An unexpected day off

Firstly, thank you guys for your birthday well wishes! It's nice to feel the love from near and far : )

Okay, who here doesn't like a day off? A day to relax, to unwind, to maybe catch up on a few minor chores or best of all to finish up a project. Well I certainly don't mind a day off, like I had today - but definitely not under these circumstances.

Have I mentioned before that I'm on the path to a healthier, better body? Read as I'm working out and trying to eat right. Some days, those two ends of the coin actually work well together and I feel super duper. Yesterday I had a good breakfast, drank my water, made a blueberry banana smoothie and had a nice lunch. In the evening, in an attempt to get the other side of the weight loss sucess coin going I headed off to the gym to the much anticipated step class. Let me say here that I've always been kind of afraid of the step - I look down at it to make sure my feet are on there properly and that I don't go flying across the room.

So, this was my third step class and it was going great! I was burning fat and sweating like nobody's business. Suddenly, the world went off kilter and guess what? I went flying across the room. Well not exactly flying but I can't for the life of me figure out how I got so far from the step AND facing the other direction. Man, the pain shot up and down my leg, and my ankle almost instantly began to expand.

Yes, not only was my ankle hurt but my pride as well. That class was full. And there were onlookers waiting to get in the class after that one. So, yah. I had to take the day off. I am now able to put some weight on the poor thing but now it is the size of a large egg.

The plus side of this sad tale is that I got to do some extra knitting on Miralda. I am getting to the point where the rows are getting noticably shorter and the pattern is really very evident. I have no doubt at all that the Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine was an excellent choice. I am almost finished this first skein of yarn and will have to take down my trusty-ish home made swift and get a-winding soon.

Wanna see a pic?

I am looking forward to finishing it up and blocking it. I'm going to have a blocking party soon too as Ishbel, Damson and the leaf tee all await some shaping love.

Well I'm off for now. I think my knee wants to join in on the hurting action.

Ciao!

Another year, another birthday

Hola peeps!

Today is my birthday and it was a nice one. Nothing spectacular or mind blowing but I felt covered in love and appreciation and those are two things that no one should be short on. Plus it was a vast improvement over last year. Those were not good times!

So the hubby bought me a beautiful foodie gift basket. See below!

In there I found camembert cheese - an acquired taste for me I have to say! Table water biscuits seasoned with black pepper to go with the cheese. A bar of Lindt white coconut chocolate, St. Dalfour's peach preserves, a box of mixed teas, roasted seaweed, bamboo rolling mat and paddle, sushi rice and white miso soup and to top it off pirouline chocolate hazelnut cookies. If you can't tell by now, I am a closet foodie. I love food mainly because I get so bored of the traditional fare we tend to cook here. Once I do my research I'll try my hand at the sushi. But since it takes years and years and more years to become a sushi master, I'll settle for just being able to make something that vaguely resembles what I get in the restaurants and hopefully taste just as good... or relatively close. LOL!

Last post I mentioned that I was going to make a white chocolate cheesecake for my birthday but it didn't happen. Went to the store and behold, no white chocolate. So I resolved to make this cake instead. Another no-bake cake. Here's evidence of my attempt:

As you can see, it's not quite like Martha's LOL! It did set up quite nicely as promised but after the minimum 6 hour leave alone requirement, it tasted like someone spilled chocolate in their ricotta. The tastes did not as they say on the cooking channel marry each other. However, a day and a spoon later revealed that this cake is really quite good! I used pulverized oreos instead of the wafers and that added even more fat, er, taste. The oreo crumbs didn't stand up to the top layer of the ricotta/chocolate mixture and kind of spread outwards to the sides. It's not a cake that can sit on the counter for a long time for obvious reasons and so it is not remembered that often by the rest of the family. But I guarantee you that once I pull out a saucer and put a slice on it, everyone wants piece. I don't think I'll make it again though. The ingredients are quite expensive (eg USD$14 for a litre of ultra pasteurized cream that I'm not using everyday...) and a pill to find.


