This is a Public Apology

to Vicki. I promise, the sheets and towels will be clean. The rest of the house, not so much. I started the bathrooms this morning and got rid of the mold (TILEX is the BOMB!) and used some goofy powder stuff that foams up in the toilets. But the floors? NO. The counters? NO. The kitchen? NO. Vaccuuming? NO. BUT….

THE ALMOST EVERYDAY CARDIGAN

IS FINISHED!


And when I say finished, I mean FINISHED!
Ends woven in and everything!


Georgie was kind enough to take pictures of me in my nice shiny new cardie (which he proclaimed was so perfect it was scary – tried to tell me he didn’t think I knit it – but I was like YOU WATCHED ME KNIT IT!) but before we get to that, let’s have the details.

Yarn: Manos. I think the colorway is called FLAME. It’s #115. I used US #7/8 Addis (7s for the ribbing and buttonbands.) Nine skeins. I actually bought two more because I was afraid that I was going to run out, but I didn’t. So now I have two skeins to return.

Pattern: I started out with the Peace Fleece Everyday Cardigan pattern but quickly learned it has a lot of things wrong with it (I LOVE knitbloggers!) So I switched to the modified drop shoulder in Ann Budd’s book. Did lots of calulations on my own (I HATE math!) since my gauge was about 4.5 stitches to the inch. I fudged the size somewhere between 40″ and 44″. I don’t know how it all worked out, but the fit is PERFECT. It’s nice and baggy which I wanted, but not too big at all. It fits fine buttoned up (no pulling across my boobs.) The shoulders are dropped, but not too dropped. The length is great in both the body and the arms. If I had to recreate this I don’t know if I could. And I worried the whole time it wouldn’t fit.

Lots of firsts for me with this sweater:

– I used the spit join method for incorporating new skeins, which was nice, although occasionally I wished I had a mint or something before hand. And it still seemed like I had a ton of ends. Go figure.

– I knit the back and fronts in the round and then split for the arms and shoulders. I will DEFINITELY do this again – in fact, I’ll be doing it with my Guilt-A-Long Dad sweater if I ever get it charted. I like seaming though, so it’s not that, but still.

– I did a modified 3-needle bind off that Margene was so kind to share with me. I love my shoulder seams and will forever do it this way. I didn’t get to do short-row shoulder shaping, but I intend to very soon. No more stair-steps for me!

– I did my first button holes! I used Nancie Wiseman‘s revised one row buttonhole and I think it looks fantastic. She has you cast on an extra three stitches instead of one extra when casting back on. When you do the next row, you do a k2tog (or p2tog) and ssk (or ssp) with the extra stitches at both ends of the buttonhole. It tightened things up very nicely – I could tell since the first three times I did the button hole band I DIDN’T do it this way. Highly recommend it!

I think that’s about it for the new stuff. A very, very satisfying project. It took me less than a month to do. Maybe 2.5 weeks? I have to go back and look. I got EXACTLY what I wanted. And I used STASH! Half the yarn for this sweater was bought in NJ and the other half in Boston almost a year ago. Yeah for clearing out some stash!

Here’s the photo shoot – I let G use the GOOD camera and I think we were both a bit nervous. We were both getting into it towards the end (he liked the fast shutter) and he has a new appreciation for my work, since I had the flash and bracket on the camera and that sucker is HEAVY! Enjoy the pictures!


Love the perspective of this picture – my bookcases look so tall!
They do go to the ceiling, but my ceilings aren’t that high.



G likes this picture the best.
Probably because my ass is facing the camera.



My boobs are NOT that saggy!
I mean, they’re not passing any pencil tests, but still!



My attempt at Whack Dancing!
I look like a stoned nerd.

There you have it folks! Look for it at Rhinebeck. I don’t care if it’s ninety freakin’ degrees. I’ll have it on!

Clean Feet

for Mim!


Fresh out of the shower! Happy Blogiversary Mim! Mim is asking for pictures of feet for a contest – go enter – you have until Midnight tonight. (But Katy, please refrain from showing your freaky bumpless feet yet again!)

Now yesterday, buried among the Junior Caramel accolades and AEC woes, was a contest of my own. Barbara was my 3000th comment! YAY! She will get an extra special something from Rhinebeck. My own blogiversary is this month – so expect another contest toward that day, which I think is somewhere around the last week.

