Despite the odds I did manage to finish knitting the second sock for Katie. She didn't even have to wait until her next birthday for it to be finished. Adam I fear will probably not be that lucky. His birthday was August 31st and I haven't even started on his socks. I have the yarn and the pattern but can't seem to muster the desire to knit them, and if that's not bad enough, Kurt's birthday is next week and I have nothing, Sorry hon, nothing.
On that score, I'm not too concerned because he doesn't want me to knit him anything for his birthday anyway. According to him, there is nothing on his wish list that is knitted. I wouldn't know because I don't look at his wish list. What? I thought that was how we play this game. He totally disregards my wish list and gets me what he thinks I would or should want and for my part I reciprocate in kind. He's getting socks, just not this year is all.

Katie wearing her socks as earrings.

Do your ears hang low? Can you swing them to and fro? Can you tie them in a
knot? Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them over your shoulder like
a continental soldier?

If you've read Yarn Harlot's post about knitting a corset and questioning the location of her "girls" on her body then you'll know why I'm giggling a bit right now.

I developed a bad case of SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) while knitting these socks, which is to say that the charm of knitting these socks had worn off which made it very difficult to finish the second sock without straying a bit.
One such diversion that I have been working on whenever I didn't want to knit the sock is a Calendar project that I started back in July as a birthday gift. I have a pattern a day knitting calendar that I received as a Christmas gift. One of the projects in July is a Suzi Q shoe box doll. This amused my daughter Ani and me because Ani has a close friend that is affectionately referred to as SuziQ and has a July birthday. Clearly this doll was meant to be for her. I decided to try to make the doll look like her, despite the fact that she is going to think we're a little strange. ( Ah, I'm pretty sure that ship has sailed anyway)
Everyone who is isn't SuziQ can click here to see her. She is pretty much done except for one little detail that we haven't worked out yet. She needs a pair of cool SuziQ eyeglasses. Any suggestions?
Other things I learned while I was not knitting the second sock include learning a new way to cast on and a really easy way to do a Brioche rib without using yarn overs. The new cast is dubbed German Twisted cast on ( a more PC version of the Twisted German Cast On). Meg Swansen has an article about in one of the Vogue Knitting Magazines, I'd tell you which one except Katie was using it for something to write on and now I can't find it. It is suppose to be a very elastic cast on. I learned it fairly quickly as I'm apt to, and then promptly forgot how to do it, as I'm apt to, when I tried to show it to Julie at a Monday night SnB.

I learned how to do the brioche rib while playing with some yarn I have that plan to use for a sweater for my MIL. I was looking at the Borg Jacket Pattern, think Scandinavian, not Star Trek, and I thought I would cast on (yes, I used the new cast on) the sleeve to see how the yarn knit up in the stitch pattern. The instructions for knitting the cuff of the sleeve were as follows:
Work 9 cm in brioche rib as folls: Row 1 K. Row 2 *K1, k1 below* until 2 sts remain, k2. Rep row 2 only.
Try this if you are knitterly inclined, I found it fascinating. If nothing it will give you a good idea of how easily I am amused.

I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to make the jacket, but I think I will use this brioche rib method. I'm planning on knitting helmet liners for the soldiers in the gulf. Regardless of how you may feel about this war, I believe it is vital that we continue to support the soldiers who are there. Also in an effort to make a contribution to the relief effort for those affected by Hurricane Katrina I am knitting and donating the Astrodome Cap and Scarf from Knitty.com. The caps are my new take a long projects.

Today is the autumnal equinox, I just like saying that, autumnal equinox. Don't you find words fascinating? There are just some words in the English language that are fun to say, ( yes Ani, I know I'm a freak) I can't say that I am sad to see the summer go, summer has never been my favorite season. I like the Autumn best, second would be the Spring, even Winter is higher on my list than Summer. I know not many of you may share this opinion but I wonder sometimes of those that claim to love summer so much would they be singing the same tune if they didn't have the benefits of AC? Just saying.

Tonight I'm having the Buttonhole Bag Exchange at the Yarn Cafe'. I ran this exchange throughout the summer for the TCSnB Yahoo Group. Each of us knit a buttonhole bag from the Mason-Dixon Knitting Blog pattern. The plan is to get together and exchanging the bags by numbering each of the bags and then have a drawing. I am interested to see how many people will actually be there. At least five people have said they won't be able to come, most are sending their bags along so we will go ahead with the exchange regardless but I do hope there will be more people there than Beth, her dd and myself. We plan on having fun regardless. I myself have never been to the Yarn Cafe' so just going there will be fun for me. I'm planning to send a picture of all the bags to Ann and Kay at Mason-Dixon because it is written in the instructions to do so. According to them, they live for this sort of thing.

