Happy Halloween and a new WIP

Isn't he just the cutest lil devil ever? This was a self portrait. He loves the camera and takes lots of pictures (most of his finger). He even says "cheese" while snapping away. Although, it sounds like chee. (Glad his nose was clean.)

We dressed him up last night and took him up to the in-laws. We didn't think we'd get there tonight and we were going up there for dinner anyway. The neighbors all thought he was adorable. (The little boys next door to M-i-L and F-i-L loved the "baby" in his costume.)

Today, he's got his parade and party at day care. Hubby and I are taking half days to be there. Then we'll hit a couple of houses in our neighborhood. I can't wait. I know it will be more fun in a couple of years when he's more into it, but I looooooove dressing him up! Maybe we'll take him to an NHL game to get more use out of the costume! The New Jersey Devils are our team!

On the knitting front, I have finished all parts of mom's Shadow. I just need to block them. I finished the sleeve during Billy's nap Saturday and the second pocket flap that night. I would have blocked them yesterday, but we had some minor plumbing to attend to and a nap seemed like a good idea. Then there's the fact that the guest room bed is buried in a few weeks' worth of clean laundry. I must get around to it soon, though. Air was delayed for a long time because I didn't seam her up. Must not repeat the bad behavior.

I do have a new WIP. A Christmas sock for my sister. I hope it's not going to be too narrow. My gauge seems a little tight on the US 1s. The yarn is Kroy socks that I got from Herrschner's last Fall with sis in mind. The pattern is Oak Ribbed socks from Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. the inside of the sock looks really neat (1 x 4 ribbing).

I've also started swatching for my boys' Christmas sweaters. I'm doing this pattern from Patons with the Lambswool doubled. I need to get a US 8 Addi. my gauge on the 7s is too tight. I'm going to love knitting these up. The yarn is simply scrumptious and at 5 stitches to the inch it's going to go much faster than I thought.

just a quick update

Just wanted to let you all know that Billy's murmur is "soft" and nothing to worry about. The doctor said it requires no intervention and no follow-up. I think Hubby exhaled for the first time in two weeks.

Billy was awesome. The only time he fussed was when we were kept waiting for the echo cardiogram/ultrasound. He didn't fuss a bit during the EKG or the echo. He's such a great kid. Charmed them all. The ultrasound tech was pretty impressed when he said Elmo.

I was really impressed with the doctor and his staff. Very nice and professional. I'm very happy I shouldn't need to see them again!

FIESTA FO

It's a party chez Netter, a regular fiesta. I filled out the fringe on Fiesta last night and officially declare her an FO. See? Sorry for the crappy picture but I was heading off to bed. I'm half in my nightgown. (And that's not one of those photographer backdrops like from school portrait days, that's my shower curtain.) I'm very pleased with this scarf and think it will definitely make a cold, gray winter more bearable. I can't wait to start on a hat. I really like working with the Cork (what's not to like about chunky merino?). It's definitely going to make a great Billy sweater someday.

In Shadow news, I got the right front finished on the bus ride home last night. The excrutiatingly, long and slow bus ride. There was a bad accident on the parkway and we crawled the last five miles home. Seriously, I could have walked home faster. I've started the second sleeve and am about a third of the way through the chart. I hope to have it finished over the weekend. I plan on soaking and blocking the body pieces Saturday and then the sleeves early in the week and having a seaming party some evening. This sweater will be in the mail by next Saturday! Then it's off to Christmas sweater land. (I have to remember to schedule a stitching lunch for next Thursday to show off the finished, or mostly finished, product.)

Tomorrow we take our boy to the cardiologist. I know the murmur's probably innocent, but I'm not looking forward to the appointment. I hate seeing him hooked up to stuff. We went through that when he was born (he spent four days in the special care nursery because he was born with the cord around his neck, after having episodes of slow heart beats throughout my labor, and had some breathing issues) and it sucks. We'll bring his bear, and I'll bring Shadow's sleeve, and tomorrow night there will be wine and relaxing once we know the little man is okay. The biggest hurdle is logistical. The appointment is during his usual lunch and nap time. We're planning to have him sleep late and push his clock back a couple of hours so he's not too cranky. Hope it works! (I, personally, really like the idea of sleeping late. I was in bed at 9:30 last night.)

