Sock fixation? Me?

Aren't these cute?! And so tiny!

 


And the best part is that Emery loves them. She is my sister's little girl -- two and a half years old. Already a heart-breaker. Mine, that is. You see, I live so far away that I just don't get to see her enough to make it onto her "favorite people" list.

So I have resorted to bribery.

Brutal, isn't it?

This is my dilemma.

I love my husband. He has a lot of really fine qualities. A LOT of many fine qualities.

But he also has some annoying qualities. Some REALLY annoying qualities. Including the fact that he is very particular. Some might even call it too picky.

I made him a sweater. It was a lot of work -- work that I did willingly and happily. I thoroughly enjoy working Aran patterns.

 


But after all this work ... the sweater is too large. He doesn't wear it. I suspect also that the v-neck cardigan possibly wasn't the right choice.

I checked the gauge. The gauge specifies 18 inches over 4 inches. And I got 20 stitches over 4 inches. So obviously the REAL problem is that the sweater is too large ... and probably the style.

So here's my dilemma. Do I offer to frog it and redo? And give him the choice of a pullover on the redo?

Ack. I hate making decisions like this.

Showing the sock a good time

I've been reading about Stephanie's bookbookbook tour and all the fun her sock has been having. It's wonderful to see all the knitters enjoying themselves.

Inspired by Stephanie, I attempted to show MY sock a good time. How, you might ask. Well, since Spring has arrived, this means that mountain biking season has also arrived. I've discovered that the greater the risk for broken bones, the more fun I have. Go figure, eh?

For the first time in 35 years, I fell off my bicycle. It wasn't my fault -- really! I was pedalling furiously uphill when the chain fell off the front sprocket. Normal people might stop immediately and restring the chain. Other people, like me, attempt to continue up the hill while simultaneously restringing the chain. Once the uphill momentum stops (and quickly, I might add), the bicycle and rider begin to answer the call of gravity and roll downhill. Backwards. Generally at an increasing rate of speed and tilting dangerously to the side.

What happens next?



Ouch. Slightly sprained ankle, which is being treated with RICE -- rest, ice, compression and elevation. Ice is really cold.

Bruised ego. Treated by a glass of wine and more knitting.

The knitting is Regia Cotton Tip & Top Color yarn, purchased at The Knitter's Frolic. This is really neat yarn -- one ply is white, the second ply is colored, resulting in a heathery yarn. That knits nicely into a fair isle pattern.

Here's hoping that the ankle heals before the rain leaves.

Spring is here. Definitely and without question.

How do I know? Lizzie, my cat has decided that 5:00 am is the time to rise and shine. And she is persistent. For a 5-lb. cat, she sure does shake the bed when she lands. And then she paces back and forth across the sleeping mom. Next she goes to the bedroom door and scratches frantically in an effort to turn the handle. Never mind that the handle is 3 inches higher than her little paws.

So Saturday morning she was scooped up, carried downstairs and unceremoniously dumped into the "time out" box -- something most people know as a cat carrier. She was not impressed.

At 7:00 am, Henry decided it was high time for us to get up. So he started with the scratching at the door. He also was caught and dropped into another time-out box.

And what happened on Sunday? Blessed peace and quiet. No frantic scratching. No meows. No pacing back and forth. Whew.

In knitting news -- I have started knitting a pair of socks made with Reggia Cotton. So far I am loving the yarn. The colors are summery and nice and they are making a lovely fair-isle type pattern. Pictures (hopefully) tomorrow.

Right now, I am growling and grumpy because we have a dial-up connection. No options for high-speed. And the dial-up is painfully s-l-o-w.

Grr.

Catching Up

Well, it's been a while since I've been here. Busy, busy, busy. Doing what? Nothing that I can really put my finger on, but busy none the less.

I quit my job. I'm even past the two-week notice part. Now I'm working "at the pleasure of the parties." Which means, basically, that they can tell me to leave, or I can leave. That's it. I'll be done. I volunteered to hang around to train my replacement. Now let's see if they manage to hire my replacement before my self-imposed deadline. I told them I wanted to be done completely by the end of May. We'll see.

So what brought this on? There have been way too many games being played, by the lawyers and the staff. And it seems that the favorite, convenient target for everyone is yours truly. And I'm not paid nearly enough to be the little sitting duck in the shooting arcade.

The cruise really brought this home. For 10 days, C. and I relaxed in the sun, read good books and relaxed. Coming home, going to work ... it was like a 20-tonne weight slamming down on my back. And I realized that life is too darn short, time is too precious to spend it waiting for the axe to fall. So I quit.

What will I do next? I really don't know. And that should scare me, but it doesn't. I will figure something out.

Over the weekend we attended the Lake Scugog Studio Tour. Saw a fair number of watercolour artists, a woodworker, a potter, a glass artist and ... ta da! A knitter! And she lives not too far from me. Even better. And the best news of all -- the friend who invited us also brought along another friend. Susan knits. That says it all.