Purls Beyond Price

Stupid Lungs

So after a few days of lying around doing not much, I went back to work yesterday. Halfway through a slow-paced day I was already tuckered out, wheezing a bit and coughing. I left early to spend the evening celebrating Kevin's birthday (thanks for all the wonderful birthday greetings, he really appreciated them), spent much of it in various states of miserableness (and guilt that I was not in much of a partying mood for Kevin), and decided that if I wasn't feeling substantially better in the morning I was calling the doctor.

I got an appointment first thing this morning and she confirmed my self-diagnosis: possible sinus infection and it's creeping toward my lungs. She fixed me up with a course of antibiotics and some inhaled steroids. I hate being so predictable. This is pretty much how it goes anytime I get sick now.

As a result I've pretty much exclusively knit the Pinwheel blanket. I'm a full wedge past this point now, but this was the latest documentation for Ravelry. Off now to make a cup of tea and climb back into bed with my knitting and maybe a movie. Blah!

Kevin's Day

Today is Kevin's birthday, the fulfillment of his 33rd round on the earth. He is my joy, my companion, my friend. His energy and enthusiasm never fail to amaze me, no matter what his current interest. He is a marvelous husband, father and friend and I am honored that he is mine.

We're celebrating quietly tonight with the girls and sending birthday wishes out to Kevin's sister, Sarah, who was Kevin's present for his second birthday. May it be the beginning of a wonderful year for all of us.

Syncopation

The Syncopated Cap, she is finished! As predicted, it's a bit on the snug side. I wasn't overly concerned about gauge for this hat, since it will live on a styrofoam head at the shop, so I just let it be and kept knitting. The Smooshy is a bit smaller than the STR Medium Weight spec'ed in the pattern. I'm sure that it will bloom a bit when I block it too.

I am very pleased with the result. Kate Gilbert did a marvelous job on this pattern and I will definitely be knitting at least three more of these as Christmas gifts. I've chosen some Claudia Fingering Merino in four shades to make three hats. All will have a chocolate brown as the main color and each will get its own contrast color (honey, olive and rust). I expect I'll get the first one cast on today.

Of course, the only benefit to being sick is getting a lot of knitting done. After finishing the Cap I turned to the Pinwheel baby blanket and finished another several wedges. I'm now at the halfway mark and finding an easy rhythm with this project. It's great when a pattern is so easy to memorize. Since the deadline for this one is not until January, however, I think I may try to get a couple of quick gift knits knocked out in the mean time. I've been wanting to knit the Wool Peddler's Shawl from Folk Shawls for someone special for quite a while now and as we all know "It" is really right around the corner. I'm only planning to knit for a select few people for Christmas and if I focus now, I should be able to get that done without making myself crazy. Here's hoping!

Lost Weekend

This isn't merely how my weekend looked, it's how it felt too. Friday night in the midst of the Late Night revelry at the shop (Pirates of the Carribean and comfort food - I made Jello), I began to feel really congested and yucky. I took some Benadryl, thinking it might just be allergies. After I fell asleep in my chair, Sandi and Chloe kicked me out and Kevin brought me home and tucked me in. Saturday morning I woke up with a raging sore throat and a nose like a faucet.

Saturday was Kaelyn's 12th birthday, so I dragged my butt out of bed and we spent most of the day at the stable, watching the girls' lessons and keeping a weather eye on the darkening sky. I was bundled up good and tight, but I admit I was very grateful when the day was done. My mom made a fabulous birthday dinner for the girl, with all her favorites. She received lots of great horse gifts, enough cash to buy her own saddle, and a new Nano video iPod. We celebrated with friends and family and the girls opted to stay at Grandma's for the night so I could get plenty of uninterrupted sleep.

Sunday I wasn't allowed to get out of bed except for the very essentials. Kevin takes awfully good care of me when I'm sick and brought me cups of tea and food at regular intervals. I was told I was being a good patient, by submitting to his care, and I spent most of the day knitting and watching a marathon of last season's So You Think You Can Dance. I can't help feeling like my weekend got hijacked, even though it was rather blissful to have some forced R&R.

