Painful Week

Those warnings you've heard about drinking around your computer? HEED THEM. In the midst of a crazily busy week (including dh away on business trip and multiple work projects due)I decided to unwind one evening with a little glass of pinot noir...a little too close to the laptop, but I'm always so careful...phone rings, I reach for it...kerplunk, splish splash, computer crash...*sigh*

The bad news? Extended warranty was up in October and the cost of fixing was roughly equal to the cost of a new low-end machine. Doh! The good news? I heart my new Gateway :) Which I can't afford. But I also can't do school or job without one.

So, what with all of the hassle of copying over the backed-up files, figuring out where they've hidden everything in Word 2007, and getting used to the Vista operating system (okay and playing around with wallpaper), not much knitting has gotten done.

I met up with some friends (hi Patrice) briefly the morning after "The Pinot Incident" and got a few rows done on the ripple afghan:



Then at an especially painful SnB (painful as in laughing until your insides hurt) on Sunday, I made some sock progress:



I love short rows but (as I've complained about before) I hate picking up the wraps. So my buddy Lynne mentions to me that she doesn't deal with those wraps at all. "Not at all?" I ask, my eyes wide with fear and awe. Nope, says she. So I take a deep breath, and just ignore those little buggers. Guess what? Fastest heel I've ever turned, and you can't even see the wraps - plus - *no holes*! I bow to you, goddess of sock heel.

And hey, you guys (Lynne, abby {who really needs a blog}, Naomi) - thanks for a hilarious afternoon :)

Winter Wonderland

It's been quite a lovely week around here. First we had a snowstorm - with actual, real snow. Fun for all, except Frisky, who lasted about 90 seconds:

"Too dangerous, people - it's a blizzard out here, for the love of Pete! Turn back, I tell you, turn back!"


"Not. gonna. make it. Need chewbone, and (gasp!) fireplace, oooooooohhhh."


And we had loverly flowers:


And there has been some knitting, and even some crochet:
Colinette Jitterbug kid socks:


Ripple afghan in Dale Falk:



Today we ventured out early so the little one could finish painting scenery with the rest of his DI team. Since then, though, we're enjoying a relaxing day at home, trying to figure out what exactly to do with the 50-odd egg cartons we've saved up and which dvd to watch. Decisions, decisions...

Bring on the Ripple

I love to read yarnstorms because the photographs are so lovely and the projects (knitting/crochet/quilting/baking and the ever-so-artful arrangement of candies, cupcakes, china, and Playmobil people) so creative and inspiring. I offer this by way of justifying my recent decision to change gears on my parent's afghan - instead of blocks from 200 Crochet Blocks , I've converted to the simplest of ripple afghans. Mind-numbing, you say? Perhaps. But go back to yarnstorms and feast your eyes on this...and this and you'll understand.

Ripples - I just gotta have 'em.

The only problem? The DK weight Falk I purchased for the project. Something tells me I'll be at this for some time. *Sigh*

Oh well, it'll be good to have something to occupy myself during the endless rounds of Clue and Battleship I'll be sure to be playing tomorrow. Word has it we're about to get socked with a NorEaster and you know what that means. I'll believe it when I see it, but oh, what I wouldn't give for just a few runs with the kids down our backyard sledding hill!!

"Yoo-hoo, Sofee-Su!"

Finally - it's done.



Doesn't he look handsome? I had to bribe him with a treat to get him to pose.



"Thanks, Mom! It's nice and warm."



This was a fun project - it took a little time, but I think the result is worth the effort. Makes me glad I have a chihuahua and not a Doberman!

Almost done!

Today was an SnB day (aka "sanity.") Lynne was there, working on an amazing shawl, and newbie Eleanor (blogless, as far as I know) who brought her aunt. I made lots of progress on Frisky's sweater, and, after a much needed bath...




...we had a fitting:



Just the ribbing on the body and sleeves and this project will be a done deal!

Now, while I know a lot of you out there are swearing off more yarn purchases, I have been addressing my (ahem) minor book-buying issues. I seem to have especially serious issues with the colonial history, knitting, children's, knitting, and knitting categories. (Let's face it, there's only so much you can justify as "dissertation resource" or "teaching aid.")

Like the KFYS'ers, though, I feel that it's only reasonable to set some parameters on this endeavor. What if some emergency comes up, like I have a skein left at the end of a project? That's why I'm thinking I might have to make this one exception...

"Is it done yet, Mom?"

"Is it under here?"



"It's so cold, and my old sweater is all stretched out! Just look at the neck!"



Poor Frisky, he has been at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to FOs. Fortunately, I'm almost done with his cabled turtleneck:



I'm enjoying this pattern. Hopefully I will finish in time for him to get some use out of it. It's been pretty raw in these parts!

The new router works, and all laptops are now free to roam our home, hooray! Writing and teaching have been keeping me very busy, but lots is getting done, and I feel really grateful to have so many bright and motivated students this semester. (For some strange reason I feel the need to spellcheck "grateful" when I see it in print. Does anyone else ever do that with certain words? It's weird.)

Anyway, in other knitting news, Colinette Jitterbug finally OTN:



So, what are you working on these days?

Why can't we all just get along??

Sadly for me DH has had compatibility issues between his work computer and our wireless router. Attempts to correct the problem have resulted in compatibility issues between MY computer and our wireless router. *Sigh*... Why can't we all just get along?

What this means is: I have to use our dinosaur desktop to go online. Unfortunately, all of my work and banking stuff is on the other 'puter, the good one, the new (well, new-ish) one. The one that's mine. The one that has that nice, accessible USB port for my camera doo-hickey. And other stuff.

Oh well, this too shall pass. In the meantime you'll just have to take my word for it that Frisky's sweater is close to halfway done, and that I have cast on for the little guy's tiger stripe socks.

Way Cool ipod Case

Feast your eyes on ds's Way Cool new ipod nano case:



It took just a wee bit of sock yarn. I got the pattern here. Way to go, Kristi! The design is pretty groovy with the i-cord attached along the sides, yes? Ds likes the whole thing but finds the i-cord especially appealing. (I-cord, ipod, get it? heh heh) I think the whole design is pretty ingenious, including the ribbing on the inside to help keep the ipod from slipping out.

Definitely a quick, fun knit with Cherry Tree Hill Supersock on size 1s. Here's one more shot: