Not much blogging done this week. I’ve been buried at work, trying to transition from one position to another. The overlap is always tough.

Right now the heavens have opened and I’m watching jumbo-pea-sized hail whack the heck out of my garden. I’m tired of this weather.

I have about 12″ done on the sweater. Nothing else done on the socks.

Today M and I took a little field trip over the mountain to Carlton to visit Woodland Wool Works. I might have stopped at the Brown Sheep Gallery or the quilt shop that’s there, too. But M needed to get home. We did stop at the Barn (can’t think of its name) in Scholls, where I picked up some wildflower honey and hazelnut butter.

It’s probably a good thing that we didn’t stop other places along the way, or the hail might have caught us on the mountain. I was glad I was home when it hit.

In techie news, I’ve upgraded WordPress yet again.

Last night I turned on the DIY channel to catch a repeat of Knitty Gritty, and who was the guest designer? Non other than Shetha Nolke of Oregon Live: Knit One, Blog Two and Simplicitly Stitched showing off her illusion knitting designs. Very cool! You GO Shetha! I might be inspired to start yet another project (oh no!).

On my own knitting front, I have about 10″ done of the back/left front/right front of the Sensational Shirttail sweater. You know how they say that knitting is like meditation? Well, I can knit about two rows on this thing and I start falling asleep. Yep, I fall asleep meditating, too.

Since the sweater is a little bulky to haul around, I started a new pair of socks, too. OK… that’s my excuse anyway. I’m (sort of) using a pattern from Lucy Neatby’s book Cool Socks, Warm Feet. Ms. Neatby includes a pattern called “Mermaid Socks,” and my stash just happens to include some Blue Moon Fibers Soft Rock in a colorway called “Mermaid.” Fate? I thought so! And I promised #1 Son a pair of socks for his girlfriend E.

Except the pattern is for a top-down sock with a spiral-pattern toe. And I knit all of my socks toe-up. That means I’m knitting the pattern backward. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of doing the toe and starting with the pattern from the get-go. I’ll post a pic when I get a little further. I’m going to be asking for opinions about what I should do for the heel. The book suggests a garter-stitch short-row heel, but I’m not sure that will look good with the “Estonian fishtail” pattern. I think it should be a short-row heel. But garter? That I’m not so sure about.

I think he’s guilty as sin, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise. One has to wonder what the hell that jury was thinking.

Just a reminder that tomorrow is World Wide Knit In Public Day!

So take your knitting out into the world and let others see how fun it is! Maybe we can inspire some new knitters.

On my own knitting front, I’m about 8″ into the sensational shirttail sweater and I’ve twisted the cable four times. I’ve been tired in the evenings for some reason — or maybe it’s just that my house is so quiet lately — and I can’t seem to get more than a couple of rows knit each evening. I’ll keep plugging away at it though. Like knitting socks two at a time, since I’m working on the back and both fronts all at once it will take longer, but when I’m done then all that much more will have been accomplished.

I wanted to get another pair of socks started but I didn’t like the test swatch I made. So I’m looking for a different pattern. I’d like to have some socks on the needles as traveling companions. The sweater is a bit bulky to carry around.

The weather is finally warming and drying up. And with the nicer weather, THEY appear. You know who you are… You’re the one with your car stereo cranked up to 11 and your windows open.

I have just one thing to say to you:

I DON’T WANT TO LISTEN TO IT! Turn it down, turn it off, or close your @#$%@ windows.

Today I was stuck in traffic, and for 40 minutes I was forced to listen to (and feel) sounds that I do not consider music blasting from the car next to me. My windows were rolled up. It didn’t matter. The car in the next lane still drowned out my own radio.

I’m well aware that not everyone’s taste in music is the same. I’m good with that. Listen to whatever you want to listen to. Just don’t force me to listen to it also. Be polite. Turn it down.

Thank you.

Not much done on the Sensational Shirttail sweater over the weekend, but here’s a picture of where I was on Friday and the buttons that I got at Button Emporium. The buttons were hand-made from horn. I really like the spiral design on them. They are shown against the back of the sweater. I’ve gotten a little further than this, but not much. (Click the pic for the bigger version.)

I was very busy over the weekend with graduation (YEA!) and helping #1 Son move on Sunday. He is moving into a house with a bunch of friends for the summer. It’s a typical college-age kid house: Miscellaneous furniture, steep winding stairs, 3 bikes parked in the living room, narrow street. I’ve lived in such houses myself in my checkered past. #1 Son is sub-leasing 1/2 the attic. It’s a nice space with a door and a skylight. I wouldn’t want to go up and down those stairs every day, but he’s young and devil-may-care. I wish him well.

I promised not to call him all the time trying to find out what he’s up to and he promised to “keep in touch.” He called me three times Sunday night. 😀

The house seems very quiet. The fur kids are wandering aimlessly around, and Moo Cow misses her buddy a lot.