8 Random Facts

Kate tagged me for this meme, and I’ve been slow about it because I recently did the 7 random things. However, not wanting to risk being called a spoil sport, I’ll give it a whack.

Players start with eight random facts about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I love ice cream. It’s the perfect food. That’s all there is to say.
   
2. For a long time, my favorite color has always been red. Sometimes, I still say it is, but when Sweetie Girl showed a strong preference for all things purple, I started to embrace the lilac, lavender, violet, plum, amethyst, eggplant and especially periwinkle.


3. I think avocados are yuck. Green. Slimy. I am a native Southern Californian, so this may seem taboo to some. I have been known, once in a while, to eat my BIL’s muy autentico fresh guacamole.


4. My favorite tv shows right now are The Closer, 30 Rock, Heroes, and my guilty pleasure, So You Think You Can Dance. Okay, I can’t believe I actually admitted it.


5. Sweetie Hubby is 11 months younger than I. For one month out of the year, I get to say that we’re the same age. What can I say? I like ‘em young. Yeah right.


6. I have no tattoos or piercings but think that if I was a bit (okay, make that a lot) younger, I’d definitely be sporting a tattoo, probably a Chinese character on my ankle. Why don’t I do it now? I don’t think a wrinkly tattoo on my body would look good on me.


7. I’ve become a soccer mom and I’m proud of it. I love watching my kids play, going to LA Galaxy games, watching English Premiership games on TV with Sweetie Hubby, and I’m *positive* that I’ll *love* watching Beckham in person.


8. I'm ga-ga over those hilariously 60's sitcoms, especially Gilligan's Island and Get Smart.

I'm not tagging anyone for the meme, but play along if you're so inclined.

Thanks to Ellen, here's my Simpson's Avatar. Not sure if it looks like me, but the donut and green shoes say it all. Go make one for yourself and show me!

Wednesday WIP Report

Even though there hasn't been much blogging going on, I'm happy to report there has been knitting. I even finished a pair of socks, my second for July.


The Mystery Stole is moving along, albeit slowly. I took about a week off from it, because I've been spending a lot of time with my sister and her family. They come out here for several weeks for the summer, and most everything I do either stops completely or moves at a snail's pace. I'm on row 185 of Chart D, so I know I'm well behind others. That's okay, because I'm also taking my time and meandering through (or trying to) HP7 at the same time. I know others who raced to finish it, only to suffer from PPD (post Potter depression). I know I'll be depressed at the end of this monumental series, and I want to savor every last bit right now while I can.



The Drop Stitch Lace Tank has become my social knitting because I'm now working on straight 2x2 rib for the back. I have about 3 1/2" left before I can move on to the right front. I finished the front left section, after ripping it back to the beginning of the underarm split. I wasn't happy with the edges, and decided to create a selvedge, easy for picking up stitches, by slipping the first stitch of each row.



I cast on a new project also, not part of my Summer Knitting Goals, although it is a felted bag. It's Natalie's Squatty Sidekick and is turning out to be the easy knit, as intended. I had two balls of Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky in chocolate and light blue to make a felted bag, so it was a perfect fit. Even though the pattern calls for 220 yards of worsted weight using size 8s, unfortunately, I ran out of yarn! I had 220 yards of bulky weight, and the combination of size 15s and my loose gauge did me in. So the project is on ice until I order and receive more yarn from WEBS. This was a mini kal I'm doing with my visiting sister, and guess what? She didn't run out of yarn. I haven't checked in on her bag in a few days, so I wonder if she's done. Sigh... Hopefully, I'll be able to post a finished picture of hers.

BTW, until July 31 you can get free shipping on any Valley Yarns order of $50 or more from WEBS. I am so easily suckered into these deals that it quickly doesn't become a deal anymore. Wish me luck in resisting.



Finally, a FO. The Feather and Fan socks were a breeze to finish, it seemed, once I knew they fit my sister. Here are the details:

Project: Wendy's Feather and Fan Socks
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill SuperSock Yarn in Monet colorway
Needles: KnitPicks Classic Circs in US size 1 (2.5 mm), 2 circs method for casting on the toes, and then magic loop for the rest of the body (still needle dancing!).
Start: June 2007
Finish: July 2007

Thoughts: I have been enjoying Wendy's short row heels, and am happy to report that I can join the completed heel with the instep without any resulting holes. I like the feather and fan design; it's super easy to memorize and shows off the variegation well. I've realized the 64 stitches I've been using with socks lately are too big for my feet, even though my gauge is on. That means I'll have to play around either with 2.25mm needles and/or cast on less stitches.

Hope you're keeping cool in our summer heat. Knit on!

Wednesday WIP Report

It's amazing how time flies when you're in the Ravelry black hole. Not that I'm complainin', of course. I admit that I freely choose to be sucked in. Anyhoo, time for the Wednesday WIP Report. Not much to show but here goes anyway.

Mystery Stole. Up until this week, it was my number one drug of choice. Ravelry has pulled a fast one on this baby. I'm up to row 165, so I still have a bit to do on clue #3. I don't think I'll be done before Friday, but I no longer seem to be of the "finish each clue before the next one" affliction.

Feather and Fan Sock. The socks fit my sister , so she is the lucky recipient. I am thiiiiiiiis close to finishing it tonight. I just have to finish the purl-knit-purl-knit rows at the top cuff before binding off and weaving in the ends.

