Two Black Sheep

I Do Not Hook Up

What? Two posts in one day? Am I taking crazy pills? Little does Lola know that I originally had the previous post titled "If You Seek Amy" AND that it is a top selling video on iTunes right now . . . just saying that sometimes we are a little too connected in the bizarre love of Ms. Spears.

So ten days ago, what I meant to type was, "I'll post some FO shots of Betty's sweater in ten days." Exactly what I meant to say . . . ten days. Personally, I blame our state assessments, which I loathe. I understand why the kids take them (I really do), but they are a snapshot of that day, not the overall picture of that kid. No where on the form is there a bubble for, "Used a box of tissue due to a sinus infection," or "Took the assessment with the flu and left one minute after was finished," or "Is not taking this seriously by any means," or "Reads four grade levels below this assessment and has been instructed at that level all year," or "Made pretty pictures with the bubbles." And, I jump off my soap box to bring you the skinny on Betty's sweater.

There were no real modifications for this one except for the knitter's ineptness with reading directions. I misread the directions on the back decreases and began decreasing way too rapidly. Luckily, I caught it early, and after running it past Tricia, we decided that it really wouldn't matter. Personally, I'm fairly happy with the results, but it is a smidge too big on Betty. Granted it hasn't been blocked yet, so I am hoping that I can pull the hell out of it length wise and take up some of the slack. For now, it will work. I'm knitting like a fiend to finish Veronica's cardi as well as a pair of socks (which I should be knitting at this very moment). Hopefully I can get them done - or close to it - this weekend.

Last night, during the Randy Travis inspired country night on American Idol, I called Lola no less than four times. Each time, we used speaker phone because it was just easier to do it that way rather than relay everything. Unfortunately, I forgot that Veronica's boyfriend was sitting on the couch with us and he had never met Lola. You see where this is going, correct? Sadly, no one sang "Fancy" (or maybe that was a good thing) or "9 To 5" or "Coal Miner's Daughter" . . . but what was up with Adam's performance of "Ring of Fire"? That. Was. Dreadful. Full stop. I wanted to reach through the television and shove the microphone down his throat. The biggest question, though, was why was everyone covering Carrie Underwood songs? Was there some sort of contractual obligation? I would love for someone to cover the title of this post a) because it rocks and b) since Kara co-wrote it . . . what would she have to say?

Our mom is in Nebraska visiting the Other Sister but more importantly to celebrate Beaner's 5th birthday. It's hard to believe that the little spit-fire is five years old . . . perhaps she needs a new sweater?

A

Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf

By 11:30 yesterday morning, I had devoured the following: three waffles, two cups of coffee, and one beer. You see, yesterday was my final Fair Isle class, the one in which I "gamely" picked up a pair of safety scissors and cut Beaner's sweater. The beauty of having a knit shop in the same set of stores as a bar is that you can easily get a beer to calm your nerves (and get change back from a single if you get a small Yuengling). Ironically, I had the beer after I cut the damn sweater, but it was more to balance out the coffee and take the edge off what I had just done.

Officially a cardigan - what I wanted

All in all, once you take the first leap of faith, steeking wasn't that bad. Don't get me wrong - I'm not on a pro-steeking, all steeking bandwagon, but when it comes up again (which it will since Betty has been eyeing the Mirepoix Bodice) I won' balk so hard at it. Part of the ease was having an awesome teacher - thank you, Linda! - who more than talked me through the process, even going so far as to bring in her own sewing machine  to use on the final day AND taking pictures (with my old faulty point-and-shoot . . . that's why there aren't any photos of the steeking - damn camera). As an added bonus, Linda didn't mind my language during our time together - that's always nice. Tricia was teaching a Weekend Getaway Satchel class at the same time and did more than she'll ever know to calm me down as well. "When you really think about it, your stitches aren't going any place since that's not how knit stitches run," she said calmly. And you know, I never really thought about it like that before.

