Another Knitter is 'Born'

Kristin has started her Infinity scarf.  Below is a picture of how far she has gotten.  She is doing a fantastic job.  I really like how it is turning out, even though there isn't much to look at yet.  Her tension is a little tight, but she'll get the hang of it.  She's doing better than I did on my first project. (I remember making a sweater.  The sleeves hung down to my knees because the stitches were so loose.)  She has already mentioned that she wants to make something in garter stitch next.  I had to squelch my excitement when she said that.  Jumping up and doing a Happy Dance might have made her change her mind about becoming a knitter.

I finished the first sleeve of the Go Live Minimalist cardigan.  I'm about 2 or 3 inches into the second sleeve.  It is 13 inches of moss stitch before the armhole shaping.  Pretty boring stuff.  Multi-tasking is my plan for getting this done.  Yesterday I knit while reading a book on my Kindle at lunch time.  Today I think I'll ride our exercise bike while I knit.  It is a recumbant bike so I'll manage without getting my yarn tangled in the peddles.

Blake mentioned the other day that he wants to make a blanket over the summer.  He wants to learn how to sew.  I have plenty of fabric downstairs for him.  We'll have to dig through it to find some to use in a patchwork quilt.

Sunny Saturday

It's hard to believe that February is half over.  Time is flying by.

Blake has decided that he wants to get in shape for the summer.  I've caught him watching the P90X infomercials.  He asked if we could buy the set of DVDs, but I told him that I have a friend that would loan them to us for a while.  After we got the disks, he went online and found the workout schedule.  He figures he'll have six-pack abs by the end of May.  He started yesterday with the Chest & Back and the Ab Ripper workouts.  He's downstairs right now doing plyometrics.  I'm proud of him for taking this on.  Other people who have done them have told me that they are hard workouts, but effective.  I hope he sticks with it.  I need to remind him that he should shower after each one.  

Last week I mentioned that it was Finish February. I dug out the Go Live Minimalist Cardi to work on. This has become my take along project. The first sleeve is almost to the shaping. It will be stretch for me to get it done by the end of the month. I'm determined not to pick up any other project until this is done.

Did I mention last week that Kristin wants to knit herself an Infinity scarf?  I wrote out a pattern for her and took her to the LYS to pick out yarn and a needle.  She and I sat down to learn a few stitches.  The pattern only involves knit, yarn-over, and knit 2 together stitches.  I hope she catches the knitting bug.  I've always hoped the girls would share one of my hobbies with me.

I signed up for a spinning class at the LYS.  During the 2 hour class I will get to use both a wheel and a spindle.  I bought a spindle last summer, but have never learned to use it.  I'll have to dig it out and take it along for the class.

Last week in the mail I received a jury duty summons.  I'm required to spend at least a week downtown at the courthouse.  Trying to think positively about it I decided I would use the week to make some major progress on some UFOs.  Unfortunately, knitting needles are forbidden in the courthouse.  Bummer!!  I'll have to find some other diversion.

First February Finish

One of the blogs I follow (unfortunately can't remember which one though) mentioned that February is finishing month. Last night I finished Trisha's ballet slippers. I knit both tops last night and then worked in the ends. Trisha spent the night at a friend's house, so she couldn't model them. I slipped them on to take this picture. Please ignore my legs. Because of the perspective, my legs look monstrous.  I have wool to make myself a pair, but I'm going to hold off and try to finish another project.

There's finally some snow on the ground.  It's not as much as I had hoped, but I'll take it.  A blast of arctic air followed it, so it is going to stick around for a few days.  You can see in this picture that my little flag is blowing around a bit.

No footprints in the snow on the front walk.  There should be one set.  Our paper didn't show up this morning.  My Saturday routine starts with making a pot of tea and some breakfast, then I sit down with the paper as I eat a quite meal.  The kids are usually still asleep and Ed sits in his office catching up on work.

Here's the view from the back door.

I have to venture out in the cold later this morning to pick up my car.  After coming back from Cincinnati last week, I noticed that it was leaking a pink fluid.  We took it into the dealer to have it repaired.  The water pump was the culprit. Since it was covered under the power train warranty, there isn't any charge for the repair.  I really don't want to think about getting another car right now, but this is the second power train related repair in the past 7-8 months.  I'd like to go at least another year before shopping for a new vehicle.  My car is paid off, but we are still paying for Ed's and the car the girls drive.  I'd like to get one of those paid off before incurring another car payment.

Kristin submitted a couple scholarship applications this week.  I think she's anxious to go away.  She and her 'boyfriend' broke up this week.  They've had a roller coaster relationship for about a year and a half.  I told her she needs to forget him (Cee Lo song comes to mind - the unedited version : p ) and focus on finishing up her senior year and going off to college.  She hurting a lot right now but I think her friends are supporting her.  She doesn't talk to me about these kind of things, but I can see in her eyes that she is heart-broken.  I told her she deserves someone who treats her with respect and dignity, and not set rules that apply to her but not himself.  One of life's hard lessons.  Good to learn them now.

Got 2 Soles (and a couple other things)

I finished the two soles for Trisha's slippers.  As I mentioned last week, they are a little wonky since I practiced knitting backwards.  The tension should even out as they are worn.  I'll work on these tomorrow while watching the Super Bowl.   The tops of the slippers work up very fast.

I had to go back down to Cincinnati this week for another funeral.  A family friend passed away.  This lady was also the mother of my friend who lost her husband last year.  This was the third funeral in six months.  I think that is enough.

While I was staying at Mom's I worked a little more on Pure Love.  This is definitely a project where I have to concentrate and not have any sort of distractions.  My progress is slow, but it is worth it.  I'm still absolutely in love with this yarn and the pattern.

On my way down to Mom's I stopped at Fiberge yarn shop. It is the shop where I purchased the pattern and yarn for the girls' slippers. This time I bought some Malabrigo sock in Archangel colorway. OMG! I understand now why people are in love with Malabrigo. I'm making myself a pair of socks using the pattern Little Minx. It is a little difficult doing the traveling twisted stitches with size 1 needles but my fingers are getting acclimated to it.  This pattern uses Judy's Magic Cast On.  This was the first time I tried it.  It is so easy.  I will definitely use it again for toe-up socks.

The weather today is wet and dreary.  It was a mix of rain and snow earlier.  Now it is just cold and overcast.  I wish winter would just roll in for a little bit.