Which is Which?

The Wicked Traveler Socks are done! Hurrah! The weirdest part was finding the right buttons for 'em. But somehow in my stash of items there was a sample card from a button company. Look in the top left corner. See the date? Probably not. It's really small in the photo, Desi. Well, it says "July 1954." That means these buttons have been out of circulation for over 50 years! Well, welcome back. I'm not sure how you fell into my hot little hands, but my socks are the better for it. And nope. There's only one button of each style so they don't exactly match, but I think they're close enough. And durned purty, if I do say so myself! Can you guess which one's from the card and which one came out of my sewing box?

Wha Happa?

That's "What happened?" as heard by most dentists. Go ahead. Open your mouth wide, stick at least four fingers in, and try to say it. If you can understand it, you're probably in the dental profession. (Free-Range, I'm talking to you!)

Anyway, my thoughts were that I would probably put down the knitting needles and pick up something else once I had completed the long, long shrug for Tiny. Nope! I yanked this ball of yummyness (That's a word. Look it up.) out of the stash and started on Wendy D. Johnson's Hearts and Flowers Toe-Up Sock. I could barely stop myself to eat. It's wonderful! Perhaps it's because I don't have to do it. There's no assignment, no deadline, nobody but me waiting for 'em. But that's not like me. I do well with assignments, deadlines, people waiting... Hmm, maybe I'm possessed. That'd be cool. Possessed by a ghost that knits socks. So I've been working on this for just three days and I've already completed the heel!

Or perhaps.... somebody else has been working on this for just three days and already completed the heel.... Ooooweeeooooohhhh...

What I Did for My Christmas Vacation

This. Mostly. On Christmas Eve, I finally gave up and wrapped the unfinished project, needles and all. I think most people would be perplexed if they opened a gift with knitting needles still in it. But when Tiny opened it up, she totally got it. Her eyes lit up: she was excited! Now that kid is soooo knitworthy!
After Christmas, I went nuts getting ready for our annual New Year's Eve Game Night, cooking and cleaning. Mostly cleaning. Here's how I made it work: I made these lists based on each room and taped 'em down on my desk. Lists tend to get lost... especially if it's stuff I don't really enjoy. Tape keeps it findable.

It worked! The house was tidy by the time 2011 came roaring--and honking and shouting--in.

And New Year's Day saw that shrug finished:

A Shrug for Her Shoulders

I have been monogamous to one knitting project--virtually one project alone for about two weeks. It's making me nuts! Not that I don't like it: I think it's lovely. But one project?

Of course, I couldn't stand it. I finally broke last night. I've had this package of charms sitting on my desk staring at me, daring me to do something. When I blinked first, I was forced to make them into stitch markers, using the first tool to hand, namely fingernails. Yup, I just slid my nail into the jump ring, slipped in the charm, nail out, worked the charm around, and voila! It's not my fault. And on to the monotonous--er, monogamous--knitting.

Sidhe (pronounced "she") Lace Shrug from Vampire Knits

It's for Tiny's Christmas gift. Foolishly, I imagined that I could make this little beauty from stashed yarn: a size large shrug from a single skein of sock yarn. 400 measly yards. Enough to make a pair of women's socks. One pair. A shrug is like two long socks (sleeves, actually) connected by a long flat bit to go across the back. So it's more like three long socks. That's a lot of yarn!

So, easy solution, right? Just go back to where I got that gorgeous yarn in the first place. sigh

No, this yarn was part of the Jane Austen Yarn Club from last year. It's the Northanger Abbey colorway. Even the dyer didn't have any left... and doesn't remember how she made it. I asked. I asked other members, but no luck. They'd either used it, lost it, or had plans for it.
So I did the next best thing: I went into Knitting in La Jolla with my project in hand and asked to see the sock yarn. I told her I knew she couldn't match it, but maybe we could find something that would look nice. I mean, I may be a doofus, but I'm not an idiot. Wait. That didn't sound good. But we had success: a nice plain purple sock yarn from Cascade. It's working in well, I think.

First I knit it every other row with the new yarn, then two rows on and two rows off. Then four-two, then six-two... then I ran out. So just Cascade for the rest.

This is how it currently stands. Ooh, I hope I can get it done by Christmas morning. The Yarn Harlot knit a whole sock in a day. Maybe I can borrow her helper monkeys...

No notes

Bugs! I usually have a few sticky notes hanging around to tell me what to blog about--not orders, you understand, but suggestions. And all I can find is my TV watching list, a couple things I want to buy from Knit Picks, and a note about vitamins. Also something about emptying the shredder before it explodes. Eh. It could take a few more bank receipts.

