Bron's Blog II

Twist & Shout

See, about today's blog entry title.....

I got a nice start yesterday on SKB's lace section:

But as I laid out my knitting to admire it, I discovered the twist:

What did I shout? I can't answer that since I'd like to keep this blog entry G-rated. ::wink::

Don't worry...be happy. I just need to rip about half an hour's work. It could be worse! Bless Elizabeth Zimmermann and her famous exhortation to "frequently admire your work - that's the way you catch mistakes." (Paraphrased.) I did try this on & find out that the front "V" is the right length - yay!

Now...on to other projects...

Since black yarn can never just "sit" in my stash, I've decided to make this little topper with some of my black Sonata:

Surprisingly enough, I don't have a single "little black something" to wear over another "little something." I have a big, black sweater and a spiderwebby stole but nothing to "throw on" to "make the outfit work" at work. I believe I'll make it this weekend. :)

On to my Technicolor dreams.....

Since I cannot live by black alone (although I've been giving it a damn good try lately, eh?) I literally dreamed about this project a couple of nights ago. I have the yarn:

And I think these (bright!) fall colors are just the ticket to off-set all that sombre black, don't you think?

I'm still debating about yarn for the long-sleeved Nimue. Sigh.

In the meantime, I think the Cable Front Tunic will get started this weekend too. ::wink::

See - I hyperventilate unless I have at least 4 projects going at once. hehehe

I'm off to try out the brand new shower! Woohoo!

PS....For those of you who saw the 8 skeins of black CE for sale over at DeStash....guess who got it??? hehehehe (Thanks for the heads up, Deneen!)

Bathroom (And Pattern) Remodel

Luckily I did get my 1 1/2 hour prep time yesterday so here's the front of SKB, reknit:

Obviously, I had to add a heck of a lot of length. Here's yesterday's pic to compare:

I really did add about 6 inches. But it's not a big deal at all (honest, Terri!) I'm not really sure what's up with the neckline. In the pics of the short-sleeved & long-sleeved versions, the necklines hit at very different places on both sweaters. I wanted mine to end below the bust (so the waist/lace panel would actually be at my waist!)so that's how far I knit. Of course, I was able to do that because the stitch count/width of the sweater was off. Eh - no worries. Just measure & try on as you go and you'll be fine. :)

I'll have the two fronts joined today and hopefully have a good start on the lace!

Because I know you all can't get enough pics, here's the before, during & after of our bathroom saga. Notice the incredibly ugly 1970's tile (yeah - that's shades of dark tan & brown on the floor!):

How we had to shower once we discovered the leak:

After the tear-out & DH re-doing the plumbing:

The finished project in white marble (all but the door, which will be installed today.) Doug cut out the doorway at the top and enlarged the opening. I'll probably put a little trailing plant on that ledge:

Dylan is insisting that someday he wants this house. Just in case, we raised the shower head to a little over 7'. Plenty of room for a guy who's 6' 5" to shower. Plus, it's awfully nice right now for his 6 foot tall parents! :::Grin:::

I'm really thrilled that we get to enjoy this gorgeous shower for a few months before we move. We'll have to be very, very careful about renters for this place. The ones we have in the house next door aren't the best and we know through hard experience what to avoid for next time.

My voice seems to be back - very deep, but there! - however now I'm blowing my nose every 5 minutes! Aaargh! Whine, whimper.....at least there's a 3 day weekend at the end of this week! That's the light at the end of my tunnel. :::Grin::: At least my classes are being very good about the whole thing - whew!

Tomorrow: Surprise projects....I even dreamed about one of them last night!

Laryngitis - 1, Bron - 0

Oh yeah - the big "L". Try teaching when you can't speak. Sigh. I'd hoped the swelling in my throat would go down over night & but I'm still talking in a cracked whisper.

At least it doesn't hurt! Things could be worse so....it's all good. ::wink::

This....well.....I'm wondering if this will be good:

I decided to try some ribbon yarn I had on hand for Bell Sleeve Nimue, but I don't think this will work for two reasons: the yarn is too heavy and I don't think I'll have enough. Of course, the whole point of a new Nimue is to have enough yarn to make the top the exact way I'd envisioned, complete with long sleeves. I think I need to stop avoiding my stockpile of CE (of which I know I'll have enough) and cast on already! LOL

I've been making real headway with SKB. I've completed the raglans and am starting on the body. For those who wondered how the heck I was going to do a top down raglan not in the round, the answer is: in pieces...