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom’s birthday. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never fought with my mom. Nope, not once. I’m sure that there are plenty of things we disagree about, but she’s not the type of person who forces her opinion on others. Heck, most of the time you wouldn’t know she HAD an opinion.

I can’t say she’s been a typical mom. When I was in eighth grade she made me start doing my own laundry (that’s what I get for complaining about how she did it). At about the same time, dinner became “whatever you can find.” Mom didn’t believe in coddling us. She’ll spoil me now when I visit, but growing up her goal was self-reliant kids who could do the dishes for her.

She’s always been supportive, but not in a touchy-feely way. Whatever I wanted to do, whether it was three weeks in France in high school, an expensive private college, or a semester abroad, she found a way to make it work.

If mom doesn’t let you know her opinion, she definitely does not let you know her needs. She’s selfless, everyone comes before her.

She’s got a great sense of humor and you can tell she’s content with her life. Except she’d like to see me, the hubby and our kid more often. She rarely nags and doesn’t give unsolicited advice. She keeps her cool and is steady as a rock.

Granted, she’s not perfect. She can be moody, and does hint at resentment sometimes, she’s sarcastic and a bit standoffish.

But, everyday I can see more and more of her in me and it makes me happy. My mom is one of the strongest people I’ve ever known and I’m so proud to be her daughter. That’s why she’s getting such a long DK-weight sweater for her birthday (even if it is a little late).

adI think we're going to need a boat

Yup, raining again. Hubby got Billy's new slicker out this morning. You can spot this dude coming from a mile away! (Billy's favorite color's been orange and various family members, me included, try to get whatever we can in orange.)

I'm hungry. Good thing I don't have any money or I'd be up to my eyeballs in snacks. Something about cold, wet days makes me want to eat all the chocolate I can get my hands on.

I do need another caffeine jolt. Think I'll go down and get another Coke Zero (I do have the $1.25, I could buy a snack if I wanted to give up the caffeine, but a girl has to have her priorities).

I napped on the way home last night so the right front of Shadow isn't quite done. I just couldn't keep my eyes open on the bus. At one point, I actually started dreaming. I was dreaming about eating and woke myself up when I bit my tongue! I can't imagine what I must have looked like chewing in my sleep!

The Jets were abysmal, but I did get the right armhole shaping done. Not much knitting done this morning (another nap on the bus, gee, I'm awful tired lately). No knitting tonight because Hubby and I are going to see Cream. I'll try to get some done at lunch. Even if I don't, I do think I'll be able to finish up the sweater next week. Unfortunately, mom's b-day is tomorrow!

Updated to add: I finished the cast-off on Fiestawear. I need to fill in the fringe and we'll have an FO later this week (probably Thursday). I tried it on and it's a great length. Didn't try it on in front of a mirror, so it could look horrible on!

Fiesta and prize

So, not too much progress on Shadow after Friday night. I'm about three inches from the armhole shaping. Hopefully, I'll get there tonight watching the Jets on MNF.

Saturday was spent working on this every chance I got. It's a garter stitch scarf from four colors of Cork. The orange, blue and green you will see again when I start Billy's birthday sweater. Right now this is for me. I'm calling it Fiestawear. (I get the red because there's only one ball.) It's nearly done. I cast on 210 stitches using the crochet cast on Saturday morning and I'll cast off tonight while Billy takes his meds. If there's time I'll fill out the fringe a bit. This is going to look great with my winter coat. Hubby even likes it! (I was surpised since the colors are a bit loud.) I can't wait to get it off the needles to see how it looks. Now, to figure out a matching hat.

