and the choirs of angels sing!

Okay. Maybe that's a bit over-the-top. But, seriously, I have a thing about sunglasses. I like them big, ridiculous, often blue or green and a good fit to double as a headband. Is that too much to ask?
Well, as you may know, my favorite pair were retired in NH in July and I've been looking for a replacement ever since. The Tall Guy and I were in Annapolis yesterday for a variety of reasons and walked into the Helly Hansen store. (Sailors never walk past Helly Hansen without a peek in, I've learned). So, while there, I look at the sun glass case and find the exact same pair of Spy's that I had lost overboard last summer after only having for about 2 weeks. For most of you, this may not seem like a big deal, but I pretty much did a jump-spin-dance in the middle of the store which only continued when I was told it was the last pair left, so they were 20% off. swwwweeeet!
So, here they are:

Let's see how long they last..I'm cautiously optimistic.
In sock related news, I managed to finish the first of the Spring Forward socks on Thursday night, owing a great deal to about two hours of hanging out with Jessie at Teaism. While eating dinner there, a koi decided to jump in it's little pond and drenched Jessie! It was by far one of the odder things I've seen happen (I've never seen a koi in a pond jump out of the water, but that's just me.
I've paused on the Spring Forwards to start another pair of socks. I'm going to hold on pics until I have a good shot for you, but I'll just say, they're going to be bright!



Is anyone interested in a really cheap dog? Like I'll pay you to take her? Just kidding, mostly, but the Little Monster has been even more nuts than normal this week. While I was with Jessie on Thursday night, Annie managed to catch a mouse in the backyard. The mouse appeared to make it, after the Tall Guy made Annie let the poor thing go. If that wasn't bad enough, yesterday, we saw a R-A-T in our yard. Needless to say, I am not happy. Annie, on the other hand, thinks she's super-dog, so she's taken it upon her herself to do a regular tour of the yard inspecting for creatures. I'm happy to have her doing this, but its definitely causing her to be more amped then normal. Something I didn't think was quite possible. Sigh.

safe landing and socks

First, if I haven't already talked to you, the Tall Guy made it to Mackinac Island in one piece. Whew! I wasn't that worried, but just enough to throw off my sleep for a few nights.
Like I had mentioned in the last post, I've pretty much been all about the socks. Portable, mindless, and really, if they don't fit me, they become a gift for someone else. It's win win. It is, I realize making the blog boring. I'm sorry! I'll work to become more exciting soon.
Here are the finished socks I promised to show you
Details:
Yarn: Yarn Love, Elizabeth Bennett, in the Darling Colorway (Merino, Bamboo and Silk). Its super soft, a bit splitty but reallllllly nice to knit with.
Needle: Size One, circ
Pattern: Basic sock pattern, used the short row heel from Priscilla Gibson-Roberts (this is a great book!)
Notes: Not sure how the yarn will hold up, but it sure is soft. No nylon, not super wash, so while I considered gifting these, I'll likely keep them due to their maintenance. I'm still not-so-good at the short row heel, but I'm gettin' better!

I'll probably have another plain ol' sock on the needles tomorrow...possibly using some of the stash enhancement that is coming in the mail... yahoo!

Annie was depressed yesterday. Between the Tall Guy being out of town, and one of my best girls, Yve being here this weekend and then leaving, she sat like this for quite awhile. What a drama queen.

yawwwwwwwwwn

For such a chill weekend, I'm really having trouble getting my motor running this morning. I have a theory that when you actually relax for more then 2 consecutive hours, it's actually a lot harder to get moving again.
It was a weekend for hanging out, seeing various friends and getting some knitting done.
I finished one pair of socks (which I'll have a photo for later) and am working away on the Spring Forward socks. While a lot of people's goal with Summer of Socks (SOS) is to simply knit a bunch of socks, mine was mainly finished all my languishing second sock syndrome orphans. So far, I've finished two, so I'm looking pretty good.
I also had Afghani food for the first time last night with Jessie. Besides the A/C not working, it was a great dinner and I think I've found a new tasty place here.

In other news, I just got a phone call from the Tall Guy, which was very unexpected (he's in the middle of this race right now on the Dirty Harry). The "girl" in me immediately panicked that something was wrong. Nope. He just wanted me to look at where the boat was in relation to the competition at the moment. He has about 85 NM to go and I'll be a much happier girl when I get the call from Mackinac that he's on shore in one piece.

And, in random thoughts, I just read this article on CNN. Any thoughts? For as casual as I may be appear, only one of my tattoos ever peeks out at work (the one on my foot.). There's no tatto policy here, but I've always thought that I don't want to be thought of as the girl with "xyz tattoo" at work. Just my two cents.

And not a moment too soon!

The hat is done. I just wove in the ends. Let me just say, my hands are killing me! It's quite possibly worse then knitting with cotton, for anyone who understands that ache.
But, here it is.
Its a wonky at the top. I know it is. I know where I messed up and I know I didn't do the decreases correctly. If I ever knit this again, I'll be more careful. BUT. I'm on a hard and fast deadline. The Tall Guy leaves tonight on a flight to Chicago, so he needed the hat done. I'm not even blocking, but I think it will be okay.
Details:
Pattern: Koolhass from Intervweave Knits Holiday Issue
Yarn: Karabella, Aurora 8 Bulky, nearly all of three balls, forest green
Needles: Size 7's and Size 8's.

Annie isn't happy about the Tall Guy leaving again, this time on quite the sailing adventure. If anyone wants details on how to track his boats progress on the 350mile race, he mentions it in a previous post's comments OR just send me an email.

Now that the hat is done, I'll be back to focusing on my Spring Forward Socks. So far, they're pretty cute!!!

raining, summer of socks and a hat

It's raining cats and dogs right now...normally this wouldn't be too bad, but quite randomly the other day, our management company dug up our backyard to lay some pvc piping to attach to the gutter. So, this now means our entire yard, much to my dismay is a mud puddle. Annie keeps tramping through it, so this is a messy situation.
So, yeah. I have about three or so unfinished socks right now but instead of finishing any of them, I cast on a new one Monday. The "thing" to do this summer is Summer of Socks which is basically a big group knit along to just knit socks this summer and set your own goals. This is the Spring Forward pattern from summer knitty and I'm using Scout's June yarn.
So Far. So Good. I'm into the second pattern repeat and have no idea who will end up with these socks. The colors are good, but I'm not quite sure they're "me". And. Yes. It is July, but yes, I am knitting a hat. The Tall Guy is heading to Chicago next week for a long-ass regatta that involves overnight sailing to Mackinac Island. (cool part is that I can track them on gps). He very sweetly requested a "warmer" hat. Given that , amongst other things, he's my number one fan for all things fiber related, how could I say no?? So, I dug around and found the kool haus pattern from Interweave. While this photo shows a girl, it is easily translated into a boy pattern.
I cast on for it today with a bulky olivey green Karabella (I heart the Karabella) and hope it will all be knit and blocked prior to his Thursday departure.
This photo sucks, but I'll post something better when I'm not just on the set up rounds.
Needless to say, my "wedding shawl" is stalled. To be honest, I know I should be, but I'm just not feeling it right now. Perhaps, it will instead be a my wedding-guest shawl. We'll see.