A Bit Late

Today I was wishing I had raked the leaves earlier, and that I had mowed one more time before the leaves fell. But my procrastination was not entirely simple laziness, as the maples were slow in releasing their hold on the leaves. And I was out of town. And then it rained. And then it snowed. I don't feel too profligate, though, as my neighbors have not raked yet. And at least my son was here to help, so it wasn't too awful a job.

Speaking of the son, I gave him the cream-colored IU socks, sans the IU logo. I could not figure out how to do the logo on ribbing, and it was just as well because, even though I used US5 needles with worsted weight Moda Dea Washable Wool, the socks are very snug.



I also gave him the too-loose-on-me socks, and they fit him perfectly.

Meanwhile, I bailed on the Undulating Rib socks because, quite frankly, I cannot count. I kept the k3,p1,k1,p1 ribbing at the top of the cuff, though, and after 1.5 inches, segued into a 6-stitch "twin rib" pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks (for which this photo does not do justice). And, once again, I am working from both ends of the skein. I'm a little nervous about having enough yarn. I thought the skein felt a bit light, and it was, by 4g. Hopefully, I won't need that missing yarn.



(Do you ever wonder if some less-than scrupulous people ever buy a skein of yarn, relieve it of a few yards to finish a project, then return the rest to the store for a full refund?)

Meanwhile, I have run into a bit of a quandary about the red-red-red sweater. The pattern I am using in a general way calls for stitch increases every 5 rows, up to a given stitch count, then more knitting until the sleeves are 15 inches long. Well, I am going to reach 15 inches before I achieve the stitch count. So do I continue knitting until I achieve the stitch count, even though the sleeves will be about 3 inches longer than called for? I think my arms can accommodate the longer sleeves, whereas I'm not sure the sweater will be as forgiving of a reduced stitch count on the sleeves. My lack of sweater-knitting experience is showing.



Thanks to Ally's comment, I discovered that Zappo's sells Earth Shoes, and shore 'nuff, they list the dimensions. But now I have a new problem: the boots I like and that I think will fit cost $230. Hear that choking noise? That's my inner Scrooge squeezing the pocketbook.

Go, Colts!

Today's wish is easy: that the Indianapolis Colts beat the New England Patriots. Both teams are undefeated this season. The Patriots are favored, and actually, it would not be a bad thing if the Colts lost, because they have a history of becoming complacent. But still.

I am rethinking the IU logo for the cream-colored socks because I did the tops in 1x1 ribbing and I'm not sure how that will work. I may try it anyway, but am not too confident it will work.

The neverending afghan has 6 more rows to go? Maybe? I hope? Or maybe I will just stop and consider it done.

NaBloPoMo (But Not)

It's National Blog Posting Month and I did not officially join, but decided it would be fun to try to post daily, and here I am, already cheating. I'm writing this on November 2, but I'm going to date it November 1. My excuse is, for most of this week, the Powers That Control Access to The Internet at Work have been blocking Blogger. Not that I spend a lot of time on the Internet at work....

Anyway, my theme for this month will be wishes, so we'll start with the obvious: I wish I would lose 30 pounds make healthy choices. One time I caught myselft saying, "I would do anything to lose weight" - well, anything except eat less and exercise more. I have been exercising more - power walking three times a week, plus walking the dog most mornings - and I feel stronger and more energetic. Now, if I could just make healthier choices re food. There is a lot of leftover Halloween candy laying around the office, but I think I have had my fill. We'll see if I can resist the donuts.

On the knitting front, the IU socks are done, except for the "IU" part. I happened to be near Joann's last night and I happened to have a 40% off coupon and they happened to have the same yarn in "true red" so I bought. Technically, IU's colors are not red and white but crimson and cream. I can tell the difference between white and cream, but not red and crimson, and I'm counting on no one else being able to, either.

Bad Yarn Day

I woke up early this morning and decided I might as well get up and knit over coffee. Last night I had finished the top on one Jaywalker sock, so I started catching up on the second. One thing I like about this pattern is the stitch increases at the needle ends hides my laddering between DPNs. One thing I dislike about the pattern is the double-decrease in the middle of each needle, which is where I screwed up this morning. My eyes were not focusing yet, so I set that aside to fix later and picked up the lace shawl... and dropped several stitches there as well. Ok, maybe it was too early to knit. At noon, I picked up cream-colored sock #2 and started working on the 2x2 ribbing for the top. I happened to glance at sock #1, though, and realized it was done in 1x1 ribbing. Fortunately, I had not gone far on #2, so I ripped that out and started over. Friday night is no-knitting night - I eat popcorn and watch a movie instead - and it looks like I really need a break.

On a different topic, I brought The Happy Hooker to work yesterday for a coworker, and she reciprocated by giving me a copy of her Patternworks catalog. While leafing through the catalog, I saw a photo of a model wearing a crocheted scarf that looked just like a scarf in THH. Hmmm. When the coworker returned my book, I checked it out: not only was it the same scarf, it was the exact same photo! I can see the pattern designer selling the pattern to two different publications, but how did the same photo get in both?

And topic number three is, The Opnionated Knitter: Elizabeth Zimmerman Newsletters 1958-1968. I must have read something about this book somewhere, probably in relation to the Baby Surprise sweater, and checked it out of the library, but I think I may have to purchase it. After all, it has a pattern for an Adult Baby Surprise sweater, among other timeless designs. So many projects, so little time!

Mini Milestones

No finished objects yet, but I've reached these milestones:

* Finished one cream-colored sock and started sock #2
* Completed another pattern repeat on Falling Leaves lace shawl - one more to go!

Also, the afghan has only 8 rows remaining. I just may glue my but to the sofa and finish that tonight... or on Sunday while watching football.

From what I hear, November is National Blogging Month. Is that true? Is there really a month honoring blogging? Why?!? People are promising to blog daily for the entire month. I don't even floss daily. But while I will probably not formerly participate, I am secretly hoping that some of my favorite bloggers take the opportunity to blog more often. During the summer months, several of them fell out of the habit, and they have yet to pick it up with any regularity. And you know who you are! Get typing!

One Down, How Many to Go?

Today, Knitting Daily posed the question knitters hate to hear: How many UFOs do you have? At first, I smugly thought, Not that many. And I guess I don't have that many, since "many" is a relative thing.

Here's my list:

• Afghan (crochet)
  
• Falling leaves lace shawl (yarn used to be for a baby blanket)
  
• Cream-colored socks
  
• Aloe-jojoba socks
  
• Vintage handbag #2
  
• Denim blue Fat Bottom Bag (needs lining)
  
• Brown Fat Bottom Bag
  
• Orange baby hoodie (abandoned)
  
• Ribbon yarn tank top (abandoned)
  
• Ballband washcloth

Ha! Finished that last one tonight:



Details:

• Pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting
  
• Size US5 needles
  
• Lion Cotton in turquoise and sunflower