It's A Girl!

At 1pm today my aunt had a little baby girl. Weighing in at 8lbs- no idea how tall though. So hello new baby!

Happy Belated Turkey Day!

This year was the second annual family thanksgiving at the Captain and I's house. We had lots of food and I even managed to make my first from scratch pie crust. Delicious! It was loads of fun and I can't wait till Christmas/New Years to see everybody again. As promised, here is a photo of Tony Danza. Isn't he a cutie? He had a ton of fun playing with everyone this weekend.

The good and the bad...

I will start off with the bad news, just to get it over with. My Angel fish Isis is no longer with us. I had her for 2 years. She got a little ill. It is almost impossible to cure and ill fish and I think the trauma of moving to a new tank was too much for her. But, the good news is that we picked up the Captain's Christmas gift early. I got him a ferret. He named him Tony Danza. Who's the boss? Tony Danza! I swear that will never get old. The Captain built him the first story of his ferret condo last night and is supposedly working on the mezzanine and second story today. I will try to get pics out soon. He is such a cutie. I didn't know if I was going to be able to get used to having a wiggly little thief living in the house, but he is so adorable that you just have to laugh. We had him in a large cardboard box while the finishing touches were being put on his cage. We gave him a smaller cardboard box to play with. Well little Tony figured out that if he stood on the small box he could jump out of the big box. Ferret on the loose!

Fishies!!

I got my new fish tank on Tuesday night! I was upgrading from my 5 gal Hex to a 10 gal tank. I got some new decorations and two new fish. The angel fish is Isis, which I have had for 2 years. There are two serpae tetras named Wallace & Grommit. You can see one of them on the left in front of the coral rock feature. I don't know where the other one is in the photo though. They seem to be really happy and I am sure Isis enjoys having more space. I think I am going to put my 5gal Hex up for sale since it is such a nice tank, but if anyone wants it- let me know :-)

There is not a ton going on in the knitting front. I am in the middle of too many large projects. I am focusing on the Equestrian Blazer, since that is the closest to completion. I messed up on one of the waist increases and made a decrease instead, so I am two stitches off. To ladder or to frog? Hmmm... The pattern is a bit confusing for the two front panels. I know that the designer/editor could not write out all the directions for all the sizes because the pattern would end up being 20 pages long- I concede that. But, with 4 paragraphs worth of 'do this at the same time' I am getting lost. Maybe I should just write it out for my size and go from there. I was doing so well up to that one mistake though!! Grrr!

A very belated haloween

I do realize that Halloween is long past, but since I did not have time to post with the wedding in Ny, you are getting it late. We decided to go as Jack Skellington and Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas. The Captain's suit was a Goodwill find and I pounced on the remnants bin at JoAnn's to get the fabric for my dress. I opted to not get a pattern, since I was making a dress for a rag doll. I drew out a sketch, as you can see, and then laid on top of the fabric trying to trace what I wanted the patches to look like. My strumpet dressform helped out while I was in design mode. Luckily the fabric was stretchy enough that I did not have to put a zipper in. The party was fun, though it would have been better if the Captain was not ill. He is doing better and hopefully will be back to health in time for the holidays.

This past weekend was really fun. We got to attend the wedding of two good friends :-) To top it all off I caught the bouquet! It came to rest right at my feet. The look on the Captain's face was priceless! Great food, great people. Actually we got to see a few people we haven't seen in over a year. The favors they gave out were really cute too. They were small terra cotta pots with dirt and basil/chive/parsely seeds. I can't wait to get mine started growing. All in all it was a great time and I managed to finish one of the plain jane socks while I was there. Oh, and I can't forget the fun we had with the Captain's parents!

I will triumph!

The plain jane socks decided to conduct a mutiny while I was in Buffalo, NY attending a diffraction conference. Luckily I have a stronger constitution. After a brief stint in the brig, they were frogged back to the end of the toe increases and re-knit. I was only up to the heel turn, so technically I have only had to frog 1.5 socks worth of this ungrateful yarn. While it was doing hard time, I briefly toyed with the idea of sending them to another ship's brig. They meekly apologized, however, and now they seem to be behaving. Let this be a lesson to you- mutinous yarn can be redeemed.