Saturday was a great mail day (even though the weather left a great deal to be desired). I got this loveliness. It was my prize for winning Vickie's quiz over at Knitten Knots. 220 m of hand-dyed, bulky weight Merino. MMMMM. Definitely a scarf or cowl to go with my winter dress coat. The colors are perfect (a bit washed out here). Purple through raspberry with lots of reds in-between. Yummo!

Well, Hubby and I officially have colds. And, we're extending Billy's lung meds for a few days because he's got a new cough and such. 'Tis the season for germs! I will be drinking much hot tea today to combat this dry, scratchy throat. I'm not feeling too bad right now, just bad enough that I couldn't get to sleep last night. Must get to bed early tonight (yeah, probably at half-time of the Jets game). Hubby and I are going to see Cream at Madison Square Garden tomorrow!

I can't believe I'm on a yarn diet, and sticking to it

Would you look at these auctions!?! Koigu, and lots of it! I'll wait while you wipe the drool off your monitor. Yes, I nearly bid on one (I've nearly bid on all of them). I can't believe the size of the lots. I'll have to check back over the weekend just to see what the bidding frenzy is like over the last few hours.

I will resist the urge, strong though the pull may be. (Although, just between you and me and the other fiber addicts out there, if I could get one of these past hubby, I would be all over it!)

In other news, we've turned on the heat. Billy and I were fine, but Hubby was chilly this morning. Of course, we inadvertently flooded the darn furnace first thing. Luckily, our former neighbor has a heating business and he was able to fix it for us.

Also, hubby's interview went well yesterday, but he's not sure he would like the job. It only took him 25 minutes to drive to the office though. That's a huge pro in our books! Cons would be having to travel (and not to fun destinations), less vacation time, no flexible hours, and perhaps less money.

On the Shadow front, I did complete the first pocket flap, but haven't attached it yet. I couldn't work out the grafting/three-needle bind off with one piece having more stitches than the other (didn't think to decrease 3 stitches on the last row of the flap). But, I think sewing it will give the pocket a bit more structure. This yarn has no body and it's floppy, floppy, floppy. I did start the right front. I made some good progress watching CBS last night. I should be able to make a lot more tonight. It's just Billy, Molly and me. Hubby's good friend's celebrating his birthday with happy hour and dinner in the city tonight.

another finished piece but my kid is a kook

I finished up the left front of Shadow this morning on the bus in and then started the pocket flap. Should ge that finished up and attached at lunch today (got an office stitchers lunch going). I hope to cast on for the right front tonight on the way home.

Hubby had something new to obsess about last night, a job interview this morning. He's not too thrilled with the opportunity, but that means they'll love him, right? It's always the one you really want that you don't get. He's been with his current employeer for 5 years and needs a change. We're hoping to get him a job in NJ, so we're not both in NYC every day. Now that we've got the Billy, someone needs to be closer to home most days.

Billy decided to play a new game last night. I was calling it "keep out the alien mind rays." I think he thought he'd found a cool hat. Remind me to wash it before I make pasta again.

a little bit calmer* now

I want to thank Jeanie and Labmom for their supportive comments. The reassurance that moms have gone through this and have healthy, strong (even football-playing) kids to show for it helps me stay calm for the neurotic I married.

Things are mellowing a bit chez Netter. Hubby's not quite so tightly wound. Partly because he learned that his grandmother's lived with a heart murmur for 86 years and partly because I think we've made it clear that a heart murmur is not always indicative of some sort of arrhythmia. Of course, I only saw him for a few minutes last night. He went to the Devils game with his dad and I went to a work-related reception on the East side. M-i-L got quality time with Billy and Molly.

I'm not really sure I needed to go to the function last night, but I was only one of two representatives of the company and the only one to actually work on the product. I'm really very sure I didn't need to get on the Queens-bound E heading home last night. That little detour meant I had to take a 9 pm bus. Gee, I've only been riding the subway for 10 years now. Why would I have learned to make sure the train's going in the direction I want to go?

