Knitiot Savant

Pic-less

I was hoping to have some pictures of my genius sock repair and the hole left in my home when my piano was moved but: a) I did not do said sock repair and b) the piano will be leaving Saturday.

So why did I wimp out of the sock repair? Well, I sort of got obsessed with some socks my Mom wanted. Actually Mom picked the yarn and I picked the pattern. It's sort of a lacey little thing and it's eating my brain...mostly because I don't like lace. Ick. But the sock looks cool!

Saturday, in addition to having the piano moved and getting our cats to the vet I'm planning on doing something sort of daring. It is entirely possible that I will chicken out but, if I don't, I'll share the adventure with you!! And the sock. And the repaired sock. If I do it. Moving makes me crazy.

Okay. Pics this weekend to include the lacey (ick) sock, my adventure and a repair or two. Oops! I almost forgot! I have a PSA for all of you!

Before I start let me say that I'm a Bzz Agent. Basically I get to try products and give my honest opinion to others about the product. (Trek gave me the invite to do this awhile back and I've loved it! I've gotten to preview books, skin stuff, and other things.) If anyone is interested in doing this, check out the link to Bzz and then drop me a comment. I'll send you and invite!

Right now I'm doing a campaign for OFF! Smooth and Dry spray. (There's also a lamp but we haven't tried it yet.) My Boogie is extremely sensitive to mosquito bites. I'm talking oozing nastiness within minutes of being bitten. As a result we're always on the lookout for good bug spray. Unfortunately most bug spray is icky, smelly and just gross. Yesterday, Boogie wanted to play outside so I sprayed her down with our sample of the OFF! spray. It smelled great and Boogie like the way it felt. The most important part though was the fact that she wasn't bitten at all! (She was outside for a long time, too!) This stuff is awesome! Hubby used some to and he was bite free and smellin' fine. I highly recommend this product. Seriously.

Okay. Enough advertising!

Socky Goodness and a Little Badness

Let's start with some socky goodness first. These socks were my first project for the Buffy KAL. In the interest of full disclosure I have to tell you that I did not finish them while watching Buffy. Instead I grafted the toe on the second sock the night before we left for our house hunting trip. I didn't want to take these socks with me because I wasn't sure how stupid TSA was going to be about knitting needles. (I shouldn't have worried about that. Seems they have a foot fetish and a thing for small liquids. Freaks.)

Can I tell you how much I love these socks? I love them tons and tons!! The fit is great. The colors are gorgeous and, well, I'm just proud as can be of how they turned out. Here are the specs for the socks:

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, color P460
Needles: Size 1.5 bamboo from Crystal Palace
Pattern: From "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch. It's one of the six-stitch patterns, Stansfield #11. I love this book and I learned a ton from it. I will never again doubt the power of the swatch...especially when it comes to getting socks to fit just right.

Now for a little socky badness. This is Boogie's sock and I took it with me on our house hunting trip. I finished it up Tuesday afternoon. Boogie stuck out her little foot to try the sucker on and that's when I realized it was 1 full inch too short. WTF? This weekend I'm going to frog the toe and knit that much needed inch. Let's just hope that the sock survives my feeble attempts at repair.

The movers will be here June 6 so we're spending the weekend celebrating our anniversary, (it's today. Yeah me!), shredding stuff and taking things to Goodwill. Next week my piano gets picked up to be stored in Missouri until we're moved in. Wow. Things are moving right along, huh?

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Seven Things Thing

Miss Sweetie Pie Ruth tagged me for this meme while we were house hunting. I do have some knitting pictures to show you but I don't want to disrespect a tag so here we go. Okay, wait. I sort of had to shorten the list...you'll see why*.

Here are the rules: Each person tagged gives 7 or 8 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 or 8 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog. But, since I don't follow rules consider yourself tagged if you'd like to play along. (If you do decide to play along let me know so I can see if you're more of a freak than me!) Here are my facts:

1. I compulsively make lists about damn near everything. The lists used to be very long and largely unachievable but I've managed to get a handle on that over the years. (*Remember what I said at the beginning.)

2. I am absolutely terrified of snakes. During our house hunting trip we looked at a home while the renter was still there. The renter followed us around giving us fun facts about the house and when she mentioned that a snake had gotten in the house recently it was all I could do not to run.

3. Even though I am terrified of snakes when offered a chance to pet one, I will. I like the adrenaline rush.

4. I LOVE coffee. LOVEITLOVEITLOVEIT!

5. When I was pregnant I hated the smell of the grocery store and meat. I craved Mountain Dews and Baby Ruth candy bars. No, I am not a crackhead.

6. I was a child bride. (My anniversary is Friday. Even I don't know how long I've been married to this dude. I love you hon!)

7. I really hate wearing shoes.

I have lots of knitting pictures and one jacked up sock to show you plus a post-trip report. Ruth's tag was a great diversion from that! Thanks Ruth!

First Impressions: Part Two

I should be re-packing my bags right now. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning for home. It seems so odd to leave our new house behind all unfinished and stuff. We drove by one more time this evening and the construction crew was pouring concrete for the driveway.

Instead of extolling the virtues of my new home and lamenting the fact that I'm sick of eating out, I'll tell you about my experience with the second yarn store.

When we pulled up the the second LYS I was prepared for disappointment. The store front was really sort of dingy and the only reason I knew yarn lived there was the sign above the door. The interior was a really nice surprise. The store was very small and packed with yarn and samples of knitted and crocheted items. In the center was a big table covered with new patterns and magazines. A woman sat at the table chatting on the phone. I wandered to the first little bin of yarn as I listened to the woman wrap up her conversation. The minute she finished she called out "Hi! Can I help you find anything?" I said, "I'm just looking right now but thanks." The woman, who's name is Barbara said, "Well you take your time and let me know if I can do anything for you." Wow. What a change from the last store!

