Can’t Stop Starting

Help!  I can’t stop starting new knitting projects.

All of these have been started in the past week and a half.  Warning:  the pictures I took for this post are terrible.  Just letting you know.

The Ecuador, which you’ve seen already, but I made a little more progress:

I know this gives you no better idea of the construction.  I think it will be more clear when I turn the corner.  I’ll pin it out so you can see it better then.

The Windward scarf:

And I realize that this picture is also terrible.  If you tilt your computer screen just so, you may be able to get an idea of the colors.  Click on the link up there to see the pattern pics and the interesting construction, which this picture does give you a good idea of.  This is the yarn that I was winding, getting ready for my vacation.  I love the colors.

Aaron’s Aran sweater, which I’m knitting for a doodlebug and to teach a class:

So incredibly adorable for a toddler, don’t you think?  I’m making this with Malabrigo worsted.  NOT a kid-friendly yarn I know, since it has to be hand-washed, but I love this yarn. It is so soft and will be nice and warm for a doodlebug.  And it will come with the following washing instructions: “Give back to Aunt Liz and she will wash it.” 

The Glitz at the Ritz beaded shawl:

I finally got the beads and so far (fingers crossed) all is going well.

Started and finished my next travelling socks:

Ok, so this is all great.  I’m loving everything I started.  And there is more I want to start.  BUT, I really need to start finishing projects that were started a long time ago.  Like my Bloody Mary Cardigan.  Remember that?  As a refresher, here are the pieces:

Hmmmm.  There is a sleeve missing in this picture.  I think I did both.  But I don’t remember.  And therein lies the problem with these unfinished things! To make things worse, and more urgent, it is now September, which in my mind means it is Fall (even though I know it’s not officially), and that means I’ll want that long sleeve cardigan soon because soon (not really) it is going to be freezing.  I need more hours in the day.

P.S.  I’m going to be moving my blog to an actual, official real life website of my own soon.  Just letting you know.  More to come.

Pit Crew Chief-ing

Yesterday was Musclepalooza, a bi-annual drag racing event at Lebanon Valley Dragway.   It was a hot day with 150% humidity.  Pretty yucky weather for racing and watching racing.  Many people have asked me if I get bored while I’m at these events with Paul.  The answer is: Sometimes.  But mostly, no.   I am the Pit Crew Chief, so there are things that I need to do.   I am also the only member of the pit crew so I have to do all the things.  I don’t do well with humidity, so yesterday was a little challenging in that respect.

“All the things” starts with signing the waiver that I won’t hold them responsible if get injured while pit crewing at the track.  And once that is done, I get a wrist band saying I’ve done it:

Then, we find our spot to set up.   I’m not going to get into how I am about making sure we get a good spot but I can tell you it’s pretty annoying to Paul (understandably).   You may have read somewhere in here how I am about going to the movies.  This is similar.

Next, I open up all the doors:

And set up our relaxing/waiting/eating area:

Sometimes there is a canopy, sometimes not.  Yesterday was cloudy for the morning so we didn’t put it up until after this picture.

And of course, set up my things-to-do-while-I-wait-to-do-my-other-pit-crew-duties:

All this while Paul gets the car ready:

Then, we wait for Paul’s bracket to be called.  He races in the 10 second bracket.  That means he gets to the finish line – 1/4 mile away – in 10-10.99 seconds.

My next duty is to write on the window the time he thinks he will get to the finish line under:

And change it when needed:

Yes, three hundredths of a second makes a difference.  Who knew it could be this precise?

It doesn’t end here.  Then I follow him to the staging lanes on the ATV to wait with him:

…and take his water and any other stuff from him before he races.  It can’t stay in the car with him because he goes so fast (122 mph) that when he brakes at the end, things will fly everywhere in the car.

Then I go sit here:

Or stand here:

…to watch him go down the track.  If I can see through the burn-out smoke.  Cough. Cough.  If I see that he has gotten down safely, and does not need me to tow him with the ATV – which would mean the car broke and would be bad - I head back to the pits to wait for the next round.

And knit.  Yesterday I worked on my next round of traveling socks. I was able to finish my section and they are ready to send on:

Somewhere in between rounds I cook lunch:

And knit some more.  Or read.  See?  Not boring.  I love to knit and read.

Then, when he gets out in the second round, losing by 14 thousandths – yes, thousandths - of a second, I put everything away and lock up all the doors and we go home.  Even though he was out early, it was a good day.  Except for the 150% humidity.

Five years and nine months

Five years and nine months.  That's how long it took for the deer to find the hostas in the front yard:

If you look closely, you will see that the stems in the foreground have no buds on them.....  argh. 

