I just feel so good!

I can't even begin to describe how good I've been feeling lately! And I know it's directly attributable to getting back into my routines. And while I can't run for another week, I've been walking and that in combination with riding every day and the gym -- well, I feel practically normal. And happy! I've been sleeping like a stone and getting up when the alarm goes off, refreshed. What a relief. I even mowed the lawn after I walked the dog last night. And good job too, because it rained during the night. Well anyway .... it's just nice to feel good again.

One dark cloud though - those darned socks! I finished turning the first heel and had written out the instructions for picking up the gusset stitches and getting on to the next sock. I SWEAR I followed them to the letter but now I have this tangled mess and no free end to start the second heel. I can't for the life of me figure out what I did wrong and I just don't know what to do about it. I'm going to write to the woman who has the pattern on Knitty, post something on Craftster as well, but I have a feeling that I'm going to have to frog that first sock (it's the one with the hole in the ribbing anyway) and just finish up the second and re-start the first. As I said, I'm really not all that keen on doing two at once anyway. I think it has slowed me down, quite frankly. I was very disappointed that it didn't come out right. I had pictured it in my head and thought I had it figured out but the holding needle isn't holding the stitches I thought it would be. I took pictures but it's just a mess and hard to even see. I have so many projects lining up now I want to get them finished.

Good luck to Nonnahs on her big moving weekend!!!

It feels like spring to me

And I really can't say why. Maybe because it was sunny when I got up today. (Of course by now it's cloudy and threatening to rain). It just smells so good outside! All of the things that are blooming now - the hyacinths smell wonderful and there is one particular flower lining a path that I bike through to get to and from upper campus that is just awesome! I don't know ... I guess I just feel good!

No knitting to speak of last night. I did a couple rows to start the skirt part of the flower set but I may have to frog it. I was at my Dad's and the light was poor and I may have dropped a stitch. If I can't pick it up I'm going to have to rip it back, but it's only a matter of a couple rows, since I've only just started. I sure hope I have enough of the lavender to make the skirt, considering I ran out of yarn for the top. I don't know ... I'm not having much luck with the dyelot search. Yarnfinders.com has disappeared - and what a shame too, because that was such a fantastic service. Nobody on Craftster has spoken up so it looks like I'll just have to make the sleeve out of a different dyelot. I was thinking of starting with the yarn I have and seeing if it is enough, but I am pretty certain it isn't. I think it would be better to make the whole sleeve out of the same dyelot rather than have it be half and half. I just hope it isn't too obvious.

Tonight though (after I mow the lawn, unless it rains) I am going to turn the heel on that sock and pick up the gusset stitches and see if I can make sense out of the instructions. I think I have it pictured correctly in my mind but of course will only know once I get there. I think that's it's going to be a HUGE pain to have a third (5th) needle hanging around holding stitches while I work the second heel flap but that's the only way to do it. I will definitely take pictures of the process.

I did it!

I made reservations yesterday for a sisterly vacation. We're going to take a little cruise from LA down to Ensenada, Mexico and back - 4 nights. It's not until May 29 - which actually seems a lifetime away from now, but time passes very quickly, doesn't it? Neither one of us has ever taken a cruise before. We take vacations together from time to time and what we like to do is find a nice resort hotel and lay around the pool and have people wait on us and maybe shop a little. We've been to Hilton Head Island (which was just fabulous and had a Coach outlet store close by) and to Hawaii. We figured this would be a nice change. I don't think we'll even get off the boat except maybe at Catalina Island since neither one of us has ever been there. Otherwise we just plan on getting pampered and getting a tan, not necessarily in that order.

Yesterday was my first anatomy class. I was prepared. I wonder how long that's going to last. I did learn something yesterday. I finally got the anatomical directions nailed down in my head - anterior and posterior, proximal and distal, medial and lateral, etc. I've always been a bit sketchy about those directions but now - nailed.

No pictures yet of the socks - still boring. I got the heel flap done and hopefully tonight I can turn it and pick up the gusset stitches and then I'll photograph it. That is if I'm still sane.

