Knitting Momentum Established

Yesterday morning I had a number of appointments, so I brought my other knitting book along and figured out the other casting on technique. One practice run and one proper cast on later, I had a foundation for the back of sweater one. This nicely set up the evening trip with the kid to observe a Tae Kwon Do class. I actually got some inches knit, I finally got past the first 4 rows of garter trim. Huzzah! The Tour de France is in the mountains, so there is five hours of coverage to knit along with.

Weekend Knitting a Bust

So the plan to knit to Monterey and back was a bust. I knitted the first 4-5 rows of the back about half a dozen times. One time I broke it while trying to loosen up the cast on. A couple of times I found a stitch had gotten away about half way back from where I stopped to check. So I'm going to use a different cast on, which I have used before, but need to look up to jog my memory how to do it. I'm hoping it will provide a bit more stretch that cotton chenille is not.

Deadline Project

The gage drama seems to have settled down. I think going up one needle size and trying to keep the stitches loose will do the trick.

There is a baby boom-let among my friends at the moment, but we're getting to that "it better happen now, if its gonna happen" age. Both babies are due the last week of September/first week of October that is the deadline. Added bonus that should have projects wrapping up about a month into the fall semester, which is when I will probably need to be buckling down.

The first sweater is a little cardigan in a 3 month size with a matching hat. October birthdays in Oregon means sweater weather right away. The car ride to and from Monterey will hopefully be very productive.

Nostalgia Tour 2009

We haven’t been to Monterey in a really long time. I think it was August 1993 for me, Y left later. It’s where we met, dated, got engaged; by the time we got married, he was in his last few months here. So 16 years later and one high school reunion invitation later here we are. He went to high school nearby. Many favorite things have change, some ironically, a few have not (Yay!).

So the reunion committee arranged a group rate for the out of town guests at the Portola Hotel and Spa. It was a good deal for summer in Monterey, seemed nice enough, well located in general and definitely for stumbling home drunk from the luau that was planned (planned luau, not planned drunk walk, but keeping my options open). We arrive and lo and behold we are staying at the Doubletree, although it is no longer the Doubletree. This was the scene of some of Y’s pre-dating stalking (and I mean that humorously). There was a bit of a campaign by Y and his friends to get me to date him to include rearrange name cards at banquet tables at a Ball! So of all the nice places to stay, we’re back at the Doubletree. It is kind of funny and sweet, but also a bit noisy we’re over the plaza. I suspect we might need to poke into The Clement, Spindrift Inn, Hotel Pacific and there might be one other for next time. And if this goes well I hear we’ll be back for the next one in two years (23rd year reunion, bah).

Random Purchase aka Cute Impractical Shoes

So it was power shopping week (see previous posts), and it was fairly discipline; only things to complete an outfit or for a particular event with a bonus for versatility. But I had a moment of weakness once I got to the shoe store.




So cute and yet unexpected for me. Normal and dress for me usually involves a kitten heel and a pointy toe, probably kind of delicate. I never buy shoes this tall, but for sheer cuteness I tried them on and they were comfy too. I ended up with very tall rounded toe slightly chunky mary janes in a rich yummy shade of red. I can barely wait for weather cold enough for pants, good for Monterey, then no more red shoes 'til nearly December. However that is why I bought two nicer pairs of flip flops.

Event Fashion Quest Mission #1 Continued

Introducing the replacement dress. The longer skirt will allow hiding insulating layers if necessary, I have a little black cardigan to go over top. I will be prepared to bust out the fashion roots. Fashion+Fleece usually an epic fail, but we are talking about the beach.

Plaid Sneaker Funeral

Obviously I love my plaid sneakers...however, a number of my favorites have broken down or are just getting too old to wear anymore. The pink and green Keds had the heel cup blow out, actually the polka dot Converse are in similar shape. I've been trying to keep the foundation sneakers of the collection going, but gently. The laces are broken, the fabric has splits in it near the souls, but they are still so comfy. Unfortunately, the kid needed closed toed shoes for fireworks on the beach for the 4th of July. He had to borrow my favorite original plaid sneaks. I think we may have to hold services. I will miss them.

The king is dead! Long live the king!!





Introducing the new plaid sneakers...

