Two Black Sheep

Crap!

2007-08-13T22:11:00.000-04:00

I need to start this post with a warning: I have not searched the archives for this issue! Sorry, but I really just want to vent. I'm nearing the end of my Melon & I think that I'll be short on yarn. I have 5 repeats of the body left. This means I will have one ball left for the border. I'm pretty sure 110 yards isn't enough for a proper border. Anyone else have this issue?

Closing Time

2007-02-18T14:07:00.000-05:00

Find us here!

Love,
Ava & Lola

Whatever Lola Wants

2007-02-11T19:26:00.000-05:00

Won't you please join us for the party and click on the link for the new Two Black Sheep? Please update your Bloglines (it's easy as hell) and follow the misadventures of the Sheep sisters. Besides, Lola is cooking up a little contest full of all sorts of freebies . . . and who doesn't like free?

Ava

Sing, Sing a Song

2007-02-09T15:32:00.000-05:00

I have been knitting on the EZ Fair Isle on and off all week, but honestly, does anyone really want to read about 13 inches of stockinette? No? Didn't think so! I love the yarn, the color is sublime, and the pattern couldn't be easier - note to all: haven't reached the Fair Isle yet - but it is boring. Grace is progressing nicely, but I've already chatted about how I hate the yarn and the pattern is straight forward yet confusing at the same time. What more is there to say until it is done?

Somewhere, back in the fall, I suggested to Lola that we use song titles for our posts. There were two reasons for this: I am not that creative when it comes to titles and Degrassi: The Next Generation does it. Truly, there is a third reason: I love music almost as much as I love knitting. Every once and a while, I will sit down to list my ten favorite songs of all times, so here is that list. Nothing is in a particular order and one of Lola's is in there for good measure.

1. "I'm A Slave 4 U" by Britney Spears. Say what you want about my girl Brit, but I love this song, as does Lola. There is something about it that makes me want to dance - which I can't - and pretend to be Britney. I, however, would know when to flash the photographers and when to keep my legs closed. This is my ring tone for Lola, by the way. If you ever hear a vaguely porno-esque cellphone ring, chances are it's me.

2. "Into the Sun" by Joseph Arthur. If you haven't heard this song, go out and get it! It plays during the scene in Saved when all the characters are searching their souls; if you haven't seen the movie, get it, too. I like the basic premise of the song that whatever you do, the person singing wishes you peace and love.

3. "Yellow" by Coldplay. When this song came out, we were taking our first trip to England. The girls and I stayed in a little coastal village in Scotland called Ayr for three days. The brochure showed pictures of folks frolicking in the surf and having a gay old time. Silly me, I packed their bathing suits. Ummm . . . Scotland in July requires a coat. The video for "Yellow" has Chris Martin singing on a beach which looks surprisingly like Ayr - classic love song which I love.

4. "Breathe Me" by Sia. This is one that Lola introduced me to. Sia's voice is beautiful and haunting. It is impossible for me to break away from this song once it begins: in movie trailers, bad television shows, stupid commercials, Barnes and Noble.

5. "Fancy" by Reba McEntire. My sister made me do it! Lola's favorite song is "Fancy," oh she of poor white trash fame. She had it played at her wedding reception and performed a lovely choreographed dance to it. At least she didn't ask me to list "Pussy Control" by Prince.

6. "If God Will Send His Angels" or "Stay (Far Away, So Close)" or "All I Want Is You" by U2. I am a huge U2 fan, always have been and always will be. It is hard to pick a favorite song by U2, but it would have to be any one of these three. There are a few more, but it is something about the pacing and the lyrics for these songs. The Flyer says I am nuts because I think that The Joshua Tree is vastly over-rated, but he did let me name one of the girls after a member of U2's child. Sick, I know.

7. "Thorn In My Side" by the Eurythmics. Lola and MR had "At Last" as their wedding song; quite classy if you ask me. The Flyer and I chose "Thorn In My Side." It fits our sense of humor, we love Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (better together than separate, if you ask me), and it makes for a good story.

8. "Feeling Good" by any artist who sings it. Bring it on Nina Simone, Michael Buble, Muse . . . it's all good. The beat is mighty fine for a little classy bump-n-grind and it is easy to sing along with it as long as you convince yourself that you are Nina Simone and not Michael Buble. Besides, Lola and I have a weird fascination with strippers and this definitely fits the bill.

9. "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. Yes, Otis Reading has a great version and Taylor Hicks sang a near-perfect version for his American Idol audition last season, but Sam Cooke is the artist I prefer. I nearly weep when I hear this song; play it at my funeral or I will haunt you, Lola.

10. "You'll Never Find A Love As Good As Mine" by Lou Rawls. Remember when Lou Rawls did a guest spot on General Hospital? No? Well, he was the choir leader at the funeral for Justice's mother. I was waiting patiently for him to break into "You'll Never Find," but alas, it was at a funeral. Hey, Lola, play this one too! Same goes for the haunting!

Knitting content is coming . . . as is a potential switch to another site! Stay tuned.

PS - Since one was Lola's, my official ten would include "Hallelujah" by just about anyone, but preferrably by Rufus Wainwright. The girls don't like it by Leonard Cohen but even his version has a lovely quality to it.

No song title post because no picture post

2007-02-08T10:20:00.000-05:00

I'm about to rip out my hair.

My skin is still rough and painful from our Chicago trip.

I got a horrible flat tire. I took it in and was told that I needed a new battery and new tires (It has been over 72,000 miles). MR thinks that tires cost $30 each, so when I tell him the price, he flips.

Blogger is driving me nuts. I don't understand why you can change back to the widget format as easily as you can switch to the old format. We've lost Haloscan again. (I'll be thrilled with the new domain once it's up & ready. MR is loving the idea about creating our banner) Why?

Bloglines isn't taking updates from the new blog. I'd hate to switch and not get my updates. Don't take away my needle! Why, Bloglines? Why?

The new pay schedule is screwing up how I do bills. Getting paid every week was easier to handle than every 2 weeks. I'll get used to it in time.

I almost ripped out my progress on Nephew's Wallaby because I thought the size 6 was closer to a size 4. I realized that I cast on the same amount for Beaner's 4T sweater. Almost in a hysterical fit, I grabbed a ruler. I completely forgot that I increased after the ribbing . Thank god I didn't rip. I was one bad American Idol try-out from putting the Wallaby into the ball winder. I would have done it, that's how pissy I am.

One good note, I'll cast on STR G-Rocks without finishing my 2nd Pomo socks. I forgot that I need something to knit while at the beach in FL.

Another good note, Gus is putting so many words together it isn't funny. Somewhere he's learned to say "boobies" and he knows what they are. He's also learned where his penis is. We're not sure how this came about, but he grabs his diaper when I asked (MR was giving him a bath and having him wash all of his body parts. He didn't think he'd know penis. And he did. We don't go around saying the word).

Home

2007-02-05T08:49:00.000-05:00

I made it home. I'll post some details about our trip. Can't say to much about the actual contest (entire reason we went to Chicago) because I signed an confidentiality agreement. We had a lot of fun despite the -23 temperature that followed us. At about 1 p.m. on Sunday, the fun was gone. I had had enough. You'd think that you can't tell a difference between -15 and -23, you'd be wrong. I've got a list of things to do:

get Gus and Pup from Mom
clean up all of the mess from Chicago
clean up all of the mess from before we left
work (it is Monday, after all)
oil change and tire rotation
slather a horrid amount of lotion on my itchy body
balance our checking account
work with Ava to fix the blog (not sure if I like the Haloscan commenting)
knit something

The Moment I Said It

2007-02-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

Winter has finally hit the East Coast. Sure, we have dabbled in attempts for the past few weeks, but I think that it is here to stay no matter what Punxsutawney Phil or that ground hog from Staten Island has to say about it. It was 11 freaking degrees this morning on the way to church and only warmed up by about a degree in the ensuing 45 minutes.

Veronica kindly modeled the class hat even though Betty has claimed it

We had parent teacher conferences this week, which can only mean one thing: heartache. The conferences in February are the gut wrenching ones; we only ask for them if the student is in danger of failing the year so they are never truly happy conferences. I believe that I heard the following statements way too often: I don’t know what to do with him/her and I am not making excuses but (fill in the blank). You get the picture. I told the Flyer that if I had a dollar for every time I said that, I could book another trip to England post haste. Luckily I had my EZ Fair Isle sweater with me. There was a lot of down time in this conference, so I knit while waiting. In a few long conferences, I even picked it up and knit under the table.

Having a relatively simple pattern has come in handy recently. I knit the whole way through Pan’s Labyrinth last night which was probably for the best. Guillermo del Toro is truly a gifted filmmaker, but if you don’t know anything about him, I can understand why you walk out of the film thinking, “That was a little violent.” He is a horror film director, folks. The fact that he could turn out something relatively sedate for him speaks volumes. And, truthfully, the original Grimm’s fairy tales weren’t happy-go-lucky . . . we have Disney to thank for that.

Grace is progressing nicely. I finished the other front and have begun the back. Unfortunately, it is a pattern that requires some attention, so I am only working on it when I don’t have something else to pay attention to. There are several things going on in the photo: Grace (fronts complete), the doctor’s bag from Knit 2 Together, my hat from the Fair Isle class, and the beginning of the EZ Fair Isle sweater (now about 12 inches in).

Thank you all for the kind words on the post about Clark. This might have been the first year that I really didn’t have a total break down probably because it was the first year that I confessed the willingness to trade away parts of my life just for a cup of coffee. On other brother news, our bro who is 25 has finally set a graduation date of June. Lola wasn’t too happy with the June decision because it conflicts with a family wedding. Truthfully, I would rather be at the wedding, but I am really looking forward to holding up signs spelling out “FINALLY” for the family Christmas card picture.

Ava

PS – Go Bears!

Silent Lucidity = (Silent) Poetry

2007-02-02T18:22:00.000-05:00

Since the post titles have been song titles for several months now, I am not about to break a theme for the poetry reading. Besides, Lola is in Chicago trying out for The World Series of Pop Culture and Queensryche has a Chicago-based tribute band of the same name. This is the poem, "The Armful," by Robert Frost. I often reread it when things get a little out of balance.

For every parcel I stoop down to seize
I lose some other off my arms and knees,
And the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns,
Extremes too hard to comprehend at once
Yet nothing I should care to leave behind.
With all I have to hold with hand and mind
And heart, if need be, I will do my best.
To keep their building balanced at my breast.
I crouch down to prevent them as they fall;
Then sit down in the middle of them all.
I had to drop the armful in the road
And try to stack them in a better load.

True Colors

2007-01-31T15:37:00.000-05:00

I've got problems. Lots of them. All this pop culture knowledge is ruining my brain. I couldn't even remember that Simple Minds did the Breakfast Club song! Very confidently, I said, "Simply Red." MR shot me a look of horror and corrected me. All day I was trying to remember the name of the Phil Collins song with all the puppets. Land of Confusion. What the hell? And I paid for a plane ticket to test my pop culture knowledge? I'm ashamed. I even broke into tears when I heard Cyndi Lauper singing "True Colors" on an old Howard Stern show. I'm trying to merge onto the highway, wipe my eyes and sing the song at the same time. But that songs always gets me, so it has nothing to do with stress.

Yesterday, I realized I'm not prepared for cold weather outside of our city. We've had a mild winter like most. I didn't feel the need for hats or boots. Since I haven't felt like shopping since Gus was born (Yep, almost 2 years & I have no excuses), I don't have key items. I quickly found out that it isn't easy to find winter essentials in January! Found some boots that will do. And I've made a hat out of some old TLC Cara Mia. Its a plain spiral rib hat, but it reminded me why I dislike this yarn. Once you wear it for more than 20 minutes, it's stretched for shit. I started a simple beret and I'm hoping that it won't matter if it's stretched. The yarn is so soft, but it doesn't hold a shape. I bought a ton of it when TLC decided to get rid of it. Maybe I'll turn it into an afghan.

Thought I'd leave you a taste of the old MTV.

Lola
Oh, this is really gross (I swear I haven't done it), but have you ever typed in "ZIT" into YouTube's search bar? I can't bring myself to click Play.

Tonight is Your Night, Bro

2007-01-29T08:54:00.000-05:00

Since the last post was so moving, I feel that I need to tack on a disclaimer for the next post.

Disclaimer: This post is full of silliness, shame and probably a crap-ton of grammatical errors.

Now I can procedde with my head hanging low.

You won't be hearing much from me this week. We're packing up and preparing for our trip to the Windy City. Last spring, we watched VH1's World Series of Pop Culture. I like to think that MR has more crap knowledge than I do, but I've been sinking to his level for the last 10 years. I'm not proud of this slide. Not at all. Mom would always say, "Don't fall in love with a man who's shorter than you." But Mom never warned us about falling in love with a nerd. So I didn't know what to do when Nerd Love came a knockin'. There were flags early in our relationship. Here's one example that should have sent me running.

Our first dating years were full of Star Wars events. The biggest flag came during the Phanton Menace premiere. I waited in a 3-hour line with him and some other friends. It wasn't until an MC announced a winner in the Best Wookie sound that I noticed a bar across the street. I left, sat on a stool and returned right before the MC announced Biggest Star War's fan. The MC was about to hand a shirt to a guy named Luke ("My parents named me after L.S" Really? What 30 year-old wasn't told that at least once?), MR stood up and shoved a card in the guy's face. "The guy with the Honorary Jedi card wins," the MC screams. The crowd fell silent. You could only hear my head hitting the pavement and some guy turning on his "lightsaber". The only thing that stopped me from passing out were the number of grown men in costumes. Anyone should worry about grown men in costumes if it isn't Halloween. Apparently, MR had hidden and "forgotten" about this card. He received it when he was a little kid after he sent in UPC codes from the figure boxes.

I've learned to deal with his "dorkiness". I always look for Marvel Legend variants while I'm on the road. If I do it in my spare time, we don't have to look while were cramming errands in before Gus' dinner. I took the time to Google all cult/superhero names before we picked a name for Gus. I almost caved for Ash, but I came to my senses. I've learned to fake an interested look and nod whenever I hear: Bruce Campbell, George Romero and Avatar

Anyway back to this weekend... After the show ended, MR put us on the mailing list. We submitted a questionnaire and got an interview time. We've been cramming our brains full of Pop Culture information. Robocop, Designing Women, Better Off Dead, Mars Blackman, etc. I'd like to think I will be the downfall of the team (Mark my words), but I beat MR during the original show. And I did this while knitting from a chart without a cable needle. I'd like to get to one Chicago YS, but the others think knitting is nerdy. I am hanging out with people that attend 24-hour Horror Marathons after all. Fiber is real dorky, people.

I'm bring along Nephew's Wallaby. I'm NO perfectionist in my regular life, but knitting is quite the opposite. I've knit Wallaby's k1 X p1 ribbing 3 times. The first time I didn't knit the ribbing on smaller needles. I didn't think it'd matter. Now I know why you knit ribbing with smaller needles. The second time involved a Tubular Cast-on. I was very pleased with it for the Pomathous sock. 112 stitches proved to be the demise of my Tubular love affair. I must have screwed up a knit or purl stitch. The ribbing was off and some of the loops just fell off the needle. I did a backward loop cast-on in the middle of the ribbing. I kept thinking, "What 5 year-old will notice that?" But the 30 year-old knitter kept noticing. So last night while watching Supersize Me (I knew there was a reason I skipped this movie), I did a long tail purl and knit cast-on on the small needles. I'm very pleased with the outcome and can't wait to work on it in the airport on Sunday. Friday's airport trip is to be filled with more pop culture cramming. That's what I'm told.

What's that in the background? Yep. I'm no longer a STR virgin. Well kind of, I haven't knit from the skein yet. So I guess I'm the girl getting ready for prom. I've shaved my legs and talked to my girlfriends about birth control methods. Once the first pomathous sock is finished, I'll start knitting my G-Rocks socks.

Wish us luck, and quiz me if you want.
L

When We Were Young

2007-01-26T17:10:00.000-05:00

I despise this time of year. It’s after the holidays and things have slowed down dramatically. The girls are usually done with their winter concerts and the days are dreary. This year we had a bit of a respite with the unseasonably warm weather thus proving that global warming cough excuse me, climate change is good for something. Hell, I threw myself into my UFOs with a passion that I haven’t seen in a while. But even this couldn’t completely lift me out of my funk.

Ava and Clark, September 1972

There’s another reason that I hate this time of year: it reminds me of my brother, Clark. He died on January 28, 1973, and hardly a year goes by when I don’t find myself in some sort of emotional funk or another even though it has been decades. It usually doesn’t take much to get me going. Sappy commercial? Here comes that feeling in my throat. Seeing a baby? Yup, that’ll do it. Talking to my mom? Sure to bring it on. Driving home without any thought in my brain? You guessed it.

Sometimes, I imagine what my life would be like had Clark not died. First of all, I would only have one sibling – him. Mom has always been fairly clear about that. Second, I probably would have never moved to Ohio and attended Miami University. This would negate meeting the Flyer and having the girls. Last, I don’t know that I would be happy. Suffice it to say, I have accepted that it happened; it was an accident. Nobody means for a nine-month-old to die . . . it just happens sometimes.

When the girls were little, I didn’t let my guard down with Betty – she is the second child - until she was one day older than Clark was. Surely, I thought, God couldn’t be that cruel, but I wasn’t taking any chances. It is probably the reason that I never wanted a son because I was afraid of what would happen: either he stays or he goes. How would go on if it was that latter?

As hard as it was on me, I know that it was harder for my parents – that much is a given. The fact that they stayed together amazes me every day because I truly don’t know how you bounce back from this kind of tragedy. It was only recently that I realized that it must have been worse for Lola, the other sister, and our brother because Clark is everywhere in our house. There is a picture of him in the family room, Mom passes on the nightlight she used for him, and every baby who is born has an instant comparison to his picture. I couldn’t throw away Clark’s piggy bank I broke years ago. Occasionally I will cut my finger on it when I reach deep into my sock drawer.

Thirty-four years have passed and I think I have finally learned a few things. I have three siblings whom I love dearly. I might not always agree with what the youngest two say or do, but I love them unconditionally. The Flyer and our girls mean the world to me (whether we are agreeing with one another or not). And I generally am a happy person. But sometimes, especially around this time of year, I wonder how much would I barter with the devil just to have a cup of coffee with my brother.

There will be knitting content tomorrow . . . I did throw myself into the UFOs in a tizzy, after all.

Ava

Cotton Crush

2007-01-24T10:27:00.000-05:00

Self-striping yarn is like a devil on my shoulder. "Come on darling, don't you want to see what maroon & yellow will look like together?" It has me ignoring the dirty clothes and the rumbling in my belly. I just keep knitting & before you know it, 3 inches hang off the needle. These socks were a departure from my usual routine. I haven't knit a heel flap, top-down or used a pattern since the Christmas of 2005. I love the PGR method, but sometime you just want a pattern. Especially for Toddler, I felt a little creepy when I measured his foot while he was sleeping. But here's the problem with this pattern, the foot part reads, "Knit straight until you're 1 1/4 inch from the toe." Once again, try to get an almost 2 year to sit still! I think that I could have finished the pair in a day, but the dog needed to be fed and let out.

Since I'm hitting the stash this year, I dug this out. Lorna's Lace in Vera for some Pomatomus socks. I can see why so many people love this pattern. The stitch pattern is easy and I like the look of a twisted knit stitch. I bought the yarn during my pink/brown phase (I'm in the midst of a green/brown phase) from ebay. Gus' socks were made from Reiga which is a nice hardy washable yarn. However, this superwash LL is so soft I almost can't wait to see how it washes.

Finally, delurk Typepad users! Delurk and give us advice! I hate that if someone leaves us a comment, we can't respond to most since they have to have a Blogger account. Is Typepad like this? I was already to tell Cara how I really wanted to invite Sonny & Carly to our wedding. Ava & I thought this was hilarious. We'd have entire phone calls during General Hospital, and only talk at commercials. Maybe it's good that I couldn't email the story. She'd think we were insane. Hell, maybe we are.

Lola

General Hospital Theme

2007-01-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

How can you ignore the plea from one of your favorite nieces? I can't. Unfortunately, there will be no pictures for this post, or really any substance. I've been out of the house for a couple days now. We spent a lovely evening with my MIL over at MR's brother's house. When we returned on Sunday, I packed for a work trip. Very early on Monday, I hit the road with an agenda. Visit my favorite northern YS and buy yarn for Nephew's (what are we calling him?) Wallaby. The day went sour when I saw that the lights were off and the sign said, "Appointment Only." Day tipped farther when my appointment had to reschedule. I picked up some Paton's Decor (I don't know why. I think it's close to Encore and I'm tired) and started swatching when I got to the hotel. Tried to sleep after Heroes. Unsuccessful and have been for the last 3 nights. So once I hit PUBLISH, I'm falling on the couch.

