Feet, Feet, Feet

"In the house, and on the street, how many different feet you meet!"

(With apologies to Dr. Seuss)

Here they are: my very first pair of socks. I am inordinately proud of them. I've described them in previous posts, but I can't say enough about the toe-up pattern. It's easy to understand and makes a nice sock. But I wouldn't have been able to do it without the lovely folks over at Stitch DC.

I'm curious to see how the Paton's Classic Merino wears as a sock. Anyone out there used it before and know?

What is it about socks that are so addictive? I absolutely can't stop staring at Nancy Bush's books (and this one, because it's important to DREAM BIG) and the Sensational Knitted Socks. I've already got another pair on the needles, and I can't wait to start more.

Maybe it will be a Rockin', Sockin' Christmas/Hannukah for the family this year.

Packing My Knit Bag

I'm about to head out to visit family in North Carolina and Indiana, and it has taken me longer to pack my knitting bag than it did to put together a suitcase full of clothes for me and the boy.

1. There's the current sock project, which I hope to take a FO pic of this weekend. It's the Lorna's Laces worsted in rainbow, and it is fantabulous. But the only problem is, I don't know when to quit so that I have enough for two socks. There are only 225 yards in the ball. Anyone?

2. There is a wannabe sock project from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. Ooh. I can't wait.

3. There is a surprise family gift from some organic cotton yarn I won from Carol.

4. There is a cotton tank top project that I'm trying to design from Elsebeth Lavold Cable Cotton that was on sale at Stitch.

5. There is the baby blanket that never ends. (Actually, I'm just over halfway.)

Like I'm really going to finish 5 projects in 2 weeks. But I'm resisting throwing in a couple more balls for socks. Because socks don't really count, right? And, I swear, the nearest yarn stores in Indiana are Hobby Lobby and Michaels.

I'll be trying to blog from the 'rents' computers. Hopefully with the aunties around to amuse the boy, I'll get in some more time on the needles.

P.S. A big HOORAY for me because I made it through April with only one SEX (stash enrichment expedition) at the yarn store, per the multi-month rules. I haven't folded on my Stashalong commitment yet! One month down and six more to go.

Making My Day

You ever have one of those days? Where nothing's really wrong, per se, but you know that you really ought to be paying bills and cleaning, and your husband isn't helping, and the kid is being demanding, and the dog is chewing things she shouldn't, and you just don't feel right?

And then an angel (or a Sugar Bunny as the case may be) comes and makes your day?

It's so fun to have your very own sock pusher!

To start out with, I committed my first act of subway knitting yesterday on the Metro coming home from our cousins' in Greenbelt and was able to finish my first PAIR of socks in the evening. As soon as I get photos of them on the hubby's footsies, I will post them. I used Paton's, this toe-up sock recipe and the Purled Ladder pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks on the legs. I think he likes them (he wore them to bed when he got home from work finally).

Speaking of, his work schedule is a large part of my frustration through the day. He's always been a workaholic, but before we would at least spend some quality time together in the evenings. Since he's working nights, the time he's around during the day is packed with errands and feeding/playing with the baby. And baby is moving from two daily naps to one nap, so he's much more of a handful now.

I don't want to air any more dirty laundry on the blog, so let's just say today was ripe for some good news. Laura felt sorry for my Stashalong commitment, so in addition to the unloved sock yarn she was giving away, she is throwing in a skein of her hand dyed sock yarn from her etsy shop. So go say hi to her and her cute kids, buy something at her shop and tell her thank you from me!

Oh, and my cousin had Baby Samuel, and the blanket is not quite half done! Eek. So, new baby cousin may get a hat or something quick if I can't get cracking on that blanket. Especially since I just wound up the organic cotton I won from Carol for a secret family gift.

What can I say, I'm luckier than I think. I have to remember that on a daily basis.

P.S. I Need a Ball Winder

And a swift, while we're at it.

