Halfway Down the Stairs

NEXT!

Even though I haven't technically finished any of my other sweaters, I am casting this on this week. I had to rip 4 inches of my Gathered Pullover, Rivulets is waiting patiently for a length decision, I finished a pair of socks, I NEED to cast on something new - just for the joy of it. So there. (Petulant much?)

In the meantime, I am stealing Cursing Mama's motto. Because the men in my life know what it means:



Also, Dr Who fans/knitters who recognize this song - name the episode in the comments and I may just send the person with the first correct answer some goodies from my sock stash!!!!

I am LOVING this group! They've had me seat dancing all day. Thanks to Debbie Does Duluth for the link to the Rogue Traders.

Diagonal Rib Socks - FO!

Pattern: Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd Yarn: Jojoland Melody Superwash Needles: Knitpicks Harmony dpn's US 2.0/2.75 mm Started: January 14, 2009 Completed: February 22, 2009.

Note: This is a VERY fine fingering yarn. Much finer than my usual. The pattern is easy and really cute - now I'm just hoping they fit my swappee. I tried to match the color progression, but it did not work very well. I still think they're pretty - hope my swappee likes them!

Sweater progress. I'm still plugging away at my Rivulets and my other sweater projects. I'm hoping to have an accessory to help me with the photographs later this week.

We snuck away to the cabin this weekend - watched a little bit of the Birkie, had some Prime Rib for dinner on Saturday night and made our way home to watch the Wild play last night. I wish those boys played like that more often.

Books, books and more books!

I love these kinds of blog-fodder and I stole it from Cursing Mama!

They say the average American has only read 6 of the following:
Key

1) Bold the books you have already read
2) Italicize the books you intend to read
3) Notes in parentheses next to note-worthy titles.

1) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2) The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
3) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4) Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
5) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6) The Bible
7) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8 ) Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell
9) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
10) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
11) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
12) Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
13) Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
14) Complete Works of Shakespeare (some - but certainly not ALL - I'm with Cursing Mama)
15) Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
16) The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
17) Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
18 ) Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
19) The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
20) Middlemarch by George Eliot
21) Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
22) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
23) Bleak House by Charles Dickens
24) War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (condensed version)
25) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
26) Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
27) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 ) Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
29) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
30) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
31) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
32) David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
33) Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
34) Emma by Jane Austen
35) Persuasion by Jane Austen
36) The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis
37) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
38 ) Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres
39) Memories of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
40) Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
41) Animal Farm by George Orwell
42) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
43) One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44) A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving
45) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
46) Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
47) Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
48 ) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
49) Lord of the Flies by William Golding
50) Atonement by Ian McEwan
51) Life of Pi by Yann Martel
52) Dune by Frank Herbert
53) Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
54) Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
55) A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
56) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57) A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
58 ) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
59) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
60) Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
62) Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
63) The Secret History by Donna Tartt
64) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
65) Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
66) On The Road by Jack Kerouac
67) Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
68 ) Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
69) Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
70) Moby Dick by Herman Melville
71) Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
72) Dracula by Bram Stoker
73) The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
74) Notes From A Small Island by Bill Bryson
75) Ulysses by James Joyce
76) The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
77) Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
78 ) Germinal by Emile Zola
79) Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
80) Possession by AS Byatt
81) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
82) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
83) The Color Purple by Alice Walker
84) The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
85) Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
86) A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
87) Charlotte's Web by EB White
88 ) The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
89) Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90) The Faraway Tree Collection by Enid Blyton
91) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
92) The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93) The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
94) Watership Down by Richard Adams
95) A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
96) A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
97) The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 ) Hamlet by William Shakespeare
99) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
100) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

So just a titch over half of these books I have read! It's a weird list - I don't know very many people that have read the whole bible.

So, Ravelry Queues....

Yea, mine is four pages long, how about you? Or maybe you use the Favorites function?

I'm casting this on as soon as I finish up Rivulets (it's going really quickly, maybe another week.)



This is the Duotone Cardigan from the Fall/Winter '08 Knit1. Love the layered look of this one. I ordered some Valley Yarn Berkshire from Webs for this one so pretty economical as far as new yarn goes.

Now, I have to get my hands on the new issue of Yarn Forward magazine (any ideas where I can find it in town?), but I have some yarn in my stash that will be perfect for this sweater (some Beaverslide in red!) - Copine by Shannon Okey.

