Stitches Classes

This is long overdue. I took two classes at Stitches East. The first was an intro to entrelac by Margaret Fisher. It was great! She was a very good instrutor. See my little swatch.



I am really excited about entrelac. When I've looked at instructions in books, I couldn't picture how it worked. I am the kind of learner who needs to see things AND read instructions to really get it. I love finding web tutorials with pictures and--even better-video. So this entrelac class was perfect for me. Margarat talked us through the process. She gave us great handouts with diagrams and she walked around the room at each step to see how we were doing and if we had questions.

Lately, I've seen Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style everywhere and I just love it. But I think my first entrelac project will be this bag.



I saw it in the marketplace at Stitches but didn't want to buy a kit. When I went back to ask about the pattern, they were sold out. Of course, I couldn't remember whose pattern it was. I thought it was a Noni, cause all the cool felted bags are Noni, right? When I didn't see it on the Noni site, I emailed Nora. She was so sweet and emailed me back right away that she didn't have an entralac bag pattern. I was wowed by her service.

So, I sent an email to KnitU and someone on it remembered the bag AND that it was a Plymouth kit. So, I found the pattern on kpixie and now I just need to pick out yarn. I will probably use knitpicks Wool of the Andes. I think I'll try to do similar colors for my first bag. But I think this also would be very cute in shades of one one color, like blues or greens, as long as the shades are different enough to show the triangles after felting. I've never felted before. I just think it will be so cute. And since I travel a lot, it will be a great travel tote. It will probably be a few months until I get to this project though cause I have a few other in the queu ahead of it.

My other class was about short rows and covered three different types: yarn over, wrap and turn and Japanese. The instructor was Maureen Mason-Jamieson; she was also great. The class was bit more frustrating. It was later in thd day; I was tired. Plus, I didn't have the right supplies: I only had one kind of yarn and I messed up a few times so got really behind. But Maureen was wonderful and again, she demonstrated each technique in small groups. And she also gave us good, detailed instructions (if you follow them word for word, something I wasn't doing at first). So I saw how everything was done in class then I took out the instructions and redid everything at home. In this picture, the three rows on the left were shorts done on the KNIT side and the three rows on the right were short rows done on the PURL side.



As you can see in the top portion, I need some work doing the wrap and turn and Japanese methods on the PURL side.



And I got these cute shawl sticks at Stitches. I actually got three, but lost one right away. I am bummed about that: it was a more neutral creme shade that would have gone with everything. The green one will be a stocking stuffer for my mom.



Tomorrow G and I are off to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see my family! We are driving, so I'll have A LOT of car knitting time. I will finish that damn sock and start a sweater! And maybe I'll bring the scarf I am making for G, but not sure if I'll actually have any time to work on it when he isn't around. I'm off to Phoenix in Dec. for work, so I'll have plenty of time to finish it then.

When I am back, I WILL have photos of me wearing a PAIR of socks. Really.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

Two Nephews!

I have two new nephews! Owen was born on Nov. 3 and Alex was born Nov. 13. I was thinking they would both be girls; it is so exciting to have nephews!

Since I don't live near either of them, I can't bring food to stock their freezer. But when my niece was born, almost three years ago, I sent my brother and his wife some stuffed chicken from Omaha steaks. And during the past yeaar, my coworker and I sent meals from Home Bistro to sick coworkers.

Anybody have any experience with any other ready-to-go-meals?

I will get to see Owen next week in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving! I can't wait.

Seriously, it is the best being an aunt, now times three!

Fun With Quizzes

I didn't feel like actually writing a post today so I am having fun with quizzes. I've seen this first one everywhere. I AM from Wisconsin. I know how to say fog. But I don't pronounce "bag" like "beg." I draw the line. Oh, and FYI for the quiz writer, people in Wisconsin say "soda" at least in the Madison and Milwaukee areas. I learned that one the hard way when I moved to Milwaukee from Iowa and asked for a pop: My classmates laughed at me.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Well it is cold ...

You are exactly 32% naked!

You're dressed a little conservatively. It wouldn't kill you to loosen up a little. take off that tie, let your hair down. See what happens.

Are You Naked???
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

And good thing I aced this one.

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

I took the 80s band one too, but I was some band I had never heard of ... hmmm ... what does that say about me? :)

Well, that was a good 45 minutes wasted. 45 minutes I could have been knitting ...