See what'd I tell you, "no substance". I could tell you how my SIL's scientist friend has convinced her that babies can't taste anything, and this is why baby food veggies taste so bland. This news came out when I told her that I hated how they tasted. If we gave him baby food veggies, I always spiced them up. Thank god my MIL told her to feed Little One a lemon or fruit and decide for yourself. Or I could tell you that Little One is never allowed to cry. They are quick to soothe her back from the brinks of tears. Or I could tell you that I almost started to ovulate when Gus leaned over and kissed Little One without being told. If she was laying on a Pottery Barn for Kids catalog, an egg would have dropped. Gus kept calling her, "My baby." He would say, "Hold My Baby." And then he'd kiss and hug her. I could also tell you that he loves saying, "Hurray" with a lot of emphasise on the first syllable. We also like to encourage this new word. I could tell you all about this stuff, but I'm so tired I just don't give a shit (I shouldn't cuss, but I'm tired). I'll post soon with some finished Toddler socks.

Lola

Grace

2007-01-19T15:35:00.000-05:00

Today, began in a most spectacular was. I truly had high hopes for it as I awoke to snow - SNOW - in the Poconos. A two-hour delay? I'll take that. What? A closure? In my district and not Betty and Veronica's? Damn, I was a good girl. And then it all unraveled.

Not that I am a perfectionist, but I do strive for it. A teensy, tiny little mis-cross about six rows back was bugging the shit out of me. I should have fixed it as soon as I saw it, but I honestly thought it wasn't anything major. Finally, it got the better of me, probably because I was obsessing about it and because I found another mis-cross just like it down a further 12 rows. I thought to myself, "Damn, Ava, you really don't have a clue what you are doing?" Just to prove myself wrong, I attempted to fix it.

Before I go on, those of you not related to me by blood should know the following: the sweater is being knit for Beaner, the daughter of the other sister. Beaner was born in England (a country whose spell I have fallen under - and yes, I know that grammar was abhorrent) and I bought the yarn at Liberty on my last visit. The other sister doesn't knit even though Lola and I have tried several times to teach her. In addition, Beaner looks a whole lot like her Aunt Ava, I title I don't like but the other sister insists on it. I know when to admit defeat. Anyway, the fact that this sweater has not been frogged defies logic. Partially, I feel like I am knitting a bit of home into for Beaner. In reality, I am a masochist and don't know what the hell I would do with the yarn that I now have grown to despise. I hate this yarn. Sure, it is softer than soft and the pink is my kind of thing, but I can't stand knitting with it. It looks like yarn that is spun on a drop spindle (not that there is anything wrong with that - just giving you an idea of what it looks like) and it catches on my uber-dry skin. This is definitely my candidate for January's UFO; otherwise, it is a DUFO (Destined UnFinished Object).

Here is what a little patience will do for you. I am not even going to tell you how many needles I used at one time (okay, it was five, including the crochet hook and it counts) or what an ass I looked like trying to fix the stitches. In the end, am I happy with the results? Sure. Am I thrilled? Not a chance. To fix those other two errors, however, I am going to go the duplicate stitch route. Beaner will never know.

Ava

PS - Grace is the name of the pattern from Rowan for Soft Baby (the yarn of my nightmares), what I needed to fix those six rows, and a great song by the late Jeff Buckley . . . but I didn't need to tell you that one.

Ring of Fire

2007-01-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

So little Gus is back home. I can't tell how much a weekend is needed without diapers or saying, "Be careful." We had all these glorious plans. Fantastic restaurants. Maybe a trip to a flea market. Sleeping in. Drinks with friends. Well, we accomplished one of those. Guess which one? Sometimes I miss the days of the Bouncy Chair (after the colic days, or course). However, when MR got home last night, Gus kissed him at least 6 times. "I didn't even have to ask" MR said. You don't get that from a 6 month-old.

I also took the time to clean my knitting plate. I started a pair of socks for our annual Labor Day camping trip. I turned the heel about 2 months ago, and left it in my purse. Having nothing to knit, I picked it up and finished it on Thursday. Not letting that second sock get me down, I started it as soon as I dropped Gus off. I knit and knit. I planned perfect sock knitting activites. On Sunday, we watched the first DVD of Wonderfalls (I'm about to holler! If you haven't seen this show, rent the DVD! It was only on for one season. Quirky without being annoying. Sort of like Joan of Arcadia, without the preaching.) And I knit some more. I wanted to see how far a ball of yarn would get me. One ball of Trekking XXL #100 & an Addi's 40 inch size 0 will get you a decent pair of socks. I use the PGR method, so my foot length is about 7.5 inches. My leg (from bottom of my ankle bone) is about 10 inches . I think I got about 8.5 stitches to the inch. I probably could have added another inch to the leg, but one of my balls was short and I didn't want to chance it. I'd take a picture, but then I'd feel like I should shave. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow. But don't hold your breath, it's still winter and I got my Leg-Shaving Rules.

I really have nothing to knit but 2 blankets. And since one is all Noro and I'm trying to stay out of the LYS, Lizard Ridge is waiting. I did add a block to the Baby Miter Blanket. Must have been fate, since I got the call that we've got a new 2nd cousin (I'm sure he's far more removed than that, but it gets confusing. So he's a 2nd cousin). I'm sure that this baby is going to bring much happiness to their family. And maybe a little peace & guidance to one member.

Have I said how much I love our mother? Here's what Gus came home with:
We picked out the material a couple weeks ago, but I'd forgotten about it. I love fabric so much. Sometimes I just like running my fingers over the bolts. Unlike me, Mom puts it to work. I'd just let bundles of it sit around our house. Look at those pants! How can you be upset with a kid wearing smiling Popcorns? She also made him some pj's out of the sheet material. I thought my wedding dress was my favorite Mom Creation, but these are running close. I think that MR wants some too. Maybe we'll have a family pj party. That'd be pushing it.

Off to try & work. Sometimes I hate working at home. The View calls. All My Children and the Baby Blanket are screaming at me. Don't even let me tell you what the Dirty Clothes are saying. Flithy beasts.

Pink Cadillac

2007-01-14T22:20:00.000-05:00

What the hell, Lola? Seriously, give me a chance to blog . . . three posts in as many days. Work must not be that busy, eh?

Anyway, we have been firing on less than all cylinders in our house, probably due to the lack of food in the fridge. It was so bare that I had to take a quick photo. Time was at a premium last week and shopping for grub was the least of my concerns. Lest any of you think that we are in dire need of assistance, please note that we have the necessities: beer, cheap wine, and salsa. Anything else would be overkill. The Flyer and I did go grocery shopping and it looks much more normal now.

As the title of the post suggests, I am truly in a pink mood. Just about everything that I knit these days has a ring of pink to it. Beaner's sweater is one fifth of the way done (holler) and I can't say that I am loving this yarn. Sure it is softer than soft and the color is sublime, but I don't like the texture. It feels the way that roving might feel if I had any inclination to knit with it. If you look closely, you can see the flub that I made in the diamond pattern. Why do pattern writers insist on making the directions challenging? I envision them sitting in a smoke filled room saying things like, "I know that SSK would be simpler, but hehe let's say this and see how many knitters cry!" I do love cabling without a needle for this, though I did have to find a way to remember where to put the needle to travel the stitches the correct way. Believe it or not, I had to quote Kevin Costner's "Back and to the left" line from JFK to get the stitches going the right way.

Cara was giving away skeins of STR to all virgins of the fabled yarn. I decided to give up my own Jaywalker virginity and give the pattern a chance. Yes, I own a pair, but Lola knit them so they don't "technically" count. The outcome has been outstanding. Even though I didn't pick a striping yarn, I like how the pattern is knitting up with the herringbone pattern. If they fit the Flyer, I may give the Trekking XXL a whirl in this pattern for him. The other pink WIP is the fair isle hat that I have in progress for my class. I am thinking green and lavender for the contrasting colors . . . what do you think?

Hope you enjoyed your weekend of freedom. I loved, absolutely loved, talking to Gus on the phone. Mom put him on several times and each time I got a "Hi" and "I mama." Sweetie pie!

Ava

PS - do you have a baby sling I could borrow? Gilly has become a severe nuisance when knitting. She looks for anyone - and everyone - to pounce upon. That's the Betster working on the Central Park Hoodie. Veronica is making an EZ raglan out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino SuperChunky.

Spring Cleaning

2007-01-10T09:53:00.000-05:00

We did a little cleaning here at Two Black Sheep. We've added some new blogs that we really enjoy, and gotten rid of one that has gotten confusing (I hate not knowing what I'm reading). The Lo Down is a brand new blog, and she's been reading us since we started in August. We're flattered and can't wait to see her projects. This list is only a small sampling of our blog list! The blog sidebar isn't large enough for everyone, so we put the rest on our Bloglines. Bloglines is like giving a kid one of those supersized Pixie Stix right before church.

You know that I love Ms. Jolie. Loved her since Hackers. I didn't really mind the creepy brother stage. Making out with Billy Bob almost turned me off. Ah, but then she became a Goodwill Ambassador. Could she flirt with me any more? Yep. Any one who compares a newborn to a blob is a woman after my own heart.

Gone Away From Me

2007-01-09T16:39:00.000-05:00

I'm surprised that I can even muster up the strength to post. It's such a sad day. The poor Buckeyes lost. Oh, how boys? How?

As promised, my details about Beaner's sweater.

Simple seamless yoke from KwoT made from Wool of the Andes. It's a 4T and I used 3 balls of the main color (maybe). I also used some leftover WOTA for the yoke. Here's what I've learned this go around:

Fair Isle gets easier with practice. I like the picking of the yarn with my left hand, but not enough to convert to Continental.
Planning a fair isle motif takes a lot of planning. Still not sure about how to incorporate a design while having to do decreases. I'm sure an adult sweater would be easier with a motif since you'd have a lot more room to create. This motif was mapped out as I was knitting the sweater. Won't do that again
Must remember to do the short-row neck shaping in stockinette and then start the ribbing for the collar. To me it looks nicer.
Love the Knitpick Options! I was able to knit both sleeves at the same time with Magic Loop. Doesn't work that well with the Denise needles. I love Magic Looping it and these needles will allow me to do that with any project.
I never get bored with small sweaters or the seamless action.

I've included care instructions with the sweater, since my mother gave me a horrified look when I said "wool". On the opposite side, I placed a photocopy from the book that was the inspiration for the colors. I'm hoping that Other Sister will find the book at her library.

I was going to bitch about some shit, but I want to be more positive this year. If I can make it through the month (who are we kidding, the week) , I'll call myself a success.

Love,
Lola

p.s. Did you put the Trouble album in our sidebar? I forget, but I love that album. The title of the post is the last song I heard from this album (In honor of the Buckeyes' defeat). Shelter is on one of Gus' lullaby cds. I cry ever time it plays.

Hang on Sloopy

2007-01-08T09:49:00.000-05:00

Here is an actual question from SK on Friday night:

"I was looking in one of my design magazines, & I saw some cool knit creatures. Do you think you could teach me to knit?"

If he wanted to get laid, it worked. Can you imagine real knit porn? Man walks in and says, "Did someone order some US 19 DPNs?" <insert Porn music> I'd tune in.

The next night, we put Gus to bed and I grabbed some Paton's Classic Merino and my Denise's 8's. I cast on 20 stitches and showed him one stitch. That was it, he wanted to get his hands on it. I swear it looked like he'd been doing it for years. He did 3 rows and then tossed it aside saying, "My thumbs keeping wanting to do something." <insert more Porn music> But he was full of compliments and respect for knitters. Since I get a lot of crap for knitting "all the time", I felt vindicated. He did very well for those 3 rows. He knit super tight, but he knit. The shock doesn't end here! Oh no, sister.

The next morning, I was making waffles. He walked out of the kitchen and when he came back, he said "I left to knit one another row. Go look. I think I dropped a stitch." He even used the lingo! There was one more row and a split stitch. Yep. I'm a proud mama. In honor if him picking up the needles, this post is dedicated to my husband.

When we started TwoBlack Sheep, I don't know if SK took us seriously. He wanted a super cool name, and he came up with Steak Knife. I'm not sure why he thought this was cool, but we went with it. SK was born. Now that it's been a couple months, SK says on Thursday, "I'd like to be known as MR." MR stands for Medium Rare. Why?

"I'm the middle child. I do everything middle of the road. Nothing extraordinary, except meeting and marrying you (his words, honest). And I'm a little pink on the inside."

Please, don't ask me to explain his thinking. I've stopped trying to do this about 10 years ago before our second date. He left a note written on masking tape, "I will be at your door at 7:30 p.m." There was confusion about our first date. I say that he stood me up and he says I left two minutes after 7:30. That's two minutes after the start of the date. Never mind our silly beginnings, I introduce to you MR! I love you my big T-Bone. That's all the mushiness you'll get for 2007.

Here's 2 more pictures from our weekend. Gus really misses the Christmas tree lights. He used to lay on his belly and look at the lights. Now he does the same thing, but says "lights on" to the red light on the power strip. Oh it's sad and cute at the same time.

A preview of Beaner's finished seamless yoke. Poor Gus has to model everything. I'll post details tomorrow.

Off to prepare for the big game! Someone better bring the dip. Go Bucks!!

Bad

2007-01-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

We got tagged by Mrs. Frick and she gave us B in honor of Biscuit's new eating habit. I was going to have Ava type something up. She has loads more talent when it comes to the written word. She'd come up with classy stuff and mine would just be crass. But since the title of the blog is Two Black Sheep, I've got to add a bit of Cheez Whiz to the party. Go on and guess which B's belong to which Black Sheep. And if you want to join the alphabet fun, leave us a comment.

Boys: I have always been very vocal about wanting to have boys. I didn't go the, "As long as it's healthy" route. Isn't that a given?! I just thought I'd be a better Boy Mom. So when they day came to find out, I was so afraid that the Dr. would say, "It's a girl!" and I'd have to fake happiness. I'm not saying that I'd shun the kid, but I just really wanted a boy. Hey, I'm honest. This picture is from our New Year's day and it's exactly how I wanted to spend it. It makes me real happy to say, "Here are my boys." Ok. Ok, the Pup is a girl. But we gave her a boy name.

Boobs: When you come from a family of big boobed women and you've got little ones, they come up from time to time. And when you're going through puberty, it doesn't matter if the family boobs are perky or saggy. It doesn't matter how many times you hear, "Oh they hurt your back. I'll give you some of mine." I remember in the 6th grade having to go through the annual scoliolis test. The school nurse told me to remove my top. I whipped off my Peter Pan collared shirt, and the nurse screams, "Oh my god! Cover yourself! Where's your bra?" Obviously, I didn't need one or else she'd be prepared. Only once in my life did I want to flaunt my boobs. I hadn't nursed the baby in about 3 hours and I needed a new bra. I should have known better. The woman measured me at a D cup (not right at all) and I had just bought the smallest pair of jeans I've ever squeezed into. I told everyone that passed. Then I started to leak, not sexy. But for a moment...

Bad Boys. Bad Boys: I love Cops. Once, we saw cameras around a police cruiser and I begged the husband to take his shirt off and walk around the car. Everyone knows that Cops can't resist a shirtless man. He wouldn't do it.

Boil: Ok, this is gross. Our father exaggerates every story he has every told, but the following one. Our family loves popping things (someone uses her fingernails and kind of hurts people . . . she knows it). Anyway the story, my dad was playing basketball and some kid had a huge boil on his butt. The coach took him into the locker room and had the team hold him down. The coach heated up a Coke bottle and put it on the boil. My dad said it exploded into the bottle. I really wish I could have been there. I said it was gross.

Boucle Yarn: I don't know why, but this stuff creeps me out. Can't & won't touch it.

Bitch: The word has never, ever bothered me for one single second of my life. You could call me a bitch and I wouldn't even bat an eye. Please don't get me wrong, I am probably one of the biggest proponents of equal rights that you will ever meet (I did get a little teary eyed listening to the NPR rehash of Nancy Pelosi taking over as Speaker of the House), but the word bitch doesn't have any effect on me. I don't consider it a term of disrespect; the only time that I find it remotely derogatory is when it is used in a rap song. Then, I find that rappers - folks who really have a grasp of the English language - take the easy way out.

Bags: If in the previous post, I confessed that I had a yarn problem, I probably should have been very honest and said that I have a slight bag obsession. Hardly a week goes by that I don't either buy a bag or decide which bag will be purchased next. Since this is B, I must also confess that my favorite brands are Burberry and Vera Bradley. Vera Bradley has come lately to me as my very first job was ironing borders for the company that made Vera Bradley bags. Mom was the master seamstress for their company and did all the finishing. At 12-years-old, I was grateful that anyone was willing to pay me to do work . . . even if it meant ironing yards of quarter-inch borders. Each yard was worth 10 cents so after multiple burns, I eventually made an honest buck. On and off, in and amonst baby-sitting jobs, I earned money the old sweat-shop way. Is it any wonder why I shyed away from them for fear of burning?

Breathe: Whenever I hear this song, I am firmly rooted to the spot. Even the Hilary Swank movie currently being pimped by the song gets a little more credence by Sia's breathy voice (and trust me, this movie does nothing for me . . . and I am an English teacher). I'll sit through commercials for the University of Pennsylvania's medical institutions just to hear this song. The last episode of Six Feet Under, a show I never got into, will remain on my television just to hear the song. Granted it doesn't make me cry like Coldplay's "Yellow," but there are notes and words in that song which conger up emotions I don't usually get. If ever I were to create an "all-time favorite" song list, this one would be two or three. Of course, the song title for this post is pretty damn awesome as well.

Books: Still have yet to meet a book I don't like, although I am getting rather fickle about them. If I don't like them in the first 50 pages, I don't bother any more. Honestly, life is too short for boring books. That being said, our mom doesn't like to read, but she understood that value of reading and so we were inundated with books as kids. Some of my best memories were going to the main library in my hometown to get new books with my dad. The Westing Game (humor me) may be the single finest example of literature that I have ever found; I still read it every single year, but there are so many worthwhile books out there to read. For some reason, though, I always have a plethora of Red Dress Ink books since the plot is so easy: girl finds boy, boy annoys girl, girl finds another boy, this one shits on her, first boy turns out to be really nice . . . the end.

One of these books is written by my brother-in-law . . . guess!

Baby: It isn't really a secret in our house that I go through periods of wanting another baby. The Flyer and I were really young when we had Betty and Veronica and our odds at having another set of twins - 60% - weren't what either of us would call betting odds. So, at the age of 25, I had my tubes tied. About once a year, I think about having another child, but I have realized that I don't really want to raise another child, I just was to be pregnant again. You see, I really, really enjoyed being pregnant. I loved just about every aspect of it except for the bedrest (notice that wasn't a B word). Whenever I see a pregnant woman, I get a little envious of her probably because I know that it will never be me.

This post was brought to you by the letter B and the number 10. Go on, ask for a letter. There's a little bit of a Black sheep in all of us. Show us what you got.

New Year's Day

2006-12-31T17:21:00.000-05:00

This is a rather long post on Two Black Sheep. We have learned a lot in 2006 and we wanted to share. The first four are Lola's and the last four are Ava's. Enjoy and have a wonderful new year!

1. Just because you can knit it, doesn't mean you should knit it.
Urban Adventure is still waiting to be felted it. I just can't bring myself to throw it in the washer. I think it was knitting in the round for 19 inches on at least 300 stitches. Why put yourself through that?And even though I love my Pimlico shrug, a 2x2 ribbing on 300+ stitches for 6 inches is enough to make any knitter put the needles down. Same thing goes from my Miter Square afghan. As the Mason Dixon books says, "Who knits a queen size blanket?" This idiot. I do love curling up under it, but I also hate worrying about how much it is pilling. I always think back to it's glourious beauty right after I finished the border. Yes, it is loved and it shows it, but it took forever to finish and I want it to look gorgeous again!

2. Cabling without a needle is the greatest thing since row counters.
Demi couldn't have been completed without this accomplishment. I had to have reminders all over the charts and patterns, but I can't explain how this was a lifesaver. I have small hands, so juggling one more needle is a nightmare. I even swatched with the cable needle and without. I didn't notice a difference on the fabric and that's when I decided to chuck all the cable needles I own.

