My Head Doesn't Work

Well, looks like there is going to be a bit of a delay before I get the rest of my Alaska pictures up. I have apparently gotten a head cold. Based on when symptoms started, I'm blaming the canned, recycled air on the flight back home. So for now, I'm sucking down the tea (and Dan's going to make me chicken soup tonight!) and trying not to do anything for which I need full mental capacity.

I did manage to get a handful more of pictures edited and posted, so here's another little sample.

Sail Away Party

On the way to Juneau

Canoeing out to the Davidson Glacier

Ketchikan

Unknown Flower at the Butchart Gardens

And, more exciting for me than anyone reading this (unless you are a fellow yarn fan), I have some pictures of my souvenir yarns!

 

Okay, the first two aren't all that special. Well, they have 10% camel (I just can't say no to unusual fibers), but they aren't specifically Alaskan. The third one isn't Alaskan, either (in fact, it is German), but dude, self-striping sock yarn inspired by a Van Gogh painting. I couldn't say no! The fourth one, the lovely blue and green, is Alaskan - it's hand dyed by a Juneau-based dyer. Neat, huh? And the last one... oh, the last one. That's my stereotypical "a knitter goes to Alaska" yarn. It's 100% qiviut, also known as muskok wool. Don't even ask what it cost. A ridiculous amount. In fact, the other four yarns I got cost less than this one. Like, half. But I had to get it. It's so soft and warm - Alaskan and an unusual fiber. I love it!

And there is a dash of an Alaska update! Hopefully my head cold will go away quickly and I'll get the rest of the pictures up soon (by Monday is the goal). Fingers also crossed that this post makes sense. I've caught several places where I used a totally random word in place of one that would actually made sense. Sorry if any head-cold-related nonsense remains!

Back from the Wilds

My blog has been quiet for the past week-ish because Dan and I have been vacationing - in Alaska! Yes, we took a cruise out of Seattle that went to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchican and Victoria (Canada) and got back last night. So now I'm working through my 1,315 pictures to get down to something share-able. (My first pass at the pictures has gotten things down to 883.)

We were there for the beginning of the Alaskan spring which meant we were out and about in weather that most Texans would call winter. So it is nice to be back home with 80+° heat! But it was a very neat trip, even with temperatures in the 40s (and rain)!

I'm sure it will take me a bit to get through all the pictures, but here's a bit of a sampling:

Leaving Seattle

Iceberg Ahoy!

Porcupine
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska

Dan at the Davidson Glacier
Glacier Point, Alaska

Scenic Cruising
Glacier Bay, Alaska

Ketchikan, Alaska

Tulip at The Butchart Gardens
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

And though I was on vacation, I did manage to get a bit of knitting in (thanks to my new KA Switch 9" interchangeables).

Scenic Knitting Cruising

I spent some downtime during the vacation working on a pair of socks that will be for Dan. I've dubbed them my Wilderness socks as 1) I've been working on them in Alaska and 2) it's got a bit of buffalo fiber in them, which is a bit wilder than just plain sheep, right? I didn't manage to finish them on the trip but I don't have a ton to go, so hopefully I'll finish them up this week. As I launder my way through half our closet and edit all my pictures.

As soon as I get all the pictures edited and up on Flickr, I'll post a slideshow. Hopefully it should be soon!

Who Knew?

Huh. Who knew that attempting to defer an emotional stress-related freak out could result in finished socks.

Technically, they aren't completely finished - they still have to finish blocking - but my input into the process is finished, so I'm calling them done.

I didn't think I'd finish these by my self-imposed deadline of today. I mean, I figured I had about a 40% chance. But there we go. At least stress can have a positive result!

The stitch pattern made the fabric created rather tight so I shortened the leg of these and didn't do the stitch pattern on the foot. If I had to do these over again, I'd go up to at least a US2. Maybe even a US2.5 for the leg then a US2 for the heel flap and points south. Then I could probably do a full-lengthed leg and put the stitch pattern on the foot.

