April Socks: DONE!

Yes! I have completed my socks for the Sock-A-Month KAL, and earlier than last month. Now I will have the A behing my name to go with the M. You can visit Chrissy to check on the KALer's. And, now for the big reveal. Here they are:

The Specs:

Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta in color way # 5612 100 gm ball

Needles: US 2 Brittany DPN's (my favorite - hence my hunt for size 1, that I can't seem to get)

Pattern: Basic 56 sts cast on and worked in Stockinette with hour glass heel

If you look, you can see how much I have left of this yarn. If I am feeling froggy enough, they may become a pair of footies for Annie. And the stripping gave me a little problems, if you look at the heels, you can see where they are about 1 to 2 rows off. Nothing major, and I was not about to frog the second sock to make them match. Besides, they are just for me.

On Friday, Miss Amy and I ordered some yarn from Knit Picks. I ordered some Pallette in red so I can make my mom a pair of socks for Mother's Day, as she is always asking, "When are you gonna make me a pair?" So, I am going to use the Bubble Wrap socks from Sock Bug. I also ordered some of the Knit Picks Color Your Own sock yarn. I am going to try my hand at Kool Aid dyeing.

This afternoon, we found Vinny asleep like this:

Now, that's a good sleep, tongue hung out and everything.

A little better!

Ok, I have mostly restored my side bar, but I still need to put my blog ring codes back in, once I figure out where to find them again. I'm gonna try the black motif for a while and see how I like it. And, if anyone knows how to successfully find and add new templates on Blogger, please comment and let me know. That's how I got myself in this mess, I had no idea what I was doing and forgot rule #1, always save your current template.

Anywho, I'll update on the knitting tomorrow, as I almost have the second sock done, and it should take me no time at all, as Katherine jokings that I have "turbo jet fingers".

Oops!

Please bear with me, I have screwed up my blogger template. Yep, it's all my fault. I will try to fix as soon as possible. That's what I get for not saving my template before I tried to customize it. Sorry!

Blogger Oddity

I have no idea what is wrong with Blogger today. It seems to have eaten the bottom of the page. If you scroll down and have a look, half way through a post from Saturday, it starts the bottom of the page, which seems bottomless. Weird. I can only hope that it'll fix itself later.

Anyway, on the sock front, as I was working my way down the leg, I noticed that the stripes weren't matching up just right. So, I frogged about 10 rounds so I can tighten up my gauge. So, there was progess as well as de-progress today. Pics to come later.

Feline Reasoning & Some Knitting

Ok, to address the first part of today's title.

1. Feline Reasoning

My cats basically have their own room in the new house. Granted, it's the furnace room that's right off of my room, but it's still theirs, with their food and litter boxes. When we first moved it, we shut them in every day until they learned the new house. Since there is also a dog in the house now, I barrowed a baby gate from my mom. We first placed this gate leaning against the door frame for the cats to get used to it by walking under the side. On Monday, when Miss Amy and I got home from work, we heard a cat crying. As we looked, we saw Moonie sitting at the top of the stairs from my room. We searched room to room to see if Vinny had gotten locked into one of the girls' rooms. But I heard the cry coming from down in my room. I knew the door to the cat room was open and just had to go see where he was stuck. this is what I saw:

There he was, behind the gate as if there was nothing wrong. And, there was nothing wrong, see:

As you can see the door is open (and please excuse all the boxes, I use that as short term storage while I am sorting stuff in boxes). He would not jump over that gate to save his life. And I will lay money it that Moonie sat on the other side of that gate and teased him all day. See, Moonie is used to the gate, as I used to have dogs and used the gate to confine them from time to time. We even tried putting him half way over the gate and let him push his way over the rest of the way. That still did not work, because as soon as we placed him back over the gate, he stayed there. He will jump on to tables and counters, but he won't go over this gate. See:

As soon as I leaned the bottom of that gate out, he walked right out. (And, yes, that's my fat arse standing there.) Ok, so on to the second part.

2. Some Knitting

That sock I was working on, well, half way into the instep, I realized that I was 2 sts short? And that my gauge was small? Here is what it looked like, just before I frogged it:

It was a little tight, anyway. So, Monday night, I sent it to the frog pond, rewound the ball, casted on again, and made it to where I could start the heel:

This is where I was when I went to lunch, as I didn't work on it all yesterday. So, for lunch, I sat in the conference room and turned the heel. After an hour, this is where I am:

I am now 5 rnds into the instep. Not bad, huh? Guess I got my knitting mojo back. And, sorry, the pics are a little blurry.

