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Tuesday, May 18, 2004
0 comments || # Monday, May 17, 2004 One Foot in CaliforniaI have reached that stage of pre-vacation where I am so ready to be THERE, but I'm still here. {sigh}. Well, Wednesday morning will come soon enough, I'm sure!I haven't been making great strides with Slosh... I'm on the ribbing section of the back, and it's pretty boring to knit. Plus, at this point, I'm fairly positive that I won't get past the ribbing before I leave, and I'm only taking socks with me for knitting on vacation. And I would have taken a picture, but it's pretty boring. Maybe I'll be motivated tonight and I'll snap a pic of the endless ribbing and also of the extra cute alpaca sock I've started in preparation for my plane rides! :) I did, however, get almost all of my packing done this weekend... 
... with help from Cricket, who apparently thinks that all suitcases, boxes, and bags that come into the apartment are there entirely for her amusement (she's right, of course!) The only things left to pack are the "last minutes" (a.k.a. all the shower stuff), and, oh yeah, that bridesmaid dress that I'm supposed to wear next sunday. Think my friend would mind if I forgot it? Speaking of Cricket sitting in things, though- I've just about given up on my poor little fern- not only has Cricket decided it is a salad bar, but she's also figured out that it makes a very comfy chair:  
I'm growing her a new crop of kitty-grass, but I think it may be too late to save the fern. 0 comments || # Thursday, May 13, 2004 Helpful Kitty!I made it through the lace section on the right front of the cardi... Cricket was VERY interested in being my assistant and making sure all of those pesky yarn ends behaved.
Ok, I'll admit it- she was actually interested in playing with the ball of yarn that dangled so seductively from the knitting. ;) 
I didn't have too much time to work on Slosh last night- I went with some friends to see Van Helsing... one of the most deliciously terrible movies I've seen in a long time. If you expect a GOOD movie, don't see this one. If you're willing to laugh and giggle your way through, you'll have a blast- good special effects, some decent action scenes, and, as long as you're not trying to take it seriously as some sort of cinematic masterpiece, an entertaining couple of hours. Plus, Hugh Jackman is a hottie. 0 comments || # Wednesday, May 12, 2004 $41,495So that represents the total amount of loans I just applied for- FOR 1 YEAR OF SCHOOL. And for some odd reason, "yarn" wasn't included in the budget...Next week at this time, I'll be on a plane jetting to Orange County... and then a week later, I'll be driving up to Northern California. I am SO ready for a vacation, and a chance to see some very special people. But somehow, even though I've known when I was leaving for the last 6 months or so, it just struck me that it's now NEXT WEEK. Somehow, I was thinking that May 19 was still several weeks away. So this weekend, I'm doing laundry, packing, and spending quality time with Cricket- and of course, packing includes knitting... I'll be taking socks for the plane rides, and Slosh in my suitcase in case there are ever any quiet moments throughout the trip. Speaking of Slosh, I'm still plugging away on the ribbing section- it is definitely not my favorite thing to knit. I still have about 5" to go, but I'm hoping to finish today or tomorrow so I can get on to the fun lace pattern and shaping sections! Cricket is still shedding like crazy- I don't even bother putting my vacuum away anymore. 0 comments || # Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Whew!!Well, the pace of my life is definitely speeding up- in a week, I leave for a fabulous trip to California to be in my best friend's wedding and see more fabulous people, and then follows a whirlwind of choir rehearsals, concerts, and oh yeah, moving. PHEW! I *may* return to sanity around the end of June, but I'm not making any promises (after all, I'm assuming that there's some sort of sanity to which I can return!) ;)ANYWAY, in the spirit of 'getting everything done before I run out of time,' I spent the morning in various doctor's offices... first, I got to get a tetanus shot and have my dr verify that yes, I did indeed have chicken pox and all my other vaccinations. Boy, bureaucratic forms AND a shot- what fun!! Then I got to go get my eyes checked- the good news- my eyes are about the same, and I don't need to spend $$ on a new pair of glasses (I can see just fine 99% of the time, but I am a tiny bit nearsighted, so I wear glasses for driving at night, and when I'm trying to read the board or something!) The bad news, though, was that I got to wait around for almost 2 hours, and I got those terrible drops that make your pupils dilate... I can see again now, but one pupil is much larger than the other, so I look like a bit of a freak. In knitting news, well, there isn't much- I'm plugging away on the ribbing section of the right front of Slosh... and even though it's quite impressive that I have about 6" done, it doesn't make for a particularly impressive photo. {sigh} Plus, the temperatures have decided to stay planted in the 90s (oh, but we cooled down all the way to 69 last night!) I think tonight I'm going to splurge and power up the A/C. Many thanks to the fabulous Wendy who checked with Lucy for a vet recommendation in Northern Virginia (where I'll be moving in June)... although Cricket thinks her current vet is just fine, I don't think she'll like