May the bug bite you, and may it bite you bad

Well, on the knitting front I’ve recovered nicely from the frogged Jaywalker.

This one fits and I’m much happier with it. I do like this pattern a lot. I’ve pretty much knitted exclusively on it this week. And it hasn’t been hard because I’m afraid I’ve gotten a little bored with the other project I have on the needles.



I’m halfway through the sleeves on the red cardigan and I don’t want to say it’s like slogging through concrete but well, sometimes it is. I can’t believe it. I’m the girl that loves mindless knitting. Miles of stockinette. Hours of straight stitching. Well I guess I’ve met my match. I’m not sure if it’s the yarn (it’s acrylic, which is ok, but after this much of it it no longer says ‘touchmepickmeupknitme’ all the time) or the color (it’s almost exactly the same color as the last sweater I knit, that could bring about boredom too). But something has me just wanting to get through this. I think it’s that I also know once I do finish the sleeves I still have a few weeks of seaming and buttonbands to go (I usually only do that stuff on the weekends in high concentration mode so it takes a while) and probably not much wearing time left in the season. It could also be all the other patterns I’ve been looking through and planning. Or that this is the smallest gauge I’ve ever knit a sweater for myself with. Who knows. But I’m going to keep at it. Since that’s the only way it will ever get done I guess.

In other hobby news I purchased my first pair of clip-on cycle shoes this week. They clip onto the pedals of a stationary bike to keep your feet in place. They’re better for your feet and can give you a better workout than just using regular sneakers.



I’ve been taking cycling classes at my gym for quite a while now and I love it. (It’s also called spinning but whenever I tell people I took a spinning class they always assume it’s the fiber yarn making kind of spinning:) Depending on my schedule I usually go to the gym between 3 and 5 times a week and I alternate between cycling and kickboxing classes. I know, I’m chubby for a healthy person, but at least I’m healthy and I’ve made my peace with that. But that’s a topic for another day...

Anyway, the story I want to tell you about today is about my new friend-the cycle guy. I went to a cycle shop near where I work to get the shoes. When I was there I asked the man helping me about getting a bike too. I haven’t owned a bike since, well probably since age 13 or 14. But I like these cycle classes a lot, and sometimes see one of those weekend cyclists riding around on a beautiful day and think "Hey, I could get used to that." Nonetheless, I probably won’t be getting a bike soon. According to my sales person if I want to get set up with a quality bike for the long haul (which I do) he positively assured me that he could definitely get me set up for less than $400. Which wouldn’t be so bad. I don’t want a toy but I’m not about to start cycling competitively either. So it’s not completely out of the question, but also not an amount I’ll be running out to spend tomorrow either. Anyway, we started talking about biking in the area and all the trails, biking by the beach and in the woods. And his eyes glazed over a bit and he spoke a little quickly and I noticed he had a look on his face all too familiar to me. As he went on to tell me how wonderful it is to cycle in our area and how alive it makes him feel when he hits the road I couldn’t help but think "I totally know this look. This is how I look when I talk about knitting." After a few minutes the conversation wound down and I told him if I did decide to buy I would go back to his shop. It means a lot to me that the person selling to me really cares about what they’re selling. He said that would be fine and told me, "Well, may the bug bite you and may it bite you bad." And I nodded and smiled. Because I understood. After all I have all these knitting bug bites all over me already right?

A Frog and Some Dogs

So how much yarn would you say goes into a halfway completed Jaywalker sock? Probably about this much.



Probably? More like definitely. Unfortunately the Jaywalker got thrown into the frog pond today. Here is a picture of it before the swim in all it's pink and stripey lovely Trekking glory



Sigh.... Now I understand what Sachi meant when she commented "Just remember that they don't stretch. At all." Up until this point it seemed like the sock would be fine. It slid over my foot just fine. Not really tight, but still not all loosey goosey like that first attempt. But today I knit the heel flap, which was seeming a little shallow. I was prepared to make it longer than in the pattern and decided to try the sock on to see how it would go. And it turns out it wouldn't go- over my ankle at all that is. Now I understand the part about the stretching. The leg fit over my foot just fine, and it probably would also fit around my leg just fine. What I really need is some stretch and leeway to get it over my heel. So I've already re-cast it. I'm keeping it on the size 1's because I think it shows the stitches better than the 2's. I'm just going up to the 84 stitch size. But if this doesn't work, then I'm afraid I don't know where we're going with this. They might turn out to be socks for someone else. We'll have to see.

So since the sock frogging incident left me a little, well... dejected. To cheer me up the husband was sweet and decided to take me out for a hot dog.



Last month the cover of New Jersey Monthly Magazine featured their article on cheap eats. Great places to eat for less than $15 bucks. Some of the places in there look fabulous, and this weekend we decided to try our first one Amazing Hot Dog in Verona, New Jersey. Which also got an excellent "4 grease stains" rating on the Holly Eats website Tracy shared with me awhile ago. A great site to look and and drool over. Let me tell you the hot dogs... well, they were absolutely amazing, just the fix for a frogged sock.



You can get a "Classic" hot dog which is a wonderful 1/4 pound start. But most of the dogs on their menu start with their "Amazing" dog which you may or may not be able to tell from the pictures, is one of the 1/4 pound dogs, wrapped in bacon and deep fried. That's right- I didn't say steamed, I didn't say blanched, no these babies are DEEP FRIED!!! (Disclaimer-Don't worry, I promise I don't eat like this every day, I have a lot of yarn in my stash and if I die too early it won't get knit after all.) My favorite that we had? The one called "My Schmero!" in the lower left hand corner, an Amazing Dog served on a bun spread with cream cheese and sprinkled with scallions. Maybe it sounds weird but it was so good!!!! (And you know I'm beginning to now consider how cream cheese really can complement a variety of foods...) Vinny had to have the one pictured at the top called "The Jersey Breakfast Dog." That one is served with a fried egg and cheese. Yeah. Also on there is the "Smokey Joe" served with barbecue sauce and baked beans of course. And then one traditional Amazing Dog with mustard and sauerkraut. MMM... Fries on the side, and oh the little fried things in the middle? Those are Egg Roll dogs- mini hot dogs wrapped in egg roll wrappers served with duck sauce. Delish!!!

The owner tried to talk us into trying their "Amazing Hot Dog Superhero Challenge." Eat 6 specialty dogs and get your name on their plaque. Apparently only one person has done it so far and it only took them 45 minutes. We knew, we could just tell by the pictures there was just no way. We were more than fine with what we had ordered. We got our dogs sat down to eat and other than just saying "MMM" a lot we were pretty quiet. After a few gluttinous minutes in Vinny was halfway through his first dog. He looked up and half spoke/half sighed "It's really good.... Really... But there's no way I could ever eat 6 of these f**king things..." And trust me, 6 normal hot dogs for Vinny, not such a challenge. But these Amazing Dogs? Well, you can only taking in so much Amazing in one sitting... Highly recommended.

