Got my mojo working.

After a month of knitting, frogging, knitting, frogging... you get the idea... I finally have my knitting mojo back. I finished the pair I'm about to show you late last week. Since then I've been in a frenzy of knitting, matching my yarn stash to patterns I like, and dreaming of future projects. I'm back, baby!!

The smoke has cleared, for now. I think St. Petersburg might get a little more smoke from the fires, but hopefully nothing like last Friday (pictures in my previous post). That day we had the worst air quality on record for St. Pete. It was like being trapped in an unventilated smoky bar - all day. It was nasty. Sunday, finally, we could see blue skies.

In the last post I promised you a finished object, some WIPs and the most awesome stitch markers - ever! Here we go...

Let's start with the most awesome stitch markers. The photo and thanks are long overdue; Sean made these and gave them to me weeks ago. But because of my knitting malaise I haven't been keeping up with the blog. So without further ado:


The photo is a little blurry (no macro lens) but its the best I've been able to do with my camera. Aren't these the most perfect stitch markers for me? Little dog stitch markers (and a tiny sock keychain)! Thank you, thank you, Sean! I love them so much. Right now he's selling them at Needles & Knobs in St. Pete, but I hope he makes them available online, too. Maybe if you visit his blog and ask him, he'll sell you some.

Finally... drum roll, please, my first knitting photo in a month. I made these for Mom for Mother's Day. Ahhh, she gave me life and I give her socks:


Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt from IK's Favorite Socks. I used Louet Gems in Aqua. I am becoming a huge fan of Louet Gems, the colors are gorgeous. As for the sock pattern: if I made them again there are things I'd do differently. I tend to knit from patterns just as they're written. I must have been a lemming in a past life. So when the pattern said to do two rows before joining in the round I thought, well, must be part of the design. Now I have a notch at the top of each sock (and not in the back where you think they'd be. They're on the side.). When it said to cut the yarn after turning the heel, I thought, well, there must be a reason, and off the cliff I went. Twice, because I wanted the socks to match perfectly. Live and learn. I think she'll like them: she likes this color and I think the leaves are sunny and spring-like.

This weekend I started two new pairs.

I started my first pair of Jaywalkers - a right of passage for knitters. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill in Life's a Beach. I bought this yarn when I was in a particularly sunny mood (I get all crazy for bright colors maybe once a year). The colors may be a bit too strong for me, but I hope it'll make for an interesting sock. These may end up being gifted or at least saved for my next bright color day.


The next day I started this sock:


This funny looking thing is the Child's First Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. This is my first Nancy Bush sock, even though I have three of her books. I wouldn't have thought about knitting this particular sock because the photo in the book isn't very appealing. Then I saw the socks made by Christy and Terhi (both of these ladies are always working on amazing stuff) and I knew I had to make them. As you can see, this sock is progressing faster than the Jaywalkers. I love this pattern; every so often the pattern changes so I never get bored. I love this yarn (J Knits Supersock, color Indiana), I love the way it's knitting up; from what little I can try on so far the sock already feels as comfortable as my favorite pair of jeans, even with the 25% nylon content. Love. It.

Not fog. Smoke.

I have actual knitting photos to show you - as soon as I can take them. Right now my little corner of the world is a little smoky and not conducive to photo taking. The smoke from the wildfires (over 100 miles away, mind you) came in very suddenly about an hour ago. I had all the windows open, plus the back door was open for the dogs. It is now hazy inside my house, too. I hope my finished but damp from blocking socks, mom's Mother's Day present, don't smell like a campfire.

Here's a view near me. I was going to walk to a more picturesque area of my neighborhood, but after 30 seconds of being outside my eyes were screaming, "It burns! It burns!!!"



Sasha, cooped up inside until the smoke clears, is bored after being in the house for 10 minutes. This is what I call her "summer pose": cooling her belly and in general not looking lady-like at all. I can tell from her expression that she is planning and plotting some sort of sabotage to be revealed later in the day.


Coming tomorrow (if the smoke clears): knitting! I have finished socks to show you! Plus, new WIPs and the most awesome-ist stitch markers - ever!

Hi there!

Betty here! You may not have heard about me. Apparently "middle child syndrome" applies to dog families, too. My older brother, Jackson, is considered the perfect angel around here so he gets mentioned a lot. My little sister, Sasha, is so obnoxious that it's difficult not to pay attention to her. I'm the quiet one in the middle. Good thing I'm quiet, the rare times I do bark mom tells me my bark could shatter glass. Anyway, I'm a pretty good girl, unless there are children or air-conditioning repair men around. Or cats. Or vacuum cleaners. Or those little plastic lambs people put in their yards at Christmas. I hate those - they could come to life and attack at any moment. Oh, and I can be mean and growly to Sasha but I promise you she brings it on herself. She is not a good girl like me. Sasha spends her days filling her tummy with mulch, twigs, lizards, bugs, and...

What? Mom says wrap it up nobody wants to hear how I feel about Sasha and her eating habits. She says this is a knit blog for crying out loud.

I'm really here to tell you that mom has been too lazy busy to post. And that really there's been nothing to post about (except: shout out to my sock pal!). She's lost her knitting mojo. She's spent the last two weeks...what's the term...tinking, and... something about frogs. Playing with frogs? Playing Frogger? Frogging? Ripping? Something like that. Anyway, she's not posting anything until her mojo comes back and she "adjusts her attitude".

I hope she gets her mojo back soon. She spends her free time cradling yarn when she should be petting me. Okay, anyway, that's it! Have a great weekend everybody!

