Motivation...

...I have NONE!

I really have to file at work. I have two files that I have let get out of control. Because they are a mess, I don't wanna work on them. All my other filing is up to date. Just these two.

Since the boss is away until Thursday, I am even less motivated to file. I, instead, have been working on my genealogy. I have, actually, been sucked into a black hole of information. It is very interesting to me, and there is a lot of information online. The Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) have a site where there is software you can download information and enter your information into. You can then create all kinds of documents. Family trees, calendars. Lots more. I have found (not from the Mormons) scanned copies of the documents from my paternal grandmother's family. Census from 1910 and 1920, and Ellis Island. So much fun! So distracting from work. This weekend was good. The only thing I got accomplished was I now have all three seasons of Knitty Gritty on tape. I also finished sleeve #1 of Malik's sweater, and finished the ribbing on sleeve 2. I only worked a couple of rows - maybe less than that - on Marcus' vest. While I was taping Knitty Gritty, I found a baby blanket I had to make. This will be the first project I really made modifications on. It is supposed to be 3 hearts across and 3 rows. I am making 4 hearts across and two rows. I am using a worsted weight on size 7 needles. I am doing one row pink, one row white, then one row pink, one row white. I toyed with the idea of intarsia for the hearts, and doing one row pink with white hearts, then the negative in the next row. I decided I didn't want that much yarn "hanging around." I finished half of one repeat. I really like it.

I guess that is all, for now.

OOPS! Almost forgot - goals

baby blanket - finish the repeat I am on and at least start the next one
Malik's sweater - half way through sleeve #2

That's it!

The Amazing Lace

Dear Rachel and Theresa, I am going to sort of follow your rules. I understand the rule where you don't want to scroll forever on 300+ blogs to find knitalong content. So, this is your update section. I will let you know when you can stop reading so that you can move on to other topics and I can have the rest of my post.

I have joined The Amazing Lace. Lace has been in the back of my mind for maybe a month or so as something I maybe wanted to try. This knitalong is kismet. Plus, if I get finished with something in time, I can even wear it for my birthday. Labor day this year is Sept. 4 and my b-day is September 6.

I can't settle on a project, yet. I have the yarn, but it is at home, so I will add that later. I will either do a feather-and-fan or a yo, k2tog across every row. I think I will swatch both and see which I like better. WHAT?!?! ME SWATCH?!?!? Well, first time for everything!

I even successfully put a button on my sidebar! (Scroll down) This is huge for me!! There is an actual picture that actually takes you to the actual Amazing Lace site. ALL BY MYSELF!!

Rachel and Theresa - move ahead to other blogs, now.

Everyone else:

I got my new book in the mail this morning. I can't wait to dig in!

I finished the fair isle heart sock this weekend. It is WAAAAYYYY too tight for Ayanna's feet. There is no stretch to it AT ALL!!! There was almost not enough stretch to turn it inside out so I could get the sock to turn wrong side out so I could weave in ends. Of course, I didn't bother weaving in ends. I will most likely just throw it out. I might get a pic first, though. I don't know if I knit too tight or if it is the crappy (nearly free) acrylic yarn, or if it is a combination of both. Either way, I am not making the mate.

I had a productive knitting weekend. I have taped all episodes for seasons 1-3 of Knitty Gritty on TIVO. I had started taping the different episodes on to VHS in order. Then our machine started to do wierd things. We called DirecTV, and they said they would send a new one out, but we had to dump everything from our "old" one). Therefore, I was recording all day yesterday. I had started the project earlier, but was in no rush, and I hadn't finished even season 1. Yesterday, I got all the way to towards the end of Season 2. DH & I decided that we would just return the box when we were done with it. He got almost all of his stuff off of it on Saturday. We were around 51% full, and we are now around 15% full, so, we worked real hard, but...

Plus, I went through all my magazines, patterns, catalogs, books, flyers, print-outs, what have you, and tried to organize them somehow. Progress was made in that my one shelf on the bookshelf isn't HARDLY enough, anymore. I need to buy some more of the plastic doo-hickeys that make a magazine fit into a 3-ring binder, and some more 3-ring binders so I can finish.

