Another Dishcloth

Pattern: Garterlac Dishcloth
Yarn: Peaches & Creme, Color 201, sea mist
Needles: Sz 8 Addi Turbos
Started: 02 Sep 2006
Finished: 06 Sep 2006

I first spotted this pattern on Laura's blog. I just happened to find some P&C yarn. Previously I had only used Sugar & Cream. What makes cotton yarn "creamy", anyway?

This weekend should be relaxing. I plan to do some serious knitting, including my third attempt at Ene's Scarf! Wish me luck!

Sweater Weather

Fall is upon us. It was hard for me to get out of bed this morning and drag myself to work. All I wanted to do today was sit on the couch (er, actually the camping chair, since I have no real furniture in the apartment), drink tea, watch movies, and K-N-I-T. I really love fall: apple orchards, pumpkins, apple crisp, eating oatmeal again, wearing clothes I haven't seen for months, fall colors, crunchy leaves, etc. Time for a new sweater!

Pattern: Unisex Knock-Around Cashmere Pullover, known here as the Not Cashmere Sweater, by Teva Durham in Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Cascade 128 Tweed, color 7625, 5 1/2 skeins, I think
Needles: sz 10.5 Addi Turbos
Started: 12 Dec 2005
Finished: 28 Aug 2006
Mods: None
Would I knit this again? Sure, if you gave me free cashmere and forced me to stay in an extended stay hotel with no other projects to work on until I finished it. Oh, and rewriting the pattern more clearly so my poor brain could comprehend it better wouldn't hurt.

The arms grew quite a bit upon blocking (my blocking skills aren't the greatest), but it's still a very wearable sweater. I just have some mental barriers to overcome before I can look at it without being annoyed. This was a very frustrating project for me-I was this close to frogging it. It was stuffed in a bag in the closet for months because I just couldn't bear to look at it.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! We spent most of the weekend looking at the Parade of Homes. It's just a little overwhelming to realize that what we want (3 BR single family home, a yard greater than 6 square inches, a basement, etc.) does not equate with what can afford without selling our souls. (Seriously, we looked at a house on a SLAB in tornado country-come ON people). Not to mention that our condo hasn't gotten any offers yet, my husband doesn't have a job here yet, blah blah blah.

OK, must go read blogs or knit before I work myself into a stress ball over the state of real estate in this country.

Birthday Cake 2006

It's my birthday tomorrow (and my husband's, too!). This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe: Chocolate Amaretto Layer Cake. YUM! It turned out a bit lopsided, but it's going to be soooooooo yummy! I can't wait!

My birthday present to myself arrived today: Knitpicks Options. I'm going to start Ene's scarf on them tonight. 375 stitches, here I come!

Happy weekend, everybody!

FO: Cabled Footies

Cabled Footies from One Skein by Leigh Radford
Started: ? Not in my notes!
Finished: 02 Sep 2006
Needles: Sz 8 bamboo
Mods: Eliminated the elf toe by only doing half of the toe decreases
Yarn: 1 skein of Cascade 220 left over from my Ribby Cardi, which I can't seem to find in my archives, so here's a photo of that. It was my very first sweater.



It's been rather cold here lately. Last Thursday it was a high of 85 degrees. The next day, it was 60. THAT'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO ADJUST! I went to a birthday party on Saturday-outside for 3 hours. I wasn't properly dressed because I didn't REALIZE that it was 55 degrees. Oh well. It got me in the mood for fall.

I broke my "one sock at a time" rule and cast on for two socks the same night. One is the mate to the Trekking sock, so it should go quickly, and the other sock is more complex.

I have a new project in mind...as soon as some very special items come in the mail.

On Another Planet

HELLO!!! It's been hard for me to be away from blogging for so long...I have a lot of catching up to do. I've missed keeping up with the World of Knitting. I moved into our apartment on Friday after 3 weeks in the extended stay. THANK GOD. I can start making a home again. Most of my stuff in still at the condo, but I have enough to get by. However, I think sleeping on the air bed is going to get old really fast. At least I have a phone, internet and Tivo again. Woo hoo!

Things are great here. Although I have a few issues, like getting the husband here for longer than a weekend, selling the condo, and finding a "real" place to live, overall, I've had a great month. I'm feeling really positive about my job. I'm not doing much yet, but that's OK. It's like being on a different planet from my old job. There are people who have been working here for over five years and they are still happy! What a concept! Five years at my old job was pure torture and many people were eaten alive. Nothing against my old company, that's just the nature of the business. Here we have free food practically every time you turn around. Consequently, I have taken up running again (I'm a great walker but very bad runner), with the goal of running the company race at the end of next month. There are many trails here and I'm looking forward to exploring them.

So...my knitting. Here's a shot of my finished "ugly Trekking" sock. It's starting to grow on me.

I worked on this sock while at the LYS which was DANGEROUSLY close to the hotel where I was staying. But it's even closer to my apartment!!!! AAAAAH! I can be there in less than 5 minutes, on foot. And that's not even running! This could be dangerous. However, they also have food and drinks there so I can go there to knit and not have to buy yarn. I've gone twice so far and want to try to go once a week or so. I'm hoping to find a group of people to knit with because I miss my old knitting friends!

Coming soon, two FOs and more regular posting!