Okay, so that's the cooking/ food section of the blog for the day. On to knitting. No pics (as it kind of looks almost the same as you last saw it) but Miralda is coming along beautifully as last indicated. I am now to the diamonds. Somewhere along the way, I neglected to decrease three stitches so now I have 284 instead of the required 281. I am going to fudge it and take off the extra stitches at the ends and hope that doesn't mess my knitting life up too badly.

So that's it for me today. Another year God has blessed me with good life and the ability to enjoy my family and that's the best birthday gift I can think of!

Progress!

One of the first things I did this morning after getting out of bed was to reach across to my bedside table and grab Miralda and start to knit on her. This is really shaping up beautifully in the pattern itself and the colour of the shawl. Since this is a bottom up shawl (well that's what I call it anyways - is that the correct term?) there's alot of the knitted fabric in hand after each row passes and this berroco ultra alpaca feels heavenly. No sneezing or itching here so maybe that other yarn for the clogs as mentioned in a previous post had in a different combination or different fiber content. Anyways, this a total joy so far.

Just a heads up though - this pattern comes with an two errata sheets here and here. 

Here's a pic to show you how far I've gotten:

 Besides the knitting, I have a few other plans that my husband in particular is looking forward to - the main one being my first attempt at making a no-bake white chocolate cheesecake presumably for my birthday on Wednesday (it takes 24 hours to set - or so the recipe tells me) but I somehow think that he'll get into it once it's set tomorrow.

What are your plans for this beautiful Sunday morning?

Let the knitting begin (again anyways)

After a fair amount of postman stalking, my expected package arrived. I am very happy to finally have in my hands the St-Denis Nordique yarn in ruby wine, Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine yarn and the St-Denis Magazine issue 2. Here are a few of my cell phone pics attached:

St-Denis Nordique in Ruby Wine and St-Denis Magazine Issue 2

The St-Denis Nordique is 100% wool and does not feel terribly soft under my fingers. It doesn't feel terrible either - just a tad coarse. Not as coarse as hemp but not as soft as Malabrigo lace. The colour is deep and rich and to my untrained eye the balls looks the same without any mild variations of red.

Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Oceanic Mix

Now I must confess that I am totally in love with the Berroco. I really wasn't sure what to expect with this yarn and the colour. But the colour is totally amazing. It is a beautiful mix of blue and subtle greens that the cell camera isn't picking up. The name Oceanic Mix is absolutely spot on as it reminds me of our beaches on a hot scorching day - much like today! It's soft and a bit hairy. Which brings to mind a memory of itchy nostrils and skin back when I was knitting some clogs out of an alpaca blend of yarn. Someone suggested to me then freezing the yarn before knitting and that did work. I don't suspect or rather I hope not to have any problems of that kind with this beautiful yarn.

I'm torn as to which one to start first! The Juneberry Triangle or the Miralda Shawl. Decisions decisions!

Unpaused

Hello readers! Are you confused? Don't be... just changing up the look of the ol' blog here. I didn't really like that last template design (plus it wiped out all my previous FO's and WIP's lists... they should be mostly back now...) and have settled on a simpler cleaner layout. Hope you like! I do : )

While away, hubby and I celebrated 10 years of married-ness. That certainly went by fast! We celebrated by going to our fave Japanese/Thai restaurant and took the kids since it coincided with our daughter's birthday with was a few days after our anniversary. The highlight of the evening was their attempts at eating with the chop sticks and my son wondering why the rice was so clumped together LOL!!(Bajan men prefer their rice grains not so cozy with each other!). I had the tasting menu which consisted of tempura veggies and a tempura prawn (which was given promptly to hubby because of my shell fish allergy), a California roll, some sashimi, a giant salad, teriyaki chicken and jasmine rice. The kids had teriyaki chicken and beef and hubby had a shellfish dish off the Thai menu. Dessert was icecream for me and fried cheesecake for the kiddos. We were well stuffed!! It wasn't the cruise that I was hoping to do but it was fun nonetheless.