Beastie Boys Survey

Swiped this survey from Sunneshine and just had to do it. Why? Because I own this shirt



Now I didn't buy this shirt anywhere, even though Craftster does have some pretty cute ones. No I actually had this shirt made. I had to have it in black (of course) so I ordered it from Neighborhoodies which is a fine business I recommend highly. Anyway-so now you know I'm not only the type of geek to go to the trouble of having a shirt like this made but I also do really love those Beastie Boys just that much. So when I saw this survey loosely based on the lyrics from the very same song as my t-shirt is based on, well I knew it was destined for a blog post.

1. I've been hooked on the needles since: Learned to crochet from grandma when I was 5. Knitting from my godmother soon after.

2. I'm still a virgin, but not for long: I’m dying to knit a big fancy lace shawl this summer. Also socks on 2 circulars. I’m also a virgin to steeking but I don’t think I’ll be getting past that one for awhile.

3. She's crafty - she gets around...to : Knitting everyday or every other if that’s not possible. If not I’m a serious crank. Seriously. And I rarely miss a meal. You don’t want to see me hungry either... Give me yarn and food and everybody’s happy...

She's crafty - she's always down...for: Knitting, tivo, trivia, eating out, cooking for friends, online shopping.

She's crafty - she's got a gripe...about : The serious injustices in the world today. The blatant consumerism in this country. The fact that youth culture has been replaced with Coach bags and Lindsey Lohan. The phone, I hate it. MySpace, I just don’t get it. I feel like I was a geek in high school and now I’m a geek on MySpace. But lets not talk about the gripes...

She's crafty - and she's just my type. What type of knitter are you? A process knitter (as opposed to a project knitter). I like the finished objects, but it’s the activity of sitting there and concentrating and knitting and relaxing that always brings me back... See #3.

4. I'm dying to try: lace shawl knitting.

5. I gravitate towards colors like: Black. Gray. Red. Purple. Green. Brown.

6. My most cherished possession (kids, pets, family don't count) is: Maybe this sounds cheezy but for as much of a collector as I am I’m really not into possessions lately. They’re things. Lately for me it’s all about people and action. Put me in a store (unless it’s a yarn store or I need something) and I feel bored to tears. I don’t need anything. Time, rest, peace of mind, more time to knit, now that’s the stuff I really need.

7. I'm stuck on an island, what am I reading? A knitting or food magazine. Or doing crosswords or sudoku.

8. If I were about to be executed and I was offered a last meal , I'd be dining on: It’s ridiculous how I’ve always known the answer to this question and it comes up in conversation a lot-rack of lamb, Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic, and creme brulee for desert.

9. Music to knit by: I usually knit to the tv or to podcasts. Music on the ipod right now would include the Pixies, NOFX, Bad Religion, Ella Fitzgerald, the Replacements, Louis Jordan...

10. I have a crush on: Jim Halpert on The Office. Drool....

11. Least favorite celeb: I don’t know why this question kind of bugs me. But I guess I’d have to say Teri Hatcher. Can she have any more plastic surgery? And this is supposed to be our new standard of beauty in this country?

12. Choose:Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp? Johnny Depp

Madonna or Janet Jackson? Old Janet Jackson- the Control album, I wish there were more female artists out there that still were delivering that type of message to young women. Sadly, I’m afraid I think Janet has even abandoned it for that troll Jermaine Dupree....

June Cleaver or Peg Bundy? Peg, only because Katey Segal also did the voice of Leela on Futurama

Jackie or Marilyn? Jackie

Love or Money? Love

Brains or Looks? Brains

Math or English? For me english, but because my math is lacking, I’m totally impressed by it in others.

Cat or Dog? Cat

Leader or follower? Hmm.... How about sarcastic bystander? Degenerative heckler? I’m not a follower, but I don’t think anyone should follow me either. Really. Do I look like I know where the heck I’m going?

Beer or Champagne? Good beer-I’m a beer snob. Although I wouldn’t turn down good Champagne either.

13. My favorite smell? The grill in the summer. Bacon cooking. The smell when you walk in Carvel Ice Cream.

14. Not many people know this about me: Nobody knows that stuff for a reason... :)

15. My hidden talent is: digesting legal info and spitting it back out sounding like I understand what I’m saying. Yeah, that one’s hidden for a reason...

Happy knitting, hope everyone's having a great weekend, I'll be posting knitting pics soon.

It's a socky kind of week

Pattern: Standard toe-up sock pattern from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks

Yarn: Lana Grossa's Meilenweit Fun & Stripes in color #625.

Needles: Takumi Bamboo #2 dpns

Previously deemed the Fugazi socks this project has seen me through thick and thin and good times and bad times. And I do think I have finally made my peace with them. As things gradually started to calm down the knitting on the socks seemed to calm down and I realized that these were really pretty simple little stockinette socks that are actually pretty cute. I think I'm going to like wearing them and I think we should have a long happy life together as long as they keep me warm. Pardon the lame picture with the rolled up jeans. I know you can't see the tops of the socks but I'm a married woman and it's February. In the winter I shave my legs just often enough so no one at the gym will complain, close up sock photography is a whole different ball game I'm just not up for this weekend.

So here's a top of another sock to look at



It's my first Jaywalker sock and it's probably been totally frogged by the time you read this. As you can tell, I decided to go with the pink Trekking XXL yarn and I love it. I am so not a pink person, I would never be able to wear this color all over my body, but for something small like socks it's A-OK. I also love the Jaywalker pattern. Love it love it love it. I like patterns that don't require too much concentration and this is like that, but interesting to look at at the same time. The only reason I'm frogging this beginning here is that the sock was coming out way way to big. Serves me right- sometimes with socks I figure well, just start the sock, it takes almost the same amount of time as a gauge swatch. And that is how this one ended up frogged. Which leaves me using the smaller 76-stitch version of the Jaywalker pattern. Which is so random-not only did I not have to upsize this pattern like I thought I would but I'm actually using the smaller version of the pattern? Well, it kind of makes sense, the Fugazi socks are 70 stitches around, so 80 stitches around did seem kind of large. Hey-I'm not complaining-fewer stitches around means finishing faster right? Sweet!

Knitting and Running into Spring

The Canadiana cardigan is moving along. The back is finished and I'm working on the fronts, both at the same time. I finished the ribbing today and I'm already on the stockinette. And the gauge karma hasn't bitten me back yet, so... so far so good.

The Fugazi socks will be finished up soon I hope. I love how the toe and heel of each sock both kind of mimic the other sock, yet aren't exactly the same. I know if I cared I could have probably made them the same, but I like them a little different.