The good news is the side trip to the outer boroughs allowed me to finally get to the armhole shaping on Shadow last night. I hope to have the left front done tonight or tomorrow (depends on how much knitting I can do during LOST). Boy, this thing is curling, huh? I see a serious block in it's future!

I'm thinking about a quickie project before I dive into the boys' Christmas sweaters. I know, my sisters are expecting socks, but I'm going to wait to start those (and only one of them has given me her foot measurements). I'm thinking something with a bit more Oomph. I'm thinking a long, stripey scarf from the Cork I have. I won't need all 9 balls for Billy's sweater, so I think Mommy needs a cool scarf!

*Unfortunately, the calmer only refers to the change in atmosphere at home. I'm not in possession of any new Calmer or working with any right now. The closest I get to my Calmer (besides looking at it in my closet) is that Shadow is from the Calmer Collection.

update

We have an appointment for next Friday at 11:30. Poor kid is going to be all off schedule. Hubby's flipping that it's not TOMORROW.

just because hubby needed something else to obsess about

The doctor heard a heart murmur yesterday when following up on Billy's bronchitis. I'm trying to get an appointment with a Ped Cardiologist to have him evaluated. Our pediatrician reassured me that 90% of the time it's nothing to worry about, and I know that. But, I was got anxious worrying about how Hubby was going to respond. I know, and anyone who's seen Billy tear around the house knows, that the kid doesn't seem to have a serious heart problem. Hubby, however, always sees the worst possible outcome. Definitely a glass half-empty kind of guy. It gets to be wearing on a gal.

But, the good news was that the ear infection and bronchitis are both responding to treatment. We'll finish out his scrips and don't have to go back unless he seems sick again. I'm looking forward to the cold weather, just so the pollen will go away and we won't have to worry about allergies for a few months. However, I'm sure cold and flu season will be fun, fun, fun (and me with 1 1/2 vacation days and 5 sick hours left for the year).

Goodness I'm tired. I shouldn't have stayed up for Medium (especially since I was so tired I didn't want to knit). Only about 2 inches until I start the armhole shaping on the left front. Just in time, I'm starting to get really, really bored with the stockinette!

with apologies to Dickens

It was a weekend of highs and a weekend of lows. It was a weekend of much ripping and a weekend of surprising progress. It has marked three weeks since my last yarn purchase.

The highs included: a great community theater performance of Noises Off (I laughed hysterically); a couple of great dinners out (Garlic Rose on Friday for Hubby's b-day and a surprisingly good prime rib at a diner); seeing some of my all-time favorite songs played live (even if it brought me to tears a couple of times).

The lows included: ripping the left front of Shadow, again, on the way home Friday; evil, nasty, inexplicable heart burn; Hubby having a meltdown while his parents were over for dinner and having stomach issues of his own before the concert yesterday; a couple of really crappy nights' sleep.

And yes, it has been three weeks since the great Stitches Haul. It's been easy to deny the stash urges, I just click on the pic of what's waiting for me and the need for MORE YARN just fades away. Heck, for a while, the Stitches Haul had replaced Billy on my desktop (does that make me a bad mommy?).

Queen + Paul Rodgers was awesome. Well not so much the Paul Rodgers part. Love him in Bad Company, had no problem singing over him with Queen. Queen was my favorite band for a looong time. Something about Freddie and his over-the-top show presence and operatic singing style spoke to me as a child listening to my mom's Greatest Hits LP. I guess there's just something about a flamingly-gay man that appeals to a pre-pubescent girl with absolutely no idea of what a flamingly-gay man is. Queen was my soundtrack for a long time and I didn't think I'd ever hear those songs live. Granted, last night was only 1/2 of the original band (John Deacon said no thanks), but Brian May and Roger Taylor did a great job and I was able to live with Paul Rodgers. They honored Freddie well and some of the video footage they showed brought me to tears. I must say that I loved, loved, loved singing Love of My Life with Brian in tribute to Freddie.