Ahhh, now that's more like it

Well I'm fresh as a daisy today! I got lots of sleep. Deeeeeep sleep. I don't think I even moved. I crashed about 10 and next thing I knew it was 6:30. That's bliss, baby. I need to be sharp today too. I am auditing the undergraduate anatomy course that we give out of our department and class starts today. It's going to be interesting. For so many years I've made the web site for this class, and the other gross anatomy class, but I don't really study the stuff, right? This will give me an opportunity to see just how tough these whiney students have it. Welll .... not really because this is going to be my only class. But still - knowledge is power.

I think I figured out why Tinkerbell has been so bark-y lately. The neighbors directly behind me have two new dogs. Two. And they spend most of their time in a pen under their deck, which is visible from my deck and audible from .... well I swear Tink can hear like a bat. I am hoping she will calm down a bit after she gets used to them being around. Or else it's going to be a noisy summer.

I know Nonnahs wants pictures of my 2 socks on 2 circulars, but they're just not that interesting now. Just like the other pictures I posted - two tubes hanging from wires. I got just 4 rows into the first heel flap last night before I crashed. When it gets interesting - when I pick up the stitches for the gusset and start working on the other heel I will document that, because it's going to be tricky. And I must say that I don't think I'm all that keen on working two at once. What one saves by doing them at the same time is pretty much wiped out by the time spent cursing and unwinding the two balls of yarn which, no matter how careful you are, get tangled regularly. Then there's the weight of the second sock, which as it grows gets progressively intrusive. Well, the jury is still out, but I am leaning towards one at a time on 2 circs for the next pair.

Very very tired

It's not starting out to be a very good week. I had to take a friend to the emergency room last night and she ended up having to stay. So at 1am I went back home, got bedding and my dog and went to her house to spend what was rest of the night with her 10-year-old and their 17 year-old Japanese exchange student. I couldn't sleep. On the outside I maybe got 3 hours. But I got the kids up and took the young one to school and made it to work by 9:30. My friend is going to be fine and I will be too, once I get some food and tea into me. I'm going to sleep tonight, that's for sure!

I'm going to make reservations for my little vacation with my sister. We've decided on a cruise out of LA. I hope I can get the dates I want! And oh am I ever looking forward to that. Three whole days just laying by the pool and being waited on. Lovely.

So while I was waiting with her in the emergency room I swatched the Noro for a version of the Flower Power shrug without beads. I think with size 13 needles I'm going to get gauge. And the lace pattern without beads looks like little hearts. I like it! I also worked on my socks. I'm ready for the first heel. I'll get pictures up when I can. Oh! And I also finished that cardigan. It looks awesome! I need to find some cool buttons and then I'm going to make I-cord loops and sew them onto the mohair band ... well it's kind of hard to describe. Pictures when I can get to it.

It's been a long week

It felt like I was walking into my office for the thousandth time this week rather than the 5th. I'm ready for the weekend, that's for sure. I want to sleep in! I didn't have a very good sleep last night. Tink was very restless and woke me up twice. I finally let her go outside from 1 to 2 and then she slept okay until the alarm. She's been very antsy these past few days. That's why I haven't been able to finish anything this week. She won't let me alone for more than a few minutes. She wants to play ball or have me brush her or ... I don't know. Maybe it's the change in season. I will have to give her an extra long walk tomorrow. Sunday I'm taking her with me to dinner at a friend's house. They have a puppy about her size and she can play and wear herself out.

I did manage to finish the 3rd repeat of the lace pattern on the socks but that's it. Oh! I recorded the South Park season premier from Wednesday and watched it last night. Holy cow! They really gave it to Isaac Hayes - the guy who voiced Chef - for quitting the show. It was hilarious! I love that about South Park -- that they can get a show ready in a week so they're always so topical.

Also I finally checked out the Ricky Gervais podcasts. They are hysterical!! He did 12 shows for free but there is now only one of the free ones left up. However, you can buy the entire 12 shows for less than $5, which I did. Totally worth it. In fact, when I'm done listening to these 6 hours I'm going to subscribe to the new shows. I was listening to them at the gym yesterday and kept bursting out in laughter. People must have thought I was nuts.