I looked around a lot. She had some really great sock yarns, (I picked some up. Duh!) and I asked her about a book. Barbara offered to order the book and call me when it came in. I explained that I didn't have an address yet but would love to get said book from her once we moved. We started chatting about yarn and books and moving and, as I paid for my yarn I couldn't resist the urge to tell her how nice she and her store were and how disappointed I had been by the behavior and the organization of the other store. Barbara paused in ringing up my purchases and said, "You're not the first person to tell me that." Barbara said that she saw a lot of customers come to her store after being thoroughly frustrated by their treatment at the other LYS. She said she just didn't understand treating a customer that way. Barbara also shared some stuff that had happened to her personally at the hands of the other store but, since I only have one side of the story I'm not willing to put it out for public consumption.

In the end I left the second LYS with some groovy sock yarn, a business card and more than one reminder to show up on the third Tuesday of the month to knit, chat and possibly win a door prize. I think I've found my LYS.

Biting the Bullet

* It's another bullet comment post because

* it's been a long day because

* we bought our dream home! (Seriously. I completely love it. We all love it.)

* As a result I'm pretty

* tired

* and excited. It's a confusing mix.

* I've been trying to keep up on the blogs I read

* and with email

* but I don't think I'm doing a very good job of it.

* I'll have cool foo tomorrow.

* An a report on the second LYS. Hostile shop people beware!

First Impressions

Thanks to each and every person who wished us luck house hunting. We looked at 17 houses today and found 2 that we want to see again tomorrow morning in addition to a whole other group of listings. Boogie has been a doll through the whole thing. She was starting to lose it this afternoon but held on until we got back to the hotel. So what could all that possibly have to do with yarn?

We decided to just grab fast food tonight. On the way Big B and I paused long enough to let me run into one of the 2 LYSs here. As I walked in my first impression was nice, but a small selection. Four women were sitting at a table knitting. They looked up and, as I started to smile, they looked back down at their knitting. I started to walk out but figured maybe they had all had long days, too. I looked at the yarn, all organized by color, (I hate that) and eavesdropped on the chicks at the table. It sounded like a class but I figured someone would eventualy pause and ask if they could help me. (I sure could have used the help, too. I couldn't find the sock yarn or their book selection.)

I made it all the way around the store and toward the door and NOBODY moved a muscle. I put my selections on the counter, (the Lorna's Laces and the Lantern Moom bag. I was leaving with something in spite of the artic chill) and waited figuring no one was going to move. Without pausing in her discussion with the others, one woman got up and moved behind the register. As she rang me up she asked "Have you been in here before?" I started to tell her "No, and I won't be again." Instead the friendly Southerner in me took over and I told her that we were moving here blah blah blah.

I was pretty disappointed in this shop. Poor selection plus poor customer service leaves a bad taste in my mouth. At the same time I'm willing to give them another chance. Maybe they were just worn out, too.

Instead of leaving you with a bummer story about a shop, I offer this pic.
Boogie and I love rental cars!

Tuckered Out

* I'm in Georgia tonight.

* I'm tired.

* Boogie was fantastic before, during and after our flights.

* I'm tired.

* I finished m Koigu socks last night just before midnight.

* Unfortunately I didn't take a picture because

* I was tired.

* Tomorrow we go look for a house.

*I'll try to take a picture or two.

My Beloved

Happy Birthday, Boogie. 

We love you always and forever. 

Playin' Hookie

Today we went to the zoo. Big B took a much needed break from work and spent the day chilln' with us. It was a lot of fun. The school year is ending here so the place was packed. After seeing all the critters Boogie could handle, (we checked out the zebra twice) we went for a ride around Brackenridge Park in the little train. The best part of the train ride was going through the little tunnel. The engineer asked all the kids to yell so any squirrels asleep in said tunnel will haul butt out of our way.

After our zoo adventure we had lunch at the 410 Diner. This is one of my favorite resturants in the city. Their veggie plate is outstanding and the pies are just awesome. We pigged out while Boogie ate and played with her "Eco Explorer" toy.

My next post should be from our fabulous accomdations in Georgia or, depending on my sock progress, from right here in my home. Y'all have a good weekend!

P.S. Thanks to everyone who sent a 'feel better' vibe my way. I'm feeling much less crappy today.

No Pics

I'm feeling kind of crappy today.  Yesterday I had a pretty icky allergic reaction to something I'd eaten the night before.  I spent the entire day either barfing or sleeping.  (Let's just be relieved that both of those things didn't happen at the same time.  Ewwwww.)  I'm better today but still grossed out by food.  In a roundabout way I'm apologizing for this incredibly crappy post.

I have a couple of WIPs to show but, to be honest, I'm sort of tired of showing them.  The second Koigu sock is coming along nicely.  I'm working on the gussets and my goal is to have the whole thing completed this weekend.  I've also started swatching for Boogie's sock in the Regia she picked.

The coming weekend should be pretty jam packed.  Saturday we're celebrating Boogie's birthday with friends.  Her birthday is actually Sunday but Ga-Ga is flying in to celebrate Boogie's special day and to house sit for us while we're off house hunting.  We leave early Monday morning and should be back late Saturday afternoon.  Our Realtor in Georgia has sent some fabulous homes for us to look at over the last few months and we've narrowed it down to those we are most seriously interested in.  I've already scoped out yarn shops in Augusta.  Seems that there are two; one has a web site and the other doesn't.  I'm hoping we have a break so I can check them out.  (I'll take pictures and use my shiny new laptop, too!) 

If you've stuck with by boring post this long, well bless your heart!  I'll be more fun tomorrow.