Knitting Musings

Still Here!!

Blogging has been a casualty of my current overwhelmed mood - it's reminding me strongly of that first winter break of law school - when I couldn't quite believe that a semester was over, and I couldn't quite imagine how I was going to make it through 2.5 more years. But it got better, and I made it... and I will make it through this adjustment to the new job, to my new life as a married lady, to the purchase of our first home, and to everything else life throws our way! Speaking of, S' step-dad had a heart attack on Christmas Eve, so everyone think good thoughts - he's doing well and should make a full recovery, but he's still in the hospital.

Luckily, I've been able to knit occasionally, even if I hardly ever make it to Knit Happens to hang out with my girls.

But see? Finished socks!

And clean laundry! Or a kitty bed. Or S' lesson in what happens when you aren't prompt about putting away your clean clothes!

Abby, meanwhile, continues to be a team player by helping us recycle the bone from the pork shoulder we made last weekend.

And yesterday, we tried to teach her how to open presents by wrapping up a treat for her to open on Christmas morning - she wasn't tremendously entertained by the extra steps required to enjoy her yummy!

Meanwhile, Henry came over for some Christmas fun and was well-received, so successful vest yet again! Plus, my dad resisted the urge to behead his subjects throughout the day.

Abby also helped alert us to the great danger of smoked salmon on the kitchen counter. She offered to help neutralize the threat, but apparently my parents thought the smoked salmon would be better off utilized in the breakfast omelettes.

And last but not least - there may have been some dyeing of the recycled cashmere, and there may have been some swatching for the Union Square Market Pullover. {innocent whistling}.

Labels: Henry VIII, Socks, Union Square Market Pullover

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Crazy Crazy Crazy

I'm getting a much-needed mini-vacation from work this morning because, in a few hours, I head to Annapolis to take the oath to become an actual, official lawyer. WOOT! Frankly, I'm rather more excited about the chance to relax and watch a movie from start to finish (and, of course, catch up on my puppy snuggles!)

S and I are waiting to hear back on our final offer on the house - if we get it, we'd close on the 27th, so it's been quite a lot of stress Chez-Musings.

Luckily, some of the members of the household have stepped up and shouldered the heavy burden of stress-relief.

Take, for example, a photo of our normal bedtime routine.

And Cricket goes above and beyond the call of duty to also take over the arduous task of laundry-supervision. Apparently, the sweaters are dry and ready to be put away.

Abby, meanwhile, makes sure we get plenty of fresh air and exercise...

... and that we take a moment to enjoy the simple joys of digging a really big hole.

In Abby's world, dirty = happy, so behold one of the happiest doggies ever:

All is not well in Abby's world, though - how would you feel if you were sitting on the couch, minding your own business, only to discover that the innocent-seeming down comforter was really a vicious, dog-swallowing monster?!

And right - knitting - today's mini-vacation has allowed me to finally finish weaving in the last few ends. Presenting - a completed Henry VIII vest!!!

Just in time for Christmas.

Labels: Henry VIII

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Playing Catch-Up

I finally got around to downloading the photos from my camera, and I realized that I hadn't taken one single picture of the 2 pairs of baby socks I completed. Of course, since I was in a rush to get them to my mom so she could include them in the "welcome baby" package she was sending to the new parents in France, I've already mailed them off. All is not lost, however, as I am currently making 2 more pairs to keep in a drawer for those "oh goodness, I didn't know you were expecting" moments, and I'll make sure to take some pictures then.

This weekend, S and I went camping - it was a trip we had planned to coincide with the bar results. I figured it would either be a celebratory trip, or a chance to distract myself... luckily, it was the former! It was definitely getting chilly, but the leaves were beautiful and it was a perfect weekend. I'm saving the pictures for the next post, though .... (ooo, cliffhanger, I know!)

Well, since there aren't any pictures of knitting, or any pictures of camping, or any pictures of S and I getting sloshed on Friday with the celebratory bottle of Asti Spumanti I brought home, what ARE there pictures of?

Like you even had to ask!

Here, Abby demonstrates that she and Cricket have been sharing secrets, including the patented kitty strategy of "lie on the papers until they pet you."

Meanwhile, Cricket (red circle) has been hard at work - she takes her "Bird Supervisor" role very seriously!

When they aren't hard at work watching birds or weighing down papers, Abby and Cricket assist in the blocking process. Abby just supervises, but Cricket periodically checks to see if the sweater is dry...

Can you believe that Cricket wouldn't ever get on the same couch as Abby?

Down comforter - 1. Abby - 0.

Down comforter - 2. Abby - 0.

Most spoiled doggy ever.

What S couldn't eat because "the doggy was too cute to move." Abby evenutally realized that there was bacon in the room and consented to move in exchange for a nibble.

We have 3 couches in our apartment. Notice who's sitting on the floor...

And finally - proof that we did, in fact, manage to carve a pumpkin in time for Halloween!

Thanks so much for all of the congrats - I'm so excited that I never have to take a test like that again!

Labels: Henry VIII

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To Block A King

Tomorrow may see the conclusion (finally) of a long and glorious reign...

Labels: Henry VIII

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So... Hot....

I have several finished objects to photograph, but it was 102 degrees today, with a heat index of 2,345 degrees. It was so hot that even Abby wouldn't go outside... poor doggy! So consequently, the idea of wrapping myself in knitted objects for creative photographs just really didn't do it for me.

Henry, for example, categorically refused to come out of his bag until the "infernal furnace" cooled off. I personally think he's still sulking because his marriage proposals keep getting refused, but he insists that he'll feel much better once he has a turkey leg or two. (Is it wrong that I imagine old Henry VIII as Cartman?)

See, Henry has gotten to his, ummmm, "more meaty" stage.

All steeked up and nowhere to go!!