Believe it or not I already have a new exchange that I would like to try. Scarfing it Up. This one will be by post though, because it is difficult to find a time that everyone can get together at the same time.

I think that is enough blathering for now, in my next post I will tell what I learned about myself after cracking my head open at work. Also there's the gruesome tale of death by badminton net in the backyard. Other noteworthy events include Hobb nobbing, a call from an old friend and an upcoming High School Reunion. Do I want to go? Also, why Katie thinks she should be rich and whether I need to get her physiological help

I know that I haven't updated in a while. I'm sorry. I'm not sure what is going on with me, I'm experiencing an indefinable restlessness, a growing dissatisfaction, I don't know, something. I haven't been able to put my finger on it but it's there. To complicate the matter I have been completely disheartened by a series of unfortunate events. First news from a friend that she is facing the very real possibility of breast cancer being followed up by the catastrophic events that have unfolded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Whatever my troubles they pale in comparison to these problems. I'm OK, or at least I will be. I have been knitting and I will update soon, hopefully.
In the mean time....I'm it.
Amy tagged me. So here you go everything you never wanted to know about me.

A little blog game.

Five Things

Ten years ago: I was crying. I cried like I have never cried before and hope never to again.

Five years ago: Starting a new job

One year ago: Sending my youngest off to 1st grade and adjusting to having my husband at home all day because he was laid off from his job.

Yesterday: I was sick and tired, my body ached all over, sorely in the need of rest.

Five snacks: Oatmeal raisin cookies w/milk, peanut butter and jelly sandwich w/milk, French fries, popcorn, pop tarts.

Five songs I know all the words to: Amazing Grace (The first & second verse), The Star Spangled Banner ( I also know all the words to the preamble of the Constitution, School House Rock, to my credit I knew the words before they put it to music.) Theme music to Gilligan's Island, Beverly Hillbillies, and Firefly. Happy Birthday, in various ways. I know most of the lyrics to many songs but those are the ones I'm pretty sure I could sing from start to finish.

Five things I would do with a 100 million dollars: New homes and cars for any of my family who wants it. Set up trust funds for each of my four children and for each of my nieces and nephews. Fund the Arts, fund underfunded Charities and maybe travel a bit.

Five places to run away to: Stitch n Bitch to get away from my family for a few hours. Home to Mom and Dad. I don't know, I'm not a runner. Canada. Maybe.

Five things I would never wear: White after Labor Day, just kidding I wear white all the time if you're counting socks and underwear. Socks in bed. Stocking Caps, they make me feel claustrophobic, I don't know, let's see, a bikini, a tube top or tutu or mini skirt.

Five favorite TV shows: Firefly, Desperate Housewives, Gray's Anatomy, The late, late show with TV's Craig Ferguson, Six Feet Under, Star Trek-any version

Five biggest joys: Spending time in the company of my family. The changing of the seasons. Reading a really good story. Manipuling material into beautiful things. Laughter, both being able to make my children and husband laugh and when they are able to make me laugh.

Five favorite toys: My children, sticks and big balls of string, garden tools, DVD player, books and the computer.

Five people I'll pass this on to: Not sure yet.

Second Sock

Happy Birthday to Katherine. Our little pumpkin face is now seven years old. On Saturday, (yes I know I'm behind in my posting.) we took her bowling, which was fun until she discovered she had the lowest score. (But really not by much, we're not really great bowlers.) However, the promise of chocolate cake with cherries on top and ice cream cheered her right back up and the rest of the day went on with out any more tears. Sometimes it's hard being the youngest in the family, especially when your siblings are all nine or more years older than you. On the plus side you do get better birthday gifts. Ani lacking funds this year told her she would draw her a picture of whatever she chose. Katie chose a mermaid so Ani drew her a mermaid pictured here, what Ani didn't know when she drew the picture was that I had a blue faerie Barbie that I planned to give her. They both have the same color skin and similar pose. Odd, isn't it?
Katie's a bright and cheerful girl with a wicked sense of humor. She graciously agreed to pose wearing her Swatch Your Step sock (yes, I said sock, singular. Since I didn't finish her second sock by her birthday she said, I could give her the second one for her next birthday. Does she know her Mom or what?) and Chocobo scarf that I made for her, only if I agreed to take her picture posing as a model as seen here.
So now,with a wink toward Lisa and without further ado...

Her name is Lola Katie, she was a show girl, with yellow feathers in her hair and
a dress cut down to there. She would Merengue and do the Cha Cha....

To my greatest relief the sock fit her quite nicely. I was worried that after I finished putting it together (it is knit flat and then the front is joined together before knitting the toe) it wouldn't fit. It was fun to try, I haven't decide if I like modular knitting, It's kind of fun but I don't like all the ends to work in, four ends for each module. It's a nice effect though, don't you think?