3. Seamless knitting is the greatest thing since cabling without a cable needle.
As I've said in a previous post, it is going to be difficult to seam again. And for some reason knitting these sweaters, made me feel like a real knitter. Maybe it's because I didn't have a true paper pattern. Maybe it makes me feel confident when something I've knit fits well. Or maybe it's because I love reading anything E. Zimmermann has written. I don't know what it is, but it these sweaters make me feel like a knitter.

Betty makes her pictorial debut on the blog in the Three Tiered Scarf from Knit 1.

4. Blogging isn't such a dirty habit.
Before I used to shut down my blog windows real fast if SK came into the room. I've described it to Ava a thousand times, I felt similar to a man getting caught looking at porn when his woman walks in the room. Ava finally talked me into starting the blog. I begged SK to not tell our friends on a camping trip we took right after Two Black Sheep was up. Begged. They all know that I knit like a crazed woman, so it isn't like I was hiding my hobby. And it isn't like I have normal friends, we have a ton of Star Wars, Comic book, Horror movie, Music nerds as some of our best friends! For some reason, I have yet to come out of the closet to friends or family. But blogging has been great. I love being able to see Ava's projects. It's easier than us leaving messages all week. And when we get comments from famous bloggers, I'm like a school girl .I love seeing different takes on projects. When I'm stuck, I do a quick Google search, and BLAM I'm on my way again! Ava's note to SK - when someone offers you a perfectly good pseudonym, don't say, "Dude, I want something cool, like Steak Knife" because you know damn well we would pick that one.

5. Felting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Maybe it is because I really don’t have the patience to go and check on something all the time (as witnessed by my parenting skills . . . if they ain’t crying, they are probably okay), but I just don’t get felting. I even emailed Lola on the last round of felting and told her that this latest attempt, Fiber Trends Felted Clogs, might be it for me (and by it, I mean never attempting it again). They turned out okay, but I may leave felting to the professionals, or the folks who can’t read a care label (which is how felting probably occurred if you asked me).

6. You don’t always have to knit for yourself.
Seriously, I don’t care what anybody else’s personal feelings are on the war. Mine are my own and I choose not to get too terribly political about it unless you happen to be my brother. My point? Knitting a helmet liner was one of the most fulfilling things I knit this year. The fact that I was able to help out Kimberly and have her cousin and his friends truly appreciate something was better than whatever else I would have done with my time. Even though they didn’t start out for her, I am glad that I gave Mom the wristwarmers. She will get more use out of them than I will . . . besides, I have the pair that Lola knit for me after I went a little crazy buying Gus pressies before he was born.

7. Choose your patterns wisely.
This was one of my biggest disappointments this year. I know how to knit; I know how to get gauge; I know how to maintain gauge . . . I need to learn when to give up and admit defeat. Too many times, I have picked the wrong pattern for the wrong reasons. Sizzle was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Maybe it was the allure of the cruise with my girlfriends or maybe it was the fact that I was going to wear it on my anniversary or maybe – just maybe – it was the fact that my tits (yes, I like that word much better than any of the alternatives) would look awesome in it. What ever the case was, Sizzle was a fizzle for me. The yarn was lovely, the pattern was very, very simple, but the fit left something to be desired. I think that I am going my own route from now on since I am the one who has to live with the results. Lola, you may have sold me on EZ’s methods as the baby sweater was so damn easy and quick to boot.

8. Stash can be managed . . . I just don’t know how.
This isn’t a section to make resolutions, but here goes. Hi, my name is Ava and I am a yarn addict. Sale at A. C. Moore? Dude, I had to buy this because the mark down is so low. Near Nazareth? I should check at Kraemer’s and see what is one sale. Plus, one more skein of Galway couldn’t hurt anyone. Visiting London? Let’s go to Liberty and grab some Rowan. God only knows when I will be back . . . truth be told, He probably does know since I give in to the Flyer every year and go back. Montreal? Who cares if the yarn shop proprietor was a little creepy and pushy . . . give me that Noro silk! See what I mean? Hell, the Flyer even encouraged me to buy another stand for my yarn when he should have been encouraging me to knit what I already own. So, in 2007, I am not buying any new yarn until there has been a significant “knit down” of what I own. Exemptions – I can buy the yarn for the Flyer’s sweater and use Mom’s gift certificate for Lady Eleanor.

Peace and happy birthday to Cara!

The One I Love

2006-12-29T12:47:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you do this with your knits, but I build up a love affair. Especially with my sweaters, I think that's what keeps me going. The first couple sweaters I made were during the early months of my pregnancy. The Skull sweater from Stitch Bitch I thought would be big enough even when I was showing. While making a Debbie Bliss slouchy cardigan, I kept thinking, "How cute is my bump going to look peaking through?!" I imagine all the lively things I'll do in my new sweater. And when people see me having tons of fun, they'll ask, "Wow. Where'd you get that great sweater?" I'll toss my hair and say, "Oh this? I made it." And then skip away. Well, it never goes like that. The Skull sweater was so heavy and thus hot, I wore it once (While pregnant, I would almost pass out if it was warmer than 64). Someone did ask me about the Debbie Bliss cardigan, but I was washing my hands and the bottom kept falling into the sink. I think it was a bit to big. If I haven't said it, we suffer from our mother's paranoia, "Buy it big, it will shrink!" It's hard to break that habit and I still don't understand the "To Fit Bust" column of a knit pattern. Does that mean if I have a 36' bust, I should make the Medium? Or do I add on for ease? Screw it. And then there was Raspy from Rowan's Denim collection. I made this while pregnant knowing that I'd have to wait until after the kid was pushed out for a good spin around the city. Remember, I had to knit 20% more because of the built in shrinkage. The front bunches because it's the same as the back and once again, it's just a smidge to big. I wanted the perfect lounge sweater! One that looks cute with pj bottoms or one that looks cute in Target. Enter EZ.
I started this a couple months ago with no target completion date. I got both sleeves done very fast thanks to a work trip, but the body languished. About a week ago, I noticed that I stitched the year into the hem and I thought, "How horrible to not have it done in 2006!" That's all it took. I was crazed to finish this and "Ta Da..." She's done, fabulous & all that I could've imagined! Maybe I'll be wearing this when Gus finally says, "Ma, they can hear you singing 3 cars over!" Or maybe during his first trip to the zoo (haven't quite made it there yet). Or during my trip to Barnes & Noble later today...

I can't tell you how much I adore Elizabeth Zimmermann! It fits! Less than a dozen ends to weave. No pattern to shove into my purse. And it just seemed to finish itself. Last night, I put it on for SK. And I think he was as shocked as I was. It was 3 tubes only a couple nights ago. In the spirit of my Knitting New Year's Resolution, I used all stash yarn. Paton's Classic (not sure when I'll run out of this stuff) on US 8s. The only modification was the hem. I don't like how she adds the inside color last and then stitches the hem to the sweater. I'm taking Brooklyntweed's route from now on. I'm starting Beaner's sweater as soon as I finish SK's felted clogs. It' s going to take a truly gorgeous sweater to break me from the Seamless crack pipe.

In yesterday's post, I made the announcement that I was going "gut" Gus' room. Not sure if that's going to happen. I just want to prance around the house in my new sweater. She doesn't need to rummage through toy boxes yet.

Love ya,
Lola

p.s. SK just called to tell me that in his Health Newsletter at work, it says to keep your thermostat set to 68 degrees. If you have it set any where from 60-65 degrees, you could have long term health problems. They are listed as hypothermia, sleepiness, confusion, and achey joints. And he says, "Well you do go to bed early and you are confused a lot." Early to him is anytime before 11:30 p.m. I'll chalk the "confusion" comment up to him being pissed that he's working today.

The Blues

2006-12-28T10:21:00.000-05:00

This is how we feel in the Lola Camp. The Pup has been in this position since we got home from the holiday rounds. SK & I went back to work today. I'm back for one day and then off until the New Year. I plan on gutting Gus' room and play-areas. I think he's grown out of rattles... We've got to make room for all the trucks he received as gifts. Last night, he lined up 5 of his cars all with the back ends facing us. Maybe a tad OCD-ish...

I'll post a picture of my progress on the Comfy Gray sweater. I'm feverishly trying to finish this before 2007. A marathon of Law & Order are going to help this difficult task. I've joined the sleeves to the body and am about to start the raglan decreases. Still, it's a huge blob of gray crap and I'm slugging along. I'm not working on anything other than this project. I'm afraid if I don't finish it before 2007 that it'll sit in the WIP basket for the next 3 months. I want to finish it so I can start Beaner's seamless yoke. So off to the couch...

Silent Night

2006-12-24T07:59:00.000-05:00

- Fetching (done) and given to Mom . . . thanks to Jessica for a reminder about how cool and simple the pattern is

- trip to Kraemers for some really awesome yarn (most on clearance, mind you . . . one bag of mill ends Little Lehigh Pebbles, a huge cone of mohair blend, some craft yarn for the girls)
- only one argument about how you exaggerate
- five beers and one-third of a box of wine down (Flyer is hitting gin and Squirt)
- Dad is off for French crullers from Dunkin' Donuts

Merry Christmas! Miss you, Lola!

Love,
Ava

PS - The Flyer doesn't want to start a family incident (that means argument to those of you not related by blood or marriage) 366 days in advance, but he wants to come home for Christmas next year. Tune in!

Little Drummer Boy

2006-12-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

This is my "Merry Christmas" post. I'm not even going to attempt to rhyme. It would never come close to your glorious poem. We're leaving tomorrow after SK's office party. I'm keeping Gus home, so there's no blogging, knitting or even watching good ole Reg & Kelly. I have one more batch of spinach rolls to make and then I can sleep. I worked so hard yesterday, so I could relax all day today. I had to create a list to keep myself on track. Here's how it read:

Wrap gifts
Make cookies & spinach rolls
Pack
Shave legs

That's just how silly I've become and you know that I have yet to cross off the last one. Let me say, thank god for the Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix! I can't believe how good they tasted the next day.

I finished Gus' tomten last night (w/o the zipper). There is something about brown garter stitch that makes me so happy. It's so simple that it's beautiful. Seriously. I made some changes to the pattern. When I finished one sleeve, I realized that it was a very unattractive length. I hacked off about 16 ridges from the listed 40 ridges. I always freak out when I have to cut knitted fabric. I'm still picking pieces of brown wool out of the carpet. I also shortened the sleeves by 7 ridges. The border is my first attempt with an I-Cord, and I loved it! I found it almost magical. While watching Bones (cried like a baby during the Christmas episode), it just seemed to appear along the edge. I'll get a picture once the zipper is attached, I need my Mommy for that one.

Next to the tomten, is the pre-felted Noni Adventure bag. I'm not sure if the picture best represents its sheer size. I tried to put a book in there for reference, but it amazes me each time I grab it. I need a free day to felt it, so it'll wait for the new year. But what do the two projects have in common? I'm crazy and have a knitting death wish. Maybe. All of my recent projects (still have one in the WIP basket) require no skills. Straight knitting. No purls. No concentration. So a resolution is in need. My next projects will involve cables and fair isle. Promise! Seamless yoke for Beaner (fair isle at the top), We Call Them Pirates & Shedir.

Finally, a little picture of Gus for the holidays. He worked so hard one night, but never quite got there. He wiggled and wiggled, but was never able to turn around. His daycare teacher created a CD of their circle songs for a Christmas gift. It was perfect because we have a lack of children CDs. Last night, we danced to Wheels on the Bus and Five Little Ducks. Sounds better than the rap station he tuned the bedroom radio to a couple weeks ago. One night, I'm watching him dance. We're laughing and joining in, and then I listen to the lyrics. Not so cute.
I wish you an enormous amounts of holiday cheer! Have fun with Mom & Dad. I'll completely understand if I get a phone call and you're whispering. Just have lots of wine in the fridge.
Love you all,
Lola

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

2006-12-18T20:09:00.000-05:00

With my sincere apologies to Clement Moore and family (and a stellar reason as to why I don't teach poetry) -

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house,
Pulling my hair out, scurrying like a mouse
The stockings are here, but the cat? Oh dear
So when is that St. Nicholas man coming here?

The girls were sprawled out with yarn on their lap
When I thought to myself, “I could use a long nap.”
But the Flyer with his Tumi and the dog with her bone
Would soon make a case to leave well enough alone.

Out in the kitchen there arose such a clatter
I jumped from the table to see what was the matter.
But on the way to the oven, I tripped over a case
And fell on the floor, sprawled flat on my face.

The Flyer, he sighed, saying, “I thought I put that away,”
And picked up the needles before I could say,
“Was that a set of rosewood DPNs on the kitchen floor?”
As I tried to convince him to show me once more.

The dog, bless her soul, came running in from the cold
And jumped on my back which wasn’t too bold.
She’s a lab, full of energy and kind of a beast
So I must have looke like a right proper feast.

Oh cashmere, oh silk, oh alpaca wool blend!
Oh stockings and hats and all socks I must mend!
Now merino, now soy, now silly bamboo,
Now Brown Sheep, now Elann, now lovely Knit Picks!

“But think of the slippers I could knit with those things!”
And flew through the house like a demon with wings.
Were they under the tree? Were they on a high shelf?
Betty said, “Mom, get a hold of yourself.”

“The knitting will wait, you still have work to do here.
Your parents, yes them, will knock in less than a year.”
(Actually to be fair, they will knock in less than three days
But this rhyme scheme is getting a bit old, don’t you think?)

But the gauge swatch was calling my name on the wind,
“Ava, sweet Ava, just look once again.
I’m sure that the rosewoods are easy to find
If you want it enough, you’ll get out of your bind.”

My hands started shaking, the knitting DTs,
We’ve been through it before, without resorting to ease.
You all know the type: fun fur and quick knits to boot
Only later - “That looks likes shit,” your kids say with a hoot.

Veronica calmly sat down and tossed me a ball.
“Knit one, mom, purl two,” she began as a call.
My finger responded to her knitting commands
And I saw that a rib was forming under my hands.

I can do this, I thought, I can get through the day
And the yarn began to act in a magical way.
The tensions of the week that weighed heavy on my head
Took a pity on my soul and floated to bed.

So the scarf looked like crap and I frogged it right quick
I knew that in no time, I could leave it all up to St. Nick.
The hand knits will wait ‘til birthdays come right?
Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

* The swatches, which I dutifully knit this weekend, are from AllHemp6 for Eiffel (the first one) and Peru Luxury for an unknown sweater for which I need my head examined. Oh, Lola, there may not be enough schnapps for this one!

Purple Snowflakes

2006-12-15T16:12:00.000-05:00

Ever compile a To Do list that just grows and grows and grows, and yet you still keep adding to it? I stopped today. If I added one more thing, one iota (a vocabulary word this week for my kids), the paper may have cried out in agony. That last little thing to do, probably something silly and insignificant, isn't really that pressing. Last week, Julia was gutsy enough to show photos of her house in action. Sometimes, I get that fake holiday spirit amidst the whirlwind of life and it is refreshing to see someone actually show the chaos.

Now that I am in the holiday spirit (only ten more days), here is a quick tour of what my holiday is like. The photos are there for those of you who think in pictures.

1) Our Christmas tree. Sure it is fake and a pre-lit strand of lights are burned out, but I treasure the ornaments on it more than anything. Betty's collection of Mary's Angels, Veronica's Mischievious Kittens, the Flyer's Star Trek and Batman , our university ornaments, and my what-ever-is-50%-off-at-Hallmark - love the disorder. Not so fond of the disorder in the dining room.

2) Yarn! Any excuse to splurge on yarn is my kind of holiday. I just got the All for Hemp 6 to make Eiffel and want to cast on so badly it kind of hurts.

3) Christmas cards. Granted I have been known to send out Valentine's cards instead, but I love reading the greetings and catching up with the letters.

4) Our frig. It has become a sort of catch-all for, well, everything. Postcard from Nick when he was in Cuba? My favorite photo of the Flyer with the girls circa 1992? Gus smiling in his carseat? Beaner and her brother? Really lame poetry? Just look on the frig.If you can't find it there, it can wait until Easter.

5) The ornament. Flip it over and it says 1972. That was the only Christmas with Clark. If this ornament ever breaks, there will never be enough glue to put my heart back together.

6) The pink tree. I admit it, I adore pink so a tree in this shade of Barbie Tart Pink is just my thing. Betty and Veronica dubbed it the knitting tree - hence the Noro "ornament" and yarn garland. Next year, proper knitted ornaments.

7) Joy. There isn't enough of it, people. I am guilty of it. Look into getting more joy.

8) The pets. This is Gilly; she has recently discovered that Livvie can't reach her under the tree. Smart kitty!

9) Cookie day. For the past several years, the girls and I have baked Christmas cookies. They wanted to add a gingerbread house to the mix this year, so we bought a tacky premade one and it turned out fab. They made the house, I stamped my cards. It was a win-win situation.

Enjoy the weekend! I have a feeling the real chaos has yet to begin.

Ava

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

2006-12-13T08:20:00.000-05:00

This is a quick, seven sentence rant. Do you ever feel like some blogs are merely vehicles to pimp the author's book or upcoming book? I used to read one blog and truly enjoyed what the knitter had to say. Lately, it has been nothing but cryptic references to the upcoming book and pictures from it. You know what? I really don't care. If it takes me more than five minutes to figure out what you are trying to say and I must consult a thesaurus, a star chart, and the tea leaves, I tend to get really irritated. Here at Two Black Sheep, we (and I haven't asked Lola, but I am pretty sure she will be on board) promise never to create a book of patterns . . . probably because we really aren't that talented.

Ava, who swears she will get in the Christmas spirit by the end of the day

PS - I am 99% positive that the knitter in question doesn't read our blog even though we both have knit her patterns before and had problems with fit. If you read this and think it is you, trust me, it isn't.

My Favorite Things

2006-12-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

Why is that song linked to Christmas, or is it just me? Here it is, as promised, proof that I'm not all Scroogey this year. A few of my favorite reasons that it's Christmas time:

1. Hot Chocolate. I discovered this recipe from Poise Gets Cozy. You know that I'm a coffee gal, but for some reason December screams for some chocolate and marshmallows. This stuff if pretty rich, not like the watery stuff produced from the envelopes with foam "marhmallows". It'll do in a pinch, but I'm in love.
2. Staying indoors. I went through a phase where I loved astrology. My sign, Cancer, always said that, "You're a homebody." I never believed it! I wanted to be out. You could find me in the dirtiest neighborhood watering holes (Ava, you've been to my favorite). But deep down, I loved having an evening to myself. Wine, garlic spread and a book (before knitting) was heaven to me. Now I've given into the fact that I like staying home. That's not real fair, maybe now I've had to give into that side since we don't have instant access to a babysitter. But I like sitting on the couch & no one gives you shit about it in the winter.
3. Great time to discover new things. SK and his family are into submitting Christmas lists. I dread having to write up a list of things that I'd like for Christmas. I hate "asking" for things. What's worse is, I never feel like I need anything. I'm practical. But every year, I sit down and type something up. For the last 2 years, it always comes back to Gus. I veer away from my list and stumble onto things that we'd love for him. He NEEDS nothing. Please NO toys, Ava. I'm in complete love with "Snowy Day" & Ezra Jack Keats. I love the artwork and when the snow PLOPS on Peter's head, cracks me up. Also happens to be one of the books that Gus will sit through. Anyways, there's a Keats Neighborhood book that I'd like to get for Gus. But that's it. Until he understands Christmas, he's getting about 2 gifts from us. Did Keats do the "Stick a butter, gallon of milk & loaf of bread" Sesame Street skit? Note to self, find out!
4. Emmet Otter's Christmas Special. One of the only Christmas specials that our Dad will sit through and not say, "Oh piss on it. I'm going to bed." Doesn't that picture make you so happy. SK has never seen it. Never! I've got to find it & sit him down. But I'm afraid the it won't measure up. Remember our Private Eyes experience? "You loved this as a kid?" SK asked. I had to say "Yes" but I forgot why we liked it. I'm confident that the Riverbottom Nightmare Band will still rock.
5. Certain Christmas Songs. I love Mele Kalikimaka! Reminds me of Christmas more than anything else. Our grandparents played it maybe all year round. Just typing the word, makes me smell rum and evergreen. Two staples. I also love a Dolly Parton Christmas (I'm going through a Dolly phase again)! Click on it, doesn't it make you want to wrap gifts?

