Good Tidings to You and All of Your Kin

Merry Christmas! I have not dropped off the face of the Earth. It's just that I've been too tired to knit, blog or do much of anything for the past several weeks because I'm pregnant. You knew it was going to be something big when I said I'd been too tired to knit. I'm at nine weeks now. My energy should pick up by mid-January.

I did manage to start a Christmas sweater for a friend, but it hasn't progressed very far.

The other day Vova asked if we were going to wait to exchange gifts until old calendar Christmas. I said yes or maybe on New Year's Eve, then added that I hadn't gotten him anything yet. He said, "Yes, you have -- you're carrying it inside you."

So much fun...

I knitted the Wonder Woman hat for Girl X in a little under three weeks. Getting around to weaving in the final ends, washing, and blocking it took almost another week. Posting it on the blog took four days. All things considered, this is my new knitting record.

I tried it on after I blocked and it fit me fine. I decided that it might be a bit big for Girl X. I had planned for this one to be a St. Nicholas day present, but the new one will make a nice stocking stuffer.

The color combo is perfect. It's exactly what I had in my mind's eye when I decided to make this hat. I started out knitting a little looser because I've heard that cotton can be hard on your hands and wrists. That just threw off my stranding. It wasn't anything to cry about, just annoying for me. For the next one, I'm just going to knit like I normally do. 

Perpetual Virginity

Ahem, now where was I?

Oh, yes, now I remember. You may have noticed that I like trying new things or new variations on things I've tried before. Kind of ironic, considering that I'm re-writing my post from yesterday. No matter, I digress.

A certain girl I know finds all wool itchy, even cashmere. I recently found out she likes Wonder Woman. So, when I came across the Wonder Beanie in my list of favorites on Ravelry, it seemed perfect.

I've never made a hat before, but I figure it's like a big sock only proportionally shorter.

Intarsia is one of my neuroses, I admit it. The new twist there is type of yarn. This is CotLin from Knit Picks in nightfall, swan, canary, and Moroccan red. As you might guess, it's a cotton-linen blend. The colors are exactly what I had in mind.

I started off knitting a little looser than I usually do because I've read a lot on cotton's inelasticity. I'm not completely happy with my stranding. Maybe it'll block out. The knitting lies have already started. If it doesn't block out, I have enough time and yarn to make another. This one will be filed under 'lessons learned' AKA the donate bin.

One other very cool technique I've learned is the two-color cast on. I was a little intimidated by it before I tried it. Despite taking three tries to get it right, it was actually pretty easy. Not to mention, it was so cool, it made me drool.

                             

Foo!

So, I had a nice post all written, but ended up deleting it when I was trying to move around my Amazon Associates ad. Blogger very kindly immediately saved the empty post. I don't have time to re-write it now.
Insert your dirty word of choice here.

October Who?

October was a busy month at work. In the end it was productive and positive, but busy, nonetheless. That coupled with the decreasing daylight hours made blogging non-existent for the whole month. There are certain chores that I can only do while the sun is up. While I like blogging and sharing pictures, it's a hobby; sometimes it takes a backseat to things that have to be done. I came up with lots of witty things for titles and content, which end up published only in my own head. A couple of others stayed with me, so I'll trot those out when the progress is going slowly.

Good news:  the Belle Epoque socks are finished. I love the colors in the yarn -- very calming and refreshing. Navajo Sky from Plymouth Sockotta.


Bad news:  the sleeves on the Toteme Pole Jacket are too long. Vova, bless him, suggested washing it would cause the right amount of shrinkage to fix the problem. He's obviously one of us; he tells himself knitting lies. I think it will be relatively easy to fix.


I think I also need to re-block one of the fronts. After all the work I've put into this sweater, I don't want to blow it on the finishing.

The last thing I want is for him to tell people, "Bonnie made this for me," and have them think, "Yeah, I can tell."

Inspired by Lisbeth and Sandra, I've been thinking about writing a bi-lingual blog to practice some of my other languages. Maybe in the next post.

The Sisyphus Sleeve

We've all been there. Whether it's a knitted item or a task  at the office, at some point, we've all felt like Sisyphus.
You put in time and effort, sometimes taking extra care to avoid making one mistake, only to realize you've made another, more serious one. It's the kind of mistake that affects the physical structure of the item or completely louses up the color work. Wendy and Rosemary were there recently with the main body of their sweaters. I completely agree with the advice from Wendy's friend Beth on how to deal with knitting mistakes.

I mentioned before that I had to rip back because I was doing my decreases wrong. If I had ignored that one, the sleeve would've been the wrong size and shape. Once I finished the second sleeve, I realized I was not finished pushing this boulder up the hill; the whales on both sleeves were facing the same direction. I thought about it carefully. Did I really need to rip back my finished sleeve to knit the whale facing the other direction? Yes, it would have bothered me every time I looked at it. I felt much better after I re-did it, especially since it didn't take very long.