Henry gets a taste of the ~~executioner's axe~~ scissors...

So Henry is fully steeked, and is ready for the final finishing. I've done one of his arms, but it was WAY TOO HOT to work on, so I'm letting him hang out for a bit.

Speaking of hanging out, Elspeth came over on Monday for a dyeing day, and helped me pin out my newly-dyed Print O' The Wave.... I am in mad love with this stole. The dyeing came out perfectly - navy with the turquoise peeking through and making the whole thing shimmer. As soon as the temperature dips below inferno, I'll try to take some proper pictures!

Cricket, as you can see, was extremely helpful with the whole blocking process...

She promised to let us know as soon as it was dry.

I also dyed up a mess of sportweight merino-acrylic for the Tangled Yoke cardigan from the latest Interweave... as soon as I finish the Tilted Duster (also from Interweave) that I started on Saturday, I'm casting on for this puppy. I was aiming for a darker reddish brown, but ended up LOVING the soft coral color that I ended up with. I can't wait to see how this turns out!!

And finally, speaking of "how things turn out," this is a cautionary tale. If you go to Ross, and you buy at least 2 king-sized comforter sets and a whole mess of other things, you should NOT take the convertible sports car.

It took the driver quite a lot of stuffing to have enough room to get in.

Labels: Dyeing, Henry VIII, print of the wave, tangled yoke

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Oh, Henry!!

Henry and I spent an entire, blissfully study-free day yesterday hanging out at Knit Happens. It was lovely, even if Henry DID ask everyone and everything to marry him...

He's almost done... and I think he's getting a little bored - I caught him catching up on some reading this morning. Apparently, he's a little bit self-absorbed.

Also while at Knit Happens, I "finished" my Print O' the Wave...

We were having a goofy day. If you notice, I sort of totally ran out of yarn, and (of course) couldn't replicate my hand-dyeing. So I'll be overdyeing the entire thing on Monday.

(We channeled the Rowan photo-stylists for this one. And the new Rowan magazine? FREAKIN' AWESOME!)

I think there was a laughing-gas leak - here are Holly and Elspeth bursting into a spontaneous "Sound of Music" moment brought about by an inquiry about "favorite things."

Those crazy girls.

Speaking of crazy girls, check out the 2 fuzzles chez-Musing at bedtime. For scale, that is a KING-sized bed. And yes, Abby is using the turtle (and S' arm) as a pillow.

Before I forget - a couple of housekeeping matters...

First, Abby's AWESOME cooling mat was purchased from Active K9, but they don't seem to be in business anymore!! Here's a similar one.

It is really great - we keep it under Abby's plush dog-bed until she needs it. It helps her stop panting so much faster!

And second - here's my banana bread recipe... stolen from an awesome church cookbook from the Lutheran ladies of a small town in South Dakota!

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sour milk (add 1.5 tsp lemon juice or vinegar to milk) - I usually use half-and-half
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup nuts
2 frozen, 1 fresh bananas (or use 3 frozen)
1+ tsp. vanilla
1 cup choc. chips (I use semi-sweet or dark)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs, mix well

In separate bowl, compine flour, baking soda, salt
Add dry ingredients and milk (alternate) until mixed
Add bananas (if frozen, thaw first)
Add nuts, chocolate chips

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour

It often takes more like an hour and fifteen or twenty minutes for my bread to be done - I cover it loosely with tin foil after an hour to keep the top from getting too brown.

*************************************************************************

I'm sitting here watching the coverage of the bridge collapse in Minnesota - thankfully, all of S' family and friends have checked in and are fine, although his best friend drove under the bridge less than an hour before the collapse. I still can't believe the images...

Labels: Henry VIII, print of the wave

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Dirtiest Doggy Ever

I shudder to think about the google hits I'll get from that title. But let me explain and sum up the last few days...

First, the baby kimono got all dressed up and went to live with the expectant parents, who were reportedly very pleased. Once again, BEST PATTERN EVER. Thank you, Mason-Dixon!

Then, I spent Friday afternoon at the place of happiness... and got to debut my 2 finally finished picovolis!!

I was wearing a black one, but couldn't tear myself away from Henry to get someone to snap a picture. I'm thinking I'll stage a little photo-shoot later this week.

Saturday morning, we headed off to Shenandoah National Park for some camping fun... but not until we stopped at a Front Royal 7-11 so that S could grab a Simpsons donut! (Abby wasn't particularly impressed...)

Once we got to our campsite, Abby went right to work. Apparently, she needed to excavate a fairly deep hole, and then she needed to stick her entire upper body into it looking for whatever it was that squeeked and ran under the log. This was stage 1 in operation "dirtiest doggy ever." She had mud clinging to her eyelashes, and her legs were unbelievably dirty.

We took a break from the excavation project to wander around Big Meadows and admire the bumblebees...

... and hide in the foliage. Anyone spot the doggy?

After a little "sniff out the window" break, we headed back to the campsite... only to dig another huge hole, get even more filthy, and took a break so that "I'm not tired" doggy could take a nap.

See? Not tired. At all.

We spend another couple of hours running full speed through the ferns and thickets, and added another subtle shade to the tapestry of browns that had already been ground into the doggy-fur... Abby thinks she looks great in green...

And Henry? Oh yes, he came camping. But he absolutely refused to get out of the car. Apparently, he has "standards." He wanted "cloth of gold" tents, like he had in France. He refused to "chase after the hound" in the woods, and kept demanding a horse and some attendants. Oh, and he missed his sweet little Katherine Howard...

I managed to placate him with a leg of lamb, a few chickens, and a couple of bottles of wine (he's in his 'I'm not fat, I'm big boned - give me another chicken' stage)... I should be finishing him soon.

Labels: Camping, Henry VIII

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ireland cardigan