There's No Place Like Home

... and I'm headed here today. Thank goodness.

I've been in Anaheim, California on business since last Wednesday. Nine days for something like this is a looooooong time. Especially when you're pregnant.

At least it's beautiful here (though the weather didn't warm up until yesterday).

Not much knitting progress has been done these past few days, other than fiddling with the Sea Wool. I decided to rip it out and put it back in the suitcase and focus instead on the jaywalker, which will be my plane sock today. It enjoyed the gardens at my hotel.

I did manage to make it to Disneyland one day -- 5:30 on a Tuesday afternoon seems to be a good time to see characters ... or at least the hosts with the most.

There was no way I was going to wait in line for a "real" picture, so for all of the character pics, you usually end up with strange children in there, too.

And you'd never guess it, but I also stumbled one one of these in a shop window on Mainstreet USA:

Getting a good photo was very difficult (I was really trying hard not to step on overtired children), but this is definitely an antique wheel. It had some spun wool on the bobbin and roving hanging from the flyer. Makes me miss my wheels!

I'm not sure if anyone really cares to look, but I've posted a full set of pics on Flickr. You can see them

Help! (Seriously)

I'm getting ready to have my third full day in California, and if you look at the EDT date stamp on this post and subtract three hours, that's what time it is out here on the West Coast. The worst part of this is that I won't be done this evening until at least 11 p.m. Ugh.



But this is not why I need help. You see, I'm having some troubles with the Sea Wool, and was hoping for some feedback. Last night I tried on the cuff (did this yesterday and it was too tight to move over my heel, so I cast on again with the proper size needles and seemed to get better gauge--8 st/in) and this is what I saw:





See the ladders? Well, this picture just doesn't show you how bad they are. What should I do? Increase the number of stitches, cast on again and try one more time? Anyone have a good pattern for sea wool?


Since it's early and I'm not quite awake yet, I've opted instead to go back to the tried and true Jaywalker, who is slowly earning its trip to a theme park tomorrow night by being a true solace in this time of need (I detest frogging socks). As you know, I've done the first and this is the match. Not too far along just yet, but getting there.

The Jaywalker is quite nice in Regia silk, yes?

California Monkey Business

The flight out here to California was a long one ... broken up with a short layover in Dallas and a mad dash to a last-minute gate change (not fun in DFW period, much less for a pregnant woman) and three-hour legs on either end. Absolutely exhausting.

The Monkey Socks would like for me to tell you that they are now complete as a result. They were not happy freaking out the muggles on the airplane, and absolutely refused to be photographed over the mountains of the west. They did, however, enjoy the chair in my room at the Hilton and agreed to be photographed as they lounged in their completed state:

I haven't yet told them that I didn't bring appropriate shoes to take them out for a stroll...

In other news, there was a little progress on the second of the Jaywalkers, and I've started the Bordello Socks in a lovely green Sea Wool from the Loopy Ewe ... it's the pattern on the yarn band (I only brought the Monkey and Jaywalker patterns with me). These are done on 52 stitches on size 2 needles. I expect rapid progress. I started working on these at 5 a.m. PDT.

So that's all for now. My media facility opens today at noon and there are still a few details to hammer out before opening. It's time to get ready and go to work!

A Quick One Before I Go Away

I've been up since 4 a.m. Pregnancy leg cramp, coupled with the fact that I'm getting ready to fly to California today. My cab will pick me up in about 70 minutes.

Over the past week or so, I've been getting quite a few questions from folks who want to know what I do that has me travelling so much. Well, I'm going to break my rule regarding blogging about work right now. (I just don't think it's a road you should go down because before you know it, you slip and complain about some jerk in the office, the Corporate Comm folks see your blog and well, then your private life just isn't so private anymore and you have taken real risks). I do corporate communications/media relations/public relations for a major medical nonprofit physician's organization. This week is our big annual scientific meeting, and we're going to be in Anaheim, California. Watch the news over the next week or so and see if you can figure out which meeting/organization it is and take a guess in the comments.

