Scarf Set aSide....Strawberry Swirl Sock

Why? Well, from what it looks like, the yarn I'm using for my scarf may very well have been discontinued. I KNOW, it's tragic. So, I've stopped knitting it until I can secure at least one more skein of the yarn, because it's starting to run low and I've only got about a third at best the length that I want. I'll be calling a not so LYS where I procured said yarn, on Monday, to check the unlikely odds of them having one or two more skeins. (I bought it over a year ago, I think) I've already checked the website of the yarn maker and it doesn't seem to exist any more. My searches for Cotton Candy by Feza on the internet came up empty. So, I may very well be stuck with the idea of ripping back and making a much thinner version of the same scarf. So in the meantime, I'm not knitting it until I know more.

What am I knitting instead? A sock.
It has a cast on of 70 stitches and I'm doing a K3 P2 ribbing for the leg of the sock. No separate cuff, just ribbing and I think I'll maintain the ribbing down the foot. I don't know yet. I'm not doing my normal 2 by Magic Loop Method because I just didn't feel like making two balls out of this huge thing.

The yarn is from Hill Country Yarns in Strawberry Swirl and I have to say, that the more I knit with it the more I like it. I wasn't so sure I was in love with the color at first, but I really like how the different colors mesh and play without pooling. All in all, a nice knit so far.

The color is a little off, the lighter part leans more towards a very light orangy yellow, but it's almost off white. I couldn't get the colors to photo true and still be in focus, so these shots will have to do.

I'm still feeling better, a little better every day. Focus on the positive, think less about the negative, keep drinking coffee. I think I can, I think I can keep knitting a sock =)

Take care, everyone!

I Love Coffee

I do, I really really do. It's SO good and makes me feel SO much better. Like today. Raining AGAIN, mostly cloudy all day and I can't wake up. So...I nap and I can't wake up from the nap. Finally, I drag myself up, shake myself out (like a dusty old rug) and say to the kids, "Get in the car, I need coffee." "But Mamma, why can't you just make coffee, it will wake you up, too." says DS8yr.old. I think a moment, looking at my coffee maker and grinder, then say "That's true, but it's just not the same, I want Starbucks!" (and how dare my computer not recognize Starbucks as a word?!) I don't even make them put on their shoes, just jump in the car, everyone gets buckled in car seats and boosters and we go.

Apparently, I am not the only person in this cloud infested part of town that at 3 o'clock needs a pick me up at Starbucks, but it's worth the wait. I feel like a person again! I actually feel like typing and talking and doing stuff. I couldn't even KNIT earlier because I was just SO tired. I wish I had Starbucks in my kitchen sometimes, but at least it's super close. It's only about half a mile from my house, which means.... I could technically WALK there, if the thought of walking that far with 3 kids didn't make my eye start twitching. Of course we could always go in and sit and they could eat cookies, but that would cost.... more than I'm willing to pay for cookies. The coffee is worth it though. This time I actually got a discount because it wasn't made by the time I got to the window, so instead of paying for a grande, I paid for a tall and got the grande! Yaay for mistakes! Yaay for coffee, yaay for Starbucks! Yaay for feeling like a person! This is literally the best I've felt in about 6 weeks. Maybe the nap helped a little too? I don't know, but I do know this, coffee rocks.

In knitting news, I am going to have to HOPE that someone has another ball of the yarn I'm using, because.... well, it's going to be a very SHORT scarf otherwise. I didn't plan it so well. That's okay, (and how does my computer not recognize 'okay' as a word? stupid thing) I don't mind taking a drive down to the town where I purchased it, hopefully they are still in business. Maybe I should call around first, that'd probably be wise. If I can't find it, I'm going to have to frog back to the beginning and go with a much smaller round. But it looks SO good at it's current size, I don't want to change it... hmmm..... wonder if I can find it on the Internet! Good idea ME! Yaay for the Internet!

Okay, enough chatter for now, sorry no pictures this time, just imagine my scarf at twice the length of the picture below. =) Nice, eh?

Texture Treat

Well, I'm not breaking any records for speed, but I am making good progress on my scarf. I really enjoy the effect of the thick and thin texture. It makes it interesting without having to do any sort of stitch pattern. Not that I have anything against stitch patterns, I'm just in the mood for plain old knitting and no thinking. It's perfect for movie knitting or TV knitting or just staring off into space knitting. Staring off into space is what I do best. hahaha

I just hope I have enough yardage for a fairly long scarf, I didn't really do any planning when I started this thing, I just cast on and starting knitting. We'll just have to wait and see about that.

I like how it curls a bit at the bottom. Instead of being just straight across it's bumpy and wavy.



I had mentioned I'd like to wear it to my Convention, well, as you see it's only a few inches long and the Convention was over as of yesterday. I don't mind using it next year, though. lol It's okay, I figured it was a bit of a tall order for that soon. I was completely exhausted every day after the program, so I only did very little knitting in the evenings.

It's still a nice start on an interesting project. I really love knitting with cotton, especially the natural stuff because it has the little specs from the cotton plant, it's cool.

Well it's back to knitting for me now! I'll keep y'all updated!

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I did it. I forced myself to start a project. I cast on 57 stitches of a slubby cotton yarn on size 10 circular needles, joined in the round by knitting the two end stitches together and started knitting.

The yarn I'm using is called Cotton Candy by Feza, it's a natural off white or cream color. What am I making? It's another scarf, but knit in a tube. I wanted to do something simple and I wanted stockinette stitch for it, but I didn't want the rolling or the purling, so in the round it is. I've only done a few rounds, but the nature of the yarn, from very thin to very thick, makes for a very interesting texture in stockinette. Almost lacy and looks almost ruffly.

