguest desire to be a teacher. Not long on patience in the teaching of the long division department*.

Anyway, that rant over with, I wanted to share with you the fun word cloud I first found over on Lolly's blog, but popping up all over the blog-o-shere in a matter of hours. Code writers are so HOT!!

*It's not that I don't know how to do long division, it's that I don't know how to teach long division. The examples he was provided with look nothing like what I learned. How does that work? My attempts to teach him the way I know to do it just result in frustration for both of us! (Whoops, guess I wasn't quite done with that rant after all)!

There's some serious Olympic Training going on in my neck of the woods. I've hooked up with some fellow Ene athletes, and we have compared fiber choices (I'm still going with the Helen's Lace, but I think I'm probably going to have to double up to get the gauge right). To keep my lace-knitting freak on, I have been practicing training on Ella. You remember Ella? In that luscious sport weight Black Purl? And the banana boobs? (Juvenile I know, but that still cracks me up)! She's kind of morphed on me.

And while not an Olympic contender in the sock-knitting category, my joining gene has me committed to several swaps and KAL's as a non-competitive athlete. (Do you think three pairs of socks, Ene and Ella, and Grace qualifies me as a tri-athlete? You know, the socks, lace, and sweater triathlon)? So I picked up some socks I started awhile back for a little warm up.

Another shot with a little different lighting? OK, here you go!

That's one looooooong (47 inch) Addi Turbo you see there. I thought I'd give the magic loop a whirl, and I have to tell you, it's like a little S*M party going on here with the whips flying around and all. Got to say, so far? Not a fan! I think I'll stick with the two circ method, thank you very much!

I'm knitting Ene's Scarf in sixteen days!

It's a space saver, OK? Update on Ene's Scarf soon, I promise!

Check out what was waiting for me at work this morning!

Now, before you all go and get all excited thinking there is a place you can order yarn bouquets (which there probably is, because you can find anything on the internets), my husband put this together and snuck up here after I left work yesterday to leave it on my desk.

When I asked him where he got the roving, he told me "you don't know all my secrets!", and then he said he's had it since before I had my little dying weekend. But you know what? He said my dyed roving was "much prettier"!

AAAAAAWWWWWW!

Big, BIG, bonus points for my hubby!

It's feast or famine at Casa Del Stress Reaction, all day all the time. Feeling the pressure of the nightmare that is Ene (the crazy ass commitment I made, not the scarf itself which is really pretty awesome and quite a fun knit) and at the apex of the worst cold I have had in about a decade (at least I hope it's a cold. Since I see about six people a day with the flu, and another six with strep throat, I'm just praying that my immune system is up to snuff), a pressie was waiting for me when I got home from work today. A 'just because' gift from Terrisa, who is an equal treasure. From Adagio Teas, two luminous cups and two kinds of blooming teas (red and jasmine). She knows me so well!

Another good friend tagged me with a music meme, and in juggling the options of blogging about Ene, my as yet nonexistent Bloomin' Feet socks, or the music meme, I went with the path of least resistance. I have my current obsessions together in an ‘A-List Playlist' on my iPod, so this was quick and easy*.

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

Breathe Me by Sia
I am all about the gut wrenching, soul searching woman artist. This song reached way down inside me the first time I heard it and has stuck with me every since.

Mary and the Soldier by Lucy Kaplansky
This is the sweetest song. It's a ballad. Reminds me of being read to as a kid. I still like that and I am a big fan of audio books as well.

24 by Jem
This is a top down on the car, wind in your hair, singing at the top of you lungs song. LOVE IT! The last two times I test drove the cars I eventually bought, this was the song I put in the CD player to test drive the sound system. On any given day, either the violins or the percussion becomes my favorite part.

I Hope I Don't Fall In Love with You by Tom Waits
Oh, oh, oh, don't hurt me again! This just makes you ache to give love another chance. Hootie and the Blowfish do an awesome rendition of this song as well.

There You Are by Martina McBride
As I type this, I realize how much it reveals about the person I am. Such an idealist. Such a romantic. This makes me think of perfect love.

Looking for a Soft Place to Fall by Allison Moorer
OH MY GOD! When Robert Redford dances with Kristen Scott Thomas to this song in The Horse Whisperer, I just melt. Seriously, better than sex! (It's a saying people, don't take it literally)!

Forever Love by Anna Nalick
Hooked the first time I heard this song. I could listen to it over and over again. In fact, I do. The whole CD is worth a look and a listen. I notice that as I write this, Amazon doesn't even offer it. I bought it at iTunes, and I have seen it on the rack at Wally World.

*(she said in total ignorance). This was hard! Seven is obviously just the tip of my iceberg. In the spirit of the game, anyone who wants this can have it. We all are a little richer for getting to know each other better. Just let me know if you do, so I can check out your favorites.

According to the ticker that Steph has posted on her site, 56% of the Winter Olympics have elapsed. Fifty-six percent of the time I have allotted myself to knit Ene. Here is my progress so far:

I haven't posted the timer on my own site for fear panic would ensue. Now that I have been sidelined for 48 hours of the 16 short days allotted to me, I am well past the point of panic. I am resigned. My less than efficient immune system allowed one bad cold to become one full blown flu, and as the old folks tell me all the time, I would have had to die to get better. Today is the first time I have even turned on the computer (or picked up the knitting) since Friday. I notice that Amanda has made true on her promise to become my official cheerleader. What a great friend I have made though this ephemeral thing we call the internets. I plan on catching up with all the knitters, and cheerleaders, shortly. But ya'll, I have some serious knitting to do. And only 44% if 16 days to do it in.

Wish me luck!

I have had two conversations about knitting this past week. Conversations outside of those I have on a daily basis with the little people that live in the flat box on my desk. We all know how exciting those conversations can be. You know. Someone gets this obsession of mine! Another knitter! Yeah! Instant camaraderie!

These conversations were remarkably similar. On observing me maniacally knitting away on Ene, with the needles flying around and the glazed look in my eye, they went something like this:

Them: "Oh, are you knitting?"

Me: "Yes. It relaxes me."

Them: "What are you working on?"

Me: "Well, it's a scarf. Well, more of a shawl really. See, I joined this Knitting Olympics, and I have to finish this scarf in…well, never mind, but really, it is relaxing (in the back of my mind thinking 'most of the time').

Them: "Well, I/my wife have/has been doing some knitting."

Me: "Really, that's great! (Real enthusiasm here). What do/does you/she knit?"

Them: "Well, scarves, and hats. See, I/she have/has this ring thing, and you loop the yarn around, and you have this stick thing and you pull the loops over the pegs, and it makes a long tube, and you cinch up the ends when you are done. Voilà , a hat!"

Me: "Oh. That's neat." (In my head: "Yeah, that's the same!")

And to be quite frank, I am amazed. This knitter's Olympic endeavor was beset with obstacles from the first. I had to cast on 375 stitches, not just once, but twice. The first weekend was lost to illness. I knew pretty early on that I was probably going to run out of yarn. But I was determined. I persevered. And I won the Gold!

I shared the concerns of many that decided not to compete in the Knitting Olympics. That such a concentrated push would taint the enjoyment of the process. And for some, this might be true. However I have long known that I work best under pressure, and for this reason, I enjoyed knitting this shawl immensely. Sure, there were times when I would have loved to work on a sock, or cast on another project. Normally knitting this lace project would have taken me much longer, and make no mistake, I would not want to always knit with such a deadline. But I really enjoyed learning what I was capable of, because, quite honestly, I didn't think it would happen.

I have to thank a number of people who supported me in my race to the podium. First of all my family, who sacrificed a clean house, clean clothes, hot meals, and a little bit of their own sanity during my brief flirtation with insanity. Amanda, the best blog buddy ever, who rallied the cheerleaders who cheered me on to the finish.*

Finally, a particularly loud shout out to Mary, of the knitting zone, who went to the post office on her day off to express ship me a second skein of Helen's Lace, without which I would not have been able to complete this Olympic project. Ya'll this woman is the best, so show her some love, and go love on some of her fibery goodness!

*(In special thanks, I am going to throw the name of everyone who cheered me on and wished me well in the comments of the Is It Time to Panic Yet entry into a bucket and draw out a name for a fiber prize).

The blocking board that is! And I love, love, love her!! I tried to capture the beauty of these colors with various lighting, but I really don't think any of these photos really do her justice. Probably because of the silk in the Helen's Lace, she has a depth of color that has to be seen to be truly appreciated.

I can see myself knitting this again, and I am not a big fan of knitting something more than once. Even under the pressure of the Olympic deadline, I really enjoyed the pattern, and watching the lace come together. Getting past that 375 stitch cast on (especially if you have to do it more than once) is the real kicker! The Helen's Lace worked up beautifully in this pattern, but I did double it, and went down one needle size. Even with that, she blocked out at 70 inches along the top and almost 36 inches in length. Since I've never worked with the Blackberry Ridge Silk Blend Lace Weight called for in this pattern, I can't comment on it, but I will say that you need a fairly hefty lace weight yarn to make this work well. I would even venture to say that a sock weight would probably work*. I used about 1350 yards of Helen's Lace, but that was doubled, so you can get a guestimate on your needs from that.

I learned two new techniques while knitting Ene. First, the knitted cast on, which I really liked. I think I am going to use it for my Bloomin' Feet socks. The pattern I chose actually calls for a backwards loop cast on, which I really, really hate! Second was the three-needle bind off. More skills in the knitting repertoire!! Woo and Hoo!!

*Stunning evidence of how well the sock yarn works can be found here!

I was harrassing Emily here recently when she flashed her sock stash. I offered to show her mine, so now I have to put my money where my mouth is. I hope you appreciate this Emily, cause all these skeins and balls had to be removed from their little zip-lock bags to take this photo, and now of course I have to put them all back. Me and my big mouth!

I didn't show you the pair I'm working on right now. My Bloomin' Feet socks and I are not in harmony. I'm not feeling the love. The Fleece Artist Merino is lovely, but the cast on, the pattern, the whole knitting experience is leaving me kind of flat. In fact, the whole knitting thing, for me, has been kind of flat since the end of the Knitting Olympics. I think I might be experiencing a little Post Traumatic Stress. Send me some good sock knitting mojo, yo?

By the way, the random number picker randomly selected Theresa as my KO cheerleader with the most spirit, so a little fiber prize will be flying her way shortly. Maybe she has my sock knitting mojo, and will send it back to me! Here's hoping!

I love to learn new things. I would consider myself a perpetual student of life. There are, however, things I never expected to learn about myself. Apparently, if I go by the spam waiting for moderation when I get home from work each day, I am an overweight, middle-aged, balding man with erectile dysfunction. I would also appear to be financially challenged, since I need to buy my drugs cheap. Never would have thought it, but there you go.

I have also learned that I suffer from a rebound effect with my knitting. I can become extremely focused for brief periods of time, and accomplish great feats of knitting. Witness Ene. Love Ene. Now, however, I am having difficulty focusing on any one project. I want to start another lace project (I'm thinking The Forest Path Stole) but I have my Bloomin' Feet socks deadline coming up. My lack of focus is creating some psychological distress. Apparently overweight, middle-aged, balding men with erectile dysfunction don't handle stress well. But I am forging ahead.

I have a cuff. And I have several inches. I just don't have an erection.

I love to tell stories. Just ask Terrisa*. Whenever we get together, which isn't nearly as frequent as either of us would like, I almost always have a story to tell her. Like the one about the unhappy woman.

We all know the unhappy woman. One of those women who just can't be happy, no matter what the circumstances. You can recognize her by her behavior. She either boasts about the perfection of her life to the point that you know she's exaggerating, or she whines incessantly. About everything. And don't make the mistake of suggesting a possible solution to her most recent complaint. Because there is always a reason for why the suggestion won't work. Trust me; this woman wants to be unhappy, although she would be deeply offended if you suggested that.