Since June I've been on pause with regards to my studies. I sat my last two exams and had to wait six weeks to get my results.With much trepidation and with my heart in my mouth, I clicked on "course history", scrolled down and looked for that magical word. That one word that carried with it so many possibilities. See, the word could be either Failed or Passed.

Failed would mean having to resit the exam, delay in getting certified and just the overall feeling of depression stemming from the failure and acceptance of the loss of money spent to the course (about $600+ Cad a pop!).

Passed would mean the complete opposite - it would involve looking at the world through certified eyes, it would mean I did not spend the last few months studying so hard for nothing, it would mean that I'll be a bad ass - in a good way! LOL! It would mean SUCCESS.

People, I saw PASSED. On BOTH courses so this means that I am officially done with my studies. There's one more administrative step and I'll have those three extra letters behind my name. To say I am happy would be the biggest understatement of the year. But, it's late and I cannot think of anything smart and cute to say that would impress you so happy it is.

Completion of my studies as a student should essentially mean that I should be knitting like a woman starved for her needles and yarn. But I am not. It's like my body is on a strike or something - refusing to do anything that entails reading or the s-word i.e. studying. Reading a pattern right now involves figuring out instructions and following instructions and the like. I did however, at least TRY to start Miralda from Knitted Lace of Estonia: Techniques, Patterns, and Traditions but I seemed to have some difficulty counting the 300+ stitches needed for the cast on. When I figured that out, I kept doing something really stupid and wasn't getting the required amount of stitches at the end of the rows. Once I got that sorted out, I realized that I really and truly didn't like how it was knitting up with the Malabrigo Lace. It was too fuzzy and the stitch definition was crap. So I frogged it, found a yarn store that ships directly to Barbados without charging me my first born son and bought two skeins of Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine in some bluish colourway, three skeins of St. Denis Nordique in Ruby Wine to make the Juneberry shawl (cause I love the colour of Jared Flood's!) and the St-Denis Magazine issue 2. As we speak they should be on their way. I say should because the whole shipping thing is another story. It would be extra nice to get these this week but that's me being very very hopeful. So once those arrive I should be in the mood to knit one or the other.

Then I'll have some actual knitting content to share.

Victory

Ladies and gentlemen(?) Damson is done. There is nothing quite like finishing up a project that was so easy to knit but yet has beautiful results! Well the results will be beautiful once I block it. Like the Ishbel before it, Damson will remain unblocked until I get my hands on some blocking mats and blocking wires. Hopefully that will be this month once I get a few things on my list squared away.

Here she is in all of her unblocked glory:

I had one or two problems with this pattern though - even as ridiculously easy as it was. I lost count of some yarn overs and was too lazy to go back and untink my mistakes (I did a lot of untinking further on but not on this initial error) If you look closely at the two main yarnover sections there you will see that I am talking about. The problem is so minor in my books that I've left it as is and am still happy. I guess mainly because it's an error on both sides. Now if it was an error on only one side it would have been ripped out.

Second problem is that I ran out of yarn. On the bind off - halfway through. Bah. I asked if any one over on ravelry had some scraps to send me and was basically told to go buy a skein. People can be so nice! I guess it's which part of the world you hail from and maybe your knitty superstardom as well. I can't imagine anyone not helping the yarnharlot should she have a similar quandry. But then again, such a harlot would never run out of yarn on the bind off. Maybe I shouldn't expect those who purport to be nice to be actually so. Maybe I shouldn't think that everyone out there will do as I have done in the past. Ah well. I wound up getting out some debbie bliss 100% merino yarn I had, cutting off a length of it, splitting it in two sections (each section made up of 3 strands of yarn), splicing it to the malabrigo sock yarn and binding off. If this is successful remains to be seen when I block this baby out.

