Ain't Too Sick to Knit! But, Yes I Am.

I caught a cold.
Bah.
Bad luck, but not surprising.
It's that time of the year, and I'm only thankful that it's not the flu.
Didn't get a flu shot either, so who knows, that could be coming too.
Anyway, I had to drive to NYC on Friday to pick up my erstwhile travelers.
Not too taxing a drive, it's about 6 hours, but while I always say that I talk like a trucker, in actuality I could never be a trucker because driving makes me sleepy. Not a safe combination, eh?
My travelers left this:

And now they're back in the snow.
Hubby ended up driving back almost the entire trip on Saturday because I slept most of the way.
I was feeling so sick that I could barely stay awake.
Stupid cold.
Anyway, baby girl was so happy to be home, but I think she had a good time:

She came back nice and tan.
And of course is probably irritated by me already.
You've gotta love a good mother/daughter relationship.
So the crux of me having a cold means that yesterday, Sunday, I didn't do two things.
One, I never made it to church. I took some nighttime medicine at 9:00 and fell asleep again for close to three hours. Very restorative.
Two, I couldn't knit. The most I could do yesterday was rip out about 10-15 rows on a sock and then make sure that all the stitches were back on the needles. After that, I just couldn't even function.
I did do something else, an ugly necessity.
I had to go buy a new washing machine.
Something that was not budgeted for, but thank you, Lowe's for your 10% military discount.
Now we have a nifty new washer, plus a nice chunk of money to pay to Lowe's.
Is it terrible that one of my considerations when buying a washer was to make sure that I could use it to felt my knitting, if necessary? Seriously, I haven't felted anything in a few years, so why this was a concern I'll never know.
Once hubby and son got the washer installed, and once I cleaned up the water dripping down from the ceiling where a pipe wasn't fastened, I was beat.
I fell asleep by 8:30 last night which means I did not watch Downton Abbey, I did not start my knitting (although I did wind my yarn finally), and I am already behind on my Mystery KAL.
Here's hoping that I get a little better day by day, and my desire to knit comes back.
Stupid cold.

Sitting Down for Downton

Today begins the first day of the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL.
Are you a fan?

I like the show, but I have to admit that I haven't watched the entire series, but I do so love a beautiful, one of a kind yarn.
That's what I have - straight from Jimmy Beans Wool - Lorna's Laces sportmate in the Downton Abbey colorway:

Pretty, isn't it?
I should really take my own picture because of course it's a bit different.
There's still time to get involved in the KAL - just go to the Jimmy Beans Wool blog and you'll find links on there with instructions.
Now even though I haven't watched enough of the show this was something I intended to do over the Christmas break, but along with cleaning, decluttering, and exercising, watching the two seasons of the show were things that didn't get accomplished. Think it will make a difference?
I hope not.
Which is why I felt okay taking this little quiz that tells you which Downton Abbey character you are.
Guess who I am.
A maid.
To be precise:

You are Anna Smith, head housemaid of Downton. You are basically the best employee ever. Competent, practical and tough, you can handle anything life throws at you - whether it’s rude colleagues, secretive romantic partners or surprise dead bodies in the workplace. Your kindness and loyalty are to be admired, and that Bates fellow should really recognize what a catch you are.

Go figure.
Introverted me, working quietly for the people, and not the one living in luxury.
Bah.
It's time to start knitting.

KAL number 354, but I promise that I'll finish this time

I've joined up in a KAL.
Not sure why.
Quite frankly, I'm not sure how I even ended up joining this Facebook group, but there I was with an invite to a KAL, and how could I resist?
The voting is over, and the scarves have been chosen for three different skill levels - Expert, Intermediate, and Beginner.
I decided to go with beginner, mostly because I have a lot going on, and I don't want to get started on something that I don't finish. This would be typical for me, too, as I join tons of KALs and barely finish.
Resolution number one for 2013 - finish what I start.
The beginner KAL is for the Infinitude Scarf by Jeni Chase (this is the ravelry link).
It is actually quite pretty, and I like a scarf that is wide enough to put on top of your head too.
Want to join? Knitting should start on 10 Jan.