Another characteristic of the unhappy woman is the need she has to make everyone else as unhappy as she is. So she circulates rumors and gossip, and generally does what she can to make trouble.

The point of my story is that I have been the recent victim of the unhappy woman. For reasons known only to her, she has singled me out as the target of her unhappiness. While this is most likely temporary, I do find it disturbing, and much to my dismay, I have allowed this ridiculous situation to rob me of what should have been a relaxing and enjoyable weekend, with a two day migraine and mounting anxiety as the new week approaches.

Not wanting to be an unhappy woman myself, I did manage to finish my Bloomin' Feet socks. And I did want to share them with you, because I think they came out just wonderfully. This raw ingredient, mixed with needles and time, became this:

And I received my first Project Spectrum Postcard for March. My exchange pal is Chris, who lives in Hawaii and sent me this sweet card. To quote Chris: "I decided to craft those two 'flowers' in this 'postcard'. March 3rd is Girls Day, a Japanese celebration of girls which we observe locally. It's often coupled with the viewing of sakura (cherry blossom) blooms, hence the front of the card. And what could be more quintessential Hawaii than the lei?"

Chris, I just love it. I really do, and I am so glad to have gotten to meet you.

The card I sent Chris was the first I had ever made, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. There is a huge section of paper craft items at Hobby Lobby, which is the one place I shopped, and I could have browsed for hours. If you are interested in a new hobby, and possibly a new addiction, head over to Lolly's and check out the Project Spectrum Postcard Swap.

*If you are so inclined to ask Terrisa about my story telling, you can leave your question here. She reads this blog, though she infrequently comments. Don't ask me why.

...would smell as SWEET. Not that I expect you to smell my Bloomin' Feet socks. Though they are worthy of smelling. And petting, fondling, and just loving all over! Because they are truly the most beautiful socks I have ever owned! Karen outdid herself here folks. She absolutely nailed the landing! The fiber: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, the color: Bold Red, the fit: perfect!

Karen's package also included a cute sheep tape measure (which I forgot to photograph) and the nicest card. This lady is one class act, even if she does have something a little kinky going on with her new plying box! (Love ya, Karen)!

And with deadline knitting over for the time being, I have been working on some UFO's.

Ella
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Black Purl
6mm Addi Turbo Circ (US #10)

It about killed me to go in to work after this early morning photo shoot. The breezes are blowing, the sun is shining, and the birds are singing. What's called for here is a hammock and a book or iTunes and some knitting, because I think tomorrow it's supposed to rain. On the bright side, it gives me an excuse to stay in and start my next lace project.

As an official member of SYAC, it is the time and place to come out of the stash closet and admit to my transgressions. I am a sock yarn addict. In an attempt to tame my sock yarn addiction, I have joined many other fine women in the noble pursuit of reducing my stash, freeing up space and consuming fewer plastic bins.

I made a earlier declaration here. Unfortunately, I lapsed, fell off the wagon, binged, and once again fell under the spell of the fingering weight siren's call. It is my fervent prayer that this is a temporary lapse, and I will remain strong*!
I ask you to appeal to your higher power for strength and fortitude both for myself, as well as the other brave women who have pledged to abstain from the high that is sock yarn.

*For the next 90 days, then we can forget all about this self-control nonsense!

It may be fly by blogging, but I wanted to share this with you.

It's been dry and windy here in the Southwest, and that wind has stirred up a lot of dust. I was taking my son to Tae Kwon Do and the sun shining through the haze caught my eye.

Think we need some rain.

I watched Brokeback Mountain this weekend. By myself of course. Hubby just couldn't bring himself to watch it. I pointed out to him that he wouldn't have any problems watching two women fondle and kiss each other, and his triumphant response was "And would that make me a lesbian?".

Hum.... no. It wouldn't. Which was supposed to be my argument. But whatever.

I liked it. I'm a sucker for love stories. Especially those about unrequited love. And though there were aspects of the movie that were hard to watch, I think the director did a fabulous job of getting you past those scenes and presenting the characters as people you really can care about. I found myself caring deeply. Even today, the story is still on my mind.

It wasn't a good knitting movie. Especially for lace socks. These should be much further along.

Project Spectrum yellow and orange socks. These are my first ever toe up socks, and I have to say, so far I am loving it. The pattern also calls for short row heels, so we'll see if I'm still feeling the love when I get there. I'm hoping to get some time to dye and spin some yellow and orange fiber this month as well.

Keep those needles flying!

It has always been somewhat of a puzzle to me, how to go about this business of blogging. Whether to maintain a maniacal good humor, or let the chinks in the armor of our self-protection show through. Ultimately I think it depends on the reason we choose to blog in the first place. In my case, it was initially to be a part of a community which was not readily available to me. Little did I expect to find true friends.

It is for those friends that I find myself willing, in fact almost compelled, to be as truly myself on these pages as it is possible for me to be.

A brunch and pedi with a dear friend Saturday turned into an impromptu therapy session because I apparently have unresolved issues of abandonment from my childhood. This has made me do the one thing I try to avoid at all costs. Examine the decisions I have made and continue to make because of these unresolved issues. Self-reflection can, and frequently does, truly suck!

I also find myself despondent over the events that have recently occurred in a small town just a few miles south of where I live. As the mother of four and the grandmother of two, I cannot help but imagine an Easter Basket not raided, Easter Eggs not hunted, and probably most crushing of all, the carefully selected and cherished Easter dress hanging unworn in the closet as this family grieves.

You guys so rock! Each and every one of you who left supportive comments, and even those that didn't, cause really, what do you say? We all have bad times, and now that I've put my little stamp of negativity on the world, I've dug in, and dug down, and rediscovered that well of optimism and I-can-do-it attitude, and launched myself into the world again. My daughter called, in major (to her) crisis, and reminded me that despite my own insecurities, I am a rock to my family. An anchor and a haven. There is healing in that!

Knitting has proceeded uninterrupted, of course. This is, in fact, the very basis of my home therapy system.

I have cast on the Child's First Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I'm using STR in Cobalt Bloom, a sock yarn and colorway that have been luring me with its siren song for some weeks now. And I have to tell you, Cara knows her sock yarn. This fiber crack is totally addictive. It's squooshy, and soft and just as yummy as sock yarn can get.

And heels have been turned on the ever-in-progress Diagonal Rib Socks. I didn't expect, when I started these way back when, that they would end up being a long-term project; but they have. It's ok, though, cause they are patient, undemanding, and don't have a tendency to STRESS ME OUT! Unlike Elfine's Socks, which are now at the short row heel stage. We are at a stand off at the moment. Update to follow.

I've bailed on the SYAC. Let me rephrase that. I haven't just bailed; I went out in a blaze of glory. With sparks flying out of my rear! Bells and whistles and sparklers and the whole works. Maybe even some of those whirly things that spin around super fast on the ground.

You get the idea.

See, yarn is my therapy. Shopping for yarn is my reaction to stress. (Oh, now we get it)! And shopping for sock yarn is my preferred method of fiber therapy. So stressed (which is pretty much my standard MO) =yarn shopping=new sock yarn. And when you get a chance at a score like this, you don't waste it!

And Julia? You so rock on the delivery, girlfriend!

I love Spring. The flowers mostly.

The cool breezes. And though everyone complains loud and long about it, I even love the fact that daylight savings time gives us those longer evenings. I love having enough light when I get home from work to take decent pictures of my projects to share with my faithful readers. I love that by the time spring and early summer have rolled around, most of the networks have turned to reruns, so I'm less drawn to the television, and more drawn to the outdoors, and the sun and the light and the breezes. (Fox network doesn't seem to be following the tradition, however, and I am somewhat miffed at their messing with my finely honed schedule. They just introduce new shows willy-nilly and pay no attention at all to the recognized rerun season. Anyone know who I talk to about that)?

What I don't like to do is sew. I can sew; quite well in fact. And my dislike of sewing has nothing to do with the complexity of the craft. It has to do with the fact that I am a meticulous person. The acronym OCD has been bandied about on occasion. And I find that most patterns that I have come across have less than meticulous finishing details. This frustrates me.

However, inspired by Becky, who has mastered my beloved knitting and has moved on to pattern design, and the wonderful fabric arts I have seen Amanda collecting here of late, I have hauled out my trusty Singer, picked out some colorful fabric, and vowed once more to sew.

I want handmade needle cases, you see. And cute little bags in which to store my socks in progress. And I want them to be colorful and attractive and very obviously unique. So, sew I must. Just a bit at first and we'll see how it goes.

If it gets too frustrating, I can take a break.

I have also hauled out my hammock, stored since the fall from inclement weather. And I have the book, the needles and the lovely colorful cotton. I have the iPod and the sun and the breezes. I have the makings of a perfect weekend. And at 5pm this afternoon, it becomes all mine.

Ya'll go out and have yourselves a wonderful weekend as well! You deserve it!

It's always good to have a back-up plan. My advisor in college told me that. Competition was tough to get into the program I had chosen, so I was told to have a back-up plan. Turns out the interview (and subsequent acceptance letter) to the back-up program came before I received the acceptance letter to my first choice, so I had to have another plan to fend the second choice while I waited. So maybe that's not the best example, since it involved plans on top of plans. But it all worked out in the end. Choice number one came through and all was right with the world.

Witness the sky when I got home from work Friday. Me with the hammock, and the weekend plans for breezes and knitting and listening to the iPod.

Enter the back-up plan.

The Singer and I struck a truce and the sock bags were born. Inspired by Katie, Trek, and Jennifer, I picked out some fabric and tried a different kind of stitching. I started with patterns, though I expect I will make some modifications to make these bags a bit more specific to their intended purpose.

Still and all, I am quite pleased with the results. Each bag easily holds two balls of sock yarn and two circs. I think only the second one will hold double points comfortably. Singer and I will remain on speaking terms for the immediate future. As it would happen, the local fabric store had a BIG sale on everything in the store this past Saturday. What's a fiber collector to do?

About three years ago, when I first picked up knitting needles again, I started where so many start, with the scarf. Those days are, of course, painful to remember, for the obvious reasons. So many of my friends are still sporting the acrylic eyelash scarf* in various variegated and solid colors, carefully chosen to match their wardrobe or personality. When asked why I no longer knit these scarves, I simply smile gently and change the direction of the conversation. I haven't the heart to tell them that I have moved on to the better things in life. Learned that there is a better way to live. That nothing stirs my heart like merino, alpaca, angora, or silk.

Except cotton**.

I have become completely infatuated with the color, texture, and near immediate gratification that knitting these dishcloths provides. The fact that I have four different pairs of socks on needles, that I have one lace project already started and need to pick another for the Amazing Lace KAL, none of this means anything in the face of balls and balls of inexpensive cotton. Apparently I am all about the cheap thrill!

*Now lest you think I am just the tackiest person alive, I would like to go on record as saying that I only picked up the needles, and more importantly, the eyelash, at the request of my then teenaged daughter. We were in the ubiquitous craft store, she saw the eyelash, and immediately asked me to knit a scarf for her. Little did I know that I was opening a door to a whole new obsession. Still, I have to thank her. Had she not been the little trendsetter that she is, I might never have picked up knitting needles again in my life, and would undoubtedly never have 'met' all my wonderful blogging***buddies.

**And speaking of cotton, for those of you kind enough to ask, I am going to try some semi mass production techniques on the cotton sock bags this weekend. We'll see how it goes. If you are interested in purchasing or trading for one of the sock bags, let me know either in the comments or by email!

***Word suggests bogging, logging, flogging, clogging, or slogging as possible alternatives to blogging when I ran my spell check. Totally random observation, but it brings some interesting visuals to mind!

