It's not what you think.....

Here in the midwest, a state wide holiday commenced today, and it's not what you think....dig this......

Nope, it's got nothing to do with halloween, thats what I thought at first, but then I realized the case (well, 30 pack to be honest) had pictures of deer and turkeys all over it and this caption ensued: "Enjoy one after the hunt" Thats right people, it's deer season here in ohio. Jobsites and offices all over the city were near empty, and if you can believe this, in a few weeks when gun season hits (it's archery only now) a few school districts close their doors, because all the kids will be out, and literally, there will be NO CHILDREN there to teach. No BS, it's true. I bet neither NYC or LA has blaze orange High life cans. This morning the sunrise was spectacular at the god aweful time I hit the penthouse, so I snapped a few pics for the "View from my office" and got to work.

I have been Knitting, and contrary to popular local beliefs, am still alive. To prove it, I am stating publicly that I'm going to make my monday night secret engagement, where contrary to other popular and quite verbal beliefs, there is no constant bashing of other people going on, just knitting and good company. (private joke right there) To prove the knitting, I have to say I was lucky to stumble upon the Garterlac Dishcloth pattern from Criminy Jickets. The pattern totally demistified entrelac knitting for me, so thanks Dave. There is nothing more exciting for me than to figure out something all by myself without paying for a class. Here it is:

Now that I'd cranked one out (come on, stick with me here), I finally grew some cojones grandes and cast on for the Danica scarf from a past knitty issue. I don't know why I was afraid to give this a shot. I think somewhere early on, somebody told me I had to learn to knit backward to do it. (you know, no purling, like my daughter does) When I finally got serious and read through the entire pattern, it really was as simple as it looked, With all the other WIP'S lying around, I haven't been able to work on anything else, so I will leave you with a pic of the new leftover entrelac scarf, using leftover Rowan yorkshire tweed aran in 2 colors, some leftover noro big kureyon, and some leftover Tahki donegal tweed in a nice deli mustard color. (man colors)

Have a safe week all. I am going to enjoy the day off I get tomorrow by, well, I don't know, but it won't involve working, I assure you of that!

Even the plastic doll knows the power of the majic pillows.....

.......That is a direct quote from my wife as she rocked the baby to sleep (with her "majic pillows"). I apparently forgot what it was like to have a baby around the house full time, So my daughter in middle school for health class brought home a 7.5 lb. replica. Damn is that thing loud. Not only is it loud, but consistent too. It howls like the devils child at least every 30 minutes, and most times less. By 10 pm tonight, that girl was a mess. (I think that was the

point) On a lighter note, I have been knitting this week, just sporadicaly. To be brutally honest, I've had one hell of a trying week, and I've been a bad friend for a month, not making my usual "secret knitting night" or the wool gathering in yellow springs last weekend. I can't help it, I just have a bunch of stuff goin' on.
In a moment of cast on itis, I got cranking on a pair of mittens out of cascade pastazza, which is really nice stuff. I got tagged by Kyle for "8 things about me" and I've tried to pick a few that were pretty funny to talk about so her we go, but I think we are supposed to get to the rules first......Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you,then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they've been tagged...

Heres the list.......

