Two Black Sheep

A Beautiful Mess

An early flight is one thing; after all, I've had flights at 6 AM before but couple that with a very small regional jet, a seat mate who both doesn't adhere to the boundaries of the 14-inch seat and insists on bathing in the most heinous cologne known to God and man and you kind of get an Ava who is alternating between a migraine and retching on said seat mate. Compound it with not enough space to knit and you get a picture that isn't terribly pretty.

I wasn't very clear with the size of the tattoo that I wanted. When I emailed Lola and SK the design, I neglected to say that I wanted it exactly as is (minus the sticky note part). So, after sitting for about 90 minutes, I have the most lovely outline of cherry blossoms with one colored bloom and an appointment for August 11th to finish the job . . . just in time for the wedding debut.

The Flyer's Cobblestone is a zombie knit and so far, so good, but can I tell you how much in love I am with Cascade 220 Superwash?  This, my friends, might become the workhorse yarn of my arsenal. I'm hoping to have the Cobblestone done in time for his birthday, which I think is doable.

We stopped at Knitter's Merchantile yesterday and walked out without a purchase (there are first times for everything). I might be tempted to make a return for some of the Panda Silk that they have . . . but I doubt it. Fabric? That's another story. Fabric seemed to jump off the racks and throw itself at us (hussy!). Not sure what I'll do with half of it, but I think that I'm making a Note Taker and an Emmeline apron out of some of the fabric. Oh, I did find yarn at Jo-Anne's but I'll save that for home.

Once I get home, I'm wholeheartedly committed to finishing the trellis and leaf shawl so that leads to one more impassioned plea (okay, really I'm begging) for a skein of Cider Moon's Pandora Rose in any fingerling weight. I have a hank of it in the DK but the difference is perceptible. If you have any (or know of anyone who has one), please, please, please name your price or poison. I have some Trekking XXL in a dark plum (147) that will have to do if I can't track some down. Luckily Joanne talked me out of my first choice . . . a lovely puce which would serve to say, "I'm an asshole who didn't buy enough yarn to finish it properly."

More after the quilt show tomorrow . . . and some St. Bridget's!
Ava & Lola

PS - We've been mesmerized by the Infinity dress so Lola stitched up her own. For your enjoyment . . . discuss.

A Kiss To Build A Dream On

I wanted to finish the scarf for Joanne before I left for Lola's. Grafting lace? Not so fun, but it came out fine in the end. I can't say enough nice things about this yarn and trust me, I was prepared to hate it since the past times I've knit with Crystal Palace haven't been so good. Lace shawls are running through my brain as I type as long as I can knit them with Panda Silk. Yummy! Specs are listed after the photos and in the album. Off to steek the Bobo so I can cross that off the list as well. Wish me luck and much thanks to the lovely Betty for posing with the scarf!

Ava

Pattern: Lace Leaf Scarf from Vogue Knitting

Yarn: Crystal Palace's Panda Silk in Mint Cream

Needles: Addi Turbo 20 inch 3s

Mods: I used the 3s instead of the 5s called for since the yarn was fingering instead of DK. Also, to get the right length, I needed to do 12 repeats instead of the called for 10. All in all, it was a very easy knit (not the first time I've knit it) and can be memorized in a snap.

Come On Over (All I Want Is You)

Drive by post . . . because I am so chuffed. Since I am visiting Lola in a few days under the pretense of stopping by the quilt show (which we are going to attend, thank you very much), I thought that I should probably make one since my other attempts were rather iffy. So I started cutting out Turning Twenty yesterday around 2 PM, then called Lola to get her opinion on some dresses for "the wedding," and then I began sewing around 3:30 PM. At 8:35 PM, I called Lola again (this was probably call four of the day) to say, "Guess how has a quilt topper? That's right . . . me!" Her response: was it super easy or was I manic? Ummm, super easy, but here she is. If you click on the first one, there are notes a-go-go.

Off to go shopping with B and V . . . scarf in purse to pass the time!

Ava

 

Wheels on the Bus

Thank you all for my birthday wishes!  It was a nice surprise to see my face all over the blog this morning.  And yes, Ava, I'm snapping away.  Maybe a shot when you realize that a tattoo will hurt.  Or maybe a shot while you're at Comfest realizing that "Yes.  The beers are really that BIG." I don't celebrate my birthday in huge ways.  Last year, I was pregnant & decided that I'd go the whole I'll-Eat-Whatever-I-Want route.  Remember, during my pregnancy I went slightly insane with my eating habits.  Some have stuck, i.e. no Diet Coke & Quarter Pounders.  Quarter Pounders weren't that big of a deal to give up.  I was eating way too many on the road & something had to change, but I love Diet Coke.  Love it!  Especially out of the fountain.  Nothing cures my hangover faster than a really big fountain Diet Coke.  SK brought some home after work at my request.  I had to beg.  As I was slurping the bottom, I thought "Why would I give up this sweet nectar?"  Just looking at the picture is going to make me pull through tomorrow.  Stop looking, Lola!