I woke up yesterday morning – I don’t know what time – to find that sometime in the night the power went off. My husband has a thing about time – not being early or anything – in fact he’s frequently late – he just has a thing about clocks and time. All the clocks in our house (of which there are many) are set to atomic time or nuclear time or whatever kind of time is the most accurate BEST time. So when the power goes out and the clocks all over the house are blinking, G can go a little bit nutty. But of course this was discovered in the morning and things were already a bit hectic (read late for work) so he didn’t fix any of the clocks. I’m a bit reluctant to fix them myself because god forbid I don’t set them right, but I couldn’t stand the blinking.

Last night I was in bed finishing up the buttonhole band on AEC when all of a sudden everything flashes off. I’m sitting in the dark. Georgie and I call to each other in the apartment – he’s cursing up a storm because he had just spent an hour on the computer and lost everything – and he just finished FIXING ALL THE CLOCKS!!!!! It was about 11:30 I think. I finished up the button hole by flashlight and lemon verbena candlelight. It doesn’t matter though – it needs to be ripped. The button holes are too big. I started with four stitches, went to six, ended up with five. They need to be four. They should be a bit tight right? Anyway, back to the clocks. We went to sleep eventually – isn’t it funny how quiet things are with no electricity? – and when we woke up the power was back and the CLOCKS ARE ALL BLINKING AGAIN! So distracting.

As soon as I finish this, I’m going to put on my gas mask, spray every surface of my house with Tilex, and rip and finish my button hole band. Then sew on the sleeve. Question – what’s the best thread to use to sew on buttons – regular sewing thread is too thin right? Do you need something like needlepoint thread? The yarn is too thick I think, unless I find one of those really thin pieces.

Before I forget!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEDDY!



Love,
Sistah C

Triangles. Two. Blue.

Look. I’m not a doctor. I don’t even pretend to play one on this blog. And I don’t know anything about tinctures or mother’s with warts or garden remedies and such stuff like some people. All I know is that since Wednesday, when my wrist/hand was hurting really bad, I’ve eaten no less that three boxes of Junior Caramels. And today, well, today my wrist/arm feels good as new!!! I’m not saying that Junior Caramels are a miracle cure or anything. Maybe it was the box of Skittles gum I ate like candy because hello if it has the same consistency as regular Skittles how can you call it gum? It could have been the Twizzlers chews or the Entemman’s Brownie things (can you say PMS?) but I’m sticking with the Junior Caramels. I believe! I believe!

So, yeah. I don’t know what to think. Saturday I was all set to call the doctor and make an appointment for MRIs and stuff. A little bit of Advil. A little bit of Aspercreme. Some icing. And by yesterday afternoon I barely felt a thing. The last couple of nights I didn’t sleep with the brace and today it feels no better or no worse than my right hand. Which is good. (Not great, but good.)

I did knit this weekend. Whatever. I did what I had to do. I finished the sleeve on the Almost Everyday Cardigan, as well as the neckline (twice) and the buttonband (four times.) I’m not entirely happy with it. I think it’s got too much of a Nehru look to it. If I were to do it again (which I’m NOT) I would make the neckline a bit deeper. I also bought buttons, but I’m not sure about them either. After two hours at Tender Buttons on Saturday basically feeling like I’d never knit again, I left with some buttons. I started out with all these red buttons and then I asked the store clerk for advice and she told me absolutely not, stay away from red. So I went with a distressed brown black button. Opinions please. Just don’t tell me the buttonband looks like it’s all wrong. I started out with 74 stitches and ended up with 106. I have 143 rows to deal with – I may be one or two stitches short, but I used a calculator and I think it works now. Please, please don’t tell me it doesn’t.


I’m thinking it’s not so boxy on. Opinions welcome. Honesty appreciated. The bloom’s off the rose, so to speak.

BUT, there are better projects on the horizon!

Triangles. Two. Blue.

