Tuesday DJ: L-7, Town Square

I am leaving! I am off to take a long and well-deserved vacation, and my ride to the airport is going to be here in about half an hour. But I wanted to keep up with my weekly Dear Jane blocks, so I made a few ahead of time. L-7 is the first:


Town Square has 17 pieces. The red in this block is so sparse I was able to use a 5" charm square - and I had some left over!

The DJ Tally:
34 blocks
2 triangles
0 kites
601 pieces total!

Tune in next week for another installment...

Ever Have One Of Those Days?

Ever have one of those days when you just can't drag yourself out of bed?


You peak your head out hoping that fresh air and daylight will imbue you with the energy that a few fitful hours of so-called rest have not, but to no avail.


You slap the crap out of your alarm clock for its audacity and unmitigated gall. No one is going to tell YOU to get up when you are so clearly unready.

But you get up anyway and try to go about your day, because you're grown now and there are no time-outs in the adult world, even if you really need one.


Still, as you hike up your big-girl panties and chin up to the day, a murky pall hangs over you; the remembrance that yesterday started just the same way, and isn't that proof enough that you really ought to have stayed in bed in the first place?

The moral of our story: Vacation cannot come soon enough.
(Photos by Patrick, Whiny Crackpotting by Lindsay)

Knitting Thursday: Bandelier Sock Progress

There hasn't been a lot of progress on the February Lady sweater, because most of my time has been spent at work. I've been doing between 50 and 60 hours a week, and that doesn't leave a lot of time for knitting. Or anything, really.


What knitting time I have had has been captured by the Bandelier Socks! Holy crap, Fair Isle is fun. I am having a really good time working this pattern. I did consider tearing out these few inches and starting over once I switched from double-pointed needles to Magic Loop, but I think it will be fine.

Tuesday DJ: K-13, Brandon's Star

Brandon's Star has 25 pieces. I was a little concerned with how dark that rose fabric would read, so I tried to use the reddest bits and leave the black background out of it. Still - it takes a lot of fabrics to make 225 blocks!

Here's how far I am now:
33 blocks
2 triangles
0 kites
584 pieces

Knitting Thursday: February Lady Progress

Holy crap! I just looked at my knitting post from last week and this sweater has really grown! It is serving as my lunchtime and other mindless knitting, so it's getting a lot of attention.


This is the alternative, and the pattern takes a lot of focus. As a reward for finally finishing ALL MY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS (just the homemade ones, there's still shopping to do), I started my Bandelier sock yesterday. This is my first time knitting Fair Isle (when you knit with multiple colors), and I feel like I'm doing pretty well. There's one float a row or so down that is a little baggy, and I'll probably tear out and fix it, but otherwise I think it's been a great first attempt. Plus - pretty!

Tuesday DJ: L-1, Widow's Pane

Widows's Pane (22 pieces) was a very speedy block to paper-piece, and I think the geometric red print works well with all those rectangles. One more for the tally!

32 blocks
2 triangles
0 kites
559 pieces

Tomorrow is my first full day off since, um...November 1st. I am wicked psyched to be a Veteran (and a Federal employee).

Looking Forward

OK, I'm not going to lie to you. Right now is kind of spooty, so instead of focusing on it, I'm going to concentrate on the good stuff. Or at least whine in between photos of happy things.


Have you seen the Fall '09 issue of Interweave Knits? I am totally making these Bandelier Socks in shades of green and brown.


Maggie, sweetest cat in the world, has been fitting herself onto my lap wherever she can. My lap has been hard to come by, considering I've worked 13 extra hours this week (with more to come tomorrow). I am lucky to have such a lovable feline to come home to. Look at that little snuggle-face!


And what about these guys? Honestly, you just can't beat them. (I've tried*, the little one is fast and the big one is...well, bigger than me.) I will be focusing on having these cuddly characters at home while I work another extra 8 tomorrow.

All the extra hours are earning me comp. time for my upcoming trip to New Zealand, so I can't really complain. It does serve to make me a wee bit cranky at the moment, though.


* Of course I'm joking! I would never beat a cat.

Knitting Thursday: Finished Purple Socks!

First up, an update on my February Lady sweater:


This is the front, or rather, what is left of the front. Last Thursday, I had to tear out about 4" of lace due to various mistakes. The heartbreak! I've had to take a short break from working on it - we were not on speaking terms. The yarn came out darker in this picture.


This is a more accurate representation of the yarn color.


This is the project I've been working on while the February Lady sweater and I were fighting. And as of tonight it's done! The first endless purple sock finally has a brother. These just need to be blocked and they'll be ready to wear.

Tuesday DJ: G-7, Indianapolis

Since abandoning the project in May, I have not made a single block on my Dear Jane. I'm going to try for one a week, because at least that's forward motion. So to launch back into it, I picked the one smack in the middle! This is G-7, Indianapolis.


There are 21 pieces in this block. I can't really do hand-applique anymore because of my tendonitis, so I turned the edges over on these quarter-circles and machine-appliqued them to the four white squares. I paper pieced the strips running through the middle, then squared up the whole she-bang and I was done! I'm thrilled to be back in the game.

For the perfectionists and Dear Jane purists among you, this block is not true to pattern. The small red rectangles outside the circle should have a curved edge, and I just straight pieced it. Why? Because that piece is about a 1/2" wide, and a wise woman named Brenda Papadakis said that FINISHED IS BETTER THAN PERFECT. So there.

Here's the tally:
31 blocks
2 triangles
0 kites
537 pieces

A Walk In The Woods

Today started out very foggy, but ended up a gorgeous day in the Great Northwest. Mid-50's, sunny, and crisp. I took a break from chores and craftiness to walk down to the water this afternoon. These pictures are not the greatest quality, but I took them with my phone.





I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and remembered to "fall back!"