Whew! What a weekend! I photographed a birthday party Friday afternoon then hopped a train to Philly. When I got there, since G was working all day Friday and Friday night, I joined my sister and the kids at an elementary school carnival. No rides, just lots of games and about a zillion kids hopped up on cotton candy. CRAZY!

Saturday morning I lounged around and then G and I had babysitting duty. We watched the baby while the rest of the family went to see The Lion King. We ended up in Rittenhouse Park, with my brother, and I was looking for all those crazy Philly KIPers, but I couldn’t find any. We got there around 3 – I guess everyone had left by then. We had a fun time pointing at planes and dogs and squirrels and birds and eating applesauce and then the rest of the family met up with us.

G and I had adult time at dinner that night – at Pod. Eh. The service sucked – well – not sucked really, but we had 9:30 reservations and they didn’t seat us until after 10. Okay. Fine. I understand that you can’t control how fast people eat and all and everyone else with reservations was waiting as well – BUT this couple came in, a couple that can only be described as acid washed – nuff said – and they were all kissy and huggy with pretty much everyone from the hostesses to the bus boys and guess who didn’t have to wait long for a table? And then got a PRIME table? And then guess who got seated at a dirty table so that the guy could clean it off right into my lap and I had the smell of moldy cleaning fluid in my nose the whole time? I actually yelled at the hostess. I said you sat us a half hour after our reservation but you couldn’t wait the five minutes to set up the table? They attempted to take care of us with a free appetizer and free dessert – which was GOOD. They did the right thing, but it was almost too much and they fucked up other parts of the order and in the end I wouldn’t waste my time again. The food was decent, but I’m sure there’s better out there. So much for the amazing Stephen Starr.

Besides the kids and hanging with my man, the best part of the weekend was right outside my hotel window:

Sunday was the Philadelphia International Championship, which went right by our hotel at Logan Circle. Very cool! Check out that Peleton! The whole time I was snapping away I was thinking of our Claudia – who’s riding for MS. Have you donated over there yet? I know I’ve been asking you for money nonstop, but Claudia’s raising for an extremely good cause, so if you can’t give here – give there. Or give to both. That’s what I’ve done. I matched my Heifer donation with a donation to fight MS. Thank you!

There was KNITTING TOO! Look what I did!

Two more squares!! Nona asked for a real life progress shot so here you go:

I’ve finished NINE completely and I’m already well into No. 10. I LOVE THIS PROJECT! I’m not sure how I’m going to put all the squares together – I’m going to wait for input from The Master. Oh and for all those asking about the yarn – it’s Socks That Rock, heavyweight version, in Limestone (light), Jade (medium) and Beryl (dark.) I’m getting lots of questions and comments about this blanket and seems like you all love it as much as I do so I thought, you guessed it, time for a KNIT-A-LONG. (You know, because I didn’t learn my lesson from the last one.)

I’m still working out the details on how I’m going to do this and I’m pretty preoccupied right now with Spin Out stuff, so let’s say it’ll have a July 1st opening. Details to come! Watch out for it!

And finally, I was over at Six and A Half Stitches where there was some talk of piles. That’s one of my favorite things about my log cabin squares – feeling the heft of the piles – the way they line up or don’t line up – the alternate colors peeking through. Here is my pile:

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

I’m back with my squares again and that makes me very happy. Although this batch of yarn is a wee bit different than the first batch. I’m trying very very hard to suppress the urge to reknit the first 7 squares. I think, in the end, the differences will be okay because it will make the blanket look even more vintagy. The new yarn is a bit brighter and the color more uneven than the first batch, so it’ll look like the blanket aged, you know, under a sundrenched window by the ocean, folded up so that some parts faded and some parts didn’t. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. I’ll finish what’s left and then decide if the color differences are too jarring. Here’s where I am in my progress:

I’m hoping the last squares will go kind of quick. I’m excited to move onto the next phase of putting this all together.

G and I are off again this weekend. To Philadelphia – but with a twist. G has to go down today for work and I’m following tonight – I have a birthday party to shoot this morning – and we’ll be staying at a posh hotel for the weekend. I will see the kids too, but it’ll be more of an adult themed weekend.

Have a great one everybody!
L, C

It’s like a disease really. I can’t stop thinking about squares. Which is kind of funny because Ann and I are always having the discussion about how we’re not really square people. (Knitting wise – not personality wise. If it’s a personality thing well I’m so square I’m a freaking circle.) Whenever there’s a call out for blanket squares or what not – we’d rather send money. It’s a selfish thing admittedly and if that makes you shake your head and run the other way that’s okay, but that’s who I am. Even if it wasn’t on the quiz. Anyway – here I am OBSESSED with squares. I finished another one last night:

And here are my two squares together:

Oh my GOD I can’t stand how excited I am about this!!! I’ve already added another series of squares because I can’t believe I forgot the TRADITIONAL log cabin layout. I was going through The Bible again last night and realized it was absolutely NECESSARY to the blanket.

Do you think it’s bad if the blanket itself is not square-ish but rectangular? Ann wanted to know how I live with myself with these obsessions rolling around in my head and I told her it’s not easy being green me. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself!) But seriously, what do you think? Part of me thinks there NEEDS to be three of each square and that I can’t leave out any of the pattern combinations – but another part of me is like it should be SQUARE! Blankets can be rectangular right? And a square IS a rectangle right?

I ordered more yarn from Tina but I have to say I’m EXTREMELY pleased with how the yarn is knitting up and how far it’s going.

