Socks and a haircut

Jaywalkers x 2. I couldn't stop at just one pair!
First and finished:
Lorna's Laces, Gold Hill

Second and getting closer:

I love this yarn - has a little bit of aloe vera in it and it feels nice. I spent an hour waiting to get my hair cut and had enough time to finish the ankle plus start and finish the heel flap.

Next up - Sockapaloooza! I've got the yarn and I think I've got the pattern, but swatching is necessary first. My pal's got bigger feet than me, so I'm a bit nervous about ending up with something too big and then not knowing it. I'm also going to try toe up socks for the first time...and maybe two at once. Pictures to come!

Did someone say food?

...and back again

On February 17, T and I left for Central America - El Salvador to be exact - and 8 days with his family in sunny and warm weather! Sure beats MD in February!

We did a lot of this:

And a little of this:


We came back to the States with my MIL, who stayed for 2 weeks. So some sightseeing was definitely in order. We had to find some "fake" snow at a nearby ski resort, since we didn't have the real stuff.

And of course, sightseeing in DC:

She went home, and then I needed a week to recover and get my house and my work back in order....but I'm back and will be going for the blog full force. I decided I wasn't too pleased with my server (?) - trouble uploading pictures among other things. Since I've seen ALOT of nice blogs coming from people using blogger, I thought I'd give it a shot. Of course, I'm lacking the appropriate knowledge to transfer my old posts properly, so I just copy/pasted and here they are. I still need to go back and put in the pictures again. So....blog in progress.

And knitting in progress too. The Eris hasn't moved (I'm getting into spring mode, what can I say?). The first pair of jaywalkers are done and another pair is on the way (pics to come soon!). In the meantime, I've picked out some yarn for my Sockapaloooza socks, but I'm not sure I like it (well, I do, but will my pal?), so I'm going out to my former LYS in VA on Saturday. We'll see what I find!

Originally published February 14, 2006
So - am I too late? For the jaywalker bandwagon? I know the knit-a-long just closed and all....

but look!

Although the start was not so good...I thought I must be stupid, 'cause everyone else was getting good Jaywalkers. But somehow, I spent a good amount of time at this point - give or take a row.

The first row of the zig-zag pattern to be specific. I knit it again and again (and again and again), but each time, I'd end up with 3 extra stitches and so it was tink, tink, tink. All the while I'm cursing myself for being stupid, wondering if there was a jaywalker secret hint I was missing somewhere, thinking surely all those people who knit it must know something I didn't, surely this fabulous pattern by coudn't be wrong.....or could it? Was I the smart one? The one to find the mistake that no one else saw?
Uh...no. Basically, I was right the first time. I was stupid. Somehow I kept reading the pattern repeat wrong and I was skipping one of the kfb stitches. Ooops! But, I worked it out. And the pattern really is fabulous! I'm having so much fun seeing the way the pattern of the Lorna's Laces (Gold Hill) is coming out.

Mail rocks!

Originally published February 2, 2006

It's been a big week for me and the mail - USPS, FedEx, UPS. I think the only delivery truck I didn't see was DHL.

First up:UPS
Oh boy was this a good one. I've been wanting a dress form for quite some time. I missed out on a used one from JCPenney when the local store closed and then just last week I missed out on a used one from Casual Corner (but I scored some great new clothes at 80% off!). So, I did what any smart person would do....I turned to ebay. What a selection! And I got a mannequin form on a stand - better than I would have gotten from JCPenney or Casual Corner. I put it together right away and it's already modeling my current project...Eris cardigan.
Next: FedEx
This involved a trip to the FedEx facility. CompUSA requested a signature in person. So I grabbed my handy map and off I went. Pretty soon I was home again with THIS. The Kodak V530 Easy Share. It's our first new digital camera in about 4 years. We haven't even used the old one for a couple of years and actually bought an SLR film camera two years ago. I love that camera, but sometimes it's a little too big and I just wanted something to slip into my pocket. Plus, I knew I could never start blogging without a digital. So far I love it! I still need to buy an extra battery and a memory card - next paycheck! And the best part is what a great deal we got...it's now sold out just about everywhere I look, including CompUSA, where we purchased it for way less than the current price! We are thrilled!!! It takes video too! I have lots to learn to make sure I use it to it's advantage. But without it, there would be no pictures in this post!

And finally: USPS
Another ebay purchase. It was not the greatest day, so finding this waiting in my mailbox was just what I need. It's Lorna's Laces in the color Gold Hill and it's gorgeous!
Just what I need to jump on the bandwagon and start these.

Day 1

Originally posted on Friday, January 27
This is it. The big day. My very first post. I've been reading knitting blogs for a couple of years now. And like many, I've been reading the best of the best, as well as some of the lesser known, and watching the projects fly off the needles (or stagnate and stall - we've all been there).

I've thought about starting this blog for a while now - but there's always the hard question - what do I call it? I think I like the name for now - who knows, maybe I'll change it in a couple of months. We'll find out. I'm hoping this blog will make me a little more accountable to myself. I often sense some guilt from other bloggers when there's no picture of progress to post. Maybe this will guilt me in to finishing more projects - like not letting the 75% completed cardigan sit here on the side table - unworked - for the next week. Maybe this isn't necessarily the best reason to start a blog, but I'm guessing (hoping) I'll find more reasons to keep the blog going later.

We start with uh....no pictures. Yeah. I really prefer to read knitting blogs with pictures. But, seeing as how I've not yet advanced into the world of digital cameras, well...the pictures are not so easy. I'll get some film developed in the next week and work on the digital camera problem. I think we actually own, but it's at least 5 years old (that's really old in technology) and I'm not really sure where it even is.

In the meantime - my current WIPs:
Branching Out (for the Red Scarf Project) - just cast on (yeah, I know - deadline looming)
Red scarf #2 - seed stitch pattern
Eris cardigan
OK - that's really not all the WIPs I have (I have LOTS), but that's all I'm actively working on.