So next up is my prize! Earthtonesgirl - Denise sent me the lovely skein of yarn that I won over on her blog some weeks back. She mailed it when she said she would and it arrived in no time at all! I LOVE getting good mail and this definitely falls into that category. Here are two pics of the yarn. Denise, if you're reading, we weren't able to take the skein to Oistins for a photo op as we've all (excepting hubby) been under the weather and are now recovering. My daughter had the worst of it I think as on top of her cold, she had a double eye infection. Not pretty at all but today her eyes are nice and clear. Hooray for medicine!

Yarn looking wistfully out of the window wondering where the heck she is:

Yarny in better light:

Thanks again to Denise! I have a few ideas about what I want to make with it so stay tuned if you will : )

Today if everything goes well, the much talked about Miralda will be cast on. Yay!

Later guys!

Nothin' like a Friday at home

To get me back in the swing of things, I've picked back up Damson first. It is a simple knit - mind you I am not sure where I went wrong on a few rows back but had to do some creative knitting to get to the right stitch count one or two times - and I figured that's the best place to get my fingers and wrists accustomed to the needles and yarn thing once again. Aeolian might have been a little fiddly going back in as the yarn I'm using is very thin and not to mention the beads!

Here are two progress pics. The yarn being black might make it a tad hard to see, coupled with the fact that I've taken said pics with my cell phone camera. But you get the idea!

 It is an enjoyable knit that's for sure.

So what else is on the cards today? The family has requested some bread and chocolate cake - it seems as though they intend to fill up my free time as best as they could - no hardship though! They know that I enjoy the process of baking thoroughly so it's a win win.

Well, I best get to it then. Happy knitting all - and baking too ; )

What a wonderful way to get back in the swing - er knit of things!

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

My - well if it hasn't been a month of Sunday's since I've been on here. That's because I've been studying two intense courses at once all in the name of becoming certified in my career. I do not know the results until later and am excited and nervous and do not want to think about them until I really have to.

I've missed being on here and am happy to get back to it : ) Knitting is the first order of business and call it a good sign or just call it luck but I just got home, opened up my email to read that I've won a skein of yarn over at Earthtonesgirl !!!! I can't remember the last time I won anything - actually that's because I've never won anything that I can remember. I am just already imagining what I'll knit with my surprise.

So what have you all been up to? Knitting like crazy I hope! LOL! Over here in addition to knitting I've been baking up a storm using the The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes my favourite so far being the old fashioned raisin bread. I've made hamburger buns too and they came out great as well. The only one that didn't come out so great was the vienna bread but that was totally my fault. I didn't (and still don't) know how to shape the bread into an oval and stuffed it (with a tad more effort than was required) into a loaf pan. Came out shapeless and a little small because of the mistreatment but the texture and taste was excellent. Will try again soon. Danishes may be on the agenda next because the folks in this house loves them some home baked bread!

Sewing - ah yes, that has also been going on amid the studying and baking. I'm still learing to sew and the class that I am taking is a free hand class so it has its pros and cons but I think I'll be able to sew a shirt on my own if my notes are good enough. Actually, this weekend I'm planning to try to make one for my son. We'll see how well that turns out. I'm hopeful!

Not really last and not least is Plants versus Zombies. I just bought it on my iTouch and the kids and I are hooked. Hubby is even thinking of giving it a try LOL! It is really addictive. Those zombies are kinda cute - but creepy... especially when you first start the level and they warn "we're coming..." ...shudder.

Okay, that's it for now. This weekend I plan to reintroduce myself to the movies with S.AT.C 2, Karate Kid, Ir.on Ma.n and Rob.in Hoo.d. How lovely life looks now that I am not covered in books! Crossing all crossables that everything goes in my favour.

Later my friends!

First Entrelac

Hihi!