Whatever the case is, it feels good to be knitting. I was just sitting here thinking, I need to vacuum and do the dishes and I need a shower.... and thinking I really don't want to move from this spot, and I'm not sleepy enough to take a nap. SO.... casting on was the answer and it feels nice.

So I'll eventually have a pretty Summery scarf, maybe I can have it done in a few days to wear to my Convention that starts on Friday. Is that too much pressure? We'll see. I'm sure it will help, knitting almost always helps, especially knitting in the round (for me). I probably would have started sooner, but I couldn't think of what to start. So YAAY.

It's been raining here for weeks! I know that was random, but it just started raining again. You know, as much as I don't enjoy the intense heat, and I love the rain, it's just that cloudy thing that sort of gets in your brain. The chemical thing that happens with lack of sun. The Canadians know, right? =) S.A.D.D. It has been a very unusual Summer so far. At least I don't have to water the lawn yet. Some of the areas not too far from here though, have had serious rain. One area in Central Texas got 18 inches of rain between midnight and morning last night. YIKES! Hopefully nothing like that will happen around here, I'm not sure any neighborhood could deal with that much water at once. How sad is this? I'm blogging about the weather, well, I better get back to knitting before I bore you to tears. =0)

I've Been Thinking

Thinking, because that's one of the things I do when the funk sets in. Thinking about blogging and comments and email and all the people we contact in those types of formats. I've been thinking about it because even with blogging, and email and Instant Messenger, I still find myself feeling lonely and isolated, devoid of adult human contact. As much as I really appreciate these means of communication, it's just not the same as sitting across from another person and talking and laughing. Half the time when I type "lol" I'm not really laughing out loud, I'm laughing in my head. Even though I can hear it in my head it's still sort of a stifled response. Don't get me wrong, like I said, I'm thankful for email, Instant Messenger and the blogsphere because it does help somewhat. The problem is that I need to get out and do something besides grocery shopping and going to the local WalMart. (I really dislike that anyway, and speaking of which, I running low on a few things and need to go anyway - blah)

As Funks go, this one seems to be wrapping up because I feel a little better every day, so that's good at least. Oh, guess what? My main medication says, "May cause drowsiness, exercise caution while operating an automobile" I didn't notice that until 2 days ago and I've been on it since early April. Wouldn't it be nice if our doctors told us the side effects before they prescribe something like that to a person who has to drive everyday? No wonder that I'm struggling with just doing what's normal, dishes, cleaning,.... etc, my medication is out to get me! hahahaha (and no I didn't SAY, "hahahaha" out loud just then, either, maybe I snickered a bit) Anyway, hopefully I'll have less belly aching and more knitterly stuff to display soon. I just have to climb up this hill a little further before I reach the summit and get to see the view, both behind and in front.

One more thing. Now Blogger saves your drafts automatically! Isn't that nice? I thought so, since many a time my computer has crashed or died mid-blog and I've lost everything because I didn't save it. So that's one thing I'm grateful for. I'm also grateful for my children, because without them I probably wouldn't leave my bed. I'm grateful for a good therapist, of course working through some of this stuff can be funk inducing, but it'll all the worth it in the long run. I'm grateful for an understanding and supportive husband. This grateful list thing is something I'm supposed to do every day, but don't. =) It helps though and I should really do it more since it makes you look on the bright side and focus on what you have, which takes the focus OFF what you don't have. Would anyone else like to share 4 or 5 things you are grateful for? (you know, that human contact thing.... )

Still Not Knitting

Sorry I have no knitting to show you, but one of these days I'll get up the nerve to model the Hearts Vest. My current funk got worse then better then leveled off to somewhere above depressed but not quite to feeling good. I think I need a real vacation that doesn't end in spinning out. Like a nice one with a happy ending, is that so much to ask? I don't think it is. Maybe soonish.

So what I have to show you has nothing to do with knitting or the above subject, but it relates to something you've seen before.

Remember the succulent rosette things I have? Well, the real name for them is Hen and Chicks, which I thought was a spectacularly weird thing to call a plant that looks like a cactus rose, like why in the world would it be named Hen and Chicks? It looks nothing like chickens. So I wondered about that a few days and shrugged it off. Well.....ask and you shall receive, check this out!

Just like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, this plant grows it's babies under it's petals. Maybe I don't suck at growing these! How cool is that? I wonder if the babies come off? Sometimes those types of things will have little roots and you can just plant them. Whatever the case is, I think it's cool.















































Another of my cacti has babies, too, it must be the year for it. See the little Aloe Vera babies? My brother said that after it makes babies then it blooms about a year or two later. That'll be cool to see, I've never seen an Aloe Vera bloom before.





And last, but not least: ART from my DD who is now 6, this is a portrait of me sitting in my chair watching TV in media of spaghetti.

I think it looks like me.








Well when DS who is now 3 saw hers, he of course had to make one as well. This is his self portrait, as he said in his husky little voice, "Me, no legs, hehehehe" and then he ate it and there was interesting narration during that process. "Ha ha, Mamma, me no arms, ha ha, Mamma, me no mouth....etc all the way to "Ha ha Mamma, me no head"

Kids. Always good for a smile.

Distractions Work, Right?

To take your attention away from the sheer magnitude of the non-knitting due to being a bit down in the dumps, I give you sky pics. Yeah, more of those, but these clouds were way cool.