In other news: the Captain and I have just finished Stage I of farm preparations. We are the proud renters of a nice plot of 'farm land'. We mowed down a 20'-40' swath of 6' tall prarie grass, raked up the leavings, and tried to uproot as many large plants as possible. The hands, calves, and lower back hurts, the Captain has come down with something, and we still have to till before the frist snow. Wish us luck.

My dress form is a strumpet

A while ago I mentioned making a dress form and the ensuing panic attack and other tomfoolery involved. Well I took the strumpet out today to see if I could get her to model my in-progress tree jacket. Did she behave? Noooo... She decided that putting her arms through my sweater was too plebian (which is ironic since being a strumpet sort of qualifies as below pleb status, but I digress). To that I said: Off with her arms. The Captain took the dremel to her and now she is arm-free. Take that strumpet!
Anyways, now that she is behaving, I tried the sweater on her and -voila! C'est magnifique.
The join of the body under the arms was a bit too high. Instead of continuing with the increases, as the pattern suggests, I simply added a few rows of garter. The fit was nice, just not long enough. I also ended up switching needles once I got back to the YO portion. I like my sweaters to be fitted. I understand that the designer wanted this to be loose and fun, so I did a compromise. Down one needle size for me, no additional shaping to please them. I am still on track to finish this by Thanksgiving, lets see if I can make it.

I love my dog

Charlie is such a good little puppy... well...er...largeish puppy, but I do also really like my new pink kitty cat. This is a kiddie sized Sigg bottle. It is made from recylced aluminum and doesn't leech crap into your beverage of choice. Since I have a small tummy and cannot fit all of my liquid requirements into a single meal sitting, I can keep this in my purse to partake of throughout the day.

I do know that you came here for some knitting though. I hope to post some pics soon, but for now here are the updates. The Captain's hoodie is done to the armpits and I am just about ready to do the math for the sleeves. I think this will be cute-uh, I mean, really manly- so I will try to post the pattern here once I finish it. I also just started the left front of the equestrin blazer. More info later!

Ode to Summer

On a still morning I awake to the fluttering of leaves. A light breeze rustles the tree tops- a harbinger of more biting breezes to follow. Autumn has settled in the heartland. Once lush and verdant foliage begins to tear asunder. What was once a lush container garden lies fallow. As I mused whether a scarf was required for the days adventure, I realized we had breached the threshold. Winter is coming. My lustrous summer days are over.

Good thing I love to knit...

Working hard

Photo courtesy of dcassaa.

Time for some updates. I have been working hard this past week in preparation for my first ever invited talk! I have to get my data in better order and some results ready... I think (hope) I will make it. As a result I spent a nice relaxing weekend with my honey to decompress. We played way too much FFXII, but I don't regret it at all. This is seriously the longest game we have ever played. We are about 61 hours in and are not quite 2/3 of the way done with the game. I love it!

In knitting news, the tree jacket has moved past the neck and onto the shoulders. I think I am going to end up knitting an extra small as my gauge is a bit on the larger side. The Dream in Color yarn is just great and the color is so nice that I can't put it down. The Captain has decided that he would like raglan sleeves for the hoodie, so I will have to get the math figured for those shortly. It would be nice to get it all finished for our trip to NYC for our friend's wedding, but I shouldn't delude myself.

Tree Jacket

I have just transitioned from lurker to participant for the Sexy Knitter's Club Tree Jacket KAL. I had actually voted for the Cherie Amour pattern, which I may still knit up, but the Zephyr pattern started really piquing my interest. With no regard for time or sanity, I rushed over to my LYS and bought some lovely royal purple Dream in Color. (Truth be told I was in the store for 30 min with DIC in one hand and a burgandy Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in the other trying to will myself to make a decision. One was shiny, but the other was purple- what was a girl to do?)