Oh, I know. I'll check my photo uploads. December, December... ew, it's organized by days of the week. Sunday, nope. Monday, ahhhh!

Here's the Bleaf Lace Scarf on my sweet aunt as it's being stolen by her granddaughter. That kid's got good taste! I'm told she still wears the red sweater I made her last year.

Dressing Up the Lace

Here's the Bleaf Lace Scarf being dressed, one half pinned out. Yes, I know it's in two pieces. I made it that way. The pattern required me to make one half, then make another. That seemed dumb. So I made the two halves at the same time on the same needle. It set things up so that I'd do the lace row, then repeat it. Then I'd do the back, twice. Worked great! I know somebody who does both sleeves at once when making sweaters. That's probably where I got the idea. Or maybe from the two-at-a-time socks idea. Or maybe it came from outer space. Yeah. My alien implant from when I was working at the MIB branch. But I'm not supposed to talk about that. Oops. Would you please look carefully at this bright light while I erase your memory?
I can never figure out which way to point these silly things.... flash... What was I talking about?

Nothing to Worry About

Last night the doctor called to check in on me and say the lab results came out fine. I didn't say I already thought I was fine. It's kinda like the pilot coming on the intercom of the airplane and saying, "There's nothing to worry about." Makes me feel like I missed out on all the anxiety.... I guess that's not a bad thing.

In the meantime, I've been working like a dog. A clever dog. With thumbs. I pulled out my jewelry-making apparatus and dusted off the skillz. (Just added the z there. They were only skills when I learned.)So I'll be showing at the CRB Christmas Bazaar this Saturday! Me!

I found a box where I had dropped in some beads I thought looked pretty together and left 'em there. Baroque (that means odd-shaped) blue glass pearls, Blue Austrian Crystals, and these pretty seed beads. Using every single crystal and pearl, I made this collection. I'm calling it The Blue Frost Collection. Sounds classy, huh?

I'm calling this one "Crystal Palace," and yes, those green stick-things are actually woven of tiny beads. At least, they're tiny now. I think they get smaller when you don't use them. And if you say anything about needing reading glasses, you should know I'm humming It's a Small World right now, so I can't hear it.

There's a Snake in Mah Boots!

... and a hole in my bellybutton. I didn't want to bring it up to the beforehand and cause worldwide panic, but I just had a "procedure." That's what they call it when they knock you out, poke holes in you and take something out just so's they can look at it. I wonder if they ever dress you up in a feather boa and fake mustache while you're unconcious... I would.
Well, the upshot is I'm fine. But there's a hole in my bellybutton.

Meanwhile, here's a peek at a prayer quilt I've been working on. It's scrappy pink and dark green. I just behave as though the pink is all one color and the green is all the other. It's supposed to make a kind of star. We'll see. Looks kinda like strawberries to me.

And this is the Leaf Lace Scarf from Vogue Knitting Spr/Sum 2005. When I bought the mag, I could only attempt the very easy very Vogue stuff. Now I feel like I'm getting my money's worth. Also, I charted the pattern. That's new for me. I think. The drugs are making me a little woozy. Not like that's a bad thing...

Messages I'll Never Have #1

We have a whole family answering machine*. That means Tiny gets her friends calling... or did, before the dominance of the text (but she still gets calls from her coaches and stuff), I get my cool friends calling to tell me about parties, and the Man of the Place gets business calls there. Now my friends are clever and fun and crazy messages are totally appropos. However, sports-minded individuals (coaches) and business-minded folk often aren't prepared for my ready wit. Or my recorded wit. So we have the boring-est message ever:

"Thanks for calling! Please leave us a message."

I mean, really. The outgoing message is a perfect opportunity for creativity. I have a friend whose message is that instrumental Boom-chicka-bow-wow, and that's it. I love it.

So, from time to time, I will reveal an outgoing message I'd love to have... but never will. Here's the first one:

You know what? We're not going to answer the phone. We're not. We're just not.
We may be screening, hovering over the machine, waiting to hear your voice. But
that's the thing. You don't know. (Pause) Bwa-hahahahaha! beep

Feel free to use it.

*Yes, we've heard of voice mail. We prefer to devote a portion of the kitchen counter to a machine that presides over our calls, blinking its little red eye at us.

Cinderella Redux

Last Hallowe'en, Tiny waved her magic knife and created a lovely Cinderella pumpkin. (She really amazed me.) This year, she continued with the theme:Think I'm proud of my kid? Of course! Turns out she's a fairy godmother. That's right. Tiny can turn a pumpkin into a carriage!