Fair to Middling

This is going to be one photo-ey post 'cause I gots lots to report. So here goes:

A boy, his hat and his dad's handknit sock, in their natural environment: the slide at the park. You would think I could dress him in something fancier than his pajamas and a hoodie, but you'd be wrong at 7:30 a.m. I wanted to get some good light on a few of the FOs I'm most proud of. The boy first, of course. At his 9-month checkup last month he weighed 17 lbs. 13 oz and was 28 1/2 inches long.

The Conehead hat was actually completed a while ago. After the too small top-down one (gifted to my cousin's baby), I started a brim-up one from Kids Knitted Hats by Cabin Fever. I used some Brown Sheep Company Lamb's Pride in worsted weight. It was originally intended for illusion knitting, but that ain't ever happening.

Here was my dilemma: The boy's head. It is big. Big like his momma's. Mine's 23", his is 18", by my measurements. This is the same size as a 2-year-old's, according to knitting patterns, though his pediatrician has never said, "hey, your kid's head is freakishly large for his age." Which come to think of it, is probably a good thing.

The pattern called for worsted weight wool to create a baby-size hat, and larger needles and chunky weight wool to create a larger hat for an older kid, which I thought would better fit. So a couple of awkward calculations later, and I came up with a modified pattern to use worsted weight and still create a larger hat.

I didn't quite get the hat height thing, though. For some reason, I thought I should knit straight for twice the amount of the Fair Isle patterning before decreasing. Thus, the conehead look. And the fact that he'll still be wearing the hat when he starts elementary school, if his father doesn't lose it before then. Oh well, bigger is better than too small, right?

And yes, I did say Fair Isle. This is my first Fair Isle project. And I know knit-iquette demands that I show the stranding. It's a little too tight, and it pulls up the garter stitch brim. Thanks to Ms. Stoller, I figured out how to do the two-handed Fair Isle. So technically, this is also my first "English" work, too. Cool, huh? However, I don't think I got the yarn dominance trick down yet. That'll have to come in my next Fair Isle project.

Daddy's sock was next off the needles, thanks to Karida at Stitch. I tried to follow this pattern, but somehow ended up with an ankle hole that barely fit three fingers. So I signed up for an in-person class, which I cannot recommend enough, particularly at Stitch. Marie, Karida and Brigitta and the whole crew there are so welcoming and sweet. It was great.

I started the sock class with Lorna's Laces worsted in rainbow, which I love, but it was a little too much for hubbo. They will probably end up as a gift to my MawMaw. So I went back to using the Patons Classic Wool in deep olive, thinking that would help him fit in a little more around the campfire. Apparently, though, that was all the thinking I should have done.

The prospect of K2,P2 ribbing sounded incredibly boring to me after the excitement of turning the heel and ending up with an ankle that would fit a normal human foot. So I thought he might like it if I spiced it up a bit with the Purled Ladder pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks (a simply sensational book).

If you ever think a man who isn't gay or otherwise stylish wants something fancier than the basic, ribbed, storebought sock you were basing your very first sock on, you'd be wrong. Oren's not crazy about the Purled Ladder pattern. I think I fantasized about too many Nancy Bush socks, and there was no way a plain ribbed sock would do. So now I'm working on the ribbing of the second, and I hope to have it done by the end of the weekend. I want to make one from this book next with some of this yarn I found at Stitch.

Off the needles next was a long-standing WIP. After I finished the previous top-down hat and sent it to Hadley, I wanted to make one for baby Claire, the next new cousin in line for a handknit. So I started it, but let it sit for awhile as I tackled other projects. I figured if I didn't get to it soon, she'd outgrow it and the season would be too warm to wear it.

I used the same great pattern, which I love for its ease. This time I used TLC Cotton Plus because I thought it would be lighter for summer. I modified the pattern and added an eyelet round just above the stockinette roll brim. I used I-cord to make a ribbon bow. You can see what Malcolm thinks of it, but I like it.

I do hope it fits her.

Wow.