Gust is finished!  I may have to block it again to even out the color, but I'm sure no one would notice if I didn't.  I'm a little disappointed with the yarn.  In the hank, the yarn had a gorgeous sheen.  It was beautiful.  Maybe it's my fault & I wasn't suppose to actually block it.  But why would you create lace weight, if you shouldn't block the project?  The green & sheen soaked off.  I'm left with a dull blue-green color in spots.  No matter the yarn's problem, I'll wear the scarf proudly all summer long!

Gus is home & thrilled.  When Grandma was leaving, he asked if he was going to stay for a while.  Poor kid.  Goes away for a week & thinks that we've given up on him.  He gave us the biggest hugs & showered Tuck with kisses.  A week is the perfect "vacation" time.  Last night was the first time that I was really missing him.  Every other night I was shocked by how easy one baby could be.  Our house was quiet & clean all the time.  It wasn't more than 15 minutes & both the toy baskets were dumped & scattered.

Ava's coming in a couple days!  I couldn't be happier.  Before she arrives, I've got to spend a few glorious days on the road.  So she better be ready to play when her plane lands!  I'm on the hunt for some of this.  I'm planning an ole timer's apron out it.  I really don't want to order it online, but I will dammit!  I'm also planning on making some risotto.  SK hates it & I figure she'll eat it.  SK always loses out on any decisions when Ava's in town.  Which is why he's the driver to Comfest this year.  I've done it the past three years.  Not a role I enjoy, but someone has to do it.  Just not me this year!

-L

Happy (Make You Happy)

So, are you happy, Lola? I mean . . . it's only your birthday today! And if that isn't enough, some of my favorite photos in digital form as I am too lazy to scan the others. Hope you have a good one, enjoy that Quarterpounder, and see you in a few days.

All my love,
Ava

PS - I know, I know . . . payback's a bitch!

Carry On Wayward Son

I feel like it has been years since my last post.  It also feels like years since my last knit FO post.  I'm almost ready to write one.  Until that post, you'll find me scrubbing my sink.  Gust is blocking in the basement, but before she was pulled to death, she left a nice blue stain in our sink.  I said "blue".  No typo.  The picture's color is pretty accurate.  I swear it turned blue.  From the first dunk, the water was a nice shade of toxic green.  It was almost frightening how green the water got.  I rinsed and rinsed, but she kept bleeding.  So I gave up and blocked.  I'm not sure if this bleeding yarn is a sign that it just wasn't right for the pattern.  Lace is something you must be patient with.  Don't look for a concrete pattern.  Just get the general idea and be amazed during the blocking process.  I didn't get the amazement this time.  Perhaps it's because I blocked it on a striped towel.  Or maybe the yarn just had too much variegation.  I guess I'll have to be patient for a little while longer.  I hate being patient when it doesn't have to do with a dawdling toddler.

I've got a birthday coming up, so I asked our Mom for some gift certificates.  I was ready to purchase Dixie Chick & Faulty Dyer.  I was buying them for the names alone.  You see, I'm a sucker for names.  Any sort of personal connection and I'll load my cart.  When I was younger, I'd buy lipsticks just for the name.  I've grown up and always buy "Slightly Better Than Your Own Color" lip-gloss.  But I still love the names.  When it comes to fiber, I pretty sure I'll never spin or dye my own yarn.  I just don't have that curiosity.  But is there a Yarn Namer job out there?  I'd love to knit a pair of socks out of Dirty Martini green.  A whole sweater out of Freshly Baked Bread.  What about a scarf out of Walk of Shame red?  OK, perhaps there isn't a market for oddly named yarns, but I'd go on a wait list for Sonny Corinthos black.  After doing some Ravelry searches on what my yarns would actually look like, I opted for different yarns.  I just didn't like how my original choices knit up.  I played it safe with the Oregon Red Clover.  I didn't get enough of the color when I knit my shawl. 

I was going to purchase some green colors, but I wanted something different.   When in doubt, I always choose greens.  Enter Love in Idleness.  Maybe that will be my wedding knit project.

I've got one long day of driving and then I'm home.  It's especially nice this week because Gus is having his annual Grandma/Grandpa week.  My SIL and BIL swear they could never do this.  I swear I can never go without this week.  I love it.  He loves it.  They love it.  Can it get any better?  Yep.  When both boys go!