As knitters, we are all about the patterns, aren't we? We love the lace patterns, and the sock patterns, and the patterned sweaters, some made with the patterned yarns. There is a constant ebb and flow to the patterns we love, from Charlottes Web (which was the only shawl to knit when I first started reading blogs), to Clapotis to Rogue. But there is another pattern I have observed, and which I have found to be pervasive from time to time with those of us who like to wield pointy sticks.

The knitting slump.

Several of my knit blogging friends and I are currently experiencing the knitting slump. Nothing is stirring our hearts, or making our palms itch to pick up the sticks and fondle the fiber. There is desultory knitting of a few socks. There are plans being made for a shawl, or a fall sweater. But there is no fire. No passion.

Luckily for me, I am blessed with some amazing fiber loving friends. Creative and generous friends who share with me those things that ignite in them the fire I so desperately need right now.

From Amanda, just because. Because she knew somehow that I was in near fatal need of a pat on the back and a hug, and she somehow knew that an unexpected armload of Merino and Tussah roving could make a decent stand-in. And the soap smells divine!!

Amanda, words cannot express how much I love this fibery goodness. Handpainted Merino and Tussah Roving in Rockstar from BMFA. So soft, so fluffy, and so inspiring. The silk just glitters on the surface, catching the light and revealing the jewel tones beneath. Breathtaking!

And from Teyani. In trade for one of my sock bags (though easily worth at least a hundred), thereby validating my fledgling efforts at playing with needles with eyes!

Lovely Corriedale Pencil Roving in the Tourmaline colorway. She dyes up this heavenly stuff herself, people, after she lovingly grows it on the backs of cute little four footed animals*. They, of course, love Teyani so much, that they obligingly unzip their fleeces and hand them over to her, which she then dyes into these fabulous colorways just for you and me. Go ask her, I'll wait. I'm betting she has some for you as well! Heaven on earth!

Sigh!

I am blessed indeed!

*Teyani informs me that she does not raise the Corriedales that the pencil roving comes from. She does, however, raise Shetlands, and they, of course, love Teyani just as much as I said about the Corriedales. Truly!

I received a box this weekend. Quite a well traveled box. I didn't recognize the handwriting, or the return address.

Soon, however, the mystery was solved! It's the Yarn Aboard radio box!!

And Dorothee, you outdid yourself girlfriend!

I can't wait to try this colorful and unique yarn! I saw it for the first time on Amanda's blog, and I have been lusting for it every since! To quote Dorothee "the sock yarn comes from a lady in Southern Germany. She creates the yarn by mixing different threads together and she makes about 10 balls of every color, so that's pretty individual." Also included was a cute pair of ready made socks (no muss, no fuss), Haribo Goldbaren (German Golden Bears), Ferrero Rocher chocolates (Ooh-la-la), a German chocolate egg (Dorothee certainly knows the way to my heart), an adorable sheepy soap and a sweet smelling lavender soap to keep the moths away, and the cutest felted bag which is already full of all my knitting notions!

Dorothee, thank you so much! I love everything!

Amanda, thank you for hosting such a fun yarn swap!

The Yarn Aboard radio box is wrapped, addressed, and shipping out today for its next port of call, so you all be on the lookout!!

The funk, the slump, the mind numbing knitter's ennui continues. There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel! In preparation for Amazing Lace, I dove into the stash and came up with the following possibilities. (And yes, you read that right! All of the candidates are straight from the stressreaction stash. Gold star for Leah! Woo-Hoo)!!

First up is the Pink Puzzle Wrap from the Simply Stunning collection across the pond at Heritage Knits! Same to die for Kidsilk Haze, but obviously not pink.

Next is the Trellis Scarf from the Spring 2006 issue of Interweave Knits. Lovely KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Peppermint.

Third up? Another bow to the idol alpaca! KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Horizon. Frost Flowers and Leaves by Eugen Beugler from A Gathering of Lace.

Finally, last, but certainly not least is The Shetland Tea Shawl by Dale Long, also from A Gathering of Lace. Hand painted lace pure wool from Handpainted.com in Dusty Rose.

Now the funs starts, and you all can see where I am going with this. We can, after all, probably only knit one of these lovelies between Memorial Day and Labor Day. So the question is which one? Leave me a comment and let me know which your favorite is. I can't promise that the majority will rule, but I can promise to be eternally grateful for the input!

I finished up my first pair of socks knit with Socks That Rock, and I must say, they do rock! From start to finish this yarn was a pleasure to knit with. It's the thickest, squooshiest sock yarn I have ever used, and little lace holes not withstanding, I anticipate that they will be exceedingly warm next winter. As my husband noted when I showed him the finished product, “Those look like some keepers!” It's so nice to have a husband that accepts my sock knitting addiction.

When I turned them inside out to weave in the toe end, I noticed the pattern on the inside, which I find almost as enthralling as the outside. Shouldn't be too hard to replicate, but I think I'll pass. I have so many other sock patterns I want to knit. And sock yarn I want to knit with.

I have to decide on a pattern for the Trek Along With Me KAL. It will be the first time I have used Trekking XXL as well, and the bold striping and almost guaranteed fraternal nature of the finished pair have me in a quandary over choosing a pattern. I don't know why, but I haven't knit a straight stockinette stitch sock since my very first pair of socks. I'm drawn to the patterns, which I'm sure is why I have such a fascination with lace. But patterning with XXL will be a challenge.

Also planned for the long holiday weekend is swatching and making a final decision on my Amazing Lace teammate. The Puzzle Wrap has been pretty much ruled out due to soaring temperatures and humidity levels over the last week (mohair and sweat not being a particularly appealing mix), while the alpaca and wool are still neck and neck into the qualifying swatch round. You can, however, expect a final decision early next week.

Three day weekends apparently lend themselves well to pursuits of the fiber related. Several of the bloggers I follow spent at least one of the three days hovering over a dye pot. Myself included. No pictures of the actual process, but I'm happy with the end result.

Like Rip Van Winkle, I seem to have lost some time somewhere along the way. A month apparently. I'm still stuck in the PS month of April, with orange and yellow the dominant colors in my spectrum.

SOS to the more experienced spinners out there. Suggestions would be welcome on how to ease up on the spin. Yarn would be the goal here, not barbed wire.

I do have a plan to get all caught up on my Project Spectrum projects and knock out a KAL as well. I plan to Trek Along with Trekking XXL #71 in blue and teal. May and June covered, Trek Along with Me KAL knocked out of the park, and the blue hemp Ponchette is just a bonus, because it's fun to knit with size 7 needles after lots of sock knitting on those size 1 Addis.

Time well spent.

In the spirit of the Trekking KAL, my first trekking expedition was out to the back property line behind my house. Those of you have who have been to my house, don't laugh. In 100+ degree heat, that's just about all anyone can ask of me.

The socks and I were going to check out some nature shots, get a little sun, then probably make a beeline for the hammock.

First we checked out some flora. Bindweed to be exact. Which is just that. A weed*. But a flower as well, of the morning glory family, and worthy of closer inspection due to it being a flower, and don't we just love all things floral? I think so. We won't go into the obvious unflattering comparisons between my flower shots and some others. Let's just not go there.

Closer inspection of the bindweed spooked the recent inhabitant of the dead willow.

And after she left, the socks and I got real up close and personal with some fauna. Avian fauna, to be sure, but fauna none-the-less.

After all this excitement, the socks and I were beat, so we took a rest on a log, and then beat feet back to the air conditioning. There will be additional treks to the willow in the future however. I can't wait to see the dove babies as they grow up.

*We don't stress about weeds at the back of the property, because the house borders on a creek and the weed population back there makes it a lost cause from the get go.

It's nothing kinky. My mom used to say that she would beat us kids with a wet noodle if we were doing something we shouldn't. Or didn't do something we should.

Anyway, I deserve to be beat with a wet noodle. I was late sending out my Tea Swap package. But Lisa has it, and she loves it, so it's all good. I'm also late in posting about the wonderful package I received from Ailsa. Wonderful Cleckheaton Country Silk to try my hand at Fair Isle. A heavenly assortment of teas, some delectable cheese roughs, and yummy Almond Roca! If you look closely at the mailer, you'll see that my package came all the way from Australia, which was a trill for me all by itself. Very cool Ailsa! You so rock!!

With the lull in the blog-o-sphere, I'm inspired by this meme posted by Cara (and believe me, I need all the inspiration I can get in these languid days of summer).

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me — it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this into your blog so that I may leave a word about you.

Let's start a wave.

And a strange week.

I worked a lot of hours this week. Meetings, extra shifts, and computer training on top of the usual nine to five. Then Friday things got really crazy.

My daughter's dachshund has some kind of strange illness. His legs and neck get stiff, and he can't walk. He stayed Friday night with the Vet, came home Saturday because he seemed to be doing better, then relapsed Saturday night. The Vet seems to think it is some kind of toxic poisoning (as opposed to the nontoxic variety?), but the waxing and waning symptoms don't really fit with that diagnosis, so we're still in the dark.

I did manage to sew up some of the sock bags I had already cut out (you can also find the link in the sidebar). They are the perfect size for yarn for a pair of socks, two circs or double points, a folded photocopy of your pattern, and some knitting notions. I'll be adding some different fabrics over the coming weeks.

I also spun a bit. The roving is Wild Thing from Crown Mountain Farms. This is the same SuperwashMerino Hand Dyed Roving that Teyani uses for the Sock Hop yarn. Very cool stuff. Super soft and spins like a dream. I can't wait to get it plied up.

The only trekking the sock and I saw was back and forth to work and meetings. I'm ready to start the forethought heel from Sensational Knitted Socks. Since this is the first time I've knit this heel, it's going to take some concentration. No autopilot knitting for me tonight.

So many that my head is spinning. Too many to go into detail right now. Changes in jobs, changes in patterns, changes in projects. Details will follow, when the dust settles, but in the mean time I thought I would leave you with this. It's a graphical representation of my blog stressreaction.com. Bandwagon or no, I find it extremely entertaining. I also find it fascinating that someone is so much geekier than I am to write the code to produce the graphic. Just too cool!!

I can so see this on a pillow, a t-shirt, a cross stitch on the wall above my computer. Hee, I could even print it on fabric and make it into a sock bag! Send me your blog graphic if you are interested in this last. I'm so going to do it!

Saturday Sky Día Dos

I lost a reader. Just for a day, but still, I found it distressing.

We all put ourselves out there, both with our words and our works, and we hope that people of like mind will find us interesting and skilled enough to come back and visit again. Many of us watch our bloglines numbers and experience that little (or maybe not so little) thrill as our readership increases. What I wasn't prepared for was the sense of unworthiness when I saw that I had lost a reader.

What had I done? Was I not a skilled enough knitter? Too slow with new posts? Boring projects? Was it a matter of (no, no, never this) uninteresting prose? Had I put too much of myself out there, or not enough (a balance I struggle with repeatedly)?!

Or, as is much more likely since I do it myself, was it that someone looked at their bloglines feeds, realized that reading 100 blogs a day is not exactly considered productive by their employer, and deleted a few who's projects or interests didn't exactly jive with their own?

But oh, the doubt!

So, the heat is on. The pressure is building. There will be knitting content shortly, and I need to post a picture of the Saturday Sky (maybe a sunset shot, since right now it's just a cloudless blue sky) (done). In the mean time, I will share with you something that my (sotto voce) nonknitting, nonblogging friend Terrisa sent me.

Hey, she may not be a knitter, but she so gets what stirs our little woolen hearts!

Saturday Sky Part Four

I know knit bloggers who post come rain, or sleet, or dark of night. Knit bloggers I much admire who not only blog but prodigiously knit through corneal erosions, transcontinental/transatlantic moves, medical school, design school and North American book tours.

So if you want to call me a wiener because I can't knit, spin, blog and quit a job all at the same time, I will humbly accept the sobriquet.