I'm hoping to finish them soon because I have a March knitting event coming up. FiberFlix is a really neat group where we watch different types of movies and discuss them in the online forums. I am a big, big movie lover, so just the process of voting on movies and picking new ones for each month is something I get totally interested in. March is going to be really neat because for the first time there's a little knit-along to go with the films. The films are Run Lola Run and Logan's Run. And to go with the films people can choose to knit either Jaywalker socks orRPM socks. I think I'm going to knit Jaywalkers-I know I'm probably the last person in the blogosphere left who has not knit them. I like the mostly-stockinette look of them and I'm excited to try the pattern. If anyone has any tips on knitting these please let me know-especially if you made the larger size. I have to knit the larger ones and I'm hoping that they will be big enough and I won't have to upsize them more. I don't have dainty little feet and I've heard these socks can come out kind of narrow. So today I started the planning for the socks. The first big question-which yarn to use?


This was a quick survey of some of the sock yarn I have to chose from. (See why I'm trying to cut back on buying the sock yarn a little? That's 6 pairs right there and that's not even all of it!) Right now I think I'm mostly leaning towards either the Patons Patonyle in the lower left corner or the pink Trekking XXL. The pink is really pink and how it ever ended up in my stash is really beyond me. I'm really not much of a pink person at all. But it's there and I love it just as much as the rest of the sock yarn. I think I'm favoring those 2 because I think the colors will look good with the pattern and also they are kind of spring-y colors. And you know, spring will be here before we even know it...

For the Seafood Lover (and Gauge Heretic) in you

I missed a week of blogging last week. Call it a blogacation I suppose. What was I doing? Everything except taking pictures or sitting at my computer or knitting it seems. I know, lets not speak of this non-knitting/picture taking/blog reading/writing episode any longer. There are more pressing things to discuss.

Like the excellent dinner I had last night. Husband & I drove to lovely Bayonne, New Jersey to meet my dad for some much needed Bayonne soul food. Not traditional southern American soul food-which is also something I do adore and rarely turn down. This is Bayonne Spanish soul food. Rincon de Espana is always a family favorite. And I love going with my dad, we tell him what we want to eat and then he orders in spanish for us. The waiters are probably better with spanish than english, it is Bayonne after all. For stick to the ribs, tasty spicy stuff you want to eat when it's 10 below outside, it's just the ticket.

Garlic shrimp, spicy chorizo sausage and yes-snails!

The appetizers are always coated with delicious golden garlicky olive oil. You always have to dunk your bread in the bottom at the end, just to savor one last bite. A lot of the dishes at Rincon come in these huge tin-metallic pots that they've probably been using longer than I've been alive. But I think that just makes it better. Big pots of yellow rice, seafood, plates of meaty spare ribs and delicious sliced and fried potatoes.

Paella Marinera and friends

Sorry, I know somewhere out there there is a seafood hater cringing at that last picture! (Sorry!) Pitchers of fruit laden sangria and creamy flan for desert completed the feast. And of course the company was great too!

Me and Dad

Anyway, on the knitting front my dad says he really likes the socks I knit him for Christmas and is eagerly requesting another pair for Father's Day. I think that's doable, I have enough time. And of course it's always easier when knitting for people that you know appreciate the work and really enjoy the finished project.

Which is not always the case with myself-I can be so picky! The project I'm working on now isn't even done and already I'm all whiny about it.

Yep, it's another sweater! Already! Well, everyone seems to be in this reduce-the-stash yarn diet spirit so I figured I should play along. This is acrylic-Patons Candiana I bought with my husband's aunt in Queens last year. I'm trying not to discriminate against the acrylic but somehow it just always happens and I sound apologetic about it for some reason like I do now. But I like this acrylic, it has body without being scratchy or crunchy. In a way it almost feels like cotton to me. You'd think I'd be happy to already have the back almost halfway done. But there have been issues. Issues of the worst kind-gauge issues. When I started knitting this I knew I was knitting tight. I just couldn't relax the tension for some reason (Wonder why Jana? Stress much?) Anyway my hands were hurting and but I liked the gauge (20 stitches to 4 inches) and I just kept going for some reason. However, yesterday something changed. I was all curled up with a nice cup of tea, knitting and watching Good Night and Good Luck and having a grand old time. When the movie was over I felt like the sweater was looking kind of big. Sure enough when I got out the gauge check it turns out all of a sudden it was coming out only 19 stitches to 4 inches. What's up with that? It's not a huge difference, but was still kind of annoying me. So today I just said "Screw it!" and went ahead and changed from size 6 needles to size 4 MID SWEATER. I know, how bad is that? But hey, it did get me back to the original gauge. I'm hoping it doesn't end up causing major size issues or anything. But the acrylic is pretty tough and even. And in my experience the sweaters I knit (especially the few acrylics ones I have done) seem to just stretch out on their own no matter how I knit them anyway. So maybe it will be ok? It's not a sweater I'm planning to wear to the Oscars or anything, maybe something to just keep on my chair at work when it gets drafty. And after I knit it I will have more room to buy more yarn. Which seems to be my main motivation right now. Pathetic, but yes, true.

Finally... the cold arrived...

And there were warm items to be worn. The hat... the wristwarmers...

The sweater...


And she was very, very happy...

Who knows how long it will last so better to wear the wool while the getting's good. Right? First off, the hat and wristwarmers.



Yarn: Dreamy, delicious Rowan Chunky Wool. Knits up at a magically delicious gauge of 3 stitches to the inch. Go Speed Knitter Go!

Patterns: The hat from a very beloved standard The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd. Easy as pie. The wristwarmers? A quick and dirty ripoff of the Fetching pattern from Knitty. I'm so about the wristwarmers lately. I used to be a big glove lover every winter. I couldn't understand people walking around with cold hands when that was what gloves are for. But this crazy year has been the year of the multitask. Riding in the car? I can't work the ipod with those gloves on! Can't dial the cell phone or get the hands free thingy in my ear. (Even though I secretly hate the cell phone, I really do, and I will see to it's demise one day) But put those wristwarmers on and everybody's happy. And both accessories? Warm as heck of course.

And the sweater?



Pattern: Main St. Pullover from Webs in the recommended Lenox yarn. The yarn knits up pretty fast. Except when I got to that Fair Isle part. There are rows with 3 colors which was new for me. But if you're willing to hang in and make it work I think it's really worth it. With every sweater I knit I really do feel like I learn more each time. And so far I've liked each one better than the last. So yes, this is my current favorite.

Modifications: I added to the bottom and knit it longer, then when it was done, decided it was too long and chopped a bunch off. I also didn't do all of the waist shaping which is now right above the bottom ribbing and I kind of blocked it out anyway. (Better to skip the midsection for me, I don't need anything clinging there, there are issues not worth mentioning) The yarn is very stretchy and drapey. If you knit it and have that cling and don't want it I found it blocks out bigger very easily. And if you need help with the blocking just give me a call and I'll send my blocking assistant Allister over. I dunno, he always promises to help but then a lot of time I find him slacking and just laying down on the job. Literally...

Of plumbers and eating yarn and Fugazi...

I think it's so funny you guys haven't seen the Bloglines plumber yet! Maybe he's like Santa? But no-trust me-he does exist! Maybe I've seen him more because I tend to surf early in the morning when I'm up, like before 7 a.m. early in the morning and maybe they tend to do more maintenance then? But yes, Virginia, there is a Bloglines plumber, keeping the Bloglines pipes clean for us so we get our happy blogfeeds every day...

