Super-Secret Projects Again...

Yup, I've got a super-secret project on the knitting needles again. It's adorable, and it's coming together much more quickly than I hoped, so I'm thrilled - I may even make a couple in different colors. Hee.

I went shopping for my Longing for Spring Swap pal, and got a few spring-y things. Now, I'm off to the yarn store this weekend to buy the main focus of the swap - the yarn and needles for the pattern I've chosen. I hope she likes everything...

Ugh, back to work. Spreadsheets call. Yay.

So we didn't get to Raiders after all, but Alex decided he wanted to watch Monster Squad. I was only too happy to oblige, and that actually sat still for most of the movie. There was some drifting into another room during the middle, but for the big showdown at the end, all rear ends were seated. Monster Squad rocks.

Mike just got me the 20th anniversary DVD, which is chock-full of extras goodness (that I will report on when I can lock myself in my room for an hour or two). Chris - you need to review this on Guiltless Pleasures. Just sayin'.


So now, I have a buddy for my quotefest. Will turned to me last night, as the movie ended, and said, "Mom. Wolfman has nards." It took me so off guard that I giggled like a fool. And Alex mourned Frankenstein's leaving, because "he's a nice monster." Please, God, let my boys continue to love sci-fi...

Today is one of those days where I feel like locking myself in my room with a lot of chips and salsa, a stack of Star Trek novels, and the Raiders of the Lost Ark trilogy on DVD. Plus a crapload of other sci-fi I've been in the mood to rewatch lately.

Just sayin'. Having said that, I think I will try and wrassle the kids down (one of them is sick, so my battle may be half won) and watch Raiders tonight. Is is me, or do kids have much less of an attention span these days? I wasn't much older than Will is when I saw Raiders in the theatre, and I was rapt. I can't even get through 20 minutes on DVD at home before I'm the only one left on the couch, saying, "What? What?" as they drift off to obviously more important things. I blame video games. Then again, I'm feeling very much like the old guy yelling at the kids to get off his lawn today. And for that, I blame this stupid cold.

Regardless, Indy and I have a date tonight. Belloq - we're coming for you.

I just heard from my Longing For Spring Swap partner this morning! Yay!! She (or he, it's a secret) sounds so cool already.

I also scoped out my super secret swap partner's blog and even looked her up on Ravelry. I have tons of ideas, none of which I want to mention here just in case I get found out. But it involves some Easter candy. And yarn.

So my heart broke last night, when Will had this racking chest cough that was killing him. I sat up with him in the living room, rubbing his back and trying to get him to stop panicking and sleep. We watched the pilot episode of Heroes and about the first 20 minutes of Ghostbusters before I finally heard him dozing. Poor baby. He's home today and I'm hoping my doctor can see him, because this cough is killing his chest.

Alex, on the other hand, is thankfully A-OK. In fact, when I was stumbling to bed last night after finally getting Will to sleep, I noticed he had switched DVDs and was looking through some books. It was almost midnight! The kid is a terminator.

I can't believe it - I started and completed a project in an entire weekend. The shot above is just a quick camera-phone shot I took in progress.

I finally delivered on my promise to make Will a skull and crossbones hat - my first foray into intarsia. I love how it turned out, and I love that it was a simple enough pattern with few enough repeats (only 9 whole rows) to keep me out of too much trouble. We went to Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall this weekend, and while Mike took the boys down to the amusement park in the lower level, I sat down in the food court, cup of coffee at the ready, and knit away for a glorious 90 minutes. Stress relief much?

Status as Good Mother Secure!

Finally! I got off my duff a few days ago and ordered the yarn for Blanket - I needed to go online for the yarn, because I can't find the colorway anywhere else. WTF?!

Anyway. Blanket just showed up today! Yay!! Status as Good Mommy safe and sound.

Yes, Yes, I Know, Bad Blogger...

I've been silent for almost a week. No particular reason, just sheer laziness on my part. :-)

I'm awaiting the identity of my Longing for Spring Swap partner, which should be coming any day now. Whoo hoo! I'm already thinking of goodies to send. And since my questionnaire is further down, I'll link to it here in case my partner is looking for it.

I feel like this is that odd time right before Spring where there's not really much going on; it's like everyone and everything is just waiting for Spring to begin.

Okay. Well, there's the Science Fair. Will's science project is due in a matter of weeks and he needs to get started. And that really translates to Mike and me needing to get started. Sigh... why do schools do this? Everyone knows full well that this is testing the parents' creativity and scientific ability. And here I thought I graduated all those years ago...

GAH!

The Indy trailer is down! Meanies.

So Karen and I had an e-mail discussion about knitting cat toys and knitting toys for her nephew, which led me to the Lion Brand website in search of one particular knitted bunny I made for my niece a couple of years ago. And then I found THIS:

Who says Chanukah fun has to be just for humans? This simple dreidl toy will have your cat spinning!

