An evening of fun and mirth

Like all stories, this one has a beginning and an end. I will start from the most logical point.
In the beginning.....
Yesterday I made my way into Boston to attend a gathering at Circles for the main reason of welcoming The Book Harlot into the literary world. To say the word "ENJOY" is such an understatement. Let's just say, great fun was had by all. If you take a fun time with fun people and put it in a yarn store what you come out with is heavenly. Nirvana. Perfection. Add some yummy food into the mix? Well, it's perfectly orgasmic. But perhaps that is the wrong word.
:)
And look, pictures! Here's Stephanie herself giving us a reading/talking to.

See her? Doesn't she look grea...hmm. Looks as if I cut her off there. That is her arm. I guess I got distracted by the yummy yarn sitting next to her. Take my word for it, she looks great! And funny? Yup. (isn't that yarn yummy though? Can I say that Stephanie was yummy? Well, sure, I can SAY anything I want. My blog! :)
There were so many friends, old and new there, I can't even begin to say.
But I will.

Alison and Susan

You know that the ones sitting in the WAY BACK are always the most fun. Well, we've got your back row right here. Carolyn, Susan's knit group friend and perfectly wonderful person, Susan, who was even better in person. Who knew she lives so close to me? Have I been hiding under a rock or something? Jessica of KnitFit (red sleeve). Unfortunately I did not get a chance to get to talk to her. I regret this. Regrets, I have a few. Kate (yellow shirt) is so cute and she came down from Maine for this! I am impressed! She is perfectly wonderful herself! And sitting in a chair is fairly new to me blogger Seanna
Also of note, see the woman taking the picture near the window? She has a great red, white and blue sweater on? Well, I think I should know her. It feels like I know her. I meant to approach her and say, "Do I know you?" But I did not. Opportunity has slipped through my fingers. See the orange sweater? I am impressed with that one. She kool aid dyed it. The talent in that room was inspiring. All around inspiring. If you are a blogger and I missed out on the opportunity of meeting you, please take the time to yell at me.
My camera, a Sony cyber shot, has a distinct sound. I heard the sound, knew it wasn't coming from my camera. looked around and saw this:

Susan has a Sony Cyber shot too!
CHEESE!
And where are my pictures of Claudia? And Spindle Rose? Amy? Colleen? In my mind. You will have to imagine them along with me.
Here we are at the end of the story.
Just so you know where we stand.
I got to hang around until the bitter end. Or rather, the happy end. When the store employees started moving furniture around, we knew that this party is now over. Good byes were said, true love was sworn and I went on my merry way. Forgetting that I knew not where I was. It's okay. I think I can find my way. Just follow the Prudential center, right? Go north, woman, go north!
Yeah. If only.
I took a wrong turn and then possibly some other wrong turn and drove and drove. And drove. All of a sudden finding myself where some middle aged white woman has no right being at 11:00 at night. Scheez. I was frightened. I had no idea where I was. And I could not stop to ask. So I drove. And thought about calling Andy, but then I'd be on the phone driving through a scary neighborhood.
So I finally turned around, after safely locking my doors and beat it out of there. PHEW! I'm alive to tell the story. Thank the knitting lord.
Finally, one solid hour later, I am where I began. I finally find a street that I know and get on track. The words STORROW DRIVE never looked better to me. I could have, at that moment in time, gotten out of my car and KISSED the ground of Storrow Drive. The Road to HOME. But that would have been silly. These cars were moving right along. No time to kiss the road now!
Until about 5 minutes later when traffic came to a schreeching halt. For 35 minutes we all tried to merge into one lane. This is the moment when I had plenty of time to get out of the car, stretch my legs and kiss the ground. Who wanted to then? I"m in traffic, dammit and it's 12 midnight! DAMMIT. Now I'm tired and cranky.
1:00 am and I finally drive in my driveway. Home never looked so good. I bundle myself and all my belongings into the house, no doubt into the arms of my loving family, who have been worried sick about me.
Yeah, whatever. The sound of snores hit my ears. Not one person wants to be regaled with the tale of the evening.
Fine. Be that way.