You may remember I ordered a bunch of Oat Couture blanket patterns after seeing Grumperina‘s Curlicue Blanket in action. Well, they came in the mail two weeks ago and when I saw the Prairie Blanket it was epiphany time. As some of you know, my good friend Jen is having a baby, a boy, around Thanksgiving. I’ve been thinking on what to do/get for her. We met on a fertility site, but our friendship quickly turned to knitting. So I wanted to do something knitterly for her. Or I could take pictures of her baby. But I figured I was probably going to do that anyway. And then I saw the pattern and I knew. It would be done in Zara. Of that I was certain. And I wouldn’t tell her about it. It would be a secret!

I order the yarn (color #1481 – a denim heather) and I wait. I tell a couple of people about it, but I say nothing to Jen. I’m so excited. It’s going to be perfect and she’s going to love it.

And then she comes over to knit. She calls me to tell me she’s coming and before we get off the phone she says, “Hey. Did you ever get those blanket patterns?” I panic. I’m an AWFUL liar. I stammer out a no, sure she knows. I rush around, hiding the patterns. I can’t tell her. I’ll ruin the surprise.

She walks in the door and even before she’s through I’m saying, I lied, I lied, I have the patterns, but you can’t use it because I’m surprising you! I am SO PATHETIC. She laughed of course and was very appreciative and the best part is that I can now blog about it.


How freaking beautiful is that? Such a wonderful pattern. I just started the center section so it’s just knit knit knit on from here. I made another baby blanket with Zara and I’ve forgotten how completely luxurious this yarn is. I NEED to make a garment with it. I want to wrap myself in it and go to sleep. I hope you love it Jen! Mwah!

What’s the second blue triangle you ask? Well, I started another shawl as well. I started this a couple of weeks ago and I’m up to row 34. There are 198 rows. I’m not rushing. 😉 But I like it!


The first picture shows the color better, the second shows the pattern better. This is Robert Powell’s “Knitted Triangular Lace Shawl with Undulating Edgings Design 106,” available as a kit from Catherine Knits. (Fabulous pattern title, don’t you think? I’m calling it Powell 106 for the intrigue factor.) I’m using some more Twinkletoes Yarn (in Denim Multi) instead of the Jamieson & Smith that came in th
e kit. So far so good. It’s a garter stitch shawl (knit the odd rows) which I’m a little unsure about, but I like the pattern. It looks really nice all stretched out. I haven’t gotten to the big diamonds yet.

LOTS and lots of cleaning. And maybe a buttonhole band on the AEC. Anyone have any favorite buttonholes? Now’s your chance to pipe in. Oh and I’m not promising anything, but today could very well be the day that I hit a nice big round number in my comments. A prize, a special prize from Rhinebeck, to the person who hits that number.

Frankly my dear…

my arm/hand/wrist might not be so bad. Firstly, let me say thank you for all the good wishes! Secondly, Junior Caramels might just be the BEST caramel candy ever. And I love me some caramel. Think Milk Duds, but softer, not so chewy. Sort of just the right amount of chewy without hurting your teeth. I’d encourage you all to run right out and buy some.

Now before anyone goes and starts yelling at me, I did knit yesterday. BUT, I wore my brace while I knit and honestly, it doesn’t hurt to knit. I was good though and I only finished one set of repeats and then STOPPED. I stopped myself from knitting. It’s the first time that ever happened. Especially when I could’ve gone on. And afterward I iced my hand/wrist/arm. To the point where the ice actually feels hot. You know what I mean? G says it doesn’t work unless it gets like that. And I slept with the brace on and it doesn’t seem to be so bad today. It’s definitely NOT worse. Now my back – well – that’s another story.

I’m going to work on my sleeve slowly but surely. I’m not going to overdo it. I’m setting goals for myself and I will try to get through those goals – with the brace – with the icing – and we’ll see how it goes.

Celebrity Sighting!

Georgie and I went out to dinner last night with our friend Jeff, who was in town from Montana. Jeff makes watches – beautiful gorgeous handcrafted timepieces. I tried on one last night that was fully engraved and had little sapphires all around. Oh my god! I told Georgie it matched my wedding band. He just laughed because I have like fifteen watches and I never wear any of them.