Now that the sweater is truly a cardigan, I'm in the process of picking up stitches on the second placket and from there, it's only a matter of stitching down the hem and the plackets and then sending it to Mom to install the zipper. We're not going to ruin this by having me put in the zipper. That would be unforgivable and truly turn it into a great big pile of shit, which is how I was referring to it on Tuesday night. Steeking was something that utterly and completely mystified me for the longest time. I mean, honestly, why would you knit all that only to cut it? It's counterintuitive at best. For about the first two years of my serious knitting, I shied away from anything that seemed challenging. Now? I'll think about it for a long while, but eventually I'll give in and at least try it out.

A pile of shit - what I thought I would get

After this weekend, I'm not sure which is more nerve-wracking for me: steeking or driving with the girls. I don't know how others have gotten through it, but I'm not a good person to sit shotgun while the driver is one who once resided inside me. I phantom break, I hit the dashboard, and I don't sound genuine with my praise. Sorry, girls, but I hate driving with everyone. They each drove a bit today, and I was much better in the passenger seat than in the rear seat like I was last night. That should never happen again - EVER. The Flyer is in Phoenix this week and was kind enough to take my car to the airport so that our lovely ladies could practice on his as it soon will, most likely, be theirs. I'll get better - I promise - just bear with me.

So, it's back to picking up those stitches because I really want to knit something for moi. This is the most monogamous I've been to one knit project in a long time. My poor trellis and leaf shawl is in desperate need of two borders and some blocking. I'd like to finish that before June so I can say it took less than a year. Fingers crossed for some quality knitting time real soon.

Ava

PS - Tricia, the only song title I could find with "pile of shit" in it was "A Fucking Big Pile of Shit" and I thought that was pushing the bounds a bit too much. This song is a nice little ditty by The Killers.

I Heard Love Is Blind

Way back in the summer of 2006, the Flyer and I got this wacky idea of visiting London during the Bonfire Night celebrations so that November we did just that. All in all, it was another lovely trip in which I vastly underestimated British weather and was caught unawares yet again. A trip for us always includes Liberty and their fine range of yarns and fabric. While there, I fell in love with Rowan's Soft Baby and some of the patterns created for this uber-soft yarn. My first thought: I'll make Beaner a sweater from this British yarn and honor her birthplace at the same time. Okay, so my first thought was: Who the hell do I know that will fit into this cotton candy confection?

Love sometimes is really blind (thank you, Amy Winehouse). I no sooner cast on for Grace than she became a major bitch and I promptly fell out of love with the uber-snaggy (but still soft) yarn. Poor Grace has languished in a bag since January of 2007 and now I am stuck with shit-tastic yarn and a half knit sweater . . . and no sweater for Beaner. Enter a humble Fair Isle class complete with steeking.

The end to Beaner's second sweater attempt is in sight as our final class is set for this coming Saturday. I'm nearly done with the yoke so that means that I simply need to steek the front, pick up around the placket, and knit the top collar. "Simply need to steek" - have dumber words ever been spoken? Luckily for me our instructor knows what she is doing and one of my favorite bars is two doors down from the knit shop. Liquid courage might just be in order.

The Flyer and I went to see Run Fatboy Run last night and were pretty happy with the movie. We're huge fans of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, so we weren't too sure how David Schwimmer would do directing a film set in London. Normally you can tell that it is an American production meant to be British, and this one was no exception as the characters didn't make fun of the lone American in the cast. However, it was charming and funny and pretty damn good.

On our way down to the movies, I told the Flyer that I am thinking about checking out vegetable collectives or box programs. I don't even know if they exist in our area, but I've been tossing it about since our last trip to London. His response was pretty neutral (thankfully), but he did tell me that if I got all hippy-dippy and started using reusable menstrual pads, he would stop doing the laundry. My first thought and comment after, "Ewwww" was "I wonder how tight your gauge would have to be for a reusable tampon." Now, lest you think that I really have gone off the deep end, since we've gone from vegetable boxes to knitting a tampon, I was totally kidding . . . I'll leave it to Period Pieces on Ravelry to come up with that answer.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! We start our No Child Left Behind mandated testing on Monday . . . truly not looking forward to any part of the week.