In any event, for me this year the challenge for this trip has been three-fold: how to manage my four-day maternity wardrobe over a nine-day meeting, getting the boys together and ready for me to leave (that's all FOUR boys -- two kids, husband and dog) and figuring out what knitting to take with me. You see, on my last trip I had to make an emergency trip for cotton. I don't plan on making an emergency trip for sock yarn in California -- particularly because I can't identify a decent yarn shop within a decent radius of the convention center. So I'm going prepared. Today on the plane, I plan to work on the partners to these:

The pinkish one on the left is the Monkey I completed on Monday and on the right is the Regia Silk Jaywalker that took me an astounding two days to complete. Given that I'm already 2/3 of the way through the leg on the second Monkey and currently doing the leg ribbing on the Jaywalker, I'd say there's a chance for real progress on today's two-leg flight through DFW.

But I'm definitely prepared to finish. In my suitcase I have another two skeins of Regia Silk, a hank of Sea Wool and the Footzey Foo Socks that Rock that I ordered a while back. If I have enough time to complete eight socks on this trip (three from the yarn in the suitcase and the pair on the plane today), I'll suffer from Knitter's Claw for sure.

Oh -- one more thing before I dash off. The MocCrocs were finished on Saturday too.

More from Sunny California later this week!

I Only Have Two Feet

So what in the world is up with THIS?

The current socks of my world, clockwise from lower left: MocCroc, one complete and the second on the foot section; Monkey's in Colinette Jitterbug (I actually meant to do these toe-up because I'm not sure I can gauge yardage right) and three Jaywalkers (don't ask) -- one in Ellen's Half Pint Farm merino/tencel blend from Stitches, one in Opal's "Owl" colorway and one in Regia silk.

I don't know how it came to this, really. Part of this I can blame on the sock virus that's going around, but part of it is attributed I'm sure to my upcoming nine-day business trip in California. Girl needs a plane project, after all. I usually do shawls, but these days I'm just not feeling the love. I figure a couple of socks in progress (the ones that are on Pony dpns or the rosewood dpns are doable on the plane) ought to do the trick. At least until the flight home :)

A word about the patterns. Now I thought that MocCroc had to be one of the fastest ones I've done. I was wrong -- the Jaywalker knits at lightning speed! The Regia one is less than 24 hours worth of knitting (with a workday in the mix) and I'm just about ready for the heel. I understand Cara's obsession with these socks, and I see myself wanting to make a million pairs (hence the other two in progress).

Thoughts?

Maryland, My Maryland (S&W)

All week long, I've been waiting for the anticipation and the anxiety to set in for MDS&W ... that Christmas Eve feeling that is difficult to shake and makes concentration at work quite difficult. On Friday night, I was more than a little worried.

But yesterday morning, I woke up at FIVE THIRTY IN THE MORNING and could hardly keep myself from fidgeting with excitement. It didn't help that there was a very loud group of baby birds outside who were obviously very hungry and trying to wake Mama Bird. Fortunately, my little chicks were all still asleep.

I fought off the anxiety, got myself prepared for the day, packed my bag and left my house at 7:30. I expected much more traffic than there actually was, and I got to the fairgrounds in about 30 minutes. Even though it was eight o'clock, there were tons of people going in already, so I wandered into the grounds, picked up my directories and started scoping out the vendors. My friend wasn't due to meet me there until 9, so I had an hour to kill.

I wandered with the knowledge that the gates don't technically open until 9, ogling yarns and rovings and animals and then happened upon David Paul at The Merlin Tree's booth. I stopped to smile at all the cute little wheels lined up and Dave started chatting. I told him who I was (we talked on the phone last week about saving me a wheel) and before I knew it, he and I had picked my specimen from the row and I was seated, being shown how this little beauty works and taking a practice spin. After I spun for a bit, the deal was cinched. I paid up and Dave even autographed the wheel for me (after all, he builds them by hand -- they're a work of art):

Honestly, I don't know that there's anyone quite as nice as Dave.

To complete my early circuit, I went up to the main exhibition haul to scope out the Koigu booth (I wanted to be there when the Koigu frenzy started so I could watch it ... it's like a 10-cent panty sale at the department store.) I walked the whole hall, but alas, no Koigu. Apparently they were a no-show and rumors were floating of a broken foot. I consoled myself with a much-sought-after-and-coveted Grafton batt. I think that the vendors who actually had Koigu (like the Mannings) really cleaned up.

