Shiny Things, and the Interview Meme

Remember when La asked us all to post pictures of DeFeet of Cuteness? Well, I posted Harley and Simon's toes, not realizing that La had once had a tortie/tuxedo set, too. Just because of that, I won a prize! Not only that, but obviously La has checked out my blog, because the stitch markers she sent have a ladybug and dragonfly theme....

It's hard to take a picture of such shiny pretties!

Thank you so much, La! (And thank you, Simon and Harley, for having such charming toesies!)

The Interview Meme
I'm jumping on the Interview Meme, with questions from Amy.

1. What do you feel is your biggest knitting accomplishment?

Definitely Seraphim (which my fingers always want to spell Serpahim) – it was my biggest project up to that time (and, I guess, still) and my first real lace project

2. What's a book that you disliked but everyone else seemed to "love?"

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I’ve started it many times and recently discovered that I own two copies. I’ve read and enjoyed several other John Irving books, though.

3. What's a favorite childhood memory of yours?

Thanksgivings at my Uncle Bill’s, with the crazy side of the family – my dad’s 8 siblings and my approximately 30 first cousins.

4. What will you miss the most about San Antonio?

My sister, followed closely by green chicken enchiladas. And my knitters.

5. What are three products that you absolutely love

• Vanilla Spice Body Butter from The Body Shop (available only at Christmas time, so I have a stash!)
• Jam Session lipstick by Origins
• Gerber Chicken baby food (the only way I can get Simon to take his meds!)

Wanna play? Leave me a comment and I'll send you some questions!

Big News of the Non-Knitting Sort

But first -- I couldn't resist winding up the oddly-named LLSS Yellowstone (although notice how much more yellow that skein has than mine) and I think it's even prettier as a yarn cake that in was in the skein.

I'm pretty sure that this yarn wants to a pair of Embossed Leaves Socks. In fact, there seems to be one already cast on! (My Black Purl socks are almost done -- I'm about to pick up the gusset stitches on the second one. Unfortunately, I left it at work this evening.)

And in case you wondered -- knitting on the back of Arwen continues....

Oh -- the Big News! Well -- I'm moving! To Iowa! After almost 23 years in San Antonio (almost all of my adult life), I'm going back to the Midwest. In a couple months, I'll be working at the Hardin Library at the University of Iowa. (Did you know a big river runs right through the middle of the Iowa campus?) I'm going up in a couple weeks to find a place to live. And yarn shops. So -- if you know anything about knitting or LYSes in the Iowa City area, please comment!

Irrational Fear Meme

Rebekah has started an Irrational Fear meme. I knew immediately what I should post, because I have one huge, stupid, irrational fear.

I cannot start down a flight of stairs without envisioning my ankle giving way, causing me to tumble all the way down. Obviously, I really like holding on to the rail when I go down steps (or at least for the first few steps).

I understand a bit about this fear -- when I was younger, I sprained my ankles all the time. I also had a habit of stepping off of curbs and falling down. But I've never fallen down a whole flight. Oddly enough, my sister did once (with a giant suitcase falling with her), but my fear pre-dates that.

So -- what's your irrational fear?

Ladybugs

Growing up in a little farming town in central Illinois, ladybugs were a standard component of summertime, along with lightning bugs and mosquitos. Here in south Texas, you occasionally see ladybugs, but not as commonly, unless you're in my kitchen.

There, you'll see them:

Above the windows (along with bumblebees and dragonflies)

On the opposite wall (this would be the boy ladybug, who refused to ask for directions)

In the flower pot on the kitchen table, and on the window sill in the background

And under the flower pot

Recently, some new ladybugs have come into my house, for non-kitchen-related use.

This little guy, a gift from my mom's friend Ray, sharpens pencils

And these hold my DPNs!

These great DPN protectors are from Three Owls Knitting. She's got all sort of cute designs for $8 to $10 for a set of two! Plus, she tweaked these for me to fit the 6" needles I usually use. You know you need some!

Yes, I am alive

My mom and her "gentleman friend" were here visiting for a week, and they kept me busy! We went to Fredericksburg (and what used to be called the Nimitz Museum), the LBJ Ranch, the Alamo, and a performance at the Josephine Theatre. We took a ride on the San Antonio River. We ate at Sea Island, the Rather Sweet Bakery, and Mi Tierra. We got up at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday morning to put this really yummy Italian Beef in the crockpot. And I went to work for at least a couple hours every work day.