Stitches Shopping

My first Stitches was an experience. It was my first knitting-related large-scale event and I really liked it, for the most part.

The coolest part was seeing all the knitters in, what my friend L termed, their yarn bling. I saw several clapotis, some of the capelets from Shawl Style, lots of lace, some amazing sweaters, hats, scarves and mits. I wanted to ask every person about their creation, but I didn't. If I had, I wouldn't have had time to shop!

And shop I did on Saturday and, briefly, on Sunday.

Sat. afternoon, I met L for shopping. I did pretty good. I made a list of things I was looking for, which helped me focus. I was really overwhelmed at first. It was crowded and I was sort of wandering aimlessly. As the afternoon progressed, the crowd thinned. After reading the reports of Maryland Sheep and Wool, I had imagined mad rushes for the bins and yarn being fought over. But it was very civil. My main issue was getting blocked in some of the booths.

All my loot in a tote.



So, first on my list was to get yarn for manly socks for G. I couldn't decide between two skeins of Mama E's hand dyed stuff, so I got them both. G picked the blue one for his socks.



I found three cool patterns in Rosie' Yarn Cellar's booth and got this pink laceweight merino. It is called "bubblegum." I love it. It's for lace wrap for me. Probably.



Then, I had to have this Noro Blossom from the Woolstock sale bin. It is my first Noro. I normally find the Noro yarn to be too scratchy. The colors are amazing, but I like soft yarn. But this Blossom is a blend of wool, mohair, silk and nylon and and it is soft. I am picturing a shawl. Do I make anything other than shawls? I feel like I can't get enough. :)



And I got this free ball during my class coffee break.



So, Saturday was great. I talked to some lovely women, bought some great stuff and had fun shopping w/ L. I bought more, but don't have time to upload now. Plus I took two classes. I'll talk about those and post about the rest of my purchases next week after we get back from a short trip to Connecticut.

Looks like I need to ask for a yarn swift and ball winder for Christmas ...

I Don't Hate Lionbrand

It's not my FAVORITE yarn, but I don't hate the stuff. I have a container full of it. Just wanted to clarify on my last post. In fact, I meant to add this to my last post but I forgot and was busy all weekend w/ Stitches and suddenly I have comments and I was afraid I didn't do a full disclosure. So here it is:

Like Yarn Coffee states, I think it has its purpose. I used it to make this shawl, which later on its own accord decided it wanted to be a bellydance hip scarf. An important trait of any bellydance hip scarf is that it be washable, cause, um, I sweat. This is done in Lionbrand microspun, which is very soft and comes in a variety of vibrant colors.

I think the color spectrum of Lionbrand is one of its best traits. In many of its yarns, you have a choice between several different shades of one color. Instead of being stuck with one green, you can choose from several different greens. This was one reason I was surprised by the dullness of the new hand dyed stuff. But, I have to say, every time I see the brown cashmere in the picture below, I like it.

I'll probably use my Lionbrand stash to make baby items, cause they also need to be easy to wash. But if money were no object, I would use Blue Sky Cotton for all baby items.

I've seen some really nice projects with Lionbrand stuff. Elinor is making the coolest blanket out of the chenille. Lolly is working on lovely kneesocks in Wool Ease. Ragan makes cool socks!

Now, if I could never use Lionbrand again, I wouldn't be too sad. But I can't guarantee that I'll never buy it again, just not too soon. I need to use up what I have and I did buy a *few* things at Stitches (which I'll talk about soon).

Lionbrand Goes Upscale?

Check out Lionbrand's recent newsletter. They are selling a new line of handpainted luxury yarn: 100 percent cashmere, mohair and silk, etc. And they have the luxury prices of $40 and $20 to match. I know those prices aren't unusual for handpainted yarn, especially in all-natural fibers. Heck, the cashmere price might even be "cheap" for cashmere (which is about 100 yards of worsted weight for $40). I don't price 100 percent cashmere often. I know I've seen it for much more than $40 a skein. But they are much higher than the typical Lionbrand yarns.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of selection in the colors. And they aren't wowing me. They just seem dull. Normally when I see handpainted yarn, I think "wow, that is amazingly beautiful." Of course, it could be my screen. But most of the colors are earthy and dark. They don't have to be neon, but, on my screen at least, they look dull.