So what did I get done? The Tilted Duster is all but finished. It lacks only buttons and a good firm blocking to stop the stockingette sections of the skirt from rolling. I set in the sleeves yesterday during my stint under bed arrest. Then I turned my attention to the Syncopated Cap. I've finished the main body of the hat and have begun the decreases in the crown. Since I'm still feeling a little low, I'm taking another day of rest and ease and expect to have the cap finished by this afternoon. Loving how the Dream In Color Smooshy is knitting up! The two colors together, Gothic Rose and Chinatown Apple, just look like autumn to me. For now I'm celebrating the arrival of my favorite season with a giant cup of tea and Monday in bed. Happy Autumn!

Return of the Errant Dog

Our dog pulled a disappearance act on Wednesday night. An open door is a window of opportunity for a curious pup and Bud gave in to his wanderlust. We noticed he was gone 15 minutes later, walked the streets calling his name and whistling for an hour and a half with no luck. This isn't the first time he's pulled this stunt, but it was just before bedtime and I had already taken his collar off for the night.

Fortunately his has a microchip through the Home Again service, so when some good Samaritan dropped him off at the Silicon Valley Humane Society, they scanned his chip and called us right away. So here's a word of advice: if your pet isn't yet microchipped, please make an appointment and do it without delay. There are so many ways for pets to get lost and it's awful when they're missing. And while you're at it, make a donation to your local animal shelter, whether it's funds, food, blankets, or whatever. The local shelters provide a wonderful service and they always need help. Give your pet an extra pet and a snorgle for me this weekend and count your blessings.

It Be Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Most years I miss it and only remember after the day has passed. This year I have special cause to remember: it's Sandi's birthday! Chloe and I are celebrating both International Talk Like a Pirate Day and the anniversary of Sandi's birth by dressing as pirates. This proves a bit challenging when one is pregnant, but I shall try nonetheless. Arrrrrr, matey and happy birrrrrrthday, Sandi!

I keep attempting to say that not much is new around here, but of course that's almost never true. Monday afternoon Kevin picked up his new electric scooter. He commutes a very short distance to school and his car is rapidly aging. We've made several major repairs to it in just the past couple of months. As far as we're concerned, the less he has to drive it, the better. After doing lots of research, he opted for this model. Technically it's in the moped/electric bicycle category which means several cool things: it doesn't require a special license, it doesn't require insurance, it has a permanent registration that only costs about $15, and it plugs into a standard 110 outlet.

Of course the girls wanted a ride! Kevin donned an old motorcycle helmet so the girls could wear the scooter helmet and off they went down the cul-de-sac. It's counterintuitive to lean with the driver on the turns and there was much shrieking and giggling as they got the hang of riding with him. The scooter is a great addition to our lives, will save money on gas and maintenance of the car, and provide Kevin with a lot of fun. Go electric!

We spent part of yesterday evening at Macy's, checking out the sale on Fiestaware. Kevin brought 6 placesettings of the Cobalt colorway into our marriage, and we use it as our everyday set. 6 placesettings is awfully few for a family of four, soon to be five, and we're constantly running out of dishes as life hurries by and the dishwasher doesn't get run. We discovered that Macy's is having the sale and when we arrived we found that they are clearancing my favorite Fiestaware color: Heather. We promptly snatched up 4 placesettings plus a couple of miscellaneous pieces, all with a long forgotten wedding gift card. Hurray for new dishes! Eventually we'll add the Plum and Turquoise colors to the set and then everything can be mix and match.

The Tilted Duster is a mere collar from being finished. I picked up the stitches and knit a few rows yesterday, but domestic chores took precidence. I hope to have a FO to show you tomorrow!