I have been busy. I haven't even mentioned the reading, the writing, the planning, the visiting.

Woof. I gotta go to bed.

Belting One Out

What have I been doing you ask? A righteous question, given that I haven't been blogging. So first let me distract you with a photo of a belt I made for my sister with this pattern and this yarn. I am now trying to quickly produce a second one in fuschia before my sisters arrive on Thursday so I have presents for both of them.

Otherwise, there's been some serious knitting, lots of reading, some writing (!), family visiting and lots of keeping up with baby. Speaking of, he calls. Or cries, as the case may be.

More tonight.

Well, It's Started...

I have been knitting lately. It's just been so busy with Oren's cousin visiting and my parents from North Carolina up, I haven't gotten a chance to write about it.

And maybe I'm a little sad...a little blue. I did it to myself, but it had to be done. I've gone and joined the Stashalong. The little button on the side confirms it. And here is my pledge:

I vow not to purchase yarn from April 1, 2006, to November 1, 2006. *(See Stashalong for rules)

The Stitches East conference starts November 2 in Baltimore, and I've heard that is the place to go nuts for yarn. So if I can make it until then, I figure I can really splurge. We're trying to save up for a house and pay off credit cards, so yarn purchases will have to wait. Boohoo. Yarn gifts on the other hand...does Amazon have a yarn and knitting book wish list?

I think I have about 20 projects that I could work on in my stash between now and then. I'm not taking part in the Flash Your Stash day because my husband reads this blog and, hey, I'm not that crazy. But there's the WIPs and a couple of scarves, a hat or two and some baby sweaters. And the socks. I definitely have to make some socks.

So in other yarn news: Karida's sock class at Stitch was awesome, and I hope to soon have the first sock FO to post on the blog. It's not going to be on the yarn I used in class, but Oren will have his camping socks yet. The yarn we used in class (Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock...love, love, love it) will go to some socks for my MawMaw. The problem is that I only have one set of Size 5 dpns for both projects.

Well, let me finish the laundry and straightening up before the bebe wakes from his nap. Will update later tonight after my final "knitting class."

In Like Flynn on a Schwinn

Hip, hip, hooray! I'm a proud new member of the Knitting Blogs webring. Welcome to any new visitors. It makes for a great 4-month knitaversary (March 14) and 9-month birthday for Malcolm (June 14).

All day I've been thinking about what this means for my blog and how I want to use the blog, what goals I have for it, etc.

The main purpose of my blog is to open myself up to the connections between knitting and motherhood and creativity. Knitting and motherhood are such tactile experiences. You have to be persistent, willing to learn and able to switch horses in midstream if something's not working. In other words, you have to be creative.

The good thing about knitting is that you see results a lot faster than with motherhood. I want to set up a photo gallery like some other blogs have to keep track of the FOs. I'm not a total photo whore, but I do love me some knitting pictures. (Goal #1)

Speaking of other blogs, I do have to give a shout out to some of my inspirations. I want to grow up to be just like: Stephanie, Kathy, Laurie, Wendy, Ann and Kay, Lolly and Franklin. Goal #2: A blogroll, which will consume my knitting time, but I do love reading them.

I need to stay in touch with the creative force, especially on days like the last few, when Oren's working a lot, the baby is restless and the dog has to be taken out more frequently (too many chicken bones scammed from the sidewalk will do that to you, Mia). Sometimes I feel like the tedium, the routine, the mundane is close to overwhelming me. And I wonder what difference I'm making in the world.

But then I figure out a new technique (whoo-hoo, I-cord!) and I can feel the juice running through me. Or I Meet Delores, and I can't stop laughing. And ideas for writing and knitting and traveling and photographing start running through me, too.

I find the more I write, the more I read, the more I knit, the more I want to do it all. I want to take that urge to create and teach Malcolm that it is the most important thing he can do. I want to be creative in showing my love to him, to Oren, to my family, to my friends. I want the creative force to overwhelm the destruction in the world -- the destructive lure that always calls.

