See, I really did finish the knitting of this sweater. I'm even working on the ends

Quick Morning Update

• A. My paper has been excepted at MBC, soon to be in press!!!!!! (I heard saturday and did a little dance in my kitchen)




• B. I finished knitting and seaming the baby kimono sweater.
  (pictures as soon as I charge my camera batteries




• C. I had a carrot soup catastrophe, involving a random accident and me not completely understanding the limitations of my cuisnart. (Upshot is that my husband has agreed to get me the kitchenaid blender I have been coveting for at least five years

That's all for now. Have a good Monday!

Orangey

The pink sweater is out. The garter stitch edges are rolling in too much... a bad marriage of yarn and pattern. So when my knitpicks order came in, I couldn't help myself.

A sleeve and a half of the kimono style sweate form "Natural Knits", in the unatural shine sport

Update....

Alas, the little star sweater does not fit!!!! But not for the reason I was worried about. Apparently it is the mock turtle neck design which does not happen to work so well for my nephew, who might have a large head (because he is a genius). I guess I should stick to the v-necks and cardigns for my adventures in childrens clothes. I am chalking this one up to a design flaw, because obviously my knitting was flawless....

Fixing it?...hmmm it could be tricky because of the way a seamed it. But maybe I will try. Of course he will probably out grow it by the time I fix it...

This is why I'm afraid to knit for other people.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

We've been experiencing a slew of lazy afternoons. Some due to weather. Some due to a generalized lethargy that seems to have settled in around here.

I've been trying to cook a meal (or sometimes two) to eat during the week, to make my life easier. I'm also trying to incorporate more vegetarian dishes. For some reason boneless skinless chicken breast just stopped being appealing and indian and vegetarian food and sweet potatoes seem like great stuff. I've really had me a serious hankering for sweet potatoes, particularly sweet potato fries. mmmmmm....

So I guess that sort of explains the necessity of lazy sunday mode, but I think we are settling into too much of a rythmn. Big breakfast saturday, shopping after, run, go out and eat dinner somewhere. Little breakfast saturday. Stand around and postulate about what we might want to do today. End up doing nothing. Cook food.

By the way, I'm cooking peach mango chutney right now, and it is perfuming the house with the odor of sugar, cardamon, ginger, and cinnamon...very nice

The reason for the lack of blogging is laziness and slow progress. We will work to correct this.

Well, not really lack of progress. I finally sewed in all the ends of the little star sweater, and have handed it off to my sister. When asked if he wanted to try on the sweater it only took his aunt five months to complete, Sam vehemently shook his head no, and started to cry. He has apparently suddenly become picky about his clothes.

Also this weekend I finished two backs:

The green one(elann Sierra Aran, fiddlehead green) is the Marseilles pullover (IK summer 2006), the pink one (elann, baby alpaca/silk blend ) is the ballerina wrap from "Adorabe Knits" by Zoe Mellor.

I also order yarn for some other items for the not yet born. There seems to be a baby boom going on in the DC area as an alarming high number of couples we know are expecting (and soon). In truth I was feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of knitting baby gifts, but I figure they can get them after the baby's born, so its not really a big deal. I also have my eyes on my next project for myself, but I better finish Marseilles first. I fear this might be a sweater I will never get to wear.....

Recovery

The surgery went well, and I got some pretty flowers from my lab-mates.

I'm already venturing back to work, although I'm still a little tired so it might be a day or two til I'm able to stay the whole day and not need/want a mid afternoon nap.

My family came over to cheer me up and feed my Sunday which was nice, and I found some time to sew up this:

That leaves the ends to work in, and there are alot of them, but it might fit afterall.

Is this really the fortune you want to get the night before having surgery?

Because of said hospital stay and feeling like I was getting a cold all week, I've been taking it easy, which meant getting the opportunity to do a little knitting. I finished the knitting on the little star sweater and proceeded to seaming.

