I didn’t know I could do that

Read lace charts, that is. 

One day, as I was knitting, I realized that I was using a chart to knit.  It’s something that I had stayed away from because I’m not a very visual person; I’m much more comfortable with words.  Looking back, I think I’ve been reading from a chart for some time now.  Who knew?

The proof is in the pudding:

This is the Orchid Lace Scarf.  The pattern was written by Anne Hanson, the mistakes were done by me.  You know, I love looking at the lace that other’s have knit, but I’m not sure yet that I love lace knitting.  I think it has more to do with my issues for long-term projects.  I’m not a scarf knitter anymore.  Not because I think I’m beyond that, but because they just take too long and they are booooooring.  Using the fine yarn has been a boring, and while the pattern isn’t terribly complicated, it requires that I pay attention to it.  I’m ambivalent about lace knitting at the moment.

Well, except lace in socks.  Now that, I love!

This is sock #1 of the Merino Lace socks.  I’m working on the heel flap of sock #2 now and I hope to get it done before the weekend is over.  My next pair of socks will be the lovely pattern and yarn from the Chewy Spaghetti sock club. 

Do you Dream in Color?

I started these on Friday and I finished them today.  They’re super easy and super fast and I really like them.  I’ve felt a bit bogged down because I haven’t had as much knitting time, and it was nice to have a project that went fast.

These were done in Dream In Color Classy in the Hot Waffle Mitts pattern.  The yarn is great and the pattern is well written.

As I mentioned in the last post, I’ve been working on a sock pattern that I love. 

This is the Merino Lace pattern from Favorite Socks using Dream in Color Smooshy, which was a Christmas gift.  I happen to think that this yarn and this picture show off the pattern better than the yarn/picture in the book.  As with most lace patterns, it seems to go quickly and I’m almost ready to start on the heel flap.  Dream in Color may soon be my favorite sock yarn.  I never thought I’d stray away from Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, but DIC is so soft and the colors are interesting, but still work great for all patterns.  I love the tight twist that CTH has, though.

However much I’ve had a productive knitting weekend, this was the big excitement in our house this weekend:

LouLa got her Big Girl Bed!  She had been using her crib, converted to a daybed.  It’s become more and more obvious that she needed something bigger.  She’s been having pretty major sleeping issues, which has been frustrating and one of the reasons my knitting and reading have drastically slowed down.  The last week has gotten better and I’m hopeful that it will continue to go well.  A little bribery in the form of a “Prize Bag” and a little chemical help in the form of Triminic Night Time (Better living through chemistry, right?), in addition to our consistentcy, have finally paid off.  

I hope I didn’t jinx everything.  

Feb. 2008 Blue Plate Special

I love it!  The yarn is 70% merino wool and 30% silk.  Can it get any better?  It’s so soft.  I love that the yarn ball is made with the same yarn.  It’s a great touch.  The pattern looks great, too.  I have a little rule for myself that I can’t work on more than one pair of socks at a time.  I broke that rule a little bit when I was knitting for the Sock Swap, but the other pair was plain stockinette.  My fear is that if I let myself start more than one sock at a time, I may never get any pairs done, I’ll just have a bunch of single socks.  I am seriously thinking of breaking that rule.  I finished my Hill Country yarn socks on Monday and I cast on this amazing pair on Tuesday.  I should have waited, because I had a feeling that I would get my BPS on Wednesday, and sure enough, it came on Wednesday.  I love the socks I’m working on now (I’ll get a picture tomorrow), but I really would like to see how this yarn knits up.  Maybe….

Page 123

I’ve been tagged by Kate.  I am supposed to look on page 123 of the nearest book, start on the fifth sentence and type out the next three sentences.  Here goes…

” ‘Why don’t you go upstairs, Laila.  Go on.’

As she moved toward the steps, Laila heard the visitor say to Babi that he had news from Panjshir.  Mammy was in the room now too.”

-A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

It’s an excellent book so far (I’m on page 139).  I haven’t been able to read at night because I’ve been pretty exhausted the last couple of weeks, so instead of reading a good book, I’ve been reading a book that I hate.  Hey, if I’m only going to read a page or two, why bother reading something I like?  Yesterday I broke down and started this one and I’m so glad I did.  I don’t know how much reading I’ll be able to get done during the week, but there’s always the weekend. 

Can I get some more room?

The new bed is king-sized.  Theoretically, that means that I have more room.  Yeah, right.

In reality, all I get is a small corner of the bed. 

Now, in this picture, the brown blanket is up farther than it usually is.  Let’s say that it generally covers about one-third of the bed.  That means that I get the other two-thirds.  Why?  Well, the brown blanket is the domain of:

Boo Boo- 18 pounds

Punk- 11 pounds

Knock Knock- 6 pounds

That’s 35 pounds that I would have to move in the middle of the night.  I’m not sure I can do that while fully awake, much less  when I’m half-asleep. 

This morning, I had another visitor:

LouLa- 38 pounds

Instead of staying towards the bottom of the bed, she was pressed right up against me.  Literally, her cheek was pressed against my face.  My sweet little girl has the morning breath of her daddy,which is not pleasant at all.

But, yet, I let it happen, to some degree.  There’s something nice about having three cats cuddle up by your feet (or on your feet/legs) on a cold night.  No matter how bad the breath is, there is nothing like having the sweet sleeping face of a 3 year old next to yours.  Waking up stiff, with a headache, is worth it.