Chocolate Sheep v2.0

Today’s post title has nothing to do with anything, except that I have an exceedingly charming 3.5 year old son who has been making this statement to me with such regularity that I don’t even duck any more.

Jack the Wonder Twin has been three and a half for about a decade. I look at his older brother, who does seem to age, or at least move from grade to grade, to remind myself that three will become four, four will eventually become five, and at some unknown point all the years will pass by in a flash and I will be sitting in my rocking chair wondering where the time went, and missing all those carefree days….

….being threatened with assault five or six times a day.

We really are trying to reach the “gentle Jack” part of his personality, but to be honest, it’s really a hit-or-miss proposition. I have already apologized to the preschool teacher for next year, but promised her that Tom will be worth the wait.

Anyway.

CHRISTMAS!!!

It was Christmas Day before I realized that I had, without realizing it, knit scarves for my father, my son, my husband, and my brother. Wowzers. K2TOG, eh? I also knit for my brother’s puppy, who I didn’t get to meet, but my brother seemed to be really impressed, so that was cool too.

Father-scarf: Acrylic (Red Heart from stash), One-Row Harlot pattern, grey with three narrow scarlet stripes at each end. (Go Bucks!) Note to Others: Harlot’s pattern is not reversible when you add stripes. Leave an end unwoven before you make the second set of stripes so you remember which side of the scarf is the front. I touched it before I headed home and was told, No, you’re not taking it with you.

Son-scarf: Wool (Cascade 220), Ravenclaw House Scarf from Charmed Knits. Got an “oh wow” but he doesn’t seem eager to wear it. He did ask for matching gloves (yes, gloves) and there’s enough yarn left over so why not.

Husband-scarf: Wool (Plymouth Galway Colornep), Irish Hiking Scarf. He loves it and wants a hat.

Brother-scarf: Acrylic (Grey Heather Wool-Ease), my own design. This was the garter-stitch piece with the stockinette columns that spelled out his name in Morse Code. One narrow red stripe at the beginning, two at the end. If he ever loses it, it will be easy to prove that it’s his. Presuming, of course (as he pointed out) that anyone else knows Morse Code.

Now, let’s see… my haul… my dear dear husband surprised me with The Little Box of Sweaters and (without knowing it had been on my Amazon list for two years) Zen and the Art of Knitting. Which isn’t at all the book I thought it would be, but I do enjoy it very much.

And my woodworking dad… built me an umbrella swift out of oak, cherry, and mahogany. It is a beauty and I have it clamped to a bookshelf near my computer so I can just reach out and touch it. Oh my goodness. I thought maybe he would make me a niddy noddy but when I saw this I was in shock.

So. What am I working on now? Well, for an extra present for my husband I cast on for socks for him on Christmas Day. I’m at the point on the foot now where I know I won’t have enough yarn to make it to the toe without breaking into the next skein. Which means I’ll have to find another batch of yarn in the same dyelot to finish. They’re Patons Kroy, the jacquard pattern in tans and blues. Not really his style, but it’s a motivation to me to whip through a pair of socks and soak up some mojo. (Harlot basic sock recipe.)

I also decided to make him a wool hat (last year’s acrylic hat was too big and of course couldn’t hold its shape) and wondered what Knit One, Purl Two would actually look like in the round if you knit it on stitches that weren’t a multiple of three. (I picked 64.) It’s pretty nice so far but I think way too small for him. But it will fit someone!

Oh yeah…while I was visiting my parents I knitted a mitten for Jack, finished the Big Secret Project, and started that sock. While traveling to my parents’ I worked on the Packer Hat and got the Fair Isle lettering done. Now I just have to knit myself out of a corner (more on that in another post) and knit the top of the hat, then pick up stitches for the brim. No prob, Bob.

Spam Post of the Day

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It’s that time today — time to wash everything, clean up everything, and bake everything, so that tomorrow we can pack everything and be ready to hit the road in the early morning. Last night I finished the Ravenclaw scarf. I think that’s all the family giftknitting, unless I uncover some long-lost to-do list somewhere. But frankly, I’m not looking very hard for something like that. There are far too many other things to do.

I could have used some knitting this afternoon. I had the brilliant idea that instead of hauling the little ones to the school Christmas concert tonight, I would just take devil child Jack and Tom along with me when I took Colleen in to a dress rehearsal. Of course, what I really needed were EXTRA hands and arms, not fewer.