I'm getting better at armhole and shoulder seams, although they're still not like the ones in the books!

I was very worried about the proportions and sizing of this sweater, but now that I've started to seam it, I feel like it might not be a horrible thing to inflict on a 2 year old after all. (He won't remember it anyway, right?) I really don't want to be the crazy Aunt who knits the sweaters with sleeves that are vastly different sizes.

I guess the final verdict will be when he gets to try it on.

Anyway, now I have to figure out what little and easy project to bring with me to the hospital......

Exorcism, a photo essay

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

While listening to Neko Case live courteous of a free download from NPR

Consequently, very little knitting to report on chez H.Po and Snuffles.

I had a good title for this post, but now I can't remember it

I thought I could get the sweater for my nephew done, and I was headed that way, but two things happened.

Thing One:

I am no expert or children's clothing, but something about the proportion of the arm to the body lenght looks wrong. My nephew does not have short stubby arms, (does he?)

I now dislike patterns which give row counts instead of measurements. Sure I could do the math and figure out what the measurements are suppose to be, but that would be work. The thing is I added some length to the back, which caused me to add some length to the front. I thought I added some length to the sleeve, but apparently not enough. This has caused me to pause while I rethink. I need to ask my sis to bring a long sleeve t-shirth or something so I can get an idea of what the correct sleeve length might be.

Thing Two:

Can you guess?

I'm in San Diego. It's warm here, and there's lots of sunshine, and lots of cell biologists looking for coffee..

Update..

November was a rough month for me. I been a little stressed and haven't done much knitting. I think the whole birthday thing couple to just having alot of stuff going on just kind of got me down. I don't deal with stress well.

However, the calendar has now changed to another page, and I got through most of the doctor's visits and presentations that were going on and I'm ready to move on.

I have picked up this project again.

I had all but stopped it as I didn't like how it was turning out. The 1st attempt through the star I made the mistake of thinking it wouldn't be that bad to carry the yarn behind, instead of winding little seperate balls and doing it the way its suppose to be done.

The result was very wonky. It made me unhappy but I wasn't able to decide to rip it out for awhile. So it was put aside.

Going through the month of November made me ready to accept what had to be done, both in terms of this sweater and life in general. So I ripped out the star, and started it over again. And now I am moving through it and could finish it by Christmas, no problem.

It's still a quite a bit wonky, but it looks better, trust me.

Just brief.... Knitathon on Gilmore Girls?, and I thought I couldn't love the show more!

Finished!

Last weekend I was here:

This weekend I am:

Finished! (But need to block)

Buddy

I guess I've neglected to post lots of pictures of Spencer, so now I'm going to have to quickly make up for that. You see, we've known for awhile that Spencer, who is roughly around 13, was not quite well. And when you take a pet to the vet, and they can't quite pinpoint what's wrong, you get the feeling that maybe you don't really want to know.

So after several months of trying to change food, and giving him medicine that didn't help, or whatever other suggestions our vet could make, my husband decided to take him to the specialist, who confirmed our suspiscions.

Spencer, aka Buddy, aka Mr. Mushyface, aka handsome guy, has a intestinal tumor, and doesn't have much longer to live.

So, we get to spend the next couple of weeks saying good-bye, until he starts to get really sick.

I'm glad we get a little time to say good-bye, but its kind of hard too.

You see Spence is the sweetest cat in the world, and if you knew him, you'd be kind of sad too.

He's a nudger, and a licker, and sometimes a talker. He cries everytime my husband takes the dog out for a walk, like he's afraid they are leaving him behind.

He drinks water from people's glass or from the faucet, but not from his own bowls.

He wakes us up in the morning to give him food, even though he usually has food(he just wants the company).

He killed 6 mice in the summer of the great mouse adventure back in the house in Lansing, NY. Also in that house, he would stalk deer on our front lawn from his perch in the front window. He also stalks bugs, and rabbits

He is not a wool loving cat, or a catknip loving cat. He is kind of straight-edge that way

He let the dog lick his ears, but every now and than he would get his dander up, and chase the dog around the house, just to make sure she knew who is boss.