As for the surprising progress, after ripping Shadow again, I'm surprised to be this far along. It didn't seem like I'd done that much knitting this weekend. The ripping is kind of funny, I was knitting blisfully along Friday afternoon on the extremely long commute home (rain again) and realized that my counts were off. For half the rows, there were fewer stitches between the YOs and PSSOs. Hrrm. So I counted the beginning, that was right. Then I looked for but didn't see any obvious errors. Then I counted the rows. Somehow, I managed to inadvertently short row in the middle somewhere. I dunno what happened! I thought about putting in a lifeline and only ripping back part, but decided that I wasn't so far along for all that and ripped it all out. I got back to about where I was by the time I went to bed Friday night (it was a really looooong commute, plus the play had two intermissions). Saturday, I placed the pocket and since I've been just slogging along to the armhole shaping. The orange thing in the pic is a stitch holder. Instead of binding off as the pattern called for at the pocket, I put the stitches on the holder to either graft the pocket flap or do a 3-needle bind-off. If it needs a bit more stability, I'll go back over with a needle and thread. I'm still liking this knit, but I want to be done already!

what I'm thinking ...

...Happy Birthday to my beloved Hubby. The BBB socks were a complete surprise for him. He had no idea. Hadn't even noticed me knitting with navy yarn.

...Why is it, when I tell you my son is on antibiotics and has been since Monday, you're still going to send him home for diarrhea, which is such a common side effect for oral antibiotics, if he has another messy one?

...Did you hear? It may actually stop raining tonight. We may get sunshine tomorrow!

...It's not so bad to rip out 6 rows when you've misplaced a yarn over.

...I've got no idea what I'm going to do for the guys' Christmas sweaters. I better decide soon!

rain, rain, go away

I spent over an hour on the bus going home last night. Fortunately, I was on time for picking up Billy and he had a great day. He was in total hug mode with the cute, college-age floater who was in his classroom yesterday afternoon. Apparently, he'd just radomly go over to her and give her a big hug. Yep, 20 months old and already a ladies man. He seems to be improving on his meds. Less coughing, no ear dripping, and very few side effects from the antibiotics. Big sigh of relief from this Mommy. He is still very sleepy. He yelled at me for taking him out of the crib this morning. Nebulizing means he gets to bed later and we have to get him up earlier. But, it also means I get some cuddle time. This morning, he leaned back against me and we snuggled the whole time. I really miss rocking him to sleep and having that daily snuggle with him. Now, he looks at you, tells you "sleep," and you better turn off the light, get him in the crib and turn on his music!

The long bus ride was good for one thing, sleeve one is done! I only had to finish up the cap shaping watching LOST last night. (Strange question, but did last night's episode seem oddly warm and fuzzy?) I hope these sleeves are long enough. This one went surprisingly quickly. I am now working on the pocket linings so I can start the front pieces. I didn't take a picture of those. Who wants to see 30 stitches x 49 rows in stockinette?

I do, however, have a picture of a recent amazon order. I got two picture books for Billy about biting and had to buy something else to get the free shipping. So, I got a knitting book. (Hubby said, of course you did, when I explained that I only got the knitting book so I'd be eligible for free shipping.) Of course, he's not had an "incident" since I placed the order (or since I started researching other local daycare options). My book should come in handy because I'm going to be knitting socks for my sisters!

Tonight it's just me and the kids. Hubby is going out with the guys from work. Tomorrow is his birthday and they're treating. I have to wrap presents tonight. I think the BBBs are still a surprise, but I'll find out tomorrow. I hope he likes the DVDs I got him. Two seasons of M*A*S*H and one season of Night Court. Now that he's so into DVDs of sitcoms from the 70s and 80s, it's a lot easier to shop for him! Hi DeepDiscountDVD!

Gee, it's going to be a long day. One irate employee has been in and out of my office three times already . Good thing I've got a stitchin' lunch to look forward to!

step away from the bedazzler!

