I never know when it'll hit me

Tonight it was the gospel music softly playing in the room where I presided at a hospice death. When Elvis started singing one of my father's favorite hymns, it was all over but for the blubbering. I waited for the long ride home for that.

Miss you, Dad. This one's for you...

Swish

That knitting hamster has been at it in my brain again. Around and around it goes, but only one project is sticking in my thoughts and it's one I've been wanting to get around to since I took Jane Slicer-Smith's class last September.

It's the Harlequin Jacket from her book, Swing, Swagger and Drape. The mitered boxes with clever shaping is calling to me. At the time of her class, she had a trunk show, too. The jacket looked fantastic on me and on every other woman who tried on the piece. It's beautiful.

I've settled on colors, too, and while green would be the obvious choice for me, I ordered DK weight yarn (Swish) from Knitpicks today in 3 shades of purple. I also ordered new cables for my interchangeable needles. The most clever thing about this pattern is that along with the miters, the shaping is achieved through frequent size changes with needles, going from larger needles at the bottom to small needles in the bodice area.

I think I'm ready to take this project on, but reading the pattern in the book leaves a lot to the imagination. While the author may be a genius, I am not. I need more instruction. Enter, Ravelry. When I submitted the name of the pattern into the search engine, the pattern popped up showing it was in my library. When I opened that window, to my complete surprise, it showed up twice...in the book that I own, and in a magazine I apparently own. Knitting Universe, Winter, 2006 has more in depth instructions than the book. I'd have never looked in that magazine if I hadn't been led there by Rav.

Who knew? I love the new Ravelry search options. Love, love, love.

So now I'll wait to see if I like the Swish. I know I like Trendsetter's Merino VI, which is what the pattern is knit from in the book, but if I like the Knitpicks yarn, I'll save 50% overall. I ordered one skein of each color to play with first. It's a start for what will be a major project.

Getting around to getting it done

While I haven't completed anymore projects since yesterday afternoon, I have been working on a WIP. It's the poncho I started late last winter out of the Rowan cotton/alpaca blend. I don't know why I haven't finished it because it's 60 % complete and a no-brainer to knit. The whole thing is stockinette with one cabled row every 12 rows. How hard is that? My goal is to get it done so I can wear it while it's still autumn.

I picked that project back up instead of casting on for the hat I wanted to make to match that baby sweater because I couldn't find my double points. All bazillion sets of them have gone missing. A cursory search of the house came up empty. Over the years, I've stored them in a beautiful vase next to my chair. Of course, all of their packaging was lost, and the print rubbed bare from use, so finding matching sets in a sea of loose needles was a pain. I bought a beautiful DPN holder from Jane (Miss 376) to solve that problem. I love it because there I kept my beloved clover and bamboo DPNs all in one handy spot. Now it (the case) and all of my needles are missing in action. Therein lies the problem of storing them all in one spot, but that's not Jane's fault; it's mine.

Oh, I know where they are alright. I just can't find them amid the clutter in the room that was to be my knitting haven. It's a room I've done nothing with, or to, since we moved in last March, except fill it with junk.

All of that is about to change. I'm going to have my hubby demonstrate his love for me by painting that room this week. I think a nice grey-blue for a calming and blood pressure lowering space will be a good start. A warm area rug will make it rather homey. It's cold up there this morning so I know I need a rug. I wish I could find the round rug I saw in a catalog last spring because it had a farm scene with grazing farm animals all over the rug. I'm kicking myself for not buying it, or at the very least, not putting that catalog aside. To address the biggest issue in that room, later this week I'll be heading over to IKEA to find the shelving system I think I want in there. Proper organization and storage is a huge problem and this should get me on my way.

I'm going to get around to getting this room done before the snow flies, and I'm really hopeful my DPNs show up during the process of organizing this space. I hate the idea of replacing them.

On being complete

There is incredible satisfaction when a knitting project is finished. Still, this one, fresh off the needles in this photo, takes a little bit of faith. Is it really done?

Make two folds in the above blob and, voila! You have a baby sweater. Faith is a good thing to have when following an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern.

Seam those arms and now it's truly apparent...it's done.

But wait. It needs closure and embellishment. If this soon to join the world babe is as enthusiastic about all things round as his brother, Ethan, I think I chose the right buttons. A few months ago, Ethan joined us for lunch at a local Italian restaurant. The waitress gave him a blob of pizza dough to play with and wouldn't you know it? Ethan formed it into a ball and threw it as far as he could. Being only two, it wasn't all that far. It plopped into my dish and splattered marinara sauce on my jacket. I was so delighted with his antics that I barely noticed the stain. I love little boys.