Build me up, Buttercup!*

Pick your own photo caption:
~BOOYAH~
~Celebrate good times, come on!
~Sleeve basking in evening sunshine
~SUCCESS~
~Woman conquers sleeve action
~BOOYAH~
Oh, I already wrote that one. It deserves to be yelled 2 times.
And finally
~Happiness is only a sleeve away!

*Title has absolutely nothing to do with post. That song is in my brain and I thought I'd share it with you.

Ladder of years

I have written this entry 3 times. Maybe this time I'll get it right. I can't even exclaim "Damn You Blogger!" as a lot of bloggers seem to be doing as of late. I have no one to blame but myself.
Last night I ignored the baby sweater sleeve and finished reading Ladder of Years. Anne Tyler is one of my favorites. I enjoyed this book but it touched something in me that I could not put my finger on until Annie left this message to my Ho-Hum post of April 21st.
"You know what? I remember being "down" when I read that book too. I tend to pick up moods from the books I read. Maybe that's what you're doing? "
~Annie
I read her comment and gave it no thought that evening. You know, Annie, I think you are absolutely right!
The book is about a mother that walks away from her family, literally and suddenly. She stays away for over a year and has no contact with them while she is gone. This book totally unsettled me. I'm going to just free write out the list why:
~leaving your children. Not cool
~missing your child's high school graduation. Damaging to say the least
~Not even wondering or taking the time to check on your own children after your abandonment
Now, you may be wondering if I have been abandoned myself. Well, no. But it does not take much imagination to figure out that it is one of the more hurtful things in life. I think we have all had those "I Have to get out of here!" thoughts. Seriously, who hasn't? But we do not act on them. What would happen if every wife and mother took off every time they had a crisis? I would have been gone 3 times this week alone! :)
There. I wrote on the book like I had planned. I did not psychoanalize myself, which frankly would have bored you to tears. There is, needless to say, much more to the book. This is only my reaction to it.
Tonight I have a date with a difficult sleeve. I think it's transformed! It had better! Or I may just walk off and abandon it!
:)

Welcome to Hurley field. Get your popcorn the game is about to start!

It's baseball season again. And though I'm not a huge fan, I had a game of my own going on.
Let's call this,
Sleeve vs. Mistakes, shall we?
Okay, the pitch is thrown, it's a good one: I cast on in the pink. 49 stitches. I had been tossing around the idea of pink at the cuffs as well as the collar and Chris and MaryBeth confirmed it. 6 rows of seed stitch in pink. Great. First base!
Trying to steal second base: The pattern says to increase every 10 rows 5 times.
She's tagged out! I knit it as increase every 5 rows, 10 times. I thankfully did not get up to 10 times. This is where I realized it.

Review of call: I thought about a baby bell sleeved sweater. It even became an attractive idea, but no, the call sticks. OUT.
Batter up: Swings and misses! I ripped out to the pink, snake those stitches back on the needle, yup! 49 stitches. Maybe we could get some popcorn? I knit happily, playing the game. About 5 rows in I realize now that I have 48 stitches. Hmm.
Dropped the ball! Okay, just find the stitch. I look. And look. And hunt! And search! I pick! I pull. No stitch. FOUL BALL!
This is strike 2, for those counting.
And the pitch: I rip back to the pink row. Again. I put all the stitches back on the needle. Again. Yup! 49 stitches. Good! Things are going well, but not for long.

What's that? 48 stitches! The coach is on the field arguing it. There IS a stitch dropped! The Ump throws the coach out!
Strike 3!
What's that on the field?

Oh, Lord! What was that groundskeeper thinking?

Baby, Baby, Baby cashmerino!

Here's the heap that is the baby cashmerino diamond seed jacket from IK winter 2004. Like it?
That's what it feels like at this moment in knitting time. A heap. It is knit in one piece to the arms then knit in sections, cast off one section at a time. So it feels heaplike.
Here is in a more pleasing layout. Non heap, that is.