Decadence

I don't get a whole lot of weird pregnancy cravings. No pickles and ice cream for me. But when I do get one, it strikes with a vengeance. For several months now I've been craving carpaccio, the way that Il Fornaio prepares it. For those of you who don't know what that is, they take razor thin slices of raw beef, drizzle it with fine olive oil, sprinkle on some capers and fresh arugula and then shave some delicious cheese on top. At the table, you squeeze the juice of half a lemon over it and then dig in. Three months now I've been craving this delicacy and as the weeks passed the craving was growing to the fevered pitch of obsession. I needed carpaccio in the way that sent Rapunzel's mother to near madness for want of the tasty lettuce that only grew in the witch's garden.

Last night Meg and I drove to Palo Alto after work and enjoyed a delicious meal. The carpaccio came almost at once and the first bite was nothing short of orgasmic. I savored every precious bite, closing my eyes and letting the flavors burst over my tongue. The second course of veal scallopine wasn't quite as spectacular, but it was still very good. I ended with chilled zabaglione poured over Bellini sorbet and fresh berries. I had to resist the urge to lick the martini glass clean.

Meg is a delightful dinner companion and we had a wonderful conversation as we enjoyed our meal. She sneakily paid the check while I was in the ladies' room, telling me later that it was worth the price of dinner to watch me enjoy it so much. Thank you for a beautiful evening, my friend.

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

Turn up the flamenco music! My Spanish Dancer is finally finished! Actually, the knitting has been done for weeks now, but I've been too lazy to weave the ends in and declare it finished. Yesterday, after determining that I needed several more rows on the Tilted Duster skirt (the blasted pattern calls for the skirt to be the same length for all sizes. What the?), and feeling the old familiar pre-tendonitis ache in my right arm, I opted to set that aside and grabbed my tapestry needle for those pesky ends.

I couldn't be more pleased with the way that Dancer turned out. The Blue Heron Rayon Metallic was a great yarn to work with. I didn't find it overly splitty, though I had anticipated problems with that, and the hand was very soft. It felt good to knit. The size is about perfect for me. The gauge is a bit bigger than the Claudia Fingering that Sandi specified in the original, but the extra length and width is perfect for my Amazon frame. Because of the lack of elasticity in the rayon, as opposed to the springy merino wool in the Claudia, I opted to pick up more stitches along the top edge for the icord, and I also added an extra plain row in between the increase rows on the ruffle. The result is spectacular. This will be my holiday outfit this winter, just perfect over plain black, and plenty of room for the belly!

Since I still wanted to knit yesterday, but couldn't hack the bigger needles, I cast on a Syncopated Cap (Interweave Knits, Summer 2007) in two colors of the Dream in Color Smooshy. I've had my eye on these caps since pictures of Kate Gilbert's pattern appeared on the IK website preview. It's the perfect bit of Fair Isle to feed my craving, but not so complicated that I need absolute calm and silence to knit it. The Smooshy is lovely. We're getting rave reviews about it at the shop and Sandi, Chloe and I have all been dying to knit with it ourselves. I was not disappointed. It's lovely stuff and the cap is going to be beautiful. It's such a great knit, I might make several of these as Christmas presents.

I've also got a hankering to finish the Nodding Violet sock that I started at TNNA, way back in June. I've not been doing much of any sock knitting and this one has been languishing. It's an ultra simple lace pattern. I didn't have any patterns or stitch dictionaries with me at the show, and thought I would knit a plain Jane sock, only to find out that I couldn't. My hands wanted something more complex, and this was what I came up with on the fly. I'm sure this lace has been used elsewhere, so I'm just knitting these for me, and not worrying about publishing the pattern. I'm a couple rows from the toe decreases now. I want these finished so I can cast on my Summer of Love Lace and Solstice Slip socks from this year's Rockin' Sock Club.

Off to the shop now for Sunday Tea & Sympathy. Drop in if you get the chance.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet

Fall is in the air. I can almost taste it. The nights are chilly, the dew setting heavy on the cars. There's just the first hint of leaves turning. And the light is changing. Oh my god, the light. I love the hazy, filtered light of autumn. It pulls me out of the doldrums of summer and back to a more present, centered version of myself. I always feel most like myself as the Earth makes its annual round toward winter.