Because quit my job I have, and next to marriage and having children, I think it's probably been one of the biggest decisions I have made in my life. I've been with this same company for twelve years (longer than I've ever been married, come to think of it). I kind of feel like I am leaving family, as well as the position. The only person I won't miss is the Unhappy Woman. She is, in fact, the reason I even started putting out feelers in the first place; one of which hooked a wonderful offer which I couldn't refuse. This of course has made the Unhappy Woman even more unhappy because I am going on to something so much better. And in an odd sort of way, I have her to thank.

Don't you love Karma?

While there hasn't been much knitting going on, what with the quitting and preparing for the new job (not to mention the hell of a sinus infection in which minions of Satan have invaded my right maxillary sinus cavity and are attempting to bore their way out with red hot pokers, and the two huge bruises on each side of my arse from the honkin' antibiotic shots I received the past two days), don't think there hasn't been some fiber therapy to help me through the transition.

The "OMG I just resigned from my job of twelve years, but bigger salary equals more yarn!" fiber therapy! The third and seventh skeins received in trade from Amanda, and as of yet she has nothing to show for it, but she will soon, and I promise to tuck in some extra goodies to make it worth the wait!

The “When I get my life back I am going to make up for some lost spinning time.” fiber therapy! The first two bunches of roving also received from Amanda in trade and the above caveat still applies (and Amanda just rocks my crazy world because she is such a wonderful and patient friend)!

The “What little bit of knitting time I do have I am going to spend knitting with fiber and a pattern I really like.” fiber therapy! (From the “I don't always knit exactly what I want, but that's about the change.” school of knitting)!

And finally, the “I owe some people sock bags, and I have cut them out and will commence with the sewing forthwith.” fiber therapy!

If ever I needed proof that I function best under pressure, I have it now.

I have had some big life changes lately, and for a control freak like me, this is major; I left my previous employer of twelve years and joined a new practice. Between the ending of one job and the starting of the other, I have had a bit of a break. A two-week break to be exact.

I don't know about you, but in the day-to-day grind of work, I would often fantasize about what I would do with two weeks off (or hell, even one week off, I'm not picky). Well, very little, if any of those things got done. Motivation was zip, zero, and zilch. I managed to knit a pair of socks and watch about 3 and ½ seasons of Sex and the City. There was no spinning, no yarn dyeing, and minimal knitting; none of the big stuff got done. Nothing organized, dug up and/or planted. Nothing painted, polished or fluffed even. I think the vacuum might have made an appearance once or twice, but all the fancy attachments remained firmly attached.

Blogging inspiration was in the dumper as well, but when my non-blogging, non-knitting friend Terrisa called to see why I hadn't blogged in almost a month and to tell me that she was worried about me, I knew blogging re-entry was overdue. There are sock bags to be sewn. I have managed to narrow my selection of available yarns for Toasty Toes, though pattern choices are still a bit hazy. That's all I have to offer for now.

I do want to thank each and every one of my wonderful cyber friends who left good wishes for the new job, and comments and emails to check on my unusually long cyber silence. You all are the best. Seriously. The absolute best.

Back in the Saturday Sky groove!

On the new job front--I've spent the last week getting acquainted with the computer system and unpacking supplies. Monday the real work begins! I'm both excited and nervous! At least the hair looks fabulous!

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
There's Yarn Aboard, it's all for me, to spin this glorious roving!*

Though not all the way from Cathay, Sig. Polo did make the trek from New Jersey to Oklahoma in record time. And he was, of course, carrying valuable cargo!

Deb loaded him down with 4 luscious ounces of chocolaty Corridale, which seriously looks good enough to eat. Eight fluffy ounces of Natural Cormo and a variety of kool-aid packs with which to dye it. And 4 sublime ounces of Interlacements Silk Roving (yummy, yummy, yum)!! Amazingly, pirates did not ransack our intrepid explorer!

Marco has been loaded up and is off to his next port of call! Keep your eyes peeled! (Listen y'all: I barter with my husband to get out of wrapping Christmas presents, so this whole wrapping in brown paper thing? Serious show of love and support for our YA hostess! Just sayin')!!

PS. If I owe you a sock bag, they are sewn and in the mail!

*Apologies to Mr. Walt Whitman

I'm settling into the new job, the kids are back in school and life is starting to feel more normal to me. This is good. I have what is probably a pathological need to maintain what I consider to be control of my affairs. Illusion? Probably. But that's how I get up in the morning, and I'm okay with that.

The job is good. Nice, professional people. No Unhappy Woman. I don't get the Sunday afternoon depression thinking about Monday morning anymore.

I'm working on my Toasty Toes socks, which brings me to the title of today's post. Logic says these socks should be working for me. The colors are perfect for fall (even the name of the yarn says fall: CTH Supersock in Cabin Fever). The pattern, I thought, was going to be perfect. It's Creeping Vines Socks by Evelyn Skae from the TownsendSocksKnitALong group on Yahoo. The pattern reminds me of falling leaves and bare branches against a crisp fall sky. All the design elements are there.

Maybe it's the Cherry Tree Hill, which would be a shame because I have a ton of it in my stash. I prefer to think it's the nature of a lacey fabric to bunch up and be completely unappealing until it's blocked. There is that small voice in the back of my head that questions the wisdom of a lacey pattern (even if it's only partially lacey) for fall/winter socks. But we're ignoring the voices in my head for the time being. I so want this to work!

In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit to fudging just a bit on this week's Saturday Sky. For example, it's taken with a cell phone (which I hate but was all I had available to me at the time), so the image is smaller and not as clear as I would like. But I thought the sky in this particular shot was just amazing. Another example of the fudge factor is that this was actually taken Friday afternoon. The appearance of the actual Saturday Sky can be seen here.

Mustn't forget the fun KSKS package the arrived this week. Ashley fashioned a beautiful bag in the loveliest colors and stuffed it full of wonderful goodies. There (were) two boxes of Hot Tamales (items listed in order of immediate use potential) a second small project bag (love the fishes, Ashley), two skeins of merino/silk KnitPicks Gloss in the Woodland Sage colorway and a skein of Socketta (cotton/wool) sock yarn all color coordinated and obviously thoughtfully chosen.

I've been feeling the call of the lace for a while now. You would think it had something to do with my involvement in the Amazing Lace, but sadly, it did not. There was too much going on when this enticing KAL started for me to participate (though I did sign up), and by the time things settled down, I was too far behind to make even a half decent showing. I was, however, inspired by a quiet yet fierce competition to knit this beautiful shawl. Not as a competitor, mind you. There is quite enough excitement for me in the knitting of this piece of artistry. With KidSilk Haze. On Addi Turbos. Ca-razy!! I know!

And spinning! There has been spinning! Teyani (and Cheryl, and Deb, and Karen) have been offering some cyber-support and generously providing me with my very own personal spinning companion(s). They so rock. With their expert tutelage and some awesome fiber prep, my spinning, I think, has taken a turn for the better. A T-U-R-N! Get it? I crack myself up!

Much improvement over my less than impressive showing with the merino, no?

Luckily, this is only four of the eight ounces I started with, so I'll get another chance as the spinning skills progress. (Don't you love that note of confidence? Me too!)

Leif Ericsson proved to be more than an intrepid explorer, but also the captain of a magical flying ship. He has made landfall here in Oklahoma from New York and while we do have the distinction of having the most man-made lakes of any state in the country and over 2000 miles of shoreline, it's unlikely that he found a direct route.

His perseverance is appreciated however, because he arrived with lovely goods. Lynne entrusted him with two 100 gram skeins of Gems Merino Opal in what I believe is the Cherry Red colorway. I have been coveting some of this yarn for a while now, and this is definitely one of my favorite colors. It will look fabulous knit up in the included pattern: Celtic Braid Socks by Cabin Fever!

The precious cargo also included a pair of cabled hand knit footies in what looks to me like a heathered purple yarn similar to Cascade 220. Super comfy, I couldn't help but slip them on during a little spinning session last night and thank God for the cooler weather that arrived this weekend, because I didn't want to take them off!

Wonderful work Lynne! Thank you for the great box of treats, and Amanda, thank you for organizing, once again, another fun swap in Yarn Aboard II! Mr. Ericsson is loaded down again and should be making landfall at his next port o'call soon. Y'all keep an eye out!!

And as a result I haven't knit more than a couple of rows on a pair of socks in the last five days! By choice, no less!

I have discovered genealogy!

My dad got into this about ten years ago, and while I thought it somewhat interesting, I can't honestly say I paid that much attention. Then, the other day, I was cruising through my bloglines when I saw that Emily had gotten in some quality knitting time coming and going to a DAR meeting. This triggered a memory of my dad telling me that I had a grandfather so many times great that had fought in the Revolutionary War. So I hopped over the DAR website to see what was involved.

Critical decision number one.

Called my dad to get the info that he had collected so far.

Critical decision number two.

Signed up for a two-week free membership at Ancestry.com.

That's all she wrote. I was gone, lost, down the rabbit hole.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much this process appeals to my research oriented, analytic mind. Poring over US Federal Census records, I get distracted by the family raising eight children and three grandchildren with only the father working. The 110-year-old black woman listed as a pauper in what I can only assume was debtors prison, since she was listed with the other prisoners, all but one of whom were black back in Smith County Texas in 1900. (When did debtor's prison go away, anyway?) Not being able to find a particular person, I would have to approach in from another angle. Who was the father, the mother, the sibling, the wife? Fascinating!

If you are interested, as near as I can tell, my ancestors came to America in the 1630's. My great (several times) grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, was wounded in the head and collected a pension of $8 a month from the Common Wealth of Virginia for the remainder of his life.

Despite my newest obsession, there has been knitting! And as my ardor cools, I'm sure there will be even more knitting. I decided to give my first stab at the TT socks another chance, and I'm glad I did. I like them a lot more now. I've decided it was the whole crumpled up lace thing that was bugging me.

And there has been spinning. This is 172 yards of two-ply sport weight (14 wpi) yarn spun on my Majacraft Rose (named aptly enough Rose) from Corridale pencil roving in the Tourmaline colorway. Provided by the lovely and talented Teyani at Crown Mountain Farms.

I am diligently working on my Toasty Toes socks. I've really grown to like them, and I should keep working on them.

Despite that, I am finding myself distracted by several current and potential projects. Maybe it has something to do with the crispness in the air early in the morning when I head out to work. Wool and mohair seems so much more palatable this time of year.

I have been alternating between the TT socks and the Wing of the Moth Shawl (which Carole just finished by the way, so head on over there and admire). I love this pattern. And I love KSH. Though I've swatched with it before, this is the first real project I have knit with it, and I can understand the knitting crack reference. Lovely!!

I did sustain one semi-serious shock however. This is one of those shawl patterns that starts with five stitches and increases on each right side row. On the first read through of the pattern I made note of the 345 stitches that marked the end of the first pattern section. When I hit 325 stitches I read through the pattern again; meanwhile feeling very pleased with myself that the first pattern section went so quickly. (Those of you who have knit this shawl know where this is going)! That's when I realized that the first pattern section is complete when you have 345 stitches on either side of the center stitch. GAH!

You can see my initial reaction here!

Edited to add: My guardian angel Cheryl saved me from what would undoubtedly have been the biggest faux pas of my knitting history, proving once again that knit bloggers are “the best”! My initial reading of the pattern was correct: 345 stitches mark the end of the first pattern section. Cheryl, thank you so much for saving me the agony of ripping multiple thousands of stitches in KSH! You rock!!

…New.

Though a firm believer in tried and true, sometimes there is nothing so exciting as something new.

To go along with my new job (which you have heard about ad nauseam), there is the new drive to work. Now to fully appreciate the new drive, you have to be familiar with the old drive.