I'd like to thank the Manolo for posting this site on his blog. Whooo boy.

Thankfully, the site is an art school project.

rain, rain, cold, cold, rain

It was pouring down this morning as I trudged up the steps from the subway. Thank goodness for scaffolding or I would have been soaked coming into the office this morning. (The scaffolding is for the drilling the landlord has to do to make sure the masonry won't fall off the building and hit someone. NYC law requires regular masonry checks. I don't think the city cares about our going deaf from noise.)

The rain also meant that traffic was a bear this morning, which meant I got a lot of progress done on the Shadow sleeve as long as I could keep my eyes open. You know how it is, gray and cold and all you want to do is sleep. Anyway, I've gotten to the final set of decreases. I think I may have found an error in the pattern. I cast-on 71, as directed. Working the chart has you decrease 8 total stitches in the final row, taking you down to 63 stitches (71-8=63), but the pattern says you should have 65 stitches. It took me a few minutes to figure out that I hadn't mis-read or mis-knit anything. I thought I only had to increase five times to the final 75 stitch width, but when I counted after the fourth set, I was a few stitches short. I have to increase 6 times for 12 stitches instead of 5 times for 10 stitches like the pattern implies (implies because in Rowan fashion, there is no direction for how many increases/decreases). Whatever, not a big deal. I'm hoping to have this sleeve done tonight or tomorrow (only 3 more inches to the sleeve cap) and then I'm off to pocket linings.

Having a deadline is definitely keeping me on task. I'm thinking about other things, but it's not hard to talk myself out of picking something up. I really want to see if I can rip my sonnet out and turn the Summerwind into something like this. Now, it may seem weather inappropriate as winter is fast approaching, but my office is often in the 80s in the winter and a cute, cotton sweater might be comfortable. And wouldn't it be cheery to work on the bright yarn right now?

busy Columbus Day, but no stash re-org

Sorry to say, life took over yesterday and my stash re-org will have to wait. I know you were all waiting for pics of my yarn. I'll get to it eventually, like when I need my closet back.

So yesterday went like this: I wound up getting up later than usual (thanks Billy for sleeping in), dawdled about taking him to day care (he had breakfast at home), got stuck in traffic (apparently power line issues over the weekend), went to Curves (first workout in weeks), had to go back to day care with his blanket and sheet for nap time, bought some groceries (Netter's doing a serious diet here and bought supplies for the re-org that wasn't), cleaned the house (in-laws and out of town visitors over for pizza last night), dropped off an un-needed and not working cable box (it got fried sometime on Saturday during our power outages), took Billy to the doctor (urgh), went to the pharmacy (double-urgh), came home and nebulized (see the urghs) and then had a nice dinner and too much wine.

Never enough hours in the days off. Now why didn't I do the housework on one of the other days of my three-day weekend? I knew company was coming. I guess I was just too busy hanging out with the guys.

I did get the back of Shadow finished. See above.

I love that this yarn is so fine I can the whole project around and it doesn't take up much space in my tote.

I started a sleeve on Sunday. I held off on the fronts because I was hoping to have my sweater machine up and running to do some of the longer stretches of stockinette. That didn't happen.

So, the doctor yesterday. I had moved Billy's speech follow-up with the pediatrician to yesterday to help conserve the two vacation days I have remaining for the year. She thinks his 40 word vocabulary is sufficient for his age so he doesn't need therapy. Hubby was a bit concerned that I didn't push harder for a referral to help mollify daycare, but he could have come to the appointment if it meant that much to him. But, she did discover that he's got bronchitis (AGAIN, damned allergies) and really goopy ears (one is actually a little red). So, he's back on oral antibiotics, drops for his ears, and two drugs through the nebulizer. Thank Heaven for Baby Einstein. He just sits in my lap watching those videos and inhaling the meds (Baby Newton and Baby Bach seem to work best).

We're also working over time on some two-year molars (I can only assume that's what chewing on his thumb means). He did charm the socks off Hubby's aunt and uncle last night. Such a little ham, my boy is.

what I'm thinking ...