-L

Glass Words

The new Knitty is up. Perhaps you've already motored over there, perhaps not. Personally, not much that interests me other than the lace wrap and the garter, but that could be from some ill-conceived attempt at giving our new sister-in-law something new and blue from the family. The only problem with that would be explaining to the Bro why he had to measure his intended's thigh and why it needs to be accurate (ie - not measured in tongue flicks or whips of licorice).

Speaking of the Bro, he's being a bit of a douche these days. Granted he did just get a job working for an arm of Move On.org and we're as proud as two sisters who have held down jobs since they were 14 can be, but that doesn't give him liberty to get all hoity-toity with us. Expect more fireworks to come.

From the Library of Congress's Flickr account

The other sister has been hunkered down in her basement (literally) with her kids as Tornado Alley has been spending time in Omaha. Last night our mom called to tell us that there were tornadoes in the other sister's general area and then got pissed when we weren't tuning into the local Omaha news on the Internet with her. She's fine, by the way.

Countdown is on for a C-bus trip. Lola and I are headed to the quilt show on Monday, June 29, if anyone is interested. We have no clue what we are doing there, but I know one thing: my back should be nice and tender from a new tattoo so no back slaps, capice.

More on the weekend . . . and much, much more knitting to come. After all, school is out in a mere five days (business days, that is).

Ava

PS - I started a new blog to go with the Word Nerd Co-op. Don't expect a lot out of it except for writing.

Life On Mars

Has anyone else seen Life On Mars? We absolutely loved it and are eagerly awaiting Ashes To Ashes, me more so for the '80s soundtrack, but I am a bit bummed that I won't get to see Sam Tyler on a regular basis. We're in the middle of some unpleasant weather, so any and all outdoor work was done before 10:30 this morning (cleaned the gutters, washed the front porch and furniture, mowed the lawn - Flyer did that, and picked up the dog crap). Sadly, I didn't think to get bread made by then so I'll have to heat up the kitchen a wee bit to make a loaf of the good stuff.

I am teaching a knit class this summer for summer scarves. Yes, that does sound like a misnomer, but truly, the scarves are light and lacy and perfect for a summer evening out. I knit the primary one that I am teaching years ago out of worsted weight yet I can't seem to locate it. Granted, it was knit out of cheapy Red Heart ultra-luster yarn, but it was my first "lace" project and it was pretty. You would think I would value such stuff - you would be wrong. I'm using Panda Silk (Ravelinked) by Crystal Palace Yarns and I have to say: I really like this yarn. It has a nice feel, the bamboo content makes it very nice and springy, and the color looks like a Tiffany box after a turn in the sun.

For some strange, unknown reason, I thought it would be a good idea to knit a while on Bobo last night while the Flyer and I were watching Shakespeare Retold (Macbeth with James McAvoy and Much Ado About Nothing with Billie Piper). Silly me! Wool is fucking hot when it is 90 degrees outside. I never really think it is a good insulator since I always have layers upon layers before I get to the wool, but last night . . . three rounds was all I could muster. The heather Cascade seems a bit lighter weight than the normal Cascade so I don't know how the color on the yoke will turn out . . . I'm hoping for a little cooler weather next weekend to finish this puppy. Quick knit, satisfying knit, fun knit . . . perfect knit! The next three sweaters are planned: two for me and one for the Flyer. I've got plans for two for the girls as well, but I have to adapt on of the sweaters since the pattern is from 1947. I'll post more on that tomorrow.

School countdown is on for the three women in the house. The girls are out on Wednesday and I am out the following Wednesday. Still not sure how they get out a full week ahead of us, but it happens every year. They are looking forward to officially being seniors and taking possession of their dad's Civic on Wednesday as we bit the bullet and purchased a new car yesterday.

Enjoy what's left of our weekend! I have very little grading to do and then it's off to find a moderately cool spot in the house.

Ava

PS - Does anyone have any tips on getting rid of groundhogs, humanely or not? We have S-burg Sam living in our back yard and he's pissing me off. Cute when you see them waddling across a field or something. Not so cute when you see them squeezing through your fence and taunting your dog.

Cover Me

I finally got around to snapping some better pictures of the Big Boy Quilt.  I saw this quilt & thought, "I can do that."  I say that a lot when I'm cruising online.  That phrase is then followed with a flurry of shopping & a healthy dose of obsession.  I become crazed.  I plan and cut until my body hurts.  And then I stop to breathe because I realize: I'm not a quilter.  I don't take the time to see how the colors will play out.  I probably should have changed the wheel in my rotary cutter.  I should have thought more about the thread I was using & how it would look on the quilt.  But I learn.  Here's a couple things that I did learn from this quilt & I will apply to my next one. 

