skittermagoo!

Sigh.

Part of me wants to watch the election returns obsessively until something is decided, and part of me wants to ignore it for now and just go about my business and then go to bed and wake up tomorrow to (hopefully) find out the election results.

Maybe I can find a happy medium?

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Okay, let me first just say that wherever October went, it can stay there and rot.  Usually October is my very favoritest month in the whole world, but this year it just plain sucked.   Okay, sure, a few good things happened: we got our first cold snap (yay!) and I almost finished a sweater, but other than that, October 2008 can just piss off.

So, November.  Once again I have joined the ranks of Norovember!  In the grand tradition of me and knitalongs of any type, I may not actually knit anything of Noro during Norovember, but you never know!  I’ve got plenty of it in my stash, and some is even earmarked for specific projects, so there’s a chance!  In any case, I have a pretty thing to put on my blog for it.

I’m hoping that November 2008 will break the back of October, and will be a good month . . .

Husband and I are going to a fun Halloween party tonight, where I will be running lights and sound for the second annual Samhain Skit . . . that sounds all production-y, but really it’s glorified street theater.  I hope it goes well!

Also, I meant to post this yesterday for Halloween, but as October was Awful, didn’t get to it until today.

Mardi is sooooo not impressed with her halloween costume!

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If your truck with the dual rear wheels is too large to drive in between the lane lines on the road, then it is TOO DAMN BIG.

Also, why does one need to drive these in the city, anyway?  If it had a “Texas Farm Truck” plate, I can understand, but if not, then that’s just dumb.

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Abilene J. Cat

March 31, 2007 - October 15, 2008

May you rest in peace, and chase yellows in kitty heaven.

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What what WHAT?  More knitting on this so-called knitting blog?  Whoo!

Less than a week ago, I was thrilled to be taking a picture of this:

Sure, it may look like a pile of tangled up knitted bits to you . . . but this is no mere pile, this a pile of Neverending Cardigan!

I’ve been working on this beeyotch since, oh, June.  No, no, not this past June, my sillies!  This project was started waaaay back in June 2007, when someone mentioned that they were going to knit the Peace Fleece Everyday Cardigan, and wouldn’t it be fun if a group of us had a knitalong?  Sounded like fun to me!

I started with the sleeves, so as not to get marooned on Sleve Island, and got them done pretty fast.  Then I knitted the back, which although kinda boring, didn’t take all that long.

Then I made the fateful decision to knit both fronts at the same time, off two balls of yarn.  I know, I know.  But really, considering that I originally considered knitting both fronts simultaneously off one single ball of yarn, this seemed like a reasonable compromise.

And this is where the project stalled.  And stalled.  And stayed stalled for many, many moons.  Many.

Lest you think that the pile stayed true in its pile-ocity, here is proof that even more progress was made:

blockity block!

I blocked the sleeves and the fronts one-on-top-of-each-other so as to make sure they came out the same size, and yesterday afternoon everything seemed dry, so I stacked the pieces and put them in my yarn closet to keep them away from curious paws.

That sounds dangerously of “out of sight, out of mind”, but I am really excited to get this thing seamed and the button bands done, so that maybe I can wear it both days this winter.  Because it is wool and warm, and I live in Texas.  (maybe I am not smart).

And right now, this second?  NOTHING on the needles!!!  Gasp!

Must remedy this now, especially since it’s my favorite month: Socktober.

p.s. Have I mentioned that I absolutely love the color of this sweater (which is more accurate in the second picture)?

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Yes, yes, don’t faint or anything . . . I have an actual finished object to show off!

The only thing that might not make you question whether it’s really me or not on this blog is that the finished knit is a pair of socks!

The specs:

Yarn: custom-dyed Yarn Nerd sock yarn, a birthday gift from the Purling Ps; the colorway is called “Knitforce Nine”

Pattern: again, a custom pattern from the Purling Ps

Needles: Addi Turbo size 0 (circular)

Gauge: Oh, hell, I don’t know! I think about 8 sts/inch?  Lemme get back to you on that.

Comments: I love, love, LOVE this yarn!  Of course, it helps that it is made up of the favorite colors of my favorite knitgrrls . . . and I love the finished socks — I can’t wait until it is “sock weather” here in North Texas (which is oh, around November maybe?).

Wanna see a closer view?  Well, you’re gonna get one whether you like it or not!

The colors in the photos look a little washed out on my monitor — these are some seriously bright socks!

