As The Stomach Turns


Well, it's been a hellova week! Actually, it's been a helluva couple of weeks! You know when it rains, it just pours?? Well, it's really been pouring around here!
The water pump in my van died almost two weeks ago. Couldn't get it towed because I need the flat-deck tow truck - my van is all-wheel drive! By the time I could get a truck - Saturday afternoon - it was snowing & it was madness on the roads so it couldn't get here. By the time we could rebook it - Monday - it was madness on the roads due to flooding. So my van actually went to the mechanic a week after it died. And got in line.
Oh well, that's life. I'll work at home. Two days later, the computer blew up. My nice computer fella took it home on Saturday. I got it back last night - Monday - with TWO new-to-me hard drives(10 times the space I had!!!), more RAM & tons of Audio books & software installed. Sometime in the night, the monitor blew up. Sigh . . . . .


It's been lonely around here. Without wheels & a computer, I have no life! Good thing I have fibre. I've finished three pairs of socks, turned Kathy's heels, knit half a Wallaby, three washcloths & read several books. Here are my pink & chocolate socks! I just love the color & am debating whether to put the hot pink toes on them. I think they look lovely just the way they are!! I've finished the mottled Lana Grossa socks to the mid foot for the BT for Christmas. I've been debating about the toes on these as well. I have lots of the yarn so I may just finish them off as they are instead of finding a contrasting yarn for the toes. This is a very yummy yarn when it's knitted up. I found it a bit on the dense side when I used the 2mm needles to knit the last pair of socks so I went up one size & used my 2.5mm bamboo needles for these ones. I think I like the fabric a little better on the bigger needles.

I started the Wonderful Wallaby - it's a Hoodie from Cottage Creations - knit in worsted weight yarn on size 8US needles. It's sized from 2 to 48 & knit in the round with no seams to sew except on the hood & underarm. MY kind of sweater. One problem I did find was that although I got the gauge in the 4" swatch - 9sts to 2"- my gauge changed when I actually knit in the round. I ended up with 8sts to 2". And it DOES make a big difference in a size 2 sweater!! Rrrriiip it, rriipp it!! From now on, I'll make sure I do a gauge swatch in the round when I'm knitting in the round! I had to drop two needle sizes to get the gauge as it was. One good thing though, I think this sweater can be easily sized up to fit a lot more sizes by just going up a needle size. I was practicing on Bernat's AspenSoft yarn - I had a couple of balls hanging around. AspenSoft is not a bad yarn, it's actually 30% wool but still machine washable & dryable - hey, it's a Hoodie!!! I loved the fabric I got using size 5US needles & 4sts to the inch. And I think I'll even knit one for me. . . . .

Oh, and to add insult to injury, I think the landlord's bathroom pipes are leaking into my bedroom again. The poor man bought a house that's plumbed with the first plastic pipe approved by the city. The pipe is fine but the strap fastener that was used, fails. I woke up to the big wet spot in what remains of my carpet, at the end of my bed. The pipe connection in the wall failed 4 years ago & we hauled half a wet, mouldy carpet out. Here we go again.