Finished!!!

Yes, gentle readers, I finished Lizard Ridge and with not a moment to spare. I think I crocheted the last border stitch at 6:15 pm and the dinner for the Princess' teacher was at 7 pm. I am very happy to be finished but now I miss the damn thing. I just might have to make another. I decided to crochet the blocks together instead of seaming them. I used crab stitch and I like how it turned out. The back is not so pretty but oh well.

Now I'm off to start Shawl That Jazz with my Brooks Farm Solo Silk. Some simple garter stitch sounds like heaven right about now.

Out of Control

My yarn stash is getting out of control. I have so much yarn that I could knit from the grave and never have to spend another penny. But I just can't stop buying yarn. I see something online and have to have it, I see something new at my LYS and have to have it, I read about it in a knitting magazine and have to have it. I think I need an intervention. When I first started knitting, I would decide on a project, buy the yarn and then knit until the project was finished. Only then would I buy more yarn. Not anymore. I have so many things started- I think my projects have projects.

I have those clear plastic bins all over the house. My plan is to scatter them so the hubster doesn't realize just how much unused stash I have. I'm pretty sure my plan is not working. The other day when I said I had to run to the yarn shop to get something, he asked me why I couldn't just look in the 70 billion pounds of yarn I already have.

I am almost finished knitting the squares for Lizard Ridge. I'm now on 21/24. Think I can have it all finished in one week? I hope so.

The picture is of some of my prized and highly coveted Sundara sock yarn. I lurve this yarn with a passion.

Something New?!?

So have any of my non-existant readers noticed anything new on my blog? You may not have, because it is something so familiar to blog readers that you may have just assumed they were always there...pictures! My blog actually has pictures now, not very good ones, I'll admit. I never claimed to be a photographer, but a girl can try.

Yes, gentle readers, I have actually learned how to use my camera and post pictures. I will say it was accomplished with much cursing and gnashing of teeth and very little help from the computer savvy Princess, but whoo boy, I have arrived! Notice this post is photo-less...

Stitches South

So I'm about a week late posting this but I went to Stitches South last Friday. I wasn't able to take any classes because I didn't find out it was going to be here in Atlanta until the very last minute. That's me- always the last one to the party. So I only went to the Market and only on Friday. I had to work Sat and Sun like always. That probably saved me a good chunk of change. I could have spent a gazillion dollars at the Market. As it was, I had very limited funds available to me since I was unable to steal, er, save much from the budget. Next year I plan to start saving early, like maybe tomorrow.

Having never attended a Stitches Anywhere, I was seriously overwhelmed. I planned to only make purchases that I couldn't get locally, or that were hard to get online. It was awesome to finally be able to touch in person, things I have only read about. As you can see I got some Brooks Farm Solo Silk. I love the color, it reminds me of the seashore. I think I'm going to make Shawl That Jazz with it. I also visited the Sanguine Gryphon's booth with the intention of getting some Bugga!. There was tons of the stuff there and it is even more gorgeous in person. As I was trying to decide on a color, my hubby happened to spy the Briar Rose sock kit. I have been lusting after that kit for a while now so I just had to get it. So the Bugga! will have to wait for another time.

I can't wait until next year. I will be much better prepared!

Lizard Ridge

I'm moving right along on my Lizard Ridge. Hardly. I have 19/24 squares finished. That leaves 5 to do. Sounds reasonable, right? The problem? It needs to be finished by May 13. Not only do I have to finish knitting the squares, but they all have to be blocked. Then comes the dreaded and often skipped phase in my knitting- the sewing together. I rarely do this step. Maybe that is why I have never been able to actually wear the sweaters I knit...

Confused

Is anyone as confused about teenage dating as I am? The Princess now has a boyfriend- er, excuse me, I think she has a boyfriend, but she says I'm not to call him that yet. What?!? She says they are only dating, they are not in a relationship. Yeah, thanks for clearing that right up.