I have learned from this endeavor that, while I think they are pretty, crossed stitches are crazy slow and kind of mean. I think I'll be avoiding crossed stitches in the future.

Tiny Bitty News

Just got back from the vet. Bitty has ear infections in both ears.

And a tumor. Specifically a mast cell tumor.

We will be scheduling surgery to remove the tumor and have it tested soon. Then we will see where we need to go from there.

Enthusiasm (or Not)

I should be working on my socks right now. I got a decent bit done last night all things considered, but I still have an inch and a half (about) before starting the toes. I plan on sticking a movie on later today and getting some serious knitting done. I hope.

I'll have to pick a happy movie, though, because the weather is nasty and gloomy today. It's even raining. Sigh. Just when I was getting my hopes up that spring (or even summer) was here to stay.

And while I'm not enthusiastic about the weather (or my current socks), Dan displayed some enthusiasm last night for the use of masking tape.

Our garbage disposal was leaking a little and last night Dan was trying to fix it when it... well, broke a bit more. So tonight we'll be getting a new garbage disposal, but until then we aren't supposed to use that side of the sink. Dan's hint is so subtle, though, it's hard to remember that.

Good News, Bad News

Recently it seems that Dan and I have been breaking a lot of glass things in the kitchen. Two kitty bowls, a water pitcher, some beer bottles... As soon as we collect all the glass from one break (because no matter how much you sweep, you always find more later), we break something else. Today was almost another one of those days. I was in the pantry moving things around and my arm knocked into a jar of pasta sauce which took a header off the shelf.

As soon as I realized the jar was falling, I had enough time for the thought flash in my head, "This is going to be such a mess to clean up." But good news! It didn't break!

Of course, the bad news is that it didn't break because it landed on my foot. Right at the base of my middle and "ring" toes.

A couple of hours of painful limping on my foot, I noticed that there was a gap between two of my toes that wasn't normally there. Before I had been valiantly ignoring any potential ramifications to the jar hitting my foot, but I'll admit it, the new space between my toes freaked me out a bit. So Dan and I spent the next hour and a half at an urgent care place to see a doctor and get some x-rays.

But more good news! Not only did the jar not break, neither did my foot! It is, however, badly bruised and swollen. So I've been directed by the doctor to stay off of it, keep it iced and elevated and to wear a oh-so-stylish boot when I'm up and walking around. (I did decline the recommended crutches, though. I knew I wouldn't use them.)

I also got a prescription for an anti-inflammatory (which is being compounded to be corn-free so won't be ready until tomorrow) and that's kind of exciting since I can't take any OTC anti-inflammatories. It will be nice to have a corn-free one!

I did ask about my currently more spacious toes. Apparently my foot has swollen so much that it is making the toes spread apart a bit. It's also making one of my toes slightly numb from the pressure the swelling is putting on the nerves. No worries, I'm watching them to make sure nothing turns blue.

Is That You Spring?

Finally, it's a lovely day today! Like a roll-your-windows-down-and-beware-of-sunburn kind of day. It's like summer is trying to happen! I question if it is really here to stay though because we haven't even seemed to have a real spring yet. The weather doesn't stay nice for more than a day and we had to have the heat on as recently as last week.

It makes me rather grumpy. I need sun! I need summer! I need pool-appropriate weather! And each time I think it is here to stay, bleck, nope. Back to overcast and cool/cold. Boo.

My poor irises were blooming so profusely last week. But then we hit 36° overnight and they all shriveled up and ran away. Kind of like I wanted to do. But maybe, maybe, maybe this time the weather really means it. And while my irises are no longer pretty, I do have a few things in my yard in bloom. One of them is a first-time bloomer: our pecan tree!

Theoretically we could have pecans this fall. Just in time to move!

Doomed

My current knitting project is a pair of socks and, sadly, I've kind of fallen out of love with them. It makes it hard to work on them but I really want to get them finished so I can start on a pair of socks for Dan. But yeah, I just feel rather meh about them right now.