Springtime KAL

Anyone in the mood for a KAL?
I received an email from Red Heart - hey, don't judge, they have good patterns - announcing their spring KAL.
They took votes, I guess, and decided to do Kate's Shawl based upon the shawl Kate Middleton, or rather Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was photographed wearing at a supermarket in England.
Here's Kate in her now infamous shawl:

The KAL begins March 28, and honestly this looks like it might be a fun spring project.
It's done on size 8s with four skeins of Red Heart Soft Yarn, so you know the cost won't exceed $20 unless you substitute more expensive yarn.
Here's the Red Heart version:

I'm even considering doing it in the green color just because a grass green is a good spring color (although they used one called Dark Leaf - slightly darker, I suppose).
I fear their green color may make me look bilious, and I've looked at options on the Web, and I do think I'll go with the grass green. I suppose I should go to the store and see if they have it.
That would be too hard.
The only part that looks a little fiddly is when working the ruffles - you have to pick up and knit 144 stitches (yikes!) for the bottom ruffle, and 285 (egad!) for the top. Otherwise the body of the shawl is a simple 2-row pattern repeat.
More information can be found at the Red Heart blog.
Let me know if you're thinking about doing this.
I think I just might.

Organization

That is my resolution for this year: Organization.
I truly need to get myself organized.
From my head, to my finances, to my books (and by books I mean fictional texts scattered throughout my house), I need to get it together.
(Doing laundry on New Year's Eve was my prelude to issuing this statement and having my resolution take effect.)
I'm purposely taking a semester off from classes for this primary reason.
And if people don't like this rationale, I throw this at them:
I have a son graduating from high school in June and a daughter from college in May.
So, I plan on being organized (and have the house cleaned) by the time these months come around -- and I want to have a good time!
In addition to that, I want to organize my reading.
And I promise to work on my thesis during this time off.
At least I hope to.
(Pinky swear!)
Two things I'm already doing that will help me get organized:

1) I've joined NaBloPoMo where I've pledged to post every day for the month.
Oddly enough, the theme is "Change," which I think is synonymous with "Organization."
You see where this is going, right?
How will this keep me organized? It will help focus my thoughts.
I hope.

2) I've joined the Ravelry group "Hat of the Month." This, my friends, is not a chore, but a way to use up some of the stash in my closet. The patterns are provided, there are options for different hats, and it looks like it will be fun. I haven't introduced myself to the group yet, but I will, and you should consider joining too!

So there you have it, my New Year's Resolution - Organization.
Have you made any?

Mopping my Plate

I don't always join a lot of Knit-a-longs (KALs) but I have joined some.
And then I'm not always successful at keeping up with the KAL - I often lose steam and never finish, or intend to start and then think it's either too hard or I get distracted by something else.
But I think I like this KAL - it is called Clean Your Plate 2008 and according to the blog host there are, "no rules, no deadlines, just finishing projects and feeling good..."
Now this is a KAL at which I can be successful because I have really cleared a lot off of my needles, mostly because the projects have been unraveled and the yarn neatly (most of the time) stored. I do have three projects hanging around that I am truly working on finishing.
First up is the My So-Called Scarf:
I have been working on this for much too long and it really needs to be finished. I am approximately 75% done and if I continue to take DN2 to swim practice three nights a week and I knit instead of read then I could complete it. Either that or take vacation and stay at home, watch movies and knit. I like that.
Next up is the Chevron Scarf:
This scarf has been hanging around for much too long as well, and the problem is I screw it up and then let it sit until I fix it. Angelika could have knit 2 dozen of these scarves in the time it has taken me to work on one, but that's why she is a knit wiz (and why you see her work featured in KnitPicks). Well my balls are shrinking and the scarf is nearing completion. Because I am an idiot (in case you hadn't heard) I failed to order 2 skeins of each color so my scarf will not be as long as the one featured in Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It is probably a blessing in disguise because DN2 would be graduating from high school by the time I would have it completed if I needed to continue.
The last project I have is a cape from Lion Brands Just Wraps:
This picture shows only the yarn.
Want to know why?
Because when I have the yarn I can't find the book. Once I find the book, I misplace the yarn (yes, even in a nice container like this.) I never seem to have these two items together at the same time. I'm not sure why...if I think about it I might come up with a plausible reason (messy house) but I really know it's because The Borrowers must need it for something.
Once these bad boys are done you know for sure I'm picking up those DPs again and I vow, with God as my witness, I will never go hungry again...no, that's not right...I will knit socks and successfully turn a heel if it kills me.

Fingerless Mitts to Cover My Paws

Based on Angelika's recommendation, and also upon the fact that I really really like the Fetching wristwarmers, I joined this KAL:


My philosophy is better this time around. I started the KAL before I even joined, and now I have one wristwarmer (the left one) 95% completed (have to do the thumb portion). This way I figure I'm ahead of the game and not months (or years) behind everyone else.

