He Doesn't Understand Meeee...

Friday morning conversation:

Me: Oh I forgot to tell you. We've got a mouse in the garage. It ran and hid as soon as I opened the door. Though it might have been a tiny rat - it was moving too fast for me to see. It was really cute though.

Husband: So let me get this straight. Are you the same person who ranted, freaked out and vacuumed up the ants in the kitchen last summer yelling 'Die, F***ers!!'?

I don't see the dichotomy.

Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

I haven't knit much lately - I took on some new responsibilities at work and while it's going really well, the new stuff does take time and energy to learn. Consequently, I have been so beat when I come home from work that I'll fallen asleep on the couch prior to 8:00 pm more than once in the past week. That seriously cuts into the knitting time. Fortunately the fatigue isn't a long-term thing - I'll figure it all out, make my own process and regain some energy eventually.

But I have made some progress on this:

It's another Swallowtail Scarf, this time in Jaggerspun Zephyr Wool-Silk. The color is really more like this:

It reminds me of daffodils, which is a nice thing to think about on a grey, rainy day like the ones we've had lately. I love the rain and we need the water desperately out here, so the more I hear it pouring down the happier I am.

When I'm actually awake enough to knit, this one moves along pretty quickly. It's kind of fun knitting the exact same pattern in very different yarns. I'm enjoying the differences. The Great Adirondack Sireno and the Zephyr are both Merino/Silk blends but they aside from the softness they both have, they don't seem to have much in common. The Sireno is a heavier weight with more drape and more sheen. The Zephyr is more delicate and floaty feeling. I love them both and hope that this second one is as much loved by its intended recipient as is the one I made for myself. One thing to note - the Zephyr is quite the bargain - Each ball has 630 yards and cost around $13 bucks. Price that out per hour as entertainment and you've got yourself an absolute steal.

No, they're not boobs...

I also whipped out a few small projects - my friends seem to be procreating like crazy again so I made a few pumpkin hats from yarn I picked up at the yarn swap. The only thing I did differently was to add a purl stitch every 5 or 6 stitches to make lines on the pumpkins.

They're a fun, super-quick knit. I have yarn left, so I'm sure I'll make more of these sometime soon.

Parting Shot

Riso wanted me to know that he really, really, REALLY loves peanuts.

Lacy Love

Voila!

Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark. I started it on January 21st and blocked it this evening. Fast lace knitting by my standards, especially considering I've had a few long workdays from which I've come home, had dinner and promptly crashed on the couch with no knitting whatsoever.

Another angle:

Nupps - which aren't anywhere near as hard as people make them out to be. All you need is a nice sharp needle (I used Addi Turbo Lace needles).

This yarn (Great Adirondack Sireno - Merino/Lace) is amazing. It's super-soft, has a wonderful sheen to it and is an absolute dream to knit. I still have quite a bit left from the 1 skein I used - definitely enough for a small lacy scarf.

I generally prefer lace in a solid or semi-solid, but I like how the colors played out in this one.

I love this shawl so much...

I think I'm going to make another one!

Sooo....

I'm making this:


It's the Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark. I'm using Great Adirondack Yarn Company's Sireno (Sirino?), which is a gorgeous Merino/silk blend that I bought while visiting Webs a few years ago.

I'm working on it pretty diligently as I'm not very fast when it comes to lace and it needs to be completed and blocked by March 14th. Because that's when these two:

Are getting married!

Hey All You Lurkers - Yeah, All Two Of You, I'm Talkin' To You...

I heard a rumor that it's de-lurking day. So please be the lemming I am and let me know you're here, mmkay? Pleez?

Ruh-Roh...

I seem to be quite the lemming lately. I don't remember when the Wii came out but I've never had an interest in owning one. The computer games I play tend to be more the puzzle type (I'm really quick at Sudoku and crosswords) and as I'm pretty good about getting off my butt to work out, the Fit didn't strike me as something I had to have either.

Until Christmas.

My nieces got one, and I finally got to see one in action. It was hilarious. And apparently Brian thought it seemed cool too, because I don't think 24 hours had passed before we decided to pool our Christmas money and put it toward a Wii. They were out of stock everywhere right after the holidays so we had to wait a little while but we got it set up last week. Friday night, Brian used it. And Riso helped.

And he helped some more:


I think what I like best about it is it's the only workout I've ever had that makes me laugh. I'm pretty good at some things but I completely suck at others - and there's something about being hit by flying panda heads that strikes me as very funny. It feels more like a game than a workout session, and it gets addictive. And competitive.

When I used it today, Riso stood over me while I was doing some ab exercises. He had this 'what to do, what to do' look on his face and after watching me for a few reps he decided to lie down. On top of me. Well I didn't want to stop and thereby lower my score, so my last 3 reps were with an English Setter lying across me. I think I deserved bonus points for that one. Unfortunately I was alone in the house at the time (except for you know, the helpful Setter) so I don't have any pictures to show you.

I do have pictures of some yarn I picked up at the Purlescence yarn swap today though.

This is Alpaca Cloud from Knitpicks in the Autumn color way. I think this is the exact color I almost ordered last summer but cut from my list in favor of something else. Now I have 4 skeins.

Closer up:

I also picked up some appropriate colors in something washable for pumpkin baby hats.

Some pretty cotton for dishcloths...

And a whole pile (15 skeins) of Frog Tree Alpaca Sport Weight. These colors aren't exactly flattering on me so I plan to over-dye them the next time I get the urge to pull out the dye pots.

Frog Tree Alpaca was the first yarn I knit with when I picked up knitting 3 years ago after a 35- year break, and I love it.

Knitting Updates

I have another small FO for 2009 - I'm calling it 'And Another Freakin' Dishcloth'. Because it's another freakin' dishcloth.


And I've cast on for the Lady Eleanor Stole:

This is Noro Silk Garden (from stash) in color way #88.

Purty, huh? I have a feeling I may stay up too late a few nights with this one - I can't stop watching the color changes!

Hot Off The Needles (Or The Wheel)

I've got 2 new finished projects already for 2009!

FO #1 - Late-To-The-Party Clapotis

I finally joined the 26,431 other knitters who have made Clapotis (Ravelry says it's 9,311 but I think it's more). I hope that the 35 remaining knitters on earth who haven't knit it - and some are friends- don't think I've become some sort of Clapotis-Have-Knit elitist or anything. I swear, just because I joined the club doesn't mean I've changed. Except that I was a little warmer heading outside today which was nice.

Riso loves to model and have his picture taken. He's too tired these days to sit up and pose but he started wagging furiously when I draped this over him.

Brian didn't wag furiously when I draped this over him. He gave me that long-suffering-spouse look and didn't say a thing.


I also spun this:


This is Merino/Silk Top in Pomegranate from Tactile. It's lovely stuff - I got 347 yards of 2-ply lace/fingering weight (it's not entirely even) out of 2 ounces of fiber. I'm not sure what it'll become, but I love it - it's super soft and I haven't even soaked it yet.

And these are post-felting shots of my father-in-law's slippers (finished in '08 but not photographed):

I put some non-skid stuff on the bottoms, to keep him safe.

I'm nice that way. Usually.