A fine day

I didn't have any compost in my hair yesterday, but I had plenty dirt under the fingernails; it was a very fine day.

The weather guessers were right last week when they predicted storms; we had several in the early part of the week. However, the last couple of days were clear and sunny, so on Saturday I got to play in the dirt again.

I planted peppers and tomatoes in the garden bed I prepared last week; red and yellow bell peppers in the foreground, Celebrity and Early Girl tomatoes in back.

Then I got another garden bed ready and planted a couple of jalapeno peppers. See that empty space behind the peppers? That's not just dirt; that's potential. What more will I plant? I haven't decided yet.

Today I'm at work, and as you can see, I'm working quite hard. I finished up a pair of socks for Afghans for Afghans. It's a good thing I decided to have contrast toes and that little stripe, because this is how much yarn I had left:

Next up, I'll be working some more on the Trekking XXL socks for me. I won't bore you with a picture, tho', since they look just like they did two weeks ago, just a little longer. However, first I'm going to lunch. My goodness, this pace at work, how will I ever maintain it?

How was your Earth Day?

Dirt under my fingernails and compost in my hair; I had a great Earth day! The weather was beautiful, and I got to play in the dirt work in the garden. Hope yours was just as nice.

I had the ceremonial first delivery of compost to the garden:

As you can see, it went off without a hitch. After the above ceremony, much larger loads of compost were delivered and dug in (and watered with my sweat), then I got in there with my hands and worked out the clods so everything is nice and loose and ready for planting. I have some tomato plants ready to go in, but the weather guessers said "possibility of storms" last night, so I held off. Soon, though, I should have my 'maters planted and can move on to the next bed.

In knitting news, I cast off the Baby Surprise Jacket last night (after thoroughly scubbing my hands and fingernails; I brought much of the garden in with me). I'm going to hold off seaming and buttoning until I can show it to some coworkers; I want to see their reaction to the blob of knitting that folds up into a jacket. :)

Not what I expected

I've been reading instructions and planning a sweater for myself. I've pretty much decided on the Weekend Sweater from Spun Out #46, and I picked Peace Fleece DK in Kamchatka Seamoss for my yarn.

The picture on the left is from Peace Fleece's web site; the pic on the right is what I received. Now, I know that colors show up differently depending on monitor settings, video card, etc., and I don't know how things look on your screen, but to me the yarn I received looks darker and greener that the sample shown on the web site. It's not a big color difference, but rather than a greenish bluish aquamarine-type color, it's definitely mostly green. And I don't really want a green sweater. *sigh* One of the downsides of ordering yarn online. I'll probably put this in my eBay store and start looking some more. Schoolhouse Press' Canadian Regal sure has some nice colors. I'm thinking about going with grape, or maybe dark gray. Maybe this time, tho', I should get a color card first.

Understanding begins to dawn

I've been working on the Baby Surprise Jacket, and I'm beginning to see how this comes together. Not understanding everything yet, but just beginning to get a glimmer.

Here is the odd-looking thing as it hangs off the needles (recently switched to circs; it was really getting much to big for the 14" straights I was using):

Look at it another way, and -- hey! This looks like it could actually be something someday!

As impressed as I am, though, about the way this jacket is constructed, I'm not finding it as easy to knit as others seem to. I have to carefully check and count on each right side row to make sure I'm doing the decreases and increases in the right place. Once I had to rip back several rows because one set of increases got off-course somehow. I've marked the appropriate stitches, but since they are at an angle, rather than straight down from the needle, I have to stop and peer closely as I near each one to make sure I'm staying on track. It is seriously slowing me down, but dang! This jacket is cute.

Today is my turn to twiddle my thumbs @ work, so I am fortified with knitting and reading material. This is my travel/kill time @ work sock. This one's for me; it's Trekking XXL in colorway 92; something to go with the ubiquitous khakis I wear for work. Rather appropriate, I think, that I'm knitting a sock for work at work. I think I'll go find some coffee now, then get back to work on my sock.

Happy Saturday, everybody!

So many ideas, so little time

My brain has been swirling lately with ideas for knitting projects. There are so many things I want to cast on; sometimes I think that, instead of having a stash that exceeds my life expectancy, I have project ideas that exceed my anticipated time on this earth. It's so frustrating; I seriously need to win the lottery. And get a bionic wrist (mine's bothering me a little lately).

Here's what has made the short list right now:


On the needles is EZ's baby surprise jacket, in Cascade 220. I got three skeins in a swap a while back (two blue and one multi-colored), and I decided to use them to try out this amazing feat of engineering. Amazing is the right word; I look at what I'm doing, and I look at the pics and directions, and I'm not entirely sure how this is all going to work out. But I'm putting my faith in EZ and pressing on.

Above the BSJ-in-progress is one sock and some good intentions. I keep thinking I should cast on the second sock so it's handy when I need some knitting that doesn't require concentration (I have to keep checking when to do the increases and decreases on the BSJ). But I'm so fascinated by the BSJ, and eager to see how this all works out, that I keep putting off that second sock.

Both of these items will probably go to Afghans for Afghans, for their Mother's Day Campaign.

This weekend I sorted through the big box o' yarn sent to me by another CIC-knitter. Lots of tapestry yarn, plus a few skeins of sport weight and one worsted, and several skeins of mohair. Right now, CIC has lots of socks, and they are asking for vests and sweaters. I'm thinking of ways I can use up some of the tapestry yarn, especially those colors where there isn't enough for a pair of socks. Stripes, of course, come to mind, and this pattern seems a good candidate. I can't handle much purling, tho' (until I get that bionic wrist), so I'm wondering how this would work in garter stitch.

And the ideas start swirling again, and I'm itching to cast on for another project.

Catsup

Here I am, twiddling my thumbs at work again and catching up with my blogging. Yesterday was the mailing deadline for the latest challenge for CIC. I packed up a box with two vests and ten pairs of socks; didn't realize how many socks I had accumulated since the last shipment! I have shown off some of these already, but not all:


The vest on the left is made with Lamb's Pride Worsted, and is big enough to count towards the "bigger kids" goal. The one on the right is made with two strands of hand dyed sock yarn worked together, and is for a smaller child.

The two pair of socks on the upper right are for smaller kids, but the remaining eight are for larger children. Most of these were made with yarn generously given to me by others. Not only is it nice to be able to knit away without worrying about breaking the bank, but it's fun to mix and match colors, finding creative ways to use what I have.

Speaking of generosity, I recently received this windfall from another CIC-Knit member:

Can you believe the size of that pile? Boatloads of tapestry yarn, plus several skeins of mohair and some heavy worsted weight, just begging to be knit into warm woolies for CIC. Fellow CIC-knit member bskmoon received this generous donation, which was more than she could use, so she shared it with me! The generosity of knitters continues to astound me. I'm itching to get started sorting and planning. So much potential!