Monday, January 28, 2008

357


The last State of the Union speech by President Bush is now complete and he has only 357 days left in office. The speech was, in my opinion, total buffoonary and no matter who wins the next election, our country will be better off in all ways. I just hope he does no more lasting damage to the reputation of this country.


I remember a couple of years ago watching a State of the Union speech for a college class and then reading everyones impressions, I wonder how this speech would be received.


I have now finished three hats that will be sent somewhere for someone to give to the babies of overseas babies. The hats are cute, but mine don't look like they are going to fall right off the babies' heads.


I also finished Miss Julia Stands Her Ground this afternoon. Ann B. Ross has really found a voice when she found Miss Julia. What a great character.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Bellatrix the complete story


I did it! I finished the January socks in January. I wonder if there is a prize. If there is a prize, it should go to me, because I actually knit three socks. My Kirschner stitches even looked okay on one of the socks.


Today is January 23 and I have eight days until I start my next pair of socks. I wonder how many books I can read in the next eight day?
The weather today is awesome. I took the pictures of Bellatrix and all my new yarn outside because it is so sunny. Too bad it is below freezing or I could mow the lawns. Wait, thank God it is below freezing so I don't have to mow yet.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Bellatrix sock two

Last night I finished my second Bellatrix sock and frogged the first one. I really like the changes I made to make the sock fit better. Now I have eleven days to finish sock one (or is that sock three). Makes no difference, because the more I knit the more uniform the stitches and it gets easier with each heel.

Today, as I sit here waiting for the carpenter to come and give me an estimate on sheetrocking the upstairs bedroom, I'm watching MSNBC's primary election coverage. They have predicted that Mitt Romney will win in Nevada. It's 10:00 a.m., how can they possibly know how people will vote. Hmmmmmm

It's raining and then they predict a very cold week. I'm so glad I don't have to battle the ice on the roads and the sidewalks anymore.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Bellatrix sock two

Sock number two sure goes faster than sock one. I've been working on it for only two evenings and I already have the heel started. I may just finish both socks by the end of the month.

I finished The House at Riverton and I really enjoyed the book. I have to say the other readers at the B&N First Look bookclub are really intense. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think there is symbolism in every tree, book, flower, etc. I look forward to the author's comments.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Bellatrix the complete story part one

I just finished my first sock where the pattern doesn't have easy in the title. Of course, my plan is to finish the other sock of the pair and then rip this one out and redo it so it will fit better.

I love to press the spell check button and have it come back with no misspellings found.

Bellatrix 2 / days 4 & 5


I am almost done with sock one, which is a good thing since today is the 14th.

Last night I had to frog three rows because somehow I managed to get a big loop right after the yarn overs. I figured I'd better rip it out or I'd end up getting my baby toe stuck. I'm not very good at going backwards, I kept dropping stitches. EEEEKKK When I finish sock two, I may just rip out sock one and redo the whole thing in a smaller needle. I tried it on last night and it seems a little baggy.

Yesterday I got all my Christmas decorations put away and reorganized into the crates. I have ten crates of decorations and I didn't hardly decorate at all this year. Eventually, I may just get rid of the ones I don't use, but for now, I'll consider the crates as extra insulation in the attic closet and leave them be.






Thursday, January 10, 2008

Bellatrix 2 / 3

Shopping at Ana Needlcraft in Anacortes was fun today. Didn't buy anything but row markers, but since my interests have been known to change in a heartbeat I don't want to buy too much extra expensive yarn. Still it is so nice to spend the afternoon at Patti and looking at all the pretty yarn is a definite bonus.

I finished the heel in Bellatrix last night and tonight I will work on the gusset (who thought up that word, sounds like something on a turkey). I will definitely finish sock one this weekend, so I am right on track and pretty darn proud of myself too.

The House at Riverton book discussion is going well. I find the book very entertaining and the history fascinating. I like the comparison between the family of means and the family who serve them. I definitely like the servants better, but it makes me wonder where would my family have been if my great grandparents hadn't come here. Probably nowhere as my great grandparents might never had met. :-)

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Bellatrix day two of starting over


I am ready for the heel - woohoo. I finished up the pattern of the leg of the sock and today I will be doing the heel. I still haven't decided if I will do the pattern on the foot, because I think the holes will make the wearing uncomfortable.

I am learning so much about knitting at Ravelry. The Thrifty Knitters Sock group tips and hints has made doing this project possible for me. I never would have tried something that looked this hard without the group.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, the January B&N First Look book club selection is an awesome book. I am enjoying the book and reading the other people's comments in very enlightening. Sometimes I want to comment that a picture could be just a picture, or a name could be just a name, and it doesn't have to have significance in the end of the story.

Kate Morton is definitely a storyteller and she drew me in with the first chapter. I like reading the other opinions, but I'd also like to just sit and read without dissecting after every chapter.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Bellatrix - starting over - day one



I dropped a stitch, I counted wrong on the heel, and it just wasn't working, so I frogged it and started at the beginning. I went up a needle size on the ribbing and down a needle size on the body of the sock and I am very pleased with the shape it is taking. I have also added four knit rows into the pattern to make it less holey and more fitted.

Anyway, it's going much better and yesterday I finished the ribbing and three sets of the pattern. Twenty more rows and I start on the dreaded heel again. Give me strength.




Saturday, January 5, 2008

Bellatrix day four


I finished the leg and I must admit the pattern is getting easier and the rounds are getting completed quicker. Unfortunately, the dogs are starting to feel the stress of being ignored and last night were both trying to climb into my lap while I was knitting. 150 pounds of dog makes knitting even more difficult, let me tell you.

I really like the yarn I chose for my socks, I'm not sure that I like the pattern though. If I knit fast enough, I may frog it and pick the other pattern.

Watching the debate while I knit and blog, sure am glad that I don't have to vote for any of the people who are on the screen right now.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Bellatrix day three


I must be getting better. Today I was able to finish two sets of the pattern (16 rows) in about an hour, while watching the Iowa caucus results on MSNBC. Tomorrow I'll take a picture of my progress.

I still can't get the picture taking right and I don't know why. Probably it's the amount of light or lack of light that makes the pictures not very clear, but that doesn't excuse the fact that they are so far off center when I download them to Flickr. Oh well, at least I'm getting some pictures and my progress logged.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Bellatrix day two

Today I knit for over two hours and completed 16 rows or two sets of the repeat. I sure hope I can finish this pair in a month, although I'm not taking any even money bets. Knitting is hard, well at least for me it takes my complete concentration.

Maybe I can blame the lack of concentration on my cold and soon I'll be cold free and knitting a pair of socks a day.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Bellatrix day one


I knit for four hours today and I only have 840 stitches complete. I am, however, an expert at frogging. Since I haven't knit anything since 1970, I had no idea what "frog" was until about a month ago, now I am an expert. I'm also getting exceedingly proficient at casting on. This is going to be a very short or a very long month.


My goal is to knit for an hour everyday this month in order to make one pair of socks each month this year. I may have to reconsider that hour and turn it into two or even three.