These are the two fronts, being worked separately. The two blue holders have the sleeve stitches and the others have the back stitches. The front on the left is complete, I still have a few more rows to do on the right. For some reason I was massively off on my stitch count. About 10 stitches short of where I needed to be when the raglan was finished and the back & fronts were joined. I'm not sure what the heck happened, whether it was me or the pattern, and I don't care enough to figure it out. Once the raglan was complete, I just keep increasing on the front until I had the correct # of stitches as called for in the pattern:

I honestly don't think it will make a difference in the final product. My "V" front will just have a little bend in the bottom. I'm making the size 36/38 (medium) and by my measurement, the front width will be right on the money.

Ok...I cared enough to check. I think the pattern's off. Don't quote me, but I counted the increases for the medium size on the front & compared it to the stitch count listed and they don't match. I think it's off by 6 stitches, give or take. Of course, it's not 6 AM yet, so I might be wrong. Regardless, I fixed the boo-boo. :::grin:::

Edited to add: I did some figuring & trying on this morning and realized this was NOT going to be low enough in front - at least as low as the picture shows! I'm going to rip what I did yesterday and continue the gradual increases for at least another 6". (I need a short raglan but have a looong waist!) By that time my stitch count may be right (really - it doesn't matter) and the V will be a V!

 

Yesterday, for my last period prep time, I got to go to the nurse's office and help file student's emergency cards. The nurses office has been so busy they hadn't had time & it was urgent they be able to look up student info. The other auto sub & I were able to knock it out in about 45 minutes. There was another sub there helping, but he hadn't managed to even alphabetize the 30 or so cards he had in the 45 minutes I was there. Scary. As far as I could tell, he just sat there, shuffling! Sheesh.

Wish me luck communicating with the class today. Makes me wish we all knew sign language!

Black Magic Woman

I hope my Bio-Mom likes it:

As you can see, it's a little bigger than mine was:

Particularly the sleeves:

That was partly on purpose (Bio-Mom is shaped a bit differently than I am) and part was a mistake - when I joined to crochet in the round for the body I chained at the underarm for the 42" size rather than the 40". I don't think it makes a huge difference and I do think this will fit her better than the 40".

Hopefully she'll wear it!

Stats:

Pattern - Bell sleeved pullover, Tahki Stacy Charles Crochet Spring Crochet Special.
Yarn - 8 1/2 skeins Elann Sonata in Black
Hook - Size H
Mods - again, the sleeves were belling quite enough for me without adding chains between the shells. In this incarnation, I kept the chains at two and that seemed to work well.

I'm done making this pattern for a long while! LOL Although it IS an awfully quick crochet project.

I'm feeling a bit better this afternoon - the terrible sore throat is gone and now it seemed to be slowly morphing into a head cold as these things usually do. Mainly I'm just tired with a headache, maybe a little stuffy nose - it could be worse. I've got my Lauren Bacall voice back too. ::wink:: Keep your fingers crossed that I don't wake up with a head full tomorrow! I'm glad I got sick on the weekend - I can't call in a sub for myself for this particular job. Sigh.

Give me a couple of days to get some progress on another project....then I'll be back! I'll leave you with the Fall Interweave Crochet Preview. Interesting stuff, eh? Once again, I'll reserve judgement until I can see full sized pictures!

Blogging At 4:30 AM - Ugh

I don't remember the last time I had a sore throat bad enough to keep me awake, but I know I never want it again! DH has been sick for the past few days and sure enough - I caught it. :( I got about 5 hours of sleep before I woke at 2...then tossed & turned, getting up to try throat spray and then half an hour later gargling with hot salt water, until Arnold got me up at 4:00 for his breakfast. Even without a sore throat it's hard to sleep with a cat brushing his whiskers across your face! Although usually he waits until 5 or so before waking me up. I never need an alarm as long as he's around.

Ah well...this just gives me more time for stream of consciousness blogging, right? :::Grin::: My hot coffee is helping a big - hopefully I'll be able to get back to sleep in awhile.

