Sock Total = 7



Sock Details: size 2 dpn- 60 stitches pictured below from left to right a mystery skein purchased in Florida in Summer of 06, Regia from Marc at Knit Night (Summer 09), Happiest Girl from Abundant Yarns in Portland OR(summer 08), and Regia from a destash bin at Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber(Spring 09),



Those 2 kids come tomorrow evening and we pick up the train on Monday morning. Travel treats include an EasyShare camera, a blank journal with appropriate stickers, rechargable batteries, a map of Manhattan, and a deck of cards.

gratuitous mirror image

First knits often get the gratuitous mirror shot so this will be the token sewing mirror image.

For as badly as this went while I was doing it, (I clearly need more practice and patience when it comes to gathering) I believe this will be a wearable and comfortable garment. Go Figure.

There are elastic issues at the top-as in the elastic sneaks up past the top hem. I won't be wearing anything tucked in with it but that wasn't the plan anyway.

For a first go-round I am pleased with the effort. There is still some finishing to do. Maybe when it's done Mr. Sophanne will take the "money shot."

flummoxed part deux

A list of things done in the last 24 hours.

1. Test the sewing machine. All is well.

2. Read the pattern about 15 times. I think I've got it.

3. Pick up plenty of fabric at Joanne's.

4. Wash, dry AND IRON said fabric. No short cuts here. I'm doing this one right.

5. Cut the pieces according to the directions- oh the thrill/anxiety/freedom of cutting without a pattern. It only took until the fourth piece to let my math skills work for me.

6. Retest the sewing machine. Holy crap! The stitches are the right width and the right tension. That NEVER happens.

7. Load up the bobbin.

8. Begin to sew pieces together only to find that my sewing machine prefers reverse no matter where the little switchy knob thing is.

9. Take a shower and call it a day.

I put it in "reverse" to wind the bobbin. It never came back. Also the foot pedal randomly snaps down although I haven't caught my fingers yet. Damn.

I wanted to be one of those people who declared the greatness of their 20 year old sewing machine.

Most of me wants to go visit that place that sells stuff cheap and pick one up on Monday (waiting so that Mr. Sophanne doesn't worry that I'm obsessing about it.) Part of me says quit while I can.

flummoxed

That describes the dog with me home all day. I think she may be secretly disappointed not to be able to greet me in the afternoons. We've kept to our walk in the a.m. regimen, beating the rain on several occasions.



The makings of the Karma Throw. Who knew Mission Falls made cotton yarn asked the girl assuming it would be wool. It's a very interesting textury sort of fiber and while it's maybe not my favorite thing to knit with, I believe I will be pleased with the washable results.



Sock Count- I'm up to three. I have a working theory on using stash yarn. I'm not sure if we are psychologically disposed to use it as we should. The stripey yarn came as a destash prize from knitnight Marc. I had no problems ripping it open and laying down a sock. As I ponder using yarn that I purchased and have marinating, I am less inclined to do so. What's up with that? Is it the "what if the perfect pattern comes along and I've used that yarn already?" syndrome. As if more yarn could never be gotten. Like I said, it's a working theory. No conclusions yet.



I've been googling peasant skirts and believe that they are the most perfect article of summer clothing for my buddha belly and not always perfectly shorn legs. The link is a "how-to" without messing around with those pesky patterns. That may be next week's goal. I can only hope that the fabrics at Joanne's are more appealing than the yarns.

Also- note to self. Spices make food taste better. We whimsically picked up chicken seasoning and miraculously ate food last night that, as Mr. Sophanne put it, "didn't taste like you were eating it because it was good for you." All Hail Chicken Seasoning.

Whiz Bang of a Finish

So, I stopped in my Michael Scott's office to get the final "you're done for the year" signature and attempting to make conversation said something trite like- "another good year."

To which Michael replied- "It was a pissy year."

I said, "At least it's over."

Is it any wonder that we're first in line for the "Why Do You Have More Stickie Notes Than I Do-How to Improve your Work Climate" seminars?