It was so embarrassing. Jack hollered and howled and said inappropriate things, everyone wiggled all over, nobody lifted a finger to help me. I know the world doesn’t revolve around me and I don’t expect a red carpet under my feet wherever I go. But I was obviously struggling to carry 60 pounds of boys out the door at the end of things, with my purse slipping off my arm and my daughter unable to push the door open. I wish I had a “Mass mentor” to help out with stuff like that. If anything ever happened to Brendan I wouldn’t be able to go to Mass for the next ten years. I’m barely able to attend now.

On the plus side (?), I saw Little Miss do her thing, and all of us who went can stay home and out of everyone’s hair (and sight) during tonight’s Real Thing.

Then we can stuff them all into bed and finish the final presents and wrapping and baking and slicing and bill paying and pre-packing and I don’t know what-all.

Maybe I can get some alpaca sock yarn wound up, too. What do you think of a cuff made from K1, K1b on an odd number of stitches in the round? Would it act like ribbing? Or would it just look pretty as it slid down a calf?

This house is wholly contaminated with finishitis, so if you’re in need of a little mojo just raise your hand.

Yesterday it was the Red Scarf. Once I figured out who I wanted to give it to, it sped along like a banshee. Now it’s done, washed, blocked (it turned out to be just 50% wool but what the hey, it was curling, it was worth a shot), rolled, and stuffed eased into a container and almost ready for giving. Just needs a tag and a bow.

Today it’s the Ravenclaw Scarf. All knitting is essentially done. I just need to bind off the stitches, knot up all the joins, and sew the ends shut. The pattern calls for fringe on each end, but I don’t think that’s essential for boy Ravenclaws, do you?

In addition, I finished the T-shirt quilt on Friday, and it was shipped out to the recipient today. Picture… eventually.

Now I’m cranking on a Secret Project that I’ve had going for a while. I have six skeins of yarn to go, and just switched from Skein One to Skein Two.

And now that I’m thinking about it, I think I only have four projects on the needles right now — the Secret Knitting Project, one acrylic mitten (waiting for me to learn mirrored increases for the thumb gusset), the Packer hat, and Tyrone. I’m not making any predictions, mind you, but it sure would be nice to get each project over the little hump that it’s on, and have everything off the needles by the end of the year.

That still leaves me with three quilts to finish, though, so maybe I’ll need to come up with another plan.

For the new year: Mr. Beth has proclaimed that I am not permitted to cast on for anything that does not start with S-O-C. Loopholes, anyone?

Tonight: The All-Night Knit Night, or whatever they’re really calling it; you would have to check the store’s calendar here, at the Sow’s Ear. I have already been out on the roads today (long story; let’s just say I had a lot to atone for, and I did all my atoning this morning), and while I think I will stick to the bigger thoroughfares, I’m still planning to go. With knitting, a DVD, pajamas, a beverage, a book to return, and goodness knows what else. I think there will be more than one bag.

And I’m not even staying overnight…. and you should hear Dale-Harriet. I swear that woman is about to burst!

Some significant dates are coming up. Little Miss is turning FIVE next weekend. Great Gosh A’Mighty, FIVE. (I will spare you the birth story but it actually was pretty funny.)

And…my first Blogiversary is coming up too, on December 21. That is ever so slightly before I’m outta here for the holidays, so instead of a contest or a giveaway, I’d like to request that if you’ve ever visited this site on a regular basis, please leave a comment to say hi. I look at my blog stat numbers and think “wow” but most of the comments are from the same six or seven people (whom I love dearly, thank you very much). I’d like to get a peek at some of the others, if that’s not asking too much.

Knitwise, I got all those pesky ends woven in the other day, started another mitten in boy colors this time (still acrylic), kept cranking on the (shh!) Ravenclaw scarf, screwed up the Red Scarf (I think I fell asleep while knitting) and actually got the old pictures out of my digital camera and onto my computer. I think Tsarina Lisa will be holding my hand to help me rectify my imageless-blog situation soon. Goodness knows she’s trying her best.

Time to go peek at Ravelry for just a second (yeah right), re-pack my stuff for tonight, and pace around the house in anticipation until my husband kicks me out.

Spam Post of the Day

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I bound off a project last night. Woo-hoo! Then I started weaving in the ends. Grr this acrylic, it’s never going to felt together like wool. And once I finished one end, I was all excited until I counted the ends on the other end of the scarf. Eleven. Thank you, STRIPES. But I can take care of all that today and it’s one more present completed.