She gets so mad at me because I can't understand this. Apparently, there are stages to this dating thing. First you talk. Talk about what, I don't know. Then you date. Then you go out. So what are you doing when you date? Do you not GO OUT ON A DATE!!!?!!! Apparently there is some difference that I just can't see because as the P tells me- I am old. We did things differently back before the earth's crust cooled. Apparently by the time you reach the go out stage you have decided to be boyfriend/girlfriend. I only know this because she came home from school and told me K had asked her friend N out. And being the dinosaur that I am, I said " Oh how nice, where is he taking her?" I got the famous Princess eye roll and the huge sigh. I mean, why can't I understand this? It's clear as mud, right?

All I know is he better be something important to her, since I came home from work the other night and found him draped all over her on my sofa while watching a movie. So if he's not her boyfriend, what is he, her blanket? Whoa, that just earned me another eye roll...

knitting

I wrote the other day about making Lizard Ridge. I swore when I started it that I wouldn't knit anything else until it was finished, because the plan is to actually finish it and give it away in May. Now that sounds like a reasonable amount of time, unless you have knitting ADD like I do. I have perpetual startitis and unfortunately no finishitis. None, zero, zip, nada. I have enough UFOs that if I were to knit on nothing but them, I would have to finish from the grave. And the Princess knows this. So when we planned this retirement present for her teacher, she made me agree to only knit this one project until it is finished. And I said I would. I lied. I tried, I really did. But then last night as I was browsing on Ravelry, I came upon the Gathered Scarf pattern. I had some gorgeous Sundara fingering silky merino in my stash just dying to become this scarf. I tried to resist, but to no avail. I hang my head in shame. I started the scarf. And I am in love with the yarn. It is the softest, most beautiful yarn I have ever used. And I have used a lot of yarn in my time- really nice yarn. I am definitely a yarn snob. This yarn just glows, and the feel of it slipping through my fingers- I have reached yarn Utopia.

Push the Right Buttons

My older daughter came home yesterday to get her taxes done. The school where she teaches is on spring break right now, so her days are free. She decided to stay the night even though she only lives about 45 minutes away from here. That might have had something to do with me begging her to stay, the crying and gnashing of teeth kind of begging. What? I never get to see her. She teaches all week and when she does decide to grace us with her presence, it is always on a weekend and I am working.

So she stayed. Much to the Princess' dismay. You would think they could get along with each other, especially since they no longer live under the same roof. What am I thinking?? They can't even be in the same room without bickering. They fight over everything: who gets to sit where on the sofa, what to watch on TV, who used who's shampoo without asking, who breathed more cubic centimeters of air. It is neverending. But I love it so much.

So much, that I asked DD#1 if she would stay again tonight. She looked at me like I had two heads. She said she has to leave because she is allergic to the cat. Somehow I don't think it's the cat she's allergic to...

Remember Me??

So I actually forgot I had this blog. Not really, but it would be a good reason why I haven't written anything in almost a YEAR!!

I am still knitting and it is still lovely and I still don't really know how to use the idiot-proof camera or how to get pictures on the computer, so maybe you can just imagine the pretty pictures. Right now I am making a Lizard Ridge, the very lovely afghan pattern from Knitty. Yes I know I'm very late to the party, but what is new about that? I'm using Noro Kureyon, like the pattern calls for. I must say- the yarn is bee-you-tee-ful, but I really don't like knitting with it. It is rough, folks, really rough. But I will persevere because out of the sixty bazillion patterns available, the Princess picked this one for her favorite teacher who is retiring at the end of the school year. She is leaving the Princess to flounder on her own for her senior year.

And in case any of you two readers of this pitiful blog are wondering, no the Princess does not yet have her driver's license. I barely allow her to drive at all. It is very hard to find any time when there are no other cars on the road. I just don't understand that at all. Don't the other drivers know that Princess needs to learn to drive? I mean it would be in their best interest- someday she is going to drive all by herself. I feel faint.