So.  A closer look at our yard.  Remember this from the last post?:

 Paul and his brother digging trenches for the electrical wiring and water to go to the new garage.  They cut the phone wire, which Paul patched up.

This one is the beginning of the excavator's work for the garage site.  Our yard is going to be a huge muddy mess for a few months.  The excavator also cut the phone wire (in a different place), which the phone company will be coming to fix today.

In Knitting News:
I made this Mystic Sprial hat a while ago:

It's currently blocking with a plate in it.  That's what the instructions said to do in order to give it the right shape.  Another picture to come once it's dry.  I haven't shown it to you because I bound it off too tightly and it took me about a month and a half to shake off my annoyance and then take out the bind off and re-bind it off more loosely.  How annoying is it when you think you've finished this great new hat and then when you go to put it on the brim is too tight?  So annoying.  Cute hat though.  Probably an upcoming class for me to teach at The Spinning Room.

I can't remember if I told you I started a Citron shawl(ette):

I am on section 5 of 5.  Then there is a ruffled edge.  However, I have a lot more yarn and this shawlette is pretty small, so I'm going to add 2 more sections.  I'm getting to the point, though, where I'm getting a tiny bit tired of this project and knowing that it's "supposed" to be done soon is making me re-think if I want to make it bigger.  I keep thinking, "Maybe it won't be that small." or "Small could be better."  I'm trying really hard to overcome this.  Hopefully by the time I get to the last row of the section, I'll go right on to row 1 of the additional section and not cave in and got to row 1 of the ruffled edge.  Apparently it will depend on my mood at the time.

Here is the next pair of Travelling Socks that I'm sending on to Oregon:

Pretty funky looking but  that's pretty much the point of these socks!  I just received the next pair so those will be posted soon too.

And check out my sister-in-law Anita's sweater!

Isn't it great?!  I think it's her first sweater. I love the yoke pattern.  I forgot to ask her the name of the pattern....
I seem to be back in knitting mode and thinking of patterns to teach for classes this fall.  But I can't get any of that together until I get the craft room put back together.  That's on the list for today...

Travelling Socks and a Book Review

I listen to the Yarn on Tap knitting podcast.  Wendy is one of the hosts and owns the online yarn shop The Knitter's Brewing Company.  She started this really fun thing called the Travelling Socks.  Eight people from all around the country participate in knitting a portion of a pair of socks.  Each person starts their own sock by knitting the toes.  Then they send it on to the next person, and receive toes from another person, to knit the next part and then send it on again. They use whatever yarn or stitch pattern they want for their portion but follow a basic knitting pattern for the sock in general.  It goes through all eight people and by the time it gets back to you, you (and they) have a completed pair of socks!  How fun is that? (I sound like Ina Garten there... I love her.)

Here is an example of a finished pair (picture is from Ravelry):

You can see that they look pretty funky and, aside from suggesting colors that you like, you have no idea what they will look like.  Some may not like this but I thought the idea of it was fun.  And a fun way to connect with other knitters around the country.  In our lineup, I send my socks to someone in Oregon!

So, while in Virginia, I sarted my toes on the porch:

And here they are finished, on waste yarn, ready to send to Oregon:

Oh, and we also include a little notebook so everyone can write about the yarn they used and maybe even a little tidbit about where they live.   Each time I get a pair of socks, I'll be kitting the next further along portion of the socks from the previous pair I knitted.  Get it?   Am I describing this well?  I'll try to get a picture of each pair of socks that I get and the portion I've knitted, so I can put it here on the blog.

On to A Book Review!
Hour Game by David Baldacci:  I love his books.  Always fast paced and exiciting.  This one involved a serial killer who is copying famous serial killers.  Two ex-secret service agents, who now have a detective agency, are hired to help defend a man accused of burglary of a wealthy family.  They end up involved in more than they bargained for, including the serial murders, with lots of twists and turns and family secrets revealed. The story line did not disappoint.  My only criticism is that because there were so many twists and turns, the end of the book involved a lot of explaining of why who did it, did it, and it got a tiny but yawn-y.  Just a tiny bit.

On page 273 - don't ask my why I remembered to note the page - I absolutely knew who did it.  I was not quite half way through the book.  I tend to have a knack for guessing who-done-its early on, especially on tv shows like Cold Case and Monk and Blue Bloods.  And with this one?  I was completely wrong.  That should teach me a lesson because I spent the rest of the book, after I was completely sure who it was, looking for clues as to back up my sure-ness.

And because I'm sure you were wondering, I have now read 14 of my 45-books-this-year goal, and goodreads says I am one book ahead of schedule!