It also means I didn’t work on the quilt. So I *must* get back on the quilt bandwagon tonight and press on, hard.

In the meantime, the kids are shocked (”shocked, I say!”) to discover it’s COLD outside and the WIND is BLOWING. This will be a long and entertaining winter, for sure. I am looking forward to when they finally accept the concept of layering. (”Long sleeves? But Mom, I’ll be wearing a jacket!” “I don’t need gloves, I have pockets!”)

Three of my four children were, indeed, born in Wisconsin. I was one of those “uphill both ways to the bus stop” kids back in rural Ohio and you’d think being raised in Wisconsin would help pass that right on. Apparently, they’ve had it too easy.

But they also have a half day today. So Little Miss gets home as usual around 11:45, then Eldest is dismissed at noon and we’ll see how long his bus takes to get here. Usually about an hour. We’ll see how much I can get done on Secret Projects before they start arriving.

Oh…. did I mention I knitted a pair of mittens this weekend? Everyone was impressed. And now all the boys need pairs, too!

P.S. I just remembered my LYS dream from last night. I was just looking for a pair of straight needles in the most disorganized yarn store ever! I think things were arranged by manufacturer, all far away from each other. There was a deli or something in the middle of the store. The colors of the needles and the yarns were beautiful, but for goodness sake, why have a dream like this??? It was so frustrating! Ever have an LYS dream? “Tell me your dream, and I’ll tell you what it means.”

No, it wasn’t the 125 spam I accumulated in the last few days (see interesting one below).

No, it wasn’t my visitors last week.

No, it wasn’t the laundry duties. (Excuse me while I laugh.)

No, it wasn’t Ravelry. But I can see why you might think so.

I think it was… the Christmas knitting.

Some of it is done. Some of it is almost done. Some of it is languishing, almost forgotten, hidden from Certain Peoples’ View (thus explaining why it has been almost forgotten). Some of it is waiting in line to see which project is chosen for this week’s Late Night Knitting at the Sow’s Ear. This is the first scheduled all-night knit but I don’t think I will be staying even close to that long. 11pm is late enough for me!

Maybe the quilt is killing part of it. I’m hand-sewing the binding, and have finished one of the short ends. It’s a squarish quilt, so the short ends aren’t much shorter than the long ends. So while I’m under mental pressure to finish these giftknits and Secret Special Projects and such, ahead of time to allow for shipping in most cases, I also have to remember to crank on this quilt even though it isn’t really enjoyable at this point. At least it’s not difficult. But the only real enjoyment will come with the final stitch. Then I will vacuum the stray hairs off it, pack it lovingly, include a Christmas card, and ship it out.

Then I can get back to the giftknits again…..

And, in the back of my head, a small voice gently whispers, “Socks. Socks. Socks. Socks for you and your husband. Waikiki footies. Chocolate brown Merino socks. Lace socks….”

My mojo is calling, and my phone is busy. It figures.

Spam Post of the Day

I will forward this link to all my friends interested in this subject! Why you so think? On the Internet it is!

Yes, we still have no pictures. Which is not a bad thing considering everything I’m working on right now is a gift for someone, and I can neither talk about it in detail nor reveal a picture of it.

[Picture update: I got out my digital camera last week to take progress shots of the T-shirt quilt. Not enough battery power to turn it on. Now where are those spare lithium batteries I had with me in July? I dunno.]

So, right now I’m working on a giftknit s—f, I have another s—f to work on in the car, Tyrone is still stalled, and I am still swatching for the Packer h-t. (I told you I was slow.) My mind is mostly on the 3-4 q—ts I also have to finish up.

But my cousin and his family did get here, and we did manage to get 7 kids bedded down at a reasonable time, considering. (No thanks to Jack, of course, but that’s par. He’s up until he’s out, and he’s out until he’s up again, and that’s just the way it is.) The kids were gleeful psychos all evening since they haven’t seen each other since the summer of aught-six, which is beyond memory for all of them. They dovetail nicely: Their first boy, my first boy, their next boy, my girl, their girl, my next boy, my last boy.

Tomorrow morning it will be chaos all over again, so I need to take advantage of this Prime Knitting Time (every minute left before midnight). So see-ya later, and send some extra mojo if you have some lying around. ‘Kay?

Sorry about the long time no post thing. Knit Night gets me so high, then I come back to reality and the very next day is always a hard crash. Plus, I can’t talk about Knit Night this time because…. people are reading. They will find out what I did. Don’t worry, it was a good thing. But since it was a giftknit, I can’t do the reveal yet. Grr!

