If this is second prize...

Then I can only imagine how awesome first prize must have been! I entered Sangeeta's "guess the baby animal" contest on Knit One, Wag Two. I didn't guess the right animal (turns out it was a zebu), but apparently I cam close enough to deserve a "runner-up" prize:


Clip stitch markers, a mini crocheted sweater keychain, Rowan Calmer
in off-white, "Soak" wool wash, and Nature Spun wool in dark red.
(Believe it or not, I took this pic with my regular camera, not my phone.
Obviously I still have a lot to learn about the correct settings for close-up
photography...)

I can tell you right now that the red yarn is going to go toward a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. I'm also excited to try the Calmer, since I've heard good things about it. Thanks so much for the generous gift, Sangeeta! Now maybe I should come up with a good contest...

Quickie

I may have beaten my own personal record for Shortest Completion Time for a project. It feels even faster given how long most of my current WIPs have been on the needles. On Friday, I went with a work friend to Stitch DC, (which is about 3 blocks from my office) and picked up some yummy Karabella Aurora 8 (100% merino) for a baby hat. I cast on when I got home that night, knit a few rows and went to bed. By bedtime yesterday I was done:


What I always make: Umbilical Cord Hat from the
first Stitch'n'Bitch book.

While I was at Stitch DC, I also found I couldn't resist this gorgeous sock yarn, though I'm still not sure what kind of stitch pattern will work the best for it:


Claudia Handpainted fingering weight in the Walk in the Woods colorway.

I think I also forgot to mention that shortly after accepting my job down here, but before we moved away from CT, I decided to treat myself to some Cherry Tree Hill, since I'd heard so much about it:


Can't remember the colorway, but it made me think of autumn, with the
maple trees lit up with color, hot cider in my mug and a fire in the fireplace.

So before I do anything else as soon as I get my Jaywalkers off the needles (finally!), I'll be casting on for two or three more pairs of socks. I was really late in joining Socktoberfest, but it's obviously not due to a lack of interest in knitting socks!!

Three generations

Over the weekend, we drove down to Charlottesville to visit my grandparents. They are 92 and 93, and I regret to say that I hadn't seen them in over two years. I was really happy to be able to make the trip now, and for them to meet my wonderful husband. My mom and brother were there too, and we all enjoyed a quiet afternoon of looking at pictures and chatting. Taz, my mom, and C put together a nice light dinner for all of us. I didn't help because I was still knitting madly away on Grandma's sock. It was down to the wire, but I did manage to finish it before we left:


Toe-up, using PGR's short-row technique. Cuff is 2x2 ribbing, and top
border is a few rows of 1x1 ribbing, with some stockinette and a couple
rows of eyelets in between.

Grandma was very emotional when I gave them to her, and she immediately put them on. She remarked that she used to knit socks once, and then Mom observed that life comes full circle. Grandma was the one who taught my mom to knit, and Mom was the one who taught me to knit, and now I was giving knitted socks to Grandma. So Taz asked us to pose for a Three Generations of Knitters picture:


Me, Grandma, Mom, and Grandma's sock.

It was really a perfect visit. And on the way home, Taz nearly made me cry when he said that he had really enjoyed meeting them and helping to brighten their day a little, and that anytime I want to go down to see them, he'd love to come along. Even though they're in relatively good health for their age, they're definitely getting on in years, and no one knows how much longer we'll be able to share moments with them like this past Saturday afternoon, so it really meant a lot to me to know that Taz understands that. I am so lucky.

Next in knitting: finishing at least one of the two cardigans I have on the needles, finishing my Jaywalkers, making some progress on Hanging Vines (so much for the Amazing Lace) and casting on for socks for Taz. Any suggestions for a manly pattern stitch to make the charcoal gray yarn more interesting to work with? That means no cables, lace, or eyelets of any kind. Don't ask me why cables on socks aren't manly, I just know that if I put cables on these socks, they won't be worn very much. Maybe it's the bulkiness?

Slippery When Wet

Things that I have learned are slippery when wet:

1. Mossy rocks
2. Fish
3. Noodles
4. Bon Jovi
5. Washington DC Metro escalators

How do I know that last one? I'll give you one guess. The other night it was raining, and I was in a hurry because I didn't want to miss the last metro train that would allow me to make my bus connection to get home at a reasonable hour. I hadn't expected it to rain, so I didn't have an umbrella. I was wearing white pants and suede shoes. I was soaking wet from having walked several blocks to get to the metro, and I was really looking forward to sitting in a warm, dry train for a little while. So I start jogging down the escalator steps at Foggy Bottom, and the next thing I know, not only are my feet no longer under me, but I've managed to skid down about 10 escalator steps. No damage to my clothing, but you should see the bruises! I'll spare you a picture of that. (Unlike some people). Anyway, it still really hurts, and I have decided that from now on, it's definitely better to get home half an hour later than to be black and blue for weeks.

Hopefully next post I'll have pictures for you of the finished socks on Grandma M's feet. That is of course assuming I finish them today. I have about 2 hours (max) to finish them starting now, and about 2 inches to go. On size zeros. Yes. Taz will be driving when we go down to see the grandparents today, even though I had promised him I would drive. OK, time to go. I must knit like the wind.