Anyway, we went out to dinner with Jeff to Nam. Vietnamese food in Tribeca. It was knock your socks off good. The BBQ Pork especially. So we’re eating and laughing and talking and Georgie leans over to me and says hey that girl looks like Scarlett Johansson. Now, I’m pretty good at picking out the stars. My credo – if a person looks so much like a celebrity that you immediately think to yourself – wow, that person really looks like *insert Star name*, then 9 times out of 10 it IS that star. People don’t look THAT much like other people. So he says, hey that looks like SJ and I turn to look and say, it IS SJ. So we’re eating a couple tables away from Scarlett and both my husband and my friend are arguing over who had sex with her first (you know in that high school boy way – I did her. No I did her first.) Me, I’m just rolling my eyes until they’re permanently stuck in the back of my head. (Although I’m might’ve done her myself. 😉 )

So we eat dinner. And every now and again I look over at SJ’s table. I mean, how could I not, right? Well, at one point I look over and see a big bug crawling up the side of the wall next to Scarlett. Instead of freaking out, because really a big bug on the wall in a NYC restaurant can only mean one thing and I’m not talking ants here, I lean over and tell G, hey, there’s a big bug crawling up the wall next to Scarlett. He kind of ignores me. He’s not real fond of bugs.

But next thing you know, Scarlett’s kind of calling really loudly, “Sir, sir, SIR! There’s a big cockroach that just crawled under the table!” Georgie said she was covering her face with her hand so she didn’t have to look at it. Nam is not a big restaurant. Everybody turned around and looked. The woman at the table in front of her, clearly out for a birthday dinner (as evidenced by the candle in her desert) was HORRIFIED. Anyway. The proprietors didn’t really do anything but move Scarlett and the woman she was with to another table. It was pretty funny, to be honest. Although I did feel bad for Scarlett. I mean, she must have been pretty freaked out by the bug to call that much attention to herself. I told G we should call Page Six and he thought we’d totally get it in, but I decided to blog about it instead.

We stayed and ate desert. It was a fabulous meal. I’d recommend the place highly. Oh and Scarlett – she’s pretty damn pretty in real life too.

Pain in The Freakin’….

The dream is over:

But at least I’ve got some good pain relief:

I don’t know. I’ve decided I’m not going to push on the Almost Everyday Cardigan for Rhinebeck. As much as that devastates me. I’d rather it not be ready, than not be able to knit at all. Although morning might not be a good time to evaluate these things. My hand hurt much more when I woke up this morning than it did all day yesterday (not to mention my back.) G says it’s because everything gets stiff overnight and warm during the day. So I’ve got this little brace on (I actually switched out the one in the picture above to a different one.) G is so good when it comes to injuries. Well, unfortunately, he’s got A LOT of experience. We went to the drug store last night and I tried on a million different braces and he had me get all the ones I liked, including one that’s a hot and cold wrap. So I’m going to wear the brace while I’m at the computer and when I attempt to knit and we’ll see how it goes. If I’m in pain – that’s it. I’m done. Thanks everyone for the advice and exercises. I’m so SAD!

I am going to Purl today to buy that extra hank (or two – yes I’m paranoid) of Manos just in case I can get the sweater done. JUST IN CASE! And I’ll see if I can get buttons this week – maybe today, we’ll see.

Feel bad for me. Feel very, very bad for me. 😉

There’s A Little Bit of Justice in the World….

Remember this post (at the bottom)? Well, not a moment to soon:

NBC said this Friday’s airing of the new fertility clinic drama, “Inconceivable,” was being yanked in favor of a “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” rerun. It’s not officially a cancellation, but given that only 4.5 million people saw “Inconceivable” last week, its prospects are dim.

Full AP article here.

The Dream Police

I can’t get the Cheap Trick song out of my head. Ever since I told G about my dream this morning – it’s been going round and round. So, in my dream, I’m in a play. I’m Tevye’s wife. And people are coming from everywhere to see this play. It’s at camp. Maybe. But it’s outside and there are lots of cars and people are walking up a hill and it seems like camp and my sister’s there and G maybe and this guy from high school who always shows up in my dreams. Anyway. I’m Tevye’s wife in the play except no one gave me a script. And we’re about to go on. And I keep trying to tell everyone that NO ONE GAVE ME A SCRIPT. And I think that maybe my character only has like one line (where she screams Tevye! Tevye! over and over) but no, she’s got lots of lines and NO ONE GAVE ME A SCRIPT. So I’m going to fudge it, and it seems that my character sits down a lot so maybe she can be sitting at the table sewing (knitting?) and read the lines like that? The guy from high school hands me a script only it’s been copied and reduced like a million times and I can barely read it and I’m running around looking for a highlighter because maybe if I highlight my lines I’ll be able to read them. And then I woke up.