From there, I started heading back to the front gates to wait for my friend when I ran into Knitty D and The City. They drove down on their own (as opposed to coming with the rest of the Rosie's crew) to make it in time for the Koigu rush, and so I had to break the news. Wendy and I left Christina in the Socks that Rock line at The Fold and we went to check the main hall one more time. This is what Knitty D had to deal with. She's on the far left bending over (sorry Christina!) and Wendy's on the other side in the pink tee:

Wendy and I walked through the main hall and then parted ways back at The Fold's booth. We swapped cell numbers and I went to meet my friend. Sadly, the mayhem of the day prevented us from hooking up again.

Memories from the rest of the day are far less linear. Animals, shopping, animals, more animals, more shopping ... My friend, her husband and I wandered through all the barns and booths, fondling fibers and talking about what spins well and what doesn't, how uncontrollable a stash can be without a plan (her stash rivals mine) and just having a lot of fun. We work together, you see, which is why she's going nameless here, and it's always really nice to do things outside the office with someone that's as much fun as she is. Her husband was a real trooper, too. He carried the Hitchhiker the whole day!

We saw the dog demos:

We wandered a bit more and then parted ways. I headed to get some lunch (got a lamb sausage from the Boy Scouts) and finally plopped down on a bench to rest and eat. Ran into Caroline from my spinning group and chatted and then, at 1, headed out to the blogger meetup.

The blogger meetups always drive me nuts. No matter where people say they're going to meet, it's hard to find -- primarily because we rarely see each others' faces! Unless you pick out something totally awesome to wear (like the socks I saw on the hill -- I don't know her name, but they were amazing), it's very tricky! So I plopped down with Sarah and a few other gals from spinners group and looked around, trying to pick out Gryphon with no luck. Oh well. It was a chance to take a load off, anyway.

By then, it was about 2 o'clock and I had just about had it. So I started heading back to the gates, stopping here and there to pick up little things (like some lovies for the boys -- even the wee one). I finally made it to the car and headed out. So here's the haul:

Clockwise from back left: HitchHiker Wheel from The Merlin Tree, a white batt of California Red from Apple Rose Farm, three ounces of alpaca fleece, Grafton fiber batt (dead center), silk hankies from A Touch of Twist, along with a few cocoons to process on my own, Cormo roving from Winterhaven Fiber Farm. The stuffed llama is for the wee one (each of the boys got one too, but they were asleep when I took this picture).

What you can't see in the picture is a ball of Jacob Sheep roving and a combo sett-stick and orifice hook from Woodchuck:

All in all, it was a good day. A fibery day. A friendly day. I'm seriously fighting the desire not to race back today, but I was very good with my budget and there's a lot to do around the house. There isn't anything else that I can't live without and truth be told, yesterday took more out of the pregnant lady than she cares to admit. But last night's dreams were sweet and I can always play with my new toy today to take my mind off of the festival itch!

Kitchener and Coffee

I don't know what's gotten into me lately with these socks.

Last night I finished up the first MocCroc and this morning, over coffee, I grafted the toe. Why not last night? Well, I decided that I'd wait and instead cast on for something small in Baby Ull. Here are the two together:


I have this vision of the wee one coming home in a pair of hand-knit socks.

And in festival news, tomorrow's the day! Is everyone ready?

Que sera, sera

Over the past few days, I've been googling MDSW and "Maryland Sheep and Wool" and not getting much in terms of blog entries. I wonder why? Last year, it seemed EVERYONE was buzzing about the festival and making plans and the anticipation all over Blogland was just plain palpable. Maybe, though, it was because it was my first time and I was so hyped up I just couldn't stand it? So what will this year's festival be like?

For me, it will be an interesting venture. I have the pleasure of accompanying a MDSW virgin around the show. She says she's excited to be going with someone who knows what they're doing (I didn't have the heart to tell her...ha!). I gave her her first spinning lesson on Monday at lunchtime and she's very enthusiastic. I think we'll have fun -- I love to show people new things and she's eager to see.

I also have a much more precise list this year than I had a year ago. Last year, the festival for me was all about the fibers -- I was a novice spindler at the time who was scoping out spinning wheels, new spindles and sampling fibers like a madwoman. This year, I know what I like and what I don't. I know what I can deal with, what colors I will actually use and, believe it or not, what I'd like to actually knit with the homespun.

I have a small list. It's tagged with vendor names so I know where to go for things directly, and I'm planning on keeping myself to the list with only one exception. If I find the booth where I bought Sugar Pie last year, I'm picking up more of her wool. Other than that, there are only five or six things there besides the Hitchhiker.