So my goals for the weekend, knitting-wise, are to first finish up that chunky sweater, then finish the socks. Hopefully Cat will let me know about the sizing for her little girl's top so I can get on with that. I received the 6 skeins of Kuryeon yesterday and you can imagine how hard it was for me to keep my hands off it. I must finish some things before I dare start another or I'm going to be in trouble. I don't want to be one of those people with a thousand WIPs laying around.

Rude or what?

Last night I was sitting there reading a magazine and Tinkerbell was outside, doing whatever it is doggies do. It was around 7 o'clock and quiet. She would bark now and again if another dog was passing (it's a very doggie neighborhood) but otherwise, very quiet. But around 7 she started barking. I thought it was just a dog walking by so let her go for a minute but when she didn't quiet down I opened the door and shushed her. That only lasted a second and off she went again! So I opened the door again and looked out and I could just see the top of a woman's head to the left of my gate, so I supposed she and her dog were walking by and Tink would shut up in a minute. But no. She kept it up! So I went out again and couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary but thought I'd peek my head out of the gate to see if someone was getting into their car or whatever. What did I see? A woman and her dog just sitting about 10 feet from my gate! Her dog was in a sit and she looked up at me and said that she was trying to train her dog not to react when other dogs bark from their yard! I mean!! So she's just going to stay there and get MY dog all riled up??? I don't think so. I turned on my heel without a word, scooped Tink up and took her into the house. I think that is just awful behavior. Not only is she driving Tink nuts, she driving my neighbors nuts because Tink is barking and making me crazy as well. What an idiot.

I can really tell the season's changing because it's so light in the mornings now. When I woke up this morning I thought it was Saturday because it was light and the alarm hadn't gone off. But no, it was only about 6 am. It was supposed to be cloudy and rainy today but it's nice this morning so I took a picture of the Quad on my way in. The Blogger is being a bit obstinate and won't download the pictures, which is quite nice considering it's from my phone. Here's a link to it.

I did not work on my socks last night. I am going to make a gung-ho effort to not only get them done this weekend but also the chunky cardigan. And I think I'm done with chunky knits for a while. There is a top in the new Vogue that I am just crazy about - a Nicky Epstein. It's gorgeous. And looks hard to do. But it's in cotton so it would be a good spring/summer project. I'm vacillating. In the meantime I swatched for a cute little shrug rather than work on the socks. Tonight for sure. If I can keep the dog occupied I should be able to finish the ankle and start on a heel.

How about some sports news?

The Seahawks have lost Steve Hutchinson but they gained Julian Peterson and the news sounds pretty good about him. He's a defensive player - linebacker. So far we still haven't lost too very many good players. I did hate to see Joe Jurivicus go, but hey .. it sure could have been worse. This is the first time in ages and ages that I haven't been all stoked about the draft. It just really isn't a big deal this year, thankfully.

So that lovely start to spring has now dissolved into rain rain rain. I'm going to have a soggy walk up to the post office but I must get Amanda's present in the mail, so off I go.

And the 2nd day of spring ...

okay, not so good. As brilliant and gorgeous as yesterday was, today is cloudy and it started to sprinkle as I was biking through campus. Oh well ... that's spring in Seattle. The cherry trees are looking wonderful and tomorrow I'm going to snap a shot with my phone. If it's too bad I'll bring my camera Wednesday and get a real picture.

Yesterday I was going to send my Secret Pal her last package. I got the package addressed, had my keys, my phone, my iPod, sunglasses .... off I went. Got to the post office and realized I had forgotten one thing. My money. Today is gym day so it's going to have to wait to Wednesday. When she gets the package then I'll reveal myself. My Secret Pal sent me a lovely card and revealed herself and I've put a link on my sidebar - Thanks Kackie for the great purse and books!