1. I you could rate my adult ADD on a scale of one to ten, my wife would said "it would be around a 12, depending on the day, actually it could be worse". she and My good friend mike should be nominated for sainthood for understanding me. I cannot hold a conversation pertaining one topic to save my life.....honest. Thank god I have a job that allows me to freely set my own schedule, allowing me to multitask (or freak out) which totally soothes this little issue of mine. When Bridget asked what I was doing, I told her about this list, and that I didn't expect to finish it tonight, she replied "of course not", and giggled at me. yeah, I'm a special one. Dee, dee, deedee.......(carlos mencia joke there)
2. although, I have a title of construction manager, a office, a computer, I never forget that First and formost, I am a carpenter. A disciple of Gustav Stickley's, and that, if I need something in particular furniture wise, and its made out of wood, I'd rather build it than buy it. This started out of necessity years ago, when I got divorced, and the ex took everything I owned. My boss, stopped by to put 2 cases of beer in my fridge, patted me on the back, and said, looks like we should start building some furniture, she really cleaned you out! and away I went, reading everything I could about Mission and prarie furniture, and spending late nights out in the garage building away.
3. I am a budding germaphobe. I don't think we should talk about that yet.
4. As a kid, my family moved alot, which means Micah (my baby brother) has been my best friend for almost 30 years.
5. I still consider north New Jersey home, since my parents still live there, and I go home to visit a few times a year, but wish it could be more.
6. I knit, because it totally massages my urge to count things. I'm a counter. There, I said it. I count everything, add and subtract big numbers in my head quickly, and to top that off, it is a huge plus at work that I can divide fractions well in my head as well. Math is reliable, and can be proven. it never leaves you wondering. it's always finished.
7. Before Bridget, I was a single dad for a few years, raising a daughter full time (not just the weekends) without any family close by. Now that she's a teen, I don't think I could do this without B's help. Girls are complicated. Nuff said.
8. I am a momma's boy. I love my momma. If I had my way, I would go spend a vacation every year with just her sitting at island beach state park in the sand, next to the ocean, in the Beach buggy area, where there's no one around like we've done since I was a kid. She's an amazing woman, the type you could talk to for days on end, laughing till tears ran down your face, and nobody tells a story like she does. besides, we are kind of cute together, I stand almost 6'6" at, ahem, 260, and she is a mere 5'0". I still open doors for her too.

I hope only half of you went running screaming for the hills, it was fun to write, and please don't take all the psych stuff seriously, My monday therapist says I'm not all that nutty, but the thursday guy disagrees. I guess we'll have to wait and see huh?

I am so glad I called the teacher about the "think it over baby" baby tonight, cause apparently this thing was not acting right, (it was actin' a fool) nor was any other childs tonight, and if this would have kept up, we'd have been notified that there had been a shaken baby syndrome incident in this house before the sun rose, for certain. I think this is such an important assignment to teach kids especially young girls, and one that could positively change a young persons future. I do feel a little bit bad though.......it's about 11:30pm now, and she and the baby have been asleep for about an hour. at some point tonight it's going to wake her up, and I bet more than once, and the teacher told me how to shut it off, but I think I will let it go just a bit longer so she gets a real taste of what having a baby is really like.

If No one tagged Micah yet, Your it dude! I think some people want to know a bit more about you.....(yeah, he's single ladies FYI)

goodnight all, and thanks Kyle for tagging me..........

This post is brought to you by.........

..........The sharing of free knowledge......
When I first began to knit, the internet and knitting blogs were my main source of info, especially in the how to and pattern department. But the more you get to see of this isolated craft world, the more I think it';s really retarded. I mean, it seems now a days, there are so many shitty people who unless they are getting paid, wouldn't help a new knitter even if it starved their pretentious little self. I find this to be really sad since I've never taken a class, and I learned everything I know about knitting (which, to be honest, isn't all that much) from good friends and acquaintences, who never refused to help or teach me. On this note, I wanted to share 2 fun projects, that I made up all myself for the sole purpose of using up leftover feltable wools. The first, is the newest, which I knit in the same amount of time it took to drink 2 beers on the patio last week after work. the second, took about 1 beer longer. here they are:

Matt's felted beer cozy

Cast on loosely 22 sts of any bulky weight on size 13-15 DPN's (lopi, lambs pride, the like...) join in the round, and knit a total of 24 rounds, cast off loosely. Toss it in the wash on hot water, longest wash cycle, and hang out with your open beer to check the fit.

See, wasn't that easy? How about another totally useable drinking item? you got it!...

Matt's Felted flask cozy

This one isn't much harder..... Cast on 4 sts. on size 13-15 straight needles. Knit in garter stitch until there are 8 RIDGES (16 rows worked). With a dpn pick up 1 loop for every ridge 8 times down the edge, 4sts at the cast on edge with another needle, and an additional 8 loops down the other edge. You now have a total of 24 sts. start working in the round, and whenever convenient, even the number of sts up on the needles. Work 24 rounds, and cast off loosely. Felt in the wash just like in the above pattern.

