Guinness Book of World Records

You know how some things in the Guinness Book of World Records are cooler than others? Like it's better to be known as the World's Tallest Man instead of the Woman who slept in a box with the most amount of scorpions or something (and yes, I'm making that up - I hope! and have nothing against people who want to sleep in a box with scorpions, it's just not my thing...)

ANYWAY... I think I should qualify for the Knitter's Book of World Records after my feat today. What did I do, you're asking? Well, I went to the LYS at lunch (you should probably brace yourselves here, maybe have a little drink of your adult beverage of choice just to be safe). I got to the yarn store. I went in. I went STRAIGHT to the stitch markers. I picked out the ones I needed. I bought them and left. That's it. That's all. No checking out the yarn, no petting the yarn. No letting any colors on the big pretty back wall catch my eye. I think I was in there for all of a minute and a half. Seriously. AND I paid with a sadly crumpled $5 bill and got change back.

How does this relate to the Guinness Book of World Records I brought up earlier? Well, because I think while still amazing (and slightly freakish) this feat was... it's not "World's Tallest Man" cool.

What I've done to keep busy

I've been knitting on my TdF KAL sweater. I'll have one last update picture later today so I can get some more knitting in on it before le Tour is officially over.

edited to add:

There's a little over 14 inches of knitting there. In one more inch the sleeves are attached, the second intarsia section is started and I'm down to 10 inches of knitting. However, it's hot here. I don't have a/c and this sweater is going to have to wait until it gets a little cooler. 9:38pm

Mom and I participated in some yarn related retail therapy. Wait, that should be 50% off yarn related retail therapy:







That orangey-rust yarn isn't as solid as it looks. It's right tweedy with flecks of other colors. We went to a LYS that is going out of business and got everything half off. We also bought a book of baby/toddler items to share.

I really wish I had thought to take a picture of Mom's haul. She got a lot of pretty "arty" yarn for Christmas scarves and a pretty pattern for a t-shirty sweater.

The store was pretty much out of large quantities of yarn. If you're looking for small amounts of wool for a purse or something, scarves or baby items you could buy enough of what you're looking for. The wool I bought? What will that become? Well... apparently I'm obsessed with a pattern I haven't even made yet. It, too, is for Knitty's Clapotis. It will, obviously, be a larger "sturdier" more of a keep you good and warm type shawl than will turn out with the Koigu I have for the same pattern.

Mom and I also did some general errand running including the semi-obligatory coffee shop stop.

Yesterday morning before all this out and about, I finished spinning the first half of some roving I got online:



I'm quite liking it but am holding out all official thoughts until the second half is spun and the plying begins.

I've also started the ever cool "heel turn" on Dad's sock! woo hoo!!

I'm imagining that by this time next week I'll have a lot of either finished or in progress items to show you. I'll have an abundance of knitting time and engery.

Earlier this month I mentioned my uncle, Don, who was very sick. Well, he passed away Friday night. It really is a blessing, because he isn't suffering anymore, but it doesn't make it any less sad. This would be why Mom and I were having a little yarn therapy yesterday and why I've been keeping busy and why I'll have extra knitting time this week. I just wish I could knit in the car without getting car sick. Mom says I may want to give it another try... gotta love having a Knitting Mom!

I'm not exactly sure when we're leaving or coming home so please don't worry too much if it's awful quiet around these parts this week.

TdF KAL update

Here we are 4 days to the end of the Tour de France. 4 days to the end of the KAL. I have not finished my sweater but I didn't really expect to. I know I'm a slow knitter and that is OK. I got about 8 inches done on my sweater, including that very pretty but kind of tiresome to knit corrigated ribbing. But the encouraging thing is looking at the schematic, I only have 15 inches left to knit on the body then the whole attaching the already knitted sleeves thing. It's a raglan cardigan so there is some additional knitting there (and more ... shudder... corrigated ribbing at the collar) but that's OK. I definitely have less to go than I did at the beginning of the Tour and that's why I joined.



Very Sadly, there have been several people in the Tour who have been blood doping. There are so many things I could say about that but let's just leave it at, it's just sad.

Edited to add: Here's a link to explain blood doping. I sorta knew what it was and after a couple friends asked too I looked it up for all of us. Blood doping by Wikipedia

On a lighter note, I would like to use the above picture as proof that I have not been knitting doping. I'dve finished the stinkin' sweater a week ago if I was!!

Also I sit here and fuss and whine about my sweater. My first sweater. The endless sweater (that Linda - a blogless knitting friend did promise me I would finish before Christmas) of miles of stockinette... As I sit here... I've got about 4 other sweaters that I SO want to knit. Even tonight as I looked through knitting magazines after knitting with some friends, I bought a magazine that has sweaters in it that I want to make.

C'est la vie, non?

Yarny Goodness

Well, as I mentioned yesterday, I made a little trip up to Yarn Theory. I got some Koigu for a little shawl that apparently WAS all the rage but I tend to be a little behind the crowd. However, the funny thing is, my friend Sallee was at a different yarn store on Saturday and bought yarn for the SAME thing! It'd be really weird if we bought the same yarn, but we didn't.

Here's 2 skeins of the skeins:



I also got some lovely yarn for a Christmas in July yarn swap/Dirty Santa at a knit-in on Tuesday. Maybe I should wait to show that just in case someone reading will be there (don't want them to have any unfair advantages). I would like to state that I did not buy sock yarn and I did get enough to make something with. Maybe just a hat and mitts or something but not just that one skein of really pretty "but what should I do with it" yarn. Which is still great, don't ge me wrong!

A friend of mine at work is going to be a grandmother so I bought a little skien of baby yarn to make a little hat and booties (if there's enough) for the baby:



And I bought a book I've been wanting (Besides the last Harry Potter!):



The best part of this whole haul? I had a 40% off coupon I used on the book, she was having a sale on the "swap" yarn, and I had a store credit so I paid very little out of pocket!

After I left there, I wandered my way home some back roads and stopped at a orchard and winery store and bought some apple butter and cherry butter.

It was a gorgeous day to be out and about so I don't feel quite as bad about spending so much of it on the sofa reading since I did get out some.

It's here!

It's here!! It's here!! It's finally here!!!



Granted, I could've had it 6 1/2 hrs ago BUT I didn't have to wait in line with a bunch of people who had been at a store too long with kids who were up past their bedtime. And more importantly, I didn't have to stay up past my bedtime!

I did extra rows on the sweater last night and will do extra on Monday if I don't get any knitting in this weekend.

Updated at 11:38pm when someone else finishes this book, please let me know... (and yes. that means I'm done reading it. No, I didn't skip to the ending to see what happens and no, I didn't sit around all day doing nothing but reading it. I actually went for a little trip and came home with some quite nice yarny goodess!)

My "TdF" Sweater

Well, still no pictures but I'd like to thank everyone for their kind words of encouragement. I've decided to knit a minimum of 3 rows a day. Maybe not enough to finish it with flying speed but it will be finished. Since I did knit on the Tour de France rest day, lets just call this my rest day(s). But last night wasn't because I couldn't knit, it was because I couldn't see right. I had a routine eye exam and they dilated my eyes. Seeing as how I can't knit without seeing the stitches, I didn't knit.

Stalled

Well, I really have nothing to say. No new pictures, no exciting news, no desire to work on my sweater.

Really, I'm feeling uninspired. I'm half done with the side shaping. I've finished the decreases. After I knit for 3 inches then I can do the increases. Then I get to just do stockinette for a while. A long while I believe...

So... let's talk future projects. I have one in mind (ok so I have like 853 in mind but one directly in mind). However, I've been thinking and reading a few blogs here and there. Anyone know of any shawls/wraps/stoles free or for sale that are knit out of fingering/sock weight yarn? Preferably not triangular?

I have however dug up a few cute cat pictures:

Can you find 4 paws in this picture?



And now for a slightly more dignified picture:



Hope y'alls knitting is going better than mine!

Updates and presents

I finally got started right on Dad's sock. After a small "freak out" at Mom's about the size it's all a-go.



I know you're wondering about how so much got done, well... I went up to Mom's yesterday and she was going to knit on her "I have to think about it" sock and I was going to knit on my "I have to think about it because I'm at the side decreases" sweater. Well, she was having one of those days and didn't get much sock knitting done. I had forgotten my pattern at home and had only mindless stockinette sock knitting. Which helped contribute to Mom's lack of sock knitting, I kept talking to her :) BUT we figured out how to fix a sweater she knit and had an issue with and found another sweater pattern she liked and was swatching for so all in all it was a good day!