As I have said before, I want this sweater. I know it wouldn't be impossible to figure out, so the idea goes into the SOMEDAY vault. If there is any room in there. Figuratively, of course. That space gets used a lot.

I plan to use this sweet color for the collar. I thought about doing the sleeves pink too, but I think that idea has been voted out by the creative part of my brain. Although you never know what will happen. It's all about the mood when casting on.
So, the sweater that was going to take me a weekend, now is at one solid week. Funny. Really funny.
What else? What else?
Oh, the mood du jour. Yeah, well, you know that the ho hums happen. Don't they happen to you? It passes. Not before I felt like a hormonal crying breakdown coming on, but that too passes. The sun will come out tomorrow.
See?

In the effort for full blog disclosure, that is actually the sunset of 2 days ago. But the point is still the same!
:)

Maybe I can get a clue!

Well, ho hum. That's my mood du jour this week. Why? I don't know. Who can understand these things?
I mean, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the trees are budding, flowers are flowering. What's NOT to be happy about. Ho hum.
I feel a bit teenagery when I say, "whatever!"
I am knitting like a fiend on the baby cashmerino sweater. I have decided that I wish I were that baby. I would love a sweater like that! Pattern and yarn are just right for me!
I am reading Anne Tyler's Ladder of Years. As usual, I love her books but the subject (a woman/wife/mother runs away from her family, never giving a thought as to the suffering her kids may be going through. THAT is just MY take on the kids, though, not hers)
I am eating healthy and feeling good about it. It is only a tad more work overall. But worth the investment. For those interested, I have lost 9.2 pounds! Don't worry, I won't try to bore you with every ounce lost, but I got so much support I thought everyone would like to know that I'm off to a great start! Veggies are my friend! In fact, I have stumbled upon a great concoction of cabbage and carrots. Shall I share? You could use more vegetables too, you know!
Sandy's C&C (cabbage and carrots)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
a shake of red pepper flakes
saute in pan with small amount of olive oil and a spash of low sodium, fat free chicken broth. When they get soft add
1/2 head of cabbage, cut into shreds
3 peeled and shredded carrots
salt
pepper
Saute until done. If needed put another splash of chicken broth into pan to keep it from browning.
It's truly yummy. Andy calls it cooked cole slaw. Bethany will not touch it with a ten foot pole.
Yup. Losing weight, eating healthy, enjoying the weather, the flowers the trees, the birds. Knitting. Reading. Ho hum.
I can't seem to help myself.

Who are the flowers in my neighborhood?

That title is from a Sesame Street song. I can't stop missing that show!
~~~~~
I took a walk in my neighborhood to see what spring has sprung. What a beautiful time of year!

Forsythia; I used to call these "bee bushes" when I was a girl. Bees seemed to grow on them!

The most beautifully blue flower I've seen, despite the creepy shade of this picture. The camera can do funky things can it not? I have no idea what the name of these are. Anyone?

I always thought this was a dogwood tree, but I believe it's a magnolia.
Don't forget to look up! Right, MB?

Lilacs. Is there anything better? I was trying to take a picture of the bud. I love it when the buds open slightly to reveal that they are flower or leave. For the life of me, I could not focus in on the bud. And for that reason, I love this picture. I guess Miss Claudia would call this one "artsy fartsy". And maybe it is. Or not. BUT~You can see the color of the bud without really seeing it. And bark? Is there anything more interesting?
Well, sure there is, but humor me!
Sure, there is knitting going on. But all knitting and no play makes Sandy a dull girl.
~~~
This now concludes our nature segment. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog!

Stop guffawing, I can hear you!

I am humbled. I fully believed that I would be showing you a completed baby sweater when Monday rolled around. I really thought "weekend project" when I decided upon it.
Who did that? I heard you guffaw!
Yeah, well.