I got gauge right away on my super duper bamboo interchangeable needles. I am a bit concerned that the wool may expand upon blocking, but I will just have to take that risk. This will also be my first opportunity to use my homemade dress form for sizing.

What Kind of Knitter are You?

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com
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I just took this quiz over at Marnie Maclean, seems that I am a Knitting Guru. Maybe I should get the Captain to address me as The Guru from now on! What results did y'all get?

Les Dents

What a lovely weekend of lazing about the house; I suppose it was more lovely for me than the Captain. He had his wisdom teeth pulled on Friday (he is fairing well), so most of the ensuing two days were spent making soup and playing Final Fantasy XII. Yes, we are game junkies, no we have no intention of cutting back. I made some almond soup, which is nice as an appetizer, but not so much as a main meal. The butternut squash soup was very nice indeed. I thought I would follow a recipe, but decided I didn't like the recipe much and so came up with my own:
1 butternut squash
2 potatoes
*some* carrots
celery salt and coriander

Boil all in pot with water. Puree the snot out of it and add pepper :-)

I did manage to get some knitting done, however. The Captain's hoodie is coming along nicely. I am up to 12" for the back and front sides. At 15" or so I need to separate the fronts from the back and start doing some math for the shoulder decreases. Most progress was made on the Santa Stocking- the end is in sight. I have a reward system going with myself to keep me on track and cruising along to completion. Thank heavens for the Knit Picks Chart Keeper- I wouldn't have made it this far without it.

Le Slouch

The Le Slouch hat is almost finished. I have only one more inch of seed stitch to go before I start decreasing (i.e., I am a bit farther along than the picture indicates). This is my first skein of Malabrigo chunky. After much debate/swatching/investigation I have determined that this is definately chunky yarn. I know, I know, the 4 stitches per inch should have been the most obvious tip off, but I am a scientist, I like to be thorough. The yarn is super soft and squishy-perfect for a slouchy beret. My other projects have been put on the back burner because of beret obsession, but hopefully that will subside tomorrow and I can get back to the Captain hoodie.

Plain Jane socks

The socks that had been frogged, drowned, and rewound are now being made into standard plain jane toe up socks. This time I aim to work a reverse engineered heel flap à la cybersocks. Sorry to have no photos, but really I am only a couple of rows into the big toe, so frankly there is not much to see. I started with 8 stitches on each of 2 needles and increased at each end every row for a total of 24 stitches. I am now moving on to the increase one row do one row flat routine until it fits my toesies.

Happy Anniversary

Today marks the second year of the Captain and I's blissful togetherness. So here's to you my love (imagine a champagne glass salute!). We had such a packed weekend that we haven't quite decided what to do yet. Incidentally the Captain had plans which may/may not work out. I for one had completely forgotten and thus had no plans working or not. Gotta love him!

This weekend was packed as I said. The cavalier broke, so we had to take it to the shop. That was after our lovely before breakfast bike ride to Harner's Restaurant for the best pancakes in town! The ride there is cruel due to lack of breakfast. The ride back is almost worse because your body is tired from the first leg and your stomach is fighting your muscles for blood supply as it wants to make use of the yummy pancakes. Sigh. From there we jumped the car and took it to the shop. A sore pocketbook later, we picked it up and began the massive spring cleaning/cooking/cleaning and waxing of cars. I somehow managed to finish the Watchcap for my dad, cast on Le slouch in Malabrigo chunky and play an inordinate amount of Final Fantasy XII.

