The Crafty Lizzard

Here's what most of my weekend has consisted of...

I know it's been a week past but...Welcome to the Ravelympics!

This week has been an incredibly busy one. I've been meaning to get this post up for about 4 days now. Sorry.

Since the last post, I've found out that I'm moving stores and will be managing our Worthington location. Bigger store, more lessons, more staff! It's incredibly hard to switch stores in a matter of a week. Especially while training new staff, trying to talk to the customers that you've worked with for almost 10 years, and generally being a sounding board (as usual). Today was my first official day over there and it was very interesting. There will be some things that will change, some will remain the same, and some that they do better than I was doing. In all, I think, your basic change.

On a brighter (and lighter for my wallet) note, this store is about 2 minutes away from The Knitter's Mercantile and I will have to pass it everyday on my way. Nothing better on a bad day then some yarn-y therapy!

We're also fast approaching my second knitting challenge for the year -- Ravelympics!!!

Cast on is now less than a week away and I'm REALLY itching to start... I will be attempting to complete a pair of socks between Opening Ceremonies and Closing Ceremonies. (Good thing I'm an Olympic junkie!) This will be about half the time that it usually takes me to finish a pair! Therefore, I've decided that they are going to be named after the first part of the Olympic Motto -- Citius. I wish I knit fast enough to also have the other two -- altus and fortius -- but maybe I'll try for those for the next Olympics. The yarn to the left has been through it's training and is patiently waiting for cast on! (Myself....not so patient.) The only bad thing is that I have yarn for a vest coming (probably tomorrow) that I'm SO gonna want to start. Do I be daring and still try to work on that as well as my socks? Hmmmmm........

In an effort to "clean up" before friday, I've finished my "concert" arm warmers. These were made from Panda Silk and are incredibly soft on the hands. And if I might say, quite pretty.

I haven't tried to play in them yet but the top around the hand feels stretchy enough that it shouldn't bother me.

Sorry the pic is a little blurry but I'm not that good with working with the timer on the new camera yet...

Also, since the last post my washing machine decided that it was tired and worn out and wasn't going to wash clothes anymore. Luckily, it happened AFTER I had most of my laundry done. It decided to stop at the delicate load so I only had to wring out about 4 sweaters. Bleh.

Now, as frustrating and as upset as I was, I really can't complain. This washer was liberated from the front sidewalk of a neighbor of a good friend who said that they had had some trouble with it and it might last me a year but I was welcome to it. Well, I actually managed to squeeze 2 years out of it so...

After deliberation and discussion, I decided that I needed to have a washer that could cope with my ever growing supply of hand knits. So I opted to splurge and go for the front-loading-able-to-handle-hand-washing-very-sleek-and-quasi-futuristic Whirlpool. So far, so good. I like being able to fit all the socks (save the Malabrigo.....haven't been daring enough to stick those in there yet.....) and a sweater or two in there and not have to fit them all in the sink!

And so now, after a VERY long post (sorry, should probably shoot for smaller-more-frequent) I'll leave you with the start of the second knee sock...

Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything seemed to happen all at once? Of course...Everyone has. This week was one of those for me. Work is crazy, play is crazy...Life is crazy! Now that's not to say that crazy = bad. On the contrary, most of the stuff that's happened this week has been good and enjoyable...most, not all.

Ok, so technically this challenge started last year -- on Christmas Day.

But, I'm counting it as the first of the new year (since that's when most of the work on them will occur)...

This is the first half done of my very first pair of knee socks! I've been wanting to do a pair for a while now and finally started the Treetop pattern on Christmas day. I've had to modify the pattern a bit because I have HUGE calves and TINY feet. These are knit top down so I started with the large for the leg and then added extra decreases around the ankle to give the stitch count for the small foot. The foot fits GREAT and the leg is still a bit tight but doable!

Another change I made was to do an Eye of Partridge heel instead of a ribbed heel. I think that the eye of partridge holds up better over time and I like the look better. (Even if the ribbing isn't continued down the heel!)

I also thought that I would get SO bored doing the super long leg but the diagonal cabling actually really kept me interested. I do have to admit I thought I would also hate the cabling. I've only done cabling on one other pair of socks and I couldn't stand it. Which was very odd seeing as I LOVE cables! However, now that I know someone else who has done that pattern and also hated it, I think it was a case of a bad sock cabling experience.

I'm quite relieved to realize that cables on socks doesn't have to be an excruciating job!

...at least it feels that way... GEEZ it's been a LONG time.

These little guys were introduce last Thursday by K at knit knite as "Diabolical Cuteness". She really is evil (yes, you heard me, K...Evil!). This pattern is SO easy and fun. It's like Lay's potato chips -- you can't stop at just one. It's impossible. This is the perfect way to use up all the little bits of yarn that won't make much of any other project. As another knit knite buddy thought up -- these would also make wonderful catnip toys or even sachets for drawers! How wonderful to have a little alien lurking within your drawers! (She chuckles to herself.)

I have now finished the Diminishing Ribs sweater! It's now washed and blocked (sort of). I'm trying to wait patiently for it to dry....it's hard, really hard.
I made my goal of having this done by the Clambake (more on this later) so that makes me the happiest! Now I need to do a bunch of socks while I figure out what the next big project will be.

In other news, I made the best sandwich EVER for dinner tonight. This is one of my reasons why summer is my favorite season -- fresh tomatoes! This is a beautiful BLT with the first beefsteak tomato from my garden! Nice crisp bacon, tasty Tuscan bread, spring greens...mmmmmmmmmmmm. It was very messy but oh, so worth it! Hopefully, this is the first of many.

Now, a word about the clambake. My family has a clambake every year. This is basically our "family reunion". We steam a ton of clams, have lots of grilled chicken, corn, and tons of other food. (Oh, yeah, drink too!) This party has been happening since long before I was born and I believe will continue for a long time. We always have some family that can't make it and they are always sorely missed. The whole day is spent eating, drinking, playing and just talking. Last year, as we sat around the fire pit (til the wee small hours of the night) we were really missing having some musical fun. (Most of my family are musicians of some sort or another.) So this year I decided that I would take matters into my own hands and have been working up a setlist of simple (like, 4 chord simple) guitar songs so that we can have at least a little sing along. Wish me luck...I have 5 more days...the party is Saturday!