Those 2 were just something I made up screwing around, and I sometimes find I'm happiest knitting when I'm just messing around. I took the plunge last week and cast on shedir on some of the yarn from my last dyeing adventures. (the pale toned stuff from the last post) B loved it, but the yarn is so busy that after one full repeat of the cable pattern, you just couldn't make out all those cables, so I'll just have to work on it out of something else another time. I did however prove to myself that it wasn't going to be such a tough project and I'm looking forward to starting it again. To save time, I grabbed a size 3 24" addi and decided to salvage the cast on and 10 rows of K1P1 ribbing by picking up each stitch and the bar inbetween in hopes that it would behave like a lifeline and I could unravel all the cable rows and just rock a plain stockinette hat from there. It worked perfectly and I didn't miss one stitch! WooHoo! so theres my big accomplishment this week. I don't have much else to report, so enjoy your week, and for christs sakes, share something you know with someone else without being a primadonna. Someone will appreciate it more than you know.......

I did what last night?.......

..........Why is it that you don't always wake up hung over? Why is it, that sometimes you wake up feeling fine, then it sets in slowly, and painfully? Damn you hangover.......Thank god for "formula 50" vitamin water and black coffee. It didn't keep me from finishing the cuff of the Knucks I've been working on this morning. Check it:

Yarn: Knitpicks Bare

100% merino DK

Dyes: Jacquard Fire red &Vermillion

Overdyed with sun yellow to liven it up a bit.

They are really a lot of fun to knit. Simple, easy, and a functional item to have lying around. On the dying front, I was trying out some new Pro Chem colors, and couldn't find my jug of vinegar, so I went without and made some really nice yarn. I can only describe them as pastel earthtones, and I was a bit dissapointed that the ladies both loved the colors, but didn't want anything knit out of it. Can't please them all the time...... I'll make something out of it. for someone, Or My buddy Ger will hound me for it.......I think. That will be the true test anyhow.

It was supposed to be burgandy, olive drab, Brown with hints of yellow, but without the vinegar, I made this instead.....I kind of like it. Pale green, tan, and a rolie color aren't bad, and I would actually knit socks for myself out of it, but It's not washable so I don't feel like taking chances........I'll figure something out. That's why we've got the stash, right? On that note, I've got a bunch of ends to weave in on the knucks, so behave this weekend.......

I've reached an all time low.......

.....so, lets get to some grossness, but I swear I'll have you laughing (or sympathizing) when I'm all done. Last night, I'm just hanging out, winding down from the weekend, knitting, when it hits me.......this is an emergency of catastrophic proportions if I "don't make it" in time, so....I run! whew.....just made it......out of the blue, no warning signs, and I am violently ill......but still knitting. that's how tough I am......20 minutes later I'm laughing on the phone with Micah about it and It hits me again, I hung up on him (I could hear him laughing all the way there) and grabbed the sock I was working all the ends in on and sat........and wove in the ends......cause I was going to be there a while......and I was........I also refuse to believe that I am the only knitting junkie that has ever worked out a project; on the "throne".

The socks are beautiful. Yarn is knit picks bare super wash DK , knit up at 6 sts per inch and dyed by me......at that gauge these are going to be some warm socks. They are for my loving wife, who is a tolerant soul. and she seems to love them. it was my first attempt at an adult pair of socks using the toe up afterthought heel method and if you haven't figure it out, I'm hooked......here's the final product.....

I am a big fan of the method, but I had been advised by my local sock guru's that I needed to work more than half the total stitches for the heel to improve the fit.....

That is where this pair comes in.....

When not working on an Eco wool swatch on the throne periodically today, I decided to rock the afterthought on the B/G sock (blue green, witty huh?) so I have more yarn to brag about.........

dig on these:

Somehow the pic turned pretty blurry, who knows....I don't think my camera is liking all the color....Maybe it's ready to be retired and upgraded to the Nikon D40.....one day I'll give one a new home. back to the socks, do I think working 6 extra stitches has helped the fit...who knows, I don't have a pair to compare to, but I know it feels right, so I'm sticking with it....