Just sticking my head in to say hi :D Things are still busy over here but we were able to get a little vacation thrown in which was a welcome distraction. For me it was a working vacation as I still had assignments to study for and submit. We took a trip to visit that famous mouse over in Orlando - yep - we went to D*isn*ey. The kids had a blast as this was their first trip. They were mostly well behaved and we all got back safe and sound so I say it was a success all around.

The only down side to the trip was that I did not get to go to the two yarn stores that were closest to where we were staying as they were both 45-50 minutes away. Ah well, next time! I did get to visit a Joann's and was totally overwhelmed by all the gorgeous stuff they sell! I got some dress patterns for myself and my daughter, the latest IK knits, Vogue knitting, a rotary cutter and a few sewing books.

Since getting back however, I was met with some school drama that took me for a loop. Someone used my work as their own and I was punished along with them for it. I was totally oblivious that it happened as I was having fun in Orlando. So, I resorted to my old friend knitting and was able to get my heartrate down to an acceptable level. I spent a few hours knitting this discloth turned wash cloth from half a skein of one of the two sugar and cream skeins of yarn I bought in Joann's.

Here are the results of my first ever entrelac attempt.



I am happy with it and plan to do more since I am now confident with it and know what to expect. I used this pattern (ravelry link) and it was pretty straight forward and easy to follow. If you haven't tried entrelac for whatever reason, give this pattern a try and you shouldn't be disappointed.

Until next time knitty friends!

A few choice words...

... that sum up what's been going on this end.

Studying

Damson

Studying

Freaking out about assignments

Judo

LOST

Studying and feeling pressured to study.

Hope your choice words are more fun than mine!!!

If you have a moment or two...

Please pray for Haiti.

My daughter's school sponsors a number of orphans there and we don't know if they are alive or dead. Such distruction, so much loss...

Sometimes people ask for prayer and we say "yes, I'll remember them in prayer" and don't. Also, see if any legitimate organizations near you need donations of food/ clothes/ toilettries as so many people only have the clothes on their back as their only possessions.

I'll do my part. Will you?

My knitting basket

Since Old Years Night I've been thinking long and hard about which knitting project to start 2010 with. I need a strong project I said to myself. Something a little different but interesting... something that can be knit from my stash because I am holding off buying yarn until March (I think...) and guess what I came up with.

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

Not a good way to kick off the new knitting year! But as the old people here say "tekking time ain't laziness". So I've given it a bit more thought because since Ishbel (which remains unblocked in the yarn hamper!) I haven't touched my knitting. And I really need to. When studying, knitting has been a calming yet productive go to to relax my mind and get me through the next chapters. But I just wasn't getting around to making a final decision. So I pulled out this tonight.

Ladies and gentlemen (?) my knitting basket:



Let's take a look at what's in there:

On the Needles

1. Deep V Argyle Vest (on the second arm band with the neck to go and will be done)
2. Pomatomus socks - or shall I say sock? Shall I gift it? Have two people in mind
3. Aeolian shawl - I would love to knit on this but the beads take too much concentration. Right now, I can do a more challenging project but sans the fiddly beads thank you.
4. The beginnings of Tussie Mussie that will probably be frogged.

Yarn

The yarn is sitting in there to inspire me to get on the other projects I said I would start and finish

1. Rowan kidsilk night for the Bird's Eye Shawl
2. Malabrigo Lace for the Miralda Shawl
3. Handmaiden Seasilk in Rose for ??
4. Various skeins of sock yarn for my son's socks (owed him a pair for his birthday!)
5. A few skeins of Rowan Calmer - maybe that hoodie for my daughter
6. Rowan wool cotton originally for the Tussie Mussie - maybe that hoodie for my son

A few books and patterns litter the basket as well along with my notions. It's virtually a project or 10 waiting to happen!!! So what I am going to choose?

I'm thinking Pomatomus - since one sock is almost done and the other shouldn't take too long, it will make for a good first FO for 2010. At the very least, working on them will give me time to decide on project number 2.