In case you can't tell by the photo, this pattern gives you the opportunity of where to place the buttons. On the left band for a girl and on the right button band for a boy. It's such a clever little pattern.

Short of a swim in some Eucalan, the sweater is finally complete. I ran up to the yarn store this afternoon to match some softer yarn for a hat, and if I'm lucky and have enough yarn, some booties.

I still need to finish the blanket I'm making for him, but I'm feeling better that at least this is done!

Next!

Obnoxicity

Every family has its own special words to describe certain things. Obnoxicity is one of ours that describes a situation beyond obnoxious. In our home, its used often to describe life with MLTL. Obviously on the mend now, MLTL is reaching new heights of disgusting with his level of obnoxicity and his target is my son.

As MLTL has declined a bit in recent years, and I'm speaking physically and mentally, not in his ability to be obnoxious, my son has lived with him to help prevent a disaster. Those days are coming to an end and my son is actively looking for a federal job that utilizes his degree when he graduates in December. The work he is pursuing will require him to live in Washington, D.C. for a period of 3 years and MLTL is losing what's left of his mind over this.

As my son actively applies for jobs, MLTL tells him, "I hope you don't get that job," and, "why can't you work here?" He is becoming mean and belittling toward the only human who has made it possible for MLTL to continue to live in his home. In the past few years, my son was the only person my father in law seemed to like, but now, everything my son does is wrong, including the incorrect way he folds a towel, waters flowers and how late he sleeps. If he's not up early, my son can't be a chauffeur for MLTL.

Yesterday, I got no fewer than 3 calls from my son regarding his grandfather's litany of complaints toward him. I've tried to reassure him that this is a favorite M.O. for his roommate and to try not to take it personally. After all, MLTL didn't speak to his own daughter for an entire year after she moved out of state. Back then, my mother in law was still alive and ran interference. That buffer isn't there anymore and my father in law's insults are very personal, hateful and unwarranted. My son, who could use a little thicker skin, is taking the barrage of hatred to heart.

And Mama Bear is steaming.

I'm trying hard to let my son work through this hiccup with my father in law, but I'm losing patience with that mean old man.

If he thinks he's the only Arab in the family capable of losing it, he should re-evaluate the situmacation. I can, and will, take obnoxicity to a whole new level.

Dear Lord, grant me clarity and the wisdom I'll need to deal with this old goat. Amen.

Things that are official

It's fall, as evidenced by the availability of my favorite beer, and not by the weather which is more like summer.

Leo is a juvenile delinquent. Twice in one week he has instigated fights at Camp Bow Wow. The first time it happened, the staff called me to let me now Leo had a bite mark on his jowl, but it was his own fault. I felt as though the principal was calling me about one of my kids.

Leo, of course, categorically denies all allegations. He was overheard saying, "prove it." Dumb dog--it's all recorded.

For his next visit, staff will try an extra nap time for Leo.

Yeah...good luck with that.

Knitting Blasphemy

I've cast on my second ever Baby Surprise Jacket from the Elizabeth Zimmerman (EZ) book, Knitting Workshop. This is about the most versatile and clever pattern ever written, but only if you can understand Elizabetheeze. I love the witty writing style of EZ, but I'll be damned if I can understand her patterns and in her case, EZ doesn't stand for easy. The last time I made this sweater, I used a cheat sheet that someone had posted on the internet. After multiple searches for those old CliffsNotes, I threw in the towel and spent $10 on the recently re-released pattern, which on page 2, has line by line instructions that are perfect for the idiot that I apparently am. I have to say, I'm ever so slightly annoyed that even though I own the book, and now the separate pattern, I still had to look for a video to help me out when it came to determining the size to knit for a newborn.

Not so annoyed that I wouldn't knit this item though.

The sweater, knit entirely in one piece and completely in garter stitch is an example of brilliant knitting engineering. Believe it or not, the above sweater, cast on late yesterday afternoon in Mountain Colors River Twist and Reynolds DK weight wool, is 33% complete. I'd have done the entire sweater in River Twist, but the price for two skeins gave me palpitations. I had the Reynolds in my stash, so somehow the cost of that doesn't count.



Now that I'm done bashing the contents of the knitting world's favorite knitter's patterns, I find myself thankful I don't have a disagree button on my blog like they do on ravelry. I hate the disagree button and the way the disagree fairy flits from one post to another trying to make knitters feel bad about their opinions. My belief is that if EZ could be opinionated, well then, so can I.

Last, but not least, is that the harvest moon I see approaching? I hope its effect isn't as bad as last month's full moon. I wish I could hide away and knit until it passes.