The only kind of frogging I like

The weekend before last, we saw this beauty trying to look inconspicuous next to the hot tub. It was about 4.5 inches long. I knew it was a leopard frog, but really nothing beyond that. I found out that there are fourteen species of leopard frog. I believe this is a Southern Leopard frog, Rana sphenocephala. 

This past weekend, I spotted this little guy in the tool shed when I went to get the rake to turn the compost pile. I have no guesses as to what kind he might be. He was different than the other frogs and toads I've sen recently, so I decided to take his  picture. I went back in the house for my camera, mentioning to Vova what I'd found. On my way out the door, I smiled somewhat sheepishly and said, "Turning into an eff-ing naturalist, aren't I?" He laughed and agreed.


While turning the compost pile, I found four more:

 Even if they weren't covered in dirt, I would have no idea what kind they are. I'll try to stick to this kind of frogging.

You Can't Keep a Good Knitter Down

First off, a short address to the gnomes that stole my pattern:  ha ha, joke's on you. That was my working copy you took. The original is tucked away somewhere safe. Not only that, I made a pdf of it when I first got it. Before you go trashing my laptop, I have a finished sleeve I can use as a model. I don't know what the turquoise slime is that you drooled on it, but it will wash out. The fact that I kept decreasing by two stitches every other row instead of one, which resulted in ripping back a few rows, is entirely the effect of sleep deprivation.

Next, not much to show on the sleeve, so I will share the initial labors of my evening. I harvested herbs tonight.

My sweet basil has almost completely gone to seed, so I harvested those, too. An acquaintance recently told me that she'd heard there was a fungus attacking commercially grown basil, so it would be a good idea to stockpile my homegrown supply.

The Forever Green containers we picked up at Tuesday Morning work really well for keeping fresh herbs. Ours are more opaque than the ones featured on the linked site.

Hopefully, I can return my pet to the outdoors. She was hanging out in her lemon balm condo when I rudely pruned it, bringing her along for the ride.

Show Us Your Gams!

I'm really pleased with the amount of progress I made on my Belle Epoque socks this week. The legs still aren't quite long, though. I know I could ignore the recommended length in the pattern, but that would not make them the length I want them.

Besides, it's a pretty colorway that lends itself to this pattern. It's Plymouth Sockotta in Navajo Sky. The little mock cables remind me hard candies wrapped in cellophane.

I'm noticing a trend with these last few pairs of socks -- they all remind me of food. With this pair, it's the combination of the colors and the pattern. With the previous ones, it was the yarn. Gillian's socks reminded me of Fruity Pebbles. Kes' socks made me think of brown rice. There must be some positive association with these things buried in my subconscious. That's as far as I'll go with the amateur psychology.

The candies will go on hold for a little while because I can go back to finishing Vova's sweater. I ordered a little more yarn from Nordic Mart, which arrived yesterday. This yarn is very soft, but it does not remind me of something to eat. On the other hand, it's almost therapeutic to work with it.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I like to learn and stay familiar with a variety of techniques. The last two pair of socks I made used the European method with four DPNs and one working needle. I'm using the two-at-a-time method for the current pair. One of the advantages to this method is being able to apply new techniques to both socks at the same time.

One of the disadvantages is that it makes progress seem slower. I'm already saying to myself, "Y'know, Self, if this were one sock, I'd be very close to finishing the leg by now." In response, myself points out that I'll be turning both heels at the same time, which means my favorite part will be doubled, and the complete pair will be finished at the end of my efforts. She's right, of course.

So, I try to keep in mind that I've already knitted nearly six inches of leg while at the same time trying not to concentrate on the fact that I still have to knit a little more than that same amount before the legs are finished.

In other news, the Great Turtle Watch of 2010 yielded some unexpected results. All summer long, the spot where the mother box turtle buried her eggs remained more or less unchanged. I weeded carefully around its neighboring cilantro plant. The garden grew like gangbusters, despite various bugs and mole tunnels. I honestly thought the moles made a meal off the eggs. Ever the optimist, I decided to wait until the end of August to take any action.

The garden went nuts while we were on vacation. Everything was taller and fuller, not just the weeds. The dill and the cilantro were the only exceptions. However, the turtle bed remained the same. The guys that help out with the mowing weeded the garden and dug up the potatoes. They knew where the nest was, so they treated the spot with care.

Finally, on Wednesday, I noticed a small hole about the size of quarter next to the cilantro plant, which had gone to seed and died. Vova said he'd noticed it on Monday, but apparently didn't think it was worth mentioning to me.

Obviously, at least one survived the moles, hatched, and dug its way out. We theorized that more than one had hatched and come out through the same hole.

I didn't really expect to witness the baby turtles coming out to the surface, but I was still disappointed by the anticlimax.

We were allowed to leave work early yesterday for the holiday weekend. As a result, I got home a little earlier than usual. Vova smoked his pipe while I idly inspected the garden. I couldn't resist squatting down to study the turtle hole. Much to my surprise, there was a baby turtle inside it.

I turned on the water sprinkler and let it run while I went for a jog. The garden needed it, but I also hoped to soften the ground for the little turtle.

