Month: September 2009

Knitting · Zombies

I should have known better

Jen6 Comments

The other day, when I wondered aloud if I could finish sweater for myself in time for the New York Sheep & Wool festival, I got to thinking. The plan has always been to reknit the top-down yoke cardigan that I killed back at the end of April. The New York Sheep and Wool festival is the weekend of October 17th. If I cast on my sweater right away, I’d have exactly 21 days to finish it. That seemed reasonable, as long as I dedicated all my knitting time to this single project. So that’s what I did. I dug out the yarn and cast on the evening of September 27th and knitted up to the first set of increases for the yoke.

The following morning, I knitted up to the second set of increases before I realized that the garter band on the collar was just too W I D E. I ripped back to the middle of the garter stitch band and pushed forward.

At this point, I was in knit-as-fast-and-as-often-as-you-can mode. When I wasn’t trying to keep up with the housework, or minding the children, or running a quick errand to the store, I was knitting. I knitted as fast as I could get my hands to go, whenever I had a few minutes to sneak in a row or 2 or more, and by yesterday evening I’d gotten through 3 of the 4 sets of increases for the yoke.

Why was I surprised, then, when I sat down last night to push through the last 20 rows of the yoke only to find that my left arm was radiating a sort of warm and twitchy ache? That’s right, faithful Reader, my old nemesis, the Very Horrible tendonitis, has returned. Evidently, I had forgotten the mantra (from the last time I had a flare-up).

  • I do not need to hold the world record. I can knit at the speed which is comfortable for my body. I do not need to hold the world record. Om.

To which I add: I guess I really didn’t need a new sweater for Rhinebeck…

*sigh*

cute kids

What passes for normal around here.

Jen5 Comments

Me: “I8, no licking your brother.”

I8: “Okay.”

*sigh*

~~~~

Me: “I know you’re PRETENDING to be a kitty, E3, but you still make your pee-pee in the potty, NOT in the litter box!

E3: “Meow!”

*sigh*

Knitting · life

TV Fall Season 2009: It doesn’t suck!

Jen4 Comments

Ah, Fall, my favorite time of year. With the cooler weather finally starting to set in, my fancy has turned to thoughts of big ol’ wooly hand knits and television has risen, a phoenix, from the ashes of endless summer reruns. The official Fall season of TV started last week, and you know what? It doesn’t suck this year!

I’m watching Community, the comedy about 13th grade (aka community college). I went to two(!) community colleges, so I find this show particularly funny.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Then there’s Modern Family, probably the funniest show since Friends and Will & Grace, about three families. You’ve got your traditional mom/dad/3 kids family, the older step-dad/much younger mom/1 kid family, and the gay guy couple with an adopted baby. Funny, funny stuff, and the best show I’ve seen on TV since Pushing Daisies’ first year. (Damn you ABC for canceling Pushing Daisies!!!!)

Vodpod videos no longer available.

In the drama category, I’ve been very excited about the very excellent Flash Forward, the show that asks how would you live your life if you knew what you’d be doing 6 months from now.

And lastly, another drama, Eastwick. To be honest, I wonder how long they can keep this show going. Remember how Desperate Housewives was really good for about 2 seasons and then it started going downhill? Well, we’ll see how they do with this one.

Even Heroes didn’t suck (for the first time in 2 years)!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

What shows on the teevee machine will keep you company while you knit your way into cooler weather?

life · rant

Crank.

Jen4 Comments

To the guy behind me in line at Target:

Who, exactly, were you trying to impress with that cologne you were wearing? Your lovely wife? Or perhaps it was your 6 small children (ranging in ages between 7 and 9 months)? Frankly, I was not impressed, nor, I’m sure, were any of the other shoppers in Target yesterday afternoon at 4 pm. I, for one, found it incredibly difficult to breathe with you standing right behind me, a mere cart’s length away. You see, strong fragrances, such as the one that rolled off of you like a dense fog, tend to inflame my asthma. Further, I’m quite confident that I was not the only asthmatic shopping at Target on a busy Saturday afternoon. Please just consider others before you dump an entire bottle of cheap-ass cologne on your head. Thanks.

xoxo
Jen

PS: I mean, seriously. Did you think you were going clubbing or something? WTF? There’s a time and a place for cologne and it sure as hell isn’t shopping at Target on a goddamn Saturday afternoon with your family. Damn.

Uncategorized

Whiskers on Wednesday: An Oldie But a Goodie

Jen3 Comments

I am cleaning out my old FlyLady Control Journal and came across this in the “Personal” section. I’m not sure where it came from (likely it was Ye Olde Internete) or who wrote it, but it’s funny.

  • On the first day of creation, God created the cat.
  • On the second day, God created man to serve the cat.
  • On the third day, God created all the animals of the earth to serve as potential food for the cat.
  • On the fourth day, God created honest toil so that man could labor for the good of the cat.
  • On the fifth day, God created the sparkle ball so that the cat might or might not play with it.
  • On the sixth day, God created veterinary science to keep the cat healthy and man broke.
  • On the seventh day, God tried to rest, but he had to scoop the litter box.
Knitting

Yet another FO

Jen7 Comments

This time, my first stranded knitting project. I completed the 2nd mitten the other night and I am, again, left wondering what made me think this project was taking too long.

[ravelry]

Perhaps the braids? While they did take a while to work, the entire second mitten only took about 3 days worth of knitting once I’d set my mind to it.  Here’s what the inside looks like because I know some of you are into that kind of thing:

This pattern was a very entertaining knit, and I’ll definitely do it again. And what of stranded knitting? It is AWESOME! I can’t wait to do more, only right now I have to turn to Christmas knitting, so it’ll have to wait. Also, I wonder if I can knit a sweater in time for Rhinebeck…

Knitting

And There

Jen5 Comments

One mitten down:

One to go. Truth to tell, I’m a bit hesitant to cast on the second mitten–that bird was way more fiddly that I expected it to be. Although, why I should have expected it to be less fiddly, I have no idea. Perhaps it’s because I am way worse at embroidery than I thought I was?

Knitting

Getting them straight

Jen3 Comments

When I realized I did not have to push through knitting the boys sweaters for the fall, I un-hibernated the Bird In Hand Mittens I started back in February. I originally put them aside because I figured by the time I finished them it’d be too warm for mittens (boy was I wrong about that!), but I can’t, for the life of me, figure out what I thought was taking so long.

I knitted the entire hand in one evening and the thumb in the next. The thumb needed a do-over, and has since been frogged. Still it went a bit faster than I thought it would. I’ll finish this mitten up tonight and cast on its fraternal sibling before I go to bed. Why fraternal? Well, evidently, I’ve made a GLARING error in the second wrist chart and, to be honest, I really don’t care.

Knitting

Knitting Priorities

Jen3 Comments

I spent much of this afternoon cleaning up the boys’ room, taking an inventory of their fall clothes, deciding which to keep or to toss, trying to figure out what I’ll need to buy when the cooler weather sets in. I7 needs long pants, of course. And a coat. E3 needs a couple of things. Not surprising, really, but the really great thing I learned on my little excursion deep, deep, deep down into the darkest depths of the kids’ closet, is that neither one of my kids needs a sweater this year. In fact, they barely have enough room in their dresser for the sweaters they have. Which means the extremely boring project I shared with you the other day can go on vacation, a very long vacation, along with the other kid sweater project I have planned. Life is too short for projects you hate, dear knitters. Too short.

off topic · random

And now for something completely different…

Jen1 Comment

Whereas today is A Day Without Cats, I offer you Puppy Can’t Get Up: