Pi anyone?

So I've had my eye on Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi Shawl for a while now, but it wasn't until I bumped into someone (a new friend!) on Ravelry that I decided to jump off and do it. She had stumbled upon someone who varied EZ's increases to 4 simple increases EVERY round. I'm knitting EZ's Pi in st st with 4 increases every round (see the pretty increase spirals)!

I also opted out of EZ's start method instead I used a simple join in the round. I like the hole. What can I say! This is such a very addictive pattern to work up. I have a really hard time stopping. I'm also using it to bust through stash. There's a little bit of everything in here.

In other news, I designed my first sweater -- for a dog. This time, I think the recipient dog will be more appreciative than my own yarn-chewing Schnoodle. I knit it top down in one piece, and while it's a very basic dog sweater, I'm very very proud of the fit and the engineering that I did. I don't have any pics of the dog wearing the sweater yet, but here's some of the FO.

I measured the dog's neck, multiplied that by my gauge, cast on, joined in the round, and knit a long turtleneck. Then I made some increases. When I got to the leg holes, I worked the piece flat in two pieces, binding off two stitches for each leg. After the leg holes were the desired length, I joined the two flat pieces and knit in the round a bit longer for the stomach before binding off and working the back flat, ending in 2x2 rib. See?

Back to Pi...

Christmas 'o Christmas

Here I sit, working on my second one-skein project of the day. The first was a hat knit from some old bulky stash -- it's remains are becoming a dog sweater for a dog friend who needs a sweater (no, not my yarn-chewing, unappreciative fluff of Schnoodle).

I'm thinking about Christmas, the boys are overflowing with excitement. Eli has tried to convince me that he can sleep with his eyes open on Christmas Eve despite my telling him that Santa just won't come until everyone is asleep.

Tomorrow we feast - Cuban style. Pork tenderloin, frijoli negros, flancito. The presents are wrapped, Santa is ready, and as I try to reflect a bit on the year behind me and the new year approaching, I can't say anything better or more eloquently than my pal mamacate said it.

In my early 30's we were 5 years into trying to start our family. I relied on angel friends (including mamacate) through those years. On December 18 of this month, I turned 40, and we are now 8 years into parenthood -- a family bursting at the seams with 3 busy boys. A healthy household with more blessings than we can count. May I live intentionally, embrace each moment instead of pushing through it. Celebrate the magic and not-so-magic all around and live it -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- fully and with great intention.

Ditto Cate, ditto!!!

Some things you don't know about me

1. I used to work a switch board
2. There were 125 in my high school graduating class
3. I've seen James Taylor in concert 9 times
4. I have freckles
5. I want to vacation with my family in an RV
6. I want to be a dolphin trainer "when I grow up"
7. I'm afraid of horses
8. Cindy Sue and I sat through Ferris Bueller's Day Off twice (once without paying) when we were in high school (I did a lot more crazy things than this in college)
9. I inhaled; I didn't like it
10. I'm a control freak (see #9)
11. I want to go to the Olympic games in Canada
12. I love black comedies (War of the Roses is one of my favorites)
13. My mother dated one of President Jimmy Carter's secret service agents
14. Everyone in my family is Republican; I'm not
15. My brother and I used to make TV and radio commercials
16. I can't twirl my "r's"
17. I can't play percussion anything but I can dance a hole in the ground
18. I love beer (the darker the better)
19. I can parallel park like a pro
20. The Glass Castle is one of my favorite books
21. I used to read a lot before I learned to knit
22. I believe I'm still a size 10
23. I want to live in a snowy climate
24. I own a shortwave radio
25. I collect Fiestaware

Knitting magic

So I'm knitting on the project-from-hell that I can't blog about, but let's just say that I kicked some serious knitting butt last night. I swear it took me three hours and two phone calls (thanks L & J) but it turned out that I was basically freaking myself out for no reason. I kicked that pattern's arse!

Lastly, since I can't show you the project, I thought I'd show you my own little Alice Cooper:



This is one of my 5 y.o. twins who decided to play with my mascara. I should win an Academy Award for maintaining a stern mommy face while I took this picture! Admit it, you'd have taken the pic too -- he was just so pretty!!!! LOL!

Happy hump day friends!

I get by with a little help from my friends...

So even I the lover of all things st st in the round has begun to get tired of the Portland Sweater. Not only that, but in my lovely little fantasy world I'm still a size 10 and thought that trying the sweater on while still on the needles would be a good idea.