And the new drive. (And this would be rush hour)!

No more hubcaps or road rubber screaming past my head! Woo-Hoo!!

It is the perfect length. Long enough to either prepare for the day, or to unwind from it, but not so long as to seem tedious.

…New computer.

I finally took the plunge and went with a Mac, and I love it. While the switch from the PC has been somewhat costly, I am so happy with the OS that I am seriously thinking about replacing my kid's computers as well.

…and new socks.

While still in love with the CTH Cabin Fever colorway, I have concluded that my struggle with the original socks was in fact the colorway. I just don't think that it was a good match with my TT recipient. I am much happier with this choice in both color and pattern.

The weekend was fabulously relaxing. I didn't really even go near the computer, so I thought I would combine the Friday Eye Candy and Saturday Sky posts in one weekend roundup.

This weekend heralded the grand opening of my new home away from home! Super Target!! (This would be the Eye Candy part)!

Makes me so happy. While they don't sell yarn, they do sell just about everything else. And higher end stuff too! Fancy dark chocolate, and a whole row of serve yourself Jelly Belly jellybeans.! (Apparently I am stuck in snack mode)!

Saturday evening the hubby and I packed some chairs and headed down to the park for a little Shakespeare in the Park, performed by the local community theater. The weather was fabulous. Warm light breezes, no bugs. (This would be the Saturday Sky part).

I knit on the TT socks until it was too dark to see, then, inspired by Romeo and Juliet, went home and put Shakespeare In Love in the DVD player and knit some more. Alas, no photos. I am just about ready to turn the heels, and since I am knitting them both at once on two circular needles, they should be finished up well before the deadline.

I've also just about finished spinning the alpaca and should be ready to ply the two bobbins either tonight or tomorrow. I'll be sorry to see the end of this, since it is the only alpaca in my fiber stash. Good excuse to shop, I'm thinking. Any of you spinners have a must try fiber or fiber seller, please leave me a comment.

Finally, I put in some reading time. I'm about half way through The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. It's funny how attitudes change as we go through life. Never, when I was back in high school, would I have thought that I would enjoy reading history, and choose to read it for pleasure. But this book fascinates me. It is very well written and really brings to vivid imagination the Tudor court. I have The Children of Henry VIII and The Life of Elizabeth I to read as well. By then I should have my fill of the Tudor dynasty.

Another weekend has flown by. How does that happen? The week seems to drag on forever, then you blink and the weekend is gone? Personally I'm all for starting a petition for a 4 day work week. The motto could be: A Rested Worker is a Productive Worker.

It was another fabulous weekend. Saturday was our local Race for the Cure run in Oklahoma City. No pictures, loser that I am, but it was a beautiful day for it. It was sunny with mild winds and temps of 70 for the entire day (although it's a bit cooler early in the morning when the race actually occurs). My plan was to get a shot of the pink balloon arch that spans the starting gate of the race, but you will have to settle for the more traditional sky shot.

The weekend also included manna in the mail! My One Yard Fabric Swap pal treated me so right! Lynne* put together the most wondrous box of vintage fabric, candy and body care products I have ever seen. And she sewed me an apron! Just how cute is that?

Along with the apron and the beautiful chocolaty brown coordinated fabric and adorable sewing journal with pink pages (whee!) Lynne included some of the greatest smelling soap and hand lotion I have ever received (I am a lotion connoisseur Lynne, so believe me, I know)! From Blue Q, it's Chamomile and Fresh Thyme soap and Hand and Body Cream. The little pink and white purse was stuffed full of Memory Lane invoking candies such as Mamba, Pixy Stix, Slap Stix, “The Original" Smarties Candy Necklace, A Whistle Pop!!, and candy lipstick! So. Much. Fun.

And such cute boxes too!

Sunday it rained the entire day! The perfect day for cuddling up on the couch, watching movies and knitting. And that is precisely what I did. All day. The Toasty Toes socks are coming right along.

Nothing rocks harder than knitting two socks at once. Any sock knitter worth their salt just has to love it!!

*And yes that would be the same Lynne would knocked my socks off with the scrumptious sock yarn and hand knit socks to wear while knitting it during the Yarn Aboard swap back in September. It is indeed a small knit blogger world.

It has occurred to me recently that I haven't had a lot of finished knitting here lately. I'm sure that part of the reason is the never ending Toasty Toes socks in their multiple incarnations. Now I don't begrudge anyone a pair of soft, warm hand knit socks, and I sure plan to enjoy mine when they come, but I am very much looking forward to getting back to some of the knitting I had going before the deadline knitting took over my life.

That's were Tuesday mornings come in. Tuesday mornings are my half day off. Now while it is customary to have a half day in medicine, generally they are in the afternoons. So best case scenario, by the time you have finished the morning work and any other work you having been saving up expressly for this particular day, its mid-afternoon and at best you have an early start on dinner. This being all I have ever known, I at first thought that having Tuesday mornings off was going to be pretty strange (being low man on the totem pole and all, I got last pickings for half day off).

Let me tell you, I love my Tuesday mornings! I get the kids off to school, and then have four and a half hours of total me time. First order of business is generally something thrown in the crock pot, so I don't have to cook dinner. Then I can exercise, shower, get a Pedi (which I think will be on the list today), knit, spin, watch a movie, read, blog, organize (who doesn't love to organize when the house is quiet and you can crank up the music and rediscover everything you had stored away in that closet)? I could shop, but generally I like to make my husband go along with me on those particularly fun missions to share the pain. The possibilities are endless.

Good thing too. Because this Tuesday morning I had to drop down about 10 rows to turn 1 knit stitch into 1 purl stitch.

But does it stress me out? No, because the toenails are fancy!

Alternately titled: I've Been Playing With My Food

I know I remember my mother telling me not to play with my food, as I'm sure yours has done. But in this case, I believe an exception to the rule is warranted. Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book says that not only should I play with my food, but also that doing so will help me master Adobe Photoshop. Maybe, maybe not. But I will say that it was fun. My little Chef man was created from these raw ingredients.

I could show you another twenty rows of the TT socks that have become the bane of my existence, my nemesis, and my burden to bear. But it is, after all, just another twenty rows of a pair of socks. Looks pretty much like the previous twenty rows of the same pair of socks. Getting out the camera hardly seems worth the effort.

I don't know why I have this attitude towards these socks. The pattern is pretty, the yarn is lovely, and the colors are delish. My pal is certainly worthy. Nonetheless, I will be so glad when they are done. This weekend, to be sure. Then wrapped up and off to their intended!

Could it be? Is it possible? Yes! It's true!

Margene is my Toasty Toes pal! (Wait, give me a minute, I feel faint...Ok, I think I'll be alright now)!

The Zen Goddess and sock knitting guru made socks just for me! And I love them. Adore them. Never want to be separated from them and would probably marry them if it were legal.

And, being Margene, she sent generous goodies as well. With exquisite attention to detail, she noted that I love Jelly Belly's, and chocolate, and some cute, cute stickers, and a froggy sticky pad, and a bat cookie frosted with purple and black frosting (which I have to say, Margene, it a little revolting) which my kids of course loved! Also lovely bath salts from Sundance which is one of my favorite places to get soap and jewelry both! Oh, and Bling! I love me some Bling, and the adorable tin contains mints, which I will, of course, buy in 10 lb bags from now on so that I can use my Bling tin forever and ever and ever.

And a bag of candy rocks! Which say "You Rock".

No Margene, you rock!! (And I'm still waiting to hear the story of the socks)!

Can you tell I'm overwhelmed?! Anyway, thank you so much Margene, for the best Halloween ever! Loved it and love you bunches. And Amanda, of course, for organizing such a select and wonderful group of women who know just how to rock the socks off of other serious sock knitters!

Well hell ladies, is has to be said: YOU BOTH ROCK!!

And while it's somewhat anticlimactic now, I finished my TT socks. After the fiasco of the first pair for which I just wasn't ‘feeling it', I have to say I am very pleased with the end result. I hope my pal likes them.

Added later: And I'm so totally counting the Chocolate Cherries pair for Socktoberfest. Yes I can!

I know. I know it's Sunday! All I can say is that I am frequently chronologically challenged.

But I also have knitting content. So you are rewarded for your patience with me.

I am knitting with…wait for it…my own handspun alpaca!! (See, I actually hear that in bold italics in my head; that is how very excited I am to be knitting with my own handspun alpaca)!!

Specs:
Yarn: My own handspun alpaca!!*
Fiber Source: Rocky Mt High from Spunky Eclectic
Pattern: Branching Out from Knitty.com
Needles: Addi Turbo US#5

It's also time to cast on for a new pair of socks, and I have several picked out. I'm so ignoring the fact that I also have several pair already on the sticks, so please work with me here.

Or…

Any thoughts?

*Reminds me of when Brenda Dayne from Cast-on mentions Addi Turbo and the little turbo noise she plays.

I was wondering, just yesterday in fact, where memes start. I found this one at Cara's. Feel free to join the fun (download the document, fill it out, scan (or take a pic) to your blog).

Oh, and I do have knitting. And spinning. More on that later...

Hey ya'll. Anyone still out there? Any faithful few that still wonder how things are going at Casa Stress Reaction? Yeah? Well I'm so glad you decided to drop by. This is day two of the Oklahoma Artic Lockdown 2006. No school means no clinic with my wonderful new practice who's partners actually do care that their employees might slide right off the icy road and freeze to death in a ditch while trying to get to work. (Just for kicks and giggles I called my old clinic yesterday and sure enough, they were open. The employees were forced by management to go to work, but the irony is that most of the doc's didn't go in. Go figure).

Stress Reaction turns two this month. This is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. One, it's probably the longest I have worked on something without clearly understanding the parameters of the project. Realizing that these parameters are for me to determine, I still find myself struggling with what to blog about and when. The blogs I admire most are those where the writer puts it all out there. The good, the bad, and the ugly (to quote Carole). But, in my mind at least, there is a fine line between all out there and interesting. There are a lot of days when I just don't have anything all that uplifting to say. In fact, I often feel down right snarky. But if I am going to be out there with that kind of content, I don't want to cross the line into appearing emo, just plain crazy, or, God forbid, boring (notice the emphasis there: what does it say about a person that appearing boring is the worst thing on their list)?

The point is, I am going to be playing around a bit with this here blog, straying a bit more from the knitting and spinning content, and maybe, on those days when I feel like writing (which was, after all, the original purpose of this blog in the first place) but may lack the maniacal good humor at which some bloggers excel (could link here, but I won't, cause that would go beyond snarky to down right mean), you may just be hearing from me. I'll know how it goes, I guess, by who keeps coming back and commenting, and who doesn't.

Two (you're thinking: finally!) I want to have a celebration. A blog anniversary party. A blogiversary party. And you know what that means! The guests get presents!! Woo-Hoo!! I'm planning on a month long party of contests and random gift giving. And just in case you are one of those who thinks the smaller the crowd, the better your chances (and I'll admit that I think that way too!) know that some of the presents will be randomly awarded based on comment numbers and new readers. So check back often, gentle readers, and invite your friends and neighbors. We are going to PAR-TAY!!

I am in a snit. So before I give away yarny goodness, you all get to hear about why my nose is out of joint.

First, I found a house. I've been looking for about a year now, but this is only the second house I have found that meets my criteria.

It's spacious, fairly new, on two acres of land. The first one I found last year sold before I even got to look at it. This house has been on the market awhile. They want too much for it, especially in this market. I made them a reasonable offer, expecting a reasonable counter. But they want to play games, so I walked away wishing them luck. My plans are now on hold until they wake up or I find another house. That puts me in a snit.

Second reason is this.

This is not good. This, on top of the house thing is really not good.