I have been drooling over the catalogues that seem to flood my mailbox daily - they are now full of bathing suits and resort wear and my mind is constantly floating off to some sort of tropical paradise where I'm laying on the beach, sipping a cold drink and debating whether or not to go into the water. Ahhhhhh .... However, plans are changing daily it seems. The gallery deal is off which means the Hawaii trip is off and we're going to have to scale down, time-wise and probably expense-wise as well. Now it's looking like a long weekend in Mexico or some sort of cruise. I have never cruised because I always thought I would just get bored out of my mind. On the other hand, if all we want to do is lay around by the pool or on the beach during the day and eat, drink and dance at night a ship is as good as a resort hotel, it seems to me. I will do more research and put my sister to work on it as well.

Last night was pick up the nephew night, so I got only a few rows done on my socks. You know, I never swatched those guys. I mean -- size 2 needles?? Come on. If I can't get gauge with size 2's I am certainly not going to go any smaller. I can barely stand working with those anyway. I mean -- now we know why they're called needles! They're hardly bigger than the needle I use to sew in ends. But I am looking at them and they look rather wide. I slipped them on but it's kind of hard to tell. They don't bag exactly, but they're not hugging my ankle. The pattern does call for some ribbing on the foot after the heel and gusset are done so that might tighten it up. AND I found a huge hole (well huge is relatively, of course) in the ribbing. Somehow I got a YO in there. Oh well, I am not going to rip it back. I figure it's those little flaws that make it "special". (How's that for spin?) And yesterday I broke my vow of not buying any more yarn until I had finished a couple projects. How could I resist? I read on Craftster that WEBS was having a sale on Noro for $5.50 a skein! I bought six and I am going to make a shrug with lacy bell sleeves. I hope. I mean I don't have a pattern but I should be able to figure that out easily enough.

Yay! It's spring!!!

Not only is it spring by the calendar, but the sun is shining and it looks like spring as well! I biked through the quad this morning and the big cherry trees are that close to blooming. The gardners were there, trimming up the edges of the lawn so that it will be picture perfect in the next couple days. Unfortunately it is supposed to start clouding up and raining by Wednesday, but that never stops hoards of people from showing up to take pictures of the trees. That is the only time of year that my bike route through the campus varies -- I take the scenic detour through the quad for the week or so that they are in full bloom. I should be able to get a good shot on the way in at least once this week. Oh -- one reason my camera phone pictures have been so bad lately, I found out, is that I had the settings on automatic rather than indoor (or outdoor). The two pictures I post here today had the setting indoor and they're much better than the last couple. Although I should just quit being so lazy and take them with my digital camera. It's just so slow to download them onto my laptop. What I need is a NEW digital camera and then I will put the software on my work PC as well as my home one, and then I can take pictures on the way to work or whatever and now have to fiddle with my dodgy laptop.

So .... I actually ended up having a very disappointing weekend, unfortunately. Not only did my plans get cancelled on Thursday, but Friday as well (and at the last minute!!) AND again on Saturday. Friday was easily forgiven because the person cancelling was in fact really sick, but Saturday? Unforgivable. Rude and lazy and unforgivable. And so there I was - 5 o'clock, no plans, and VERY angry. Little Tink got an extra walk because I was so steamed I couldn't sit still. So we walked and I burned up the airwaves ranting and raving to my sister and my friend Mikie in Arizona. Luckily for me my Secret Pal had sent me two books. Thanks Secret Pal!! She send "Knitting Over the Edge" and the new Sarah Dunant book "In the Company of the Courtesan". Good job! So I changed my clothes and took myself off to the new pub at the end of my street. It's underneath and a part of a new/used bookstore and coffeehouse so the lighting is great for reading, the food from upstairs is pretty good, the music is great and the wine and beer selection is not bad.

With all of that extra time you might think I could get some knitting done and you'd be right. I worked on my socks on Friday and finished one whole repeat of the lace pattern and a few rows into the second repeat (of 4). I am still not entirely sure I know what to do when it comes time for turning the heel and doing the gusset. I'm going to solicit some help. I am using the Columbine pattern from the "Two Socks Soar..." book and Koigu yarn. The picture is tight so you can, hopefully, see the pattern.