I did remember from high school art class that certain colors work well with each other.  Green and red are on opposite ends of the wheel and for that reason are suppose to look good.  But you see, you'll run the risk of looking very Christmas-y.  So I threw in a nice smattering of black.  I think that calmed things down.  I didn't even plan on using green and red as the main colors.  Instead, I found two fantastic fabrics and planned off of those.  The tattoo fabric and small world (Smiles Around the World is the proper name) fabric thrill me each time I pass them.  I like how they mingle.  You've got some bad ass motifs right next to some cheery faces.  Sort of like the mood swings of a 3 year old.

I also decided to try spray quilting instead of pinning the quilt.  This made a huge difference!  If I had to pin the layers together, I wouldn't have finished the quilt.  I don't care if real quilters call me a cheater!  One big piece of advice that I ignored was written right on the can.  When the can says "use a well ventilated area," do what it says!  After I sprayed, I needed SK's help.  I was greeted with a loud, "What the fuck?"  The longer I stayed in the basement, the higher I got.  I almost passed out.  Next time, I'll go outside. 

The quilt was done for about a week before I tackled the binding.  I had a family member show me how she does a continuous binding.  I brought my camera and snapped a bunch of photos.  She said practice first, but I ignored her.  You'd think I learn from my huffing incident.  I only had to ripped the final stitches once before I mastered the binding.  Here's where I screwed up & I was forced to hand-sew the binding to the quilt (a step I really wanted to skip this time).  In Denyse Schmidt's book, she sews the binding on the front side & then whip stitches the binding to the back.  Our family member sews the binding to the back side, folds it over, and machine stitches the binding.  The stitches appear on the back side & no one cares if they look a little wonky.  Guess which side I started the binding?  Two nights later, I had a finished quilt and a sore finger.  Note to self: If you fuck up again, buy a thimble.

As I was admiring my work, I said to SK "I hope Gus doesn't throw it down & demand only his train blanket."  You can't expect a toddler to appreciate hand-made gifts.  The next day, I was overnight somewhere.  Gus pulled SK into his room and said, "See my blanket?  I love it."  Now "I Love It" is a phrase that's he's been throwing around for everything.  I love Star Wars (never seen it). I love Bones (definitely never watched it).  I love eating steak (maybe once).  But hearing that response did make me happy.  He doesn't sleep under the quilt, but he doesn't throw it off the bed either.

Yesterday, I got Home Stretch in the mail.  I'm so excited to get sewing I can hardly wait!  We have a neighborhood garage sale tomorrow, so I'm on the hunt for some XXL t-shirts.  I thought I could use some of our old ones, but most aren't big enough.  I think that I'm going to have to order knit fabric online, because locally has been a bust.  The only material I can find has to be dry cleaned.  Who wants a dry clean only t-shirt?  So I'll recycle until I've got a good fitting t-shirt.  While I'm testing out new projects, maybe I'll try out freezer paper prints.  Has that bandwagon left yet?  I can still jump on.

-Lola

J is for...

juggling.

I was scanning the forums at Ravelry and I realized that I dropped the Alphabet ball again.  As I was drifting asleep, I was making a list of "J" words that inspired me.  I kept coming back to "Juggling".  Lately, I feel like that's all I'm doing and sometimes not very well.  I don't feel that I have too many balls, but I'm not good at catching every single one. 

A sock to finish. Diapers to wash and stuff.   

Dinner to plan and fix. 

Twigs to be cleard.

Tears to be wiped. 

Pictures to be taken.

Juggling was also on the brain because I had just read this article on CNN.com.  Some reason I was insanely irritated.  I decided long ago that I wouldn't be a good SAHM.  If I stayed home, I really do think that I would grow resentful.  It is a decision that I have not yet regretted.  We have fabulous daycare that does an outstanding job with both of our boys.  I agree that a SAHM's salary should be tallied and that's it a job that I have great respect for.  My mother and Ava did a fantastic job, and I doubt I could ever do it that well.  The article rubs me wrong when the author states that most of the salary for both working and SAHM's comes from "over-time" pay.  Are you kidding me?  Overtime?!  Did any of those women polled actual think that at 5:30 p.m. the job would stop and begin again at 8:30 a.m.?  That you could clean off the spit-up, put the kid down, and enjoy a drink on the porch.  When I was pregnant with Gus all I heard was "Legally he's your job until he's 18."  No one told me that I might be able to punch the clock at 5:30. Doesn't the fact that we report on Mom's overtime pay help create martyrs?  I told SK about the article and he asked, "What's a father's overtime pay?  I bet there's no study for that number."  I'm afraid that he's right, but hope that there is. 

In honor of the article, I'm only going to work a half-hour of overtime today.  I'm clocking out so I can see Sex and the City.

-Lola