I've had some issues with these socks from the start - the crossed stitches and cables make the material a bit stiffer and less elastic which, combined with the fact that my ankles are a little larger than what the pattern anticipates, makes them rather snug fitting. I had this same issue with my first pair of socks (by the same designer) and I solved it by going up a needle size on the leg. It worked great but I forgot to do that with these socks. Ultimately, it's not a huge deal - the socks are still wearable and I know this yarn relaxes a bit after blocking - so while I'm nervous about how these will fit, I'm not really worried (if that makes sense). But the lack of elasticity does seem to tighten up my gauge even more, making the project a little rough on my hands and even less elastic, which makes me tighten up my gauge... You get the idea.

Even more fun, I'm using the only size US1.5 needles I had when I started this project, a pair of Chiaogoo circs. I'm using two circs at a time to make two socks at a time and... I just don't like the needles. I mean, yeah, I like the texture and the points, but the needles are too long to feel comfortable in my hand and the red cable, while I can see why others like it, is really starting annoy me. It adds so much weight and resistance to my project.

And the yarn is just annoying me. It's kind of sticky feeling and was causing a lot of issues during the crossed stitches - catching and splitting and the like. Such a pain! Especially since I have a fair bit more of this yarn in different colors I'm one day going to have to use up. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I'm just about done staring at this color green, too.

If I haven't been whining enough, let me just say that the crossed stitches and cables make this project so slow! And I don't mind project that aren't done in a flash, but I do like to have a rhythm when I knit. And crossing half the stitches on a row does not allow for anything resembling a smooth rhythm. I have decided to skip the crossed stitches pattern on the foot of the sock because of the aforementioned fit issues (while they will fit now, adding a crossed stitch pattern around the gusset would have guaranteed they would not have fit when done), but I won't deny that I'm happy to not have to do them anymore. Stockinette is so much happier.

Hopefully I'll be able to push through and finish these socks up and none of my grumpiness will carry over to the finished product. Maybe once they are done, I'll remember why I wanted to do them in the first place - the pattern is really cute! But for now, I'm kind of feeling like they are doomed.

Familial Insanity

Sometimes, Dan brings home strays from work. Most recently, monitor arms. So now his office looks like this:

Insane, yes? Completely. You would not believe the glow that comes from the office now even when the lights are off.

Disturbingly, the mounting arms have the ability to mount two more monitors. Thankfully, Dan does not have two more monitors to mount. Yet.

My insanity, however, takes up much less space - and electricity. Knitting needles!

These will not, however replace my delightful and much loved HiyaHiya Sharps. No, these are special, tiny needles. It's hard to tell in the first picture because there is no size reference, so try this one on for size.

Yep, tiny needles. Two inches, in fact. They are for making nine inch circulars and I'm so excited about them. After I finish my current project, I'm going to try these babies out by making some socks for Dan.

Speaking of needles, though, I keep forgetting to mention: I now have a full set (plus an extra needle or two) of my wonderful HiyaHiya Sharps.

Seriously, if you knit, try these needles. There's no universally perfect needle that everyone will love, but I think these are pretty dang close.

So now I'm all stocked up needles. Wonderful, lovely needles! And Dan's fully stocked up on monitors. You hear that, Dan? No more monitors!

Quickie

Just a little update as I've been rather quiet lately. The quiet has been because of the lack of good weather. It makes me so grumpy and blah feeling. Fortunately yesterday was a delightful 82° but it hasn't been all that long ago (just over a week) that we had a 36° morning. And let's not even discuss the rain. So yeah, solar powered as I am, I have not been having a good spring. We still have the plastic over the screened porch and I can't even begin to guess when we can put the pool up. It's all very depressing. Boo.

I've been managing to get some knitting done, though. Currently I'm working on a (slightly obnoxiously colored) pair of socks. I'm hoping to have those done in the next week to ten days. I'm sure I'll post about them when they are done, but you can hit the link above to see some in-progress pics (if, for some reason, you actually care). They are working up a bit snug due to the stitch pattern. Hopefully I won't have to find them a home when they are done.

