happy birthday to me

Its my birthday and my April Rockin' Sock Club kit arrived to help me celebrate!







If your kit has not arrived then whatever you do, do NOT scroll down. There is a picture, a big one.

The yarn is soft and lovely. The colors are perfect. It will spend the weekend on my desk, basking in the sun and being stroked from time to time. mmmmm

At the moment I have 2, count em', 2 socks on needles. One is the design I am working on. Last night I needed to knit but did not want to pay attention to what I was doing and write things down. So I grabbed some Cherry Hill Tree from my itty bitty stash basket, and the Rock n Weave pattern and relaxed.

The Rock N Weave that I made from last year's kit were given away. Actually every sock from last year's club was given away. The only thing I kept were the cute little key chains. I began every project thinking how much I was going to enjoy wearing these socks. But soon after I began, the yarn would tell me that it would be much happier at _____'s house. When the yarn talks, I listen.

My birthday will include a phone call to Blue Moon where I will order this and this and this and maybe I can talk them out of one of those clear plastic bags on their home page?

anticipation

International members have begun receiving the April Rockin' Socks Club kit. Someone from Germany has great pics on her blog. Yes I looked. I know many people are upset about the whole spoilage thing. Not me. Seeing yarn on the computer and then holding it are very different experiences. After viewing pictures I am even more anxious for my kit to arrive. With any luck it will be in time for my birthday, Friday.

I finished painting the wall yesterday. No pictures are currently available. This wall is not so much a wall as windows with trim. Whole thing, more square feet of window than I can measure becasue I do not have a ladder that reaches that high. So yesterday when I tried to take pictures they were just a big blob of darkness. I tried again this morning while it is dark. No good. I will try one last time after the sun is up, but before it peeks over the trees. There is certainly a way to take a pitcure in bright light, but anything other than AUTO requires that I actually read the manual for the camera. Please.

is it feeding time?

When it comes to yarn and yardage requirements I have learned my lesson. No more will I run panicked and wild eyed into the night searching for one more ball of dye lot ____.

It appears I have not done a good job of transferring this knowledge to paint. After a weekend of painting the can ran dry, with about 2 1/2 square feet needing that 3rd coat. It is the equivalent of running out of yarn with 1/2 of a sleeve left to knit. Damn.

Home Depot is on the top of the list this morning. With any luck I will be finished by lunch and able to clean up the paint mess so that the living room can be reclaimed. Maybe I will take a picture.

Until the blinds arrive the whole world drives by and looks into the house to see what we are up to. It has been 4 days since the curtains came down. Even the gorillas at the zoo get more off exhibit time than we do.

Knitting...

I am working on a design of my own. Yeah! It has been awhile. Progressed on the Oldest Daughter's shawl while she was at camp. Found this! Oh baby, this is definitely going on my coming soon list.

next!

Bordello done

Super easy pattern. The Sea Wool is a joy to work with and I will use it again. Maybe for a wrap? If your LYS does not carry it you can find it here. I have not ordered from Little Knits, but they have my attention. Another online shop that carries Fleece Artsit is Loopy Ewe. I really like Loopy Ewe. They are out of the Sea Wool right now but promise to have more in any day now.

I need to finish Oldest Daughters shawl before I start another non-sock project. It is hard to see in the picture, but it is a simple triangle with a picot edge and beads. Very teenage girl.

It does not need to be done until September, but I can not handle the UFO sitting in the corner. Yes, I only have one.

It is time to purchase yarn for my next non-sock project. I have decided on the Faux Russian Stole from Gathering Lace.

The pattern calls for Jamison & Smith jumper weight yarn. I am thinking about using a solid color from Louet, either Pewter or Crabapple. Or my new love Sea Wool in Rainforest. Or a yarn I have not tried SeaCoast in Kelp.

Suggestions?

dare ya

double dare ya

just say no

Tan asked how I am decreasing my stress level. Pharmaceuticals are not involved.

I am a volunteer. This time last year I was putting in 20 hours a week, easy, at 4 different jobs. Now I am not the kind of person with 20 extra hours a week just laying around. I am also not the kind of person who says yes to things because they can not say no. I only say yes to things I really want to do. But 20 hours a week? It was a snowball from hell.

Last fall I let people know that as things came to an end I would not be continuing. As of the first Monday in June I will be down to one job. Knowing I am a few short weeks away from freedom has changed my whole outlook. The one job I am keeping? Day Camp Director. I LOVE day camp, and while it is a lot of work, the work is not a constant daily grind.

I did not finish the Bordello socks yesterday. We had a bit of sunshine in the afternoon and I got outside to pull weeds and plant some deck pots. Boy are the backs of my legs sore this morning. I did not get out in the yard one single time last year. (See workload above.) Now the porch planters are all trimmed, weeded and sporting some new flowers. I also yanked all the weeds out of the cracks on the stairs leading up to the front porch. Also replaced weeds with flowers along the side of the stairs. Just that little bit makes the walk up to the front door so much nicer.

Because our house color is a bit, um, atypical, it draws a lot of attention. When the yard is neglected it screams pothead. When everything is tidy is says artist.

More tea or a nap? The eternal question.

zzzzzzz

I am trying not to go back to sleep. Most days Husband gets on the bus a few blocks from our house, at an almost reasonable 6AM. Sometimes I get up when he leaves, sometimes not. When he is busy and has deadlines looming he needs to take the 4:45 bus which is a few miles to the east. That means I am up and driving at 4:30AM. When I get home I am awake. I have breakfast, read the paper, check mail, knit, listen to the birds waking up, its all good. But at about 7:30 I am ready to go back to sleep. 7:30 is not a good time to be going to sleep, it is almost time for the rest of the house to be up. So I make more tea and hope my body adjusts sooner rather than later. Husband tells me it will be ugly until the middle of May.

The heel flap has just been started on the second Bordello. I should mention that I have been working very hard at knitting loose. Even with my new found looseness I needed to alter the pattern. 60 stitches was too tight while trying the sock on over my heel and instep. I increased to 68 stitches. How? The pattern has a number of straight stitches in between increases and decreases. There are 8 of these sections. I added one extra stitch per section. They are perfect.

My stress level reached its peak a couple of weeks ago and I am now on the downside. 6 more weeks and I am home free! I am actually looking forward to playing in the yard this summer. Something I was not able to do at all last year, I was just too busy.

I am feeling so optimistic that I may decide to plan a party for the end of May. I love parties!