I think it is an interesting development for Lionbrand. I wonder if this new "Masterpiece Collection" will be sold at Michael's? I doubt it. Doesn't fit the Michael's customer. And it doesn't seem to fit the Lionbrand target market. I guess they are trying to expand their market. But, it seems that the people who don't like Lionbrand, REALLY don't like it. So why would they spend $20 on a yarn they can't touch (assuming it will only be available online) from a company they don't like? And the people who really LIKE Lionbrand are attracted to the easy, washable, cheap acrylic stuff.

Interesting ...

So Long, Socktoberfest

Today is the last day of Socktober-
fest and I didn't finish my socks. I am sad about it. I had plenty of time. I had motivation. But I didn't have wrist ability, apparently. I thought giving knitting a break for a few days would let it heal. Of course, I did sneak a few rows here and there. But I know there were at least three days in a row when I did not knit. I should probably go to the doctor. But I am afraid he'll say that I can't knit for months. I've had periods of time where my neck was sore for a few weeks, or my lower back. And eventually the pain went away on its own. I was kinda hoping that would happen for my wrists. I suspect the problem is my desk; while my wrists are straight when I type, my arms, from the elbow to the wrist, are angled up. So now I am hoping if I get a new desk, that will help. And I won't need to go to the doctor and be told no knitting.

Bummed. There is so much I want to work on!

Other than being sad about lack of knitting, I had a nice weekend. On Sunday, I went to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire with my friend L. It was the last day for their faire. Last year, we also went on the last day. I really like the Penn faire. First, it was a beautiful day: cool and crisp with a gorgeous moon the whole way home. It goes until 8:00, and at this time of year, got nice and dark.

The grounds seem bigger than the Maryland faire, but that could just be cause I don't know the Penn one as well.

There seem to be a few more vendors; several are just in tents. And there is more stuff to buy in the middle price range. At the Maryland faire, there is a lot of really expensive stuff and cheap stuff (that looks cheap), but not a lot in between. I got a pretty blue necklace, a pair of "genie" pants and an ankle bracelet.

The last two will be good for bellydance. The Penn faire has a ton of vendors w/ bellydance stuff. It's funny that the faire in the middle of Amish country has more bellydance stuff than the MD one.

The Penn faire was also a lot less crowded than the MD one. Though, it was the last day, so it is hard to compare. I hope next year, we can go before the last day.

It was about a two hour drive from my place in northern Baltimore. Sadly, it can take that long, or longer to get to the MD faire in Crownsville on busy days.

Also, at the Penn faire, we seemed to talk to more people. The MD faire seems a bit clique-y and extreme. For example, at the MD faire, there are the really hard core faire people who hang out at the pubs and have "faire" names, have scary facial piercings and get married there, etc., and at the other end, the families there for the day and frat boys oggling cleavage. L and I dress up, but not in an obsessed, everything has to be historically accurate way. Just cause it's fun and cause curvy girls look hot in bodices. The Penn faire seemed to have more people dressed up, but more like us, less extreme. And we just seemed to strike up conversations with more people. But who knows what it is like earlier in the season. That is why I need to do research next year! :)

I felt sad when it was over; no more Faire until next August. But ... one of the vendors told us about a winter faire in New Jersey called Wicked. It's more of an adult faire, no kids allowed. Hmmm, that could be fun in a good bawdy way, or it could be scary (in a bdsm way). Maybe both. :) I don't know if I am enough a faire dork to travel overnight.

Oh, the coolest thing about the Penn faire was all the handknits we saw! It seemed every other girl had on a knitted shawl or harm warmers or hats. Very cool.

Still no Knitting

Thanks for all the comments about my wrist. It feels OK today, but was still sore yesterday. And I haven't been knitting. I have no idea what I did. It is probably from typing or something. But last night, I couldn't even clap when we saw Hem (again, yes twice in one week. We are officially groupies. But it was their last show for awhile because Sally, the singer, is pregnant. And it was an amazing show. More later). So, I instead of clapping I sort slapped my thigh w/ my left hand. Ouch.

Yesterday, we took the day off and spent the day in D.C. We drove down to Falls Church, then took the metro into the city. I was very excited for this excursion, mostly because I got to see the sloth bear baby. (Inspired by Coleen's post a few weeks ago, I brought my camera.) Last year, Geoff and I went to the zoo in December and it was great: no crowds, the male tiger was roaring (and he was again yesterday. We were there at 4:00 both times, maybe that is near his feeding time?). We saw the pandas, but not the baby. But a few months ago, I read an article about the sloth bear baby, Balawat. The article mentioned how everyone was panda crazy, but that the baby panda, while cute, was really pretty boring. It just sleeps and eats bamboo. We did see him doing that yesterday, and I admit it was pretty cute (as evidenced in the top picture). So I can understand the fuss. And one of his parents was pretty cute too.