This happened because I saw a pretty morning moon, shining through the trees. Silly me, thinking that the sheet of ice on the patio, which I have walked across before, didn't have a thin film water on it because the temperature outside is 37 degrees and the ice has started to melt.

The bruise on my butt should be truly impressive by tonight, but the bruise to my beloved camera is much harder to bear.

So now that you have listened to my whining, I will reward you with some yarn. We'll make this an easy one:

** To keep it fair, send your answers to leah@stressreaction.com.**

I am privileged enough to own two spinning wheels. What have I named them?

Everyone who gives the correct answer will have his or her name put into a random drawing for this wonderful prize.

Much coveted, truly lovely, self-striping Vesper Sock Yarn in Sweetwater and a sock bag custom made by yours truly.

The contest ends promptly at 12 noon, central time, Sunday 12/10/06.

I am a matriarch.

There are only a handful of people who know me well enough to grasp the significance of this statement. It is a tremendous declaration of independence and self sufficiency. It is an assertion that I am enough.

Enough to give my family the Christmas gathering that I picture in my heart, of home and hearth and family gathered around a colorful tree and the turkey roasted to perfection. Enough to establish the traditions that would not go unnoticed were they absent. Enough to be the gravitational force which holds my little universe together, and makes each of them feel as if they are coming home. That I am enough to be the definition of home. Where ever I might be.

To each of you who visit, to each of you who comment, I offer you heartfelt thanks. Thank you for sharing a bit of yourselves with me. Have a joyful holiday and blessings throughout the coming year.

I have blog block. Totally! The holidays were really good (especially for the kids, which is as it should be) and the New Year has come in fast and furious. There as been so much going on, and I have lots to tell you and so many thoughts and ideas floating around in my head that I got blocked. I didn't know where to start. Finally I got to the point that I had to just start typing, hoping that the result would be coherent and somewhat entertaining.

We are almost 100% a Mac family now. I still have my hp desktop, mainly because I love the monitor, but I imagine that eventually that will go as well and we will be all wireless, all the time. Kind of fun, and the kids and their friends think it's really cool.

I did break a three year tradition and knit one Christmas present this year. Normally I don't knit Christmas presents because Christmas is crazy enough without making me resent my knitting. Also, there are only a select group of people that I know outside the cyber world that appreciate the time and effort that goes into a knitted gift. Terrisa is one of those exceptions. She will truly appreciate these socks.

I am very pleased with how these socks came out. The yarn is lovely, of course, and the pattern itself is quick and entertaining. I plan on knitting them again, mainly because I found the pattern to be extremely challenging. There is a lot of room for interpretation and modifications and you will have to be comfortable with that in order to make them fit well. If you are in the mood for a challenge, then I would give it a try. I love the lace work, and the wrap around faux cable is just too cool.

Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you who joined me in celebrating the two year blogiversary here Chez Stress Reaction. I'm looking forward to year three and beyond. I have lots of new and exciting ideas for the blog, so please stick around for the fun. Marti is the grand prize winner (picked by random number generator). Congrats Katie, Mandella and Marti. Thanks for playing!

Coming up next: The socks and I visit Chihuly on my birthday!

I turned forty-seven a week ago Saturday. It sounds old, but oddly enough it doesn't feel old. In fact, it feels younger than forty-six. I've spent the last 3 or 4 years lamenting my weight and my stress level and my lack of free time, but with the recent changes in my employment, the most stressful thing about my job now is remembering to set the alarm clock. I have a lot more free time as well. Life is good. And forty-seven isn't old. My parents are both still living and have just entered retirement. My kids are getting more independent. This is going to be my year.

Whether as a result of my new found optimism, or as testament to my new outlook, this year started off with a fabulous birthday weekend. While I don't generally hale my birthday with the same celebratory zeal as Cara, this year was the exception. My husband, ever the consummate gift giver, gave me three sets of Crystal Palace Bamboo needles for sock knitting as well as a gift card to my not-so-LYS. My daughter gifted me with the cutest tea set and tea-light holder in my favorite breast cancer awareness theme.

My good blogging friend, the sublime Amanda (who undoubtedly tired of seeing Hand Maiden Silk Cashmere listed as my dream yarn on every single sock swap questionnaire), gifted me with two skeins of Hand Maiden Silk Cashmere in the perfect color: Rose Garden. Thank you Amanda. It's just perfect!

But the gift that rocked the best this year was from my good friend non-knitting Terrisa. She gave me the gift of time, her time specifically. As two working mothers, we are lucky if we get together for brunch once a month at the local Panera Bread. This year she took me to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art for a lovely brunch with crystal and linen, Mimosa's and an actual waiter who pulled out my chair and everything.

Then we toured the museum. It was the perfect time of day. An early Sunday afternoon meant there were very few people in the museum (as opposed to the museum café, which was packed) so we got to browse to our hearts content. The highlight of our local museum is the Chihuly exhibit. Words cannot express the beauty of the flowing lines of the blown glass, the depth of the lovely colors. It was magical.

I love my dad. Whenever he calls, the first thing he asks is about my weather. When it rains or snows here, he calls and requests that I send it, or not send it as the case may be, to him. Or he brags about his warm temps when we're freezing. No matter what our respective weather might be like, he always has the better end of the deal. I'm not sure where this meteorological obsession springs from. He wasn't raised on a farm or anything.

Anyway, when I found myself about to open this post with a weather report, I was reminded once again that I am my father's daughter. But in my defense: It's cold around here! Like Margene's kind of cold. Last week we experienced the second artic blast of the year, which resulted in the schools being closed for a full week. There wasn't that much snow, but there was several inches of ice, which hung around for a while due to the below freezing temps.

I was inspired, while huddled in my warm home, to knit up a pair of the Fetching mitts from the Summer 2006 issue of Knitty. I've been seeing these all over the blogosphere, and since I just happened to have some Cashmerino Aran in my stash, I grabbed my dpn's and cast-on.

I used size 5 needles instead of the called for size 6 because I wanted the fabric to be dense and squooshy. The Cashmerino is velvety and very, very warm. In fact, I was really quite surprised at how warm these tiny garments keep not just my hands, but also my entire person. Now that we are back up to a balmy 39 degrees, I can dash from my house to my car and from my car to my office in just a sweater, a scarf and my toasty mitts. I believe I feel a heat wave coming on!

Sadly, it would appear that my sock knitting Mojo has up and r.u.n.n.o.f.t.*

I can't find it anywhere, and this is particularly frustrating since Bloomin' Feet is coming up, not to mention the prime knitted sock wearing weather we are experiencing here in the Southwest. I thought I left it with the last finished project (the nontraditional Christmas socks), but apparently that is not the case.

Since I did not immediately notice its absence, I have cast-on for two pair of socks in the last week. It was only when things felt a bit off that I realized that I was knitting without the essential ingredient that is Mojo.

It was when I started the pattern section of the first pair that I began to have an inkling that something might be amiss. The yarn is pretty, and I love the pattern, but I am quite ambivalent about the bold striping.

So I put that sock aside to ponder and cast-on for what I thought would be a sure thing. Fabulous pattern knit over and over again by sock knitters everywhere, gorgeous yarn which contains just about all of my favorite colors. I thought I had reached sock knitting Nirvana.

Unfortunately, the called for cast-on is less than stretchy, and these socks will only fit me if my legs are shaped like dowels, which they are not. They gradually get larger as they go up, like most people's.

If you see my Mojo, would you please send it home? Thanks.

*Gold star if you can name this movie reverence (one of my faves)!

From Grace's Poppies:

When a Woman Loves a Man
by David Lehman

When she says margarita she means daiquiri
When she says quixotic she means mercurial.
And when she says, "I'll never speak to you again,"
she means, "Put your arms around me from behind
as I stand disconsolate at the window."

He's supposed to know that.

When a man loves a woman he is in New York and she is in Virginia
or he is in Boston, writing, and she is in New York, reading,
or she is wearing a sweater and sunglasses in Balboa Park and he
is raking leaves in Ithaca
or he is driving to East Hampton and she is standing disconsolate
at the window overlooking the bay
where a regatta of many-colored sails is going on
while he is stuck in traffic on the Long Island Expressway.

When a woman loves a man it is one ten in the morning
she is asleep he is watching the ball scores and eating pretzels
drinking lemonade
and two hours later he wakes up and staggers into bed
where she remains asleep and very warm.

When she says tomorrow she means in three or four weeks.
When she says, "We're talking about me now,"
he stops talking. Her best friend comes over and says,
"Did somebody die?"

When a woman loves a man, they have gone
to swim naked in the stream
on a glorious July day
with the sound of the waterfall like a chuckle
of water rushing over smooth rocks,
and there is nothing alien in the universe.

Ripe apples fall about them.
What else can they do but eat?

When he says, "Ours is a transitional era,"
"that's very original of you," she replies,
dry as the martini he is sipping.

They fight all the time
It's fun
What do I owe you?
Let's start with an apology
Ok, I'm sorry, you dickhead.
A sign is held up saying "Laughter."
It's a silent picture.
"I've been fucked without a kiss," she says,
"and you can quote me on that,"
which sounds great in an English accent.

One year they broke up seven times and threatened to do it
another nine times.

When a woman loves a man, she wants him to meet her at the
airport in a foreign country with a jeep.
When a man loves a woman he's there. He doesn't complain that
she's two hours late
and there's nothing in the refrigerator.

When a woman loves a man, she wants to stay awake.
She's like a child crying
at nightfall because she didn't want the day to end.

When a man loves a woman, he watches her sleep, thinking:
as midnight to the moon is sleep to the beloved.
A thousand fireflies wink at him.
The frogs sound like the string section
of the orchestra warming up.
The stars dangle down like earrings the shape of grapes.

Oy! Another Monday. The weekend was dreary! Long and dreary when trapped in the house by the weather. I did knit, on two different pairs of socks, and I spun some more of the superwash merino. But the sun didn't even peep out long enough to take a decent photo.

I thought I would instead share with you six weird things about me. I've seen this list posted on several of the blogs I frequent, and not only do I find it fascinating to get a glimpse of the more personal aspects of peoples lives, but I think it's very interesting to turn that voyeurism on ourselves.

It's interesting, too, to find out if what I consider a weird thing is as weird as I think it is. Feel free to tell me what you think.

1. I brush my teeth in the shower. If I get out of the shower without brushing my teeth, I don't feel clean. Doesn't matter if I do it immediately after I get out. I still don't feel as clean as I do when I brush them in the shower.

2. I cannot stand the smell of food after I have eaten. It will make me nauseous. For this reason, I will rarely linger at a table unless the plates are cleared, and I will wash my hands immediately after getting up from the table or before leaving the restaurant.

3. I don't drink when I eat. I usually won't even have a drink by me at home. In a restaurant I order water, eat my meal, then drink the water. I almost never finish the glass and it's very uncommon for me to need a refill.

4. I have a hang-up about tails. Yarn and thread tails, I mean. I have frequently pulled out a cast-on and redone it if the tail is too long. I'm the same way about cross-stitch thread. When I finish a set of stitches in a particular color, if there is enough thread left for even just two or three stitches, I will carefully wind it back on the bobbin and save it.

5. I don't like turning across two lanes of traffic. It is not uncommon for me to plan a trip of multiple stops so that I can make only right turns.

6. I am a researcher. Of everything. Five years ago, when I got my first and only tattoo, I read everything I could on the process, printed out a six page report and read it on the way to Texas with my friends (Oklahoma being the last state in the country to legalize permanent body inking, which only happened November of last year, btw, we had to drive three hours to get a legal tattoo)!

Warning! Germ laden post ahead!

I have the plague! Or the San Joachin Valley fever (COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS for you medical types)! Or maybe its just bronchitis. But anyone who feels this bad should be able to garner all the sympathy they can. And packages feel like sympathy! So, though I may be coughing up a lung every two minutes, I'm happy! (In addition to being a bit loopy on the cough meds I'm taking)!