There you see the Beryl ball (dark green) compared to the Jade ball. Having completed the square that is pretty much all Beryl I still have a decent amount left. The heavyweight skeins are 350 yds. and I’m definitely satisfied. I think I can get at least a couple more squares out of the Beryl – especially if I do the ones that don’t have as much Beryl in them. Maybe even four then. I’m taking these squares with me on vacation tomorrow (and a sock or two) and I can’t wait to see what I come back with! Two down – ten more to go!!! WHO KNEW garter stitch could be so much fun!?

On to more serious stuff: CONGRATULATIONS!

They won the Mnemonic contest. Cece was the random winner. Her entry was: Xylophonists aways carry various mallets. Which is actually quite true. And Steph’s entry was: Can Victor Xerox my ass? I don’t know why but this just totally cracks me up! There were other a bunch of other xerox my ass jokes, but for some reason this was it for me. Georgie laughed too, so that’s a two thumbs up! Thanks everyone for playing! You were great!

And in case you didn’t win that one – here’s ANOTHER CONTEST for you!
When I was over at Kay’s the other day and I was telling her about the contest I had for the book and how the winners were so happy she said HEY! GIVE AWAY ANOTHER ONE! So I am.

Check this out! It’s the MDK PEACHES & CREME 12 PACK!

Fiesta Ombre/Peacock Sunburst/Teal Ombre

Lemon-Lime/ Apple Green Light Green /Pink Lemonade

Daisy Ombre/ Faded Denim White/Shaded Denim

Apparently, Peaches & Creme comes in 4 Packs – but they’re all the same – they don’t mix up colors in the packs. So Ann and Kay suggested to them that they might want to put together a package of various colors that appear in the book – and there you have the MDK 12 Pack. (To get your own t12 pack, assuming you don’t win here, you can call the good people at Peaches & Creme and ASK FOR IT! YAY!)

Okay. How do you win the MDK book and 12 Pack? (By the way – the book is NOT SIGNED!) It’s easy! Here is a link to the Peaches & Creme colorways. Now I want you to make up your own! THE NAME HAS TO HAVE OMBRE in it because I think that is just so silly. What’s an ombre? So come up with your own colorway – end it in ombre and DESCRIBE THE COLORS! Leave the answers in the comments and I’ll pick my favorite ten – then I’ll consult with Ann and Kay, Peaches & Creme connoisseurs, to pick a winner. I’m off on vacation until Wednesday, so I’ll keep the comments open until 11:59 PM EST on 5/17/06. BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN! (One entry per person please.)

I’m not sure how much I’ll be blogging while I’m away, but I’m hoping to come back with an I and a J! AND I will have SUPER HUGE NEWS ABOUT THE SPIN OUT! Have a great weekend!

Cause I’m living in a log cabin. DAYUM! When you guys like something you really like something. I’d hate to see what you’re like if you DIDN’T like something! 😉 I’m here today to disappoint (almost) all of you! YAY! No really. That square I showed you was a swatch, so to speak. I have some really grand ideas involving log cabins, but I wasn’t certain (still not totally) that it would work out. So yesterday I went to sit at the feet of the master and I wanted to make sure I had done my homework. I wanted to prove that I could log cabin. It’s going to come in really handy later on. What I didn’t count on was that I would fall down a deep deep deep dark hole and never want to come out. Seriously. This shit’s CRAZZZEEE!

So I’m sitting on the PATH train yesterday knitting along and my mind is going nuts. Well, more nuts than usual. And no, not about the fact that the guy next to me on the death trap they call a subway smells or the fact that at the other end of the car someone is singing so loudly my ears are ringing or that the driver can’t take a corner and I’m being knocked into the pole every five seconds while I’m trying to knit. NO!! NONE OF THAT! I was going nuts planning out my newest obsession project!

Let’s backtrack a minute. One of my favorite, favorite parts of MDK is the part where Kay talks about being confronted with SO MANY POSSIBILITIES – possibilities of color, of shape, of texture that your brain kind of freezes on the spot because so much choice can be paralyzing. So she makes rules for herself and then lets herself go nuts WITHIN the parameters set by those rules. This being my first log cabin and all and my being extraordinarily fortunate to have lots and lots of amazing choices, I’ve decided to stick with the first three colors I chose.

I’m not really a green person, but this is May. (Remember that – it might be on another quiz. You guys are pathetic!) And I really like the way these three colors play together and I think it will be a good test for logcabinning (which, by the way Ann, is so too a word!) Here’s the plan so far:

I’ve got three different types of squares – log cabin, near solid and a courthouse step. My plan is to alternate where the darks and lights go for a total of three square in three series for nine squares. My first square measures about 10″x10.5″ unblocked, so I’m thinking like a crib blanket type size. I have no idea how I’m going to put the squares together but I can guarantee that Kay will be involved. ETA: This picture does not show the actual layout of the squares. That will take some hard thought and a kind of Sudoku like puzzle mentality – each row will have to have one of each series and no square will have the same color border touching. Can I do it?

I’ve started on one of the semi-solid squares. Kim (of the FANTASTIC sockapaloooza socks) asked what my gauge was with size 5s and Heavyweight STR and I’d tell you Kim if I could find one of the fourteen tape measures I have in the house, but I can’t so I won’t. (Fucking house. Fucking ME! GET ORGANIZED!!!) But Kathy in Juneau (Feel good MAX!) asked what the back of the square looks like and with that I’m happy to oblige (I CAN find the camera!)

Not so bad. I’m just loving the variations in color. The pictures DO NOT do the yarn justice.

Thanks so much for all your support of my projects. Sometimes I get carried away (no really?) and it’s nice to know I’m not alone. All though I fear this might be the end of socks. Squares are very portable.

Click on the extended entry for yarn information.

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