Another craptastic Sandy picture for your viewing pleasure
This is what I have to show after many hours of weekend knitting. I can't say that I knit ALL weekend. But MANY many weekend hours. I guess I underestimated myself. Again.
Do you do that? Think, "Oh, I can knit that in a week! Or a couple of days!" You'd think I'd learn.
Possibly that is my inner knitter protecting me from reality.
Leave me alone, I'm drying my coat!
I set up the sweater dryer on Saturday, washed a sweater and arrived to find this.

He brought his mousie and everything. AND he's posing. Profile.
I love Mondays in Blogland. Everyone's back from their real lives.

BINGO!

First of all..
I thank each and every one of you who left a message of support about my flab busting! :) You inspire me.
Is it a sickness? Or an innocent hobby?

From winter 2004 Interweave knits. The yarn is debbie bliss baby cashmerino. I would not have chosen white for this baby sweater had I been in any other "store" than my stash. So, white it is! I had been on the fence about knitting this but how could I resist? A woman at work has a cousin who is in her late 30's and went to the hospital with what she thought was appendicitis. She came home with a surprise baby! SURPRISE! I know! How did she not know? I guess it happens. How could I NOT knit for this baby who wanted to be here so much that she kept it a big secret?
Yeah, I'm a sucker like that!
So, Baby Surprise gets a seed stitch cardigan in cashmere for her trouble. I figure it's the least I can do!
And perhaps you are thinking right about now,
HEY, SANDY! WHAT ABOUT THE BLACKWATER ABBEY SWEATER?
Yeah. That.

A ball of yarn and a needle. That's where it is right now. I ripped out all million and a half stitches (or so it seems) and it will wait for me. The project is not dead in the water, it's just has the wind out of it's sails right now. Only temporarily! I am mulling over ways to conquer the CHART issues.
I ain't afraid of no chart. Even if it IS backwards!
And the winner is?

An ipod now resides in our house. Well, only for the weekend. Derek won it at school. Playing BINGO! Before scoring the coveted prize, he caught some guff from the other youngster in our home for turning old. "Only OLD people play bingo!" She said in her 16 year old wisdom.
At 10:30 pm the phone rang and the words were taken back. Derek won an ipod.
I wonder if they have yarn bingos around?

Go eat your veggies!

"Step away from the twinkie!"
I have been tossing this entry around in my brain for at least a week now. Did you ever stop to consider if something is Blogworthy? Should I write about that? That has been my dilemma all week.
So, here goes. We'll see how blogworthy this topic really is.
~~
Most people use an emotional crutch. It would be wonderful if we all were able to stand up on our own 2 feet and not lean on anything. But that would make us super human. And not very interesting, I'm sure. Some people turn to alcohol, others, drugs. Speeding cars, manic exercise, shopoholics. We could go on naming them until the cows come home. And believe me, the cows are NOT coming home!
For me? It's food. It has been my best friend for a long while. Until all of a sudden, I have hit the magical number 43, or something, I really can't keep up with my age all of a sudden and I am more roly poly than ever. I am tired all the time. It is not good.
There is a solution of course. For me that is Weight watchers. I joined a week ago today. And I have never been more happy.
So, I'm all about portion control, whole, healthy, non processed foods, whole grains, lots and lots of veggies and fruits. Oh, and water. Lots o' water. It doubles as an exercise activity with all the quick trips to the ladies room! :)
I'm starting to feel better already. The human within is starting to emerge. What are the chances that I lost 50 pounds this week?
Fat chance!
But you and I know how fast the weeks roll by.
I am determined to do this. Health is good! I'm worth it. Any others to add?
Hey, thanks for listening once again. You really are the best. The thing that I love about this little world called blogland? Is that many people show their human side. And it becomes apparent that we are all in this together.
So, raise a carrot stick with me.
Here's to good health!

It has sprung!

I think that daffodil just smiled at me!

Buffalo Brownski sighting!