I'm going to use this blog to inspire myself and to remind myself that I am a creative person. As long as I keep affirming that, I can stay focused on the present moment -- on mothering, on writing, on knitting, on loving, and on creating with all my being.

Knit on.

Terror on the High Needles

Have been watching Blackbeard: Terror At Sea while knitting. The excitement is very conducive to fast knitting, just not accurate knitting.

I've had to rip back at least 14 rows on the sweater while watching, 6 of them twice. I forgot to put two selvedge seams outside the armhole decreases. Then I tried to go too far with the yarn at the end of one of the balls. I now need to add two new balls (I'm "striping" the yarn to get around having two different dye lots), so I decided to take a break.

The Blue Sky bulky is so soft when it's knitted up. The two dye lots make the body of the sweater look like a jewel with slightly different colored facets. The only problem is that moving the bulky yarn over Size 19 Addis makes my hands hurt after a while.

I finished Mary's faux suede rose-colored belt. I like how it turned out, and since I have quite a bit more left, I cast on for a kerchief to match. I'll have to start Laura's next. It's in the fuschia colorway. I think I'll post pictures when both are done.

Solution to sock dilemma: My saviors at the LYS. Karida is teaching a toe-up sock class next week, and I'll be there. Once I learn the basics of socks from the toe up, I'll tackle the top down, including my dream project: Nancy Bush's Norwegian Stockings.

Tangent on Blackbeard: I've been fascinated with Mr. Teach since I was a little girl and my dad took us on the long ferry ride out to Ocracoke Island. Ocracoke was Blackbeard's hangout and the place where, legend has it, he died. His quartermaster, William Howard, settled on Ocracoke, and the Howard's Pub is still the cornerstone of the island.

I had forgotten about the history I had learned of the island when Oren and I first went there. But it was part of the attraction when we decided to get married on Ocracoke in 2003. Wouldn't it be cool to have a knitted pirate hat to wear next time we go there?

Mohair Is Back

You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with
others, doing your share without being too
weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely
refuse to change your position once it is
set, but that's okay since you are good at
covering up your mistakes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I think I may have the sock dilemma solved.

F-ing Sock

The title pretty much sums it up.

F-ing sock.

If anyone can tell me how the hell not to end up with an ankle hole that is half the size of what it should be, please let me know. It seemed like everything was going okay, the short rows (I had a little help from Interweave to figure out the wrap-turn thing) were working, but then I finished knitting back to the gusset increases, and ta-da...it didn't freaking work.

Now I've pulled out so many stitches, I have no idea where to go from here. Did I pull out the gussets? No idea. Is the heel gone? Oh yeah ba-bee.

F-dash-dash-dash.

It does not help that I am generally feeling what one would term "malaise." I don't feel like cleaning, budgeting, laundering, dusting, sweeping, etc. It takes all the energy I have to play with and take care of the baby. Why? I don't have a daily job, which used to be the focus of my nervous energy.

Maybe that is the answer. I would be neurotic no matter what the circumstances. Ha. That's funny, huh?

Oh yeah.

F-ing sock. I blame it entirely.

Serious Start-itis

Along with visits from Indiana, New York and L.A. relatives, the Chinatown bus ride, MoMA, and the wreck of the Orange-mobile, I have been stashing away yarn and developing a serious case of Start-itis, as recently diagnosed by the Yarn Harlot.

I just finished Stephanie's book, right around the time the Knitting Olympics wrapped up. Kudos to her for a brilliant idea, a wonderful book and general all-around knitting greatness. She's got good Yarma.

On to my Start-itis. Until recently, I had 5 -- count 'em, 5 -- projects on the needles. A summary:

1. The Warmest Spoil Me Sweater of Buttery Goodness in the Whole Wide World (TM) with the Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky in teal and orange duotone. Love the yarn texture, don't love the way I have to bully the yarn around the needles. Back is done, front is half done. I really need to push on this.