Summer Vacation Day One- Dog walk, nap, yarn sorting, clutter rearranging, laundry, defrost the chicken kind of day.

Sock #3 is on the needles.

GooglescammerReader

Can someone please tell me how to make the advertisements that appear when I click my "next" button for google reader disappear?

I click along thinking I'm going to get wisdom from Rosemary, a decent cakewreck, a captioned LOLcat, or chickenlips displaying her wares on her Etsy site and am suddenly held hostage by teeth whitening "blogs."

In knitting news... I'm working on the hood of the Central Park Hoodie- version bunny. It should be done within the week. The seaming doesn't bother me but I may balk a little at the ribbed edging stitches that will have to be picked up and knitted.

I'm waiting for this kit to arrive from Canada so while cph was blocking I cast on a plain vanilla sock. I'm wondering how many plain vanilla socks I can knit in one summer. Mr. Sophanne says 28. I might try to knit through my sock stash since a dog we all know has done a number on my earliest socks.

So what is your guess on the number of socks an attention deficit knitter can knit in 2 months? (one at a time on dpns)

Today is brought to you by

... the llama song.

I woke up with it in my head. None of the words. Just llama over and over and I couldn't remember the punchline (duck.) I kept thinking llama llama goat.

At one point (6:30ish)in the I'm never really fully awake until 10:00 am morning I found myself wandering my home, searching for a bra to wear with nothing in it's place, with the llama song in my head. (Half nekkid girl wandering the house with the llama song in her head) As the search got longer- the song went faster. I was sure I was going to find it at the same time as the punchline in the song- didn't happen. Support was found under some clothes. The song continued. I remembered the word "duck." At the same moment I looked on the kitchen table and saw another bra- just hanging out on the kitchen table. Apparently I'm not so coherent in the post-knit night hours after 9:00 pm. Seriuosly- I crack me up.

What was so distracting? All I can figure is that I was still basking in the pleasant aura of a really nice knit night.

I've had a little cold and thought about skipping another week but something (probably KNQDebbie) pushed me onward. When I got there, Marc was passing out some free Reggia sock yarn that he was trying to destash.

Ruth gave me a present-a "Global Monopoly" -the electonic/travel edition (with ATM cards instead of money) to play with the kids on the train

Judy asked KNQD what she was knitting and Debbie said "a chicken." That just makes me laugh. When explaining how she was knitting it in the round and then going to steek it to stuff it I suggested that her chicken was going to get an episiotomy. Her daughter recently built a chicken house and therre were stories of chickens and eggs as well.

Joyce said "I wouldn't win a lottery if I was the only one entered."

The thing about knit night is when you're feeling less than perfect, your friends come, hang out with you, and laugh at your stupid comments. Then you feel a little less less than perfect.

bocce-bocci-boccie

So, last weekend Mr. Sophanne said "let's get groceries at the new W@Lm@rt." I find that place to be overwhelming and sinisterly predatory. Some people love it- that's fine by me.

In an attempt to discourage this behavior, I picked up some not so random but definitely unnecessary things as we perused the aisles. Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii. And a Bocce game set. My plan is that if he thinks I spend obsessively whenever I go there, we won't have to go anymore.


If you click here you'll find the rules to bocce that we mostly followed. Except we only used three balls each (I'm not sure why) and we tied the dog leash to the tree so she wouldn't chase the jack (the little white ball that you aim at with the other balls.) Mr. Sophanne won 11-5.

If you really want some fun, you play Liza Bocci which involves removing the dog from the leash and letting her chase and keep the jack. It sort of randomizes any skills because once she has too many bocce balls tossed her way, she gets up and takes the jack with her. I won that round 11-7. No animals were injured in the playing of this version.

In additional updates-

The kindergarten flowers have been confirmed as impatiens and are still alive and well.

Central Park Hoodie the Rabbit version (angorish) has a right front, left front, and back. The sleeves (worked 2 at a time) are on the needles.