So the Main St. pullover is done, done, done! I wove in the last of the ends this afternoon and it's all blocked and resting and ready to wear. Too late to get a good photo today though. I'm going to try for a good one next weekend, I promise as soon as I take it I'll have it up and ready.

So this left my main, non-traveling needles empty and I needed to cast-on. But what? So I tried something new last night, I gave my husband a bag of yarn and told him to close his eyes and pick one out at random. He was laughing and asked me why in the world would he need to close his eyes? It's true, it would be like asking me to reach in a bag and pull out a football player. Who cares? They're all the same aren't they? (I promise I'm not that ignorant about football... But not by choice.) Anyway, he pulled out the Misti Alpaca I had gotten a couple of weeks ago so I cast on and tried to do a gauge swatch of the Anemoi Mittens. When I realized the colors were so close I couldn't tell them apart when knitting them I realized it wasn't going to work. So I reached in the bag and pulled out what sounded like maybe it was speaking to me.



Rowan Chunky Print. Yum. This is a hat for me. My dream hat. In my dream yarn. I love this thick, slubby, wooly yarn. This hat will be warm as heck when it's done. I love this yarn so much I want to eat it! It makes me salivate, it really does. Elevating yarn to the level of food? Ok maybe for me, that's not a big step, but this stuff is the real deal. If I could make a sweater out of it I'd love too. But on my ample frame with the yarn's ample gauge it would probably be chunky and unflattering not to mention pretty darn expensive. Sigh... I guess my head will have to have all the fun for now.

And then there's the Fugazi socks.



They're called the Fugazi socks because my favorite song by the band Fugazi? Waiting Room. So there you have it Fugazi socks. And they're going to be my Fugazi socks because just by looking at them we can tell they're not going to fit mom. Way too big. That's ok, her birthday is in April, and I've got some lovely Louet Gems set aside that will be just perfect....

Main St. Monday

Aww shucks. You guys are so sweet. First and foremost thank you for all the kind comments last week about the situations with my mom and the new job. When things get that tough, just hearing a little 'hang in there' once in awhile really means a lot! And thanks also for your patience-I know I haven't been able to comment on a lot of blogs out there lately because things have been so crazy. I worry I'm so behind on Bloglines I'm going to log on one day and there will just be a picture of the Bloglines Plumber guy giving me the finger.

But not yet! So I'm starting to catch up and will hopefully get to read and leave comments for you guys soon too.

Having gotten through last week things are going much better. My mom is doing well, we had her follow up visit with the surgeon today and he gave her the green light to shower and sit up for half hour intervals so she's really psyched about that. Laying flat on your back all the time-not fun at all! And the best part, she is now 10 days into quitting smoking! Now I am the furthest thing from a non-smoking activist or anything like that but for my mom this is a HUGE accomplishment! She's smoked for 46 years and just the fact that she has decided to try to quit is something entirely new for her. So she is now up and walking (and sitting) and making lots of funny and hopeful plans about what she's going to do with all that money she used to spend on cigarettes.

And I have to say as far as the new job goes so far (knock on wood) it's going great. The people are very friendly and patient with a lot of my newbie questions. The office is clean and comfortable (not a luxury I had at the circus tent that tried to pass for an office where I worked previously) and the work seems steady and along the lines of what I want to be doing. So hopefully it keeps up and things are starting to get back to normal.

And I had off work today for the holiday so I thought I was going to finish the Main St. Pullover.




It looks like it could be finished doesn't it? Well, I guess actually I thought I had finished it last night. But as I cast off the stitches at the neck I couldn't help but think that the neck was honestly looking more like a waist. And when I tried it on it was even more true. It was way to open and big and actually pretty floppy and wobbly. Ick. It took me a minute to figure out what I wanted to do but once I did it worked, I pulled out the cast off, picked up the stitches, went down from the size 8 needles to a size 4 (yep a four!), knit another inch on the 4's, did a little decrease row and bound off. Voila! So much better.

But then there was the issue of the bottom. I had decided to lengthen this pattern and for the life of me now I have no idea why. It was like way to long, like long past my butt and totally unflattering. What to do? Once again-rip it out. I chopped off that ribbing, wound yarn from the bottom onto the ball winder until I got to where I wanted, and picked up the stitches again. So tonight I get to start re-knitting the ribbing.

And that's ok. I'd rather go through all this stuff to have the sweater that I really think I'm going to love in the end. So I decided I need to stop this bad habit I have-I get really excited when I think I'm almost finished with stuff. I start to fantasize (I know it's a strong word, but let's face it, it's appropriate) about what I want to knit next. I go over my social calendar and start to think about opportunites to wear the new garment out where someone might notice it and ask where I bought it. (See pure fantasy!) So I need to not do that all the time. Knitting the garment the first time is kind of like a rough draft. It's rare I don't go back and rip out the next or fix the buttonholes, tweaking it here and there. And that stuff takes time. And it needs to be done right.

Oh yeah, you know what else is going to take some time?



A lot of times I weave in ends as I go. This time I've decided to wait until after I block this. The yarn is really stretchy and I don't want to weave them in tightly and end up with a pucker or something like that where I weave them in. So there you have it, you see London, you see France, and now you see the inside of my sweater with all the crazy, hanging-out ends!

The Sock I Hate

There was a post a couple of weeks ago where I mentioned I was taking some time off and would be starting a new job soon. Well, the new job starts tomorrow and I feel like I'm ready and rested and excited but I do have to say the two weeks off ended up being like nothing I expected. My mom's back surgery was last Friday and it went ok. We're hoping that we're now through the woods and after some much needed rest and recovery she's going to start feeling somewhat like her original self. Unfortunately, most of the time (and most of my two weeks off) leading up to the surgery were pretty hectic and scary and disastrous all at once. The tests my mom had to have before the surgery raised some suspicions. Which meant more tests were needed. A lot. And the tests have now keyed us into a lung issue which may or may not be turning into a heart issue. When the doctors start talking about lungs and hearts and abnormalities things can get really scary really fast. However, we made it through the tests and it looks like they've ruled out some of the super-bad stuff. For now she's ok, they cleared her for this surgery which was the most pressing thing, and the other issues will have to be dealt with in the future. We're just going to have to wait and see how things go.

But what does this have to do with knitting? Well, let me tell ya, it seems I've had nothing but knitting time lately. Knitting time-the stuff of dreams right? Or so I thought. People, if you're going to get knitting time, you know, well, this is not the way you want to get it. Yes, waiting for someone to have a stress test for their heart will take on average 3 to 5 hours. But the whole time I couldn't help but think it was like a stress test for my heart too! So this little sock has been my sitting in the waiting room for several days sock. And as I sat and waited and knit and waited all I could think most of the time was "Geez, I think I hate this sock."

