Another Birthday

Today is my birthday. On Easter Sunday, too. I don't remember ever having a birthday on Easter Sunday. I remember having a birthday on the Saturday between Good Friday & Easter Sunday - it snowed that year - but never on the Sunday. And it isn't even raining on my birthday, wow, after all the rain we've had this year, this is a miracle!!

I thought I'd spend my time quietly, knitting on a pair of Purple Opal socks. Yeah, they're just for me. I always thought this ball of Opal was kind of plain which is why it sat for years in the 'yarn for me' basket on the shelf. It's purple & that should say it all, but I've always jumped on the brighter yarns, the wilder yarns or the neons first thinking Yeah, this is Purple but just ordinary purple, small-p purple. If you know what I mean. But it's been glaring at me from behind the bars of the basket on the yarn shelf. Somehow it worked it's way to the front of the basket & has been giving me the Stink Eye for a couple of weeks now. So Friday night, I sat down in front of the Tube & cast on 73 stitches for the first sock in purple Opal.

Mmmmm I'd forgotten how nice Opal yarn is. It's quite sproingy without being too soft. 

Soft yarn does NOT a good sock make!! But you don't want nasty rough yarn, neither.
This yarn is nice in the hands, easy to work with & loose baby, without being sloppy. And the color's on the pinky-purple end of the rainbow. Just nice yarn. And. Well, look at that. The splotchy yarn makes a pattern!! I'm ending up with bands of large splotches with bands of fine splotches. Mmmmm - I wonder how it will look with hot pink toes??

A Little Pop of Color

My Cup & a fav pair of socks

Today I woke up to a brilliant blue sky. Nothing hurts today & I noticed nothing hurt yesterday either.  I have no idea what's going on or what magic pill or potion I've ingested, but I intend to make good use of the time I've got.


It's STILL tax season & I'm still trapped in the office banging on the keyboard but the kitchen sink is unstuck once more. Hallelujah. I thought that Drano Gel would never work. But, I kept pouring hot water down there & things began to budge. It's just about time to push the mini washer over there & wash a load of whites in hot water. That should blow it completely away!!!

The other night I just HAD to start something new. I bought - some Knit Picks acrylic - a while back. I know, I know, after all the bad things I say about acrylic .   .   .   but there are some out there that are pretty darned nice. And I took a chance with this stuff. It said it was worsted weight - looks like sport to me in the ball - but it knits up into a nice 6x6 swatch on 4 mm needles to a worsted gauge!!!

It feels good. I love the colors.  But it DOES work out to a worsted gauge - 18 stitches to 4". Wow. Looks can deceive. I've abused that swatch for several months & it looks just as crisp & nice as it did on the day I knit it up. So I dug out the Cabin Fever "Plus Cardigan"book & cast on for a Top Down, V-neck Tee with garter neck & shoulders. I might carry garter down a bit lower but no further than the end of the V. The Plan is to just cap the shoulders with the garter & then change to stockinet. The yarn was cheap, clearance cheap, which is too bad because I do love it so far. Isn't that always the way???? One great thing about this yarn is the color. Lovely color for a grey day .   .   .

Since the morning was so bright & nice, I managed to snag a good shot outside on my dirty patio table. It's funny how delicious, bright, crazy colors knit up so much faster than ordinary color-ways. And this one's going fast & easy. Maybe it's because it FEELS so good as it's being knitted too. I'm just about down to the bottom of the V at which point I'm thinking about closing the front & changing to stockinet for the rest of the sweater.

My Exciting Life

My Desk Once More

I'm supposed to be purging items from my basement apartment. After 17 years in residence, I have it stuffed to the gills with books, yarn, fleeces & well, stuff. Not all of it's MY fault but most of it is. The place was empty when I moved in.

Today I tossed the George Forman grill. Why?? Because I couldn't keep the damn thing clean after the first couple of years & trying to degrease it this time completely clogged up the sink drain. That's why. These indoor grills are wonderful until they aren't anymore. When the BoyToy lived next door, we grilled almost every night. Salad & meat made a quick & easy dinner, especially in the summer & we wore out the first grill. This one got plenty of use too. I loved the removable plates but it got increasingly harder to clean as things began to stick all the time. This time around, I grilled lamb. And forgot to wipe, soak & scrub the plates right away. After soaking, scrubbing & degreasing this time, I realized the grill plates were peeling & I'd never get it clean. So, out it goes. I'd rather spend my time with a sexy cast iron pan which takes up a quarter of the space, instead.

And what's on the needles??? Just finishing up the toe on the second Purple & Green Kroy 4ply Boot Sock. These took much longer than usual since they were 'Car Knitting' for ages. Since I haven't spent much time waiting in the car lately, they never got finished. And now that I have orders for 3 more pairs of socks, they came in from the car to get finished. Tonight is the Season Premiere of two favorite series on Public TV, so the toe will get finished & a new sock partially knit while I enjoy the Midwives & Homefires - a series about small town British women surviving during WWII. A real exciting evening at home!! But, it's Tax Season once more & most of my time is spent banging on the keyboard because everyone wants their project done NOW. Wooopiee