Last year for me, the hype around the Koigu mill ends and The Fold's booth (for the Socks that Rock, or STR) were an enigma. We wandered around looking for the postage-stamp-sized Koigu booth FOREVER and didn't find it until very few mill ends were left. (For the record, I got some, just to say I did.) I ended up getting my Koigu at the Mannings booth and I left with no Socks that Rock. This year, the Koigu and the STR are no longer mystery yarns. You see, this is what Stitches East did to me. Koigu mill ends were quite plentiful there (this is why they vaporized at MDSW last year, apparently -- vendors bought them to sell elsewhere I'm sure) and I had no problem whatsoever securing STR. I bought three skeins of lightweight (maybe the mayhem is over the mediumweight? Well, I've got news for you folks, they have it on-line and no elbows will jab you).

So I'm avoiding the mayhem, taking my time and having fun without shopping stress. What will be, will be.

Which brings me to the actual knitting content of this post. Firstly, the Moc Croc sock is nearly done. The pattern has a six-row repeat, and I try not to work on it unless I can do all six rows (I'm keeping track of the repeats so the second sock is the same) and work and life just haven't given me that kind of time. One more repeat, though, and I'm off the finish the first and start the second.

Now the STR sock is a different story. Let me tell you something about this guy. It is stubborn and resisted every time I tried to make it do what I wanted it to. What will be, will be.

I bought this yarn ("Downpour" colorway in lightweight) at Stitches East in November and it's been marinating in the stash ever since. I pulled it out a few weeks ago and wound it up. I cast on for a toe-up sock with a figure 8 cast on. I knit a few inches and decided that I hated the toe. Rrrrip! Did a rectangular toe (provisional with pickups) and went for a bit and realized that I hated that one too. Ugh. Put the yarn and needles aside in the UFO pile. This weekend, in my frenzy, I picked up the yarn again and tried it in a cuff-down Moc Croc. Too stripey -- hated it and ripped again. Started the Moc Croc in Fleece Artist instead. Found the lacey scallops pattern and gave that a try (that's what was in the other post). I went two pattern repeats and really hated that one too.

Finally, two nights ago, I sat the yarn down and gave it one last chance. Where these patterns not fancy enough for it? Is it too good for a lace motif?

Not at all. Turns out it just wants to be a plain old, cuff-down, stockinette sock. Que sera, sera.

Embracing the Mojo

For months, I've felt stricken -- lost without my sock mojo. This weekend, however, it came back with a vengeance like I've never felt before.

Allow me to explain. On Friday night, I came home from spinner's group at Cloverhill and picked up a new set of miters I've been working on (sorry, no pics -- it's very boring right now) and tinkered a bit before going to bed.

On Saturday morning, I woke up, poured myself some coffee and picked up the miters. They just weren't working for me. And, out of the blue, I picked up an unfinished object from the UFO pile and tackled the rest of this:

I only had three inches and the ribbing left on my butter pecan Lorna's Laces Widdershin. Pounded it right out and felt pretty good about finishing it (the jury is out on whether or not I'm going to make the match -- this yarn did NOT appeal to me and it's going to be a challenge to get me to cast on for the next one).

Feeling good about myself, I raided the UFO pile again and found another Lorna's Laces sock (notice a pattern here of abandoned socks?!?). These were the Carol Green socks that I started for the Yarn Sniffer about a year ago. I had only completed the ribbing. I started knitting away.

Now, for some odd reason, I had started this one cuff down (I've always been a toe-up devotee). I finished this sock up in record time and immediately cast on for the second. He was positively thrilled when he saw it was done and announced that he was going to wear Sock #1 while he waited for me to crank out #2 (I assured him that this could take some time so he took it off and the sock sat on my shoulder while I knit.) The second sock was finished by Sunday morning and they were deemed "awesome" by the Sniffer.

He slept in them that night and then wore them to school yesterday. They seemed to be the charm that helped the tooth come out :)

Not to stop the momentum, on Sunday after the green socks were done, I cast on with some Fleece Artist for a MocCroc sock from KnitPicks. Let me first say that this is by far one of the fastest, most enjoyable socks I have ever knit. Rapid progress often shows my delight with a project.

Then, that night when I reached the heel flap on the MocCroc, I cast on for some Lacy Scallop socks from Sockbug. I'm not far into this one yet, but so far so good.