He is a special guy, and we will miss him when the time comes.

New Beginnings

So, I'm now back from all the beachy traveling about (there was also a trip to New Jersy in there, so happy Rosh Shanahnah....). And I've been blogging about all the things I finished with the traveling. So now it is time to talk about what's just beginning.

I've started three projects:

Project one: Gift Clapotis

This is a Christmas type present for someone who doesn't know of this blog. The yarn is Brooks Farms, a silk, mohair blend that a bought way back when at MDSW. Picture taken in the car on the way back home from NJ, feeling very full after two nights of feasting.

Project two: Little star sweater

Also a Christmas picture for my favorite little star. This is a design from Adorable Knits , by Zoe Mellor, knit is knitpicks Shine Sport. I've finished the back and am currently roughly half way through the star on the front. It's my first color work type item since the dreaded baby blanket that never got finished, also from this book. The stiches on the lower part of the star are a little uneven, 'cause I stranded the blue yarn behind the white, instead of doing straight intersia. I will post some pictures of it, but I can live with it, as my nephew will probably destroy it with in weeks of receiving it.

Third : Evening Star

I don't have a picture of this yet, but this one is for me. It is from my favorite issue of interweave knits Summer 2006 . I'm knitting it in knitpicks Merino Style in the color River. I really digg the color. I've been working on the bottom of this a bit this week, as I don't have to pay that much attention to it, and I'm coming down with a cold.

So that is what is going on. There was a slight problem with Marilyn once I blocked it. It just might be a little to large for my small little frame. In retrospect, it wasn't such a good design for myself. I'm not really a Marilyn type of girl. I will post a picture of it anyway, but it was a little deflating to realize that it blocked a bit larger than it knit. Also I finally blocked lotus tank, and this came out much better, i.e. the slight uneveness in the front is gone, and the lace part opened up and down a little, so it's less of a belly shirt.

Beach Trip, II

This weekend I was in Corrolla, NC to visit with my mom and dad, and Aunt Emma.

The other reason for the trip was to bring you artistic type photos of a recently finished project

And so I present to you, without any further ado....

Unfortunately, my camera had slipped into some funky mode and all my icarus photos appeared bleached. It was bright on the beach, but I've never had a problem taking pictures like this before.

The details: Icarus from IK Summer 2006 (2nd of four projects I intend to do from this issue ) by Miriam Felton. Using slighly over 100gm (2 skeins) of alpaca cloud from knitpicks in appropriately enough "Autumn". When I say slightly over, I mean I ran out of the 2nd skein on the cast-off, good thing I always buy extra. The pictures really don't do the yarn justice. It has a lot of different shades of orange and even some hints of green in it, hard to describe....

Roughly, a picture of the point

A shot of the detail on the edge

I have to say, it didn't turn out as large as a was expecting. For some reason I was exprecting it to be enormous, but I think it turned out nicely.

This leaves still one more F.O. from September to reveal... Still need to block.......

And there are some new additions to projects on the needles, to talk about. It's been a busy month for knitting. Yeah for the fall!!!!!

Beach 2006: The Knitting Update

So guess what I did while at the beach (and in the car on the way to the Beach)?

I finished something!!!!

Actually I finished two things, but I'm giving each its seperate blog entry, because it really isn't that often that I finish things

Here are the modeling shots, from the balcony at the beach house.

The Front

and The Back

It's the cover art from Interweaveknits summer 2006: Lotus Blossom Tank by Sharon Shoji, in knitpicks Shine Sport

I started it back in July when I went the the meeting. It was a rough start. I didn't think I had the gauge right. It turns out the gauge was more or less right (its hard to measure lace patterns accurately), but I thought it was way too big after doing two repeats of the lace bottom. So I ripped it out, changed needles, and then I ripped it out again and changed needles again, and then finally I ripped out and took out two pattern repeats, and adjusted down the pattern accordingly, and added extra length on the straps.