Ava

Taper Jean Girl

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you . . . even if you are only Irish for the day! Us? Well, we grew up thinking that we were roughly half Irish and half German (which makes for a stubborn bunch of drunks) but found out recently that who our mother thought was Irish, her Grandma Bridget, was really French, her Grandma Bridgette. Lucky for us that dear old Dad comes through with some of the Irish. Sadly, the soda bread you see below, courtesy of Panera Bread is the only one that I will have this year . . . and I know how to make a mean soda bread. The greenish yarn is all thanks to the latest purchase from Mountain Knits and Pearls - two uber-lovely skeins of Claudia's Handpainted in the lace silk for a sweater.

Beaner's sweater is down to one sleeve: one measly sleeve. I joined the body with the first sleeve at yesterday's Ravelry NEPA sit and knit (hope you're feeling better, Joanne) as I needed the needle it was on to complete the second sleeve. So far, so good. The cable running down the sleeve? Love it, even if the top cable is off by a row (no way was I increasing and doing the colorwork at the same time). The tension is relatively even, it looks cute, and I think she just might like it. The colors are nice but not exactly what I was going for. Normally I like a very strong brown with pink, but there weren't any to be had in the Falk. The heather brown is a fine substitute, and probably better for a 4-year-old as of tomorrow (love you, Beaner), so I'll stop the hand-wringing and move on.

That's it, folks! Lola heads to Nebraska tomorrow on a "lovely" flight with the boys and our parents. She'll be "blogless" since we haven't decided whether or not to tell the Other Sister. Me? I'm kind of in the "they'll learn when I'm good and drunk" camp so I guess time or an alcoholic beverage will tell. MC, Bunnylips, et al are headed our way for the weekend so the whole house is atwitter with cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning.

Ava

PS - No Powerball win for us this weekend . . . unless you count the $11 we won. I guess if you earn back your money plus a buck, it counts for something.

Under Pressure

You know how some blogs have titles that really tell you what a post is about? Or some that use a leading statement? We use song titles (my idea a la Degrassi: The Next Generation), but if I used a title  or leading statement, it would be: In Which I Am Desperate or Screwed . . . You Choose. I'm in a jam, a pickle, a bind - pick a euphemism for fucked and be done with it.

Back in June, I bought several skeins of some lovely Cider Moon at the Knitters Connection in Columbus. Since then, I've used all the skeins for the Plane Project (really the trellis and leaf shawl from Victorian Lace Today) and am down to the last little bit. I have one side of the knitted border done and am ready to start the first of the short sides. Guess what? I think I am going to run out of yarn. Just buy more, right? Cider Moon stopped production in September due to legal problems (no clue, can't find out more information). I've sent messages to both knitters on Ravelry who have a hank of Pandora Rose in their stash, but I haven't heard back from them. So, if you happen to know of anyone who has this lovely yarn in their stash (maybe it's you?) and they could see fit to sell their skein, please send them my way. Again, I am desperate and in need of help. I know that this is a long shot, but knitters are an incredibly tenacious and giving bunch. If anyone can do it, a knitter can.

My second dilemma deals with Beaner's sweater. Let's face it, Grace is never going to see the light of day again is only to be burnt in a twisted offering to the yarn gods. I hate the yarn, the pattern is annoying, and I bought it on impulse. Fast forward a year. My LYS offers an amazing array of classes and the Fair Isle class is one that has beckoned me forever. I signed up and admitted my shortcomings and decided on a cute little sweater for Beaner with some minor modifications. I call changing the pullover to a cardi minor since it is being steeked. Here's the question: the original cardi (a women's sweater) has a picot bottom and then has four stitches cast on for the steeking and is joined in the round - should I do that for this one as well? I'm thinking yes, but I want someone to pat my hand and say, "Yes, Ava, that sounds like a brilliant plan. All of your gambles have paid off in the past . . . go for it!"

Thanks for all the kind words about the BAR project. It looks a lot harder than it is, which is due to the awesome pattern that La designed.

Ava