The mojo has returned. Along with peace in my knitting mind (and the UFO pile).

At Random

On my commute home this afternoon, I formulated a post in my head about comfort zones and sock knitting mojos, and a few of my favorite people in the world (outside my family, of course).

But then I got to daycare and was greeted with this face:

It's a big day in a kindergartener's life when you lose your first tooth.

He's been waiting for this for a long time ... but maybe his new green socks (yes folks, socks -- and there's more on that front when I get the originally planned post written up).

It's Coming Around the Corner...

That's right, folks. Maryland Sheep and Wool 2007 is coming up, and I hope to be there on Saturday and possibly Sunday as well. Gryphon is setting up a meet-up on Sunday, in case anyone has an interest (can't guarantee I'll be there).

I, like so many others I have read, have a bit of a problem when it comes to planning out the shopping for the festival. Last year it was obvious: spinning wheels, fiber, Koigu and a Bosworth spindle. This year, I already have one wheel (do not be deceived -- keep reading), more fiber than I can possibly spin -- including some from last year's festival haul, a solid on-line source of Koigu and two Bosworths. What could I possibly want to pick up at MDS$W? I've started a list:

-One of these. Don't try to talk me out of it; I've already called Dave to discuss and there's one with my name on it waiting on Saturday.

-Brooks Farm something. Four play, perhaps? I'd like to at least touch it and see what the big deal is.

-A yummy, multi-colored fiber batt that I can spin up for a fine fall/early winter scarf.

-More of those sock-needle elastic cappers that I bought at Stitches East last fall. I keep losing them.

And that's about it. Maybe a shawl pin if something catches my eye. A stuffed sheep for the wee one perhaps.

Surprising, no?

Wrapping Things Up

Pssst! Come over -- I have some things to show you.




You see, this week I've been busy actually FINISHING things!



Here's Kiddie Miter Blankie #1, finished Sunday evening with a simple, single-crochet edge. I call it #1 because The Yarn Sniffer (TYS) has deemed it incredibly cuddly and would like one of his own.



And here's Basil the Wonder Blanket, with a shortened picot edging:




Picot close-up:




I'm doing a happy dance. I feel like I'm back on the Marathon to finish things. Press soon on the newer stuff!

(Bad personal photo courtesy of TYS)

Just a Quickie

This will be a short, pictureless post. Not because I didn't make any additional progress, but because the photos would. be. boring. With a capital B.

Mitered Blanket:
The baby blanket miters are complete. Finished up the last one yesterday with a flourish and the blanket was deemed a success by many parties in my house (the ones that have taken an interest, anyway -- Zee hasn't had an eye for this one). Now I only have to do the edging. Today at lunch I head out to the Big Box that Shall Not Be Named to look for some dark green and a size F crochet hook to finish this one up. Then there will be pictures.

Basil:
Yes, Basil has not gone away. After the miters were done yesterday, I picked this up and slogged along a big on that incredibly tedious border. Only about two and a half rows to go before cast-off. Having been rather successful knitting without peeking on the miters, I've realized that I don't have to watch every single knit stitch go by and that multi-tasking (i.e. watching a movie with Hubby) is possible with only a small risk of a dropped stitch. So that's chugging along -- one more movie and I'll be ready to cast this off (finally) and call it a day.

Spinning:
I've dubbed this wool "Hydrox." The Hydrox cookie was the enduring predecessor to the Oreo, and the name resonated well with Knitting Auntie of Aran Fame when she popped in for a quick visit on Saturday. The first bobbin is now filled and the second is coming along. It looks exactly the same as the first bobbin, hence no pictures. Once I get the third filled and my first three-ply completed, I'll be happy to put it on display.

Assorted Little Projects:
I've been toting a little baby bib around with me that I managed to whip out a few rows on, but no real progress to be seen. I also played a bit with some burp-cloth appropriate stitch patterns but can't seem to find one I really like. Any ideas?

Progess

This morning was a fibery one at Chez Spinneas.

Finished another miter and started another. Only one more full square to go and then on to the edging for the baby blanket:

And I have nearly filled the first bobbin of the Romeldale:

I've been thinking about this ... after all, this is what I'm spinning for Flair. I'll need about 800 yards or so of worsted-size yarn. I did a wraps-per-inch calculation on the spindle-spun this morning, and it's still a little thin. A three-ply ought to bring me up to worsted with this homespun. So, my plan is to fill three bobbins and ply them and see how much I can get yardage-wise. Then I'll have a solid idea of how much spinning I'll need to do.