This weekend was filled with family and movies. Or should I say, Movies and Knitting.
The Flicks:
The movies were About Schmidt and Anger Management. Loved both of them. The weird thing is that I am not a big Jack Nicholson fan and here I am in one weekend, watching 2 of his movies. I think he is a great actor, but I'm just not that thrilled about HIM. Can't really put my finger on why. Just one of those things, I guess.
The knit:

Retro Prep sock from Interweave knits, winter 2004 in Fortissima socka. It's going to be for sockless Andy for our anniversary in May. Hereby dubbed: the anniversary sock! (said in a booming, echo-ey voice!) He is not technically sockless, just hand knit sockless. THAT, my friends is blasphemy!
The family:
It was my favorite uncles birthday party! I got to see lots and lots of family that I hadn't seen in over 20 years. I'll let you do the math! :) One of the standouts was a woman that I had not seen since we were 10. She is the sister of my aunt, lived in Montreal, Canada and spoke no english. I was 10 and spoke no french. You'd think that the week we spent together swimming in the lake and hanging out would have been difficult but I remember it as nothing but fun and with great fondness.
Her name is Claude (pronounced Clode) and I'm sure she'd love to know that you are seeing this picture. Erm, the reason I AM showing it is because I am wearing Buffalo Brownski. Which in retrospect was not the greatest ideas because it was almost 70degrees F out. And more inside. I have trouble giving up the turtlenecks and sweaters in the spring. It's an issue! But this was it's first public showing. And not one person noticed. So I knew YOU would!

Fun and partying aside, it's back to work. Today MAY be the day I rip out Marilyn of the last post. I know I have to do it. I WILL do it. But maybe tomorrow.

Backwards knitting

The meagher beginnings of Marilyn, a blackwater abbey pattern.
It would be presumputuous of me, I think, to say that EVERY single knitting pattern ever made starts a chart with row number one as being a RS (right side) row. However, I will go out on a limb and say that every knitting pattern with chart that I have followed had row 1 being RS.
Except the Marilyn pattern. The number 1 row is a WS (wrong side) row. This has caused lots and lots of agony on my part. At my most dramatic point last night, I wondered WHYOWHY they would do this to ME! I'm over that now, but still unhappy.
I will equate trying to follow a "backwards" chart to requiring someone to tie their shoes backwards. Or write a blog entry backwards. Or drive backwards in traffic in LA. Okay, to be fair, I've never been in LA, or done any of those things, but I figure it would be as hard FOR ME as doing those things.
My point?
I have done the first cable row backwards. 250 flipping stitches. That. All. Need. To. Be. Ripped. OUT! sigh.
So at this point in the game, I'm thinking that I must be some kind of narrow minded SCREW UP that cannot budge from her way of doing things. Oh my gawd! I'm turning into my mother! I may need therapy after this entry! :)
What am I going to do? Will I get used to it? Will I just keep knitting it backwards? Will I transpose the chart to MY Way or the Highway?
What would YOU do?
250 stitches to rip out. Oh, the agony! NO! It's MORE than 250 stitches. It's about 300 because I already did the increase row.
Crap.

Blackberry Ridge socks

Pattern: Autumn Transitions sock from Blackberry Ridge
Yarn: Blackberry ridge woo/silk blend (it was a kit)
Needle size: US3
These were a pleasure to knit. And a pleasure to wear as well!
Cuff Closeup:

A couple of heels:

Toe dancing:

The many faces of brownski!

Buffalo Purpleski. It's been haunting me. Yesterday's comments about the color of the newest of the everyday cardigan's (THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THEM! Well, it's not 137 comments, but it still warms my heart! haha!)
So, here it is. Quest for the Brownski!
FIrst we have, outside:

Purple.
Next, inside, collar shot.

Eww, purple.
Inside, sunshine shot:

Hmmm, this is harder than I thought!
Let's try: inside, near the window, flash on ~which is usually the kiss of death for handknits. Or anything really.

Hmmm, we may be on to something here. Closer to brownski than before.
One more.
Extreme closeup, near the window, flash on.