At first I didn't realize why. It's an ok sock. Toe up, stockinette, the basic stuff. I haven't mastered the toe-up stuff enough yet to eliminate some big holes at the heels but still, it's functional as socks go. And cute, this is my first time using striping yarn like this and I do have to admit it's pretty neat.

But it didn't take very long to realize the problem. I know I'll always associate this sock with worrying about someone I love. And sitting for hours not knowing what's going on down the hall. And waiting for test results. And calling and waiting and not knowing any more than you did and hour ago and calling again and knitting and waiting. And dealing with bitchy nurses, who I know have a really, really tough job, and yes, the majority of them are very nice but when you meet enough of them, well I guess we've just met some real winners this week.

It was funny last night though as I was sitting with my mom knitting this sock I took a minute and tried it on. It fits ok. As we've gotten some more info lately and got through this surgery the hysteria from last week has subsided and of course simultaneously I'm starting to make my peace with the sock. My mom thought it was cute but I said I didn't really like it. And she said, "Really? Who's it for? If you don't want them I'll take them, I wear a lot of brown you know."

How funny would it be if I made my peace with the socks by giving them to my mom? Maybe that would work. I'm not sure, I sized them for me and I have much larger feet than she does. Who knows, I think I'm just going to have to keep going with the socks and let them tell me what's meant to happen with them. In the meantime I've started the Fair Isle section of the Main St. Pullover. Three colors at a time believe it or not. Makes starting the new job tomorrow seem like cake right? You never know...

Happy New Years All!

I'm going to try to start things out right this year with some actual knitting content!



That's it. My main knitting object at the moment. It's the Main St. Pullover from Webs. Still. The sleeves are done and the body should be any minute. I'm modifying it to make the body just a little longer, so I'm supposed to knit until it is 19 inches long. I'm at the point where it is perpetually 18 inches long. I knit 5 rows and it's 18 inches. I knit 5 or 6 more rows and it's still 18 inches. I know it's knitting karma. I'm hoping it changes by tomorrow and I can join the sleeves and body together. Then I have a few decrease rows (which will take awhile for each at this point) before I start the colorwork around the yoke. So I can procrastinate being nervous about that for probably a couple of more days. But I love it already, it's warm and soft and wonderful to knit on.

Then there are the newly acquired knitting objects



Mmmm. Yarny goodness. Drool.... I keep picking it up over and over. There's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport and Misti Alpaca in the middle. Those may be slated for one of the many colorwork mitten patterns I'm currently coveting. Except I know the colors might be too close and the gauge may not be right. Hah! Just small hurdles to overcome right? (Yikes!) Oh well, then there's pretty, pretty Rowan Chunky that is destined for a hat for me. I realized if the weather ever goes below 50 degrees here (I guess we're skipping winter in Jersey here or something this year??? I did not get the memo people!) I might need a hat and trust me this stuff is so pretty and gushy and soft you'd want to stick your head in it too. Then there's Rowan Felted tweed hopefully for a pair of Knucks or two. Pretty purple stuff I love. Sigh...

Oh where'd I get it? (Sorry I was in a fiber haze there for a minute) I went with the gals on a yarn crawl this past Saturday. We went to the Knitters Workshop in Garwood (which was ok but there were no prices on anything anywhere) and Knit a Bit in Westfield (which was super organized and had prices on everything and we threw down some good cash there, you betcha!) Then we went to the wondrous Trader Joes which has lots of organic healthy stuff but also has very good quality wines for $2.99 a bottle (really it's good, trust me it's not as sleazy as it sounds) and the best snack ever-pretzel nuggets filled with peanut butter covered in chocolate. That's right-PeanutPretzelChocolate thingys by the bag! Both the yarn and the snacks are so such successes, I'm sure this trip to Trader Joe's and Knit a Bit won't be our last!

Such a weirdo!

My dear Punk Rock Secret Pal Suzi over at the Darkside of Knitting has tagged me for a meme! I love meme's-all you people who love 'em to feel free to tag me. I think it's because I never participated in those "Find out more about your friends" chain emails I always got from people and now I feel all empty inside. Anyway, this is a meme about weird things, so you all get to now learn 6 weird things about me:

1. Starting with the obvious-my name. I know it's weird because I usually hear it mispronounced at least a few times a day. You might not know from reading it but my name is pronounced with a long A and then a short A. Imagine the name Dana but spelled with a J. Or as a friend in high school used to write on notes "J-na." Or just the name Jane with an A after it. Did you know that? I worry some day I'll meet my blogger friends and they'll all say it like 'Janna' with a short A sound and I'll feel all weird correcting you. So there, now you know how to say my name!

2. My heritage. Did you know that I am half Puerto Rican? Maybe the palest one you ever met right? My dad is from Arecibo, Puerto Rico. My mother-from New Philadelphia, Ohio. Guess which one I look like?




But my sister? Dark hair, dark eyes and tans well. Go figure.

3. Phobias. I have a few very strange ones. There are a few things that people see all the time, every day that just totally freak me the f*ck out. And even worse-I won't tell you what they are. I'm that scared. An encounter with such things results in many sleepless nights and possibly relocating and so I'm always afraid someone might just want to test the waters and see if that's actually true. So they're secret. So there.

4. I love the cold. Love it love it love it. People here will always walk in from the rain and say "Well at least it's not snow!" I walk in from 10 degree freezing weather and say "Well, at least it's not summer!" I hate the heat, love the cold. You'll never, ever hear me complain about snow or cold. Never.

5. Met the husband on the internet. Is that still weird? It used to be when we met 10 years ago but now I guess it's becoming more common. It was so long ago that get this- we didn't even see each others pictures first! I just knew to look for the biggest guy I saw and that would be him! And 10 years later still together. Whaddaya know.

6. I'm a knitter. Ok-you guys don't think it's weird but come on, you know how the Muggles look at us all the time don't you? When I'm at a party, and talking about Ipods comes up you know I go right into a dither about knitting podcasts right? I love you, you are my knitting bretheren but you have to admit in a world full of McDonalds, Lindsey Lohan and fake tanning we still stick out like sore thumbs most of the time right?

But we obviously don't care cause why else would we be here? Haha!

Anyhoo, I get to tag 6 people to list weird stuff about themselves now. How about Tracy, Grace, Rachel, Karin, Sunneshine, and Say, or anyone else who feels like partaking? (Don't forget the rules- Each player of this game starts with the weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.) Come on all, tell us something we didn't know!

And good knitting content will follow in the next few days. I am racing along on that sweater, I finished one sleeve already and I'm almost done with the body!

Merry Merry!

We made it! The tree got decorated in record time yesterday afternoon, minutes before guests arrived! We've kicked off the holiday, opened a few gifts and are getting around to head out and visit family, more gifts, eating drinking, good cheer. Happy holidays to all you guys, no matter what or how or where you celebrate. Merry Merry!

How many days are left????

You know lately it seems like as soon as Halloween is over Christmas is here. It's as if the moment the last sales clerk cleans up the last kernel of candy corn on Halloween magically elves must prance through the malls instantly hatching huge decorated Christmas trees twinkling with lights blaring Christmas music from every corner. Almost instantly. Right away...