There are five more days of school with kids left- each day has something going on where multiple classes will not be there for one reason or another. Sometimes I try to pre-schedule my free time so I don't fritter it away. I have not done this as of yet. There will be some flute-playing, some dinner making and a trip to my favorite bookstore for some escapical fiction. Also plenty of dog walks and knitting but that's a given.

Quite frankly, the second to last Friday before the last Friday before school is the most dreaded in my mind. It's like a practice run for the last day only there are many more kids there.

The Weather Creators that be smiled upon me this last Friday before the Last Friday today. Giant thunderstorms. Massive power outage. No students. I've just discovered something better than a snow day.

Teachers were required to report. My room has no windows. There was nothing for me to do. I took a personal day. I am thrilled.

Given that Cynthia has had a pile of sad in her life, I am volunteering my temporary exclamation point services.

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a little premature Alice Cooper.

a little drizzly

It's been a little drizzly here at House of Sophanne.

So much so that I was weary of rainy travel and stayed home instead of venturing to knit night.

Sometimes I like to believe that we have the perfect home for faeries if they want to live here.

What I've learned about lace knitting

Don't do it during PMS or the last 3 weeks of school. Start a nice Central Park Hoodie in Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed Denim instead. Even if you won't get to wear it for another six months. Then there's no hurry to finish. Which means that you will finish it quickly.



I'd like to pretend I knit things more than once to fix the mistakes in the last one. Really I knit them more than once because I can be relatively sure that I'll be able to do it. So much for fearless knitting. I like the occasional safety of a pattern repeated.

I know no one will be able to see the tweedy cable but I like the yarn, it's my sweater and I'll knit what I want.

Meanwhile I just heard the tipple tipple of little mice feet in the ceiling tiles and don't know whether to inform Mr. Sophanne or not-recalling the spastic response the last time.

A short story for my teacher friends who follow:

I was invited to serve on a board of education committee to determine how to spend stimulus money. Sometimes these committees are for show- sometimes you feel as though you've got a voice. I like this superintendent so I decided it's worth a try. To attend the first meeting on time I would need to leave my far away school about 15 minutes before my actual finish time- thus shorting a classroom teacher of her full planning time. When I made what I thought would be the quick phone call to confirm this common courtesy, I got the cold shoulder. I emailed the principal to determine whether this really would be a problem. She told me she would instead pay for a 1/2 day sub to cover for me. FOR FIFTEEN FLIPPIN' MINUTES. I can recommend one way not to spend the stimulus money. I hate this time of year.

Out in the World

Thanks to camnesia, you won't be seeing the sign that said "spaghetti dinner enter here" at the only door to the firehouse we ate at last night. You also won't see a picture of the WV Barbershop singers "The Mountainaires" in their bright WV gold golf shirts. I'm not a big fan of the whole barbershop scene but do love to watch people singing together because they love to. The added bonus of sounding good helped as well.

This morning, knit night friends came to the 'burg for the Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Festival. It was lovely to see them and now they know where I walk my dog. This fiber gathering is relatively underwhelming, which for me is a good thing. I purchased a little fiber-nothing to write home about- and a squeaky duck toy for the dog.

After seeing the border collies at MDS&W, the Waynesburg version seemed a little like a keystone cop episode- a cute adorable keystone cop episode where the dog pauses for water at the duck swimming pool and then later a sheep does also. I think they were "mailing it in."

But fear not- I had my camera and was able to capture the BEST PART OF THE SHOW. Border Collie Puppies!!!!!!!!!!





When watching them at MDSW, I believed that Liza Jane had some border collie in her but figured that I was just projecting or whatever it's called when you see something and believe it somehow relates to you. Now that I've seen border collies as puppies, I'm pretty well convinced of it.

Liza as a puppy

Sometimes when you're sad, it's hard to post but you feel like you must.

This young man was the grandson of the woman who first put knitting needles in my hands.

He was named after the family that his grandma lost in the Holocaust

I remember the phone calls from Israel when he used to call his Grandpa - the alleged intermediary- to negotiate a good price for his teeth from the tooth fairy.