2. Elizabeth's Baby Blanket in TLC Cotton Plus white. I cast on the long edge, so even though I have three box repeats done, I've got 6 more to go. I also figured I needed to buy another skein, but it's in another dye lot, so I'll have to see if I can stripe it to blend it in.

3. A SOCK. Let me repeat, A SOCK. In Patons Classic Wool Merino in deep olive, which I bought a while back to attempt socks for Oren. I had been intimidated by the DPNs until now, and then one evening as I was drooling over sock patterns online, I stumbled onto this pattern, realized I had the same wool and dpns, and cast on. Actually, I think I had seen this pattern before and bought this yarn because I wanted to learn how to do a toe-up sock. Then promptly forgot about it. Serendipity is sometimes how you create it. I'm at the gusset increases.

4. Nifty Knitted Belt V.1 in Lion Suede's rose colorway. (I also bought fuschia.) On "my" show, they had this belt pattern, and I thought my youngest sisters would like it, being hip and all that. I love the drop stitches but for reasons of not paying attention, I haven't been able to stay on pattern as well as I ought. Still it ought to be my FO #8 soon, though.

Wait, wait, wait, Ginny, did you miscount? You've only posted 6 FOs on your blog.

Well, #5 on the WIPs list has crossed over to the win column.

5. As modeled by the boy, Spiral Top Down hat knit with Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora from less than one ball. I guess one double point project wasn't enough. I used Brittany Size 6 Birch needles, which could not be more comfortable. I love me my Addi Turbos, but wood needles feel so natural and yummy.

The yarn, while soft and washable, did get on my nerves a bit though. It does not hang together like wool, so I kept sticking my needle through the middle of the strand, which meant some snags developed. Then, once I was done, I found this review. Hmm. I originally found this yarn on sale at Stitch DC in the cream and red, then bought some more red at the Georgetown store's anniversary sale. I still intend to make Malcolm a sweater from the 7 balls I have left. Just have to find a pattern.

So the hat was originally supposed to be for the boy. However, as you can tell, Monsieur Pumpkinhead is right at the limit for the hat. I used the calculator and his head measurement and everything, but I guess his head is bigger than I measured. Since he can't wear it, I believe I will gift it, maybe to my cousin's new baby.

Will update on my stash enhancement next...

So Much to Say

Meanwhile, a picture worth a thousand words, as they say.

This is my Safta. My very first, my one and only Safta. Safta is Hebrew for grandmother, and it's true, I actually have four grandmothers by blood and marriage that I love very much. But Sonia is my only Safta.

As soon as I met her, the week before my wedding, she treated me and Oren just like family. Which Oren is, to a degree. We finally tracked it back to determine that Sonia's late husband's grandfather and Oren's great-great-grandfather were brothers.

But family is how you find it. Sonia and the rest of the Garins are our cousins, pure and simple. And when I started the Feather and Fan pattern scarf from Scarf Style out of the ripped remains of my first abortive attempt at a scarf, I thought it might be nice if I could get it done for Sonia's birthday.

I had plenty of the two Rowan Kidsilk Haze colors I used, but soon ran out of the Manos del Uruguay wool because of the width the scarf turned out to be. After harassing my LYS for a couple of weeks, I finally found it at my other LYS (the benefits of living in a big city). Truth be told, Springwater has a giant selection of Manos.

So in the week before her birthday party, I knitted like crazy to be done with Sonia's scarf. All she wanted on her 86th birthday was for her two children, three grandchildren, two in-laws and cousins to show their creativity. I started working on this scarf before I knew that, but it fit perfectly.

And of course, it wasn't done when I got there. So listening to everyone's stories and songs, I stitched the final few rows. Stitched in love and warmth and family togetherness. My mom and stepdad were in from Indiana too, and they just added to the gathering.

My sixth FO is one that I will never forget. Not only was it the first yarn I ever purchased, but it was my first repurposed project and first lace stitching. And it was given to my one and only Safta, with love.