As I said, I finished the fair-isle sock. I am progressing slowly on the blue cardigan that I have had forever. I am working on a Sirdar sweater for Malik.

For the first time in a long time:
GOALS:
I would like to have sleeve #1 done for Malik's sweater and cast on for sleeve #2.
Pick a lace pattern
Work on DH vest.

I was planning on working a lot on DH vest during Memorial Day weekend cause he was going to spend the whole weekend golfing. Looked at the weather forcast for the weekend - not so much golfing! I thought he was going to cry.

Knitting Queen

I don't think I have ever had such a productive week. On Wednesday I finished my step-dad's socks.














On my way to work yesterday (literally, while walking in the office, I was knitting and finishing my sock), I finished a pair of socks for me! ME!! Imagine!! Saturday I worked for a couple of hours and started and got to the heel flap for a pair of fair isle socks for Ayanna.

















I also got about half way done with one bootie for her.

Mother's day was good. I got to go to THREE LYS. While at Yarn Garden, I got a pattern, a size C crochet hook so I could pick up the stitches for the heel on Ayanna's fair isle sock, and buttons for the booties. While at Mabel's, I got two patterns and the yarn to make one, a Kacha-Kacha and a Universal Counter. Then we went to Abundant Yarn. OH, DANG! I just remembered something I wanted to look at while I was there. I wanted to buy some roving and a spindle, but they don't carry spindles, and the roving was in big huge amounts. I just wanna try spinning, I don't really wanna buy enough to make a sweater. Bought nothing there. Then we went to an all you can eat for "dinner" at like 3:00. Then we went bowling. It was fun, except my DH sprained or something his ankle, so he is hobbling.

Saturday we went to the cemetary. I saw this head stone:

I FORGOT!!!

How could I forget to tell you the good news!!

I got (almost) all of the yarn from the longest project ever unknit! I even washed it all a couple of weekends ago! There are right now about 4 skeins (still) hanging on hangers in our laundry closet. I wound the smallest one a while ago, because it was so small. I made a sort of nostprinde out of a paper towel tube. Then, I think, Monday night, I wound up a regular sized skein into a ball and started knitting it. This project might be done this year, after all!!! Maybe even before the fall starts and I can wear it. What is that, wear it??? OH! Is that what you are supposed to do with knitted items??? Wear them, not just let them sit around on the needles? Cough-cough-MARIAH-cough-cough.

OKC

PHOTO HEAVY!!!

This is, after all, a knitting blog.

I got to go see Debbie Stoller last week.

I brought the two books I already had (SnB and SnB Nation) and picked up the third.

I wasn't going to buy her new book, because I don't really want to crochet, but Malik wanted this hat from the book, so...

She got there, too bad I can't take pictures:

But Malik can take pictures, apparently:

Malik was there, so were DeAndre', Marcus and Ayanna. This baby, however, didn't want to be bothered:

I am making progress on my step-dad's father's day socks. This is last week:

Today I started the decreases for the toe.

And this was picture weekend at our house. The boys (I didn't really know they were getting thier pictures taken, but) got thier pics done at school and we picked up Ayanna's pictures.

This weekend, we couldn't resist:

Busy weekend

Well, it was a busy weekend. DeAndre' was getting his First Communion on Sunday so he had practice on Saturday. He also had a soccer game on Saturday. Malik had his birthday party on Saturday.

Lots of pictures

If her eating is any indication, Ayanna won't be tiny for long:

I have knitting updates, tho not much. I am close to done with the leg of the red sock that will be mine. This is sock #2 and all of the ends are woven in, but not cut, because I didn't take my scissors with me on lunch. There is an extra pair of ends on this project because the yarn had a break in it.

I found the black socks I lost - right there in the garage where I last had them. I am done with all of the heel. Just stright st. st. on the foot. This is also the second sock. I haven't been working on much else. There are a few groups I might go visit, soon, to get more knit time in.

Debbie Stoller will be at Powell's tonight to promote Happy Hooker. She didn't come like she was supposed to for SnB Nation, and I don't personally have much interest in crochet, but I will be going and bringing both my SnB books for her to sign. More on that (hopefully) tomorrow.