Renee over at A Good Yarn is my Special Swap partner. (Lynne of I Was Knit Together hosts the Special Swap, and the theme is Hearts and Roses in honor of Valentine's Day). And Renee is special indeed. It's more than obvious that she gave a lot of thought to putting together my package, and she couldn't have done a more perfect job.

Renee included two balls of RYC Cashsoft 4ply in Poppy with a pattern from Fiber Trends called Falling In Love Scarf. Rose Petal Tea from The Republic of Tea. A rose scented candle in a valentine votive holder. Pink heart stamped tissues. A mini pail of chocolate hearts (be still my heart)! Pink heart soaps with a hand knit heart embossed facial cloth. Rose scented body lotion. And the pièce de résistance? Vesper Sock Yarn in Ramblin Rose! (Squeee)!! Woman, you know how to rock a theme!! And if you like the package you get from me half as much as I like mine, you will be one happy camper. Thank you soooooo much!

And in the same vein (heh), Keri of Knitty Gritty Thoughts sent me the Love Issue of the Knit.1 magazine (as a reward for posting a cheerful comment on a recently trying day).

There are several cute patterns in this mag, but the one that really caught my attention was heartfelt.

This is so wrong, and yet so right on so many levels!

I am so going to make this little pillow. It appeals to me for several reasons. As one of the above mentioned medical types, it tickles my frequently irreverent funny bone. And because the comforter and curtains in my bedroom have been a classic rose pattern for years and years (and not likely to change anytime soon), I think it will be just twee (gold star for me Amanda! I used it in a sentence)!

I've tried several times to figure out why I feel the need to explain myself each time I make a change in the content of the blog. I think it has to do with the nature of what I do from day to day. When you tell someone multiple times a day to do this or that or don't do this or that, (for instance: take this medication even though the package insert lists a host of possible side effects many of which sound worse than the disease they are being used to treat, but really, they hardly ever happen) well, you develop this need to explain your reasoning, to come to a mutual understanding and an agreement about your goals. And while I could say that it doesn't matter to me whether or not you agree with what I say, just like my job, it is important to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing it. Not important so much that you agree with me, but important to me that what I say makes you think, or inspires you, or lifts you up. That's why I do this.

And that's why I have struggled with the content of this blog. Because much as I like knitting and spinning and all things crafty, those things are a means to an end. I do those things to relax. See, I struggle with anxiety; daily, pervasive, sometimes debilitating anxiety. And my mission, my goal, apart from living with and learning from this condition on a day-to-day basis, is to help others live with this and similar conditions within themselves. It's why I'm in medicine, and I'm discovering, what I want to blog about.

Still knitting, and spinning, and crafty things, because those things relax me, and inspire me. And reading about your accomplishments inspires me. But also about those other things, that aren't so fluffy and wonderful. But are real and personal.

The promised fluffy stuff.

Is it knit or knitted? The past tense of knit? I've seen it both ways and personally, I just can't wrap my head around knitted. Just sounds funny to me! I'm going to do some research on it {cough, cough**geek**cough, cough}, but in the mean time, give me your thoughts.

Knitters rock! This will come as no surprise to anyone, but still, I wanted to go on record and say “Knitters Rock”! You guys are supportive and loving and have warmed my heart with your response to my last post. As you can imagine, it was hard for me to write. But also liberating! Thank you all so much!

As promised, this blog will not become solely about self actualization (learned that phrase in Psych 101 and have loved it every since and use it at every opportunity! Just be glad you've been spared thus far)! There is knitting!

Generic 64 stitch sock
Vesper Sock Yarn in Astro
Crystal Palace Bamboo 2.5mm dpn

Odd confession time: Despite having a decent stash of Vesper Sock Yarn, I must admit that this is my first pair of Vesper Socks. I collect it because anything that is sold out all the time has to be good! Right?

And it is!! Love the stuff. It's soft and squooshy (another favorite word of mine). But the best part? No row counting! After I knit the first sock, all I had to do was keep track of the stripes and I knew exactly when to end the ribbing, start the heel flap, turn the heel and start the toe decreases. And they match perfectly! Another knitting nirvana moment!

I can't figure out this whole handpainted sock yarn thing. Is it supposed to be variegated, or striping (which we all know it does)? Or is it, as I think much more likely, just one big crapshoot? I find this to be especially true when knitting from two skeins.

I try to match my skeins. I untwist them, lay them side-by-side and try to match the color changes. I make sure they come off the swift onto the ball winder in the same direction and that I cast on from the same end of each ball. I'll cast on and knit the first sock to the heel, then cast on and knit the second sock until I can see that the striping is matching to an acceptable degree. This usually works pretty well.

Which leaves me at a loss to explain this. First sock knit to the heel. As you can see, I got a little carried away and knit the heel flap too. I love heel flaps. Just love them. I love their density and how the colors seem to intensify because of the k1, sl1 row followed by the purl across row. You know? Well, maybe it's just me. Ahem, moving on...

Second sock knit to the heel, again with the heel flap, but this time because I decided I liked the narrow stripes better. So of course I started to tear the other sock out when I realized I needed to be documenting all of this for the blog.

Now this is where things went awry. I was going to be smart, see. Prudent. Hedge my bets as it were. I cut (gasp, choke, get hold of yourselves) the yarn at the end of the flap of the second sock and cast on the third. It should work, right? It should have given me two narrow striped socks. IT MADE SENSE TO ME!!

L-R: 1st:wide stripe, 2nd:narrow stripe, 3rd:wide stripe?

These are Bloomin' Feet socks, btw. My pal is "easy to please". All I can say is, you better be, pal o'mine. I've knit you three socks, reknit one heel flap and lost innumerable irreplaceable brain cells in this process. Do you have any idea what this does to an OCD personality like mine? The yarn is Claudia's Handpainted in Blue Terra Cotta (this yarn has been marinating in my stash for well over a year. The Blue Terra Cotta I see for sale now looks nothing like this. I don't know why). It makes me think of daffodils pushing up through rich loam.

I was thinking about acronyms in the shower this morning. I think I’ve mentioned before that I do a lot of my thinking in the shower. As my brain slowly wakes up, it bounces from topic to topic like the ball in a pinball machine and I’ve thought many times (also in the shower) that a waterproof mini tape recorder would come in pretty handy. I could easily dictate whole blog posts during my morning ablutions. Then again, if we are dreaming here, a mini word processor with voice recognition would be awesome. I’d talk, it would transcribe, I would add the photos, and bing bang boom! Blog post! Hey, geeky guys, would you get on that please?

But anyway…. acronyms*. They fascinate me. We use them all the time in knitting: dpn’s, ssk, tbl. It’s like a code, or another language. Hey, maybe I can claim to be multilingual. I speak knitting, crochet and medicalease in addition to English.

I could, for instance:

Give you a PPI for your GERD. Tell you to take an ASA to reduce your risk for CVA. Tell you to avoid NSAIDS if you have a history of PUD. Give you an SSRI for your PTSD. Oh, and they work for PMDD too.

Take my son to TKD. Stop by KFC for dinner (I wouldn’t, but work with me here), then come home and do some ssk on my dpn’s. Always busy Chez Stressreaction as you can see. Both in and out of the shower.

The product of my most recent ssk on the dpn’s:

Madder Rib Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks.
Sock Hop Yarn in Pink Cadillac
Crystal Palace Bamboo dpn's 2.5mm

I know what you are thinking. They don't match. But it's much more obvious in the pic's than in real life. I probably wouldn't use them in a swap, but for me? Perfect. The yarn is squooshy and the handspun nature makes every pair unique. If you get a chance, grab some Sock Hop. You won't be sorry!

*Acronym key in the extended entry if you are at all interested! Impress your doctor with all you learn surfing the knitting blogs!

I'm way overdue for some Thank you’s, so without further ado, I give you (in order of arrival):

Thank you Beth!

Beth sent me a Third Day CD and some lovely note cards and sticky notes (great for keeping notes on pattern modifications) “just because”. The CD is hugely inspirational and uplifting and I listen to it a lot. Beth, you were so right about this CD being a great comfort. It reminds me with each listening to rely on God to support me though this difficult time. Friends like you are a blessing too!

Thank you Lisa!

Lisa was my Bloomin’ Feet* sock pal and she did a fabulous job. The yarn is STR in the Apple Valley colorway and the pattern is Central Air from BMFA. The fit is perfect Lisa, rest assured! In addition to the lovely socks, Lisa included a skein of Schaefer Anne in Flamingo which was my “dream yarn” on the BF questionnaire. Candy and some lovely cinnamon oatmeal soap were tucked in the corners of the box.

Thank you Elizabeth!

Elizabeth was my Special Swap** partner and special does not begin to describe Elizabeth’s thoughtfulness in putting together my package. Early on she asked me about my dream vacation (the theme of this particular swap). When I told her it was to travel to Greece, Elizabeth put together a vacation package to rival any travel agent on earth. The list of goodies is exhaustive, and forgive me Elizabeth if I forget anything. My vacation included a Greek cookbook, a Greek tour planning guide, a journal to record my travels, note cards to write home, floral post-its (can’t have too many of those), some lovely scented soap, a blue, green and white candle and a jar of Greek olives. To get me in the Greek spirit, she included the DVD Zorba the Greek and some CD’s featuring the music of Greece. To remember my lovely vacation, Elizabeth also included a Greek key chain and six skeins of Tweedy Cotton Classic #479 (Aqua Twist), two skeins of Koigu in a lovely sea blue and a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Spring Frost colorway.

Beth, Lisa and Elizabeth all included chocolate and candy in their thoughtful packages, none of which made it to the phone shoot. I’m sure you all understand.

* Bloomin’ Feet and Toasty Toes are small intimate sock swaps hosted by my good friend Amanda. She does a fabulous job with these swaps as well as the Yarn Aboard swaps and is to be commended once again on the conclusion of a successful exchange. Amanda, my dear, you rock, as always!!

** The Special Swap is another small swap hosted by my friend Lynne. Lynne does a wonderful job of matching swappers every two months and coming up with fun themes to inspire us. Great job once again Lynne. I am proud to claim you as a friend!

Oy!

Anyone living in or around the Southwest is aware that it's been raining essentially non-stop for the last sixteen days. I heard today on the radio that this beats some seventy-year record. Woo and Hoo.

And enough already!

Waiting for some sunlight to take a decent picture is no longer an option, so I’m warning you in advance: Flash photography in use. Those with pace makers (oh, wait, that’s microwaves) and tender retinas might want to come back another day.

In addition to the near Amazonian quality to the vegetation along my daily commute, there has been some green making it’s way into my life courtesy of Special Swap.

Valerie was my Special Swap partner this time around, and she did the In the Garden theme justice.

A skein of lovely Fleece Artist Merino (one of my absolute favorite sock yarns) in the Spring colorway, a spool of beautiful green and white designer ribbon, a too cute journal with a floral theme, a bar of Fresh Chamomile and Shea Butter soap from Cardigan Mt. Soap Works (which smells divine) and (I have to admit, my favorite) a silk double point needle holder! I can’t wait to put this baby to use. Though an organized person at heart, I live in relative chaos, and I’m ashamed to admit that my needles are scattered hither and yon. The idea of all my dpn’s being corralled and organized makes my little heart go pitter pat! Finally, a green picture frame, a decorative bookmark and some lovely green note cards all tucked into a sweet green carry bag! Way to rock a theme, Valerie!

Earlier in the month, the family and I saw Wicked. Which is fabulous. No other word for it. Wicked is just fabulous. If you get a chance, see it. Even if you have to knock down the little old lady at the box office window to get the last ticket, see it. It’s worth it!