Lookee what I received yesterday:

My official Staff Spirit Day shirt - to be worn on Spirit Day Fridays to show school unity & pride. ::wink:: Patti told me yesterday, "Here, darlin', you're one of us now!" I was ridiculously pleased, considering it's just a shirt. She also told me, "It's awfully big, though - I hope it shrinks!" Bless her, it's a size large! LOL Anyway, to me it's a symbol that I'm not "just" a sub - at least in my own head, right? hehe I walked out of the building and waved it in front of Dylan saying, "Hey look! I'm official!" Of course, the Principal managed to overhear. (Sheesh!) At least I gave him something to chuckle about.

I got quite a bit done on Bio-Mom's pullover yesterday. I've finished the body & have a bit of a start on a sleeve:

I've been running into quite a few defects in the Sonata, necessitating a few more loose ends than I'd like. Crocheting this from the cone of 3/2 cotton spoiled me. It's particularly difficult to hide ends in an open pattern like this one too. Grrrrr.

When this is finished, I'll have only Simple Knitted Bodice left on the needles. I'm feeling the urge to start at least 2 or 3 new projects. One will definitely be the cable front pullover from the two shades of blue CE everyone voted on. I'm debating whether or not I'll start on the CE KAL of "Something Red." It looks like Simple Knitted Bodice is in the lead for the newest Sexy Knitters KAL. Since I've already started mine, I have more than a snowballs chance in you-know-where of actually finishing a KAL! But, like Simple Knitted Bodice, Something Red is a top down raglan pattern and I don't think I want two patterns of that type on the needles at once.

I'd like to start the bell sleeved Nimue too - although I'm really not sure what yarn to use. I said it wouldn't be CE, but now I'm thinking I can't promise that! At least with this pattern you'll be able to sub any yarn - the sizing will depend on how many motifs you have across. I'd like to make it from a yarn light enough so you'll be able to see details, because I want to take pics as I go. This might be the pattern I've been searching for to use with my Strawberry Cream CE.

Also, I found a little bolero pattern in an VK Spring/Summer 2005... Oh...here - let me take a pic since it's only 5 AM and I still can't sleep! ....

I'd like to make it in one of these:

Yeah - I know it's a top-down raglan...but it's different. (So goes my justification!)

Remember when I showed you this one? I'd really like to get started on it too:

What I really, really need is some cool weather so I can start wearing all these creations! I've still got several weeks to go until it's officially sweater weather. Until then I knit & dream!

Now...If I could only sleep so that dreaming could start!

Note To Self

Self: "For heaven's sake, remember to bring more yarn to school!"

Yes, the teacher had prep first period, I took my crocheting and managed to go through an entire skein on Sonata in about 45 minutes (which left almost half an hour with nothing to do!) Next time, even though I always doubt I'll need it, I'll bring another skein!

I came home & went through yet another skein on Bio-Mom's Bell Sleeved Pullover. Good thing I bought 20 balls from Elann. Looks like I'll need to buy more to have enough for another project in stash. :) Here's my progress, 4 balls in:

I think I'll have this finished fairly soon since I'm not going to work on anything else during the weekend. It'll be nice to have this off my plate so I can get back to things for me, me, me! hehehe

Yesterday had to have been one of the longest, most boring days ever at school. Because the quality of subs ranges from wonderful (rare) all the way down to abysmal (all too common) quite a few teachers will just leave busywork or reading-type work for their absences. They never know if the sub will actually love kids & be able to teach or will barely be able to spell their own name and hate the very ground the kids walk on. (Yeah - some really are that bad.)

The Lang/Lit teacher left reading for her class yesterday. Reading & writing. Silent reading & writing. Which left nothing for me to do (you know - the yarnless wonder) but sit & read too. I hadn't brought a book (another note to self: "Bring a freakin' book!) so I found A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman on her shelf and read the whole thing, cover to cover. (It's a particular fav of mine, wherein Leaphorn loses his beloved Emma & considers resigning from the force. But it's been so long since I read it, I didn't want to skip any of it!)

