Dogs Steal Yarn

Evidence of knitting activity

I finished the front to the toddler sweater last night. It's enormous. The rumors of Debbie Bliss patterns running WAY oversized seem to be true. Here it is. It isn't blocked yet, but I wanted to pop it up here anyway to show it to you.



I'm going to cast on for the first sleeve today. Hopefully I can get enough knitting done on work breaks to be ready to cast on for the back by Friday. That may be wishful thinking, though.

In house news, we found a wonderful place and our offer has been accepted. The engineer's inspection showed nothing unusual for a 100 yr old house. It needs work, but nothing we can't handle. In apartment news, I've accepted an offer on the co-op. I don't want to jinx anything by talking too much (silly, I know). Neither place is in contract yet. But it's just a matter of lawyers now. It looks like this is really going to happen! I'll post some pictures of the inside of the house once it's in contract and I feel safer about saying it'll be ours.

Spinning plates?

Too many irons in the fire? Too many balls in the air? Supply your own juggling metaphor here. I've been a busy kid. Precious little knitting going on. I've been working on the toddler sweater on the subway and that's about it. I'm about two inches away from finishing the front. Then there's the back, neck, sleeves and seaming to do. So it's nearly done, really. Ahem. The kid's birthday is 8/9. But two-year-olds don't really mind when presents arrive a bit late, right?

Closing in on the phrase book finish line, which should be a relief to all those sick of hearing me bitch about it. And then back to the things that really matter, like knitting a ChicKami for Sgt. Baby Brother's fiancee. I think I'm going to make her the new wide strap version.

Speaking of Sgt. Baby Brother, we now have official word from the Marine Corps of when he'll be back in the states. I can't share that with you (troop movements--look what happened to Geraldo when he went public with that kind of info) but suffice it to say the whole family is very excited, relieved, etc. (woohoo)

In other news of things I've been doing instead of working, I've been lured into the Friendster net. It's quite cool, actually. I've already reconnected with a number of long lost college friends, including the demi-rock star who hasn't been returning phone calls for a year now. But he does return Friendster messages, so all is forgiven.

Check it out. Who knows...we may be connected somehow.

WOOHOO!!!

My brother is safely out of Iraq. We have received official word that his platoon is now in Kuwait.

Sgt. Baby Brother officially on his way out of harm's way! Repeat after me, folks: WOOHOOO!!!!

Baby sweater progress

Here's the sweater that I'm making for Billy's nephew instead of the plain st st rollneck I had planned. It's from Debbie Bliss Cotton Knits for All Seasons. I had originally reported that the pattern used cables. Andrea has since corrected me. It just uses some simple twisted stitches but nothing as complex as what I'd imagined. What do I know? :)

The pattern is dead easy but still a nice change of pace for my fingers. Here's what I have done so far:

I'm using Takhi Cotton Classic, which I LOVE to knit with. It doesn't feel dry and grabby like some other cottons I've come across. Nice and slippery with great stitch definition. Jacob will be two next month, but I'm making the size 3 to 4 years so he can grow into it. He's enormous for his age already.

We're going to look at a few more houses tonight. A challenge with buying a single family home in Brooklyn is finding a good, reasonably priced home in a safe neighborhood within walking distance of the train. So far I've seen reasonably priced, I've seen safe neighborhood, and I've seen walking distance to the train. Unfortunately none of these traits have combined on an individual house yet. And our definition of safe neighborhood is rather broad. We'll find the right place eventually though. Tonight we're looking in Flatbush, where my father grew up.

A bit overwhelmed...

...but still here.

The book is actually chugging along almost smoothly toward the final deadline and my editor is pleased with what he has of it so far. I'm really looking forward to that final turnover so I can go back to marking up OTHER people's writing with my trusty red pencil. Having written a book now, I suspect my approach to copyediting will have changed. Should be interesting.

Just to keep things from getting dull, because rushing to finish the book and the MFA program starting at the end of August wasn't enough on my plate, we're looking to sell this apartment and buy a house. Which means getting a whole lotta stuff out of here to make it look like a normal person's home so buyers don't get scared off. I'm excited at the prospect of having an actual house with a small yard for the pups and an office that isn't the corner of the bedroom (and a fiber room!) but the New York real estate game is daunting at best. Gulp.

So yes, that's my excuse for why my ChicKami isn't on the needles yet. But soon! Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll cast on for it. My knitting time (what little I've had, that is. Sigh) has been dedicated to the toddler sweater I need done for an August 9th birthday. I'll post pics of that as soon as I get to the interesting (texture--oooh!) part.