So there you go, just a couple of my favorite Holiday things. I could list a hundred more; drunken nights in the dorms repeating, "What sound does a piggy make?" from A Christmas Story, John Denver's Muppet Christmas, making Aunt C's Christmas cookies (which really aren't as good as I remember. Real yeasty), etc. Who can hate the Island of Misfits? Who? So I'll leave you with that, maybe you could fill out the holiday meme that's starting to float.

Take a look at that first picture. Look close. That Lizard Ridge square has really pissed me off! I've always liked that color of Noro (maybe 95), lime green, hot pink and dusty brown. Could you ask for more? I make the square and there's no pink! None. Just yellow and green. You can't really squeeze 2 squares out of one skein. Now I've got to mix it with something else. Looks ok, but the mixed blocks never look as good as the originals. If Noro wasn't so expensive, I'd use the scraps for something else. Still plugging away.

I love my Fiber Trend clogs! Knitpicks Wool of Andes felts really well. The pattern is kind of weird, because you knit 2 bottoms for extra cushion. Once you felt them, it makes sense. I'm thinking about making another set and add the hard bottoms from their site. Wear them all around the city. SK wants a pair, so I'll get cracking.

Yesterday, we had a request for a picture of our stockings. The pattern is from Handknit Holidays. I wanted a mismatched look this year. So I used a bunch of Paton's Merino leftover from the MasonDixon Afghan (warmest thing ever, get your's done Ava). I really liked the slip-stitch pattern and the bobble bind-off on Gus' and SK's. I got lazy on mine. I machine sewed rick-rack as the hanging loop. We haven't filled stockings yet. Once we stay home from the holidays, we'll test them.
Love, Lola

Winter Wonderland

2006-12-06T08:50:00.000-05:00

Our mother LOVES Christmas. She's the type that once Thanksgiving hits, we were only allowed to listen to Christmas music. Seriously, that will turn anyone into Scrooge. You can only hear "Little Drummer Boy" 11 times before you want to beat your head to a bloody pulp. Too graphic? Since moving out, I've started to experience the Christmas spirit a little more each year. Kind of... I love the idea of Christmas. Good will towards men. Cookies and handmade gifts. Ornaments full of childhood memories. But as you get closer to the date, my love for the holiday starts slipping away. I get mad at all the people in Target that aren't usually there (kind of like the Christmas People at Christmas mass, Where'd they come from?) . Do I make or buy gifts for the daycare? If so, who gets them? What are the nieces and nephews into this year? It just starts to pile up. This year, I'm going to try real hard to enjoy Christmas all the way to Dec. 26. Starting with last weekend.

Enjoying Christmas is a lot easier with Gus in the picture. He has discovered Christmas lights. We visited the ILs this weekend and MIL really wanted to go to Children's Wonderland. It's held at an indoor fair ground building. SK used to take field trips to this place as a kid. He warned me that it was real cheesy and some of the displays would probably have duct tape holding the arms together. However he was really excited to get a wax Santa (Put money in & two metal arm close. Wax is shot into a mold and then the Santa is dropped. 4th picture from the top). He kept telling me about the wax figures like they were as common as Sesame Street. Anyway back to Winter Wonderland. Not sure how to describe this place. Kind of like the "Small World" ride without the boat, song, or class. I can't explain how much Gus loved this place. He couldn't even smile. He just walked around with his mouth open and pointed to every light. "Ights! Ights, Momma. Ights!" Watching him discover each new scene would make the biggest Scrooge soften.

Knitting new, lady! I haven't been doing much. I finished the stockings' linings last night. Since the sewing machine is out, maybe I'll work on my Amy Butler purse. I made a hideous hat (Spidey makes his return). Oh, gauge is my devil. So screw it, I picked up a snappy beret at Target and called it done. I've made some progress on the Grandma Afghan. My crochet is slow going, but it's going. I'm trying really hard to not commit to any Christmas Knitting. But I really want to try Paton's SWS. I think that an entrelac scarf would look fab with this yarn. Not to mention the price! We're talking 50% the cost. I will not commit. I will not commit.
Off to clean up the fake tree needles! I thought that didn't happen with fake trees? Let me tell you, that fake tree may have saved our marriage. Every year, the real tree almost kills me. Making sure the trunk is straight. Needles are green and not too pointy. Trying to get it to stay in the stand. Watering and vacuuming, oh my! SK said, "I think we should go with a fake tree this year." Oh thank you Santa, thank you. I got my gift early this year!

Tomorrow I will post some of my fondest Holiday memories. Just to show you how much progress I'm making on shedding my Scrooge exterior.

p.s. & edit to post: The lovely, Mrs. Frick, posted about multitasking the other day. Here's something you shouldn't multitask: felting and cooking. I was assembling a casserole while felting my FiberTrend clogs. I'd flip the veggies and run downstairs to check on the clogs. This went on for about 15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes. When I took out the last batch of eggplant, I noticed little fuzzies on some of the spears. I thought that I'd picked off all the wool, but found a couple strays as I was mixing the concoction. Don't tell SK... At least I'm not pulling it out of the trash and serving it like our mother used to do if she forgot to save dinner for Dad. I feel a little better.

Get Behind Me, Santa

2006-12-03T18:57:00.000-05:00

Ah, it's that time of the year. The time when you spend more time in Target than with your family, muttering about all the other people in Target and wondering why they (or you) don't do more shopping online. Honestly, the 8th circle of hell must be the back corner of every Target store where they so smartly choose to put the Christmas tree lights. What retail architect came up with that configuration? Probably one who does his or her shopping online!

There has been virtually no knitting in my household. This is the second time (in November, no less) that I have taken a trip abroad only to come back to a full week of work, the Flyer leaving the day after we get back on business, and having an Academy weekend (classes from Friday 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM and then all day Saturday).

Putting the tree up this weekend put me in a little less than the Christmas mood . . . more like Scrooge with a couple of vodka tonics in him. Betty and Veronica did most of the labor (unpack tree, fluff branches, plug in), but neither one wanted to bring in the Crinkle Klauses. Lola, when did I get all these? Was Mom secretly sneaking them into my suitcases like a roofie? And, I even suggested putting the extra twinkle lights around the kitchen window! I did, however, sign a statement verifying that I would remove them after the holidays. What has happened to me?

Montreal was so much fun. The weather was nice (no rain until the last day), the language was not an issue (most folks say, "Bonjour! Hi!"), and the food was good (loved the crepes). The knitting and yarn wasn't what I expected. Let's just say that when these Trekking socks are done, I may never pick up another ball of Trekking again. I think I may name them "Unknittable" because they are destined to linger in my knitting basket forever. Knitting on zeros was my first error; the second was picking a stitch pattern with a k3tog through the back loop. As far as yarn shopping is concerned, I wasn't very pleased. I thought it was going to be great as Zellers had a huge selection of Patton's yarn as well as a rather cheap and pleasing acrylic. We made a quick jaunt to a yarn shop in Montreal and I was initally pleased, but I got really annoyed when the owner kept interrupting my touching. I wanted to say, "Trust me, I will buy something and probably a lot, but leave me alone to make my selections." Every five seconds, the owner was showing me how this was done or how these two yarns knit up together. In the end, I walked away with some Galway I had never seen, two lovely-rub-it-on-me-in-private skeins of Noro silks, and something for Veronica. Nothing major and certainly not what I would have purchased left to my own devices.

I'll post some more tomorrow with pictures of the idiot socks. Right now, I have to grade some papers so I can get progress reports done.

Ava

PS - What are your thoughts on parents letting their young use those Wheelies in stores? Personally, I will slap you if I ever see Gus in a pair, but that's just me.

If All the Raindrops

2006-11-28T17:22:00.001-05:00

Dear Lauren,

Congrats! How's it feel to be the very first winner of a Two Black Sheep contest? So today, I dedicate our post to you.

Knitting has been a tad slow. From the picture, you can see a "No Sew Miter" perched on my suitcase. That's the only entertaining shot I could get. I've been traveling a lot for work, and I really shouldn't complain. There are weeks with my job that I'll sit with my buds, Dr. Phil & Maury and shake my head with disapproval (for the record, I don't really watch Maury. Don't ask me to apologize for Dr. Phil). Weeks just like that! Errands done in the afternoons. Dinners planned and made for the family. Off to the park with Gus for the early sun. And then there are weeks that I can't remember if this is the hotel that I'm on the 3rd floor or is it the 4th? I should use my new camera just to track my movements. Since I deal with different retailers, I can usually count on some downtime before Thanksgiving through Valentine's Day. Nope, not this year. And it sucks, because managers are really pissy this time of year. And I don't blame them, but I didn't ask to come into their store. Their bosses did!

Anyways, back to the Miter. I like doing them this way. Not quite as portable, but just kind of quirky. What I don't like about them, is the cotton. I've always disliked cotton. I'm using Tahki Cotton Classic and Elann Sonata. I prefer the cheap stuff since it isn't as slippery, but I know that the expensive stuff would feel a bit better on the baby's skin. It isn't a huge difference and you can't really tell since it's mixed in. Oh well, ain't my kid.

Speaking of my kid, here's a recent picture. Recently, we went to a friend's house and he discovered a play drill. Gus loved it! Put it up to every piece of furniture and knee in the place. Not sure where he picked up this behavior. We're not fixer-uppers. SK bought a set of plastic tools the next day. Gus loves his new goggles and even tries to get the Pup to wear them. That doesn't last long.

Congrats again. And thanks for reading. Send us your email address and we'll get your prize a movin'. Ava is going to pack up your present, and I've already yelled at her. She has this knack for sending gifts months (sometimes years) after the celebration. I think I just got my Sweet 16 gift. Ava, thanks for the pink boom box. Where's the cd go?

Love- Lola

p.s. Ava- Here's the crochet shot I promised. This is really the only crochet thing I like. Just reminds me of Grandma and her teaching me my very first hobby. So I've switched majors to Knitting, but I don't think she'd care. I've added a second color and am about to add the third. I'm using green, cream and brown. Reminded me of a new stroller print I saw in Babies R Us. Hell of a lot cheaper than having a baby just to buy the cute new stuff.

So Sleepy (so tired can't even think of a song)

2006-11-26T20:39:00.000-05:00

I believe we have a winner, but I'll conference with Ava. Which is also an excuse to catch up on holiday drama.

I'm exhausted, so I can't blog about anything. Nothing. I'm on the road again all week, so I'm filling the bag with more fiber and more sleep-aid (hotels screw me up). But here's a quick update...

Got a new digital camera
Made great progress on new Noni pattern & No-Sew Miter Baby Blanket
Only discussed why "No one's coming home for Christmas this year" a thousand times
Gus was on fire this week. I think he's learning stand-up at daycare.
And was fantastic during our 8 hour car trip
Re-learned Grandma's Wave crochet pattern
Packed 7 times during the last 3 days.

I'll call you from the road tomorrow. Or maybe the bar...
Lola

p.s. Any info on why Bloglines is still saying that we have a problem with our feed? I hate that it doesn't update!

Huddle Formation

2006-11-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

Absolutely no knitting content here (other than to say that I finished my helmet liner - very easy and very worthwhile whatever your opinion of the war is. Motor over to A Knitted Frenzy for more info). Don't forget the contest ends on Thursday. Everyone pretty much has Lola's hometown; mine is harder, but you can figure it out . . . look at the yarns I really like!

It is my favorite/least favorite time of the year as it is parent/teacher conferences. I love it because it gives me a break from the kids and a chance to see if apples truly don't fall far from the tree and it's nice to catch up with parents I already know. But, I detest it because you often find out things you don't want to know (a student's father died unexpectedly over the summer; excuses are everywhere; nobody likes English). Anyway, enjoy your turkey/tryptophan spectacular. We'll be thinking about you in Montreal - oui, oui!

Ava

PS - I may be in love with Kraemmer's Summit Hill yarn. The stitch definition is beyond belief . . . they offer tours of the mill, by the way. Also, please talk me out of (or into as the case may be) the Enid Cardigan by Veronik Avery. Don't know if steeking is something I can handle right now.

Hit me with your Best Shot

2006-11-18T09:53:00.000-05:00

Ava thinks that we should have a little contest here at Two Black Sheep. See how many readers we have besides our family (the ones we've told, anyway). So come on and delurk just to make us feel warm and fuzzy! But I'll get to the contest at the end of the post. Hang on (part of a song that I've endured about 60 times just today. Don't ask me to count the times early in the week)!

Knitting news. I spent almost a week up north and had plenty of down time. I do believe that I was in a bookstore for at least an hour every day. Not sure what else to do with my time. It's getting cold, so my time knitting and listening to Sirius in the car is coming to an end. I did have a huge knitting score. I went to Knitting Garden in Westlake, OH for the second time. This visit was so pleasant. They complimented my Lady Eleanor more times than I care to remember. When I was looking at some expensive hat yarn, the owner steered me towards Plymouth's Encore. I have never heard someone praise an acrylic blend so highly. I like the stuff and have no snobbish feelings towards acrylic, but she almost made me want to French Kiss the stuff. The yarn didn't work out for what I wanted, but I'm going to use the same color for a Totem for Beaner. Someday. Then I ventured into the sales room. Rowan Calmer for 50% off! Not the greatest color choices, but still.

Outside the sale room, I tripped over Plymouth's Boku . Less scratchy than Noro's Kureyon, not as soft as Silk Garden. As you can tell from the picture, the color changes aren't as dramatic with Boku (Boku on Right. Noro on Left). But for 1/2 the price, it will be great for my Lizard Ridge.

Then before leaving, I found a great felted bag pattern. Noni's Adventure Bag wasn't even priced yet. I have been doing a search for a great knit purse pattern. I can only hope that this is the Black Dress of knit purses! It comes in 3 sizes, Evening, Urban and Long Weeknd. I started the Long Weekend last night in a color I like to call, "Baby Shit".

Next to the "Now Totem" yarn, is the nicest card from Kim at Knitted Frenzy thanking me for the helmet liner. It was really my pleasure and I strongly recommend the pattern and cause.

So non-knitting news. Stupid us, we went to dinner last night. This is not the weekend to venture out of your house in our city. But we went anyway. Usually, Gus is very good at restaurants. Sit near a ceiling fan or some lights, and he's thrilled. Little different last night, just kind of cranky. Got home and put him to bed, no problem. I heard Gus coughing for a while, so I went in to check on him. Nothing's worse than opening the door and being smacked with the smell of vomit. There he is laying in a pile of peach filled puke! I gave SK the job of giving him a quick bath. There's no way that he could've handled the rest without adding to the pile. Every time I have to clean up vomit, I remember our mother's trick and think of using it. "But how was I going to get the Pup into Gus' crib to lick up this pile?" I think SK may have had a problem with letting the Pup clean it up. But then SK would have a problem cleaning it up too. Oh, the choices when you're a parent.

6 more hours until the city stops and about 10 more before it starts to burn. Which brings us to the contest. Guess Lola and Ava's Cities. It may not be that hard to guess my city, we're all over the news. I even saw sexy Bill Weir (GMA's weekend guy) talking about us. Ava's city might be more of a challenge. The winner will be the person closest to our respective hometowns, give or take 50 miles. Prizes are yet to be determined, but we do love to shop for yarn. Come on and guess by Thursday!

A Foggy Day in Londontown

2006-11-12T14:13:00.000-05:00

For some unknown reason, it took me a lot longer to bounce back from this trip to London. Maybe it was the fact that I took Mom to the airport at 4:30 AM or that I worked a full day upon my return or that I couldn’t sleep the night I got back. Suffice it to say, blogging was the furthest thing from my mind. Here is the trip in a nutshell.

The flight over was uneventful (other than the woman bitching one row away, but I chalked that up to her unfortunate choice in footwear for a trans-Atlantic flight - seriously, leave the Fryes at home) and I knew that it was a shopping day for me. First up was Liberty. Lola, I am telling you, this is fabric and yarn nirvana. I absolutely go crazy for Liberty’s fabric. I bought half a meter of each to make something – anything – from Amy Butler’s book. On the yarn front, I bought a new Rowan kids’ book and enough yarn to make Beaner a sweater for her birthday. Hopefully the Other Sister will put it on her. That night we dined at Wagamama’s and I think I may have eaten the single finest meal of my life (can I tempt you and the Knife to take a trip with us this summer? Please?)

If you click on the picture, I described the different purchases on Flickr.

The next morning was our most ambitious as we were venturing out of the central London area into the different neighborhoods. The Flyer and I had two, yes two, yarn stores mapped out. Thank goodness I have Dad’s natural sense of directions because it was a little challenging. The first stop was in East Putney to a store called Stash Yarns. It is a relatively new shop owned by a lovely woman and her selection of yarn was wonderful (that's the shop in the photo below). I bought a KPPM skein, a grey skein of Trekking XXL for a pair of socks for the Flyer, and a lovely hand dyed silk blend. The splurge was a set of Blue Sky Alpaca DPNs and come Chibii needles. All in all, it was an awesome shop. The second shop, Loop in Islington, wasn’t as promising. I was really expecting more because it is talked about as the grand-daddy (or mommy) of yarn shops in London. I just wasn’t that impressed. The yarn was disorganized at best, the shop was very small, and nobody ever said hello. I almost had to force myself to buy something so it just didn’t happen.

Other than that, the rest of the days were spent traipsing around London with the Flyer, doing the stupid shit we love (listening to the accents, taking short cuts, buying silly stuff). Little Britain Live was hilarious; honestly, where can you see a grown man actually do the penis tuck live on stage or Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in red vinyl hot pants?

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of knitting done. I cast on a pair of socks out of my Trekking and knit a bit in the hotel room, but I wasn’t allowed to take the socks on board for the return flight. On the whole trip, I think I said “fuck” twice; on the last day (spent in the airport), I must have said it twenty times or more. “You can’t take the needles on the plane.” Fuck! “You have to stand in the queue for 45 minutes because we reissued new security measures.” Fuck! “We don’t sell that sandwich the Flyer loves so much in the airport.” Fuck!

Anyway, glad to be back and glad you made the helmet liner (I stopped at Kraemers on the way home from class to buy some Summit Hill yesterday for mine . . . plus some of their Vintage line, but that's another blog-story). I know how busy I will be with work before conferences so I couldn’t commit to making one for A Knitted Frenzy, but I will probably make one for the website listed for the pattern. Oh, can you convey to the Brother that political statements to the Other Sister’s email are not a good idea? Honestly . . . does the boy ever learn?

Ava

PS – I bought your Lush stuff (and I will be near several in Montreal in a few weeks). That being said, I forgot to give it Mom (but I did give her the Olive I bought for you).

Touch of my Hand

2006-11-07T22:43:00.000-05:00

I can't take it! I just can't. Resse & Ryan. And now Brit & K-Fed? I'm mean, no one thought it'd work, but I had faith in a little thing we like to call, "LOVE". What's happening to this world? I've had it. I can't read, watch tv, or even knit. I'll just turn off the lights, hit the bottle and sing a very bluesy rendition of "I'm a Slave for You." Start the beat, please.

We have should have a contest! Guess where the hell Lola's going? If you watched the news last week, I'll be lucky to come home without a bullet hole or been gang raped. I've got to visit 2 big chart topping cities for a lovely work meeting. Which is also code for, "call my cell to update me on your vacation". If you didn't get my subtlety. Where in the world in Lola?

I'm off to sing that song.

I'm a sllll avvvve foooooor yooooooou....

Mad World

2006-11-06T13:03:00.000-05:00

SK & I have been obsessing over this song! I could vaguely remember that you said something about liking the last song on the Donnie Darko soundtrack. How I remembered you saying that and it being the same song, is beyond my comprehension. I can't remember to put a hat on Gus in the mornings.

Every time Gears of War commercial airs, I'd go crazy trying to think why I knew it. I hate that and songs always do that to me. The first episode of Brothers & Sisters had a song playing at the very end. I searched the internet with only a couple keywords, Brothers & Sisters, Song, Home, Dinner Scene. As you can guess, I came up empty each time. Finally last night, I stumbled onto some site that listed the song as KT Tunstall's Under the Weather. Ahh, sweet relief.