The last couple of days at school have really brought home to me what can be accomplished when I'm not continually interrupted. I never realized how often Doug or the kids came through to talk to me when I'm crafting or reading. Or how often I'd get up to check on the laundry, do a quick swish of the toilet, rinse some dishes & put them in the washer, check my email/blog, that kind of thing. When I was home all day, I tended to be scattered - 45 minutes there, half an hour over here, sit & knit for 40 minutes & watch a bit of TV.

Can it be possible I'll actually be getting more done when I'm working? ha! I'm not complaining, believe me, I realize I've got it good...as long as I bring enough stuff to keep me busy! :::Grin::: The next 6 school days I'll have every day from 1 to 3 to myself, as long as they don't need me to cover another class in an emergency. Lunch is from 12:55 to 1:36, then she has prep until school lets out.

As Dylan would say, "Sweet!"

I'll save our shower saga until next week when I have an "after" pic to show you. Suffice to say, the tear out revealed the situation to be much worse than we thought, necessitating an extra $600 for a custom-made shower pan and spot treatment for termites. The shower must've been leaking for years. No worries - DH used to work for Orkin so he knows what to do. But it's just such a pain, you know? An expensive pain! Sheesh.

I Was Scared I'd Look Like A Peeps Chick

But, dare I hope, I'm a slightly Chic Chick ::::wink:::

 

And hey! The sleeves are long enough!

I really don't like picking up stitches for bands (especially ribbed bands), but this came out ok:

I really like the sweater's style - it fits very well and feels great. This absolutely screams "50's/60's" to me - even more so than Sitcom Chic. I really want a nice, white shirtwaist dress underneath (belted, of course) with a pair of decent heels. Then I'd be all set to scrub the bathroom...just like my Mom did. (Honest!)

I knit a 42" and got a 42". Bless Bonne Marie and all her patterns. :)

Stats:

Pattern: Scoop du Jour - Bonne Marie (see above link)
Yarn: 5 & a smidge skeins Cotton Ease in Banana Cream
Needles: You guessed it...size 8 KP Options.
Modifications: None. I hardly ever mess with her patterns, they're that well done.

I honestly don't know how much I'll wear yellow - I'm really not a yellow person - but it's a soft yellow and I think it would work for autumn with a fall-ish pin or else definitely spring, with all the other Peeps!

I'm off to sub Language Arts today - don't know if the teacher's sold her prep or not, but I'll take my crocheting just in case I have an extra hour. Tomorrow I start the 6 day stint in Gifted. I know I'll have prep every day for the last period. Oodles of knitting/crochet time while I wait for the kids to get out of class!

Next time I'll talk about the bathroom...let's just say it's a bigger project than we'd originally thought! (Aaaargh!!!)

So, I'm In Class Yesterday...

...and a group of girls want to know how old I am. My standard answer: "Waaaaay old."

One girl pipes up, "45?"

Another girls says, "No way, she's a LOT younger than that."

I smile with relief until she says, "You're like 43 or 44, right?"

 

....Just shoot me now.

(For those who don't know, I'll be 44 in Sept. Sigh.)

In other news:

I'm thinking of knitting another Nimue for use in illustrating the pattern. I've said that I was hampered by lack of yarn with Nimue's first incarnation and there are a couple of things I'd add/change if I had more yarn. Marie mentioned long, maybe belled sleeves would be nice & I agree. I've decided how to make them belled without decreasing (to keep the pattern super simple) and I'd like to see how it would look. After all, I can't give out a pattern on spec, can I? I'd also add a couple of inches to the length and crochet loops around the neckline for the lacing instead of adding it as an after thought. Finally, I think knitting it in a worsted weight, rather than heavy worsted, would be more practical and have more universal appeal. (And no - I won't use CE! Promise!) The sizing would be more exact when using smaller motifs also.

Soooooo....I need to start another one, wouldn't you agree? This time it would take a bit longer 'cause I'd write as I knit, but in the end I'd have another Nimue with an almost complete pattern. It means waiting a bit longer for anyone who wants to make this, but I think it would be worth it. :)

I learned something at school yesterday. I learned that I can knit 3" on two stockinette sleeves in one hour (with one potty break):

I also remembered how excruciatingly boring knitting is. I didn't even have my iPod for company and man, I could feel it! I always knit with the TV on because I need something else to engage my brain while my hands are busy. I wonder if they'd mind if I brought a mini-TV to class? hehehehe

Just one more inch and I'll do the sleeve caps. Good thing too, cause the yarn's running short:

I do have one more full skein but I'd hoped I'd be able to finish these without breaking into it. I'm thinking I'll need a few extra yards for each sleeve, though.