XOXO,
Betty

PS: I learned how to blog from Max!

Welcome to the Monkey House

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. / Knitty Winter 2006
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Indian Summer
Modifications: None, except used 2.25 instead of 2.5 needles

These were fun and quick to knit. I never have the urge to knit the same thing twice, but I am already thinking of knitting another pair! I searched for awhile to find the yarn I wanted to use. I wanted a subtle varigation that would show off the pattern. I looked online then realized I had what I wanted in my stash all along.

After blocking, I took my Monkeys out to play shuffleboard.


These are some of the oldest courts at the club. I think they were installed around 1928. They're terrazzo (the other 50 courts are concrete). In their present condition the terrazzo courts are unplayable (terrazzo courts are very difficult to maintain). But they sure are purty.


Here's an eye-candy photo of my little monkeys (one of their more serious-looking poses for the camera). Jackson is in the back, Sasha in the middle, Betty in the front. One of Sasha's nicknames is Monkey (aka Sasha Monkey). She was six months old when I adopted her. She had been a stray for who knows how long so bringing her home was a little like bringing home a baby raccoon (she refused to eat from a bowl for a couple weeks!). She earned her Monkey nickname shortly after I adopted her. She decided she wanted to sit on my friend's lap so she climbed up by scaling his legs. She put her right paws on one leg, left paws on the other, and shimmied right up like a little spider monkey.

Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.

I never met him, but I always felt a connection to my favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut. When I was growing up I was so grateful for his novels. He spoke at my high school my sophomore year. I remember he spoke about his fear of nuclear war and blasted Indianapolis for no longer being the progressive, creative city it once was (he was talking about a looong time ago). For a 15 year old kid that was really cool stuff. After I saw him speak I quickly read every novel he wrote. Cat's Cradle was the first. Slaughterhouse-Five is still my favorite. His work did more to help me through my teen angst phase than any chick lit novel ever could. Just knowing that someone like him could come from my conservative hometown was comforting.

His entire family had a very indirect influence on my life (but an influence nonetheless). My two favorite buildings in Indianapolis were designed by his grandfather. Every time I go home I visit them. The strong connection I have to them is the reason why I became such a historic preservation nerd. (To know me in person is to know that I'm always upset about an old building being demolished - I can go on and on about the sense of place and people's connections to buildings and spaces. Warning: never get me drunk because that is my number one tipsy topic)

I went to college here.


When I was a kid, I took theater classes here.


It is the Atheneaum, orginally named Das Deutsche Haus. Every Saturday after class my friends and I would explore every inch of this building. There are three stages in the building. I can get from the Rathskeller stage to the rafters above the main stage (four floors) via the hidden stairs.

Do you have a special connection to a building, place, or even a person you've never met?

I'll always be grateful to Kurt Vonnegut. He gave so many gifts to the world. He will be missed.

Extra! Extra! Guy in knitting t-shirt spotted in local newspaper

Read all about it! I don't know how long this will be on the home page of The St. Petersburg Times today, but I thought this was too good not to share. I of course didn't read the article (he's a con man or something) but instead just locked in on the photo. Here's the link. It's next to Hot Topic. If the photo is gone by the time you see this, here it is:


I love it when men aren't afraid to show they love to knit. But why does he have to be a con artist?

Knitting with others

Last Saturday I once again went over to Tampa to meet up with some fellow Rockin' Sock Club members. This time it was Phoebe, Alyson and myself. Have you ever had one of those great afternoons where you meet up to knit and talk talk talk and all the sudden it's four hours later and oh my gosh one of you has a rather long drive home? That's the kind of afternoon it was. Phoebe worked on a beautiful sock using Black Bunny Fiber. Both times I've knitted with her I've come back home with a long list of indy dyers to try. Alyson worked on her Bellocq stockings (Stitch Diva). They are gorgeous, gorgeous! Be sure to visit her blog and check them out. If you get the urge to make them yourself, she's even started a KAL.

Alyson mentioned this on her blog, too, but one of my favorite moments was when we were approached by an elderly woman with what I think was a heavy German accent. She said she used to love to watch her mother (or grandmother, crap I forget) knit when she was little. She thanked us (thanked us!) for bringing back such good memories. I wanted her to pull up a chair so I could ask her tons of nosy questions about her (grand)mother, where she was from, if her (grand)mother taught her to knit... Instead I just smiled and thanked her. For some reason I was curious why she didn't mention if she knitted. Why? Why did no one teach her?! I try to keep a lid on my nosy side; I love people's stories, even if I can't remember the specifics.

I've been working on some Monkeys, but I'm not going to show you yet. I'll be done in a day or two so I'll take photos then. In the meantime, let me try to distract you from the lack of knitting photos with some viney goodness in my yard.

Last year I decided to go native in my yard. I moved all my non-native plants to the backyard so at least my front yard is 100% native (Except the grass, which takes up 80% of my yard. I suppose it's more accurate to say that my yard is 20% native). The plan is to replace any dying non-native plants in the backyard with native ones so eventually my backyard will be native, too. There are a few non-native plants I may not have the heart to get rid of. My jasmine, in bloom now and smelling beautiful, is two years old and finally draping itself over the fence: When I open the back door I'm greeted with a whiff of jasmine!


In the front yard, I opted for some Cross Vine (Bignonia capreolata). Planted last year, it's starting to get some good blooms. One of the misconceptions is that Florida native plants aren't as attractive as the popular plants. I think the Cross Vine is beautiful:


Today was a very odd day in Florida. Cold and rainy. I loved the cold. My yard loved the rain. Others at the house weren't as thrilled.