Journal

July 7th 2008

beth a. — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:26:50 +0000

Alot has transpired since my last entry! (duh!) So let's get on with a recap and get down with the knitting!
1. I had successful back surgery last November.
2. The baby is almost 21 months old!
3. I've been doing a bootcamp for the last 5 weeks and this is my last week (woo- hoo!)
4. I've missed my knitting terribly.

So that's that! If you may recall I draped on the dress form as a pattern for my next project-a dress!
I'm knitting it in the round to the high hip- then splitting it-as it will be a dolman sleeve and I think it will go better that way. I've probably got over a foot done- which is actually impressive to me considering how little knitting time I've had. It's knit in Trilly (Filatura di Crosa) 50% cashmere and 50% silk. The center panel is a 2×2 rib, with center double increases and decreases and the side panel is Star rib mesh from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. The Trilly is so much fun to knit with. I had made a swatch from mohair- which was beautiful and very sexy but not much fun to deal with!! I'll post a picture of the dress so far either tomorrow or today. Until then, Beth

Halloween 91206

beth a. — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:01:55 +0000

Here are some Halloween pics of Tricking and Treating. The street right behind us fills with kids and parents and it's so much fun,

Homewalk

beth a. — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:57:23 +0000

Those of you who reside in and around Los Angeles might be familiar with the eating establishment Canter's. Tonight we were there and upon leaving my daughter offered a new friend she had made one of her tiniest pet shop figurines- which i thought was really generous because she really loved them. Then as we walked to our car we encountered a homeless man and my husband suggested that Hunter give him her and Mac's leftover pancakes. Which she did. As we were driving away she mused at how good it felt to give the little girl her toy. Then she said, "But, ya know what felt better? Giving that homeless guy my pancakes." And she's right, it does feel good. We as knitters are by nature givers. I think we're very in touch with humanity and making contributions that seem small but in actuality mean alot. In this spirit I challenge, encourage, and hope that we can march as a group in Homewalk -United Ways walk to help end homelessness. On November 17 I hope to walk with my family -including my knitting family. Will you walk, too?

I'm Baaaaack!

beth a. — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:39:21 +0000

This is what I've been doing. Keeps the baby entertained and eating. These are Joe's O's, personally I think Cheerio's make for better stacking.
This is what I haven't been doing. It used to be when the house got really dirty I knew I was knitting alot! Now I just now the baby is really busy and not doing this!
Most of all I've been really pushing to get the addition to our house done. Part of the stuff we did (besides adding square footage) is we had our family room remodeled. The other night I realized we'd been pushed back into the original 1,300 sq. foot house! Don't get me wrong- I'm so grateful to have a roof over my head, however, It's just not enough space for 4 people and 3 dogs- Let alone all of the crap we had to move out of the other part of the house to work on it! This started in Feb.-ENOUGH!!!!
With all that I do have some really great news! I will be able to attend knitting tomorrow sans child!
A really great mom at my daughter's school who has an older child offered to babysit Mac. I hope it turns out O.K. because this is a really good thing!

Big Sur/ Knitting???

beth a. — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:39:11 +0000

Hey you guys (and you know who you are) How about this?: Lace in the Woods '08
"A Knitting Retreat" June 23-27, 2008 Big Sur, CA. I know you overloaded on Stitches last year, I think this sounds perfect! If they had a golf course I could get my parents to watch the kids and everyone would be happy. Five days of knitting lace. That would be SO cool! You'd come home and really have accomplished something. Think about it!