the 45 minute car ride each way to visit him. Of course, since she doesn't really like ANYTHING about visiting the V - E - T, maybe the car ride wouldn't make much of a difference! :) 0 comments || # Monday, May 10, 2004 Calmer GoodnessI love weekends where you feel like you've done so much, but at the same time, had a great, relaxing time. This weekend was incredible- on Friday, I picked my aunt up from the airport, had no trouble with traffic, and enjoyed an hour or so chatting with her on the way home. Later, we had a fabulous extended family dinner out with Grandma and my aunt and my parents... much fun, and a yummy rootbeer float! :) Then, on Saturday, Shawn and I took a day trip to Montpelier (home of James Madison), and it was beautiful... although a smidge disappointing because they are in the midst of restoring the entire house (including ripping out several later additions), so you couldn't actually tour the house, but the grounds were stunning, and the weather was perfect, and the traffic was only mildly terrible. Plus, we stopped at Waffle House on the way down... you gotta love the Waffle House. ;) When we got back to Shawn's place on Saturday night, there was the hot tub waiting for us- might as well use it before we move!! Sunday morning was spent relaxing and knitting, and then I went over and cooked dinner for mums.Speaking of knitting, I managed to finish the left front of the new cardigan I'm doing out of the summer Vogue... the yarn is Rowan Calmer in slosh... I LOVE this yarn. One small note- you knit it on much larger needles than you might think (to get a light, drapey fabric), so you have to be VERY careful on the ribbing... if you don't pull extra tightly on the transitions from knit to purl and vice-versa, you get extremely sloppy ribbing. Consequently, the 12" of ribbing seemed to take forever, while the lace pattern and the stockinette section seriously flew, even when I screwed up the armhole twice. 
I also finally wore Springtime... and it's extra cute! :) It's actually drying right now, so hopefully I'll be able to wear it later in the week if it stays this warm... 
0 comments || # Wednesday, May 05, 2004 Sock Vacation It all started innocently enough... I finished Springtime rather unexpectedly on Friday afternoon, and realized (to my chagrin), that I'd left all 3 of the patterns for my "next project contenders" at work. D'oh! Faced with an entire weekend with potentially nothing on the needles, I acted quickly, and went straight for the sock yarn drawer! I'd forgotten how fun these are to knit... and I'm remembering how to do everything, which is good since I'll be relying on sock-knitting to keep me sane on my cross-country vacation in a few weeks! These socks are destined for a good friend who, upon announcing her engagement, told me all she wanted for a gift was "more socks" like the ones I made her for Christmas. Well, ask and ye shall receive! ;)
Of course, the second these are finished, I'll be starting on my next project- I'm thinking the lacy v-neck cardigan, also from the latest Vogue. I have some Rowan Calmer in slosh just begging for some attention... In my comments, Deb asks about the fit of Springtime... it's definitely more fitted than the tank on the model, but I don't think it's quite as fitted as Rachael's... hopefully this weekend it'll warm up enough for me to wear it, and I'll get a picture. :) 0 comments || # Monday, May 03, 2004 Sheep and Woolwarning- LOTS of photos!!I was only planning on going to Sheep and Wool on Sunday with my parents and grandma- boy, would I have missed out! My parents went primarily for the sheepdog demonstrations (just about the cutest things ever), and with grandma there too, we couldn't spend the entire day wandering through the vendors and barns. Luckily, my wonderful boyfriend Shawn, who really wanted to go but couldn't go on Sunday, convinced me to take him on Saturday. In the words of Rachael... "you have a boyfriend who WANTS to go to sheep and wool?" :) Not only did he go with me, at times he was even more excited than I was! For example, he learned how hard it is to spin... 
...and he forced me to do terrible things like eat amazingly yummy funnel cake. Don't I look like I'm under duress? 
When we weren't eating something yummy, we were enjoying all of the animals, demonstrations, and vendors... although I didn't actually buy anything! I was tempted by some of the yarn, but I was really looking for some handpainted yarn in green for a scarf... but none of the greens really were what I was looking for. But even just window shopping was amazing! My favorite part BY FAR of the Sheep and Wool Festival is the sheepdog demonstrations- they are so happy when they get to 'play' with the sheep! 
We also enjoyed the shearing demonstration- and, sitting out in the full sun and 80 degree temps (and getting sunburned), we were tempted to get shorn ourselves! 
Doesn't that look SO much cooler? The other highlight of the festival (for me, at least!) is the "angora lady"... she was there last year too, although last year she was spinning from a grey bunny. That's right- she plops the fuzzy bunny in her lap, and gently pulls out tufts of angora, and spins it. With how much Cricket has been shedding lately, maybe I should give this a try! ;) 
Oh, and I finished Springtime on Friday... but I didn't end up wearing it this weekend, and now the temps are back into the 50s and 60s. {sigh}.... well, it'll be hot enough very soon, I'm sure! :) 
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