If I get another sick day at home tomorrow, I'll get to another post about dyeing with out vinegar....but until then, It'll have to wait till later in the week....but wait till you see the muted earth tones I came up with!

enjoy, and watch what you eat! You might just get a day at home on the throne.............

and then, there were sirens.........

So, I was on the phone with my brother from the same mother happily cranking away at the pair of knucks I've been on, waiting for the BBQ to heat up so I can start basting the babyback ribs (that were cut fresh at the butcher yesterday) that I'd been par-boiling for 3 hours, (I think thats a personal best run-on sentence) when the air raid sirens went off, letting me know there were tornados happening! No, I didn't take shelter, I shut off the grill, and grabbed a fresh beer and the camera! I'm telling you, one day when I can leave the midwest, I'm gonna miss the storms. That's about all I'll miss. It was a wild storm though, it literally wrapped it's way in a "V" shape around my neighborhood and pounded the rest of the city. We got about 5 minutes of heavy rain, and else where, huge hail, downed trees, the whole 9.

In other news, I spent my breakfast/coffee time this morning sewing in the ends of the knucks for my 9 year old.....


What I don't get about the pattern, is how in the world they were ever intended to fit adults. I'm getting a consistent 6 sts per inch, out of some thick DK (almost like worsted really) and am knitting the adult size in the pattern. The gauge calls for 6.5 to the inch. someone must have some little hands in her family if thats the large....... Who knows. Out of curiosity, I measured my hand right below the fingers.....yep, 10" around. I's a god damned bear paw, not a hand. suprisingly enough, my right hand (hammer holding hand) is just a bit smaller.....I would have thought it'd be the other way around....nature, hmmmm.
In my humble opinion, They provided this really nice chart in which it lists all the necessary measurements needed to knit them, use it. I have not been able to make a pair fit really well yet (all 3 previous pair have been tight) when I've followed the pattern and you all know how frusterating that is. I took all the necessary measurements, multiplied that by MY gauge, and followed that chart and set of the numbers I generated to the tee, loosely following the directions. I have to say, they fit the little man perfectly, and theres just a bit of room left to grow throughout the upcoming winter. Now, the trick will be to make the matching mate, although, I think I've got it. I do need to point out that Steve is the reighning champ at knitting these and has more pairs knit than anyone I know.........if you need advice on these, I suggest you ask him!
Behave this week, and don't drive through the high water.........

And 9 days later......

.....I was ready to post again, but really, I think progress photos tend to bore you 5 (micah, ger, david, don, dave) loyalists.....As some of you well know, I went camping, fishing, and drinking last weekend, after meeting the fellas for breakfast. I gotta say, I was an entirely more relaxed guy this week and definately needed it. Cast on the needles this week, since I finished the wifes socks, are a fresh pair of knucks.........

Yarn: KnitPicks Bare

100% merino DK

Dyed with Jacquard dyes

Theres a nice subtle color difference between the "fire red" and "Vermillion". I believe I overdyed the whole skein with yellow to try to liven the colors a bit, but I don't remember. At this point, It'd be best if I started recording this kind of info in a journal of some sort. I cast these on wednsday night for some variety.

On the other needles ar my Blue/Green socks. Still chugging away, just a bit burned out on them. lets see, I knit socks for B, another for me, then another for her, now the B/G socks, and I have another pair of bright yellow/cabled socks for her hogging the needles (aren't I nice?) so burned out on socks is a good description. here's progress on mine anyhow.:

I took this pic of the bottom not just to show all the light spots,(f-off, I like them) but to show the afterthought heel in progress. Micah and I both agree that half the stitches was not enough to put on the waste yarn (see-cider moon waste yarn leftovers) but that it might fit a bit better if more were included. I picked up an additional 6 stitches, 3 per side to decrease later when I unravel the whole thing. I'll take pics when I do it this time, I promise.

It's not only hot, but wet here now, which means humidity, and lots of it. the AC is running full tilt and all the boys (dog & cats)are sacked out napping. Man, that sounds good, but I got stuff to do tonight, (it is friday? right?) so enjoy your weekend, have some drinks and get prepared for fall!