Cher Baudelaire

The Baudelaire socks are done! I got to wear them to work today. I really liked the pattern, but was not too jazzed by the heel and toe. They are not bad, just not my style. My heel is narrow, so I think I have to pick a construction that pulls in a little more in that area. They are very comfy though. Specs:
Pattern- Baudelaire by Cookie A (Knitty 2006)
Yarn- Rowan Classic Yarn cashsoft (bit of cashmere on the footsies)
Needles- US size one Clover bamboo

I was at Fringe for their knit night on Tuesday and they were having a 2 for 1 sale. These are the minds behind Dream in Color so I had to take a look. I managed to snag a skein of Malabrigo worseted (on the right) and a skein of DIC (left). I was informed that the DIC was a colorway that was not ultimately sold, so I guess I have a unique skein. As it has no color name or ball band, I am assuming these are sock weight and thus a pair of socks will be made at some point in time.
I also got my Ravelry invite! I signed up, ordered my super cool Beta tester special t-shirt ('I swatched Ravelry'- it cracks me up!). I am slowly adding pictures on there, so hopefully my sorry photography skills will start improving.

Concert weekend

We had so much fun this weekend. Friday we pretty much hung out at the house, but saturday I met Luscious Luka in the city for the Renegade craft fair. Silk screen t-shirts and wacky stationary is really not my thing and the fiber artists were not really representing, but I did get some nice au natural artisanal milk soap. That night the Captain met up with us and we went to go see Ingrid Michaelson at Schubas tavern. I had only heard a few of her songs before, courtesy of the Cast On podcast, but she was really great. I love it when you can go to a concert and hear a wonderfully in tune singer. So many people these days only sound good with severe corrections to the vocals, that it is so refreshing to hear a true voice talent. So far today we have made a major dent in Final Fantasy XII. Sundays are awesome.

Super fun Trip

We had a blast in Belgium. The vacation was realaxing, fun, and we even got a few really nice weather days while we were there. I got to eat my firt mittraiette (sp?), which was about as good as a Wendy's burger (basically french bread, mayo, chopped meat, lettuce, and french fries- yes on the sandwich). I ate steak, fries, tasted a vol au vent, drank great wine and went to a superb birthday party replete with homemade jam and crepes. That's me in front of the Basilisc for the Da Vinci exhibit. I have to say I was a bit dissappointed at the exhibit, but to be fair it had been really hyped to us by the paper and we went with too high expectations. If you just go to learn about his life and see some good works from his contemporaries, though, it will not dissappoint.

Once we got back we had some friends up for a baseball road trip. We saw the Cubs play as well as the Brewers. It was really good to see all of the Long Islanders again. Now it is back to work, which is good- I have more things to scientifically discover :-)

Camping Trip

We went to Chain of Lakes State park with our new gear and bikes in tow. It was pretty cool. We got to see nature and ride our bikes with working restrooms and a place to get coffee nearby :-). The Captain got a nice fire going so we could cook the corn, potatoes, and lamb burgers. I worked on the watchcap for my dad and then we packed in for the night. I could not sleep well. I had a mat under my sleeping bag, so the old hips were doing alright. I know it 'looks' pretty tame and civilized in the photo, but it was much more wilderness than one petite tricoteuse is used to. The problem was that our neighbors were pretty near and nature is loud. Every few minutes I thought some beast (human or otherwise) was coming near our tent. I finally started drifting off when I noticed the fire had lit itself again. I roused the Captain and he put it out. This happened twice. It might have happened a third time, but at 2 am what appeared to be a MONSOON struck. The wind was blowing our tent sideways. The Captain had to rush out and collect the chair and blanket that was blowing away. We were at the lee of the tree so we didn't get too pelted with rain. (Boy am I glad that we decided to put the cover of the tent on. Even though it was sureley excessive since it was sunny and couldn't possibly rain *sheesh*.

To top it all off, there was a mosquito in the tent. We were so diligent about keeping the tent closed, but the Monsoon distracted us. I had 33 mosquito bites from the mid thigh down. The official count was made 2 days after the fact because my left heel was so puffed up that what appeared to be a giant bite was actually 7 individual ones. I am thankful that I have neither West Nile or Elephantitis. The nature seemed to love the rain storm. The caterpillar on our tent roof seemed quite pleased with himself.