Since I have such an obscene amount of this wool (The Yarn Sniffer saw it this morning and said, "Whoa, that's a huge stack of wool, mom") I don't think I'll have a problem meeting the quota. In fact, I may have enough to do some matching socks or perhaps a little hat to go with it. How cute would that be?

What a Whorl, What a Whorl ...

Today, I took one of those bloggy quizzes ... the Sesame Street Personality quiz. I am Bert, and that frightens me. If anyone cares to find out who they are, you can access the quiz here.

In any event, enough about muppets and on to more appropriate content. This will be a short post, because pictures are worth more than words.

I've been spinning:



This is peacock merino/tencel from Kendig Cottage, and it has taken me forever. This is four ounces, Navajo plied. I don't know when I'm going to tackle the other four, because another Romneydale fleece has touched my heart. Anyone remember Oreo from last year? Well, his/her cousin (I like to think) has resurfaced, and at February's spinner's group I purchased an obscene amount. I have enough of this lovely fleece to last me for some time. I have some on the bobbin already.

But I also decided to spindle some of it. Firstly, to get an idea of what thickness to go for (this is the wool I'm going to use for Flair) and partially to get back into the spin of it so I can teach a co-worker who is chomping at learning to spin.


I didn't do much, but this is an Andean plied two-ply bit of goodness. That's a dime for scale.

More progress from the weekend in a few days!

On Coming Home

I was in Tampa from Wednesday through Sunday at a medical communicators conference. It was a fabulous trip (despite pregnancy fatigue and swollen feet), but it's always great to come home. However, coming home was not the most pleasant experience.

As everyone no doubt knows, the East Coast was hit with a Nor'easter this past weekend whose winds are still lingering. Florida was not exempt from the bad weather the storm brought along. To wit, here's a picture I took of the fountain in front of the hotel (one of the ones that the miter enjoyed on Friday afternoon) as my co-worker and I were waiting for our cab to go to the airport at 9 a.m. on Sunday:

No, it isn't "just a bad picture." That's rain, guys -- heavy, torrential rain, combined with wind and nastiness that had me worried that I wasn't going to make it out on time, if at all. This is the stuff the Weather Channel folks live for.

Fortunately, we got out -- but not until after we had spent a few extra hours at the airport with weather delays. The good news was that I had plenty of knitting to keep me occupied (my resolve gave out on Saturday afternoon and I took a cab to the store for more). I finished three miters while I was there, and started the sixth once I got home after two hours of bumping our way up the East Coast.

I figure the blankie only needs to be 3x3, so I'm nearly two-thirds done. I'm very happy with the way this is turning out. Not only is it one of the easiest and fastest things I've ever knit, but it's also soft and squishy and fun. I love the way the greens are working together and I adore the mix of varigated and solid. I really do see this as a "play on the floor" blanket or a snuggle-during-the-day under supervision blankie (after all this is cotton, which is not flame retardant). Not to mention that this has been a wonderful foray into the world of Peaches n' Creme cotton, which I've always avoided because of fiber snobbery. Thanks, Farmer Auntie, for showing me the error of my ways. I can say, though, that this is the ONLY yarn I'll buy at Wal-Mart.

So anyway, coming home is always a bit tricky -- re-entry with kids is never easy -- but for the most part it went smoothly (only the pregnancy fatigue made it difficult). Laundry was done, dishes were done, kids were happy. The Nor'Easter was hitting on Sunday, it was raining cats and dogs, our basement was flooded. But Sunday turned out great.

Yesterday, however, we were hit with the wind and it was touch and go for a while with the electricity (disclaimer: I live in a house that's fully electric -- electric furnace burner, electric water pump for the well, electric appliances). When the lights go out, we're screwed. And it was cold here yesterday. But, thanks to the folks at BGE, the power was only out for about eight hours or so, and most of it was while we were at work and school. To be safe, though, I packed an overnight bag when I got home (while we still had daylight to work with) and we were all ready to head to a hotel after dinner. Just before we left for the restaurant, though, the house came back to life and my husband and I breathed a big sigh of relief.

And then I had a wonderful dream about MDS&W last night. After all, it's only about three weeks away!

