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Sunday, September 21, 2008

An FO (sort of)

I finished the Knit Picks Moc Croc sock I had ripped & reknit! And it fits, too! Only one to go...well, if I want a pair of 'em. Did that Friday morning, and took some pics of the finished sock!


And I couldn't be happier about it. Never mind that it looks lonely, it's mate is already underway. I've also started another pair of the funky slippers, in shades of burgundy, orange & light yellow acrylic yarns from the oldest parts of my stash. I didn't even list this stuff on Ravelry, since I don't usually think of using it anymore, but it's the bees knees for the slippers I'm making. These things are just terrific stash-busters, and so giftable too. I wore mine up in the office the other day, 'coz my "new" cubby hole is in a sometimes chilly spot. Also 'coz the wedge heels I had worn were too tall to let me use the footrest under the keyboard tray. The slippers were nice & toasty.

I suppose I should get some pictures of slippers up here too:

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Those purpled ones are now the property of the DiscoDame. I need to make some up for the Plaidman; I'm not even going to try to make them plaid!







Speaking of the stash, I got kinda wild & crazy over at DBNY, to the tune of $114.00 worth of yarn. That's 3 full bags of the angora wool blend, and some nice wool-mohair-silk blend laceweight. I am nuts. But then DD walked in with the mail, including a card from my Dad -- with a check for $100.00 inside! Thanks, Pup! Saved from the guilt, by a birthday gift that couldn't have come at a better time! But I am still nuts. Sugar, the old man's only been back to work two weeks, and one of the VPs doesn't like him (? how could anyone dislike the most easy-going but hard-working dude in the world? what's wrong with this guy?), and bills did get put on a back burner for a while....but I gotta get my yarn. Actually, I think I might need a life.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

It's Friday if I say so..


And that's the way I roll. I work 4 10-hour days, and Thursdays are my Fridays. Or at least, that's how it's supposed to work, when we don't have a holiday during the week or the end-of-month rush under way...seems like I wind up working about one Friday in three! But not this week, baby! I left work and started on my vacation week, perfectly timed to coincide with my birthday mid-week. However, I am planning on going in to the office on Wednesday, as there are two teleconference seminars being offered that day, and again on Friday but just for another 1-hour teleconference seminar. I wish I had the noive to show up in my PJs!

With the Plaidman back on the job, I'm feeling less stressed. And with most of week off work, I guess I'll destress to the point of becoming limpid. And I'll be knitting! and crocheting! and maybe cooking several meals & freezing them for those days when I'm just too frazzled to cook. I have been knitting, working on some more of the fun-ky slippers. I took a finished pair into the office today, for when it gets chilly. The plan (and you know I loves me a plan) is to finish the Charming mitts, knit another 6-8 pairs of slippers, finish 5 XMas stockings, make 6-9 berets, finish the muff for Miss Reese, figure out what to make for the other Butler kids, and make something for M & her baby boy. Damn. It's a good thing I've already scheduled another week off, or I might just have to run away & join a circus.

The DiscoDame got another "talkin to" about her showers--Plaidman expressed it succintly: if she showers for 45 minutes @ 8 gallons/minute, she'll fill the septic tank and can expect backflow. Eew! I hope she takes it to heart; she's killing us with what it costs to bathe! Currently, she's in hiatus between quarters at school, and we'll get to spend the week together. Five whole days of just the two of us, with no other adult supervision--I should maybe get some Xanax for the cats? And hey, what about those cats? Wanna see some pictures? Sure you do! That's our baby boy, TomTom, at the top of this post. Someone caught him napping. Now for Miss Hinky-Boo:
She's purty, ain't she? and has to be told so about 400 times a day, I swear. But that's fine, 'coz she's a sweetie too. These two pictures are so not like them! He's usually pretty busy; she usually looks like a dead cat laying on the floor! In fact, in most of her pictures she looks like roadkill.


Friday, September 12, 2008

How to put this...?

YIPPEEE!!! The Plaidman's been called back to work!! Break out the Champale, folks; this news calls for a celebration. That's after the prayers of thanksgiving, of course. So the boss called Plaidman on Tuesday, to ask if he'd be available to work starting Thursday (the start of their workweek--I know, it's odd), then called back a few hours later to say they could really use him on Wednesday. So, his first paycheck will be for one 10-hour day. Just in time to help pay for gas for the chariots; the local BP has regular up to $3.99 US now. I did make a fuel stop early today, & paid $3.59 at Kroger. DiscoDame had her last Friday class of the quarter, and we met up at the WalMart afterwards. We ate lunch at the Subway in the store, I pushed her into a "near" spit-take & almost got sprayed with chip crumbs--we need adult supervision. I hadn't gotten a cart, because I didn't really mean to get anything but one skein of Red Heart yarn. She's got her backpack fulla books, her purse, and a lunch bag (so why did she need to eat at Subway?), & I found my yarn. Then the store waylaid me: I found the thin plastic placemats I wanted (to be cut up into sock blockers!), and then the shoe department ganged up on us, and we came home with two pairs of red patent shoes (look! twins!), 3 placemats, and the skein of yarn. I have a serious love-hate relationship with Wally World. On the way home we spotted a BIG YARD SALE sign, and wound on over to it in the hope that there might be some crafty goodies to be had. Alas, no yarn or other crafty stuff, but they had some new & nearly new dresses in my size. I spent $15 for 3 dresses, which all need to be hemmed but are otherwise just dandy. DiscoDame spent $3, for a long khaki twill skirt, a vest & about four tops, and a nifty tote bag. Now I feel like I should empty some stuff out of my closet. DD says she's already got a sack full that needs to go to Goodwill; I'd like to get up another sack full.

OK, I said I bought some Red Heart, and yes it's a Super Saver. It's the bright white, needed for my Christmas stockings. The progress on the stockings: I now have 50 granny squares about 4.5" on a side, in various combination of red-green-white rounds. That's enough squares for 5 of my big stockings. The next step is to stitch 10 groups of 5 squares together in socky shapes, half with the toe to the right & half with a left toe. I just have to make myself do this, and it ain't happening today. In other craft news, I went to the Sit 'N Stitch last night. I hadn't planned on going, but after work I got to talking with a coworker, and in the midst of our conversation I found myself wringing my hands repeatedly. That sign means I NEED TO KNIT! So I rushed on over to Bliss Yarns, and borrowed a set of needles & some unidentified bulky yarn, and started knitting Aunt Maggie's slippers. It was a good night to be there, as we had a demonstration of the use of a portable Ashford loom, by a really wild & crazy kinda gal--she talked about gamers & DragonCon & other stuff that meant jack to me, but the loom was fascinating. I can so totally see me weaving on a loom; I'd have to research Celtic patterns & figure out what plaid to make for my Plaidman. But if I were to take up another yarny craft right now, I think it would be spinning. One of these days I'll make one of those CD spindles I've seen on the innernets, score me some fiber, & give it a whirl. Stop laughing, I mean it! Anyway, while I'm there anyway, I have a peek at the sale yarns. One of the other knitters (newbie--first time using dpns) came over to the sale section with me, and I pretty much talked her into buying some Karabella laceweight mohair. Sigh. I wanted it, but I have entirely too much mohair on hand as it is; besides, I wanted the Berroco sox yarn, so I got two balls of that and the Magic Loop booklet. So I've totally blown the yarn diet. Oh well. I will master the Magic Loop, and start turning out socks, by golly!