This is not the case here this year...

It's December 23rd and that picture of my Christmas tree? Yep, just taken today. Well the tree only got here yesterday so it's not like it's been sitting around for weeks or anything. Normally, I'm more on the ball. While I'm not out there with the elves at 12:01 November 1st I usually have my jingle on somewhere around December 1st at least, trying to be a good sport and have holiday spirit and be fairly on schedule with my holiday tasks. But it's been a weird year around here this year. In the spirit of keeping this a knitting blog and not a whining blog I'll try to spare you the gory details and begin by summing it up this way- work drama for me, work drama for the husband, trying to get my mom moved before she has back surgery in January. See? It's been so traumatic it reduces me to the vocabulary of a preschooler, it really does. Trust me you don't want to know.

But we have a tree, and a wreath, thanks to my aunt and uncle who always send something interesting and good every year. And trust me things are finally turning around for us now, they are turning around fast and really, really well.


After spending the last hmm, 3-4 weekends in their entirety working with my mom and all her stuff we've finally gotten her moved into the new place and she loves it. It was tough though, after being where she was for 14 years there was a lot of stuff to go through, and get rid of, and she wanted almost all new furniture. And it was a lot of shopping and ridding and sweating-she's having back surgery remember? Can't lift anything? Yeah, we're glad she's in the new place and getting settled now.

And it seems like the work dramas are over. Husband is still on severance for awhile and is starting some training on Tuesday where he will also have job placement. Yep, we found out a few months ago that his job had been outsourced to Camden which is not only 2 hours away but also the murder capital of New Jersey. Ick. No thanks. But he's excited about what he's starting now and we think it will be a great fit. Meanwhile, my job had been causing me agita since about the end of the summer. A couple of straws broke this camels back lately though, so it's time to move onto bigger and better. I finished the crappy old job yesterday and I landed a cool new job to start in January, but first- I've rewarded myself with a lovely 2 weeks off! Woo hoo! I cannot tell you the last time I had this much time off. I'm really psyched. I have lots of stuff planned including lots of knitting of course!

But in the meantime first I have the holiday to enjoy. So while I may be a little late, I'm not going to let that stop me. If I don't get the tree done today my mom will be here tomorrow and we'll get it done then, we still have time right? Today I intend to finish the wrapping first, remember these guys?

Well the scarf and hat and socks yes, the towels I snuck in on the side. They were specific request, lovely cotton Lily Sugar & Cream cloths, one large, two small. Not shown in the picture are the bear that's been shipped off to my niece and the socks I knit for my dad-with everything going on I didn't even have time to photograph those. But they got done and are mailed.

I've even already started with doing some baking today. I have a batch of mint brownies in the oven. The recipe is from Everyday Food and has a layer of Peppermint Patties in the middle. I can smell them from here and they smell really good! And already off the cookie sheets and on the baking rack-

these are Ginger Cookies from Paula Deen. My crappy photography does not do their taste and also their smell while baking in the oven (also divine) justice. So see, I'm getting there. Better late than never. By the time Santa makes it to my house he will have thought I started preparing months ago!

**P.S. With all this craziness I haven't even switched to the new Blogger yet! I promise it's coming! If you are experiencing any issues with the comments because of the old Blogger I apologize, I promise I'm going to be switching soon! Thanks for your patience!

So happy....

I present to you a body...

and a sleeve...

I finally got to cast on for the Main Street Pullover from WEBS. Why does this make me so happy? Well the shallowest reason is probably that it's finally something for me. I've finally finished/gave up on my Christmas knitting, depends on how you look at it. I might have shortened the list of gifts to knit for people but hey, it's a finished list now isn't it? But really probably more so is the yarn and the pattern for this sweater. First of all the Lenox yarn is delish. It is so soft, but not like mushy-fall apart in your hands soft, it still has some body to it which I really like. Secondly, this may make me a bore but I'm just a sucker for stockinette in the round. Boring I know, but I just love it. So relaxing, I can almost do it without looking. Today I worked on it while watching Funny Face and drinking Bigelow Gingersnap Tea (also delish). Warm beverage, Audrey Hepburn, Gershwin, baby alpaca and merino. What else can you ask for from a Sunday afternoon?

The Huggy Bear

Pattern: Baby Bobbi Bear by Blue Sky Alpacas

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton

My 2 cents: Well, it looks a lot better than I thought it would. He is pretty cute and is really, really soft. The yarn and stuffing is washable which is very important. I'm hoping that plus this being Organic Cotton and really having no small pieces to fall off and be swallowed will help get this past my scrutinizing sister and into the arms of my niece. I'm hoping she likes it, it's my understanding that she is learning to give hugs and I'm thinking our little friend here would be happy to practice with her!

As for the knitting well, I have had negative experiences with knitting toys in the past. I usually understand the instructions but get lost in the process somewhere. With Bobbi Bear there is much more knitting than seaming which was actually a welcome change from the toys I've made in the past. Here the only seaming is sewing on the ears. So less seaming meant (for me) less of a struggle at the end. But the struggle was still there nonetheless. The ears took probably 4 different tries to get them on and I got pretty frustrated trying to get the eyes and nose to look like the picture (which was the only guide I had). Unfortunately when I finished on Sunday afternoon I was swearing and ready to be done. I was happy with the end product but pretty convinced this was probably going a one time knit. But then I spent the day with him today, showing him to some people at work and my knitting group and it probably sounds corny but the more time I spend with him the more he really does grow on me. Even if the eyes were hard. He's so soft and you really don't want to put him down. I'm thinking maybe someday I'll knit him again. Maybe the second time around it would come a lot easier? But I'm not sure I really want to make him as a gift again. I just might have to make one for myself!

Things I like right now

I can't tell you guys how good it felt to read the comments from the last post. I knew there were others of you out there with holiday mind frazzle. I knew I wasn't alone. Stay strong though! With enough yarn and needles, we'll make it, I'm sure we can!

So the new Knitty isn't up yet. Does anyone else keep checking a million times a day like me? Anyway just in case you're thirsting for new patterns to drool over I thought I'd just take a quick minute and tune you into some of my favorite kniterly things at the moment.



Eunny Jang's new Anemoi Mittens pattern- The Zimmermania blog got me started on a Fair Isle Mitten curiosity and this pattern just plucks all of those strings all over again. I've never really Fair-Isled for real and don't think I've worn mittens in about 26 years but for some reason these things are speaking to me! I'll be downloading this pattern soon for sure.

The Perfect Sweater Ann is knitting at Mason-Dixon Knitting- They said a Perfect Sweater pattern could never exist and (yes I know I haven't actually knit it yet) but I still say they were wrong! That sweater is so, so nice and you can download the pdf for free and make it yourself. And it's Cascade 220, I love Cascade 220!