I remember when he left the states one summer in his teens with boxes of candy not available in Israel to be a small-time entrepreneur.

I remember his Grandma and Grandpa's 40th wedding anniversary. His siblings were always very kind to me-a sort of surrogate daughter to their Grandma- but always a little wary of why a grown woman not related would befriend her. He, on the other hand saw a kindred spirit and hung out with Mr. Sophanne and I throughout the evening.

I know that he was to turn 21 next month, was to be out of the army in 3 months and had a visit to his grandma scheduled to paint the porch shortly after. I know that he used his skills as a medic to save the life of a Palestinian man the week prior.

There is just so much suffering on the planet. Sometimes I wish it weren't so.

Did I mean Petunia?

O.k. I got no clue when it comes to flowers- I called this a pansy the other day but I'm guessing visual confirmation and flower-smart bloggers might tell me that it's a petunia-or something that doesn't even begin with the letter P. (but I hope it does)



At any rate, it survived the weekend in complete dry blackness- didn't even look worse for the wear until I dumped it slightly in my car as I was getting out. Will this thing get bigger if I let it or is it one of those daffydil-like things that says hey I'm blooming-hey I'm done?

I've Got The Bug

Not the H1N1- The Lace bug.

First on deck- Forest Canopy The Two in Stichjones' (mymommadethis on etsy) daffodil- or as I like to call it daffydil. I am understanding the pattern and the errant yo's that are missed are easily caught and fixed. Can you believe it- this is my "easy no brainer knit!" I've only got 400 some yard of this stuff so I'll go until it stops. I may dedicate the walls of the knit/book room to hanging lace if nothing else- it's just so magical.




Next at bat- Icarus. The beginning is so not very hard as long as one pays attention. I will definitely put in a lifeline before the edging commences but that my be a few years from now. This is Helen's Lace made by Lorna's Lace in the color Sherbert. I think it has the hint of "going too near the sun" in color.



Long-time readers may notice that I've stepped out of my color comfort zone. I'm usually an earth tone kind of knitter but that daffydil was so beautiful and it opened the door to much more. Plus both Cookie and Shameka like pink and I like their knitting. Don't you just love influential bloggers. Also in the interest of full disclosure, I've got some Merrell clogs coming my way thanks to kmkat's posting and love of them. I'm such a follower- or maybe I just know who to listen to!

Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Festival is at the Greene County Fair Grounds this weekend. It's a great place not to be overwhelmed and to acquire beautiful handspun fiber.

Pansy

Today in a pile of sweetness 18 kindergarten students entered my room, presented me with a pansy in a plastic cup with musical stickers on it and announced "Happy Mother's Day." They (and their teachers) know that I don't have any children and declared that I could be the mother of the kindergarten class. Dixie presented the gift and Kate informed me that I was to water it every day. In a pile of continued sweetness I said "I'll be the mother of that flower."

And at the end of the day, I promptly forgot to bring it home with me.

G.

It's puzzling to me that guacamole and glaucoma are so similar in sound and appearance and so different in really life.

Happy Birthday Mr. Sophanne

We had a monkey theme this year. He had some smiles. I love that.

yess-eet eez blocking

Forest Canopy the First is blocking. There are plenty of errors that I won't bother pointing out. Even this smallish low quality picture will likely reveal them. I do not mind them. I understand the pattern and I understand that one must look at lace while working on it because it will make sense. Errant shoes in photo are women's size 10 for scale.

Forest Canopy the Two is on the needles in some beautiful Daffodil from Stitchjones. I love the way lace makes my brain work. I will continue to do it even if there are lots of mistakes.

Unfortunately...

Janna at knittingrelaxesme did this meme and it's one that made me laugh so I'm copying her.

The directions are-You google the phrase "Unfortunately, {name}," with your name inserted, then post the first 15 hits. I'm just posting the first three that made me laugh.


1. unfortunately Becky suffers from surprise nose bleeding disease

2. Unfortunately Becky's compulsive shopping and growing debt threaten to destroy her love life and disrupt her career

3. Unfortunately Becky is now gone