Also started was my top-down raglan cardigan. I had left-over handpainted thick and thin bulky yarn from my big top-down purple and green thing because I ordered extra, so I cast on and actually finished the whole body! Things go so fast when you're using size 15's as opposed to, say, size 2's!! I used all of the green and left two skeins of the purple mix for the arms, then I'm going to use mohair for the bands. Cables really pull in a LOT so I'm going to have to make, like, 2 or 3 in button bands. Still, I'm quite pleased.

I must rant today

I need to rant today. I am just sooo angry! I hate hate HATE when people make plans with you when, apparently, they are drunk. And then cancel at the last minute! That just makes me want to scream. How rude is that?? So I had a little extra time yesterday evening. As in the whole evening. I was too mad to watch TV or read so I put on some music and cast on two socks. Nice thing about knitting when you're angry - it goes pretty darned fast. I got all of the ribbing and six rows into the first lace repeats. Doing two at once is a breeze so far. It's was a bit dicey at first but it always is getting these things started. Once I got a few rows on the needles it was fine. The real test will come later.

I stopped at the LYS on the way home yesterday because I may have to get another skein of yarn for the flower top [which is another pet peeve of mine - why can't patterns give you yardage rather than weight? It's just not accurate enough]. The yarn store didn't have another skein of that yarn, wouldn't you know it, but they did have a whole wall of Koigu so I grabbed a couple skeins of that. So what am I going to do about the top? Well I am not entirely sure that I didn't make it too large to begin with, so I'm going to bring it in to work next week and Cat can take it home and try it on her little girl and see how it fits. It's it's too large, then I'll frog it and start over and I should have enough yarn. If it just fits then I'm going to have to scramble and try to find another skein of that dye lot. It's doable but it's a hassle.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to any Irish out there in blog land. I sent a text message to my friend Emma, who is Irish. She vowed that she would NOT be working this St. Patrick's day. She used to work at the Temple Bar in Dublin, which is a madhouse at any time of the year but on this day - hideous. Anyway, she said she's not working and is just heading out. I wish I was with her.

Quickly

Just a teensie post today. I've been pretty much off the radar the past couple days but I'm back back back!! Feeling pretty good and by tomorrow or Saturday should be 100% again.

The Seahawks are stepping up in free agency and have signed Rocky Bernard! yay! I still haven't read anything definite about Steve Hutchinson but I did read that they're going after some other good players. We've only lost 2 good ones so far, and a possible 3rd with Hutchinson and they seem to have plenty of room under the salary cap so perhaps the team won't be gutted. Exciting, huh?

I have been working on the little girl flower top. It's almost done and it's adorable. I don't think I'm going to have enough yarn for the second sleeve though so I've got to drop by the LYS today and get another skein (hopefully) of the same dye lot. My Secret Pal hostess asked when I was going to cast on for my second pair of socks. I am waiting for some sock yarn from KnitPicks and then I'll do a Knitty sock - 2 at a time. Should be exciting. I would love to get some Lorna's Laces yarn for the next pair before I get tired of socks.

It was the chemistry!

I had an enjoyable evening Friday seeing "Private Lives" although I was just a teensie bit disappointed. The chemistry between the leads was just a bit off - like totally not believable. It's such a wonderful script though that you can't help but enjoy yourself.

Saturday and Sunday were beautiful days. Tink got some lovely long walks and yesterday, the more sunny of the two, she spent basking in the sun on the steps or on the walkway. I finally planted some spring bulbs in a pot for the deck. It's a bit late but I think they'll come up just fine. Next weekend my goal is to spruce up the little beds by the mailbox at my gate. Right now they're just full of weeds. I'll get some primroses, I think.

The Seahawks lost two really good players this weekend with free agency plus the Vikings have tendered a HUGE offer to Steve Hutchinson, as a restricted free agent. The Seahawks have a week to match it or .... I don't know they can maybe get a trade or something. But it would be awful to lose him. I just scanned the sports page this morning so I don't have any idea if the Seahawks are making noises about matching the offer or what.

Speaking of mailbox - guess what came in that mailbox Friday? A jury summons. Oh joy. Here's the difference between me and a lawyer friend. When I got the summons I moaned. Boooooring! When I told my friend she was like, "Oh! How exciting!!"