What's next? I realize I need a social knitting project, i.e., something to work on when I can't hole up and work on the Mystery Stole, and I have given myself permission to work on a non-Summer Knitting Goal project. I'll be working on Natalie's Squatty Sidekick, the cute felted bag, because my sister-the-sock-recipient is working on one at the same time. Thought it'd be fun to do a little Squatty kal, and I'm not talking about our body shape either, even if it does apply. Just sayin'.

Oh yeah, and I'll get back to the drop stitch lace tank in a while. I'm stuck on the left front, which I don't like how it has turned out, so I'll have to rip it back and redo. That's all for now. Have a great week!

Sucked In

I've fallen and I can't get up. Or more like, out. That's right. I've been sucked into Ravelry and I barely come up for air, much less knit. Oh yes, and then there's the Mystery Stole that I was obsessing over before I got my Ravelry invite. Gotta go back to cataloging my yarn and then reading charts. I'm on Ravelry as DimSumKnitter; will you be my friend?

Wednesday WIP Report

Last night, I finished clue #2 of the Mystery Stole and have two whole days of regular knitting until the next clue comes out. All I can say is I’m enjoying this knit tremendously, because it’s a new challenge for me. I hope I can keep the excitement and interest up throughout the rest of the project. I’m already starting to think about what my next lace project will be.



At Montrose Monday I worked on DSLT and split the neckline. After doing one more repeat, I split for the armholes. Here’s how it’s looking after knitting today.



I also picked up the Feather and Fan sock and started dinking around with it a bit. I’m not very motivated with this sock, because I know it’ll be too big for me. I’m waiting for my sister to arrive, so I can see if it will fit her. If so, she’s the lucky gal who will be the recipient. I hope she likes it; she doesn’t even know about it yet.

Have a great week!

Wednesday WIP Report

I worked on the Mystery Stole for the past couple of days and I've been having so much fun. I'm at row 79 now and can I say, I finally get the appeal of lace! I was zipping along swimmingly until I got to row 57 and then I hit the fatigue level. I tinked it back about 8 times but finally got it right. Oh, and I put in a couple of lifelines too. I actually remembered. I am so dang proud of myself.

Since I’m working on MS3 and it’s neither portable nor easy to work on in a busy setting, I worked on the Drop Stitch Lace Tank at Sweetie Girl’s swim lesson. It continues to be a fun, yet mindless, project that I’m still enjoying.

Summer Knitting Goals
Checking in on my Summer Knitting Goals, here’s what the scorecard looks like so far:

1. CPH – Done!
2. Lace shawl – The Flower Basket Shawl was pre-empted by the Mystery Stole. When I was writing this, I had thought I had specifically chosen FBS. Now that I see my goal is a more generic lace shawl, I'm pretty darn happy that I'm working on this goal too. I’m still hoping to get to FBS, but now there is not quite as much pressure. Whew!
3. Dropped Stitch Lace Tank from Fitted Knits – OTN
   
4. Socks – Finish two pairs of socks for June and July. Well, I guess I kind of fell down on this goal. I have one pair, my Sockapalooza Pal's, done, and one Feather and Fan sock done, but I didn't complete a pair in June. I'm shooting to have both pairs done by the end of July, just to be kind of crazy.
   
5. Wobbly Tote – I haven’t even touched it but maybe when I finish DSLT? Okay, realistically, when EVERYTHING ELSE on the list is done, I’ll have to pull that one out. I can tell now that this is one’s gonna kill me. But I will get it done. As god is my witness... I will never eat another potato again. Oops, fugue into the wrong scene. Sorry.
6. Pink fluff – Done!

It's been a little over one month since I set those Summer Knitting Goals, and I'm pleased with my progress. Where are you on your goals?

Have a great 4th for those of you who celebrate it!

Thanks Secret Pal

I received my Secret Pal final reveal package yesterday, and my Secret Pal is Natalie of Strands of Me! The big box was stuffed full of great stuff: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Mauve which will make great hats; Blue Sky Cotton in Chocolate Brown, one of my favorite colors right now; KnitPicks size 6 dpns, all wrapped up in a cooler bag that is just the right size for on the go.



Also included was package #2, Sweet Georgia Superwash Sock yarn in Flow. The color is a bit more purpley-periwinkley than in the picture. Simply Gorgeous! Thanks, Natalie, for all of the wonderful gifts! I really appreciate all of it.

Monkey Off My Back

Two Mini Monkeys jumping on the bed
Both fell off, “We’re Done!” they said
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
“Start workin' on Mystery Stole instead!”

Project: Monkey socks by Cookie A, the Mini part by January One Cara
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Spanish Moss colorway, 1 skein
Needles: 2 circs method, KnitPicks Classic Circulars US size 1 in 24” and Addi Turbos US size 1 in 24”
Start: June 22
Finish: July 1

Thoughts: Even though I was grousing about having to make socks, I actually really enjoyed this pattern. And it's a good thing too, because they're for my Sockapalooza Pal. I definitely don't want to send her socks with bad feelings knit into it. I think I finished the second sock in about two days. It took me getting to the second sock before memorizing the stitch pattern, because I’m not the sharpest monkey in the bunch. But once I got it, things literally flew.

I will definitely make a pair of these for myself, but I think I’ll like them better in a semi solid colorway. I have some beautiful apricot orange STR lightweight that would look beautiful, and some shocking orange Koigu that would be killer too. Oh well, good thing I don’t have to worry about yet.