A couple of weeks ago, I took the kids to the Garden State Sheep Breeders show (NJ Sheep & Wool).  I picked up a few things including THE PERFECT BUTTONS for my Kauni 2.  The monkeys had fun playing in Leann’s display…

They have a natural affinity for fiber   And some pretty good taste. They both demanded something from her booth, Alex picked yarn while Kat opted for fiber.  Training them well!

As I promised yesterday, here’s the finished socks.

• Yarn:  Forbidden Woolery Lush in Gillyweed
• Needles:  US0 Blackthorns
• Pattern:  own over 48 st – toe up
• Started:  9/4/11
• Finished: 9/15/11

The boy is quite pleased with his socks, as am I.  I found I can actually fit into them.  Sweet.  So any further socks for him are not for naught with how fast his feet are now growing.  I’ll be able to wear them when he outgrows them   Not to mention how quickly I was able to blow through this pair.

Taking the bus to work has been most helpful on the sock knitting front.  My bus ride is about an hour, give or take, depending on traffic.  I’ve moved to the bus because the three legged train to PATH to subway was sapping the life from me.  The bus is a longer commute timewise, but I don’t have as many connections to make, and I get to sit and relax for a longer stretch on both the bus and then the subway.   I always seemed to be waiting for the next conveyance, getting on and then getting off.  Exhausting I tell you!  So while the bus to subway is an hour and 45 minutes its more restful.  And it will be coming to an end.  Office move is tentative for mid-November.

I’m taking a break from the monkey demand knitting and working on a pair of socks for myself.  I’ll start in on the hats next, and then the sweaters.  Alex picked another Drive-Thru as the sweater he wants.  Checking back in my FO collection, apparently, I knit that sweater for him every two years.  Guess how long it has been since the last one?  You got it.  Two years.  Kat wants a hoodie.  Need to find a good pattern for that… though I’d be surprised if I don’t already have one somewhere.

Speaking of the bus, those of you who have never traveled via the bus lane to the Lincoln Tunnel don’t know how unnerving and disconcerting that express route can be.  Get a load of this:

Yes, we are on the same side of the road as the traffic moving AWAY from the tunnel.  The normal traffic heading to the tunnel is on the OTHER side of the concrete divider.  Takes a bit getting used to this view.  And yup, whenever possible I do try to sit in the very front of the bus.  Finds that it counters any natural tendency towards motion sickness.  Though that’s becoming less of a problem (as I hoped it would) as I was able to read on the bus last night and I was sitting way way back.  I was happy for a seat though.  The terminal was a mess last night.

Anyway, time to get back to the job.

Craft on!

Kat Socks

• Yarn:  Footloose in Electric Youth
• Needles:  US0 – Blackthorn
• Toe up over 48 st. (cast on 12)
• Started:  8/30/11
• Finished: 9/4/11

She’s pleased as punch with them.  Nearly killed herself running through the kitchen with these things on.  The tile is insanely slippery.  You either need to wear shoes or walk barefoot on it.  I cast on for Alex’s sock but haven’t gotten very far.

I’ve been working on my Kauni sweater, but I think that work deserves its own posting.  I’ll put that one up tomorrow.  Instead, here are more sights of my commute.

The knit bombing was chained to a street sign under the Brooklyn Bridge.  From the datestamp, yes, I have been sitting on this for a bit.  Shortly after I took this picture, the bicycle disappeared.  I’m glad I was able to capture it when I did.

Leann requested a picture of the progress at One World Trade Center (aka Freedom Tower).  I took this one a couple of weeks ago just before I entered the WTC PATH station.

You can see it pretty well from across the East River as well…

Hope everyone who celebrates had a good Labor Day.  Ours was quiet.  Kat had a playdate.  I knitted.  We did the boat thing Sat/Sun.  All in all, a nice weekend.  Back to everything tomorrow.

Craft on!

Spunky Neapolitan Socks

• Yarn:  Spunky Eclectic
• Colorway:  Neapolitan
• Needles:  US1
• Pattern:  Basic over 52 st
• Started: 08/03/11
• Finished: 08/27/11

Next up:

I had to restart Kat’s sock.    I started with too few stitches yesterday and wound up with a really really pointed toe.  This time, instead of six(12), I cast on 12(24) using that awesome method I linked a while ago.  I’m much further along as of my morning commute, however, I learned a very important lesson:  you can’t take a decent picture of knitware on your lap while on a moving subway train  I would have waited but next stop was mine.  Better picture tomorrow.