I finished my socks. This is a super bad picture, but at least you can there are two. My Secret Pal left me a little comment saying that she's never had the patience for socks. I must say that doing them on 2 circular needles is just soooo easy! And fast as well. Much better than trying to wrestle with those little DPNs. I figured out the Turkish cast on so if I ever do some toe-up ones I've got the perfect way to cast on without a seam. It's very neat.

Oh yeah baby!

That crepe restaurant was wonderful! And it was packed too! I am definitely going to go back there. Sooner rather than later because we had a beautiful wine and I can't remember what it is called. I want to go back this weekend to find out before they change their wine list.

Tonight it's "Private Lives" and I'm looking forward to it. I just hope it doesn't snow. It's gotten very cold again and even though you can see blue sky, there are dark clouds lurking.

I still haven't finished the Harry Potter movie. I looked at the DVD sleeve and see that it's 4 hours 40 minutes long! Wow! No wonder I didn't finish it that night. I remember being a little surprised that it wasn't finished at about 9:30 and hadn't thought I'd put it on very late. So ... probably I have another hour to go. That's nice. I'll watch it Saturday.

Just managed to get a few inches done on the second sock yesterday. I want to finish it this weekend.

I just didn't do my research!

"What's crab grass?" I wondered briefly as I read the back of the Weed 'n Feed bag last Saturday. I was scanning, looking for "kills dandelions". Ah! Good enough! So I put it on the lawn. And yesterday morning I was looking to see if those pesky weeds were indeed fading away, but I didn't see any evidence of that. When I got home I took a closer look and what I did notice is that some patches of the lawn itself are turning yellow. Hmmmmm .... could it be crab grass?? Dang! So NOW I know what crab grass is ---- it's what comprises about 30% of my so called lawn!! Aggressively turning yellow now. The weeds? Doing fine so far. Perhaps some real research is needed.

And speaking of yellow - I had the oddest thought in the middle of the night. Paranoia is like mustard yellow. It doesn't look good on anyone.

I am finally going to that crepe restaurant/wine bar tonight. It has been open in my neighborhood for almost 2 years now and each time I walk by I think I should definitely go in and try it out. There are always people eating and drinking at all hours, so it can't be that bad. Tonight is the night. We'll see. I do like good crepes.

I finished my first sock last night. And I did NOT graft the toe. What a waste of time! I just did a neat little 3-needle bind off and weaved in the ends and it's fine. Perfect. Looks great. I will cast on for the second one today. Don't want it to be lonely now, do we?

Yeee-ouch!!

Well, after my first workout in ... oh gosh about 2 months(!) I had a great one yesterday but oh my gosh, my triceps and pecs are so sore that I can barely get my hands above my head! I don't mind, I know it'll go away, but wow ... I didn't think I would get that sore.

I keep thinking about that great Italian meal I had Sunday night -- a wonderful penne pasta with chunks of smoked salmon and fresh green peas and capers and dill .... oh it was soooo good! I think it was the best Italian meal I've had since that little restaurant in Toronto about a year ago. The pasta there was exceptional, must have been homemade. The pasta Sunday wasn't quite as good but well cooked. Since I've got a bathing suit vacation coming up AND I've been slacking off on the working out, there are going to be few Italian meals in my immediate future. I've got to get into bathing suit shape! It's completely doable, but I'm going to have to be vigilant. It's nice to have a goal.

Speaking of Toronto .. I had that gorgeous Italian meal with the intended recipient of the Big Blue Sweater who has as yet to claim it. I am alternately angry and concerned. Angry because I carried that darned sweater and yarn to Europe and back and all places in between in a back pack!! NOT my preferred piece of carry on luggage by any means!! And concerned because this is just absolutely uncharacteristic behavior. And then sometimes I'm just sad because of what this might portend. Ah well ... ah well.

I worked on my sock while I was getting my hair done yesterday evening. Tonight I think I will finish it. I am wondering though -- why graft the toe? I'm just going to do a 3-needle bind off. That little teensie seam won't bother anything. I also worked on the pretty little girl top while I was watching "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". I had it on my Netflix queue and got it the day it was released. I didn't finish it though because Tinkerbell was just too hyped up last night for some reason. I had to pay attention to her and it's the kind of movie where you really want all of your attention upon it. Tonight I can finish it up.