TdF Knitting Challenge Update

I finished the back of Y's sweater and the new yarn for the other projects has arrived. Now I am in gage hell. I'm looking for 4 stitches/1" and getting more. So now I'm playing with needle sizes, but aaarrrgh. Hopefully I'll have sorted by Friday morning, for the big drive that is quality knitting time. In fact, I should be knitting right now, not blogging. Off I go.

Event Fashion Quest Mission #1

So I'm going to break up the Tour de France Knitting Challenge with this summer's Fashion Quest. There are a number of events coming up, most immediately Y's High School reunion. They are the kind of events that require shopping; fashion requirements beyond my usual hang out with the kid and dog, around the house or school wardrobe. So on a mad morning mission I headed to the mall, well a mall, the local mall is rarely helpful. The assignment was a sundress appropriate for a luau on the bay front/beach in Monterey at night. So cocktail/party dress would be too fancy. It needs to be travel friendly, laundry friendly, sand will not be unexpected.

So this is what I found...it looks much better on. Then I came home and checked the weather for the weekend. I knew it would be cooler, I wasn't expecting a high in the upper 60s. I can use this for other things coming up this summer, but do I need to come up with more than a sweater? Am I just gonna freeze to death? The lows are expected in the mid-50's. We've been in the 100-ish territory so long I am having a hard time conceptualizing packing summer clothes for 50s and 60s.

Ironical Compliments

In yet another attempt to finish up my bachelor degree, I picked up a summer school class. Everytime I re-enroll in school they seem to have added yet another writing class. I attended a reasonable to above average public high school. I could write when I got there, not that I haven't learned things, but it is getting ridiculous. There is the added charm of writing being something I don't really enjoy, which is different than not being good at it. As a kid I HATED writing, in all that those capital imply. Even now, I don't write often. I've never been a journal keeper, although at times, it has seemed a good idea. Dabbling in blogger-dom is as close as I've come.

My writing was so conflicted in high school my teacher's made up grading systems just for me. I would get one (good) grade for content, or critical thinking...whatever you want to call it. I would get a separate (mediocre) grade for grammar and mechanics. Eventually Annie Kleinsasser (english teacher extraordinaire) fixed me, but it was rough going there for awhile. To this day I am a lousy proofreader. Poor Y must always pick up my comma slack, and the way I write makes his head hurt.

So today I get a lovely email from my professor. She suggests I consider an English minor (implied a writing minor), my peer reviews were very helpful and detailed and I could teach writing if I was so inclined. (Please see writing classes at University of Puget Sound, University of Oregon, College of the Canyons, and California State University Northridge, not counting studying two foreign languages and all the other classes just require papers or exams. Aaargh! I think I'm having a cranky old lady moment. On the other hand, I'm just tickled to even have a whiff of academic department recruitment, even if it is ripe with the irony.

TdF Knitting Challenge Day 3

It was a day of Tour de France Interuptus...I had to walk away with 25km to go. Places to be and if I pushed it any farther it would be to difficult to pause. Several inches of sweater added, need to measure. However the chenille for the new projects arrived...more on those items soon. Very exciting!

TdF Knitting Challenge Day 2

Knitting less productive today, just an inch or two. But the TTT was sooooo good. We were also expecting company for dinner so I was boiling potato and eggs for potato salad and making a carrot cake. Got it all done, but it was kind cramping the TdF style and definitely cramping the knitting style.

The food all got done in time and was tasty too. So hopefully I'll be able to be up early tomorrow and finish the back. If it goes really well, I'll cast on the front too.

TdF Knitting Challenge Day 1

Project: He'll Wear It Every Day sweater from The Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits for Y

I started it in January on vacation, but it has been much neglected during this busy year.

Today's progress: I am still working on the back, but finally passed the cursed inch (from 17-18" in length) which has been knit nearly half a dozen times. In fact 5 inches were accomplished, including all the arm hole decreases and I finished the skein.

Tomorrow: Winding a new skein, if I don't find time for that before morning and then the last 6 inches of the back. Yay!

Trying to rally

I've got a side blog on food. Having a plan there has helped keep the ball rolling, so perhaps I can establish myself a plaidsneaker plan.

July - Knitting
I have four knitting projects either underway or due soon. I will attempt to stay on track by challenging myself to a Tour de France knitting challenge. I will blog my projects and the challenge, starting tomorrow July 6th.

Luck.