The Red Light Special hat at Brooklyn Tweed- Ok, really everything at Brooklyn Tweed looks good to me. I want to see him go to the landfills of Bayonne, New Jersey and try to make them look bad! Just try! Everything he photographs instantly looks like Russell Crowe on toast. Seriously. And it's more Fair Isle. And it's red. Beautiful.

Speaking of

The podcast at Sticks and String is by an Australian Bloke named David Reidy. He's rad. He knows a lot of stuff and gives a much more accurate male point of view of this knitting business than my husband or guy friends or the dudes at work or probably even Russell Crowe (I know the photos may be a joke/hoax/etc. He probably knits as well as I could play Master and Commander, but they crack me up anyway) And David has a lovely accent. You could listen to him and think about Russell Crowe if you like. You know, if you like that kind of thing....

And finally I've also been really into the new podcast The Knitting Cook. There's something about the knitting and the cooking together. How many blogs do you read all the time where they also mention food? All the time right? We need to keep our energy up with something of course. Anyway Faith, the host of The Knitting Cook, just moved to Germany with her family and is always friendly and easy to listen to. She's got lots of knitting info and Germany stories and food tips and recipes. In a few of the last episodes she's done the podcast while actually cooking the recipe in her kitchen. It's kind of like watching the Food Network while I drive. Kind of blows your mind just a little doesn't it? Hey it doesn't take much, I'm a recent victim of holiday mind frazzle remember? Be patient with me.

My weekend and why I knit

This weekend was an absolute whirlwind. I don't even have any photos to post, because I never even had a second to think about the camera. First I left work a little early Friday to take the train into Manhattan to have dinner with my dad. He'll be traveling from now until after the holidays to it was important to meet up and bond a little. This meant I had the pleasure of battling with a NJ Transit 30 minute delay, the 30-50 mph winds and pouring rain we had Friday and trying to catch a cab during primetime. But it was totally worth it and was a lovely dinner. Saturday had more nuttiness-after a quick trip to the gym and shower, husband and I did a quick grocery shopping so we could get back home and make 2 full recipes of the rum balls and bourbon balls I've made in the past that he wanted to bring to the party we were going to in Brooklyn that afternoon/night. The party started at 3 p.m. and went probably into the wee hours of the morning, but knowing what I faced for Sunday we made it home at a reasonable 11:45. We had a great time hanging out with our friends but for some reason I had mindlessly spent most of the time standing in heeled shoes and by the time we got to the car that night I was pretty much working up a good limp. By Sunday I was already feeling the lack of sleep and crazy pace so I decided to be a slacker and skip the gym for sleep, just to get up at 8 a.m. anyway to get myself around and go over to my mom's house to help her with a bunch of stuff. She's in the process of moving so we spent the day lugging boxes to the new apartment, packing more boxes where she is now and going to what feels like 6 million stores to buy a whole bunch of stuff she needs. (The entire time I'm looking at the holiday decorations in the stores thinking, "Crap, I'm supposed to be doing holiday stuff right now too. Maybe I really should just admit defeat at this point.") I got home around 6 last night. Tried to make my house look a little less like a hurricane had hit it. Ate, and then at 8 p.m. Sunday night I finally sat down for the first time that weekend. Now by the time this sitting down point rolled around I was pretty much an absolute mess. Cranky. Tired. Miserable. Bitchy. Verry bitchy. For some reason busy weekends and me, we don't really get along. During the week is one thing. I expect my week to be busy, I'm at work 9 hours a day and after that there's not time for the rest. But when I get to 8 p.m. Sunday night in that state, and I'm thinking that in 12 hours I'll be at work bitching about Monday morning it's just not a good thing. I notice cat and husband start to look at me askance a little at that point.

But anyway, somehow I just decided to keep it together, watch some Amazing Race and knit a few stitches on my sock. And somehow, by the time I decided to call it a day around 10 I was feeling so much better. Just relaxed and focused and much, much calmer. It was a miracle! And when I noticed how much better I felt I decided it had to be the knitting. The one hour I got to sit down and knit just made me feel so much better, and changed my attitude and gave me such clarity. It's funny because I normally get pretty wrapped up in my knitting and what I'm trying to get done. It's like I'm Knitting with a capital K. And it's easy for me to forget all the other stuff. How soothing it can be. How it opens me up and helps me breathe and hear and rest. And it helps me let worry go and just slow down this crazy brain in general. This is why I knit. It calms me and makes me more human. It's just so funny that a little bit of knitting in my day can do all those things. It's such a simple, daily miracle and I'm really lucky to have it in my life!

Sigh... Now I just have to find some time to carve out for those Christmas cards or my relatives are going to be concerned....

See what I mean? So cool!

Just when I finally go around to talking about my PRGE pals I got another package from Suzi at Darkside of Knitting! Look at all the great stuff I got! First- the purple and black tube-shaped thing is a sock tote with some very pretty sock yarn inside. I really, really like the sock yarn. It's kind of purple and blue and tan, the colors are great and it's really soft. And I like the sock tote idea because I do work on them on-the-go quite a bit and with the cat factor at home it's always good to keep the knitting zipped up. Then the white thing with the red beads is a jug cover which is very neat, it's supposed to keep bugs out of a jug, which is great because we do bbq a lot in the summer and always have a pitcher of lemonade or something, and there's nothing worse than having to watch a fly do the backstroke in there. And then there's a mousepad with a picture of Cradle Mountain on it and it says Tasmania. This is so coming into work with me. The mousepad I have there is boring and black and crusty (ick) and way overdue for a replacement and let me just tell you, people will be very impressed that I know someone from Tasmania! Seriously Grace and Suzi- do you know what a different and exotic place Tasmania seems like to us? It's just about as far away from here as you can get without getting on a space shuttle and we know so little about it. Anyway moving on there are also some delicious Australian candies, a really neat Australian food magazine, a funny postcard about summer in Tasmania, the cutest kitty card and another fun toy for Mr. Allister!

Anyway, all very great stuff, I'm sure to have fun with. Thanks again Suzi!

Stuffing, the weekend after Thanksgiving

Sorry for the pun, but this is some of what I worked on today. I started and finished stuffing the Baby Bobbi Bear. I also finished knitting the bear. But no finished photo? Well, the knitting part is done, I still have to sew on the ears and do some duplicate stitch and embroider on his little face. Which is somewhat intimidating to me. I'm afraid I'm going to get an ear crooked or one eye lower than the other and he will end up being a little lopsided bear. So in the typical procrastinator fashion I've put that stuff off until next weekend when is the next time I'll have some more quiet, natural daylight time to hopefully do it properly and take a finished photo for you.

In other news I've waited way too long to update on how things are going over at the Punk Rock Gift Exchange. We had the big reveal there a couple of weeks ago and I learned that my secret pal has been Suzi over at Darkside of Knitting. Also all along I've always known that the person I was buying for was Grace at Black Crow Knitting. It's been so cool hanging with these chicks and doing the whole fun exchange thing. They are both from outside the U.S. which I now think just really makes the whole process even more fun. And the girls are both extremely talented and punk rock, so you should definitely check out their blogs and say hi! I'm a fan and will be hopefully be posting lots of comments and keeping in touch for a while to come.

