Non-Interesting Blogging

I'm still working on the Cherry Bomb tank top. One side will hopefully be done this weekend and then I can start on the other side, since that is how things work.

I'm not sure how to make a stockinette tank top sound interesting. How much talking can one do about a project done almost completely in stockinette? Perhaps at some point I shall figure something, but until then let me just say that I'm still knitting one row and purling another.

The funny thing is that I've gotten to the stockinette foot on both pairs of socks that I'm working on. My whole knitting life currently revolves around this plain knitting.

So for your audience participation bit (and to make this post less boring) let me know if you have any recurring themes right now in your knitting.

And just a reminder...

"It's the bomb!" and other outdated phrases

At some point in time you must realize that certain phrases just can't be used any more. The exact moment when catch phrase retirement can often be an elusive thing or it can slap you in the face.

I remember exactly when I recognized that never again could I hear someone say "Bling" without cringing. It was in Carlsbad, CA in November of 2004 and I was at the big street fair that attracts 200,000 people to the city in just one day. There was a vendor selling jewelery and he had a big printed sign that spanned the top of his little tent. On that sign was written, "Earrings! Anklets! Piercings! Crosses! Bling Bling! Holy Medals!" The fact that Bling Bling was sandwiched between crucifixes and the St. Christopher Medal was my big cue that bling was done for.
Whenever I see my tank top in progress, I can't help but smile a little and think, "That's the bomb!" I know that this particular phrase has been over with for a while, but can you blame me? After all, it's first attempt at being a tank top really was a bomb and not in a good way, either. However, this second go around in the KnitPicks Shine Worsted is sailing smoothly and I'm now 6 inches in on the front.

The color makes me grin and think happy thoughts about wearing this to the park and other fun and sunny places. The yarn has been great to work with and I forsee more of it finding it's way into my stash. All in all, this project is wicked sweet hellacool radical awesome tubular groovy going really well and I'm happy with it.

Backlash

Once I got over my short-lived revelry over the 6 Day Sock Miracle, I noticed that my house had taken a beating while I was busy with those socks. I had been so engrossed with them that the little things had fallen to the wayside. Things like laundry, dishes, and putting away the collection of little cars and blocks that my son likes to display all over the house. Those things were very abruptly brought back to my attention once I stepped on the hard corner edge of a Lego block in my bare feet.

Monday night found a different Brianne. I was of a single-track mind. The house! I must restore the house back to normal! By Tuesday night all was well in the Keene Household and I was able to start another pair of socks to put in the Christmas/Birthday Box. However, that cleaning bug had latched on for dear life and I've found myself a very determined woman.

I like this Brianne! She comes home from work, gets a snack for the boy and then does things like scrub showers before even starting dinner or sitting down for a calm moment. I had an errand to run at Target last night and I found a frame for an old ad for Catalina Island that I've had and been meaning to hang for a year. That picture is now hung in our computer room and I feel so accomplished! I wonder what I'm going to do next?

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Now for a little knitting update! I started a tank top for myself a few weeks ago using King Tut cotton in a beautiful icy blue color thinking that cotton would be the way to go for Summer knitting. I still think that I need cotton, I just don't think that this cotton will be it. I've gotten about 4 inches in the round done on this tank top and I don't think that I have the heart to do any more because the yarn, as nice and pretty as it is, isn't fun to work with for this project. Tonight I plan on frogging the tank and starting over again in that Green Apple Shine Worsted that I got in the mail recently. I'll be using the same pattern which is Cherry Bomb from Big Girl Knits, and hopefully things will turn out much better this time.

Heather's socks were mailed to her yesterday and I'm so excited to hear what she thinks of them! I loved the pattern so much that I started another pair of Mock Cable cuff socks in Trekking and those are the ones that will go in the Christmas/Birthday Box. I finished the gusset decreases last night and hope to finish the first sock this weekend.

Remember the little sweater I was making for Owen from a Debbie Bliss pattern? The one that I hid far away in the craft closet because I didn't know if I was going to have enough yarn? Yeah, well, I've finally decided to frog that project, too. A wonderful friend of mine, Heather, is due to have her third baby in November and I'm thinking that since I did Cross-Stitch for her first child and Crocheted for her second child that it's only proper that this third little person get something knitted. Surely, almost enough yarn for a size 2T sweater would be enough for a 3-6 month ensemble. So that's the plan! (They find out what they're having on Monday so I should be able to start picking out patterns soon!)

Alrighty, I think that's all from me right now. I hope to get some pictures up this weekend or Monday at the latest to show some progress on the socks and maybe even the beginnings of Cherry Bomb!

Happy Friday!

In competition with myself

It all started out very innocently. I was going to make a pair of socks for my sister's birthday. Heather's birthday isn't until the 26th of this month and even considering the time it would take to get it mailed from Missouri to California I still had 2 1/2 weeks to finish these socks.

I picked out some yarn from my stash. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Aslan. I found a pattern. Mock Cable cuff with stockinette foot. I chose my needles. The Susan Bates dpns that Lana gave me. I was set.

I started the socks on the morning of July 4th. I was in no rush. But the yarn was delicious to work with! Oh, Lorna, you do know how to make a nice yarn, don't you! The needles were a delight to hold in my hand and the yarn simply flowed over them.

Then, last night as I was casting on for the second sock, I realized something. Maybe I could finish a pair of socks in 7 days. All that would mean is that I'd have to finish these by Monday night. Why, I bet I could do that! And Bryan reaffirmed that. Sure I could finish the socks in 7 days. (Having a husband that honestly believes that I can do anything is a wonderful thing!)

Then, this afternoon as I measured and saw that I only had 1 1/2 inches until starting toe decreases I started thinking that maybe I can finish a pair of socks in 6 days! Why not?! I can do anything, right?
Indeed I can. I wove in ends at 11:30pm and set them out to block at 11:45pm. So what if I have to be up in 6 hours to get ready for work? I can do anything!