Pomatomus progress:



What project did you kick the New Year off with?

Happy New Year!!

Wow! 2010. Sounds so futuristic no? LOL!

I hope everyone had a blast last night whatever you did. I'm looking forward to this year filled with great expectations for the future - knitting included.

Has anyone done the requisite new year's resolutions? One of my knitting ones is to attend at least ONE of the big knitting gatherings like a stitches east or a knitting retreat. We'll see : )

What are your knitting resolutions and otherwise?

To 2010! May it bring us God's continued blessings, peace, excellent health, and success in whatever we put our hands to : )

Unblocked Ishbel

Here's Ishbel - unblocked and not even a full pic at that. I need some blocking wires as I'm so tired of the pins. So, hopefully the stores will get the non flux welding wires before long.

Gotta run. Will chat later : )

Resurfacing

Hello all! Just dropping in for a drive by post : ) I've been incognito for a bit because of the whole studying thing as well as very recently being confined to bed with three bouts of being unwell - back to back to back. And while on vacation. But I am much better now and so happy to be feeling so.

I must confess that I haven't been doing much knitting since crunch time is here (Ishbel being my latest FO - still unblocked as I type...) - except for a few rows on my pomatomus sock last Friday with my friend Suz from the UK. She came in for a visit and again we met up for lunch and knitting. It was a wonderful afternoon : )

Next semester might require a bit more planning as I've taken on a greater study load all in the name of reaching the finish line all that sooner, so planning the knitting to keep me sane is imperative. Last year, my friend Colette gave me a wonderful gift of a pattern to her lovely Bird's Eye Shawl (rav link)that I didn't buy enough yarn for. I've ordered two skeins (for a total of 4) Rowan Kidsilk Night in order to start. That along with the Aestlight shawl and maybe a hat or two for some fam in the cold climes will keep everthing honky dory. But we'll see as two sets of assignments, quizzes and deadlines will require some proper planning. Wish me well!

So hopefully, I'll be able to post the pics of Ishbel (most likely in it's unblocked state) and maybe a finished sock before the week is out. Hope everyone's knitting is keeping them busy, happy and content : )

Promised pics

So I told you guys about a little package I was expecting yesterday. And here are the contents!

Tada!









The plan here is to wear the agree and disagree shirts as communication tools. When someone cuts us off at the roundabout - I'll shake my head and point to the disagree logo. No need to get all riled up! LOL! And when having a discussion with the hubster I'll just point to the agree logo so he'll know what response I expect from him. LOL! The pink tee is too small for me right now but I'll get into it soon!

As for Ishbel, here are two pics of the progress I was telling y'all about.






Seriously, a quick knit! I hope to finish it this weekend but I'm not going to hold myself to that as I have one more law quizz to submit and the reading on this one is looooong. And the weekend might shape up to be a busy one as hubby is in a martial arts tournament tomorrow and we're all going. Then there's laundry and church and homework and getting ready for Monday.

So what are you guys up to this weekend?

Making mad progress

Ishbel is coming along amazingly fast. There is a stockinette portion and 7 vine lace sections - dependent upon which size you make - and I am on the 4th vine section! And it's only been a week almost since I started it. Could be my sheer determination that is pushing it along - LOL! but I bet the size 6 needles and malabrigo sock yarn has a thing or two to do about it.

Pics to come soon - along with one other package that I should be receiving tomorrow!

Until later... I'm about to get my spot on the couch ready with knitting and books in time for some serious tv watching tonight (although baseball is pre-empting Fringe - AGAIN!! Grrrrr!).

Have a good night everyone!

So happy I can do the dance of joy!