Thankful

First and foremost, I'm thankful for my health. I'm thankful that most of the time I'm able to move about freely without thinking twice and without pain or discomfort. It gets me where I need to be.

I'm thankful for my family and friends. They crack me up. They hug and kiss me. They give me tissues when I need them. They put up with my crap. They tell me when they're tired of my crap. 'Nuff said.

I'm thankful for my husband. He washed a lot of dishes today and cut his finger on a glass and never complained and just went on washing. He even ate turkey which he doesn't like all that much and still said it was really good. He puts up with a fair amount of crap also.

I'm thankful for my freedom and that I can pretty much go where I want when I want. I can read the books I want to read. I can speak my mind and be safe knowing I have this freedom and it should be valued.

I'm thankful for the roof over my head and the food in my belly. A lot of people in this world live way too often without enough of either. We can never give back too much.

And of course -I'm thankful for my knitting. It helps me steady the course. It helps me stay sane. It will be a great way to end a yummy, happy, thankful day.

Of crises and casting them off

"Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crisis." -Elizabeth Zimmmerman

Stacey from Sheep in the City mentioned this quote on her blog the other day. I'm sure I've read it somewhere else before, but for some reason this week it was just particularly good to be reminded of. Stacey's dad is going through some rough stuff right now and I really hope everything goes ok. I really hope that her and her family can get some peace and strength while they go through their current trials. Her mom is a knitter too, so hopefully there's lots of good knitting vibes all around them. While it's nothing like what Stacey's going through I've had a few crises here and there lately. Not horrible stuff, but still, the words of EZ have been very comforting.

I really don't want to go into all of it now (maybe some other time) but I do have to tell you how my Thursday night went this week when we lost power. We had really bad weather here, this was the storm where all the tornados hit down south and did a lot of damage there. It was all windy and rainy and yucky. So when of course did we lose power? Well, I had just gotten home from the gym and was in the shower of course, with a head full of shampoo. Has this every happened to anyone? Well, it's kind of scary, really. Everything goes out and the water is still pouring down and all I could think was "Oh crap." So I just tried to get my bearings, listened really close to make sure Freddy/Jason/Michael Meyers weren't in the shower with me, rinsed my hair (I think) turned the shower off, managed to get out of the shower without falling on my tuckus, got a towel and of course the power went right back on then. Of course. So the husband comes home a little while after that and tells me that there was a transformer on fire just down the street. Just as he's finishing saying the word 'street' of course the power went back out.

I hadn't had dinner yet and was starving, so with no power we lit a bunch of candles, and I fumbled around in the fridge and made myself a modified version of Nigella Lawson's Hungarian Sandwich. Mine was whole wheat and strawberry jam, but still pretty good. Kind of like a cheese & fruit danish if you think about it.

With no power, no tv, no computer husband took off his shoes and promptly fell asleep on the couch at 7:30. (So that's what they do when they're unplugged!) I on the other hand chose to light more candles and sit down with my knitting, specifically the Baby Bobbi Bear I've been working on for my niece.

It's getting there, slowly but surely. I think my low-light knitting came out ok. It's funny how just 2 days before I had told Tracy at knitting that when I work on this I need to work on this and this alone. No tv, no podcasts, just me and Bobbi, counting and knitting and counting and knitting. So it was ideal for the no tv knitting caused by the power outage.

Because the no power night hasn't been the only crisis this week lately when I come home at night I feel like by the time I get to sit down and knit for a minute the brain pretty much resembles jelly at that point. I don't want to count, or follow a chart or even instructions, all I want to do is get some sticks and string in the hands and watch either a) Emmet Smith shake his booty b) someone cooking something (anything) or c) any one of my favorite shows chock full of animated characters and sass. The result of said jelly brain is my current sock

These are going to be a Christmas gift for my dad. They're Louet Gems yarn I purchased at Stitches East. The pattern is a garter rib pattern from the Sensational Knitted Socks book. Nice easy going 4 stitch pattern. Perfect for jelly brain knitting.

But things really aren't so bad. Just stressful. And there's a short work week this week, followed by my favorite holiday of all time, the throwdown food event of the year- THANKSGIVING!!! I love Thanksgiving. This year I get to cook and I love it. My spreadsheets and recipes and schedules are all ready to go. I really, really hope everyone has a great one this year and that you all get to totally enjoy the day. Eat lots of food, settle in, watch the parade or football or both, kiss your family/your friends/your dog/cat, and forget all your crises at least for one day.

The rest of the Stitches stash arrived!

It's pouring out, I have a lovely cup of tea, the husband is praying in the front of the tv in the living room (the NY Jets have a particularly difficult row to hoe this afternoon, a snarky, sarcastic wife might have said impossible... who moi?) and I have the computer all to myself.

In the comments from the last post, Jodi at A Caffeinated Yarn asked some really good questions about colors and yarn of the Main St. pullover from WEBS, specifically "How did they look in real life? Do you think the texture would be OK for Fair Isle?" Knitting minds must think alike. When I first saw this sweater in their catalog my concerns were exactly the same!

I really became drawn to this pattern after seeing all the gorgeous patterned yoke sweaters on the Zimmermaniacs blog. Oh my goodness have you looked over there? It's like it's difficult for them to make something that's not nice, I really like so much of that stuff. It's inspired me to re-read Knitting Without Tears and I'm so glad I did. I get more out of it everytime I read it. If I was a true Zimmermaniac I would have sharpened my pencil and done some math and tried to come up with my own Zimmerman sweater. I might eventually some day but for now, I'm still a Zimmermaniac poser and will just try to start out with my little Main St. sweater and see how I do.

Anyway, when I first saw this in the catalog, I was particularly concerned about the main color which is called "Grape Jelly." Being a bigger girl, I'm always a little self conscious about the purple. I love purple, but purple is also the color of Barney the Dinosaur and Grimace from McDonalds (for you old school folks) and this usually makes me hesitant to wear something called "Grape Jelly." So yesterday, when the weather was better I took the yarn out to my porch which is wear the light is usually the best and tried to capture a really accurate picture of these colors

I'll be the first to admit my photographic shortcomings, but I promise you I think this photo is pretty accurate, I think may be more accurate than the WEBS photo above. Now that I've seen the sweater completed at Stitches and have the yarn here I know the name is a complete misnomer and I adore the color. I suppose there are some purple tones there, maybe it is a bit of a purplish-red but it's definitely no "Grape Jelly." If it were up to me it would have been a Merlot, I'd like that a lot better. As far as texture goes I agree this is definitely not the normal wooly-texture I would expect from a fair isle sweater. The gauge is 5 sts. to the inch and the yarn is way, way softer and actually a lot more light weight than I would have expected. But I kind of like that and hopefully when I'm knitting it and have it done I still will. We shall see as time progresses I hope to start this one soon (the holiday knitting must end eventually after all) so I will have some more color & progress photos then.