I finished a helmet liner this weekend. A Knitted Frenzy put out a request for 5 to send to her cousin in Iraq. I had some Cascade 220 leftover from Demi, so I put it to good use. I haven't done a lot of charity knitting. I've always had lot of "Me" projects, but I've reached a burn-out on the big projects. Since I like to knit just to knit, I put some yarn and time to good use. While I was knitting the liner, I just kept hoping that the intended soldier will get home safely. I guess that's all you can really do. As I was finishing the face ribbing, Dad called and said that Brother's troop will be shipped over in 2008. Yes, it's a very long time and a lot can change, but the final stitches meant a little more. So I'll send it with strong thoughts and prayers of a safe return. I think I'm going to knit some Striped baby hats for the LYS. Better do it before the new Interweave hits stands, I've heard it's a big one!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip! Post lots of pictures and the pattern for Other Sis' kid.

Working 9 to 5

2006-11-02T13:51:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post sooner, but Halloween clean-up has been getting in the way. Maybe Ava will get a chance to peek at the blog while she's on vacation. First, I've been working on new Christmas stockings. I made awful looking ones the first year I started knitting. I think they have a neon Fun Fur cuff. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but S.K. hated them. Enter some slip-stitch ones from Holiday Handknits. I still have to sew the linings, but they're done. This is the first project that I've done a slip-stitch pattern (not including Mason-Dixon washrag). I made SK's brown/green one first. Loved the look. I just finished mine and it turned out slighty different. It seems like the slip stitches are pulling & puckering more. I used Patons Merino for both stockings. Maybe a good blocking will whip mine into shape. Now I've got to figure out how to put a hook on that won't pull the fabric when filled (We never did Stockings as kids, so I hope to add that tradition).

My next project is a true WIP, no rush invovled. I have a thing for dark gray T-shirts. Not the crappy light gray ones, but the real dark heathered gray ones. The ones that the fabric drapes like silk, and like someone has loved it for decades. You know the ones. I have 2 that I would probably rummage a burning house for. One was a gift from Other Sister. Over-sized (in the 90s, weren't all T-shirts?) Army shirt. Shows she has some balls since she was in the Airforce when she bought it for me, but she knew that I really wanted one. The second was a gift from the Flyer. It's an old Batman shirt that he had outgrown. I don't remember why he gave it to me, maybe it was a Please-Don't-Get so Drunk-with-my-Wife-and -Pick -on-Your-Mother-all-Night holiday bribe. I don't care why I got it, but when it finally falls apart I may bury it. This brings me to my sweater.

One of my first sweater projects was Raspy from Rowan Denim. It's a raglan with dropped stitches. SK called it my Matrix sweater. I had envisioned myself wearing it all the time, dress it up with clean jeans and head to the store. It wouldn't have mattered if I ran into anyone with that sweater on. Well, didn't turn so great. The front & back were knit the exact same, so the front pleats. Since Gus' EZ sweater turned out so well, I started one of my own. My Gray Comfy Sweater, drop stitches and all. I bought enough of the green color for an entire sweater (wanted to make Raspy, but I wasn't smart enough yet to work around a pattern. Raspy is for a yarn that shrinks 20%), but I felt like the gray was safer. So the green will hide on the inside, maybe I knit 2 rows so it'll peek out. I'll decide at the end.

Hope you're having a fantastic time in jolly ole England. Don't forget my Lush stuff! Please...

Monster Mash

2006-10-30T16:34:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween, a tad early! SK wanted me to post some pictures of his 2006 creations. As you can tell, he doesn't mess around. Thank god, it's only once a year. If I have to have another conversation about "Monster Mud", I may get in that coffin.

I'll post knitting content tomorrow, just so you'll have something to think about on your long flight. Oh how bored you will be... But let me tell what I've learned.

It gets easier with age to just nod your head. At the party we were talking about babies, shock. SIL brought their 10 week ole peanut. She's a great baby! Everything Gus wasn't. She only cries if she wet or hungry and nothing in between. You see, Gus had colic. I think it's because of my years and years of saying, "I don't want a kid." Spending 2 weeks with Ava on bedrest will do that to an 8th grader. After one of my last OBGYN visits, the midwife informed me that I could go any day. I must have looked shocked, because she asked "Well what did you think was going to happen in 9 months?" But labor didn't kill me and he nursed right away, two things that concerned me the most. The day before my mother left, Gus turned into a totally different baby. He screamed all day. Wouldn't calm down unless I was nursing him or holding/moving him. I just kept telling myself, "This is what newborns do." It wasn't until I went home to visit my mom and also visiting sister for some help/break. After only a couple of hours, they also noticed that his behavior wasn't "normal". Other Sister often says that she would not have had the patience I did with Gus. I felt good for the first time. It wasn't anything I did or couldn't handle. I had colic as a baby, so maybe it was some cosmic payback.

Anyways back to the SIL. She says, "I think babies are a reflection of how their parents handle them. If you're calm, the baby is calm. Same with frantic or frazzled mothers. Maybe you were a frantic mother and that's why Gus was the way he was." I think about her statement now and I want to scream. She can't leave the baby for more than 2 hours without crying! But I shook my head, no and said, "Colic." Maybe her next child will have colic. But as the Other Sister would say, "I would never wish a Gus Newborn on my worst enemy." And the SIL isn't an enemy, just family.

I promise, knitting stuff tomorrow!

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm

2006-10-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

The Frequent Flyer is a huge fan of this show and has been for years. In fact, he has even successfully hooked the girls and me on it. This is quite an accomplishment since a friend of mine also attempted to explain it to me in my youth and was unsuccessful. Last weekend, the episode was a little creepy and Veronica promptly proclaimed she would have nightmares. We (her father and I) took it in stride because she is prone to scares so it wasn’t a real concern. Needless to say, I said goodnight to the girls and went to bed without really thinking about the whole situation.

At 4:30 AM, the phone rang. It was one of those situations where you are so deep in sleep that you don’t realize something is occurring in real time. Thirty seconds later, the phone rings again. The Frequent Flyer mumbles about the phone (it was 4:30.30 AM after all) and I reach for it only to get a dial tone. Fearing for the worst, like a death in the family, I call our voicemail and hear that there are no new messages so I chalk it up to a wrong number, but the phone rings again. This time I grab it only to hear this:

Caller: Mommy, I’m scared. Help me!
Me (in full blown panic mode because I recognize the voice): Veronica? Is that you?
Veronica: Mommy, I’m scared. Can you get me?
Me (knowing damn well I tucked her in, so she must have been kidnapped and I didn’t wake up): Where the hell are you?
Veronica: I’m in my room and I can’t open the door because I am frightened.
Me (perplexed to say the least): How are you calling me?
Veronica: I took my cell phone to bed in case I needed to call you. Come get me.
Me (slightly pissed now): Can’t you just come over to my room (which is two feet away, just in case you were wondering)?
Veronica: No, I’m too scared from Dr. Who.
Me (really pissed now as the Flyer is snoring through this and it was his show that did it): Fine, hang up, I’ll be right there.

As Veronica puts it later - much later as I slept with her in a twin bed - one of her biggest fears is opening her door to find someone behind it. Really? My biggest fear is getting a phone call from one of my children at 4:30 AM sounding as if they have been kidnapped into white slavery (thanks for that one, Mom). Thankfully, last night’s Dr. Who was not that scary and actually quite fun.

The purse? Couldn't resist it . . . espcially since it will come in handy this coming week for Guy Fawkes Day. All you Anglophiles out there, the Flyer and I are heading to the Motherland in a few days so if there is anything that you would like me to pick up, I am only too happy to oblige. Lola has asked for a Kim Hargreaves kit, but I love shopping especially for other folks. I am so keen on getting to Liberty as its selection of Rowan yarn is second to none and its fabric line would look lovely on several of Amy Butler’s patterns. Again the offer is there if anyone would like to take me up on it. Drop me a line with your list and we’ll chat (virtually that is).

Ava

PS – Can’t wait to wear the hat in London-town with the Alter Knits wrap. Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions what to do with the yarn in the first picture, please let me know. I have about 11 balls and I am wondering why I bought it in the first place.

100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

2006-10-26T11:18:00.000-04:00

This is me, hanging my head. Why? Look closer... Closer... Time's up.
It's Halloween. I think that every year my love for the holiday will come back, but that's not happening this year. Don't get me wrong, I do like the holiday. I do. But the Lola household runs it into the graveyard! It's this damned Halloween party we've been throwing. I swore that Halloween 2005 was the last. But like an ghoulish idiot, I gave in. So the table is full of uncarved pumpkins once again (I have never liked this part of the holiday). Yes, SK has been pretty good this year. He's only created 2 mummified skeletons and he's taking tomorrow off to prepare the graveyard. But it's suppose to rain and snow all day Saturday, so I'm going to have all the Pirates, Witches, and Side-Show Freaks in the house.

No 2. reason my head hangs low, I finished the Pimlico Shrug. "Shouldn't you be celebrating?" Ava says. Yes, but after ribbing for 6 inches, it's the only position my head can get into. That's 6 inches of ribbing on 480 stitches! I think that one of my Denise cables is ruined from all the pushing and pulling. But it is a great shrug/wrap/sweater, whatever the hell it is! Not real flattering, but I didn't knit it to be so. The short time I wore it for the picture, I was thrilled with it. Just like the book said, it jazzed up my dirty jeans and nasty t-shirt (I don't have an appointment until very late this afternoon. Why clean up before?)
Here's the morbid specs:
Needle size: US 8
Yarn: Knitpicks Merino Style Moss
Pattern: Pimlico Shrug from Knit 2 Together

Usually when a project is finished, I like to think about the things that I've learned. No question, this project has taught me to hate ribbing! Hate hate hate the stuff. If someone dresses up like 2x2 Ribbing at our party, I'll either pass out or kill them. The chances of someone picking that costume is highly unlikely, so put away the handcuffs.

My WIP pile is shrinking. I have a lot of projects that don't have deadlines. I have one sleeve of my EZ Comfy Gray Sweater done, but there's no time line on that one. I need to start the Baby Miter Square Blanket, but I can't seem to look at miters yet. The Lizard Ridge Blanket is fun to occasionally work on, but I don't care if it becomes a graduation gift for Gus. I need something real quick and dirty. Maybe I'll spit out a hat. I'm also thinking of doing some charity knitting. Ava, want to look for something together? If anyone has good ideas, leave us a comment.

Now that my shrug is done, I can clean, cook and decorate for this weekend. Oh spooky joy.

She Sells Sanctuary

2006-10-23T17:03:00.000-04:00

Jumping on the bandwagon, Lola. I love reading everyone's repsonses so I thought I would post my own . . . that and I am trying to avoid creating a worksheet or two. Fine, you bullied me into it. I also don't feel like working or looking for a Toddler costume. I'll post my responses in Purple. Hang with me, I'm not as witty as you.

1. FIRST NAME? Ava, for all intents and purposes Lola, ditto.

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Picked it because if the Flyer and I had decided to have any more children, I would have lobbied hard for this name. I never would have won, though, since it is the German name of Veronica’s arch-nemesis. My actual middle name is named after my mother’s favorite student when she taught at a state mental institution (which is where my parents met, by the way). I figured I could never get Steak Knife to name a daughter Lola. Not that I subscribe to the "She's his Daughter too, so he should get 50% of the naming rights" way of thinking. Until he can carry her for 5 months, he can't get 50% of the naming rights.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Probably a little after the school shooting in Lancaster County because it hit a little close to home, both geographically and occupationally. I’m good for a release cry about once every third month and every January 28th. This isn't fair, I cry all the time. I'm pretty sure that I cried at least 5 times yesterday. Gus is new to the toddler room & 2 kids hugged him, "hello." I'm sure that a few commercials got me. Studio 60 got me when they were interviewing the Old Guy that was black-listed. See, I have problems. I inherited my mother's ability to cry if a cute puppy passes her, so I'm always crying.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Actually quite a bit (print and script). I like Lola’s better, though. First, Ava's crazy! Her handwriting is beautiful, always has been. Mine's scratchy. I can't spell, so there's always strike-outs. And since I leave words out, you've got little scribbles all over the place.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? I love hard salami and Italian roast beef.Ditto, but I'd be REAL skeptical.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? If you count this blog, yep. If not, I start a lot of journals but rarely if ever finish them. No. Ever since Ava and the Other sister found mine in the 2nd grade, told everyone who I "liked", I vowed never to repeat that business.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes, but I always wanted to have them removed for the perks. No one would listen though. Still do.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Oh, yes! Something about jumping and knowing (well, kind of knowing) that I would be okay makes it sound good. Nope. I'm a sit on the couch kind of girl.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Lucky Charms probably because my mother always said it was too sugary . . . Betty and Veronica can’t touch them. I love cereal. While I was pregnant with Gus, I survived on it. Anything cheap and generic will do. Once again, my mother's influences are still with me. Why pay for a name? When we were little, she'd buy the K-Mart "Keds" & paint a blue rectangle on the heel. Guess jeans? Rip the patch off & sew them on cheap jeans. Remember Skids? Our mother would recreate the patch and sew them on some slouchy pants she made. Illegal? I know that now.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No way. Even though I where precious few tied shoes, I always flip them off at the heel. Nope. That's why I live in my Vans and will be buying a pair of Converse's without laces.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I had twins, I have the scars, you do the math. Right now, I'd say, "No." But I usually surprise myself. I hate blood. Can't watch CSI. S.K. had to get a bunch of stitches about 5 years ago. He didn't even want the hospital to call me. I had no problems. Labor & Delivery. Once they said that I could still get an epidural, no problem. Ask me again when I've got to take Gus in for stitches.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Ben and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Crunch (and Baskin-Robbins Caramel Chocolate Crunch, but they haven’t had it around in a while). Here's my Dad's influence, Mint Chocolate Chip!

14. SHOE SIZE? 9.5 depending upon the brand. 8 or 8.5.

5. RED OR PINK? Pink with a dollop of red on the top Ditto.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Being shy around new people and having others perceive it as bitchiness. That and people who know me argue that I can’t possibly be an introvert (that’s because you know me, folks, that you think I am an extrovert). I probably gossip more than I should. I also hold a grudge and have a hard time apologizing first.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? The Scooby Gang. I'm out on this question.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Since I stole this from Julia’s blog (and itÂ’s on Cara’s as well), I’ll just troll the other websites and see who posts theirs

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Somehow, there should be heavy breathing with this question. Blue jeans, a white t-shirt, green cordouroy jacket, and wool clogs . . . the only heavy breathing there should be is from the Flyer. Dirty jeans, dirty shirt, and a dirty sweatshirt. As you can tell, I should be doing laundry.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Part of a 3-foot sub (ham and cheese). See question 10.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The sound of the iMac droning and my typing (plus the dog licking her stress spot). Howard Stern online. Please don't ask me to explain this one, but for some odd reason I love the show. I know all the reasons why I shouldn't, but I don't care. It's a vice.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Burnt Sienna. (insert clever adjective) green.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Bar none, lavendar. Almonds come a close second. Lilac, all the way.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mother (ironic, isn’t it). Staple's manager to confirm tomorrow's appointment.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes and nose (I love the Flyer’s nose . . . it got him everywhere). Height. The boys had to be taller than me. Not an inch shorter. Once there was a boy that had a nice accent. I tried to slouch, but that got old. If that makes me vain, I don't care.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? In the blog world, yes! In real life, I wouldn’t know her without the camera in front of her face.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Blue Moon or Yuengling. Corona & coffee! Not together of course.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Watching football or Aran knitting. Big DITTO. But make it college football. Go Bucks. Do you have a countdown for the OSU vs. Michigan game yet?

29. EYE COLOR? Hazel with a twinge of green around the rims (I’m a bit sensitive about that). Ditto.

30. HAT SIZE? The second tightest peg. Usually, the last peg. Everytime the DR. says Gus' head is in the 95% club, I apologize.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? I can, but I prefer my glasses. Yep & I never take them out. So someday, I'm screwed.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Anything chocolate based, but I love my chili and the Greek Yogurt Pot at Pret a Manger. Quarter Pounder and Chiptole Steak Bowl. I've got to get off of this computer and eat something.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings that aren’t forced. Happy endings. S.K. loves scary movies and always "forces" me to watch them. When I give in, he'll say " and no knitting." And that's where I draw the line.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter all the way. I hate SUMMER. Hate it! So much that we planned Gus' birth around that season. I'm so bitchy when the temperature goes above 70.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs are lovely, but there is nothing like a 10 minutes kissing session with your hubby (make that my hubby). Hugs. But I love how Gus kisses us good-night. I think he's confused about "kisses" & "blowing kisses". He'll hold his hand out until it touches you mouth. Then he grabs my nose, don't ask me to explain that one.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate anything. Brownies.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Well, Lola, darling, it is your turn to post yours . . . but wait a while why don’t you. Shit. I didn't read this one until I got to it. Screw it. Just be happy I did it.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Lola

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Walter Dean Myers' autobiography (before I put it out for the kids), Imagined London (less than two weeks to go), and always Persuasion. Come on. I did buy, "Running with Scissors."

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? Don’t use one. Ditto.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Law and Order: SVU and Britain’s Biggest Spenders (the one guy looked like a Little Britain character waiting to happen). Heroes. Love this show & can't believe that Ava's family isn't watching it!

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Veronica’s laugh . . . I wish I could bottle that. Insert Gus' name.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles all the way. Ditto.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Paris and Scotland. Crap. Toronto, I think.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I’m using it right now (nice outfit). I think I'm a pretty good Euchre player. Oh and pretty good at embellishing a story.

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Stolen from Julia at Fricknits

Changes

2006-10-22T10:03:00.000-04:00

Nothing to show today, I'll save that for a Toddler-free day. But I have made progress on the shrug (Next PU 320 sts. Ugh.) and I finished one sleeve on my Comfy Gray Sweater (pictures and post about this new project). But just wanted to catch-up.

Work meeting was a work meeting. No one yelled at me for knitting, but I really think most were asleep. IU game was as boring as watching the Project Runway finale and you know who won. Stupid USA Today and Room Service! Today we're going to a pumpkin farm with the other family in the land. Gus is going to wear his Seamless Yoke and I'm taking a camera. Now if I just will pull it out and use it...

So here are a couple blogs I'm addicted to:
Little Birds
Posie Gets Cozy
Soulemama
And sometimes, Hello My Name is Heather
They make me want to make a lifestyle change (see I did ok with the Song Title post)! I bet they never go to big box stores. Am I the only one that's imtimdated by Farmers' Markets? Drink tea over coffee. And it isn't the type of tea that comes in a box with a sleeping bear on the front! Drink wine over beer, but only occasionally. Don't even think about it being in a box (or a cold garage). Plastic bags, you've got to be crazy! They have more cool unbleached totes than you or I could imagine. I bet there's no tv in the house. Maybe one 12 inch, in case of an emergency. If they were me, they would have already taken Gus camping. Not wait until he listens more (when does that happen? 3, 4...). As you can tell, they make the coolest clothes for their little ones. All of these statements may sound like they're coming off with a smart ass tone, but I swear I'm not (it's a first). I'm jealous. Only veggies I have in the house are either frozen or very mushy carrots from weeks ago. So that's it. No more soaps in the afternoon. No more fast food. No more rolling my eyes when Gus brings me his robot book for the 20th time in a row. I'll knit with books on tape. We'll use up my scrap fabric and make a blanket. We'll only shop at 2nd hand stores.

Right after I watch the finale of Top Model.
Right after McDonald's ends its Monopoly game.
Right after I have to feed and liquefy our friends for Halloween...
Right after...

p.s. Did you see that Sesame Street is releasing a DVD with its top skits from the first 5 years? Sesame Street Old School this Tuesday!

one more p.s. Gus has eaten dinner the last 2 nights. Chiptole and chili. Thank me stars.

Mr. Brightside

2006-10-16T17:25:00.000-04:00

Every weekend is the same in our house. I vow that I will do nothing but knit on one day out of every weekend: damn the housework, the grading, the care of family members. I am going to knit!

This weekend, I came close. The Flyer and I made the most of Saturday, returning items in the Valley, getting a Pumpkin Spice Latte (note to self: don’t buy one again), and grocery shopping at Wegmans. I am ashamed to admit that I even broke cardinal rule number 1: no buying anything related to Christmas before Halloween. Lola, I had to do it . . . I just had to. I bought the loveliest hot pink pre-lit little tree ever! In addition to the tree (it truly is the cupcakiest tree ever), I picked up John Legend’s Christmas album (gots to represent the hometown).

Oh, what about the knitting, you say? I actually spent most of Sunday knitting. I finished the front of the Doctor’s Bag from Knit 2 Together only to find out that I made a tiny little error. Apparently, I put it down before I came to the end of the repeat and the last three inches are a bit off. I notice and you may notice it upon close inspection, but I could not bear to rip out three inches of a herringbone slipstitch pattern. I am picky but not that picky. Don’t you just love the lining? I told you that I settled on a pack of hand towels from the Martha Stewart Living line at K-Mart, but I just adore the pattern now.