But the article also mentioned that there was a baby sloth bear that wasn't really that cute, but had a cuter personality because it would play with a ball and run around, etc. And ever since I read the article (in August??) I have wanted to see the baby sloth bear. For the past week, I have been talking about the sloth baby nonstop. I even made up a stupid song about seeing the sloth bear baby. G thought I was crazy. I just really wanted to see Balawat. And I finally did. And he was cute! Kind of ugly cute, but cute. He was sleeping with his mother all curled up right next to the glass when we arrived, which was very cute, but I wanted to see him playing. So we went to the rest of the zoo and came back to the sloth bears around 4:00 and they were up, eating bugs out of rocks, climbing on branches and just being cute. I loved it!



The sloth bears live in the zoo's new Asia Trail, which just opened and it is really nice.

We also saw a cool fishing cat that seemed about to catch a fish at any moment but probably spent the entire day like that and a family of adorable river otters.



After the zoo, we headed over to U Street and went to the Saloon so G could get some rare beer and I could have some real apple schnaps. Yum! Then we had dinner across the street at Dukem for an Ethiopian dinner. Double yum.

After dinner, we hopped back on the metro to Falls Church and the State Theater for Hem.

My brother arrived safely in China and is already having adventures. I may post stories from him from time to time. I find it terribly funny that my beer-pong playing brother will be teaching future monks.

Today I am off to a measuring party, a la the book Big Girl Knits. Someday, I'll make a sweater.

Safe Travels, Brother

Today my younger brother Andy is off to Tibet for the next several months on a service project. He'll be teaching English to the young monks-in-training: little boys who will someday be monks. I am really excited for him, but a little nervous too. It is so far and seems so remote. But he's probably going to have email so it won't be much different than him being in Wisconsin. Except he'll be in Tibet, where they have rabid dogs. OK, I'm being dramatic. He's going to be fine. And I really am excited for him and proud of him. I just can't help feeling big sisterly and worry a little bit.

But he needs adventure and I can understand that. I had my year abroad years ago. Course I only went to France where there aren't rabid dogs (at least not many) but plenty of guys who pinch. And then almost two years ago, I decided to leave Madison, where I had lived for 10 years, and move to Baltimore, basically on a whim. It helped that I was moving in with best friend L here. Having a good friend helped make it an adventure and not scary.

Luckily, Andy isn't going alone either. He's got his girlfriend, who also happens to be our sister-in-law. We have some tangled relationships in our family. So anyway, Andy and Katch are off to Tibet together. Good luck guys and have fun! I'll miss you.

Oh, yeah, that's Andy in the blue. Yes, he is playing beer bong. And yes, it was at my wedding. I did not play. But my brothers, they could compete professionally. Sorry, dude, don't think you'll find beer bong in Tibet. But knowing you, you'll find a way with the local barley beer.

This Is Why There Is No Progress on My Sock

Ouch! My wrist was swollen and sore last night. And I didn't knit much this weekend. I was too busy poking around Annapolis and at the Ren Faire. I knit like two rows last night and had to put it down.

But after a day wrapped, it is feeling a little better. I am going to stop by Riteaid on the way home from my bellydance class to get some proper wrist guards, or at least more tape.

More Knit Spotting

It happened again. G pointed out a hand knit item to me. Yesterday we were at the Hem show in Annapolis (and FYI, DO NOT go to Annapolis when Navy is playing AND there is a boat show; but the show was worth the terrible traffic). He noticed before I did that the violinist was wearing a pair of pink arm warmers. They were cute and increased (my already very great) desire to knit them. As soon as I finish the sock. But I also want to make a sweater for myself and a couple of Christmas presents. But the arm warmers would surely go fast! And I really want them.

This is Funny

It's a knitted turkey. A knitted turkey that is knitting. Makes me laugh every time I look.

Don't Know What to Call This Ramble

Recently, G and I were out to dinner. A woman being seated at the next table was wearing an interesting knitted sweater or shrug. I looked at it for a minute, trying to decide if it was handmade. G looked too, tilted his head, and sort of whispered "knit?" "I don't know; it might be crochet," I replied. But then I smiled and realized that he had recognized a (possibly) hand-knit item!