Next up on the “what to knit” list is the Neverending Cardigan . . . I wonder if it’s neverending because I so rarely work on it?  Anyway, I’m going to knit on it monogamously and resist the urge to cast on more socks until I get the fronts DONE!  Ha!

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In response to my last post, Jen wanted to know which five veggies I don’t like . . . I thought I’d milk an additional blog post out of it and answer that question here!

But first, a disclaimer:  This list only counts veggies that I’ve actually tried and disliked . . . there may be more to this, but I’ve never for example tried a rutabaga, or a turnip.  Or parsnips.  Not that I have anything against them; I would try them if I had the opportunity.

So, without further adieu, the List of Five:

1. Brussels sprouts

2. Lima Beans

3. Cauliflower (though I had some at an Indian restaurant recently that knocked my socks off — this one may be taken off the list soon)

4. Beets

5. Celery

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. . . will get me jumpstarted on blogging again?

Yes, kids, it’s another one of those “I can’t believe I haven’t blogged in ages” entries!

And it’s not like I don’t have anything to talk about . . . I’ve been knitting (albeit on the same two projects I’ve been working on for ages), I have garden stuff to show off, etc, etc.  I guess it’s just been another one of those months — hopefully I can kick the blogdrums with a quickie meme, though.

Jen tagged me with this one, and it’s easy-peasy (just right for a blogging re-entry)

6 random things that you might or might not know about me

1. I have an irrational (?) fear of clowns and ventriloquist dummies.  And no, I don’t think it’s funny when people tease me by showing me clowns or ventriloquist dummies. No amount of “conditioning” will abate this fear.  Please, do not invite me to the circus.

2. I read almost every single night before going to bed, usually for half an hour to an hour (longer on weekends).  I have trouble getting to sleep if I haven’t picked up a book first.

3. There are five vegetables I don’t like.  (I may or may not have blogged about this in the past.  If not, I may blog about it in future).

4. My first words were, “It’s in the refrigerator.”

5. I’m very good at keeping secrets.

6. I didn’t keep in touch with anyone from high school.  Sometimes I regret this, and sometimes I don’t.

Now, according to Jen’s post, I’m supposed to tag six people, but I’m not gonna!  If you want to do it, consider yourself tagged.

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So, I’ve been doing a bit of spinning lately, when it’s not too hot in my fiber room — I hate it when the roving sticks to my sweaty hands!  And man, the weather has been scorching here lately . . . my outside thermometer reads 101 right now.

So yeah, spinning.  I’ve been trying to spend at least half an hour a day at the wheel if I can get there at all, and I’m slowly working my way through my fiber stash.

I found this one waaaaay down in the bottom of my fiber closet . . . I think I actually bought it before I bought my wheel!  I bought it at the now-closed Simpatico Yarns, and it was marked “wool”.  Jen tells me that she thinks it may have been hand-dyed by Mary Jane, who owned Simpatico, which makes it kind of special for me — Mary Jane is one of the nicest LYS owners evar.

I quickly found out that this fiber was reeeeally compacted, but managed to open it up and predraft it with some effort.  I’m spinning it in my wonky self-taught semi-worsed way (I also tend to overspin), and it’s gorgeous and surprising.  Parts of it are ending up very vivid and clear with the colors:

While other parts are turning out rather subdued and muddy:

Hard to believe it’s the same fiber!

In gardening news, the canteloupe (ick) is growning at an astonishing rate — I swear it gets bigger by the hour — and is covered in pretty yellow flowers.  We also planted pumpkins last Sunday, and on Thursday I saw the first seed leaves poking out of one of the hills.  So if we’re lucky, we will have home-grown pumpkins for Halloween!

Tomorrow morning at the butt-crack of dawn I leave on a road-trip with my mother to Missouri to see her parents; I’m sure the trip will yield some good stories if nothing else!  Some of you may remember the last time we made this visit back in 2004.  This time we are driving, which should add a new dimension to the whole experience . . . also the lack of internet may drive me to drink. a lot.

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Since I check my garden at least once a day (sometimes twice), I sometimes don’t notice when things have grown (except for the canteloupe plant, which seems to grow 3 feet a day) . . . but it’s pretty surprising to look at pictures from one month to the next . . .

This is our second raised bed, right around the time we planted it.

And here it is now:

Amazing!! Now if only we would get some actual veggies/fruit out of it, I’d be thrilled — so far we have melon flowers and lots of leaves, but nothing edible.

I guess that’s what I get for planting late, eh?

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