What do you think? Maybe I’m feeling a bit unprepared for class tonight? 😉

(Hmmm. Interesting. I think I might have the connections here – I dreamed about Fiddler because it’s the holidays and I thought I was Tevye’s wife because on Gilmore Girls last night they kept playing the whole Rosie O’Donnell mentally challenged getting on the bus thing. Uck. I need to shut the TV off.)

My walk yesterday was very cathartic. I cried and cried but threw my regrets in the water with the crumbs. It’s been a tough year, but I’m moving past things and hopefully becoming more emotionally prepared to make some tough decisions. Cryptic, no? Can’t give away all my secrets! I got some good work done too so after a mid-morning panic I was feeling a bit better.

I did something to my left hand/wrist. I don’t really think it’s my wrist, well, mainly because my wrist doesn’t hurt. My hand hurts, in the middle, but only when I drop my hand down – like if I keep my wrist straight and my hand is at a right angle. G thinks I might have strained a tendon or something. Which is weird because I’m very right dominant. And I’m a thrower. So maybe I was holding the needles too tight? Also, I do this weird thing (well, maybe not so weird, but Jen‘s pointed it out to me so maybe a little weird) where I push the left needle down with my first finger on my left hand when moving the stitch off. I don’t know why I do it, but that’s how I knit. Not every stitch, but most stitches. So yesterday I didn’t knit at all (I’m not counting the 24 stitch shoulder bind offs) and the day before I barely knit. Today I probably won’t knit. I’m going to go out and buy one of those wrist wraps because I need to knit. I need to knit now because I’m very, very anxious to finish….


The sleeve fits! And the body fits! And it FITS! (Excuse the cut off heads and the pajamas. I was going to show myself all fresh faced just out of bed but I don’t have time for that much photoshopping right now. I’m vain. Sue me.) The sweater with only one arm even got the patented “that’s your best yet!” from G-Love. (I swear he’s worse than the mother of a teenage girl – “You look lovely honey! No one will notice that pimple and your butt does not look fat! You’re beautiful!”)

Here are some more detail pictures:

The sleeve join – you can see that it’s a bit wonky at the armscye, but that’s what you get with weird increases and a modified drop shoulder. (Read Cassie’s entry today on why it’s better to finish than be perfect.)

And the shoulder seams (thanks Margene! It looks good, no?)

And last but not least, the sleeve seam:

Overall, I’m VERY happy. But there’s still a lot to do if I’m going to wear it next week. I told G is was going to be my Rhinebeck uniform so this way everyone would know me because they’d seen it on my blog. I think he actually thought that was cool, but again, he could be using the MOM trick. You never know with him. I think I need more yarn. And I need to finish an arm. And I need buttons. I’ve never done a button band before. I’ve also got a SHITLOAD of work to do. I have to go out of town next week. And I have to CLEAN my house (I mean clean in the sense of fumigate) for Vicki. Will I get it done?!?! I’m betting I will.

Tashlich

L’Shana Tovah! Happy New Year!

While I am not the most religious of Jews (I married the son of a Greek Orthodox Priest for pete’s sake!), I am a sucker for tradition. For me, my judaism is my family – it’s my heritage – and something I cannot leave far behind. I identify as a Jew. I’m proud of it, and I make no excuses for it.

That said, I’m a twice a year Jew when it comes to synagogue. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Why do I go? Because I think everyone needs a time of year set aside for reflection and repentence. Who among us has been the perfect individual – always kind to our family and friends and the strangers we meet? Not me. So I like to repent in my own way. I ask for forgiveness in my heart. I also really, really like the prayers. They’re soulful and mournful and old worldly and they’re only said once a year. On the High Holy Days, we use a different prayer book filled with prayers specific to the holidays. Kol Nidre is one of my absolute favorites, said on the evening of Yom Kippur. Done the right way (read: by a cantor I like) I can be moved to tears.