My sweater progress:



Here's the intarsia block so far:



I started the block right above my thumb. I really feel I'm making good progress on my sweater. Maybe not great progress but good progress. I'm glad I joined the Tour de France KAL. It's really inspired me to work steadily on my sweater. Maybe it really will be done in time for the cool weather!

Lastly, I bring you the present Mom brought me from her trip to Savannah.



I love it!! And yes, for those of you aren't local or haven't seen me leaving knit night... I drive a big red truck.

Crash and Burn

As y'all know I'm knitting on my Rosedale cardigan for le Tour de France KAL. That's my "at home" project but I need a little something to carry to work with me and other such places. So I've been working on a sock. A sock I've not been so happy with. Mostly my mood I think, it's turning out just fine. So today, I thought I'd start my Dad's sock so I could carry it around with me (I've found for me, short row toes are best done at home). So after I went to Ukrop's (and bought a yummy croissant for breakfast), I watched le Tour and cast on for his sock. I did my little swatch, I figured out how many to cast on and I was off. As the leaders are zipping across the finish line, I realized I had messed up. Badly. I could've patched it but it would've looked BAD. I ripped the whole toe out. I'd rather knit a good toe (especially for Dad and his first pair of knitted socks) so it's not that big of a deal, but I'm really glad I didn't have to rip out anything on my sweater. The two of us have finally reached an agreement and we're just sailing along I don't want any more problems. The moral of this story? While short row toes are best done at home, they are not recommended knitting while watching le Tour de France.

Since I haven't made a lot of progress since my last sweater picture, and I have no picture of a sock that doesn't yet exist, I'm going to tell you that if you click on the link for the TdF KAL, you can get some wonderful looking French recipes and see what everyone else is up to. Because you know, what are knitters if not enablers?

Edited to Add: I forgot one of the main reasons I started this post today. Knitnana tagged me as a:



How cool is that?! So I'm supposed to tag 5 people now. She tagged most of our knitting group's bloggers (which I think y'all all are Rockin' Girl Bloggers too!) so I'm going to stay (mostly) local too:

Dianne
Dana
Marianne
Mary
Robin H

The best part about this "tag". You don't really have to do anything! :) You can tag people but there's no list of questions to answer or pictures to post or anything. Just enjoy...

Stage 5 TdF KAL update

Finally, I feel I'm making progress. Which does make sense because we're starting to get a few more hills here in le Tour.



See where that green stitch marker is? That's the marker for my intarsia block on the front panel of le cardigan. Have I mentioned that I haven't done intarsia before? No? Oh, well, I haven't.

If I keep this up, that polka dotted jeresy just may be within my reach!

Finished!

I have a finished baby hat and bootie set to go with the Steelers sweater:



The plan was (and still may be) to find a little patch to go on the hat to imitate a little helmet. I've not had a lot of luck but I'm not giving up yet. And I picked white for the booties so they'd look more like little tennis shoes or cleats.

Now, I must go knit on my sweater.

Tour de France KAL update and dishcloths

With thanks to Robin I figured out what I was doing wrong with my sweater. We're back on track now.



That's actual stockinette there...

Also, over at Yarn Miracle there's a little contest of who has the most hand knit dishrags. I know I won't win, but here are all of mine that live here. Well, except the one at the sink.



Last summer was the Summer of Dishcloths. I made oodles of them all for gifts. But now, I have 11 living with me. 10 are pictured here.

Finally, I bring you my friend, Big Fat Groundhog. There are two living in my woods but he's my favorite. All that rusty brown fur...



However I think he'd like it only slightly more than Bartholamew if I got his tummy. I do know that this is Big Fat Groundhog because the other one I saw is much smaller and darker.

I'd like to thank everyone for nice comments about my package to my aunt and the encouraging comments on my sweater. I swear, knitters are just great people!

Mystery project revealed

I think since the mystery project is finished and has reached it destination safely and was much appreciated I can reveal what it was now.



You see, my uncle is very sick. Not quite 2 yrs ago he was diagnosed with bulbar palsy. The long story short is that he just is doing very poorly. As anyone who has known any terminally ill people it is as hard on the care taker as it is the person. So, I made a care package for my aunt. Just a little something to let her know I'm thinking of her.