My hobby is sneaking in on him, whether he likes it or not! Actually, I think he'll be quite happy w/ my hobby when I make him a pair of socks. He's already been eying mine.

He is actually quite supportive: He cooks when I go to my knitting groups and doesn't say anything about my stash enhancement. (OK, he cooks even when I don't go; we've got a system: he cooks when I go to knit and I cook when he works late. And we take turns the rest of the time. It's my turn tonight and I am trying out the crock pot we got as a wedding gift. I am totally winging it, so I hope it tastes good!)

I think it is interesting how our partners' or friends' habits can become our own. While I don't think that G will ever actually knit himself, it has obviously made an impression on him that he now notices people's knits in public! I am trying to think of a way that I've picked up something he does. I do watch more football than I did before. But I used to watch football w/ my five brothers a lot. I just don't like to watch it alone. So my football interest just stayed dormant for a few years. He doesn't really have hobbies (other than reading and we both always did that). The closest thing is that he likes to see a lot of live music and he likes to quiz me on what classic rock or classic metal, etc. band is on the radio or commercial. I usually fail. He did get me into Hem (and now we're going to see them on Saturday AND next Friday; I am so excited!).

I do find myself going to more beer bars that I used to. And he comes to the Ren Faire with me. He came to see Shakira with me in D.C. last August and I told him I'll see Kiss the next time they tour. He watches Project Runway with me and if we can ever figure out when it's on, I'll watch the Gene Simmons "family jewels" show on A&E.

But, I know he wouldn't watch The Bachelor with me. And I'm not going to see any Led Zeppelin tribute bands perform. I've been reading some of the books on his shelf, but I don't expect (and frankly don't want) him to read my Nora Roberts collection. But I know he'll read the antique edition of Anne of Green Gables (that he got me for Christmas last year) to any future kids we might have. He wants us to take a ballroom dance class but thank god he's not interested in bellydance (other than watching me dance, of course!).

I guess what I am trying to say, very poorly, is that it's great when you share things with your partner and try the things that they like. It doesn't make G "whipped" that he recognizes knitting or watches Dancing With the Stars with me. And I can still be a proud feminist who knits while she watches football. Spending that time together is the important thing. But just as important, I think, is that we don't HAVE to always be together and don't have ALL the same interests.

It's a pretty simple conclusion, I guess. Probably didn't need a big, long post. I swear, I logged on just to tell the funny story about G and the sweater. It was going to be one paragraph, max. This is not the first time a quick post turned into a long ramble. And I call myself an editor. Gheesh.

A Finished Sock

At last, my finished sock. I finished this on Sunday (perfect timing as it was the first day of Soctoberbest!). It has some mistakes: There is a hole in the ribbing, holes at the top of the heel flap where I failed to pick up stitches, and the toe is funky. While working the foot, the number of stitches on each needle got mixed up and when I started decreasing for the toe, I didn't think it mattered. As I got closer to the end, I realized that my decreased were not going to result in equal stitches on the last two needles in order to kitchener. But it turns out I had double the amount of stitches on the back needed that I had on the front needle, so I while working the back needle, I pretended two stitches were one. I was so close the end that I didn't have the heart to rip out the entire toe and it seemed to work. I maybe could have made the foot a tiny bit longer; I will on the second sock.

And good news, I started the second sock right away. I want to finish this pair in October!

Close up of the toe and foot:



And see how much bigger this foot is than a store-bought sock!



So, with half a pair done, I can respond to Lolly's sock history questionnaire:

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? Or in a class?
I started swatching for socks in April. I realized my size 3 needles were too big, so I went to size 2s, still too big and ended up w/ 0s. I started my sock in July or August. I learned from Silver's online tutorial.

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
I am halfway done w/ my first pair. I hope they hold up.

What would you have done differently?
Finished sooner! :) Well, I would try to avoid the mistakes mentioned above.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I am using Regia Cotton Color (thanks to my Tea Swap pal, Sarah HB!). I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to starting my second pair w/ some Trekking I bought months ago.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I knit my sock on size 0 bamboo Crystal Palace DPNs and really enjoyed working with them, even though I got a callous on my left pointer finger. I was terrified that I would break one, but so far, haven't! I am thinking of ordering the knitpicks metal DPNs.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I liked the flap heel. Haven't tried short row yet.

How many pairs have you made?
Half!

Socktoberfest

I joined Lolly's Socktoberfest and have almost finished my first sock. I'll work on the second during October. I know that I've been saying that it would be done for a long time, but it really is! I just need to get a needle to graft it together. It's been all but done since last weekend. I thought I'd finish it then, but alas, I did not have the supplies I needed. But this weekend, I will get myself to a craft store, buy the proper needle and finish these suckers.

I did get lots of other errands done. It was a good weekend:

cleaned out my car (not fun, but needed to be done)

washed some quilts at the laundry mat

picked up some yarn from A Good Yarn, oh la la!

went to the farm stand near our house on Sat. (yum, local corn, eggplant, summer squash!) and the Baltimore farmer's market on Sun. (yum, perfectly ripe Asian pears, tomatoes, mozerrella, basil--made a great salad last night)

heard a little bit of the Who while taking out the garbage. They were performing at the Virgin Mobile Fest, just a few blocks away at Pimlico. G was at the concert with his aunt. I had no interest in attending: huge crowds + hot weather + bands that I don't really like all that much + a lot of money = not my thing. Now if it had been a concert/yarn fest, then I would have been there!

Pie and Yarn (and socks)

On my last trip to Madison, Wis., I visited my favorite bakery, LMNO Pies. She makes the best pie ever. And there are at least 50 kinds of fruit pie alone. Plus cream pies and savory pies, meat pies, pasties, quiches, cookies, brownies, cheesecakes, and more. For a great lunch when I'm at HQ, I get half a pasty with a side of fruit salad, a cookie and a drink for about $6. The woman who owns it has three daughters and the youngest one (born in July) was sleeping strapped to her back as she worked the last time I was there.

So, I love the place (and is one of the places that I still miss; it had just opened a few months before I moved out to Baltimore; I never got to try all the pies!). Imagine my surprise when I stopped in last week and saw ... jars of yarn! She had one wall lined w/ shelves of yarn in jars. It is this tiny shop, but so cutely decorated and the jars of yarn for sale are perfect. I even saw the Regia sock yarn that I am currently using. So if you are ever in Madison (or technically, Fitchburg, just next door) stop by LMNO Pies for tasty treats to satisfy all your cravings. Honestly, I have no connection to this shop. What can I say, I just love pie and yarn.

So, I worked on my sock this weekend. It really is almost done, thanks to one baby shower, two flights, three (or four?) football games. I have to say, I've loved working on it since starting the heel flap. I hated doing the five inches of ribbing (and I even made this shorter than called for, partly because I was afraid I'd run out of yarn since I have long feet--size 10 1/2--and partly because I hated doing that much ribbing. It went very slow.).

I tried it on last night here is a picture from the front (please pardon my lone strip of nail polish, anybody need a pedicure? But at least I shaved today!):



and from the back:



Question, it is right up next to my toes on the front, but not the back. This could be because I have crazy toes that curl. So, should I keep knitting the foot until the back is right up to my toes, or is it time to shape the toe? Another pattern says to start the toe two inches minus the total number of inches in your foot (so for me about 8 1/2 inches). Should I just do that?

Other news:
I chopped my hair off. Yeah! It was driving me crazy. But, see I had to wait until I was back in Wisconsin because, even after almost two years in Baltimore, I still haven't found a hair stylist. I haven't really looked. I think it is time to transition this. I am thinking of trying out an Aveda salon on Falls Rd. in Mount Washington. But if anyone has recommondations, please let me know!

G and I had a nice Friday night. We went down to Fells Point (just as Oyster Fest was ending around 9, so only heard the last few songs of the set, oh well). But we had dinner at Shuckers. Good oysters, good fish and chips, good crab cake (G thinks it is the best he's had, but I am partial to the ones at Jennings Cafe in Catonsville), some nice Riesling, a table outside facing the water, then off to Maxs for the beer (for G, that is, I stuck to water), hmmm good times. But poor G got really sick later that night. We thought it was food poisoning, but he's still feeling bad. Poor guy.

I was going to go to my bellydance class tonight, but I need to work. I would have finished up earlier, but my QuarkXPress isn't working right now. I need to restart, again. Hope that works. In the meantime, I am blogging.

And here is a picture from the Maine wedding G and I went to last month:

Live From the Quality Inn--Again

Maybe I have to be on the road in order to blog. Maybe I have to be at this Quality Inn in order to blog. At least there aren't any tornado warnings tonight. But it has been raining since I got here. And it looks like that weather will follow me right home to Baltimore. Sorry friends.