Ok, so of late it doesn't take much to make me happy, especially when it comes to yarn and knitting. I've been having such a bad experience lately with the skybox services I've been using to get my purchased online items here in Barbados that I just gave up (after the hassle of vat, duties, handling, shipping and every other imaginable cost made me spend way in excess for my items and eventually frustrated me with the wait for the delivery)and found an online store that ships directly to Barbados. It cost me $16.05 USD to ship it but the money and frustration that was saved OY!! I've said all this to say that I've got my yarn! Oh happy day! Sitting on my table awaiting further instructions are 2 skeins of malabrigo sock yarn (for the Ishbel and something other lucky shawl), 2 skeins of malabrigo lace destined to become the Miralda shawl and finally the 2 Debbie Bliss Rialto skeins needed to finish my deep v argyle. Now I have high hopes for the miralda shawl using the malabrigo lace as over 200 peeps over at ravelry used it to sucesfully knit her.

So here we go:

First up, my ZUMA! Lol! I did promise you a pic of it didn't I?

Sad Zuma (my imagination is working over time it seems - she looks sad/angry here LOL!!)




Just flip her handles and now she's happy ZUMA!



Sock yarn, lace yarn and dk yarn



All caked up

Malabrigo sock - in black



Malabrigo lace - in Rich Chocolate colourway (only wound one skein as it was fairly sticky and gave some trouble on my makeshift swift...)



Debbie Bliss Rialto in black



I would apologize for the quality of the pics but you've heard that story before : )

So I've got my materials, some time in between and the desire to knit. If I reckon it correctly, there should be some new FOs on here before the year is out!

There has been knitting

(I'm so delinquent sometimes...) October 4th marked 3 years of blogging over here a la knittykitty in the tropics. I'm persistent if not terribly entertaining at least! LOL! Thanks to all you guys who come out and read - you don't always leave a comment but it's nice to know you are there : )

So, what have I been doing? Well, most of the knitting around here has taken place in my head as I have to wait until my shipment from yarnzilla arrives. I've ordered some Malabrigo sock yarn in black to knit Ishbel (I wasn't happy how the Cashbah and Handmaiden seasilk were knitting up so frogged the starts about twice each time!), some Malabrigo Lace in chocolate brown for the Miralda Shawl, and finally the two extra balls of Debbie Bliss Rialto in black to complete the Deep V Argyle vest. I'm not feeling inspired to knit anything like a shirt or cardigan as they seem to take me forever (case in point the raglan leaf tee!) so I've picked back up my dpns and have started another pair of pomatomus socks. I knit these socks some back for a swap I was in and have decided to knit another pair but this time for me. The cashbah that was ill-fated for the Ishbel shawl is working out just fine for the socks. And the second time is going just fine.

Here's a pic of the socks in progress:



And another angle of the same:



Finally, here's a pic of the unblocked raglan leaf tee. I'm happy that it's done but I really do not want to knit another one - too much stockinette!



I hope to have the pomatomus socks completed before the end of the month (I'm just filling the gap with them until my other yarn arrives). I'm not sure I'll wear them as the only need for socks around these parts are for when you're exercising or not feeling well and I'm not sure I want to take my hard work and stuff them into a pair of sneaks of use them on vicks vapo-rubo feet! I may keep em in case I have to travel to somewhere cold or may even gift them. Who knows!

I hope there's been succesful and satisfying knitting going on on your side of the screen. Don't be shy - post and let me know what's on your needles!

Until later, happy knitting : )

Things that I am learning slowly but surely

A few wisdom nuggets:

1. Never cast your pearls before swine. They will trample them and you in the process if given half a chance.
2. Never get tired of doing good even when people treat you indifferently, speak ill of you or take your kindness spit and take a dump on it. It's hard, but I hear it can be done.
3. Don't stand for people's crap. You don't have to. Don't give it. Don't take it. Don't let anyone make you think you should take it just cause they are sharing it out.
4. Keep your head high and your eyes on the prize. Rejoice in the happiness of others and encourage those who need it. Expect nothing, not even basic civility in exchange but always give more than others expect in the way of kindness and it will bode you well.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled knitting blog.