Revised Hunter's sock and End of Summer

beth a. — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 00:55:27 +0000

I decided to rethink and revise the same pattern for Hunter's sock. Usually I'd just scrap the pattern and find a new one, but I loved the lace, it gives it just enough pizzazz without adding too much work. So I figured that the lace repeat was 14sts. I'd have to increase the beg st count from 56 to 70, which seems like alot for a kids sock. However, you decrease 1 stitch for every 7 on the first row of the calf after you finish the lace. Which would bring me back to 60- which is what I was going to go with anyways. I have a feeling it's going to be a touch big, but that's okay- it is for an 8 year old!
I know in blogs all over the world people are saying "I can't believe Summer is over!". And I can't! This Fall is ging to be SO busy. First, I'm teaching 2 classes. I'm teaching a beg. knitting class at Otis College of Art and Design. It's not really just beg. because now most people taking a class like this have some knowledge, so I really take what they know and try to move it a few steps ahead. If they just knit and purl- let's make a hat ( learn how to decrease and knit in the round). I'm really a conduit to increase their knowledge. Then I'm teaching a class at The Knit Cafe called Starting from Scratch. We drape what we are going to create on a dress form and use that as our template for our garment. Then I'm taking a Digital Design for Fashion class at Otis. I really need to update my skills because when Mac turns 2, I'm looking for a job. The thing is, I don't know really what is going to happen because I think I'm having back surgery this Fall. Yeah, I said back surgery. My Orthopedic doctor was going to have me on therapy and pain pills but I had just had enough. I'm tired of being stooped over in pain- making loud obscene sounds as I struggle to pick up the baby. You know it's bad when your 8 year old makes those same sounds when they're reaching for something!

Happy.Happy...HAPPY!!!!!!

beth a. — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 22:13:33 +0000

How happy am I? SO HAPPY!!! The sock NOT fitting turned out to be a blessing in disguise. About two years ago I finished knitting a sweater for my husband out of Ksar by Bouton D'or for Christmas. Well, he tried it on and it was about 2 inches too short and too tight under the arm pits. Being as it was knit in the round, I'd have to rip it out to where the sleeves connected and redo it, with more ease under the armpits. That meant I'd have to rip out part of the medallion (From Alice Starmore's Celtic Knitting) ,and figure out where I was in the pattern. I was kind of over it and left it in it's original bag to do later. Well, my husband had an emergency angioplasty about a year ago and since then (through enlightened living) has shed over 40 pounds. After the sock didn't fit, it reminded me of the sweater and I wondered if it fit now. I was still concerned about the tightness in the underarms. He tried it on and "Voila!" it fits beautifully. A little oversized, and a little long, just the way a man's sweater should be! The joy I feel is truly indescribable. It's like one more "to do" lifted off my shoulders.

Going, Going...Gone

beth a. — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 23:21:22 +0000

I bit the bullet and just converted this sock back to raw material. Mac really likes the winder! My daughter did,too- She especially liked (and still does)the swift. So it works less than stellar.

Hunter's Sock...NOT!

beth a. — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 05:37:31 +0000

I just finished knitting Hunter's (my daughter) sock and it looked okay-but alas it's way too small. (See second pic). She's like the evil stepsister trying to jam her big toe into the glass slipper! She wears a size 2, a girls size shoe, but in all reality I think her sock size is that of a small woman. So from now on I'm either using the sock wizard: or just making her socks from a womans pattern. I also finished my husbands sock and it fit perfectly! I learned alot about size on this one. Now that I know exactly what sock fits well- It'll help me gauge what a good fitting sock looks like for him. Here's Mac and his first Oreo cookie face! He's SO expressive. He's really become quite a handfull. He's pulling himself up- commando crawling, and climbing everything. The dogs are very good with him, but I'm constantly watching because: A. I don't want him to get bit and B. I don't think it's right to let kids mistreat dogs. They should be treated with respect.
I think the whole Michael Vick thing is horrible. Something good has to come out of this and if it's the horrors of dogfighting and how wrong it is- so be it. They really need to prosecute these people and let the world know, theres nothing okay about this! I think when animals and wagering meet nothing good can come of it. It can bring out the worst in people. I don't believe in horse racing or greyhound racing- it just feels wrong.

Ravelry Status

beth a. — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:48:59 +0000

You signed up on July 6, 2007
You are #14415 on the list.
5569 people are ahead of you in line.
10841 people are behind you in line.
34% of the list has been invited so far

...this is the good thing: I forgot that I signed up on July 6th! Having a child, being consumed with the work being done on the house, making sure the dogs go out to pee, it's kind of kept me out of the loop (initially pun wasn't intended- and then it was!).