QUILTwise I have entered the final stages of the T-shirt quilt. Granted, the woman I started making this for a mere 15 months ago now hates me, but I am going to finish this in time for her to give it to her daughter for Christmas. Sigh. Won’t she be surprised. I think this is the end of my quilting-for-hire business, at least until all the kids are in school.

And that reminds me, I’m swatching for gauge on the Packer hat. As soon as I get gauge I will be able to map out the pattern in my mind. I may actually write it down, too.

Meanwhile it’s a slogalong on a couple of scarves. And quilting (and some machine piecing) on two small quilts.

But the big thing today (other than the departure of Mr. Beth for Los Angeles on business, yet again) is the arrival of my cousin and his family. We haven’t seen them since, I don’t know, summer 2006? They have three kids that dovetail in ages with mine. They are coming in the afternoon, and staying for dinner and overnight as they visit friends in the Badger State.

That means that tonight, the three of us will be tucking in seven kids. I wonder how that’s going to work?

P.S. Check out the website for the new embellishment magazine, Make It Mine. This is so cool, and published by the company I used to work for, at another hobby magazine. The time is so right for this one!

That’s all I can claim…. it was a long week with my parents visiting, during which I somehow had less time to read blogs, let alone write on my own. It’s been a couple of days now and things are somewhat settling back into their usual chaos.

I have a new FO — the Puppy Tstocking. I love it and want to make more.

So, naturally, I cast one for another Christmas project, the First Year Ravenclaw scarf from Charmed Knits. I’m working on it only when my son’s not looking, so he’ll still be surprised when he sees it in its finished form. Why this is going to work when he was along on the trip to the LYS where I purchased the yarn for the project, I don’t know. It’s just one of my little quirks that I think it will.

IHS fans, rejoice, I’m nearing the end, even though I’m getting in just one repeat every few days. And none all last week.

Unfortunately, I had my Red Scarf project with me on Sunday and managed to snap one of my Lantern Moon size 5s right in half. It made a soft but beautiful sound and as soon as it happened I knew just what it was. Luckily it wasn’t the needle holding the live stitches, but still. I had made a conscious choice to bring the project with me, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to knit a stitch, and here I was. The project is on a nice sturdy Susan Bates Quicksilver and it just. isn’t. the. same.

So I’m back to working on all these projects in small portions, being Mrs. Mom the other 23 hours of the day.

Props to Mr. Beth, who stopped by a yarn store before/after going to the Wisconsin game, and picked out a skein of alpaca/merino blend for some socks. OK, they’re going to be for him, but still he gets 20,000 points.  What a nice guy!

Thanks to Mr. Beth who just called to tell me that all he could see on my blog was his guest post with his review of Perilla. When I checked it out, that’s all I could see, too. And when I clicked on Comments to review my spam, it kicked me out to the same ol’ site view.

At last I got into Akismet kind of sideways, deleted the usual stupid but innocuous looking spam comments, and ta dah, site restored.

No clue why. Hope it sticks.

So, as long as I’m here…. all the puppy Tstocking needs is some Kitchener on the paw, and then I’m going to pick up stitches at the top of the Tstocking and knit a white faux mohair cuff in stockinette, which I’ll turn down. (I know I could have done this differently, but I didn’t think of that until after I got started.)

Then I need to hustle on to the rest of the Christmas knits and quilts.

I am stalled on the T-shirt quilt again, but I did wash and dry the backing material. I even got a letter from the woman I’m making the quilt for. She’s probably quite upset at how long this is taking me to do. I started with the best of intentions and should have pushed through and gotten it done in a couple of months. Instead it has dragged on for over 14 months and I am pushing to get it to her before Christmas. She does not know this, because I am afraid to open her letter and I don’t dare call her. I just want to finish the project, now that I have all the materials. (And her mailing address!)

My other work avoidance is the craft store directory. I don’t know how I’ll make the time to work on this, but I simply must. I truly believe it will get a grand reception all across the state, but it is going to be a LOT of work. Now I know why Crazy Aunt Purl kept her bookwriting under wraps. It’s tough to not be getting it done when everyone knows you’re supposed to be working on it. I hope that putting it out there, a little bit, will be creating the kind of pressure I need.

Time to go see what everyone else’s blogs look like. I wonder if they’re all featuring reviews of Perilla? Pretty sneaky, Harold.