In other news, the house next door has officially been sold. The new owners have been moving their things in all day. So there goes Dan's side job of lawn mowing. I don't think he'll extend the offer to the new neighbors - the last year or so he's been hoping our old neighbors would decide to cut their own lawn, regardless of how nice a bit of extra cash is. But they did end up paying for our old lawn mower, one mow at a time, so we can't be too unhappy with how that all worked out. Also good news, the new neighbors appear to be an older couple. Grandkids are always a possibility, but it does look like they will be overall a quite family to have next door. Fingers crossed.

Speaking of moving, Dan and I are semi-officially looking for a new home. Semi-officially for the next few weeks and then, at the end of May, officially. I imagine it will take us a while to find exactly what we want as we are both quite picky so who knows when we will actually be moving, but we are hoping for Christmas in a new house. I've already offered up my potential new dining room for the family dinner!

And in the last bit of news, playoff hockey starts tonight. Both my team and Dan's made it in. Yay! The Ducks were #2 in the Western Conference (& the Pacific Division winners) while they Blues were #4 (and #2 in the Central Division). Naturally, I'd love to see one of our teams win, but I'm kind of prepared for Chicago to hoist the cup. They've been burning it up this year.

And that's all the news that is (or isn't) news at the moment. All rather boring. But with nicer weather comes more activity! So I hope today's and yesterday's sun means normal weather is here to stay. I really need to soak up some vitamin D!

I Knit Ridiculous Things

Sigh. I am apparently attracted to knitting ridiculous things. Take my latest project:

Yes, I knit myself a flat cap. I rarely even wear hats! Yet I sort of adore this one, mostly because of the absurdity. But outside of the absurdity of knitting a flat cap, I think it's pretty awesome.

Notes, additional pictures and random rambling are here on Ravelry. I'll admit, I'm kind of thinking of doing a second one in a more summer-appropriate yarn. So nuts!

Just In Time For Summer!

In the past few days, the weather has finally become spring-like. Just in time for my latest knit project to be ready to wear! Cuddle socks!

They are wonderful - soft and slouchy and they make me want to cuddle up under an afghan and read as soon as I put them on.

Which means I probably won't be able to wear them until Thanksgiving. If that means the weather stays nice, I'll be okay with that. (Though I probably will pet them before then. They are really soft! They have angora in them!)

It's Not Knitting!

Look, I'm posting about something that isn't knitting! I suppose it is still technically craft-related, but it's craft beer, not arts & crafts.

Yep, we went on another brewery tour! This one was Revolver Brewing. It's a really small brewery - it was new to Dan, probably because they don't even have a bottling machine, yet. All of their beer is sold in kegs at local restaurants & bars.

Yep, a pretty small and new brewery, but Dan liked the logo (it is cool, isn't it?) so he was up for going to an event that would get us some beer glasses with a nifty logo. And we'd get to try some new beers, which is always a bonus.

They had five beers on tap, four of which are their normal ones and one super-special one that ran out really quickly (but not before Dan had a glass of it). They had a wheat beer that I was interested in trying (because I like wheat beers best, typically), but their Revolver Bock was my favorite (Dan's too, actually).

  

Actually, both Dan and I were really pleased with the beers on offer. Even the ones I didn't like were still smooth and drinkable. Even their American blonde ale (their "normal" beer) was pretty good.

We each had four "punches" available; each punch got us half of a 16-oz glass' worth of beer. Of course, their definition of "half" was a bit more generous than I think what you'd find in the dictionary. I did drink all of my bock and most of my wheat. Dan had my other two punches.

Needless to say, I drove home.

I'm Full

Well, I just rearranged my yarn cabinet to squeeze my newest purcahses in there. Things are getting a little snug!

