Finishing..... maybe

It's been hot, humid, just nasty weather for days now, causing a lot of crankiness. I want real fall weather RIGHT NOW!!!! (Tantrum, tantrum wawaaa wawaaa wawaaa) Tonight it is finally raining and should be 68 by Friday. Thank you, thank you! Now I should wash the plastic smell out of the sweaters stored in the basement.
In knitting news, my original plan for the evil baby ensemble was to have sweater, hat, booties all done for this Wednesday's surprise baby shower. It was going to be tight but I knew I could make it. The rest of the sweater was sewn up on Saturday and was admired by family. My sister petted the yarn and said "Mmm softtttt" then my husband rubbed it against his face. (I had a few seconds of panic thinking his stubble was going to snag the yarn, but it was fine) A pair of boots were off the needles the next day and seamed up. But then Monday our Momma to be was suddenly put on bed rest until she has her little girl. Baby shower canceled, and all my motivation out the door. I really want something to be finished and out of my hair but I can't get myself to do it. All I need to do is buy buttons and maybe some size 6 DPNS to make the hat. But nooooo I'm worked on the silver cable sweater again. Technically all the pieces are now done but the sleeves are not bound off because I have serious doubts that they are long enough. Tonight the back and the fronts will be blocked and maybe once I've picked up a million stitches for the shawl collar the sleeve decision can be made. While that is drying I should lengthen the foot on my Mom's Christmas sock. She did a fitting and it needs to be about an inch longer. I have a plan on how to do this and not run out of yarn but I'm also procrastinating on that. At least I'm procrastinating by knitting the second sock.

Wine Time

As promised the pictures from our grape harvesting weekend. I should have taken some pictures of the vines but forgot. To the left the entire harvest of Chambourcin grapes with my husband studying in the background. There was less to pick this year but the fruit was better quality. After all the picking most of us sat back and relaxed while my father in law ran the grapes though the crusher. A nice action shot of that below. Then all the grapes go into the big white trash can and some of the stems get picked out. A bit of the liquid gets tested for sugar content and this year it was perfect, no additional 5 pounds of sugar needed. :) The grapes will sit in the basement fermenting for a while and then get bottled up with a nice illustrated label that my husband made. In a couple of years year 2007 might be a real tasty one!

In knitting news, the evil baby sweater is complete enough that other people at work are exclaiming, "I want one!" Ahhhh noooooo!!!! At least it started a fun conversation down at the train station. I had one very new knitter (only knew how to garter stitch) and one who hadn't learned anything yet but has signed up for a class, ask me about what I was making and if it hard to learn. They were both very nice and I enjoyed having a chat with them.

Trying to drive out the evil sweater curse

Frog helps frog

Overheard conversation by two young girls that sound strangely like 80's valley girls. First girl, "So like my friends are bringing Jenny to the playoff Phillies game and she doesn't even like baseball! I mean she wears tube tops and high heels. She doesn't even own any piece of clothing with Phillies on it!" Her friend with no trace of irony, "Oh my God, that's HORRRRIBLE!!!"
I believe the women sitting next to me heard me chuckling to myself.

The evil baby sweater is coming along. I would almost say that it's ceased to be evil except it hid the buttons I bought for it and is giving me a lot of trouble knitting the collar. Probably shouldn't turn on my back on the sweater or it may go for my jugular.

Walking home from the train Monday I saw a little girl playing outside in the perfect red/black tartan skirt. She needed a red sweater with Scottie dog buttons to complete the outfit. I've become very enamored with that idea, but in a bigger size to fit me. Maybe I've been reading my kids books a little too much.

Arrrrr, Me Booty

I'm a little late for talk like a pirate day, but what the heck. The first 3 month installment of the yarn pirate booty club wrapped up this month and I have been very remiss in blogging about it. The silver cable sweater kind of swept me away from the land of sock yarn for a bit. (Not that I stop buying sock yarn, I just didn't talk about it) In order of closest to frog there is colorway Rumrunner in the 100% merino sock, Calamity in BFL sock, and Butternut in the merino/tencel blend. I signed up for round two of the booty club, which made missing this months loopy ewe yp update easier to swallow. (It still blows)

I have to take a break from knitting for the rest of the week due to neck/rotater cuff pain. It sucksss. I'll be reading the phantom tollboth and pretending to be 12.

I'll be icing my rotator cuff

The husband and I had a nice lazy weekend at his parents house. Most of it was spent eating, talking and watching movies. We did get up off our fannies to help harvest the last of the grapes from my father-in-laws vineyard. There would be some pretty pictures of that if we had brought the camera. I did steal the in-laws camera and snap a couple action shots of grape crushing process. I'll get those in the email sometime soon.

Much much much knitting was done this weekend. So much that my rotator cuff is not pleased and wants me to know how much it has been abused. It's the baby sweater curse I tell you!

The first Christmas sock for Mom is "finished." Except it probably isn't finished. I'll have to wait two weeks to see if it fits the foot it's made for. The second sock is started, but will probably waste away for a couple of months.
First sock from my woolgirl sock club is started and boy does sport weight knit up fast. It's the fun project you want to knit but have to put aside for obligation knitting.

Six inches were added to the silver cable cardigan and all the neck decreased finished. It only needs a few more inches to finish out the shoulder. However it will now sit around waiting for it's size 6 needle I stole for the dreaded baby sweater.

Proof

Proof that little frogs will get cookies if they pester the baker long enough....

Or maybe I just use frog as a scapegoat for my own cookie enabling.

Proof that baby sweater is really cursed...
I will be at the in laws this weekend, where I only have to eat, sleep and talk while knitting. Because of this wonderful chunk of knitting time I was hoping to have new pattern book for evil baby sweater on Friday. (Time of departure) When the ordered was placed Sunday the thought was that the book would be shipped Monday or Tuesday. Today I got an email from the owner of the store with an apology. She was in the middle of moving right now and wasn't able to mail the package until Wednesday. I totally understand her circumstances and don't blame her a bit. Besides, it's obviously the curse of the baby sweater reaching out to mess with her life. I think it's up to a Darth Vader level of evil.

Proof that there are other things to take my mind off of knitted evil.....


Oooo Mr. postman, you bring me such nice things. Now if you bring me my yarn pirate sock club tomorrow we will really be friends.

Sock vs sweater

The brain works in funny ways. The thought of trying yet again to knit Christmas socks for mom was distasteful........ until they became an alternative to knitting the baby sweater. Now these socks are the best thing ever. And it seems that the third time is the charm because these look gooddddd. I've gotten the cuff through to the gusset in 6 days worth of knitting time, which is pretty fast for me. Just hope I have enough yarn left for the whole foot.

I'm waiting for yet another pattern to come in the mail for the baby sweater. I added up all the money that I spent on this darn thing and I could have bought a nice pair of shoes instead. The new pattern is from the yarn manufacturer so I hope to have no gauge problems. Their advertising assured me that the patterns were easy, please, please let this be true.