The kids have me dizzy.  For quite a while they not only refused to wear my handknit items, they actually pointedly asked me to buy them something instead.  Okay.  Fair enough.  I respected their wishes, and really, redirected the knitting energy on ME.  I am a selfish knitter after all.  So now?  They’ve both put in a request list:  socks, hats and sweaters!  Wow.

This has me scratching my head a bit.  All over the city, they are removing cobblestones and/or paving over them.  What’s going on out here in the boondocks known as DUMBO?

They’re actually putting down cobblestones!  I’m not a huge fan of the pretty bricks.  Chalk it up to my foot size and/or my terrible ankles, but I have a heck of a time walking on these things.  They are a broken ankle waiting to happen if you ask me!

Pet peeve:  listening to people chew.  Totally squicks me out.  Sadly, two days a week I have to hear it at work.  I have a co-worker who blessedly works from home most of the week.  I saw blessedly as when she’s here she nibbles on ice.  ALL.  DAY.  LONG.  She sits in my bionic hearing rang.  I hope after the move that my desk is across as it is getting old having to sit with the headphones in all day.  I think I’m beyond the point where I can gently ask her to knock it off in a nice way.  UGH.

I’ve discovered that this blog is good for more than figuring out when I knit something or bought this or that item.  I found a true practical usage.  Last week I suffered through a terrible headache for the better part of it.  Like always, I initially wrote it off to stress, weather, not sleeping so well, for staring at a monitor all day long… all of the above.  All good excuses for a headache, but nothing out of the ordinary that should be causing misery for that long.  Then I had a vague memory of another weeklong misery period that I remembered blogging.  I couldn’t remember when it had fallen so I did a little reading of the archives.  I found it had been in the early fall of Sept 2008 for well over a week.    I smell a pattern Batman.  I pointed it out to mom.  She went:  Hay fever.  Awesome.  I think she’s right.  I went back to taking regular allergy meds, adopted a Neti Pot and now the headache is gone.  thanks to 2008 CFL for recording this info for her future self.

Finally, we all know that I’m a bit of a collector of things:  yarn, fiber, wheels, electronics, purses.  I don’t need all the stuff I have and well, some of it needs to find new homes periodically.  I’m considering putting up a small ‘store’ on the blog, an online garage sale if you will, to find new homes for all the excess stuff.  I’d list things like the once loved by now replaced electronics, commercial and handspun yarns, fiber, and like new Coach bags.   Good idea?  Bad idea?  Feedback would be much appreciated..

Sixth Avenue looking south

West 4th Street A/C/E Downtown

Cadman Plaza Park

The Manhattan Bridge as seen from under the Brooklyn Bridge

DUMBO ferry pier looking west (can just see my old office building )

Pier 11 Manhattan ferry pier looking east

Yes, the DUMBO ferry takes me to Pier 11 almost directly across the East River.  I hesitate to admit that the 3 minute ride costs $4 each way.  But its soooo convenient, not to mention a nicer way to commute.  I’m not a mole  Anyway, that’s some of what I see each day.  My favorite bits are the ferry and the stroll through Cadman Plaza Park.

Craft on!

Stay cool!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

For those that don’t know, NYC is a city of jaywalking. Very few cross in crosswalks or even wait for the light. So color me surprised when I went back to taking the PATH train a few weeks ago to the WTC and walking to my office near the Seaport.

There is no jaywalking near ground zero. These pedestrian safety officers block access with chains!

Craft on!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thank you all for your warm wishes regarding my injured ankle.    I guess I need to explain how it happened.  I was working at my desk, moving my blog from one host to another well into the evening on Tuesday.  By 12:45 AM Wednesday, I decided it was time for bed.  Unfortunately, I’d been sitting on my foot and it was well asleep when I stood up.  I figured if I was careful, I’d be okay.  I slowly made my way across my bedroom when about 2 steps from my goal, I apparently caught my big toe on the area carpet.  I then stepped down on the dead foot, folding it.  I heard an audible crunch and even though the foot was asleep, felt it sharply.   Ouch.