The Doctor’s Bag was beginning to bore me. I couldn’t see beginning another new project, but I remembered that I wanted to wear the scarf with the wrap from Alter Knits. I am so happy that this pattern is easy to memorize, otherwise I would be out of luck. Even though it is an easy pattern, I have to constantly remind myself that I need 78 inches . . . this may become my cheerleading project.

Speaking of the cheerleading project, the miter square blanket is coming along nicely. At this rate, I only need about 60 more games before it is finished. I like that it is so damn easy to complete; I just don’t like the fact that the yarn gets twisted in my bag. Any suggestions?

Thank you for the birthday post! Turning 37 was actually very liberating because I am now past the age Mom was when she had the Bro. I’ll take the ear infection over the mewling infant . . . but I really want the ear infection to go away.

PS - I vote that we institute a little DeGrassi: The Next Generation at Two Black Sheep. Every title should be the title of a song . . . today's was chosen at random but fairly spot-on.

PPS - Back to the junior high thing. I am thinking about telling Mom about the blog. Any suggestions about it?

If I could only Sing

2006-10-14T10:10:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to wish lil' Ava a Happy Birthday!

Love,
Lola

*I'll post all the horrific details from the party. Maybe I'll take a picture or two.

All Done.

2006-10-09T14:33:00.000-04:00

That's one our favorite pharses to use with Gus. And now, apply it to the Seamless Yoke!

Last night, I stayed up later than usual to finish the hem. I think it was the first time I'd ever written, "Mom" referring to myself. I can't explain how incredibly old that made me feel. As soon as I get him in the door, it's going over his head. I may need to rip out the bind off and do the EZ bind off. But I'm hoping that I can just rip out the life line. I'll post his model shot later this evening. I'm sure he'll look fierce, Ms. Banks! If he'll sit for a picture! Lately, the camera is his devil.
Here's the goods:
Yarn: 1.5 balls of Kraemer Tatamy Tweed in Navy (I adore this yarn. It alone is making me want to started the Baby Miter blanket so soon after the Monster Miter blanket)
Needle: US 5
Pattern: Seamless Yoke from Knitting Without Tears measured off of an Old Navy 2T sweater.
That's it, really! If I didn't have so much Paton's Merino in the stash, I'd buy more of the Tweed and start my sweater with it. Did I say how much I love this sweater? I know that an adult sweater will take more time, but it was the best TV knitting to date.

Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing

2006-10-01T11:27:00.000-04:00

Have you ever noticed that at this time of year, there are about a zillion “Television’s #1 New Show” on the air. How is that possible? I may be an English teacher, but I know a little sumpin’-sumpin’ about math. There can be only one (go ahead, figure out that movie reference . . . that is how our house works). Personally, there hasn’t been anything that has really kept my interest. You were right about Smith . . . there wasn’t enough in the second episode to make me want to watch the third. I will, of course, watch the third just to see if there is a little action between Jonny Lee Miller (Mr. Jolie #1) and Simon Baker, but I doubt that is going to happen.

That being said, Dr. Who and Degrassi: The Next Generation both kicked off their season premiers on Friday night. It was an all out fight to see who would get to watch their show in real time and who would have to settle for DVR. In the end, the Flyer won (he does pay the bills, after all) and Betty and Veronica watched Emma and Sean’s reunion on DVR (damn those bad boy types . . . even in Canada they are alluring). I was at class on Friday night – yup, Friday night – learning about data analysis and representation. Honestly, I brought my sock just so I had a spare DPN to pound into my thigh in case it got too dull and mind numbing. But, you know what, it was actually the most thought provoking and exciting thing educationally that I have learned since I signed my contract. Fascinating, interesting stuff!

It has been a rough week here so there hasn’t been much blogging or knitting being done. Monday was fine (we even got the title for the Flyer’s car in the mail), until I realized that the Flyer’s birthday was the next day and I hadn’t gotten him a present. On Tuesday, the actual day of his birth, the girls and I ran to Target to get some presents (they bought the complete run of The Tick and I “bought” a flat screen TV – really three plastic cards of different models for him to research). Happy day . . . and then Wednesday loomed and boomed. I had open house at 7:30 but also an emergency cheerleading practice as the ladies needed some practice as they were cheering at the homecoming game on Friday. I decided to stay at school and get stuff done because it didn’t make much sense to go home. The Flyer emailed mid-morning to say something happened to his car and he was having it towed. A few hours later, he texted to say it would be $2500 to get it fixed. Happy birthday . . . I don’t think you can watch a transmission, but you can drive your car with it. Thursday the Flyer takes my car to work so he drops me off. I got the distinct privilege of being the first teacher in the building, a mere 10 hours after I left from open house the night before. After the football game, I was ready to drop. Friday rolled around with the class after work (that means 6:30 AM to 9 PM of education) only to be followed by Saturday’s class of 9 AM to 4 PM. We did go see School for Scoundrels last night, so there was a nice little cap to an otherwise very busy week and . . .

I finished the other toe up sock! The pictures were taken about three minutes ago after I cast off the second one and I am wearing them right now. I have now learned that I need to decrease the foot length by about half an inch. Most of the knitting was done while my cheerleaders were stretching or during the game. Some of the parents cast dismissive looks while I was knitting until I began making comments on the game. Then they figured out that I was both knitting and watching the game. What a concept! I think that I will knit miter squares now during the games (did I mention that I hate you, you with your finished afghan) instead of a new pair of socks. So, cross off the toe up sock. Here are the specifics.

Toe Up Sock (Mathematical Socks from Knitty)
Yarn: Country Hill Yarn in Tadpole
Needles: size 5 bamboo DPNs
Time: about three weeks (or six practices and three games)

Happy late birthday, Flyer! Keep those gangsta rap dreams alive and I’ll work on the booty poppin’! Peace out, DJ Jazzy Trevor!

PS – the football picture is from the Miami-Syracuse game. We lost as we kind of suck this year. I got so irritated at one point that I rummaged through my purse for something to read. All I could find was my yarn guide pamphlet. The Flyer comments, “Please don’t knit here.” First, I didn’t bring anything to knit as I was grading the whole way to Syracuse, at the hotel, and the whole ride home. Second, the game was so bad that I might have thrown a DPN at that kicker just to take him out of the game.

Things that I've lost

2006-09-28T10:03:00.000-04:00

Not sure if you noticed, but I signed us up the Zimmermann A-long. I might have posted the button a little soon, I'm waiting on the email acceptance. Maybe they'll take a look at the blog and say, "We don't need those bitches." If that's what happens, I may lose it, see I've been losing a lot of stuff lately. First, I can't find my copy of Knitting w/o Tears. Tore the house apart, so I'm scouring the city for a copy. I lost the most adorable picture of Gus & I at a family wedding in August. And really the most important thing, I'm slowly losing my love of Halloween. I've been losing that one little by little every year. No desire to construct a spooky graveyard out of nothing more than cardboard, leaves and spray insulation. No desire to line up the Peanuts Great Pumpkin toys. Nadda. As you know, this is a horrible thing to lose. It's Steak Knife's favorite time of the year. My life becomes difficult if I don't express sheer joy at his mention skeletons and jack o'lanterns. Last night, he put up all he decorations as Christmas stocking. He didn't say it, but I knew his was sad. Christmas stockings during the Halloween season? How dare you. I didn't marry this... I bet he was thinking it.

I've Finally Done it. Gone Crazy.

2006-09-26T11:53:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it, here she is in all her glory! This one's going to be called "Dolly". While I (I do mean our Mother) was sewing it up, I started singing Coat of Many Colors. You know I love a good Dolly Parton reference. Maybe I'll make something that makes me think of Jolene.

I finished the border and when I was BO-ing the last stitch, I almost started to cry. The pup kept trying to lay on it while I was working on the border. After the fourth time of me screaming, I think she got it. No dog, no food, no fooling around on the Dolly. Yes, Patons was cheaper & more accessible. Yes, wool is going to be fabulous in the winter. But it's going to be a bitch to clean. Honestly, I just want to stare at it all day long. The border became an obsession. Dishes are getting moldy and the clothes are piling up. I'm pretty sure my job is going to fire me, but the blanket is done.

Here's the goods:
Yarn: Variety of colors from Patons Classic Wool Merino. I used about a skein and a half of 9 colors.
Needle: US 7
Time: 6 long months
Pattern: Mason Dixon Knitting Mitered Square Blanket
Size: I don't know, BIG! I think it's slightly larger than the one in the book.

With this thing out of my WIP pile, I don't know what to do with myself. I may go into a postpartum. Steak Knife will find me curled up (under Dolly, of course) and ask, "Did you get Gus from daycare?". And a little dribble of spittle will slide out of my mouth. He'll call mom and say that he's concerned. She'll drive over and tell me to "drink your juice...drink your juice" (favorite movie line ever. I had to leave off the name, but guess the movie?). Oh how this blanket will have changed our family!

Ok, back to reality. I left my shrug at Mom's, so I'm knitless for a bit. I guess I could clean. Maybe I'll work on Steak Knife's X-Mas stocking. Maybe. I think that I should rest.

Going back to Dolly Parton. Did you ever pick up the Real Simple Food magazine? I made the Dolly Parton Dump Cake on Sunday. It's so trashy, it's good. Your mouth isn't sure what to think, but you hand moves the spoon back through the goop. All without thinking.

Happy Birthday to the Flyer!

Guess Who?

2006-09-23T14:35:00.000-04:00

I present to you a little game for the weekend. Guess who has finished knitting and seaming her miter squares? Come on, guess?

Answer: Me.

No picture, because my camera has decided to pull a very mean stunt on this momentous day. New batteries, still won't turn on.
Now I've got to decide, knit sew or machine sew the squares together. If I'm going to finish this in time for a 2006 winter use, I'd better load up the car and visit our mother. But Steak Knife said that'd be cheating. I almost shoved him in the empty XXL Zip Lock bag. What do you think? Is that kind of cheating worth it? Kind of like if Jason Lee showed up on the door step and said, "Lola I've always wanted you." I'll post as soon as my camera decides to work.

1/2 Empty Kind of Day

2006-09-21T12:18:00.000-04:00

When I started knitting again, I stumbled on Craftster. I credit it with turning a hobby into an addiction. People were so nice! I'd make a garter stitch scarf and they'd react like it was a Monet. When I sank deeper into the addiction, I discovered Knit Blogs. For the most part, peoples' posts revolve around beautiful projects, sweet kids, and the other niceties of their lives. Bloggers are just nice people (except towards acrylic yarns). Ava, you know me. I'm perfectly fine with saying sometime shit stinks. Hell, I thought DH stood for "Damn Husband". Today is one of those days, and for no good reason. So here's the start of a Top 10 (I'm not that much of a downer to do 100) List of Things that Piss me off. In no particular order:

* When non-breast-feeders (I don't hate them. Really.), tell me "with all the advancement with formula the only difference between it & breast-milk is the price".
* Shopping for jeans or bras. For jeans, the squat test is never pretty. For bras, Mom ruined that one. Every time I try them on, I'm reminded of our dressing room adventure where you had to help her adjust the girls. That should send most into therapy, I'm just used to it.
* When your cable modem is slower than dial-up.
* When you tell someone your kid's name and they respond, "Oh cute. My terrier's name is Gus."
* Political ads. Candidate A hates dogs and children. Candidate B wants to kill cats and hates the elderly. Hmm? Who to vote for?
* You ask for a Dirty Martini and it's hardly dirty. More like someone just forget to wipe up crumbs. I want it filthy! Like Johnny Knoxville dirrty.

Like I said, it's one of those days. Suppose to turn right, instead you've turned left and there's a huge traffic jam that you can't get out of. Yep.

One bright moment, I only have 2 more miters left. I also got my package of Noro in the mail.
*I should add to the list, "When people start a super cool KAL and you have no time to start a new project."*

The Best Laid Plans

2006-09-17T21:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, it would appear, didn’t go according to plan. I tried to explain the phrase “The best laid plans of mice and men” to my students last week, but it went over about as well as your Of Mice and Men comment a few weeks ago, Lola. I’m not into all that pithy “when life gives you lemons” shit. When life gives me lemons, I ask for the bottle of vodka to make lemon drops.

Betty and Veronica decided against going into Brooklyn to see Stephanie. The last time she was in our area was on Gus’s first birthday. So were these folks, and I have yet to live it down. After plotting it on Mapquest and having the computer spit back some bizarre one hour and thirty-six minute driving quote (has it ever taken us 90 minutes to make it into the City from my house? Seriously?) I came to the decision that it would indeed be a fool’s errand. Sure, I moped, I gnawed, I harrumphed . . . but in the end, I acquiesced. The Frequent Flyer was very, very willing to make the trek and sit “enraptured” with me (as I do in the different comic book shops he frequents*), but I decided to head south and do some shopping. While I could focus on all the misses and sour notes, here is what went right yesterday.

- I bought several bras that fit mostly right. The cup size is still a little small, but it doesn’t appear to be verging on porn star status like the current crop.

- The cutest t-shirt with faux tattoos is on my back. If ever I were to get one, it would be a much smaller version of this t-shirt or the uber-cool knitting one.You can see the t-shirt under the doctor's bag WIP.

- I gave into the urge and bought the Tracey Ullman book. Not bad . . . you didn’t tell me about the leg warmers! They are too darn cute for words. I even went to A. C. Moore and bought the yarn for the doctor’s bag and cast on (I’m cheap . . . I bought Lion Brand Wool-Ease).

- I finished the Universal Sock from Knitty. And I learned a thing or two. First, my bind-off in pattern is spot-on for tightness. Second, the spot-on bind-off won’t fit over my heal. Third, I can un-bind-off and complete the yarn-over bind-off which will fit. Fourth, I probably will never make another toe up because of this. (I am modeling the Universal Sock and Veronica is modeling the Embossed Leaves Sock above)

- Found several great CDs at the Jukebox for mere dollars. Under the Covers Vol. 1 and Buena Vista Social Club are awesome . . . well worth the $7 (so was FutureSex/LoveSounds for just $2.98 more)

All in all, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been if I would have allowed my attitude to get in the way. The next time the Harlot is heading anywhere in a 100 mile radius, though, I will be there.

*When picking up the last case of DC Direct figures (yes, case), the guy behind the counter says, “Oh, we know just to get an extra for you.” I responded, “Please, don’t encourage this habit.” The Frequent Flyer says it’s a hobby (so would Steak Knife, I know). I counter that it is a habit; a minute later another comic book employee says, “You are right . . . this is a habit.” Off to get another fix, ummm round, of short rows in.

What's a Girl to Do?

2006-09-15T13:41:00.000-04:00

I'm having a dilemma whether I should pick up the new Justin Timberlake album. I held it for a couple seconds and then put it down just as fast. Why? We loved the first one! It still finds its way to the CD player. When I first heard "Sexy Back", I pissed. Where's the soul, J.T.? I know that this album you say is heavily influenced by Prince, but which Prince era? Cause I don't like new Prince. "Sexy Back" has grown on me, but I'm not buying an album hoping for that same reaction. What ever you do, don't sing "SexyBack" to a toddler and then say, "So you gonna bring SexyBack, Gus?" The folks at Trader Joe's are not as liberal as they'd like you to think. Give me a review if you pick it up.

2 more squares done, which means 2 more left. I'm going to have to bribe myself just to look at the Paton's Classic. I can hear you asking, "What else is in that picture?" I picked up 2 skeins of Noro and thought I'd see what a Lizard Ridge block would look like. The orange one has been blocked. I love the look of the unblocked ones, but I doubt they'd make a nice blanket. It's a fun pattern & I've fallen in love with Noro. I never thought I'd say good things about short rows. Apparently they have the same qualities as "Sexy Back". Don't think I've gone afghan crazy, I'll pick up a skein here and there. No more Blanket-Must-Get-Done gusto from me. I've learned my lesson. I also included some of the baptism books I picked up today (those are my 2 favorites). I had to cut the list at "There's a Monster at the End of this Book." I'll save that one for her birthday.

p.s. I've got to admit that "Damn Girl" is pretty good. I did some previewing of FutureSex/Love Songs.

Real Quick

2006-09-11T20:03:00.000-04:00

Today's been crazy. I had a conference call at 11 a.m. and a few calls in the morning, but work wasn't the issue. For some reason, I felt the need to scrub the entire house down. In-laws are coming, but not until the weekend. I should know better. I think the fridge already has grubby prints and the carpet is full of crushed Cheerios. I think it was either clean or watch T.V. And TV was not an option this morning.

So here's some pictures from Knit 2 Together. I completely agree with you, I hate when you can't find images online. I want previews! So many knit books look alike and I get caught up in the surprise at the store. I've bought way to many books with that Christmas-morning mentality. Here are some that I sort of like...

(bag without the orange thingys, duh?)

And the new Knitty's up! Love Sherwood (this will be Gus' next sweater), Avast(will never make it, but it's in the Steak Knife m/b folder) and Cactus Flower. Oh, and of course I LOVE Lizard Ridge with the different skeins of Noro. I think that one will consume me.
Very quick post, but I wanted to get those pictures to you. Sleep on them.

Ava's Two Truths and a Lie

2006-09-10T16:26:00.000-04:00

My life really just isn't that interesting. Sure, I travel far more frequently than I did when I was younger, but nothing ever happens on those trips. This is the best I could come up with. Take your best guesses . . . it shouldn't be that hard.

Numero Uno: The first time that I met the Frequent Flyer was in chemistry class, but the first time I remember meeting the Frequent Flyer was in our service fraternity’s office for an interview (I was pledging and he was active). The Frequent Flyer stepped onto the rather large conference table, walked across it, put his hand on my head to steady himself, and lowered into a chair. We started our interview with the normal chit-chat (what’s your major, how do you like it here) when he discovered where my hometown was. Turns out he has a cousin who lives there and do I know him? My first thought is, “There are 60 thousand other folks who live there; I’m sure I don’t know your cousin, dude.” Through the course of events, we find out I do know his cousin (went to school with him, got him a job slinging ice cream, bit his tongue). It was a lovely conversation, really made an impact, blah blah blah. Over the next few weeks, I would see him once and a while in the office. One evening, he comes up and says, “Why are you such a bitch in the morning?” Me? A bitch in the morning? This one threw me for a loop because I never saw him in the morning so I asked what he was getting at. He says, “Every morning, I come in for breakfast at north quad’s dining hall and you are taking down numbers. I try to be friendly and make conversation, but you blow me off.” Turns out I thought he lived off campus and couldn’t figure out who this weirdo was chatting me up before I had had enough time to drink my coffee. Never made that mistake again!

Numero Dos: Lola and I have a huge extended family . . . one that we actually enjoy being with. When our cousin in Atlanta got married, we knew it would be a big to-do: great hotel, great party, great stories. We started noticing that things were a little odd at the hotel when people dressed in latex and as Sailor Moon started getting on our elevators at regular intervals. Turns out there was an anime convention at the hotel, and it was only going to get weirder. Later that night, we took the Metro to our aunt’s in Buckhead for the rehearsal dinner. Lola and I checked with Daddy-o to make sure he could drive us back to the hotel since we were planning on drinking heavily (it’s a family thing). No problem, says Daddy-o. About ten vodka tonics later, we go to find Daddy-o. He forgot about the promise and started drinking himself. The only thing we could do was drag ourselves back to the hotel, but we were so tanked, we weren’t sure we knew which way to go. Enter the wise and sober 9-year-olds to the rescue: Betty and Veronica. Thanks to the girls, we got back to the hotel in one piece and were able to witness: three girls in matching ninja costumes falling on their faces in the middle of a six lane road, several ladies leading their “mates” around on leashes, talking some sense into my cousin who wasn't too sure she wanted to get married (also more than a little tipsy), another cousin stopping several convention goers from appearing on the wedding video, and Daddy-o surviving a gun being pulled on him (that is another story).