I'm crossing my fingers I don't have to work today. (Cross yours too, won't you?) If I don't, I'll finish up the sleeves, run down & get the buttons at Jo-Ann and sew it all together. Heck - even if I do work I might do that today. :)

So - next update: a finished Scoop Du Jour!

Wednesday weigh in: 13 pounds gone in 6 weeks, 17 to go until final goal.

Time To Knit? Priceless

Because this week is a crazy one! I started out this week only working 3 days, now I've picked up a job for Thurs. too. Keep your fingers crossed tomorrow stays clear!

Wednesday is the day the guys come to tear out our old shower then Thurs. they'll be back to install marble. In the meantime, DH will put in a new shower valve & head. (He was a plumber for years.) We're not only getting our shower replaced, the doorway is being torn out & expanded so the door opening will go from 19" to 24". It'll be a lot of work in a tight space - talk about a mess! I'll be sure & take before & after pics. ::grin::

Yesterday my prep wasn't until last period so instead of knitting I spent the time talking with the gifted teacher I'll be subbing for this Friday & all next week. But I was able to knit several inches on Scoop's sleeves once I got home:

13 inches & counting - at 19" I can start the sleeve caps. Luckily the teacher I'm subbing for today has prep first period so I'll be able to get in over an hour of knitting time before my first class of the day.

Here's a funny: The Social Studies teacher told her classes that a man, "Mr Green", would be subbing for them. Since this is 8th grade, Dylan's grade, most of the kids know me. A friend of Dylan's told him last night that almost everyone in the class said, "Don't you mean Mrs. Green?" The woman said "No, it has to be a man because the first name is 'Bron'." LOL

Her next period was Dylan's class & she finally believed him when he swore that his mother really is a woman. ::wink::

The thing is, the school has a full time teacher named "Bronwyn" on staff. In fact, she teaches Gifted Ed. and is in the room right across from this Social Studies teacher.

Sometimes you just have to shake your head. Sigh.

Because I haven't shared an animal pic for awhile, here's Emma on her blankie and pillow. She did have her head on the pillow (as you can see from the drool mark!) but she lifted up at the last minute:

Yes....life is rough at La Casa De Verde.....

Oh - and once again we were fed misinformation regarding Mom. The weight loss is not as dramatic as was reported and death is not imminent. I guess you could say, she's still dying, just not tomorrow.

I'll spare you my "everyone has their head up their rear" rant. I'll bet you can guess how it would go.

In The Wake Of Another FO...

...are, of course, more projects! ::wink::

Let me take a moment & thank you again for all the lovely compliments on Nimue. I'll be working on getting the pattern ready during the next couple of weeks & hope to have it available in early Sept. :) I appreciate everyone's interest in it!

I'm only two sleeves away from a finished Scoop Du Jour, so I pulled them out this weekend and made a few inches of progress. Hopefully I'll have another sweater to show you very soon:

I also got a good start on the Bell Sleeved Pullover for my Bio-Mom:

Another row & I'll be joining at the underarms for the body. For some reason, I've made mistake after mistake with this version, ripping three times, while my burgundy Bell Sleeve went perfectly from the first. I'm blaming it on the black yarn making it hard for me to see the stitches. That's my story & I'm sticking to it. ::grin::

This is going to look so Witchy & cool in black that I'll have a tough time giving it up as a gift!

After these two projects are complete (is it too much to hope they'll both be finished this week?), I'll cast on for the Cable Front Pullover from the new VK and "Something Red" for the CE KAL. As to what I'll crochet next...I have some ideas, but I'll get back to you with the final verdict.

On the home front: Hospice has let us know that my Mom has lost 20 pounds in the 5 weeks since they were called in. Obviously, the end is nearing quickly. It seemed she was in a holding pattern for awhile, but we're back to waiting for the call that honestly could come at any time. My birthday is only 3 weeks away - I really, really hope she doesn't pass on the actual day. Sigh.

I'm off to work tomorrow & the next day - I'll check in with my progress when I have a chance. :)