The hole was longer when I checked this afternoon and the turtle was definitely visible. I don't know how long he or she will stick around, but I kind of like the idea of resident garden turtle. Box turtles are land turtles rather than water turtles. They like lightly wooded areas. Given all the bushy herbs we have in the garden, maybe it will make its home there. It might need a name. Not that I'm getting attached to it already. Nope, not me.

A Couple of Other Things

One nice thing about virtual friends is that you can scroll past the endless parade of vacation photos without hurting their feelings. There aren't too many more, I promise.

Fort Henry was amazing. I met David, the Goat, the mascot of the Fort Henry Guard.  As you can see, David was tired from meeting his public all afternoon. The young lady serving as Goat Major told us that he outranked her.

The men and women of the FHG gave a great performance.






We also went to Boldt Castle on Heart Island.

Maybe I should apply for a job with the CBP?

We took a couple of day trips to Ontario, the last of which was to Ottawa. We saw the Parliament buildings.

After that, we walked through an open-air market that smelled just heavenly with all kinds of fresh produce. 

 

On the other side of the market, we found a wonderful bakery that also smelled like heaven. Arguably the least delectable of its selection included Obama Cookies. Anna tried one. Yep, it was a cookie with icing.

In the middle of all this, I learned how to make picot edging. I knew what it looked like, but I didn't know about knitting the live stitches together with the cast-on stitches to make a hem. 

All in all, it was a really nice vacation. I'll have to try it again some time.

Oh, right, vacation...

We've been back from vacation for a full week now. While we were away, the time passed slowly. Each day, I would think to myself, "Wow, we still have x number of days left." This past week has just gone by in a blur.

What did we do while those nine days passed languorously?

Well, Vova the Wonderful bought us a travel French press, so we enjoyed good coffee every day.

We loafed around the campsite. We were too busy loafing to take pictures of each other loafing.

We went swimming at a little beach on the island.

I knitted on my new socks. Certainly not the most flattering picture of me, but the only picture of me knitting on vacation.

We played miniature golf.

We drove to the nearby town of Clayton and went swimming in the St. Lawrence river.

It did wonders for my shoulder that aches from time to time. The wind blew hard enough to create some little waves, so it was almost like swimming in the ocean. It was Anna's first time for swimming in waves. 

We drove over the International Bridge to Kingston, Ontario

where we went to Fort Henry for the retreat ceremony.

I'll continue tomorrow. Time is once again passing too quickly; bedtime is upon me.

Should've Seen That Coming

We got back from camping on Wellsley Island late last Sunday night. Errands and all the minutiae necessary for our normal schedule consumed this last week. I ended up getting home at 10 or 11 almost every night, which meant no time or inclination for blogging.

I still have not finished Vova's Totem Pole Jacket because I ran out of white yarn. I thought I had just enough to finish the second sleeve and do the sewing up. Wrong. This cold, hard reality faced me as I was packing the car to go on vacation for nine days. The thought of no knitting for that length of time, which was intended specifically for things like knitting, started a small flurry of panic in me.

So, I grabbed 2-at-a-time-socks, my No. 2 circular needle, and two skeins of Sockotta in Navajo Sky. While we were on the road, I cast on the Belle Epoque socks with myself as the recipient.

I would write more, but I have to go wipe down the tents while we have a day of dry, sunny weather. In addition to picking up the dog and the other car, catching up on laundry and groceries, it's been rainy all week.

A Friend in Need

True friends are always there for you in good times and bad. They make it clear to everyone that they are on your side.

They may be surprised when you do something foolish.

For example, if you were to knit this much on the bus on the way to work on Monday,

then this much by the time you got on the bus Thursday morning,

and still this much more by the time bus arrived at work

before you realized you had been stupidly increasing by four stitches instead of two so that you had to rip back all of the intarsia pattern work, your true friends would still find some way to make you feel clever.

So, when a friend asks for help, you have to respond. The beagles in these pictures belong to my friend Ewa, to whom I affectionately refer as "Ma Beagle" because of her dedication to the animal rescue group, Beagle Rescue of Southern Maryland. 

Ewa is looking for items for the silent auction at their annual Beagle Bash on September 26. She came up with the idea of putting together a "knitter's basket" to offer at the auction. So far, the basket has a book on knitting coats for dogs. If you would like to contribute a skein or two or any other knitting items such as needles, stitch markers, measuring tape, etc. please contact Ewa via the above link or me. All donations are tax deductible. Other items for the auction are also welcome. Vova and I will be putting together another basket while we are camping in the 1000 islands next week. If you can't bear to part with some of your stash, but still want to help, visit BRSM's website to make a monetary donation, foster a beagle, or volunteer in other ways.
Ewa and her husband, Etienne, always take care of our elderly, one-eyed, blind cocker spaniel when we have to go out of town. They are great friends and part of my local community.
So, to all of you, my global community, I'm throwing up the Knit Signal for Ma Beagle and her boys and girls.