I got this book in the mail earlier this week:

You know I am bound and determined to knit some socks.
I have to go camping with the Girl Scouts next weekend and you know I really don't want to go. But then there's DN2 crying and telling me, "Mommy, you know I can't sleep without you."
Talk about the guilt factor. So I'll be heading out there. It's only one night so it shouldn't be so bad. Besides, I think about Jennifer knitting during her campouts with the Boy Scouts and I use her as my inspiration.
Now with that being said, does anyone have any size 2 DPs I can borrow???

News at 11:00

This just in:

Beached whale surfaces at water park.
Patrons blinded by exposure to startlingly white blubber.

Yes, I went to a water park today.
And...(gasp)...wore a bathing suit!
No one rolled around on the ground screaming, "My eyes are burning! My eyes are burning!"
It was a successful trip.
Some irritating and rude people, though, but that's no big shocker.
Like the woman who found it necessary to have her four small children dress themselves right at the entrance to the women's locker room.
Look lady, no one wants to see your kids in their underoos, most of all people who just want to get in or out the damn door without tripping over your half-naked children.
Amazing.
Other than that it was a great trip.
I'll see how much like a lobster I am in the morning.
Today was supposed to be one of the hottest days this summer - they promised 91 degrees.
When we got to the park at 11:15 it was raining!
The sun was up there in the sky, I knew it because it was daylight (I should be a science teacher, eh?) but it was hidden behind clouds until about 5:00 pm.
So did mensa girl put on any sunscreen?
Hell no.
I did bring my knitting to the park but wasn't able to do any of it.
Surprisingly enough it is awfully wet at a water park.
Who would have figured that would happen.
I did get my yarn in the mail for my Chevron Scarf KAL.
I present to you yarn in many (or at least three) moods :

On top of some lemon balm.

Silently reposing on the railing.

Trying out the new Raleigh Coaster bike in the garage.

Wait, what's this?
Someone has a new bike?
They sure do!

Well it's a great bike, but so is my scarf.
No wait, my scarf isn't a bike.
But it would look great on me if I had a new bike.
What do you think?

Summer is for....KALs

I'm not a big joiner.

And I'm not talking about joining with DPs or in the round for those of you whose minds automatically go there.

I've just never been one to go along with the crowd.

I can't help it - it's my anti-social self.

But I have joined two KALs recently and there is a method to my madness.

Why?

Because they are knitting something I like and can actually finish.

I blogged earlier about the Chevron Scarf KAL.

I ordered some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn (at a very decent price) from Sandra Singh and it was shipped the same day! Very fast, very good service. Highly recommended.

So I'm anxious to start on that scarf finally.

And at Angelika's urging I've also joined the Knitty KAL.

Sign ups close on July 10 so if you want to do it hurry over there.

It's a simple KAL - all you have to do is find a project you like on knitty.com and then knit it.

Easy enough, right?

I'm going to work on the French Market Bag - and what makes the KAL even better is I'll be using yarn from my stash!

Yea me!

Finally, in case you're ever interested in finding out which KALs are coming up you can check it out here and grab yourself a button while you're at it. I did.

I do actually read about knitting a lot.

As Kat said to me once, I study it.

I took that as a compliment.
It doesn't mean I'm smart with it, ergo I don't necessarily like to illuminate my profound ignorance in public which is one of the reasons I'm not a big joiner.

Yeah, and I keep a blog why?Well so I can meet great people and become a Rockin' Girl Blogger.

Angelika has done me the honor of calling me out as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. Now how awesome is that? I'll bestow the honor on some worthy knitters in my next post. Cross your fingers!

I don't have any Exes in Texas

But I do have a new pal there!
This is what Purl sent to me for the Knitters Tea Swap 3.
Check it out:


I actually got this package on Friday and I waited until yesterday to take the picture.
Do you know what that means?
I spent all weekend looking at that chocolate and not eating it.
Will power through pure laziness.
I just didn't get up to borrow DN1's camera.
And I can't find my battery charger.
Laziness and slovenliness.
That's how you diet.
Anyway, I am bound and determined to knit me some socks.
Right after I work on this KAL that I joined (big thanks, I think, to Angelika).
It's my first KAL and I'm kind of excited.
Because it's right up my alley - long and relatively square.
But I promise, oh yes, I promise myself and everyone else, that I will work on socks this summer.
And with all the lovely blue sock yarn I have waiting for me, I need to bust a move.
A knitting move.
Big thanks again to Purl - I can't wait until the thunderstorm rolls through this evening and I make a pot of citrus tea - all for me.