Numero Tres: Betty and Veronica are twins. If you haven’t figured that out by now, shame on you. They aren’t identical, but they are close enough that Daddy-o has a hard time with them on occasion. We were living in Michigan at the time and were at a mall sinc the living arrangements weren’t so hot (living arrangements were actually in a hotel the Frequent Flyer was managing at the time), so any time away from the place was a godsend. The girls were little, maybe two, and were hungry. Not wanting a full blown temper tantrum on our hands, we ducked into a fast food place and got kid friendly food for everyone. Half way through the “meal,” the Frequent Flyer says, “I want to get out of here. That woman keeps staring at the girls and she’s giving me the creeps.” I turn around just in time to see a middle aged woman quickly put her head down and begin showing way too much attention to her fries. We hurried out of the restaurant but couldn’t seem to shake the woman. After about the third store of her following us, the Frequent Flyer had had enough and went over to talk to the woman. Thankfully the Frequent Flyer got to the woman before I did because I had the mace ready (hey, it was close to Detroit, cut me some slack). She got all flustered and pulled out a business card. Turns out she was a talent/booking agent for Emergency 911 and was always looking for twins to play the role of children featured on the show. We took the girls in for an audition and the rest is history. Betty and Veronica were featured in several of the productions in the early ‘90s. Sadly, they never got to meet Mr. Shatner. His scenes were filmed away from children for some reason.

Quick Update

2006-09-08T13:52:00.000-04:00

It's the weekend, so I know that I won't talk to you for a couple days. I'm loving the new book! I've also realized that the yarn I was using for Rowan's Betty was being wasted. I've made it through 1.5 repeats on the Pimlico Shrug's lace pattern. This thing is going to be so soft! The merino on Betty was turning out stiff with all the K2tog, P2tog, M2 in each stitch. Who wants to destroy perfectly good softness for that nonsense? Not saying that the Pimlico Shrug will be a T.V. friendly knit, but I'll enjoy it more than Betty (not your Betty, of course).

So WIP's:
2.5 blocks left on the damn afghan
Pimlico Shrug
Purse sock (I don't think I should even have to count that one).
Not bad. I feel good with only 2 real projects. And should one really count an enormous afghan? I do need a hat. Winter's a coming.

p.s. Big game tomorrow night! Different team, what's up with Big Ben sitting out? Isn't he bad enough to play with a little tummy problem? Oh & I want the beard back.

I was really hoping for a not-so cute kid (admit it, there are some).

2006-09-07T22:40:00.000-04:00

I've got to tell you something Ava. I hate to admit this, but Tom Cruise has done a good job. That Suri kid is cute. You know it took a lot for me to say that. Nothing against babies (however, I really don't like newborns), but I loathe him. I've despised him long before it was popular to do so. At least 10 years, right? I won't say "hate" because Mom would yell at me. And really, he's never cut me off in traffic or called me the C word. But there's just something about him that makes me want to cut myself. He's in my very exclusive club of celebs that I want to spit on for no good reason. Right along with Vivica A. Fox (sure, she was ok in Kill Bill) and Kari Wuhrer (almost ruined my love affair with Mr. Sonny Corinthos). Please don't ask me to explain. Really, I have no reason for wishing that one of these stars will take a nose-dive on Skating with the Stars. One star that almost makes that list was Tracey Ullman. I'm annoyed when people use bad fake teeth. But her new knitting book gets her off my list.

When I heard that she was putting out a knitting book, I was irritated. Once again, no good reason. Trying to kill some time, I went into a bookstore. Huge knitting selection! I found this Knit 2 Together and Debbie Bliss' new one. I flipped through Ullman's book and was happy. Since I have a growing library of patterns/books I'll never use, I put it back. "I'm not going to give in. Oh no!" But then some of the patterns were taunting me. And guess what? Just like T. Cruise, I did a complete turn around. Snatched it up and bought it. The damn book even made me quit another project and start a new one. My Betty is going to be frogged and I'm using the yarn for the Pimlico Shrug. Betty was not fun to knit and I wasn't picking it up very often. And that's the story of how one more knitting book was added to the Lola library.

p.s. "The Debbie Bliss one?" I hear you saying. I'll take a look the next time, but it seems like it's full of patterns she already done.

Ergo, The Bunnies Are Sad

2006-09-04T14:50:00.000-04:00

The Frequent Flyer likes to recall a time when Betty and Veronica were little, say four-ish and still in car seats. We had an old Honda hatchback car then so getting two little girls into the car in the first place was one of skill and patience. Lots of, "Hold Daddy's shirt while I get your sister in the car," and "No, you can't bring that fuzzy caterpillar in the car." Anyway, the story goes like this: for some reason, I wasn't there which in and of itself should be a sign that things might be a little silly. The Frequent Flyer was taking the girls to the mall and "The Sweetest Thing" by U2 came on the radio. Since the old Honda didn't have air but a kick ass stereo (read - so damn hot in the summer when the windows were rolled down that you couldn't hear the kick ass stereo), the song was playing oh-so softly. As the story goes, Betty sings the oh-oh-oh part while Veronica chimes in on the sweetest thing part . . . and a family urban legend begins.

The girls are great for those little nuggets of humor and navel-gazing while in the car. Yesterday was no exception. We were listening to Veronica's new favorite song by Cartel and somehow we got onto the topic of Death Cab For Cutie's latest video. Veronica is describing it to Betty and me and she comments that there are sad bunnies in the video. Here is what transpired:

Betty: How do you figure they are sad? They are just rabbits.
Me: Yeah, I thought it was the one with the dude in the hole which winds up being his kitchen.
Veronica: Okay, there are two bunnies in the video and the lyrics are so depressing. Ergo, the bunnies are sad.
Betty: (pausing to take it all in) Excuse me, did you just say "ergo" in that sentence?
Veronica: Yeah, I used it correctly. Who cares?
Betty: Because nobody uses "ergo" any more. It's a word the same way "gams" or "ampersand" are words.
Me: Yeah, but was he in a hole?

People should use "ergo" more. It is being bandied about in the Ava house and is written on the white board with a big "Do NOT erase" bubble around it. At home, I get to speak like I am college educated; at work, I have trouble spelling the easiest words. I have a theory that the more bad spelling you are exposed to (keep in mind I teach 7th grade English so I see a lot), the worse off you are spelling-wise. I might just start using it with my students to see what happens.

Sad bunnies aside, there was a flurry of activity on the embossed leaves socks. I haven't picked this sock up since April and was oh-so close to ripping it all out because I feared I wouldn't be able to figure out where I left off. And then I saw it: a note. A note which appeared to tell me where I left off, a note which could save my fingers the heel turn, a note to energize my knitting. The note said simply, "Four rounds 4.17." I took that to mean that I had completed the fourth set of repeats in the pattern so I began with round one. Simple enough. Nope, the note meant I had completed the third round in the repeat and needed to begin the fourth round of the repeat. I didn't figure this out until I finished the first half of the round. Tinking this pattern is a pain, but I did it anyway since the leaves would look all wonky otherwise. That being said, I am down to a set of repeats before I begin the toe decreases.

I am not too sure about the magic loop method, Lola. So unsure that I went out and bought three sets of double pointed needles (Betty has another set and I can't locate a third). I just don't like the way that the cables stretch the edge of the knitting. I'll finish this set with the magic loop, but I think I might use DPNs to do the next pair of socks.

Ava

PS - The Frequent Flyer and I went to see Crank with the uber-dreamy Jason Statham and I don't think that I could recommend it to anyone other than Steve since I know how much he loved The Transporter. Oh, don't get me wrong - plenty of lovely shots of Mr. Statham's chest and bare buns, but honestly, I was glad it was the matinee price.

Call Off the Dogs

2006-08-30T14:01:00.000-04:00

No need to search for my Trekking XXL #100! I found it stashed in the Halloween ice bucket. Don't ask because I have no idea. But it was kind of near my main stash. So it's coming with me to the woods. I have a feeling there shall be lots of knitting this trip. The game doesn't start until 3:30 and it's suppose to rain most of the time. In the old days, I would have drank right up to kick-off and right through us winning the game. My liver can't take that kind of behavior.

I forgot to tell you about my TSA story. Ever since 9/11, I'm always being pulled away from all the other weary travelers. There have been a couple times that I should have been taken to dinner by a female TSA'er. Or just given a $50. One time, I swear she could've warned me that my underwire was about to pop out. That's how close I've been "checked". And really nothing beats the Bomb Squad-Flying Dirty Thong incident (If anyone wants that story, email me & I'll post). This time, I made it through main security with no problems. I was shocked because I brought along my Addis. I go to board the plane and this sweet little boy asks if he can search my stuff. "Why not." He opens my carry-on and says pretty loud, "Oh my!" Oh shit, maybe Steak Knife threw in some toys as a joke. "Um, is there a problem?" Remember I've had no coffee because of the no liquid laws. "No, I've just never seen so much knitting stuff. How much yarn you got there? Did you squeeze any into your purse?"

You know it sugar.

Here's what my Least favorite City Brought me...

2006-08-29T08:18:00.000-04:00

There's a city in Lola-land, that I hate more than any other city. I believe that Ava likes it because it's close to her college, but that doesn't sway me. I travel the state for my job, so I've seen them all. Big, small, clean and shitty. This one's big and clean, but I hate going there more than the small filthy ones. People are mean and the traffic always sucks. But to my surprise, the city did me right.

I found Amy Butler's In Stitches and two more Dinosaur books. First, the dino books. Gus is still to young to love the fact that Dino's have their own series. But I can appreciate a good book. Nice lessons and great illustrations! Steak Knife found out last night if you ask Gus to bring you a book, he will! Child milestones are always celebrated here in the Lola house. First time he laughed at his Momma. First time he made a burping sound. Steps, duh! But the first time, on his own, that he brought me a book and sat in my lap, almost made me cry. Steak Knife and I are big readers (me not so much since knitting has become my crack). Granted it's graphic novels and pattern/technique books, but we know the importance of starting young. Anyway, I was thrilled to find these two books in my loathsome city.

The Butler book is everything that's great about Amy Butler. Beautiful patterns, stunning pictures and fabric that you would almost pay $40 a yard! Not sure if I have the patience to do one of her quilts, but I will make these patterns.

Now, find me the time. Oh, and clean my sewing area!

The sock in the first picture is my pink/green Trekking that I was working on while you were visiting. I'm trying to finish this thing by Thursday night. The Lola house sans Gus is packing up and headed to the woods. I need something that I can work on in the dark and probably while a little tipsy. I'd like to start a plain toe-up pair. This one has ribbing. Fine. But after a few cans of cheap beer, it will have disaster written into the K3, P3 rounds. With Gus home sick today, so I doubt I can crank this one out. I only have 4 inches left, but that's not easy with a sick toddler.

Have fun with the kiddies. I need to make coffee. I've been tempting fate. It's 8:30 and Gus is still sleeping. Why didn't I make the coffee first!? Babies do take you brain cells.

Oh did you see who made it all the way to #3 on Forbes 100 Drunkest Cites? Just guess.

5 more days till kick-off. Ooh, I'm getting sweaty.

Apocalypse Tomorrow

2006-08-27T17:23:00.000-04:00

I'm not planning on the worst, honestly, I am not. But every time the summer comes to the proverbial end (meaning school begins and I go back to work), I can't help but think of the Doors song This Is the End, which in turn conjures up images of Apocalypse Now. Yup, my mind works in seriously weird and twisted ways. Last year was very trying and I am hoping for the best with this coming group of students. New year, new curriculum, new textbooks, new outlook on leaving work at work and concentrating on knitting at home.

That being said, absolutely zero knittin' was done this weekend thanks to the Steelers. I bought the Frequent Flyer tickets for the Steelers preseason game against the Eagles as an anniversary present. Yes, I realize that in football etiquette, I probably should have reversed the teams, but seriously, I was there for the Steelers and their quarterback (go 'Hawks). The seats were amazing (second row on the 45, right behind the visitors bench), but the game was light-hearted at best. When Hines Ward, oh he of the most lovely smile in the NFL, walked onto the field to shout something at the opposing quarterback, Donovan McNab, and they both were laughing, you knew this wasn't going to count for much. That being said, we had an awesome time at the game, even if Roethlisberger was only in for two series.

Before the game, the Frequent Flyer and I walked around downtown Philadelphia to take in the sights, do some shopping, and eat at Ted Turner's Montana Grill. The food was okay (the waiter reminded me of the Bro, Lola), but I found this little gem in Borders on Broad Street. My first comment to the Frequent Flyer was, "If we were still having babies, this would be dog eared by now." I walked around with it for twenty minutes trying to figure out if I should get it. There are so many cute hats in there for Gus and I am desperate to make the olive hat for Beaner. Some of the patterns look like they might fit Beaner's brother, but I don't know if the Other Sister will put them on the kids. Knitty Gritty made a darling felted bunny that I was thinking about making Beaner for Christmas, but the same nagging question still gets me: will the Other Sister think it is okay or say, "Oh, that's cute." Decisions, decisions.

Well, Lola, sorry the summer has come to an end. Yes, I know you hate my job. I promise to be better about knitting this school year. I think that may mean lots of socks, but Pin-up is high on my list of sweaters to make. Countdown is on to college football . . . make the most of it and tailgate every night in anticipation!

Should I feel Guilty Because I don't Feel Guilt?

2006-08-24T09:39:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to say I'm home. The work "retreat" was a nice departure from work meetings. This was a reward for a job-well-done. They threw in a massage which was really nice. Eventually I forget that this poor woman had to rub my mosquito ravaged legs. Well, until she said, "This boo-boo doesn't hurt?" Good thing work tipped her well.

But I kept getting the same response from almost every woman I met.

Crazy Lady 1: "So you have a little one at home?"
Me (drinking a somewhat Dirty Martini): "Yes, a 16 month-old."
Crazy Lady 1: "How you doing? You must be missing him like crazy."
Me (sip): "I'm fine. I really enjoy getting away every now and then. I think it's good for the family."
Crazy Lady (a little shocked): "So it's fun with a touch of guilt." giggle giggle
Me (big sip): "Fun without any guilt. I didn't leave our dog in charge of Gus! His dad is pretty good at the Dad thing."
Crazy Lady (amused by me): "How great of you. I'm sure you'll be ready to get home to him tomorrow."
Me (chewing the olive): "Sure."

Seriously, I felt guilty because I didn't feel guilty about leaving Gus. But that last until I got to the next olive...

I'll post some knitting content later. Had a funny run in with the TSA. You know, me & the TSA go way back. This time they didn't call in the dogs. Thank God since I hadn't had any coffee. We have a fabulous coffee vendor before the security checkpoint. No way to get that finished before I had to apologize for my sticky feet.

Go to Jail. Go Directly to Jail.

2006-08-21T21:15:00.000-04:00

Remember the Un-Game, Lola? The game where there were no losers, no winners, just families having fun? It was about as much fun as the bi-weekly family meetings that Mom and Dad conducted in the living room. For some reason, whenever I saw that box, I wanted to crawl under my bed and test that theory about dust bunnies. Nothing ever good came out of it, not even the self esteem or family togetherness it was supposed to bring. Now in the Frequent Flyer's family, it was do or die, kill or by killed, monopolize or go for broke. Even Betty and Veronica weren't safe as they had to earn their wins legitimately from the King - their pop-pop.

Which brings us to tonight. The Frequent Flyer is out of town, so Betty and Veronica decided that a "friendly" game of Monopoly might be in order. I should have been a little leery when the game of catch in my classroom ended in Betty beaning Veronica is the face with the stress ball. Ah, Monopoly . . . the game where we normally have four people to handle the financial burden of one person's, well, monopoly. I normally go for the oranges and the reds, but this time, I was short one orange but had one or two of a color each Betty and Veronica needed. And, I kept landing in jail. Not just one or two times but eight times and I never passed Go. I think the 100 pound notes (yup, it is the British version that Mom got me for my birthday many years ago) got mixed up with the 500 pound notes so I was doing moderately okay when the worst thing happened: Veronica landed on the last orange piece that I needed so I made a deal - the yellow I had for the orange plus amnesty until she developed any houses on the yellows. Bad move. I couldn't even put any houses on my properties because I was so nervous of hitting any of Veronica's properties with hotels. That little imp had hotels up in three turns. We didn't stand a chance. Betty, who before had been alluding to Veronica's property as being developed with blood money, went down first and I finally cashed it in quickly after she left for her room. At least with the Un-Game there was the off chance that the Other Sister would be the first one to cry or the Bro would get in trouble.

Say hello to the chevron hand towel. Every quick knit I find really isn't that quick. Oh, sure, it's only a repeat of 12 rows, 26 times, but there is something about performing the same 12 rows over and over. Stockinette stitch for row after row doesn't even register in my brain any more because it is the crux of knitting but memorizing the pattern and performing those specific stitches seems to take more time. I only hope this doesn't become the pattern that I dread completing since I have two more to make after this one. At least Target has some cheery sock monkey sheets to make the time pass.

Enjoy your retreat! I guess you are entitled to the massage after the last weekend. If you haven't already picked up Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics, you need to run out and get it now. Disc two is fun but kind of kitschy; disc one is simply a thing of wonder. Rock on!

Ava

PS - I'll check on flight prices for you, but it might be something that you would have to purchase the week of the flight. Sometimes the cheapest ones happen like that.

PPS - actually, the age limit is 13 - I ought to know - and I love the pattern. I think James needs the afghan. He looked mighty chilly without his shirt yesterday.

Leaving the Nest

2006-08-20T22:56:00.000-04:00

Ava,

Reminder I'm on a work "retreat" for the next 2 days! And thank God because Gus was not happy from the moment he woke up. I don't know maybe he knew... I doubt it, he's only 16 months. But man, he was pissy all day long. I kept saying, "You're making this really hard to miss you." Ok seriously, I'll remember those words if my plane goes down in flames.

I was going to leave an entire post about parenting (the visit home is still bothering me). Not that it was so bad or crazy that it's going to shake me. Oh no! But really, why do women have to compete against other women on the parenting racket? Do men try to edge out other men in their parental skills? I doubt it. I've known about the "women vs. women" thing for years (duh, I'm a chick). But when it comes to parent/labor skills, why are we still trying to say whose better? I mean, really? We could do as good as anyone could with Gus and in 19 years one pretty young thing would ruin us. She'd blow one meth induced kiss and we're fucked (I've seen A&E's Intervention)! So I'll skip my parenting rant. I'll get over it. Promise.

P.S. All the flights for Yarn Harlot are close to $500. Find us cheaper and we're there. You can call the cell. Remember, I'll be drunk or massaged. True. I love work "retreats".

P.P.S (anyone still do that over the age of 11?). I bought this pattern from ebay. I've been waiting for their vacation to end for a long time. I'm still on my "Everyone-I-Love-Needs-an-Afghan" kick. Can't decide if Will or Janelle from Big Brother All Stars will get one (kidding, but I do LOVE that show).

Love,
Your little Lola

Get outta Here

2006-08-18T13:46:00.000-04:00

Finally, this one's done! In the photo you'll noticed a unwoven end dangling, but she's done now. Steak Knife also made sure to get the Spidey Head in the photo. His own touch on the blog.

Here are the Spec on this gal (yes, my knits have genders):
Pattern: Demi from Vintage Knits (link below)
Needle Size: US 7 for body and US 6 for ribbing. Denises, of course!
Yarn: Cascade 220 in some mushroom brown color
Verdict: Not sure yet. Here's why...

I love the cables and even the bobbles.

I was real afraid that I was going to look like a (quoting our mother) "Two Ton Annie" wearing this come fall. When I first starting knitting, people warned me about sweaters with lots of cables. I think because the sweater is very fitted, that kind of eliminates this fear. However, do you think that I need to increase the length? It hits right at my belt. I was in it for just a short period, but nothing was popping out. So I don't think that I'll spend the entire time pulling it down, but I wasn't sure if it looked funny. I've got an entire hank leftover, so I could always fix it later.

Here's what Demi has eliminated from my Knitting routine:

1). Using a cable needle! I swatched this without a needle and with a needle. The cables looked the same on both swatches. Since this sweater had an all over pattern, fiddling with an extra needle would have been an enormous pain in my ass.

2). Knitting one sleeve at a time. I know that knitting them at once doesn't save time, but it felt like it did. That's all that matters.

3). Trusting a photograph. I knit gauge with the recommended needle size. But after looking at a couple of Demis in blogland, I noticed that the fabric wasn't that dense with a US 8. I can't stand sweaters that show the undershirt through the stitches. Another blogger started the sweater and then went down a needle size for a tighter swatch. I did the same and thought that it would take care of the nasty peek-a-boo. Nope. I tried the sweater on with a white shirt underneath and was pissed! Good thing Target is selling a thin long sleeve brown shirt for fall. Ahh, Target.

And finally, my money shot:

This was the entire reason I wanted to make the sweater. I loved the button detail. Purely detail, I don't have to unbutton them to squeeze my fat head through.

We'll see how much this sweater makes it into the rotation. I'll probably wear it just so people will "ooh" & "ahh". Cables seem to make people do that. Kind of like Ashlee Simpson's new nose.

So let's check my WIP list:

1). 3.5 blocks on my miter square afghan
2). Betty from Rowan #38

Not bad. Only 2, but I've got another baby blanket that needs to be done by Christmas.

Why Reality TV Sucks...

2006-08-17T23:48:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it! I just watched my Tivo'd episode of Project runway (while seaming a miter block... 3.5 more to go). Why would they get rid of Alison? Why? I'm convinced that they keep constants on because of the drama they bring to the show. I know, a real shock of a revelation that I'm blogging. Vincent's dress looked like something I would have created in 2nd grade. And you're aware of my moderate amount of artistic talent. I'm so disappointed with this season. Heidi better tell Jeffery to step up his ego and have Laura turn on her Ice Princess charm. Good thing I have Big Brother All-Stars! Man, I should bash my head on the computer desk for that line.

I will post some pictures of a finished Demi tomorrow. She looks good. Very fitted. Very toasty. The one problem I have with it doesn't really concern the sweater itself. More so with the photographers of Vintage Knits. There is no way possible that the picture in the book is accurate. I'm going to always have to wear a brown shirt underneath it. If I wear any other color you'll get that nasty peek of the undershirt through the stitches. Hate that more than someone else's toothbrush.

You Look Hotter Online

2006-08-17T07:37:00.000-04:00

After drifting aimlessly at sea for several days, I returned to land and reality. Okay, so I am sure that the captain wasn't drifting aimlessly, but I was. So much sun that even I couldn't get away from it . . . and if you know me, you know that I should. The company was awesome, the drinks were plentiful, and the books were being read. Snorkling was an absolute pleasure after the initial 90 second panic attack. I think that it is something about the sound, which is very similar to Darth Vadar, and being in water way over my head. After the shock passes, I am good to go. Lola, dear, you seriously need to clear your schedule for next year. You could have avoided all the unpleasentness of home if you came this year.

Sizzle made it on to the ship but never to dinner. I think it was something about the short length of the torso that really did me in and I didn't want to tug at it constantly at dinner. I'll try to add about three more inches of seed stitch to bottom but probably not before work begins again in ernest.

I decided to try and knit something simple on the cruise, so I cast on the Mason Dixon chevron linen hand towel in the hotel before we boarded the ship. Surprise, surprise - our hotel got Bravo so I was awake for a few brief moments of the American Icon episode, only to see Robert in the bottom two. Oh, Robert, please don't give me another heart attack. Luckily he did much better last night, but the lovely Allison went home. I still don't understand the whole "Go stick some more Harry Winston's up your nose" comment from Victor to Laura; honestly, several carats of diamonds might hurt when shoved up one's nose.

The good part of the cruise was coming home. I was really looking forward to watching all the DVR'd stuff, including an updated version of MacBeth on BBC America as well as all those Knitty Gritty's that I recorded. Nope, something happened with the DVR and it rebooted, loosing all the stored data. Pissed? You betcha! Figured out why? Not a clue.

Enjoy the rest of the summer . . . I am already back to work (at least part of the day). August 28th is coming way too fast!

Never go Home While PMS-ing

2006-08-14T10:39:00.000-04:00

Welcome home Ava! Hope the sun treated you well. Better post all about it! Let me know if you had any problems with the knitting needles and the flight (I think you had to board a plane...).

No pictures today because I got very little knitting accomplished while at home. The title of the post says it all. I should have skipped the sugar pills and started a new pack. Man, was my PMS in full roar this time. Not the way to be at home. If they (Mom & Other Sis) say that we gang up on the family when we're together, they're blind to the fact that they do the same thing. And the PMS did nothing to help keep me quiet. Oy.

I'll post on a couple other sites about my Betty questions. I'm thinking about making some changes, but you know how I feel about messing with patterns. I think that it's just a size issues if I keep the same needle size, but do the more "Rib" looking stitch. I'll explain in the later post.

Also, I seamed Demi. Well, Mom did. On the sewing machine, shhh! I'm looking for buttons today. Won't be able to wear the sweater forever though. It's a hot little sucker. Oh, and very fitted. Still pretty cute for being full of bobbles.

Help!

2006-08-09T13:23:00.000-04:00

Ava's taking a well deserved vacation, but not me! I'm having some minor issues with a pattern. I started swatching last night on Betty from Rowan #38. Here's how it reads:

Row 1 (RS): inc one st in each st to end of row.
Row 2: K2tog, P2tog to end.

I started the swatch by knitting into the back of each stitch. After about 2 inches, I thought maybe I should be ktbl on the K2togs and ptbl on the P2togs. So I did about 3 inches both ways. I got gauge (I'm using US 5) when I measured on the "ktbl of all the stitches" half of swatch. Doing ktbl & ptbl made a tighter swatch and the rib pops more.

What do you think the pattern means to say? Increase one stitch by ktbl on all stitches? Or increase one stitch by ktbl on the K2togs and ptbl on the P2tog? It really may come down to, "I'm not knitting an entire sweater on US 4s. Lola, don't you remember the Union Square Market Pullover debacle of 2005 on US 3s?"

I just finished Demi from Vintage Knits. All cables! So I was looking for a nice easy sweater to knit while watching the last bits of Summer t.v. Betty is being a bit of a bitch. Ribs aren't a huge deal, but I've got to look down every couple of minutes and it's kind of a pain in the ass to K2tog/P2tog on US 5s. Why can't I just stockinette? Why?

-Lola

Porn-A-Rrifiec!

2006-08-08T19:45:00.000-04:00

I'll start this post with an obvious fact to both Ava and myself, she got all the "boobie" genes. Mom had nothing else left for me. I'm 5'9 and a little extra. Only while breast-feeding was my top half in portion to the rest. And we won't even get into the fact that my tiny hands would secure my place in a traveling carnival. I'll say it again, that's a terrific camera and bra! I like Sizzle and look forward the finished picture (Make sure you have a drink in hand and some sand behind you! Make me jealous, please).

I finished the Knucks, but probably won't post any shots. They look like all the others. Next time I may lengthen the cuff, or go down a needle size. They kind of flair out, but that may have to do with the constant turning inside-out while seaming. I'm sure that a good ole fashion blocking will fix it.

Just thought I'd show how a ball of yarn doesn't only entertain you & I. Gus found a small ball of leftover sock yarn.

He thought it was hilarious that he could hold onto one end and this thing followed him around. He thought it was even funnier when he'd toss the ball at Pup. He damn near pee'd his diaper when he kept tripping over the mess in his sandals. I know this isn't a toddler-safe toy, which is why I sat him down to remove his yarn sandals. This is what ensued:

Have a blast on vacation. Oh, where has this summer gone? The days are coming that I'll have no one to talk to during Dr. Phil. Oh, how I hate those days...

Sizzle-ious

2006-08-07T18:20:00.000-04:00

Or, better titled, "Not sure what to make of it." I, Ava of Two Black Sheep, hereby acknowledge the following: Wendy warned that Sizzle was a very deep plunging sweater and I have very large boobs. However, I don't know that I was ready for this.

Part of me wants to hang my head and cry. The other part wants to finish the damn thing and kick up my heels in Mexico. Any suggestions?

Ava

Use a Little Common Sense, Folks

2006-08-07T07:49:00.000-04:00

UGH! It's early, and the coffee has not as of yet even entered my body and yet there is a piece on GMA that is really frustrating me. It has to do with shopping cart safety. Here is my version of shopping cart safety: don't put anything into the cart that I will be upset about once I realize that I have been hoodwinked into buying it. Lola and I were old pros at this so Betty and Veronica don't really stand a chance. Heck, we even would go grocery shopping for Mom but would first stop at the deli counter and get a large container of deep fried mushrooms to keep our energy up. Yes, we always paid for them; yes, Mom eventually found out; no, we don't do it anymore . . . but I digress. The segment on GMA is all about properly buckling your child or toddler into the cart and making sure that siblings aren't standing on the back of the cart. Seriously, I am not making this up. Do they honestly think that folks are going to have some sort of epiphany, sitting in the Lazy-Boy, drinking their cup-o-joe, and slap their foreheads saying, "Shit! Little Sven has been in danger for two years now. I now know what those seat belts are for!" I get the same reaction when I see those shopping cart seat cozies. Trust me, I am all for keep the germ level down, but those things don't do a hill of beans in the big picture.

All this ranting and raving can only mean one thing: the Kitchener stitch got me. I will admit, that stitch does something to me each and every time I have to execute it. I was knitting like a demon last night, like a woman on fire. There was an end in sight, my friends, and I wasn't going to be without seaming those shoulders. After watching two movies (The Weatherman - not as funny as the trailer makes it out to be; Syriana - compelling and scary at the same time), two Knitty Grittys, Big Brother (James really needs to go topless more often), and Inspector Lewis I was ready to seam the shoulders. The only thing playing was an episode of Degrassi:The Next Generation so I thought I was safe. It was Craig's first episode, the one where his father beats the crap out of him and he goes to live with Joey and Angela but way before he is diagnosed being bi-polar . . . but I have never seen the end of this episode. So, I was all set to tackle the Kitchener stitch, but Degrassi got in the way. Suffice it to say, the initial edge of the left seam looks a bit wonky, but it all came together in the end. I still have to seam up the sides, pick up the neck stitches, and pick up the stitches on the armholes. Seeing as how I leave for the trip in two days, I have a lot of work to do. Somehow I think it will come together nicely in the end . . . maybe after I drink that Mike's.

As a note, the sock in progress on Sizzle is Betty's, knit out of Trekking XXL and the turquoise yarn and WIP is Veronica's hat. She couldn't find any patterns for hats that she liked so she is using a scarf pattern out of One Skein and adapting that.

Hey, Lola, is it wrong that I am looking forward to Project Runway a little too much this season? I think it all has to do with Robert. I might "love" him more than Nick and Daniel V put together and I didn't think that doing that would be possible. Why is Robert Best (little pun . . . it's his last name, too)? Let's see . . . the man designed for Barbie for one thing. He even designed the Breakfast at Tiffany's Barbie that I bought you for an engagement present. Plus, he sure knows how to rock those sunglasses when his model struts her stuff on the catwalk. And, the man looks wonderful with the microphone taped under his skinny white t-shirt. Besides, a man who worked with Isaac has my vote any day. Robert, darling, if you make it to the final three and you need any custom knit sweaters, I am your girl. Those models can't wear sweaters that take a whole lot of yarn. Call me . . we'll chat! Purely as an aside, while I am on my PR string, you can now buy Project Runway t-shirts with Angela's winning sketch at Macy's. The only problem, you have to walk around with Angela's signature on your left boob so that might not be the best. And, you can take backstage tours of the runway areas if you are in New York. Wanna go?

Off to work for an hour or so and then home to seam and knit. Luckily, the girls have a birthday party to attend and I am sure that I can "convince" the Frequent Flyer to do take-out tonight.

Ava

PS - Happy Birthday (one day late) to one of the world's most excellent dad! Our dad is the kind of man who worked his ass off, taking multiple shifts of overtime so that our mom could stay at home with us. When he was working second shift, he would go in about ten minutes early so that he could stop off and chat with me as I walked home from school. Dad is prone to watching a movie to the last ten minutes and then saying, "Piss on it, I'm going to bed," except if it is starring Reese Witherspoon or a chick flick. He is the type of dad who fed us Cheerios for dinner when Mom was out of town, but now cooks better than most people have a right to. And he is the kind of dad who always says, "I love you," when ending a conversation. So, happy birthday, old man!

One of Those Days

2006-08-05T13:41:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the kind of day that makes you want to beat your head on the keyboard, window of your car, and the shopping cart of the woman in Wal-Mart that yelled at you. Yep, one of those days. Nothing huge happened, but just a bunch of little irritations. No Fall IKs in this city. A great parking space stolen, and then the guy waved. Traffic jam on a two lane road. Daycare gives your kid chocolate (didn't bother him).Restaurant decides to down-size their Reuben. The one savior of yesterday came when we watched a taped episode of Ed vs. Spencer. The challenge: Who could gain the most weight. Absolutely hilarious. I kept having to spit my beer back into the bottle (yes, I'm that trashy). Thanks showing us the way. Steak Knife started in with his "English" accent. Thanks.

My Knitpicks order finally made it to the house!

The light green is for a pair of felted clogs and the olive is scheduled for a Rowan cardigan. I may swatch it tonight, but hold off on starting it until Demi is completely seamed. I got one arm in last night, but I've got to ask Mom for some seamstress advice. Not real sure what to do with the buttonhole band. My shitty finishing skill may not be as noticeable this time. All the cables and twisted stitches seem to hide the nasty seam.

Love,
Lola

Sizzle, Fo-shizzle

2006-08-04T08:11:00.000-04:00

Today, dear Lola, marks the unofficial end of summer as I am heading into work to drop off supplies that I bought over the summer. Betty and Veronica are going with me as I promised to let them drive in the parking lot. Honestly, would I be a bad mom if I brought along a Mike's Hard Lemonade to ease me into it. Probably, but it was worth entertaining the thought. The coffee has nearly hit the bloodstream and already Good Morning America is discussing why men fall asleep after having sex. Really? This is the kind of ground breaking journalism I miss when I am at work ten months out of the year? Sounds like lunch conversations with my team.

Sizzle, I am convinced, will be the bane of my existence. The increases on the front are about the only interesting part of it right now, just row after row of stockinette. It is beginning to remind me of Clapotis at the halfway point, just waiting for the row on which you drop the stitch. At least last night I was somewhat buoyed by "V for Vendetta" and the burning desire to watch the "Big Brother" episode that I have taped (don't you dare tell me who went home - please let it be Diane). Anyway, back to Sizzle. I really hope that Sizzle + Fit does not equal Fizzle as witnessed by the addition of the 3.5 inches I added to get the proper length. I toyed with short row shaping over the boobs (you know I gots 'em) but erred on the side of sanity and said, "The hell with it . . . that's what camis are for!"

I am going to knit on this all weekend. The laundry is done, I really don't cook during the summer (who am I kidding? I really don't cook!), the ironing will wait, and I want this done. The Frequent Flyer won't mind the knitting because I want to wear it to an "anniversary" dinner as I didn't have it finished for our anniversary (thanks for 15 splendid years, sweetie!) yesterday and we wound up taking Betty and Veronica out for sushi instead.

Enjoy the lower temperatures! The weather dude just flashed up temps for the next seven days, all of which were in the 80s. I never thought I would be so happy to see temperatures in the 80s, but now it looks like an Arctic Chill. Hopefully, Mexico won't be that hot . . . but as long as I have a chilled cerveza in hand, I am down for anything. Ole!

Ava

Finally, the Rain!

2006-08-03T14:02:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's pouring. Our big cold front is making its way. A chilly 80 degrees tomorrow...

So the other night I decided to start a project that would allow me to focus on Big Brother All-Stars and Rescue Me (I'll hold my comments on BB and Project Runway until tomorrow). Why not start a pair of Knucks? "Pair" should have told me that I'd have to knit another one and I can't seem to muster the strength to do so. Just because it doesn't have a heel flap shouldn't eliminate it from the Second Syndrome category. Here's an artsy blog shot of the beautiful yarn texture:

And here's an preview of what the Knuck will be doing a lot of this fall:

I guess as long as I complete the next one before football season starts, all will be right in the Lola household. And if Gus learns to say something other than, "ball". Mom thought that it would be nice if I could teach him the sign for, "Please" and have him put it after his "more" sign. As long as he isn't grunting/screaming at me, I could care less if he's a polite signer.

On a technical note, I think I need a new camera.

On baby news, we have a scheduled C-section date for one baby. And one family who isn't going to buy a changing table because, "No one uses them. All my friends changed their kids on the floor." You guess who belongs to each tidbit.

Welcome Home . . . To the ninth circle of Hell

2006-08-02T16:54:00.000-04:00

My, oh my, is it hot! It's almost too hot to knit, but as the pattern is called Sizzle, the irony ain't lost on me. The drive home yesterday wasn't too bad, but stopping off to get a Starbucks nearly did me in. Something about going from a cold car to a hot rest stop was nearly the end for me. And, since Betty and Veronica can't drive yet (not that they didn't offer), we would have been screwed.

.All was not lost; when I got home these were waiting for me. Ironically enough, I didn't get to look through them first as Betty snagged Interweave Knits and Veronica snatched Vogue Knits. It was kind of odd, but Vogue has almost as many nice patterns as IK did and that hasn't happened in a long time.

The real fun came this morning. I woke up at the normal time (6 ish) to a very hot room. Since we don't have central air as we bought a "charming" older home - meaning, too old to have central air - we rely on ceiling fans and window fans. Unfortunately, the window fan's motor burned out during the night. Nothing major, I thought, I'll just run to Target (and Wal-Mart and K-Mart) and buy a new one. First, let's go make some coffee and check email. Imagine finding the freezer door open with the bomb-pops from last night now melted all over the floor and refrigerator! Nice little project for Ava this morning before the coffee. Anyway, it truly was too hot to care at this point in the game and it still is. Suffice it to say, once the heat is above a certain level, it generally can't make me much more miserable.

So, Lola, I am thinking about taking the Mer-Lin on the girls' cruise to make some hand towels next week. I think that they will be easier to do than the socks that I was talking about. If I get the Euroflax in time, I will knit one up in that as well. Personally, I can't wait to do a comparison. Did you see that Vogue had a pair of socks knit out of Trekking? They were super cute (my new word, say it with the requisite Elle Woods' lisp) and I might have to order a few skeins.

Love and miss you,
Ava

PS - I have your Starbucks travel mug (I must have taken the clean one after I packed the new, unused one) and your phone charger (it looks like Betty and Veronica's charger) and will mail them to you tomorrow. I swear!

Happy Trails

2006-08-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

Remember having to hear that after every play in the park? As a kid, I thought it was hilarious. Now, it would probably evoke an entirely different emotion. Especially with this heat & humidity... After leaving unflattering web marks on my thighs, the lawn chair would find its way into the garbage can. Don't even get me started on the bug bites!

The Lola household had a fabulous time with Ava's clan. Gus loved watching the dogs play. He even got into the mix a couple times (we're hoping social services doesn't come knocking). But now it's time to get back to the world. So I've checked the blogs, paid bills and thought about cleaning. Instead, why not post my first entry on our new blog?! Here's our first FO picture:

Obviously, it's the Moderne Baby Blanket! I substituted yarn and needle size. I used about 3 balls a color of Plymouth Encore and Wool Ease (must be washable, I've learned that lesson with Gus). I also upped the needle size to US 8, this made it a generous sized baby blanket. Probably better suited to a toddler! It measures 55 x 37.5. Husband, who will be referred to as Steak Knife (will be explained in later posts), was more than a tad upset about gifting this one. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this project. I used to hate the look of garter stitch! Reminded me of my first project back into the knitting world, a neon pink scarf. Ugh...

Hope the trip home was fast and easy (please ignore the cheap whore joke). I'll work on my posting manners later.

Love,
Lola
p.s. Finished Demi sweater pieces, but can't block them until all of the dog hair has been banished!

Too Hot to Shop

2006-07-31T19:09:00.000-04:00

So it was the first time in a long, and we mean LONG, time that it was too hot to shop for yarn. Two Black Sheep, along with Betty and Veronica (Ava's young 'uns), went into a yarn shop in search of some different shades of Galway for Ava's miter square blanket. She wasn't too happy with the reds and yellows at the yarn shop in her neck of the woods so she decided to look in Lola's town. Talk about being very disappointed. Not only was the LYS empty, but the folks working there said that all the Galway was at their other shop. Seriously? You stock the whole Encore line, but Galway is only sold at the other place. Maybe it was to steer people to a new outpost, but when the heat is pushing 90+ degrees, the last thing that Two Black Sheep wanted to think of was driving any place that wasn't selling dirty martinis or beer. Besides, Betty and Veronica can't drive on their own yet, so that wouldn't have worked. Say hello to Gus! He's being shy and coy.

Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome

2006-07-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, so after reading countless blogs, we're taking the plunge. Welcome to Two Black Sheep written by Lola and Ava, two sisters who share more than a little passion for knitting and adult beverages. We've been knitting for the past 15 odd years, but only seriously for the last three. We come from a long line of crafty (always had great hand sewn clothes thanks to Mom) and thrifty (nothing is too cheap for us) women. It will take us a while to get it up and running, but we can't wait. Just don't tell the family.