The top shelf is three deep on the left and two deep on the right. The shortbread is full of smaller balls of thread. The middle shelf is three deep all the way across except for the shortbread tin (which is stuffed with mostly-used-but-not-quite-gone balls of yarn). The third shelf is mostly just one deep - all the skeins are laying lengthwise and stacked up - with just a single layer of other goodies stacked in front on the left.

Yeah, it's a bit full. But it's not that bad. I mean, I don't even need to squish things to get the doors closed!

Of course, this doesn't mean I need to stop buying yarn. But maybe I need to rearrange things on the other shelves of my cabinet to give the yarn more room to expand.

And knit faster. That would help, too.

ETA: Oops. I just got the mail and it had a lovely package that had two more balls of yarn. Looks like I need to find some room!

Like A Bandit

Today was a big day. It was the much-anticipated DFW Fiber Fest outing day. Or, as I have been calling it, Yarn Day. I spent way too much money (because Dan is a dirty, rotten enabler) and got some way awesome goodies.

See? (Clicking on a pic will take you to Flickr where I have the names and fiber content of each yarn cause they are simply that delicious.)

            

Crazy wonderful, yes? YES!

I'll admit, for some reason I was super attracted to the bright, somewhat obnoxious stuff. (Please note my dayglo pink and acid green lovelies. Seriously, their intensity cannot be accurately portrayed through photographs.) Dan did manage to steer me away from the bright rainbow colors, though. Most of my goodies have a 90% likelihood of being socks - now I know I love knitting socks and one skein will give me a pair, so win win! Dan also got a couple of skeins of socks (the two darker orange ones) so he's gonna get some socks, too!

Also exciting, I got a huge variety of types of yarn. Even some with buffalo! I can't wait to see how everything knits up! Yay! Happy Yarn Day!

More Socks!

And it's another project I get to mark as finished! My Turkish bed socks!

Footies are rather hard to photograph attractively, but I did what I could. You can see how they actually fit on my Ravelry project page (link above) if you are just dying to see them being worn.

Anyway, it was a really neat, quick and interesting project. Honestly, I think I could totally make them again without wanting to claw my eyes out (somewhat of a rarity as I'm usually not one for repeating patterns).

I'm totally getting into this whole knitted sock thing. Which is good, because I'm already working on a new pair! I'm about two thirds of the way done with the first sock and so far it's super cute. Hopefully I'll finish the first sock and be able to cast on for the second on this weekend. (I am trying the whole one at a time thing with the socks to see how it works. I will admit, while this way makes the sock seem to go quicker, I'm a little sad knowing I'm only almost half way done instead of being almost completely done, you know?)

I swear, someday something non-knitting related will happen in my life and I'll post about that. Promise!

BUTTONS!

I finally got my buttons today! Yay!

Of course, I was so busy that I wasn't able to put the buttons on until late tonight. But what matters is that I got it done! Which means I have a sweater!

(Yes, the picture was taken in our guest bathroom. We have a very limited number of mirrors in the house. As in two. I don't even have a full length mirror. Instead, I just stand on the edge of the tub. It's worked for nine years so I've felt no need to change it, but I might need to revisit since I keep finding the need to take pictures of myself in sweaters.)

Anyway, for the absolute best results, I probably should have used some kind of bracer button on the back of the buttons to give a bit of support because they are quite large (just under 1.5") and the sweater is a more drape-y llama (versus a sturdier, springier wool). Eh, live and learn. But I don't think it will be a problem. (Hopefully those don't go down as famous last words.) And honestly, I pretty much never button cardigans anyway so they shouldn't get much of a work out.

Hopefully the sweater will get a lot of use, though! I was wearing a tank top underneath it in the above photo and I think it is a good sign that I didn't find the sweater itchy. And lately I've been finding everything itchy. I've had to cut out tags in the back of shirts that I've worn for years. No idea why my skin is being so sensitive lately, but it didn't mind the llama & silk so yay!

Next up: seaming my purse (and then learning to use my sewing machine to line it) and working on my Turkish bed socks. Then, once those are done, I'm thinking another pair of socks and another sweater! I'm insane!