Finally, Knitting

I have finally started knitting again. But, it was not really by choice. Today, Miss Amy and I decided to clear out the flower beds of the creeping junipers. That was not by choice either. What started all of this was that I went out to the garage to see how many bags of clothes were still out there, because I was going to wash them up (because they has been stored too long out there). I turned and noticed that the rose bush that I had bought at WalMart was growing in the dark, so it wasn't growing green, but white. This made me decide that it needed to be planted today. In order to plant it, we had to rip out the creeping junipers. After about an hour of clipping them back to see where the root balls were, I threw out my back. But, we went on, it had to be done. After a total of 3 hours, this is what the front flower beds now look like:

We cleared the section on the left along side of the garage and the tip of the flower bed on the right. And that's part of what we pulled up in the bed on the left. Afterward, I came in, got a hot shower and planted myself on the couch for a bit. After sitting there, I decided to try and stretch my back out and laid down on the carpet. This is what I saw from there:

The cathedral ceiling. And as I lay there, I was visited by Miss Moonie:

She felt for my plight, as she decided to lay with me:

Later, as Amy was using the yarn winder, Moonie tried to play with the yarn:

She got run off for her efforts. Anywho, as I was stuck on the couch, I pulled out the sock that I had cast on, and that was all I had done to it, cast it on, I hadn't even joined it. And now, I have the 1" cuff and 22 rows on the leg done. Nothing like a little motivation, huh? So, off to bed I went, with my knitting and my heating pad. Well, Mr. Vinny must feel for me too, because he has joined me in bed:

And, as you can see, my sock is just to the left of him. My loving kitties, there for me in my time of need.

Motivation, maybe?

Well, I think I may have regained some of my knitting mojo. I casted on for a pair of socks in a pastel Sockotta. Will I be motivated enough to finish them, is the next question. And, I remembered at the last minute to sign up for the Sock-A-Month KAL, and I am still waiting for the return e-mail the I limboed in under the wire.

Last night I decided to sit on the front porch for awhile, and this is what I was greeted by:

Pretty, isn't it? This is the small tree in the flower bed right off the porch. And a little while ago, this is what I saw when I walked out of the kitchen:

They haven't sat together since before the move. I think Moonie finally found a window sill that she is comfy on, as her butt is big. In the old house, all the sills were wide. Here, there are only 2 that are wide, and this is one of them. She just sits up and looks out the other windows.

Yep, still not knitting

I still haven't knitted one single stitch. But, I have an eventfull day that I'd rather have not had. You can read about it here. It's just a little bit on the humiliating side.

I'm a slacker!

Yes, I know, I suck! No knitting, and maybe not for awhile, as kneading bread this past weekend has caused my hands and wrists to hurt. It's been awhile since I've made fresh bread.

Ok, my cat just barked! Don't know which one it was, but they were chasing each other and one of them barked! And speaking of cats, Annie came in the other day and said, "Mommy, I covered Vinny up!" So, of course, the camera comes out. Here is what I found:

That's Vinny, sleeping, tucked with a blanket, and enjoying it.

Here's a close up, and as you can see, he really likes it. He sleeps like this everytime she tucks him in.

Oh well, back to my book, # 12 of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, Incubus Dreams, until my wrists feel better.

Long Time, No Post

I sorta forgot to post, as I haven't been knitting. Over the weekend I had to urge to read, and of course my choice of reading was one of my favorite "bodice rippers" (trashy or smut books, depending on how you look at it). It was "Love Me Forever" by Johanna Lindsey. I know, it's a corny one, but one that I like to read every so often. Now that I have read it, I'll pass it on to Miss Tammi, I know she'll like this one.

As for knitting, I have made it through to rnd 4 of the pattern on the body of Rogue, then the urge to read hit. Then to top it off, I bought a wireless router so I can use the laptop for the internet, and I started having problems getting that set up. Calling the support line only made it worse, as I got the worst customer service I have ever had. So, I e-mailed the company on Monday night, and just got a response at 1:30 am this morning. I'll try their suggestions, and if they don't work, I may just return it for another brand. I hate paying out good money for something that doesn't work.

Anyway, Happing Knitting!

Vocabulary Lesson

Rogue: (rog) n. 1.) a scoundrel 2.) a mischievous person 3.) a mischievous knitting project!

Ok, so last night started out ok. I was a little late getting to the dealership for my appointment, but just by a few minutes due to traffic. I go to the waiting room, the girls hit the toys, I pull out my book (Sense And Sensibility) and relax for what I was sure was a short wait. An hour and a half later, the service manager comes in to check on me, to make sure I don't need anything. I thought the wait was a little long for just a plate gaurd replacement, but before I can voice this thought, he tells me that they'll have me out by 8 o'clock, as they are replacing my whole exhaust system! In the mean time, here is what Annie did in the waiting room:

I was waiting for it to fall over. It eventually did, but much later, and it missed hitting her by inches. Anyway, around 7:45 my car was done. I had just enough time to beat it home, run down to my room and flip in Top Model. During Top Model, I balled up 4 more skeins for Rogue. After that, I went for a few snacks, as I didn't get dinner. Then, as I flipped over to Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi, I picked up Rogue, started round 12, joined a new ball, and happily finished the round. For the next round, I carefully read the pattern. I made mental notes - work row 1 of chart A (15 sts.) k 83 for front, work row 1 of chart A (15 sts.), k 83 for back. I pull out my stitch marker, purl 15 sts, place marker, knit 83 sts, place marker, purl 15 sts, place marker, knit 78 sts.... Wait, knit 78 sts? That can't be right. Ok, let's count this again. 15, 83, 15, 78. Well, count it again. 15, 83, 15, 78! One more time. 15, 83, 15, 78!!! I set it down in disgust on the couch, and went upstairs to find Miss Amy. I asked if I had cast on the 196 sts that I needed. She said yes, even watched me use stitch markers to mark them by 50's, and count them 5 times. So, where did the 5 sts go if I didn't drop them or decrease them? The Bermuda Triangle is the place I can think of. Why not? It's swallowed ships and planes for decades now, why not my missing sts? So, I stomped back down to my room, and used the ball winder to frog the precious progress that I had made. By this point, I had decided that I needed to walk away for awhile. So, upstairs I went to talk to Amy while she balled up some more yarn for her Rogue. Then, I noticed that Moonie had decided to venture up the stairs. 4th time by herself since we moved in last month. She made a small foray around, and decided to sit on the stairs and observe the rest of us lunatics. And when I sat on the steps, she made a bed out of my lap. See:

Shortly after that, I got the catnip bubbles out for Vinny. After playing on the steps for awhile (something I tell the kids they aren't allowed to do, shh), I went to bed. I figure that I'll start Rogue over again, tonight. And thanks, Michelle, for letting me know that I'm not the only one to almost go bald starting Rogue, by ripping my hair out.

Enter a Rogue

I have sucessfully casted on for Rogue, and have managed to get 7 rows done by bedtime. And I did get another 5 rows done at lunch before I ran out of yarn, as it was the left over ball from my Celtic Cap. So, tonight, after my work out, I get to pull out the wool winder and do up a few more. But, all of this is after the 6 o'clock car appointment at the dealership. Good thing it's under warranty, besides, it's just an exhaust sheild that loose and banging on the exhaust pipe. It's more annoying than anything else.

Last night I took a few pics of the flowers in my mommy's yard. Here they are:

And, in Sandy's Knitting fashion, I was Sky Watching:

Prettyful, isn't it?

And, I just love those on line quiz things. Here is where I took it, and this is what I scored:

That about sums me up, and she is my favorite Jane Austen character.

Provisional Cast On Problems

Last night, Amy and I decided to sit down, swatch and cast on for Rogue. For those of you who have the pattern, you know that if you're not doing the 1x1 rib, you need to do a provisional cast on. Now, we have never done this. So, we pop down to the computer and went to Knitting Help to watch the video of how to do it. When I tried it, it seemed too twisted. And after a second time of casting on this was, I still didn't like it. So, I frogged it, folded my laundry and went to bed. This morning I got up, resolved to find a different way to do the provisional cast on. And I have found it on Knitting at Knoon Designs. I love this method. Since I started out crocheting when I was young, this seems so easy. Now I can't wait to go home, do my work out, and sit down to cast on.

Ok, I want to start a new pair of socks, but I don't know which pattern to do next. Maybe some of you can help me. I have been thinking about making a pair of Jaywalkers (now that at least one of us have a set of US 1 Brittany's), or the Pink Ribbon sock. What do you think? Please comment and let me know.

On another note. I love spring, maybe not as much as fall, but I hate the high winds. When we leave work, it's a fight just to get the door open. And when I drive to get the girls from my moms, out in the country, I drive right past a lot of empty fields. I have nearly been blown off the road several times.

Kitty Cat Monday

Miss Amy posted a photo of Vinny on her blog, and got a few compliments. So, she is directing them to see more here. So, here are a few that I have taken but not posted.

Here is where Vinny met Gypsy, Amy's African Grey Congo, who is hanging upside down.

Here is where he was just stalking Gypsy. After being yelled at a couple of times, he has learned to leave the inside birds alone.

Here he is laying in the middle of th kitchen floor, his favorite place when we are cooking. As, you can see, he's gotten a little pudgy since his "Little Operation" and the de-worming.

Here he is trying out Katie's invention, The Kitty Trap, for the Invention Convention. Basically, it's a modified kitty litter box.

As for his age, he will be 1 yrs old around June 15th. I'm not really sure, as he was a rescued kitty, and I got him when he was 6 weeks old. Miss Tammi rescued his brother, Mushu, who has the light Siamese coloring and long fur. Katie was visiting family in Dayton when I got him, but she is the one person that he loves the most, followed by me, then Annie, and then anyone with thumbs that can open a can.

This is my other cat, Moonie, when I was packing at the old place. Her full name is Ank-su-namun (from the movie The Mummy, you know, the evil bitch, which she can be), which is Egyptian, as I think all female cats should have Egyptian names. And here she is in the new place, down stairs, in the bathroom, in my room.

Moonie came from Amy's mom. There aren't too many pics of Moonie, as she is all black, and in the old place I had hardwood floors, she didn't show up too well in pics. But, now that we have light colored carpet again, there will be more. She is just about 5 yrs old, and suddenly become very frisky. I think the move did her some good, even though she stays down in my room, all the time.

Ok, enough Kitty fun for today.