With the cotten blend yarn I got at Mosaic the other week I made two wash cloths. I bought some soap from my blogging friend Robin H (who, BTW, has two adorable kittens that just adopted her!), and a little pack of "hankies" and a little bit of coffee. Along with a card, I sent these down with my Mom when she went to visit them this weekend.

When I talked to Mom yesterday she said Beth loved the present so much she packed it all back up so she could open it again later.

In a similar note, my other aunt Judy, called me the other day to tell me she got her socks and she just loved them! She said she can't wait for it to get cold so she can wear them.

Tour de France KAL update

Well, I may be getting a flat tire already. Despite finally finishing the ribbing (I think that was a large part of me putting the sweater aside), I have hit a stumbling block. I don't know if it is a pattern error or something I did wrong. Of course tomorrow is Sunday, so all the yarn stores are closed but my favorite "resource" for help, aka: Mom, is out of town. I'm hoping that my next update isn't, "Ah non, je dois dechirer."*

Maybe I'll just knit on some baby items for a bit. Because you know, errors sometimes fix themselves while you're knitting other things...





*Oh dear. I need to rip back.

Mew Hew!

(that's Kitty for "woo hoo!")

From Pepper:

We got our package today from our Secret Paws. Our new friends Fiona and Ali sent us great presents!



yeah! a box AND a bag!



"Pepper, there's more than just a bag in the box!"



I want THIS!



Fine. I like feathers...



Momma... I think there's 'nip in here...

We got a big bag of different balls and mousies. Not one or two but FOUR different catnip mousies (oh. Sorry. Mom said we got 3 mousies and one elephant. I'm gonna have to investigate this whole "elephant" thing later...). Two feather balls (mmmmm, feathers....) oh um, we got, a big bag of Temptations treats. Yummy! Momma hadn't bought me.. us (why's she gotta read over my shoulder?) any of them yet.

Thank you Fiona and Ali! We love our presents and are so glad you got us! (Momma said tell your Momma not to worry about the box. it made it just fine...)

Love and headbutts,

Pepper and Bartholamew

I'd like to add, don't let them fool you, they were in kahoots about who got what from the get go:

Independence Day

First and foremost I must say I hope everyone is having a very safe and happy Independence day!

I've got a little bit of everything going on today.

First I bring you le cardigan pour le* Tour de France KAL. This is the status as of now. This has been the status for a long time now. I started it in maybe February or March? I had full intentions of finishing it before it got too warm to wear a sweater. I failed.







I am competing under the maillot a pois rouges**. The Mountain Climber. I aim to finish the body of le cardigan by the end of le Tour on July 29th. However, if I don't, that's OK as long as substantial progress has been made.

Next, I bring you just why I love living in the Roanoke Valley. It's a bit hazy in the pictures but I think you'll get the idea.





That's my city in the first one and why the bear went over the moutain in the second one. What? You don't remember why the bear went over the mountain? Why to see what he could see, of course.

I took those pictures coming home from The Explore Park. My camera was on the verge of battery death so I took very few pictures. But I did get this one:



A Great Wheel.

Next, you get Judy's finished socks. Already mailed off to her:



Lastly, I bring your the country girl's version of "Where's Waldo?"



I did leave it full sized in case you need a little help.

Be safe everyone!

*the cardigan for the (cardigan in French is sadly the same therefore not very exciting to write in French but I thought I would anyways)
**the polka dot jersey

Monday

Or Why it's good to hang out with your friends and knit in your pajamas... in public!



1. It's comfy

2. it's fun

3. when you get home, you're already in your jammies

4. to make the people at the neighborhood restaurant what you're up to.

Umm... Ok. So I ran out of reasons but I must admit going down to Sereknity in my pajamas and knitting really was a good evening! So good in fact that I totally lost track of time. Which was good because I was stuck at the endless foot of the 2nd sock. I was at 5 inches for a long long time. I finally got to the toe tonight! Woo hoo!! Pictures to come.

Saturday while Mom and I were at Sereknity she bought a lovely bag of green Cormo roving for me to spin. She's going to knit a hat for Luke with it. I have a picture of the singles but not the finished yarn.



I also have another skein I spun but that will also have to wait until daylight for a picture.

If I don't make it back before July 4th, I wish all of you a very happy Independence Day!