I am back at headquarters for a few days. But after this trip I have a travel relief: no trips til November! (But then I'll have two a month--half personal, half for work--through mid February. I am going to savor these next few weeks at home, especially the weekends!!!)

Aside: I am watching reruns of Sex and the City on the WB. It's the one where Miranda runs away from Steve on the street after they break up and then he stops by her apartment and she cries, then later they have breakup sex. I love Steve. Such a cute dork.

OK, back to the post. What is new? Went to my a baby shower for my sister-in-law in Chicago on Saturday (one of the perks of this work travel: I get to see lots of family!). She got lots of cute, cuddly, soft things. I didn't make anything. A few weeks ago I thought of running to the yarn store and buying some bulky baby yarn but I just ... didn't. That's OK. My mom made her a knitted blanket and a quilt. At the party, I worked on my sock (picture coming soon, I promise) and several people asked me who it was for. My great aunt asked me if it was for my husband. One woman even asked if it was for "someone special." I said, "well it's for me!" I am special. :)

But I wish I were almost done with my second sock. :)

Another aside: I heard a Hem song on a TV commercial for Liberty Mutual today. Cool! I am so excited for them. I am not the kind of person who wants her favorite band to stay underground. No, I want everyone to know and love Hem. Then I found out they are coming back to Ramshead in Oct. and to somewhere in Falls Church. G and I will definitely see them at one of those shows. And speaking of music, love the Justin Timberlake song SexyBack. Love it. So crusty (crusty means kitchy, cheesy, the stuff of guilty pleasures). I think it may make it on to my iTunes soon, much to my husband's dismay, I'm sure.

Speaking of husbands, he tells me I got a package of yarn from Elann this week! Yeah, can't wait to see it and touch it. And like four yarn catalogs. Exciting.

I'll get some batteries in my camera and post all sorts of pictures this weekend.

Travels

Wednesday Night

I love to travel. And lucky for me, I get to travel a lot for work. But it isn't always glamorous. Sure my tropical trips are great and I've loved all of them: it was fun practicing my Spanish in Puerto Rico and Mexico; in Hawaii it was cool to see how similar hula is to bellydancing and I loved watching the whales jump at sunset. And those were just work trips. I've loved my trips north to Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec for my brother's wedding and then subsequent family trips (and it was fun to practice my French--since it's been 10 years since I returned from my year abroad in Aix-en-Provence). G and I loved Cape Cod and Rehoboth Beach.

But as I said, travel isn't always glamorous. Most of my travel is back to Wisconsin and while I love my former home state, it doesn't elicit ooohs and ahs from other travelers. And as I sit here in a Quality Inn room in Madison, blogging on my bed (OK, wireless access is pretty sexy!), I think about just how boring travel can be. Well, if the severe weather the TV keeps talking about produces a tornado, it could get a bit too exciting pretty quick here, especially since I'm already in my pjs for the night! But the weatherman usually overreacts, no?

I've been on the road this trip since Friday and I won't be home til Sunday. Blah. It'll be great to see my parents and brothers this weekend in Milwaukee. But I am already tired of eating out. It is really hard for me to eat healthy on the road, a real problem when I travel several weeks out of the year. I think all the extra fatty, greasy food adds to the fatigue I usually feel while traveling. So tonight I ordered a side of broccoli instead of the fries and it was so good!

It's great catching up with old friends, but I hated having to miss knit nite on Monday. And of course, I miss my new husband.

Following Tuesday Afternoon
I had to stop writing my post last week because the tornado sirens staring going off. There wasn't a tornado, thank goodness, but I didn't want to be blogging in case there was!

So, I am home now and so happy about it! I am really tired still and worn out, but I know I'll catch up soon. It has been a busy month. We went to Maine the weekend right after the terror alert, and while security in DC and Maine didn't seem to be any more crazy than normal, it was a bad travel weekend b/c we got bumped from our flight home. We got up so early the day after the wedding to get to our early flight and then didn't end up getting out until 5ish and home after midnight. It was exhausting. But, during a layover, I was knitting my simple baby blanket and this woman approached me. Karen is LYS owner in Detroit and has a pattern for a cabled shawl coming out in the Winter Vogue, she said. She was working on one for her daughter's wedding party. It was lovely. Her store sounds nice too; if I am ever in Detroit (outside of the airport), I'll be sure to go.