Not much knitting was done. I worked on the sock occasionally. Last night, when it was once again just me and the kitties at home, I cast on for Hidcote, using Knitpicks Shadow in Oregon Coast Heather. Simon helped by literally grabbing the needles and watching the stitches slide off. There were only 21 stitches, so I was able to get them all back on the needle. Why I did that, I don't know, since I always have to cast on at least twice for any project. Sure enough, a few rows later, I felt the need to rip out and begin again.

Along with the yarn, I ordered some US #3 circular needles from Knitpicks. I have to agree with the reviews that rave about the wonderfully non-kinky cable (not that there's anything wrong with kinky....) and the wonderfully smooth join. The tips are definitely pointier that Addys, although not as pointy as most of my bamboo or other wood needles. And..... just as I suspected, they are very slick. This is not necessarily a good thing for me. However, I'm going to persevere. I didn't think I would ever be able to knit continental style, but I learned, so maybe I can learn to love slick needles, too....

Tattoo Meme

Scout has asked us to post pictures of our tattoos, so here it is. Long-time readers (it's all relative!) will remember that I got this to celebrate my birthday last summer. It's on my upper back, and shows when I want it to. I'm thinking, though, that I might want to get something little on my wrist, too.

It's really hard to take a picture of your own upper back!

YFC, WIPs, and UFOs

YFC

See that ticker up there? It's been 1 month, 2 weeks, and 4 days since I began taking part in Rebecca's Yarn Focus Challenge. In the YFC, sock yarn does count, but we get to have one day a month to buy yarn. In the first month, I used my day to buy dishcloth cotton for the baby kimono. This month, I splurged a little more.

I've finally decided that my next shawl will be Hidcote, so I bought that pattern from Mim, and bought the suggested yarn, Shadow, from KnitPicks. It's really inexpensive (less than $7.50 for a whole shawl's worth!), so I bought two colors, Lost Lake Heather and Oregon Coast Heather. I like Sunset Heather a lot, too, but I don't need another red shawl. I also dropped by one of the LYSes and came home with some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the poorly-named (I think) Yellowstone. I think this looks like some sort of spring flower myself. I think I'll use it to make some plain stockinette socks for me.

WIPs
Remember the Mitred Square Baby Blanket from M-D Knits? I've finished the squares, but I'm not sure about the layout. What do you think? (click the pictures to embiggen)

Solid squares in the middle?


Or solid squares at the corners?

After they're all put together, I'll add a border - probably one row of each color.

After much talk about Arwen, I've cast on, using the Beaverslide Fisherman Weight in Wood Violet. I've never made a grown-up sweater, so we'll see how this goes!

The second Black Purl sock continues, too - I've got to fly to Harlingen again on Wednesday, so it will be airport knitting.

UFOs
I'm sure no one but me remembers the Flared Lace Smoke Ring from last fall. I really wanted it done in time for cold weather, but it got put aside for Christmas knitting. Actually, it and the Black Purl socks were both put aside at that time. I'm working on it again, but suspect it will be put aside when the yarn for Hidcote arrives. I'm on the fourth and last chart, but I'm guessing I need to do about 14 repeats of that chart - and I'm only on the fourth!

It's not really this pink!

Pretty things

Are y'all familiar with Heather's Twisted Lily jewelry? I have a pair of her leaf earrings, and bought a pair for my sister, too. Around Valentine's Day, she offered a special necklace called Nora. Of course, I didn't decide that I wanted to buy myself one until after Valentine's Day. And I needed the "chain" to be a little longer. But all it took was an email to Heather and I have one!

Sorry for the blurry picture.

Heather's packaging is just about as nice as the jewelry and comes with candy -- Creme Savers, which I managed to crop out of the photo.



And here's something kind of pretty: a finished Black Purl sock, and the beginning -- the cuff ruffle -- of the second sock.

Boy, are my feet big!

Speaking of feet -- La has asked us to post pictures of cute toes. She calls it DeFeet of Cuteness. So here are Harley Girl's absolutely adorable two-toned toes and Simon's more manly feet. And yes, Simon is holding a knitting needle.....