Will try to post more later about the rest of the excitement over the last few weeks...lots of visitors, traveling and one car wreck.

Turbo-Charged...and Back

You are "turbo" charged.Fast moving and classy, you get things done with
power and grace. Your expensive tastes can
be deceiving, since what you really value is
quality and efficiency. As you're careening
around those corners in life, finishing a
dozen knitted objects each month, stop and
smell the roses. Don't miss the beauty of
process!

What kind of knitting needles are you?

I Wannabe a Joiner

The eagle-eyed regular readers (Hi, all of my lovely sisters) of this here blog will notice two buttons now residing on the left side of the page. I have officially joined my first knitalong, and am checking every day to see if I have been accepted yet into the Knitting Blogs webring.

There are many knitalongs that look pretty interesting, but my meager skills and lack of stash space prevent me from joining all of them. I had to jump on the Scarf Style knitalong because Oren bought me the book for Hanukkah and I love just about all of the designs in there. I'm working on the Misty Garden pattern now, but will definitely do another. Maybe my first lace project??

I resisted joining the Knitting Olympics, thinking that I would be working on my sweater in class, which didn't match up with the Olympic deadline. Now I wish I would have because the class was canceled. But I'll be one of the cheerleaders. Go Team!

The Journey Begins

The stash rides the Metro.

[Cue: Slowly growing, progressively louder Olympic music chords]

We stand here on the edge of the Abyss. Before us stretches the unknown void; beside us only our trusty stash. Bulky and hand-dyed, the stash stands ready; and you know that working together, no sweater pattern can outwit us. The famous rallying cry echoes in our ears:

"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." -- Winston Churchill

Colinette, you have met your match. I will knit Annie as my first sweater; canceled knitting class be damned. I will knit my first sweater -- the Warmest Spoil Me Sweater of Buttery Goodness in the Whole Wide World (TM) -- BY MYSELF.

It's only fitting, since I am also a Knitting Guru, according to this online quiz. Nifty, considering tomorrow is my 3 month Knitiversary.

Because It Is There

George Mallory -- by some mountaineers' estimation the first to summit Mt. Everest -- testily replied to reporters' questions when asked why climb the world's tallest mountain, "Because it is there."

I have found the Mt. Everest of knitting.

And I must -- one day -- climb the mountain.

Until then, I am in awe of Ted and K. standing at the Gates of Hell and apparently proceeding apace. Instead of being in Base Camp waiting for them to summit and return with the story, it's more like I'm watching their progress on the Discovery Channel from the safety of my couch. But consider me a Princess cheerleader!

Then there is Grumperina, my knitting idol, who not only knit the lace, but modified the pattern and made massive corrections to the design to turn out a shawl that is absotively, posilutely beautimous.

My Feather and Fan scarf/stole is on hold, waiting for the #114 Manos del Uruguay to show up again at the LYS. I'd say I'm about 1/2 way there with the one skein and will be able to finish up with another. Since it's such a heavy yarn, I hesitate to say it's "lace" but it is a lace stitch, just worked in heavier wool. Deadline is next Saturday, Feb. 18, for an 86th birthday party. The desired accompaniment is an antique or unusual scarf clip. Ideas on where to find one?

I'm a third of the way through Elizabeth's baby blanket, too. And I am very proud to have resisted casting on for any other project. I am stuck on the idea of Fuzzy Feet to use up some Lamb's Pride Worsted in my stash. I found some grey beads that match a Rowan Cashsoft DK that will go toward my first hat project -- Grumperina's Odessa. I have another Multi-Directional Scarf that I want to knit in a Berroco yarn I already have. And I'd love to find a pattern for a kid's sweater knit in the round on some Debbie Bliss yarn that Stitch DC had on sale. Mad props to me for focusing on stash-busting!