One of my favorite Rosh Hashanah traditions is Tashlich. Literally, the word means “you will cast away” and the way it works is that on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah (unless it’s on a Saturday, but that’s a whole other ball of wax) you go down to the nearest body of flowing water and throw away your sins by tossing stale bread crumbs into the water. When we were little we used to go with my grandmother’s synagogue. We’d all walk as a group to Pennypack, following the rabbi, and throw away the bread my grandmother had been saving for weeks. Stale. Very stale bread. Then, on the way back, congregants would open their homes and we’d go from house to house for cookies and cakes and wine.

In the most recent years, it’s become a family event. We’d gather at my grandmother’s house and walk to the part of Pennypack creek that runs nearby and say our own prayers and toss our breadcrumbs and sins. I love this tradition.

So today, since I’m not with my family, I will walk to the Hackensack River that runs behind my house and toss some bread. For me, and my husband, and my family. I will make peace with myself for at least an afternoon. Forgiving my self is harder than forgiving anyone else for sure. And I will say the Shehecheyanu:

Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-noy Elo-heinu
Me-lech Ha-olom She-he-che-yanu
Ve-kee-ya-manu Ve-hi-gee-ya-nu
Liz-man Ha-zeh

Blessed are You,
our God, Creator of time and space,
who has supported us, protected us,
and brought us to this moment.

The Shehecheyanu is one of those all around wonderful prayers. Jews are encouraged to say it during times of unusual circumstances, at milestone life events (weddings, bar mitzvahs, brit milah). I’m pretty sure I said it at my wedding. And this afternoon I will say it – thanking God for getting me to this place in my life.

The sleeve fits on the Almost Everyday Cardigan! Jen came over yesterday and I did a hasty sew-up job and now it’s blocking for the real sew-in. I cast on for the second sleeve, but my wrist is bothering me, so I think I will take the day off today. And Jen also helped me see that the size 8 needles on my new shawl are working out just fine! Pictures when I get close to something resembling anything.

Have a lovely day!

What’s the Story, Morning Glory?

Remember that scene in Bye, Bye Birdie? The one where everyone’s on the phone trading gossip about Hugo and Kim? I was thinking about that song this weekend because it was a blogger phone fest! Ann, Wendy, Vicki, Jen! Great to gab with you girls! Can’t wait to see you soon!

It was a good weekend overall. Saturday I made some good headway with my work and Saturday night we had a wonderful meal at Gigino’s. It’s a little Italian place in Tribeca – on Greenwhich Street – and we’ve never had a bad meal there. It’s been consistently outstanding for a long time. A long time. I started with my favorite salad – sliced pears so thin you can see through them, some kind of parmaesan cheese, also sliced thin, arugula, walnuts, pomegranates all sprinkled with white balsamic. I LOVE it! Then I had a (large!) rack of lamp roasted in their brick oven with peppers and onions and string beans and roasted potatoes in a kind of au jus sauce. The potatoes were spectacularly crunchy on the outside and like mashed on the inside. Warm chocolate cake for dessert. To die for!

And then we went shopping for music – ends up Virgin Records at Union Square is open until 1 AM. I couldn’t get over how busy it was outside. Okay, granted, we were in the Village near NYU on a Saturday night on a beautiful night in October – but it was packed! Craziness I tell you. We came away from Virgin with some Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash and some Ray Charles. Excellent!

Did anyone catch the Saturday Night Live season premiere? I thought it was pretty damn funny. I watched some of it before we went to bed (it was late! I taped it.) I was laughing my ass off. LOVED, loved the Morgan Stanely mock commercial. Please tell me you saw it!

Yesterday, we beached it!

Those pictures are straight out of the camera (the point and shoot.) The sky was the most amazing blue – it was a perfect day. I don’t think I broke a sweat, but I was warm and cool (you get that right?) and I just love the beach in October. I hope we get to go back a couple times before it really is too cold. That’s me knitting on a new shawl. Or at least knitting the first seven rows over and over and over and over again until I finally got the very strange 3 to 2 decrease that the author has developed. You know how that goes. And now that I’ve done about 26 rows, I’m not sure I want to do it on size 8 needles. I’m using the same Twinkletoes yarn (different color) I used for DFS, only the shawl is a garter stitch pattern (knit the odd rows). The pattern calls for Jamieson and Smith 2 ply jumper weight, which seems like a really loose ply, but still fingering weight – so the trade off should be okay. I may try it with size 7 needles and see if I like it better. I know, I could swatch, but WHATEVER! Where’s the excitement in that?