And life is getting back to normal. I went to a new bellydance class last night and it was great. I haven't been in a class since May so my muscles were sore, but it felt really good.

I have about two inches left on my sock before I get to the heel. I always think I'll have tons of time to knit while I travel, but then I never do. I also brought three books and didn't read any of them. But I did get some new knitting books b/c I had a gift card for a mall in Madison. Yeah!

I am really looking forward to this weekend. G and I are going to the Renaissance Faire. I missed opening weekend, sadly. G proposed to me at the opening day of the Faire last year, so it is kind of special, but it will be just as great this weekend.

Quick Post

I don't have time for a lengthy post today. And there will be no pictures. But there has been progress on the sock! However, pictures will have to wait til Monday.

Tomorrow I am off to Maine for a wedding. Not looking forward to a loooong time spent in airports. But, hey, I'll get a lot more done on my sock, right?

I had a great time Monday night at the Columbia Knit Nite. Learn more about it from Lolly or Laura. They both have info on their sidebars.

It's such a fun group of women! All knitting, all laughing, all the time (well, most of the time).

At the end of the evening, Jolene (who I share an anniversary with, granted a few years apart!) mentioned that she is having a lemonade stand this weekend with her family. The proceeds are going to leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research. Find out more on Amie's blog.

Finally Progress

I feel like I've been knitting all summer but not really getting anywhere. Well, truthfully, I didn't knit much in May, June or July. I brought yarn to knit at the beach on the honeymoon, but then never touched it.

Then I started a sock, but ripped it out a few times. I had decided to use size 0 needles so my stitches would be nice and tight. But then I looked at my 2s and thought they looked so much bigger and wouldn't it be nicer (to my poor finger) if I used them instead? So, I did a swatch in each needle size and knew the 0s were better, but I wanted a seasoned sock-knitter's perspective. What if they thought the 2 swatch was fine? I new it was wishful thinking but .... At last week's Baltimore Knitting Meetup, I asked Amy (thanks, Amy!), who confirmed my suspicion that the 0s were better. But it is OK, I started them again, and am knitting away w/o (so far) punctures in my fingers. Yeah! And I have a couple of centimeters done! Yeah! It is fun. I am really enjoying knitting in the round. Even though there are 76 stiches, I feel like I go around much quicker than when I knit something flat. So far sock knitting gets a big thumbs up. Who knows what the verdict will be when I reach the heel....



As you can see in this photo, I am still knitting too lose, even on the 0s. I am just going to keep going though and try to knit tighter. I can't expect my first sock to be perfect. :)



I am also working on a simple diagnol garter stich baby blanket. I got the yarn at a meetup swap and don't know exactly what it is, something arcylic, but it is soft and is a pink, white and green variagated yarn. I think it will make a cute little blanket. There's a good chance that at least one of my brothers' babies will be a girl, right? Here is a corner:



So, I am feeling better about knitting today than I was earlier in the week. My problem was that I am going to a wedding on Aug. 12. And even though I have two, very full closets of clothing, I wanted something new to wear. What is it about weddings that makes people want to buy a brand new outfits? I will know only a handful of people at this wedding, and aside from my husband, the other four people have seen me fewer than four times. One of those times was my own wedding. Two of the people are guys, one is the groom. My point: I can wear anything from my wardrobe and it will look new to them; they will notice that I am wearing clothes, but nothing beyond that. But, still, I want something new. But I just got married, am saving for a house, trying to be wiser w/ spending. So I should just wear something I've got and shut up already. But maybe I could knit something, I thought. A cute little sweater or a tank. But I am a super slow knitter, have never made an adult garment before and don't have yarn or a pattern. So, I know I'll never knit a tank in time for that wedding.

So then I was sad. Why can't I be one of those knitters who just happens to have the perfect yarn in her stash and can make a sweater in a weekend. I know I'm not, yet. But I remembered: I can sew! And I have tons of fabric in my stash, including summery fabric I got on two of my work trips to Hawaii (yeah, I've got a good job that sends me to Hawaii in the winter every few years). So I made this skirt on Monday after work. It's not done; I still need to hem it. But I didn't have a pattern. I used an A-line skirt I had made years ago as the base and built on it, made it a little bit fuller. I've never done that before, but it was easy. So, now I have a new skirt. Yeah! It would look great w/ a hand-knitted black tank... hmmm.