Speaking of sales, Happy 1st Anniversary, Stitch DC! I took my first knit stitch on November 14, 2005, at the Stitch DC Capitol Hill store. The Georgetown store had a sale today that the fam and I stopped at after a nice hike near the Dumbarton Oaks. Quite the workout with a 17-lb. kid on the back and 8 inches of snow on the ground.

One of the sale items I couldn't resist was Folk Socks by Nancy Bush. Another Everest -- the Norwegian stocking pattern. And hubby dear picked up some yarn today and said he would wear socks in this yarn in the Slate colorway. Well, all-rightey then.

The reason why I'm trying to hold back with new projects is that -- cross fingers -- my knitting class starts tomorrow. My gauge swatches are ready and one big mistake has already been discovered and planned for.

When one asks for one's bust measurement, one must actually measure the, ahem, bust across the -- cough -- bust line, not automatically assume that one's, ehr, bra size, is the correct number to base one's hand-knit sweater on, mustn't one?

Um. Ehr. Yeah. Well.

Knit on.

Today's Randomness

So I've been thinking a lot today about approaching this blog post as I would have written a feature story. (In a short past life, I was a reporter for a small community newspaper.)

What is my theme? What's the nutgraph of today's activities? A short chronology:

1. Early rising with the kiddo after late turning in with husband. We stayed up to watch "The Hunting of the President." Some of the production (photo montages in particular) was annoying at first, but it was thought provoking and scary, as far as what people with money are capable of buying and having done for them.

2. Dog walking

3. Folding 7 loads of laundry. A personal family best for number of loads at one time.

4. Feeding kid homemade sweet potatoes and mangoes.

5. Getting car insurance on the Orange-mobile.

6. Lunch

7. Goodbye to hubby as he heads off to work

8. An hour of screaming by baby who is waaaaay overdue for nap

9. Reading some blogs and emails while baby finally naps

10. Dog walking and grocery shopping

11. Dinner

12. Trying unsuccessfully to load Microsoft Money

To the present time...now trying to figure out what the purpose of today was. I think I'm having a bit of an existential crisis. Too much running through my head and I can't get my hands around expressing it. Maybe I'll knit for a while and come back when I can make more sense.

The nutgraph for this post: The baby's crying again, and sleep deprived people don't make much sense. Oh well.

Knock, Knock

(As promised...)

Q: Who's there?

A: Orange.

Q: Orange who?

A: Orange you glad you have a new orange car?!?!?!?

Okay, I planned to get the salesman to take a picture of us in front of our new 2004 Mazda3 5-door hatchback, but until Oren gets home from work with the car, the website picture will have to do.

Honestly, it's not as orange as the picture above makes it look. Mazda says it is "copper red." I swear. Really. Maybe.

Okay...it's orange.

After doing a ton of research, we settled on the Mazda3 wagon as the right marriage of performance, reliability and features we needed. With a moonroof and 6-CD changer option, of course. Then it was just a matter of finding the right one. When we saw one online in Bethesda listed for under the NADA Guide's trade in value, we jumped. And scored! Whoo-hoo!

It's got only 30,000 miles and is still under factory warranty. It's very clean and, best of all, it moves like a sportscar. Zoom, zoom, indeed.

Well Looky Here

A day later update on the Original UFO:

The Feather and Fan pattern is coming out better than I expected, which you can't tell from this horrible photo taken with all the available lights in the living room pointed at the couch in the dark of night.

I know, I know, the scarf is ginormous wide -- 10in to be exact. But it is moving so fast. The yarns are really soft to work with, and I've memorized the pattern repeat.

I'm anxious that I won't have enough of the Manos, but I think I'll have plenty of the Kidsilk Haze. I'm going to try to haul ass on this project so I can give it to Sonia for her birthday celebration in two weekends. She's an incredibly tiny German lady, so I'm hoping even if it seems short, she can drape it around her neck once and it will still look good.

Cross your fingers that I'll be able to finish this knock, knock joke in a good way tomorrow:

A: Knock, knock.

Q: Who's there?

A: Orange.

Q: Orange who?

A: ????