Speaking of frustrating knits, what the fuck! You’d think a simple drop shoulder sleeve would be a no brainer. Does that mean I acutally have a brain because I can’t get the damn thing to work? If you recall, I decided to do a modified drop shoulder on the Almost Everyday Cardigan. I bound off 8 stitches at each arm and continued straight to the shoulder. Well, when I increased the sleeve to 94 stitches (which matched the cast on for the back) I barely got to the bind off for the arm when I sewed it in really quickly. Back to the drawing board. Originally I had done 15 increases (one every end) every 4 rows and then 11 increases every six rows. I ripped back and ended up with 15 every 4 rows, 5 every 6 rows and then another 10 every 4 rows. I think. I’ve got it all written down. And I was smart – I did a knit into the front and back increase so I can see them really easily. Got me to 102 stitches. Just barely worked – I still needed it to be longer to get me all the way across the bind off. So I ripped again back half of the final every 4 row increases and did every other row increases. Same number of rows, but an extra ten stitches. I didn’t sew it in yet, but it looks like it worked. How crazy is that? Please don’t tell me I should rip and start the whole thing over. I think I can get it to work and it’s supposed to be oversized and all. Damn though. This sweater should be done already. And to add insult to injury, I’m worried I won’t have enough yarn. I think I need another hank.

Do you have a madeleine? I do. Last night I sent G to the store to pick up some Acne soap (my face is breaking out so bad!) and some candy. They didn’t have these new Junior Mints – but they aren’t mint – they’re caramel inside and they may be the best candy ever! Junior Caramels! I told him instead to get me some gummy bears. So he brought home the CVS store brand kind. As soon as I saw the bag, I knew!

When I was a young girl – I don’t know prepubescant – maybe 10 or 11 – I used to ride my bike to this Polish candy store. They sold gummy bears (the first time I’d ever seen them) in plastic sandwhich bags with a twist tie on the top. I’d bring the bag home and climb into bed and eat them while I read with my clock radio playing music. To this day whenever I hear certain songs I immediately remember a particular book. Back to the gummy bears – with the proliferation over the years of gummy candy (worms, aligators dinosaurs, you name it) the gummy bear has been basterdized in a lot of ways. Rarely can I find the exact bear I used to get at the Polish candy store. They’re very chewy, almost hard, and after awhile your jaw hurts. They have a very subtle flavor too. But they are THE.MOST.SATISFYING. candy ever. Georgie brought them to me last night – the EXACT kind – and I swear I almost cried. My madeleine. What’s yours?

I leave you (wow I was chatty today!) with the picture that greeted me when I awoke this morning. We’re
completely fogged in:

It seems like it’s starting to lift and I’m going to go run a bit later. Some blocking today and maybe some seaming and I may or may not cast on for the second sleeve. My left wrist hurts a bit today so I may take a break. Or cast on for a second sock. Or find the first one (I lost the first sunshine sock. My house is such a mess.)

Have a great day!

PS – Here’s what it looks like now – about two hours after the first picture:

Wild huh? I love weather.

Foliage

For La and anyone else starved for fall colors….

All pulled from the archives – the leaves haven’t really changed much here yet. But it’s cold today, so soon….

Have a great weekend! Can you believe it’s October already? YAY!

ETA: Found over at Norma’s:

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, liposuction and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans…

Re-post this if you believe in legalizing gay marriage

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Last night I watched a PBS show on the Sixties and I was thinking about what issues would get me out on the street marching. No doubt about it, gay marriage is one of them. To me, it has nothing to do with love – it has to do with civil rights, property, legal status as Americans. Marriage, as defined by the laws in this country, have nothing to do with love. Any man and woman can marry regardless of their personal feelings for each other – it’s about MONEY, people. That’s it. And everybody should just share the fucking wealth.