... I thought I slept better than I did. I'm exhausted.

... I can't read Crazy Aunt Purl's Thursday post because she recapped an episode of LOST I won't see until tomorrow.

... I've knit 17" on Shadow, and have 7" more to the armhole shaping. I'm nuts if I think I'm getting this sweater done in time.

... What's a girl got to do to get comments around here? Two FOs this week and I feel like I'm alone and barking in the wilderness. (Granted, one FO was a pair of really boring socks and the other wasn't great pictures.)

... I bet my stash diving and re-organizing gets comments. Just for the sheer size of the pile.

... I'm a bit disturbed that it seems Billy's biting isn't acting out anger or frustration. It seems it's become a thing he does just because.

Fillie's debut

Fillie makes her debut today. Here is the embarassing bathroom shot (taken at work because I forgot my camer here, please disregard the bad hair day):
So, the details. The pattern is Knitting Pure and Simple's Summer Cardigan (top-down raglan). I used a different weight yarn than called for so had to do a little math at the start. I also modified the neckline so that it was lower and wider in the front. The yarn is Capricorne by Phildar, one of my more recent eBay purchases. The buttons are plastic, vintage that I bought at Stitches. I started 8/31 and finished 10/4. Not bad. I wish I could have made the body a little bit longer, but I've got less than half a ball of yarn left. I decided to try to take a self-time shot in my office (with the door closed), what do you think?

Hmm, I guess I must think that's my good side! I was a little worried about the yarn being primarily yellow (I don't like myself in yellow), but there's enough orange and pink that it looks very peachy.

In other knitting, Shadow is now 12". Yeah, not much progress yesterday. Hubby and I went to the Devils game (pounded the Penguins 5-1), so knitting time was curtailed. I just don't dare try to bring my needles into an arena or stadium, although I know a lot of other knitters do. Tonight, much knitting time watching CBS (after Miss Molly gets a bath). And tomorrow, Hubby's going to the Yankee game so it's all me and my knitting after Billy goes to bed.

Ah, Billy. He didn't even try to bite anyone yesterday. But, we still have a conference with the one or the other director of the day care (tonight at 6 if we can make it, if not tomorrow at 7 am). They want to get to the "bottom of the problem," even though it's lessening. Hubby was told that kicking him out would be a last resort. Here's hoping he decides not to bite anyone today either. (I will be pointing out that his one incident this week occurred after he was bitten.)

>>insert witty blog entry title here<<

Shadow grows. I added about five inches yesterday evening and this morning (mostly yesterday evening). She's at 9 1/2". Only 14 1/2" to go until I bind off for the arm holes. At the rate I'm going, I'll get to the armholes some time this weekend. Why did I decide to make a dk weight, hip-length sweater?

Vogue Knitting (or whoever the publisher is) has their offices in the same building as my company. This morning, I was working on a row of Shadow in the elevator when a VK employee was riding as well. She complimented it and asked how I found the Rowan directions (I had told her where the pattern was from). I said not that bad, but it's a simple pattern. I did say that I thought Kim Hargreaves wrote good patterns.

I'm seriously mulling the Boys' Christmas sweaters. I'm going to knit them, and from the yarn I bought, but I'm not really sure if I want to make the Patons pattern. I think it might be way too busy for Hubby. Maybe this one or this one instead. I think I definitely want to do the fishie cable for Billy, but I'm not really sure.