I have decided to give my Secret Pal, for her last gift, some dye-your-own yarn as suggested by Tammy, the SP Hostess. Guess I'd better order that today so I can get it to her by the end of the month, eh?

What I love about early spring

The house across the street has a beautiful cherry tree. I think it's a Japanese cherry tree. Anyway, it blooms in early spring as do quite a few different varieties of cherry and plum in my neighborhood. The larger cherry trees on campus don't come out until a little later, but this one is so gorgeous! This picture doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea of what I get to see each morning when I leave the house. She has daffodils planted under the tree -- probably I should have taken the picture outside of the gate but I was in my bathrobe. That blue sky you can see there was gone by the time I got out of the shower. We should have rain today and I hear that it's getting colder and snow is a possibility Thursday or Friday. That's spring in Seattle for you.

Today is the day I finally get to go to the gym and work out on the Precor! YAY! While it's not actually running it is close enough and I am psyched! If all goes well (meaning I don't over do it) I should be able to get back to running in six weeks. When will that be ..... 2nd week of April. Sweet. And it looks like Kelli has got a deal for her gallery and so we are planning on going to Hawaii, in her words, "in 90 days, baby!". That's 3 months where I come from. So sometime in late May or early June ... ahhhhhh Hawaii.

I sent Nonnahs a link to a pattern I found in Knitpicks for a two at once, toe-up sock pattern. I am certainly going to give it a try. I am almost done with my first sock and I'm going to make sure to cast on right away for the second one because I can see how easy it would be to put it off and then .... there you have one sock and no intention of making another. The casting on for this pattern sounded familiar to me but her directions are not very clear so I went through a ton of magazines last night looking for the article. I thought it was in IK but it turned out to be in Vogue and it's called the Turkish Cast-On. It's a very clever seamless cast on for making toes or pouches using two circular needles. I don't see why I can't do it twice and have two on there. I'll give it a try after ... AFTER I finish the second sock. The Addis are pricey, but definitely worth it. I'm glad I got them. I became a fan when I first started knitting and got a pair of size 8s to make hats that first Christmas. Oh I just wanted them in every size! But I got the Denise set of interchangeable needles and I really am glad I did.

Well here's some good news!

I just read in the paper this morning that the Seahawks re-signed Shaun Alexander! Yay! That's great news! For an obscene amount of money, of course. What I have come to understand though is that even though they say he's signed for $68 million he's unlikely to ever get all of that so it's just numbers.

It was a wonderful, spring-ish weekend and I got tons and tons of stuff accomplished! Saturday was just gorgeous so after I got all of my indoor chores done I mowed the lawn and fertilized it to boot! While I was toiling away in the sun the mail came and in it was my "Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles" book. So of course, as soon as I was done cleaning up I took off for my LYS to purchase two pairs of Addi Turbos, size 2 (gulp) and some sock yarn. Now let me digress for a moment here -- can anyone out there tell me why sock yarn is to gawd awful ugly?? I just wanted some plain cotton blend sock yarn. Nope. I could get cotton, but not superwash and I am not about to make a pair of socks that need to be hand washed! Not right out of the gate anyway. I could have gotten a wool in plain colors but I really wanted cotton. So I ended up with the least ugly one I could choose, aptly named "Clown".