Then, I received my Spring '09 IK yesterday and this cardi on the cover is a perfect Spring cover-up. Maybe in some nice yellow Louisa Harding I have in the stash? Or I have some Blue Moon Fiber Arts Peru in a beautiful teal blue color called Spinel, that would knit up beautifully into this Diminishing Rib Cardigan.
Lastly, I just stumbled on this pattern in somebody else's Favorites yesterday, but those cables look like fun!

This is the Ethel Mildred Ferguson Sweater (Rav link) from the Family Trunk Project by Emily Johnson. This pattern is not even available yet - she's still test knitting it - but I'm first in line to pick this up! I've got some great Berroco that will work for this in a nice marled grey.

In the meantime, Go Gophers! (Cause the Wild just keep breakin' my heart.)

FO - Ingenue


This sweater was quick and super-easy to knit. My needles were shooting sparks I was knitting so fast! (Hah! I am such a liar! Wooden needles!)

Pattern: Ingenue by Wendy Bernard from Custom Knits Yarn: Berocco Peruvia Needles: Knitpicks Harmony Circ's US 8.0/5.0 mm Started: December 17, 2008 Completed: January 28, 2009.

Note: I made this sweater almost exactly to the pattern - I did add a few inches in length before I added the trim.

I've been picking out new patterns like crazy too, I'll show you a few next post.

Just a note - never make Lobster Tails with lemon butter for your pre-teen, because he might like them and then you are hosed because man! Have you ever tried to cook enough Lobster for a growing boy?

Ooops.

So, I know I'm lame. I have not posted in ages, just ages. But you moms know what it's like. I've had one kid after the other down with the Flu. I don't mean a gross tummy virus, I mean Influenza. And it's not the one that they vaccinated for either, it's that rogue one they've been talking about. There have been days where I've just wanted to lay my head down on my keyboard and cry (I really only did it yesterday and that was because my husband and cherubs neglected my birthday. I was sad.)

Funny story? I do have one. The Hockey Team Coach lost his little carry-case of water bottles used for the bench. Our Team Manager sent an email reminding us all to send water with our players tonight and then she apologized by saying this:

"Sorry for the incontinence."

Snrk. I think she meant inconvenience, but....snrk.

So. What I have been doing is knitting, there are socks on the needles, there are two sweaters on the needles, there is an FO and new yarn in the house! My cuticles are drying up and peeling off - does anyone else have that problem working with fiber? So I started Rivulets, and really, the charting is not as intimidating as Shannon Okey made it sound.



I have this beautiful, fat, bouncy Alpaca/Silk blend and I have already knit down to the little pleats in back (I took this photo a couple days ago.) I may leave the "squiggles" off of the bottom of the pleats - I'm thinking about leaving the cable off of the sleeves as well - I like sleek sleeves.


My mom and my sister remembered my birthday and next week I should have a lovely assistant to help me model my finished sweaters! In the meantime - I have to hit the road to go and get the locks sheared. Tomorrow I will show you a photo of Ingenue blocking! (Woot!)

I am borrowing this from Cursing Mama!

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

CM added a rule
if I've done something, but want to do it again: bold & italicize

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band. (Flute 5-9th grade.)
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill.(Mental Health Days.)
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful (geyser) erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud. (I have not outgrown this.)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (How about a commercial or two?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check. (We were all young once, right?)
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln memorial.
71. Eaten caviar. (Yum)
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades. (At night, shinin' gators, with my kids!)
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.(David Cassidy, Johnny Mathis, The Nelson Twins...)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Taken a road trip.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Met the love of your life.

Wow, I've been more places than I thought....

A Poem

I'd hate to miss all the poetry, but I'm rather a child at heart so this is mine:


The Island

If I had a ship,
I'd sail my ship,
I'd sail my ship
Through Eastern seas;
Down to a beach where the slow waves thunder-
The green curls over and the white falls under-
Boom! Boom! Boom!
On the sun-bright sand.
Then I'd leave my ship and I'd land,
And climb the steep white sand.

And climb to the trees,
The six dark trees,
The coconut trees on the cliff's green crown-
Hands and knees
to the coconut trees,
Face to the cliff as the stones patter down,
Up, up, up, staggering and stumbling,
Round the corner where the rock is crumbling,
Round this shoulder,
Over this boulder,
Up to the top where the six trees stand....

And there would I rest, and lie,
My chin in my hands, and gaze
At the dazzle of sand below,
And the green waves curling slow,
and the grey-blue distant haze
Where the sea goes up to the sky....

And I'd say to myself as I looked so lazily down at the sea:
"There's nobody else in the world, and the world was made for me."

A.A. Milne "When We Were Very Young"