How To Write a Catch-up Post in 5 Minutes

So. Busy. This. Week.

I've had so many interesting things going on the last couple weeks to blog about, but I haven't found the brainpower and/or time to do it.

For example, I could have told you about how AWESOME the bread turned out, and how DELICIOUS it was slathered with the roasted-tomato puree and fresh Parmesan.



I could also talk about how my trip over to knitpicks.com for some Bare Sock Yarn ended up yielding me some new stash.





Or maybe about my experience of finally learning how to shoot 2 of the 4 guns that currently reside in our house.



Of course there is also my completed Elemental Boatneck, and how I'm not digging the way it fits me but is perfect for my sister.



There was also the incident where I nearly died laughing upon picking up Viva from her first trip to the groomer in 2 years. Bows on a cat? Really?



Finally there was the newest installment of the Shi-Bui Sock Project that Lisa and I have had in progress since July [See Ravelry for previous installments]



But again, I don't have the time or the brainpower. Maybe next week.

8.7.09

When I headed to the coast this weekend, I took three projects with me: Traveling Bandit, Elemental Boatneck, and the mini-KAL socks.


My 7-year-old cousin was really proud of this 'sculpture' he came up with using my size 2 dpns and the ShiBui sock yarn

I woke up on August 1 and cast on the socks. I knit along happily outside watching the water.



I was obviously distracted by the water because 1) I knit the entire cuff in K1, P1 rib (should have been K1, P2 rib), and 2) I didn't notice the evil POOLING that was going on.

So I ripped it out, and after redoing the cuff I realized what Lisa had already figured out - we would not be happy with the pooling on these. Le sigh. So now this has been earmarked as "the Non-Pooling Sock Project". Upon Lisa's return from Sock Summit we are going to decide on something else (stranded or Mosaic?) that will eliminate that problem.

So I worked on the Elemental Boatneck most of the weekend instead.





Despite the fact that it's slow-going, I really like Linen Stitch. I'm about 50% finished - through 1/2 the body and 1 sleeve. I am concerned that this is going to be too short and that I am not going to have enough yarn - oh well. That means I'll have to buy more, and if I have to buy it at Webs, I'll have to buy enough to get the 25% discount, right?

Speaking of buying more yarn - I made it 10 weeks without purchasing more but I broke down because I needed another skein of Ultra Alpaca for Traveling Bandit (not posting photos here because I think the recipient may read this - see Ravelry), so I ended up getting:


Wisdom Yarns Poem Sock, for some knee-highs (I also really like the Ombre look) and...


Berroco Lustra in Rodin Bronze, and the Lustra Pattern Book. I am deciding between Lexical and Loope (going to eventually do both). Thoughts?

On to another cool, lovely, lazy vacation day. The difference today is that I slept until 915, so my morning productivity is out the door. Cest la vie!

CV Snickets

Apparently my last entry was my 500th post. Whoa. I still can't really believe I've kept this blog alive since 2004!

Anyhow my mind checked out for vacation last night so I don't have anything fabulously witty or interesting to say, but I am stopping in to elaborate on the fun little KAL I am starting tomorrow with Twisted Stitches Lisa (and I see as I just clicked over there that she beat me to this post. I also see there may be a challenge in there - staying up until midnight to start? HA HA I CAN DO THAT TOO*).

I came to start chatting with Lisa about a year back and we realized that we both have ties to the Central Valley and such, and as we started talking about the fog and the heat and so on, and how Central Valley summers make it almost impossible to knit anything bigger than a sock, AND we discovered we have the same yarn and same pattern queued up. Voila, the mini-KAL was born. Her feet may be bigger, but I am planning to make mine longer so that should even the playing field.

If anyone else wants to come out and play, please join us. Being a current/former resident of the Central Valley is not necessary! You may have to listen to me whine about the heat once or twice, but I'm not that bad. I hope.

So we are off to our yearly trip to Santa Cruz, and I plan on falling asleep to this tonight...



...and waking up to ShiBui goodness.


* this is total BS, BTW. I'll be lucky if I can stay awake until 10pm tonight.