AAaany way, I brought my booty back and sat myself down and did about 4 inches of ribbed cuff. Can I say that they soar? Well, as much as anything can soar that is being knit on size 2 needles. It took me a while to get used to the method and in fact it wasn't until I was knitting the heel flap on Sunday that I realized I was knitting inside out. No harm. Sunday wasn't so nice outside as Saturday so I had no qualms about sitting around most of the day, listening to music and knitting. I mean, I did other things, of course. Laundry, washed the puppy, read the paper and actually completed about 80% of the Sunday crossword! I had one of those sweet moments in the afternoon though -- when you just have to sigh and relish the simple pleasures. There I was in my comfy chair listening to some great jazz, working on a somewhat complicated part of the sock but getting it, a little break in the clouds for a ray of sunshine, my sweet little dog on my lap and a wonderful dinner at a great Italian restaurant to look forward to. It was a perfect moment. Here's where I left off working on the sock. The heel flap was a piece of cake. Turning the heel was also easy. Getting the gusset started was a bit tricky but I just followed the instructions and only got confused once but didn't mess up. Not I just knit on down to about 2 inches shy of my toes and then do the toe increases. Oh .. and then make another one. I was thinking about if it work work, doing two at once. I thought it would right up until I got to the tricky bits and now I'm not so sure. You have to transfer stitches from one needle to another at one point and I just don't think it would be possible if there was another sock on there. I'll have to think a little more on it.

Well, that's my big sock adventure. I also got some work done on the back of the Flower top. That is the perfect thing to knit while watching TV because it is just straight garter stitch. Just have to keep track of the rows.

What killed the cat

It was speculation that killed the cat not curiosity.

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I don't know how long it'll last ...

but there's sunshine again today! I tell you, there is nothing like some sunshine in March to get all of Seattle smiling. It is supposed to rain this weekend but I am actually hoping it holds off long enough on Saturday for me to mow the lawn and put some weed and feed on it. I DO NOT want a parking strip full of dandelions this year!

I finished the V-neck last night and am wearing it at work today! The trim is a mix of some gorgeous Any Blatt mohair I got in Paris but which was just not the right shade of purple and some old mystery mohair. Mixed together they give a denim look which makes this top perfect for jeans but not much else. Anyway it's cute and it really made me understand the top-down concept. I have a super idea for a cardigan that I'm going to do next ... well, you know, AFTER I do the little girl flower dress and AFTER I get some socks going. I posted the whole pattern on my pattern blog (see the link on the side bar?)

Now this sock thing is beginning to intrigue me. I am looking forward to getting my two circular method book and, happily, I found out that my first Secret Pal (spoiler, not spoilee) Nonnahs also got the book so I'll have someone to compare notes with.

So tonight I get to cast on for the cute little Flower Top and Skirt. Awwwwww

A dream within a dream

This is so weird! I was dreaming last night about shopping for shoes with a friend. She found a gorgeous pair of vintage designer pumps. I told her, jokingly, that it was a good thing she'd spotted them before me because I had dreamed about them! And she said, "Yes, but you dreamed about giving them to me." And then in my dream I remembered another dream where indeed that had happened. I don't know ... it's hard to explain. But it was weird.

AAAAnnyway .... in knitting news ... I have only 10 rows left to do on my v-neck raglan sweater. I could have easily finished it last night but I got caught up reading Debbie Stoller's new book while I was cooking dinner and never got back to knitting. No matter, I can easily finish it up tonight. And then .... then I'm going to make an adorable little top and skirt set for a friend's little girl. It's from Studio Knits, only instead of having the top green and the bottom blue, she wants the top pink and the bottom lavender. So it's not going to look much like a flower, really. But I'm sure it'll be cute. I wanted to make it with a cotton/acrylic blend yarn but when I tried to order it they were out of the colors I needed. My friend is, by her admission, not much of a hand washer so this thing needs to be machine washable. Off to my LYS I went and on their superwash wall the only two yarns that would make gauge were Cashsoft DK and Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino Aran, which didn't have the right pink. So I bought the Cashsoft. Hopefully I won't need all that I bought and can return a couple skeins.

I got all of the little left over sticky bits off my legs today and have one more appointment with the doctor in a couple weeks for a few injections. I can go back to the gym again! yay!! I can use the elliptical trainer but won't be able to run for 3 weeks after the injections which will put me into the second week of April. But as long as I can use the Precor I can get cardio. Plus I can ride my bike and, well IF I could swim, I could swim. So I ordered "Sock Soar on Two Circular Needles" yesterday because I decided I wanted to make some socks to wear with shorts this spring and summer. As if I need another obsession. Don't even think it. I know. But it looks like fun and it would be a way to use up some of that recycled cashmere.