It's got to be the Addis

I'm so glad I did spring for the Addi Turbos for Mom's shadow. Look at all I've gotten done since lunchtime yesterday. I cast on after lunch and surprisingly managed all 145 stitches the first time! I used the long-tail cast-on since the pattern called for purled garter stitch. I got the four purl rows done before the bus ride home (who knew the Addis would make 145 stitches fly so fast?). I was worried about starting the chart, thinking I'd never be able to keep my place on the bus, but I was able to memorize the intervals of knit stitches between the yarn overs and sl2 k1 p2sso and ta-da, I had the 17 chart rows done before bed last night. I knit a bit on it waiting for "Back to School Night" (B2SN) to get going. (I so desperately wanted to whip it out during the meeting while other parents yammered on about binkies and what little Suzy won't eat, but figured that would be rude.) Surprisingly, I only made 2 errors on the chart. I misplaced a yarn-over which I fixed after a few rows and on one section the decreases don't travel a straight line, but I decided to just leave that. Who's going to notice? I'm really loving this knit and I'm glad to have mindless stockinette for baseball playoffs. I'm not sure how I'll feel after 24" of it, though!

I did sew the buttons on Fillie last night, so she's officially an FO. I'm still planning to wear her to work Thursday, so I'll have photos to post then. I will need to tighten up the button holes a bit. My 1 x 1 ribbing is really loose (I used the 7s so it wouldn't pull in much) and the holes are a little big for the buttons.

Surprisingly, Hubby didn't think I was out of my mind when I told him I was going to knit up some vegetables.

B2SN was interesting. No one mentioned the biting, which meant no spontaneous Netter combustion. We did speak to the lead in the classroom after the meeting and they're shadowing him and it does seem to be getting better. Although, she did mention that she's seen him bite himself. What's up with that? He's working on his 2-year molars because he's chewing his fingers, but she said he actually bit himself. They asked for suggestions on art projects and that we donate project supplies like yarn. Hubby kneed me there. I think I'll be weeding out my acrylic odd balls and sending them off to school next week! We definitely left there reminded about how great Billy is 95% of the time. Hopefully, once he's fully adjusted to the new class, the biting will stop.

Here's a shot of the eyelets on Shadow, just for fun.

Garden-along?

I'm going to have to make these veggies from the newest Magknits. Anyone want to join me?

note to self, re: Addis

Yeah, next time I want to drop a chunk of change on Addis, I should go over to Herrschners and save myself nearly $5 a pair. I could have saved 50 cents a pair going to Purl instead of the Point, but I really liked the Point. Moral of the story, plan ahead!

FO weekend!

I finished up the BBB socks on the bus home Friday night. Here they are fresh from their on the office floor, with flash, photo shoot. (Why yes, we did have a beautiful sunny weekend in NJ. Why didn't I get some natural light shots? I guess because I'm still thinking they might be a surprise.) For the specs, I started these 9/4 and finished 9/30. They were knit on 4 US3 DPNs in Phildar Preface. I think they're not going to wear too well, the fabric's not very dense, but I was concerned about the yardage and the foot size. Next pair I knit of the Preface, I'm going down to US2s. I followed the same basic pattern I used for the first pair of Hubby socks, but I winged the heel a bit. It's a pretty basic short-row heel like on the BMG footies. I hope he likes them. They went a lot faster than I thought they would.

I also wove in the last ends on Fillie last night. I almost had the sweater finished Saturday night, but somehow dropped a stitch on the button hole band and ripped it out. (It was only two rows and it was getting late and I just wanted to cuddle with Molly.) I just have to sew on the buttons tonight and I'll get a photo shoot in. We're planning another stitching lunch on Thursday, so I'm going to wear her to work.

I started swatching for my mom's birthday sweater. I got gauge on the third needle I tried. Unfortunately, I don't have a US7 circ I really like anymore (my favorite disappeared at Stitches), so I'm going to The Point at lunch to see if they have what I think I want and if not I'll stop at Purl. So, I'm going to be a one-knit gal for a while. Totally concentrated on Mom's sweater. I'm using some Rowan DK soft in a lovely rose color. And it's going to be Shadow from the Calmer collection. I love Kim Hargreaves's designs in this book. I want to eventually knit them all!

It was a fun weekend. Billy and I went to the playground both mornings. We had a great time at our friend's son's first birthday party. Billy was spectacular, especially with no nap. It was great to be with him with so many kids. Now, if only he'd get over this darn cough!