Out and About

So far I've resisted the urge to go to Wal-Mart in Tampa for more cotton. My resolve may go out the window after lunch today, though. I have one more day here, and I'm running out. I've been trying to pace myself. On a break yesterday, I took the miter out to show it the fountains at the hotel so that it wouldn't feel heartbroken that I wasn't going to hammer out a few more rows:




This yarn is the "shades of green" that I was originally doing in my standard burp cloth pattern. I ripped it out and started a big miter square to feed the fever and then I've now picked up stitches along the edge to add another and make a nice rectangle. Problem is, I'm enjoying it so much and I love the green so much that I think this one may morph into a blanket and the baby ombre may end up as a series of burp cloths (though they are actually the perfect size to have a bunch on the changing table to serve as "fountain covers" for the wee one, which gives me a reason to do some burp clothes and other layette items with the cone of baby ombre that I have). Since I did this miter with 75 stitches (36x36), I only need seven more skeins of this to work. Imagine ... a $10 handknit blanket!

In any event, I'm going to need me some more green. I may break down ... it would be nice for the little one to have a blanket that was started in Florida with some yarn from Florida. We'll see how things go this afternoon.

Thoughts on Travel Knitting

I'm in Tampa on a business trip -- I'm here for my absolute favorite training seminar ever. I try to go to this every year ... and it's even better when it's in a locale that is warmer than home. I love to travel for my job. Sure, it's hard to get away from the family, but at the same time I always feel a little more connected when I get home. Plus, there's the fun of travel knitting.

I don't know what it is that makes travel knitting different than home knitting, but I seem to always make great progress when I'm on the road. Maybe it's the long plane ride (which, incidentally, this time caused my pregnant ankles to expand beyond belief) or the fact that there aren't home distractions, but I feel like I can crank. And crank I have ... to the point where pretty soon I'm going to be stuck with only the surplice jacket to knit on.

In addition to my swollen ankles (I'll remember to drink tons of water and walk alot on the flight back), I've also managed to catch the case of miter fever that's going around the knitting community these days. Wendy's doing a sweater in them, and Cara is doing a blanket. I expect this to enter pandemic proportions soon. It's probably a good thing that Stephanie is on a book tour or else she might start doing them too and then there would be a serious recession in pattern sales as everyone embraces this ever-so-simple knitting delight.

I decided to give them a try with a simple baby blanket of squares. I ran out of the cotton I brought with me on my trip (in this colorway, that is). These were done in a few short hours and are the basis for a new baby blanket made of these cute little squares.

I am strangely compelled to seek out the local Wal-Mart for more cotton ... but the fact is, I have a one-pound cone of this at home so I had better not. Of course there's always the option of mixing in matching solids, but ...

And in other news, the bib that was completed on my flight down to Tampa yesterday. All it needs is a button (and to have the ends woven in, of course). Ironically, this is made from Plymouth Fantasy cotton.

I did this before I became obsessed with the miters (that happened today on a conference break). I have two balls of Peaches & Creme left to last me through the rest of the conference before I'm left only with the surplice jacket and the remaining Plymouth. Tomorrow, I'll show you what I'm doing with it and I'll let you know if I gave in and sprung for a cab ride to Wal-Mart to get more.

On Knitting Wee Things...

So after the collective sigh went out over Baltimore and places further away following my last post (thank you for all the wonderful comments-we are, indeed, very happy), I had some serious planning to do. What to knit for the wee one?

Fortunately, I had seen the March 26 post over on Rosie's Blog the week before the big reveal, so I had a plan. I just needed colors. In fact, I had planned neutral and picked up some ecru Peaches & Creme (GASP! This from the fiber snob...) and started the jacket, but it's really knitting up at too high a gauge. The cotton is too thick -- and while I know it will fit the babe someday, I want something that will work right away. So the cotton jacket was relegated to the knitting basket for future knitting (left it on the needles) and I started one in some green Dale Baby Ull with a trim of NatureSpun that I grabbed at Cloverhill this past weekend. I'll do an i-cord trim in the navy (though admittedly I fear that it will look too Izod) as well in lieu of buttons. I started working that up on Sunday on #3 needles and the size looks much better. Since it's a variation of the Baby Surprise Jacket, I expect to finish this rather quickly once I get moving on it. Bonus: It will complement the Basil blanket once I get the $^%&ing edging done (almost, I swear).