I swear to you, I did NOT write that caption. That was on the site for all to see. So I said, What next? Knitted cat yarmulkes, complete with little holes to poke their ears through? Perhaps a mini Miter for the Catholic cats?

And I was off. And you know how that gets.

I can see it now. My first knitting book deal: Knitted Religious Items for Your Pets...

Regale your pets in the finest Catholic finery with our Pope Gypsy, the first Catholic, Feline, Female to sit on the Holy See, with our 100% acrylic miter and little Pope Hook-Thingie. (I'm very technical.) Don't forget your Felted Stole - you can't say Mass without one! Feel free to switch up the little pictures on the stole by felting up your own grapes, Chalices, Haloes and crazy Latin phrases!

Catholicism not your style? Then try our Hebrew Tallit, in luxurious acrylic white with blue fringe, and learn how to felt your very own Star of Scooter (one of Karen's cats). Felt your own Yarmulkes, but make sure to complete those yarnovers, or poor kitty will have nowhere to stick their little ears!

Hey, God has a sense of humor, right? Witness the platypus. Or the head of the country. He's just toying with us; He'll get a good laugh out of this. Right? Right?

Official Indiana Jones 4 Trailer

Let the tailgate begin, for I have been to the mountain and I have seen the glorious return of the Man in the Fedora!

True Story

So I've recently reconnected with several of my friends from childhood, which has been great. And, as such, I've raided my old photo albums for cringe- and giggle-worthy pictures of the lot of us to scan and forward to said friends.

I let Will look through the photo albums and after he was done sniggering over '70s fashion (I went to a public high school for Kindergarten), he stopped at my third grade class picture. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing at one particularly tall boy on the top row. It was my first crush, the boy I decided I was going to marry, the Luke to my Leia (Empire hadn't come out yet; I didn't know they were brother and sister - now bugger off). There was a heart drawn around his head in oh-so-girly purple pen - the reason for Will's noticing.

"That was my first crush," I told him. That little bugger laughed at me!! "Oh, MOOOOM," he said.

"What? I was in in third grade!"

"Mom, I'm in third grade, and I wouldn't do that!"

"You're a boy, girls do things like that!"

"Not the girls in my class!" Har, har, har, Will... I'm sure, in 30 years, someone will have a sweetly drawn heart around your picture, too. Just wait and see.

L·O·S·T - The One With The Friends Spoof

Lauren shared this with me... hilarity!

Sesame Live!

Yup, I went. Alex took me, with my mother chaperoning, to Sesame Live this past weekend at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden (old fogies like myself remember when it was the Felt Forum and wrestling tickets were a helluva lot cheaper!). Alex had a blast; it was his first live showand watching his face light up the second Big Bird wandered out onto the stage was worth the price of admission for me. When SuperGrover took a flying leap onto his face, the kid almost wet himself. What can I say? He's got his mother's love of the slapstick.

Speaking of the most awesome Muppet ever created by Jim Henson, this Sesame plotline was SuperGrover's search for his superness. That's right friends, SuperGrover. It was all about SuperGrover. My most favorite-est of the old skool gang. Between copious Grover, Oscar taking over Elmo's World, and Bert doing a live rendition of the classic "Doing the Pigeon", I daresay I enjoyed the show a smidgeon more than even Alex.

Thanks, Sesame Street, for letting me relive my childhood for just a little while. I think a couple of hundred parents will agree.

Le Sock

Behold, the so-called Easy Aran Sock in all its glory.

Maybe it's me being a sock newbie, but easy is the furthest thing from my mind when I'm working on this freaking thing. I've just started on the heel flap - I hope I'm doing this right. I would try to describe it, but I'd probably confuse everyone and myself more than ever. Wish me luck!

Spring, Spring, Where Are Thou, Spring?

I know, it's almost mid-February and here I am, whining about Spring. Especially since we've had a relatively minor winter thus far. Well, feh to that. I'm tired of Winter. I am tired of days ending at 4 in the afternoon. The past two weeks, seeing the sun still peeking out when I emerge from the train station back at home at 5:40 is a huge boost to my poor winter-addled brain.

I would like one big blizzard before spring arrives, though - we could really use a snow day, like back in the old days.

Waking up this morning to see NY1 tell me that it was 11 degrees out - 3, if you factor in the wind chill - made me want to pile another afghan on the bed and go back to sleep. I felt like I had to shake rigor mortis from my limbs to get out of bed and wake the poor kids up for school. We all moved like slugs, not wanting to deal with the bitter wind. I layered those poor boys up so much, the kid from A Christmas Story probably would have pitied them. But we were warm.