That's IT! It was not easy. But the grail of brownski has been found!
Disclaimer: Of course, your monitor may vary. A personal viewing with buffalo brownski is best!
Mother nature VS Knitting Nuture:
If you were to challenge yourself to knit a sleeve, any sleeve faster than a tulip could bloom, could you do it? I wonder....
Luckily WE don't have to do it. We can just be the humble cheerleaders on the sidelines. Go check out Neysa at her new blog. Who do you put your money on?
Hmmm?

Buffalo Brownski Everyday Cardigan finished!

It's finished! But for the "end of the run wash", which I remember from my first peace fleece cardigan is VERY important!

Hanging around outside. The color on this picture is not the greatest, but I still had to share with you!
Specifics:
Pattern: Everyday Cardigan
Yarn: Peace Fleece worsted in colorway buffalo brownski
Needle size: US6 and US8
Buttons: New Hampshire cherry buttons
There is nothing that I DON'T like about this sweater!
AND
as a bonus, now that I am done with it, New England seems to be warming up to some spring weather. Perfect timing, don't you think? You New Englanders can thank me later!
Here's a button closeup:

My heart pitter patters with the love.

And the winner is??

With nothing but my conscience and a begrudgingly drafted Bethany as the contest judges, we have a winner!
Before I tell you who it is, can I just say WOWZA! 137 comments! Can you even fathom it? I am in dreamland! You gals and gent love your pink yarn!
Remember, you can always get your own at Over the Rainbow yarns!
She's got enough to go around and if I were a rich girl, I'd buy some for you all. All 137 of you. But, alas. I am a working girl. Rich in love and life, but not the green stuff.
Without further ado:

Bethany reached her hand into the felted bag to pick a winner. Yes, I wrote all your names out. I am exhausted thinking about it. There must be a better way. I thought about having Bethany pick a number, but it did not seem as fun.
Anyhoo:

Sister Knits!
I have to admit that there were several comments that made me laugh. I had poems written, bribery, begging, but sisterknits was the one that brought tears to my eyes. I don't feel free to publicly share it but you can read it for yourself in my comments and see if you don't agree that the best person won the yarn!
Email me your address, sisterknits! I am honored to share it with you!
Fun and frivolity aside, this is a knitting blog! haha!

Sock earrings from the Los Lobe hose pattern! How cute are these? I needed a fast, knitted gift and these fit the bill. I love them! Blurry picture and all!
Needle size: US 0
yarn: a bit of koigu
But seriously, though
Thank you for leaving so many comments. I had no idea!

Don't be a fool! You can win this yarn!

Added Monday morning: I will be choosing a winner from the SCADS of entries for the lovely pink yarn today around suppertime. ( I am thrilled beyond belief at how many commented! My head is in the clouds!) So, the contest is closing as of 4 pm. I will email the winner right away and post their name tomorrow morning!
Happy Monday!
It's time!
Time to be goofy. Time to play a joke on someone. Time to think of spring. THANKS BE TO MOTHER NATURE!
Time to be thankful? Yes, it's that too. I am thankful for you, who reads. What would I be without you? I would be a lonely, middle aged freak who knits a lot, trying to engage her family about yarn. Sad thought, isn't it?
So. Thank you for rescuing my family from such a horrible fate.
Win me!

Yes. It's contest time. What better day than April Fool's day to have a contest? Yarn from one fool to another. And I mean that with total respect, I'm sure you know! This is seashell twinkletoes sock yarn. From over the rainbow yarns. Lovely stuff. I want to share it with you. Crazy? Sure. Don't you know that about me by now?
Let's see..send me your name to enter by, oh, Monday, April 4th. I will choose a winner totally at random and send it out to you. Be forewarned that I am not the quickest mailer-outer there is. For some reason it always takes me a couple of days to get to the post office. You'd think I had to climb on my horse and deliver it pony express across country myself. Scheez. Have I no shame?
:)
Send your entry by way of commenting here. And of course, sending your undying april fool's kinda love. That's it. That's all you have to do. Say something to me. And I'll pick one.
No fooling.