I'm a buffoon.

I managed to slip no less than 15 to 20 stitches off the needles in this endeavor...and I did this not once but TWICE.

I picked them back up, realized that I had a fuzzy mess right IN FRONT of the sweater and was beginning to develop a bad attitude toward the sweater. Then my angel friend came by. I'd tell you who she is but she's shy. There's even a pic of her in a previous blog entry but I didn't identify her because she's shy. She may be shy, but she is one of those knitting marvels who LOVES to fix knitting mistakes. She actually finds them soothing and challenging.

Folks, there are 252 stitches on this freakin' sweater and SHE sat down for at least and hour and fixed tiny little twisted stitches and floaters and did it HAPPILY! Of course, I felt like a complete idiot for not being that kind of knitter...but I'm just not. If I started getting hung up on (what I think are) tiny mistakes then knitting isn't fun for me. OH I love my friend.

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Why I knit

Let me tell you a little about Joyce Sue. She's my grandmama, and she's my heart. I love her to the moon and back. My little brother and I made wonderfully magic memories during visits to her north Texas home when we were kids. She's "a tough 'ol bird." She has a laugh that is beyond contagious and a sense of humor that I'm jealous as hell that I didn't inherit. Did I also mention that she's a tough 'ol bird who has lived a life that would make one hell of an entertaining novel?

Grandmama has congestive heart failure and is living nothing short of 9 lives -- even according to her own physician. There's been more moments of panic, sorrow, and tears than I can recount followed by moments of joy, celebration, and laughter at her miraculous recoveries. God must be keeping her around a bit longer so she can really do something special. God's a pretty smart 'ol gal herself!

Grandmama lives with my mom and step-dad ("Pop") in the "west wing" of their house. The west wing is a recent addition to their 1950's ranch that includes a sitting area, handicap accessible restroom, and two bedrooms. Mom cares not only for Grandmama but for her MIL, Grandma Bonnie. (Translation: jewels in Mom's crown!)

So today the boys and I loaded up and drove 1 hr. to visit Mom, Grandmama, and Grandma Bonnie. Our birthday present to Grandmama was this pair of socks:

Hitch in the gitty-up: Grandmama walks with a walker (when she's not in a wheel chair) and these socks will cause her to slip and fall if she's wearing them without with shoes. However, I knew Grandmama would love them, so I gave them to her, and while I was there, I used puffy paint to paint traction spots on the soles of them.

Grandmama was mortified at the thought of painting on handmade socks, but I knit them for her to wear not admire. I know she is thrilled knowing that she can now wear them without breaking her neck (or hip, or arm, or leg).

I took Grandmama's picture with the traction-spotted socks. She said: "I'm not photogenic at all and I don't care if I look ugly, just don't make me look dumb." I think you will agree that she looks anything BUT dumb and she's certainly radiating beauty, eh?

Did I mention that I love my grandmama to the moon and back?

This is why I knit. I don't knit for my things to sit in a drawer or closet going unused. I knit for the people I love to enjoy.

I love you Flossie!

Kicking arse and taking names

I'm still totally totally digging the Portland sweater...although since I'm knitting it with Plymouth yarn I catch myself calling it the Plymouth sweater. I'm a little more than half done with the second sleeve. Only regret so far: that I didn't do something different with the cuff -- maybe more garter stitch. It's rolling up a bit, but I haven't blocked it yet so I'm optimistic.





Pretty 'eh? I don't know if it's gutless or wise but I decided not to bind off the first sleeve yet as I'm not convinced the length will work. Words cannot express how much I love this yarn (Plymouth Royal Silk Merino). It's got the most beautiful sheen and drape and the color (gasp)! It's just wonderful.

The problem is that with this much stockinette in the round I haven't done jack with my socks...but the sock yarn keeps arriving.



See what I mean?


It's mostly DK as I find myself still in instant gratification mode when it comes to socks. Want some, go to Etsy. I love what I've bought so far -- check out yarnmagnet, yarnchef, gypsyknits, and squoosh. I love my fingering weight yarns in theory (remember my love affair with the Jitterbug?) but I just marvel at knitting a sock in 2 days in DK weight...plus the thicker socks seem sturdier to me.

I'm fantasizing about finishing the Portland sweater this weekend, and I'll have about 3-4 hours of prime knitting time while DH and I watch OU beat the hell out of Texas in football.

Boomer Sooner!