Some of you may recognize the sock as the first in this years STR club series. These socks are slow knitting; it’s true, what with all that 2x2 and 1x2 ribbing going on. But there is a deeper meaning to these socks, for me, and so I am taking my time with them. These are the socks that I was knitting, and which I took with me to Texas, when my mother died. My mother taught me to knit, way back when, and I am knitting these socks to honor her, to remember her and with a memory and a prayer for her in every stitch. I am savoring these socks. It’s good.

Oh my Ravelry!

“I love, I love, I love you, and never wish to be parted from you from this day on!” (Gawd! When Mr. Darcy says that to Elizabeth near the end of Pride and Prejudice, my thighs just about burst into flames! Every time)!!

Anyway, Ravelry! "Oh how I love thee…" Seriously folks, I can’t help but wax poetic about Ravelry. I know most of you have read scads of great reviews, so I’m just going to share how it has revolutionized my fiber world.

1. Organization. Love the concept, but I’ve always struggled with the application. With Ravelry? I just plug in the pics, fill in the blanks, and select WIP or Finished. And let me tell you, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your knitted/crocheted projects all together in neat little rows of pretty pictures. Such a sense of accomplishment.

Speaking of accomplishment, I have two new pair of socks to share with you:

On the left: Embossed Leaves Socks featured in both IK Winter 2005 and Favorite Socks. Knit with STR lightweight in Dutch Canyon (lurve the color!) on 2.5mm Crystal Palace Bamboo. I used a German Twisted Cast-on instead of the 1x1 rib co for a bit more stretch, but otherwise knit the pattern as written. These are probably my favorite socks I've knit thus far.

On the right: Toe up socks with contrasting heels and toes knit in Duet Sock Yarn Pink on Pink (seriously, Angela, the names of the colorways on the labels would be good) from A Swell Yarn Shop. Sport weight and super smooshy. I knit these on 3.25mm Knit Picks circulars, made them really long (almost knee socks) and finished with a picot cuff (my first, and such fun). These will make the loveliest winter socks. Now I can't wait for colder weather!

2. Planning. Awhile back (read more than a year ago) I photographed the majority of my stash as well as the projects for which it was intended. With Ravelry, I have a neat and organized place to upload those photos. The benefit is obvious. With a stash as large as most of us claim (ahem), it’s not always easy to remember everything. Now, I can peak at my stash anytime I’m in the mood for a new project, without having to lug out all the bins and books.

3. New ideas. Easy peasy! Just take a quick peak at what my friends and neighbors are doing. Love that yarn? See what everyone (and I mean everyone) else is making with it. Enamored with a cool new pattern? See who else is making it or add it to the queue. I can save the fiber, the project, or the crafter as a favorite and it’ll all be there when I go back tomorrow (and the next day and the next and the next)!

Not a member yet? Don’t despair. They promise to be open to one and all soon, and I can assure you, the wait will be worth it. In the mean time, take a sneak peak. It will whet your appetite, or make your thighs burst into flames, depending on your persuasion!

Not ready to blog, but not ready to give up on blogging either. I envy those whose blogging is always light and cheerful, despite their mood. But I think I enjoy more those bloggers who write from the heart, sharing the trials and struggles of day-to-day life. I think being real is important; it makes us all feel less alone in life.

Stress Reaction was a fun name for my blog when life was mundane and my reaction to stress was to buy more sock yarn. It’s not so much fun now. My perspective has changed dramatically since my mother passed away so unexpectedly.

I love the knit blogging community, and I don’t want to give up a single one of you. But I want my blogging to be about more than knitting now. I want it to be about life and loss and the joy that can be found on the other side of that loss. I’m still searching for that joy, and more than one of you have been instrumental in assisting me in that search. I *heart* you for that.

There will still be knitting.

And sock yarn shopping.

There will also be a blog name change.

But rather than silence, my goal will be to acknowledge the good days as well as the bad, with words, and pictures and the friendship that each of you offers.

I hope you will stick around for the journey.

Correct me if I am wrong, but somehow I’m thinking that this is not what Keri had in mind for her Fingerless Mitts for Fall KAL. What do you think, Keri? Would this win me any points for style? Thought not.

I have a rather painful case of tendonitis in my right wrist. While it represents multiple challenges to activities such as knitting and other, I assure you, quite necessary personal functions, it was worth it. I now have cute office furniture.

And before my hand was laid low by super heavy particle board, I managed to finish up one Monkey and start the mate.

I fell in love with these socks when I saw (now sadly blogless) Amanda’s version in blue. So as to not induce severe withdrawal symptoms, I did not completely abandon my habitual purple color family, but instead selected Dream in Colors Smooshy Sock Yarn in Deep Seaflower. Me likey a lot!

Socktoberfest!

They talked me into it, those bad monkeys, and now they are too lazy for a proper photo shoot. They must have enjoyed a little too much beer and bratwurst.

Lazy though they may be, in my opinion, they still hold on to their sense of style.

So while they kick back on the hammock, I will fill you in on the particulars:

Monkey Sock Pattern by Cookie A. (free at Knitty).
I probably can’t say much about this pattern that hasn’t been said before. Its fun, very fast and I really enjoyed watching the pattern develop.* The only modification I made was a slipped stitch heel. The pattern called for stockinette on the heel, but I think the slip stitch heel holds its shape better and is more durable.
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in the Deep Sea Flower colorway (purchased at Sonny and Shear). This color is super saturated, vibrant and beautiful. It did stain my fingers and needles lightly while knitting but this was easily removed with a wet cloth. There was also some moderate bleeding of color during the Eucalan bath prior to blocking. The yarn is very, very soft. Very Smooshy. My only reservation is with the durability. Time will tell.

*It has been my, thus far adhered to, practice to knit a sock pattern only once. There are just too many patterns out there that I want to knit. I have to say, however, that this pattern might just be an exception. It goes so fast and the pattern is so quickly memorized that I can easily seeing it becoming my “quick sock fix” pattern. Just lovely! If you haven’t knit a pair of Monkeys yet, what on earth are you waiting for?

So Amanda (still missing you by the way) over on Flickr is all about the futab, and once I ascertained the more benign definition of the acronym, I thought it would be a great way to introduce you to my final pair of Soctoberfest 2007 socks. (They were indeed finished in October. Getting them up on the blog just took a little longer).

I love, love, love this pair of socks, which leaves me at a loss to explain why it took me almost two years to get them off the needles. They just kept getting side lined by other projects, swap socks and life in general. Now we are complete! Sigh….

Lured by wine and cheese, I went to my very first ever knitting meet up Tuesday. Literally the first time I have sat and knit in a room full of other knitters.

This is huge for me.

I’m not a meet up kind of person. In fact, I have often been struck by the irony of having chosen a career in which I must verbally and/or physically interact with 20+ people a day. Left to my own devices, I would probably be in real danger of becoming a shut in. Ordering both my food and various necessities online. But that’s for another day.

So I went (dragging my loquacious non-knitting daughter with me), and it was fun.

I worked on Lenore by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. (STR Club pattern. The only link I could find was in Ravelry).

What a great pattern! * And the colors are to dye for (gawd, I crack myself up)!

Turns out, I’m fairly challenged by knitting and talking at the same time. I would find myself knitting faster and faster as the conversation swirled around me, and before I knew it I was searching for missing yarn overs and puzzling over stitches that did not belong. If my fellow knitters noticed that I spent more time tinking than knitting, they were too kind to comment.

Then again, it could have been the wine.

*But I do have a confession. After two years of membership in the STR club, this is only the second time I found both the yarn and the pattern appealing enough to cast on immediately. The remainder of the club yarn remains in skeins and only one of the patterns knit (in an alternate color). So if you are in lust of an elusive club membership, scoot on over and you might just get lucky!

So I have had this whole Goldilocks thing going on with my knitting. I’ve cast on about five socks and it was always something. This one was too big, and this one was too small, and this one was too scratchy, and I began to think that something was amiss. And not just with my knitting.

I’ve been noticing a general dissatisfaction with life as a whole. Maybe it’s the holidays, with the whole mustshop, mustshop, mustshop mantra pounding at my head, or the concern I have that my father told me recently that he just doesn’t "have the spirit” this year. (Ummm, at the risk of making someone jump off a building because I am saying it again: Mom died this year, Dad)!

But I know, deep down, that it’s more than that.

I need a purpose. Not in the physical sense (raising a family and healing the sick meet that need just fine). But in the spiritual sense. My greatest joy in my job is when I connect with someone on an emotional level. When they get that I get where they are coming from. That I have been there and understand in a way that has nothing to do with a textbook.

I'm exploring options on that front, but in the mean time, I’m thinking this sock looks just right!

Colinette Jitterbug in Bue Parrot

I alluded to the fact about a month ago that I am suspicious that Goldilocks and I are twins separated at birth. Her issue may be with porridge and chairs and beds, and mine with socks, but otherwise we are simpatico.

As an example:

The facts:

The sock yarn: STR in Scottish Highlands.
The needles: Addi Turbos
The pattern: RPM.
The skills: adequate.

The conclusion: UGLY!

Everything that could have gone wrong with this sock has gone wrong. The stripes are wonky (again; this is the second time I have tried to knit this skein; didn’t like the stripping the first time either), the short-row heel marginal (though, in my own defense, it is my first wrap-and-turn short-row heel; got to say: not a fan) the ribbing too tight and the leg too loose. Somewhere along the line I ended up with several breaks in the yarn along one side of the ball. Only thing I can figure is I stuffed it into my knitting bag on top of a partially open pair of scissors, because it was unbroken when I wound it from the skein.

But because this is about the tenth (no exaggeration here folks, though I will spare you the photographic proof, as it would likely prove too painful for both of us) attempt at knitting a decent pair of socks, I persevered. Shouldn’t have, I know, but sometimes (as in always) we have to learn from our own mistakes.

It’s not all bad Chez Stressreaction. I have put this monstrosity aside (I can hear your sighs of relief) and have found a pattern/yarn combo that seems to be working, and am over half way through the second sock. So maybe the curse has been lifted, or the spell broken, or the Karmic debt paid. Soon I should have something pretty to show you.

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for me. The ones you don’t need for your own knitting that is.

Top Left: Traveling Vine in Seacoast Hand Painted
Top Right: Charade in Vesper
Bottom Left: Creeping Vines in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock
Bottom Right: Lenore in Socks That Rock

Not to be confused with a foot race, three legged race, road race. In fact, I think I would be hard pushed to break a sweat with this race.

But I have committed to not starting another pair of socks until at least two of these four are finished and ready to adorn someone's feet.

Check out Ravelry (or Flickr) for the specs.

Lot's of time on Ravelry here lately. Anyone besides me just luuuuurve Ravelry?

I miss the glory days of knit blogging.

There’s lots of knitting still going on, but a lot less of it showing up on blogs and a lot more of it recorded on Ravelry. Which I can’t say is a bad thing. Searching for a particular pattern or yarn has never been easier. There’s been a ton of stuff added to my knitting queue because I saw a variation on Ravelry that made me look at a pattern a second time. For once my intended knitting actually has a chance of using the majority of my stash. If I live to be a thousand.

I’ve gotten a good head start.

And a new toy to make working through that stash a bit more efficient.

Laundry day at the knit-sock-sweatshop

This woman I used to work with (the Unhappy Woman) used to mock me (with most people it could have been considered teasing, but I didn’t like her and she didn’t like me, so we’ll call it like it was) about my $1,000,000 socks.

Now a $1,000,000 might be a bit off the mark, but realistically? Sixteen pair at an average cost of $20 (a very conservative estimate, as those of you who regularly purchase sock yarn can attest) a pair = $320. On socks. And that’s not including labor, needles, stitch markers, knitting bags and the various accouterments that make this hobby so enjoyable.

I am blessed indeed.