The Tilted Duster is nearing completion. That ribbing panel has to decrease to almost nothing and then the skirt will be finished and only the collar, buttons and setting in the sleeves will remain. I haven't had much time for knititng in the past few days, but it is a matter of mere hours until this is done. I can't wait. I am already craving something cuddly warm to throw on when I take the kids to school in the mornings.

In household news, Miss Sushi is adapting perfectly well to her new home. She is a very curious and gregarious rat, much like Miss Elle. This morning when I walked up to their abode, first Elle and then Sushi emerged from the little rat hut (that purple igloo looking thing), stretched and yawned. It was absolutely adorable. So far Sushi has experienced the joys of fresh fruit - which she took to like a little fiend - and the shower. Poor Bud thinks that the rats are just little dogs and doesn't understand that they can't play his way. He spends a lot of time imploring them with EDF (Earnest Dog Face, for the uninitiated) and prancing about waiting for them to play. Alice, on the other hand, just blinks at them. Quite a little menagerie we have.

The girls are off to Sea Ranch today, where they father is to be married tomorrow. I will admit that I'm feeling a bit strange and ambivalent about his upcoming nuptials, for reasons I don't fully fathom myself. I genuinely want him to be happy and I believe that in this, his third marriage, he finally will be, and yet, there is some lingering something. Perhaps it is the idea of another woman in a maternal role in my daughters' lives. I'm not certain. Hmmm... things to ponder.

And with that I leave you to your Friday. May your weekend be a blissful one.

Life Carries On

When times are rough I often turn to god for solace. Now those of you who know me well know that to me, Peter Gabriel is god. Witness:

Life carries on in the people I meet
In everyone that's out on the street
In all the dogs and cats
In the flies and rats
In the rot and the rust
In the ashes and the dust

Immortal words from "I Grieve" which some will recognize from the City of Angels soundtrack and which he reworked for his album Up. This song has had strong resonance for me since I first heard it in City of Angels. I love that it acknowledges the depth of grief while giving a message of hope that one can survive it. Karin is having her first real experience with this after the death of the first pet that was her very own.

We held a little funeral for Reep in the back yard. Karin made a headstone out of a cardboard box and insisted that she bury Reep herself. She spoke a few words remembering Reepicheep and what a good, sweet and gentle rat she was, then she laid her little rat to rest.

She was still very concerned about Elle, however. We had read that rats, being very social and intelligent creatures, often grieve that loss of their cagemates. Karin didn't want Elle to be depressed, missing Reepicheep. She insisted that we head to the pet store to get a new rat friend for Elle. A little white rat with a pale blonde head licked her fingers when Karin reached into the box at the pet store and to Karin that marked her as family. We welcomed Sushi the Rex Rat home last night and she and Elle are already fast friends. Life carries on.

Meanwhile, my tummy is slowly expanding and as the weather is making a welcome turn toward autumn, I am reevaluating the maternity clothing situation. So far I've managed with just a few maternity pieces and larger sizes in regular clothes. Soon though I'll need extra room around the middle. Much of the standard maternity stuff doesn't work for me, as I straddle the line between standard misses sizes and plus sizes. I was pleased to learn that Lane Bryant offers a maternity line, including nursing bras in a generous range of sizes. I just wish my beloved Eddie Bauer would follow suit. Every autumn I stock up on Eddie Bauer tops and jeans. Their color palette suits me well and their jeans actually fit! I'm going to experiment and see if the tops at least will work if I buy larger sizes in the tall length.

Not much new in my knitting world the last couple of days. The Duster continues to grow and I'm scanning my UFOs to see if there's anything close to being finished that I should turn my attention to. We had a great discussion about Finishitis at the shop the other day. I'm revisiting the idea of project rotation to stave off the knitting doldrums.

Oh, and Kathryn and Baby Claire are doing great! We had a nice visit on Monday and she's heading home today. Head over to her blog and send her some good welcome home ju-ju!