So that’s the story.  I did a stoopid thing and now I know better.  The ER doctor directed me to follow up with a podiatrist within 3 days.  Fortunately, a friend of mine’s husband is just that.  The stars aligned on Wednesday as it was holiday SnB at Panera, Tami was going and since she sprained her ankle a few weeks ago, her podiatrist husband was bringing her again this week.  I had called her as a fellow left ankle sprain buddy as I left the ER.  She contacted her hubby and he said he’d see me that night if I could make it there.   Not one to miss a SnB for something minor like a sprained ankle, I made it there with much help from mom.

A thorough exam in the corner of Panera (the weirdest location I’ve even been in and I’m now sporting a serious boot and have a script for an NSAID.  We’re in the stay off it and let it rest phase now.  Might need an MRI in a week or so to see how bad the muscle damage is.  I have seriously reduced strength in my foot and can barely move my toes up or down.  There’s also some ligament damage and IIRC an entrapped nerve.  Hey, if you’re going to do it, you do it right

This has given me some bonus knitting time though!  Recently all my knitting time has been on the train.  Home time was spinning time.  Not so much right now, though it is a good thing I have all those single treadle spinning wheels!  So I’ve been knitting.  I’m working on a top down raglan using Rowan Felted Tweed.  I started it a week ago.  I put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn while sitting in the ER waiting for the Doctor to read my X-rays.  At last measure, during the first period of the Winter Classic, I was 2.5″ from starting the ribbing at the hem.

Sorry for the craptastic picture but the real camera is across the room.  The iPhone was far closer  I dearly love this yarn.  It is my favorite shade and I’m really enjoying working with it.

I have other projects, knitting and weaving to show, all finished, but the shots haven’t been downloaded out of the big camera yet, so they’ll have to wait as well.  Suffice it to say that while I haven’t been blogging, I have still been busy.  I split teacher gifts between knitted and woven this year.   I finally got my floor loom out of storage, replaced the metal heddles with texsolv ones and even warped it.  I’ve used my Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle a couple of times.  So yes, I keep myself occupied.

OK, the family is off at Kohl’s doing a little shopping.  I’m going to return to this sweater and the remainder of the Winter Classic.

Craft on!

I did it again. Not the bad ankle, but the “good” one. Xrays this morning say no break. Just a sprain.

Word to the wise, never walk around on a very asleep foot. OUCH!

Why yes, I did knit in the ER

Happy New Year!

Play I did.

(As always, click for bigger.)  I like!  What say you?

Craft on!

I could fight it no longer. I just got back to the office after waiting in line here. I picked up the 16g black sweet heart. Anyone who remembers the fight I had a while ago porting my number from T-Mobile to Sprint (and yes there will be hell to pay at Sprint for breaking my contract early) will be happy to know that while it took over a week then, it was done in no more than 5 minutes this time. Totally amazing.

No real pictures to show of knitting or spinning. Last night I didn’t touch the wheel but played two games of spring training baseball in MLB the show while listening to the Sox beat up on the Royals. I spent a good bit of the ride home yesterday trying to web browse on my tiny little screen on the Katana phone (eBay bound) to get more than a row done. I didn’t fare too much better this morning though I did manage to complete 3 ridges of the solid blue on Ballerina. I’ll be knitting more tonight. Promise. It is SnB night afterall

Live long and prosper \\//_

edited to add:¬† I had a pretty decent experience waiting on the line.¬† When I jumped on, was given my choice of which one I wanted, they told me it was @2.5 hour wait from there.¬† Turned out to be only 1.5 or so but it went fast and was pretty darn enjoyable.¬† I made friends with the guys ahead of me.¬† It was sunny and hot as we turned the corner.¬† The store folks were passing out these big umbrellas so that we could shade ourselves and well, not pass out on their property.¬† One of the two guys volunteered to hold an umbrella for me.¬† Very nice.¬† The feller in front of him picked up the tab for a couple of bottles of water from the hot dog cart guy and the three of us had an enjoyable wait.¬† Who said New Yorkers aren’t nice?!?