Cuteness

Today's theme is cuteness. A colleague is pregnant, and I just found out we're having a surprise baby shower for her at work in two weeks. Gifts aren't required, but I do actually collaborate with this woman quite a bit, and I'd like to show my appreciation by knitting something small for the baby. This is pretty much the only yarn I have to work with:


Lion Brand Microspun. Soft. Machine Washable.
Bright. (Not quite as blinding as it appears here, though)

I know I could go out and buy something else, but I really want to use this up, and I like bright non-pastel colors for babies anyway. So, what to make? I've done plenty of Umbilical Cord Hats, so that would be a simple option. But would it take longer than doing booties? If I do booties, what pattern should I use? I'd like to be able to use both colors, so perhaps opposite color booties with contrasting i-cords? Or is that too wacky? Help! Please! Advice!

Oh yeah, and I will also have to finish Grandma M's socks in that time, if not sooner (yes I have made progress, no I don't have a picture). And I can't necessarily count on getting time to knit every day.

ETA: I should also mention that I don't have any additional yardage of this yarn beyond what you see in the photo. That means baby blankets are out, alas.

The other part of the cuteness theme for today is simply a cuddly greeting from Ivy and Ben, who normally only get this close when they are trying to kill each other:



No, I am not above using gratuitous cat cuteness to get you to love me.

A little red goes a long way

I'm finally almost done with Grandma M's socks, but I don't have a progress picture for you yet. What I really wanted to talk about today is this great new charity project I just found out about: the Red Scarf Project.


The Red Scarf Project, an initiative of the Orphan Foundation of America, helps college-age kids who have aged out of foster care by sending them a Valentine's Day care package that includes a red scarf to keep them feeling warm and cozy and loved.

What I love about scarves is that they give me total freedom as a knitter. As long as the finished product is basically in the shape of a very long rectangle, I can do pretty much whatever I want to get it to that point. Scarves are the perfect way to experiment with new yarn or new stitch patterns. It also just so happens that I have a cardigan I plan to knit with red yarn sometime this fall. Even if I don't have enough left over to make a whole scarf, I can combine it with some other red yarn and make good use of my leftovers for once.

So go visit Norma's page, grab some needles and some red yarn, and let your imagination take flight!

Washington, DC (and very little knitting)

OK, so I know I haven't posted in more than a month, and there's lots to catch up on, but first, I have to tell you how happy I am about the new Knitty. For once, not only are there patterns that I like, and think would be fun to knit, but there are actually things I myself would wear.

First of all, despite my poor record with long-term afghan projects (read: totaly failure in the perseverance department), I am really enamored of this afghan. It is way out of my budget right now, but since it's a long-term project, I figure I can just pick up a few skeins here and there, every once in a while, and eventually, I'll have an afghan. Think that'll work?

Then there's this man's cardi, which I really hope I can convince Taz to let me knit for him, even though he often shies away from cables. I also like these two pullovers, although the first one might need some waist-shaping added.

Finally, I am really drooling over Lucie. My only concern with it is the variegated yarn. It creates horizontal stripe-ish forms, and horizontal stripes are something that busty girls like me should usually try to avoid. So, beloved readers (if there are any of you left after my long hiatus), my question for you is, can I get away with it? Or should I use a solid color or tweedy yarn instead?

So what have I been up to since moving to DC and starting my new job? Here are the highlights:

1. Traveling back and forth to CT at least three times in two weeks to get various loads of stuff, and paying twice as much for movers as we had planned (and our stuff took twice as long to arrive as they said it would, too).


2. Meeting my co-workers and feeling deeply grateful that they are so willing to answer all my dumb questions and help me learn how to work with the tools that we all have to use to get stuff on the web and let our activists know what issues need their attention and how they can help.


3. Unpacking, organizing, decorating, unpacking some more.


4. Learning where the shops and restaurants are, including a yummy Afghani restaurant, and a great Indian grocery (whose owner has already offered to teach me how to cook dal makhani.


5. Seeing my brother (who just came back from four years in Japan to start looking at grad schools) and his girlfriend (who took two weeks off of her doctoral work in Tokyo to come see us).


6. Starting the new Eastern Market SnB around the corner from my work, since despite the plethora of local knitting groups, there weren't any that I could easily get to, at a time when I could attend.


7. Discovering local sports. First, we went to a Nationals game, which, surprisingly, they won. Then a week or two later, at the same staduim, we saw DC United. As a lifelong soccer fan, I can't begin to describe to you how thrilled I am that I finally have a local professional team to cheer for. And the fans are just as enthusiastic as soccer fans should be, lighting firecrackers and colored smoke and throwing their beer in the air when the home team scored. The seating area where the "barra brava" sits jumps up and down is called the "black hole." I love the team colors:
   
   

As for my own knitting, I haven't been making tons of progress. Even though Grandma M's birthday was last week, I'm still not done with her socks, even though they're pretty much all I've been working on. My commute, though blissfully shorter than my CT to NYC commute, doesn't easily lend itself to knitting time, and when I get home, I have been trying really hard to be good about making a dent in the unpacking. Still, I have managed to finish the first sock and get almost to the heel on the second one. Unfortunately, you don't get pictures yet becuase the camera is out of batteries and I haven't unpacked the USB cable yet. (I know, excuses, excuses, but it's true).

So, if you have managed to stick with me through this long and rambly update, I would like to express my deepest awe and gratitude. Now that I finally have internet at home again, I have high hopes of getting back to some semblance of a regular blogging schedule. I have missed it! See you all again soon!