Why am I not plowing through it? Well, you see, I'm obsessed with burp cloths and bibs. Quick knits that I can churn out in a few days and enjoy. The bonus there is that the baby will need tons of these (or rather, our shoulders will) to supplement the flat cloth diapers that I love for this purpose. Not to mention that a few weeks ago I was seriously bitten by the Peaches & Creme bug after fondling Farmer Auntie's dishcloth-in-progress and realized that this may very well be the one yarn I buy at Wal-Mart. You really can't beat $1.50 for a burp cloth. I headed to Wal-Mart that week and picked up three cones -- one of the ecru, a yellow ombre and a "baby-color-mix of green, pink, blue, yellow and white. I'm stocked for a while and I'm starting to churn out the cloths. Not to totally send myself to the depths of the Big Box Yarn Section, I also picked up some more Plymouth cotton at Cloverhill and am amusing myself with a pretty blue bib.

Sorry there aren't any pictures with this post, but my camera is packed for a trip to Tampa later today and I just don't feel like pulling it out right now. I'm packed with the Baby Surplice, enough cotton for a bib or two and the remains of the green burp cloth I've been working on, so I'll take some pictures later and maybe add them into this post.

The Verdict is In

So all day I sat, edgy as all get out, wondering and waiting. Waiting and wondering. Pondering my nails and wanting to chew them to bits. Reading e-mails that said, "Think Pink" and hearing "I just know its a girl ... that's what you want, right?"


It's enough to make anyone crazy.


And then the time came. I headed out to the doctor's office, not knowing if my husband was going to be able to leave work to join me. While I was waiting in the office for my name to be called, he rang to tell me he was on his way ... would they start right at 3:30? He might not get there in time.


They called my name, and I headed back for the sono, bladder ready to burst (a necessary evil for the procedure) and still waiting for my husband.


"Do you want to know what you're having?" she asked.


"Yes, but not until my husband gets here. He's on his way," I replied.


So she got started, in gender-neutral terms.


Brain? Check. (No hydrocephalus or anything odd.)


A kick on camera -- did you feel that? Of course not, placenta is in the front, over the belly, kinda like having a mattress in there for the kid to punch. Ah, that's why it seems like such a quiet baby (by no means is this child quiet, believe me, after seeing it on the screen.)


Femur? Check. (Good length; too short is not so good.)


Ooh -- there's a foot. Great shot. All five toes with all their bones.


Heart? Check. (With all the valves pumping as they should.)


Belly? Check. (Round and baby-like.)


Look -- there's some fingers ... baby holding hand over head. Very cute.


I'm in love. Swooning and watching with the greatest of fascinations that mommies feel on these moments. They're intimate, after all -- just you and the kid. Like a secret ... the baby's in there, but they're still all yours ... no one else can touch yet. But all the while I'm still waiting ... for that final piece of information.


Then my husband came in.


We went through the whole thing again. Brain. Femur. Heart. Belly. Fingers. Toes. Kicking the placenta-mattress. Quiet baby? Think again. This one's a tumbler.


"Can I tell you now? Please pretty please? It's been killing me -- I've known since I first put the paddle on you," she says.


Fifteen years and she hasn't been wrong yet. Deep breaths all around.


"Let's take a look between those legs, little one."


Now let me tell you, at this point, I've gotten myself so worked up I can't think straight. It's like the last play of a tie ballgame. Homerun or strikeout?


With a baby it's neither, I know, but after all this stress well ... it's hard not to feel that way. If you read my rambling post from earlier, I think my mental state through the day was pretty clear. Thank goodness I had some meetings that broke the strain and gave me other things to think about!


You see, years ago I resigned myself to having two boys. Realized that there probably wouldn't be a little girl in my life. My husband's family hasn't had a girl in something like 85 years. Got used to worms and mud. Came to understand that I'm really more of a "boy mom" anyway. And then I popped up pregnant ... and the swirl of folks talking about girls and pink got me all swept up. It was hard not to get hopeful and go back to that moment six years ago when they declared the Yarn Sniffer was a boy. And the time two years earlier when Zee was "discovered" and my best friend and I just said to each other, "What are we going to do with a BOY?"


I figured it out then, then re-figured again with the Sniffer.


It's a damn good thing.







'Cause this one's a boy, too.