/whine

Look! Knitting!



Regia Cotton Surf



This is my first time using sock yarn with with some cotton content. I have to say that I love it, and will definitely be looking to purchase more. I do have some Sockotta that I haven't used yet, but the Regia is soo much softer.

I redid the toe three times before I was happy with it. I found that I really like square, short row toes much better than when a pattern has you decrease down to 6 or 8 stitches.

I started both socks in the pair from opposite ends of the ball, so the second one should be finished shortly. Yay!

knit first, then vent

It has been so hot here the last week or so, I really have not felt like knitting much. Especially my merino wool sweater - which just needs one and a quarter sleeves but is waaay to warm to be sitting in my lap. But I did whip up this little dishcloth one night while watching Ocean's 11.



fabulous, isn't it?



OK, I really need to get a few things off my mind. This has absolutely nothing to do with knitting, and I hate to mix even the slightest bit of politics into this blog, so feel free to skip. Do you know that feeling where your mind is just too full of stuff to even think? I've got that right now.

1) Something, I am not sure what yet, happened a few blocks down the street from where I work this afternoon. Whatever it was, it involved the bomb squad and about a half mile of road being totally shut down, including the only street entrance to the VA hospital where I work. I took the bus this morning, so I didn't have to worry about being trapped in the parking lot all evening but it did give me a slightly panicky feeling of "well what if I couldn't get out?"

2) My cousin, who is studying at Oxford for a semester, was safely out of London when the bombs went off July 7th. But she was back for a day trip and ended up (I'm sure you see this one coming) a block or so away from the second "failed" attack. It gives me the chills just to think about. What bothers me the most is she has this awesome opportunity to study abroad but now has to plan activities around not getting blown up.

3) Speaking of being blown up, I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen since my second or so year of college. He had lost his arm in Iraq. Honestly, what do you say to that? Especially when you believe he shouldn't have been there in the first place?

4) Another cousin started boot camp for the Marine Reserves this week in California. He has been on my mind a lot, but I know this is what he wants. I can't let myself think any farther than that. Especially in conjunction with any of my other points.

5) I just finished My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult . A very good read, especially since I work with some of the medical things discussed. I was totally hooked by the plot and the characters, and thought I had it all figured out. But the story took a sharp left turn at the end, and has been replaying in my head since I finished it. I won't say any more about it, in case anyone wants to read. If you have read it, did you have the same reaction?

"bunny fun"

Rabbits seem to be a recurring theme in my life right now. There are dozens of them hopping around our apartment complex and my building at work eating the landscaping, we see them all over the neighborhood when we walk to the rec center or grocery store, I found an old pair of Joe Boxer pjs with little pink bunnies on them, and I just finished knitting Fiber Trend's Bunny Fun pattern.

I found the pattern in a half-off bin at Ben Franklin when Steve and I were searching for vellum for the invitations. (We cleaned them out of light pink and heart print almost two months ago - last time I was there it wasn't restocked yet!) I used the Cascade 220 I purchased in WI specifically for this project. It was really quick to knit, and lots of fun too.



four bunny pieces - front, back, and two feet



sewn together, and basted with cotton yarn inside the legs


As you undoubtedly guessed, it still needs to be felted and stuffed. I am leary of felting in the apartment's washing machine, mostly because you have basically no control over the settings. I am going to be visiting my parents in the beginning of August, so I might wait until then to felt it. If I can be patient. (But I wanna do it nooow...)

Thanks for your patience.

I’d like to thank all the people who sent me email or left comments on my wedding. I really really appreciate it.

For those who are interested, the entire day was wonderful. Not fairy-tale perfect – which isn’t really my thing anyway – but perfect enough for me. I am surprised at how quickly it all went. If you ask me, the ceremony lasted about 4 minutes and the reception no more than an hour. If you ask anyone else, the ceremony was 25 and the reception was 4 hours. I wish I remembered more! Now I just have to sit here and wait patiently for my photo proofs to see everything that went on.

I finished the thank you cards tonight. Besides the photos, I think that was the last wedding related thing I had to do. Awww. I am a little sad. Is it a little premature to be looking forward to when I might have a daughter who is getting married so I can help with the wedding? Yeah, I though so.

But honestly, the best part of the whole thing was having a week off work. We went up to Lake Geneva WI for five days and enjoyed the sun, water, and unhealthy food. It was nice and relaxing - a good use of every single vacation hour I had saved up!

We found a yarn store somewhat nearby (Needles 'n Pins Yarn Shoppe in Delevan, WI) and stopped by one afternoon. (heh. Wonder who’s idea that was…) I only purchased a few things: a skein of Cascade 220 for a felted bunny, the somewhat difficult to find Regia Jubilee in India, and my first ever Koigu KPPPM. It was a great shop - I could have spend a fortune and a few more hours there.





I have a ton more photos I want to post, but don't want to bore people with them. Sometime in the future I am going to set up and online album and just post the link.

OK – thanks everyone for indulging me. This is very shortly going to return to a proper knitting blog. Tomorrow, actually, if I can get my act together!