FO

I managed to finish the v-neck tank this weekend. Sorry the pic is a little blurry. The flash made the tank see-through for some reason and this is the best the little camera can do on manual. Either that or Billy and I just don't know how to work the damn thing. That's also a possibility. :P




Since black knitwear results in rather underwhelming photography, you'll have to take it from me that there's a seed stitch hem and I'm more or less happy with the results of this one. It's Cotton-Ease and the results of several tank patterns cobbled together.

I managed to do a big chunk of work, too. So I'm all proud of myself. The reward was casting on for a second stab at the body of my mom's sweater. You may recall that I had to frog the whole thing 8 inches into it last go round because it was too wide for my narrow mom. That will be my subway knitting, since now that I'm past the seed stitch hem (I was on a seed stitch kick when I designed her sweater and planned my tank) it's all st st from here on. In the round, of course. :)

Slightly more complex knitting saved for the quiet of my knitting corner will be the sweater for Billy's nephew. It was going to be a simple EPS rollneck, but my fingers are craving something new so I'll be tackling an allegedly easy cable pattern. My first. We'll see how the frog gremlins treat me with that one!

Happy weekend!

Diego's very happy about his sister's clean bill of health. The two of them have informed me that they plan to spend a relaxing weekend following the sunbeams through the apartment.



I do have to work this weekend, but I'll be scheduling in some knitting breaks. I finally got back to the v-neck tank and am buzzing along on that, two rows per work break. I might even have it done by the end of the weekend. It's my first v-neck, and I must say it's rather cool to watch the two sides of the neck grow apart. Then again, I'm easily amused.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

BENIGN!!!

Sadie the Potatie's tumor was benign! I just got off the phone with the vet and she's completely in the clear and can resume her evil ways. Oh joy! Woohoo! Woohoo I say!

Anyone want to write a Spanish phrase book?

I've got five chapters left to write of this Spanish phrase book, and a 100% deadline of 8/1. Which means precious little time for knitting. The v-neck tank has been stalled for two days with just the front from the armholes up left to do. I don't know when it'll get done. Or when I can cast on for ChicKami, for that matter! Sigh. Anyone want to write the rest of the book for me? I'll give you three skeins of yarn, a shiny nickle and be your best friend! How bout you, Becky? Puedes ayudarme, si?

Algunos otros hispanohablantes por alli? How about we each write one chapter? And I throw in two tiny dogs and my undying gratitude?

Kidding. Really. My editor doesn't have this url, right? Gulp.

Stoop sale!

Look what I found at a stoop sale this weekend!



I saw it from half a block away and swooped down. It had originally been priced at $50, then $40. By the time I saw it the woman selling it just wanted it to find a good home, and asked me what I wanted to give her for it. I had $27 in my wallet and that's exactly what I paid. :)

Research online revealed that the decal motif is Egyptian Lotus, which was made between 1904 and 1924. Since it's electric, I'm guessing 1924. Oh--and it works! I'm so excited. Just what I needed, though...more stuff in the house!

It's not tank-itis

Really it isn't. I was going to make a tank for my brother's fiancee for her birthday anyway. I swear! The ChicKami is so cute, though, and perfect for Amey, so I've signed on for the Knitalong. I was planning to make her the same tank I'm currently making for myself (Cotton-Ease and a pattern I cobbled together from several other tank patterns) but this little number suits her better than the v-neck I'm making for me. I'll still use the Cotton-Ease I bought for hers though. She gets Cherry Red.

Her birthday is the same as mine--same day, month, year. (We have so much in common it's scary and end up bickering from time to time as a result. It sucks to see your own worst traits reflected in other people.) So maybe I'll make a ChicKami for myself too to celebrate our joint thirtieth (eek! Thirty!).

I've finished the gallery page. Please forgive the circa 1997 html skills.

My little potato is a tulip

Sadie had a mass removed from her leg yesterday (we'll get the results of the biopsy early next week--fingers crossed that it's nothing serious!). I just brought her home from the vet a little while ago and she is NOT pleased to have to wear an e-collar. Doesn't she look like a tulip with it on?

She's doing her best to get your sympathy in this photo. She wasn't looking nearly as pitiful before I brought the camera out.

Warning...

Tank knitting is apparently both highly contagious and highly addictive.
Mostly I blame Alison and Becky for this.
See, their own gorgeous tank tops tempted me to put down the sweaters I was knitting for my dear brother and mother and make a tank for myself.
Here it is so far.

I'm four inches away from splitting it to two needles to start the armholes. I'm using Cotton-Ease, as I did for my friend's tank, but size 6 needles instead of 8's this time. I am MUCH happier with it at this gauge. Definitely 6's from now on for Cotton-Ease. This one'll be a v-neck. Waist shaping too, because I'm not as tall and willowy as my friend, recipient of earlier tank. (In fact, I'm neither tall nor willowy.) I'm hoping to be able to wear it next week.