I think I made it tighter than it was designed to be, but I am pretty satisfied with the results. I probably should have made the straps a little longer, but overall it looks pretty much like its suppose to.

Next week I report on the other finished object, which is not Icarus. Icarus is almost done. I'm at the border, but apparently I can't knit lace without a chart. I feel like the stiches aren't lining up right. I need to chart it out and see what's suppose to go where. Thank goodness for safety lines

Dear Readers....

Hello! Hippo here. It's been awhile since I've been able to write. I'm sure you missed me. I just got back from the vacation to the beach. I generously allowed Snuffles to come along, and some people I hang out with, and a kind of smelly dog, who threw up in MY car! The nerve of some dogs!

Anyway, I picked out a really cool place, with a pool and a hot tub, and a short walk to the almost deserted beach. Snuffles and I hung out and I drank beer. The people seemed to do a lot of getting into the pool, getting out of the pool, drying off, and then getting back into the pool. It was kind of dizzying. Snuffles and I thought they were a little crazy. I'm not sure if I'm going to invite them a long next time. And then there was their crazy dog, who at least had the sense not to get into the water at all, but was knid of confused by the fact that the people seemed to be in the water, and not drowning in it. She walked back and forth and barked at them a lot, expecially when they played catch with a football in the pool. The dog was disrupting my nap time a little bit.

I wisely did not let Snuffles have any beer. He gets a little crazy some times, and wanted my security deposit back. So instead of beer I gave him a nice long book (Susanne Clarke "The Adventures of Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norrell" ) to read. He said it was pretty good, and he learned a little practical magic and is looking forward to trying it out. I haven't the heart to tell him that it was a fiction book, and that there is no Raven King in America.

It rained most of the last two days. That was alright with me. I was getting worried about Snuffles, who is quite fair and subject to getting burnt. So, I helped a friend of mine do some knitting, and I finished this gigantic sweater for her (at least the knitting part, I'll let here sew in all the ends. She's been working on it forever, since last March or so.) Anyway I was a nice friend and helped her out

Also, I won the "Punch Prius" game on the way home. I am "Punch Prius" champion, although snuffles says I cheat.

Hope everyone's enjoying the last days of Summer

Yours truly, Hippo

Beach 2006

Well, where back from our excursion to Southern Shores, N.C.

Just a five hour drive to relaxation.....

It's a bummer to be back, but kind of nice to be back in our own bed

Doggie had a good time, but I think we tired her out

We spent most of our time lounging by or in the pool

Looks inviting doesn't it

I also did some reading

Outlander, Gablandon. Good, fast, fluffy, beach read, that didn't make me think too hard and moved a decent pace

And there was knitting....., but more on that latter

More beach photos

No there yet, little smurfs

I have bloggin malaise. Why? you ask. The truth is that I have nothing to report about

It isn't that I haven't been knitting. But I'm still working on the now neverending rows of the last pattern chart of Icarus. I'm really hoping that by some miracle I will be done that chart this weekend. And then on to the border.

So no pictures, they would be boring. Other people seem to be able to get nice pictures of their lace in progress, but mine look lame. I need to work on my photography skills. One day I will be done and I will post pre and post-blocking pictures, and model it. But that day will not be today.

Our trip to Ohio was lots of fun. Our friends have the cutest current eight month around. And we timed it really well, because she wasn't teething and was sleeping through both the evenings and nights. So the grown-ups did a lot of hanging out and reminiscing over some drinks during the beautiful Ohio evenings. It was really nice being out in the country away from a big metro area. It made me kind of miss by grad school summers in Ithaca. We also got to see BIG Jesus on the interstate followed not a mile away by Larry Flint's sense of humour. It about summed up the American dichotomy. Good trip!