We had a fun weekend, which I'll post about when I pull pics off the camera later, because pictures need to be shared. Alex went to his first live show and Will got to have bugs crawl on him (kind of). All will be revealed.

Knitting? I've been knitting like crazy. I am continuing on the cabled scarf KAL for my Yarn Thing group on Ravelry. Somehow, some of the stitches on one end got buggered up for a row or two, but I will be damned if I rip it back and screw up the whole thing, necessitating yet one more frogging. I'm forging ahead.

I've also started the Easy Aran Sock pattern again - and I dropped a freaking stitch on the train this morning. I'll see about rescuing it later, but I swear those heel stitches are so tight, the dropped one has nowhere to go anyway. I will learn how to knit socks!!

On deck - another Super Secret Project, a Skull Hat for Will, some warm socks for the boys if I can ever figure out how to make socks, and gauntlets for Alex, who wants Will's Sweeney Todd gauntlets.

BABY BOYD!

Baby Boyd has arrived! He's gorgeous, Mom and Dad are over the moon, and all is well.

I attempted to cast on for a baby hat on the way to the hospital last night, but got carsick.

My First Swap!

I'm SO excited. I just signed up for my first knitting swap! I've been reading about them and hearing about them on podcasts for a couple of months now, so I'm so excited to have found one. It's the Longing For Spring swap, and my partner and I will exchange all sorts of yarny goodies in anticipation of the Spring. Since it's an anonymous swap, I will keep some musings to myself, lest my future swap partner will read this.

It all starts with a questionnaire, so here goes:

Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been at your craft?
I am primarily a knitter; I learned to crochet first, but I just seem to do better with knitting. I have been at it for a little over five years now.

What are your favorite yarns/fibers? What are your least favorite yarns/fibers?
I just started stretching my fiber boundaries past the big chain stores, so it's been a lot of fun. I've worked with Cascade 220 for the first time on a friend's birthday gift and LOVED how soft it felt. So I guess some soft wools are up there with favorites, and some nice cottons.

Least faves? Acrylics that squeak when they slide on the needles. And I've outgrown the eyelash/Fun Fur thing.

What are your favorite colors? What are your least favorite colors?

I love blues, reds and pinks. I love the combination of teals, greens and browns and pinks and browns lately. Since I'm looking forward to spring, I'd say right now, the least favorites are greys and gloomy blacks. And no neons! :)

What ‘warm weather’ project are you looking forward to making this year?
I would love to treat myself to a pretty wrap or a light top. Even a pretty scarf that I can wear during the April Showers days.

What are your favorite scents? Least favorite?
Love citrusy scents! Least favorites are anything really spicy, crushingly floral, heavy, or anything that smells like I've just walked into a funeral parlor (I commute on the NYC subway system every day, trust me - I've smelled a lot...)

What is your favorite flower?
Gerbera daisies

What are your favorite spring time hobbies/activities?
Love knitting, reading (sci fi and fantasy are tops), and snuggling with my boys (8, 4, and 39). I love taking walks with my iPod during lunchtime at work.

Do you have a garden? If you do, tell us a little about it. Do you like to plant flowers or vegetables?
No garden, no gardening skills, alas.

What are your favorite sweets?
I'm addicted to M&M peanuts and Payday bars. Baby Ruths and Lindt Truffles won't get a fight, either.

Do you collect anything?
Aside from yarn and knitting patterns? Books. Lots of books. And Hello Kitty. Love her!

Do you have any allergies?
I have seasonal allergies, and the doctor insists I'm allergic to cats - but don't tell my two kitties that.

Do you have any pets?
Two cats - one lovable curmudgeon and one sweet but crazy kitten. Does the husband count here? ;-)

Visiting the Frog Pond

Oh yes. I did cavort with the frog prince this weekend - or, should I say I will, shortly.

What's the frog pond? It's a term used for ripping out one's knitting - when you decide that a project cannot be altered or saved, you just undo it all. And to say, "rip it, rip it," sounds like 'ribbit, ribbit' - get it?

So yes, I will be visiting the frog pond today. The Jester Hat I started, to have a train project handy, this week? I've gott to the point where I was about to start on one of the jangly bits (wow, that sounds almost obscene) and felt like the hat was a big large in the cranial aspect. I had my model (Alex) sit still so I could test the theory and yes, the Jester Hat could, with a bit of pulling, fit my 4-year-old son. Not exactly going to work for a baby hat.

You think it would motivate me to gauge swatch. I laugh at you. Okay, maybe before I frog, I'll take a swatch to figure if I should go up or down a needle size, so I will not have frogged in vain. But I will cast on again, as I still need train knitting to keep me out of trouble during the morning and evening commute...

south park afghan finished

south park afghan finished
Originally uploaded by sukigirl74

Oh. My. GOD. If there's any reason for me to get more proficient at crochet, it is so I can make this. Butters is on it!!!!